Europe

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 …

KYIV, UKRAINE — Russian President Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine. Around 32.5% of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (more than $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3% this year. Lawmakers in both houses of the …

KYIV, UKRAINE — The EU’s new top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, arrived in Kyiv on Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office. “We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support,” Costa told media outlets including AFP accompanying them on …

BERLIN — The smells of mulled wine, roasted almonds and hot bratwurst are wafting through the air across the German capital again, as the city’s more than 100 Christmas markets are opening their doors this week. But the annual tradition that Germans have cherished since the Middle Ages — and successfully exported to much of the Western world — has become a pretty diverse affair, at …

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — France on Sunday accused a handful of countries of obstructing negotiations in South Korea to reach the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution. “We also are worried by the continuing obstruction by the so-called like-minded countries,” Olga Givernet, France’s minister delegate for energy, told reporters, referring to a group of mostly oil-producing nations. Nearly 200 countries are in the port city …

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has held multiple phone conversations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban since winning the November 5 presidential election, according to sources who spoke to RFE/RL’s Hungarian Service. Hungarian government sources said Trump has sought Orban’s opinion on ending the Ukraine war, which has continued to drag on since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. On the campaign trail, …

DABROWKA, POLAND — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled Saturday to his country’s border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad to inspect progress in the construction of military fortifications along the eastern frontier, calling it “an investment in peace.” Tusk’s visit comes a month before Poland is to take over the rotating presidency of the 27-member European Union. Polish officials say their priority is to urge …

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis. Their meeting is scheduled to conclude Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, where many environmental organizations have flocked to push for a treaty to address the volume of production and toxic chemicals used in plastic products. Greenpeace said it escalated its pressure …

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Georgia on Saturday said authorities arrested 107 people during a second day of protests sparked by the government’s decision to delay European Union membership talks. The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in an October 26 parliamentary election that the pro-EU opposition said was fraudulent. The Interior Ministry said 107 people were detained …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says being admitted into NATO could end what he described as the “hot phase of the war” waged by Russia. In an interview with Sky News aired on November 29, Zelenskyy suggested that he would be willing to consider a ceasefire if Ukraine’s unoccupied territories fell under NATO’s protection and the invitation to join the alliance recognized Ukraine’s international borders. Russia …

HALIFAX, CANADA — With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding this month, the United States, Canada and Finland are moving ahead on what military analysts see as a belated but much-needed answer to a mounting Russian and Chinese threat in the Arctic Ocean.  Under the arrangement whimsically labeled the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact, the three nations have agreed to share research, knowledge and …

ROVANIEMI, FINLAND — With less than a month to go until Christmas, Santa Claus is busy preparing, but the warming climate and lack of snow in his Arctic hometown have him worried.   By this time of year, the town of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland — marketed by tourism officials since the 1980s as the “real” home of Santa Claus — should be white and pretty.   But …

PRISTINA, KOSOVO — An explosion Friday evening damaged a canal in northern Kosovo supplying water to two coal-fired power plants that generate nearly all of the country’s electricity, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming what he called “a terrorist act” by neighboring Serbia. There were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the blast, which also impacted drinking water supplies, was not clear. Serbian …

washington — The U.S. ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its outlook for Hungary’s government debt Friday citing “institutional and governance weaknesses” and concerns its antagonistic relationship with the EU could have financial consequences. Hungary is a recipient of substantial amounts of funding from the European Union, which are conditional on meeting certain criteria, including adherence to the rule of law. The country’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, …

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Thousands of demonstrators protesting the Georgian government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union rallied outside the parliament and clashed with police for a second straight night Friday. The night before, police used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters who took to the streets of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling …

seoul — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told the Russian defense minister that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons is the result of direct military intervention by the United States and that Moscow is entitled to fight in self-defense, state media said Saturday.   The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim met Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Friday, and it quoted the North …

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged his NATO counterparts to issue an invitation at a meeting in Brussels next week to Kyiv to join the Western military alliance, according to the text of a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. The letter reflects Ukraine’s renewed push to secure an invitation to join NATO, which is part of a “victory plan” outlined last month by …

After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019. Images broadcast live of a site visit by French President Emmanuel Macron showed the inside of the iconic cathedral as worshippers might have experienced it back in medieval …

Iran will begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges at its two main nuclear facilities at Fordo and Natanz, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Friday, further raising tensions over Tehran’s program as it enriches at near weapons-grade levels. The notice from the International Atomic Energy Agency mentioned Iran enriching uranium with new centrifuges to only 5% purity, far lower than the 60% it …

SEOUL, South Korea — Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their cooperation over Russia’s war in Ukraine.  In announcing the visit, Russia’s Defense Ministry didn’t say whom Belousov would meet or the purpose of the talks. North Korean state media didn’t immediately confirm the visit.  Belousov, a former …

Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday threatened to strike “decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, with Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic cruise missiles, after pounding Ukrainian energy infrastructure and cutting off power to more than one million people across the country. “We do not rule out the use of Oreshnik against the military, military-industrial or decision-making centers, including in Kyiv,” Putin told a news conference in …

N’DJAMENA, chad — Chad’s government said Thursday that it had ended its defense cooperation pact with France, a move that could see French troops leave the Central African country.  In a statement, Chad’s foreign ministry said the country, a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region, wanted to fully assert its sovereignty after more than six decades of independence.   It …

Former Moscow lawmaker Alexei Gorinov, serving a seven-year prison sentence for criticizing Russia’s war in Ukraine, unfurled an anti-war banner in a courtroom cage as he went on trial on new, more severe charges of justifying terrorism. Gorinov was the first individual jailed in Russia for openly opposing the war. Human rights activists demand his release. See the full story here.   …