World News

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26937940

The group that drafted a key blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term convened a meeting in Washington D.C. this week to consider proposals for bulldozing the European Union (EU).

The Polish investigative outlet VSquare revealed that the Heritage Foundation gathered hardline conservative groups on 11 March to hear how they would overhaul the current structures of the EU.

The “closed-door workshop” featured a debate on a new paper produced by the lobby groups MCC and Ordo Iuris entitled: “The Great Reset: Restoring Member State Sovereignty in the 21st Century”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will bring a vote to the government this week to dismiss the director of the Shin Bet internal security service, Ronen Bar.

Netanyahu said Sunday he has had “ongoing distrust” with Bar. The decision comes after an increasingly acrimonious dispute between the men focused largely on who bears responsibility for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

The Shin Bet is responsible for monitoring Palestinian militant groups. It recently issued a report accepting responsibility for its failures around the Oct. 7 attack. But it also criticized Netanyahu, saying failed government policies helped create the climate that led to the attack.

The tensions boiled over this weekend when Bar’s predecessor, Nadav Argaman, said he would release sensitive information about Netanyahu if it is found that the prime minister had broken the law. Netanyahu accused Argaman of blackmail and filed a police complaint.

At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a fire in the Puls discotheque in Kočani, North Macedonia, government officials stated.

According to former United States general Ben Hodges, the withdrawal of US troops from Europe is only a matter of time. In an interview with SonntagsBlick, he advises Switzerland to prepare for war.

For two days, citizens poured into Belgrade for the largest protest in modern Serbian history. This occurred despite authorities' efforts to obstruct the demonstrations by halting public transportation.

Thousands of students walked into the capital, spreading messages of solidarity through smaller towns along the way. The city's streets were packed, with people occupying several key locations.

"I came for my child, for my son, so that his future can be better," a young man told DW.

Police estimated a peak turnout of 107,000. Arhiv javnih skupova (Archive of Public Gatherings), an NGO which tracks mass gatherings, reported between 275,000 and 325,000 demonstrators — possibly more.

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Panic while honoring Novi Sad victims

The most alarming moment occurred during a 15-minute silence to honor the victims of the station collapse. A loud, unexpected noise described by witnesses as resembling a projectile or crashing aircraft, caused panic and triggered a brief stampede. Videos on social media captured the crowd scattering in fear.

Dušan Simin, who was among the crowd, told DW that it "sounded like a plane was landing from the direction of the Presidency building."

"We couldn't run away from it — we didn’t know what to do. You don’t know if something will fall on your head or hit you from the side," Simin said.

"People must have instinctively thought something was coming down the street, so they started running to the side, and we fell over each other. My wife hit her head on a lamppost. I watched her, but I couldn’t help. We still feel uneasy."

He added that they planned to seek medical attention and that the incident has already been reported to the Belgrade Center for Human Rights, which has called on citizens to reach out if they need free legal assistance.

"We will seek justice because what they did is not normal," Simin said.

Balkan news broadcaster N1 quoted military analyst Aleksandar Radic, who suggested an acoustic weapon, specifically a "sonic cannon" reportedly available to Serbian security forces, caused the sound. An opposition lawmaker echoed this claim, but police swiftly denied deploying any such device.

Summary

U.S. airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen killed at least 31 and injured 101, according to the Houthi health ministry.

The strikes followed renewed Houthi attacks on shipping, which they say are in response to Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

A Houthi spokesperson vowed retaliation, stating, “Our response will not be delayed.” Trump warned Iran to stop supporting the Houthis, while Iran distanced itself from the group.

The conflict has disrupted Red Sea shipping, prompting the U.S. to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization earlier this month.

Summary

Finland has declined a U.S. request to export eggs amid a severe American shortage caused by bird flu.

The Finnish Poultry Association cited the lack of prior trade agreements and complex regulatory hurdles. Even if exports were possible, Finland’s limited egg production would not significantly impact the U.S. crisis.

Other European nations, including Sweden and Denmark, also face difficulties meeting U.S. demand, while Europe grapples with its own egg shortages.

The U.S. has turned to countries like Turkey and the Netherlands for supplies as bird flu remains a global issue.

https://archive.is/eRaqC

Summary

Cuba endured a second consecutive night without power as authorities struggled to restore the grid. The outages, affecting millions, also disrupted internet and phone services.

Efforts to reconnect Havana and Santiago de Cuba failed, forcing a restart. Many Cubans outside Havana have already faced rolling blackouts lasting up to 20 hours daily.

Experts cite fuel shortages, aging infrastructure, and U.S. sanctions as key factors. The state utility plans to restore power through "microsystems," but Cuba’s economic crisis, worsened by tightened U.S. sanctions, continues to hinder recovery.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/40102778

Summary

A fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, killed 51 people and injured over 100 during a concert early Sunday.

Authorities say pyrotechnics ignited the roof, causing chaos as attendees fled. Many victims suffered severe burns and were transported to hospitals across the country.

Officials are investigating safety violations, and one person has been arrested. Leaders from the EU, Albania, and Ukraine expressed condolences.

According to Israeli media outlets, the ‘International Conference on Combating Antisemitism’ being held in the occupied city of Jerusalem this month – organised by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry – has invited far-right and conservative figures from across Europe and the West for attendance.

Such figures include Jordan Bardella, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, Argentina’s president Javier Milei, MEP Hermann Tertsch from Spain’s far-right Vox party, MEP Charlie Weimers from the far-right Sweden Democrats party, French MEP Marion Maréchal, and MEP Kinga Gál from Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party.

Demonstrations for International Long COVID Awareness Day have sparked around the globe. Whether raising awareness about the disease in public or from their homes, people with Long COVID and their allies have raised their voices to demand recognition, research, treatments, support, and prevention of COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic, as many in the community observe half a decade of Long COVID.

We reached out to international organizers for photos from their actions to document the demonstrations and highlight their demands. From “lie ins” to leaflet handouts to social media campaigns, people with Long COVID and related diseases drew attention to the overlooked disease affecting more than 400 million people globally.

Summary

Donald Trump’s return to office and his aggressive trade policies have dramatically reshaped Canadian politics.

His 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, combined with disparaging comments about Canada’s sovereignty, have sparked widespread anti-Trump sentiment.

Formerly struggling, the Liberal Party has seen a surge in support, nearly erasing a 20-point Conservative lead.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney, a financial expert with no prior elected experience, now faces the challenge of responding to Trump’s actions. Meanwhile, Canada has retaliated with tariffs, boycotts, and diplomatic resistance, escalating tensions between the two nations.

Summary

G7 foreign ministers issued a tougher statement on China, omitting past reassurances about "one China" policies and emphasizing concerns over Taiwan, China's nuclear buildup, and actions in the South China Sea.

The statement condemned "coercion" against Taiwan and removed language about maintaining stable relations with Beijing.

China strongly opposed the statement, calling it interference. The ministers also criticized China's economic policies and military actions near the Philippines and Vietnam.

The shift follows increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan and recent U.S.-Japan discussions on regional security.

U.S. President Donald Trumpannounced Saturday that he had ordered the military to "launch decisive and powerful" action against the Houthis in war-torn Yemen, a glaring contradiction of what critics have called the Republican's "anti-war charade."

The U.S. bombing follows Trump redesignating the Houthis—also known as Ansar Allah—as a terrorist organization shortly after returning to office in January and comes just days after the group renewed a blockade on Israeli ships.

Shuaib Almosawa reported earlier this week for Drop Site News that "the military spokesperson for the Houthi-led government in Yemen on Tuesday announced the resumption of the naval blockade targeting Israeli ships traversing Yemen's waterways, following the expiration of its deadline for Israel to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip."

"The United States has reached out to Denmark..."

You know, the country the United States wants to invade and forcefully take land from.

America: The dumbest rocks in the sock drawer.

Tens of thousands of people jammed the streets of central Belgrade, the largest in a wave of student-led demonstrations demanding Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's government be held accountable for a deadly canopy collapse at a railway station in November.

The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia.

The collapse allowed some 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into a stream that links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway, the engineering institution said.

“It is an environmental disaster really of catastrophic consequences,” said Chilekwa Mumba, an environmental activist who works in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province.

A gender row involving two female boxers at the Paris 2024 Olympics was the result of a Russian fake news campaign and had little to do with reality, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Saturday.

Bach, who is stepping down in June after 12 years in charge of the biggest job in world sports, said the IOC had needed to fight off many similar campaigns before and after the Paris Games.

The boxing competition at the Paris Games was run by the IOC after it stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of recognition last year over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance.

But the IBA, run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev with close links to the Kremlin, accused the IOC during Paris of allowing two female athletes, who had been banned by the IBA following a chromosome test a year earlier, to compete.