Swedish prime minister to attend Sunday's 'Coalition of the Willing' meeting, spokesperson says
Kristersson will however not fly to Washington together with Zelenskiy alongside other European leaders on Monday, the spokesperson said.
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Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
French petition seeks to block Bayeux tapestry's loan to Britain
PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A petition to stop the Bayeux tapestry being loaned by France to the British Museum in London has attracted more than 40,000 signatures from people concerned that movement could damage the Medieval relic. Art historian Didier Rykner launched the petition on the platform after French President Emmanuel Macron offered during a trip to London in July to loan the tapestry as part of an art exchange. "It's already very fragile. There are tears and holes in the fabric. Any movement, any vibration can cause damage," Rykner told Reuters. "You cannot use a fragile piece of art for diplomacy." The British Museum said in a statement its conservation and collections management team is experienced at handling and caring for this type of material and is working with colleagues in France on the tapestry's display. While the origins of the 70-metre (76 yards) long Bayeux tapestry are obscure, it is believed to have been the work of English embroiderers, whose stitching tells the story of the Norman invasion in 1066 and the arrow that hit England's King Harold in the eye. In the years after William the Conqueror took the English throne, the tapestry was taken to France, where it has remained, displayed at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy since 1983 after decorating Bayeux cathedral for seven centuries. It has been taken to Paris twice. "The last two times it was moved was first by Napoleon and then by the Germans (during the Nazi occupation). I cannot think of why you would want to be the third to move it," Rykner said. The Bayeux museum will close for renovations for two years starting later this year, and the tapestry will need to be rehoused during that time, a representative for the museum said. The French state owns the tapestry, and France's Ministry of Culture will be responsible for coordinating the tapestry's transfer to a temporary home. It was not immediately available for comment.
BreakingNews.ie
30 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Sean Gallagher: I will ‘reflect' on claims of attack on presidential hopeful
Former presidential candidate Sean Gallagher said he will 'reflect' on comments made by Gareth Sheridan, who claimed he has been the victim of a 'co-ordinated attack' on his character. Mr Sheridan, who launched his official bid for the presidency last week, claimed that the 'attack' was carried out by people associated with Mr Gallagher. Advertisement Mr Sheridan made the claims about his former business partner at his campaign launch in Dublin city centre. Mr Gallagher left Mr Sheridan's multimillion-euro pharmaceutical company, Nutriband, after serving as chairman from 2017 until 2021 after the company decided to replace him. Presidential candidate Gareth Sheridan and his wife, Heidi, at the official launch of his campaign at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Photo: Cate McCurry/PA. The 35-year-old is hoping to run as an independent candidate, and is seeking nominations from local councils to get his name on the ballot paper. At the opening of his campaign launch, Mr Sheridan said: 'There seems to be somewhat of a co-ordinated attack taking place on my character by people associated (with), and in, Sean Gallagher's circle. Advertisement 'I'm not saying for a moment that Sean is behind this or is involved in any way. 'For a couple of days now, we've been receiving essentially copy and paste question lists with minimal time to respond from various different outlets with the exact same questions. Something just seems a little off.' He went on to say that somebody is 'taking our break-up a little bit worse than me'. Speaking on Tuesday morning, Mr Gallagher said the comments do not require a reaction, but a response. Advertisement 'I was away for the last couple of weeks. Firstly, down in Clare and on the Aran islands with my wife and kids, and then last week abroad in the sunshine,' he told the Joe Finnegan Show on Northern Sound radio. 'I made a bad mistake of heading away when the sunshine was arriving in Ireland. So, truthfully, I was more concerned about keeping my bald head protected from the sun than I was about watching what was happening in the election. 'But it has been drawn to my attention for sure. So, rather than react to the comments – I think it doesn't require a reaction – more a response. 'I will reflect on what was said and I am gathering that at the moment, and then I'll decide on what to respond. But that is, as we all know, part of the electioneering that goes on.' Advertisement Mr Gallagher, who previously contested the presidential election in 2011 and again in 2018, has ruled himself out of the upcoming election. Ireland Fine Gael set for contest as Kelly and Humphreys s... Read More He said: 'You can rest assured, my name will not be going forward. I am not running. 'I'm very focused on business and a lot of the other activities I'm involved in, and so I'm very committed in that space. 'I think it is great that there are more people coming forward, and I think there are more to come.' Advertisement
Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
Focus on security guarantees as Ukraine summit leaves path to peace unclear
LONDON/KYIV, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Donald Trump's promise of security guarantees for Kyiv to help end the war in Ukraine but face many unanswered questions, including how willing Russia will be to play ball. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Monday's extraordinary summit at the White House with the U.S. president as a "major step forward" towards ending Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years and towards setting up a trilateral meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Trump in the coming weeks. Zelenskiy was flanked by the leaders of allies including Germany, France and Britain at the summit and his warm rapport with Trump contrasted sharply with their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February. But beyond the optics, the path to peace remains deeply uncertain and Zelenskiy may be forced to make painful compromises to end the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and which analysts say has killed or wounded more than 1 million people. While the Washington talks allowed for a temporary sense of relief in Kyiv, there was no let-up in the fighting. Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, the largest this month. The energy ministry said Russia had targeted energy facilities in the central Poltava region, home to Ukraine's only oil refinery, causing big fires. "The good news is that there was no blow-up (at the White House). Trump didn't demand Ukrainian capitulation nor cut off support. The mood music was positive and the trans-Atlantic alliance lives on," John Foreman, a former British defence attache to Kyiv and Moscow, told Reuters. "On the downside, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the nature of security guarantees and what exactly the U.S. has in mind." Ukraine's allies were to hold talks in the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" format on Tuesday to discuss the way forward. NATO chiefs of defence will also discuss security guarantees for Ukraine on Tuesday, a source close to the matter said, without mentioning further details. Zelenskiy said on Tuesday his officials were working on the content of the security guarantees. Russia has made no explicit commitment to a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow did not reject any formats for discussing the peace process in Ukraine but any meeting of national leaders "must be prepared with utmost thoroughness". 'It doesn't smell like peace yet. I think Putin will not go for it, he is not that kind of person," said a 63-year-old resident of Kyiv, Oksana Melnyk. "I really wanted it all to end peacefully, but, unfortunately, a lot of our people died and it is very bitter.' RED LINES Putin has warned that Russia will not tolerate troops from the NATO alliance on Ukrainian soil. He has also shown no sign of backing down from demands for territory, including land not under Russia's military control, following his summit talks with Trump last Friday in Alaska. Trump has not specified what form U.S. security guarantees could take, and backed away from insisting that Russia agree to a ceasefire before any peace negotiations kick off in earnest. Neil Melvin, director, International Security at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said Russia could drag out the war while trying to deflect U.S. pressure with a protracted peace negotiation. "I think behind this there's a struggle going on between Ukraine and the Europeans on one side, and the Russians on the other, not to present themselves to Trump as the obstacle to his peace process." "They're all tiptoeing around Trump" to avoid any blame, he said, adding that on security guarantees, "the problem is that what Trump has said is so vague it's very hard to take it seriously". The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Turkey in July but not at head of state level. Putin also declined Zelenskiy's public invitation to meet him face-to-face in May. Jaroslava Barbieri, a research fellow for the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, said the European leaders and Zelenskiy did a "quite a good job in trying to keep the U.S. on board", using a choreographed "flurry of thank yous" to keep Trump engaged. She said the European leaders' and Zelenskiy's message to Trump was to be "cautious about whatever the Kremlin supposedly promises you, because ... whatever promises they give, it's not worth the paper they're written on". Orysia Lutsevych, a research fellow at Chatham House, said the worst case scenario "of Trump selling Ukraine out to Putin was avoided" at Monday's talks, but she added: "A bilateral with Putin is dangerous for Zelenskiy. Even if it happens, which is highly unlikely, Putin will blame him for obstructing peace, being unreasonable. In such a case, the question is: who Donald Trump will trust and blame for his failed peacemaking efforts."
