LONDON: Boris Johnson urged French President Emanuel Macron to “push forward” to secure a Brexit deal and told him the EU should not be lured into the mistaken belief that the UK would stay in the bloc after Oct.31, the British prime minister’s office said.
Johnson discussed his Brexit proposal, which has received a cool reception in Brussels, with Macron and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Sunday.
“This is the chance to get a deal done: a deal that is backed by parliamentarians and a deal which involves compromise on all sides,” a senior British government source said on Sunday.
“The UK has made a big, important offer but it’s time for the Commission to show a willingness to compromise too. If not, the UK will leave with no deal.”
With the Oct. 31 deadline approaching, Johnson has consistently said he will not ask for another delay to Brexit, but also when asked about legislation that forces him to request one if no withdrawal deal has been agreed by Oct. 19., he has said he will not break the law.
He has not explained the apparent contradiction in his comments.
With just 24 days before the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU, the future of Brexit, its most significant geopolitical move since World War Two, is uncertain. It could leave with a deal or without one — or not leave at all.
Both sides are positioning themselves to avoid blame for a delay or a disorderly no-deal Brexit.
Britain’s Johnson asks France’s Macron to ‘push forward’ on Brexit
Britain’s Johnson asks France’s Macron to ‘push forward’ on Brexit
- Boris Johnson has consistently said he will not ask for another delay to Brexit
France asks for foreign police and military help with massive Paris Olympics security challenge
The officers are sought to help with Games security and “the spectator experience” and to “strengthen international cooperation,” the ministry said
PARIS: France says it has asked 46 countries if they would be willing to supply more than 2,000 police officers to help secure the Paris Olympics this summer, as organizers finalize security planning for the French capital’s first Games in a century while on heightened alert against potential attacks.
The Interior Ministry said Friday that the request for foreign security assistance was made in January, seeking nearly 2,185 reinforcements. The officers are sought to help with Games security and “the spectator experience” and to “strengthen international cooperation,” the ministry said.
“This is a classic approach of host countries for the organization of major international events,” the ministry added.
It noted that France sent 200 of its gendarmes to soccer’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and also welcomed 160 officers from other European security forces for the Rugby World Cup that France hosted last year.
Separately, the French Defense Ministry has also asked foreign nations for “small numbers” of military personnel who could help with “very specific” tasks at the Games, including sniffer dog teams, said Col. Pierre Gaudillière, spokesman for the army general staff.
Poland’s defense minister said his country will be sending soldiers to the Paris Games. The Polish armed forces delegation will include dog handlers and “its main goal will be to undertake activities related to the detection of explosives and counteracting terrorist phenomena.” the minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, posted on X.
Security is the biggest challenge for Paris Games organizers in a city that has been repeatedly hit by deadly attacks by Islamic extremists and which is expecting as many as 15 million visitors for the July 26-Aug. 11 Games and Paralympics that follow.
Security concerns are notably high for the opening ceremony, which will involve boats along the Seine River and huge crowds watching from the embankments.
France’s government increased its security alert posture to the highest level in the wake of the recent deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and Daesh’s claim of responsibility.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision in a post on X, saying authorities were “taking into account Daesh’s claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country.″
EU parliament urged to probe Russian propaganda network
- Moscow also paid money to MEPs to promote Russian propaganda, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said
- The EU parliament’s political groups now want the assembly to probe the latest claims
BRUSSLES: The European Parliament came under pressure on Friday to investigate a Russia-financed network that wielded influence across Europe and involved EU lawmakers.
The Czech Republic said on Wednesday its spies discovered the network had been spreading Russian propaganda through the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site.
Moscow also paid money to MEPs to promote Russian propaganda, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday.
The EU parliament’s political groups now want the assembly to probe the latest claims.
Valerie Hayer, who heads the centrist Renew grouping, wrote to parliament president Roberta Metsola to demand “a full and transparent internal investigation.”
“If sitting MEPs or candidates in the upcoming European elections have taken money from the Russian government or their proxies, they must be exposed and action taken,” she said.
The Renew group also called for an “urgent debate” in the parliament.
The Greens said there needed to be a “swift and thorough” investigation.
“This is how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying to get away with his war in Ukraine.... It’s a direct attack on the very fabric of our democracy,” said Terry Reintke, one of the lead candidates for the Greens in the European elections in June.
“The politicians who have received money from Russia should be severely punished, both politically and legally,” she added in a statement.
A spokesperson for the parliament said it was “currently looking into the findings of the Czech authorities regarding outlet ‘Voice of Europe’ in coordination with its institutional partners.”
The spokesperson added that the parliament already prohibits access to the institution for media that are EU sanctions lists.
EU lawmakers face strict rules regarding independence and ethics and can face penalties — financial and otherwise — if they violate them.
The European politicians involved have not been named but the Greens and a Czech daily claimed they came from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland.
Netanyahu approves new Gaza ceasefire talks
- Hamas and Israel have traded blame for their failure to agree a deal
- Netanyahu’s office said the premier spoke to Mossad chief David Barnea about the talks
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks to take place in Doha and Cairo, his office said Friday, days after the negotiations appeared stalled.
Since the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Monday demanding an “immediate ceasefire,” Hamas and Israel have traded blame for their failure to agree a deal.
Mediator Qatar said Tuesday that talks between Hamas and Israel on a Gaza truce and hostage release were continuing, but the warring sides and mediators have offered little information since.
Netanyahu’s office said the premier spoke to Mossad chief David Barnea about the talks, but declined elaborate on whether Barnea would be traveling to Doha or Cairo for the negotiations.
The war began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military has waged a retaliatory offensive against Hamas that has killed 32,623 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Palestinian militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel, but dozens were released during a week-long truce in November.
Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead — eight soldiers and 25 civilians.
Israel kills dozens in airstrikes across the Gaza Strip
- Palestinian health officials said two Israeli strikes on the Al-Shejaia suburb in eastern Gaza City killed 17 people
- Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office said at least 10 policemen, tasked with securing aid to the displaced in northern Gaza, were among those killed in Al-Shejaia
CAIRO: Israel sustained its aerial and ground bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing dozens of Palestinians, as fighting raged around Gaza City’s main Al Shifa hospital, Palestinian officials and the Israeli military said.
Palestinian health officials said two Israeli strikes on the Al-Shejaia suburb in eastern Gaza City killed 17 people, while an Israeli air strike on a house in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip killed eight people.
Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office said at least 10 policemen, tasked with securing aid to the displaced in northern Gaza, were among those killed in Al-Shejaia.
The Israeli military said its forces continued operations in around Gaza City’s Al Shifa complex “while mitigating harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment,” adding that over the past day it killed a number of gunmen and located weapons and military infrastructure.
Al Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the war, had been one of the few health care facilities even partially operational in north Gaza before the latest fighting. It had also been housing displaced civilians.
The Israeli statement said its forces conducted raids in central and southern areas including Khan Younis and Al-Karara, where troops exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen before they killed them and located weapons and rockets.
The armed wing of Hamas said their fighters targeted Israeli forces near to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the city’s two hospitals blockaded by Israeli soldiers for several days.
In the far south of the Strip, Israel continued its bombardment in Rafah, the Palestinians’ last refuge where over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were sheltering. An air strike on a house killed 12 Palestinians late on Thursday. More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, with 71 killed in the last 24 hours, according to health authorities in the territory.
Thousands more dead are believed to be buried under rubble and more than 80 percent of Gazans have been displaced, many at risk of famine.
The war erupted after Hamas militants broke through the border and rampaged through communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In the northern Gaza Strip, where the United Nations has warned famine is imminent as early as May, an elderly man died of malnutrition and lack of medication, Palestinian media said. On Thursday, the World Court unanimously ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to Gaza’s population and halt spreading famine.
“The renewed binding order from the @ICJ (International Court of Justice) yesterday is a stark reminder that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is man made and worsening. It can however still be reversed,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said on X.
“(This) means that Israel must reverse its decision and allow @UNRWA to reach northern Gaza with food and nutrition convoys on a daily basis and to open additional land crossings,” he added. Earlier this week, UNRWA said Israel told it that it would no longer approve its food convoys to north Gaza. Four such requests were denied since March 21, it added.
French-Iraqi artist’s calligraphic showcase enchants Riyadh
- Hassan Massoudy’s Calligraphies de Lumiere is a fusion of east and west
RIYADH: A captivating calligraphy exhibition by renowned French-Iraqi artist Hassan Massoudy is being hosted by the Hewar Art Gallery in Riyadh.
“Calligraphies de Lumiere” displays Massoudy’s unique fusion of cultures and expression on both canvas and paper.
The 80-year-old artist, whose journey from the streets of Baghdad to the studios of Paris has woven a tapestry of inspiration, told Arab News: “When I was a child, I loved to draw. On the other hand, my mother often took me to (visit) my theologian and calligrapher uncle. I watched him trace the letters with slowness and diligence.”
Driven by a dream to pursue art, Massoudy embarked on a transformative journey to France in 1969. Training at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, he immersed himself in the techniques of painting, drawing, mosaic, fresco, art history and figurative painting.
He said: “At the same time, to pay for my studies, I worked as a calligrapher as well as at an Algerian magazine. Little by little, I began to introduce letters into the colorful characters that I painted.”
He added: “During 1975 to 1980, I integrated more and more calligraphy, until the figurative painting totally disappeared, being replaced only by letters, first compositions then the key word of the sentence expanded to become the main ‘character’.”
Massoudy was influenced by painters like Matisse, Picasso and Soulage but, he said, “another civilization also brought me a lot, the Far East with Chinese and Japanese calligraphies. It allowed me to free up space, to make free and wide gestures, by enlarging my words to the size of the sheet of paper or the canvas.”
This added to the foundations of his original culture and Massoudy’s calligraphic compositions transcended linguistic boundaries, embodying a timeless essence of humanism and poetry.
The message his creations convey is very important to him. He said: “These texts come from both Eastern and Western cultures, as well as from the past and the present. By these poetic or humanist sentences, we realize that men can join altogether with their ideas and their sensitivity.”
Each canvas in the exhibition is an imprint of Massoudy’s soul, inviting visitors to embark on a journey of introspection and enlightenment.
He said: “The canvas whose calligraphic phrase is from the Indian poet Kabir, ‘O friend, don’t go to the flower garden, the flower garden is within you,’ has a composition similar to a large seed encompassing an interior garden, the promise of rebirth. As for Ta Kuan’s quote, ‘this day will never be repeated again, each moment is a priceless jewel,’ it reassures me and makes me aware of the beauty of life. Ibn Qalakis urges us to evolve and not remain in a static state, ‘travel if you like for certain value. By traveling the skies, the crescent becomes a full moon’.”
He added that visitors to the exhibition would “come into contact with the colors of the canvas, the geometry hidden behind the shape of the words, and the meaning of the text.”
During his apprenticeship with various calligraphers in Baghdad he learnt their favorite styles or little tricks specific to each one when creating a particular letter. In learning fine arts, he said he was privileged to have rubbed shoulders with both calligraphy and painting.
He said: “I have tried to merge them, to mix Baghdad with Paris or vice versa. This has given new impetus to my calligraphy. I have knowledge of classic styles of Arabic calligraphy with its strict codes, but what I learned at the School of Fine Arts of Paris I tried to apply to the letters, giving them all their freedom and not imprisoning them in rules.”
Wandering through the exhibition, one quickly becomes conversant with the rhythm of Massoudy’s brushstrokes, each one bearing emotion and grace. He says dance has influenced him a great deal.
“I had the pleasure of working live at shows with dancers, especially with Carolyn Carlson,” he said. “When I worked in collaboration with dancers, I had the impression of being the choreographer of my letters. This brought a lot to free my gesture, lengthen it, bend it, raise it, then make it dance on the sheet with energy.”
One of the key visitors to the exhibition has been Ludovic Pouille, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
He told Arab News: “The minute I heard that French-Iraqi artist Hassan Massoudy was displaying his work at the Hewar Gallery, I knew I wouldn’t miss it for the world. The ‘Calligraphies de Lumiere’ is truly an ode to Arabic poetry and colors. Not to mention that I am a huge fan of art in general. Art is a universal language that brings cultures and people together and opens our minds to differences and new perspectives.”
Pouille says the exhibition serves as a catalyst for cultural exchange and understanding between France and Saudi Arabia, inviting visitors from both nations to explore and connect with unfamiliar cultural landscapes, fostering mutual respect and curiosity.
He said: “Saudis have been exposed to French art for a long time and they certainly express their appreciation and love of my country and its culture. Today, with the great transformation Saudi Arabia is witnessing, the French are eager to discover it themselves. That is what we have seen with the increasing number of French tourists.”
The French Embassy in Riyadh actively engages with local communities to promote cross-cultural dialogue. Initiatives include the ongoing Month of the Francophonie, where collaborative events across Riyadh, Jeddah, Alkhobar and AlUla with Francophone embassies, schools, associations and Saudi partners are taking place.
Pouille told Arab News: “The superb exhibition at L’Art Pur Gallery ‘Woven Portraits,’ by French-Swiss artist Catherine Gfeller and Saudi artist Daniah Al-Saleh, is a great example of artistic cooperation. It is an exhibition dedicated to celebrating the strength, resilience and creativity of women in Riyadh, set against the backdrop of the city’s dynamic social and cultural landscape.”
He added: “The French Embassy intends to present an exhibition of digital art by French artists Jeanne Morel and Paul Marlier in April at the Hayy Jameel Cultural Center. We also plan to strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries by organizing a new artistic residency next autumn. I believe these programs are a great way for artists to create a long-term bond.”
Future initiatives will also promote artistic collaboration and cultural exchange between France and the Kingdom.
The ambassador said: “Our plans are continuous. The first official visit of the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati to Saudi Arabia (in March), at the invitation of her counterpart Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, is tangible proof of the constant French-Saudi cooperation at high levels.”
‘Calligraphies de Lumiere’ runs until April 18.