LONDON — The number of people held in Russian prisons dropped by 58,000 last year, Russian independent media reported on Friday, continuing a steady fall spurred in part by the recruitment of convicts to fight in Ukraine. In total, some 105,000 prisoners were released between 2022-2023, media reported, citing data published in the official journal of Russia’s prison service. Russia has one of the highest rates …
Sellers of Arctic land unconcerned by potential Chinese buyers
Private land in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is being auctioned off by its owner, with strong interest from Chinese buyers, according to a lawyer responsible for the auction. Such a sale would likely cause geopolitical headaches for Norway and NATO because of Svalbard’s strategic location in the Arctic Ocean. Henry Wilkins has more. Camera: Henry Wilkins …
Russian satellite launch renews concerns about conflict in space
The U.S. assertion this week that Russia has launched a satellite capable of inspecting and destroying other satellites prompted a denial from the Kremlin and concern from U.S. lawmakers. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. Camera: Saqib Ul Islam. …
UN designates annual day to commemorate Srebrenica genocide
United Nations — The United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday to designate July 11 annually as an international day of reflection and commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men by Bosnian Serb forces. Serbia and Bosnian Serbs strongly opposed its adoption. “Perpetrated amidst the Bosnian War, this act of genocide led to the tragic death of the victims …
Yacht docked in US port symbolizes struggle to convert seizures into cash for Ukraine
Everett, Washington/Washington, DC — When a superyacht worth $230 million pulled into the port of Everett, Washington, for repairs last month, it made a big splash in the city of 110,000 residents. The 106-meter luxury behemoth known as the Amadea is currently in possession of the U.S. government, which alleges the yacht belongs to sanctioned Russian oligarch and politician Suleyman Kerimov, an ally of Russian President …
Russia denies US charge that it put anti-satellite weapon in space
Washington — Russia’s top arms control diplomat dismissed as “fake news” on Wednesday an assertion by the United States that Russia had launched a weapon into low-Earth orbit that was capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites. The Kremlin has flatly denied assertions by U.S. officials that Moscow is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon. U.S. Space Command on Tuesday pointed to the launch earlier this …
Blinken: Gaza cease-fire still possible, but ICC’s move complicates efforts
state department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas militants in return for the release of hostages remains possible, but the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders hindered ongoing efforts. “There’s been an extensive effort made in recent months to get that agreement. I think we came very, very close on a couple …
Behind Putin and Xi’s embrace, Russia is junior partner, analysts say
LONDON — Chinese President Xi Jinping is not known for public displays of affection. So Xi’s double embrace of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last week — broadcast by Chinese and Russian state television — was widely seen as a calculated signal to the world of a blossoming personal and geopolitical relationship. Putin’s visit to China underlined burgeoning economic ties between Moscow and Beijing as the …
German prince on trial in far-right coup plot
Frankfurt, Germany — A prince, a former MP and several ex-army officers went on trial on Tuesday, accused of masterminding a plot driven by conspiracy theories to attack the German parliament and topple the government. In one of the biggest cases heard by German courts in decades, prosecutors accuse the group of preparing a “treasonous undertaking” to storm the Bundestag and take MPs hostage. The defendants, …