Category: Євросоюз

The World Health Organization says a new coronavirus variant recently detected in France is nothing to be concerned about right now. Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in the city of Marseille say they discovered the new B.1.640.2 variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon. The researchers said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, which they labeled “IHU” after the institute, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original coronavirus.  The French team …

READ MORE

Pope Francis Thursday marked the Catholic feast day of Epiphany, the day traditionally observed to commemorate the three wise men — or Magi — visiting the baby Jesus, by urging people to “follow their dreams.” During a Mass celebrated at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope recalled the journey of the Magi, who, according to Scripture, followed a star to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born in a manger. He said the three had a sort of “healthy restlessness” driven by a desire to see the Christ child. Francis said, “They were not content to plod through life, …

READ MORE

The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and current and former officials, adding pressure against their secessionist efforts threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s fragile union. In its statement, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Dodik of corruption and threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s stability and territorial integrity. “Milorad Dodik’s destabilizing corrupt activities and attempts to dismantle the Dayton Peace Accords, motivated by his own self-interest, threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, who was quoted in the statement. The department also imposed sanctions on Banja …

READ MORE

Taiwan said on Wednesday it would create a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade as it tries to fend off diplomatic pressure on the Baltic state from China. The Lithuanian government, meanwhile, ordered the state-owned railway company not to sign a contract with a China-owned Spanish bridge builder, citing “national security interests,” the prime minister’s spokesperson told the Baltic News Service. Lithuania is under pressure from China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to reverse a decision last year to allow the island to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius …

READ MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron burst into the presidential race with an explosive remark about the country’s minority of unvaccinated people — in an apparent effort to win support from mainstream voters but at the risk of widening divisions over the issue.  Macron used a vulgarity to describe his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. In an interview published by Le Parisien newspaper late Tuesday, he used a word meaning to rile or to bug. His salty language dominated news broadcasts on Wednesday.  “The unvaccinated, I really want to bug them. And so we will continue doing so, to the end. That’s the strategy,” he said in …

READ MORE

The United States and Germany reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity on Wednesday, warning of “massive” and “severe consequences” if Russia invades neighboring Ukraine. The renewed warning comes days ahead of scheduled U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva next week.  “Both Germany and the United States see Russia’s actions toward Ukraine as an immediate and urgent challenge to peace and stability in Europe,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “We condemn Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders as well as Moscow’s increasingly harsh rhetoric.” Blinken later added: “If Russia nonetheless chooses to escalate, we will respond swiftly.” During her first trip to Washington as Germany’s foreign minister, Baerbock warned further Russian actions …

READ MORE

Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, a top aide tweeted on Wednesday, after several people around him were infected.    “The President feels good, is not seriously ill and is under constant medical supervision,” top aide Pawel Szrot said in a tweet. He said the president was in isolation.    Duda also caught coronavirus in October 2020.    Poland has reported a lower number of new COVID-19 infections in recent days, but reporting is likely to have been influenced by a reduction in testing over the holidays.    The Omicron variant has yet to gain a foothold in Poland. The Ministry …

READ MORE

Britain’s justice secretary said Wednesday he wanted to put the “fear of God” into those who threaten women and that restoring women’s faith in the legal system was his “top priority” following a string of high-profile murders in London. Dominic Raab said he was “shocked and horrified” by the recent killings of several women, including one who was murdered by a serving police officer, calling the scale of violence “sickening”. “For many, the fear of being out alone after dark, or that they may be beaten in their own home, is a grim everyday reality,” he wrote in the Daily …

READ MORE

For the next six months, France will be running the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, giving President Emmanuel Macron a key role in shaping the future of the bloc in a year that looks set to be yet another highly turbulent and fractious one for the EU.   Macron takes the helm of the EU as French presidential elections loom, and some critics are already accusing him of weaponizing France’s six-month stint presiding over the council to try to boost his reelection hopes.   Other European leaders are bracing themselves for Macron to be hyperactive as he …

READ MORE

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to create what he described as “a pious generation” of young Turkish nationalists that would be loyal to traditional Islamic values. But political analysts say winning the votes of young people could be his biggest challenge ahead of elections in 2023. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

READ MORE

As the world continues to struggle with the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and the still-lingering delta variant, scientists in France said they have discovered a new variant that contains multiple mutations. Experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille say they discovered the new variant back in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon.  The French scientists said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious …

READ MORE

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting of allied ambassadors and top Russian officials for next week as both sides seek dialog to prevent open conflict over Ukraine, a NATO official said on Tuesday.  Worried about Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s border, the Western military alliance has been seeking a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months but the forum seemed in jeopardy after an espionage dispute in October.  The meeting of the council, a format used for dialog since 2002, will take place in Brussels on Jan. 12 after U.S. and Russian officials hold security talks on …

READ MORE

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with eastern NATO allies Monday about Russia’s military buildup along Ukraine’s border, calling for a “united” NATO stance. In a phone call Monday with his counterparts in nine eastern NATO countries, known as the Bucharest Nine, Blinken said the United States was committed to “close consultation and coordination with all of our Transatlantic Allies and partners as we work toward de-escalation through deterrence, defense and dialogue,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.  Blinken called for “a united, ready and resolute NATO stance for the collective defense of Allies” according to Price. In …

READ MORE

Five world powers have agreed to work together to stop the further spread of nuclear arms and to avoid nuclear conflict, according to a joint statement. “We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented,” said the five permanent U.N. Security Council members China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, collectively known as the P5. “We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the countries added. The statement Monday from the P5 countries comes as tensions escalate between Western nations and Moscow over Russia’s troop buildup at its border …

READ MORE

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who is seeking reelection. The right-wing prime minister is often at odds with other Western leaders.    Orban, in power since 2010, is preparing for parliamentary elections in April or May, with his ruling Fidesz party facing six opposition parties.    Trump said in a statement that Orban “truly loves his country and wants safety for his people. He has done a powerful and wonderful job in protecting Hungary, stopping illegal immigration, creating jobs, trade, and should be allowed to continue to do so in the upcoming election.”    …

READ MORE

The websites of one of Portugal’s biggest newspapers and of a major broadcaster, both owned by the country’s largest media conglomerate Impresa, were down on Monday after being hit by a hacker attack over the weekend. Expresso newspaper and SIC TV station both said they reported the incident to the criminal investigation police agency PJ and the National Cybersecurity Center (CNCS) and would file a complaint. The alleged hackers, calling themselves Lapsus$ Group, published a message on the websites saying internal data would be leaked if the media group failed to pay a ransom. The message included email and Telegram …

READ MORE

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to reset relations with Moscow and is planning a face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin later this month. Senior German officials were already scheduled to get together with Russian counterparts in January in a bid to ease geopolitical tensions amid rising alarm that the Kremlin is planning a further military incursion into Ukraine. According to a report Monday by Germany’s Bild newspaper, foreign policy adviser Jens Plotner has been discussing with the Kremlin a meeting between the German leader and Putin for more than two weeks. The paper, which has a reputation of breaking …

READ MORE

The German operator of a cruise ship that has been stuck in Lisbon’s port due to an outbreak of the coronavirus among its crew pulled the plug on the voyage on Sunday after some passengers tested positive, port authorities said. The AIDAnova, with 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew on board, docked in Lisbon on Dec. 29 while en route to the island of Madeira for New Year’s Eve celebrations but was unable to continue the journey after 52 cases of COVID-19 were detected among the fully vaccinated crew. It had been allowed to leave port and head to the Spanish …

READ MORE

U.S. President Joe Biden was planning to talk Sunday with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss ways to defuse tensions over Russia’s massive troop buildup along Ukraine’s eastern flank. Biden has made little progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin to get him to withdraw about 100,000 troops stationed along Russia’s border with the former Soviet republic, although U.S. officials do not believe Putin has decided whether to invade Ukraine. The U.S. and Russian leaders held a 50-minute phone call last Thursday, with Biden again warning Putin that the United States and its Western allies would impose significant economic sanctions against …

READ MORE

France has lowered the age of its mask mandate to 6-year-old children, officials announced Saturday. The news comes just days before schools reopen Monday, following the winter holiday break. While the mandate requires children to wear masks in indoor public places, the mandate will also include outside locations in cities like Paris and Lyon where an outside mandate is already in place. The wildly contagious omicron variant, French authorities said Saturday, has resulted in four consecutive days of over 200,000 new infections. The chief executive of Britain’s National Health Service Confederation told the BBC Saturday that the surge in COVID …

READ MORE