Donald Trump refuses to sign G-7 statement, snubs Justin Trudeau

President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbours and deriding Canada’s prime minister as “very dishonest and weak.” In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. 

He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements. Literally moments after Trudeau’s government proudly released the joint statement, noting it had been agreed to by all seven countries, Trump blew apart the veneer of cordiality that had prevailed throughout the two days of meetings in a resort town on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. “Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our US farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our US Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the US Market!” Trump wrote. A few hours earlier, Trudeau said the seven nations had reached broad agreements on a range of economic and foreign policy goals. But he acknowledged that deep disagreements remained between Trump and the leaders of the other nations, especially on trade.

Trade war: France warns Donald Trump it won't sign a G-7 statement

France has joined Germany to warn President Donald Trump that it won’t sign a joint statement of the Group of 7 at the summit in Quebec this week, a French official in the president’s office said. President Emmanuel Macron has signaled that progress on tariffs, Iran nuclear agreement and Paris climate accord must be made before he’ll be willing to sign a joint statement, the official told reporters in Ottawa. 

The French president spent the day meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian officials ahead of the June 8-9 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec. Macron has concluded that the other members of the G7 — the UK, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada — must stand up to the US over Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

Facebook data beach: Zuckerberg to meet European Parliament next week

Social media networking site Facebook confirms meeting with European parliament to discuss the growing online data-privacy concerns.

As reported by the New York Times, the meeting is scheduled to take place sometime next week where Facebook founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg will discuss the issue of the data breach by data analytics company Cambridge Analytica.

It is touted be a closed-door meeting to be attended by leaders of the various political groups.

Leaders of the European Parliament's various blocs and the head of the body's civil liberties committee which is holding hearings on the ongoing Facebook data breach case will be the part of the meeting.

Further, Zuckerberg is scheduled to have lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss a range of issues.

Trump's contrasting avatars: Peace in Korea, World War in West Asia

The president giveth and he taketh away.

Donald Trump is a stern and wrathful leader. He thinks nothing of raining down fire and fury upon the enemies of his “chosen people.” Indeed, he even flirts with ending the world if he doesn’t receive due respect and the requisite number of burnt offerings. But he can also reward his followers, and those who curry his favor, with positions of power and untold riches.

This month, Trump will appear as both of these avatars. By meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump promises to wave his hand and create peace where before there was nothing but strife and dissension. At the same time, Trump the Destroyer has pledged to take the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal and bring the world that much closer to apocalypse.

It’s a peculiarly hypocritical position to take, but strangely consistent for a two-faced leader.

The deal with Iran closed off all possibility of the country going nuclear for a decade or more. A rich country, Iran could create quite a nuclear arsenal if it so wanted. Iran has abided by the terms of the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and yet Trump has called the deal “horrible.” Indeed, the president believes that he can “fix” the JCPOA. That’s quite a delusion.

France has proof Assad regime used chemical weapons: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that he had evidence that chemical weapons were used in rebel-held enclave of Douma in Syria and that the regime of Bashar al-Assad was guilty, reiterating that attacking Damascus is necessary.

Macron was one of several Western leaders to enter the diplomatic crisis following last week's attack on Douma, which left 70 people dead, including 40 who showed signs of exposure to chemical toxins, Efe news reported citing a report by the World Health Organization.

"We have evidence chemical weapons were used and that it was the regime who used them," said Macron in a televised interview with TF1 broadcaster. "We will have decision to take in due course."

Last week, an attack on Douma left at least 70 people dead, of which 40 showed signs of exposure to chemical toxins.

PM Modi woos Varanasi with pro-poor schemes, projects worth Rs 8 bn

With Lok Sabha elections just in a year's time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a slew of schemes for poor and emphasised on harnessing solar energy for cooking.
The PM also flagged off a new train -- Kanshi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express -- between Varanasi and Patna on the demand of the people from the area.

Overwhlemed by the massive response from the people of his Lok Sabha constituency during his visit, during which he was accompanied by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, Modi said people have given them a wonderful welcome and thanked them for it.
"Seeing this, every household in France will enquire where is Varanasi which gave such a rousing welcome to our President," he said.

He was addressing a public meeting at the DLW Grounds here after winding up his visit to adjoining Mirzapur, where Modi and Macron dedicated a 75-MW solar power plant. Modi also inaugurated or laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth over Rs 8 billion.

Macron announces additional 700 mn euros for development of solar energy

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday announced an additional investment of 700 million euros for global solar energy generation by 2022 to reduce the use of fossil fuel and help combat climate change.

Speaking at the launch of the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit, Macron called for "joint duties" towards a "planet that we are sharing" and took a dig at his US counterpart Donald Trump who pulled out of the 2015 Paris climate deal.

Macron said the summit to revolutionize the use of the clean energy by generating over 1,000 GW of solar power by 2030 was an outcome of the Paris accord even as "some left the floor" but others decided to act and keep acting.

The French President co-chaired the summit with with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan that was also attended by the heads of 23 nations and 10 ministerial representatives.

Emmanuel Macron, Modi to visit Varanasi; CM Adityanath checks preparations

Ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to this Uttar Pradesh city on Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday reached here to take stock of preparations for the high-profile visit.

The visiting dignitaries will reach the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport here around 10.25 a.m and after a brief break, will fly in a chopper to Dadarkalan in Mirzapur.

Adityanath met district officials and the police top brass and understood the travel plans of the French President and assessed the preparedness of the visit, an official said.

Macron and Modi will partake in the inauguration of a solar plant at Mirzapur for 20 minutes after which they will drive back to the helipad before flying off to the Badlapur and then to the Deen Dayal Handicraft Institute.

Macron will then go to Derek helipad from where he and Modi, who is also the Lok Sabha member from Varanasi, will drive to Assi Ghat on the banks of the holy river Ganga.

Macron warns against 'escalating tensions' over N Korea, urges dialogue

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday warned against an "escalation of tensions" over North Korea amid a growing war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

In a statement, Macron voiced his "concern at the ballistic and nuclear threat coming from North Korea", saying the international community needed to work to get Pyongyang "resume the path of dialogue without conditions".
READ MORE

Europe's leaders curtail summer holidays in light of crises

It would be an understatement of the obvious to say that Europeans cherish their summer break.

But after an intense spring of negotiations over Britain’s impending exit from the European Union, the incessant influx of illegal migrants, repeated terrorist attacks alongside banking crises and populist uprisings, can the Continent’s political class really afford weeks of slow and steady recharging?

Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain and much of the European Union leadership in Brussels have, as in years past, decamped for extended getaways. But others, perhaps more mindful of the negative optics of frolicking as crises loom, have left the long beach holidays of yore to quiver like mirages in the Mediterranean sun.

Emmanuel Macron, the newly elected president of France, who is already suffering a postelection plunge in the polls, will take but a “few days of vacation in France” after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to the Élysée press officer. Mr. Macron’s aide declined to specify exactly when or where the president would go, but insisted he would remain “available at any time.”
READ MORE

WikiLeaks posts 21,000 emails hacked from Emmanuel Macron's campaign team

WikiLeaks on Monday released more than 21,000 emails allegedly hacked from French President Emmanuel Macrons campaign team.

The whistleblowing website released the trove of leaked emails as a searchable archive. It came almost three months after the Macron campaign was hacked on the eve of his election, the Telegraph reported.

The organisation said it had confirmed the 21,075 emails were sent or received by addresses associated with the campaign by checking the "domain keys" used to sign emails. It published a further 50,773 emails it could not verify.

In total, the leak included 71,848 emails, 26,506 attachments and details of 4,493 unique senders, the report said.

The Macron campaign announced that it had been hacked on May 5, just days before his run-off victory over Marine Le Pen.

The Macron campaign had previously blamed Russian interests for the hacking and cybersecurity researchers linked the attack to a group known as APT28 or Fancy Bears, the group believed to have hacked the US Democrats last year and which is often linked to the Kremlin.

Assange's network said the emails had been verified through its DKIM system.
READ MORE

You're in such good shape, beautiful, Trump tells Macron's wife

US President Donald Trump praised French First Lady Brigitte Macron for being in "such good shape" during his first official visit to Paris, the media reported.

"You're in such good shape. She's in such good physical shape. Beautiful," Trump told the French President's wife on Thursday, who was standing next to US First Lady Melania Trump.

Earlier in the day, at the welcome ceremony in Paris, Trump and Brigitte Macron extended their hands to one another, fumbling to make contact for a handshake, before they embraced for a traditional kiss on the cheek. Afterward, they rejoined hands while they continued to talk, reports CNN.

However, social media immediately reacted with many users denouncing Trump's comments as sexist, reports the Guardian.
"Trump telling France's First Lady 'you're in such good shape' epitomises men toeing the line between compliment and sexual harassment," wrote Twitter user Alex Berg, a freelance video producer and writer who works on feminist and gender issues.
READ MORE

Macron, Trudeau shouldn't be so proud of appointing women to their Cabinets

Appointing a gender-parity Cabinet seems to be the thing to do if you are a rising, progressive and male political star.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did it in 2015. French President Emmanuel Macron followed this May.

The internet loves it. Trudeau has been the darling of feminists everywhere, and Macron clearly wants to follow in his footsteps. Being a male feminist politician is hip.

Trudeau does a little humble bragging.
Yet my research shows that numerical representation of women is not the silver bullet it has long been considered. What’s more important for achieving meaningful equity is that women control key political resources. In the highest echelon of politics, that means occupying senior Cabinet positions with the greatest financial and staff resources.

When being present is not enough

But what about that famous rallying cry for bringing more women into politics? “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu” makes sense intuitively. And, in political systems such as France and Canada, it is in Cabinets where the major policy decisions are being made. Having 50 percent women in a Cabinet seems to signal that women’s concerns are being taken seriously: for example, by passing a gender sensitive budget or addressing implicit sex bias in tax codes.

Unfortunately, research consistently has shown that women are relegated to lower-level or female-friendly Cabinet positions such as health, families, development or sports. Essentially, this means women might have a voice in Cabinet meetings but they cannot move the policy needle in important areas such as foreign affairs, finance or employment.

So how do the Cabinets of Trudeau and Macron measure up? Are they truly feminist – in other words, committed to sharing power equally between men and women? Or are these ostensibly equitable Cabinets mere window dressing? Unfortunately, under both Trudeau and Macron, men still occupy the majority of powerful positions.
READ MORE

French President Macron says 'door always open' for UK to stay in EU

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the door was "always open" for Britain to remain in the European Union after Prime Minister Theresa May said Brexit talks would begin next week.

"Of course the door is always open as long as the negotiations on Brexit have not finished," Macron said in a press conference.

But he also stressed that he respected the sovereign decision of the British people to leave the EU in their referendum a year ago, adding that the start of talks was an important milestone.

"We need to be clear and organised and once it (the Brexit process) has started we need to be collectively clear that it's more difficult to reverse course," he said at the Elysee Palace.

Macron's comments echoed others by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

"If they wanted to change their decision, of course, they would find open doors, but I think it's not very likely," Schaeuble told Bloomberg Television.

May repeated her plans to stick to her timetable of starting discussions next week despite ongoing negotiations to form a government.
READ MORE

Brexit talks 'on course' and will begin next week : Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that the timetable for Brexit remained "on course" and talks would begin next week.

Speaking at a press conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, May said that despite her ongoing negotiations to form a government "the timetable for the Brexit negotiations remains on course and will begin next week.
READ MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron marches to parliamentary majority

“Bien joué” – or “well played” – was sprawled across a picture of Emmanuel Macron on the cover of the newspaper Libération the day after he won the French presidential election.

And more congratulations are in order after the first round of the legislative elections. Today’s Libération cover shows Macron resting his chin on what looks like his fist – with the letters OPA, the French acronym for “corporate takeover” sprawled across the picture.

Since Macron founded his party, En Marche!, in April 2016, he has wiped out the French political establishment and captured the imagination of a large segment of the voting public despite a historic abstention rate of 51 percent in the legislative elections.

So what is the basis of Macron’s political allure?

A presidency of the future

At the end of round one of the legislative elections, Macron and his party are on pace to win more than 400 seats out of 577 in the French Parliament. This number of seats is likely to hold, or even increase, in the June 18 second round that French election law mandates in electoral districts where no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.

The populist National Front came in third place – and they will get three to five seats, which is well below what party leader Marine Le Pen had hoped for, but more than the two seats that the National Front currently occupies. Le Pen herself seems on track to win a seat in the northern city of Henin-Beaumont during the second round. The National Front’s momentum has slowed, but it is far from gone, and Marine Le Pen is not abdicating her role as a political figure any time soon.

The far left party La France insoumise, or “France Unbowed,” led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, came in fourth place, and the French Socialists dropped to fifth. The Socialists, the party of the last president, Francois Hollande, imploded during this election cycle and may end up with as few as 15 seats. The centre right Republicans are the only former establishment party that is still a plausible political force. They came in second and trailed Macron’s party by 15 percentage points.
READ MORE

Four reasons why the French parliamentary elections matter

The 2017 French presidential election saw the victory of newcomer Emmanuel Macron. But the French aren’t done voting. Elections for the lower house of French Parliament, the National Assembly, will take place on June 11 and 18.

Here are four reasons you should be keeping an eye on these elections:

No majority, no agenda
First, it can make or break Macron’s agenda of reforming the labor market and bringing back growth to a morose French economy. The French Constitution grants extensive powers to the president. These include, for instance, the authority to dissolve the Parliament and nominate the prime minister (the head of the government), as well as broad control of defense and foreign policy.

But, the president must have the support of a majority in Parliament to govern, pass laws and implement his campaign agenda. Macron would still be able to shape French foreign policy, even without a majority in the Parliament, but he would have limited say over domestic policy.

Unpredictable election
Second, this parliamentary election is unpredictable because of the French voting system.

The parliamentary election includes essentially 577 mini-contests – one for each district that represents an area of France – which take place over two rounds. A candidate can win outright in the first round if he or she receives more than 50 percent of the votes. If no one reaches that threshold, then there is a runoff in the second round with anyone whose score from the first round equaled at least 12.5 percent of registered voters.

Such an electoral system encourages preelection agreements between compatible parties, as well as deals between the two rounds. Thus, an eligible candidate might choose not to contest the second round to ensure the victory of an ally, or to block a rival.

Although the alliance supporting Macron has a very good shot at achieving a majority in Parliament, one cannot rule out two other outcomes that would be unfavorable to the new president. Another party or coalition could win a majority in the Parliament, which would be a major blow to Macron’s domestic agenda. Or, there could be a fragmented outcome, with no party or coalition able to achieve a majority.
READ MORE

G7 environment chiefs meet in Italy after Trump pulls out of Paris deal

 \

G7 environment chiefs meet in Italy on Sunday for potentially difficult talks 10 days after Donald Trump sparked a rift with US partners by pulling out of the Paris climate change accord.

Scott Pruitt, a friend of the oil industry who is sceptical about man-made climate change and was Trump's controversial choice to head the US Environmental Protection Agency, will represent Washington's interests at the two-day meeting.

Up against him will be the likes of Barbara Hendricks, the German environment minister who once tried to ban meat from her ministry's catering on the grounds it was bad for the planet.

And France is deploying prominent Green campaigner Nicolas Hulot, new President Emmanuel Macron's high-profile pick for the environment brief.

Italy's large environmentalist movement has also vowed to make its voice heard. A major demonstration against Trump's decision is planned for Sunday afternoon in Bologna, an ancient university city and bastion of progressive activism.

"We are expecting a good turnout. A lot of people are very upset about Trump's decision and it has started a new debate," Giacomo Cossu, one of the organisers of the demonstration, told AFP.

Trump announced at the start of this month that the US would not abide by the 2015 Paris agreement and would seek to renegotiate terms he denounced as unfairly damaging to the American economy and overly generous to India and China.

A spokesman for Hendricks said Germany would be looking for "something more concrete" from Pruitt in terms of what the US was going to do.

Trump has said Washington will not be bound by the targets on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases set down in Paris, and will cut funding for developing countries affected by climate change.
READ MORE

President Emmanuel Macron names Edouard Philippe as French PM

Newly sworn-in French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday named Edouard Philippe, the 46-year-old Mayor of Le Havre city, as his Prime Minister.

Philippe is a member of the centre-right Les Republicains party and is close to Alaine Juppe, the former Prime Minister, reports CNN.

The 39-year-old former investment banker and economy minister was inaugurated on Sunday as the 25th President of France and also the youngest in the nation's history in a ceremony at the Élysee Palace.

Macron is counting on winning votes from centre-right supporters in the legislative elections next month.

His party Le Republique en Marche is scrambling to get 577 candidates together to contest every seat in the country.

Philippe, a lawyer with experience working in the private sector, was born in Rouen and grew up a Left-wing environment.

He was a socialist in his younger days before switching his allegiances to the right.

He has only been a member of Parliament for one term, serving in the National Assembly representing the constituency of Seine-Maritime in Normandy, northern France, since 2012.

He has been Mayor of Le Havre since 2010.

Macron was sworn-in as the President after his landslide victory over far-right National Front leader Marine le Pen, with 66 per cent of the vote in the run-off poll held on May 7.

He is also slated to travel to Germany later on Monday to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel.
READ MORE

French election: From wannabe to president, how Emmanuel Macron beat Le Pen

After a tense and often antagonistic election campaign, Emmanuel Macron is to become the next president of France. The result is, of course, in all sorts of ways extraordinary. In a little over a year, the 39-year-old former finance minister has gone from being a wannabe to the future tenant of the Elysée Palace. He struck out alone to form his own political movement and while much of the froth surrounding the election has focused on his opponent, the enormity of his achievement needs to be acknowledged and cannot be underestimated. The Conversation

Even before the first round, all the polls had Macron pegged to win the second round 60/40. But then, between the rounds, Le Pen seemed to be nibbling away at Macron’s lead – not by much, but by enough to cause some butterflies among her opponents. Macron appeared lacklustre at a crucial time. Fears of a low turnout and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s refusal to formally endorse Macron also threw a number of unknowns into the mix.

A high abstention rate would play in Le Pen’s favour, went the reasoning. Her electors, as far as anyone could tell, were more committed. In the end, turnout was indeed lower than expected (and there were 4m spoilt ballots), but it did not hinder Macron. Quite the reverse. With an estimated 65.1% of the vote to Le Pen’s 34.9%, Macron has come away with the second highest second round score in the history of the Fifth Republic.

So, now France has a president whose priorities are to tackle chronic unemployment by relaxing labour legislation and introducing a raft of measures to help young people into work, to reduce primary school class sizes to 12 pupils per teacher, to relaunch the European project in collaboration with France’s partners and to simplify the mind-bogglingly complex tax and pension set-up for French citizens.
READ MORE