Category: Євросоюз

“Europe stands by UK in fight against terrorism” tweeted EU Council President Donald Tusk after London was hit by a terror attack Saturday. Britain was also shocked by attacks in March and May. Cooperation between Europe and Britain on security matters, however, might soon change due to Brexit, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union following a referendum last year. Saturday’s incident killed seven people and left almost 50 wounded. Islamic State claimed the attackers were part of its terror network and several people were arrested and named. Andrew Duff is a former liberal Member of the European Parliament and …

READ MORE

The head of NATO says members of the alliance are united in their stance toward Russia in a way they have not been for many years. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday in an interview with VOA’s Serbian Service that NATO is committed to stepping up its defense while at the same time continuing dialogue with Russia.  “The dual track approach, meaning we have to be strong, we have to deliver credible deterrence and defense, that is the reason we are implementing the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense now as a response to what Russia did in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. …

READ MORE

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has asked him to rebuild the U.S. relationship with Russia and not allow the political turmoil over possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign to impede him. Tillerson said relations with Russia are at a low point and deteriorating, and Trump asked him to try to stabilize the relationship and rebuild trust. The top U.S. diplomat spoke in Wellington, New Zealand, where he met with Prime Minister Bill English during a brief visit. Tillerson said he couldn’t comment on the details of the Russia investigations or whether they could …

READ MORE

Lithuania has began constructing a two-meter-high wire fence along its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad ahead of military exercises Moscow is planning to hold there in September. While the 45-km-long (30- mile) fence will provide little defense against a full-scale attack, it aims to prevent provocations and incidents, Lithuanian Interior Minister Eimutis Misiunas said on Monday. “In order to avoid such situations, we decided we need the fence,” Misiunas said at the groundbreaking ceremony. For Lithuania and other Baltic republics, which won their independence from Moscow in 1991 but remain home to ethnic Russian minorities, any massing of …

READ MORE

The smallest Balkan country, Montenegro, formally became the 29th member of NATO Monday at a ceremony at the State Department, despite fierce objections from Russia. Montenegro was formerly part of communist Yugoslavia, a stronghold of Moscow. It became an independent republic in 2006 when Montenegrins voted in a referendum to split from Serbia. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon congratulated Montenegro for taking NATO’s guidance to heart. “Over decades, the promise of NATO membership and broader Euro-Atlantic integration has advanced our security, our democratic values, and our respect for the rule of law. It has served as …

READ MORE

Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava on Monday to protest against corruption and demand the resignation of the interior minister over his ties with a developer under investigation for tax fraud. Slovakia’s economy has boomed and living standards have risen sharply since it joined the European Union in 2004, but many Slovaks say their country fails to defend the rule of law, especially in punishing graft. The protesters, chanting “Kalinak, resign” and “Leave our state alone”, carrying Slovak and EU flags, largely targeted Interior Minister Robert Kalinak. He has resisted pressure to step down over his business relations with real …

READ MORE

Having predicted the last British election wrong, as well as June’s referendum on European Union membership, the country’s pollsters are understandably nervous about Thursday’s vote — even more so after Saturday’s terror attack in the heart of London. Before the attack, several opinion polls suggested a shift in public sentiment. Prime Minister Theresa May, who called the post-Brexit snap election for June 8, had been tipped to win in a landslide, but the polls have tightened. A weekend survey conducted before the van-and-knife attack in the London Bridge district of the British capital gave the ruling Conservative a mere one …

READ MORE

For the second time in a month Britain’s security services are facing awkward questions about their surveillance policies, after it emerged the ringleader of Saturday’s terror attack in the heart of London was known to them and had been interrogated in the past. The British-Pakistani, who police are not naming for operational reasons, was also a recognized Islamic State follower in the streets around his home in the east London district of Barking, where he tried to recruit children and proselytized openly in a nearby park, sparking a complaint to the police by a local resident. The 27-year-old, father of …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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. …

READ MORE

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. …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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.   …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE

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 …

READ MORE