Europe

EU condemns Israeli seizure of 800 hectares of land in West Bank's Jordan Valley region

24 March 2024; MEMO: The EU on Sunday condemned the Israeli seizure of 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The European Union firmly condemns the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that over 800 hectares of land in the occupied Palestinian territory have been declared as ‘state lands’,” the EU said in a statement.

Ireland: Simon Harris set to become new prime minister

LONDON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Simon Harris is set to become Ireland's new prime minister, or Taoiseach, after he was confirmed on Sunday as the new leader of the governing Fine Gael party.

He is to replace Leo Varadkar, who unexpectedly announced his resignation Wednesday as party leader and Taoiseach, citing "both personal and political" reasons.

"It's the absolute honor of my life... to accept the leadership of this great party," Harris said in his first speech as the party leader, according to Sky News.

Russia: 4 suspects charged following Moscow concert hall attack, Ukrain hand suspected

MOSCOW, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The four individuals directly involved in the Moscow concert hall attack have been charged with terrorism, local media reported on Monday.

A Moscow district court sent all the four suspects, identified as citizens of Tajikistan, to pre-trial detention. They will remain in custody until May 22, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

Somalia: 33 jailed Iranian fishermen released

TEHRAN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Somalia has released 33 Iranian fishermen and sailors imprisoned in the country, the official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

Ali Gholampour, Iran's ambassador to Kenya, said that the Iranians were being transferred to their home country by plane, stressing that Somalian officials had expressed readiness to the move towards the process of reviving ties with Iran after several years of diplomatic freeze, according to the IRNA.

UK slams Israel for blocking aid to Gaza ‘stuck at border for weeks’

22 March 2024; MEMO: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has accused Israel of impeding the humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.

In a letter addressed to Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Cameron said it “was an enormous frustration” that humanitarian aid to Gaza had been “routinely held up waiting for Israeli permissions”.

Israel stripped of ‘liberal democracy’ status by prominent global index

20 March 2024; MEMO: Israel has been stripped of its “liberal democracy” status by a prominent global index which measures the democratic health of countries. The downgrade means that for the first time in 50 years Israel has been demoted to the level of less democratic countries.

UK campaigners call for withholding tax over Gaza war

20 March 2024; MEMO: Activists in the UK have launched the “No Tax for Genocide” campaign, calling on supporters to stop paying taxes to protest and change the British government’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

The campaign’s founders argue that paying taxes while the government supports Israel is tantamount to “aiding and abetting genocide,” which they claim is “illegal” under international and domestic laws.

Ireland's Varadkar to quit as PM in surprise move

DUBLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Leo Varadkar will step down as Ireland's prime minister and the leader of the governing Fine Gael party in a surprise move, Irish media reported on Wednesday.

He will hold a press conference at 1200 GMT on Wednesday, the government said.

Varadkar's departure as head of the three-party coalition does not automatically trigger a general election and he could be replaced by a new Fine Gael leader.

Gaza in state of 'man-made famine' by Israel: EU foreign policy chief

18 March 2024; MEMO: The EU foreign policy chief today warned that Gaza is already “in a state of famine”, saying the situation is “entirely man-made” by Israel.

“In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine affecting thousands of people,” Josep Borrell told the opening ceremony of the two-day European Humanitarian Forum 2024 in Brussels.

“This is unacceptable,” he stressed, adding: “Starvation is used as a weapon of war.”

Israel does not want any witnesses to the genocide in Gaza; UN rapporteur

19 March 2024; MEMO: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, commented on Tel Aviv’s decision to prevent UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, from entering Gaza by saying, “Israel wants no witnesses, no truth-tellers.”

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