First UN report on antibiotic resistance reveals ‘serious threat’ to global public health

 30 April 2014 – Antibiotic resistance – when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work in people who need them to treat infections – is now a major threat to public health, says a new United Nations report released today.

The study, produced by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), is the first to look at antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, globally, and provides the most comprehensive picture to date, incorporating data from 114 countries.

Russia considers maintenance of embargo against Cuba unacceptable

Moscow believes that the maintenance of embargo against Cuba is totally unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez.

“We think the maintenance of the embargo against Cuba contrary to the will of a vast majority of UN member-states is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Sanctions against Cuba were introduced in 1960 in response to the expropriation of Americans’ properties. They were expanded later on up to a virtually full commercial and economic blockade of the island.

Timoshenko says Ukraine should join NATO

Former Prime Minister and Batkivshchina (Fatherland) party leader Yulia Timoshenko said Ukraine “must be a member of NATO” even though a large part of people has many times spoken against this.

In an interview with The Associated Press, excerpts from which were published on Saturday, April 26, Timoshenko, who is running for presidency in Ukraine, spoke of a “fundamental change” in public thinking following the latest events in the east of the country and Russia’s actions.

She believes that the mentality of Ukrainians has changed as has the strategic course of the country. “NATO is the best choice for Ukraine,” she said.

Ukraine : Ban Ki-moon s'inquiète d'un dérapage de la situation dans l'est du pays

ONU, 24 avril 2014 – Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-moon, a exprimé jeudi sa profonde inquiétude concernant la situation dans l'est de l'Ukraine, estimant qu'elle pourrait rapidement devenir incontrôlable.

« Le Secrétaire général est profondément préoccupé par la poursuite de la violence dans l'est de l'Ukraine, qui a entraîné des pertes en vies humaines, une instabilité accrue et qui contribue à un climat de peur et d'angoisse », a dit son porte-parole dans une déclaration à la presse.

Σαμπιχά Σουλεϊμάν: «Τσιγγάνος δεν είναι εύκολο να είσαι» (“Ρομ νάι κολάι του τε αβές")

“Ρομ νάι κολάι του τε αβές, Τσιγγάνος δεν είναι εύκολο να είσαι” απαντά η Σαμπιχά Σουλεϊμάν για την απόσυρση της υποψηφιότητάς της από το ευρωψηφοδέλτιο του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. 

Χαρακτηρίζει “αδέξια” αλλά και “συγκινητική προσπάθεια” του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ να γίνει αντιληπτή στην αριστερά η φωνή των τσιγγάνων της Θράκης και αφήνει αιχμές κατά αριστερών καθηγητών τονίζοντας πως κάποιοι αριστεροί “προτίμησαν να μην διαταράξουν τις σχέσεις τους με το τουρκικό προξενείο που είναι πιο σημαντικό από εμάς τους ασήμαντους τσιγγάνους της Θράκης.”
Νωρίτερα άλλωστε σε δηλώσεις της στον ΣΚΑΪ σχετικά με την απόφαση του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ να την αντικαταστήσει με τον Μεστάν Οσμάν Ουμίζ ανέφερε ότι “φαίνεται πως ήθελαν υποψήφιο τουρκικής συνείδησης”.
Αναλυτικά η ανακοίνωσή της έχει ως εξής:

Dolphin wars in the Black Sea? - In recent years, U.S. Navy dolphins have been deployed to Iraq and Bahrain to patrol for enemy divers

The United States Navy has deployed military-trained dolphins to protect one of its warships in the Black Sea amid rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine, the Russian daily Izvestia reported.

A Russian fighter jet made multiple close-range passes near the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, on April 12, two days after it entered the Black Sea, passing the Turkish straits. As the crisis in Ukraine deepened, U.S. ship commanders considered the Russian action provocative and inconsistent with international agreements, prompting the ship to issue several radio queries and warnings.

Christians mark Holy Fire rite on eve of Easter Read more: Christians mark Holy Fire rite on eve of Easter

Thousands of Christian pilgrims thronged the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City Saturday amid tight security to celebrate the Holy Fire ceremony on the eve of Easter.


Believers hold that a divine fire from heaven ignites a flame in the church, built on the site where Christians say Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The flame is then passed between worshippers, candle to candle.

Never again? Debate to mark WW1 centenary

One century ago Europe was on the brink of one of history's deadliest conflicts that would change our world forever. MEPs commemorated the centenary of the Great War during a debate on 16 April, warning that peace and stability should never be taken for granted. They also called for more integration and stressed the importance of fighting nationalism to ensure peace, stability and security in Europe.

WW I was the first great catastrophe of the 20th century, said EP President Martin Schulz, pointing out the importance of  international cooperation.

Chinese Foreign ministry condemns Britain over latest human rights report

China on Tuesday condemned Britain for interfering in its domestic affairs, in response to a human rights report, a day after the British government said Beijing had called off human rights talks.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying accused Britain of issuing the report with "irresponsible remarks made about the Chinese political system, rudely slandering and criticizing China's human rights situation."

Banking union made easy: a five-minute guide to the EU's new rules

A banking union is being set up by the EU to help keep Europe's financial system stable and prevent another crisis from taking place. It requires finding a fast and efficient way to deal with failing banks while ensuring that taxpayers are spared from paying for bankers' mistakes. As MEPs prepare to vote on 15 April on an agreement with the Council on how to deal with failing banks, we take a closer look at the issues involved. Read on for an overview of how banking in Europe is about to change.

Protection of minors in the digital age

In an era of rapid technological change digital media convergence, a major question is whether the existing legislation is sufficient to deal with challenges related to the protection of minors.
The internet and all online platforms are interactive environments rather than passive media as television is. As such, they raise, in a prompt and urgent manner, issues of accessibility to content or types of content that may harm the physical, moral and spiritual development of minors, issues related to specific types of crimes through computers that can be connected with audio-visual content etc.

France sends first foreign minister to Cuba in 30 years

 HAVANA: France's foreign minister was expected to arrive in Cuba on Saturday for a brief but historic visit, the first by such a high-ranking French official in 30 years and a sign of the quickening pace of improving ties between the European Union and Havana.

Foreign minister Laurent Fabius was scheduled to have a working lunch with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez before meeting with Cardinal Jaime Ortega and then French businessmen.

Rodriguez met with Laurent in Paris last month.

Gas supplies may be affected, Putin warns Europe. -- Russia may begin requiring advance payment for natural gas from Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sent a letter to EU leaders, expressing his "extreme concern" over Ukraine's debt for Russian gas and warning them that supplies to Europe may be affected, his spokesman said.

"Indeed, such a letter signed by Putin was today delivered to heads of state of Eastern and Western Europe through diplomatic channels," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state RIA Novosti news agency.

"Putin expresses extreme concern over the critical situation around Ukraine's debt and supplies of Russian gas related to it," Peskov said.

Lugansk occupation reinforced. -Protesters had found an arsenal of weapons within the building.

Pro-Russian separatists reinforced barricades around the state security building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on Wednesday and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin for help after the government warned it could use force to restore order.

"Of course we must ask Russia to take us in because I don't see an alternative," said a man dressed in camouflage who gave his name as Vasiliy and said he was the commandant of the building. "Putin help us!" he said.

Russian diplomats face NATO HQ restrictions

BRUSSELS. -NATO has decided to limit access to its Brussels headquarters to Russian diplomats from Tuesday.
“The formerly extensive access to NATO headquarters will be denied to all representatives of the Russian Mission, except the Russian Ambassador, his Deputy Head of Mission, and two support staff”, according to a NATO official statement on Monday.
The Alliance said that other staff from the Russian mission requiring access for official business would have to be announced, registered and escorted during their visit.

Joint Press conference of Deputy PM and FM Venizelos and EU High Representative and European Commission Vice President Ashton at the close of the Gymnich meeting of EU FM (Athens, 5 April 2014)

E. VENIZELOS: Thank you. I am here just to welcome publicly Cathy Ashton and my counterparts from the other European countries, hosting the Gymnich Council, this Informal Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs. It is a great pleasure and a great opportunity for every European Presidency, because of the high level of debates, and I think that will be quite clear from what Cathy Ashton has to say by way of introduction and from our discussion with you.

C. ASHTON: Can I begin by thanking you very much, Deputy Prime Minister and your team, for the excellent organization of this Meeting and this wonderful venue.

Obama administration: ‘Cuban Twitter’ discreet, not covert

WASHINGTON D.C.: -The Obama administration denied on Thursday that a secretive program allegedly used to foment unrest and unseat the communist government in Cuba was covert.

The Associated Press revealed the existence of the U.S.-backed social media network, known as ZunZuneo – Cuban slang for a hummingbird’s chirp – in a report on Thursday. The program was run through shell companies and financed using a Cayman Islands bank account, according to the Associated Press’ (AP) investigation.

Scientists Warn NASA on Ethics of Space Travel

The US space agency NASA plans to send humans to an asteroid and Mars, eventually. But a group of prominent U.S. scientists says right now, any deep space mission will be too dangerous, based on NASA's minimum safety requirements. And engineering capabilities and understanding of the effects of long-term cosmic radiation exposure will not advance sufficiently within the next five years to change that assessment.

After a study of long-duration space travel, sponsored by NASA, the panel of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences says the space agency should consider ethics while designing standards for future long missions.

Europe’s economic and financial outlook and its social impact, growth and banking sector issues on the agenda of the Informal ECOFIN meeting

The two-day informal meeting of the ECOFIN, as well as the 13. Joint ECOFIN / FEMIP Ministerial Meeting, organized by the Geek Presidency in Athens on 1-2 April had a full agenda and Ministers were able to exchange views on a number of key issues affecting Europe’s economy and financial situation.
In particular, Europe’s social problems and their implications for economic growth were discussed, based on a research and policy paper presented by Bruegel, which confirms the link between poverty and unemployment on the one hand and economic growth on the other. There was a fruitful discussion on how fiscal sustainability is negatively affected by social problems, as well as on concrete measures to be taken to address persistent unemployment and social insecurity, which constitute a major problem for the EU.

NATO chief recommits to defending Eastern European, Baltic nations...

BRUSSELS — A reinvigorated NATO flexed old Cold War muscles Tuesday as the Atlantic alliance’s chief recommitted to defending Eastern European and Baltic nations rattled by Russia’s military moves and its annexation of Crimea.

At the opening of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance has not seen signs of Russian troop withdrawals along the Ukraine border, as Moscow has claimed. A senior U.S. State Department official had called Russia’s promised pullback a “gesture,” but a welcome one.