Europe

TBILISI — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Georgia on Monday after having congratulated the ruling party on its victory in an election which the opposition says was marred by voting violations.  Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54% of the vote, but opposition parties disputed the results and called for protests.  The election results are a blow for pro-Western …

VILNIUS — The opposition Social Democrats claimed victory in Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, which was dominated by frustration with the cost of living and worries over potential threats from neighboring Russia. The left-leaning grouping has pledged to maintain the Baltic state’s hefty defense spending program, while criticizing the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte over raising taxes to fund it. Official government data …

NATO confirmed Monday that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to help Moscow fight its war against Ukraine and have also been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region where Kyiv’s forces invaded in a surprise attack in August and still hold territory. “The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” NATO Secretary General Mark …

STOCKHOLM — Seven European countries have changed their laws to increase employee ownership in startups to rival the U.S. in attracting talent and investment, while other countries are lagging, a report by venture capital firm Index Ventures found. While stock options were integral to Silicon Valley’s success, Europe has been hampered by bureaucracy and by taxing employees too early, among other restrictions. The European Union needs …

Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russian aerial attacks overnight killed at least one person in Kherson and injured several people in Kharkiv. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that Russian shelling hit residential buildings in the city of Kherson. In Kharkiv, officials reported strikes from Russian guided bombs and shelling, including attacks that damaged an apartment building and a house. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov …

WARNGAU, Germany — Farmers and their horses walked in a festive parade through the small Bavarian town of Warngau on Sunday to honor their patron saint, St. Leonhard. Their manes neatly combed, the massive horses were decorated with ribbons and greenery as they pulled the adorned carriages to a local church as part of the procession some 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Munich. Farmers donned …

TBILISI — Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called on Sunday for people to take to the streets to protest the results of Saturday’s disputed parliamentary election, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.  The Georgian Dream party clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the result and vote monitors reported significant violations.  Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally …

VILNIUS, Lithuania — The opposition Social Democrats took an early lead in the second round of Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, with voters focusing on concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia.  Official government data showed the center-left grouping leading with 33 seats after 64% of the vote was counted on top of 20 secured in the first round, in the …

The former Soviet republic of Georgia’s ruling party is claiming victory following Saturday’s parliamentary elections. Opposition groups call the election rigged, as polls show that most Georgians say they want closer ties to the European Union, not Moscow. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has this story. …

Madrid — Real Madrid, the Spanish league and the local government on Sunday condemned racist insults against Lamine Yamal during Saturday’s “clasico,” and Madrid said it was working to identify those who abused the Barcelona forward. Madrid said it “has opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults so that the appropriate disciplinary and judicial measures can …

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarians were voting Sunday in the seventh general election in more than three years with little hope that a stable government will be formed to stop the country’s slide into political instability.  Voter fatigue and disillusionment with politicians have created an environment where radical political voices, aided by Moscow’s widespread disinformation, are successfully undermining public support for the democratic process and boosting the …

Tbilisi, Georgia — The streets of Tbilisi echoed with despair on Sunday as the Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party won Saturday’s parliamentary election. The opposition parties are disputing the results.  With 99% of the precincts reporting, Georgian Dream had secured 54.8% of the vote, reinforcing its grip on a nation polarized over its political future. Most of the leaders of the opposition …

New Delhi — BRICS leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, have publicly voiced their commitment to jointly introduce an alternative payment system that would not be dependent on the U.S. dollar. Independent analysts, however, question the feasibility of implementing the idea anytime soon. The recently concluded meeting of BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India. China and South Africa — discussed ways to …

paris — French authorities maintained a night curfew amid fresh unrest on the Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe on Saturday as they battled to restore power they accused striking energy workers of sabotaging.  Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen weeks of often violent protests over the cost of living. A night curfew has been in force in Martinique for 16 days because of …

New York — Finance ministers of the G7 nations vowed Saturday to step up efforts to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.    “We remain committed to taking further initiatives in response to oil price cap violations,” the group said in a statement following a meeting in Washington. Those further steps were not spelled out in detail.  In December 2022, the G7 …

ROME — Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in seven Italian cities on Saturday calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East, Ukraine and all global conflicts.  Peaceful rallies were held in Rome, Turin, Milan, Florence, Bari, Palermo and Cagliari, with the support of hundreds of associations committed to peace, disarmament and human rights.  The marches came in response to escalating violence …

WASHINGTON — Analysts warn that Apple’s removal of two apps from an independent media site from its Russian App Store sets a “dangerous precedent.” The affected apps are for Current Time, a Russian-language network produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL, in cooperation with VOA, and a Kyrgyz-language news app. RFE/RL and VOA are independent media outlets funded by the U.S. Congress. In a letter …

Russian missile strikes killed three people including a child in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro while a teenager and another person died in attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region, officials said Saturday. Overnight strikes on Dnipro wounded 19 others and damaged multiple buildings, said Sergiy Lysak, the governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region. A two-story residential building was destroyed, he said. Images shared by …

Georgians headed to the polls Saturday in a ballot many citizens see as a make-or-break vote on the opportunity to join the European Union. The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people has been dominated by foreign policy and marked by a bitter fight for votes and allegations of a smear campaign. Some Georgians complained of intimidation and being pressured to …

washington — North Korea is likely anticipating Russian technical assistance to perfect its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for sending its troops to support Russia in the Ukraine war, U.S. experts say. On Wednesday, the U.S. government confirmed for the first time the presence of at least 3,000 North Korean troops in Russia. Last Friday, South Korea’s intelligence agency said North Korea had sent 1,500 …

Washington — The 2024 BRICS summit in Russia this week provided Moscow and Beijing with a showcase for their shared anti-West sentiment and global ambitions, but analysts say the war in Ukraine may be fracturing the “no limits” relationship between the two countries.  The location of the summit was strategically significant, given international efforts to isolate Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.   “For Russia as …

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Friday denied a Wall Street Journal report about regular contacts between Elon Musk and President Vladimir Putin. “No, this is not true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said that Putin had one contact with Musk — the world’s richest man — and it was before 2022. The Journal said Musk had been in regular contact with Putin since late …

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday promised support for Bosnia as the troubled Balkan country struggles with reform needed to advance toward membership in the European Union.   Von der Leyen was in Bosnia as part of a trip this week to aspiring EU member states in the Western Balkans to assure them that EU enlargement remains a priority for …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to deepen defense ties with New Delhi and bring the two countries’ militaries closer, he said on Friday, after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Germany has not traditionally had close defense ties with India, but is now pitching to join the latter’s effort to wean its arms base from decades of dependence on Russia, at a time when the …