Month: November 2018

Some of Amazon’s workers in Europe are protesting against what they call unfair work conditions, in a move meant to disrupt operations on Black Friday.

Amazon Spain said around 90 percent of workers at a logistics depot in near Madrid joined a walkout Friday. Only two people were at the loading bay, spokesman Douglas Harper said.

However, he said Amazon had diverted cargo deliveries to its other 22 depots in the country.

On a picket line, 38-year-old employee Eduardo Hernandez said the walkout intended to hurt the company financially.

“It is one of the days that Amazon has most sales, and these are days when we can hurt more and make ourselves be heard because the company has not listened to us and does not want to reach any agreement,” said Hernandez, who has worked for five years at Amazon.

Unions in Britain said they would stage protests at five sites to complain about safety conditions. Amazon said the safety record at its warehouses is above the industry average. Protests were also reported or due in France and Germany.

While Black Friday discounts have traditionally been a U.S. retail event, companies have increasingly been offering discounts in other countries, too.
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European Union negotiators met Friday to finalize the draft withdrawal treaty between Britain and the bloc, before Sunday’s summit to endorse the Brexit deal, but at the 11th hour Spain demanded guarantees over the future of Gibraltar.

Spain has required changes to the agreement and an accompanying declaration on a new EU-Britain relationship to clarify that the future of Gibraltar, ceded to Britain in 1713 but still claimed by Spain, be decided in direct talks between Madrid and London.

 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted that Britain and Spain “remain far away” on the issue and “if there are no changes, we will veto Brexit.”

Chief British Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo criticized Spain’s demand on a written guarantee, saying “Gibraltar has demonstrated that we actually want a direct engagement with Spain on issues.”

Picardo told the BBC that “Spain is the physical and geographical gateway to Europe for Gibraltar,” adding that “there is absolutely no need for us to be vetoed into being brought to the table.”

Spain does not have veto power on the Brexit agreement, which does not have to be approved unanimously, but it would prevent any free-trade deal between Britain and the European Union, which would require the approval of all 27 EU member states.

The Brexit package is also facing strong opposition in the British parliament, which must vote in favor for it to take effect. Otherwise, Britain would leave the bloc on March 29, 2019, without an agreement to mitigate economic disruption.
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The head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog has called on North Korea to allow inspectors back in to monitor its nuclear program.

Speaking at a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency Thursday, Director General Yukiya Amano noted that Pyongyang had in September talked about denuclearization measures including the “permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon,” a reactor where it produces plutonium.

Amano said there has been activity observed at Yongbyon, but “without access the agency cannot confirm the nature and purpose of these activities.”

At a news conference later Thursday, he said he couldn’t elaborate on when exactly the activity was observed.

Inspectors expelled

IAEA inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009, but Amano said the agency continues to prepare for their possible re-admittance.

“The agency continues to enhance its readiness to play an essential role in verifying (North Korea’s) nuclear program if a political agreement is reached among countries concerned,” he said. “I again call upon (North Korea) to comply fully with its obligations under relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and of the IAEA board, to cooperate promptly with the agency and to resolve all outstanding issues.”

Iran continues to comply

On the other hand, Amano told board members that Iran continues to abide by the deal reached in 2015 with major world powers aimed at preventing Tehran from building atomic weapons in exchange for economic incentives.

He reiterated the agency’s findings in a report distributed to member states earlier this month that “Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

The issue has grown more complicated since the U.S. withdrew unilaterally in May from the deal and then re-imposed sanctions. Iran’s economy has been struggling since and its currency has plummeted in value.

The other signatories to the deal — Germany, Britain, France, Russia and China — are continuing to try to make it work.

Amano stressed that “it is essential that Iran continues to fully implement” its commitments.

In its full report, the IAEA said its inspectors continue to have access to all sites in Iran that it needs to visit and that inspectors confirmed Iran has kept within limits of heavy water and low-enriched uranium stockpiles.

“The agency continues to verify the nondiversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its safeguards agreement,” Amano said. “Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran continue.”
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Acrimony dominated a high-level Turkish-European Union meeting as both sides exchanged barbs in Ankara at a meeting that was anticipated to be a sign of improving bilateral ties.

The “High-Level Political Dialogue Meeting” was reconvened for the first time in 18 months.

EU foreign affairs commissioner, Federica Mogherini, accompanied by Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, sat down for talks Thursday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

But simmering tensions between Ankara and Brussels came to the fore.  “A strong Turkey means a democratic Turkey,” Mogherini said at the joint news conference with Hahn and Cavusoglu.

“We expressed our strong concerns about the detention of several prominent academics and civil society representatives, including those recently detained,” Mogherini added.

Last Friday 13 prominent academics and civil society figures were detained in connection with the 2016 nationwide anti-government protests known as the Gezi movement.

Mogherini caused further Turkish angst, calling for this month’s European Court ruling to release from jail Selahattin Demirtas to be respected.  Demirtas is a former leader of the politically pro-Kurdish HDP and has been jailed for more than 18 months on terrorism charges.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the European court ruling saying Turkey is “not bound” by the decision, even though it is a member of the court.

Cavusoglu hit back against EU commissioners who condemned Turkey’s lack of progress to join the union.

“There’s no use in making statements that exclude Turkey from the EU accession process or denying its candidacy,” he said.

Ankara’s EU membership bid has been frozen for more than a decade by members who oppose it, saying it is not European or because of concern over the deterioration of human rights, and other reasons.

Analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners, suggests Thursday’s strong language by EU commissioners underlines Brussels’ approach to Turkey.

“I think unlike the United States, where there is a loud and inconclusive debate on what to do with Turkey, carrot or stick,” he said, “The Europeans have long decided to keep Erdogan at arm’s length, be nice to him, but don’t give him anything and I don’t think that is going to change.”

Areas of common ground were discussed, focusing on opposition to Washington’s new Iranian sanctions, the Syrian civil war, and the refugee situation in Turkey.

Turkey hosts more than three million Syrian refugees, and since a 2016 EU agreement, Ankara has been instrumental in ending an exodus of migrants into Europe.

Analysts say Erdogan reminds Brussels about Turkey’s importance in preventing Syrian regime forces from overrunning the last rebel stronghold in Idlib.

“A diplomatic victory that we should credit to Mr. Erdogan, he has successfully built a coalition to defend Idlib against Assad attack,” said Yesilada.

Ankara’s increasing regional importance has created the basis of a new relationship with Brussels.  “This is actually defined as a transactional relationship, which enables keeping dialogue and cooperation going on issues of strategic importance to both,” wrote columnist Barcin Yinanc Thursday in the Hurriyet Daily News.

Cavusolgu also vented frustration with Brussels over the refugee deal.  “We made an agreement for migration. In that agreement we agreed to open five chapters (EU membership chapters), then a decision comes out against opening new chapters.  This is hypocrisy, there’s no explanation for this,” he said, referring to the 2016 migration agreement.

Ankara maintains part of the refugee deal included in a Brussel’s commitment to expedite Turkey’s membership application with the unblocking of some of 35 membership chapters needed to be completed.

Ankara routinely threatens to end the migration deal in disputes with Brussels, but analysts suggest Turkey is not the threat to Europe it once was.

“I don’t think Turkey can unleash the refugees.  Those days are over, thanks to Hungary, Slovenia, closing their borders to refugees, they will not reach the core of Europe,” said Yesilada.

But he says Brussels has an interest in Turkey’s stability given the economic and financial challenges facing the country.  

Continued dialogue between Brussels and Ankara is seen by some as necessary in mitigating the current human rights crackdown in Turkey.

“There are a handful of (Turkish) officials who believe there is still room, even if very small, to register some improvement (in human rights),” wrote columnist Yinanc.  “Even changing one little sentence in a draft law can at least limit the damage on rights violations and even that is an important improvement in the current suffocating circumstances, they probably think,” she continued.

Analyst Yesilada claims last week’s arrest of academics and civil rights figures reveals the European Union still has a positive effect.

“You have to remember 12 of the 13 arrested have been released within 24 hours.  Had it not been for the EU pressure, all those academics would have been kept in prison for a very long while.”
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Britain says it reached agreement during overnight talks with the European Commission on the draft text of a political declaration laying out the terms for Britain’s “smooth and orderly” exit from the European Union.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced the agreement, which must be approved by EU leaders Sunday, in front of her No. 10 Downing Street residence early Thursday.

She said the deal “delivers” on the will of the British people as expressed in a divisive Brexit referendum in June 2016. “It brings back control of our borders, our money and our laws, and it does so by protecting our jobs, protecting our security and protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom.”

 

Addressing Parliament later in the day, May said the British people “want Brexit to be settled. They want a good deal that sets us on a course for a brighter future. The deal that will enable us to do this is now within our grasp. In these crucial 72 hours ahead, I will do everything possible to deliver it for the British people.”

The overnight talks followed a meeting Tuesday between May and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. May said the two instructed their negotiating teams to work through the night if necessary to reach an agreement.

The deal must still be approved by the leaders of the individual EU states at a special EU Council meeting on Sunday. May also faces a challenge in getting the Brexit agreement through her own parliament, where many members feel it does not go far enough to break ties with the continent.

A last-minute complication arose this week when the Spanish government threatened to veto any agreement unless it received assurances on future negotiations over Gibraltar, a British outpost that Spain sees as rightfully part of its territory.

In her statement to reporters, May said she had spoken Wednesday evening to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and is “confident that on Sunday we will be able to agree a deal that delivers for the whole United Kingdom family, including Gibraltar.”

Several other EU governments objected to earlier outlines of the deal because they believe it gives Britain a competitive advantage by not tying it closely enough to EU regulations, workers’ rights, and environmental standards, potentially lowering the production costs of British goods.

The results of May’s Brussels trip didn’t appear to sway a skeptical parliament, where she received as many hostile questions from her own lawmakers as she did from opposition MPs.  There are no signs the deal will win the approval of the House of Commons, where opposition parties oppose it, as well up to 100 Conservative Brexit hardliners and and a Northern Ireland party May relies on to govern.

British critics of the deal believe it binds Britain too closely to Europe-wide regulations while leaving it with no say in formulating those directives. They also have objected to proposed language that would bar Britain from negotiating trade pacts with other countries.

A major concern throughout the negotiations has been how to maintain a free flow of goods between Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, and the Republic of Ireland which is an EU member. The opening of that border helped to end decades of conflict between partisans of the two populations.

VOA’s Jamie Dettmer contributed to this report.
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Gunmen kidnapped an Italian volunteer and wounded several people, including children in a town along the Kenyan coast, about 100 kilometers north of Mombasa on Tuesday. This is the first abduction of a non-local in six years after a series of abductions carried out by al-Shabab militants in 2011 and 2012.

Eyewitnesses say the men, armed with rifles, seized 23-year-old Silvia Costanza Romano, an Italian volunteer, from a room in the town of Chakama along the Kenya coast.

Then, witnesses say, the attackers shot and wounded a local woman and four children.

Churchill Otieno Onyango, who works with a local non-profit group, says he happened to be in Chakama Tuesday evening and witnessed the abduction.

“The guys who approached the area were three Somalis, two were having guns, one was not having a gun,” he said. “The one who grabbed the lady came and slapped the lady and disappeared with the lady. Me and the son of the owner of the house were told to lie down. They managed to shoot one boy inside there, other three outside.”

 

So far no group has claimed responsibility.

Kenya police said they had not identified the attackers.

Kilifi County deputy governor Gideon Saburi — who arrived at the scene Wednesday afternoon — said the government had launched a manhunt for the assailants.

“There is already a team on the ground, so there is team that is following up on the leads that we have. We have also been told that our neighboring counties have been informed up to the borders, so we have an alert that is on,” he said.

The abducted volunteer was working for Africa Milele, which helped orphans and vulnerable children in the area. The non-profit group posted a message on its website saying, “There are no words to comment on what is happening.”

The Italian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it was aware of the abduction and was looking into the situation.

 

In 2011, there were several abductions along the Kenyan coast. A British man was shot dead and his wife kidnapped. A couple of weeks later, a French woman was also abducted from Lamu, an island on the Kenyan coast.

 

The spate of abductions led the country to declare a state of emergency and eventually send troops to fight al-Shabab militants in Somalia.

Despite the presence of Kenya forces in Somalia, the country, particularly towns along the border with Somalia, has continued to experience attacks by the al-Qaida-linked terror group.

 

 

 

 
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Poland’s parliament passed legislation Wednesday to reinstate Supreme Court judges who were recently forced to retire, a step that could significantly ease a standoff with the European Union.

For the EU, which is facing a string of crises, including Brexit and Italy’s debt, it was a rare victory in its struggle to preserve democracy in a region where illiberal populism has been on the rise, a trend led by Hungary.

Wednesday’s development comes a month after the EU’s court ordered Poland to immediately suspend the lowering of the retirement age for Supreme Court judges, which had forced about two dozen of them off the bench.

The forced retirement of the judges was widely seen as an attempt by the ruling populist party, Law and Justice, to stack the court with loyalists, and it was condemned internationally as a blow to democratic standards.

Poland has been in a standoff with the EU for three years over attempts by Law and Justice, under the leadership of powerful party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, to impose control over the court system.

Many legal experts said that the forced retirement of the Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice, violated Poland’s constitution. That, along with the broader overhaul of the justice system, has raised serious concerns over rule of law in the young democracy, with the EU saying the changes erode the independence of the judicial branch of government.

Wednesday’s legislative initiative — which noted that it was introduced to comply with the EU court ruling — marks one of the first significant steps by Poland to meet EU demands.

“We know very well that in politics effectiveness matters and that sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward,” said Stanislaw Piotrowicz, a ruling party lawmaker and one of the key architects of the judicial overhaul, in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.

Zselyke Csaky, an expert on Central Europe with Freedom House, called it a “significant” step and a sign by the ruling party of “common sense,” though she also said on Twitter that “the full damage to rule of law and legal certainty will be much harder to remedy.”

The Polish government, in power since 2015, has been forced to climb down before. Earlier this year it softened a Holocaust speech law that made it a crime to attribute co-responsibility in the Holocaust to the Polish nation and which sparked a major diplomatic dispute with Israel. It also dropped draft legislation in 2016 that would have tightened the already restrictive abortion law after massive street protests by women wearing black.

But it is an almost unheard-of concession to the EU, which the government often says has no right to meddle in its internal affairs.

Under the amendment passed Wednesday to the new law on the Supreme Court, the judges who were forced to retire early will have the choice of returning to their duties. The law had lowered the retirement age from 70 to 65, and any judge who wished to remain had to request the consent of the president.

The party introduced the amended legislation to the parliament Wednesday and it was passed quickly by the lower house. It goes next to the Senate and also needs the president’s signature, but since both are aligned with the party, these steps are all but certain to happen.

The party’s reversal comes after local elections last month that showed Law and Justice winning the most seats in regional assemblies but losing badly in mayoral races in the cities and even mid-size towns. The results suggested the party’s conflicts with the EU — which is extremely popular among voters — have cost it votes among urban, middle-class voters.

It also comes as the party, which has a strong anti-corruption profile, finds itself mired in corruption allegations. Last week the head of the state financial authorities resigned over allegations he had solicited a bribe of millions of dollars from a billionaire who heads two troubled banks.
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British counterterrorism police are investigating after two devices were found in an unoccupied apartment in northwest London.

Police said Wednesday the “initial assessment” is that the items were improvised explosive devices.

Police said the devices were made safe and neighboring apartments that had been evacuated as a precaution have been re-opened to occupants.

Officials say the surrounding area was searched and has been declared safe. The area had been cordoned off for roughly eight hours.

Police were called to the Craven Park neighborhood Wednesday morning when the two suspicious devices were found in an apartment that was being refurbished.

Officials say they are keeping an open mind about the incident and have asked the public for any information.

The country’s official terrorism threat level is set at “severe.”
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The Trump administration has invited the heads of Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler to the White House to discuss U.S. tariffs on carmakers, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Citing industry and diplomatic sources, the paper said the meeting could possibly take place as soon as next week, depending on circumstances. Handelsblatt said it was not known whether U.S. President Donald Trump would attend the meeting.

A spokesman for Volkswagen declined to confirm or deny whether the carmaker had received an invitation. Sources close to VW said it had not received an invitation.

 

Daimler and BMW did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has threatened for months to impose tariffs on all European Union-assembled vehicles, a move that could up-end the industry’s business model for selling cars in the United States.

But he has refrained from imposing car tariffs while the United States and European Union launch negotiations to cut other trade barriers.
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A rare, 1,500 year-old mosaic depicting St. Mark has joined other repatriated pieces that were looted from the ethnically split Cyprus’ breakaway north, a Cypriot Orthodox Church official said Wednesday.

Together the pieces will create a Swiss government-funded reproduction of an apse that adorned a 6th-century church in the island’s north.

The mosaics were stolen by Turkish art dealer Aydin Dikman from the Church of the Virgin of Kanakaria about four decades ago and sold abroad.

Cyprus’ Byzantine Museum Director Ioannis Eliades said the apse will go on display at the museum until it can return to the Kanakaria church.

“This is a major project that we had envisioned for many years to restore these pieces and now we have the last piece,” Eliades told The Associated Press.

“Especially such a mosaic which dates to the same period as the Ravenna mosaics is of particular importance, of great architectural value and … also has a very high religious value.”

The Kanakaria mosaics are among a few early Christian works that survived the iconoclastic period in the 8th and 9th centuries when most of such works were destroyed.

The St. Mark mosaic returned to Cyprus after Dutch investigator Arthur Brand tracked it down in Monaco and handed it over to authorities at the Cypriot Embassy in the Netherlands last week.

The Cyprus Antiquities Department said that initial information about the mosaic’s whereabouts was provided to Cypriot authorities two years ago by the Greek-American organization AHEPA.

The department said pieces of the mosaics including those of Saints Luke, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Thomas and Andrew as well as the upper part of the Virgin Mary and Christ were gradually repatriated since 1983, but more pieces are still missing.
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