Category: Євросоюз

The confessionals where generations of Belgians admitted their sins stood stacked in a corner of what was once Sacred Heart Church, proof the stalls — as well as the Roman Catholic house of worship — had outlived their purpose. The building is to close for two years while a cafe and concert stage are added as part of the plans to turn it into “a new cultural hot spot in the heart of Mechelen,” almost within earshot of where Belgium’s archbishop lives. Around the corner, a former Franciscan church is now a luxury hotel where music star Stromae spent his …

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The United States and its allies held close consultations but publicly stayed on the sidelines Saturday as officials waited to see how the armed revolt by longtime Kremlin insider Yevgeny Prigozhin and his private Wagner army would play out. As the rebel force threatened to march on Moscow — then announced a stunning pull-back — U.S. officials carefully avoided direct comment on what some stressed was an internal situation in Russia, while Moscow warned them to stay out of the fray. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain amid concerns that Russian President Vladimir …

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A pod of killer whales bumped one of the boats in an endurance sailing race as it approached the Strait of Gibraltar, the latest encounter in what researchers say is a growing trend of sometimes-aggressive interactions with Iberian orcas. The 15-minute run-in with at least three of the giant mammals forced the crew competing in The Ocean Race on Thursday to drop its sails and raise a clatter in an attempt to scare off the approaching orcas. No one was injured, but Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek said in a video posted on The Ocean Race website that it …

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The Scottish National Party (SNP) will fight the next general election in the United Kingdom with independence “front and center” of its campaign, First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Saturday.  Addressing a conference of Scotland’s governing party in the city of Dundee, Yousaf vowed he would seek fresh negotiations with the U.K. government about independence if the SNP wins the most Scottish seats in the election expected next year.   “Let me be clear, if the SNP does win this election, then the people will have spoken,” he said. “We will seek negotiations with the U.K. government on how we give …

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British police said Saturday they had charged an Egyptian man accused of masterminding the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe, following an international investigation.  Officers from the U.K.’s National Crime Agency arrested Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Eibd, 40, near his west London home on Wednesday, after a probe which also involved Italy’s prosecutors, coast guard and financial crimes investigators.  Eibd appeared in a west London magistrates’ court early Saturday, where he was charged with facilitating illegal immigration.  The court ordered he remain in custody until his next appearance at Southwark Crown Court in south London …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to punish “traitors” from the Wagner mercenary group, after its leader swore he would topple Moscow’s military leadership. Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, released a series of messages from late Friday into Saturday, claiming that he and his mercenary troops had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and taken control of its military sites. Here is what we know so far: What sparked the rebellion? For months, Prigozhin has been locked in a power struggle with the military top brass, blaming them for his troops’ deaths in eastern Ukraine. He has repeatedly accused them of failing …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wagner Group mercenaries Saturday that armed mutiny is treason and anyone who takes up arms against Russia would be punished. Putin promised, in an emergency televised address, to take decisive action to stabilize Rostov-on-Don, a southern Russian city where Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had taken control of all military installations. “It is a blow to Russia, to our people. And our actions to defend the Fatherland against such a threat will be harsh. All those who deliberately stepped on the path of betrayal, who prepared an armed insurrection, who took the path …

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Just a dot on the horizon at first, the bug-like and surprisingly quiet electrically-powered craft buzzes over Paris and its traffic snarls, treating its doubtless awestruck passenger to privileged vistas of the Eiffel Tower and the city’s signature zinc-grey rooftops before landing him or her with a gentle downward hover. And thus, if all goes to plan, could a new page in aviation history be written. After years of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, nonpolluting electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the …

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Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine. As the leader of a mercenary force who depicts himself as fighting many of the Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine, the 62-year-old Prigozhin has now moved into his most dangerous role yet: preaching open rebellion against his country’s military leadership. Prigozhin, owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, has escalated what have been months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war by calling Friday for an armed uprising to oust the …

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The owner of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said early Saturday that his forces had crossed from Ukraine into Russia and entered the city of Rostov facing no resistance by border guards. Prigozhin said his men were ready to go “all the way” against the Russian military and would destroy anyone who stood in their way. In an audio recording posted on the Telegram messaging app, the Wagner chief said young conscripts at checkpoints stood back and did not fight, adding that his forces “aren’t fighting against children.” Prigozhin said Friday that Wagner field camps were struck by …

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is traveling to Denmark this weekend to participate in a meeting about Ukraine, which may include some countries that have refused to condemn the invasion. The talks in Copenhagen are being organized by Ukraine “to discuss basic principles of peace,” a U.S. official said Friday. India, South Africa and Brazil were among the countries invited but it was unclear yet whether they were attending, a source familiar with the matter said. India and South Africa have not condemned the invasion. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in April condemned the …

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Thirty-seven migrants are missing after their boat capsized between Tunisia and the Italian island of Lampedusa, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday, citing an account by four survivors of the shipwreck. The United Nations agency said the survivors, all from sub-Saharan Africa, arrived on Lampedusa late on Thursday, having been rescued by another vessel. The survivors told the IOM they left the Tunisian port of Sfax heading for Italy with 46 people aboard, but their boat capsized in strong winds. They recounted that five of their fellow travelers were picked up by another boat, while 37 are missing …

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Poland hosts about half a million school-aged Ukrainian refugee children. Many high school graduates outside their homeland choose to take Ukraine’s final state exam, which is mandatory for applying to Ukrainian universities and sometimes accepted by European ones. After the war started, the test was held in Ukraine and locations abroad. Lesia Bakalets has the story from Warsaw, Poland. Video: Daniil Batushchak  …

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Saturday marks the anniversary of an attempt by approximately 2,000 sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees to cross over from Morocco to Spain. At least 37 people died in the attempt, and 76 are still unaccounted for. Amnesty International Friday accused Morocco and Spain of conducting a cover-up of their racist practices at the border. The group said Spain failed to open an independent investigation after Spanish prosecutors dropped their investigation because they said they had not found any criminal misconduct by Spanish security forces. Morocco never opened a probe, the group said. “At the Moroccan side of the border, and …

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Latest developments: Ukraine’s military said early Friday that air raid alerts had been sounded throughout the country. A joint statement issued by U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Marendra Modi said Thursday that both leaders “have expressed their deep concern over the conflict in Ukraine and mourned its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences.” The statement also said Biden and Modi, who is in Washington on a state visit, have, in connection with Ukraine, called for “respect for international law, principles of the UN charter, and territorial integrity and sovereignty.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was fierce fighting …

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Greeted by cheering crowds and surrounded by journalists, including from his own station, one of Georgia’s most prominent journalists walked out of prison Thursday hours after being granted a presidential pardon. President Salome Zurabishvili announced Thursday evening that she had pardoned journalist Nika Gvaramia, founder of pro-opposition broadcaster Mtavari Arkhi. Gvaramia, who also is a former member of parliament, has been in prison since May 2022.   Zurabishvili announced the pardon in a televised press conference. Later on Twitter, she said:   In May 2022, a court convicted Gvaramia of abuse of power related to his work in 2019 as …

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Frustration with the rising threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan emerged at a meeting this week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a defense and economic alliance platform consisting of China, Russia, India, Iran and five other Asian states. Russia and Tajikistan say Afghanistan, which holds an uncertain observer status in the SCO following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, has become a breeding ground for regional terrorist groups. “According to our information, terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Islamic Movement of Eastern Turkistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, TTP, Jamaat Ansarullah are currently present in Afghanistan and …

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Some of the Syrian refugees taken in by Spain have accomplished big things, including Adnan Almousa Alfermli. His eyes are set on winning a gold medal at the Paralympics. Miguel Amaya narrates this report from Alfonso Beato in Barcelona. Camera: Alfonso Beato. …

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Zambia and its government creditors, including China, have reached a deal to restructure $6.3 billion in loans, the French government announced Thursday on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris. The agreement covers loans from countries including France, the U.K., South Africa, Israel and India as well as China — Zambia’s biggest creditor at $4.1 billion of the total. The deal, announced by officials who spoke anonymously in accordance with the French government’s customary practices, may provide a roadmap for how China will handle restructuring deals with other nations in debt distress. The International Monetary Fund approved the …

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At a military base not far from ongoing combat in eastern Ukraine, soldiers tell VOA that shelling can be brutal, even far from the roughly two-week-old counteroffensive, as Russian forces try to distract Ukraine. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports. Camera: Yevhenii Shynkar …

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