Category: Євросоюз

Red-hot lava Saturday engulfed the land Jose Roberto Sanchez inherited from his parents, and lightning flashed around the rim of the volcano that has been erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma for almost three weeks. There were 37 seismic movements Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said, but La Palma’s airport reopened after being closed since Thursday because of ash, Spanish air traffic operator Aena said. All other Canary Islands airports were open. The magma streaming down the hillside from the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed at least four village buildings, some of nearly …

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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Saturday that he planned to step down in an effort to defuse a government crisis triggered by prosecutors’ announcement that he is a target of a corruption investigation. Kurz, 35, said he had proposed that Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg replace him. But Kurz himself will remain in politics: He said he would become the head of his conservative Austrian People’s Party’s parliamentary group. Kurz’s party had closed ranks behind him after the prosecutors’ announcement on Wednesday. But its junior coalition partner, the Greens, said Friday that Kurz couldn’t remain as chancellor and demanded that his …

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United Nations monitors have found a significant rise in casualties in eastern Ukraine since Russia-backed separatists ended a cease-fire agreement with the government in Kyiv earlier this year. The findings are part of a report by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The report covers human rights developments in Ukraine from February to the end of July of this year. It found 15 civilians have been killed and 47 injured since fighting escalated in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.  It noted that the number constituted a 51% increase over the previous …

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French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that his country will return 26 African artworks — royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues — to Benin later this month, part of France’s long-promised plans to give back artwork taken from Africa during the colonial era. Discussions have been under way for years on returning the artworks from the 19th century Dahomey Kingdom. Called the “Abomey Treasures,” they currently are held in the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. The museum, near the Eiffel Tower, holds thousands of works from former French colonies. Macron said the 26 pieces will be given back at the …

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Russia’s state statistics service reported nearly 50,000 coronavirus deaths in the country in August, taking the toll since the beginning of the pandemic to over 400,000, nearly double the official government figure. Rosstat released its figures late Friday, reporting that 49,389 people died from COVID-19 in August, a figure much higher than 24,661, the government tally for the same month. Overall, Rosstat says around 418,000 people have died in Russia since the pandemic began. This nearly doubles the official total death toll of 214,000 published by the Russian coronavirus task force earlier Friday. Russian officials explained the discrepancy, saying COVID-19 …

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“It’s worse than a plague,” said Pedro Antonio Sanchez, fuming over the volcanic grit coating his bananas, the main source of wealth on the Canaries’ island of La Palma. “It’s worse than a pest or disease because it scratches [the fruit],” said Sanchez, gesturing at the black sandy deposits that have rained down since the volcano erupted on September 19. The volcano has caused major damage to banana plantations in La Palma, the second-largest producer in the Atlantic Canary Islands, where the crop accounts for 50 of the island’s economy, industry figures show.  Once the ash lands on the bananas, …

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Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov of Novaya Gazeta and Philippine journalist Maria Ressa of Rappler have been named the recipients of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize — a move press freedom advocates hope will shine light on the threats to a global free press. Esha Sarai has more. Tommy Walker contributed. …

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French President Emmanuel Macron faced the frustration of young people from across Africa on Friday over a range of issues, including migration and the vestiges of colonialism, at a summit aiming to turn the page with the continent. Billed as a chance to prove France’s commitment in particular to young Africans, the Africa-France summit gathering some 3,000 business leaders, artists and athletes in the southern city of Montpellier was largely dominated by the region’s crises. “I can no longer stand to see African youths dying in the sea” trying to reach Europe, a woman told Macron as he visited the …

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Surrounded by a group of men wielding axes, Romanian filmmaker Mihai Dragolea was sure he was going to die. The filmmaker, part of the independent Vagabond Film production company, was with his colleague Radu Mocanu as well as Tiberiu Bosutar, a former timber worker turned environmental activist, in a remote forested area in Romania last month for a documentary on illegal logging.  While the film crew was working in the woods, a group of 10 to 20 men, carrying axes and bats, approached. Dragolea said someone yelled, “Stop the camera. We’re going to kill you.” Another man broke their car …

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The Norwegian Nobel Committee Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” At a ceremony in Oslo, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen announced the winners, saying, “Ms. Ressa and Mr. Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and in Russia.” In a statement, the committee said Philippine journalist Maria Ressa is being recognized for her fearless use of freedom of expression to …

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The United States and the European Union have honored the memory of a Russian investigative journalist slain 15 years ago by demanding that Moscow bring to justice those who ordered her killing and praising the independent journalists continuing her legacy under Kremlin pressure. In one of two statements issued Thursday, the 15th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s killing, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized what he called “continued impunity for those who ordered [her] murder,” saying it undermined Russia’s freedom of speech, press freedom and broader human rights. “We urge that all of those involved in her murder be identified …

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The Irish and Estonian governments on Thursday agreed to sign on to a 15% global minimum tax rate on multinational firms, leaving only Hungary as the last hold-out against the far-reaching deal.  The reform aims to stop international corporations from slashing the tax bills by registering in nations with low rates.  “The government has now approved my recommendation that Ireland joins the international consensus,” Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said.  “I’m absolutely satisfied that our interests are better served within the agreement,” he added.  Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that joining the reform would ensure “we have the best …

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A Russian film crew blasts into space on a moviemaking history mission, an American actor known for playing a space explorer gets the chance to see the real deal, and more. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more on the Week in Space. …

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The head of a major Ukrainian state-owned bank has said he is under investigation in connection with a confrontation with RFE/RL investigative reporters during an interview this week. Yevhen Metsher, who stepped down temporarily as Ukreximbank’s CEO earlier this week, said he was handed the official notice on Thursday. “I am ready to fully cooperate with the investigation. I am deeply confident that freedom of speech is an important element of Ukraine’s development,” Metsher wrote in a post to his Facebook page. “Once more, I would like to express my sincere apologies to the journalistic community and personally to” the …

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Russia appears to be getting more aggressive and more successful as the nation’s hackers launch a growing number of cyberattacks against the United States and other nations, according to a new report by Microsoft.  Microsoft’s 2021 Digital Defense Report warns that what it labels as “Russian nation-state actors” are responsible for 58% of all nation-state cyberattacks, and that they are now successful almost one out of every three times.  “Russia-based activity groups have solidified their position as acute threats to the global digital ecosystem,” the report said, cautioning that Russian cyber actors have been adaptable, getting better at using open-source tools …

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German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Thursday the nation has vaccinated millions more people than previously thought, thanks to some unreported vaccination numbers discovered by the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control. The institute says nearly 80% of adults in Germany are fully vaccinated, and about 84% have received at least one shot. Previous official reports were about 5% lower — meaning there are about 3.5 million more people vaccinated than had been reported.  Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Spahn said the discrepancy was discovered in surveys conducted by the RKI that revealed additional vaccinations. He believes some big companies’ …

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A popular Russian newspaper has shut down its branch in Belarus after one of its local staff was arrested in the wake of a shootout that left an opposition supporter and a security officer dead. Komsomolskaya Pravda announced the decision to close its Belarusian subsidiary on Tuesday night, citing “the events of the past year and especially the past week.”  Last Wednesday, the Belarusian Ministry of Information blocked access to the newspaper’s Belarusian website, visited by some 20,000 users daily, and two days later human rights advocates reported that one of its Belarusian journalists, Hienadz Mazheyka, was detained. Komsomolskaya Pravda …

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NATO is expelling eight Russian diplomats and plans to halve the size of Russia’s observer mission to the Western alliance in response to alleged malign Russian espionage activities in Europe, which have included killings, attempted assassinations and explosions, say European officials. The diplomats have been told to leave Brussels by the end of this month. Two other Russian diplomatic slots currently vacant at NATO headquarters will not be allowed to be filled, NATO officials told VOA.   The stripping of the accreditations of the eight Russian diplomats, first reported by Britain’s Sky News, was denounced swiftly by Russian lawmakers. The …

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Victims of sexual abuse by priests in France are calling for historic reform of the Catholic Church after an independent commission found that hundreds of thousands of children had suffered systematic abuse over the past seven decades. Henry Ridgwell reports. …

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NATO said Wednesday it expelled eight members of Russia’s mission to the military alliance for allegedly working in secret as intelligence officers.  “We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers,” an unnamed NATO official said. NATO also said it would cut the number of positions that Russia could accredit to NATO from 20 to 10 at the end of October. The alliance did not immediately explain why the decision was made.  The official said, “NATO’s policy towards Russia remains consistent. We have strengthened our …

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