Month: June 2023

An Amsterdam museum that severed ties with St. Petersburg’s Hermitage collection after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year has been renamed and on Monday announced partnerships with renowned galleries in London, Paris and Washington.  Starting in September, the Hermitage Amsterdam will be called H’ART Museum. It has established partnerships with the British Museum, Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to bring art to the historic building on the banks of the Dutch capital’s Amstel River.  “It’s an exciting new step for us, a contemporary and future-proof model,” museum director Annabelle Birnie said in a statement.  She said the …

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The White House said Monday it was “too soon to tell” whether the dramatic events of this weekend in Russia will change the course of the conflict in Ukraine, or international relations in general. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

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The Netherlands and Belgium have joined an international investigation into atrocities committed against the Yazidi minority in Syria and Iraq, the European Union’s judicial cooperation agency said Monday. The Joint Investigation Team was established by France and Sweden in October 2021 and supported by The Hague-based Eurojust to identify and prosecute foreign extremists who targeted Yazidis during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq. Eurojust said the teamwork already has borne fruit, including in France, where a Yazidi victim of a French jihadist couple was identified. That led to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity being added to an …

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A green wood crate lay open on the side of a dirt road with its contents scattered. The ripped-open Russian military-issued meal packets were abandoned among plastic sandals and body armor. Ukrainian soldiers kick through small tins of apple sauce, crackers and cans of chopped beef. A few meters away, a Russian soldier lies dead in the grass, rotting, his feet splayed onto the road. We can hear bombs every few minutes, but the sound is dull, and the ground doesn’t shake. A loud crack nearby interrupts the pattern. “That is definitely outgoing,” I comment. It was more of a …

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Analysts say it’s too early to assess how the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa will be affected after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to lead troops into Moscow over the weekend before backing off. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated Wagner Group, a private mercenary army, a “criminal organization” and accused it of mass executions, rape, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. After Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s brief rebellion in Russia over the weekend, analysts wonder what it might mean for some countries in Africa. Charles Bouessel, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Group, …

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Russia experienced the most serious threat to its stability in decades when the mercenary Wagner group mutinied, and its leader threatened to storm Moscow in an unprecedented challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule. The episode was brief, lasting fewer than 24 hours, but leaves big questions about the direction of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and of Putin’s political future. Jonathan Spier narrates this report from the VOA Moscow Bureau. …

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Australia’s highest court on Monday dismissed Russia’s application for an injunction that would have prevented Moscow’s embassy being evicted from a site in the national capital Canberra. In dismissing the application, High Court Justice Jayne Jagot described Russia’s challenge on constitutional grounds to a law terminating the lease as “weak” and “difficult to understand.” Parliament passed emergency legislation on June 15 that terminated Russia’s lease on the largely empty block on security grounds because the new embassy would have been too close to Parliament House. Russia’s lawyer Elliot Hyde had argued that the Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky would not have confidence …

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As tensions soared inside Russia between the government and private military group Wagner, front-line Ukrainian fighters say their fight with Russia has not subsided. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports with videographer Yevhenii Shynkar in Storozheve, Ukraine. …

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Elton John gave the final concert at Britain’s legendary Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, bringing down the curtain on the annual spectacular with what could be his final U.K. performance. “I never thought I’d ever play Glastonbury,” he told the crowd. “It’s a very special and emotional night for me — it might be my very last show in England, in Great Britain, so I’d better play well and entertain you.” The 76-year-old pop superstar is winding down a glittering live career with a global farewell tour, having played his last concerts in the United States in May ahead of a …

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