International
Europe and Canada close ranks to count on Ukraine in the peace negotiation
Europe and Canada closed ranks this Wednesday to count on Ukraine and the Europeans in peace negotiations, in an informal summit held from Paris while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump were accused.
“The position of France and its partners is clear and united. We want a lasting and solid peace in Ukraine,” Macron summarized on the social network X after the meeting.
To do this, he indicated three conditions, starting with the maxim that Kiev is counted on in the negotiations and that its rights are respected.
Secondly, he mentioned that peace must be accompanied by “strong and credible guarantees” and finally stressed that “the security concerns of Europeans must be taken into account”.
Other leaders spoke in the same vein after the debate, which was the second informal summit of this type organized by the Elysée.
Last Monday, another one took place that urgently met in Paris with eight of the main powers of the Old Continent (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands), in addition to NATO leaders and the institutions of the European Union.
On this occasion, given that the reduced format of that first meeting aroused discomfort among some of the absent countries, Macron had the participation in person of the President of Romania and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and, by videoconference, of the heads of State or Government of 18 other countries.
The guest list included, among others, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. Also to heads of government of European countries that are members of NATO but not of the EU, such as Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, or Iceland, Kristrún Frostadóttir.
Outside the region, only Canada was listed, which is the only non-European partner of NATO in addition to the United States.
“It is a fundamental principle of Canada and the vast majority of allies: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” emphasized the Prime Minister of that country, Justin Trudeau, at a press conference after participating in the Paris debate.
The message of support for Kiev and vindication of the siege of Europe in the negotiations was clear in the face of the marginalization suffered in the first contacts between Washington and Moscow, held in Saudi Arabia.
“A peace solution will not be lasting without Ukraine participating in the negotiations. And Europe must have a place at the table,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in post-press statements.
In the same vein, Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke in his opinion, calling for a “common European line” so that the old continent can sit in the negotiations.
“Otherwise, there is a risk that the United States and Russia will negotiate above Europe and Ukraine,” Stubb emphasized, in addition to asking to keep a “cool head.”
For his part, the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, warned that Europe is at a “crossroads” and that the end of this war will define security on the continent “for future generations”.
“We must arm Ukraine,” he said, “so that it can have a position of strength with which to negotiate peace and thus bring peace to our part of the world. That is why we are going to continue with broad support for Ukraine.”
While the Paris meeting was taking place, tensions between Zelenski and Trump rose a lot in decibels, to the point that the US president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being a “dictator”, after he said that the White House tenant lives in a cloud of disinformation for having blamed Kiev for starting the war.
Faced with the upsurge of tone, Macron – who has been acting as a diplomatic conductor to try to speed up a debate that would be more complex and slow in other formats – said in his message that Europe shares the objective of ending the conflict, but emphasized that it is a “war of aggression carried out by Russia.”
He also expressed the conviction that Europe must increase “its spending and defense and security capabilities”, something demanded by Washington, and promised that “decisions will be made in the coming days and weeks.”
It will be specifically in March when the European Union defines that increase, detailed the Latvian Prime Minister, Evika Silina, who was another of the participants of the Paris meeting.
It will be done in “close cooperation with NATO,” Silina said, and will also be accompanied by an increase in military aid to Ukraine.
In parallel to the end of the meeting, it was announced that Macron will travel to Washington next week, through the mouth of the White House National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, although the Elysée has not confirmed the details.
For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a conversation on Wednesday with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he defended as a “democratically elected leader” hours after Donald Trump described him as a “dictator without elections”.
This was confirmed by Downing Street (the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister) in a statement, in which he indicated that the Labor leader expressed his support for the Ukrainian president during the call and told him that it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections in times of war, as the United Kingdom did in World War II.”
Starmer also insisted to Zelenski on the need to work together and supported the “efforts led by the United States to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine that deters Russia from any future aggression.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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