Travels News
Russia will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month via its main pipeline into the region, state energy giant Gazprom said Friday, piling pressure on the region as it seeks to refuel ahead of winter. The unscheduled maintenance order on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs …
Read more “Nord Stream 1 Pipeline to Shut Briefly in Latest Fuel Blow to Europe”
A smaller dose of the monkeypox vaccine appears to still be effective and can be used to stretch the current supply by five times, the European Medicines Agency said Friday, echoing a recommendation made earlier this month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The EU drug regulator said in a statement that injecting people …
Read more “EU Regulator OKs Plan to Stretch Monkeypox Vaccine Supplies”
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is hosting an exhibition of African fashion that organizers say is the largest of its kind. The landmark exhibit — named simply “Africa Fashion” — promises to set a new standard on how the subject is portrayed in museums and art galleries. For VOA, Pasi Myohanen reports from …
Read more “London Exhibit Marks New Era for African Fashion”
A fire at a munitions depot near the Russian village of Timonovo has led to the evacuation of two villages in Russia’s Belgorod region on Ukraine’s northeastern border, an official said Friday. The blaze was the latest in a series of destructive incidents on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine or inside Russia itself. Roughly 1,100 people …
Read more “2 Russian Villages Evacuated After Fire at Munitions Depot”
Europe’s embrace of millions of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion showed that it’s possible to welcome large numbers of asylum-seekers, and the approach should be replicated to receive those fleeing other nations, the head of the U.N. refugee agency said. In an interview with The Associated Press, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi described …
Read more “AP Interview: Refugee Head Sees Lesson in Ukraine Crisis”
Almost a year ago, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm led a U.S. delegation to Kyiv to attend a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine. Almost six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, VOA Ukrainian Service’s Iuliia Iarmolenko sat down with Granholm to discuss how the Russian war in Ukraine has affected European …
Read more “VOA Interview: US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm”
VOA Ukrainian Service’s Iuliia Iarmolenko sits down with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss how the war in Ukraine has affected European energy security. Camera: Kostyantyn Golubchuk. …
Microelectronics produced in the United States and allied countries are crucial components of Russian weapons systems used in the Ukraine invasion, according to a report by Britain’s Royal United Services Institute. The RUSI report, Silicon Lifeline: Western Electronics as the Heart of Russia’s War Machine, says more than 450 foreign-made components have been found in …
Some newly arrived Afghans in Germany are complaining they feel forgotten as Ukrainian refugees enter the country. VOA’s Helay Asad has the story, narrated by Roshan Noorzai. …
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said his country’s goal in the current conflict with Russia is complete victory and the restoration of Ukraine’s borders as of 1991. He spoke this week with VOA Ukrainian Service’s Ruslan Petrychka about developments in the country since Russia’s invasion earlier this year. VOA: What goal do you set for …
Read more “VOA Interview: Ukraine Defense Chief Believes in Victory, Restoration of 1991 Borders”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on its northern Chernihiv region. Older residents have lost almost everything, including their homes and personal possessions. But volunteers are doing their best to help these people return to normal life. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage by Paviel Syhodolskiy. …
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to meet Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv with an agenda expected to include a global food crisis, threats to a nuclear power plant, and finding a political solution to the war launched by Russia. Efforts …
Read more “Zelenskyy Hosting UN Chief, Turkey’s President in Lviv ”
Military-ruled Myanmar plans to import Russian gasoline and fuel oil to ease supply concerns and rising prices, a junta spokesperson said, the latest developing country to do so amid a global energy crisis. The Southeast Asian country has maintained friendly ties with Russia, even as both remain under a raft of sanctions from Western countries …
Estonia and Latvia say they are pulling out of a decade-old mechanism established by China to deepen its influence in Europe, following their Baltic neighbor Lithuania, which left the group last year. Sixteen nations joined the China and Central and Eastern European Cooperation (China-CEEC) Forum when it was established in April 2012, with an inaugural …
Read more “Two More Baltic Countries Quit China-Led Forum Amid Ukraine War”
Russian police have searched the homes of several journalists contributing to programs of RFE/RL’s Russian Service and Idel.Realities, an online project that covers news and events in the Volga-Urals region. On August 17, police in the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan region, Kazan, searched the home of sociologist Iskander Yasaveyev, who is a columnist for the …
Read more “Russian Police Search Homes of Journalists Contributing to RFE/RL Programs”
NATO will increase its peacekeeping force in Kosovo if there is an escalation of tensions with neighboring Serbia, the alliance’s chief said on Wednesday on the eve of EU-facilitated talks between the estranged western Balkan neighbors. “We have now a significant mission, a military presence in Kosovo close to 4,000 troops,” Jens Stoltenberg told a …
Read more “NATO Says it Is Ready to Step Up Forces if Serbia-Kosovo Tensions Escalate”
Following massive explosions at a military depot in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told people there and in other parts of southern Ukraine to “be very careful” and avoid areas where Russian forces store ammunition and equipment. “The reasons for the explosions in the occupied territory can be different, very different, in …
Read more “Ukraine Tells Civilians to Avoid Russian Ammo Depots After Blast”
Turkey and Israel said on Wednesday they will re-appoint respective ambassadors more than four years after they were called back, marking another milestone after months of steady improvement in relations. The two regional powers had expelled ambassadors in 2018 over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against …
Read more “Turkey, Israel to Re-Appoint Ambassadors after Four-Year Chill”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday rejected what he said were comments by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that diminished the Holocaust. Abbas was asked during a visit to Berlin on Tuesday about the upcoming 50th anniversary of an attack by Palestinian militants against Israelis at the Munich Olympics. Abbas spoke about incidents in which Israelis …
Read more “Scholz ‘Disgusted’ by Abbas Comments on Holocaust”
A law has taken effect in Scotland to ensure period products are available free of charge to anyone who needs them. The Scottish government said it became the first in the world to legally protect the right to access free period products when its Period Products Act came into force Monday. Under the new law, …
Read more “New Scottish Law Makes Period Products Free for All”
Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died. He was 81. Petersen died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after …
Read more “Wolfgang Petersen, Blockbuster Filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ Dies”
Ukrainian technicians at the Russian-held nuclear power plant hit by shelling work under the barrels of Russian guns and face huge pressure, but they are staying on to make sure there is no Chernobyl-style disaster, one of them said. The technician, who asked that his identity not be disclosed for fear of Russian reprisals, offered …
Read more “At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Ukrainians Work Under Russian Guns, Technician Says”
The United Nations said Tuesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet Thursday in western Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the invitation to the tripartite meeting was made by Zelenskyy. The leaders represent three of the four members in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. …
Read more “UN Chief, Ukrainian and Turkish Presidents to Meet”
Investigative journalism has emerged as a powerful force during Greece’s phone-hacking scandal, rocking a government that tries to “control” the media landscape, experts say. The long-rumbling “Predatorgate” affair reignited at the end of July when Nikos Androulakis, leader of the opposition Socialists, told journalists about the attempted surveillance of his mobile phone via spyware Predator, …
Read more “Greek Phone-Hacking Scandal: Investigative Media’s Key Role”