Month: May 2023

Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied in the capital Chisinau on Sunday to support their pro-Western government’s drive toward Europe amid what officials have said are Russian efforts to destabilize their country.  Moldova has been badly hit by the impact of Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which Chisinau has repeatedly condemned, and applied to join the European Union.  President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of seeking to sabotage its European integration by fueling anti-government protests and propaganda. Moscow denies meddling in Moldova’s affairs.  “Moldova does not want to be blackmailed by the Kremlin,” Sandu said at the rally, which was …

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Protests over pension reforms have roiled France in recent months, but demonstrations have been kept largely at bay at one of the country’s glitziest events, the Cannes Film Festival. On Sunday, dozens of protesters gathered in Cannes to oppose the raising of the reforms pushed through parliament by President Emmanuel Macron’s government. Those protests, however, were far removed from the central hub of the festival, the Palais des Festivals, or Cannes’ seaside boulevard, the Croisette. Instead, they gathered on the edge of the city, on the Boulevard Carnot. “We are against the retirement reforms which will make many people die …

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The floods that sent rivers of mud tearing through towns in Italy’s northeast are another drenching dose of climate change’s all-or-nothing weather extremes, something that has been happening around the globe, scientists say. The coastal region of Emilia-Romagna was struck twice, first by heavy rain two weeks ago on drought-parched ground that could not absorb it, causing rivers to overflow overnight, followed by this week’s deluge that killed 14 and caused damages estimated in the billions of euros. In a changing climate, more rain is coming, but it’s falling on fewer days in less useful and more dangerous downpours. The …

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Seven young activists protesting against climate change climbed into the Trevi Fountain in Rome on Sunday and poured diluted charcoal into the water to turn it black. The protesters from the “Ultima Generazione” (“Last Generation”) group held up banners saying “We won’t pay for fossil [fuels],” and shouted “our country is dying.” Uniformed police waded into the water to take away the activists, with many tourists filming the stunt and a few of the onlookers shouting insults at the protesters, video footage showed. In a statement, Ultima Generazione called for an end to public subsidies for fossil fuels and linked …

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German police are investigating the possible poisoning of exiled Russians after a journalist and an activist reported health problems following a Berlin meeting of dissidents, a spokesman for the force said on Sunday. The probe is being handled by the state security unit, a specialized team that examines cases related to terrorism or politically motivated crimes, a Berlin police spokesman told AFP. “An investigation has been opened. The probe is ongoing,” he said, declining to provide further details. Russian investigative media outlet Agentstvo this week published a report saying two participants who attended a April 29-30 meeting of Russian dissidents …

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In Hiroshima, Japan, the Group of Seven industrial powers Sunday convened the summit’s working session on the war in Ukraine, guest starring Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president made his dramatic entrance to city the day earlier in a French plane, following his appearance at the Arab League summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Friday, where he appealed for support for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression. Hours after Zelenskyy’s arrival, Moscow announced that its forces had occupied Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city under fierce fighting that Zelenskyy’s troops have tried to defend for months. Zelenskyy appeared to confirm that …

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Bakhmut was “only in our hearts,” hours after Russia’s defense ministry reported that forces of the Wagner private army, with the support of Russian troops, had seized the city in eastern Ukraine. Speaking alongside U.S. President Joe Biden at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Zelenskyy said he believed the city had fallen, but added: “You have to understand that there is nothing,” saying of the Russians, “They destroyed everything.” “For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts,” he said. “There is nothing in this place.” The Russian ministry statement on …

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A powerful Auschwitz-set psychological horror film, The Zone of Interest, is emerging as the hot ticket at the Cannes Film Festival, with reviews Saturday were near-unanimous in their praise. British director Jonathan Glazer’s film focuses on the family of Rudolf Hoess, the longest-serving commandant of the Auschwitz camp, who lived a stone’s throw from the incinerators. While the screams and gunshots are audible from their beautiful garden, the family carries on as though nothing was amiss. The horror “is just bearing down on every pixel of every shot, in sound and how we interpret that sound… It affects everything but …

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Tens of thousands of people rallied in Serbia’s capital Friday for a third time in a month in protest at the government’s handling of a crisis after two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month, even as officials rejected the criticism and ignored their demands.  In a show of defiance, the nationalist right-wing party of autocratic Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic organized a counter-protest in a town north of Belgrade attended by thousands of his supporters.  The opposition protesters in Belgrade were chanting slogans against Vucic, demanding the resignations of two senior ministers and the revocation of broadcasting licenses …

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New developments: Russia warns Western alliance they will face “colossal risks” if they provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Saturday. U.S. President Joe Biden told G-7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters, senior U.S. officials said. The Group of Seven rich nations announced support Saturday for gas investments, calling it a “temporary” step as they divest from Russian energy. The plan has dismayed climate activists, who say it may hurt climate objectives. The member states of the …

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