A massive rat appeared in a Stockholm family’s kitchen making headlines in Sweden, where it is being dubbed “Ratzilla”.
Measuring nearly 16in plus tail, the rat terrified the family in Solna district.
Pest controllers finally killed the intruder using an oversized trap.
Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence.
Measuring nearly 16in plus tail, the rat terrified the family in Solna district
It appears that the animal entered the kitchen via a ventilation pipe, having gnawed its way through cement and wood.
After devouring food leftovers under the sink, the creature feasted on a “Swedish smorgasbord” of waste in the bin, according to family father Erik Korsas.
The incident occurred three weeks ago and initially, after taking a few souvenir photos, the family thought no more about it.
But when they contacted Sweden’s Home And Rent website to see if it was interested in the story, it rapidly scurried to the top of the country’s news agenda after attracting the attention of reporters at newspapers including the English language The Local.
On Tuesday, the “mega rat” became the most shared item for popular Swedish daily Aftonbladet, according to a tweet by journalist Sven Nordenstam.
Social media rang with gasps of disbelief, disgust and amusement.
Since the incident, the family and its cat – a Cornish Rex by the name of Enok – have not been bothered by rats of any size, Erik Korsas said.
Despite regular media speculation, there appears to be little evidence of rats getting bigger in developed countries.
Turkey has blocked access to YouTube, a day after an Ankara court ordered the suspension of a ban on Twitter, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed.
The telecoms authority (TIB) said it had taken an “administrative measure” against YouTube but another report suggests that talks are under way.
Some users found access blocked while others could still use the site.
Earlier, what appeared to be a leaked audio recording of Turkish officials discussing Syria appeared on YouTube.
Turkey has blocked access to YouTube
The audio recording relates to a discussion of possible military operations in Syria, which was apparently attended by Turkey’s intelligence chief, its foreign minister and the deputy head of the armed forces.
Reuters news agency, which examined the recording, said it could not verify its authenticity but it was potentially the most damaging purported leak so far as it appeared to have originated from the bugging of a highly confidential and sensitive conversation.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces important local elections on Sunday, accuses social media of spreading misinformation and suggested earlier that bans could be applied to both YouTube and Facebook.
At a rally this week, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “I don’t understand how people of good sense could defend this Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. There are all kinds of lies there.”
Closer magazine has been ordered by a French court to pay actress Julie Gayet 15,000 euros ($20,000) over a breach of privacy for revealing her affair with President Francois Hollande.
Closer published photographs of Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet arriving separately at an apartment in January.
The payout was far lower than the 50,000 euros Julie Gayet had sought.
The Paris court ordered the magazine to publish the ruling on the front page of its next edition.
Closer caused a political storm in France on January 10 when it published images purporting to show Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet arriving at a Paris flat for alleged trysts.
Although he refused to comment on the allegations, Francois Hollande announced that he had “put an end” to his “shared life” with long-term partner Valerie Trierweiler shortly afterwards.
Closer magazine has been ordered to pay Julie Gayet 15,000 euros over a breach of privacy for revealing her affair with President Francois Hollande
During court hearings, Julie Gayet’s lawyer said she had been “hunted” by journalists.
“She was assaulted by swarms of photographers… it was like the hunt of a wild animal,” he said.
Closer‘s lawyer maintained that the magazine was justified in publishing the photographs, saying they were in the public interest because they raised questions about Francois Hollande’s “duty of transparency”.
Julie Gayet has also filed two criminal complaints: one for a breach of privacy over photographs taken of her inside a car and another accusing paparazzi of “endangering others” while chasing her.
The mother of two, who has acted in more than 70 films over a 20-year career, has kept a low profile since the scandal broke.
During a rare public appearance in New York earlier this month Julie Gayet fended off questions about her relationship with President Francois Hollande, saying: “My private life is my private life.”
Former Ukraine’s PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced she is planning to run for presidency in May elections.
Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison in February following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, after three years in jail.
She has already served twice as prime minister and ran for president in 2010.
Yulia Tymoshenko was a major figure in the 2004 “Orange Revolution” that toppled Viktor Yanukovych’s first administration.
She said she would stand as “a candidate for Ukrainian unity”.
Yulia Tymoshenko told reporters that she had earned the right to be considered a candidate who was against corruption.
Yulia Tymoshenko has announced she is planning to run for presidency in May elections
She narrowly lost the 2010 presidential election to pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych.
Yulia Tymoshenko was imprisoned in 2011 for corruption linked to a gas deal she brokered with Russia as prime minister in 2009.
Her supporters say the case was politically motivated and instigated by her rival Viktor Yanukovych.
On Monday Yulia Tymoshenko denied the authenticity of a taped conversation in which she allegedly called for Russia to be turned into “scorched earth” and for ethnic Russians in Ukraine to be killed.
Yulia Tymoshenko said the recording, which featured prominently on Russian news reports, was produced by Russia’s security services.
Former boxer Vitaliy Klitschko and chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko are also expected to take part in the presidential election.
Opinion polls suggest Petro Poroshenko, who is one of Ukraine’s richest men, is currently the most popular candidate.
Ukraine’s presidential election is expected to take place on May 25.
North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program.
A North Korean spokesman accused Park Geun-hye of “blabbering” like a peasant woman and described her as a “faithful servant and stooge of the United States”.
Park Geun-hye had warned on Monday that North Korean nuclear devices could end up in the hands of militants.
The North’s statement said Park Geun-hye must learn to stop reckless talk.
North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, an apparent response to the meeting at the Hague between Park Geun-hye, President Barack Obama and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.
North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program
They pledged co-operation in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
US and South Korean forces are continuing annual exercises on and around the Korean peninsula with the largest-scale amphibious landing by US marines in decades.
North Korea has made insulting comments about Park Geun-hye’s gender in the past with references to “the venomous swish of her skirt”.
But the two states had agreed at a rare high-level meeting last month to end cross-border slander.
North Korea’s official Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the South Korean leader had violated that agreement during a speech at the nuclear summit in the Hague.
Park Geun-hye had called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear program, expressing fears that nuclear material could be acquired by extremists or cause an accident worse than Chernobyl.
South Korea’s government said the North Korean comments were deeply regrettable and lacking in the most basic etiquette.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale just aired on Wednesday, March 26, leaving its fans wanting confirmation about Season 6.
Jase and Missy Robertson spoke to People magazine about their family, this past season and what lies ahead.
With Phil Robertson controversy behind them, the Louisiana family are beginning to film next season of the show.
Duck Dynasty reality show will be continued with Season 6 this fall
“We’re going to keep doing what we do,” says Jase.
“People will have their opinions about us, but we’re just trying to do the right thing. We’re really thankful to the people who have supported us through everything. We have met a lot of great people.”
Jase and Missy Robertson say that Duck Dynasty has a higher purpose than just entertainment.
“There are a lot of people with problems out there,” says Jase Robertson. “Sometimes, we’ll meet some of them who’ll say <<I’m so glad your show is on, because despite my lowest moments, I have something to chuckle about. We’re a healthy distraction, you know. That’s what we want to be.”
It does not appear that a premiere date for Duck Dynasty Season 6 has been made official yet, but based on past history it would seem fans can likely expect new episodes come this fall.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed a big family reunion before little Mia Robertson’s cleft lip and palate surgery.
Phil Robertson’s sister and brother-in-law Gordon showed up early for the reunion.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed a big family reunion before little Mia Robertson’s cleft lip and palate surgery
Gordon shows up in a pink polo and khakis.
When Gordon says he’s a better shot than Phil Robertson at duck hunting. After a getting a mud baptism and borrowing some stinky old hunting clothes, it turns out polo-wearing Gordon isn’t as good as a hunter as he made himself out to be. He does get one duck, redeeming himself slightly in Phil Robertson’s eyes, but it’s doubtful the “yuppie” will be invited back to the duck blind.
In the end, there’s a big bunch of extended family, a lot of camo and beards, a couple of semi-professional wrestlers to spar against, a ton of food and a very brave Mia Robertson who won’t be able to eat solid food for a three months.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed little Mia Robertson, Jase and Missy’s daughter, facing her fifth surgery to address her cleft lip and palate.
Before Mia’s surgery, Jase and Missy Robertson give her the option to do whatever she wants as a big send off. After hearing about some famous Uncle Willie and her father’s wrestling matches, Mia Robertson chooses a big family reunion, with all of the extended cousins as well.
Jase and Willie Robertson rent a full-sized wrestling ring to really show off the Robertson skills for Mia
First they have to set up for the shindig, and Jase Robertson doesn’t want to let Mia down.
While he doesn’t like decorating, Jase Robertson is making this event count.
Jase and Willie Robertson rent a full-sized wrestling ring to really show off the Robertson skills for Mia.
President Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time during a European tour dominated by the crisis in Ukraine.
Barack Obama flew into Rome after three days of talks with world leaders in the Netherlands and Brussels.
In a recent interview published before their meeting, Barack Obama described Pope Francis as a man who “lived the Christian Gospel”.
Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time during his European tour
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Barack Obama has been inspired by Pope Francis’ messages of inclusion and equality.
Ben Rhodes said Barack Obama planned to express his appreciation for the pontiff’s leadership.
Barack Obama and Pope Francis have very different views on subjects such as abortion, contraception and gay marriage, but at this meeting they are likely to emphasize what they share.
After meeting the Pope, Barack Obama is due to meet both Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and PM Matteo Renzi.
Barack Obama is accompanied in Italy by Secretary of State John Kerry.
A Thai satellite has identified about 300 floating objects close to the spot where investigators believe Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crashed.
The objects were spotted by the Thaichote – or Thailand Earth Observation Satellite – a representative at the Geo Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) told NBC News.
About 300 floating objects close to the spot where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crashed have been spotted by a Thai satellite (photo GISTDA)
GISTDA posted the images on its website, saying they had been taken on Monday – the day after a French satellite saw 122 potential objects floating in the southern Indian Ocean.
The images put the objects about 125 miles southwest of the suspected crash site, GISTDA’s executive director Anond Snidvongs told reporters in Bangkok, according to the Straits Times.
Anond Snidvongs said the images were being passed to ministers in Thailand’s interim government, who would in turn submit them to Malaysia.
GISTDA is a state-owned company that reports to Thailand’s defense ministry, its company representative told NBC News.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is coordinating the international air and sea search of the southern Indian Ocean, referred queries about the images to Thailand.
There was no immediate word from Malaysian investigators, who earlier cancelled their daily news briefing in Kuala Lumpur.
Two Boston firefighters were killed and at least 18 people were taken to area hospitals when a nine-alarm fire ignited the city’s Back Bay neighborhood Wednesday.
Incident Commander Chief Joseph Finn identified the victims as Lt. Ed Walsh and firefighter Mike Kennedy, both of Engine 33.
Joseph Finn said Ed Walsh, 43, was found in the basement of the building. Mike Kennedy, 33, was pulled from the building alive, but later died at the hospital, Joseph Finn said at a news conference Wednesday night.
“It’s a tremendous loss for the department,” he added.
Two Boston firefighters were killed and at least 18 people were taken to area hospitals when a nine-alarm fire ignited the city’s Back Bay neighborhood (photo NY Daily News)
Both men had been working for the department for less than 10 years.
Ed Walsh was married with three children under the age of 10 and lived in West Roxbury, officials said.
Mike Kennedy, a veteran of the Marine Corps, was single and lived in Hyde Park.
The fire appeared to have started in the basement of the four-story brick brownstone building and traveled up, officials said.
As the fire consumed the structure throughout the day, the roof eventually collapsed.
Joseph Finn noted that the fire does not appear to have spread to neighboring buildings, but added that firefighters will remain on the scene throughout the night, as parts of the structure were still burning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
L’Wren Scott has left her entire estate to her long-term partner Mick Jagger.
According to the Daily News, papers filed in Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court on Wednesday estimated the value of the 49-year-old designer’s personal estate at $9 million.
L’Wren Scott has left her entire estate to her long-term partner Mick Jagger
The filing said L’Wren Scott’s main asset was her Manhattan condominium worth approximately $8 million. Other items included her jewelry, clothing, household furnishings and personal automobiles.
A small and private funeral service was held for L’Wren Scott in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
L’Wren Scott committed suicide on March 17 in her New York apartment.
Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak showed off her post-baby belly after giving birth to twins just five months ago.
Kim Zolciak, 35, posted a selfie of her toned midsection on Instagram with the caption: “I think I see an ab!!!! hey after 6 kids I’ll take it!!”
Kim Zolciak showed off her post-baby belly after giving birth to twins just five months ago (photo Instagram)
She had no qualms about showing off how large her bump had grown during her pregnancy, posting a midriff-baring photo back in November 2013.
“Sooooo with all the request I finally decided to post My baby bump today! The twins will [be] here this month and we are soooo excited and I’m soooo over being pregnant! #countingdownthedays,” the mom of six wrote next to the revealing shot.
Kim Zolciak announced the birth of her babies Kane and Kaia Biermann on November 25.
Rhonda Adkins, Trace Adkins’ third wife, has filed for divorce after 16 years of marriage.
Rhonda Adkins has cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split in documents filed in Tennessee.
Trace and Rhonda Adkins wed in 1997 and have three daughters, aged from 9 to 16.
Rhonda Adkins, Trace Adkins’ third wife, has filed for divorce after 16 years of marriage
According to the divorce papers, obtained by TMZ, the country singer and his wife separated on Monday.
Rhonda Adkins is requesting primary residential custody of their three kids, child support and alimony.
The divorce news is the latest blow for Trace Adkins, who lost his father, Aaron, last month, just after he completed a rehab stint for alcoholism, days after becoming embroiled in an altercation with an impersonator onboard a country music fan cruise.
Trace Adkins, 52, had been sober for more than a decade before his relapse.
Police is investigating a blackmail case after Kris Jenner has complained that she has become the target of an extortion plot over a non-existent videotape.
Kris Jenner, 58, claims she has been bombarded with up to 300 phone calls, voice mails and text messages every day for the past few weeks from a person who claims to have obtained footage of the reality star engaged in an intimate relationship.
Kris Jenner has become the target of an extortion plot over a non-existent videotape
The mystery caller has allegedly demanded Kris Jenner pay up in a bid to keep the tape under wraps, prompting her to call in the cops.
Officers from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department paid a visit to the family home on Tuesday to take down details about the incidents for a police report, according to TMZ.
Kris Jenner is adamant the tape does not exist, despite previously confessing to once filming herself and her estranged husband, former Olympian Bruce Jenner, making love early on in their relationship.
Bruce and Kris Jenner separated last year after 22 years of marriage.
According to a recent research, autism begins in the womb.
Patchy changes in the developing brain long before birth may cause symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), research suggests.
The study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, raises hopes that better understanding of the brain may improve the lives of children with autism.
It reinforces the need for early identification and treatment, says a University of California team.
Scientists from the University of California, San Diego and Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle analyzed post-mortem brain tissue of 22 children with and without autism, all between two and 15 years of age.
Patchy changes in the developing brain long before birth may cause symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder
They used genetic markers to look at how the outermost part of the brain, the cortex, wired up and formed layers.
Abnormalities were found in 90% of the children with autism compared with only about 10% of children without.
The changes were dotted about in brain regions involved in social and emotional communication, and language, long before birth, they say.
The researchers say their patchy nature may explain why some toddlers with autism show signs of improvement if treated early enough.
They think the plastic infant brain may have a chance of rewiring itself to compensate.
“The finding that these defects occur in patches rather than across the entirety of cortex gives hope as well as insight about the nature of autism,” said Prof. Eric Courchesne, a neuroscientist at the University of California San Diego.
Dr Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), said: “If this new report of disorganized architecture in the brains of some children with autism is replicated, we can presume this reflects a process occurring long before birth.
“This reinforces the importance of early identification and intervention.”
Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has resigned in order to stand for the presidency.
In a widely expected announcement, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said on state TV he was appearing “in my military uniform for the last time”.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, 59, led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 after mass opposition protests.
Correspondents say he is likely to win the presidency, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
To his supporters, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is a saviour who can end the political turmoil dogging Egypt since 2011 when a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak’s three decades of one-man rule.
Egypt’s military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has resigned in order to stand for the presidency
But his opponents hold him responsible for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, and fear that he wants a return to authoritarianism.
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s announcement came hours after Egypt’s interim authorities ordered the prosecution of 919 suspected Islamists and days after 528 were sentenced to death in a separate case.
The starting date of the nomination process for the presidential election will reportedly be announced on Sunday, after which no changes may be made to the electoral roll.
The government has yet to set a date for the vote, although earlier this month al-Ahram newspaper cited interim President Adly Mansour as saying that it would be completed by July 17.
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, is the only other candidate to have declared his intention to run.
General Sedki Sobhi, the current chief-of-staff of the armed forces, is expected to be named Field Marshal Sisi’s successor.
If Abdul Fattah al-Sisi becomes president, he will be the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military; a line only briefly broken during President Mohamed Morsi’s year in office.
Ukraine’s interim government has decided to raise gas prices for domestic consumers by 50% in an effort to secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid package.
An official at Ukraine’s Naftogaz state energy company said the price rise would take effect on May 1st, and further rises would be scheduled until 2018.
Ukrainians are accustomed to buying gas at heavily subsidized rates.
But the IMF has made subsidy reform a condition of its deal.
Ukraine currently buys more than half of its natural gas from Russia’s Gazprom, and then sells it on to consumers at below market prices.
Ukraine’s interim government has agreed to raise gas prices for domestic consumers by 50 percent
Yury Kolbushkin, budget and planning director at Naftogaz, told reporters that gas prices for district heating companies would also rise by 40% from July 1st.
IMF negotiators are still in Kiev to negotiate a package of measures worth billions of dollars to help Ukraine’s interim government plug its budget deficit and meet foreign loan repayments.
The IMF is also asking Ukraine to crack down on corruption and end central bank support for the Ukrainian currency.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s finance minister Oleksandr Shlapak said the country was seeking $15-20 billion from the IMF.
The Financial Times has reported that a rescue package worth about $15 billion is close to being agreed, and could be announced as early as Thursday.
An agreement with the IMF is necessary to unlock further financial support from the EU and US.
Financial help is urgently required as Ukraine has been forced to plunder its foreign currency reserves, and the economy is expected to contract by 3% this year, according to the country’s finance ministry.
In the US, arguments in Congress over reforms to the IMF have held up plans to offer Ukraine $1 billion in loan guarantees.
The EU says its financial support, potentially worth 1.6 billion euros is contingent on the IMF deal being agreed.
Katheryn Deprill, who was abandoned in 1986 as a newborn in a Burger King restaurant’s bathroom, has found her birth mother after launching a social media search.
Katheryn Deprill, 27, began searching for her mother on Facebook on March 2.
Her post was shared 30,000 times and caught the attention of her unnamed birth mother, who made contact via a lawyer to arrange a meeting.
Katheryn Deprill began searching for her birth mother on Facebook on March 2 (photo AP)
Katheryn Deprill became known as the Burger King Baby after she was found, just hours old, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
She told media she felt “pure joy” at meeting her mother for the first time on Monday.
“She is better than anything I could’ve ever imagined. She is so sweet and amazing. I’m so happy,” Katheryn Deprill told the Associated Press news agency.
The unnamed woman’s attorney, John Waldron, said his client had been raped at age 16 while travelling abroad.
She allegedly hid her pregnancy from her family and did not take her newborn daughter to the hospital in an effort to avoid answering questions.
“It was one of the most emotional, joyful, dramatic, exciting things I’ve ever seen,” John Waldron told the Associated Press of the pair’s initial meeting.
Rupert Murdoch has appointed his sons Lachlan and James to top roles at his media and entertainment empire News Corp and 21st Century Fox.
Lachlan Murdoch returns to the Murdoch empire as co-chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, having previously stood back to focus on his own businesses.
Meanwhile, younger son James Murdoch was appointed co-chief operating officer at 21st Century Fox.
After the phone hacking scandal, James Murdoch quit as executive chairman of News International in 2012.
Rupert Murdoch has appointed his sons Lachlan and James to top roles at News Corp and 21st Century Fox (photo Getty Images)
News Corp is one of the world’s biggest media organizations, and owns newspaper titles The Times, Sun, and the Wall Street Journal.
News Corp split from 21st Century Fox in 2013. The business owns broadcaster Fox News in the US and British Sky Broadcasting in the UK.
Rupert Murdoch, who went through a high-profile split with wife Wendi Deng last year, said Lachlan was a “talented executive” with a “rich” knowledge of the business.
Lachlan Murdoch will report to Chase Carey, chief executive at 21st Century Fox.
Rupert Murdoch said: “I am very pleased he is returning to a leadership role at the company, where he will look closely with me, Chase, James and rest of the board of directors to drive continued growth for years to come.”
He also said he was “pleased” to promote James into the “important role”.
There is reportedly no new role for Rupert Murdoch’ third sibling, Elisabeth.
Switch off your lights on Saturday, March 29, from 20h30 to 21h30 local time and save the planet.
Switch off your lights on March 29 to celebrate Earth Hour 2014
Every year in March since 2007, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) celebrates Earth Hour, where millions of people, businesses and governments – including the European Union institutions – around the world turn off their lights for one hour, sending a powerful message for action on climate change.
Giant book Patria Amada (Beloved Motherland) explaining Brazil’s tax rules has been put on display in front of the National Congress in Brasilia, in protest against the country’s tax system bureaucracy.
The book weighs as much as an African elephant and is taller than a grown man and has 41,266 pages.
“My goal is to invite society to reflect – the country needs a new model rendering life less difficult for firms and taxpayers,’’ tax lawyer Vinicios Leoncio told AFP after unveiling the colossal work.
Giant book Patria Amada explaining Brazil’s tax rules has been put on display in front of the National Congress in Brasilia
The 7000 kilo volume lists chapter and verse the myriad fiscal rules and regulations governing life in the continent-sized nation.
According to a 183-nation study, Brazil is “the absolute world leader in terms of tax-related bureaucracy,’’ Vinicios Leoncio said.
He claimed that a Brazilian firm spends 2600 hours a year on its taxes.
“The average in Europe is 180 hours,” Vinicios Leoncio said.
“We are worse than Mozambique, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone – in Brazil we create 35 tax norms per day,” he said.
The US and EU have decided to imposed “deeper sanctions” against Russia if there are “further incursions into Ukraine”.
President Barack Obama said “energy is obviously a central focus of our efforts”, acknowledging it “will have some impact on the global economy”.
Barack Obama was speaking after talks in Brussels with EU leaders Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy.
At a news conference the three men spoke of the special relationship between the transatlantic partners.
Barack Obama said: “The world is safer and more just when Europe and America stand as one.”
Herman Van Rompuy, European Council president, called it a “crucial” relationship.
Their talks at the headquarters of the 28-nation EU bloc also covered plans to finalize a transatlantic trade partnership, as well as efforts to tackle Iran’s nuclear program and Syria’s chemical weapons.
Barack Obama praised the EU for the steps it had already taken – along with the US – to penalize Russia. These have included visa bans and asset freezes against a number of Russian officials.
Barack Obama was speaking after talks in Brussels with EU leaders Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy
He said those actions were taken after Russian forces moved in to annex Crimea, and they now must consider “the potential for additional, deeper sanctions” should Moscow attempt to do the same in other parts of Ukraine.
“We recognize that in order for Russia to feel the impact of these sanctions, it will have some impact on the global economy as well as on all the countries represented here today,” Barack Obama said.
Acknowledging that some EU countries are more dependent than others on Russia for energy, he said “this entire event has pointed to the need for Europe to look at how it can further diversify its energy sources”.
Barack Obama said NATO must remain a “regular presence” in those eastern European countries who are now feeling vulnerable to possible Russian intervention. He also voiced concern at the falling defense budgets of some countries.
Herman Van Rompuy called Russia’s actions in Crimea “a disgrace in the 21st century, and we will not recognize it”.
Ukraine’s southern peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia earlier this month after a referendum which Kiev and the West considered illegal.
It follows the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych at the end of February following months of bloody protests over his decision to seek greater ties with Moscow rather than the EU.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. Moscow accused Ukrainian officials on Wednesday of preventing Russian commercial pilots and crew from disembarking at Kiev International Airport.
This is Barack Obama’s first official visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels.
He began his trip to Belgium with a visit to a cemetery in Flanders, where US soldiers killed in World War One are buried.
He paid tribute to fallen US soldiers at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Waregem, to mark 100 years since the start of WW1. Belgian King Philippe and Prime Minister Elio di Rupo were also in attendance.
Following his talks with Herman Van Rompuy and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Barack Obama will meet NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
An Ankara court has ordered the suspension of the controversial Twitter ban, but it could be weeks before it takes effect.
Turkish users of Twitter expected to regain access shortly after the ruling but it remained blocked.
Turkey’s telecommunication authority (TIB) has 30 days to decide whether to lift the ban.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “wipe out Twitter” after users spread allegations of corruption.
Twitter itself has filed a challenge to the access ban.
It said it had acted on two out of three Turkish legal orders but had concern about the third order as it was a request us to suspend an account accusing a former minister of corruption.
Turkey’s Twitter ban sparks outrage and social media mocks
“This order causes us concern,” its general counsel, Vijaya Gadde, said in a statement.
“Political speech is among the most important speech, especially when it concerns possible government corruption.”
At a rally ahead of important local elections on Sunday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “I don’t understand how people of good sense could defend this Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. There are all kinds of lies there.”
Twitter ban was imposed on Friday on the grounds that the social media site had failed to remove the allegations of corruption involving senior officials.
A number of complaints were filed to courts, arguing the ban was illegal and unconstitutional.
The administrative court in Ankara issued a temporary injunction on Wednesday ordering the TIB to restore access to Twitter until it could deliver its full verdict on the ban.
Turkish media reports suggested the ban would be suspended soon afterwards but a source in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office told Reuters news agency the TIB had 30 days to implement or appeal against the court ruling.
Thirty days is a standard period in such cases.
“The millions of people in Turkey who turn to Twitter to make their voices heard are being kept from doing just that,” Vijaya Gadde said.
“There are no legal grounds for the blocking of our service in Turkey,” she added.
Users have found many ways of circumventing the prohibition, which has been widely criticized and ridiculed.
Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of suspended Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, the Vatican has announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The senior German Church leader has been suspended over his alleged lavish spending.
Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, 53, has been accused of spending more than 31 million euros ($43 million) on renovating his official residence.
The cleric, dubbed the “bishop of bling” by the media, offered to resign when the scandal broke last October.
Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst has been accused of spending more than 31 million euros on renovating his official residence
In response, Pope Francis temporarily suspended Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst and instructed a Church commission to investigate the matter.
Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of senior clerics whose lifestyles seem too lavish.
On Wednesday, the Vatican said the inquiry found that the senior cleric could no longer exercise his ministry.
The Church called on the diocese of Limburg to accept the decision “with docility” and to work toward restoring a “climate of charity and reconciliation”.
The Vatican did not further elaborate on the future of Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, but said he would get a new position “at the opportune time”.
Auxiliary Bishop Manfred Grothe has been appointed to run the Limburg diocese.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst and his luxury lifestyle have become infamous in Germany, where many people pay a Church tax to the state. The tax raised 5.2 billion euros for Catholics and 4.6 billion euros for Protestants in 2012.
At the heart of the criticism was the refurbishment of the cleric’s official residence, originally set to cost 5.5 million euros.
German media reported that the quarters were fitted with a 15,000-euro bath, a conference table for 25,000 euros and a private chapel worth 2.9 million euros.
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst was also under fire for a first-class flight to India to visit the poor.
