Month: December 2024

Romanian hard-right says it wants to be part of new government 

Posted on by SeeEU

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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Turkish court jails protesters over Erdogan speech disruption

Posted on by SeeEU

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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Airlines not switching quickly enough to green jet fuel, study says

Posted on by SeeEU

Most of the world’s airlines are not doing enough to switch to sustainable jet fuel, according to a study by Brussels-based advocacy group Transport and Environment, which also found too little investment by oil producers in the transition.

The airline sector is calling for more production of the fuel, which can be made from materials such as wood chips and used cooking oil.

“Unfortunately, airlines at the moment are not on the trajectory to have meaningful emissions reduction because they’re not buying enough sustainable aviation fuel,” Transport and Environment aviation policy manager Francesco Catte said.

As it stands, SAF makes up about 1% of aviation fuel use on the global market, which needs to increase for airlines to meet carbon emission reduction targets. The fuel can cost between two to five times more than regular jet fuel.

A lack of investment by major oil players, who have the capital to build SAF processing facilities, is hampering the market’s growth, the study says.

In its ranking, Transport and Environment pointed to Air France-KLM, United Airlines and Norwegian as some of the airlines that have taken tangible steps to buy sustainable jet fuel, particularly its synthetic, cleaner burning version.

But 87% are failing to make meaningful efforts, the ranking shows, and even those who are trying could miss their own targets without more investment.

Airlines such as Italy’s ITA Airways, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, and Portugal’s TAP have done very little to secure SAF in the coming years, the ranking shows.

A TAP spokesperson said the airline was the first to fly in Portugal with SAF in July 2022, “and is committed to flying with 10% SAF in 2030.”

“While we would have liked to increase our investment in SAF, the low availability…and high costs…have limited our ability to do so, considering also our start up condition,” an ITA spokesperson said.
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Trump says will ‘block’ Nippon Steel from taking over US Steel

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he would “block” a planned takeover of US Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, a deal worth $14.9 billion including debts.

“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

“Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening.”

Embattled US Steel has argued that it needs the Nippon deal to ensure sufficient investment in its Mon Valley plants in Pennsylvania, which it says it may have to shutter if the sale is blocked.

Nippon Steel said after Trump’s comments that it was “determined to protect and grow US Steel in a manner that reinforces American industry, domestic supply chain resiliency, and US national security.”

“We will invest no less than $2.7 billion into its unionized facilities, introduce our world-class technological innovation, and secure union jobs so that American steelworkers at US Steel can manufacture the most advanced steel products for American customers,” the Japanese firm said in a statement.

Days after the US election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year, while U.S. President Joe Biden was still in office.

Biden, too, has opposed the deal, saying it was “vital” for US Steel “to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.”

The deal is being reviewed by a body helmed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that audits foreign takeovers of US firms, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

In September, Biden’s administration extended their review, pushing a conclusion on the politically sensitive deal until after the November 5 presidential election.

A Nippon Steel earnings presentation on November 7 maintained that “the transaction is expected to close in… calendar year 2024” pending a U.S. national security review.

“Unless the situation changes dramatically, I believe the conclusion will come by the end of the year,” during Biden’s time in office, vice chairman Takahiro Mori told reporters.

Trump will be inaugurated on January 20.

Protectionist policies

On the campaign trail, he vowed to install protectionist economic policies to help support US businesses, including threats to restart a trade war with the world’s second largest economy, China.

While running for the White House, he specifically promised to block Nippon’s takeover of US Steel, which is based in the key political battleground state of Pennsylvania.

Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance also led congressional opposition to the takeover in the U.S. Senate, where the deal has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats.

Analysts had suggested Trump’s position could soften after the election was over, but Monday’s statement indicated that was not the case.

Major Japanese and American business groups have urged Yellen not to succumb to political pressure when reviewing the proposed acquisition.

The steelworkers union has fought the deal, and criticized a September arbitrators’ ruling that Nippon had proven it could assume US Steel’s labor contract obligations.

In September, however, some US Steel workers rallied in support of the deal, arguing it would help keep plants open.

               
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Analysts skeptical about potential of ‘Asian NATO’

Posted on by SeeEA

Taipei, Taiwan — Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has been actively advocating for the establishment of a collective security alliance in Asia similar to that of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe and North America.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party set up a new committee in November specifically to discuss this “Asian NATO” concept. However, such an ambitious plan is unlikely to take place under the second term of U.S.-elect President Donald Trump, according to experts.

Ishiba has reportedly advocated for bolstering regional deterrence by integrating existing security frameworks such as the ANZUS Security Treaty between the United States, Australia and New Zealand; the U.S.-Japan Alliance; and the U.S.-South Korea Alliance.

He outlined his vision in a paper to the Washington-based Hudson Institute in September, arguing that such an alliance would deter China from using military force in Asia.

“The absence of a collective self-defense system like NATO in Asia means that wars are likely to break out because there is no obligation for mutual defense,” he wrote. 

However, the proposal has encountered significant resistance, including opposition from China, concerns from ASEAN nations and even U.S. skepticism.

Feasibility doubtful

Koichi Nakano, a visiting scholar on U.S.-Japan relations at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, was skeptical that the U.S. would support an “Asian NATO” proposal.

“Ishiba’s personal advocacy is based on his view that [a] U.S.-Japan alliance should be placed on a more equal footing. And it is also connected to his parallel argument that there should be nuclear sharing with Japan. In other words, it is with an aim at constraining U.S. unilateralism,” Nakano said.

“All of this is exactly what President-elect [Donald] Trump does not want. He doesn’t even like NATO in the first place, and there is zero reason to think that he would want to have an Asian version of it,” he said.

Trump has pledged that “NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission” will be fundamentally changed in his new administration. During his first term as president, he reduced defense spending to the alliance, saying America spent more than other countries in the organization.

Officials in the Biden administration have also been skeptical of the Asian NATO proposal.

Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at Tokyo’s International Christian University, also said a “Asian NATO” is neither realistic nor achievable.

“An Asian NATO may not necessarily be a negative initiative,” Nagy said. “On the contrary, it may help stakeholders align their strategic thinking on security concerns on the region and find ways to cooperate with each other to deal with traditional and non-traditional security challenges.”

However, Nagy said that minilateral cooperation, which involves a small group of countries working together on specific issues, is more feasible than the “Asian NATO” concept.

“Establishing and maintaining various forms of minilateral cooperation such as the Quad [Australia, India, Japan and the United States]; the Squad [United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines]; the Manila-Tokyo-Washington minilateral; the Camp David-based cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, will be more realistic and accrue security and diplomatic results compared to an Asian NATO multilateral project,” he said.

John Chuan Tiong Lim, a research fellow on East Asian and international relations at the University of Tokyo, said that the idea of an “Asian NATO” faces significant obstacles, including Japan’s constitutional restrictions under Article 9, which prohibits the country from engaging in collective warfare. This would make it impossible for Japan to replicate NATO’s European model directly, he said.

Voter support?

In addition to major powers in the Indo-Pacific, Ishiba needs public support.

“There is little interest in foreign and security policy among the Japanese voters, and if anything, the increasing cost attached to the recent drive for remilitarization is likely to lead to a loss of votes for the ruling party,” Harvard’s Nakano said.

Lim also noted that Ishiba did not bring up such a concept during his meeting in Peru with U.S. President Joe Biden in November. Still, Lim emphasized that the proposal remains alive within the LDP. The fact that it continues to be discussed within the party indicates that Ishiba has not abandoned his push for the idea.

Nagy observed that Japan’s growing security concerns, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s actions in Hong Kong, have intensified the public’s focus on national security.

“If Ishiba survives in office after the Upper House election in the summer of 2025, I don’t see the LDP or the public fundamentally shifting their position on an Asian NATO,” Nagy said.

Future security cooperation

In addition to the U.S., Ishiba is trying to establish closer cooperation with other regional powers in the Indo-Pacific such as South Korea. He once served as Japan’s defense minister and is very familiar with defense affairs. He also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in October and plans to visit South Korea in January, which will be his first visit since he became prime minister.

“South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol might share Ishiba’s interest in trying to anchor the U.S. under Trump to a trilateral framework, but he is also deeply unpopular among the voters,” Nakano said.

“They share the common fear that Trump would bypass them and directly get into a negotiation and even a ‘deal’ of some sort with China or North Korea,” he added.

Nakano believes the best option for Japan now is to seek closer relations with Beijing.

“If Japan wants to secure and defend its national interest, the only logical thing to do now is to increase dialogue and cooperation with China and hedge against the risks that the U.S. has now turned into,” he said.

Lim said that all parties are currently waiting to see the U.S. foreign policy direction after Trump’s inauguration. In the meantime, existing mechanisms are being institutionalized.

“What can be done now is being done first, with the hope of aligning with the new era under Trump’s leadership,” he said.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
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Indonesia to increase local component requirement for smartphones

Posted on by SeeEA

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Indonesia plans to increase requirements on local components for smartphones made and sold in the country, its deputy industry minister said on Tuesday, a move aimed at boosting the domestic manufacturing sector.

The plan follows Indonesia’s banning last month of sales of Apple’s iPhone 16 after it failed to meet a requirement that smartphones sold domestically must comprise at least 40% locally made parts.

Apple has since made a $100 million investment proposal to build an accessory and component plant to reverse the ban, but the government has rejected that on the grounds it did not meet the principal of fairness.

Apple has not responded to Reuters requests for comment on the issue.

Deputy Minister Faisol Reza said the government was still discussing the details and gave no timeframe for the introduction of the plan, or by how much the ratio of local components would increase.

“What important is that the goal is to strengthen our domestic industry,” he told reporters.

The government was looking at whether investment into research and development was relevant and could be counted as a component in fulfilling the local content rule.

Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia but has since 2018 set up application developer academies, which Jakarta considers the company’s strategy to meet local content requirement for the sale of older iPhone models.

Minister Faisol said Apple’s representatives will meet with the government soon to discuss a solution.
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 White House: Biden expected to issue more pardons before end of term

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A day after U.S. President Joe Biden announced the pardon of his son Hunter, the White House said the president is expected to issue more pardons and clemencies before he leaves office next month.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.”

“I don’t have a timeline for you,” Jean-Pierre said.  “As you know, this usually happens towards the end.  And so, the president is going through that process, thinking through that process. I’m not going to get ahead of him. But you can expect more announcements to come.”

Hunter Biden was facing sentencing this month for gun and tax offenses and could have been imprisoned for years.

Biden had for months pledged not to pardon his 54-year-old son, a lawyer who for years was caught up in cocaine addiction as his life spiraled out of control. 

But the president said in a statement late Sunday that Hunter Biden’s prosecution was selective and politically motivated, aimed at undercutting his reelection campaign before he dropped out of the race in July for another four-year term. 

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said.  

Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies in June for a 2018 gun purchase. Prosecutors said he falsely claimed on a federal form to not be illegally using or addicted to drugs.  

He also pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in a case where he was accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.  

He faced up to 17 years in federal prison in the tax case during a scheduled sentencing hearing in Los Angeles on December 16, although sentencing experts said that most likely as a first-time offender, he would have served no more than 36 months behind bars. 

Hunter Biden was facing a stiffer maximum sentence, 25 years, in the gun case but was more likely, based on precedent in similar cases, to be handed a much shorter sentence, perhaps up to 16 months during a hearing scheduled in Delaware for December 13. 

The president’s action Sunday pardoned Hunter Biden in both cases, as well as any offense he “has committed or may have committed or taken part” from January 1, 2014, to January 1, 2024.   

Hunter Biden said in a statement, “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.” 

The president said in his statement that he hopes “Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”   

“For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said.  

President-elect Donald Trump criticized the move, calling it “such an abuse and miscarriage of justice” compared to hundreds of Trump supporters who have been imprisoned after being convicted for an array of offenses stemming from the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, while they tried to block Congress from certifying that Biden had defeated Trump’s reelection bid in the 2020 campaign. 

Trump has said he will consider pardoning many of the rioters when he takes power again on January 20 after winning the November presidential election. Some of the rioters have already served their sentences, but many are still in prison for years to come, while other trials have yet to occur. 

Trump, in the late stages of his first term in office, pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was convicted on tax offenses and other charges. On Saturday, Trump said he intends to nominate the elder Kushner to be the U.S. ambassador to France. 

Trump also pardoned one of his former national security advisers, Michael Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and campaign aide George Papadopoulos, among others.  

Reactions to President Biden pardoning his son varied across the U.S. political landscape and not always predictably along political party lines as is usually the case when contentious decisions are announced. 

Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, said that while he understood the “natural desire” of Biden wanting to help his son, he said, “I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.” 

Greg Stanton, a Democratic congressman from Arizona, said, “I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” 

Chuck Grassley, a Republican senator from Iowa, posted on X that he was “shocked” by the pardon because the elder Biden “said many, many times he wouldn’t & I believed him. Shame on me.”  

But Eric Holder, a Democrat who was the U.S. attorney general under former President Barack Obama, said the president’s son was only prosecuted because his last name was Biden. He said no U.S. attorney “would have charged this case given the underlying facts.” 

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. 
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Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain

Posted on by SeeUS

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 required to confirm the choice.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post.

Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father.

Trump has already named many of his nominees for his Cabinet and high-profile diplomatic posts, assembling a roster of staunch loyalists. Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France.

During his first term, Trump selected Robert “Woody” Johnson, a contributor to his campaign and the owner of the New York Jets football team, as his representative to the United Kingdom.
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Trump to attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris

Posted on by SeeUS

NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend, his first foreign trip since the election.

The cathedral is set to reopen Saturday after more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2019. The invite-only ceremonies Saturday and Sunday will be high-security affairs, with about 50 heads of state and government expected to attend.

Trump announced his trip in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening.

“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he wrote. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

Trump and Macron have had a complicated relationship.

Macron was the guest of honor at Trump’s first state dinner and Trump traveled to France several times. But the relationship soured as Trump’s term progressed and Macron criticized him for questioning the need for NATO and raising doubts about America’s commitment to the mutual-defense pact.

As he ran for a second term this year, Trump often mocked Macron on the campaign trail, imitating his accent and threatening to impose steep tariffs on wine and champagne bottles shipped to the U.S. if France tried to tax American companies.

After Trump won another term last month, Macron rushed to win favor with the president-elect. He was among the first global leaders to congratulate Trump — even before The Associated Press called the race in his favor — and beat UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the punch in delivering a congratulatory phone call.

“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump,” Macron posted on X early on Nov 6. “Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”

The reopening of Notre Dame will be an elaborate, multiday celebration, beginning Saturday.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside at a reopening service that afternoon, banging on Notre Dame’s shuttered doors with his staff to reopen them, according to the cathedral’s website.

The archbishop will also symbolically reawaken Notre Dame’s thunderous grand organ. The fire that melted the cathedral’s lead roofing coated the huge instrument in toxic dust. Its 8,000 pipes have been painstakingly disassembled, cleaned and returned.

Macron will attend and address the VIP guests.

After the service, opera singers Pretty Yende, from South Africa, and Julie Fuchs, from France; Chinese pianist Lang Lang; Paris-born cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo; Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji and others will perform at a concert Saturday evening, according to the show’s broadcaster, France Télévisions.

On Sunday morning, the Paris archbishop will lead an inaugural Mass and consecration of the new altar.

Nearly 170 bishops from France and other countries will join the celebration, along with priests from all 106 parishes in the Paris diocese. The Mass will be followed by a “fraternal buffet” for the needy.

Ile de la Cité, where the cathedral sits in the middle of the River Seine, will be blocked off to tourists for the events. A public viewing area with room for 40,000 spectators will be set up along the Seine’s southern bank.
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Namibia’s female VP leads in presidential election marred by problems

Posted on by SeeAF

WINDHOEK, Namibia — The candidate for Namibia’s ruling party led Monday in early results of a presidential election characterized by technical problems which caused voting to be extended for three days.

The opposition has rejected the results and claimed the extension was illegal, undermining the vote in a southern African country that has a largely smooth history of elections and is praised as one of the region’s more stable democracies. Final results are expected this week, with opposition parties saying they will challenge the validity of the election in court.

The problems in last Wednesday’s election, which included a shortage of ballot papers and other issues, led election authorities to allow some polling stations to stay open until Saturday.

The issues threaten to overshadow any result, with Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of the ruling SWAPO party a strong contender to become Namibia’s first female leader.

The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah, a former member of Namibia’s underground independence movement, had around 56% of the vote in the partial results published Monday. Only 220,000 of the approximately 1.4 million votes cast have been counted. Panduleni Itula of the Independent Patriots for Change opposition party is second with 27% of the vote.

Namibians voted for president and for the makeup of Parliament in a large but sparsely populated country on the southwest coast of Africa that has swathes of desert running through it. Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

While Nandi-Ndaitwah offers a chance at history, SWAPO has faced frustration from Namibians struggling with a high unemployment rate and other economic hardships, especially among young people. Government corruption scandals have tarnished its reputation as the country’s liberator.

The Independent Patriots for Change said it expected to file a legal challenge against the election this week. Other opposition parties said they will join the case.

“It is about our country, it’s about our democratic credentials, it’s about the country that must work for everybody, the poor and the rich. It cannot only work for those who want to remain in power by hook or (by) crook,” said McHenry Venaani, the leader of the opposition Popular Democratic Movement and a candidate in the presidential election.

The Electoral Commission of Namibia which organized the election said there will not be a rerun despite opposition demands.

Other ruling parties in southern Africa have faced a mood of discontent this year.

In neighboring South Africa, the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, lost its 30-year majority and had to form a coalition to stay in government and keep hold of the presidency. The Botswana Democratic Party was stunningly swept from power in that country after governing for 58 years since independence from Britain.

In Mauritius, the incumbent party also lost in a landslide, while Mozambique’s Frelimo party was accused of rigging an October election, sparking large and ongoing protests of its long rule.

 
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From VOA Russian: Polish broadcasting seeking audiences in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine

Posted on by SeeEU

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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Greek islands Rhodes and Lemnos declare state of emergency after deadly storm wreaks havoc  

Posted on by SeeEU

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 a flooded village on Lemnos, while scores of people were evacuated and taken to hotels in the island’s main port.

Vassilis Kikilias, the minister for climate crisis and civil protection, urged residents in storm-hit areas to comply with evacuation orders that are announced using cellphone push alerts.

“It is a thousand times better to comply with potentially excessive warnings than to face tragedy,” the minister told private Skai television.

Kikilias has pointed to climate change as the cause of worsening weather conditions in Greece in recent years, including an unprecedented series of heatwaves that intensify wildfires, a severe drought this year and massive floods in central Greece in 2023.

Rail travel on the Greek mainland was disrupted Monday. Weather warnings remained in effect for islands of the eastern Aegean islands, as well as parts of central and southern mainland Greece.
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California lawmakers to begin special session to protect state laws from 2nd Trump presidency  

Posted on by SeeUS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.

The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.

Democratic Assembly member Jesse Gabriel on Monday introduced legislation to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to potential attacks by the Trump administration on state policies regarding civil rights, climate change, immigration and abortion access.

“While we always hope to collaborate with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values from any unlawful action by the incoming Trump Administration,” Gabriel said in a statement.

California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success. 

“We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference.

Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.

Trump called the Democratic governor “New-scum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, homeless population and thicket of regulations.

Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies.

Before the special session was set to begin, state lawmakers swore in more than two dozen new members and elected leaders for the 2025 legislative session.

Hundreds of people also demonstrated around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump’s mass deportation plans. They carried banners that said “Not one cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.”

“With the results of the presidential election, we need our state elected officials to use every tool and every resource they have available to them to protect our immigrant Californians,” protester Deborah Lee said.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigrant population, while Newsom last week unveiled a proposal to revive a rebate program for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates a federal tax credit for people who buy electric cars. Newsom is also considering creating a backup disaster relief fund for the wildfire-prone state after Trump’s threats.

Bonta announced legislation Monday aimed at bolstering reproductive rights in the state, including by allowing the attorney general to seek monetary penalties against local governments that infringe on those rights. The proposals are part of the state’s efforts to safeguard against threats to abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. Representative Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt, said California should work with the incoming Trump administration instead.

“Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the concerns of Californians who disapprove of the direction of our state and country,” Fong said in a video on social media.

Legislators also are expected to spend the year discussing ways to protect dozens of laws expected to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one that has made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions who live in states where such practices have been severely limited. 

California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to mandate that by 2035 all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in California be electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids. The state also extends state-funded health care to all low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.

Newsom hasn’t provided details about what actions the lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump’s inauguration day, January 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said.
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Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set record in online sales

Posted on by SeeUS

Consumers in the United States are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday.

Even though e-commerce is now part of many people’s regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday — a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation — has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it.

Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expects consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on Monday, 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season’s — and the year’s — biggest shopping day for e-commerce.

Online spending is expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday, per Adobe — reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute.

For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. Amazon kicked off its sales event right after midnight Pacific time Saturday. Target’s two days of discount offers on its website and app began overnight Sunday. Walmart rolled out its Cyber Monday offers for Walmart+ members Sunday afternoon and opened it up to all customers three hours later, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Consumer spending for Cyber Week — the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday — provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.

Many U.S. consumers continue to experience sticker shock following the period of post-pandemic inflation, which left prices for many goods and services higher than they were three years ago. But retail sales nonetheless have remained strong, and the economy has kept growing at a healthy pace.

At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies have been rising. More shoppers than ever are also on track to use “buy now, pay later” plans this holiday season, which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts and other items.

Many economists have also warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs next year on foreign goods coming into the United States would lead to higher prices on everything from food to clothing to automobiles.

The National Retail Federation expects holiday shoppers to spend more this year both in stores and online than last year. But the pace of spending growth will slow slightly, the trade group said, growing 2.5% to 3.5% — compared to 3.9% in 2023.

A clear sense of consumer spending patterns during the holiday season won’t emerge until the government releases sales data for the period. But some preliminary data from other sources shows some encouraging signs for retailers.

Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, notes that discounts from Thanksgiving onward have “exceeded expectations” — and online spending throughout Cyber Week is on track to cross a record $40 billion mark combined.

U.S. shoppers spent $10.8 billion online on Black Friday, a 10.2% increase over last year, according to Adobe Analytics. That’s also more than double what consumers spent in 2017, when Black Friday pulled in roughly $5 billion in online sales. Consumers also spent a record $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, Adobe said.

Meanwhile, software company Salesforce, which also tracks online shopping, estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled $17.5 billion in the U.S. and $74.4 billion globally. And Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-person and online spending, reported that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose 3.4% from a year ago. The retail sales indicator, which is not adjusted for inflation, showed online sales jumped by double-digits while in-store purchase rose a modest 0.7%.

E-commerce platform Shopify said its merchants raked in a record $5 billion in sales worldwide on Black Friday. At its peak, sales reached $4.6 million per minute — with top categories by volume including clothing, cosmetics and fitness products, according to the Canadian company.

Toys, electronics, home goods, self-care and beauty categories were among the key drivers of holiday spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to Adobe. “Hot products” included Lego sets, espresso machines, fitness trackers, makeup and skin care.

Other data showed physical stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the huge crowds that were once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes.

RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that its early data showed store traffic on Friday was down 3.2% in the U.S. compared to last year, with the biggest dip happening in the Midwest.

While physical items like toys and electronics are always popular around the holidays, experts note that consumers have turned to more “experience-driven spending” in recent years, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic waned.

Adobe notes that shoppers are also buying higher-ticket items this season — with consumers opening their wallets to invest or “trade up” to more premium versions of products like electronics, appliances and sporting goods.
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Despite leader’s death, Russian Wagner mercenaries still fight abroad

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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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Exiled Russian opposition searches for unified strategy ahead of Trump’s return

Posted on by SeeEU

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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EV industry hoping for continued growth under Trump

Posted on by SeeUS

Electric vehicle manufacturers are hoping for continued growth under President-elect Donald Trump, especially as Tesla CEO Elon Musk now appears to be one of his top advisers. Genia Dulot has our story from the Los Angeles Auto Show.
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Chad orders French troops’ departure, triggers fresh anti-French military sentiment

Posted on by SeeAF

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 with France that have existed for close to 65 years are in no way helping to rescue Chad from what he calls growing security challenges, including terrorism and armed conflicts. 

In a Sunday broadcast on state TV, Deby said his decision to end cooperation agreements with the French military is part of a promise he made during his May 23 inauguration, ending three years of military transition. 

In the message, Deby said he would build reciprocal relations only with friendly nations that respect each other’s independence and sovereignty and assist each other in times of crisis. Deby promised to stop ties with countries he said behaved as if Chad had remained their colony.  

The central African state first announced that it was ending military ties with France last week. The announcement came after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Chad and was told that Chad’s military is strong enough to protect civilians and their property, according to government officials. 

Last Friday, the French foreign ministry said it had taken note of Chad’s decision to end the military agreement with Paris, but gave no further details. 

Deby’s decision has reignited debates on what civil society and opposition groups call France’s overbearing influence provoking tensions in several African countries, especially Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Senegal. Mamadou Doudet, coordinator of Chad’s Patriotic Movement, an opposition political party, said he was part of several dozen civil society organizations and opposition parties that met in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, on Monday to ask Deby to order the departure of over a thousand French troops stationed in Chad. 

Doudet said the presence of French troops in Chad is of no use. He said Chad’s civil society and opposition find it very difficult to understand why French troops did not assist Chad last month when Boko Haram attacked and killed 40 Chadian soldiers in a military garrison in Lake Chad shared by Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. 

It is not the first time Chadian civil society and opposition groups sought the expulsion of French troops. In November 2023, the groups said Deby should ensure some 1,000 French troops stationed in Chad and several thousand others expelled from Niger should leave Chad before the end of 2023. Yet, close to 1,000 French troops remain in Chad.  

On Monday, the Concertation Group of Chad’s Political Actors, or GCAP, condemned Deby’s decision to end military cooperation with France. 

GCAP spokesperson Max Kemkoye said Chad’s military is not strong enough to handle the many security challenges facing the country. He accused Deby of not consulting his government before making the decision, a claim VOA could not independently verify.
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Elections in Africa: health risks, road crashes, and mental toll

Posted on by SeeAF

Elections in Africa are often marked by high stakes and heightened tensions, which is decidedly unhealthy for voters. Experts in Ghana say campaign activities, voter fatigue, and fear of political tension and violence can be deadly. Senanu Tord reports from Accra, Ghana.
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US unveils fresh export curbs targeting China’s chip sector

Posted on by SeeEA

Washington — The United States announced new export restrictions Monday taking aim at China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors — used in weapon systems and artificial intelligence  as competition intensifies between the world’s two biggest economies.

 

“The United States has taken significant steps to protect our technology from being used by our adversaries in ways that threaten our national security,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in a statement.

 

He added that Washington will keep working with allies and partners to “to proactively and aggressively safeguard our world-leading technologies and know-how.”

 

The latest rules include a restriction of exports to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier Technology.

 

They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the Commerce Department.

 

“We are constantly talking to our allies and partners as well as reassessing and updating our controls,” added Under Secretary of Commerce for industry and security Alan Estevez.

 

The latest announcement also includes controls on two dozen types of chipmaking equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.
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Analysts say Biden’s first trip to Africa should’ve come earlier in presidency 

Posted on by SeeAF

Nairobi — After promising to visit Africa two years ago at the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, President Joe Biden makes his first presidential trip to the continent where he is visiting Angola with a quick stop in Cabo Verde. Analysts in Africa say the trip should’ve come sooner and some are asking why Angola is the primary destination – given its troubling human rights record.

White House officials say President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting the continent after a promise he made in 2022. But some analysts tell VOA that Biden’s trip, which comes weeks before he steps down, would’ve had more weight if he had done it earlier.  

Louw Nel, senior political analyst for Oxford Economics Africa, spoke to VOA from South Africa. 

“I think his trip is less significant than it would’ve been otherwise just because of the fact that he withdrew as presidential candidate and, of course, now [is] not returning for a second term. So, it really feels like an afterthought to his presidency,” said Nel. 

After a short stop in the island nation of Cabo Verde off Africa’s northwestern coast, President Biden heads south to Angola.  

There, officials say he plans to focus on U.S. leadership on trade, investment, and infrastructure in Africa. He’ll also recognize Angola’s President João Lourenço’s regional leadership and global partnership on trade, security, and health. 

More importantly, President Biden will highlight one of his signature initiatives, the investment of the Lobito Corridor — a regional railway project linking natural resource-rich areas stretching from the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.  

The corridor is part of a wider joint effort between multiple partners aimed at closing the infrastructure gap in growing economies around the world, officials say.  

Dr. Frances Brown, special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, speaking about the broader benefits associated with the project. 

“What I found really notable about the Lobito Corridor is that it isn’t just about a railroad or critical minerals. It’s also about the communities that are strengthened along the way, it’s about more access to education, it’s about agricultural products moving to market, and it’s about increases in digital connectivity,” said Brown.

Last year, U.S.-Angola trade totaled approximately $1.77 billion, making Angola America’s fourth-largest trade partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Angola has vast mineral deposits and is Africa’s third largest oil producer. But according to Amnesty International, the country’s natural resource wealth has not translated to prosperity for most of its people, resulting in numerous peaceful protests against poverty, unemployment and high cost of living.  

Nel says some Angolans may see a benefit with this Biden visit. 

“Many ordinary Angolans will recognize that Angola desperately needs to diversify its economy, and this is an enormous opportunity to do so, to move away from oil and gas and bolster other parts of the economy and it has massive potential,” said Nel.  

But others including human rights campaigners and opposition parties, Nel says, will feel aggrieved by President Biden’s visit because they see the Lourenco administration as being rewarded despite growing concerns about the shrinking space for independent civil society organizations and freedom of expression.  

In a new report, Amnesty International said that anyone who publicly criticizes the Lourenço government risks arrest. And “if human rights are central to President Biden’s foreign policy, then he must demand Angola’s government immediately …free arbitrarily detained government critics.”   

Adriano Nuvunga, who runs the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, echoes that sentiment.  

“I commend the people of Angola and president Lourenço for hosting President Biden. It means a lot for the people of Angola. While I commend them, I would also want to encourage President Biden to ask those tough questions to President João Lourenço,” said Nuvunga. “We have a number of human rights defenders in Angola that are detained unjustly, unfairly for doing nothing. They are languishing in jails, some of them in critical conditions,” said Nuvunga.  

Nuvunga hopes that this could be addressed during this trip.  
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Chief of ICC lashes out at US and Russia over threats, accusations

Posted on by SeeEU

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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World leaders and faithful expected at Notre Dame’s reopening  

Posted on by SeeEU

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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German FM urges China to stop backing Russia, work for Ukraine peace

Posted on by SeeEA

Beijing — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday warned her Chinese counterpart that Beijing’s support for Moscow would impact ties and instead urged China to help end the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking in Beijing, she said the over 1,000-day war was impacting the whole world and condemned the battlefield role of North Korean troops and the use of Chinese-made drones in the conflict.

Baerbock urged an international peace process for Ukraine and said “that is why I am here in China today,” adding that every permanent member of the U.N. Security Council had a “responsibility for peace and security in the world.”

“The Russian president is not only destroying our European peace order through his war against Ukraine, but is now dragging Asia into it via North Korea,” she told a press briefing.

“My Chinese counterpart and I have therefore discussed in depth that this cannot be in China’s interest either.”

Germany’s top diplomat met with her counterpart Wang Yi for a “strategic dialogue” as Berlin seeks to build better ties with China while engaging on key differences.

Wang told his German counterpart that, “as the world’s second- and third-largest economies” China and Germany must improve ties “as great powers in a turbulent international situation.”

On the day German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine, Baerbock stressed that “in order to protect our own German and European security, we must now support Ukraine.”

“And it is just as important to enter into a peace process together in the world, and that is why I am here in China today,” she said.

Chinese drone worries  

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.

“Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking the peace in the middle of Europe are violating our core European security interests,” Baerbock said.

She said she had “advocated a just peace process here in Beijing today, precisely because we come from different perspectives and roles”.

Baerbock had earlier told Wang that “increasing Chinese support for Russia’s war against Ukraine has an impact on our relations,” according to a readout by the German foreign ministry.

“Core German and European security interests are affected,” she said.

Baerbock also discussed crucial trade ties between Europe’s biggest economy and China, which has long been a key market for German automakers and other industrial giants.

She urged Chinese authorities to “engage constructively” with the European Union over tariffs levied on Chinese electric vehicles.

“A level playing field, fair competition and reciprocal market conditions are essential,” she said, according to her spokesperson.

At the press briefing, she added that as “highly subsidized electric cars are now flooding the European market, we have to react to that.”

The EU at the end of October imposed extra tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, after an anti-subsidy probe concluded Beijing’s state support was unfairly undercutting European automakers.

Germany, whose big auto makers including Volkswagen are facing falling profits and are weighing lay-offs, had in Brussels opposed the EU tariffs and called for continued dialogue with China.

Wang said that “the EU’s imposition of high anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles violates the principles of fair competition and free trade,” according to a readout of the meeting published by China’s foreign ministry.
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