Category: Євросоюз

The Yazidi community in Iraq and around the world expressed joy and hope after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its 2018 Peace Prize to Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist and survivor of sexual slavery by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. Murad will be sharing the prize with  Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist who treated thousands of women victims of rape and sexual violence. The Nobel Peace Committee praised Murad’s courage because she did not accept the social codes that require women to remain silent and shamed after abuse. “She has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is stepping up his rhetoric over Cyprus in a move seen by analysts as taking on a more assertive approach that could result in a permanent partition of the divided Mediterranean island. Addressing parliament Tuesday, Erdogan issued a stark warning. “No step can be taken in Cyprus or in the Aegean Sea at the expense of Turkey. Those who do disregard Turkey would put their own existence entirely at risk,” Erdogan said to his cheering deputies in the ruling AK Party. Cyprus is divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since a Turkish military invasion in …

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An estimated 300,000 people, more than half of them children, have been immunized against cholera in war-torn Yemen. The weeklong vaccination campaign was led jointly by the World Health Organization and U.N. Children’s Fund. More than 3,000 health workers fanned out across Hodeidah and Ibb governorates. Both are areas where Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia-backed government forces are engaged in war. A spokesman for the U.N. Children’s Fund, Christophe Boulierac, said the campaign went ahead because the warring parties agreed to stop fighting during so-called Days of Tranquility, a period that lasted six days. “Before the end of the year, …

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Cristiano Ronaldo will be available to play for his Italian soccer team on Saturday. Ronaldo, who is facing a rape allegation in the United States, could play when Juventus faces Udinese in the Italian league, according to coach Massimiliano Allegri. “Cristiano’s doing well. I’ve known him for three months, but I can say that in his 15 years of his career he has shown great professionalism and seriousness both on and off the field,” Allegri said Friday. “In regard to tomorrow, he is ready to return to action.” Kathryn Mayorga filed a lawsuit last week in Nevada saying she was …

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India has signed a deal worth more than $5 billion to buy five sophisticated air defense missile systems from Russia that could trigger sanctions by the United States. The agreement for the purchase of the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems was sealed Friday in New Delhi as Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India and held a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although the deal was not mentioned when the two leaders appeared before reporters, a joint statement after the talks said that the two sides welcomed the agreement. The deal, said analysts, demonstrates that India is seeking a balance as …

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Western nations are warning Russia to stop aggressive behavior, including a violation of an arms control treaty, widespread cyberattacks and attempts to kill citizens in other countries. At a NATO meeting in Belgium Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Russia is violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Netherlands said it prevented a Russian cyberattack on an organization investigating chemical weapons use. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports on coordinated response. …

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A California man who says he was sexually abused by a priest over decades ago is suing the Vatican, seeking the release of the names of all offenders within the church worldwide. Manny Vega, a 52-year-old former police officer and Marine, said Thursday that he’s seeking the truth for himself and other victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests. “We were raped,” Vega said. “It happened to me, it happened to my friends, and it happens to children all across the world, and it continues to happen at the hands of the Catholic church, whose inaction continues to damage children.” …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again suggested that Turkey could decide in a referendum whether to continue pursuing membership in the European Union. Speaking at an international forum on Thursday, Erdogan said Turkey and the EU had a lot to contribute to each other. But he criticized the 28-nation bloc for keeping Turkey waiting at its gates. Erdogan said: “But if this goes on like this, with this mentality — this is a headline for tomorrow’s papers — our duty is probably to go to the 81 million (people in Turkey) and see what the 81 million decide.”  Turkey …

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The U.N. refugee agency warns populist politics and fear-mongering about immigration are eroding international protection for refugees fleeing conflict and persecution.  The UNHCR protection chief spoke about growing protection concerns at the agency’s annual refugee conference.  Conflict, persecution and violence have displaced a record 68.5 million people around the world.  Most are internally displaced, while 25 million are refugees.  These are people who have crossed international borders and are entitled to international protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention. But U.N. Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Turk says this right is slipping away.  He says some governments are taking political …

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U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday Russia’s violation of a global arms control treaty is “untenable” and warned the U.S. would be forced to match Moscow’s military capabilities if it continues to violate the pact. The U.S. maintains Russia’s Novator 9M729 cruise missile violates the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a Cold War-era agreement that bans medium-range missiles capable of striking Europe or Alaska. The treaty bans all nuclear and conventional ground-launched and cruise missiles of intermediate range. Mattis told reporters Thursday after a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels the U.S. is reviewing its military and diplomatic options …

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As Russian President Vladimir Putin visits India, the most high profile item on the agenda will be a deal for New Delhi to buy a multi-billion-dollar air defense system and other weaponry.  If concluded, the deal will be in violation of American sanctions against Russia.     The potential agreement comes as an indication that India will continue its defense ties with Russia, even as it deepens a military and strategic alliance with Washington.   President Putin is scheduled to hold formal talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.   “The key feature of this visit will be the …

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The Netherlands is accusing Russia of carrying out multiple cyberattacks, including one against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Dutch officials said Thursday they caught four members of Russia’s military intelligence service with spy equipment next to the OPCW headquarters in April and expelled them. The OPCW was investigating the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. Russia has denied any links to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and Dutch officials said it was not clear if the cyberattack was linked to the investigation. Russia’s foreign ministry denied the accusations, dismissing them as “fantasies.” Britain and Australia …

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British officials say the Russian military intelligence unit GRU is behind a fresh wave of global cyberattacks. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Thursday the GRU is responsible for “indiscriminate and reckless” attacks against political institutions, businesses, media and sports. Britain’s National Cyber Security Center has concluded that hackers behind numerous attacks have been identified as GRU personnel. The agency says four new attacks are associated with GRU as well as earlier cyberattacks. It cites attacks on the World Anti-Doping agency, Ukrainian transport systems, the 2016 U.S. presidential race and others as very likely the work of the GRU. British officials …

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U.S. and Georgian defense ministers met in Brussels Wednesday to reaffirm the long-standing defense relationship between the countries. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was in Brussels to reassure European allies of America’s “iron-clad” commitment to NATO, as the trans-Atlantic alliance prepares for its biggest military exercises since the Cold War. Meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria, Mattis remarked on the South Caucasus nation’s exemplary defense reforms and contributions to the NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, where Tbilisi’s 870 uniformed troops represent the world’s largest per capita contributor to the mission.  A Pentagon readout of the meeting said the ministers …

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Pope Francis urged Catholic bishops to dream of a future free of the mistakes of the past as he opened a global church leadership meeting Wednesday amid renewed outrage over the priestly sex abuse and cover-up scandal. Yet down the block from the Vatican’s synod hall, about two dozen abuse survivors staged a sit-in, demanding their cause be taken up at the meeting and voicing outrage that some of the delegates had covered up for abusive priests. “Make ‘Zero Tolerance’ Real,” read one protest sign. Francis welcomed more than 250 priests, bishops and cardinals — as well as 34 young …

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State police say a security guard at the Pennsylania compound of a Turkish-born Muslim cleric fired a shot at an “unwanted person” outside the gate.   Police said in a news release Wednesday that the suspected intruder fled the scene.   Troopers were called to Fethullah Gulen’s compound for a report of shots fired. Police searched the area but could not find the man. The investigation is continuing.   Gulen’s spokesman says the guard thought the man was armed and fired a “warning shot.” He says nobody was hurt.   Turkey accuses Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016 …

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Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira has been credited with setting a world record for the largest-ever wave surfed by a female earlier this year. The 31-year-old Gabeira caught the 20.72 meter wave in January off the coast of Nazare, Portugal. The record was confirmed this week, and Gabeira was recognized for her achievement at a ceremony in Portugal. It is the first time a woman was recognized for a biggest wave award in a separate category, something Gabeira herself had lobbied for since 2013. That year she was knocked off her board and nearly drowned attempting to catch a giant wave …

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Cristiano Ronaldo has denied “accusations being issued against” him and called rape an “abominable crime.” The 33-year-old Ronaldo has been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga. She has said the soccer great raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.   Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram shortly after a civil lawsuit was filed in Nevada last week, calling it “Fake. Fake news.”   On Wednesday, Ronaldo tweeted in both Portuguese and English.   Ronaldo wrote: “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May is calling on her fractious Conservative Party to unite on a Brexit strategy and help her negotiate a separation agreement with the European Union. May told her party’s annual conference Wednesday in Birmingham they are entering the “toughest phase of the negotiations.”  Britain will leave the 28-nation bloc on March 29 and talks to reach a divorce deal have stalled.  An influential pro-Brexit faction within May’s party led by former foreign minister Boris Johnson is urging her to be firm and exit the European Union without a deal if necessary. The faction opposes May’s proposal …

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Poisoned former spy Sergei Skripal has found it difficult to accept the Russian government tried to have him killed earlier this year, according to a new book published this week by a BBC journalist. According to reporter Mark Urban, who has interviewed the former spy, Skripal has struggled to come to terms with the nerve-agent assassination bid on him and his daughter, Yulia. Urban confirms that Skripal briefed Western intelligence services as recently as last year on Russian operations, but the book falls short of explaining why Skripal’s former colleagues in the Russian military service, the GRU, decided to try …

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