World
‘If we don’t support Ukraine, it’ll fall in a matter of days’: Borrell
Talking in Florence, Josep Borrell mirrored on the transformational modifications which have swept the EU for the reason that Kremlin launched the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine will succumb to the invading Russian forces “in a matter of days” with out navy assist from Western international locations, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s overseas coverage chief, stated on Friday, insisting that the current state of affairs contained in the war-torn nation just isn’t conducive for launching formal peace talks.
“Unhappily, this isn’t the second for diplomatic conversations about peace. It is the second of supporting militarily the warfare,” Borrell instructed Euronews’ Méabh McMahon on the State of the Union occasion hosted by the European College Institute (EUI) in Florence.
“In order for you peace, push Russia to withdraw. Push Russia to cease the warfare. Do not inform me to cease supporting Ukraine, as a result of if I cease supporting Ukraine, definitely the warfare will end quickly,” he went on.
“We can’t simply end as a result of (if we do) Ukraine is unable to defend itself and it has to give up. And the Russian troops can be within the Polish border and Ukraine will develop into a second Belarus. Would you like this type of ending the warfare? No.”
The overseas coverage chief described the 10-point proposal promoted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the one factor that might be known as a peace plan” and dismissed China’s 12-point doc as “wishful considering.”
“Even when they’re on the facet of Russia, I believe China has a job to play. China is a everlasting member of the (UN) Safety Council. China is the one who has the largest affect in Russia,” Borrell added.
“Let’s face the fact. Prefer it or not, the fact is Putin continues saying: ‘I’ve navy targets and so far as I do not get these navy targets, I’ll proceed combating.’ So the peace plans are good however you want somebody that wishes to speak about peace.”
In the course of the dialog, Borrell mirrored on the transformational modifications which have swept the European Union for the reason that Kremlin determined to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, upending worldwide legislation, meals provide chains and vitality costs.
Though technically the bloc’s prime diplomat, Borrell admitted he these days feels extra like a “defence minister” due to the rising give attention to supplying ammunition to Ukraine: the EU is dashing to satisfy its promise to ship a million artillery shells over the subsequent 12 months, which Kyiv urgently requires to mount its anticipated counteroffensive.
“I spend fairly an necessary a part of my time speaking about arms and ammunition. I by no means thought that we had been going to want to spend a lot time excited about what number of pictures of artillery we are able to present,” Borrell stated.
This week the European Fee proposed a €500-million plan to ramp up industrial manufacturing of ammunition, which is presently hampered by a sequence of entrenched bottlenecks and shortfalls. The plan, dubbed ASAP, contains an choice that might permit member states to place further cash on the desk by redirecting a share of their allotted cohesion and COVID-19 restoration funds.
“We did not need this warfare. We weren’t searching for it. However the warfare is a actuality and you need to face it. And all people needs peace. Sure, however in the interim, unhappily, Putin is continuous the warfare and Ukraine has to defend (itself),” Borrell stated when requested in regards to the doable use of restoration funds to spice up Europe’s arms trade.
“If we do not assist Ukraine, Ukraine will fall in a matter of days. So, sure, I would like to spend this cash rising the well-being of the individuals, hospitals, faculties, cities, and so forth. However we do not have a selection.”
The commercial plan is the newest addition to an ever-expanding listing of consequential coverage choices the bloc has taken up to now 15 months, a lot of which solely got here to fruition after protracted, tortuous and generally divisive negotiations between the 27 member states.
Nonetheless, Borrell appears happy with the ultimate outcome and believes that, regardless of inside bickering, the EU stays united in its assist for Ukraine and its opposition to Russia’s aggression.
“The warfare has united us. There’s nothing that may unite you greater than an enemy, a menace, and the sensation of going through a menace. An actual existential menace has united us greater than any speech, any theoretical strategy in regards to the want for integration,” Borrell stated.
“One of many errors of Putin was to assume that the Europeans wouldn’t be united due to the vitality dependency, for instance, and that the general public opinion in Europe would get bored with supporting Ukrainians and that the US and Europe would quarrel about who does what and which shares the burden. This isn’t the case.”
Borrell then defended the effectiveness of the ten rounds of sanctions the bloc has imposed on Russia and which critics declare have didn’t dent the Kremlin’s warfare machine.
“Actually they work, however they don’t seem to be instantaneous. It is like a weight loss plan: for those who go on a weight loss plan, you are not going to lose 30 kilos in a single week,” the diplomat quipped.
Talking extra broadly in regards to the shifting world order, Borrell expressed his private need for a greater understanding between “the West and the remaining,” a reference to international locations which can be outdoors the normal group of liberal democracies and usually refuse to embrace their political viewpoints.
“The worldwide challenges (are) not solely local weather. It is the debt and is improvement,” he stated.
“We nonetheless have a an excessive amount of Eurocentric strategy to the remainder of the world.”
World
‘SNL’ Cold Open Riffs on Trump Trial and His VP Picks
The 49th season finale of “Saturday Night Live” opened with James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump speaking at the barricades of a Manhattan courthouse, in a nod to Trump’s ongoing legal woes amid his presidential campaign.
During the sketch, Johnson as Trump spoke about his “weird and depressing” state at the courthouse, saying, “I don’t like being in court because they say very mean things about me as I’m trying to sleep.” (It was reported that Trump fell asleep in court during proceedings.) He goes on to say, “Now that my defense is supposed to begin on Monday, I would love to testify; I’m not afraid to testify at all, I’m just not going to out of fear.”
He continues to say how he doesn’t want to go back to the White House, “But it appears people want to send me there.” Johnson’s Trump pokes fun at Trump’s rigged election claims, too. “For me, it’s much better for me to not win and say it was rigged.”
Making fun of Trump’s sexist comments about women (and how he once said Heidi Klum is “no longer a 10”), Johnson, as Trump says of a juror at his trial, “They call her juror 9, but to me, she’s like a six, baby.”
Johnson’s Trump then introduced three of his potential VP candidates. “We love to say ‘VP’, like ‘Veep’ with Elaine from ‘Seinfeld.’ She can’t dance!” He says he won’t announce his VP just yet. “In many ways, it will be determined by the winner of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.” Trump says he’s invited a few people from “my short bus––I mean my shortlist.”
He brings out South Carolina Governor Tim Scott (played by Devon Walker). “I’m here to help Trump win the Black vote,” he says. Trump adds, “I’m more popular than you among the Blacks, which is really saying something.” Walker, as Scott says, “Black people have called my support humiliating, but trust me, I am my own man!”
Trump then brings out South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (played by Heidi Gardner), wearing a red MAGA hat, holding a stuffed dog, and pointing a fake gun at the dog (a reference to her shooting a dog). “She shot a dog, which you really can’t do…but on the other hand, she shot a dog, which is pretty awesome.” Gardner, as Noem chimes in and says, “I kill goats, too!”
Finally, he wheels out his final VP pick, “The late great Hannibal Lecter!” Trump says, as Mikey Day as Hannibal Lecter is wheeled out in an orange jumpsuit and wearing the famous mask. “I think he’d really scare everybody at the border. “Get him out of here, he’s giving me Pence vibes,” says Trump, as Hannibal Lecter is then wheeled away.
Trump says it’s going to be “the summer of Trump. You’re gonna get that Trump espresso,” he sings in a reference to a Sabrina Carpenter song. Johnson, as Trump says he’ll be selling more Trump Bibles as well, along with a “Trump Torah.”
Trump finishes the cold open shouting, “In the words of my mentor, the late great Hannibal Lecter, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
This week’s “SNL” host is actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and Sabrina Carpenter stars as the week’s musical guest.
Watch the sketch below:
World
Blue flash caught in night sky over Spain, Portugal lights up social media
It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s a blue meteor? Fireball? Piece of a comet?
Whatever it was, it lit up the night sky for millions of people early Sunday morning in Spain and Portugal. Social media users took stunning pictures and videos for all to revel in the natural science phenomenon.
The spectacular sight crossed the night sky at 12:46 a.m., according to CCTV footage released by the mayor’s office in Cádiz.
The European Space Agency (ESA) Operations says the “blue meteor” everyone is referring to was actually “a small piece of a comet” that flew over the European countries at the speed of 45 kilometers a second, which is equivalent to almost 28 miles.
MERGER OF MASSIVE BLACK HOLES FROM EARLY UNIVERSE UNCOVERED BY WEBB TELESCOPE, SCIENTISTS SAY
It burned up over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 60 kilometers, or more than 37 miles above the surface.
“The likelihood of any meteorites being found is very low,” ESA Operations tweeted after the agency’s Planetary Defence Office analyzed the size and trajectory of the object.
SCIENTISTS DISCOVER LARGE, ‘COTTON CANDY-LIKE’ PLANET WITH UNUSUALLY LOW DENSITY
National Aeronautics and Space Administration explains the color was likely due to magnesium, and that “meteor color depends on whether the metal atom emissions or the air plasma emissions dominate.”
“Short-period comets, also known as periodic comets, originate from a disk-shaped band of icy objects known as the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune’s orbit, with gravitational interactions with the outer planets dragging these bodies inward, where they become active comets,” Space.com states.
Many on social media referred to what they witnessed as a “once in a lifetime sight,” according to news.com.au, with at least one joking, “That’s no meteor, that’s Optimus Prime.”
Fox News’ Mitch Picasso contributed to this report.
World
How is Azerbaijan involved with France and New Caledonia?
France has accused Azerbaijan of meddling in its Pacific territory, New Caledonia, by supporting independence movements and spreading disinformation, amid broader geopolitical tensions.
France has accused Azerbaijan of meddling in its Pacific archipelago territory of New Caledonia.
Despite the vast geographical and cultural distance between the Caspian state and the French Pacific territory, this claim is rooted in a complex web of historical, political, and diplomatic tensions.
The Crisis in New Caledonia
New Caledonia, located between Australia and Fiji, is a French territory with a history of striving for independence.
The recent unrest in New Caledonia was ignited by a new electoral law perceived by the indigenous Kanak population as discriminatory.
This law allows people who have lived in New Caledonia for at least ten years the right to vote in local elections, which pro-independence supporters argue will dilute the Kanak vote.
France’s Accusations
France’s Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, has publicly stated that Azerbaijan, along with China and Russia, is interfering in New Caledonia’s internal matters. “This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a reality,” Darmanin told the France 2 TV channel, emphasizing the seriousness of the allegations.
The French government points to the sudden appearance of Azerbaijani flags at Kanak independence protests and the backing of separatists by groups linked to Baku.
Azerbaijan has vehemently denied any involvement, calling the accusations baseless. “We completely reject the baseless accusations,” said Ayhan Hajizadeh, a spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry. “We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan.”
A significant element in this story is the Baku Initiative Group, established during a conference in July 2023 in Azerbaijan. This group, which includes participants from various French territories seeking independence, aims to support anti-colonial movements against France.
The group has expressed solidarity with the Kanak people and condemned the recent electoral reforms in New Caledonia. “We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their fair struggle,” the Baku Initiative Group stated.
Why are France and Azerbaijan clashing diplomatically?
The tensions between France and Azerbaijan extend beyond New Caledonia. France is a traditional ally of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s historical rival, particularly regarding the contentious Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Following the 2020 war and a subsequent 2023 offensive by Azerbaijan to reclaim control of Nagorno-Karabakh, France has openly supported Armenia.
This support includes defence agreements and military equipment supplies, fuelling further animosity from Azerbaijan. Darmanin referred to Azerbaijan as a “dictatorship,” highlighting the deep-seated distrust.
France has also accused Azerbaijan of engaging in disinformation campaigns to destabilise its territories. Pro-Azerbaijani social media accounts have been linked to the spread of misleading content about the French police’s actions in New Caledonia.
A French government source mentioned a “pretty massive campaign, with around 4,000 posts generated by (these) accounts,” aimed at inciting violence and mistrust.
This follows France recalling its ambassador to Azerbaijan in April, with President Macron expressing regret for Azerbaijan’s actions, along with his hope that the Azerbaijanis would clarify their intentions.
Why New Caledonia?
While Azerbaijan’s direct interest in New Caledonia might seem far-fetched, it fits into a broader strategy of challenging the French colonial legacy and supporting separatist movements.
By aligning with anti-colonial sentiments, Azerbaijan aims to position itself as a champion of liberation movements, simultaneously discrediting France on the international stage.
This effort is seen as part of a broader geopolitical manoeuvering, including Azerbaijan’s efforts to tarnish France’s image, as noted by its alleged disinformation campaign against France’s capability to host the Olympic Games.
The heightened tensions have had further repercussions. The French Sports Minister cancelled the Olympic flame’s journey through New Caledonia, for security reasons, but also an action that reflects the severity of the unrest and the accusations of foreign interference.
The involvement of Azerbaijan in New Caledonia’s unrest is a multifaceted issue rooted in broader geopolitical rivalries and historical grievances.
For Azerbaijan, supporting independence movements in French territories is a way to strike back at France for its support of Armenia and to bolster its own international standing.
For France, these actions represent a direct challenge to its sovereignty and stability in its overseas territories, prompting strong accusations and heightened tensions between Paris and Baku.
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