Month: May 2019

Swedish authorities on Monday issued a request for a detention order against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is now jailed in Britain, a Swedish prosecutor said. Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson says if the Swedish court decided to detain Assange “on probable cause suspected for rape … I will issue a European Arrest Warrant.” The development sets up a possible future tug-of-war between Sweden and the United States over any extradition of Assange from Britain. Assange was evicted last month from the Ecuadorian Embassy where he had been holed up with political asylum since 2012. He was then immediately arrested by British …

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Vietnam and Europe could be swapping more pomelo fruit and Portuguese cheese soon if a new trade deal comes into effect, linking two regions that have been looking for an alternative to the trade tensions brought on by the United States. The European Parliament is scheduled to discuss the trade deal on May 28, after years of negotiations between Vietnam and the European Union. The deal is significant not only because it facilitates exports, like tropical fruit, but also as it lays out commitments on human rights, labor unions, and protection of the environment. Critics, though, say the EU-Vietnam Free …

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Movie stars including Salma Hayek and Eva Longoria celebrated the role of women in cinema at a glitzy gala in Cannes on Sunday, amid a drive to promote gender equality in the industry that is still falling short of what many campaigners hoped for. Cannes’ film festival, the world’s most important cinema showcase, last year signed a pledge to get an equal number of men and women in its top management by 2020 that is gradually gathering momentum at similar European and U.S. events. Actors and filmmakers participating in this year’s edition have joined activists in warning that while industry …

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Tens of thousands of demonstrators opposed to right-wing populism and nationalism took to the streets Sunday in a number of European cities before May 23-26 elections to the European Parliament. Marches in Germany were held under the banner of “One Europe for Everyone: Your Voice Against Nationalism” in cities including Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg. Organizers from more than 70 groups support the European Union, but also urge changes in migration policy such as support for refugee rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea. Other gatherings under the slogan “No to Hate, Yes to Change” were planned in Budapest, …

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A Russian gun rights activist serving a U.S. prison sentence for acting as an unregistered foreign agent has released a video asking for money to help pay her legal costs. Maria Butina was sentenced in April to 18 months after she admitted gathering intelligence on the National Rifle Association and other groups at the direction of a former Russian lawmaker.   In the video that appeared on social media, Butina speaks on a phone in a dormitory with bunk beds. She says her lawyer is filing an appeal and she asks for contributions to help pay him.   Foreign Ministry …

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The Italian interior ministry vowed Sunday to press ahead with a new decree formalizing the closure of Italian ports to aid groups that rescue migrants, even after U.N. human rights investigators said it violated international law. Ministry officials said the security decree was “necessary and urgent” and was expected to be approved at a Cabinet meeting Monday. In a May 15 letter to Italy’s government released Saturday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Italy to withdraw the decree, calling it “yet another political attempt to criminalize search and rescue operations.” The decree “further intensifies the climate of hostility …

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French President Emmanuel Macron sees himself as Europe’s savior and this week’s European Parliament elections as a make-or-break moment for the beleaguered European Union. But Macron is no longer the fresh-faced force who marched into a surprising presidential victory to the rousing EU anthem two years ago. His pro-Europe vision has collided with populists and national interests across the continent. And at home, his political vision has given rise to France’s raucous yellow vest uprising over his government’s pro-business policies .   Macron wanted the May 23-26 European Parliament elections to be the key moment that he could push his …

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The Swiss voted Sunday to toughen their gun laws and bring them in line with EU legislation, heeding warnings that rejecting the change could have threatened relations with the bloc. Final results showed that voters overwhelmingly supported reforming Swiss gun laws, with a full 63.7 percent casting their ballot in favor. A majority of voters in all but one of Switzerland’s 26 cantons backed the reform, with the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in southern Switzerland the only outlier. A demand from the neighboring European Union that the Swiss toughen their gun laws prompted a rare national debate over firearm ownership …

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Thousands of people marched through Belfast Saturday to demand the recognition of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, the only region of the United Kingdom where it does not have legal status. Attempts to legislate for same-sex marriage have been blocked by the Democratic Unionist Party, a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May, despite opinion polls in recent years showing most in the region are in favor. Sara Canning, the partner of journalist and LGBT rights campaigner Lyra McKee who was killed in April, led the march alongside a number of gay and lesbian couples. Canning said that she …

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