Month: January 2019

A man with a knife rushed on to the stage during the finale of a charity event and stabbed a Polish mayor in the abdomen Sunday, leaving the politician in very serious condition in an attack that Polish media said had a political element. Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz grabbed his belly and collapsed on stage during the “Lights to Heaven” fundraiser organized by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, Poland’s most important charity. Polish President Andrzej Duda said he was informed that “doctors succeeded in reanimating the heart of the seriously injured Mayor Pawel Adamowicz and there is hope, but …

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French President Emmanuel Macron has released what he calls a “letter to the French,” encouraging a national debate on issues that have led to two months of anti-government protests.   “This is how I intend to turn anger into solutions,” Macron said Sunday. “Your proposals will help build a new contract for the nation, organizing the actions of the government and parliament, but also France’s positions at the European and international levels.”   Macron plans to hold a number of town hall meetings across the country over the next eight weeks.   Among the questions he is opening for debate …

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Some of Germany’s largest and busiest airports are facing a possible strike by security staff on Tuesday. The German trade union Verdi on Sunday expanded the call for a strike to include Munich and Hamburg airports in addition to the country’s largest airport in Frankfurt. One-day walkouts are also expected Tuesday at the smaller Hannover, Bremen, Leipzig-Halle, Dresden and Erfurt airports. The union is demanding that security staff get paid a minimum of 20.00 euros ($23.10) per hour. Security companies say that amounts to a prohibitive 30 percent raise in some cases. Last week, a strike by security staff forced …

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Four people have been confirmed dead Sunday in a suspected gas explosion in Paris a day earlier. Authorities found the body of a woman reported missing the day before underneath the rubble at a bakery, the site of the explosion, in the French capital. Two firefighters and a Spanish tourist were also killed and dozens injured in Saturday’s blast, which left nearby buildings severely damaged. Around 50 people have been provided temporary accommodation as authorities continue to search the rubble for bodies and assess the safety of damaged buildings. Firefighters were responding to calls about a gas leak Saturday when …

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The U.S. ambassador to Germany has warned companies involved in the construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that they could face sanctions if they stick to the project, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Germany of being a “captive” of Moscow due to its reliance on Russian energy and urged it to halt work on the $11 billion gas pipeline. The pipeline, which would carry gas straight to Germany under the Baltic Sea, is also seen critical by other European countries as it would deprive Ukraine of lucrative gas transit …

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U.S. President Donald Trump is dismissing news reports suggesting he is beholden to Russia and President Vladimir Putin or hiding accounts of his private talks with the Russian leader the five times they have met, including at their July summit in Helsinki. Asked directly late Saturday by Fox News talk show host Jeanine Pirro whether he is now or has ever worked for Russia, Trump said, “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked.” The U.S. leader said, “If you ask the folks in Russia, I’ve been tougher on Russia than anybody else, any other — probably any …

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French media and reporters’ organizations on Sunday denounced attacks on journalists by “yellow vest” anti-government protesters and called for better protection after a series of incidents this weekend. Paris police fired water cannon and tear gas to push back demonstrators from around the Arc de Triomphe monument on Saturday, in the ninth straight weekend of protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms. Journalists covering the protests are increasingly becoming a target for the demonstrators. In the western city of Rouen, LCI television reporters were attacked by a group of protesters. One of the security agents working with the TV …

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Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May has pleaded with lawmakers to accept her deal for leaving the European Union, warning that faith in democracy was at stake. Writing in the Sunday Express ahead of a critical vote this week, May urged lawmakers to “do what is right for the country,” because she said rejecting the will of the people would be “a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy.” May has urged Parliament to support her little-loved EU divorce deal so that Britain doesn’t leave the EU on March 29 without an agreement on exit terms. She postponed a …

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Paris police fired water cannon and tear gas to push back yellow vest demonstrators from around the Arc de Triomphe monument Saturday, in the ninth straight weekend of protests against French President Emmanuel  Macron’s economic reforms. Thousands of protesters in Paris marched noisily but mostly peacefully through the Grands Boulevards shopping area in northern Paris, close to where a massive gas explosion in a bakery killed two firefighters and a Spanish tourist and injured nearly 50 people earlier in the day. But small groups of demonstrators broke away from the designated route and threw bottles and other projectiles at the police.  Around the 19th-century Arc de Triomphe at the top …

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Several thousand people turned out Saturday in Belgrade for the sixth week of street protests against populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.    Demonstrations first started after thugs beat up an opposition politician in November, prompting calls for more democracy and an end to political violence in Serbia.      Critics say Vucic has fostered an atmosphere of fear and hate speech against opponents in the Balkan nation while seeking to tighten his rule. He has denied the allegations.    Whistle-blowing crowds marched through central Belgrade despite freezing temperatures and icy streets. Some carried banners reading “Rise Serbia” or “It’s started.”  …

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No one is sure about how many migrant children are living in Spain without their parents — and that’s part of the problem. Three months ago, Spanish officials estimated there were 10,000 unaccompanied minors living in the country — 70 percent of them Moroccan. But more than 11,000 migrant children were recorded having arrived in Spain in 2018 alone, and previous migrant influxes had already swept in at least 4,000, say civil-society groups. “The registry of unaccompanied minors is not working properly,” says the non-profit Fundacion Raices, which promotes the rights of migrant children. Not knowing the actual numbers is …

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