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 called for “comprehensive assistance to Ukraine to defeat Russia” and had “discredited” the Russian army. “The organization provides information, financial, legal and other support to Russian opposition structures, pro-Western and LGBT activists, communities defending their …
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 he will be constitutionally eligible to run again. At the ceremony inside the gilded Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin placed his hand on the Russian Constitution and vowed to defend it as a crowd of hand-picked …
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 Serbia, two nations with autocratic leaders that are seen as China-friendly and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As mainstream European leaders have pursued more protectionist policies to limit Beijing’s and Moscow’s reach on the …
WASHINGTON — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials. The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details. Cynthia Smith, Army spokesperson, confirmed that a soldier was detained Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier’s family. “The …
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 (SNP). The SNP confirmed Swinney’s election after nominations for the post closed at 12 noon (1100 GMT) without any other challengers emerging. Humza stepped down last Monday as he faced a confidence vote in the …
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 would have consequences. The Foreign Office in Berlin said Monday that the government is taking the latest incident “seriously” and that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had decided to call back German Ambassador Alexander Lambsdorff. He …
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. She added that, previously with Xi, “I have made clear that the current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and need to be addressed.” Von der Leyen’s European Commission, the European Union’s authority …
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 shot to prominence on pledges to bring an end to problems like official corruption and a declining quality of life in the Central European country. Supporters endured a brief but unexpected rain shower ahead of …
washington — Supporters of two U.S. nationals seen as unjustly imprisoned overseas are raising concerns about what they see as a murky process by which the U.S. government decides whether to designate such individuals as wrongfully detained. Granting a wrongful detention designation to a U.S. national means the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs is authorized to work with a coalition of government and private sector organizations to secure the detainee’s freedom. Hostage rights advocates and relatives of the two U.S. nationals jailed in Iran and Russia tell VOA they want answers as to why the pair have been waiting months …
amsterdam — Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte joined around 4,000 people Saturday for the country’s annual World War II remembrance ceremony amid restricted public access and heightened security due to the war in Gaza. The ceremony on Amsterdam’s central Dam square, with the traditional two minutes of silence at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) to commemorate the victims of World War II, passed smoothly despite fears that there might be protests. Normally some 20,000 people attend the Dam commemoration without having to register. But earlier this week, municipal authorities announced unprecedented security measures to keep the ceremony safe and …
PARIS — France’s world-leading cosmetics sector is counting on talks between Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron next week to help minimize the impact on French companies of tough new Chinese import rules requiring the sharing of formulas and manufacturing know-how. President Xi’s first visit to Europe in five years comes amid a backdrop of tense trade relations, with the European Union threatening China’s electric vehicle and green energy industries with tariffs. But progress toward an agreement between France and China on the regulation of cosmetics, including lipstick and fragrances, could be a bright spot in discussions in Paris next week. President …
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 and flows as an open sewer of sorts when heavy rains overwhelm London’s ancient plumbing system. Taming the Thames would not be Khan’s first swim upstream. His narrative is built around overcoming the odds. As …