Month: May 2021

Johnson, Merkel Urge Economic Powers to Pledge Toward Climate Change

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the world’s economic powers Thursday not to shy away from serious investments in combating climate change.   Merkel hosted the 2021 Petersburg Climate Dialogue, an online conference designed to drive international action on global warming and encourage nations and their leaders to focus on the U.N. Climate Change Conference later this year in Glasgow, Scotland.   In her comments, Merkel said she realized the COVID-19 pandemic has “torn insane budget holes” for the world’s industrialized countries. But she said they should not compensate for that by spending less on …

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Facebook Removes Ukraine Political ‘Influence for Hire’ Network

Facebook has taken down a network of hundreds of fake accounts and pages targeting people in Ukraine and linked to individuals previously sanctioned by the United States for efforts to interfere in U.S. elections, the company said Thursday.Facebook said the network managed a long-running deceptive campaign across multiple social media platforms and other websites, posing as independent news outlets and promoting favorable content about Ukrainian politicians, including activity that was likely for hire. The company said it started its probe after a tip from the FBI.Facebook attributed the activity to individuals and entities sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, including …

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Brexit Brinkmanship: Britain Deploys Warships as French Fishing Dispute Escalates

Britain has sent two warships to the English Channel in an escalating dispute with France over fishing rights. French fishermen say they are being prevented from accessing the waters around the British island of Jersey. Around two dozen French trawlers sailed to the island to protest Thursday, setting off flares and displaying banners demanding access to Jersey waters. One French vessel briefly entered the main harbor on the island. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can A French fishing vessel blocks the port of St Helier in Jersey, May 6, 2021.Talks between the fishermen and Jersey …

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Refugee and Migrant Deaths Growing in Central Mediterranean 

U.N. agencies are reporting a sharp rise in deaths across the Central Mediterranean among refugees and migrants fleeing conflict, persecution and economic hardship in their home countries.   So far this year, say U.N. agencies, at least 500 people have lost their lives at sea trying to reach Europe via the dangerous Central Mediterranean route.   This is compared to 150 sea fatalities in the same period last year.   An estimated 130 people died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast last month.  A report by the International Organization for Migration blamed their deaths on the failure of maritime rescue vessels to …

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Blinken Urges Russia to ‘Cease Reckless and Aggressive Actions’ Toward Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that while Russia has withdrawn some forces from the Ukrainian border region, “significant forces” and equipment remain there and the United States wants Russia to “cease reckless and aggressive actions.”   Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Blinken said Russia still “has the capacity on fairly short notice to take aggressive action if it so chooses.”   “I admire the restraint Ukraine has shown in the face of those provocative actions,” Blinken said.   Late last month, senior U.S. and European Union officials said roughly 150,000 Russian troops had massed …

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У День піхоти міністр оборони розповів про плани на нове озброєння для піхотинців

Міністр оборони Андрій Таран повідомив, що невдовзі українські піхотинці будуть забезпечені новими додатковими видами озброєння. Про це він сказав з нагоди Дня піхоти 6 травня. «Уже зараз більшість піхотинців мають в своєму розпорядженні прилади нічного бачення і нічні приціли. В їхніх інтересах розвідують обстановку безпілотники, а на озброєнні – новітні снайперські гвинтівки UAR-008 і UAR-10. Для посилення піхоти вже скоро планується прийняти на озброєння 7,62 мм патрони, тривають державні випробування вітчизняного 30-мм гранатометного пострілу ВОГ-17В та ВОГ-17ІН, а також приладу нічного спостереження перископічного. Наприкінці минулого року прийнято на озброєння 14,5-мм снайперську гвинтівку Alligator», – зазначив Андрій Таран. За його словами, нині тривають відомчі випробування бойової машини піхоти з новим бойовим модулем та вдосконаленою системою керування …

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Rome Jury Convicts 2 US Youths in Slaying of Police Officer

A jury in Rome on Wednesday convicted two American friends in the 2019 slaying of a police officer in a tragic unraveling of a small-time drug deal gone bad, sentencing them to life in prison. The jury deliberated more than 12 hours before delivering the verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, handing them Italy’s stiffest sentence. Elder and Natale-Hjorth were indicted on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause. They were found guilty of all counts.  The slain officer’s widow, who held a photo of her dead husband while waiting …

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Blinken Visits Ukraine Amid Tensions with Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Ukraine for meetings Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “This will be an important opportunity to discuss continued Russian aggression and to underscore the need for maintaining both the pace of and focus on reforms with our Ukrainian partners,” Blinken tweeted after arriving in Kyiv. Late last month, senior U.S. and European Union officials said roughly 150,000 Russian troops massed along the border of Ukraine and in Crimea.  Blinken is expected to restate that the United States will not recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, and to call for its return to Ukraine.  He will also call on Russia to uphold its commitments under the …

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