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To counter the threat of violent extremism, the U.S. State Department recently sanctioned three more people linked to the terrorist group “Russian Imperial Movement” or RIM. Analysts say RIM is among several ultra-nationalist and white-supremacist groups used by the Kremlin to sow division in the United States and Europe even as it falsely claims to …
European Council President Charles Michel said he is confident EU leaders will vote Thursday in favor of granting candidate status to Ukraine. EU leaders gathered in Brussels were also set to discuss the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security, as well as additional EU economic, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. …
Read more “EU Official ‘Confident’ Bloc will Back Ukraine’s Candidate Status ”
A no-confidence vote on Wednesday toppled Bulgaria’s government and Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who had pledged to tackle corruption and took an unusually strong stance against Russia. Opposition lawmakers brought down the government, which took power six months ago, on a 123-116 vote after the ruling coalition lost its majority over disputes on budget spending …
A day before a meeting of European Union leaders, where a vote is likely on Ukraine’s candidacy to the union, Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the eastern Donbas region. The EU leaders’ two-day summit begins Thursday in Brussels. Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told The Associated Press …
Read more “As EU Decision on Ukraine Nears, Russia Increases Bombardment of Donbas “
The European Union’s 27 leaders meet in Brussels this week to consider the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. As Henry Ridgwell reports, E.U. leaders also will discuss military support for Ukraine as Russia intensifies its bombardment in the Donbas region. …
Ukraine war plays a role in blocking of goods to Russian region of Kaliningrad …
A United Nations study finds 222 million children and adolescents worldwide have had their education disrupted by multiple crises. Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, produced the study. When the organization was created in 2016, the number of crisis-affected children whose education had been disrupted stood …
Read more “UN: Education Disrupted for 222 Million Children”
European Union leaders hold a key summit Thursday and Friday with a top item on their agenda — okaying Ukraine’s bid to be a candidate for the bloc — appearing to be on track. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between Europe and Moscow as the war drags on in Ukraine. Hours before the European …
Read more “Ahead of Summit, EU Appears Unified on Ukraine’s Candidacy”
Risk of infection from the disease, which causes paralysis in children in under 1% of cases, was low because of high vaccination rates …
The European Union’s executive arm unveiled groundbreaking environmental proposals Wednesday — a draft law that would halve the EU’s pesticide use by 2030 — and work to restore its land, seas and rivers. The draft legislation aims to restore 20% of Europe’s degraded land and waterways within the next eight years — a measure the …
Read more “EU’s Executive Arm Outlines Ambitious Environmental Bill”
Coinciding with unrelenting cyberattacks against Ukraine, state-backed Russian hackers have engaged in “strategic espionage” against governments, think tanks, businesses and aid groups in 42 countries supporting Kyiv, Microsoft said in a report Wednesday. “Since the start of the war, the Russian targeting [of Ukraine’s allies] has been successful 29 percent of the time,” Microsoft President …
Read more “Microsoft: Russian Cyber Spying Targets 42 Ukraine Allies”
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a “massive act of aggression,” was a major topic during the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference in Washington on Tuesday. Speaking at the State Department to VOA’s Russian service, Sullivan said, “I think it’s important to understand the scale of the problem and what …
Read more “VOA Interview: John Sullivan, US Ambassador to Russia”
In Kosovo, which has been waiting for visa-free travel to the European Union since 2010, a restaurant owner has erected a large replica of France’s famed Eiffel Tower for its diners. “We have built it as a form of consolation for the people who cannot go to Paris,” said Blerim Bislimi, owner of Te Anija …
Read more “Balkans Losing Hope of Progress on EU Membership”
Elite swimmer Mykhailo Romanchuk doesn’t know if his father was able to see him winning a medal for Ukraine at the swimming world championships. Romanchuk’s father is fighting in the east of Ukraine, where pockets of resistance are still denying Russia full military control of the region almost four months after it unleashed its invasion. …
Read more “Swimmer Wins Bronze Medal While Father Fights in Ukraine”
Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that the military situation in the eastern region of Luhansk “is really the toughest area right now. The occupiers are also putting serious pressure …
Read more “Ukraine City is Focus of Intense Fighting: ‘Everything is Engulfed in Fire’”
Pavlo Vyshebaba joined the military on the first day of the Russian invasion, having no combat experience at all. Then the well-known Ukrainian eco-activist headed straight to his native Donbas region. During brief calm moments on the front line, he wrote about what he was seeing and feeling. Lesia Bakalets has the story, narrated by …
President Emmanuel Macron held talks Tuesday with France’s main party leaders in a bid to show he is open to dialogue after his centrist alliance failed to win an absolute majority in parliamentary elections. The meetings at the Elysee presidential palace come after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne formally offered her resignation Tuesday, in line with …
Read more “Macron Holds Postelection Talks with French Party Leaders “
Analysts say the African Union (AU) is unlikely to offer Ukraine much support against Russia despite a passionate address Monday by Ukraine’s president. Many African nations have historical ties to Russia and have refused to condemn its invasion of Ukraine. In his speech to the African Union Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of …
Read more “Africa Won’t Give Ukraine What It’s Asking For, Analysts Say”
Ukraine reported heavy strikes Tuesday in the Sievierodonetsk region as Russian forces push to gain full control of the eastern city. A spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said at a daily briefing that fighting in Sievierodonetsk was fierce, with Russia conducting both airstrikes and shelling on Ukrainian positions. Luhansk …
Read more “Ukraine Reports Heavy Fighting in Sievierodonetsk “
Russia has summoned the European Union’s envoy to Moscow to “strongly” protest new restrictions on goods shipments to its Kaliningrad exclave through EU member Lithuania while threatening the Baltic state with “retaliation.” The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said on Tuesday that EU Ambassador to Moscow Markus Ederer was informed of the “inadmissibility of such actions” …
Lawyers for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are urging the Australian government to do more to gain the release of the Queensland-born activist. Assange is to be extradited from Britain to the United States to face espionage charges, in a move approved by the British government late last week. To his supporters, Julian Assange is a …
Read more “Australia Urged to Intervene in Long-Running Wikileaks Extradition Case”
A British subsidiary of mining and trading giant Glencore on Tuesday formally pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan. At a Southwark Crown Court hearing in London, Glencore Energy admitted to paying more than $28 million in bribes to secure …
Read more “Glencore UK Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Africa “
British rail workers launched their biggest strike in decades on Tuesday. Last-minute talks to avoid the stoppage failed Monday, with the rail management and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union unable to resolve a dispute about pay and job security. Union leaders say pay has failed to keep pace with inflation. British Transport Secretary …
Read more “Stoppage is country’s largest rail strike in decades”
Dmitry Muratov, editor of one of Russia’s last independent newspapers, auctioned off his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal on Monday, bringing in a record-shattering $103.5 million to benefit children displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Organizer Heritage Auctions did not identify the winning bidder of the auction, which took place on World Refugee Day. The …
Read more “Nobel Prize Auction Nets $103.5 Million for Displaced Ukrainian Children”