LYON, France (AP) — Is stealing a presidential portrait a prison-worthy crime? Or a laudable act of civil disobedience? Courts around France are grappling with this question in response to an unusual new environmental movement that’s aiming to push French President Emmanuel Macron to do more to fight climate change. One by one, environmental activists around France have removed Macron’s official portraits from more than 130 town halls this year, from the foothills of the Alps to the Left Bank of Paris. Their point: Even as Macron portrays himself on the global stage as Mr. Climate , the centrist, business-friendly president isn’t acting boldly enough to change his own country’s planet-damaging ways. They’re notably angry that France has lagged on its international commitments to increase use of renewable energy and reduce emissions. France remains well behind its European neighbors in its use of renewable energy. The portrait-removers have been facing trials around the … [Read more...]

(CNN) The European Union launched legal proceedings against the United Kingdom on Monday over London's unilateral attempts to extend the Brexit grace period on food imports to Northern Ireland. The move comes after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis announced on March 3 that the UK planned to continue to bypass bureaucratic requirements on those imports until October 1. A grace period on those checks is currently scheduled to expire at the end of March. This three-month extension from the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1 was an agreed goodwill measure to allow the affected food industries to adapt to the new trade barriers across the Irish Sea. A specific part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, called the Northern Ireland Protocol, aims to eliminate the need for border controls between Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (an EU member). Read More The EU-UK trade deal, which went into … [Read more...]

Around 300 anti-vaccine passport protesters stormed the town hall of Chambéry, denouncing French measures to implement a vaccine passport. The group had gathered in front of the courthouse at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday before heading for the town hall. After noticing that the door to the town hall had been left open, the protesters entered, yelling various slogans, including, “No to the [vaccine] pass,” and “Macron must resign!” French broadcaster France Info reports . The protesters then took down the official portrait of President Emmanuel Macron, a symbolic gesture that was also seen in late 2019 when climate activists stole the presidential portraits from some 130 town halls across France. Amid Protests, French Vaccine Centre Suffers Alleged Arson Attack https://t.co/evTkbUcCiK — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 21, 2021 “The city of Chambéry condemns with the utmost firmness this intrusion,” the mayor’s office said in a statement, and added that it … [Read more...]

15 HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. The lockdown order, issued late Friday night, bans the gathering of more than two people in public. Only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses can stay open. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases. On Friday, Hanoi reported 70 confirmed infections, the city’s highest, part of a record 7,295 cases in the country. Nearly 5,000 are from Vietnam’s largest metropolis, southern Ho Chi Minh City, which has extended its lockdown until Aug. 1. ___ MORE ON THE PANDEMIC: — Vietnam locks down capital Hanoi for 15 days as cases rise — Thousands protest lockdown in Sydney, several arrested — AP poll: Most … [Read more...]

London (CNN Business) Just seven months after singing its praises , British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is attempting to rewrite the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union. It's a risky move that will undermine Britain's credibility as a trustworthy trading partner at the very moment that the UK government is seeking to forge economic alliances far beyond Europe to justify its "global Britain" sales pitch for Brexit, according to experts. EU officials have already rejected the UK call for a renegotiation , which trade experts say amounts to a brazen attempt to press the European Union to agree to demands that it already rejected during several rounds of talks. Other countries watching the drama unfold will proceed with caution when it comes to dealing with the United Kingdom, according to L. Alan Winters of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex in England. "It certainly does raise questions about the … [Read more...]