The area around Britain’s houses of Parliament in London became the scene of a long-feared assault Wednesday, an attack that left at least five dead and 20 injured. A car ran over several people, killing three before crashing outside Parliament, where an attacker stabbed a police officer to death before he himself was shot to death by police. VOA Europe Correspondent Luis Ramirez reports from the scene. …
An extraordinary public airing of the usually hidden inner workings of the U.S. intelligence community is rapidly casting doubt on the ability of lawmakers to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The probe, already clouded by President Donald Trump’s claims on Twitter that he had been “wiretapped” by his predecessor, was thrown into further disarray Wednesday when the lawmaker leading the inquiry alleged that conversations by the president and his staff had indeed been swept up in “incidental collection” activities. Nunes: ‘Incidentally Collected’ From US Citizens on Trump Transition Team Intelligence reports “What I’ve read bothers me, and …
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday to look for a date that would allow all NATO allies to attend a meeting of foreign ministers. Tillerson had initially decided to skip talks set for April 5-6 in Brussels, unsettling European allies who have questioned President Donald Trump’s commitment to the alliance. But the State Department said on Tuesday that Tillerson had proposed new dates for the talks, his first such NATO meeting. “We have agreed to look into how we can solve this scheduling issue,” Stoltenberg told Reuters at a meeting to …
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Europeans would not be able to walk safely on the streets if they kept up their current attitude toward Turkey, his latest salvo in a row over campaigning by Turkish politicians in Europe. Turkey has been embroiled in a dispute with Germany and the Netherlands over campaign appearances by Turkish officials seeking to drum up support for an April 16 referendum that could boost Erdogan’s powers. Ankara has accused its European allies of using “Nazi methods” by banning Turkish ministers from addressing rallies in Europe over security concerns. The comments have led to …
Belgium’s King Philippe on Wednesday urged citizens to listen to each other and draw lessons from the “deadly madness” that led three bombers to kill 32 people in the Brussels airport and subway a year ago. Marking the anniversary of the suicide attacks, in which more than 300 people were injured, the King paid homage to the victims in ceremonies timed with the blasts during the morning peak travel period on March 22, 2016. “It’s the responsibility of each and every one of us to make our society more humane, and more just. Let’s learn to listen to each …
A German-led NATO battle group of tanks, armored vehicles, and troops, including Lithuanians, engaged “enemy attackers” mid-March on a field outside a military base in Rukla, Lithuania. The NATO group fired flares, smoke canisters, and blanks for what a press officer said was the first demonstration of maneuvers since they arrived in Lithuania earlier this year. A group of visiting German military and other European dignitaries watched from nearby stands. “We are from Norway, we are from Belgium and from the Netherlands. We all accomplished a very high intensity training,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Christoph Huber, commander of the …
Russia’s force in Syria has suffered losses since late January more than three times higher than the official toll, according to evidence gathered by Reuters, a tally that shows the fight in Syria is tougher and more costly than the Kremlin has disclosed. Eighteen Russian citizens fighting alongside Moscow’s allies, the Syrian government forces, have been killed since Jan. 29 — a period that coincided with intense fighting to recapture the city of Palmyra from the Islamic State group. The Russian defense ministry has publicly reported only five servicemen’s deaths in Syria over the same period, and its officials’ statements …
Belgian leaders, victims and families of those who died in the March 22 suicide bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and subway are making the first anniversary of the attacks, which killed 32 people. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde joined Prime Minister Charles Michel at the airport, where two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the departure hall during the morning peak travel period. More than 300 people were wounded in the attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group, but around 900 people now number themselves among the victims to have suffered physical or mental trauma. Commemorations are also taking …
Kurdish commanders in northern Syria said this week Russia is building a military base there, and will help train its fighters. Moscow disputed the claims, but analysts say it is a sign of the Kurds’ growing role in the region. Across the border, Iraq faces a potential watershed moment as the battle for Mosul nears its end, with speculation growing that Kurds in the autonomous north could make a renewed push for independence. Despite the claims by Kurdish YPG fighters, Moscow denied it has plans to open any new bases. But Russia remains the game-changer, analyst Zeynep Kaya, of LSE …
If much of the United States was transfixed by the Congressional testimony of two of America’s top intelligence officials on allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections, the Kremlin claimed it had better things to do. “We have many concerns in the Kremlin and following that [debate] isn’t one of them,” said Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “New information we’re not hearing and doubtfully will hear,” said Peskov, who went on to compare the hearings to a “broken record” being played ad nauseam. “It’s an internal American issue … our relationship to all this hysteria is well known.” During testimony …
French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux resigned Tuesday over allegations that he hired his daughters for multiple parliamentary aide positions for which they did not do all the work. The presidential palace promptly announced that Matthias Fekl had been picked to replace Le Roux. The girls were still in high school when the first of the contracts began, and they continued working for him throughout their university studies, but reports say that the daughters did not do all of the work for which they were paid. Le Roux admitted to paying his daughters as parliamentary aides during their summer vacations, …
Three teenage boys were sentenced to six to seven years in prison Tuesday for detonating a homemade bomb outside a Sikh temple in Germany last year. A state court in Essen found two of the boys, identified only as T. and B. as they are minors, guilty of attempted murder. According to court records, the two largely admitted to the charges. The third, identified as I., denied being involved, but was found guilty of complicity and sentenced to six years. Prosecutors said the three had conspired to create explosives from items they purchased online and planned to attack the Sikh …
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam welcomed home two paintings by the Dutch master Tuesday, more than 14 years after they were ripped off the museum’s wall in a nighttime heist. “They’re back,” said museum director Axel Rueger. He called their return one of the “most special days in the history of our museum.” The paintings, the 1882 “View of the Sea at Scheveningen,” and 1884-85 work “Congregation leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen,” were discovered last year by Italian police investigating suspected Italian mobsters for cocaine trafficking. It wasn’t an easy find. The two paintings were wrapped in cotton …
The 27 remaining members of the European Union will hold a special summit April 29 to create a plan for negotiating with Britain about the country’s exit, European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday. The announcement by Tusk comes a day after Britain said it would trigger proceedings for its departure from the union on March 29. “Our main priority for the negotiations must be to create as much certainty and clarity as possible for all citizens, companies and member states that will be negatively affected by Brexit,” he said. Once Britain triggers its departure from the EU next week, …
Turkish security forces carried out mass arrests of pro-Kurdish activists in the run-up to Tuesday’s Nowruz celebrations, which mark the start of the Kurdish new year. Nearly 1,000 activists have been arrested in a week-long nationwide sweep by Turkish security forces. Authorities say the detentions are aimed at preventing possible attacks by the PKK Kurdish insurgent group, which has been fighting the Turkish state for greater minority rights. Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist organization. Critics argue the crackdown has little to do with fighting terrorism. “All of those who have been arrested are local HDP activists,” said Ertugrul Kurkcu, …
The top candidates in France’s volatile presidential election go head-to-head in a televised debate Monday as polls show centrist Emmanuel Macron and far right leader Marine Le Pen pulling away from the pack five weeks before the first round. Macron, Le Pen and the three other leading candidates will take part in a nearly three-hour debate on the main private channel starting at 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Monday expected to be watched by millions. The televised debate, the first held before the first round of a French presidential election, may be crucial in helping viewers make up their minds. …
Syrian government representatives will attend upcoming peace talks in Geneva, Russia’s state RIA news agency reported on Monday, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Bogdanov said Moscow hoped that Syrian armed opposition would be able to attend the peace talks. Bogdanov also said the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, would visit Moscow ahead of the Geneva talks. De Mistura is trying to mediate a political agreement between Syria’s warring sides, and after a procedural round of talks in Geneva ended on March 3, he plans to bring the negotiators back for in-depth discussions on March 23. …
World donors pledged more than $75 million Monday to protect cultural heritage sites threatened by war and the wave of ideological-driven destruction carried out by Islamic State militants. French President Francois Hollande, speaking at a donors’ conference in the Louvre Museum in Paris, said the goal for the heritage fund is $100 million and urged other countries around the world to contribute. France is pledging $30 million for the fund and Saudi Arabia is committing $20 million, according to the French Culture Ministry. The United Arab Emirates has promised $15 million, Kuwait $5 million, Luxembourg $3 million, Morocco $1.5 …
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been doused in bright green liquid by an unknown assailant in the Siberian city of Barnaul. Navalny tweeted Monday: “I will be opening a headquarters in Barnaul as if I am from the film The Mask! Cool. Even my teeth are green!” He was referring to the Hollywood film that features a superhero who wears a green mask. The green liquid, a common Russian antiseptic that remains on skin for days, was reportedly sprayed in Navalny’s face as he went to shake a man’s hand. Navalny is currently traveling around Russia opening headquarters …
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke up for free trade at a major technology fair on Sunday with jabs clearly pointed at an increasingly protectionist United States. Both called for a free trade deal to be reached quickly between Japan and the European Union, in comments made after G-20 finance ministers and central bankers dropped a long-standing mention of open trade in their final communique after a two-day meeting in Germany. Neither leader named the U.S. government as they opened the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, but both used the opportunity to distance themselves from …