Category: Євросоюз

Polish Deputy Culture Minister Jaroslaw Sellin on Tuesday backed a call for building a “Polokaust” museum to commemorate Poles killed by the Nazis during World War II. This month Poland sparked international criticism, including from Israel and the United States, when it approved a law that imposes jail terms for suggesting the country was complicit in the Holocaust. Some three million Jews who lived in pre-war Poland were murdered by the Nazis during their occupation of the country. They accounted for about half of all Jews killed in the Holocaust. Poland’s nationalist ruling party says the new law is needed …

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Russia and Pakistan plan to establish a commission on military cooperation to counter the Islamic State threat in the region, accusing the United States of downplaying the terrorist group’s dangerous “proliferation” in Afghanistan. “We have confirmed Russia’s readiness to continue boosting Pakistan’s counterterrorism capacity, which is in the entire region’s interests,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday in Moscow. Speaking to reporters along with his Pakistani counterpart, Khawaja Asif, the Russian official said fighting terrorism is one of the priority areas of cooperation between the two countries. He said joint military exercises between Russian and Pakistani special forces, which began …

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Latvia’s central bank chief was suspended on Tuesday pending an investigation into whether he solicited a bribe, as corruption allegations and counter accusations rocked the financial sector of the eurozone country with close ties to neighboring Russia. The prime minister’s office said Ilmars Rimsevics had been suspended from his role as the anti-corruption agency investigates allegations he asked for a 100,000 euro bribe. Rimsevics, who was held in custody over the weekend, had earlier told a news conference he was the victim of a smear campaign because he has been leading a drive to clean up corruption in the Baltic …

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The chief executive officer of British charity Oxfam said Tuesday the organization was investigating 26 new cases of sexual misconduct. Mark Goldring told a parliamentary committee in London the new cases were related to the charity’s international operation. “There are 26 cases that have come forward,” Goldring said, adding, “We really want people to come forward.” Goldring’s comments were made as legislators questioned him about the alleged use of prostitutes in Haiti in 2011 in the aftermath of the Caribbean nation’s devastating earthquake the previous year. An Oxfam report released Monday into the behavior of aid workers sent to Haiti …

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The Vatican’s top sexual abuse investigator said he had started taking testimony on Tuesday from victims in the Chilean capital, where he is looking into accusations that a bishop appointed by Pope Francis covered up crimes against minors. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta was sent to Chile after the pope was criticized during his visit last month for defending Bishop Juan Barros, who he appointed in 2015 despite accusations he had covered up sexual abuse of minors. Several men have accused Barros of protecting his former mentor, Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 …

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Pro-Syrian government troops enroute to Syria’s Afrin region, a Kurdish area where Turkish troops have mounted a month-long offensive, retreated Tuesday after Turkish artillery fired warning shots, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency. The Syrian Kurdish militia and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights founder Rami Abdul Rahman confirmed the pro-Syrian troops began entering the Kurdish enclave earlier Tuesday before the warning strikes. Syria’s state media televised a convoy of about 20 machine gun-armed vehicles entering Afrin from the village of Nubul. There was no immediate word from Kurdish officials about the deployment, but on Monday state media reported pro-Syrian …

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Danish royals and officials on Tuesday attended a private funeral for Denmark’s late Prince Henrik, husband of Queen Margrethe, at a Copenhagen chapel. The queen, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, France’s ambassador to Denmark and some 60 other guests were among those at the simple church ceremony at the chapel of the Christiansborg Palace, which houses Parliament, the prime minister’s office and is also used for royal ceremonies. Later, hundreds lined the streets of downtown Copenhagen to watch military officers carry away Henrik’s coffin, draped in a Danish flag with his personal coat of arms. The royal palace has respected …

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Russia’s Olympic Committee has confirmed that a Russian athlete at the Pyeongchang Winter Games has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium. Following a second test, the Russian delegation said “we express our sincere regret over the fact of the incident.” But it said the test results indicate curler Alexander Krushelnitsky only consumed meldonium once. It noted that it would be “useless” if the intent was to enhance performance. Krushelnitsky won the bronze medal in Pyeongchang with his wife in mixed doubles curling. Meldonium is a drug designed for people with heart problems and some believe it can help athletes …

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For the first time in Ukraine’s history, U.S. anthracite is helping to keep the lights on and the heating going this winter following a deal that has also helped to warm Kyiv’s relations with President Donald Trump. The Ukrainian state-owned company that imported the coal told Reuters that the deal made commercial sense. But it was also politically expedient, according to a person involved in the talks on the agreement and power industry insiders. On Trump’s side it provided much-needed orders for a coal-producing region of the United States which was a vital constituency in his 2016 presidential election victory. …

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Latvia’s ABLV Bank sought emergency support Monday after U.S. officials accused it of helping breach North Korean sanctions while the country’s central bank chief faced bribery allegations, turning up the spotlight on its financial system. The Baltic country, which is a member of the euro zone and shares a border with Russia, has come under increasing scrutiny recently as a conduit for illicit financial activities. Last year, two Latvian banks were fined more than 2.8 million euros ($3.26 million) for allowing clients to violate sanctions imposed by the European Union and United Nations on North Korea. Three others received smaller …

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Ireland’s prime minister called for the urgent restoration of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government Monday after talks to end a year-long political stalemate broke down yet again last week. Both the British and Irish governments have said they want to get the talks back on track but neither have suggested when Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) should return to the negotiating table. The British province has been without a devolved executive for over a year since Sinn Fein withdrew from the compulsory coalition with their arch-rivals that has been central to a 1998 peace deal …

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Germany is coming under mounting pressure to tackle equipment shortages in its military that fellow NATO nations fear is eroding German readiness as it prepares to take the command of a NATO rapid response force. Member states take turns heading NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in eastern Europe, which has grown in importance amid concerns that Russian military activities, including support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, have surpassed levels seen during the height of the Cold War. German lawmakers and NATO allies have grown frustrated about the slow pace of progress on the military preparedness of Europe’s …

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Sports, along with politics, will be on the menu this week, when Liberia’s new president makes his first official trip outside Africa. George Weah will not be visiting the United States, which has long had a special relationship with Liberia — but France, where he once was a star soccer player. Many French soccer fans know Liberia’s new leader simply as “Monsieur George” — the star striker who spent years in France playing for the Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille soccer teams, along with AS Monaco next door. “George is French in heart and spirit,” a former French ambassador told the …

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Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis assured the country and Europe “there is no sign of danger,” after anti-corruption police arrested the head of the Latvian central bank Saturday. “For now, neither I, nor any other official, has any reason to interfere with the work of the Corruption Prevention Bureau,” Kucinskis said. Neither Kucinskis nor the police gave any reason why central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics was arrested. But a police spokeswoman said there will be an announcement “as soon as possible.” The Latvian government plans an emergency meeting Monday. Along with heading the Baltic nation’s central bank, Rimsevics is also …

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Vandals spray painted swastikas on the Polish embassy in Tel Aviv after Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki talked about what he called “Jewish perpetrators” of the Holocaust. Israeli leaders immediately condemned his comment. The prime minister was responding to a reporter’s question about Poland’s new law punishing anyone who calls the Nazi genocide a “Polish crime.” “Saying that our people collaborate with the Nazis is a new low,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said at a conference Sunday. “We stand together, hand in hand, in this fight. We have to stand strong for the memory of our brothers and sisters murdered …

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Russian news reports say a gunman has opened fire on people leaving a church service in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing and least five people and wounding five others. The Tass news agency said the shooting occurred Sunday outside a church in the town of Kizlyar. The assailant was killed by police. “The shooter was shot dead,” Kizlyar’s Mayor Alexander Shuvalov told Tass, adding that two police officers were among those wounded. The assailant was identified as a 22-year-old man local to the region, the TASS news agency said.  His name was not released. The Islamic State claimed …

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Six months ago after a string of jihadist-inspired attacks in London and Manchester, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the time had come to have “embarrassing conversations” about Islam’s place in Britain. Her comment was sparked by claims that the country’s Muslims weren’t doing enough to counter extremism and jihadist propaganda. So far, mired in Brexit controversy, the British government hasn’t started a debate in earnest. But on the other side of the English Channel, French President Emmanuel Macron is proposing a root-and-branch reform of Islam in France — a project being closed watched by the British and by other …

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Britain was hit by its biggest earthquake in a decade Saturday, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said, with tremors felt across parts of Wales and southwest England but no notable damage reported. The BGS said the quake was of magnitude 4.4, with an epicenter 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the Welsh city of Swansea, adding that it was the biggest quake in the Britain since 2008. Earthquakes are not common in Britain and are rarely powerful. The 2008 quake in Market Rasen, northeast England, was magnitude 5.2, or 16 times more powerful than Saturday’s quake. However, Saturday’s earthquake in …

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Spain has assumed a pivotal role in pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to change his regime’s “barbaric” course, according to Spanish diplomats who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity. Venezuela’s crisis reached major dimensions last week as hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans made an exodus to neighboring countries, escaping the hyperinflation, food shortages and rampant violence prevailing over what used to be South America’s wealthiest oil producer. Spain has openly pushed for sanctions by the European Union that target Maduro and his top officials in a move that led to the expulsion of the Spanish ambassador and insults against …

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Moscow has dismissed U.S. charges against several Russian citizens and companies for meddling in the 2016 presidential election as “blather.” Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov questioned the evidence. The charges have formed a tense backdrop to the conference, which has focused on growing threats to global security, as Henry Ridgwell reports from Munich. …

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