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by Jerome RIVET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Emmanuel Macron’s presidency began with an invitation for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the sumptuous former royal palace at Versailles. As his term draws to a close, European leaders are meeting in the same place to discuss Putin’s war on Ukraine. Although the 27 European Union government chiefs put on smiling faces on the red carpet, it was clear from their words that the outbreak of […]
A total of 1,207 civilians have died during a nine-day siege by Russian forces of Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol, its local authorities said Wednesday. The first nine days of the Russian siege saw “1,207 peaceful Mariupol residents dying”, the authorities of the southeastern city on the Azov Sea posted on Telegram. Asked to confirm the toll, the press service of the presidency said: “We don’t have the exact figure. But preliminarily, that’s true.” Earlier […]
by Marc BURLEIGH The EU on Monday poured cold water on a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for “immediate” membership to the bloc for his country as Kyiv battled a Russian invasion. EU officials stressed that the adherence procedure takes years, dampening Ukraine’s hopes that suddenly becoming part of the European club could help it better weather the Russian onslaught and speed up military, financial and political support. Several officials walked back a comment […]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is becoming increasingly merciless, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, as strikes were reported on residential areas. “The Russian military campaign is becoming more and more ruthless and Ukrainian armed forces are fighting back with courage,” Borrell told journalists. “There are a lot of civilian casualties… and the flow of people looking for shelter, escaping the war is increasing.” The EU on Sunday unveiled a 450-million-euro ($500-million) package to […]
Ukraine on Sunday said it would hold talks with Russia at its border with Belarus — near the Chernobyl exclusion zone — after a phone call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. “The politicians agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet the Russian one without preconditions at the Ukraine-Belarus border, near the Pripyat River,” Zelensky’s office said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a Russian delegation was currently […]
Oil prices broke past $100 and safe havens surged while equities tumbled Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “military operation” in Ukraine, accelerating fears of a major war. Markets have been hammered this week after the Kremlin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and said it would provide “peacekeepers” to the regions, leading to warnings of a conflagration. The Russian president said in a surprise statement on television: “I have made the […]
World leaders on Thursday condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Western capitals vowing to escalate sanctions against Moscow while the head of the United Nations demanded the conflict end immediately. Key reactions: – US President Joe Biden – “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces,” Biden said shortly after the operation began. He warned “Russia alone is […]
by Pierre-Henry DESHAYES and Viken KANTARCI Agence France-Presse OSLO, Norway (AFP) – Western diplomats Tuesday linked humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to an improvement in human rights after meeting a Taliban delegation on a landmark visit to Europe. On the final day of the Taliban’s first official trip to Europe since returning to power in August, the fundamentalists held talks behind closed doors with several Western diplomats. The Taliban are seeking international recognition and financial aid. […]
by Jan HENNOP There is “no answer yet” on whether vaccine makers will have to adapt their Covid shots to counter the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant, Europe’s medicines watchdog chief said on Tuesday. The highly-mutated variant, now present in dozens of countries, appears to be more contagious than previous strains and is driving new waves of infections globally. Scientists are also examining whether it is more resistant to vaccines than previous strains. But the head of […]
by Daniel Woolls with AFP bureaus The United States, Brazil, Canada, and Saudi Arabia became the latest countries Friday to restrict travel from southern Africa, where a new Covid strain labelled a “variant of concern” has been discovered in a potentially heavy blow to the world’s efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organization said the new variant is more infectious than the dominant, highly transmissible Delta strain, and renamed this B.1.1.529 strain […]
by Agnès PEDRERO Next week’s World Trade Organization ministerial conference, the global trade body’s biggest gathering in four years, was postponed at the last minute Friday due to the new Omicron Covid-19 variant. The WTO hoped the four-day gathering in Geneva would breathe new life into the crippled organisation, which has been stuck for years trying to make progress on resolving issues like fishery subsidies. New director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also hoping, against the odds, […]
