Category: Євросоюз

Pope Francis warned the Vatican’s missionary fundraisers Saturday not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship.  Francis made the comments in a speech to the national directors of the Vatican’s Pontifical Mission Societies, which raise money for the Catholic Church’s missionary work in the developing world, building churches and funding training programs for priests and nuns. Deviating from his prepared remarks, Francis appeared to refer to a recent Associated Press investigation into financial transfers at the U.S. branch of the Pontifical Mission Societies: The …

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Latest developments: Britain’s Defense Ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Russia’s VDV or airborne forces have assumed “an increasingly important role” in Bakhmut. While the VDV’s pre-invasion elite status is now “much degraded,” the entire Russia force will likely be “less flexible” in reacting to operational challenges because of the VDV’s deployment to Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that joining NATO is the best security guarantee for Ukraine but acknowledged that “it would be impossible” for his country to join the alliance before the war ends. In a joint briefing …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a populist with increasingly authoritarian tendencies, is scheduled to take the oath of office and start his third presidential term Saturday following his latest election win. Erdogan, who has led Turkey as prime minister or president for 20 years, prevailed in a runoff race last weekend despite the country’s ongoing economic crisis and his government’s criticized response to a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. Known as “reis,” or “the chief,” among his fans, the 69-year-old Erdogan already is the longest-serving leader in the Turkish republic’s history. His reelection to a five-year term …

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The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said four people were killed Friday in two separate Ukrainian shelling attacks on towns near the border, while officials in nearby regions reported overnight drone attacks. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that shelling had struck the town of Maslova Pristan, some 15 kilometers from Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region, and that fragments had struck passing cars. “Two women were traveling in one of them. They died from their injuries on the spot,” he said. Gladkov later said two people had been killed and six injured when rockets hit the town of Sobolevka, 125 kilometers …

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A teenager reported to British anti-terror authorities by his mother was jailed for life Friday. Matthew King, 19, will serve a minimum term of six years for plotting a terror attack on police officers or soldiers. In what was the first terror sentencing in England and Wales to be televised, the judge praised King’s mother for taking her suspicions to the Prevent counterterrorism program. “She took the very bold step of alerting Prevent when she had concerns for her son,” Judge Mark Lucraft said during sentencing at the central criminal court in central London. “That cannot have been an easy …

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Elizabeth Abosch was in Moscow working on her dissertation when Russia invaded Ukraine last February. What struck the American doctoral candidate the most about the Moscow suburb where she lived at the time was how “everyone was going on as normal,” she told VOA. “For the most part, I really felt safe.” “It was like nothing had happened at all. And so that was eerie. Whereas I was constantly in this emotional fight-or-flight state,” she said. Working on a dissertation in the country that Abosch had devoted her career to was a long time coming. At first, leaving seemed out …

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Iran has released one Danish and two Austrian citizens, the European countries said Friday, thanking Oman and Belgium for their help in getting the trio freed. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was “very relieved” that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought home after “years of arduous imprisonment in Iran.” Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said that he was “happy and relieved that a Danish citizen is on his way home to his family in Denmark after imprisonment in Iran.” He didn’t name the person, saying their identity was “a personal matter” and he couldn’t go …

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Spain will be looking to leverage its 50-year-old relationship with China to bring a peaceful resolution to Russia’s war on Ukraine when it assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union next month.  The presidency will give Madrid a prominent role representing the West in efforts to put an end to the conflict on terms that do not reward Russia’s aggression. In the run-up to taking the baton to represent the EU, Spain is throwing its weight behind Kyiv’s appeal for admission to the NATO alliance.  Ukraine must be given a strong message of support regarding its NATO membership bid, …

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The White House is ready to have talks with Russia without preconditions about a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration’s desire for talks on building a new framework during an address to the Arms Control Association on Friday, according to two senior administration officials who previewed the address on the condition of anonymity. Putin announced in February he was suspending Russia’s cooperation …

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Two influential Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to change course and back the establishment of a U.N.-sanctioned special tribunal to hold Russian leaders accountable for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Democrats Ben Cardin and Tim Kaine, both prominent members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a resolution calling on the administration “to use its voice and vote in international institutions to support the creation of a special international criminal tribunal to hold accountable the leaders of the Russian Federation who led and sanctioned aggression in Ukraine.” The resolution supports a long-standing Ukrainian demand: a special …

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Actions by the Kosovo government that reignited tensions with Serbia this week have opened a crack in relations between Kosovo and one of its most important partners — the United States. Former U.S. diplomats said Washington hasn’t been this displeased with the Kosovo government in a long time and pointed to a statement by the top U.S. diplomat. “The United States strongly condemns the actions by the government of Kosovo to access municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo by force, actions it took against the advice of the United States and Kosovo’s European partners,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony …

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Summer is in the air — cigarette smoke is not — in Sweden’s outdoor bars and restaurants. As the World Health Organization marks “World No Tobacco Day” on Wednesday, Sweden, which has the lowest rate of smoking in the Europe Union, is close to declaring itself “smoke-free” — defined as having fewer than 5% daily smokers in the population. Many experts give credit to decades of anti-smoking campaigns and legislation, while others point to the prevalence of “snus,” a smokeless tobacco product banned elsewhere in the EU but marketed in Sweden as an alternative to cigarettes. Whatever the reason, the …

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Two influential Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to change course and back the establishment of a U.N.-sanctioned special tribunal to hold Russian leaders accountable for their invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Democrats Ben Cardin and Tim Kaine, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a resolution calling on the administration “to use its voice and vote in international institutions to support the creation of a special international criminal tribunal to hold accountable the leaders of the Russian Federation who led and sanctioned aggression in Ukraine.” The resolution advances an idea long favored by Ukraine: a special …

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The International Energy Agency says Chinese car manufacturers are emerging as a major force in the global electric car market, with more than 50% of all electric cars on roads worldwide now produced in China. Spain is the second-largest vehicle manufacturer in Europe after Germany and its market has become a target for Chinese automakers. From Barcelona, Alfonso Beato has this report, narrated by Marcus Harton. …

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SpaceX’s Starlink, the satellite communications service started by billionaire Elon Musk, now has a Defense Department contract to buy those satellite services for Ukraine, the Pentagon said Thursday.   “We continue to work with a range of global partners to ensure Ukraine has the resilient satellite and communication capabilities they need. Satellite communications constitute a vital layer in Ukraine’s overall communications network and the department contracts with Starlink for services of this type,” the Pentagon said in a statement. Starlink has been used by Ukrainian troops for a variety of efforts, including battlefield communications.   SpaceX, through private donations and …

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 Latest Developments:     Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks United States for new $300 million aid package that includes air defense systems and ammunition.  U.S. announces temporary suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian steel has been extended for one year.  U.N. expresses concerns about repeated attacks on health facilities in Ukraine.  Ukrainian officials said Thursday a Russian missile attack targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least three people and injuring 10 others.  The Ukrainian military said it intercepted all 10 short-range missiles fire by Russia.  Kyiv officials said debris from the missiles damaged apartment buildings, a medical clinic and a water pipeline.  Russia …

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Russia said it was evacuating hundreds of children from villages because of intensifying shelling in the border region of Belgorod, where the situation was deemed alarming by the Kremlin. More than a year into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now seeing stepped-up attacks on its soil, including an unprecedented incursion last week in the southern region of Belgorod and a drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday. Authorities began evacuating children from the border districts of Shebekino and Graivoron, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Gladkov said the first 300 evacuated children will be taken to Voronezh, a city …

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Amid fresh strikes on Kyiv and as Ukraine readies its counteroffensive against Russia, another former Soviet republic is watching closely. In 2008, Georgia waged a brief war against Moscow and pro-Russian separatists, losing its breakaway region of South Ossetia, and another, Abkhazia. Now, as Georgia’s population looks firmly westward, some accuse its government of leaning towards Moscow — risking Georgian hopes to join the European Union. Lisa Bryant reports from the capital Tbilisi and near the border of South Ossetia. …

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Moldova on Thursday hosts a symbolic summit of EU leaders where Moldovan leaders hope to push their country’s longstanding bid for integration into the European Union. That effort has fervent supporters and opponents, both internal and external. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Chisinau, Moldova. …

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More than 40 European leaders plan to meet in Moldova on Thursday in a show of support for the former Soviet republic and neighboring Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to launch a counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces.  The gathering of the EU’s 27 member states and 20 other European countries at a castle deep in Moldovan wine country will touch on a range of strategic issues and launch a new EU partnership mission in the country. But the focus will be on a symbolic show of unity on Ukraine’s doorstep.  “If you sit in Moscow and see 47 countries in your …

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