Category: Євросоюз

French authorities see the police as protectors who are ensuring that citizens can peacefully protest President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious retirement age increase. But to human rights advocates and demonstrators who were clubbed or tear-gassed, officers have overstepped their mission. In the months since mass protests of the proposed pension changes began roiling France, some law enforcement officers have been accused of resorting to gratuitous violence. A man in Paris lost a testicle to an officer’s club, and a police grenade took the thumb of a woman in Rouen. A railroad worker hit by grenade fragments lost an eye. “Where is …

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Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci goes on trial at a Hague war crimes tribunal Monday, accused of a bloody campaign of murder and torture in the 1998-1999 independence war with Serbia.     The one-time guerrilla hero, who has pled not guilty and denies the charges, allegedly targeted perceived enemies of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), including Serbs and Roma, as the rebels sought to seize power.    Prosecutors say Thaci, who went by the nickname “Snake” during the war, is jointly responsible for more than 100 murders by the KLA ranging from executions to deaths of mistreated detainees.    The trial …

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Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St. Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine. Russia’s state Investigative Committee said 19 other people were wounded in the blast, and it had opened a murder investigation. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have championed Russia’s war effort in Ukraine while often criticizing the failures of …

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New developments: In Kostiantynivka, eastern Ukraine, six civilians were killed and eight wounded from Russian shelling Sunday morning, a senior Ukraine official said, according to Reuters. A top Ukrainian official outlined the plan Kyiv would take after the country reclaims control of Crimea, including dismantling the bridge that links the peninsula to Russia, The Associated Press reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia assuming leadership of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday an absurd and destructive move, Reuters reported. An explosion at a cafe in Russia’s second-largest city killed a military blogger who had supported the fighting in Ukraine, …

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Finns cast ballots on Sunday in a closely contested parliamentary election that could cost left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin power amid voter concern over the future of generous public services at a time of economic downturn. No party is seen as holding a decisive lead and the election is likely to be followed by lengthy coalition talks, although whichever party wins on Sunday will have the first attempt at forming a government. Voting began at 9 a.m. (0600 GMT) and closes at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT). Partial results from early voting will be published shortly afterwards. Marin, 37, is seen …

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Bulgarians vote in their fifth parliamentary election in two years on Sunday amid rising resentment towards political elites who many see as unwilling to tackle graft and economic reforms. Opinion polls show the ballot will likely leave Bulgaria short of a functioning parliamentary majority again, putting in question its ambitions to join the euro zone in the near term and effectively use European Union COVID recovery aid. In the running is a coalition of the center-right GERB party of former long-serving premier Boyko Borissov, 63, and its small Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) partner, as well as the newly established …

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New developments: “Russian UNSC presidency is a slap in the face to the international community,” said Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba in a tweet. On Saturday, Russia took over the presidency of the U.N.’s top security body, which rotates every month. The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s top security agency notified Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of famed Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Orthodox monastery that he was suspected of justifying Russia’s aggression, a criminal offense. The Metropolitan refuses to vacate the religious site. A new $2.6 …

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On March 29 Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, along with several other counties, marked 19 years since they joined NATO. All three Baltic nations have long warned of the Kremlin’s imperialistic ambitions and the looming threat it poses to countries throughout the region. Over the last year, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius — Europe’s most staunch supporters of transatlantic integration for both Ukraine and Georgia — have been among the largest direct supporters of Ukraine’s military in terms of GDP. During a stopover in Washington to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics told VOA’s …

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Three British men have been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Presidium Network, U.K. nonprofit group, said on Saturday. “We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families,” the U.K.’s foreign ministry said in a statement.  Media reports named the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, an unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge. Routledge, 21, is described in the British press as a “danger tourist,” someone who travels to dangerous countries and posting about it online. Scott Richards of the Presidium …

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A chipper-sounding Pope Francis was discharged Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away that he’s “still alive.” Francis, 86, was hospitalized at Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday following his weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square after reportedly experiencing breathing difficulties. The pontiff received antibiotics administered intravenously during his stay, the Vatican said. In a sign of his improved health, the Vatican released details of Francis’ Holy Week schedule. It said he would preside at this weekend’s Palm Sunday Mass and at Easter Mass on April 9, both held in …

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The International Monetary Fund has approved a $15.6 billion support package for Ukraine to assist with the conflict-hit country’s economic recovery, the fund said in a statement Friday. Russia’s invasion has devastated Ukraine’s economy, causing activity to contract by about 30% last year, destroying much of its capital stock and spreading poverty, according to the IMF. The outbreak of war has rippled through the global economy, fueling global inflation through rising wheat and oil prices. The invasion has also highlighted Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas for its energy security. Many countries were forced to seek out alternative sources of …

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Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see mass migration, destabilized countries, and starving children and adults in the next 12-18 months, the head of the Nobel prize-winning U.N. World Food Program warned Friday. David Beasley praised increased funding from the United States and Germany last year, and urged China, Gulf nations, billionaires and other countries “to step up big time.” In an interview before he hands the reins of the world’s largest humanitarian organization to U.S. ambassador Cindy McCain next week, the former South Carolina governor said he’s “extremely worried” that WFP …

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Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. Vanuatu leads action on climate justice The U.N. General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution Wednesday that will ask the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the obligations of states under international law to protect the rights of present and future generations from the impact of climate change. The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu spearheaded the drafting and negotiations of the resolution, with a core group of 18 countries representing most …

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Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government’s privacy watchdog said Friday. The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking provisional action “until ChatGPT respects privacy,” including temporarily limiting the company from processing Italian users’ data. U.S.-based OpenAI, which developed the chatbot, said late Friday night it has disabled ChatGPT for Italian users at the government’s request. The company said it believes its practices comply with European privacy laws and hopes to make ChatGPT available again …

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President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release American journalist Evan Gershkovich from custody. Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was detained in Yekaterinburg, a city about 800 miles from the Russian capital, on accusations of espionage. His media outlet has denied those allegations. A Moscow court on Friday ordered Gershkovich to be held in pre-trial detention until May 29. When Biden was asked by reporters if he had a message for Russia on Gershkovich’s case, the president responded, “Let him go.” Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke about the case during her visit to Zambia, telling …

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When Finland becomes a NATO member, it adds a potent military to the alliance and a strategic puzzle piece that can better help defend the alliance’s vulnerable eastern flank from potential Russian attack, officials and analysts say.  When President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Ukraine, part of Moscow’s justification was the claim that it needed to stop further NATO expansion in its backyard.  But 13 months on, Finland’s choice to join means the U.S.-led alliance is now doubling its border with Russia in a move that changes the military calculus from the Baltic region to the Arctic.  “Now Finland …

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Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard anew several areas of Ukraine on Friday, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorated the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha from a brutal occupation by the Kremlin’s forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. “We will not let it be forgotten,” Zelenskyy said at a formal ceremony in Bucha, vowing to punish those who committed outrages in the town. “Human dignity will …

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Finland received the green light to join NATO when Turkey ratified the Nordic country’s membership late Thursday, becoming the last country in the 30-member Western military alliance to sign off. All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country. into the alliance. The decision by the Turkish parliament followed Hungary’s ratification of Finland’s bid earlier in the week. The addition of Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, will more than double the size of NATO’s border with Russia. However, a few more steps and procedures are required before the northern European nation becomes the 31st full …

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Britain will join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday, in the country’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal following nearly two years of talks. Britain will be the first new member since the creation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018, and the first European country in the bloc. The trade grouping will include more than 500 million people and account for 15% of global GDP once Britain becomes its 12th member, according to Sunak’s office. It said Britain’s admission — after 21 months of “intense negotiations” — …

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New data is suggesting at least some U.S. adversaries are taking advantage of the hugely popular TikTok video-sharing app for influence operations. A report Thursday by the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) finds Russia “has been using the app to push its own narrative” in its effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine. “Based on our analysis, some users are engaging more with Russian state media than other, more reputable independent news outlets on the platform,” according to the report by the U.S.-based election security advocate that tracks official state actors and state-backed media. “More TikTok users follow RT than …

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