European Union nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s failed asylum system on Tuesday as campaigning for Europe-wide elections next month gathers pace, with migration expected to be an important issue.
EU government ministers approved 10 legislative parts of The New Pact on Migration and Asylum. It lays out rules for the 27 member countries to handle people trying to enter without authorization, from how to screen them to establish whether they qualify for protection to deporting them if they’re not allowed to stay.
Hungary and Poland, which have long opposed any obligation for countries to host migrants or pay for their upkeep, voted against the package but were unable to block it.
A Russian commander has been indicted for ordering the kidnapping and torture of civilians in the occupied Kinburn Peninsula in the Black Sea.
Evgenii Deli is accused of violating the laws and customs of war (under Part 1 of Article 438 of the criminal code) soon after Russian forces occupied the peninsula, a strategic location stretching for 40 kilometres between the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
The joint statement issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and the signing of multiple cooperation documents, showed that bilateral relations are unparalleled in history, said Politika, Serbia’s oldest daily.
BELGRADE, May 15 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Serbia last week has upgraded bilateral ties with profound implications for Serbia’s economy, infrastructure and international standing, Serbian media have said.
Politika, Serbia’s oldest daily, characterized Xi’s visit as the commencement of a new era in bilateral relations.
The Second Meeting of National Coordinators of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations is held at the Casa Amarilla Antonio José de Sucre in Caracas, Venezuela. (@Yvangil)
Mexico City, Mexico, May 14, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela played host to the Group of Friends in Defense of the United Nations Charter as part of ongoing efforts to defend multilateralism and confront violations of international law, including the application of unilateral coercive measures.
“Today, when the world is threatened by fascism, by wars, it is necessary that we are more united than ever,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil on Monday.
Official suggests US funding could be pulled as new ‘Kremlin-inspired’ law provokes mass protests
Tue 14 May 2024 15.14 EDT
Georgia has been warned by the US not to become an adversary of the west by falling back in line with Moscow, as its parliament defied mass street protests to pass a “Kremlin-inspired” law.
“Nowhere is safe” in Gaza, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has warned
Some 450,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah since Israel ordered more of the city evacuated on Saturday, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday. Reports from the city suggest that Israeli forces are closing in on its densely-populated urban core.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered people in the southeastern neighborhoods of Rafah to leave “immediately” on Saturday, with IDF spokesman Avichai Adraee warning that Israeli forces were preparing to strike Hamas targets there “with great force.” The IDF has now evacuated the entire eastern third of the city following a similar order given earlier this month.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that 450,000 people had heeded the orders. “People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe,” the statement read. “An immediate cease-fire is the only hope.”
The attacks by the Turkish army and its jihadist proxy forces against the autonomous regions of northern and eastern Syria aimed at expanding the occupation zone continue unabated.
The occupying Turkish state bombarded villages in the northern Syrian canton of Shehba. As a result of the bombardment, a fire broke out in the cultivated fields belonging to the people. The fire spread from Mişêrfê village to Teanê village. So far, 20 hectares of fields have burned.
Since the occupation of Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) and Girê Spî (Tall Abyad) in autumn 2019, there have been regular attacks in the area around Manbij as part of a “low-intensity war”, primarily by mercenaries from the so-called “Syrian National Army” (SNA) militia organisation set up by Turkey. Since Manbij was named by Turkish regime leader Erdoğan as the primary target for a new invasion of northern and eastern Syria, the phases of high-intensity attacks have become increasingly prolonged.
Manbij is located 30 kilometres south of the Turkish border and occupies a key strategic position in Turkey’s plans to expand its illegal occupation zone in Syria. The city, which is administered by DAANES (Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria), is located on the important M4 highway, which runs through northern Syria like a lifeline and was a strategic supply route for the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (ISIS). Manbij was liberated from ISIS terror in August 2016. Since then, the Manbij Military Council (MMC), which is a component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and also includes the Enîya Kurdan (ar. Jabhat al-Akrad, i.e. the Kurdish Front) and the Idlib Revolutionary Brigade, has been responsible for the defence of the region.
Israel battled Hamas in Gaza on Monday, including in far-southern Rafah, despite U.S. warnings against a full-scale invasion of the crowded city and of the threat from post-war anarchy or insurgency.
Clashes also raged in northern and central Gaza as Israel marked a sombre Memorial Day, followed by Independence Day from Monday night, more than seven months into the war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Israelis marked a moment’s silence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that “our war of independence is not over yet. It continues even today… We are determined to win this struggle.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday sign into law a national health bill that aims to provide universal coverage to South Africans, the country’s presidency said in a statement.
The signing of the National Health Insurance bill – popular among voters – will come just before the May 29 national election that could test the African National Congress’ 30-year rule.
The bill, which will be implemented in stages at a cost of billions of dollars, received Ramaphosa’s approval after it was passed by lawmakers last year.
The law aims to provide healthcare to millions of poor citizens in a major overhaul of a two-tier system, which still reflects deep racial and social inequalities three decades after the end of white minority rule.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has postponed its verdict on the bail plea of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the £190 million graft case.
The bench, led by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, heard Imran Khan’s bail application regarding the PTI’s £190 million reference.
Special Prosecutor NAB Amjad Parvez mentioned that 39 out of 59 witnesses have already given their statements in the case, with ten witnesses dropped and six to eight more expected to testify.
TUNIS: Tunisian lawyers protested and launched a nationwide strike on Monday over the arrest of a lawyer and political commentator in a weekend police raid.
“The strike was observed 100 percent,” Laroussi Zguir, head of the bar association’s Tunis division, told journalists at the Tunis court of first instance.
Several rallied outside the court against the arrest of commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani, demanding her immediate release and chanting that the judiciary is working “under orders”.
Masked police on Saturday raided the bar association headquarters in the capital Tunis, where Dahmani had sought refuge after she refused to appear in court over comments she had made on television.
MINSK, 14 May (BelTA) – Some of the bribe handed over to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies for the sake of shutting down the investigation into Burisma Company was appropriated for a drone army for Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the Ukrainian politician Andrei Derkach told BelTA’s YouTube project On Point [V Teme] in an interview.
According to the Ukrainian politician, a bribe of $6 million was offered to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in order to close the criminal case into the notorious company Burisma, which is affiliated with the family of U.S. President Joe Biden. By a secret court ruling the money was donated to a military unit of the Central Intelligence Office of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. Apart from that, Andrei Derkach stressed, a significant sum was allocated for a drone army for Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
“The money was donated to the drone army. Again with a secret court ruling. If you want everything to be public, why make a secret court ruling that journalists can uncover later? Information about the drone army was found by Ukrainian journalists who work in Ukraine today. We also had this court ruling. We also demonstrated it,” Andrei Derkach said.
The politician stressed that by handing over the money to the drone army via Burisma Company the USA sponsored terrorism. “The drone army is terrorism all the same. They kill people. They don’t target only infrastructure facilities. We see all the chains used to supply weapons from American companies to the Central Intelligence Office (GUR). We see the sponsors that work with it,” Andrei Derkach assured.
Kharkiv, Ukraine: A Russian drone attack struck residential buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and an energy facility in the surrounding region on Thursday, killing four people and severing power for 350,000 residents, officials said.
Ukraine’s second-largest city, which lies some 30 km (20 miles) from the Russian border, has been pounded by strikes during the 25-month war and been one of the worst afflicted as Russia has renewed its missile and drone attacks on the energy system.
Governor Oleh Synehubov said three rescue workers had been killed in a repeat strike after they reached a residential block hit in one attack. Writing on the Telegram messaging app, he said 12 people were injured, with three in serious condition.
Eight people have died and another eight were critically injured after a bus carrying farm workers crashed and overturned in Florida.
The bus was transporting 53 workers when it collided with a pickup truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.
The bus then swerved off State Road 40 – a hilly two-lane road that goes through farms – and crashed through a fence, before overturning, authorities said.
The incident took place at 6.35am local time on Tuesday and it is unclear why the two vehicles crashed.
A total of 40 people needed hospital treatment – eight of whom are in a critical condition, the Marion County Fire Rescue confirmed to NBC News.
Following a recent assisted dying debate in parliament, the Mirror hears from a mother whose daughter made the devastatingly difficult decision to end her life on her own terms
The University of Amsterdam canceled classes Tuesday and shut buildings for two days after the latest pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the war in Gaza turned destructive.
Protests continued to simmer at several European universities where students faced off with academic authorities on whether relations with Israel should be broken off or drastically reduced, as the death toll continues to climb during the seven-month Israel-hamas war. Overall, the protests in Europe have failed to reach the intensity of demonstrations at several U.S. universities.
In the Netherlands, the board at the nearly 400-year old University of Amsterdam issued a statement saying it could not guarantee the safety of anyone on campus after a group of masked agitators barricaded doors and spray painted slogans on the walls. The mayhem on Monday followed a peaceful walkout of staff and students against the Israel-Hamas war and the university’s response to earlier protests.
“They (the university) called in the police after people wouldn’t remove their face coverings but the police came in balaclavas,” political science professor Enzo Rossio told The Associated Press, describing Monday’s events. He had returned to his office following the walkout, only for the building to be evacuated minutes later. While standing outside the building, Rossio said he and his wife, who also works for the university, were repeatedly hit by police with batons.
Changes in how the UN calculates Gaza’s casualties have been cited as evidence of bias. They aren’t.
Has the UN really said fewer people were killed by Israel in Gaza?
No, is the short answer.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published on May 8 an infographic that referred to a figure of 34,844 total Palestinian deaths.
Below that, it said of the deaths: “24,686 identified as of 30 April as: 10,006 men, 4,959 women, 7,797 children, 1,924 elderly”.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued to attack Hamas terrorists in Rafah and throughout Gaza on Monday, which was Israel’s independence day, despite continued international criticism and caution from the White House.
In a statement, the IDF said:
IDF troops continue their operations against terror targets in the area of eastern Rafah and on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing. IDF troops eliminated several armed terrorist cells in close-quarters encounters on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing.
In eastern Rafah, IDF troops eliminated a number of terrorists and located weapons. An IAF aircraft struck a terrorist cell that was exiting a launch site. In addition, the IDF struck a launch post from which additional terrorists operated and fired at IDF troops.
Overnight, IDF troops expanded their activity in the area of Jabalya and conducted targeted operations on additional terror targets in the area.
Over the past day, the troops engaged in a number of battles, eliminated by tank fire dozens of terrorists who shot at the troops and dismantled an explosives network that was planted in the area.
An IAF aircraft struck and eliminated a terrorist armed with an RPG who was identified near IDF troops and was on his way to fire toward them.
Furthermore, IDF troops have continued their operation on terror targets in the area of Zeitoun over the past day. During the activity, IDF troops located tunnel shafts and dismantled several launchers. In addition, IDF troops eliminated several terrorists and dismantled a weapons storage facility and additional terrorist infrastructure.
Yesterday (Monday), IAF fighter jets struck a war room of the terrorist organizations in the central Gaza Strip and eliminated five terrorists that were operating in it.
Moreover, IDF troops eliminated by tank fire several terrorists that were moving toward IDF troops operating in the area.
Additionally, over the past day, IAF fighter jets and additional aircraft struck over 100 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including armed terrorists, booby-trapped structures, and additional terrorist infrastructure.
The IDF distributed photos of its soldiers in action across the Gaza Strip:
There were also unconfirmed reports on social media of IDF soldiers enjoying independence day fireworks in Rafah:
Givati Brigade in #Rafah Documentation taken by Follower A from the Givati Brigade last night in Rafah – fireworks on the occasion of Independence Day. Happy Independence Day pic.twitter.com/qHdLWYQw3h
In addition, the IDF struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The airstrikes were rumored to have used bunker-busting bombs that can penetrate underground fortifications at depth, according to the Abu Ali Express Telegram account.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
The Biden administration is ordering a CCP-owned cryptocurrency mining company to sell land it owns which is located near a U.S. military base. The question is, how did they get permission to buy this land in the first place.
BRUSSELS — European Union nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s failed asylum system on Tuesday as campaigning for Europe-wide elections next month gathers pace, with migration expected to be an important issue.
EU government ministers approved 10 legislative parts of The New Pact on Migration and Asylum. It lays out rules for the 27 member countries to handle people trying to enter without authorization, from how to screen them to establish whether they qualify for protection to deporting them if they’re not allowed to stay.
Hungary and Poland, which have long opposed any obligation for countries to host migrants or pay for their upkeep, voted against the package but were unable to block it.
Mainstream political parties believe the pact resolves the issues that have divided member nations since well over 1 million migrants swept into Europe in 2015, most fleeing war in Syria and Iraq. They hope the system will starve the far right of vote-winning oxygen in the June 6-9 elections.
