What to know about plastic pollution crisis as treaty talks conclude
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Their meeting is scheduled to conclude Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations…
Ukraine says war has damaged most of its civilian airports
KYIV, UKRAINE — Fifteen of Ukraine’s civilian airports have been damaged since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was quoted as saying by local media on Saturday. Ukraine, which the state aviation service says…
Ukrainian president says NATO membership can end ‘hot phase’ of war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says being admitted into NATO could end what he described as the “hot phase of the war” waged by Russia. In an interview with Sky News aired on November 29, Zelenskyy suggested that he would be…
North Korea: Russia has right to exercise self-defense against Ukraine
seoul — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told the Russian defense minister that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is the result of direct military intervention by the United States and that Moscow is entitled to fight in self-defense,…
Putin claims new Oreshnik missile is unstoppable, sparking doubts
Russia struck Dnipro, Ukraine, with an experimental Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile on November 21. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the day after that the missile could not be intercepted. The claim is likely false. Leonid Martynyuk explains. Source: voanews.com
Kremlin critic convicted again, handed new prison term for opposing war in Ukraine
TALLINN, ESTONIA — Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Gorinov was convicted again on Friday for opposing Russia’s war in Ukraine and handed a three-year prison term. A swift, three-day trial against Gorinov, once a low-profile activist, underscored Moscow’s intolerance of any…
Ukraine asks NATO for membership invite next week, letter shows
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged his NATO counterparts to issue an invitation at a meeting in Brussels next week to Kyiv to join the Western military alliance, according to the text of a letter seen by Reuters on…
Russian defense minister visits North Korea for talks with military and political leaders
SEOUL, South Korea — Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their cooperation over Russia’s war in Ukraine. In announcing the visit, Russia’s…
Ukrainian energy workers carry out repairs despite Russia’s pounding of country’s power grid
On a bright winter day, workers at a Ukrainian thermal power plant repair its heavily damaged equipment as drops of water from melted snow leak through gaping holes in its battered roof. Several weeks earlier, the facility was targeted by…
UN rights office urges Russia to cease attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid as winter sets in
Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said massive missile and drone attacks on the power network this week have heightened serious concerns about the plight of civilians facing a winter of hardship and misery. Russia launched missile and long-range drone strikes on Thursday,…