As Moscow announces its intention to officially recognize two areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine as independent countries, tensions continue along the Russia-Ukraine border. Each side accuses the other of causing violence in this increasingly complicated conflict. VOA’s Heather Murdock and Yan Boechat report from the towns of Novoluganske and Kozacha Lopan in eastern Ukraine. …
Northern Britain and parts of France and Germany were battered Sunday and Monday by Franklin — the third major storm to strike the region in less than a week. The severe weather has flooded roads, knocked out power and left at least 14 people dead. Storm Franklin brought heavy rains and high winds that disrupted travel and prompted more than 140 flood warnings across England and Wales as of Monday. The storm moved through Northern Ireland and northern Britain before moving on to France, where a couple in their 70s died Sunday after their car was swept into the …
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent states, signing documents declaring them no longer part of Ukraine. Hours earlier, the separatist leaders of the regions made a video appeal for the independence declaration. Location The Donetsk and Luhansk regions — collectively known as the Donbas — are in eastern Ukraine, near the border with Russia. The region comprises both Kyiv-controlled parts as well as separatist-controlled areas. Its main industries are coal mining and steel production. Population Most of the 3.6 million people living in the Donetsk and Luhansk …
Russia has drawn the world’s attention with its aggressive stance toward Ukraine. The former Soviet power has been rebuilding ties with Africa more quietly, strengthening economic and military cooperation, but also raising Western concerns about its tactics and goals there. Russian flags waved in Burkina Faso’s capital following January’s military coup in the West African nation. A statue unveiled in the Central African Republic last fall shows local soldiers, backed by Russian fighters, protecting civilians. Those are the more obvious symbols of Russia’s resurgent presence on the continent. Africa is a foreign policy priority, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at …
While the ongoing situation in Ukraine is the world focus, Russia has been rebuilding ties with Africa more quietly, strengthening economic and military cooperation on the continent. That is raising Western concerns about its tactics and goals there, as VOA’s Carol Guensburg reports. Contributor: Danila, Joad. Videographer: Betty Ayoub …
So, the tortuous suspense continues as we wait to see if European history is going to be wrenched off its current post-Cold War axis and thrust into an unforeseen direction. On the eve of World War I, then British foreign minister Earl Grey somberly told a hushed House of Commons: “Last week I stated that we were working for peace not only for this country, but to preserve the peace of Europe. Today, events move so rapidly that it is exceedingly difficult to state with technical accuracy, the actual state of affairs.” What is the actual state of affairs now? …
US has warned of an imminent Russian invasion, saying Moscow would face ‘severe consequences’ …
Greek emergency workers rescued a Belarussian truck driver Sunday from a burning ferry off the island of Corfu and found the body of another man as they combed the wreckage for missing passengers. The discoveries left 10 people still unaccounted for. The truck driver, in his 20s, was able to make his way up to the left rear deck on his own, and told rescue workers he heard other voices below. There were no further details identifying the victim, the first body recovered from the ship. “The fact that this man succeeded, despite adverse conditions, to exit into the deck …
A German newspaper and other media on Sunday said a leak of data from Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, reveals details of the accounts of more than 30,000 clients — some of them unsavory — and points to possible failures of due diligence in checks on many customers. Credit Suisse said in a statement that it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank’s purported business practices.” The German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it received the data anonymously through a secure digital mailbox over a year ago. It said it’s unclear whether the source was an individual or a …
Russia on Sunday extended its military drills in Belarus, along Ukraine’s northern border, after two days of sustained shelling in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. The Russian exercises with Belarusian forces had been scheduled to end Sunday. They were extended amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s show of force along the Ukrainian border with the massing of some 150,000 troops, accompanied by naval exercises in the Black Sea to the south of Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union” show that the sharp increase in Russian troop deployments in recent weeks, cyberattacks …
Firefighters are struggling to put out a fire that broke out on Wednesday on a vessel carrying thousands of luxury cars, which is adrift off the coast of Portugal’s Azores islands, a port official said, adding it was unclear when they would succeed. The Felicity Ace ship, carrying around 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, some electric with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. The 22 crew members on board were evacuated on the same day. “The intervention [to put out the blaze] has to be done very slowly,” João Mendes Cabañas, …
Queen Elizabeth, 95, has tested positive for COVID and is experiencing mild symptoms but expects to continue light duties this week, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday. “The queen has today tested positive for COVID,” the Palace said. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.” “She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all appropriate guidelines,” the Palace said. Charles, 73, the heir to the throne, earlier this month pulled out of an event after contracting coronavirus for a second time. A palace source said he …
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that “now is the moment of truth” to determine whether Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers can be salvaged, and the Iranian leadership needs to make a choice. Iran’s foreign minister, though, said that it’s up to Western countries to show flexibility and “the ball is now in their court.” Negotiators from Iran and the remaining parties to the agreement — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — are working in Vienna to restore life to the accord, which granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. The United …
Many buildings in the town of Novoluganske, in eastern Ukraine, have been abandoned for years. The wooden boards on the doors and windows are rotted by weather, and nearby factories are rusted and shuttered. You would never know that violent incidents in the region have increased by more than 1,000% in the past three days. But we weren’t there long on Saturday before heavy fire crashed into town and the soldiers hosting our tour of the war zone swiftly herded our group of more than a dozen journalists back onto a bus. Some colleagues in another part of town ducked …
As Ukraine braces for a possible attack from Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he wanted to convene a meeting of world powers to secure new security guarantees for his country as the current global system is no longer fit for the purpose. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskiy also called on NATO members to be honest about whether they wanted Ukraine to join the alliance or not. The 44-year-old leader received a standing ovation before starting remarks in which he called on the world to learn the “terrible lessons from history” and chided the international community for …
Crews cleared fallen trees and worked to restore power to about 400,000 people in Britain as Western Europe cleaned up Saturday after one of the most damaging storms in years. At least 12 people were killed, many by falling trees, in Ireland, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Named Storm Eunice by the British and Irish weather services, and Storm Zeynep in Germany, Friday’s storm was the second to hit the region in a week. Winds toppled the spire of a church in Wells, southwest England, ripped off parts of the domed roof of London’s O2 Arena and left …
Shelling and mortar fire picked up tempo overnight Saturday in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with the heavy bombardment spurring fears a major military clash is in the offing. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic Saturday issued a mobilization order for able-bodied males to present themselves to “military commissars” to sign up with local militias. Men aged between 18 and 55 are also being barred from leaving the pro-Russian self-styled republic on the eastern edge of Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Saturday reported more violations of an often-broken ceasefire agreed to in 2015 in …
President Joe Biden says he is “convinced” that Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine, but that diplomacy is still on the table until that happens. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …
China’s deepening ties with Russia will come with heavy geopolitical and economic consequences should the Ukraine crisis escalate, analysts say. While the two powers have recently intensified their so-called comprehensive strategic partnership, Beijing has not offered its full support for Moscow’s military encirclement of its neighbor. And there have been signs Beijing is worried that a Russia-Ukraine confrontation might not be in China’s national interest while its relationship with the West is deteriorating and its economy is slowing down. The country called again Friday for a political resolution of the crisis. “Efforts should be made on the basis of the …
Nine passengers were missing after a blaze engulfed a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early Friday, and firefighters battled to rescue people trapped on the ship, authorities said. A total of 240 passengers and 51 crew were on board the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia when the fire broke out, and rescue vessels took most to the island of Corfu where ambulances were waiting. “It was so unreal. It was a bit like the Titanic, but it was real,” David Waller, 58, a truck driver who was rescued and was staying at a hotel on Corfu, told Reuters. The Greek fire …