Top Republican members of the House of Representatives say lawmakers have begun discussions about Russia’s war in Ukraine in an effort to carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to quickly end the conflict there.

Lawmakers told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that they are optimistic that Trump can achieve his goal.

Republican Representative Mike Waltz, who was nominated by Trump this week to be his national security adviser, told VOA that “the president has been clear in terms of getting both sides to the table and is focused on ending the war and not perpetuating it.”

Waltz said that while Trump did not address Russia’s war in Ukraine when he gave a speech to lawmakers at their leadership meeting Wednesday, he said discussions about the war were happening “off to the side.” He did not give further details.

Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who serves as the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was bullish about Trump’s ability to negotiate a cease-fire.

“I expect the president to negotiate an armistice before the end of the year,” he told VOA.

When asked how the United States would pressure Russia to lay down its weapons, he said, “I have an idea what it is but I’m not going to talk about it.”

Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and urged him not to escalate the war, according to U.S. media outlets, first reported in The Washington Post. The Kremlin denies the call took place.

Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been a strong supporter of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, told VOA that Trump wants to have a “very strong military presence in Europe,” part of a “path of deterrence that eventually will get us to a period of negotiation.”

However, he cautioned that he does not believe that Ukraine has enough leverage right now for successful negotiations with Russia.

Russia and Ukraine are engaged in fierce battles in eastern Ukraine, as uncertainty mounts over how a Trump presidency will affect the war and whether the two sides will be pushed into negotiations. Analysts say that both sides are looking to increase their territory before any negotiations take place.

When asked about how the U.S. could pressure Russia to the negotiating table, Republican Representative Tom Cole, who serves as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told VOA, “I think you have to persuade them what is in their best interest.”

Cole said he thinks the war has been a disaster for Russia, noting that the conflict pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO, the Western military alliance formed in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

He said talks in the House have not yet led to any definitive plan on the Russia-Ukraine war, but said, “I think there is just hope that President Trump can bring this conflict in Europe — the worst conflict since 1945 — to a speedy end.”

Trump has yet to detail how he will fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war quickly. During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in September, Trump said he “can work out something that’s good for both sides.”

When asked at that time whether Ukraine should turn over some of its own land to Russia to end the war, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens.”

Vice President Kamala Harris said on the campaign trail that suggestions by the Trump camp to create a demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine at the current battle lines “are not proposals for peace.”

“Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” she said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukraine and its NATO allies Wednesday that Washington remains committed to putting Ukraine “in the strongest possible position” in the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration.

“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th,” Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

Trump told reporters in September that his plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is “not a surrender.”

“What my strategy is, is to save lives,” he said.

Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this report.
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washington — North Korean defectors say Pyongyang has likely kept the deployment of that nation’s soldiers to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine as a secret from its own people, including the soldiers’ own families, but the news will undoubtedly leak out, causing anxiety and pain.

Western intelligence officials estimate that as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers are now in place, mainly in locations around Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian forces have captured some Russian territory, and that the troops have already suffered combat casualties.

“North Korean mothers who sent their children to Russia must feel unimaginable pain,” said Kim Jeong-ah, a North Korean defector and former first lieutenant in the North Korean People’s Army who spoke to VOA Korean by phone Wednesday.

“It drives you crazy; how else can you express that feeling?” said Kim, herself a mother who now runs a nonprofit in Seoul that promotes women’s rights in North Korea. “They cannot even cry as hard as you want at home, because there’s no soundproof walls between houses.”

Kim, who escaped North Korea in 2009, said, “The families of those North Korean soldiers in Russia must be suffering without being able to express their grievances due to pressure from the North Korean regime.”

Rising human rights concerns 

It is widely believed that the Kim Jong Un regime mobilized its elite “Storm Corps” special forces to support Russia.

Lee Hyun Seung, a former soldier in the Storm Corps unit and an escapee who now lives in the U.S., told VOA Korean in a phone call Wednesday that “the North Korean regime does not inform families of overseas deployments, unit locations or personal safety issues,” for fear of leaking military secrets.

Lee suggested that news of the deployment is likely already spreading by word of mouth among residents, and that “there will certainly be internal opposition among residents to this clear violation of human rights — deploying the troops without notice to the families.”

“Rumors will spread quickly, and if the families who were not aware of the deployment find out their sons were sacrificed, this will be a huge blow to the regime.”

In a recent talk hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Tae Young-ho, former North Korean diplomat who served in South Korea’s National Assembly after his defection, said although Pyongyang is keeping the deployment secret, North Korean troop fatalities will be hard to keep from public view.

Tae also said that North Korea has a very low birth rate, with families having only one or two children, so parents will not be able to accept the fact that their children died defending Russia, not their own country.

 

Lack of training, resources

Lee Woong-gil, who defected from North Korea after 13 years of service with the Storm Corps, told VOA Korean by phone that he had heard that the training conditions and capabilities of North Korean special forces have deteriorated, compared with when he served.

“If you look at the photos and videos [of North Korean soldiers in Russia], they don’t look like the best-trained special forces soldiers, they just look like soldiers who came out during training,” Lee said. “They didn’t look very fit, and they looked like run-of-the-mill soldiers who were just drafted during training.”

North Korea is one of the most militarized countries in the world. All men between the ages of 17 and 30 must enlist for military service for a period of five to 13 years.

Lee also said it is very difficult for the North Korean regime to provide proper economic compensation to deployed troops and their families, adding “the only thing North Korean soldiers can hope for is the safety of themselves and their families.”

Lee predicted that when faced with extreme pain and fear of death, North Korean soldiers in Russia would feel agitated and would highly likely surrender during combat or attempt to escape and even seek asylum.

Risk of severe trauma

Oh Eun-kyung, a counselor at the Korean Counseling Psychological Association in Seoul, who counsels North Korean defectors, said in a phone call with VOA Korean on Monday that North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia are highly likely to suffer from severe trauma due to mental stress.

“The psychological isolation and helplessness of not being able to do anything will increase among the families left behind in North Korea,” said Oh. “The families’ anger at the regime’s anti-human rights measures could serve as a trigger for major social unrest within North Korea.”

David Maxwell, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel who served on the U.N.’s Combined Forces Command in South Korea, told VOA Korean by phone that North Korean soldiers who have never participated in actual battles are being sent to the front line, risking exposure to even more serious trauma.

“They will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. They will suffer from traumatic experience, but they have been so thoroughly indoctrinated … that I don’t think you will see it manifest in ways that it does in the rest of the world,” said Maxwell, who now is vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. “They certainly will not be properly cared for [to deal with] the experience.”

War without just cause

Ri Jong Ho, a North Korean defector now in the U.S. and a former high-ranking economic official for the Kim regime, said Pyongyang will not publicly acknowledge the Russia deployment, given its weak justification.

“When North Korea sent troops to Vietnam, our goal was to protect the socialist front; it was the Cold War back then,” Ri told VOA Korean by phone Wednesday.

North Korea has long denied that it sent members of its air force into the Vietnam War, although it was belatedly confirmed in 2002 when North Korean state media reported that a delegation had retrieved remains of North Korean airmen from Vietnamese soil.

“They don’t have any justification this time,” Ri said. “They participated in the war of aggression. The North Korean soldiers are just there as cannon fodder.” 

This story originated in VOA’s Korean Service. 
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A German government spokesperson said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz held direct talks via telephone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and that Russia show a willingness to negotiate a just and lasting peace.

A statement from German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and called on Putin to end it and withdraw troops.

The statement said the chancellor reaffirmed Germany’s unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary. The brief statement did not include a response from Putin.

The spokesperson said Scholz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before his call with the Russian leader and intended to call him again afterwards. Media reports say that call lasted about an hour.

Reuters news agency reported the Kremlin confirmed the call, which it said had come at Berlin’s request. The news agency reported the Kremlin said Putin told Scholz any agreement to end the war in Ukraine must take Russian security interests into account and reflect “new territorial realities.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said despite deep disagreements, the fact the two leaders had the call at all was “very positive.”

Zelenskyy, however, was not as pleased by the call. In a video address posted to his website Friday, Zelenskyy said that in his opinion, the call is a “Pandora’s box.”

“This is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time: It is crucial for him to weaken his isolation. Russia’s isolation,” Zelenskyy said. “And to engage in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, that will lead to nothing.”

He said it is what Putin has done for decades. “This allowed Russia to change nothing in its policy, to do nothing substantial, and ultimately it led to this war.”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine understands how to act regarding Putin and handle negotiations accordingly.

“And we want to warn everyone: There will be no Minsk-3,” he said, referencing the Minsk agreements, two failed cease-fire deals between Kyiv and Moscow over the status of the eastern Donbas region. “What we need is real peace.”

The call came roughly one week after Scholz’s coalition government fell apart, and he is facing new elections early next year.

Also on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a state radio interview the European Union must abandon its sanctions against Russia or face economic collapse.

The EU and its western partners have imposed numerous sanctions against Russia and Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many of which target Russia’s energy sector.

Orban, a staunch ally of Putin’s, said in the interview the sanctions on Russia have driven up energy prices and must be reviewed by EU leaders in Brussels. He said the sanctions have failed and as long as they are in place, energy prices will not come down and it will destroy the European economy.

Orban also referenced U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory last week. Referring to Trump as “our comrade in arms,” and “our fellow peace fighter,” he said his victory means minds have to be changed in Brussels — site of EU headquarters.

Orban said they must urge “a pro-peace” turn in the EU, referring to their support for Ukraine.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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GENEVA — Ukraine is heading into its third, most challenging winter since the war started nearly 1,000 days ago because “systematic attacks” by Russia have damaged and destroyed most of the country’s energy infrastructure, a senior U.N. official warned.

“I am told that by now, 65% of Ukraine’s own energy production capacities has been destroyed,” Matthias Schmale, resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, told journalists Friday in Geneva.

“There are a lot of worries that the Russian Federation’s military forces might strike the energy sector again,” he said. “And the real concern is, if they were to target the energy sector again, this could be a tipping point, also a tipping point for further mass movements, both inside the country and outside the country.

“The systematic attacks on energy infrastructure may pose an additional risk in winter, especially for already vulnerable people, as power cuts extend more than a few days in subzero temperatures,” he said. “Deliberately attacking and destroying energy infrastructure that the civilian population depended on is a violation of international humanitarian law and has to stop.”

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said more than 12,000 people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

It said civilian infrastructure has been decimated, with more than 2,000 attacks on health care facilities and 2 million damaged homes. It said almost 40% of the population in Ukraine needs humanitarian assistance.

“There is also a sort of hidden crisis,” Schmale noted. “I think this prolonged war, almost three years in February, has led to widespread trauma and psychological distress, and I think the need for mental health support is very evident. It will take years to help people deal with their traumas.”

The World Health Organization has verified 2,134 attacks on health care targets in Ukraine, killing at least 197 health workers and patients. The agency said attacks on health facilities have “intensified significantly” since December 2023, “occurring on a near-daily basis.”

“The marked increase in attacks on Ukraine’s energy and health infrastructure has led to widespread disruptions to power and water,” said Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson. “The high cost of medicines, treatment and insufficient number of health care workers have emerged as major concerns, including near the front lines.

“In the coming months we anticipate civilians who live near the front lines may experience coronary vascular diseases, mental health issues and dental problems,” she said, noting that the WHO continues to call for humanitarian access to all parts of Ukraine, including Russian-controlled areas.

Resident coordinator Schmale expressed grave concern about the escalating use of drones against the civilian population, many supplied to Russia by North Korea.

“During my many visits to the front lines, civilians have increasingly described to me being targeted,” he said, underscoring that the drones not only cause physical damage but also are being used as a form of “psychological terror.”

“I am very worried, along with many others, that increased use of drones by the armed forces of the Russian Federation will have an increasingly damaging impact on the civilian population,” he said. “The fear of a nuclear fallout because of either a deliberate or accidental hit on a nuclear power plant, such as the one in Zaporizhzhia … would be extremely devastating, and the worst-case scenario.”

OCHA said that U.N. agencies are prioritizing support to people close to the front line, as well as to the thousands who have evacuated in recent weeks and months to help them survive the freezing temperatures that are coming.

It said U.N., international and volunteer organizations have been able to assist 7.2 million people thanks to $1.8 billion received for the humanitarian response in Ukraine. However, another $500 million will be needed to address the emergency needs of 1.8 million people by March.

Schmale underscored the appeal by emphasizing that vulnerable people in high-rise residential buildings in urban areas, the disabled, the elderly and the 3.6 million internally displaced people inside the country are most at risk and in need of help.

He said that helping people to get through this winter “is a race against time,” made more difficult because of waning support from the donor community. While the trend was downward, he expressed hope the international community and humanitarian support from the U.S. would continue under the new leadership.

“They have been by far our biggest individual country supporter at country level,” he said. “The hope is that they understand like the present administration that there are huge humanitarian needs that need to continue to be addressed.

“We must not normalize the war in Ukraine,” he said. “We must continue to support this country to the best of our abilities.”
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The Hague, Netherlands — The Dutch government needs “more time” to flesh out a strategy to fight anti-Semitism after last week’s violence between Israeli football fans and locals, the justice minister has said.  

“Because of the terrible events of November 7 and 8 and because I want to promote a fruitful debate in parliament, I have decided to take more time to get a strategy ready,” Justice Minister David van Weel said.  

“The strategy will soon be sent to parliament,” he said in a letter to MPs, published late on Thursday.  

Prime Minister Dick Schoof promised “far-reaching measures” earlier this week.   

He said they would be announced after a cabinet meeting on Friday but this now seems to be postponed.  

The discussions follow violence in the streets of Amsterdam before and after the Europa League match between Dutch giants Ajax and Maccabi on November 7.  

Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla said that before the match Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag, attacked a taxi and chanted anti-Arab slogans, according to city authorities.  

They also reportedly booed a minute’s silence during the match for victims of Spain’s recent deadly floods.  

After the game, youths on scooters engaged in “hit-and-run” assaults on Maccabi fans, officials said.  

Some social media posts had included calls to “hunt Jews”, according to police.    

Schoof said the attacks amounted to “unadulterated anti-Semitism.”   

‘Pouring oil on the fire’  

The authorities have set aside 4.5 million euros ($4.8 million) for the new strategy, including 1.2 million euros for securing Jewish institutions, Dutch media reported.  

Schoof told parliament on Wednesday the government was looking at “far-reaching measures” to punish anti-Semitic violence.  

This included the possibility of scrapping Dutch nationality for people with dual nationality.  

Police, prosecutors and other law authorities have launched a massive probe into the incidents surrounding the Maccabi-Ajax match, with eight suspects behind bars so far.   

Far-right anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders, leader of the biggest party in the coalition government, accused the country’s Muslim community for the unrest.  

He demanded perpetrators be prosecuted “for terrorism, lose their passports and kicked out of the country.”   

But opposition parties condemned Wilders’ language, saying he was “pouring oil on the fire, abusing the genuine fear and pain of one group to stoke hate against another.”  

Many opposition politicians and commentators said that although anti-Semitism was abhorrent, the violence was not one-sided.  

The violence took place against the backdrop of an increasingly polarized Europe, with heightened tensions following a rise in anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli and Islamophobic attacks since the start of the war in Gaza. 
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Valencia, Spain — The head of Spain’s eastern Valencia region admitted Friday to “mistakes” in handing the country’s deadliest flood in decades that killed 216 people there.  

“I’m not going to deny mistakes,” Carlos Mazon told the regional parliament in an address, adding he was “not going to shirk any responsibility.”  

As the head of the regional government “I would like to apologize” to those who “felt” that “the aid did not arrive or was not enough,” he added.  

The October 29 disaster marked the country’s deadliest floods in decades. A total of 224 people were killed nationwide, with 216 of them in Valencia.  

While he spoke, dozens of protesters gathered outside the regional parliament, jeering and chanting slogans demanding his resignation.  

The floods wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings and submerged fields. The final bill is expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.  

Almost half of the people killed in Spain’s Valencia region during recent floods were 70 years old or older and 26 were foreigners, including two Britons.  

Outrage at the authorities for their perceived mismanagement before and after the floods triggered mass protests on Saturday, the largest in Valencia city which drew 130,000 people.  

Critics have questioned the efficiency of the Valencia region’s alert system during October’s downpour, when in some cases only reached residents’ telephones when floodwater was already gushing through towns.  

Many local residents have also complained that they were left without food and water for days, and had to rely on aid provided by volunteers instead of the government. 
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washington — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his early November election victory.

President Joe Biden has not hosted Erdogan at the White House though the two have met on sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone.

Speaking to journalists accompanying his return from visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Erdogan expressed his hope for improved U.S. ties, adding, however, that in-person meetings would be needed to achieve that end, and that Ankara needs to wait to see what kind of a Cabinet Trump forms.

The two leaders had a close personal relationship during Trump’s first term in office. However, bilateral relations have also been marked by tough times during that administration. With Trump’s January return to the White House, analysts told VOA that although there may be opportunities for more cooperation in some areas, they don’t expect major changes.

James Jeffrey, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 2008 to 2010, sees Ukraine as one area with potential for cooperation.

Referring to Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine, Jeffrey says Turkey could play a role in negotiating a cease-fire, making both sides “well-aligned for a productive relationship.”

Alan Makovsky, a senior fellow for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, also believes Trump’s priority to end the war in Ukraine creates a significant opportunity for Erdogan.

A NATO ally, Turkey has adopted a careful balancing act amid the war in Ukraine, supplying armed drones to Ukraine while maintaining ties with Russia in energy and tourism.

Erdogan, who has maintained good relations with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has long said neither side is gaining from the war and offered to host and mediate negotiations.

Disagreement over Syria

Disagreements between Turkey and the United States during Trump’s first term included Ankara’s frustration with U.S. support for Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by Kurdish militia — People’s Protection Units, known as YPG in northern Syria.

After a phone call with Erdogan on October 6, 2019, Trump unexpectedly announced that the U.S. would withdraw from Syria. Many U.S. military officials, all of whom were caught off guard by the announcement, did not support the idea.

Tension between the allies worsened after Trump on October 9 sent a letter to Erdogan, warning him against a military incursion into Syria.

Following Trump’s withdrawal announcement, Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria targeting the YPG on October 9.

A cease-fire agreement was reached during then-Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Ankara on October 17.

Now, some in Ankara expect the U.S. may reconsider its presence in northern Syria during Trump’s second term.

Jeffrey, a U.S. envoy for Syria from 2018 to 2020, suggests Trump’s administration may reassess this issue.

“Each time people were able to convince [Trump on Syria, it] was that the troops were serving a set of important purposes. This is one of the most low-cost, high-return military deployments. We are keeping the Islamic State under control. Secondly, we are holding vital terrain, blocking Iranian, Assad and Russian ambitions,” he told VOA.

Washington has long said its SDF partnership is necessary for the enduring defeat of ISIS and countering Iran.

Ankara considers YPG a Syrian offshoot of PKK, which U.S. officials have also designated as a terrorist organization.

Trump nominated Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, for secretary of state. Rubio was one of the strongest opponents of a U.S.-pullout from Syria at the time.

He labeled the decision as “a catastrophic mistake that will have dire consequences far beyond Syria,” urging Trump to reconsider it.

“We’ll have to see how that works out and how Marco Rubio’s views may have changed to accord more with Trump’s or vice versa,” Makovksy said. “But anyone who thought that Trump’s election meant that the U.S. would soon be withdrawing from Syria would certainly have to rethink that view in light of the Rubio appointment. I think that makes it unlikely that we will withdraw from Syria.”

Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions will require Senate approval before they assume office.

F-35 program

One complicating factor in U.S.-Turkey relations during Trump’s first term was Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, which prompted Washington to remove Ankara from an F-35 joint strike fighter program.

“The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities,” said a White House statement when the system was delivered in July 2019, explaining the U.S. decision to remove Turkey from the project.

The Trump administration in December 2020 sanctioned Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Turkey, which has since requested removal of CAATSA sanctions, has returned to talks with U.S. officials about a possible return to the F-35 program.

Analysts say that while there is a likelihood that CAATSA sanctions might be lifted during Trump’s second term, any solution to the S-400 issue that is not permanent would not be technically acceptable to the U.S. military.

Describing the F-35s as the U.S. military’s largest project since World War II, Jeffrey said, “A permanent solution is that they [the S-400s] go away, they’re sold to somebody else. I would like to have a solution, but technically, I don’t think there is one.’’

Makovsky called Turkey’s return to the F-35 program unlikely in the near term.

“If they completely get rid of the S-400s, really give up possession as the law requires, there could be a reasonable chance for F-35,” he told VOA. “But it will be up to the so-called Four Corners – the chairman and senior members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.
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ROME — The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.”

But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists, were skeptical about the value of the arrangement, citing ongoing controversies in many cities over the role of short-term rental platforms in fueling overtourism and limiting affordable housing for residents and students.

Under the deal announced by Airbnb and the Colosseum on Wednesday, the sponsorship by the short-term rental giant will cover the renewal of an educational program inside the ancient Roman amphitheater covering the history of the structure and gladiators.

Eight of the platform’s users and their plus-ones will be able to participate in faux gladiator fights after the Colosseum’s closing time on May 7-8, taking the same underground route used by gladiators in ancient Rome to reach the arena. People can apply for the experience on November 27 at no cost, and the “gladiators” will be chosen by lottery.

The superintendent of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, Alfonsina Russo, told The Associated Press that the deal is in conjunction with the release of Ridley Scott’s new film “Gladiators II,” which opened in Italy on Thursday.

Russo characterized the sponsorship arrangement as one of the many such deals to help finance projects at the park.

The Italian fashion brand Tod’s, for example, has funded a multimillion renovation of the Roman monument, including a cleaning, replacing the locking system of arches with new gates and redoing the subterranean areas.

Alberto Campailla, the coordinator of the Nonna Roma nonprofit organization that focuses on housing and food for the poor, called the campaign with Airbnb “a disgrace,” and a form of “touristification.”

Airbnb and other platforms offering short-term rentals “are literally driving people out of not only the city center, but also the outskirts and suburban neighborhoods,” Campailla said.

Tourists from other European cities grappling with overtourism also took issue with the deal.

“It seems to me that the purpose of the Colosseum today is to be a tourist attraction, but not to create an amusement park within it,” said Jaime Montero, a tourist visiting from Madrid. “In the end, tourism eats the essence of the cities, here in Rome, as in other capitals.”

Visiting from Naples, Salvatore Di Matteo saw the deal as “yet another takeover of the territory” by big companies.

“If they start to touch sacred monuments such as the Colosseum here in Rome, it is obviously something that should make us think and is, in any case, a bit worrying,” he said.

The Colosseum is the most important and largest amphitheater constructed by the ancient Romans. Built in the 1st century, it was the center of popular entertainment, hosting hunts and gladiator games, until the 6th century. 
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Various human rights groups accuse Russia of committing crimes that amount to crimes against humanity in Africa. Several reports also have exposed Russia’s illegal export of gold worth more than $2.5 billion from Africa to sponsor its war in Ukraine.
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Amnesty International reported that French-manufactured military technology incorporated into armored personnel carriers (APCs) made by the United Arab Emirates is being used in Sudan’s civil war, a likely violation of a United Nations arms embargo. 

In a report posted online Thursday, the human rights organization said it first became aware of the armored vehicles’ presence in Sudan in July, when another study revealed what the group described as “a constant flow of weapons into the country” from several nations, including China, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen. 

The APCs were part of the flow of weapons that in some cases were taken to Darfur, the scene of heavy fighting in western Sudan. 

Amnesty International said additional research showed the APCs include sophisticated French-designed and manufactured reactive defense systems. The report said the vehicles are in use by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.  

The conflict broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary fighters after relations broke down between military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. 

The two generals are former allies who together orchestrated an October 2021 coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. 

Amnesty International said the APCs are manufactured by the UAE company Edge Group and are equipped with the French Galix reactive defense system. Amnesty identified the systems in pictures posted on social media after APCs were captured or destroyed by the Sudanese army.  

The Galix technology is a defense system for land vehicles that release counter measures — decoys, smoke and projectiles — when close-range threats are encountered.  

In a statement, Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said any use of the French-made weapons technology in Darfur would be a clear breech of the U.N. arms embargo on Sudan. She called on France to ensure the makers of the defense systems immediately stop the supply to UAE manufacturers. 

Callamard called on all nations to “immediately cease direct and indirect supplies of all arms and ammunition to the warring parties in Sudan. They must respect and enforce the U.N. Security Council’s arms embargo regime on Darfur before even more civilians’ lives are lost. ” 

The U.N. arms embargo is part of a series of sanctions that include asset freezes and travel bans imposed against Sudan for systematic human rights abuses by both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces against the people of Darfur. 

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. 
…

MOSCOW — A Russian man went on trial Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he allegedly sent to Ukraine’s security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases involving the conflict.

The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3½-year sentence for burning a Quran in front of a mosque.

The new charges are based on allegations that Zhuravel filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of Ukraine’s security agency. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Rights activists say Zhuravel is a political prisoner who was beaten while in custody.

While in pretrial custody before his first sentence, Zhuravel was beaten by the 15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed strongman leader of the mostly Muslim region of Chechnya. The elder Kadyrov posted the video on social media and praised his son, causing public outrage. He later awarded his son with the medal of “Hero of the Republic of Chechnya.”

Federal authorities have refrained from any criticism of the Chechen strongman.

Separately, a military court on Thursday sentenced to 24 years in prison a man convicted of treason and terrorism for setting fire to a military recruitment office in Moscow. Prosecutors said Sergei Andreev committed the November 2023 attack on instructions from the Ukrainian special services that he received on a messaging app.

Treason and espionage cases have skyrocketed after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The cases have targeted a wide range of suspects, from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to scientists, drawing attention from rights groups.

The legal definition of treason has been expanded to include providing vaguely defined “assistance” to foreign countries or organizations, effectively exposing to prosecution anyone in contact with foreigners.
…

On the first day of 2025, Ukraine’s contract with Russian state-owned Gazprom will expire, shutting down a major Russian natural gas pathway to Europe.

Although the Kremlin says it is ready to continue the transit deal, urging Europeans to persuade Ukraine to extend the contract, Kyiv has said it won’t budge.

Russian natural gas supplies were a cornerstone of European energy security before Moscow’s February 2022 invasion, when it temporarily cut off 80 billion cubic meters of gas supplies to the continent in response to sanctions and a payment dispute.

The cut-off dealt a major blow to Europe’s economy that remains palpable in 2024, according to an International Monetary Fund analysis.

Since 2021, however, Europe has secured alternative suppliers for natural gas, with Russian imports via Ukraine dropping from 11% to 5%, according to Rystad Energy, an Oslo-based energy analysis firm.

Observers say some EU countries have taken the issue more seriously than others. Germany and the Czech Republic, for example, have invested heavily in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in record time, said Olga Khakova, deputy director for European energy security at the Washington-based Atlantic Council.

“A lot of landlocked countries, like Czech Republic, have gone out of their way to look at alternative supplies and invested in alternative options,” she told VOA.

Others, like Hungary, have doubled down on their reliance on Russia, while Slovakia and Austria have increased Russian imports.

Those countries, said Khakova, “will have to live with this decision,” explaining that they’ll need to secure alternative routes. Turkey, for example, offers the only other operational pipeline for Europe-bound Russian energy.

Although some European nations would prefer to maintain Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine, it’s “a difficult sell for the EU,” said Christoph Halser, Rystad’s gas and LNG analyst. He expressed confidence in Europe’s political will and supply chain logistics to forfeit dependence on Ukraine’s pipelines for Russian gas.

Other analysts argue that the EU should do more to send a clear signal to companies that cheap Russian gas will no longer be available. With enforceable goals from the EU for phasing out Russian pipeline gas, companies will invest in competing projects to supply reliable European customers, Khakova said.

LNG to compensate?

Although Russia’s pipeline exports to Europe have decreased, Moscow has compensated for some of the shortfall with LNG deliveries via sea, road and rail, seeing the overall share of European LNG imports increase from 15% to 19%.

Rystad’s Halser, however, calls further expansion unlikely, given Western sanctions against Russia.

“To further increase, and to compensate for the set of pipelines, is not possible with current infrastructure,” he told VOA. “New unsanctioned projects on the Russian side would be necessary.”

Growing LNG deliveries from the United States could replace Russian gas, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she brought up with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a phone call late last week.

“LNG is one of the topics that we touched upon — I would not say discussed,” she told reporters in Budapest, according to Agence France-Presse. “We still get a whole lot of LNG via Russia, from Russia. … Why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper and brings down our energy prices.”

Will Ukraine’s pipeline be empty?

Ending the transit of Russian gas to Europe poses some difficult questions for Ukraine. With the contract’s termination imminent, Khakova and other analysts say Russia feels emboldened to attack Ukraine’s natural gas system, adding to Ukraine’s concerns this winter over how to protect the country’s energy infrastructure.

Some observers say Ukraine may not find another commercial use for its dormant infrastructure. Bloomberg reported late last month that European buyers were in talks with Azerbaijan on a deal that would, through a swap arrangement, effectively deliver Azeri-branded gas to Europe though the Russia-Ukraine pipeline network.

Subsequent reports, however, indicate that no deal has been reached, and Oleksiy Chernyshov, head of state-owned Naftogaz — Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company — told reporters last week that there is no alternative to halting the delivery of Russian gas via Ukrainian pipelines.

Any arrangement short of completely halting the transit of gas across Ukraine would send a negative signal to Europe, said Aura Sabadus of the London-based Independent Commodity Intelligence Services.

“If Ukraine allows for this gas to flow from 2025 onwards, even if it’s sold under a different label — let’s say Azeri gas — other countries might come around and say, ‘well, if Ukraine is doing it, why can’t we do it?’” she told VOA.

Sabadus said industrial consumers in Germany, for example, could then increase pressure to resume gas flows via the Nord Stream network of offshore natural gas pipelines beneath the Baltic Sea, which stretch from Russia to Germany and were the target of apparently deliberate underwater explosions in September 2022.

But Rystad’s Halser finds it unlikely that a short-term transitional deal to keep the natural gas flowing across Ukraine would prompt demands to reopen Nord Stream.

“There is no political consensus in Germany for taking Russian gas in the near future,” he said, adding that an agreement with a third party to deliver gas across Ukraine might benefit all sides involved and bolster commercial interest in Ukraine’s pipeline system.
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