Category: Євросоюз

Russia’s lunar spacecraft entered the moon’s orbit on Wednesday, a major step toward the country’s ambition of being the first to land on the moon’s south pole in the search for frozen water.  The Luna-25 entered the moon’s orbit at 11:57 a.m. local time (0857 GMT), Russia’s space corporate Roskosmos said.  Luna-25 will circle the moon, the Earth’s only natural satellite, for about five days, then change course for a soft landing on the lunar south pole planned for August 21.  India’s Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon’s orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of …

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Georgia, a NATO and European Union aspirant, is touting a new strategic partnership with China, prompting concerns the alliance will strain Tbilisi’s long-standing Western partnerships. Georgia signed a strategic partnership agreement with China following an official visit to Beijing last month by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.  The partnership carries with it the potential of increased trade and infrastructure development, with possible economic benefits which Tbilisi is touting for its more than 3.5 million citizens.  “China very rapidly became the third-largest trading partner for Georgia. And today, since you asked about the potential, what else could we achieve? I think …

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The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia as Washington cracks down on those seeking to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said that Russia has increasingly been forced to turn to North Korea and other allies to sustain its war in Ukraine as it expends munitions and loses heavy equipment on the battlefield. The action is the latest by Washington, which has imposed rafts of sanctions targeting Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the …

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s a woman and a journalist, Nafisa Sahar saw no future for herself when the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan. Now in Dusseldorf, Germany, she is picking up the pieces of her life. For Helay Asad in Dusseldorf, Bezhan Hamdard has the story for VOA News. …

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Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russia damaged grain infrastructure at a port in the Odesa region in southern Ukraine as part of an overnight drone attack. Odesa’s Gov. Oleh Kiper said on Telegram the attack damaged warehouses and grain storage facilities at a port on the Danube River. Kiper said there were no reported casualties from the attack, and that Ukraine’s air force had downed 11 Russian drones over Odesa. The Ukrainian military said its air defenses destroyed 13 total drones overnight, saying Russia had used Iranian-made Shahed drones to target Odesa and Mykolaiv. In the eastern part of the …

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Poland on Tuesday held its largest military parade in 29 years — a display of strength aimed at neighbors Belarus and Russia and a sign that Polish attitudes on defense are changing in the wake of Russian aggression in Ukraine. For VOA, Lesia Bakalets reports from Warsaw. …

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Rashmin Joyenda, an Afghan woman who championed women’s freedom and education under the Taliban in Afghanistan, has found asylum in France. After being detained by the Taliban for her protests, she fled her homeland and now speaks out against the regime from Paris. VOA’s Jalal Mirzad has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: VOA Afghan. …

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A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Tuesday, admitting that he agreed after leaving the agency to work for a Russian oligarch he had once investigated to seek dirt on the oligarch’s wealthy rival in violation of sanctions on Russia. Charles McGonigal, 55, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan to a single count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to commit money laundering, saying he was “deeply remorseful for it.” McGonigal told Judge Jennifer H. Rearden that he carried out his crime in the spring and fall of …

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Lithuania — a NATO member with a population of nearly 3 million — is beefing up its border security because the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus has escalated security concerns. VOA Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from the Lithuania-Belarusian border. …

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Brazil forward Neymar has signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain, the clubs announced on Tuesday, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state. “I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali,” the 31-year-old Neymar said in a video posted to Al Hilal’s social media accounts. “It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world,” said PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi in a statement from the French champions. “I will never forget the day he arrived at …

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Russia and North Korea on Tuesday advocated closer collaboration including in the defense sector, the latest show of deepening ties between the countries at odds with the United States. Moscow and Pyongyang — both increasingly isolated from the West and weighted with sanctions — have drawn closer since the Kremlin deployed troops to Ukraine and commenced large-scale hostilities last year. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “stressed the need to further develop tactical and strategic cooperation and interaction between the two countries in the fields of defense and security,” the country’s defense minister said in a statement carried by the …

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Ukrainian officials said Tuesday a Russian air attack on the northwestern city of Lutsk killed at least three people and wounded several others. Regional governor Yuriy Poguliaiko said the Russian attack hit a business in Lutsk. Officials also reported widespread damage in the western city of Lviv after Russia targeted the area with missiles Tuesday. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram there were no casualties, but that the attack damaged more than 100 apartments and destroyed a kindergarten. Ukraine’s air force said it downed 16 of 28 missiles Russia launched at the country. Presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said on …

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Spain will play for its first Women’s World Cup championship after Olga Carmona’s goal in the 89th minute lifted La Roja to a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the Tuesday semifinal. Spain, which overcame last year’s near mutiny by its players against coach Jorge Vilda, will play the winner of tournament co-host Australia and England on Sunday in the final in Sydney. The winner Sunday will be a first-time World Cup champion. Sweden has now lost in four of five semifinals and will play for a fourth third-place finish. Carmona’s goal capped a flurry of late scoring that saw Sweden …

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Romania aims to double the monthly transit capacity of Ukrainian grain to its flagship Black Sea port of Constanta to 4 million metric tons in the coming months, particularly via the Danube River, Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said. Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain exporters and Russia has been attacking its agricultural and port infrastructure after refusing to extend a year-old safe passage grain corridor brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. The attacks included Ukraine’s inland Danube ports of Reni and Izmail.  Before Russia pulled out of the safe passage corridor, the Danube ports accounted for around …

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Nearly 18 months after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government is facing significant economic challenges, with the country’s currency, the ruble, plunging in value on global markets. On Monday, the ruble’s value accelerated its monthslong decline against benchmark currencies, like the U.S. dollar. With the Russian central bank calling an emergency meeting for Tuesday, the exchange rate was above 100 to the dollar, a roughly 30% decline in value since the beginning of the year. Russia also revealed that the country’s current account balance, which tracks the relative value of goods and services exported from and imported …

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The United States announced Monday a new security assistance package valued at $200 million for Ukraine. U.S. officials say it’s the first installment of a $6.2 billion aid package previously authorized under presidential drawdown authority guaranteeing the speedy delivery of existing Pentagon stockpiles to Ukraine. The aid includes air defense munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities, and additional mine-clearing equipment, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who plays a central role in coordinating drawdowns, said in a statement. Two U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency last Monday that the U.S. government would commit the $6.2 billion in funds to …

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Britain’s government Monday rejected claims that it was slow to evacuate asylum-seekers from a barge moored off the south coast of England once traces of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease were found in the ship’s water system. In the latest critique of the government’s ballyhooed efforts to control migration and reduce the cost of housing a rising number of asylum-seekers, local health officials said over the weekend that the barge operator was told about the bacteria last Monday — the day before asylum-seekers were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm. But Health Secretary Steve Barclay said ministers weren’t informed about …

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Authorities on the Greek island of Crete have ordered the temporary closure of mountain gorges popular with hikers after an earthquake triggered a rockslide and seriously injured a Spanish tourist. The closure of the Samaria Gorge in southwest Crete — along with several others in the White Mountain range — was ordered Monday, a day after the region was rattled by a magnitude 4.9 quake. The temblor triggered the evacuation of more than 600 people Sunday along the 16-kilometer (10-mile) Samaria hiking trail. A 45-year-old Spanish hiker was transported by helicopter to a state hospital in the port city of …

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The U.S. military has confirmed that four Russian military aircraft were tracked operating near the U.S. state of Alaska late Sunday and early Monday. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it had “detected and tracked” the aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). “The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD said in a statement Monday. The ADIZ is international airspace directly next to sovereign airspace “that requires the ready …

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Australia and England clash in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Sydney in the latest installment of a long-standing sporting rivalry between the countries. Co-hosts Australia have the nation behind them for the first World Cup semi-final in their history and Stadium Australia will be heaving with an anticipated crowd of about 80,000. Their heart-stopping penalty shootout win over France in the quarter-finals on Saturday was one of the most-viewed television sporting events in Australia in almost two decades.   But England are the European champions and will be favorites to reach the final of the World Cup …

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