Section: Voice of America (USA)
MH17 Crash Investigators Hampered by Fighting in Ukraine
A team of international crash investigators and police officers was forced to cancel a visit to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines plane Sunday in eastern Ukraine. Heavy fighting has been reported between government forces and rebels close to the area where Flight MH17 came down ten days ago. The team of international police officers from...
US: Images Prove Russia Fired Rockets into Ukraine
United States officials have released satellite images (see below) they say show that Russia has fired rockets against Ukrainian forces in the last week, in support of separatist rebels. The images, which were prepared by the Director of National Intelligence and forwarded to reporters by the State Department, show what the U.S. government says...
US, Europe Demand Harsher Russia Sanctions
A senior British official is calling for the 2018 World Cup to be moved from Russia as punishment for the country’s role in the Ukraine crisis, as calls intensify from both sides of the Atlantic for tougher sanctions on Moscow. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg demanded stricter sanctions and the removal of the tournament from Russia due to...
International Police Postpone MH17 Crash Site Visit
Police monitors from Australia and the Netherlands postponed plans Sunday to visit the Malaysian airliner crash site in eastern Ukraine, citing security concerns as fighting continues in the area. All 298 people on the Boeing 777 were killed when the plane was shot down ten days ago en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell in a rebel-held...
Evolving Ukraine Crisis Tests Obama Foreign Policy
Just hours after reports that Malaysian Airlines flight 17 had been shot down over eastern Ukraine, the stark reality that 298 civilians from nearly a dozen nations had just become the latest victims in a Russian-backed separatist movement came as somewhat of a jolt. All were dead. Locals reported bodies falling from the sky into a field dotted...
Explosions Echo in Eastern Ukraine City; Russia Denounces EU Sanctions
Fighting erupted in Donetsk Saturday as the Ukrainian army pressed insurgents who have bolstered defenses in the rebel-controlled eastern Ukrainian city after a string of defeats. Russia, meanwhile, angrily criticized new sanctions imposed by the European Union following the downing of Malaysia Airline Flight 17, which crashed July 17 not far...
House Armed Services Chair Blames Putin for MH17 Tragedy
The powerful head of the House Armed Services Committee lays the blame for the shoot down of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 firmly on Russian president Vladimir Putin. The jetliner crashed in eastern Ukraine July 17 and is believed to have been downed by a surface-to-air missile more sophisticated than the shoulder-launched missiles that have often...
Malaysia, Dutch PMs to Discuss Access to Plane Crash Site
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday he would meet his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte next week to discuss how to secure full access for investigators to the site in Ukraine where a Malaysian airliner was downed. Pro-Russian separatists remain in control of the area in eastern Ukraine where the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was...
Detention of Ukrainian Woman in Texas Is Questioned
The weeklong prison detention of a Ukrainian woman who is married to a U.S. citizen in El Paso, Texas, has shed light on the difficulties of enforcing U.S. immigration law at a time when border agents are overwhelmed by a surge of migrants from Central America. While some immigrants are released to await a hearing, many others languish in...
Officials Investigate Cause of Air Algerie Crash
Authorities appear to have ruled out a missile attack in the crash of an Air Algerie flight that went down in Mali on Thursday, but many questions remain. The plane was carrying 118 passengers French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters Friday – 112 passengers and 6 crew members. Fifty-four French nationals are among the victims....
