Month: February 2017

A new UNICEF report says thousands of women and children who risk the dangerous central Mediterranean Sea crossing from North Africa to Italy to escape war and poverty are subject to violence, sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse. A survey conducted late last year on conditions in Libya reveals what UNICEF describes as appalling levels of abuse along the migration route. At the time, 256,000 migrants were recorded in Libya, including more than 30,800 women and more than 23,000 children. The report notes that thousands of incarcerated women and children have been beaten, raped and starved in “living hellholes.” …

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Two explosions occurred at a military facility in central Serbia Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring 25 others, Serbia’s Defense Ministry said. Three people are missing.   The statement said the blasts took place at an ammunition depot in Kragujevac, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Belgrade, which stores mines and other ammunition.   Local media said a roof caved in, possibly trapping some people inside. Firefighting teams were at the scene.   Local hospital officials said most of the victims suffered severe burns.     …

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Italy said on Tuesday it had dismissed the head of its visa office in Erbil, Iraq, following reports that visas were sold for thousands of euros, some to people rejected by other countries as security risks. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an investigation of its consulate in the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region had found “irregularities”. The information was sent to Italian magistrates for further investigation, it said. Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Tuesday that Kurds and Syrian refugees had been forced to pay up to 10,000 euros ($10,600) for a visa instead of the standard …

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European Union lawmakers will decide on Tuesday whether to lift the EU parliament immunity of France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen for tweeting pictures of Islamic State violence, an EU official said. Le Pen is under investigation in France for three graphic images of IS executions she posted on Twitter in 2015, including the beheading of the United States journalist James Foley, the EU official told Reuters. Responding to a request from the French judiciary, the EU lawmakers will consider whether her posts were appropriate to the role of a European deputy, the official said. A decision was expected …

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Tens of thousands of London private hire drivers could lose their licenses due to new English reading and writing requirements, taxi app Uber said on Tuesday at the start of a court battle to halt the plans. San Francisco-based Uber, which allows users to book journeys at the touch of a button on their smartphone, has grown rapidly in recent years but faced bans and protests around the world as regulators play catch-up with technology disrupting traditional operators. Uber launched legal action in August after public body Transport for London (TfL) said that drivers should have to prove their ability …

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European Union member states on Monday agreed to grant Georgian citizens visa-free travel within the 26 countries of Europe’s Schengen Area. Visa liberalization for the central Caucasus nation enables biometric passport holders to travel throughout the European bloc for 90 days within any 180-day period. Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, issued a congratulatory statement alongside Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Tblisi. Georgians “must be very proud of this great achievement, which is the result of the common efforts of the Georgian people and the Georgian authorities,” said Avramopoulos, calling final adoption of the policy …

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European Union chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker will propose to national leaders next month a handful of options for shoring up unity once Britain launches a withdrawal that some fear could trigger a further unraveling of the bloc. The European Commission president wants some states to be able to deepen cooperation further and faster without the whole bloc having to follow suit, but this idea has raised concerns, especially among poorer eastern countries, that their richer neighbors may use Brexit to cut EU subsidies to them. Juncker has said he will argue for what is commonly called a “multi-speed Europe” in …

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Several thousand people protested in Skopje against an agreement that would ensure the wider use of the Albanian language in the  ethnically divided state. Last Thursday, the leader of the Social Democrats, Zoran Zaev, said he expected to be able to form a government in March after he had secured support from ethnic Albanian parties in the 120-seat parliament. Those parties had made their support for any potential coalition conditional on the passage of a law backing broader use of their language in Macedonia. But on Monday, a movement that called itself “For Joint Macedonia” called on social media for …

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The second anniversary of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s murder was marked Monday in Moscow.   U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft read a message on the bridge where Nemtsov was assassinated, just meters from the Kremlin. “We are here today to honor his memory, the values for which he stood, and to express our hope for the future, ” Tefft said. “We call once more on the Russian government to ensure that those responsible for Boris Nemtsov’s killing are brought to justice.”  An estimated 15,000 supporters marched in the Russian capital Sunday in Nemtsov’s memory, shouting slogans and carrying signs …

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Independent candidate Emmanuel Macron’s campaign for the French presidency is gathering momentum, according to two polls published on Monday that showed him closing the gap with far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the first round of voting. Until now polls have given Le Pen a clear lead in the first round on April 23 but have shown her losing the decisive second round on May 7 to either Macron or the other main challenger, center-right candidate Francois Fillon. Macron gains ground In an Ifop-Fiducial poll for Paris Match published on Monday, Macron, a 39-year-old former banker, is now seen gathering …

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