Mass protests from Amsterdam to Istanbul denounce Israel’s Gaza genocide – Al Jazeera

  1. Mass protests from Amsterdam to Istanbul denounce Israel’s Gaza genocide  Al Jazeera
  2. Hundreds of thousands march across Europe in support of Palestinians  AP News
  3. Eight arrested, 20 police hurt in clashes at Spanish Palestine march  Reuters
  4. From Rome to Barcelona: Thousands attend pro-Palestinian demos  Euronews.com
  5. While we strive for peace, mobs across Europe rage against the Jewish state  JNS.org
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Badenoch says Tories open to quitting more treaties to increase deportations

Party leader uses conference speech to outline proposal for UK to exit ECHR as part of wider bonfire of protections

A future Tory government would be open to dismantling more treaties as a means to deport people from the UK, Kemi Badenoch has said at the start of a Conservative party conference focused almost exclusively on immigration policy.

Making the first of two addresses to the gathering in Manchester, the Tory leader formally set out her proposal for the UK to quit the European convention on human rights (ECHR) as part of a wider bonfire of protections including an end to legal aid in immigration and asylum cases and the right to take migration decisions to tribunals or judicial review.

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Syria holds first elections since fall of Bashar al-Assad

After more than a decade of civil war, committee members will choose transitional parliament

Syria is holding its first parliamentary elections since the fall of its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, in a tentative step towards democratic polls that have been criticised as biased in favour of the country’s interim leaders.

As the battle-ravaged country moves through its post-Assad political transition after more than a decade of civil war, members of local committees are beginning the significant milestone of selecting a transitional parliament.

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Czech president puts NATO, EU at core of Cabinet talks after elections – politico.eu

  1. Czech president puts NATO, EU at core of Cabinet talks after elections  politico.eu
  2. Billionaire populist Andrej Babis' party wins Czech parliamentary election  BBC
  3. Ukraine war briefing: Snag for EU’s support of Kyiv after aid opponent wins Czech election  The Guardian
  4. Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš wins Czech parliamentary election  Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB
  5. Andrej Babis Likely to Return as Czech Prime Minister After Parliamentary Win  The New York Times
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Andrej Babiš to hold talks with other Czech parties on forming government

Billionaire faces tricky task trying to secure enough support to become PM after ANO wins elections without majority

Andrej Babiš has met the Czech president, Petr Pavel, and is to hold talks with other party leaders as the billionaire populist begins the tricky job of trying to form a stable government after his ANO (Yes) party won parliamentary elections, but failed to secure a majority.

Final results showed ANO won 34.5% of the vote, held on Friday and Saturday, translating to a provisional 80 seats in the 200-member parliament. The centre-right Spolu coalition of the outgoing prime minister, Petr Fiala, came second on 23.4%.

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House speaker says Democrats aren’t serious about shutdown negotiation as Democratic leader blames Republicans

Mike Johnson adds Trump does not want permanent job cuts as talks between parties stalled over weekend

The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused Democrats of being “not serious” in negotiations to end the federal government shutdown, while the Democratic leader accused Republicans of driving the shutdown, now on its fifth day and expected to last at least through next week.

Talks between the opposing political parties stalled over the weekend, with no votes anticipated to end the standoff. A CBS poll found just 28% of Democratic voters and 23% of Republicans consider their party’s positions worth shutting down the government.

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Bad Bunny pushes back on Kristi Noem threat that immigrants stay away from Super Bowl

Singer jokes on SNL that everyone was happy about his planned half-time show, ‘even Fox News’

Bad Bunny responded to homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s threats to send federal immigration enforcement agents to the Super Bowl next year, joking during Saturday Night Live that everyone was happy about his planned half-time performance, “even Fox News”.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican singer who has criticized the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, using his opening monologue to address controversy around his 2026 Super Bowl performance.

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Kristi Noem calls Chicago a ‘war zone’ after federal agents shoot woman

Homeland security secretary takes aim at city’s mayor who has called deployment of national guard ‘unhinged’

Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, called Chicago “a war zone” on Sunday after federal agents shot a woman and the governor of Illinois accused the administration of fueling the crisis rather than resolving it.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday morning, Noem took aim at the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s Ice raids and deployment of the national guard in Illinois, a measure he called “unhinged and unhealthy”.

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