Europe

The FBI has charged Nomma Zarubina, a Russian national living in New York, with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents regarding her ties to Russian intelligence services. According to the FBI, Zarubina sought connections with U.S. journalists, military personnel, and think tank experts on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies. Court documents reveal that she initially lied to U.S. authorities about her ties …

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Political analysts in Nigeria say the country needs to be careful after signing a series of agreements with France during President Bola Tinubu’s three-day visit to the European country last week. Tinubu’s three-day visit to France was the first official state visit to Paris by a Nigerian leader in more than two decades. During the visit, Nigeria and France signed two major deals, …

LONDON/LAS PALMAS, SPAIN — Record numbers of migrants arrived on Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa this year, according to newly released government figures. Some 41,425 migrants arrived on the islands between January 1 and November 30, according to the figures released Monday. The number surpassed the 39,910 migrants recorded in 2023, which also broke previous records. Most of the migrants are from Mali, Morocco and …

BUCHAREST — Romania’s hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians (AUR) party wants to be part of a coalition government, its leader said on Tuesday, as the nation eyes a presidential runoff vote that will decide who appoints the prime minister. Hard-right and ultranationalist parties, including AUR, saw a sharp surge in support in a parliamentary election on Sunday, and while they lack a majority they garnered more …

A Turkish court has jailed pending trial nine protesters who disrupted President Tayyip Erdogan’s speech in Istanbul last week, accusing his government of continuing oil exports to Israel despite a publicized embargo. The incident occurred during Erdogan’s televised address at a forum on Friday, where the protesters said the government was failing to uphold its pro-Palestinian rhetoric. They chanted slogans such as “Ships are carrying …

TURKU, Finland — On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe’s largest naval exercises. The 12-day ‘Freezing Winds’ drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defense alliance’s protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global …

NATO foreign ministers open two days of talks Tuesday in Brussels with support for Ukraine high on the agenda as the country fights to defend itself from a Russian invasion that began nearly three years ago. Allies have already pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in new military aid ahead of the meetings, including new rounds of assistance from the United States and Germany. In …

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is …

TBILISI, Georgia — Police in Georgia’s capital again moved to disperse thousands of demonstrators on Monday after over 200 people were detained during four previous nights of protests against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. Police used water cannons and tear gas to drive protesters away from the parliament building where they have gathered each night since Thursday when the ruling …

ATHENS, Greece — Authorities on the Greek islands Rhodes and Lemnos declared a state of emergency Monday after storms battered the islands, leaving two dead and widespread damage.  Rescue teams, assisted by the military and local authorities, rescued many older residents in flood-hit areas, after strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend flipped cars, caused power outages and damaged roads. Two men were killed in …

Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group remains active, even after the death of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in August of 2023. Russian experts say the group has been drawn closer to Kremlin power structures and is still fighting to advance Moscow’s interests around the world. Matthew Kupfer has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby has defended his decision to break military ties with France, saying at a news conference Sunday that their defense pact no longer meets Chad’s security needs. The decision requires France to withdraw its troops from the central African nation and echoes growing anti-French sentiment with civil society groups who say it is long overdue.  Deby said military ties …

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — A top Romanian court on Monday validated the first round of a presidential race in which a far-right outsider emerged as the front-runner, plunging the country into turmoil amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling.  The Constitutional Court’s unanimous decision came after it asked the Central Election Bureau to recount and verify all 9.4 million ballots cast in the first round of …

The Hague, Netherlands — The president of the International Criminal Court lashed out at the United States and Russia for interfering with its investigations, calling attacks on the court “appalling.” “The court is being threatened with draconian economic sanctions by another permanent member of the Security Council as if it was a terrorist organization,” Judge Tomoko Akane said in her address to the institution’s annual meeting, …

Notre Dame cathedral reopens this weekend (Dec 7/8) five years after a massive fire devastated the iconic Paris landmark. Political and religious leaders and ordinary visitors are expected to attend the events, which mark a bright spot in an otherwise turbulent year. Lisa Bryant reports from the French capital. …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged $680 million in military aid for Ukraine as he pledged support for the country during a visit Monday to Kyiv. Scholz said Ukraine can rely on Germany, and that his visit was meant to reinforce that commitment. He said the new military equipment is set to be delivered to Ukraine this month. The visit comes amid questions about future Western …

BERLIN — Workers at nine Volkswagen car and component plants across Germany will strike for several hours on Monday, IG Metall union said, bringing assembly lines to a halt as labor and management clash over the future of the carmaker’s German operations. Thousands are expected to gather at the carmaker’s headquarters in Wolfsburg. Demonstrations are also expected at the Hanover plant, which employs around 14,000 people, …

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia on Sunday rejected any responsibility for a powerful explosion that temporarily cut water and power supplies to large swathes of neighboring Kosovo, with Serbia’s president claiming such accusations are part of a “hybrid” warfare against his country. Kosovo officials said police had arrested eight people after an explosion on Friday in the northern Serb-populated part of the state hit a canal that …

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s ruling leftist Social Democrats (PSD) looked set to win the most votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday, fending off a resurgent far-right movement that challenges the country’s pro-Western orientation, partial results showed. The vote is the second of three consecutive ballots for both a new parliament and a new president, after the first round of the presidential election on Nov. 24 …

The late American businessman Morgan Williams was deeply involved in promoting Ukrainian business as president of the US-Ukraine Business Council.  During his time in Ukraine, Williams began collecting artwork related to the Holodomor, a famine engineered by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the early 1930’s that killed millions. Now, all that artwork has a home. Hanna Tverdokhlib has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA …

Madrid — A bus crashed Sunday evening near a ski resort in southern France, killing at least two people and injuring 33 others, local authorities said. A total of 47 people including the driver were on the bus when it crashed near the Porte-Puymorens ski resort, the regional administration said. Seven people were in critical condition. Local authorities said a preliminary investigation showed the bus ran …

Athens, Greece — Torrential rains flooded homes, businesses and roads in the popular Greek tourist island of Rhodes on Sunday, forcing authorities to temporarily ban the use of vehicles as Storm Bora pounded the country for a second day. On Saturday, a man died in flash floods which hit another Greek island in the northern Aegean. The fire service received more than 650 calls to pump …

The United States is not considering returning to Ukraine the nuclear weapons it gave up after the Soviet Union collapsed, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday. Sullivan made his remarks when questioned about a New York Times article last month that said some unidentified Western officials had suggested U.S. President Joe Biden could give Ukraine the arms before he leaves office. “That …

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Voters in Iceland joined a global trend of punishing incumbents in a parliamentary election, with a center-left party winning the largest share of votes in the North Atlantic island nation.  With all the votes tallied on Sunday, the Social Democratic Alliance had won 15 seats in the 63-seat parliament, the Althingi — more than doubling its total — and secured almost 21% of …