Protesters revile
Macron policies
PARIS — Thousands of protesters marched under tight security in eastern Paris on Saturday after French labor unions, left-wing political parties and civil rights groups called for “floods of people” to oppose the economic policies of President Emmanuel Macron.
Marches and rallies also were being held in dozens of other French cities as part of the joint action against Macron’s policies that organizers consider pro-business and “brutal.”
More than 1,500 police officers were mobilized in the French capital to prevent activists not associated with the official protest from disrupting the march and causing damage, which has happened during recent demonstrations.
Police said they detained 35 people in Paris before and after the march started.
Unions, opposition parties and other groups are particularly denouncing a Macron-led legal overhaul aimed at cutting worker protections and increasing police powers.
Putin, Abe seek fix in islands dispute
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in Moscow on Saturday for talks intended to resolve a dispute over four Pacific islands and eventually lead to the signing of a peace treaty.
Abe has been pushing for a way forward in the dispute that centers on the four most southern of the Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
The Soviet Union took the islands in World War II. The dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities.
Japan wants to implement joint business projects on the islands to gain momentum to resolve the dispute.
“The Japanese and the Russians will be able to reap the fruits of the joint work on the islands,” Abe said. “If we cooperate, we can achieve great results that bring mutual benefit.”
China urges united fight on terrorism
BEIJING — China’s top anti-terrorism official has called for closer international cooperation against terrorism along with a ramping up of already overwhelming counterterrorism measures at home.
State media quoted State Councilor Zhao Kezhi telling officials at a national teleconference Friday that more needs to be done to improve intelligence gathering and anti-infiltration measures.
“It’s necessary to comprehensively implement measures to address the root cause and improve anti-terrorism work system,” the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhao as saying.
China’s international counterterrorism efforts have focused on Central Asia, which borders on its restive northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Islamic militants have killed hundreds in recent years.
China has imposed stifling security in Xinjiang, employing armed force as well as high-technology measures such as facial recognition and big data to identify potential threats.