Category: Євросоюз

U.S. President Donald Trump has told “confidants,” including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave a landmark international agreement on climate change, the Axios news website reported Saturday, citing three sources with direct knowledge. On Saturday, Trump said in a Twitter post he would decide whether to support the Paris climate deal next week. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source who has been in contact with people involved in the decision told Reuters that a couple of meetings were planned with chief executives of energy …

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Dozens of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have linked arms across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone cutting across ethnically divided Cyprus’ capital of Nicosia to voice their support for a reunification agreement. Beating drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional Cypriot folk songs, the demonstrators said real peace lies in the hands of ordinary people from both sides of the divide as the Mediterranean island’s reunification talks appear to be faltering. Protesters said Saturday’s event was to remind politicians not to let ordinary people down. On Friday, a U.N. envoy called off mediation efforts with the island’s Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and …

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Maritime rescues of migrants adrift in the Mediterranean continued unabated on Saturday, with Spanish officials assisting more than 150 refugees in small boats and Tunisian security forces pulling more than 100 others to safety, including seven pregnant women and three children. The latest tally of rescued African migrants seeking a better life in Europe came as Libyan and Italian officials said about 10,000 migrants had been rescued off the coast of Libya this week. The French news agency AFP quoted authorities as saying at least 54 people had drowned. Migrants in need of assistance often are brought to Sicily, but …

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Italy chose to host a Group of Seven summit of wealthy nations on a hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean, looking to draw attention to the migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of people set sail from Africa in search of a better life in Europe. But world leaders on Saturday said little that will help Italy manage the steady flow of migrants to its shores or enable it to cope with the growing number of new arrivals. “Even though this summit took place in Sicily, a stone’s throw from where so many migrants have died, it produced no concrete …

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Britain lowered its security threat level Saturday to “severe,” Prime Minister Theresa May said, as police continue to make progress investigating the suicide bomb attack in Manchester. British police say they have arrested two more people in connection with the suicide bombing earlier in the week after an Ariana Grande concert. The Greater Manchester Police said on Twitter they arrested two men — ages 22 and 20 — in raids on Saturday. The statement said a “controlled explosion” was used to gain entry to the men’s address in the Cheetham Hill neighborhood. A police tweet said, “A total of 11 …

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The six other nations of the Group of Seven (G-7) agreed to affirm their commitment to the Paris climate agreement, while awaiting a decision by the Trump administration as to whether the U.S. will stay in the pact. “The United States is evaluating its policy with regard to the climate, so the six other G-7 countries will reaffirm their commitment [to the global Paris accord] while taking note” of the U.S. position, AFP quoted a French official as saying.   U.S. officials have said President Trump, who referred to man-made global warming as a “hoax” during his successful presidential campaign …

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Sur, a central district in Diyarbakir that was destroyed in the monthslong clashes in 2015 between Turkish security forces and the youth branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is finally being rebuilt. But some families are refusing to leave their homes, saying a state-sponsored subsidy is too low. Power and water to the district have been cut, meaning families have no electricity and must carry water for their needs. At night, the streets of Ali Pasa and Lalebey neighborhoods in Sur are mostly dark because of the power outage, with a few street lamps as the only light source. …

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U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to talk about North Korea and counterterrorism at his first summit with leaders of the world’s industrialized democracies. But his counterparts had other ideas, especially regarding climate change. VOA White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman reports from the G-7 summit in Taormina, Italy. …

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A picture of a smiling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flanked by EU President Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker adorned much of Turkey’s pro-government media this week. “Erdogan got his picture of his handshake in Brussels, which is really only what he wanted,” said political science professor Cengiz Aktar, “because he is looking for legitimacy in his new position as strongman of Turkey.” Erdogan’s narrow referendum victory extending his presidential powers remains mired in vote-rigging allegations. EU leaders, unlike U.S. President Donald Trump, had refrained from endorsing his success. During the referendum campaign, Turkey’s relations with the …

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He was quiet and withdrawn, a college dropout who liked soccer — and, some say, showed alarming signs of being radicalized years before he walked into a pop concert at Britain’s Manchester Arena and detonated a powerful bomb, killing himself and 22 others. While some claim Salman Abedi had been banned from the mosque he attended for statements glorifying terrorism and his angry rhetoric even prompted an acquaintance to report him to the authorities, others deny that account, saying he never showed any worrying or erratic behavior. The son of Libyan parents who immigrated to Britain in the early 1990s, …

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The U.N. Children’s Fund is urging G-7 leaders meeting in Taormina, Sicily to adopt an action plan to keep refugee and migrant children safe, following the deaths of at least 200 refugee and migrants children this year. UNICEF reports the refugees and migrants children, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, died along Mediterranean Sea routes from North Africa to Italy. Data from early 2017 shows a growing number of refugees and migrants are taking the perilous central Mediterranean route to reach Europe. According to UNICEF, more than 45,000 people, including some 5,500 unaccompanied and separated children, have arrived in Italy by sea. …

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The United States takes “full responsibility” for the leaking of sensitive information in the aftermath of the suicide bombing in Manchester Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. On his first official trip to London Friday, Tillerson said the U.S. “regrets” that information was leaked after British officials complained about it appearing in various U.S. publications. “The president has been very strong in his condemnation and has called for an immediate investigation and prosecution of those who are found to have been responsible for leaking any of this information to the public,” Tillerson said. The leaks led Britain to briefly …

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Climate change was among the most contentious agenda items Friday at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Sicily, but both American and British government officials are publicly denying any major discord.   The leaders had a “very good discussion” about climate issues, British Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters, adding there was “no doubt around the table” — which included U.S. President Donald Trump — about how important the issue is.   Trump “is taking in what he learned from world leaders today” to make his decision on whether to honor Washington’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions under …

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Leaders of the world’s rich nations braced for contentious talks with Donald Trump at a G-7 summit in Sicily Friday after the U.S. president lambasted NATO allies for not spending more on defense and accused Germany of “very bad” trade policies. Trump’s confrontational remarks in Brussels, on the eve of the two-day summit in the Mediterranean resort town of Taormina, cast a pall over a meeting at which America’s partners had hoped to coax him into softening his stances on trade and climate change. The summit will kick off with a ceremony at an ancient Greek theater perched on a …

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President Donald Trump says he is deeply troubled by leaks to U.S. media about the Manchester bombing investigation in Britain and promises an investigation. Leaked details about the probe, including the bomber’s name and police pictures of the evidence, have incensed British investigators. They briefly suspended sharing information with the U.S. Thursday. “I am asking the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to launch a complete review of this matter,” Trump said in Brussels Thursday. “If appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Watch: May on Pressing Trump About Manchester Intel Leaks Sharing …

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Under a sunny spring sky, NATO on Thursday moved into brand new, shiny headquarters projecting a modern, forward-looking image that counters the characterization that U.S. President Donald Trump and other critics of the alliance have previously made of the organization. Amid the anxiety felt by some European leaders about the future, some see Thursday’s NATO summit — where discussions were driven largely by the latest spate of terrorist attacks in Europe — as a possibility for a new direction for the alliance. The sprawling, giant, steel-and-glass complex’s wings are meant to resemble interlocking fingers. It drew the admiration of U.S. President …

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Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was injured Thursday when a bomb exploded inside his vehicle in Athens, officials said. Two Bank of Greece employees in the car were also injured. All three were conscious and hospitalized in stable condition, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said, calling the blast an “attack.” “With all out heart, we wish Mr. Papademos and his companions a speedy recovery. The prime minister has been updated about all the events by the minister of public order and he will continue to receive updates,” Tzanakopoulos said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Papademos, …

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It was not just family and friends mourning Martyn Hett this week. Even Mariah Carey was shocked by his death in the Ariana Grande concert bombing. Carey posted a picture of Hett — one of 22 people killed in Monday night’s bombing at the Manchester Arena — on Instagram wearing a T-shirt bearing her image.   “Devastated to learn that one of the victims in Manchester was part of the (hash)Lambily,” Carey wrote in the post, using the name she has given to her legion of fans. “RIP Martyn Hett. We will cherish your memory forever. His family and all …

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The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday officially condemned the violent crackdown on protests outside the Turkish embassy in Washington last week. “This timely resolution sends a clear signal to the Turkish government that we will not allow any foreign government to stifle the rights of our citizens,” the committee said in a statement following the passage of House Resolution 354, which condemned the violence against what it deemed peaceful protests. U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan thanked the committee, echoing concerns over the incident that have been expressed by U.S. lawmakers and diplomats for days. “The …

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Four months into his presidency, Donald Trump is trying to avoid the fate of some of his predecessors who saw their administrations nearly consumed by various scandals and controversies. In Trump’s case the issue at hand is Russian meddling in last year’s election and whether there was collusion between his campaign aides and the Russians. History has shown that presidents can pay a steep political price when consumed by scandal. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington. …

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