La Roumanie secouée par une profonde crise politique

Les sondages ne sont pas avantageux pour le président Klaus Iohannis qui ne recueille aujourd’hui que 14 % d’opinions favorables. JOE KLAMAR/AFP
LE FIGARO : Le président ne parvient plus à réunir les partis de droite et du centre derrière lui.

Depuis plus d’un mois et la chute du gouvernement du jeune et intempestif Florin Cîtu (49 ans), la droite roumaine est dans de sales draps. Les conservateurs (PNL) se trouvent coincés entre les réformateurs de centre droit de l’USR (l’Union sauvez la Roumanie) - ils avaient provoqué la chute de l’exécutif face à l’«attitude dictatoriale» de Florin Cîtu - et les socialistes du PSD, qui détiennent le plus grand nombre de sièges au Parlement (157, contre 119 pour le PNL, et 80 pour l’USR).

Minés par des querelles internes, les conservateurs ont fait exploser leur parti en a peine quelques semaines. Ludovic Orban, leur ancien leader, a démissionné du perchoir de l’Assemblée, entraînant derrière lui une cascade de défections (17 à ce jour). Ce sont les socialistes (ex-communistes) qui ont récupéré ce poste. En conflit ouvert avec le président de la République, Ludovic Orban agite désormais la menace, assez envisageable, d’une destitution de Klaus Iohannis. » | Par Paul Cozighian | jeudi 4 novembre 2021

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À LIRE AUSSI : La Roumanie sombre dans l’instabilité politique : DÉCRYPTAGE - L’impétueux premier ministre roumain a été sèchement éjecté de son siège de chef du gouvernement d’un pays qui s’enfonce dans la crise. »

Le pape nomme la première femme à la tête du gouvernorat du Vatican

François, 84 ans, a déclaré à plusieurs reprises qu'il souhaitait que les femmes jouent un rôle plus important dans l'Église catholique. Andreas SOLARO / AFP
LE FIGARO : La sœur Raffaella Petrini, Italienne de 52 ans, sera notamment chargée de superviser les opérations administratives concernant les musées du Saint-Siège, la poste et la police.

Le pape François a nommé jeudi 4 novembre la première femme à la tête du gouvernorat du Vatican, la sœur franciscaine Raffaella Petrini, poursuivant ainsi sa volonté de parvenir à une plus grande égalité des sexes dans l'Église.

En tant que secrétaire générale du gouvernorat, cette religieuse italienne de 52 ans sera chargée de superviser les opérations administratives, notamment les musées du Vatican, la poste et la police. Elle devient ainsi la femme la plus haut placée dans le plus petit État du monde. Selon le journal en ligne National Catholic Reporter, ce rôle est traditionnellement occupé par un évêque. » | jeudi 4 novembre 2021

À LIRE AUSSI : Le pape François juge le président américain «bon catholique» »

Les macarons Ladurée ne sont plus fabriqués en France

Les macarons Ladurée sont vendus dans toutes les couleurs Alexandros Michailidis
LE FIGARO : L'entreprise française a reconnu que les macarons étaient produits en Suisse depuis 2020.

Bien connus des Français, les macarons Ladurée ne sont pas fabriqués en France. C'est le président de l'enseigne, David Holder, qui l'a reconnu auprès du média suisse Bilan, confirmant les révélations de l'émission de France 2 Complément d'Enquête. Ces incontournables des petites douceurs à la française sont, en réalité, fabriqués en Suisse, à Enney exactement, dans le canton de Fribourg. » | Par Le Figaro.fr | samedi 6 novembre 2021

Allemagne : une attaque au couteau fait plusieurs blessés dans un train en Bavière

LE FIGARO : L'auteur présumé, un homme, a été interpellé, a annoncé la police locale.

Plusieurs personnes ont été blessées samedi dans un train ICE en Bavière en Allemagne lors d'une attaque au couteau dont l'auteur présumé, un homme, a été interpellé, a annoncé la police locale. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | samedi 6 novembre 2021

Owen Paterson, Sleaze, Corruption and Another U-turn by Johnson

Nov 6, 2021 • Boris Johnson's attempt to reform and replace the Parliamentary Commission for Standards by whipping his MPs to vote against the Commissioner's recommended 30-day suspension of MP Owen Paterson for 'egregious breaches of lobbying rules' proved to be a further massive misjudgement. Yet another public backlash resulted in a total U-turn only 24 hours later leaving those including Kwasi Karteng and Andrea Leadsome, who had backed the prime minister's proposals less than 24 hours earlier, looking foolish. In a pitiful attempt to gain sympathy, Paterson claimed that the worry of the investigation had contributed to his wife's suicide. This is yet further evidence of sleaze and corruption in the Tory party.

The Royal Wedding of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Farah Diba

Please Help End This Scandal and Help Our Pensioners Resident Abroad: 'Frozen Pensions Day 2021'

Nov 3, 2021 • The unfair frozen pensions policy is the result of historical reciprocal arrangements agreed between a select handful of countries and the UK to allow for state pension uprating.

Uprating means that pensions are adjusted every year to align with inflation - with the cost of living rising, pensions are indexed so pensioners can continue to get by. If a state pension is not increased, it is 'frozen' and therefore falls in value year on year.

500,000 UK pensioners, just under half of those living overseas, now live in countries where their state pensions are frozen. This includes British pensioners living in Overseas Territories such as the Falkland Islands. This arbitrary post-code lottery means that UK citizens in the USA, the European Union, Israel or Jamaica rightfully receive a full state pension. But those in other countries, such as Canada and Australia, do not.

Over 90% of affected pensioners live in Commonwealth nations with close cultural ties to the UK. Many moved overseas for employment opportunities, or to live near friends and family. Others are members of the Windrush generation, who were invited to live and work in Britain at the call of the UK Government and have now been punished for returning to their country of birth.

Half of frozen pensioners receive a state pension of just £65 per week, or less. Almost all were unaware that their state pensions would be frozen before they left the UK.

Now, they are victims of geography. The End Frozen Pensions campaign believes that all pensioners, no matter where they happen to live, should be paid equally. Find out more at endfrozenpensions.org


Please sign the petition End Frozen Pensions

And email Your MP or the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to help these people here

Fremantle Shark Attack: Search for Missing Man Off Port Beach

THE GUARDIAN: WA police say actions of witnesses were ‘heroic’ after incident reportedly involving tiger shark and great white shark

Search and rescue vessels patrol off Port Beach in North Fremantle, Western Australia. A man is missing after a shark attack. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP
Emergency services are searching for a man who is believed to have been attacked by a shark off Port Beach in North Fremantle, Western Australia, on Saturday morning.

WA police said that water police, police air wing, Surf Life Saving and the Surf Rescue helicopter responded to reports of a shark attack off Port Beach at 10.10am Saturday morning.

Water police were co-ordinating a marine search for the missing man, whose age had not yet been confirmed.

A spokesperson for St John’s Ambulance WA said they had received a call at 10.03am of a shark bite and sent three crew to the scene.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Department of Transport (Marine) and Department of Transport (Marine) authorities also attended the scene.

Local councils have closed Port Beach and all beaches from Leighton Dog beach to Sand Tracks beach. » | Justine Landis-Hanley | Saturday, November 6, 2021

Brexit: EU Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ If UK Invokes Article 16

A screenshot from the accompanying video.
THE GUARDIAN: Maroš Šefčovič says Brussels has seen no concessions from UK side in Northern Ireland protocol dispute

Britain and the EU appear on the brink of a trade war after Brussels accused Boris Johnson of lacking sincerity in negotiations over Northern Ireland’s future and warned of “serious consequences” if Downing Street suspended the post-Brexit deal.

As he emerged from his latest tense meeting with the UK’s Brexit minister, the EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said that despite Brussels’ attempts to find a compromise, “we have seen no move at all from the UK side”.

The two sides have been locked in talks for three weeks over changes to how the Brexit deal works to ensure the free flow of trade between Britain and Northern Ireland. The EU has offered to cut customs controls in half and health checks on animal and plant products heading to supermarkets by 80%, but Šefčovič suggested there had been scant effort by David Frost, the Brexit minister, to engage with the proposals.

“I found this disappointing and once again I urge the UK government to engage with us sincerely,” Šefčovič said. “From this perspective, I see next week as an important one. We should focus all efforts on reaching a solution as soon as possible.

“Our aim should be to establish stability and predictability for Northern Ireland. We hear a lot about article 16 at the moment, but there’ll be no doubt that triggering article 16 to seek the negotiation of the protocol would have serious consequences. With video » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, November 5, 2021

Pro Footballer Says He’s Bisexual and Living with Boyfriend in Moving Open Letter

PINK NEWS: An anonymous footballer has written about his bisexuality in the wake of Australian pro player Josh Cavallo proudly coming out as gay.

Cavallo, 21, was praised for his courage and bravery after sharing his truth last month, becoming the only current openly gay male player playing professional top-flight football.

His actions have inspired another footballer to open up about his sexuality, according to Mundo Deportivo, a Spanish national sports newspaper that published a letter from an anonymous pro.

Bisexual footballer: ‘At least for now, I do not want to say who I am’

The athlete, a member of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, has not chosen to come out publicly as the “message itself is more important than the name”.

In the letter, the footballer also reveals that he is living with his boyfriend of more than three years. » | Josh Milton | Monday, November 1, 2021

Homophobia Is Alive and Kicking in European Politics and It’s Going Mainstream

iNEWS: All over the continent the far right are downplaying anti-LGBTQ violence – and in some cases, practising it

People in front of the Court House in Sofia, Bulgaria protest against homophobic attacks (Photo: Hristo Vladev/Getty)
It’s tempting to think that in Europe at least the LGBTQ community has virtually won its fight for equal rights.

In supposedly uptight Britain, same-sex couples on Strictly Come Dancing are told by straight judges to be a bit less… inhibited…

There are no same-sex shenanigans on Italy’s Ballando con le Stelle. But over there that’s the least of many gay people’s problems.

Thanks to the malign presence of the Vatican, and the nature of the far-right in its mainstream politics, Italy’s parliament is unable to pass a simple hate-crime law to combat the country’s (ample) homophobic violence – in spite of 10 years’ of trying.

Two far-right groupings voted last Wednesday to block the “Zan bill” in the Senate. Matteo Salvini’s League party and the even nastier “post-fascist” Fratelli d’Italia party led by Giorgia Meloni. Alessandro Zan is the politician and LGBTQ activist who promoted the bill.

National polls suggest they have the support of 24 per cent and 18 per cent of the Italian electorate, respectively. » | Michael Day, Chief Foreign Commentator | Published: Thursday, November 4, 2021; Updated, Friday, November 5, 2021

Pfizer präsentiert Pille gegen Covid-19 mit erstaunlich hoher Wirksamkeit

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Nun schürt bereits das zweite derartige Präparat Hoffnungen auf eine einfach handhabbare Therapie. Noch liegen allerdings nur wenig Daten vor.

Das amerikanische Pharmaunternehmen Pfizer hat am Freitag die neueste Waffe im Kampf gegen Covid-19 vorgestellt. Die Tablette soll eine erstaunlich hohe Wirksamkeit besitzen. Gemäss den vorläufigen Ergebnissen einer klinischen Studie senke die Therapie mit Paxlovid das Risiko, wegen Covid-19 ins Spital zu müssen oder sogar daran zu sterben, um 89 Prozent, teilte Pfizer mit. Dafür müsse in den ersten drei Tagen nach Symptombeginn mit der Therapie begonnen werden. Schwerwiegende negative Nebenwirkungen seien keine festgestellt worden. » | Stephanie Lahrtz | Freitag, 5. November 2021

Coronavirus weltweit: Österreich verbannt Ungeimpfte aus Restaurants, Deutschland empfiehlt Booster-Impfung für alle: Über 248 Millionen Menschen sind laut der Johns-Hopkins-Universität weltweit positiv auf das Virus getestet worden. Mehr als 5 Millionen Infizierte sind gestorben. Über 7 Milliarden Impfdosen wurden weltweit verabreicht. »

Covid-19 Infections Are Rising Dramatically in Germany | Covid-19 Special

Nov 5, 2021 • Germany's COVID infections are now higher than ever. And the numbers keep growing. That's despite a relatively high vaccination rate.

Almost 70 percent of Germans are fully vaccinated against the virus. One of the main reasons are breakthrough infections - where the disease manages to bypass the jab. The only consolation for the vaccinated is that severe illness is rare.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — November 5 2021

Au Pakistan, Imran Khan fait libérer des centaines d’islamistes antifrançais

Le 22 octobre, à Karachi, des partisans du Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) manifestent pour réclamer la libération de militants emprisonnés et l’expulsion de l’ambassadeur de France (en représailles aux caricatures de Mahomet parues dans Charlie Hebdo en septembre 2020). AKHTAR SOOMRO/REUTERS
LE FIGARO : RÉCIT - Le premier ministre pakistanais a cédé aux pressions du TLP, puissant mouvement soutenu par l’armée.

De New Dehli
C’est ce qui s’appelle l’effet papillon. Les réactions suscitées par la publication de caricatures de Mahomet par Charlie Hebdo en septembre 2020 n’en finissent plus de poser de nombreux problèmes au gouvernement pakistanais. Voilà plus d’un an qu’il essaye de transiger avec un parti islamiste, le Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Cette organisation a fait de la défense de l’honneur du Prophète son cheval de bataille depuis sa création, en 2015.

Le TLP a organisé une énième marche entre Lahore et Islamabad du 22 au 31 octobre avec des exigences qu’il pousse depuis l’an dernier: expulsion de l’ambassadeur de France en représailles aux dessins de l’hebdomadaire français et aux propos d’Emmanuel Macron sur la liberté de caricaturer. Mais aussi libération de ses militants emprisonnés depuis le début de la mobilisation. Son chef, Saad Hussain Rizvi, est derrière les barreaux depuis le mois d’avril. » | Par Emmanuel Derville | vendredi 5 novembre 2021

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Hawaii Is Easing Restrictions and Preparing to Welcome Back Tourists.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The state is eager for its vacation industry to rebound after a devastating 2020 season.


Gov. David Y. Ige announced his state would welcome international tourists again and lift capacity limits later this month on bars, restaurants and gyms in counties that require patrons to present proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid test to enter. | Caleb Jones/Associated Press
Signaling that Hawaii is eager to jump-start its battered tourism and hospitality industries, Gov. David Y. Ige said that his state would ease Covid restrictions this month and welcome international travelers again, under new federal guidelines that go into effect on Nov. 8.

The governor’s decision was a turnaround for a state that only two months ago was advising travelers not to visit, as it dealt with the worst surge of coronavirus cases it had seen, a wave of illness driven by the highly contagious Delta variant that overwhelmed hospitals and halted Hawaii’s economic recovery. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Hawaii endured months of lockdown, imposing strict, 14-day quarantine protocols and suffering the economic consequences to its tourism economy.

Now, with low rates of hospitalizations and new cases, the islands are again ready for business, officials say. On Sept. 2, the state’s seven-day daily average of new cases was 910. As of Tuesday, it had dropped to 116, according to a New York Times database. » | Eduardo Medina | Thursday, November 4, 2021

The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October. »

Angelina Jolie ‘Saddened’ by ‘Ignorant’ Countries Banning Eternals over ‘Beautiful’ Gay Love

Angelina Jolie attends the The Eternals UK premiere. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
PINK NEWS: Angelina Jolie has said she is “sad” for the “ignorant” countries that have banned Eternals reportedly over its gay content.

The new film, which sees gay tech maverick Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first same-sex kiss, has been quietly yanked across the conservative Gulf nations, per reports.

Angelina Jolie, who stars as Thena, a member of the celestial race of superhumans known as the Eternals, said she is “proud of Marvel” for “refusing to cut those scenes out”.

“I still don’t understand how we live in a world where there’s still [people who] would not see the family Phastos has and the beauty of that relationship and love,” Jolie, 46, told News.com.au.

“How anybody is angry about it, threatened by it, doesn’t approve or appreciate it is ignorant. » | Josh Milton | Friday, November 5, 2021

Angelina Jolie Is “Proud” Marvel Refused to Cut ‘Eternals’ Scenes Featuring Gay Hero for Gulf Nation Censors: The film was pulled from release in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait after Disney refused to make edits demanded by local censors. »

It’s Gay Friday!

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Unabashedly Gay

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Ryan Oldroyd | I'm From Glenwood, UT | - True Gay Stories

March 16, 2011 • A young Mormon is ex-communicated then outed to his parents after he comes out to his Mission President.

This video clip is from 2011, but has much changed for gay Mormons since then when it comes to acceptance? – Mark