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 …
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Moscow — Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands. Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when …
Hungary, Serbia to roll out red carpet for China’s Xi
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Chinese leader Xi Jinping will spend most of his five-day tour in Europe this week in two small countries in the continent’s eastern half, a region that Beijing has used as a foothold for its expanding economic ambitions in Europe. Following a stop in Paris on Monday to kick off his first European trip in five years, Xi will travel to Hungary and …
Swinney named new leader of Scotland’s SNP
London — Scottish political veteran John Swinney on Monday was named head of the pro-independence SNP party, leaving him poised to become Scotland’s leader. Swinney, 60, said on X, formerly Twitter, he was “deeply honored to have been elected as leader of the SNP” after Humza Yousaf resigned last week after little more than a year as Scottish leader and head of the Scottish National Party …
Germany recalls its ambassador in Russia for a week in protest over a hacker attack
BERLIN — Germany said Monday it recalled its ambassador to Russia for a week of consultations in Berlin following an alleged hacker attack on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party. Germany last week accused Russian military agents of hacking into the top echelons of Scholz’s Social Democrats’ party and other sensitive government and industrial targets. Berlin has joined NATO and fellow European countries in warning that Russia’s cyberespionage …
Maersk says Red Sea disruption will cut capacity by 15-20% in second quarter
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The disruption to container shipping traffic in the Red Sea is increasing and is expected to reduce the industry’s capacity between the Far East and Europe by some 15%-20% in the second quarter, shipping group Maersk said on Monday. Maersk and other shipping companies have diverted vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope since December to avoid attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in …
EU chief to urge ‘fair’ China competition in talks with Xi
Brussels — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she will press for “fair” competition with China in talks with its President Xi Jinping, who is in Paris on a state visit. “We have to act to make sure that competition is fair and not distorted,” she said in remarks issued hours before a face-to-face Paris meeting between her, Xi and French President Emmanuel Macron. …
Thousands protest Hungary’s Orban in government stronghold
DEBRECEN, Hungary — A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held what he called the largest countryside political demonstration in the country’s recent history Sunday, the latest stop on his campaign tour that has mobilized thousands across Hungary’s rural heartland. Some 10,000 people gathered in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, in support of Peter Magyar, a political newcomer who in less than three months has …
Germany denounces attacks on politicians, recalling ‘darkest era’ of its history
berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union leaders denounced Saturday a recent spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, including one that sent a member of the European Parliament to the hospital with serious injuries. Matthias Ecke, 41, a member of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), was hit and kicked Friday by a group of four people while putting up posters in Dresden, capital of …
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wins historic 3rd term
LONDON — London Mayor Sadiq Khan has a lot of cleaning up to do. Khan, who made history Saturday by becoming the city’s first mayor elected to a third term, has pledged to make the River Thames swimmable. It wasn’t a top campaign issue, but it’s an audacious goal considering the waterway was declared biologically dead not long before his birth in the city in 1970 …
Russian drones injure 6 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Dnipro regions
KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, injuring at least six people and hitting critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, regional officials said on Saturday. The Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian forces launched 13 Shahed drones targeting the regions in the northeast and center of the country. The air defense units downed all the drones, the Air …
Holocaust survivors take on denial and hate in new digital campaign
DUESSELDORF, Germany — Herbert Rubinstein was 5 years old when he and his mother were taken from the Jewish ghetto of Chernivtsi and put on a cramped cattle wagon waiting to take them to their deaths. It was 1941, and Romanians collaborating with Germany’s Nazis were rounding up tens of thousands of Jews from his hometown in what is now southwestern Ukraine. “It was nothing but …
Paris Olympic athletes’ meals will have French flair
PARIS — Freshly cooked bread, select cheeses and a broad veggie offer will be among the meals to be offered to athletes and visitors during the 2024 Paris Olympics — including, of course, gourmet dishes created by renowned French chefs. About 40,000 meals are expected to be served each day during the Games to the more than 15,000 athletes from 200 different countries housed at the …
Ukrainian priests serve church, support state
As Orthodox Christians in Ukraine prepare to celebrate Easter on May 5th, Orthodox priests in Ukraine are finding themselves trying to serve their church and support their state, even when those two are at adds. VOA’s Anna Kosstutschenko reports. …
Russian shelling kills 2 in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region
Kyiv, Ukraine — Two people were killed on Friday in a Russian attack on the city of Kurakhove, located in the eastern Donetsk region, which is bearing the brunt of the fighting between Kyiv and Moscow. “Various high-rise buildings were damaged. Two people were injured, two people died,” the head of the military administration Roman Padun said on social media. Kurakhove is near the front lines …
In Ukraine, damaged church rises as a symbol of faith, culture
LYPIVKA, Ukraine — This Orthodox Easter season, an extraordinary new church is bringing spiritual comfort to war-weary residents of the Ukrainian village of Lypivka. Two years ago, it also provided physical refuge from the horrors outside. Almost 100 residents sheltered in a basement chapel at the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary while Russian troops occupied the village in March 2022 as they …