Category: Євросоюз

A trial opened Thursday in the 2018 collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy, with 59 individuals charged in the deaths of 43 people. The Morandi Bridge was crowded with travelers during the height of Italy’s summer holiday season when it collapsed during a rainstorm on August 14, 2018, sending cars plunging 45 meters (148 feet) into a dry riverbed below. Those on trial include employees of Autostrade per l’Italia, which operated the bridge, and its maintenance unit SPEA, as well as past and present Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport managers and civil servants. Autostrade and SPEA have reached a …

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With Azerbaijan’s print media curtailed by years of economic and political pressure, online news outlets are filling the gap. Media analysts in Azerbaijan say the country’s print media have almost disappeared, but that the country is seeing a growth in online media. The decline of newspapers is the biggest loss Azerbaijani media has faced in over a decade, said media rights expert and lawyer Alasgar Mammadli. “Newspapers in Azerbaijan were once very powerful and at the same time a serious alternative source of news. In this sense, it is a serious loss,” he told VOA. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said …

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Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday, triggering a search for a new British leader. Below is how the process to find Johnson’s successor will work: Candidates putting themselves forward for the leadership, and there could be many, must be nominated by other Conservative lawmakers. How many nominations they require will be set out by the committee in charge of running the contest. In 2019 it was increased to eight nominations to speed up the process. Conservative lawmakers then hold several rounds of votes to whittle down the field. Each time they are asked to vote for their favored candidate …

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Spain’s famous “running of the bulls” resumed Thursday in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in 2020.  Officially known as the San Fermin festival, Pamplona’s running of the bulls is one of Europe’s most celebrated events. It features specially bred fighting bulls, guided by six tame steers that keep the herd together as several thousand runners, most of them dressed in white with red neck scarves, run through the city’s narrow streets ahead of them.  The course runs more than 800 meters and ends in Pamplona’s bullring. Thursday’s run lasted …

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Ukrainian refugees have spread across Europe and the world since Russia invaded their homeland in February, but Polish officials estimate less than half of them have stayed in Poland. But as Greg Flakus reports from the Polish border town of Medyka, many are choosing to stay close to make quick visits across the border – and return home for good when the time comes. …

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the latest Conservative leader to feel his party’s wrath following a string of resignations from his scandal-plagued government. Here are three leaders previously ousted by their fellow Tories: Margaret Thatcher Britain’s longest-serving prime minister of the 20th century tearfully stepped down in November 1990 after a Cabinet revolt. She had vowed to fight on after narrowly winning the first round of a leadership ballot, but then accepted that her position had become untenable. Although she had won a third term by a landslide in 1987, her introduction of a universal “poll tax” payable by …

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 They shared laughs, smiles, memories. There also were tears, fears, unease.  Through the range of emotions, one common thread bonded them together: Brittney Griner.  Wearing “BG” shirts and holding signs, several hundred fans rallied in support of Griner on Wednesday, hoping their sentiments would reach the WNBA player 6,000 miles away in a Russian jail cell.  “It’s really painful and hard to watch, and it’s really taken a toll on a lot of us,” said Kelly Gedney of Surprise, Arizona. “We can feel the fear that she has. It’s scary to me that she’s in a cage when she is …

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Russian influence peddlers appear to have narrowed their focus as they continue attempts to sow disunity and undermine Western efforts to support Ukraine, according to new research from the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. While traces of Russian influence operations can be found targeting many of the countries that have been backing Ukraine with weapons, financial support or other aid, it appears the most intense efforts have centered on a handful of countries viewed by the Kremlin as perhaps the most vulnerable. “We believe that France, Germany, Poland, and Turkey are the primary targets of this influence narrative based on observed …

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As evacuees from Mariupol and other occupied Ukrainian cities make their way through Russia to third countries, they are beginning to tell stories of their harrowing journeys and of mixed treatment at the hands of Russian authorities. Vlad Shorohov, 25, is a former Mariupol resident. A former reporter and restaurant manager, he was able to escape the artillery-ravaged city by evacuating through Russia to Finland, where he is currently working in construction. Shorohov left Mariupol on March 20 with his mother, grandmother, a niece, and other family members and neighbors after spending three weeks in the icy basement of a …

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The United Nations warned Wednesday that the world is failing in its efforts to eradicate hunger, as 828 million more people had too little to eat in 2021 — 150 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2019. The State of Food Security and Nutrition report, released Wednesday, is the collaborative effort of five U.N. agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program. Their data show that the major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition are conflict, climate change and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities. “The ongoing war in Ukraine, together with other …

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The death toll rose to nine Wednesday from a glacier avalanche Sunday in the Italian Dolomite Mountains, Maurizio Fugatti, president of the province of Trento, said as rescue workers continued to search for victims. The two new casualties were spotted by drones on Wednesday near the edge of the avalanche’s debris field, officials said. Five hikers believed to have been near the avalanche remain missing. Precarious conditions on the mountain are preventing search and rescue teams from working near the site of the avalanche. A police team adept at DNA analysis has also been called in to assist with identifying …

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Turkish authorities have detained a Russian ship, which Kyiv claims is carrying stolen grain. The move comes as Turkey faces new scrutiny by those who accuse it of undermining Western sanctions against Russia. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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Until February 24, when Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine, the Cold War was encapsulated in museums as a dark period in European history. But the divide between Moscow and the West is showing no signs of healing, and analysts say the current state of relations could be the start of a new cold war — or the continuation of the old one. Marcus Harton narrates this report. …

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Valentyna Klymenko tries to return home as late as possible to avoid the darkness of her war-damaged home outside Ukraine’s capital. She visits friends, goes to the well for water, or looks for a place to charge her phone.  The 70-year-old Klymenko then returns alone to an apartment that used to be noisy and full of life. She is now greeted by dim, damp rooms instead of the voices of her great-grandchildren.  Klymenko rarely cooks. She drinks fruit compote and eats canned tomatoes she prepared last year so she doesn’t waste the gas in her portable stove. She goes to …

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Swedish prosecutors announced Wednesday they charged an 18-year-old man with two counts of murder in connection with a March attack at a high school. Authorities say the man armed with a knife and an axe killed two teachers at Malmo Latin School. The man was a student at the school, which has about 1,100 students. He was arrested shortly after the attack and is due to go on trial later this month. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. …

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration plans to participate in this week’s foreign ministers’ meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will take center stage. VOA’s Anita Powell reports. …

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Police in Turkey’s capital broke up an LGBTQ Pride march Tuesday and detained dozens of people. Turkish authorities have banned LGBTQ events, but about 50 people holding rainbow flags nevertheless marched toward a main park to mark the end of Pride Month. Police officers prevented the group from reaching the park, detaining the participants on a busy street in central Ankara. Some of the marchers were forced to the ground, angering passers-by who tried to physically intervene or pleaded with officers to let them go. Plain-clothed officers were seen pushing them away. Organizers said at least 30 people were detained. …

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Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday used his first trip abroad since taking office to urge world powers to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, calling the Islamic republic a threat to regional stability. Lapid met in Paris on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on Lapid to revive talks toward peace with the Palestinians and said Israelis are “lucky” to have Lapid in charge. Lapid, who took office Friday, focused on Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the stalled global deal aimed at curbing them. Israel accuses Iran of trying to …

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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling for an end to the war in Ukraine and for perpetrators of atrocities and crimes in the conduct of the war to be held accountable. Bachelet presented her latest update on the situation in Ukraine to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Tuesday. Bachelet’s report covers the period between February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine and May 15. The report presents an exhaustive tally of killings, widespread destruction, arbitrary detentions, forced disappearance and other gross violations of human rights. In reviewing this list of atrocities, the U.N. rights chief …

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Britain’s finance and health ministers resigned on Tuesday, in what looked to be a final blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had tried to apologize for the latest scandal involving a sexual misconduct complaint over one of his ministers. Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced his resignation in a statement, saying he could “no longer continue in good conscience.” Moments later, finance minister Rishi Sunak also announced he was quitting. The resignations came as Johnson was apologizing for what he said was a mistake by not realizing that former whip Chris Pincher was unsuitable for a job in government after …

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