Macron calls snap polls after rout by Le Pen

French President Emmanuel Macron set off a political earthquake on Sunday when he called shock legislative elections for later this month after he was trounced in the European Union vote by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party.Macron’s surprise decision represents a major roll of the dice on his political future, three years before his presidency ends. If Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party wins a parliamentary majority, Macron would be left without a say in domestic affairs.Macron said the EU results were grim for his government, and one he could not pretend to ignore. In an address to the nation, less than two months before Paris hosts the Olympics, he said lower house elections would be called for June 30, with a second-round vote on July 7.“This is an essential time for clarification,” Macron said. “I have heard your message, your concerns and I will not leave them unanswered...France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony.”Led by telegenic 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the RN won about 32% of the vote in Sunday’s vote, more than double the Macron ticket’s 15%, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists came within a whisker of Macron, with 14%.Le Pen, the frontrunner for the 2027 election in which Macron is unable to stand, welcomed the president’s decision.“We are ready to take over power if the French give us their trust in the upcoming national elections,” she said at a rally.Macron’s advisers said the president made his decision after this week’s 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, when he met people out and about who said they were tired of endless political infighting in parliament.Le Pen and Bardella sought to frame the EU election as a mid-term referendum on Macron’s mandate, tapping into discontent with immigration, crime and a two-year inflation crisis.Le Pen’s strong showing, notching a 10-point increase on the last EU election in 2019, will weaken Macron’s hold on power three years before the end of his final term. It could also prompt high-level defections from his centrist camp as the succession battle to replace him heats up.In a victory speech to a rapturous audience at party headquarters, Bardella urged Macron to call for a new legislative election, although the president is under no obligation to follow suit.“Emmanuel Macron is this evening a weakened president,” he said.“The president cannot remain deaf to the message sent by the French tonight.”With widespread expectations of a bruising loss, interestingly government officials sought to downplay the importance of the European poll, pledging to maintain policy focus and arguing that EU elections are a poor predictor of presidential voting.But the symbolism of the loss is significant, and could have real implications.Le Pen may be able to lure conservative rebels to a party with a clear sense of momentum that looks increasingly well-placed for the 2027 election, albeit three years out.Macron’s defeat also fires the starting gun on his succession battle.Several big names, such as former prime minister Edouard Philippe, the current one, Gabriel Attal, and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are all eager to take the top job, political sources say. However, an April poll by Le Figaro showed Le Pen beating both Attal and Philippe in the 2027 vote.“The results also prompt a more existential question about the future of Macron’s party once he leaves office,” Eurointelligence analysts wrote in a note. “Will it fragment or find a new leader to unite behind?”Philippe’s fledgling new party, Horizons, which is currently sitting with Macron’s Renaissance in parliament, will hold a meeting of its political bureau today, an aide told Reuters, to plot its next moves.Sunday’s results also saw the resurgence of the French centre-left, with Socialist candidate Raphael Glucksmann, a pro-Ukraine moderate, who won some 14%. His strong showing will embolden the Socialists, who had faced electoral oblivion after Macron’s 2017 election win.On the European front, Macron’s score, coupled with the collapse of his Spanish and Dutch allies, means his mainstream liberal Renew grouping was amongst the biggest losers in the European parliament, reducing his influence in Brussels.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684511/international/macron-calls-snap-polls-after-rout-by-le-pen

Tusk’s Civic Coalition seen ahead in exit poll

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) was set to win European elections on Sunday, an exit poll showed, taking a step towards establishing itself as the dominant force in the country after a campaign dominated by security concerns.With war raging in Ukraine and a migrant crisis on the Belarus border, Tusk framed the vote in Poland as a choice between a safe future in a country at the heart of the European Union or a more perilous one if the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, known for its conflicts with Brussels, won.“We have shown that our choices, our efforts, have a much broader dimension than just our national issues...we have shown that we are a beacon of hope for Europe,” he told supporters after the exit poll results were announced. According to the IPSOS exit poll, KO won 38.2% of votes, ahead of PiS who had 33.9%. KO’s partners in the pro-European coalition government which took power in December, the centre-right Third Way and the Left, got 8.2% and 6.6% respectively. The far-right Confederation party scored 11.9%. If confirmed, the result would mark the end of a decade-long run of first-place election finishes for PiS.PiS says Tusk, a former European Council president, is subservient to Poland’s larger neighbour Germany and accuses him of hypocrisy for criticising tough PiS policies towards migrants on the Belarus border while in opposition before implementing similar measures in government.Final results are likely to be announced today.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684510/international/tusks-civic-coalition-seen-ahead-in-exit-poll

Modi sworn in as PM for third term, faces coalition challenges

Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s prime minister yesterday for a third term, after a shock election setback that will test his ability to ensure policy certainty in a coalition government in the world’s most populous nation.President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Modi at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president’s palace in New Delhi, attended by thousands of dignitaries, including the leaders of seven regional countries, Bollywood stars and industrialists.“Honoured to serve Bharat,” Modi posted on X, minutes before he was sworn in, referring to India’s name in Indian languages.Supporters cheered, clapped and chanted “Modi, Modi” as the 73-year old leader, dressed in a white kurta tunic and blue half jacket, was called to take his oath.Modi was followed by senior ministers in the previous government: Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Piyush Goyal, among others. Their portfolios were expected to be announced after the swearing-in.Modi, who started as a publicist of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of his Bharatiya Janata Party, is only the second person after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term as prime minister.Modi secured the third term in after multi-stage election that concluded on June 1 with the support of 14 regional parties in his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. In the previous two terms his party had won an outright majority.The outcome is seen as a big setback to the popular leader as surveys and exit polls had predicted BJP would secure even more seats than in 2019. Modi delivered world beating growth and lifted India’s global standing, but appeared to have missed a step at home as a lack of enough jobs, high prices, low incomes and religious faultlines pushed voters to rein him in.When Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat from 2001-2014 the BJP enjoyed strong majorities, allowing him to govern decisively.Modi’s new term as prime minister, therefore, is likely to be fraught with challenges in building consensus on contentious political and policy issues in the face of different interests of regional parties and a stronger opposition, analysts say.Some analysts worry that the fiscal balance in the world’s fastest growing economy could also come under pressure due to demands for higher development funds for states ruled by the NDA’s regional partners and a possible push by the BJP to spend more on welfare to woo back lost voters. While the broad focus on building infrastructure, manufacturing and technology could continue, “contentious reforms could be delayed”, said Samiran Chakraborty, chief economist, India, at Citi Research. “The BJP’s major coalition partners are politically unpredictable, sometimes working with the BJP and sometimes working against them,” added Rick Rossow, the chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) with cabinet ministers (front second left-right) Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nirmala Sitharaman attends the oath-taking ceremony at presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi yesterday.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684491/international/modi-sworn-in-as-pm-for-third-term-faces-coalition-challenges

Biden, Macron discuss Middle East, Ukraine

Fresh from commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed US President Joe Biden in Paris yesterday for a state visit that included talks about the Middle East, Ukraine and trade.The two countries will work harder to prevent a regional escalation in Gaza and focus on calming tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Macron told reporters at the Elysee presidential palace, with Biden at his side.“We are redoubling efforts together to avoid a regional explosion, particularly in Lebanon,” Macron said.Both men welcomed the rescue by Israeli forces of four hostages held by Hamas since October. “We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached,” Biden said.Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths have soured Biden’s left-leaning political base on Israel, hurting him as he runs against Republican Donald Trump for re-election in November.Biden and Macron, who spent the last few days celebrating D-Day veterans and extolling democratic values, did not take questions from reporters.The visit yesterday began with a ceremony at the iconic Arc de Triomphe, where the leaders paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while a massive French flag hanging from the arch fluttered in the breeze above their heads.Accompanied by their wives, Biden and Macron greeted army veterans. Then, escorted by French guards on horseback, they drove down the capital’s renowned Avenue des Champs-Elysees, en route to the Elysee.The day concluded with a dinner at the French presidential palace, where celebrities including Pharrell Williams and John McEnroe joined political and business leaders.Biden and Macron share a warm relationship despite past tensions over a submarine deal with Australia. Biden hosted Macron for a state visit at the White House in 2022.They are aligned in their countries’ support for Ukraine and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a joint roadmap released by the presidents included a commitment to back efforts to use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv.Tapping profits from Russian assets has drawn concerns from some countries, but a US Treasury official said on Tuesday the United States and its G7 partners were making progress.“The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We’re standing with our allies. We are standing with France,” Biden said. “Putin is not going to stop with Ukraine.... All of Europe will be threatened. We’re not going to let that happen.”Biden met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on Friday, apologising for a months-long delay by the US Congress in approving the latest military aid, and Zelensky addressed France’s National Assembly.Beyond Ukraine, trade issues between the two sides of the Atlantic loomed large, especially over the US Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in August 2022. European officials see it as a protectionist move that siphons off investments from EU companies.Macron said he and Biden discussed the consequences of the IRA for the European economy again yesterday. Despite his criticism of the IRA during his state visit to Washington in 2022, Macron and European allies have since won few concessions from Washington.“We really wish to move towards a resynchronisation of our economies, between the United States of America and European economies, in terms of regulation and in terms of investment levels,” Macron said.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684421/international/biden-macron-discuss-middle-east-ukraine

Polish man remanded in custody after shock attack on Danish PM

A 39-year old Polish man was remanded in custody for 12 days on Saturday over an assault the previous day on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, which authorities said caused her to suffer a minor neck injury.Frederiksen sustained a minor whiplash injury from the alleged assault, which occurred in a square in Copenhangen’s centre when a man walked up and hit the politician.“Thank you for the many, many, many greetings with support and backing. It’s incredibly touching,” the prime minister told Ritzau news agency in a written statement on Saturday.“I am saddened and shaken by the episode on Saturday, but am otherwise safe. For once, I need peace. Both for body and soul. I need to be with my family and need to be myself for a bit,” Frederiksen added.Several EU leaders condemned Friday’s incident, which happened just three weeks after Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.“This is completely unacceptable and is an attack on our open, democratic societies,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told news agency NTB of the assault on Frederiksen.Danish police said the alleged attacker was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time and said he was unaware that the victim was Denmark’s prime minister.“There is nothing to indicate a political motive,” the man’s lawyer told a Copenhagen court on Saturday. The incident happened two days before Danes head to the polls in European Union elections.“Danish authorities have told us that the person detained is a Polish citizen, who has been staying in Denmark for some time,” a Polish foreign ministry spokesperson was cited by Polish state radio as saying.“We see it as a single, spontaneous act, and we do not currently have it as a guiding hypothesis in our investigation that it was a planned attack on the prime minister,” Copenhagen police inspector Trine Moller told Ritzau news agency.prosecutor Taruh Sekeroglu told reporters.“It is not our guiding... hypothesis that there is a political motive here. But that is something that the police of course will investigate,” Sekeroglu said.Broadcaster DR said police had described the man, who denied being guilty of a crime, as “probably both under the influence of substances and drunk” when arrested.The broadcaster also reported that while in court the prosecutor asked if the man could remember what he was doing between 5:30pm (1530 GMT) and 5:45pm the day before.All the Danish prime minister’s official scheduled events on Saturday were cancelled, her office said.Frederiksen was able to walk away after the assault, Soren Kjergaard, a local coffee-shop worker, told Reuters after seeing her being escorted away by security.Ordinary Danes on the streets of Copenhagen were shocked.“I was just surprised that was something that could happen,” 45-year-old Anna Liljegren told AFP.“I’m sure she has security,” she added.Another Dane, 25-year-old Frederik Bey, told AFP he thought it was “quite disturbing that things like that can happen in Denmark”.In 2019, Frederiksen became the country’s youngest prime minister at the age of 41 and kept the post after emerging victorious in the 2022 general election.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684419/international/polish-man-remanded-in-custody-after-shock-attack-on-danish-pm

American centenarian WWII veteran marries sweetheart

It might have been the longest wait but yesterday 100-year-old American World War II veteran Harold Terens married his 96-year-old fiancée in Normandy, just days after being honoured on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in northwestern France.To the sounds of I will always love you, Ave Maria and bagpipes, Terens and his sweetheart Jeanne Swerlin said “I do” in the town of Carentan-les-Marais at a ceremony attended by dozens of guests, some wearing military uniforms.To top off an extraordinary day, the newly wedded couple then attended the state banquet at the Elysee Palace in Paris thrown by President Emmanuel Macron in honour of visiting US leader Joe Biden.“I waited 96 years to find the right man and now I have a wedding like only a queen and king can have,” Swerlin told AFP before the ceremony in Normandy.“I feel young again,” Terens said. “It’s the best time of my entire life.”Terens, who wore a light blue suit, entered the local wedding hall to applause from family and friends.Dressed in satin pink, Swerlin made her entrance to the sound of Whitney Houston’s I will always love you. The bride and groom embraced, swaying with emotion.Oui! Swerlin said in French when asked by the mayor, Jean-Pierre Lhonneur, if she wished to take Terens to be her husband.Terens and Swerlin, who live in Boca Raton, Florida, tied the knot after commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 Normandy landings.“Today, Harold chose our country to marry Jeanne. They are among us today. congratulations to the young couple!” Macron told the pair in his toast to Biden at the state dinner.The glitzy assembly of guests rose and cheered the couple.“My religion is love,” Terens told AFP in Normandy. He said he always taught his family to “just love”.“I never leave my house without saying goodbye and kissing them, always, from the day they are born until today.”His son Bill Terens said they did not know “if he’d be alive or well enough to travel” to France for the anniversary of the D-Day landings as he regularly did in the past. But Terens said he felt good.“I want to marry Jeannie,” he also said, according to his son.“So we all thought it was a little crazy, but we supported him again, and here we are. He has always been a dreamer, he dreams of big things, and sometimes he gets them.”Anne-Marie Ruffier, a 66-year-old local, called the wedding a “unique event”.“It’s also a way of thanking this man who helped liberate France,” she told AFP.Pierre Le Goubey, 69, said he “wouldn’t have missed this wedding for the world”.“It’s a powerful symbol,” he said, adding that in a way the veteran was “marrying France”.Philip Taubman, Swerlin’s son-in-law, praised the “once-in-a-lifetime” celebration.“It proves what life is all about,” he said. “Harold was a hero and he made a safer democracy of all the world and this is just the final celebration of his particular life.”Terens was awarded the French Legion of Honour by Macron in 2019.“We are very honoured that Mr. Terens has chosen to marry here, in Carentan, where in June 1944 the Allied troops landed on the beaches of Utah and Omaha,” the mayor said.“We’ll be offering him champagne, of course, but also a gift to thank him for taking part in the liberation of France.”During the war Terens was also part of a secret mission that took him to Soviet Ukraine via Casablanca, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Cairo, Baghdad and Tehran.After the war Terens married his first wife, Thelma, with whom he spent 70 years and raised three children until her death in 2018.In 2021, a friend introduced him to Swerlin, a charismatic woman who had also been widowed, and the two have been inseparable ever since.“She makes life worth living,” Terens told AFP last month in Florida.Swerlin said Terens was “an unbelievable guy”.“He’s handsome — and he’s a good kisser.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684418/international/american-centenarian-wwii-veteran-marries-sweetheart

title

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be sworn in at the weekend after securing a third term in office following an unexpectedly close election that forced his party to rely on coalition partners to keep him in power.Modi and his ministers will take the oath of office tomorrow evening, a statement from President Droupadi Murmu’s office said yesterday.Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying analyst expectations and exit polls.He was instead forced into quick-fire talks with the 15-member National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition, which guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern, although there are no indications yet of any concessions he may have had to offer in return.Modi presented signed letters of support showing his majority to President Murmu, who in turn invited him to form the next government.“I thank the people that they gave the NDA government a third chance to serve them,” Modi said yesterday evening.“This is the opportunity and will of the people and I thank them with my heart for this opportunity,” he said.Modi earlier addressed a meeting inside India’s parliament of nearly 300 lawmakers forming his coalition and thanked them for unanimously supporting his leadership.The meeting was a formality after the leaders of each party guaranteed their backing this week. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate the concord between Modi and his new partners in government.“Modi has a vision and a zeal, and his execution is perfect, and he is executing all his policies with a true spirit,” said Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the premier’s largest coalition party ally.“Today India has the right leader for the right time - that is, Narendra Modi.”Other party leaders adorned Modi with a garland of purple flowers, while Nitish Kumar, another key supporter, bent to touch the 73-year-old’s feet in a traditional gesture of respect.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684361/international/title

At D-Day event, Biden vows continued Ukraine support

US President Joe Biden made an impassioned call yesterday for the defence of freedom and democracy at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, urging Western powers to stay the course with Ukraine and not surrender to Russian tyranny.At a joint ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron and US veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery, Biden said it is “simply unthinkable” to surrender to Russian aggression and he promised no let-up in support for Ukraine.He urged Western and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies to recapture the spirit of D-Day and work together at a time when he said democracy was under greater threat than at any time since the end of World War Two.“Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago and is not the answer today,” Biden said in his speech.On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France by sea and air to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany, coming ashore at five beaches codenamed Omaha, Juno, Sword, Utah and Gold or dropping from the sky.With the numbers of veterans fast dwindling – many are aged 100 or more – this is likely to be the last major ceremony in Normandy honouring them in their presence.Biden said it was the highest honour to salute the assembled US veterans, some huddled in warm blankets, turning to tell them: “God love ya.”“The men who fought here became heroes,” he said. “They knew beyond any doubt there are things that are worth fighting and dying for.”Veterans, around 200 of whom were present, have been the stars of commemorations throughout the week.As veterans arrived at an international commemoration at Omaha Beach yesterday, world leaders applauded each of them as they were pushed past them on wheelchairs, some of them smiling proudly and saluting.Some leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, kneeled to be at the same level as the veterans in wheelchairs as they exchanged a few words.With war raging in Ukraine on Europe’s borders, the anniversary of this turning point in World War II carries special resonance.It also takes place in a year of many elections, including for the European Parliament this week and in the US in November.Critics fear former president Donald Trump, who will go head-to-head with Biden in the election, would reduce US support for Ukraine.Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska received an ovation when they arrived at the Omaha Beach ceremony as World War II bombers flew overhead.Zelensky hugged Macron and talked with many of the heads of state present.“Allies defended Europe’s freedom then, and Ukrainians do so now. Unity prevailed then, and true unity can prevail today,” Zelensky said on the social media platform X.Macron echoed Biden’s comments, also making a link between Ukraine and D-Day.“Thank you to the Ukrainian people for their courage, for their love of freedom. We are here and we will not weaken,” Macron said at Omaha beach to applause from other world leaders.Speaking at a British commemoration in Ver-sur-Mer earlier in the day, Britain’s King Charles, in full military uniform, also urged greater international collaboration to fight tyranny.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many others also took part in the day of tributes.Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, touching off Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II, was not invited.In a speech, however, Macron paid tribute to the contribution of the Red Army and soldiers across the Soviet Union to the defeat of Nazi Germany.Leaders were set to adopt a declaration saying democracy was once more under threat in Europe and promising to defend freedom and democracy, two sources said.Thousands of service personnel from Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations were killed, as well as their German foes and thousands of civilians across Normandy.At the US ceremony in Colleville-sur-Mer, where row after row of white marble crosses – some with names, some unmarked – show the toll of the invasion, Macron awarded the Legion d’Honneur to US veterans, many sporting caps that read “WWII veteran”.“You are back here today at home, if I may say,” Macron told the 180 American World War II veterans, including 33 D-Day veterans, saying that France would not forget their sacrifice.Moving letters from some of them were read out at the British ceremony.“I want to pay my respects to those who didn’t make it. May they rest in peace,” veteran Joe Mines said, in words read by actor Martin Freeman. “I was 19 when I landed, but I was still a boy ... and I didn’t have any idea of war and killing.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684293/international/at-d-day-event-biden-vows-continued-ukraine-support

Boeing's new Starliner capsule docks with space station

Boeing's new Starliner capsule and its inaugural two-member Nasa crew safely docked with the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday, meeting a key test in proving the vessel's flight-worthiness and sharpening Boeing's competition with Elon Musk's SpaceX.The rendezvous was achieved despite an earlier loss of several guidance-control jet thrusters, some of them due to a helium propulsion leak, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and Boeing said should not compromise the mission.The CST-100 Starliner, with veteran astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams aboard, arrived at the orbiting platform after a flight of roughly 26 hours following its launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.The reusable gumdrop-shaped capsule, dubbed 'Calypso' by its crew, was lofted into space on Wednesday atop an Atlas V rocket furnished and flown by Boeing-Lockheed Martin's United Launch Alliance joint venture.It autonomously docked with the ISS while both were orbiting some 250 miles (400km) over the southern Indian Ocean at 1.34pm EDT (1734 GMT).The spacecraft's final approach to the ISS and docking, following a brief interval when Wilmore manually controlled the capsule, was shown on a Nasa webcast.Wilmore and Williams are the first crew to fly Starliner, which Boeing and Nasa are hoping to certify for regular rides to the ISS – a role SpaceX has been fulfilling for the past four years, at significantly lower cost to the US taxpayer.Starliner is just the sixth type of US-built spaceship to fly Nasa astronauts, following the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes in the 1960s and 1970s, the Space Shuttle from 1981 to 2011, and SpaceX's Crew Dragon from 2020.Boeing's programme faced setbacks ranging from a software bug that put the spaceship on a bad trajectory on its first uncrewed test, to the discovery that the cabin was filled with flammable electrical tape after the second.A successful mission would help dispel the bitter taste left by years of safety scares and delays, and provide Boeing a much-needed reprieve from the intense safety concerns surrounding its passenger jets.During their roughly weeklong stay on the orbital outpost, Wilmore and Williams will continue to evaluate the spacecraft systems, including simulating whether the ship can be used as a safe haven in the event of problems.After undocking from the ISS, Starliner will re-enter the atmosphere, with the crew experiencing 3.5G as they slow down from 17,500mph (28,000kph) to a gentle parachute- and airbag-assisted touchdown in the western United States.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684283/international/boeings-new-starliner-capsule-docks-with-space-station

Slovak PM eyes return to work after shooting

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he might return to work later this month and also accused the opposition of showing hatred and aggressiveness towards his party, in his first public comments since a May 15 assassination attempt.Fico is recovering at home after being shot four times at close range when he greeted supporters at a government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova. The attack left him in serious condition in hospital and needing hours of surgery. In a video message posted on Facebook, Fico called his attacker an opposition activist, saying there was no reason to believe the shooting was the act of a “lone lunatic”.He said he felt no hatred toward the attacker and would not seek damages.“On May 15, a Slovak opposition activist tried to assassinate me in Handlova because of my political views,” Fico said in the video, adding medical staff had prevented the worst.“If everything goes optimally, I could gradually return to work at the turn of June and July.”Dressed in a button-down shirt with rolled sleeves and filmed from the waist up sitting in a black leather office chair, Fico looked in good health.His attacker, identified by prosecutors as 71-year old Juraj C, was detained on the spot after the attack and charged with attempted premeditated murder.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684206/international/slovak-pm-eyes-return-to-work-after-shooting

French artist takes own life after wife’s death

French artist Ben, best known for his slogans in handwriting against a black background, has died aged 88, taking his own life just hours after the death of his wife with whom he had been married 60 years, his family said on Wednesday.His wife Annie suffered a stroke on Monday evening, and died on Wednesday, the couple’s two children, Eva and Francois, said in a statement.“Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at their home” in Saint-Pancrace, a district of the French Mediterranean city of Nice. “The world of culture has lost a legend,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati said, hailing a “goldsmith of language” with “humorous, sometimes satirical writing” and whose “art will continue to make France shine throughout the world.”“On our children’s pencil cases, on so many everyday objects and even in our imaginations, Ben had left his mark, made of freedom and poetry, of apparent lightness and overwhelming depth,” added President Emmanuel Macron in a statement.Police vehicles remained stationed all day on Wednesday outside the artist’s residence in Nice while a forensics investigator and a public prosecutor arrived at midday for the investigation into the causes of death, an AFP journalist said.The precise cause of death was not immediately clear.Born in Naples in 1935 as Benjamin Vautier to a Franco-Swiss family, Ben co-founded the so-called Nice school of artists with fellow luminaries based in the Cote d’Azur including Yves Klein. His “writings” — phrases often drawn in white paint on a black background — seem at first glance to have been dreamed up by a schoolboy.But they shake up the established notions of contemporary art with phrases like “What is the use of art?”, “Is the new always new?”, “What are you doing here?”, or “My biggest worry is me”.Ben defended the presence of art in everyday life and his works have been reproduced on school bags, pencil cases and notebooks and also adorn tram stops in Nice.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/684205/international/french-artist-takes-own-life-after-wifes-death