У списках є 16 афганців, які не отримали дозволу на в’їзд до США і залишаються за кордоном у транзитних центрах
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Зуступниця держсекретаря відзначила нещодавню зустріч радників президентів України і Росії, а також радників президентів Франції і Німеччини
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«Саме п’ятий президент України Петро Порошенко санкціонував початок спецоперації проти т.зв ПВК Вагнера. Так само як саме президент Зеленський завалив її фінал», – йдеться в заяві
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Альохіна отримала широку популярність після того, як в 2012 році була заарештована після так званого панк-молебню групи Pussy Riot в храмі Христа Спасителя
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Безугла зазначила, що Порошенко не міг санкціонувати таку спецоперацію
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За словами радника керівника ОПУ, 29 липня 2020 року почалися медійні «вкиди» у справі «вагнерівців»
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Friday that all-out war with neighboring Russia was a possibility, and that he wanted to have a substantive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Asked at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) summit if there could really be all out-war with Russia, which seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and backs pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskiy said: “I think there can be.” “It’s the worst thing that could happen, but unfortunately there is that possibility,” he added, speaking in Ukrainian. Kyiv says the conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed 14,000 people since 2014. Zelenskiy said relations with the United States had improved, but he bemoaned the fact that Ukraine had not received a clear answer to its request to join the NATO military alliance — a move that would be certain to infuriate Moscow. “We have not received … a direct position on Ukraine’s accession to NATO,” he said. “Ukraine has been ready for a long time.” He said a refusal to admit Ukraine would weaken NATO while playing into Russia’s hands. FILE – A Ukrainian soldier is seen at fighting positions on the line of separation from pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk, Ukraine, April 19, 2021.Tensions between Kyiv and Moscow increased earlier this year when fighting in eastern Ukraine intensified and Russia massed more troops near the border. Moscow accused Ukraine of losing interest in peace talks, while Zelenskiy pushed in vain for a meeting with Putin in the conflict zone. “Honestly, I don’t have time to think about him,” Zelenskiy said on Friday. “I’m more interested in whether we can really meet substantively, not declaratively as he does with some states,” he added. “It seems to me that today … they do not see the sense in resolving issues. End the war and resolve conflict issues quickly — they don’t want this.”
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Russia has been treading carefully in its dealings with the Taliban, engaging with them but so far withholding formal recognition of Afghanistan’s new rulers.Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides have been quick to cheer the U.S.-led NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, presenting it as a strategic setback for Washington. But they fear Afghanistan falling apart and being plunged into a protracted civil war, which could allow the country to become a sanctuary once again for jihadists to hatch plots against Russia and its Central Asian allies, according to Western diplomats and analysts.Commenting last week, Putin said NATO’s 20-year intervention had accomplished nothing. “The result is zero, if not to say that it is negative,” he said. Like his Western counterparts, though, the Russian leader appears also to have been surprised by the speed of the collapse of the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban’s sweep of the country. When the Taliban seized Kandahar on August 13, Putin’s envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said he doubted the Taliban would take control of Kabul any time soon. They seized it within two days.FILE – Russian envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, left, speaks with Taliban representatives prior to their talks in Moscow, May 28, 2019.With Afghanistan right on its doorstep, there are more downsides and risks for Russia from NATO’s departure arguably than there are for the Western powers, and the Kremlin is casting a wary glance south, according to Paul Stronski, who was director for Russia and Central Asia at the U.S. National Security Council from 2012 to 2014. “Russia has been eying the departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan with schadenfreude. But the Kremlin does not relish the prospect of an unstable Afghanistan,” Stronski wrote in a commentary for the Carnegie Endowment, a think tank in Washington.“Even though Moscow has publicly cheered the removal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region, Russian officials are sober-minded enough to appreciate the downsides of their departure,” he says. “The key question now is whether Moscow is equipped to deal with a combustible situation along its southern flank that is unfolding far more quickly than anyone might have expected,” he added.Midweek, top Russian and Indian security officials met in Delhi to discuss the implications of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. In the subsequent readouts of their talks for the press, Nikolay Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council and a key Putin adviser, and Indian counterpart Ajit Doval highlighted the security dangers, with their officials saying global militant groups operating from Afghanistan pose a threat to Central Asia and to India. They agreed to deepen counterterrorism cooperation.FILE – Taliban fighters atop Humvee vehicles parade along a road to celebrate the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, Sept. 1, 2021, following the Taliban’s military takeover of the country.“U.S. withdrawal and Taliban triumph generate an acute security challenge for Russia,” according to Pavel Baev of the Brookings Institution. A former researcher in the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Defense, he says the problem for the Kremlin is the NATO withdrawal “yields no rewards” and presents Moscow with a security “black hole” on its southern flank. Like their Western counterparts, Russian security chiefs are trying to judge whether the Taliban will abide by the promises its leaders made in political talks in Doha, Qatar, to stop Afghanistan once again from turning into a sanctuary for al-Qaida and other global jihadist groups.The Kremlin also is alarmed by the prospects of an increase in opiate drug trafficking, which alone may earn the Taliban $416 million a year, according to a U.N. assessment.Taliban leaders have said they won’t permit any opium poppy cultivation. But with a financial crunch looming for the country — and for the militant group — there are widespread doubts that they will — or can — keep to that promise. Afghanistan is estimated to be responsible for about 80 percent of global opium and heroin supplies.In July, following a string of bilateral talks with the Taliban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Taliban leadership was “rational.” He added: “They are sane people. They clearly stated that they have no plans to create problems for Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbors.”FILE – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second left, speaks as he attends a conference on Afghanistan with representatives of the Taliban, in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 9, 2018.Baev believes that statement was “an exercise in wishful thinking.” “The best Russian diplomats can hope for is to dissuade the shrewd leadership of the Taliban from launching cross-border attacks northwards,” he says. The Taliban remains proscribed in Russia as a terrorist organization. Its ties with Central Asian jihadists, including Chechen separatists who the Taliban allowed to train in Afghanistan, prompted President Putin in September 2001 to acquiesce regarding the U.S. building military bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to facilitate the U.S.-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan. Putin also allowed the U.S.-led coalition to use Russian airspace for the invasion.The Kremlin appears to be readying for the worst, and it has been for some time. In 2012, it signed an agreement with Tajikistan to extend its lease on a military base in Dushanbe until 2042, and in 2016 it started modernizing the base and rearming it, including with armed Orlan-10 drones.Last month, the Russian, Tajik and Uzbek militaries held joint exercises on the Afghan border. Recently, Russia’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu pledged to strengthen military cooperation with the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.
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Причиною скасування обмежувальних заходів став високий рівень вакцинації. У Данії повністю щеплені 83 відсотки населення від 12 років
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За словами прем’єр-міністра, мета України – синхронізація з європейською енергетичною мережею в 2023 році
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Вперше штам «ета» виявили у Британії у грудні минулого року
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In an interview Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said there are questions about how the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was handled, “but we need to first save the lives [of Afghans].”Rama, whose country is temporarily hosting 4,000 Afghan refugees, said that as a NATO member country, Albania has to take its “share of responsibility” to protect those who worked with the organization in Afghanistan.Rama told Mirwais Rahmani of VOA’s Afghan Service that Afghan refugees can stay in Albania for as long as they wish.This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.VOA: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you so much for your time. Albania was one of the first countries that offered to host Afghan refugees. Tell us why.Prime Minister Edi Rama: Because of who we are. We have a very proud history of having built our life in this country for generations based in our first common law, which says that the house of the Albanians belongs to God and the guest. The accurate translation would be the traveler. And then there is a whole explanation of the duty behind the knock at the door of whomever is behind the door and in whatever situation he, she or they are, you have to open the door and you have to offer shelter to the traveler that is lost or needs refuge or needs to be fed or whatever. So, that is first. Second is our history. Our grandparents did something fascinating and thanks to them, Albania became the first and the last European country that had more Jews after the war than before and independent from their religion.And many Jews were saved by being hidden from Muslim armies. Because we have Muslims and Christians here but independent from their religion, Albania was protecting Jews. And then we were like the Afghans 30 years ago. So, it was at that time us demanding help and knocking on others’ doors for shelter.Now it’s the time to give what we got. And finally, I would say that we owe it to our children. Our children need to inherit this attitude, and every generation should cultivate it when the chance is being presented because, God forbid, we become a cynical rich country.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 2 MB480p | 3 MB540p | 3 MB1080p | 9 MBOriginal | 16 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioEdi Rama: Thirty years ago, “it was at that time us demanding help and knocking on others’ doors for shelter. Now it’s the time to give what we got.”VOA: I’m sure you saw the chaos and tragedy in Kabul airport during the last two weeks of August. Many believe it was a result of hasty withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan. What’s your take on this?Rama: As I said and I want to repeat, for sure what happened in the last weeks and what the world saw live from Kabul, from the airport, from the scenes of desperate people losing gravity and falling from the sky will absolutely raise many questions – many questions about our civilization, about our democratic world, about NATO, about the future of NATO and how we should see and shape it. But it’s not the time to enter in this (conversation) until the last person that is in need is saved from whatever the danger might be for him or her in Afghanistan. We should take care of human lives, and then of course, the discussion will follow. But on the other hand, I have to say that, you know, it’s quite hypocritical to put the blame on the United States and on the administration and just wash their hands like Pontius Pilate. After all we have been in this together. Yes, there are questions, of course, and the withdrawal had its problems, and it’s obvious but we need to first save the lives. And the blame on the withdrawal, the whatever mismanagement of the withdrawal, the dramatic episodes of the withdrawal, should not be alibis or should not be instruments to forget the real thing – the lives of people.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 3 MB480p | 4 MB540p | 4 MB1080p | 13 MBOriginal | 22 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioEdi Rama: “The withdrawal had its problems and it’s obvious, but we need to first save the lives.”VOA: I talked to some Afghan evacuees in Albania. Their main concern is the uncertainty surrounding the process of their application. An Afghan evacuee, while thanking your government for the warm hospitality, had a question for you: in case their application or resettlement process takes months or years, will the Albanian government provide them with health services and education opportunities for their children?Rama: Thank you for the question. It’s a very good question. First of all, they should forget months. It will not be months. It will be more than months because the mass of applications and the massive bureaucratic work that has to be done back in the [United] States for so many people that have been parked, as they said, in different places in Europe or elsewhere, is huge. So, it will be more than months. Secondly, we have already decided that we will offer them free health care.The concern of the kids and the young students is a common concern. So, we are working to come up with a plan, we are working to be able to create a network of teachers because we can put them right away in our schools. But it’s in Albanian, and we need to somehow give them some continuity to have their language and English, so we are working on that. And we will not let them, you know, drag in the places they are for more than months without sending those kids to school, without being able to see a future. At the same time, I would invite all of them to think about integrating while waiting – they are great people.VOA: The U.S. might not take in those Afghans who fail security background checks, or their cases are rejected. How will Albania deal with such a scenario? Are you ready to take in those Afghans who will have no other place to go, or is there any alternative solution?Rama: They are at home here. They should feel at home here, and if they want to stay, they are welcome. We will never tell them to leave the country because they don’t fulfill criteria. We’ll never tell them they have to apply for a visa clearance in Albania. We suffered a lot from visa regimes, and we are not going to be now a visa regime country for them, so they are more than welcome to stay.VOA: What’s Albania’s reaction to the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan? Will Albania, as a country that hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of Afghans, recognize a government led by the Taliban?Rama: Albania had its Taliban. They were not Islamic Taliban. They were Marxist and Leninist Taliban. And we saw religion being bombed. We saw God being declared illegal. We saw our own culture of the 20th century being bombed. We saw the jailing of artists, of writers, of play writers. We saw a total lack of freedom of expression. We saw full nationalization, and private property being dumped and being bombed and so many other things that, you know, you have seen in that country. Every comparison has its weakness. So, I’m not going further. But no, we will not be part of any club that will recognize this regime.Let me add this. While I said this, I say also the other thing, that it’s important to build communication, it’s important to talk with that regime. Because for the sake of all that need to be helped, demands it. So, one of the strengths of our Taliban regime was that not only didn’t they want to talk to others, but the others didn’t want to talk to them. So, this is something to be remembered.
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Качура заявив, що йому соромно за дії окремих колег
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With no masks in sight, buzzing offices and concerts drawing tens of thousands, Denmark on Friday ditches vaccine passports in nightclubs, ending its last COVID-19 curb.The vaccine passports were introduced in March 2021 when Copenhagen slowly started easing restrictions.They were abolished at all venues on Sept. 1, except in nightclubs, where they will be no longer necessary from Friday.”We are definitely at the forefront in Denmark as we have no restrictions, and we are now on the other side of the pandemic thanks to the vaccination rollout,” Ulrik Orum-Petersen, a promoter at event organizer Live Nation, told AFP.On Saturday, a sold-out concert in Copenhagen will welcome 50,000 people, a first in Europe.Already on Sept. 4, Live Nation organized a first open-air festival, aptly named “Back to Live,” which gathered 15,000 people in Copenhagen.”Being in the crowd, singing like before, it almost made me forget COVID and everything we’ve been through these past months,” said Emilie Bendix, 26, a concertgoer.Denmark’s vaccination campaign has gone swiftly, with 73% of the 5.8 million population fully vaccinated, and 96% of those 65 and older.’Aiming for free movement'”We’re aiming for free movement… What will happen now is that the virus will circulate, and it will find the ones who are not vaccinated,” epidemiologist Lone Simonsen told AFP.”Now the virus is no longer a societal threat, thanks to the vaccine,” said Simonsen, who works at the University of Roskilde.According to the World Health Organization, the Scandinavian country has benefitted from public compliance with government guidelines and the COVID-19 strategy adopted.”Like many countries, Denmark has, throughout the pandemic, implemented public health and social measures to reduce transmission. But at the same time it has greatly relied on individuals and communities to comply voluntarily,” said Catherine Smallwood, WHO Europe’s emergency officer.With around 500 daily COVID-19 cases and a reproduction rate of 0.7, Danish authorities say they have the virus under control.Health Minister Magnus Heunicke has however vowed that the government would not hesitate to swiftly reimpose restrictions if necessary.Authorities insist that the return to normal life must be coupled with strict hygiene measures and the isolation of sick people.The WHO still considers the global situation critical and has urged caution.”Every country needs to remain vigilant as and when the epidemiological situation changes,” Smallwood said.Denmark has said it will keep a close eye on the number of hospitalizations — just under 130 at the moment — and conduct meticulous sequencing to follow the virus.A third dose has also been available to risk groups since Thursday.Simonsen said the vaccines have so far provided immunity from variants “but if escape variants (resistant to the vaccine) were to appear, we will have to rethink our strategy.”Christian Nedergaard, who owns several restaurants and wine bars in Copenhagen, said that while everyone is happy about the return to normal life, “the situation is still complicated.””The memory of coronavirus will fade very quickly from some people’s minds but not for everyone, and for restaurants this period has for sure been a game-changer,” he said.”The industry needs to think about how to become more resilient.”Travelers entering Denmark must still present either a vaccine passport or a negative PCR test, and masks are mandatory in airports.
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«Терористична загроза, яка призвела до проголошення надзвичайного стану 14 вересня 2001 року, триває»
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Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with a surge of people risking their lives by trying to cross the Channel in small dinghies.
Hundreds of small boats have attempted the journey from France to England this year, across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The summer surge happens every year, but it now is larger than normal as alternative routes have been shut down.
Border officials will be trained to force boats away from British waters but will deploy the new tactic only when they deem it safe, a British government official who asked not to be named said on Thursday.
Michael Ellis, Britain’s acting attorney-general, will draw up a legal basis for border officials to deploy the new strategy, the official said.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin that stopping people making their way from France on small boats was her “number one priority.”
Patel had already irritated the French government earlier this week when she indicated Britain could withhold about $75 million (54 million pounds) in funding it had pledged to help stem the flow of migrants.
Darmanin said Britain must honor both maritime law and commitments made to France, which include financial payments to help fund French maritime border patrols.
“France will not accept any practice that goes against maritime law, nor financial blackmail,” the French minister tweeted.
In a letter leaked to British media, Darmanin said forcing boats back toward the French coast would be dangerous and that “safeguarding human lives at sea takes priority over considerations of nationality, status and migratory policy.”
Britain’s Home Office, or interior ministry, said: “We do not routinely comment on maritime operational activity.”
Politically charged
Charities said the plans could be illegal and some British politicians described the idea as unworkable.
Channel Rescue, a citizen patrol group that looks for migrants arriving along the English coast, said international maritime law stipulated that ships have a clear duty to assist those in distress.
Clare Mosely, founder of the Care4Calais charity, which helps migrants, said the plan would put the lives of migrants at risk. “They’re not going to want to be sent back. They absolutely could try and jump overboard,” she said.
Tim Loughton, a member of parliament for the ruling Conservatives, said the tactics would never be used because people would “inevitably” drown.
“Any boat coming up alongside at speed would capsize most of these boats anyway and then we’re looking at people getting into trouble in the water and drowning,” he said.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government was exploring a range of safe and legal options to stop the boats.
The number of migrants crossing the Channel in small dinghies has risen this year after the British and French governments clamped down on other forms of illegal entry such as hiding in the back of trucks crossing from ports in France.
The numbers trying to reach Britain in small boats – about 13,000 so far in 2021 – are tiny compared with migrant flows into countries such as Lebanon and Turkey, which host millions of refugees.
But the issue has become a rallying cry for politicians from Johnson’s Conservative Party. Immigration was a central issue in the referendum decision in 2016 to leave the European Union.
France and Britain agreed in July to deploy more police and invest in detection technology to stop Channel crossings. French police have confiscated more dinghies, but they say they cannot completely prevent departures.
British junior Health Minister Helen Whately said the government’s focus was still on discouraging migrants from attempting the journey, rather than turning them back.
Britain’s opposition Labour Party criticised the new approach as putting lives at risk and it said the priority should be to tackle people-smuggling gangs.
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