PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen proposed a ban on Muslim headscarves in all public places on Friday, seeking to build on a record recent poll putting her almost neck-and-neck with President Emmanuel Macron.
The hijab policy, which would be contested in court and almost certainly be ruled unconstitutional, saw the 53-year-old return to a familiar campaign theme 15 months from the country’s 2022 presidential election.
“I consider that the headscarf is an Islamist item of clothing,” Le Pen told reporters at a press conference where she proposed a new law to ban “Islamist ideologies” which she called “totalitarian and murderous.”
Since taking over France’s main far-right party from her father, Le Pen has run twice for the French presidency, losing badly in 2017 to political newcomer Macron in a defeat that she took months to recover from.
But recent polling shows her closer than ever to her ultimate prize and has led to a rash of new speculation about whether the anti-EU, anti-immigration populist could finally enter the Elysee Palace.
Despite recent setbacks for fellow ideologues such as Donald Trump, and Matteo Salvini in Italy, a survey reported earlier this week showed her within striking distance of Macron.
The poll conducted online by Harris Interactive suggested that if a final-round presidential run-off were held today Le Pen would garner 48 percent while Macron would be re-elected with 52 percent, Le Parisien newspaper reported.
“It’s a poll, it’s a snapshot of a moment, but what it shows is that the idea of me winning is credible, plausible even,” Le Pen said at the Friday press conference.
The prospect of a tight race set off alarm bells in the French political mainstream as the dual health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic sweep across the country.
“It’s the highest she has ever been at,” said Jean-Yves Camus, a French political scientist specialized in the far-right, while adding that it was “too early to take the polls at face value.”
He said Le Pen was benefiting from frustration and anger over the pandemic, with France on the verge of a third lockdown, but also the beheading of a French school teacher by an Islamist last October.
“It had a major impact on public opinion,” the expert from the Jean-Jaures Foundation told AFP. “And in this area, Marine Le Pen has an advantage: her party is well known for its position denouncing Islamism.”
The beheading of Samuel Paty in a town northwest of Paris rekindled bitter arguments in France about immigration and the threat of Islamism, while putting the country’s strict form of secularism under international scrutiny.
The secondary school teacher was attacked in the street by an 18-year-old extremist after he showed satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to pupils during a civics class on free speech.
In response to Paty’s death, Macron’s government shut a number of organizations deemed Islamist and drafted law legislation initially called “the anti-separatism bill” which cracks down on foreign funding for Islamic organizations.
If re-elected after a campaign that is expected to be centered on jobs, the pandemic and the place of Islam in France, 43-year-old Macron would be the first president since Jacques Chirac in 2002 to win a second term.
Under the presidential system, the top two candidates in a first round of voting progress to a second-round run-off where the winner must get more than 50 percent.
A Le Pen win “was improbable three and half years ago,” veteran political commentator Alain Duhamel told the BFM news channel this week.
“But today I wouldn’t say that it is probable, but I’d say, without any pleasure, that it seems to me to be possible.”
A re-run of the Macron-Le Pen contest of 2017, which all polls currently show as the most likely outcome, could increase the abstention rate and disillusionment with the French political system.
Turnout in the second round in 2017 was 74.6 percent, its lowest level since 1969, because many voters from the left declined to cast a ballot.
France’s Le Pen, at record high in polls, proposes hijab ban
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France’s Le Pen, at record high in polls, proposes hijab ban
- Le Pen was rejected by the French public in her last election, but has since experienced a resurgence in popularity
- A string of terror attacks in France and the pandemic's health crisis have helped her in the polls
Australian PM condemns synagogue arson attack
- Police are searching for a man who set the front door of a Melbourne synagogue ablaze on Friday night
- Jewish neighborhoods in Melbourne and Sydney have in recent months been hit by a wave of vandalism
SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister on Saturday condemned an arson attack on a busy city synagogue, saying it was a “cowardly” act of antisemitism.
Police are searching for a man who set the front door of a Melbourne synagogue ablaze on Friday night as around 20 people ate dinner inside.
The worshippers – eating a meal in observation of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest – escaped unscathed through the back of the synagogue before firefighters doused the blaze.
“Last night’s arson attack on the synagogue in east Melbourne is cowardly, is an act of violence and antisemitism, and has no place in Australian society,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
“It is to be hoped that the perpetrator is brought to justice urgently, and that he faces the full force of the law, and anyone involved in this attack faces the full force of the law.”
Victoria state police said they were investigating the “intent and ideology” of the perpetrator.
Jewish neighborhoods in Melbourne and Sydney have in recent months been hit by a wave of antisemitic vandalism.
Masked arsonists firebombed a different Melbourne synagogue in December last year, prompting the government to create a federal task force targeting antisemitism.
Ukraine strikes Russian air base
- Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia’s Voronezh region
- Such attacks on Russian air bases aim to dent Russia’s military
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine said it struck a Russian air base on Saturday, while Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones overnight as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.
Ukraine’s military General Staff said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia’s Voronezh region, describing it as the “home base” of Russia’s Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets.
Writing on Facebook, the General Staff said it hit a depot containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and “possibly other aircraft.”
Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attack.
Such attacks on Russian air bases aim to dent Russia’s military capability and demonstrate Ukraine’s capability to hit high-value targets in Russia. Last month, Ukraine said it destroyed more than 40 Russian planes stationed at several airfields deep in Russia’s territory in a surprise drone attack.
Russia fired 322 drones and decoys into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukraine’s air force said. Of these, 157 were shot down and 135 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
According to the air force, Ukraine’s western Khmelnytskyi region was the main target of the attack. Regional Gov. Serhii Tyurin said Saturday that no damage, injuries or deaths had been reported.
Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukraine. Waves of drones and missiles targeted Kyiv overnight into Friday in the largest aerial assault since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. On Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the number of people killed in the assault had increased to two. A further 26 people were wounded.
The fresh wave of attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he had a “very important and productive” phone call with US President Donald Trump.
The two leaders discussed how Ukrainian air defenses might be strengthened, possible joint weapons production between the US and Ukraine, and broader U.S-led efforts to end the war with Russia, according to a statement by Zelenksyy.
Asked Friday night by reporters about the call, Trump said, “We had a very good call, I think.”
When asked about finding a way to end the fighting, Trump said: “I don’t know. I can’t tell you whether or not that’s going to happen.”
The US has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defense missiles. Ukraine’s main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelensky says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 94 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday, along with 12 further drones on Saturday morning. No casualties were reported.
California’s biggest wildfire of the year spreads to 70,000 acres
- The “Madre Fire” broke out on Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, a rural county in the heart of the US state.
- It is the largest blaze so far this year in California, which was scarred by wildfires that destroyed swaths of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES: A massive wildfire raging in California for the past three days has ravaged more than 70,000 acres, as hundreds of firefighters fought to bring it under control.
The “Madre Fire” broke out on Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, a rural county in the heart of the US state.
Around 200 people were ordered to evacuate, with dozens of buildings threatened by the flames.
The fire has engulfed 70,800 acres (28,700 hectares) since Wednesday, and more than 600 personnel and 40 fire engines have been deployed to contain it, Cal Fire, the state’s fire service, said in an update on Friday.
It is the largest blaze so far this year in California, which was scarred by wildfires that destroyed swaths of Los Angeles at the start of the year.
This summer is the first since President Donald Trump announced plans to gut federal agencies tasked with fighting climate disaster.
On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said 15 new fires had ignited on federal land in the past 24 hours, and called on the president to prioritize funding for firefighting resources.
“Trump needs to WAKE UP and start funding federal firefighters and land-management teams in these rural communities — instead of giving tax cuts to billionaires,” Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on X.
“Trump’s incompetence is endangering lives.”
A separate statement from the governor’s press office said Friday that the Madre Fire “remains in a very isolated location — away from homes.”
It comes after several other blazes, raising fears of a difficult summer ahead for the state already traumatized by the wildfires that killed 30 people in January.
Southern California had an unusually dry winter and spring, and vegetation is already parched, UCLA extreme climate events specialist Daniel Swain has said.
Intense and widespread heat this summer, and dry brush “will heavily factor into burning conditions later this season,” he added.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has ordered budget and personnel cuts at the Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FEMA, the federal agency that coordinates disaster response.
On Wednesday, Newsom accused the Republican president of not funding enough wildfire prevention projects.
“We need an equivalent commitment of resources — not rhetoric,” Newsom told reporters, noting that more than half of the land in California is under federal jurisdiction.
Dalai Lama, on eve of 90th, aims to live for decades more
- Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name its own successor to the Dalai Lama
- Followers of the Dalai Lama laud his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet
MCLEOD GANJ, India: The Dalai Lama said Saturday he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday.
Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers – days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death.
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name its own successor to the Dalai Lama, to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever since.
“So far, I have done my best and with the continued blessings of Avalokiteshvara (a Buddhist spiritual protector), I hope to live another 30 or 40 years, continuing to serve sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma,” he said, referring to the teachings of the Buddha.
Followers of the Dalai Lama laud his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau about the size of South Africa.
But speaking at the main temple in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades – after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959 – he offered teachings to a far wider audience.
“In my life, I have encountered people from all walks of life, those with faith in religion and others with no interest in it at all. This is only natural, as individuals have different mental dispositions,” he said, speaking in Tibetan.
“Yet, the common desire shared by all, including the Tibetan people, is the wish to avoid suffering and to experience happiness.”
The charismatic Buddhist had previously said the institution would continue only if there was popular demand – and his confirmation on Wednesday it would has reassured followers around the globe.
He said he had received multiple appeals from Tibetans in Tibet and in exile, as well as from Buddhists from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China.
He said responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama “will rest exclusively” with his office, the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust.
Self-declared atheist and Communist China, which condemns the Nobel Peace Prize winner as a rebel and separatist, issued a swift response.
China said on Wednesday that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama “must be approved by the central government” in Beijing, and that it would be carried out “by drawing lots from a golden urn,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
That urn is held by Beijing, and the Dalai Lama has already warned that, when used dishonestly, it lacks “any spiritual quality.”
India and China are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia, but have sought to repair ties after a 2020 border clash.
New Delhi’s foreign minister said it had “always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.”
The birthday celebrations have also been a time for reflection on an inevitable future without the Dalai Lama.
“Seeing him turn 90 today fills me with happiness, but also a deep sadness,” said Dorje Dolma, 27, who fled Tibet to India.
“His Holiness has always felt like a father figure to me,” she added. “His good health brings me joy, but his age sometimes worries me.”
Hollywood star Richard Gere, a longtime backer of the Tibetans in exile, has been among the tens of thousands taking part in days of celebrations.
“There’s something about this Tibetan cause that touches people, and certainly, a central part of that is His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” Gere said during celebrations on Thursday.
“Which begs the question: What do we do when we don’t have His Holiness to open those doors? He’s not there to carry us. And we struggle with that, all of us now.”
Trump says tariff letters to 12 countries signed, going out Monday
- Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate and additional amounts for most countries, some ranging as high as 50%
- All but the 10% base rate were subsequently suspended for 90 days to allow more time for negotiations to secure deals
NEW JERSEY: US President Donald Trump said he had signed letters to 12 countries outlining the various tariff levels they would face on goods they export to the United States, with the "take it or leave it" offers to be sent out on Monday.
Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to New Jersey, declined to name the countries involved, saying that would be made public on Monday.
Trump had earlier on Thursday told reporters that he expected a first batch of letters to go out on Friday, a national holiday in the United States, though the date has now shifted.
In a global trade war that has upended financial markets and set off a scramble among policymakers to guard their economies, Trump in April announced a 10% base tariff rate and additional amounts for most countries, some ranging as high as 50%.
However, all but the 10% base rate were subsequently suspended for 90 days to allow more time for negotiations to secure deals.
That period ends on July 9, although Trump early on Friday said the tariffs could be even higher - ranging up to 70% - with most set to go into effect August 1.
"I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably twelve," Trump said, when asked about his plans on the tariff front. "Different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs."
Trump and his top aides initially said they would launch negotiations with scores of countries on tariff rates, but the US president has soured on that process after repeated setbacks with major trading partners, including Japan and the European Union.
He touched on that briefly late on Friday, telling reporters: "The letters are better ... much easier to send a letter."
He did not address his prediction that some broader trade agreements could be reached before the July 9 deadline.
The shift in the White House's strategy reflects the challenges of completing trade agreements on everything from tariffs to non-tariff barriers such as bans on agricultural imports, and especially on an accelerated timeline.
Most past trade agreements have taken years of negotiations to complete.
The only trade agreements reached to date are with Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10% rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines, and with Vietnam, cutting tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20% from his previously threatened 46%. Many US products would be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free.
A deal expected with India has failed to materialize, and EU diplomats on Friday said they have failed to achieve a breakthrough in trade negotiations with the Trump administration, and may now seek to extend the status quo to avoid tariff hikes.
