Category: Євросоюз

Two gunmen opened fire outside a mosque in the southern French city of Avignon Sunday, wounding eight people. Police said they are “not at all treating it as terrorist-related,” the regional newspaper La Provence reported. Reports from witnesses said two men got out of a car near the mosque and opened fire with a shotgun and another weapon, local authorities said. Two of the eight people wounded were hospitalized, but their injuries reportedly were not serious. La Provence said four people were wounded outside the mosque and four members of a family were hit by shrapnel in their apartment about …

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With an eye on anti-globalization protests brewing in Hamburg before this week’s G20 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday leaders will have to focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth rather than their own prosperity. In her weekly podcast, the German chancellor said this year’s G-20 summit will delve into issues championed by protesters such as distribution of wealth and consumption of resources — alongside related issues like climate change, free markets, consumer protection and upholding social standards. Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched against the meeting in the rain in Hamburg on Sunday in a prelude to the July …

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The chief executive of Russia’s Kaspersky Lab says he’s ready to have his company’s source code examined by U.S. government officials to help dispel long-lingering suspicions about his company’s ties to the Kremlin. In an interview with The Associated Press at his Moscow headquarters, Eugene Kaspersky said Saturday there’s never been any truth to rumors of his work with Russian intelligence. But he acknowledges it’s unusual for a successful company to operate independently of the government in Russia, saying, “I do understand why we look strange.”   But he says the firm never cooperates with cyberespionage, saying he shuts down …

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Pope Francis is calling for an end to the violent anti-government protests in Venezuela and expressing solidarity with families of those killed. Francis led thousands of people in prayer for Venezuela on Sunday as he noted the country is to mark its independence on Wednesday.   He said, “I assure this dear nation of my prayers and express my closeness to the families who have lost their children in the protests. I appeal for an end to the violence and for a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis.”   At least 80 people have been killed since anti-government protests …

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An al-Qaida-linked group in Mali has released a proof-of-life video showing six foreign hostages, a group that monitors jihadist communications says, shortly before the French president’s arrival in the West African country for an anti-terror summit.   The recently formed Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen issued the video Saturday on Telegram, the SITE Intelligence Group said. The video shows Stephen McGowan of South Africa, Elliot Kenneth Arthur of Australia, Iulian Ghergut of Romania, Beatrice Stockly of Switzerland, Gloria Cecilia Narvaez of Colombia and Sophie Petronin of France.   “No genuine negotiations have begun to rescue your children,” a narrator says.   …

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France and its African partners must work together to wipe out Islamist militants in the volatile Sahel region, President Emmanuel Macron said at the opening of a summit in Mali’s capital Bamako on Sunday. Leaders of the G-5 Sahel bloc — Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad — were expected to launch a new multi-national force at the meeting aimed at combating Islamist militants and illegal activity in the vast arid zone. “Every day we must combat terrorists, thugs, murderers … who we must steadfastly and with determination eradicate together,” said Macron, who was making his second visit to Mali since …

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The interior ministers of France, Germany and Italy will meet in Paris Sunday to help Italy deal with masses of migrants arriving on its shores. Italy is struggling to respond to the influx of tens of thousands of migrants and threatened earlier this week to close its ports to migrant rescue boats in order to force the vessels to go to other Mediterranean countries. Officials say French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, German counterpart Thomas de Maiziere and Italy’s Marco Minniti will meet European Union Commissioner for Refugees Dimitris Avramopoulos in Paris Sunday to discuss the situation. Watch: EU Pledges Support …

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“I was 12 years old when I was raped. I did not understand what was happening.” Nelle is now 36 years old. But in 1993 when war broke out in Burundi, armed men came to her village near the capital, Bujumbura. They killed her mother and father and six siblings. She was raped, but she survived. “I saw people were killing each other. They were running away and killing each other. I hid myself under dead bodies for five days,” she said. Nelle’s story of survival was long and difficult to tell.  After living through years of instability, she told …

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Ukraine has blamed Russian security services for a massive cyber attack that started in the last week in Ukraine and eventually spread to computers across the world. Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU, said in a statement Saturday the attack bore resemblances to past hacks of Ukrainian infrastructure by the Russian security services. “The available data, including those obtained in cooperation with international antivirus companies, give us reason to believe that the same hacking groups are involved in the attacks, which in December 2016 attacked the financial system, transport and energy facilities of Ukraine, using TeleBots and BlackEnergy,” the statement said. …

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World leaders from past and present gathered in the French city of Strasbourg Saturday to honor the late former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who is credited with forging the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990. Kohl, who died June 16 at the age of 87, is the first national leader to be honored with a ceremony at the European Parliament’s seat in Strasbourg. Several world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and former U.S. president Bill Clinton were on hand to pay respects to Kohl’s family. Clinton, during his …

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Turkey has always prided itself on being a secular state. The nation enshrined the separation of church and state in its constitution by constitutional amendment in 1928. But that was nearly a century ago, and about 99 percent of the nation’s citizens are now identified as Muslim. Watch: Evolution vs. Erdogan: Turkey Struggles with Basic Science The current government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received some criticism for eroding the country’s historic commitment to secularism and moving the nation in a more fundamentalist direction. Recently, in a decision that many saw as moving Turkey away from secularism and …

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The United Nations called on Venezuela on Friday to uphold the rule of law and freedom of assembly, and criticized President Nicolas Maduro’s government for moves against the chief state prosecutor. Critics of Maduro have taken to the streets almost daily for three months to protest against what they call the creation of a dictatorship. The protests, which have left nearly 80 dead, frequently culminate in violent clashes with security forces. Ruling Socialist Party officials have launched a series of attacks against chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega, from accusations of insanity to promoting violence, after her high-profile break with the …

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The United States and Britain urged Russia on Friday to bring to justice all those responsible for the slaying of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. A Russian court on Thursday convicted five men of murdering Nemtsov, but allies of the politician have said the investigation was a cover-up and that the people who had ordered his killing remained at large. “We call once more on the Russian government to ensure that all involved in the killing of Boris Nemtsov, including anyone involved in organizing or ordering the crime, are brought to justice,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement, calling …

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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was charged Friday with allegedly misusing European Parliament funds to pay two parliamentary aides who also work at her National Front headquarters. Her lawyer said she denies the charges and will fight to get the investigation suspended.   Investigators suspect some National Front lawmakers used legislative aides for the party’s political activities while they were on the European Parliament payroll. Le Pen is president of the far-right National Front party.    The prosecutor’s office said Le Pen was summoned and handed preliminary charges of breach of trust and complicity in breach of trust concerning …

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Families in Kosovo are appealing to national authorities and the international community to learn the fate of their loved ones who went missing during the Kosovo war, fought from March 1998 to June 1999. At the end of 2002, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported more than 6,000 people from Kosovo were unaccounted for. That number has gradually been reduced to 1,650. At a conference Thursday and Friday in Geneva, the U.N. Mission in Kosovo sought to clarify the fate of these people.   Families of the missing include members of the Albanian and Serbian communities in Kosovo. …

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The leader of the United Nations has joined the reconvened Cyprus negotiations to encourage the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to grasp the opportunity for peace and end a stalemate that has kept their island divided for more than four decades. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres got off the plane from New York early Friday morning and immediately set to work at the negotiating table. As cheer leader in chief, Guterres says he is encouraged by the determination and commitment of the participants to find a solution to this thorny problem.  He says the conference offers an historic opportunity to …

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The European Union has pledged to support Italy as it continues to admit thousands of migrants who are crossing the Mediterranean every day from North Africa.  So far this year nearly 80,000 people have made the journey, and more than 2,000 have died Poor health Most of the tens of thousands of people plucked from the Mediterranean this week have been taken to ports on the Italian coast. They are severely dehydrated, usually malnourished and suffering from infections and skin diseases. But there are other troubling signs. Marcella Kraay of Doctors Without Borders spoke to VOA via Skype from the …

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The European Union has pledged to support Italy as it continues to admit thousands of migrants crossing every day from North Africa across the Mediterranean. Italy has threatened to shut its ports to foreign-registered boats carrying migrants. So far this year nearly 80,000 people have made the journey, and more than 2,000 have died. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

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A top adviser to Pope Francis was charged with multiple historical sex crimes in his native Australia on Thursday, bringing a worldwide abuse scandal to the heart of the Vatican. Appointed Vatican economy minister by Francis, Cardinal George Pell is the highest-ranking Church official to face such accusations. He asserted his innocence and said the pontiff had given him leave of absence to return to Australia to defend himself. “I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I repeat that I am innocent of these charges. They are false,” the 76-year-old told a news conference at the …

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France is known worldwide for its wine, food and culture, but under its new president, the French are aiming to be the new global hub for tech startups. President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to build a version of Silicon Valley in France. His administration has launched pro-business initiatives that are loosening government restrictions and encouraging entrepreneurs to launch their startups in the country. “The tradition has been in Europe and in France to invest in big, traditional companies and not specifically [in] tech startups. So we will dedicate a €10 billion fund to the investment in tech startups …

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