PARIS — An Ariane 6 rocket roared skyward with a French military reconnaissance satellite aboard Thursday in the first commercial flight for the European heavy-lift launcher.

The rocket took off smoothly from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, quickly disappearing into thick clouds. Video images beamed back from the rocket showed the Earth’s beautiful colors and curvature.

The rocket’s mission was to deliver the CSO-3 military observation satellite into orbit at an altitude of around 800 kilometers.

It was the first commercial mission for Ariane 6 after its maiden flight in July 2024.
…

WASHINGTON — A top Trump administration official said Thursday he would travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Ukrainian representatives for talks about a ceasefire to pause Russia’s invasion.

“We’re now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with the Ukrainians in Riyadh, or even potentially Jeddah,” said Steve Witkoff, who serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy.

He added: “The idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well.”

He said Trump felt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made amends after the two leaders’ confrontation in the White House last Friday.

“He felt that Zelenskyy’s letter was a very positive first step. There was an apology. There was an acknowledgement that the United States has done so much for the country of Ukraine, and a sense of gratitude,” Witkoff said.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, was in Brussels with European leaders for emergency talks.

“We will arm ourselves faster, smarter and more efficiently than Russia,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who holds the European Union’s rotating presidency.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen advanced a plan to loosen budget rules so countries that are willing can spend much more on defense, alongside commitments to encourage the 27 member countries to invest a total of about $863 billion in defense over the next four years.

“We are very thankful that we are not alone and these are not just words,” Zelenskyy said. “We feel it. It’s very important.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said ahead of talks that EU members would “take decisive steps forward,” while he expressed concerns about shifts in U.S. support for Ukraine under Trump.

“The future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,” Macron said.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Thursday that France is sharing intelligence with Ukraine, a move that followed the United States saying it was cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday that the United States had, for the moment, ended sharing its intelligence with Kyiv, although the move could be short-lived after Zelenskyy said the exchanges with Trump in the Oval Office last week had been “regrettable” and that Ukraine was ready for peace talks with Russia.

Trump earlier in the week ordered the U.S. to suspend military aid to Kyiv’s fighters.

Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with significant intelligence, including critical information its military needs for targeting Russian forces.

Reaching a peace deal could prove difficult. Ukraine has long demanded a restoration of its internationally recognized 2014 borders before Moscow unilaterally seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Overall, Russia now holds about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including much of eastern Ukraine, and has vowed to not return any of it to the Kyiv government.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

European Union leaders vowed to ramp up funding for Ukraine and their own defense at a summit in Brussels on Thursday as they take steps to rearm in ways they haven’t since the end of the Cold War.

The summit, also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was the first for all 27 EU members since last week’s confrontational White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy — and after Washington’s decision to suspend aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger to protect itself and defend itself, as we have to put Ukraine in a position to protect itself and to push for a lasting and just peace,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said about her $865 billion “rearm Europe” plan. The plan aims to drastically boost Europe’s defense arsenal against what many here see as a growing Russian threat — and possibly the U.S.’s disengagement from the region.

Von der Leyen spoke alongside Zelenskyy, who was invited for part of the summit.

“We are very thankful that we are not alone, and these are not just words,” Zelenskyy said. “We feel it.”

Beyond boosting Europe’s conventional arsenal, French President Emmanuel Macron has floated extending his country’s nuclear arsenal to other European allies, which he also explained to French voters back home. In a televised address to the nation Wednesday, he called Russia a threat to Europe for years to come, remarks denounced by Moscow.

In Brussels, many EU leaders echoed the urgency of rearming, like Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, whose own country borders Russia and has already sharply boosted its defense spending.

“We see good proposals [from] von der Leyen, but we see it’s just one step,” Silina said. “We need more proposals going forward. And we see it’s really a good opportunity for Ukraine to get peace — but through strength.”

The EU sees a strong peace deal for Kyiv as serving its own interests as well to ensure Russia doesn’t go beyond Ukraine to attack its own member states. But some European leaders have misgivings, including Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who has friendly relations with Moscow.

Just as important as pouring more money into defense, analysts say, is investing strategically and pooling resources. Ian Lesser, Brussels bureau office head for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said cooperation was necessary.

“The resources that would be needed to rebuild Europe’s industrial capacity, to build what is, in essence, a European army, even within NATO, is going to require some kind of collective action,” he said.

A key question moving forward, analysts say, is to what extent Europe will procure equipment from the United States as it has in the past — one key way to potentially keep close ties — or invest in its own industrial capacity.
…

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in hospital for nearly three weeks, remained stable on Thursday and did not have any new episodes of respiratory crisis, the Vatican said. 

In a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff continues treatment, the pope’s doctors said they would not issue another medical bulletin until Saturday, “considering the stability of the clinical picture.” 

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment. 

In the latest detailed medical update on his condition, the Vatican said the pope had not had a fever and his blood tests had remained stable. Despite pausing the daily readouts about his condition, the doctors continued to call the pope’s prognosis “guarded,” meaning he was not yet out of danger. 

The tone of the updates from the Vatican has been more upbeat in recent days, following what was described as two episodes of “acute respiratory insufficiency” on Monday.  

On Thursday, the Vatican said the pope had been able to work between receiving his treatments and taking rest.  

It also said the pontiff, who has used a wheelchair in recent years due to knee and back pain, had continued with some physical therapy to help with mobility, which first started on Wednesday. 

Monday’s respiratory episodes had required Francis to use non-invasive mechanical ventilation, which involves placing a mask over the face to help push air into the lungs. 

The pope is now only receiving ventilation at night, said the Vatican. During the day, he receives oxygen via a small hose under his nose. 

Francis has not been seen in public since entering the hospital, his longest such absence since his papacy started 12 years ago. His doctors have not said how long the treatment might last. 

The pope, who is known to work himself to exhaustion, has continued to work from the hospital. On Thursday, the Vatican announced the appointments of two bishops that would have required his approval.  

The pope has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. 

Double pneumonia is a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe.
…

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Thursday that France is sharing intelligence with Ukraine, a move that followed the United States saying it was cutting off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

The move comes as European Union leaders gathered Thursday in Brussels, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a summit to discuss boosting defense spending and bolstering pledges of support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia’s invasion.

French President Emmanuel Macron said ahead of the talks that EU members would “take decisive steps forward,” while he expressed concerns about shifts in U.S. support for Ukraine under new President Donald Trump.

“The future of Europe does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow,” Macron said.

Trump earlier in the week ordered the U.S. to suspend military aid to Kyiv’s fighters after his contentious meeting last week with Zelenskyy at the White House.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday that the United States had also, for the moment, ended sharing its intelligence with Kyiv, although it could be short-lived after Zelenskyy said the exchanges with Trump in the Oval Office had been “regrettable” and that Ukraine was ready for peace talks with Russia.

“I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause [that prompted Ukraine’s president to respond], I think will go away,” Ratcliffe told the Fox Business Network.

“I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that’s there, but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward,” he said.

Since the start of the war in 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with significant intelligence, including critical information its military needs for targeting Russian forces.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. “had taken a step back” and that the administration was “reviewing all aspects” of its intelligence relationship with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Waltz told CBS News that the U.S. is moving quickly to start peace negotiations to end the war and sign a mineral rights deal with Kyiv.

“I think we’re going to see movement in very short order,” Waltz said.

He said Trump officials will meet with Ukrainian officials as they conduct shuttle diplomacy with Russia.

“I have literally just been on the phone with my counterpart, the Ukrainian national security adviser, talking about times, locations, delegations,” Waltz said.

Reaching a peace deal could prove difficult. Ukraine has long demanded a restoration of its internationally recognized 2014 borders before Moscow unilaterally seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Overall, Russia now holds about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including much of eastern Ukraine, and has vowed to not return any of it to the Kyiv government.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
…

UNITED NATIONS — Women’s rights regressed last year in a quarter of countries around the world, according to a report published by UN Women on Thursday, due to factors ranging from climate change to democratic backsliding.

“The weakening of democratic institutions has gone hand in hand with backlash on gender equality,” the report said, adding that “anti-rights actors are actively undermining long-standing consensus on key women’s rights issues.”

“Almost one-quarter of countries reported that backlash on gender equality is hampering implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action,” the report continued, referring to the document from the 1995 World Conference on Women.

In the 30 years since the conference, the U.N. said that progress has been mixed.

In parliaments around the world, female representation has more than doubled since 1995, but men still comprise about three-quarters of parliamentarians.

The number of women with social protection benefits increased by a third between 2010 and 2023, though 2 billion women and girls still live in places without such protections.

Gender employment gaps “have stagnated for decades.” Sixty-three percent of women between the ages of 25 and 54 have paid employment, compared to 92% of men in the same demographic.

The report cites the COVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts, climate change and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), as all new potential threats to gender equality.

Data presented by the UN Women report found that conflict-related sexual violence has spiked 50% in the past 10 years, with 95% of victims being children or young women.

In 2023, 612 million women lived within 50 kilometers of armed conflict, a 54% increase since 2010.

And in 12 countries in Europe and Central Asia, at least 53% of women have experienced one or more forms of gender-based violence online.

“Globally, violence against women and girls persists at alarming rates. Across their lifetime, around one in three women are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence by a non-partner,” the report said.

The report sets out a multi-part roadmap to address gender inequality, such as fostering equitable access to new technologies like AI, measures toward climate justice, investments to combat poverty, increasing participation in public affairs and fighting against gendered violence.
…

Kazakhstan is cooperating with the United States on ensuring nuclear and biological security. As part of this cooperation, a laboratory for studying extremely dangerous infections has been built in Kazakhstan. This center is mainly engaged in medical and biological research. However, the Russian press continues to spread disinformation about the research. 

Click here for the full story in Uzbek. 
…

As European Union leaders prepare for emergency talks to ramp up military spending after the Trump administration suspended aid to Ukraine, several Russia experts say Moscow is trying to capitalize on fragmenting Western cohesion.

Following last week’s televised Oval Office clash between U.S. and Ukrainian leaders, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Monday accused Europe of seeking to prolong the war, adding that changes in U.S. “foreign policy configurations” largely coincide with Moscow’s vision.

The comments came before an EU financial summit planned for Thursday that aims to grapple with stabilizing continental security and helping Ukraine after decades of dependence on the U.S. defense umbrella.

In a recent interview with the military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called President Donald Trump a “pragmatist” whose motto is “common sense.” He also said, “All tragedies in the world” over the past 500 years “originated in Europe or occurred owing to European policies,” while “the Americans played no seditious, let alone ‘inflammatory,’ role.”

Calling Europe Enemy No. 1 is “becoming the main trend in the Kremlin’s policy,” said exiled independent Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin. “Therefore, having changed his tune … [Lavrov] explained to the audience that the U.S. is, if not a friend, then a reliable partner, and that means Britain and France are always to blame for everything.”

Oreshkin also said the relatively positive U.S. depiction shows the Kremlin is hoping for an “aggravation of contradictions” between Europe and America.

But Novaya Gazeta columnist Andrei Kolesnikov said it was premature for Russian authorities to assume Trump is taking Russia’s side in the war.

Trump’s “interest, which he equates with the interests of the United States, is to end the conflict,” Kolesnikov told VOA. “But there are two sides to the conflict. And if during future negotiations … [Trump] remains dissatisfied with the intransigence of the Russian side, no one will stand on ceremony. New [U.S.] sanctions and measures to reduce oil prices will follow with the same decisiveness and speed as [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s ‘punishment.’”

Kolesnikov was referring to the contentious Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, in which top U.S. officials accused him of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. military support.

The meeting concluded without the signing of an expected defense deal involving Ukrainian rare-earth minerals.

With long-held certainties about U.S. reliability as a security partner suddenly in doubt, EU and NATO leaders gathered Sunday in London to map out a path forward.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for uniting “around a new plan for a just and enduring peace,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said his country and Britain had agreed on an alternative peace plan envisaging a one-month partial ceasefire to end mutual attacks on energy infrastructure, followed by a second stage involving sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.

The White House on Monday announced temporary suspension of all U.S. military aid to Kyiv, although Trump during an address to Congress on Tuesday said Zelenskyy had signaled renewed interest in inking the U.S.-proposed defense deal.

According to U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, Trump on Wednesday halted intelligence cooperation with Ukraine.

Against this unclear backdrop, Russian officials have refrained from criticizing the U.S. administration and Trump personally while shifting their line of attack from the United States toward Europe.

Thursday’s summit in Brussels comes as the EU is arguably at its weakest point, fragmented by the steady rise of a hard right that is often pro-Russian.

EU leaders are also expected to discuss whether to place more arms contracts with Ukraine’s defense industry, and to help integrate it into the European industrial network.

The Trump administration has demanded that Europeans spend as much as 5% of GDP on defense, well beyond the NATO benchmark of at least 2%. Seven European allies still fall short of even that target. The U.S. spends around 3.4%, according to NATO figures, and a Pentagon audit that could reduce that is pending.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
…

WARSAW, POLAND — South Korea and Poland signed a cooperation agreement on Wednesday as the democratic allies increasingly find themselves united by concerns about the global security situation despite the vast geographical distance between them. 

Foreign ministers Cho Tae-yul of South Korea and Poland’s Radek Sikorski signed an action plan which outlines their relations in the areas of politics, economy, defense and culture through 2028. 

“We both reaffirmed that there is a need to further strengthen our cooperation for transregional security cooperation, encompassing both Europe and the Indo-Pacific within the framework of the NATO-IP4 partnership,” said Cho, referring to NATO’s partnership with allies in the Indo-Pacific region, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. 

South Korea and Poland have been strategic partners since 2013, with South Korea in recent years becoming a major supplier of weapons as NATO member Poland carries out a massive investment program to modernize its armed forces. 

“Poland is the largest recipient of Korean military equipment worldwide, and we would like to further develop this cooperation with the prospect of relocating production and technology transfer to Poland,” Sikorski told reporters. “Poland can also serve as a hub for further promotion of Korean military equipment in Europe and for the rebuilding of Ukraine.” 

The two nations share concerns about the situation in Ukraine, which lies on Poland’s eastern border and has sent jitters across NATO’s eastern flank. 

South Korea and Poland, along with other European allies, have also been concerned about North Korea’s support for Russia in the war, including its dispatch of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside the Russians. Seoul worries that Russia could reward North Korea with transfers of sensitive technology to enhance its nuclear and missile programs. 

Cho told a news briefing that his country is launching an assistance package of over $2 billion, building on $400 million provided to Ukraine last year, “to address Ukraine’s urgent needs in energy, infrastructure, health care and education.” 

Sikorski and Cho also discussed expanding access to Polish food products in the South Korean market. 

“Poland is now Korea’s fifth largest trading partner within the EU (European Union), and Korea has become the largest Asian investor in Poland as of 2024. This is a testament to the trust and potential both nations see in each other’s economic future,” Cho said.
…

You do not hear much from Russian civilians in international media as Russia’s government restricts foreign reporters working in the country. For VOA, Genia Dulot met with some Russian tourists visiting the Indian Ocean republic of Maldives to hear what they think about international sanctions and U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump said late Tuesday he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table to discuss ending Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine.

“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” Trump said in an address to the U.S. Congress. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.”

His description of the letter matched what Zelenskyy posted earlier in the day on social media, saying Ukraine was ready to negotiate “as soon as possible” and would “work under” Trump’s “strong leadership” to reach a peace deal.

Zelenskyy said his acrimonious encounter with Trump at the White House last Friday was “regrettable” and that he remains ready to sign a deal that would give the United States substantial, long-term rights to Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals needed for the American manufacture of technology products.

In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader said in a statement that his discussions with Trump and Vice President JD Vance “did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”

Trump ordered Zelenskyy to leave the White House, and the minerals deal was left unsigned.

Trump and Vance, seated close to each other in the Oval Office, assailed Zelenskyy as being ungrateful for the more than $100 billion worth of munitions the United States has sent to Kyiv’s forces to fend off Moscow’s 2022 invasion, even though the Ukrainian leader had on numerous occasions thanked the U.S.

“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. “And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins,” an anti-tank missile weapons system. “We are grateful for this.”

“I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace,” Zelenskyy said. “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.”

Vance told VOA on Tuesday, “We do believe that it’s in Russia’s best interest, but also Ukraine and the United States’s best interest, to bring this conflict to a close.”

Zelenskyy said the first stage of any truce in the fighting “could be the release of [Russian and Ukrainian] prisoners [each country is holding] and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.”

“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal,” he said.

But reaching a peace deal could prove difficult. Ukraine has long demanded a restoration of its internationally recognized 2014 borders before Moscow unilaterally seized Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Overall, Russia now holds about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including much of eastern Ukraine, and has vowed to not return any of it to the Kyiv government.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has said the U.S. and its allies in Europe need to provide security for Ukraine so that it is protected against another Russian invasion, even if Moscow agrees to a halt in the ground fighting and end its daily aerial bombardment of Ukraine.

Britain, France and “a coalition of the willing” of other European countries agreed last weekend to send troops for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to support a ceasefire, but Trump has declined to commit the U.S. to providing a military backstop to enforce a truce against further Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy’s statement came hours after Trump paused further military aid to Ukraine.

“The President has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a senior administration official told VOA in an email. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that his country needs “real, fair peace,” as well as security guarantees to ensure Russia doesn’t threaten Ukraine again in the future.

“It was precisely the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas,” Zelenskyy said. “Then, the absence of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch the full-scale invasion. And now, because there are still no defined security guarantees, it is Russia that is keeping this war going.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. pausing military aid to Ukraine is the best contribution to the cause of peace, and that it could help push Ukraine to engage in a peace process.

VOA’s Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this report. Some information was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a “pause” Monday to military aid shipments to Ukraine with immediate effect, which his administration said was aimed at forcing all sides to peace talks. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, European leaders have said it is vital to continue weapons shipments to Kyiv — but there are doubts over how long Ukraine can keep on fighting. Anna Chernikova contributed.
…

The clinical condition of Pope Francis remained stable, the Vatican said Tuesday evening, and he was “alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented.”  

However, the statement also said that Francis’ prognosis “remains guarded,” which means he is not out of danger.   

Francis, the leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, has been in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for more than two weeks.   

He was admitted on February 14 with a case of bronchitis that worsened into double pneumonia.   

On Tuesday morning, the 88-year-old pontiff “transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy and underwent respiratory physiotherapy,” according to a Vatican statement.  

On Tuesday night, the pope was set to resume noninvasive mechanical ventilation throughout the night. 

While Francis’ heart, kidney and blood measurements are stable, “his health situation remains complex,” the Vatican said.   

On Monday, the pope underwent two bronchoscopies to remove “a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus.”   

The Vatican said Francis remained “alert, oriented and cooperative at all times” during the procedures.  

However, Dr. John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Chicago’s Northwestern Medicine, told The Associated Press, said Francis seems to be “taking little steps forward and then steps back.” 

“The fact that they had to go in there and remove [the mucus] manually is concerning, because it means that [the pope] is not clearing the secretions on his own,” said Coleman, who is not part of the pope’s medical team. 

This hospital stay is Francis’ longest during his time as pope. He is prone to lung infections, having had part of a lung removed when he was a young man. 

Francis’ hospital stay is not the record amount of time a pope has been hospitalized. In 1981, Pope John Paul II spent 55 days in Gemelli for a minor operation that resulted in a serious infection that extended the pontiff’s hospital stay.  
…

The Kremlin is planning to use current frictions between the United States and European countries on the war in Ukraine to sow lasting divisions between Washington and Europe, regional experts told VOA Russian. 

Click here for the full story in Russian. 

 
…

Fourteen militia groups control two-thirds of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) and parts of the capital city, Bangui. Russian military involvement has been stained with gross human rights violations, corruption and appropriation of natural resources.
…

European Union leaders will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday in Brussels to discuss boosting defense spending for Ukraine, as well as Europe’s own security in the face of Russia. The meeting comes amid fears that the United States’ longtime support to Europe may end. But does the EU have the leadership, means and public support to go it alone? Lisa Bryant reports from Paris.
…

Paris — With Washington’s sudden pause on military aid to Ukraine as a backdrop, worried European Union leaders meet in Brussels Thursday to discuss steps to beef up EU defenses against Russia.

“The question is no longer whether Europe’s security is threatened in a very real way, or whether Europe should shoulder more of its responsibility for its own security,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the summit, as she outlined a multipronged, $840 billion defense financing plan for the 27-member bloc.

“The real question in front of us,” she said, “is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates — and whether Europe is ready and able to act with speed and ambition that is needed.”

That message has been resonating across multiple emergency summits that gathered European leaders fearful of possible U.S. disengagement, and has resulted in new European defense spending commitments, after years of Washington demands to take on more of the burden.

But EU members also face steep challenges as they move to rearm, from sometimes shaky governments and economies, to skeptical populations and a surging far right that is often more favorable toward Russia.

Especially concerning for many is the Trump administration’s possible pivot from a longstanding transatlantic alliance.

“It raises very big issues for the future of the European Union — and I think people in Europe are very aware of this,” said Ian Lesser, who heads the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund policy institute. “Is Europe going to address these challenges, whether it’s on trade or defense — in a collective way? Or are countries, member states, going to go their own way?”

Sense of urgency

For many EU leaders, today’s message is unity. During a summit in London, EU countries and nonmember Britain agreed to develop their own peace plan for Ukraine to present to Washington. France and Britain also backed a “coalition of the willing” sending troops to Ukraine to enforce any peace deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron — who has long called for a more militarily autonomous Europe — has also suggested extending France’s nuclear deterrence to other European countries.

“The sense of urgency is finally catching up with European leaders, but it’s not sufficient at the moment,” said Olena Prokopenko, a senior German Marshall Fund fellow. “We see different levels of understanding of the level of threat that Europe is facing at the moment.”

“I see some degree of — I don’t want to say panic — but really alarmed Europeans who realize they need to stick together as much as possible,” said Elie Tenenbaum, director of security studies at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris.

Still, he added, Europe faces a daunting task. “If the Europeans want to step up and make up for the loss of American aid to Ukraine, it needs to happen now,” Tenenbaum said. “They need to put the money on the table; they need to pass on the orders to the defense industry.”

Beyond Ukraine, the Brussels-based Bruegel policy institute estimates Europe would need 300,000 more troops and hundreds of billions more dollars to deter possible Russian aggression without the United States.

Europe is “lacking ammunition, we’re lacking replacement parts, we’re lacking readiness,” Tenenbaum said.

Former French ambassador Michel Duclos, however, points to Europe’s assets. “Yes, we are not in a good situation,” said Duclos, now an analyst at the Montaigne Institute research group in Paris. “But at the same time, in demographic terms, in economic terms, we could be much stronger than Russia, if we are able to put our act together in defense terms.”

Pushback

Europe’s new security ambitions are already facing pushback. France’s powerful far-right National Rally party, for one, has rejected France including Europe in its nuclear deterrence capability, and leader Marine Le Pen describes an independent European defense as “illusory.”

Hungary’s Viktor Orban, noted for his friendly Kremlin ties, has called on Europe to instead enter direct talks to bring about a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

Many European economies are struggling, while public support for Ukraine is fading in some countries. A pair of recent polls, for instance, shows that while two-thirds of French citizens believe Europe should continue supporting Kyiv, three-quarters don’t want French boots on the ground — except to enforce a possible peace.

“So far, European leaders have been trying to be more reassuring than alarming,” says analyst Tenenbaum, of the message many are sending their populations. “But if they want to justify higher defense spending and risk taking, then they will need to be much more vocal” about the dangers the region is facing.

For analyst Duclos, last week’s heated White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offered an impetus to prepare Europeans for going it alone.

“What happened in the Oval Office last week was useful to make people understand we disagree not only on the means, instruments and policies, but on something more fundamental: on values, on the threat perception,” he said of growing transatlantic differences. “And for the French public, it was the most powerful of wake-up calls.”
…

Rome — Pope Francis rested early Tuesday after he suffered further setbacks in his fight against double pneumonia: two new acute respiratory crises that required him to resume using noninvasive mechanical ventilation to breathe. 

In its early Tuesday update, the Vatican said: “The pope slept through the night, now rest continues.” 

Francis suffered the two crises Monday. Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus that had accumulated in his lungs, the Vatican said in a late update. They performed two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent into his airways with a sucker at the tip to suction out fluid. 

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation: a mask that covers his nose and mouth and pumps oxygen into the lungs. 

Francis remained alert, oriented and cooperated with medical personnel, the Vatican said. The prognosis remained guarded, meaning he was not out of danger. Doctors didn’t say if he remained in stable condition, though they referred to the crises in the past tense, suggesting they were over. 

The crises were a new setback in what has become a more than two-week battle by the frail pope to overcome a complex respiratory infection. 

The Vatican said the mucus that had accumulated in Francis’ lungs was his body’s reaction to the original pneumonia infection and not a new infection, given laboratory tests don’t indicate any new bacteria. 

Dr. John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said the episodes were more concerning than the last one on Friday, in which Francis had a coughing fit, inhaled some vomit that needed to be extracted and then was put on the noninvasive mechanical ventilation for a day and then didn’t need it anymore. 

The use of bronchoscopies reflects a worrying level of mucus and phlegm in the lungs, Coleman said. “The fact that they had to go in there and remove it manually is concerning, because it means that he is not clearing the secretions on his own,” he said. 

“He’s taking little steps forward and then steps back,” said Coleman, who is not involved in Francis’ care. 

Francis, who is not physically active, uses a wheelchair and is overweight, had been undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to improve his lung function. But the accumulation of the secretions in his lungs was a sign that he doesn’t have the muscle tone to cough vigorously enough to expel the fluid. 

Doctors often use noninvasive ventilation to stave off an intubation, or the use of invasive mechanical ventilation. Francis has not been intubated during this hospitalization. It’s not clear if he has provided any advance directives about the limits of his care if he declines or loses consciousness. 

Catholic teaching holds that life must be defended from conception until natural death. It insists that chronically ill patients, including those in vegetative states, must receive “ordinary” care such as hydration and nutrition, but “extraordinary” or disproportionate care can be suspended if it is no longer beneficial or is only prolonging a precarious and painful life. 

Francis articulated that in a 2017 speech to a meeting of the Vatican’s bioethics think tank, the Pontifical Academy for Life. He said there was “no obligation to have recourse in all circumstances to every possible remedy.” He added: “It thus makes possible a decision that is morally qualified as withdrawal of ‘overzealous treatment.’” 

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who heads the academy which helps articulate the Catholic Church’s position on end-of-life care, said Francis is like any other Catholic and would follow church teaching, if it came to that. 

“Today the pope is giving us an extraordinary teaching on fragility,” he told reporters Monday. “Today the pope, not through words but with his body, is reminding all of us, we elderly people to begin with, that we are all fragile and therefore we need to take care of each other.” 

Francis’ hospitalization, which hits 18 nights Tuesday, is by no means reaching the papal record that was set during St. John Paul II’s numerous lengthy hospitalizations over a quarter century. The longest single hospitalization occurred in 1981, when John Paul spent 55 days in Gemelli for a minor operation and then to be treated for a serious infection that followed.
…

President Donald Trump has placed a pause on aid to Ukraine, the White House announced late Monday.

“The President has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a senior administration official told VOA in an email. The official is not being named, as is customary when engaging with reporters. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that his country needs “real, fair peace,” as well as security guarantees to ensure Russia does threaten Ukraine again in the future.

 

“It was precisely the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas,” Zelenskyy said. “Then, the absence of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch the full-scale invasion. And now, because there are still no defined security guarantees, it is Russia that is keeping this war going.”

Earlier Monday, Trump was pointed in saying a deal for rare earth minerals was key to continued U.S. support of Ukraine, and said he would make an announcement on the matter Tuesday when he speaks before a joint session of Congress.

There was fallout on both sides of the Atlantic Monday amid mounting European concerns about Ukraine’s future, as European leaders scrambled after Trump’s contentious Friday exchange with Zelenskyy. That Oval Office blow-up ended a minerals deal that Trump argued was key for continuing U.S. support for Ukraine.

Trump has pushed to end the fighting, but Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Trump is attempting to settle the conflict on terms more favorable to Moscow than Kyiv.

On Monday, the business-minded president hammered his increasingly blunt point: If Ukraine wants to survive, Zelenskyy needs to make a deal.

 

“It can be made very fast,” Trump said. “Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long, because I believe that Russia wants to make a deal. I believe certainly the people of Ukraine want to make a deal. They’ve suffered more than anybody else.”

Earlier in the day in a social media posting, Trump derided Zelenskyy’s assessment that the end of Russia’s war with his country “is still very, very far away,” calling that “the worst statement.”

“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he added.

Analysts say they understand where Trump lands on major issues like Ukraine’s future membership in NATO and the prospect of U.S. troops on the ground — both hard nos from Trump.

But on this economic deal, they say, they can’t predict the president’s next move.

Even before Zelenskyy landed in Washington, the deal was painted in broad strokes. It was meant to allow U.S. investment in rare-earth mineral exploration in exchange for reinvestment.

 

But Zelenskyy had insisted on the need for U.S. security guarantees, which were not in the original draft.

“It’s still unclear what Trump’s plan really is,” Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told VOA in a Zoom interview. “What we can also see what has emerged over the weekend is that Europe is stepping up to do more to deter Russia.”

After the White House meeting fell apart, Zelenskyy flew across the Atlantic to meet with European allies. He was warmly greeted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

At Westminster on Monday, Starmer reiterated Britain’s offer of peacekeepers and announced $2 billion for 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine. He echoed the narrative that former President Joe Biden used to justify U.S. support — that the Belfast-made products would feed back into the British economy.

“Britain will play a leading role with, if necessary, and together with others, boots on the ground and planes in the air,” he said, speaking to Parliament. “Mr. Speaker, it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting to support peace on our continent. But to succeed, this effort must also have strong U.S. backing.”

That followed the talks Sunday in London during which Starmer told 18 allies that with the United States wavering in its support for Ukraine, Europe finds itself “at a crossroads in history.”

Kim Lewis contributed to this article. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
…

As Ukraine’s war enters its fourth year, 6.8 million Ukrainians remain refugees. Researchers say fewer than half plan to return when the war ends. From Kyiv, Lesia Bakalets reports on what can be done to encourage more of them to return to their homeland.
…

Washington — An event celebrating Muslim Heritage month in the U.K. on March 11, sponsored by TikTok, is being criticized by Uyghur rights activists.

The event’s organizer, Muslim Women’s Network UK, sent out an invitation that stated “The event will bring together interfaith organizations, content creators and parliamentarians to celebrate the cultural contribution of Muslims in the UK.”

Exiled Uyghurs concerned about the sponsorship accuse TikTok of restricting content on human rights abuses in China against the mostly Muslim Uyghurs.

Uyghur activists express concern

“I do not believe [Muslim Women’s Network UK] supports violence and genocide, but its cooperation with TikTok sends a deeply troubling message,” Nefise Oguz, an Istanbul University student, told VOA in an email. 

Oguz has used social media — including TikTok — to advocate for relatives detained in China. She accuses TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, of systematically censoring content about Uyghurs.

In China, TikTok operates as Douyin, where content is heavily controlled, she said. Oguz and other activists claim that posts about Islam, Uyghur identity, or criticism of the Chinese Communist Party are routinely blocked on both TikTok and Douyin.

Due to these restrictions, Oguz said she also cannot use Douyin’s direct communication function to contact relatives in China.

For years, she had been advocating for her uncle, Alim Abdulkerim, who she says was imprisoned for eight years. His family does not know why he is in detention, but Oguz believes it’s because he contacted her while she was in Turkey. Her TikTok videos about his detention attracted hundreds of thousands of views, raising awareness — but also drew censorship.

The United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report in September 2024, that said Abdulkerim’s imprisonment was arbitrary and demanded his release. It further described China’s internment facilities as “prison-like.”

Oguz filmed a vlog about the report at the U.N. office in Istanbul, but TikTok removed it on the same day. She appealed TikTok’s decision, but the platform rejected it. TikTok’s notification said, “This video violates our community guidelines.”

Then in October, Oguz posted a video where she debated Turkish politician Doğu Perinçek — who denied Uyghur rights abuses in China. The video went viral on Instagram, Facebook, and X but was again, removed from TikTok on the same day without explanation or reinstatement.

Oguz described this as part of a broader pattern of censorship, saying her reach on the platform significantly declined afterward, limiting her advocacy efforts.

TikTok denies censorship allegations

Nicholas Smith, from TikTok’s Communications team told VOA, “It’s inaccurate to suggest that TikTok censors content related to the alleged Uyghur genocide and broader human rights violations in China,” he said.

“If you search for Uyghur content on TikTok, you will find many videos where people freely post and share their views,” he added and referred to the platform’s Community Guidelines and Transparency Center for further details.

Human rights accusations

The U.S. and U.N. have both condemned China’s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. 

In January 2021, the U.S. officially designated China’s actions — mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, forced sterilizations, and cultural and religious repression — as genocide and crimes against humanity. The designation cited a systematic campaign to suppress the predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking population.

A 2022 U.N. report reached similar conclusions, stating that the scale of arbitrary detentions, torture, sexual violence, and restrictions on religious and cultural practices in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity. 

China has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming its policies in Xinjiang aim to counter terrorism, extremism, and separatism.

However, a report released last August by the U.S.-based Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) titled, The CCP’s Digital Charm Offensive, suggested TikTok suppresses content, China deems sensitive, such as Uyghurs, Tibet, and Taiwan.

The NCRI report highlighted TikTok’s algorithmic behavior, noting that “content associated with politically sensitive terms like ‘Uyghur’ … showed significantly lower engagement metrics,” when compared to similar content posted on U.S.-based social media platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram.

Uyghur scholar calls for ethical sponsorship

Rizwangul NurMuhammad, a Uyghur doctoral candidate at the University of Sheffield, urged the Muslim Women’s Network UK to reconsider its sponsorship deal with TikTok, warning that the partnership risks further marginalizing Uyghurs.

VOA obtained a letter NurMuhammad sent to Shaista Gohir, the network’s chief executive director, that said TikTok is censoring Uyghur content while operating under a legal framework that aligns with the Chinese government’s interests.

“By focusing solely on amplifying selected voices while excluding those of Uyghurs, the Network risks further marginalizing an already vulnerable community,” she wrote. 

She urged the network to sever ties, offering to help find alternative funding. 

“Millions of Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, like my brother Maiwulani, and stripped of their religious identity,” NurMuhammad wrote. “Many of us in the diaspora, including myself, live in exile with no answers, no closure, only enforced silence by the same Chinese state that controls TikTok.” 

Muslim Women’s Network UK responds

In a statement, Gohir acknowledged the “pain and hardship” of Uyghurs and the “systematic erasure of their Islamic identity,” calling it a “grave human rights issue” deserving global focus.

But she defended the TikTok partnership.

“Muslim Heritage Month is designed to celebrate the rich and diverse contributions of Muslims in the UK and to create a space for engagement, empowerment, and visibility.”

Gohir said many marginalized Muslims use TikTok as a platform to share their stories, raise awareness about discrimination, and foster connections, suggesting the event could encourage “greater conversations on freedom of expression,” regarding marginalized Muslim communities around the globe. 
…

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis suffered two new episodes of “acute respiratory insufficiency,” with a prognosis that “remains guarded.”

The pope’s condition is the result of “a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The Vatican said Francis, 88, underwent two bronchoscopies to remove the mucus and later resumed the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation. He remains “alert, oriented and cooperative at all times,” the Vatican added.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Feb. 14 with a case of bronchitis that soon worsened to double pneumonia. This hospital stay is the longest during his time as pope. He is prone to lung infections, having had part of a lung removed when he was a young man.

Some of the faithful who have journeyed to Rome to see the Vatican and possibly the pope have altered their plans and are now saying prayers for Francis outside the hospital for his full recovery.

The pope’s illness has also prompted Catholics to gather in Vatican City, his native Argentina and other areas of the world to hold prayer vigils.

Francis became pope in 2013 when his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, resigned.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.

 
…