Category: Євросоюз

A car crashed Thursday into the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister’s home and offices are located, setting off a rapid, intense security response at one of London’s most-fortified sites.  No one was injured, and police said they were not treating the incident as terror related. Police arrested a man on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving, and local officers, rather than counterterrorism detectives, were handling the investigation.  Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in his office at the time of the crash.  It was not immediately clear whether the crash was deliberate. Video …

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Turkish voters will cast ballots in the country’s presidential runoff election on May 28. Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the front-runner after narrowly scoring an outright win in the first round and securing a majority in parliament. But analysts say challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu has an outside chance if he can galvanize his voting base. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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Russia and Belarus signed a pact Thursday allowing Moscow to relocate an undisclosed number of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus as Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine enters its 16th month. The Kremlin says it will maintain control of the shorter-range warheads to be transferred to its ally. It was not announced when the weapons would be sent there but Russian President Vladimir Putin has said storage facilities in Belarus would be completed by July 1. The U.S. and Western allies have often warned Russia against the use of tactical nuclear warheads in the Ukraine conflict but also said at times …

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Greek authorities have been caught on film apparently forcing asylum seekers into a life raft and abandoning them at sea. Human rights groups have long accused Athens of such practices. Greece denies carrying out so-called pushbacks and says it has launched an investigation into the video. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

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The city of Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine has been the scene of heavy bombardment by Russian forces. Ukrainian officials say at least eight people were wounded and scores of buildings damaged in airstrikes Monday. Despite the attacks, the strategically important city is holding steady. VOA’s Myroslava Gongadze has this on the scene report from Dnipro. …

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The world must rapidly ditch fossil fuels and end “the senseless war against creation”, Pope Francis said on Thursday, in a fresh plea over climate change that called on people to repent for their “ecological sins.” Francis has made the protection of the environment a cornerstone of his pontificate, noting in his landmark 2015 “Laudato Si” (Praised Be) encyclical that the planet was “beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” In a message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, he said a U.N. climate summit meeting in Dubai on Nov. …

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As a Chinese envoy continues talks in Europe after meetings in Ukraine, a senior U.S. State Department official said there is not much indication that China is willing to use its influence in Moscow to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. A Czech lawmaker is also skeptical of China’s peacemaking efforts. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching has more. …

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A Lebanese judge has banned the country’s central bank governor Riad Salameh from travelling, days after Beirut received an Interpol Red Notice following a French arrest warrant, a judicial official said Wednesday.  Salameh has been the target of a series of judicial investigations both at home and abroad on allegations including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud and illicit enrichment, which he denies.    French investigators suspect that during his three decades as central bank chief, Salameh misused public funds to accumulate real estate and banking assets concealed through a complex and fraudulent financial network.    On Wednesday, judge Imad Qabalan questioned Salameh and …

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The South African government was under more pressure Wednesday for declining to release cargo documents relating to the visit by a Russian ship that the United States alleges collected a consignment of weapons for Moscow. Separately, a top official in South Africa’s ruling party added to the scrutiny of the country’s relationship with Russia by saying the party would “welcome” a visit by President Vladimir Putin, whom the International Criminal Court has indicted on war crimes charges. The comments by African National Congress Secretary General Fikile Mbalula regarding Putin were made in an interview with the BBC and in the …

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is urging African countries to abandon their stances of neutrality towards his country’s war with Russia. Many African countries have refused to take sides in the European conflict, with several abstaining from votes at the United Nations General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion. Ethiopia is one of them. Speaking in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, on Wednesday, Kuleba said Ukraine was “very upset that some African countries chose to abstain” and called them to lend Ukraine diplomatic support “in the face of Russian aggression.” “Neutrality is not the answer,” he told reporters. “By being neutral towards …

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German police raided 15 properties linked to the Last Generation climate activist group Wednesday, seizing assets as part of an investigation into its finances in a sign of growing impatience with disruptive protest tactics also seen in other European countries. Members of the group have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany in an effort to pressure the government to take more drastic action against climate change. In recent weeks, they have brought traffic to a halt on an almost daily basis in Berlin, gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways. Over the past year, they have also targeted various artworks and …

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Visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has praised his country’s ties with China, saying relations “are at an unprecedented high level.”  Mishustin made the comment during a meeting Wednesday in Bejiing with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Mishustin also met with President Xi Jinping, and reports say Xi offered Beijing’s support on Moscow’s “core interests.” Mishustin said the bilateral relationship is “characterized by mutual respect of each other’s interests, the desire to jointly respond to challenges, which is associated with increased turbulence in the international arena and the pattern of sensational pressure from the collective West.” According to the Associated Press, …

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Geneva’s airport was briefly closed to flights on Tuesday as climate activists stormed a private jet fair on a nearby tarmac by ripping down or scaling fences, handcuffing themselves to landing gear and other material, and scuffling with police and security before being hauled away. City police said about 80 people were detained.  The protest involved about 100 activists from 17 countries and groups, including Greenpeace, Scientist Rebellion, Stay Grounded and Extinction Rebellion, who disrupted the annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition — one of the industry’s premier events, which is taking place in Geneva this week.  Video images …

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The Dutch government said on Tuesday it would hold U.S. industrial group 3M Co. liable for polluting the Western Scheldt river with potentially harmful substances known as PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”  3M said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters that it had received a letter from the Dutch government’s legal representative on Tuesday and was studying its contents.  The Netherlands said it would hold the company responsible for pollution in the Dutch part of the river, allegedly caused by its nearby Belgian plant.  Higher than acceptable pollutant levels have resulted in financial damages for the fishing fleet and the government, …

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The U.N. Secretary-General said Tuesday that the world is failing to live up to its commitments to protect civilians, an obligation that is preserved in international humanitarian law. “Peace is the best form of protection,” Antonio Guterres told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the topic. “We must intensify our efforts to prevent conflict, protect civilians, preserve peace and find political solutions to war.” Guterres said where there is war, countries must comply with international humanitarian law. “It is the difference between life and death. Between restraint and anarchy. Between losing ourselves in horror and retaining our humanity,” …

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The United States has called for Russia to immediately release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after Moscow sought to extend his pre-trial detention by three months. Gershkovich’s original pre-trial detention was set to expire on May 29. But a Russian court on Tuesday lengthened that period until August 30 after Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, requested an extension. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. is working hard to bring the U.S. journalist home. “He shouldn’t be detained at all. Journalism is not a crime. He needs to be released immediately,” Kirby told CNN. …

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As Turkey heads to a presidential runoff on May 28, challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu is targeting nationalist voters with an anti-refugee and strong security stance in a bid to overtake incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that criminal police have detained three more suspected far-right extremists who are linked to an alleged plot by the Reichsbuerger, or Reich Citizens, movement to topple the country’s government.  The three suspects, who were only identified as Johanna F.-J., Hans-Joachim H. and Steffen W. in line with German privacy rules, were detained Monday evening in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.  The defendants are suspected of membership in a terrorist organization, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.  In December, German police detained 25 people including a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a former …

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Four men suspected of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge in Madrid in January have been arrested, Spanish police said Tuesday. The arrests come two days after the latest case of racial abuse against the Brazil forward in a Spanish league game against Valencia. The effigy was hanged by the neck the morning of a derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Along with it was a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real.” The perpetrators used a black figure with Vinícius’ name on it, tied a rope …

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Interpol, the international police organization founded in 1923 to facilitate cooperation among law enforcement agencies, has transformed into a formidable crime fighting force in recent years.  However, recent controversies over the misuse of its alert system have cast a shadow over its reputation as an indispensable tool for global law enforcement cooperation.   Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, speaking on Monday at a Justice Department event marking Interpol’s centennial, praised the organization’s role in fighting pressing global threats, from terrorism to cybercrime and human trafficking.    “Over the past 100 years, Interpol has evolved to meet each one of those threats, and …

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