Category: Євросоюз

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — The 19-year-old Austrian who masterminded a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift fans at a concert in Vienna with a bomb or knife had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, authorities said on Thursday. The main suspect, who has North Macedonian roots, made a full confession in custody, Austria’s general director for public security, Franz Ruf, told a news conference. He swore loyalty to the IS militant group’s leader on the internet and kept chemicals and technical devices at his home in the town of Ternitz in preparation for an attack, Ruf said. The 19-year-old, whose …

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MOSCOW — Russian internet monitoring services reported a mass outage on the availability of video hosting site YouTube on Thursday as Russian authorities step up criticism of the platform. Russian internet monitoring service Sboi.rf said there had been thousands of glitches reported about YouTube in Russia. Users said they could only access YouTube via virtual private networks, or VPNs. “YouTube is not working,” one anonymous user said in comments on the site. Reuters reporters in Russia were unable to access YouTube. The website remained available via some mobile devices. Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately respond to a request for …

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LONDON — Far-right demonstrations that had been anticipated by police in dozens of locations across Britain failed to materialize Wednesday as peaceful anti-racism protesters instead showed up in force. Police had prepared for another night of violence at 100 locations following a week of rioting and disorder fueled by misinformation over a stabbing attack against young girls. Many businesses had boarded up windows and closed down in fear of what lay ahead. Stand up to Racism and other groups had planned counter-protests in response, but in most places they reclaimed their streets with nothing to oppose. In London, Bristol, Oxford, Liverpool …

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GENEVA — Soaring temperatures in July have had detrimental effects on the well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have found the monthlong extreme heat too hot to handle, according to the World Meteorological Organization. “The extreme heat, which continued throughout July after a hot June … has had really, really devastating impacts on communities, on people’s health, on ecosystems, also on economies,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists Tuesday in Geneva. “Extreme heat has a domino effect across society,” she said, noting that the world’s hottest day on recent record was registered on July 22. “All of this …

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Following last week’s prisoner exchange between Russia and Western nations, several of the political prisoners released by Moscow have arrived in Germany, historically a refuge for Russians fighting for change in their homeland. Marcus Harton narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina in Berlin. …

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BARCELONA — Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said on Wednesday he was returning after seven years in self-imposed exile to Spain, where he would likely be arrested over his role in the region’s 2017 independence bid.  His arrest and potential imprisonment before he might face trial could unleash fresh turmoil in Catalonia and threaten the fragile Socialist-led coalition ruling Spain, which relies on Puigdemont’s hardline Junts party to pass legislation.  To secure Junts’ legislative support for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government, Spain’s parliament in May approved an amnesty law designed to allow Puigdemont a safe return from Belgium.  The amnesty …

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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Wednesday filed a request with a U.N. court to join South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, the foreign minister said.  Turkey’s ambassador to the Netherlands, accompanied by a group of Turkish legislators, submitted a declaration of intervention to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.  With the development, Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, becomes the latest nation seeking to participate in the case. Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Libya have also asked to join the case, as have Palestinian officials. The court’s decision on their requests …

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LONDON — British police braced for further anti-Muslim riots on Wednesday as far-right groups pledged to target asylum centers and immigration law firms across the country, prompting anti-fascist protesters to plan counter demonstrations. Britain has been gripped by an escalating wave of violence that erupted early last week when three young girls were killed in a knife attack in northwest Britain, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor who is facing his first crisis since winning a July 4 election, has warned rioters …

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Abuja, Nigeria — While nationwide protests appeared to have ebbed Tuesday, the Nigerian government said it will not tolerate calls for coups after some protesters in northwest Kano and Kaduna states waved Russian flags while marching in the streets Monday. Nigeria’s defense chiefs told journalists that hoisting the Russian flags amounts to treason. “We will not relent in pursuing those that have continued to encourage unconstitutional takeover of government or subversion or those ones that are into vandalism or destruction of lives and property,” Nigerian Defense Chief General Christopher Musa said. Thousands in Nigeria took to the streets in Lagos, Abuja …

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Frankfurt, Germany — German factory orders rose more strongly than expected in June, official data showed Tuesday, boosting hopes that a recovery in Europe’s top economy could be gaining momentum. Orders in the country’s crucial manufacturing sector rose 3.9% from a month earlier, according to federal statistics agency Destatis, an uptick that followed five consecutive months of falls. That was higher than an increase of 1% forecast by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet. But the order data, closely watched as an indicator of future business activity, was 11.8% lower from the same month a year earlier, according to Destatis. …

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Lyon, France — Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as France advanced to the final of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win over Egypt after extra time on Monday. France will play Spain in Friday’s final at Parc des Princes in a match that will ensure the first European gold medalist in 32 years. The host nation came from behind at Stade de Lyon to beat an Egypt team that was closing in on an upset after leading through Mahmoud Saber’s 62nd-minute goal. France had hit the frame of the goal on three occasions before Mateta equalized …

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MOSCOW — A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian leaders including the president and top security officials as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.  Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Iran last week and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.  Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, was shown by Russia’s Zvezda television station meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a …

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Johannesburg, South Africa — Billboards and videos popping up in several African cities show 20th-century independence leaders and anti-colonial quotes as part of a drive to promote the Kremlin-backed outlet RT. What they don’t advertise is that the Russian outlet being promoted has been largely blocked in the West for being part of Putin’s propaganda network and for pushing disinformation, including about the war in Ukraine. The ad campaign seeks to tap into Africa’s colonial past — another tactic that disinformation experts say Russia regularly uses to try to sow division. “Your Values. Shared,” promise billboards highlighting Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first …

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London — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday vowed “swift criminal sanctions” following an emergency meeting on the far-right riots that broke out across England last week over the murder of three children. The prime minister met with ministers and police chiefs, including Scotland Yard boss Mark Rowley, to discuss how to quell the violence that first broke out in Southport, northwest England, on Tuesday. Over the weekend, several police officers were injured and scores of people were arrested as mobs throwing bricks and flares clashed with officers, burnt and looted shops, and smashed the windows of cars and homes. …

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ISTANBUL — Turkey’s government will hold talks with Instagram officials on Monday after blocking access to the social media platform last week, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a post on X.  The move came after a senior Turkish official accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.   Uraloglu said Turkey had expressed certain sensitivities regarding compliance with Turkish laws in a previous meeting with representatives of Instagram last week.  Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun on Wednesday criticized Instagram for alleged “censorship, pure and simple,” over what …

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