Section: Voice of America (USA)
Ukraine Wants New IMF Bailout as War Squeezes Economy
As the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank gets underway in Washington, Ukraine wants to adjust the terms of its $17 billion bailout. Kyiv says the country is now at war and needs to build new armed forces. But some analysts say the terms of the loans could backfire on Ukraine’s economy. Despite the supposed...
EU Abandons ‘Dirty’ Label for Tar Sands Oil
A European Union plan to label tar sands oil as highly polluting in its fight against climate change has been abandoned after years of opposition led by major producer Canada. A proposal published by the European Commission on Tuesday removes an obstacle to Canada exporting tar sands crude to Europe and comes at a time when tensions between the...
NATO Chief: Rapid Reaction Force in E. Europe Does Not Violate Deal with Russia
NATO’s new chief, Jens Stoltenberg, says plans for a new rapid reaction force in Eastern Europe do not break a deal with Russia on military force levels. Stoltenberg told the Reuters News Agency during a visit to Poland Monday that NATO is in accordance with its international obligations. He said NATO needs to stay strong, keep its...
Truce Bypasses Donetsk Airport, Symbol of Conflict in E. Ukraine
While fighting in much of eastern Ukraine has been calmed by a month-old truce, it rages unabated at the airport near Donetsk, turning a shiny symbol of the country’s Western integration into a shattered mirror of its future prospects. The new terminal European soccer fans used in 2012 to reach some of the matches hosted by Ukraine is now a...
Report Urges Germany to Control its Defense Buying
Germany must urgently overhaul its approach to arms procurement if it wants to contain rising costs and address the poor state of its military hardware, an independent report said on Monday. Half a year after vowing Germany would take a more active role in international crises, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been forced to acknowledge...
Germany, France to Offer Plan to Monitor Cease-fire in Ukraine
Germany and France will present a new proposal shortly under which their soldiers could participate in the monitoring of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, a German foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. The spokesman Martin Schaefer said the plan would be presented in the “next hours or days” but added, “One thing is clear. Before German and...
Ukraine’s Month-old Cease-fire Marked by Battle
Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatist fighters on Sunday marked one month since the signing of a Kremlin-backed truce with one the most heated battles of the six-month war in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military accused Russian-backed separatists of fresh violations of the cease-fire, saying their forces came under attack...
Kasparov Urges West to Pose ‘Credible’ Threat to Putin
Former world chess champion and pro-democracy activist Garry Kasparov grabbed headlines earlier this week when he described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “the most dangerous man in the world.” He made the remark during an interview with Yahoo News, adding that Putin is “a greater threat to the United States than the...
Former Oil Tycoon Vows to Give Voice to ‘European-Oriented’ Russians
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been many things: a Communist Party youth group leader who became one of post-Soviet Russia’s first billionaires, thanks to a controversial, corruption-riddled privatization process; a philanthropist who, in 2001, established Open Russia, a foundation dedicated to building and strengthening civil society in Russia....
Kyiv, Separatists Blame Each Other for Aid Worker’s Death
Fighting between Ukrainian government troops and separatists continued in Donetsk Friday, after the two sides blamed each other for the shelling that killed a Red Cross worker a day earlier. Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the battle for control of Donetsk airport, which the rebels are attempting to retake, was ongoing. He also...
