Category: Євросоюз

The Czech Republic on Thursday ordered Russia to remove more staff from its Prague embassy, in a growing spat between the two countries.Last week, Prague expelled 18 embassy staff members, saying they were intelligence officers.The dispute stems from Czech accusations that Russian spies were behind a deadly explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014. They claim the spies were also part of a special unit that tried to assassinate a double agent in Britain.Russia denied the accusations and expelled 20 Czech diplomats last Sunday.Newly appointed Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek announced Thursday that Russia had to match the number …

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A journalist in Belarus may face criminal charges for an interview his media outlet published with opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in another sign of the government’s crackdown on press freedom. Uladzimer Yanukevich, the chief editor of the independent Intex-press newspaper in the western city of Baranavichy, was questioned at a local police department for 4 1/2 hours over the interview, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAZh) said on April 22. According to the BAZh, during questioning on April 21 Yanukevich was handed two administrative charges for violating the law on the distribution of “banned” information via the media and the Internet. Yanukevich was …

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As President Biden hosts a virtual climate summit this Earth Day, a report out Thursday adds more fuel to the planet’s growing crisis, showing record-breaking temperatures in Europe and Arctic Siberia last year. It comes as the European Union announced a key climate deal and financing rules — both sharply criticized by green groups. The findings of the European Union’s climate monitoring service, Copernicus, are grim. Europe was hit by record heat and rainfall last year. The Arctic overall saw its second warmest year. Both regions are warming faster than the global average.  “Europe has probably warmed at twice the …

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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that Russia and President Vladimir Putin will face sanctions if opposition leader Alexey Navalny dies.   Speaking to France 2 television, Le Drian said, “We will take the necessary sanctions and it will be the responsibility of Mr. Putin and the Russian authorities. I hope we won’t go to that extreme.”   U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made similar comments to CNN Sunday, warning of unspecified “consequences” in the event of Navalny’s death.   Navalny was arrested in January after returning to Russia from Germany where he spent five months recovering …

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U.S. officials say President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.The officials, who spoke to several news agencies on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the sensitive topic, said the move could come Saturday, an annual day of commemoration for the victims.During his campaign for president last year, Biden said he would “support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority.”“I expect we will have more to say about Remembrance Day on Saturday,” White House press secretary Jen …

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The United States is warning the Russian government that it is responsible for whatever happens to opposition leader Alexey Navalny, whose condition is reportedly deteriorating while in custody. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story. Camera: Natasha Mozgovaya and Ricardo Marquina Montañana  …

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Police arrested nearly 1,500 people Wednesday during a day of demonstrations throughout Russia calling for freedom for imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny, whose health reportedly is in severe decline after three weeks of hunger striking, according to a group that monitors political detentions.The largest of the protests took place in Moscow, where thousands marched through the center city. Some of the people arrested were seized before the protests even began, including top Navalny associates in Moscow.Navalny’s team called for the unsanctioned demonstrations after weekend reports that his health is deteriorating and his life was in danger.”The situation with Alexey is …

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Over a year ago, when much of the world shuttered as the pandemic swept the globe, Mohammed al-Awas, 46, a Syrian refugee, was stranded with his wife and five children at a gas station in Turkey. Not far from the Greek border, some families were sheltered nearby in an area usually reserved for fixing cars, their personal belongings in black garbage bags piled up along the walls. Dozens of men, women and children, mostly refugees from Syria, loitered outside the station, not sure where to go next. Like the others, al-Awas wanted to cross the river to Greece. Turkey had declared the …

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United Nations human rights experts said Wednesday that jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s life is in “serious danger” and appealed to Moscow to allow Navalny to seek emergency medical treatment in another country.“We urge the Russian authorities to ensure Mr. Navalny has access to his own doctors and to allow him to be evacuated for urgent medical treatment abroad, as they did in August 2020,” the experts said in a statement.The 44-year-old Kremlin critic has been detained since January in a high security prison under conditions that may amount to torture, said the experts, who also contend he has …

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Police in central Berlin have clashed with protesters outside the German parliament, which is considering a bill to give Chancellor Angela Merkel the power to impose tougher restrictions as the nation suffers a third wave of coronavirus infections.   A police spokesman said officers had to break up the protest because people were not wearing masks or keeping a minimum safe distance. He said about 60 people were detained, and that while police had to use pepper spray against other demonstrators who threw bottles and tried to climb over barriers, acts of violence were minimal.   Many of the protesters …

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The European Union’s executive branch on Wednesday announced proposals designed to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI), banning its use in practices such as surveillance and facial scanning that threaten personal rights.At a news briefing in Brussels, European Commission Executive Vice President and Tech Commissioner Margrethe Vestager noted the benefits of AI in the medical field, agriculture and engineering.“I think those examples illustrate very well what we want AI in Europe to be: a force for progress,” she said.The proposed regulations address the human and societal risks associated with specific uses of AI, such as mass surveillance and biometric …

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Germany’s top court has refused to issue an injunction blocking the country’s participation in the European Union’s 750 billion-euro (more than $900 billion) coronavirus recovery fund, clearing the way for the launch of the fund and its common borrowing aimed at supporting green and digital economic development. The Federal Constitutional Court said Wednesday it turned back a motion for a preliminary injunction from a group including economics professor Bernd Lucke, a founder of the populist Alternative for Germany who has since left the party. The group argued that the European Union treaty forbids the common borrowing backed by member countries’ …

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Juventus, Atlético Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan announced Wednesday they were dropping out of the Super League of 12 leading European football clubs.The development followed the Tuesday withdrawal of six British teams that were part of the project launched this week.Four other teams were included in Sunday’s announcement of the breakaway competition that drew sharp criticism from players, fans and football authorities.Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli said Wednesday that the league can no longer proceed.”I remain convinced of the beauty of that project,” Agnelli told Reuters, saying it would have been the best competition in the world. “But admittedly … I mean, I don’t think that that project is now still up and …

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The European Union announced Wednesday a provisional agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the 27-member bloc by 55% by 2030. The 2030 target is part of a larger goal of getting the EU to be carbon-neutral by 2050. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement puts the EU “on a green path for a generation.” “It is our binding pledge to our children and grandchildren,” she added. EU member states must approve the deal before it becomes official. Wednesday’s agreement comes ahead of the start of a two-day virtual summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden for world leaders to discuss ways …

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The Czech Republic is urging European and NATO allies to take joint retaliatory action against Russia. It follows accusations that Russian spies were behind a huge explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014 – and were part of a special unit that also carried out an attempted assassination in Britain. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.Camera:  Henry Ridgwell   …

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The Czech Republic is urging European and NATO allies to take joint retaliatory action against Russia following accusations that Russian spies were behind a huge explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014. They claim the spies were also part of a special unit that tried to assassinate a double agent in Britain.The central European country evicted 18 Russian embassy staffers over the weekend, saying they were identified as intelligence officers. “We succeeded in breaking up both of the big Russian (spy) operation cells, and for the Russian side, it will be very complicated to put them together again,” Acting …

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The pandemic has boosted audiences for Europe’s public service media, with Europeans turning to fact-based news, according to the broadcasters’ trade association and academic studies.  Television, radio and digital channels all have shown upswings, especially in western Europe. But while the public has appeared to have been appreciative, the continent’s public broadcasters are facing a twin threat. Central Europe’s populist governments have been or are seeking to reduce their editorial independence, transforming them into official mouthpieces, warn rights campaigners and journalists.  And in western Europe, center-right governments are coming under mounting pressure from conservative lawmakers and populists to defund public broadcasters. FILE …

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The governing bodies of world football have threatened to ban any club or player taking part in the new European Super League from playing in their competitions, raising the prospect that some of the world’s biggest stars could be banned from representing their countries in the FIFA World Cup. Battle lines are being drawn for the future of football, after a dozen top European clubs signed up to the breakaway competition, which critics say will destroy the traditional structure of the game. On both sides, powerful forces are squaring up for a fight that could decide the future of the global …

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Spain’s leaders worry a world economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could send large numbers of African migrants to Europe, using Spain as a gateway.  In this report narrated by Jonathan Spier, Alfonso Beato in Barcelona reports that Spanish authorities are holding thousands of West African migrants, including potential asylum seekers, in emergency camps set up on the Canary Islands.Camera: Alfonso Beato  …

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Doctors associated with jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny say they have been barred from seeing him, despite reports he is seriously ill from an ongoing hunger strike. According to his personal physician, Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva, she and three other medical experts tried to visit Navalny at a prison clinic and were denied entry. They said they waited outside prison gates for hours. “It’s a show of disrespect and mockery of the doctors,” Vasilyeva said in a tweet, noting Navalny’s “life and health are clearly in danger.” FILE – Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 20, 2021.On …

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