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Year of the Snake underway with Lunar New Year festivities

BEIJING — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow.

Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temple’s main hall.

“I wish my family will be blessed. I hope my business will run well. I pray for my country and wish people peace. I hope this coming year is a better year,” said Ming So, who visits the temple annually on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

The holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. The snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon.

The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals.

Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.

Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world’s biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, China’s capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out.

Traditionally, Chinese have a family dinner at home on New Year’s Eve and visit “temple fairs” on the Lunar New Year to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets from booths.

Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel both in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam.

Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of a colorful procession with drummers, costumed dancers and large dragon and snake figures held aloft that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival in Moscow on Tuesday night.

The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as U.S. dominance of the world order.

Visitors shouted “Happy New Year” in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.
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Zelenskyy orders report on US support programs

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered government officials to report on the U.S. support programs whose funds are “currently suspended” under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

“These are humanitarian programs,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address Tuesday.  Nearly all of them were not channeled through Ukrainian government, he said. Instead, went “directly through our communities, through various organizations.” 

“There are many projects. We will determine which ones are critical and need immediate solutions,” he said. “We can provide part of this funding through our state finances.” 

Zelenskyy said the priorities will be “those that primarily concern Ukrainian children, our veterans and programs to protect our infrastructure.”

On his first day back in office, Trump placed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid while the U.S. reviews whether the aid is aligned with Trump’s America First agenda.

Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview on state television that Moscow would hold peace talks with Kyiv, but he said he would not speak to Zelenskyy, calling him and illegitimate leader.

“Negotiations can be held with anyone,” the Russian president said. “But due to [Zelenskyy’s] illegitimacy, he has no right to sign anything.”

In return, the Ukrainian president said, “Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war,” he wrote on X.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, national and local elections were banned under a martial law act passed by Ukraine.

A presidential election would have occurred in March 2024, and Zelenskyy’s term would have ended in May 2024.   

Critics are at odds about whether the Ukrainian constitution provides for an extension of the president’s term in office under martial law. Some say it provides for the option, while others believe it does not. 

Some information for this report is provided by The Associated Press.
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Trump wants Greenland, but Greenlanders want independence

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America needs to take control of Greenland from Denmark for, in his words, “international security.” But as Henry Ridgwell reports from the Arctic island, the global attention is driving a desire among many native Greenlanders to determine their own political future.
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Serbian prime minister to resign as popular protests persist 

BELGRADE — Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic on Tuesday announced his resignation, becoming the highest ranking official to leave since anti-corruption protests spread across the country. 

Belgrade has seen daily anti-government protests since a roof collapsed in November at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, killing 15 people. 

Protesters including students, teachers and other workers have turned out in their thousands, blaming the disaster on corruption within the government of President Aleksandar Vucic. 

“I opted for this step in order to reduce tensions,” Vucevic told a news conference on Tuesday, announcing his intention to resign. He said the mayor of Novi Sad will also resign. 

“With this we have met all demands of the most radical protestors.” 

Vucevic has been the head of the ruling center-right Serbia Progressive Party since 2023. 
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Italian ship carrying migrants picked up offshore reaches Albania

TIRANA, ALBANIA — An Italian navy ship carrying 49 migrants picked up in international waters arrived in Albania on Tuesday, amid a new attempt by Italy to push ahead with a legally contested plan to relocate migrants to the neighboring country.

The navy ship Cassiopea with the migrants reached the Albanian port of Shengjin early on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness. They will be identified at a facility there and then moved to a detention center some 20 kilometer away.

The navy did not provide details on the migrants.

The Italian government of Giorgia Meloni has built two reception centers in Albania, the first such deal by a European Union nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country in a bid to limit sea arrivals to its territory.

But the facilities have been empty since November after judges in Rome questioned the validity of the relocation plan and ordered the first two batches of migrants previously detained in Albania to be moved back to Italy.

The controversy surrounding the plan, which Meloni sees as a cornerstone of her government’s aim to curb immigration, revolves around a ruling by the European Court of Justice last year, which was not related to Italy.

The Court said no nation of origin could be considered safe if even just a part of it was dangerous, undermining Rome’s idea of deporting migrants to Albania who hailed from a selected list of “safe” countries with a view to swiftly repatriate them.

Ilaria Salis, a European Parliament deputy from a left-wing Italian party, on Monday criticized the Italian government for forcibly transferring “innocent people fleeing war and misery” despite violations of international law and human rights.

The European court is set to review Italy’s plan in the coming weeks and clarify whether it is in compliance with EU law.
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Rubio and Lammy reaffirm US-UK partnership on Indo-Pacific security, China challenges

State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, on Monday to discuss a range of pressing global issues and joint initiatives aimed at promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.

“They affirmed the depth of the U.S.-UK Special Relationship and the crucial nature of our partnership in addressing issues like the conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and China’s malign influence,” State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

The U.K. government said that Lammy and Rubio look forward to meeting in person soon.

“They both welcomed the opportunity for the UK and the US to work together in alignment to address shared challenges including the situation in the Middle East, Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, the challenges posed by China and the need for Indo-Pacific security,” the British statement read.

The call between Rubio and Lammy came amid a report by The Guardian that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is expected to visit Britain next month for the first U.K.-China strategic dialogue since 2018.

In Beijing, Chinese officials did not confirm Wang’s plans to visit the U.K. but noted what they described as “sound and steady growth” in relations between the two countries.

“China and the U.K. are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and major economies in the world,” Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated during a briefing on Monday. She added it is in the common interest of the two countries to enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust.

Wang is expected to attend the Munich Security Conference between Feb. 14 and 16, making it likely that his visit to the U.K. will take place either before or after the event.

In the past, U.S. Secretaries of State have typically attended the high-profile annual gathering at the Munich Security Conference.

The State Department has not responded to VOA’s inquiry about whether Rubio plans to hold talks with Wang during the conference.

Last week, the State Department outlined U.S. policy toward China under President Donald Trump’s administration. 

“Strategic competition is the frame through which the United States views its relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The United States will address its relationship with the PRC from a position of strength in which we work closely with our allies and partners to defend our interests and values,” the State Department said on Jan. 20.
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Belarusian opposition, Western leaders denounce Lukashenko’s reelection

Belarus’ opposition activists and Western officials have denounced the reelection of Alexander Lukashenko to serve his seventh five-year presidential term.   

The 70-year-old leader began his iron-fisted rule in 1994.  

He received nearly 87% of the ballots cast in Sunday’s election in the Eastern European country, according to the Belarus Central Election Commission.  

His victory was not surprising as he has imprisoned many of his opponents, while others have fled abroad to live in exile.  

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya labeled Lukashenko’s successful reelection as “sheer nonsense.” Before Sunday’s vote, she had encouraged voters to cross out every candidate’s name on the ballot.   

The four challengers in Sunday’s election had all praised Lukashenko’s leadership, according to The Associated Press. 

The European Union, Britain, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement condemning “the sham presidential elections in Belarus and the country’s human rights violations under Lukashenko.”  

Britain’s Foreign Office said Monday that it has sanctioned six Belarus citizens and three defense sector firms, after the Sunday polls in Belarus. The sanctioned individuals include the head of the Belarusian Central Election Commission and two prison chiefs. 

“Following Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown in which critical voices within Belarus have been silenced, yesterday’s sham election failed to meet international standards and has been condemned by international partners,” the Foreign Office said. The Foreign Office also said that the sanctions were being placed in coordination with Canada. 

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement, “The world has become well-accustomed to Lukashenko’s cynical pretense of democracy in Belarus, while in reality he brutally represses civil society and opposition voices to strengthen his grip on power.”   

Lukashenko’s successful presidential bid in 2020 set off months of protests in which thousands of people were beaten and more than 65,000 were arrested. He was roundly condemned by the West, which imposed sanctions.    

However, he survived the protests with the help of his close ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Lukashenko depends on for subsidies, as well as political support.   

Putin called Lukashenko Monday to congratulate him on his “convincing victory.” Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated the Belarusian leader.  

The Viasna Human Rights Center, an exiled Belarusian nongovernmental organization, said in a statement that Belarus has over 1,250 political prisoners in custody.

Some information in this story was provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
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EU renews sanctions against Russia, eases them on Syria

PARIS — European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to continue sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, but to ease some sanctions against Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

Weeks of stalling by Hungary ended Monday, allowing the EU to renew sanctions against Russia for another six months.

But in return, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — considered close to Moscow — is pushing for Ukraine to reopen a gas pipeline to central Europe after letting a transit deal expire.

The bloc also earmarked aid for Moldova’s energy needs, which Europe says are threatened by Russia.

The 27-member bloc moved in the opposite direction when it came to Syria — agreeing to scale up humanitarian aid and ease some sanctions, now that the country is under new leadership.

“This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet,” said Kaja Kallas, EU’s foreign policy chief.

Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, has called the EU’s move a “positive step.”

European foreign ministers also discussed a raft of other thorny issues, from the Gaza ceasefire to Iran and the conflict in eastern Congo.

Another key topic: relations with the new Trump administration.

“As the United States shifts to [a] more transactional approach, Europe needs to close ranks. We are stronger when we are united — that was a view that everybody shared,” Kallas said.

She described Washington as Europe’s closest ally, but tensions have surfaced over trade, military spending and Greenland, after President Donald Trump indicated he wanted to acquire the territory.

“We are not negotiating on Greenland,” Kallas said. “Of course, we are supporting our member state, Denmark, and its autonomous region, Greenland.”

Kallas also noted the many ways the EU and U.S. are interlinked. But she said Europe needs to take into account its own strengths, in discussions with partners as well as with adversaries.
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US M113 armored personnel carriers prove crucial to Ukraine’s fighting forces

Part of a U.S. military aid package to Ukraine in April 2022, the M113 armored personnel carrier has proved vital in conducting assault operations and providing protection for Ukrainian infantry. And many of these vehicles are still up and running nearly three years later. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. Camera: Pavel Suhodolskiy
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Ukraine says Russian drone attacks hit infrastructure in several regions

Russian drone attacks damaged infrastructure sites in western, central and eastern Ukraine on Monday.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 57 of the 108 total drones that Russian forces launched overnight.

The intercepts took place over the Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said.

Officials in Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Sumy said drone attacks hit “critical infrastructure.”

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak also said on Telegram that Russian shelling Monday injured at least five people in the city of Nikopol.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 32 Ukrainian drones, including intercepts over Voronezh, Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol and Tver.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone attack damaged a house, but did not hurt anyone.

A Kremlin spokesperson said Monday that Russia had not received any signals about a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The comment came days after Putin said he and Trump should discuss the war in Ukraine as well as energy prices.

Some information for this story was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters
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Sweden opens sabotage probe into Baltic undersea cable damage

STOCKHOLM/VILNIUS — An undersea fiber optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, prompting NATO to deploy patrol ships to the area and triggering a sabotage investigation by Swedish authorities.

Sweden’s Security Service has seized control of a vessel as part of the probe, the country’s prosecution authority said.

“We are now carrying out a number of concrete investigative measures, but I cannot go into what they consist of due to the ongoing preliminary investigation,” senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement.

NATO was coordinating military ships and aircraft under its recently deployed mission, dubbed “Baltic Sentry.” The effort follows a string of incidents in which power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines have been damaged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said her government was coordinating with NATO and other countries in the Baltic Sea region to clarify the circumstances surrounding the latest incident.

“We have determined that there is most likely external damage and that it is significant,” Silina told reporters following an extraordinary government meeting.

Latvia’s navy said earlier on Sunday it had dispatched a patrol boat to inspect a ship and that two other vessels were also subject to investigation.

Up to several thousand commercial vessels make their way through the Baltic Sea at any given time, and a number of them passed the broken cable on Sunday, data from the MarineTraffic ship tracking service showed.

One such ship, the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Vezhen, escorted to Swedish waters by a Swedish coastguard vessel on Sunday evening, MarineTraffic data showed. It later anchored outside the Swedish naval base in Karlskrona in southern Sweden.

It was not immediately clear if the Vezhen, which passed the fiber optic cable at 0045 GMT on Sunday, was subject to investigation.

A Swedish coastguard spokesperson declined to comment on the Vezhen or the position of coastguard ships.

Bulgarian shipping company Navigation Maritime Bulgare, which listed the Vezhen among its fleet, did not immediately reply to requests for comment outside of office hours.

NATO cooperation

Swedish navy spokesperson Jimmie Adamsson earlier told Reuters it was too soon to say what caused the damage to the cable or whether it was intentional or a technical fault.

“NATO ships and aircrafts are working together with national resources from the Baltic Sea countries to investigate and, if necessary, take action,” the alliance said in a statement on Sunday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country was cooperating closely with NATO and Latvia.

NATO said last week it would deploy frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones in the Baltic Sea to help protect critical infrastructure and reserved the right to take action against ships suspected of posing a security threat.

Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.

Finland’s prime minister in a statement said the latest cable damage highlighted the need to increase protection for critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

The cable that broke on Sunday linked the Latvian town of Ventspils with Sweden’s Gotland island and was damaged in Sweden’s exclusive economic zone, the Latvian navy said.

Communications providers were able to switch to alternative transmission routes, the cable’s operator, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), said in a statement, adding it was seeking to contract a vessel to begin repairs.

“The exact nature of the damage can only be determined once cable repair work begins,” LVRTC said.

A spokesperson for the operator said the cable was laid at depths of more than 50 meters (164 feet).

Unlike seabed gas pipelines and power cables, which can take many months to repair after damage, fiber optic cables that have suffered damage in the Baltic Sea have generally been restored within weeks.
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Italy resumes migrant transfers to processing centers in Albania

Rome — Italy said Sunday it was transferring 49 migrants picked up in the Mediterranean to new processing centers in Albania, in the third such attempt facing hurdles by courts.

The navy vessel Cassiopea with the migrants on board was expected to reach the Albanian port of Shengjin on Tuesday morning, port officials said.

The Interior Ministry said Sunday that 53 other migrants “spontaneously presented their passports” after they were told that it would avoid their transfer to Albania. Where the nationality is confirmed, processing generally takes less time as people who are determined by Italy to be ineligible to apply for asylum in the European Union are repatriated via a fast-track procedure.

Italian judges refused to validate the detention of the first two small groups in the Albanian centers, built under a contentious agreement between Rome and Tirana.

Their cases have been referred to the European Court of Justice, which had earlier established that asylum applicants could not undergo a fast-track procedure that could lead to repatriation if their country of provenance was not deemed completely safe.

The European court hearing on the case is scheduled for Feb. 25.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government had vowed to reactivate the two centers in Albania that have remained dormant following the Italian courts’ decisions.

The premier’s position was partially backed by a ruling in late December by Italy’s highest court, which said Italian judges could not substitute for government policy in deciding which countries are safe for repatriation of migrants whose asylum requests are rejected.

The decision does allow lower courts to make such determinations on a case-by-case basis, short of setting overall policy.

Italy has earmarked $675 million (650 million euros) to run the centers over five years. They opened in October ready to accept up to 3,000 male migrants a month picked up by the Italian coast guard in international waters.

Human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations active in the Mediterranean have slammed the agreement as a dangerous precedent that conflicts with international laws.

Meloni has repeatedly stressed that plans to process migrants outside EU borders in Albania had received strong backing from other European leaders.
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