On Wednesday Iran warned the U.S. it was “warmongering during the coronavirus outbreak,” after it deployed Patriot air defense missiles to Iraq.
"They (the Israeli military) are calling people in the eastern area of Rafah, some also in the west near the Rafah crossing, ordering them to leave ... We don't know what to do, but I will take my family to Deir Al-Balah though I am not in the targeted area, maybe not yet." During their discussion, Minister Gallant discussed the efforts undertaken to achieve the release of hostages and indicated that at this stage, Hamas refuses the frameworks at hand.
Most Asian markets rose Monday after data showing fewer US jobs were created last month rekindled optimism interest rates will be cut this year, while mainland Chinese equities bounced on hopes for fresh government economic support.The news ramped up bets on the Fed cutting rates in September while investors also lifted their outlook on how many there would be, although the two priced in are still well short of the six envisaged at the start of the year.
French President Emmanuel Macron was on Monday to host Xi Jinping for a state visit, seeking to persuade the Chinese leader to shift positions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and also imbalances in global trade.The French president had gladdened Chinese state media and troubled some EU allies after his 2023 visit by declaring that Europe should not be drawn into a "bloc versus bloc" standoff between China and the United States, particularly over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan.
Israel's military has ordered tens of thousands of people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to begin evacuating, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion could be imminent. The announcement on Monday complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators to broker a cease-fire. Hamas and Qatar, a key mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks.
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine. The drills are in response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, though its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
China's National Health Commission said it was investigating a hospital in the southwest megacity of Chongqing for its alleged involvement in surrogacy, which is illegal in China, after wide circulation of the issue on social media. The incident comes after a series of official investigations last year related to the issuance of fake birth certificates at a time when China is trying to boost its birth rate. Chongqing Angel Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital has been cooperating with illegal surrogacy agencies, a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo said on Sunday.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday it would hold a military exercise that will include practice for the use of tactical nuclear weapons after what the defence ministry said were provocative threats from Western officials. The ministry said the exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin and would test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat missions. The military drills will include practice for the preparation and deployment for use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the defence ministry said.
In-person classes will resume Monday at the University of California, Los Angeles, college officials said, after they were moved online following clashes on campus between pro-Palestinian protesters and police.UCLA said Friday it had moved classes online after a large police contingent forcibly cleared a sprawling encampment.
Taiwan is grateful for continued U.S. security assistance but must invest in building its own "strengths" first and show the world its support for the island is worth it, Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim said on Monday. Hsiao, who takes office with President-elect Lai Ching-te on May 20, is Taiwan's former de facto ambassador to Washington, and is expected to play a key role in further strengthening ties with the United States given her fluent English and deep ties in the U.S. capital. The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's most important supporter and arms supplier, despite the lack of diplomatic ties.
A change at the top of European institutions could herald a change in the 2035 target to phase out sales of internal combustion engine cars even though the automotive industry is already well down the road towards transitioning to electric vehicles.The two German parties in the group, the CDU and CSU, want to scrap the 2035 deadline to continue to benefit from "state-of-the-art German internal combustion engine technology".
On Monday, Boeing will send two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time aboard its Starliner space capsule.
Emrullah Karaca has made brakes for the past 20 years, but he is now learning to assemble heat pumps instead, as the Continental factory where he works in northern Germany is slated to close."Brakes or heat pumps, it's all the same to me," said Karaca, whose two parents both worked for Continental at the factory.
Israel’s military has issued a call for residents of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately”, a day after the country’s defense minister told troops inside Gaza to expect “intense action in Rafah in the near future.”
BRETTEVILLE-L'ORGUEILLEUSE, France (AP) — On D-Day, Charles Shay was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic who was ready to give his life — and save as many as he could. Now 99, he’s spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication as he’s about to take part in the 80th anniversary commemorations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. A Penobscot tribe citizen from Indian Island in the U.S. state of Maine, Shay has been living in France since 2018, not far from the shores of Normandy where many world leaders are expected to come next month.
Italy's Defence Minister said on Monday economic sanctions against Russia had failed and called on the West to try harder to negotiate a diplomatic solution with President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Guido Crosetto told daily Il Messaggero that the West had wrongly believed its sanctions could stop Russia's aggression, but it had overestimated its economic influence in the world.
It's Friday prayers in the northeastern Italian city of Monfalcone, and hundreds of men are on their knees in a concrete parking lot, their heads bowed to the ground. "It's not like we came here to see the beautiful city of Monfalcone," jokes Haq.
From his office in a distant annexe, French right-wing lawmaker Jean-Paul Garraud has his sights set on a spot much closer to the decision-making heart of the European Parliament. The chair of France's Rassemblement National (RN) lawmakers expects nationalist and eurosceptic parties to surge in the June 6-9 EU assembly election, giving them a first taste of influence in Brussels and Strasbourg, if other right and centre-right parties work with them. Polls predict radical right parties will gain across the EU, including France, Germany and Italy where many seats are at stake, as voters frustrated by a cost of living and energy crisis, illegal migration, and rattled by a changing geo-political landscape seek alternatives beyond mainstream parties.
Israel shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in the country and seized some of its communication equipment Sunday, prompting condemnation from the United Nations and rights groups over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s moves to restrict press freedoms.
When Arkansas lawmakers decided five years ago to replace the statues representing the state at the U.S. Capitol, there was little objection to getting rid of the existing sculptures. The statues that had stood there for more than 100 years were obscure figures in the state's history. “I remember giving tours to constituents from Arkansas, to young people, and I would point out the two representatives in Statuary Hall in our United States Capitol from Arkansas,” said former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who also served in Congress.
The night Ludwig van Beethoven's monumental Ninth Symphony rang out in a Vienna concert hall for the first time almost exactly two centuries ago, the great German composer was anxious for all to go well.And on Tuesday night that certainly will be the case, with Beethoven's masterpiece reverberating throughout Europe with anniversary concerts in major venues in Paris, Milan and Vienna. kym/fg
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