Category: Blog

BARCELONA, Spain — Spain’s royal couple returned Tuesday to the area devastated by last month’s catastrophic flooding for the first time since enraged survivors pelted them and top elected officials with mud on their first visit to the disaster zone. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the town of Chiva along with a central government minister and the regional leader of eastern Valencia, whom many citizens have slammed for bungling the flood response. No mud flew this time as Felipe and Letizia shook hands with people at the beginning of their tour of the village. Other spectators took photos. Chiva, a hilltop town some 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the west of Valencia city, was ripped apart by a crushing wall of water that overflowed a normally dry gorge on the night of Oct. 29. Two of the four bridges spanning the gorge were demolished and several houses were washed away. The royals, Spain’s prime minister and Valencia’s leader had attempted to visit a hard-hit neighborhood of Valencia’s southern outskirts on Nov. 3 just a few days after the floods. But they had to cut it short when angry locals tossed mud and other objects on their arrival in Paiporta. The royals withstood the vitriol for half an hour and spoke to several furious residents, but they eventually had to cancel the visit and postpone a subsequent stop planned for later that day in Chiva. The floods claimed a confirmed 227 lives and destroyed thousands of homes and vehicles. The cleanup effort continues three weeks on. …

rio de janeiro — Leaders of the world’s largest economies ended their two-day G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro with a statement supporting the priorities of the Global South: climate change, poverty reduction and taxing billionaires. The Global South is generally considered to be developing countries, as well as Russia and China. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, host of the G20 summit, focused the talks around three key pillars: social inclusion and tackling hunger and poverty; energy, transitions and climate action, and reforming global governance. Globalization has failed, Lula said. “In the midst of growing turbulence, the international community seems resigned to sailing aimlessly through hegemonic disputes,” he said. “We remain adrift as if swept along by a torrent pushing us towards tragedy.” In their joint statement, the group underscored the need to slow global warming and reduce poverty. They agreed to work together to “ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.” The communique states that progressive taxation “is one of the key tools to reduce domestic inequalities … promote strong, sustainable balanced and inclusive growth and facilitate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].” Call for expansion The G20 again called to expand the United Nations Security Council beyond its five current permanent members. The outcomes are a reasonable reflection of Biden administration priorities, said Matthew Goodman, director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But it isn’t clear how much of this will carry forward into a second Trump administration,” he said. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in January. A senior Biden administration official said they’re working to ensure the durability of U.S. commitments with a “multiprong, multitier approach,” including through civil society, so “there is some real staying power.” At the summit, President Joe Biden continued his “legacy of leadership,” the White House said, including rallying leaders “to invest in their futures, accelerate the global clean energy transition, tackle global health threats, and champion an inclusive digital transformation” while building on the U.S.’s “longstanding leadership on food security.” Global conflicts The group called for a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon but did not mention Israel’s right to defend itself, a line that Biden pushes for in various global forums. “I ask everyone here to increase the pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal,” Biden said. As in last year’s summit, G20 leaders highlighted the human … “G20 wraps with talk of climate change, poverty reduction, tax on billionaires” →

In Ukraine, wounded veterans who need long rehabilitation are mostly cared for by relatives. They face the difficult job with little help from the state. Lesia Bakalets has more from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets …

China has asked Germany to support efforts to resolve a dispute between the European Union and Beijing over electric vehicle tariffs. Last month, the EU decided to raise tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China to as much as 45.3%. Beijing has been negotiating with the EU to repeal the tariffs and sees Germany – the bloc’s biggest economy and Beijing’s largest trading partner in Europe – potentially playing a key role. In a meeting Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, China’s President Xi Jinping told Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz that, in return Beijing would “continue to provide broad market opportunities for German companies,” according to readout of the meeting from state news agency Xinhua. “China regards Germany as an important partner in advancing Chinese modernization,” Xi said. “It is hoped that Europe and China will resolve the issue of electric vehicles through dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible, and the German side is willing to make active efforts in this regard.” Xi also urged Beijing and Berlin to strengthen their “long-term” strategic partnership. “China and Germany are both major countries with significant influence,” Xi told Scholz, according to Xinhua. He also said: “The two countries need to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective.” A German government spokesman said the meeting between Scholz and Xi lasted 30 minutes and that the chancellor also discussed the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. “In particular, he warned of (the dangers of) escalation due to the deployment of North Korean troops, the statement said, a reference to the deployment of what the U.S. estimates is at least 11,000 North Korean troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine. The meeting between Germany’s chancellor and China’s president was their first since April in Beijing, where Scholz urged Xi to leverage his influence over Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. Some material in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. …

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday slammed as unjustified the new sanctions by the European Union and United Kingdom against Tehran over its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine. “While the president of Ukraine has admitted that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been exported to Russia, the measures of the European Union and United Kingdom in applying sanctions against Iran cannot be justified,” ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement. Later Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador of Hungary, which holds the rotating EU presidency, to protest the new sanctions. The European Union on Monday widened sanctions against Iran over its alleged support for Russia’s war on Ukraine, including targeting the national seafaring company, vessels and ports used to transfer drones and missiles. Acting in parallel, the U.K. also announced fresh sanctions against Iran on Monday, freezing the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line. The sanctions also included the national airline, Iran Air, for transporting ballistic missiles and military supplies to Russia for use in Ukraine. Iran has repeatedly rejected Western accusations that it has transferred missiles or drones to Moscow for use against Kiev. Ahead of the sanctions announcement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday the EU was using the “nonexistent missile pretext” to target its shipping lines. “There is no legal, logical or moral basis for such behavior. If anything, it will only compel what it ostensibly seeks to prevent,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Freedom of navigation is a basic principle of the law of the sea. When selectively applied by some, such shortsightedness usually tends to boomerang,” Araghchi wrote. Iran’s economy is reeling from biting U.S. sanctions following the unilateral withdrawal of Washington in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Baghaei said the new sanctions against Iran, which “affect the interests and fundamental rights of Iranians, are clear examples of systematic violations of human rights.” “The Islamic Republic of Iran will use all of the capacities of cooperation with its partners to ensure its interests and national security,” he said. …

RIO DE JANEIRO — With just two months remaining in President Joe Biden’s administration, the United States is ramping up financial, military and diplomatic support for Kyiv’s effort to defend itself against Russian aggression. At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Biden and leaders of 20 of the world’s largest economies are meeting, U.S. officials are pushing for the “strongest possible” language on Ukraine, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told VOA during a briefing Monday. Western diplomats have renewed their push for stronger criticism on Moscow following Russia’s weekend airstrike, its largest on Ukrainian territory in months. They’ve also warned that increased Russian war efforts could have a destabilizing effect beyond Europe. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Ukraine announced that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Moscow reclaim territory seized by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region. However, the final leaders’ statement did not include the language the U.S. pushed for. It highlights human suffering and the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine to the global economy without any condemnation to Russia. On Gaza, it called for cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon and commitment to the two-state solution, without mentioning Israel’s right to defend itself. Finer acknowledges that finding a consensus on global conflicts is elusive given the diversity of the G20. In addition to mostly like-minded countries of the G7, the G20 also includes Russia, China and nations of the Global South. Ever since the G20 summit in Bali in 2022 — held months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine — the global grouping has faced challenges hammering out a response to the conflict. Long-range missiles authorized The U.S. has been surging its military assistance to Kyiv. It is also authorizing Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, according to media reports quoting officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Finer declined to confirm but said it is “consistent” with the U.S. approach of tailoring its response to meet developments on the ground to “allow the Ukrainians to continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty.” On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if true, authorization for Kyiv to strike inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, “will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.” Last week in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure European … “Cracks emerge in G20 consensus over Ukraine as US ramps up aid” →

London — As the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan enters its final days, there are growing frustrations over the apparent lack of progress toward securing a deal on climate finance, which is seen as a crucial step in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s COP29 president, called on delegates to show more urgency. “People have told me that they are concerned about the state of the negotiations,” Babayev told delegates Monday. “It’s time for them to move faster. This week we will welcome ministers from around the world as the negotiations reach their final stage. “Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal. They must deliver on this responsibility. They must engage immediately and constructively,” he said. Climate finance Money is at the center of the COP29 negotiations — or, in COP terms, climate finance. Who will pay for poorer countries to adapt to climate change and transition away from fossil fuels — and how much will it cost? It’s hoped that the COP29 meeting will set an ambitious new funding target. Most estimates put the cost of climate finance in excess of $1 trillion every year. It’s reported that many richer nations are reluctant to agree to such an amount. The current target of $100 billion annually, agreed in 2009, was met only in 2022. ‘Failed promises’ Bolivia’s representative at COP29, Diego Balanza — who chairs a negotiating bloc of developing nations — accused richer nations of a decade of failed promises. “Our countries are suffering the impacts of climate change due largely to the historical emissions of developed countries. For us as developing countries, our people’s lives, their very survival and their livelihoods, are at stake,” Balanza told delegates in Baku. He added that most of the climate finance so far has been provided through loans, not grants, which “has adverse implications for the macroeconomic stability of developing countries.” Slow pace Many observers have criticized the slow pace of negotiations in Baku. Mohamed Adow, director of the campaign group Power Shift Africa, accused the Azerbaijani hosts of a lack of direction. “This has been one of the worst COPs — at least, one of the worst first weeks of COPs — that I have attended in the last 15 years,” Adow told VOA. “There has been very limited progress on climate finance and even on the rules around carbon markets and how … “Slow progress on climate finance fuels anger as COP29 winds down” →

As the COP29 climate summit enters the final stretch in Azerbaijan, there are growing frustrations over the apparent lack of progress toward securing a deal on climate finance – seen as a crucial step in reducing emissions and limiting global warming. Henry Ridgwell reports. …

As the war in Ukraine entered its 1,000th day Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine stating that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation supported by a nuclear power is considered a joint attack and could trigger a nuclear response. The proclamation came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons from the U.S. to attack military targets in Russia. When Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked if the revised doctrine was issued in response to the U.S. authorization, he said it was put forth “in a timely manner” and that Putin wanted it updated to be “in line with the current situation,” the Associated Press reported. The doctrine states nuclear weapons could be used in case of a massive air attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft, drones and other flying vehicles. It says an attack against Russia by a nonnuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” will be seen as their “joint attack on the Russian Federation.” It doesn’t specify whether such an attack would definitely be met with a nuclear response. Peskov the aim of the updated policy was to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies. It also states that Russia could use nuclear weapons if another country attacks ally Belarus. 1,000 days of fighting Both Russia and Ukraine issued statements about the 1,000th day of the war, both vowing that they would continue fighting against each other. The Kremlin said Western support for Kyiv would have no impact on the military campaign. “The military operation against Kyiv continues,” Peskov said, adding that Western aid “cannot affect the outcome of our operation. It continues, and will be completed.” Ukraine, meanwhile, said it would continue to resist the Russian invasion. “Ukraine will never submit to the occupiers, and the Russian military will be punished for violating international law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Attack on Russian weapons depot There was no word if long-range U.S. weapons were used in Ukraine’s strike against a large weapons depot near the Russian town of Karachev in the Bryansk region more than 110 miles from the border with Ukraine. Reuters reported that Ukraine often uses domestically produced drones to hit targets deep inside Russia, and in an announcement on Tuesday, the military did not specify … “Russia broadens conditions for using nuclear weapons “ →

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania’s Navy said on Tuesday it had increased monitoring of its waters after an undersea communications cable connecting the country with Sweden had been damaged. An assessment is now being carried out along with allies, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian armed forces told Reuters. The cable was one of two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea which were severed in recent days, raising suspicions of sabotage by bad actors, countries and companies involved said on Monday. A spokesperson for Arelion, the owner and operator of the communications cable, told Reuters on Tuesday that the link between Lithuania and Sweden was “fully out” but that the reason remained unclear. …

NEW YORK — Arthur Frommer, whose “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, has died. He was 95. Frommer died from complications of pneumonia, his daughter Pauline Frommer said Monday. “My father opened up the world to so many people,” she said. “He believed deeply that travel could be an enlightening activity and one that did not require a big budget.” Frommer began writing about travel while serving in the U.S. Army in Europe in the 1950s. When a guidebook he wrote for American soldiers overseas sold out, he launched what became one of the travel industry’s best-known brands, self-publishing “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” in 1957. “It struck a chord and became an immediate best-seller,” he recalled in an interview with The Associated Press in 2007, on the 50th anniversary of the book’s debut. The Frommer’s brand, led today by his daughter Pauline, remains one of the best-known names in the travel industry, with guidebooks to destinations around the world, an influential social media presence, podcasts and a radio show. Frommer’s philosophy — stay in inns and budget hotels instead of five-star hotels, sightsee on your own using public transportation, eat with locals in small cafes instead of fancy restaurants — changed the way Americans traveled in the mid- to late 20th century. He said budget travel was preferable to luxury travel “because it leads to a more authentic experience.” That message encouraged average people, not just the wealthy, to vacation abroad. It didn’t hurt that his books hit the market as the rise of jet travel made getting to Europe easier than crossing the Atlantic by ship. The books became so popular that there was a time when you couldn’t visit a place like the Eiffel Tower without spotting Frommer’s guidebooks in the hands of every other American tourist. Frommer’s advice also became so standard that it’s hard to remember how radical it seemed in the days before discount flights and backpacks. “It was really pioneering stuff,” Tony Wheeler, founder of the Lonely Planet guidebook company, said in an interview in 2013. Before Frommer, Wheeler said, you could find guidebooks “that would tell you everything about the church or the temple ruin. But the idea that you wanted to eat somewhere and find a hotel or get from A to B — well, I’ve got a … “Arthur Frommer, travel guide innovator, has died at 95” →

Russia vetoed a United Nation resolution Monday calling for an immediate cease-fire between Sudan’s warring parties and the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of Sudanese. Russia was the only Security Council member that voted against the cease-fire resolution. China, Russia’s ally, supported the resolution, drafted by the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone. Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the council that Moscow vetoed the resolution because Sudan’s government should be “solely” responsible for what happens in Sudan. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “It is shocking that Russia has vetoed an effort to save lives, though perhaps it shouldn’t be.” She added, “For months, Russia has obstructed and obfuscated, standing in the way of council action to address the catastrophic situation in Sudan and playing … both sides of the conflict, to advance its own political objectives at the expense of Sudanese lives.” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said, “One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker. One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again, Russia’s true colors.” Polyanskiy accused the Security Council of operating under a double standard, pointing to the council’s failure to rein in Israel with what he said are violations of humanitarian law in Gaza. War broke out between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, in the capital, Khartoum, just before the country was set to transition to civilian rule. The violence has spread to other regions around the country. Eleven million people in Sudan have been displaced and half of the country’s population, an estimated 25 million people, are struggling with crisis-level food insecurity, according to the United Nations. Famine was confirmed in August in the northern part of Sudan’s Darfur region. Some information in this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters. …

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Young people who attend the U.N. climate talks have a lot to be angry about. They’ve lost loved ones and months of school. They’ve lost homes and family farms and connections to their families’ native lands. They haven’t lost hope, though. Not yet. “It has become so tiring for me to be just a poster child,” said Marinel Ubaldo, who by age 16 had watched two back-to-back supersized typhoons destroy entire communities in her native Philippines. Missing a chunk of high school in the aftermath, because there was no school to go back to, was a wake-up call. Now 27, COP29 will be her sixth time attending the summit where leaders negotiate the future she will inherit. “I guess I’m very pessimistic, but I’m going to be positive that this COP could actually bring more clarity,” she said. Her pessimism isn’t unwarranted. Fewer leaders were in attendance this year, with a backdrop of uncertainty as political will on climate unravels in major countries like the U.S. and Germany. While many passionate youths want to protest, this will be the third straight COP in an authoritarian country with tighter controls on protests and speech.  And for many of the young people hardest hit by climate extremes, it’s simply difficult and expensive to get to the conference. “We have this constant challenge of having sometimes the youth forums with spaces at the margins of the decision-maker spaces,” said Felipe Paullier, assistant secretary-general for youth affairs in the U.N. youth office. That’s why the U.N. has been working to institutionalize the role of youth in the climate talks, he said. And climate change has a disproportionate impact on children around the world. Their growing bodies have a harder time handling extreme heat, which also causes an uptick in premature births and childhood malnutrition, said Kitty van der Heijden, UNICEF assistant secretary-general. “We are simply not doing good enough for children in this world. We are failing children,” she said. All that means young people are feeling the burden of speaking up about climate change more than ever. And many of those who come to COP, and even some of the ones who don’t, said they feel tired — weighed down by the knowledge that year after year, they show up to speak and don’t have a lot to show for it. This was the third year in a row that Earth’s … “Youths at UN climate talks push through anger to fight for hope” →

Russia has been buying artillery shells and missiles from North Korea, buying drones and ballistic missiles from Iran and strengthening ties with the Taliban in Afghanistan to sustain its war in Ukraine. All three governments are under U.N. embargoes that prohibit arms trade and financial dealings with the countries to curtail weapons proliferation and human rights abuses. Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has also provided diplomatic support to Iran and North Korea, including by vetoing sanctions.   Iran Iran has supplied Moscow with more than 2,000 Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones and 18 Mohajer-6 drones since Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia extensively used the Iranian drones to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and civilian targets, and to deplete Kyiv’s air defense systems. Ukraine said in September that Russia had deployed more than 8,060 Iranian-designed drones since the beginning of the full-fledged war. This number includes both Iranian-made drones and drones manufactured in a factory in the Russian republic of Tatarstan using Iranian parts and technology. Additionally, Iran has helped replenish Russia’s munitions, providing hundreds of ballistic missiles in 2024.   Russia has reportedly pledged to supply Iran with Su-35 fighter jets and advanced air defense systems. Some Russian technology, such as the Yak-130 aircraft for training Su-35 pilots, has already reached Iran, though the extent remains unclear.   Iran also provides propaganda support to Russia aligning the top government officials’ rhetoric and the news media language with the Kremlin’s Ukraine narratives. For example, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described on multiple occasions Russia’s aggression as a “defensive act” against an imperialistic West and NATO.  U.N. sanctions on Iran, led by the U.S. and supported by the European Union, target Tehran’s nuclear program, arms trade and financial systems. The restrictions are designed to curb Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region and beyond. Russia’s engagement in arms trade not only contravenes restrictions on arms exports but also boosts Iran’s military industry.  North Korea Since September 2023, North Korea has reportedly supplied Russia with up to 5 million artillery shells, a substantial figure given Russia’s annual production capacity of only 2 million to 3 million shells. Russia also deployed in Ukraine North Korean KN-23/24 ballistic missiles, though their failure rate is reportedly high.  Apart from weapons trade, Russia supports North Korea diplomatically – for example, in international forums and by opposing U.N. sanctions on its oil imports … “Russia increases arms trade with UN-embargoed nations to feed Ukraine war” →

Athens, Greece — Greece will make an early repayment of 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in bailout-era debt in 2025, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a banking conference in Athens on Monday, describing the move as a signal of the country’s fiscal recovery. “This … underscores our confidence in public finances and reflects our commitment to fiscal discipline,” Mitsotakis said. Finance Ministry officials say they plan to reduce debt through primary surpluses, loan repayments and combating tax evasion. Greece has rebounded from a 10-year financial crisis that forced it to borrow tens of billions of euros from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. But Mitsotakis’ center-right government, elected for a second term in 2023, is struggling to address a cost of living crisis that has sapped Greeks’ spending power. Despite the lack of any substantial challenge from opposition parties, the high cost of living has nibbled away at the government’s approval ratings and triggered union anger. The country’s two main private and public sector unions have called a general strike for Wednesday that will keep island ferries in port and disrupt other forms of transport and public services.  A protest march will be held in central Athens on Wednesday morning. The GSEE main private sector union Monday accused the government of “refusing to take any meaningful measures that would secure workers dignified living conditions.” “The cost of living is sky-high and our salaries rock-bottom, (while) high housing costs have left young people in a tragic position,” GSEE chairman Yiannis Panagopoulos said. According to EU forecasts, Greece’s economy is expected to grow 2.1% in 2024 and maintain a broadly similar course over the following two years. Unemployment, now below 10%, is expected to keep declining, while inflation is projected at 3% this year.  …