Syria, MeToo, Vikings: Your Monday Briefing
An apparent chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of Syrians and sickened hundreds in Douma, the rebel-held Damascus suburb, increased international tensions and raised the possibility of a U.S. missile strike. Above, a video image of toddlers being treated.
President Trump, on Twitter, directly blamed both President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Iran for backing the Syrian regime of “Animal Assad.” U.S. security officials said a strike had not been ruled out. Russia and Iran claimed the reported attack was bogus.
The attack — and Mr. Trump’s hint at retaliation — came days after he pledged to quickly withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, highlighting the political and military risks of a war Mr. Trump has long wanted to leave.
Meanwhile, North Korea has told the U.S. that its leader, Kim Jong-un, is willing to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the first direct confirmation that Mr. Kim intends to participate in an unprecedented meeting with President Trump expected to take place next month
Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary won a sweeping electoral victory on Sunday that will give him the power to change the Constitution and further erode Hungary’s democracy.
The results alarmed Western governments that had watched as Mr. Orban, above, transformed the European Union country into a semi-autocracy rife with crony capitalism and far-right rhetoric.
His campaign cast him as a nationalist shield against migrants and Brussels, and his win is likely to embolden other European far-right leaders. Mr. Orban’s victory also poses a major test for the E.U., which provides Hungary with billions of dollars in funding but has been unable to thwart its retreat from the bloc’s liberal values.
Germany is on heightened alert after the authorities detained six men suspected of plotting a possible attack on the Berlin half-marathon, a day after a truck attack in the western city of Münster killed two people and injured 20. Above, a vigil for the victims in Münster.
The authorities said the truck driver, who killed himself after plowing into crowded sidewalk tables, was a mentally ill German citizen with no apparent links to Islamic terrorism. Still the crash raised fears of further violence in a country that has endured a series of extremist attacks.
The police would not comment on reports that the men of plotting an attack on the Berlin race were linked to Anis Amri, the Tunisian man who drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, or whether the group had planned to use knives.
London is confronting a wave of murders and knife attacks, including five stabbings in 90 minutes on Thursday, that have prompted alarm and political recriminations. The surge in violent crime has largely targeted teenagers and minorities.
The city’s police force has deployed 300 additional officers to tackle the problem, which has been blamed on drug gangs, budget cuts and disputes fueled by social media. But politicians debate whether an increased police presence is enough to lower what some fear will be the highest rate of violence in more than a decade.
Above, the police investigating the scene of a murder in London last week.
The #MeToo movement hit the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, after three members quit and a fourth threatened to leave in the wake of abuse accusations against a cultural figure with close ties to the institution.
The crisis stemmed from sexual assault and harassment accusations by 18 women against Jean-Claude Arnault, who owns an influential private club funded by the academy.
The departures have raised questions about the inner workings of the group, whose members are elected for life, and garnered criticism for enabling abuse by powerful allies.
Above, Peter Englund, one of the academy members who quit, in Stockholm in 2014.
Source:-https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/briefing/syria-metoo-vikings.html
