Europe

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Mike Johnson unveils complex plan for Israel and Ukraine aid as pressure rises

      by

      Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday evening to lay out his strategy to gain House approval for the funding package. Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives who fiercely oppose aiding Ukraine, Johnson said he would push to get the package to the House floor under a single debate rule, then hold separate votes on aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and several foreign policy proposals, according to Republican lawmakers.However, the package would deviate from the $95bn aid package passed by the Senate in February, clouding its prospects for final passage in Congress.Johnson has faced mounting pressure to act on Joe Biden’s long-delayed request for billions of dollars in security assistance. It’s been more than two months since the Senate passed the $95bn aid package, which includes $14bn for Israel and $60bn for Ukraine.The issue gained new urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel. Congress, however, remains deeply divided.Johnson has declined to allow the Republican-controlled House to vote on the measure. The senate passed it with 70% bipartisan support and backers insist it would receive similar support in the House, but Johnson has given a variety of reasons not to allow a vote, among them the need to focus taxpayer dollars on domestic issues and reluctance to take up a Senate measure without more information.As the House has struggled to act, conflicts around the globe have escalated. Israel’s military chief said on Monday that his country will respond to Iran’s missile strike. And Ukraine’s military head over the weekend warned that the battlefield situation in the country’s east has “significantly worsened in recent days”, as warming weather has allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh offensive.Meanwhile, Joe Biden, who is hosting Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, at the White House, called on the House to take up the Senate funding package immediately. “They have to do it now,” he said.Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, also put pressure on Johnson and pledged in a letter to lawmakers to do “everything in our legislative power to confront aggression” around the globe, and he cast the situation as similar to the lead-up to the second world war.“The gravely serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East and eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately,” Jeffries said. “We must take up the bipartisan and comprehensive national security bill passed by the Senate forthwith. This is a Churchill or Chamberlain moment.”In the Capitol, Johnson’s approach could further incite the populist conservatives who are already angry at his direction as speaker.Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, is threatening to oust him as speaker. As she entered the closed-door Republican meeting on Monday, she said her message to the speaker was: “Don’t fund Ukraine.”The GOP meeting was filled with lawmakers at odds in their approach to Ukraine: Republican defense hawks, including the top lawmakers on national security committees, who want Johnson to finally take up the national security supplemental package as a bundle, are pitted against populist conservatives who are fiercely opposed to continued support for Kyiv’s fight.On the right, the House Freedom Caucus said Monday that it opposed “using the emergency situation in Israel as a bogus justification to ram through Ukraine aid with no offset and no security for our own wide-open borders”.The Associated Press contributed reporting More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      US repeatedly warned Russia ahead of Moscow attack, White House says

      by

      The US repeatedly alerted Russia that extremists were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow ahead of last week’s concert hall attack that claimed more than 140 lives, the White House has said.The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that US officials passed on warnings – including one in writing – and dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine was involved as “nonsense”.“It is abundantly clear that Isis [Islamic State] was solely responsible for the horrific attack in Moscow last week,” he said. “In fact, the United States tried to help prevent this terrorist attack and the Kremlin knows this.”Kirby spoke shortly after Russia’s investigative committee said it had uncovered evidence that the four gunmen who carried out last Friday’s attack were linked to “Ukrainian nationalists” and had received cash and cryptocurrency from Ukraine.“As a result of work with the detained terrorists, examination of the technical devices seized from them and analysis of information on financial transactions, evidence of their links with Ukrainian nationalists has been obtained,” Russia’s investigative committee said on Thursday.It alleged the suspects had received “significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine” and said another man “involved in financing the terrorists” had been identified and detained.“Investigators will ask the court to remand him in custody,” it said.Kirby described the Russian allegations of Ukrainian involvement as “nonsense and propaganda”.Kirby said that the US provided several advance warnings to Russian authorities of extremist attacks on concerts and large gatherings in Moscow, including in writing on 7 March at 11.15am.The United States passed “following normal procedures and through established channels that have been employed many times previously … a warning in writing to Russian security services”, Kirby said.The four suspected assailants appeared in a Moscow courtroom on Sunday with bruises and cuts on their swollen faces. All four are from Tajikistan.Russia’s FSB security service said it arrested the gunmen while they were trying to flee to Ukraine, a claim seemingly disputed by the Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who said they were headed for his country first.Islamic State jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.Vladimir Putin has not visited the scene of the massacre or publicly met any victims.“If any contacts are necessary, we will inform you accordingly,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Thursday, when asked if Putin planned to meet family members of the dead.He also said Putin did not plan to visit Crocus City Hall, where rescuers had for the past week been searching the rubble for bodies.“In these days it would be completely inappropriate to carry out any fact-finding trips, because this would simply interfere with the work,” he said. More

    • 225 Shares199 Views

      in UK Politics

      How to avoid post-Brexit passport chaos: Simon Calder answers your questions on new rules for travelling to EU

      by

      Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discountsGet Simon Calder’s Travel emailBritish visitors to the EU are facing stricter passport validity rules post-Brexit –and it could ruin your holiday if you’re caught out.Long gone are the days when you could travel to the EU at any point before your travel document expired; the UK is now a “third country”, with rules to match.EU countries and the wider Schengen Area, which includes Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, do not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago from such travellers. Before Brexit, the Passport Office issued British passports valid for up to 10 years and nine months, considering the remaining time from the previous passport. While this wasn’t an issue previously, it’s now affecting some British holidaymakers heading to the EU.Recent data from the Home Office suggests up to 32 million Brits could be caught out by the rule change.Many readers are naturally concerned about their travel plans being sullied by an unexpected stop at the check in desk.To avoid this, you simply need to pass two tests. On the day of entry to the Schengen Area, your passport must have been issued in the past 10 years; and on your proposed day of exit it should have at least three months to run before the expiry date printed in the passport.During an “Ask Me Anything” session for The Independent, I tackled a wide range of questions from readers worried about their holiday plans and how they would be impacted.Q: My wife’s passport was issued 19 June 2014 and expires 19 January 2025. We are due to travel to France on the 5 April 2024. Now, her passport is within the 10 year rule but will only have two months left on it if the EU considers the expiry date to be 19th June 2024. Does she need to get a new passport urgently or is the three month rule applied to the actual expiry date of Jan 2025?GibberingOwlerA: Thanks very much for raising a really important point so early. Forgive me while I go on to caps lock. THE EXPIRY DATE OF YOUR PASSPORT IS THE DATE PRINTED BENEATH “DATE OF EXPIRY”. That is the expiry date as recognised by the European Union and everyone else on the planet.To their enduring shame, HM Government, some airlines, some travel firms and some journalists maintained for many months that this was not the case. But it is and always has been.So your wife’s passport is valid for travel out to France or anywhere else in the UK until 18 June 2024 for a stay of up to 90 days, ie until 15 September 2024 (subject to previous visits not eating into the post-Brexit allowance). Bon voyage.Q: My passport was issued in March 2015 and expires September 2025. I am due to travel at the end of April. Can you confirm please that my current passport is ok to use as it will be less than 10 years old when I travel? I just want to check I am understanding the rules correctly. EmmaA: There are just two tests for the European Union:Is it younger than 10 years? In your case, of course. It’s only nine years old.Will it have at least three months remaining on the day you plan to return from the EU? Yes. Enjoy the journey.Q: I am confused because I thought you needed to have a passport to travel to Dublin now as we are out of the EU.LornaWA: The Republic of Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – along with the four nations of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.There are no routine passport controls in operation for citizens travelling from one part of the CTA area to another. As long as you were born in the UK or Ireland, you are legally able to travel from the UK to Ireland without a passport.If you plan to travel on Ryanair, the airline insists that you have a valid passport (no restrictions on validity, so long as it has not exceeded its expiry date). On arrival at Dublin airport, you will go through passport control.But British Airways says: “If you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence.”Aer Lingus, BA’s sister airline, adds that a bus pass or work ID card with your photo on is quite sufficient. The ferries are similarly relaxed.Q: My understanding was that you must look at the date of issue of your passport and add 10 years. This date should be treated as your expiry date for the purposes of travel to EU. The ‘issued within 10 years and still have three months left after travel return date would then be applied. Is this correct?GrannyAnnieA: Sorry, caps lock again. NO, THE UK GOVERNMENT PRETENDED THAT WAS THE CASE FOR A WHILE until I persuaded them to actually apply the rules that the European Union applies. Your passport expires on the day printed in your passport under “Date of Expiry”.Q: The BBC has confused me with their article. How can a passport issued up until September 2018 be affected now, or do they mean ‘be aware you will be affected in the future’ i.e. next year for ones issued in 2015?SharronA: Sorry for any confusion the BBC has caused. The September 2018 date is relevant because that is when the long-established tradition of allowing extra time was abolished overnight. Passports issued since then cannot fall foul of the rule that the UK asked to be applied to itself.Q: Is the start date issue only valid for the EU? I’m travelling to Asia and my passport will have more than six months left on it when we travel but the passport will be 10 years old on the travel dates.MuttzMuttzA: The European Union is the only part of the world that cares tuppence about the issue date of your passport. So no problem for Asia so long as your passport expiry date meets the requirements for the individual countries.Q: Yet another Brexit bonus, eh? Is this what they meant by ‘taking back control?…haynemanA: I have written as much as I possibly could on the benefits of Brexit for travellers here.After all, we know: “Brexit has given the UK a world of future opportunities”. It must be true because the government says so.The main rail unions, which campaigned enthusiastically for Brexit, must also be celebrating.And then there’s “blue” passports. The government says: “As this document demonstrates – this is a government that possesses the ambition and determination the UK needs to succeed now and for many years to come.”Hurrah! And please don’t point out that as members of the EU we could have made our passports any colour we like.Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.If you have more questions you can sign up to my weekly Ask Me Anything email, exclusively for Independent Premium subscribers.All you need to do to sign up is subscribe to Independent Premium, which you can do here.When you subscribe you will be asked to select the newsletters you would like to receive – make sure you pick Ask Me Anything to receive my weekly email.If you’re already subscribed to Independent Premium and want to check out our full offering of Premium and free newsletters click here. More

    • 213 Shares99 Views

      in UK Politics

      How can I avoid passport chaos sparked by post-Brexit rule change? Ask travel expert Simon Calder anything

      by

      Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discountsGet Simon Calder’s Travel emailThe rules on passport validity for British visitors to the European Union have tightened since Brexit.And now, Home Office figures obtained by the BBC suggest as many as 32 million could be caught out.When the UK left the European Union, British travellers become “third-country nationals”, in line with citizens from dozens of other countries including Venezuela and Samoa.EU nations do not allow such travellers to enter on a passport issued over 10 years ago. The same applies in the wider Schengen Area, including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. UK visitors to Ireland are not subject to the restriction.The Passport Office’s pre-Brexit policy was to issue British travel documents valid for up to 10 years and nine months, taking account of the unspent time on a previous passport. While this previously posed no problems, it is starting to affect some British holidaymakers travelling to the EU.On a typical day, I calculate 200 outbound travellers are prevented from departing because of EU rules on issue and expiry dates.So, how can you make sure you’re not stopped at check in? Do you need to renew now? And when is the best time to submit your application?I will be on hand from 4pm GMT, on Wednesday 27 March to answer all your passport questions in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ event. I will be answering live in the comments section below.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 4pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.If you have more questions you can sign up to my weekly Ask Me Anything email, exclusively for Independent Premium subscribers.All you need to do to sign up is subscribe to Independent Premium, which you can do here.When you subscribe you will be asked to select the newsletters you would like to receive – make sure you pick Ask Me Anything to receive my weekly email.If you’re already subscribed to Independent Premium and want to check out our full offering of Premium and free newsletters click here. More

    • 88 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Tesla’s Troubles Raise Questions About Its Invincibility

      by

      As the share price plunges, investors wonder whether the company, led by Elon Musk, can withstand intensifying competition.Elon Musk appeared to be in a defiant mood Wednesday when he stood before employees at Tesla’s factory near Berlin a week after an arsonist set fire to a high-voltage power pylon and brought production to a standstill.“They can’t stop us,” Mr. Musk, the company’s chief executive, told workers in a giant tent beside the plant.But there are proliferating signs that Tesla may not be as unstoppable as it once seemed. The company’s car sales are no longer growing at a torrid pace. Chinese automakers and established brands like BMW and Volkswagen are flooding the market with electric cars. And Tesla has been slow to respond with new models.Mr. Musk’s many outside ventures, and his penchant for making polarizing political statements and attacking people he disagrees with, have raised questions about how focused he remains on managing Tesla. Wall Street is increasingly concerned about the company: Tesla’s share price has lost one-third of its value this year even as major stock indexes have hit record highs.“A bet on Tesla has always been a bet on Mr. Musk,” said Eric Talley, a professor at Columbia Law School who focuses on corporate law, governance and finance.In an interview with the former television anchor Don Lemon that streamed online on Monday, Mr. Musk brushed off the drop in the company’s share price as part of the cycle.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Biden and Irish Leader Use St. Patrick’s Day Visit to Address Gaza

      by

      Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, at the White House, referred to his own country’s struggles when saying that “the Irish people have such empathy for the Palestinian people.”President Biden on Sunday used what is normally a festive St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House to acknowledge the growing international concern, including among the Irish, over the humanitarian situation of Palestinians amid Israel’s military action in Gaza.“The taoiseach and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and get the cease-fire deal,” Mr. Biden said alongside Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, or taoiseach, an outspoken critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. As hundreds of Irish American leaders and government staff members applauded, Mr. Biden said that a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians was “the only path to lasting peace and security.”The celebration in the White House, with plenty of green dye, shamrocks and Guinness, is typically a chance for Mr. Biden to break from speeches about foreign policy and threats to American democracy to celebrate his Irish American heritage. But during his trip to the United States, Mr. Varadkar made clear that he would raise his concerns over the war in the Middle East with the American president.The prime minister in a way was speaking to a domestic audience back in Ireland, which, given its own history of resistance to British rule, is one of the more supportive European nations to Palestinians. Ireland was the first European Union nation to call for a Palestinian state and the last to permit the opening of a residential Israeli embassy.“Mr. President, as you know, the Irish people are deeply troubled about the catastrophe that’s unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, and when I travel the world, leaders often ask me why the Irish people have such empathy for the Palestinian people,” Mr. Varadkar said. “The answer is simple: We see our history in their eyes.”While Mr. Varadkar said that he supported the administration’s efforts to secure a deal for a temporary cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages, he also directly called out Israel’s bombing tactics. While Mr. Biden has struck a sharper tone recently with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the White House has said there are no plans to leverage military aid to Israel.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Michael Culver, ‘Star Wars’ Actor and Victim of Darth Vader, Dies at 85

      by

      Mr. Culver, who was best known for his demise as Captain Needa in “The Empire Strikes Back,” was also a familiar actor on British TV and in theater.Michael Culver, the British actor best known for one of the memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise, died on February 27. He was 85.Mr. Culver’s death was confirmed by Alliance Agents, which posted a statement to social media on Tuesday, and his agent, Thomas Bowington. The agency did not give a cause of death, though Mr. Bowington said Mr. Culver had had cancer for several years.He had a long acting career onscreen and stage that spanned over 50 years and included roles in “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” on TV and the 1984 film “A Passage to India.”But his most lasting impact on popular culture came in 1980, with his brief role as Captain Needa in the second “Star Wars” film, “The Empire Strikes Back.” Needa, after losing track of Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, apologizes to Darth Vader, who promptly chokes him to death telepathically.“Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” Vader says, walking around the captain’s body and motioning for others to take him away.Mr. Culver also appeared in two “James Bond” films with the actor Sean Connery, “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball.”Michael John Edward Culver was born on June 16, 1938, in London to Daphne Rye, a theater casting director, and Ronald Culver, an actor, according to Mr. Bowington.Mr. Culver performed in several Shakespeare plays and worked regularly with the British director Anthony Page, his agent said.Mr. Culver is survived by his second wife, Amanda Ward Culver, and his children, Roderic, Sue and Justin Culver.His son, Roderic Culver, also became an actor, Mr. Bowington said.Later in his life, Mr. Culver mostly gave up acting to focus on politics and would have likely pursued a political career had he not been an actor, Mr. Bowington said.He still visited Star Wars fan events, notably one in Chicago in 2019, his agency said in its statement.“He was lost for words,” it said, “when he saw his queue line with nearly 200 people waiting to see him.” More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      White House announces $300m stopgap military aid package for Ukraine

      by

      The Pentagon will rush about $300m in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10bn to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its desperate fight against Russia, the White House announced on Tuesday. It’s the Pentagon’s first announced security package for Ukraine since December, when it acknowledged it was out of replenishment funds. It wasn’t until recent days that officials publicly acknowledged they weren’t just out of replenishment funds, but $10bn overdrawn. The announcement comes as Ukraine is running dangerously low on munitions and efforts to get fresh funds for weapons have stalled in the House because of Republican opposition. US officials have insisted for months that the United States wouldn’t be able to resume weapons deliveries until Congress provided the additional replenishment funds, which are part of the stalled supplemental spending bill.The replenishment funds have allowed the Pentagon to pull existing munitions, air defense systems and other weapons from its reserve inventories under presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, to send to Ukraine and then put contracts on order to replace those weapons, which are needed to maintain US military readiness.“When Russian troops advance and its guns fire, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back,” said the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in announcing the $300m in additional aid.The Pentagon also has had a separate Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, or USAI, which has allowed it to fund longer-term contracts with industry to produce new weapons for Ukraine.Senior defense officials who briefed reporters said the Pentagon was able to get cost savings in some of those longer-term contracts of roughly $300m and, given the battlefield situation, decided to use those savings to go ahead and send more weapons. The officials said the cost savings basically offset the new package and keep the replenishment spending underwater at $10bn.One of the officials said the package represented a “one-time shot” – unless Congress passes the supplemental spending bill, which includes roughly $60bn in military aid for Ukraine, or more cost savings are found. It is expected to include anti-aircraft missiles, artillery rounds and armor systems, the official said.The aid announcement comes as Polish leaders are in Washington to press the US to break its impasse over replenishing funds for Ukraine at a critical moment in the war. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, met on Tuesday with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate and was to meet with President Joe Biden later in the day.The House speaker, Mike Johnson, has so far refused to bring the $95bn package, which includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, to the floor. Seeking to put pressure on the Republican speaker, House Democrats have launched a long-shot effort to force a vote through a discharge petition. The seldom-successful procedure would require support from a majority of lawmakers, or 218 members, to move the aid package to a vote.Ukraine’s situation has become more dire, with units on the front line rationing munitions as they face a vastly better supplied Russian force. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has repeatedly implored Congress for help, but House Republican leadership has not been willing to bring the Ukraine aid package to the floor for a vote, saying any aid must first address border security needs.Pentagon officials said on Monday during budget briefing talks they were counting on the supplemental to cover the $10bn replenishment hole. This is the second time in less than nine months that the Pentagon has “found” money to use for additional weapons shipments to Ukraine. Last June, defense officials said they had overestimated the value of the weapons the US had sent to Ukraine by $6.2bn over the past two years.The United States has committed more than $44.9bn in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including more than $44.2bn since the beginning of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022. More