European Council President Charles Michel pledged support to Libya’s new interim government Sunday during a visit to Tripoli as the country seeks to end a decade of conflict.

“We command [sic] your efforts to come together in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation. The future of Libya is in your hands. You have a unique opportunity to build a united, sovereign, stable and prosperous country,” Michel said in a statement. 

The interim government was sworn in last month, with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah serving as prime minister until elections to be held later this year.

Michel stressed that the departure of “all foreign fighters and troops” from the country would be a precondition to rebuilding.

“The implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement and the respect of the UN arms embargo will be crucial in this process. We encourage all institutions to ensure timely preparations for elections on 24 of December. And we are ready to increase our engagement,” he said.

The EU’s ambassador to Libya will also return on a permanent basis to Tripoli by the end of this month, Michel said.

The European Council president continues his tour of the region on Monday by meeting Tunisia’s President Kais Saied in Tunis. On Tuesday, he will be in Ankara, Turkey, where he is due to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We have an agreement in principle with European Commissioner [for Competition] Margrethe Vestager on new financial support for Air France,” the minister told the RTL broadcaster.

Le Maire added the Air France-KLM Board of Directors would meet on Monday to discuss the amount of the financial aid tranche and approve the bailout deal.

According to the minister, in exchange for financial assistance, the European Commission has been asking the airline to give up 24 take-off and landing slots at Paris Orly Airport.

“My position has been the same from the very beginning; I believe that there are too many [slots asked to be given up] and that there is no sense in supporting Air France and at the same time boosting competition by requesting 24 slots in Orly,” the minister said, adding that Air France would give up some slots, but not 24.

The Air France-KLM Group, a merger of French and Dutch airlines, has reported a 7.1 billion euro ($8.3 billion) loss last year as a result of the pandemic impact. The company received 7 billion euros from the French government, which owns a 14 percent stake in it, and 3.4 billion euros from the Netherlands in state assistance to deal with the post-coronavirus shocks.

The European Union is referring Poland to … to judicial independence and the EU legal order.”
The European … in the infraction procedure,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said … director of Amnesty International’s EU office.
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Brussels [Belgium], April 4 (ANI): China has rejected the statement from the European Union (EU) which accused Beijing of pressuring BBC correspondent and other foreign journalists, claiming that the remarks were not in accord with facts.

Beijing has dismissed any attack and slandering of China by fabricating fake news and disinformation in the name of freedom of speech and the press.

In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called upon China to abide by its obligations under national and international law and ensure the freedom of speech and press.

This comes as tensions between the western countries and China escalated since last month after the EU, along with the US, the UK and Canada, imposed travel and financial sanctions on officials accused of abuses in Xinjiang in China’s northwest.

BBC correspondent John Sudworth, who was based in China for nine years, had left Beijing for Taiwan along with his wife, Yvonne Murray, a reporter for the Irish public broadcaster RTE, and their three children.

Both Sudworth and Murray have said they will continue to cover China from Taipei.

In response to these allegations, the Spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU said on Saturday that BBC’s China correspondent John Sudworth and his family have worked and lived in China for 9 years. There is no pressure or threat against them, Chinese state media, Global Times reported citing the Chinese mission.

“China has and will continue providing assistance to foreign correspondents for their reporting in China. Yet we firmly reject ideological prejudice against China, we firmly reject any conduct that breaches press work ethics and morality, and we firmly reject any attack and slandering of China by fabricating fake news and disinformation in the name of freedom of speech and the press,” stressed the spokesperson.

According to The New York Times, the correspondent Sudworth said on Wednesday that he made the decision after being subjected to intensifying propaganda campaign targeting him and the BBC.

He also cited legal threats as well as the increasing difficulty of doing independent reporting in China without obstruction or harassment.

“This is the latest case of foreign correspondents being driven out of China as a result of continuous harassment and obstruction to their work, coming on top of the expulsion of at least 18 correspondents last year,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The departures of Sudworth and Murray are part of a larger recent exodus of foreign journalists from China.

Last year, the Chinese government expelled around 15 correspondents for American news organisations, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

According to The Foreign Correspondents Club of China (FCCC), 2020 saw the largest expulsion of foreign journalists since the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

At least 18 journalists were forced to leave, hurried out and their visas were cancelled over national security concerns. A US media correspondent was reported having to “take three COVID tests over five days” as she attempted to report from Xinjiang, where Chinese state media has routinely claimed the Muslim-minority Uighurs are prospering, not being detained.

The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) of China had barred the broadcasting of BBC World News on the mainland last month, claiming that it has done a “slew of falsified” reporting on issues such as human rights violations in Xinjiang based on interviews of victims surviving “re-education camps.” (ANI)

In an interview with Ariana News, Arnout Pauwels Deputy Head of the European Union called on Ashraf Ghani to make concerted efforts to advance the peace process, and make sure Afghanistan’s interests are put first.

“President on the other hand also has to take into account what is alive in the country, what are the political forces, the political streams. So based on his sound political judgment he has to take the best step forward in the interest of his county and his people. So the voice of the president is extremely important,” Ariana News quoted Pauwels.

Pauwels also stressed on women’s participation in the negotiations will bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He also indicated that immediate change of power will never bring stability to Afghanistan, Ariana news quoted Pauwels saying, “We do not advocate any kind of quick change of power, it is not about power it is what you can bring to the country over a long term. So a power grab by one side or the other will not lead to stability”.

The EU Deputy Head also condemned the string of targeted killings and asked the Afghan government to bring the culprits to justice, he said: “the targeted killing is totally against all values I think of humanity. It is an extremely counter-productive move by their side. That should absolutely and totally stop immediately”.

Meanwhile, Human rights watch in the matter of Targeted killings accused the Taliban of being involved in the attacks on journalists, and especially female media workers in Afghanistan, and despite the efforts for peace violence has escalated.

Human Rights Watch claimed that “the Taliban commanders and fighters have engaged in a pattern of threats, intimidation, and violence against members of the media in areas where the Taliban have significant influence, as well as in Kabul.”

According to the watchdog journalism and freedom of media and speech are under the direct threat of extremism.

As the violence gets intensified in Afghanistan, the Acting Defense Minister Gen. Yasin Zia, and the head of the National Directorate of Security, Ahmad Zia Saraj indicated that the Taliban are still being facilitated through Pakistan and the entire world knows of their sanctuaries in Pakistan.

According to Gen.Yasin Zia, In trilateral meetings Taliban elders including Bajwa (Pakistan’s army chief) and Head of ISI have many times said they have ties with the Taliban.

Zia added the Taliban claims to have bases in Afghanistan is because they want to decrease the international pressures on Pakistan.

Taliban militants have always used civilians as human shields for their atrocities, Zia indicated.

Pakistan gives treatment to the wounded Taliban, the country is the main funding source of the group and the militants even have massive operating and training bases, Zia added.

Taliban claims of their camps inside Afghanistan is a deceptive move to mislead the international community and reduce pressure on Pakistan, Saraj explained.

Saraj hinted that the Taliban are planning to reshuffle their bases in the future because Pakistan is being criticized in every meeting because of the presence of the Taliban and their leaders there.

The NDS chief also said that the Taliban are behind the targeted killings in Afghanistan, he added the Afghan government cannot draw lines between the terrorist groups as they appear in many shapes such as Daesh, Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, but the main actor behind them are Taliban.

Saraj concluded that the Taliban does not want peace, they are currently busy harvesting poppies to prepare for battle.