Category: Євросоюз

Academics and students protested Tuesday outside Istanbul’s Marmara University, criticizing the latest wave of firings of scholars under emergency rule. The university saw some of its top staff fired this month, under an emergency decree that removed 330 academics nationwide, along with 4,000 civil servants. Among those dismissed is Marmara University’s internationally renowned professor Ibrahim Kaboglu, one of Turkey’s foremost constitutional law experts. “There is no reason for my sacking,” said Kaboglu, adding that “as a law person I cannot give you any reason, because every judicial process, even the tiniest one, should have a reason and justification. And as …

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One drops you, trapped and powerless, in the middle of a civil war, while the other uses humor to depict what’s it like to start a new life in Europe after escaping the same conflict. “Insyriated” and “The Other Side of Hope” are two films about Syria, and they brought tears and smiles to the Berlin Film Festival. The former is shot almost entirely inside the walls of an apartment that becomes like a prison for Oum Yazan, a mother determined to survive a war whose brutality is conveyed mostly through the sounds of bombs and sniper gunfire. “It shocked …

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Russian experts weighed in Tuesday on the resignation of Michael Flynn as White House national security adviser and its potential impact on U.S.-Russian relations. Boris Makarenko, chairman of the board of the Center for Political Technologies, a Moscow think tank, told VOA’s Russian service that Flynn’s resignation would negatively affect the reputation of President Donald Trump and his administration. “It’s his personal appointee who violated several written and unwritten rules of American politics,” he said. “Above all, it is that Flynn in a public statement lied to his immediate supervisor, and thereby set him up.” Naturally, the new administration’s detractors …

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A senior U.N. official said Tuesday that he feared the fragile cease-fire between the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine would not hold. Neal Walker, the U.N. resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, said that although calm had returned, the situation in eastern Ukraine remained very serious. The rebels’ renewed siege of the airport at Donetsk, which began January 21, lasted until February 3. Walker said the fighting between January 29 and February 3 was extremely intense. Walker said there were more than 40,000 violations of the cease-fire during a 10-day period, which is more violations than …

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Russia is expected to host Wednesday a second round of international talks on Afghanistan in Moscow, with Afghanistan representatives invited for the first time. The United States has not been invited. Russia says it wants stability and cooperation in the fight against extremists in the region. But Afghanistan officials are not happy with Russia’s direct talks with the Taliban, which U.S. officials say are aimed at undermining their efforts. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from Moscow. …

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Russia is expected to host a second round of international talks on Afghanistan in Moscow on February 15, reports Russia’s TASS news agency, with Afghanistan representatives invited for the first time.    Russia says it wants stability and cooperation in the fight against extremists in the region.  But Afghan officials are not happy with Russia’s direct talks with the Taliban, which U.S. officials say are aimed at undermining their efforts.   Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the peace talks on February 7, during a visit by his Afghan counterpart, Salahuddin Rabbani.  China and Pakistan were at December talks in Moscow, …

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Russia is to host a pan-Kurdish conference Wednesday, and among those invited to attend are members of the Syrian Kurdish group the PYD.   Syria’s neighbor, Turkey, calls the PYD terrorists, alleging they are affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state. Turkey accuses the PYD of being an extension of the PKK, and claims the PYD is seeking to carve out an independent state along its border. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited the PYD to Moscow for a briefing on January’s meeting in Kazakhstan about ending the civil war in Syria. …

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Montenegro’s special prosecutor on Monday received permission from a parliamentary council to strip immunity from two pro-Russian opposition leaders charged in an alleged sedition plot. Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic wants immunity lifted from Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic as part of efforts to detain the pair and place them on trial for “acts against constitutional order and security of Montenegro.” Katnic says both leaders of the pro-Kremlin Democratic Front (DF), which oppose the nation’s bid to become the 29th NATO member, have undermined national security. A frequent visitor to Russia, Mandic, who returned from Moscow earlier this month, has warned of …

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The European Union is touting a plan it says will help Libya curb the number of migrants leaving its shores, but some advocates believe the plan does little more than trap African and Middle Eastern migrants in a war zone. On February 3, the European Union announced it would give $212 million to help Libya’s U.N.-backed government bolster its coast guard capabilities as well as offer training and equipment in order to block smuggling routes. Preben Aamann, spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk, said the current migration situation is both tragic and untenable. He said last year 181,000 people …

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French car manufacturer Peugeot has bought India’s most iconic car brand from its maker Hindustan Motors in a deal that signifies the passing of an era in India’s motoring history.   Over the weekend, the C.K. Birla Group that owns Hindustan Motors said it had signed an agreement with Peugeot SA to sell the Ambassador for 800 million rupees ($12 million).   The hulking Ambassador sedan remained largely unchanged for more than five decades, ferrying India’s elite, including prime ministers, visiting heads of states and celebrities. It was a throwback to an era when India’s policy of economic self-sufficiency meant …

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A prominent member of a German nationalist party could face expulsion over a speech in which he suggested that the country end its tradition of acknowledging and atoning for its Nazi past. Alternative for Germany said party leaders voted by the necessary two-thirds majority Monday to open expulsion proceedings against Bjoern Hoecke, who heads its branch in the eastern state of Thuringia. The decision comes as the party prepares for a national election in September in which it hopes to enter parliament for the first time. Hoecke last month said Germany needs to perform a “180-degree turn” when it comes …

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Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets Sunday in freezing cold weather, demanding the government resign as they accused it of attempting to water down anti-corruption laws.  “Thieves! Resign!” chanted protesters gathered in Victory Square to mark the 13th consecutive day of anti-government demonstrations in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.  An estimated crowd of 50,000 protesters took part in the Bucharest march, according to Romanian media reports.  Authorities did not give any number of their own.  Responding to a call on social media, the protesters held up their mobile phone flashlights against colored pieces of paper, lighting up the …

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Russia is hosting a conference in Moscow this week that will bring together Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, India and Iran to discuss a possible solution of the conflict in Afghanistan. This meeting is part of Russia’s effort at playing a more pro-active role in Afghanistan for the first time since its invasion of the country in 1979. Its efforts, however, have encountered controversies at the very outset. The last conference Moscow hosted on Afghanistan in December included only China and Pakistan, prompting a strong protest from the Afghan government. The one this week is more inclusive of the regional stakeholders, but …

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 A top White House aide sidestepped repeated chances Sunday to publicly defend embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn following reports that he engaged in conversations with a Russian diplomat about U.S. sanctions before Trump’s inauguration. The uncertainty comes as Trump is dealing with North Korea’s apparent first missile launch of the year and his presidency, along with visits this week from the leaders of Israel and Canada. Trump has yet to comment on the allegations against Flynn, and a top aide dispatched to represent the administration on the Sunday news shows skirted questions on the topic, saying it was not …

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Glamour was shot through with grit at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday. Frothy musical “La La Land” took five prizes including best picture, but major awards also went to tough welfare-state drama “I, Daniel Blake” and fractured-family stories “Lion” and “Manchester by the Sea.” In keeping with an awards season that has coincided with a wrenching change of government in the United States, even “La La Land’s” prizes came with a political tinge. Accepting the best-actress trophy for playing a barista who dreams of Hollywood stardom, Emma Stone said that “this country and the US, and the world …

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Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany’s president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era. Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,260 votes by lawmakers and representatives of Germany’s 16 federal states. His predecessor, Joachim Gauck, steps down on March 18. The German constitution mandates that a special assembly is convened to elect presidents. It includes 630 lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house and an equal number of representatives from the federal states.     …

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A majority of voters have approved a referendum supported by the Swiss government and most major parties to make it easier for the grandchildren of third generation immigrants to acquire citizenship.  A Swiss television presenter gets set to announce the results of the day’s voting at the start of a two-hour special debate and analysis of the outcome. Of the three referendum on the ballot, the issue of easing citizenship rules for young immigrants was clearly the most contentious.    It was vigorously opposed by the right wing Swiss Peoples’ Party, which waged a campaign warning that any relaxation of …

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German firefighters on Sunday evacuated hundreds of passengers at Hamburg Airport after about 50 people were injured by an unknown hazardous material that likely spread through the airport’s air conditioning system.   All flights were halted for several hours due to the evacuation, but air traffic started running again around 2 p.m., airport spokeswoman Karen Stein said.   More than 50 people — both passengers and staff — had complained about breathing problems, burning eyes and nausea. Firefighters were examining them to find out whether they had to be taken to the hospital, the German news agency dpa reported.   Those who …

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Swiss voters are considering two issues that will affect immigrants and foreign companies, deciding whether to make it easier for “third-generation foreigners’’ to get Swiss citizenship and whether to lock in competitive, low tax rates for businesses.   The “simplified naturalization of third-generation immigrants” measure is expected to pass in Sunday’s referendum. It would simplify applications for anyone under 25 whose parents and grandparents have lived in Switzerland for years.   Polls have suggested a tight race over the complex tax reform initiative, which aims to get Switzerland in line with international standards by scrapping a two-track tax system that …

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A Turkish court has formally charged an Uzbek man with murdering 39 people and wounding scores of others in a New Year’s Day shooting rampage at an Istanbul nightclub. A court in Istanbul on Saturday charged Abdulgadir Masharipov with belonging to an armed terrorist group — Islamic State — possession of heavy weapons, attempting to destroy constitutional order and murder. Masharipov fled from the scene of the shootings but was arrested 17 days later in Istanbul, after a nationwide manhunt. Authorities said he received terrorist training in Afghanistan and that he had confessed to the attack on the Reina nightclub …

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