World
‘Russia will capitalise on any doubt shown’ – Zelenskyy
The Ukrainian president attempted to rally continued support for his country in its war with the Kremlin.
Moscow will take advantage of any doubts or divisions shown by the collective West when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, according to the country’s president.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was speaking at the second meeting of the pan-continental European Political Community (EPC) in Moldova, which aims to boost the continent’s response to Kremlin aggression.
Although nothing concrete came out of the meeting, it is a great opportunity for rare encounters between European leaders, as well as a chance for the Ukrainian president to garner support.
“Every doubt we show here in Europe is a trench that Russia will definitely try to occupy,” Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
“Whether these doubts are about vital security steps or doubts about our unity, or maybe about our ability to meet the challenges of our time, every doubt brings more insecurity.”
The main topic of the discussion was how to give security guarantees to Ukraine, with Zelenskyy openly pushing for NATO membership.
But the path to joining will not be easy, particularly since some alliance members do not support the idea.
It is also a major red line for the Kremlin and could be a valuable card to play during any eventual peace negotiations.
During the summit, Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, made it clear that support for Ukraine is, for now, unwaivering.
“I think this is important to give Ukrainians hope and also show Russia that we are behind Ukraine and and Ukraine’s place is in NATO,” she said.
“Of course, everybody understands that this can’t happen while the war is going on, but to have a very clear signal that Ukraine belongs to NATO and we are behind Ukraine is important”.
The choice of holding the summit in Moldova was also seen as a message to the Kremlin.
It was held just 20 kilometres away from the border and also follows the country receiving EU candidate status in June last year at the same time as Ukraine.
The next step now, is to try to shape a consensus around what exactly to offer to Ukraine within the next six weeks when NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius, Lithuania.
While France has made some steps in terms of wording calling for Ukraine to be granted a clear path to membership, this is not the case for countries like Germany, which is still cautious to provide any concrete timetable.
World
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World
From Marseille to Mont-Blanc: What to know about the journey of the Olympic torch to Paris
The Olympic torch will finally enter France when it reaches the southern seaport of Marseille on Wednesday. And it’s already been quite a journey.
After being lit on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, the torch was carried around Greece before leaving Athens aboard a three-mast ship named Belem, headed for Marseille.
OLYMPIC TORCH-LIGHTING CEREMONY EXPLAINED: WHAT TO KNOW AHEAD OF THE PARIS GAMES
The Belem was first used in 1896, the same year the modern Olympics came back. It will be accompanied by more than 1,000 boats as it parades around the Bay of Marseille, before arriving at the Vieux-Port, or Old Port, and docking on a pontoon resembling an athletics tracks.
Torch bearers will carry the flame across Marseille the next day, the last stretch running on the roof of the famed Stade Vélodrome, home to Marseille’s passionate soccer fans.
After leaving Marseille, a vast relay route will be undertaken before the torch’s odyssey ends with the opening ceremony of the Games on July 26 in Paris.
Here’s a look at where the torch goes before reaching Paris:
MONT-SAINT-MICHEL
The torch is due to reach the famed and visually stunning site of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy on May 31.
Located in an area of raised land surrounded by water, the island fortress looks like it was created for a Game of Thrones film set. But it’s real, and very old.
So old that it already existed during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, from 1337 to 1453. An English attack was even fended off. Later it became a prison, and in 1979 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Every years swarms of tourists are in awe of its raw and haunting beauty.
ACROSS THE OCEANS
The torch travel route is even more unique considering it takes a detour through France’s overseas territories called the Relais des Océans, or Ocean Relay. Riding the waves of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, it will be in French Guiana on June 9 before hitting New Caledonia on June 11.
Next is the island of Réunion at Saint-Denis — coincidentally the same name as the Paris suburb with the Olympic village — before reaching Papeete in the surfing realm of Tahiti, then Baie-Mahault in Gaudeloupe and finally Fort-de-France in Martinique.
The torch comes back to France on June 18 in the southern city of Nice.
FROM SEA BREEZE TO HEAVY CHEESE
Just five days after landing on French shores, the torch heads up the Alpine mountain pass of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc for Olympic Day on June 23.
The Haute-Savoie region is known for its outstanding Chamonix ski resort, which hosts World Cup races, for sweeping views across glacier fields to nearby Italy, and — some would say more importantly — as a producer of fine cheese.
A Cheese Olympics, should it be invented, would feature a sturdy crew of eight competitors from Savoie: Abondance, Beaufort, Chevrotin, Emmental, Reblochon, Tome, Tomme and the heavy-duty Raclette.
HEADING FOR PARIS
After leaving fromage-friendly Savoie, torch bearers will digest in the Doubs region of eastern France, and then visit the Alsace city of Strasbourg in the northeast.
Three days later the torch will reach Verdun, the site of one of the most horrific battles of World War I. From February to December 1916, more than 700,000 French and German soldiers were killed or wounded at the Battle of Verdun.
BASTILLE DAY ARRIVAL
The torch is to arrive on the streets of Paris on July 14 — hardly surprising, considering it’s Bastille Day, France’s national day.
The torch will stay the following day in Paris, then exit again before snaking back to the French capital via Versailles — home to the resplendent Royal Palace — and the suburbs of Nanterre on July 24 and Seine Saint-Denis on July 25.
From there, it’s to travel a very short distance back to Paris on July 26 for the grandiose opening ceremony where athletes will parade on more than 80 boats at sunset on the Seine River.
FINAL DESTINATION?
After the nearly four-hour ceremony ends shortly after 11 p.m., the cauldron will be lit at a location that is being kept top-secret until the day itself. Among reported options are such iconic spots as the Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries Gardens outside the Louvre Museum.
FLAME PROTECTION
A total of 10,000 people will carry the torch along its route. Local police forces on each section of the relay will help to ensure security is high, providing a security bubble around the torch and its carrier.
ECO-FRIENDLY
The torches have a lower environmental impact than those used at previous Games. They burn biogas instead of propane and are recharged when fuel runs out.
Around 2,000 torches will be used compared to more than 10,000 before, according to Georgina Grenon, the director of environmental excellence at Paris 2024. The torches are made with recycled steel and not new aluminum.
World
How serious is the threat to democracy from the far-right?
According to Euronews’s latest Superpoll in April, Germany’s far-right party AfD are polling in second place for the European elections next month. Is the current government doing enough to counteract the threat from the far-right?
Political violence is on the rise in Germany, and news that politicians from the Green party and Social Democrats (SPD) were attacked whilst putting up voting posters on Friday in Dresden has shocked the nation.
Many, including the leaders of the SPD in Saxony, Kathrin Michel and Henning Homann, blamed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. AfD denied strongly that it was behind these attacks and said election campaigns should be without violence.
Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands gathered across major cities in Germany to protests against the far-right. Many experts fear that AfD would change the constitution, school curriculum and introduce new laws, at the very minimum.
Those who say they’ll vote for AfD often want a change in politics and complain that all the other established parties including the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and SPD are the same.
Social democrats from Germany and Europe held a democracy congress in Berlin on Saturday, where they promised not to cooperate with far-right parties, in the likely event that coalitions may need to be formed.
But is the current government doing enough to counteract the threat from the far-right?
Independent non-government organisation Amadeu Antonio Foundation spokesperson Lorenz Blumenthal told Euronews that the government is trying.
“At least they are now acknowledging what threat the far-right poses to democracy and the people living in Germany. But of course, a lot of mistakes were made in the past by not fully acting up on right wing extremism especially concerning the juridical branch. A lot of crimes remained unpunished. And that, of course, leads to a new self-consciousness of the far right, because if people are not punished for their crimes, they can repeat them and they feel in a way empowered.”
Blumenthal also suggests there is problem with image and recommends that politicians take more active steps to be more honest with voters, and admit that mistakes may have been made, “for instance, the corona pandemic, which might have seen a little too much of political restrictions.”
He also says that it would help politicians be taken more seriously by voters if they acknowledge that times are hard in global crises but also celebrate national victories. Many mainstream parties are afraid of being labelled as nationalist, so stray from being proud of achievements.
“But especially for Germany, we haven’t been doing all too bad. Germany even came out of the pandemic surprisingly well. We achieved so much as a country in terms of doing a very credible transformation towards more green energy, towards jobs,” Blumenthal acknowledges, highlighting that the recession didn’t hit Germany as hard as the AfD is portraying: The shift that really needs to happen is also to be proud of these things.”
“If we break it down,” Blumenthal adds, “the AfD is fear mongering in the best sense. They portray this apocalyptic scenario that migration will ruin Germany, that the support for Ukraine and for Israel will ruin Germany. It’s always just basically picking up votes by fearmongering.”
This tactic can be seen across populist parties in Europe: “If we go back to point X, Y, Z in time, which, for the AfD, is like the 50s, then everything will be fine. And it’s just this very nostalgic backward vision for, for Germany that I, at least, don’t want to live in,” Blumenthal says.
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