Author: Mirits

BRUSSELS — NATO’s secretary-general said he wants to discuss ways to put Ukraine in a position of strength for any future peace talks with Russia during a meeting Wednesday with Ukraine’s president and a small number of European leaders. But Mark Rutte appeared frustrated at growing speculation in NATO capitals about when those peace talks might start and whether European peacekeepers would be involved, saying that speaking publicly about it plays into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “High on the agenda is to make sure that the president, his team in Ukraine, are in the best possible position one day when they decide to start the peace talks,” Rutte told reporters as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his residence in Brussels. The focus, Rutte said, must be “to do everything now to make sure that when it comes to air defense, when it comes to other weapons systems, that we make sure that we provide whatever we can.” He said that another issue up for discussion would be “how to make sure that when peace comes one day that we also think about the economy of Ukraine now, but also after a future peace deal.” Zelenskyy posted on Telegram that he would hold talks with the leaders of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland and U.K. representatives, who were in Brussels. He’s also due to take part in an EU summit in the Belgian capital on Thursday. Zelenskyy said that the meeting would provide “a very good opportunity to speak about security guarantees for Ukraine, for today and for tomorrow.” Ukraine sees NATO membership as the ultimate security guarantee, but the U.S. and Germany lead a group of countries that oppose this while war continues. After separate talks with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is making reinforced support for Ukraine its ″absolute priority″ and will continue giving Ukraine ″the means to defend itself and to make Russia’s war of aggression fail,″ according to Macron’s office. Noting his recent meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Zelenskyy, Macron said he will maintain a ″tight dialogue with Ukraine and its international partners to work for a return to a fair and lasting peace,″ the statement said. At NATO headquarters earlier, Rutte had said the terms of any peace talks should be up to Ukraine, Russia and any others at the negotiating … “NATO chief aims to put Ukraine in position of strength for peace talks with Russia” →

Washington — “Ehtisham was the darling of the family. He was very fond of cricket. His only obsession was that one day he would go to Europe and poverty would end at home.” This is a statement from Fazlur Rehman, a close relative of 35-year-old Ehtisham Anjum, who went missing after a migrant boat he was in capsized in Greek territorial waters on Saturday. According to locals, 10 of the passengers, including Anjum, were from Helaan, a village in Pakistan’s central Punjab province. The initial list of 47 survivors released by the Pakistani embassy in Greece does not include Anjum’s name. But the family is holding out hope that he is still alive. However, according to Pakistan embassy in Greece, the rescue operation for the missing has been called off by the Greek authorities. According to the embassy in Athens, three boats carrying 175 illegal migrants of different nationalities including Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Egyptians and Sudanese crew members, capsized off the Greek coast. While all the passengers on two of the boats were rescued, only 39 out of 83 have been rescued from the third. Several teens were on board and at least one 12-year-old Pakistani was among the passengers. In a video shared with VOA, several Pakistanis give the details of their perilous journey and the poor condition of the boats ferrying them to Greece from Tobruk, Libya. One survivor of the boat that capsized said the sea was rough, and the boat was small and not in good working condition. Despite that, he said, the smugglers put many people on board, way over the boat’s capacity. That man and another said the boat hit a coast guard ship or cargo ship before it capsized. They said they were in the water for an hour and a half before being rescued. Last year more than 350 Pakistanis lost their lives when an overcrowded boat carrying hundreds of illegal migrants sank en route to Greece from Tobruk, Libya. According to Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, Pakistan, “in the year 2023 alone over 6,000 Pakistanis undertook illegal journeys to reach European shores” — though some estimates put the number significantly higher. A report released by the commission in May of this year said most of the illegal migrants were motivated by economic concerns. Human smugglers are a big part of this journey and one of the locals in Helaan village told VOA’s … “Pakistani village grapples with loss after migrant boat capsizes off Greece” →

In the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the front line constantly shifts, and nearby cities increasingly suffer from Russia’s shelling. Some 7 kilometers from the contact line, Kostyantynivka residents face regular disruptions in heating fuel, and active fighting puts residents in peril in Dobropillia. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. VOA footage and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy …

Russia has long considered the Balkans a part of its sphere of influence, but its current focus on its war in Ukraine is creating a power vacuum in the region and giving an opportunity for Turkey to expand its role. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

The European Parliament awarded Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia the bloc’s highest human rights recognition.  Click here to see the full story in Spanish.  …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and European leaders in Brussels as Ukraine seeks to bolster its defenses against Russian forces. Zelenskyy on Tuesday cited an urgent need to boost military aid to Ukraine, especially air defense systems. “We must do everything possible to destroy Russia’s ability to wage war from as far away as possible,” Zelenskyy said. “For this, we need more drones, more modern artillery, and long-range missiles.” Wednesday’s talks come a month before U.S. President Donald Trump takes office, bringing uncertainty about the level of continued U.S. support for Ukraine from the new administration. Among those expected to meet with Zelenskyy in Brussels were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ahead of the talks, Russia launched another round of overnight aerial attacks. Ihor Taburets, governor of Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, said Wednesday on Telegram that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 13 drones. He said there was no damage to infrastructure in the area. Khmelnytskyi Governor Serhii Tiurin said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces shot down two drones. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed two Ukrainian aerial drones over the Belgorod region, along with a drone over Bryansk and another over Kursk. Moscow attack  Russia said Wednesday it detained a suspect in the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces.  Authorities described the suspect as a citizen of Uzbekistan who was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out the Tuesday attack in Moscow.  An official with Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, said Tuesday the agency was behind the attack and called Kirillov a “war criminal and an entirely legitimate target.”  Several countries, including Britain and Canada, had sanctioned Kirillov, 54, for his actions in Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and European leaders in Brussels as Ukraine seeks to bolster its defenses against Russian forces. Zelenskyy on Tuesday cited an urgent need to boost military aid to Ukraine, especially air defense systems. “We must do everything possible to destroy Russia’s ability to wage war from as far away as possible,” Zelenskyy said. “For this, we need more drones, more modern artillery, and long-range missiles.” Wednesday’s talks come a month before U.S. President Donald Trump takes office, bringing uncertainty about the level of continued U.S. support for Ukraine from the new administration. Among those expected to meet with Zelenskyy in Brussels were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ahead of the talks, Russia launched another round of overnight aerial attacks. Ihor Taburets, governor of Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, said Wednesday on Telegram that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 13 drones. He said there was no damage to infrastructure in the area. Khmelnytskyi Governor Serhii Tiurin said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces shot down two drones. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it destroyed two Ukrainian aerial drones over the Belgorod region, along with a drone over Bryansk and another over Kursk. Moscow attack  Russia said Wednesday it detained a suspect in the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces.  Authorities described the suspect as a citizen of Uzbekistan who was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out the Tuesday attack in Moscow.  An official with Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, said Tuesday the agency was behind the attack and called Kirillov a “war criminal and an entirely legitimate target.”  Several countries, including Britain and Canada, had sanctioned Kirillov, 54, for his actions in Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. …

Ruling parties often have an advantage in elections. But in history’s biggest election year so far, incumbents of all political stripes found that presiding over a period of economic inflation carries a heavy price at the ballot box. …

The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden plans in its final weeks to “continue tightening the noose” around Russia’s key energy exports with new sanctions to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine, according to Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt.  Pyatt over the past two weeks has traveled in Europe and Asia to discuss energy security with allies and the G7+Ukraine energy resilience group.  In an interview with VOA Ukrainian’s Oksana Bedratenko, Pyatt said Europe should use the Dec. 31 expiration of a gas transit contract between Ukraine and Russia to decisively end its dependency on Russian energy.  He said he is encouraged that Europe sees American liquid natural gas (LNG) as part of its energy solution, noting that countries in Europe and even Japan — which imports 10% of its gas from Russia — understand the need to find alternative energy suppliers.  The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.  VOA: Over recent weeks Russia staged several massive attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector. With all of the preparations, with all of the help from Ukraine’s allies before winter, what is your assessment of Ukrainian energy sector resilience?   Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt: We knew coming into this winter that this was going to be a very fragile period, but I think the good news is support for Ukraine, support for Ukrainian energy workers, is as strong as it’s ever been. We saw another brutal attack on Friday, especially in western Ukraine, in Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk. … And this is the bitterest part of the winter. So we know we need to continue to work together. I’ve just returned from two weeks of travel. I was in Tokyo and before that I was in Paris and London. The message I heard consistently from all of our G7 partners was a very clear focus on doing everything we can to help ensure that Russia’s attempt to weaponize the winter is a failure.    VOA: The gas transit contract between Russia and Ukraine expires at the end of this year. Do you think Europe is ready for it? There has already been some pressure on Ukraine to continue the gas transit. Do you think this will actually be the end of Europe’s dependency on Russian gas?   Pyatt: I certainly hope so. And importantly, the pressure that I see is only coming from one or two … “VOA interview: US urges Europe to end energy dependency on Russia” →

Affected by negative factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and tariff disputes, China-EU relations in 2024 show no obvious sign of recovery. Observers predict that China-EU relations will most likely remain at a low level in 2025. If U.S.-China relations deteriorate further during President-elect Donald Trump’s term, Beijing will need to maintain a relatively stable relationship with the EU even more, analysts say. Click here to see the full story in Mandarin. …

Amid conflicting reports about Russia’s future in Syria, Russian military assets are on the move in Latakia, the home province of fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez al-Assad, known locally in death as “the immortal leader.” VOA’s Heather Murdock reports. Videographer: Yan Boechat …

LONDON — European Union regulators said Tuesday they’re investigating whether TikTok breached the bloc’s digital rulebook by failing to deal with risks to Romania’s presidential election, which has been thrown into turmoil over allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. The European Commission is escalating its scrutiny of the popular video-sharing platform after Romania’s top court canceled results of the first round of voting that resulted in an unknown far-right candidate becoming the front-runner. The court made its unprecedented decision after authorities in the European Union and NATO member country declassified documents alleging Moscow organized a sprawling social media campaign to promote a long-shot candidate, Calin Georgescu. “Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to tackle such risks,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a press release. “It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable.” The European Commission is the 27-nation European Union’s executive arm and enforces the bloc’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations intended to clean up social media platforms and protect users from risks such as election-related misinformation. It ordered TikTok earlier this month to retain all information related to the election. In the preliminary round of voting on Nov. 24 Georgescu was an outsider among the 13 candidates but ended up topping the polls. He was due to face a pro-EU reformist rival in a runoff before the court canceled the results. The declassified files alleged that there was an “aggressive promotion campaign” to boost Georgescu’s popularity, including payments worth a total of $381,000 to TikTok influencers to promote him on the platform. TikTok said it has “protected the integrity” of its platform over 150 elections around the world and is continuing to address these “industry-wide challenges.” “TikTok has provided the European Commission with extensive information regarding these efforts, and we have transparently and publicly detailed our robust actions,” it said in a statement. The commission said its investigation will focus on TikTok’s content recommendation systems, especially on risks related to “coordinated inauthentic manipulation or automated exploitation.” It’s also looking at TikTok’s policies on political advertisements and “paid-for political content.” TikTok said it doesn’t accept paid political ads and “proactively” removes content for violating policies on misinformation. The investigation … “EU investigates TikTok over Romanian presidential election” →

MOSCOW — Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that broadened the definition of high treason, part of authorities’ efforts to tighten control as the fighting in Ukraine is nearing the three-year mark.  The amendments approved by the lower house, the State Duma, in second and third readings expand the definition of high treason to include affiliation with any organization involved in “activities against security of the Russian Federation.”  The current legislation has a more narrow interpretation of “turning to the enemy side,” defining it as joining the enemy’s armed forces.  Those convicted of high treason could be sentenced to life in prison.  “In the situation when our soldiers are risking their lives in the battle for Russia’s sovereignty, there are no ‘neutral’ or ‘peaceful’ organizations on the enemy side,” said Vasily Piskarev, head of the Duma’s security affairs committee and one of the bill’s authors. “We can’t allow anyone to work for the enemy on our territory.”  Rights advocates have warned that the bill’s vague formulation could be used to target anyone who has ties to any Ukrainian organization and potentially could be interpreted more broadly to also punish those who have any contact with Western organizations or companies.  The legal definition of treason already has been expanded to include providing vaguely defined “assistance” to foreign countries or organizations.  The proposed amendments, which also must be approved by the upper house and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to become law, also introduce punishment of up to 15 years in prison for foreigners and people without citizenship who are accused of “assisting enemy activities aimed against security of the Russian Federation.”  Treason and espionage cases have skyrocketed after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The cases have targeted a wide range of suspects, from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to scientists, drawing attention from rights groups. …

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, where Trump has promised to bring a quick end to the war. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko looks into Kellogg’s career, his vision for ending the war, and the challenges he might face in his new mission. Rafael Saakov and Andriy Borys contributed.VOA footage by Oleksii Osyka. Video editor: Alexey Zonov. …

London — A lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government has lost a legal challenge against the U.K.’s domestic intelligence agency MI5. Britain’s Security Service issued a security alert to all lawmakers in January 2022, warning that London-based lawyer Christine Lee was knowingly engaged in “political interference activities in the U.K.” in coordination with the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, an organization known to exert Chinese influence abroad. The House of Commons’ Speaker warned at the time that Lee had “facilitated” covert donations to British political parties and legislators “on behalf of foreign nationals.” Members of Parliament are required to declare the source of donations they receive, which must be from U.K.-registered electors or entities. Lee’s firm, Christine Lee & Co., provided legal services mainly to the British Chinese community and had acted as a legal advisor to the Chinese embassy in London. Her son, Daniel Wilkes, worked for lawmaker Barry Gardiner as a diary manager for five years, while she had donated some 500,000 pounds ($635,000) to Gardiner, mostly for office costs, according to official records. Lee, who was not accused of a criminal offense, brought a legal action, arguing that the security alert against her was political and that it breached her human rights. On Tuesday, three judges at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal unanimously dismissed her claim, saying MI5 had issued the warning for “legitimate reasons.” The tribunal decision came the day after British authorities named Chinese national Yang Tengbo as an alleged spy who cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and sought to exert influence among British establishment figures on behalf of China’s United Front Work Department. Yang, 50, also known as Chris Yang, was banned from entering the U.K. last year after MI5 found that he was believed to have carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China. Authorities said his relationship with the royal had a covert nature, citing correspondence that referenced getting people “unnoticed in and out of the house of Windsor.” Yang strongly denied the claims. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Tuesday called the spying allegations against Yang “ridiculous,” while the Chinese Embassy in Britain condemned U.K. lawmakers for “smearing” China. “We urge the UK side to immediately stop creating trouble, stop anti-China political manipulations, and stop undermining normal personnel exchanges between China and the UK,” a statement released on the embassy’s … “Lawyer accused of being Chinese spy loses legal case against UK intel agency” →

Moscow — Kazakhstan’s state-controlled nuclear resources company said on Tuesday that Russia’s state Rosatom corporation was selling its stakes in vast uranium deposits that it had been developing with the world’s largest uranium producer.   Kazatomprom said that Rosatom unit, Uranium One Group, had sold its 49.979% stake in the Zarechnoye mine to SNURDC Astana Mining Company Limited, whose ultimate beneficiary is China’s State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development Company.  Uranium One Group is also expected to give up 30% in the Khorasan-U joint venture to China Uranium Development Company Limited, the ultimate beneficiary of which is China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN, China), Kazatomprom said.  Kazatomprom’s stakes will remain unchanged, it said.  Zarechnoye’s uranium reserves amounted to approximately 3,500 tons at the beginning of 2024, according to Kazatomprom.   Khorasan-U operates at the Kharasan-1 block of Severny Kharasan deposit in the Zhanakorgan district of the Kyzylorda region. Uranium reserves of the deposit amounted to about 33,000 tons at the beginning of 2024, with an expected maturity in 2038, Kazatomprom said.  Rosatom did not immediately comment. Uranium One produced 4,831 tons of uranium in Kazakhstan in 2023.   Kazatomprom is the world’s largest producer of uranium and has the largest reserve base. It accounted for approximately 20% of global primary uranium production in 2023.     …

Saint-Denis de la Reunion, France — France said it will impose a nighttime curfew on the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte starting on Tuesday evening, after the French overseas territory was devastated by a cyclone feared to have killed hundreds.  According to the latest official toll, 21 people are confirmed to have been killed by Cyclone Chido when it barreled into the island and its surrounding archipelago at the weekend.  But authorities fear that hundreds, and possibly even thousands, were killed, once the true scale of the toll is revealed, after the rubble is cleared and roads unblocked.  The health services are in tatters, power and mobile phone services have been knocked out, the airport closed to civilian flights, and there is mounting concern about how to ensure supplies of drinking water.  Cyclone Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide fueled by climate change, according to experts.  The curfew from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am local time (1900 GMT to 0100 GMT) is being put in place as a security measure to prevent looting, the French interior ministry said.  ‘Completely devastated’   French President Emmanuel Macron, who chaired a crisis meeting on Monday night, has described the situation as a “tragedy” and promised to visit Mayotte in the coming days.  Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who on Monday was the first top Paris official to visit the island after the cyclone, said that Mayotte has been “completely devastated,” with 70 percent of inhabitants affected.  “The toll will be heavy; too heavy,” Retailleau warned.  He announced the arrival “in the coming days” of 400 additional gendarmes to reinforce the 1,600 gendarmes and police officers present on the archipelago, while specifying that there had “not really been any looting” so far.  The “exceptional” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the Meteo France weather service told AFP.  Mayotte is France’s poorest region, with an estimated one third of the population living in shantytowns whose flimsy sheet metal-roofed homes offered scant protection against the storm.  “We’re starting to run out of water. In the south, there’s been no running water for five days,” said Antoy Abdallah, a resident of Tsoundzou in the territory’s capital Mamoudzou.  “We’re completely cut off from the world,” the 34-year-old lamented.  Most of Mayotte’s population is Muslim and religious tradition dictates bodies must be buried rapidly, meaning some may never be counted.  And … “France to impose nighttime curfew on ‘devastated’ Mayotte  “ →

TALLINN, estonia — Twelve Western countries have agreed to measures to “disrupt and deter” Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of vessels in order to prevent sanctions breaches and increase the cost to Moscow of the war in Ukraine, Estonia’s government said Monday.  The measures were agreed to by Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, the five Nordic nations and the three Baltic states, said Estonia, where leaders of the 10-nation Joint Expeditionary Force were due to meet Tuesday.  Western nations have slapped sanctions on a wide range of ships they say are used by Moscow to avoid restrictions on the export of Russian oil and other cargoes. Vessels in the shadow fleet are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers.  “We are taking concerted steps to deter Russia’s shadow fleet and avoid attempts to evade sanctions,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said in a statement.  Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland and Estonia will begin to check insurance documents of ships under suspicion passing through the English Channel, Danish straits, the Gulf of Finland and the sound between Sweden and Denmark, he added. …

GENEVA  — Migrants play a crucial role in the global economy by filling essential jobs in foreign countries and sending much-needed remittances to their home countries, according to a report released Monday by the International Labour Organization. The report’s release comes as President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants from the United States. During his presidential campaign, he accused them of draining economic resources and taking jobs from native-born Americans. The ILO report says migrants usually bring a net economic benefit to the countries they enter and those from which they depart. “Migrants drive economic growth in destination countries, and they support home countries through their remittances and skills transfer,” Sukti Dasgupta, director of the ILO’s conditions of work and equalities department, told journalists at a briefing in Geneva on Monday. Rafael Diez de Medina, chief statistician at ILO, said the report debunks the assertion by some that “migrants are taking away [the] jobs of nationals.” “I would like to say that migrant workers often fill specific roles in low-wage or specialized jobs, and often as seasonal workers, and that they complement, rather than displace, the national labor force. “There might be competition in specific contexts, but we do not really have evidence of migrants taking away jobs from nationals,” he said. “In this report, migrants in the labor force include all foreign-born persons in the labor force of a host country who are employed or unemployed regardless of their legal status in the country,” Diez de Medina added. “So, documented and undocumented, regardless of the employment permission to the host country, are included in our figures.” The report presents global and regional estimates of migrants in the labor force covering 189 countries and territories for 2022, representing 99% of the world population at that time. Migrant labor force increases The report says 167.7 million migrants were part of the international labor force as of 2022, accounting for 4.7% of the working force worldwide. The report finds that the migrant global labor force has increased by more than 30 million since 2013, but notes that from 2019 to 2022, “the rate of growth slowed down to less than one percent annually.” This is attributed largely to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While migration patterns have changed in some regions of the world, the ILO said the overall composition of migrant workers has remained relatively stable, with … “Labor organization: International migrants play crucial role in global economy” →

BRUSSELS — The EU on Monday for the first time imposed fully fledged sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on Chinese firms for supplying Russia’s military for the war on Ukraine. It has also added North Korea’s defense minister to its sanctions blacklist after the secretive state sent troops to Russia to reinforce its military. The move — part of the EU’s 15th round of sanctions over the conflict — represented a heightened effort to tackle the crucial role allegedly being played by China in keeping Russia’s war machine going. The EU said it was blacklisting four Chinese companies for “supplying sensitive drone components and microelectronic components” to the Russian military. Two other firms and one Chinese businesswoman were hit for circumventing EU sanctions aimed at stopping equipment flowing to Moscow. Among the companies was Xiamen Limbach, alleged to have supplied engines for long-range attack drones used by Russia against Ukraine. The EU has targeted Chinese firms before for supporting Russia’s military. But until now the bloc has imposed bans on European firms doing business with the Chinese companies — rather than the tougher sanctions now being applied. The EU also took aim at North Korea in the latest package, after Pyongyang dispatched troops to Russia to fight Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc added defense minister No Kwang Chol and deputy chief of the general staff Kim Yong Bok to a number of North Korean officials already blacklisted. Ukraine said Monday that its troops killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been deployed in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized territory. In a bid to limit Russian revenues, the EU included around 50 oil tankers from Moscow’s “shadow fleet” used to help the Kremlin get around Western oil sanctions. …

Brussels — The European Union moved to impose visa restrictions on Georgian diplomats and government officials Monday over the police crackdown on opposition protesters demanding a rerun of October’s contested election. Tens of thousands of people have filled the streets regularly in recent weeks since the governing party decided to suspend negotiations on joining the EU. Police have increasingly used force in their attempts to break up the rallies. Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili became Georgia’s president Saturday as the governing Georgian Dream party tightened its grip on power in the election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. After chairing what she described as a “very tense discussion” among the bloc’s foreign ministers, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said they had decided “to suspend the visa free regime for diplomatic passports and service passports.” The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, was tasked to prepare the measure. Kallas also tabled a list of Georgian officials for the ministers to weigh sanctions against them, but Hungary and Slovakia — considered the most Russia-friendly of the 27 EU countries — blocked the move. “With sanctions, we need 27 on board,” Kallas said. But she called the imposition of visa restrictions an important first step. Chairing her first meeting since taking office on Dec. 1, Kallas added: “It’s my first Hungarian veto but I can guarantee it’s not the last.” Hungary holds the EU’s rotating presidency until the end of the month, when Poland takes over. Over the past year it has routinely blocked joint moves against Russia or in support of Ukraine, complicating procedures. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told reporters that a visa ban is the “minimum we should do,” adding that “we have to send the message to Georgian people in the streets that Europe doesn’t abandon you.” The EU granted Georgia candidate status for membership in December 2023 but put the accession bid on hold and cut financial support in June after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms. …

BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German parliament on Monday, putting the European Union’s most populous member and biggest economy on course to hold an early election in February. Scholz won the support of 207 lawmakers in the 733-seat lower house, or Bundestag, while 394 voted against him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367 needed to win. Scholz leads a minority government after his unpopular and notoriously rancorous three-party coalition collapsed on November 6 when he fired his finance minister in a dispute over how to revitalize Germany’s stagnant economy. Leaders of several major parties then agreed that a parliamentary election should be held on Feb. 23, seven months earlier than originally planned. The confidence vote was needed because post-World War II Germany’s constitution doesn’t allow the Bundestag to dissolve itself. Now President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has to decide whether to dissolve parliament and call an election. Steinmeier has 21 days to make that decision — and, because of the planned timing of the election, is expected to do so after Christmas. Once parliament is dissolved, the election must be held within 60 days. In practice, the campaign is already well under way, and Monday’s three-hour debate reflected that. What did the contenders say? Scholz, a center-left Social Democrat, told lawmakers that the election will determine whether “we, as a strong country, dare to invest strongly in our future; do we have confidence in ourselves and our country, or do we put our future on the line? Do we risk our cohesion and our prosperity by delaying long-overdue investments?” Scholz’s pitch to voters includes pledges to “modernize” Germany’s strict self-imposed rules on running up debt, to increase the national minimum wage and to reduce value-added tax on food. Center-right challenger Friedrich Merz responded that “you’re leaving the country in one of its biggest economic crises in postwar history.” “You’re standing here and saying, business as usual, let’s run up debt at the expense of the younger generation, let’s spend money and … the word ‘competitiveness’ of the German economy didn’t come up once in the speech you gave today,” Merz said. The chancellor said Germany is Ukraine’s biggest military supplier in Europe and he wants to keep that up, but underlined his insistence that he won’t supply long-range Taurus cruise missiles, over concerns of escalating the war with Russia, or … “Germany’s Scholz loses confidence vote, setting up early election in February” →

Washington — Ten countries and the EU called North Korea’s growing involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine a “dangerous expansion” on Monday, in a joint statement released by the United States. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s war effort, including to the Kursk border region where Ukraine reported Monday that its fighters had killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers. “Direct DPRK support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine marks a dangerous expansion of the conflict, with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific security,” the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official acronym. The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and the high representative of the European Union signed the release. They also said that they were “deeply concerned about any political, military, or economic support that Russia may be providing to the DPRK’s illegal weapons programs, including weapons of mass destruction.” North Korea and Russia have strengthened their military ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Experts say the nuclear-armed North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is keen to acquire advanced technology from Moscow and battle experience for his troops. The statement signatories said they “condemn in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation” including the “deployment of DPRK troops to Russia for use on the battlefield against Ukraine.” They added that the export of ballistic missiles, artillery shells and other military materiel by Pyongyang to Russia as well as Moscow’s training of North Korean soldiers involving arms “represent flagrant violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions.” “We urge the DPRK to cease immediately all assistance for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including by withdrawing its troops,” the statement said. The United States and South Korea have accused the North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers. …

France’s latest prime minister, Francois Bayrou, gets to work this week to form a new cabinet, push a stopgap budget bill and — more precariously — scout for support for longer-term budget legislation to tackle the country’s fiscal woes — a move that led to his predecessor’s downfall. The task and stakes are enormous for the 73-year-old centrist, a veteran politician and longtime mayor of the southwestern town of Pau. Picked by French President Emmanuel Macron Friday, Bayrou is the country’s fourth prime minister this year — and he faces a squabbling, deeply divided lower house anchored by powerful leftist and far right blocks. Farmers, teachers, hospital staff and rail workers count among thousands who have taken to the streets in recent months over agricultural imports, labor issues, and other grievances. France’s disarray is also a worry for the European Union, facing Russian gains in Ukraine, and the risk of a more fractious transatlantic relationship with the incoming Trump administration. “Nothing suggests he’ll last longer or fare better than the others,” France’s leading Le Monde newspaper said in editorial of Bayrou. The most immediate emergency lies in France’s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, where Cyclone Chido has wreaked widespread devastation, causing hundreds and possibly thousands of deaths, French authorities say. The acting interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, was heading to Mayotte on Monday. Head of the small MoDem or Democratic Freedom party that is part of Macron’s centrist alliance, Bayrou acknowledges he faces a “Himalaya” of difficulties ahead. France’s budget deficit is estimated at more than six percent of its GDP — double the EU limit — and the country shoulders a sizable debt. Hours after Bayrou’s nomination, Moody’s rating agency downgraded France’s credit rating to Aa3, citing “political fragmentation” as a reason. “My first mission is to be a builder or, failing that, a repairer,” Bayrou told La Tribune Dimanche weekly, in an interview published Sunday. The stakes are also high for Macron, who emerges severely weakened after a catastrophic political year. The French president gambled on snap legislative elections earlier this year, after the far-right National Rally party topped a June European Parliament vote. He saw his centrist coalition emerging as the weakest bloc in France’s National Assembly, behind a leftist alliance and the National Rally. Risk for Europe So far, Macron has resisted calls to step down, insisting he will serve out his term that ends in 2027. … “France’s new prime minister begins work amid a mountain of challenges  “ →

Saint-Denis de la Reunion, France — Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead. Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble. The crisis, which erupted at the weekend the day after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government still only operating in a caretaker capacity. The cyclone has left health services in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and health centers knocked out of operation, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2. “The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” she said, adding that “medical centres were also non-operational”. Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris, the Elysee said. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island. Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barreled down Saturday on France’s poorest territory. Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand.” With roads closed, officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas. The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, told AFP the storm “spared nothing”. “The hospital is hit. The schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,” he said. Some 160 additional soldiers and firefighters arrived, to reinforce the 110 already deployed. The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as a hub for the rescue operations.  ‘Apocalyptic scenes’ Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which lies to the east of Mozambique. At least a third of the territory’s 320,000 residents live in shantytowns, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were flattened by the storm. One resident, Ibrahim, told AFP of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads himself. As authorities assessed the … “Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte” →

Norway announced Monday $242 million in new military aid for Ukraine, including help securing access to the country’s vital Black Sea ports. “It is essential to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement.  “It is also important to protect exports by sea of grain and other products, which generate crucial revenues for Ukraine.” The aid includes funding for training Ukrainian soldiers as well as mine clearance operations. Norway’s Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said mines are a “significant threat” in the Black Sea and that the aid will help Ukrainian forces detect and defuse mines near the coast. Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 27 of the 49 drones that Russian forces deployed in overnight attacks. The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said debris from a destroyed drone damaged power lines, but caused no casualties. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday its forces destroyed three Ukrainian aerial drones over the Kursk region. Some information for this story was provided by Reuters …