Category: Євросоюз

Professional mountain climbers were hired to install synthetic, waterproof tarps over the gutted, exposed exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral, as authorities raced to prevent further damage ahead of storms that are rolling in toward Paris. The looming bad weather threatens to further damage the 850-year-old cathedral whose roof was destroyed by the April 15 blaze, leaving the church to the mercy of the elements. Architect-in-chief Philippe Villeneuve said he had to rush the installation of the protective covers that started Tuesday. “The climbers, since it will be climbers who will do that, and the scaffolders, are ready,” Villeneuve told BFMTV …

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Every month, when his respiratory medicine runs out, Dionysis Assimakopoulos heads to the most unlikely pharmacy in Athens. Amid derelict stadiums dating from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the volunteer-staffed social pharmacy of Hellinikon has handed out free medicine to hundreds of poverty-stricken patients, keeping some of them out of death’s reach. “My wife and I have been unemployed for over two years. We need about 150 euros for medicine every month,” says Assimakopoulos, a former baker. Established at the height of the crisis in 2011, the pharmacy runs on donated medicine and disposables. Some 40,000 people have brought medicine, …

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The main candidates in Spain’s general election on Monday clashed over how to handle Catalonia’s independence drive, accusing each other of lying in a tense television debate that left questions open on what coalition deals could be struck. Spain’s parliamentary election on April 28, one of the country’s most divisive since its return to democracy in the late 1970s, is being fought more on emotional and identity issues, such as Catalonia’s botched independence bid than on the economy. No clear winner None of the four candidates emerged as a clear winner from the late-night debate during which all except the …

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media confirmed. With his Russia visit, North Korea’s Kim is seen working to build up foreign support for his economic development plans, since the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February led to stalled talks with Washington on the sanctions relief Pyongyang had sought. State media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the visit will happen “soon,” but did not elaborate the time or the venue. Putin and Kim are on track to meet by the …

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As spring flower fields around the Netherlands burst into bloom, painting the countryside with dazzling swaths of red, white, and blue, a modern day tulip bubble may be forming: tourists. More than a million foreign sightseers are expected to visit this country of 17 million people on Easter weekend, a record, the Dutch Tourism Bureau said on Thursday. Director Jos Vranken said he expects them to spend 300 million euros — a boon for the national economy. Many are attracted to the country’s museums and other cultural offerings, but in April, the flower fields and Keukenhof flower show in Lisse …

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North Macedonia’s pro-Western candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova emerged tied in the first round of a presidential vote dominated by deep divisions over a change of the country’s name under a deal with Greece. The change, which Greece demanded to end what it called an implied territorial claim on its northern province of Macedonia, resolves a decades-old dispute and opens the door to North Macedonian membership of NATO and the European Union. But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for Sunday’s election, in which about 1.8 million voters …

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Sunday’s landslide runoff election win in Ukraine by TV comic Volodymyr Zelenskiy over incumbent President Petro Poroshenko is being hailed by the entertainer’s supporters as a fresh start for Europe’s poorest country. But the 41-year-old’s critics, who dubbed him the “hologram candidate” during the campaign, say it remains unclear how he’ll end the war against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, something he’s promised to do, and fear the last laugh could be on Ukrainians for entrusting the presidency to a man without government experience. Nor is it clear how he’ll guide Ukraine to prosperity and free it of endemic corruption.  …

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Spanish politicians are swapping campaign buses for tractors, buddying up with hunters and inspecting home-grown tomatoes in Spain’s often-neglected rural regions as they hunt for votes in Sunday’s general election, one of the country’s most polarized votes in decades. The ballot comes as Spain’s traditional bipartisan political landscape — which used to revolve around the center-left Socialists and the conservative Popular Party — has fractured into five main political parties, including a far-right populist newcomer. That has spurred a race for votes in Spain’s overrepresented hinterland, where nearly one-third of the seats in parliament’s lower house are up for grabs. …

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British police say more than 1,000 people have been arrested since mass climate change protests began in London one week ago. Police said Monday the arrest total stands at 1,065 since Extinction Rebellion set out to paralyze parts of central London to emphasize the need for sharp reductions in carbon use. Only 53 of those people have been formally charged with criminal offenses. Police say Waterloo Bridge was reopened to vehicles overnight, having been occupied by the demonstrators since last Monday. Officials say protest sites at Oxford Street and Parliament Square had been cleared the day before. The non-violent protest …

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Dozens of public housing advocates are protesting outside the gutted Notre Dame in Paris to demand that France’s poorest be remembered after donors pledged $1 billion to rebuild the cathedral and its destroyed roof. Around 50 people from a French homeless association gathered Monday with placards reading “1 billion in 24 hours.” They chanted slogans directed at Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury group LVMH, who last week pledged 200 million euros [$226 million]. Some chanted “Notre Dame needs a roof, we need a roof too!” Paris police monitored the peaceful protest but didn’t intervene. In addition to Arnault’s pledge, …

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Climate change protesters who have brought parts of London to a standstill said Sunday they were prepared to call a halt if the British government will discuss their demands. Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests. On the seventh day of demonstrations that have occupied key spots in the British capital, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the demonstrators, telling them: “Humanity is standing at a crossroads.” Organizers said they were willing to switch tactics from disruption to dialogue next week — if the government enters talks. “We …

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French Catholics on Sunday celebrated Easter mass in Paris in the shadow of the badly burned Notre-Dame Cathedral, praying that the landmark monument — and along with it the entire Catholic Church — can be renewed. The fire at Notre-Dame six days earlier destroyed the cathedral’s spire and two-thirds of its roof. The damaged building is now to be closed for years to visits and worship. Deprived of access to Notre-Dame, regular worshipers instead lined up patiently to celebrate Easter Sunday mass a short walk away, on the Right Bank of the Seine at Saint-Eustache church. Throughout, the service was …

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Pope Francis expressed closeness to the Christian community struck by the attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter day. In his Easter message he also prayed for peace in Syria, Yemen, Libya and South Sudan. Addressing tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter’s Square from the central balcony of the basilica, the pope said the resurrection of Christ, he said, is the principle of new life for every man and woman. Under grey skies, but in a Saint Peter’s Square filled with flowers, Pope Francis, dressed in white vestments, celebrated Easter mass in front of tens of thousands of …

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old television actor, won a landslide victory in the Ukrainian presidential election Sunday, with exit polls showing he received about 73% of the vote in the final round — nearly three times as many as his rival, the incumbent Petro Poroshenko. “We did it together. Thanks to everyone! Now there will be no pathetic speeches, I just want to say, thank you,” Zelenskiy told cheering supporters in Kyiv Sunday evening. Conceding defeat Sunday evening, Poroshenko offered his congratulations to Zelenskiy, and added, “I will leave the office, but I want to announce firmly: I will not leave …

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Several world and religious leaders condemned the explosions on Easter at Sri Lankan churches and hotels that killed scores of people. Dozens of foreigners — British, Dutch and American citizens — are believed to be among them the dead. British Prime Minister Theresa May said attacks were “truly appalling.” “The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time,” she tweeted. “We must stand together to make sure that no one should ever have to practice their faith in fear.” The …

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Spain’s Socialists increased their lead in two polls published late Saturday, with support from 28.8% to 30.3% of voters, but they fell short of a majority ahead of a general election on April 28.  A poll by El Pais newspaper gave the Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez 129 out of 350 seats in the parliament.  If a coalition was formed with their main ally, anti-austerity Podemos, they would hold a combined 162 seats, short of the 176 needed to secure a majority.  A coalition of three right-wing parties — People’s Party (PP), Ciudadanos and Vox — would get 44.4% of votes, or 156 seats, 20 short of a majority.  To be re-elected, Sanchez …

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Many Christians observed one of the most important times of their religious year with a vigil Saturday night before Sunday’s celebration of Easter, when the faithful believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead.    On the night of Holy Saturday, Pope Francis celebrates an Easter vigil at Saint Peter’s Basilica, ahead of Easter Sunday Mass in the square. At the end of Mass, the pope will give his traditional blessing to the city and to the world.    Elsewhere, many worshippers participate in sunrise services to greet the first light of Easter Sunday. The day is marked by religious services, family …

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A Frenchman who has spent 113 days floating across the Atlantic in a custom-made barrel says he is in high spirits as he approaches the end of his journey.     Earlier this week, Jean-Jacques Savin, 72, posted on his Facebook page that he was just 750 kilometers from the island of St. Martin. But he has traveled only 250 kilometers in the past week because of the lack of wind.     But he does not seem to mind. “There is no hurry, let’s leave time to time and now there are a series of favorable days coming to push me towards …

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French police said they arrested more than 100 “yellow vest” demonstrators on Saturday in Paris as thousands of protestors took to the streets for a 23rd week of anti-government marches. AFP journalists reported scuffles between police and protesters in the afternoon, after hours of calm, as police used anti-riot grenades and tear gas to disperse marchers in the center of the French capital. Police headquarters reported 126 arrests and 11,000 checks on individual protesters. Paris seemed to bear the brunt of Saturday’s protests, but other French cities were also expecting demonstrations. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron signed into …

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Tourists, devout Catholics and others are looking on mournfully at Notre Dame Cathedral, regretting that they can’t get inside the magnificent monument on this Easter weekend because of the damage caused by a violent fire. The Paris fire service said Saturday that the last hot points have been cooled, and firefighters who had worked inside non-stop since Monday’s fire have now left.   Crowds lined the embankments across from the cathedral Saturday, taking photos or just staring in shock. The fire collapsed the spire and destroyed the roof of the 12th century monument, and Easter services normally held in Notre …

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