Category: Євросоюз

Residents of a luxury housing complex in southern Turkey thought their apartments were “earthquake-proof” until the structure toppled like a domino in last week’s devastating earthquake, leaving hundreds feared dead. Now the wreckage of the Ronesans Rezidans, which was advertised as “a piece of paradise” when it opened a decade ago, has become a focus of public anger. Survivors stand by the pile of debris that was the 249-apartment block waiting for news of loved ones as hopes of their survival fade. “My brother lived here for 10 years. … It was said to be earthquake safe, but you can …

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Rescue teams pulled three people alive from under collapsed buildings in Turkey on Friday, 11 days after earthquakes that have killed more than 45,000, left millions homeless and sparked a huge relief effort.  Mosques around the world performed absentee funeral prayers for the dead in Turkey and Syria, many of whom could not receive full burial rites given the immense damage from the disaster.   While many international rescue teams have left the vast quake zone, survivors were still emerging from under a multitude of flattened homes, defying all the odds.  Hakan Yasinoglu, in his 40s, was rescued in the southern …

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The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed tens of thousands across Turkey’s southeast has reignited fears of an even more catastrophic death toll if a long-feared one hits Istanbul. Seismologists warn that a massive earthquake is likely to strike Turkey’s biggest city — officially home to 16 million people but estimated to hold up to 20 million — by 2030. The city lies on the northern edge of one of Turkey’s main fault lines and is densely packed. A 7.6 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter on the city’s eastern outskirts killed more than 17,000 people in 1999. The number of Istanbulites …

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Russians who fear persecution due to their opposition to Moscow’s war on Ukraine continue to seek asylum in the U.S. after the White House announced its new policy in September. Many are coming through Mexico. Nina Vishneva reports on a mother and her three children who made that journey. Anna Rice narrates the story. …

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Nearly 50 lawmakers from both major political parties of the United States on Friday attended the start of Europe’s premier annual security conference to affirm bipartisan support for U.S. aid to Ukraine. Four delegations of Democratic and Republican leaders and members of the Senate and House converged as one of the largest groups of U.S. lawmakers to attend the Munich Security Conference since its inception in 1963, U.S. officials said. Hundreds of politicians, military officers and diplomats from around the world gathered in Munich a week before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urging allies to …

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Drawing a comparison between his nation’s war with Russia and the biblical story of David and Goliath, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday urged Western leaders gathered in Munich not to delay sending military aid, saying, “Goliath must lose.” Zelenskyy remotely addressed government leaders and military officials gathered for the Munich Security Conference, an annual forum for the international security community to gather and discuss the world’s conflicts. The three-day conference opened Friday, one week before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president urged the conference to speed up delivery of promised weapons. Comparing his nation to David, …

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Turkish rescuers pulled a teenage boy alive from the rubble of a collapsed building 260 hours after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and Syria, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported Friday.   Fourteen-year-old Osman Halebiye was taken to a hospital in Antakya.   Later, two men, Mehmet Ali Sakiroglu, 26, and Mustafa Avci, 33, were rescued from the same building’s rubble, news agency DHA said.    After he was rescued, Avci saw his newborn baby on a cellphone call with his parents, according to Reuters.   The rescue efforts in Turkey have come amid criticism about unenforced building …

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Joint naval exercises including South Africa, Russia, and China get underway in waters off South Africa’s east coast Friday, despite U.S. concerns and Ukrainian condemnation. Critics say the 10-day military drills will do little to benefit South Africa and act as a propaganda boost for Moscow on the one-year anniversary of its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. While the West is upping its arms shipments to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion, South Africa begins wargames today with Russian warships that proudly support the offensive.   Russia’s “Admiral Gorshkov,” which arrived in Cape Town this week, is marked with the Kremlin’s pro-war …

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Hundreds of Ukrainian men charged across windswept northern England in army drills on Thursday, some of the more than 10,000 sent to Britain over the last year to turn them into soldiers in the war against Russia. Under the tutelage of forces from Britain, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, among others, the Ukrainians are learning over five weeks about the laws of armed conflict, urban and trench warfare, weaponry and battlefield medicine. Britain’s government said on Thursday it aims to double the number taught in 2023 to 20,000, across a handful of locations around the country. The move is …

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The head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group said  Thursday that it could take months to capture the Ukraine city of Bakhmut and slammed Moscow’s “monstrous military bureaucracy” for slowing gains. Russia has been trying to encircle and take over the battered industrial city before February 24, the first anniversary of what it terms its “special military operation” in Ukraine. “I think it’s [going to be in] March or in April,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in one of several messages posted online. “To take Bakhmut you have to cut all supply routes. It’s a significant task,” he said. “Progress is not going …

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As the number of people killed by the February 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria keeps rising, so do the funding and donations from different parts of the world aimed at assisting survivors. An online donation campaign launched by Saudi Arabia has raised more than $100 million from over 1.6 million individuals and companies in just over a week. The Saudi government has also delivered planes loaded with food, medicine and shelter supplies, and has deployed search and rescue teams, according to the kingdom’s relief agency. Other wealthy Arab kingdoms responded similarly. Only a day after the quake, the United …

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Moldova’s parliament approved a pro-Western government led by new Prime Minister Dorin Recean on Thursday after he pledged to revive the economy and chart a course towards the European Union. Recean, 48, was nominated on Friday by President Maia Sandu to replace Natalia Gavrilita whose government resigned following a difficult 18 months in office marked by economic turmoil and alleged meddling by Russia. Recean, a former interior minister and presidential aide, secured the approval of 62 lawmakers in the 101-seat parliament after outlining his policy plans in a program entitled “Prosperous, Secure, European Moldova.” “We want to live in a …

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In the Ukrainian village of Nova Kozacha – just six kilometers from Russia – war has brought death, destruction and separated families on both sides of the border. Yan Boechat reports. Artur Chupryhin contributed. …

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The resignation of a pope should not become the norm within the Catholic Church, and that prospect is not “on my agenda”, Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday. Francis acknowledged writing a resignation letter two months after becoming pope in 2013 in case of future health problems that would prevent him from carrying out his work. “However, this does not at all mean that resigning popes should become, let’s say, a ‘fashion’, a normal thing,” said Francis, 86, in an interview in the magazine Civilta Cattolica. The pope made the comments on February 2 during a question and …

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The UK is working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens, British Museum chair George Osborne said on Thursday, describing it as a win-win situation. Osborne, a former finance minister, reiterated that the museum was having constructive talks with the Greek government about the marbles which have been a source of dispute between the two European countries for centuries. “It’s a very hard problem to solve,” Osborne told BBC Radio. “But I think there is a way forward where these sculptures, the Elgin Marbles, the Parthenon Sculptures, …

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More than 100 members of the Ukrainian military are in Poland for intense training on the German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks. Ukrainian leaders say the tanks, promised by Western allies three weeks ago, will help save lives and play a key role in the fight against Russian forces. Myroslava Gongadze has more from an Army base in Swietoszow, Poland. Videographer: Daniil Batu …

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The United States is concerned about the expansion of Russia’s nuclear cooperation with the military-led government in Myanmar — also known as Burma — the U.S. State Department said this week. “We are deeply concerned with — but not surprised by — Russia’s willingness to expand its material support, including through nuclear energy cooperation, to the repressive regime in Burma (Myanmar),” the State Department said in an emailed statement to VOA on Tuesday. “Russia’s actions are prolonging a crisis that threatens our efforts to advance peace and prosperity with our partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific.” Russia’s State Atomic Energy …

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Ukrainians in Chasiv Yar — a town near Bakhmut in the east of the country — are enduring near-constant shelling as battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces rage close by. Yaroslava Movchan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera — Arthur Shagalin. …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Germany, Turkey and Greece February 16-22 ahead of the February 24 anniversary of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, and as Turkey continues its rescue operations after powerful quakes brought devastation to the NATO country last week. Blinken is attending the Munich Security Conference that begins this Friday. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi will be among those at the three-day annual gathering. In Munich, Blinken will participate in a series of meetings to discuss continued …

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Nearly a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday favorably portrayed the Kyiv government’s chances of taking the initiative on the battlefield against Russian forces. “I think they’ll have a real good chance of making a pretty significant difference on the battlefield and establishing the initiative,” Austin told reporters after a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “And being able to exploit that initiative going forward.” He said that as NATO countries ship munitions to Ukraine, the U.S.-led military alliance is intent on training troops on their use. “We’re laser-focused on making sure …

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