Category: Євросоюз

LISBON, Portugal — Portugal’s Socialist Party (PS) on Saturday elected Pedro Nuno Santos to lead them in a March 10 snap parliamentary election, following Antonio Costa’s resignation as prime minister and party leader last month amid a corruption investigation. The 46-year-old former infrastructure minister beat acting Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro, who was seen as a more moderate candidate, with 62% of the vote to become the PS secretary-general.Nuno Santos, who has described himself as “a cobbler’s grandson, son of a businessman,” is from the left wing of the center-left party and is known for successfully coordinating support in parliament for …

READ MORE

VATICAN CITY — A Vatican court Saturday sentenced a once powerful Italian cardinal to five years and six months in jail for financial crimes at the end of a historic trial. Angelo Becciu, 75, a former adviser to Pope Francis who was once considered a papal contender himself, was the most senior clergyman in the Catholic Church to face a Vatican criminal court. He and nine other defendants, including financiers, lawyers and ex-Vatican employees, were on trial for accusations of financial crimes focused on an opaque London property deal. Court President Giuseppe Pignatone read out the verdict Saturday, with Becciu accused …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

RUKLA, LITHUANIA — Two German Leopard tanks damaged in Ukraine were test driven in Lithuania on Friday following repairs, to showcase how the Baltic NATO member has become a hub for such work. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas sat on a turret on one of the tanks as he was driven along a rough road in the military training area in the central town of Rukla. “What can I say?… A powerful tank,” he told reporters. The tanks presented on Friday — among the first repaired in Lithuania — are expected to reach Ukraine next month, nearly two years after it …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and other dangerous places around the world have heightened the need to prepare journalists, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), health care professionals and civilians to be ready for life and death situations in high-risk environments. Global Journalist Security (GJS) is a company doing just that. Philip Alexiou reports. …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark is holding two people in custody and four others are the target of a terrorism investigation, a prosecutor said Friday, in a case that coincided with one arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members. While Denmark hasn’t said there is a Hamas link, authorities in Germany said that three people arrested there are suspected of preparing for attacks Jewish institutions in Europe. Danish authorities say that one person was arrested in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t clear if there were any ties to the Hamas investigation in Germany. The two suspects being …

READ MORE

BRUSSELS — The European Union failed to agree on a 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) package in financial aid that Ukraine desperately needs to stay afloat, even as the bloc decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with the war-torn country. The aid was vetoed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, delivering another tough blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he failed this week to persuade U.S. lawmakers to approve an additional $61 billion for Ukraine, mainly to buy weapons from the U.S. The start of accession talks was a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had …

READ MORE

washington/istanbul — Turkey’s justice minister announced Thursday that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s son is expected to return to Turkey to face trial over a fatal traffic accident in Istanbul. Yilmaz Tunc, Turkey’s justice minister, told reporters that Ankara held talks with Somali judicial authorities over extraditing Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. “In the coming days, the defendant will come to Turkey, and the trial process will take place,” Tunc said. Accident On November 30, Mohamud hit Yunus Emre Gocer, a motorcycle courier in the Fatih district of Istanbul, while driving a vehicle with a diplomatic license plate. The 38-year-old victim was …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

In its war against Ukraine, Russia may not have established military superiority, but it has been successful at electronic warfare. It’s now using its IT edge to disable Ukrainian GPS-guided drones and Western high-precision weapons. Mariia Prus has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Dmytro Savchuk. …

READ MORE

Washington — U.S. lawmakers passed the massive annual defense spending bill Thursday, approving the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 310-118 to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. The bill setting policy and spending priorities for the Department of Defense for 2024 is $28 billion larger than last year’s spending bill, an increase of around three percent. “The NDAA is one of the most consequential bills Congress considers,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “Passage of this bill each year sends an important signal to the men and women …

READ MORE

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish police made several arrests Thursday, saying they carried out the operation “on suspicion of preparation for a terrorist attack.” The arrests were made in “a coordinated action” in several locations in Denmark early Thursday. No other details were given. The Copenhagen police and Denmark’s domestic intelligence service were to give a press conference later. “This is extremely serious,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a European Union summit in Brussels. “It shows the situation we are in in Denmark. Unfortunately.” “It is absolutely true when both (Denmark’s intelligence agencies) say that there is a high risk …

READ MORE

…

READ MORE

When Russia invaded Ukraine, neighboring Moldova’s plans to strengthen its military were put into hyperdrive. Ukraine, the second largest country in Europe by territory, and its tiny neighbor have more in common than initially meets the eye: both are ex-Soviet states trying to leave Russia’s orbit, both are turning to the West for military help, and both have Russian troops within their borders. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb gained exclusive access for an inside look at how Moldova is working to overhaul its outdated military, support a massive influx of refugees and defend against a Russian hybrid war fueled by …

READ MORE

STATE DEPARTMENT — The top diplomat on European and Eurasian affairs at the U.S. State Department expressed optimism regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, despite Hungary’s looming threat to veto the bid at a two-day summit starting Thursday. The senior official also predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin will “wait through” the results of European elections in 2024 and the U.S. presidential election next November before making peace in Ukraine. On Wednesday, James O’Brien, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, spoke to VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching on issues facing Eurasia countries.   Putin “thinks …

READ MORE