Author: Laudo

The European Union announced on Friday that it will begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to join the 27-member political and economic bloc starting next week. All 27 members agreed to the Ukraine and Moldova joining the European Union. Negotiations will begin for both countries on Tuesday in Luxembourg, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union said on X. The move comes at a critical time for both nations with Ukraine in the middle of an invasion by Russia and Moldova facing a Russian-led insurgence by a breakaway state. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the European Union for its “robust political…

Madison County roads are clearer Thursday night than they were earlier in the day. Leaders believe the rain Thursday afternoon played a big role in this, but they are still worried about more ice coming in over the weekend. “The snow plows really didn’t do us a lot of good yesterday,” Madison County Commission Chair Mac McCutcheon said. “A lot of the commissioners were out trying to use snow plows, but they were just scraping across the top of the ice and sliding down the road.” County leaders said they were prepared for severe winter weather when they started treating…

David Cameron has called for 350 billion dollars (£278 billion) in frozen Russian bank accounts to be used to fund the Ukrainian war effort. The UK foreign secretary said there is a strong argument for seizing frozen Russian assets and using them to rebuild Ukraine, during a visit to the US. “Instead of just freezing that money, let’s take that money, spend it on rebuilding Ukraine and that is, if you like, a downpayment on reparations that Russia will one day have to pay for the illegal invasion that they’ve undertaken,” Mr Cameron said. “I’ve looked at all the arguments and so far, I haven’t seen anything that convinces me…

An Australian warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the sensitive and narrow waterway that separates Taiwan from China, provoking a warning from Beijing. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence did not name the ship in a statement released on Friday but said it entered the strait the previous day and sailed through in a southerly direction. Taiwan’s military kept watch throughout, the statement added without giving details. An Australian official, quoted by the Reuters news agency, confirmed that the Toowoomba frigate had transited the international waters of the Taiwan Strait as part of a regional deployment. China’s Ministry of Foreign…

The Peruvian Ministry of Culture has amended the Regulations of Sustainable Use and Tourist Visitation for the Conservation of the Llaqta or Inca City of Machu Picchu, located in the province of Urubamba in Cusco region. This was established by Ministerial Resolution No. 000508-2023-MC published on Tuesday in the Official Gazette El Peruano.  Said resolution incorporates a series of articles into the above-mentioned Regulations. The first amendment refers to admission times to the Inca citadel. Thus, it states that the admission time to each circuit shall be stated on the admission ticket. “Visitors are given a half hour tolerance period to enter Machu Picchu. After…

LVIV, Ukraine, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s defence minister ordered on Saturday an investigation into an alleged Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukrainian assault brigade, after reports that more than 20 soldiers were killed during an awards ceremony. “My condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers from the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Transcarpathian Brigade,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said in a social media statement, adding that he had ordered a “full investigation.” In a separate statement on the Telegram messaging app, Ukraine’s Armed Forces said that Russia attacked the Zaporizhzhia region with the Iskander ballistic missile. “Servicemen were…

While abroad in Peru, I had the opportunity to experience a completely different culture than anything I’ve ever seen. In this culture, traditional Indigenous knowledge is valued, family connections are celebrated, and life is simply appreciated more. However, one thing that greatly surprised me was that despite the strong Indigenous presence, their traditional ways were not being met within women’s health care. During my time in Peru, my group visited a lodge in Quillabamba with members from the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development (AASD). Aaron Ebner, Executive Director and Founder of AASD, mentioned how it is a requirement for women…

Peru officials have ramped up efforts to attract mining investments by presenting the country at international fora as a place of macroeconomic solidity and favourable regulatory frameworks. At the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) that took place in Sydney, Australia, from October 31 to November 2, 2023, the Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines, Oscar Vera Gargurevich, said that the government is working on creating legal avenues to unblock mining projects and attract more investments. “We are removing permitting obstacles and other procedures that hinder the growth of the mining industry,” Vera Gargurevich said. The official noted that the country is…

The United Nations General Assembly elected China to the Human Rights Council in an uncontested vote on Tuesday and denied Russia a seat in the wake of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The election to the 47-member council had been seen as a showdown between democracies that favour individual rights and authoritarian states that have redefined those rights to embody state-led governance and social order. “China came in last place in the Asia group. That suggests that if there had been competition in the Asian slate, China would have lost,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at civic group Human Rights…

Washington: One of the most high-profile AUKUS allies in the US Congress is facing a growing stampede of Democrat colleagues urging him to resign after he pleaded not guilty over an alleged scheme that involved taking bribes in exchange for helping the Egyptian government with military aid. Days after federal prosecutors revealed the explosive allegations against Senator Bob Menendez, more than half of the Senate’s Democrats are now demanding he step down amid fears the case could undercut their attack against Donald Trump’s criminal charges ahead of next year’s election. The most damning shift came from party whip Dick Durban, the second-highest ranking…