Category: World

Russian journalist and Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov is auctioning his Nobel medal for Ukrainian refugees, distraught at the eradication of independent media in his country, where he says fewer and fewer people support Moscow’s military campaign. Muratov is the bear-like co-founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the Kremlin that …

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The European Commission recommended Friday that Ukraine should be granted European Union candidate status. “Ukraine has clearly demonstrated the country’s aspiration and the country’s determination to live up to European values and standards,” the EU’s Executive Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels. The Executive Commission also approved the candidacy of Moldova, one …

Read more “European Commission Backs Ukraine’s EU Membership”

The British government on Friday ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges — a milestone, but not the end of the decade-long legal saga. WikiLeaks said it would challenge the order, and has 14 days to lodge an appeal. Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the order …

Read more “UK Government Approves Extradition of Assange; He Plans to Appeal”

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and President Klaus Iohannis of Romania visited Kyiv on Thursday in a show of support for Ukraine amid its battle to fend off Russia’s invasion. “It’s an important moment. It’s a message of unity we’re sending to the Ukrainians,” Macron said. Air …

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Before the ceremony and the serious meetings about war, the European leaders witnessed the devastation wrought by Russia. A must. To understand Ukraine’s fight for survival, they had to see it themselves, with their own eyes.  The blown-up buildings. The smashed cars. And a message of hope spray-painted on a damaged building despite mounting Ukrainian …

Read more “European Leaders Bear Witness to Ukraine War’s Horror “

Turkey is deporting thousands of Afghans despite an international outcry about the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been accused of human rights violations. In January 2022, Turkey was the second country, following Pakistan, to resume direct flights to Afghanistan months after all international flights to the landlocked country were disrupted once …

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 Thursday’s visit to Ukraine by four European Union leaders comes ahead of a key decision on Kyiv’s EU candidacy, expected next week — and as tensions grow over Europe’s long-term commitment to the war. Speaking to reporters from Kyiv’s war-ravaged suburb of Bucha, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said his visit with the leaders of Germany, …

Read more “EU Leaders Visit Kyiv Amid Rising Divisions, Tensions”

The imprisoned leaders of Greece’s once-powerful neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party are seeking to overturn long prison terms in an appeals court trial that began this week in Athens. Justice officials suggest it is unlikely that the court will show any leniency to the defendants. But while the neo-Nazi grouping, among the most dangerous in Europe, …

Read more “Greek Neo-Nazi Party Leaders Appeal Convictions”

The economic sanctions imposed on Russia after its military intervention in Ukraine are causing a domino effect across all spheres of the country’s economy. For the average Russian – that translates into a sharp rise in prices. Jonathan Spier narrates this report from Moscow …

The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday broadened export controls against Belarus’s national airline, Belavia, for providing flights on Boeing aircraft in violation of restrictions issued after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Companies around the world are now prohibited from maintaining, repairing and otherwise using U.S. parts to service Belavia’s fleet, according to an order issued against …

Read more “US Broadens Restrictions on Belarus National Airline After Violations “

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Russia is causing casualties and suffering among civilians in its war against Ukraine by using antipersonnel landmines that have been banned internationally. In a report published on June 16, HRW says that while both Russia and Ukraine have used anti-vehicle mines, Russia is the only party to the conflict that …

Read more “HRW Urges Russia to Halt Use of Banned Landmines in Ukraine “

Britain announced a new round of sanctions Thursday against Russia, targeting the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for his prominent support for the war in Ukraine as well as Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, who Britain said is responsible for the forced transfer and adoption of hundreds of Ukrainian children into Russia. Foreign Secretary Liz …

Read more “UK Sanctions Russian Orthodox Head; Decries Forced Adoption”

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived Thursday in Kyiv in a show of support to Ukraine amid its battle to fend off a Russian invasion.  “It’s an important moment,” said Macron. “It’s a message of unity we’re sending to the Ukrainians.”   The trip comes as the …

Read more “US Sending New $1 Billion Tranche of Weapons to Ukraine”

The truck driver had the radio on, his daughter’s stuffed toy keeping him company, and was bouncing his lumbering vehicle down one of the innumerable dirt tracks in Ukraine that are vital thoroughfares in the country’s vast agricultural heartlands.  Then the right rear wheel hit a Soviet-era TM-62 anti-tank mine. The explosion blew Vadym Schvydchenko …

Read more “In Ukraine, Mines Take Lives Even After Fighting Moves on”

Two U.S. veterans from Alabama who were in Ukraine assisting in the war against Russia haven’t been heard from in days and are missing, members of the state’s congressional delegation said Wednesday. Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, of Trinity and Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa have been in contact with both Senate and …

Read more “2 US Veterans from Alabama Reported Missing in Ukraine “

Egypt, Israel and the European Union signed a gas deal Wednesday in which Egypt will export Israeli liquified natural gas to Europe via two Egyptian LNG plants. The memorandum of understanding was inked at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum in Cairo, expanding upon gas cooperation among the three partners. Representatives of participants at the gas …

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Phil and Kristie Graves are a U.S.couple from Maryland and parents of three biological children and an adopted girl with special needs from Armenia. Recently, they decided to adopt a six-year-old girl with special needs from Ukraine. But that was before the Russian invasion. Anush Avetisyan has the story. Videographer: Dmytri Shakhov   …

The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on two backers of an “ethnically motivated violent extremist group” called the Russian Imperial Movement, or RIM, one of whom visited the United States to make connections with far-right and white nationalist groups. The U.S. Treasury Department named the two as Stanislav Shevchuk, a Europe-based representative of RIM, who …

Read more “US Places Sanctions on Men Tied to Russian Ultranationalist Group”

U.S. Defense Minister Lloyd Austin is leading a meeting of dozens of his counterparts from NATO member states and other parts of the world Wednesday to discuss their latest efforts to boost military aid to Ukraine in the face of the nearly four-month Russian invasion. The talks are taking place on the sidelines of a …

Read more “Allies to Discuss Ukraine’s Defense Needs”

Britain has canceled its first deportation flight to Rwanda after a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights, which decided there was “a real risk of irreversible harm” to the asylum-seekers involved.  The flight had been scheduled to leave Tuesday evening, but lawyers for the asylum-seekers launched a flurry of case-by-case appeals seeking …

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Citing “concern about holding individual athletes accountable for the actions and decisions of their governments,” the U.S. Tennis Association will let Russian and Belarusian tennis players participate in the U.S. Open later this summer. Wimbledon will still maintain the ban on those athletes, which will include the world’s No. 1 player, Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev is …

Read more “US Open Will Allow Russian, Belarusian Tennis Players”

Britain and four Asian members of the Commonwealth have announced efforts to expand and re-energize the Five Powers Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a 51-year-old series of mutual assistance agreements embracing the U.K, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Britain. At its core, the pact commits the members to consult with one another in the event or threat …

Read more “Five Nations Revive 51-year-old Security Pact Amid China Threat”

The Kremlin says the United Kingdom should address the leaders of separatist-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk region and not Moscow over two Britons sentenced to death last week for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday that British authorities had not turned …

Read more “Kremlin: Britain Should Talk to Separatist Leaders Regarding UK Nationals Sentenced to Death”

London has marked the fifth anniversary of the deadly Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 in Britain’s deadliest residential fire since World War II. In a subsequent investigation, the 23-story residential building was found to have widespread flaws in building regulations. Among the events marking the anniversary was a memorial service held Tuesday at Westminster …

Read more “London Marks 5 Years Since Deadly Grenfell Tower Fire”