Trump confronts South Africa's Ramaphosa with false claims of white genocide
02:04
22/05/2025
Netanyahu says ordered enhanced security at Israel missions worldwide
22/05/2025
Two staff members of Israeli Embassy killed in shooting in Washington
22/05/2025
Ramaphosa denies white citizens are persecuted in South Africa
22/05/2025
Judge says US government didn't follow court order on deportations
22/05/2025
Ramaphosa in the USA: S. African press says 'White genocide dominates face-off'
22/05/2025
Eugene Jarecki talks about his documentary 'The six billion dollar man'
22/05/2025
Gaza blockade: International pressure mounts on Israeli government
22/05/2025
Washington DC shooting: What is Israeli government's reaction?
22/05/2025
Trump denounces killings of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington
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Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
UK to impose sanctions on two Israeli ministers over Gaza comments
The United Kingdom is placing sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Tuesday. Lammy said the ministers had "incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights." Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will have their assets frozen and face travel bans, a move that is expected to be matched by other international allies as well. In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said they are acting "alongside partners Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway." Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called it an "unacceptable decision" and said the cabinet will meet next week to decide on a response. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have repeatedly called for Israel to conquer Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there. Last month, Smotrich said "Gaza will be entirely destroyed" and has campaigned against allowing aid into the territory. Ben-Gvir has also called for the permanent resettlement of Palestinians from the territory. Referring to the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank, Smotrich said in a post on X that "Britain has already tried once to prevent us from settling the cradle of our homeland, and we will not allow it to do it again. We are determined to continue building." "Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous,' the statement from the UK Foreign Office said. It also said that "the rising violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank must stop." Settlement growth and construction in the occupied West Bank have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahu's far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and around 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the area. Rights groups argue that the settlements, illegal under international law, are a hurdle to an eventual two-state solution. In 2024, 19.5 million children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to the latest Eurostat figures. Between 2023 and 2024, the percentage of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU slightly decreased from 24.8% to 24.2%. At the country level, Bulgaria reported the highest rates in 2024, at 35.1%, followed by Spain at 34.6% and Romania at 33.8%. By contrast, Slovenia (11.8%), Cyprus (14.8%) and the Czech Republic (15.4%) recorded the lowest figures. Italy was the only EU country that did not experience any change, remaining steady at 27.1%. "Welfare state institutions play a major role in protecting children from poverty," said Alba Lanau Sánchez, a researcher from Universitat Pompeu Fabra. "Countries with robust social protection systems tend to have lower child poverty rates." The risk of poverty or social exclusion was also higher for children than for adults in 2024. Children in the EU were at a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion (24.2%) compared with adults (20.3%), resulting in a difference of 3.9 percentage points. Across the EU countries, 20 of them experienced a higher risk among children, with the largest differences recorded in Spain (10.5%), Malta and Romania (both 7.3%) and France (7.2%). Children whose parents attained a higher education level were less likely to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion. In 2024, 61.2% of children in the EU living with parents who had at most lower secondary education were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. For those with parents who attained tertiary education, the proportion was 11.0%. This resulted in a risk gap of 50.2 percentage points based on parents' education levels. At the national level, the gap was above 50% in 16 EU countries. The lowest gaps were observed in Denmark, Portugal and Estonia, while the largest differences were recorded in Romania, Czechia and Bulgaria. Despite Spain having a higher GDP than Bulgaria or Romania, the country's tax-benefit system is often pointed out as one of the main reasons for its high child poverty rates, according to researchers. In 2021, Spain spent just 1.3% of its GDP on family policies, compared to the OECD average of 2.3%. "Direct financial support to families was particularly modest," said Lanau Sánchez. "Child-contingent cash benefits schemes in Spain have traditionally provided support to higher deciles through tax relief, which poorer households cannot benefit from, but little or no support went to low-income households." Spain has also introduced the Minimum Living Income (IMV) in 2021 and the Child Support Supplement in 2022, reaching 502,310 households, according to Spain's Social Security. However, it remains unclear how much these programs have improved living conditions for families with children. "Current critiques highlight the IMV shortcomings, including administrative barriers (resulting in high non-take-up rates), legal restrictions on access affecting certain groups, such as young people, the homeless, undocumented and recently arrived migrants, and limited potential coverage for low-income but not severely poor households," said Lanau Sánchez. "However, we lack in-depth academic research on how the IMV has more thoroughly transformed the social protection system, ultimately crowding out other forms of support, like regional minimum income schemes," she concluded.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Greta Thunberg tells FRANCE 24 she was 'kidnapped' by Israel
Greta Thunberg on Tuesday accused Israel of kidnapping her and her fellow pro-Palestinian activists in international waters, saying she declined to sign a document stating she entered the country illegally prior to being deported. Speaking to media outlets including FRANCE 24 at the arrivals section of Paris 's Charles de Gaulle airport after being deported from Israel, the Swedish activist said she and her team had broken no laws, and called for the immediate release of the activists still in Israel. "I was very clear in my testimony that we were kidnapped on international water and brought against our will into Israel," she said. Thunberg, 22, arrived in Paris a day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through a years-old naval blockade of the coastal enclave, and seized the 12-strong crew, including Thunberg.
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat
Of the 12 people on board the Madleen carrying food and supplies for Gaza, five French activists were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily. Israeli forces intercepted the boat, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, in international waters on Monday and towed it to the port of Ashdod. They were then transferred to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the foreign ministry said. "Greta Thunberg just departed Israel on a flight to Sweden (via France)," Israel's foreign ministry said on its official X account on Tuesday, along with a photo of the activist sitting on board a plane. Five French activists who were also aboard the Madleen were set to face an Israeli judge, the French foreign minister said. "Our consul was able to see the six French nationals arrested by the Israeli authorities last night," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. "One of them has agreed to leave voluntarily and should return today. The other five will be subject to forced deportation proceedings." In the early hours of Tuesday, Israel's foreign ministry said the activist group had arrived at Ben Gurion airport to "return to their home countries". "Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority," it said on X. The vessel carrying French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch activists had the stated aim of delivering humanitarian aid and breaking the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory. Dire humanitarian conditions Israel's interception of the Madleen about 185 kilometres (115 miles) west of the coast of Gaza, was condemned by Turkey as a "heinous attack" and Iran denounced it as "a form of piracy" in international waters. In May, another Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was damaged in international waters off Malta as it headed to Gaza, with the activists saying they suspected an Israeli drone attack. A 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach the naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. On Sunday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place for years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. Israel is facing mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. Israel recently allowed some deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But humanitarian agencies have criticised the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defence agency. The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,927 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable. Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.
