- Surging Ko claims LPGA Queen City crown in spectacular style
- 'Impossible': Alcaraz shoots down Federer comparisons after Laver Cup win
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote
- Verstappen says 'silly' swearing row could hasten F1 exit
- Calls for Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the abyss
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid 'catastrophe'
- Colombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
- Pressure piles on new French government from day one
- Arteta proud as Arsenal salvage point from 'impossible' task
- Barca rout Villarreal in thriller but Ter Stegen hurt
- Roma stroll past Udinese as fans protest De Rossi sacking
- Horschel outduels McIlroy to win PGA Championship play-off
- Audiences summon 'Beetlejuice' to top of N. America box office for third week
- Stones salvages point for Man City against 10-man Arsenal
- Egypt fears 'all out' regional war: foreign minister to AFP
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory, Stuttgart outclass Dortmund
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote: projections
- Olympic champion Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Horschel's eagle beats McIlroy in PGA Championship play-off
- Mourners at commander's funeral express loyalty to Hezbollah
- Norris hails his 'mega' McLaren after dominant win at Singapore
- Monaco beat Le Havre to join PSG at the top of Ligue 1
- Scholz's party narrowly leads far-right AfD in east German state vote: exit polls
- New leftist president vows to 'rewrite Sri Lankan history'
- UN adopts pact to tackle volatile future for mankind
- Leclerc hails Ferrari fightback from torrid Singapore GP qualifying
- Belgian Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Sosa rescues point for Forest against Brighton
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory over Wolfsburg in seven-goal thriller
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: official results
- No fairytale ending for Ricciardo after 13 years in Formula One
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to step back from the brink
- What is the UN's 'Pact for the Future'?
- Norris dominates Singapore Grand Prix to cut Verstappen's title lead
- From bullets to ballots: Sri Lanka's comrade president-elect
- McLaren's Lando Norris wins Singapore GP to narrow F1 title race
- UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity
- Military escalation not in Israel's 'best interest': White House
- Marxist leader declared Sri Lanka's president-elect
- Classes resume at Bangladesh university at heart of protests
- 'Barely anyone left': Sudan's El-Fasher devastated by fighting
- 'Warrior' Joshua vows to fight on despite Dubois mauling
- Martin extends MotoGP lead as Bastianini wins at Misano and Bagnaia crashes out
- New French government instantly under pressure on multiple fronts
- Australia's Brown adds world title to Olympic time trial gold
- Russian strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv wounds 21
- UK's Starmer rules out austerity as Labour conference opens
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: projected results
- Israel says 'landed blows' on Hezbollah as Lebanon violence intensifies
- Roma CEO steps down amid anger over club icon De Rossi's sacking
On air! Prague's 'solidarity radio' targets Ukrainians
Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war to the Czech Republic got a fresh morale booster this week as a new radio station based in Prague started offering broadcasts in Ukrainian.
The new channel called Radio Ukrajina broadcasts news, tips for refugees, music and fairy tales for children, as well as spiritual comfort passed on by Ukrainian churches.
Run by the Media Bohemia group comprising several radio stations, it broadcasts from an office building in central Prague via a mobile app and on the internet.
"It's a solidarity radio," said on-air manager Natalia Churikova, who spent 27 years working for the Prague-based, US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"We are targeting Ukrainian war refugees who have moved here and trying to give them information they need to start a new life here before they can go back home, which we hope will eventually happen," she told AFP.
The Czech Republic, an EU nation of 10.5 million people, has received more than 300,000 refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
A graphic artist and singer, Sofia Tatomyr left Ukraine for Prague two days later following an invitation by her worried aunt who lives in Prague.
The 22-year-old, hailing from the western Ukrainian city of Kalush is working for the radio as a presenter, a "dream job" for her.
"It is my first time in Prague. It came all of a sudden and I just ended up here, working for the radio, doing my best to help Ukrainians with what I can do best," Tatomyr said.
- 'Start a new life' -
Her family helped her find the job owing to an ad posted on the internet.
"I have to communicate and interact with our listeners," said Tatomyr, one of Radio Ukrajina's 10 employees, who wants the radio to boost ties between Czechs and Ukrainians.
Ukrainians already formed the largest minority in the Czech Republic before the war, comprising some 200,000 people.
Following the influx of refugees, the public Czech Television started offering its evening news in a Ukrainian version, while Czech Radio transmits live broadcasts by Ukraine's public radio channel.
Churikova said Radio Ukrajina's chief goal was to help the refugees feel more at home in the foreign country.
"Czech people help a lot, but when... someone talks to you in Ukrainian and plays you a Ukrainian song, it will make your heart feel warm," she said.
Churikova said she saw the radio, which launched Tuesday, as a medium taking listeners by the hand and accompanying them all day long.
"No other medium will create this mood, encourage you, make you think, and entertain you at the same time," she said outside the small studio with tables for two presenters and a Ukrainian flag on the wall.
"The mood is really nice here, and we're trying to pass it on to the people who have experienced terrible things and now they need to calm down and start a new life."
W.Lapointe--BTB