Category: Євросоюз

Ecuador, one of the smallest members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday it will leave the 14-nation bloc from Jan. 1 due to fiscal problems. The Andean nation is attempting to increase crude production to raise more income and has on multiple occasions broken its output quota fixed by OPEC. “The decision is based on the issues and internal challenges that the country must take on related to fiscal sustainability,” the energy ministry said in a statement, without providing further details. “This measure is in line with the national government’s plan to reduce public …

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Wednesday unveil his final Brexit offer to the European Union and make clear that if Brussels does not engage with the proposal, Britain will not negotiate further and will leave on Oct. 31. In his closing speech to his governing Conservatives’ annual conference, Johnson will stick to his hard line on Brexit, offering the party faithful the first details of what he will describe as his “fair and reasonable compromise.” With less than a month until Britain is due to leave the EU, the future of Brexit, the country’s biggest trade and foreign policy …

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Japan’s national sales tax was raised to 10% from 8% on Tuesday, amid concerns that the long-delayed move could derail the fragile growth path of the world’s third largest economy. Officials said ample measures were taken to cushion the impact of the hike after previous tax increases – a 2-point increase to 5% in 1997 and another to 8% in 2014 – brought on recessions. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe postponed this hike twice but said it was unavoidable given rising costs for elder care and a growing national debt as the population ages and shrinks. After decades of fiscal deficits …

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Thousands of Vietnam’s ethnic Cham people met under rainy late September skies for their annual “Kate” festival that, according to the multi-faith community’s calendar, marks the end of one harvest season and the beginning of another. The Cham are descendants of a powerful ancient kingdom that once spanned large parts of central and southern Vietnam a millennium ago. They are a traditionally matriarchal society, which worships a female goddess and expects the youngest daughter to inherit family assets. Vietnam’s ethnic Cham religious leaders take part in a procession to the Po Klong Garai temple during the ‘Kate’ festival which marks …

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The U.S. Secretary of Interior has extended the tenure of the Trump administration’s top steward of public lands, rebuffing Democrats’ calls for his termination. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Monday extended William Perry Pendley’s role as Bureau of Land Management Acting Director to Jan. 3. Pendley has been in the post since July. Senate Democrats, including presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, had called for Pendley’s ouster over his longstanding support for selling public lands. He previously worked as a property rights attorney with clients including mining, energy and agriculture interests. Earlier this month Pendley recused himself from work …

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China warned on Monday of instability in international markets from any “decoupling” of China and the United States, after sources said the Trump administration was considering delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges. The move would be part of a broader effort to limit U.S. investment in Chinese companies, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters last week, in what would be a radical escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions. The news had earlier been reported by Bloomberg. A third source said the delisting idea was motivated by growing security concerns within the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over …

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South Korea showcased newly acquired F-35 stealth fighter jets to mark Armed Forces Day on Tuesday as President Moon Jae-in tries to allay concerns that his policy of engagement with North Korea may be weakening the South’s commitment to defense. North Korea has criticized the South’s weapons procurement and its joint military drills with the U.S. military as undisguised preparations for war that were forcing it to develop new short-range missiles. Moon has thrown his support behind dialogue to end the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, urging that working-level negotiations between the North and the United States be held …

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The winds are blowing fair for America’s wind power industry, making it one of the fastest-growing U.S. energy sources. Land-based turbines are rising by the thousands across America, from the remote Texas plains to farm towns of Iowa. And the U.S. wind boom now is expanding offshore, with big corporations planning $70 billion in investment for the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farms. “We have been blessed to have it,” says Polly McMahon, a 13th-generation resident of Block Island, where a pioneering offshore wind farm replaced the island’s dirty and erratic diesel-fired power plant in 2016. “I hope other people …

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The main rival of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, is claiming victory in Afghanistan’s presidential election, ahead of the release of any official results. Abdullah told reporters Monday that he has “the most votes” in the election that was held Saturday. Election officials however said that Abdullah’s declaration is premature as official results have yet to be announced. The process of counting votes in Afghanistan is long. Ballot boxes have to arrive from far off places with little or no communication lines. The preliminary results are not expected for a few weeks. Afghan election workers count ballots …

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Days ahead of the anniversary of the grisly slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country will press ahead with efforts to shed light on the killing. In a Washington Post op-ed, Erdogan described the journalist’s killing by a Saudi hit squad as “arguably the most influential and controversial incident of the 21st century” and blamed the murder on a “shadow state within the kingdom’s government — not the Saudi state or people.” The Turkish leader wrote: “We will keep asking the same questions… Where are Khashoggi’s remains? Who signed the Saudi …

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The Moscow City Court has changed actor Pavel Ustinov’s 3 1/2-year prison sentence into a one-year suspended sentence amid an outcry over punishments being handed out after a series of pro-democracy rallies over the summer. The court also ruled on Monday that Ustinov will be put on a two-year probation period. Ustinov and his lawyer had asked the court to fully acquit the actor, saying his previous conviction for assaulting a law enforcement officer during a rally in August was unjust. The 23-year-old, who once worked as a National Guard officer, pleaded not guilty, saying he was standing nearby and …

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Another summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would hinge on Washington and Pyongyang agreeing on a denuclearization process through working-level talks, experts say.    “A summit appears likely,” said Douglas Paal, vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I hope staff-level talks resume and make progress toward any summit, not the other way around.”    This week, Washington and Pyongyang seemed unopposed to having another summit, but suggested intermediary steps and agreements made on a denuclearization process might be necessary beforehand.   Speaking Monday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump …

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Yemen’s rebels Sunday claimed they launched a major attack on the border of Saudi Arabia, releasing video purporting to show captive Saudi soldiers and equipment. The images of the attack released by the rebels, known as Houthis, show armored vehicles with stenciled Saudi markings, arms and ammunition the rebels claim they seized. The video also shows fighting in a mountainous area, with Houthi fighters apparently attacking Saudi troops in armored vehicles. It shows what appear to be corpses and wounded in Saudi military uniforms. Several troops identified themselves as Saudis. The kingdom did not immediately acknowledge the attack. A Saudi-led …

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A leading Egyptian pro-democracy activist was re-arrested Sunday while on probation, his family and a security official said, amid a sweeping security clampdown following small but rare anti-government protests earlier this month. Alaa Abdel-Fattah rose to prominence with the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East and in Egypt toppled long-time President Hosni Mubarak. To many, his imprisonment three years later — at a time when authorities imposed draconian laws banning public gatherings and unauthorized demonstrations — was another sign of Egypt’s return to autocratic rule. Repression Risks Fueling Egypt Instability, Analysts Warn Egypt is reeling after a tense …

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Protesters and police clashed in Hong Kong for a second straight day on Sunday, throwing the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s business and shopping belt into chaos and sparking fears of more ugly scenes leading up to China’s National Day holiday this week. Riot police repeatedly fired blue liquid – used to identify protesters – from a water cannon truck and multiple volleys of tear gas after demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails at officers and targeted the city’s government office complex. It was a repeat of Saturday’s clashes and part of a familiar cycle since pro-democracy protests began in early June. The protests …

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Health experts say Nigeria is seeing increasing cases of heart disease. Low awareness, lack of adequate medical facilities and expertise are major factors worsening the situation in the country. But a non profit is collaborating with the World Heart Federation to provide proper education and treatment for underprivileged patients. Participants chat at an awareness and fundraising event to mark World Heart Day in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. The program is organized by the non-profit, Global Development and Charity Support Foundation in collaboration with the World Heart Federation. Head of the non profit, Samuel Asomugha says apart from educating locals on …

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Thousands of mourners paid tribute Sunday to former French President Jacques Chirac, who died at 86. Chirac was lying in state Sunday afternoon inside the Invalides monument in Paris, where France honors its heroes, after he died Thursday.   People were holding a moment of silence in front of the casket draped in the French flag under a large, smiling picture of Chirac. FILE – France’s President Jacques Chirac waves as he leaves a French citizenship naturalization ceremony in Tours, central France, June 29, 2006. A booklet prepared by Chirac’s family was handed to those who came to the Invalides. …

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The Middle East. Trade tensions. Iran’s nuclear program. Venezuela’s power struggle. Civil wars in Syria and Yemen. Familiar flashpoints such as these got plenty of airtime at the U.N. General Assembly’s big annual gathering this week. But some leaders used their time on the world stage to highlight international conflicts and disputes that don’t usually command the same global attention. A look at some of the less-discussed controversies trying to be heard: Nagorno-Karabakh Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2019. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan landed one of the coveted …

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A boat carrying at least 50 Europe-bound migrants capsized Saturday in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, the U.N. refugee agency and the country’s coast guard said, while an independent support group said another 56 migrants on another boat were at risk in the sea. Coast guard spokesman Ayoub Gassim told The Associated Press that a shipwreck took place off the western city of Misrata, 187 kilometers (116 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli. UNHCR said rescue efforts were ongoing Saturday afternoon and released no details on casualties. Alarm Phone, an independent support group for people crossing the Mediterranean, said a …

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French police repeatedly used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest Saturday by nearly a 1,000 yellow vest demonstrators in the southwest city of Toulouse. A police statement said officers made five arrests after being targeted by objects thrown by some of the protesters. A group that observes police conduct at yellow vest protests said officers had attacked five of their number during the demonstration, injuring one of them. The Observatory of Police Practice (OPP) posted images and video on Twitter to support their account and posted an open letter to the authorities protesting the incident. The …

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