In his first court appearance since ending a three-week hunger strike, Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “naked, thieving king.” Navalny appeared Thursday in a video link from prison to a Moscow courtroom where he was appealing a guilty verdict for defaming a World War 2 veteran. According to news reports, Navalny appeared thin, and his head was shaved. “I looked in the mirror. Of course, I’m just a dreadful skeleton,” he said. Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, is seen in a courtroom, in Moscow, Russia, April 29, 2021, in this still image taken from video. (Press Service of Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow/Handout via Reuters)Navalny began his hunger strike March 3 and ended it April 23. Later in Thursday’s hearing, he took the opportunity to attack Putin. “I want to tell the dear court that your king is naked,” he said of Putin. “Millions of people are already shouting about it, because it is obvious. … His crown is hanging and slipping.” He also reiterated his claim of innocence on the embezzlement allegations that ostensibly landed him in prison. “Your naked, thieving king wants to continue to rule until the end. … Another 10 years will come, a stolen decade will come,” Navalny said referring to Putin. Last week, authorities in Russia disbanded several regional offices of Navalny’s anti-corruption group, the Anti-Corruption Foundation. A Russian court is considering branding the group extremist. FILE – Demonstrators march during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 21, 2021.Last week, more than 1,900 Navalny supporters were detained during protests in cities across the country. From his Instagram account, he said he felt “pride and hope” after learning about the protests. Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning last year and was arrested when he returned to Moscow in January following lifesaving treatment in Germany. The Kremlin denies any role in the poisoning. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in February on an embezzlement charge and was being held at the Pokrov correctional colony, which he described as “a real concentration camp.” The United States and other countries have sanctioned Kremlin officials over the poisoning, and many are calling for Navalny’s release.
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Учасники активістської групи «Капутін», які з 2014 року влаштовують у Чехії різні акції протесту проти російського впливу в Європі, розгорнули прапори України та Білорусі
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Останній спалах насильства стався на тлі встановлення таджицькими службовцями обладнання для спостереження у водорозподільному центрі «Головний»
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За словами адвоката, ухвала суду не підлягає оскарженню, у зв’язку з тим, що вона є рішенням на клопотання захисту
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Germany’s highest court ruled Thursday that the government has to set clear goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2030.
A 2019 law committed Germany to cutting emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and includes specific policies for achieving the goal such as incentivizing renewable energy, expanding electric car infrastructure and carbon trading.
The country also aims to be largely carbon-neutral by 2050.
The court said Thursday that the government lacks specificity about how it will achieve the further carbon reductions after 2030.
The government has until the end of next year to come up with the new targets.
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Завод розцінює обшуки, які відбулися 28 квітня, «як ще один доказ свідомого доведення підприємства до банкрутства»
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Turkey on Thursday starts a strict new three-week lockdown as COVID-19 infections surge. Initially, Turkish authorities claimed success in curbing the pandemic, but the country could be paying the price for a premature easing of restrictions.
It is the country’s most severe lockdown since the onset of the COVID pandemic, with schools closing, alcohol sales banned, and only essential businesses like food shops being allowed to remain open.
For this Istanbul shoe shop, owner who asked to remain anonymous, there is fear for the future.
He said he does not want to call the 18-day shutdown unjust but he really sees it as “the end.” He said Turks are in a state of complete hopelessness. “We are finished,” he said, adding one can endure this “only up to a point.”
Compounding the economic pain for Turks is that the government has not announced any financial assistance for those suffering losses.
Already Turkish media report unofficial levels of unemployment exceed 25%, while aid groups report a surge in poverty and warn that large sections of society are struggling to find enough to eat.
Intercity travel will only be permitted with special permission. Already there was chaos, as those in other parts of the country scrambled to return home this week before the restrictions came into force late Thursday.
The draconian measures are in response to an enormous surge in COVID infections. Turkey reported 40,000 on Wednesday – the highest daily count in Europe.
Sebnem Korur Fincanci, chair of the Turkish Medical Association, says Turkey’s hospitals are struggling.
“The hospital beds are already full, particularly the intensive care units. They have to open new COVID clinics. And, also, the health professionals will burn out. They [are] already burned out and with this new situation this will overburden the health system,” Fincanci said.
The surge in infections comes after the government eased restrictions in March.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even toured the country, holding party rallies in packed indoor stadiums – actions that drew strong condemnation from opposition parties.
Erdogan announced the new restrictions Monday, warning Turkey could pay a heavy price if they fail.
At a time when Europe is entering a phase of reopening, Erdogan said, Turkey must rapidly reduce the number of cases to fewer than 5,000 a day and is not, he said, to be left behind. Otherwise, the Erdogan said, Turkey will face consequences in every field, from tourism to trade and education.
Tourism is vital for the Turkish economy, providing an essential source of foreign income and providing millions of urgently needed jobs.
With hospitals filling up and the peak tourism period fast approaching, analysts see the latest lockdown as a sign that Ankara is aware time is running out.
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У відеозверненні на своєму Youtube-каналі Волков заявив, що продовження роботи мережі штабів Навального «в нинішньому вигляді неможливе»
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У липні можуть бути доступні перші результати для дітей віком від 5 до 12 років, у вересні – для дітей молодшого віку, заявив керівник ВioNTech
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Зранку 29 квітня кілька російських державних засобів інформації з посиланням на ФСБ та Слідчий комітет Росії повідомили про затримання «українських неонацистів», які нібито «готували вибухи в Росії»
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An FBI operation that gave law enforcement remote access to hundreds of computers to counter a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software is a tool that is likely to be deployed “judiciously” in the future as the Justice Department, aware of privacy concerns, develops a framework for its use, a top national security official said Wednesday.The department this month announced that it had obtained a warrant from a federal judge in Texas to remove web shells, or malicious code that gives hackers a foothold into networks, from hundreds of vulnerable computers affected by a hack that Microsoft has blamed on a group operating from China.The FBI operation was designed to disrupt the effects of a hack that affected many thousands of servers running the Microsoft Exchange email program. Many victims took steps on their own to safeguard their systems, but for those that who did not, the Justice Department stepped in to do it for them with a judge’s approval.It was the virtual equivalent of police going around the neighborhood locking doors that criminals had opened remotely.”We have a decision to make, which is are we going to go ahead and do that action ourselves or are we just going to leave that malware there, sort of unremediated,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, speaking at a virtual discussion hosted by the Project for Media & National Security at George Washington University.He said the operation was one of the very first of its kind and was the subject of extensive discussion by the FBI and the Justice Department. The department is figuring out how it plans to use that capability in the future.”We don’t yet have sort of worked out what our criteria are going to be going forward,” Demers said. “Now that we’ve had this experience, that’s the kind of discussion we’re having internally now.”This is not a tool of first resort that we’re going to be using a couple times a week as different intrusions come up,” he added. “This does require working with the private sector on the right solution. It does require testing to be sure that you’re not going to otherwise disrupt someone’s computer system.”Such operations will be done judiciously in the future, he said.Demers acknowledged concerns from some privacy advocates that the government, without permission of the computer system operators, had gained remote access and removed the web shells.But he pointed out that the department did obtain a judge’s permission and said the government felt compelled to act because, after a period of several weeks, there were still unremediated web shells that continued to serve as access point for “hackers of all stripes.””And so the choice that the government had was just continue to leave those open or take the court-authorized action that we did, and ultimately we decided to move ahead,” Demers said. “But to the extent possible before then, we had been notifying every victim that we could identify of the intrusion.”
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The United States and the European Union are urging Albania’s leaders to set aside their differences and move forward toward establishing a stable democracy after elections Sunday that gave the ruling Socialist Party a third consecutive mandate. Prime Minister Edi Rama’s party is the first to achieve the feat since the collapse of communism more than three decades ago. It secured 74 out of 140 seats in Parliament, more than enough to govern without coalition partners, if it chooses to do so. However, the main opposition Democratic Party has not yet accepted the results, which follow a heated and occasionally violent campaign. What comes next may determine whether Albania can move forward toward becoming a full-fledged democracy and integrate in the European Union. The United States — an ally and strong supporter of reforms in the country — recognized Rama’s win and called for the results to be respected. “The U.S. congratulates the people of Albania on their recent elections. We look forward to continuing our close partnership with Prime Minister Rama and commend the opposition’s strong campaign. Respect for the results of legitimate elections strengthens Albania’s democracy,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price tweeted on Wednesday.Damon Wilson, executive vice president at the Atlantic Council in Washington, said the United States and the EU seem to be on the same page. “I think the message that you’re hearing from Washington, Brussels, is let’s accept these results as they are confirmed by the Central Election Commission. Let’s play your democratic roles and parts expected in a modern European, a parliamentary democracy,” he told VOA. Rama declared victory and thanked party supporters at a rally in the capital, Tirana, on Tuesday, saying, “This was the most difficult, greatest and the most beautiful victory of the Socialist Party of Albania.”Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama speaks to his supporters during a rally in Tirana, Albania, April 27, 2021.He campaigned on promises to boost tourism, energy and infrastructure projects, among other things, and waved off criticism on a weak scorecard, saying back-to-back crises of a deadly earthquake in November 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic had hampered his program. While Lulzim Basha, head of the right-wing opposition Democrats, conceded that his party had received fewer votes than the Socialist rivals, he has so far stopped short of acknowledging the results as legitimate. “The election had nothing to do with democracy. We entered this battle not with a political opponent but with a regime that did the utmost to destroy a fair electoral race,” he said. He is now under pressure from prominent members of his party to step down. Improved elections, but problems remain Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe noted improvements over past electoral contests, but with qualifications. “The Albanian parliamentary elections were characterized by a lively and inclusive campaign, thanks to a legal framework that helped ensure respect of fundamental freedoms,” said an OSCE preliminary report. “At the same time, the campaign saw authorities taking advantage of public office and allegations of pervasive vote-buying.” Daniel Serwer of Johns Hopkins University said this election seemed “better than some in Albania’s past.” He said he is concerned about the allegations of vote-buying but added that is a “common problem in transitional democracies.” “The abuse of incumbency seems to me to be a much more profound criticism,” he added. “And we must somehow avoid capture of the state by political forces. And especially when you elect the same prime minister three times in a row, there’s a tendency for state capture to solidify a little bit.” There were some serious issues in the days leading up to the election. A news site broke the news that a database with the personal data of over 900,000 Albanians might be in the hands of party officials. The database reportedly could have come only from a government agency. And a bitter political fight turned deadly when a Socialist Party activist was shot by someone whom police identified as a member of the Democratic Party. Political tensions were amplified when President Ilir Meta accused Rama of usurping all powers and running a “kleptocratic regime.” Meta’s former party, the Socialist Movement for Integration, which is run by his wife, Monika Kryemadhi, was a DP ally in the election but ran alone and lost seats. Meta said on Wednesday he plans to go back to the party when his term as prime minister expires next year. Incomplete democracy A 2020 report on human rights by the U.S. State Department said corruption in Albania is “pervasive in all branches of government.” The latest “Nations in Transit” report issued on Wednesday by Freedom House ranks the country as a transitional or hybrid regime and registered declines in the overall democracy score. “It’s quite clear that in Albania, you need stronger institutions to consolidate democracy. And first and foremost among those institutions is an independent judiciary,” Serwer of Johns Hopkins said. While the Socialist Party sees its third mandate as validation, Wilson of the Atlantic Council said the government is being sent a signal “that it really needs to move on some of the key issues like rule of law and anticorruption measures to really get the EU accession process moving.” But he said a signal is also being sent to Basha, who is blamed for his party and allies boycotting Parliament in 2017 and not participating in local elections two years later. “People want to see democracy work, want to see the opposition participate in Albania’s parliamentary democracy and be that active opposition within the Parliament, supportive of the interests of the country and moving towards the EU but working through its democratic institutions,” he said.
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Раніше посли «Групи семи», коментуючи кадрові зміни в «Нафтогазі», вказали на «вирішальне значення» «ефективного управління держпідприємствами, вільного від політичного втручання»
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Лідери політичних груп Сенату не очікують подання скарги впродовж найближчих тижнів, адже мають намір провести консультації з сенатськими комітетами та експертами
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З моменту вступу на посаду у січні Байден запровадив санкції проти Росії через отруєння ув’язненого опозиційного лідера Олексія Навального, за ймовірне втручання Москви у вибори в США та хакерство
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Резолюція, яка носить рекомендаційний характер, має підтримку п’яти основних політичних груп Європарламенту
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The decision by global media giants to comply with demands by the Turkish government to open offices in Turkey is prompting concerns about media freedoms. Press freedom advocates say because the companies will now be subject to Turkish laws, that could mean Turkey’s people will no longer have a venue to freely express their views. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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China may have sabotaged its own prospects for securing a sought-after investment agreement with the European Union when it penalized a long list of politicians, researchers and institutions – including a key member of Germany’s Green Party – in response to recent EU sanctions.The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, or CAI, was agreed to in principle at the end of last year but remains as much as a year from final ratification by the European Parliament, where support from Germany is seen as crucial to its approval.Recent polling shows the Greens – who are considered much tougher on China than the current administration in Berlin – as well positioned to participate in or even lead the next German government after elections expected in late September.And that could leave the investment deal as “dead as a doornail,” according to Green Party lawmaker Reinhard Buetikofer, who heads the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with China and appeared at the top of a list of EU individuals and institutions targeted for sanctions by Beijing last month.Speaking at a recent FILE – A Chinese officer stands outside the British Embassy in Beijing, March 26, 2021. Days earlier, China sanctioned British entities following the U.K.’s joining the EU and others in sanctioning Chinese officials over alleged rights abuses.But EU-Chinese relations soured dramatically on March 22 after the European bloc announced travel bans and asset freezes for four Chinese officials over their roles in the mistreatment of their nation’s Uyghur minority.China immediately retaliated with a much larger set of sanctions targeting a number of EU lawmakers, researchers and institutions, including Buetikofer.“Europe is heading into an intense political season, and China has made itself a much higher political priority for many with the sanctions,” Brussels-based political economist Jacob F. Kirkegaard told VOA in a written interview. “This bodes very badly for CAI in the near term.”Kirkegaard continued: “It all depends frankly on the German elections – if for instance the Greens actually win and supply the next chancellor, the CAI is surely dead. It may even be dead if the Greens [which seems highly likely] enter the government.”The analyst predicted that when Merkel steps down, and “more importantly [when] a new coalition comes to power, things will change; the only question is how much.”FILE – Reinhard Buetikofer attends a congress of the German Green party in Bielefeld, western Germany, Nov. 16, 2019.Theresa Fallon, the founder and director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels, cautioned in a telephone interview against considering the EU-China investment deal completely dead.While its current prospects appear dim, “a lot can happen in a year,” said Fallon, a former member of the Strategic Advisers Group for the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. She added that the debate over the investment deal reflects a larger discussion taking place within the EU on the appropriate response toward China.While commercial interests are a factor in the eagerness of Germany and some of its European partners to do business with China, Fallon said that until recently some in Europe had looked at closer relations with China as a potential check on hegemonic U.S. power.Chinese actions lately, however, have compelled the Europeans to “see China as it is, not as what they imagined it to be,” she said. “What are we really doing? Is this the type of world order we want, with China at the top? We talk about strategic autonomy, but autonomy from what?”Nabila Massrali, EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, told VOA the bloc continues to regard trade with China as important and sees the CAI as “part of our toolbox” to rebalance its economic relationship with Beijing.However, “economic interests will not prevent us from standing up for global values, including where necessary, through sanctions,” she said. Massrali pointed out that the EU moved before the U.S., Britain and Canada in imposing its sanctions last month.
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Астронавт Майкл Коллінз помер від раку
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Адвокат Боб Костелло підтвердив, що був виданий ордер на обшук. Джуліані ситуацію не коментував
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American astronaut Michael Collins, who stayed behind in the command module of Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the lunar surface to become the first humans to walk on the moon, died on Wednesday at age 90, his family said.
A statement released by his family said Collins died of cancer.
Often described as the “forgotten” third astronaut on the historic mission, Collins remained alone for more than 21 hours until his two colleagues returned in the lunar module. He lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon.
“Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins,” the mission log said, referring to the biblical figure.
Collins wrote an account of his experiences in his 1974 autobiography, “Carrying the Fire,” but largely shunned publicity.
“I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have,” Collins said in comments released by NASA in 2009.
Collins was born in Rome on Oct. 31, 1930 – the same year as both Armstrong and Aldrin. He was the son of a U.S. Army major general and, like his father, attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1952.
Like many of the first generation of American astronauts, Collins started out as an Air Force test pilot.
In 1963, he was chosen by NASA for its astronaut program, still in its early days but ramping up quickly at the height of the Cold War as the United States sought to push ahead of the Soviet Union and fulfill President John F. Kennedy’s pledge of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Collins’ first voyage into space came in July 1966 as pilot on Gemini X, part of the missions that prepared NASA’s Apollo program. The Gemini X mission carried out a successful docking with a separate target vehicle.
His second, and final, spaceflight was the historic Apollo 11.
He avoided much of the media fanfare that greeted the astronauts on their return to Earth, and was later often critical of the cult of celebrity.
After a short stint in government, Collins became director of the National Air and Space Museum, stepping down in 1978. He was also the author of a number of space-related books.
His strongest memory from Apollo 11, he said, was looking back at the Earth, which he said seemed “fragile.”
“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles, their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced,” he said.
His family’s statement said they know “how lucky Mike felt to live the life he did.”
“Please join us in fondly and joyfully remembering his sharp wit, his quiet sense of purpose, and his wise perspective, gained both from looking back at Earth from the vantage of space and gazing across calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat.”
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America’s reengagement with various international organizations coincides with a weird new era: that of virtual diplomacy. Since the coronavirus pandemic made travel unsafe, world leaders have taken their diplomacy digital, opening up new possibilities for engagement — but also, new concerns about fairness and transparency, and the occasional awkward moment. VOA’s Anita Powell follows this story — virtually, of course — and reports from Johannesburg.Camera: Zaheer Cassim/Nike Ching (cellphone video)
Producer: Jon Spier
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During a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a return to discussions on human rights, saying such consultations in the past have improved relations between their two nations.
The comments came during wide-ranging governmental consultations between Merkel and Li — held virtually due to the pandemic — on issues like the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, economic cooperation and other issues.
Merkel, who is not running for re-election, noted the regular consultations between the two countries during her nearly 16 years in power improved cooperation on issues from climate change to business. She said those talks at times covered areas of disagreement such as human rights and Hong Kong.
Merkel said, “Part of our partnership includes addressing difficult topics and putting everything on the table. Traditionally, the issue of human rights repeatedly plays a role and here, differences of opinion exist.” She said in the past, they always succeeded in addressing those issues and, “I would wish that we can soon reinstall the human rights dialogue.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement acknowledged Beijing and Berlin have different views on some issues but did not mention a human rights dialogue. It called for mutual respect of core interests and communication on the basis of non-interference.
In the statement, Li said China and Germany should demonstrate “cooperation and unity” in their push for global economic recovery.”
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European Union countries introducing their own COVID vaccination certificates would have to grapple with a myriad of disjointed systems if the bloc fails to build a shared one, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The EU is pushing to have a shared digital health pass to allow tourists to travel freely this summer. But discussions are not yet settled on costs, data and privacy issues, as well as technical and medical aspects of the new system.
“If we can deliver politically, the technical solution will be ready in time. If we don’t, we risk fragmentation across Europe, with a multitude of possibly incompatible national solutions,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said.
“We would risk having a variety of documents that cannot be read and verified in other member states. And we risk the spread of forged documents, and with it, the spread of both the virus and the mistrust of citizens,” he told the European Parliament.
Tourism-reliant southern EU countries like Spain and Italy are keen to launch the new tool as soon as possible to help economies that have been mauled by the pandemic. But they face a more reluctant north, as well as complex EU decision procedures.
With no central gateway to ensure interoperability yet in place, countries including Estonia, Lithuania, Greece, Spain, Germany and France, are introducing their own solutions to record vaccinations. Dry run
Commission officials told a separate briefing that the gateway – which would allow officials in one EU country to check the health pass of a visitor from elsewhere in the bloc – would enter testing next month.
Twenty member states will be ready to join the trial phase with a view to making it possible to go fully live by mid-June.
The technology for the digital passes is secure and no sensitive personal data would be shared, the officials said.
Disputes between EU countries over supplies of medical equipment, drugs and vaccines have already complicated the bloc’s joint response earlier in the pandemic.
As it now faces a third wave of infections, sceptics say discussions about restarting free travel are premature given low vaccination levels.
The rushed implementation of the joint system raises questions over how visitors from overseas will be handled.
Questions also remain over which vaccines they would honour, with a distinction between those approved for the EU by the European Medicines Agency and those like the Russian or Chinese jabs that might only be allowed by some countries.
Another issue is whether antibody tests provide adequate proof that a person who has recovered from COVID-19 is immune. EU countries including Belgium also worry about discriminating against those who would not get the jab.
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