Category: Новини

усі новини

Влада, Новини, Україна

Порошенко про зустріч із Ердоганом: домовилися далі боротися за захист прав і свобод у Криму в рамках міжнародних механізмів

Президент України Петро Порошенко в перебігу зустрічі з президентом Туреччини Реджепом Тайїпом Ердоганом, який прибув до Києва з офіційним візитом, домовився, серед іншого, далі боротися за захист у Криму прав і свобод громадян України в рамках усіх міжнародних механізмів.

«Разом із президентом Ердоганом відзначили неприпустимість порушень прав людини у Криму та репресивних дій окупаційної влади на півострові… Ми розраховуємо на залучення Туреччини до міжнародної групи друзів деокупації Криму, ідею про формування якої я озвучив у Нью-Йорку», – написав Порошенко, згадуючи про свій виступ під час перебування на недавній сесії Генеральної асамблеї ООН.

«Спроби Російської Федерації легалізувати окупацію у той чи інший спосіб приречені на провал», – додав він у соцмережах, назвавши Ердогана своїм другом і великим другом України.

Як повідомив речник президента України Святослав Цеголко, переговори двох президентів віч-на-віч протривали три години замість запланованих 45 хвилин.

«Сьогодні буде підписано 9 міждержавних документів, в т. ч. про захист інвестицій та уникнення подвійного оподаткування. Туреччина увійшла до п’ятірки найбільших торговельних партнерів України. Анкара продовжує підтримувати територіальну цілісність України і введення миротворчої місії на Донбас», – додав речник.

Крім того, повідомили на Банковій, Порошенко висловив Ердоганові зацікавленість у збільшені представництва Туреччини у Спеціальній моніторинговій місії ОБСЄ в Україні. «Ми дякуємо за дуже чітку і добре організовану роботу Спеціальної моніторингової місії, на чолі якої стоїть представник Туреччини (Ертугрул Апакан – ред.)», – сказав президент України.

У рамках візиту також відбувається шосте засідання Стратегічної ради високого рівня між Україною і Туреччиною під співголовуванням Петра Порошенка і Реджепа Тайїпа Ердогана. Сторони обговорюють шляхи поглиблення двосторонньої взаємодії на всіх стратегічних напрямах, а також питання міжнародного миру і регіональної безпеки. За підсумками засідання Стратегічної ради планується підписати низку двосторонніх документів.

Порошенко і Ердоган востаннє зустрічалися під час чергової сесії Генеральної асамблеї ООН у Нью-Йорку наприкінці вересня. Тоді турецький лідер і обговорив із українським колегою плани нинішнього візиту, а також підтвердив підтримку його країною суверенітету і територіальної цілісності України в її міжнародно визнаних кордонах.
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Влада, Новини, Україна

Парламентська асамблея НАТО створила підстави для полегшення вступу України – Ірина Фріз

Парламентська асамблея НАТО ухвалила резолюцію, яка де-юре створює підстави для того, щоб Україна почала обрання алгоритму щодо підготовки набуття членства в НАТО, повідомила народний депутат України Ірина Фріз (фракція «Блок Петра Порошенка»), яка очолює постійну делегацію Верховної Ради України в Парламентській асамблеї НАТО.

Як написала вона у фейсбуці, в резолюції «Зміцнення стабільності й безпеки в Чорноморському регіоні» була врахована поправка української делегації, що передбачає продовження стратегічного обговорення з Україною та Грузією питання чорноморської безпеки, а також подальшого посилення співпраці в рамках діяльності НАТО, що спрямована на зміцнення безпеки в регіоні та реалізації політичного рішення щодо наступних кроків до імплементації рішення Бухарестського саміту 2008 року. Тоді, нагадала Фріз, питання про надання Україні та Грузії Плану дій щодо членства було відкладено, але підтверджено, що в довгостроковій перспективі країни зможуть стати членами НАТО.

Україна після ухвалення закону про євроатлантичну інтеграцію, що є пріоритетом нашої зовнішньої політики, повернулася до активного політичного процесу підготовки до вступу до альянсу. Важливою умовою для цього є отримання Плану дій щодо членства. Звичайно, ми усвідомлюємо, що головним має бути виконання Україною нашого особистого завдання – якісне впровадження реформ для досягнення відповідності стандартам та критеріям альянсу. Так, перед нами ще багато роботи. Але політична підтримка з боку наших партнерів сприяє таким змінам та відкриває двері для євроатлантичної інтеграції України», – додала Ірина Фріз.

У резолюції «Стабільність і безпека в Чорноморському регіоні» Парламентська асамблея НАТО, серед іншого, нагадала про рішення саміту НАТО в Бухаресті 2008 року, за яким Грузія і Україна стануть членами НАТО, і підтвердила тверду підтримку обом країнам і процесі їхньої євроатлантичної інтеграції.

Асамблея також закликала уряди і парламенти країн-членів НАТО «продовжити стратегічні дискусії з Грузією і Україною щодо безпеки в Чорноморському регіоні, далі посилювати залучення Грузії і України в діяльність НАТО, спрямовану на зміцнення безпеки в регіоні, і просувати політичне рішення щодо наступних кроків до втіленні рішення Бухарестського саміту 2008 року».

На тому саміті Північноатлантичний союз відмовив Україні і Грузії в очікуваному рішенні надати їм План дій для членства в НАТО – за повідомленнями, під сильним тиском Росії. Натомість союз НАТО тоді підтвердив, що обидві країни можуть вступити до нього в майбутньому, й заявив, що питання про ПДЧ розглянуть наприкінці того ж 2008 року. Цього плану обидві країни не отримали досі, але в НАТО щоразу підтверджують, що вони зможуть вступити до союзу, коли будуть відповідати критеріям членства.

Україна, відповідно до нині чинного її зовнішньополітичного курсу, визначає вступ до НАТО пріоритетом для себе. Але і в Києві, і на Заході визнають, що Україна ще не готова до вступу в НАТО і не близька до того, щоб отримати запрошення до членства. Президент України Петро Порошенко заявляє, що країна з часом буде відповідати критеріям, необхідним для вступу до НАТО, як і до ЄС, а тим часом «виконує план дій для членства в НАТО в односторонньому порядку».

У НАТО заявляють, що Україна, як і будь-яка європейська країна, має право на вступ до Північноатлантичного союзу, коли буде готова до цього, і рішення про цей вступ будуть ухвалювати тільки Україна і НАТО, без участі третіх сторін. Росія натомість виступає різко проти будь-якої можливості вступу України до НАТО і вимагає від союзу «гарантій невступу України».
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

Where Is the Ball? UK and EU Exchange Volleys Over Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the European Union on Monday to show “leadership and flexibility” in unblocking Brexit talks, saying the ball is in the bloc’s court.

But the EU lobbed the ball straight back. European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the responsibility for progress is “entirely in the U.K. court.”

 

More than six months have passed since Britain triggered the two-year countdown to its EU exit. A fifth round of divorce negotiations opened Monday in Brussels, with both sides frustrated by the lack of progress.

 

On Monday May is due to update British lawmakers on developments since her major speech in Florence, Italy, last month. May’s Downing St. office said she will say that “the ball is in their court. But I am optimistic we will receive a positive response.”

 

In the Florence speech, intended to kick-start the foundering negotiations, May said Britain would be willing to abide by EU rules and pay into its coffers for two years after Brexit in 2019.

She also signaled Britain would pay what it owes to settle financial commitments it has made to the EU, but without naming a figure.

 

EU leaders called her suggestions positive but asked for more details.

 

The U.K. is increasingly anxious to move talks on to discussing future trade relations, but so far the EU says there hasn’t been “sufficient progress” on the major divorce terms – the size of the Brexit bill, the status of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and the rights of EU citizens living in Britain and Britons living in other member states.

 

Schinas, the EU spokesman, said “there has been so far no solution found on step one, which is the divorce proceedings.”

 

“So the ball is entirely in the U.K. court for the rest to happen,” he said.

 

Some EU countries are striking a more conciliatory note. Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen has called for compromise, saying “this will never be a 100 percent win for one side or the other side.”

 

Jensen said the sides “are now on the same page” and “it is rather important we get on to a more close and more speedy process of concluding some of the issues.”

 

May’s official spokesman, James Chapman, said Britain believed May’s speech in Florence had created “momentum.”

 

“The response from the EU and its leaders has been constructive,” he said. “But let’s see what happens in the next round of talks.”
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

American Richard H. Thaler Wins Nobel Prize in Economic Science

American Richard H. Thaler was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics — officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The award committee said Thaler was chosen “for his contributions to behavioral economics.”

 

“By exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control,” Thaler “has shown how these human traits systematically affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes,” the Swedish Academy said.

Thaler developed the theory of “mental accounting,” explaining how people simplify financial decision-making by creating separate accounts in their minds, focusing on the narrow impact of each individual decision rather than its overall effect.

Thaler was born 1945 in East Orange, New Jersey and received his Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of Rochester, New York. He is a Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Illinois.

 

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award Monday. It carries a $1.1 million prize.
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Gas Trucks Boom in China As Government Curbs Diesel in War On Smog

On a recent morning in Yutian, a dusty town bisected by the highway that connects Beijing to the sea, Su Meiquan strolled into a dealership packed with hulking trucks and prepared to drive off with a brand new rig.

After years of driving a diesel truck for a trucking company, he had decided to buy his own vehicle — a bright red rig fueled with liquefied natural gas, capable of hauling as much as 40 tons of loads like steel or slabs of marble.

Su hopes the LNG truck – less polluting and cheaper to operate than diesel ones – will be the cornerstone of his own business, plying the route to the western fringes of China.

“Everybody says gas is cleaner with nearly no emissions,” he said after signing a stack of paperwork in the dealer’s office.

In front of him, photos of proud drivers posing in front of their own new LNG trucks had been taped to the wall.

Sales of large LNG trucks are expected to hit record levels in China this year as the government steps up an anti-pollution campaign that includes curbs on heavy-duty diesel vehicles.

LNG trucks account for about four percent of the more than six million heavy vehicles able to haul 40 to 49 tonnes of goods that are currently on China’s roads. The vast majority of the 43 billion tonnes of freight transported across China last year was by highway.

A demand for LNG trucks

But demand for LNG trucks is soaring as companies and manufacturers shift to vehicles that run on the gas that Beijing sees as a key part of its war against smog.

Sales of LNG heavy trucks surged 540 percent to nearly 39,000 in the first seven months of the year, according to Cassie Liu, a truck analyst with the IHS Markit consultancy.

That was partly fueled by a ban this year on the use of diesel trucks to transport coal at northern ports in provinces like Hebei and Shandong, and in the city of Tianjin.

“We are seeing a blowout in LNG trucks this year, thanks to the government’s policy push,” said Mu Lei, marketing manager for China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, known as Sinotruk, the country’s largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks.

The shift to gas trucks is helping fuel demand for LNG in China, as are other government measures aimed at clearing the air, especially in the north, which is shrouded in a hazardous coal-fueled smog for much of the winter.

One major project is piping gas to 1.4 million households across the north for heating this winter, shifting away from coal.

China, already the world’s No.3 LNG consumer, has seen imports jump 45 percent so far this year.

Chinese companies like Jereh Group and ENN Energy Holding , which build LNG filling stations, and Zhangjiagang CIMC Sanctum Cryogenic Equipment Co., Ltd, which specializes in LNG tanks, are expected to benefit from the gas boom, analysts said.

Overload, Ports

Government restrictions on cargo overloading last year, for safety reasons, has also driven truck sales as operators rushed to buy bigger trucks.

Next month, Beijing will also impose restrictions on thousands of northern factories using diesel trucks, forcing many to use more rail and others to consider gas-powered lorries.

Sales of new heavy-duty trucks, including diesel and LNG vehicles, jumped 75 percent in the January-August period to 768,214, according to industry website www.chinatruck.org.

It did not break down the numbers, but companies say that diesel growth is being dwarfed by that of the LNG trucks.

Last week, Sinotruk netted new orders for 1,371 heavy-duty trucks, 900 of which run on LNG, at an event bringing together coal transport companies from seven northern Chinese cities, Mu said. In the first half of this year, Sinotruk sold 5,200 LNG trucks, up 650 percent year on year.

“Gas trucks are both more environmentally friendly and more economic,” said Lai Wei, general manager of Tianjin Shengteng Transport Company, a privately-run trucking company.

Lai is tripling his LNG fleet to more than 100 by the end of this year, adding 65 new trucks made by Shaanxi Heavy Duty Automobile Co. Ltd, the country’s largest LNG vehicle producer.

He is also cutting back his diesel fleet to 30 from 50 previously because of the new emissions rules in Tianjin that come into effect this month.

Only vehicles meeting “National Five” emissions standards, similar to Euro V standards for trucks and buses in Europe, will be allowed to operate at the port.

Lai said he was also concerned that there might be further restrictions on diesel trucks in a few years.

Cleaner, Cheaper

China, the world’s top energy guzzler, wants gas, which emits half the carbon dioxide as that of burning coal, to supply 15 percent of energy demand by 2030, up from 6 percent currently.

That effort stalled in 2014 as an oil price slump lifted demand for diesel. But as oil prices have risen in the past 20 months, rebounding to above $50, LNG sales, especially from Australia and the United States, have soared.

Diesel costs between 10-30 percent more than gas on average currently at Chinese gas stations, according to truck companies.

For Su, the new truck owner in Yutian, about 140 kilometers to the east of Beijing, price is a major reason for making the switch from diesel.

He plans to hire two drivers to shuttle the 3,500 kilometers between Yutian and Urumqi, in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, to carry steel products west and coal or other goods on the way back.

“It really suits our journeys as the longer the trip, the more you save on fuel on an LNG truck,” he said.

He is paying 390,000 yuan for a Sinotruk rig, about 60,000 yuan more than a diesel truck would have cost.

“On a return trip, we can save 3,000 yuan in fuel,” he added. “That means we’ll be able to recoup within a year the extra cost on the vehicle.”
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Bugs in the Food by Design at Bangkok Fine-dining Bistro

Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that’d close down a restaurant immediately, but for a unique eatery in Bangkok, bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan.

 

Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at Insects in the Backyard, a Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them.

 

“In Thailand, there is a long history of local populations, of people consuming insects and they continue to do, in large amounts. But it’s essentially as a snack, not a part of dishes, not a part of cuisine,” said Regan Suzuki Pairojmahakij, a Canadian partner at the eatery. “We are interested in moving people away from seeing insects from purely as a snack to be a part of a gourmet and a delicious cuisine.”

 

That’s the responsibility of executive chef Thitiwat Tantragarn, a veteran of some of Thailand’s top restaurants. Together with his team he’s designed a menu that features seven different insects, including ants, crickets, bamboo caterpillars, silkworms and giant water beetles.

“It’s a new thing,” Thitiwat said. “You live in the world, you need to learn the new thing.” He said he’s cooked with pork and chicken for a long time, but insects are “a new world of cooking [and a] new lesson.”

 

For Kelvarin Chotvichit, a lawyer from Bangkok, the menu has been a revelation of taste and texture.

 

“When I taste this, it’s opened my new attitudes about foods: that insects are one of the foods that’s edible,” he said. “And it’s tasty too. It’s not weird as you thought. And the feeling — it’s crispy; it’s like a snack. Yeah, I like it.”

 

United Nations food experts have pushed insects as a source of nutrition for years. Studies show they’re higher in protein, good fats and minerals than traditional livestock. Even when commercially farmed, their environmental impact is far lower, needing less feed and emitting less carbon.

 

Wholesaler Amornsiri Sompornsuksawat is one the suppliers to Insects in the Backyard. The prospect of a new market — the fine-dining sector — is enough to make her salivate.

 

“I hope that people will eat more of my bugs and I can sell more of them,” she said. “We can have new menus, replacing the old familiar ones. It’s great.”

 

Insects in the Backyard has only been open a matter of weeks, so it’s too early to tell whether its mission to metamorphose insect cuisine is on track.

Amornrat Simapaisan, a local shop manager, tucked in quite happily to her watermelon and cricket salad on a recent evening.

 

“It’s tasty. It’s munchy,” she said.

 

But her dining partner exemplified the biggest problem the restaurant faces: that lingering feeling of disgust.

 

“I still have a barrier, something on my mind to stop me from eating it,” said Patr Srisook, a freelance photographer. “But, yes, it kind of tastes like normal, nothing, like normal food.”

 

And that is the message from the restaurant itself: Judge us on our food.

 

“There is obviously the shock value with insects and that might bring some people into through the door,” Pairojmahakij said. “But, essentially, for the longevity or sustainability of the restaurant, and, for the sector of the edible insects as a whole, it has to stand on its on legs, so to speak. It has to be attractive. It has to be delicious. And it actually has to add something to the cuisine as we know it.”
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Tourism Drop Means Harvey Still Punishing Texas Beach Towns

Born and raised in this Texas Gulf Coast beach town, James Wheeler Jr. finds himself sawing plywood and hanging sheet rock at a time when he would normally be leading deep-sea fishing excursions, trying to hook tuna or Spanish mackerel by the cooler-full.

 

Since Hurricane Harvey came through Port Aransas just before Labor Day — damaging or destroying 80 percent of homes and business and wiping out the lucrative summer season’s final weeks — the 38-year-old boat captain has become an amateur builder, working to repair the roof of a sea headquarters building where he and others dock their pleasure crafts.

“Port Aransas is built on the tourist dollar,” said Wheeler, ticking off attractions besides fishing: surfing, nature reserves, seafood restaurants and beaches where it’s always cocktail hour. “That dollar’s not coming right now.”

 

In many Texas seaside enclaves, the owners of bars and eateries, inns and T-shirt shops are facing a painful paradox: Tourists who are their economic lifeblood likely won’t return until the rebuild is in full swing, but picking up the pieces after Harvey may not truly begin without the profits tourists bring.

 

“That’s the risk,” said David Teel, president of the Texas Travel Industry Association. “The recovery will come. But it will never be fast enough for these folks.”

 

Insurance money and support from federal grants will help residents rebuild homes and businesses, and in some cases even cover businesses’ lost income and employees’ lost wages. But that will pale in comparison to what tourists would normally be spending, likely helping ensure that recovery moves more slowly.

 

Locals expect the normally busy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays to be slow. Even the possibility of getting back to business by spring break looks bleak.

Visitors to Texas’ Gulf Coast spent $18.7 billion last year, according to state estimates, and the region’s tourism industry employed 170,000-plus people. Visitors spent $221 million in 2016 just in Port Aransas, a onetime fishing village that’s now home to around 4,000 full-time residents.

 

In other years, October is when “Winter Texans” — part-time residents from colder locales — take up temporary residence, while shorter-term tourists come for the weekends. The influx of people is normally enough to keep the economy robust through the holidays and until spring.

 

Wheeler says he’d usually be organizing large fishing trips nearly every day, but now takes just one smaller excursion a week.

 

“It’s not that no one wants to come,” Wheeler said. “There’s just nowhere for them to stay yet.”

 

Drivers entering Port Aransas encounter bulldozers tearing into a roadside mountain of debris more than three-stories high.

Power company and internet provider vans are everywhere, as crews repair infrastructure.  Golf carts — a favored mode of local transportation — have to avoid shattered glass and mangled light poles. They’re more likely, these days, to be filled with Salvation Army personnel or construction crews than tourists hitting the beach.

 

“We are Port A Proud and on the Rebound,” proclaims the website of the chamber of commerce, whose office was damaged. It lists six local hotels planning to be open by Christmas.

 

Sweeping dust out of the gutted Destination Beach and Surf store, Olya Soya said some regular visitors have come as volunteers helping to rebuild, while others simply gawk at Harvey’s wrath.

“They want to see what it looks like now. It’s very different,” said Soya, 24, who instead of working in the air-conditioned store sweats through her days on a makeshift debris removal crew. Beside her is a towering plaster shark that survived the storm despite extensive damage to the store it guarded.

Harvey’s eye passed directly over nearby Rockport, where operators hope to have 500 hotel rooms available by November — down from 1,500 pre-Harvey.

 

“Yes, we’re open for business. But please be patient,” said Diane Probst, president of the local chamber of commerce, adding that visitors should expect frustratingly slow debris removal.

 

Back in Port Aransas, dozens of restaurants and businesses have reopened, at least part time. One shop, Gratitude, suffered only light damage, despite being crammed with fragile keepsakes and knickknacks such as wind chimes and oversized wine glasses proclaiming “Summer is for mimosas and mermaids.”

 

“You almost feel guilty opening because there are a lot of stores and places that can’t,” said owner Sally Marco, 60. “But it’s nice to have people smile when they come in.”

One bright spot is that area beaches didn’t suffer major ill-effects. On a recent, balmy Saturday, seagulls and pelicans outnumbered the few surfers, children splashing in the waves and couples strolling on the sand with dogs.

 

“As these communities begin to open back up — and little pieces will open — the good part about it is, they’ve got a beach,” said Teel, of the state tourist association. “And it’s a great beach.”
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

Germany’s Merkel Agrees to Migrant Cap in Pursuit of Coalition

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) have reportedly reached a deal with Bavarian conservatives on a refugee cap as both sides look to unite ahead of talks on forming a new government.

Merkel and the head of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Horst Seehofer, plan to spell out the details of the deal Monday.

Reports say the number of refugees to be allowed into Germany would be capped at about 200,000 per year. Merkel has, until now, rejected limits. She has said they would violate the country’s constitution which grants anyone facing political persecution the right to seek asylum.

Under the deal, asylum seekers would not be turned away at the border until their cases are heard.

Both parties also agreed to do more to attract immigrants with highly-sought-after labor skills and also up the fight against human traffickers.

Bavaria comprises about 15 percent of Germany’s population. Support from its CSU conservatives is vital as Merkel proceeds with talks on forming a new coalition government with the liberal Greens and pro-business Free Democrats.

Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in last month’s parliamentary election, but her Christian Democrats failed to win an outright majority.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party won a stunningly-high 94 of 709 seats in the Bundestag and could cause trouble for the moderately conservative Merkel.
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

UNESCO Seeks Leader to Revive Agency’s Fortunes

When Israel’s envoy told UNESCO delegates last July that fixing the plumbing in his toilet was more important than their latest ruling, it highlighted how fractious geopolitics are paralyzing the workings of the agency.

Whoever wins the race to replace Irina Bokova as head of the U.N.’s cultural and education body next week will have to try to restore the relevance of an agency born from the ashes of World War II but increasingly hobbled by regional rivalries and a lack of money.

Its triumphs include designating world heritage sites such as the Galapagos Islands and the historic tombs of Timbuktu — re-built by UNESCO after Islamist militants destroyed them.

But in a sign of how toxic relations have become, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly last month that UNESCO was promoting “fake history.”

Like Israel’s plain-speaking envoy Carmel Shama Hacohen, Netanyahu was referring to UNESCO’s designation of Hebron and the two adjoined shrines at its heart – the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque – as a “Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger.”

Jews believe the Cave of the Patriarchs is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, are buried. Muslims, who, like Christians, also revere Abraham, built the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Sanctuary of Abraham, in the 14th century.

Israeli-Palestinian hostilities, though, are only part of a minefield of contentious issues on which the U.N. body has to hand down rulings.

Japan, for example, threatened to withhold its 2016 dues after UNESCO included documents submitted by China on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in its “Memory of the World” program.

The Paris-based organization, which also promotes global education and supports press freedom, convenes its executive council on Oct. 9 to begin voting on seven candidates.

Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Lebanon, Qatar and Vietnam have put forward candidates. There is no clear frontrunner.

UNESCO’s struggles worsened in 2011, when the United States cancelled its substantial budgetary contribution in protest at a decision to grant the Palestinians full membership. UNESCO has been forced to cut programs and freeze hiring.

“It’s an organization that has been swept away from its mandate to become a sounding board for clashes that happen elsewhere, and that translates into political and financial hijacking,” said a former European UNESCO ambassador.

Drawing Lots

All the candidates have vowed a grassroots overhaul and pledged independence from their home nations.

France and China, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, argue the agency needs “strong leadership, which can only come with the backing of a major power.

Chinese candidate Qian Tang has almost 25 years experience at UNESCO. His bid fits into Beijing’s soft power diplomacy, though Western capitals fret about China controlling an agency that shapes internet and media policy.

Former French culture minister Audrey Azoulay carries the support of France’s new young president, Emmanuel Macron. But the last minute French candidacy has drawn the ire of Arab states, notably Egypt, who believe it should be their turn.

The Arab states face their own political tests. Their three entries underscore their own disunity, something the Egyptian hopeful Moushira Khattab has indicated stymie the Arab bid.

The crisis engulfing Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors, who have called Doha a “high-level” sponsor of terrorism, meanwhile may have hurt the chances of former Qatari culture minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari.

Voting takes place over a maximum five rounds. If the two finalists are level, they draw lots.
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Sudan Currency Gets Boost From Sanctions Relief

Sudan’s currency strengthened to 18.5 pounds to the dollar from 20.2 on the black market on Sunday, the first day of business since the United States lifted trade sanctions, raising a glimmer of hope for recovery in the war-torn country.

The decision to suspend 20-year sanctions and lift a trade embargo, unfreeze assets and remove financial restrictions came after a U.S. assessment that Sudan had made progress on counter terrorism cooperation and on long-raging internal conflicts such as in Darfur.

The announcement helped push Sudan’s pound currency to its strongest level on the black market since at least July, when it was sent reeling to around 21.5 pounds to the dollar after the United States postponed a final decision on the sanctions relief until October.

Sudan’s central bank has held the official exchange rate at 6.7 pounds to the dollar but currency is largely unavailable at that price.

As the pound has weakened over the past year in the import-dependent country, inflation has soared, hitting 34.61 percent in August year-on-year and compounding economic problems that began in 2011 when the south seceded, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output.

“The lifting of sanctions is good news … but we want to see prices come down, because in the past the government has said that rising prices and reduced services were because of the economic blockade, but now there is no blockade,” said Nawal Ahmed, a 58-year-old government employee.

Prices have also been driven up by cuts in fuel and electricity subsidies the government imposed to save cash.

Currency traders said the stronger pound rate would be short-lived unless banks can start offering dollars again, which they saw as unlikely.

“If the banks don’t supply dollars we expect the price of the dollar to rise again … there’s a currency shortage in the market and we know that the government does not have enough hard currency,” one trader said.

Analysts and officials have said that Sudan must now carry out tough economic reforms such as floating its currency if it hopes to benefit from the sanctions relief and begin to attract badly needed new investment.

“Attracting foreign investment requires reforming the political and legal environment and fighting corruption and government bureaucracy,” said Mohammed al-Jack, professor of economics and political science at the University of Khartoum.

“Without clear financial policies, there will be no real and long-term improvement to the Sudanese pound exchange rate,” he said.
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

US, Turkey Suspend All Non-immigrant Visa Services

The United States has temporarily halted processing of all non-immigrant visa applications in Turkey, according to the embassy in Ankara, with the Turkey government taking reciprocal action.

A U.S. embassy statement Sunday read, “Recent events have forced the United States Government to reassess the commitment of the Government of Turkey to the security of U.S. Mission facilities and personnel.”

The statement did not clarify the reasons for which it is reassessing Turkey’s commitment, nor did it say how long the suspension would last.

The statement added, “In order to minimize the number of visitors to our Embassy and Consulates while this assessment proceeds, effective immediately we have suspended all non-immigrant visa services at all U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey.”

Hours later, Turkey retaliated by announcing its own suspension of visa services in the U.S., using language that largely replicated the U.S. statement and reasons for the halt.

Last week, Turkey arrested Metin Topuz – a U.S. consulate employee and Turkish national, accusing him of regular communication with alleged leading members of what Turkey has deemed a terrorist network blamed for a failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year.

According to Turkey’s government, the so-called Fethullah Terrorist Organization, created by U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, was involved in the attempted coup in which more than 250 people were killed.  Gulen, who is in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denies any involvement.
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Влада, Новини, Україна

Ірина Фріз: у Парламентській асамблеї НАТО вирішили провести сесію 2020 року в Україні

«Це не лише прояв підтримки України Парламентською асамблеєю НАТО, це свідчення нашого тісного співробітництва»
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Влада, Новини, Україна

Банкова підтвердила: президент підписав закон про пенсійну реформу

Президент України Петро Порошенко підписав закон «Про внесення змін до деяких законодавчих актів щодо підвищення пенсій», повідомили в адміністрації голови держави.

Як мовиться в повідомленні, закон був підписаний у присутності прем’єр-міністра Володимира Гройсмана і голови адміністрації Ігоря Райніна.

При цьому президент подякував урядові і парламентові за спільні зусилля, які дозволили ухвалити цей, за його словами, важливий документ.

«Хочу привітати всіх пенсіонерів, бо відновлюється справедливість. Причому наголошую, що закон передбачає не лише зараз підвищення, бо завжди пенсіонерам намагалися підвищити виплати перед виборами. Ми це робимо зараз, і осучаснення пенсій закладено як ефективно працюючий механізм на постійній основі», – сказав Порошенко. За його словами, це рішучий крок для встановлення і відновлення справедливості щодо пенсіонерів, і нині важливо зробити все можливе, щоб українські пенсіонери якнайшвидше отримали перерахунок пенсій.

«Скільки нас лякали, що ми не зможемо провести пенсійну реформу без підвищення пенсійного віку. Ми спільно знайшли оптимальний механізм. І, до речі, хотів би окремо підкреслити, аргументація наша була настільки переконливою, що була підтримана і міжнародним співтовариством», – додав президент.

Також про це підписання Петро Порошенко повідомив у своєму фейсбуці.

Раніше 8 жовтня про підписання закону повідомив у соцмережах прем’єр-міністр України Володимир Гройсман.

Верховна Рада України ухвалила закон про пенсійну реформу 3 жовтня. Він, зокрема, передбачає підвищення пенсій 9 мільйонам пенсіонерів на суму від 200 до 1000 гривень із жовтня 2017 року.

Раніше в Міжнародному валютному фонді наголошували, що запровадження в Україні пенсійної реформи є критично важливим для надання Києву чергового траншу позики.
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Влада, Новини, Україна

Закон про пенсійну реформу підписаний президентом – Гройсман

Президент України Петро Порошенко підписав закон про пенсійну реформу, повідомив на сторінці у Twitter прем’єр-міністр України Володимир Гройсман.

«Президент підписав законопроекти про пенсійну реформу. Всі пенсіонери вже в жовтні отримають нові вищі пенсії. Дякую кожному за підтримку», – написав Гройсман.

6 жовтня голова Верховної ради Андрій Парубій підписав закон «Про внесення змін до деяких законодавчих актів України щодо підвищення пенсій», яким запроваджується пенсійна реформа.

3 жовтня Верховна Рада України ухвалила закон про пенсійну реформу, який передбачає підвищення пенсій 9 мільйонам пенсіонерів на суму від 200 до 1000 гривень із жовтня 2017 року.

Раніше в МВФ наголосили, що запровадження в Україні пенсійної реформи є критично важливим для надання Києву чергового траншу.
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

At Trump Scottish Resorts, Losses Doubled Last Year

Donald Trump boasts of making great deals, but a financial report filed with the British government shows he has lost millions of dollars for three years running on a couple of his more recent big investments: his Scottish golf resorts.

A report from Britain’s Companies House released late Friday shows losses last year at the two resorts more than doubled to 17.6 million pounds ($23 million). Revenue also fell sharply.

In the report, Trump’s company attributed the results partly to having shut down its Turnberry resort for half the year while building a new course there and fixing up an old one.

Setbacks in Scotland

His company has faced several setbacks since it ventured into Scotland a dozen years ago, and its troubles recently have mounted.

The company has angered some local residents near its second resort on the North Sea with what they say are its bullying tactics to make way for more development. The company also has lost a court fight to stop an offshore windmill farm near that resort, drew objections from environmental regulators over building plans there in August and appears at risk of losing a bid to host the coveted Scottish Open at its courses.

Amanda Miller, a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, declined to comment about the results.

Trump handed over management of his company to his two adult sons before becoming U.S. president, but still retains his financial interest in it.

It’s not clear how big a role Trump’s setbacks in Scotland have played in the losses. In addition to the Turnberry shutdown, the company also noted in its report that it took an 8 million pound ($10 million) loss because of fluctuations in the value of the British pound last year.

The company reported that revenue at the two courses fell 21 percent to 9 million pounds ($11.7 million) in 2016 from 11.4 million pounds ($15 million) a year earlier.

​Golf business closely watched

Trump’s golf business is closely watched because he has made big investments buying and developing courses in recent years, a risky wager in a struggling industry. It is also a bit of departure for the company. Trump has mostly played it safe in other parts of his business, putting his name on buildings owned by others and taking a marketing and management fee instead of investing himself.

Much of the anger toward Trump in Scotland is centered around his resort outside Aberdeen overlooking the North Sea coast and its famed sand dunes stretching into the distance. Called the Trump International Golf Links, it is here that a local fisherman became a national hero of sorts for refusing a $690,000 offer from Trump for his land and where footage was shot for a documentary on Trump’s fights with the residents, called “Tripping Up Trump.”

Many locals praise the course for bringing more tourists to the area and helping the local economy, but Trump’s critics there are outspoken and now, with their target the U.S. president, playing to a worldwide audience.

When Trump visited his North Sea resort in June last year, two local residents ran Mexican flags up a pole in protest against the then-candidate’s immigration policies. It was a snub that came just after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Trump’s efforts to stop the wind farm, a Scottish government decision to strip him of his title as business ambassador for Scotland and the revocation of an honorary degree from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.

Both the Scottish government and the university cited Trump’s comments about Muslims during the campaign.

Fight against second course

This summer, Scotland’s Environmental Protection Agency and the Scottish Natural Heritage, a conservation group, sent letters to the Aberdeenshire Council urging it to reject Trump’s plans for the second course if he did not make certain changes. A vote by the local government, expected in August, was postponed.

Still, the two courses are widely praised for their beauty, and tourists on buses like to stop by the North Sea course for a round.

Whether any of this will hurt profits at Trump’s Scottish business in the long run is another matter.

In the financial report, Eric Trump, the president’s son and a director of British subsidiary that owns the two resorts, included a letter expressing confidence that the resorts will attract plenty of golfers. He said Turnberry has received “excellent reviews” from its guests, and that the reopening of the resort is ushering in an “exciting new era” for the company.
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Влада, Новини, Україна

Минулої доби бойовики стріляли 19 разів, 1 військовий ЗСУ поранений – штаб

Упродовж минулої доби підтримувані Росією бойовики на Донбасі 19 разів обстрілювали позиції Збройних сил України, в результаті цих обстрілів один український військовослужбовець зазнав поранень. Як йдеться в повідомленні прес-центру штабу АТО на сторінці у Facebook, військовий був поранений в районі Пісків.

Згідно з повідомленням, ввечері суботи бойовики збільшили кількість обстрілів на всіх напрямках. 

Під вогонь бойовиків потрапили території біля Авдіївки, Майорська, Зайцева, Пісків, Водяного, Гнутова, Старогнатівки, Талаківки, Трьохізбенки, Кримського. 

«Під час 11-ти обстрілів, коли виникала загроза життю наших бійців, сили АТО жорстко відповідали ворогу», – повідомили у штабі.

Станом на 9:00 ранку неділі на сайтах угруповання «ДНР» не інформували, як минули останні години на захоплених донецькими бойовиками територіях. В угрупованні «ЛНР» звинуватили українську сторону в 14 випадках порушення режиму тиші.

Черговий режим припинення вогню мав почати діяти з 25 серпня, напередодні початку шкільного року, і стати постійним. Про перші його порушення сторони заявили вже через кілька хвилин після настання часу перемир’я.

Про перемир’я в зоні конфлікту на Донбасі домовлялися вже багато разів, досі жодного разу режим припинення вогню не втримувався. При цьому сторони щоразу заперечують свою вину в порушеннях і звинувачують протилежну сторону у провокаціях.
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Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Bees Are Carrying Pesticides Into Most of the World’s Honey

The decline of the world’s industrialized honeybees has been well documented. A combination of pesticides and parasites have led to whole bee colonies dying off, a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. Now, it turns out the pesticides that are hurting the bees are also turning up in the world’s honey supply. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

US Ambassador to Russia Says Ukraine Key to Improved Relations

The new U.S. ambassador to Russia said Saturday that restoring Ukrainian sovereignty and bringing North Korea to the negotiating table would be central issues as he works to improve U.S.-Russian relations.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. said trust is at a low point as many Americans believe Russia wants to undermine U.S. democracy amid investigations into Russian election meddling. “It is no longer a partisan issue at the political level, either,” he said.

Huntsman takes over at a precarious time between the two countries. He said he wants to improve relations, but the first step is returning Ukrainian control within its internationally recognized borders.

“This is an issue not only with the United States, but with Europe, Canada and virtually every other developed country,” Huntsman said.

Cooperative effort

He called North Korea an international threat, not just an American problem, and one that Russia has an interest in addressing. “Acting together, we think the United States and Russia could force the North Korean regime to the negotiating table to find a diplomatic solution,” he said.

Those comments came the same day President Donald Trump tweeted that trying to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs was a waste of time.

Huntsman also touched on defeating the Islamic State group and continuing dialogue on Syria during the remarks delivered in Salt Lake City after he was ceremonially sworn into his new office by his successor, Utah Governor Gary Herbert.

The ceremony requested by Huntsman attracted a hometown audience of heavy-hitters, including Senator Orrin Hatch, Representative Mia Love and the new ambassador’s father, billionaire industrialist Jon Huntsman. The event was not open to the public, and Huntsman did not take questions from reporters.

Huntsman won easy confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Russia last week. He met with President Donald Trump on Friday.

Previous experience

Huntsman has been a U.S. ambassador before, serving as the nation’s top diplomat to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush and ambassador to China under President Barack Obama. Huntsman returned to the U.S. to run for president as a Republican in 2012.

He struck a tough tone during his confirmation hearings amid tensions underscored by a series of expulsions of diplomats and closures of diplomatic missions.

Trump has called Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election a hoax. But Huntsman has said there is no question Moscow interfered.

The former governor had an up-and-down relationship with Trump during last year’s campaign. Huntsman backed him after he became the nominee. But he called for Trump to drop out after a 2005 recording surfaced of Trump making lewd comments about women.

Trump had also criticized Huntsman during his service in Beijing under Obama. But the men buried their differences during Trump’s transition.
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

Russia-Saudi Cooperation Limited Despite Big Energy, Military Deals

Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s groundbreaking visit to Russia this week saw billions of dollars signed in investment deals in energy and defense that will deepen ties between Moscow and Riyadh, despite their confrontational past.

But analysts say self-interests and Middle East alliances will hamper the forming of a deeper partnership.

During this first trip to Russia by a Saudi king, the two sides agreed on billions of dollars in projects involving space exploration, nuclear energy and oil, including a $1 billion fund on energy cooperation and a $1 billion fund on high-tech investment.

Even the king’s 1,500-strong entourage, which Bloomberg said booked two luxury hotels just off Moscow’s Red Square for the four-day visit, gave a small boost to Russia’s economy.

Seeking new partners

Despite the U.S. being its major arms supplier, Riyadh also signed deals on manufacture of Kalashnikov arms and a surprise purchase of Russian weapons systems, such as the advanced S-400 missile defense system.

While the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a harder line on Iran, uncertainty in America’s Middle East policy has encouraged Riyadh to forge new partnerships, analysts say.

“Saudi Arabia is looking for allies in its non-easy relations with Iran, while Russia is confronting sanctions and is interested in serious partners,” said Mikhail Subbotin of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of the World Economy and International Relations. “The sanctions made it look for new allies and activate relations with long-standing partners.”

Sunni-led Riyadh wants Moscow to help rein in Shiite-led Tehran’s influence in the Middle East.

Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday at the Kremlin, King Salman said security and stability in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East is the most eagerly sought after and essential prerequisite for achieving security and stability in the world.

“This requires that Iran abandon attempts to interfere in the domestic affairs of the states in the region and stop the activity that destabilizes the region,” he said.

Questionable influence over Iran

But it is not clear that Russia has much influence over Iran or any desire to pressure Tehran.

Russia also deals with Iran on oil and last year began delivering less-advanced S-300 missiles to Tehran.

In Syria, Riyadh is on the opposing side to Moscow and Tehran in regards to Damascus. Russia is allied with Iran against militants fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including some backed by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

“In Syria, these two countries have much in common in their fighting against terrorism, but Saudi Arabia is part of a large coalition while Russia supports Assad,” the Russian Academy’s Subbotin said.

Observers noted the Saudi king in his public remarks on Syria to Putin did not mention seeking Assad’s removal from power, an indication that Riyadh’s long-standing position of regime change is no longer its main objective.

“As concerns the Syrian crisis, we are committed to pushing for its resolution in line with the Geneva I decisions and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, to finding a political solution that would guarantee security, stability, and Syria’s unity and territorial integrity,” King Salman said.

Russia’s military intervention in Syria succeeded in turning the tide of defeat away from Assad, analysts say, and demonstrated Moscow’s return to the world stage as a major player in the Middle East.

Crude relations

The plunging price of oil has also led to closer relations between the world’s two biggest oil producers. Mutual concerns of maintaining a stable price on crude, the biggest contributor to both their economies, produced an agreement to limit output.

“We are striving to continue the positive cooperation between our states to achieve stability in the global oil market, which will facilitate global economic growth,” King Salman said Thursday at the Kremlin.

But Russia does not always hold such agreements, as it is guided by its own interests, said Mikhail Krutikhin, an analyst and partner in the Rusenergy consulting company.

“There is a certain formalized agreement dealing with a reduction of oil volume between OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] countries and Russia, as well as some other countries,” Krutikhin said. “Here is a following issue: Russia does not implement its obligations. It increased oil exports, thus not helping to keep the prices at a high level but obstructing that.”

Cheating on agreed oil output caps has dogged OPEC since its founding, because those who break any such deals, whether members or not, stand to benefit more than those who stand by it.

“Russia is guided by its own interests,” Subbotin said. “Sometimes it de facto joined the coalition with OPEC and supported a policy aimed at reducing oil production; sometimes OPEC was reducing the extraction but Russia was increasing it.

“At the current stage, the interests of Russia and those of Saudi Arabia have coincided,” he added.

VOA’s Danila Galperovich contributed to this report.
…

Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Holy Spirits? Closed Churches Find Second Life as Breweries

Ira Gerhart finally found a place last year to fulfill his yearslong dream of opening a brewery: a 1923 Presbyterian church. It was cheap, charming and just blocks from downtown Youngstown.

But soon after Gerhart announced his plans, residents and a minister at a Baptist church just a block away complained about alcohol being served in the former house of worship.

“I get it, you know, just the idea of putting a bar in God’s house,” Gerhart said. “If we didn’t choose to do this, most likely, it’d fall down or get torn down. I told them we’re not going to be a rowdy college bar.”

With stained glass, brick walls and large sanctuaries ideal for holding vats and lots of drinkers, churches renovated into breweries attract beer lovers but can grate on the spiritual sensibilities of clergy and worshippers.

At least 10 new breweries have opened in old churches across the country since 2011, and at least four more are slated to open in the next year. The trend started after the 2007 recession as churches merged or closed because of dwindling membership. Sex abuse settlements by the Roman Catholic Church starting in the mid-2000s were not a factor because those payments were largely covered by insurers, according to Terrence Donilon, spokesman for the archdiocese of Boston.

Gerhart’s is scheduled to open this month after winning over skeptics like the Baptist minister and obtaining a liquor license.

“We don’t want (churches) to become a liquor store,” said Michael Schafer, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which has imposed restrictions on turning closed churches into beer halls. “We don’t think that’s appropriate for a house of worship.”

At the Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, an early church-turned-brewery that opened in 1996, patrons slide into booths crafted from pews. Towering steel and copper vats sit on the church’s former altar. Yellow flags line the sanctuary emblazoned with the brewery’s motto: “ON THE EIGHTH DAY. MAN CREATED BEER.”

Owner Sean Casey bought the former church because it was cheap and reminded him of beer halls he used to frequent in Munich. Aficionados cite its rustic decor as a major draw.

“It’s got that `wow’ factor,” said Jesse Anderson-Lehnan, 27. “But it still feels like a normal place, it doesn’t feel weird to come and sit at the bar and talk for a few hours.”

When St. John the Baptist Church was desanctified and sold to Casey, Roman Catholics in the diocese voiced their opposition, leading to the deed restrictions to stop other closed churches from becoming bars and clubs.

While the Diocese of Cincinnati also has imposed such restrictions, it’s unclear how much company it and Youngstown have. Limits also exist in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, while the Boston archdiocese says it solicits proposals from potential buyers and screens them to make sure they’re in line with Catholic values.

Churches are uniquely difficult to renovate, preservationists say. Large stained windows and cavernous sanctuaries are tough to partition into condominiums. Historic landmark protections can bar new owners from knocking down some churches, leading them to sit empty and decay.

But the same vaulted ceilings that keep housing developers away from churches also lend them an old-world air hard to replicate elsewhere, making former houses of worship particularly suitable as dignified beer halls.

There, even clergy members sometimes aren’t so opposed to quaffing a pint. Some are regulars at the Church Brew Works, Casey said, where they can order Pipe Organ pale ale or Pious Monk dark lager.

Cincinnati’s Taft’s Ale House kicked off its grand opening in the 167-year-old St. Paul’s Evangelical Protestant Church with a “blessing of the beers.” A television report at the time shows the Rev. John Kroeger, a Catholic priest, giving the blessing.

“God of all creation, you gift us with friends, and food and drink,” he said, eyes cast upward. “Bless these kegs, and every keg that will be brewed here. Bless all those freshened here, and all those gathered in the days, and months, and years to come!”
…

ЄС, Новини, Світ

Supporters Of Jailed Activist Navalny Stage Nationwide Protests On Putin’s Birthday

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny staged nationwide protests on Saturday to coincide with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 65th birthday, with police making scores of arrests.

Rallies and pickets were held in dozens of Russian cities, including Moscow, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita and Stavropol, with protesters demanding that Navalny be allowed to participate in the country’s March 2018 presidential election.

The Moscow-based OVD-Info, a group that monitors politically motivated arrests, said there had been at least 271 people arrested at protests in 26 cities as of 9 p.m.

No harsh crackdown

There was no harsh crackdown by police as seen in past rallies organized by Navalny. In March, police arrested more than 1,000 demonstrators in Moscow alone during nationwide protests. 

Most of the arrests on October 7 came in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg. Over 1,000 people gathered at Marsovo Polye (the Field of Mars) in the city center and then marched across the city, chanting “Russia without Putin!” and “Putin, retire!” 

OVD-Info said at least 62 people were detained in St. Petersburg, coming after some opposition protesters tried to break through police lines in the city’s main street.

WATCH: Supporters of jailed opposition leader Navalny protest

A large police presence had assembled throughout the city center before the rally.

Earlier in St. Petersburg, Navalny’s campaign coordinator, Mikhail Sosin, and the campaign’s lawyer, Denis Mikhailov, were detained. His campaign coordinators in Perm, Tver and Stavropol were also detained, as well as numerous campaign activists across the country.

Supporters were demanding that Navalny be allowed to participate in the country’s March 2018 presidential election.

Protesters

In Moscow, several hundred people gathered at central Pushkin Square, where protesters had planned to march to the Kremlin but were blocked by police, prompting them to turn back.

The protesters included teenagers holding rubber ducks, a symbol of opposition to the government, after reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a special house for a duck in one of his properties.

Protesters at Pushkin Square chanted “Putin is a thief!” “Happy Birthday!” “We are the authorities!” “Russia without Putin!” and “Free Aleksei Navalny!” 

Heavy rains had hit Moscow, and many demonstrators were drenched. 

Police in Moscow had asked people over loudspeakers to disperse. There were at least 10 police vehicles in the square, although law enforcement officers were unprecedentedly restrained. 

Anton, 20, was holding a “happy birthday” balloon and a wrapped gift box with “pension” written on it. He said he wanted the entire Russian leadership to retire.

“I think you can change the country through street [protests], but if not, at least it’s good fun.”

Nikita Grigoryev, 16, a Moscow schoolboy holding a rubber duck, told RFE/RL: “I’m here to demand the authorities let Aleksei Navalny campaign [for president].”

“I doubt [this protest] will make any difference, but we have to show there are many people unhappy with what’s going on in the country,” he added.

‘We need freedom’

Lyudmila Gurova, 57, a pensioner, told RFE/RL: “We need freedom: freedom of assembly, freedom of identity, freedom to express our views about the country. This is a fascist country, I believe fascism has taken hold. For the last 26 years I have lived in social hell.”

The protests came a day after a Moscow court rejected Navalny’s appeal against a 20-day jail term he was handed after being found in violation of the law for publicly calling for unsanctioned rallies.

The ruling meant that Navalny remained in jail during the protests. Navalny’s election campaign chief, Leonid Volkov, was also sentenced to 20 days in jail on Thursday.

The local governments of numerous cities have not granted permission for the planned demonstrations.

Another wing of the liberal opposition, the Yabloko party, criticized Navalny for organizing the unsanctioned rally and for calling on his supporters to enter “deliberate confrontation with the police, under the batons of the OMON riot police.”

“Such ‘events’ are frankly provocations aimed only at dubiously creating PR for a certain person,” the party said in a statement on its website.

Warnings issued

Ahead of the protests, Russian authorities issued warnings against holding demonstrations without official permission.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on October 3 that “public calls for unsanctioned rallies and meetings are illegal … and therefore organizers of such events will be prosecuted.”

Prosecutors in St. Petersburg said on October 6 that “any attempts to conduct unsanctioned [demonstrations] are a direct violation of the law.”

Navalny had urged Russians to join the demonstrations, being organized in more than 70 cities nationwide, to support “political competition” in the country as he seeks to run in the upcoming presidential election.

“I understand perfectly well that that [the Kremlin] needs me to be locked up as much as possible and particularly on October 7,” Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, quoted him as saying in court.

Navalny’s campaign team called on all “decent people” to participate in the demonstrations.

“Our demands are reasonable, simple and lawful: political competition [and] access to presidential elections for Navalny and other candidates,” it said in an statement on Friday.

It added that authorities should “leave activists, volunteers, monitors and others alone and give them the opportunity to freely participate in election campaigns.”

Critic of Putin

Navalny is a fierce critic of Putin, who has held power as prime minister or president since 1999 and is expected to seek a new six-year term in the March election. Putin is virtually assured of victory as the tightly controlled political system leaves little room for surprises.

A 41-year-old lawyer who has produced numerous reports alleging corruption among key Putin allies, Navalny has opened more than 60 campaign offices and held rallies nationwide since announcing his bid for the Kremlin in December.

Russia’s Central Election Commission, however, said in June that Navalny was ineligible to run for public office because of a financial-crimes conviction in one of two high-profile cases that he says were fabricated by authorities for political reasons.

Two previous nationwide demonstrations spearheaded by Navalny earlier this year led to mass detentions and rattled Russian officials with their substantial youth turnout.

Kremlin opponents and human rights activists say the government frequently violates the constitutional right to free assembly when it withholds permission for demonstrations or places restrictions on where and when they can be held.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said last month that Russian police were “systematically” interfering with Navalny’s attempts to run for president by raiding his campaign offices, “arbitrarily” detaining campaign volunteers and carrying out “other actions that unjustifiably interfere with campaigning.”

The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny, who finished second in Moscow’s 2013 mayoral election with around 27 percent of the vote, as a convict and a marginal political figure.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Russian service, Current Time TV, Ekho Mosvky, Fontanka and RIA-Novosti.
…

Влада, Новини, Україна

У Львові активісти блокували концерт Сергія Бабкіна

Перед входом до одного зі львівських концертних залів, де на 7 жовтня був запланований концерт співака Сергія Бабкіна, зібралися активісти з метою заблокувати подію. За словами мітингарів, цей український співак виступав в окупованому Криму та в Росії.

«Напередодні концерту ми висували свої вимоги, щоб Сергій Бабкін записав відео, де скаже, що Росія – це агресор. Ми очікували на контакт, але нас ігнорували. На інших концертах з нами вже йдуть на контакт, а тут – ні, тому ми зібралися», – розповідає один з учасників акції Олександр.

Прихильники співака, які придбали квитки, не могли потрапити до концертного залу. Між блокувальниками та фанатами Сергія Бабкіна виникали суперечки. 

«Ми прийшли на концерт улюбленого виконавця, а тут стоїть цей натовп хлопців. Я дуже хотіла би потрапити на концерт, бо купила квиток. Виглядає так, наче вони не розуміють, що роблять», – розповідає прихильниця співака у коментарях для Радіо Свобода.

Також виникла сутичка між поліцейськими та представниками націоналістичних організацій, які намагалися пройти всередину концертного залу.

Сергій Бабкін – український шоумен, учасник гурту 5’Nizza, який співає переважно російською. Брав участь у кількох українських телешоу – «Танці з зірками», «Голос країни» тощо.
…

Влада, Новини, Україна

На Одещині демонтували монументи більшовикам, раніше реставровані коштом бюджету

На Одещині, в селі Кубей Болградського району, 6 жовтня відбувся демонтаж пам’ятників російським більшовикам – Леніну та Калініну. Про це повідомила Болградська райдержадміністрація.

Вона нагадала, що Кубейська сільська рада мала демонтувати ці пам’ятники до травня 2016 року – на виконання закону «Про засудження комуністичного та націонал-соціалістичного (нацистського) тоталітарних режимів в Україні та заборону пропаганди їхньої символіки».

«Але через те, що сільською радою не було виділено коштів на демонтаж пам’ятників, дані вимоги не були виконані до зазначеного законом терміну», – повідомили в райдержадміністрації.

«Проте спільними зусиллями Одеської обласної державної адміністрації та Болградської районної державної адміністрації було знайдено необхідне фінансування та спеціальну техніку, за допомогою яких був проведений демонтаж пам’ятників Леніну та Калініну у селі Кубей. Місцева влада та самі мешканці села приєдналися до проведення демонтажних робіт», – вказано також у повідомленні.

Раніше цього тижня Український інститут національної пам’яті звернувся до Генпрокуратури, МВС, СБУ та Державної аудиторської служби з проханням перевірити, яким чином за бюджетні кошти на Одещині були відреставровані пам’ятники лідерам російських більшовиків Леніну та Калініну.

Інститут у березні 2017 року звертався до Кубейського сільського голови щодо необхідності демонтажу пам’ятників Леніну та Калініну на території села, натомість місцева влада в селі Кубей Болградського району вирішила відреставрувати пам’ятники Леніну та Калініну. Для цього з сільського бюджету було виділено 50 тисяч гривень.
…

Бізнес, Новини, Фінанси

Uganda Lures World Investors to Boost Conservation Tourism

Home to half the world’s Mountain gorilla and 50 percent of world bird species, conservation tourism marketing remains a challenge for Uganda.  In a first ever conservation Finance Giants Forum, Uganda also known as the Pearl of Africa, Friday, got an opportunity to market its beauty in a bid to lure more investors and tourists into the country.

Uganda held the first ever Conservation and Tourism Investment Forum Friday, gathering senior business figures from around the world.  

Emphasis was put on new marketing strategies, particularly the need for private sector investment to compliment traditional sources of conservation capital.

The government’s intention was to show investors that Uganda is open for responsible investment in the conservation sector and for conservation organizations to take note of the opportunity to co-manage protected areas with the government.  

Stephen Asiimwe is the Chief Executive Director Uganda Tourism Board.

“Because we’ve got forests, we’ve got Rift Valley, we’ve got the Mountains, we’ve got the national parks, we’ve got places near falls, we’ve got places near rivers, lakes,” said Asiimwe. “So basically, we are selling locations, which offer the customer at the end of the day a fantastic experience that gives them a sense of saying, I want to stay here.”

The investors made it clear what they needed from the government. Max Graham, founder of the elephant conservation group Space for Giants, one of the organizers of the conference, says Uganda has great conservation and tourism potential – but needs investment.

“It’s the opportunity for the first time really to have a very willing partner in government to create the right environment,” said Graham. “Political security, you know, security generally, great apes, and the opportunity to create a unique circuit and then finally a willing partner in government to help make the transaction simple. So, currently across most of Uganda’s protected areas, they are under-resourced. They don’t have the investment to maintain the roads. They don’t have the investment, and this is critical, to protect their wild life populations.”

Reassurance is what they got from President Yoweri Museveni.

“We have been able to establish a strong security system, a strong army which has been able to defeat terrorism,” he said. Then we had some strong anti-poaching measures, that’s how the elephant population came up. Then we have been able to work on some roads, like for instance Murchison Falls and now we have done one for Kibaale Forest Reserve. We are working on the roads to Karamoja, eventually to Kidepo, even towards Bwindi.”

In 2016 Uganda received one million three hundred tourists accounting for 1.3 billion dollars with hope of growing tourism figures to four million by 2020.

 

 
…

Влада, Новини, Україна

На мітингах за Навального у Росії затримують учасників

Російська поліція затримує учасників мітингів на підтримку участі у виборах президента опозиційного політика Олексія Навального у Якутську, Самарі, Іжевську та Южно-Сахалінську, повідомляє російська служба Радіо Свобода.

На площі Кірова у Самарі, як зазначається, затримано щонайменше 5 осіб, а трьох організаторів акції затримали ще по дорозі на подію.

Нині під стінами поліцейського відділу, куди привезли затриманих, збираються активісти.

Прибічники Навального у Якутську також заявляють про затримання. Регіональний менеджер кампанії опозиціонера по Уралу, Сибіру і Далекому Сходу Олег Снов написав на своїй сторінці у Twitter, що в поліцію доставили 5-6 активістів і координатора місцевого штабу.

Окрім того, були повідомлення про затримання кількох активістів у Саратові та Іжевську.

У Росії розпочалися акції з вимогою дозволити опозиціонерові Олексію Навальному брати участь у президентських виборах наступного року, які заплановані у 80 російських містах.

Акції прибічників Навального Їх присвятили 65-му дню народження тамтешнього президента Володимира Путіна. Багато заходів змоги узгодити із місцевою владою. Зокрема, у Москві та Санкт-Петербурзі всі заявки на проведення мітингів відхилили.

Між тим, акція у Москві все одно почалася на Пушкінській площі. 

Сам політик і керівник його передвиборчого штабу перебувають під адміністративним арештом на 20 діб. Їх звинувачують у закликах до участі у неузгоджених мітингах.
…

ЄС, Новини, Світ

Slain Russian Journalist Remembered

The U.S. government and an European security organization are calling on Russia to find and prosecute the people who killed a prominent Russian journalist 11 years ago.  

Both the U.S. State Department and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued statements Saturday urging Russia to prosecute those responsible for the death of Anna Politkovskaya who was killed in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006.  

“Ms. Politkovskaya’s reporting brought to light the violation of human rights in Russia and the suffering of victims of the war in the North Caucasus region,” said Heather Nauert, a State Department spokesperson. “The unsolved murders of Ms. Politkovskaya – a dual U.S. – Russian citizen – and other journalists in Russia, as well as threats against journalists exposing more recent abuses in Chechnya, have only worsened an atmosphere of intimidation for the independent press.”

Harlem Desir, OSCE representative on freedom of the media, said, ” It is unacceptable that the masterminds behind (Politkovskaya’s)  and other journalists’ assassination remain at large. This vicious circle of impunity has a continuing effect on the situation of media freedom in  Russia.”

Politkovskaya was internationally renowned for her extensive reports in the Novaya Gazeta newspaper on human rights abuses and corruption in Chechnya and other parts of the Russian Caucasus plagued by a deadly Islamist insurgency. She also was a sharp critic of the Kremlin and its policies in Chechnya, as well as of the republic’s  leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The Committee to Protect Journalists named Politkovskaya one of the world’s top press freedom figures in the fall 2006 edition of its magazine, Dangerous Assignments.
…

Влада, Новини, Україна

У Росії мітингують з вимогою допустити Навального до виборів (трансляція)

У Росії розпочалися акції з вимогою дозволити опозиціонерові Олексію Навальному брати участь у президентських виборах наступного року. Як повідомляє російська служба Радіо Свобода, мітинги і пікети вже відбулися у Владивостоку, Хабаровську, Улан-Уде, Читі та Ставрополі.

Незабаром мають початися акції у Москві та Санкт-Петербурзі. Радіо Свобода планує транслювати їх наживо, починаючи із 13:30 за московським часом.

Сам політик і керівник його передвиборчого штабу перебувають під адміністративним арештом на 20 діб. Їх звинувачують у закликах до участі у неузгоджених мітингах.

Олексій Навальний раніше 4 жовтня закликав своїх прихильників по всій Росії вийти на мітинги 7 жовтня, на день народження президента Росії Володимира Путіна. Мітинг у Санкт-Петербурзі він назвав головним. Він закликав виходити на акцію і в Москві: хоча міська влада відмовилася узгодити мітинг у центрі міста, на Пушкінській площі, Навальний закликав натомість пройти ходою Тверською вулицею, що перетинає Пушкінську площу, стверджуючи, що така акція буде законною.

Загалом, акції прибічників Навального заплановані у 80 російських містах. Їх присвятили 65-му дню народження тамтешнього президента Володимира Путіна. Багато заходів змоги узгодити із місцевою владою. Зокрема, як повідомляє російська служба Радіо Свобода, у Москві та Санкт-Петербурзі всі заявки на проведення мітингів відхилили. 

Як повідомлялося, вранці 7 жовтня поліцейські прийшли до штабу російського опозиціонера Олексія Навального у Хабаровську. За словами працівників штабу, причиною стала заява жителя міста, якому не сподобалася вивіска на будівлі.

Напередодні у Краснодарі суд арештував координатора штабу Навального на 10 діб за заклики вийти на мітинг на підтримку політика. В організації публічного заходу без подачі повідомлення звинуватили також координатора смоленського штабу Олексія Навального – він отримав 8 діб арешту.

Раніше поліція шукала екстремістську літературу в штабі Навального в Калінінграді. Обшуки пройшли також в московському і воронезькому штабах опозиціонера. Повідомлялося, що поліція вилучала агітаційні матеріали.

У Центральній виборчій комісії Росії вже не раз заявляли, що Навальний не має права балотуватися, бо має непогашені судимості.

Крім того, там звертали увагу, що протизаконним є і фактичне ведення виборчої кампанії до її офіційного початку.
…

Влада, Новини, Україна

Порошенко підписав закон про особливі умови самоврядування на Донбасі

Про це 7 жовтня повідомили в Адміністрації українського президента
…

ЄС, Новини, Світ

Legion of Christ Faces New Scandal

The Legion of Christ religious order, stained by revelations that its founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered several children, is facing a new credibility scandal: The rector of its diocesan seminary in Rome is leaving the priesthood after admitting he fathered two children of his own.

 

In a letter released by the Legion on Saturday, the Rev. Oscar Turrion said he fell in love with a woman a few years ago during a time of turmoil in the Legion, fathered a son and, a few months ago, a daughter.

 

Turrion, 49, had been rector of the Pontifical Maria Matter Eclesiae International College since 2014. The institution is a residence for diocesan seminarians who study at Rome universities. Currently some 107 seminarians live there, most from India, Latin America and Africa, down from about 200 a few years ago.

 

The issue is particularly delicate because of the international diocesan character of the seminary: Bishops entrusted their seminarians to the Legion to provide them with a wholesome living environment while they complete their studies. 

 

In a statement, the Legion said it was “conscious of the impact that the negative example” of Turrion’s case had on seminarians and the Christian faithful, and said it was committed to a path of renewal. 

Earlier scandal 

The Vatican took over the Legion in 2010, after revelations that its late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, sexually abused seminarians and fathered at least three children with two women. It ordered up a wholesale reform, but the scandal hurt the Legion’s credibility and stained the legacy of St. John Paul II, who had been a leading Maciel supporter. 

 

Several priests have since left the order, the number of seminarians has fallen and the Legion has been forced to close some schools and sell off some of its real estate assets.

 

Legion spokesman the Rev. Aaron Smith declined to provide details of the Turrion case, citing the family’s privacy. He confirmed that the mother of the child was an adult when she conceived the couple’s first child.

Priest apologizes

 

In his letter, Turrion said he never used Legion funds to provide for his family, relying instead on donations from friends. 

 

The Legion said Turrion first informed the order of the birth of his daughter in March, at which time he took a leave and a new rector was named. In October, he revealed he had had a son “a few years ago” with the same woman and announced he intended to leave priestly ministry.

 

In his letter, Turrion said he was at peace and asked for prayers.

 

“I ask everyone forgiveness for the lack of trust that this implies,” he wrote. “I ask forgiveness for my bad example and the negative witness I have given.”
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ЄС, Новини, Світ

Danish Police Find More Remains in Submarine Case

Danish police say divers have found the decapitated head, legs and clothes of a Swedish journalist, who was killed after going on a trip with an inventor on his submarine.

 

Copenhagen police investigator Jens Moeller Jensen said Saturday that the body parts were found Friday in plastic bags with a knife and heavy metal pieces to make them sink near where Kim Wall’s naked, headless torso was found in August.

 

Inventor Peter Madsen, who is in pre-trial detention, has said Wall died after being accidentally hit by a heavy hatch in the submarine. But police have said 15 stab wounds were found on the torso found at sea off Copenhagen on Aug. 21. Her arms are still missing. 

The police have charged Danish inventor Peter Madsen with killing Wall, a charge carrying a sentence of five years to and life in prison. He was arrested after his submarine sank and he was rescued.

Wall’s cause of death hasn’t yet been established yet. 

 
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