Category: Євросоюз

The United States won a legal battle over “dolphin safe” tuna-labeling on Friday, when the World Trade Organization’s appeals judges dismissed Mexico’s argument that the U.S. labeling rules violated WTO rules. More than 10 years after the dispute first came to the WTO in October 2008, the WTO ruling ended Mexico’s claim that U.S. labeling rules unfairly penalized its fishing industry. Mexico said it had cut dolphin deaths to minimal levels but that it was being discriminated against by U.S. demands for paperwork and sometimes government observers. Tuna catches from other regions did not face the same stringent tests, it …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May was firmly rebuffed Friday by European leaders, who rejected her bid to reopen negotiations on Britain’s deal to leave the European Union. They held out little hope of offering any legal assurances that would help her sell a contentious withdrawal agreement to an unenthusiastic House of Commons. After testy behind-the-scenes exchanges in Brussels, and a textual hardening overnight of a communique from the national leaders of the EU’s 27 other member states, the embattled May continued to put a brave face on the rejection in a brief press conference Friday. May told reporters she remained …

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A suspect in the slaying of a 21-year-old American psychology student living in the Dutch port of Rotterdam appeared before a judge Friday and was ordered detained for two more weeks while the investigation continues. The Rotterdam Public Prosecutor’s Office tweeted that the 23-year-old suspect, whose identity hasn’t been released, was brought before an investigating judge. The hearing wasn’t open to the public. Sarah Papenheim, a native of Minnesota, was fatally stabbed Wednesday at her home in an apartment building near Erasmus University, where she had been studying since 2016. Rotterdam police said she died Wednesday after a stabbing in …

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A Montenegrin animal rights activist faces jail as she has no money to pay a fine for feeding the stray dogs she has been taking care of over the past 20 years. A court found Indira Lajko guilty for putting out bowls of dog food and water on the streets and outside houses in Pljevlja, northern Montenegro. The court ordered her to pay a 150-euro ($169) fine, which equals 40 percent of her salary. Under the ruling, she will go to jail on December 29 if the fine is not paid. “I have no money to pay the fine,” Lajko, …

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A day after killing the alleged assailant in a bloody Christmas market shooting in eastern France, police are searching for other potential suspects. The Islamic State group, without providing evidence, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack that killed at least three people, wounded more than a dozen others and left a country on edge. Public prosecutor Remy Heitz on Friday detailed the two-day manhunt that led to police shooting dead Cherif Chekatt, in the Strasbourg neighborhood where he grew up. Heitz said two local witnesses tipped off police after seeing a man who matched a widely circulated description of Chekatt during …

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EU leaders extended punishing economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months on Thursday, amid heightened tensions over the Azov Sea clash. The EU first imposed the measures in July 2014 after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people, an attack blamed by the West on pro-Russian rebels. Russian economy targeted The sanctions target whole sectors of the Russian economy including its valuable oil businesses. “EU unanimously prolongs economic sanctions against Russia given zero progress in implementation of Minsk agreements,” EU President Donald Tusk tweeted from a summit in Brussels. …

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French police have shot dead the gunman suspected of  killing three people late Tuesday at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, according to multiple media reports. More than 700 officers had been hunting Cherif Chekatt since the attack, which also injured 13 people. Hundreds of police cordoned off an area in the Neudorf district, a short drive from where the suspect exchanged gunfire with police. Authorities said the 29-year-old Chekatt was on a watch list of suspected extremists. The gunman’s motive is unknown. Islamic State takes responsibility In a tweet Thursday, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The gunman in …

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A multipronged crackdown on the press continued throughout 2018, the Committee to Protect Journalists concludes in a report published Thursday. Imprisonment, intimidation and allegations that journalists produce “fake news” surged in 2016, when U.S. President Donald Trump won the election, CPJ found. Trump has been a vocal critic of the press, often chastising journalists as “very dishonest people.” The number of journalists in jail dipped 8 percent, from 272 in 2017 to 251 this year. But that doesn’t mean the situation has improved, Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, told VOA.   The numbers fluctuate and may not reflect every …

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The head of the U.N. agency focusing on AIDS says he’ll leave his post in June, an early departure announced a week after independent experts looking into sexual harassment at UNAIDS blasted its “defective leadership.” Executive director Michel Sidibe made the announcement during a UNAIDS board meeting Thursday in Geneva, said agency spokesman Mahesh Mahalingham. He did not elaborate. Sidibe’s term was supposed to end in January 2020. On Friday, a panel of experts released a report citing a culture of impunity and a toxic working environment at UNAIDS and said it could not be changed unless Sidibe resigned.Citing a …

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Hopelessly divided over how to improve the European Union’s asylum system, EU leaders are set Thursday to underline their intention to keep beefing up Europe’s borders and outsource their migrant challenge to the countries of northern Africa. The arrival in Europe of well over a million people in 2015 seeking sanctuary or better lives sparked one of the 28-nation bloc’s biggest political crises. Mediterranean coastal states felt abandoned by their partners as they struggled to cope. Others erected fences to keep migrants out. Countries bickered over who should take responsibility and whether they should be obliged to help. A refugee-sharing …

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A high-speed train hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 43 others, officials and news reports said. The 6:30 a.m. train from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya first collided with the engine that was checking the tracks at the capital city’s small Marsandiz station, Ankara Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters at the scene. The high-speed train transits that station without stopping.  Private NTV television said at least two cars derailed. Parts of the overpass collapsed onto the train. Television …

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There wasn’t much of a honeymoon Wednesday for Britain’s embattled Theresa May after she survived a bid to oust her by critics from her own Conservative party. Standing outside No. 10 Downing Street after an internal party vote she won but not emphatically, May pledged she will “get on with the job of delivering Brexit.” But the British leader’s opponents from both the euroskeptic and pro-European Union wings of her party were not silenced, warning her survival has done nothing to improve the chances of getting the House of Commons to approve her contentious Brexit deal. More than a third …

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European Union leaders will offer Ukraine help for its regions affected by Russia’s actions in the Azov Sea when they meet Thursday, according to a draft summit statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.  But there is no mention of consideration of further sanctions against Russia, reflecting division among member states. Diplomats expect a rollover of existing sanctions but no consensus on increases sought by more hawkish governments.  Condemning Russia, the EU will reiterate its support for Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea’s 2014 annexation by Moscow and — referring to the capture of Ukrainian naval vessels off Crimea last month — said: “There is no justification for the use of military force …

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Hungary’s parliament has approved the creation of a new court system to deal with matters related to public administration, giving Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government close control over what will become a crucial part of the judiciary. According to the bill approved Wednesday, the justice minister will have final say over the appointment, promotion and salary of judges in the new system, which could hear cases on a wide range of matters, including those involving the police, tax authorities, public procurement procedures, local governments, elections and media issues. Critics say the minister’s prerogatives call into question the independence of the …

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The Russian military says two of its nuclear-capable strategic bombers were flown over the Caribbean Sea during a 10-hour training mission. A pair of Tu-160 bombers arrived Monday at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas. The Russian Defense Ministry said they were escorted by Venezuelan fighter jets during part of the training mission Wednesday to practice interaction. The Tu-160 is capable of carrying conventional or nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with a range of 5,500 kilometers (3,410 miles). The Russian bombers’ deployment came as Russia-U.S. relations have worsened because of the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and other issues. Russia …

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Turkey’s president says it will begin a new military operation against U.S-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria “within a few days.” Addressing a defense industry meeting in Ankara on Wednesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the target of the operation would be the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG — which Turkey views as a terrorist group linked to the insurgency within its borders.   The YPG is the main component of a Kurdish-led militia that rolled back the Islamic State group with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. U.S. troops are deployed with the Kurdish fighters in …

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The United Nations secretary-general flew back to global climate talks in Poland Wednesday to appeal to countries to reach an agreement, as some observers feared the meeting might end without a deal. U.N. chief Antonio Guterres opened the talks last week, telling leaders to take the threat of global warming seriously and calling it “the most important issue we face.”   But as the two-week meeting shifted from the technical to political phase, with ministers taking over negotiations, campaign groups warned of the risks of failure in Katowice.   Harjeet Singh of ActionAid International said the main holdouts were the …

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A massive manhunt is underway in France for the gunman who killed three people and wounded 13 others in an attack at the Christmas market in the center of Strasbourg. French officials deployed hundreds of security forces Wednesday in the search after the suspect escaped from the market following the shooting Tuesday night. France raised its security threat level to “emergency attack,” adding tighter border controls while security is boosted at other Christmas markets. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner traveled to Strasbourg to open a terror investigation, but the gunman’s motive was unknown. Authorities have identified the suspect as 29-year-old Cherif …

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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has asked in parliament for a confidence vote on his own government, saying he wants to be sure that his government has “a mandate” ahead of a European Union summit. Morawiecki called Wednesday for the vote to be held later in the day, ahead of the EU summit on Thursday.   The ruling party, Law and Justice, enjoys majority support in parliament. It was not immediately clear why Morawicki wanted a vote that he was all but certain to survive.   A two-day summit of EU leaders beginning Thursday is to focus on Britain’s plans …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a no-confidence vote from her Conservative Party lawmakers Wednesday, the latest fallout from her handling of the process to withdraw Britain from the European Union. If a majority of Conservatives in the House of Commons vote against May, she will have to step down as prime minister. But if she survives the confidence vote, another could not be called for one year. May vowed to fight the vote “with everything I’ve got,” and said changing leaders now would jeopardize the Brexit process. Ian Lavery, chair of the main opposition Labour Party, said in a …

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