Category: Євросоюз

Police say a man with a knife has lightly wounded four people in Munich. Officers are looking for the assailant.   Munich police called on people in the Rosenheimer Platz area, located close to the German city’s downtown, to stay inside after the incident Saturday morning.   The perpetrator fled the scene. Police said he appeared to be about 40 years old and had a black bicycle, gray trousers, a green jacket and a backpack.   The police department said on Twitter that officers are looking for the assailant “with all available police forces.”   It said the motive for …

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Spain is holding an emergency Cabinet meeting Saturday to deal with the political crisis caused by the secession push from the semi-autonomous Catalonia region. Spain’s government set plans in motion Thursday to strip Catalonia of its autonomy after the region’s leader vowed to continue steps toward independence. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s office has said the Cabinet meeting Saturday is planned to trigger Article 155 of Spain’s Constitution, which gives the government the power to take away some or all of Catalonia’s autonomy. Opposition parties have agreed to support the imposition of central rule over Catalonia. Catalonia seeks dialogue Carles Puidgemont, …

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At China’s Communist Party Congress this week, President Xi Jinping said the country would be a contributor to global development. Key to that is the so-called One Belt One Road Initiative, which seeks to rekindle the ancient Silk Road trade routes linking China with Europe and Africa. Billions of dollars have been plowed into infrastructure projects along the route, but as Henry Ridgwell reports, there are calls for China to focus on development goals such as alleviating poverty. …

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The European Union will push to conclude free trade talks with South American bloc Mercosur by the end of the year, leaders said, despite French reservations over the surge of farm imports an agreement would bring. French President Emmanuel Macron had said he was in no hurry to do a deal with the beef-exporting Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and succeeded in pushing trade onto the agenda of an EU leaders summit in Brussels. “We had a short moment just after midnight to discuss international trade,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference after the …

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Ankara is facing growing national and international criticism over Wednesday’s arrest of Turkish philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala. Kavala –  a leading member of Turkey’s civic society – was detained Wednesday night at Istanbul airport. According to his lawyer, he is being held at Istanbul’s counterterrorism department.   U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert voiced concern on Thursday. “It’s just another example, right, of a lot of things taking place, of respected civil society leaders, human rights defenders, journalists  we’ve all followed this story closely  academics, also activists detained in that country,” she said. “The detentions are often made without  …

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Slovenia, the Alpine home country of Melania Trump, is holding a presidential election Sunday that incumbent President Borut Pahor — a former fashion model, like the U.S. first lady — is favored to win. Eight other candidates are vying for the largely ceremonial, but still influential head of state post. Opinion polls show Pahor, a veteran politician who gave up modeling long ago, could win a majority of votes and avoid a runoff election two weeks later. Below is some background on the race being decided in nature-loving Slovenia:   A president who is king of Instagram The 53-year-old Pahor …

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Russia formally handed over six MiG-29 fighter jets to Serbia Friday, part of an arms delivery that has the potential to accentuate tensions in the war-weary Balkans. The ceremony at a military airport close to the Serbian capital, Belgrade was attended by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. “Thank you for these beautiful gifts,” Vucic told Shoigu at the ceremony, which was accompanied by an air show and attended by tens of thousands of visitors. “These planes are not a threat to anyone, but show that no one can attack Serbia unpunished,” he said. Moscow is …

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Pope Francis on Friday joined the chorus of shock over the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, sending a note expressing his condolences Friday to the overwhelmingly Catholic island nation. Popes often send telegrams of condolences after deadly natural disasters or the deaths of prominent world leaders. Rarely does the death of a private citizen elicit a formal letter of condolence signed by the Vatican secretary of state in the pope’s name. In the telegram sent Friday, Francis said he was “saddened by the tragic death” of Caruana Galizia and was praying for her family, the …

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European Union leaders pledged more money Thursday to help Italy work with Libya to stem the flow of migrants from North Africa trying to get to Europe. “We have a real chance of closing the central Mediterranean route,” European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters at a Brussels summit. Tusk was referring to the extremely dangerous sea crossing between Libya and Italy’s Lampedusa island — the first EU territory the migrants encounter. Thousands have died trying to cross the Mediterranean on unsafe boats or after being left on their own by human smugglers. Italian officials say the number of migrants …

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday described Russian interference in U.S. elections as “warfare.” U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia used cyber-enabled means in an attempt to help President Donald Trump win the White House, an allegation the Kremlin has denied. “We have to be so hard on this and we have to hold them accountable,” Haley said during a panel discussion with former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice held by the George W. Bush Institute in New York on Thursday. “When a country can come interfere in another country’s elections that …

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The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday said congressional probes of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election will continue despite recent calls for investigators to wrap up their work. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, told VOA’s Serbian Service that investigators will not be deterred by President Donald Trump’s recent call for a resolution to inquiries into Russian influence on the election and whether his campaign colluded with Moscow. “I don’t think we are at the end at all,” he told VOA, responding to Trump’s Monday comments that “the American people are sick of …

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President Vladimir Putin launched one of his most stinging critiques of U.S. foreign policy on Thursday, listing what he called some of the biggest betrayals in U.S.-Russia relations. He declined to say if he would run for a fourth presidential term in an election set for March though he is expected to stand after dominating Russian politics for 18 years. Instead, he used a high-profile televised discussion with foreign academics in southern Russia to reach back to what he regards as the darkest days of U.S.-Russia relations. Opinion polls suggest that harsh rhetoric towards the West plays well with many …

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The Turkish Parliament passed legislation Wednesday allowing imams to perform marriages. Women’s rights groups, who have strongly condemned the reform, warn it would exacerbate the problem of underage marriages. The new law comes amid wider concerns over the erosion of women’s rights under emergency rule. “We wont be silenced,” chanted women protesting the new legislation in the heart of Istanbul. Since Turkey is a secular state, only state officials were allowed to carry out marriages. The new law met stiff opposition in parliament. Senal Sarihan, parliamentary deputy for the main opposition CHP Party, said the new law undermines secularism, which …

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Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is offering a “substantial” reward for information on Monday’s shocking murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Galizia. “We will make sure our investigators have all the resources they need and all the foreign expertise necessary to get to the bottom of this,” Muscat told Reuters Wednesday. He said no expense will be spared to find the killers. The FBI and Dutch forensic experts are on Malta to help with the investigation. A bomb tore apart Galizia’s car just moments after she left her home. Her son saw the car explode, but there was nothing he …

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A high-level U.S. delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jonathan Cohen met Wednesday with senior Turkish diplomats to resolve bilateral tensions. A diplomatic crisis erupted earlier this month with the arrest of local U.S. consulate employee Metin Topuz on terrorism charges, triggering tit for tat sanctions on the issuance of visas. “I believe this problem will be resolved soon,” Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday in a television interview. In an apparent gesture to ease talks before the U.S. delegation’s visit to Istanbul, Turkish authorities released Topuz’s wife and son from custody, although they still face charges. …

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A Hungarian who printed thousands of passports allowing Jews to flee the country during World War II has been honored with a memorial plaque. Emil Wiesmeyer’s printing company initially made 4,000 of the basic passports, part of efforts by Swedish special envoy Raoul Wallenberg to save Jews from Nazi death camps.   He then produced about 20,000 more on his own to help Jews make it out of Hungary.   The plaque honoring Emil Wiesmeyer was unveiled Wednesday in Budapest by Szabolcs Szita, director of the Holocaust Memorial Center, and Swedish Ambassador Niclas Trouve Some 550,000 Hungarian Jews were killed …

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Malta, a tiny archipelago nation in the southern Mediterranean, is so attractive to those looking to shelter funds or operate under the radar of authorities that it’s got a nickname to prove it: “treasure island.” Malta’s reputation as a tax haven, its cozy links with nearby lawless Libya and its legal passports-for-sale program were just some of the topics that investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia had dug into before she was blown up by a car bomb while driving. That means investigators have many tangled paths to follow to discover who wanted the anti-corruption crusader dead as she drove down …

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Greek riot police used batons to stop an attempted theater invasion by monks, priests and other Orthodox Christians protesting what they claim is a blasphemous play. Wielding poles with Greek flags on them, some of the 100-strong crowd tried to break a police cordon Wednesday outside the Aristoteleion Theatre in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. Protesters oppose the staging of “The Hour of the Devil,” an adaptation of a story by Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa about a discussion between a young woman and a personable devil. Chanting “Freemasons out of Greece!” they brandished religious banners and icons. Cast member …

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Portugal’s Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa resigned Wednesday after wildfires killed more than 100 people this year. The latest fires erupted last weekend and have killed at least 41 people. They followed a fire in June that left 64 people dead. Urbano de Sousa said in her resignation letter that “though the tragedy was caused by multiple factors, I came to the conclusion that I could not continue for political and personal reason.” Prime Minister Antonio Costa accepted the resignation. The government has faced criticism for its response to the fires, but is pledging to make reforms. …

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Tens of thousands of people protested Tuesday night in Barcelona against the Spanish government’s detention of two Catalan separatist leaders. The demonstrators carried candles and banners demanding the release of Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who are being held on possible sedition charges. Prosecutors accuse Cuixart of the Omnium Cultural movement and Sanchez of the Catalan National Assembly of provoking violence against police during a pro-independence march last month. Catalan leaders have called the two political prisoners, which the government denies. Earlier Tuesday, Spain’s top court ruled Catalonia’s independence referendum was illegal, saying that regional law backing the vote violated …

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