Category: Євросоюз

US Officials: Military Hotline with Russia Remains Open

The United States and Russia will maintain a hotline aimed at preventing midair collisions of their warplanes in Syria, senior U.S. military officials said Friday, contradicting Moscow’s claims that it has suspended the “deconfliction” talks in protest of America’s cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base. The officials also said they’re looking into whether Russia participated in the chemical weapons attack in Syria earlier this week that prompted President Donald Trump’s order for a retaliation. They said Russia has failed to control the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons or to account for chemical agents that were supposed to …

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Norway and China Restore Diplomatic Ties after Brief Rift

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg began a trade trip to China on Friday, signaling a restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries, six years after China cut relations over a Chinese dissident’s selection as Nobel Peace Prize winner. Solberg met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a welcoming ceremony, in which the premier told Solberg the visit “symbolizes the normalization of the China-Norwegian relationship.” China cut off ties with Norway in 2010, after the Nobel committee awarded its peace prize to Liu Xiabao, a Chinese dissident convicted of subversion in 2009 for writing a document calling for democracy in …

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Buk Missile Launcher Wasn’t Within Range of MH17, Bellingcat Reports

A few days before the July 2014 missile attack on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, a Ukraine Army-operated Buk missile launcher was located not near fighting in the east, as Moscow has long insisted, but hundreds of kilometers to the west. That’s what a team of journalists and researchers at Bellingcat, a Britain-based investigative website, has concluded after lengthy analysis of digital images taken by a Ukrainian army chaplain. Bellingcat, which specializes in using open-source information such as social media posts to analyze conflicts, was one of the first groups to produce evidence debunking key elements of the Russian government’s claim …

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European Lawmakers Approve Visa-free Travel for Ukrainians

The European Parliament on Thursday supported easing travel rules for Ukrainians, driving on a Western integration viewed with great suspicion by Moscow. Ukraine has been the scene of the worst confrontation between Russia and the West in Europe since the Cold War with Moscow annexing Crimea from Kyiv in 2014 and backing separatist rebels in the east of the country. The West has sided with Ukraine, where Russia intervened after a Moscow-allied president was toppled by street protests demanding an end to corruption and closer EU ties. Russia denies direct military involvement in its southern neighbor. European lawmakers voted 521 …

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Proposed Law Aims to ‘Discredit’ Hungarian Charities, Watchdog Says

Hungarian charities on Thursday criticized a draft law that would require them to declare foreign funding, saying it would clamp down on freedom of speech and undermine their work with migrants and other vulnerable groups. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party said it would present a bill to parliament this week requiring nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) with a yearly foreign income of 7.2 million forints ($25,000) to register with authorities. The bill said “foreign interest groups” could use their funding of local NGOs to “pursue their own interests” in Hungary, threatening the country’s political and economic interests. “This is …

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European Central Bank’s Draghi Says Stimulus Still Needed

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi insisted Thursday that the bank’s massive stimulus efforts are still needed even though the 19-country eurozone’s economy is strengthening. “The recovery is progressing and now may be gaining momentum,” Draghi said in a speech at a conference at Frankfurt’s Goethe University. He cautioned, however, that much of the improvement depended on the ECB’s monetary stimulus efforts and that it was “too soon to declare success.” Draghi’s stance on keeping stimulus in place contrasts with that of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has already started withdrawing monetary stimulus by raising benchmark interest rates off their …

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Russian Police Make Arrests Related to Subway Bombing

Russian police arrested three people Thursday in connection with a suicide bombing in the St. Petersburg subway system earlier this week. Police said the suspects come from the same region of central Asia as the bomber, Akbarzhon Dzhalilov. A bomb also was found and disarmed in the apartment shared by the three suspects on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency, said investigators found other evidence in the apartment that will help in the case against the three suspects. Reuters reports the unexploded bomb found in the apartment was similar to the unexploded bomb …

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French Election Looking More Like 4-Way Race

Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is threatening to turn France’s presidential election into a four-way race, the latest opinion polls show, confirming a surge of support for him after a strong showing in a TV debate this week. Two polls conducted after a televised debate among candidates Tuesday night showed the 65-year-old Communist-party-backed candidate just a percentage point or two behind third-placed conservative Francois Fillon in an unpredictable contest in which over a third of voters are still undecided. A Harris Interactive poll published Thursday showed centrist Emmanuel Macron holding onto a narrow first round lead over far-right leader Marine Le …

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Explosive Device Disarmed in St. Petersburg Residential Building

Russian authorities have made safe an explosive device found in a residential building in St. Petersburg, the TASS news agency reported on Thursday. A law enforcement source told Reuters that fire engines had turned up at the building in question and that people living in flats on two stairwells had been evacuated. The city is still reeling after a bomb ripped through the St. Petersburg metro on Monday, killing 14 people. An explosion in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don early Thursday, injured one person, a law enforcement source told TASS. REN-TV cited witnesses as saying that the explosion happened …

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Australia, New Zealand Warn of Attack on WWI Anniversary

Australia and New Zealand warned Thursday that extremists may be planning an attack on the commemoration of a World War I campaign in Turkey this month. Australian Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan urged the nearly 500 Australians and New Zealanders registered to travel to Gallipoli, Turkey, to mark ANZAC Day April 25 to exercise a high degree of caution, but offered no specifics about the alleged threat. ANZAC Day is an annual holiday commemorating the April 25, 1915, landings in Gallipoli — the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I. …

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For ‘B Corporations,’ Real Value in Social Values    

Many companies aim for “Best in Class” status, but some are seeking another “B” — B corporation certification. Certified B corporations, or “B corps,” address the growing consumer interest in supporting socially and environmentally responsible companies. B corps are essentially for-profit companies that behave more like nonprofits, tackling global issues such as pollution and income disparity through everyday business practices. ‘Business as a force for good’ “B corporations are companies that are using their business as a force for good,” said Andrew Kassoy, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that issues B corp certification. “By having that B corp …

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In Syria Chemical Attack, One Family Buries 22 Members

The grief-stricken father cradled his 9-month-old twins, Aya and Ahmed, each in the crook of an arm. Stroking their hair, he choked back tears, mumbling, “Say goodbye, baby, say goodbye” to their lifeless bodies. Then Abdel Hameed Alyousef took them to a mass grave where 22 members of his family were being buried. Each branch of the clan got its own trench. More than 80 people, including at least 30 children and 20 women, were killed in the chemical attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun early Tuesday, and the toll could rise. The Alyousef family, one of the …

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Italy, Switzerland in Dispute Over Nighttime Border Closings

Switzerland and Italy are in a diplomatic dispute over Switzerland’s decision to close three secondary border crossings at night in a bid to fight crime. Italy’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Swiss ambassador for urgent talks, emphasizing that the closings violate Europe’s norms on free circulation. In an email, the press office of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambassador Giancarlo Kessler “took note” of the message from Italian authorities and pledged to keep them informed on the results from what it characterized as an experiment. Italian mayors in the affected region had protested the closures as penalizing …

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Ebay’s Founder Pledges $100 Million to Fight Fake News, Hate Speech

Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar’s philanthropy promised $100 million over the next five years to support journalism and fight fake news, the foundation announced Wednesday. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which broke the story of the controversial Panama Papers, is the first organization to receive funds from the Omidyar Network – a three-year grant of up to $4.5 million “to expand its investigative reporting”. “Across the world, we see a worrying resurgence of authoritarian politics that is undermining progress towards a more open and inclusive society,” Matt Bannick, Omidyar Network Managing Partner, said. “A lack of government responsiveness and …

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Gap Widens Between US, Europe Over Syria

A gap is widening between the Trump administration and European allies over the future of President Bashar al-Assad and how to end the six-year war in Syria. While U.S. officials have shifted the focus away from Assad having to relinquish power, European leaders remain adamant he has no future as ruler of Syria. His departure, they say, remains a crucial part of any solution to a conflict that has left an estimated 470,000 dead. Following Tuesday’s toxic gas attack on a town in northern Syria, the worst chemical weapons attack in the war since mid-2013, European leaders are intensifying their …

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Tillerson to Visit Moscow

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Russia after attending the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Italy next week, the State Department announced Wednesday. Following the conclusion of the meeting on April 11, Tillerson will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Ukraine, counterterrorism efforts, and bilateral relations. “This trip is part of our effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure U.S. views are clearly conveyed, including on next steps in Minsk implementation,” Mark Toner, acting spokesperson for the State Department, said in the statement. The …

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Cash Must Stay, Even In Digital Age, Says German Economy Minister

Cash is crucial, Germany’s economy minister said on Wednesday, defending the role of notes and coins in a debate in Europe about the merits of limiting cash payments to counter terrorism. The European Commission is weighing stricter rules on the use of cash to cut terrorists’ funding, and Germany’s finance ministry – led by conservative Wolfgang Schaeuble – has said Berlin could imagine talking about a ceiling of 5,000 euros ($5,331.50). Such a prospect is unwelcome to many Germans, who are renowned for their love of cash. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, said they carry an average of 103 euros …

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Tusk: EU Stands Firm on Keeping Balkan Migrant Routes Closed

The European Union is determined to stick to a deal with Turkey to stem the flow of undocumented migrants into the bloc, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Tuesday. Tusk, who met Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev, welcomed Sofia’s efforts to boost security on its southeastern border with Turkey to prevent migrants from crossing. He said Brussels would provide additional financing if the situation worsened. “We are determined to keep routes of illegal migration in this region closed,” Tusk told reporters. “We remain committed to the full implementation of the EU-Turkey statement. The EU is honoring its commitments, just like …

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Turkey Targets Social Media Before Tight Referendum

The referendum in Turkey to extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers is a couple of weeks away, and polls indicate the outcome remains too close to call. The “No” campaign, having little access to mainstream media, is increasingly turning to social media, and human rights groups accuse prosecutors of targeting those who adopt such a strategy. Turkish law student Ali Gul’s video on why to vote “No” highlights, in a humorous way, the dangers of concentrating too much power in one person’s hands. It was an instant hit on social media. At the end of the video, Gul rhetorically asked, …

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Gold Imports Surge as Turks Heed Erdogan’s Call and Vote Looms

Turkish gold imports rose 17-fold to 28.2 tons in March, as Turks looking to hedge currency risk ahead of a referendum in two weeks time followed President Tayyip Erdogan’s calls to buy gold instead of dollars. After the sharpest falls in the Turkish lira since the 2008 financial crisis last November, Erdogan called on Turks to sell dollars and buy lira or gold to prop up the local currency. Gold imports have been rising year-on-year ever since. “People have started opting for gold rather than foreign currencies,” said Mehmet Ali Yildirimturk, a gold specialist in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, adding that …

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