Category: Світ

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the optimal resolution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis is a diplomatic one and that he expects to consult with his counterparts from France, Germany and Britain in the coming days. “As you all know, we have been engaged in a two-track strategy where we have, on the one hand, …

CANBERRA — The foreign ministers of Australia and Lithuania agreed Wednesday to step up cooperation on strategic challenges, in particular pressures from China. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne met Wednesday at Parliament House.  Australian exporters have lost tens of billions of dollars to official and unofficial Chinese trade barriers …

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday there is an opportunity to de-escalate the crisis on the Ukraine-Russian border, after meetings with the Ukrainian and Russian presidents. Henry Ridgwell looks at whether the French leader can broker an agreement. Camera: Henry Ridgwell    …

Ambassadors from six Latin American countries on Tuesday denounced an upcoming auction of pre-Hispanic artifacts in France, reviving a longstanding grievance of the region.  The joint statement came a day after Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador denounced the practice as immoral after a recent major auction.  The Paris ambassadors of Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, …

U.S. President Joe Biden has threatened to block the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine.   The undersea pipeline directly links Russian gas to Europe via Germany and is complete but not yet operating. It has become a major target as Western governments try to deter a Russian attack on its …

The former communist countries of eastern Europe are growing increasingly nervous about what they see as a revanchist Russia, with their governments carefully watching the Ukraine crisis for clues to where else Russian leader Vladimir Putin could stir trouble. Britain announced Monday that 350 Royal Marine Commandos who were on exercises in Norway will be …

Retired Pope Benedict on Tuesday asked for forgiveness in what he called “errors” on how allegations of sexual abuse were handled while he was archbishop of Munich. While he admitted to errors, his lawyers have argued he bears no direct responsibility. He did not apologize. Then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict, now 94, was …

Paris — Plastic has infiltrated all parts of the ocean and is now found “in the smallest plankton up to the largest whale” wildlife group WWF said on Tuesday, calling for urgent efforts to create an international treaty on plastics. Tiny fragments of plastic have reached even the most remote and seemingly pristine regions of …

President Joe Biden says he and Germany’s new chancellor are in lockstep over the perilous situation in Ukraine, where the specter of an imminent Russian invasion haunts all of Europe. The two leaders held their first in-person meeting on Monday. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

Millions of people around the world enjoy a daily cup of coffee; however, their daily caffeine fix could be under threat because climate change is killing coffee plants, putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk. Inside the vast, steamy greenhouses at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in the leafy suburbs of west London, Aaron Davis leads …

In eastern Ukraine, tensions over threat of a Russian invasion continue to rise, although in the eastern town of Avdiivka, along the frontlines facing Kremlin-backed separatists, the war has never ceased since 2014. For VOA, Ricardo Marquina traveled there and has this report narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff. …

At their first meeting in four years, officials of the U.S.-European Union Energy Council confronted an urgent, short-term priority – bolstering natural gas supplies amid a Russian threat to invade Ukraine – and a longer-term concern: mitigating climate change. “We’re coordinating with our allies and partners, with the energy sector stakeholders, including on how best …

Vladimir Putin has done much to rehabilitate Russia’s Soviet past, a rehabilitation that has grown apace with memorials once again erected to Joseph Stalin, and officials no longer embarrassed to hang portraits of the late Soviet dictator in their offices. And the Russian president appears also to be copying the coercive diplomacy — with its …

Russia’s geopolitical ambitions in Africa have in recent years been backed by private military contractors, often described as belonging to the “Wagner group” — an entity with no known legal status.    Most recently, Western nations have condemned the alleged arrival of Russian mercenaries in Mali’s capital Bamako, a claim denied by the junta that seized power …

Britain’s health secretary says he wants the people who have delayed their non-COVID medical appointments to come back to the National Health Service. Sajid Javid told Sky News, “I want them all to come back because I want them to know the NHS is there, it’s open for them.” Javid said the NHS estimates between …

U.S. President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a White House meeting Monday that is likely to be dominated by efforts to deter a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two NATO members have expressed support for bolstering NATO troop positions in the eastern part of the alliance, with the United States ordering …

French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday downplayed the likelihood of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying in a newspaper interview that the massing of Russian forces on Ukrainian borders is likely part of a wider Kremlin strategy to secure Western concessions rather than a prelude to a full-scale offensive. “The geopolitical objective of Russia today is …

Pope Francis on Sunday decried the genital mutilation of millions of girls and the trafficking of women for sex, including openly on city streets, so others can make money off of them.  In remarks to the public in St. Peter’s Square, the pope noted that the day was dedicated worldwide to ending the ritual mutilation, …

Amid ongoing tensions with Russia, the Biden administration is warning that the more than 100-thousand Russian troops along Ukraine’s border could still launch an invasion at a moment’s notice. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

The United States now believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could happen at any time,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday, in what would be the biggest military operation in Europe since World War II.    “We believe that the Russians have put in place the capabilities to mount a significant military …

Russia is reporting a record daily count of new coronavirus infections of 180,071, a tenfold spike from a month ago as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country.  The figure released by the state coronavirus task force on Sunday was about 2,800 cases more than recorded the previous day and continued a surge …

Britain’s Prince Charles led tributes to his mother, Queen Elizabeth, on the 70-year anniversary of her accession to the throne on Sunday, saying it was an opportunity for the country to unite and celebrate her service to the nation.    Charles also thanked the queen for her statement on Saturday that she hoped the heir to …

France and the European Union are investigating why a mass of dead fish was released by a huge trawler in the Atlantic Ocean off France, after an environmental group released dramatic video and photos of the incident. The images by the group Sea Shepherd show a blanket of dead blue whiting fish floating on the …

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor wasn’t born to wear the crown. But destiny intervened. The woman who became Queen Elizabeth II will mark 70 years on the throne Sunday, an unprecedented reign that has made her a symbol of stability as the United Kingdom navigated an age of uncertainty. From her early days as a glamorous …

A Ukrainian flag wrapped around her shoulders, pensioner Iryna Gayeva had a simple message as she demonstrated in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, on Saturday, 40 kilometers from the Russian border.   “We do not want Russia,” she told AFP, as she joined several thousand people for a “Unity March” called by nationalist groups.   …

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, …