PARIS: France kicks off a week of World War I commemorations from Sunday, with some 80 leaders from around the globe preparing to fly in for a ceremony marking a century since the guns fell silent.
French President Emmanuel Macron is gearing up for a busy week of diplomacy that will see him play host to leaders including US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
He will also be criss-crossing northern France, visiting the battlefields where hundreds of thousands of men lost their lives in the trenches.
Macron will notably use the international spotlight to issue a rallying cry against populism — in the presence of “America First” Trump and other nationalist leaders.
The commemorations will culminate in a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on November 11 attended by dozens of leaders including Trump, Putin and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, 100 years to the day since the armistice.
The ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the Champs-Elysees avenue will be held under tight security following a string of deadly jihadist attacks in France over the past three years.
Remembrance events begin on Sunday, November 3 with a concert celebrating friendship between former wartime enemies France and Germany in the border city of Strasbourg, attended by Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Macron will then spend the week visiting the Western Front battlefields, from Verdun to the Somme.
On Tuesday, in honor of the “black army” of former colonial troops who fought alongside the French, he and Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will visit Reims, a city defended by the African soldiers.
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May will join Macron on the Somme on Friday, while on Saturday he heads to the village of Rethondes, where the armistice was signed, with Merkel.
War commemorations aside, Macron is set to use his tour of northern France to visit areas hit hard by industrial decline, where far-right leader Marine Le Pen performed strongly in last year’s presidential election.
“After paying homage to those who died for their country it will be back to dealing with social and economic problems,” said Bruno Cautres of political think-tank CEVIPOF.
Macron — who has struggled to shake off an image as a “president of the rich” — will zip through 17 towns, holding Wednesday’s weekly cabinet meeting in the Ardennes, an area which was battered by the war and today suffers high unemployment.
The 40-year-old president, whose approval rating is languishing at a dismal 21 percent according to a YouGov poll released Thursday, has dismissed rumors that he is suffering from burn-out.
He sparked rampant speculation by taking a few days off ahead of the tour, which aides have insisted were to gather his energy before an intense week of diplomacy.
This week is an opportunity for the centrist to “reflect a strong presidential image” both at home and abroad, Cautres said.
Macron is set to use his speeches to hammer home warnings of the dangers of nationalism at a time when populists are on the march around Europe and beyond.
In an interview Thursday, he said Europe risked a return to the 1930s because of the spread of a nationalist “leprosy” across the continent.
“I am struck by similarities between the times we live in and those of between the two world wars,” he told the Ouest-France newspaper.
“In a Europe divided by fears, the return of nationalism, the consequences of economic crisis, one sees almost systematically everything that marked Europe between the end of World War I and the 1929 (economic) crisis.”
Macron is attempting to position himself as a champion of centrist politics and multilateralism in the run-up to European parliamentary elections in May, saying he expects the duel to be one between “progressives” and “nationalists.”
After next Sunday’s ceremony, world leaders are set to attend a three-day peace forum opened by Merkel, an event which France wants to turn into an annual multilateral peace conference.
World leaders to descend on France for WWI commemorations
World leaders to descend on France for WWI commemorations
- Macron is gearing up for a busy week of diplomacy that will see him play host to leaders including Trump and Putin
- Macron will notably use the international spotlight to issue a rallying cry against populism
Austrian investigators seize devices at Munich shooter’s home
- Authorities raided the gunman’s home in the Salzburg region, seizing electronic data carriers
- During the raid, “no weapons or Daesh propaganda” material were found
VIENNA: Investigators seized electronic devices at the home of a young Austrian who fired shots near Israel’s Munich consulate, but found no weapons or Daesh group propaganda material, authorities said Friday.
German police shot dead the 18-year-old man on Thursday when he fired a vintage rifle at them near the diplomatic building.
They said they were treating it as a “terrorist attack,” apparently timed to coincide with the anniversary of the killings of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.
Authorities raided the gunman’s home in the Salzburg region, seizing electronic data carriers, Austria’s top security chief Franz Ruf told a press conference in Vienna on Friday.
During the raid, “no weapons or Daesh propaganda” material were found, Ruf added.
Despite being subject to a ban on owning and carrying weapons, the man managed to purchase a vintage carbine rifle fitted with a bayonet with around “fifty rounds of ammunition” for 400 euros ($445) the day before the attack, Ruf said.
He opened fire at around 9:00 am (0700 GMT) near the Israeli consulate, sparking a mobilization of about 500 police in downtown Munich.
At a separate press conference in Munich, prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said investigators were combing through the gunman’s electronic data but had yet to find conclusive evidence of his motive.
But the “working hypothesis” was that “the perpetrator acted out of Islamist or anti-Semitic motivation,” she told reporters.
Austrian police said on Thursday that the gunman, who had Bosnian roots, had previously been investigated on suspicion of links to terrorism.
Investigators last year found three videos he had recorded in 2021, showing scenes from a computer game “with Islamist content,” prosecutors said in a statement.
In one of them the suspect had used an avatar with a flag of the “al-Nusra Front,” a militant group active in Syria, said Ruf.
But the investigation was dropped in 2023 as there were no indications that he was active in “radical” circles, prosecutors said.
“The mere playing of a computer game or the re-enactment of violent Islamist scenes was not sufficient to prove intent to commit the offense,” they added.
Biden to host UK PM for talks next week, says White House
- The visit comes after Biden’s July 21 decision to drop out of the 2024 US presidential election
- It was not clear if Starmer would also meet Harris on his trip to Washington
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks next week that will focus on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the White House said on Friday.
Starmer’s visit to the White House on September 13, his second since taking office in July, will also focus on the “special relationship” between London and Washington, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The visit comes after Biden’s July 21 decision to drop out of the 2024 US presidential election and pass the mantle as Democratic candidate to Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was not clear if Starmer would also meet Harris on his trip to Washington.
Biden and Starmer will discuss “continuing robust support to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression” and “securing a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza,” said Jean-Pierre.
The US leader has been pushing for a truce to end Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip before he leaves office, but the talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have failed to produce an accord.
Ukraine meanwhile has captured a swath of Russian territory, but Moscow has hit back with advances in Ukraine’s east.
Biden and Starmer will also discuss attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and, in a reference to countering Chinese influence, ensuring a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region.
“President Biden will underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” added Jean-Pierre.
Labor leader Starmer first visited the White House on July 10, just days after his election as British Prime Minister, while attending a summit of NATO military alliance leaders in Washington.
During their meeting in the Oval Office, Biden hailed Britain as the “best of allies” while Starmer reaffirmed Britain’s support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.
Thailand’s king swears in new government after turmoil
- Dressed in official uniform, Paetongtarn and her Cabinet ministers swore their allegiance in front of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida in a ceremony at Bangkok’s Dusit Palace
BANGKOK: Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn swore in Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and 35 Cabinet ministers in Bangkok on Friday, ushering in a new government in Southeast Asia’s second largest economy after a period of political turmoil.
Paetongtarn, 38, leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party, was elected by parliament last month to become Thailand’s youngest prime minister after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by a court order over an ethics violation.
The Cabinet, which was formally endorsed by the king on Wednesday, comprises 17 members from Pheu Thai, including the premier, and another 19 positions divided among coalition partners.
Dressed in official uniform, Paetongtarn and her Cabinet ministers swore their allegiance in front of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida in a ceremony at Bangkok’s Dusit Palace.
“I want to wish, with gladness, that the Cabinet will have the encouragement and determination to perform your duties as you have sworn for the benefit of the country and people,” the king said after the Cabinet’s oath of allegiance.
Paetongtarn and the Cabinet ministers bowed after the king’s remark.
The youngest daughter of the divisive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn has not served in government previously and will face challenges on multiple fronts, including a floundering economy.
She is also the second woman and fourth member of the Shinawatra clan to hold Thailand’s top elected position, with three previous premiers removed by coups or court decisions.
Paetongtarn’s government will deliver its policy statement to parliament next Thursday and Friday, marking the formal start of her administration.
UK vows to smash gangs as courts jail people traffickers
- Anas Al-Mustafa, originally from Syria, found guilty in August of assisting unlawful migration by trafficking seven people
LONDON: UK interior minister Yvette Cooper vowed Friday that her government “will not rest” until people-smuggling gangs are dismantled, following a series of shocking migrant incidents including a deadly boat wreck in the Channel.
Her comments came shortly after a van driver received a 10-year prison term for smuggling migrants in a secret compartment where they were found screaming for help and starved of oxygen.
Anas Al-Mustafa, 43, originally from Syria, was found guilty in August of assisting unlawful migration by trafficking the seven people in a specially adapted van.
Cooper spoke at a gathering of senior crime-fighting and intelligence officials that she chaired on Friday.
It came after at least 12 people perished trying to cross the Channel on Tuesday, when their small boat was ripped apart off the northern French coast.
Ahead of the summit, Cooper said that “exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs.
“At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.”
While much of the focus has been on crossings of the Channel by small boat, smugglers also use more traditional routes to move people from mainland Europe to the UK.
Al-Mustafa was caught when crew members on a car ferry between Dieppe in northern France and Newhaven on England’s south coast heard pleas from inside the van.
The six men and one woman were found crammed into an overheated concealed space described as no more than “the width of a human chest.”
Crew members used an axe to free the migrants by breaking down the fake partition.
By the time they were rescued two had lost consciousness. None of the migrants had been supplied with water, the court was told.
Prosecutors said that the younger migrants recovered from their dehydration but that one man had a possible heart attack, the woman suffered an acute kidney injury and another man went to hospital in a comatose state and suffered a stroke.
“Desperate people are prepared to risk their lives to come into the UK, often with tragic consequences,” judge Christine Laing said. “They are exploited by those who profit from this trade and pay little attention to their safety.”
Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle said the case underlined the need to dismantle the smuggling gangs.
“This evil criminal put seven people’s lives at risk for cash, it is a miracle they are still alive after the conditions they were put in,” she said in a statement.
In a separate case, a UK national who attempted to smuggle five migrants, including a five-year-old child, was jailed for three years after being found guilty of assisting unlawful immigration at trial.
Border Force officers caught Joshua Bynoe, 29, in Coquelles, France, as he drove his motorhome, in which five Afghan nationals were hiding, toward the UK.
Immigration was a major issue at the general election in July that brought Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour party to power.
One of his first acts as prime minister was to abolish the last Conservative government’s plan to deport migrants to Rwanda as a deterrent to small boats crossings, calling it an expensive “gimmick.”
The Tories had spent £700 million ($900 million) on the scheme but only four migrants had relocated to Rwanda — and they went voluntarily, Cooper told parliament in July.
According to the latest UK government figures, 22,240 migrants have been detected and brought ashore so far this year.
There are also concerns about an increase in the size of boats being used to try to cross the busy shipping lane.
Zelensky appeals for weapons as Russia advances
- “We need more weapons to drive Russian forces off our land,” said Zelensky
- The Ukrainian leader again called for restrictions to be lifted on the use of long-range Western weapons to hit targets inside Russia
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany: President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed on Friday to Ukraine’s backers for additional weapons as Kyiv faces advancing Russian forces in the east and devastating strikes by Moscow.
The Ukrainian leader pressed his nation’s case to allies meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Washington unveiled a new $250 million in military aid.
“We need more weapons to drive Russian forces off our land,” said Zelensky, who also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and was to head to Italy for talks.
The gathering comes as Moscow’s forces advance in the Donbas region, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declaring that capturing the eastern area was his “primary objective” in the conflict.
Zelensky urged Kyiv’s supporters to follow through on previous commitments, saying: “The number of air defense systems that have not been delivered is significant.”
The Ukrainian leader again called for restrictions to be lifted on the use of long-range Western weapons to hit targets inside Russia.
“We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory,” Zelensky said.
In Italy, Zelensky is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and attend The European House-Ambrosetti forum in Cernobbio, on Lake Como.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — who upset his EU counterparts and Zelensky by meeting Putin in Moscow in July — is also attending the three-day economic forum.
Italy has strongly supported Ukraine and has sent weapons to help it defend itself against Russian forces, while insisting these must only be used on Ukrainian soil.
At the meeting at the US base in Germany, US defense chief Lloyd Austin announced that Washington will provide $250 million in new military aid for Ukraine.
The package “will surge in more capabilities to meet Ukraine’s evolving requirements,” Austin told the meeting.
The assistance is expected to include ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, artillery rounds, anti-tank and anti-air weapons, a US defense official said on condition of anonymity.
The talks in Germany, with representatives from some 50 nations, were to focus on areas including bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses and encouraging allies to boost their defense industries, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said ahead of the meeting.
Since the start of Russia’s offensive in February 2022 when it failed to seize the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Moscow has adapted its aims, concentrating instead on trying to conquer eastern Ukraine.
While Ukraine’s surprise push into Russia’s Kursk region last month caught Russian forces off-guard, Putin stressed that the move had failed to slow Moscow’s advance.
Ukraine on Friday claimed to have recaptured a part of the eastern Ukrainian town of New York, in the first success for Kyiv on this part of the front for months.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking in Oslo Friday, said Ukraine needs more military support and that the “quickest way to end this war is to provide weapons to Ukraine.”
“Putin must realize that he cannot win on the battlefield, but must accept a just and lasting peace where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and independent nation,” he said.
The United States has been Ukraine’s biggest backer during the conflict, providing military aid worth more than $55 billion (50 billion euros) since February 2022.
But uncertainty looms over the future of that funding as a US election in November could see Ukraine-skeptic Donald Trump back in the White House.
Germany — Ukraine’s second-biggest backer — has also come under pressure domestically over its aid for Kyiv, which has been at the center of a protracted row over the 2025 budget.
German officials have repeatedly pushed back at criticism over a planned reduction in financial support next year.
After talks with Zelensky in Frankfurt Friday, Scholz posted on X that “Germany is and will remain the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also announced on the sidelines of the meeting that his country would provide 12 artillery pieces valued at 150 million euros to Ukraine.
“I’m grateful to Germany, its government, and its people for all their support,” Zelensky said in a social media post after meeting with Pistorius.
