Category: Євросоюз

Dubai, UAE — Iran called upon the Group of Seven leaders Sunday to distance itself from “destructive policies of the past,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, referring to a G7 statement condemning Iran’s recent nuclear program escalation. On Friday, the G7 warned Iran against advancing its nuclear enrichment program and said it would be ready to enforce new measures if Tehran were to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia. “Any attempt to link the war in Ukraine to the bilateral cooperation between Iran and Russia is an act with only biased political goals,” Kanaani said, adding that some countries …

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Athens, Greece — A missing American tourist has been found dead on a beach on a small Greek island west of Corfu, local media reported. The body of the man was found Sunday on a rocky, fairly remote beach on the island of Mathraki by another tourist. He had been reported missing Thursday by his host, a Greek-American friend. The tourist had last been seen Tuesday at a cafe in the company of two female tourists who have since left the island. No further details about the victim, including a name or hometown, were immediately available. Mathraki, which has a population …

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Stockholm — A Swede freed in a prisoner swap with Iran, 33-year-old EU diplomat Johan Floderus, said in his first words since his release that he was “in seventh heaven”, in a video published Sunday. In the video obtained by AFP from the Swedish government, Floderus can be heard speaking to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson by satellite phone while on a flight home from Iran on Saturday. “I’m in the sky and I feel emotionally like I’m in seventh heaven. I’ve been waiting for this for almost 800 days,” an audibly exhilarated Floderus told a smiling Kristersson. “I’ve dreamt of this …

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London — The UK general election is being watched closely after stark warnings that rapid advancements in cyber-tech, particularly AI, and increasing friction between major nations threaten the integrity of 2024’s landmark votes. “These rogue and unregulated technological advances pose an enormous threat to us all. They can be weaponized to discriminate, disinform and divide,” the head of Amnesty International Agnes Callamard said in April. The UK election on July 4 — four months before the United States — will be seen as the “guinea pig” for election security, said Bruce Snell, cyber-security strategist at US firm Qwiet AI, which uses …

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Paris — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned on Sunday that President Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected decision to dissolve the National Assembly and call for snap legislative elections could backfire and plunge the country into chaos. Macron called the snap vote, to be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, after his centrist alliance was trounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) in last Sunday’s European Parliament ballot. Sarkozy, the conservative former president who was in office from 2007 to 2012 and remains an important political figure, said possible chaos triggered by the dissolution of the assembly might be …

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chicago, illinois — Vacationing in Chicago this week from Europe, Jelle den Burger and Nirusa Naguleswaran grabbed a bite at the Dog House Grill: a classic Italian beef sandwich for him, grilled cheese for her.  Both think the way their genders lined up with their food choices was no coincidence. Women, said Naguleswaran, are simply more likely to ditch meat, and to care about how their diet affects the environment and other people.  “I don’t want to put it in the wrong way, that male people feel attacked,” said Naguleswaran, of Netherlands, laughing. She said she used to love eating meat, …

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ALGIERS, Algeria — France has twice rejected visa applications from Nabil Tabarout, a 29-year-old web developer from Algeria who hopes this year to visit his sister there. He’s among the many people navigating the often-arduous visa process throughout Africa, which faces higher visa rejection rates than anywhere else in the world when it comes to visiting Europe’s Schengen Area. Appointments are often difficult to secure. Applicants often must prove a minimum bank balance, substantiate the purpose of their visit and prove they plan to return home. “That’s how it is. Every pleasure deserves pain,” said Tabarout, who has succeeded just once …

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athens, greece — A missing Dutch tourist was found dead early Saturday on the eastern Greek island of Samos, local media reported, the latest in a string of recent cases in which tourists in the Greek islands have died or gone missing. Some, if not all, had set out on hikes in blistering hot temperatures.  Dr. Michael Mosley, a noted British television anchor and author, was found dead last Sunday on the island of Symi. A coroner concluded Mosley had died the previous Wednesday, shortly after going for a hike over difficult, rocky terrain.  Samos, like Symi, lies very close to …

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LONDON — Britain put on a display of birthday pageantry Saturday for King Charles III, a military parade that marked the Princess of Wales’ first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis early this year. The annual event was also a show of stability by the monarchy after months in which the king and Kate, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, have been sidelined by cancer treatment. In a symbolic display of unity, Charles, Queen Camilla, William, Kate and their children were joined by other members of the royal family on a Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the …

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran and Sweden agreed Saturday to a prisoner swap, freeing Hamid Nouri, convicted of war crimes by Sweden over mass 1988 executions in the Islamic Republic, in exchange for two men held by Tehran. Iran released Johan Floderus, a Swede who had been working for the European Union’s diplomatic corps, as well as a man identified as Saeed Azizi by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. They “are now on a plane home to Sweden, and will soon be reunited with their families,” Kristersson wrote on the social platform X. Oman mediated the swap, the state-run Oman …

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PARIS — France, Germany and Britain on Saturday condemned Iran’s latest steps, as reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, to further expand its nuclear program. “Iran has taken further steps in hollowing out the JCPoA, by operating dozens of additional advanced centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment site as well as announcing it will install thousands more centrifuges at both its Fordow and Natanz sites,” the joint statement said, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed with Iran in 2015. “This decision is a further escalation of Iran’s nuclear program, which carries significant proliferation risks,” it said. The joint …

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PARIS — Antiracism groups will join French unions and a brand-new left-wing coalition in protests in Paris and across France on Saturday against the surging nationalist far right as frenzied campaigning is underway ahead of snap parliamentary elections. In Paris, those who fear that the elections will produce France’s first far-right government since World War II, will gather at Place de la Republique before marching through eastern Paris. Crowds have been gathering daily ever since Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally made historic gains in the European Parliament elections on Sunday, crushing President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business moderates and prompting him to …

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ATHENS, Greece — Desperate hands clutched at Ali Elwan’s arms, legs and neck, and screams misted his ears, as he spat out saltwater and fought for three hours to keep afloat in the night, dozens of miles from land.  Although a poor swimmer, he lived — one of just 104 survivors from the wreck of a dilapidated old metal fishing boat smuggling up to 750 migrants from North Africa to Europe.  “I was so, so lucky,” the 30-year-old Egyptian told The Associated Press in Athens, Greece, where he works odd jobs while he waits to hear the outcome of his asylum …

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VATICAN CITY — Before flying to Italy’s southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican on Friday celebrating the importance of humor. The pontiff welcomed more than 100 comedians from 15 nations, including U.S. celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien. “In the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles,” Francis told the comedians. “You unite people, because laughter is contagious,” he …

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On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up meetings in Italy with leaders of the Group of Seven democracies. The leaders focused on threats they say China poses to the global economy and artificial intelligence ethics championed by Pope Francis. Patsy Widakuswara reports from Brindisi, Italy. …

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Istanbul / Washington — A recent report on the state of child labor in Turkey said at least 695 child workers died in the country in the past 11 years.   The report was published Tuesday by Health and Safety Labor Watch (ISIG), a civil society group in Turkey. The group compiled its dataset through open-source information and the families of the children who died while working. According to ISIG, at least 24 child workers died in the first five months of 2024.   VOA sent a request for a comment to Turkey’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security, but it …

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washington — Russia’s efforts to subvert the coming presidential elections in Moldova go beyond sowing disinformation, according to U.S. officials, who charge that the Kremlin is actively supporting political candidates and political parties willing to espouse pro-Russia policies.  The warning, from a senior State Department official, comes a day after the U.S., Canada and Britain issued a statement publicly accusing Moscow of “currently supporting candidates for Moldova’s presidency.”  But in a virtual briefing with reporters on Friday, U.S. Special Envoy Jamie Rubin said Moscow’s designs on Moldova go even deeper.  “To be as frank as I can, we’re talking about funding …

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