Category: Євросоюз

Finland entered into a defense cooperation agreement with the United States on Monday, allowing the U.S. military access to Finnish national security facilities. In the past month, Finland closed its border with Russia, accusing the Kremlin of sending migrants in an act of “hybrid warfare.” Eastern Europe chief Myroslava Gongadze visited the Finnish-Russian border and has this story. (Camera and Produced by: Daniil Batushchak) …

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Seoul — South Korea’s Hyundai Motor plans to sell its plant in Russia for a nominal $77.67, a company official said on Tuesday, making it the latest global automaker to sell Russian assets since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Hyundai Motor, in a regulatory filing, said it would take a $219.19 million loss on selling the plant, in which operations have been suspended since March 2022. The company said it was seeking to transfer its assets in the plant in St. Petersburg to Russia’s Art-Finance and include a buyback option, adding that it plans to complete the deal by …

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BERLIN — The Berlin Zoo has sent the first giant pandas born in Germany to China, dispatching the 4-year-olds on a journey that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pit and Paule, who also are known by the Chinese names Meng Xiang und Meng Yuan, departed from Berlin on Saturday aboard an Air China cargo jet and have now arrived at their new home, the Chengdu Panda Base, the zoo said Monday. “Pit and Paule coped well with the flight,” said Andreas Pauly, the zoo’s head of animal health, who accompanied the panda brothers to China. “When the bamboo is right, …

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UNITED NATIONS — The Western powers in the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran accused Tehran on Monday of developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level for a country without a nuclear weapons program — all in violation of a U.N. resolution endorsing the deal. Iran and its ally, Russia, dismissed the charges by Britain, France and Germany, strongly supported by the United States, which pulled out of the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. The six-party agreement was aimed at ensuring that Iran could …

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STOCKHOLM — A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defense to be on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky at 10:17 p.m. local time. As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill. “The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per …

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BRUSSELS — The European Union said Monday that it has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine, targeting the lucrative diamonds industry, more than 140 officials and organizations, and closing loopholes that Moscow has used to bypass previous punitive measures.  It’s the 12th round of sanctions and restrictions that the EU has slapped on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine almost two years ago. The measures have targeted the energy sector, banks, companies and markets, and made over 1,000 Russian officials subject to asset freezes and travel bans.  EU headquarters said the latest measures …

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BEIRUT — France’s foreign minister urged Lebanese leaders on Monday to work on reducing tensions along the border with Israel, warning that the Israel-Hamas war could still spread to other parts of the region.  Catherine Colonna’s visit to Lebanon came a day after she visited Israel, where she called for an “immediate truce” aimed at releasing more hostages, getting larger amounts of aid into Gaza and moving toward “the beginning of a political solution.”  While she was in Beirut, Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group exchanged fire with Israeli troops along the tense frontier, which has seen violent exchanges since October 8 — …

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Rome — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage. The new document repeats that rationale and elaborates …

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Capitol Hill — The U.S. Congress is running out of time to pass a new aid package for Ukraine, as Senate lawmakers worked through the weekend to negotiate a deal for border security funding in return for Republican votes.    The United States has already dedicated more than $100 billion to arming and supporting Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve another $60 billion. However, Republicans in Congress have become increasingly skeptical about the need to continue underwriting Ukraine’s defense.  In recent weeks, Republicans in the Senate have conditioned …

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London — Britain called for Hong Kong to release Jimmy Lai ahead of the trial of the leading China critic and media tycoon on charges he colluded with foreign forces, including the United States. David Cameron, who became foreign minister in November, toughened Britain’s stance on Sunday by explicitly calling for the release of British national Lai, who faces possible life imprisonment. Lai’s long-awaited national security trial opens in Hong Kong on Monday, with foreign envoys and others saying it is a key test for the city’s judicial independence and freedoms under the sweeping national security law imposed by China in …

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Ukraine moves closer to joining the European Union as leaders agree to start membership talks. But money to sustain its war effort against invading Russia hit a familiar roadblock with an ally of Russia’s president in the EU. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi the story. …

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Washington — U.S. and Ukrainian researchers say Western nations are making progress in trying to curb illicit transfers of Western electronic components to a Russian facility suspected of making Iranian-designed attack drones, but that more needs to be done. The White House released a U.S. intelligence finding June 8 asserting Russia was receiving Iranian materials needed to build an attack drone manufacturing plant in its Alabuga special economic zone. Russia has said it relies on its own resources in using drones to attack Ukraine; Iran has acknowledged supplying drones to Russia but only before Moscow’s February 2022 Ukraine invasion. Neither Russia’s …

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Rome — Pope Francis turned 87 on Sunday, closing out a year that saw big milestones in his efforts to reform the Catholic Church as well as health scares that raise questions about his future as pope. Francis celebrated his birthday with cake during a festive audience with children Sunday morning, and there were “Happy Birthday” banners in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly noon blessing. One early present came Saturday, when a Vatican tribunal handed down a mix of guilty verdicts and acquittals in a complicated trial that Francis had supported as evidence of his financial reforms. The biggest-name defendant, …

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Paris — Notre Dame Cathedral got its rooster back Saturday, in a pivotal moment for the Paris landmark’s restoration.   The installation by a crane of a new golden rooster, reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, goes beyond being just a weathervane atop the cathedral spire. It symbolizes resilience amid destruction after the devastating April 2019 fire — as restoration officials also revealed an anti-fire misting system is being kitted out under the cathedral’s roof.  Chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, who designed this new rooster, stated that the original rooster’s survival signified a ray of light in the catastrophe. …

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chisinau, moldova — Moldovan President Maia Sandu hailed the adoption by parliament Saturday of a new defense strategy — calling for anchoring Moldova alongside its Western allies — and identifying Russia as a threat to the former Soviet state.  Sandu posted on Facebook two days after the European Union agreed to open talks on extending its membership with both Moldova and neighboring Ukraine — more than 21 months into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.  Sandu has denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused Moscow of plotting a coup to oust her. She said the new security strategy outlined the “main threats” facing …

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