Section: Voice of America (USA)
Malaysian Jet Shootdown Joins Long List of Civilian-Military Air Disasters
The unfolding story of the Malaysian passenger jet shot down last week by an anti-aircraft missile over Ukraine joins a substantial list of similar military-civilian air disasters that have killed hundreds of non-combatants through decades of aviation history. In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union shot down a Korean Air Lines jet, killing 269...
Dutch Mourn Victims of Malaysian Plane Downed Over Eastern Ukraine
Thousands of people lined the roads in the Netherlands on Wednesday, solemnly applauding the slow procession of 40 black hearses carrying the bodies of passengers killed when their passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Some threw flowers in front of the cars, while others quietly lay bouquets and lit candles at the many impromptu...
Russian Ties, Trade Lie Behind EU Sanctions Rift
Germany and Italy have the most to lose if the European Union makes good on its threat to impose harsher sanctions on Moscow, while Britain’s overseas territories are soaking up the lion’s share of capital streaming out of Russia. The picture emerging from United Nations and European Union data shows the impact of restricting trade...
Downed Malaysian Airliner’s Voice Recorder Intact
As the Dutch paid their respects Wednesday to victims of the Malaysian airliner shot down over eastern Ukraine, an international team of investigators is examining the Boeing 777-200’s voice and flight recorders for clues about its demise. Investigators say the voice recorder retrieved from the crash scene has been damaged but shows no...
Column: Ukraine Crisis Could Impact US Elections
Reaction in the United States to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over rebel-held areas of Ukraine continues to be harshly critical of Russia and the separatist rebels they back in eastern Ukraine. The intense focus of international outrage over the incident and the challenge facing the administration of President Barack Obama suggests...
Efforts Underway to Free Nigerian Students Kidnapped in Ukraine
A Ukrainian official says negotiations are underway to free nine Nigerian students taken captive by separatists in the eastern city of Luhansk. Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told a news conference Wednesday that people with experience conducting negotiations were making contact with...
France Criticized for Warships Contract with Moscow
France’s contract to sell a pair of Mistral aircraft carriers to Moscow has come under fire in recent months, as relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated over Ukraine. Last month, President Barack Obama said it would be preferable if France pushed the “pause button” on the deal. “I have expressed some...
MH17 Victims’ Remains Readied for Flight to Netherlands
The remains of some of the nearly 300 people who died in a Malaysian Airlines crash last week were being readied to be flown to the Netherlands early Wednesday. A transport plane sat on the tarmac at the airport in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as the Ukraine government planned a departing ceremony for the bodies of MH17 passengers and crew who were victims...
Britain to Formally Investigate Former Russian Spy’s Death
Britain said it would launch a formal inquiry into the death seven years ago of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, but they said it has nothing to do with suspected Russian involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine last week. Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman said there is “no link whatsoever”...
Bulgaria Calls for More NATO Troops in Southeastern Europe
Bulgaria called for more NATO troops in southeastern Europe and the Black Sea, as well as more joint military exercises, to improve security in the region after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea. An ex-communist state on the Black Sea, Bulgaria was a close Cold War ally of Moscow but joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union...
