Author: Frank Deux

Let’s set aside the exaggerations. The objections concerning the “feminists in front of the courthouse, a knife between their teeth.” The suggestions to expatriate them “to Afghanistan,” “to Iran,” “to Yemen,” on the grounds that “they’ll have work there.” the reckless comparisons equating the accused – whose names have been published on the walls of the southern city of Avignon, where the trial is taking place, and on social media – to Jews during WWII, with comments like, “What’s next? Do we put little stars on them?” Let’s set aside the lectures in feminism professed by these older gentlemen who,…

Everything happened on the same day, the 46th anniversary of the Constitution, in the same parliamentary headquarters decorated for the party and just a few minutes apart. First, the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, arrived, supported by his territorial barons, with the Madrid-born Isabel Díaz Ayuso on the front line. The president of the PP approached the microphone installed this Friday in the courtyard of Congress and unloaded his dark diagnosis: we are in a country where the Government “occupies the institutions of the State”, “does not respect the Cortes”, “deteriorates judicial independence”. ” and “is willing to…

Updated Friday, December 6, 2024 – 14:19Former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos has asked the Supreme Court to postpone his voluntary declaration scheduled for next December 12 in the call Koldo casesince you need more time to study the summary.In a letter, Ábalos’ defense explains that he accessed the entire case this Thursday “around 2:00 p.m.” and needs time to “take due account” of the “extensive volume of the case.”The lawyer explains that this Tuesday he tried to access the summary electronically, but that he could not consult the file through this procedure. For this reason, a representative of…

Forty years ago some of the world biggest music stars joined together under the name Band Aid to record a fundraiser single for Africa. The song, Do They Know It’s Christmas, was a global smash and still a holiday perennial. But its rerelease on the fortieth anniversary has put a spotlight on the damaging story it told about Africa. We look at how voices on the continent are now pushing back against the narrative of helplessness. Yes, we know it's Christmas: pushing back against the Band Aid narrative

‘The story of Notre-Dame’ (5/5). Republican, ecclesiastical and televisual − these are the three elements of the ceremonies that will return Paris’s cathedral to worship, on December 7 and 8, in the presence of a host of heads of state and prelates. Reopening of Notre-Dame: A behind-the-scenes look at the ceremony

This photograph shows Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral illuminated on the eve of its official reopening, after more than five-years of reconstruction work following the April 2019 fire, in Paris on December 6, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP The ceremony for the grand reopening of France’s Notre-Dame Cathedral will be held entirely indoors due to an inclement weather forecast, the Elysée Palace and Paris diocese said on Friday, December 6. Saturday’s reopening, which comes five years after the fire that devastated the famed Paris landmark, was moved inside after weather service Météo France forecast wind gusts of up to 80 kilometers…

That December 5 was another frenetic afternoon in the Congress of Deputies, one of those that happen every 15 or 20 days in the last legislatures, where nothing is predictable or stable anymore. There were about ten minutes left before five in the afternoon, the plenary session was holding at that moment an appearance by Albares on Palestine and the news of Podemos’s break with Sumar revolutionized the chamber, which until that moment was more pending on the celebrations of the Constitution to date. following. A little more than four months had passed since the general elections that gave Ione…

He emphasizes that they are “essential” in the processing of the accounts and shows total predisposition regardless of the judicial revelations: “We are going to contribute what is in our power” Read Ortuzar reveals that the PNV has "two or three weeks" already negotiating the Budgets with the Government and rejects that the ‘Aldama case’ is going to be a problem

After five years of intense reconstruction efforts, a grand reopening ceremony will be held on Saturday to mark the return of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral before its doors open to the public once again on Sunday. The historic event comes after a devastating fire damaged the UNESCO world heritage site. Follow our liveblog to see how the day’s events unfold. Live: Follow the grand reopening of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral

The execution lasted less than a minute. The gunmen opened fire in a restaurant in Plaza Miyana in Polanco, one of the most luxurious neighborhoods of Mexico City, and by the time emergency services arrived it was too late. The attack shook the capital, which has repeatedly taken refuge under the illusion that drug violence is a phenomenon that affects only the states in the interior of the country. But when the authorities confirmed the identity of the victim on Thursday, the case took on another dimension. It concerns 40-year-old music promoter Jesús Pérez Alvear, “Chucho,” known for representing and…

An architectural masterpiece with religious, artistic, economic and political significance, the Parisian monument that will soon reopen is, above all, a fascinating repository of symbols, some dating back to the Middle Ages. Notre-Dame: How to decipher the cathedral’s old and new symbols

SEVERIN MILLET Hand-delivered cash envelopes and Bulgarian shell companies… For over a year, investigators have been working at a complex task to untangle the financial flows involved in the so-called “foreign interference” case. In the case, with its many ramifications, the shadows of Qatar and Israeli companies loom large. Two lobbyists were indicted in 2023, the mysterious Jean-Pierre Duthion and Qatar specialist and Islamologist Nabil Ennasri. They are suspected of bribing BFM-TV journalist Rachid M’Barki and now ex-Green MP Hubert Julien-Laferrière, who are also under investigation. Determining the sums paid and how they were channeled is crucial. Neither Ennasri’s lawyer,…

On Día de las Velitas, which is celebrated from December 7 to 8, Colombians experience their most beloved holiday. Families decorate their doorways with colorful lanterns, parks are illuminated with wishes that are made every time a candle is lit, and the sky is covered with fireworks. That day Christmas officially begins in the Andean country. In Colombia, December has a special smell, it is a mix between the aroma of buñuelos, custard and brandy. “It is a day full of magic. It’s not just lighting candles, it’s illuminating desires, hope and family unity,” explains Alejandra Triana, who has been…

“Will Abascal understand that the Constitution is not the property of Sánchez and that refusing to agree with him has nothing to do with not recognizing the best that Spanish democracy has had in its history? Read An interesting age

More than 18 million voters in Ghana are eligible to cast their ballots in the presidential election on 7th December. Twelve candidates are vying for the top job, including current vice president Mahamudu Bawumia and former president John Mahama. We get a feel for the pre-election atmosphere in the capital Accra.  Final countdown before Ghana's presidential poll

LETTER FROM ATHENS Speed camera sign in Crete, Greece. IMAGEBROKER / GAME The Conservative government aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030. To achieve this, it plans to install 1,388 cameras across the country by 2026, starting with 388 in Attica, the region surrounding Athens, by 2025, focusing on the busiest roads. “Unfortunately, human resources cannot respond to all criminal behavior on the roads. The solution [to reduce accidents] lies in intelligent policing and the use of new technological tools, such as cameras,” said Greece’s Minister of Citizen Protection and Police, Michalis Chrysochoidis,…

CHRISTELLE ENAULT A “metaphor for the life of the nation”: On November 29, during his last visit to the cathedral’s construction site, Emmanuel Macron evoked Notre-Dame de Paris in these terms. Less than a year earlier, on December 31, 2023, in his New Year’s address to the French people, the president described the forthcoming reopening of the building as a “French pride.” For Macron, these ceremonies are an opportunity to celebrate a great success for the country. They are a moment of collective rejoicing that comes to repair the “national wound” that was, on April 15, 2019, the vision of…

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, assures that only one of the public works contracts that according to the accused businessman Víctor de Aldama were “pre-awarded” by Puente’s predecessor, José Luis Ábalos, in exchange for commissions was signed in the time when Ábalos was minister and that after an initial analysis of his ministry, no irregularities were found in his file. For Puente, after the accusation of Aldama, the alleged ringleader of the illegal commissions plot investigated by the Koldo case, There is an attempt to mock justice.1.- I open a thread. These are the documents that…

Feijóo considers the legislature “exhausted” and accuses the President of the Government of “violating” the fundamental law in exchange for votes and disregarding the separation of powers. Read A Sanchez "harassed" ask in vain "reform" the Constitution and the PP accuse him of creating "a smoke screen"

The European Union and Mercosur signed an agreement on Friday which, if the complicated ratification process does not put the brakes on it, will give rise to the largest free trade zone in the world. A quarter of a century of negotiations were finally concluded in Montevideo, Uruguay, during the summit of Mercosur presidents. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von del Leyen, confirmed the end of the negotiations at a press conference at the headquarters of the South American bloc. It was the definitive point. Much of the impetus given to the agreement by Spain and Germany, on…

French President Emmanuel Macron in the Saudi city of AlUla, on December 4, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP Michel Barnier resigned as French prime minister on Thursday, December 5, after losing a no-confidence motion but will remain in office on a caretaker basis with his ministers until a new government is named, the presidency said. “The prime minister today submitted the resignation of his government” to President Emmanuel Macron, who has “taken note” of the resignation, the Elysée said. Barnier and his ministers remain “in charge of daily business until the appointment of a new government”, it added. Macron, now…

The agreement seems impossible. The 5,300 migrant minors hosted in the Canary Islands will continue to live in overcrowded centers and without adequate care. Also the 400 from Ceuta. The fourth face-to-face meeting between the Canary Islands, Ceuta, the PP and the Government to negotiate the redistribution of children who emigrate alone throughout the autonomous communities has exposed the PP’s lack of will to reach an agreement. After this two-hour meeting, the discourse has changed in the Canary Islands. The Government of Fernando Clavijo, which in recent months has openly criticized the central Government, is very upset with the Popular…

The PP demands that the Executive put on the table a more in-depth debate on immigration policy. Read The meeting on the reception of migrant minors ends without agreement

South Korea’s ruling People Power party had said it was against impeachment, but that stance may be shifting. South Korea’s ruling party leader has said President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be removed from authority for the safety of the country for trying to impose martial law. It looks increasingly likely that lawmakers may vote to impeach the president. South Korea's ruling party demands President Yoon step down

The Paris stock market rose at the start of trading Thursday, December 5, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a way out of France’s political crisis. The Paris CAC 40 index won 0.4% to 7,328.79 points and the euro advanced 0.3% versus the dollar. Frankfurt’s DAX edged up 0.1% to 20,255.25 points and outside the eurozone, London’s FTSE 100 was flat at 8,337.22. “Markets remain calm for now, but if the far left and right succeed in eventually toppling Macron as president then we can expect a fresh round of jitters in French yields, the CAC40 and the euro,” predicted Chris…