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UK Judge Norton-Taylor has just ruled that a Palestinian family can resettle in England because  of their “rights to a family life” under the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8. He claimed the rights of the individual family outweighed the “public interest” of the rules on entry to the UK.

PM Kier Starmer’s administration has protested the ruling and vowed to appeal it. If the ruling holds, the UK will be open to a floodgate of requests forms from any Palestinian with any relative who is a British citizen to apply. The family applied through what is called a “Ukraine Family Scheme,” which allows Ukrainian nationals to resettle in the UK if they have a British citizen relative.

The ruling also sets a precedent that usurps parliamentary authority to declare which countries get resettlement status. The Home Office claims no resettlement schemes for Gazans is planned.

Court gives Gazans right to settle in UK – Telegraph UK

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Palestinian migrants have been granted the right to live in the UK after applying through a scheme meant for Ukrainian refugees.

A family of six seeking to flee Gaza have been allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.

The family had made their application through the Ukraine Family Scheme and the decision to accept their case came despite warnings by lawyers for the Home Office that it could open the floodgates to “the admission of all those in conflict zones with family in the UK”.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the case showed changes to human rights laws were needed so that Parliament, not judges, controlled who could settle in the UK.

UK COURTS OPEN FLOODGATES FOR GAZAN REFUGEES: A LEGAL DISASTER IN THE MAKING@JohannPbooks

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The ruling showcases everything that is wrong with the UK’s judicial system—unaccountable judges playing policymakers, overriding government decisions, and rewriting immigration laws from the bench.

Instead of respecting Parliament’s authority over immigration matters, the courts have effectively legislated from the bench, weaponizing vague interpretations of international law to erode UK sovereignty.

The justification leans heavily on human rights law, an all-too-familiar legal trick that overrides national interest in favor of an open-door policy. By invoking the UN Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights, and nebulous “principles of non-refoulement,” the judges created a loophole so large that any crisis in the world could suddenly become the UK’s responsibility.

This isn’t justice; it’s ideological activism disguised as legal reasoning. By conflating the specific policies crafted for Ukrainian refugees with a completely different conflict, the courts have effectively invited a flood of applications from any war-torn region willing to exploit this ruling.

Efforts by the leadership of the new Syrian government ruled that all armed groups must now disarm and disband, a ruling that so far has been met with deaf ears. One of the biggest armed groups, the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) said in response, “The SDF is keen on joining Syria’s defense system as a bloc.” In other words, they won’t disarm or disband.

Armed groups in Syria push back against Damascus decision to disband them – Rudaw Media Network
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Armed factions in Syria are reacting to a recent decision by the new leadership in Damascus to dissolve all armed groups.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they want to align with government forces while retaining their current organizational structure and hierarchy. “The SDF is keen on joining Syria’s defense system as a bloc,” an informed SDF source told Rudaw, but to “maintain its formations,” he added.

The source further explained that a force directly linked to Damascus “could be established from members of the SDF to serve as border guards.” The new force would include members of “the local populations of each region,” the source explained, indicating that such forces would not only be made up of Kurds.

It is important to note that Damascus-affiliated security forces have not clashed with the SDF. On the contrary, discussions are underway between the new Syrian leadership and the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) about the future of the Kurdish enclave and the potential inclusion of the SDF in Syria’s security forces.

Syria’s Defense Minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, stated on Sunday that “a military solution with the Kurds in northeastern Syria would lead to the bloodshed” of both Damascus-affiliated forces and the SDF. In an interview with the Washington Post, the minister said that the new Syrian leadership is keen on resolving tangled issues with Rojava “through diplomatic means.”

Representative Al Green (D-TX) has filed his third set of impeachment articles against Donald Trump. This time, he filed the articles in response to his call for the Palestinians to be moved to a new land permanently. He called the reasons “dastardly deeds.”

He said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. and injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America. I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”

Rep. Al Green is filing new impeachment articles against Trump– www.politico.com
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Rep. Al Green said Wednesday he was introducing impeachment articles against Donald Trump after the president said the U.S. would “take over” Gaza.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. and injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America,” Green said in a floor speech Wednesday morning. “I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”

The Texas Democrat launched multiple longshot impeachment bids during Trump’s first term using procedural maneuvers meant to circumvent House leadership and bypass committees. Similar to his last efforts, there’s not much appetite among Democrats to impeach Trump as of yet.

Asked Wednesday about Green’s measure, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the No. 3 House Democrat, said it wasn’t a focus for the caucus.

Belgium moves to the right as new prime minister De Wever sworn in – Borneo Bulletin
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Conservative Bart De Wever was sworn in yesterday as Belgium’s new prime minister, after striking a hard-fought coalition deal that moves the country to the right.

Struck late Friday after seven months of tortuous negotiations, the agreement makes De Wever the first nationalist from Dutch-speaking Flanders to be named Belgian premier.

The 54-year-old – who in recent years has backed off on calls for Flanders to become an independent country – took the oath of office before King Philippe, in a ceremony at the royal palace in Brussels.

From there, he headed straight to a gathering of European Union (EU) leaders a few blocks away, for talks on defence and transatlantic relations.

Split between French- and Dutch-speaking communities and with a highly complex political system, Belgium has an unenviable record of painfully protracted coalition discussions – reaching 541 days back in 2010-2011.

German election poll: Merz’s far-right gambit costs conservatives – POLITICO Europe
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Early signs suggest Germany’s conservatives may have lost their big bet.

Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz’s high-stakes gamble to align with the far right on tough immigration measures appears to have dealt a swift blow to his center-right alliance, with a key poll showing his conservatives sliding by two points from last week ― to 28 percent.

The German pollster Forsa, which released its most recent survey on Tuesday, marks the first snapshot of voter sentiment since Merz’s controversial maneuver last week to attempt to push through a series of tough immigration measures with the help of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, weakening Germany’s quarantine of the far right, in place since the end of World War II.

‘Kill web’: China’s warship crushes US fleet in sci-fi-style drone war simulation – Interesting Engineering
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A Chinese simulation allegedly showed that a single Type 055 destroyer and escort could weather an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer missile bombardment. The war game was set in the western Pacific, just a few hundred kilometers east of Taiwan.

During the simulation, a single Type 055 was tested against no less than eight Arleigh Burke’s. The Chinese destroyer was not alone; it was accompanied by unmanned drone mothership vessels.

These motherships were equipped with 32 drones and 14 unmanned boats. During the simulation, the American ships launched 32 Tomahawk and LRASM stealth anti-ship missiles, all aimed at the Type 055.

Tories express alarm at report saying cost of Chagos Islands deal has risen far beyond £9bn, saying it’s ‘madness’ – UK politics live | Politics– www.theguardian.com
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The Conservative party has reacted angrily to the latest reports about the proposed deal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. (See 2.49pm.)

Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, has issued a statement claiming that Keir Starmer is motivated by “leftie shame” at Britain’s history. She said:

It seems Keir Starmer has learnt absolutely nothing – and is still putting his leftie shame of our country’s history over our national security, and our longstanding relationship with our closest ally.

He has the audacity to tell the British people they will foot the bill and pay for the indignity of his surrender of the Chagos Islands, as he isolates the new US administration by bending the knee to Mauritius and emboldening our enemies with his disastrous surrender deal.

Starmer and David Lammy must urgently explain their epic failure of diplomacy which is putting out special relationship at risk while they play pathetic gesture politics.

In fact, negotiations with Mauritius over the transfer of sovereignty started when the Conservative goverment was in office. The current government, like the last one, says a deal is needed because the UK kept losing cases in international courts over the sovereignty issue.

President Donald Trump is more than hinting that a deal with Ukraine over its rare earth minerals could go a long way towards the U.S. continuing to support them in their war against Russia.

He said, “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things. I want to have security of rare earth. We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.” He added, “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine. We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop that ridiculous war.”

‘Going to stop that ridiculous war’: Trump pushes Ukraine for rare earth deal in exchange for US aid– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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President Donald Trump signalled Monday that US support for Ukraine’s war effort could be tied to securing access to the country’s rare earth materials.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration over what he seeks as an imbalance in aid contributions between the US and Europe, stating, “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things.”
Trump suggested that Ukrainian officials were open to such an agreement, pointing out the strategic importance of rare earth minerals to the high-tech economy.

After less than a month, the Swedish Prosecuting Authority has ruled that a subsea cable connecting to Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland was not cut deliberately as an act of sabotage. Rather, the investigators concluded the cutting of the cable was an accident due to a combination of weather conditions and “deficiencies in equipment and seamanship.”

Swedish prosecutors rule Baltic subsea cable cut an accident – Capacity Media
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An investigation into the ship that supposedly severed a subsea cable connecting Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland was cut accidentally, authorities confirmed.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority ruled that the cable cut, which occurred in late January, was not an act of sabotage and that a combination of weather conditions and “deficiencies in equipment and seamanship” contributed to the cable break.

Swedish authorities had seized the ship, analysing its equipment to determine if the cut was deliberate. The seizure order on the ship has now been lifted, though the investigation remains ongoing to “determine whether there are other crimes that can be suspected in connection with the cable break”.

The UK’s Kier Starmer stated his cabinet’s policies regarding Brexit include a “reset” but not a “return” to the EU. The comments came during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ visit to the UK. He called for there to be “closer ties” between the UK and the EU.

Starmer said “I have been very clear (…) that I do want a reset of the relationship between the UK and the EU. That does not involve a return to the European Union. We had a referendum here on that, and that matter is settled… I think that is certainly in the UK’s best interest, I do believe it’s in the EU’s best interest, and already I hope that in the last seven months there has been a manifest difference in approach, tone and relationship,”

UK PM vows to ‘reset’ ties with EU but rules out rejoining the bloc – efe.com
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United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday pledged to “reset” the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union but ruled out rejoining the bloc, which the UK left in 2020.