A view shows the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol on May 10. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-controlled territory. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Stringer/AFP via Getty Images A view shows the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol on May 10. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-controlled territory. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian soldiers who have spent weeks barricaded under a massive steel plant amid heavy Russian bombing and shelling have been evacuated to Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine’s east. The evacuation from the besieged Azovstal steel plant […]
Joanna Kakissis
17 posts
The logo of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom is pictured at a gas station in Moscow. Kirill Kudryavtsev /AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kirill Kudryavtsev /AFP via Getty Images The logo of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom is pictured at a gas station in Moscow. Kirill Kudryavtsev /AFP via Getty Images LVIV, Ukraine — Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has stopped fuel exports to Poland and Bulgaria, marking a rise in tensions with the European Union over Russia’s war against Ukraine. In a statement, Gazprom attributed the stoppage to the Polish and Bulgarian gas companies’ refusal to pay in […]
National Youth Poet Laureate for 2017 Amanda Gorman recites her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the inauguration of President Biden, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images National Youth Poet Laureate for 2017 Amanda Gorman recites her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the inauguration of President Biden, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images BUDAPEST, Hungary — Rozalia Galambica first discovered Amanda Gorman on YouTube, not long after the poet dazzled at […]
Some of Afghanistan’s most talented young soccer players, members of what used to be the girls national team, gather for practice in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption toggle caption Claire Harbage/NPR Some of Afghanistan’s most talented young soccer players, members of what used to be the girls national team, gather for practice in Lisbon, Portugal, in November. Claire Harbage/NPR LISBON, Portugal — The teenage girls in the red jerseys and black hijabs huddle close on the chilly pitch in this soccer-crazy city and chant their team’s name. “We are Ayenda!” they shout out, using the word for future […]
Laszlo Magas, left, and Laszlo Nagy. Both men were anti-communists during the Soviet period and sought an opening to the West. They are pictured near the Hungary-Austria border, which young protesters opened in 1989. Joanna Kakissis for NPR hide caption toggle caption Joanna Kakissis for NPR BUDAPEST, Hungary — When President Biden greets scores of nations at his virtual “Summit for Democracy” this coming week, one member of the Western alliance won’t be there. Hungary, on the Eastern edge of the European Union, was not invited. Washington and EU leaders in Brussels have repeatedly accused the country’s ultranationalist government, led by […]
Patients queue to get vaccinated against COVID-19, in Aristotelous Square, in the center of the Greek city of Thessaloniki on November 26, 2021. Sakis Mitroldis /AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Sakis Mitroldis /AFP via Getty Images Patients queue to get vaccinated against COVID-19, in Aristotelous Square, in the center of the Greek city of Thessaloniki on November 26, 2021. Sakis Mitroldis /AFP via Getty Images Facing a surge in coronavirus infections and stalled vaccination drives, two nations in the European Union are giving their citizens an ultimatum: take the COVID-19 vaccine or face the financial consequences. Greece announced […]
Stuck on a stalled motorized inflatable raft in the open sea, 15-year-old Tsedal began to panic. She and the other passengers, more than 60 migrants from the African countries of Eritrea and Sudan, had set off from neighboring Libya, where their lives had become unbearable. They were trying to cross more than 100 miles of the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. Repeated distress calls brought no help. The passengers were suffering from dehydration and sunstroke. Two babies on board cried with such anguish that Tsedal could feel their wails deep in her chest. “Everyone kept screaming, ‘We are all going to […]
A person receives Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine at the Amedeo di Savoia Hospital, in Turin, Italy, on Dec. 27, 2020. Nations across Europe began their COVID-19 vaccination effort on Sunday. NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images A person receives Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine at the Amedeo di Savoia Hospital, in Turin, Italy, on Dec. 27, 2020. Nations across Europe began their COVID-19 vaccination effort on Sunday. NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images The European Union began a mass vaccination campaign on Sunday to eventually inoculate some 450 million people in 27 member-states against COVID-19. EU leaders have negotiated contracts […]
Zsolt Jeszenszky, creative director of Hungary’s Pesti TV, on his talk show, Political Hobbyist. In Trump’s refusal to concede, he hears a message for European nationalists: “If there is a system that’s against you, you should fight, and you should not submit.” Pesti TV hide caption toggle caption Pesti TV Zsolt Jeszenszky, creative director of Hungary’s Pesti TV, on his talk show, Political Hobbyist. In Trump’s refusal to concede, he hears a message for European nationalists: “If there is a system that’s against you, you should fight, and you should not submit.” Pesti TV Pesti TV is like Hungary’s version of […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not join other European leaders in congratulating Joe Biden. Orban and President Trump are seen here meeting last year at the White House. Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not join other European leaders in congratulating Joe Biden. Orban and President Trump are seen here meeting last year at the White House. Chris Kleponis/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images Most European leaders are congratulating Joe Biden on Saturday for winning the U.S. presidency. Not Janez Jansa, prime minister of Slovenia, the alpine country […]
Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi announces his resignation in Kosovo capital Pristina on Thursday. He said he was stepping down to face war crimes charges in The Hague. Visar Kryeziu/AP hide caption toggle caption Visar Kryeziu/AP Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi announces his resignation in Kosovo capital Pristina on Thursday. He said he was stepping down to face war crimes charges in The Hague. Visar Kryeziu/AP Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, who fought in his country’s 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia, has abruptly resigned after a Hague-based special court confirmed that he’s been indicted on war crimes charges. Speaking at a news conference […]
The Greek island of Kastellorizo, shown here at sunset from the top of an ancient castle, is a little over a mile away from the Turkish shore. Known for its architecture, turquoise sea and friendship with the neighbor Turks, it’s recently become a pawn in a geopolitical dispute between the Greek and Turkish governments over hydrocarbons and maritime borders. Demetrios Ioannou for NPR hide caption toggle caption Demetrios Ioannou for NPR The Greek island of Kastellorizo, shown here at sunset from the top of an ancient castle, is a little over a mile away from the Turkish shore. Known for its […]
Children walk through the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after the camp was gutted by fire. Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images Children walk through the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after the camp was gutted by fire. Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images Several swift fires gutted Europe’s largest refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, sending 12,000 asylum-seekers scrambling for emergency shelter. The camp, named Moria, after a nearby village tucked into olive groves, was already notorious because of its horrific conditions, which […]
Peggy Bouva (center) and Maartje Duin (right) with Bouva’s cousin Jessica Bouva (left) at the Museum van Loon in Amsterdam. Duin and Bouva spent two years researching their shared family history, which delved into the Dutch slave trade. They teamed up to produce a popular podcast exploring the colonial legacy of racism in the Netherlands. Lowrare Overman hide caption toggle caption Lowrare Overman Peggy Bouva was at home in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam a couple of years ago when she got a call that fascinated her. The woman on the phone, Maartje Duin, calling from Amsterdam, said she wanted […]
Newly elected prime minister Avdullah Hoti (center) walks out of the parliament building in the capital Pristina, on Wednesday. Visar Kryeziu/AP hide caption toggle caption Visar Kryeziu/AP Newly elected prime minister Avdullah Hoti (center) walks out of the parliament building in the capital Pristina, on Wednesday. Visar Kryeziu/AP Albin Kurti became prime minister of Kosovo in February by promising jobs and justice. A former activist who was often arrested at anti-corruption protests and once set off tear gas in parliament, he is described by friends and foes alike as a cross between Che Guevara and Bernie Sanders. But there’s one view […]
Dutch singer and television host Jan Smit dances on stage as presenters prepare for Saturday’s Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light special. EBU/Kris Pouw hide caption toggle caption EBU/Kris Pouw Dutch singer and television host Jan Smit dances on stage as presenters prepare for Saturday’s Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light special. EBU/Kris Pouw Each year, the Eurovision Song Contest unites 180 million viewers in more than 40 countries for an electric-falsetto night of glitter, glam and hard-rock hallelujah. This year, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the contest for the first time in its 64-year history. But instead of leaving so […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaking last month in Parliament, when lawmakers granted him the power to rule indefinitely by decree. One aspect of the law ostensibly passed to cope with the coronavirus calls for prison terms of up to five years for those convicted of spreading falsehoods or distorted facts during the emergency. Tamas Kovacs/AP hide caption toggle caption Tamas Kovacs/AP Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaking last month in Parliament, when lawmakers granted him the power to rule indefinitely by decree. One aspect of the law ostensibly passed to cope with the coronavirus calls for prison terms of up […]