Feb 22 Watch 5:19 Multiple cyclones, historic drought in Madagascar cause widespread food insecurity By John Yang, Lorna Baldwin Extreme weather events are wreaking havoc on Madagascar, including multiple cyclones that have already hit the island nation this year. Sitting off the east coast of Africa, it is one of the poorest nations in the world. And as John… Continue watching
Feb 22 Why NATO and Ukraine are a flash point with Russia 30 years after the end of the Cold War By Jonathan Masters, Council on Foreign Relations Russian leaders have watched with mounting resentment as the transatlantic alliance has nearly doubled its membership since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin has drawn a red line in Ukraine. Continue reading
Feb 22 Germany's chancellor suspends Nord Stream 2 amid Ukraine tensions, but what is it? By David McHugh, Associated Press The undersea pipeline directly links Russian gas to Europe via Germany and is complete but not yet operating. It has become a major target as Western governments try to exert leverage on Russia to deter further military moves against its… Continue reading
Feb 22 Colombia's Constitutional Court legalizes abortion up to 24 weeks By Manuel Rueda, Associated Press Colombia has become the latest country in Latin America to expand access to abortion, with the nation's Constitutional Court voting to legalize the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy. Continue reading
Feb 22 WATCH: Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancels plans to meet with Russian counterpart By Associated Press U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has cancelled plans to meet his Russian counterpart in Geneva later this week as Russia presses ahead with recognition of separatist regions of Ukraine. Continue reading
Feb 22 New COVID cases fall for the third consecutive week, WHO says By Associated Press The number of new coronavirus cases around the world fell 21% in the last week, marking the third consecutive week COVID-19 cases have dropped. Continue reading
Feb 22 A historical timeline of post-independence Ukraine By Council on Foreign Relations Ukraine has shown resilience and perseverance despite facing multiple challenges — most notably Russian interference — since it achieved independence in 1991. Russia’s threats have culminated in the annexation of Crimea and Europe’s biggest land battle in 80 years. Continue reading
Feb 22 World leaders take new economic action against Russia to avoid war in Ukraine By Raf Casert, Associated Press World leaders are getting over the shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering his forces into separatist regions of Ukraine and are focusing on producing as forceful a reaction as possible. Continue reading
Feb 22 In one-time ISIS capital of Raqqa, poverty and fear drive residents out By Samya Kullab, Associated Press Raqqa, the former de facto capital of the Islamic State group, is now free but many of its residents are fighting to leave. Continue reading
Feb 22 WATCH: Biden announces sanctions against Russian oligarchs, banks By Associated Press Biden joined the 27 European Union members who unanimously agreed on Tuesday to levy their own initial set of sanctions targeting Russian officials over their actions in Ukraine. Continue reading