The prime minister is backing the deal as it would allow British firms to access the contracts funded by the loanGood morning. In the UK many MPs will be spending the bank holiday campaigning for the elections on Thursday, but Keir Starmer is in Armenia, where he has announced that he wants the UK to join the EU’s €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine.Starmer is attending a European Political Community summit in Yerevan. The EPC is the group set up four years ago comprising all the EU countries, plus almost all the other European countries that are not EU members. Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, is also attending (on the grounds, presumably, that in the light of the geopolitical upheavel caused by Donald Trump, the Canadians now count as honorary Europeans.)In relation to the EU loan that we are discussing participating in, that is very good for Ukraine, because it will give Ukraine capability that is desperately needs in year five of this conflict.It’s very good for the UK, because of the capability that leads to jobs in the United Kingdom.The extra funding to Ukraine could unlock opportunity for British businesses to fill urgent capability needs for Ukraine as part of the initiative and give British defence industry access to major contracts.The move is a significant step towards a new ambitious relationship between the UK and EU – building on the prime minister’s calls at the Munich Security Conference in February to deepen defence and security cooperation to match the rapidly evolving threats faced by both sides. It also comes ahead of the UK – EU summit, expected to be held this summer, where both sides will discuss further economic and security cooperation. Continue reading...
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• Middle powers are focusing their influence on the United Nations and the prevention of mass atrocities to stabilize a multi-directional world. • Various UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions are currently targeting the revitalization of the UN system to make it more coherent.
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The Jakarta Post• World leaders are returning to the United Nations for an assembly featuring potential high-level Security Council meetings on Ukraine, the Middle East, and artificial intelligence. • AI industry leaders recently called for a coordinated slowdown of technology development to prevent systems from improving on their own and escaping human control.
Read original · straitstimes.com• President Donald Trump is considering new demands from Iran to end a conflict that has lasted seven months. • Trump returned from Camp David on Saturday before his scheduled address to the General Assembly on Tuesday.
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Fox News• Iran issued a warning of severe retaliation against the United States and its allies after claiming to have intelligence about an impending attack. • Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated that the country must continue fighting and negotiating to push back enemies and consolidate gains.
Read original · economictimes.indiatimes.com• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on world leaders this Sunday to prioritize peace, dignity, justice, and humanity. • The appeal comes as leaders prepare to gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, which will be Guterres' final assembly as Secretary-General.
Read original · latestly.com• The UAE is advancing international peace and stability efforts through a combination of diplomacy, dialogue, and humanitarian action. • The government is prioritizing conflict prevention and the protection of civilians to resolve existing global crises.
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Gulftime• A UN commission of inquiry recently accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza while the organization struggled to maintain its global influence. • Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has effectively pushed the UN into a bystander role during current international conflicts.
Read original · theguardian.com• Israeli security forces are preparing extensive operations in the West Bank following a deadly shooting attack at a local spring. • National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has demanded that the terrorist responsible for the attack be executed.
Read original · timesofisrael.com• World leaders are returning to the United Nations assembly to address ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. • The 80-year-old organization is currently facing a combined crisis of morale and finance alongside questions regarding its next leader.
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RAPPLER• World leaders are gathering for the United Nations General Assembly to address ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. • Oxfam is using the event to urge global action on an "inequality emergency" involving climate change, artificial intelligence, and the crisis in Gaza.
Read original · alto.gab.comAfter a plane journey in shackles, an Iranian woman found herself in the middle of Africa in a country she did not know existed. She is one of thousands deported from the US on the back of shadowy deals made with dozens of countries. An in-depth investigation reveals the ‘show of force’ costing American taxpayers millionsNo one would tell the shackled detainees onboard the US immigration plane where they were going. The officers in charge would taunt them when they asked, they said. It was only when the seat-back video screens finally showed a map that the 18 migrants worked it out. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comMedia workers are grappling with increasingly volatile press climate in US, with some detained and even deportedBanished: Trump’s secret deportation dealsWhat is Trump’s third-country deportation policy?As hundreds of masked and armed US federal agents besieged the streets of Minneapolis, turning the midwestern city into the frontline of the Trump administration’s unprecedented crackdown on immigration, the independent photographer John Abernathy was documenting one of the protests that had become a daily occurrence when Immigration and Customs Enforcement tackled him.A photograph of him on the ground, pepper spray running down his face, captured the violence with which ICE agents had for weeks treated immigrants and the thousands of US citizens who had come to their defence. It was also a stark reminder that journalists were not immune to the agency’s aggressive tactics. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com