How food and chopstick skills are helping ease US-China tensions
What officials eat and how have become key ingredients in efforts to find common ground in a testy relationship.
US will stop supplying some weapons to Israel if it invades Rafah, Biden warns
US president publicly warns that his administration will not provide the weapons for an offensive on Rafah
Joe Biden has issued a blunt warning to Israel that his administration will stop supplying bombs and artillery shells if its military pushes ahead with an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, in what could mark the start of a turning point in relations between the two countries.
The US president delivered the warning in a television interview in which he brushed aside Israeli and Republican complaints and made clear his administration would not provide the weapons for an offensive on Rafah, which the US, the UN and other aid agencies warn would trigger a humanitarian disaster.
Continue reading...Natalie Elphicke: Starmer faces anger after Tory MP’s defection – BBC.com
- Natalie Elphicke: Starmer faces anger after Tory MP's defection BBC.com
- In fresh blow for Sunak, another Tory lawmaker defects to Labour The Times of India
- The Guardian view on MPs crossing the floor: a triumph of political theatre over substance The Guardian
- UK Prime Minister Sunak suffers further blow as another Conservative lawmaker defects to Labour Yahoo! Voices
- Tory Natalie Elphicke's defection sparks backlash from Labour women POLITICO Europe
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah – CNN
- Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah CNN
- US pauses weapons shipment to Israel Fox News
- Biden says US won't supply weapons for Israel to attack Rafah, in warning to ally The Associated Press
- The implications after President Biden put a hold on a shipment of bombs for Israel NPR
- ‘It’s Just Wrong’: Biden Threatens to Withhold Bombs If Israel Invades Rafah Rolling Stone
EU moves to give profits from Russian assets to Ukraine – BBC.com
- EU moves to give profits from Russian assets to Ukraine BBC.com
- EU to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine's recovery, military Axios
- EU reaches deal on using profits from Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine The Guardian
- Brussels agrees to send €3bn from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine Euronews
- EU agrees to arm Ukraine using profits from Russian state assets Financial Times
Israel’s US ambassador slams House Dems for trying to block military aid – POLITICO
- Israel's US ambassador slams House Dems for trying to block military aid POLITICO
- U.S. postpones delivery of report to Congress on Israel's war conduct The Washington Post
- US State Department to report on Israel's following of US law guidelines The Jerusalem Post
- Biden’s Ready to Pause Sending US Bombs to Israel Bloomberg
- Biden administration set to decide whether Israel has violated U.S. and international law in Gaza PBS NewsHour
4 flight attendants arrested, accused of taking millions in drug money to Dominican Republic – NBC News
Trinity College Dublin agrees to divest from Israeli firms after student protest
Five-day encampment in university grounds that caused the college major loss of income ended in victory for campaigners
Students at Trinity College Dublin have ended a five-day encampment after the university pledged to cut ties with Israeli companies.
Student leaders claimed victory on Wednesday night for a US-style campaign that had disrupted the campus and blocked access to the Book of Kells.
Continue reading...Nicaragua cancels Chinese plan for controversial canal 10 years on
Critics said proposal to build canal linking Atlantic and Pacific would endanger environment and rural communities
Nearly a decade after it broke ground on a controversial plan to build a canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific, Nicaragua has canceled a concession granted to a Chinese businessman to complete the project which critics said would endanger the environment and displace rural communities.
Despite a symbolic “ground-breaking” in 2014, no work was done on the canal that was to link Nicaragua’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. At one point, crews broke ground on access roads near the canal but digging the waterway never started.
Continue reading...Will Israel face consequences over its seizure of the Rafah Crossing? – Al Jazeera English
- Will Israel face consequences over its seizure of the Rafah Crossing? Al Jazeera English
- Israeli military operations in Rafah expand from airstrikes to ground operations, satellite images show CNN
- The U.S. Increased Its Pressure on Israel to Reach a Truce The New York Times
- Palestinians Thought a Cease-Fire Had Been Clinched. Then the Tanks Rolled In. The Wall Street Journal
- Seven LIV golfers invited to PGA Championship ESPN
Will Israel face consequences over its seizure of the Rafah crossing?
Israeli army kills more Palestians in Gaza after takeover of crossing on vital route for aid deliveries.
In the US South, pro-Palestinians face crackdown on campus and in streets
Authorities have been intolerant of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Louisiana, but the movement continues.
What will U.S.-Indonesia relations be like with new president Prabowo? – NPR
- What will U.S.-Indonesia relations be like with new president Prabowo? NPR
- Analysis: NasDem Party, PKB join Prabowo, wait for rewards - Academia The Jakarta Post
- Indonesia's next president has a complicated history with the U.S. WPR
- Indonesia's next president has a complicated history with the U.S. | NPR KCRW
- The Constitutional Court Will Immediately Read The Dismissal Decision Of The 2024 Legislative PHPU VOI English
Latest Israel-Hamas war news and Gaza updates: Cease-fire talks continue amid concerns over Rafah invasion – The Washington Post
- Latest Israel-Hamas war news and Gaza updates: Cease-fire talks continue amid concerns over Rafah invasion The Washington Post
- Israel’s war on Gaza live: In Rafah ‘extreme fear and endless anxiety’ | Israel War on Gaza News Al Jazeera English
- Two Dozen Bodies Brought to Rafah Hospital, Doctor Says The New York Times
- Rafah hospitals in danger of being overwhelmed, say Gaza doctors The Guardian
- The Latest | Rafah's hospitals will run out of fuel in 3 days, WHO says The Associated Press
UK to expel Russian defence attache over Moscow’s ‘dangerous activities’
British government terms Maxim Elovik an 'undeclared military intelligence officer' as Russia promises to respond.
Netanyahu’s political survival in hands of far-right ministers – The Guardian
- Netanyahu’s political survival in hands of far-right ministers The Guardian
- With a Gaza Cease-Fire in the Balance, Netanyahu Maneuvers to Keep Power The New York Times
- Benjamin Netanyahu's growing political challenges CBS News
- Israel Must Say Yes to a Hostage Deal, No to Conquering Rafah - Haaretz Editorial Haaretz
- With a Gaza Ceasefire in the Balance, Netanyahu Maneuvers to Keep Power Yahoo! Voices
Biden seeks to pull rank in US-Israel relationship – a trial of strength beckons
The decision to place a weapons shipment on hold sends a message to Netanyahu that the US dog is beginning to regain control of its tail
In placing a hold on a shipment of US-made bombs to Israel, and warning there could be more restrictions to come, Joe Biden is sending a message to Benjamin Netanyahu that his administration is no longer prepared to be a dog wagged by its own tail.
Netanyahu’s repeated defiance of US warnings not to pursue an offensive on Rafah had been based on an assumption that curbing the US weapons supply could inflict more political damage on Biden than on the Israeli prime minister, and that Netanyahu could cause havoc for the president at home at the height of an election year.
Continue reading...Hong Kong: Government to ban Glory to Hong Kong after court win – BBC.com
- Hong Kong: Government to ban Glory to Hong Kong after court win BBC.com
- Hong Kong court bans 'Glory to Hong Kong' song The Associated Press
- Hong Kong court bans protest anthem, says it can be used as weapon Reuters
- Hong Kong Court Bans ‘Glory to Hong Kong,’ a Pro-Democracy Song The New York Times
- Hong Kong Government Wins Appeal to Ban Popular Protest Song Bloomberg
George building collapse: Trapped South African dad Delvin Safers rescued – BBC.com
- George building collapse: Trapped South African dad Delvin Safers rescued BBC.com
- Dozens still missing after South African building collapse; 7 confirmed dead ABC News
- 5 confirmed dead, 49 missing after building under construction collapses in South Africa Fox News
- Hope for South Africa building collapse survivors fuels massive search and rescue operation CBS News
- At least five killed, dozens trapped in building collapse in South Africa The Jerusalem Post
Israel demolishes nearly 50 Bedouin homes in Negev region
Nearly 400 people are now homeless after Israel demolished the homes of a Bedouin community in the Negev desert.