Category: Євросоюз

Arriving in a military helicopter, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was inaugurated in the state’s old capital on Sunday amid clashes between police and protesters who oppose continued Serb influence in the tiny Balkan nation.Hospital officials in the city of Cetinje said at least 60 people were injured, including 30 police officers, in clashes that saw police launch tear gas against the demonstrators, who hurled rocks and bottles at them and fired gunshots into the air. At least 15 people were arrested.Sunday’s inauguration ceremony angered opponents of the Serbian church in Montenegro, which declared independence from …

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The new head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro was inaugurated on Sunday, arriving by helicopter under the protection of police who dispersed protesters with tear gas. The decision to anoint Bishop Joanikije as the new Metropolitan of Montenegro at the historic monastery of Cetinje has aggravated ethnic tension in the tiny Balkan state. Protesters had blocked roads since Saturday in a bid to prevent access to the small town, both the headquarters of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) and a symbol of sovereignty for some Montenegrins. Montenegro broke away from Serbia in 2006, but a third of its 620,000 inhabitants identify …

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Germany’s center-left chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz wants to lead Europe’s largest economy in a coalition government with the left-leaning Greens, though polls suggest he will need support of a third party to reach a stable majority in parliament.Scholz and his Social Democrats (SPD) have opened up a five-point lead over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives ahead of a Sept. 26 national election that promises multiple coalition options and unusually complicated negotiations.”I would like to govern together with the Greens,” Scholz told Tagesspiegel newspaper on Sunday, adding that the policy proposals of both parties had a lot of overlaps.The SPD and the …

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The biggest trial in France’s modern legal history begins on Wednesday over the November 2015 attacks on Paris that saw 130 people slaughtered at bars, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall.The suicide bombing and gun assault by three teams of jihadists, later claimed by the Islamic State group, was France’s worst post-war atrocity.A purpose-built facility at the historic court of justice on the Ile de la Cite in central Paris will host the trial, with 14 of the 20 defendants present, including the only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam.”Everyone has their own expectations, but we know that this is an important …

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Among the cranes and containers of the port of Rotterdam is a surreal sight: a herd of cows peacefully feeding on board what calls itself the world’s first floating farm.In the low-lying Netherlands where land is scarce and climate change is a daily threat, the three-story glass and steel platform aims to show the “future of breeding”.The buoyant bovines live on the top floor, while their milk is turned into cheese, yogurt and butter on the middle level, and the cheese is matured at the bottom.”The world is under pressure,” says Minke van Wingerden, 60, who runs the farm with …

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Europe’s top human rights body on Friday called on Greece’s parliament to withdraw articles included in draft legislation that would impose heavy penalties on nongovernmental organizations that carry out unsanctioned rescue operations of migrants at sea. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement that the proposed changes would “seriously hinder the life-saving work” carried out by NGOs. Greece’s center-right government has toughened border controls since taking office two years ago and has promised additional restrictions in response to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. Under draft legislation currently being debated in parliament, members of charities involved in rescue …

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On August 24, 1991, Ukraine announced its independence from the Soviet Union, and in the next few months, the international community — country by country — recognized Ukraine as an independent sovereign state. But the foundation of this shift had been laid at the United Nations headquarters about a year earlier. Iryna Solomko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Iryna Solomko      …

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NATO’s secretary general called on Russia on Friday to be open about its “Zapad-2021” military exercises and the troop numbers involved as alarm grows in Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine about Moscow’s intentions.Previous “Zapad”, or West, exercises along the border that Russia shares with NATO have been on a vast scale, according to allied officials, who say Moscow has habitually underreported their size despite international rules.”Russia should behave in a predictable and transparent way,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters.The main phase of the exercises is due to start on Sept. 10.The Zapad maneuvers, which follow a Russian military buildup …

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Turkey is stepping up a border security barrier with Iran, primarily to thwart a possible large influx of refugees from entering Afghanistan. Yet for many refugees, the wall, trenches and barbed wire are just more obstacles they say they have no choice but to overcome. VOA’s Heather Murdock has this report from Van, Tatvan and the Turkish border with Iran.Camera: Yan Boechat. Contributing: Mohammad Mahdi Sultani. …

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The Taliban on Thursday briefly detained a former British soldier who was trying to evacuate overland 50 Afghan employees and 350 of their relatives, according to British media reports.  Ben Slater says he launched his own evacuation bid after British officials failed to approve visas in time for his staff, consisting mainly of women, to be airlifted out of Afghanistan last week.The Taliban interrogated him for several hours but then released him, telling him he could cross the border with one assistant, but the rest of his staff had to remain in Afghanistan as none of them had British visas, …

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The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has issued a report saying that based on current evidence, there is no urgent need for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and the public health focus should remain on getting initial vaccinations to eligible European citizens.The report added additional doses should be considered for those individuals with compromised immune systems who did not respond adequately to their initial dose or doses.But the report says the available current evidence regarding the “real world” effectiveness and duration of protection provided by all the vaccines authorized for use in the European Union shows they are highly …

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European Union defense ministers discussed Thursday how to better respond to future crises following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, including the creation of a rapid response force.As they met in Slovenia to discuss lessons learned from the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan, Germany proposed that willing coalition members be enabled to create a rapid deployment military force of 5,000 troops to respond to crises, with less reliance on the United States.EU efforts to develop a rapid reaction force have been dormant for more than a decade. But the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan have forced the 27-nation bloc …

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Plans by anti-COVID vaccine activists to shut down rail travel in Italy fell apart Wednesday as police outnumbered protesters at railway stations across the country.  The Italian government has gone ahead with its plan to require Green Passes for long-distance travel, and the pass became mandatory Wednesday.Italian authorities have said they are adamant that everything needs to be done in the country to keep down the number of new COVID-19 infections.   The Green Pass, which requires a single dose of a COVID vaccine or negative testing before travel on high-speed trains, domestic flights, interregional buses and most ferries, became mandatory …

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Wednesday officially opened the international Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin — a center designed to pool the world’s resources to fight future global health emergencies.   The hub, originally announced in May, will be a collection agency for health data from around the world. Equipped with a supercomputer, it will collect, analyze and disseminate information from international governments, and academic and private sector institutions.   Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Merkel told reporters the COVID-19 pandemic has shown what the world can do “when we truly …

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Among the growing numbers of Afghans arriving in Turkey after fleeing the Taliban are those who fought alongside NATO forces. As Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul, they are now looking for help from countries with whose soldiers they served.Video editor: Rob Raffaele …

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As the evacuation of tens of thousands from the airport in Kabul was underway, the attempted rescue of dozens of veterinary staff and hundreds of animals from a British animal rescue charity in Afghanistan caught the attention of the media. Their plight led to a heated dispute between the charity and the British government, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Produced by: Marcus Harton    …

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As thousands of people were evacuated from Kabul ahead of the final withdrawal of Western troops, the attempted rescue of dozens of veterinary staff and hundreds of animals from a British animal rescue charity in Afghanistan caught the attention of the media and led to a heated dispute between the charity and the British government.   Pen Farthing, founder of the Nowzad Dogs animal sanctuary in Kabul, was a British Royal Marine for 22 years and fought the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Helmand province in 2006.FILE – An Afghan worker plays with dogs at Nowzad, an animal shelter, on the outskirts of Kabul, …

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits the White House for talks Wednesday with U.S. President Joe Biden, a trip that has been in the works for two years and delayed one day due to consultations about events in Afghanistan.  Senior U.S. administration officials said the message behind the visit is “the United States’ commitment to Ukraine sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”   The officials told reporters the agenda would include security issues, energy and climate policy and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. The officials also said the two sides would be announcing several agreements, including security assistance for Ukraine, humanitarian aid for those “impacted by the crisis with Russia in …

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Dozens of Russian independent media have been labeled “foreign agents” in the run-up to parliamentary elections, which are now only three weeks away.As of August 31, the Ministry of Justice website lists 43 media outlets and journalists and 76 civil society groups as “foreign agents.” Another 46 groups have been given the label of “undesirable organization.”Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an annual nationwide televised phone-in show in Moscow, June 30, 2021.The list includes large news outlets and prominent Russian journalists who have investigated President Vladimir Putin and his allies. The U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

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The Polish government has asked President Andrzej Duda to declare a state of emergency along the Poland-Belarus border. Poland accuses Belarus of using migrants as political pawns by pushing them into the European Union in retaliation over EU sanctions. According to a recent BBC report, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Poland of starting a “border conflict” and violating his country’s territory. The state of emergency would create a three-kilometer-wide zone around the border that would prohibit outsiders from entering. FILE – Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks in Gdansk-Westerplatte, Sept. 1, 2020.”Please expect Poland’s security to be strengthened in the nearest time through acts …

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