Category: Євросоюз

China feels it has the “right to redefine the global world order,” Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei told AFP on Wednesday ahead of the opening in London of his first design-focused exhibition.  The show at the Design Museum features hundreds of thousands of objects collected by the Chinese artist since the 1990s, from Stone Age tools to Lego bricks, and draws on his love of artifacts and traditional craftsmanship.  The son of a poet revered by former communist leaders, Ai, 65, is perhaps China’s best-known modern artist and helped design the famous “Bird’s Nest” stadium for Beijing’s 2008 Olympics.  But …

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Turkey has closed its airspace to flights to and from an airport in Kurdish-administered northern Iraq, a top Turkish official announced Wednesday, citing an alleged increase in Kurdish militant activity threatening flight safety.  The airspace was closed Monday to flights taking off from and landing at Suleimaniyah International Airport, in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgic said.  The closure was a response to an alleged increase in the activities of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in the city of Suleimaniyah, including its “infiltration” of the airport, Bilgic said in a written statement.  Bilgic said …

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The Russian official charged alongside President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court for the alleged abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children said Wednesday that Moscow is “fully open” to cooperation in the interest of the children.  “Unfortunately, there is no official communication through official channels with Ukraine, although we are ready to work with the relevant bodies,” Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, told a meeting organized by Russia at the United Nations.   “We haven’t received a single request from their side, only completely unfounded accusations in the media and social media,” she said.  Lvova-Belova spoke by …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin charged Wednesday that Western intelligence agencies have helped Ukraine carry out acts of sabotage, as he urged his officials to mount a stronger response.  Putin spoke during a call with members of his Security Council that focused on efforts to shore up control of the four Ukrainian provinces that Russia claimed as part of its territory in September — a move that was rejected by most of the world as an illegal annexation.  “There are reasons to believe that the capabilities of third countries, Western special services, have been involved in preparation of acts of sabotage …

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International law enforcement agencies have seized a sprawling dark web marketplace popular with cybercriminals, Britain’s National Crime Agency, or NCA, said Wednesday, in a multinational crackdown dubbed ‘Operation Cookie Monster.’ A banner plastered across Genesis Market’s site late on Tuesday said domains belonging to the organization had been seized by the FBI. Logos of other European, Canadian, and Australian police organizations were also emblazoned across the site, along with that of cybersecurity firm Qintel. “We assess that Genesis is one of the most significant access marketplaces anywhere in the world,” said Rob Jones, the NCA’s Director General of Threat Leadership. …

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Silvio Berlusconi, who has served as Italian prime minister four times, was being treated in intensive care in a cardiac unit at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital after reportedly suffering breathing problems. The 86-year-old billionaire media tycoon has suffered repeated bouts of ill-health in recent years and came out of the hospital just last week. “He has been admitted to intensive care because a problem caused by an infection has not been resolved but he is speaking,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, a long-time ally of Berlusconi, told reporters in Brussels. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s …

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New developments: French President Emmanuel Macron, during visit to Beijing, says with China’s relationship with Russia it can “play a major role” in achieving peace in Ukraine. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi reiterated the “urgent need” to protect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine as he met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad. Russian bank VTB reports $7.7 billion in losses for 2022. Bank officials blamed Western sanctions that targeted Russia’s financial sector after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Poland’s Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk announces resignation amid anger from Polish farmers about effects of Ukrainian grain …

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After a relatively low turnout of 40% in Bulgaria’s parliamentary elections that were held on Sunday, results show there was no outright winner, and the parties are headed to coalition talks. Analysts say the results could influence Bulgaria’s position on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two-party coalition of GERB-SDS, led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, won the early parliamentary elections with 26.51% of the votes, Bulgaria’s Central Election Commission announced on its website, based on unofficial regional results. The pro-Western reformist coalition We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, or PP-DB, is in second place with 25%. Revival, with 14% of …

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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are to land in China on Wednesday seeking to “reset” ties with an important economic partner while broaching thorny issues like Ukraine and trade risks.   Macron last visited China in 2019. It will be von der Leyen’s first trip since becoming European Commission president that year.  Since then, China’s strict pandemic controls forced all diplomatic meetings online as relations with Europe soured: first because of a stalled investment pact in 2021 and then Beijing’s refusal to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.  For Macron, facing …

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French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive in China Wednesday for a three-day state visit aimed at discussing trade, human rights, and especially Ukraine with President Xi Jinping, amid ever closer ties between Beijing and Moscow. The trip will be Macron’s first to China since 2019, and von der Leyen’s first as head of the European Union’s executive arm. Analysts and officials have downplayed expectations for any major outcome, though the two leaders will likely prod China to limit its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “My understanding is it is very much about …

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Analysts say the war in Ukraine has been largely a stalemate in recent months, despite high casualty counts on both sides. But in the city of Chasiv Yar, the war has become deadlier and more dangerous week by week. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports. Videographer: Yan Boechat …

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An exhibition currently on display in Poland uses virtual reality to show the level of destruction Russia’s war has brought on Ukraine. For some visitors, the VR videos that can be viewed at the “Through the War” display have been overwhelming. Lesia Bakalets reports from Warsaw. Daniil Batushchak. …

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Finland is poised to join NATO on Tuesday, a historic realignment triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the head of the military alliance said no more troops would be sent to the Nordic country unless it asked for help. Russia has already warned that it would bolster defenses along its border with NATO if the alliance deployed any additional troops or equipment to its new member. “There will be no NATO troops in Finland without the consent of Finland,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels a few hours before the country joins. But …

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A Swedish court Tuesday overturned a police move to ban two Quran burning protests, as five suspected Islamists were arrested for plotting a “terrorist act” over a similar demonstration. The burning of Islam’s holy book outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm in January angered the Muslim world, sparking weeks of protests and calls for a boycott of Swedish goods, and holding up Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court overturned a police decision to ban two subsequent Quran burning protests in February, saying security risk concerns were not enough to limit the right to demonstrate. The “police authority did not …

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At least one person was killed and 30 injured, many seriously, when a passenger train carrying about 50 people derailed in the Netherlands early on Tuesday after hitting construction equipment on the track, Dutch emergency services said.  Rescue teams were at the scene of the accident at Voorschoten, a village near The Hague, the emergency services said.  A fire department spokesman told Dutch radio that 19 people were taken to hospital. Others were being treated on the spot, the emergency services said.  The front carriage of the night train from Leiden city to The Hague derailed and ploughed into a field …

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There are growing concerns among top U.S. military and intelligence officials that Russia’s use of cyberattacks during its war against Ukraine is ushering in a new era of combat in which the line between virtual and real-life battlefields is being erased, along with the notion that any targets will remain off limits. Instead, top officials are warning that U.S. adversaries are likely to look at Moscow’s efforts to topple Kyiv and conclude that not only do they need to coordinate cyber strikes with conventional, kinetic military tactics, but that a cyberattack may be the best first-strike option. “The [Russian] operation …

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After an extensive warmup, the dance students break into groups. The most experienced children — from 12 to 16 years old — show off complex jazz-funk and hip-hop routines to songs like K7’s “Come Baby Come.” Outside the technical college hosting the class, snow falls over the mostly abandoned and heavily damaged city. Russian forces who occupied Izium were driven out in September, but the area is still laden with bombs and other explosives. Most families fled and haven’t returned. During the occupation, the dance team didn’t practice, and all academic schools were closed. Water and electricity were cut off …

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As bloody, stalemated battles in Ukraine grind on, young dancers in the eastern city of Izium are training again, hoping to resume competition despite the destruction of their theater. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Izium, Ukraine. Camera: Yan Boechat. …

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Germany could follow in Italy’s footsteps by blocking ChatGPT over data security concerns, the German commissioner for data protection told the Handelsblatt newspaper in comments published on Monday. Microsoft-backed MSFT.O OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy on Friday after the national data agency banned the chatbot temporarily and launched an investigation into a suspected breach of privacy rules by the artificial intelligence application.  “In principle, such action is also possible in Germany,” Ulrich Kelber said, adding that this would fall under state jurisdiction. He did not, however, outline any such plans.  Kelber said that Germany has requested further information from …

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Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a bomb attack in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in which some 30 other people were wounded. Here’s what we know so far.    Who was Tatarsky?  Tatarsky – real name Maxim Fomin – was among the best-known members of an influential group of military bloggers who have provided a running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. Although frequently scathing about the defense establishment, they have been enthusiastic cheerleaders for the war and avoided direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Tatarsky, 40, was among those who publicly demanded that Russia pursue the war …

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