Category: Євросоюз

The suspected attempt on the life of a German Kurdish football player and outspoken critic of the Turkish government is fueling suspicions the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be targeting opponents abroad.   On Sunday, Deniz Naki’s car was shot at twice while he was driving in Germany.  The footballer escaped without injury. “I could have died,” Naki said in an interview with Germany’s Die Welt newspaper.  “I always knew something like this could happen.  But I would never have expected it to happen in Germany.”   Naki, who was born in Germany, plays for the Amedspor football …

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The former owner of a luxury British bra maker that supplied lingerie to Queen Elizabeth II says the company lost its royal warrant after she wrote a book disclosing details of fittings at Buckingham Palace.   June Kenton said Rigby & Peller lost its right to display the royal coat of arms in 2016 after she mentioned the royals in “Storm in a D-cup.”   While Kenton said she never discusses what happens in a fitting room, the book recounts her first meeting with the monarch and her trepidation about being ushered into the royal bedroom.   The 82-year-old Kenton …

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Ax-wielding robbers stole jewelry on Wednesday possibly worth more than $5 million from a store in the famed Ritz Paris hotel, police said. Five thieves carried out the heist at the luxury hotel in late afternoon. Three were arrested while two others got away. There were no injuries. “The loss is very high and remains to be assessed,” one police source said. Another put the figure at 4.5 million euros ($5.38 million), but said that a bag had been recovered possibly containing some of the loot. The hotel first opened in 1898 and was the first Paris hotel to boast …

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Kosovo President Hashim Thaci is insisting that he will sign legislation to abolish a special court set up to try former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members for war and postwar crimes if parliament passes such a measure. “The law on [the] special court is in place, but if the parliament votes otherwise, it will be my legal and constitutional duty to sign such legislation,” he said in a Wednesday interview with VOA’s Albanian Service. It is unclear why Thaci, a former leader of the KLA, changed his position on the Hague-based special court, which was set up under Kosovo’s jurisdiction. …

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It was July 20, 1998, and “Drita” was traveling with her younger sister to visit family in a rural part of Serbia-controlled Kosovo. “They stopped the bus, made us come out and asked for ID,” Drita, who did not want to be identified by her real name, told VOA’s Albanian Service. “They asked my sister to get out first, and I immediately went after her because I have always been close to her and she is two years younger.” Like most ethnic Albanian women caught up in Kosovo’s two-year fight for secession, neither Drita nor her sister possessed official documentation, …

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Norway’s prime minister told President Donald Trump on Wednesday that her country remains committed to the Paris climate agreement, making the business case of the “green economy” to the real estate developer-turned president. Prime Minister Erna Solberg noted that many Norwegians drive U.S.-made Tesla electric cars and said her country saw “tremendous economic and business opportunities” as nations around the world fight climate change. “Norway is combatting climate change — it’s an important issue for us and we are committed to the Paris agreement,” Solberg said during a joint news conference with Trump. Paris climate deal discussed Trump said the …

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Turkey on Wednesday assailed Russia and Iran for failing to stop the Syrian government’s ongoing military offensive in Syria’s rebel enclave of Idlib, threatening the prospects of Ankara’s continued cooperation with Tehran and Moscow in the Syrian conflict.  Reflecting Ankara’s growing alarm, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lashed out, saying, “Russia and Iran must stop the Syrian regime. They should realize their duties as guarantor countries.” Ankara on Tuesday summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors and delivered an official protest. As part of what is known as the Astana Process, Turkey, Iran and Russia agreed to create a “de-escalation zone” …

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A U.S. congressional report issued Wednesday accused Russia of mounting a protracted assault on democracy at home and abroad, and urged a multi-pronged counter-strategy that begins with U.S. presidential leadership, something the report alleged has been lacking from Donald Trump. Prepared by Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and provided in advance to VOA, the report said, “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime has developed a formidable set of tools to exert influence abroad” and “appears intent on using almost any means possible to undermine democratic institutions and trans-Atlantic alliances.” Based on months of research and informational exchanges with …

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During his first state visit to China this week, French President Emmanuel Macron brought with him two key messages, analysts said. One message was about the huge possibilities cooperation between China and Europe could bring and his commitment to that effort. The other, a warning to not underestimate growing concern and frustration in Europe – and elsewhere – with what many regard as China’s unfair trade practices such as investment restrictions in many sectors that are not blocked in countries overseas. Matheiu Duchatel, deputy director of the Asia and China Program at the European Council of Foreign Relations said President …

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Poland’s ruling conservatives fired several senior government ministers on Tuesday in an apparent move to patch up relations with the European Union strained over accusations that Warsaw is subverting rule of law standards. Facing unprecedented EU legal action over the alleged politicization of Poland’s judiciary, the Law and Justice (PiS) party may want to defuse tensions in other areas such as environment policy and defense, analysts say. The changes also came with the EU about to embark on negotiations on a new seven-year budget that will decide which member states get what out of the bloc’s coffers – with Poland …

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Norway is perhaps best known in the world as the host country of the Nobel Peace Prize, a distinction fully in keeping with its record of maintaining peace and prosperity within its borders. Yet, beneath the tranquil surface, geopolitical currents are increasingly beating the shores of the Nordic kingdom of 5.3 million people, which lays proud claim to its Viking heritage. Those currents are bringing Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, to Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump. According to the White House, Trump and Solberg will discuss shared defense and security goals within NATO, the global coalition to defeat …

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Czechs will vote for a new president on Friday and Saturday with the strongly anti-immigration incumbent Milos Zeman leading opinion polls but possibly facing a tough challenger in the run-off round two weeks later. Czech presidents have limited powers, but they appoint a range of senior officials and their role is pivotal when governments are formed, a process the EU and NATO member country is going through at the moment. The head of state is also an influential opinion maker and represents the country abroad – a role that Zeman, 73, has used to beef up relations with China and …

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President Donald Trump is planning to attend the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos later this month. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a statement that the president welcomes the opportunity to promote his “America First” agenda with world leaders.   Sanders says Trump wants to promote his policies for strengthening American businesses, industries and workers.   The annual gathering of global political and business elites is scheduled to take place from January 23-26 in Switzerland.   American presidents rarely attend. Then-vice president Joe Biden attended last year.   The New York Times …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday said a sanctions-busting court case in New York involving Turkish nationals is a “political coup attempt” against him and his government. With Erdogan also threatening military action against a key U.S. ally in Syria, relations between the NATO allies could deteriorate further. Erdogan alleged the conviction of a Turkish state banker in the federal case is the latest attempt by the FBI and CIA to unseat him. He made the comment while addressing members of his AK Party in parliament. “Those who could not succeed in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July …

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Swiss authorities near the famed Matterhorn peak have closed ski slopes, hiking trails, cable cars, roads and train service into the nearby town of Zermatt amid a heightened risk of avalanches, stranding some 13,000 tourists in the town.   Janine Imesch of the Zermatt tourism office says power has been restored in the town and no people were at risk because authorities shuttered access to the nearby ski slopes and hiking trails a day earlier. Imesch says Tuesday “there is nothing to panic about, everything is fine.”   The office’s website earlier indicated that arrivals and departures from the town …

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French prosecutors have opened an investigation into Apple over revelations it secretly slowed down older versions of its handsets.   The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday a probe was opened last week over alleged “deception and planned obsolescence” of some Apple products. It is led by the French body in charge of fraud control, which is part of the Finance Ministry.   It follows a legal complaint filed in December by a French consumer rights group that aims to stop intentional obsolescence of goods by companies.   In France it is illegal to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product …

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Poland’s new prime minister is looking to improve strained relations with partners in the European Union when he arrives in Brussels on Tuesday.  Mateusz Morawiecki, who replaced Beata Szydlo last month, is expected to stand his ground over several thorny issues that have raised concerns across the EU.  The Polish government’s stance on justice reform and immigration has prompted so much unease within the EU that a procedure to strip the country of voting rights in the 28-nation bloc has been started.  “We are expecting Brussels to understand our position,” deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski said ahead of the introductory …

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Turkey’s nationalist opposition said on Monday it would back President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2019 election, signaling continued right-wing support crucial to his narrow victory in a constitutional referendum last year. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the smallest of parliament’s four factions, backed the vote to grant Erdogan sweeping executive powers, helping it squeak by with a margin of 51.4 percent. “The MHP will not submit a presidential candidate,” MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told a news conference. “The MHP will take a decision to support Erdogan in the presidential elections.” Turks will vote for both president and parliament next …

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Romania’s prime minister failed Monday to deliver the government reshuffle he planned as the powerful leader of his party ruled that any changes would have to wait until the end of the month. There has been mounting speculation in Bucharest that Premier Mihai Tudose wants to replace Liviu Dragnea, the current chairman of the Social Democratic Party who is facing corruption charges, with a committee of regional leaders.   In an open letter published in Romanian media, senior party member Nicolae Badalau urged colleagues to back efforts to make the party more democratic, to be run by “a collective party …

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In 2012, Britons delighted in the spectacular opening ceremony of the London Olympics celebrating British history. One of the curtain-raiser’s most popular sequences, drawing loud applause, involved 1,800 dancers and 320 hospital beds honoring the country’s National Health Service. Six years on, and Britons are more likely to moan about the world’s largest single-payer health care system than praise it. According to patients, doctors and analysts, the NHS is buckling and close to collapse, with emergency departments over-burdened, hospital wards full and all nonessential operations — more than 55,000 of them — suspended because of a winter surge in demand. …

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