Category: Євросоюз

U.S. President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington on July 15 in what will likely be her farewell visit to the United States after almost 16 years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy.The announcement was made Friday on the first day of the Group of Seven summit in England. Biden has hosted two other world leaders since taking office, Japan and South Korea.White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Merkel “will discuss their commitment to close cooperation on a range of common challenges, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the threat of climate …

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For many Belarusians, a typical day began with Tut.by. Founded in 2000, the web portal quickly became one of the country’s leading independent news services, with over 1.8 million unique visitors daily.Today, the news organization’s website is shut down by government order, although its staff continue to distribute news as best they are able on other platforms.The success of the Minsk-based outlet, founded by the late businessman and philanthropist Yuri Zisser, was based on its independence.”It was the media market’s standard-bearer,” said Nikolai Khalezin, a journalist and the co-founder of the London-based Belarus Free Theater, which produces shows on social justice and human rights. ”This was in …

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G-7 leaders continue their meeting in Cornwall, England, with bold ambitions to lead the world out of the pandemic, toward a better and greener future. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report from the summit.  …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced hope Friday that U.S. President Joe Biden would be less impulsive than his predecessor, Donald Trump, ahead of his first summit with the new U.S. leader. In an interview with NBC News, Putin described Biden as a “career man” who spent his life in politics.  “It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting U.S. president,” he said, according to a translation by NBC News. Biden plans to raise a range of U.S. complaints, including over purported Russian election interference …

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Britain’s COVID-19 vaccines minister urged caution Friday regarding the planned full reopening of the nation later this month, speaking the same day the number of new cases spiked in the nation — 90 percent of which were the highly transmissible delta variant.According to the COVID-19 road map laid out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, all pandemic-related restrictions are scheduled to be lifted June 21, one week from Monday.FILE – Britain’s COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi appears on BBC TV’s The Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain, May 30, 2021.But in an interview Friday, England’s COVID-19 vaccines minister, Nadhim …

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NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg, fresh from a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, told reporters Friday he expects next week’s summit of NATO leaders in Brussel to be a pivotal moment for the alliance and its collective security. During a briefing at alliance headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg noted he had a very good meeting with Biden Monday at the White House and said all NATO alliance members were glad to hear the U.S. president’s strong commitment to reinvigorating the trans-Atlantic bond. Stoltenberg said he was confident all the leaders at the summit will demonstrate their commitment to that alliance “not …

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PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND – The G-7 Summit begins Friday in Cornwall, England, where leaders of seven wealthy democracies are meeting with the goal of leading the global fight against the pandemic and to “build back better” toward a greener, more prosperous and equitable future. The summit is hosted by Britain and attended by leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. Representatives from the European Union also are attending, along with other guests – the heads of Australia, South Africa and South Korea. India’s prime minister is joining via video link.“This is a meeting that genuinely needs to happen,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson, this year’s host as he opened the plenary session of leaders. “We …

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The U.N. General Assembly voted Friday to give two-year terms on the powerful 15-nation Security Council to five countries.    Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates all ran unopposed for available seats in their regional groups, and each secured the necessary two-thirds majority required of the secret ballots cast.They will begin their terms on Jan. 1, 2022.The council deals with issues of international peace and security.  It has the power to deploy peacekeepers to trouble spots and to sanction bad actors.  New members bring different experiences, perspectives and national interests to the council and can subtly affect dynamics …

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Google has promised to give U.K. regulators a role overseeing its plan to phase out existing ad-tracking technology from its Chrome browser as part of a competition investigation into the tech giant.     The U.K. competition watchdog has been investigating Google’s proposals to remove so-called third-party cookies over concerns they would undermine digital ad competition and entrench the company’s market power.     To address the concerns, Google on Friday offered a set of commitments including giving the Competition and Markets Authority an oversight role as the company designs and develops a replacement technology.    “The emergence of tech giants such as Google has presented …

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FALMOUTH, England — Towering steel fences, masses of police, protests on the beach: The Cornish seaside’s turquoise waters and white sandy beaches are looking decidedly less idyllic this week as leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies descend for a summit. U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are arriving for three days of talks starting Friday at the tiny village of Carbis Bay, near St. Ives in Cornwall. The region is a popular holiday destination in the southwestern tip of England known for its long, picturesque coastline, its mild climate — and a …

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Almost all of Italy’s political parties rallied behind Mario Draghi when he became prime minister — but the public seems to be falling for his biggest critic, the far-right leader Georgia Meloni.A straight-talking conservative who has embraced the fascist-era slogan of “God, Homeland and Family,”Meloni and her Brothers of Italy (FDI) are close to overtaking Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration League as the most popular party in opinion polls.Her success — recent surveys put her party at around 20% — raises the prospect that the next elections will produce the most right-wing government in Italy’s postwar history, with FDI in the driving …

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On Thursday, the eve of the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, U.S. President Joe Biden formally announced what had been disclosed a day earlier — that his administration would donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to 92 low- and middle-income countries. Here’s the latest from White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara, who is traveling with the president. …

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China and Russia’s combined military spending exceeds that of the United States when adjusted for purchasing power, which has allowed China to shorten capability gaps in its quest to become the top superpower by midcentury, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.”Combined, the Russian and Chinese budgets exceed our budgets if all the cards are put on the table,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He called China’s increased spending trend “disturbing.”Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, arrive for a Senate Armed Services budget hearing on Capitol …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden Monday on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit for discussions seen as pivotal given the strained relations between the two nations. From Istanbul, Dorian Jones has this preview.Produced by: Rob Raffaele    …

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German health officials Thursday introduced that nation’s version of the digital COVID-19 vaccination pass, a smart phone app that will allow fully vaccinated Germans a simple way to prove their status.   Speaking to reporters in Berlin, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germans who have been fully vaccinated can use the app, known as the CovPass, on their smart phones to give them access to restaurants, museums or other venues that require proof of vaccination.     The health minister said people who get vaccinated will receive a letter or emailed certificates to upload to the app, and people …

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The top of the world got a sunrise special Thursday — a “ring of fire” solar eclipse.  This so-called annular eclipse began at the Canadian province of Ontario, then swept across Greenland, the North Pole and finally Siberia, as the moon passed directly in front of the sun.An annular eclipse occurs when a new moon is around its farthest point from us and appearing smaller, and so it doesn’t completely blot out the sun when it’s dead center.  The upper portions of North America, Europe and Asia enjoyed a partial eclipse, at least where the skies were clear. At those …

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Soccer’s governing body in Europe, UEFA, ruled Thursday that Ukraine can keep a map that includes Crimea on its jerseys, but must remove part of a slogan that it said has military connotations.   Russia had filed complaints with UEFA about the jersey that Ukraine will wear at the 24-nation European Championships that begin Friday.   Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 in a move that has not been recognized by the international community.   UEFA said Ukraine must remove the slogan “Glory to the heroes” that appears on the inside of the jersey’s collar.   A second slogan, …

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Public confidence in the European Union has dropped largely due to the bloc’s handling of the pandemic and its troubled procurement of coronavirus vaccines, according to a survey for the European Council on Foreign Relations of several member states.  The survey also finds dismay with the EU is spreading from peripheral southern and eastern countries to France and Germany. And doubts about the EU are extending beyond just euro-skeptic voters, warn the think tank’s researchers.    Europeans still, though, believe in the importance of multilateral cooperation between their states and a majority want the EU to become a more significant global actor, …

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U.S. President Joe Biden meets Thursday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a European trip that includes high-level talks with other Western heads of state and a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The world will be watching how Biden and Johnson will interact Thursday afternoon after past disagreements on policies, including Brexit, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, which the Obama-Biden administration opposed.      “The chemistry hasn’t been good. President Biden had called Boris Johnson a clone of Donald Trump,” said Dan Hamilton, the director of the Global Europe Program at the Wilson Center.   Biden, who is of Irish descent, is also concerned that Brexit could undermine the Good …

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U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Newquay, Cornwall, Wednesday evening in anticipation of the G-7 summit, which starts Friday.Biden kicked off his United Kingdom visit earlier Wednesday with remarks to U.S. troops stationed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, an air force station in Suffolk. The military base is used almost exclusively by American soldiers and home to the U.S. Air Force 100th Air Refueling Wing.”Thank you. We owe you. We’re so damn proud of you,” said Biden, noting the sacrifices that service members and their families have made. “You are the solid steel spine of the …

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