Latest news with #pro-Western
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Polish presidential candidates hold their final campaign rallies
Poland's two presidential candidates held their last election campaigns on Friday ahead of a runoff vote on Sunday. It will follow a first round on May 18, in which Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski won more than 31% of the vote and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian, earned nearly 30%. Eleven other candidates were eliminated. In the seaside city of Gdansk, Trzaskowski referenced the city's role in the Solidarity movement while addressing supporters. 'We all remember the shipyard workers who said, 'enough fear, enough lies, enough contempt.' Today, once again, we must stand together,' he said. 'For you, it will be just a few steps to the polling station, but together we can make a milestone towards realising our dreams and aspirations.' In his closing address, Nawrocki presented himself as a candidate who is 'simply one of you.' He described himself as 'a citizen of the Polish state who has come a long way to compete with a man created by a political laboratory.' Under Polish law, all campaigning and political advertising must cease at midnight. No public comment is allowed until polls close on Sunday. Police in Georgia have detained a second opposition leader within days as protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its perceived Russia-friendly stance continue in the South Caucasus country. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing. According to the interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer. A court placed Melia in pre-trial detention but the length of that period of imprisonment has not been made clear. The arrest comes a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic norms. Japaridze, who heads the New Political Centre (Girchi) party, was detained on 22 May after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili's United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify. Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison. Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the capital Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests began on 28 November, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election in October, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.
3 days ago
- Politics
Georgia detains second opposition leader within days as ruling party faces more protests
TBILISI, Georgia -- Georgian police on Friday detained a second opposition leader within days as protests continue in the South Caucasus country against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing. According to Georgia's interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer. The arrest came a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic standards. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained on May 22 after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili's United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify. Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians, not including Melia, who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison. Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests there began on Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Russia tells UN West must stop arming Ukraine during any ceasefire
UNITED NATIONS: Russia is prepared to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine to pave the way for a lasting settlement, but during any truce Moscow wants Western states to stop arming Kyiv and for Ukraine to stop mobilising troops, Russia's U.N. ambassador said on Friday. However, Vassily Nebenzia told the U.N. Security Council that a simple ceasefire was not enough to end Moscow's more than three-year war in Ukraine. 'To achieve a sustainable and lasting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, we need to address its root causes,' Nebenzia said. 'What we're proposing is a second round of talks in Istanbul this coming Monday … where we can exchange memoranda about both parties' approaches to the negotiations process.' The United States wants Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire. A first round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on May 16 failed to yield a truce deal. Ukraine keeps Russia guessing over participation in June 2 peace talks A U.S. diplomat told the Security Council on Friday: 'We share the concern expressed by other members of this council that Russia could be uninterested in peace and instead bent on achieving a military victory.' Moscow initially said its combat mission was to 'disarm' Ukraine so it could not be a threat to Russia, and 'denazify' it by rooting out leaders it characterized as nationalists. Western countries believe Russia's true initial aims were to defeat Ukraine's military and overthrow its pro-Western government. 'We will continue fighting for as long as that's necessary - no threats to our borders, no anti-Russian, neo-Nazi education in neighbouring countries. We won't allow for any of that to happen,' Nebenzia said.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Georgia arrests second opposition figure as pro-EU protests continue
Police in Georgia have detained a second opposition leader within days as protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its perceived Russia-friendly stance continue in the South Caucasus country. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing. According to the interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer. A court placed Melia in pre-trial detention but the length of that period of imprisonment has not been made clear. The arrest comes a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic norms. Japaridze, who heads the New Political Centre (Girchi) party, was detained on 22 May after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili's United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify. Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison. Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the capital Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests began on 28 November, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election in October, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Georgia detains second opposition leader within days as ruling party faces more protests
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian police on Friday detained a second opposition leader within days as protests continue in the South Caucasus country against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing. According to Georgia's interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The arrest came a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic standards. Japaridze, who heads the Girchi - More Freedom party, was detained on May 22 after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili's United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify. Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians, not including Melia, who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison. Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests there began on Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country's EU integration process. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country's last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country's opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country. At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated. Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.
