Selasa, 11 Juni 2024

Warning shots fired after North Korean soldiers cross border - Sky News

South Korea's military fired warning shots after about 20 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the border over the weekend, officials said.

North Korean troops in the Demilitarised Zone that separates the two countries crossed the demarcation line on Sunday afternoon, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Tuesday.

It comes amid a recent rise in tension over North Korea's launch of balloons carrying trash into the South.

Colonel Lee Sung-jun said the military did not consider the recent breach to be intentional as the area was densely forested, obscuring border markings or any roads.

"They headed north immediately after our military's warning broadcasts and warning shots, and there were no unusual movements," he said of the border breach.

Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed JCS official, reported the troops were mostly carrying pick axes and other tools and appeared to have become lost.

The South Korean military has previously fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing the border, but most such incidents took place around the maritime border which Pyongyang has disputed.

Read more:
North Korea's attempted satellite launch fails
Kim Jong Un releases song praising himself

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

South Korea vowed to use loudspeakers against North

Also over the weekend, South Korea vowed to blast "unbearable" noise at North Korea for the first time since 2018 after Pyongyang sent more sewage-filled balloons over the border.

Seoul's national security council said on Sunday it will restart loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-North Korean propaganda.

Three waves of sewage-filled balloons, filled with manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, batteries and wastepaper, have been sent into the South since May.

North Korea has said the operation was in response to South Korean activists sending leaflets and propaganda over the demilitarised zone.

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L3dhcm5pbmctc2hvdHMtZmlyZWQtYWZ0ZXItbm9ydGgta29yZWFuLXNvbGRpZXJzLWNyb3NzLWJvcmRlci0xMzE1MTA5NtIBZGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC93YXJuaW5nLXNob3RzLWZpcmVkLWFmdGVyLW5vcnRoLWtvcmVhbi1zb2xkaWVycy1jcm9zcy1ib3JkZXItMTMxNTEwOTY?oc=5

2024-06-11 08:15:08Z
CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L3dhcm5pbmctc2hvdHMtZmlyZWQtYWZ0ZXItbm9ydGgta29yZWFuLXNvbGRpZXJzLWNyb3NzLWJvcmRlci0xMzE1MTA5NtIBZGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC93YXJuaW5nLXNob3RzLWZpcmVkLWFmdGVyLW5vcnRoLWtvcmVhbi1zb2xkaWVycy1jcm9zcy1ib3JkZXItMTMxNTEwOTY

Israel-Gaza war live: Hamas’ statement it accepts UN ceasefire resolution is ‘hopeful sign’, Blinken says - The Guardian

Hamas accepts a UN security council ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate over the details, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has told Reuters. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the statement of support for a UN resolution backing the proposal was a “hopeful sign”, but that word coming from the Palestinian militant group’s leadership in Gaza is what counts.

Conversations on plans for Gaza after the ceasefire would continue on Tuesday afternoon and in the next couple of days, Blinken said. “It’s imperative that we have these plans.”

On his eighth visit to the region since 7 October Blinken spent Monday in Egypt and then travelled to Israel where he has met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant. He has also met with families of those being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas.

Antony Blinken outside his hotel in Tel Aviv meeting family members and supporters who gathered to demand the immediate release of the hostages.

The US secretary of state also cautioned that the longer the military campaign in Gaza continues, the more the wider region risks a war.

The UN security council has adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire proposal outlined by Joe Biden, the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive peace deal to end the Gaza war.

The plan calls for an initial exchange of elderly, sick or female hostages for Palestinian detainees held by Israel during an initial six-week ceasefire. That would evolve into a permanent end to hostilities and the release of all hostages in a second phase that would be negotiated by the two parties and US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

A third phase would involve a major reconstruction effort. The UN has estimated that half of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli bombarment.

However, yesterday Israel’s finance minister, the far-right Bezalel Smotrich, said he would oppose any deal, calling it “collective suicide” and saying that releasing Palestinian detainees would lead to the murder of Jews.

An Al Jazeera correspondent in Lebanon reports that Israeli drones have attacked Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon. Israeli media is reporting fires in the Nahal Zavitan area in the Golan region. Haaretz cites the head of the local council saying it remains unclear whether the fires are the direct result of rocket or missile strikes, or the result of fallen shrapnel. Israel’s military has claimed this morning to have intercepted multiple projectiles fired from the direction of Lebanon. Nahal Zavitan is to the north-east of the Sea of Galilee.

The UK government, which has been under pressure to end arms export licences to Israel while the conflict in Gaza continues, has today published a dataset about licences granted since 7 October.

Our diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour notes:

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the end of May, the UK government did not reject or revoke a single arms export licence. More than 100 were granted and some remain pending. The value of the licences is not revealed. The ad hoc stats were published due to “exceptional parliamentary interest”.

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israeli operation to secure the release of four hostages and their holding by armed groups in densely populated areas could both amount to war crimes, Reuters reports.

“Hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, were reportedly killed and injured,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office.

“Furthermore, by holding hostages in such densely populated areas, the armed groups doing so are putting the lives of Palestinian civilians, as well as the hostages themselves, at added risk from the hostilities. All these actions, by both parties, may amount to war crimes.”

The Islamic Resistance group in Lebanon claims to have used an anti-aircraft missile to force an Israeli aircraft to leave Lebanese airspace. The statement, carried by Lebanon’s National news agency, it said:

In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in solidarity with their brave and honourable resistance, the air defence unit of the Islamic Resistance intercepted a hostile Zionist aircraft that violated Lebanese airspace at midnight on Monday-Tuesday, 11 June 2024. An anti-aircraft missile was fired at the enemy aircraft, forcing it to retreat towards occupied Palestine and immediately leave Lebanese airspace.

The claims have not been independently verified.

NGOs who have been involved in humanitarian efforts to provide relief to the beseiged people of the Gaza Strip have also welcomed the passing of a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire and peace deal.

International Rescue Committee UK (IRC) said:

The IRC welcomes the passing of UN security council Resolution 2735, calling for the urgent implementation of a ceasefire proposal which would secure an immediate halt to the fighting, release of hostages and scale up of humanitarian aid. It would also set the path to a permanent ceasefire. We urge both parties to implement it immediately. This is crucial to ensuring the protection of Palestinian lives and securing the release of all hostages.

A statement from Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East, Sally Abi Khalil, said:

After eight months of brutal war, it is a long overdue and promising step to see the council speak with one voice calling for an immediate, full and complete ceasefire, the release of hostages and unlawfully detained prisoners, and for humanitarian aid to reach people in Gaza urgently.

Member states must also make clear that Israel’s occupation of the whole of Gaza must come to an end under the proposed deal, as well as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

It is critical that all military forces withdraw: this plan must not lead to permanent occupation or de facto annexation, which would kill any hope for a just and lasting peace.

We urge member states and the international community to ensure the swift and full implementation of this resolution; to uphold commitments to end the occupation and blockade; and support efforts for unrestricted humanitarian access and inclusive reconstruction in Gaza.

Hamas accepts a UN security council ceasefire resolution and is ready to negotiate over the details, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has told Reuters. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the statement of support for a UN resolution backing the proposal was a “hopeful sign”, but that word coming from the Palestinian militant group’s leadership in Gaza is what counts.

Conversations on plans for Gaza after the ceasefire would continue on Tuesday afternoon and in the next couple of days, Blinken said. “It’s imperative that we have these plans.”

On his eighth visit to the region since 7 October Blinken spent Monday in Egypt and then travelled to Israel where he has met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant. He has also met with families of those being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas.

Antony Blinken outside his hotel in Tel Aviv meeting family members and supporters who gathered to demand the immediate release of the hostages.

The US secretary of state also cautioned that the longer the military campaign in Gaza continues, the more the wider region risks a war.

The UN security council has adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire proposal outlined by Joe Biden, the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive peace deal to end the Gaza war.

The plan calls for an initial exchange of elderly, sick or female hostages for Palestinian detainees held by Israel during an initial six-week ceasefire. That would evolve into a permanent end to hostilities and the release of all hostages in a second phase that would be negotiated by the two parties and US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

A third phase would involve a major reconstruction effort. The UN has estimated that half of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli bombarment.

However, yesterday Israel’s finance minister, the far-right Bezalel Smotrich, said he would oppose any deal, calling it “collective suicide” and saying that releasing Palestinian detainees would lead to the murder of Jews.

Reuters has a quick snap that a Hamas official has told the news agency that the group accepts the UN ceasefire resolution, and is ready to negotiate over the details.

More details soon …

Israel’s military has said it has intercepted some of a barrage of about 50 projectiles fired towards the Golan Heights from the direction of Lebanon. In a statement the IDF said:

Following the sirens that sounded in northern Israel a short while ago, approximately 50 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon into the area of the central Golan Heights. The IDF aerial defense array successfully intercepted a number of the projectiles. The rest of the launches fell in open areas. No injuries were reported.

Haaretz reports that Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for firing them.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken is meeting with the families of hostages outside his hotel in Tel Aviv. He is expected to make a statement to the media. We will bring you any key lines that emerge.

While US secretary of state Antony Blinken has been staying in Tel Aviv, families of those still held captive by Hamas in Gaza have been demonstrating outside his hotel. Here is a video clip of them.

Israel’s military says that the sounding of warning sirens in Haifa appears to have been as a result of a false identification. In a statement the IDF said:

Following the sirens that sounded in the area of Haifa in northern Israel a short while ago, it appears to have been a false identification. The incident is under review. The sirens regarding rocket and missile launches were activated following the launch of an interceptor due to the danger of falling shrapnel from the interceptor.

Emanuel Fabian, military correspondent at the Times of Israel, has posted to social media a video which appears to show an interception above the skies of Haifa while warning sirens were sounding.

Hours earlier, Israel’s military said it had intercepted “a suspicious aerial target off the coast of Haifa”, and had also taken action against a target approaching Israel from the east. In that instance, the IDF said:

IAF fighter jets successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that approached Israeli territory from the east. The suspicious aerial target was monitored by IDF soldiers, did not cross into Israeli territory and no sirens were sounded according to protocol. No injuries or damage were reported.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Hamas has said that one of its commanders in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was killed in a clash with Israeli forces yesterday.

Associated Press reports that in a statement released late on Monday, Hamas said Mohammed Jaber Abdo was killed along with three other fighters in a village near Ramallah.

A joint statement by the Israeli army and police earlier on Monday said undercover forces had tracked down a suspect wanted in an attack on a nearby Jewish settlement.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has posted to social media images of him meeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that civil defence crews have recovered “scores” of bodies from under the rubble of homes targeted by Israeli warplanes in Gaza City in the north of the territory.

It also reports that a number of civilians were killed and others were injured overnight by Israeli strikes targeting Nuseirat refugee camp.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Overnight Israel’s military has announced that four of its troops have been killed in southern Gaza.

That takes the total number killed since Israel began its ground offensive in the territory to 298. Including those killed during the surprise Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, the war has in total seen 650 Israeli troops killed.

Over 3,750 troops have been wounded during the conflict, with 252 wounded troops currently hospitalised. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

Welcome to our latest live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war. I am Martin Belam and I’ll be with you for the next few hours.

The US president, Joe Biden, has called on Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal, in the wake of a successful UN security council vote on the proposal – the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive peace deal to end the Gaza war.

The security council adopted a resolution calling for Hamas to agree to a three-phase hostage-for-ceasefire deal, initially outlined by Joe Biden on 31 May.

A Hamas statement said the group welcomed the resolution, though it was not immediately clear if that meant the leadership in Gaza accepted the ceasefire plan. The position of the Israeli government is also ambiguous.

In a post on social media after the vote, Biden said:

The UN security council just adopted our resolution calling on Hamas to accept the deal to establish a ceasefire with the release of hostages.

Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove they mean it.

Meanwhile, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken will hold talks with key Israeli opposition figures on Tuesday, a day after he arrived in the country to push a ceasefire plan, reports Agence France-Presse.

Blinken will on Tuesday meet Benny Gantz, the former army chief who quit prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Sunday, in Tel Aviv, as well as opposition leader Yair Lapid.

After a stopover in Egypt, where he called on regional governments to “press Hamas to say yes” to the ceasefire proposal, Blinken met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday.

The US secretary of state is on his eighth tour of the region since the start of the war, and is also expected to stop in Jordan and Qatar.

More on that in a moment but first, a summary of the latest developments:

  • Antony Blinken has said there is a “sense of urgency” around proposals for an immediate ceasefire, confirming that Egyptian mediators had spoken to Hamas earlier today. While he refused to be drawn on details of the conversations, the US secretary of state said his country greatly appreciated the role being played by Egypt, but also said that everybody in the region needed to apply pressure to Hamas to get them to accept the deal that was on the table. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters Blinken’s comments were “biased to Israel” and that his stance is a real obstacle to reaching an agreement

  • However the prospect of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be rapidly receding after the far-right Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich – on whom Benjamin Netanyahu is now reliant after the resignations of more moderate ministers at the weekend – said he would oppose a deal. Smotrich’s comments, during a Knesset committee meeting, came amid the fallout from the resignation of the former army chief of staff Benny Gantz from the war cabinet. Gantz quit on the same weekend that Israel rescued four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in an operation that Gaza’s health ministry said killed more than 270 Palestinians and injured hundreds more

  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday stressed the importance of international efforts to remove obstacles to delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip during his meeting with Blinken

  • The Palestine Red Crescent Society has criticised Israel for continuing to keep the Rafah border closed, calling it “an enforcement of collective punishment” while Gaza suffers what it describes as “acute levels of famine”

  • The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza has issued new casualty figures, claiming that 37,124 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in the territory, with 84,712 injured. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict

  • Humanitarian assistance has begun to come ashore in Gaza from a US-made pier once more, two weeks after the short-lived sea corridor was suspended due to storm damage, but security concerns after one of the bloodiest days of the war meant the aid was not distributed. The head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain, said the food distribution from the pier had been “paused” because she was “concerned about the safety of our people”. An Israeli military operation on Saturday freed four hostages but killed 274 Palestinians and left one Israeli commando dead.

  • Jordan will host a summit Tuesday on the urgent humanitarian response for Palestinians. The summit seeks to bring together leaders and aid officials to “determine means for enhancing the international community’s response to the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip”, according to the Jordanian royal court, and is jointly organised by the UN, Jordan and Egypt on the Dead Sea coast. US secretary of state Antony Blinken will attend, as well as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

  • Israeli forces killed four Palestinians on Monday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority said, one of whom the military said had started a fire at an Israeli outpost, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Hundreds of Palestinians and more than a dozen Israelis have been killed in violence across the West Bank since the outbreak of Israel-Gaza war.

  • Israeli strikes targeting a convoy of tankers in northeastern Lebanon late Monday killed three members of Hezbollah, an NGO and a military source told AFP. “Three Hezbollah members were killed by nine Israeli missile strikes that targeted a convoy of tankers and a building” in a village in Hermel district on the border with Syria, the military source told AFP, adding that three people were also wounded. Two others were also killed in the attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

  • Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday they had arrested an “American-Israeli spy cell”, a few days after the Iran-backed group detained about a dozen United Nations personnel. The alleged cell included former staff of the US embassy in Yemen, according to a television statement from Abdel Hakim Al Khaiwani, the Houthis’ intelligence chief. Israeli government officials had no immediate comment, and the UN declined to comment on the allegations. The US state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  • Israel’s parliament voted Tuesday to revive a controversial law to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews, which is backed by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lawmakers voted 63 to 57 to press ahead with the legislation, which foresees the gradual and limited increase in ultra-Orthodox Jews doing military service. The majority of Israeli Jews must serve in the military, but the ultra-Orthodox community has been exempt in favour of religious study.

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzExL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1oYW1hcy1sYXRlc3QtbmV3c9IBbGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzExL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1oYW1hcy1sYXRlc3QtbmV3cw?oc=5

2024-06-11 06:27:00Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzExL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1oYW1hcy1sYXRlc3QtbmV3c9IBbGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzExL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1oYW1hcy1sYXRlc3QtbmV3cw

Senin, 10 Juni 2024

Three possible outcomes of Macron’s shocking snap election - The Guardian

Two years into his second term and with three more still to run, Emmanuel Macron’s ratings are not what anyone would call great: 65% disapproval, 34% approval. Since losing his absolute majority in the assemblée nationale in 2022, he has struggled.

Parliament has been increasingly paralysed, with the government relying on ad hoc deals with increasingly reluctant opposition parties or despised constitutional tools to pass unpopular legislation.

All the while, the 88 deputies of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) – the largest opposition party in parliament – have had what amounts to a free ride, voting against pretty much all the executive proposes, burnishing their image as “responsible” MPs, ready for power.

That was one reason why Macron, to all but universal astonishment, called a snap election on Sunday night: to force the far-right party into a real confrontation, and slow – maybe even reverse – its seemingly unstoppable upward momentum.

National elections, he also reasoned, were not the same as European elections, in which RN’s list – headed by the 28-year-old party president, Jordan Bardella – garnered 32% of the national vote, against 15% for the list backed by the president.

Long seen by voters as a low-risk way to punish whoever is in government, the single-round, national list system of the European ballot favours outsiders; the two rounds of French national elections make it harder for non-mainstream parties to win.

Moreover, Macron seems to be calculating that if he can dramatise the choice facing the French the stakes will be raised. In his televised address, he was effectively telling them: “In every election, you vote for them in greater numbers. So now it’s time to decide: do you really want to be governed by the far right?”

Contrary to Sunday’s ballot, this will not be an election for a distant assembly: 70% of voterscould turn out for a national election, compared with 50% for the European poll. Moderates are more likely to mobilise, not stay at home; the fraying anti-far right front républicain may even be at least partly revived.

The president’s team know his unpopularity will play into voters’ decisions - but so too, they believe, will a long, hard look at RN’s concrete policy proposals. What is more, the autumn was already spelling grief. A string of censure motions was on its way, likely entailing the collapse of prime minister Gabriel Attal’s government. So why not lance the boil now?

That, at any rate, appears to be the thinking behind Macron’s enormous gamble. What, though, could be the outcome?

Scenario 1: Macron recovers his majority

His advisers have insisted the election will be fought to win.

It is possible he believes he can win a new majority. And when fully engaged on the campaign trail, Macron is an impressive performer. But it feels like way too much water has gone under the bridge for that to happen this time.

In another country, at another time, a passionate appeal to democratic and republican values in the face of a far-right party that, for all its mainstreaming, remains deeply anti-European, Moscow-friendly, nativist and authoritarian might have worked.

But the far right is now largely normalised across Europe, Le Pen’s RN has never been as broadly popular – and left-leaning voters may have been asked once too often to “hold their noses” and vote for a party they do not much like to keep it at bay.

Scenario 2: National Rally wins a majority

Many RN activists were cock-a-hoop when Macron said he was dissolving the assembly: they believe they can win an absolute majority of its 577 seats. If that happens, convention demands that one of their number be named prime minister.

That would most likely be Bardella, who has already said he would be up for it; Le Pen has her eyes set squarely on the presidential election of 2027, for which polls have her as favourite. Though to liberals it sounds the stuff of nightmares, analysts say Macron may quite fancy this scenario.

A president and parliament from opposing parties is known as cohabitation. There is no precedent for a mainstream president “cohabiting” with a far right-controlled parliament – but French prime ministers rarely emerge from the job unscathed.

Macron may be calculating that, confronted with the tough realities of government, Bardella and his cabinet may simply prove not up to the job. Meanwhile, of course, he will sit in the Élysée pointing out their shortcomings.

If that is his next-best option, it is a monumental gamble. RN has proved disciplined in opposition, and an RN-controlled parliament would effectively be in charge of much of French domestic policymaking.

Pensions, unemployment benefit, education, tax, immigration and nationality requirements, public employment, law and order, employment legislation – all fall, in principle, under parliament’s, and the government’s, remit.

Foreign, European and defence policy are the preserve of the president, but RN’s nation-first policies would mean war with Macron and Brussels.

Scenario 3: no overall majority

Most analysts believe the picture viewers are most likely to see on their TV screens on 7 July is a parliament in which Le Pen’s party has significantly increased its MPs – even, perhaps, become the largest single party – but has no absolute majority.

Instantly, problems would arise: the president is theoretically free to appoint who they want as prime minister – but in practice, because parliament can force the resignation of the government, generally chooses someone acceptable to the assembly. Who?

Macron may try to seek alliances with the mainstream centre right or centre left, but how far he will be successful is anyone’s guess. The most likely outcome, perhaps, is an even more splintered parliament and, ultimately, deadlock.

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9hcnRpY2xlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL3RocmVlLXBvc3NpYmxlLW91dGNvbWVzLW9mLW1hY3JvbnMtc2hvY2tpbmctc25hcC1lbGVjdGlvbtIBAA?oc=5

2024-06-11 01:31:00Z
CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9hcnRpY2xlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL3RocmVlLXBvc3NpYmxlLW91dGNvbWVzLW9mLW1hY3JvbnMtc2hvY2tpbmctc25hcC1lbGVjdGlvbtIBAA

Israel-Gaza war live: Netanyahu to decide on future of war cabinet after Gantz resigns - The Guardian

Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that releasing Palestinians held in Israeli detention in return for hostages could lead to “the murder of many Jews”.

Speaking at a Knesset finance committee session which was attended by family members of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, Smotrich said Hamas was demanding the release of “hundreds of murderers”.

Haaretz quotes him saying:

This could lead to the murder of many Jews. When Hamas demands to end the war while it’s surviving in Gaza, it means that the group is arming itself, digging tunnels, buying rockets and that many Jews could be murdered and taken hostage on another 7 October.

This is the dilemma we are facing. And it is painful. It is our responsibility as leadership to think not only about the current situation, but also about its long-term consequences.

He said the Israeli government could not agree to any move that would amount to “collective suicide”.

The meeting erupted into a shouting match, with one family member of a hostage suggesting that Smotrich should offer to take their place in captivity. Another, according to Hebrew news website Ynet, said “You will take responsibility. There are 120 abductees. You will replace 120 Knesset members with 120 abductees.”

On Sunday former military chief Benny Gantz resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, potentially ushering in more political instability evan as Israel continues it months-long campaign against Hamas inside the Gaza Strip.

Gantz had given the prime minister a deadline to produce a “day after” proposal for Gaza, and has accused him of pushing strategic considerations such as a hostage deal aside for his own political survival.

Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the newswires from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, where Palestinians are grieving over more people who have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Palestinians carry the body of a relative killed in an Israeli airstrike.
A man mourns over the body of a relativ at a morgue in Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
People in in Deir al-Balah pray next to the body of someone killed in an Israeli airstrike, 10 June.

Haaretz reports that a house in the northern Israeli kibbutz of Menara has caught fire after a rocket was fired from Lebanon.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has asked activists to “turn the heat down” after the US consulate in Sydney was damaged in what appeared to be an act of pro-Palestinian support.

Albanese said “People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in either Israel or in the Palestinian occupied territories. And I just say, again, reiterate my call to turn the heat down and measures such as painting the U.S. consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime to damage property.”

Windows were damaged and inverted red triangles were painted on the building.

Damaged windows at the US Consulate in Sydney, 10 June.

Associated Press reported that New South Wales premier Chris Minns said “We can make our point in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behavior.”

Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for Al Jazeera, writes that:

Israeli forces have withdrawn from the eastern part of Deir al-Balah, but it is a very sad morning. Civil defence teams were able to bring the bodies of five people who were killed in the area. We’re expecting them to bring more bodies from eastern Deir al-Balah. There have been a couple of airstrikes in the area after the Israeli forces withdrew.

Last month Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel. An Israeli court recently upheld the decision.

Reuters reports that ahead of Antony Blinken’s visit to the region, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has urged the US to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.

“We call upon the US administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war,” he said.

Neither Hamas or Israel have been able to agree any kind of ceasefire or hostage deal since December.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports widespread bombardment of the Gaza Strip is continuing, with Israeli artillery shelling multiple areas. It said “a number of citizens were killed, and others were left with various injuries” without providing specific numbers.

It reported “Two citizens were killed, and others sustained various injuries, as a result of the occupation aircraft bombing a house in Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.”

Wafa also reports that in the West Bank a 15-year-old child has been killed by Israeli forces near Tubas and a 21-year-old student was killed by Israeli forces near Tulkarm.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Antony Blinken’s expected trip to the Middle East today is the eighth time the US secretary of state has visited the region since the surprise 7 October attack inside southern Israel by Hamas.

Blinken is set to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo before traveling to Israel where he will meet with Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Middle East crisis. The future of Israel’s war cabinet, formed after the Hamas attacks of 7 October, is uncertain after former defence minister Benny Gantz resigned in protest at Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war.

Gantz, the leader of the centre-right National Unity party, said: “Netanyahu is preventing us from progressing towards a true victory” and called for fresh elections, having set a deadline of 8 June for the prime minister to present concrete “day after” plans for the Gaza Strip.

The turmoil in Israeli politics comes amid international anger at the scale of devastation in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp as a result of the operation to rescue four Israeli hostages. The EU’s foreign minister, Josep Borrell, condemned the attack as a “massacre” of Palestinian civilians, and urged a ceasefire, saying: “The bloodbath must end immediately.”

  • Hamas has warned that conditions would worsen for the remaining Israeli captives after the raid at the weekend in which at least 274 Palestinians were reported killed by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry also said about 700 people were wounded in the operation that was centred on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The operation resulted in the rescue of four Israeli hostages who had been held captive since Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel.

  • Noa Argamani, Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv were freed during the operation. Israel has used its military to return seven hostages since the outbreak of the war, with over 100 thought to remain in Gaza, many of whom are believed to be dead.

  • Hamas claimed three Israeli hostages were killed in the rescue operation, including a US citizen. No evidence was provided and the Guardian could not independently verify the claims. Hamas has released a video showing three unidentifiable corpses with censor bars over their faces.

  • US secretary of state Antony Blinken was heading back to the Middle East on Monday to push a ceasefire plan, but political upsets in Israel and silence from Hamas raised further questions as to whether he can succeed.

  • Israel continued to attack central Gaza on Sunday. Reuters reported that separate Israeli airstrikes on houses in the city of Deir Al-Balah and in nearby Al-Bureij killed three Palestinians in each location earlier today, while tanks shelled parts of nearby Al-Maghazi and Al-Nuseirat.

  • Israeli tanks also advanced into two new districts of the southern city of Rafah. It appears to be an apparent effort to complete the encirclement of the entire eastern side of the city.

  • Aid has been delivered into Gaza from a newly repaired American-built pier after it suffered storm damage. In a post on social media, US Central Command confirmed aid was delivered in Gaza via the pier on Saturday morning.

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbm55LWdhbnR6LWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1sYXRlc3QtdXBkYXRlc9IBdWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbm55LWdhbnR6LWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1sYXRlc3QtdXBkYXRlcw?oc=5

2024-06-10 08:55:38Z
CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbm55LWdhbnR6LWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1sYXRlc3QtdXBkYXRlc9IBdWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjQvanVuLzEwL2lzcmFlbC1nYXphLXdhci1saXZlLWJlbm55LWdhbnR6LWJlbmphbWluLW5ldGFueWFodS1sYXRlc3QtdXBkYXRlcw

Kyiv says its forces hit one of Putin's most advanced Su-57 warplanes – latest news - The Independent

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

Ukraine says it has successfully hit one of Russia’s most-advanced warplanes, stationed at an airbase nearly 600km (370 miles) from the frontline.

If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first known successful strike on an Su-57 plane, a twin-engine stealth fighter worth $35m. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said Russia only had six Su-57s in operation.

The strike, believed to have been conducted using drones, comes after Ukraine’s Western allies permitted Kyiv to use their weapons for limited strikes inside Russia.

Earlier, US president Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin was not going to stop with the war in Ukraine, pledging to support Europe against Russia.

Mr Biden said the whole of Europe was threatened by the Russian president. The US president met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and the two pledged solidarity on the wars raging in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky declared that the Russian army had failed in its Kharkiv offensive that began almost a month ago.

1717994015

Ukraine shares images of destroyed Russian Su-57 stealth fighter

Ukraine’s main intelligence agency has shared satellite images that it says show the impact of its latest strike deep inside Russian territory, targeting one of Moscow’s most advanced warplanes.

The photos show the aftermath of what was likely a drone strike on the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, hitting an Su-57 aircraft.

The Su-57, which is capable of carrying stealth missiles across hundreds of kilometres (miles), was among “a countable few” of its type in Moscow’s arsenal, Kyiv’s intelligence agency said. Russia has not issued any comment over the weekend addressing the Ukrainian claims of the attack on its airbase.

In a before photo taken on 7 June, Friday – a day before the attack – the airbase has an aircraft on its tarmac but the after photo taken on Saturday showed black soot spots on the same spot and craters around the parked Sukhoi.

The drone attack took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, some 589km from the war frontline
The drone attack took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, some 589km from the war frontline (Defence Intelligence of Ukraine/ X)

According to reports by Russian agencies, Moscow’s armed forces obtained “more than 10” new Su-57s last year, while 76 are set to be produced by 2028.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 05:33
1718002040

Putin could visit North Korea in coming weeks, reports Russian media

Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks, the Vedomosti newspaper reported today, citing a diplomatic source.

Russia’s ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora confirmed to Vedomosti that the president’s visit to Pyongyang will happen and is being “actively prepared”.

The newspaper said Putin could visit Vietnam as early as June and most likely immediately after his visit to North Korea. Putin’s only previous trip to North Korea was in 2000, the first year of his presidency.

The Kremlin has said Russia wants to build a partnership with North Korea “in all areas” but has yet to confirm the date of the visit. Russia has stepped up ties with North Korea and other countries hostile to the United States such as Iran since the start of the war with Ukraine – relations that are a source of concern to the West.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 07:47
1717998337

Russian military bloggers criticise Moscow for not protecting Su-57

Angry Russian military bloggers have slammed Moscow and the Russian military command after a drone strike by Ukraine damaged a top-tier warplane.

Mil-bloggers “seized on the 8 June strike to criticise the Russian military command for not constructing hangars to hide Russian aircraft from Ukrainian strikes and claimed that Russian forces could construct hangars at every military airfield in Russia for the cost of one Su-57 aircraft,” said the Washington-based think-tank The Institute for the Study of War.

An Su-57 costs an estimated $35m, it added.

Citing Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, the ISW said that the Ukrainian forces struck one of Russia’s six operational Su-57 aircraft and that Russian forces are constructing another six aircraft.

“GUR Spokesperson Andriy Yusov stated that there may have been two Su-57 aircraft at the airfield during the 8 June strike and that the GUR is assessing battle damage,” the ISW said in its latest analysis.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 06:45
1717997772

Watch: Zelensky inspects French military equipment after Macron promises warplanes to Ukraine

France plans to provide Mirage 2000 warplanes to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots this summer, the French president said.

It was not confirmed how many single-engine jet fighters would be provided, by when or under what financial terms.

Mr Macron added that France had proposed to train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers but did not say where the soldiers would be trained.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate against Western countries that are allowing Ukraine to hit Russia with their long-range missiles.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 06:36
1717996365
Arpan Rai10 June 2024 06:12
1717995652

G7 plans to warn small Chinese banks over Russia ties

US officials expect the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies to send a tough new warning next week to smaller Chinese banks to stop assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Leaders gathering at the 13-15 June summit in Italy hosted by prime minister Giorgia Meloni are expected to focus heavily during their private meetings on the threat posed by burgeoning Chinese-Russian trade to the fight in Ukraine, and what to do about it.

Those conversations are likely to result in public statements on the issue involving Chinese banks, according to a US official involved in planning the event and another person briefed on the issue.

The United States and its G7 partners - Britain, Canada France, Germany, Italy and Japan - are not expected to take any immediate punitive action against any banks during the summit, such as restricting their access to the Swift messaging system or cutting off access to the dollar.

Joe Middleton10 June 2024 06:00
1717992383

Zelensky lays out plan to protect Ukraine, includes ‘America’s leadership’

Volodymyr Zelensky said he is aiming to amp up support for the war-hit nation and hinted a new agreements of support for Kyiv in progress in a long-term plan for Ukraine’s recovery.

“One of our primary goals right now is to increase support for Ukraine in order to strengthen our society’s resilience in terms of energy, recovery after strikes, and all of the other foundations of normal life. We must protect life despite Russia’s attempts to bring more pressure and destruction,” he said last night.

Mr Zelensky added: “We are working with European partners on new agreements, particularly on additional support steps from Germany. These days, we are also working diligently to prepare a bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the United States.”

“We are making every effort to ensure that America’s leadership is felt. I am grateful to everyone who helps,” he said.

The war in Ukraine has entered 837th day today.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 05:06
1717990774

Ukraine hit one of Putin’s most advanced warplanes, it says

Ukrainian forces have hit an ultra-modern Russian warplane stationed on an air base nearly 600km (370 miles) from the frontline, after its Western allies allowed Kyiv to use their weapons for limited strikes inside Russia.

If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first known successful strike on a Su-57 fighter plane, a twin-engine stealth fighter lauded as Moscow’s most advanced military aircraft.

Satellite photos shared by Kyiv’s main intelligence agency showed the aftermath of the attack. In one photo, black soot marks and small craters can be seen dotting a concrete strip around the parked aircraft.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, the strike took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, some 589km (366 miles) from the frontline. It wasn’t immediately clear what weapons were used, but the airfield’s distance from Ukraine suggests that it was likely hit by drones.

Read more here:

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 04:39
1717990050

Russian forces close to capturing Ukrainian town near Bakhmut

Russian forces are likely making headway towards their longstanding goal of capturing the strategic Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, military sources from both sides of the war said.

A Ukrainian military source and a blogger said the Russian forces had started occupying a district of the town alongside a canal, reported Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda.

“Over the past week, there have been more than 1,500 instances of shelling of the outskirts of Chasiv Yar from the north to the south,” it quoted its source as saying.

They added that Russian troops were using guided aerial bombs to clear areas along a major road “and with the support of multiple long-range missiles and drones they have begun to move forward and build up their forces”.

From the Russian side, its 98th Paratrooper Division said Ukrainian forces were “doing everything possible to ensure our units do not move across the canal and take up positions in the ‘New’ district on the other side”. Russian assault units were continuing to clear the canal district, it said.

Chasiv Yar stands on high ground about 20km (12 miles) to the west of Bakhmut, a town Russian forces seized a year ago after months of battles that flattened nearly all its buildings.

If captured, the town will serve as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

Arpan Rai10 June 2024 04:27
1717988452

Ukraine is in a race against time to steel itself for a Russian summer assault. Western help needs to speed up

Leaders such as Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron used D-Day celebrations to underline their support for Kyiv, writes Kim Sengupta, but the West is struggling to find the production capacity for the shells and missiles the country desperately needs

Joe Middleton10 June 2024 04:00

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL3VrcmFpbmUtcnVzc2lhLXdhci1saXZlLXB1dGluLXN1LTU3LXdhcnBsYW5lcy1iMjU1OTYwNi5odG1s0gEA?oc=5

2024-06-10 06:48:11Z
CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL3VrcmFpbmUtcnVzc2lhLXdhci1saXZlLXB1dGluLXN1LTU3LXdhcnBsYW5lcy1iMjU1OTYwNi5odG1s0gEA

Minggu, 09 Juni 2024

EU elections live: Centre-right on course to strengthen majority in EU election, as far-right makes gains - BBC

You could be forgiven for asking what just happened, because as the big election news rolled in across European politics, France's Emmanuel Macron announced he was dissolving the French parliament and calling snap elections.

That decision stole the show, after his Renew party's heavy defeat to Marine Le Pen's National Rally became clear.

But there are many other significant stories both national and European.

The opposition conservative parties won in both Germany and Spain. But it was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who had the biggest headache, as his Social Democrats were overtaken by the far-right AfD.

The new centre-right Hungarian party of Peter Magyar came from nowhere to finish second with more than 30% of the vote, cementing his challenge to PM Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz.

Across Europe it was the night of the centre right, with 189 seats in the 720-seat European Parliament set to go to their victorious grouping, the European People's Party.

Copyright: .

However, Italy's Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy won the Italian vote and Austria's far-right Freedom Party FPÖ looks on course for a narrow but historic victory in the European vote.

But there was no far-right victory in Belgium. PM Alexander De Croo's liberals suffered a heavy defeat in national elections, but it was Flemish nationalist leader Bart De Wever who claimed victory.

Portugal's opposition Socialists secured a narrow victory, but the best result for the left came in Denmark, where the Green Left was on course to become the biggest party, defeating Mette Frederiksen's governing Social Democrats.

Adblock test (Why?)


https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2xpdmUvd29ybGQtZXVyb3BlLTY5MTAyODQz0gEA?oc=5

2024-06-10 05:46:16Z
CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2xpdmUvd29ybGQtZXVyb3BlLTY5MTAyODQz0gEA

EU elections 2024 live: Macron says France needs ‘clear majority’ after calling snap elections following far-right surge - The Guardian

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

  1. EU elections 2024 live: Macron says France needs ‘clear majority’ after calling snap elections following far-right surge  The Guardian
  2. European elections: Dramatic night across EU capped by Macron bombshell  BBC
  3. Euro slumps after Macron calls snap French election - latest updates  The Telegraph
  4. Emmanuel Macron is taking a huge gamble in calling this election - what happens if it doesn't pay off?  Sky News
  5. Macron is trying to scare French voters into rejecting Le Pen's party  The Spectator

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipwFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vd29ybGQvbGl2ZS8yMDI0L2p1bi8xMC9ldS1ldXJvcGUtZWxlY3Rpb25zLTIwMjQtbGl2ZS1yZXN1bHRzLW5ld3MtdXBkYXRlcy1sYXRlc3QtZnJhbmNlLWdlcm1hbnktZXVyby1ldXJvcGVhbi1wYXJsaWFtZW50YXJ5LWVsZWN0aW9uLXJlc3VsdNIBpwFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vd29ybGQvbGl2ZS8yMDI0L2p1bi8xMC9ldS1ldXJvcGUtZWxlY3Rpb25zLTIwMjQtbGl2ZS1yZXN1bHRzLW5ld3MtdXBkYXRlcy1sYXRlc3QtZnJhbmNlLWdlcm1hbnktZXVyby1ldXJvcGVhbi1wYXJsaWFtZW50YXJ5LWVsZWN0aW9uLXJlc3VsdA?oc=5

2024-06-10 04:15:00Z
CBMipwFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vd29ybGQvbGl2ZS8yMDI0L2p1bi8xMC9ldS1ldXJvcGUtZWxlY3Rpb25zLTIwMjQtbGl2ZS1yZXN1bHRzLW5ld3MtdXBkYXRlcy1sYXRlc3QtZnJhbmNlLWdlcm1hbnktZXVyby1ldXJvcGVhbi1wYXJsaWFtZW50YXJ5LWVsZWN0aW9uLXJlc3VsdNIBpwFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vd29ybGQvbGl2ZS8yMDI0L2p1bi8xMC9ldS1ldXJvcGUtZWxlY3Rpb25zLTIwMjQtbGl2ZS1yZXN1bHRzLW5ld3MtdXBkYXRlcy1sYXRlc3QtZnJhbmNlLWdlcm1hbnktZXVyby1ldXJvcGVhbi1wYXJsaWFtZW50YXJ5LWVsZWN0aW9uLXJlc3VsdA