Category: Євросоюз

Catholic groups Tuesday accused Italy’s Church of an “institutional failure” to confront clergy sexual abuse and demanded an independent national inquiry mirroring ones conducted in France and Germany.  A collective of nine groups — seven headed by women — issued the demand during the launch of a campaign called “Beyond the Great Silence” and a hashtag, #ItalyChurchToo, inspired by the international #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.  In an online news conference, Paola Lazzarini, head of Women for the Church, called for the opening of the archives of “all dioceses, convents and monasteries,” damages for victims and the uncovering of the …

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Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny went on trial Tuesday in a penal colony outside of Moscow, accused of embezzlement and contempt of court. If convicted, he could face up to 15 more years in prison.  The hearing is taking place inside the maximum-security prison in Moscow’s Lefortovsky district court, where he is being held, 96 kilometers from Moscow.  The Kremlin critic was arrested in January 2021 and convicted of violating his parole by spending several months in Germany recovering from a poison attack. He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison.  At his new trial, Russian investigators say Navalny …

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The European Union and African Union are holding their once every-three-year summit this week, after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders from the two continents will meet in Brussels to discuss, among other things, the reaction to the pandemic and helping Africa adapt to climate change. African countries are not happy with the EU travel bans, vaccine distribution, and unwillingness to lift intellectual property rights on vaccines that can help the continent produce COVID vaccines.    Tobias Wellner is a senior analyst with Dragonfly Intelligence, a group that studies global security and political risks. He said the …

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has arrived in Brussels for talks with NATO leadership and allied defense ministers, as tens of thousands of Russian troops have surrounded Ukraine from the north, south and east. During the gathering on Wednesday and Thursday, Austin and his counterparts will discuss how to deter Russia from invading Ukraine while shoring up defenses on the alliance’s eastern flank. “This really is a decisive moment for NATO, the likes of which we have not really seen potentially since NATO was established in 1949,” said Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political …

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Britain’s Prince Andrew has settled a lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. News of the settlement came in a letter filed with a Manhattan court Tuesday by Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the letter said Andrew “intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.” “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair …

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Russia says it is withdrawing some of its forces from areas close to the Ukrainian border after completing military drills, mocking Western intelligence agencies for naming February 16 as the date a Russian invasion of its neighbor would start. And the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his senior aides say diplomacy is winning. “We and our allies have managed to prevent Russia from any further escalation. Diplomacy is continuing to work,” tweeted Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, as news broke of the claimed partial withdrawal of Russian forces. Although Kuleba cautioned: “On Russian statements regarding withdrawal of some forces from …

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Tennis star Novak Djokovic says he is prepared to skip the next two major championships if it means he will have to take a COVID-19 vaccine to enter the host countries. During an interview with the BBC Tuesday, the world’s number one male tennis player said he remains opposed to taking the vaccine, and says “it is the price I am willing to pay” if it means missing the French Open in May and Britain’s Wimbledon tournament the following month. The 34-year-old Serbian’s stance comes just weeks after a dramatic standoff with Australian immigration officials cost him a chance to …

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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia, Ukraine and the West on Monday to de-escalate tensions, saying “there is no alternative to diplomacy.”  “The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate,” he said of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the West says could happen as soon as Wednesday.  “We simply cannot accept even the possibility of such a disastrous confrontation,” he said at United Nations headquarters.   He pledged to remain engaged with the parties, offering his offices to help find a solution.   Guterres spoke to reporters after returning from …

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Despite their popularity in recent years, Azerbaijan’s Valentine’s Day celebrations are somewhat muted this year. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, as well as poverty, are blamed by some shopkeepers for the gloomy attitude. “During the pandemic, our business has been weak. Can’t sell much,” street vendor Tamkin Nagiyev told VOA. “People ask the price, then citing the high prices, they do not purchase. They just celebrate it with one flower.” Ruslan Abdullayev, a flower shop owner, confirmed the pandemic’s impact, saying consumers’ ability to cope has been severely weakened. “Previously, we sold each flower for 20 Manats ($11.75). …

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Polish ministers say they are drafting plans with the country’s regional governors to cope with the possible arrival of up to a million refugees from neighboring Ukraine in the event Russia decides to invade — an action U.S. and British officials have warned could come as early as this week. Mariusz Kamiński, the country’s interior minister, sought to reassure Poles the country is ready for what could be the biggest refugee crisis to roil Europe since 2015, when the influx into the European Union of more than a million refugees and migrants from the Middle East and the sub-Sahara roiled …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting the United Arab Emirates, hoping to repair strained ties. Analysts say shared concerns over Iran could provide common ground. Erdogan said that his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, which began Monday, aims to ease years of tension and rivalry with the Persian Gulf state. He said that with the visit, Turkey aims to develop the momentum it has achieved and to take the necessary steps to bring relations back to the level, he said, they deserve. Turkey has found itself increasingly isolated across the Middle East, due largely to Ankara’s support …

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The wife of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny lashed out at Russian authorities Monday, on the eve of a new trial that could extend his sentence by over a decade. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was jailed last February for two and a half years on old fraud charges after surviving a poisoning attack that he and the West blame on the Kremlin. On Tuesday, a new hearing has been scheduled at his penal colony outside Moscow on additional fraud and contempt of court charges against Navalny.   “Listen you, cowards and scoundrels! I demand that I …

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There will be no medal ceremony for the women’s singles figure skating at the Beijing Olympics if Russia’s Kamila Valieva finishes in the top three, the IOC said on Monday. There will also be no ceremony for the team event, won by Russia last week with 15-year-old Valieva playing a starring role. The International Olympic Committee made the announcement after the Court of Arbitration for Sport said earlier Monday that the teenager could continue competing at the Games despite testing positive in December for a banned substance. The Russian is favorite to win the singles event when it starts on …

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks Monday in Kyiv as Western leaders express solidarity with Ukraine amid fears of a Russian invasion. Scholz told reporters Sunday that Russia’s buildup of troops along the border with Ukraine is a “very, very serious threat,” and that his Monday visit to Kyiv and a Tuesday stop in Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin are about finding “a way to ensure peace in Europe.” Ukraine on Sunday requested that Russia and the other members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe take part …

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BEIJING — Asian stock markets fell Monday and oil prices rose amid concern about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tokyo’s benchmark index fell by an unusually wide daily margin of 2.6%. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul also retreated.  On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index tumbled 1.9% on Friday after the White House encouraged Americans to leave Ukraine within 48 hours. Other governments including Russia were pulling diplomats and their citizens out of the country.  Russia is one of the biggest oil producers. Any military action that disrupts supplies could send shockwaves through global energy markets and industry. …

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The guessing game about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions continued Sunday, with alarmed Western military officials and independent experts agreeing the Kremlin has amassed sufficient forces to invade Ukraine. Disagreements persist, though, among allies over whether the military buildup is a feint designed to extract Western concessions or an invasion force primed for assault. Washington and London believe Russia is not pretending, and that the forces deployed on three sides of Ukraine are not just mirroring an invasion force but are ready to mount an offensive. “The worrying thing is that despite the massive amount of increased diplomacy, that military …

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U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday as the United States says the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms as a “distinct possibility” in the coming days.  Biden conferred by phone with the Ukrainian leader from the Camp David presidential retreat outside Washington, where the U.S. leader is spending the weekend as Western officials express increased fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack the one-time Soviet republic in the next few days, possibly by Wednesday.  Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security official, told CNN’s “State of the Union” show that the U.S. cannot …

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U.S. President Joe Biden again warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call Saturday of “swift and severe” consequences if Russia invades Ukraine, according to a statement from the White House.   Biden and Putin discussed the crisis as tensions continue to grow amid concerns that Russia is ready to mount an invasion of Ukraine. Russia continues to add to the more than 100,000 troops it has amassed at the Ukrainian border in recent months. After the call, Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin’s top foreign policy adviser, said Biden had largely repeated ideas offered in January to address Russia’s security …

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Waving flags and singing the national anthem, thousands of Ukrainians braved the winter cold to march across Kyiv on Saturday to show unity in the face of a feared Russian invasion. “Panic is useless. We must unite and fight for independence,” said student Maria Shcherbenko, expressing a sentiment similar to that voiced by Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. “I remain calm. I love Ukraine,” said Shcherbenko’s sign as the sun briefly peeked through the clouds on a cold and blustery day. Some carried signs reading “war is not the answer,” while others held banners calling on the …

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Britain joined the United States on Friday in urging foreign nationals to evacuate Ukraine while there are still commercial means to do so. The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its advice shortly after the country’s defense minister, Ben Wallace, flew out of Moscow after talks with senior Kremlin figures. Estonia is also urging citizens to leave Ukraine immediately due to “an increased risk of military action by Russia.” The evacuation calls came as senior U.S. officials warned that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time and had sufficient forces deployed to do so. The European Union’s envoy to …

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