Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Tuesday to hit the European Union with tariffs, adding that a 10% duty on Chinese imports could also come as soon as February 1.  Trump, who was speaking to reporters at the White House a day after being sworn in, cited the need to rectify the EU’s trade imbalances with the United States while taking aim once again at Beijing …

Six Kurdish journalists have been detained in Turkey, charged with being members of a “terrorist organization” with no word from their lawyers. Journalists and activists say opposition media outlets are being targeted more and more every day. Click here for the full story in Kurdish. …

Russian lawyer practice could face existential risks after the recent guilty verdict against three lawyers who had represented late opposition leader Alexey Navalny in court. VOA Russian spoke to legal experts who voice concern about the ability of Russian activists to get proper legal representation in the future after Navalny lawyers got up to 5½ years in prison for essentially doing their job, something that did …

NUUK, GREENLAND — U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his assertion Monday that the United States needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark in the interests of “international security.” His repeated calls in recent weeks are raising concerns and stirring debate among the Arctic island’s 57,000-strong population as well as alarm among the United States’ European allies. “Greenland is a wonderful place. We need it for …

U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his assertion Monday that the United States needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark, in what he described as a move necessary for international security. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, the U.S. leader’s stated intentions have raised concerns among the island’s tiny population, as it tries to navigate a changing future. …

Davos, Switzerland — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with the United States and seek to improve ties with China as Beijing warned against damaging trade wars in the face of Donald Trump’s protectionism. Trump returned to the White House on Monday, and while he may not be physically present in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, he …

Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Tuesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing the two countries’ close ties, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president. The two leaders have developed strong personal links that helped bring relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. China has become a major …

ANKARA, Turkey — A fire at a ski resort hotel overnight killed at least 10 people and injured 32 others in northwestern Turkey, authorities said on Tuesday, as TV footage showed crews fighting flames and smoke that engulfed the 11-story building. The blaze began on the restaurant floor of the hotel at Bolu’s Kartalkaya ski resort at around 3:30 a.m. local time, Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin …

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks damaged residential buildings in several parts of central and southern Ukraine. The attacks were part of an assault that Ukraine’s military said involved 131 Russian drones and four ballistic missiles. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 72 of the drones, the air force said. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysask said on Telegram that Russian attacks damaged houses and a …

World leaders on Monday are congratulating President Donald Trump on his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who congratulated Trump. “President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is a top priority,” Zelenskyy said. The …

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russian forces launched overnight in attacks targeting regions across the country. The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions, Ukraine’s air force said. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian attacks, which also included artillery and missiles, …

Vatican City — Pope Francis called Sunday for a ceasefire in Gaza to be “immediately respected,” as he thanked mediators and urged a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages. “I express gratitude to all the mediators,” the Argentine pontiff said shortly after the start of a truce between Israel and Hamas began. “Thanks to all the parties involved in this important …

At 23, American Army veteran Manus McCaffery volunteered to join the fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine. In 2022, a Russian shell left him partially blind, but despite his wounds he continues to fight for those on the front lines. Ivanna Pidborska met with McCaffery. Anna Rice narrates her story. VOA footage by Iurii Panin. …

PARIS — France’s President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to former French Resistance activist and author Genevieve Callerot, who has died at age 108. Callerot, who was among the last survivors of the groups that fought the country’s World War II occupation by Nazi Germany, died Thursday in a care home in Saint-Aulaye-Puymangou, a town in the Dordogne region of southwestern France where she had lived …

WARSAW, POLAND — Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defense alliance. A ship carrying parts of a mechanized infantry battalion arrived early Saturday in the port of Riga, the Latvian capital, escorted by the Swedish air …

PRAGUE — “Are you going to ask why I brought you here?” asked Alexey Levchenko as he arrived in Prague’s Smichov neighborhood. It was a brisk October morning, and the editor of the Russian outlet The Insider had suggested the meeting place: a small park with a Baroque fountain featuring the Roman god Neptune held aloft by bears. The neighborhood’s architecture, Levchenko said, reminds him of Russia’s …

Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed early Saturday in a nighttime Russian attack in the capital, Kyiv. Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said on Telegram that the deaths occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivsky district.  He said the Holosiivsky district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city and the Desnyansky district on the …

During Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoyed a close relationship with the U.S. leader, benefiting from policies such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. With Trump returning to the White House, Erdogan hopes to revive ties to secure the final U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria and lift the ban on F-35 fighter jet sales. Click here to …

WASHINGTON — Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added more journalists to its list of so-called foreign agents, including reporters for Voice of America, Current Time and the BBC. Six journalists were named to the registry, including Ksenia Turkova, who works for VOA’s Russian language service in Washington, and Iryna Romaliiska, who works for Current Time, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty program in partnership with VOA. Others …

WASHINGTON — An Azerbaijani court on Friday denied petitions by two jailed journalists to be released from house arrest, their lawyers said. The journalists, Aynur Elgunesh and Natig Javadli, work for Meydan TV, an independent outlet based in Germany. They were among six journalists arrested in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, in early December. Azerbaijan is among the worst jailers of journalists in the world, with more …

WARSAW, POLAND — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday condemned what he called “the poison of antisemitism rising around the world” after a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former German Nazi concentration camp. His visit came as many international delegations are expected to attend the Jan. 27 ceremony commemorating 80 years since the Soviet Red Army liberated the death camp built in occupied Poland. King Charles …

For nearly three years, a combat medic from California named Jennifer Mullee has been saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines. Mullee decided to join the Ukrainian war effort following the death of a close friend. Anna Kosstutschenko has her story. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy   …

MOSCOW — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the signing of a strategic partnership treaty involving closer defense cooperation that is likely to worry the West. Pezeshkian, on his first Kremlin visit since winning the presidency last July, will hold talks with Putin focusing on bilateral ties and international issues before signing the treaty. Ahead …

Sasha Selipanov, a well-known car designer, was born in the Soviet Union but at 17 moved to the U.S. In California, he mastered the skill of designing high-end cars, creating vehicles for Lamborghini and Bugatti among others. He showed VOA Russian the concept of his first hypercar, which he is building in Los Angeles. Click here for the full story in Russian.  …