Iceland cancels EU membership bid
Iceland’s foreign minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson has announced the country has withdrawn its bid to join the European Union, in part unsatisfied with a deal on fishing rights within its territorial waters. Three weeks after assuming the post, Sveinsson had indicated that Iceland’s newly elected coalition government was not keen on incorporation into the EU, a process that began in July of 2009 with the country’s official application and formal negotiations the following year. Iceland’s suspension of the bid began in earnest when its coalition government, which saw the defeat of left-wing parties in favor of the centrist Progressive Party and the Independence Party, indicated that it would call a public referendum on the matter. Stefan Fule, the Czech commissioner overseeing EU membership bids, has stated that he expects Iceland’s government to notify him whether it plans to reopen membership talks in the future. Regardless of whether it pursues full membership within the bloc, Iceland is currently a member of the European Free Trade Association, the European Economic Area as well as the Schengen Area agreement on visa policy.
Russia, US, UN set Geneva-2 format, fail to agree on time and Iran’s part
Russia, the US, and the UN have agreed on format related issues regarding a new Geneva conference on Syria, but failed to reach an agreement on its dates and participants, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in a Tuesday statement. “Agreement was reached on many issues, namely on the format of the conference. Some questions require additional coordination,” Gatilov said, adding that “the time of the conference has not been set.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet next week to discuss “further steps” leading to Geneva-2. Gatilov noted that the US is still negotiating the participation of the Syrian opposition, and that Iran’s role in the conference is still being disputed. Russia believes that it is “important that Iran takes part” and that it “might make a serious contribution to the settlement of the Syrian conflict,” he said.
French union strike shuts down Eiffel Tower
France’s CGT union on Tuesday called some 300 workers of the Eiffel Tower on strike in protest of work conditions, low wages and “unacceptable safety level” at the monument. The union and the company that manages the tower held seven-hour-long negotiations this Monday, but could not reach a compromise. As a result, the workers decided to walk out, making roughly 25,000 daily visitors unable to ascend to the tower’s upper floors. The CGT pointed out that renovation of one of the Eiffel Tower elevators, which requires a mounting sum of 40 million euro, has been delayed for more than five years. The absence of the elevator has“serious consequences” for the tower’s maintenance, the union stressed. A new round of talks on the 124-year-old monument management is due to start on Tuesday evening.
Czech President appoints caretaker prime minister
Czech President Milos Zeman appointed economist and former finance minister Jiri Rusnok as prime minister on Tuesday. The move will likely set up a confrontation with the outgoing center-right coalition, which had pushed for their own candidate. Meanwhile, left-wing parties said they would only accept an interim cabinet if early elections were held as soon as possible. The move has sparked speculation that deputies might vote to dissolve parliament, which would have to happen within 60 days, forcing an early parliamentary poll. Rusnok will replace Petr Necas, who had to resign last week amidst a bribery and spying scandal involving a close aide.
EU postpones Turkish membership talks over crackdown on protests
EU governments on Tuesday backed a German-inspired proposal to postpone a new round of talks on Turkish membership in the EU until after a report by the European Commission on reforms and human rights in Turkey. The report is due to be released on October 9, and will apparently include accounts of Turkish police crackdown on anti-government protesters in late May and June. While the EU decided that re-launching Turkish bid talks following the protests would send a “wrong signal,” it formally agreed to open a new chapter in talks, prompting satisfied response from Turkey. “What is important is the confirmation of the opening of the chapter with an irrevocable decision. An obstacle in Turkey's relations with the EU has been overcome,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday.
Syrian peace talks delayed : UN envoy
Peace talks between the Syrian opposition and the government of President Bashar Assad will not take place in July, as had previously been planned, UN Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said at a conference in Geneva. He appealed to both Russia and the US to help “contain” the conflict ahead of talks with officials from both countries. Brahimi expressed doubts that the opposition will be ready for negotiations in July given that their next meeting will be on July 4-5.
Turkish police detain 20 in Ankara over anti-government protests
Turkish police have detained 20 people in a series of raids throughout the capital Ankara for their alleged involvement in weeks of anti-government protests. Some 30 addresses in total were targeted, with those detained allegedly being members of an unspecified “terrorist” organization, CNNTurk reports. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had previously charged that protesters in the nationwide demonstration were being manipulated by “terrorists.” The operations were reportedly conducted against individuals who had attacked police officers, business and public property. A police spokesperson in the capital was unable to provide any further information on the raids. At least four people have been killed and around 7,500 wounded since a police crackdown on a small sit-in demonstration in Istanbul’s Gezi Park sparked nationwide protests late last month.
Avoiding more austerity top of agenda – Greek PM
Averting more austerity measures to fulfill international bailout targets should be Greece’s top priority, the country’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said. Addressing ministers at the first meeting of his reshuffled cabinet, Samaras said unemployment, investment and job creation were also of paramount importance.
Radical Islamist cell busted in France
French police arrested six people near the Paris region on Monday on suspicion of belonging to a radical Islamist cell preparing attacks in France. The suspects are aged between 22 and 38. One of them has already appeared in an anti-terrorism investigation while the others are well known to police for various criminal offences. Legally they can be questioned for 96 hours before prosecution takes a decision whether to launch formal investigation into their activities.
Italian finance police audit football clubs on suspicion of tax evasion
An unprecedented tax probe has been launched against Italian football clubs. Law enforcement has conducted search and seizures on Tuesday in headquarters of 41 football clubs, including 18 top league teams, on suspicion of invoice falsification, money laundering, tax evasion and criminal conspiracy while buying and selling players, a police spokesperson said. A Naples court also ordered searches of 12 player agents. The names of the Serie A teams, B league teams and teams involved from the lower divisions have not been officially revealed, though judicial and police sources informed Reuters that clubs SS Lazio and Juventus FC are among those under investigation.
Iran condemns Egypt’s sectarian killings as ‘contradicting Islam’
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has accused Egypt of ‘contradicting Islam’ following the killing of four Shiite Egyptians near Cairo. On Sunday, the four worshippers gathered at the home of a Shiite on the outskirts of Cairo to mark a religious festival when the house was attacked by a hostile crowd. The mob accused the four of heresy and beat them to death. Around 90 percent of Iranians are Shiites, while in Egypt the figure is estimated at around 2 per cent.
Qatar announces power transfer to crown prince
Qatar’s 61-year-old emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is relinquishing the throne to 33-year-old crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. There was no explanation for the power shift, although there are rumors that Sheik Hamad is suffering from health problems. Sheik Tamim will be charged with forming a new government, but is not expected to make any radical changes to the country’s political system.
S. Korea issues cyber-attack alert after hacking of official websites
South Korea has issued a cyber-attack alert following a hacker assault on a number of official websites, including the presidential Blue House. The attacks happened on the anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The coordinated attack began at 01:45 GMT (10:45am local), with a few posts claiming to be the work of the hacktivist group Anonymous. The organization denied any involvement on its official Twitter account, but said it had succeeded in hacking a number of North Korean media websites on Tuesday, including the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun
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