Category: Євросоюз

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned an attack on a Holocaust memorial in the French city of Strasbourg. Netanyahu on Sunday condemned the “horrific, anti-Semitic” defacing of a monument marking the site of a synagogue destroyed by the Nazis in 1940. French police on Saturday launched an investigation the incident, in which a heavy memorial stone was moved off its base in the eastern city. The incident comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in France in recent months, including spray-painting of swastikas on around 80 Jewish gravestones last month. Netanyahu called upon “all leaders of enlightened countries to …

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French authorities say about 50 migrants attempted to scurry aboard a cross-Channel ferry that had arrived from Dover, England into the northern French port of Calais late Saturday. Officials say 44 of the refugees were apprehended, dashing their hopes of reaching England on the vessel’s return trip. Two of the migrants fell into the water, but were quickly rescued. Maritime officials say ferry traffic was delayed for several hours as police searched the ship. Authorities say at least 100 migrants stormed into the port Saturday night. The French news agency, AFP,  reports that police were continuing to look Sunday morning …

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Voters in Estonia are going to the polls Sunday for a parliamentary election. Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his center-left Center Party are the front-runners, but they are expected to get some stiff competition from the far-right EKRE party, which has promised generous social spending. In 2007, Estonia became one of the first nations to be hit by a modern type of enemy assault that has since been dubbed cyberwarfare. The attack came from Russia. Since the cyberattack, Estonia, a former Soviet republic, has evolved into what many consider the most technologically advanced country in the world. Key to that …

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With Britain deadlocked on negotiating its divorce from the European Union, an unexpected side-front is emerging, the U.S. Congress. Conservatives who pushed the June 2016 referendum that ended in the shock decision to leave the 28-member bloc dangled the prospect of a free trade agreement with the United States as proof that Britain would not be isolated. But while nationalist-minded President Donald Trump has welcomed Brexit, the main hitch to Britain’s exit has raised alarm among key U.S. lawmakers — the prospect of the return of a physical border that divides Ireland. The elimination of the border between the Republic …

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Thousands protested in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, on Saturday, the fourth such rally in as many weeks, demanding that President Milo Djukanovic and his government resign over alleged corruption, cronyism and abuse of office.  Throngs of people, rallied by civic activists, bloggers and journalists who say they are not affiliated with political parties, marched through the center of the city chanting “Milo, thief.” Opposition politicians have distanced themselves from the protests.  Weekly political protests also continued in Serbia, Montenegro’s larger neighbor and fellow ex-Yugoslav republic. Marija Backovic, a teacher from Podgorica, said she was protesting for a better Montenegro. “We are not the danger for this country … those that are destroying it for 30 years are the real …

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Tens of thousands of people have marched in Italy’s financial capital against policies by the populist government that they say promote racism. The Milan city official in charge of migrant policy, Pierfrancesco Majorino, put the number of marchers under the banner “People First” at 200,000. He wrote on Twitter: “Salvini, count us” aimed at League leader Matteo Salvini, who as interior minister has blocked the arrival in Italy of humanitarian ships that have rescued migrants fleeing Libya. The demonstration, which finished in front of the Duomo cathedral, had a festival mood with bongo drums, trumpets and DJ music.   The …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose AK Party is facing major defeats this month in local elections, is being accused of behaving like a “dictator” after his threat to remove victorious pro-Kurdish mayoral candidates. Erdogan, addressing supporters this week, issued a stark threat to voters in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast: Candidates deemed sympathetic to the PKK Kurdish separatist group who are elected will be removed. “If you happen to send the opportunities provided by the state to Qandil [where PKK leaders are based in neighboring northern Iraq], we will once again, immediately and without waiting any further, appoint our trustees,” Erdogan said. The …

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was facing a groundswell of revolt Friday from allied center-right parties that want to kick him out of their European Parliament group less than three months ahead of the May elections. Several Christian Democrat parties already have voiced their opposition to the continued membership of the EPP umbrella group of Orban’s Fidesz party. In recent years, Orban has been strongly identified with anti-migrant rhetoric. Luxembourg Christian Democrat leader Frank Engel said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press he wants the EPP to take a decision ahead of the March 21-22 European Union summit …

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Americans’ views of Russia have plummeted to levels not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to a newly released survey by the U.S.-based Gallup polling center. The data say 52 percent of Americans see Russian military power as a direct threat to U.S. vital interests, and that a third identify Russia as the United States’ arch rival, thereby displacing North Korea from the top position in Gallup’s semi-annual ranking of perceived U.S. enemies. The percentage of Americans who view Russia unfavorably also increased a single percentage point to 73 in the latest poll, a record high in …

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Spelt risotto was on the menu at a recent lunch in Paris. Spelt is an ancient form of wheat with a nutty flavor. It is rich in fiber and minerals, and counts among dozens of sometimes ancient and obscure foods scientists say benefit people and the planet. A green cuisine effort is growing in France as scientists warn that meat consumption must be drastically cut to fight climate change and sustainably feed a global human population set to reach 10 billion by 2050. “Seventy-five percent of our food comes from 12 crops and five animals. Sixty percent of all our …

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Russia’s economy has stagnated for some years and suffers under sanctions imposed by the West after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Still, Moscow remains a vibrant city that attracts immigrants from around the world, most of them from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. For many of those migrants, the search for prosperity is often not easy. Ricardo Marquina has more from Moscow in this report narrated by Jim Randle. …

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The U.N. Security Council failed to agree Thursday on either a U.S. or Russian proposal to find a way forward on the Venezuelan crisis. The 15-nation council voted on two draft resolutions. The U.S. text had the support of the majority of the council members but was blocked by Russia and China, while a Russian draft garnered only four positive votes. The U.S. text stressed the need to “prevent further deterioration” of the humanitarian situation and to allow unhindered access for the delivery of aid throughout the country. The government of disputed President Nicolas Maduro has refused to recognize that there is a …

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Turkey is carrying out its largest naval exercises in a display of its rapidly growing navy. The show of force comes amid rising regional tensions over territorial and energy exploration rights disputes. Dubbed “The Blue Homeland,” the drills involve more than 100 ships operating across the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean. On display in the 10-day exercise are many of Turkey’s newest warships, along with the use of high-tech domestically produced drones. “Turkey is a regional power, and this naval exercise is to show the world that Turkey is a player,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci …

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The adoption of a European Union money-laundering blacklist, which includes Saudi Arabia as well as Puerto Rico and three other U.S. territories, could be blocked by EU governments under a procedure launched on Thursday, two EU diplomats told Reuters. At a meeting on Thursday, some national envoys opposed adopting the list, triggering a process that could lead to it being delayed or withdrawn, the diplomats said. The move came after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent letters to all 28 EU leaders urging them to reconsider the inclusion of Riyadh on the list, one of the letters seen by Reuters showed. …

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A U.N. human rights expert has published a draft list of questions to measure countries’ privacy safeguards, a first step towards ranking the governments that are potentially doing the most snooping on their own citizens. Joseph Cannataci, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to privacy, submitted the draft questionnaire – touching on everything from chatrooms to systematic surveillance – to the U.N. Human Rights Council, and invited comments by June 30. Cannataci’s role investigating digital privacy was created by the council in 2015 after Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. surveillance, and he has strongly criticized surveillance activities by the …

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Russian officials have brought charges against four companies in the Far East that have been keeping about 100 whales in small, crowded pools that environmentalists have dubbed a “whale prison.” The companies, which appear to be affiliated, have previously been fined for illegal capture and have a history of selling the animals to amusement parks abroad.  Putin ordered investigation The Border Guards Department said Thursday that it suspects that the four companies captured the whales illegally. It also confirmed the environmentalists’ claims that the belugas and orcas are kept in cramped conditions in a marine containment facility near Vladivostok and …

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Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Wednesday the United States was trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro and suggested talks with U.S. President Donald Trump — an idea the Trump administration immediately rejected. Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested that Maduro and Trump meet to “try to find common ground and explain their differences.” He also said his country had lost $30 billion in assets “confiscated” since November 2017 under sanctions. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence ruled out prospects of talks. “The only thing to discuss with Maduro at this point is the time and date for …

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Britain’s opposition Labor Party will put forward or support an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Brexit, the party’s Brexit spokesman said on Wednesday.  British lawmakers voted 323-240 against a Labor proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU. “Disappointed the government has rejected Labor’s alternative Brexit deal,” Labor Member of Parliament Keir Starmer said. “That’s why Labor will put forward or support an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit.” …

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Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has struck down a law against officials enriching themselves, a move that raises concern about the country’s fight against endemic corruption and about whether it can get further aid from the International Monetary Fund. The Ukrainian branch of Transparency International said Wednesday that the decision meant that at least 50 corruption cases would have to be closed. The court said the law was unconstitutional because it violated the presumption-of-innocence principle by obliging suspected officials to prove their assets were legitimate, rather than obliging prosecutors to show assets were obtained by corrupt practices. The law was introduced in …

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The United States and a number of other nations staged a walkout Wednesday at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament as a Venezuelan representative of President Nicolas Maduro was about to speak. They boycotted his presence to protest what they term the immoral policies of Maduro’s illegitimate regime. U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament Robert Wood says the walkout has sent a very powerful message to both the international community and to Venezuelans that what he calls the “former Maduro regime,” has no moral or political legitimacy. “The Maduro regime is unacceptable,” he said. “We do not recognize it, …

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