Author: Mirits

Prominent Georgian opposition leader and former journalist Nika Gvaramia is recovering after being beaten unconscious by police Wednesday amid pro-Europe protests in Tbilisi, according to his lawyer.   Gvaramia, head of the Akhali party under the Coalition for Change umbrella, was detained Wednesday during police searches of opposition parties’ headquarters in the Georgian capital, according to media reports.  Gvaramia was repeatedly hit in the stomach until he lost consciousness before being dragged into a police vehicle, according to local media reports.  Gvaramia is Georgia’s former justice minister and the founder of the pro-opposition broadcaster Mtavari Arkhi. He was jailed from 2022 to 2023 on charges he and press freedom experts rejected as retaliatory.  The high-profile arrest comes amid protests that have been continuing since the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was halting the country’s bid to start talks on joining the European Union. Opinion polls show that about 80% of Georgians support joining the EU.  Gvaramia’s lawyer, Dito Sadzaglishvili, said Thursday that Gvaramia’s health is now “satisfactory.”  “He believes that now, of course, is the time for the Georgian people to calmly, firmly and courageously continue to protest and fight against the Russian regime,” the lawyer said, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.  Gvaramia was arrested for “petty hooliganism” and not complying with police orders, his lawyer said. A court hearing is expected to take place within 48 hours of his arrest, according to Sadzaglishvili.  Police have also detained Aleko Elisashvili, a leader of the Strong Georgia opposition party, as well as a leader of the youth protest movement, and at least six other members of opposition parties.  The detentions come as thousands of pro-EU protesters continue to gather in Tbilisi, even as police respond with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. More than 330 protesters have been arrested, with rights groups saying many have been beaten in detention.  Governments, including the United States, have condemned the excessive use of force and criticized Georgian Dream for putting EU accession on hold.  Journalists attacked, NGOs raided  At least 50 journalists have been injured during violent police dispersals of demonstrations since they began on November 28, according to multiple reports.  “The protection of journalists is a hallmark of democratic societies,” Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement.  “Georgian authorities’ failure to address the extensive and shocking police violence against … “Georgian opposition leader arrested, beaten unconscious as Tbilisi protests continue” →

Baku, Azerbaijan / Washington — International rights organizations and Western governments are calling on the Azerbaijani government to release prominent human rights defender Rufat Safarov. “The arrest of Rufat Safarov on trumped-up fraud and hooliganism charges is another glaring example of the Azerbaijani authorities’ relentless efforts to silence dissenting voices in the country,” Amnesty International said in a Wednesday statement. Safarov, a former prosecutor who heads the Defense Line human rights organization, was detained Tuesday and charged with fraud and hooliganism. He has been put on four months of pretrial detention. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs told VOA that Safarov’s detention was related to a conflict between him and an individual over a land purchase. However, in a statement on social media written at his request, Safarov attributed his detention to being nominated for a human rights award in the United States. “I was supposed to travel to the United States in two days because I had been recognized as the ‘Human Rights Defender of the Year,’ ” the statement reads. “From the outset, I express my deep gratitude to U.S. Ambassador Mr. [Mark] Libby, for nominating me, and to U.S. Secretary of State Mr. [Antony] Blinken for supporting my candidacy.”  U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has confirmed that Safarov was due to meet with several senators next week to receive the State Department’s Human Rights Defender Award. “But the Azeri regime jailed him on bogus charges,” Cardin wrote on X. “His fight for justice transcends prison walls. He must be released immediately.” Libby called on the Azerbaijani government to release all those unjustly imprisoned and to abide by its international human rights obligations. The ambassador spoke Thursday at an event organized in the capital, Baku, which was also attended by the ambassadors of Britain, the European Union and Switzerland, as well as Azerbaijani human rights defenders, members of the civil society and public activists. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denounced criticism by the ambassadors, calling their comments an interference with the country’s judicial system. “We strongly reject the claims of the ambassadors of the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and the European Union regarding the detention of ‘journalists’ and ‘political activists’ in Azerbaijan. These statements are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of the Azerbaijani judicial system,” the ministry said in a statement. Rapporteurs at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have called … “Rights groups, Western governments urge Azerbaijan to release human rights defender” →

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Thursday to stay in office until the end of his term, due in 2027, and announced that he will name a new prime minister within days following the resignation of ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier.  Macron came out fighting a day after a historic no-confidence vote at the National Assembly left France without a functioning government. He laid blame at the door of his opponents on the far right for bringing down Barnier’s government.  They chose “Not to do but to undo,” he said. “They chose disorder.”  The president said the far right and the far left had united in what he called “an anti-Republican front” and stressed: “I won’t shoulder other people’s irresponsibility.”  He said he’d name a new prime minister within days but gave no hints who that might be.  Earlier in the day, Macron “took note” of Barnier’s resignation, the Elysee presidential palace said in a statement. Barnier and other ministers will be “in charge of current affairs until the appointment of a new government,” the statement said.  The no-confidence motion passed by 331 votes in the National Assembly, forcing Barnier to step down after just three months in office — the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern French history.  Macron faces the critical task of naming a replacement capable of leading a minority government in a parliament where no party holds a majority. Yael Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly and a member of Macron’s party, urged the president to move quickly.  “I recommend he decide rapidly on a new prime minister,” Braun-Pivet said Thursday on France Inter radio. “There must not be any political hesitation. We need a leader who can speak to everyone and work to pass a new budget bill.”  The process may prove challenging. Macron’s administration has yet to confirm any names, though French media have reported a shortlist of centrist candidates who might appeal to both sides of the political spectrum.  Macron took more than two months to appoint Barnier after his party’s defeat in June’s legislative elections, raising concerns about potential delays this time.  The no-confidence vote has galvanized opposition leaders, with some explicitly calling for Macron’s resignation.  “I believe that stability requires the departure of the President of the Republic,” said Manuel Bompard, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, on BFM TV Wednesday night.  Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le … “France’s Macron to serve out office term, name new prime minister soon” →

This month marks 30 years since Ukraine signed an agreement to give up its nuclear arsenal, the world’s third largest at the time. With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearing the three-year mark, Kyiv now calls the agreement with Moscow short-sighted. VOA Ukrainian’s Tatiana Vorozhko looks at the history of the deal. Videographer: Iurii Panin …

The German carmaker Volkswagen plans to make massive cuts, triggering a warning strike by workers. The crisis at VW is another symptom of deepening troubles in the German economy — the EU’s largest — in recent years burdened by high energy costs, the war in Ukraine, and Chinese competition. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Berlin. …

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron was set to address his nation later Thursday (19:00 UTC), a day after his government fell in a no-confidence vote— a first in more than 60 years. The country’s prime minister, Michel Barnier, was expected to resign Thursday.  It didn’t take long for Michel Barnier’s three-month-old government to become the shortest in the history of France’s Fifth Republic. On Wednesday, National Assembly lawmakers from the far left and far right passed a no-confidence measure. It’s left France without a functioning government for the second time this year. The move came after Barnier used a constitutional tool to force through an unpopular budget proposal that he said was key to addressing France’s sizable economic troubles. Far right leader Marine Le Pen told French TV that Barnier’s proposed spending cuts and tax increases were profoundly unjust for ordinary people — expressing optimism a better budget could be passed under a new government. Mathilde Panot from the far-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) party said it was time for Macron himself to leave office. Macron said he’s not going anywhere. But after losing legislative and European elections earlier this year, he’s a weakened president. France is struggling with a high debt and budget deficit, and stagnant growth. Public sector workers went on strike Thursday over salaries and working conditions, disrupting schools, city halls, hospitals and transportation. A rail workers’ strike is expected next week.   France’s turmoil comes at a challenging time for Europe. Another European Union heavyweight, Germany, is also struggling economically and politically. The bloc faces internal divisions, an emboldened Russia, a struggling Ukraine and an incoming Trump administration in the U.S., which Europeans fear will be less inclined to support Kyiv, free trade and the transatlantic alliance.  …

PARIS — French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will resign on Thursday after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government, plunging the euro zone’s second-largest economy deeper into political crisis. Barnier, a veteran politician who was formerly the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, will be the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history after he hands in his resignation at around 10 a.m. No French government had lost a confidence vote since Georges Pompidou’s in 1962. The political turmoil further weakens a European Union already reeling from the implosion of Germany’s coalition government, and comes weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The hard left and far right punished Barnier in a no-confidence vote on Wednesday evening for trying to push an unpopular budget through an unruly hung parliament without a vote. The draft budget had sought $63 billion in savings in a drive to shrink a gaping deficit. Barnier’s resignation caps weeks of tensions over the budget, which Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally said was too harsh on working people. It also further weakens the standing of President Emmanuel Macron, who precipitated the ongoing crisis with an ill-fated decision to call a snap election in June. Macron, who faces growing calls to resign, has a mandate until 2027 and cannot be pushed out. Still, the long-running political debacle has left him a diminished figure. An online poll carried out just after the no-confidence motion showed 64% of voters want Macron to resign. “The main culprit for the current situation is Emmanuel Macron,” Le Pen told TF1 TV late on Wednesday. “The dissolution (of parliament in June) and censorship (of the government) are the consequence of his policies and of the considerable divide which exists today between him and the French.” A small majority of voters approved parliament bringing down Barnier, but many were still worried about its economic and political consequence, the Toluna Harris Interactive poll for RTL broadcaster showed. France now risks ending the year without a stable government or a 2025 budget, although the constitution allows special measures that would avert a U.S.-style government shutdown. Three sources told Reuters that Macron aimed to install a new prime minister swiftly, with one saying he wanted to name a premier before a ceremony to reopen the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday, which Trump is due to attend. But any new prime minister will face the same … “Prime Minister Barnier to resign as France’s political crisis deepens” →

Ta’Qali, Malta — Ukraine’s foreign minister called Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov a “war criminal” Thursday as they both attended an international summit in Malta, the latter’s first visit to an EU member since the 2022 invasion. Ukraine’s Andriy Sybiga also accused Moscow of being “the biggest threat to our common security” as the two foreign ministers sat on the same huge table at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also in Ta’Qali, near Valetta, for the talks, though officials said he had no plans to meet Lavrov. “Russia is not a partner; it is the biggest threat to our common security. Russia’s participation in the OSCE is a threat to cooperation in Europe,” Sybiga told ministers from the 57-member body.  “When Russians say they want peace they lie,” he said, adding: “Ukraine continues to fight for its right to exist.” “And the Russian war criminal at this table must know: Ukraine will win this right and justice will prevail.” ‘Destabilizing’ Lavrov, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, had not visited an EU country since a December 2021 trip to Stockholm, again for an OSCE meeting, Russian media reported. Sitting between the representatives of San Marino and Romania, he railed against the EU, NATO and in particular the United States. He said the West was behind a “reincarnation of the Cold War, only now with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one,” according to a transcript of his remarks from RIA Navosti. He also accused Washington of military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region that sought to “destabilize the entire Eurasian continent.” The OSCE was founded in 1975 to ease tensions between the East and the West during the Cold War, and now counts 57 members from Turkey to Mongolia, including Britain and Canada as well as the United States. It helps its members coordinate issues such as human rights and arms control, but Lavrov at the last ministerial summit a year ago in North Macedonia accused the OSCE of becoming an “appendage” of NATO and the EU. Ukraine has called for Russia to be excluded from the organization, and boycotted the Skopje summit over Lavrov’s attendance. Summit host Ian Borg, Malta’s foreign minister, opened proceedings Thursday with a call for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. Blinken also accused Lavrov — who at … “Ukraine, Russian diplomats trade barbs at Malta summit” →

WASHINGTON — Thirty years ago, leaders of the United States, Britain Russia and Ukraine met in Budapest, Hungary, and signed a memorandum that provided security assurances to Ukraine in exchange for it giving up its nuclear arsenal, then the world’s third largest. Today, nearly three years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials are calling the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances “a monument to short-sightedness in strategic security decision-making” and seek NATO membership for their country. Presidents Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine, Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Bill Clinton of the U.S., along with British Prime Minister John Major, signed the memorandum on December 5, 1994. Steven Pifer, a veteran diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 1998 to 2000, helped negotiate the memorandum. “In that document, basically, the United States, Britain and Russia committed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and existing borders, and committed not to use force or threaten to use force against Ukraine,” Pifer told VOA’s Ukrainian Service. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited the world`s third-largest nuclear arsenal and agreed to transfer all the nuclear munitions on its territory to Russia for dismantlement, and to decommission nuclear missile launch silos. All parties to the memorandum agreed to “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of the signatories to the memorandum.” However, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and fueled a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine. In February 2022, it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a December 3 statement marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the agreement “a monument to short-sightedness in strategic security decision-making.” Clutching a copy of the memorandum after arriving in Brussels for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha called the pact a reminder that any long-term decisions made at the cost of Ukrainian security are “inappropriate and unacceptable.” “This document, this paper, failed to secure Ukrainian security and transatlantic security,” Sybiha said. “So, we must avoid repeating such mistakes. That’s, of course, why we will discuss with my partners the concept of peace through strength, and we have a clear understanding which steps we need from our friends.”   In its December 3 statement, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said, “The only real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent to further … “On its 30th anniversary, Ukraine calls 1994 Budapest Memorandum ‘a monument to short-sightedness’” →

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced on Wednesday criticism by Western ambassadors of the country’s human rights record, saying the diplomats’ comments amounted to interference in its judicial system. A ministry statement posted on the Telegram messaging app said ambassadors from the United States, European Union and Switzerland made the comments at an event in Baku, referring to the detention of journalists and “political activists.” The statement followed news that a veteran human rights advocate, Rufat Safarov, had been placed in pre-trial detention for four months following his arrest on Monday. It was the latest of a series of cases in Azerbaijan that have prompted Western concern about free speech and human rights. “These statements are an open attempt to undermine the independent judicial system in Azerbaijan,” the foreign ministry statement said. “Interference in the course of an investigation is unacceptable and interference in the judicial process contradicts the principle of the rule of law, the fundamental principle of a law-based state.” It was not immediately possible to determine what the ambassadors had said at the event. Earlier on Wednesday, a lawyer for Safarov told Reuters that Safarov had pleaded not guilty in a Baku court to charges of fraud and hooliganism and intended to appeal. Safarov was detained a little more than a week after the close in Baku of the major U.N. climate change conference COP29. In the run-up to the conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev denounced as “disgusting” a letter from U.S. lawmakers criticizing his country’s human rights record and calling for the release of political prisoners. Safarov, a former prosecutor, served three years in prison on bribery charges before being pardoned by Aliyev and released in 2019. Media reports said he had been due to leave within days for the United States to be presented with a human rights award. U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a news briefing in Washington on Tuesday that Washington was “deeply concerned” by his detention. “And we continue to urge Azerbaijan to release all of those unjustly detained and to cease its crackdown on civil society, including human rights defenders and journalists,” Patel said. …

An operation by Ukraine launched on August 6 captured dozens of towns and villages and gained control of about 1,000 square kilometers in Russia’s Kursk region. Gradually, Russia has pushed Ukrainian forces out of about half of the territory they captured.   Our correspondent spoke to experts about how the military situation in the region could affect the initial positions taken in future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.  See the full story here.  …

The U.S. and EU are urging Beijing to stop supporting Russia’s war machine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited China on Monday, asking China to stop backing Russia and to work for peace in Ukraine. Our correspondent spoke to experts: Can Western sanctions change Beijing’s position?  See the full story here.    …

UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine demanded Wednesday that Russia end what Kyiv called “the largest kidnapping campaign in modern history” and return Ukrainian children forcibly transferred from its territory during the ongoing war. “Ukraine is searching for nearly 20,000 children who were subjected to illegal deportation and forced transfer,” said Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Ukraine’s president and a senior official at his Bring Kids Back Ukraine initiative. “Yet the actual figure could be much higher, but we can’t find it out — Russian officials systematically refuse to provide information,” Zarivna added. Zarivna told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, convened to discuss the situation, that so far 1,022 children have been repatriated, and she urged the international community to pressure Moscow to cooperate. “Russia must be forced to meet its obligations under international law,” Zarivna said. “It must be compelled to allow access to occupied territories, stop deportations and forced citizenship and political indoctrination of children, provide information about transferred kids, [and] cooperate to bring them home.” Russia denies it has forcibly transferred children. “There is no program in Russia on adopting children from the area of the special military operation,” Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, using the Kremlin term for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “Those who are orphans or those who are without relatives were only transferred onto temporary preliminary guardianship or temporary wardship, with Russian citizens,” he said. “Nor is there any basis for the allegation about the forced naturalization of Ukrainian children.” He said a decree streamlining citizenship simply provides “an opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship for humanitarian reasons” and does not require an individual to give up their Ukrainian citizenship. But the International Criminal Court disagrees. In March 2023, the court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian commissioner for children’s rights. The ICC pretrial chamber said it “considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.” “We call on member states to execute these warrants and ensure accountability,” Ukraine’s Zarivna said. In June 2023, the U.N. secretary-general added Russia to its blacklist of perpetrators of grave violations against children for Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, including the killing and maiming of children and attacks on … “Ukraine demands Russia return ‘kidnapped’ children” →

PARIS — France’s far-right and left-wing lawmakers joined together Wednesday to pass a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed. President Emmanuel Macron has insisted he will serve the rest of his term, which ends in 2027. However, he will need to appoint a prime minister for the second time after July’s legislative elections led to a deeply divided parliament. Macron, on his way back from a presidential visit to Saudi Arabia, said discussions about him potentially resigning were “make-believe politics,” according to French media reports. “I’m here because I’ve been elected twice by the French people,” Macron said. He was also reported as saying, “We must not scare people with such things. We have a strong economy.” The no-confidence motion rose from fierce opposition to Barnier’s proposed budget. The National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, is deeply fractured, with no single party holding a majority. It comprises three major blocs: Macron’s centrist allies, the left-wing coalition New Popular Front, and the far-right National Rally. Both opposition blocs, typically at odds, united against Barnier, accusing him of imposing austerity measures and failing to address citizens’ needs. Barnier, a conservative appointed in September, could become the country’s shortest-serving prime minister in France’s modern Republic. In last-minute efforts to try to save his government, he called on lawmakers to act with “responsibility” and think of “the country’s best interest.” “The situation is very difficult economically, socially, fiscally and financially,” he said, speaking Tuesday evening on national television TF1 and France 2. “If the no-confidence motion passes, everything will be more difficult and everything will be more serious.” Speaking at the National Assembly ahead of the vote, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, whose party’s goodwill was crucial to keeping Barnier in power, said, “We’ve reached the moment of truth, a parliamentary moment unseen since 1962, which will likely seal the end of a short-lived government.” “Stop pretending the lights will go out,” hard-left lawmaker Eric Coquerel said, noting the possibility of an emergency law to levy taxes from January 1, based on this year’s rules. “The special law will prevent a shutdown. It will allow us to get through the end of the year by delaying the budget by a few weeks.” While France is not at risk of a … “French lawmakers oust PM in first successful no-confidence vote since 1962” →

PARIS — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. first lady Jill Biden are among global dignitaries expected in Paris Saturday as the city’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral reopens five years after a massive fire. Trump’s visit to Paris is expected to be his first foreign trip since winning the election last month. U.S. President Joe Biden is not expected to attend. It has taken five years, 2,000 artisans and workers, and hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the medieval Gothic masterpiece. It was nearly destroyed during a fire in April 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the restored cathedral Friday and said the reconstruction workers had participated in an unprecedented project. Macron will join the archbishop of Paris, along with Catholic and other dignitaries, for official opening ceremonies Saturday. The cathedral will open its doors to the public on Sunday as part of weeklong reopening events. Even covered with scaffolding and closed to visitors, Notre Dame has attracted hordes of tourists during the years of reconstruction. Manuele Monica, a visitor from Italy, said, “I can understand why people in the past created buildings such as this one, because it’s so huge. It’s really tall — like it’s going up in the sky.” The event offers a short reprieve for France, which is facing pre-Christmas strikes, soaring debt and an uncertain political future. …

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration issued a fresh round of Russia-related sanctions on Wednesday, taking aim at what it called an illicit finance network that allowed Russian elites to leverage digital assets to avoid sanctions. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Treasury said it was targeting five people and four entities tied to “a sprawling international network of businesses and employees that have facilitated significant sanctions circumvention” known as the TGR Group. The targets also include an entity based in Wyoming that is owned in part by a sanctioned individual, the department said. “Through the TGR Group, Russian elites sought to exploit digital assets — in particular U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins — to evade U.S. and international sanctions, further enriching themselves and the Kremlin,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement. The international network actions include “the laundering of funds associated with sanctioned entities; providing an unregistered service to exchange cash and cryptocurrency; the receipt of cash and making the value available to clients in the form of cryptocurrency; providing a prepaid credit card service; and obfuscating the source of funds to allow high-net-worth Russian nationals to purchase property in the United Kingdom,” according to the department’s statement. Such sanctions generally prohibit any U.S. persons or entities from conducting any transactions with sanctioned targets and freeze any U.S.-held assets belonging to the sanctioned people or entities. Among those targeted in Wednesday’s action are George Rossi, a Russian-born Ukrainian national born in Russia that the Treasury Department said is believed to control the TGR Group, and Rossi’s direct subordinate, Russian national Elena Chirkinyan, among others. …

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Georgian police on Wednesday raided the offices of an opposition party and arrested its leader in an apparent attempt to squelch a wave of mass protests triggered by the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. During the past six nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard. More than 300 protesters have been detained since Thursday, and over 100 people have been treated for injuries. On Wednesday, the Coalition for Change opposition party said that police raided its offices and detained its leader, Nika Gvaramia. It shared a video showing several officers dragging Gvaramia into a car. Georgian media reported that police also raided the offices of several other opposition groups and nongovernment organizations. The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in the disputed October 26 election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations. The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighboring Russia’s help and boycotted parliament sessions. Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party’s decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognize the official election results and contested them in the Constitutional Court, which rejected her appeal on Tuesday. Zourabichvili, who plays a largely ceremonial role, has declared that she would stay on the job even after her six-year term ends later this month to lead the opposition demand for a new parliamentary election. The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations but put its accession 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. It requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government. The Georgian government’s announcement of the EU accession talks’ suspension came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing October’s election as neither free nor fair. On Monday, the EU reiterated its “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country.” … “Police in Georgia arrest opposition leader as mass protests continue” →

Beijing — Business sentiment among German companies in China is at an all-time low, a German business lobby group said on Wednesday, as they face rising Chinese competition and a slowing economy. Over half of German companies said conditions in their industry had worsened this year, the German Chamber of Commerce in China said citing a survey, while only 32% forecast an improvement in 2025 – the lowest since records began in 2007. “This year has been difficult for the majority of German companies, prompting a downward adjustment of their business outlook,” said Clas Neumann, chair of the German Chamber of Commerce’s east China chapter, while adding that 92% of German companies planned to maintain their operations in the $19 trillion economy. Germany is China’s biggest European partner, and prominent German firms with large investments in China include automakers Volkswagen as well as BMW and auto parts supplier Bosch. The German survey comes just a day after a British sentiment survey of companies operating in China painted a downbeat picture. While foreign direct investment, seen as a signal of confidence in China, represents only 3% of the country’s total investment, it has been falling for two straight years. The chamber said investing to keep up with local competitors was the primary motivation for 87% of the 51% of German companies planning to step up their investment in China over the next two years, an annual eight percentage point increase. The chamber also said that companies were, for the first time, reporting that they were contending with a “Buy China” trend, with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s self-sufficiency drive “Made in China 2025” resulting in local customers opting to buy from local producers. An official factory activity survey released on Saturday showed that new import orders for parts and components used in finished goods fell for an eighth consecutive month in October, while new orders expanded for the first time in seven months. The chamber called on Berlin to place more emphasis on Beijing as a partner and revise its China strategy to better align with German industry’s desire to invest more in localization in China, over boosting exports to the market. Berlin opposed the European Commission’s tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese-built electric vehicles in an October vote. German automakers have heavily criticized the EU measures, aware that possible higher Chinese import duties on large-engined gasoline vehicles would hit them hardest. … “German firms’ China market sentiment falls to record low, survey shows” →

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Tuesday he is confident that whatever military aid allies can supply to Ukraine in the coming months will be provided, as he warned that Russia is again using the onset of winter as a weapon in its war in Ukraine. Rutte told reporters in Brussels ahead of talks with NATO foreign ministers that there is a priority on protecting Ukrainian energy infrastructure and ensuring Ukrainian forces have the air defenses necessary to defend against Russian attacks. In addition to the war in Ukraine, the foreign ministers are also discussing what Rutte said was an “escalating campaign” of Russian hostile actions toward NATO countries, including acts of sabotage and cybercrimes. Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it shot down 29 of 50 drones that Russia launched in its latest round of overnight attacks. The intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Ternopil regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Officials in Kharkiv reported damage to a business from a downed drone, while officials in Sumy said Russian shelling damaged several buildings. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down 24 Ukrainian drones overnight, and another 11 drones early Tuesday. Officials in Russia’s Ryazan region said a drone damaged four houses, but caused no casualties. Ukrainian drones were also shot down over the Rostov, Bryansk, Belgorod, Krasnodar, Kursk and Kaluga regions, the ministry said. …

GENEVA — The United Nations on Wednesday sought $47 billion in aid for 2025 to help around 190 million people fleeing conflict and battling starvation, at a time when this year’s appeal is not even half-funded and officials fear cuts from Western states including the top donor, the U.S. Facing what the new U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher describes as “an unprecedented level of suffering,” the U.N. hopes to reach people in 32 countries next year, including those in war-torn Sudan, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine. “The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out,” Fletcher told reporters in Geneva. “We need to reset our relationship with those in greatest need on the planet,” said Fletcher, a former British diplomat who started as head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last month. The appeal is the fourth largest in OCHA’s history, but Fletcher said it leaves out some 115 million people whose needs the agency cannot realistically hope to fund: “We’ve got to be absolutely focused on reaching those in the most dire need, and really ruthless.” The U.N. cut its 2024 appeal to $46 billion from $56 billion the previous year as donor appetite faded, but it is still only 43% funded, one of the worst rates in history. Washington has given over $10 billion, about half the funds received. Aid workers have had to make tough choices, cutting food assistance by 80% in Syria and water services in cholera-prone Yemen, OCHA said. Aid is just one part of total spending by the U.N., which has for years failed to meet its core budget due to countries’ unpaid dues. While incoming president Donald Trump halted some U.N. spending during his first term, he left U.N. aid budgets intact. This time, aid officials and diplomats see cuts as a possibility. “The U.S. is a tremendous question mark,” said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who held Fletcher’s post from 2003-2006. “I fear that we may be bitterly disappointed because the global mood and the national political developments are not in our favor.” Project 2025, a set of conservative proposals whose authors include some Trump advisers, takes aim at “wasteful budget increases” by the main U.S. relief agency, USAID. The incoming Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment. Fletcher cited “the disintegration of our systems for international solidarity” and called … “UN seeks $47 billion in aid as donor appetite shrinks while crises multiply” →

TBILISI, Georgia — Thousands of demonstrators in the Georgian capital converged on parliament again on Tuesday, venting outrage against the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union. Like on five previous nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to push back the protesters, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard. Nearly 300 protesters have been detained, and 26 people, including three police officers, have been hospitalized with injuries. “The more force they use, the angrier people become, because everyone they arrest has relatives, and everyone understands that this is injustice,” said Tamar Kordzaia, a member of Unity National Movement opposition group. Kordzaia voiced confidence that the protesters will achieve their goal of calling new elections and joining the EU, noting that police on Monday “looked very tired. I am sure we need to withstand a little longer.” The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in the disputed Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations. The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighboring Russia’s help and boycotted parliament sessions. Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party’s decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold. “We are fighting for our democracy, to protect human rights, human dignity,” said Rusudan Chanturia, who attended Tuesday’s protest. Another demonstrator, David Jandieri, said the daily protests must continue until the demonstrators achieve their goal. “In fact, we do not have another choice,” he said. Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 293 protesters were detained on administrative charges and five arrested on criminal charges. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has refused to recognize the official election results and contested them in the Constitutional Court, which rejected her appeal on Tuesday. Zourabichvili, who plays a largely ceremonial role, has declared that she would stay on the job even after her six-year term ends later this month to lead the opposition demand for a new parliamentary election. The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations but put its accession 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. It requires organizations that … “Demonstrators converge on Georgia’s parliament, protest EU bid delay” →

The government of France faces a no-confidence vote Wednesday, a move that could topple the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Analysts predict French lawmakers will likely vote in favor of a no-confidence motion. Barnier warned the politicians that voting his government down “would make everything more difficult for France.” The no-confidence vote follows a seldom-used constitutional move the prime minister invoked Monday when he pushed through the 2025 budget without parliamentary approval, something Barnier said he did to maintain “stability” amid France’s deep political divisions. Barnier, who has been prime minister for just three months, is seeking to bring France’s gigantic budget deficit under control. The government can pass legislation without parliamentary approval under Article 49.3 of France’s constitution. That move, however, opens up the option of no-confidence motions. The prime minister’s action prompted Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and the leftist New Popular Front to both respond with filings for no-confidence motions. The left and the far-right together hold enough votes to overturn the prime minister’s government, according to Reuters, which reports that Le Pen has confirmed that her party would support a left-wing alliance’s no-confidence motion. A far-right motion would not receive enough votes from lawmakers. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the lawmakers voting in favor of the no-confidence vote were playing Russian roulette with France’s future. French President Emmanuel Macron said he could “not believe” the lawmakers had teamed up for the no confidence motion against the government and accused Le Pen of “unbearable cynicism.” “We must not scare people with these things. We have a strong economy,” the president said. Macron said he is holding on to the hope that the politicians will not censure the French government. “It doesn’t make sense,” he told reporters during a trip to Saudi Arabia. He compared the situation to “political fiction.” There have also been calls for Macron’s resignation, but the president said he has no intention of resigning before his term ends in 2027. “It so happens that if I am before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people,” he said. “I am extremely proud of this, and I will honor this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country.” Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. …

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock this week repeatedly criticized China’s economic and military support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, which she said is threatening peace in Europe. During a visit to China, she also pledged to stand up for Germany’s economic interests when it comes to electric vehicles, climate and security policy. VOA Mandarin spoke with analysts about what China’s muted response to her criticism may mean. See the full story here. …

The FBI has charged Nomma Zarubina, a Russian national living in New York, with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents regarding her ties to Russian intelligence services. According to the FBI, Zarubina sought connections with U.S. journalists, military personnel, and think tank experts on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies. Court documents reveal that she initially lied to U.S. authorities about her ties to FSB but later admitted to cooperating with FSB agents. See the full story here. …

Record numbers of migrants have arrived on Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa this year, according to the latest government figures. Spain plans to offer visas to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants already in the country – as the government says it needs young workers to boost its economy. Henry Ridgwell reports. Alfonso Beato contributed. …

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Political analysts in Nigeria say the country needs to be careful after signing a series of agreements with France during President Bola Tinubu’s three-day visit to the European country last week. Tinubu’s three-day visit to France was the first official state visit to Paris by a Nigerian leader in more than two decades. During the visit, Nigeria and France signed two major deals, including a $300 million pact to develop critical infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, agriculture and health care in Nigeria. Both nations also signed an agreement to increase food security and develop Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. Tinubu has been trying to attract investments to boost Nigeria’s ailing economy. While many praise his latest deals with France, some critics are urging caution. The deals come as France looks for friends in West Africa following a series of military coups in countries where it formerly had strong ties — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Ahmed Buhari, a political affairs analyst, criticized the partnership. “Everybody is trying to look for a new development partner that would seemingly be working in their own interest, but obviously we don’t seem to be on the same page,” Buhari said. “We’re partnering with France, who [has] been responsible for countries like Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and the likes, and we haven’t seen significant developments in those places in the last 100 years.” Abuja-based political analyst Chris Kwaja said France’s strained relationships with the Sahelian states do not affect Nigeria. “That the countries of the Sahel have a fractured relationship with France does not in any way define the future of the Nigeria-France relationship,” Kwaja said. “No country wants to operate as an island. Every country is looking at strategic partnerships and relationships.” France has a long history of involvement in the Sahel region, including military intervention, economic cooperation and development aid. Critics say the countries associated with France have been grappling with poverty and insecurity. Eze Onyekpere, economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice, said Nigeria must be wary of any deal before signing. “It is a little bit disappointing considering the reputation of France in the way they’ve been exploiting minerals across the Sahel,’ Onyekpere said. “They’ve been undertaking exploitation in a way and manner that’s not in the best interest of those countries. I hope we have good enough checks to make sure that the agreements signed will generally … “Regional analysts suggest caution as Nigeria signs new deals with France” →