German automaker Daimler, which makes armored limousines used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, says it has no idea where he got them and has no business dealings with the North.   

Kim has raised eyebrows by using Daimler-branded stretch limousines at several very high-profile summits, including his meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and both of his earlier summits with President Donald Trump.

The sale of luxury goods, including limousines, is banned under U. N. sanctions intended to put pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.  

Kim nevertheless had two limos waiting for him at Vladivostok station – a Mercedes Maybach S600 Pullman Guard and a Mercedes Maybach S62. He is believed to have also used the S600 Pullman Guard for his summits with Trump in Singapore in June last year and in Hanoi in February.

​

“We have absolutely no idea how those vehicles were delivered to North Korea,” Daimler spokeswoman Silke Mockert said in a written response to an Associated Press report Wednesday on the limousines . “For Daimler, the correct export of products in conformance with the law is a fundamental principle of responsible entrepreneurial activity.”

Daimler, based in Stuttgart, Germany, is one of the world’s biggest and more prestigious automobile companies. It is one of the biggest providers of high-end passenger cars and the world’s largest producer of trucks above 6 tons.

On its home page, the multinational giant boasts of selling vehicles and services in nearly all the countries of the world and of having production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa.

North Korea, however, isn’t one of its official customers.

“Our company has had no business connections with North Korea for far more than 15 years now and strictly complies with E.U. and U.S. embargoes,” she said. “To prevent deliveries to North Korea and to any of its embassies worldwide, Daimler has implemented a comprehensive export control process. Sales of vehicles by third parties, especially of used vehicles, are beyond our control and responsibility.”

Kim’s ability to procure the limousines anyway is a good example of how porous the international sanctions tend to be.   

According to Daimler, the Mercedes-Benz Pullman limousines offer their passengers “a superbly appointed setting for discreet meetings.”

The version used by Kim is believed to be equipped with all the key communications and entertainment systems so that, according to a company description of the car, its occupants can remain “fully in touch with the rest of the world while enjoying the luxury and comfort of their own very special place in it.”

 
…

The chairman of Poland’s conservative ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has called the LGBT rights movement a foreign import that threatens the Polish nation. 

Kaczynski, a member of parliament who wields tremendous influence as leader of the Law and Justice party, also said during a lecture on patriotism that “everyone must accept Christianity” in Poland and that questioning the Roman Catholic Church is unpatriotic. 

The positions Kaczynski expressed Wednesday in the central city of Wloclawek came as Poland’s powerful Catholic Church is under scrutiny for child sex abuse by clergy and superiors who might have covered up for pedophile priests.  

Poland also has two elections this year: the vote next month to elect the country’s representatives to the European Union parliament and a national election in the fall.  

With his remarks, Kaczynski seemed to be tapping into the belief held by some Poles that liberal values have been forced on them as a result of Poland joining the EU 15 years ago.  

Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party won the last general election in 2015, the height of Europe’s mass migration crisis. The party’s campaign included portraying Muslim refugees as a threat to Poland. 

​Greater visibility

In recent weeks, Law and Justice has described the LGBT rights movement as another danger to Polish families and children. LGBT rights have become increasingly visible as more Polish cities and towns hold gay pride parades, even places known as bastions of the church and conservative values.  

Miroslawa Makuchowska, from the group Campaign Against Homophobia, said she thinks the party chairman’s anti-LGBT message was meant to distract attention from corruption scandals in the Catholic Church and in the Polish government.  

These are the same methods and same messages'' used to demonize Muslim immigrants, Makuchowska said.It’s appalling and frightening because it’s scapegoating.” 

The Catholic Church has long been revered as the institution that kept the language and spirit of Poland’s people alive during a long period of foreign rule, while also supporting the democracy movement under communism 

But the church’s standing has taken a hit as sex abuse victims increasingly speak publicly about past crimes of accused priests. Public opinion surveys show falling support for having nuns and priests, or even lay educators, teach religion in public schools, as is now the case. 

A movie about the clergy abuse problem, Kler (Clergy), became a blockbuster hit last year. On Wednesday, Kaczynski called the film an “attack on the church” and alleged it’s the LGBT rights movement that puts Polish children at risk.  

We are dealing with a direct attack on the family and children — the sexualization of children, that entire LBGT movement, gender,'' he said.This is imported, but they, today, actually threaten our identity, our nation, its continuation and therefore the Polish state.”
…

At the first major news conference of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron pledged to cut taxes on Thursday and said the French would have to work longer as he outlined his response to months of anti-government protests that have shaken his authority.

Speaking in a gilded hall at the Elysee Palace, seated behind a white desk with the French tricolor and European Union flags flanking him, Macron took reporters’ questions for nearly two-and-a-half hours, part of an effort to redress the rocky relationship he has developed with the media.

He apologized — not for the first time — for his sometimes sharp tongue and cutting comments, which have earned him a reputation for arrogance and contributed to a deep slump in his popularity ratings, which are showing some signs of recovery.

“I regret them deeply,” Macron said of the barbs, which included him telling an unemployed gardener to cross the road and find a job. “I think they did not show me as I am.”

Almost two years into his five-year term, and following a national listening tour, the prime-time event was also Macron’s attempt to quell nearly six months of ‘yellow vest’ protests that have brought weekly unrest to the country.

A first slate of economic measures put forward last December, and worth some 10 billion euros ($11.13 billion), failed to calm anger among lower-income workers and prompted Macron’s decision to hold a “great debate” with citizens.

The 41-year-old president, a former investment banker and economy minister, said he wanted a significant cut in income taxes, saying it would be worth around 5 billion euros, financed by closing loopholes for some companies.

The tax cuts come as France is trying to keep its budget deficit in check, while at the same time hoping to rid itself of a reputation as the world’s most highly taxed country. Figures from the OECD show France’s ‘tax-take’ is equivalent to 54 percent of gross domestic product.

Along with the tax relief, Macron said government spending would be squeezed and the French would have to work longer to build up social contributions, an announcement that is unlikely to be popular in a nation known for its 35-hour week.

“We must work more, I’ve said it before,” said Macron, who is renowned for tiring out his staff. “France works much less than its neighbors. We need to have a real debate on this.”

While providing few details on his proposals, he ruled out making people work longer per week or cutting the number of bank holidays, and he said he was not in favor of extending the current minimum retirement age of 62.

‘Children of the enlightenment’

With ‘yellow vest’ protesters decrying what they see as the political establishment’s elitism, Macron said he wanted to get the French more involved in the democratic process by making it easier to hold referendums on limited number of issues.

He also said he wanted to abolish the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, the elite school that trains France’s corporate and political leaders, saying new ways needed to be found of recruiting top-class civil servants.

“It’s not about scrapping one thing or another to create a symbol,” said Macron, himself a graduate of ENA. “But our high-level public service cannot be exempt from modernization.”

He also talked of a new push to decentralize government, breaking away from the “dirigisme” of the past, with policy decided and directed from Paris. He said changes would come within a year, including no more schools or hospitals being closed without the backing of the local mayor.

Although the number of demonstrators has declined since a peak in November, protesters clashed with police for a 23rd straight week last Saturday and the sustained unrest has had a draining effect on business, tourism and the economy.

It has also left Macron facing an uphill battle ahead of elections to the European Parliament next month, with polls showing the far-right party of Marine Le Pen is likely to perform well, potentially beating Macron’s En Marche.

Thursday’s policy proposals are the direct result of the three-month national debate, during which Macron toured the country, literally rolling up his sleeves to discuss everything from high taxes to local democracy with groups of citizens.

“We are above all children of the Enlightenment,” he said as the Elysee news conference approached the two-hour mark. “And it is from these debates, these deliberations, this capacity to contradict one another … that good solutions can emerge for the country.”

Despite the criticism leveled at him, and opinion poll ratings that show his support at around 30 percent, Macron did not pull back from any policies on Thursday, saying his government would push on with his reform drive.

“I asked myself: Should we stop everything that was done over the past two years? Did we take a wrong turn? I believe quite the opposite,” he said.

The ‘yellow vest’ street rebellion erupted over planned diesel tax hikes last November, but quickly developed into a broader backlash against inequality and a political elite perceived as having lost touch with ordinary voters.

Macron, who swept to power promising to “transform France” and “make work pay,” has seen his ambitious reform agenda derailed — or at least knocked off target — by the unrest.

Pension and unemployment insurance reforms planned for 2019 have made little progress so far.

Macron said the pension reform would be presented to cabinet this summer and that future increases in the lowest pensions would be indexed to inflation, another effort to provide lower-income workers with some succuor.
…

The following are key quotes from a rare press conference by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, responding to months of “yellow vest” protests with new measures.

On Macron’s government reforms

“I asked myself: Should we stop everything that was done over the past two years? Did we take a wrong turn? I believe quite the opposite.”

“We live in a country where disagreements are expressed vehemently. I’m fully convinced it was right not to give in over these first two years on the issues that are still at the heart of our project for this country.”

On France’s town hall debates after the protests

“We are above all children of the Enlightenment. And it is from these debates, these deliberations, this capacity to contradict one another … that good solutions can emerge for the country.”

On schools and hospitals

“We must maintain public service (in the countryside) … guarantee the access for all to health services and guarantee that no school or hospital will be closed without the mayor’s approval.”

On reforming France’s civil service  and elite schools

“I want to reform our senior public service. This is not a meritocratic system any more … We don’t need job-for-life protection.”

Macron also confirmed he would scrap France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration, a postgraduate school that was founded in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to train a postwar administrative elite drawn from across all social classes.

“To carry this reform we need to put an end to the ENA… It’s not at all about stigmatizing the ENA, I went to this school, I owe it a lot.”

On scrapping France’s wealth tax

Macron ruled out re-introducing the wealth tax — known in France as the “ISF” — that his government replaced by a tax on lucrative property deals and real estate assets.

 “Since it’s a pragmatic reform, it will be re-evaluated in 2020. If it’s not efficient, we’ll amend it.”

On tax cuts 

Macron said he wanted to “significantly” reduce income tax to alleviate the burden on the middle classes.

“Workers who pay income tax have widely contributed in past decades. So I’ll be simple, I don’t want tax increases. I want cuts for those who work by significantly reducing the income tax.”

Macron outlined some of the ways the tax cuts would be financed:

“I’ve asked the government to implement this tax reduction by closing some corporate tax loopholes, making people work more and cutting public spending.”

On immigration

Macron called for better control of borders at the national and European level. He said changes should be brought to the Schengen Area, even if it led to a reduction of its scope or to fewer member states.

“To be open, you need limits; to welcome someone, you need a house, so you need borders.”

On working more and retirement

“We have to work more, I’ve said it. France works a lot less than its neighbors. We have to have a real debate about this.”

Macron said he did not wish to push back the legalretirement age beyond the current threshold of 62. But he also outlined the need for measures that would require French citizens to contribute for a longer period to the pension system before retiring.

On France’s 2022 presidential election

Asked whether he would stand as a candidate in France’s next presidential election, Macron said:

“I don’t care about the next election. What I really want is for this mandate to be a success. And I take full responsibility for having to probably take other decisions that will be unpopular.”

 
…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed closer ties as they began their first summit Thursday in the far-eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

Kim, who is searching for economic help amid deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States, said he hopes to solidify relations with Moscow and looks forward to productive talks with Putin.

“I think it will be a good meeting to further develop the relationship between two countries which have long histories and traditions,” Kim told Putin.

Putin said he supports North Korea’s improved relations with Washington and that he hopes to see closer ties with North Korea.

The meeting is taking place in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, around 200 kilometers from the border with North Korea.

It isn’t clear whether the meeting will go beyond a photo opportunity, or whether the two leaders will sign agreements or a joint statement.

Kim is expected to push Putin for economic aid, specifically relief from international sanctions after Kim’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in February in Hanoi resulted in no deal.

“North Korea needs an ally,” says Jang Se-ho, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy. “And Russia has been seeking a chance to become involved more in the Korean Peninsula. They now have a chance to do so.”

Kim out of breath

Seated next to Putin during opening comments, the young North Korean leader appeared to be winded and breathing heavier than usual, drawing speculation about Kim’s health from some North Korea watchers.

“(Kim’s health) is a big deal in a long-term perspective,” though it’s not clear it will have a short-term impact, said Olga Krasnyak, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

Kim, who is believed to be around 35 years old, also appeared to be out of breath during an appearance Wednesday after arriving in Russia.

All of Kim’s appearances are watched closely for such signs, in part because the public does not often get unscripted looks at the North Korean leader.

​No longer a pariah?

Until last year, Kim hadn’t left North Korea since taking power in 2011.

Since then, Kim has met twice with Trump, three times with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, four times with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and once with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong.

“What this has mainly done is give Kim some international credibility. I mean, he was a pariah a year ago. And now he’s everybody’s prom date, everyone wants to be seen with him on their arm,” said Ralph Cossa of the Pacific Forum, a nonprofit foreign policy research institute based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Although the meetings have raised Kim’s global stature, they have failed to reduce the sanctions pressure hurting his economy.

After a February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended with no deal, the United States has insisted it will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to abolishing its nuclear weapons program.

Putin: not much help?

With Putin’s own economy hurting, it isn’t clear that North Korea is a priority. And without buy-in from the United States, it is not clear how much he could do anyway.

Russia-North Korea trade fell dramatically last year, by more than 56 percent to $34 million, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, who was quoted in Russian state media.

“This is primarily due to the fact that Russia is forced to follow international sanctions that were imposed on the DPRK,” said Ushakov, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

By contrast, North Korea was earning about $100 million a year in hard currency from the Kaesong Industrial complex before it closed, said Troy Stangarone of the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute.

Kaesong, located just north of the inter-Korean border, used South Korean capital and North Korean labor to produce goods, before being closed after a North Korean nuclear test in 2016.

South Korea has expressed an interest in reopening the complex, but appears unable to do so unless the United States relaxes sanctions.

Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, signed onto tougher sanctions amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests in 2016 and 2017. However, Moscow later called for sanctions against Pyongyang to be eased.

Putin as spoiler?

Under Putin, Russia has attempted to disrupt U.S. interests around the world, in countries including Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

During a visit to Seoul Wednesday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons said it would be a “great disappointment for Mr. Putin to again insert himself in a way that’s unhelpful.”

“But it wouldn’t be the first time,” added Coons, who along with Senator Maggie Hassan met South Korea’s defense and foreign ministers.

But Putin is not likely to play the role of spoiler in the North Korea-U.S. talks, in part because he doesn’t have much leverage over Pyongyang, said Andrei Lankov, a professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University.

“And in this case, Russia’s interests are not that different from that of the United States. Both sides want to preserve the status quo and want denuclearization,” Lankov said.

The Soviet Union was once one of North Korea’s main financial backers. But after the Soviet Union broke up, Moscow prioritized relations with the South, before later adopting a policy of “equidistance” between the two Koreas.
…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Vladivostok for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Thursday’s summit reflects Russia’s effort to position itself as an essential player in the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Kim’s first trip to Russia comes about two months after his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, which failed because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North.

Putin and Kim are set to have one-on-one meeting at the Far Eastern State University on the Russky Island across a bridge from Vladivostok. The meeting will be followed by broader talks involving officials from both sides.

Kim arrived Wednesday in Vladivostok on his armored train, saying upon arrival that he’s hoping for a “successful and useful” visit.

It is Kim’s first visit to Russia as North Korean leader; his late father, Kim Jong Il, visited Russia in 2011. The North Korean leader evoked his father’s “great love for Russia” and said that he intends to strengthen ties between the two countries.

​Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian media the summit would focus on North Korea’s nuclear program, noting that Russia will seek to “consolidate the positive trends” stemming from Trump’s meetings with Kim.

In February, Kim’s second summit with President Donald Trump in Hanoi ended without any agreement because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. There have since been no publicly known high-level contacts between the U.S. and North Korea, although both sides say they are still open to a third summit.

Kim wants the U.S. to ease the sanctions to reciprocate for some partial disarmament steps he took last year. But the U.S. maintains the sanctions will stay in place until North Korea makes more significant denuclearization moves.

Some experts say Kim could try to bolster his country’s ties with Russia and China. Others say it’s not clear how big of a role Russia can play in efforts to restart the nuclear negotiations. Still, the summit could allow Putin to try to increase his influence in regional politics and the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program.
…

France on Wednesday observed it first “national day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide” provoking a furious reaction from Turkey. 

April 24, 1915, is considered the start of the World War I-era massacres of ten of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. 

France was the first major European country to recognize the massacres as genocide in 2001.  Turkey disputes the description, saying the toll has been inflated and considers those killed to be victims of a civil war.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says nations who accuse Turkey of genocide should look at their own “bloody past.”  Erdogan has previously accused France of of being responsible for the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Rwanda’s government has also accused France of being complicit in the mass killings of minority Tutsi community by majority Hutus. 

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also strongly criticized a statement issued by the White House on the Armenian killings. 

“Today, we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor the memory of those who suffered in one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.  Beginning in 1915, one-and-a-half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire,” the White House statement said. 

Turkey objected to the Trump administration’s use of the Armenian term, Meds Yeghern, which means “the great calamity.” 

“We reject the statement by U.S. President Trump on the 1915 incidents on April 24, 2019,” the Turkish statement said. “Based on the subjective narrative fictionalized by the Armenians, this statement has no value at all. The distortion of history for political objectives is unacceptable.”
…

An index of German business optimism fell in April as Europe’s largest economy struggles with a slowdown in trade and manufacturing even as it finds support from a strong labor market.

The Ifo institute said Wednesday its business climate index slipped to 99.2 points from 99.7 points in March, indicating managers were less satisfied with both the current situation and the outlook for the future.

The survey was worse than forecast by market analysts, who had predicted a slight increase.

“This is consistent with our view that Germany’s economy is likely to grow at a very anemic pace this year, even if there is a slight pickup in growth” in the first quarter, said Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics.

German’s economy endured flat growth at the end of last year despite low unemployment that has helped keep consumers spending. The jobless rate was only 3.1 percent in February. The slowdown was blamed on one-time factors such as troubles in the auto industry over new emissions standards and low river levels that disrupted production. Slowing global trade has held back export-oriented manufacturing.

The government on April 17 cut its growth forecast for the full year to 0.5 percent.

A less pessimistic view was taken by Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany. He said the picture in industry was not as disastrous as some recent data would indicate. Recent zig-zagging of indicators “should be seen as evidence of a bottoming out — confusion as a sign of stabilization,” he wrote in an email.
…

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in the far eastern region of Russia for his first ever meeting with Vladimir Putin, which Kim says is the initial step toward closer ties with Moscow.

Wearing a black fedora hat and matching dark overcoat, the smiling Kim was greeted by Russian officials and a military band Wednesday in the port city of Vladivostok. 

The North Korean leader made the short trip to Vladivostok via his signature armored green and yellow train. 

During an earlier stop in the border city of Khasan, Kim said this “will not be the last” trip to Russia, adding it is the first step toward improved Russia-North Korea relations, according to a readout issued by local Russian authorities.

At the Thursday summit, Kim is expected to push Putin for economic aid — specifically relief from international sanctions that remain in place after nuclear talks with the United States broke down.

Kim no longer a pariah?

It is the latest high-profile summit for Kim, who until last year hadn’t left North Korea since taking power in 2011.

Over the past year Kim has met twice with U.S. President Donald Trump, three times with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, four times with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and once with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong.

“What this has mainly done is give Kim some international credibility. I mean, he was a pariah a year ago. And now he’s everybody’s prom date, everyone wants to be seen with him on their arm,” said Ralph Cossa of the Pacific Forum, a non-profit foreign policy research institute based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Although the meetings have raised Kim’s global stature, they have failed to reduce the sanctions pressure hurting his economy.

After a February Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended in no deal, the United States has insisted it will not relax sanctions until North Korea commits to abolishing its nuclear weapons program.

​Putin: not much of a help?

With Putin’s own economy hurting, it isn’t clear that North Korea is a priority. And without buy-in from the United States, it is not clear how much he could do anyway.

Russia-North Korea trade fell dramatically last year, by more than 56 percent to $34 million, according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, who was quoted in Russian state media.

“This is primarily due to the fact that Russia is forced to follow international sanctions that were imposed on the DPRK,” said Ushakov, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

By contrast, North Korea was earning about $100 million a year in hard currency from the Kaesong Industrial complex before it closed, points out Troy Stangarone of the Washington DC-based Korea Economic Institute.

Kaesong, located just north of the inter-Korean border, used South Korean capital and North Korean labor to produce goods, before being closed after a North Korean nuclear test in 2016.

South Korea has expressed an interest in reopening the complex, but appears unable to do so unless the United States relaxes sanctions.

Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, signed onto tougher sanctions amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests in 2016 and 2017. However, Moscow later called for sanctions against Pyongyang to be eased.

Putin as spoiler?

Under Putin, Russia has attempted to disrupt U.S. interests around the world, in countries including Syria, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

During a visit to Seoul Wednesday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons said it would be a “great disappointment for Mr. Putin to again insert himself in a way that’s unhelpful.”

“But it wouldn’t be the first time,” added Coons, who along with Senator Maggie Hassan met South Korea’s defense and foreign ministers.

But Putin is not likely to play the role of spoiler in the North Korea-U.S. talks, in part because he doesn’t have much leverage over Pyongyang, said Andrei Lankov, a professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University.

“And in this case, Russia’s interests are not that different from that of the United States. Both sides want to preserve the status quo and want denuclearization,” Lankov said.

The Soviet Union was once one of North Korea’s main financial backers. But after the Soviet Union broke up, Moscow prioritized relations with the South, before later adopting a policy of “equidistance” between the two Koreas.
…

The awesome power of nature remains undefeated. According to researchers in Britain, even moderate storms can move large boulders weighing as much as 10 (metric) tons. As a major storm follows one that recently hit the African country of Mozambique, researchers warn that even large natural barriers may not offer much defense. Arash Arabasadi reports.
…

Russian officials continue denying Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, brushing aside hundreds of pages of evidence in the Mueller report by saying the document contained no proof. Experts in Moscow told VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka they don’t believe the Russian government will ever acknowledge any wrongdoing, nor do they think the Kremlin and the White House will be able to establish rapprochement in the near future
…

The European Union is praising Facebook, Google and Twitter for tackling disinformation while urging the social media giants to do more in clamping down on fake accounts.

Under an EU code of conduct, the three companies report routinely on their efforts to stop election interference. Facebook, for one, has been criticized for being a tool for foreign interference in elections.

Tuesday’s reports say Facebook, Google and Twitter are tightening advertising policy and surveillance, particularly with election-targeted ads.

But the commission urges them to share fake account data with outside experts and researchers.

Millions of people across the 28-nation bloc will vote in the May 23-26 European Parliament elections.

Polls show nationalist and populist parties could make significant gains, while mainstream parties would lose seats but retain control over the assembly.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump is making a state visit in June to Britain, where he will meet with Queen Elizabeth as well as Prime Minister Theresa May.

A White House statement says the president and first lady Melania Trump “accepted the invitation of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to visit the United Kingdom from June 3 to 5.”  It said the visit will “reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship” between the United States and Britain.

While in Britain, the Trumps will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion by Allied forces that helped defeat the Nazis in World War II.

After the state visit, they will attend a D-Day anniversary commemoration when they travel to Normandy, France, on June 6, according to the White House, which said President Trump will meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during the trip.

On D-Day, Allied troops parachuted or waded onto the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, in what was the largest sea assault in military history. Although about 4,500 died by the end of the day, the operation eventually led to an Allied victory across Europe.

 
…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media confirmed.

With his Russia visit, North Korea’s Kim is seen working to build up foreign support for his economic development plans, since the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February led to stalled talks with Washington on the sanctions relief Pyongyang had sought.

State media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the visit will happen “soon,” but did not elaborate the time or the venue.

Putin and Kim are on track to meet by the end of April, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Kim Jong Un’s chief aide, Kim Chang Son, was seen in Vladivostok on Sunday according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, leading to speculation that the Putin-Kim summit will be held in the city around April 24-25.

NK News, a group that follows North Korea, showed photos on its website on Monday of preparations underway at Vladivostok’s Far Eastern Federal University, likely to host part of the summit, with workers installing North Korean and Russian flags.

After the diplomatic failure at the Hanoi summit, Kim is likely looking to prove that he is still being sought after by world leaders, and that he has more options, said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok.

“Kim does not want to look too dependent on Washington, Beijing and Seoul,” he said. “As for Russia, the Putin-Kim summit will reaffirm Moscow’s place as a major player on the Korean Peninsula. This meeting is important for Russian international prestige.”
…

As spring flower fields around the Netherlands burst into bloom, painting the countryside with dazzling swaths of red, white, and blue, a modern day tulip bubble may be forming: tourists.

More than a million foreign sightseers are expected to visit this country of 17 million people on Easter weekend, a record, the Dutch Tourism Bureau said on Thursday.

Director Jos Vranken said he expects them to spend 300 million euros — a boon for the national economy. Many are attracted to the country’s museums and other cultural offerings, but in April, the flower fields and Keukenhof flower show in Lisse top many “must see” lists.

While flower lovers and the photographs they share on social media are free advertising for the country’s tourism, cut flower and bulb industries, it isn’t all a bed of roses.

“That has a downside,” Vranken said. “Farmers are having increasing damage to their fields from tourists taking photos.”

Foreign and Dutch tourists alike have learned to use “Flower Radar” websites to identify where fields are in bloom, especially in the main bulb-growing center known as the “Bollenstreek” along the coast between Haarlem and Leiden.

Do Not Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Signs and barricades — now printed in Chinese and English — saying “Enjoy the Flowers, Respect Our Pride” have gone up at the edge of many fields.

They illustrate the concept that taking photos at the edge of a field is okay, but actually walking among the flowers to take pictures ruins them.

Meanwhile, farmers in less-promoted areas of the country sense an opportunity.

In Creil, northwest of Amsterdam, one enterprising group has set up a “Tulip Experience” complete with designated selfie area, hundreds of tulip varieties on display, helicopter tours, food and drinks, and bouncy castles for kids.
…

North Macedonia’s pro-Western candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova emerged tied in the first round of a presidential vote dominated by deep divisions over a change of the country’s name under a deal with Greece.

The change, which Greece demanded to end what it called an implied territorial claim on its northern province of Macedonia, resolves a decades-old dispute and opens the door to North Macedonian membership of NATO and the European Union.

But the accord continues to divide Macedonians and has eclipsed all other issues during campaigning for Sunday’s election, in which about 1.8 million voters were able to chose among three candidates.

Results on the State Election Commission website based on 98% of the votes counted showed Pendarovski got 42.7% of the votes, while Siljanovska-Davkova had 42.5% of the votes.

The two will face a run-off on May 5, reflecting differences over the deal pushed through by the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Blerim Reka, the candidate of the second largest Albanian party, came third with 10.4% of the votes.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT). The State Election Commission put turnout at 41.9%.

Both Zaev’s Social Democrats and the opposition VMRO-DPMNE proclaimed victory.

“I am convinced that in the second round we will have a European president of our state,” Zaev told journalists late on Sunday.

This election is about voting to move the country forward, he said.

“We won,” said Hristijan Mickoski, leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, which supported Siljanovska-Davkova. VMRO-DPMNE opposed the deal with Greece.

Analysts said the low turnout was down to disillusion among voters at the government’s lack of progress in attracting foreign investment and tackling high unemployment.

“We need a new and better president, a nation’s father that will help move this country forward,” said Sonja Kjurcieva, a 49-year old housewife from Skopje. “Together with the government they will bring us closer to Europe.”

The presidency has no authority to block constitutional amendments that were passed earlier this year by a two-thirds majority of parliament to enable the name change.

Shaping the future

Pendarovksi said the vote will be for how the country’s future will be shaped rather than a choice of president.

“I expect to win the elections and be the first woman president of Macedonia,” Siljanovska-Davkova said after casting her vote.

“I am a professor of European law, so I’ll respect (the agreement with Greece),” she said. “But I’ll do my best to show that some of the solutions are against our constitution.”

The presidency of the former Yugoslav republic is a mostly ceremonial post, but acts as the supreme commander of the armed forces and signs off on parliamentary legislation.

The refusal of outgoing nationalist President Gjeorge Ivanov to sign some bills passed by parliament has delayed the implementation of some key laws, including one on wider use of the Albanian language — 18 years after an ethnic Albanian uprising that pushed North Macedonia to the brink of civil war.
…

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a television actor, has won a landslide victory in the Ukrainian presidential election Sunday. Exit polls show he received around three times as many votes as incumbent Petro Poroshenko, who conceded defeat Sunday evening. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Zelenskiy’s supporters say the country needs an outsider to tackle endemic corruption, but critics say Russia could seek to take advantage of his inexperience.
…

Climate change protesters who have brought parts of London to a standstill said Sunday they were prepared to call a halt if the British government will discuss their demands.

Some 963 arrests have been made and 42 people charged in connection with the ongoing Extinction Rebellion protests.

On the seventh day of demonstrations that have occupied key spots in the British capital, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the demonstrators, telling them: “Humanity is standing at a crossroads.”

Organizers said they were willing to switch tactics from disruption to dialogue next week — if the government enters talks.

“We are prepared to pause, should the government come to the negotiating table,” Extinction Rebellion spokesman James Fox told AFP.

“What the pause looks like is us stopping an escalation.

“We can discuss leaving if they are willing to discuss our demands.

“At the moment, we haven’t received a response from the government… so we’re waiting on that.”

Extinction Rebellion was established last year in Britain by academics and has become one of the world’s fastest-growing environmental movements.

Campaigners want governments to declare a climate and ecological emergency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and be led by new “citizens’ assemblies on climate and ecological justice.

“We’re giving them an opportunity now to come and speak to us,” Fox told AFP.

“If they refuse to come and negotiate with us, then this is going to continue and this is going to escalate in different, diverse and very creative ways.”

Thunberg, the 16-year-old activist who has inspired pupils worldwide to boycott classes to join climate protests, addressed the cheering crowds at the Marble Arch landmark, the only authorized demonstration site.

“For way too long the politicians and people in power have got away with not doing anything at all to fight the climate crisis and ecological crisis,” she said.

“But we will make sure that they will not get away with it any longer.”

She continued: “How do we want the future living conditions for all living species to be like?

“Humanity is now standing at a crossroads. We must now decide which path we want to take.

“We are waiting for the others to follow our example.”

Police said they had managed to clear the protesters from Parliament Square and the Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus junctions.

Those charged range in age from 19 to 77. They hail from around England and Wales, with one person from France charged.

The charges are for various offenses including breaching public order laws, obstructing a highway and obstructing police.

Calling for an end to the protests, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said more than 9,000 police officers had been responding to the demonstrations, which had left the force as a whole overstretched.

“This is now taking a real toll on our city… this is counter-productive to the cause,” he said.

“I’m extremely concerned about the impact the protests are having on our ability to tackle issues like violent crime.

“You must now let London return to business as usual.”

In the blazing sunshine on Waterloo Bridge, police lifted protesters and carried them off to waiting police vans.

“I’m genuinely terrified. I think about it all the time. I’m so scared for the world. I feel like there is going to be calamity in my lifetime,” student Amber Gray told AFP.

“I don’t even feel comfortable bringing children into this world knowing that that is coming.

“And I don’t want people in the future to say to me, ‘why didn’t you do anything?’.”
…

French Catholics on Sunday celebrated Easter mass in Paris in the shadow of the badly burned Notre-Dame Cathedral, praying that the landmark monument — and along with it the entire Catholic Church — can be renewed.

The fire at Notre-Dame six days earlier destroyed the cathedral’s spire and two-thirds of its roof. The damaged building is now to be closed for years to visits and worship.

Deprived of access to Notre-Dame, regular worshipers instead lined up patiently to celebrate Easter Sunday mass a short walk away, on the Right Bank of the Seine at Saint-Eustache church.

Throughout, the service was pervaded by the spirit and hope of a fresh start, infused by the Easter celebrations commemorating the resurrection of Christ according to the Bible.

‘Recreate unity’

The flames that devastated the cathedral were a “sign” said worshiper Marie Fliedel, 59, adding that she now felt a “renewal, a communion and a spirit”.

“I hope Christians react and take note of all that is taking place in this sad period and that this will bring us back together,” she said.

“This will recreate unity among Catholics. In misfortune, the fire will give strength to find ourselves again and defend our religion,” added Francois Toriello, 70.

The Catholic Church worldwide has been hit by a series of sexual abuses scandals, including in France where French cardinal Philippe Barbarin was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence last month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority.

Another sombre mark came from the series of devastating bomb blasts that ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing more than 200 people, including dozens of foreigners.

‘Courage, knowledge and prayers’

The Saint-Eustache service, also attended by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, was led by Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit who thanked the capital’s fire brigade for saving the cathedral from an even worse fate.

“When, for a moment, we thought that the bell towers could also fall, these towers that are so well known throughout the would, courage and knowledge came together with the prayers of all the faithful,” he told members of the fire service, several of whom were present in the front pews.

Laurence Mahoudeau, 55, who had come with her husband to celebrate the mass, said she had her doubts over whether the fire would prompt major change in the Catholic Church.

“Notre-Dame is something that goes beyond our religion, it’s historic, it is our heritage,” she said.

“I don’t know if this will prompt a renewal. There needs to be time. We want a strong Church. But it must be something completely different after the suffering and the sexual abuse.”
…

Several world and religious leaders condemned the explosions on Easter at Sri Lankan churches and hotels that killed scores of people.

Dozens of foreigners — British, Dutch and American citizens — are believed to be among them the dead.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said attacks were “truly appalling.”

“The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time,” she tweeted. “We must stand together to make sure that no one should ever have to practice their faith in fear.”

The Catholic Church in Jerusalem released a statement saying “We pray for the souls of the victims and ask for speedy recovery of the injured, and ask God to inspire the terrorists to repent of their killing and intimidation.”

But during the traditional Easter address at the Vatican, Pope Francis conveyed sadness over the attacks.

“I want to express my affectionate closeness with the Christian community, attacked while it was at prayer, and to all the victims of such cruel violence,” he said.

Sunday’s bomb attack came a month after dozens of Muslims were killed in a shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern such violence was “devastating”.

“New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism, and our resolve has only been strengthened by the attack on our soil on the 15th of March. … New Zealand rejects all forms of extremism and stands for freedom of religion and the right to worship safely. Collectively we must find the will and the answers to end such violence,” Ardern said in a written statement.

Meanwhile in the U.S., President Donald Trump said Americans stand “ready to help.”

”Heartfelt condolences from the people of the United States to the people of Sri Lanka on the horrible terrorist attacks on churches and hotels,” he tweeted.

The World Jewish Congress denounced the attack as “heinous” and appealed for “zero tolerance of those who use terror to advance their objectives.”

“This truly barbarous assault on peaceful worshippers on one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar serves as a painful reminder that the war against terror must be at the top of the international agenda and pursued relentlessly,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called the attacks despicable.

“We are all children of God; an attack on one religion is an attack on us all,” he said on Twitter.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned  in the “strongest terms possible the Easter terror attacks in Sri Lanka. This is an assault on all of humanity.” While Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said terrorism must be condemned and confronted globally as is a global menace with no religion.

“Terribly saddened by terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan worshippers during Easter. Condolences to friendly government and people of Sri Lanka. Our thoughts and prayers with the victims and their families,” he said.

 
…

The U.S. ambassador to Poland wished Jews a happy Passover in Polish, and the reaction has been a wave of angry comments on Twitter.

Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher also wished Poles a happy Easter on Sunday. But by then, she was accused of offending the country with her Passover tweet and reminded that she is serving in a mostly Roman Catholic country.

Krystyna Pawlowicz, a lawmaker with Poland’s ruling right-wing party, called it a “provocation.”

Robert Bakiewicz, a far-right activist who organizes a yearly Independence Day march that government leaders joined last year, said “Christ died and was resurrected also for you, pagans and traitorous Jews.”

Some came to Mosbacher’s defense, recalling that Poland also has a small Jewish population. Poland was home to Europe’s largest Jewish population before the Holocaust.
…

France is spearheading a new higher education plan aimed to make it a more attractive destination for foreign students — but also a more expensive one. The move to raise foreign tuition fees has sparked protests, especially when it comes to African students who make up nearly half the country’s foreign student body. 

In many ways, the University of Paris-Est Creteil, or UPEC, is the face of today’s France — and of France’s reputation abroad. Nearly 10 percent of its student body is international.

So it’s no surprise its administration has been closely tracking the government’s new higher education plan. Dubbed “Welcome to France,” the strategy aims to boost foreign student numbers from about 300,000 to half-a-million by 2027. UPEC supports many aspects of the plan. Except one: a sharp tuition hike next academic year.

No increase here

Laurent Thievenet is UPEC’s vice president for international relations. He says a large part of its international student body comes from North and sub-Saharan Africa. They can’t afford a tuition increase.

Even with the tuition increase, French fees are much lower than elsewhere in the West. But like a number of other French universities, UPEC has opted not to raise costs for foreign students. Even so, some like Nanto Ralibera, a graduate student from Madagascar, are worried.

Ralibera said he was shocked to hear about the tuition hike, which would have amounted to about 15 times more than what he pays now. It’s not part of the budget of students like himself when they left their countries.

Katarina Vuckovic from Serbia is also on a tight budget.

“I definitely have the impression that part of the strategy of the French government will not contribute to the attraction as they want,” she said.

Vuckovich says she’s happy about the quality of education here. But she says Serbian students like herself may not be afford to study in France if tuition costs are raised.

Popular but losing ground

France is the world’s top non-Anglophone destination for foreign students and fourth overall. It’s home to the iconic Sorbonne university and prestigious business schools. A big draw is also the country’s inexpensive tuition. Still France has been losing ground in recent years.

“We are competitive — we are very competitive. … The problem is that we receive a lot of students, but maybe we don’t receive them very well,” said Olivier Rollot, a French journalist specializing in higher education.

“When you come here from all over the world, you expect to live like in America, in big university campuses. In France it’s not like that. So maybe students are a bit disappointed,” he said.

The government plan aims to tackle some of the hurdles by simplifying student visas, offering better housing and more French language classes. It also aims to expand France’s educational presence in Africa.

Larger goals

Experts say the country’s higher education strategy serves larger goals, by expanding French influence and interests abroad. Over the decades, presidents and business leaders, especially from France’s former African colonies, earned university degrees here.

“It’s important to get the best students that tomorrow will be in charge of their countries,” Rollot said.

France may also profit from potential barriers to studying elsewhere, including tougher immigration restrictions in the United States and uncertainty over Brexit.

The government aims to increase scholarships to offset tuition hikes for the neediest students. But in today’s competitive environment, that may not be enough. A recent study by Campus France, which represents French education globally, found a sharp drop so far in African enrollment since the plan was announced.

“It’s not a problem for Chinese students or Indian students or American students to pay more,” Rollot said. “It’s a problem for African students to pay more.”

Rollot says the best and brightest students risk going elsewhere. Saudi Arabia and Turkey, for example, offer attractive scholarships.

While aiming to attract more students from other parts of the world, UPEC wants to expand its presence in Africa, including through collaborations with African universities. UPEC’s Thievenet says its mission aims to contribute to Africa’s development and to a more balanced relationship with France.
…

A Frenchman who has spent 113 days floating across the Atlantic in a custom-made barrel says he is in high spirits as he approaches the end of his journey.  

Earlier this week, Jean-Jacques Savin, 72, posted on his Facebook page that he was just 750 kilometers from the island of St. Martin. But he has traveled only 250 kilometers in the past week because of the lack of wind.  

But he does not seem to mind. “There is no hurry, let’s leave time to time and now there are a series of favorable days coming to push me towards the South-West,” he wrote.  

With no engine, sails or paddles, the unusual craft has relied on trade winds and currents to push Savin 4,800 kilometers from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.  

Savin spent months building his bright orange, barrel-shaped capsule of resin-coated plywood that is strong enough to withstand battering waves and other stresses.  

The barrel is 3 meters long and 2.10 meters across, has a small galley area, and a mattress with straps to keep him from being tossed out of his bunk by rough seas.   

Portholes on either side of the barrel and another looking into the water provide sunlight and a bit of entertainment. The unique craft also has a solar panel that generates energy for communications and GPS positioning. 

As he drifts along, Savin is dropping markers in the ocean to help oceanographers study ocean currents. At the end of the journey, Savin himself will be studied by doctors for effects of solitude in close confinement. 

He also posts regular updates, including GPS coordinates that track his journey, on a Facebook page.

He described his journey as a “crossing during which man isn’t captain of his ship, but a passenger of the ocean.” 

Savin’s adventure, which will cost a little more than $65,000, was funded by French barrel makers and crowdfunding.  

Savin hopes to end his journey on a French island, like Martinique or Guadeloupe. “That would be easier for the paperwork and for bringing the barrel back,” he told AFP.  
…

French police said they arrested more than 100 “yellow vest” demonstrators on Saturday in Paris as thousands of protestors took to the streets for a 23rd week of anti-government marches.

AFP journalists reported scuffles between police and protesters in the afternoon, after hours of calm, as police used anti-riot grenades and tear gas to disperse marchers in the center of the French capital.

Police headquarters reported 126 arrests and 11,000 checks on individual protesters.

Paris seemed to bear the brunt of Saturday’s protests, but other French cities were also expecting demonstrations.

Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron signed into law legislation that gave security forces greater powers at demonstrations but which opponents claimed violated civil liberties.

One measure banned protestors from covering their faces, but France’s Constitutional Council, its highest constitutional authority, refused to give its green light to one of the most contentious parts of the legislation.

It would also have given the authorities the power to ban from demonstrations any individual “posing a particularly serious threat to public order.”

The “yellow vest” movement is demanding changes to the government’s social and fiscal policies.

 
…

Tourists, devout Catholics and others are looking on mournfully at Notre Dame Cathedral, regretting that they can’t get inside the magnificent monument on this Easter weekend because of the damage caused by a violent fire.

The Paris fire service said Saturday that the last hot points have been cooled, and firefighters who had worked inside non-stop since Monday’s fire have now left.

Crowds lined the embankments across from the cathedral Saturday, taking photos or just staring in shock. The fire collapsed the spire and destroyed the roof of the 12th century monument, and Easter services normally held in Notre Dame are being conducted elsewhere.

Visitor Susan Harlow of Kansas City, Missouri, said: “We didn’t get here in time to see it. And now we probably never will,” given the many years it’s expected to take to repair.

 
…

Architects and construction workers have stabilized the damaged structure of Notre Dame cathedral, four days after a fast-spreading fire ravaged the iconic Paris building, and firefighters were leaving the site Friday night, a fire service official said. 

The promising development came as Notre Dame’s parishioners celebrated Good Friday in a nearby church, praying for the damaged monument and celebrating its rescued relics such as the Crown of Thorns believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion.

There is no more risk the edifice's walls could fall down,'' Lt. Col. Gabriel Plus, chief spokesman for the Paris fire service, told The Associated Press. Plus said firefighters have been able to cool down the walls and debris from the roof inside the cathedral, and there are no morehot points” inside. 

‘A miracle’

“It’s a miracle that the cathedral is still standing, and that all the relics were saved,” he said.  

Investigators believe the fire was an accident and are studying multiple factors that could have contributed. 

The cathedral’s rector said a “computer glitch” may have played a role in the rapidly spreading blaze that devastated the 850-year-old architectural masterpiece.  

Rector Patrick Chauvet did not elaborate on the exact nature of the glitch. “We may find out what happened in two or three months,” he told local business leaders and construction workers. 

Newspaper Le Parisien reported that a computer bug could have misdirected firefighters responding to the initial fire alarm. The unsourced report said investigators are also looking into whether the fire was linked to temporary elevators being used in a renovation that was underway at the time the cathedral caught fire.  

The fire burned through the network of enormous, centuries-old oak beams supporting the monument’s vaulted stone ceiling, dangerously weakening the building. Chauvet said there were fire alarms throughout the building, which he described as “well-protected.”  

Firefighter spokesman Plus said there could have been “a smoldering fire inside the frame” of the Notre Dame roof that was fueled by the wind. 

Short circuit suspected

Paris police investigators said they believe an electrical short circuit most likely caused the fire. It’s believed to be one of multiple leads being investigated. 

“Is it linked to the renovation work? A human error? The investigation will say,” Plus said. 

He warned that “the central nave remains dangerous” but said the stones are drying out from the water sprayed from hoses during nine hours of firefighting efforts.  

The last artworks were taken out of the cathedral Friday and taken to the Louvre for safekeeping pending renovation, he said.  

Catholic worshippers carried out the Way of the Cross ritual near the cathedral to mark Good Friday, and the Crown of Thorns relic saved from the fire was presented to worshippers at the nearby Saint-Sulpice Church. 

A public veneration of the crown is normally part of the ceremonies leading up to Easter at Notre Dame. But because of the fire, the crown was shown at a service Friday evening at Saint-Sulpice instead.  

Judith Kagan, a conservation official at France’s Culture Ministry, said Friday that the artworks inside Notre Dame had suffered no major damage from the fire. 

Macron moves quickly

French President Emmanuel Macron met Friday with officials from the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO. UNESCO representatives have offered their technical expertise to help with the reconstruction. 

Macron is moving quickly on the fire-ravaged monument’s reconstruction, which is being viewed both as a push to make it part of his legacy and a way to move past the divisive yellow vest protests over social inequality in France. 

Notre Dame’s reconstruction is prompting widespread debate across France, with differing views about whether it should involve new technologies and designs. 

Macron hasn’t offered specifics on his vision for the roof or whether the frame should be wood, metal or concrete, according to his cultural heritage envoy, Stephane Bern. He has named a general, Jean-Louis Georgelin, former chief of staff of the armed forces, to lead the reconstruction effort.  

Over $1 billion has already poured in from people from all walks of life around the world to restore Notre Dame.  

According to an opinion poll by BVA institute published Friday — the first carried out since the fire — Macron has gained three points in popularity in the past month with an approval rating of 32%. That puts him back at the support level of September, before the yellow vest crisis, BVA said.  

Although all French polls show that Macron’s popularity has remained low since a tax increase on retirees last year, they suggest his party may be ahead in France’s May 26 European Parliament election, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right party, the National Rally, close behind.  

Despite the destruction of Notre Dame dominating the news in France, a new round of nationwide yellow vest protests was planned for Saturday. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said 60,000 police officers were being mobilized and demonstrations near Notre Dame would be be banned as he expected some protests to turn violent.  

Tough bees

In a hopeful development Friday, 180,000 bees being kept in hives on Notre Dame’s lead roof were discovered alive. 

“I am so relieved. I saw satellite photos that showed the three hives didn’t burn. I thought they had gone with the cathedral,” Nicolas Geant, the monument’s beekeeper, told the AP. 

Geant has looked after the bees since 2013, when they were installed as part of a citywide initiative to boost declining bee numbers. 

Geant said the carbon dioxide in the fire’s heavy smoke put the bees into a sedated state instead of killing them, adding that when bees sense fire they “gorge themselves on honey” and protect their queen. European bees never abandon their hives, he said. 
…

Russian officials Friday continued to deny that Moscow tried to influence the 2016 U.S. election, brushing aside hundreds of pages of evidence released in special counsel Robert Muller’s report by saying it contained no proof.

“We still do not accept accusations of that sort,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in a conference call.  He said Russia has insisted from the very beginning of the two-year probe that “whatever investigators did, they would find no [Russian] meddling, because there was no meddling.” 

In the United States, there is consensus among the nation’s intelligence community, and details published in the Mueller report, on how Moscow used a variety of tactics and people to try to influence Americans’ political opinions, hurt political enemies and help Donald Trump’s campaign. U.S. prosecutors announced indictments against 25 Russian nationals, mostly military officers and “internet trolls,” as well as three Russian entities for their roles in the meddling. 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that [Mueller’s conclusions] “actually confirm the absence of any argument that Russia supposedly meddled in the American elections.”  

Last month, Russian officials reacted in a similar fashion after U.S. Attorney General William Barr released a summary of Mueller’s investigation. In their euphoric reactions, however, they commented only on the news that the U.S. probe had found no evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow, ignoring the fact that Mueller’s team had also backed the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia in fact meddled in the 2016 election campaign.

Observers believe there is little hope that Russia will change its position on the conclusions of Mueller’s investigation. 

“I don’t think there will be new statements made on the matter [by Russian officials], unless new facts are presented against Russia,” said Leonid Gusev of the Moscow-based Institute of International Research. 

Consistent stance

Pavel Sharikov, a senior fellow at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, agreed with his countryman, saying that “Russia’s position on the matter has been consistent” throughout the course of Mueller’s investigation and that at this point nothing will change it. 

Experts are also doubtful about the ability of Washington and Moscow to build a constructive relationship in the near future. For that to happen, they say, a new administration will have to come to the White House. 

Even though the special counsel and his team could not find evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 campaign, some analysts say the cloud of collusion will linger over Trump’s presidency. 

“There is no action that Russia can take that would change this [negative] narrative both in U.S. domestic politics and U.S. policies towards Russia,” Sharikov said. 
…

Police in Northern Ireland searched for multiple suspects Friday after the fatal shooting of a journalist during rioting in Londonderry and sought help from the public to get “a killer off the streets” and into custody.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed, probably by a stray bullet, during overnight rioting in the city’s Creggan neighborhood. It said the New IRA dissident group was most likely responsible.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said a gunman fired a number of shots at police during the unrest that began Thursday evening.

“We believe this to be a terrorist act,” he said.

Police on Friday night released closed-circuit TV footage showing the man suspected of firing the shots that killed McKee.

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy said the footage shows “the gunman at the corner and an individual picking up something from the ground on the same corner. We are releasing this to encourage anyone with information to make contact with us.”

He said locals know the identity of the gunman and urged them to come forward “to try to help us take a killer off the streets.”

The killing reminded many of the decades of violence that plagued Northern Ireland before the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. It was condemned by all the major political parties as well as the prime ministers of Britain and Ireland.

Speaking in Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland had chosen peace and cooperation on Good Friday 21 years ago and will not be “dragged into the past” by political violence.

McKee rose to prominence in 2014 with a moving blog post — “Letter to my 14 year old self” — describing the struggle of growing up gay in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.

In the post, she described the shame she felt at 14 as she kept the “secret” of being gay from her family and friends and the love she eventually received when she was finally able to reveal it.

She also had recently signed a contract to write two books.

Hours before her death, she tweeted a photo of the rioting with the words: “Derry tonight. Absolute madness.”

Her partner, Sara Canning, told a vigil Friday that McKee’s amazing potential had been snuffed out.

Canning said the senseless murder “has left me without the love of my life, the woman I was planning to grow old with.”

“It has left so many friends without their confidante,” she added.

A murder investigation has been launched but there have been no arrests yet. Police appealed for calm over the long Easter holiday weekend.

Hamilton said the force’s assessment “is that the New IRA are most likely to be the ones behind this.”

The New IRA is a small group who reject the 1998 Good Friday agreement that marked the Irish Republican Army’s embrace of a political solution to the long-running violence known as “The Troubles” that claimed more than 3,700 lives.

The group is also blamed for a Londonderry car bombing that did not cause any injuries in January. It is regarded as the largest of the splinter dissident groups still operating and has been linked to several other killings in the past decade.

Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin said Friday that police believe more than one person was involved in the shooting.

“We certainly believe there was more than one person who was involved in this last night. Obviously only one person pulled the trigger but there was more than one person,” he said.

He said the violence started after police entered the area to search for weapons and that the gunman was aiming at policemen when the rioting intensified.

“The full and total responsibility for Lyra McKee’s death lies with the organization that sent someone out with a gun,” he said.

There has been an increase in tensions in Northern Ireland in recent months with sporadic violence, much of it focused in Londonderry, also known as Derry.

Londonderry Mayor John Boyle said the city was united in mourning McKee’s death.

“I have known her since she was 16 years old,” he said. “She was bright, she was warm, she was witty. But most of all, she was an outstanding individual, a great friend to so, so many people in this city in the short time that she was with us.”
…

Three renowned mountain climbers are presumed dead after an avalanche in Alberta’s Banff National Park, Canadian officials said Thursday.

Outdoor apparel company The North Face said that American Jess Roskelley and Austrians David Lama and Hansjorg Auer disappeared while attempting to climb the east face of Howse Peak on the Icefields Parkway. They were reported overdue Wednesday.

“They are missing, and local search and rescue has assumed the worst,” North Face said in a statement.

Roskelley climbed Mount Everest in 2003 at age 20. At the time he was the youngest American to climb the world’s highest peak.

The North Face says it is doing what it can to support the climbers’ families and friends.

Parks Canada said the three men were attempting to climb the east face of Howse Peak on the Icefields Parkway Wednesday.

Officials say recovery efforts are on hold because of a continued risk of avalanches.

Parks Canada says safety specialists immediately responded by air and observed signs of multiple avalanches and debris containing climbing equipment.

“Parks Canada extends its sincerest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the mountaineers,” Parks Canada said in a statement.

Roskelley’s father, John Roskelley, was himself a world-renowned climber who had many notable ascents in Nepal and Pakistan, mostly in the 1970s. John Roskelley joined his son on the successful Everest expedition in 2003.

Jess Roskelley grew up in Spokane, Washington, where his father was a county commissioner. John Roskelley told The Spokesman-Review the route his son and the other climbers were attempting was first done in 2000.

“It’s just one of those routes where you have to have the right conditions or it turns into a nightmare. This is one of those trips where it turned into a nightmare,” John Roskelley said.

John Roskelley had climbed the 10,810-foot Howse Peak, via a different route, in the 1970s and knows the area well. On Thursday he was preparing to go to Canada to gather Jess Roskelley’s belongings and see if he could get into the area.

“It’s in an area above a basin,” he said. “There must have been a lot of snow that came down and got them off the face.”

The elder Roskelley said: “When you’re climbing mountains, danger is not too far away. … It’s terrible for my wife and I. But it’s even worse for his wife.”
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Paris police investigators think an electrical short-circuit most likely caused the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, a police official said Thursday, as France paid a daylong tribute to the firefighters who saved the world-renowned landmark.

A judicial police official told The Associated Press that investigators made an initial assessment of the cathedral Wednesday but don’t have a green light to search Notre Dame’s charred interior because of ongoing safety hazards.

The cathedral’s fragile walls were being shored up with wooden planks, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak by name about an ongoing investigation. 

Investigators believe the fire was accidental, and are questioning both cathedral staff and workers who were carrying out renovations. Some 40 people had been questioned by Thursday, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

The police official would not comment on an unsourced report in Le Parisian newspaper that investigators are looking at whether the fire could have been linked to a computer glitch or the temporary elevators used in the renovation work, among other things. The prosecutor’s office said only that “all leads must be explored.”

Temporary structure proposed

Since the cathedral will be closed to the public for years, the rector of the Catholic parish that worships there has proposed building a temporary structure on the plaza in front of the Gothic-era landmark, and City Hall gave its approval Thursday “subject to technical restraints.” 

“The rector has no cathedral for the moment. … But I’m going to try to invent something,” Bishop Patrick Chauvet said. 

A crypt containing vestiges dating from antiquity is located under the vast esplanade. 

President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants Notre Dame to be restored in five years, in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which Paris is hosting. Restoration specialists have questioned the ambitious timeline, with some saying it could take three times that long to rebuild the 850-year-old architectural treasure. 

Honoring the firefighters

Earlier Thursday, Macron held a ceremony at the Elysee Palace to thank the hundreds of firefighters who battled the fast-moving fire at Notre Dame for nine hours starting Monday evening, preventing the structure’s destruction and rescuing many of the important relics held inside.

“We’ve seen before our eyes the right things perfectly organized in a few moments, with responsibility, courage, solidarity and a meticulous organization,” Macron said. “The worst has been avoided.” 

The cathedral’s lead roof and its soaring spire were destroyed, but Notre Dame’s iconic bell towers, rose windows, organ and precious artworks were saved. 

Macron said the firefighters will receive an Honor Medal for their courage and devotion. 

Paris City Hall also held a ceremony in the firefighters’ honor Thursday afternoon, with a Bach violin concert, two giant banners strung from the monumental city headquarters and readings from Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” 

Remarkably, no one was killed in the blaze that broke out as the cathedral was in the initial stages of a lengthy restoration. 

Securing area, cathedral

A large swath of the island in the Seine River where Notre Dame is located was officially closed Thursday by police, who cited “important risks” of collapse and falling objects. The area had been unofficially blocked off since the fire. 

Meanwhile, workers using a crane removed some statues to lessen the weight on the cathedral’s fragile gables, or support walls, to keep them from collapsing since they were no longer supported by the roof and its network of centuries-old timbers that were consumed by the inferno. 

They also secured the support structure above one of Notre Dame’s rose windows with wooden planks. 

Saving history

Among the firefighters honored Thursday was Paris fire brigade chaplain Jean-Marc Fournier, who told the Le Parisian daily he was able to save the cathedral’s consecrated hosts. The paper said he climbed on altars to remove large paintings, but that he was especially proud “to have removed Jesus” from the Cathedral — a reference to the Catholic belief that consecrated hosts are the body of Christ. 

An earlier report credited Fournier with helping salvage the crown of thorns believed to have been worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, but Fournier told France Info Thursday he arrived after rescuers had already broken the relic’s protective covering and an official who had the secret code needed to unlock it finished the job. He praised the action that preserved “this extraordinary relic, this patrimony of humanity.”

Among others honored was Myriam Chudzinski, one of the first firefighters to reach the roof as the blaze raged. Loaded with gear, they climbed hundreds of steps up the cathedral’s narrow spiral staircase to the top of one of the two towers.

“We knew that the roof was burning, but we didn’t really know the intensity,” she told reporters. “It was from upstairs that you understood that it was really dramatic. It was very hot and we had to retreat, retreat. It was spreading quickly.” 

Benedicte Contamin, who came to view the damaged cathedral from afar Thursday, said she’s sad but grateful it’s still there. 

“It’s a chance for France to bounce back, a chance to realize what unites us, because we have been too much divided over the past years,” she said.
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