September 21, 2014

Nice rundown here:

http://www.languageguide.org/french/grammar/pronouns/

September 13, 2014

US opposes Iran's presence at French-hosted conference on Iraq

Source: Reuters via France24


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday it was "not appropriate" for Iran to join talks on confronting Islamic State militants, as he appeared to play down how fast countries can commit to force or other steps in an emerging coalition.

Latest update : 2014-09-13

Kerry met Turkish leaders to try to secure backing for U.S.-led action against Islamic State militants, but Ankara’s reluctance to play a frontline role highlighted the difficulty of building a willing coalition for a complex military campaign in the heart of the Middle East.

As he tours the region to gather support for President Barack Obama’s plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier to defeat Islamic State Sunni fighters, Kerry said Shi’ite Iran should have no role in talks on how to go about it.

Accusing Iran of being “a state sponsor of terror” and backing Syria’s brutal regime, Kerry said it would be inappropriate for Iranian officials to join an Iraq conference in Paris on Monday to discuss how to curb a jihadist movement that has seized a third of both Iraq and Syria. Tehran has described the coalition as “shrouded in serious ambiguities”.

“Under the circumstances, at this moment in time, it would not be right for any number of reasons. It would not be appropriate given the many other issues that are on the table in Syria and elsewhere,” he told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Read more: http://www.france24.com/en/20140913-us-opposes-irans-presence-french-hosted-conference-iraq-kerry/

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Meanwhile, French President Hollande arrived in Baghdad Friday to offer France's support for Iraqi anti-Isis efforts. The Paris conference starts on Monday:

September 11, 2014

Islamic State crisis: Obama threatens action in Syria

Source: BBC World

US President Barack Obama says he will not hesitate to take action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria as well as Iraq.

In a nationally televised speech outlining his strategy against IS, he said that any group that threatened America would "find no safe heaven".

He also announced that 475 US military personnel would be sent to Iraq but said they would not have a combat role.

IS controls large parts of Syria and Iraq after a rapid military advance.

Its fighters have become notorious for their brutality, beheading enemy soldiers and Western journalists on video.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29152129

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just a quicke because I didn't see this in LBN, but if it's already been posted lock away

September 6, 2014

French president slams accusations by ex

NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — France's Socialist President Francois Hollande is defending himself against accusations by his ex-first lady that he despises the poor.

A visibly indignant Hollande insisted Friday on his commitment to "the weakest, the most humble, the poorest." He called it his "raison d'etre," or reason for being.

"I will never accept ... that the commitment of a lifetime may be put into question," Hollande told reporters at a NATO summit in Newport, Wales.

According to a book by former partner Valerie Trierweiler released this week, Hollande once dismissed the poor as people with "no teeth" — a reference to those who cannot afford dental care. Hollande's many critics have seized on the term.

Hollande and Trierweiler broke up in January amid reports Hollande was having an affair with a French actress.


http://news.yahoo.com/french-president-slams-accusations-ex-164355729.html
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Valérie Trierweiler's book was published on Thursday and is titled "Merci pour ce moment," thanks for the moment. The term she claims Hollande once used to describe the poor is "sans-dents," without teeth. Tsk tsk. Selling like hotcakes too it seems.

September 5, 2014

Affaire Trierweiler, mauvais sondages : semaine noire pour François Hollande

"Trierweiler's scathing new book, terrible polls: a black week for Hollande," from France24, no friend of François or the Parti Socialiste:



05/09/2014

Brûlot de Valérie Trierweiler, démission embarrassante d'un secrétaire d'État, record d'impopularité dans les sondages... Les temps sont durs pour le président François Hollande, qui évite les rencontres informelles avec la presse.


C’est une semaine noire pour François Hollande. Le président français ne s’est pas contenté d’essuyer les piques de son ex-compagne dans l’ouvrage qu’elle a publié jeudi 4 septembre. Il a aussi été contraint de démettre un secrétaire d’État, Thomas Thévenoud, pour un problème de conformité avec les impôts. Et dans la même journée, le chef de l’État a battu son record d’impopularité, d’après un sondage publié dans la soirée.

Tout a commencé avec Valérie Trierweiler, ou plutôt avec son livre, "Merci pour ce moment", paru jeudi et dont quelques extraits ont été dévoilés mercredi. Ce grand déballage de sa vie privée par son ex-compagne n’a pas rendu service au président, décrit comme un personnage cynique, qui s’amuserait à appeler les pauvres les "sans-dents".

Ces anecdotes embarrassantes ont déclenché une tempête de réactions outrées de la part des politiques mais aussi des éditorialistes. En l'absence de réaction de l'Élysée, c'est son Premier ministre qui a volé jeudi au secours du président, dénonçant au détour d'un déplacement de rentrée des "attaques outrancières" et un "mélange de la vie publique et de la vie privée" qui "abaisse le débat".

Mais la curiosité l'a emporté sur la "dignité" réclamée par Manuel Valls : à la mi-journée, l'ouvrage avait enregistré 15 000 ventes dans les magasins Fnac, soit un démarrage trois fois plus fort que le best-seller des cinq dernières années "Cinquante nuances de Grey".


plus: http://www.france24.com/fr/20140905-affaire-trierweiler-mauvais-sondages-semaine-noire-francois-hollande-president-sondages-popularite-thomas-thevenoud-/