Section: Voice of America (USA)
Tillerson to Visit Moscow
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Russia after attending the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Italy next week, the State Department announced Wednesday. Following the conclusion of the meeting on April 11, Tillerson will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Ukraine, counterterrorism...
Freedom House: Democracy Scores Decline in Many Countries
Democracy scores declined in 2016 in more than half of the 29 countries surveyed in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Eurasia, according to Freedom House, a U.S.-based pro-democracy watchdog organization. This is the second-biggest decline in the annual report’s 22-year history and is attributed to the rise of populism in the...
Hungarian MPs Pass Bill Targeting Soros-founded University
Lawmakers from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party approved draft legislation Tuesday that critics say could force the closure of an international university founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The legislative approval sparked protests by thousands of critics outside the campus of the...
Watchdog Report: ‘Breakdown of Democracy’ in Poland, Hungary
U.S.-based pro-democracy group Freedom House said Tuesday that a “spectacular breakdown of democracy” has been taking place in Poland and Hungary, two countries that stood as models of democratic change after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Hungary now has the lowest democracy score in Central Europe, and Poland’s...
Russia, Belarus Heal Ties in Shadow of Metro Bombing
The presidents of Russia and Belarus said on Monday they had resolved all disputes over energy, signaling a rapprochement at a time when both leaders are grappling with street protests and the threat of new Western sanctions hangs over Minsk. At a meeting in St. Petersburg, held while the Russian city was reeling from a deadly bombing on a metro...
IMF Urges Kyiv to Do More on Corruption, Pensions After New Aid
The International Monetary Fund urged Ukraine on Monday to raise the pension age and do more to tackle corruption after announcing the payout of $1 billion in new aid to the war-torn country. The IMF is propping up Ukraine’s economy with a $17.5 billion bailout, helping it climb out of recession following the annexation of Crimea by Russia...
US Envoy to UN: Trump Has Not Blocked Her From Attacking Russia
Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that President Donald Trump has not blocked her from attacking Russia, even as he continues to assail U.S. news media for its reporting on congressional and legal investigations into whether his aides colluded with Russian officials to help him win the election....
French Polling Watchdog Warns Over Russian News Agency’s Election Report
France’s polling commission has issued a warning over a Russian news report suggesting conservative candidate Francois Fillon leads the race for the presidency — something which contradicts the findings of mainstream opinion pollsters. The cautionary note from the watchdog on pre-election polling followed allegations in February by aides of...
Acclaimed Russian Poet Yevtushenko Dies in Oklahoma
Acclaimed Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, whose work focused on war atrocities and denounced anti-Semitism and tyrannical dictators, has died. He was 84. Ginny Hensley, a spokeswoman for Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, confirmed Yevtushenko’s death. Roger Blais, provost at the University of Tulsa, where Yevtushenko was a longtime...
US Escalates Criticism of Russia Over Ukraine, Vows Sanctions to Stay
The Trump administration escalated its criticism of Moscow Friday, with two of its most senior officials denouncing Russia’s treatment of Ukraine and reiterating a vow to maintain U.S. sanctions. In his first visit to a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia of “aggression” in Ukraine and...
