Category: Євросоюз

Amnesty International on Monday accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, saying attacks on Kharkiv, many using banned cluster bombs, had killed hundreds of civilians.   “The repeated bombardments of residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv are indiscriminate attacks which killed and injured hundreds of civilians, and as such constitute war crimes,” the rights group said in a report on Ukraine’s second-largest city.    “This is true both for the strikes carried out using cluster (munitions) as well as those conducted using other types of unguided rockets and unguided artillery shells,” it said.    “The continued use of such inaccurate explosive weapons in populated civilian …

READ MORE

Belgium’s King Philippe ended his historic tour of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday in the eastern city of Bukavu, as the Congolese army repulsed a rebel attack further north.  The king visited Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege on the outskirts of the city, on the last leg of his six-day visit to the former Belgian colony. Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war — which is rampant in eastern DRC. But the Belgian sovereign’s visit came as rebels from the M23 …

READ MORE

Having to defend Gotland against a foreign invasion seemed such a far-fetched notion to Swedish decision-makers at the start of the century that they demilitarized the Baltic Sea island. Now, the Swedish Armed Forces are back, and they are practicing with U.S. troops not just how to defend the island with a population of 58,000, but how to take it back from a foreign aggressor. U.S. Marines have conducted air drops and amphibious landings on Gotland as part of a NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea. Though the annual BALTOPS exercise isn’t held in response to a specific threat, this …

READ MORE

The French voted Sunday in the first round of legislative elections dominated by a surging left-wing alliance and fears of a historic abstention rate. A strong showing for the far-left NUPES coalition could upend President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist agenda.  It’s hard to find a supporter of centrist President Emmanuel Macron and his party in a working-class neighborhood in northeastern Paris. Martine Barratte, leaving a polling station with her husband and eight-year-old daughter, has just cast her ballot for a left-wing coalition and its leading force, Jean-Luc Melenchon. “I’ve got big hopes…I wish a better world for my daughter. Social issues …

READ MORE

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that Turkey has “legitimate concerns” over terrorism and other issues that need to be taken seriously. Turkey has accused Finland and Sweden of supporting Kurdish militants and says it will not back the two Nordic nations joining NATO until they change their policies. Speaking at a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Stoltenberg stressed that “no other NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey” and pointed to its strategic geographic location with neighbors like Iraq and Syria. “These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it’s about weapons exports,” Stoltenberg …

READ MORE

The first of dozens of restaurants taken over after the iconic fast-food chain McDonald’s pulled out of Russia has reopened in Moscow, under new ownership and a new name: Tasty and That’s It. Owners of the new chain, whose name in Russian is Vkusno and Tochka, say initially 15 rebranded restaurants will reopen across Russia, with more to come in coming months. Dozens of Russians lined up on Sunday at the famous Moscow location where McDonald’s first opened its doors 30 years ago to try out the new burgers and fries. Oleg Paroyev, chief executive of the company taking over …

READ MORE

Legislation that Britain will unilaterally bring forward on Monday to scrap some of the rules that govern post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland will not break international law, minister Brandon Lewis said on Sunday. “The legislation that we will outline tomorrow is within the law; what we are going to do is lawful and it is correct,” the Northern Ireland Secretary told Sky News. When Britain left the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed a protocol that effectively left Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market and customs union to preserve the open border with Ireland specified in the Good Friday …

READ MORE

Penny Taylor used her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame to call for the release of her former WNBA Phoenix Mercury teammate Brittney Griner, noting it’s been 114 days since the seven-time WNBA All-Star was detained. “BG is our family,” Taylor said in asking President Biden’s help freeing Griner. “She’s yours too. The entire global sport community needs to come together to insist that she be a priority.” The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been detained Feb. 17 after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. Taylor …

READ MORE

In the outdoor gym on Venice Beach, the name given to an inviting stretch of sand on the majestic Dnieper River that courses through the capital of Ukraine, Serhiy Chornyi is working on his summer body, up-down-up-downing a chunky hunk of iron. The aim of his sweat and toil isn’t to impress the girls in their bright summer bikinis. Working out is part of his contribution to Ukraine’s all-hands-on-deck war effort: The National Guardsman expects to be sent eastward to the battlefields soon and doesn’t want to take his paunch with him for the fight against Russia’s invasion force. “I’m …

READ MORE

Italian rescuers on Saturday found the bodies of seven people, including four Turkish and two Lebanese businessmen, who died when their helicopter crashed in a heavily forested, mountainous area in north-central Italy during a storm, authorities said. Colonel Alfonso Cipriano, who heads an air force rescue coordination unit that led the search since Thursday, said rescuers were tipped off to the crash site after a mountain runner reported seeing what he thought was a part of the mangled chopper during an excursion on Mount Cusna on Saturday morning. Air crews confirmed the site, and ground crews initially found five bodies, …

READ MORE

The first highway bridge connecting China and Russia opened Friday, the first day of the 3-day Shangri-La Summit in Singapore. Construction of the bridge was completed two years back, but it remained unused because of the coronavirus pandemic.     The timing of its opening is significant. Russia and China have come under severe criticism at the summit, and analysts say the bridge is a signal China can help Russia navigate economic sanctions.   The opening comes just one month after a railway bridge linking the two countries was inaugurated. The road bridge in northern China, called the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe Bridge, …

READ MORE

The European Union should kick off accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania to finally fulfill its pledge to integrate the Western Balkans, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday on the second day of a tour to the region. Speaking in Skopje, Scholz said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made it important for Europe to stand together and he praised North Macedonia’s support of sanctions on the Kremlin. “It’s very important to bring a new dynamic into this process,” Scholz said in a news conference with North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski. “I will advocate that the next steps …

READ MORE

Britain’s plan to fly asylum seekers 6,000 kilometers to Rwanda faces a last-minute legal challenge. The first flight is scheduled to leave June 14, carrying up to 100 migrants. However, a group of non-governmental organizations and refugee campaigners have launched a legal case at the High Court in London to seek an injunction blocking the flight. A decision is expected in coming days. Among the plaintiffs is Clare Moseley, the founder of the charity Care4Calais. “People come from Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran. They are all terrified. They have all fled their home countries due to absolutely terrible circumstances. A number …

READ MORE

Armed with a bright smile and a fistful of campaign flyers, Sarah Legrain works her way through the Curial market in northeastern Paris’ 19th arrondissement, where shoppers banter and bargain in North African Arabic. She accepts a slice of watermelon from a vendor, and chats with a veiled Tunisian mother. A man in a white track vest politely rebuffs her overture but other shoppers pause to listen to her arguments for a more socially minded, greener France. Five years ago, the 36-year-old high schoolteacher narrowly lost her bid for a seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s …

READ MORE

Russia and China on Friday unveiled the first road bridge between the two countries as Moscow pivots to Asia amid its confrontation with the West over Ukraine. The kilometer-long bridge over the Amur River links the far eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with Heihe in northern China. The construction of the bridge was completed two years ago but its inauguration was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.  During a ceremony in Blagoveshchensk on Friday, the bridge opened to freight traffic, with the passage of the first trucks greeted by fireworks. Consisting of two traffic lanes, the bridge cost around 19 …

READ MORE

A years-old piece of draft legislation that seeks to criminalize the spread of disinformation is moving toward a vote in the Turkish parliament. The bill is being met with deep concern by media rights groups across the country. If passed, the so-called “disinformation” law put forward by ruling majority parliamentarians would carry a sentence of up to three years in prison for the spread of fake new or disinformation as defined by government officials. Newly drafted proposals are laid out across 40 articles, including some that would target social media users and regulate digital media. If passed, the bill would …

READ MORE

The European Central Bank will raise interest rates next month for the first time in 11 years and add another hike in September, catching up with other central banks worldwide as they pivot from supporting the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic to squelching soaring inflation.  The surprise move Thursday marks a turning point after years of extremely low interest rates but faces risks from weakening prospects for economic growth. Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent shock waves through the global economy, particularly as energy prices have soared and clobbered Europe, which relies on Russian oil and natural gas.  “Russia’s unjustified …

READ MORE

Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO remains in question ahead of the alliance’s summit this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hardening his opposition on their joining, accusing the two countries of supporting terrorists. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

READ MORE

Three foreign men have been sentenced to death by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine who say the men fought for Ukrainian forces. The two British citizens and a Moroccan were found guilty by a court that is not internationally recognized in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic of fighting for Ukraine and of being mercenaries and therefore not covered by traditional prisoner of war protections. Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti, identified the three as Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Saaudun Brahim. Pinner and Aslin surrendered to pro-Russian forces in the southern port of Mariupol in mid-April, while Brahim did so …

READ MORE

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT. 2:45 a.m.: The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense shares its latest Defense Intelligence update “on the situation in Ukraine.”   1:30 a..m.: The body of French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was killed in Ukraine, is repatriated, reports Agence France-Presse. 12:30 a.m.: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Ukrainian retailers have lost almost $1.7 billion, according to a tweet by The Kyiv Independent.   Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. …

READ MORE