Month: August 2022

At the start of a three-day visit to Algeria, President Emmanuel Macron indicated Thursday that France and the North African country should move beyond their “painful” shared history and look to the future. The trauma of French colonial rule in Algeria and the bitter war for independence that ended it in 1962 has haunted relations between the two countries for decades and played into a diplomatic dispute that erupted last year. “We have a complex, painful common past. And it has at times prevented us from looking at the future,” Macron said after meeting Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Standing alongside …

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Turkey is deepening trade relations with Russia in the face of Western sanctions against Moscow. Political observers say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be relying on Russian support to help ease Turkey’s growing economic woes as he faces reelection next year. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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An engineer working under Russian occupation since March 4 at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has told VOA that Russian forces have placed artillery and missile installations within and around the property of the plant and have themselves caused explosions near the plant in an apparent attempt to discredit the Ukrainian military. The account of the engineer, whose identity is being withheld for fear of retaliation by the occupying authorities, supports Ukrainian government claims that Russia itself is responsible for the explosions in the area of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Russian officials have repeatedly said the explosions are …

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Sweden’s immigration policies are a big factor heading into elections next month on September 11th, when Swedes head to the polls to pick a new parliament, perhaps resulting in a new prime minister. The hard right Sweden Democrats party admits to having a neo-Nazi past and polls just ahead of the election show the party gaining political ground. Some observers say public concerns about Sweden’s immigration policies could mean a previously unthinkable coalition between the far right and moderate forces is on the verge of forming. Erik Hedtjärn is a political editor at Stockholm’s Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. He tells VOA …

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Authorities in Myanmar have detained Britain’s former ambassador to the Southeast Asian nation, where a military junta seized power last year, three people with knowledge of the situation said Thursday.  Vicky Bowman, who currently runs the Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB), and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, were detained on Wednesday, the sources said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.  A source with knowledge of the situation said Bowman and her husband had been charged with immigration offenses.  The arrest comes as Britain announces it is imposing …

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Twelve thousand people in five months — that’s how many older adults received support from a Kyiv charity called “Onuky”, or “grandchildren” in Ukrainian. Anna Kosstutschenko spoke with the group’s volunteers about their work. VOA footage and video editing by Paviel Syhodolskiy. …

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Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has addressed a video posted on social media last week showing her dancing with a group of friends and celebrities. The video of the 36-year-old, taken at a party that included Finnish celebrities, was soon published by several Finnish media outlets and spread internationally. Shortly after the video leaked, pictures emerged of a private party at the prime minister’s official residence in Helsinki showing two well-known female social media “influencers” kissing each other, covering their bare breasts with a sign that read “Finland.” Tuesday the prime minister publicly apologized for the pictures. She had also …

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The US is sending a new tranche of military assistance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invading force, a package valued at $3 billion dollars. This aid comes on top of the more than $10 billion in military assistance the U.S. has already sent to Ukraine in the past year and a half. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the details. Video Editor: Kimberlyn Weeks …

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