Prince William: Gaza fighting must stop ‘as soon as possible’

Rare intervention from heir to the British throne comes amid tour to understand ‘human impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. LONDON — Prince William said fighting in Gaza must stop “as soon as possible,” marking a rare intervention on a hot-button global issue from a member of the British royal family. In a statement issued Monday, the heir to the throne said he was “deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East.”  “I, like so many others, want to see an…

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Britain descending into ‘mob rule’ says prime minister Rishi Sunak

Sunak’s comments come amid heightened protests calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. LONDON — Rishi Sunak claimed Britain is tipping into “mob rule,” as the U.K. prime minister announced a new crackdown on protest amid the war in Gaza. In a meeting with regional police chiefs Wednesday evening, Sunak — who is under pressure from his Conservative Party to take a tougher line with protestors — said “there is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule.” “And we’ve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently,”…

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Rubymar, first casualty of Houthis, is pouring oil and fertilizer into Red Sea

The Houthi attacks have heightened concerns for the environment as well as for cargo shipments to Europe. The Houthi attacks have heightened concerns for the Red Sea’s coral reefs | Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images Oil and fertilizer have poured into the Red Sea from a sinking cargo ship attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, putting the local environment and a critical waterway for cargo shipments to Europe at risk. U.S. officials confirmed early Sunday that the MV Rubymar carrying 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer had sunk two weeks after it was…

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Israeli strike on José Andrés aid group prompts new level of US backlash

“They have some answering to do,” a DOD official said. Seven people died in Monday’s strike against a convoy from World Central Kitchen, an aid organization that provides meals to civilians suffering from hunger due to conflicts. | Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP Israel’s strike against aid workers trying to get food to residents in Gaza reverberated across Washington on Tuesday, particularly resonating because of the American death and the connections the group’s founder — José Andrés — has to the capital. Administration officials lashed out at new levels, and Israel was…

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UK support to Israel ‘not unconditional,’ Cameron warns

Israel should abide by international humanitarian law, foreign secretary says. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron. | Omar Havana/Getty Images British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Sunday urged Israel to follow international humanitarian law in the wake of an Israeli attack on an aid convoy that left seven people dead. Three U.K. citizens were among those killed in air strikes on a convoy of food aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) on Monday, an attack for which the Israeli military admitted culpability. Israel has “a right to self-defense that we should support,” Cameron wrote in…

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Here’s how Iran’s strike on Israel has unfolded

The U.S. has downed some of the incoming drones. Iranian demonstrators flash the victory sign as they hold an Iranian flag and a model of a bullet during an anti-Israeli gathering at the Felestin (Palestine) Square in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, April 14, 2024. | Vahid Salemi/AP Iran has made good on its threat to retaliate against a deadly strike on its consulate in Syria with a large aerial strike against Israel on Saturday. The drone and missile strikes could spark a major escalation of fighting in the Middle East…

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How the far right aims to ride farmers’ outrage to power in Europe

The tie-up of far-right parties and furious farmers is supercharging populist parties in the run-up to the EU election in June. As campaigning for the European election in June kicks off, polls suggest the farmer-populist tie-up is helping to supercharge the appeal of far-right parties among the bloc’s nearly nine million farmers | Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images BRUSSELS — If the far right ever seizes power across Europe, it may well ride in on the back of a tractor. From Italy to the Netherlands, right-wing parties like France’s National Rally and…

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Putin the only winner as Poland’s Tusk flounders over Ukraine border fight

Poland blockades its ally Ukraine while buying farm goods from its enemy Russia. There is growing anger among European farmers, who say they are being hurt by cheap Ukrainian imports | Omar Marques/Getty Images In late February, Mykhailo Tkach traveled to Poland’s border with Belarus to film trucks loaded with Russian grain crossing freely into the European Union. The Ukrainian journalist, who was eventually detained by police, wondered on camera why, to the south, Polish farmers were blocking Ukrainian grain and other agricultural imports while Russian goods worth millions of euros were flowing in…

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Farmers’ protest: Police use tear gas and water cannons to quell violent Brussels demo

Tractors block roads around the EU capital as “desperate” demonstrators set off firecrackers. Tractors have blocked several access roads around the European institutions. | Ali Walker/POLITICO BRUSSELS — One person was arrested and two police officers were injured in Brussels’ European Quarter on Tuesday during a rowdy farmers’ protest which turned violent as demonstrators started throwing firebombs and debris at law enforcement.  About 250 tractors arrived in Brussels in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in a new demonstration against policies which they say are whacking their business. A ring of…

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Macron is all talk, no action on Ukraine, says left-wing rival Glucksmann

Social-democratic lead candidate Raphaël Glucksmann doubled down on his hawkish stance on Ukraine as polls show him closing in on the pro-Macron list ahead of the EU election. While trying to battle Marine Le Pen on the right, Macron’s list also risks losing disaffected voters on the left flank. | Pool photo by Stephane Mahe/AFP via Getty Images PARIS — French social democratic lead candidate Raphaël Glucksmann slammed the insufficient level of European support for Ukraine, accusing leaders including President Emmanuel Macron of “taking pleasure in speaking, but showing weakness…

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