Month: July 2024

Євросоюз

China, Russia push back over Washington’s Arctic warning 

Washington — Russia and China on Tuesday pushed back against a U.S. warning over their increasing military and economic cooperation in the Arctic, where climate change is opening up greater competition. Russia has in recent years beefed up its military presence in the Arctic by reopening and modernizing several bases and airfields abandoned since the end of the Soviet era, while China has poured money into polar exploration and research. “We’ve seen growing cooperation between the PRC and Russia in the Arctic commercially, with the PRC being a major funder of Russian energy exploitation in the Arctic,” Deputy Secretary of Defense …

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Євросоюз

New US Arctic strategy focused on Russian, Chinese inroads

washington — The United States is looking to boost intelligence collection in the Arctic and enhance cooperation with allies in the region, to prevent Russia and China from exploiting the cold and icy northern region at America’s expense. The mandate, part of the Pentagon’s just-released 2024 Arctic Strategy, comes as U.S. defense officials warn climate change is melting Arctic ice that used to keep adversaries at bay, and there are indications of growing Russian-Chinese cooperation in the region. “In the Arctic, the strategic can quickly become tactical,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, briefing reporters at the Pentagon. “Ensuring that our …

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Євросоюз

Belarus frees head of banned party as Lukashenko slowly releases some political prisoners

TALLINN, Estonia — The head of a banned Belarusian opposition party who had been behind bars for two years was released on Monday as the authoritarian country frees a trickle of political prisoners, according to the respected human rights group Viasna. Mikalai Kazlou, who led the United Civic Party, was serving a 2½-year sentence on allegations of organizing actions violating the public order. His arrest came amid a harsh crackdown on the opposition that began as mass demonstrations gripped the country. Those protests followed a presidential election in 2020 whose disputed results gave Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term. Many prominent opposition …

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Євросоюз

Ukraine’s largest music festival returns with break from inescapable reality of war

Kyiv, Ukraine — This year, Ukraine’s largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead, beloved local artists graced the stage this past weekend at the Atlas Festival — the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 — for a smaller but still ebullient crowd. The stage was erected in a shopping mall parking lot, the only option with a shelter large enough to contain the 25,000 people expected in the event of an air raid. Carefree youth danced, romanced and sang along, rubbing shoulders …

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Події

У Херсоні вночі після обстрілу загинула жінка – Прокудін

Раніше в обласній військовій адміністрації повідомили, що впродовж доби 21 липня на Херсонщині внаслідок російських обстрілів минулої доби постраждали дев’ятеро людей, ще одна людина була поранена вранці 22 липня …

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Євросоюз

Ukraine’s top diplomat to visit China this week to talk peace, Kyiv says

KYIV/BEIJING — Ukraine’s top diplomat will visit China on Tuesday at the invitation of Beijing for talks that Kyiv said would focus on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and on a possible Chinese role in reaching a settlement. Nearly 29 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will discuss bilateral ties at talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a trip to China from July 23 to 25, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. “The main topic of discussion will be the search for ways to stop Russia’s aggression and China’s possible role in achieving a stable …

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