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French President Emmanuel Macron. Francisco Seco / AP  

 

The French pension protests 

Macron defends criticized reform: "Necessary" 

 

 French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday defended his criticized pension reform, reports AFP.  

 

It was the first time Macron addressed the nation since signing the law at the weekend that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. In the speech, the president stated that he understands the anger of the people.  

 

- No one, especially not me, can turn a blind eye to the demand for social justice. 

 

 At the same time, he emphasized that the reform is necessary. 

 

Stock photo, Manhattan in New York. Mary Altaffer / AP 

 

Chinese police stations USA: Suspected Chinese spies arrested in New York  

 

The FBI has arrested two men who are suspected of having helped establish a secret Chinese "police station" in the United States on behalf of Beijing. The purpose of the station is said to have been to harass dissident Chinese in the country, several media reports.  

 

It should have been in Manhattan in New York, and was shut down in connection with a house search last fall, writes CNN. Another 34 people are accused of crimes in a similar case. All of them are believed to be in China.  

 

Frankrikes president Emmanuel Macron försvarade på måndagen sin kritiserade pensionsreform, rapporterar AFP.

Det var första gången Macron talade till nationen sedan han i helgen undertecknade lagen som innebär att pensionsåldern höjs från 62 till 64 år. I anförandet uppgav presidenten att han förstår folkets ilska.

– Ingen, särskilt inte jag, kan blunda inför kravet på social rättvisa.

Samtidigt underströk han att reformen är nödvändig.

 

Vladimir Kara-Murza talks to his lawyer. AP  

Analysis: A way to silence – and punish arrogance  

 

Russian regime critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was fully aware that his sharp criticism of the Kremlin would attract the attention of the FSB, the Russian intelligence service. That's what Sky News' John Sparks writes in an analysis after Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.  

 

When others fled Russia, Kara-Murza still chose to stay. This is to instill courage in like-minded people. Today's sentence, the harshest of its kind in many years, largely symbolizes the abolition of freedom of speech under Vladimir Putin, writes Sparks.  

 

Anna Lena Laurén writes in DN and Hufvudstadsbladet that the sentence has a clear purpose: to make other oppositionists shut up. It is probably also a reaction to the fact that Kara-Murza has always said he was proud of the way he acted, she writes. 

 

"The sentence is probably also a punishment for his stubbornness.

 

" Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza. AP  

 

Russian opposition politician is sentenced to 25 years in prison  

 

The Russian regime critic Vladimir Kara-Murza is sentenced to 25 years in prison for, among other things, treason, AP reports. The sentence is a record length. The verdict comes after Kara-Murza spoke out critically about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

 

- This has nothing to do with the administration of justice. Instead, it is about pure revenge on the part of the Putin regime, his defense lawyer Vadim Prochorov told Ekot before the verdict was due. 

 

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia passed a law criminalizing the spread of "false information" about the military. The law has been used to stifle criticism of the Kremlin and the Russian president, AP writes.