Declaration on inclusion agreed at Global Disability Summit in Berlin
The Amman-Berlin Declaration on Global Disability Inclusion, signed on Thursday, intends to boost the number of development projects focusing on inclusion for people with disabilities.
Around 1.3 billion people, or 15% of the global population, are estimated to have a disability.
Some 4,500 participants from 100 countries attended the Global Disability Summit, which was officially opened by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday.
The aim of the two-day summit was to achieve concrete progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
"With the Amman-Berlin Declaration, we have achieved a real breakthrough for the rights of people with disabilities worldwide," said German Development Minister Svenja Schulze.
The agreement provides an objective for 15% of global development projects to be targeted towards the inclusion of disabled people.
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The Hill
22 minutes ago
- The Hill
Zelensky warns Trump ‘Putin is bluffing' ahead of Alaska summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday sent a warning to President Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'bluffing' about being open to peace, ahead of a high-stakes summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders in Alaska set for Friday. Zelensky made his remarks alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in remarks following a video conference call with Trump and other European leaders. They said the call was aimed at setting 'the course for this meeting in the right way.' Trump has floated 'land swaps' between Russia and Ukraine as a path to peace, a possibility that Zelensky has resisted, drawing the U.S. president's ire. 'I stress that any questions concerning our country's territorial integrity cannot be discussed without regard for our people, for the will of our people and the Ukrainian constitution,' Zelensky said Wednesday. Merz said Ukraine is willing to discuss territorial questions, but only if a ceasefire is implemented on the current frontline, throwing cold water on reported Russian demands for Ukrainian withdrawals as a condition to halt the fighting. The two leaders spoke to reporters in Berlin. A translation of their remarks was provided by Sky News. Zelensky said he told Trump to expect Putin to downplay the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy and its military as a way to deter additional penalties. Trump has held off imposing additional sanctions on Russia and blew past a deadline last week to impose sanctions, instead announcing the face-to-face with Putin. 'In reality, the sanctions are very effective, and they're hurting the Russian military economy,' Zelensky said. Merz said that Zelensky and European leaders made 'clear' to Trump that a ceasefire along the current frontlines 'needs to be the starting point' for broader peace talks. Merz said there will be no discussion of legal recognition of Russian-occupied territory, rejecting another major pillar of Moscow's demands. Russia occupies an estimated 20 percent of Ukrainian territory but lays claim to four areas it only partially controls. Putin is reportedly calling for Ukraine to retreat from territory in the Donbas region that is not occupied by Russia. Zelensky said the leaders 'briefly talked about' security guarantees for Ukraine and emphasized that Russia should not be given a veto to block Ukraine from joining NATO, another red line for Moscow. Merz added that Trump 'largely' shares these positions. 'So if in Alaska there's no movement on the Russian side, then the US and the Europeans need to increase the pressure. President Trump knows this position. He shares them largely so I can say we've had a very good, constructive talk,' he said.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: European leaders to speak with Trump ahead of Friday summit with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Berlin Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and virtual meetings with other European and U.S. leaders ahead of the Friday summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. European and Ukrainian leaders want to be heard before Trump sees Putin in Alaska, where they've been left out. Zelenskyy is due to meet with the Europeans first and then have a call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour later. Leaders of the 'coalition of the willing' — the nations that would help police any future peace agreement — will take place last. Zelenskyy says he told Trump: 'Putin is bluffing' 'I told the President of the United States and all our European colleagues, 'Putin is bluffing,'' the Ukrainian president said. 'Russia is trying to portray itself as capable of occupying the whole of Ukraine. This is undoubtedly their desire. Putin is also bluffing, pretending that sanctions are not important to him and that they are not working. In reality, the sanctions are very helpful and are hitting the Russian military economy hard,' Zelensky said. 'Yes, it is true that Russia has several times more weapons, including three times more artillery. But Russia also has three times more losses. And that is a fact.' 'I told my colleagues and the President of the United States of America, our European friends, that Putin definitely does not want peace. He wants to occupy our country, and we all understand that very well. Putin cannot fool anyone,' Zelenskyy said. Putin talked with North Korean leader ahead of Trump summit They talked by phone, with Putin and Kim Jong Un discussing their deepening ties and war efforts against Ukraine ahead of Putin's meeting with Trump in Alaska, according to their state news agencies. Putin also shared with Kim information about his talks with Trump scheduled for Friday in Alaska, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin. According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last fall and also supplied large quantities of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, in support of Putin's war efforts against Ukraine. Kim has also agreed to send thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region, a deployment South Korean intelligence believes could happen soon. German leader: 'There is hope for peace in Ukraine' Merz said that 'we wished President Trump the very best' ahead of his summit with Putin. 'There is hope of movement' toward peace in Ukraine, Merz said, but 'if there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and the Europeans should and must increase the pressure' on Moscow. He added: 'President Trump knows this position and he shares it to a very large extent.' Merz also said that Ukraine 'is prepared for negotiations on territorial questions,' but that a legal recognition of Russian occupation 'is not up for debate,' and that negotiations must also include 'robust security guarantees for Kyiv.' The Ukrainian military must be in a position to defend the country's sovereignty effectively, he said. French and German leaders say they pressed Trump to include Zelenskyy Macron said Trump is going to 'seek a future trilateral meeting' involving Zelenskyy as well as Trump and Putin. 'I think that's a very important point in this regard. And we hope that it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties,' Macron said. Merz stressed that the issue of a ceasefire must come at the beginning of the negotiations, adding: 'President Trump also wants to make this one of his priorities in the meeting on Friday with President Putin, and I very much hope that there is a corresponding agreement.' 'So far, all talks that have been conducted with Putin in the past 3 ½ years have been accompanied by an even harder military answer,' Merz said. 'It must be different this time, otherwise talks that are held are not credible and not successful.' Trump, Europeans and Zelenskyy discuss ceasefire aim ahead of Putin summit German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says European leaders and the Ukrainian president had a 'constructive and good' discussion with Trump on Wednesday. Merz, speaking alongside Zelenskyy, said after the videoconference that 'important decisions' could be made in Anchorage on Friday, and stressed that 'fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected.' French President Emmanuel Macron says Trump was very clear that the U.S. wants to achieve a ceasefire at the meeting in Alaska. Merz said a ceasefire must be the priority. He said Trump said he wants to make a ceasefire one of his priorities. Miami's Freedom Tower, the 'Ellis Island of the South,' is reopening The building where 400,000 Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro's revolution relied on federal services provided at a cost of $6 billion in today's dollars is reopening next month as a museum that explores the meaning of migration, freedom and homeland. It comes at a sensitive moment — Cuban Americans voted overwhelmingly for Trump, but the president's crackdown on migrants — including Cubans — is increasingly viewed as a betrayal. Protests against Trump have gathered outside the tower. Museum organizers tiptoe around present-day politics. In Miami, 70% speak Spanish as their first language, and compassion for migrants runs deep. Internal Bureau of Labor Statistics emails obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act after Trump fired Commissioner Erika McEntarfer suggest an agency with little of the corrupting partisanship Trump had claimed when he called the report 'phony' and 'rigged.' After the commissioner's firing, BLS employees talked about the importance of accurate numbers and professional integrity in producing data foundational for measuring the economy and holding elected officials accountable. 'Our data moves markets because it is some of the most timely and accurate information on economic conditions that businesses and policymakers have,' McEntarfer wrote to the staff. 'BLS data impacts the decisions of the Fed, the President, Congress, and millions of businesses and households. The work of this agency is vital to the US economy.' Zelenskyy and other European leaders to speak with Trump ahead of his Friday summit with Putin Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday arrived in Berlin for talks with the German chancellor and virtual meetings with President Trump and other European leaders ahead of Friday's planned summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has convened the virtual meetings in an attempt to make sure European and Ukraine's leaders are heard ahead of the summit in Alaska, where Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy and the Europeans have been sidelined from that summit. German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said the intention of Wednesday's meetings was to 'make clear the position of the Europeans.' Protests being organized for Trump-Putin summit The group Stand Up Alaska is organizing rallies on Thursday and Friday in the state, where sentiment toward Russia has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostock a letter expressing concern. Dimitry Shein, who ran unsuccessfully for Alaska's lone seat in the U.S. House in 2018, fled from the Soviet Union to Anchorage with his mother in the early 1990s. He expressed dismay that Trump has grown increasingly authoritarian. Russia and the U.S. 'are just starting to look more and more alike,' he said. ▶ Read more about Alaska's history with Russia Trump's evolving rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin Candidate Trump repeatedly said he could end the war in Ukraine 'in 24 hours.' But since President Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics among Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The summit between Trump and Putin set for Friday in Alaska could now be a pivotal moment in the 3 1/2-year-old war. 'At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,' Trump said Monday. ▶ Read more about what Trump has said about Zelenskyy and Putin. National Guard awaits assignments in DC The troops reported for duty on Tuesday, ramping up after the White House ordered federal forces to take over the city's police department and reduce crime in what the president called — without substantiation — a lawless city. The law lets Trump control the police department for a month. How aggressive the federal presence will be remains unclear. An Army spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely describe ongoing operations said Tuesday that, so far, what troops have been told 'clearly and distinctly' is that they will be in a support role to law enforcement. What form that support will take remains to be determined. The Army spokesperson also said that since mobilizing up to 800 National Guard troops could take until week's end, their assignments may not be known until week. White House orders review of Smithsonian exhibits Ahead of the country's 250th birthday, the White House is seeking to ensure that the content in the nation's preeminent museums aligns with Trump's interpretation of American history. The examination will look at all public-facing content, such as social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to 'assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.' US national debt reaches record $37 trillion The national debt eclipsed this new milestone years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office's January 2020 projections predicted the U.S. reaching the milestone after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the U.S. economy and the Trump and Biden administrations borrowed heavily to stabilize the national economy. And according to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump might make an announcement of his own, too. The center said in a statement that 'our beautiful building will undergo renovations to restore its prestige and grandeur' and credited Trump's advocacy. Trump complained during a March visit that the building is in a state of 'tremendous disrepair.'
Epoch Times
an hour ago
- Epoch Times
AfD Tops Poll as Germany's Most Popular Political Party
Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the most popular party in the country, according to a poll released on Aug. 12. The poll, conducted by the Forsa Institute for Social Research and Statistical Analysis on behalf of RTL Deutschland, showed that 26 percent of Germans would vote for the AfD. The AfD, an anti-mass immigration party, came second in Germany's national parliamentary elections, earning nearly 21 percent of the vote. The new polling puts the right-wing party ahead of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's mainstream conservative bloc, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The CDU/CSU slid to 24 percent, its worst result since the 2021 federal election. Germany's manufacturing sector, the largest in Europe, has had two years of contraction and is expected to broadly stagnate in 2025, according to an EU Commission macroeconomic forecast. Only 14 percent of poll respondents said they expected the economic situation to improve, while 62 percent anticipated a deterioration, which it said was 'the highest pessimism level' of the current year. Germany is also struggling with the loss of affordable Russian gas, historic Volkswagen plant closures, and fierce competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles. The country has gone through a major population change, with its net population increasing by more than 3.5 million between 2014 and 2024, driven entirely by migration. During this period, the number of German citizens fell by 2 million to 71.6 million, while the foreign population grew to 13.1 million from around 7.5 million, Statistics Office data showed. In 2015, under Chancellor Angela Merkel, more than 1 million refugees, many of them from Syria, as well as Afghans and Iraqis, arrived in Germany. One hundred days after Merz's election as chancellor, his approval ratings have fallen to a record low, with 67 percent 'dissatisfied' with his work. The poll said that 'dissatisfaction' is particularly pronounced among supporters of the AfD, at 95 percent. In February's general election, Merz fell short of forming a majority government, as is often the case in German politics, and, after lengthy negotiations, formed a coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). At the time, Merz ruled out the party forming a government with the AfD. Forty-three percent of respondents said they expected the CDU/CSU/SPD coalition to end early. AfD's policies include strong support for traditional marriage between a man and woman, the preservation of national independence in the face of the European Union's increasing power, the preservation of German culture amid 'European integration' and Islamization, and border security, including the expulsion of illegal immigrants. Last year, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk deepened his support for the party, defending it against accusations of extremism and championing its policies as the nation's best path forward during challenging times. Robin Brooks, a senior fellow in the global economy and development program at the Brookings Institution, said in an Aug. 13 X post that 'Germany is in real trouble.' 'Its political center refuses to confront immigration, which is the issue driving relentless AfD growth. Instead, the political center name-calls AfD voters. Dereliction of duty,' he said. Despite gaining considerable proportions of the vote, populist parties such as the AfD in Europe are frozen out of governing in coalitions by political opponents who regard them as extremist. In Austria, conservatives, Social Democrats, and liberals formed a coalition in March to block the anti-immigration and euro-skeptic Freedom Party from taking power, even after it won an electoral victory with 29 percent of the vote in September 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron on June 9, 2024, called a surprise snap parliamentary election following his centrist Renaissance party's poor performance in European Parliament elections, when the populist and nationalist party National Rally (RN) performed very strongly. RN has increased its voter share ahead of the French presidential elections, which are scheduled to be held in or about April 2027, and recently polled at 35 percent.
