Category: Євросоюз

BEIJING — Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on trade and cultural exchanges Friday during his state visit to China that started with bonhomie in Beijing and a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that deepened their “no limits” partnership as both countries face rising tensions with the West. Putin praised China at a China-Russia Expo in the northeastern city of Harbin, hailing the growth in bilateral trade. He will also meet with students at Harbin Institute of Technology later Friday. Harbin, capital of China’s Heilongjiang province, was once home to many Russian expatriates and retains some of those historical ties in …

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MOSCOW — Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Russia and the annexed Crimea peninsula overnight, killing two people, including a child, and setting an oil refinery ablaze, officials said Friday. The attack was Ukraine’s largest aerial offensive in weeks and comes as Russian forces advance along the frontline, making their biggest territorial gains in 18 months as Kyiv struggles with ammunition and manpower shortages. Russia’s military said it had intercepted or destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian air and sea drones in the south of the country, and over annexed Crimea and Black Sea overnight. “Fifty-one UAVs were destroyed and intercepted …

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Russian forces are expanding their attacks on Ukrainian border settlements close to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, opening up a new front in the war. With U.S. and European weapons finally due to arrive on the front lines in the coming weeks following delays, can Ukraine hold back Moscow’s invading troops? Henry Ridgwell has more …

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LONDON — Russian forces are expanding their attacks on Ukrainian border settlements close to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, opening up a new front in the war, as Kyiv struggles to hold off a renewed Russian offensive.  Speaking Thursday on a visit to Kharkiv, where he held a meeting with senior military leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the situation remained “extremely difficult” and that his forces were strengthening their presence in the region. With U.S. and European weapons finally due to arrive on the front lines in the coming weeks, can Ukraine hold back Moscow’s invading troops?  Kharkiv offensive …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naming of an economist as his new defense chief is a sign he is preparing for his costly war in Ukraine to go even longer, analysts say. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina. …

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel’s military operation in the enclave’s southern city of Rafah. It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide. The country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to “totally and unconditionally withdraw” from …

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Copenhagen, Denmark — Fifteen EU states have demanded a further tightening of the bloc’s asylum policy, making it easier to transfer undocumented migrants to third countries, including when they are rescued at sea. The demand, sent in a letter to the European Commission that AFP received on Thursday, comes less than a month before European Parliament elections, in which far-right anti-immigration parties are forecast to make gains. The letter asks the European Union’s executive arm to “propose new ways and solutions to prevent irregular migration to Europe.” The group includes Italy and Greece, which receive a substantial number of the people …

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berlin — A summit that Switzerland hopes will pave the way for a peace process in Ukraine has drawn delegations from more than 50 countries, Swiss President Viola Amherd said Wednesday.  The neutral Swiss government was seeking a broad-based turnout from different parts of the world, and 160 invitations were sent, Amherd said at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the two met in Berlin.  Switzerland wants to persuade more countries from the so-called Global South as well as China to sign up, she added.  “This work is continuing at full speed,” Amherd said.  Countries in South America, …

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As Russia ramps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, officials with the U.S. command in Eastern Europe say it’s urgent for NATO to be ready for a possible confrontation. VOA’s Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze talked to the U.S. and Polish commanders during a U.S. Army transfer of authority ceremony in Boleslawiec, Poland. VOA footage and video editing by Daniil Batushchak. …

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Tbilisi, Georgia — Hundreds of protesters donning gas masks and protective goggles shut down streets in Tbilisi on Tuesday after Georgia’s parliament passed a so-called “foreign influence” law that critics call a copy of Russia’s foreign agent law, heavily relied upon by the Kremlin to suppress dissent. Ruling Georgian Dream party lawmakers approved the legislation despite warnings from Washington and Brussels that such a move might threaten Georgia’s partnership with the West. For over a month, tens of thousands of Georgians have flooded the streets to protest the legislation in the largest rallies the country has seen since the nation’s independence …

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Paris — France has declared a state of emergency in its overseas Pacific territory of New Caledonia after deadly protests by native-born, pro-independence activists who oppose efforts to expand the voting rights of French residents on the archipelago. Mainland France is glued to the events thousands of kilometers away — where fires were still burning Wednesday after two straight days of rioting that killed several people and left hundreds more wounded. Protesters have looted shops and torched cars and buildings, in the worst violence to hit the area in decades. Police have arrested hundreds, and French authorities extended a nighttime curfew. …

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Caen, France — French police Wednesday were hunting for a group of gunmen who killed two prison officers in an attack at a motorway toll booth that freed a convict linked to gangland drug killings. The killings and dramatic getaway by the perpetrators have shocked France, with authorities under pressure to catch those responsible, who all remain at large. “We have put a lot of resources into finding not only the person who escaped”, but also “the gang that released him under such despicable circumstances,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told the RTL broadcaster. “We are putting in considerable resources, we are …

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Washington —  In a move that contrasts with the United States, South Korea had its ambassador in Moscow attend Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration, seemingly leaving its options open for maintaining diplomatic relations with Russia amid Moscow’s deepening ties with Pyongyang. Seoul said it based its decision for Ambassador Lee Do-hoon to attend Putin’s inauguration “after considering all circumstances surrounding South Korean-Russian bilateral relations.”  A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the remark to VOA’s Korean Service on Friday. The U.S. and most European Union countries boycotted Putin’s inauguration held May 7 at the Grand Kremlin Palace. He was reelected in …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has taken an unannounced trip to Ukraine to deliver what he called a strong message of reassurance, as Ukrainian forces face fierce attacks by Russia’s military in the east and await new weapons shipments from allies. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …

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tehran, iran — Iran Tuesday condemned as “interfering” a French Foreign Ministry statement accusing it of “state hostage-taking” and “blackmail” in the detention of four French nationals. “We strongly condemn such unprofessional, interfering and inappropriate positions while resorting to false references,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told state news agency IRNA. “The people mentioned in the statement of the French Foreign Ministry were arrested based on solid evidence and witnesses, and the French government is well aware of their crimes.” Teacher Cecile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, were detained in Iran in May 2022. They are accused of seeking to …

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