Across Europe, protesters call for solidarity with Greece

Brussels and Amsterdam have joined London, France, Germany and Italy in hosting mass rallies in support of cash-strapped Greece. Demonstrators said the financial sector must take responsibility for the damage it caused.

Deutsche Welle, 21 June 2015

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Brussels on Sunday at the same time as hundreds of similarly minded protestors crowded the streets of Amsterdam, rounding out a weekend of anti-austerity solidarity with Greece that also saw protests in France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The protests come on the eve of an emergency summit where Athens is scheduled to meet with its creditors in a last-ditch attempt to resolve its debt crisis before it's forced to default on its loans.

"This crisis was caused by the financial sector, not by the Greek people," Manolis Glezos, a Greek parliamentarian and World War II resistance hero, told the crowd in Amsterdam.

"It's the financial sector that has to pay, not the Greek people."

Sebastien Franco, the organizer of the Brussels demonstration, which attracted over 3,500 participants, expressed a similar sentiment. "Austerity is not working, it reduces the income of poor people in the name of reimbursement to creditors…who continue to enrich themselves," he told Belgian television.

Athens saw its second anti-austerity rally in the past week on Sunday, calling on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to reject pressure from creditors to accept continued austerity in exchange for bailout funds.

Carrying placards that read "the people will not be blackmailed" and "the country is not for sale," thousands of protesters filled the street in front of parliament.

es/cmk (AFP, Reuters)

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'People have finally had enough': middle England marches against austerity

'Moral duty' to save Mediterranean migrants, says Gauck

The German president has called for more compassion toward migrants in view of Germany's own experiences with forced migration after WWII. He said providing them with sanctuary was 'non-negotiable.'

Deutsche Welle, 20 June 2015

 Refugees on board a ship REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Speaking on Saturday at a ceremony in Berlin to remember victims of displacement, Gauck said he hoped that the memory of German expellees who were forced to flee the country's former eastern territories during and after World War II would deepen understanding for migrants today.

He described how 12 to 14 million Germans lost their homelands by the end of the war, leading to a population increase of 20 percent in the former West and East Germanies.

Gauck pointed out that if Germany had been able to integrate millions of refugees 70 years ago when it was "poor and devastated," it should be able to do more in the present refugee crisis, and even benefit from it.

"Why should a Germany that is economically successful and politically stable not be able to recognize future opportunities in today's challenges?" he asked.

"Let us remember what a great part refugees and forced migrants played in successfully rebuilding Germany," he added.

More European help

He also called on European Union countries to do more to help cope with the current growing wave of refugees coming to Europe.

In view of the huge number of migrants who have died attempting the perilous boat crossing from Africa to Europe over the Mediterranean, Gauck said it was a "moral duty" to save people from drowning.

"We would lose our self-respect if we left people drifting on waters near our continent to cope for themselves," he said, adding that all European states had an obligation to provide people with a safe refuge.

This obligation was "non-negotiable," and lasted until migrants either could return home without danger or had found a place to live in safety either in Germany or elsewhere, he said.

'No easy solutions'

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere also spoke at the ceremony, warning that there were no "easy solutions" to the current migration crisis.

Last year, the German government declared the 20 June to be a day of remembrance for refugees and displaced people, in conjunction with the United Nations' World Refugee Day.

The German day is partly to commemorate the millions of Germans who were forced to flee their homes in several eastern European countries as a result of World War II and seek refuge in Germany and Austria, greatly swelling the populations there.

tj/sgb (AFP, dpa, KNA, epd)

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'People have finally had enough': middle England marches against austerity

Placard-waving protesters from across the country join to make their frustrations known in largest protest against cuts since the Tory election victory

The Guardian, Jamie Doward, Saturday 20 June 2015

Charlotte Church attends an anti-austerity demonstration, along with tens
of thousands of others, in London. Photograph: Zak Kaczmarek/Getty Images

A single fiddle vied with the rumble of drums as a chorus of whistles filled the air. Two police helicopters loomed above the river of placard-carrying protesters that stretched from the Bank of England towards St Pauls.

Marijuana smoke drifted in the early afternoon drizzle as the chants began. Cheers went up when the poster girl of the anti-cuts movement snuck through the crowd to join the front of the march. Clutching an “End Austerity Now” placard, Charlotte Church stood smiling as the good-natured crowd counted down to the start of the largest protest against the cuts since the Tories won the election.

The singer was joined celebrities including Russell Brand and Julie Hesmondhalgh, the actor who played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. Politicians Martin McGuinness and Diane Abbott – one of Labour’s London mayoral hopefuls – also lent their support, along with Unite leader Len McCluskey.

Protesters set fire to placards in central London during a demonstration against
austerity and spending cuts. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Despite the sprinkling of showbiz and political glitter, it was a day when middle England came out to make its voices heard. The march was no urban-led, youthful demonstration. The placards told of long journeys made from the far corners of the country. They came from Shropshire, Suffolk, Chesterfield and Wiltshire. And while many carried banners urged “Defy Tory Rule” and “No Cuts”, there was a wide spectrum of agendas being pursued. “NHS Not Trident” was a popular placard. So too was a call for an end to war. Some signs were heavy on humour. “Heaven knows we’re miserable now” read one placard. “Fuck the fucking fuckers”, in fluorescent pink and yellow, was one that caught the eye.

There were groups opposing fracking and others attacking funding cuts faced by mental health services. Some sought to promote veganism or the rights of migrants. Some wanted a greater say for Cornwall, while others demanded respect for the transgender community. Finance was a major preoccupation. Many demanded an end to tax havens. “We are all Greeks” read one banner. “Banker Wanker” read another. Bottles of wine and cans of lager were passed around. People took selfies as they marched passed some of London’s most famous landmarks pushing buggies and wheelchairs.

Lending her support was Katie, 40, a teacher from Walthamstow, and her three young children, no strangers to anti-austerity protests. “I hope it will make a difference,” she said as thousands of people chanting “no ifs, no buts, no public sector cuts,” streamed past. “People have finally had enough. I’m hopeful that this is the start of something. This is definitely the biggest march I’ve been on.”

A red flare is kicked by a demonstrator as they march to protest against spending
cuts and austerity measures. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Her children looked a little tired. She had promised to take them for lunch somewhere as a treat. So had she any experience of the austerity the crowd was protesting against? “I’ve got less money now than I used to have,” she said. But the real impact, she said, was felt not in her home but at her work. “We’re sending kids home with leftover school dinners because they’re not getting fed at home. If I’ve got some spare kid’s clothes, I’ll bring them in for them. Lots of our teachers bring in breakfast for their pupils.”

Had it always been like this? She shook her head. “Only in the last four years have I noticed it. There’s just less and less support for low income families. Once they would have intervened to help them but not now.”

On the crowd ploughed. Up it went to the Royal Courts of Justice where those carrying banners defending the Human Rights Act gave their loudest cheer. As it passed a particular well-known bank on the Strand a chant went up: “Pay your taxes.” Diners in the restaurants near to Trafalgar Square waved, and Japanese tourists filmed the spectacle on their smart phones. Outside Downing Street the crowd halted to boo. Someone let off a few smoke cannisters. “David Cameron get out, we know what you’re about,” they sang, before marching on to Parliament Square. Along the Embankment fleets of coaches waited to take them back to the shires and market towns.

Dutch call for action on EU-wide ‘equal pay for equal work’

DutchNews.nl, June 19, 2015

The Netherlands is one of seven EU countries to write to the European Commission urging new measures to stop people posted to work in another country from being underpaid and otherwise exploited. 

The letter to employment commissioner Marianne Thyssen has also been signed by Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, Belgium and Luxemburg and calls on Brussels to ensure everyone is entitled to ‘equal pay, for equal work in the same place’. 

Dutch social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher told the Volkskrant eastern European countries are also adding their support to the campaign. ‘They think it is terrible their people are being exploited here or are looked down on,’ Asscher told the paper.

In particular, the signatories want changes to the current regulations on foreign postings, which have created an entire industry based on lower wage expectations and undermining existing pay deals.

‘The abuse of these guidelines… is undermining support for the European ideal,’ the minister said. 

Foreign workers who come to the Netherlands for temporary assignments should be entitled to the same pay and conditions as Dutch workers but this is not always the case, Asscher said. ‘A foreign worker with 10 years’ experience is paid as if he is a starter. That is twisted.’ 

Asscher has repeatedly warned that more needs to be done to stop a ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of ensuring equal pay within the European union. 

Read the letter (English)

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EU approves military mission to tackle migrant smugglers: sources

Yahoo – AFP, Alix Rijckaert, 19 June 2015

EU member states approved plans on Friday to launch as early as next week

 the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean,

sources said (AFP Photo/Jason Florio)

Brussels (AFP) - EU member states approved plans Friday to launch as early as next week the first phase of a military operation against people smugglers in the Mediterranean, sources said.

"Everything is now in place so that EU foreign ministers meeting Monday can approve the launch of the mission," one EU diplomat told AFP.

Other sources said member states have committed to supply enough ships and aircraft to allow the first, intelligence-gathering, phase of the operation to go ahead.

Stung into action by the loss of an estimated 800 migrants when their rickety boat sank off southern Italy, EU leaders agreed at an emergency summit in April to formulate a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem at source.

As well as boosting search and rescue efforts, they called on EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini to draw up military options against the ruthless traffickers exploiting the waves of humanity seeking to get to Europe across the Mediterranean.

The first phase of intelligence gathering is meant to be followed by active intervention to board and disable smuggler vessels and arrest the traffickers.

A third phase would extend these actions into Libyan territorial waters and possibly inside the country itself.

While some EU states such as Britain and France favour moving promptly to Phase 2 and 3, others have serious reservations about direct involvement in a chaotic Libya where rival factions are fighting for control and the internationally-recognised government has fled Tripoli to take up residence in Benghazi.

To meet these reservations, the EU April summit agreed that Phase 2 and 3 would only go ahead if the bloc obtained Libyan consent -- a difficult prospect -- and a UN Security Council resolution.

Russia, one of the five UNSC permanent members, and others "want a clear Libyan consent; we are still working on it," said a senior EU official who asked not to be named.

"We are rather optimistic that in the end there will be a UNSC resolution to go on with the other phases; there is no absolute certitude but there is a very good prospect," the official said.

Newly arrived migrants huddle together as they try to protect themselves from

 the rain while waiting to be registered in Mytilene, Greece, on June 19, 2015

(AFP Photo/Louisa Gouliamaki)

Opposition to sharing burden

Some 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta which all want their EU peers to share more of the burden.

The European Commission has proposed that 40,000 Syrian and Eritrean asylum-seekers who have arrived in Europe should be redistributed and that 20,000 Syrians living in camps outside Europe should be resettled across the 28-nation bloc.

Many member states are prepared to contribute to the humanitarian efforts of search and rescue but are less forthcoming when it comes to taking in more migrants or backing the military option.

Migration is a hugely sensitive issue and far-right and eurosceptic parties have capitalised on public concerns about a massive influx of refugees to make considerable inroads at the expense of established parties.

Earlier this week, EU ministers could not reach agreement on the Commission proposals.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday that member states remained "far from consensus" on how to distribute refugees between them.

"These are difficult discussions we're having at the moment and all my conversations with European colleagues show that we remain far from consensus and that a lot persuasion will still be necessary," he said.

"In our view, the best way is mandatory quotas for the European member states."

Germany last year took in 200,000 asylum seekers and expects as many as 450,000 this year.

Hundreds arrested in global crackdown on wildlife contraband

Yahoo – AFP, Jan Hennop, 18 June 2015

Workers put ivory items on a sliding belt before being destroyed in Beijing

on May 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

The Hague (AFP) - A global crackdown on wildlife trafficking has netted "huge" amounts of whale bones, rhino horn, ivory and other contraband, leading to hundreds of arrests, European and Asian authorities announced Thursday.

Operation Cobra III saw police in 62 countries swoop on suspected wildlife smugglers between mid-March and May, European police agency Europol said in a statement.

The operation, which was "the biggest ever coordinated international law enforcement operation targeting the illegal trade in endangered species" yielded "huge amounts of wildlife contraband," said Europol, which is based in The Hague.

Carved ivory is shown to the media

 before being destroyed in Beijing on 

May 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

The Association of Southeastern Asian Nations' Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), which helped organise the operation, reported "over 600 seizures of assorted wildlife contraband" and at least 300 arrests.

The suspects included eight alleged smuggling kingpins, including a Chinese national involved in Namibia's biggest rhino horn smuggling case and a notorious elephant poacher in India, ASEAN-WEN said.

In Europe alone, police recovered 11,439 dead and live specimens, including 20 kilos (44 pounds) of live leeches in Bulgaria and 10,000 dead seahorses and 400 tortoises in Britain, Europol said.

Seahorses in particular are prized as aquarium animals, ornaments or used in traditional medicine.

Around 20 million seahorses are estimated to be traded every year for traditional Chinese medicine, according to Endangered Species International.

In Spain, police seized 90 kilos of coral and animal horns and heads and a further 25 kilogrammes of coral were netted in Bulgaria.

In India, nearly 11,000 kilos of suspected tigers' bones were found.

Chinese and German police meanwhile confiscated around 800 cactus plants, while 50 kilogrammes of unworked ivory were found in France and 16 whale ribs were discovered in the Netherlands.

Eight suspected kingpins were arrested

 in the operation, including a Chinese 

national involved in Namibia's biggest

 rhino horn smuggling case (AFP

Photo/Tony Karumba)

Massive ivory haul

In Thailand, police in April netted more than four tonnes of ivory hidden in containers originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and destined for Laos.

Thai police again seized more than three tonnes of ivory a week later in a second haul, this time from Kenya and again destined for Laos.

The 511 pieces of ivory was found in a container "marked as tea leaves transported from Mombasa, Kenya," Thai customs officials said.

The shipping of ivory has been banned since 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the tusks are worth millions of dollars (euros) on the black market.

Elephants and rhinos are mainly poached in Africa and India and their tusks and horn sent to South East Asia.

While tusks are used in a "long tradition of ivory carving", powdered rhino horn is used in traditional Asian medicine.

"Sales generate significant profits for the organised crime groups involved," Europol said.

"Investigations continue in many countries," it added.

Thai customs officers carry confiscated elephant tusks during a press conference at

the Customs Bureau in Bangkok on April 27, 2015 (AFP Photo/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Europol, which supported the operation, said COBRA III was organised by ASEAN-WEN and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, consisting of seven African countries.

"The trafficking of endangered species remains a problem in the EU and beyond," Europol's director Rob Wainwright said.

"Operation COBRA III once again shows the true global dimension of these crimes," he added.

"We will continue our efforts to fight these cruel crimes, to ensure a safe environment for endangered species in Europe and all over the world."

Swiss prosecutors probe 53 'suspicious' FIFA cases

Yahoo – AFP, Marie-Noelle Blessig, 17 June 2015

Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber (pictured) said the "suspicious" 

transactions had been reported by banks and that a "huge and complex" inquiry into

football's world body could take months if not years (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)

Bern (Switzerland) (AFP) - Swiss prosecutors are investigating 53 cases of possible money laundering as they look into FIFA's handling of bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, officials said Wednesday.

Attorney general Michael Lauber said the "suspicious" cases had been reported by banks and that a "huge and complex" inquiry into football's world body could take months if not years.

Swiss authorities are investigating the 

2010 vote that awarded the 2018 and

2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar

(AFP Photo/Michael Buholzer)

Officials said the 53 are individuals and companies and that each case could involve many more transactions.

"We note positively that banks in Switzerland did fulfil their duties to file suspicious activity reports," he told a press conference.

"Partly in addition to the 104 banking relations already known to the authorities, banks announced 53 suspicious banking relations via the Anti-Money-Laundering-Framework of Switzerland," he added.

Swiss authorities have set up a special task force to look into the World Cup bids -- which went to Russia for 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

It is one of two major fraud investigations that have rocked FIFA.

US authorities last month charged 14 people in a separate bribery investigation.

Probe will take time

Julius Baer, which the US indictments listed among 26 banks through which the illegal transfers allegedly passed, said Wednesday tha it had "launched an internal investigation".

In a statement sent to AFP, the bank said it was "cooperating with the authorities".

Lauber meanwhile said he "does not exclude" questioning FIFA boss Joseph Blatter or general secretary Jerome Valcke, although neither is currently under suspicion.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (left) receives the World Cup 

trophy from Fifa chief Joseph Blatter after the controversial vote to host the 

2022 tournament (AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes)

He said nine terrabytes of data had been seized, including at FIFA's Zurich headquarters and the probe would take time.

"The world of football needs to be patient... By its nature, this investigation will take more than the legendary '90 minutes'," that a football match takes, said Lauber, who has just been re-elected for a four-year mandate.

FIFA told AFP Wednesday that Quinn Emanuel, the world's largest business litigation and arbitration law firm, was representing the football world body.

Jenny Durkan, a top US lawyer who has previously served as the state attorney for the western district of Washington, is part of the defence team, a FIFA spokesperson said.

Lauber said he did not feel under pressure with the next World Cup in Russia just three years away.

"I don't care about the timetable of FIFA, I care about my timetable," he said in response to a question.

Senior FIFA official Domenico Scala has said there could be a revote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if there was evidence of wrongdoing in the bidding process.

FIFA, never far from controversy, is facing its biggest crisis because of the two corruption inquiries. Four days after being elected to a fifth term on May 30, Blatter announced that he would resign.

US authorities have charged 14 people from North and South America accused of involvement in more than $150 million of bribes for football deals.

Former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer 

worked secretly for US prosecutors from 

2011, court documents show (AFP Photo/

Sebastian Derungs)

Seven FIFA officials were detained at a luxury Zurich hotel as part the inquiry on May 27. They are now fighting extradition to the United States.

The European parliament has called on Blatter to quit immediately and allow for an interim leader to launch reforms in the organisation.

But FIFA has repeated that the 79-year-old Swiss will continue in office until a successor is designated, probably by the end of the year.

The FIFA Executive Committee will meet in Zurich on July 20 to fix a date for the congress to elect Blatter's successor.

The vote will not be before December.

The scandal-plagued body has lost several prestigious partnerships following the scandal, losing the support of key names such as Nobel Peace Centre and Interpol.

The Interpol deal was a 10-year partnership with FIFA worth 20 million euros ($22 million) for its "Integrity in Sport programme."

High-profile sponsors including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Visa, McDonald's and Hyundai -- have welcomed Blatter's announcement that he would resign and called for FIFA to embark on serious reforms.

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Nobel centre severs ties with scandal-hit FIFA

Yahoo – AFP, 16 June 2015

The Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo says it it will end its partnership with football's

 world governing body FIFA, which has been engulfed by an unprecedented

corruption scandal (AFP Photo/Berit Roald)

Oslo (AFP) - The Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo announced Monday that it will end its partnership with football's world governing body FIFA, which has been engulfed by an unprecedented corruption scandal.

The Nobel centre and FIFA have been partners in the "Handshake for Peace" initiative between team captains and officials since 2012.

"The board of directors asked management to end cooperation with FIFA as soon as circumstances permit," said centre, an offshoot of the Nobel Committee which awards the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel statement did not explicitly refer to the accusations of corruption at FIFA that have delivered a body blow to the organisation's prestige.

FIFA has been increasingly isolated since May, when a US investigation into the corruption allegations brought charges against 14 people.

The scandal spectacularly brought down FIFA boss Sepp Blatter and has also cast doubt on the fairness of the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be staged in Russia and Qatar respectively.

On Friday, Interpol pulled out of a 20 million euro ($23 million) deal with the organisation to promote integrity in sport.

And several sponsors -- including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Visa, McDonald's and Hyundai -- have welcomed an announcement by Blatter that he would resign.

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US Catholic bishops quit, envoy faces trial in sex abuse cases

Yahoo – AFP, Angus MacKinnon, 15 June 2015

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of two US bishops (AFP Photo/

Filippo Monteforte)

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican on Monday announced the resignation of two senior US clerics accused of failing to protect minors from a paedophile priest and set a date for an unprecedented trial of a former archbishop for paying boys for sex.

The twin announcements follow last week's unveiling of plans to create an internal Church tribunal empowered to punish bishops who cover up abuse by priests.

The two US bishops' resignations follow the 2012 jailing of Minnesota priest Curtis Wehmeyer for the sexual abuse of two minors and possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors in the case of Curtis
Wehmeyer unveiled evidence that Church
officials failed to act on warnings that
the priest was a danger to children 
(AFP Photo/Don Emmert)

Wehmeyer's conviction led to the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis being charged on June 5 with six counts of failing to protect minors after prosecutors unveiled evidence that Church officials failed to act on repeated warnings that the priest was a danger to children.

No individuals have been charged but the two senior clerics who have stepped down, Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche, were both named in the complaint as having failed to heed the warnings.

Frank Meuers, the Southern Minnesota leader of SNAP, a network of victims of clerical abuse, said Nienstedt's resignation was "a tiny but belated step forward."

"After centuries of abuse and cover up done in secrecy, and decades of abuse and cover up done somewhat in public, evidently one pope has finally seen fit to oust one archbishop for complicity in clergy sex crimes. That's encouraging. But it's only a very tiny drop of reform in an enormous bucket of horror," Meuers said.

PR campaign?

The Vatican also announced Monday a start date of July 11 for the trial of Jozef Wesolowski, a former papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic, in the first case of its kind to be brought before a Vatican court.

Wesolowski, a Polish former archbishop, was secretly recalled from his Caribbean posting in 2012 after the Church hierarchy was informed that he was regularly paying boys for sexual services.

He was defrocked by a church court in June 2014 but remained at liberty until September 2014, when he was placed under house arrest under an order which the Vatican described as coming directly from Francis.

Possession of child pornography has been a crime under the Vatican city state's penal code since 2013 following a change also initiated by the Argentinian Pope.

In a statement, the Vatican said its prosecutor had worked in collaboration with authorities in the Dominican Republic, who failed in their attempts to have Wesolowski extradited to face trial there.

Dominican authorities have said they have identified at least four alleged victims of the papal envoy.

Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche have 

resigned after accusations they failed to protect minors (AFP Photo/Eric Cabanis)

Pope Francis's supporters say the flurry of announcements related to sex abuse cases reflect his determination to address an issue that has severely tarnished the image of the Church in recent decades by creating new transparent procedures to hold abusers to account.

Critics say the initiatives undertaken since Francis was elected in 2013 do not go far enough in ensuring priests who commit sex crimes against children are dealt with under criminal law.

SNAP's Barbara Dorris said she suspected the latest initiatives were part of a PR campaign ahead of Francis's September visit to the United States.

"One or two or three small steps doesn't erase decades of complicity," she said.

Under the reform announced last week, bishops who fail to respond appropriately to allegations against priests in their dioceses will face judgement by a Church tribunal.

The move was welcomed by some survivors' groups as a significant step forward but others said it would not lead to change as clerics would remain in charge of dealing with other clerics.

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Spanish king strips graft-accused sister of duchess title

Yahoo – AFP, 11 June 2015

Spain's King Felipe VI (R) has issued a decree stripping his sister Princess

 Cristina (L) of her title as Duchess of Palma, the palace announced, as the

 royal sibling faces tax evasion charges in a scandal that has embarrassed 

the monarchy (AFP Photo/Jaime Reina)

Madrid (AFP) - Spain's King Felipe VI has issued a decree stripping his sister Princess Cristina of her title as Duchess of Palma, the palace announced Thursday, as the royal sibling faces tax evasion charges in a scandal that has embarrassed the monarchy.

"The Official Journal of the state will tomorrow (Friday) publish a royal decree by which His Majesty the King will revoke the use of the title of Duchess of Palma de Mallorca by Her Royal Highness the Infanta Cristina," the palace said in a statement.

Cristina, 49, stands accused of taking part in tax evasion by her husband, the former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin.

A judge ruled in December that she must stand trial on two counts of accessory to tax fraud, making her the first member of the Spanish royal family to be sent to the dock. No date has been set for her trial.

Both Cristina and Urdangarin have suffered a dramatic fall from grace since they married in 1997 in a lavish ceremony in Barcelona and were bestowed the titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma by Felipe's father, king Juan Carlos, who unexpectedly abdicated last year.

The couple's multi-million-euro mansion has been impounded by the courts and Cristina was notably absent from ceremonies marking Felipe's ascension to the throne in June 2014.

Urdangarin, 47, is accused along with a former business partner of creaming off six million euros ($6.6 million) in public funds from contracts awarded to Noos, a charitable foundation which he chaired.

Cristina's lawyers say she is innocent of any wrongdoing and that she trusted her husband to handle their financial affairs.

The corruption controversy has outraged Spaniards and helped sour the last years of the reign of Juan Carlos, who gave up the throne after nearly four decades hoping his son could freshen up the image of the monarchy.

Interpol suspends 'Integrity in Sport' partnership with FIFA

Interpol has suspended a 10-year, 20 million euros ($22.4 million) partnership with FIFA meant to curb match-rigging and illegal gambling. The football organization says it is "disappointed" by the decision.

Deutsche Welle, 13 June 2015

Interpol halted its cooperation with FIFA on Friday, hinting at the corruption scandal rocking the football world as the reason behind its decision.

The partnership, costing FIFA 20 million euros ($22.4 million), was created to combat match-rigging and illegal gambling.

The decision was taken by Interpol Secretary-General Jürgen Stock, who said the intergovernmental organization would "freeze the use of financial contributions from FIFA" for as long the deal was suspended.

"In light of the current context surrounding FIFA, while Interpol is still committed to developing our 'Integrity in Sport' program, I have decided to suspend the agreement," Stock said in a statement on Friday.

'Must share fundamental values'

The FIFA funds, provided to Interpol in a May 2011 deal on the 10-year program, were the largest contribution from a private partner. However, a clause in the agreement specified that football's governing body must be "compatible with the principles, aims and activities of Interpol" during the collaboration.

"All external partners, whether public or private, must share the fundamental values and principles of the organization, as well as those of the wider law enforcement community," Stock said.

FIFA reacts

FIFA said on Friday that it was "disappointed" by Interpol's decision and that it was attempting to contact Interpol to reverse the move.

"Our cooperation over the past four years has been a key part of addressing the transnational problem of match fixing," FIFA said in a statement. "This successful program is unrelated to the current issues surrounding FIFA and we believe that this unilateral decision will negatively impact the fight against criminal activity."

Long plagued by corruption allegations, FIFA has been seriously on the back foot since May, when the US Department of Justice indicted 14 current or former FIFA officials on corruption-related charges. Less than a week later, just days after securing a fifth term in office, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced his intention to quit, once a fresh vote for a successor has taken place.

ls/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)