Tag: europe

Scottish government survives confidence vote after Hamza Yousaf quits | Politics News

The Scottish National Party expected to pick a new leader to replace outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf.

The Scottish government has survived a confidence vote, giving the Scottish National Party (SNP) a chance to pick a new leader to replace outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf.

Yousaf’s decision to step down as first minister and SNP leader on Monday has thrown the party into chaos and boosted hopes in the United Kingdom’s opposition Labour Party that it can regain Scottish seats to win a national election later this year.

Polls show that Labour is ahead of or level with the SNP in Scotland for the first time in a decade.

Yousaf said he would resign after he ended a coalition with the Green Party. It means the SNP is seeking a third leader in little more than a year, undermining what had once seemed like its iron grip on power in the devolved Scottish government.

While the Greens made Yousaf’s position untenable by withdrawing their confidence in him personally, they voted with the SNP against Wednesday’s vote of no confidence in the Scottish government.

The no-confidence motion was defeated by 70 votes to 58.

Defeat for the government would have led to the resignation of all ministers and most likely triggered a Scottish election.

With that outcome averted, Yousaf will remain in office until the SNP chooses a new leader. Former SNP party leader John Swinney and Yousaf’s old leadership rival Kate Forbes have both said they are considering running.

Glasgow-born Yousaf, whose paternal grandparents and father emigrated to Scotland from Pakistan in the 1960s, had been hailed as a polished communicator who the SNP hoped would be able to unite the fractured SNP.

“I could never have dreamt that one day, I would have the privilege of leading my country,” he said during his resignation speech. “People who looked like me were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading governments, when I was younger.”

Yousaf was the Muslim head of a major political party and Scotland’s youngest elected leader. He took over the party in March last year, after the resignation of longtime leader Nicola Sturgeon, who faced splits in the party over the best route to independence for Scotland and proposed transgender recognition legislation.

Police have also probed the SNP’s finances, and Sturgeon’s husband has been charged with embezzling funds from the SNP. She has been arrested and questioned but not charged. Both deny wrongdoing.

Analysts have told Al Jazeera that the SNP is in crisis mode and that Yousaf’s resignation was a reflection of the party’s current downward trajectory as a political force.

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Polish politicians condemn Warsaw synagogue firebombing | European Union News

The attack comes amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the globe in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war.

Poland’s political leaders have condemned a firebomb attack on a synagogue in Warsaw.

The Nozyk Synagogue in the capital was attacked with three firebombs early on Wednesday. The building sustained minimal damage, and there were no casualties.

Police said they have not established a motive for the attack and no perpetrator has been identified. Attacks against Jewish targets have risen around the globe since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October. However, it is also suspected Russia may be seeking to use the rising tension to encourage social divisions in Europe.

“We were informed overnight about an incident involving a bottle containing a flammable liquid being thrown onto synagogue grounds,” a police spokesperson said.

President Andrzej Duda called the attack “shameful” in a post on X. “There is no place for antisemitism in Poland! There is no place for hatred in Poland!” said the head of state, who is closely linked with the nationalist, conservative Law & Justice Party (PiS), which governed Poland for eight years before losing to an opposition alliance in last year’s elections.

“We must respond very robustly and strongly to this outrageous and vicious attack,” Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski declared.

 

The staunchly pro-Western minister also noted that the incident came on the 20th anniversary of Poland joining the European Union.

“Thank God no one was hurt. I wonder who is trying to disrupt the anniversary of our accession to the EU,” Sikorski wrote on X. “Maybe the same ones who scribbled Stars of David in Paris?”

In November after the outbreak of the Gaza war, more than 200 paintings of the Star of David appeared on buildings around Paris.

France later said a Russian destabilisation campaign had used automated social media accounts to whip up controversy and confusion about the symbols and feed alarm about surging anti-Semitism.

A Moldovan couple who was arrested in Paris for scrawling Stars of David on a school told media that they acted on orders from “an individual in Russia”.

According to the Anti Defamation League, anti-Semitism has soared in Europe since October 7.



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UK starts detaining asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda | Migration News

Government expects to deport 5,700 migrants and asylum seekers to Rwanda this year, but rights groups ready to mount new legal challenge.

British authorities have started detaining asylum seekers as part of a new scheme to deport them to Rwanda, the government said, with the first flights expected to take off as early as July.

“Our dedicated enforcement teams are working at pace to swiftly detain those who have no right to be here so we can get flights off the ground,” said Home Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday.

Confirmation of the round-ups came a week after legislators passed a contentious law declaring Rwanda to be a safe third country, bypassing an earlier UK Supreme Court ruling that had declared the scheme unlawful on human rights grounds.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has promised to stop migrants and asylum seekers arriving on small boats from mainland Europe, had declared last week that the government would begin detaining people promptly before deportation flights start within “10 to 12 weeks“.

Calling it “another major milestone” in the Rwanda plan, the UK’s Home Office released photographs and a video of immigration enforcement officers detaining several people with handcuffs at different residences.

“This government has lost it’s last ounce of humanity,” the charity, Freedom from Torture, posted on social media on Wednesday.

A senior minister revealed on Tuesday that the government expects to deport 5,700 people this year, after it was confirmed that Rwanda had “in principle” agreed to accept that number.

However, the authorities have lost contact with thousands of potential deportees, with only 2,143 “located for detention”. More than 3,500 are currently unaccounted for.

Ministers have insisted enforcement teams will find them. Commercial charter planes have already been booked and an airport has been put on standby.

Challenges ahead

More than 7,500 people have arrived in the country on small boats from France so far this year, and the government says the policy will deter people from making the dangerous journey across the English Channel.

Mindful of the Supreme Court ruling, issued last November, human rights groups and unions opposed to the policy are expected to launch new legal challenges to stop the flights from taking off.

“People are very frightened,” said Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, saying the fear of being detained and sent to Rwanda would push some people to go underground and disengage from their support system.

Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, lays claim to being one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure. But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.



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Georgia police crack down on protest against ‘foreign influence’ bill | News

The crackdown in Tbilisi comes after lawmakers debated a controversial bill on foreign funding.

Police in Georgia have used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters as thousands rallied outside parliament in Tbilisi for a third week to oppose a controversial “foreign influence” bill.

Masked riot police violently cracked down on the rally on Tuesday beating and arresting many people protesting against the bill, which Brussels has denounced as undermining Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union.

Lawmakers earlier debated the controversial legislation, which would require organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents”.

The parliamentary session ended without a vote and the debate was set to resume on Wednesday.

The proposed legislation has deepened divisions between the governing Georgian Dream party and the protest movement backed by opposition groups, civil society, celebrities and Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili.

Georgian Dream holds a commanding majority in the legislature, allowing it to pass laws and to vote down a presidential veto without needing the support of any opposition legislators.

Critics have labelled the bill “the Russian law”, comparing it to Moscow’s “foreign agent” legislation, which has been used to crack down on dissent there.

Russia is disliked by many Georgians for its support of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia lost a brief war with Russia in 2008.

The United States, United Kingdom and the EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December, have criticised the bill. President of the European Council Charles Michel has said the bill “is not consistent” with Georgia’s bid for EU membership and “will bring Georgia further away from the EU and not closer”.

Tina Khidasheli, who served as Georgian defence minister in a Georgian Dream-led government in 2015-2016, attended Tuesday’s protest against her former government colleagues and said she expected the demonstrators to win eventually.

“The government is just prolonging the inevitable. We might have serious problems, but at the end of the day, the people will go home with victory,” Khidasheli told the Reuters news agency.

On Monday, a government-organised rally in support of the bill was attended by tens of thousands, many of whom had been bussed in from provincial towns by the governing party.

Punches were thrown last month in the hallways of parliament in Tblisi during discussions about the controversial new law.

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Will bill to regulate foreign influence in Georgia derail its EU bid? | TV Shows

There are widespread protests against legislation that aims to curb foreign funding of nongovernmental organisations.

Georgia is at a political crossroads amid widespread anger on the streets over a bill that seeks to curb foreign funding of nongovernmental organisations.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says the controversial bill is necessary to block external influences.

Protesters say the legislation would silence critics of the government ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

European leaders have also criticised the bill.

Can the crisis undermine Goergia’s ambition to join the European Union?

Presenter: Laura Kyle

Guests:

Mariam Lashkhi – Member of the Parliament of Georgia

Thornike Gordadze – Fellow at Jacques Delors Institute

Khatia Dekanoidze – Member of the Parliament of Georgia

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ICJ rejects Nicaragua’s request to halt German arms sales to Israel | Israel War on Gaza

NewsFeed

The UN’s top court has thrown out Nicaragua’s request to halt German arms sales to Israel. In its ruling the ICJ said the circumstances, as they present themselves now, do not require the exercise of power. However, the court said it remains “deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions” in Gaza and reminded all countries they have an obligation to abide by international law.

Published On 30 Apr 2024

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Abu Dhabi-backed group ends bid to take over Telegraph newspaper | Media News

The move comes after the UK said it would bring forward legislation to block such state-backed takeover deals in media.

An Abu Dhabi-backed group planning to take over Britain’s Telegraph Media Group (TMG) has said it will withdraw after the UK government moved to block the deal.

RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, struck a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.5bn) deal with TMG’s previous owners, the Barclay family, in November.

The agreement, which has faced opposition over its potential impact on free speech given Abu Dhabi’s press freedom record, saw RedBird IMI pay off bank debts in exchange for control of the media group.

However, last month the United Kingdom’s government said it would bring forward legislation to block such state-backed takeover deals in the industry, while Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer also considered a full regulatory probe.

The regulatory hurdles appear to have prompted RedBird IMI to now abandon the endeavour to own and control TMG, which also includes The Spectator magazine.

“RedBird IMI has today confirmed that it intends to withdraw from its proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group and proceed with a sale,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We continue to believe this approach would have benefited the Telegraph and Spectator’s readers, their journalists and the UK media landscape more widely.

“Regrettably, it is clear this approach is no longer feasible.”

RedBird IMI said it now plans to bring certainty to employees and readers of the publications by seeking new owners for the titles.

It said the titles “remain highly attractive” to potential suitors, with speculation they could be sold separately or as a package.

‘Cornerstone’

Frazer said she had acted to “ensure that media freedom was protected while there was an investigation into those concerns”.

“I will now allow the parties to conduct an orderly transition and I will monitor the outcome with a view to taking any further regulatory action as required,” she added.

“The free press is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we cannot take it for granted.”

Frazer noted the government would continue to intervene “where necessary to protect the integrity and independence of these publications, given the unique role they play in our democracy”.

RedBird IMI’s original ownership plans sparked an uproar in some British media circles, including among some lawmakers in the ruling Conservative Party.

It has long enjoyed a close ideological relationship with the right-leaning Telegraph titles.

The Spectator – once edited by former Tory prime minister and Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson – is widely considered the “Tory bible”.

Redbird IMI is majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president of the United Arab Emirates and owner of Manchester City Football Club. It is run by former CNN president Jeff Zucker.

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ICJ rejects emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel | Israel War on Gaza News

The International Court of Justice has ruled against issuing emergency measures over German arms sales to Israel as requested by Nicaragua, which had argued that there was a serious risk of genocide in Gaza amid Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory.

Nicaragua also demanded that Germany resume funding to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, after Israel alleged that some of its employees were involved in the October 7 attacks that triggered the continuing fighting.

The ICJ ruled against the request in a 15-1 vote. “The circumstances are not such as to require the exercise of its power under article 41 of the statute to indicate provisional measures,” presiding Judge Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday.

However, the judges did not grant the German request to throw out the case altogether. The court will still hear arguments from both sides on the merits of Nicaragua’s case, which will likely take months.

Salam said that the court “remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which they have been subjected.”

He added that the court “considers it particularly important to remind all states of their international obligations relating to the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such arms might be used” to violate international law.

In a two-day hearing in April, Nicaragua brought its case against Germany for allegedly facilitating genocide by being one of Israel’s biggest military suppliers.

Germany has denied the accusations, with its lawyer arguing that Nicaragua’s case was rushed, based on flimsy evidence and should be thrown out for lack of jurisdiction.

The German Foreign Office wrote on X after the ruling that it welcomed the ICJ decision. “Germany is not a party to the conflict in the Middle East. On the contrary: we are working day and night for a two-state solution,” the ministry said. “We are the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. We are working to ensure that aid reaches the people in Gaza.”

“However, we also see that the terror of Oct. 7 has set off this new spiral of suffering, against which Israel must defend itself,” it added. “Over 100 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas, which is abusing the people of Gaza as shields.”

Germany argued at hearings in the case that it has barely exported any weapons to Israel since the offensive on Gaza started.

The court noted that Germany had granted only four export licences to Israel for weapons of war since the start of the war, two for training ammunition and one for test purposes, as well as one consignment of “3,000 portable anti-tank weapons”.

Berlin has been a staunch supporter of Israel for decades but gradually shifted its tone as civilian casualties in Gaza soared, becoming increasingly critical of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and speaking out against a potential ground offensive on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Moataz El Fegiery, head of the human rights program at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said the ICJ decision did not constitute a victory for Germany.

“The court reminded Germany that it is obliged under international law not to provide weapons that could be used in human rights violations,” El Fegiery told Al Jazeera.

It also specified that conditions at the present moment did not warrant for provisional measures, implying that circumstances may change and that such a decision could be reached in the future, the expert said.

El Fegiery said that Nicaragua’s case was part of a “global mobilisation” for Gaza that was likely going to trigger lawsuits challenging arms sales in domestic courts.

In January, the World Court in The Hague had ruled as part of a separate case brought by South Africa that there was “a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice” will be caused to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the genocide convention.

Israel, which isn’t a party to the case between Nicaragua and Germany, strongly denies that its assault on Gaza amounts to acts of genocide, and insists that it’s acting in self-defence.

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Jofra Archer, Will Jacks named in England’s squad for T20 World Cup 2024 | Cricket News

England have selected fast bowler Jofra Archer in their provisional squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, setting up a much-awaited international return for one of cricket’s most exciting bowlers whose career has been derailed by injuries.

The 29-year-old has barely featured for England in any format since 2021, mainly because of ongoing issues with his right elbow for which he has undergone two operations. A back injury ruled him out of most of 2022.

The Barbados-born pacer switched his nationality to be eligible for the England team ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which he helped his adopted country win on home soil. Then he played a crucial role in the Ashes series win that year.

England will hope he stays fit to play in a four-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan and then the World Cup, which is being held in the Caribbean and the United States.

Lancashire’s left-arm spinning all-rounder Tom Hartley is the only uncapped player in the squad, while Surrey batsman Will Jacks, also selected, has not featured in an ICC World Cup.

However, there was no place for all-rounder Chris Woakes, who was part of England’s T20 and ODI World Cup-winning teams, while batsman Dawid Malan was also omitted.

As well as Archer, fellow fast bowler Chris Jordan, who played in the final against Pakistan in 2022, is also included.

Jonny Bairstow, who has hit big knocks in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in recent weeks, also found a place in the squad.

Key said players featuring in the IPL – including Jos Buttler and Phil Salt – would be returning to England for the Pakistan series starting on May 22, even if that means missing the latter stages of the IPL. The final is on May 26, with the playoff matches beginning on May 21.

England will be captained by Buttler, with the team seeking a third T20 World Cup title.

‘He’s special’

England’s opening match is against Scotland on June 4 at Kensington Oval in Barbados, which Robert Key – managing director of England men’s cricket – said would take on extra poignancy for Archer.

“He’s special,” Key said.

“You do everything you can to try to get him back playing. We have taken the longer road this time. As always with Jofra, it’s fingers crossed until he’s out there playing. You know when you’re waiting for something really good to happen, you don’t quite believe it until it’s there.”

Archer, who has not played competitive top-level cricket since May 2023, is currently out of the limelight and playing some club matches in the Caribbean to get himself match-sharp. He might get some matches for English county team Sussex before the Pakistan series, when England will put his fitness to the test.

In a recent interview, Archer said he didn’t know “if I’ve got another stop-start year in me”.

“I know it has been a massive toll on him,” Key said. “He hasn’t been around for a while now but every single thing he does creates noise and I think mentally it’s been tough.

“That’s why we made sure we try and get it right, let him go back home, spend some time in Barbados, doing the training there rather than staying in England all the time. It’s always been a balance with Jofra, trying to take into account his mental wellbeing and actually how we get him ready for what we need. Fingers crossed he gets a bit of luck he deserves really.”

England T20 World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood



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UN monitors say North Korean missile struck Ukraine’s Kharkiv | Russia-Ukraine war News

Expert body tells UN Security Council the weapon’s discovery suggests a violation of international sanctions on Pyongyang.

The debris from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on January 2 was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, United Nations sanctions monitors told a Security Council (UNSC) committee in a report seen by the Reuters news agency on Monday.

In the 32-page report, the UN sanctions monitors concluded that “debris recovered from a missile that landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on 2 January 2024 derives from a DPRK Hwasong-11 series missile” and is in violation of the arms embargo on North Korea.

Formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under UN sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes since 2006, and those measures have been strengthened over the years.

Three sanctions monitors travelled to Ukraine earlier this month to inspect the debris and found no evidence that the missile was made by Russia. They “could not independently identify from where the missile was launched, nor by whom”.

“Information on the trajectory provided by Ukrainian authorities indicates it was launched within the territory of the Russian Federation,” they wrote in an April 25 report to the UNSC’s North Korea sanctions committee.

“Such a location, if the missile was under control of Russian forces, would probably indicate procurement by nationals of the Russian Federation,” they said, adding that this would be a violation of the arms embargo on North Korea.

The Russian and North Korean missions to the UN in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the monitors’ report.

The US and others have accused North Korea of transferring weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, which it fully invaded in February 2022. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusations, but promised last year to deepen military relations.

At a Security Council meeting in February, the US accused Russia of launching DPRK-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine on at least nine occasions.

The UN monitors said the Hwasong-11 series ballistic missiles were first publicly tested by Pyongyang in 2019.

Russia last month vetoed the annual renewal of the UN sanctions monitors – known as a panel of experts – which has for 15 years monitored the enforcement of the international sanctions on North Korea. The mandate for the current panel of experts will expire on Tuesday.

Within days of the January 2 attack, the Kharkiv region prosecutor’s office showcased fragments of the missile to the media, saying it was different from Russian models and “this may be a missile which was supplied by North Korea”.

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