Watching the watchdogs: How US media weaponised campus protests coverage
Mainstream media has joined US power elites in demonising pro-Palestinian encampments on campuses.
Tunis police raid sees refugees abandoned near the border with Algeria
Tunisia's sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants describe being victims of vilification and kidnapping nationwide.
‘Yemen at a crossroads’: Nearly 200 aid groups issue urgent funding appeal
Only a fraction of funds needed to provide aid to millions in the war-torn country is secured, the groups say.
Putin orders tactical nuclear weapon drills to deter the West – Reuters.com
- Putin orders tactical nuclear weapon drills to deter the West Reuters.com
- Russia to Hold Drills on Tactical Nuclear Weapons in New Tensions With West The New York Times
- Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘nuclear blackmail’ after Putin orders nuclear weapons drills The Guardian
- Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after ‘provocative’ Western threats Al Jazeera English
- Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials NBC News
Israel orders Rafah evacuation after night of intense bombardment
Palestinian families have begun leaving eastern Rafah after the Israeli military ordered its evacuation.
Europe live: China’s Xi Jinping calls for closer ties with the EU at opening of Paris talks
Chinese premier meets Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen for talks, with trade and Ukraine on agenda
The trilateral meeting has kicked off.
Xi Jinping has arrived at the Élysée palace.
Continue reading...Middle East crisis live: Hamas condemns Israeli order to evacuate Rafah as a ‘dangerous escalation’
Israel’s military has called for people evacuate eastern neighbourhoods of Rafah and head to what it claimed was an ‘expanded humanitarian zone’ in southern Gaza
An anonymous Israeli official with knowledge of the ceasefire negotiations has told the New York Times that the two sides were close to a deal a couple of days ago but that comments by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Rafah pushed Hamas to harden its demands in a bid to protect the city from an Israeli ground invasion.
On Tuesday Netanyahu vowed that Israel would proceed with an offensive on the southern city even if renewed efforts at internationally brokered talks with Hamas result in the release of hostages and a ceasefire.
The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve total victory.
Continue reading...Thousands of Palestinians evacuate eastern Rafah amid Israeli attack threat
Overnight Israeli strikes increase numbers leaving southern city for ‘humanitarian zone’ on coast
Thousands of people are evacuating from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, hours after the Israeli military told residents and displaced people in eastern neighbourhoods to leave in advance of a long-threatened attack on the city and its environs.
Witnesses described frightened families leaving the city on foot, riding donkeys or packed with their belongings into overloaded trucks on Monday. Overnight Israeli air strikes had reinforced “panic and fear”, prompting more to heed the instructions to move.
Continue reading...Severe floods inundate Brazil’s southernmost state, displacing thousands
Flooding in Brazil has displaced more than 115,000 people and left close to 80 dead.
Macron, Von der Leyen press China’s Xi on trade in Paris talks – Reuters.com
- Macron, Von der Leyen press China's Xi on trade in Paris talks Reuters.com
- China’s Xi Jinping is visiting Europe for the first time in five years – his goodwill tour will be an uphill struggle CNN
- Ukraine, brandy and EVs top the agenda as Xi meets Macron BBC.com
- Hungary and Serbia's autocratic leaders to roll out red carpet for China's Xi during Europe tour The Associated Press
- Economic Statecraft Latest: China and European economic relations Bloomberg
Fear in Rafah as Israel orders 100,000 to evacuate | First Thing
Unrwa says offensive will cause more ‘civilian suffering and deaths.’ Plus, death toll climbs in Brazil floods
Good morning.
Israel’s military sparked fears for an upcoming ground invasion after issuing calls for residents and displaced people to evacuate Rafah’s eastern neighbourhoods and head to an “expanded humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza.
News from the border into Gaza: One of the main crossings used to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza was closed after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas killed three soldiers, the Israeli military said, with a reprisal strike on a house in Rafah killing multiple Palestinians.
News from inside Israel: Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera, which critics calls a “dark day for the media”. The network, funded by Qatar, has accused Israel, which it denies, of deliberately killing its journalists for their coverage of the war.
The war’s humanitarian cost: After the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage, the Israeli assault on Gaza has killed about 35,000, destroyed much of the coastal strip’s infrastructure and housing stock, and is causing a “full-blown famine,” according to the director of the UN World Food Program.
Just how bad is the flooding? The flooding across the state has surpassed that seen during a deluge in 1941, according to the Brazilian Geological Service. In some cities, water levels were at their highest since record-keeping began almost 150 years ago, the agency added. In some areas as much as 15cm (6in) of rain fell in 24 hours.
Is global heating a factor? The state of Rio Grande do Sul sits at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, giving rise to a weather pattern that includes periods of intense rain and drought. Local scientists say the pattern has been intensifying as a result of the human-made climate crisis.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin orders nuclear weapons drills
Kremlin says tactical drills are a response to statements from the West about possibly sending troops to Ukraine
Germany will not be represented at the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his next six-year term in office on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said.
Relations between Russia and Germany, which used to be the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, have broken down since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Continue reading...House set to vote on Marjorie Taylor Greene effort to remove Mike Johnson
Far-right congresswoman has spearheaded effort to oust fellow Republican as speaker but motion to vacate widely expected to fail
The House is expected to vote this week on a motion to remove Republican Mike Johnson as speaker, but the effort, spearheaded by hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, faces virtually no chance of success.
Greene announced on Wednesday that she would move forward with forcing a vote on Johnson’s removal this week, following through on a threat she first issued in late March. Greene has consistently attacked Johnson for advancing bills that have attracted widespread bipartisan support, such as the government spending proposal approved in March and the foreign aid package signed into law last month.
Continue reading...Boeing hopes to polish its reputation with Starliner crew capsule launch
Company, which has been plagued by safety issues in its avionics wing, will send two astronauts to the ISS in its new spacecraft
Boeing has an opportunity on Monday night to restore some luster to its tarnished name, with the scheduled first crewed launch from Florida of Starliner, a pioneering new capsule designed to transform human exploration of space.
Although the company’s space operations are entirely independent of its aviation wing, which has been plagued by a recent series of safety and quality issues, the spacecraft’s pathway to the Cape Canaveral launchpad, and planned 10.34pm ET liftoff, has been similarly bumpy.
Continue reading...Israel-Hamas war: Palestinians ordered to evacuate parts of Rafah as assault looms – The Associated Press
- Israel-Hamas war: Palestinians ordered to evacuate parts of Rafah as assault looms The Associated Press
- Israel tells Gazans in parts of eastern Rafah to evacuate: Live updates CNN
- IDF urges civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah and Ole Miss opens student conduct investigation: Morning Rundown NBC News
- Israel urges Palestinians to evacuate Rafah ahead of expected ground operation in Hamas stronghold Fox News
- Israel Tells Thousands to Evacuate Rafah in Gaza: Israel-Hamas War Live Updates The New York Times
John Swinney set to be confirmed as new SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister – UK politics live
Swinney may be only candidate after withdrawal of Graeme McCormick
Labour has marked the anniversary of the Conservatives re-entering government at the 2010 election by launching a what the opposition have called “Conflix” website [geddit?] that mockingly tells the story of “14 years of Tory chaos”
The party’s chair, Anneliese Dodds, was challenged about the site on Sky News this morning and whether the party was relying on “stunts” rather than policy proposals. She insisted that the “detail of policy” was there, in the form of initiatives like GB Energy.
Continue reading...Italian government accused of using defamation law to silence intellectuals
Philosopher being sued by Giorgia Meloni’s brother-in-law says such trials are part of a political strategy
The government of Giorgia Meloni is making strategic use of defamation suits to silence public intellectuals, a philosopher who is being sued by the Italian prime minister’s brother-in-law has claimed.
In the latest of a series of lawsuits drawing on Italy’s comparatively harsh defamation laws, Donatella Di Cesare of Sapienza University in Rome will appear at a criminal court in the Italian capital on 15 May, after a complaint by the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, over comments she made comparing one of his speeches to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Continue reading...Canberra accuses Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to Australian helicopter
Defence minister Richard Marles says protests made to Beijing over ‘unacceptable’ altercation that forced pilot on UN mission to avoid being hit
The federal government has accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter on a United Nations mission in international waters.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, branded the incident “unacceptable”.
Continue reading...SNP activist ‘not leaned on’ to pull out of challenging Swinney for leadership
Depute leader insists Graeme McCormick’s last-minute withdrawal proof party is united
The Scottish National party’s depute leader has denied that a party activist was “leaned on” to pull out of the leadership race against John Swinney.
The party’s depute leader, Keith Brown, said Graeme McCormick’s last-minute decision on Sunday night not to stand against Swinney was proof the party was united and focused on delivering independence.
Continue reading...Drake denies allegations by Kendrick Lamar of underage sex and harbouring secret child
Drake says ‘I feel disgusted’ by allegations, as enmity between rap superstars deepens following weekend flurry of diss tracks
Drake has denied allegations of child sex offences and of him harbouring a secret child, both levelled at him by Kendrick Lamar in recent days.
The enmity between the rap superstars has escalated over a series of diss tracks in the past few weeks, culminating in a flurry of activity during the weekend with three tracks by Lamar and two by Drake.
Continue reading...