https://voat.co/v/QRV/3692338
https://apnews.com/7c923595928d964439588264393757c0
EU blasts Turkey for “organized” migrant attack on Greece
KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Clashes between Greek riot police and migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey erupted anew Friday as European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for using migrants’ desperation “for political purposes.”
Greek riot police used tear gas and a water cannon in the morning to drive back people trying to cross its land border with Turkey. Turkish police fired volleys of tear gas back toward Greece in an ongoing standoff between Ankara and the EU over who should care for migrants and refugees.
Similar clashes erupted later Friday, and fires were burning on the Turkish side of the border which Greek officials said were lit by migrants. At other times the area was calm.
Thousands of refugees and other migrants have been trying to get into EU member Greece in the past week after Turkey declared that its previously guarded borders with Europe were open. Following months of threats, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that his country, which already houses more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, would no longer be Europe’s gatekeeper.
His move alarmed EU countries, which are still enduring political fallout from a wave of mass migration five years ago.
Greek authorities said they have thwarted more than 38,000 attempted border crossings in the past week, and arrested 268 people — mostly Afghans and only 4% Syrians.
Erdogan has demanded that Europe shoulder more of the burden of caring for refugees. But the EU insists it is abiding by a 2016 deal in which it gave Turkey billions in refugee aid in return for keeping refugees on its soil.
Erdogan spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the phone Friday, telling her the Turkey-EU migration deal is no longer working and needs to be revised, according to his office.
EU foreign ministers, meanwhile, met in Zagreb, Croatia on Friday to discuss the Greece-Turkey border situation and events in Syria, where Turkish troops are fighting. Erdogan has cited a potential new wave of refugees from Syria as part of his reasons for opening the border.
The ministers acknowledged Turkey’s role in hosting millions of migrants and refugees, but said the EU “strongly rejects Turkey’s use of migratory pressure for political purposes. This situation at the EU external border is not acceptable.”
In a joint statement after the emergency meeting, the ministers expressed “full solidarity with Greece, which faces an unprecedented situation.” They said the EU was determined to protect its external borders.
https://apnews.com/9c091ed8fac0383ff49143729b64e38d
Publisher cancels plans to release Woody Allen memoir
NEW YORK (AP) — Woody Allen’s publisher has decided to cancel the planned release of his memoir “Apropos of Nothing.”
The announcement Friday by Hachette Book Group followed days of criticism focused on allegations that Allen sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow. On Thursday, dozens of Hachette employees staged a walkout.
“The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one. At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly,” the publisher announced.
“We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard.”
https://apnews.com/55661d0f1edf9e18d950ad80cfee2a74
New qualifications for next debate likely rule out Gabbard
The Democratic National Committee has ratcheted up the threshold to qualify for its next presidential debate, requiring candidates to have picked up at least 20% of convention delegates allocated in state primary contests.
The new rules announced Friday for the March 15 debate in Arizona will allow former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to participate but will likely exclude Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Gabbard has struggled to attract support in the contest and has picked up only two delegates — from the U.S. territory of American Samoa, where she was born. By comparison, Biden has more than 660 delegates, while Sanders has over 570.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1236075854335180800
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51767082
>https://www.dw.com/en/performance-art-pioneer-ulay-marina-abramovics-former-partner-has-died/a-52612127
Performance art pioneer Ulay, Marina Abramovic's former partner, has died
German conceptual artist Ulay has died in Slovenia at the age of 76, from lymphatic cancer. He became famous through his collaborative performance art with his longtime companion, extreme performance artist Marina Abramovic.
Born Frank Uwe Laysiepen in Solingen, Germany, on November 30, 1943, he moved to Amsterdam in the early 1970s, where he first gained recognition through a series of Polaroid collages. His 1974 autobiographic work, titled Renais sense, was a comment on constructed gender. His depictions of himself a transvestite and of self-mutilation caused controversy at the time.
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