Travels News
For thousands of people around the world, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February served as a rallying cry, spurring many to look for ways to travel to the front and help fight for Ukraine’s freedom. New research finds that few of them ever actually made their way to Ukraine, with fewer still joining the fight …
Read more “Anticipated Foreign Fighter Flow to Ukraine Likely Just a Trickle”
When Mick North’s 5-year-old daughter was gunned down at her school, he vowed through his grief that it must never happen again. And it hasn’t — in Britain, at least. The 1996 massacre of 16 elementary school students in Dunblane, Scotland, led to a ban on owning handguns in the U.K. While Britain is not …
Read more “UK’s Dunblane Grieves for Uvalde, Fears Nothing Will Change “
In a small orthopedic clinic in Kyiv, Daviti Suleimanishvili listens as doctors describe various prostheses that could replace his left leg, torn off during the battle for Mariupol. Born in Georgia but with Ukrainian citizenship, Suleimanishvili — whose nom de guerre is “Scorpion” — is one of countless people who have lost arms or legs …
Read more “Despite Losing Leg in Mariupol, Fighter Eyes Return to Ukraine Frontline”
U.S. military officials acknowledge they have spoken to Ukrainian officials repeatedly about Kyiv’s requests for newer, more advanced weapons that could help stave off Russian gains in the Donbas but refuse to say publicly whether those systems will be delivered anytime soon. Ukraine has been pleading for weeks with the U.S. to get American-made Multiple …
Read more “US Talking With Ukraine About Delivering More Powerful Rocket “
Dutch Airline KLM has announced it was temporarily stopping ticket sales for most of it flights from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport through Sunday, due to the airport’s ongoing crowding issues caused by staff shortages. In a statement Thursday, the airline said it is taking the action to guarantee seats for customers whose flights had been cancelled …
Read more “KLM Suspends Flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Due to ‘Chaos’”
U.S. allies in northeastern Syria are increasingly worried about Turkey’s pledge to launch a new round of military operations in the region, warning it could embolden and even strengthen the Islamic State terror group. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the new round of operations earlier this week Monday, pledging to expand existing 30-kilometer-deep security …
Read more “US Allies in NE Syria Warn Against New Turkish Incursion”
The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease but described the epidemic as “containable” and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide. During a public briefing on Friday, …
Read more “WHO: Nearly 200 Cases of Monkeypox in More Than 20 Countries”
A documentary about discrimination within the ranks of Dutch police has sparked a national conversation in the Netherlands about racism, with many officers and others hoping it will finally bring about change. The Blue Family, or De Blauwe Familie in Dutch, discusses a culture of bullying and fear in the national police force. It premiered …
Read more “Racism In The Ranks: Dutch Police Film Spurs Conversation”
A former director of the Louvre Museum in Paris has been charged with conspiring to hide the origin of archaeological treasures that investigators suspect were smuggled out of Egypt in the chaos of the Arab Spring, a French judicial source said Thursday. Jean-Luc Martinez was charged Wednesday after being taken in for questioning along with …
Read more “Louvre Ex-Director Charged in Art Trafficking Case”
The reign of new Islamic State terror group leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi may be over, less than three months after it began. The Turkish website OdaTV first reported the arrest of Abu al-Hassan Thursday, saying Turkish police captured him without firing a single bullet during a raid on a house in Istanbul last week. …
Read more “Turkish Officials Claim Capture of New Islamic State Leader “
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera, citing the mayor of Severodonetsk, reports that at least 1,500 people have been killed in the east Ukrainian city. Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said only 12 people were evacuated …
Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products due to the conflict. Britain immediately accused Russia of “trying to …
Read more “Russia Slams Sanctions, Seeks to Blame West for Food Crisis”
Turkey‘s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pledging to return as many as one million Syrians amid growing public animosity against the refugees. Their presence is a potential political liability for Erdogan but as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, his plan for the refugees’ repatriation is already drawing criticism Producer: Rob Raffaele …
Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, already pushed back to near the Russian border, appeared Thursday to be launching a new counteroffensive as the three-month-old war morphed into what some Western officials described as a “scrap” with no end in sight. Authorities in Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, said Russian shelling had killed at least seven civilians …
Read more “Russian Forces Make New Push in Eastern Ukraine “
China and Russia vetoed on Thursday a U.S.-led push to impose more U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches, publicly splitting the Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006. The remaining 13 council members all voted in favor of the U.S.-drafted resolution that proposed banning …
Read more “China, Russia Veto US Push for More UN Action on North Korea”
The resignation earlier this week of veteran Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev over the invasion of Ukraine is an embarrassment for the Kremlin but analysts say fear prevents most Russian officials from voicing dissent. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
The resignation this week of veteran Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev over the invasion of Ukraine is an embarrassment for the Kremlin, but fear prevents most Russian officials from voicing dissent, according to analysts. The 41-year-old Bondarev forged a 20-year career in the Russian diplomatic service, including postings in Cambodia and Mongolia. Until this week, he …
When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, it expected the country to fall within days. Now with the war in its fourth month, Russian troops are largely mired in battles with Ukrainian soldiers, with no end strategy in sight. For VOA, Oleksii Kovalenko has the story. …
Calling Ukraine the “key for freedom in the world,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged support Thursday for his country in the face of what he called “this senseless war” with Russia. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Klitschko said Ukraine is a peaceful country that was not aggressive to anyone, and that …
Read more “Kyiv Mayor: Ukraine is ‘Key for Freedom in the World’ “
Greece will send Iranian oil from a seized Russian-flagged tanker to the United States at the request of the U.S. judiciary, Greek port police said Wednesday, a decision that angered Tehran. Last month the Greek authorities seized the Pegas, which was said to have been heading to the Marmara terminal in Turkey. The ship was …
Read more “Greece Will Send Iranian Oil From Seized Ship to US, Police Say “
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday fast-tracked citizenship for residents of two regions of Ukraine, prompting protests from Kyiv that the move violated its sovereignty. Putin signed a decree affecting residents of the southern region of Kherson, which is under the full control of Russian troops, and the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, which is partially controlled …
Read more “Putin Fast-Tracks Russian Citizenship in Southern Ukraine”
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:02 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that Russia has promised to allow foreign ships to leave ports in the Black Sea. A defense ministry official says 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries …
Piano music wafted from an apartment block on a recent spring evening in Kramatorsk, blending with distant artillery fire for a surreal soundtrack to a bomb-scarred neighborhood in the eastern Ukrainian city. Everywhere in Ukraine, the 3-month-old war never seems to be far away. Those in towns and villages near the front lines hide in …
Read more “Scars of War Seem to be Everywhere in Ukraine After 3 Months”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Western nations have sidelined a raft of Russian artists, dancers and musicians with links to President Vladimir Putin. That includes star opera singer Anna Netrebko, who was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Netrebko, however, is making a comeback of sorts with an appearance Wednesday …
Read more “Controversial Russian Opera Star Takes Stage in Paris”