Month: May 2018

Turkey is furious over the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and Israel’s use of live ammunition against Palestinian protesters in Gaza, and it has recalled its ambassadors from the United States and Israel. Tensions between Ankara and Washington were already simmering over the fate of an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey and the sentencing of a Turkish banker in the United States. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has more from the State Department. …

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With the round-the-clock British media coverage of the royal family in the days leading up to the big day for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, it would be hard not to conclude that this year’s wedding of weddings is a source of delight for every Briton. But not everyone in Britain remains as excited as the thousands already crowding into Windsor to claim a spot that will allow them to grab a glimpse of the wedding couple and the pomp and circumstance. Social media was littered with all kinds of memes deriding the wedding ceremony. ​   Oscar-winning British actress Emma Thompson chimed …

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President Vladimir Putin says the Russian military will start receiving new nuclear weapons in the coming years. Speaking at a meeting Friday in Sochi, Putin said delivery of the new Avangard hypersonic vehicle will begin next year while the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will enter duty in 2020. The Avangard and the Sarmat were among an array of new nuclear weapons Putin presented in March, saying that they can’t be intercepted. They also included a nuclear-powered global range cruise missile and an underwater drone designed to strike coastal facilities with a heavy nuclear weapon. Putin said two other new …

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Turkey has called on Muslim nations to stand with Palestinians and to work to stop countries joining the United States in relocating their Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The call came at the end of a week that has seen Turkey take a leading role internationally to condemn Israeli actions in Gaza after Israeli forces killed dozens of people in Gaza. A diplomatic spat ensued with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trading barbs on Twitter and both countries expelling senior diplomats. As part of its condemnation of events in Gaza earlier this …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday that he would stand up to any attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to block a Russian-German gas pipeline project. Berlin and Moscow have been at loggerheads since Russia’s annexation of Crimea four years ago, but they share a common interest in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which will allow Russia to export more natural gas to northern Europe. A U.S. government official this week said Washington had concerns about the project, and that companies involved in Russian pipeline projects faced a higher risk …

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A court in Kosovo jailed eight men Friday for plotting to attack the Israeli national soccer team in Albania in a World Cup qualifying match in 2016. The court in the capital handed the defendants, who are all from Kosovo, jail terms ranging from 18 months to 10 years, totaling more than 35 years. A ninth defendant was ordered to pay a fine of 2,500 euros. The prosecution said the group had planned to attack the Israeli team with explosives and automatic rifles. The plan was thwarted when Kosovo police got wind of the plot and tipped off Albanian authorities …

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The big day is nearly here for Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as the couple are to wed Saturday in the town of Windsor, just outside London. The former American actress confirmed this week that her father will not attend the ceremony because of ill health. Huge crowds are expected as well-wishers try to catch a glimpse of the royal couple and, as Henry Ridgwell reports, from the security operation, to the catering, to the flowers, the day marks the culmination of months of preparation. …

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The U.S. ambassador to Russia said he would not speak when he appears on the panel of the St. Petersburg economic forum (SPIEF) next week which he was to participate in with Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch recently added to a U.S. sanctions list. “While I will not be participating in any panel discussions at SPIEF, I will be meeting as many people as possible to discuss the road ahead,” the envoy, Jon Huntsman, said in a video posted by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Twitter. Russian media said earlier that Huntsman was scheduled to give a speech at …

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Close to 3.5 million people caught up in the conflict in eastern Ukraine urgently need humanitarian aid, according to the U.N. — which says its assistance program has received a small fraction of the funding it needs. Populations live under the constant threat of artillery and gunfire, mines, and unexploded ordnance — and now face growing food insecurity and outbreaks of diseases like TB. For VOA, Henry Ridgwell traveled to the front line earlier this week and has this report. …

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The newly-opened bridge linking Crimea and Russia carries traffic both ways, but the political divide its construction has come to symbolize is most apparent to those who call the territorially contested peninsula home. As Russian President Vladimir Putin led the televised, inaugural crossing of the controversial span on Tuesday—ensconced in the cab of a bright-orange, (partly) Russian-made Kamaz dump truck to emphasize the new route’s commercial promise—senior members of the Mejlis, the self-governing body of Crimean Tatars that Russia outlawed upon its annexation, saw a very different image. “The bridge is Putin’s image-boosting project for the sake of his electorate …

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Hundreds of truck drivers blocked roads across Bulgaria on Thursday as European Union leaders met in Sofia, protesting proposed EU rules they say would cost their jobs and put their firms out of business. Transport company owners described the initiative, known as the Mobility Package, as a protectionist measure designed to help rival firms in western Europe. The Bulgarian transport association said around 120,000 drivers from the country would lose their jobs under the proposed rule changes. Trucks from Bulgaria and other low-wage eastern European countries are a common sight on the roads of western Europe, competing with local firms …

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Hundreds of residents gathered in the southern Spanish town of Algeciras on Thursday to protest about the increasingly violent drug trade in the underprivileged area, which is an entry point for smugglers bringing hashish and cocaine into Spain. Traffickers bring consignments of drugs onto the beach in the area, often in broad daylight, and police have been physically attacked. Police unions have asked for more resources to fight the illegal trade. Residents, local politicians and police representatives gathered in the town holding a large banner reading, “For your safety, for the safety of everyone.” Police have made huge drug seizures in recent months in Algeciras, the Mediterranean’s largest port and a trans-shipment hub …

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