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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Two Swedish teenagers were jailed Thursday in pretrial detention in connection with two predawn explosions in the vicinity of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen a day earlier. Prosecutors said investigators were establishing “whether the motive could be a terror attack.”

No one was injured in the blasts on early Wednesday in a neighborhood with several foreign diplomatic missions, although the nearby Jewish school was closed following the explosions.

The pair, who cannot be identified under a court order, were ordered held for 27 days. They faced preliminary charges of possessing illegal weapons and carrying five hand grenades. Two of the grenades blew up when the suspects threw them at a house near the embassy, prosecutor Soren Harbo said.

“This was pretty close to the Israeli Embassy,” Harbo said before Thursday’s court hearing. The explosions caused damage to a roof terrace of a nearby house. The diplomatic mission was not harmed.

Thursday’s hearing was held behind closed doors after the preliminary charges were read. Reporting from inside the court room, Danish broadcaster DR said the teenagers, ages 16 and 19, are suspected of acting “in association and together with prior agreement with one or more perpetrators.”

Both denied the charges, local media reported.

The two suspects were arrested Wednesday shortly before noon on a train at Copenhagen’s central station. Danish media ran photos of a man in a white hazmat suit being taken away by police on a train platform at the station. A third suspect, age 19, who had been arrested near the embassy, has been released, police said Thursday.

In Denmark, the charges are one step short of formal charges and allow authorities to keep criminal suspects in custody during an investigation.

Separately, shots were fired late Tuesday at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. No one was injured. No arrests have been made.

The Danish domestic security service, known by its acronym PET, said that “Swedish authorities have assessed that at least one specific act directed at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, which was carried out by young criminals in Sweden, has links to Iran.”

In May the Swedish domestic security agency SAPO accused Iran of using established criminal networks in Sweden as a proxy to target Israeli or Jewish people. The announcement came after the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm was sealed off in late January after what was then described as “a dangerous object” was found on the grounds of the diplomatic mission. Swedish media said the object was a hand grenade.

In a statement, PET said, “If we have a state actor who gets young criminals to carry out actions aimed at Jewish targets in our neighboring country, then we can be concerned that this will also happen in Denmark.”

In Stockholm, the operative of Sweden’s domestic security agency SAPO, Fredrik Hallstrom, said, “The latest incident at the Israeli Embassy is not classified as a terrorist crime at the moment.”

His counterpart at the Swedish police’s National Operations Department, Johan Olsson, told the same press conference that the charges were of “aggravated weapons offenses, causing danger or other serious illegal threats and damage.”
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vienna — Thousands of people protested in Austria’s capital, Vienna, on Thursday against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sunday.

The FPOe won almost 29% of the vote in Sunday’s general election, ahead of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) with just over 26%.

“The Austrian Freedom Party is a danger because it has already said that it wants to govern in the image of Hungary’s Viktor Orban,” said student Rihab Toumi, 26, referring to the nationalist leader of Austria’s neighboring country.

Although the FPOe topped the polls, there is no guarantee that its radical leader, Herbert Kickl, will be given a chance to form a government since no other party is willing to work with him.

“This result was a shock, and we cannot let a party that drifts so far to the right garner so much support without saying anything,” said social worker Marianne, 53, who declined to share her surname.

Organizers said there were 15,000 to 17,000 protesters in central Vienna who marched toward parliament. Demonstrators held up placards that said, “Let’s defend democracy,” “No alliances with Putin’s friends,” and other anti-FPOe slogans.

Kickl has criticized European Union sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Demonstrators intend to march every Thursday, having similarly done so after the far-right formed part of short-lived coalition governments in 2000 and 2017.
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Vienna — The European Union is set to vote Friday on a massive tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles that Germany fears could spark a trade war with Beijing.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the measure already has enough votes to pass, with support from France, Greece, Italy and Poland, whose populations make up 39% of the EU. At least 65% of the EU’s population must vote against the tariff plan to stop it.

Regardless, analysts say, continued negotiations will be needed on China’s subsidies to its EV industry.

On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin called Chinese subsidies “unbearable.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said talks with China must continue, and he indicated Germany might abstain from the vote.

“More trade with more partners from more countries — that’s what sensible risk management looks like in an uncertain world,” Scholz said, as reported by Reuters.

“That’s why negotiations with China on electric vehicles must continue and why we must finally tackle the areas where cheap Chinese imports are harming our economy, for example steel,” he said.

Bloomberg reported that Germany expected a significant number of EU states to abstain from voting on the tariffs.

German automakers are against tariffs, fearing that retaliation from Beijing could impact access to China, their largest market.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Wednesday “A trade war with China would do us more harm than good for a key European industry and a crucial sector in Germany.”

If the vote passes, it could see tariffs on Chinese EVs as high as 45%.

Beijing has hinted that it could retaliate with tariffs on German and Italian vehicles and on European agricultural products such as dairy, pork and French brandy.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao visited Europe in late September and met with officials and businesspeople in charge of foreign trade and commerce in the EU, Belgium, Germany, Italy and other auto-manufacturing countries to lobby the EU to abandon the tariffs.

During the negotiations, the Chinese side proposed to set a minimum import price, but the European side refused.

The vote was pushed from September 25 to Friday to allow time for more consultation between the two sides.

Analysts believe the EU may make some compromises due to the complex interests within the EU.

Ja Ian Chong, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, told VOA, “Because the EU is made up of many national entities with cross-cutting interests, these may lead to the vetoing of tougher action, much the same way ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is ineffective in the face of PRC (People’s Republic of China) pressure.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said during a visit to Beijing in early September that he would urge the European Commission to reconsider raising tariffs on China’s EVs.

Francesco Sisci, an Italian Sinologist, told VOA that the centrifugal forces of member states and political parties within the EU are too strong to make difficult decisions.

In the past, the EU “was ruled by a solid majority centered around People’s parties and Social-Democratic parties and a triangle made of Germany, France and Italy, Sisci said. “Both these two architectures are now partially shattered.”

“The People’s parties and Social-Democratic parties have still a majority but a thin one,” he said. “Italy, with a right leaning government, didn’t vote for the present President of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and it is dragging its feet on many EU policies.”

“Germany and France have governments at home that are under siege from new rightist parties,” he added.

Sisci told VOA Mandarin that Germany’s car industry “is dependent on the sales in the Chinese market and yet risks being squeezed out of all markets because of the Chinese EV competition. There are no good or clear alternatives.”

Although China’s EVs have a price advantage in the European market, Chinese businesspeople working in the automotive industry there are more cautious.

Yang is a Chinese businessman in Austria who does automobile maintenance, annual inspection and second-hand car trading. He did not give his full name because of privacy concerns.

Yang said that because of Europe’s economic downturn, consumers there are careful with their money and will not easily replace their gasoline-powered vehicles with all-electric vehicles.

“Many European consumers choose hybrid electric vehicles,” Yang said, talking about his own business. “This year’s data report shows that the sales of all-electric vehicles have decreased by one-third, while hybrid electric vehicles have increased.”

He said tariffs will certainly affect the price of Chinese electric vehicles in Europe, but European consumers are more concerned about other factors such as the life and endurance of the car.

“All-electric vehicles may not be a big market in Europe,” he said.

The EU’s vote comes after a probe into China’s subsidies for the industry and 100% tariff hikes on Chinese EV imports to the U.S. and Canada.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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London — A surge in support for far-right parties in Europe is driving calls for a toughening of migration laws, while also raising questions over the future of military aid to Ukraine.

Austria’s Freedom Party, which was founded by former Nazis after World War II, is the latest European far-right party to score a shocking win, taking just under 29% of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, ahead of the second-place People’s Party with 26.3%.

‘Fortress Austria’

The Freedom Party, led by Herbert Kickl, campaigned on a platform of ending migration by creating what it called “Fortress Austria,” carrying out the “remigration of uninvited foreigners” and suspending the right to asylum. The party also opposes military aid for Ukraine and wants to end sanctions on Russia.

Kickl successfully appealed to voters’ frustrations over recent years, said Austrian pollster and political analyst, Peter Hajek.

“Elections are won in those four and a half years before, by taking a position which is clearly distinguishable and good from the point of view of the target audiences,” Hajek told The Associated Press. “And quite simply that’s what the Freedom Party managed to do with two big topics: on the one hand migration, and on the other — still — the coronavirus.”

Far-right success

Far-right, anti-immigration parties have won parliamentary elections in the Netherlands in 2023, Italy and Hungary in 2022, a state election in Germany in last month and the European parliamentary elections in France in June.

Hans Kundnani, an adjunct professor at New York University and the author of the book Eurowhiteness, said centrist parties in Europe are alarmed by the rise of the far right.

“Another election in Europe, another far right success. The response of the center-right in Europe to that has been to say we have to get even tougher on immigration. The center right has increasingly been mimicking far right parties, especially far right ideas on these questions around identity and immigration and Islam,” Kundnani told VOA.

EU summit

Immigration is likely to top the agenda at an EU summit on October 17, as European leaders from across the political spectrum have called for a toughening of asylum laws amid growing domestic political pressures.

“A shift in the EU towards thinking much more in terms of a ‘Fortress Europe’ — that’s building a wall essentially around the EU,” Kundnani said.

The hardening of attitudes marks a sharp turnaround from 2015 when more than 1 million irregular migrants entered the EU, many of them destined for Germany. In 2023, the number had fallen by 75%, to 280,000 people.

The 27-member bloc has agreed to a new pact on asylum and migration, due to come into force in 2026. It’s unlikely to calm Europe’s debate on immigration any time soon, according to Raphael Bossong, a migration expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

“This package that has been agreed upon is about 10 laws. Multiple investments are needed across 27 member states, and an implementation plan with 10 sectors of implementation,” he told VOA. “So it’s a lot of stuff. And to get that into place to really work as a system, as it’s intended, is — even in two years — highly ambitious.”

Ukraine

While strong opposition to immigration unites Europe’s far-right parties, they are divided over support for Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Austria’s Freedom Party, the Alternative for Germany party and Hungary’s Fidesz party under Viktor Orban all oppose military aid for Kyiv and want to end sanctions on Moscow.

Yet other European far-right parties, such as the ruling Brothers of Italy party under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Poland’s Law and Justice party — which was in power until last year — are strongly pro-Ukrainian.

The issue is clouding European politics, argues analyst Hans Kundnani of New York University.

“Precisely what divides these two groups of far-right parties to a large extent is the question of Russia and Ukraine,” Kundnani said. “If you’re on the far right but you’re pro-Ukrainian, then I think a lot of European centrists have no problem with that. And they’re willing to turn a blind eye to almost anything else that these far-right parties do, especially on questions like immigration.”

Much of European Union foreign policy, including aid for Ukraine, requires a unanimous vote from all 27 members, making it easy for individual governments to veto EU decisions. Hungary’s Viktor Orban has repeatedly blocked EU aid packages for Ukraine.

Coalition talks

Despite its shocking victory, Austria’s Freedom Party is still well short of a majority. Rival parties are refusing to join them in government and could form their own coalition. The tactic has been used by other more centrist parties in Europe to keep the far-right from power — with mixed results, said Kundnani.

“They form these incoherent coalitions in response to the rise of the far right,” he told VOA. “Those coalitions then aren’t really able to do very much or offer citizens very much, which further empowers the far right. So it just gets worse and worse.”
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Europe looks set to toughen migration laws amid a surge in support for far-right parties across the continent. Austria’s Freedom Party – which campaigned on a platform of ending migration and opposing military aid for Ukraine – finished first in Sunday’s election, although its rivals have said they will refuse to enter a coalition. Henry Ridgwell reports.
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TALLINN, Estonia — Four Russian journalists went on trial in Moscow on Wednesday after being accused of working for an anti-corruption group founded by the late Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, which was designated by authorities as an extremist organization in 2021.

Antonina Favorskaya, Artyom Kriger, Sergey Karelin and Konstantin Gabov were arrested earlier this year and charged with involvement with an extremist group, a criminal offense punishable by up to six years in prison. All four have rejected the charges.

The trial, which is being held behind closed doors, is the latest step in the Kremlin’s unrelenting crackdown on dissent that has reached unprecedented levels after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. The authorities have targeted opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin with criminal and misdemeanor charges, jailing hundreds and prompting thousands to leave the country, fearing prosecution.

The four journalists were accused of working with Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which was designated as extremist and outlawed by the Russian authorities in 2021. That designation has been widely seen as politically motivated.

Navalny was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest and most prominent foe and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia. In February, Navalny died in a remote Arctic prison while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group, which he had rejected as politically driven.

Favorskaya and Kriger worked with SotaVision, an independent Russian news outlet that covers protests and political trials. Gabov is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organizations, including Reuters. Karelin is a freelance video journalist who has done work for Western media outlets, including The Associated Press.

As they were led into the courtroom on Wednesday, a crowd of supporters greeted them with applause. In the courtroom, the four smiled at their loved ones from a glass defendant’s cage.

Addressing reporters from behind the glass, Kriger cast the case against him and his fellow journalists as a cautionary tale and urged journalists still in Russia to leave the country: “It is not a joke. Any person can be charged with anything.”

Favorskaya, in turn, spoke about hope: “Everything that is happening now, the darkness that surrounds us, it is not forever, and we will definitely see the country that Alexei [Navalny] dreamed of, we will definitely live in a country where rights and freedoms will be [respected] and journalists and other people will not be jailed for their views.”

Shortly after the hearing began, the judge ordered that the proceedings be held behind closed doors upon a request from the prosecution, even though the defense objected to it.
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