Tag: Agence France-Presse

  • Putin: No peace in Ukraine until Russia achieves goals

    Putin: No peace in Ukraine until Russia achieves goals

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that there will be peace in Ukraine when his country achieves its goals and that those goals remain unchanged. Two months before it marks two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin reiterated that Russia is seeking “de-Nazification, demilitarization and a neutral status” for Ukraine as…

  • North Korea is accused of sending military equipment to Russia, ammunition

    North Korea is accused of sending military equipment to Russia, ammunition

    The British Ministry of Defense said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is not in Russia’s best interests to block all Ukraine-bound trade in the Black Sea. The Russian Black Sea Fleet’s capabilities remain “largely intact,” the update said, but the possible risk of military casualties and “the…

  • The White House accuses North Korea of ​​sending weapons to Russia

    The White House accuses North Korea of ​​sending weapons to Russia

    The White House on Friday accused North Korea of ​​shipping weapons to Russia, near the border with Ukraine. Its claims are based on a picture released Friday showing a shipment from a munitions depot in North Korea, or DPRK, being loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved by rail to a depot along Russia’s…

  • Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics are announced

    Winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics are announced

    The annual Nobel Prize announcements continue on Tuesday in the Swedish capital Stockholm as the winner – or winners – of the physics prize is revealed. The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Alain Aspect from France, John Clauser from the USA and Anton Zeilinger from Austria. The Royal Academy of Sciences, which…

  • Swedish court blocks extradition of men wanted by Turkey

    Swedish court blocks extradition of men wanted by Turkey

    Sweden’s highest court on Thursday blocked the extradition of two men wanted by Turkey for alleged involvement in a group Turkey accuses of a 2016 coup attempt. The Swedish court said the men, who are refugees, risk persecution if sent to Turkey. Turkey says the men are part of a group led by US-based cleric…

  • Biden in Finland for talks with Nordic leaders

    Biden in Finland for talks with Nordic leaders

    US President Joe Biden is in Helsinki to meet leaders from the Nordic countries on Thursday and praise Finland’s NATO membership. Biden’s schedule includes a separate meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto ahead of the larger gathering that includes Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen…

  • NATO leaders meet Zelenskyy at the summit in Vilnius

    NATO leaders meet Zelenskyy at the summit in Vilnius

    Vilnius, Lithuania – NATO leaders met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Lithuanian capital as they wrap up a summit that has included an emphasis on supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion and discussion of Ukraine’s future within the alliance. Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General…

  • NATO leaders are to meet Zelenskyy at the summit in Vilnius

    NATO leaders are to meet Zelenskyy at the summit in Vilnius

    VILNIUS, Lithuania – NATO leaders are set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday as they wrap up a summit in the Lithuanian capital that has included an emphasis on supporting Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion and discussion of Ukraine’s future within the alliance. “We will be able to extend an…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Russia targets Kiev in drone attack

    Latest in Ukraine: Russia targets Kiev in drone attack

    Recent developments: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expects leaders at a summit in Lithuania to send a “very strong and positive message” about Ukraine’s desire to join the alliance. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Tuesday’s ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO is now “only a technical matter”. Hungary and Turkey are…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Putin met the Wagner leader after the mutiny

    Latest in Ukraine: Putin met the Wagner leader after the mutiny

    Recent developments: Ukrainian officials say the country’s forces have recaptured 193 square kilometers of territory since launching a counteroffensive last month. Poland, which acts as a hub for military aid to Ukraine, says it has arrested a 15th member of a Russian spy network. Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said the person “kept surveillance of military…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Russian attack hits apartment building in Lviv

    Latest in Ukraine: Russian attack hits apartment building in Lviv

    Latest developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Sweden has taken steps “in the right direction” to address Turkey’s concerns about gaining support for Sweden’s entry into NATO. But Erdogan said public demonstrations by an organization Turkey considers a terrorist group “thwart the measures taken”. The International Atomic Energy Agency is urging inspectors to access…

  • Latest in Ukraine: More than 40 injured in Attack on Town in Kharkiv

    Latest in Ukraine: More than 40 injured in Attack on Town in Kharkiv

    Latest developments: Ukraine’s armed forces said they had destroyed a formation of Russian forces in Moscow-controlled Makiivka in the Donetsk region; Russian officials said one civilian was killed and 36 wounded in the attack by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the extension of an agreement allowing the…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Russia says Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones

    Latest in Ukraine: Russia says Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones

    Latest developments: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the extension of an agreement allowing the export of grain from Ukrainian ports. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden has more to do before Turkey can support a Swedish bid to join NATO. “Everyone must accept that Turkey’s friendship cannot be…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Russia Says Ukraine Hit Bridge Linking to Crimea

    Latest in Ukraine: Russia Says Ukraine Hit Bridge Linking to Crimea

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fierce fighting was ongoing along the front lines, but that his forces were advancing in southern Ukraine and holding defensive lines in the east. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said the safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is “extremely fragile” following…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Russia Downs Drones

    Latest in Ukraine: Russia Downs Drones

    Recent developments: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging the parties to the Black Sea Grain Initiative to “accelerate operations” after vessel inspections slowed. Britain’s Ministry of Defense says Russia has made “significant efforts” in recent weeks to build defense lines, particularly in the approaches to Russian-occupied Crimea. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Deadly Russian missile attack hits Kiev

    Latest in Ukraine: Deadly Russian missile attack hits Kiev

    Latest developments: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks the United States for a new $300 million aid package that includes anti-aircraft systems and ammunition. The US announces that a temporary suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian steel has been extended for one year. The UN expresses concern over repeated attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials…

  • Iran executes Swedish Iranian dissident

    Iran executes Swedish Iranian dissident

    Iran said on Saturday that it had executed a Swedish-Iranian dissident. Habib Farajollah Chaab was convicted of the charge of “being corrupt on earth” for his activities with the Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, an Arab separatist group in Iran. State television said the group launched an attack on a military parade in…

  • Sudan’s warring sides pledge to observe 3-day ceasefire

    Sudan’s warring sides pledge to observe 3-day ceasefire

    A three-day ceasefire between Sudan’s warring factions came into effect on Tuesday after what the US called “intense negotiations”. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) publicly pledged to maintain a cessation of hostilities. “To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and…

  • Latest in Ukraine: US gives $2.6 billion more in aid to Ukraine

    Latest in Ukraine: US gives $2.6 billion more in aid to Ukraine

    New developments: The United States is providing $500 million in immediate assistance from Pentagon stocks using the President’s withdrawal authority and $2.1 billion in future assistance using funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Ukraine’s military said Russia attacked with 17 Iranian-made drones overnight, with Ukrainian forces destroying 14 of them. Ukraine said 13…

  • Latest in Ukraine: NATO welcomes 31st member, Finland

    Latest in Ukraine: NATO welcomes 31st member, Finland

    New developments: – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday visited the village of Yahidne in northern Ukraine on the anniversary of its liberation, commemorating the brutal captivity of nearly 400 civilians by Russian invaders in a school basement for 27 days before their release. – Russian authorities accused Ukrainian intelligence services of having orchestrated a…

  • Latest on Ukraine: Finland joins NATO on Tuesday

    Latest on Ukraine: Finland joins NATO on Tuesday

    New developments: Poland said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the country on Wednesday for talks with President Andrzej Duda and to meet Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Poland. The Financial Times reported that Russian security officials are “confiscating passports of senior officials and state business executives” due to concerns about information leaks and…

  • Latest in Ukraine: Turkey ratifies Finland’s NATO bid

    Latest in Ukraine: Turkey ratifies Finland’s NATO bid

    New developments: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland will formally join NATO “in the coming days”. Spain to send six Leopard tanks to Ukraine in April. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council to be held by Russia on April 1 “a bad joke.” Kuleba tweeted that…

  • Blinken calls for NATO expansion during the visit to Turkey

    Blinken calls for NATO expansion during the visit to Turkey

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to Ankara on Monday that the Biden administration supports the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. He also expressed confidence that both Sweden and Finland will soon join the NATO alliance. The US Congress must approve the $20 billion sale of F-16s, which includes…

  • Blinken supports NATO expansion, fighter jet sales in Turkey visit

    Blinken supports NATO expansion, fighter jet sales in Turkey visit

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration supports the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and expressed confidence that both Sweden and Finland will soon join the NATO alliance, as he visited Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders on the Monday. The US Congress must approve the $20 billion sale of…

  • Spotify announces plans to lay off 6% of workforce

    Spotify announces plans to lay off 6% of workforce

    Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced Monday that the company plans to lay off about 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 employees. The cuts are a result of financial challenges, according to Ek. The Swedish media streaming giant is one of the largest providers of its kind. Founded in 2006 by Ek and Martin Lorentzon,…

  • Russia stops participation in UN agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain

    Russia stops participation in UN agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain

    Moscow has suspended implementation of a UN-brokered grain export deal that has allowed more than 9 million tonnes of grain to be exported from Ukraine, helping to ease the global food crisis and lower prices. The Russian Defense Ministry said it would no longer guarantee the safety of cargo ships participating in the UN-led initiative,…

  • Nord Stream’s methane leak is smaller than previously feared

    Photo: Pixabay/klassensprecher930 When the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines were shut down in late September, likely as a result of sabotage, large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, leaked into the Baltic Sea, raising fears of both an environmental disaster and a blow to the climate. The two damaged pipelines, which link…

  • Three share the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

    Three share the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

    The Royal Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday that three researchers won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.” The award and its $900,000 prize went equally to Carolyn Bertozzi and Barry Sharpless of the United States and Morten Meldal of Denmark. For Sharpless, it is his second…

  • Turkey’s Erdogan renews threat to block NATO bid from Sweden, Finland

    Turkey’s Erdogan renews threat to block NATO bid from Sweden, Finland

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday renewed his threat to block NATO bids from Sweden and Finland, saying he would not give his approval until the two Nordic countries kept promises he said were made to Ankara. “Until the promises made to our country are upheld, we will maintain our principled position,” Erdogan said…

  • Russia’s Lavrov: Moscow wants more territory than Donbas

    Russia’s Lavrov: Moscow wants more territory than Donbas

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow wants to conquer territory in southern Ukraine beyond the eastern Donbas region, where Ukrainian forces are currently fighting for control. Russia failed in the early stages of its five-month offensive to overthrow the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or to capture the capital, Kyiv,…

  • Putin is open to Ukraine’s grain deal, wants Russian sanctions lifted

    Putin is open to Ukraine’s grain deal, wants Russian sanctions lifted

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to facilitate Ukrainian grain shipments from ports along the Black Sea, but that he wants Western countries to lift their sanctions on Russian grain exports. Putin spoke in Iran after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a proposed plan to resume Ukrainian…

  • Ex-Iranian official imprisoned in Sweden for executions

    Ex-Iranian official imprisoned in Sweden for executions

    The Stockholm District Court on Thursday sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison for war crimes and the murder of political prisoners during the war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. At the time of the killings, Hamid Noury ​​was a 27-year-old assistant to the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison in…

  • Germany’s legislators approve of NATO expansion

    Germany’s legislators approve of NATO expansion

    Legislators in Germany voted by an overwhelming majority on Friday to approve Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in NATO, and Poland’s lower house also moved ratification forward. NATO allies who met in Madrid last week signed the accession protocols for the two countries to join the alliance. The move must now be ratified by the governments…