Category: Євросоюз

British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that police know the identities of the three attackers who killed seven people and wounded more than 50 others Saturday in London. May said their names would be released “when progress in the investigation permits,” and that authorities were holding 11 people in custody in connection with the probe. She said police are also still working to determine the identities of all the victims, but that so far it is known they include people of several nationalities. “This was an attack on London and the United Kingdom, but it was also an attack …

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British police have arrested 12 people in connection with Saturday night’s terrorist attack in London, which left seven people dead and close to 50 others injured. World leaders have condemned the attack and urged citizens everywhere to be vigilant. Many people expressed defiance in the face of terrorism, saying they will continue with their lives as usual. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

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In the wake of Saturday’s attack at London Bridge, calls are rising for an overhaul of the legal system after three attacks in as many months, causing anxiety among London’s large Muslim communities about the potential of decreased civil liberties and intolerance.  VOA Europe Correspondent Luis Ramirez reports from London. …

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Facebook said it wanted to make its social media platform a “hostile environment” for terrorists in a statement issued after attackers killed seven people in London and prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to demand action from internet firms. Three attackers rammed a rental van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby on Saturday night in Britain’s third major militant attack in recent months. May responded to the attack by calling for an overhaul of the strategy used to combat extremism, including a demand for greater international regulation of the internet, saying big internet companies were partly responsible for …

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U.S. President Donald Trump says the world needs to stop being “politically correct” in fighting terrorism and used the deadly London attack to renew his call for courts to authorize his ban on travel to the U.S. from six majority-Muslim countries. In a string of Twitter comments, the U.S. leader vowed support for Britain, criticized London’s mayor and took a tough stance on fighting terrorism. “We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people,” Trump said Sunday. “If we don’t get smart it will only get worse.” He also mocked London Mayor …

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North Korea’s nuclear ambitions are threatening to Russia, a Russian official said Sunday. “It is not only [a] ballistic missile defense system — it has real function,” said Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin. “That is why it is alarming. And it is direct threat to Russia. We are convinced that it will increase the tensions of the region. That is our principle position.”   Fomin spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international security conference in Singapore attended by defense ministers and experts from 39 countries, including U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.   Russia borders North Korea and saw one of Pyongyang’s …

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A conservative group in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party is urging a change of approach to climate change, arguing that the melting of sea ice could carry more opportunities than problems. Lawmaker Philipp Lengsfeld wrote on Twitter Sunday that the Berlin Circle group wants “massive course corrections in climate and energy policy.” Lengsfeld said its statement was originally published Tuesday — before President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which Merkel criticized.   The statement doesn’t mention the accord, but says the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius isn’t realistic.   …

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Stories of heroism are being shared in the wake of eight minutes of terror that struck the Borough Market district of London late Saturday. Seven people died in a stabbing rampage carried out by three men, who also drove a van at Saturday night revelers. Several of the nearly 50 people wounded in the attack remain in a critical condition, police officials say. But police say there could have been more casualties if staff and customers in pubs and restaurants had not reacted promptly, and others hadn’t intervened to slow the attackers. A speedy response by armed police — the three …

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An unmarked van drove into pedestrians on London Bridge, striking a number of people. There also were reports of stabbings nearby. …

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Fans of the Juventus team watching the Champions League soccer final rushed out of a Turin piazza in panic Saturday after witnesses reported being spooked by a loud sound. At least one person was carried away on a stretcher, and ambulances and firefighters were at the scene. Thousands of people had gathered at Piazza San Carlo to watch the match pitting Juventus against Real Madrid on giant TV screens. At a certain point, hundreds ran in a near-stampede from the square’s center. Witnesses reported hearing a loud sound that sparked the alarm. Within minutes, dazed fans in Juve’s trademark black-and-white …

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A large delivery van drove into pedestrians on London Bridge in the British capital late Saturday evening, striking a number of people who were left bleeding on the pavement. Near the scene of the road terror, attackers also stabbed at least two people. At least one of the victims died, and the casualty toll was expected to rise. Heavily armed police patrolled the area and told everyone to move to safety. There were reports that shots had been fired, suggesting the attackers escaped. Authorities declared the incident was a terrorist attack. Amid rumors and speculation about other incidents, police indicated …

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Maltese voters went to the polls a year early Saturday in a snap election called by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat following an official investigation into allegations his wife owned a company related to the Panama Papers scandal. Surveys showed Labour Party’s Muscat was likely to win a second, five-year term. But polls indicated one-fifth of voters were undecided, giving the National Force made up of the Nationalist Party and newly formed Democratic Party a slight chance. The Panama Papers scandal, which detailed offshore companies and other financial data of the rich and powerful, exposed Malta’s energy minister and Muscat’s chief …

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For three years after Russia annexed Crimea, Washington officials quietly cautioned major U.S. firms about attending the annual St. Petersburg forum, where investors mingle with President Vladimir Putin and his lieutenants. This year, the first forum since Donald Trump became U.S. president, such cautions were not issued, according to four people familiar with preparations for U.S. companies to attend. Washington’s policy toward Russia is essentially unchanged under Trump, with the United States committed to maintaining sanctions on Moscow unless it complies with international demands about Ukraine. Change in tone But its approach this year to the St. Petersburg event — …

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For the Italian government, it seemed like a recipe for success: create an official “Made in Italy” logo to defend the country’s finest food exports from an army of foreign impersonators. On supermarket shelves worldwide, a star-shaped logo would mark out real Italian cheeses, hams, pasta and sparkling wines from those that only look or sound Italian, such as Parmesan made in New Zealand or Prosecco bottled in Brazil. But Rome has discovered that even the simplest recipe can go wrong. Instead of unifying Italy’s food industry against a common enemy that is bagging billions of euros in sales, the …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin shook off and joked about allegations that Moscow was involved in hacking during last year’s presidential election in the United States or colluded with aides to President Donald Trump before he took office.  Speaking at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Friday, Putin denied there was any deal made between Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak and anyone in Trump’s transition team about easing sanctions against Russia. “This is some sort of hysteria, you just can’t get over!” joked Putin, half-indignantly. Putin also repeated that there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in …

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Ireland is set to have its first gay prime minister: Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian immigrant, who won the ruling Fine Gael party’s leadership election Friday. Varadkar, 38, also would be the Republic of Ireland’s youngest prime minister ever. He won the leadership contest with 60 percent of the votes and replaces Enda Kenny, who has been Ireland’s Taoiseach, or prime minister, since 2011. Kenny, 66, announced his retirement last month. Varadkar, as the new Fine Gael leader, automatically becomes prime minister-elect, but the party’s choice must be confirmed by the full parliament when it reconvenes June 13. …

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The European Union and China recommitted Friday to the 2015 Paris climate deal, one day after the United States announced it would withdraw from it. In a joint statement, the EU and China said climate change and clean energy “will become a main pillar” of their bilateral partnership. European Council President Donald Tusk said the fight against climate change would continue, with or without the United States: “Today, China and Europe have demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibilities for the whole planet,” he said. “We are convinced that yesterday’s decision is a big mistake.” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, in …

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The leader of the next European Union presidency says that several EU nations which were publicly scolded by U.S. President Donald Trump about their defense expenditure will be reaching a key NATO target next year. Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that NATO nations spending 2 percent of gross domestic product could almost double from the current five to possibly nine by the end of 2018, including two other Baltic nations, Latvia and Lithuania. Pressed by a United States taking on most of the spending in the 28-nation alliance, NATO set …

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Hungary will push ahead with legislation to put foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations under more scrutiny, as those financed by billionaire George Soros operate as a “mafia-like” network, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday. Orban, a right-wing populist, has long criticized civil society organizations funded by Hungarian-born Soros, accusing them of opposing his tough migration policies and working as paid political activists advocating Soros’ goals. The Hungarian premier, who faces elections in April 2018, said Soros’ statement Thursday that he admired “the courageous way Hungarians have resisted the deception and corruption of the mafia state Orban has established,” was a declaration of …

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Greek police were evacuating hundreds of migrants and refugees Friday from a makeshift shelter set up inside the abandoned buildings of Athens’ old airport, which have been slated for redevelopment.   Access to the Hellenikon airport site was blocked off in the morning, and dozens of police officers and riot police stood by as the roughly 600 migrants collected their belongings and boarded buses to refugee camps elsewhere in Greece.   Police said about 350 people, mainly families, would go to a camp in Thebes, about 70 kilometers northwest of Athens, while the remainder of mainly single people would go …

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