Paris, France | AFP | The French government will unveil the details of a pension reform plan Wednesday that has already seen workers down tools in anticipation, crippling transport for a week as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest. A speedy resolution appears unlikely, with Prime Minister Edouard …
Read More »Ursula von der Leyen: Merkel loyalist, favoured by Macron
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, who takes the reins of the European Commission on Sunday, is a loyal confidante of Chancellor Angela Merkel whom she served as defence minister for six difficult years. The political blue-blood, medical doctor and mother-of-seven was long considered a likely successor …
Read More »Macron, NATO chief hold talks in ‘brain death’ row
Paris, France | AFP | NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will on Thursday confront Emmanuel Macron in Paris over the French president’s claim the alliance is suffering “brain death”, a charge that has set the stage for a testy NATO summit next week. Macron delivered his damning assessment in an interview earlier …
Read More »US, EU warn of danger from Russia, China on Berlin Wall anniversary
Berlin, Germany | AFP | US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and incoming EU chief Ursula von der Leyen issued stark warnings Friday that the West faces new challenges from Russia and China, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall. Urging Western allies to defend hard-won …
Read More »Divisions rife as Germany marks 30 years since Berlin Wall fall
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany on Saturday marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall that ushered in the end of communism and national reunification, as the Western alliance that helped secure those achievements is riddled with divisions. Two days before the date that brought epochal change, France’s …
Read More »Xi pledges wider market access, free-trade deals
Shanghai, China | AFP | President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged to further open China’s economy, declaring the world must “knock down walls” as he opened an annual trade fair against the backdrop of the US tariffs war. Xi addressed an audience including French President Emmanuel Macron at the import exhibition …
Read More »Boris Johnson: legacy on the line in snap election
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Boris Johnson came close but failed to deliver Brexit by October 31. Now Britain’s prime minister faces a legacy defining election that will test all of his campaigning skills. The mop-headed politician managed in three months to do something his predecessor Theresa May failed to …
Read More »Ciao, Mario: ECB’s Draghi hands baton to Lagarde
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | ECB chief Mario Draghi bows out Monday, passing the baton to former IMF head Christine Lagarde whose first task will be to heal rifts among policymakers. The man credited with saving the euro during his eight-year tenure at the European Central Bank will be …
Read More »Macron, Merkel meet to harmonise positions before EU summit
Paris, France | AFP | France’s Emmanuel Macron will hold talks Wednesday with Germany’s Angela Merkel for the second time in a week to chart a united front on issues ranging from Brexit to Syria ahead of this week’s EU summit. Macron goes into the two-day meeting in Brussels starting Thursday …
Read More »France’s Macron warns Trump of need to prevent IS resurgence
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron made clear to Donald Trump on Monday “the absolute necessity to prevent a re-emergence” of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, after the US pulled its troops out of northern Syria. Macron warned, in a telephone call on Monday evening, that the …
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