Tag: Agence France-Presse
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 […]
Sweden prosecutes 18-year-old in March school attack
Swedish prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they were prosecuting an 18-year-old man for two cases of murder in connection with an attack on a high school in March. Authorities say the man armed with a knife and an ax killed two teachers at Malmö Latin School. The man was a student at the school, which […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 9 June
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 01:30: The body of French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was killed in Ukraine, has been repatriated, reports Agence France-Presse. The loved ones of the French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was killed […]
Zelenskyy says that only the way for talks is direct with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that he would be open to negotiations with Russia, but only direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a video link to the World Economic Forum, Zelenskyy said there was a potential to find a diplomatic way out of the conflict if Putin “understands reality.” Zelenskyy added […]
Ukraine demands faster arms deliveries
Pentagon – Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday called on other governments to send more weapons faster to help Ukraine’s fight against Russian forces. FIL – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is sitting at EU headquarters in Brussels on May 16, 2022. On Tuesday, he called on other governments to send weapons to help […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 21 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 02:02: IN his latest assessment of the war in Ukraine, Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank, says that Russian forces are digging around Kharkiv and can prepare […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 20 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 05:38: CNN reports that Vadim Shishimarin, 21, the Russian soldier charged with war crimes in Ukraine, was in court in Kyiv on Friday. During the third day of interrogation, his lawyer […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 18 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 02:00: In its latest intelligence report on the battlefield on Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defense said that “strong Ukrainian resistance delayed Russia’s ability to gain full control of” Mariupol despite […]
Russia on the way to control Mariupol
The fall of the Ukrainian port of Mariupol to Russia seemed imminent on Tuesday as Ukraine moved to abandon the city’s vast steelworks, and hundreds of Kyiv warriors held there surrendered to Russian forces in an agreement reached by the warring parties. The conquest of Mariupol, a pre-war city of 430,000 people along the north […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 16 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:45: CNN reports that in areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied, e.g.educators are intimidated and threatened to change its curriculum “to adapt to pro-Russian rhetoric.” Some information in this report […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 15 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 02:04: In his latest intelligence update, Britain’s defense minister says Russia’s attack on the Donbas has “lost momentum”. “Despite small-scale initial progress, Russia has failed to achieve significant territorial gains,” the […]
Finland formally announces that it is seeking NATO membership
Finland has formally announced its intention to apply for NATO membership. President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced the move on Sunday at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. “This is a historic day,” Niinisto said. “A new era begins.” Finland’s announcement that it is seeking membership of the Western military alliance with 30 […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 14 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 02:05: The latest intelligence update from Britain’s defense minister focuses on Ukraine’s Kherson region. The Russian-imposed leaders in the region say they will ask Russia to include the region in the […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 13 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 02:04: The latest intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense says that Russia is trying to get a breakthrough against Slovenian and Kramatorsk. Its goal is to isolate Ukrainian forces […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 11 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 12:10: The war in Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on civilians as families separate. In this video that was released on Facebook, a Ukrainian mother was reunited with her police […]
Recent developments in Ukraine: 5 May
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 01:16: Britain’s defense minister said on Thursday that with forces in Belarus conducting regular military exercises, Russia is likely to “inflate the threat to Ukraine” from Belarus in order to retain […]
Iran must execute Swedish-Iranian citizens by 21 May
Iran will later this month execute a Swedish-Iranian citizen whom they have imprisoned since 2016 and been convicted of spying for Israel, media reported. Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA released a report on Wednesday in which Iranian officials stated that Tehran will carry out the death penalty against Ahmad Reza Jalali by May 21. Jalali, […]
Biden is seeking $ 33 billion in new Ukraine aid
US President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve $ 33 billion in additional aid to Ukraine to help the country resist invading Russian forces over the next five months, and Parliament passed overwhelming legislation aimed at speeding up military aid to Ukraine. . “Investing in Ukraine’s freedom … is a small price to […]
Biden wants $ 33 billion in new Ukraine aid
US President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve another $ 33 billion in support of Ukraine to help the country fight Russia’s destructive invasion during the next five months of the war. Just before Biden described the plan in a televised speech, the White House said the new spending would include more than […]
Ukraine is hosting UN chief Guterres, urging Russian oil embargo
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will host UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for talks on Thursday, while Ukraine calls for an embargo on Russia’s energy supply and US President Joe Biden is preparing a proposal for military, economic and humanitarian aid. Guterres arrived in Ukraine with the intention of working to “expand humanitarian aid and secure the […]
Russia says the Black Sea flagship is seriously damaged
Russia said on Thursday that the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet had been seriously damaged and that all crews were evacuated after what Russia said was an explosion and what Ukrainian officials said was a missile attack. Russian state media quoted the country’s defense minister as blaming a fire that detonated ammunition aboard the […]
Sweden’s Prime Minister wants to increase military spending to 2% of GDP
Referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Thursday that the country’s military spending must be significantly increased and is trying to raise it to 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible. In a speech to reporters about the plan in Stockholm, Andersson said […]
Latest developments in Ukraine: 25 February
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flash point Ukraine. Recent developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all the time EST: 01:22: Inside a bomb shelter in Kiev, Ukraine: People hide in a bomb shelter in Kiev, Ukraine, in early February 25, 2022. 01:05: Thousands of Indian nationals are trapped in […]
Canada’s Trudeau invokes emergency powers to stop protests
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers to stop demonstrations that have paralyzed the capital and blocked border crossings in protest of the country’s covid-19 restrictions. Trudeau made the announcement in a speech to the nation on Monday after meeting practically the leaders of Canada’s provinces. “These blockades are illegal, and if you’re still […]
Canada’s Trudeau uses emergency powers to stop protests
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to invoke emergency powers to stop demonstrations that have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in protest of the country’s covid-19 restrictions, according to news channels. Government officials said Trudeau would speak to the nation on Monday after meeting with leaders in Canada’s provinces. Senior government officials quoted anonymously […]
