Category: Євросоюз

Three top politicians in Indian Kashmir have been placed under house arrest and strict security measures have been ordered in the region where tensions have sparked after the government ordered visitors to evacuate and deployed more troops.  In a late night order Sunday, restrictions were placed on public movements in Kashmir, internet services suspended and educational institutions shut. The order said that indefinite security restrictions will be applicable in the main district of Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar. The latest measures come as thousands of pilgrims and tourists have been leaving Kashmir since Friday when authorities said that militants backed by Pakistan …

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A pair of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the Saturday and Sunday have dragged two of the most divisive issues in American politics — the rise of violent white supremacism and gun control — to the forefront of public conversation as politicians across the ideological spectrum are preparing for what is expected to be an extremely contentious 2020 election campaign. The two shootings, which left 29 people dead and at least 53 more wounded, combine to create a clear political crisis for the Trump administration and its allies in Congress. The first shooting, in El Paso, Texas, occurred …

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A general strike has paralyzed Hong Kong Monday, preventing people from getting to work and forcing cancellation of more than 200 flights. Speaking to reporters the city’s embattled leader, Beijing-backed Carrie Lam, said protesters were pushing the city to the verge of an “extremely dangerous situation.” Lam again rejected repeated calls from protesters for her resignation and said the government is determined to maintaining law and order. She also said that the government will not satisfy another key demand put forward by protesters to release those who have been arrested during protests of recent weeks.  Lam also charged the protests …

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In the border town of El Paso, Texas, a shooter opened fire and left 20 people dead and more than two dozen injured. Hours later in Dayton, Ohio, a shooter killed 9 people and injured at least 27 others. Here are some of their stories: Jordan Anchondo: ‘Gave her life’ for her baby Jordan Anchondo was among those killed in El Paso, Anchondo’s sister said, and she apparently died while protecting her 2-month-old son from the hail of bullets. Leta Jamrowski of El Paso spoke to The Associated Press as she paced a waiting room at the University Medical Center …

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The US and the Taliban met to thrash out elements of a deal to bring a close to Afghanistan’s 18-year conflict at the second day of renewed talks in Doha on Sunday. The US, which invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban in 2001, wants to withdraw thousands of troops and turn the page on its longest ever war. But it would first seek assurances from the insurgents that they will renounce Al-Qaeda and stop other militants like the Islamic State group using the country as a haven. The talks, now in their eighth round, began on Saturday but it was …

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High-ranking Polish politicians used a side door to get to the VIP section of Sowa & Przyjaciele, a posh Warsaw restaurant. Sealed off from other patrons, government ministers and lawmakers felt free to speak their minds while enjoying continental cuisine and wine at taxpayers’ expense. But the privacy was an illusion, the special dining room a trap. For about a year, waiters secretly recorded public officials at Sowa & Przyjaciele and another restaurant, Amber Room. When a newsmagazine published transcripts from some of the recordings, it spawned a scandal dubbed “Waitergate” that helped topple a pro-European Union government. Russian involvement Suspicions …

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Tensions have soared along the volatile, highly militarized frontier between India and Pakistan in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as India deployed more troops and ordered thousands of visitors out of the region.   Indian firing Sunday along the Line of Control that separates Kashmir between the rivals wounded a woman as the ongoing skirmishes spread fear in border villages, Pakistani police said. The frontier residents on the Pakistani side are either moving out to safer places or have begun construction of new bunkers, with some strengthening existing shelters near their homes.   Pakistan and India, who both claim …

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The wife of Syria’s president says that a year after being diagnosed with breast cancer she is now “completely” free of the disease. Asma Assad, born in 1975, has gone public with her diagnosis – a rare declaration in the Arab world, where prominent figures often conceal their ailments. Assad appeared at a military hospital, at times with husband Bashar Assad by her side. She continued her public activities, appearing with covered hair. In a state TV interview aired late Saturday, Assad sported short blond hair and flashed a wide smile. She encouraged women to go for regular check-ups. The …

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Sudan’s pro-democracy movement signed a power-sharing agreement with the ruling military council on Sunday aimed at paving the way for a transition to civilian rule following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April. Representatives signed a constitutional document that would establish a joint military and civilian council to rule for a little over three years until elections can be held. The agreement would also establish a Cabinet appointed by the activists, as well as a legislative body.   The military overthrew al-Bashir in April following months of protests against his three-decade-long rule. The protesters remained in the streets, demanding …

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Iranian media say the Revolutionary Guard has seized an oil tanker carrying 700,000 liters of “smuggled fuel” in the Persian Gulf. The semi-official Fars news agency says seven crew members were detained when the ship was seized late Wednesday. It did not provide further details on the vessel or the nationality of the crew. This would mark the third commercial vessel seized by Iranian forces in recent weeks and the second accused of smuggling fuel. Tensions have soared in the Gulf in recent months as the U.S. has boosted its military presence and oil tankers have been seized by Iranian …

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Police in El Paso, Texas, said Saturday that they were responding to an active- shooter situation at a shopping mall.    There was no immediate word on whether there had been injuries or fatalities in the reported shooting at a Walmart store in Cielo Vista Mall.  Police said multiple shooters were being reported and the area around the mall had been blocked off as authorities searched for suspects.    Stores in the area were locked down.     El Paso is a city in the far western part of southern state of Texas.  …

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The Senate of Puerto Rico is set to hold public hearings Monday on the nomination of veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi to replace embattled former governor Ricardo Rossello, who resigned as promised Friday. Rossello handpicked Pierluisi to succeed him, thrusting the U.S. territory into a new period of uncertainty after weeks of protests over Rossello’s mismanagement and leaked communications in which Rossello and his advisors disparaged a range of Puerto Ricans. Pierluisi was sworn in Friday but said at a news conference after taking an oath, his term as governor might be short-lived because there are no guarantees the Senate will …

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Thai authorities are casting suspicion on southern separatists while suggested broader political motives for a series of bombings that shook Bangkok Friday during a summit of top diplomats from the U.S., China and the region. A low-level insurgency has been simmering for years in Thailand’s far south — where Muslim militants want to break away from the Buddhist-majority country — but rarely spread as far north as the capital. Analysts say any insurgents involved in Friday’s attacks may have been acting as mercenaries for other groups, as they have before. The blasts hit five locations across Bangkok during the Friday …

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More than 100 migrants from Togo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Benin are stranded in Cameroon after they were rescued by the central African state’s military from their capsizing vessel in the Atlantic Ocean. The migrants, who are calling on their governments for help, say they do not have food or money.  One-hundred-seventeen men, women and children lie on the bare floor at the government school in Ebodje, a Cameroon village on the west coast of Africa near the Atlantic Ocean. Stranded migrants in Ebodje, Cameroon, Aug. 3, 2019. ( Moki Kindzeka, VOA) Christian Djongo, village chief of Ebodje, says officials …

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A munitions blast killed 31 regime and allied fighters at a military airport in central Syria on Saturday, a war monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain and relies on a network of sources on the ground, said it was unclear what had caused the deadly explosion at the Shayrat airbase in Homs province. But state news agency SANA reported that a “technical fault during the transport of expired ammunition” had killed an unspecified number of victims. The Shayrat airbase is one of the regime’s most significant installations in the centre of the country. …

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MEXICO CITY — A Mexican reporter in Guerrero state who also served as a municipal official was shot and killed Friday in a beachside resort, authorities said, the second journalist from the state slain in less than a week as Mexico’s endemic bloodletting reaches new heights.    Edgar Alberto Nava, who published news stories about the coastal resort city of Zihuatanejo on a Facebook page called La Verdad de Zihuatanejo, died after being shot several times, the Guerrero prosecutor’s office said.    Nava also worked as Zijuatanejo’s regulations director. It was not clear if the attack, in a Zihuatanejo restaurant, was related to Nava’s …

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Hopes by small aviation museum in southwestern Iowa that a stamp in its possession was rare enough to parlay into a fortune crashed Friday when experts told them it wasn’t real, and likely not even worth the paper it was glued upon. The Iowa Aviation Museum in Greenfield, Iowa, has had what it thought was a 1918 “Inverted Jenny” stamp on public display for some 20 years, dating back to when it was donated to the museum, glued to a board along with several other stamps. A notation from the donor attached to the board speculated then that it was …

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NAIROBI, KENYA — Many merchants in Nairobi’s bustling Toi market are busy selling secondhand clothes — a big business in Kenya, which imports 100,000 tonnes of such garments every year. Smart, frugal customers like Emily Mugure find good buys at the market.  “I am looking for a few items I can add to my closet for work, and I have an event I want to go to,” she said during a recent visit.  “So I am looking for something unique.” She said the market offered a large variety of items, and she liked the quality and prices.  Emily Mugure checks out a secondhand jacket …

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Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said Friday that he was resigning as promised and swearing in veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi as his replacement, a move certain to throw the U.S. territory into a period of political chaos that will be fought out in court. In an emailed announcement from his office, Rossello said Pierluisi did not need confirmation from both houses of the territory’s legislature because he was named secretary of state, the next in line to be governor, in a recess appointment this week. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello speaks as he announces his resignation in San Juan, Puerto …

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BOSTON — Authorities said Friday that they were looking to toxicology reports for clues to the death of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, a granddaughter of assassinated U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.    The Kennedy family confirmed the death in a statement after police responded to a call Thursday afternoon about a possible drug overdose at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The statement was issued by Brian Wright O’Connor, a spokesman for Saoirse Hill’s uncle, former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II.    Hill, 22, was the daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy’s fifth child, Courtney, and Paul Michael Hill, who …

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