Travels News
Five years ago, France’s Emmanuel Macron saw big when it came to Africa. Days after his presidential inauguration, he flew to northeastern Mali, meeting with French troops and vowing, alongside his Malian counterpart, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, to wage an “uncompromising fight” against Islamist terrorism. A few months later in another Sahel country, nearby Burkina Faso, …
Read more “For Macron’s Second Term — a Lower Profile in Africa?”
Mozambique has been battered by five tropical storms along its northern coastal areas since the start of this year. Tens of thousands of families have been affected, including refugees and people internally displaced by ongoing violence in the oil-rich province of Cabo Delgado. The last storm, Tropical Cyclone Gombe, made landfall on March 11. It …
Read more “Conflict and Successive Climate Shocks Worsen Crisis in Northern Mozambique”
In any country, the currency exchange rate is an indicator of stability and the economy’s strength. With unprecedented sanctions being imposed on Russia, many economists are closely watching the ruble. Anna Rice narrates the story of the Russian ruble, and the effect economic sanctions are having. …
The U.S. House of Representatives approved more than $40 billion more aid for Ukraine on Tuesday, as Congress races to keep military aid flowing and boost the government in Kyiv as it grapples with the Russian invasion. The House passed the Ukraine spending bill by 368 to 57, with every ‘no’ vote coming from Republicans. …
Read more “US House Passes $40 Billion Bill to Bolster Ukraine Against Russian Invasion”
The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on an aid package worth more than $40 billion for Ukraine on Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, as Congress races to avoid an interruption in defense assistance and boost the government in Kyiv. The legislation is expected to pass the House and head to the Senate …
Read more “US House Sets Vote on $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Package Tuesday”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12: 10 a.m.: The war in Ukraine has taken a toll on civilians as families are separated. In this video released on Facebook, a Ukrainian mother was reunited with her police …
COVID-19 relief, including money for global pandemic response, is removed from Ukraine package …
Ankara is increasing pressure on Russia’s military presence in Syria with its decision to close its airspace until July to Russian civilian and military planes carrying troops to Syria. Ankara gave no official reason for the move. While Ankara and Moscow back rival sides in the Syrian civil war, they have been cooperating in resolving …
Britain’s heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and Prince William took center stage amid the pomp and pageantry of the opening of parliament on Tuesday, replacing the 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth who missed the grand set-piece event with health issues. With the queen forced to withdraw for the first time in almost 60 years, Charles stepped in to read …
Read more “Prince Charles Delivers Queen’s Speech for the First Time”
The program will allow Ukraine to more efficiently request weapons against Russia, just as the Lend Lease Act of 1941 helped US allies defeat Nazi Germany …
U.S. lawmakers could vote as soon as Tuesday on a bill authorizing at least $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Ahead of the possible vote in the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden said his administration has “nearly exhausted” his authority to send weapons and other military equipment from Pentagon stockpiles. Secretary …
Congressional Democrats are preparing a plan that would boost President Joe Biden’s requested $33 billion Ukraine aid package to nearly $40 billion, and a House vote is possible as soon as Tuesday, two people familiar with lawmakers’ thinking said. In a retreat, Biden conceded that the package should not contain any of the additional billions …
Read more “Democrats Want to Boost Biden Ukraine Aid Plan to Near $40B”
Both countries say Russia’s nuclear threats require collective self-defense, upending decades of nonaligned status …
As Russia’s Vladimir Putin defended his war in Ukraine Monday, a top European Union official visited Ukraine, while France floated a possible new political alliance for Kyiv and other EU hopefuls. It seemed like two different May 9ths Monday. In Moscow, a bellicose speech by Putin as Russia marked the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi …
Read more “As Russia Defends Ukraine War, Europe Reaffirms Support for Kyiv”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the potential for Russia’s war in Ukraine to spread, during a visit to Moldova’s capital Monday. “The impact of the war in Ukraine across the region and the world is profound and far-reaching; the consequences of escalation are too frightening to contemplate,” Guterres said during a joint news …
Read more “UN Chief: Moldova’s Sovereignty Must Not Be Undermined”
The U.S. on Monday suspended 232 tariffs on Ukrainian steel for a year, in a new attempt to boost the war-torn country’s economy. “We can’t just admire the fortitude and spirit of the Ukrainian people — we need to have their backs and support one of the most important industries to Ukraine’s economic well-being,” U.S. …
Protesters in Poland doused Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreyev with red paint as he attempted to lay flowers at a Soviet military memorial cemetery in Warsaw for Red Army soldiers who died during World War II. Video of the attack Monday showed red paint being thrown from behind Andreyev before another activist standing beside him throws …
Read more “ Russian Ambassador Doused with Red Paint at Warsaw Ceremony “
Former French prime minister Francois Fillon will learn Monday whether an appeals court has upheld his conviction for setting his wife up with lucrative fake jobs. Revelations about the probe torpedoed conservative Fillon’s 2017 presidential campaign, leaving the way clear for centrist Emmanuel Macron — re-elected to a second term last month. The 68-year-old was …
Read more “Court to rule on former French PM Fillon’s fake job row”
The United States Department of the Treasury has announced new sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has named entities and people that it says are critical to Russia’s ability to wage war, including the board members of two of Russia’s most important banks, a Russian …
Germany’s conservative CDU won an election in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday, a boost to the party of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, which was ousted from the national government in federal elections last year. An exit poll by the political research group, Infratest dimap, put the Christian Democrats (CDU) at 43.5% of votes, …
Read more “Germany’s Conservatives on Track to Win Election in Northern State”
The United States and other leading economies in the Group of Seven nations Sunday agreed to ban or phase out the purchase of Russian oil, directly targeting a major source of income for Moscow to pay for its 10-week invasion of Ukraine. “This will hit hard at the main artery of (Russian President Vladimir) …
The U.K., U.S. and Irish governments have urged rival parties in Northern Ireland to come together to resurrect its power-sharing government after Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein scored a historic victory to become the biggest party in Northern Ireland’s Assembly. Sinn Fein, which seeks union with Ireland, won 27 seats in the 90-seat legislature, beating …
Read more “Northern Ireland Parties Urged to Work Together After Sinn Fein Win”
Dozens of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb leveled a school sheltering about 90 people in eastern Ukraine. The governor of the disputed Luhansk province where intense fighting has raged for weeks between Russian and Ukrainian forces said 30 people were rescued at the site in Bilohorivka but that the others in …
Read more “Dozens Feared Dead in Russian Shelling of Ukrainian School “
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting virtually Sunday with the Group of 7 leaders, who head the world’s largest economies. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and the United States are meeting with the Ukrainian leader to show their support for Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion that began in …
Read more “Ukraine President Attends Virtual Meeting with G7 Leaders”