With Russian troops occupying almost 20% of Ukrainian territory in Europe’s first major conflict since World War Two, Latvia, one of Russia’s Baltic neighbors, is reorganizing its defenses – reenergizing its volunteer force and raising discussions about reinstating its draft system. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in the Latvian capital, Riga. …
Environmental activists glued themselves to the asphalt in dozens of street blockades across Berlin on Monday to demand the government do more to tackle climate change, an action condemned by Germany’s finance minister as “physical violence.” “We no longer accept that the government has no plan to stop the destruction of the basis of our existence,” Carla Rochel, a spokeswoman for Last Generation, the group behind the protests, said in a statement. The action was swiftly rejected by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, with spokesman Steffen Hebestreit saying: “We do not support such forms of protest.” Around 200 arrests were made …
Global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2.24 trillion, with a sharp rise in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure, a Swedish think tank said Monday. Spending globally increased by 3.7% in real terms, but military expenditure in Europe was up 13% — its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, said in a report. Military aid to Ukraine and concerns about a heightened threat from Russia “strongly influenced many other states’ spending decisions.” The independent Swedish watchdog said that …
Air pollution still causes more than 1,200 premature deaths a year in under 18’s across Europe and increases the risk of chronic disease later in life, the EU environmental agency said Monday. Despite recent improvements, “the level of key air pollutants in many European countries remain stubbornly above World Health Organization” (WHO) guidelines, particularly in central-eastern Europe and Italy, said the EEA after a study in over 30 countries, including the 27 members of the European Union. The report did not cover the major industrial nations of Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, suggesting the overall death tolls for the …
Europe’s military spending grew at a record pace in 2022, reaching a level unseen since the Cold War following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global security researchers said Monday. The rise in Europe helped global military expenditures reach an eighth straight record at $2.24 trillion, or 2.2% of the world’s gross domestic product, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “It’s driven by the war in Ukraine, (which is) driving European budget spending upwards, but also the unresolved and worsening tensions in East Asia between the US and China,” researcher Nan Tian, one of the study’s co-authors, told AFP. …
About 10,000 people bearing torches on Sunday night marched through Armenia’s capital to commemorate the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks more than a century ago. The march from a central square to a sprawling memorial complex began with activists burning the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have spiraled in recent months since the blockage of the road leading to the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan. Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is widely …
Kelvin Kiptum collapsed to the ground after winning the London Marathon on Sunday and recording the second fastest time in history over the distance. The 23-year-old Kenyan runner set the course record with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, 25 seconds, missing out on Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by 16 seconds. “I am so happy with the result,” said Kiptum. “I don’t know what to say right now, I am just grateful. The course felt good, there was a bit of rain around halfway but it was OK. “I enjoy doing the marathons, it is good preparation for me. …
Russia said Sunday that the United States has denied visas to journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to New York, and Lavrov suggested that Moscow would take strong retaliatory measures. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department about the claim of refused visas. “The United States takes seriously its obligations as host country of the U.N. under the U.N. Headquarters Agreement, including with respect to visa issuance,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The journalists aimed to cover Lavrov’s appearance at the United Nations to mark Russia’s chairmanship of the Security …
Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, according to a new analysis, giving rise to speculation Sunday that the advances could be an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group, reported late Saturday that geolocated footage from pro-Kremlin military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian troops had established a foothold near the town of Oleshky, along with “stable supply lines” to their positions. Analysts widely believe that if Ukraine goes ahead with a spring counteroffensive, a major goal would be to break through …
The U.S. government said it is “deeply concerned” by Azerbaijan establishing a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying it undermines efforts toward peace in the region. “The United States is deeply concerned that Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Sunday. The State Department urged free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin corridor and also called on the parties “to resume peace talks and refrain from provocations and hostile …
With the peak tourism season setting in, Greece is bracing for a record number of arrivals and is welcoming back Chinese tourists. The warm feelings follow a period of discontent due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions placed on travelers from China for the past three years, and other issues. On the cobblestone streets of Athens, tavern owner Spiros Bairaktaris spreads his arms wide open, welcoming news of what is already called the Chinese return. He says, “We await them with great love, from the bottom of our hearts. We want to host them, to feed them, to offer all our services.” …
A 50-member Indian business delegation starts a four-day visit to Russia Monday as both countries seek to deepen economic ties that have grown in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. India and Russia are also in talks for a free trade deal, ministers from the two countries said earlier this week during a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to New Delhi. In recent months, Moscow has become India’s largest supplier of crude oil as sanctions-hit Russia seeks more trade with Asian countries. New Delhi has not joined U.S-led Western sanctions on Moscow or condemned Russia’s invasion …
Serbs in northern Kosovo boycotted local elections on Sunday in protest that their demands for more autonomy have not been met, in another sign that a peace deal signed between Kosovo and Serbia last month is not working. The main political party in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, Serbian List, called on Friday on the Serb community not to vote on Sunday. “Except in some rare and very few cases, Serbs are boycotting the elections,” an official from the central election commission, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters on Sunday. Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs are demanding the creation …
Planning for next month’s coronation of King Charles III, the first for a British monarch in 70 years, is being met with subdued enthusiasm in Canada, the Commonwealth’s largest country by area. While some Canadians are eagerly awaiting the pageantry-filled spectacle steeped in centuries of history, most of their compatriots say they have little interest in the event and don’t want Charles as their king. But Canada is unlikely to cast off the monarchy and become a republic any time soon. “The monarchy is hard-wired into the Canadian constitution and just because most Canadians have little interest in it does …
Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday he did not want to “please anyone” with his views about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after provoking criticism in the West for suggesting Kyiv shared the blame for the war. Speaking in Lisbon at the start of his first visit to Europe since being elected president, Lula said his aim was to “build a way to bring both of them (Russia and Ukraine) to the table.” “I want to find a third alternative (to solve the conflict), which is the construction of peace,” he told a news conference. Last week he said …
France is trying to limit the diplomatic fallout after President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe should reduce its dependence on the U.S. and avoid ‘getting caught up in crises that are not ours’ after a state visit to China earlier this month. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …
The daughter of an environmentalist imprisoned by Iran said on Saturday she had lost confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to free her father. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian American who also holds British citizenship, has served five years of a 10-year sentence after being convicted of spying. He was briefly released to house arrest with an electronic tag in March 2022 when two other dual nationals, including British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, were allowed to leave Iran. In July his lawyer was quoted as saying he had been granted bail, but his daughter said he was now back in …
New developments: The Wagner Group founder is concerned about a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The United States will be training Ukrainian soldiers on Abrams tanks, while Germany will build a tank repair hub in Poland. Ukraine grain exports are still banned by European countries. In its daily intelligence update on Ukraine, then British Defense Ministry said Saturday that Russia is “struggling to maintain consistency in a core narrative it uses to justify the war in Ukraine.” The narrative is that the invasion of Ukraine is similar to the Soviet experience in World War II. Earlier this month, Russia cited safety issues as …
A State Department spokesperson could not firm reports the Sudanese Army has agreed to help evacuate U.S. and other nationals from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, a State Department spokesperson told VOA early Saturday Washington time. “We continue to remain in close contact with our embassy in Khartoum and have full accountability of our personnel. For their safety, I cannot discuss the details of their movements or whereabouts,” said the spokesperson. The Associated Press is reporting that the Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the United States, Britain, China and France on military airplanes, as fighting …
A prominent Kurdish leader has added a new wrinkle to Turkey’s tense election campaign from his prison cell, suggesting the defeat of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could open the door to a resolution of the nation’s decades-old struggle against a Kurdish militant group. Selahattin Demirtas, the former co-leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), is pledging to use his influence to get the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to give up its armed resistance to Turkish rule if a new administration takes office in Ankara after parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. “As a promise to our people, we …