Category: Євросоюз

Media associations are warning that a rise in visa rejections for Turkish citizens is affecting the ability of the country’s journalists to work. The number of journalists whose applications for a Schengen visa have been turned down has “significantly risen,” according to the European Federation of Journalists, or EFJ. The visas permit free travel across the European Union. In a statement this week, the EFJ said that journalists who travel frequently for work are being given short-term visas only, which means they must make repeated applications. “This burdensome and financially unsustainable process must be addressed,” the federation said. A Turkish …

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Images of the red and gold Spanish flag dominate the social media feeds of Spain’s right-wing Vox party, along with videos that demonize Muslims or glorify the 15th century reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. As the country heads to a general election Sunday that polls indicate could deliver power to the populist right, Vox has been winning over first-time voters with a slick digital message. Two recent polls say the fastest rising support for the party comes from people between the ages of 18 and 24 who have no memory of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, …

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African leaders are to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg at the end of this month for a summit, billed as strengthening cooperation in peace, security, and development. But the second Russia-Africa Summit comes as Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has led to higher food and oil prices for many African nations – and prices could rise further after Russia this week pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a U.N.-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian food exports to reach international markets. International summits involve an element of political theater, analysts say, and …

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Latest developments: Belarus says its military is training with fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group at a site near the Belarus-Poland border. European Union foreign ministers met Thursday to discuss a proposed four-year, $22.4 billion military aid plan for Ukraine.   Officials in southern Ukraine said Thursday that Russia carried out an overnight airstrike on the port city of Mykolaiv, wounding at least 19 people. Regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram that the airstrike hit the city center, and that the wounded included five children. Kim added that two people were rescued from the rubble. Oleksandr Snkevych, Mykolaiv’s mayor, …

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TAIPEI – As the war in Ukraine rages on, China and Russia are hosting joint military exercises in the Sea of Japan that analysts say are the latest sign of deepening cooperation between the two military powerhouses. The drills are also part of an effort to counter growing partnership of the U.S. and its allies in the region, they add. “Russia and China are trying to convey to Japan and the U.S. that they are very unhappy with their cooperation in NATO and the [Indo-Pacific] region, and they want to prove that they can achieve the same level of cooperation …

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Now that Sweden’s ascension into NATO appears closer to approval following developments during the NATO summit last week, many wonder what power Sweden’s military can bring to the alliance. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb explains more about Sweden’s military might beneath the surface of the Baltic Sea. …

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Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish Embassy compound in Baghdad early Thursday morning and set a building on fire, a source familiar with the matter and a Reuters witness said, in a protest against the expected burning of a Quran in Sweden.  The source said no embassy staff had been harmed and declined to say more. Swedish Embassy officials in Baghdad did not immediately respond to requests for comment.   A Swedish foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment.   Thursday’s demonstration by supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was called to protest the second planned Quran burning in Sweden in …

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A video released Wednesday appears to show Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since he led a short-lived rebellion last month. He is seen telling his troops they will spend some time in Belarus training its military before deploying to Africa.  Messaging app channels linked to Prigozhin’s Wagner private military company said he spoke at a field camp in Belarus and ran a blurry video apparently showing him there, his silhouette seen against the sky at dusk. His gravelly voice was clearly distinguishable.  “Welcome, guys! I am happy to greet you all. Welcome to the Belarusian land!” …

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CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pardoned rights researcher Patrick Zaki a day after he was handed a three-year prison term on charges of spreading false news in a case that drew new attention to Egypt’s crackdown on dissent.  Zaki had been studying in Italy before his detention during a trip home in 2020 over a news article in which he documented life as a Coptic Christian in Egypt.   He will return to Italy on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement in which she thanked Sisi for a “very important act.”   Sisi’s pardon, which …

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MOSCOW — The upper house of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill outlawing gender-affirming procedures, sending the measure to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law.  The move extends the Kremlin’s drive to protect what it views as the country’s traditional values.  The bill, which already was approved in the lower house, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,” as well as changing one’s gender in official documents and public records.  The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.  It also annuls marriages in which one person has “changed …

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Ukraine is calling for its grain exports to continue passing through the Black Sea after Russia’s withdrawal this week from an agreement allowing safe passage. Analysts say any new arrangement needs the cooperation of Turkey, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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More than 700 people have been sentenced to prison over riots in France late last month, the country’s justice minister said Wednesday, lauding the “firm” response of magistrates.    In total, 1,278 verdicts have been handed down, with over 95 percent of defendants convicted on a range of charges from vandalism to attacking police officers.    Six hundred people have already been jailed.    “It was extremely important to have a response that was firm and systematic,” Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told RTL radio. “It was essential that we reestablish national order.”     The most intense urban violence in France since 2005 began on …

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Swathes of Europe baked Tuesday in a heatwave trailed by wildfires and health warnings, as parts of Asia also suffered under extreme weather.  Firefighters battled blazes in parts of Greece and the Canary Islands, Spain issued heat alerts while some children in Italy’s Sardinia were warned away from sports for safety reasons.  “You can’t be in the street, it’s horrible,” said Lidia Rodriguez, 27, in Madrid.  In much of Europe, authorities have warned in recent days of the health dangers of the extreme heat, urging people to drink water and shelter from the sun.   Several local temperature records were broken …

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Latest developments: U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis’ peace envoy, for talks about Vatican efforts to provide humanitarian aid in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is working to “preserve Ukraine’s global role as a guarantor of food security, our maritime access to the global market, and jobs for Ukrainians in ports and in the agricultural industry” following Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.   Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russian forces carried out airstrikes on the Odesa region in southern Ukraine for a second consecutive …

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The Russian private military force known as the Wagner Group captured the world’s attention with its open mutiny and march on Moscow, averted at the last minute through a deal brokered by Belarus. As Wagner’s future role remains uncertain, we take a look at their origins, the role they play in conflicts around the world, and their rise to influence as an unofficial arm of the Kremlin. Story by Alex Gendler; narration by Salem Solomon. …

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Belarusian authorities have detained a prominent journalist who used to work for outlets including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or RFE/RL.  Police on Monday raided the apartment of Ihar Karnei, in the capital Minsk, seized computers and phones and detained the journalist.  Karnei is being held in the Akrestina pretrial detention center and has not had access to lawyers or his family, according to his daughter, Polina. “Dad was detained for 10 days; he is in Akrestina. The house was searched,” the daughter told RFE/RL. The Arkestina facility is known for harsh conditions and mistreating detainees, according to Belarusian human rights …

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Italy and France are each sending two firefighting planes to Greece to help it cope with wildfires burning on multiple fronts around Athens, with more extreme heat on the way. The planes and their teams of firefighters are part of an EU civil protection mechanism, and they will join some 30 Romanian firefighters already stationed in Greece as part of a seasonal EU fire program, European officials said Tuesday. Wildfires continued to burn out of control Tuesday to the north and west of Athens, including a blaze near the resort town of Loutraki, where more homes were damaged and evacuations …

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Spain’s general election on Sunday could make the country the latest European Union member swing to the populist right, a shift that would represent a major upheaval after five years under a left-wing government. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and its small far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (“United We Can”), took a beating in local and regional elections. The center-right Popular Party emerged from the May 28 elections with the most votes. Polls for the general election have consistently put the PP in first place — but likely needing support from …

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Britain’s Illegal Migration Bill, aimed at stopping thousands of migrants arriving in the country, is at odds with London’s obligations under international law, the United Nations said Tuesday. The bill, which has been passed by parliament and now awaits the formality of being signed into law by King Charles III, means migrants arriving by boat will be refused the right to apply for asylum in the UK. The bill “is at variance with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law and will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection”, the U.N. refugee and human …

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High anxiety set in on the closing day of a summit between European Union and Latin American leaders that was supposed to be a love-in but turned into a diplomatic fracas over the war in Ukraine. Ambassadors worked through much of the night and into Tuesday morning to find even the blandest text to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with talks hung up over the reservations of some Central and South American nations like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, an EU official said. “We still need to pinpoint it as close as possible to Ukraine,” said the official, who …

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