KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — McDonald’s in Kyiv re-opened on Tuesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion, a sign that life was returning to normal in the capital after nearly seven months of war. The US burger chain said in a statement earlier that “after talks with Ukrainian officials, security specialists and suppliers” it would re-open at first for delivery only. A queue of delivery company employees formed outside one of restaurants waiting to collect […]
Tag: conflict
Fear, defiance as fighting rages in Myanmar’s north
SAGAING, Myanmar (AFP) — Anti-coup fighters in Myanmar patrol the smoldering ruins of a burned village after what they say was a reprisal attack by junta troops struggling to crush resistance to last year’s military coup. Corrugated roofs, support beams and cooking utensils are all that remain amid the ash in the village in northwestern Sagaing — an area which has seen some of the fiercest fighting against the military’s power grab. Rare footage obtained […]
Germany takes control of Russian firm Rosneft’s operations in the country
Berlin, Germany (AFP) Berlin said Friday it had taken control of the German operations of Russian firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Rosneft’s German subsidiaries, which account for about 12 percent of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, the economy ministry said in a statement. “The trust management will counter the threat to the security of energy supply,” […]
Ukraine reveals discovery of mass grave as US announces new aid
by Dmytro GORSHKOV with Emmanuel PARISSE in Bakhmut Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Thursday the discovery of a mass grave in the recently recaptured town of Izyum, likening it to deaths seen in the cities of Bucha and Mariupol, which have become symbols of Russian atrocities. Hours later, the United States announced another $600 million in military aid to support Kyiv’s two-week-old counteroffensive aimed at dislodging Russian occupiers. […]
Ukraine’s Zelensky vows ‘victory’ on visit to liberated Kharkiv region
by Emmanuel PARISSE with Ania TSOUKANOVA in Kyiv Agence France-Presse KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” on a visit to the strategic city of Izyum that was recently recaptured from Russia by Kyiv’s army in a lightning counter-offensive. The visit came at a decisive moment in Russia’s six-month-old invasion, with Ukraine expelling Moscow’s forces from swathes of the east and seriously challenging the Kremlin’s ambition to capture the […]
US Senate takes first step to direct military aid to Taiwan
by Shaun Tandon and Camille Camdessus Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Senate committee took the first step Wednesday toward the United States directly providing billions of dollars in military aid to Taiwan and making ties more official, ramping up support following soaring tensions with Beijing. The United States for decades has sold weapons to Taiwan but the new legislation will go further by providing US security assistance of $4.5 billion over four […]
Nearly 100 killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan border clashes
by Mariam HARUTYUNYAN with Emil GULIYEV in Baku Agence France-Presse YEREVAN, Armenia (AFP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan reported nearly 100 troop deaths Tuesday in their worst fighting since a 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The last wave of fighting over Azerbaijan’s tense Armenian-populated enclave ended in a fragile truce brokered by Russia. But on Tuesday, the defense ministry in Baku said “50 Azerbaijani servicemen died as a result of Armenia’s large-scale provocation,” while […]
Child art show draws parallel between WWII, Ukraine war
by Anna Maria Jakubek Agence France-Presse WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — A new exhibition of child art from post-war Poland and present-day Ukraine shows that armed conflict is always the same for the world’s smallest citizens — no matter the where and the when. “How children perceive war, what they feel, what they convey through their drawings… is quite similar,” curator Dorota Sadowska told AFP. “What you see is suffering, plain and simple.” The outdoor exhibition […]
Ex-Google CEO says Ukraine proves value of IT in war
by Sylvie LANTEAUME Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ukraine has been a very effective proving ground for the use of contemporary information technology in war, from satellite dishes to smartphone apps, Eric Schmidt, the former Google chief executive, said Monday. Schmidt, now a US government consultant on artificial intelligence, told reporters after a 36-hour visit to the country that the civilian tech sector has been crucial to Kyiv’s defense. The proof came the […]
At least 17 dead in bloody 72 hours in Colombia
BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — At least 17 people were killed over the last three days in Colombia in a spate of violent incidents, authorities said, highlighting the huge task facing President Gustavo Petro. In the northern city of Barranquilla, six people were shot dead by gunmen on Monday morning while drinking in a bar. Police said the powerful Gulf Clan drug trafficking gang carried out the attack on members of the rival Los Costenos group. […]
Ukraine recaptures more ground as Russia strikes back
by Emmanuel PARISSE, with Ania TSOUKANOVA in Kyiv Agence France-Presse KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine said Monday that its forces regained yet more ground in the past 24 hours and retook an area seven times the size of Kyiv this month, as Russia responded with strikes on some recaptured areas. The territorial shifts marked one of Russia’s biggest reversals since its troops were turned back from Kyiv in the earliest days of the nearly seven […]
Ukraine, Russia ‘interested’ in securing nuclear plant: IAEA
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Kyiv and Moscow have shown “signs that they are interested” in creating a security zone around Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine threatened by shelling since Russia invaded its neighbor, the UN atomic watchdog said Monday. Shelling around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine has raised fears of a nuclear disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has two experts at the plant since a mission there early […]





