Category: Світ

A major prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine is underway — with multiple reports citing the transfer of prisoners out of Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison as well as the arrival of a Ukrainian state-emblemed plane to Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital Saturday morning.  While the exact number, list, and timing of the exchange is not …

Russians braced for key local elections in Moscow and St. Petersburg Sunday — as the exclusion of opposition candidates and imprisonment of anti-government demonstrators cast doubt on the legitimacy of races that analysts say Kremlin-backed candidates still risk losing.Indeed, with polls showing widespread discontent with President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party, the limited scope …

Britain’s bedeviling Brexit dilemma intensified Friday, as opposition parties refused to support Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an election until he secures a delay to Britain’s exit from the European Union — something he vows he’ll never do.Johnson insists Britain must leave the EU in 55 days, and says an election is the only …

Anti-government protesters in Russia are increasingly relying on an encrypted and officially banned messaging app to pass on information in critical situations, from dodging riot police to giving those arrested a line to the outside.     Although officially banned in Russia, Telegram is still running, and experts say it’s harder to hijack than other …

Italy’s far-right populist Matteo Salvini has had his plans dashed to become the country’s prime minister. His poll numbers have dropped since he precipitated a political crisis, hoping he could engineer a snap election, win and emerge, in his words, with “full powers.”But he has been out-maneuvered.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrives at Rome’s Quirinale …

Four candidates from three continents hope to succeed the late Yukiya Amano as the director general of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that Cornel Feruta of Romania, its chief coordinator under Amano and currently the acting director general, is one of the candidates.   Another candidate is Lassina Zerbo …

Maurice, a French rooster, now has a legal victory to crow about.    A court in Rochefort in western France on Thursday rejected complaints by Maurice’s neighbors that he was a nuisance and made too much noise.    The rooster’s owner, Corrine Fesseau, who lives in the village of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, was sued by neighbors who claimed …

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday the United States is ready to make a free trade agreement with Britain as soon as the country completes its exit from the European Union. In a keynote address at the International Trade Dinner in London’s Guildhall, Pence conveyed a message of strong support from President Donald Trump …

Hope, peace, and reconciliation were the three main pillars of Pope Francis’s message to lawmakers and youth Thursday during his first papal visit to Mozambique.Thousands of young Catholics packed a Maputo stadium to hear that message in a nation that, for decades, has struggled with conflict.The pontiff was greeted Wednesday night by President Filipe Nyusi, …

This story originated in Last week, a Ukrainian court released Vyshinsky on his own recognizance as he awaits trial on charges of high treason that were brought against him in 2018.Tsemakh’s release also comes a day after a group of 40 members of the European Parliament wrote a letter urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy not …

The stories are haunting: A young woman beaten by her partner before being set on fire in front of her 7-year-old daughter. A photo of a smiling scientist whose body is stuffed into a suitcase that is dumped into a river.    These are just two examples in France of so-called femicides — women killed by …

President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday swore in Italy’s new pro-European government, heralding a fresh start for the eurozone’s third largest economy as the far-right falls from power.Brussels warmly welcomed the coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and center-left Democratic Party (PD), which is expected to markedly improve rocky relations between Europe and Rome.”We’re …

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will produce missiles banned until last month when a treaty forbidding them ended but would deploy them only if the United States did.”We said outright that we will not deploy anything after the Americans tested such a missile,” Putin said during an economic conference in the eastern city of Vladivostok …

Britain’s Princess Charlotte had plenty of support on her first day of school she was accompanied by older brother Prince George and her parents, Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.William said Friday their 4-year-old daughter was “very excited” on her first day at Thomas’s Battersea in London.Charlotte seemed a bit hesitant …

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a series of damaging defeats Wednesday over the government’s policy on leaving the European Union.A coalition of opposition and Conservative lawmakers are attempting to pass legislation to prevent Britain from crashing out of the European Union with no deal on Oct. 31. The prime minister insists such a law …

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a series of damaging defeats over the government’s Brexit policy Wednesday, as lawmakers attempted to pass legislation to prevent Britain from crashing out of the European Union with no deal on Oct. 31. In response, Johnson tried to force a general election, but that was also rejected by MPs. …

The British government announced Wednesday that it would spend an additional $2.4 billion on preparing to leave the European Union, bringing the total spent so far on Brexit readiness to more than $10 billion.  The extra investment comes as a coalition of opposition lawmakers attempts this week to pass legislation blocking a so-called no-deal Brexit, warning …

A Dutch woman hailed by the king as one of the country’s national heroes for saving hundreds of Jews from the Nazis has died.Diet Eman was 99 and lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Eman was born in The Netherlands and joined the Dutch underground after the Nazi invasion in 1940.She provided safe housing and forged identity …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday lashed out at pressure on some countries — including his own — not to acquire missiles with nuclear warheads.”Some (countries) have missiles with nuclear warheads in their hands but I shouldn’t have it. I do not accept this,” he said in a speech in the eastern city of …

The Polish government came under pressure Wednesday to clarify whether it has purchased sophisticated and potentially illegal phone surveillance technology that has been used to stifle dissent in other countries.Opposition lawmakers asked Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki whether the special services bought Pegasus, the spyware produced by NSO Group, an Israeli company. The Israeli firm’s software …

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s arrival in Iceland with military jets and armed personnel set eyes popping Wednesday in a nation consistently ranked as the world’s most peaceful.    The size and standards of the vice president’s security detail also required adjustments. The guards protecting Pence got backup from a police force that only allows …

The lawyer for American rapper A$AP Rocky says his client won’t appeal his assault conviction for a June 30 street brawl in Stockholm.Slobodan Jovicic told Sweden’s TT news agency Wednesday that the rapper doesn’t have the energy to appeal.   A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, had pleaded self-defense and said he had …

Russia’s natural resources and environment minister said on Wednesday he supported allowing private oil and gas companies to work on the Arctic shelf.Speaking to reporters at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, the minister, Dmitry Kobylkin, said he supported “any decision linked to an increase in investment in projects related …

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has unveiled measures to tackle domestic violence, following a spate of murders of women that have sparked public outrage. More than 100 women have been killed so far this year in France by their spouses, partners or ex-partners.  VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports domestic violence and murder of women is a …

Vienna has held off Melbourne to retain the top spot on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2019, further strengthening its reputation as the world’s most pleasant city, while the ‘gilets jaunes’ protests hurt Paris’ score.The Austrian capital, which attracts tourists for its classical music scene and imperial history but also has abundant …

A pro-European opposition coalition in Poland announced unexpectedly on Tuesday that its candidate for prime minister as the country heads toward an October election will be a deputy parliamentary speaker, rather than the main opposition leader.The candidacy of Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska was announced by Grzegorz Schetyna, the leader of Civic Platform, which is the dominant party …