Member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization face an uncertain security environment as they prepare for July’s summit in Brussels. Among the challenges facing the 29 member countries: rising tensions with Russia, which has long opposed NATO expanding its membership in Eastern Europe. Ahead of the July 11th summit, four countries have declared their intent to join the alliance. VOA’s Jane Bojadzievski has more. …
Britain will not sign a trade agreement with the United States that is not in the country’s best interests, Trade Minister Liam Fox said Saturday after European Union officials filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over stiff U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. “If we can’t come to an agreement that we believe is in the interests of the United Kingdom, then we wouldn’t be signing any trade agreement,” Fox said Saturday in an interview with BBC radio. Fox’s comments came one day after European Union officials submitted a formal complaint to the WTO, the first in …
White House officials are making plans for a possible summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report, citing a senior administration official, said U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, has been in Washington to help schedule the meeting. “This has been an ongoing project of Ambassador Huntsman, stretching back months, of getting a formal meeting between Putin and Trump,” the official said. People familiar with the plans said the purpose of the summit would be to address long-standing differences between the two countries. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that …
Italy’s new populist leaders promised to get to work creating jobs and curbing illegal migration as they made their first outing at Saturday’s symbolically-rich anniversary commemorations for the founding of the Italian republic. Premier Giuseppe Conte and his newly sworn-in Cabinet had places of honor to view the pomp-filled military parade and Italy’s aeronautic acrobatic squad. The planes flew low and loud over downtown Rome trailing smoke in the red, white and green of the Italian flag. The national pride on display is a feature of every Republic Day, but it took on a particular significance this year …
Opposition Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez was sworn in Saturday as Spain’s new prime minister, taking over the premiership after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy lost a parliamentary confidence vote Friday. Spain’s King Felipe VI administered the oath of office in a ceremony at the Zarzuela Palace near Madrid. Sanchez won the no-confidence motion with 180 votes in favor, 169 against and 1 abstention in the 350-seat lower house. It was the first ouster of a serving Spanish leader by parliament in four decades of democracy. Rajoy lost the vote after six years in office, following corruption convictions last week involving former …
The faked murder of a Russian journalist in Ukraine has set off soul searching among journalists and a debate in civil society over the propriety of the gambit in an era of propaganda and “fake news.” On Tuesday, journalists were shocked by the apparent slaying of Russian dissident, war veteran and journalist Arkady Babchenko, who Ukrainian authorities said had been gunned down outside his apartment in Kyiv. The first reports came from personal friends of Babchenko on their social media pages. This was quickly followed by official announcements from the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Within hours of the killing, Ukrainian …
Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist, worked with Ukrainian intelligence to stage his assassination. A day later, Kyiv security officials unveiled the ruse. While officials claim the scheme was necessary to save Babchenko’s life, ethics experts worry about the consequences. Bronwyn Benito narrates this report by Iryna Matviichuk of VOA’s Ukranian service. …
After three months of political deadlock following inconclusive March 4 elections, Italy has a new government. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, a political novice, and his ministers were sworn in Friday. The government is backed by the populist 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League. Markets breathed easier Friday after months of political wrangling ended. European stocks closed higher after Italian parties reached an agreement that led to the formation and swearing in of a new government, thereby averting the prospect of an early general election. Conte has been dubbed “Mr. Nobody.” The 53-year old law professor took the oath of office along …
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Monday amid souring relations between the NATO allies and trading partners over economic and other issues. The talks come as Turkish sectors, such as the major steel industry, reel from the higher tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration on Turkey and other nations. “Huge, huge effect, steel producers are desperate, the psychology is terrible among producers,” said Tayfun Senturk, a Turkey-based international steel trader. “For the last three months, there have been no new U.S. orders, and the U.S. is a …
The World Health Organization has expanded its Ebola vaccination campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo to include high risk people in three areas. Latest WHO figures show 37 confirmed cases and 13 probable ones. Since the start of the Ebola vaccination campaign in May, the World Health Organization said 682 people have been vaccinated, among them nearly 500 in Mbandaka, a city of more than one million people. The campaign recently was expanded to include Bikoro, where Ebola was first discovered on May 8 and the Iboko health zone, which is the most remote of the three areas. Those …
Brexit Secretary David Davis is creating a Brexit plan that would give Northern Ireland joint UK and European Union status so it could trade freely with both, as well as a buffer zone to eliminate the need for border checkpoints with Ireland, The Sun newspaper reported on Thursday. Davis is drawing a proposed 10-mile (16-km)-wide trade buffer zone along the border that would be in effect for local traders like dairy farmers after Britain leaves the bloc, the newspaper said. The Brexit minister’s plan is a revision of the “max fac” or “maximum facilitation” plan, the report said, citing a …
The United States’ allies in the G-7 vowed Thursday to push back against Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on their steel and aluminum exports, saying as they gathered for a meeting that the move threatens global growth. The escalating trade conflict between the United States and many key allies will dominate the three-day meeting in Canada of financial leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations that began Thursday, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the top target for their complaints and lobbying. The United States said it was moving ahead to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports …
Nine people were hurt, including two children, when Croatian border police fired at a van full of illegal migrants that refused to stop. Police said they discovered 29 people inside the van after it crossed the border from Bosnia. The driver fled into the woods, and police were searching for him. The two wounded children were recovering in a hospital, and officials said their lives were not in danger. “We are sorry about the children being injured in this incident,” Zadar town police chief Anton Drazina said. “Our priority is the fight against organized crime and protection of the state …
Pope Francis on Thursday promised Chilean Catholics scarred by a culture of clergy sexual abuse that “never again” would the Church ignore them or the cover-up of abuse in their country, where a widespread scandal has devastated its credibility. The pope issued the comments in a letter to all Chilean Catholics as the Vatican announced that Francis was sending his two top sexual abuse investigators back to the country to gather more information about the crisis there. The Vatican’s most experienced sexual abuse investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, and Father Jordi Bertomeu, a Spaniard, had visited Chile earlier this …
Reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from American trading partners — including the European Union — came fast and furious, with threats of retaliation and warnings they risk sparking a trans-Atlantic trade war. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the European bloc would respond by imposing penalties of its own on American exports. “Today is a bad day for world trade,” said Cecilia Malmström, the European trade commissioner. EU officials previously informed the World Trade Organization of the bloc’s plan to levy duties on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. exports if …
A Kremlin spokesman said Thursday that Russia is glad journalist Arkady Babchenko is alive, but that the faking of his death was “strange.” The prominent Russian war correspondent and Kremlin critic had been reported to be shot dead in the stairwell of his Kyiv apartment on Tuesday. But Babchenko stunned reporters when he appeared alive and well Wednesday as Ukrainian security officials explained the death had been faked as part of a sting operation to save the reporter’s life. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday he did not know if the result of the case justified the actions taken, and …
In today’s energy-hungry world, scientists are constantly revisiting every renewable resource looking for ways to increase efficiency. One researcher in the Netherlands believes even gravity can be harnessed to produce free electricity on a scale sufficient to power small appliances. VOA’s George Putic has more. …
President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports after failing to win concessions from the European Union, a move that could provoke retaliatory tariffs and inflame trans-Atlantic trade tensions. The tariffs are likely to go into effect on the EU with an announcement by Friday’s deadline, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The administration’s plans could change if the two sides are able to reach a last-minute agreement, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Trump announced in March the United States would slap a …
A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday dismissed two lawsuits by Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab that sought to overturn bans on the use of the security software maker’s products in U.S. government networks. The company said it would seek to appeal the decision, which leaves in place prohibitions included in a funding bill passed by Congress and an order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The bans were issued last year in response to allegations by U.S. officials that the company’s software could enable Russian espionage and threaten national security. “These actions were the product of unconstitutional agency and legislative processes …
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Wednesday a U.S.-European Union trade deal could still be reached even if the United States imposes tariffs on EU steel and aluminum imports. EU and U.S. officials are holding last-minute negotiations two days before U.S. President Donald Trump decides to apply tariffs on Europe. The threat of tariffs has increased prospects of retaliation and a global trade war that could hinder the global economy. “There can be negotiations with or without tariffs in place,” Ross said at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. “There are plenty of tariffs the EU …