Month: April 2023

Critics accuse the ruling Georgian Dream party of being under the sway of Russia and of backsliding on democracy.

The government has been accused of jailing political opponents and silencing independent media.

The rally was organised by the main opposition party in support of jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Mr Saakashvili, who served two terms as president between 2004 and 2013, is currently serving a six-year jail term for abuse of power, although international rights groups have condemned his conviction as politically motivated.

Last month, mass protests forced the government to abandon a bill that would have required any non-governmental organisation receiving money from abroad to register as an “agent of foreign influence”.

Opponents said the bill was modelled on one introduced in Russia in 2012 to suppress dissent and called it a step towards authoritarianism. The protests saw police use water cannon and pepper spray on attendees.

On Sunday, demonstrators outside the parliament building in capital Tbilisi waved Georgian, Ukrainian and European Union flags and held a huge banner that read: “For a European future”.

Public opinion in Georgia is overwhelmingly pro-EU, and the government says it remains committed to the country’s bid to join the bloc, but opponents say its actions are harming Georgia’s chances of gaining membership.

Georgia applied for EU membership along with Ukraine and Moldova days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

In June, the EU formally named Ukraine and Moldova as candidate member states, but said Georgia must implement a number of political and judicial reforms before being given the status.

Addressing the rally, Levan Khabeishvili, chair of the United National Movement party, which was founded by Mr Saakashvili, called for the “liberation of political prisoners” and the introduction of the reforms Brussels has asked for.

Giorgi Margvelashvili, who succeeded Mr Saakashvili as president, told the crowd that the Georgian government was “being controlled from Moscow and our obligation is to save our homeland from Russian stooges”.

“We are freedom-loving people, part of the European family, we reject Russian slavery,” he said.

One of the demonstrators, 27-year-old painter Luka Kavsadze, told the AFP news agency: “Our struggle will be peaceful but uncompromised and will lead us to where we belong – the European Union.”

Recent months have seen Mr Saakashvili stage a number of hunger strikes, and his supporters have claimed he is being denied proper healthcare.

Mr Saakashvili has also alleged he has been poisoned in prison, although Georgian authorities have accused him of feigning ill health to secure early release. In an article for the Politico website earlier this week Mr Saakashvili said he was dying from “from a bewildering array of over 20 serious illnesses”.

Local authorities said six people remained unaccounted for and that rescue efforts were ongoing.

The blast occurred in the La Plaine neighbourhood at 00:49 local time on Sunday (23:49 BST on Saturday).

The cause remains unclear, but investigators are looking into the possibility of a gas leak.

Five people from neighbouring buildings sustained minor injuries in the explosion and around 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Two nearby blocks partially collapsed a few hours later without causing any additional injuries.

On Monday the mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, warned nearby buildings were at risk of collapsing.

Around 100 firefighters attended the scene to tackle a blaze that burned under the rubble throughout Sunday.

The fire hampered progress and made it difficult for rescuers to deploy sniffer dogs, although authorities said on Sunday evening that the blaze was showing signs of abating.

The building is believed to have had one apartment on each storey, and city officials said earlier that the people missing included a “young couple”.

Rescue operations continued into the early hours of Monday with the help of a crane and lights.

In a brief statement announcing the discovery of the bodies, the fire department said that “given the difficulties of intervention, the extraction [of the bodies from the site] will take time”.

A local gymnasium and two schools have been opened to accommodate the people who have had to leave their homes. Psychological support is also being offered.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that he was “thinking of those affected and their loved ones” and thanked the emergency workers for their efforts.

Mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan said rescuers remained “determined” to find people alive. “Hope must hold us,” he said.

One local told French media that they heard an explosion “unlike anything I’ve ever heard”.

Speaking to the AFP news agency, Saveria Mosnier, who lives nearby, said: “I was sleeping and there was this huge blast that really shook the room. I was shocked awake as if I had been dreaming.”

She added that “we very quickly smelled a strong gas odour that hung around. We could still smell it this morning”.

Deputy Mayor Yannick Ohanessian told reporters at the scene that “several witnesses have reached us this morning to say there was a suspicious smell of gas”.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the scene on Sunday and Housing Minister Olivier Klein is due to visit on Monday.

In 2018, housing standards in Marseille came under scrutiny after two dilapidated buildings in the working class district of Noailles collapsed, killing eight people.

Following that incident, charities estimated that 40,000 people in the city were living in poorly-built homes, but on Sunday officials appeared to rule out structural issues as a cause of the latest collapse.

Christophe Mirmand, a local authority leader in the Bouches-du-Rhone region, said there was no danger notice on the building and that it was not in a neighbourhood identified as having substandard housing. The comments were echoed by Mr Payan.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended Northern Ireland’s decades-long violent conflict known as the Troubles.

But on its 25th anniversary the PM has called on Stormont politicians to “get on with the business of governance”.

To mark the milestone date, Mr Sunak will welcome US President Joe Biden to Belfast on Tuesday evening.

Praising the Good Friday Agreement, Mr Sunak said it was “born of partnership between the British and Irish governments”.

“As we will see from President Biden’s visit this week, it continues to enjoy huge international support from our closest allies,” he said.

“But most importantly it is based on compromise in Northern Ireland itself.

“We will celebrate those who took difficult decisions, accepted compromise and showed leadership – showing bravery, perseverance, and political imagination.

The PM said it was important to remember “the many who lost their lives by trying to prevent violence and protect the innocent”.

“We give thanks to them as we reflect on the new generations that have grown up… in a world in which peace and prosperity has prevailed,” he said.

Police in Northern Ireland have said their resources will be stretched this week as they cover Mr Biden’s visit and parades by dissident republicans.

Last week senior officers said they had “very strong intelligence” that dissident republicans were planning attacks to coincide with Good Friday Agreement events.

More officers are being put on frontline duty for the coming days.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said that peace in the region has “been fragile and imperfect but it’s been pretty good”.

“Of course I’m concerned about the dissident republican threat… we’re all very wary of what that threat might look like,” he said.

When Northern Ireland was created in 1921 it remained part of the UK while the rest of Ireland became an independent state.

That created a split in the population between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland stay within the UK; and nationalists, who want it to become part of the Republic of Ireland.

From the late 1960s until 1998 – a period known as the Troubles – thousands of people were killed and injured as violence flared between the two sides.

Mr Sunak said that while it was important to reflect on the progress made “we must also recommit to redoubling our efforts on the promise made in 1998 and the agreements that followed”.

“One of economic opportunity, prosperity and stability – it is a promise we must continue to fulfil,” he said.

Northern Ireland has been without a power-sharing government since February 2022, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) collapsed the Stormont executive.

The DUP is boycotting Stormont because of objection to post-Brexit trade rules agreed between the EU and UK.

The Windsor Framework, which was adopted last month, is designed to make trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK easier.

But the DUP believes it cuts Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK, and it voted against a key aspect of the deal.

“We stand ready to work with our partners in the Irish government and the local parties to ensure that the institutions are up and running again as soon as possible,” said Mr Sunak.

“There is work to be done.”

Mr Heaton-Harris said “no-one knows” when power-sharing would be restored at Stormont.

“Anybody who was predicting a date by which the executive would go back in Northern Ireland would be someone who could also sell you a four-leaf clover,” said Mr Heaton-Harris.

“No-one knows when it’ll go back.

“Deadlines are deadly in Northern Ireland terms.”

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said he plans to “intensify” engagement with Mr Sunak on the Windsor Framework and power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

He said history shown that political stability in the region depended on the Irish and UK governments working “in lock-step”.

Rishi Sunak will welcome the US president to Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.

President Biden is due to make a speech at Ulster University’s newly-opened £350m Belfast campus on Wednesday.

He will also address business and civic leaders and may speak to political parties.

His visit to Northern Ireland will be shorter than many people had expected when it was first announced last month.

It is understood that he will leave Northern Ireland on Wednesday afternoon to travel to the Republic of Ireland.

Public transport operator Translink said its passengers in Belfast should expect disruption, diversions and delays to bus services during Mr Biden’s time in the city.

Beijing – which views Taiwan as a breakaway province of China – called the operation a “stern warning” to the island’s government.

The exercises began hours after President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.

The Taiwanese Defence Ministry said 42 Chinese military planes and eight ships crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.

The line is an unofficial dividing line between Chinese and Taiwanese territory.

Chinese state media said the military drills would “simultaneously organise patrols and advances around Taiwan island, shaping an all-round encirclement and deterrence posture”.

It added that “long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats, air force fighters, bombers, jammers and refuellers” had all been deployed by China’s military.

Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, with its own constitution and leaders.

But China sees the island as a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under Beijing’s control – by force if necessary. China’s President Xi Jinping has said “reunification” with Taiwan “must be fulfilled”.

Although China often holds drills around Taiwan, the “encirclement” is being seen as a response to Taiwan’s President Tsai meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday.

President Tsai said on Saturday that her government would continue working with the US and other democracies as the island faces “continued authoritarian expansionism” from China.

She made the comments in a meeting with a US congressional delegation in Taipei led by House foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul.

Mr McCaul said Washington was working to supply weapons to Taiwan, “not for war, but for peace”.

But in Taiwan’s capital Taipei, residents seemed unperturbed by China’s latest manoeuvres.

“I think many Taiwanese have gotten used to it by now, the feeling is like, here we go again!” Jim Tsai said.

Meanwhile, Michael Chuang said: “They [China] seems to like doing it, circling Taiwan like it’s theirs. I am used to it now.

“If they invade we can’t escape anyway. We’ll see what the future holds and go from there.”

China’s three-day operation around Taiwan – dubbed “United Sharp Sword” – will run until Monday, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it would respond to China’s exercises “with a calm, rational, and serious attitude” based on the principle of “not escalating conflicts, nor causing disputes to defend our national sovereignty and security”.

Last August, Beijing carried out almost a week of drills around Taiwan after Kevin McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taipei.

The exercises, China’s largest show of force in years, included the deployment of fighter jets and warships, and the firing of ballistic missiles.