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President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. has started a legal and political debate about executive power and the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, a principle that has been central to civil rights since its ratification in 1868. VOA’s immigration correspondent, Aline Barros, has more. …
Colombia sent air force planes to repatriate more than 100 nationals deported from the U.S. after a bilateral standoff over Bogota’s refusal to receive Colombians on U.S. military aircraft. The Colombian president welcomed the arrival of the migrants. Click here for the full story in Spanish. …
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark for, in his words, “international security.” But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Arctic island, the global attention is driving a desire among many native Greenlanders to determine their own political future. …
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised repeatedly to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. But some Ukrainians are skeptical Trump can do anything to make President Vladimir Putin pull back his troops. The problem, as some analysts see it, is that the demands of Ukraine and Russia cannot be reconciled. Lesia Bakalets report from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets …
Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures. …
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A little more than a week after Beijing and Manila reached an agreement aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines has accused Chinese coast guard vessels of fresh incursions, harassment and “aggressive maneuvers.” Analysts say the pressure campaign, which has stepped up in recent days, is part of Beijing’s attempt to test the United States’ commitment to support the Philippines. “They want to see how far they can push the Philippines under the new administration in the U.S.,” Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone. In a statement released on social media platform X last Saturday, the Philippine coast guard said two vessels from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries encountered “aggressive maneuvers” from three Chinese coast guard vessels while heading to Sandy Cay for a marine scientific survey last Friday. In one video released by Manila, a large Chinese coast guard vessel was seen moving within a few meters of one Philippine vessel. Another video showed a Chinese helicopter hovering above two inflatable boats carrying Philippine crew members. Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the Philippine vessels were forced to suspend the scientific survey due to the “continuous harassment and the disregard for safety” shown by the Chinese coast guard. In response to Manila’s accusations, Beijing said Chinese coast guard vessels “thwarted” two Philippine vessels’ attempts to “land on” Sandy Cay, which China calls “Tiexian Reef.” “The vessels attempted to illegally land on the reef and conduct sand sampling. China Coast Guard [CCG] vessels lawfully obstructed the Philippine ships’ course and warned them away,” the Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement released last Friday. China views almost all of the South China Sea as its territory and is engaged in a series of disputes with several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, that have overlapping claims over the strategic waterway. Apart from the incident near Sandy Cay, the Philippine coast guard said its vessels had successfully kept Chinese coast guard vessels from operating in waters near the coastline of the Philippines’ Zambales province since last Friday. “The Philippine Coast Guard [PCG] vessel has maintained the China Coast Guard vessel to keep a distance of 90-100 nautical miles away from the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” said Jay Tarriela from the Philippine coast guard in a post on social media platform X … “China tests US commitment to South China Sea by pressuring Philippines” →
TIRANA, ALBANIA — An Italian navy ship carrying 49 migrants picked up in international waters arrived in Albania on Tuesday, amid a new attempt by Italy to push ahead with a legally contested plan to relocate migrants to the neighboring country. The navy ship Cassiopea with the migrants reached the Albanian port of Shengjin early on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness. They will be identified at a facility there and then moved to a detention center some 20 kilometer away. The navy did not provide details on the migrants. The Italian government of Giorgia Meloni has built two reception centers in Albania, the first such deal by a European Union nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country in a bid to limit sea arrivals to its territory. But the facilities have been empty since November after judges in Rome questioned the validity of the relocation plan and ordered the first two batches of migrants previously detained in Albania to be moved back to Italy. The controversy surrounding the plan, which Meloni sees as a cornerstone of her government’s aim to curb immigration, revolves around a ruling by the European Court of Justice last year, which was not related to Italy. The Court said no nation of origin could be considered safe if even just a part of it was dangerous, undermining Rome’s idea of deporting migrants to Albania who hailed from a selected list of “safe” countries with a view to swiftly repatriate them. Ilaria Salis, a European Parliament deputy from a left-wing Italian party, on Monday criticized the Italian government for forcibly transferring “innocent people fleeing war and misery” despite violations of international law and human rights. The European court is set to review Italy’s plan in the coming weeks and clarify whether it is in compliance with EU law. …
Washington — U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday to remove diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and take aim at transgender troops. Earlier on Monday, Pete Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, referred to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job. Trump signed the executive orders while flying back from Miami to Washington, D.C. One of the executive orders signed by Trump said that expressing a “gender identity” different from an individual’s sex at birth did not meet military standards. While the order banned the use of “invented” pronouns in the military, it did not answer basic questions including whether transgender soldiers currently serving in the military would be allowed to stay and, if not, how they would be removed. Trump’s plans have been heavily criticized by advocacy groups, which say his actions would be illegal. “President Trump has made clear that a key priority for his administration is driving transgender people back into the closet and out of public life altogether,” Joshua Block, with the ACLU, said earlier on Monday. During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military. He did not fully follow through with that ban his administration froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain. Biden overturned the decision when he took office in 2021. The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands. When Trump announced his first ban in 2017, he said the military needed to focus on “decisive and overwhelming victory” without being burdened by the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of having transgender personnel. Internal focus Hegseth has promised to bring major changes to the Pentagon, and he has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority. Trump’s executive order on ending DEI in the military said service academies would be required to teach “that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good … “Trump takes aim at DEI, COVID expulsions and transgender troops” →
BELGRADE — Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic on Tuesday announced his resignation, becoming the highest ranking official to leave since anti-corruption protests spread across the country. Belgrade has seen daily anti-government protests since a roof collapsed in November at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, killing 15 people. Protesters including students, teachers and other workers have turned out in their thousands, blaming the disaster on corruption within the government of President Aleksandar Vucic. “I opted for this step in order to reduce tensions,” Vucevic told a news conference on Tuesday, announcing his intention to resign. He said the mayor of Novi Sad will also resign. “With this we have met all demands of the most radical protestors.” Vucevic has been the head of the ruling center-right Serbia Progressive Party since 2023. …
Russian drone attacks overnight hit multiple Ukrainian regions and injured at least six people, officials said Tuesday. In the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian forces attacked overnight with drones and missiles, injuring at least four people. Debris from drones destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses damaged four apartment buildings and five houses, as well as a grain warehouse, Kiper said on Telegram. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that falling drone debris injured at least two people, while destroying several homes and damaging at least five others. Officials in Chernihiv said Russian drone attacks damaged houses and outbuildings, but did not hurt anyone. Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said air defenses destroyed two drones over his region, while officials in Sumy reported the military shot down four drones. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down five Ukrainian drones over the Smolensk region. Smolensk Governor Vasily Anokhin said on Telegram there were no reports of damage or casualties. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said Russian air defenses shot down one Ukrainian drone over his region, with no damage reported. Some information for this story was provided by Reuters. …
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday fired more than a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against him, an official said, as the Republican moves swiftly to exert greater control over the department. The officials were fired after Acting Attorney General James McHenry, a Trump appointee, concluded they could not be trusted “because of their significant role in prosecuting the President,” a Justice Department official said. McHenry cited Trump’s power as chief executive under the U.S. Constitution to justify the firings, according to a copy of the termination letter seen by Reuters. The lawyers worked with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of Trump that the department dropped after his November election. Smith resigned from the department earlier this month. The norm-shattering move was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain with the department across presidential administrations and are not punished by virtue of their involvement in sensitive investigations. The firings are effective immediately. News of the firings came the same day that Ed Martin, the top federal prosecutor in Washington and a Trump appointee, opened an internal review into the use of a felony obstruction charge in prosecutions of people accused of taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a source familiar with the matter. The U.S. Supreme Court raised the legal bar for that offense in a 6-3 ruling last year, prompting prosecutors to drop the charge in several cases. Monday’s moves came after the Trump administration already reassigned up to 20 senior career Justice Department officials, including Bradley Weinsheimer, the top ethics official, and the former chief of the public corruption section, Corey Amundson, from their roles. Amundson, whose section provided advice to Smith’s prosecutors, announced his resignation on Monday. The moves to shake up the Justice Department’s workforce have happened before the U.S. Senate votes on Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi. Bondi’s nomination is set to be voted on by a Senate panel on Wednesday. Smith, who was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland, brought cases accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified documents at his Florida social club and attempting to interfere with the certification of the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued the cases reflected a “weaponization” of the legal system. Smith dropped both cases after Trump’s election, citing a longtime policy … “DOJ official: Trump administration fires team of lawyers who prosecuted him” →
A storm in a coffee cup this past weekend, as Colombia’s president tussled by tweet with President Donald Trump, pulling back from the cusp of a trade war after the White House insisted the South American nation accept deportees as part of Trump’s hardline immigration push. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …
State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, on Monday to discuss a range of pressing global issues and joint initiatives aimed at promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable. “They affirmed the depth of the U.S.-UK Special Relationship and the crucial nature of our partnership in addressing issues like the conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and China’s malign influence,” State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. The U.K. government said that Lammy and Rubio look forward to meeting in person soon. “They both welcomed the opportunity for the UK and the US to work together in alignment to address shared challenges including the situation in the Middle East, Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, the challenges posed by China and the need for Indo-Pacific security,” the British statement read. The call between Rubio and Lammy came amid a report by The Guardian that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is expected to visit Britain next month for the first U.K.-China strategic dialogue since 2018. In Beijing, Chinese officials did not confirm Wang’s plans to visit the U.K. but noted what they described as “sound and steady growth” in relations between the two countries. “China and the U.K. are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and major economies in the world,” Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated during a briefing on Monday. She added it is in the common interest of the two countries to enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust. Wang is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference between Feb. 14 and 16, making it likely that his visit to the U.K. will take place either before or after the event. In the past, U.S. Secretaries of State have typically attended the high-profile annual gathering at the Munich Security Conference. The State Department has not responded to VOA’s inquiry about whether Rubio plans to hold talks with Wang during the conference. Last week, the State Department outlined U.S. policy toward China under President Donald Trump’s administration. “Strategic competition is the frame through which the United States views its relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The United States will address its relationship with the PRC from a position of strength in which we work closely with our allies and partners to defend our … “Rubio and Lammy reaffirm US-UK partnership on Indo-Pacific security, China challenges” →
Chinese researchers backed by a Hangzhou-based hedge fund recently released a new version of a large language model (LLM) called DeepSeek-R1 that rivals the capabilities of the most advanced U.S.-built products but reportedly does so with fewer computing resources and at much lower cost. High Flyer, the hedge fund that backs DeepSeek, said that the model nearly matches the performance of LLMs built by U.S. firms like OpenAI, Google and Meta, but does so using only about 2,000 older generation computer chips manufactured by U.S.-based industry leader Nvidia while costing only about $6 million worth of computing power to train. By comparison, Meta’s AI system, Llama, uses about 16,000 chips, and reportedly costs Meta vastly more money to train. Open-source model The apparent advance in Chinese AI capabilities comes after years of efforts by the U.S. government to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors and the equipment used to manufacture them. Over the past two years, under President Joe Biden, the U.S. put multiple export control measures in place with the specific aim of throttling China’s progress on AI development. DeepSeek appears to have innovated its way to some of its success, developing new and more efficient algorithms that allow the chips in the system to communicate with each other more effectively, thereby improving performance. At least some of what DeepSeek R1’s developers did to improve its performance is visible to observers outside the company, because the model is open source, meaning that the algorithms it uses to answer queries are public. Market reaction The news about DeepSeek’s capabilities sparked a broad sell-off of technology stocks on U.S. markets on Monday, as investors began to question whether U.S. companies’ well-publicized plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI data centers and other infrastructure would preserve their dominance in the field. When the markets closed on Monday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index was down by 3.1%, and Nvidia’s share price had plummeted by nearly 17%. However, not all AI experts believe the markets’ reaction to the release of DeepSeek R1 is justified, or that the claims about the model’s development should be taken at face value. Mel Morris, CEO of U.K.-based Corpora.ai, an AI research engine, told VOA that while DeepSeek is an impressive piece of technology, he believes the market reaction has been excessive and that more information is needed to accurately judge the impact DeepSeek will have on … “China’s DeepSeek AI rattles Wall Street, but questions remain” →
Around 50 survivors joined world leaders Monday at the site of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland, on the 80th anniversary of its liberation in World War II – marked around the world as International Holocaust Memorial Day. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
NEW YORK — U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and “await further guidance.” Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing global threats. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock. The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices. President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect. Leaving WHO requires the approval of Congress and that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year. The U.S. also must provide a one-year notice. His administration also told federal health agencies to stop most communications with the public through at least the end of the month. “Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who collaborates with WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections. “People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down,” said Klausner, who said he learned of it from someone at CDC. “Talking to WHO is a two-way street,” he added, noting that the two agencies benefit from each other’s expertise. The collaboration allows the U.S. to learn about new tests, new treatments and emerging outbreaks — information “which can help us protect Americans abroad and at home,” Klausner said. The CDC details nearly 30 people to WHO and sends many millions of dollars to it through cooperative agreements. The U.S. agency also has some of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases and public health threats, and the two agencies’ staffers are in daily contact about health dangers and how to … “CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately” →
WASHINGTON — Google Maps will change the name of “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” once it is officially updated in the U.S. Geographic Names System, it said in an X post on Monday. The change will be visible in the U.S., but it will remain “Gulf of Mexico” in Mexico. Outside of the two countries, users will see both names. The Trump administration’s Interior Department said on Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali to Mount McKinley. Google Maps, which is owned by Alphabet’s Google, will make a similar change with Mount McKinley. President Donald Trump ordered the name changes as part of a flurry of executive actions hours after taking office last Monday, making good on a campaign promise. “As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley,” the Interior Department said in a statement last week. …
Belarus’ opposition activists and Western officials have denounced the reelection of Alexander Lukashenko to serve his seventh five-year presidential term. The 70-year-old leader began his iron-fisted rule in 1994. He received nearly 87% of the ballots cast in Sunday’s election in the Eastern European country, according to the Belarus Central Election Commission. His victory was not surprising as he has imprisoned many of his opponents, while others have fled abroad to live in exile. Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya labeled Lukashenko’s successful reelection as “sheer nonsense.” Before Sunday’s vote, she had encouraged voters to cross out every candidate’s name on the ballot. The four challengers in Sunday’s election had all praised Lukashenko’s leadership, according to The Associated Press. The European Union, Britain, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement condemning “the sham presidential elections in Belarus and the country’s human rights violations under Lukashenko.” Britain’s Foreign Office said Monday that it has sanctioned six Belarus citizens and three defense sector firms, after the Sunday polls in Belarus. The sanctioned individuals include the head of the Belarusian Central Election Commission and two prison chiefs. “Following Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown in which critical voices within Belarus have been silenced, yesterday’s sham election failed to meet international standards and has been condemned by international partners,” the Foreign Office said. The Foreign Office also said that the sanctions were being placed in coordination with Canada. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement, “The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenko’s cynical pretense of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power.” Lukashenko’s successful presidential bid in 2020 set off months of protests in which thousands of people were beaten and more than 65,000 were arrested. He was roundly condemned by the West, which imposed sanctions. However, he survived the protests with the help of his close ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Lukashenko depends on for subsidies, as well as political support. Putin called Lukashenko Monday to congratulate him on his “convincing victory.” Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated the Belarusian leader. The Viasna Human Rights Center, an exiled Belarusian nongovernmental organization, said in a statement that Belarus has over 1,250 political prisoners in custody. Some information in this story was provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. …
BELGRADE, SERBIA — Serbia’s striking university students on Monday launched a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in the capital, Belgrade, stepping up pressure on the populist authorities over a deadly canopy collapse in November that killed 15 people. Serbian farmers on tractors and thousands of citizens joined the blockade that followed weeks of protests demanding accountability of the deadly accident in the northern city of Novi Sad that critics have blamed on rampant government corruption. A campaign of street demonstrations has posed the biggest challenge in years to the populist government’s firm grip on power in Serbia. Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, later on Monday urged dialogue with the students, saying, “We need to lower the tensions and start talking to each other.” Students in the past have refused to meet with Vucic, saying the president is not entitled by the constitution to hold talks with them. “Any kind of a crisis poses a serious problem for our economy,” said Vucic. “Such a situation in society is not good for anyone.” Vucic has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms despite formally seeking European Union membership for Serbia. He has accused the students of working for unspecified foreign powers to oust the government. Several incidents have marked the street demonstrations in the past weeks, including drivers ramming into the crowds on two occasions, when two young women were injured. Traffic police on Monday secured the student blockade to help avoid any similar incidents. Protesting students set up tents at the protest site, which is a key artery for the city commuters and toward the main north-south motorway. Some students played volleyball, others sat down on blankets on the pavement or walked around on a warm day. The students also held a daily 15-minute commemoration silence at 11:52, the exact time when the canopy at a train station in Novi Sad crashed on Nov. 1. Many in Serbia believe the huge concrete canopy fell because of sloppy reconstruction work that resulted from corruption. Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials. But the former construction minister, Goran Vesic, has been released from detention, fueling doubts over the investigation’s independence. The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal … “Serbian farmers join striking university students’ 24-hour traffic blockade in Belgrade” →
Israel’s leaders have high expectations for President Donald Trump’s second term, and analysts say Israeli officials hope his unconventional approach to foreign policy will get them the results they want on their top security priorities. But as Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem, Trump’s push for a peace deal with Saudi Arabia could cause tensions with the Jewish state. VOA footage by Ricki Rosen. …
PARIS — European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to continue sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, but to ease some sanctions against Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Weeks of stalling by Hungary ended Monday, allowing the EU to renew sanctions against Russia for another six months. But in return, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — considered close to Moscow — is pushing for Ukraine to reopen a gas pipeline to central Europe after letting a transit deal expire. The bloc also earmarked aid for Moldova’s energy needs, which Europe says are threatened by Russia. The 27-member bloc moved in the opposite direction when it came to Syria — agreeing to scale up humanitarian aid and ease some sanctions, now that the country is under new leadership. “This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet,” said Kaja Kallas, EU’s foreign policy chief. Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, has called the EU’s move a “positive step.” European foreign ministers also discussed a raft of other thorny issues, from the Gaza ceasefire to Iran and the conflict in eastern Congo. Another key topic: relations with the new Trump administration. “As the United States shifts to [a] more transactional approach, Europe needs to close ranks. We are stronger when we are united — that was a view that everybody shared,” Kallas said. She described Washington as Europe’s closest ally, but tensions have surfaced over trade, military spending and Greenland, after President Donald Trump indicated he wanted to acquire the territory. “We are not negotiating on Greenland,” Kallas said. “Of course, we are supporting our member state, Denmark, and its autonomous region, Greenland.” Kallas also noted the many ways the EU and U.S. are interlinked. But she said Europe needs to take into account its own strengths, in discussions with partners as well as with adversaries. …
WASHINGTON — On Jan. 22, Donald Trump — just two days after being inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president — again called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the “ridiculous” war with Ukraine, but this time he added a threat. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. The following day, Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him he’s ready to negotiate an end to the war. In an interview with Fox News aired that same day, Trump said Zelenskyy is “no angel” and “shouldn’t have allowed this war to happen.” Does the new U.S. administration have sufficient economic leverage over Russia to force it to make peace, or at least talk about peace? According to Konstantin Sonin, John Dewey distinguished service professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and former vice rector of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, the U.S. has economic leverage, but some of its levers are clearly weaker than others. “Russia’s trade with the U.S. is very small — less than $3 billion a year,” he told Danila Galperovich of VOA’s Russian Service. “Accordingly, even if any opportunity for U.S. companies to trade with Russia is completely closed, the damage to Russia will be small. There is an opportunity to strengthen secondary sanctions — that is, additional pressure, first of all, on China, on India, on other countries, so that they more strictly comply with the primary sanctions. “There is also an opportunity to continue what [former U.S. President Joe] Biden did with sanctions against the Russian shadow tanker fleet,” Sonin added, referring to vessels that Russia uses to sell oil and evade Western sanctions. “This requires great international cooperation, but, in principle, it can be done,” said Sonin. Economist Vladislav Inozemtsev, a special adviser to the Russian Media Studies Project at MEMRI, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, and director of the Moscow-based Center for Post-Industrial Studies, also stressed the significance of secondary sanctions on countries that do business with Russia. “Trump can somehow influence other countries so that they do not buy Russian products,” Inozemtsev told VOA. “For example, let’s say he can … “Trump’s sanctions could force Russia’s Putin to negotiating table, some experts say” →
RENNES, FRANCE — Residents in western France used boats to escape their flooded homes Monday as rivers and waterways broke their banks after successive storms battered Normandy and Brittany. The national weather service had issued flood and wind warnings as Storm Herminia hit Spain, France on parts of the U.K. Normandy and Brittany were already waterlogged after the passage of last week’s Storm Éowyn — which left two people dead from fallen trees and more than 1 million people without electricity in Ireland and Britain. Storm Herminia caused road closures in some areas of France. About 400 people were evacuated from homes in and around the city of Rennes, at the heart of the hardest-hit region. The mayor called it the city’s worst flooding in more than 40 years and said in a statement that the waters weren’t expected to start receding until Wednesday. A 73-year-old British sailor was reported missing off the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux over the weekend, according to the regional maritime authority. France’s weather service issued further flood and wind warnings for Tuesday for all regions on the western coast, from Brittany down to the Spanish border. …
Pentagon — New U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised more changes are coming to the country’s military before even walking through the doors of the Pentagon. Hegseth, a decorated veteran and a former Fox News host, was greeted just outside the Pentagon by General Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after arriving for his first full day of work. Hegseth said serving as defense secretary was the honor of a lifetime, telling reporters that the Defense Department will operate at a faster tempo. “The lawful orders of the president of the United States will be executed inside this Defense Department swiftly and without excuse,” Hegseth said. “We’re going to hold people accountable.” Hegseth won Senate confirmation late Friday by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking ballot. He was sworn in on Saturday and spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in what the Pentagon described as an “introductory call.” “We will be no better friend to our allies and no stronger adversary to those who want to test us and try us,” Hegseth told reporters Monday before entering the Pentagon. He said that President Donald Trump is expected to sign additional executive orders on Monday impacting the military, including orders calling for a U.S. version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, the removal of all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Pentagon, and the reinstatement of troops forced to leave the military after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination. Hegseth also said the Pentagon will make sure Trump has all the resources needed to secure the U.S. southern border. “Whatever is needed at the border will be provided,” the defense secretary said. “This is a shift. It’s not the way business has been done in the past.” “The Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America, the southern border, to include reservists, National Guard and active duty in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land and the directives of the commander in chief,” he added. Asked about the fate of Afghans who worked alongside the United States before the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021, Hegseth said, “We’re going to make sure there’s accountability for what happened in Afghanistan and that we stand by our allies.” Hegseth also deflected questions about whether he plans to fire the chairman of … “New US defense secretary promises agility, accountability” →
The U.S. government consists of three branches designed to keep each other in check, with Congress responsible for passing legislation. But presidents have some power to unilaterally direct government policy by using executive orders. …
New York — Wall Street is tumbling Monday on fears the big U.S. companies that have feasted on the artificial-intelligence frenzy are under threat from a competitor in China that can do similar things for much cheaper. The S&P 500 was down 1.9% in early trading. Big Tech stocks that have been the market’s biggest stars took the heaviest losses, with Nvidia down 11.5%, and they dragged the Nasdaq composite down 3.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, was holding up a bit better with a dip of 160 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. The shock to financial markets came from China, where a company called DeepSeek said it had developed a large language model that can compete with U.S. giants but at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek’s app had already hit the top of Apple’s App Store chart by early Monday morning, and analysts said such a feat would be particularly impressive given how the U.S. government has restricted Chinese access to top AI chips. Skepticism, though, remains about how much DeepSeek’s announcement will ultimately shake the AI supply chain, from the chip makers making semiconductors to the utilities hoping to electrify vast data centers running those chips. “It remains to be seen if DeepSeek found a way to work around these chip restrictions rules and what chips they ultimately used as there will be many skeptics around this issue given the information is coming from China,” according to Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. DeepSeek’s disruption nevertheless rocked stock markets worldwide. In Amsterdam, Dutch chip company ASML slid 8.9%. In Tokyo, Japan’s Softbank Group Corp. lost 8.3% and is nearly back to where it was before spurting on an announcement that it was joining a partnership trumpeted by the White House that would invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure. And on Wall Street, shares of Constellation Energy sank 16.9%. The company has said it would restart the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to supply power for Microsoft’s data centers. All the worries sent a gauge of nervousness among investors holding U.S. stocks toward its biggest jump since August. They also sent investors toward bonds, which can be safer investments than any stock. The rush sent the yield of the 10-year Treasury down to 4.53% from 4.62% late Friday. It’s a sharp turnaround … “Tech stocks sink as Chinese competitor threatens to topple their AI domination “ →