European Union leaders plan to move forward with the creation of an EU military headquarters within the next few days – and warn that Britain may still be expected to take part, even after Brexit. Plans to set up a joint Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) facility, agreed by all 28 member states in March, had been stalled by British objections to the facility having an operational military role. But speaking to reports in Brussels following a meeting of EU defence ministers on Thursday, the EU’s Foreign Affairs commissioner Federica Mogherini said the path was now clear, and plans would be progressed within the next few days. “I understand it is finalised. I understand we have a couple of days to have the official text in place,” she said. Britain has historically maintained opposition to an EU army, preferring instead to emphasise NATO over a possible joint European force. But quizzed on British involvement in light of Brexit, Mogherini made it clear that both sides expected the UK to play a full part in the plans until Brexit takes place, in 2019 – and possibly beyond. “Obviously, once you are not a member state you cannot take part in
Author: Donna Rachel Edmunds
Macron to Lobby Germany for Closer EU Integration on First Day as President
Emmanuel Macron plans to use his first full day as president of France to fly to Berlin to lobby for greater Eurozone integration. Macron wants a common budget and a joint finance minister for all 19 states to have adopted the euro.
Punters Overwhelmingly Backing Underdog Le Pen On Eve of Election
The British-based betting firm Ladbrokes says Marine Le Pen is attracting 90 percent of the bets on the eve of the French presidential election, as people gamble that France is in line for an upset. The betting firm said Saturday despite the polls favoring her centrist rival, Emmanuel Macron, gamblers are putting money on the idea that France may be in line for a political shock similar to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union or Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Le Pen’s odds are 6-1. Macron is at 1-10 odds. Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes says with “so many political upsets in recent times, we are not surprised to see punters ignoring the polls. Le Pen is attracting the weight of money.”
20-Year-Old Stabbed to Death is Eighth London Knife Victim in Two Weeks
A manhunt is underway for a Polish man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in London. Two other people suffered minor injuries in the attack. Police and ambulance units were called to Dora Street, Mile End in London’s east end shortly before 11pm on Thursday night, following reports of several people injured in a stabbing attack. 20-year-old Karolina Chiwluk was pronounced dead at the scene, while a woman, aged 42, and a man, 24, both of whom lived at the address were taken to hospital. They were later released with minor injuries. The two are understood to have stepped in to protect Miss Chiwluk from her attacker, believed to be 23-year-old Grzesiek Kosiec, also resident at the house. Miss Chiwluk is understood to be the ex-girlfriend of Mr Kosiec, and was visiting when a fight broke out between the pair, Scotland Yard said. The suspect fled the scene and is now the subject of a manhunt, the Evening Standard has reported. Detective Chief Inspector Chris Jones from Homicide and Major Crime Command has appealed for anyone who knows where Mr Kosiec is to call 999, warning members of the public that “he is violent”. He said: “I would like
Wikileaks ‘Sceptical’ Macron Leaks Fake, As Russia Falls Under Spotlight
Hacking initiative Wikileaks has said it is “skeptical” that the large cache of data hacked from French Presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron’s campaign includes faked material. As much as nine gigabites of hacked material, including tens of thousands of staff emails, financial documents and photos, was released on the internet late Friday night by 4Chan users, just the campaign was entering the traditional media blackout that takes place on the eve of an election day in France. Macron’s En Marche movement confirmed that some of the material was genuine, but in a statement insisted that faked material had been included to “seed doubt and disinformation.” Yet they were unable to point to specific faked documents, and the claim has now been challenged by Wikileaks. Commenting on Twitter, the organisation called the cache a “significant leak” Adding: “It is not economically feasible to fabricate the whole. We are now checking parts.” Three hours later they added: “We have not yet discovered fakes in #MacronLeaks & we are very skeptical that the Macron campaign is faster than us.” However, they questioned the timing of the leaks, pointing out that Macron is still comfortably ahead in the polls. The late timing of the release,
Macron Campaign Hacked, Huge Cache of Files Dumped Online
A large cache of documents hacked from French Presidential Candidate Emmanuel Macron’s campaigning team have been dumped on the internet, with just hours to go until polling opens in the final round of voting. The information includes genuine staffers’ personal and professional emails as well as campaign finance material and contracts, all of which were taken by anonymous hackers some weeks ago, Macron’s En Marche movement confirmed in a statement. However, they added that false documents had been mixed in to the file dump to “seed doubt and disinformation.” Staffers said they would “take all measures” to uncover what happened. The incident is embarrassing for the campaign, which had previously denied reports that staff emails had been hacked. They were also unable to point out which documents were false. Links to the documents were posted to the internet chat site 4Chan shortly before midnight in France, just as the Presidential election entered a mandated media blackout. Traditionally no public discussion of the election takes place on the eve of polling day, nor on the day itself, to give voters time to make their own assessment of the campaign and vote accordingly. Consequently, Macron rival Marine Le Pen’s campaign team were
Afghan Christian Convert Stabbed to Death in Germany by Asylum Seeker
A 38-year-old Afghan woman living in Germany has been stabbed to death by a fellow Afghan asylum seeker, allegedly because she had converted to Christianity.