Russia aims to increase footprint, influence in Africa
Voice of America
FILE - This undated photograph handed out by French military shows Russian mercenaries boarding a helicopter in northern Mali. In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Guinea's foreign minister Morissanda Kouyate shake hands near a portrait of Guinea's President Mamadi Doumbouya in Conakry, Guinea, on June 3, 2024.
Russia's top diplomat pledged help and military assistance while on a whirlwind tour of several countries in Africa's sub-Saharan region of Sahel this week, as Moscow seeks to grow its influence in the restive, mineral-rich section of the continent.
FILE - This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisele Pelicot and her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, during his trial at the Avignon court house in Avignon, France, Sept. 17, 2024.
A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the HSBC headquarters and the Standard Chartered Building in Hong Kong, Sept. 22, 2020.
Soldiers stand next to detained migrants in Tripoli, Libya, in this photo released on Nov. 25, 2024. (Libyan Army 444th Combat Brigade/Handout via Reuters)
Ma Ying-li, second from right, stands with the crew after winning the Best Narrative Feature award for "An Unfinished Film" at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 23, 2024. Ma is the wife of the film's director, Lou Ye.
Firefighters and security officers gather at a destroyed building hit in an Israeli airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Nov. 14, 2024.
FILE - Somalis march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Jan. 11, 2024.
A view shows a partially submerged rubbish bin on a mud-covered street, in the aftermath of Storm Bert, in Cwmtillery, South Wales, Britain, Nov. 25, 2024.
A Cambodian Mine Action Center, CMAC, staff member checks a mine detector at a minefield in Preytotoeung village, Battambang province, Cambodia, Jan. 19, 2023.
FILE - A boat arrives at the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, March 31, 2012. At least 22 Somali citizens died when two boats sailing from Somalia to the French territory of Mayotte capsized.
A municipal worker inspects a house damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Nov. 25, 2024. This photograph taken on Nov. 25, 2024 shows damaged cars in the courtyard of a destroyed building following a missile attack in Odesa.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung arrives at a court in Seoul on November 25, 2024.