Category: Євросоюз

The foreign and defense ministers from Japan and Russia met in Tokyo on Monday, with both sides expressing hope that discussions on joint development of islands claimed by both countries might help them move closer to resolving the territorial dispute preventing them from forging a peace treaty. The talks are the first “two-plus-two” meeting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The one-day meeting is largely focusing on regional security, especially how best to deal with North Korea’s launches of missiles and its nuclear program. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said before the talks that its envoys would raise the issue of …

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Blood tests determined Sunday that a suspected Islamic extremist consumed drugs and alcohol before a frenzied spree of violence that ended when he took a soldier hostage at Paris’ Orly Airport and was shot dead by her fellow patrolmen. The Paris prosecutors’ office said toxicology tests conducted as part of an autopsy found traces of cocaine and cannabis in the blood of the suspect, Ziyed Ben Belgacem. He also had 0.93 grams of alcohol per liter of blood when he died Saturday, the prosecutors’ office said. That is nearly twice the legal limit for driving in France. The 39-year-old Frenchman …

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President Donald Trump risks driving wedges between the United States and its closest allies, something America can ill-afford. So say lawmakers of both political parties as public disputes have arisen between the White House and Britain as well as Germany. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Washington. …

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Tensions between Germany and Turkery are on the rise again, with the Turkish president accusing the German chancellor of using “Nazi” measures. The accusation follows a pro Kurdish rally in Germany Saturday that turned into a rally against the Turkish President. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, campaigning in a referendum to extend his presidential powers again, turned his fire on the German chancellor Angela Merkel. In a televised speech Sunday, Erdogan used Germany’s Nazi past against Merkel “When we call them fascists, Nazis they in Europe get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel,” Erdogan said adding, “But you are …

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Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president’s powers. The complaints come even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has slammed European countries for not letting his ministers campaign on their soil for the April 16 vote on giving his office more power.   Politicians campaigning against the constitutional changes proposed by Erdogan also say the state of emergency in Turkey since a failed coup attempt in July prevents them from getting their message out ahead of …

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Sam Schwarzkopf, a German neuroscientist at University College London, was startled to receive a letter from the British government telling him that his application for permanent residence had been rejected and he should prepare to leave the U.K. As a European Union citizen, he is legally entitled to live in Britain, and last year’s decision by U.K. voters to leave the 28-nation bloc hasn’t changed that. But he is one of hundreds of thousands of Europeans battling British bureaucracy to confirm their legal status – and sometimes discovering that the process only increases their uncertainty. Schwarzkopf, who has lived in …

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Doubts expressed by Germany’s spy agency regarding the role of a U.S.-based cleric in last year’s coup attempt in Turkey are proof that Berlin supports the organization behind the attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said Sunday. Ibrahim Kalin made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster CNN Turk. No Gulen connection On Saturday, German news magazine Der Spiegel published an interview with the head of the BND foreign intelligence agency, who said the Turkish government had failed to convince it that Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the coup attempt. “Turkey has tried to convince us …

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In textiles, nothing has the impact of spider silk. These protein strands are stretchy and in some ways as strong as steel but without the weight. Scientists have been making artificial spider silk for years, with varying degree of success. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports some Swedish researchers have found a new way to spin the miracle fiber, and they make it look easy. …

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A Frenchman with suspected links to radical Islam shot dead at Paris’ Orly airport Saturday morning shouted he wanted to “die for Allah” and tried to seize a female soldier’s assault rifle. The man, identified as 39-year-old Ziyed Ben Belgacem, apparently intending to open fire on passengers, a prosecutor said. Two colleagues on patrol with the female soldier shot and killed the man before he could fire the military weapon in the busy airport terminal. The attack forced the airport’s terminals to shut down and evacuate, while passengers and workers were fleeing in panic and hundreds of others remained aboard …

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the meeting of finance ministers of the G20 countries was a success Saturday despite the ministers not reaching agreement on trade protectionism. “I will leave here confident that my colleagues and I are able to work in partnership to …foster and promote global growth and financial stability,” he said. Citing President Donald Trump’s commitment to American companies and workers, Mnuchin pushed back on and effectively omitted a ban on protectionism from the joint statement released at the end of the summit. Mnuchin did, however, say that the United States still believed in free trade. …

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President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak by phone Saturday afternoon with the president of Brazil, a nation in which many favored Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over Trump – due in large part to his opposition to free global trade. Nevertheless, Brazilian President Michel Temer sent a message to Trump shortly after his November election victory expressing confidence they could collaborate to strengthen relations between the countries. Temer has said increasing trade with the U.S. and securing more U.S. investment are keys to lifting Brazil out of what he calls a “very violent” recession, its worst on record. Trump …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that he expects parliament to move to allow capital punishment – a change that could officially end Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. Speaking at a ceremony marking the anniversary of a World War I campaign, Erdogan focused on the current political climate rather than historical successes. “The families of the martyrs, the heroes [those killed as a result of a failed July 15 coup attempt] don’t need to worry,” he said as quoted from the rally by the French Press Agency. “I believe, God willing, that after the April 16 vote …

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The lower house of the Russian parliament has ordered a probe into whether RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Voice of America, and CNN are in compliance with Russian laws. The move by the State Duma on March 17 comes just days after Democratic U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced a bill that would empower the U.S. Justice Department to investigate possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act by RT, the state-backed Russian TV channel. The Russian initiative was introduced by Konstantin Zatulin, a member of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, which holds an overwhelming majority in the Duma. Approved by lawmakers …

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Germany’s foreign minister says Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union are dwindling, but the country might one day hope for a privileged partnership with the bloc.   Sigmar Gabriel told German weekly Der Spiegel in an interview published Saturday that “Turkey is further away than ever before from EU membership.”   Gabriel, whose center-left Social Democrats have tended to back Turkish membership in the EU, says he was always skeptical of the idea.   He says upcoming negotiations about the EU’s future relationship with Britain might provide a blueprint for Turkey “in the long term.”   Relations between Berlin …

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U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shook hands warmly at the end of a sometimes awkward “getting-to-know-you” session Friday at the White House that seemed to symbolize the difficulties ahead for the trans-Atlantic relationship. Trump and Merkel, considered the two most powerful leaders in the Western world, appeared to get off to a rocky start in their first face-to-face meeting. They notably did not shake hands as they sat for photographers in the Oval Office after their opening conversation.  At a news conference later, however, following their two hours of talks, both leaders made more conciliatory statements. …

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Europe and the United States should keep sanctions in place against Russia until there is progress in implementing the 2015 Minsk accords aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. Tensions are again running high between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists: Kyiv this week cut off cargo shipments from the breakaway regions until the separatists hand back control of businesses they have seized. “It is important that Europe and the United States present a unified front and stick to the sanctions against Russia until there is progress in implementing the Minsk agreements,” Gabriel …

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U.S. President Donald Trump has stuck by his claim that the Obama administration wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower with the help of British security, despite a complaint by British authorities that such an assertion is “ridiculous.” Trump spoke to reporters Friday at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Questioned by a reporter about the allegation, which Trump first made in a tweet on March 4, Trump answered by referencing a wiretapping scandal in which U.S. security officials were found to be listening in on Merkel’s private conversations. “As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration, …

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Most Poles disagree with their conservative government’s attempt to block the reappointment of fellow-countryman Donald Tusk as  chairman of European Union summits, according to two opinion polls this week. The right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) government failed last week in a bid to remove Tusk, a longstanding political opponent of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as the remaining 27 EU members overrode Warsaw’s objections. The government put a positive gloss on the defeat, saying Poland had shown itself to be bold in standing up to the rest of the bloc, especially Germany. But a survey for the Onet.pl website showed …

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As Russia becomes a hot-button issue in American politics, a former Pentagon official is urging the new Trump administration to pay more attention to the conflict in Ukraine. Michael Carpenter, a senior Defense Department official under former President Barack Obama who dealt with Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs, described to VOA on Friday a six-point plan to support Kyiv in the face of separatist rebels backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Fundamentally, we think this supports our interest,” Carpenter said of U.S. support for Ukraine. His plan was also laid out in an article in the current issue of Foreign …

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What’s the largest organ in the human body? It’s skin, of course. Ask any doctor about its role in protecting what’s inside us from all kinds of trouble. That’s why it’s such a big deal that university scientists in Spain have learned how to manufacture what they say is fully functional human skin with a 3D printer. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

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