Category: European Union

PARIS — France starts 2025 with a further drawdown of its military presence in its former African colonies, and fresh tensions ignited this week with controversial remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron. Chad, Senegal and now Ivory Coast have followed Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in asking France to withdraw its troops from their soil. The reasons vary — from growing anti-French sentiment to calls for greater sovereignty and strengthening ties with other foreign powers. But the impact is the same. “There is a clear collapse of French policy in Africa,” said Thierry Vircoulon, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations’ Africa Center. “The withdrawal of the French troops and basically the end of the French military presence in Africa is a symbol of that collapse.” French-African relations haven’t improved in recent days. On Monday, Macron suggested some Sahel countries had forgotten to thank French troops for spearheading a decadelong fight against Islamist insurgencies. That drew sharp criticism from leaders in Chad and Senegal. French authorities say Macron’s remarks were taken out of context. Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs think tank, said he believes France needs to be less focused on the immediate fallout and instead concentrate on longer-term ties with francophone African countries. France should think more about development and sharing the future of Africa’s security, he said, and less about adopting a big brother attitude. Macron’s government announced plans last year to reduce its military presence on the continent — where it also has troops in Gabon and Djibouti — and make it more responsive to countries’ demands. France has also expanded ties beyond francophone Africa. Its two biggest trading partners, for example, are Nigeria and South Africa. But analyst Vircoulon predicts France’s long-term influence in Africa will remain limited, at best. “There’s very little that the French government can do, and it’s playing in favor of Russia and other countries that are not Western,” he said. He said he believes France’s strategic priorities will shift to potential conflicts in Europe. …

MOSCOW — Ukraine launched drone attacks across several regions of Russia, striking two residential houses in the Tambov region and injuring at least three people, Russia said on Saturday. The regional head, Evgeny Pervyshov, said on the Telegram messaging app people were treated for injuries resulting from shattered windows as drones hit two houses in the town of Kotovsk, about 480 kilometers southeast of Moscow. He said the buildings were only slightly damaged, the inhabitants were offered temporary housing, and an evacuation was not required. “Three (people) had cuts from fragments of broken windows, another four complained of high blood pressure,” he said. Separately, Russia’s defense ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 85 Ukrainian drones overnight in several regions of the country, including 31 drones over the Black Sea, 16 each in the Voronezh and Krasnodar regions and 14 over the Azov Sea. Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said airports in the cities of Kazan, Nizhnekamsk and Ulyanovsk in the Volga River regions temporarily suspended flights. A flight suspension in the city of Saratov was also later declared to ensure safety. Kyiv’s air force said in a statement early on Saturday that Russia launched 74 drones at Ukraine overnight, adding it had downed 47 of them, while 27 others disappeared from radars without reaching their targets. Both sides in the Ukraine conflict have turned cheap commercial drones into deadly weapons and also increased their production. Russian and Ukrainian soldiers alike have reported a visceral fear of drones, and both sides have used video footage of fatal drone strikes in their propaganda. On Friday, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a missile strike on a supermarket in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.  …

BERLIN — Germany was racing Saturday to secure a heavily loaded tanker stranded off its northern coast, towing the stricken ship it said was part of Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet” away from shore to avert an oil spill. The 274-meter-long Eventin was sailing from Russia to Egypt with almost 100,000 tons of oil on board when its engine failed and it lost the ability to maneuver, according to Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies. As the vessel drifted in coastal waters Friday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed Russia’s use of “dilapidated oil tankers” to avoid sanctions on its oil exports, calling it a threat to European security. Three tugs have linked up with the Eventin and are attempting to steer it northeast, away from the coast and toward a “safer” area where there is “more sea space,” the command said. It said it had taken “safety measures” due to rough seas, with 2.5-meter-high waves and strengthening wind gusts. The ship was intercepted off the island of Ruegen, having come within 14 kilometers of the coast. No oil leaks were detected by several surveillance overflights, authorities said Friday, and responders have passed radios and flashlights to the stranded crew. It will take around eight hours to pull the Eventin roughly 25 kilometers to safer waters northeast of Cape Arkona, the command said early Saturday, adding they expected it to arrive by mid-morning. ‘Rusty tankers’ Although the tanker was navigating under the Panamanian flag, the German foreign ministry linked it to Russia’s sanctions-busting “shadow fleet.” Baerbock said that “by ruthlessly deploying a fleet of rusty tankers, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is not only circumventing the sanctions, but is also willingly accepting that tourism on the Baltic Sea will come to a standstill” in the event of an accident. Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries have hit Russia’s oil industry with an embargo and banned the provision of services to ships carrying oil by sea. In response, Russia has relied on tankers with opaque ownership or without proper insurance to continue lucrative oil exports. The number of ships in the “shadow fleet” has exploded since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council. In addition to direct action against Russia’s oil industry, Western countries have moved to sanction individual ships thought to be in the shadow fleet. The European Union has so far sanctioned over 70 … “Germany races to secure stricken ‘Russian shadow fleet’ oil tanker” →

Russia accused Ukraine of conducting a deadly missile strike Friday on a supermarket in the Moscow-controlled city of Donetsk, while Kyiv reported a massive wave of Russian drone attacks on several regions and fierce fighting near the strategic logistics hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. The fighting on Friday came a day after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Germany, where Kyiv’s allies vowed no letup in aid to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses amid Moscow’s relentless assaults, including attacks on civilian and infrastructure sites. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who traveled to Rome following the Ramstein gathering, also praised new actions by the United States and Britain to sanction Russia’s oil producers, a major liquefied natural gas project, and more than 100 tankers in its “shadow fleet” as the West looks to deprive Moscow of funds needed to carry on its war. Russian state RIA news agency said investigators were looking into the supermarket attack early Friday, claiming a U.S.-supplied HIMARS missile hit the supermarket, killing two people, in the occupied city. Video on social media, which has been verified by RFE/RL, appears to show a massive explosion in an area where a small market is located. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the Russian accusation. The Ukrainian Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia attacked Ukraine with 72 Shahed-type strike drones in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskiy, Vinnytsia and Kherson regions. In Kyiv, bright flashes and explosions were seen as defense systems intercepted several drones in the sky. No deaths were reported, though some damage from debris was seen at a high-rise residential building, military officials said. The Ukrainian General Staff said several small towns east of Pokrovsk and an important highway a few kilometers south of the area had been the site of intense battles on Friday. Pokrovsk has been the target of Russia’s brutal drive in recent months, mainly destroying the city with a prewar population of about 64,000 people. As intense attacks and fighting on the front lines continue, diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict appear to be picking up momentum. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it expects Kyiv to have high-level talks with the White House once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. “We are waiting for a meeting between our presidents because for us the main thing is to work together with America. … We are preparing for contacts … “Russia blames Ukraine for deadly supermarket strike” →

The Famine Review Committee report on Sudan is backed by expert investigation and analysis proving millions are in acute need of food. …

GENEVA — The World Meteorlogical Organization says that preventive action cannot avert natural disasters such as the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, but that it can help save lives and mitigate loss of property. “Land management and prevention, regular clearing of underbrush play a key role in fire management, and evacuation plans are important in saving lives,” the WMO said Friday. “These are all part of effective early warning systems.” In a briefing to journalists in Geneva, Claire Nullis, a WMO spokesperson, stressed the importance of preparing adequate evacuation plans and early warning systems to prevent some of the worst impacts from a natural disaster. While acknowledging the staggering losses from the devastating wildfires sweeping across parts of Los Angeles in the United States this week, she said “The early warnings have, in this instance, been very, very good. “You know, people have been evacuated. It has been impossible to save houses, and the loss of life is still too high, but it has been kept to a relative minimum,” she said. Media reports say at least 10 people have been killed in this week’s Southern California wildfires, although more bodies are expected to be found once the fires have been contained and searchers can go through the debris. More than 10,000 structures reportedly have burned, and 180,000 people are under evacuation orders. While California is no stranger to wildfires, the WMO calls this catastrophic event “extraordinary” in that it is affecting one of the largest cities in the United States. The WMO said that last year’s rainy season for the Los Angeles area as a whole was slightly above normal, but so far, this year it has been dry. “The big compounding factor in this context is the winds. … They cause temperatures to rise, and they cause very low humidity, drying out the ground and vegetation,” Nullis said. The WMO said destructive wildfires have been made worse by climate change. “Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last decades,” it said, citing data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The WMO said wildfires require the alignment of a number of factors, including temperature, humidity and the lack of moisture in fuels such as trees, shrubs, grasses and forest debris. “All these factors have … “Preventive action can’t avert wildfires but can save lives, meteorologists say” →

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s administration announced Friday it’s expanding sanctions against Russia’s critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict.  The outgoing Democratic administration billed the new sanctions as the most significant to date against Moscow’s oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the driver of Russia’s economy. Officials said the sanctions, which punish entities that do business with the Russians, have the potential to cost the Russian economy upward of billions of dollars per month.  More than 180 oil-carrying vessels that are suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilized by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions as well as traders, oil field service firms and Russian energy officials are also targeted by the new sanctions. Several of the vessels targeted are also suspected of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil, according to the Treasury Department.  British officials are also announcing complementary sanctions against Russia’s energy sector Friday. Both countries are targeting two of Russia’s major oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and dozens of the companies’ subsidiaries.  “The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “With today’s actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports.”  Biden administration officials said that it will ultimately be up to Trump’s administration whether to keep or scrap the new sanctions.  Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the sanctions. But Trump told reporters on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to meet, and we are setting it up.”  Trump’s warm relationship with Putin over the years has come under heavy scrutiny. The Republican president-elect has also balked at the cost of aid to Kyiv, pledging to move quickly to end the conflict upon his return to office on Jan. 20.  Trump added a new layer of doubt about future American support earlier this week when he appeared to sympathize with Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO. The president-elect has criticized the Biden administration for expressing support for Kyiv’s eventual membership in the transatlantic military alliance.  The Kremlin … “Biden levies new sanctions against Russian energy sector, but it’s up to Trump whether to keep them” →

London — Britain’s Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.’s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing. The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng. Reeves’ trip is expected to revive the China-U.K. Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years. A series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, have soured ties. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, are also in the delegation, according to the Treasury. Representatives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms will join the trip. Officials did not provide details, but media reports have said senior executives from HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered were included. Reeves’ visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November. The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the U.K.’s fifth-largest trading partner. Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy. But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns. British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China’s ruling Communist Party, according to officials. Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.” He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.” “What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three … “UK Treasury chief heading to China to revive suspended economic, financial talks “ →

Russia says it is closely watching the situation with Greenland, following US President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out military or economic measures to take control of the territory from Denmark. As Henry Ridgwell reports, geopolitical tensions are growing in the Arctic region amid rapid global warming. Camera: Henry Ridgwell …

KYIV, UKRAINE — Ukraine’s air force said on Friday on Russia attacked it with 72 drones overnight though it downed 33 of them while 34 others disappeared from radar without reaching their targets. Five drones struck various buildings in the northern region of Chernihiv, wounding one person, the air force said. One downed drone fell on a building in the capital Kyiv but did not cause casualties. Video footage filmed by Reuters carried the sound of an explosion and showed a fire burning in the distance in Kyiv during the overnight attack. More footage after daybreak showed the charred corner of a high-rise apartment block in Kyiv with windows blown out and a line of cars parked below suffering damage. Massed Russian aerial attacks using long-range drones have been a near-daily occurrence over Ukraine in the past several months, as Moscow looks to exhaust Kyiv’s air defenses almost three years into its full-scale war against its neighbor. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s army struck a supermarket on Friday in the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in an attack that used U.S.-supplied missiles and wounded two people, a senior Russian-backed official said. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine and Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Unverified photos posted on social media showed a burnt out car in front of a shattered two-story circular building surrounded by debris. Dashcam footage posted by a driver nearby appeared to show the moment the supermarket — called Moloko (Milk) — was struck, with an ensuing large explosion and flames soaring into the sky. Reuters was able to confirm the location from a nearby building’s facades, signages and road layout that matched satellite imagery and street view imagery. The date was verified by a timestamp on the footage. Denis Pushilin, a senior Russian-backed official, accused the Ukrainian army of firing U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles into the area during the morning rush hour. Russia’s TASS state news agency said other buildings and around 15 cars had been damaged in the same attack. Pushilin said in a statement on his official Telegram account that an apartment building in the city of Svitlodarsk in the Donetsk region had also been struck by Ukrainian forces, killing one woman and wounding four others.  …

WASHINGTON — Russia’s efforts to obtain China’s help in enhancing artificial intelligence is seen as a bid to challenge America’s lead in the field even as the outgoing Biden administration is expected to impose new export control measures to further curb Beijing’s access to AI chips. As the new year began, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s state-owned Sberbank, to work with China in researching and developing AI technology, according to the Kremlin. “The Russian president sees his country in global competition for AI with the United States and has positioned the state resources to try and compete with the U.S. in information and cyberspace – two areas where artificial intelligence is supposed to aid Russia in what they see as Western narratives and influence,” said Samuel Bendett, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Moscow views Beijing’s success in AI as an example to follow, and its “cooperation with China is viewed as a necessary step towards acquiring artificial intelligence-related skill sets, knowledge and technology,” Bendett told VOA in written comments. The U.S. currently leads in AI innovation, followed by China, which is falling behind by wide margins, according to a November report by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Russia ranks 31st out of 83 countries in AI implementation, innovation and investment, according to U.K.-based Tortoise Media’s Global AI Index. Response to sanctions Western sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have limited the country’s AI development, and Moscow has turned to Beijing to offset the restriction, according to Bendett in his report “The Role of AI in Russia’s Confrontation with the West.” Sberbank, which Putin instructed to collaborate with China, is under Western sanctions. It is Russia’s largest bank and leads the country’s AI development efforts. The outgoing Biden administration is expected to impose a new set of export control measures aimed at further limiting China’s ability to access chips that support AI technology. The new measures could come as early as Friday, according to Bloomberg. Sberbank CEO German Gref said in 2023 that Russia cannot obtain graphics processing units, microchips needed to support AI development, according to Reuters. But the bank’s first deputy CEO, Alexander Vedyakhin, said in December that despite Western sanctions, Russia can improve its AI ranking by 2030 through its own development. Another key area where Russia has sought to further apply AI help … “Russia turns to China to step up AI race against US” →

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — Denmark acknowledged Thursday that it had long neglected the defense of Greenland, a vast and strategically important Arctic island – and one that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called vital for U.S. security. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, said this week that U.S. control of Greenland – a sovereign Danish territory – was an “absolute necessity,” and he did not rule out using military or economic action against Denmark to make it happen. “We have neglected for many years to make the necessary investments in ships and in aircraft that will help monitor our kingdom, and that is what we are now trying to do something about,” Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told journalists. The U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen said earlier Thursday that the United States had no plans to increase its military presence in Greenland. “There are no plans to increase the United States’ current military footprint in Greenland,” the spokesperson told Reuters. “We will continue to work closely with Copenhagen and Nuuk [Greenland’s capital] to ensure any proposals meet our common security needs.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said late Thursday that she had asked for a meeting with Trump but did not expect one to happen ahead of his inauguration. US military presence Greenland has been controlled by Denmark for centuries, though its 57,000 people now govern their own domestic affairs. Its security and foreign affairs, however, are still handled by Copenhagen. The U.S. military maintains a permanent presence at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland’s northwest. Greenland is crucial for the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island. “I think that the Americans are quite concerned that Russia could actually launch or initiate a major attack against the United States, and that could be done from the Russian side,” Jens Wenzel at Nordic Defense Analysis told Reuters. “There is no real monitoring of the airspace in Greenland. It is largely a free-for-all,” he said. Greenland is already covered by U.S. security guarantees via Denmark’s membership in NATO. Frederiksen said this week that she could not imagine the United States would use military intervention in Greenland and said it was up to the people of Greenland to decide what they want. ‘Tightrope’ Frederiksen summoned leaders of Denmark’s political parties to a meeting Thursday for a briefing about Trump’s renewed … “Denmark says it has neglected Greenland defense for years “ →

london — Russia has said it is closely watching the situation with Greenland, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out military or economic measures to take control of the territory from Denmark. “We are observing this rather dramatic development of the situation, but so far, thank God, [it remains] at the level of statements,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. “The Arctic zone is a zone of our national and strategic interests. We are present in the Arctic zone, and we will continue to be there,” Peskov added. The vast territory of Greenland — most of which lies above the Arctic Circle — has been officially part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1953, although the island has its own government. National security Questioned at a news conference in Florida on Tuesday, Trump said the United States needs Greenland for security purposes, and he refused to rule out using economic or military means to achieve that goal. “People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world,” Trump said. “You have Chinese ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen,” he added. Like much of the Arctic, Greenland is rapidly warming. That is changing the geopolitics of the region, said analyst Liana Fix of the Council on Foreign Relations. “The Arctic is increasingly becoming a zone of a great power competition and rivalry. And the United States is concerned it is losing this game,” Fix said. “The Arctic becomes much more accessible, both for trading goods but also for critical minerals, especially for rare earth [minerals],” Fix said. “And also it becomes increasingly a militarized zone,” she added, noting that Russia is cooperating with the Chinese coast guard in the region. Not for sale Denmark has made it clear that Greenland is not for sale. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen rejected the suggestion that Trump’s comments presented a foreign policy crisis for his government. “I see a president who is on his way into the White House, who has a heightened focus on the Arctic, and I can understand that he has that. We also have that from the Danish side, and we also have that … “Russia ‘observing’ Greenland situation; Europe cautious on Trump remarks “ →

ROME — Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is traveling to Syria on Friday to encourage the country’s transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents, and said Europe should review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.  Tajani presided Thursday over a meeting in Rome of foreign ministry officials from five countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States — and spoke earlier by telephone with his counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.  Going into the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, an Islamic militant group that the U.S. and United Nations have long designated as a terrorist organization.  “The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” said Tajani.  Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to the sanctions regime on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.  Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.  HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on December 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.  The U.S. has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian rebel leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.  Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population … “Italy’s FM encourages post-Assad transition, calls for EU to review sanctions” →

In an exclusive interview with VOA, former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss issued a stark warning against China’s authoritarian ambitions and called for the West to adopt a tougher stance to protect global freedom. Truss laid out her vision for an “economic NATO” to deter Beijing, criticized the Labour government’s soft approach to China, and defended her controversial lobbying for a defense export license involving China. Click here to read the full story in Mandarin. …

VIENNA — Talks to form a coalition government led by Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, or FPO, will begin Friday, the party said on Thursday, as thousands protested in Vienna against the prospect of the country’s first FPO-led government. The eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO won September’s parliamentary election with around 29% of the vote but was initially sidelined as centrist parties tried to form a ruling coalition without it. That effort failed at the weekend, and FPO leader Herbert Kickl was tasked with forming a government. “First step: negotiations on the budget as of tomorrow,” Kickl said in a statement on Thursday evening while protesters carrying placards reading “Nazis out” and “History is repeating itself” gathered in the square that stands between the offices of the president and the chancellor. Chancellor Karl Nehammer of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (OVP), who had led the centrist coalition talks, said on Saturday he was stepping down because they had collapsed. His successor as head of the caretaker government, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, is due to take over on Friday. Various nongovernmental organizations that deal with human rights, refugees and the environment called Thursday’s protest. “Our republic is at a crossroads,” the organizers said in a statement. “The threat of an extreme right-wing chancellor looms and with him an attack on democracy, human rights, judiciary, independent media and social cohesion in our country.” More than 10,000 protesters packed tightly together on the square and streets leading into it whistled, jeered and shone their phone lights toward the chancellor’s office, chanting “Kickl out” in a peaceful atmosphere. The OVP, which under Nehammer said it would not govern with Kickl, calling him a conspiracy theorist and a security threat, now says under interim leader Christian Stocker that it prefers to reach a coalition deal with Kickl to holding a snap election. On Wednesday, however, Stocker said he demanded assurances from Kickl that he wants to keep Austria free from Russian interference — a reference to FPO positions including opposing sanctions against Moscow over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Support for the FPO has only increased since September, polls show, and the party now has a lead of more than 10 percentage points over the OVP. “We are entering negotiations with the FPO,” the OVP said in a statement minutes before the FPO’s, confirming that Kickl and Stocker had held initial discussions and that the first issue would be the … “Thousands protest as Austria’s far-right-led coalition talks set to begin” →

GENEVA — U.N. human rights experts have accused Russia of waging a war of attrition against Ukraine by pursuing a policy of mass destruction to crush the spirit of the nation. A report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, Wednesday says that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, there has been “a dangerous escalation of hostilities,” which has had a huge, injurious impact “on the civilian population.” U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif, who presented the report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, told the 47- member body that “September, in fact, marked the highest number of civilian casualties since July 2022.” Most civilian casualties, she said, were caused by “relentless attacks with aerial glide bombs, long-range missiles, and drones that contributed to the killing of some 574 civilians — an increase of 30% over the previous year.” “Russian bombardment damaged civilian infrastructure and water, heating and transportation services, including four major attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since mid-November,” she said. The report covers the period from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, 2024. It documents continued and increasing gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of humanitarian law, “including possible war crimes.” “We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons during the reporting period,” said Al-Nashif. “Russian armed forces launched some 2,000 long-range drones in November alone, killing scores of people,” she said. “We are also concerned about the potential increased use of anti-personnel landmines, due to the threats they pose to civilians, both now and long into the future.” The report documents “credible allegations” of executions of Ukrainian military personnel captured by Russian armed forces, noting that “summary executions constitute a war crime.” The OHCHR has verified the execution of 68 Ukrainian POWs captured by Russian armed forces. The office also has verified the summary executions of 170 civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, in areas controlled by Russian armed forces, including in places of detention. “Accountability for all of these killings is essential. Instead, there is almost total impunity,” Al-Nashif said. The 26-page report also documents torture of POWs at the hands of Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, calling it “a violation of international law.” However, the report says the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners … “UN accuses Russia of waging war of attrition against Ukraine” →

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY   — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday told allies and partners in Germany that it would be “crazy to drop the ball now” and end support Ukraine against Russia.  “It’s clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world just 11 days from now,” Zelenskyy told the Ukraine Defense Contact Group during opening remarks in Ramstein Germany, referring to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration as president. “We have to cooperate even more, rely on one another even more and achieve even greater results together,” he said. “No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased of the map.” As Ukrainians fight continuing Russian assaults, international support for their fight is uncertain. Trump has not indicated whether he will continue America’s leadership of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group when President Joe Biden leaves office January 20. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the group of about 50 nations has provided Kyiv with more than $126 billion in weapons, training and equipment. The U.S. has provided about $66 billion, slightly more than half of the group’s aid. The group came together under U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s leadership to coordinate security assistance after the invasion. Austin on Thursday announced a $500 million in additional weapons and equipment for Kyiv, which officials say will be the final military aid package before Biden leaves office. He said the package includes additional missiles for Ukrainian air defense, more artillery ammunition, more air-to-ground munitions and equipment to support Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets. The additional U.S. weapons and equipment are being pulled from the Pentagon’s existing military stockpiles. Austin, who is hosting the group for the last time, said leading the group has been “one of the great honors of my life.” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius thanked Austin for his leadership on behalf of the allies and partners present. “Your personal dedication has made a major difference. Without you, your commitment and your leadership. Ukraine’s fight for freedom would not have yielded the same results,” he told Austin. Austin and defense analysts have warned that failing to continue coordinated support for Ukraine could prove catastrophic. “If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos and war, but we are still determined to not let that happen,” Austin told the group. Bradley … “Zelenskyy urges coalition aiding Ukraine not to ‘drop the ball’” →

Beijing — China said Thursday that an investigation had found the European Union imposed unfair “trade and investment barriers” on Beijing, marking the latest salvo in long-running commercial tensions between the two economic powers.  Officials announced the probe in July after Brussels began looking into whether Chinese government subsidies were undermining European competition.  Beijing has consistently denied its industrial policies are unfair and has threatened to take action against the EU to protect Chinese companies’ legal rights and interests.  The commerce ministry said Thursday that the implementation of the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) discriminated against Chinese firms and “constitutes trade and investment barriers.”  However, it did not mention whether Beijing planned to take action in response.  The two are major trade partners but are locked in a wide-ranging standoff, notably over Beijing’s support for its renewables and electric-vehicle sectors.  EU actions against Chinese firms have come as the 27-nation bloc seeks to expand renewable energy use to meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  But Brussels also wants to pivot away from what it views as an overreliance on Chinese technology at a time when many Western governments increasingly consider Beijing a potential national security threat.  When announcing the probe, the ministry said its national chamber of commerce for importing and exporting machinery and electronics had filed a complaint over the FSR measures.  The 20-page document detailing the ministry’s conclusions said their “selective enforcement” resulted in “Chinese products being treated more unfavorably during the process of export to the EU than products from third countries.”  It added that the FSR had “vague” criteria for investigating foreign subsidies, placed a “severe burden” on the targeted companies and had opaque procedures that created “huge uncertainty.”  EU measures such as surprise inspections “clearly exceeded the necessary limits,” while investigators were “subjective and arbitrary” on issues like market distortion, according to the ministry.  Companies deemed not to have complied with probes also faced “severe penalties,” which placed “huge pressure” on Chinese firms, it said.  The European Commission on Thursday defended the FSR, saying it was “fully compliant with all applicable EU and World Trade Organization rules.”  “All companies, regardless of their seat or nationality, are subject to the rules,” a commission spokesperson said in a statement.  “This is also the case when applying State aid or antitrust rules.”    Projects curtailed  The Chinese commerce ministry said FSR investigations had forced Chinese … “Beijing says EU imposed unfair trade barriers on Chinese firms” →

LONDON — Britain will create a new sanctions regime to target the leaders of networks that smuggle tens of thousands of people into Britain each year, as well as the often-Chinese makers of the boats and motors they use, the government said Wednesday. Under huge political pressure to cut the numbers arriving in small boats from France, the government said the laws would complement other reforms. “We will target those profiting off putting lives at risk, and disrupt the gangs’ finances,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement. The policy was due to be the centerpiece of a speech by foreign minister David Lammy on Thursday, seeking to demonstrate coordination between the foreign and interior ministries. Lammy said Britain would pursue the makers of the boats used by migrant smugglers. He told Times Radio many of the manufacturers were from China. Asked by the BBC whether the government would sanction those businesses, Lammy said: “Absolutely, because when you look at those boats, where do the engines come from? Where does the rubber come from?” The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government said the sanctions would be in place by the end of the year and enable authorities to ban those linked to people-smuggling from entering Britain, punish those trying to do business with them, and freeze assets. Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected in July and immediately ditched the previous, Conservative government’s plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent, instead switching focus to breaking up the gangs that organize crossings. Migrants from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere pay thousands of pounds to traffickers for places in small inflatable boats that then try to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping channels to reach the English coast. Over 36,800 people made the crossing in 2024, 25% more than the previous year, according to government data, while dozens have died in the attempt.  …

Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 46 of 70 drones that Russian forces used in attacks targeting areas in central and eastern Ukraine. Falling debris from downed drones damaged houses in the Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Ukraine’s air defenses also shot down drones in the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Poltava and regions. The attacks came a day after Russian missiles struck the city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 13 people and wounding 30 others. “There is nothing more cruel than launching aerial bombs on a city, knowing that ordinary civilians will suffer,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it shot down 15 Ukrainian drones, including over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Krasnodar regions along the Russia-Ukraine border. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram that drone debris damaged a home, but that there were no casualties from the Ukrainian attack. Some information for this report was provided Reuters …

TALLINN, ESTONIA — An imprisoned opposition activist in Belarus resurfaced Wednesday in a video shot by a pro-government blogger after more than 700 days of no contact with his family, weeks before an election that is all but certain keep the country’s strongman leader in power. Viktar Babaryka, 61, has been denied meetings with his family and lawyers while serving a 14-year sentence in a penal colony after failing to get on the ballot against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in a 2020 election. Babaryka was last heard from in February 2023, and other prisoners said later that year he was hospitalized with signs of beatings. Since then, authorities haven’t released any information about his condition and barred his lawyer from visits. The European Parliament has urged authorities to release him and other political prisoners. Raman Pratasevich, a former opposition journalist who later became a government supporter after being arrested himself, posted photos and a brief video in which Babaryka greeted his family. It wasn’t clear when or under what conditions the images were taken, and The Associated Press could not independently verify them. Babaryka, who looked visibly thinner than in his last appearance, was pictured wearing a prison uniform bearing a yellow tag designating him as a political prisoner and thus subjecting him to particularly harsh prison conditions. Pavel Sapelka, a representative of the Viasna Human Rights Center, noted that the images were released ahead of the Jan. 26 presidential election, in which Lukashenko is seeking a seventh, five-year term to add to his more than three decades in power. “The authorities decided to show Babaryka in the run-up to the election to avoid accusations of forced disappearance of opposition activists behind bars,” Sapelka said. “The terribly emaciated Babaryka epitomizes the nightmare of repressions in Belarus, a sad reminder for others who dare to challenge Lukashenko.” In November, Pratasevich posted photos of Maria Kolesnikova, another prominent opposition activist who had been held for more than 20 months without any communication with relatives or friends. Babaryka is one of 1,258 political prisoners in Belarus, according to Viasna, the country’s leading human rights group. Top opposition figures were imprisoned or fled the country amid the sweeping crackdown that followed the 2020 election. Authorities responded to massive demonstrations protesting vote-rigging with brutal repressions in which about 65,000 people were arrested and thousands were brutally beaten by police. At least seven political prisoners have died … “Imprisoned Belarus activist resurfaces after being held incommunicado for 700 days” →

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held bilateral meetings Thursday with his Ukrainian and British counterparts Wednesday before hosting the Ukraine Defense Contact Group one last time. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb is traveling with Austin as the U.S. is expected to announce its final military aid package for Kyiv under the Biden administration. …

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY — The United States is providing Ukraine with $500 million in additional weapons and equipment from its existing military stockpiles, in what officials told VOA will be the final military aid package before President Joe Biden leaves office. The officials were speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement, which is expected Thursday when U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s hosts the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, for the last time. “Our focus will be on maintaining momentum, delivering results, and sending a clear message: The international community stands resolute in its support for Ukraine,” Austin said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he will join Austin at the 25th meeting of the group, which comprises about 50 nations that came together under Austin’s leadership to coordinate security assistance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “They [Ukrainians] continue to survive, but they do that with the support of the U.S. and other allied countries and coalitions through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. And I think it’s pretty clear that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is, it’s more than just a common understanding. It’s a common cause,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. As Ukrainians fight to survive, that common cause to support their fight is shrouded in uncertainty. President-elect Donald Trump has not indicated whether he will continue America’s leadership of the group when President Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, and current administration officials and defense analysts warn that could prove catastrophic for Kyiv. Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Trump, who has been very critical of the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan, would not want to see a similar humanitarian crisis “on his record.” “If you have a major curtailment or end of U.S. support for Ukraine, then you could have a major disaster in Ukraine,” he told VOA. Rather than cut Kyiv’s lifeline, Bowman said, the U.S. should surge support to Ukraine in the first months of the new administration “to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position” ahead of any peace negotiations. There is still $3.8 billion in approved funds for Ukraine that was passed by Congress in April, but the Pentagon says it can’t send that aid at this time because it needs additional funds from Congress to … “US to pledge $500M for Ukraine at Ramstein meeting” →

WASHINGTON — Russian space technologies, if transferred to Pyongyang in compensation for its support of Moscow’s war on Ukraine, could enhance North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, U.S. experts say.  “The DPRK [North Korea] is already receiving Russian military equipment and training,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday in Seoul. “Now, we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with Pyongyang.” According to U.S. defense officials, North Korea has deployed an estimated 12,000 troops to Russia, of which roughly 1,000 have already fallen casualty to fighting Ukrainians in Russia’s Kursk region. For months, top diplomats and defense analysts have said North Korea anticipates Russian technical assistance for nuclear and missile programs in exchange. Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation, suggested that any of Russia’s technological assistance would likely aim to develop Pyongyang’s ICBM program under the guise of non-military satellite programs, as solutions for space launch vehicles can be applied to ballistic missiles.  “It would be politically very challenging for Russia to announce that it is going to help North Korea with its ICBM program,” Peters told VOA’s Korean Service on Tuesday. “Russians are able to have this fig leaf of, ‘Well, we’re just helping North Korea with a satellite program.’ But I don’t think anyone’s fooled by this.”  According to Peters, two areas where North Korea could substantially benefit from Russia’s space program: Accuracy and reliability, both of which are crucial for delivering nuclear warheads effectively.  “Getting the actual warhead package on target is no small task,” he explained. “And the United States and also Russia has, over the past 35 years, figured out a way to get warheads on target in a way that was not possible during the Cold War.”  Peters also said North Korean engineers have struggled with having warheads reliably survive reentry from space to produce yield.  Vann Van Diepen, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation from 2009 to 2016, told VOA Korean that technologies related to satellite dispensing and maneuvering could enhance North Korea’s ICBM program.  “If space launch vehicle technology or booster technology gets transferred as part of so-called ‘space technology,’ then that potentially could be applicable to probably liquid-propellant ICBMs,” Van Diepen said.  Many satellites are known to use liquid propellants for efficiency and controllability.  Bruce Bennett, a … “Experts: Russian technology could enhance North Korea’s ICBM capabilities” →

With the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, Turkey sees an opportunity to send home up to 4 million Syrians who came there during Syria’s civil war, amid growing public hostility toward the refugees. Many of those interviewed in Istanbul, however, have built new lives in Turkey and say that with no guarantees of safety or livelihood, they are not ready to return. Dorian Jones reports. …