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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Pope Francis will outline his vision for the future of Europe during a three-day visit to Hungary that started Friday, with Russias war in Ukraine, migration flows and Hungarys tense relations with Brussels looming large over the pontiffs weekend journey.

Hungarian officials say Francis pilgrimage was designed primarily to let the pope minister to the countrys Catholic community and to encourage its members in their faith. But with the war unfolding next door and Hungary butting heads with other European Union nations over rule of law issues and LGBTQ+ rights, Francis words and deeds in the heart of Europe will carry strong political undertones.

After landing at Budapests Liszt Ferenc International Airport, Francis met with President Katalin Novak and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He was set to deliver his main political speech to Hungarian authorities and diplomats later Friday.

He will have chance to speak to Hungarian society and Europe at large in his final event Sunday, when he is scheduled to address academic and cultural figures at Budapests Catholic University.

In between, Francis is set to meet with some of the 35,000 Ukrainian refugees who have remained in Hungary after 2.5 million fled across the country's border with Ukraine early on in Russias invasion. It will be another opportunity for Francis to raise immigration as a topic and and to reiterate his belief that European countries should, within their means, open their arms and borders to people fleeing poverty as well as conflicts.

Orban is a populist whose hard line on migration is well known. In 2015-2016, Hungary built a razor wire fence on its border with Serbia to stop people from entering. However, Francis has expressed appreciation for Hungarys recent welcome of Ukrainian refugees.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis would use his time in the heart of Europe to look to the continent's future.

Its difficult to not think about the European Union and all of Europe, Bruni said of the trip. He noted that the passion for Europe had perhaps faded over the years and that Francis aimed to revive the Europe of peoples, with its own history and responsibility in the commitment to global peace.

For the 86-year-old pontiff, the visit will once again test his frail health after he spent four days in the hospital last month with bronchitis. While Hungarian officials had hoped Francis would travel around the country, the Vatican opted to keep him in Budapest, where he spent seven hours in 2021 to close out a church congress.

The visit comes as the European Union's parliament continues to put pressure on Hungary to counter what EU lawmakers consider a deterioration in the rule of law and democratic principles under Orban's government, including rolling back the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

The four biggest groups in the European Parliament have called on the EU's executive commission to withhold pandemic recovery funds for Hungary until liberal democracy principles are met.

The European Commission has accused Orban for years of dismantling democratic institutions, taking control of the media and infringing on minority rights, allegations the prime minister has denied.

Hungarys Constitution, approved unilaterally by Orbans right-wing populist Fidesz party in 2011, outlaws same-sex marriage, and the government has prohibited same-sex couples from adopting children. The government has also outlawed the depiction of homosexuality or divergent gender identities to minors in media content.

Catholic doctrine also prohibits same-sex marriages, but Francis has backed legal protections for people in same-sex unions. He has long ministered to gay and transgender Catholics, while blasting gender ideology as an alleged form of the West's ideological colonization of the developing world.

In a move linked to the pontiff's visit, Hungry's president on Thursday commuted the prison sentences of several members of a far-right Hungarian group convicted of executing political acts of terrorism. The group's members have frequently harassed members of the LGBTQ+ community.

In a statement, Novak wrote that Francis' visit is a special occasion for the head of state to exercise her power of pardon. She referred directly to those members of the radical Hunnia Movement group, which espouses anti-EU, irredentist views and was linked to Molotov cocktail attacks on the homes of Socialist government officials between 2007 and 2009.

Hungarys ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, said he thinks Hungary is actually upholding Europes founding ideals better than many of its EU partners.

Hungary has stayed true to the values that have always been the values of the European Union, which is family, faith, Christian, Judeo-Christian roots, sovereignty and all these things, Habsburg said. And you sometimes have the idea that some of these have been lost in the western parts of Europe.

With Francis traveling closer to Ukraine than at any time since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war will also be front and center during his visit. He plans to visit a Greek Catholic church that delivered aid to Ukrainian refugees.

Francis, who met with Ukraines prime minister at the Vatican on Thursday, is likely to repeat his call for a peaceful resolution of the war and to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

Orban has called for a cease-fire but been lukewarm in his support of Ukraine, refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons and threatening to veto EU sanctions against Moscow while maintaining Hungarys strong dependence on Russian energy.

While there was speculation that Francis might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill while in Budapest, no such meeting is planned, according to the Rev. Csaba Torok, the parochial administrator for the Cathedral of Esztergom and coordinator of Catholic programming on state media.

Francis held an unprecedented meeting with Kirill in 2016 and had hoped to pursue a second encounter, but Kirills support for Russias invasion put the plans on indefinite hold. ___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Read more from the original source:
Amid Ukraine war, pope to give vision for Europe in Hungary - ABC News

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference after the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on interest rate policy in Washington, March 22, 2023.

Leah Millis | Reuters

WASHINGTON Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke by phone with two Russian pranksters earlier this year who falsely claimed to be President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

Video clips circulated on Russian state TV showing Powell fielding questions from two well known pro-Kremlin comedians, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, who use the stage names Vovan and Lexus.

"Chair Powell participated in a conversation in January with someone who misrepresented himself as the Ukrainian president," a Fed spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday. "It was a friendly conversation and took place in a context of our standing in support of the Ukrainian people in this challenging time. No sensitive or confidential information was discussed."

The video appears to have been edited, the Fed spokesperson said, adding that they could not confirm the video's accuracy. "The matter has been referred to appropriate law enforcement, and out of respect for their efforts, we won't be commenting further."

Powell does not appear to have said anything controversial during his call with the Zelenskyy impersonators, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the prank.

Yet the sheer fact that two well known allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin were able to evade detection and speak to Powell directly raises serious questions about security procedures at the central bank's Washington headquarters.

Read more of CNBC's politics coverage:

Since 2014, Vovan and Lexus have played the same phone call prank on dozens of government officials and public figures around the world, often with the apparent goal of embarrassing people who criticize the Kremlin.

Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has effectively raised the stakes of each of these hoaxes, however, as the U.S. and Europe have armed Ukraine's defense forces and waged a global sanctions campaign against Russia.

Following a missile explosion in Poland in November, Vovan and Lexus impersonated French President Emmanuel Macron on a prank call with Polish PresidentAndrzej Duda.

In January, they tricked former then German Chancellor Angela Merkel into thinking she was speaking to a former president of Ukraine.

Last month, the pair impersonated Zelenskyy again and spoke directly with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. They later released a video of the call, during which Lagarde said a European central bank digital currency could be introduced this October.

Original post:
Powell duped by Russian pranksters who claimed to be Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy - CNBC

27 April 2023

The teacher had claimed that Ukraine's capital had not been subjected to a Russian war

A Czech primary school teacher is due to face trial for spreading Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine to her pupils.

Martina Bednarova, who until last year taught Czech at a school in Prague, told children last April there was "no war" in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

On the contrary, she claimed, Ukrainian soldiers were murdering the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Donbas.

A state prosecutor has filed charges against her, Czech daily Pravo reports.

Ms Bednarova is accused of the criminal offence of denying, questioning, approving or justifying genocide. She faces between six months and three years in prison if convicted.

She told her class of 13- and 14-year-old pupils in early April 2022 that she had seen webcam images from Kyiv that showed the city was peaceful, with no fighting.

When some of the children challenged her remarks, saying they had seen footage of Kyiv burning on the country's public TV network Czech Television, she explained they should seek out alternative sources.

She falsely claimed that Czech TV belonged to a stable of media outlets tied to US billionaire philanthropist George Soros, adding that "we all know to whom he is beholden". Mr Soros has for years been the focus of hard-right conspiracy theories because of his funding of liberal, democratic causes.

Ms Bednarova also made further unfounded claims that openly neo-Nazi Ukrainian forces were skinning and burning alive Russian-speakers, including children. She alleged Ukraine had been running a murderous campaign of terror in Donbas since 2014, a regular theme of Russian propaganda.

Her remarks were covertly recorded by one of the pupils who played it to his parents, who then approached the school. She was later dismissed for gross misconduct. She challenged her dismissal in court, but lost.

According to Pravo, Ms Bednarova denies the criminal charges against her, arguing she was merely presenting the children with facts. The 18-minute recording was part of a 45-minute discussion, and the comments were taken out of context, she argues.

Her prosecution is one of several high-profile cases, as Russia's war against Ukraine tests the limits of freedom of expression in the Czech Republic.

Earlier this month a Czech man received a six-month suspended sentence for wearing symbols of Russia's war to an anti-government demonstration. He was fined and banned from entering Prague for a year for wearing Russia's notorious pro-war "Z" symbol as well as a patch of the Wagner mercenary group.

The man was sentenced for the same offence as Ms Bednarova.

The Czech government is a firm backer of Ukraine's effort to defend itself from Russia, and the public is broadly supportive. However, some Czechs - including the new president Petr Pavel - have warned such support will inevitably wane over time.

President Pavel, former second in command at Nato, told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita last month that he believed Ukraine had "one shot" at a major counter-offensive.

He said it would be "extremely difficult" for the West to maintain the currently level of support - both military and moral - beyond next winter, and Kyiv's window of opportunity was this year.

More:
Czech teacher on trial over Ukraine war misinformation - BBC

April 28 (Reuters) - Russia this week took control of the Russian assets of Finland's Fortum (FORTUM.HE) and Germany's Uniper (UN01.DE), which both operate power plants in Russia, and warned it could seize more.

The two energy firms' shares were placed in the temporary control of Rosimushchestvo, the federal government property agency, and will be run by managers from Rosneft (ROSN.MM).

Kremlin said the decision was taken in response to "aggressive actions of unfriendly countries" and mirrored attitude of Western governments towards foreign assets of Russian companies.

Many foreign companies sought to exit from Russia amid sweeping Western sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, but were unable to divest their assets due to legal or financial restrictions.

Here's a list of some of the energy companies that were taken over by Western or Russian governments, or that have struggled to sell their businesses:

Last November, Germany nationalised Gazprom Germania, a subsidiary of Russia's gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), after Gazprom quit it without explanation.

The company was renamed Sefe (Securing Energy for Europe), and the German government injected 6.3 billion euros ($6.92 billion) to recapitalise it with European Commission approval.

Gazprom Germania had total assets of 8.4 billion euros and equity of 2.2 billion euros in 2020, according to regulatory filings.

Germany, via its energy regulator, last autumn put two German divisions of Russia's Rosneft (ROSN.MM) - Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH under so-called trusteeship.

As part of the arrangement, Germany has taken control of Rosneft's stakes in three refineries: a 54.17% stake in PCK Schwedt, a 24% stake in MiRO and a 28.57% stake in Bayernoil.

Legally, Rosneft remains the owner but has no way to exercise control over these assets as long as the trusteeship remains in place.

Germany's lower house of parliament on April 20 approved changes to the Energy Security Act that would allow a quick sale of Rosneft's stake in the Schwedt refinery without the need for prior nationalisation.

Rosneft took legal action against trusteeship and is seeking compensation for the financial losses it suffered during the first six months of the order.

The company says it is the third-largest refiner in Germany with a total capacity to refine up to 12.8 million tonnes per year accounting for more than a tenth of the country's capacity.

The Finnish utility has said it would "pursue a controlled exit" from Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but it also flagged expropriation risk in its annual report for 2022.

Fortum's Russia division has seven thermal power plants in the Ural region and Western Siberia, and a portfolio of wind and solar plants in Russia together with local venture partners.

The company, majority owned by the Finnish government, recorded total impairment charges of 1.7 billion euros related to its Russian operations for 2022.

Fortum bought Russia's TGK-10, a heat and power producer in St. Petersburg area, in 2008 for about 2 billion euros.

In 2018, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said Fortum had invested about 4.5 billion euros in Russia.

Russia placed energy producer Unipro, 83.73% owned by German Uniper (UN01.DE) under state administration, the German utility said on April 26.

Uniper has deconsolidated Unipro as of end-2022 and classified it as discontinued business, citing the loss of control despite its majority stake.

The company wrote down $4.4 billion as a result of deconsolidation and put Unipro's value at a symbolic 1 euro, reflecting the likely chance that it could sell the business.

Uniper acquired Russian power company OGK-4, later renamed Unipro, for 4.2 billion euros in 2007, and invested more about 2.5 billion euros to build new generating capacity.

In 2021, Unipro generated 230 million euros in adjusted operating profit.

Uniper has also taken an impairment of $1 billion euros for its financial exposure to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Germany oil and gas firm Wintershall Dea, majority owned by German chemicals maker BASF (BASFn.DE), said Russia's takeover of Fortum and Uniper's assets has not affected it, but added that Moscow's policies were "unpredictable".

Wintershall Dea has previously deconsolidated its Russian operations, which prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine accounted for over half of its petroleum output worldwide.

Its assets in Russia include a 35% stake in the Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field, and it co-owns two Achimov natural gas production projects in Siberia.

Wintershall Dea has also written down its 15% stake in the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline that had been damaged by mysterious explosions last September.

BASF (BASFn.DE) took a 7.3 billion euro writedown for 2022 due to Wintershall Dea's (WINT.UL) decision to pull out of Russia.

Austrian energy group OMV (OMVV.VI) said in February it saw no way to sell its stake in the Russian Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field due to legal restrictions in Russia.

OMV paid 1.75 billion euros for a stake in the Yuzhno- Russkoye field, one of Russia's largest, in 2017, at the time saying it could add 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day to its production.

The company was also one of the five financial backers of Nord Stream 2. It fully impaired the outstanding investment of 1 billion euros.

($1 = 0.9102 euros)

Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Louise Heavens

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Factbox: Russia and West wrestle over energy assets amid Ukraine ... - Reuters

Opinion

Vladimir Putins revanchist ambition to reconstitute Holy Rus by force has destroyed ancient ties and religious bonds

Thu 27 Apr 2023 13.26 EDT

Speaking last month at the beginning of Lent, Patriarch Kirill, the primate of the Russian Orthodox church, sermonised on the subject of Russias frontline role in fighting for Gods truth. The church, he emphasised, must play its part in the battle against the secularising forces of the liberal west in order to preserve Holy Rus and our people, living by Gods law.

Patriarch Kirill has deservedly become a religious pariah in the global Orthodox church as a result of his cheerleading for Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine. That support shows no sign of waning, no matter the cost in lives and human misery as Mr Putins forces dig in. But recent events indicate that the patriarchs cherished struggle on behalf of Holy Rus, defined as a spiritually unified territory including Ukraine and Belarus, has already been lost.

Amid evidence of pro-Putin sympathies in parts of the Ukrainian Orthodox church (UOC) which is under the jurisdiction of the Moscow patriarchate and instances of outright disloyalty to Kyiv on the part of some clergy, a bill has been submitted to the Ukrainian parliament which would see it closed down altogether. Across Ukraine, churches and monasteries associated with the UOC are being transferred to the smaller independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine. At the 11th-century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, one of the most revered sites in Orthodox Christianity, Moscow-affiliated priests and monks have been served with an eviction notice. And while around three-quarters of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox, in a recent poll only 4% formally identified with the UOC. Far more believers now identify with the independent church, which was granted autocephalous status by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholemew I, in 2019.

For Mr Putin, this is yet another painful case of unintended consequences. Just as Nato has expanded its geographical reach, following an invasion intended to challenge its regional influence, Mr Putins revanchist ambitions have also achieved an inverse outcome to that desired in the sphere of religion. Mr Putin and Patriarch Kirill hoped that a Moscow-defined version of conservative Christianity could serve as the spiritual cornerstone of a forcibly reconstituted Russian world, incorporating Kyiv. Instead, having formerly been an instrument of Russian soft power and influence in Ukraine, and a tangible expression of a common religious history going back a thousand years, the UOC is now a hugely diminished and discredited presence.

Amid a bitter backlash against pro-Russian agents in cassocks several high-profile priests have been charged with treason it would be understandable if Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, decided to back an outright ban of the UOC. That might, however, be both unnecessary and unwise. The majority of the churchs priests and members have loyally supported Ukraines cause, and there is evidence that many are already voting with their feet and moving to the independent church. A ban would also carry the danger of creating a martyr narrative to be exploited by the Kremlin, and raise questions in relation to religious freedom of expression.

Mr Putins folly has made the prospect of a unified Ukrainian Orthodox church, free from any affiliation with Moscow, far more likely. Inter-church dialogue towards that goal would be the best response to a perceived enemy within, and the best counter to Patriarch Kirills insidious vision of an imperial church taking orders from the Kremlin.

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The Guardian view on Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine: breaking with Moscow - The Guardian