Judge says US government didn't follow court order on deportations
01:52
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
Americas
22/05/2025
Trump ambushes Ramaphosa over genocide claims in testy White House meeting
22/05/2025
Aid arrives but falls short of Gazans' needs amid renewed Israeli strikes
22/05/2025
Outrage after Israeli army fires 'warning shots' at diplomats on West Bank visit
21/05/2025
No aid entering Gaza this week has reached Palestinians, UN says
Middle East
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
39 minutes ago
- Euronews
French MEP Rima Hassan detained in Israel following 'illegal entry'
French leftist Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rima Hassan was on Tuesday awaiting a hearing before an Israeli judge after being detained the day before alongside seven other people. Hassan was part of the 'Freedom Flotilla', a group of activists who set off on 3 June from Catania, Italy, to try to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by boat but who were intercepted by Israel's authorities about 200 kilometres from the coast on Sunday evening. The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry said then that the crew of the Madleen vessel had been provided with water and sandwiches but Hassan's team said that after a brief, filmed, distribution of sandwiches during the arrest, no water or food was provided during the 16-hour journey to the port of Ashdod, which the crew was forced to spend on the ship's deck until nightfall. The 12 Freedom Flotilla members were then presented with a document urging them to recognise they had entered Israeli territory illegally. Signing it meant immediate expulsion, while refusal would see them brought in front of a judge. Four of them chose the first option including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg as well as Spaniard Sergio Toribio and two French nationals, Baptiste Andre and Omar Faiad. But the other eight refused to sign the document, arguing that the Freedom Flotilla was intercepted in international waters and rejecting the claim they entered illegally. These eight people are now detained awaiting a new hearing before an Israeli judge, who could order their expulsion in the coming days. Hassan's parliamentary immunity guarantees her freedom of expression and protects her from legal action stemming from any EU member state, but does not apply outside of EU territory. The MEP's team denounced the document presented as 'a propaganda operation aimed at legitimising an illegal arrest and detention' and claimed it is 'a blatant violation of her parliamentary immunity'. 'We strongly affirm that their humanitarian mission to Gaza was legal, necessary, and urgent; the arrest violates international law; the detention is illegal and arbitrary," the statement from Hassan's team also reads. The European Parliament told Euronews on Tuesday that its President Roberta Metsola has been in constant contact with the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety and security of Hassan. 'We will remain in round-the-clock contact with all parties until it is resolved safely," a Parliament's spokesperson said. This is not the first time a member of the European Parliament is detained in a third country. In February 2025, three MEPs - Isabel Serra (Spain), Catarina Martins (Portugal), Jussi Saramo (Finland), all from the Left group - were detained and subsequently expelled from El Aaiún, the main city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where they had gone to carry out a human rights observation mission. 'The European Parliament will always insist that all its Members are kept safe and treated with respect as elected representatives of the people of Europe wherever they are in the world", the Parliament also said in its statement to Euronews. Her detention and the Freedom Flotilla's seizure have converted into a much debated political issue in France and in Brussels. France Unbowed published an appeal entitled "Support the Freedom Flotilla, Stop Genocide!", calling for the immediate release of the passengers and the lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and MEP Manon Aubry, also called for urgent intervention from President Macron and European and international bodies, declaring they bear a moral responsibility to defend these activists. A rally they organised in Paris on Monday to protest against the detention and Israel's actions in Gaza gathered tens of thousands of people, according to Mélenchon. In the European Parliament, The Left, the Socialists and Democrats and the Greens/European Free Alliance co-signed a statement asking for all the activists to be released. A 14-year-old pupil fatally stabbed a school staff member during a routine bag check on Tuesday at a middle school in eastern France, officials said. The teenager was arrested at the scene. The incident occurred at Françoise Dolto School in Nogent, near Dijon. A police officer assisting with the bag checks sustained minor injuries while apprehending the suspect, who used the same knife in both attacks, according to the National Gendarmerie. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the act as "senseless violence," writing in a post on X: "While she was looking after our children in Nogent, an educational assistant lost her life. The nation is in mourning and the government is mobilised to reduce crime." Though deadly incidents in French schools are rare, there is growing concern about violence on campuses. In response, the Education Ministry introduced bag checks earlier this year. Over two months this spring, officials confiscated 186 knives and detained 32 individuals, the Interior Ministry reported. Prosecutor Denis Devallois confirmed that the suspect had no prior criminal record. Education Minister Élisabeth Borne said the boy had been involved in the school's anti-bullying initiative and was previously suspended briefly for classroom disruption. The stabbing occurred just outside the school gate, where the 31-year-old educational assistant was standing alongside police officers conducting checks. Classes were suspended for the day and counselling was made available for pupils and staff. A fellow classmate described the 14-year-old as "normal" but occasionally "a little bizarre," adding that they never thought he would be capable of such an attack, according to local media reports. The incident follows a similar tragedy in April, when a student stabbed four classmates in western France, killing one. That attack prompted the prime minister to call for stricter measures to combat knife violence in schools.
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.
