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WORLD NEWS Thursday 16 May 2019

Migration and Trump on the menu as EU candidates face off

By LORNE COOK man at the European Com-
Associated Press mission. The political crisis
BRUSSELS (AP) — The lead- has been a vote winner for
ing candidates in the Euro- anti-migrant and far-right
pean Union elections grap- parties, notably in Austria,
pled with the thorny issue of Britain, France and Italy.
migration, rising nationalism “Nationalism, and egoism,
and even testy ties with U.S. is back on this continent,”
President Donald Trump in said Manfred Weber, a
a largely drama-free de- German from the center-
bate Wednesday barely right European People’s
a week before May 23-26 Party, the biggest bloc in
polls. the assembly, and a favor-
Quizzed by three Europe- ite to win Juncker’s job.
an journalists over 90 min- He said a system should be
utes, the six candidates set up “to defend our val-
for Jean-Claude Juncker’s ues” by penalizing breach-
post as president of the es of the rule of law and
EU’s powerful executive other democratic norms
arm also tackled youth un- by some member govern-
employment, taxes and cli- ments. “We can also use
mate change in a debate the funds, the money of
among six mainstream From left, Czech Republic’s Jan Zahradil, Spain’s Nico Cue, Germany’s Ska Keller, Denmark’s Europe, to sanction those
party candidates that was Margrethe Vestager, Netherland’s Frans Timmermans and Germany’s Manfred Weber pose on who are not ready to re-
conducted almost exclu- stage prior to a debate of the candidates to the presidency of the Commission at the European spect our fundamental
sively in English despite their Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, May 15, 2019. principles,” he added.
different nationalities. Associated Press One of the EU’s biggest
Some 400 million people against the policies of na- to EU unity has been the in the Mediterranean, Eu- challenges has been es-
are eligible next week to tional governments. inability to manage the ar- rope loses a bit of its soul. So tablishing its place on the
choose members of the Eu- Surveys suggest that na- rival of well over 1 million we’re losing who we are, global political stage. The
ropean Parliament, which tionalist and far-right par- migrants in 2015. Italy and we’re losing our values by 28-nation bloc is the world’s
is the EU’s only democrati- ties will gain ground but Greece felt abandoned to not solving this problem,” biggest donor of aid, pro-
cally elected institution. that mainstream groups will deal with people seeking said Frans Timmermans, a viding extensive humani-
Turnout is usually low, and hold control over the as- refuge or jobs, while other Dutch candidate from the tarian assistance notably
those who do cast ballots sembly despite losing seats. countries only watched. Socialist Party of Europe to the Palestinian territories
routinely vote in protest One of the biggest threats “Every time a person dies and Juncker’s right hand and across Africa.q

Thousands protest against cathedral in Russian city

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA fence to replace the chain-link fence that
Associated Press the protesters brought down a day earlier.
MOSCOW (AP) — Several thousand Opponents of the cathedral, which is pro-
people rallied on Wednesday in Russia’s moted by authorities and funded by the
fourth-largest city as the showdown be- owners of two major local industrial giants,
tween authorities and activists protesting say the construction project smack in the
the plans to a build a new cathedral in a city center would take away green and
local park entered its third day. Thousands recreational space needed by residents
gathered in a riverside park in Yekaterin- of a city with 1.5 million people.
burg Wednesday evening. Some of them Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told re-
were on bicycles, more camped out on porters earlier Wednesday that the Krem-
the grass while others were walking their lin has full trust in the local government
dogs. As night fell, protesters turned on the to handle the protests but also decried
light on their mobile phones and flashlights, the rallies which he described as unsanc-
chanting “We stand for the park!” Secu- tioned demonstrations which violate Rus-
rity measures for what has largely been sian law. Hundreds of protesters stayed in Demonstrators wave their cell phones, with the words on one of
a peaceful protest were heighted on the the park well after midnight facing several them reading “Park has to be! “ as they gather in front of a new
eve of the rally, with hundreds of riot police rows of riot police who were encircling the builded fence blocked by police protesting plans to construct a
deployed to the park. Earlier, construc- fence around the proposed construction cathedral in a park in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, May
15, 2019.
tion workers started building a new, sturdy site.q Associated Press