Month: July 2023

У Кам’янському на Дніпропетровщині демонтували бюст земляка Леоніда Брежнєва

У Кам’янському на Дніпропетровщині з центрального скверу на проспекті Свободи сьогодні демонтували бюст Леоніда Брежнєва. За словами міського голови Андрія Білоусова, демонтаж здійснили коштом спонсорів. На місці, де стояв Брежнєв, пропонують згодом встановити пам’ятник на честь загиблих Героїв та Перемоги України. Директорка Музею історії міста Наталія Буланова в коментарі Радіо Свобода сказала, що бюст уже поставили біля музею просто неба. Тепер його розглядають як експонат музею. Згодом його планують доповнити іншими експонатами, які розповідатимуть про брежнєвську епоху. «Він зайняв своє місце в музеї просто неба. Встановлений між ялинками, створена рекреаційна зона з лавочками. У тому, що Брежнєв зайняв місце біля …

READ MORE

Interview: Kirby Discusses US Dismissal of Russia’s Offer of Free Grain to Africa

The Biden administration is dismissing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to supply free grain to several African nations whose leaders are attending a summit in St. Petersburg, and calling instead for a full Russian return to the agreement that allowed Ukraine to send products from their Black Sea ports.  John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, also told VOA on Thursday that the White House is closely watching a coup in Niger, a West African nation seen as a close U.S. partner in the struggle against Islamic extremism and instability caused by violent Russian mercenaries on …

READ MORE

Putin Promises Grain to Africans in Bid to Ease Isolation

Russia is hosting a summit of African countries as world tensions grow due to the increase in food prices following Moscow’s withdrawal from the grain shipment agreements signed with Ukraine and Turkey. In hosting the two-day gathering that began on Thursday, Russia is seeking to cast its image as a partner of the African continent. Marcus Harton narrates this report from the VOA Moscow Bureau. Camera: Ricardo Marquina …

READ MORE

Greek Wildfires Reach Outskirts of Athens  

Wildfires reached the outskirts of Athens on Thursday as strong gusts of wind caused flare-ups around Greece, disrupting highway traffic and rail services. The fires have raged across parts of the country during three successive Mediterranean heat waves over two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of tourists over the weekend on the island of Rhodes. Water-dropping helicopters and a ground crew scrambled early Thursday to a blaze in Kifissia, just north of Athens, which was quickly put out. Near the central city of Volos, a wildfire burned on two fronts, forcing …

READ MORE

Latest in Ukraine: Russian Missile Attack Hits Odesa

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukrainian forces have been deliberate in their counteroffensive against Russia and have been “conserving manpower and equipment.” Russia’s Federal Security Service said it found traces of explosives on a vessel en route from Turkey to Russia that had previously visited a Ukrainian port.   A Ukrainian official said Thursday that Russian forces carried out an overnight missile strike on the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, killing at least one person. Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, said the attack damaged a small security building, equipment at a cargo terminal and two cars. Kiper said the …

READ MORE

North Korea’s Kim Shows off Banned Missiles to Russian Minister

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Russia’s defense minister accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a defense exhibition that featured the North’s banned ballistic missiles as the neighbors pledged to boost ties, North Korean state media reported Thursday. The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, and a Chinese delegation including a Politburo member arrived in North Korea this week for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War celebrated in North Korea as “Victory Day.” The missiles were banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions adopted with Russian and Chinese support but this week they provided a striking backdrop for a …

READ MORE

Зеленський у День медпрацівників побажав їм перемоги

«Сьогодні день тих людей, чия професія – бути захистом життя… Саме в цій роботі чи не найкраще видно, що таке цивілізованість, що таке людяність, як люди вміють жити й працювати заради інших людей» …

READ MORE

Blinken Says Door Open for New Zealand ‘to Engage’ in AUKUS Pact

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday raised the possibility of New Zealand and other nations taking part in the AUKUS defense pact, cooperation that could rile Wellington’s key trade partner China. “The door’s very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward,” Blinken said, as Wellington mulls cooperation on non-nuclear aspects of the joint Australia-U.K.-U.S. accord. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday said New Zealand was “open to conversations” about a possible role in AUKUS, so long as it did not relate to the …

READ MORE

North Korea’s Kim Meets Russian Defense Minister 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday. Shoigu was on a rare visit to the isolated country during which both sides pledged to boost ties, state media KCNA reported.  Shoigu handed Kim a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report said. Kim in turn thanked Putin for sending a military delegation led by Shoigu, adding the meeting deepened the “strategic and traditional DPRK [North Korea]-Russia relations.”  The Russian delegation and a Chinese delegation including Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong arrived in North Korea this week for the 70th anniversary …

READ MORE

Provocative Irish Singer Sinead O’Connor Dies at 56

Sinead O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer’s family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE. No cause was disclosed. She was public about her mental illness, saying that she’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. O’Connor posted …

READ MORE

EU Divisions Over Ukraine Grain Exports Set Stage for Bigger EU Battles

The past year has lifted Poland’s image in the European Union from rule-of-law defier to leading Ukraine champion, welcoming more than a million refugees since Russia’s invasion and providing billions of dollars in military aid to neighboring Kyiv. But Poland’s newly acquired luster is fast fading, as Warsaw and four other neighboring countries balk at another Ukraine export — millions of tons of grain that have now lost maritime transport routes since Russia’s pullout this month from the year-old Black Sea Grain Initiative.  The countries, including Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, argue that Ukrainian cereals are flooding local markets and …

READ MORE