Month: March 2019

Dutch prosecutors on Tuesday said they were investigating a possible “terrorist motive” behind the shooting on a tram in the city of Utrecht in which three people were killed and five wounded. A Turkish-born man, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, was arrested after a seven-hour manhunt on Monday by security forces and remained in custody. Two other men were arrested on Monday and released after being cleared of involvement. A fourth suspect was arrested on Tuesday. “His role is being further investigated,” prosecutors said in a statement. They described Tanis as the chief suspect. “Up to this point, a terrorist motive is …

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High-level U.S.-Russian talks on how to defuse Venezuela’s crisis ended on Tuesday with the two sides still at odds over the legitimacy of President Nicolas Maduro. Russia has said Maduro remains the country’s only legitimate leader whereas the United States and many other Western countries back Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly who invoked a constitutional provision in January to assume an interim presidency. “No, we did not come to a meeting of minds, but I think the talks were positive in the sense that both sides emerged with a better understanding of the other’s views,” U.S. special …

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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says President Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea, which occurred five years ago this week, has come at a significant financial cost to Russian citizens and a large political cost to the president himself. “Putin, in order to strengthen his personal power, sacrificed the interests of a huge number of people,” Navalny recently told VOA’s Russian Service, citing data from Russia’s Economic Development Ministry that show real disposable incomes sliding for the sixth year in a row. Russia invaded Crimea and annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, following street protests in Kyiv …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to ask the European Union to delay Britain’s exit from the bloc by at least several months to ensure an orderly divorce. May is seeking a delay after her plan to have another vote this week on her proposed separation agreement was thrown into disarray by the speaker of parliament.  John Bercow ruled that May cannot keep asking lawmakers to vote on a proposal they have already rejected twice. The prime minister had hoped to win more support and hold another parliamentary vote on the proposed Brexit deal this week before a crucial …

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EU member states should be empowered to scrutinize each other’s democratic track record, Germany and Belgium said Tuesday, in an attempt to beef up the bloc’s defenses against nationalist, populist governments flouting its key principles. The proposal, made at a meeting of EU ministers, coincides with high-profile EU investigations against Poland and Hungary for undermining the independence of their courts and media, while Romania is accused of rolling back on anti-graft reforms. Germany and Belgium say their proposal would create space for member states to flag rule-of-law concerns early on rather than wait — as at present — for problems …

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NATO is to receive the first of five Northrop Grumman high-altitude drones in the third quarter after years of delays, giving the alliance its own spy drones for the first time, the German government told lawmakers. Thomas Silberhorn, state secretary in the German Defense Ministry, said the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) drone would be delivered to an air base in Sigonella, Italy, followed by four additional systems, including drones and ground stations built by Airbus, later in the year. NATO plans to use the aircraft, a derivative of Northrop’s Global Hawk drone, to carry out missions ranging from protection …

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Spain this month marked the 15th anniversary of the 2004 train bombings that killed 193 people with calls to reopen investigations into the deadliest terrorist attack in the kingdom’s history, amid allegations the government covered up links between jihadist bombers and the Basque separatist group, ETA. Spain’s highest jurisdictional court, the Audencia Nacional, announced last week it is instructing the attorney general to review classified information on the bombings and consider new evidence. Officials with the attorney general’s office have said they are forming a task force with about 200 law enforcement officers to handle the extensive analysis and security …

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Spanish far-right party Vox has signed up three former generals to run for parliament in next month’s general election, two of whom expressed support for the legacy of former right-wing dictator Francisco Franco by signing a petition last year.    The inclusion of openly pro-Franco candidates with senior military backgrounds underscores the ground that Vox has broken in a country that had largely shied away from far-right, militaristic politics since Franco’s rule ended with his death in 1975.    Former Gens. Agustin Rosety and Alberto Asarta will run as parliamentary candidates for the provinces of Cadiz and Castellon, Vox said. Another former general, Manuel …

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Canada will keep a 200-strong military training mission in Ukraine for another three years to help domestic security forces handle continuing tensions with Russia, Ottawa said on Monday. The Canadian troops, who first went to Ukraine in September 2015, had been due out at the end of March but will now stay until March 2022. News of the extension was first reported by Reuters on Sunday. “Ongoing insecurity in the region underscores the importance and relevance of Canada’s military mission,” the government said in a statement. The Canadian training “directly helps Ukraine’s defense and security forces to uphold domestic security …

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