Category: Світ

One person was killed and four others were injured in an avalanche in western Austria on Saturday, police said, a day after two other avalanches killed seven skiers as heavy snowfall followed by warmer weather made for unusually dangerous conditions.  Austrian broadcaster ORF said the person killed in Saturday’s avalanche in the municipality of Schmirn, …

Two prominent European leaders are scheduled to travel to the capitals of Russia and Ukraine in the coming days for talks with their counterparts about diplomatic measures to ease the growing tensions surrounding Moscow’s potential invasion of Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Moscow on Monday and Kyiv on Tuesday. The following week, …

Western nations have threatened sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine. While leaders have given few details about exactly what measures they plan to take or precisely what Russian actions would trigger sanctions, they have promised to make any new sanctions more punishing than previous efforts. Here is a look at what the United States …

A giant, $500 million yacht reportedly being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos faces a delivery problem: It may require dismantling a beloved, historic bridge in Rotterdam that is blocking its passage to the sea.  Reports this week that the Dutch city had agreed to take apart the recently renovated Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as …

The White House dismissed a Friday meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin where the two leaders unveiled a strategic alliance aimed at countering the United States. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.   …

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO, the post-World War II alliance forged between a victorious America and the conflict-battered countries of Western Europe, has often been dubbed a Cold War relic. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s favorite adjective for NATO on the campaign trial was “obsolete.” Two years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron …

With tensions between Russian and Ukraine intensifying steadily, European countries are concerned the flow of gas from Russia will be affected. Oksana Bedratenko looks at how Russia’s actions against Ukraine may affect Europe’s energy sector. Anna Rice narrates her story. …

Chinese President Xi Jinping has endorsed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands to end NATO expansion and get security guarantees from the West, issues that have led to Russia’s standoff with the United States and its allies over Ukraine.  The two leaders met at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, …

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom, an 11-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, is known for his activism both on and off the court. A devout Muslim, he’s a prominent critic of the government of his native Turkey and the Chinese Communist Party. Turkey revoked his passport in 2017 and jailed his father, who was released in …

A senior U.S. delegation visited Lithuania this week in a show of support for the Baltic state in its growing dispute with China involving Taiwan. Beijing effectively blocked imports of Lithuanian goods last month after Taiwan was allowed to open a representative office in the capital, Vilnius. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. …

With tensions between Russia and Ukraine ratcheting up, some former diplomats and Kremlin watchers are debating the effectiveness of any sanctions imposed on Moscow should it invade its neighbor to the west.     Britain’s former ambassador to Russia, Tony Brenton, has long doubted the efficacy of sanctions, saying they “don’t work on Russia.”   …

Russia said Thursday it is shutting down the operations of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in Moscow and stripping its staff of their accreditation in a retaliatory move after Berlin banned Russian broadcaster RT DE. Moscow said it would stop the German channel being broadcast in Russia and start proceedings that would see it declared a …

The World Health Organization’s European region director says that while COVID-19 cases on the continent continue to rise, he sees a plausible endgame for the pandemic in Europe in coming months. Speaking during his weekly virtual news briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, WHO Europe Region Director Hans Kluge told reporters the region recorded 12 …

All eyes are on Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the borders of Ukraine. Experts say Putin may have placed himself in a difficult position in an effort to elevate Russia’s standing in the world. VOA’s Cindy Saine reports. Producer: Mary Cieslak …

The United States is moving forces into Eastern Europe as Russia continues its buildup near Ukraine. The Pentagon says the U.S. is responding to allies’ requests regarding a possible Russian invasion. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports. Cameras: Mike Burke, Adam Greembaum, Carla Babb. …

Russia and China will discuss closer gas and financial ties during President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, the Kremlin said Wednesday, and a long-held idea for a new gas pipeline to China is being examined. Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have lunch together Friday, and could sign more …

The Kremlin is ramping up a disinformation offensive aimed at demoralizing Ukraine and Western powers, using Russian state-owned broadcasters and trolls on social media platforms to portray the West as the aggressor and the government in Kyiv as a puppet of NATO, say Western officials and information war experts.  Scare stories in recent days have …

A bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate has come together to produce what the chairman of the body’s Foreign Relations Committee has dubbed “the mother of all sanctions” to be levied against Russia in the event of a new invasion of Ukraine.  According to committee chairman Robert Menendez, senators are on the cusp of agreeing …

The top diplomats from the United States and Russia are expected to speak by phone Tuesday, a day after United Nations representatives from the two countries faced off at the U.N. Security Council over Russian-denied allegations that it is planning a large-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.  Tuesday’s diplomatic efforts to address the crisis also include …

Will Russia invade Ukraine? While the world waits, the war of words is picking up steam, with top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia going head-to-head at the United Nations and President Joe Biden vowing that the U.S. is ready “no matter what happens.” VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

NATO member states are sending thousands of troops, warplanes and ships to allies in eastern Europe as tensions with Russia escalate over Moscow’s deployment of more than 100,000 troops to its border with Ukraine. The West fears an imminent Russian invasion, which the Kremlin denies. Four Danish F-16 fighter jets landed in Lithuania last week …

Mali said it is expelling the French ambassador because of “hostile and outrageous” comments by former colonial power France about Mali’s transitional government. A statement read on national television Monday said French Ambassador Joel Meyer has been given 72 hours to leave the country.  “This measure follows the hostile and outrageous comments made recently by …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized before Parliament Monday following the release of a report concluding that parties held at the prime minister’s official residence during the country’s COVID-19 lockdown represented “serious failures” to observe the standards set by the government. The report, conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray, examined a series of gatherings …

U.S. President Joe Biden and Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are meeting at the White House on Monday, with discussions about Qatar supplying natural gas to Europe in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine at the forefront of their talks.  The emir is the first Persian Gulf leader to meet with …

The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:        The U.S. plans to confront Russia over its actions along Ukraine’s border at a Monday meeting of the United Nations Security Council.     NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday the Western military alliance has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine if Russia invades its former …

The United Nations Security Council is due to discuss the crisis along the Russia-Ukraine border Monday in a session the United States called to address Russia’s deployment of more than 100,000 soldiers in the region and “other destabilizing acts aimed at Ukraine.”  The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on ABC’s “This …