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Analysis: Is the West losing a battle with China for Serbia’s heart?
belgrade, serbia — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Serbia this week brought out a crowd waving Serbian and Chinese flags and praising the “ironclad” friendship of two countries. Elsewhere in the West, it raised many questions about Serbia’s future role in Europe. Analysts say that was exactly the idea. At a time of global rivalry between Beijing and Washington, the messages Xi delivered from Belgrade …
Greek leader to visit Turkey in bid to mend battered ties
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits Turkey on May 13 for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders hope to ease tensions that have brought the two NATO members close to armed confrontation several times in recent years. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. Camera: Berke Bas. …
North Macedonia’s right-wing opposition scores victory in elections
WASHINGTON — North Macedonia elected its first woman president Wednesday as the ruling Social Democratic Union of Macedonia suffered historic losses in presidential and parliamentary elections. With nearly all the votes counted, university professor Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the presidential candidate of the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE opposition party, won nearly 65% of the vote, with incumbent President Stevo Pendarovski winning 29%, according to the country’s State Election Commission. In …
Greece criticizes Turkey for converting ancient church to mosque
Athens — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has officially dedicated an ancient Byzantine church as a mosque, drawing a protest from Greece. Many Greeks want a summit scheduled for Monday in Ankara between Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to be canceled. Greece’s criticism centers on the formal opening of the Church of St. Saviour in Chora as a Muslim house of worship, four years …
Poland bolstering its border with Belarus to deter illegal migration
Warsaw, Poland — Poland’s defense minister said Thursday his country is strengthening the metal barrier along its border with Belarus to deter illegal migration. “We are mending the barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border, we are strengthening this barrier,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on private Radio Zet. “The spending on these purposes is the highest in [Poland’s] history.” Kosiniak-Kamysz said the increased presence of Polish and allied military …
Europe to fund Ukraine weapons with profits from frozen Russian assets
The European Union has agreed in principle to a deal that would use the proceeds from frozen Russian assets to supply weapons for Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports, allies in Washington want the EU to go much further …
Norway’s Arctic is scene of new ‘Cold War’ between Russians, Ukrainians
In Barentsburg, Norway, a coal mining town in the high Arctic, Ukrainian residents lived side by side with Russians. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, however, Ukrainians have left the town after finding themselves in conflict with the Russian community. Henry Wilkins reports from Barentsburg. Camera: Henry Wilkins …
Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou becomes first torch carrier in France as relay heads to Paris
MARSEILLE, France — French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first Olympic torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille’s Old Port Wednesday on a majestic three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony at sunset in the city’s Old Port. The ship sailed into Marseille’s old port with the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, echoing from the embankment and a French Air …
Another Conservative lawmaker defects to Labour in UK
LONDON — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused Wednesday of leading a “chaotic” government as another one of his Conservative lawmakers defected to the main opposition Labour Party ahead of a looming general election. In a stunning move just ahead of the weekly prime minister’s questions, Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the ranks of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, …
Croatian dive instructors bring solace to Ukrainian veterans
Three decades ago, the breakup of the country of Yugoslavia led to 10 years of conflict involving Serbian nationals fighting against the former Yugoslav republics of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Millions of people were displaced, and hundreds of thousands were killed and wounded. Now veterans of the war in Croatia are helping rehabilitate wounded Ukrainians. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Camera and edit: Yuriy Dankevych …
Japan-Russia tensions flare over Ukraine war amid decades-long land disputes
Sapporo, Japan — Friction between Japan and Russia will likely escalate amidst the burgeoning Ukraine war, with the decades-long land conflicts showing no sign of thawing. The Kremlin recently banned non-Russian vessels from waters near the Kuril Islands – known in Japan as the Northern Territories – currently occupied by Russia but claimed by Japan. Tokyo saw the move as part of a series of Moscow …
US soldier detained in Russia; White House says 2nd American newly detained
PENTAGON — The U.S. Army has confirmed that a U.S. soldier was arrested last week during an unauthorized visit to the Russian far eastern port city of Vladivostok, one of two recently detained Americans in Russia. Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said Tuesday Staff Sergeant Gordon C. Black had been stationed in South Korea and signed out on permanent change of station leave on April 10 en …
While visiting France, Xi offers few concessions over trade, Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his two-day visit to France Tuesday — his first trip to Europe in five years. As Henry Ridgwell reports, China and Europe are seeking to mend ties but face major obstacles — including trade disputes and Beijing’s support for Russia. …
Russia bans US-funded rights group Freedom House
Moscow — Russia on Tuesday said it had declared U.S.-funded rights group Freedom House an “undesirable organization”, effectively banning anyone from working for or having links with the group. Authorities in Russia have declared dozens of media outlets, think tanks and non-profit organizations “undesirable” since 2015, a label rights groups say is designed to deter dissent. In a statement, Russia’s Prosecutor General said Freedom House had …
Police break up pro-Palestinian student protest in Berlin as demonstrations spread across Europe
Amsterdam — German police on Tuesday broke up a protest by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard at Berlin’s Free University earlier in the day, the latest such action by authorities as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread across Europe. The protesters had put up about 20 tents and formed a human chain around the tents. Most had covered …