Latest news with #Socialist
eNCA
18 hours ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Homeless seek refuge at Madrid airport as rents soar
MADRID - Around 421 people were sleeping rough at Madrid's airport in March, a survey by a Catholic charity group counted. Most were men, half had been sleeping at the airport for over six months and 38 percent said they had a job. Nearly all of them would leave the airport during the day. The issue has exposed deep divisions among the institutions tasked with addressing homelessness. City and regional governments in Madrid have clashed with Aena, which operates under the control of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist administration. "Primary social care is the responsibility of the local government," Aena said in a statement, adding the city must fulfil its "legal duty to care for vulnerable populations". Madrid's conservative Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida fired back, arguing that the central government controls Aena and "what's happening depends on several ministries". The city insists that most of those sleeping in the airport are foreigners who should fall under Spain's international protection system. Despite the finger-pointing, both sides have agreed to hire a consultancy to count and profile those sleeping at the airport. The study results are expected by the end of June. Those who call Barajas home say the increased scrutiny in Europe's fifth busiest airport is unwelcome.
LeMonde
21 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Captain Alfred Dreyfus is up for posthumous promotion
Two bills, one shared goal. On Monday, June 2, France's Assemblée Nationale will review a bill put forward by former prime minister Gabriel Attal to posthumously promote Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general. The head of the Socialist senators, Patrick Kanner, has meanwhile submitted an identical bill in the other chamber of Parliament. The symbolic bills come 90 years after the death of the French artillery officer's death. The bill's main objective is to correct a mistake. In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer, was wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, off the coast of French Guiana, for espionage. He spent more than four years there before his innocence was restored by the highest court of appeals in 1906. Yet there was still an injustice: Dreyfus rejoined the army at a lower rank than he would have achieved had he not spent years in prison. "The Dreyfus affair is absolutely foundational in France's history. Addressing a point of this affair that remains unresolved is fundamental for the Republic," said Charles Sitzenstuhl, the bill's rapporteur, and lawmaker for President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party.
Local Spain
3 days ago
- Politics
- Local Spain
Barcelona ends 'friendship agreement' with Tel Aviv over Gaza war
The motion, supported by the governing Socialist party along with far-left and leftist pro-independence groups, calls for an end to all official relations with Israel "until respect for international law" and the "basic rights of the Palestinian people" are restored. Barcelona will also suspend a 1998 friendship agreement with Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and it urged the trade fair organiser Fira de Barcelona not to host Israeli government pavilions or companies involved in the arms trade or profiting from the conflict in Gaza. A similar recommendation was made to the Port of Barcelona. "The suffering and death in Gaza over the past year and a half, and recent attacks by the Israeli government, make any relationship unviable," Barcelona's Mayor Jaume Collboni said during the council session. It is not the first time Barcelona has moved to suspend ties with Israel. In 2023, then-mayor Ada Colau took similar steps, which were later reversed when Collboni won local elections. While the move has little practical impact, the decision by Spain's second-largest city -- a top tourist destination and home to one of the world's best-known football clubs -- adds to a growing list of critics of Israel's devastating war in Gaza. Barcelona's move comes a year after Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised a Palestinian state in a coordinated decision slammed by Israel. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is one of the most outspoken critics in the European Union of Israel's military operations in Gaza.
Shafaq News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Barcelona cuts ties with Israel over Gaza massacres
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Barcelona's city council voted to sever institutional relations with the Israeli government and suspend its friendship agreement with the city of Tel Aviv 'until international law is respected and the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are guaranteed.' The decision, which includes around twenty measures, was supported by the ruling Socialist Party in Barcelona, several left-wing parties, and pro-independence groups. It calls for cutting institutional ties with the 'current Israeli government' and suspending the friendship pact signed on September 24, 1998, between Barcelona and Tel Aviv. Barcelona's Socialist mayor, Jaume Collboni, said the 'level of suffering and death witnessed in Gaza over the past year and a half, along with repeated Israeli government attacks in recent weeks, makes any relationship between the two cities unsustainable.' Among other measures included in the decision, some beyond the municipality's authority, the city council called on the board of the Barcelona trade fair to bar Israeli government pavilions, 'arms companies, or any sector benefiting from genocide, occupation, apartheid, and colonialism against the Palestinian people.' A similar recommendation is under consideration for the Port of Barcelona, advising it not to receive ships involved in transporting arms to Israel. It is not the first time Barcelona has suspended ties with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. In February 2023, former mayor and social activist Ada Colau also decided to suspend relations with Israel and cancel twinning agreements with Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged all European Union member states to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and impose an arms embargo on Israel. 'It is unacceptable to remain silent in the face of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and the killing of more than 50,000 people,' Sánchez said, stressing that there must be no 'double standards' between Ukraine and Gaza. Spain, which recognized the State of Palestine a year ago, renewed its call for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and the urgent entry of humanitarian aid.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
'No-Kids' Holiday Venue? Think Again, Says France
The French government is mulling measures to clamp down on adult-only hotels and restaurants, with a top official warning that hospitality venues excluding children in a so-called "no kids" strategy were dividing society. While Paris is considered one of the most child-friendly cities in the world, more and more venues in France have been shunning children in an effort to shield customers from kids' unpredictable behaviour and noise. The government on Tuesday held a roundtable meeting with key industry players to discuss a trend that France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, has said should end. Socialist senator Laurence Rossignol has introduced a bill that would make it illegal to ban children from venues in France. "Children are not a nuisance," said Rossignol, adding that the bill is aimed at promoting "a society that is open to children". "We cannot accept that some people decide they no longer want to tolerate a particular section of the population, in this case children," she told AFP. El Hairy said excluding children was infringing on their rights, putting pressure on their parents and dividing society. "There is a growing intolerance, and we must not allow it to take hold," El Hairy told broadcaster RTL. "We are pushing children and families out, and in a way, this is real violence," she added. "It's not in our culture, it's not our philosophy, and it's not what we want to see as the norm in our country." On Tuesday, she brought together representatives of the tourism and transport industries, including Airbnb, to discuss the "no-kids" trend. In France, adult-only services are currently limited. According to estimates from a travel industry union, they represented around three percent of the market in 2024. Questions about children's place in society have been at the forefront of the public debate in France in recent years. The French Federation of Nurseries has repeatedly called on lawmakers to ensure children's right "to make noise". In the spring of 2024, a report submitted to President Emmanuel Macron said authorities needed to create alternatives to help children reduce the amount of screen time and "give them back their rightful place, including their right to be noisy". A few months later, the government's High Council for Family, Children and Age (HCFEA) warned about the lack of spaces for children, pointing to the "harmful consequences for their physical and mental health". Rossignol praised El Hairy's initiative to gather together tourism and transport executives, but said more needed to be done. "Now we need to go further," she said. "The president's camp must put this issue on the parliamentary agenda."
