Section: Voice of America (USA)
Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its “decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.” The Nobel Prize committee in Oslo, Norway announced the prize Friday, noting that the prize goes to the four...
Belarus’ Veteran Leader Poised for Re-election, Eyes Better Ties With West
President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 21 years, is virtually certain to win a fifth term in office on Sunday in an election observers say is unlikely to see the kind of violent mass protests that marred the 2010 poll. The West has long ostracized Lukashenko, a feisty, heavily built former state farm manager, over his human rights record...
Turkey’s Erdogan Warns Russia on Energy Deals
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, angered by Russia’s bombing campaign in Syria, warned Moscow on Thursday that Ankara may look elsewhere for partners to supply natural gas and build its first nuclear power plant. One of the top importers of Russian gas, Turkey has joined with Moscow in a major effort to construct a new gas pipeline –...
War Crimes in 2008 Russia-Georgia Conflict Probed
The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said Thursday that its prosecutor has called for an inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed during the Russia-Georgia conflict in 2008. A three-member pre-trial chamber of the court is expected to review the notification from Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of her intention “to submit a...
Turkey Wants NATO to Sustain Patriot Defenses
Turkey appealed to its NATO allies on Thursday to shore up missile defenses in the country aimed at shooting down Syrian rockets, as Germany said again that it will withdraw its Patriot batteries and the United States was set to do the same. NATO is now waiting for other nations to plug those gaps. Days after Russian jets violated Turkey’s...
Svetlana Alexievich Wins Nobel Literature Prize
The Nobel Prize committee in Stockholm, Sweden, has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature to Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, for what the Nobel Committee called “her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” Alexievich has written books on the human impact of the Chernobyl...
Russia Complicates US Pivot to Asia
With Monday’s signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], the United States reached a milestone in its push for rebalancing toward the Asia Pacific region. A new hurdle may be emerging, however, and this time it is not China. In the last few months, Russia has been steadily increasing its military presence in the Western Pacific region,...
For Russians, Syria Campaign is Symbol of Competence
Russians have an old expression: “You can’t argue with the weather.” But some may have found it jarring to hear the daily forecast promising unusually clear skies and warm temperatures throughout October. But this was the weather in Syria, after all. A sign of the changing times. “Russian aerospace forces are continuing...
East Ukraine Rebels Postpone Local Polls
Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine agreed on Tuesday to postpone unofficial elections planned for October 18 and November 1 until February 2016, backing off a move that could have derailed a shaky peace deal. The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) had planned to hold elections...
Turkey Summons Russian Ambassador Over 2nd Airspace Breach
Turkey summoned Russia’s ambassador for a second time after what the foreign ministry said was a second instance of a Russian plane violating Turkish airspace near the Syrian border. Turkey first lodged its protest with the Russian ambassador and warned of consequences of any future incursions after a Russian jet crossed into Turkish...
