Month: December 2021

When Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its support behind separatists in the country’s east more than seven years ago, Kyiv’s underfunded and disorganized armed forces struggled to mount a credible response. Now, amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s border could signal a possible attack, military experts say Moscow would face stronger resistance this time. But they emphasize that Ukraine would be well short of what it needs to counter Russia’s overwhelming land, sea and air superiority. Still, years of fighting the separatists have given Ukrainian veterans such as Colonel Viacheslav Vlasenko the battlefield experience for …

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A month after the U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26, politicians, analysts and climate action advocates are taking stock of what was agreed to. And the consensus is that while substantial progress was made in a number of areas, there wasn’t enough. The world still remains off track to avert a climate crisis and is falling short of limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a goal set at previous talks in Paris in 2015.  And it remains off track despite deals to cut carbon and methane emissions, end deforestation, reduce the use of …

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An independent, unofficial panel of British lawyers, academics and businesspeople has concluded that China’s government committed genocide against Uyghurs, a ruling denounced by China as a “farce.”  A Chinese spokesperson for the government of Xinjiang region, Xu Guixiang, Friday called the verdict “extremely despicable” as well as illegitimate.  “The so-called final pronouncement is a piece of wastepaper,” he said at a virtual press briefing. The London panel, called the Uyghur Tribunal, ruled Thursday that Chinese government policies of forced birth control and sterilization targeting Uyghurs constituted genocide. The tribunal’s chair, prominent British barrister Geoffrey Nice, said the policies were “intended to destroy …

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President Joe Biden is seeking to reassure Ukraine that his strategy to prevent a Russian military invasion will work, amid continued tensions over a massive Russian troop buildup along their common border. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Camera: Nike Ching …

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Officials in Switzerland Friday presented two sets of restrictions they are considering to address surging COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations that are threatening the nation’s health system.  Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health recorded 10,163 new cases and 51 deaths in the previous 24 hours – the largest spike in deaths since January. The office reported the nation’s intensive care units are 82% full. At a news conference in Bern, Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said the country is sliding back to a place it does not want to be in and presented the two alternative proposals the government is considering. …

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A British court has ruled that Julian Assange, the 50-year-old founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, can be extradited to the United States to face charges of hacking and theft. As Henry Ridgwell reports, press freedom campaigners are dismayed at the ruling. …

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Russia’s influence in the Central African Republic is growing as the country grapples with insurgents, according to the International Crisis Group. The CAR government hired the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary contractor for security. But Wagner’s alleged rights violations against killing civilians, aid workers, and journalists have caused tensions with CAR’s western supporters and uproar at home. In the CAR, the civilian population continues to suffer at the hands of armed groups in parts of the country. Last week a rebel attack in the northwest killed at least 30 people. And from January to November, there were 387 violent incidents …

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated his call Friday for Russia to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and return to diplomacy to solve its regional differences. Stoltenberg made the comments in Paris where he held meetings with France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. For several weeks now, Russia has massed troops and heavy equipment on its border with Ukraine. U.S. intelligence reports indicate Russia had plans to get more than 100,000 troops to the border in preparation for a possible invasion early next year. Russia denies the reports. The buildup …

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The European Union will on Monday impose a package of sanctions on targets linked to the Russian private military contractor Wagner, accused of stirring trouble in various conflicts. Foreign ministers from EU member states will meet in Brussels next week and endorse a list of individuals and firms to hit with asset freezes and visa bans, diplomats said. Wagner personnel have been identified carrying out operations in several conflict zones, including Russia’s neighbor Ukraine, war-torn Syria and several restive African countries. France in particular has been pressing its EU partners to act, arguing that Wagner’s inroads into Libya, Mali and …

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A British appellate court has opened the door for Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States by overturning a lower court ruling that found the WikiLeaks founder’s mental health was too fragile to withstand the American criminal justice system. The appellate court ruling handed down Friday is likely to be appealed. A lower court judge earlier this year refused an American request to extradite Assange to the U.S. to face spying charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military documents a decade ago. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser denied extradition on health grounds, saying Assange was likely to kill himself …

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