Everything posted by bannork
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Western Allies Warn Israel Over Gaza Offensive as Fragile Talks Resume in Doha
Conservative MPs privately support calls by Sir Keir Starmer and the UK’s allies for Israel to cease its war in Gaza, one Tory has claimed. Mark Pritchard, Conservative MP for the Wrekin, also said he believed that the Prime Minister was on the “right side of history” and humanity, in an interview with broadcaster LBC. Speaking to LBC, Tory MP Mr Pritchard said: “Half the population of Gaza are children. They are being literally bombed to bits every single day. They are being slowly starved. Some Tories privately support PM’s stance on Israel and Gaza, Conservative says
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Israel Hamas War the Widening Middle East Conflict
Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen, Israeli soldiers and former detainees have said. Israel’s military responded by saying it prohibits using civilians as shields, a practice it has long accused Hamas of using. Two Israeli solders also described using human shields, and that derogatory terms like “mosquito” were used to refer to the Palestinians. Israeli use of Palestinian human shields in Gaza is widespread, detainees say
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Louis Theroux: If you were shocked by my film on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, you ...
BRUQIN, West Bank (Reuters) -Israeli settlers torched Palestinian vehicles and houses in the occupied West Bank, Israel's army and villagers said, the latest in a series of attacks on the village of Bruqin, close to the location where a pregnant settler was killed this month. Palestinian residents in Bruqin, who say they have faced constant attacks and abuse from Israeli settlers nearby, said a large group had shown up during the night, throwing Molotov cocktails and beating anyone in their way. Akram Sabra, a resident of the village, said he had left his home to watch as dozens, possibly a hundred, people burned cars belonging to him and his family and threw a Molotov cocktail incendiary at his son's house. Israeli settlers raid West Bank village close to where pregnant woman killed
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Updates and events in the War in Ukraine 2025
Russia's leading tanker group, Sovcomflot, posted a net loss of $393 million in the first quarter of 2025, Reuters reports. The decline was caused by new Western sanctions, which led to operational problems, decreased revenue, and the idling of some sanctioned vessels. In 2024, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions against Sovcomflot and its fleet to reduce Russia's oil revenue, which it can use to fund its war against Ukraine. Russian shadow fleet operator hit with massive losses from sanctions
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Updates and events in the War in Ukraine 2025
On May 22, a war criminal Andrey Kondratyev was attacked in the Russian city of Kurgan. He is a chief designer at Kurganpribor, one of Russia's leading military-industrial enterprises, according to RBC-Ukraine's sources in Ukraine’s security services. Kurganpribor is involved in the development and production of devices and systems for the Russian military-industrial complex, including missile technology, the company specializes in high-tech components for the Russian military, such as impact sensors used in missile and shell fuzes. Top Russian missile designer attacked in Russia's Kurgan
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Stealing from an ambulance
CTV footage shows the moment a man smashed the window of an ambulance and stole backpacks belonging to paramedics while they were treating a patient. According to the London Ambulance Service (LAS), he is said to have walked around the emergency vehicle checking the doors before throwing a “missile” at the window. He jumped headfirst through the opening and grabbed two rucksacks belonging to paramedics before walking away from the scene. Paramedics’ backpacks stolen from ambulance while they attend medical emergency I recommend those interested read the full article to see the video.
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Trump Admin Revokes Harvard’s Right to Enroll International Students
A US federal judge on Friday blocked the government from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students just hours after the elite college sued the Trump administration over its abrupt ban the day before on enrolling foreign students. US district judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued the temporary restraining order late on Friday morning, freezing the policy that had been abruptly imposed on the university, based in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has accused Columbia University of violating civil rights laws, while overseas governments had expressed alarm at the administration’s actions against Harvard as part of its latest assault on elite higher education in the US. Judge blocks Trump administration’s ban on Harvard accepting international students | Harvard University | The Guardian
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Donald, you gonna regret upsetting those nice Canadians
Canada has always played a key role in defending North America's airspace, with nearly 4 million square miles of territory that offers a line of sight toward the North Pole, which is a huge gap in American air defenses, and its military has collaborated for decades on the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. “What Canada really brings is terrain,” said retired Air Force general Glen VanHerck, who led the U.S. Northern Command until last year. “If we can position, or Canada positions, over-the-horizon radars further north in the Arctic, that dramatically increases the United States and Canada’s ability to see over the pole into Russia, into China and other places.” Trump needs help from nation he's been bullying for his pet project: report The Golden Dome partnership is in its infancy but Trump's demeaning and aggressive language towards Canada has certainly riled the Canadians who may well be in no mood to help the Americans. At least until a more congenial figure is sat in the White House.
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UN Warns of Growing Crisis as Aid Fails to Reach Gazans Despite Border Crossings
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Friday said Israel has only authorized for Gaza what "amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required" and again signaled that the U.N. won't take part in a new U.S.-backed distribution plan. Israel says about 300 trucks of aid have entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza on Monday, but Guterres said that so far only about a third of those truckloads have been transported from the crossing to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity. The U.N. and its partners have a plan to get the aid needed into Gaza, he said. Israel has only authorized a 'teaspoon' of aid for Gaza, UN chief says
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Trump threatens EU with 50% tariffs as Apple faces possible 25%
Mr Trump said of talks between his administration and the EU: "Our discussions with them are going nowhere! "Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025. There is no tariff if the product is built or manufactured in the United States." "I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or any place else," wrote the president. "If that is not the case, a tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US." https://news.sky.com/story/trump-threatens-eu-with-50-tariffs-as-apple-faces-25-unless-iphones-are-made-in-us-13373325https://news.sky.com/story/trump-threatens-eu-with-50-tariffs-as-apple-faces-25-unless-iphones-are-made-in-us-13373325
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Greenland signs juicy deal with Europe in a blow to Trump
Greenland has granted a 30-year mining license to a Franco-Danish consortium to extract anorthosite, a rock used in aluminum production, from Arctic territory. The license was awarded to Greenland Anorthosite Mining (GAM), a company backed by the French Jean Boulle Group and several Danish and Greenlandic real estate investment firms, according to Reuters. While Washington has shown strong interest, Greenland’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, said no concrete U.S. investment proposals have been submitted, unlike those from Europe. Greenland signs juicy deal with Europe in a blow to Trump
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Drama as country accused of stealing neighbouring nation's wind
We often hear about possible wars in the future over water resources but this is the first time I've heard of disputes regarding the wind. Drama as country accused of stealing neighbouring nation's wind The Belgians have caused a right stink after being accused of stealing wind from Holland. Belgium has built a string of renewable wind farms in the North Sea with experts claiming they are nicking up to 3% of generating power from Dutch turbines. And the phenomenon - dubbed “wind shadow” - is a blow for relations between the neighbours.
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Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting
One of the men leading the rally was Julius Malema who left the party in 2012, he has never held an official government position. He now leads a party called the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which won 9.5% in last year's election, they form part of the Opposition. Ramaphosa pointed out that the EFF is a small minority party and said that government policy was completely against what Malema was saying. Another man in the video singing the lyric "shoot the Boer" at a different rally was former President Jacob Zuma who left office in 2018. The video is from 2012 when he was president. The ANC promised to stop singing the song shortly afterwards. Zuma subsequently left the ANC and now leads the opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won more than 14% in last year's election.
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Western Allies Warn Israel Over Gaza Offensive as Fragile Talks Resume in Doha
BERLIN (Reuters) -The aid trucks that Israel has allowed into the Gaza Strip this week are "too little, too late," a spokesperson for the German government said on Friday. "This is far too little, too late and too slow," the spokesperson said. "Now it's a matter of increasing it significantly ... and ensuring that these aid supplies reach the people so that the suffering in the Gaza Strip comes to an end," he added. Berlin says aid that entered Gaza this week is 'too little, too late'
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Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting
Not forgetting the utter hogwash emitting from his host.
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Updates and events in the War in Ukraine 2025
Ukrainian drones struck a major industrial facility in the Russian city of Yelets overnight on May 23, causing fires and injuring at least eight people, Russian officials said Thursday. The targeted facility is believed to be the Energia plant, Russia’s largest manufacturer of chemical power sources, including lithium-ion batteries used in drones and other military hardware Ukraine Hits Russia’s Largest Drone and Missile Battery Plant
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Israel's Smotrich says victory means Gaza fully 'destroyed'
Reuters) -The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Gaza's health system is at a breaking point as Israel's intensified military operations continue, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of basic necessities. Four major hospitals in Gaza have had to suspend medical services in the past week due to their proximity to incidents. WHO missions attempting to reach Al-Awda Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital were impeded, it said. Only 19 of the Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals remain operational while at least 94% of all hospitals are damaged or destroyed, the WHO said, adding that only 12 are in a condition to provide a variety of health services. Gaza health system at breaking point as Israeli hostilities intensify, WHO says
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Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting
After all these years of so many lies, mistruths, misinformation, exaggeration- in other words steaming horse manure, how can the Trump fanboys still believe a word he says? Beyond belief.
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If you are listening to music - What's Playing ? (2025)
- Escalation in Gaza Amid Hopes for Ceasefire Fade Following Trump’s Regional Visit
The Israeli military issued an Arabic-language statement on Thursday to announce it was “operating with intense force” in 14 areas in the northern Gaza Strip, warning inhabitants to evacuate and accusing “terrorist organisations” of operating there. The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Thursday for 14 neighbourhoods of northern Gaza, as it pressed a renewed offensive that has drawn international condemnation. The warning came hours after the United Nations said it had collected and begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza, the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on the territory on March 2. Israel issues evacuation warning for 14 areas of northern Gaza- Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting
Oh dear, the Trump fanboys club has been fooled again. When will they learn? I suggest posters read https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce81334je72o Fact Checking Trump's Oval Office confontration with Ramaphos The rows of white crosses along a rural road which Trump claimed were burial sites of over a thousand white farmers were in fact a temporary memorial in protest against the murder of one white farming couple Glen and Vida Rafferty, who were ambushed and shot dead on their premises in 2020. The crosses are no longer there. Out of a total of 26,232 murders in South Africa last year, 44 were killings of people within the farming community and of those, only eight were of farmers. Hardly figures of genocide! The image Trump showed which he claimed was evidence of white farmer killings in South Africa isn't from South Africa - it's actually from a report about women being killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo!- Escalation in Gaza Amid Hopes for Ceasefire Fade Following Trump’s Regional Visit
An Italian doctor based in the UK but working in a Gaza hospital describes what life is like at present. An extract below: Dr Roggio, who has been working 12-hour shifts at Nasser hospital treating 10 to 12 people every day, described working with severely malnourished patients and having limited antibiotics. “All the patients we treat are severely malnourished and this is a problem for us plastic surgeons, because all the wounds are not going to heal,” she said. “If the patient is not on adequate nutrition, the infection rate is really high.” UK surgeon treating patients in Gaza warzone says population ‘at its last limit’- Western Allies Warn Israel Over Gaza Offensive as Fragile Talks Resume in Doha
Ireland’s deputy premier has accused the Israeli government of “genocidal activity” in Gaza. Tanaiste Simon Harris said it was “clear” that Israel wants to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip as part of what he said was “a consistent pattern of war crimes”. He said the world had “not done enough” to put pressure on Israel to change course, and said he would look to draft a Bill that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Ireland’s deputy premier accuses Israel of ‘genocidal activity’ in Gaza- Updates and events in the War in Ukraine 2025
Russian officials say they intercepted a major Ukrainian drone attack overnight into May 22, with 105 drones reportedly shot down over 11 Russian regions, including 35 aimed at Moscow. The strike is being described as one of the largest Ukrainian drone assaults in recent weeks, coming just one day after an attack on a Russian semiconductor plant tied to missile and aircraft production As the drones approached the capital, all four of Moscow’s international airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky — were temporarily shut down. Mass Drone Strike Targets Moscow, Russian Airports Shut Down- Trump Only Picks the “Best People”? Pull the Other One, Mates, It’s Got Bells On
Trouble at t' mill. Eh up, these boys of Trump just can't get along. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeatedly shouted “F*** you!” at Elon Musk during a nasty West Wing brawl that unfolded within earshot of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, according to a report. The escalating verbal dispute through the West Wing began because Musk had attempted to select Gary Shapley to lead the IRS – without first getting Bessent’s approval. In response to his profanity-laced outburst, Musk began to taunt Bessent, calling him a "Soros agent" and accusing him of having run "a failed hedge fund.” Bessent shouted profanities at a goading Elon Musk in West Wing after Trump told warring pair to ‘have at it’ - Escalation in Gaza Amid Hopes for Ceasefire Fade Following Trump’s Regional Visit