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EU, China warn against trade friction at Davos after Trump return 

Davos, Switzerland — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with the United States and seek to improve ties with China as Beijing warned against damaging trade wars in the face of Donald Trump’s protectionism.

Trump returned to the White House on Monday, and while he may not be physically present in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, he is the elephant in the room for the executives and leaders hobnobbing at the annual World Economic Forum.

With Beijing and Brussels facing some of the biggest risks from the return of self-professed tariff-loving Trump, China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to the stage first at the forum.

“Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war,” Ding said, without mentioning Trump directly.

Trump threatened on Monday to impose tariffs if Beijing rejects his proposal to keep Chinese-owned app TikTok online on condition that half of it is sold off.

China is taking a cautious approach to Trump and after the TikTok threat, Beijing said it hoped the United States would provide a fair business environment for Chinese firms.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Trump by phone on Friday, he said he hoped for a “good start” to relations with the new US administration.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen took a conciliatory tone. She said the EU’s “first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests and be ready to negotiate” with Trump.

“We will be pragmatic but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she said.

The European Commission president also stressed that Europe “must engage constructively with China – to find solutions in our mutual interest” despite escalating trade tensions between the two.

Brussels has provoked Beijing’s ire with a raft of probes targeting state subsidies in the green tech sector, as well as slapping tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

In an apparent reference to the European Union measures, Ding warned against “erecting green barriers that could disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation.”

More trade deals

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would impose extra customs duties on allies including the EU, as well as on China.

After his inauguration, Trump raised the possibility of imposing 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Von der Leyen reiterated her commitment to free trade during her speech, pointing to recent EU deals with Switzerland, the South American bloc Mercosur and Mexico.

She also said she and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to “upgrade” their partnership.

Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which von de Leyen defended as the “best hope for all humanity” and vowed: “Europe will stay the course.”

Ukraine is also keeping a very close eye on what Trump’s second mandate will involve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to call on world leaders and company executives to maintain – and ramp up – their support for his country’s war against Russia.

Zelensky said on Monday he was hopeful Trump would help achieve a “just peace.”

Embattled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also to address the Davos forum, likely his last as leader ahead of elections next month.

Also speaking on Tuesday will be conservative leader Friedrich Merz, the favorite to succeed him as chancellor.

‘Better understand’ Trump

Middle East conflicts will likewise be high on the agenda as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speak in separate sessions during the first full day of the forum.

As a fragile ceasefire holds in the Israel-Hamas war, the WEF will host a discussion on how to improve aid delivery to the Palestinian territory of Gaza and how to kickstart the reconstruction and recovery after heavy bombardment.

Despite suggestions Trump’s return would overshadow the forum that began on the same day as his inauguration in Washington, WEF President Borge Brende said the US leader had brought fresh attention to the gathering.

“It has increased the interest in Davos because people feel they need to come together to better understand what’s on its way,” Brende told AFP in an interview.

 
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Fire at ski resort in Turkey leaves 10 dead, 32 hurt

ANKARA, Turkey — A fire at a ski resort hotel overnight killed at least 10 people and injured 32 others in northwestern Turkey, authorities said on Tuesday, as TV footage showed crews fighting flames and smoke that engulfed the 11-story building.

The blaze began on the restaurant floor of the hotel at Bolu’s Kartalkaya ski resort at around 3:30 a.m. local time, Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told state broadcaster TRT.

He said there were 234 guests at the Grand Kartal Hotel, which has a broad wooden exterior.

The fire comes at the beginning of a nationwide two-week school holiday, a time when skiers from nearby Istanbul and Ankara usually head to the Bolu mountains.

TV footage showed several fire engines surrounding the charred hotel at the base of the ski slopes, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window.

The death toll had risen to 10, with 32 injured, from an earlier lower count, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, adding more than 250 first responders attended to the incident.

Investigators were looking into what caused the blaze, authorities said.
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World leaders congratulate Trump on inauguration

World leaders on Monday are congratulating President Donald Trump on his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who congratulated Trump.

“President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is a top priority,” Zelenskyy said.

The third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war is approaching at the end of February.

Trump previously promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day after becoming president, or even before his inauguration. More recently, Trump advisers have said resolving the conflict will now take months or even longer.

Trump has voiced skepticism of continued U.S. military support for Kyiv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also congratulated President Trump.

“I believe that working together again will raise the U.S.-Israeli alliance to even greater heights,” Netanyahu said.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Sunday, just one day before Trump assumed the presidency.

“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu added.

Congratulations also rolled in from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as well as U.S. allies like Germany, Italy and Britain.

“The U.S. is our closest ally, and the aim of our policy is always a good transatlantic relationship,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pointed to the longtime relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

“For centuries, the relationship between our two nations has been one of collaboration, cooperation and enduring partnership,” Starmer said. “With President Trump’s longstanding affection and historical ties to the United Kingdom, I know that depth of friendship will continue.”

And Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who attended the inauguration at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, said she is “certain that the friendship between our nations and the values that unite us will continue to strengthen the cooperation between Italy and the USA.”

But not all of the messages were congratulatory.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino rejected a portion of Trump’s inaugural address, in which Trump reaffirmed his desire to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal.

The United States fully ceded control of the strategically important canal to Panama in 1999.

“On behalf of the Republic of Panama and its people, I must fully reject the words outlined by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its canal in his inaugural speech,” Mulino said in a statement.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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VOA Kurdish: Erdogan will renegotiate relationship with Trump administration

During Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoyed a close relationship with the U.S. leader, benefiting from policies such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. With Trump returning to the White House, Erdogan hopes to revive ties to secure the final U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria and lift the ban on F-35 fighter jet sales.

Click here to see the full story in Kurdish.
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Ukraine reports downing 93 Russian drones

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russian forces launched overnight in attacks targeting regions across the country.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions, Ukraine’s air force said.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian attacks, which also included artillery and missiles, damaged four high-rise buildings.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it destroyed more than 30 Ukrainian aerial drones late Sunday and early Monday.

Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram that falling debris from a destroyed drone sparked a fire at a business that was quickly extinguished.

In Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack hit a car, injuring a woman. The Ukrainian assault also damaged six houses, Gladkov said.

Russian air defense also shot down drones over the Bryansk, Kursk, Ryazan, Oryol and Tatarstan regions.

Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Pope calls for Gaza ceasefire to be ‘immediately respected’

Vatican City — Pope Francis called Sunday for a ceasefire in Gaza to be “immediately respected,” as he thanked mediators and urged a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages.

“I express gratitude to all the mediators,” the Argentine pontiff said shortly after the start of a truce between Israel and Hamas began.

“Thanks to all the parties involved in this important outcome. I hope that, as agreed, it will be immediately respected by the parties and that all the hostages will finally be able to go home to hug their loved ones again,” he said.

“I pray so much for them, and their families. I also hope that humanitarian aid will even more quickly reach… the people of Gaza, who have so many urgent needs,” Francis said.

“Both Israelis and Palestinians need clear signs of hope. I hope that the political authorities of both, with the help of the international community, can reach the right two-state solution.

“May everyone say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace,” he added.

A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel are scheduled to be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.

Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails.

The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’ attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and takes effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.
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Macron praises World War II French Resistance activist, author

PARIS — France’s President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to former French Resistance activist and author Genevieve Callerot, who has died at age 108.

Callerot, who was among the last survivors of the groups that fought the country’s World War II occupation by Nazi Germany, died Thursday in a care home in Saint-Aulaye-Puymangou, a town in the Dordogne region of southwestern France where she had lived since childhood, according to local media reports.

A statement from the presidential Elysee Palace said Macron offered “his heartfelt condolences to her loved ones, to all those who were illuminated by her solar presence, and finally to those whose lives she saved.”

Callerot “takes with her a little piece of France, a certain France that is tough on suffering and intimidation, tender toward the beauty of the world, as quick to raise its fist in the face of oppression as it is to extend its hand,” the statement said.

Born in 1916, Callerot was 24 when France surrendered to Adolf Hitler’s invasion forces in June 1940, an event “which forever marked her life and revealed her to herself,” the statement said.

It said she and her family joined a Resistance network that smuggled people across the demarcation line that separated Nazi-occupied areas that included Paris, northern France and the country’s Atlantic seaboard and the so-called free zone governed by the French Vichy administration that collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.

She participated in the escape of 200 men and women, including Jews and American and British war-wounded, “whose lives she saved with anonymous heroism, and who often never knew what they owed” her, Macron’s office said. It said German forces took her into custody three times — twice releasing her for lack of evidence and holding her in prison for several weeks the third time.

She and her husband worked as farmers after the war.

When she was 67, she published her first novel — Les cinq filles du Grand-Barrail, or The Five Girls of Grand-Barrail — about a family of sharecroppers. 
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Swedish forces in Latvia make their largest NATO deployment to date

WARSAW, POLAND — Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along NATO’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defense alliance.

A ship carrying parts of a mechanized infantry battalion arrived early Saturday in the port of Riga, the Latvian capital, escorted by the Swedish air force and units from the Swedish and Latvian navies, the Swedish armed forces said in a statement.

Latvia borders Russia to its east and Russia ally Belarus to its southeast. Tensions are high across Central Europe due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden’s armed forces said that the mission of 550 troops will contribute to the alliance’s deterrence and defense efforts and ensure stability in the region, and that it “marks Sweden’s largest commitment yet since joining NATO” last year.

Commander Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Rosdahl of the 71st Battalion said he felt great pride in contributing to the alliance’s collective defense.

“It’s a historic day, but at the same time, it’s our new normal,” he said.

The Swedish troops join one of eight NATO brigades along the alliance’s eastern flank. The battalion is stationed outside the town of Adazi, near Riga.

Sweden formally joined NATO in March as the 32nd member of the trans-Atlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader nonalignment with major powers as security concerns in Europe spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Finland also abandoned its longstanding military neutrality to join NATO in April 2023.
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Ukraine officials say 4 killed in Russian strike on Kyiv

Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed early Saturday in a nighttime Russian attack in the capital, Kyiv.

Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said on Telegram that the deaths occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivsky district.  He said the Holosiivsky district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city and the Desnyansky district on the opposite bank were hit with falling debris.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defenses were in operation around the city.

On Friday, a Russian missile attack killed at least four people and injured at 14 others in the southern-central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address.

“Such strikes, such losses, simply would not have happened if we had received all the necessary air defense systems that we have been talking about with our partners for such a long time and that are available in the world,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, condemned the attack on Telegram. “Each such terrorist attack is another reminder of who we are dealing with. Russia will not stop on its own — it can only be stopped by joint pressure,” he said.

The attack also damaged an educational facility and two five-story buildings, officials said.

VOA was unable to independently verify the reports.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack late Friday ignited a fire at an industrial site in Russia’s Kaluga region, about 170 kilometers from the shared border.

“As a result of a drone attack in Lyudinovo, a fire broke out on the territory of an industrial enterprise,” regional Governor Vladislav Shapsha posted on Telegram.

Agence France-Presse reported that unverified videos on unofficial Russia social media showed what they said was the attack targeting an oil depot.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has previously said he would be able to stop the war in Ukraine in one day, but he has not specified how he would do so.

Trump aides recently said the new plan is to end the war within the first 100 days of the administration.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse. 
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Russia adds VOA, Current Time, BBC journalists to register of ‘foreign agents’

WASHINGTON — Russia’s Justice Ministry on Friday added more journalists to its list of so-called foreign agents, including reporters for Voice of America, Current Time and the BBC.

Six journalists were named to the registry, including Ksenia Turkova, who works for VOA’s Russian language service in Washington, and Iryna Romaliiska, who works for Current Time, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty program in partnership with VOA.

Others designated by Russia include Anastasia Lotareva and Andrey Kozenko, who work for BBC Russian; Alexandra Prokopenko, a journalist and research fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin; and Anton Rubin, a journalist at exiled media outlet Ekho Moskvy, who is also the director of a nongovernmental organization that helps orphans.

Authorities use law to target critics

Russia’s foreign agent law came into effect in 2012. Since then, say watchdogs, it has been used by authorities to target groups and individuals who are critical of the Kremlin. Hundreds of media outlets, journalists and civil society groups have been listed by the Justice Ministry.

Those named as foreign agents have to mark any online content, even personal social media posts, as having come from a foreign agent, and to share financial details. Failure to comply can lead to fines or even imprisonment.

Both VOA and its sister network RFE/RL have been designated as so-called foreign agents. Turkova is the first VOA journalist to be named individually.

In a statement, VOA director Mike Abramowitz said that VOA and its journalists, by law, provide “a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news around the world.”

“We stand with our journalists who often face repercussions for providing this vital public service and we remain committed to ensuring that audiences can access the vital content that VOA provides,” he said.

Turkova told VOA that she considers the designation by Russia a “meaningless label.”

“For the authorities, it’s a synonym for ‘traitor,’ ‘enemy of the people,’ ” she said. “For those whom the Russian authorities are targeting, it’s, in general, an empty sound, a word that means absolutely nothing.”

Previously, Turkova worked in Ukraine, where she reported on Russia’s occupation of Crimea, the war in Donbas and repressive actions by Moscow.

Since moving to Washington, Turkova said, “I continued to write and speak about the topics that I consider very important. First of all, it’s the war in Ukraine. It’s repression in Russia and it’s the role of propaganda.”

Current Time’s Romaliiska said she did not care about the designation.

“This only means that the Current Time channel is working great, that our team is doing a good job, which is what we will continue to do, regardless of any lists and statuses,” she told Current Time.

30 journalists behind bars

Russia has a dire media freedom record, ranking 162nd out of 180, where 1 shows the best environment on the World Press Freedom Index.

It is also a leading jailer of journalists, with 30 behind bars, according to data released Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

The report noted that as well as the high number of journalists in custody, Russia in 2024 “took its transnational repression to new levels.”

Foreign correspondents and Russian reporters in exile faced in absentia arrest warrants or sentences. The CPJ report described the action as “an intimidatory tactic,” adding that it “serves as a chilling illustration of Moscow’s determination to control the narrative of its war in Ukraine.”
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Journalists in Azerbaijan face trials, jailings, travel bans

WASHINGTON — An Azerbaijani court on Friday denied petitions by two jailed journalists to be released from house arrest, their lawyers said.

The journalists, Aynur Elgunesh and Natig Javadli, work for Meydan TV, an independent outlet based in Germany. They were among six journalists arrested in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, in early December.

Azerbaijan is among the worst jailers of journalists in the world, with more than a dozen behind bars, according to a report released this week by the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

Azerbaijan is currently detaining at least 18 journalists for their work, according to CPJ.

The group’s latest prison census, which acts as a snapshot of media workers in custody as of Dec. 1, listed 13 journalists in the Azerbaijani prison. One of those was released after the census was taken, but authorities then jailed six more journalists, including Elgunesh and Javadli.

The arrests are a concern for local activists and reporters.

“Independent and critical media in Azerbaijan is going through its most difficult period,” Azerbaijani activist Samir Kazimli told VOA. “If this policy of repression does not stop, if it continues, independent media in Azerbaijan may completely collapse.”

The annual CPJ report found 361 journalists behind bars around the world. Azerbaijan ranked eighth worst in the census, behind countries such as China, Israel, Myanmar, Belarus and Russia.

“Azerbaijan has been cracking down on independent media for well over a decade,” CPJ’s CEO, Jodie Ginsberg, told VOA. “It doesn’t often get the attention that it deserves.”

Local journalists like Shamshad Agha are worried that Azerbaijani authorities are trying to stamp out independent media.

Agha is editor of Argument.az, a news website covering democracy, corruption and human rights.

“The lives of all independent journalists are in danger,” he told VOA. Agha said he has been banned from leaving the country since July 2024.

Azerbaijan’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

Many of the journalists jailed in Azerbaijan are accused of foreign currency smuggling, which media watchdogs have rejected as a sham charge.

Many of those currently detained work for the independent outlets Abzas Media and Meydan TV.

Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist with the Azerbaijani Service of VOA’s sister outlet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, is among those currently imprisoned.

Jailed since May, Mehralizada is facing charges of conspiring to smuggle foreign currency, as well as “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion and document forgery.” He denies the charges, which carry a combined sentence of up to 12 years behind bars.

On Thursday, Ulviyya Guliyeva, a journalist who has been a contributor to VOA’s Azerbaijani Service since 2019, was summoned to a police station in Baku for questioning.

The journalist said she was questioned about Meydan TV, even though she is not an employee there. Guliyeva said she was also placed under a travel ban that blocked her from leaving the country.

“This is a very disturbing situation for me,” Guliyeva said. “I see this as pressure on my journalistic activities.”

Parvana Bayramova of VOA’s Azerbaijani Service contributed to this report.
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