France pledges help for Syrian 'Revolutionary Councils'

The French government repeated its commitment to provide humanitarian aid and cash for the provision of basic services in rebel-held areas of Syria, as representatives of elected “Revolutionary Councils” attended a Paris conference.

By Yuka ROYER (video)
FRANCE 24 (text)

 

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday reiterated France’s support for Syria’s opposition movement at a meeting with elected Syrian Revolutionary Councils to which Paris has been providing direct aid for several months.

France, Germany clash on reform ahead of EU summit

France, Germany clash on reform ahead of EU summit

European Union leaders arrived in Brussels on Thursday for talks on how to support the bloc’s struggling banking industry, with France and Germany already making it clear that they disagree on any proposed reforms.

By Yuka ROYER (video)FRANCE 24 (with wires) (text)

European leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to save the euro currency from collapse and support countries that are facing too much debt and not enough growth.
But the two-day summit promises to be just a small pit stop on the road to recovery, with few decisions expected. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are set to focus on how to support their banking sectors.

Merkel pledges support for Greece on Athens visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Tuesday that the “tough path” of punishing spending cuts will pay off, while thousands took to the streets to protest her visit.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Tuesday that the "tough path" of painful spending cuts will pay off, as tens of thousands of protesters massed in the capital in a show of anger against her visit to the eurozone's most indebted nation.

Iran says EU new sanctions are futile

Iran says EU new sanctions are futile

Tehran says EU's new sanctions will not force any retreat on the country's suspect nuclear programme. Last Modified: 16 Oct 2012 18:45 inShare2 Email Print Share Feedback

Analysts say that EU sanctions will hit the value of the rial, but Iran will continue to trade internationally [Reuters]

Stringent new sanctions imposed by the European Union will not force Iran back into negotiations over its nuclear programme, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says. European Union governments imposed sanctions on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the central bank, increasing financial pressure over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Portugal unveils harsh austerity budget

Portugal revealed details of its draft 2013 budget on Monday, which included a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts. The budget, considered one of the harshest in recent history, comes just days after mass street protests against austerity.

 

The Portuguese government pushed ahead on Monday with a draft 2013 budget that includes massive tax rises and spending cuts, just two days after mass street protests against further austerity.
"The proposed budget is the only one possible ... we don't have any room for manoeuvre," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar told journalists after submitting the budget bill to lawmakers.

I did 'everything’ to avoid war, Karadzic tells UN court

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told the UN’s war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia on Tuesday that nobody could have foreseen the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica and that he “should have been rewarded” for trying to avoid war.

 

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, on trial accused of some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two, said he should be praised for promoting peace rather than charged with war crimes, an assertion hotly denied by some victims.
Karadzic is one of three Serb leaders brought to trial in The Hague for war crimes during the violent break-up of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1999, in which more than 100,000 people were killed and millions were displaced.
Now 67 and still recognisable by his shock of white hair, he began his own defence on Tuesday against charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and cross-examined witnesses himself.

Instead of being accused for the events of our civil war, I should have been rewarded for all the good things I've done.

Looking resigned but relax

Twitter may face legal action over anti-Semitic tweets

Following a wave of anti-Semitic posts on Twitter, anti-racism groups in France say they were looking at all legal options to target the authors of thousands of offensive tweets - and possibly Twitter itself.

By Tony Todd (text)

 

French anti-racist groups on Tuesday said they were launching wide-ranging legal action following a wave of anti-Semitic posts on microblogging site Twitter.


The move follows an explosion last week in the use of the Twitter hashtag #unbonjuif - meaning “a good Jew” - to spread anti-Semitic jokes online.
By October 10, the hashtag was trending third in France (meaning it was the third most popular tagged subject on the site in the country) and a deluge of offensive posts -- as well as tweets decrying the racist tone of many of the comments -- continued for days.

And with anti-Semitic hate crimes on the rise in France, organisations like SOS Racisme and the French Jewish Students Union (UEJF) said they were determined pursue those that took part through the courts.
“We are taking this extremely seriously,” said SOS Ra

UN condemns Syrian attack on Turkey

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously condemned Syria's shelling of a Turkish town that killed five people, in a statement approved by all 15 council members, including Syria's most important ally, Russia.

The U.N. Security Council overcame deep divisions on Thursday to unanimously approve a statement condemning "in the strongest terms" Syria’s shelling of a Turkish town that killed five women and children.
Council members managed to bridge differences between the strong statement demanded by the United States and its Western supporters and backed by their NATO ally Turkey, and a weaker text pushed by Russia, Syria’s most important ally, after negotiations that began late Wednesday and continued through Thursday.
In the press statement, which needed approval from all 15 council members, the U.N.’s most powerful body said the incident “highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability.”

TURKEY - SYRIA Turkey approves Syria raids, but disapproves of war

It also extended condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Turkey.
The council demanded an immediate end to such violations of international law and called on the Syrian government “to fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors.” Russia’s agreement that the Syrian shelling violated international law was a key concession by Moscow.

Turkish Stocks, Currency Fall on Growing Tension With Syria

Published: Thursday, 4 Oct 2012 | 9:55 AM ET

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Turkish assets weakened on Thursday on investor concerns about increasing tension with Syria, after a mortar bomb hit a residential district in southeast Turkey, killing five people.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

Market sentiment deteriorated after Turkish artillery hit targets near the Syrian border late on Wednesday and early on Thursday afterartillery shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians.

The government won parliamentary approval to send soldiers to foreign countries if necessary.

Thousands march after Grenoble gang killings

It was a murder that shook France – two young men with no police record and promising futures were brutally killed in a public park in Grenoble by a gang of up to 15 youths. The city, the scene of intense rioting in 2010, is reeling in shock.

By Tony Todd (text)

 

Approximately 10,000 residents of a suburb of the southwestern city of Grenoble took to the streets on Tuesday evening in a silent protest to express their horror at the brutal killings of two young men on Friday, a crime that has profoundly shocked France.
Kevin Noubissi and Sofiane Tadburt, both aged 21, were set upon by a gang of up to 15 youths wielding pickaxe handles, baseball bats, knives and hammers after an apparent sleight involving Noubissi’s younger brother.
According to reports, the youngster had been assaulted by members of the gang, and Noubissi approached them demanding an explanation and an apology.
Put out by this apparent effrontery, the gang launched their deadly assault on Noubissi, and also on Tadburt “because he happened to be there and was Noubissi’s friend,” according to a police source who said Tadburt was stabbed at least 30 times.
Neither of the young students had any police record. Friends and family said that they both had promising futures, prospects lacking for many in France’s “banlieues”, where rampant unemployment and petty criminality are often the norm.

LATEST UPDATE: 02/10/2012 

- CAUCASUS - ELECTIONS - GEORGIA - MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI

Opposition, ruling party claim victory in legislative vote

With some exit polls showing Bidzina Ivanishvili's opposition leading the parliamentary vote on Monday and others putting it in a dead heat with President Mikheil Saakashvili's party, Georgia’s legislative election may be headed for a stalemate.

By Kate Moody / Katerina VITTOZZI (video)

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ruling party and an opposition coalition both claimed victory in a parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic on Monday, raising the prospect of a post-election standoff.
Any signs of instability in the Caucasus country of 4.5 million would worry the West because of its role as a conduit for Caspian Sea energy supplies to Europe and its pivotal location between Russia, Iran, Turkey and central Asia.

Kurdish rebels killed in Turkey border clash

At least 12 fighters, including two women, killed as they tried to infiltrate from Iraq, Turkish security forces say. Last Modified: 02 Oct 2012 17:05

Turkish security forces have killed 12 Kurdish rebels in fighting, including two women who attempted to infiltrate from neighbouring Iraq, local security sources said. The cross-border clashes erupted overnight on Monday on the second day of a large-scale operation launched by Turkish security forces in the southeastern town of Semdinli, they said. The fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had targeted a military post on the Turkish-Iraqi border, they added. Semdinli is often the scene of intense fighting between Turkish forces and members of the PKK. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, said last month 144 members of the security forces and 239 rebels had been killed since the start of the year, marking one of the deadliest phases of the confrontation in more than a decade. In all, about 45,000 people have been killed since the PKK, which is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms for autonomy in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984. Turkish jets also sometimes violate Iraqi airspace to strike rebel hideouts in northern Iraq. The government asked parliament on Monday to renew the mandate for its armed forces to attack Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq for another year.

Russia welcomes Georgia opposition victory

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it hopes recent parliamentary elections in Georgia, won by opposition coalition Georgian Dream, will help normalise the country's relations with neighbours.
"It is obvious that Georgian society has voted for changes. We hope in the end they will allow Georgia to start the normalisation, establishment of constructive and respectful relations with neighbours," Alexander Lukashevich, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili conceded the shock defeat to the opposition, led by billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, ending nine years of dominance that antagonised Russia and brought Tbilisi closer to the West.
Although Saakashvili remains president, the defeat of his United National Movement in Monday's elections means he will lose control of parliament and the government.
His apparently graceful acceptance of the unexpected

Report says EU nuclear reactors need repair

A leaked report on Europe's nuclear reactors found that up to $32bn needs to be invested to prevent disaster. Last Modified: 03 Oct 2012 09:23

Almost all of Europe's nuclear reactors are in need of an urgent overhaul that could cost as much as $32bn, according to a leaked draft-report by the European Commission.

The Commission is expected on Thursday to finalise its stress test report, which was designed to ensure that a disaster similar to the one at Japan's Fukushima could not happen again.

Spanish PM says bailout not imminent

Mariano Rajoy denies reports that Madrid is on verge of seeking a bailout while meeting leaders of country's regions. Last Modified: 02 Oct 2012 20:59

New jobless figures suggest one in every four in the Spanish workforce are now unemployed [Reuters]

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has said that a new bailout for his country is not yet imminent. Rajoy made the comment on Tuesday after a meeting in the capital Madrid with the 17 leaders of Spain's regions. In response to a report by the Reuters news agency that Spain could apply for European aid as soon as this weekend, Rajoy said: "If a news agency reports that we'll ask for aid this weekend, there can only be two explanations: that the agency is right, and knows more than I do, which is possible, or that they are not right.

Georgia ruling party concedes poll defeat

Opposition Georgian Dream coalition has won majority of parliamentary seats, President Mikhail Saakashvili says.

President Saakashvili has led the country since his 2003 'Rose Revolution' [Reuters]

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has conceded defeat in parliamentary polls that appear set to hand a shock victory to the opposition Georgian Dream coalition. "It is clear that the [opposition] Georgian Dream has won a majority," Saakashvili said in a televised speech on Tuesday. Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream opposition coalition was leading Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement (UNM) by 53.19 per cent to 41.51 per cent after a quarter of electoral precincts declared results on Tuesday in the proportional ballot that will decide just over half of parliamentary seats. A complex electoral system means that the ruling party could still take a large number of seats, however. First-past-the-post votes in 73 constituencies will make up the remainder of the 150-seat parliament, and the opposition was ahead in partial counts from seven out of 10 such constituencies in its stronghold Tbilisi.