Month: May 2022

France’s new government lineup will be announced later on Friday, the presidency said, with the new Cabinet set to meet on Monday. The announcement came four days after Elisabeth Borne, the outgoing labor minister, was named premier, becoming the first woman to head the French government in more than 30 years. The government reshuffle was widely expected following the reelection of President Emmanuel Macron in April and ahead of legislative elections next month. The centrist Macron will need a legislative majority to push through his domestic agenda following his reelection, with a new left-wing alliance and the far right threatening …

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The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a new $40 billion aid package for Ukraine as the country combats Russia’s invasion. The House of Representatives voted in favor of the package last week. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure promptly. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Thursday that the Senate passage of the aid package was “a manifestation of strong leadership and a necessary contribution to our common defense of freedom.” In another development Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration is authorizing $100 million more in military aid to Ukraine. …

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The US Senate passed a $40 billion bill Thursday that provides humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine. After a week of delay, the vote means President Joe Biden will be able to sign the bill into law just as billions in aid passed earlier this year runs out. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. Producer: Katherine Gypson …

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More than 70 years ago the United States launched a massive reconstruction effort to help rebuild Europe following the end of the Second World War. This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin said Ukraine will need similar assistance, as the U.S. Congress prepares to approve $40 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid for Kyiv. “Eventually, Ukraine will need massive support and private investment for reconstruction and recovery, akin to the task of rebuilding in Europe after 1945,” Yellin told an audience in Brussels Tuesday. The Marshall Plan, officially known as the European Recovery Plan, was put in place in …

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The U.S. Senate completed congressional action Thursday on a new $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, overwhelmingly approving it and sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his expected signature. The package is intended to buttress Ukraine over the next five months to combat Russia’s ongoing invasion. It includes money for military equipment, training and weapons, as well as billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, including money to help address global food shortages caused by the three-month conflict. The assistance replenishes stocks of U.S. equipment sent earlier to Ukraine and provides financing to help other countries that are assisting …

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Amid a severe clampdown on political opposition and civil society in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, thousands of people have fled the country – including many artists, whose work is often critical of President Vladimir Putin. Some of those artists are now in Finland, as Henry Ridgwell reports from Helsinki. …

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President Joe Biden on Thursday enthusiastically welcomed Sweden and Finland’s bids to join the NATO security alliance — a move that would bring two of Europe’s most modern militaries right to Russia’s northwest border.  Speaking from the Rose Garden, flanked by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland, Biden said he would send their membership applications to the U.S. Congress, where he hopes for a swift approval.  “Sweden and Finland have strong democratic institutions, strong militaries, and strong and transparent economies,” Biden said. “And a strong moral sense of what is right. They meet every …

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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday hundreds more Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, bringing the total this week to 1,730.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement it was registering fighters who left Azovstal, an operation that began Tuesday and was continuing Thursday.  “The ICRC is not transporting POWs to the places where they are held,” the aid group said. “The registration process that the ICRC facilitated involves the individual filling out a form with personal details like name, date of birth and closest relative. This information allows the …

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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday said it had confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox on Wednesday afternoon. The state agency said it was working with CDC and relevant local boards of health to carry out contact tracing, adding that “the case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition.” The Public Health Agency of Canada late on Wednesday issued a statement …

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For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT:   3:05 a.m.: Several senior Russian commanders have been fired for performing “poorly” during the opening stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense’s  Thursday report. The ministry said the suspended include the lieutenant general who failed to capture Kharkiv, and the vice admiral under whose command the Russian cruiser Moskva sank.  “A culture of cover-ups and scape-goating is probably prevalent within the Russian military and security system,” the report said. Given the likely finger-pointing …

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