Traditionally built houses in old Europe are vulnerable to earthquakes, which again was demonstrated last August when a 6.2 magnitude quake devastated an area in central Italy. Italian engineers are researching ways to minimize the damage. VOA’s George Putic reports. …
Pope Francis, leading the world’s Roman Catholics into Easter, urged them Saturday not to ignore the plight of immigrants, the poor and other vulnerable people. In his homily at an Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis recounted the biblical account of Jesus Christ’s mother, Mary, and Mary Magdalene, filled with grief, as they went to visit his tomb following the crucifixion. Their grief, he said during the solemn ceremony, could be seen in the faces of many women today. “In their faces we can see reflected all those who, walking the streets of our cities, feel the pain …
Responding to threats by the Islamic State group to disrupt Turkey’s constitutional referendum on Sunday, Turkish authorities have detained scores of people nationwide suspected of links to the outlawed terror group. IS called on its followers to attack polling places during the referendum, in which voters will make a yes-or-no choice on whether Turkey should shift from its current parliamentary system of government to an executive presidency. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration has been campaigning hard and marshaling media resources to press for a “yes” vote, which would greatly expand the president’s powers. In a directive to its followers, IS …
Turks are voting in a referendum on turning Turkey into an executive presidency from the current parliamentary system. If approved, the 18-article constitutional reform package will greatly enhance presidential powers, creating one of the most powerful elected presidencies in the world. Supporters argue it is essential to meet what they call unprecedented threats facing the country. Detractors warn the measures will turn Turkey into an autocracy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been at the forefront of the “yes” campaign, argues the reforms will ensure political stability and efficiency following July’s failed coup and continuing threats by both the Islamic …
Regardless of whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeds in bolstering his increasingly authoritarian clout in Sunday’s constitutional referendum, one thing is clear: despite a crackdown on his critics and the media, the country is deeply divided, with signs that the gap is growing. That is bad, not only for Turkey, but for just about everyone with interests in the region, given the country’s economic power and historically strategic location as a bridge between East and West – particularly with Syria’s civil war and the fight against so-called Islamic State raging on its border. Despite the government’s efforts to severely …
Pope Francis, presiding at a Good Friday service, asked God for forgiveness for scandals in the Catholic Church and for the “shame” of humanity becoming inured to daily scenes of bombed cities and drowning migrants. Francis presided at a traditional candlelight Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) service at Rome’s Colosseum attended by some 20,000 people and protected by heavy security following recent attacks in European cities. Francis sat while a large wooden cross was carried in procession, stopping 14 times to mark events in the last hours of Jesus’ life from his sentencing to his death and his burial. …
France’s presidential race looked tighter than it has all year Friday, nine days before voting begins, as two polls put the four frontrunners within reach of a two-person run-off vote. The latest voter surveys may raise investor concerns about the outside possibility of a second round that pits the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen against hard-left challenger Jean-Luc Melenchon. The election is one of the most unpredictable in modern French history, as a groundswell of anti-establishment feeling and frustration at France’s economic malaise has seen a growing number of voters turn their backs on the mainstream parties. An Ipsos-Sopra Sterna …
In the face of growing international concern about reported detentions and killings of gay men in Chechnya, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman says the Kremlin does not have confirmed information on the targeted violence. The respected Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported this month that police in the predominantly Muslim republic rounded up more than 100 men suspected of homosexuality and that at least three of them have been killed. Chechen authorities have denied the reports. But the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights and prominent international organizations have urged the Russian government to investigate the reported abuse. But Putin …
Russia’s leading state broadcaster has announced plans to boycott the Eurovision 2017 song contest after the host country, Ukraine, barred Russia’s contestant, wheelchair-bound singer Yulia Samoylova, from entering the country. Kyiv’s decision in late March to ban the 28-year-old Russian paraplegic vocalist stemmed from her June 2015 performance in Crimea, where she appeared without the approval of Ukrainian authorities after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula. Announcing the boycott Friday, Channel One, the state broadcaster that transmits the competition to large Russian audiences, said event organizers had offered the option of sending a different contestant or having Samoylova perform via …
Russia on Friday hosted a trilateral foreign ministers meeting with Iran and Syria, as well as an international conference on Afghanistan, just days after a chilly Moscow reception for U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Russia’s increasingly assertive foreign policy in Syria and Afghanistan is clashing with U.S. goals, but analysts say both countries are needed for a negotiated peace. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from Moscow. …
Multi-nation talks on the prospects for Afghan security and national reconciliation, the third such round since December, began Friday in Moscow. Eleven countries are taking part in discussions, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan and India. Former Soviet Central Asian states have been invited to attend for the first time. The United States was also invited to the Moscow talks but Washington didn’t attend, saying it was not informed of the agenda beforehand and was unclear of the meeting’s motives. Just days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s frosty reception by the Kremlin, which refused to stop support for Syrian …
Turkey says it may re-evaluate or suspend all migrant agreements with the European Union if it does not receive a positive response from the bloc on visa-free travel for Turks. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during an interview with broadcaster A Haber Friday the migrant deal and visa liberalization were a package, and therefore it was Turkey’s right to re-evaluate or suspend those if one element was not fulfilled. Cavusoglu also said Turkey had no issues with Russia at present and would strengthen cooperation on a cease-fire and political solution in Syria, after a chemical attack blamed on Syrian …
France’s presidential election race looked tighter than it has all year Friday. With nine days to go until voting begins, a new opinion poll put the four leading candidates 3 percentage points apart. The two highest scorers in the first round April 23 will go through to contest a run-off May 7. According to a poll by Ipsos-Sopra Steria, centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen were tied on 22 percent each, with the far-left’s Jean-Luc Melenchon and conservative Francois Fillon at 20 and 19 percent respectively. That made the most likely second-round scenario one that pits Le …
French judges investigating far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of European Union funds to pay for party assistants have asked for her European parliamentary immunity to be lifted, a judicial source said Friday. The latest twist in Le Pen’s legal woes was revealed nine days before the first round of the French presidential election, in which opinion polls see her finishing first or second and qualifying for a crucial second round in May. The French judges’ request, signed March 29 and filed with the prosecutor’s office and the justice ministry, is unlikely to be approved by European lawmakers …
International organizations are demanding Russia investigate the abduction, detention and killing of gay and bisexual men in the country’s southern republic of Chechnya. United Nations human rights experts on Thursday called on Russian authorities to “put an end to the persecution of people perceived to be gay or bisexual in the Chechen Republic who are living in a climate of fear fueled by homophobic speeches by local authorities.” “It is crucial that reports of abductions, unlawful detentions, torture, beatings and killings of men perceived to be gay or bisexual are investigated thoroughly,” they added. The appeals follow reports in the …
As the United States and Russia clash on Syria, another war-torn nation could play out as a renewed theater for the U.S.-Russia rivalry: Afghanistan. Thursday, U.S. forces dropped what was being called the largest non-nuclear bomb on a reported Islamic State militant complex in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. The U.S. strike came a day before Russia is to host multi-nation talks on prospects for Afghan security and national reconciliation, the third such round since December. Eleven countries are set to take part in Friday’s discussions in Moscow, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan and India. Former Soviet Central Asian …
Polish leaders welcomed a new multinational NATO battalion to Poland on Thursday, with the president calling it “a historic moment for my country.” The near-permanent deployment of a NATO battalion under U.S. command marks the first time NATO troops have been placed so close to Russian territory, a step the Kremlin denounces as a threat to its own security. But Polish President Andrzej Duda said the deployment, to Poles, stands as a symbol of liberation and inclusion in the Western democratic world. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that generations of Poles have waited for this moment …
Germany’s foreign minister urged Kosovo’s political parties Thursday to approve the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro to end their status as the only Western Balkan country without free travel rights in Schengen zone countries. Minister Sigmar Gabriel was in Pristina on Thursday as part of his regional tour. Opposition parties say Kosovo loses territory in the border agreement signed two years ago, and have blocked the governing coalition from ratifying the deal by continuously disrupting parliament. U.S. Senator John McCain also visited Kosovo on Thursday, urging Pristina to resume its dialogue with Serbia, saying that’s the only way to a …
Russia’s lack of progress in cleaning up its doping culture and introducing a satisfactory testing regime continues to impede the country’s reinstatement to athletics, the IAAF said Thursday. Providing its latest update on Russia’s state-sponsored doping system, the International Association of Athletics Federations also criticized the country’s decision to make Yelena Isinbayeva the head of the country’s scandalized anti-doping agency. “It is difficult to see how this helps to achieve the desired change in culture in Russia track and field, or how it helps to promote an open environment for Russian whistle-blowers,” Russia task force chairman Rune Andersen said in …
Polls showed France’s presidential election campaign tightening further on Wednesday as financial markets fretted about the rising popularity of a far-left candidate who wants to put France’s European Union membership to a vote. Investors have long been anxious about election frontrunner Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, who has promised a referendum on whether to quit the EU and ditch the euro. She has been joined on the list of investors’ concerns by far-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has surged in the polls after strong performances in two candidates’ debates. The Communist-backed Melenchon also wants a referendum …