Month: January 2022

For the next six months, France will be running the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, giving President Emmanuel Macron a key role in shaping the future of the bloc in a year that looks set to be yet another highly turbulent and fractious one for the EU.   Macron takes the helm of the EU as French presidential elections loom, and some critics are already accusing him of weaponizing France’s six-month stint presiding over the council to try to boost his reelection hopes.   Other European leaders are bracing themselves for Macron to be hyperactive as he …

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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to create what he described as “a pious generation” of young Turkish nationalists that would be loyal to traditional Islamic values. But political analysts say winning the votes of young people could be his biggest challenge ahead of elections in 2023. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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As the world continues to struggle with the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and the still-lingering delta variant, scientists in France said they have discovered a new variant that contains multiple mutations. Experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille say they discovered the new variant back in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon.  The French scientists said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious …

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting of allied ambassadors and top Russian officials for next week as both sides seek dialog to prevent open conflict over Ukraine, a NATO official said on Tuesday.  Worried about Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s border, the Western military alliance has been seeking a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months but the forum seemed in jeopardy after an espionage dispute in October.  The meeting of the council, a format used for dialog since 2002, will take place in Brussels on Jan. 12 after U.S. and Russian officials hold security talks on …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with eastern NATO allies Monday about Russia’s military buildup along Ukraine’s border, calling for a “united” NATO stance. In a phone call Monday with his counterparts in nine eastern NATO countries, known as the Bucharest Nine, Blinken said the United States was committed to “close consultation and coordination with all of our Transatlantic Allies and partners as we work toward de-escalation through deterrence, defense and dialogue,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.  Blinken called for “a united, ready and resolute NATO stance for the collective defense of Allies” according to Price. In …

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Five world powers have agreed to work together to stop the further spread of nuclear arms and to avoid nuclear conflict, according to a joint statement. “We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented,” said the five permanent U.N. Security Council members China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, collectively known as the P5. “We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the countries added. The statement Monday from the P5 countries comes as tensions escalate between Western nations and Moscow over Russia’s troop buildup at its border …

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who is seeking reelection. The right-wing prime minister is often at odds with other Western leaders.    Orban, in power since 2010, is preparing for parliamentary elections in April or May, with his ruling Fidesz party facing six opposition parties.    Trump said in a statement that Orban “truly loves his country and wants safety for his people. He has done a powerful and wonderful job in protecting Hungary, stopping illegal immigration, creating jobs, trade, and should be allowed to continue to do so in the upcoming election.”    …

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The websites of one of Portugal’s biggest newspapers and of a major broadcaster, both owned by the country’s largest media conglomerate Impresa, were down on Monday after being hit by a hacker attack over the weekend. Expresso newspaper and SIC TV station both said they reported the incident to the criminal investigation police agency PJ and the National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) and would file a complaint. The alleged hackers, calling themselves Lapsus$ Group, published a message on the websites saying internal data would be leaked if the media group failed to pay a ransom. The message included email and Telegram …

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to reset relations with Moscow and is planning a face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin later this month. Senior German officials were already scheduled to get together with Russian counterparts in January in a bid to ease geopolitical tensions amid rising alarm that the Kremlin is planning a further military incursion into Ukraine. According to a report Monday by Germany’s Bild newspaper, foreign policy adviser Jens Plotner has been discussing with the Kremlin a meeting between the German leader and Putin for more than two weeks. The paper, which has a reputation of breaking …

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The German operator of a cruise ship that has been stuck in Lisbon’s port due to an outbreak of the coronavirus among its crew pulled the plug on the voyage on Sunday after some passengers tested positive, port authorities said. The AIDAnova, with 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew on board, docked in Lisbon on Dec. 29 while en route to the island of Madeira for New Year’s Eve celebrations but was unable to continue the journey after 52 cases of COVID-19 were detected among the fully vaccinated crew. It had been allowed to leave port and head to the Spanish …

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U.S. President Joe Biden was planning to talk Sunday with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss ways to defuse tensions over Russia’s massive troop buildup along Ukraine’s eastern flank. Biden has made little progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin to get him to withdraw about 100,000 troops stationed along Russia’s border with the former Soviet republic, although U.S. officials do not believe Putin has decided whether to invade Ukraine. The U.S. and Russian leaders held a 50-minute phone call last Thursday, with Biden again warning Putin that the United States and its Western allies would impose significant economic sanctions against …

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