Month: April 2022

Hundreds of Ethiopians reportedly have been been lined up for days outside the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa this week in hopes of being recruited to fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. But the embassy has dismissed claims it is recruiting foreign fighters and says the Ethiopians are there to show their solidarity with Russia.    Witnesses say the embassy is not bringing the hopefuls inside but say staffers have come outside to take documents.  Feleke Gebrekidan was among the Ethiopians who have spent long hours waiting outside the embassy. He has military experience, he said, having served in …

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A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britain’s interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal. The order, which brings and end to the years’-long extradition battle closer, comes after the U.K. Supreme Court last month refused Assange permission to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited. District Judge Paul Goldspring issued the order in a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, as Assange watched by video link from Belmarsh …

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Russia said Tuesday it will expel 15 Dutch diplomats, saying they have two weeks to leave the country. The retaliatory move following the Netherlands’ expulsion last month of 17 Russians whom Dutch officials said were intelligence officers posing as diplomats.  In response to Tuesday’s announcement, Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement, “It was to be expected that Russia would take countermeasures. Nevertheless, this is a regrettable step.” The envoys will be leaving the Dutch embassy in Moscow and consulate-general in St. Petersburg.   Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was also going to expel four Austrians and 12 …

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As Western sanctions against Russia continue to mount, observers in Azerbaijan are concerned about the potential ramifications in a country with close economic ties to Moscow. Some experts believe Russia’s worsening economic position will harm Azerbaijan’s trade relations and money transfers with the country, which is Azerbaijan’s main import partner and home to over 2.5 million Azerbaijani migrant laborers. Economist Natig Jafarli told VOA that economic sanctions on Russia will create problems for the banking sector of Azerbaijan and could create certain obstacles to international money transfers, since Azerbaijan does not have a separate money transfer system with Russia. “If …

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The world economy will grow at a slower pace because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund said in a report Tuesday. The organization forecasts growth of 3.6% this year, compared to 6.1% last year. Originally, it had predicted 4.4% growth this year. “The economic effects of the war are spreading far and wide,” the IMF said in its report. The war has exacerbated negative economic trends such as disrupted commerce and price hikes for fuel and food. “In the matter of a few weeks, the world has yet again experienced a major, transformative shock,” IMF chief economist …

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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Tuesday for a four-day humanitarian pause this week to coincide with Orthodox Easter, as Russia’s war in Ukraine entered a dangerous new phase. “The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead,” he said of the Russian offensive on eastern Ukraine. “This cannot be allowed to happen. Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance.” Guterres called for a pause in fighting to begin on April 21 – which is Holy Thursday in the Orthodox Christian calendar – through April 24, …

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