Category: Євросоюз

German health officials said Friday the nation has broken the third wave of COVID-19 infections, but cautioned the pandemic is far from over.German Health Minster Jens Spahn, joined by Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI) President Lothar Wieler, said the nation as a whole — and most of Germany’s 400 cities and counties — had weekly infection rates below the threshold of 100 per 100,000 inhabitants that triggered strict lockdown measures.Spahn credited German citizens for minding social guidelines and suffering through recurring lockdowns for progress that has been made. “It was exactly this combination of confidence and caution, vaccination …

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James E. Pepper bourbon is as old as America itself.”Originally founded during the American Revolution,” says its current owner, Amir Peay, who adds that since it was established in 1780, this distinct brand of bourbon made in Kentucky has passed the lips of many prominent Americans. “The favorite brand of Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and many, many others.”The distillery closed in the 1960s after the Pepper family left the business and sales tanked. But Peay saw an opportunity to relaunch the historic brand in 2008. Today, the spirit is as popular as ever, both at home and …

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James E. Pepper bourbon is as old as America itself.”Originally founded during the American Revolution,” says its current owner, Amir Peay, who adds that since it was established in 1780, this distinct brand of bourbon made in Kentucky has passed the lips of many prominent Americans. “The favorite brand of Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and many, many others.”The distillery closed in the 1960s after the Pepper family left the business and sales tanked. But Peay saw an opportunity to relaunch the historic brand in 2008. Today, the spirit is as popular as ever, both at home and …

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International exports of bourbon, an American whiskey mostly made in the southern state of Kentucky, have dropped dramatically as a result of the trade war that began during former President Donald Trump’s administration. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, tariffs imposed by the EU on bourbon continue to hurt Kentucky’s $8 billion industry which employs more than 20,000 people. Camera: Kane Farabaugh      Producer: Kane Farabaugh …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced alarm at Russia’s military build up in the Arctic region, at a summit of the Arctic Council in Iceland late Thursday.     “We’re committed to advancing a peaceful Arctic region where cooperation prevails on climate, the environment, science and safety and where sustainable economic development benefits the people of the region,” Blinken told delegates gathered in Reykjavik.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 13 MB480p | 18 MB540p | 21 MB720p | 43 MBOriginal | 84 …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced alarm at Russia’s military build up in the Arctic region, at a summit of the Arctic Council in Iceland late Thursday.     “We’re committed to advancing a peaceful Arctic region where cooperation prevails on climate, the environment, science and safety and where sustainable economic development benefits the people of the region,” Blinken told delegates gathered in Reykjavik.   Moscow’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, questioned NATO’s motives in deploying bombers and submarines to the area. “Problems linked to the escalation of military-political tension remain, because of foreign troops in Norway and in the …

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Spain, one of the early epicenters the COVID pandemic, has been rushing to get its population vaccinated.  Thirty-three percent now have received at least a first dose.  But aid agencies and advocates estimate many of the country’s one million undocumented migrants are not getting vaccinated because of fear. Jonathan Spier narrates this report from Alfonso Beato in Barcelona.Camera: Alfonso Beato Video editor: Jonathan Spier   …

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The European Union Thursday announced it has signed a third contract with Pfizer-BioNTech for an additional 1.8 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, running from the end of this year through 2022.  Announcing the new contract in a statement posted to her Twitter account, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for 900 million doses of the current vaccines and of a serum adapted to coronavirus variants, with an option to purchase an extra 900 million doses. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 disease. The contract also has a provision to easily allow EU member states to donate any excess doses …

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Climate change and cooperation among Arctic states are among the topics of discussion Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, as the Arctic Council holds a ministerial meeting.“We value our strong international cooperation through the Council to address the climate crisis and keep the Arctic region peaceful,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ahead of Thursday’s talks.Earlier in the week, Blinken urged the global community to avoid militarizing the Arctic, and said Russia has advanced “unlawful maritime claims” in the region.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that Western countries should not claim rights to the Arctic, and that Russia is …

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Bulgaria’s caretaker government appears poised to approve a series of freedom-of-information requests from the country’s media which are likely to fuel explosive allegations of corruption against former prime minister Boyko Borissov and a group of his business associates, say local journalists.   And the caretaker prime minister, Stefan Yanev, who has been in power for just over a week has been quick to shake up the country’s bureaucracy, making key political appointees in ministries, state agencies and public companies long dominated by people with close ties to Borissov, who was in office for all but two years since 2009.   …

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Climate change and cooperation among Arctic states are among the topics of discussion Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, as the Arctic Council holds a ministerial meeting.“We value our strong international cooperation through the Council to address the climate crisis and keep the Arctic region peaceful,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ahead of Thursday’s talks.Earlier in the week, Blinken urged the global community to avoid militarizing the Arctic, and said Russia has advanced “unlawful maritime claims” in the region.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that Western countries should not claim rights to the Arctic, and that Russia is …

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The U.S. will waive sanctions against the German company leading construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, according to a State Department report sent to Congress on Wednesday. The report noted that while the German firm Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO had violated U.S. law in their work with Russia to build the natural gas pipeline linking the two countries, it was in U.S. national interest to waive the sanctions. The report noted that sanctions would be imposed on several Russian ships and companies for their work on the project. Russia and some U.S. lawmakers reacted to the decision before it …

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The United States says it is ready to work with Russia to advance areas where the two nations have “intersecting interests,” while continuing to defend U.S. interests and respond if Moscow acts aggressively against Washington and its allies.”There are many areas where our interests intersect and overlap, and we believe that we can work together and indeed build on those interests — whether it is dealing with COVID-19 and the pandemic, climate change, the nuclear programs” in Iran and North Korea, or the peace process in Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met …

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After protests against police violence in France, tens of thousands of officers and their supporters staged their own rally Wednesday in Paris, demanding tougher measures against violence and insecurity that have targeted their ranks.Police, politicians and ordinary Parisians braved a mix of sun and pelting rain to protest outside France’s National Assembly.Loren Bazan, 29, whose parents are in the military, said he wanted to show solidarity with the police — who have died just doing their daily jobs, because they were police.Earlier this month, an officer was killed during an anti-drug operation in Nice. Another worker was killed as she …

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Nicola Sturgeon took the oath of office Wednesday to return as Scotland’s first minister following an election earlier this month that saw her Scottish National Party (SNP) win a resounding election victory, allowing her to push ahead with plans for a second independence referendum. The SNP won 64 seats in the Scottish parliament, just one short of an overall majority. But the Green Party, which also supports independence, won eight seats, more than enough to allow Sturgeon and her party to control the political agenda in Scotland. In a statement issued following her swearing in and the announcement of her Cabinet, Sturgeon …

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The European Union announced Wednesday it would recommend its member countries allow fully vaccinated visitors from outside the bloc.European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand told reporters in Brussels that ambassadors of the EU’s 27 member states agreed to ease the criteria for nations to be considered a safe country from which all people can travel.  Currently, only seven nations are considered safe, based on their COVID-19 infection rates. The EU imposed strict measures last year to contain outbreaks, but the bloc’s ambassadors say many of the restrictions on nonessential travel should be eased as more people around the world are vaccinated and …

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It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces reopened Wednesday after a six-month coronavirus shutdown deprived residents of the essence of French life — sipping coffee and wine with friends. The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of COVID-19 and to give citizens back some of their signature “joie de vivre.” As part of the plan’s first stage, France’s 7 p.m. nightly curfew was pushed back to 9 p.m. and museums, theaters and cinemas reopened along with outdoor cafe terraces. President Emmanuel Macron, among the first to take a seat at a cafe terrace, …

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The European Union has slammed Belarus for its closure of the country’s biggest independent online news publication, Tut.by, as one of its reporters left prison after serving six months for her reporting on the death of a protester killed during a crackdown on demonstrations against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In a statement on May 19, an EU spokesman called the blocking a day earlier of the popular news site an “act of continued repression and intimidation” against independent media. Belarusian authorities also raided Tut.by’s offices in Minsk and other regions, and the homes of its journalists and employees, breaking the door leading …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to meet Wednesday on the sidelines of the Arctic Council ministerial in Reykjavik, Iceland. It will be the first face-to-face meeting for the top U.S. and Russian diplomats and comes at a time of heightened tension between their countries.  The meeting will also set the stage for a planned summit next month between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The U.S. State Department said Wednesday afternoon’s session “will provide an opportunity to test the proposition of whether we can achieve a relationship with Moscow that is more stable and predictable.” Blinken on …

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A Paris summit on supporting African nations hard-hit by COVID-19’s fallout wrapped up Tuesday with sweeping calls for massive financial and vaccination support for Africa — and a broader sea change in relations between donor nations and the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron called earlier for a new deal for Africa. Among the goals he and other leaders outlined were doubling COVID-19 vaccination targets for Africa by the end of 2021 under the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme; persuading International Monetary Fund member states to triple so-called special drawing rights monetary reserves for Africa to $100 billion; and giving Africa the ability to …

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