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Meet David Cameron’s Indo-Pacific fixer: An ex-MEP known for championing Beijing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

LONDON — As Westminster debated the wisdom — or otherwise — of David Cameron’s return to frontline politics this week, one former colleague was in no doubt.“Cameron is in the right place at the right time,” wrote former Tory MEP Nirj Deva of the new U.K. foreign secretary. “There are very few if any international leaders who could lead on so many fronts with knowledge, deep relationships and meticulous attention to detail.”Deva’s glowing appraisal was hardly surprising. The pair are friendly — and picture after picture shows him and Cameron together at events around the world.But Cameron’s association with the ex-MEP raises further questions about his own past involvement with Chinese investment projects which could cause a conflict with Britain’s core strategic interests.During a 20-year career in Brussels, Deva was well known for building links with China, even founding an EU-China friendship group that was later wound up after conce...

German cops launch huge raid against pro-Hezbollah group

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

German police carried out a massive nationwide operation Thursday against the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), an organization suspected of supporting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.The group is suspected of undermining Germany’s “constitutional order” and of supporting the activities of Hezbollah — which is banned in Germany — according to Germany’s interior ministry. “The suspicions against the ‘Islamic Center Hamburg’ are serious,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said. “It has long been monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as Islamist. Further measures based on the rule of law must be well prepared.”In the early hours of Thursday, German authorities searched 54 properties across seven federal states, in a mega operation against the IZH and five other associations, which were not named.“We have the Islamist scene in our sights,” Faeser added. “Especially now, at...

Un lobbying gagnant (et en musique)

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

Notre newsletter quotidienne sur les enjeux de lobbying et de transparence en France.Par ALEXANDRE LÉCHENETAvec OCÉANE HERRERO, AURORE GORIUS et PAUL DE VILLEPINInfos, tuyaux et mini-drames à partager ? Ecrivez à Océane Herrero, Aurore Gorius, Alexandre Léchenet et Paul de Villepin | Voir dans votre navigateurLE MENU DU JOUR— Comment Spotify and co ont réussi à mettre sur pause le risque d’une taxe streaming.— Loi anti-Airbnb : un retour en fanfare avant Noël.— Le troc se termine pour Vivendi à la suite de son rachat de Lagardère.Bonjour à toutes et à tous, c’est aujourd’hui l’heure du deuxième tour. Après un premier vote où aucune majorité ne s’est dégagée, les Etats membres vont à nouveau se prononcer sur la prolongation de l’autorisation du glyphosate. La France devrait s’abstenir, et ce malgré la promesse faite par Emmanuel Macron il y a quelques années de bannir le pesticide, aux effets si controversés. Si le sujet vous intéresse, ou si vous avez besoin de ...

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Zelenskyy in first overseas visit as top UK diplomat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday in his first overseas trip in his new job and pledged to continue providing military support for Ukraine’s war effort for “however long it takes.”Cameron, a former prime minister who returned to government in a surprise appointment Monday in a Cabinet shuffle, said he wanted to make the trip to Kyiv his first diplomatic visit. “I admire the strength and determination of the Ukrainian people,” he told Zelenskyy, according to a video posted by the president.Cameron said the U.K. would continue to provide moral and diplomatic support “but above all, the military support that you need not just this year and next year but however long it takes.”Zelenskyy thanked Cameron for visiting. Zelenskyy has tried to keep the world’s focus on Ukraine’s fight as attention has turned to the Middle East and Israel’s war against Hamas.“A good meeting,” Zelens...

German authorities raid properties linked to group suspected of promoting Iranian ideology

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police raided 54 locations across the country on Thursday in an investigation of a Hamburg-based center suspected of promoting Iranian ideology and supporting the activities of Hezbollah, the government said.The Interior Ministry said the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, has long been under observation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. It said the activities of the group are aimed at spreading the “revolutionary concept” of Iran’s supreme leader. Authorities are also looking into suspicions that it supports banned activities in Germany by Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has repeatedly traded fire with Israel across the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza last month.The IZH runs a mosque in Hamburg. The Interior Ministry said German intelligence believes it exerts significant influence or full control over some other mosques and groups, and that they often promote a “clearly antisemitic and a...

Turkish parliamentary committee to debate Sweden’s NATO membership bid

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee was scheduled on Thursday to start debating Sweden’s bid to join NATO, drawing the previously non-aligned country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.Once green-lighted by the committee, Sweden’s accession protocol will need to be ratified by Parliament’s general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey.Turkey has stalled ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.Turkey has also been angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in Sweden as well as Quran-burning protests that roiled Muslim countries.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his objection to Sweden’s bid during a NATO summit in July and sent the acc...

No Canadians on updated exit list for the Rafah border crossing, hundreds still stuck

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

There are no Canadians mentioned in an updated list of foreign nationals who are being allowed to leave the Gaza Strip today. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders published the latest document on its Facebook page early this morning.Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday that a total of 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to get out, including nine people who left without the Canadian government’s help.Two more people were able to travel to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday, and 10 made the trip on Monday. The Canadian government says it cannot determine when or how many people can cross each day, but 386 more people connected to Canada are looking to leave the besieged Palestinian territory.They are fleeing the war that started on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking roughly 240 others back into Gaza as hostages.Israel has since retaliated with airstrikes ...

Stock market today: Asian shares wobble and oil prices fall after Biden’s meeting with China’s Xi

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares have retreated after Wall Street added a bit more to its big rally from a day before, while U.S. futures and oil prices were lower. Any lift in sentiment from a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping appeared to fade after Biden, pressed by a reporter on whether he trusted Xi, said he believed in trusting but verifying and conceded that China’s leader is a dictator.“He is a dictator in a sense,” Biden said.Biden and Xi emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in a year vowing to stabilize the fraught relationship between the world’s two biggest economies. They showcased modest agreements to combat illicit fentanyl and re-establish military communications. Rifts on economic competition and global security threats persist, but Biden said they agreed to “pick up the phone” and talk if urgent issues arise. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 17,832.82 and the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.7% at 3,050.93. In othe...

Daily horoscope for November 16, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

Moon Alert: After 2:55 a.m. EST today, there are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The Moon is in Capricorn.Happy Birthday for Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023:You are intelligent, perceptive and full of purpose. You are also caring and have the best interests of others at heart. This is a year of learning and teaching. Explore philosophies that will give you better self-awareness and get you closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★This is a good day to talk to bosses, parents and people in authority, because you look successful. Not only that, you have solid, realistic plans, and are able to forecast practical realities. Others will be impressed! You appear trustworthy and reliable. Tonight: You’re noticed.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★This is an excellent day to travel. It’s also an excellent day to study or explore opportunities in publishing, the media, medicine or the law. All aspects of higher education will flourish because you...

Commission funds 171 new LIFE projects in environment and climate across Europe with over €396 million

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:14:54 GMT

The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action, worth more than €396 million. Thanks to the programme's co-funding requirements, it will mobilise a total investment of more than €722m, which represents a 28.5 % increase compared to last year. Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from EU support under the following sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and clean energy transition.LIFE projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal's broad range of climate, energy and environmental goals, including the EU's aim to become climate-neutral by 2050. They support biodiversity and nature restoration, improve the quality of life of Europeans by reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, increase circularity in the economy and climate resilience, and accelerate the transition to clean energy across Eur...