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☆ Aya Nakamura: The most streamed female Francophone artist has become a target in France’s culture wars ahead of Paris 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Bea Adeleke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Aya Nakamura was born in the former French colony of Mali, raised in France and is widely considered the most streamed female Francophone artist in the world. However, ahead of Paris 2024, Nakamura finds herself at the center of France’s culture wars. Aya Nakamura attends the Kenzo Menswear Fall-Winter 2023-2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 20, 2023 in Paris, France. “I think that the people who criticize her actually don’t accept that she embodies France,” French activist Rokhaya Diallo told CNN. Politicians such as Le Pen hailed the legislation as an “ideological victory” whilst French health Minister, Aurelien Rousseau resigned in protest.

Persons: Aya Nakamura, Nakamura, Edith Piaf, Piaf, “, ”, I’m, Rachida, Kenzo, Pascal Le Segretain, Marion Maréchal, Marine Le, Rokhaya Diallo, ” Nakamura, ’, le, Geoffroy Van Der, Emanuel Macron, Nakamura “, Le Pen, Vincent Martigny, Thomas Samson, Marion Marechal, Emmanuel Dunand, Martigny, Diallo, Zinedine Zidane, ” Diallo, ‘, Oliver Roy, Reynaud Julien, Macron, Aurelien Rousseau Organizations: CNN, France’s, of Culture, Rally, Blacks, Rassemblement National, Getty, Olympic Aquatics, France Inter, Science, University of Nice, National Assembly, soccer team, Paris Olympic, Le, Palais des Sports, EUI, of Transnational Governance, Twitter, APS, France, BMFTV, RMC Locations: Mali, France, French, Paris, Bamako, Europe, ”, Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt, AFP, Rassemblement, Ukraine, North, Carhaix

☆ In Russia, Putin’s Puppets Are Coming to Life - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Mikhail Zygar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This system has existed for a long time — at least since Mr. Putin’s first re-election in 2004 — and has always worked perfectly: It maintains the facade of Russia’s imitation democracy. Mr. Putin’s puppets have begun to come to life. Mr. Kiriyenko, who was prime minister for less than a year in 1998, forswore liberal politics to become a key figure in Mr. Putin’s administration. In his role, Mr. Kiriyenko has often relied on political puppets. Friends, including me, discouraged Ms. Sobchak from taking him up on the obviously suspect offer, but she agreed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin’s, Boris Nadezhdin, Nadezhdin’s, Sergei Kiriyenko, Kiriyenko, Ksenia Sobchak, Sobchak, Kiriyenko’s, Nadezhdin, Putin Locations: St, Petersburg, Western, Russia

☆ Russ Cook: After running almost 7,500 miles across Africa, this man’s epic odyssey hangs in the balance
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Over the last nine months, Russ Cook has run almost 7,500 miles across 13 different countries and is currently in Senegal with his small support crew. But despite all his efforts, which have involved running more than a marathon a day on average, Cook took to social media Tuesday to announce that his epic journey was facing a diplomatic impasse. Cook had planned to finish his odyssey at the most northerly tip of Africa in Tunisia, but must access Algeria through the Mauritania border first. “If we don’t get them, then it’s game over for Project Africa,” Cook said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Starting at the most southerly point in South Africa, Cook is running all the way to Tunisia.

Persons: Russ Cook, Cook, ” Cook, ”, Alexander Stafford, UK’s, Harry Gallimore, “ Organizations: CNN, Project Africa, Parliamentary Group, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development, ” CNN Locations: Africa, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Algerian, South Africa

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — With Turkey completing its ratification of Sweden's bid to join NATO, Hungary is the last member of the military alliance not to have given its approval. Orbán has long promised that Hungary wouldn't be the last NATO member to ratify Sweden's request to join the alliance. Yet Orbán's critics say that there is no such schism within his party, and that when it comes to Hungary's approval of Sweden's NATO membership, Orbán alone is in control. Hungary's opposition parties, which favor Sweden's membership in NATO, have made several attempts over the past year to schedule a vote on the matter. “Anybody who believed that it’s in the hands of the governing party lawmakers was seriously mistaken,” she said.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Orbán, Hungary wouldn't, —, Agnes Vadai, parliament's, It’s, ”, he'd, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson hasn't, Tobias Billström, Budapest hasn't, he’d, Jens Stoltenberg, Dorka, Kristersson, “, ” Vadai, Vladimir Putin, Vadai, Orbán's Organizations: —, Turkey, NATO, Central European, Fidesz, European Union, Democratic Coalition, Ministry of Defense, Hungary, Centre, Integration Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Budapest, Sweden, Turkey, Stockholm, Swedish, Ukraine, NATO

☆ Germany’s far-right AfD face mounting protests over plan to deport migrants
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Nadine Schmidt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Protests of up to 30,000 people have already taken place in cities including Berlin, Leipzig, Rostock, Essen and Cologne. Demonstrators gathered outside the capital’s redbrick town hall on Wednesday holding placards reading “Nazis out” and chanting slogans against far-right AfD politician Björn Höcke. The gathering of AfD members, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists took place at a lakeside hotel outside the city of Potsdam on November 25. The AfD told CNN that the two “separated with mutual agreement.”However, the idea of a “mass deportation plan” was openly supported by one AfD representative in the state of Brandenberg. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/picture alliance/dpa/Getty ImagesAsked whether he thought the protests would encourage people to stop voting for the AfD, Abaci was hopeful.

Persons: Björn Höcke, Annalena Baerbock, Olaf Scholz, Sebastian Christoph Gollnow, Correctiv, ”, Alice Weidel, Roland Hartwig –, René Springer, Christian Dürr, Rika von Gierke, “, ” “, ’, It’s, ” Kazin, ” Chancellor Scholz, Baerbock, Abaci, Scholz, Robert Habeck, Stern, –, Nadine Schmidt, Sophie Tanno Organizations: Berlin CNN, Potsdam Sunday, CNN, Free Democrats Party, ” Locations: Germany, Berlin, Leipzig, Rostock, Essen, Cologne, Potsdam, Brandenberg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Nazi, Thuringia, Saxony, Brandenburg, London

☆ NATO Accession Looks to Be 'Not a Priority' for Sweden, Hungary Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Sweden has not done anything to boost confidence in its suitability for NATO membership, and has given the impression that joining the alliance is not a priority for the country, an aide to Hungary's prime minister said on Thursday. Sweden applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in May 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but the accession process, which requires the approval of all existing members, has been held up by Turkey and Hungary. Gulyas suggested that Sweden's foreign minister or prime minister should "get in touch and ask what concerns the Hungarian parliament has" about Sweden's NATO accession. Replying to a reporter's question, he said Hungary wanted to avoid being the last country to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, but "we will probably not manage to do so without Sweden's help. The Turkish parliament's general assembly may debate Sweden's NATO membership bid in the coming weeks, the ruling AK Party's parliamentary group chairman said last week.

Persons: Viktor Orban's, Gulyas, Gergely Szakacs, Anita Komuves, Marie, Alex Richardson Organizations: NATO, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Nordic, Turkish, AK, Marie Mannes Locations: BUDAPEST, Sweden, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Swedish, Moscow, Budapest, Stockholm

☆ German government unveils budget fixes as way out of crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Christian Kraemer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The government said the spillover effects from the energy crisis that hit in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and caused rocketing prices had created an emergency situation that justified suspending the debt brake. The leader of Scholz's SPD urged the government to consider suspending the debt brake next year, a move rejected in particular by the fiscally hawkish Free Democrats (FDP). "The debt brake must remain." The debt brake, introduced after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, was first suspended in 2020 to help the government support firms and health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday he stressed the need to give companies, which have been worried by the uncertainty caused by the budget crisis, clarity as quickly as possible.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck, Annegret, Olaf Scholz's, finalising, Scholz's, Christian Duerr, Bijan Djir, Christian Kraemer, Riham Alkousaa, Amir Orusov, Rachel More, Matthias Williams, Thomas Escritt, Alison Williams, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Finance, Climate, REUTERS, Free Democrats, ZDF, Greens, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, BERLIN, Ukraine, Sarai, East Germany

☆ German government to agree budget fixes as way out of crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Christian Kraemer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks next to Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck during a hearing at Germany’s lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, November 15, 2023. The budget would see Germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row as Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government fights its way out of a crisis that has triggered warnings about growth and an industry exodus. "The debt brake must remain." The debt brake, introduced after the global financial crisis of 2008-09, was first suspended in 2020 to help the government support firms and health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday he stressed the need to give companies, who have been worried by the uncertainty caused by the budget crisis, clarity as quickly as possible.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck, Annegret, Olaf Scholz's, finalising, Christian Duerr, Bijan Djir, Christian Kraemer, Riham, Matthias Williams, Alison Williams Organizations: Finance, Climate, REUTERS, Rights, Free Democrats, ZDF, Greens, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Sarai, East Germany

☆ Greek Lawmakers Quit Leftist Syriza Party in Protest Against New Leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS (Reuters) - Nine Greek lawmakers quit the leftist Syriza party on Thursday after breaking ranks with its new leader, formalising a split in the country's main opposition party which they said could now disintegrate. They resigned in protest over the leadership of 35-year old Stefanos Kasselakis, a former banker who was picked as party leader in September after Syriza's heavy defeat in June's national election. "SYRIZA is experiencing a dissolution crisis," the lawmakers said in a letter, accusing Kasselakis of contradictory positions and an ideological shift from leftist principles. The lawmakers who quit Syriza have the numbers to form a separate parliamentary group and could launch a new party ahead of European Parliament elections next year. "It is very uncertain how Syriza can succeed under these circumstances," head of ALCO pollsters Costas Panagopoulos told Reuters.

Persons: formalising, Kasselakis, Syriza, Euclid Tsakalotos, Goldman Sachs, Alexis Tsipras, ALCO pollsters Costas Panagopoulos, Renee Maltezou, Gareth Jones Organizations: New Democracy, Socialist PASOK, ALCO, Reuters Locations: ATHENS, United States

Climate Change Conference (COP 28) that opens on Nov. 30 in Dubai. Neither floods nor fires are new to Greece but with climate change, they are becoming a frequent disruptor to an economy dependent on tourism and farming. "We have to change our prediction methods," Skylakakis said, acknowledging the rapid pace of climate change. Mitsotakis has urged the EU to top up its solidarity fund and help countries tackle the impact of climate change. Adaptation measures worth 67 billion euros could reduce that loss to 510 billion euros, the country's leading economic think tank IOBE said in a February report.

Persons: Louisa Gouliamaki, Dimitris Kouretas, Kouretas, Theodore Skylakakis, Storm Daniel, Kostas Agorastos, Giorgos Stasinos, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Sokratis Famellos, Skylakakis, Thanos Giannakakis, Nikos Papathanasis, Miltiadis Gkouzouris, Mitsotakis, Petros Varelidis, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Michele Kambas, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Reuters, United Nations Environment Program, Mount Olympus, HVA, Chamber, European, Justice, EU, Water Management, Environment Ministry, Thomson Locations: Vlohos, Greece, Greece's, Thessaly, Europe, Dubai, Los Angeles, Dutch, Athens, Thessaly's, Mouzaki, Netherlands

☆ Opinion | Israelis Were Shattered on Oct. 7. Can They Recover?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Israelis spent 18 years watching Hamas turn to its military advantage every Israeli concession — including free electricity, cash transfers of Qatari funds, work permits for Gazans, thousands of truckloads of humanitarian goods. But while Israelis are still processing the horror from the south, the threat of war looms on every side. Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, has even suggested effectively banning the Palestinian olive harvest, ostensibly for security reasons. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom Israel had been engaged in a careful rapprochement, has reverted to Islamist form. To many Israelis, there’s a distinct echo of what happened at German universities beginning about a century ago.

Persons: Will, won’t, Camp Iftach, Bezalel Smotrich, Vladimir Putin, Netanyahu, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israel, ”, It’s, ” Einat Wilf Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Super, Harvard, Labor Party Locations: Israel, Gaza, Metula, Lebanon, Jenin, Nablus, Iran, China, Turkey, ”, West, Berlin, Sydney, Australia

☆ Opinion: King Charles expresses regret for slavery and colonialism, but where’s his apology?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Opinion Keith Magee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In his role as head of state, King Charles is his government’s servant and representative. Backed by his undoubted convening power, King Charles could make a historic contribution to the debate about reparatory justice. Crucially, King Charles is not just the British head of state and the head of the Commonwealth. Every day that passes without a similar statement from King Charles is a day too many. He could take inspiration from CARICOM — the Caribbean Economic Community — and its 10-Point Action Plan for Reparatory Justice.

Persons: Keith Magee, King Charles III, Keith Magee Arron, Charles, “, ”, Prince Charles, swerved, Bell Ribeiro, Addy, ” Ribeiro, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, King Charles, —, Willem, Alexander Organizations: University College London Institute for Innovation, CNN, Commonwealth, Labour, Commons, Parliamentary, Conservative, North, Twitter, —, Economic, Reparatory Locations: Kenya, Commonwealth, British, Barbados, Rwanda, Africa

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu attends a swearing-in ceremony as he is accompanied by Ozgur Ozel at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsANKARA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Sunday elected Ozgur Ozel as its new leader, ending a 13-year term for incumbent Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as the country gears up for local elections next March. Ozel, 49, has been serving as the CHP's deputy parliamentary group chairman since 2015 and has been a lawmaker since 2011. Ozel, a pharmacist by trade, received 812 of 1,366 possible votes at a tense, hours-long party congress in Ankara that took two rounds. Imamoglu supported Ozel in a push for change at the CHP that has long been bogged down by in-fighting.

Persons: Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Ozgur Ozel, Umit, Tayyip Erdogan, Ozel, Kilicdaroglu, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Imamoglu, Erdogan, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Ozer Sencar, pollster Metropoll, Sencar, Daniel Wallis, Hugh Lawson, David Evans Organizations: Republican People's Party, Turkish, REUTERS, Rights, Sunday, Istanbul Mayor, CHP, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Rights ANKARA, Ozel, Istanbul, Black Sea, Rize, Turkey's

☆ Netanyahu Agrees to Form National Unity Government
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a national unity government with members of the opposition, including former generals, to lead the country via a wartime cabinet. It brings together representatives of rival parliamentary groups in a broad coalition, usually at a time of national emergency. Netanyahu had initially wanted those with military expertise in the opposition to join his existing coalition.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu

☆ Ex-Goldman Sachs trader to lead Greece's leftist Syriza party
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Renee Maltezou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] The newly elected leader of Syriza leftist party, Stefanos Kasselakis walks outside the party's headquarters in Athens, Greece, September 25, 2023. Syriza was catapulted to power at the height of Greece's debt crisis in 2015, but lost to the conservative New Democracy party in 2019 and in June 2023. Kasselakis replaces Alexis Tsipras, a firebrand leftist whose anti-austerity rhetoric rallied voters around Syriza during the debt crisis. After coming to power, Tsipras was forced to accept a third international bailout and more austerity. Since Kasselakis is not a lawmaker, he will most likely need to appoint a party deputy to lead Syriza's parliamentary group.

Persons: Stefanos, Louisa Gouliamaki, Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, Goldman Sachs, Effie Achtsioglou, Kasselakis, Joe Biden, Tsipras, Nikos Pappas, Tyler Macbeth, Renee Maltezou, Michele Kambas, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, ATHENS, Sunday, Syriza, New Democracy, ERT, Democratic, firebrand, Facebook, Kasselakis, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, Kasselakis, Achtsioglou, United States, Syriza, Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Marine Le Pen, member of parliament and president of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National - RN) party parliamentary group, speaks during the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Paris prosecutor's office said on Friday that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 23 other members of her party should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, escalating a seven-year-old probe. The prosecutor's office said some 49 assistants' situation had been examined over a period of time spanning three EU parliament terms of office, from 2004 to 2016. She faces a potential 10-year jail sentence, a one million euros fine, and - as she's an elected official - ineligibility to hold public office for 10 years, the prosecutor's office said. Judges will have to decide whether or not to accept the prosecutor's office petition for trial.

Persons: Stephanie Lecocq, Marine Le, Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron, Juliette Jabkhiro, Dominique Vidalon, Elizabeth Pineau, Charlotte Van Campenhout, William Maclean Organizations: National Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Rassemblement, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Le Pen's

☆ Two People Killed in Explosion in Northern Hungary -Media
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Two people, including a police officer, were killed and several others injured in an explosion during a police operation in the northern city of Esztergom, online media reported on Wednesday. Hungarian online media reported that the blast went off in a house on the outskirts of the city near the Slovak border as police responded to a threat. Local media said the explosion also killed the perpetrator, who was yet to be identified. In a Facebook post, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed condolences to a police officer killed on duty without specifically referring to the incident reported in local media. His ruling Fidesz parliamentary group also said in a statement that a police officer was killed in an explosion in the northern city of Esztergom.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Gergely Szakacs, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Wednesday . Police Locations: BUDAPEST, Esztergom, Hungarian

BERLIN, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Germany's interior ministry is planning to force telecoms operators to slash the use of equipment from Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE in their 5G networks after a review highlighted an over-reliance on these Chinese suppliers, a government official said. Huawei currently accounts for 59% of Germany's 5G RAN networks, according to a survey by telecommunications consultancy Strand Consult. The interior ministry wants to present its approach to cabinet from next week but could face resistance from the ministry for digital affairs due to concerns it might affect Germany's already slow progress with digitalization. Germany is considered a laggard in implementing the European Union's toolbox of security measures for 5G networks. The interior ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Persons: Nancy, Faeser, Reinhard Brandl, Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh, Sabine Wollrab, Mark Potter Organizations: Huawei, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Germany's, Strand, ZTE, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, China

☆ Japan's new cabinet reflects PM's focus on gender, defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during the leaders talk of the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) in Jakarta, Indonesia September 6, 2023. Top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said the role of defence minister went to Minoru Kihara, a pro-Taiwan politician who has visited the island in the past and belongs to a Japan-Taiwan interparliamentary group. Kihara will also oversee the bolstering of Japan's military as part of a plan to double defence spending over five years by 2027. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and will be sensitive to any shift in Japan's stance on the democratically governed island. "Even if the foreign and defence minister posts change, there won't be any change or impact on Japan's diplomatic policy."

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Adek Berry, Yoko Kamikawa, Hirokazu Matsuno, Minoru Kihara, Kihara, Takashi Kawakami, Shigenobu Tamura, Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi, Sakura Murakami, Chang, Ran Kim, Kantaro, Clarence Fernandez, Stephen Coates Organizations: ASEAN, Pacific, Rights, Liberal Democratic Party, Takushoku University, LDP, NHK, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Tokyo, China, East Asia, United States

CNN —As Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) grows ever popular, the country’s once dominant Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party finds itself at a crossroads. The center-right CDU was in power for much of Germany’s post-war era and oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany. Max Schwarz/ReutersBerlin’s CDU mayor, Kai Wegner, took to X to write: “What cooperation is there to be had? Populist parties as ‘lightning rods’The CDU’s Michael Kretschmer, state premier of Saxony, believes a shift in policy is the best approach for democratic parties to stop the rise of the far-right. Opinion polls in his state, one of the five that make up Germany’s former east, put the AfD in the lead; Saxony has long been a stronghold for the far-right party.

Persons: Angela Merkel, Friedrich Merz, shockwaves, Merz, Merz backpedaled, ”, Robert Sesselmann, Max Schwarz, Kai Wegner, Jörg, “, ” “, Kühne, ” Tino Chrupalla, John MacDougall, Merkel, it’s, sadi, Michael Kretschmer, Kretschmer Organizations: CNN, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, East, Social, Green Party and Free Democrats, ZDF, Reuters Berlin’s CDU, INSA, New, SPD, Greens, ARD, Bundestag, Getty, Federal Criminal Police, UN, UNHCR, “, Citizens Locations: Germany, West Germany, Sonneberg, Thuringia, Germany’s, Saxony, Leipzig, West, East Germany, East Germans, West Germans, Saxony Anhalt, Ukraine, Poland, Syria

For over six years, President Emmanuel Macron has struggled to convince the French that he is a man of dialogue. He went on a countrywide listening tour to calm the storms of the Yellow Vest uprising, convened a citizen convention on climate policy, and created a council of politicians and members of civil society to discuss France’s most pressing issues. But he has generally remained a top-down leader, one who listens before deciding but rarely talks of compromise. Now, more isolated, he is trying political outreach. It looked like a pre-emptive strike aimed at heading off a potentially turbulent “rentrée” — the post-vacation convergence on Paris often marked by resentments reignited after a spell of downtime.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, aloofness, Macron, resentments Locations: France, Paris

☆ German MP says she was detained in Turkey for social media posts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A German lawmaker said on Sunday she was detained for several hours when entering Turkey earlier this month based on social media posts she made in 2019, adding that she would still travel to Turkey and speak her mind about its government. Akbulut, a Turkey-born German citizen of Kurdish heritage, was released after making contact with the German foreign ministry, she said. It was not clear exactly what she was referring to, nor which social media posts she believed triggered the Turkish arrest warrant. The German embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Antalya were in contact with lawmaker, a source at the German foreign ministry told Reuters. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa in Berlin Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Goekay, Tayyip Erdogan's, Akbulut, Riham Alkousaa, Ros Russell Organizations: Linke, Kurdish, Turkish Parliamentary Group, Reuters, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Toksabay, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Antalya, Turkish, Germany, Berlin, Ankara, Syria, Akbulut, United States

☆ Paris protest over police violence banned in aftermath of riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, July 8 (Reuters) - Paris police banned a protest on Saturday against violence by the force, a week after France was rocked by riots sparked by the killing of a teenager in a suburb of the French capital. French authorities and politicians including President Emmanuel Macron have denied institutional racism within the country's law enforcement agencies. The demonstration against alleged police violence and racial discrimination was initially planned as a march in Beaumont-sur-Oise, another Paris suburb, where Traore died in 2016. Separately, the French foreign ministry on Saturday denied a UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) allegation of racial discrimination and excessive use of force by French law enforcement officials. "Any accusation of systemic racism or discrimination by law enforcement in France is unfounded", the foreign ministry said, echoing similar statements it has made previously.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Nahel, Adama Traore, Frenchman, George Floyd, Traore, Mathilde Panot, Tassilo Hummel, Alexander Smith Organizations: la Republique, UN, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, la, United States, Beaumont, sur, Oise, Marseille, Strasbourg, Nahel

[1/2] German parliamentary group leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel speaks during budget debate in the plenary hall of German lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany November 23, 2022. Asked by broadcaster ntv if the AfD would name a chancellor candidate, party co-chief Alice Weidel said "of course, we would also nominate (one) without these polling numbers", side-stepping a question about whether she would present herself. The likelihood of an AfD candidate becoming Germany's chancellor is very low currently given the party would need to be able to form a government and currently all other parties have ruled out working with it. The AfD is currently on track to winning the vote in all three east German states holding elections next year. Reporting by Sarah Marsh; additional Reporting by Friederike Heine; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alice Weidel, Christian Mang, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's, Thomas Haldenwang, Haldenwang, Hans Vorlaender, Sarah Marsh, Friederike Heine, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Scholz's Social Democrats, ntv, Thomson Locations: Germany, Berlin, BERLIN, Dresden

His case on Thursday was adjourned to Nov. 30 and the trial is set to hang over the opposition as it tries to regroup and rally disheartened voters ahead of local elections in March. At the same time, calls have grown louder for the opposition's defeated presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu to resign as chairman of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP). Tanju Tosun, political science professor at Ege University, said the CHP's internal politics could overshadow its preparations for next year's local elections. "If the internal rifts within the CHP continues until local elections, candidates from the ruling AK Party (AKP) could defeat opposition candidates in many cities," he said. "YSP may field candidates (in Istanbul and Ankara)," Meral Danis Bestas, a senior YSP official, said.

Persons: Imamoglu, Tayyip Erdogan, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Kilicdaroglu, Tanju Tosun, Kemal Polat, Polat, We've, Ali Kucukgocmen, Huseyin Hayatsever, Daren Butler, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Istanbul Mayor, opposition's, Republican People's Party, Ege University, CHP, AK Party, Council of State, IYI Party, IYI, Left, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, ISTANBUL, Beylikduzu, Balikesir, Denizli, Kurdish, Ankara

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