Category: European Union

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moscow — Two Russian tankers that spilled oil into the Kerch Strait after sustaining serious damage during a heavy storm on Sunday were carrying 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products at the time, the state TASS news agency reported. How much of the fuel leaked is being determined, TASS said. It said the Volgoneft 212 was carrying roughly 4,900 tons of fuel oil at the time, and the Volgoneft 239 held 4,300 tons. Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Monday that all 14 crew members from the Volgoneft 239 had been rescued. The vessel ran aground 80 meters from the shore near the port of Taman. The Kerch Strait, which separates mainland Russia from Moscow-annexed Crimea, is a key route for exports of Russian grain and fuel products. The spill has the potential to be one of the largest environmental disasters to affect the region in recent years. On Sunday, one crew member was killed after the Volgoneft 212 split in half with its bow sinking. Eleven others were taken to a local hospital. President Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the spill, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. …

VIENNA — Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it impossible for her to even take short walks. After seeing a succession of doctors she was diagnosed with long COVID and even now spends most of her days in the small living room of her third-floor Vienna apartment, sitting on the windowsill to observe the world outside. “I can’t plan anything because I just don’t know how long this illness will last,” the 33-year-old Austrian told AFP. The first cases of COVID-19 were detected in China in December 2019, sparking a global pandemic and more than seven million reported deaths to date, according to the World Health Organization. But millions more have been affected by long COVID, in which some people struggle to recover from the acute phase of COVID-19, suffering symptoms including tiredness, brain fog and shortness of breath. Vanek tries to be careful not to exert herself to avoid another “crash”, which for her is marked by debilitating muscle weakness and can last for months, making it hard to even open a bottle of water. “We know that long COVID is a big problem,” said Anita Jain, from the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. About six percent of people infected by coronavirus develop long COVID, according to the global health body, which has recorded some 777 million COVID cases to date. Whereas the rates of long COVID after an initial infection are declining, reinfection increases the risk, Jain added. ‘Everything hurts’ Chantal Britt, who lives in Bern, Switzerland, contracted COVID in March 2020. Long COVID, she said, has turned her “life upside down” and forced her to “reinvent” herself.  “I was really an early bird…. Now I take two hours to get up in the morning at least because everything hurts,” the 56-year-old former marathon runner explained. “I’m not even hoping anymore that I’m well in the morning but I’m still kind of surprised how old and how broken I feel.” About 15 percent of those who have long COVID have persistent symptoms for more than one year, according to the WHO, while women tend to have a higher risk than men of developing the condition. Britt, who says she used to be a “workaholic”, now works part-time as a university researcher on long COVID and other topics.  She lost her job in … “Five years on from the pandemic, long COVID keeps lives on hold” →

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel said Sunday it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorated over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials said new Israeli airstrikes killed over 30 people including several children.  The decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israel’s foreign minister has described as Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies.” In May, Israel recalled its ambassador to Dublin after Ireland announced, along with Norway, Spain and Slovenia, it would recognize a Palestinian state.  The Irish Cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies it.  “We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized,” Ireland’s deputy premier and foreign affairs minister, Micheal Martin, said in a statement.  Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s statement on the embassy closure said that “Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel.”  Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the decision to close the embassy “deeply regrettable.” He added on X: “I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law.”  Israeli strikes in Gaza kill a journalist and children  Israeli forces continued Sunday to pound largely isolated northern Gaza, as the Palestinian death toll in the war approached 45,000.  One airstrike hit the Khalil Aweida school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least 15 people, according to nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital where casualties were taken. The dead included two parents and their daughter and a father and his son, the hospital said.  In Gaza City, at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people, according to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.  “We woke up to the strike. I woke up with the rubble on top of me,” said a bandaged Yahia al-Yazji, who grieved for his wife and daughter. “I found my wife with her head and skull visible, and my daughter’s intestines were gone. My wife was three months pregnant.” His hand rested on a body wrapped in a blanket on the floor.  Israel’s military in a statement said it struck a “terrorist cell” in Gaza City and a “terrorist meeting point” in the Beit Hanoun … “Israel will close its Ireland embassy over Gaza tensions” →

Istanbul — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Ethiopia and Somalia early next year after brokering a deal to end tensions between the two Horn of Africa neighbors, he said on X Sunday.  “I will visit Ethiopia and Somalia in the first two months of the New Year,” he wrote in a message that referred to the deal between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Ankara on December 11. The pair agreed to end their nearly yearlong bitter dispute after hours of talks brokered by Erdogan, who hailed the breakthrough as “historic.” The dispute began in January when landlocked Ethiopia struck a deal in with Somalia’s breakaway region Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base.  In return, Somaliland — which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 in a move not recognized by Mogadishu — said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa. Somalia branded the deal a violation of its sovereignty, setting international alarm bells ringing over the risk of renewed conflict in the volatile Horn of Africa region. Turkey stepped in to mediate in July, holding three previous rounds of talks — two in Ankara and one in New York — before last week’s breakthrough, which won praise from the African Union, Washington and Brussels.  Fresh from his latest diplomatic success, Erdogan on Friday telephoned Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and he offered “to step in to resolve the disputes between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates,” his office said. Since April 2023, Sudan has been mired in a brutal conflict between army chief Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo who leads the RSF.  Sudan’s army-backed government has repeatedly accused the UAE of supporting the RSF — a claim which the UAE has consistently denied. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 11 million more. …

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Sunday that he would provide Syria with grain and other agricultural products on a humanitarian basis, a week after the fall of Moscow’s ally, President Bashar al-Assad. “Now we can help the Syrians with our wheat, flour and oil: our products that are used globally to ensure food security,” he said in his daily address. “We are coordinating with our partners and the Syrian side to resolve logistical issues. We will support this region so that stability there becomes a foundation for our movement towards real peace,” Zelenskyy added. According to him, these possible deliveries will be part of the “Grain of Ukraine” program, launched in 2022 to provide food aid to the poorest countries. Even at war, Ukraine, one of the world’s largest producers of grain, retains immense production capacities. And despite Moscow’s threats to shoot ships sailing in the Black Sea, Kyiv has set up a corridor there to export its agricultural products from the summer of 2023. After an 11-day offensive, the rebel coalition dominated by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Dec. 8 overthrew Assad, who took refuge in Russia.   The fall was a serious setback for Moscow, which, along with Iran, was the former Syrian president’s main ally and had been intervening militarily in Syria since 2015. …

AJACCIO, Corsica — Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago. He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place d’Austerlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica — except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour. “Make children,” he implored. “They will be your joy and your consolation in the future.” Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity “that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic,” that can adapt to “unforeseen situations” and promote cooperation “between civil and ecclesial authorities.” The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary “can nurture constructive citizenship” on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition. The visit to Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon, is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italy’s borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. Francis was joined on the dais by the bishop of Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, who organized the conference that brought together some 400 participants from Spain, Sicily, Sardinia and southern France. The two-day meeting examined expressions of faith that often occur outside formal liturgies, such as processions and pilgrimages. Often specific to the places where they are practiced, popular piety in Corsica includes the cult of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the “Madunnuccia,” which protected the island from the plague in 1656 when it was still under Genoa control. Corsica stands out from the rest of secularized France as a particularly devout region, with 92 confraternities, or lay associations dedicated to works of charity or piety, with over 4,000 members. “It means that there is a beautiful, mature, adult and responsible collaboration between civil authorities, mayors, deputies, senators, … “Pope Francis makes 1st papal visit to France’s Corsica   “ →

KYIV — Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia killed a 9-year-old boy and set fire to a major oil terminal, officials said Saturday, the day after Moscow launched a massive aerial attack on its neighbor that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector in the nearly three-year war. The boy died when a drone struck his family’s home outside Belgorod, a Russian city near the border with Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Saturday morning on the Telegram messaging app. His mother and 7-month-old sister were hospitalized with injuries, Gladkov said. He posted photos of what he said was the aftermath of the attack, showing a low-rise house with gaping holes in its roof and front wall flanked by mounds of rubble. Elsewhere in southern Russia, Ukrainian drones overnight hit a major oil terminal in the Oryol region, sparking a blaze, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. Photos published by the General Staff and on Russian Telegram news channels showed huge plumes of smoke engulfing the facility, backlit by an orange glow. Oryol Gov. Andrey Klychkov confirmed that a Ukrainian drone strike set fire to a fuel depot. He said later the blaze had been contained and that there were no casualties. Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday claimed its forces shot down 37 Ukrainian drones over the country’s south and west the previous night. Russia pummels Ukrainian energy targets The Ukrainian strikes came a day after Russia fired 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones at its neighbor, further battering Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, around half of which has been destroyed during the war. Rolling electricity blackouts are common and widespread, and Zelenskyy charged Friday that Moscow is “terrorizing millions of people” with such assaults. According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia kept up its drone attacks on Saturday, launching 132 across Ukrainian territory. Fifty-eight drones were shot down and a further 72 veered off course, likely due to electronic jamming, it said. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces used long-range precision missiles and drones on “critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex.” The strike was in retaliation for Wednesday’s Ukrainian attack using U.S.-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, on a Russian air base, it said. Kyiv’s Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defense systems to help it protect … “Ukrainian drones strike Russia as Kyiv reels from consecutive massive air attacks” →

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — At least 11 people have died after Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, France’s Interior Ministry said Sunday. The intense tropical cyclone has now made landfall on the east coast of Africa, where aid agencies are warning of more loss of life and severe damage in northern Mozambique. The ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured in Mayotte amid fears the death toll will increase. A local hospital reported that nine people were in critical condition there and 246 others were injured. The tropical cyclone blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar. Mayotte was directly in its path and suffered extensive damage Saturday, officials said. The local prefect said it was the worst cyclone to hit Mayotte in 90 years. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Saturday night after an emergency meeting in Paris that there were fears that the death toll in Mayotte “will be high” and the island had been largely devastated. Prime Minister François Bayrou, who took office Friday, said public infrastructure on Mayotte had been severely damaged or destroyed, including the main hospital and the airport. He said many people living in precarious shacks in slum areas have faced very serious risks. Chido brought winds more than 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, making it a category 4 cyclone, the second strongest on the scale. Mayotte has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands about 800 kilometers (500 miles) off Africa’s east coast. It is France’s poorest island and the European Union’s poorest territory. In some parts, entire neighborhoods were flattened, while residents reported many trees had been uprooted and boats had been flipped or sunk. The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting.” More than 100 rescuers and firefighters have been deployed in Mayotte from France and the nearby territory of Reunion, and an additional reinforcement of 140 people was due to be sent Sunday. Supplies were being rushed in on military aircraft and ships. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation, while Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the cyclone while on a visit Sunday to the … “11 dead in French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido “ →

Berlin — The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday said Germany should reconsider its membership of NATO if the U.S.-led military alliance did not consider the interests of all European countries, including Russia.    “Europe has been forced to implement America’s interests. We reject that,” the AfD’s Tino Chrupalla told German daily Welt.    “NATO is currently not a defense alliance. A defense community must accept and respect the interests of all European countries — including Russia’s interests,” Chrupalla said.    “If NATO cannot ensure that, Germany must consider to what extent this alliance is still useful for us,” he added.    The far-right AfD is polling at around 18-19% ahead of snap elections on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government last month.    The score puts the party ahead of Scholz’s Social Democrats at 16-17% and behind only the conservative CDU-CSU bloc, which is polling around 31-32%.    The AfD has little chance of forming a government because other parties have ruled out cooperation with the far-right group.    But it could continue a streak of strong electoral showings, after a landmark win in Thuringia, one of the regions in Germany’s formerly communist east.    The far-right party has been a vocal critic of Germany’s military support for Ukraine and has argued for a swift end to the war prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.    “The German government must finally get to the point of wanting to end the war,” said Chrupalla, whose colleague, Alice Weidel, will lead the AfD into the election as the party’s candidate for chancellor.    “Russia has won this war. Reality has caught up with those who claim to want to enable Ukraine to win the war,” he said.    The conflict in Ukraine is set to be one of the major themes of the campaign, which will culminate on the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion.    Scholz has pledged sustained support for Ukraine but has counseled prudence, as he hopes to tap into pacifist currents among voters, which are particularly strong in the east.    The chancellor has resisted calls to send long-range missiles that Kyiv could use to strike Russian territory for fear of being drawn into the conflict, and recently reinitiated direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. …

Warsaw — Estonia has sanctioned more than a dozen top Georgian officials including its prime minister over Tbilisi’s “criminal” crackdown on pro-European protesters, Tallinn’s foreign minister said on Sunday. Georgia’s authorities have drawn widespread criticism for their handling of demonstrators, who accuse the ruling party of eroding democracy and seeking to bring the ex-Soviet country back into the embrace of former master Russia. Police have deployed water cannons and tear gas to break up demonstrations while security agents have raided the offices of opposition parties and beaten dissenting lawmakers and journalists. “The violence perpetrated by the authorities against protesters, journalists and opposition leaders is criminal and against human rights,” said Estonia’s top diplomat Margus Tsahkna. “I call on all EU countries to react and to take actions,” he added on X. The fresh sanctions announcement comes a day after the ruling Georgian Dream party installed a hard-right loyalist former Manchester City striker as president. That election process was boycotted by the pro-European opposition amid a growing constitutional crisis. Along with its fellow Baltic states, Estonia had already banned several Georgian officials from setting foot on their territory. Those included Georgia’s Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri as well as Georgia’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely considered the puppet master pulling the strings of Georgian politics. Since Georgian Dream claimed victory in October’s elections — which the opposition has criticized as rigged — tens of thousands have taken to the streets. Those protests have become nightly after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s shock decision in late November to shelve the Black Sea nation’s talks to join the European Union. Joining the bloc is an ambition mandated in Georgia’s constitution which polls indicate has the support of some 80% of the country. …