Category: Євросоюз

France will provide subsidies to wine producers in regions like Bordeaux to offload surplus supplies, the agriculture ministry said on Monday, as the renowned industry struggles with declining consumption. Falling demand for red wine, as French consumers drink less alcohol or turn to other wine categories, has hammered the sector in Bordeaux, even as champagne makers have been toasting record sales. As a short-term measure, the government will channel up to 160 million euros ($172.03 million) of national and European Union aid this year for distilling surplus stocks into alcohol, the ministry said in a statement after a meeting with …

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Norway’s prime minister proposed Monday a $7.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, the latest show of support from Ukraine’s European allies as it fights off a Russian invasion. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told reporters after meeting with opposition leaders that the aid would be delivered over a five-year period, and that his government wants to add additional support for other countries affected by the conflict. “We are proposing that Norway gives a binding and lasting contribution to Ukraine,” he said. Norway’s parliament must approve the aid package. The Financial Times reported Monday the European Union is preparing for a …

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Some of the world’s most deadly earthquakes in the past two decades are listed below, after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday and killed hundreds of people. Aug. 14, 2021 – HAITI – A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes. Sept. 28, 2018 – INDONESIA – A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, resulting in a 1.5 meter tsunami and killing more than 4,300 people. Nov. 12, 2017 – IRAN – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake shook the eastern Kermanshah region, …

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A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake early Monday has killed more than 300 people in Turkey and northern Syria and set off a search for survivors amid the rubble of fallen buildings.  Turkey’s emergency services reported an initial death toll of 78 people, with hundreds more injured.  Syrian health officials said at least 237 people were killed in the regions of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.     “We hope that we will get through this disaster together as soon as possible and with the least damage,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted.     His government declared a 4th-level alarm, meaning it is asking for international …

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Cybersecurity agencies in Europe are warning of ransomware attacks exploiting a two-year-old computer bug as Italy experienced widespread internet outages.  The Italian premier’s office said Sunday night the attacks affecting computer systems in the country involved “ransomware already in circulation” in a product made by cloud technology provider VMware.  A Friday technical bulletin from a French cybersecurity agency said the attack campaigns target VMware ESXi hypervisors, which are used to monitor virtual machines.  Palo Alto, California-based VMware fixed the bug back in February 2021, but the attacks are targeting older, unpatched versions of the product.  The company said in a …

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A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey, at a depth of nearly 18 kilometers early Monday local time, the U.S. Geological Service said. Another shallow 6.7-magnitude temblor happened near the site of the first quake about 15 minutes later, the USGS said. Turkish authorities have not yet reported any deaths or injuries, but videos posted on social networks showed destroyed buildings in several cities in the southeast of the country. Turkish state broadcaster TRT showed images of buildings that had been damaged and people standing outside in the snow, Reuters reported. The first quake lasted about a minute, …

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Europe imposed a ban Sunday on Russian diesel fuel and other refined oil products, slashing energy dependency on Moscow and seeking to further crimp the Kremlin’s fossil fuel earnings as punishment for invading Ukraine. The ban comes along with a price cap agreed by the Group of Seven allied democracies. The goal is allowing Russian diesel to keep flowing to countries like China and India and avoiding a sudden price rise that would hurt consumers worldwide, while reducing the profits funding Moscow’s budget and war. Diesel is key for the economy because it is used to power cars, trucks carrying …

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Iraq on Sunday for talks on energy and food security in view of the Ukraine conflict, an Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman said. He landed in Baghdad late on Sunday at the head of a large delegation that includes “oil and gas companies and investors,” Ahmed al-Sahhaf told AFP. On Monday, Lavrov will meet Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, the state news agency INA quoted Sahhaf as saying. He will also meet Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, President Abdul Latif Rashid, and parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi. INA quoted Sahhaf as saying Lavrov’s visit “confirms Iraq’s …

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Gale-force winds and snowstorms closed roads and left more than 25,000 households in Serbia without power Sunday, while fallen trees disrupted traffic in neighboring Croatia and Montenegro. In Croatia, a red alert was issued for the regions along the Adriatic coast due to north winds estimated to reach 130 km per hour (81 mph). Authorities in Montenegro’s coastal town of Budva warned citizens to stay indoors after strong winds Saturday destroyed a school roof, brought down trees and lamp posts, sank a tourist boat and disrupted traffic along the coast. More than 250 km (155 miles) of local roads in …

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Some refugees and asylum-seekers in Brussels have been spending months in between the Street of Palaces and the Small Castle — quite literally. Unfortunately, it’s not a dream come true at the end of their fearful flight from halfway across the globe. It’s a perpetual nightmare. Petit Chateau, which means small castle, is a government reception center that often does anything but welcome arrivals. The Rue des Palais — street of palaces — has the city’s worst squat, where the smell of urine and the prevalence of scurvy have come to symbolize how the European Union’s migration policy is failing. …

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Voters in Cyprus are going to the polls Sunday to elect a new president. While 14 candidates are running for the office, the real race is expected to be among three candidates who are all closely associated with current president Nicos Anastasiades. Right-wing DISY party leader Averof Neophytou, career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis and former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides, who is leading in the polls, are the top candidates, analysts say. If no one receives more than half the votes, then the two candidates who get the most votes in Sunday’s poll will face off in a runoff election later this …

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Pushing her son on a swing at a playground on a sunny winter’s day in Madrid, former Afghan prosecutor Obaida Sharar expresses relief that she found asylum in Spain after fleeing Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban took over.  Sharar, who arrived in Madrid with her family, is one of 19 female prosecutors to have found asylum in the country after being left in limbo in Pakistan without official refugee status for up to a year after the Taliban’s return to power.  She feels selfish being happy while her fellow women suffer, she said.  “Most Afghan women and girls that remain …

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The thermometer sinks below zero as a blizzard of fine snow descends on two houses freshly built inside a massive laboratory in northern England. Despite the icy conditions, the two energy-efficient homes remain cozy and warm due to their use of cutting-edge heating and insulation technology. Welcome to Energy House 2.0 — a science experiment designed to help the world’s housebuilders slash carbon emissions, save energy and tackle climate change. The project, based in a laboratory resembling a giant warehouse on Salford University campus near the center of Manchester, opened last month. Rain, wind, sunshine and snow can be recreated …

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A Royal Navy warship has returned to port in Britain after several sailors got sick from the vessel’s drinking water, officials said Saturday. The navy said, frigate HMS Portland had returned to its base at Portsmouth on England’s south coast Friday “as a precautionary measure, following an issue with one of the ship’s freshwater systems.” It said, “a small number of personnel were taken to hospital as a precaution.” The Daily Telegraph reported that a crew member put the wrong chemicals into the system that converts sea water to drinking water, but quickly realized the mistake and reported it to …

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A funeral for a Belarusian military volunteer and activist who died fighting on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine was held Saturday in Kyiv. Eduard Lobau was killed in fierce artillery battles in Vuhledar against Russian troops as part of a small but dynamic regiment of Belarusian dissidents fighting alongside the Ukrainian armed forces. His body will be taken to Warsaw for burial. Russian troops have ramped up attacks in the east of Ukraine, particularly in the industrial towns of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. Moscow has said its main goal is to capture the eastern Donetsk province which it considers a part …

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Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war have returned home following a prisoner swap, officials on both sides said Saturday. Top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post that 116 Ukrainians were freed. He said the released POWs include troops who held out in Mariupol during Moscow’s monthslong siege that reduced the southern port city to ruins, as well as guerrilla fighters from the Kherson region and snipers captured during the ongoing fierce battles for the eastern city of Bakhmut. Russian defense officials, meanwhile, announced that 63 Russian troops had returned from Ukraine following the swap, …

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Police stepped up security Saturday as North Macedonia and Bulgaria commemorated a 19th-century revolutionary claimed by both neighbors as a hero at a ceremony expected to be attended by nationalists from the two countries. The two Balkan states have had tense relations since 2020, when European Union member Bulgaria blocked the start of accession talks with North Macedonia over disputes relating to history and language. Police sealed off the area around the Church of Holy Salvation in Skopje, where North Macedonian officials laid wreaths on the 151st anniversary of the birth of Goce Delcev, a revolutionary hailed by both countries …

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Italy’s coast guard Friday found eight bodies, including the body of a pregnant woman, on a migrant vessel that was attempting to make the journey across the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy. The bodies were unloaded on Italy’s Lampedusa island, the first stop for many migrants on the journey across the sea. Dozens more Africans were aboard the vessel, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency. Survivors of the journey told officials that three other people had died at sea, ANSA reported. They said a women died and fell into the water with her 4-month-old son, who drowned. In addition, …

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Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and for metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced Friday.      “The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honor our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88. Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain,” the statement from beauty and fashion company Puig said.    Le Telegramme newspaper quoted the mayor of Vannes, David Robo, as saying that Rabanne died at his home in the Brittany region town of Portsall.    Rabanne’s fashion house …

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The Group of Seven industrialized countries agreed Friday on a price cap for refined Russian oil exports.     U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement that the agreement follows a similar price cap on crude Russian oil exports set in December and “helps advance our goals of limiting Russia’s key revenue generator in funding its illegal war” in Ukraine.   Officials say the cap is at two levels — $100 per barrel for Russian diesel and other fuels that sell for more than crude, and $45 per barrel for Russian oil products that sell for less than the price of crude, …

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