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Taipei, Taiwan — China's leader Xi Jinping kicks off a six-day trip to Europe this Sunday, his first visit to the continent since 2019. The trip will include stops in France, Serbia and Hungary and comes amid rising tensions over trade with the European Union and concerns over Beijing’s support of Russia.  Some analysts say that while Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict are likely to come up during the trip, Xi will be looking first to address trade tensions during the trip and to double down on Beijing’s close relationship with Budapest and Belgrade.  “In light of Europe’s growing appetite to investigate what they view as China’s unfair trade practices, [Xi’s European tour] is a trip to disrupt the EU’s efforts to adopt tougher trade measures against China,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an expert on EU-China relations at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan. And by making stops in Serbia and Hungary, Ferenczy said Xi hopes to show that China remains influential in Central and Eastern Europe despite the growing number of countries withdrawing from the Beijing-led initiative known as “Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe.”  “For Beijing, the symbolism of the trip to Serbia and Hungary is important as the stop in Budapest serves as an opportunity to amplify divisions within the EU,” she told VOA by phone.  Investigations piling up Since last month, the EU has launched investigations against several Chinese products, including green energy products and security devices, and initiated a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices.  The EU also increased scrutiny over several Chinese companies over the last week, toughening safety rules against Chinese fashion retailer Shein and opening formal proceedings against Tiktok under its Digital Services Act.   Beijing has repeatedly characterized Western countries concerns about Chinese excess capacity in some sectors as “baseless hype” and urged the EU to “stop wantonly going after and restraining Chinese companies under various pretexts.”  Rebalancing trade Despite Beijing’s objection to concerns expressed by Brussels, France has reiterated the need for European countries to rebalance trade relations with China during recent bilateral meetings between Chinese and French officials.  “The European Union is a very open market, the most open in the world. But the current deficits with a certain number of countries, including China, are not sustainable for us,” said French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne during his trip to China last month. During a phone call with French President's Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne on April 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hopes “the French side will push the EU to continue to pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China,” Wang said. While France supports the EU’s efforts to rebalance trade relations with China, some experts say French President Emmanuel Macron will try to maintain a cooperative relationship with China.  “France wants to demonstrate that it is one of the major countries that can maintain channels of communication at all levels with China,” Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in Brussels, told VOA by phone. On April 25, Chinese and French armed forces agreed to establish a mechanism for maritime and aerial cooperation and dialogue, which Beijing characterized as “a vital step” to implement the consensus reached by Xi and Macron.  While trade issues will likely dominate Xi’s meeting with Macron, some analysts say the French president will try to address the issue of China’s ongoing support for Russia.  “Macron will try to convince Xi to agree [to reduce] China’s support to Russia, but in Europe, hopes that Sino-Russian collaboration will diminish are fading away,” Philippe Le Corre, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, told VOA in a written response.  Friend-shoring in Serbia and Hungary  In Hungary and Serbia, Ferenczy said Xi will focus on deepening bilateral cooperation in different sectors, especially infrastructure projects, and Beijing’s role as “a strategic investor” in both countries.  “We need to see his trip to Hungary and Serbia in the context of the Belt and Road initiative since Beijing is trying to revitalize the infrastructure project in Europe,” she told VOA, adding that the Belgrade-Budapest Railway will be an important part of China’s attempt to expand its flagship infrastructure project in Central and Eastern Europe.  In recent months, the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tried to attract large amounts of Chinese investment – especially in the electric vehicle sector – while deepening security cooperation with Beijing.    During an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CGTN last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed his opposition to the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese EVs and said he “looks forward to the potential impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Hungary's electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry.”  Havren in Brussels said since Hungary is a member of the EU, the relationship with Budapest is particularly important to China. “Hungary could impact possible sanctions or anything that is of importance to Beijing in the EU,” she told VOA.  While the trip is unlikely to change the current dynamics between the EU and China, Havren said Xi will try to use China’s relationship with middle powers like France and its “iron-clad friendship” with countries like Hungary to make itself “more visible and relevant” in Europe.  

Here’s a look at how the tradition of calling states that usually favor Republicans “red” and Democrats “blue” came about.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

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Athens — Nearly six years after wildfires killed more than 100 people at a Greek resort, an Athens court on Monday convicted six people of involuntary manslaughter and criminal negligence.  None of the politicians among the 21 people prosecuted were convicted, however, sparking fury among relatives of the victims present in court, media reports said.  Six people — including the then head of the fire service — received suspended jail sentences of up to 111 years each for their role in the response to the inferno that tore through Mati on July 23, 2018.  They were permitted by the court to reduce their sentences with a payment of up to $43,000 each.  The governor of the region of Attica and the mayors of districts in and around the seaside community of Mati, northeast of the capital, were all let off.  Reacting in court, relatives of the dead shouted: "Your court is an insult to the dead, the living and the truth," "There is no justice" and "You have no shame," state TV broadcaster ERT reported. Others wept.  "The reaction is reasonable," minister of state Makis Voridis told Skai TV.  "This kind of a sentence is not commensurate with this kind of tragedy," he said.    Wildfires that broke out around Mati spread so fiercely that people burned to death in their cars because traffic jams prevented them from fleeing.  Others drowned when they waded into the sea to escape the flames.  Many people who went into the sea had to wait for several hours for help to arrive.  Local fishermen were first to help ahead of the coast guard and navy.  "We are lucky to be alive," one of the survivors told reporters at court.  In total, 104 people died and dozens were injured.  The blaze destroyed an estimated 1,260 hectares (3,100 acres), the Athens Observatory said at the time.  The then government of left-wing prime minister Alexis Tsipras said that with winds blowing at up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour, there had been little time for officials to mount an effective evacuation.  Police and the fire brigade gave different accounts. Witnesses said at the time that residents had not been warned of the imminent danger.  Instead of being diverted away from the fires, many motorists were accidentally directed towards the flames and became trapped in Mati's narrow streets.  Prosecutors lodged criminal negligence suits against 21 officials from the fire service, port police and civil protection, as well as against local authorities.  Four senior officials, including then police minister Nikos Toskas and several police chiefs, resigned and fire fighters were forced to quit or move to jobs in other areas.  Experts have said that poor urban planning, including a lack of proper access routes and the construction of too many buildings next to combustible forest areas, contributed to the disaster.  The conservative government that succeeded Tsipras's administration pledged to introduce systematic evacuation plans as soon as wildfires approach populated areas. 

Madrid — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday ended days of speculation about his future by saying he will continue in office “with even more strength."   Sánchez shocked his country last Wednesday by taking five days off to think about his future, following the decision by a court to open preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations.  “I have decided to continue on with even more strength at the helm of the government of Spain,” he said in a televised speech after informing King Felipe VI of the decision earlier Monday.  His resignation would have deprived Europe of its longest-serving Socialist prime minister currently in charge of a major European Union country right before European elections in June.  “It is a decision that does not mean a return to the status quo, this will mark a before and after, I promise you that," Sánchez said, without detailing what steps he could take to curtail “the smear campaign” he says he and his family is facing.  The eurozone's fourth-largest economy had been in suspense since Sánchez, prime minister since 2018, posted an emotional letter on X on Wednesday before he holed up in his Moncloa Palace, the prime minister's residence in Madrid. In it he said the moves against wife were too personal an attack on his family and he needed time to decide on his priorities.  In that letter, where he declared himself “deeply in love” with wife Begoña Gómez, he said that he could no longer just stand aside and watch her being targeted by a legal probe brought by allegations by a right-wing platform that accused her of using her position to influence business deals.  The group, Manos Limpias, or “Clean Hands,” acknowledged that the complaint was based on newspaper articles. Spanish prosecutors say it should be thrown out.  The expectation Monday was such that Spain’s state broadcaster had put up a 10-minute countdown clock before his announcement on the screen during their morning news talk show.  Speaking from the steps of Moncloa Palace, Sánchez said that he and his wife “know that this campaign to discredit them won’t stop” but that he has decided that he couldn’t give his adversaries the satisfaction of giving up.  Rallies by his supporters over the past few days played a part in his decision, he said.   Essentially Sánchez had four options: resign, seek a parliamentary vote of confidence, call a new election or remain in office.  Any one of them could upset key legislative plans as well as a crucial election in the Catalonia region in May and the European Parliament election in June.  Sánchez said that the letter, the unprecedented hiatus that has been criticized, and his final decision to stay on “was not done out of a political calculus.”  “I am aware that I have shown a degree of personal intimacy that is not normally permitted in politics," he added.  Whether it was genuinely motivated by concerns for his family or not, it will have a political impact.  “He gifted himself a free campaign rally for five full days. Those who were with him will now be with him to the death,” Montserrat Nebrera, political analyst and professor of constitutional law at the International University of Catalonia, told The Associated Press.  “It looks like a campaign move to boost the polarization of the electorate between those who are with him and those who are against him," she said. "It is designed to have an impact in the Catalan elections and even more so in the European elections, which were not looking great for the Socialists.”  Sánchez, 52, was able to form a new minority leftist coalition government in November to start another four-year term thanks to the exceedingly fragile support of a handful of small regional parties. While popular internationally, he is loved or despised in Spain.  Sánchez blamed the investigation against his wife on online news sites politically aligned with the leading opposition conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox party that spread what he called “spurious” allegations.  His supporters say this should be a wake-up call to react against baseless attacks that Sánchez says are poisoning Spanish politics.  The Popular Party, however, said Sánchez’s behavior was frivolous, adolescent and unbecoming of a leader. The Popular Party and the far-right Vox party have been attacking Sánchez relentlessly for years, regularly comparing him to a dictator and a traitor to Spain for doing deals with separatist parties that support him in Parliament.   “We live in a society that teaches us and demands us to to keep going at full throttle no matter what," Sánchez said during his short speech. "But sometimes in life the only way to move forward is to stop and reflect and decide with clarity what path we want to take.”     

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan said Monday that militants had “unconditionally” released a senior judge who had been held hostage for two days in a volatile northwestern region. Judge Shakirullah Marwat was kidnapped, along with his driver, on Saturday from a road near the militancy-hit district of Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. Mohammad Ali Saif, a provincial information advisor, confirmed to VOA the judge’s safe recovery, but he would not share further details. Marwat was traveling to Dera Ismail Khan when dozens of armed men ambushed his vehicle. The driver, who was briefly held captive, conveyed the kidnappers' demands to Pakistani authorities for the release of their imprisoned relatives and militant partners in exchange for the judge's freedom. On Sunday, militants sent a video to journalists in which Marwat had stated that he was taken hostage by the Pakistani Taliban. He had also pleaded with the provincial and federal governments and the country’s chief justice to urgently meet militants’ demands to secure his recovery. While police claimed the judge was “rescued” in a security operation, highly placed official sources told VOA that local tribal elders had helped secure the release of the hostage through negotiations with his captors. It was unclear immediately whether any prisoner exchange or ransom was involved. Separately on Monday, a Pakistan military statement said that it carried out a pre-dawn “intelligence-based” operation against a suspected militant hideout in a district adjoining Dera Ismail Khan and killed “four terrorists.” Pakistan’s border areas have lately experienced a dramatic surge in deadly attacks against security forces by militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban. Last week, eight Pakistani customs officials tasked to counter weapons smuggling were also killed by suspected TTP militants in separate attacks in Dera Ismail Khan. Pakistan says TTP is orchestrating the violence from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces in recent months. The neighboring country’s fundamentalist Taliban authorities reject the charges, saying no foreign militant groups are based on Afghan soil.

Top US diplomat is in Middle East for talks on Gaza, regional security

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SYDNEY — Solomon Islands incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he would not be a candidate when lawmakers vote next week for a new prime minister, and his political party would instead back former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele. The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with Sogavare's party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner. Last week's election was the first since Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, inviting Chinese police into the Pacific Islands archipelago and drawing the nation closer to Beijing. The election is being watched by China, the U.S. and neighboring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security. Sogavare announced he would not be a candidate for prime minister at a televised press conference on Monday evening. Sogavare said his government had been "under pressure from the United States and western allies" and he had been "accused of many things." "Geopolitics is at play, after we made a very important decision in 2019," he said, referring to his government's decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing. Manele said that if he was elected as prime minister he would have the "same foreign policy basis - friends to all and enemies to none." Election results on Wednesday showed Sogavare's OUR party won 15 of the 50 seats in parliament, while the opposition CARE coalition has 20. Independents and micro parties won 15 seats, and courting the independents will be the key to reaching the 26 seats needed to form a government. Sogavare said on Monday his party had support for 28 seats. Lawmakers are expected to vote on May 8.

Lome, Togo — Togolese began voting in legislative elections on Monday after a divisive constitutional reform that opponents say allows President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his family's decades-long grip on power. The ballot comes after lawmakers this month approved the reform creating a new prime minister-style post opponents believe is tailored for Gnassingbe to avoid presidential term limits and stay in office. In power for nearly 20 years, Gnassingbe succeeded his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled for almost four decades himself following a coup in the small coastal West African state wedged between Benin and Ghana. "This is the first time I am voting, because I lived in a neighboring country before. I came out early to avoid crowds," said Koffi Ohini, a farm technician, 24, who cast his ballot in the capital Lome. "I want to vote because these elections are important." Early turnout at polling stations in the capital was scattered but the streets were calm. Monday's vote will elect 113 lawmakers and 179 regional deputies from the country's five districts who, along with municipal councilors, will elect a newly created senate. For Gnassingbe's ruling UNIR party this makes Togo more representative, but opposition parties have mobilized supporters to vote against what they say is an "institutional coup." Gnassingbe, 57, has already won four elections, all contested by the opposition as flawed. He would have only been able to run one more time as president in 2025 under the previous constitution. With a population of nearly 9 million, Togo's economy is mainly agrarian, though Lome has one of the busiest deep seaports in West Africa, helping the country weather the fallout of the Ukraine war and the pandemic. The government has focused on developing infrastructure and expanding access to electricity, but poverty levels are still around 40 percent, according to the World Bank. Like its Gulf of Guinea neighbors, Togo also faces a growing risk of spillover from jihadist conflicts to its north in the Sahel. Officials reported 30 deaths from "terrorist" incidents in the country's north last year. New post, new power According to the new constitution adopted by lawmakers on April 19, Togo's president becomes a mostly ceremonial role elected by parliament, and not the people, for a four-year term. Togo's shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system means power now resides with the new president of the council of ministers, a sort of super-prime minister, who automatically will be the leader of the majority party in the new assembly. Gnassingbe's Union for the Republic, or UNIR party, already dominates parliament. If the ruling party wins on Monday, Gnassingbe can assume that new post. Results from the ballot are expected to be released within six days.  Regional West African body ECOWAS said it would send a team of observers to Togo for the vote. The run up to the election has seen a tightening of controls. Opposition attempts to organize protests of the reforms were blocked by authorities. Togo's Electoral Commission refused to allow the Togolese Bishops' Conference to deploy election observers across the country, according to a document seen by AFP. Togo's High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) also temporarily suspended all accreditation for the foreign press to cover the elections. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.