Author: Mirits

BERLIN — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about juggling work and motherhood. The mother of two was able to preside over a large state-owned farm in the northeastern village of Banzkow because child care was widely available. Contrast that with Claudia Huth, a mother of five, who grew up in capitalist West Germany. Huth quit her job as a bank clerk when she was pregnant with her first child and led a life as a traditional housewife in the village of Egelsbach, in Hesse, raising the kids and tending to her husband, who worked as a chemist. Leo and Huth fulfilled roles that in many ways were typical for women in the vastly different political systems that governed Germany during its decades of division following the country’s defeat in World War II in 1945. As Germany celebrates the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 — and the country’s reunification less than a year later on October 3, 1990 — many in Germany are reflecting on how women’s lives that diverged so starkly under communism and capitalism have become much more similar again — although some differences remain even today. “In West Germany, women — not all, but many — had to fight for their right to have a career,” said Clara Marz, the curator of an exhibition about women in divided Germany for the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany. Women in East Germany, meanwhile, often had jobs — though that was something that “they had been ordered from above to do,” she said. Built in 1961, the Wall stood for 28 years at the front line of the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets. It was built by the communist regime to cut off East Germans from the supposed ideological contamination of the West and to stem the tide of people fleeing East Germany. Today only a few stretches of the 156.4-kilometer (97.2-mile) barrier around the capitalist exclave of West Berlin remain, mostly as a tourist attraction. “All the heavy industry was in the West; there was nothing here,” Leo, who is now 81 years old, said during a recent interview looking back at her life as a woman under communism. “East Germany had to pay war reparations to the Soviet Union. Women needed to work our … “Berlin Wall once shaped German women’s lives; echoes remain today” →

BERLIN — Germany marks 35 years since the Berlin Wall fell with festivities beginning Saturday under the theme “Preserve Freedom!” as Russia’s war rages in Ukraine and many fear democracy is under attack. Chancellor Olaf Scholz — whose governing coalition dramatically collapsed this week — said in a message to the nation that the liberal ideals of 1989 “are not something we can take for granted.” “A look at our history and at the world around us shows this,” said Scholz, whose three-party ruling alliance imploded on the day Donald Trump was elected president in the United States, plunging Germany into political turmoil and toward new elections. November 9, 1989, is celebrated as the day East Germany’s dictatorship opened the borders to the West after months of peaceful mass protests, paving the way for German reunification and the collapse of Soviet communism. One Berliner who remembers those momentous events, retiree Jutta Krueger, 75, said about the political crisis hitting just ahead of the anniversary weekend: “It’s a shame that it’s coinciding like this now.” “But we should still really celebrate the fall of the Wall,” she said, hailing it as the moment East Germans could travel and “freedom had arrived throughout Germany.” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will kick off events on Saturday at the Berlin Wall Memorial, honoring the at least 140 people killed trying to flee the Moscow-backed German Democratic Republic during the Cold War. In the evening, a “freedom party” with a music and light show will be held at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, on the former path of the concrete barrier that had cut the city in two beginning in 1961. On Sunday, the Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot will perform in front of the former headquarters of the Stasi, former East Germany’s feared secret police. Pro-democracy activists from around the world have been invited for the commemorations — among them Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad. Talks, performances and a large-scale open-air art exhibition will also mark what Culture Minister Claudia Roth called “one of the most joyous moments in world history.” Replica placards from the 1989 protests will be on display along 4 kilometers of the wall’s route, past the historic Reichstag building and the famous Checkpoint Charlie. Among the art installations will be thousands of images created by citizens on the theme of “freedom,” to drive home the enduring relevance of … “Germany marks 1989 Berlin Wall fall with ‘Preserve Freedom’ party” →

The violence against fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam has some Israelis worried that it isn’t safe for their sports teams and fans to travel to games abroad. Many Palestinians want them banned entirely over Israel’s conduct of the war with Hamas. Dutch authorities say Israeli fans were assaulted after a football game in Amsterdam by hordes of young people apparently riled up by calls on social media to target Jewish people. Five people were treated at hospitals and dozens were arrested after the Thursday night attacks, which were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Amsterdam, Israel and across Europe. Israel’s football teams play domestic games at home despite the Israel-Hamas war. But European football body UEFA has ruled that the war with Hamas means Israel cannot host international games. Supporters of the Palestinian campaign to ban Israel from international competition have criticized world football body FIFA for not matching its 2022 decision to suspend Russian national teams from competitions days after the invasion of Ukraine. UEFA also removed Russian teams. Sports and war Israeli teams have been playing their home games in Hungary, Serbia and Cyprus. Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has close ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has long promoted Hungary as the safest European country for Jews. He has banned Palestinian solidarity protests, arguing they are a safety threat. Israel’s national team has been playing all of its home matches in the men’s Nations League this season in Bozsik Arena in Budapest. Maccabi Tel Aviv — the only Israeli men’s team to qualify for European club football competitions this season — has been playing its home games in Szombathely, Hungary, and Belgrade, Serbia. A question about away games, too Belgium declined to stage a men’s Nations League game against Israel in September. That game was played in Hungary instead, with no fans in the stadium. Other away games have been carried out without incident but the violence in Amsterdam could change things, and not just for soccer. Israel’s National Security Council urged Israelis not to attend a match Friday with Maccabi’s basketball team in Bologna, Italy, to avoid “externalizing Israeli/Jewish identification marks as much as possible.” Italian police said security was increased for the game, both for fans and for the Maccabi team. Even before the Amsterdam attacks, UEFA announced that the Maccabi football team’s next away match in the Europa League, which … “After Amsterdam violence, Israelis worry about sports teams’ safety abroad” →

berlin — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about juggling work and motherhood. The mother of two was able to preside over a large state-owned farm in the northeastern village of Banzkow because childcare was widely available.  Contrast that with Claudia Huth, a mother of five, who grew up in capitalist West Germany. Huth quit her job as a bank clerk when she was pregnant with her first child and led a life as a traditional housewife in the village of Egelsbach in Hesse, raising the kids and tending to her husband, who worked as a chemist.  Both Leo and Huth fulfilled roles that in many ways were typical for women in the vastly different political systems that governed Germany during its decades of division following the country’s defeat in World War II in 1945.  As Germany celebrates the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989 — and the country’s reunification less than a year later on Oct. 3, 1990 — many in Germany are reflecting on how women’s lives that have diverged so starkly under communism and capitalism have become much more similar again — though some differences remain even today.  “In West Germany, women — not all, but many — had to fight for their right to have a career,” said Clara Marz, the curator of an exhibition about women in divided Germany for the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Germany.  Women in East Germany, meanwhile, often had jobs — though that was something that “they had been ordered from above to do,” she added.  Front line of Cold War Built in 1961, the Wall stood for 28 years at the front line of the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets. It was built by the communist regime to cut off East Germans from the supposed ideological contamination of the West and to stem the tide of people fleeing East Germany.  Today only a few stretches of the 156.4-kilometer (97.2-mile) barrier around the capitalist exclave of West Berlin remain, mostly as a tourist attraction.  “All the heavy industry was in the west, there was nothing here,” Leo, who is now 81 years old, said during a recent interview looking back at her life as a woman under communism. “East Germany had to pay war reparations to the Soviet … “Berlin Wall, divide that once shaped German women’s lives, echoes today” →

ABBOTS LANGLEY, England — Originally built to store crops from peasant farmers, the Tithe Barn on the edge of the English village of Abbots Langley was converted into homes that preserve its centuries of history. Now, its residents are fighting to stop a development next door that represents the future. A proposal to build a data center on a field across the road was rejected by local authorities amid fierce opposition from villagers. But it’s getting a second chance from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which is pursuing reforms to boost economic growth following his Labour party’s election victory in July. Residents of Abbots Langley, 30 kilometers northwest of London, worry the facility will strain local resources and create noise and traffic that damages the character of the quiet village, which is home to more than 20,000 people. Off the main street there’s a church with a stone tower built in the 12th century and, further down the road, a picturesque circular courtyard of rustic thatched-roof cottages that used to be a farm modeled on one built for French Queen Marie Antoinette. “It’s just hideously inappropriate,” said Stewart Lewis, 70, who lives in one of the converted houses in the 600-year-old Tithe Barn. “I think any reasonable person anywhere would say, ‘Hang on, they want a data center? This isn’t the place for it.’” As the artificial intelligence boom fuels demand for cloud-based computing from server farms around the world, such projects are pitting business considerations, national priorities and local interests against each other. Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has stepped in to review the appeals filed by developers of three data center projects after they were rejected by local authorities, taking the decision out of the hands of town planners. Those proposals include Abbots Langley and two projects in Buckinghamshire, which sits west of London. The first decision is expected by January. The projects are controversial because the data centers would be built on “greenbelt” land, which has been set aside to prevent urbanization. Rayner wants to tap the greenbelt for development, saying much of it is low quality. One proposed Buckinghamshire project, for example, involves redeveloping an industrial park next to a busy highway. “Whilst it’s officially greenbelt designated land, there isn’t anything ‘green’ about the site today,” said Stephen Beard, global head of data centers at Knight Frank, a property consultancy that’s working on the project. … “As data center industry booms, English village becomes battleground” →

ROME — The Pompeii archaeological park plans to limit visitor numbers to 20,000 a day and introduce personalized tickets starting next week in a bid to cope with over-tourism and protect the world heritage site, officials said Friday. The move comes after what authorities called a record summer that saw more than 4 million people visiting the world-famous remains of the ancient Roman city, buried under ash and rock following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The park’s director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said visitors to the main archaeological site now exceed an average of 15,000 to 20,000 every day, and the new daily cap will prevent the numbers from surging further. “We are working on a series of projects to lift the human pressure on the site, which could pose risks both for visitors and the heritage (that is) so unique and fragile,” Zuchtriegel said. Starting November 15 tickets to access the park will be personalized to include the full names of visitors. A maximum of 20,000 tickets will be released each day, with different time slots during the peak summer season. The park’s management is also trying to attract more tourists to visit other ancient sites connected to Pompeii by a free shuttle bus under the “Greater Pompeii” project, including Stabia, Torre Annunziata and Boscoreale sites. “The measures to manage flows and safety and the personalization of the visits are part of this strategy,” Zuchtriegel said. “We are aiming for slow, sustainable, pleasant and non-mass tourism and above all widespread throughout the territory around the UNESCO site, which is full of cultural jewels to discover,” he added.  …

The United States will send a small number of contractors to Ukraine to help it maintain and repair the U.S.-provided weapons and air defense systems it is using against Russia’s invasion, a defense official said Friday. The official said the contractors “will be far from the front lines and they will not be fighting Russian forces.” Ukraine needs the contractors to repair and maintain equipment, such as F-16s and Patriot air defense systems, that requires “specific technical expertise to maintain,” the official said. The decision to send the contractors was made “after careful risk assessment,” the official said. On Wednesday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his election victory, Trump had Elon Musk join the call. The billionaire businessman was a contributor to Trump’s presidential campaign. A Ukrainian official told The Associated Press that Zelenskyy thanked Musk for helping Ukraine gain access to the Starlink satellite internet platform. Other media outlets reported that Trump told Zelenskyy that he would support Ukraine, and that Musk said he would continue to supply Starlink. Musk was on the phone for only part of the conversation. Overnight attacks Ukrainian officials said Friday morning that Russia attacked the regions of Odesa, Kharkiv and Kyiv overnight into Friday with drones, missiles and aerial bombs, damaging residential buildings and infrastructure and killing at least one person and injuring at least 25. Regional officials in Kharkiv say a Russian guided aerial bomb struck a 12-story residential building in the early hours Friday. They said the bomb struck the first three floors. A search was underway for anyone trapped in the rubble. In Odesa, police and emergency service officials told the French news agency Agence France-Presse that a Russian drone struck several residential buildings, sparking fires in some. They said a 46-year-old man was killed when his car was struck by shrapnel, and at least nine others were injured. The Odesa officials reported shrapnel from the attacks also ruptured fuel lines, causing several fires. On the social media platform X, President Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces shot down four missiles and about 60 drones launched by Russia against Ukraine overnight Thursday. “Each time Russia attempts to destroy our lives, it is crucial to respond collectively and decisively at the international level to reduce and block the potential for terror,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Ukraine needs strength to achieve this. This is the only way … “US to send contactors to Ukraine to repair, maintain US weapons” →

Washington/Istanbul — Local authorities in Turkey’s metropolitan Istanbul province banned a screening of the LGBTQI-themed movie “Queer” on Thursday because of concerns that it would endanger public peace and security. The screening of “Queer,” a film directed by Italian director Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, was scheduled to open a film festival in Istanbul’s Kadikoy district on Thursday. The festival was organized by Mubi, an international streaming platform and film production and distribution company. Mubi canceled the entire festival, noting “This ban not only targets a single film but also undermines the very essence and purpose of the festival.” In a statement shared on X, Mubi announced that the Kadikoy District Governor’s Office had notified them of the ban hours before the festival was set to begin. “The decision states that the film is prohibited on the grounds that it contains provocative content that could endanger public peace, with the ban being imposed for security reasons,” Mubi wrote. “We believe this ban is a direct restriction on art and freedom of expression,” Mubi added. The Kadikoy District Governor’s Office has not made a public statement on the ban and has not responded to VOA’s inquiry at the time of this story’s publication. Rising anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric The Turkish government has toughened rhetoric against its LGBTQI+ community in recent years, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly calling its members “perverts” or “deviants.” Authorities have banned pride marches throughout the country since 2015, citing security concerns. At least 15 people were detained in Istanbul in June for taking part in a pride rally. Yıldız Tar, editor in chief of the LGBTQI news portal KaosGL, does not find the ban surprising considering the government’s anti-LGBTQI stance. “The reason for the ban on ‘Queer’ is of course that it is a film about LGBTI+ people. When you try to organize any LGBTI+-themed event in Turkey since 2015, you already encounter such bans,” Tar told VOA. Tar noted that the Kadikoy District Governor’s Office banned the screening of another movie, “Pride,” as part of Pride Month events in June 2023. The Istanbul festival, which was scheduled to take place November 7 to 10, included a variety of film screenings, talks and performances. According to Mubi, tickets for the festival had sold out days in advance. Tar views Mubi’s decision to cancel the festival after the ban as “an important and valuable message” … “Turkish authorities ban screening of LGBTQI-themed film ‘Queer’” →

amsterdam — Amsterdam banned demonstrations for three days from Friday after overnight attacks on Israeli soccer supporters by what the mayor called “antisemitic hit-and-run squads,” and Israel sent planes to the Netherlands to fly fans home.  Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks” around the city, and that riot police intervened to protect them and escort them to hotels. At least five people were treated in a hospital.   Videos on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans before Thursday evening’s match.  “We saw a lot of demonstrations, a lot of people running. It was really, really terrifying,” said Joni Pogrebetsy, an Israeli soccer fan in Amsterdam for the match.  Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands since Israel launched its assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after the attacks on Israel by Hamas militants in October last year, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government sent planes to the Netherlands to bring fans home, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar flew to Amsterdam for impromptu meetings with the Dutch government and far-right leader Geert Wilders.  Amsterdam banned demonstrations through the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers in response to the unrest, which exposed deep anger over the Gaza-Israel conflict.  More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, according to health officials there. The offensive was launched after Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage in the initial cross-border attack, according to Israel. Hamas has been designated a terror group by the U.S., U.K., EU and others.    In Washington, U.S. President Biden condemned the attacks as “despicable” and said they “echo dark moments in history when Jews were persecuted.” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the violence in Amsterdam, a U.N. spokesperson said.  Security tightened  Mayor Halsema said police had been taken by surprise after security services failed to flag the match against Ajax Amsterdam, traditionally identified as a Jewish club, as high-risk.  “Antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had managed to evade a force of around 200 officers, she said.  Security was tightened in the city, where a service was planned at a Jewish monument on Saturday to remember Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom against Jews … “Amsterdam bans rallies after Israeli soccer fans attacked” →

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing one civilian and wounding more than 30 people in the center, south, and northeast, Ukrainian officials said Friday. The Russian forces launched 92 drones and five missiles at 12 Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Sixty-two drones and four missiles were downed, it said, and 26 drones were “lost,” most likely meaning they had been thwarted electronically. The Interior Ministry said one person had been killed in the Odesa region, where civilian infrastructure and homes were damaged and nine people were injured. Four people were wounded in a drone attack on the Kyiv region and at least six private houses and several cars were damaged, it said. Russia also pounded the city of Kharkiv in the northeast with guided bombs, wounding at least 25 people, said regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a fresh appeal to Kyiv’s partners to help strengthen its air defenses. “Air defense, long-range capabilities, weapons packages, sanctions against the aggressor — this is the answer that is needed, not only in words, but also in actions,” he said on the Telegram messaging app. Russia has intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns, sending swarms of drones almost every night. Ukrainian officials say Russia is trying to stretch Ukraine’s air defenses and demoralize the civilian population as the war nears the 1,000-day mark and Moscow’s troops advance in the east. Russia launched more than 2,000 attack drones at civilian and military targets in October, Ukraine’s military said.   …

AMSTERDAM — Antisemitic rioters “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them” after a football match, Amsterdam authorities said Friday as Israel said it was sending planes to the Dutch capital to fly fans home. An unknown number of Israeli supporters were injured in the Thursday night violence that was condemned by the leaders of both the Netherlands and Israel as antisemitic. A statement issued by the Dutch capital’s municipality, police and prosecution office said that the night after the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv “was very turbulent with several incidents of violence aimed at Maccabi supporters.” There was no immediate word on the number of injured or arrests. The violence erupted Thursday despite a ban on a pro-Palestinian demonstration near the football stadium imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who had feared that clashes would break out between protesters and supporters of the Israeli football club. Israel ordered that two planes be sent to the Dutch capital to bring the Israelis home. “The prime minister has directed that two rescue planes be sent immediately to assist our citizens,” said a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. It added that “the harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked,” and that Netanyahu “views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity.” He demanded that the Dutch government take “vigorous and swift action” against those involved. Netanyahu’s office added that he had called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X that he followed reports of the violence “with horror.” “Completely unacceptable anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis. I am in close contact with everyone involved,” he added, saying that he had spoken to Netanyahu and “emphasized that the perpetrators will be tracked down and prosecuted. It is now quiet in the capital.” Geert Wilders, the hard right nationalist lawmaker whose Party for Freedom won elections in the Netherlands last year and who is a staunch ally of Israel, reacted to a video apparently showing a Maccabi fan being surrounded by several men. “Looks like a Jew hunt in the streets of Amsterdam. Arrest and deport the multicultural scum that attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in our streets. Ashamed that this can happen in The Netherlands. Totally unacceptable,” Wilders said. Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also condemned the violence in a post … “Israel, Netherlands condemn ‘antisemitic’ attacks on football fans in Amsterdam” →

When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved in stone for centuries. Observers see stories in the plaster casts later made of their bodies, like a mother holding a child and two women embracing as they died. But new DNA evidence suggests things were not as they seem — and these prevailing interpretations come from looking at the ancient world through modern eyes. “We were able to disprove or challenge some of the previous narratives built upon how these individuals were kind of found in relation to each other,” said Alissa Mittnik of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. “It opens up different interpretations for who these people might have been.” Mittnik and her colleagues discovered that the person thought to be a mother was actually a man unrelated to the child. And at least one of the two people locked in an embrace — long assumed to be sisters or a mother and daughter — was a man. Their research was published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. The team, which also includes scientists from Harvard University and the University of Florence in Italy, relied on genetic material preserved for nearly two millennia. After Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the Roman city in 79 A.D., bodies buried in mud and ash eventually decomposed, leaving spaces where they used to be. Casts were created from the voids in the late 1800s. Researchers focused on 14 casts undergoing restoration, extracting DNA from the fragmented skeletal remains that mixed with them. They hoped to determine the sex, ancestry and genetic relationships between the victims. There were several surprises in “the house of the golden bracelet,” the dwelling where the assumed mother and child were found. The adult wore an intricate piece of jewelry, for which the house was named, reinforcing the impression that the victim was a woman. Nearby were the bodies of another adult and child thought to be the rest of their nuclear family. DNA evidence showed the four were male and not related to one another, clearly showing “the story that was long spun around these individuals” was wrong, Mittnik said. Researchers also confirmed Pompeii citizens came from diverse backgrounds but mainly descended from eastern Mediterranean immigrants – underscoring a broad pattern of movement and cultural exchange in the Roman Empire. Pompeii is located about … “DNA evidence rewrites long-told stories of people in ancient Pompeii” →

Allies in Europe are debating what Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election could mean for their security and economy. Trump’s first term in office was characterized by often turbulent relations with EU and NATO partners. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has amplified Europe’s concerns over the transatlantic alliance. …

International observers reported that Moldova’s well-organized presidential runoff provided voters with a real choice, despite legal shortcomings, biased media coverage and the effects of Russian interference. …

Malawi, with help from the World Food Program, has received its first shipment of more than 19,000 tons of maize from Ukraine. The food aid will help feed millions of Malawians currently dealing with food shortages exacerbated by El Nino-induced drought. Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre. …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister Wednesday because of a budget dispute, collapsing a fragile three-party governing coalition and prompting opposition calls for snap elections. Scholz fired finance minister and Free Democrats Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner following a lengthy and reportedly contentious meeting to address a shortfall in the nation’s budget. Lindner and his party had rejected tax increases and pushed for cuts in social programs, an idea rejected by the other two coalition members. The FDP is part of a governing coalition with Scholz’s Social Democrats Party (SPD) and the Green Party, put together following the 2021 elections. The action leaves Scholz leading a minority government with the Greens. He called for a confidence vote in the parliament in January, which would lead to new elections if he lost. But Thursday, the leader of Germany’s conservative opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Friedrich Merz, said the legislature should vote as soon as next week. “There is absolutely no reason to wait until January of next year to ask for a vote of confidence,” Merz said. “It is important that we now very quickly return responsibility for the formation of the German Bundestag to the voters in Germany.” At his own news conference Thursday, now-former finance minister and FDP leader Lindner agreed, saying an immediate confidence vote is the right thing for the country. Both Scholz and opposition leader Merz are expected to meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who urged “reason and responsibility” from all sides. The German president is largely a figurehead who oversees the formation of the government and the approval and dismissal of government ministers. Germany’s government turmoil is likely to compound growing frustration with its mainstream parties and provide an opening for burgeoning populist movements, including the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, or AfD. With France also facing political uncertainty after snap elections this year, turmoil in the European Union’s two largest economies could hamper efforts by European leaders gathering Thursday in Budapest to form a unified response to Donald Trump’s resounding victory in U.S. elections. Some 50 European leaders are meeting for the European Political Community Summit, where Trump’s presidency raises the possibility of new U.S. tariffs, a turn in Russia’s war in Ukraine and a weakening of the NATO alliance. The summit is hosted by Hungary’s far-right nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and … “German governing coalition nears collapse after minister dismissed” →

The British government said on Thursday it had imposed its biggest sanctions package in 18 months against Russia, targeting people involved in the Ukraine war, African mercenary groups and a nerve agent attack on British soil. The foreign ministry said it had sanctioned 56 entities and individuals, aiming to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort and Russia’s “malign activity globally.” Among them were 10 entities based in China said to be supplying machinery and components for the Russian military. “Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine,” British foreign minister David Lammy said. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Most of the measures were aimed at companies based in Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan accused of aiding the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the supply of machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones. They include firms that European intelligence sources believe to be part of a Russian attempt to establish a weapons program in China, according to a Reuters report in September. Britain also said the latest sanctions would address Russian activity in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic by targeting three private mercenary groups with links to the Kremlin, including the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps, and 11 individuals. Amongst the individuals sanctioned was Denis Sergeev, whom British police have charged over the murder attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripaland his daughter Yulia in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018.  Sergeev, who Britain said was acting under the alias Sergey Fedotov, was one of three Russians said by Britain to have been GRU military intelligence officers suspected of carrying out the attack. Last month, a public inquiry into the death of a woman who was accidentally poisoned by the nerve agent heard that Skripal believed Putin himself had ordered the Novichok attack. Moscow has repeatedly rejected British accusations that it was involved. …

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines said Thursday its coast guard will acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine coast guard commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said will cost about $440 million, to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels will be deployed in the South China Sea, where Filipino maritime forces have figured in violent confrontations this year with China’s coast guard — part of a festering territorial dispute over waters and land features. China claims most of the sea including waters close to the shores of the Philippines and several other neighbors, ignoring an international tribunal ruling that its claims are without legal basis.  “It is a game changer for us,” Gavan said, describing the vessels as “fast enough to reach the edges of our exclusive economic zone” for law enforcement and other missions. “This will form part of the force mix that we need to address the threats in the area,” he added. Under the deal, 20 of the 40 vessels will be built in the Philippines through a technology transfer that Gavan said will provide a boost to Manila’s shipbuilding industry. “The new (fast patrol craft) will help deter smuggling and illegal activities while ensuring the enforcement of maritime sovereignty in critical marine areas,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement. The Philippine coast guard currently has a small fleet of modern vessels, including two 97-meter patrol ships and 10 44-meter patrol ships, all built by Japan. The Japanese government is financing the construction of five additional 97-metre patrol vessels worth $418 million that will be delivered in 2027. AFP has contracted the French embassy in Manila for details of the deal and the vessels. The mission did not immediately respond.  …

CHICAGO — For the second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be the hottest it’s ever been. And for the first time, the globe this year reached more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming compared to the pre-industrial average, the European climate agency Copernicus said Thursday. “It’s this relentless nature of the warming that I think is worrying,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus. Buontempo said the data clearly shows the planet would not see such a long sequence of record-breaking temperatures without the constant increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere driving global warming. He cited other factors that contribute to exceptionally warm years like last year and this one. They include El Nino — the temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide — as well as volcanic eruptions that spew water vapor into the air and variations in energy from the sun. But he and other scientists say the long-term increase in temperatures beyond fluctuations like El Nino is a bad sign. “A very strong El Nino event is a sneak peek into what the new normal will be about a decade from now,” said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist with the nonprofit Berkeley Earth. News of a likely second year of record heat comes a day after Republican Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and promised to boost oil drilling and production, was reelected to the U.S. presidency. It also comes days before the next U.N. climate conference, called COP29, is set to begin in Azerbaijan. Talks are expected to focus on how to generate trillions of dollars to help the world transition to clean energies like wind and solar, and thus avoid continued warming. Buontempo pointed out that going over the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold of warming for a single year is different than the goal adopted in the 2015 Paris Agreement. That goal was meant to try to cap warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times on average, over 20 or 30 years. A United Nations report this year said that since the mid-1800s on average, the world has already heated up 1.3 degrees Celsius — up from previous estimates of 1.1 degrees or 1.2 degrees. That’s of concern because the U.N. says the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals of the world’s nations still aren’t nearly ambitious enough to keep the 1.5 degree Celsius target on … “European climate agency says this will likely be the hottest year on record — again” →

Ukrainian officials reported damage to residential buildings Thursday after overnight Russian drone attacks, while South Korea’s president said he would not rule out sending weapons to Ukrainian forces. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that the Russian attack damaged houses and apartment buildings in five districts in the Ukrainian capital. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than three dozen drones over the Kyiv region, and that two people were injured. In the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Kiper said Thursday falling drone debris damaged several buildings and injured one person. Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, reported on Telegram that Russian drone attacks damaged five houses overnight, but did not cause any injuries. Officials in Cherkasy, Kherson and Mykolaiv also said Thursday that air defenses shot down Russian drones in their regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed two Ukrainian aerial drones over Voronezh, where officials said there were no reports of damage or casualties. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a news conference Thursday in Seoul that his government will “gradually adjust our support strategy in phases” depending on how much North Korea becomes involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “This means we are not ruling out the possibility of providing weapons,” Yoon said. South Korean and U.S. officials have said North Korea has more than 10,000 troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region. On Wednesday, foreign ministers from the Group of 7, along with South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, issued a joint statement expressing “grave concerns” over “DPRK’s direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” referring to North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).    “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including the DPRK’s export and Russia’s unlawful procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles in breach of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), as well as Russia’s use of these missiles and munitions against Ukraine,” the ministers said, warning that this could dangerously expand the conflict with serious implications for European and Indo-Pacific security. They also voiced serious concerns about any potential transfer of nuclear or missile-related technology from Russia to North Korea. Some information for this story was provided by Agence France-Presse, Reuters and The Associated Press.   …

Moscow — Russia plans to significantly tighten the rules governing the income received by those deemed “foreign agents” and of those who speak negatively about Russia after leaving the country, the speaker of the Russian parliament said on Thursday. Russian law requires any person or organization receiving support from outside Russia or who is under foreign influence to register as a “foreign agent,” a label that has negative Soviet-era connotations and brings onerous bureaucratic requirements. Russia says the law is less strict than the 1938 U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, though the Russian law has been applied to almost all of the leaders of the divided opposition and is considered by some dissidents to be a badge of honor. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament, said that the Duma was working on tightening the rules over copyright and intellectual rights payments to foreign agents by forcing them to use special ruble accounts for such payments. The rules would cover all income from intellectual activity and brands, including works of science, literature and art, performances, broadcasting, inventions and trademarks. “Those who destroy Russia by insulting its citizens, the participants of the special military operation, should not enrich themselves at the expense of our country,” Volodin, who often floats Kremlin-backed initiatives, said on Telegram. Russia officially presents the war in Ukraine as a “special military operation,” though many Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin often also refer to it as a war. Volodin added that Russia was working on measures to tighten the rules over the income of those people not classed as foreign agents but who have left Russia and speak negatively about Russia. A total of 881 people and organizations are listed as foreign agents by the Russian justice ministry, including former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Nobel prize winner Dmitry Muratov and prominent YouTube blogger Yuri Dud. Supporters of Putin say the foreign agent law is necessary to counter Western attempts to meddle in Russia’s domestic affairs amid what Putin casts as a proxy war in Ukraine between Russia and the West. Russian officials say that the pro-Western cultural elite which grew up after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union is being cleared out and replaced by patriotic singers, writers and artists who will ensure Russia remains sovereign. Opponents of Putin say the law is part of an intricate system of repression which has turned … “Russia to curb income of ‘foreign agents’ and those who leave, lawmaker says” →

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the first world leaders to congratulate newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump. On the streets of Ukraine’s capital, many Ukrainians say they fear that Trump may fulfill a campaign promise to end the war by forcing them into a settlement that will favor Moscow. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. …

London — U.S. allies in Europe have congratulated President-elect Donald Trump following his comprehensive victory in Tuesday’s presidential election, despite deep concerns across the continent over what his second term may mean for transatlantic relations. In Britain, the so-called “special relationship” with America has long been treasured. However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer got off to a difficult start with the Trump team last month after officials in his Labour Party offered election advice to his rival, Kamala Harris, on the campaign trail. Nevertheless, Starmer was among the first of the world leaders to congratulate Trump in the early hours of Wednesday. “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the U.K.-U.S. special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” Starmer said. Changes ahead German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Europe should expect changes. “Many things will certainly be different under a government led by Donald Trump. Donald Trump has always made that clear publicly. Our messages are clear,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. “Firstly, Germany will remain a reliable transatlantic partner. We are aware of the contribution we make to this partnership and will continue to make in the future. This also applies with regard to the threat that all NATO allies believe Russia poses to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.” Russian reaction Russia gave a muted reaction to Trump’s victory. “It is almost impossible to worsen [U.S.-Russia ties] further — the relationship is at its historically lowest point. And then it will depend on the next leader of the United States,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday during a phone call. Trump has frequently criticized U.S. support for Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion, and there are fears he could end military and financial aid for Kyiv. NATO In his first term in office, Trump threatened to pull the United States out of NATO, claiming allies were taking advantage of the U.S. security umbrella by failing to share the burden of defense spending. However, in a statement Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte focused on Trump’s positive contributions to the alliance, claiming he had “turned the tide on European defense spending, improved transatlantic burden sharing, … “European leaders congratulate Trump amid fears about future transatlantic ties” →

America’s allies in Europe have congratulated Donald Trump following his comprehensive victory in Tuesday’s presidential election — despite widespread concern about what his second term may mean for transatlantic relations. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

France is looking at a second Trump presidency with a mix of trepidation, stoicism and — in some cases— joy. Even as President Emmanuel Macron rushed to congratulate Donald Trump for his win, French businesses worry about threatened tariffs and critics fear a similar tilt to the right could usher France’s far-right National Rally party to power. Lisa Bryant reports on the fallout from Paris.  …

Over 160,000 Ukrainians fled their home country and came to the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia since the Russian invasion. Physicians were among the 50 thousand or so refugees who came to Latvia. Vladislavs Andrejevs spoke with some of them in Riga. Anna Rice narrates his story. (Camera: Vladislavs Andrejevs ; Produced by Yuriy Zakrevskiy) …