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European nations seek explanation from US on spying row

Merkel
French President Emmanuel Macron calls for clarity and urges transparency and resolution of the matter, reports Asian Lite News

European countries have demanded an explanation from the US and Denmark as soon as possible on reports that the American intelligence agency had used Danish infrastructure to spy on top politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

On Sunday, Denmark’s national broadcaster DR News said in a report that Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) has given the US National Security Agency (NSA) open internet access to spy on senior politicians of European countries including Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France.

In response to the report, Danish Minister of Defence Trine Bramsen had said that the government will not “enter into speculation about any intelligence matters from the press or others… Systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable”

But French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for “clarity” and urged “complete transparency and resolution of the matter by our Danish and American partners”.

This “is unacceptable between allies, even less between allies and European partners”, he added.

Meanwhile, Merkel said she “could only agree” with Macron’s comments, adding she was “reassured” by Bramsen’s condemnation of any such spying.

Besides Merkel, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the candidate for chancellor Peer Steinbrueck were among those the NSA had spied on, the DR News report said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Wikipedia)

“It is grotesque that friendly intelligence services are indeed intercepting and spying on top representatives of other countries,” Steinbrueck told German broadcaster ARD on Monday.

“Politically I consider it a scandal.”

In Paris, French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio that the DR report needed to be checked and that, if confirmed, it would be a “serious” matter.

“These potential facts, they are serious. They must be checked,” he said, adding there could be “some diplomatic protests”.

Jens Holm, a member of the Swedish Parliament, called on investigation into “who exactly was monitored, when and how”.

“This is extremely outrageous,” Holms told local media, adding that the situation elicits memories of the Cold War.

The governments of Norway and Sweden are pressing the Danish government and demanding immediate answers about the alleged NSA espionage through Danish cables.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said her government has asked Denmark “for all the information they have”.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Wikipedia)

“It’s unacceptable if countries which have close allied cooperation feel the need to spy on one another,” she told public broadcaster NRK.

Norway’s Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen also told broadcaster NRK that the country takes the allegations seriously.

Swedish Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist said on state broadcaster SVT on Sunday that he “asked to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests.”

“And then we have to see how the answer sounds from a political side in Denmark,” Hultqvist said, adding that he had been “in contact with Denmark’s Defence Minister to ask if Danish platforms have been used to spy on Swedish politicians”.

ALSO READ-NSA got Danish intel help to spy on allies: Report

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Biden vows to press Putin on human rights at Geneva meet

Putin-Biden

Though US-Russia relations are on rough patch, the White House had confirmed that it was moving ahead with the summit between the two leaders….reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden will press his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to respect human rights when the two leaders meet on June 16 in Geneva, according to reports.

“I’m meeting with President Putin in a couple weeks in Geneva making it clear we will not, we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights,” Biden was quoted as saying during a speech honouring the US holiday Memorial Day.

Though US-Russia relations are on rough patch, the White House had confirmed that it was moving ahead with the summit between the two leaders.

Last week, Microsoft flagged a cyberattack on US government agencies by Nobelium, the group behind last year’s SolarWind hack that originated from Russia. However, Moscow said it had nothing to do with the attack.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had earlier informed that Biden and Putin will discuss “the full range of pressing issues, as we seek to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship.”

Earlier this month, the White House said that President Biden believed that his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be a good step forward in the US-Russia relationship to de-escalate tensions and have stable relations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov(Twitter)

“There is not a meeting with the President locked in yet. Obviously, the President, our President invited him to participate in that meeting because he thinks it would be a good step forward in the relationship to de-escalate, to ensure we have a more stable relationship moving forward, but there is no meeting to confirm at this point in time,” she said.

Last month, Biden held a phone call with Putin, where he had voiced his concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.

He had reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with US interests and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues between the United States and Russia.

The conversation came in the backdrop of Washington imposing sanctions on 32 Russian entities and individuals for their alleged interference in the 2020 US presidential election and the purported hacking of US software supply chain networks.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to refute all accusations of its engagement in US elections meddling and cyberattacks. (with inputs from ANI)

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Mubadala invests ₤350m in IVC Evidensia

Mubadala invests ₤350m in IVC Evidensia

Headquartered in Bristol, UK, IVC Evidensia operates a network of more than 1,500 veterinary clinics and hospitals in 12 countries across Europe…reports Asian Lite News

Mubadala Investment Company today announced that it has invested GBP ₤350m in IVC Evidensia, Europe’s largest veterinary care provider.

Headquartered in Bristol, UK, IVC Evidensia operates a network of more than 1,500 veterinary clinics and hospitals in 12 countries across Europe caring for over four million pets. Founded in 2011, the company operates a decentralised model that promotes innovation and clinical freedom within its network, supported by a range of integrated services such as procurement, veterinary advisers and clinical boards.

IVC Evidensia is widely recognised for pioneering new standards both for clinical excellence and staff wellbeing within its sector. IVC was originally acquired by EQT Private Equity in December 2016 and in May 2017 it merged with Evidensia, the Swedish veterinary group. Since then, the company has further strengthened its position as Europe’s leading veterinary services provider through strong organic growth and strategic add-on acquisitions.

Justin Sabet-Peyman, Head of Consumer at Mubadala, said, “Our investment in IVC Evidensia aligns well with our focus on investing in market leading consumer businesses in resilient and growing sectors. We are excited to be partnering with EQT, Silver Lake, Nestlé and IVC’s world-class management team to help drive the company’s continued leadership and innovation in pet care.”

Mubadala’s investment in IVC Evidensia joins its growing global portfolio of world-class consumer businesses, including Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, Coupang and Truck Hero. Within the consumer sector, Mubadala focuses on investing in businesses led by strong management teams with leading positions in attractive markets with strong tailwinds.

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EU News Europe

Belarus defends forced landing of Ryanair flight

The forced landing on Sunday has been sharply condemned by members of NATO as well as the UN Security Council…reports Asian Lite News

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has defended a decision to force the landing of a Ryanair passenger plane with a dissident journalist on board.

The forced landing on Sunday has been sharply condemned by members of NATO as well as the UN Security Council, reports dpa news agency.

“I acted lawfully by protecting people, according to all international rules,” Lukashenko told Parliament in Minsk on Wednesday.

Authorities used Sunday’s landing to have dissident Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich arrested at the airport in Minsk.

Protasevich is a “terrorist”, added Lukashenko, who said the 26-year-old blogger was planning a “bloody uprising” in Belarus.

“There was a terrorist on board the plane,” he said, claiming that it was his country’s sovereign right to detain its own citizens.

Lukashenko initially said, without elaborating, that Belarus had received information that there was an explosive device on the plane.

Therefore, he said, the plane, which was on its way to Lithuania from Greece, was diverted to Minsk with the assistance of a fighter jet.

“That the plane was forced to land by a MiG-29 fighter jet is an absolute lie,” said Lukashenko.

Belarus acted for safety reasons, he said, because the plane flew over the country’s nuclear power plant.

The European Union has imposed new sanctions on the power apparatus in Belarus in the wake of the action, including a landing ban for the country’s airlines and sanctions on the leadership.

NATO condemned the action on Wednesday.

The body’s North Atlantic Council said the “unacceptable act seriously violated the norms governing civil aviation and endangered the lives of the passengers and crew”.

Protasevich and his partner, Sofia Sapega, should be released and there should be an “urgent independent investigation”, it added..

Many current and former members of the UN Security Council have also condemned the forced landing of a passenger flight.

“It constitutes a new and extremely dangerous phase in the Belarusian authorities’ campaign of repression against its own people,” said a statement from the UN representation of Estonia, supported by France, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Britain and the US.

Together they demanded an investigation into the incident and Protasevich’s release.

A joint statement by all 15 members of the Security Council failed, among other reasons due to Russia’s opposition.

Belarus threatened to react to the latest sanctions with ones of its own, though Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said the decision would not be made hastily.

“We suggest soberly thinking again before you go down the slippery slope of an economic war in which there will be no winners,” he said, adding that the measures would be painful but leaving open whether they would apply to goods or oil and gas transport to Europe.

More than 100 people were on board the Ryanair flight that was forced to land, including Protasevich and his partner.

Both were arrested and their fate remain uncertain.

Poland has decided to close its airspace for planes operated by Belarusian carriers, government spokesperson Piotr Mueller said on Wednesday.

The website Flightradar showed an aircraft of the Belarusian airline Belavia flying several loops on the route from Minsk to Barcelona before entering Polish airspace and finally turning back towards Minsk.

According to the airline, France had revoked a previously issued overflight permit.

Attempts to take alternative routes had been unsuccessful, the airline said in Minsk.

Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte of neighbouring Lithuania has expressed concerns, saying: “This is an unpredictable regime from which you can expect anything, and you have to be prepared for anything. “

Lukashenko made other claims about Protasevich’s past, including that he had fought on the side of government forces in eastern Ukraine and had “a lot of experience as a mercenary”.

Protasevich had reported from Ukraine in 2014, when the war between pro-Russian forces and the central government in Kiev was breaking out.

However, it has never been proved that he engaged in combat.

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-Top News EU News Europe

‘Economic cooperation with Russia increasingly difficult’

EU President Ursula von der Leyen

Von der Leyen said she is planning new proposals for dealing with Russia, including regarding the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline…reports Asian Lite News

Economic cooperation between Europe and Russia is becoming increasingly difficult, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

“Many attempts on our side over many, many years, almost decades to improve [the] relationship with Russia did not have (the) success they deserved,” dpa news agency quoted von der Leyen as saying at an EU summit here on Monday.

“Economic cooperation over time has gotten more and more difficult,” she said, adding that the Russian economy needs to be modernised.

“What we see today is an economy that is lacking an enormous amount of modernization that would be necessary, an economy that is highly depending on energy revenues, but a regime that is not willing to interact in a constructive way with us.”

Von der Leyen said she is planning new proposals for dealing with Russia, including regarding the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline.

She said the options would be discussed in a report on relations with Russia at the end of June.

The report will present “the different policy options that will show how we can deal with Russia”, she added.

Moscow, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin (Sputnik via Xinhua/IANS)

Meanwhile, on Monday, leaders of the EU member states had agreed to cut the bloc’s air links with Belarus following Sunday’s Ryanair flight diversion incident.

According to the conclusions of the special EU summit, the 27-member bloc strongly condemned the incident which endangered aviation safety and called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation to urgently investigate “this unprecedented and unacceptable incident.”

Leaders of the member states urged the European Council to adopt the necessary measures to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines; prevent access to bloc’s airports of Belarusian flights; and called on all EU-based carriers to avoid overflight of Belarus, according to the conclusions.

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EU warns Myanmar junta against NLD dissolution

This comes after military-appointed commission chairman Thein Soe announced on Friday plans to dissolve the NLD, headed by former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, for alleged vote fraud in general elections last year…reports Asian Lite News.

The European Union has issued a statement warning the Myanmar military against the dissolution of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party that won the November elections, as such a decision would be a “blatant disregard” for the will of the people.

This comes after military-appointed commission chairman Thein Soe announced on Friday plans to dissolve the NLD, headed by former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, for alleged vote fraud in general elections last year.

Myanmar’s election commission meets political parties

“The EU reiterates that the elections in November faithfully represented the will of Myanmar’s people. This was confirmed by all independent domestic and international observers. No arbitrary decision by the military junta and their illegally-appointed members of the Electoral Commission can cancel that,” a spokesperson for the EU external action service said in a statement on Sunday.

The EU will continue to denounce all attempts to overturn the will of the Myanmar people and to alter the outcome of the last general elections, the statement said.

Myanmar protests

“No repression or unfounded pseudo-legal proceedings can grant legitimacy to the junta’s illegal takeover of power. Only respecting the will of the people can bring Myanmar back onto its democratic path and deliver stability and sustainable development,” it added.

On February 1, the Myanmar military overthrew the civilian government and declared a year-long state of emergency. The military coup led to mass protests and was met by deadly violence, resulting in the killing of more than 700 people. Meanwhile, about 3,000 protesters have also been detained. (ANI)

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Stage set for Biden-Putin summit

The reports came as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held consultations with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely hold a summit in Geneva in June, US media reported on Monday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, several media outlets said that the Swiss city of Geneva is expected to be the venue for Biden’s first in-person meeting with Putin as President, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The reports came as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held consultations with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev. “The meeting was an important step in the preparation for a planned US-Russia summit, the date and location of which will be announced later,” the White House said in a statement on Monday.

The meeting between Sullivan and Patrushev was “constructive” despite “outstanding differences,” according to the statement. The two officials also discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, with a high priority given to the topic of strategic stability.

President Joe Biden (www.instagram.comwhitehouse)

“The sides agreed that a normalisation of US-Russian relations would be in the interest of both countries and contribute to global predictability and stability,” it added.

Relations between Washington and Moscow have been adversarial in recent years. The two sides have obvious differences on issues related to Ukraine, cybersecurity, human rights, and US election interference.

The Biden administration noted it seeks “a more predictable, stable relationship” with Russia. During their meeting in Iceland last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov expressed willingness to cooperate while admitting “serious differences” amid the two countries’ tense relations.

Biden said earlier this month that he expected to meet with Putin during his trip to Europe in June, when he would attend the Group of Seven Summit in Britain and then the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

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Italy cable car crash kills 13

Rescuers work by the wreckage of a cable car after it falls in north Italy's Piedmont region, May 23, 2021. (Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)

The cable car had been on a 20-minute panoramic trip from the village of Carciano di Stresa on the edge of Lake Maggiore, up to an altitude of 1,491 metres on Mt Mottarone..reports Asian Lite News

Thirteen people were killed and two children have been hospitalised with multiple injuries after a cable car crashed in Italy’s Piedmont region, the country’s National Corps of Alpine and Speleological Rescue (Cnsas) said.

“Stresa-Mottarone cable car in Piedmont: the final death toll of the tragic incident is 13 fatalities and two seriously injured,” Cnsas said on Twitter on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Cnsas had tweeted that two children who had survived with injuries were airlifted to hospital in the city of Turin, the capital of Piedmont.

The cable car had been on a 20-minute panoramic trip from the village of Carciano di Stresa on the edge of Lake Maggiore, up to an altitude of 1,491 metres on Mt Mottarone, a scenic area that is popular with tourists and holidaymakers.

Rescuers work by the wreckage of a cable car after it falls in north Italy’s Piedmont region, May 23, 2021. (Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)
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It detached and crashed a few hundred metres short of the top, Cnsas officials told RAI News 24 public broadcaster.

There were some foreign visitors among the victims, Stresa Mayor Marcella Severino told Sky TG24 private broadcaster.

“It is with profound sadness that I learned of the tragic incident on the Stresa-Mottarone cable car. I express the sympathies of the entire government to the families of the victims, with special thoughts for the children who have been seriously injured, and their relatives,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in a tweet.

The two surviving children were hospitalised in serious condition with multiple fractures and head and chest injuries, Sky TG24 reported.

ALSO READ: Italy reopens doors for tourists

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COVID-19 EU News Europe

EU to allow fully vaccinated travellers

The recommendations made by the European Union diplomats during a meeting in Brussels is expected to be adopted by the EU ministers on Friday, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

The member states of the European Union have reportedly agreed to reopen the bloc’s borders to tourists and other foreign travellers who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to media reports.

The recommendations by the diplomats of the 27-member European Union include increasing the level of new cases a country can hit before being declared unsafe.

According to reports, the bloc will increase number of cases per 100,000 people that a country could register over two weeks and still be considered for the green list from 25 to 75. This move will help many member countries to open doors for travellers from more places.

It is learnt that these recommendations will be adopted by EU ministers on Friday.

Currently, almost all non-essential travel into the bloc are banned, apart from a small number of countries deemed safe because of their level of new cases are considerably low compared to other countries.

The businesses across the bloc are reopening as virus restrictions are phased out and bars, hotels and restaurants are concerned about the summer tourist trade, it was reported.

Last week, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said that EU has already had the right conditions for a “safe reopening” of tourism in summer.

“The situation remains difficult. However, I am sure that we finally see light at the end of the tunnel and now we have the tools,” he said at the High-Level Forum for Sustainable Tourism held in the Portuguese city of Porto on Friday.

Breton said the considerable increase in the production capacity of vaccines suggested that there will be enough doses to vaccinate 70 per cent of the EU population by mid-July.

As for the “vaccine passport” in Europe, the Commissioner said: “The European Parliament and the Council are now ready to finalize negotiations by the end of May”.

Breton added that he is “confident of having it ready for the summer”.

Portuguese Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira said at the forum that the EU countries need to adopt a common approach for the reopening of tourism with a focus on the immediate recovery of the sector.

The Minister stressed that the tourism sector is fundamental for the recovery of European economies in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, a recent survey has suggested that more than a quarter of adults (27 per cent) in the bloc are “very unlikely” to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a large survey of 47,000 people.

The survey by Eurofound, an EU agency, conducted between February and March, showed that vaccine hesitancy was more in females (29 per cent) than men (25 per cent), the Euronews reported. Young adults between the ages of 35 and 49 were slightly more sceptical about the vaccines than their younger or older peers. The reluctance to the Covid jabs was found most in Bulgaria, where 61 per cent stated they are very or rather unlikely to get the vaccine. The country is followed by Latvia and Croatia which both have rates of over 40 per cent, the report said.

More than a third of respondents in France and Austria declared they were unlikely to get inoculated.

travellers in the arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, south China

On the other hand, people in Denmark, Malta and Ireland were least hesitant. Less than 10 per cent respondents in these regions indicated they were very unlikely or rather unlikely to take it.

Further, the report also found a correlation between vaccine hesitancy and social media use. Forty per cent of people who said they use social media as their primary source of news are hesitant about the vaccines, while only 18 per cent of those who use traditional news sources as their main source of information are. Trust in the government, unemployment, long-term illness, or disability also played a role in increasing the hesitancy, the report said.

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Xi, Putin open new chapter in nuclear ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei/IANS)

Speaking at the ceremony, Xi extended congratulations on the launch of the China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project and paid high respect to the constructors from the two countries….reports Asian Lite News

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony of a bilateral nuclear energy cooperation project, Tianwan nuclear power plant and Xudapu nuclear power plant, via video link.

Xi arrived at the main venue of the Great Hall of the People at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and waved to Putin, who had joined in from the main venue of the Kremlin, reports Xinhua news agency.

He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the National Development and Reform Commission, co-chaired the ceremony with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

Speaking at the ceremony, Xi extended congratulations on the launch of the China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project and paid high respect to the constructors from the two countries.

Xi stressed that energy cooperation has always been the most important area of practical cooperation which generates the largest achievement and covers the widest scope between the two countries.

Noting that nuclear energy is the strategic priority for bilateral cooperation and a series of major projects have been completed and put into operation, Xi said the four nuclear power units that kicked off construction on Wednesday mark another major landmark in China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation.

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“Responding to climate change is a common task for all countries,” the Chinese leader said, adding that China and Russia should promote more low-carbon cooperation projects and play a constructive role in achieving global sustainable development goals.

For his part, Putin said that Russia has the confidence to work with China to smoothly and safely advance the project’s construction.

He said cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy marks a significant part of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era between the two countries, and it is believed that the start of the four nuclear power units will also help achieve the goals to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.

It will also contribute to coping with global climate change and realising the sustainable development of humanity, Putin added.

Units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant and units 3 and 4 of the Xudapu nuclear power plant are significant projects in a package cooperation deal on nuclear energy.

It was signed by the two heads of state in June 2018.

When completed and put into operation, the annual power generation will reach 37.6 billion kilowatt-hours, which is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30.68 million tonnes per year.

The event on Wednesday is also the first online bilateral exchange at the head-of-state level between the two sides since the beginning of this year.

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