4 d. ago As fragile Gaza ceasefire holds, world powers plan stabilisation force

France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, were working to finalise a UN Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza, France said on Thursday. With a shaky US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holding, planning has begun for an international force to stabilise security in the Palestinian enclave, two senior US advisers said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Paris, French Foreign Ministry...

Events

5 d. ago France’s PM survives confidence votes amid pension reform row

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu weathered two confidence motions on Thursday, just days after appointing his new government and making a key political concession to stay in power. The votes followed Lecornu’s decision on Tuesday to back suspending a divisive 2023 pension reform, in a bid to keep his cabinet afloat long enough to pass a much-needed austerity budget by year’s end. The leftist Socialist Party (PS) had threatened to vote to oust the premier if he didn’t move to freeze the...

Politics

5 d. ago China frames message of partnership for EU members to take to Brussels

Amid deep mistrust over trade and geopolitical differences, China is courting European powers, urging them to champion the EU’s strategic autonomy and framing its relationship with the bloc as a partnership defined by cooperation not confrontation. China and Europe had no geopolitical conflict or fundamental clash of core interests, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the French president’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne on Wednesday. The two sides’ proper positioning should be as partners,...

Politics

7 d. ago French PM backs suspending pension reform until 2027 in key move for survival

French Prime minister Sebastien Lecornu will propose the suspension of a contested plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a move to avoid his fragile minority government being immediately toppled. Lecornu said on Tuesday in a speech at the National Assembly that the law, a flagship policy of French President Emmanuel Macron, would be put on pause until after the next presidential election, to be held in 2027. The Socialist Party, which is not part of the government, had demanded that...

Events

7 d. ago French PM vows to suspend Macron’s pension reform to avoid government collapse

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu promised on Tuesday to suspend a landmark pension reform until after the 2027 election, sacrificing one of President Emmanuel Macron’s legacy achievements to ensure the government’s survival. By bowing to pressure from leftist lawmakers who revile the 2023 reform, Lecornu has managed to stave off a stark escalation in France’s months-long political crisis. The Socialists welcomed his concession, saying they would not vote to topple him in no confidence...

Politics

7 d. ago French PM sacrifices Macron’s pension reform to avert government collapse

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu promised on Tuesday to suspend a landmark pension reform until after the 2027 election, sacrificing one of President Emmanuel Macron’s legacy achievements to ensure the government’s survival. By bowing to pressure from leftist lawmakers who revile the 2023 reform, Lecornu has managed to stave off a stark escalation in France’s months-long political crisis. The Socialists welcomed his concession, saying they would not vote to topple him in no confidence...

Politics

1 week ago US and China have killed free trade, former French minister says

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

1 week ago ‘Free trade is over, it is dead’, former French minister declares

Former French finance minister Eric Lombard accused the United States and China of killing free trade and called for the European Union to pursue a more “nationalistic” approach to trade policy in response during a speech in Paris on Thursday. “Free trade is over, it is dead,” Lombard told a summit on competitiveness organised by Politico in the French capital. He urged France and Europe to “wake up” to the fact that the US and China were employing unfair trade practices that deviate from free...

Politics

2 w. ago How a dead US trade deal is pushing Africa further into China's orbit

How a dead US trade deal is pushing Africa further into China's orbit  Yahoo

Events

2 w. ago Demise of US trade deal AGOA pushes Africa further into China’s orbit

The apparent collapse of a 25-year tariff-free trade pact between the United States and Africa symbolises an American retreat, according to observers, who say the shift is paving the way for China to deepen its influence across the continent. The Clinton-era African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired on September 30 after Congress failed to pass a renewal bill, leaving more than 6,000 African exports, such as apparel and textiles, subject to higher US tariffs. The resulting economic...

Politics

4 w. ago 14 killed as rival Ecuadoran inmates fight with guns, explosives

Inmates in Ecuador fought each other with guns and explosives in a riot that left 13 prisoners and a guard dead, police said. The mayhem was the latest in a series of bloodbaths to engulf gang-ridden, overcrowded prisons in a once peaceful country now at ground zero of the violent Latin American drug trade. An unknown number of inmates escaped in the clash between rival gangs, during which another 14 people were injured, a masked police officer identified as commander Colonel William Calle told...

Events