From Washington, this is VOA news…
I'm Dave DeForest reporting
The European Commission unveils a plan to deal with the migrant crisis:
The plan includes a "fairness mechanism" requiring nations to accept a set number of refugees or pay a de-facto fine. The plan has drawn immediate fire from central and eastern European nations that have defied previous calls from the European Union for all members to accept a portion of the refugees.
The proposals, including a recommendation to remove restrictions on visa-free travel for Turkish nationals, will be up for a vote by the European Parliament in June.
With Britain due to vote next month on whether to leave to European Union, a cross-party group of British lawmakers has warned that negotiations on an exit could take a decade.
The report by the House of Lords' E-U Committee predicts that leaving the bloc would entail lengthy and difficult negotiations. The campaign to quit the European Union says it would be in Europe's interest to strike a quick trade agreement with Britian due to the size of the British market for goods like French wine and German cars.
Russia says it will deploy three divisions of troops along its borders to counter NATO's increasing military presence in eastern Europe. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that the new divisions will be stationed along Russia's western and southern borders. Shoigu gave no details about the size and timing of the new Russian deployment, or where the troops would be stationed.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said this week that NATO is considering stationing a force of around 4,000 troops in Poland and the three Baltic states all of which are members of the western alliance.
This is VOA news.
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Words in This Newscast
mechanism –n. a process or system designed to get a result
de-facto –adj. something that exists but is not officially recognized
defy –v. to refuse to obey
portion –n. part of a whole
decade –n. a ten year period
bloc –n. groups, organizations or countries that work together
entail –v. to be involved in, to have as part of something