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Day: July 5, 2024
What happens to the Fulton election case if Trump wins the White House? The Atlanta Journal Constitution
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«Ле Пен и Орбан готовы создать грозную силу в Европарламенте» – так в западной прессе комментируют переговоры между премьером Венгрии и французскими правыми, которые могут присоединиться к недавно созданному альянсу «Патриоты Европы». В чем заключаются особенности этого альянса, кто может помешать их переговорам и какое значение этот процесс имеет для конфликта на Украине на фоне визита Виктора Орбана в Москву?
Французская партия «Национальное объединение», лидером которой является Марин Ле Пен, ведет переговоры о присоединении к альянсу «Патриоты Европы», который недавно возглавил премьер Венгрии Виктор Орбан. В случае успеха переговоров «Патриоты» станут третьей по силе фракцией в Европарламенте, пишет британская газета Financial Times.
По данным FT, стороны могут прийти к согласию в понедельник. Напомним, на прошлой неделе Обран вместе с коллегами из Австрии и Чехии создал альянс «Патриоты Европы». Эксперты сочли это решение попыткой правых партий усилить суверенитет национальных государств и снизить роль Брюсселя в делах ЕС. Тем самым они начинают борьбу за переустройство ЕС.
Однако помешать Обрану могут и другие правые – прежде всего это касается евроконсеваторов (ECR), в среде которых доминирует позиция премьер-министра Италии Джорджи Мелони. В то же время немецкая «Альтернатива для Германии» пока не присоединилась ни к первым, ни ко вторым, но «Патриоты» с ней также ведут переговоры.
В этой связи FT называет отношение правых партий к России «разделительной линией»: если Мелони «является решительным защитником Украины», то Орбан, Ле Пен и Алиса Вайдель (лидер «АдГ») определены как политики, «традиционно придерживающиеся промосковских взглядов».
Что касается Орбана, то на этой неделе он проявляет большую дипломатическую активность ввиду того, что с 1 июля Венгрия стала страной – председателем ЕС. В частности, он совершил первый с начала СВО визит в Киев, где озвучил ряд мирных инициатив. Украинская сторона их отвергла, однако сам факт изменения повестки в ЕС – революционное событие.
Кроме того, уже объявлено о визите Орбана в Москву для переговоров с президентом Владимиром Путиным. Из-за этого Орбан стал объектом критики со стороны различных политиков от Варшавы до Брюсселя, но премьеру Венгрии не привыкать. Свою миссию он объясняет так: председательство Венгрии в ЕС не дает ей мандата на переговоры по Украине, но оно может побудить стороны к началу переговоров.
По мнению экспертов, усилия Орбана на украинском и на общеевропейском треке могут принести значительные результаты, однако старт этого процесса начнется с борьбы в Европарламенте. «Безусловно, в ЕП появится большая правая фракция. Причина проста: все остальные политические партии объединяются против правых, а те будут обороняться», – сказал газете ВЗГЛЯД германский политолог Александр Рар.
«Кто станет лидером правых [в Евросоюзе], пока не ясно. Но я думаю, что скорее это будет француз, чем венгр. «Пропутинской партии» там тоже не будет, потому что правые в Европе не настолько сильно придерживаются пророссийских взглядов. Просто они не хотят войны с Россией», – объясняет Рар.
Эксперты также напоминают, что у Орбана могут возникнуть некоторые организационные сложности с формированием своего альянса в Европарламенте. Согласно регламенту, в составе парламентской фракции должно быть как минимум 25 депутатов от семи стран Европейского союза. И если по количеству депутатов «Патриоты Европы» этот вопрос решить способны, то по количеству государств им необходимо добавить к Венгрии, Чехии и Австрии еще четыре страны. А это довольно сложная задача.
В целом же правые силы намерены серьезно координировать усилия в новом Европарламенте, полагает политолог Владимир Корнилов. При этом вопрос присоединения партии «Национальное объединение» к блоку «Патриоты Европы» станет актуальным лишь после второго тура парламентских выборов во Франции.
«Дело в том, что Марин Ле Пен сейчас занята вопросами, связанными с выборами. От этих результатов зависит то, насколько она будет настроена на покорение общеевропейских вершин», – считает собеседник. На этом фоне Корнилов указал на растущую лидерскую роль Виктора Орбана.
«Венгрия с 1 июля стала страной–председателем в Совете ЕС, и венгерский премьер решил, что у него есть шанс проявить себя. Он взялся за активную работу на дипломатическом фронте и уже совершил визит в Киев, а в пятницу приехал в Москву», – напомнил Корнилов. По мнению собеседника, энтузиазм Орбана, в случае какой-либо неудачи, поутихнет в течение ближайших недель.
«Когда ему выгодно, он блокировал решения ЕС по поддержке Украины. А Мелони, например, этого не делала, хотя ее тоже относят к правому лагерю. Поэтому не стоит ожидать, что объединение правых, которые ориентированы на Орбана и Ле Пен, сделает их полностью единомышленниками. Вряд ли Ле Пен захочет признать первенство Орбана. Но он действительно стал той фигурой, с которой всем приходится считаться», – рассуждает политолог.
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The post Политика: Антивоенный альянс Орбана и Ле Пен станет грозной силой в Европе first appeared on The News And Times.
Britain’s Labour Party achieved a decisive victory in the country’s July 4 election. But there were some contests, even in some of the party’s strongholds, that ended up being too close for comfort. And in a handful of constituencies, Labour lost out to independent candidates—including the party’s former leader.
The culprit wasn’t another party, but rather, an issue: Gaza. Although Israel’s ongoing war in the besieged coastal enclave barely featured in the wider election campaign, it emerged as a key issue in a number of traditionally safe Labour seats, where independent candidates made their support for Palestinians a central feature of their campaign. In the end, five succeeded in unseating their Labour rivals, some of whom had been tipped to become ministers in the next government.
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Read More: Labour Delivered a Decisive Victory in Britain. Now Comes the Hard Part
“This was a grassroots, community, constituency-run campaign, which is an indication to those that have been in power for so long that you cannot forget the people that you serve,” independent Shockat Adam, who defeated senior Labour lawmaker Jon Ashworth in Leicester South by less than 1,000 votes, told constituents following his victory. He ended his speech by raising a Palestinian keffiyeh and declaring, “This is for the people of Gaza.”
Independent candidates winning seats is extremely rare in British politics—so much so, in fact, that none were elected during the last election in 2019. While these incoming lawmakers will technically be unaffiliated with any party, or each other, collectively they will number more than smaller parties such as the anti-immigration Reform U.K. and the Green Party. Of them, four—Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Hussain Mohamed—are first-time parliamentarians. Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who was suspended from the party after he appeared to deflect responsibility for his handling of antisemitism allegations within it, ran and was re-elected as an independent in his Islington North seat, which he has held since 1983.
In his acceptance speech early Friday morning, Corbyn attributed his victory in part to his stance on Gaza, noting that his constituents are “looking for a government that on the world stage will search for peace, not war, and not allow the terrible conditions to go on that are happening in Gaza at the present time.”
One of the most salient criticisms that many young voters and British Muslims in particular have had of Labour Party leader and soon-to-be Prime Minister Keir Starmer was his perceived equivocation on the ongoing war in the Middle East. Starmer came under intense criticism when, in the days following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, he suggested in an interview that Israel had the right to cut off basic necessities such as power and water from Gaza, which is home to some 2 million people. Starmer subsequently tried to walk back the comments, which triggered a slew of resignations, but the damage had already been done. Efforts to appease voters concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, such as calling for a ceasefire and pushing the Conservative-led government to publish its legal advice on whether Israel’s conduct in Gaza constituted a violation of international law, failed to move the needle.
In the end, it could have been worse for Labour. The party very nearly lost some of its most prominent lawmakers to independent candidates, among them the party’s shadow health minister Wes Streeting, who won re-election by just 528 votes. Jess Philips, a former Labour shadow minister who quit her role in November in order to vote in favor of a Gaza ceasefire motion (which her party opposed at the time), secured her seat by just 693 votes. During her acceptance speech, supporters of her rival heckled her with boos and jeers such as “shame on you” and “free, free Palestine,” despite the fact that Philips helped to bring the first orphan from Gaza to the U.K. for medical treatment. In her acceptance speech, she described the contest as “the worst election I have ever stood in.”
But it wasn’t just independent candidates who siphoned votes off of Labour over the party’s Gaza stance. The Green Party, which quadrupled its presence in Parliament from one to four, also attracted voters disaffected by the main parties’ Gaza stances. In addition to calling for a “full bilateral cease-fire,” the party advocates the U.K. suspending its arms exports to Israel.
Read More: Israel Has Been Accused of War Crimes in Gaza. Could Its Allies Be Next?
The Labour Party had no say over Britain’s foreign policy in opposition. In government, how Labour chooses to handle this issue will likely be closely watched. While the size of the party’s majority will likely insulate it from major challenges, Labour could nonetheless face pressure from smaller parties to take a more critical stance towards Israel.
“We recognize that this is the most complex and challenging of issues,” David Lammy, who is poised to become the next government’s chief diplomat, told journalists in the days running up to the vote. “We have been calling for a ceasefire now for all of this year. We have maintained our belief that it’s important that the hostages are released, that aid must get into Gaza, and our belief in the international rules-based order and international humanitarian law. That is our approach.”
The post How Labour’s Stance on Gaza Played Out in the U.K. Election first appeared on The News And Times.
The Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony is set to be unlike any other—assuming everything goes to plan.
For the first time in history, the Summer Games won’t kick off in a stadium but instead on a river.
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When the concept was unveiled in December 2021, three-time gold medalist and head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee Tony Estanguet described what the reimagined event would look like: “The entire city has been turned into a vast Olympic stadium. The Seine represents the track, and the quays the spectators’ stands.”
It’s an ambitious break from tradition that’s set to be the largest-ever—attended by hundreds of thousands across the French capital—but also potentially the most-dangerous, as organizers and security officials are tasked with ensuring the massive open-air show, which some 1.5 billion people around the world will be watching, goes on without a hitch.
Here are all your questions, answered, about the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony.
When will the Opening Ceremony be held?
The ceremony starts at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. ET) on July 26 and is expected to last more than three hours.
“With the natural light of the setting sun, the event will be even more sublime, with a truly poetic dimension, inviting both athletes and the public to appreciate the natural beauty of the City of Light,” Estanguet said in March when announcing the official evening start time.
Where will the Opening Ceremony take place?
Nearly 100 boats will parade down a 6-kilometer (about 3.7 miles) stretch of the Seine, winding east to west through Paris and passing by some of the city’s iconic bridges, landmarks (like the Notre-Dame and the Louvre), and Olympic venues (including the Grand Palais).
The route will end near the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadéro, where the ceremony’s finale and official Olympic protocols, including the opening declaration by French President Emmanuel Macron, will take place.
Who will produce, participate in, and perform at the Opening Ceremony?
The main participants are obviously the athletes, 10,500 of whom will take part in the flotilla to represent 206 different National Olympic Committees.
When eight-time gold medalist Usain Bolt got a glimpse of the sailing experience during last year’s presentation of the Olympic torch, he shared his excitement for the eventual Opening Ceremony and the crowd that would show up to watch: “Imagine everybody standing outside, across the bridges cheering people up,” he said. “I think it’s gonna be one of the best, if not the best Opening Ceremony.”
Overseeing as artistic director of the ceremonies is theater actor and director Thomas Jolly, who is committed to showcasing France’s multifaceted cultures. “France is Edith Piaf … it’s also opera, it’s rap, it’s a whole range of musical styles,” the 42-year-old told AFP in January. “The idea is not to project a fixed identity.”
In terms of performances, much has been kept under wraps so far, but 3,000 artists are set to take part across the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics, including 400 dancers led by acclaimed choreographer Maud Le Pladec, who told reporters during rehearsals in June: “There won’t be a single bridge in Paris without some dancers on it.”
On the fashion front, French television presenter Daphné Bürki is the Olympics’ stylist and costume director and has worked with her team—including hundreds of dressers, hair stylists, and makeup artists—to create looks for the performers, every one of whom she has said will have a unique outfit. “Each silhouette tells a story,” she told reporters during a press conference in June, emphasizing sustainability. “We wanted a circular ceremony, with a mix of newly created pieces, vintage, upcycled pieces,” she said. “The key word is ‘mix’: of generations between the designers, of style with inclusivity, and of sourcing with a lot of upcycling.”
How can you watch the Opening Ceremony?
By holding the Opening Ceremony in the Seine, the Paris 2024 organizers wanted to make it accessible to a larger audience than would typically be able to attend in a stadium. They also wanted to make it the first Opening Ceremony to offer free access to a number of spectators.
In the end, while the total capacity is less than the 600,000 the organizers had originally hoped for, there will still be a paying crowd of about 104,000 (tickets range from €90 to €2,700, or about $100 to $3,000) on the lower quays, while authorities are distributing 222,000 free tickets to watch from the upper banks.
“Eighty giant screens” and speakers will also be placed throughout the city to allow people “to enjoy the magical atmosphere of this show reverberating throughout the French capital.”
An expected 1.5 billion people are also expected to tune in from around the world. For American viewers, NBC will be broadcasting coverage—hosted by sports commentator Mike Tirico, retired football player Peyton Manning, and singer and daytime talk-show host Kelly Clarkson—of the Opening Ceremony on its network TV channel and streaming platform Peacock as well as organizing IMAX watch parties for it at AMC theaters across the U.S. The coverage will also feature “NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor on the Team USA boat, and TODAY Show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on a bridge along the route.”
What could go wrong?
Organizing the first Opening Ceremony to be held outside a stadium has come with a whole new set of challenges, which could still upend the event.
A rehearsal scheduled for June 24 had to be canceled due to strong currents in the Seine, while concerns about the river’s water quality have also persisted in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics amid plans to hold open-water swimming events in it.
Organizers also have to grapple with unpredictable wind and weather; the structural integrity of the city’s historic bridges, where performers will be stationed; and minimizing disturbance to the river’s natural habitats.
But most notable are the security concerns, which have increased in the months leading up to the Opening Ceremony, amid a resurgence of attacks by extremist Islamist groups across Europe. (In May, the French police arrested an 18-year-old who was allegedly plotting a jihadist attack targeting the Olympic soccer events.)
All airports and airspace within a 90-mile radius around Paris will be closed around the time of the ceremony, amid authorities’ fears that the open setting could expose participants and attendees—among them an expected 120 heads of state, sovereigns, and heads of government—to drone attacks and snipers. In addition to scaling back the total crowd size and adjusting the free-ticket policy to be by invite-only instead of open registration, there will also be a 45,000-member security force—including over 2,000 foreign police—deployed around the French capital.
Read More: Your Guide to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics: When and How to Watch—and What to Expect
Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said in March that, depending on the nature of the threat, the Opening Ceremony could be further adapted, but he dismissed the notion of a last-minute change in venue to somewhere more traditional like the Stade de France. “You cannot plan for a Plan B. It’s far too big, too sophisticated, too complex artistically to look at a Plan B in another location. Plan B is reducing, adjusting, but it is that location,” Dubi told Sky News.
According to Macron in April, however, there are backup plans in place should anything go wrong, such as limiting the ceremony to just the Trocadéro or or moving it to the Stade. “There is a Plan B and a Plan C. We are preparing them in parallel. We will do an analysis in real time,” the President told BFMTV-RMC. “What the terrorists want above all is to prevent us from dreaming. They want to prevent young people from going to café terraces, to concerts, to sporting events. There is no naivety. There is great lucidity. We will share all the information. We will give ourselves the means to hold a very big opening ceremony.”
France’s sports minister expressed confidence a few days after Macron’s comments that the contingency plans wouldn’t be required. “We are heavily working on Plan A which remains the central scenario and the very, very dominant scenario,” Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said at a “100 Days To Go” event. “We keep working on that fantastic ceremony on the River Seine.”
The post Everything to Know About the History-Making Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony first appeared on The News And Times.
