French President Emmanuel Macron visited London on Thursday for a ceremony to mark the anniversary of General Charles de Gaulle’s call for wartime resistance against Nazi Germany.

Macron’s visit, his first trip outside France since the coronavirus pandemic, marks the 80th anniversary of General Charles de Gaulle’s radio address to the French nation, in which he laid the foundations of the Resistance.

The address was broadcast from London by the BBC on June 18, 1940, shortly after the Nazi invasion of France, and with the blessing of Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill.

Macron, who was accompanied by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, bestowed the Legion of Honour, France’s highest distinction, on the city of London.

In turn, Britain bestowed awards on four French Resistance fighters: Edgard Tupet-Thome, 100; Daniel Cordier, 99; Hubert Germain, 99, and Pierre Simonet, 98. They were not present, but will receive their awards in France later.

The four are the only surviving holders of the Croix de la Libération (Cross of Liberation), an honour bestowed by de Gaulle on 1,038 men and women who distinguished themselves in the struggle to liberate France.

Source: France 24

Thousands demonstrated in Berlin against racism and for broader fairness, including sharing the coronavirus burden, as they stretched a human chain through the German capital Sunday while keeping safe distances.

Hundreds also turned out in other cities like Leipzig and Hamburg, although some faced rainstorms in the tail-end of a weekend of harsh weather across Germany.

A spokesman for progressive movement Unteilbar (Indivisible) told AFP “more than 20,000 people” had participated in the event in Berlin, while police estimated around 8,000.

The route of the human chain — stretching from the world-famous Brandenburg Gate past the landmark Communist-era TV tower at Alexanderplatz and down into the ethnically diverse Neukoelln district — had to be extended to accommodate the numbers.

“The coronavirus is worsening existing inequalities. Many people are threatened with being left behind. We will not allow that,” said Unteilbar spokesman Georg Wissmeier in a statement.

“Human rights, social justice and climate justice belong together indivisibly.”

Over 10,000 people gathered in Berlin under the banner of Black Lives Matter last weekend in response to the May 25 killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the slogan was also in evidence on banners and T-shirts Sunday.

But the organisers of the latest demonstration posted a broader set of aims on their website.

– Coal mines to migrant camps –

Their demands include better working conditions and pay for all including migrants, affordable housing, upholding asylum rights, relaunching the economy along green lines and allowing workers more say in how companies are run.

“Who bears the costs of the global crisis, who will be stronger afterwards and who weaker — that’s being decided now,” Unteilbar organisers wrote.

Different groups ran individual stretches of the human chain, ranging from political parties like the Greens and Left party to civil society organisations like “Grannies against the far right” and the Fridays for Future youth climate movement.

And appearances by musicians and campaigners along the demonstration route were broadcast by organisers in a live stream of the event.

Messages from the “Ende Gelaende” group that has staged sit-ins at open-cast coal mines and fossil power plants appeared alongside an appeal from an Afghan filmmaker who lived in Greece’s overcrowded Moria refugee camp for six months.

“Everything is getting worse on the island” of Lesbos, where many people fleeing the Middle East via Turkey first reach European soil, Ahmad Ebrahimi told viewers.

“Please do anything you can” to help, he urged.

– Virus fears –

Ahead of Sunday’s demonstration, some had warned that the gatherings could provoke new transmission of the coronavirus.

“People not maintaining distance, shouting and chanting when packed close together — those are ideal conditions” for infection, Social Democratic Party (SPD) MP and epidemiologist Karl Lauterbach told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

On their website, Unteilbar organisers urged sticking to “a responsible form of protest in times of pandemic and crisis”, telling participants to remain three metres (yards) apart to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission.

As the human chain got under way, stewards handed out strips of brightly coloured tape cut to the right length as a guide.

Participants’ infection control precautions had been “exemplary”, a police spokesman told AFP, adding that people had kept their distance and worn facemasks.

Source: AFP

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview Sunday that relations with Washington are “complicated” following media reports that the US wants to withdraw 9,500 troops from Germany, significantly reducing US commitments to European defence under NATO in what one former US military commander said would be a “gift” to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Germany on Sunday voiced concern at reports that President Donald Trump plans to cut the number of US troops stationed in Germany, amid fears it could weaken a key pillar of NATO defence in the region.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said both countries stood to gain from close cooperation even if the transatlantic relationship had become “complicated” under Trump.

Other senior politicians in Berlin were more blunt, slamming the plan as the latest blow to US-German ties and a potential security risk.

“Should it come to the withdrawal of part of the US troops, we take note of this,” Maas told the Bild am Sonntag daily.

“We appreciate the cooperation with the US armed forces that has grown over decades. It is in the interest of both of our countries.”

Peter Beyer, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coordinator for transatlantic relations, warned that “the German-US relationship could be severely affected” by Trump’s decision.

The Wall Street Journal and other media reported on Friday that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to slash the number of US military personnel by 9,500 from the current 34,500 permanently assigned in Germany.

Such a move would significantly reduce the US commitment to European defence under the NATO umbrella, and appeared to catch Berlin off guard.

‘Wake-up call’            

But Maas admitted ties with the Trump administration had become strained.

“We are close partners in the transatlantic alliance. But it’s complicated,” Maas told Bild, in a nod to rows ranging from the Iranian nuclear deal to NATO contributions and Berlin’s support for a Russian gas pipeline.

There was no immediate confirmation from US officials about the alleged plan to slash US troop numbers in Germany and cap them at 25,000 in future.

But Trump’s lukewarm support of longstanding cooperation agreements with European allies has long caused alarm on the continent.

The US leader been particularly scathing towards Germany in recent years, accusing the fellow NATO member of not spending enough on defence.

Germany hosts more US troops than any other country in Europe, a legacy of the Allied occupation after World War II.

Johann Wadephul, a senior member in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party, said the troop reduction plan showed that the Trump administration was “neglecting an elementary leadership task: involving alliance partners in the decision-making process”.

It also served as another “wake-up call” for Europeans to take more responsibility for their own defence, he said in a statement on Saturday.

Only China and Russia stood to gain from “discord” between NATO allies, Wadephul added.

‘Colossal mistake’

Rolf Muetzenich, leader of the parliamentary group of the centre-left SPD, Merkel’s junior coalition partner, told the Funke newspaper group that the US plan could lead to “a lasting realignment of security policy in Europe”.

Former US Army Europe commander Ben Hodges, who was stationed in the German city of Wiesbaden before he retired, said a US drawdown would be “a colossal mistake” and “a gift” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“US troops are not in Europe to protect Germans,” he tweeted. “They are forward-based, as part of NATO, to protect all members, including USA.”

Although the American military presence has strongly declined since the end of the Cold War nearly three decades ago, Germany remains a crucial hub for US armed forces.

As well as serving as a deterrence to a resurgent Russia, US troops use their German bases to coordinate military operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The headquarters for US forces in Europe and Africa are both based in Stuttgart, while the US air base in Ramstein plays a major role in transporting soldiers and equipment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US military hospital in Landstuhl, near Ramstein, is the largest of its kind outside the United States.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Saturday that he hoped some of the troops moved out of Germany could be reassigned to Poland.

(AFP)

Britain will introduce a COVID-19 quarantine for all travellers arriving from overseas from June 8, interior minister Priti Patel said on Friday, a measure that airlines have warned will devastate their industry.

All international arrivals, including returning Britons, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and provide details of where they will be staying to the authorities.

“Now we are past the peak of this virus, we must take steps to guard against imported cases triggering a resurgence of this deadly disease,” Patel said at a news conference.

She said those who breached the quarantine in England could be fined 1,000 pounds ($1,218), and that spot checks would be carried out by health and border officials.

The quarantine measures will not apply to those arriving from the Irish Republic, and there are also exemptions for freight drivers, medical professionals and seasonal agricultural workers.

Unlike many other countries across the world, Britain has carried out few tests and checks on visitors, with quarantine limited only to arrivals from China at the start of the outbreak.

That has led to accusations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has been too slow to act, but it now also faces criticism over plans to bring in the quarantine.

Airline bosses have said the measures would have severe repercussions, with Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, saying they would be “unenforceable and unpoliceable” and would be ignored.

“Introducing a quarantine at this stage makes no sense and will mean very limited international aviation at best,” said Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of industry body Airlines UK.

“It is just about the worst thing government could do if their aim is to restart the economy.”

Source: REUTERS

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a joint plan to spur EU recovery from the coronavirus crisis on Monday, after weeks of debate over how to deploy billions of euros needed to end a painful recession.

In a joint video conference, Macron and Merkel called for the creation of a 500-billion-euro ($543 billion) recovery fund able to offer grants to the countries and regions hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis.

The leaders of France and Germany also said they were proposing to authorise the European Commission to borrow money on financial markets in the European Union’s name, while at the same time respecting EU treaties.

Macron and Merkel propose €500 billion EU recovery fund: Watch their press conference

Macron said this was the first time France and Germany agreed to let the EU raise debt jointly, calling this a “major step foward”. He insisted that money from the recovery fund would be made available in the form of grants and not loans.

Merkel said that in all, EU member states and the bloc’s executive would mobilise a combined sum of three trillion euros to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

She said France and Germany were also in favour of reforming the EU’s merger and competition rules so that the bloc can create stronger European champions after the coronavirus crisis.

Europe is just beginning to emerge from lockdowns put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has taken a huge bite out of national economies. But divisions among EU members on how to craft an overall response have hampered comprehensive action so far.

Macron said on Monday that the Franco-German initiative was the fruit of extensive talks with other EU member states, including Italy and the Netherlands, which have been at loggerheads in recent weeks.

The recovery debate has again exposed the bloc’s divide between northern countries leery of exploding budget deficits, and hard-hit southern countries like Italy and Spain that are desperate for more spending.

The eurozone economy overall is forecast to contract by a whopping 7.7 percent this year, but the damage could be worse in Italy and Greece, which could see their economies shrink by nearly 10 percent, prompting a cascade of bankruptcies and job losses.

While the European Commission still takes time before presenting its own plan, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel unveil their joint proposal for a 500 billion euros for the #Recovery Initiative.

European sources told AFP last week the Commission would lay out its plan toward the end of May, hoping to reconcile the opposing objectives of providing financial firepower – and proving European solidarity – without giving governments a blank check that would expose the entire bloc to gaping budget deficits.

Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has not given a specific figure, but has said the plan would be linked to the EU’s regular budget and funded in part by the commission borrowing on financial markets.

That would require European Parliament approval as well as a summit meeting of member states to give a green light on how the funds would be used, and the terms for their reimbursement.

The European Central Bank has also promised to do “whatever is necessary” to help weather the crisis, including a 750-billion-euro scheme to buy government bonds for cash-strapped nations.

However, that has proved problematic after Germany’s Constitutional Court attacked the ruling, potentially limiting Germany’s participation.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP)

Ireland will begin to lift its coronavirus lockdown in the coming days while introducing a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving in the nation, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Friday.

“I can confirm that it is safe to proceed with phase one of our plan to ease the COVID-19 restrictions from Monday,” he said, indicating the start of a five-stage plan to reopen the country set to stretch until August.

The changes coming into effect after the weekend will see staff return to outdoor workplaces and the reopening of some shops, sports facilities and public amenities such as beaches.

Citizens will also be allowed to meet in small groups outdoors.

Social distancing measures are to remain in widespread use as they have been since Ireland’s lockdown began on 28 March.

Meanwhile, the Irish cabinet agreed to make it mandatory for arrivals to fill out forms outlining where they will quarantine.

“We’re going to examine means by which it can be enforced thereafter,” Varadkar said at a Dublin press conference.

Travellers from the British province of Northern Ireland will be exempt.

The government also issued advice for “face coverings” to be worn in enclosed public spaces such as shops and public transport.

“Coronavirus is an inferno that is raging around the world”, said Varadkar.

“In Ireland it is now a fire in retreat but it’s not defeated — we must extinguish every spark and quench every ember.”

Effects of the relaxation will be monitored for three weeks before the government decides whether to move to the next stage in the “roadmap” to reopen the nation announced earlier this month.

Ireland has suffered 1,506 deaths from COVID-19, according to health department figures.

Reported daily deaths peaked at 77 on 20 April, but on Thursday had fallen to just 10.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said in mid-April that the nation had successfully quashed the spread of infection.

But, as in other countries, there is fear of a second wave.

“We have to remember that just as our actions brought about the progress you’ve seen to date, our actions could also set us back,” Health Minister Simon Harris said.

If the first phase of relaxations is deemed successful, the second stage will allow wider travel, visits to other households and employees to return to work under social distancing measures.

Source:  AFP

On Monday, Italy moved to phase two of the coronavirus emergency by starting to relax some of the stringent lockdown restrictions that have been in force since March 10.

With construction and manufacturing sectors resuming activity, over 4 million people have returned to their occupations provided that workplaces can meet social distancing rules.

Italians will now be able to travel within regions to visit relatives or anyone with whom they have a stable emotional relation. Parks have also been allowed to reopen while schools, cinemas and museums will remain shut.

However not everybody has been pleased with the government’s cautious relaxation of the lockdown measures. Some entrepreneurs and shopkeepers have argued that many of the restrictions of the past eight weeks will remain in place resulting in huge economic losses for them.

Activities such as barbers, hairdressers, gyms will stay shut possibly until June 1 while restaurants and bars can only offer takeaways.

The pandemic in Italy has claimed about 29,000 lives so far, second only to the US. Prime Minister Conte has made it clear that Italy is still in the full throes of the pandemic despite a drop in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths has been recorded lately Conte has warned that evidence of a rise in infections in the coming weeks could lead to restrictive measures being reintroduced.

Source: Presstv

Spaniards were allowed out of their homes to exercise and walk freely after 48 days of confinement on Saturday as some European nations began cautiously easing virus lockdowns while others like Russia faced a spike in new infections.

As governments across the globe balance lifting restrictions to restart economies against the risk of new infections, US authorities brought some hope by approving an experimental drug for emergency use on coronavirus patients.

The measure was the latest step in a global push to find viable treatments and a vaccine for the coronavirus, which has left half of humanity under some form of lockdown, hammered the world economy and caused more than 3.3 million confirmed infections.

The virus has killed nearly 239,000 people since it emerged in China late last year.

With signs the pandemic in their hardest-hit nations is slowing, European countries and some parts of the US have begun to lift restrictions and to try to inject life into economies battered by weeks of closure.

In Madrid and Barcelona, Spaniards took to the streets to exercise and walk freely as the government eased seven weeks of strict lockdown in a country with one of the highest number of fatalities at nearly 25,000.

“After so many weeks in confinement, I badly wanted to go out, run, see the world,” said financial advisor Marcos Abeytua in Madrid’s Chueca district who got up a 7am to enjoy some time outside. “Yesterday, I was like a child on Christmas Eve.”

In the city’s Retiro park, many residents were out to running, sometimes in groups, as a policeman used a loudspeaker to urge them to keep out of deserted avenue and on the pavement.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez however said masks would be obligatory on public transport from Monday.

Spain, Germany, Austria and Scandinavian nations are all slowly easing lockdowns as the virus cases slow though they will keep in place social distancing measures, demand the use of masks or increase testing to try to track infections.

France on Saturday decided it would extend a health emergency, in place since March 24, by two months until July 24, Health Minister Olivier Veran announced after a cabinet meeting.

Italy is preparing to ease restrictions in coming days while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent time in intensive care with the virus, said Britain had past the peak of its outbreak.

Ireland extended its lockdown by two weeks to May 18, with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar saying the nation will reopen “in a slow, phased, staged way” after that.

In Russia, though, authorities reported the largest increase in coronavirus cases with the new infections rising by nearly 10,000 in a single day.

In Moscow, the epicentre of Russia’s outbreak, around 2 percent of the population is infected by COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, officials said.

“The threat is apparently on the rise,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, said on his blog earlier Saturday.

– Treatment hopes –

More than 3.3 million cases of infection have been officially diagnosed in 195 countries, including 1.5 million in Europe alone. That number is likely only a fraction of true cases as testing is still limited.

The United States has the most deaths with more than 65,000, followed by Italy with 28,236, the United Kingdom with 27,510, Spain with 25,100 deaths and France with 24,594 fatalities.

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that Remdesivir, an antiviral drug initially developed to treat Ebola, was given the green light for use after a major trial found that it boosted recovery in serious COVID-19 patients.

“It’s really a very promising situation,” Trump said on Friday at the White House.

The drug incorporates itself into the virus’s genome, short-circuiting its replication process.

Its approval came as the US leaders struggled with growing pressure from citizens wearying of stay-at-home orders.

Trump is keen for a turnaround as the world’s largest economy reels with tens of millions left jobless.

Texas became the largest US state yet to ease curbs, while anti-lockdown demonstrations were held in several states — including California, where officials had re-closed beaches beginning Friday to avoid a repeat of last weekend when crowds flocked to the shoreline.

In Huntington Beach, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, several thousand people rallied to denounce Governor Gavin Newsom’s beach shutdown order.

“Open California!” chanted protesters near the closed beaches, carrying signs that read “All jobs are essential” or “Freedom is essential”.

– Hong Kong shops opening –

In Asia, India announced that the lockdown on its 1.3 billion people — the world’s biggest — would continue for two more weeks from May 4.

And in Singapore, the government said Saturday that pet food stores and hair salons will be allowed to reopen on May 12.

Most of the city-state’s infections have been detected at dormitories housing migrant workers, and their confinement was extended to June 1.

Hong Kong recorded zero confirmed case of coronavirus on Saturday, the sixth day within a week.

The city’s social distancing regulations including limits on gathering of more than four people are due to expire on May 7, but authorities have not decided whether to extend them.

The city’s chief executive has said that civil servants will return to work in the office starting from May 4.

During the long weekend with public holidays to celebrate Buddha’s birthday and Labour Day, residents flocked to country parks and the city’s outlying islands to get some fresh air.

Shops and restaurants started to resume business in normal opening hours with more consumers going out to streets and shopping malls.

The virus restrictions put a damper on May Day celebrations worldwide on Friday as many labour unions delayed their rallies and some held online events, while a determined few hit the streets in face masks.

May Day carried extra significance this year because of the staggering number of people put out of work by the pandemic, with the global economy in a tailspin and facing its worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Stock markets tumbled again on Friday after Trump’s unproven allegation that the virus may have come from a lab in Wuhan — the central Chinese city where the disease first emerged.

Source: AFP

Over 1.5 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Europe, just under half the worldwide total, according to an AFP tally at 0850 GMT on Saturday.

With at least 1,506,853 infections, including 140,260 deaths, Europe is the hardest-hit continent. Across the world, 3,350,224 cases and 238,334 deaths have been recorded.

Spain, with 215,216 cases and 24,824 deaths, Italy with 207,428 cases and 28,236 deaths, Britain (177,454 and 27,510), France (167,346 and  24,594) and Germany (161,703 and 6,575) are the five European countries with official tolls over 150,000.

The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are testing only the most serious cases.

(AFP)

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Thursday said he tested positive for Covid-19 and will self-isolate to protect other cabinet members.

“I have just learned that the test on the coronavirus I took was positive,” Mishustin said in a video meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting a deputy takes his place while he self-isolates.

Mishustin suggested that Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov should serve as acting prime minister in his absence. Putin supported his proposal and signed a decree appointing Belousov as a temporary replacement.

Russia has so far recorded 106,498 cases and 1,073 coronavirus-related deaths.

Mishustin, 54 was named prime minister in January following the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev. Putin’s choice of an obscure former tax service chief to replace Medvedev came as a surprise to most Russians.

‘Call me’ from hospital 

During a video call, Putin voiced hope that Mishustin would continue taking part in drafting policies to shore up the Russian economy, which has been hurt by the virus pandemic.

“Call me as soon as you arrive at the hospital,” said Putin

In Russia, the prime minister oversees the economy and answers to the president.

It was not immediately clear when Putin last met with Mishustin in person. The Russian president has minimised meetings and switched to holding video conferences with officials during the pandemic.

Infections spiking

A spike of 7,099 confirmed infections in the last 24 hours brought Russia’s total to 106,498 cases and 1,073 deaths, according to the government’s daily coronavirus update.

With its number of cases increasing by several thousand each day, Russia is now the European country registering the most new infections.

But Russia’s coronavirus death rate remains relatively low and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the country’s actions had helped it avoid the catastrophic “Italian scenario”.

Russia’s success was down to “tough self-isolation decisions” and government measures “which convinced people to stay at home”, Peskov told the RTVI television channel.

He also said Russia had quickly and efficiently increased the number of available hospital beds.

The virus has spread to all 85 regions of the country, with Moscow the epicentre with around half the total cases.

Russia has the eighth highest number of virus cases in the world after recently surpassing Iran and China, according to an AFP tally.

The country has carried out nearly 3.5 million virus tests, health officials said, and is ranked 19th in the world for the number of coronavirus deaths.

Situation ‘very difficult’

Medics in Russia have complained of shortages of protective equipment and testing kits, and hospital staff are becoming increasingly concerned with deaths in the medical community.

Trade union representatives and medics have told AFP that the problem is particularly severe outside of Moscow where staff are at an even greater risk of infection.

The Kremlin this week extended until May 11 a “non-working” period when Russians would stay at home but still receive their salaries as part of sweeping efforts to contain the virus.

Yet the measure has brought uncertainty to the economy, with business owners struggling to pay full salaries to employees while shutting their doors to customers.

The government has been phasing in anti-crisis measures, such as loan payment deferrals or cheap loans, but there is concern that Russians are unable to access the support.

Despite the steady increase in cases, Putin said that Russia may begin to gradually lift different quarantine regimes throughout the country from mid-May.

Mishustin on Wednesday extended a ban on entry for foreigners into the country, which had been due to expire Thursday, until “the fight against the infection is over and the epidemic situation has improved”.

The pandemic has thwarted several major political events for the Kremlin this year, with Putin postponing a massive military parade on May 9 commemorating the 75th anniversary of victory in World War II. Many world leaders had been due to attend.

The Kremlin also postponed an April 22 vote on landmark constitutional reforms, which would have paved the way for Putin, 67, to potentially stay in power until 2036.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)