Europe

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Nearly 3 1/2 decades after leaving the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this weekend will flip a switch to end electricity-grid connections to neighboring Russia and Belarus — and turn to their European Union allies. The severing of electricity ties to oil- and gas-rich Russia is steeped in geopolitical and symbolic significance. Work toward it sped up after …

Ukrainian officials reported damage Thursday at a market in the northeastern city of Kharkiv after the latest round of overnight Russian drone attacks targeting multiple parts of the country. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that debris from a downed drone damaged power lines in the city. Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot down 56 of the 77 total drones deployed by Russian …

LONDON — London’s Grenfell Tower, which was engulfed in flames more than seven years ago in a disaster that killed 72 people, will be demolished, bereaved families and survivors said on Thursday. The fire ripped through the 23-story social housing block in one of London’s richest areas during the early hours of June 14, 2017. It was Britain’s deadliest blaze in a residential building since World …

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British Foreign Minister David Lammy met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and announced a new $68.7 million financial package for Ukraine as its war with Russia continues. “Our support for Ukraine remains unbreakable,” Lammy said. “We are determined to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both in its fight against Russia and beyond.” Later Wednesday, Zelenskyy told reporters that an international …

France’s prime minister survived a no-confidence vote by parliament on Wednesday after he invoked special constitutional powers to force through the country’s 2025 budget.  Only 128 lawmakers voted in favor of the no-confidence motion against Francois Bayrou, falling short of the 289 votes required to pass.  Far-left lawmakers called for the measure after Bayrou invoked Article 49.3, which grants the minority government special constitutional powers …

ATHENS, GREECE — Earthquakes rattled Greece’s volcanic island of Santorini every few minutes through the night and into Wednesday as authorities bolstered their emergency plans in case the hundreds of temblors over the past few days are a harbinger of a larger quake to come.   A coast guard vessel and a military landing craft were in the wider area as a contingency should an evacuation be …

OREBRO, Sweden — Swedish police said on Wednesday there was no evidence of “ideological motives” behind a mass shooting at an adult education center on Tuesday, and warned of misinformation spread on social media about the Nordic country’s deadliest gun attack. At least 11 people died and many others were wounded in the shooting at the Risbergska school in Orebro, a town of over 100,000 people, …

A Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region, the area’s governor said Wednesday. The fire, which was later put out, happened in the village of Novominskaya. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said debris from a destroyed drone caused the fire, and that there were no injuries. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it shot down two Ukrainian drones over the …

Santorini, Greece — More Greek islands closed schools Tuesday as hundreds of earthquakes rattled the Aegean Sea, while a handful of hardy tourists enjoyed having Santorini’s stunning views to themselves. Thousands of residents and seasonal workers have left the Cycladic Islands as hundreds of quakes up to magnitude 5 were recorded in the volcanic region since Friday. Ferry and commercial flight operators added services to accommodate …

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the United Nations to consider sending a peacekeeping force to Haiti.  The suggestion was made in a letter Macron sent to the U.N. after meeting with Leslie Voltaire, resident of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Click here for the full story in Creole. …

Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian drone attacks overnight damaged houses and other buildings in multiple regions. Ukraine’s military said its air defenses shot down 37 of the 65 drones that Russian forces launched in the attacks, with intercepts taking place in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Poltava and Sumy regions. The Sumy Regional Military Administration said the attacks damaged eight houses and a school in …

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders agreed Monday to do more to bolster their defenses against Russia and other threats by hiking spending and filling gaps in their military capabilities. “A lot has been done already but we need to do more. We need to do it better, stronger, faster – and we need to do it together,” Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council of …

LONDON — It was quite the journey for such tiny froglets: traveling thousands of miles from the forests of southern Chile to London, carried and brooded inside their fathers’ vocal sacs for safety. London Zoo said Monday that 33 endangered Darwin’s frogs, named after scientist Charles Darwin, who discovered the species, were born in their new home as part of a rescue mission to save the …

Multiple earthquakes are rattling Santorini, a volcanic island in Greece, prompting authorities to dispatch rescuers with tents, a sniffer dog and drones, and to shut schools on four islands. Residents have been warned to avoid indoor gatherings, check escape routes, stay away from cliffs and to drain swimming pools to reduce potential structural damage to buildings in the event of a large earthquake. Greece lies …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has renewed its call for the United States to reverse its decision to withdraw from the U.N. health agency, warning of potential global health consequences and budget concerns. In his opening remarks at an executive board meeting on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told attendees the health agency regrets the U.S. decision and hopes Washington will reconsider. “We would …

The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to freeze most foreign aid has left Ukrainian organizations that provide humanitarian aid and other services scrambling. Myroslava Gongadze has the story from Warsaw, with reporting from Anna Chernikova in Kyiv. VOA footage by Serhii Rozov and Vladyslav Smilianets. …

Paris — Film director found guilty of sexual assault in France’s first big #MeToo trial   PARIS (AP) — A Paris court found a filmmaker guilty of sexual assault on French actor Adèle Haenel when she was between 12 and 15 in the early 2000s, in the country’s first big #MeToo trial. Filmmaker Christophe Ruggia was sentenced Monday to two years under house arrest with an …

Russian officials said Monday that Ukrainian drone attacks targeted energy facilities in two regions in southwestern Russia. Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said falling debris from drones destroyed by Russian air defenses sparked fires at an oil refinery. Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin said the Ukrainian attacks focused on fuel and energy facilities, starting a fire in his region but causing no casualties. The officials did not …

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders gather on Monday to discuss how to bolster the continent’s defenses against Russia and how to handle U.S. President Donald Trump after his decision to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. At a royal palace-turned-conference center in Brussels, the leaders of the EU’s 27 nations will also lunch with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and dine with British …

MADRID — Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales goes on trial on Monday over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso with the player scheduled to take the stand. The 47-year-old provoked worldwide outrage after he cupped Hermoso’s head and gave her an unsolicited kiss after Spain beat England to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia. Prosecutors are seeking two and a …

TBILISI, Georgia — Police in Georgia arrested several anti-government protesters on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections briefly blocked a motorway on the edge of the capital Tbilisi. A Reuters reporter saw three protesters being arrested, including Nika Melia, a leader of the country’s largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change. Interfax news agency reported that Melia has since been released on bail …

Rome — Milena Bernabo, awarded one of Italy’s top civilian honors for saving three children from the Nazis during World War II, died Sunday aged 96, local authorities said.  Bernabo was awarded the gold medal for civil merit for saving her young neighbors during the August 1944 massacre of Sant’Anna di Stazzema, in Tuscany, in which 560 people died.   Then aged 16, Bernabo had been …

Berlin — Tens of thousands took to the streets across Germany during the weekend to protest the center-right leader and front-runner in a Feb. 25 election for sending to parliament proposals for tough new migration rules that received the backing of a far-right party.  Angry protesters in Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Leipzig said that Friedrich Merz and his Christian Democrats broke Germany’s unwritten post-Nazi promise by …