Category: Євросоюз

Turkey’s main opposition party on Wednesday appealed to the country’s top electoral body to annul local election results in Istanbul’s 39 districts, as well as last year’s presidential and parliamentary results, after the authority annulled the opposition’s victory in Istanbul’s mayoral race and ordered a new vote. Ruling in favor of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board this week ordered a re-run of the March 31 vote on Istanbul’s next mayor, which was narrowly won by opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu. The board based its decision on the fact that some officials overseeing …

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Obesity worldwide is increasing more quickly in rural areas than in cities, a study reported Wednesday, challenging a long-held assumption that the global epidemic of excess weight is mainly an urban problem. Data covering 200 countries and territories compiled by more than 1,000 researchers showed an average gain of roughly five to six kilos per woman and man living in the countryside from 1985 to 2017. City-dwelling women and men, however, put on 38 and 24 percent less, respectively, than their rural counterparts over the same period, according to the findings, published in Nature. “The results of this massive global …

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Britain is eager to negotiate trade deals with the United States and China to compensate for leaving the European Union, by far the country’s largest trading partner, but it is already discovering the snag of balancing geo-political requests of its traditional ally with the ambitions of Beijing, say analysts and diplomats.  Beijing hopes a trade deal will not only make Britain a secure base for Chinese companies looking to enhance their global brand value and make new acquisitions, but will lead to the British becoming advocates within the West for China’s interests, say China-watchers.  Beijing has “high hopes of the …

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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced the name of their newborn baby in an Instagram post. ” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” @sussex royal posted, along with a photo of Prince Harry, Meghan, the baby and his grandparents. “This afternoon Their Royal Highnesses introduced Her Majesty The Queen to her eighth great-grandchild at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess’ mother were also present for this special occasion,” the couple said. The baby was born early Monday morning, weighing 7 lb …

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Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan showed off their newborn son on Wednesday, describing having a baby as “magic”. Cradling his son, wrapped in a white blanket and wearing a hat, Harry and Meghan appeared before a small group of media at St George’s Hall in Windsor castle where they held their wedding reception just under a year ago. “It’s magic – it’s pretty amazing and I have the two best guys in the world so I am really happy,” Meghan said when asked how she was finding being a new mother. She said the boy, the seventh-in-line to …

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in London for talks with British officials on the status of the special relationship between the nations amid heightened tensions with Iran and uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the European Union. Pompeo is meeting Wednesday with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and will later deliver a speech on the potential for improved U.S.-U.K. ties after Brexit.   Pompeo arrived in London after canceling a trip to Germany to make an unannounced visit to Baghdad, where he warned Iraqi officials about what he called imminent threats to American interests …

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This story originated in VOA’s Macedonian Service. SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA — Amid tight security and raucous fanfare, Pope Francis made a historic first visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday, attracting an estimated 15,000 people of all faiths to Skopje’s main square for a midmorning Mass. The highest profile international figure to visit since the country changed its name from Macedonia in January, Francis first addressed officials at Skopje’s presidential palace, where he called the small Balkan nation “a crucible of cultures and ethnic and religious identities,” and a “bridge between East and West” that proves peaceful coexistence can prevail within …

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Wednesday is V-E Day — Victory in Europe — the 74th anniversary of the formal end of World War II in Europe, when the allied powers defeated German leader Adolf Hitler and his once invincible Nazi war machine. While V-E Day is not considered a major day of reflection and thanksgiving in the United States, it is observed across Europe and much of the former Soviet Union. The true number of people killed in the war may never be known, but historians believe at least 35 million Europeans were killed during World War II, including 6 million Jews murdered by …

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This year, Russia marks 30 years since Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan. The nine-year long military campaign that claimed the lives of nearly 15 thousand Soviet servicemen even today is the subject of a heated debate in Russian society. The upcoming release on May 10th of Russian director Pavel Lungin’s Leaving Afghanistan, a film on events the end of the Soviet-Afghan War, are adding to the controversy. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka in Moscow reports. …

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Now that everyone knows Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have a baby boy, there is widespread speculation about what he will be called. Royals have a way of taking their time about naming babies and the couple is known to want to do things at their own pace, so it may be a few days before the couple reveals the name for their first child. Britain’s legal bookmakers Tuesday reported high interest in the names Alexander, James and Arthur. Bookmakers also report speculation about the name Spencer, the maiden name of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana. Choosing Spencer as …

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Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, embarked on a visit to Germany Tuesday, a four-day charm offensive during which he will stress the two European countries’ close ties. Charles’ arrival in Berlin came a day after his younger son, Prince Harry, announced that he and his wife, Meghan, have had their first child, a healthy boy. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented Charles with a teddy bear for his new grandson after the two met for talks. Charles, the 70-year-old heir to the British throne, also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and was to attend a party in honor …

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Senior members of the British royal family said on Tuesday they were delighted and thrilled at the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan’s baby as the couple considered a name for their son. Meghan gave birth in the early hours of Monday morning to the boy, the seventh-in-line to the British throne, leaving his father, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, and royal fans across the world enthralled. “We couldn’t be more delighted at the news and we’re looking forward to meeting the baby when we return,” Prince Charles, the baby’s grandfather and heir-to-the-throne, said to well-wishers while on a trip to Berlin. …

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Two runaway Saudi sisters who won global attention for fleeing to Georgia and pleading online for protection said on Tuesday they were preparing to start new lives in a country where their family could not find them. Maha, 28, and Wafa al-Subaie, 25, started an online campaign to find a safe haven in April after arriving in Georgia to escape relatives they said abused them, in the latest case to highlight Saudi Arabia’s strict social control over women. “We are thrilled to announce that we are leaving Georgia,” the young women wrote on Tuesday from their Twitter account @GeorgiasSisters2, posting …

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German sports car maker and Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche will pay a 535-million-euro ($598 million) fine over diesel vehicles that emitted more harmful pollutants than allowed, Stuttgart prosecutors said Tuesday. “The Stuttgart prosecutor’s office has levied a 535-million-euro fine against Porsche AG for negligence in quality control,” the investigators said. Porsche “abstained from a legal challenge” against the decision, the prosecutors office added. Tuesday’s levy against Porsche is the latest in a string of fines against VW over its years-long “dieselgate” scandal. The auto behemoth admitted in 2015 to manipulating 11 million vehicles worldwide to appear less polluting in laboratory tests …

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Turkey is set for a revote in the aftermath of the hotly contested mayoral elections in Istanbul.  The country’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) upheld President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) petition to annul the March 31 result, which ended the AKP’s 25 years of rule.  A revote threatens to plunge the country into political and economic chaos. Turkey’s state news agency reported the new vote would be held June 23. The YSK has not published the reasons for its decision. However, the 11 judges voted 7-to-4 to annul the local Istanbul vote. “We are thirsty for democracy. …

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Pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta said on Monday that clean Russian oil had started flowing from Belarus towards Ukraine and it was ready to resume oil exports to the European Union following a transit hiatus over contaminated crude. Flows through the Druzhba pipeline were suspended in late April because tainted crude had entered the system, sending shocks through global oil markets and damaging Russia’s image as a reliable supplier of energy. The southern spur of the Druzhba pipeline passes from Belarus through Ukraine to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. It was not immediately clear if clean supplies were also flowing on …

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Pope Francis said on Monday the plight of suffering immigrants and refugees was “the cross of humanity,” taking up their case for the second day of a visit to Bulgaria that has put him at odds with the government. Bulgaria’s center-right coalition government, which includes three nationalist anti-migrant parties, wants the European Union to close external borders and set up refugee centers outside the bloc. It has built a fence along its border with Turkey and stepped up controls on its border with Greece to help block any repeat of the massive migrant influx that gripped Europe in 2015 and …

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Aimed at countering China and Russia’s expansion in the Arctic, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday the United States will increase its military presence in the polar region. “We are hosting military exercises, strengthening our force presence, rebuilding our icebreaker fleet, expanding Coast Guard funding, and creating a new senior military post for Arctic Affairs inside our own military,” said Pompeo after arriving in Rovaniemi, Finland, for a meeting of the Arctic Council. “The region has become an area of global power and competition,” he said. The top U.S. diplomat’s warning comes days after a Pentagon report said …

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Madrid is increasingly taking center stage in Venezuela’s crisis as talks to get president Nicolas Maduro to resign appeared to collapse and its embassy in Caracas gives refuge to Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader who escaped house arrest and led an abortive military rebellion last week. Involving Spain in schemes to manipulate Maduro into stepping down may have prompted what some analysts say was a premature revolt by regime opponent backed by soldiers who believed Maduro’s defense minister and other key aides were ready to abandon him. “The armed forces are dividing, it’s the worst scenario” said Spanish foreign minister …

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Top diplomats from the United States, Russia and other nations which border the Arctic meet in Finland on Monday to discuss policies governing the polar region, as tensions grow over how to deal with global warming and access to mineral wealth. Countries have been scrambling to claim territory or, like China, boost their presence in the region as thawing ice raises the possibility of exploiting much of the world’s remaining undiscovered reserves of oil and gas, plus huge deposits of minerals such as zinc, iron and rare earth metals. With time-saving Arctic shipping routes also opening up, the Pentagon warned …

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