World
Baby or ballot? Members of the EU Parliament won’t have to choose
Pregnant members of the European Parliament will be allowed to delegate their vote during their time off with their newborns in a landmark step for women in politics.
Until now, the European Parliament did not allow online or proxy voting – meaning a delegated vote passed to another member of the parliament.
With the changes approved this week, pregnant women will be able to delegate their vote three months before giving birth and six months afterwards. The motion passed with 605 votes in favor out of the 640 represented in the chamber.
Laura Ballarín, of the S&D, is expecting a child and welcomed the move, arguing that votes can go to the wire and each person matters. She said the move, if applied on time, will allow her to keep representing her constituents.
“I don’t like having to choose between having to recover physically after giving birth and my right to vote,” Ballarín told Euronews. Having a child, she argued, should not represent a setback for women at work.
While the delegated vote has been approved by the European Parliament, it now needs to be approved unanimously by the European Council. Then it will have to be ratified by the national parliaments before it enters into force.
“We must encourage more women to stand for election; we must empower them to take their place at the decision-making table”, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said during a press conference after the vote on Thursday.
Following the European elections in June 2024, the Parliament experienced the biggest percentage drop in female representation since the first direct elections in 1979.
Women now make up 38.5% of MEPs – 277 out of 720 – 2.1% fewer than in the previous legislature.
No amendments on fatherhood
The new rules will apply to women only.
While progressive forces of the parliament tried to include fathers, they had to dial down their initial ambition to reach a compromise with the rest of political forces.
“I had to choose between voting the climate law or seeing my child being born,” German Green MEP Daniel Freund told Euronews. The choice, he argued in the end was clear: his family.
But the predicament raises serious questions.
The European parliament issued last year an EU-wide directive which regulates maternity and parental leave to include both parents. The idea being that maternity leave tends to impact a woman’s career more than it does for a man as the time spent away from work is usually longer.
“In this Parliament, we have legislated on maternity and paternity leave for both and we have introduced that right for all Europeans. We should lead by example,” Freund added.
As for Ballarín, who is expecting her baby early next year, both parents play an important role in bringing up a child.
“Fathers should also be able to stay home with a newborn without skipping their democratic duty,” Ballarín told Euronews, referring to her male colleagues in the chamber.
Unable to reach the hemicycle
Members of the European Parliament must cast their vote in person in Brussels or in Strasbourg, which involves travel for the 720-members of the chamber.
“We need to make sure that if you are physically impeded from travelling to Strasbourg or to Brussels to vote, then you should not lose that right”, said President Metsola.
For the time being, the reform will only apply to pregnancy or birth but doesn’t consider other impediments such as long-term sickness. Online voting was tested during the pandemic and worked during the lockdown phase, but it was not extended beyond.
Some argue the system proved that it possible to vote without being present in the room and could be helpful for MEPs who are suffering from an illness, or physical impediment.
World
Jonathan Majors Fell Through a Window on Daily Wire Action Movie Set; Producers Downplay the Accident Amid Crew Strike
Jonathan Majors‘ new action movie, backed by Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire and Dallas Sonnier‘s Bonfire Legend, is facing scrutiny following an on-set accident and a crew strike.
On Friday, Deadline obtained footage of Majors and his co-star, JC Kilcoyne, accidentally falling through a window while filming a scene. In the clip, the two actors stumble backwards into the glass before falling through and out of the frame. As crew members rush in to check whether they’re okay, two voices can be heard affirming that they’re “good.” A voice that appears to be Majors asks if the production was rolling on the action. “Did we shoot it?” the man asks. “Use it.”
Sources told Deadline that the accident occurred “after the window was replaced with an unsecured sheet of tempered glass to be purposefully shattered in a later stunt that did not involve any actors,” and that the actors, and the pane of glass, fell about six feet to the ground. The same sources revealed that Kilcoyne required stitches in his hands.
Kilcoyne’s reps tell Variety that the actor is “doing well and was taken care of immediately by production.” Kilcoyne is wrapped filming on the movie, but his team notes that he “did not feel unsafe on set and continued to have a positive experience working on the project.”
Representatives for Majors have not returned requests for comment. In addition to starring in the film, Majors is an executive producer on the movie under his Tall Street Productions banner.
“The actors’ fall was shorter than the failed movie careers of the now-union reps,” Sonnier told Variety, responding to a request for comment about the accident, as well as the production’s negotiations with the crew who’ve walked off the South Carolina set.
On March 26, IATSE called a strike against the production after crew members walked off the job, which is shooting under the working title “Knuckle,” over a series of labor concerns. Deadline’s reporting indicates that the on-set accident was many crew members’ final straw with the indie production.
“The producers are actively looking for replacement crew,” IATSE shared in a social media post. “All IATSE members are advised not to cross the picket line.”
Despite the walkout, filming is said to continue in some capacity. Variety has reached out to the union for additional comment on the strike’s status.
The film is written and directed by Kyle Rankin, who reunites with the Daily Wire and Bonfire Legend after the 2020 actioner “Run Hide Fight.” The film, which starred Isabel May and Thomas Jane, premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Details about the untitled action movie are largely being kept under wraps, but an early logline hinted toward the plot: “When threats strike the heart of the homeland, American warriors rise with unbreakable grit and unrelenting firepower to defend what makes this country worth fighting for.”
Majors stars in the project after his skyrocketing career — with standout roles in “Creed III,” “Lovecraft Country,” Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and the “Loki” series — stalled following a 2023 domestic assault conviction. In the wake of the controversy, the actor was fired from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and lost major parts in movies like a pseudo-biopic in which he’d portray basketball legend Dennis Rodman.
In recent months, Majors has staged his comeback, returning to theaters with the tense bodybuilding drama “Magazine Dreams,” which had received rave reviews in its Sundance debut. He is also set to appear in Martin Villeneuve’s thriller “Merciless.”
World
UK prosecutors charge 3, including dual Pakistani citizen, in arson attack on Jewish ambulances in London
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British prosecutors charged three suspects — ages 17, 19 and 20 — in an alleged arson attack targeting Jewish community ambulances in north London.
The March 23 incident unfolded at around 1:45 a.m. in the Golders Green neighborhood, where four ambulances operated by a volunteer emergency service serving the Jewish community were deliberately set ablaze in a synagogue parking lot.
Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old boy are accused of arson with intent to damage property while recklessly endangering life, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Officials said two of the suspects are British citizens, while one holds dual British and Pakistani citizenship.
GUILTY VERDICTS IN ISIS PLOT POLICE SAY COULD HAVE BEEN ‘THE DEADLIEST TERRORIST ATTACK IN UK HISTORY’
Members of the Jewish community view an alleged antisemitic arson attack in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London March 24, 2026. (Henry Nicholls/AFP)
All three were arrested Wednesday at separate locations across London.
They did not enter pleas and remained in custody after a roughly 45-minute hearing Saturday afternoon at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, according to The Standard.
Prosecutors said a fourth suspect was also arrested and taken into custody at the courthouse where the three charged men were appearing, according to Reuters.
UK COUNTERTERRORISM POLICE PROBE ANTISEMITIC ARSON ATTACK AS IRAN-LINKED GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
Firefighters tackle a blaze at Highfield Road in the Golders Green neighborhood of London after an apparent arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance Service. (PA/PA Images via Getty Images)
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously condemned the attack as a “horrifying” antisemitic act.
“An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on us all. We will fight the poison that is antisemitism,” Starmer wrote on X March 23.
A report from the SITE Intelligence Group says an Iran-backed network calling itself the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand has claimed responsibility, according to Reuters.
UK ARRESTS 2 OVER ‘ANTISEMITIC ARSON ATTACK’ AS POLICE INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE IRAN LINK
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel visits the site after four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, were set on fire in northwest London March 23, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Reuters)
Despite the claim, officials have not formally classified the case as terrorism. However, counterterrorism police are leading the investigation, Metropolitan Police said.
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Police in the United Kingdom previously arrested two other men, ages 45 and 47, in the days after the attack. They were later released on bail, according to the Metropolitan Police.
“I want to reiterate that the support we had from the local community since this attack took place has been incredible, and we will continue to work closely with local policing colleagues to do everything we can to keep the public safe,” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement.
The Metropolitan Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter and Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.
World
Indonesia receives bodies of peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon
Foreign Minister Sugiono told reporters that Indonesia wants a thorough UN investigation into the deaths of the peacekeepers.
Published On 4 Apr 2026
Indonesia has received the bodies of three United Nations peacekeepers who were killed in southern Lebanon during Israel’s invasion of the country, amid the ongoing United States-Israel war on Iran.
The coffins of the killed soldiers arrived in Indonesia on Saturday. They were carried on the shoulders of uniformed officers for a ceremony attended by President Prabowo Subianto.
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After the ceremony, Foreign Minister Sugiono told reporters that Indonesia wants a thorough UN investigation into the deaths of the peacekeepers who were part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
“This is a peacekeeping mission. Incidents such as this should not happen,” the minister told reporters at the airport.
“There must be a security guarantee for peacekeeping soldiers,” he added.
Last week, peacekeeper Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, was killed after a projectile exploded. A UN security source told the AFP news agency anonymously on Tuesday that fire from an Israeli tank was responsible for the attack.
A day later, two more Indonesian peacekeepers, Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, 33, and Muhammad Nur Ichwan, 26, were killed after an explosion struck a UNIFIL logistics convoy in southern Lebanon.
Iskandar’s father said he was shocked that peacekeepers were losing their lives in the conflict.
“We were really sad and regretful, because this is a UN troop, a peacekeeping troop, not deployed for war,” Iskandarudin, 60, told reporters at his house in West Java province.
The three men are expected to be laid to rest on Sunday, and the government has promised financial support for the families.
On Friday, UNIFIL announced that three peacekeepers were wounded after a blast at a UN facility near Adeisse and were taken to hospital.
The UN information centre in Jakarta said the “origin of the explosion” was unknown, but identified the injured soldiers as Indonesian.
“Repeated attacks or incidents of this kind are unacceptable,” the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The government urged the UN Security Council “to immediately convene a meeting of troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL to conduct a review and take measures to enhance the protection of personnel serving with UNIFIL”.
The US-Israel war on Iran spread to Lebanon after Iran-aligned Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel, following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war on February 28.
Israel has bombarded the country for weeks and launched an invasion, with Israeli officials saying the mission intends to set up a security zone extending 30km (18.6 miles) from the Israeli border.
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