Month: September 2022

French, Iranian Presidents Meet Amid Nuclear Talks Stalemate

French President Emmanuel Macron held face-to-face talks with his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday with the French leader saying he hoped to be able to “discuss all subjects.” The meeting is Raisi’s first head-to-head with a major Western leader since he was elected last year. It comes amid a complete stalemate to revive the 2015 nuclear talks and as protests grow in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who fell into a coma and died after her arrest in Tehran last week by the morality police for “unsuitable attire.”  France said on Monday that there would …

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UN Chief Calls for Action on Global Food, Climate Crises

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to leaders Tuesday to unite and take action to address the problems of a world “teeming with turmoil.” “We are in rough seas; a winter of global discontent is on the horizon,” he said at the opening of the annual weeklong gathering of presidents, prime ministers and other officials at the U.N. General Assembly. “A cost-of-living crisis is raging. Trust is crumbling. Inequalities are exploding. “And our planet is burning,” he cautioned. “We need hope …. and more. We need action.” His immediate call was for easing the global food crisis. An essential element of …

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Britain Cleans Up, Looks to Future After Queen’s Funeral 

Flags on government buildings returned to full mast and an epic clean-up operation was underway on Tuesday as British public life resumed after the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, although the royal family remains in mourning for another week. Around a quarter of a million people queued round the clock to view the queen’s coffin as it lay in state in the days leading up to the funeral, the UK government said. Liz Truss, appointed prime minister by the queen just two days before she died on September 8, flew to the U.N. General Assembly hours after delivering a …

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VOA Interview: Belarusian Opposition Leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Responding to a series of questions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told VOA that the democratic world should not be “putting the [Alexander Lukashenko] regime and the Belarusian people into one basket.” “Here, it’s very important to distinguish the Belarusian regime that became accomplice to Russian invasion of the war (in Ukraine) and the Belarusian people, who are against this war and who are supporting Ukrainians in this situation,” said Tsikhanouskaya in a sit-down interview with VOA’s New York Bureau Chief Ihar Tsikhanenka. Tsikhanouskaya, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly …

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Interview: Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Speaks to VOA

VOA Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze spoke to Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov about a United Nations program to deliver Ukrainian grain to the world and his country’s efforts to replace bridges damaged during Russia’s invasion. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity. VOA: After you signed the agreement with the World Food Program under the U.N., and over 3 million tons of grain was delivered to the world, does it mean that the World Food Program and this agreement [are] working? KUBRAKOV: Yes, you’re absolutely right. … Almost each week, we load in one, two …

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Жителям деокупованих районів Харківщини почали разово видавати по 1200 грн – Верещук

Раніше влада просила жителів деокупованих міст і сіл Харківської області не поспішати з поверненням, щоб була можливість провести розмінування і відновлення електро- і газопостачання …

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Baltic Countries to Stop Russian Citizens from Entering

As of midnight, Lithuanian border control stopped 11 Russian citizens from entering the country, the Lithuanian Interior Ministry reported. This comes after the prime ministers of four of the five Baltic nations bordering Russia — Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — agreed earlier this month to stop admitting Russian citizens, a move in support of Ukraine. Going forward, Russians traveling for tourism, culture, sport or business purposes, even if they hold a valid visa, will be denied entry to the four nations. In a tweet, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said he reiterated his proposal to impose an EU tourist …

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