Category: Євросоюз

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday defended the jailing of an elderly rights activist over calls to protest, stressing he wants to prevent events like France’s “yellow vest” revolt. The Russian leader was responding to an appeal to free 77-year-old Sergei Ponomaryov, a prominent rights activist who is serving 16 days in police cells for urging people to take part in an unauthorized rally. As a result, Ponomaryov was unable to attend the funeral Tuesday of a longtime comrade, veteran rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva, while Putin attended the memorial ceremony. Putin told the presidential rights council, an advisory body, that …

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Kremlin officials and Russia’s opposition on Tuesday gathered to pay tribute to Russia’s most prominent human rights activist, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who died at age 91. Alexeyeva, a staunch and uncompromising rights advocate, made a name for herself in the 1960s and `70s protesting the treatment of Soviet political prisoners. She returned to Russia in 1993 after spending more than two decades in exile, and continued to be an energetic champion for human rights. Alexeyeva has been lauded as a bridge-builder. A scathing critic of the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on rights and activism, she nevertheless sat on the government’s council for …

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Egyptian authorities have launched an investigation into images said to show a naked couple who scaled the Great Pyramid that has sparked outrage in the conservative Muslim country, an official said Tuesday. In a video titled “Climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza”, Danish photographer Andreas Hvid appears to scale the 4,500-year-old tomb on the outskirts of Cairo at night with an unidentified woman who is later seen taking off her top. Hvid says the video was taken in late November but it was published on YouTube on December 8. A photograph released by Hvid appears to show the couple completely …

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Spain’s central government says it will send in national police to ensure security in Catalonia if regional authorities fail to stop recent disruptions to major highways by pro-independence protesters.   The warnings follow the blocking of a highway across Catalonia for more than 15 hours on Saturday. Separatist groups on Sunday allowed cars to pass through without paying the mandatory toll.   Three cabinet members of the national government sent letters late on Tuesday urging their Catalan counterparts to explain why the Mossos d’Esquadra police, which is controlled by the regional government, didn’t intervene.   After last year’s independence attempt …

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Rome’s longstanding garbage problems turned into an emergency Tuesday after a huge fire at a waste disposal plant blanketed the Eternal City in smoke and forced authorities to scramble to find alternative facilities to treat the capital’s trash. The Salaria plant has been the subject of protests for years by residents complaining of putrid smells and demanding its closure. Arson was suspected, since the blaze put the plant out of operation indefinitely. It also sparked shorter-term health concerns given the huge cloud of smoke that covered the city. While no health emergency was declared, Rome authorities urged residents to close …

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French President Emmanuel Macron was both humble and resolute as he spoke publicly for the first time on the anti-government protests that have shaken the country. “I take my share of responsibility. I might have hurt people with my words,” Macron said in a nationwide broadcast speech Monday night. He also said he recognizes that a proposed tax hike on pensions was “unjust.” But Macron called the anger that has boiled over in the past weeks the result of what he describes as a 40-year-long “malaise,” especially among rural French. The president declared an “economic and social state of emergency.” …

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The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Monday a system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent U.S. sanctions could be in place by year’s end. The European Union wants the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to help preserve the economic benefits for Iran deriving from the curbs it placed on its nuclear program under a 2015 deal with world powers, from which President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in May. EU diplomats had hoped to have the SPV in place by now but ran into delays as member states balked at hosting it for fear of being …

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Kosovo’s prime minister said Monday the army the country expects to have soon will be a modest contributor to creating world peace. Kosovo’s lawmakers will vote Friday on three laws that would transform the national security force into a regular army. The measures are expected to easily pass the 120-member parliament. Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said that the transformation would make Kosovo a provider, not only a beneficiary, of peace. “You cannot be safe and secure, you can’t help peace and stability of the world without being in peace yourself, having your own army,” Haradinaj told The Associated Press. Kosovo …

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 A United Nations war crimes courtroom in which a Bosnian Serb general was prosecuted for atrocities committed during the siege of Sarajevo has been moved to the Bosnian capital to preserve the legacy of the first attempt to hold war criminals to account since World War Two. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which closed down last year after prosecuting 161 suspects for crimes committed during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, had agreed to move the original courtroom and archives to Sarajevo, where 11,000 people were killed during the siege. “Sarajevo is the first city …

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Jailed Catalan separatists who have gone on hunger strike are protesting against their treatment by the Spanish judicial system but have no intention of starving themselves to death, one told Reuters. Jordi Sanchez, one of nine Catalan politicians in pre-trial detention on charges including misuse of public funds and rebellion in relation to Catalonia’s independence declaration last year, started a hunger strike on December 1 alongside another separatist leader. Two others did so on December 3. “I love freedom and life. I’ve made clear from the start that this hunger strike is not about risking my life. It’s about protesting …

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As the U.N. global climate conference in Katowice, Poland entered its second week Sunday, the non-governmental environmental organization Greenpeace demanded urgent action from world leaders to tackle climate change. Greenpeace activists projected a message onto the roof of the “Spodek” arena where the COP24 is being held, saying “No Hope Without Climate Action: and “Politicians Talk, Leaders Act.” Disappointing many of the scientists and delegates at the conference, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait refused to endorse a landmark study on global warming which was to be the benchmark for future action in curbing the global warming. The …

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A British man who was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok said he is struggling with his eyesight and mobility, and fears the poison will kill him within a decade. Charlie Rowley, 45, fell ill in June near Salisbury, England, after coming into contact with the Soviet-developed nerve agent that was used months earlier to attack former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Rowley, Skripal and his daughter survived, but Rowley’s partner Dawn Sturgess, who was also exposed, died in the hospital. Rowley told the Sunday Mirror newspaper that he was back in the hospital being treated for …

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French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Monday in response to massive, often violent rallies staged by “yellow-vest” protesters across the country for the past four weekends. Before the speech Monday evening, Macron plans to meet with union officials, local lawmakers and business leaders for talks on formulating a response to the protests that have rocked the country during the holiday season. Workers across France Sunday cleaned up the debris from protesters who threw rocks, burned cars and vandalized businesses through the weekend. Earlier Sunday, France’s foreign minister urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to interfere in French …

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With a crucial parliamentary vote on Brexit looming, British Prime Minister Theresa May warned lawmakers Sunday that they could take Britain into “uncharted waters” and trigger a general election if they reject the divorce deal she struck with the European Union. May is fighting to save her unpopular Brexit plan and her job ahead of a showdown in Parliament on Tuesday, when lawmakers are widely expected to vote down the deal she negotiated with Brussels. Her Downing Street office insisted that the vote will go ahead despite speculation that the government may be forced to delay it. A defeat in …

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Nearly 1,800 people were arrested Saturday across France in the latest round of “yellow vest” protests. Nationwide, the Interior Ministry says some 136,000 people rallied against France’s high-cost of living. Protesters also expressed their dismay with the presidency of Emmanuel Macron. Protests were mounted in a number of cities besides Paris, including Marseilles, Bordeaux, Lyon and Toulouse. The ministry said Sunday 1,723 people were arrested nationwide, with 1,220 of them ordered held in custody. Parisian police said they made 1,082 arrests Saturday, a sharp increase from last week’s 412 arrests. Meanwhile, tourist destinations, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre …

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Corruption costs the world economy $2.6 trillion each year, according to the United Nations, which is marking International Anti-Corruption Day on Sunday. “Corruption is a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies. No country, region or community is immune,” the United Nations said. The cost of $2.6 trillion represents more than 5 percent of global GDP. The world body said that $1 trillion of the money stolen annually through corruption is in the form of bribes. Patricia Moreira, the managing director of Transparency International, told VOA that about a quarter of the world’s population has …

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Armenians are casting their votes in early parliamentary elections Sunday. Reformist leader Nikol Pashinian, 43, swept to power in May after weeks of anti-government protests that forced the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who was also a former president of Armenia. Sargsyan’s ruling Republican Party, however, blocked Pashinian’s bid to become prime minister, resulting in more protests. The Republican Party then decided to back Pashinian for what it said was the good of the nation. Pashinian became prime minister, but recently stepped down so parliament could be dissolved for the early election. He remains Armenia’s acting prime minister. …

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In France, police clashed with protesters, as tens of thousands of ‘yellow vest’ demonstrators took to the streets Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend. French authorities deployed nearly 90,000 police across the country, detained hundreds of people, and closed major landmarks and museums as a precaution. Anti-government yellow vest rallies also took place in nearby Belgium and the Netherlands. For VOA, Lisa Bryant has more on the action from Paris. …

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According to the World Ocean Review, shipping by sea is responsible for about 3 percent of the world’s total carbon emissions. But one Norwegian shipping company is creating hybrid ships and planning for a carbon free future. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

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In France, police clashed with protesters, as tens of thousands of ‘yellow vest’ demonstrators took to the streets Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend. Reports say at least 135 people have been injured. French authorities deployed nearly 90,000 police across the country, detained hundreds of people and closed major landmarks and museums out of precaution. Anti-government yellow vest rallies also took place in nearby Belgium and the Netherlands. It’s becoming a familiar sound — and smell: teargas lobbed by riot police against so-called yellow vest protesters. Demonstrators sporting fluorescent yellow jackets were out in force again in Paris and across …

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