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EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc must act to address “distortions” created by Washington’s $430-billion plan to spur climate-friendly technologies in the United States. The European Union must “take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] or other measures create distortions,” von der Leyen said in …
Read more “EU Chief Says Bloc Must Act Over US Climate Plan ‘Distortions’”
The British Defense Ministry says a recent poll shows Russian public support for the war on Ukraine is dropping. In its Sunday morning intelligence update the ministry said an independent Russian media outlet has claimed access to data collected by Russia’s Federal Protective Service that indicates 55% of Russians favor peace talks with Ukraine, while …
Read more “Russian Public Support Dropping for War on Ukraine – British Defense Ministry “
British authorities have arrested a wealthy Russian businessman on suspicion of money laundering, amid efforts to disrupt potential criminal activity by oligarchs and others linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The National Crime Agency said more than 50 officers from a specialized unit raided the suspect’s multimillion-pound home in London on Thursday, seizing several digital …
Read more “UK Arrests Wealthy Russian as Police Target Putin Enablers”
U.S. intelligence expects the reduced tempo in fighting in Ukraine to continue in the next several months and sees no evidence of a reduced Ukrainian will to resist, despite attacks on its power grid and other critical winter infrastructure, the director of national intelligence said Saturday. “We’re seeing a kind of a reduced tempo already …
Read more “Fighting Slows, Ukrainian Will to Resist Does Not, US Intelligence Chief Says”
Burkina Faso’s military government has suspended the broadcast of France’s RFI radio in the Sahel West African state over what it said were false reports and giving voice to Islamist militants, a statement from the government said Saturday. The statement said RFI on Saturday broadcast a message from a leader of a militant group in …
Read more “Burkina Faso Government Suspends France’s RFI Radio Broadcasts”
Russia is rejecting a price cap of $60 a barrel on Russian oil imposed by the Group of Seven and its allies, TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Saturday. “We will not accept this ceiling.” Russia threatened to turn off the oil spigot on the coalition of Western countries that endorsed the cap. …
NATO member and Russia’s neighbor Estonia is boosting its defense capabilities by acquiring an advanced U.S. rocket artillery system in the Baltic country’s largest arms procurement project ever, defense officials said Saturday. The deal signed Friday for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is worth more than $200 million and includes equipment such as ammunition …
Read more “Estonia to Buy US Rocket Artillery System in $200M Deal “
The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden has “no intentions” at present of holding negotiations with President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, a day after Biden appeared to make a conditional offer to talk to his Russian counterpart. “We’re just not at a point now where talks seem to be a …
Read more “White House Says Biden Not Intending to Talk to Putin”
The United States on Friday designated China, Iran and Russia, among others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act over severe violations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. In a statement, Blinken said those designated as countries of particular concern, which also include North Korea and Myanmar, engaged in or tolerated …
Read more “US Designates Iran, China as Countries of Concern Over Religious Freedom”
VOA White House correspondent Paris Huang spoke with John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications, on Friday about protests in China, the Chinese military, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Russian war in Ukraine. The following transcript has been edited for clarity. VOA: We’ll start with the protests happening in China right now, …
Britain’s Prince William capped a three-day visit to Boston by meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday, ahead of announcing his Earthshot Prize environmental award winners at a gala event. The Prince of Wales shook hands with Biden and spoke quietly in the winter cold near the water outside of the John F. Kennedy …
Read more “Prince William, Like His Father, Prioritizes the Environment”
A security organization born in the Cold War to maintain peace in Europe ended a high-level meeting Friday without a final resolution, underlining the existential crisis it is facing amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. The war launched by one member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe against another has created hurdles for …
Read more “European Security Organization Faces Existential Crisis at Meeting”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he is ready for negotiations with the West — provided the West recognizes Russia’s “new territories” taken from Ukraine. The statement from the Kremlin came after what appeared to be a cautious diplomatic overture from the White House. At a news conference Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron, President …
Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. UN launches record humanitarian appeal for 2023 The United Nations launched a $51.5 billion appeal Thursday for humanitarian needs in 2023. Needs are the highest they have ever been, …
Read more “UN Weekly Roundup: November 26 – December 2, 2022 ”
The brother of American Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 after being convicted on espionage charges in 2020, says the former U.S. Marine telephoned his parents from Russia early Friday, the first contact in more than a week. In a statement emailed to media outlets, David Whelan said that his brother …
Read more “Detained American in Russia Makes Contact With Family”
First lady Jill Biden, who has broken with precedent by continuing to teach at a community college since moving into the White House, confided to a group of seventh graders this week that she was not always sure she would be able to handle both jobs. Biden, who holds a doctoral degree, made the admission …
Read more “First Ladies Biden, Macron Bond Over Love of Language and Education “
Despite the missile strikes and power cuts that have become a regular occurrence in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv’s 190,000 remaining school children are still expected to attend classes, whether online or in person. “If there is no light, it’s sometimes hard to see when you are writing,” said Yulia, 13, sitting in the front row of …
Read more “Kyiv Schools Adapt to Survive Under Russian Bombardment”
A special court could be set up to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin, his ministers and top generals for the crime of aggression, following the invasion of Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
The quiet Canadian port city of Halifax is looking forward to a high-tech future after having been chosen as the North American host for NATO’s latest effort to spur the development of cutting-edge technologies seen as crucial to 21st century warfare. The selection was announced at last month’s Halifax International Security Forum, an annual event …
Read more “Halifax: North America’s Next National Security Hub?”
Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed the scale of secret surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA), has sworn an oath of allegiance to Russia and received a Russian passport, TASS reported Friday. “Yes, he got [a passport], he took the oath,” Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden’s lawyer, told the state news agency TASS. …
Read more “US Whistleblower Snowden Gets Russian Passport, TASS Reports”
A new law gives Turkey fresh ammunition to censor the media and silence dissent ahead of elections in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to prolong his two decades in office, journalists and activists say. Since 2014, when Erdogan became president, tens of thousands of people, from high-school teens to a former Miss Turkey have …
Read more “Concern Rises as New Turkish Media Law Squeezes Dissent”
Authorities on the Italian island of Ischia prepared Friday to evacuate more than 1,000 people from at-risk areas following warnings of heavy rain, just days after a deadly landslide. “Intense rainfall is expected,” with a consequent risk of landslides, rapid mudflows, rock falls [and] flooding” from Ischia to Naples and the Vesuvius volcano, said …
Read more “Rain Warning Prompts Evacuations on Italian Island After Landslide”
The British Defense Ministry’s intelligence update Friday on Ukraine said, “Russia’s withdrawal from the west bank of the Dnipro River last month has provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with opportunities to strike additional Russian logistics nodes and lines of communication.” “This threat has highly likely prompted Russian logisticians to relocate supply nodes, including rail transfer …
With Ukraine scrambling to keep communication lines open during the war, an army of engineers from the country’s phone companies has mobilized to help the public and policymakers stay in touch during repeated Russian missile and drone strikes. The engineers, who typically go unseen and unsung in peacetime, often work around the clock to maintain …
Read more “Ukrainian Engineers Scramble to Keep Mobile Phones Working”