Category: Євросоюз

The UN Children’s Fund warns three-quarters of a million children in Eastern Ukraine are at risk of water-borne diseases as fighting threatens to cut off their safe water supply. The United Nations estimates around 10,000 people have been killed and more than 23,500 injured since fighting in Eastern Ukraine erupted between the government and Russian-backed separatists more than three years ago. The U.N. children’s fund warns an upsurge in fighting in the rebel-held territory is putting more lives at risk.  The agency reports the recent escalation of hostilities has damaged vital water infrastructure, leaving 400,000 people, including more than 100,000 …

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The key to success for ride-hailing providers like Uber is keeping drivers happy so they run their app, ensuring that enough cars respond to passenger demand. Estonia upstart Taxify is hoping to win over drivers and take on Uber Technologies Inc., the industry leader, by offering a larger share of the profit. Upstarts across the world, such as Lyft Inc. and Ola, are trying to catch Uber in the on-demand car-ride market by securing brand loyalty. But Uber has gathered critical mass and reached a valuation of more than $60 billion in eight years, despite a lack of profits. It …

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The United States is concerned about possible Russian incursions along NATO’s Baltic borders during large Russian military exercises in September and will send more troops to the area, the commander of U.S. troops in Europe said on Friday. Russia has denied Western concerns that its Zapad 2017 war games will threaten stability in eastern Europe. NATO officials believe the exercises could involve more than 100,000 troops, the biggest such Russian maneuvers since 2013. “When [Russia] went into Crimea, that was against the backdrop of an exercise. When they went into Georgia – that was an exercise,” Lieutenant General Ben Hodges …

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A pan-European rights body said on Friday there were significant concerns about a draft law in Moldova that would change the way the country conducts parliamentary elections and expand the powers of the president. The proposed changes have proved divisive in the ex-Soviet nation ahead of a parliamentary election next year, when parties who favor closer integration with the European Union will fight it out with pro-Moscow rivals. At the moment, Moldova elects its parliament under a proportional representation system. The ruling pro-European Democratic Party wants a mixed system, with some lawmakers elected, as now, on party lists, and others …

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Nationwide strikes left commuters and tourists stranded across Italy on Friday, as transport unions called for better job conditions for workers and protested against privatization. Underground and overground trains, airplanes and buses were cancelled in a series of strikes over a 24-hour period starting on Thursday evening. Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said he had tried to negotiate with union leaders, but “sadly, it will be a black Friday.” People seeking shade from the summer sun at bus stops around Rome’s Termini train station, the city’s main transport hub, said it was unfair that the country’s powerful labour unions still resorted …

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The United Nations refugee agency reports more than 100,000 Iraqis may still be held hostage by Islamic State militants in western Mosul. The UNHCR warns conditions in the old city are worsening for the civilians trapped there. The Iraqi military offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State was launched on October 17. The battle got off to a good start as the militants were ousted rather quickly from their stronghold in the east. After claiming that part of the city, Iraqi forces embarked on a major push in February to recapture the more densely-populated western part, where the situation is …

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The International Organization for Migration reports efforts are ongoing to rescue around 200 migrants, from Somalia and Ethiopia, who have been kidnapped in Libya and are being held for ransom. News of the kidnappings and illegal detentions in Libya first surfaced in a video, which appeared on Facebook on June 9. The International Organization for Migration says families of the missing men and women have received ransom demands based on short video clips depicting scenes of active torture. IOM spokesman Joel Millman told VOA the source of the video is not known, but there is little doubt as to its …

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Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl died at his home in Ludwigshafen in the former West Germany. He was 87 years old. Kohl was renowned for his role in reunifying Germany after the opening of the Berllin Wall and for recording the longest tenure of any Democratically-elected chancellor in German history. Kohl served for 16 years, from 1982-1998, and oversaw the end of the Cold War. Kohl also led the unification of communist East Germany with the West in 1990. Kohl was recognizable because of his abnormally large frame. The former chancellor stood 1.9 meters tall and weighed over 130 kilograms …

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French President Emmanuel Macron promoted his pro-European views in a series of meetings Friday with leaders of The Netherlands, Spain and Estonia in Paris, as Brexit negotiations are set to start next week. Macron met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas and had a working lunch with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Estonia will lead the work of the 28 EU member states for six months starting from July. Defense and security issues, migration and climate change are among France’s priorities for a European summit scheduled next week. In a joint statement in the …

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China’s recent detention of Wu Xiaohui, head of the massive insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance company, is seen by some as a crucial turning point in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on wealthy corrupt business people, or “big crocodiles” as they are called here. But that turning point is not without its risks, analysts note, given that Wu is said to have powerful political backers and millions of policy holders. Until recently, Anbang Insurance company was on a global buying spree. The company claims to have nearly $300 billion in assets and was behind some of China’s most high-profile overseas acquisitions …

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The United States has expressed concern about a disaster relief center Russia is operating in Serbia, which some Western groups and military analysts see as a subtly disguised military base set up by the Kremlin to spy on U.S. interests in the Balkans. The U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Hoyt Brian Yee, discussed “the so-called humanitarian center” in Serbia this week with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Yee said the United States was concerned about the Russian base in Niš, close to Serbia’s border with Kosovo, “not so much for what it is now, but …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government said on Thursday it would launch her policy program next week, a sign of confidence she will strike a deal to stay in power after days of political uncertainty since losing her majority. Conservative Party sources say May wants to show her government is up and running but her loss of authority in last week’s election will make it harder to handle a hectic agenda – Brexit talks with the EU, tackling a slowing economy, a political crisis in Ireland, and a devastating fire in London. The pound rose after the Bank of England …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual marathon call-in show, Direct Line, is usually a carefully crafted production designed to show how the Kremlin’s top guy cares about ordinary people’s concerns and quickly responds to resolve issues that local officials ignore. The nationwide show has state television reporters in far-flung parts of the country set up with citizens to ask Putin obviously scripted questions. Other questions are chosen from callers, sent in recorded messages or come from the selected audience.   Most questions this year, like every year, were fairly bland, pandering, or focused on specific and recurring issues such as fixing …

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Greece’s European lenders agreed Thursday to release another $9.5 billion of a desperately needed bailout installment, while holding out the hope of debt relief. All sides reached a deal in Luxembourg Thursday after months of often bitter negotiations. The European Union’s top economy official, France’s Pierre Moscovici, said Greece has respected its commitments for economic reforms and that it is now time for its creditors to “take their’s.” Bankruptcy looming The Greek people need to see the “light at the end of the tunnel of austerity,” Moscovici said. Greece has implemented more tough spending cuts and tax hikes in exchange …

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French President Emmanuel Macron laid out his vision for a digital future on Thursday, saying he wants France to undergo a revolution so that it becomes a country that “thinks and moves like a startup.” Speaking at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, Macron repeated he wanted to reform labor laws to give more decision-making powers to companies and lower corporate tax. The state should act as an enabler — not a constraint — for innovators and entrepreneurs, he said. The French president said he would limit the wealth tax to cover just property in order to help businesses, and …

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Russia’s hosting of FIFA’s (International Federation of Association Football) Confederations Cup from June 17 to July 2 and the World Cup championship in 2018 is reigniting hopes in the country for football (soccer). The last time Russia made the world’s top four was in 1966 when it was part of the Soviet Union. Watch: Russia’s Hosting of FIFA Tournaments Reignites World Cup Hopes   Russian football gained global recognition during the 1966 World Cup when the Soviet Union defeated Italy, Chile, and Hungary to take fourth place. Half-a-century later, the few living players from that championship have yet to see …

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As the political instability in Britain continues, pollsters say last week’s election appears to have marked a watershed moment. Young people voted in big numbers – with some estimates suggesting turnout soared from 44 percent in 2015 to as much as 72 percent this year – and most voted for the left-wing Labour party. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the southern city of Brighton, activists say they have taken inspiration from other political movements across the globe. …

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Hungary’s tough asylum system has helped cause a bottleneck for up to 7,000 migrants who are now stuck in limbo in Serbia, the Council of Europe Special Representative on migration and refugees said Wednesday. After visiting two camps built from shipping containers and surrounded by a barbed-wire fence on Hungary’s border with Serbia, Ambassador Tomas Bocek also told Reuters that the migrants were effectively being deprived of their liberty. The migrants, most of whom hope to reach wealthy western Europe, can only leave the tightly guarded camps by returning south into Serbia, and cannot move freely between the different sections …

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Macedonia asked Greece on Wednesday to help its bid to join NATO and the European Union, efforts frozen by a decades-long dispute over the ex-Yugoslav republic’s name. Greece, a member of both groups, says Macedonia’s use of the name could imply territorial claims on Greece’s most northerly province of the same name. It is withholding support for Macedonia’s further integration until it agrees to change it and has managed to get many international bodies, including the United Nations, to formally refer to it as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM. “I’m here to ask for your support,” Foreign …

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Austria’s ruling Social Democrats have dropped a 30-year ban on allying with the far right, saying on Wednesday they would be prepared to enter a coalition with anyone on certain terms. After a party leadership meeting, Chancellor Christian Kern presented a “values compass” of principles that his Social Democrats (SPO) would require of any future coalition partner. That effectively swept aside a self-imposed rule against tie-ups with the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) before a parliamentary election in October, although differences between the two parties remain stark in several areas. Opening the door to an alliance with the far right is …

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