In News - English Smartencyclopédia

2Feb

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Ukraine plans to launch a large-scale program of solar energy production by households and communities with the EU

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, together with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, opened joint consultations between the Government of Ukraine and the Board of the European Commission in Kyiv on February 2. As Denys Shmyhal emphasized, over the past year Ukraine had demonstrated remarkable progress in European integration issues and implementation of related reforms. This includes joining ENTSO-E, abolition of quotas and duties on Ukrainian goods, liberalization of transportation, “customs visa-free regime”, joining the Digital Europe program, candidate status, hundreds of laws and government regulations aimed at rapprochement with the EU. “To achieve the next European integration steps, we are finalizing the ...

Russian missiles target civilian areas as EU officials visit Kyiv

2Feb

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Ukraine, Military News, Ukraine

Russian missiles target civilian areas as EU officials visit Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles hit residential areas in an eastern Ukrainian city Thursday for the second time in 24 hours, while top European Union officials held talks with the government in Kyiv as the war with Russia approaches its one-year milestone. The latest strikes in Kramatorsk came as rescue crews searched for survivors in the rubble of an apartment building hit late Wednesday by a Russian missile that killed at least three people and wounded 21 others. At least one more victim was thought to be under the debris, Ukraine’s presidential office said. “Kramatorsk again shattered by explosions — the Russians made two more rocket strikes,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in a Telegram post. He said at least five civilians were wounded in the latest strikes, which ...

Auschwitz anniversary in southern Poland marked as peace again shattered by war

27Jan

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Poland, European Union, In News

Auschwitz anniversary in southern Poland marked as peace again shattered by war

Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and other mourners commemorated the 78th anniversary Friday of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp, some expressing horror that war has again shattered peace in Europe and the lesson of Never Again is being forgotten. The former concentration and extermination camp is located in the town of Owicim in southern Poland, which was under the occupation of German forces during World War II and became a place of systematic murder of Jews, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, Roma and others targeted for elimination by Adolf Hitler and his henchmen. In all, some 1.1 million people were killed at the vast complex before it was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. Today the site, with its barracks and barbed wire and the ruins of gas chambers, stands as ...

Ukrainian tank unit fights Russians, exhaustion and the cold

25Jan

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Military Magazine, Military News, Ukraine

Ukrainian tank unit fights Russians, exhaustion and the cold

A freezing wind swept across the steppe near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The thermometer showed minus 17 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The frontline of the war against Russia, where fighting is taking place for the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar, is just a few kilometers away. Soldiers from a Ukrainian tank unit were training here in the middle of a field, just a few days after being pulled from the fighting near Bakhmut for a short break. To reach the spot, they had to walk several kilometers crosscountry. "So, is it hard to walk in a bulletproof vest? Are your arms and legs freezing yet?" asked Ihor, an officer in the armored unit, who accompanied DW to where the troops was deployed. "Imagine the guys lying in the frozen trenches, where you're not even allowed to light stov...

Herzog to address EU Parliament to mark Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day

24Jan

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Israel

Herzog to address EU Parliament to mark Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Israeli president seeks a "promising future of partnership between Israel and the nations of Europe.” (January 24, 2023 / JNS) Israeli President Isaac Herzog will address the European Parliament on Thursday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as part of a two-day visit to Belgium. Herzog will depart on Wednesday for Brussels, where he will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and King Philippe. He will also visit the Athénée Ganenou Jewish school and the Great Synagogue of Europe, and speak with members of the Jewish community. On Thursday, Herzog will deliver the main address in the European Parliament at a special session marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day that will be attended by lawmakers and Shoah survivors. International Hol...

Poland reviews security after divers found near key port

20Jan

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Military News, Poland

Poland reviews security after divers found near key port

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said Thursday that the country was reviewing the supervision of its gas and oil installations and other strategic locations after a weekend incident in which three foreign divers had to be rescued from near a key oil port where they had no authorization to be. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki also said he had requested the secret security services to produce a detailed report on the incident. Police in northern Poland are facing questions over why they released the three divers rescued from near the Gdansk oil port without conducting a detailed interrogation of them. Security experts say the presence of the divers in the sensitive area of the Gulf of Gdansk last weekend raised concerns, given the high tensions with Russia over its energy deliver...

Paris restaurant accused of segregating non-white guests

20Jan

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France

Paris restaurant accused of segregating non-white guests

White guests are seated on ground floor while non-white ones eat on upper floor, as shown on TikTok video that got attention of lawmaker. A restaurant in Paris is accused of segregating non-white guests from white ones, local media reported. The CoCo restaurant seated a young customer of Asian origin at a table on the upper floor, as shown by a video the customer took earlier this month and posted on TikTok. When the young man sat down, he noticed that all the restaurant’s non-white customers, including Black customers and ones of North African and Asian origin, were eating there. He then filmed the ground floor to confirm his observations. "Look at that: Only white people, white white, all white," he said, comparing the ground floor to the one where he was sitting. David Guiraud, ...

Sir Keir Starmer says there is ‘no case’ for joining EU single market in rebuke to Sadiq Khan

20Jan

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Sir Keir Starmer says there is ‘no case’ for joining EU single market in rebuke to Sadiq Khan

Sir Keir Starmer said there is no "political case" for the UK to join the European Union's single market in a rebuke to Sadiq Khan. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Labour leader said the UK's divorce agreement with Brussels is "not a good deal" and he wants the nation to have a "closer relationship with the EU". But he insisted the UK "can’t go back into the EU" and that included any deal to join the bloc's economic community. Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight programme, he said: "We would accept that the deal that Johnson got is not a good deal and you can see the impact it is having on our economy and that is why we have been clear we want a closer relationship with the EU. "That starts with the protocol in Northern Ireland, it then goes into a dis...

30th anniversary of the EU single market

20Jan

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European Union, In News

30th anniversary of the EU single market

The European single market remains one of the EU’s greatest achievements and a key tool to protect people and businesses in times of crisis. Following a ceremony and debate at the start of the plenary session, Parliament adopted on Wednesday a resolution on the 30th anniversary of the EU single market with 537 votes in favour, 35 against and 66 abstentions. The text outlines the most pressing challenges facing the single market today and recommendations for the way forward. Further development in the services, energy, telecommunications and digital sectors The EU single market is considered one of biggest European achievements and the “engine of European integration and the backbone of its economy”. MEPs warn, however, that its accomplishments cannot be taken for...

Heinrich XIII: the prince suspected of plotting to overthrow the German government

8Dec

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Crime & Law, Germany, In News, Military News, Terrorism

Heinrich XIII: the prince suspected of plotting to overthrow the German government

Thousands of police officers have carried out raids across much of Germany against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state in an armed coup. Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss is one of the last descendents of a dynasty that once ruled over swathes of eastern Germany. He is suspected of hoping to become the country's new leader in a violent coup to overthrow the democratic order. The 71-year-old was one of 25 members and supporters of a far-right group planning the alleged putsch who were arrested early on Wednesday in nationwide raids, according to the authorities. The real estate developer has for years publicly advocated the theory life was better worldwide under monarchy. He stems from House of Reuss, which for centuries ruled over parts of present-d...