While Russia is still controlling Central Asian countries politically and economically, those states are also looking for new partners, especially with China, to help ensure their own development. And according to the regional experts, even if the U.S. starts a tough policy against Beijing, it will not have a serious impact on Central Asia, and …
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VOA Russian spoke to U.S. experts who outline how a mix of U.S. sanctions, export controls and other methods of applying pressure on the Russian economy can help President Donald Trump’s administration to force Moscow to stop the war in Ukraine. Experts agree that if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not engage in negotiations, the …
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The U.S. special envoy to Russia and Ukraine said Thursday the U.S. plans to significantly step up pressure on Russia through sanctions to end the war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with the New York Post, Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said there is a lot of room to increase sanctions on Russia, particularly in …
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term. The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israel’s Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, who — …
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid tribute to the country’s “warriors” in the Kursk operation in an address Thursday marking the six-month anniversary of the operation in Russia. “With our active operation on Russian territory, we have brought the war home to Russia, and it is there that they must feel what war is. And they …
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Azerbaijani authorities detained two more journalists this week, bringing the number held in the past year to nearly two dozen. Police on Wednesday arrested Shamshad Agha, of the news website Argument, and Shahnaz Beylargizi of Toplum TV. A court in the capital, Baku, on Thursday ordered the journalists to be held in pretrial detention for …
Read more “Azerbaijan detains two more journalists as watchdogs denounce crackdown”
Police in Sweden investigating the nation’s worst mass shooting said at a news briefing Thursday that the scene at an adult learning center was an “inferno” of smoke, with injured and dead victims. The attack on Tuesday left 10 people dead, including the suspected shooter, at Campus Risbergska in the city of Orebro, about 200 …
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VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Nearly 3 1/2 decades after leaving the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this weekend will flip a switch to end electricity-grid connections to neighboring Russia and Belarus — and turn to their European Union allies. The severing of electricity ties to oil- and gas-rich Russia is steeped in …
Read more “Baltic nations count final hours to ending electricity ties to Russia”
Ukrainian officials reported damage Thursday at a market in the northeastern city of Kharkiv after the latest round of overnight Russian drone attacks targeting multiple parts of the country. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that debris from a downed drone damaged power lines in the city. Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot …
LONDON — London’s Grenfell Tower, which was engulfed in flames more than seven years ago in a disaster that killed 72 people, will be demolished, bereaved families and survivors said on Thursday. The fire ripped through the 23-story social housing block in one of London’s richest areas during the early hours of June 14, 2017. It …
Read more “UK’s Grenfell Tower to be demolished more than seven years after blaze”
ANKARA, TURKEY — Two years after the deadliest and most destructive earthquake in modern Turkish history, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, with many still living in temporary housing, as rebuilding efforts lag behind initial targets. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and its aftershocks rattled 11 Turkish provinces and parts of northern …
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British Foreign Minister David Lammy met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and announced a new $68.7 million financial package for Ukraine as its war with Russia continues. “Our support for Ukraine remains unbreakable,” Lammy said. “We are determined to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both in its fight against Russia …
Read more “British foreign minister meets with Zelenskyy, announces $68.7M financial package”
WASHINGTON — Greenland’s representative in the United States met recently with at least one ambassador from the Pacific Islands to learn more about a political arrangement that some think could create an opportunity for the Arctic island and Washington, VOA has learned. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his interest in either buying or taking control …
Read more “Greenlanders explore Pacific Islands’ relationship with Washington”
France’s prime minister survived a no-confidence vote by parliament on Wednesday after he invoked special constitutional powers to force through the country’s 2025 budget. Only 128 lawmakers voted in favor of the no-confidence motion against Francois Bayrou, falling short of the 289 votes required to pass. Far-left lawmakers called for the measure after Bayrou invoked …
ATHENS, GREECE — Earthquakes rattled Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes through the night and into Wednesday as authorities bolstered their emergency plans in case the hundreds of temblors over the past few days are a harbinger of a larger quake to come. A coast guard vessel and a military landing craft were in …
Read more “Earthquakes keep rattling Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes”
BEIJING — China is willing to work with the European Union on boosting cooperation and responding to “global challenges,” its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, as the bloc faces potential U.S. tariffs on its shipments to the world’s largest economy. China attaches great importance to EU ties and hopes the bloc will become a reliable cooperation …
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OREBRO, Sweden — Swedish police said on Wednesday there was no evidence of “ideological motives” behind a mass shooting at an adult education center on Tuesday, and warned of misinformation spread on social media about the Nordic country’s deadliest gun attack. At least 11 people died and many others were wounded in the shooting at the …
Read more “Swedish police warn of online misinformation after mass school shooting”
A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region, the area’s governor said Wednesday. The fire, which was later put out, happened in the village of Novominskaya. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said debris from a destroyed drone caused the fire, and that there were no injuries. Russia’s Defense Ministry …
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. “It’s got great potential and based on the potential we’ll continue to go along with it, but they …
Santorini, Greece — More Greek islands closed schools Tuesday as hundreds of earthquakes rattled the Aegean Sea, while a handful of hardy tourists enjoyed having Santorini’s stunning views to themselves. Thousands of residents and seasonal workers have left the Cycladic Islands as hundreds of quakes up to magnitude 5 were recorded in the volcanic region since …
French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the United Nations to consider sending a peacekeeping force to Haiti. The suggestion was made in a letter Macron sent to the U.N. after meeting with Leslie Voltaire, resident of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Click here for the full story in Creole. …
Yaounde, Cameroon — More than 400 civilians rendered jobless by the departure of French troops from Chad are asking the government to hire them and provide the job benefits they had when they worked for the French. The last French troops left Chad on January 31, following an order by President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. Chadian …
Read more “Chadians who worked for now-departed French troops appeal to government for jobs “
Ukrainian culture is booming amid the war with Russia. That’s despite the constant rocket attacks and damage to almost 500 heritage sites, according to UNESCO. Experts say Ukrainians have never been as interested in their own culture as they are now. As Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv, almost any event is sold out, especially in …