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Two armed men took five hostages at a church in a small town near Rouen in northern France on Tuesday morning; they killed one hostage, a 92-year old priest, before they were shot dead by the police.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet says another one of the hostages is critically wounded.

The two men were armed with knives and took two nuns, a priest, and at two worshipers as hostages in the French town of Rouvray, near Rouen, in Normandy, France.

President François Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are en route to the site of the attack. The event follows the attacks in Nice on July 14, with a toll of 84 people.

The police are examining the church for explosives.

There is no official announcement as to the identity or motive of the assailants.

The post France: Priest held hostage killed, two assailant “neutralized” appeared first on New Europe.

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A man entered a facility for the disabled in Sagamihara, 40 km west of Tokyo, on Tuesday killing 19, nine men and ten women; 26 more were wounded, 20 of whom seriously.

This is the deadliest mass killing since the Second World War in Japan. Gun ownership is very strictly controlled and enforced in Japan, where mass killings are an extremely rare phenomenon. The last similar incident was in 2008 .

The assailant is the 26-year old man Satoshi Uematsu. He entered a police station later in afternoon carrying a bag of knives he apparently used. He told the police “it’s better that the disabled disappear” and delivered a letter in which he outlined his vision for a society in which euthanasia will be acceptable.

Uematsu is a former employee of the the Tsukui Yamayuri En (Tsukui Lily Garden) facility and had worked there since 2012. His motive for the assault remains unclear. It is not known yet whether he was fired or resigned from his post.

He entered the facility on 13.00 on Monday, breaking through a window. By 15.00 he had surrendered to the Sagaminhara police station.

The 30,000-square-meter facility can accommodate up to 160 people. As of recent, it hosted 149 people aged 19 to 75.

The post Man kills 19 disabled people in Japan calling for euthanasia appeared first on New Europe.

On 26 July 2016, the Council adopted a decision establishing a revised order in which the member states will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU until 2030.

Following the UK decision to relinquish the Council presidency in the second half of 2017, the Council decided to bring forward by six months the order of presidencies, starting from 1 July 2017.

It also decided to add Croatia, which was not yet a member state at the time of the original decision, for the period January-June 2020.

The revised order of the presidencies of the Council runs until 2030 (the previous decision covered only until June 2020) and is set out below:

MaltaJanuary-June2017EstoniaJuly-December2017BulgariaJanuary-June2018AustriaJuly-December2018RomaniaJanuary-June2019FinlandJuly-December2019CroatiaJanuary-June2020GermanyJuly-December2020PortugalJanuary-June2021SloveniaJuly-December2021FranceJanuary-June2022Czech RepublicJuly-December2022SwedenJanuary-June2023SpainJuly-December2023BelgiumJanuary-June2024HungaryJuly-December2024PolandJanuary-June2025DenmarkJuly-December2025CyprusJanuary-June2026IrelandJuly-December2026LithuaniaJanuary-June2027GreeceJuly-December2027ItalyJanuary-June2028LatviaJuly-December2028LuxembourgJanuary-June2029NetherlandsJuly-December2029SlovakiaJanuary-June2030MaltaJuly-December2030

Regarding the order of presidencies as from 1 January 2031, the Council is required to take a decision before 31 December 2029.

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Subsidiaries of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 7.3% and water consumption by 7.8% in 2015 compared to the year before, Gazprom’s Coordinating Committee for Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency said, following a meeting moderated by Vitaly Markelov, Deputy Chairman of the Company’s Management Committee and Head of the Coordinating Committee.

Energy saving and energy efficiency are key to Gazprom’s environmental activities, Gazprom said in a press release. In 2015, the Company saved 2.7 million tonnes of fuel equivalent on fuel and energy resources, including 2.255 billion cubic metres of natural gas, 260.6 million kWh of electricity, and 205,000 Gcal of heat. The total cost of the resources saved in 2015 equaled 7.8 billion rubles, exceeding the level of 2014 by over 0.6 billion rubles. In 2015, Gazprom’s Environmental Inspection Service conducted 539 environmental compliance inspections in 52 subsidiary companies and organisations of Gazprom, the press release read. In addition, 544 inspections were carried out in 29 subsidiary companies and organisations with the purpose of monitoring the efficiency of natural gas use.

The post Gazprom boosts fuel, energy resources savings appeared first on New Europe.

On 26 July 2016, Ms Kirsi Henriksson, a senior diplomat from Finland, was appointed Head of the European Union mission in Niger, EUCAP Sahel Niger. She will take up her duties on 1 September 2016. She will replace Mr Filip de Ceuninck who had been in the position since 2013.

EUCAP Sahel Niger was launched in 2012 to support capacity building of the Nigerien security actors. The mission provides advice and training to support the Nigerien authorities in strengthening their security capabilities.  It contributes to the development of an integrated, coherent, sustainable, and human rights-based approach among the various Nigerien security agencies in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. On 18 July 2016 its mandate was amended to also assist the Nigerien central and local authorities as well as the security forces in developing policies, techniques and procedures to better control and combat irregular migration. 

Since 2014, Ms Henriksson has been the Deputy Head of Mission for EUCAP Sahel Mali. She has a background both from civilian CSDP, Crisis Management Centre Finland, Ministry of Interior and from academia. She has previously held positions such as: Acting Chief of Staff EUBAM Libya (May-Aug 2014); Head of Planning and Evaluation, EUBAM Libya (2014); Planning and Evaluation Officer, EUBAM Libya (2013-2014); Rule of Law expert, Evaluation and Best Practice Officer, EUJUST LEX Iraq (2010-2011); Head of Development, Crisis Management Center Finland (CMC Finland), Ministry of the Interior (MoI); Researcher, CMC Finland, MoI (2007); Researcher and lecturer at the Department of History and Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, University of Tampere, Finland (1996-2006). She speaks Finnish, English, French, Swedish, German, and has a basic knowledge of Arabic.

The decision was taken by the Political and Security Committee.

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Thomas Friedman defends that we need a Multi World in a time of crescendous competition in the Global Economy, He proposes new collaborative platforms between the different actors, with the strategic challenge of reinforcing the central competences of society and qualifying them as the unique ways of creation of value and modernity. The Multi World is facing also a unique opportunity. There is more and more a sense that the World is not flat and we effectively need new answers to the complex problems we face.

The challenge of a Multi World demands an effective Partnership Contract between all the actors (States, Universities, Companies, Civil Society), in order to build a real Strategy of Confidence in the implementation of the different policies. The focus on Innovation and Knowledge as the drivers of creating added value with international dissemination is a unique challenge that may be the answer to a new way of interaction between those who have the responsibility of thinking and those that have the responsibility of producing goods and services.

The Multi World demands for an active entrepreneurial culture and attitude – “social active classes” in the World have most of the times  an effective negative attitude towards the financial risk, the focus on innovation and the share of a culture of positive dynamic. We need  World  to have a new challenge. Europe must be able to be the real Platform of a more Entrepreneurial Society, centered in new areas of knowledge and new sectors of value. In a World  3.0 Society, the key word is Co-creation. To promote a dynamic and active creation process involving each citizen is the big challenge for the next years in Europe. 

In a complex time of uncertainty,  the Multi World must be the most complete example of positive attitude towards the future. The Talents must be the new competitive advantage of this new Distinct World pushed by the “enablers” of  Modernity, Added Value and Excellence. A very clear idea that suits the big challenge that our society really faces and that requires new answers for different questions. The act of global  participation in such a demanding society is an exercise of commitment between the individual creativity and the collective cooperation. This is the key for the right future for Europe.

It´ s time to believe in a new cycle for our World. These are in fact the “drivers of change” for the World and civil society must be able to understand this new challenge and address effective answers to the different stakeholders of the system. The challenge of the Multi World  is in a large sense giving a new opportunity  to a new ambition. The Reinvention of World is the reinvention of its people and institutions. It ´s the conviction that in fact we have a future as individuals and society.

The post Good morning, world! appeared first on New Europe.

A Syrian man blew himself up and injured 15 others outside a music festival in Ansbach on Sunday. The authorities suspect the blast was Islamist motivated. After the axe attack in a regional train and the killing spree in Munich this latest attack has only compounded the state of shock in Germany. Commentators ask what impact all this will have on the country's attitude to refugees.

Following the failed coup and thousands of arrests and suspensions President Erdoğan has proclaimed a state of emergency, meaning even more basic rights are being curtailed. Turkey is turning into a dictatorship and needs stringent monitoring by the EU, some commentators argue. Others see such reactions from the West as exaggerated.

Despite the doping scandal the International Olympic Committee has decided not to exclude the entire Russian team from the Olympic Games in Rio. Only the track and field athletes are not allowed to take part, as was decided last week.