TBILISI, Georgia — Thousands of demonstrators in the Georgian capital converged on parliament again on Tuesday, venting outrage against the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.

Like on five previous nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to push back the protesters, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard. Nearly 300 protesters have been detained, and 26 people, including three police officers, have been hospitalized with injuries.

“The more force they use, the angrier people become, because everyone they arrest has relatives, and everyone understands that this is injustice,” said Tamar Kordzaia, a member of Unity National Movement opposition group.

Kordzaia voiced confidence that the protesters will achieve their goal of calling new elections and joining the EU, noting that police on Monday “looked very tired. I am sure we need to withstand a little longer.”

The ruling Georgian Dream party retained control of parliament in the disputed Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations. The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighboring Russia’s help and boycotted parliament sessions.

Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party’s decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold.

“We are fighting for our democracy, to protect human rights, human dignity,” said Rusudan Chanturia, who attended Tuesday’s protest.

Another demonstrator, David Jandieri, said the daily protests must continue until the demonstrators achieve their goal. “In fact, we do not have another choice,” he said.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 293 protesters were detained on administrative charges and five arrested on criminal charges.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has refused to recognize the official election results and contested them in the Constitutional Court, which rejected her appeal on Tuesday. Zourabichvili, who plays a largely ceremonial role, has declared that she would stay on the job even after her six-year term ends later this month to lead the opposition demand for a new parliamentary election.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations but put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms. It requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

The Georgian government’s announcement of the EU accession talks’ suspension came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing October’s election as neither free nor fair.

On Monday, the EU reiterated its “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country.”

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of Georgian Dream declared Tuesday that the government is willing to open EU accession talks if the bloc ends its “blackmail.”

“I want to remind European bureaucrats and politicians, including those who are artificially hindering our country’s European integration, to bring negotiations to the table, and we will sign immediately, on the same day, at that very moment,” he said.
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GENEVA — The United Nations on Wednesday sought $47 billion in aid for 2025 to help around 190 million people fleeing conflict and battling starvation, at a time when this year’s appeal is not even half-funded and officials fear cuts from Western states including the top donor, the U.S.

Facing what the new U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher describes as “an unprecedented level of suffering,” the U.N. hopes to reach people in 32 countries next year, including those in war-torn Sudan, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine.

“The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out,” Fletcher told reporters in Geneva.

“We need to reset our relationship with those in greatest need on the planet,” said Fletcher, a former British diplomat who started as head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last month.

The appeal is the fourth largest in OCHA’s history, but Fletcher said it leaves out some 115 million people whose needs the agency cannot realistically hope to fund:

“We’ve got to be absolutely focused on reaching those in the most dire need, and really ruthless.”

The U.N. cut its 2024 appeal to $46 billion from $56 billion the previous year as donor appetite faded, but it is still only 43% funded, one of the worst rates in history. Washington has given over $10 billion, about half the funds received.

Aid workers have had to make tough choices, cutting food assistance by 80% in Syria and water services in cholera-prone Yemen, OCHA said.

Aid is just one part of total spending by the U.N., which has for years failed to meet its core budget due to countries’ unpaid dues.

While incoming president Donald Trump halted some U.N. spending during his first term, he left U.N. aid budgets intact. This time, aid officials and diplomats see cuts as a possibility.

“The U.S. is a tremendous question mark,” said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, who held Fletcher’s post from 2003-2006. “I fear that we may be bitterly disappointed because the global mood and the national political developments are not in our favor.”

Project 2025, a set of conservative proposals whose authors include some Trump advisers, takes aim at “wasteful budget increases” by the main U.S. relief agency, USAID. The incoming Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment.

Fletcher cited “the disintegration of our systems for international solidarity” and called for a broadening of the donor base.

Asked about Trump’s impact, he said: “I don’t believe that there isn’t compassion in these governments which are getting elected.”

One of the challenges is that crises are now lasting longer – an average of 10 years, according to OCHA.

Mike Ryan, World Health Organization emergencies chief, said some states were entering a “permanent state of crisis.”

The European Commission – the European Union executive body – and Germany are the number two and three donors to U.N. aid budgets this year.

Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, said Europe’s contributions were also in doubt as funds are shifted to defense:

“It’s a more fragile, unpredictable world [than in Trump’s first term], with more crises and, should the U.S. administration cut its humanitarian funding, it could be more complex to fill the gap of growing needs.”
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock this week repeatedly criticized China’s economic and military support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, which she said is threatening peace in Europe. During a visit to China, she also pledged to stand up for Germany’s economic interests when it comes to electric vehicles, climate and security policy. VOA Mandarin spoke with analysts about what China’s muted response to her criticism may mean.

See the full story here.
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The government of France faces a no-confidence vote Wednesday, a move that could topple the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

Analysts predict French lawmakers will likely vote in favor of a no-confidence motion.

Barnier warned the politicians that voting his government down “would make everything more difficult for France.”

The no-confidence vote follows a seldom-used constitutional move the prime minister invoked Monday when he pushed through the 2025 budget without parliamentary approval, something Barnier said he did to maintain “stability” amid France’s deep political divisions.

Barnier, who has been prime minister for just three months, is seeking to bring France’s gigantic budget deficit under control.

The government can pass legislation without parliamentary approval under Article 49.3 of France’s constitution. That move, however, opens up the option of no-confidence motions.

The prime minister’s action prompted Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and the leftist New Popular Front to both respond with filings for no-confidence motions.

The left and the far-right together hold enough votes to overturn the prime minister’s government, according to Reuters, which reports that Le Pen has confirmed that her party would support a left-wing alliance’s no-confidence motion. A far-right motion would not receive enough votes from lawmakers.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the lawmakers voting in favor of the no-confidence vote were playing Russian roulette with France’s future.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he could “not believe” the lawmakers had teamed up for the no confidence motion against the government and accused Le Pen of “unbearable cynicism.”

“We must not scare people with these things. We have a strong economy,” the president said.

Macron said he is holding on to the hope that the politicians will not censure the French government.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he told reporters during a trip to Saudi Arabia. He compared the situation to “political fiction.”

There have also been calls for Macron’s resignation, but the president said he has no intention of resigning before his term ends in 2027.

“It so happens that if I am before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people,” he said. “I am extremely proud of this, and I will honor this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country.”

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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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, including a $300 million pact to develop critical infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, agriculture and health care in Nigeria.

Both nations also signed an agreement to increase food security and develop Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.

Tinubu has been trying to attract investments to boost Nigeria’s ailing economy. While many praise his latest deals with France, some critics are urging caution.

The deals come as France looks for friends in West Africa following a series of military coups in countries where it formerly had strong ties — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Ahmed Buhari, a political affairs analyst, criticized the partnership.

“Everybody is trying to look for a new development partner that would seemingly be working in their own interest, but obviously we don’t seem to be on the same page,” Buhari said. “We’re partnering with France, who [has] been responsible for countries like Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and the likes, and we haven’t seen significant developments in those places in the last 100 years.”

Abuja-based political analyst Chris Kwaja said France’s strained relationships with the Sahelian states do not affect Nigeria.

“That the countries of the Sahel have a fractured relationship with France does not in any way define the future of the Nigeria-France relationship,” Kwaja said. “No country wants to operate as an island. Every country is looking at strategic partnerships and relationships.”

France has a long history of involvement in the Sahel region, including military intervention, economic cooperation and development aid. Critics say the countries associated with France have been grappling with poverty and insecurity.

Eze Onyekpere, economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice, said Nigeria must be wary of any deal before signing.

“It is a little bit disappointing considering the reputation of France in the way they’ve been exploiting minerals across the Sahel,’ Onyekpere said. “They’ve been undertaking exploitation in a way and manner that’s not in the best interest of those countries. I hope we have good enough checks to make sure that the agreements signed will generally be in the interest of both countries and not a one-sided agreement.”

Nigeria is France’s top trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa.

During the president’s visit, two Nigerian banks — Zenith and United Bank for Africa — also signed agreements to expand their operations into France.
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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 Senegal.

The islands lie in the Atlantic Ocean more than 100 kilometers west of Morocco and have long attracted migrants seeking a new life in Europe.

The latest figures were published as Spain outlines plans to offer visas to up to 900,000 undocumented migrants already in the country, while simultaneously clamping down on new arrivals.

Madrid announced plans to offer visas to 300,000 undocumented migrants every year for the next three years, allowing them to remain in the country to study and find work.

Spain needs young workers’ taxes to fund the pensions and health care of its aging population, according to the minister for migration, Elma Saiz.

“Spain has to choose between being an open and prosperous country or being a closed and poor country. And we have chosen the former. That is why there are already 2.9 million foreigners paying monthly Social Security contributions [taxes],” Saiz announced at a press conference in Madrid on November 19.

Saiz said that the government plans to “cut red tape” to make it easier for migrants to enter the labor market.

“We want to make it easier for foreigners to get a job suited to their professional profile and, at the same time, for companies to find the professionals they need,” she said.

The visas will be offered only to migrants already in Spain.

Simultaneously, Madrid says it is clamping down on new arrivals by striking deals with African states to curb migrant departures and increase offshore patrols. Spain has also called for the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, to resume patrols in the region.

Authorities have struggled to cope with the surge in migrant arrivals on the Canary Islands. Adult migrants are held in camps as they await transfer to the Spanish mainland, where their visa applications are processed. Children younger than 18 stay at shelters on the islands and are offered places in local schools.

Bocar Gueye, 36, who arrived on the island of Gran Canaria from Mauritania, told VOA that he was happy to have survived the journey.

“They will give the tickets [for travel to the mainland] to everyone, but it is not easy. Everyone will wait their turn. With all the difficulties we had at sea, I think that the rest, we can be patient,” Gueye said.

Tensions on the islands are growing, however. Residents of Las Palmas staged demonstrations in October against the increase in migrant arrivals. Many fear that the government’s plan to regularize the status of migrants already in Spain will encourage more people to attempt the journey.

“Right now, we don’t need immigrants to work,” said Rudy Ruyman, who helped to organize the protests on October 27. “What we need is to give work to the Canary Islanders and to the Spanish in general. We must take care of our land, of our people, of our children, and encourage Canarians and Spaniards to have children. Because if not, what will be left of Spain and the Canary Islands? We will lose our identity,” he told VOA.

The migration debate is shadowed by tragedy. The journey from Africa’s Atlantic coast to the Canary Islands remains one of the deadliest routes to Europe. Aid agencies estimate around 1,000 people die every month attempting the crossing.
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In Ukraine, a music teacher is teaching children how to fly drones. While it grew out of Russia’s invasion, the teacher says the skills the students learn will serve them well in peacetime as well. Lesia Bakalets reports from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets.
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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 than 30% of seats in the legislature.

A Constitutional Court ruling on Monday cleared the way for a presidential runoff next Sunday that will pit far-right candidate Calin Georgescu against centrist Elena Lasconi, raising the possibility that the new head of state, who appoints the government, will share AUR’s views.

A Georgescu win in the presidential runoff would upend Romania’s pro-Western orientation and erode its backing for neighboring Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Romania is a member of NATO and the European Union.

The court had ordered a recount of the first round of the election amid concerns over interference in the electoral process, but finally validated the result.

“As Romania’s second-largest party we … have the responsibility to come up with a credible vision,” AUR leader George Simion told foreign press.

“I would like to have a governmental coalition. If the next president of Romania nominates me as prime minister or asks our party to propose a name for prime minister [then we will].

“We will stay and talk with every political force in the Romanian parliament,” he said, speaking in English.

However Simion ruled out cooperating with the leftist Social Democrats (PSD), who came first in Sunday’s ballot.

Unity

The leader of the far-right SOS grouping, Diana Sosoaca, appealed for unity among nationalist parties on Monday, saying they should try to form a government even if it was a minority one. AUR and Sosoaca have previously clashed over policy and the latter’s pro-Russian statements.

A survey conducted by pollster CURS on Dec. 1 at polling stations showed Georgescu would win 57.8% in a run-off to Lasconi’s 42.2% among people who say they will vote. The survey polled 24,629 people after they cast their vote and had a margin of error of plus/minus 0.6%.

An admirer of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and a critic of the European Union, Simion has said he would stop military aid to Ukraine. He has opposed Holocaust education and gay marriage, and wants to recover territories that Romania lost during World War Two.

AUR has gone from being a fringe anti-vaccination group during the COVID-19 pandemic into Romania’s leading opposition force, appealing to the working class diaspora and young voters and building on popular discontent with mainstream politicians.

He says he is not pro-Russian, calling President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and supports Romania’s NATO and European Union member status, though he condemns what he calls a “greedy, corrupt bubble” in Brussels.
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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 bombs to Gaza” and “Stop fueling genocide.”

Erdogan responded sharply.

“My child, don’t become the mouthpiece of Zionists here. No matter how much you try to provoke by acting as their voice, mouth, and eyes, you will not succeed,” he said.

“Zionists around the world know very well where Tayyip Erdogan stands. But it seems you still haven’t understood.”

Police removed the demonstrators from the event, and prosecutors charged them with insulting the president and participating in an illegal demonstration.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the group had coordinated their actions inside and outside the venue and sought their detention pending trial.

The arrests have drawn strong criticism from opposition politicians and rights advocates. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel denounced the detentions as a blow to democracy.

“The decision to arrest nine young people who protested Tayyip Erdogan proves the grave situation our country’s democracy has fallen into,” Ozel said.

“These young people were exercising their right to free expression and should be released immediately.”
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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 shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.

The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia. There have been at least three incidents of possible sabotage to the 40-odd telecommunication cables and critical gas pipelines that run along its relatively shallow seabed since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

“NATO is stepping up patrols, … allies are investing in innovative technologies that can help better secure these assets,” said Commander Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesperson for NATO’s Allied Maritime Command.

Yet the ease with which a ship’s anchor can slice through a cable, coupled with the often-treacherous sea conditions, makes actual prevention of such attacks almost impossible.

On day three of the exercise, German Navy commander Beata Król tried to launch an underwater drone from her de-mining vessel, the Weilheim, to inspect the seabed as a winter storm raged.

After a 30-minute delay in launching it, the drone had frozen and could not operate.

“The batteries got cold,” she said, shrugging, as she waited for the equipment to warm up.

Having spent years detonating World War II-era mines on the Baltic seabed, NATO is repurposing its six-vessel mine hunting fleet to also monitor suspicious underwater activity, with its hull-mounted sonar scanning the seabed, drones able to take pictures and video under the water, and specialist divers on hand.

But its powers are still limited.

“We are a defensive alliance, so by conducting training and exercising, also in areas which are crucial with underwater infrastructure, we show presence and prevent rather than actively engage,” Król said.

Security sources say the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was responsible for severing the two undersea cables in Swedish economic waters between Nov. 17 and 18 by dragging its anchor on the seabed.

As of Monday, it was stationary in Danish economic waters, being watched by NATO members’ naval ships, having been urged by Sweden to return to be investigated. Some politicians had accused it of sabotage, but no authority had shown evidence that its actions were deliberate.

China has said it is ready to assist in the investigation, while its ally Russia has denied involvement in any of the Baltic infrastructure incidents.

The case is similar to an incident last year when the Chinese ship NewNew Polar Bear damaged two cables linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden as well as an Estonia-Finland gas pipeline. China made similar promises to assist, but the ship was not stopped and, a year on, Finnish and Estonian investigators have yet to present conclusions.

Damage to cables is not new. Globally, around 150 are damaged each year, according to the UK-based International Cable Protection Committee. The telecoms cables, power lines and gas pipes in the shallow Baltic are particularly vulnerable due to its very intense ship traffic, the U.S.-based telecom research firm TeleGeography said.

If any of the recent incidents are proven to be sabotage by another country, it would mark a return of a type of warfare not seen for decades.

“You should go back to World War One or the American-Spanish war to find a state-sponsored sabotage of a submarine cable,” said Paul Brodsky, a senior researcher at TeleGeography.

To counter this potential threat, NATO in May opened its Maritime Centre for Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI) in London, which wants to map all critical infrastructure in NATO-controlled waters and identify weak spots.

In Rostock, on Germany’s Baltic coast, a multinational naval headquarters opened in October to protect NATO members’ interests in the sea.

“What I think we can achieve is to place the responsibility after an incident,” CUI’s Branch Head, Commander Pal Bratbak, said onboard the Weilheim, stressing the growing power of technology.

NATO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in Italy is launching software that will combine private and military data and imagery from hydrophones, radars, satellites, vessels’ Automatic Identification System (AIS) and fibers with Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), which private telecom companies use to localize cuts in their cables.

“If we have a good picture of what’s going on, then we can deploy units to verify what the system tells us,” Bratbak said.

German Lieutenant-General Hans-Werner Wiermann, who led an undersea infrastructure coordination cell at NATO Headquarters until March, said no pipeline or cable can be guarded all the time.

“The right response to such hybrid attacks is resilience,” he said, adding that companies were already laying cables to add “redundancies” – spare routings that will allow critical pieces of infrastructure to keep working if one cable is cut.

On board the Weilheim, Król’s second drone is finally able to brave the storm to continue the inspection drill underwater.
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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 addition to the NATO ministerial talks, the agenda also includes the latest round of meetings for the NATO-Ukraine council as Ukrainian officials push for membership in the alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that an invitation to join NATO “would fundamentally strengthen Ukraine before any negotiations to end the war.”

NATO leaders have repeatedly said Ukraine’s future is in NATO, but that the country would not be able to join while the Russian war is ongoing.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Monday that the United States is focused on “helping Ukraine to be in the strongest position possible on the battlefield and to ensure they are able to defend itself now and over the long term.”

On the battlefront, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian aerial attacks overnight damaged energy infrastructure in the western regions of Rivne and Ternopil.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian shelling and a drone hit the city of Nikopol, damaging multiple homes, a gym, and gas and power lines.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region and another drone over Bryansk.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
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The new head of the International Broadcasting department at Polish Television tells VOA Russian about plans to increase programming for viewers in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.  

“There is a need for truthful information about what is going on in Belarus and Russia,” Michael Broniatowski said. He also discussed the biggest challenges when producing programming for Belarusian and Russian audiences.    

See the full story here.

 
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PENTAGON — President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to support Ukraine and replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles, two U.S. officials tell VOA, as the administration continued Monday to push out new aid packages from the last congressionally approved funds for Kyiv before Biden leaves office on January 20.

Officials who have seen the administration’s request, on condition of anonymity to discuss its details, told VOA, that the new support would include $16 billion to restock U.S. weapons under the Pentagon’s presidential drawdown authority (PDA), along with $8 billion to manufacture weapons under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which focuses on supplying Kyiv’s long-term defense needs.

“This funding not only supports Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty and degrades Russian military capabilities but also strengthens U.S. military readiness by modernizing our weapons systems and making direct investments in our defense industrial base,” a U.S. defense official told VOA on Monday.

The Biden administration submitted aid for Ukraine in an anomaly funding bill that also includes spending on other matters rather than in a separate supplemental funding request.

“We defer to Congress to determine the most appropriate vehicle for addressing this urgent need,” one official said.

News of the latest request was first reported by Politico.

Some Republicans are already opposing the request.

“Any Biden funding demands should be DOA (dead on arrival),” Senator Mike Lee posted on X.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who will determine whether the bill is brought to a vote in the form proposed by the White House, wrote on X that funding decisions “are for the incoming administration, not the outgoing lame duck President.”

“The American people resoundingly elected President [Donald] Trump because he promised to bring an end to wars, not prolong them indefinitely,” Johnson added.

The aid request follows vows from Biden administration officials to seek additional aid approval from Congress for 2025. Last week, the Biden administration also informed Congress of its intention to forgive $4.65 billion worth of Ukrainian debt.

The U.S. announced Monday it was sending another military aid package to Ukraine valued at up to $725 million, its 71st tranche of equipment from Department of Defense inventories for Kyiv since August 2021. Monday’s PDA included air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons.

The package is the latest round of aid stemming from a $61 billion assistance bill for Kyiv that was approved by Congress in April after several months of delays. The Biden administration still has more than $8 billion in funding from previous aid packages to give to Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov on Monday to discuss battlefield dynamics and U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.

During his call with Umerov, Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, along with its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which the Pentagon called “another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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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.
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The exiled Russian opposition is looking to organize a common strategy while waiting for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to fulfill his campaign promises to end Russian President Vladmir Putin’s war with Ukraine, something they fear could mean a loss of U.S. support. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina.
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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.
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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, which opened on Monday.

Akane was referring to remarks made by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose Republican party will control both branches of Congress in January, and who called the court a “dangerous joke” and urged Congress to sanction its prosecutor. “To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you,” Graham said on Fox News.

Graham was angered by an announcement last month that judges had granted a request from the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief for crimes against humanity in connection with the nearly 14-month war in Gaza.

This marks the first time the global court of justice calls out a sitting leader of a major Western ally.

ICC faces challenges on arrest warrants

Graham’s threat isn’t seen as just empty words. President-elect Donald Trump sanctioned the court’s previous prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, with a travel ban and asset freeze for investigating American troops and intelligence officials in Afghanistan.

Akane on Monday also had harsh words for Russia. “Several elected officials are being subjected to arrest warrants from a permanent member of the Security Council,” she said. Moscow issued warrants for Khan and others in response to the investigation into Putin.

The Assembly of States Parties, which represents the ICC’s 124 member countries, will convene its 23rd conference to elect committee members and approve the court’s budget against a backdrop of unfavorable headlines.

The ICC was established in 2002 as the world’s permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the most heinous atrocities — war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. The court only becomes involved when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute those crimes on their territory. To date, 124 countries have signed on to the Rome Statute, which created the institution. Those who have not include Israel, Russia and China.

The ICC has no police force and relies on member states to execute arrest warrants.

The decision to warrant issues for Netanyahu and Israel’s ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has been denounced by critics of the court and given only milquetoast approval by many of its supporters, a stark contrast to the robust backing of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last year over war crimes in Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden called the warrants for Netanyahu and the former defense minister “outrageous” and vowed to stand with Israel. A year ago, Biden called the warrant for Putin “justified” and said the Russian president had committed war crimes. The U.S. is not an ICC member country.

France said it would “respect its obligations” but would need to consider Netanyahu’s possible immunities. When the warrant for Putin was announced, France said it would “lend its support to the essential work” of the court.

Another member country, Austria, begrudgingly acknowledged it would arrest Netanyahu but called the warrants “utterly incomprehensible.” Italy called them “wrong” but said it would be obliged to arrest him. Germany said it would study the decision. Member Hungary has said it would stand with Israel instead of the court.

Global security expert Janina Dill worried that such responses could undermine global justice efforts. “It really has the potential to damage not just the court, but international law,” she told The Associated Press.

Milena Sterio, an expert in international law at Cleveland State University, told the AP that sanctions against the court could affect a number of people who contribute to the court’s work, such as international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. Clooney advised the current prosecutor on his request for the warrants for Netanyahu and others.

“Sanctions are a huge burden,” Sterio said.

Accusations against Khan

Also hanging heavy over the meeting in The Hague are the internal pressures that Khan faces. In October, the AP reported the 54-year-old British lawyer is facing allegations he tried to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her.

Two co-workers in whom the woman confided reported the alleged misconduct in May to the court’s independent watchdog, which says it interviewed the woman and ended its inquiry after five days when she opted against filing a formal complaint. Khan was never questioned. He has denied the claims.

The Assembly of States Parties has announced it will launch an external probe into the allegations. It’s not clear if the investigation will be addressed during the meeting.

Khan took the floor after Akane. He didn’t address the accusations against him or the threats against the court directly, other than to say the institution was facing “unprecedented challenges.”

Instead he highlighted his office’s recent request for an arrest warrant against the head of Myanmar’s military government and said he planned to request warrants related to Afghanistan and Sudan in the coming months.

Late last week, six countries including France, Luxembourg and Mexico asked Khan’s office to look into possible crimes in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in 2021. While Khan isn’t obligated to open an investigation in response to such a request, historically court prosecutors have done so.

The court, which has long faced accusations of ineffectiveness, will have no trials pending after two conclude in December. While it has issued a number of arrest warrants in recent months, many high-profile suspects remain at large.

Member states don’t always act. Mongolia refused to arrest Putin when he visited in September. Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC over accusations related to the conflict in Darfur, but his country has refused to hand him over. Last week, Khan requested a warrant for the head of Myanmar’s military regime, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, for attacks against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. Judges have yet to decide on that request.

“It becomes very difficult to justify the court’s existence,” Sterio said.
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BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian centrist and leftist parties looked to have fended off a surge by the nationalist right in Sunday’s parliamentary election, as attention turned to a top court ruling later on Monday on whether to annul the results of a presidential vote. 

Romania, a European Union and NATO member, was thrown into turmoil by a shock result in the first round of the presidential vote on Nov. 24. A little-known far-right candidate surged to victory, raising suspicions of outside meddling in the electoral process of a country that has been a staunch ally of Ukraine. 

Romania’s Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the first round vote and is due to announce at 1500 GMT its decision on whether or not to validate the results of the ballot. 

If the court approves the result, independent far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu will face center-right contender Elena Lasconi in a run-off vote on Dec. 8. 

Romanian authorities say the country is a key target for hostile actors such as Russia, and have accused video streaming platform TikTok of giving preferential treatment to one candidate. Both Russia and TikTok deny any wrongdoing. 

Sunday’s parliamentary election, the second of three ballots scheduled over a period of as many weeks, saw the ruling leftist Social Democrat (PSD) party come first, setting the stage for what is likely to be a period of coalition forming with centrist parties. 

“We want a coalition that will continue Romania’s European course,” Social Democrat Vice President Victor Negrescu was quoted as saying by the website of Stirile Pro TV.  

“We expect the democratic, pro-European parties to understand that the Social Democratic Party can be the balancing factor around which a future majority can be formed.” 

President’s role 

With 99.78% of votes counted in the parliamentary ballot, the PSD won 22.4% of votes, ahead of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians with 18.2%.  

Lasconi’s centrist opposition Save Romania Union (USR) had 12.2%, while the junior ruling coalition ally Liberals had 14.3%. Two far-right groupings, SOS and POT, had 7.7% and 6.3%, respectively, and the ethnic Hungarian Party UDMR 6.4%. 

Liberal leader Ilie Bolojan said the party was “willing to participate in… a coalition so that we can be a modernizing factor for our country.” 

However, who gets to form the government will ultimately depend on who wins the presidential race, since the president designates a prime minister, and the timeline for that is unclear. 

This means Georgescu could potentially be in a position to give far-right parties, who together won over 30% of the vote, the chance to form a government. 

The leader of the far-right SOS grouping, Diana Sosoaca, appealed for unity among the nationalist parties. 

“I call on all patriotic, sovereigntist, nationalist forces to come together and form a nationalist government, even a minority one,” she was quoted as saying by the website of Digi 24 TV.  

 
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TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian police arrested a prominent opposition leader early on Monday after using water cannon and tear gas to scatter anti-government protesters who rallied outside parliament for the fourth straight night. 

The protests were sparked by the government’s announcement last week that it was suspending talks on joining the European Union. Critics saw that as confirmation of a Russian-influenced shift away from pro-Western policies, something the ruling party denies. 

The Coalition for Change, the country’s largest opposition party, said in a post on X that Zurab Japaridze, one of its leaders, had been arrested by police whilst leaving the demonstration.  

Footage showed Japaridze being placed in an unmarked vehicle by masked police. It was not clear if he would be charged with any offence. 

The United States and the EU have voiced alarm at what they see as democratic backsliding by Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that lies at the intersection of Europe and Asia and was once part of the Soviet Union. 

Russia denies interfering in its neighbor, but former president Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia was “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss,” adding: “Usually this sort of thing ends very badly.” 

On Sunday night, protesters gathered again in Tbilisi on the central Rustaveli Avenue. Some tossed fireworks at police, who responded with volleys of water cannon and tear gas. 

“I’m here for a very simple reason, to defend my European future and the democracy of my country,” one of the demonstrators, Nikoloz Miruashvili, said. 

Police eventually ended the standoff by moving demonstrators away from the parliament building. 

Injury toll mounts 

Georgia’s interior ministry said 21 police officers had been injured during the overnight protest, with 113 hurt since the beginning of the unrest. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of “coordinated violence” aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order. 

Dozens of protesters also have been injured since the latest demonstrations began, and the United States has condemned what it called the excessive use of police force. 

President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU figure who backs the protesters, said many of those arrested had suffered head and face injuries as a result of beatings.  

“This is the revolt of an entire country,” she told French news group France Inter.  

Hundreds of diplomats and civil servants have signed open letters protesting the decision to suspend talks with the EU and stop receiving any funds from the bloc for four years. At least four Georgian ambassadors have resigned. 

Ilia Topuria, a martial arts fighter with a major following in the country, wrote in an Instagram post: “I am opposed to the decision to terminate our accession negotiations to the European Union. I am ashamed to see how the children of Georgia are treated. This is not called freedom.” 

Zourabichvili has called for pressure to be brought on the Constitutional Court to annul elections won by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, in October. Both the opposition and Zourabichvili say the poll was rigged. 

Zourabichvili, whose powers are mainly ceremonial, says she will not leave office when her term expires this month because the parliament that will choose her successor is illegitimate. 

The election commission says the vote was fair. Prime Minister Kobakhidze on Sunday said Zourabichvili was reacting emotionally to the opposition’s election defeat and would have to leave the presidential palace at the end of the month. 

Tension in Georgia has been building for months as the ruling party has passed laws on “foreign agents” and on curbing LGBT rights. Georgian Dream says it is acting to defend the country’s sovereignty against outside interference and prevent the West from dragging it into a war with Russia.  
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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, and other component and auto plants including Emden, Salzgitter, and Brunswick.

The strikes, which could escalate into 24-hour or unlimited strikes if a deal is not struck in the next round of wage negotiations, will put a dent in Volkswagen’s output at a time when the carmaker is already facing declining deliveries and plunging profit.

“How long and how intensive this confrontation needs to be is Volkswagen’s responsibility at the negotiating table,” Groeger said on Sunday.

A company spokesperson on Sunday said the carmaker respected workers’ right to strike and had taken steps to ensure a basic level of supplies to customers and minimize the strike’s impact.

The union last week proposed measures it said would save $1.6 billion, including forgoing bonuses for 2025 and 2026, which Europe’s top carmaker dismissed.

Volkswagen has demanded a 10% wage cut, arguing it needs to slash costs and boost profit to defend market share.

The company is also threatening to close plants in Germany, a first in its 87-year history.

An agreement not to stage walkouts ended on Saturday, enabling workers to carry out strikes from Sunday across VW AG’s German plants.

The labor union called on employees of the plants housed under subsidiary Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH, which include VW’s EV-only plant Zwickau, to strike on both Monday and Tuesday.

Negotiations will continue on Dec. 9 over a new labor agreement, with unions vowing to resist any proposals that do not provide a long-term plan for every VW plant.
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