Month: September 2024

Євросоюз

Ukrainian, Hungarian FMs have ‘frank’ discussion

Budapest — Ukraine’s new foreign minister held a “frank” conversation with his Hungarian counterpart on “difficult issues” on Monday, against a backdrop of a frosty relationship between the neighboring countries. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been the only EU leader to maintain close ties with the Kremlin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has repeatedly stalled efforts to punish Moscow and to aid war-torn Ukraine in its fight against the invading forces. Budapest refuses to approve the release of more than $7.25 billion to Kyiv, complaining about discriminatory measures against Hungarian companies. “We had a very frank …

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Євросоюз

Austria’s rightward shift puts immigration in crosshairs

VIENNA — Picknicking with friends in the park after prayers at a Vienna mosque, Saima Arab, a 20-year-old pedicurist originally from Afghanistan, is thankful for her freedoms in Austria. “We could never do this in Afghanistan, never cook, go out, just sit in public like this,” said Arab, who came to Austria in 2017. “Home is like a prison there.” Many Austrians, however, are worried about their country’s ability to integrate migrants, especially Muslims, and their desire for stricter immigration laws was a key issue in Sunday’s election which gave victory to the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) for the first time. …

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Євросоюз

Russian PM to meet with Iranian president in Tehran

Moscow — Russia announced Sunday that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Monday. The announcement came as Russia has condemned Israel’s “political murder” of Iran-backed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Mishustin will hold talks with Pezeshkian and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, the government statement said. “It is planned to discuss the full range of Russian-Iranian cooperation in the trade and economic and cultural and humanitarian spheres,” Russia said.   The talks will focus on “carrying out large joint projects in fields involving transport energy, industry and agriculture,” the statement added.   …

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Євросоюз

Norway mulls building a fence on Russian border, following Finland’s example

HELSINKI — Norway may put a fence along part or all the 198-kilometer (123-mile) border it shares with Russia, a minister said, a move inspired by a similar project in its Nordic neighbor Finland. “A border fence is very interesting, not only because it can act as a deterrent but also because it contains sensors and technology that allow you to detect if people are moving close to the border,” Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said in an interview with the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK published late Saturday. She said the Norwegian government is currently looking at “several measures” to beef …

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Євросоюз

Thousands protest ‘uncontrolled immigration’ to Portugal

Lisbon — Thousands of protesters waving Portuguese flags and roaring the national anthem rallied in Lisbon on Sunday to express their anger at “illegal” and “uncontrolled” immigration. The demonstrators marched behind banners demanding the “end of mass immigration” and the expulsion of immigrants guilty of crimes, at the protest called by the far-right Chega party, the country’s third-largest political force. Immigration is “very good” but “rules are needed,” said Cecilia Guimaraes, a 66-year-old teacher whose parents emigrated to Canada.  “We emigrated legally. That’s how it should happen in a developed country,” she told AFP, complaining of a rise in insecurity she …

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