As defense ties strengthen, US assesses Cyprus base

Reuters

Five unions sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, seeking to block what they called the possible mass firing of hundreds of thousands of federal employees who resist pressure to accept buyouts.
In a complaint filed in Washington, D.C. federal court, the unions accused the White House and others in the Executive Branch of undermining Congress’ role in creating and funding a federal workforce, violating separation of powers principles.
The plaintiffs include the United Auto Workers, the National Treasury Employees Union, the National Federation of Federal Employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
Ten defendants were named, including Trump, the heads of agencies, the Department of Defense, Internal Revenue Service and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Last week, some unions sued the Trump administration to block the buyouts. On Monday, US District Judge George O’Toole in Boston kept in place a block of the buyout plan for federal employees, as he considers whether to impose it for a longer period of time.
The decision prevents Trump’s administration from implementing the buyout plan for now, giving a temporary victory to labor unions that have sued to stop it entirely.
On Tuesday, meanwhile, Trump ordered US agencies to work closely with billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to identify federal employees who could be laid off.

EVRY, France: The prime suspect in the murder of an 11-year-old French schoolgirl, who was found in the woods with multiple stab wounds, was charged after confessing to the crime, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
In a killing that shocked France, the body of the girl, named as Louise, was found on Saturday close to her school. She had been missing since leaving school in the suburban town of Epinay-sur-Orge about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Paris on Friday afternoon.
French police on Monday arrested a man aged 23 and his DNA was found on Louise’s hands, according to prosecutors.
“The main suspect admitted to the charges against him while in custody,” public prosecutor Gregoire Dulin said in a statement. Later Wednesday, the prosecutors’ office said he had been charged and that they would ask a judge to approve keeping him in detention.
The man’s parents and girlfriend, 23, had also been detained on suspicion of failing to report a crime, prosecutors said.
On Saturday, prosecutor Dulin had said that “there is no evidence to suggest that sexual violence was committed.”
French media described the suspect as a “video game addict,” and Dulin said on Wednesday that he may have been looking for “somebody to rob” in an attempt “to calm down” after an altercation during an online video game.
But he “panicked” when Louise began to scream, Dulin added.
Le Parisien daily had earlier pointed to “the possibility of a sadistic act.” Although he was not known to suffer from psychiatric disorders, the suspect could be “very violent” and was known to have repeatedly beaten his younger sister, the newspaper added.
The killing comes at a time when law and order, and in particular crime against children, are major issues in French politics and society. Speaking on Wednesday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau expressed “deepest sympathy” to Louise’s family.
The hard-line minister has vowed to tighten law and order in France.
“The whole establishment is in shock,” Education Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Tuesday.
Flowers and candles have been placed in front of the Andre Maurois school that Louise attended, as well as at the foot of a tree where the body was found.
A woman, who provided only her first name, Josephine, said she felt “upset all weekend.”
“I wasn’t well, it made me think of my granddaughter and my grandson,” she said in the town where the body was found on Tuesday. “We’re not at peace anywhere.”
“As soon as I was told about it, I said it’s the little girl with long hair,” she added.
A psychological support unit has been set up in Epinay-sur-Orge.