FRANCE
Macron returns poem in kind
French President Emmanuel Macron has given a rare birthday present to a 13-year-old British girl: He wrote her a poem. The French embassy in Britain on Thursday tweeted to wish a happy birthday to Sophie, who wrote a poem to Macron about the Eiffel Tower inspired by a trip to Paris in April. “He wrote her one in return!” the tweet said. The embassy posted Macron’s poem both in French and in English. Writing in the voice of the Eiffel Tower, he wrote: “How you flatter me! So few poets these days / Ever sing the praises of my Parisian soul.” Macron often highlights his fondness for literature and the arts. On Tuesday, during a visit to Strasbourg, he sang with an amateur chorus at the opera house.
UNITED KINGDOM
Bomber’s brother sought
Police are seeking the extradition from Libya of the brother of Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi on murder charges stemming from the attack. Hashem Abedi, the brother, is in custody in Libya. Sky News on Thursday said that the armed group holding him indicated it would cooperate with the request if the Libyan attorney general approved it. Police on Wednesday night said that an extradition request was given to Libyan authorities earlier that day. Salman Abedi set off a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 that left 22 dead and hundreds wounded, blowing himself up in the attack. Police say the warrant for Hashem Abedi relates to the murder of 22 people and the attempted murder of others. Investigators have said they did not believe that a large group was involved in the attack, but that they believed others were involved in the planning. They named Hashem Abedi as a suspect. The warrant for his arrest was issued by a Westminster Magistrates’ Court judge and approved by British Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Fake news’ enters dictionary
After a US presidential campaign dominated by charges of fake news, Collins Dictionary has designated the term this year’s Collins Word of the Year. The word — two words actually — is to be added to the next print edition of the English dictionary. Collins on Thursday said the use of the term rose 365 percent last year. It is defined as “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting.” The term has been picked up by US President Donald Trump, who routinely characterizes critical reports as “fake news” in his tweets. Collins’ head of language content Helen Newstead said the term “fake news” has been inescapable this year. She said it has contributed to “the undermining of society’s trust in news reporting.”
UNITED STATES
Snoop ‘kills’ Trump, again
An album cover image posted to Snoop Dogg’s Instagram account showing the rapper looking down on what appears to be the dead body of US President Donald Trump has been removed from the platform. The cover of the Make America Crip Again EP shows the rapper looking on as a body covered with a US flag lies on a gurney with a toe tag reading “TRUMP.” The image is a play on the cover for Ice Cube’s 1991 album Death Certificate. The photo was on Tuesday shared by Snoop Dogg and later removed. Snoop Dogg drew a rebuke from Trump on Twitter in March after releasing a music video in which he pointed a toy gun at a clown dressed like the president and pulled the trigger.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
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