BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called Monday for a “unified” response to the worst refugee crisis to hit the EU since World War II.
“We must put in place a unified system for the right to asylum,” Hollande said in a brief statement ahead of talks, calling the influx from the world’s crisis zones “an exceptional situation that will last for some time.”
Merkel, whose country expects a record 800,000 asylum applications this year, said Germany and France also wanted all EU members to conform with existing refugee policies governing the bloc “as quickly as possible.”
The German leader said she and Hollande were also in agreement that the EU must draw up a “unified” list of safe countries of origin to which asylum-seekers arriving in the bloc would be quickly returned.
Germany has been pushing for such a policy given the large portion of its asylum-seekers — 40 percent — coming from the Balkans.
Berlin argues that to help those from war zones such as Syria, Iraq and some regions of Africa, it needs to be able to filter out “economic migrants” more quickly.
Merkel reiterated that registration centers must be set up at the first ports of call in Greece and Italy to be administered and staffed by the EU as a whole by the end of the year.
“We cannot tolerate a delay,” she said.
Hollande underlined France’s “solidarity” with Germany in calling for a “fair distribution of asylum-seekers” within Europe as well as “the dignified return of people entering illegally.”
“There are moments in European history in which we face an exceptional situation — today, it is an exceptional situation but an exceptional situation that will last for some time.”
At least 2,000 more migrants entered Serbia overnight from Macedonia, which has declared a state of emergency over the massive numbers pressing into the country from the Greek border.
They are trying to reach Hungary, a member of the EU’s open-border Schengen agreement, which has already registered over 100,000 asylum seekers this year and plans to finish its anti-migrant fence on the Serbian border by the end of August.
Hours before the talks with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned “vile” violent protests against refugees, as anti-migrant sentiment reared its head over the weekend in the eastern city of Heidenau.
“The chancellor and the entire government condemn the violent rampages and the aggressively xenophobic atmosphere in the strongest terms,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters after the clashes between police and far-right thugs protesting the opening of a new center for refugees.
“It is vile how right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis try to spread their hollow, hateful messages. Those who act like the aggressors of Heidenau place themselves far outside the law,” he said.
EU border agency Frontex said last week that a record 107,000 migrants were at the bloc’s borders last month, with 20,800 arriving in Greece last week alone.
With many seeking to cross into Macedonia from Greece, Skopje closed the border for three days and police used stun grenades and batons to stop hundreds of refugees trying to break through barbed wire fencing, before apparently deciding to let everyone enter.
Austria’s foreign minister Sebastian Kurz, who had traveled to the Macedonia-Greece border, called for an urgent new strategy to deal with the crisis.
“It’s a humanitarian disaster, a disaster for the European Union as a whole, and there is a pressing need for us to focus on the situation in the western Balkans,” said Kurz.
In Rome, Italian officials said the coast guard had rescued 4,400 migrants from 22 boats in the Mediterranean on Saturday alone in what was understood to be the highest daily figure in years.
“There has to be a new impetus so that what has been decided is implemented,” a source in the French presidency said, referring to EU decisions taken in June to tackle the crisis.
“The situation is not resolving itself,” the source said, adding that the decisions made by the EU “are not sufficient, not quick enough and not up to the task.”
With asylum-seekers coming not just from war zones such as Syria but also from countries without military conflict in southeastern Europe, including Albania, Serbia and Kosovo, calls are mounting for a more unified approach in dealing with the influx.
France and Germany are both urging Brussels to compile a list of countries whose nationals would not be considered asylum-seekers except in exceptional personal circumstances.
Merkel is also traveling Thursday to Vienna, where she will meet with leaders of Balkan states including Albania and Kosovo to find out why “so many thousands of people are coming from these countries,” according to Seibert.
France’s and Germany’s leaders will try to help fast-track the setting up of reception centers in overwhelmed Greece and Italy — two countries that have borne the brunt of the crisis — to help identify asylum-seekers and illegal migrants.
“As long as these reception centers are not there and there is no internal solidarity within the EU, the return of migrants — which will dissuade further new arrivals — will not happen,” the French source added.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has warned that the deepening crisis could pose a major threat to the “soul” of Europe.
“On immigration, Europe is in danger of displaying the worst of itself: selfishness, haphazard decision-making and rows between member states,” Gentiloni told Il Messaggero.
Beyond the migrant crisis, Merkel and Hollande will later Monday tackle another issue pressing at the EU’s eastern flank — the Ukraine conflict.
The talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko come amid a resurgence of violence in the former Soviet state.
Hours ahead of the talks, Poroshenko accused Russia of sending three military convoys over the border into the separatist-controlled east.
Merkel, Hollande urge ‘unified’ response to EU refugee crisis
Merkel, Hollande urge ‘unified’ response to EU refugee crisis
Trump meets with Zelensky and says higher NATO defense spending may deter future Russian aggression
Zelensky, on social media, said he discussed with Trump the possibility of Kyiv producing drones with American companies and buying US air defense systems
THE HAGUE: President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday and suggested that increased spending by the trans-Atlantic alliance could help prevent future Russian aggression against its neighbors.
NATO members agreed to raise their spending targets by 2035 to 5 percent of gross domestic product annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending. That target had been 2 percent of GDP.
“Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said at the summit-ending news conference shortly after seeing Zelensky. “And hopefully we’re going to get that solved.”
Trump also reiterated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine that began with Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” Trump said. “He called the other day, and he said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said, ‘No, you can help me with Russia.’”
Trump’s meeting with Zelensky was their first face-to-face session since April, when they met at St. Peter’s Basilica during Pope Francis’ funeral. Trump also had a major confrontation with Zelensky earlier this year at the White House.
Zelensky, on social media, said he discussed with Trump the possibility of Kyiv producing drones with American companies and buying US air defense systems. “We can strengthen each other,” he wrote.
He said he also talked to Trump about “what is really happening on the ground.”
“Putin is definitely not winning,” Zelensky said.
Trump left open the possibility of sending Kyiv more US-made Patriot air defense missile systems.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter, who said that her husband was a Ukrainian soldier, Trump acknowledged that sending more Patriots would help the Ukrainian cause.
“They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,” Trump said. “And we’re going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective, 100 percent effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.”
Over the course of the war, the US has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
Trump laid into the US media throughout his news conference but showed unusual warmth toward the Ukrainian reporter.
“That’s a very good question,” Trump said about the query about Patriots. “And I wish you a lot of luck. I mean, I can see it’s very upsetting to you. So say hello to your husband.”
Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, has been front and center at recent alliance summits. But as the group’s latest annual meeting of leaders opened in the Netherlands, Zelensky was not in the room. The Trump administration has blocked Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
The conflict with Russia has laid waste to Ukrainian towns and killed thousands of civilians. Just last week, Russia launched one of the biggest drone attacks of the war.
During Trump’s 2024 campaign for the White House, the Republican pledged a quick end to the war. He saw it as a costly boondoggle that, he claimed, would not have happened had he won re-election in 2020. Since taking office in January, he has struggled to find a resolution to the conflict and has shown frustration with both Putin and Zelensky.
Zelensky spent Tuesday in The Hague shuttling from meeting to meeting. He got a pledge from summit host the Netherlands for military aid, including new drones and radars to help knock out Russian drones. The White House did not allow press coverage of Zelensky’s nearly hourlong meeting with Trump.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom will provide 350 air defense missiles to Ukraine, funded by 70 million pounds ($95 million) raised from the interest on seized Russian assets.
French farmer bets on camel milk in camembert country
- Camel milk is highly perishable and pasteurization is essential to bringing it to wider markets
FEIGNIES, France: In a small village in northern France, where cows have grazed green pastures for as long as anyone can remember, one farmer has defied national traditions by producing camel milk and cheese.
The tall, gangly silhouettes of Julien Job’s herd of 80 camels and dromedaries — one of the largest in Europe — make for an unusual sight in a country globally renowned for its cow and goat milk cheeses.
“You have to like the unknown,” said Job, 43, who used to transport animals for zoos and circuses before opening his “Camelerie” farm in the village of Feignies in 2015.
Job was the first farmer in France to obtain approval from EU health agencies to commercialize camel milk and dairy products.
But demand for camel milk is growing as its ecological and health benefits become better known.
Containing up to five times more iron than cow’s milk, it is non-allergenic and some studies have suggested that it has immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties.
On its website, the Camelerie farm offers pasteurised camel milk, kefir (fermented milk) and sometimes “Bosse des Fagnes” and “Camelhoumi” — two cheeses developed with the support of researchers that earned Job a medal at the 2024 World Cheese Awards in Kazakhstan.
Camel milk is highly perishable and pasteurization is essential to bringing it to wider markets.
The milk is richer in vitamin C than cow’s milk, easier to digest for lactose-intolerant people and high in unsaturated fatty acids.
Some studies are also exploring its potential effects on cancer cells, blood sugar regulation in diabetics and autism.
“There is a mix of myths, empirical observations and scientific truths around this milk,” said Bernard Faye, a researcher at the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development.
Camel milk has traditionally been produced by nomads in arid or semi-desert regions and reserved for their own consumption.
But in recent decades, farms have appeared in Gulf countries and global demand has surged, up more than 8 percent year on year in Europe.
With climate change, new countries are also turning to camel farming, from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States.
Camels can live off poor vegetation and consume much less than a cow of the same weight. And because they have no hooves, they cause less damage to the soil.
They can also be used in ecological grazing to clear pastures.
“It is one of the only animal species that survives between minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) and plus 40C,” says Christian Schoettl, president of the French Federation for the Development of Camelids.
The camels of Feignies display beautiful humps that tend to be fatter than those of desert camels.
The only potential issue is humidity — a problem that Job addressed by administering dewormers more often than he would for cattle.
At 17 euros ($19.7) per liter, camel milk remains a luxury product unlikely to replace cow milk anytime soon.
Making cheese from camel milk also requires large quantities of liquid, and its consumption is expected to remain even more marginal for the time being.
“A female camel produces two to three liters per day, every other year,” Job said, or about 10 times less than a Norman cow.
Job has found a workaround, earning his income from selling milk but also tourism — offering camel rides — and from selling the young male camels.
Gunmen kill 17 soldiers in northern Nigeria attacks
- Two security sources said gunmen launched surprise attacks on the army’s forward operating bases in the Kwanar Dutse Mariga and Boka areas in Niger State
LAGOS: At least 17 soldiers were killed in northern Nigeria when gunmen stormed three army bases, security sources and a local official said on Wednesday, the latest assault in a region plagued by violence.
Armed gangs operating in the northwest, known locally as bandits, typically engage in kidnapping for ransom and target security forces.
The Nigerian Army confirmed the attacks on Tuesday but did not provide details.
“Sadly, some gallant warriors paid the supreme price in the day-long battles while four troops wounded in action are currently receiving treatment for their gunshot wounds,” the army said in a statement.
Two security sources said gunmen launched surprise attacks on the army’s forward operating bases in the Kwanar Dutse Mariga and Boka areas in Niger State and another base in neighboring Kaduna State, battling troops for several hours.
The sources and Abbas Kasuwar Garba, chairman for Mariga district, said all 17 fatalities were at the Kwanar Dutse Mariga base.
“It was an ambush. They (gunmen) came from nowhere and used heavy ammunition to attack,” said a Niger-based army officer. The Nigerian Army said it launched counterattacks, killing several gunmen.
Insecurity has stretched Nigeria’s military, as it confronts armed gangs alongside militant groups Boko Haram and a Daesh affiliate in the northeast.
Niger State has witnessed ambushes against military personnel, with Boko Haram fighters known to operate there.
Czech authorities detain 5 teens over online radicalization by Daesh and charge 2 with terror plot
- The five were promoting hate content on social media against minorities, certain communities and Jews
- The suspects were also involved in online groups recruiting fighters for Daesh militants in Syria
PRAGUE: Czech authorities have detained five teenagers for being radicalized online by the militant Daesh group and charged two of them with terror-related crimes over an attempt to set fire to a synagogue, officials said Wednesday.
Břetislav Brejcha, the director of the Czech counterterrorism, extremism and cybercrime department, said most of the suspects are under 18 years old.
They were detained between February and June as a result of an international investigation that started last year.
The five were promoting hate content on social media against minorities, certain communities and Jews, Brejcha said. During seven raids in the Czech Republic and Austria, police seized some weapons, such as knives, machetes, axes and gas pistols.
On Jan. 29, 2024, two of the five tried to set a synagogue in the second largest Czech city of Brno on fire, Brejcha said without offering details.
The following month, Czech media reported an arson attempt and said police were looking for witnesses. The reports said two suspects placed a firebomb in front of the synagogue but it did not explode and no damage was reported.
The charges against them include hate-related crimes, promotion and support of terrorism and a terror attack attempt.
The suspects were also involved in online groups recruiting fighters for Daesh militants in Syria, Brejcha said. The Czech authorities cooperated with their counterparts in Austria, Britain, Slovakia and with the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol in this case, he added.
Michal Koudelka, the head of the Czech counterintelligence agency known as BIS, said the five shared a fascination with violence and hatred against Jews, and others.
They were approached online by Daesh members and became radicalized, Koudelka said.
“We consider online radicalization of the youth a very dangerous trend,” Koudelka said, adding that the suspects had not been in touch with the local Muslim community.
Armenia PM says foiled ‘sinister’ coup plot by senior cleric
- Pashinyan has been at loggerheads with the Church since its head, Catholicos Garegin II, began calling for his resignation
- “Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilize the situation,” Pashinyan wrote
YEREVAN: Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday that the security forces had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric, the latest twist in his escalating conflict with the powerful Apostolic Church.
Pashinyan has been at loggerheads with the Church since its head, Catholicos Garegin II, began calling for his resignation following Armenia’s disastrous 2020 military defeat to arch-foe Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh region.
The dispute escalated after Baku seized full control of the region in 2023. Pashinyan started pushing an unpopular peace deal with Azerbaijan that would essentially renounce Yerevan’s claims to a region many Armenians see as their ancestral homeland.
“Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Armenia and seize power,” Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram channel early Wednesday.
The authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a charismatic senior church figure trying to rally opposition to Pashinyan, accusing him of trying to mastermind the attempted coup.
“Since November 2024 (he) set himself the goal of changing power by means not permitted by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,” said the Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.
The Apostolic Church wields considerable influence in Armenia, which in the fourth century became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion.
Galstanyan, who leads the opposition movement Sacred Struggle, last year accused Pashinyan of ceding territory to Azerbaijan and led mass protests that ultimately failed to topple the prime minister.
His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, condemned the case as politically motivated.
He told reporters the archbishop “acts independently” and said case materials showed no connection to the Church.
The Investigative Committee said it had arrested 14 people and launched criminal proceedings against 16 suspects after raids of more than 90 premises in a case related to Galstanyan’s Sacred Struggle movement.
Publishing photos of guns and ammunition found during a series of raids, it alleged that Galstanyan had “acquired the necessary means and tools to carry out terrorist acts and seize power.”
It also released covert recordings suggesting Galstanyan and his allies had called to execute officials, imprison opponents, and suppress any resistance by force.
“We either kill, or we die,” said a man, whose voice was said to resemble that of Galstanyan, in one of the clips.
Galstanyan’s legal team said it expected he would be “charged with terrorism and attempted seizure of power.”
The News.am website published footage showing Galstanyan leaving his house accompanied by masked police officers, who escorted him into a car and drove him away.
“Evil, listen carefully — whatever you do, you have very little time left. Hold on, we are coming,” he said, apparently addressing Pashinyan,
A crowd of supporters outside shouted, “Nikol is a traitor!“
The loss of Karabakh has divided Armenia, as Azerbaijan has demanded sweeping concessions in exchange for lasting peace.
Pashinyan earlier this month alleged Garegin II had an illegitimate child and, in an unprecedented challenge to the church, called on believers to remove him from office.
That triggered fierce opposition and calls for Pashinyan himself to be excommunicated.
Archbishop Galstanyan, a follower of Garegin II, catapulted to the forefront of Armenian politics in 2024 as he galvanized mass protests and sought to impeach Pashinyan.
The charismatic cleric temporarily stepped down from his religious post to challenge Pashinyan for prime minister — though as a dual Armenian-Canadian citizen, he is not eligible to hold the office.
Pashinyan’s grip on power, boosted by unpopular opposition parties and strong support in parliament, has so far remained unshaken.
A former journalist and opposition lawmaker, he came to power after leading street protests that escalated into a peaceful revolution in 2018.
