Section: Voice of America (USA)
This Year, No US Pressure to Avoid Russia’s Davos
For three years after Russia annexed Crimea, Washington officials quietly cautioned major U.S. firms about attending the annual St. Petersburg forum, where investors mingle with President Vladimir Putin and his lieutenants. This year, the first forum since Donald Trump became U.S. president, such cautions were not issued, according to four people...
Six Countries to Join UN Security Council for Temporary Terms
U.N. member states elected six countries Friday to temporary seats on the Security Council, the U.N. body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. Starting January 1, 2018, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Poland and Peru will serve two-year terms, while the Netherlands will join for one year, in a special arrangement...
Putin Urges US Business to Help Normalize Russia-US Ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged U.S. business executives Friday to help improve U.S.-Russia relations that have reached “their lowest point since the Cold War”, a nearly 50-year period of East-West geopolitical tension that ended in 1991. “I want to pass the buck back to you. Help us to restore a normal political...
E. Ukraine Conflict Impacts War Against HIV
Like its neighbor Russia, Ukraine is currently struggling against epidemics of dangerous contagious diseases, such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. While the country has made remarkable progress thanks to the partnership of the post-2014 government with civil society organizations, Ukraine also faces an added burden. It...
Russian Prosecutor Urges Guilty Verdict in Nemtsov Killing
The prosecutor at the trial of five men charged with killing Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in Moscow in 2015 has urged jurors to find them guilty. Wrapping up the state’s case Thursday, Maria Semenenko said their guilt was undisputed. She also told the official Itar-Tass news agency that investigators had used special equipment during a...
NATO, Partners Hold Land, Sea Exercises in Eastern Europe
Thousands of troops from NATO and its partner nations are training on land and sea in central and eastern Europe Thursday, in two major exercises that aim to demonstrate their cooperation and rapid response capabilities at a time when the region feels threatened by Russia. Around 4,000 U.S. and European troops from 14 nations took part in the...
Convicted Former Auschwitz Guard Dies in Germany at 95
Reinhold Hanning, a former SS sergeant whose conviction last year on 170,000 counts of accessory to murder for serving as an Auschwitz guard was hailed as a long-overdue victory for Holocaust victims, has died. He was 95. Hanning died on Tuesday, his attorney Andreas Scharmer told The Associated Press on Thursday without providing further...
Poland Extradites Austrian Accused of Killing Civilians in Ukraine
Poland has extradited an Austrian accused of killing unarmed civilians and captured troops in Ukraine. Austrian authorities will identify the suspect only as Benjamin F. He was arrested last month on a European warrant while trying to cross into Ukraine from eastern Poland. He is suspected of committing the killings last year while fighting...
French President Holds ‘Extremely Frank’ Talks With Russia’s Putin
France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron, hosted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at the Palace of Versailles near Paris Monday. In what he called “extremely frank, direct” talks, Macron criticized Russian media outlets for efforts to influence the French presidential election. He also questioned brutal treatment of the...
Germany to Host Ukraine Talks in Berlin
Germany’s Foreign Ministry says envoys from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet this week in Berlin to try and push forward the implementation of a peace deal for eastern Ukraine. Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters Monday that, due to the “difficult and deteriorating”‘ situation in eastern Ukraine,...
