Month: May 2017

An Afro-feminist group in France says it expects a public apology from the mayor of Paris, after she condemned the group’s plan to hold a festival in late July. Mayor Anne Hidalgo characterized the event as “forbidden to whites” in a series of comments on Twitter, adding that she reserved the right to “prosecute the organizers for discrimination.” The Mwasi Collective says the festival is aimed at “organizing and building black feminist strategies to end racial, patriarchal, colonial and capitalist violence.” It plans workshops, presentations and performances with certain areas reserved for black women, another area for black people of …

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Germany’s Foreign Ministry says envoys from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet this week in Berlin to try and push forward the implementation of a peace deal for eastern Ukraine.   Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters Monday that, due to the “difficult and deteriorating”‘ situation in eastern Ukraine, Germany has scheduled a meeting Tuesday with those countries and a representative from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.   The Ukrainian government has been fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The fighting has cost some 10,000 lives.   The …

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains committed to strong trans-Atlantic relations, her spokesman said Monday, after the German leader suggested that the United States is no longer a reliable partner.                “Because trans-Atlantic relations are so important to this chancellor, it is right from her viewpoint to speak out honestly about differences,” spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday during a news conference. “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days,” Merkel said, addressing a campaign rally in Bavaria. Merkel, among other European leaders, was sharply critical of …

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Norway is demanding that the Palestinian Authority reimburse it for funds donated to a women’s center on the West Bank because the center was named after a female militant who participated in an attack in Israel that killed 37 civilians.   The Norwegian Foreign Ministry says the country “will not allow itself to be associated with institutions that take the names of terrorists.”   Israeli Foreign Ministry officials applauded Norway’s move and urged “the international community to check closely where the money that it invests in the Palestinian Authority goes.”   The women’s center was named for Dalal Mughrabi, a …

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The Swedish satire The Square has taken the top honors at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival. The art world satire by Swedish writer-director Ruben Ostlund won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, France, Sunday. Dominic West, Elisabeth Moss and Claes Bang star in the movie.  Bang plays the curator of an art museum, who sets up “The Square,” an installation inviting passers-by to acts of altruism. But after he reacts foolishly to the theft of his phone, the father of two finds himself dragged into shameful situations. Sofia Coppola became only the second woman to win the prize for best …

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging European Union nations to stick together in the face of new uncertainty over the United States and other challenges. Merkel said Sunday at a campaign event in Bavaria that “the times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.”   The comments follow President Donald Trump saying he needed more time to decide if the U.S. would continue backing a key climate accord.   Trump’s stance had led Merkel to describe the just-ended G-7 talks on climate change as “unsatisfactory.”   The …

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British police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the Manchester bombing that killed 22 people last week. The arrest was made late Sunday during a raid in the Gorton area of Manchester on “suspicion of offences contrary to the terrorism act,” the Greater Manchester police said in a statement. Earlier in the day, police arrested a 25-year-old and searched his property. Thirteen men remain in British custody in relation to the suicide bombing by Manchester native Salman Abedi, 22, in the lobby of Manchester Arena last Monday just after American pop singer Ariana Grande finished her concert.   …

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For the second day in a row, Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with Egypt’s Coptic Christians following an attack on a bus carrying Coptic pilgrims to a remote desert monastery.   Francis led thousands of people in prayer Sunday for the victims, who Francis said were killed in “another act of ferocious violence” after having refused to renounce their Christian faith.   Speaking from his studio window over St. Peter’s Square, Francis said: “May the Lord welcome these courageous witnesses, these martyrs, in his peace and convert the hearts of the violent ones.”   The Islamic State group claimed …

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As jittery residents of Manchester, England, try to enjoy a holiday weekend, a group of local bands have drawn 50,000 fans to the city’s first big music event since Monday’s suicide bombing at Manchester Arena. Earlier Saturday, Britain reduced its terrorism threat level from “critical” to “severe.” Extra security, however, was in place at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, on the outskirts of Manchester, for a concert by Manchester bands the Courteneers, the Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage. Fans attending the show were asked to arrive early and not to bring bags. Security officers in ball caps and high-visibility jackets were stationed …

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U.S. President Donald Trump has told “confidants,” including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave a landmark international agreement on climate change, the Axios news website reported Saturday, citing three sources with direct knowledge. On Saturday, Trump said in a Twitter post he would decide whether to support the Paris climate deal next week. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source who has been in contact with people involved in the decision told Reuters that a couple of meetings were planned with chief executives of energy …

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Dozens of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have linked arms across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone cutting across ethnically divided Cyprus’ capital of Nicosia to voice their support for a reunification agreement. Beating drums, blowing whistles and singing traditional Cypriot folk songs, the demonstrators said real peace lies in the hands of ordinary people from both sides of the divide as the Mediterranean island’s reunification talks appear to be faltering. Protesters said Saturday’s event was to remind politicians not to let ordinary people down. On Friday, a U.N. envoy called off mediation efforts with the island’s Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and …

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Maritime rescues of migrants adrift in the Mediterranean continued unabated on Saturday, with Spanish officials assisting more than 150 refugees in small boats and Tunisian security forces pulling more than 100 others to safety, including seven pregnant women and three children. The latest tally of rescued African migrants seeking a better life in Europe came as Libyan and Italian officials said about 10,000 migrants had been rescued off the coast of Libya this week. The French news agency AFP quoted authorities as saying at least 54 people had drowned. Migrants in need of assistance often are brought to Sicily, but …

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Italy chose to host a Group of Seven summit of wealthy nations on a hilltop overlooking the Mediterranean, looking to draw attention to the migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of people set sail from Africa in search of a better life in Europe. But world leaders on Saturday said little that will help Italy manage the steady flow of migrants to its shores or enable it to cope with the growing number of new arrivals. “Even though this summit took place in Sicily, a stone’s throw from where so many migrants have died, it produced no concrete …

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