Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orban after his outreach to Russia, China
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orban after his outreach to Russia, China/node/2550386/world
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orban after his outreach to Russia, China
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (C) and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (L) attend the UEFA Euro 2024 final football match between Spain and England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on July 14, 2024. (AFP)
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orban after his outreach to Russia, China
The long-serving prime minister’s visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he held talks with leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, angered his EU counterparts, who said they had not been informed in advance
Updated 15 July 2024
AP
BUDAPEST, Hungary: Top EU officials will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country has the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered European partners.
The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.
Hungary took over the rotating role July 1, and since then Orban has visited Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, China, and the United States on a world tour he’s touted as “peace mission” aimed at brokering an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. That angered many leaders in the EU, who said they had not been informed in advance of Orbán’s plans. Orban’s government is friendly with Russia and has gone against the policy of most EU countries on support for Ukraine.
Hungary’s Europe minister, Janos Boka, lashed out at the commission’s decision saying the body ‘’cannot cherry pick institutions and member states it wants to cooperate with. ‘’
The decision by the European Commission applies to informal meetings hosted by Hungary. Senior civil servants will attend instead of top officials like the European Commission president, currently Ursula von der Leyen.
Orbán’s government has gone against the policy of most EU countries by refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons to deter Russia’s invasion and by threatening to block financial assistance to the war-ravaged country.
The long-serving prime minister’s visits to Moscow and Beijing, where he held talks with leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, angered his EU counterparts, who said they had not been informed in advance. They rushed to clarify that Orbán — whose country is currently filling the bloc’s six-month rotating presidency — was not acting on behalf of the EU.
In an interview with Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday, Orbán’s political director said the prime minister had briefed the leaders of other EU countries “in writing about the negotiations, the experiences of the first phase of the peace mission and the Hungarian proposals.”
“If Europe wants peace and wants to have a decisive say in settling the war and ending the bloodshed, it must now work out and implement a change of direction,” said Balázs Orbán, who is not related to the premier. “A realistic assessment of the situation, realistic goals and the right timing — that’s our approach.”
Hungary’s government has long argued for an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations in the conflict in Ukraine, but has not outlined what such moves might mean for the country’s territorial integrity and future security. It has exhibited an adversarial posture toward Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Moscow, even after its full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022.
Orbán’s critics have accused him of acting against the unity and interests of the EU and NATO, of which Hungary is a member, and of pursuing an “appeasement” strategy concerning Russia’s aggression.
Following Orbán’s unannounced trip to Moscow for talks with Putin on July 5 — the first such visit from an EU head of state or government in more than two years — von der Leyen accused him of trying to mollify the Russian leader, writing on X: “Appeasement will not stop Putin. Only unity and determination will pave the path to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Man opens plane’s door and walks on wing at Australian airport before he’s arrested
Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit
Updated 5 sec ago
AP
MELBOURNE: A passenger was arrested at an Australian airport after he left a stationary airliner through an emergency exit, walked along a wing, and then climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac on Thursday, officials said. Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said. Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said. But the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320’s two engines, an official said. Passenger Audrey Varghese said passengers screamed and shrieked as the man began “erratic” behavior shortly before he opened the hatch. “The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior,” Varghese told Melbourne Radio 3AW. “As soon as the plane started coming to a stop, he immediately got up and charged to where the emergency exit row is,” Varghese added. Australian Federal Police officers had been alerted by Jetstar staff and arrested the man for “alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols,” a police statement said. He was assessed by paramedics and taken to a hospital where he remains for further assessment, the police statement said. Police were continuing to investigate and charges were likely to be laid at a later date, they said. Melbourne Airport said the man was detained by aircrew and ground staff before police arrested him. “Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff,” an airport statement said.
Death toll rises to 17 in blast at Indian pharmaceutical factory
Nearly 40 people were injured and rescue operations had been completed
Updated 38 min 28 sec ago
Reuters
HYDERABAD: India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh wrapped up rescue efforts on Thursday at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant where an explosion the previous day killed 17 people and injured nearly 40, a senior state official said.
The state’s worst such incident in recent years, Wednesday’s blast took place at the 40-acre unit of privately held Escientia Advanced Sciences in the Anakapalli district.
Nearly 40 people were injured and rescue operations had been completed, the official, Industries Secretary N. Yuvaraj, told Reuters.
Escientia did not immediately respond to a request for comment but government officials said they suspected an explosion in the chemical reactor.
Officials said they were scanning closed-circuit television footage and questioning the injured to decide if human error was responsible for the blast.
“Preliminary investigation shows ... there was some vapor leak that led to chemical reactions, which caused the explosion,” added Yuvaraj, who identified the solvent involved as methyl tert-butyl ether.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the relatives of the dead.
India, known as the pharmacy of the world, is home to many plants that make pharmaceuticals.
A fire in the same district last year in a unit of Sahithi Pharma killed two people and injured five.
Power struggle between Indonesia’s court and parliament sparks protests
Power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world’s third-largest democracy
Updated 53 min 10 sec ago
Reuters
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s parliament has delayed passing revisions to an elections law that had threatened to spark protests on Thursday, following outcry over legislation seen to strengthen the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo.
The parliament had planned to ratify on Thursday morning changes that would have reversed a ruling by the constitutional court earlier this week. The legislative changes would have blocked a vocal government critic in the race for the influential post of Jakarta governor, and also paved the way for Widodo’s youngest son to run in elections in Java this November.
Deputy house speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the plenary session had been delayed due to insufficient legislators present.
It is unclear for how long the plenary will be delayed, or if it will take place later on Thursday.
But the power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world’s third-largest democracy, and in the final stretch of the president’s second term.
Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of the standard “checks and balances” of government.
But legal experts and political analysts have described the events as bordering on a constitutional crisis.
Elections analyst Titi Anggraini characterized the maneuver as “constitutional insubordination” that had the potential to stir unrest.
The political maneuvers have sparked a wave of criticism online, with blue posters featuring the words “Emergency Warning” above Indonesia’s symbolic national eagle shared widely on social media.
Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black had gathered outside the parliament building in Jakarta on Thursday, with smaller protests outside the court, and also in the cities of Surabaya and Yogyakarta. Authorities have said 3,000 police have been deployed in the capital.
‘THIS IS A POWER STRUGGLE’
On Tuesday the Constitutional Court revoked a minimum threshold requirement to nominate candidates in regional elections and kept the minimum age limit of 30 years for candidates.
That ruling effectively blocks the candidacy of the president’s 29-year-old son Kaseang Pangarep from contesting the race for deputy governor in Central Java, and would allow Anies Baswedan, the current favorite, to run in Jakarta.
But within 24 hours the parliament had tabled an emergency revision to annul the changes, which it is expected to ratify on Thursday, said legislator Luluk Hamidah.
All parties except one, the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), have agreed to the revision of the law.
“Indonesian democracy is once again at a crucial crossroads,” Anies posted on social media platform X, urging legislators to remember its fate rested in their hands.
The parliament is now dominated by a big-tent coalition aligned to the outgoing president, popularly known as Jokowi, and president-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo, who won a landslide victory in February’s elections, will be inaugurated on Oct. 20, with Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice president.
Jokowi is facing mounting criticism for the increasingly bold ways his government is consolidating power, and over the creation of his own political dynasty.
“The ruling of the constitutional court is final and binding,” said Bivitri Susanti, from the Jentera School of Law,
“It is not possible for the legislative body to violate the judiciary’s ruling. This is a power struggle.”
First elected in 2014, Jokowi was at the time hailed as a democratic hero, in large part because he was seen as untethered from the country’s entrenched oligarchy and military elite.
The president has been praised for his solid economic record but increasingly criticized for the democratic decline of the country’s institutions during his decade in office.
Democratic VP pick Tim Walz accepts nomination at party convention
Relatively unknown Minnesota governor brings an earthy, Midwestern vibe to Harris’s surging campaign against Donald Trump
Updated 22 August 2024
AFP
CHICAGO: Tim Walz formally accepted his nomination to be the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in a keynote address Wednesday, professing his love for his country.
“It’s the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States. What all we’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason. We love this country,” Walz told the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
The relatively unknown Minnesota governor brings an earthy, Midwestern vibe to Harris’s surging campaign against Donald Trump that was expected to be central to his speech at Chicago’s United Center.
Taking the stage ahead of Harris’s big night on Thursday, the former teacher and National Guard soldier Walz began outlining his life story in a speech that was expected to focus on safeguarding Americans’ freedoms and building for the future.
A highlight of the undercard was former president Bill Clinton, who delighted the crowd with his 12th appearance at the Democratic convention and said Harris had “knocked it out of the park” by picking Walz as her running mate.
“Two leaders with all-American but still improbable life stories — it could only happen here,” Clinton said.
“If you vote for this team, if you can get them elected, and let them bring in this breath of fresh air, you will be proud of it for the rest of your life.”
In a moment that brought the audience to its feet, former students marched onstage to introduce Walz — a football coach in his teaching days — for the biggest speech of his political career, after a musical interlude by Grammy Award-winning musician John Legend.
A rousing rendition of “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder warmed up the crowd for the main event, alongside turns from comic actors Mindy Kaling and Keenan Thompson.
Walz will tee up Harris’s Thursday speech and the climax of a convention that has defied predictions of disunity or even chaos in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his reelection bid on July 21.
On Tuesday, it was Democratic superstars Michelle and former president Barack Obama who spoke, following up on Biden’s emotional speech Monday, where he passed the torch to his vice president.
Biden left Chicago after his address for a break that turned into a working vacation in California, as he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas as talks on a truce faltered.
The American and Israeli leaders spoke hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended a tour of the Middle East aimed at reaching an accord as tensions rise in the region.
In a statement on X, Biden said he “made clear that we must bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles.”
Back in Illinois, the convention has seen intense enthusiasm, buoyed by Walz’s appearances at sideline events, where he has been mobbed by supporters seeking selfies and chanting, “Tim! Tim! Tim!”
He has made a name for himself as an able communicator and is credited with coming up with one of the sharpest attack lines on Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, whom he labeled “weird.”
As a folksy, white Midwesterner, Walz balances Harris’s California background and barrier-breaking status as the first Black woman nominee.
The 60-year-old will speak of his upbringing in small-town Nebraska, where he worked on the family farm, and describe his military service, his experiences as a teacher and his record in politics.
The chemistry between 59-year-old Harris and Walz and the noisy energy generated at their rallies is helping to fuel Democratic hopes that they can defeat Trump, 78, in November.
Polls show the race remains close, but Harris is moving slightly ahead — a remarkable turn of events, given that only a month ago Trump seemed to be gaining a steadily tightening grip over Biden.
Exhibit number one in that shift has been Harris’s ability to pack arenas in a way that for years Trump had touted as evidence of his seemingly unique political strength.
In a dramatic gesture, Harris and Walz held a mass rally on Tuesday in Milwaukee at the same time as the convention crowd jammed into the Chicago venue.
Bill Clinton returns to DNC to tear into Trump before the introduction of Tim Walz, Harris’ VP pick
The 42nd president of the US faulted Trump for talking and thinking only of himself, in addition to spewing a lot of falsehoods
Democrats are hoping to build on the momentum that VP Kamala Harris has brought since taking over the top of the party’s presidential ticket last month
Updated 22 August 2024
AP
CHICAGO: Former President Bill Clinton returned to the Democratic National Convention stage to denounce Donald Trump as selfish and praise Kamala Harris as focused on the needs of Americans, giving another of his emblematic, off-the-cuff addresses.
Clinton said November’s election would be “‘We The People’ versus ‘Me, Myself and I,’” firing up Wednesday’s third night of the DNC before vice presidential nominee Tim Walz got the chance to introduce himself to a national audience.
Democrats are hoping to build on the momentum that Vice President Kamala Harris has brought since taking over the top of the party’s presidential ticket last month. They want to harness the exuberance that has swept over their party since President Joe Biden stepped aside while also making clear to their supporters that they face a fierce battle with Republicans and former President Donald Trump.
Clinton, the nation’s 42nd president and a veteran of his party’s political convention going back decades, was once declared the “secretary of explaining stuff” by Barack Obama, whose reelection bid in 2012 was bolstered by a Clinton stemwinder at that year’s DNC. Now 78 — the same age as Trump — Clinton’s delivery was sometimes halting and his movements slower, but he delivered homespun lines about the election and urged Democrats to back Harris.
“What does her opponent do with his voice? He mostly talks about himself,” Clinton said. “So the next time you hear him, don’t count the lies, count the I’s.”
Former US President Bill Clinton takes the stage on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024. (REUTERS)
Clinton also said he was glad to have “a coach on our team,” warming up for Walz, the Minnesota governor who has become known among supporters as a folksy, Midwestern teacher, football coach and dad. He’s also been the target of Republican criticism over how he’s portrayed his National Guard service and his personal story.
Organizers dubbed the night “a fight for our freedoms,” with the programming focusing on abortion access and other rights that Democrats want to center in their campaign against Trump. Speaker after speaker argued that their party wants to defend freedoms — especially abortion access and voting rights — while Republicans want to take them away.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis used a prop that has become a staple at the convention, an oversized book meant to represent the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a sweeping set of goals to shrink government and push it to the right, if Trump wins. Polis even ripped a page from the ceremonial volume and said he was going to keep it and show it to undecided voters.
The former president has distanced himself from Project 2025, but its key authors include his former top advisers. His running mate, JD Vance, wrote the foreword for the Heritage Foundation CEO’s new book.
The oversized Project 2025 book returned for an appearance with comedian Kenan Thompson, who joked of the prop’s heft, “You ever seen a document that could kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?”
Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz told the story of a woman in her state, which enacted new abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, who was forced to carry to term a child with a fatal illness, only to watch the newborn die just hours after birth.
Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general and an openly gay woman, declared, “I got a message for the Republicans and the justices of the US Supreme Court: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand.”
And Stevie Wonder implored the crowd, “We must choose courage over complacency” before performing “Higher Ground” as a troupe of dancers grooved nearby. Country music star Maren Morris sang her ballad “Better Than We Found It.”
Trump bashed the convention as a “charade” and noted the fact that he has been a frequent topic of conversation. He also singled out his predecessor, Barack Obama, for a highly critical convention speech Tuesday night, saying Obama had been “nasty.”
Also speaking Wednesday were Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Theyt appeared alongside videos of what organizers called “everyday Americans” describing how their freedoms hinge on the result of the upcoming election. Legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey was also making an appearance.
Democrats recognized the hostages still being held by Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed. Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin brought some in the arena to tears as they paid tribute to their son Hersh, who was abducted in the attack.
Freeing hostages “is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Jon Polin said, adding that “in a competition of pain there are no winners.”
The Israel-Hamas war has split the Democratic base, with pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating outside the United Center and several speakers this week acknowledging civilian deaths in the Israeli offensive in Gaza. More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
In another contrast with the GOP, Democrats argued that they are offering “real leadership” on the US-Mexico border, working toward policy solutions rather than simply demonizing immigrants and trying to use the issue as a political motivator for their base. That was part of a larger effort to defuse Trump’s effort to make cracking down on the border a centerpiece of his campaign.
Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar, from the border city of El Paso, said, “Forget what you hear on the news, I’m from there” and added, “When it comes to the border, hear me when I say, you know nothing, Donald Trump.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, spoke about the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Thompson chaired a congressional committee that investigated the mob overrunning the Capitol, saying, “They wanted to stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history.”
“Thank God they failed,” Thompson said.
Two high-profile governors, Wes Moore of Maryland and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, were speaking, as did a string of high-profile senators.
Democrats are trying to demonstrate that they have a large number of future potential contenders for the White House beyond Harris, and that includes others who have gotten huge cheers while appearing throughout the week at the convention, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Walz hasn’t been as high-profile. In fact, many Americans had never heard of the governor until Harris chose him to join her ticket. In his first weeks of campaigning, he’s charmed supporters with his background and helped to balance Harris’ coastal background as a cultural representative of Midwestern states whose voters she needs this fall.
But Walz also has faced scrutiny, including questions about embellishing his background. His wife this week clarified that she did not undergo in vitro fertilization, as Walz has repeatedly claimed, but used other fertility treatments. Republicans also have criticized Walz for a 2018 comment he made about carrying weapons in war. Though he served in the National Guard for 24 years, he did not deploy to a war zone.
Walz has been working on his speech to the convention for about a week and planned to use a teleprompter for a first time, which he practiced in preparation. He plans to talk about growing up in Nebraska, his National Guard service, his work as a teacher and coach and his time in Congress before he was elected governor two years ago.
