Month: October 2024

Beijing/Paris — China imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of brandy from the EU on Tuesday, hitting French brands including Hennessy and Remy Martin, days after the 27-state bloc voted for tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, or EVs. China’s commerce ministry said preliminary findings of an investigation had determined that dumping of brandy from the European …

Read more “China targets brandy in EU trade tit-for-tat after EV tariff move”

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moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian for talks Friday at a forum in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan, a senior aide said Monday.  Yury Ushakov, Putin’s aide on foreign policy, told journalists the leaders would meet in Ashgabat while attending an event celebrating a Turkmen poet.  “This meeting …

Read more “Putin to meet Iran president Friday in Turkmenistan “

Tirana, Albania — Clashes broke out late Monday in Tirana between police and opposition protesters seeking that longtime leftist Prime Minister Edi Rama resign, leaving 10 officers injured police said. A few thousand people gathered in the Albanian capital at demonstrations organized by the country’s right-wing opposition. Scuffles first broke out in front of the government …

Read more “Clashes erupt at Albania anti-government protest”

TALLINN, Estonia — A Belarusian-American has had his prison term extended to a total of 13 1/2 years in the latest move in a relentless crackdown on dissent by Belarus’ repressive government, rights activists said Monday. Yuras Zyankovich, a lawyer who has dual Belarusian and U.S. citizenship, has been held behind bars since 2021. He was …

Read more “Sentence for Belarusian-American extended as Belarus cracks down on dissent”

With most flights out of Lebanon canceled and ticket prices skyrocketing, a small port in Turkey is operating as an alternative route for people fleeing the country. VOA’s Onur Erdogan has more from Mersin province. Bezhan Hamdard narrates. …

washington — Media groups have welcomed the life sentence handed to a French jihadi linked to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack. A French court last week found Peter Cherif guilty of “belonging to a criminal organization” in connection to his work with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, according to AFP. Cherif, 42, is suspected of training …

Read more “Watchdogs: Sentencing of jihadi linked to Charlie Hebdo attack ‘important verdict’”

The European Union is braced for retaliation from China after the bloc voted Friday to impose tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, which Brussels says receive unfair state subsidies. As Henry Ridgwell reports, there’s speculation that Beijing could target individual European countries that voted for the measures. …

London — The European Union is bracing for retaliation from China after the bloc voted last week to impose tariffs on the import of Chinese electric vehicles, or EVs, amid speculation that Beijing could seek to target individual European countries that voted for the measures. The EU is divided on the issue, with 10 member states …

Read more “Europe braces for Chinese retaliation over EV import tariffs”

Tirana, Albania — Opposition forces in Albania on Monday were holding a nationwide protest in the country’s capital demanding that the government be replaced by a technocratic caretaker Cabinet before next year’s parliamentary election. The conservative opposition accuses the leftist government of manipulating earlier voting and of usurping powers, including that of the judiciary. The Democratic …

Read more “Albanian opposition rallies, seeking technocratic Cabinet before election”

GENEVA  — Billions of people are facing a future of water scarcity as global rivers dry up, glaciers melt, and intense heat and other extreme weather events caused by climate change create critical changes in water availability around the world, according to the State of Global Water Resources report issued Monday by the World Meteorological Organization.  …

Read more “World water resources decreasing as global rivers dry up”

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s government said Monday it would lift a ban on the entry of products from Serbia at one border crossing, 16 months after it halted imports to prevent what it said could be hidden shipments of weapons for Serb separatists.  The reopening is in line with efforts by Western partners to promote reconciliation …

Read more “Kosovo lifts ban on entry of products from Serbia at border”

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MOSCOW — A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American in a closed trial to nearly seven years in prison for allegedly fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.  Prosecutors said Stephen Hubbard signed a contract with the Ukrainian military after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and he fought alongside them until being …

Read more “Russian court sentences 72-year-old American to nearly 7 years in prison for fighting in Ukraine “

Paris — Crowds were participating in pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events across the world Sunday on the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel. Sunday’s events follow massive rallies that took place Saturday in several European cities, including London, Berlin, Paris and Rome. Other events are scheduled through the week, …

Read more “Pro-Palestinian, pro-Israeli crowds rally globally on eve of Oct. 7 anniversary “

London — A record 973 migrants crossed the Channel on small boats on the same day in which four died while attempting the journey from France to England, U.K. Home Office figures showed Sunday. The figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year, surpassing the previous high of …

Read more “973 migrants cross Channel into UK on same day 4 die”

Kyiv, Ukraine — Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on a surprise visit to Kyiv on Sunday that his country will invest 400 million euros ($440 million) in advanced drone development with Ukraine and deliver more F-16s in the coming months.  More than 2-1/2 years since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine is fighting …

Read more “Dutch defense minister pledges $440M for drone action plan with Ukraine”

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Rescue teams from Bosnia’s neighbors and European Union countries on Sunday were joining efforts to clear the rubble and find people still missing from floods and landslides that devastated parts of the Balkan country. Bosnia sought EU help after a heavy rainstorm overnight on Friday left entire areas under water and debris destroyed …

Read more “International rescue teams arrive in Bosnia after devastating floods and landslides “

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday announced he will appoint 21 new cardinals of the global Catholic Church, in an unexpected push to influence the powerful group of churchmen that will one day choose his successor. The ceremony to install the new appointees, known as a consistory, will be held on December 8, the 87-year-old …

Read more “Pope Francis to appoint 21 new cardinals on Dec. 8”