Warsaw, Poland — Ukrainian officials are embracing what will be a detailed and tortuous process of negotiations following the official opening of EU accession talks this week, saying they have already made major strides toward qualifying for a status that would cement their place in Western Europe. While the process that began Tuesday at a ministerial-level …
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LONDON — NATO allies on Wednesday selected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO’s next boss, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the United States’ future attitude to the transatlantic alliance. Rutte’s appointment became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last …
YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday, 15 months after his arrest in the Ural Mountains city on espionage charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The 32-year-old journalist appeared in the court in a glass defendants’ cage, his head …
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Tbilisi, Georgia — Campaigners in Georgia are seeking to highlight atrocities committed by invading Russian troops and allied militias during the early 1990s, which they say should have been a warning of the dangers posed by Russia long before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Their campaign, “Before Bucha Was Abkhazia,” is touring U.S. and …
moscow — Russia said on Tuesday it was banning access inside Russia to the broadcasts of 81 different media outlets from the European Union — including Agence France-Presse and Politico — in retaliation for a similar EU ban on several Russian media outlets. The European Union said in May it was suspending the distribution of what …
Read more “Russia bans distribution of dozens of EU news outlets in retaliatory step”
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge for publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his freedom and concludes a drawn-out legal saga that raised divisive questions about press freedom and national security. The plea was entered Wednesday morning in …
Read more “In deal with US, WikiLeaks’ Assange pleads guilty, secures freedom, ends legal fight”
london — Britain’s King Charles welcomed Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife to London at a Buckingham Palace banquet on Tuesday, celebrating economic, diplomatic and cultural ties on the first day of a three-day state visit. “Our governments are working together to provide a stable world for future generations,” said Charles, flanked by Queen Camilla …
Read more “UK’s King Charles welcomes Japan’s Emperor Naruhito for state visit”
Washington — The closed-door trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich is set to begin on Wednesday in Russia, nearly 15 months after he was jailed on espionage charges that are widely viewed as baseless and politically motivated. A correspondent with The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 on spying charges that he, his …
Read more “‘Sham’ trial of American journalist Gershkovich to begin in Russia”
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Campaigners in Georgia are seeking to highlight past atrocities committed by invading Russian troops and allied militias during the early 1990s, which they say should have acted as a warning of the dangers posed by Russia, long before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Henry Ridgwell reports from Tbilisi. …
ISLAMABAD — Thousands of people in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan took to the streets Tuesday to celebrate their national team’s first-ever entry into the cricket World Cup semifinals by beating Bangladesh. Video from several cities, many bordering Pakistan, showed joyous rallies in the streets early in the morning, with reports of celebratory gunfire by fans in some areas, …
Read more “Joy in Afghanistan as national team makes cricket World Cup semifinal debut”
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UNITED NATIONS — The United States and its key European allies clashed with Iran and Russia over Tehran’s expanding nuclear program, with the U.S. vowing “to use all means necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran” in a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday. The U.S., France, Britain and Germany accused Iran of escalating its nuclear activities far …
Read more “US and allies clash with Tehran, Moscow at UN Security Council”
Pentagon — The U.S. is expected to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine valued at up to $150 million as soon as Tuesday, two U.S. officials tell VOA. The package is being provided to Kyiv under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA), which pulls weapons, ammunition and equipment from U.S. military stockpiles to fulfill Ukraine’s …
Read more “US expected to announce $150M in new military aid for Ukraine”
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As in many countries, job seekers in Ukraine who are in their 50s and 60s have a harder time than younger workers. One organization is trying to change that by taking advantage of Ukraine’s wartime labor shortage. For VOA, Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets. …