Month: March 2022

One man’s loss may be another’s unfortunate gain, and the Ukraine conflict is proving a boon to some energy-producing nations as oil prices soar. The war has given an unexpected boost to Norway’s oil revenues and now the country, concerned it will be seen as a war profiteer, is mulling what to do with its sudden windfall. Fueled by the sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the surge in oil and natural gas prices could see Norway racking up almost $170 billion in extra oil and gas revenue this year, according to Nordea bank. Western Europe’s biggest …

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Russia has been deploying mercenaries to African countries for years. New reports indicate some of those battle-hardened soldiers may be heading to Ukraine to take part in Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. In this report, VOA’s Salem Solomon looks at what the addition of mercenaries into the Ukraine war might mean. Video editor – Jason Godman. Carla Babb and Anand Mistry contributed. …

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South African medical students, who were evacuated from Ukraine, are now looking for ways to complete their studies.  South African universities are discussing options for the students, some of whom are still shaken by the attacks they witnessed and are fearful for teachers and classmates left behind. Concerned students have already launched a “Save Our Studies” campaign with the goal of helping about 50 repatriated medical students find spots at South African universities. Twenty-five-year-old Mandisa Malindisa, a fourth-year medical student who was studying at Kharkiv National Medical University, is one of those who wants to get placed. Her studies were …

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As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations despite distractions caused by the conflict. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the U.S. back into the accord and bring Iran back into compliance with limits on its nuclear program. After 11 months of on-and-off talks in Vienna, U.S. officials and others say only a very small number of issues remain to be resolved. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have backed down on a threat to crater an agreement over …

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for Germany’s help Thursday, telling the German Parliament that a new wall is being erected in Europe “between freedom and bondage.” “And this wall is getting bigger with every bomb that falls on Ukraine, with every decision that is not taken,” Zelenskyy said in his video address. He criticized Germany for its support of the now-suspended Nord Stream 2 pipeline project meant to carry natural gas from Russia, saying that Germany had put its economic concerns ahead of Ukraine’s security. “We turned to you,” he said. “We told you that Nord Stream was a kind …

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Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine     …

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In the weeks before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping in which they signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement aligning their countries in the ongoing struggle for global influence between Western democracies and rising authoritarian states. Now, it’s not completely clear that China knew what it was getting into. Three weeks after Xi put his name on the document declaring that friendship between Russia and China “has no limits” and “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation,” Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has turned Russia into an international pariah, facing …

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