PARIS: Police fired tear gas at “yellow vest” demonstrators in Paris on Saturday but the turnout for round seven of the popular protests that have rocked France appeared low.
Several hundred people wearing the symbolic hi-visibility vests had gathered near the offices of France Televisions and the BFM TV channel in the center of the capital shouting “Fake news” and calling for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.
Protesters spilled on to tram lines and lobbed projectiles at police who replied with tear gas grenades and detained several people.
Tear gas was also fired in Nantes, western France, and protests were expected in Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse.
In the southern city of Marseille, police said 900 protesters turned out, amid cries of “Macron out.”
The official turnout numbers have plunged with the passing weeks. The government recorded 38,600 demonstrators on December 22 compared to 282,000 for the first major demonstrations on November 17.
But leading figures within the movement that has flourished outside of trade union and political groups, say the low numbers are due to the holiday season and January will bring a resurgence of the street protests.
The focus of the protests has morphed from anger over fuel taxes to a broad rebuke of Macron, accused by critics of neglecting the rising costs of living for many in rural and small-town France.
“We want to get our purchasing power back and have a say in the decisions,” said Priscillia Ludosky, who launched the yellow vest petition against fuel price hikes.
Government tax concessions to boost disposable income among the low paid “are not enough,” Ludosky said in Marseille.
The movement has increasingly targeted Macron and 40 “yellow vests” on Thursday tried to storm the medieval fort of Bregancon that serves as his official summer retreat on the Mediterranean before being turned back by police.
Die-hard yellow vest supporters believe the movement will live on in 2019 and plans are underway for New Year’s Eve protests.
Nearly 8,000 people are listed on Facebook as intending to attend, insisting it will be “festive and non-violent.”
Paris officials said preparations would continue for a fireworks display and sound and light show on the Champs-Elysee, the epicenter of repeated violent action against the government, with the Arc de Triomphe ransacked on December 1.
Tens of thousands of tourists and locals traditionally ring in the new year on the wide shopping boulevard, which rises to the Arc monument.
French police teargas ‘yellow vest’ protesters in Paris
French police teargas ‘yellow vest’ protesters in Paris
- Police are watching carefully, but both police and protesters appeared to be out in much smaller numbers than previous weekends
- The demonstrations have targeted French President Emmanuel Macron, who ceded to several of their demands for tax relief and other economic help
Hotels and homes evacuated on Greek island of Crete as wildfire burns out of control
The fire department said 230 firefighters backed up by 10 water-dropping aircraft were battling the flames, which have burned through forest and farmland in Crete’s Ierapetra area on the island’s southern coast. Two people were evacuated by boat overnight, while six private boats were on standby in case further evacuations by sea became necessary, the coast guard said.
Homes were reported damaged as flames swept through hillside forests, fanned by strong winds.
“It’s a very difficult situation. The fire is very hard to contain. Right now, they cannot contain it,” Nektarios Papadakis, a civil protection official at the regional authority, told The Associated Press overnight.
“The tourists who were moved out are all okay. They have been taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions of the island,” he said.
The Fire Service and a civil protection agency issued mobile phone alerts for the evacuations and appealed to residents not to return to try to save their property.
As fires crested ridgelines and edged toward residential areas, the blaze sent clouds of ash into the night sky, illuminated by the headlights of emergency vehicles and water trucks that lined the coastal road near the resorts of Ferma and Achlia on the southeast of Crete.
Several residents were treated for breathing difficulties, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Crete is one of Greece’s most popular destinations for both foreign and domestic tourists.
The risk of wildfires remained very high across Crete and parts of southern Greece Thursday, according to a daily bulletin issued by the Fire Service.
Wildfires are frequent in the country during its hot, dry summers, and the fire department has already tackled dozens across Greece so far this year.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee. More than 100 died, including some who drowned while trying to swim away from the flames.
Ryanair cancels 170 flights due to French air traffic controllers strikes
“In addition to flights to/from France being canceled, this strike will also affect all French overflights,” the Irish airline said in a statement.
Thailand set for another acting PM after cabinet reshuffle
- Power passed to transport minister and deputy prime minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit who took office for only one full day
- The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a spluttering economy and secure a US trade deal averting President Donald Trump’s looming threat of a 36 percent tariff
Bangkok: Thailand’s king is scheduled Thursday to swear in a new cabinet in a reshuffle that will see a third person in a week take on the role as the country’s prime minister.
The Southeast Asian nation’s top office was plunged into turmoil on Tuesday when the Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pending an ethics probe which could take months.
Power passed to transport minister and deputy prime minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit who took office for only one full day, as the bombshell was dropped in an awkward interim ahead of the reshuffle.
When former defense minister Phumtham Wechayachai is sworn into his new position as interior minister he will also take on a deputy prime minister role outranking Suriya’s — thus becoming the acting premier.
Before Paetongtarn was ousted she assigned herself the role of culture minister in the new cabinet, meaning she is set to keep a perch in the upper echelons of power.
She arrived at the Government House on Thursday morning for a group portrait before heading to the Grand Palace to meet King Maha Vajiralongkorn for the closed-door oath-taking.
The newly-appointed cabinet is set to hold its first meeting Thursday afternoon, with a royal statement expected in the evening.
The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a spluttering economy and secure a US trade deal averting President Donald Trump’s looming threat of a 36 percent tariff.
Phumtham is considered a loyal lieutenant to the suspended Paetongtarn and her father Thaksin Shinawatra, the powerful patriarch of a dynasty which has dominated Thai 21st-century politics.
Thaksin-linked parties have been jousting with the pro-military, pro-conservative establishment since the early 2000s, but analysts say the family’s political brand has now entered decline.
The 71-year-old Phumtham earned the nickname “Big Comrade” for his association with a left-wing youth movement of the 1970s, but transitioned to politics through a role in Thaksin’s telecoms empire.
In previous cabinets he held the defense and commerce portfolios, and spent a spell as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year.
Paetongtarn has been hobbled over a longstanding territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, which boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.
When she made a diplomatic call to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen, she called him “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent,” according to a leaked recording causing widespread backlash.
A conservative party abandoned her ruling coalition — sparking the cabinet reshuffle — accusing her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military.
The Constitutional Court said there was “sufficient cause to suspect” Paetongtarn breached ministerial ethics in the diplomatic spat.
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South Korea’s leader says trade deal with US remains unclear ahead of Trump’s deadline
- Lee said the tariff negotiations with the US have been “clearly not easy”
- Trump’s 90-day pause in global reciprocal tariffs is set to expire on July 9, potentially exposing South Korean products to 25 percent tax rates
SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that it remained unclear whether Seoul and Washington could conclude their tariff negotiations by the deadline set by President Donald Trump for next week, noting Thursday that both nations were still working to clarify their positions and identify areas of agreement.
Speaking at his first news conference since taking office last month, Lee also reiterated his intentions to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, though he acknowledged that mutual distrust between the Koreas is too deep to heal anytime soon.
Trump’s tariff hikes and other “America First” policies are major challenges for Lee’s month-old government, as are North Korea’s expanding nuclear program and domestic economic woes. Lee, a liberal, came to power after winning a snap presidential election caused by the ouster of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law in December.
Lee said the tariff negotiations with the US have been “clearly not easy” and stressed that the countries must reach mutually beneficial outcomes.
“It’s difficult to say with certainty whether we will be able to reach a conclusion by July 8. We are now doing our best,” Lee said. ”What we need is a truly reciprocal outcome that benefits both sides and works for everyone, but so far, both sides are still trying to define exactly what they want.”
Trump’s 90-day pause in global reciprocal tariffs is set to expire on July 9, potentially exposing South Korean products to 25 percent tax rates.
Washington has separately been seeking higher duties on specific products such as automobiles and semiconductors, which are key exports for South Korea’s trade-dependent economy. There are growing concerns in Seoul that Trump may also demand a broader deal requiring South Korea to pay significantly more for the 28,000 US troops stationed on the peninsula to deter North Korean threats.
Lee has consistently urged patience on tariffs, arguing that rushing to secure an early deal would not serve the national interest. His trade minister, Yeo Han-koo, was reportedly arranging a visit to Washington for possible meetings with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
On North Korea, Lee said he would seek to restore long-dormant talks with North Korea, whose expanding military cooperation with Russia pose major security concerns to their neighbors.
“I think we should improve relations with North Korea based on a reliable coordination and consultation between South Korea and the US,” Lee said. “But I expect that won’t be easy as mutual antagonism and distrust are too serious.”
Lee previously faced criticism that he was tilting toward North Korea and China and away from the US and Japan. But since the election, Lee has repeatedly vowed pragmatic diplomacy, saying he would bolster the alliance with the US while also seeking to repair ties with North Korea, China and Russia. Some critics say it’s too difficult to satisfy all parties.
Lee’s government has made proactive efforts to build trust with North Korea, halting frontline anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts and taking steps to ban activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets across the border.
North Korea hasn’t publicly responded to the conciliatory gestures by Trump and Lee, but officials said North Korean propaganda broadcasts have since been unheard in South Korean border towns.
Lee said he’s been talking with his presidential security and intelligence officials about how to revive talks with North Korea but didn’t elaborate.
Trump has also expressed intent to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Lee has said he would support Trump’s push.
North Korea has refused talks with the US and South Korea since earlier Trump-Kim nuclear talks collapsed in 2019. North Korea is now pursuing relations with Russia, supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance.
Ukrainian drone attack kills one in Russia’s Lipetsk, regional governor says
- The debris fell on a residential building in the district surrounding the regional capital
A woman in her 70s was killed, and two other people injured, by falling debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone in Russia’s southwestern region of Lipetsk, regional governor Igor Artamonov said early on Thursday.
The debris fell on a residential building in the district surrounding the regional capital, killing the woman and injuring two more, Artamonov said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Signals about falling debris are coming from various areas,” Artamonov added. “Rescue services and emergency agencies are working in an enhanced mode.”
The Russian defense ministry said that it destroyed 10 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Lipetsk region and 69 in total over Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula. The ministry reports only how many drones its forces destroy, not how many Ukraine launches.
Artamonov said in another post that an apartment building under construction in the city of Yelets in the Lipetsk region was damaged as result of an attack and that a small fire broke out at a nearby parking lot.
The full damage were not immediately known. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine about the attack.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes during the war that Russia launched against Ukraine more than three years ago. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
Ukraine has launched multiple air strikes into Lipetsk, a strategically important region with an air base that is the chief training center for the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Kyiv has been attacking Russian air bases to reduce Moscow’s ability to use its warplanes to strike targets in Ukraine and hammer front lines with guided bombs and missiles. In August, the Ukrainian military said it had hit the Lipetsk airfield, damaging stockpiles of guided bombs and causing a series of explosions.
