Rob Schmitz

Germany is scrambling to build infrastructure to replace its dependence on Russian gas. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports that time is not on its side.

This summer, one can travel in Germany on public transportation for less than $10 a month. It's part of a government package to tackle the soaring cost of living by using more public transportation.

Leaders of the seven wealthiest democracies began three days of talks Sunday in Germany's Bavarian Alps — as Russia fired a barrage of missiles at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

President Biden is headed to Germany for a meeting of the G7 with leaders of the wealthiest countries. At the top of their agenda is the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth month.

President Biden will be in Europe for a G-7 meeting in Germany, before he heads to a NATO summit. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Berlin on Friday to join a UN conference on food security.

European Union leaders will meet Thursday in Brussels where they are expected to approve Ukraine as a candidate to join the EU — a process that is neither quick nor easy.

Lithuana has warned its neighbors for years about the dangers posed by Russia. The country is once again calling for the international community to do more to stop Russia.

The European Union embargo covers only Russian oil brought in by sea — allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline.

Pipeline deliveries, which are critical to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, won't be affected by the ban. The much more complicated issue of Russian natural gas remains unresolved.

As Russia's war in Ukraine enters its fourth month, European countries are scrambling to wean themselves off of Russian gas. The Baltic nation of Lithuania has become the first to do so.

The announcement was widely expected and has broad support in the country: A recent poll showed that about three-quarters of all Finns support joining the military alliance.

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, here's a look at abortion rights and access around the world.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned peace is impossible under Russian dictatorship, saying "freedom and security will win the day, just as freedom and security triumphed over oppression, ... 77 years ago."

The European Union says it intends to phase out Russian oil in the next few months. This was part of a package of new sanctions the EU announced Wednesday against Russia for its war in Ukraine.

For nine years, I lived in a giant apartment complex called the Summit with hundreds of other people in the city of Shanghai. Now my old neighbors are entering week six stuck inside.

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with Hanna Bergholm, the director of the new horror movie 'Hatching,' in which a girl finds a mysterious egg in the woods and nurtures it until it hatches.

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with writer David de Jong about his new book that explores the relationship between Nazism and some of Germany's wealthiest families.

Slovenia voted last weekend to oust Janez Jansa as their Prime Minister. NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Europe on how that election reflects on European politics.

NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with two residents of a housing complex in Shanghai about how they have experienced the city's lockdown — which is approaching its sixth week.

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with David Whelan about his feelings about the release of Trevor Reese, while his brother Paul remains in a Russian prison on espionage charges.