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Nike latest brand to leave Russia permanently

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Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, Nike is the most recent Western company to announce plans to depart Russia. In March, the US sportswear juggernaut stopped accepting online orders and shut its local stores.

Local partners’ stores continued to be open, but the company is ending their contracts with them. Networking behemoth Cisco recently announced that it would begin to completely cease operations in Belarus and Russia. McDonald’s and Starbucks are two additional businesses that have recently finalised their exit strategies.

Nike issued a statement saying, “Nike has decided to exit the Russian market.” As we sensibly reduce our activities over the upcoming months, our first focus is to make sure we are adequately supporting our staff. Since the invasion, as the West and its allies have imposed sanctions and multinational corporations have fled the country, Russia has become more and more economically isolated.

According to Reuters, the nation is currently working on legislation that would punish foreign corporations looking to leave, enabling the government to take their assets and apply criminal penalties.

According to its website, Nike has more than 50 stores in Russia, with nearly a third of them being closed. Russian media claimed in May that the firm was terminating its contract with its biggest franchisee in that country, who was in charge of 37 locations.

Russia and Ukraine collectively contributed less than 1% of Nike’s total revenue, as previously revealed. On Thursday, Cisco announced that it had “decided to start an orderly wind-down of our business in Russia and Belarus.”A few hundred employees will be impacted by this choice, the US company stated, adding that it wanted to make sure they are “treated with dignity.”

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At the Brussels conference, EU leaders will support Ukraine as a candidate

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At a session in Brussels on Thursday, the European Commission is expected to accept Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the EU. Days after the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine submitted an application, and the procedure has since advanced at a record pace. According to its envoy to the EU, it would provide Ukrainians a psychological lift.

However, Vsevolod Chentsov acknowledged that “true integration” couldn’t begin until the conflict was done. The first official step toward EU membership is candidate status, and France stated last week that there was “complete accord” on Ukraine. However, joining can take a long time, and success is not guaranteed.

Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia are Western Balkan nations that have been candidate nations for years—in some cases, for more than a decade. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted a candidacy application in 2016, but has yet to be accepted.

Edi Rama, the prime minister of Albania, said it was good that Ukraine was granted candidate status as he arrived for an EU summit with Western Balkan leaders, but Kyiv should not be deceived: “North Macedonia is a candidate [for] 17 years if I have not lost count, Albania eight, so welcome to Ukraine.” Although it is not anticipated, several member states are lobbying for Bosnia to receive candidate status.

In exchange for prerequisites being met before accession talks can start, including as judicial and anti-corruption reforms, some EU member states have agreed to support Ukraine’s candidacy.

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Grenoble loses judicial battle to enforce French burkini ban

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The city of Grenoble’s appeal was denied, and France’s highest administrative court upheld the ban on full-body “burkini” swimsuits in public pools. The city of Grenoble legalised all swimwear, including burkinis, last month, setting off a legal dispute with the federal government.

Muslim women typically wear burkinis to protect their modesty and their religion. However, the court ruled that “selected deviations to the regulations to satisfy religious demands” could not be permitted. After a local court in Grenoble delayed the ban on the grounds that it gravely harmed the principle of neutrality in public services, the dispute ultimately reached the Council of State.

Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, added his voice to the discussion, calling the policy a “unacceptable provocation” that went against French secular ideals. The subject of religious expression in public spaces is contentious in France, where there are severe regulations regarding what swimming costumes can be worn. It is also recommended that burkinis be prohibited from public pools for hygienic reasons. Another restriction that Grenoble wanted to change by allowing longer swimming shorts was the requirement for men to wear tight-fitting swimming trunks.

The burkini has been opposed in France since at least 2016, when numerous local governments tried to restrict it on beaches for violating the nation’s tight division between religion and the state.

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France elections: Macron rejects prime minister’s offer to resign

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President Emmanuel Macron has turned down the prime minister’s offer to resign, stating instead that the government must “remain on track and act.” After Mr Macron’s alliance lost its majority on Sunday, Elisabeth Borne was chastised by some observers. Her future appeared to be jeopardised as a result of the election, which forced the president to seek backing from competitors.

On Tuesday, he will meet with his political opponents for a rare meeting. However, neither Marine Le Pen’s far-right nor Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s left-green alliance want to collaborate with Mr Macron’s centrist government, which is 44 seats short of a majority and desperate to prevent parliamentary stagnation.

Ms Borne formally offered to retire on Tuesday morning, according to the Élysée palace, and sent a letter to President Macron, who declined.

Mr Macron turned down the offer “so that the cabinet can stay on track and act,” according to the Élysée Palace, adding that he would seek “constructive solutions” to the impasse that threatens his programme in his second term.

Following parliamentary elections, it is traditional for the French prime minister to propose to resign. Frequently, the president will simply re-appoint the same person in order to begin the process of forming a new government.

This time, though, the situation is different, as Mr. Macron has told Ms. Borne that she can stay in office with the same cabinet without resigning.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday and Wednesday, party representatives will meet in the Élysée Palace for high-level negotiations.

According to analysts, the president may be considering a compromise with right-wing Republicans. Christian Jacob, the party’s head, has announced that he will attend the talks.

However, in the run-up to the negotiations, Mr Jacob lashed out at Mr Macron in an interview with France Inter radio, dimming the chances of a settlement. “He was the one who was arrogant, and now he’s asking for help,” he explained.

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Some Russians’ songs will be banned in Ukraine’s media and public venues

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The Ukrainian parliament has approved a ban on some Russian music in the media and public venues. The prohibition will not apply to all Russian music; rather, it will apply to music made or performed by Russian residents or those who lived in Russia after 1991.

Artists who have spoken out against Russia’s war in Ukraine may be excluded from the ban. The Act also makes it illegal to import books from Russia and Belarus. Many people in eastern and southern Ukraine have long felt a deep bond with Russia, and many of them speak Russian as their first tongue.

However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many Ukrainians have expressed a desire to distance themselves from Russian culture.

Some Russian music is prohibited from being aired or performed on television, radio, schools, public transportation, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, and other public venues, according to a measure voted by MPs on Sunday. It received 303 of the 450 lawmakers in the Ukrainian parliament’s approval.

According to BBC Monitoring, the paper claims that the ban will “minimise the risks of possible hostile propaganda through music in Ukraine” and “raise the volume of national music products in the cultural arena.” Except for individuals who are Ukrainian nationals or were at the time of their death, the prohibition will apply to musicians who have or had Russian citizenship at any time after 1991, the year Ukraine declared independence.

By submitting an application to Ukraine’s security service, Russian artists who oppose the war in Ukraine might request an exemption for their songs. According to the BBC’s Ukrainian Service, they must affirm that they support Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity, call on Russia to immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine, and promise not to take any actions that contradict these written remarks.

According to Ukraine’s official broadcaster (Suspilne), the document also includes legislation to boost the share of Ukrainian music aired on the radio to 40% and to expand the use of Ukrainian in daily programmes to 75%.In a bill that runs concurrently with the one regulating music, books imported from Russia, Belarus, and the occupied Ukrainian territory, as well as Russian-language material imported from other nations, will be prohibited.

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The conflict in Ukraine might drag on for years: Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

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According to Nato’s head, the West must prepare to continue assisting Ukraine in a long-term conflict. The cost of conflict, according to Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, is enormous, but the cost of allowing Moscow to achieve its military objectives is much higher.

His remarks came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned that a longer-term confrontation was inevitable. Both Mr. Stoltenberg and Mr. Johnson stated that supplying more weapons would increase the likelihood of a Ukrainian victory.

“We must plan for the possibility that it will take years. We must not abandon our support for Ukraine “In an interview with the German tabloid Bild, the Nato head stated. “Even if the expenses are significant, not only in terms of military support, but also in terms of growing energy and food expenditures.” According to the head of the Western military alliance, providing Ukraine with more modern weapons will improve its chances of liberating the country’s eastern Donbas region, which is now under Russian control.

Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for control of territory in Ukraine’s east for several months, with Moscow making gradual progress in recent weeks.

Boris Johnson, writing in the Sunday Times, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of engaging in a “war of attrition” and “seeking to crush Ukraine down by pure cruelty.”

He wrote, “I’m afraid we’ll have to brace ourselves for a protracted conflict.” “The most important factor is time. Everything hinges on Ukraine’s ability to improve its defence capabilities faster than Russia’s ability to renew its offensive capabilities.” The prime minister, who visited Ukraine’s capital on Friday, warned that supplies of weaponry, equipment, ammunition, and training to Kyiv needed to keep up with Moscow’s rearmament operations.

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French screen icon Jean-Louis Trintignant dies aged 91

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Jean-Louis Trintignant, a well-known French actor who appeared in over 100 films, has died at the age of 91. Three Colors: Red, Z, The Conformist, and Amour – which won an Oscar and the Palme d’Or – starred Trintignant.

In 2003, after his daughter Marie was battered to death by her rock star boyfriend, the celebrity received widespread popular sympathy in France. His wife informed the AFP news agency that he died early Friday in the southern Gard region “surrounded by loved ones.”

Trintignant, who was born on December 11, 1930, grew up in the midst of the horrors of World War Two and was sent as a young conscript to Algeria, then a French territory.

Trintignant’s difficult childhood was supposed to explain his willingness to excel in difficult characters, such as thugs and criminals, during the course of a career that spanned more than six decades.

His first notable film role was alongside Brigitte Bardot, with whom he apparently had a brief and highly publicised romance while filming the 1956 romantic comedy And God Created Woman.

Trintignant was known for shunning the spotlight, stating in one of his final interviews with the French newspaper Nice-Matin that stardom “didn’t interest” him.

He was able to put his enthusiasm for motor racing to bear, most memorably as a driver in the 1966 film A Man and a Woman.

The death of Trintignant’s actress daughter Marie in 2003, as well as her musician boyfriend Bertrand Cantat’s murder conviction, shocked France, and Trintignant was seen sobbing at her funeral.

Trintignant had previously lost another child, Pauline, as a baby. A cancer-stricken Trintignant made his final appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 after a career that spanned more than six decades and included attempts at directing.

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Ukraine moves step closer to EU membership

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Ukraine’s attempt to join the European Union has been boosted significantly by a proposal that it be granted candidate status. However, the European Commission has stated that the government needs reform in areas such as the rule of law, oligarchs, human rights, and corruption. Ukrainians have demonstrated that they are “willing to die” for their European dreams, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The group cautioned that the country needed to make reforms in the areas of the rule of law, oligarchs, human rights, and corruption. It comes after four European politicians visited Kyiv on Thursday and publicly backed Ukraine’s membership bid. Ukraine also claims that Russia is preparing an assault on the eastern city of Slovyansk, as battle for control of Severodonetsk continues.

“Europe can construct a new history of freedom precisely because of the bravery of the Ukrainians,” Mr Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, “and ultimately remove the grey zone in Eastern Europe between the EU and Russia.” “Ukraine has gotten closer to the EU than at any other moment since independence,” he remarked, hinting at “positive news” on the way.

Ukraine would be the EU’s largest country by area and fifth most populous if entered. All three candidates are significantly poorer than any existing EU member, with per capita income roughly half that of Bulgaria, the poorest.

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Germany accuses Russian gas giant Gazprom of inflating energy prices.

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Germany has accused Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, of seeking to raise energy prices by drastically cutting supplies. Gazprom said it will limit gas exports to Germany to less than 70 million cubic metres per day, which is less than half the current rate.

It cited the need to service equipment in the Nord Stream pipeline as the reason. However, Germany’s economy minister, Robert Habeck, stated that it was a “political choice” rather than a technical one. “Clearly, it’s a plan to agitate the market and drive up prices.” On Tuesday, Gazprom said that the Nord Stream 1 gas flow would be reduced from 167 million to 100 million cubic metres per day, but on Wednesday, it was further reduced to 67 million cubic metres per day.

According to energy firm ENI, Gazprom cut its gas supplies to Italy by roughly 15% on Wednesday. Italy, like Germany, is significantly reliant on Russian gas, with 40 percent of its imports coming from Russia.

The action comes just two weeks after European Union leaders agreed to halt most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 as retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

After refusing a demand that “unfriendly countries” pay in Russian roubles, Russian natural gas supply to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands were already halted.

The payment demand was interpreted as an attempt by Russia to bolster the rouble after it was battered by Western sanctions. Demand for roubles was projected to rise as foreign exchange demand increased, pushing up the currency’s value.

Mr. Habeck stated that Russia’s actions demonstrated that European countries must urgently eliminate their reliance on fossil fuels. Germany halted the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in February, just as Russia began its conflict in Ukraine. The minister said he would wait to see how the decision affected the European and German gas markets, but that suppliers had always been able to get gas elsewhere.

He added, “We don’t have a supply problem in Germany either.” “Gas will almost certainly be kept indefinitely.” In the last several days and weeks, we’ve made significant progress in this area.

“However, we’ll have to wait at least two or three days to obtain a complete picture of how things are progressing right now.”

On Wednesday, the EU and Israel and Egypt inked a framework deal aimed at increasing the amount of Israeli natural gas delivered to European countries.

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EU has taken new legal action against the United Kingdom over revisions to the post-Brexit accord

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The EU has threatened the UK government with additional legal action over its plans to cancel elements of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal. On Monday, ministers unveiled a bill aimed at unilaterally altering trade, tax, and governance structures in the 2020 agreement.

Both sides agreed to the pact, but the United Kingdom claims it has disrupted trade and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. However, the EU claims that overriding aspects of the agreement would violate international law.

“There is no legal or political rationale whatsoever for unilaterally amending an agreement,” stated Maros Sefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission.

Mr Sefcovic stated, “Let’s call a spade a spade, this is illegal,” adding that the UK’s decision “left us with no alternative” but to pursue legal action. The Northern Ireland Protocol is a specific agreement that allows Northern Ireland to remain in the EU’s single market for goods while also avoiding a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. The agreement insured that free trade could continue across the Irish land border, which is a sensitive topic given Northern Ireland’s history of war.

The European Commission said it would resume legal proceedings against the United Kingdom for delaying checks on some products arriving in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, which had been paused since March 2021.

The Commission has opened two fresh investigations into allegations that the UK failed to meet its responsibilities to share trade data and establish border inspection stations. These legal actions may result in a fine being imposed on the United Kingdom as part of a dispute resolution process overseen by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).The UK government has stated that it would prefer to work with the EU on revisions rather than acting unilaterally to repeal portions of the treaty.

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