World
Which EU politicians refused to label Russia a sponsor of terror?
Many on the far proper and a few on the left rejected the symbolic transfer to declare Moscow as a terrorist regime.
The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted a decision declaring Russia a state “sponsor of terrorism” over its struggle in Ukraine.
“The deliberate assaults and atrocities dedicated by Russian forces and their proxies towards civilians in Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and different severe violations of worldwide and humanitarian regulation quantity to acts of terror and represent struggle crimes,” the European Parliament mentioned.
In complete, 494 members of the European Parliament (MEPS) voted in favour of the decision, 58 have been towards and 44 abstained.
The largely symbolic transfer is unlikely to make an affect, as a result of the European Union – in contrast to the USA – doesn’t have the authorized framework to designate nations. Throughout the Atlantic, on the US checklist are North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Iran.
The EU established its terror checklist in 2001, following the September 11 assaults in New York.
It contains individuals, teams and entities and is reviewed at the very least each six months.
ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda armed teams are amongst these at present on the checklist.
Which members voted towards the decision?
Russia is the primary nation to be declared a state sponsor of terrorism by the European Parliament.
Nevertheless, members weren’t unanimous of their voting, with a bigger proportion of the right-wing bloc of the Parliament towards the affiliation of Russia with terrorism.
Twenty-six members of the far-right political group Identification and Democracy voted towards designating Russia as a sponsor of terrorism.
Here’s a breakdown of votes by nation, residence nation get together, and member:
These French politicians who voted towards the decision are all members of the Nationwide Rally or Rassemblement Nationwide, which is led by Marine Le Pen.
- Mathilde Androuët
- Jordan Bardella
- Aurélia Beigneux
- Dominique Bilde
- Annika Bruna
- Patricia Chagnon
- Marie Dauchy
- Jean-Paul Garraud
- Catherine Griset
- Jean-François Jalkh
- France Jamet
- Virginie Joron
- Jean-Lin Lacapelle
- Gilles Lebreton
- Thierry Mariani
- Philippe Olivier
- André Rougé
The next German politicians who voted towards the decision are all members of the far-right Various for Germany or Various für Deutschland get together (AfD).
- Christine Anderson
- Gunnar Beck
- Nicolaus Fest
- Maximilian Krah
- Joachim Kuhs
- Guido Reil
- Bernhard Zimniok
Czech MEPs, who’re members of the populist Freedom and Direct Democracy get together, or Svoboda a přímá demokracie:
One member of the centre-right European Conservatives and Reformist Group voted towards the decision:
- Emmanouil Fragkos, whose get together in Greece is Greek Resolution, or Elliniki Lusi-Greek Resolution
Twelve members from the centre-left Progressive Alliance of the Socialists and Democrats voted towards the decision.
From Bulgaria – all with the centre-left Bulgarian Socialist Get together:
- Ivo Hristov
- Tsvetelina Penkova
- Sergei Stanishev
- Petar Vitanov
- Elena Yoncheva
From Germany – all with the Social Democratic Get together of Germany or Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD), which is the get together of Chancellor Olaf Scholz:
- Joachim Schuster
- Dietmar Köster
From Italy – these three politicians belong to Partito Democratico or the Democratic Get together:
- Pietro Bartolo
- Andrea Cozzolino
- Massimiliano Smeriglio
From Slovakia:
- Monika Beňová (SMER-Sociálna demokracia, or Path – Slovak Social Democracy)
- Robert Hajšel (Impartial)
Ten members of the Left group within the European Parliament voted towards the decision:
From Belgium:
- Marc Botenga (Parti du Travail de Belgique or Staff’ Get together of Belgium – which is a Marxist get together)
From Cyprus:
- Niyazi Kizilyürek (Progressive Get together of Working Individuals – Left – New Forces)
From Czech Republic:
- Kateřina Konečná (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy, or Communist Get together of Bohemia and Moravia)
From Germany (DIE LINKE. get together, or The Left get together):
- Özlem Demirel
- Martin Schirdewan
From Portugal (Partido Comunista Português, or Portuguese Communist Get together – a Marxist-Leninist group)
- Sandra Pereira
- João Pimenta Lopes
From Eire (Independents 4 Change):
From Spain:
- Miguel Urbán Crespo (Anticapitalistas)
9 MEPs who usually are not affiliated with any political grouping additionally voted towards the decision:
- Nicolas Bay (France – Reconquête!, or Reconquest – a nationalist get together)
- Francesca Donato (Italy – now an unbiased however previously with the far-right Lega Nord, or Northern league headed by Matteo Salvini)
- Marcel De Graaff (Netherlands – Discussion board voor Democratie, or Discussion board for Democracy, a right-wing populist get together)
- Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos (Greece – Communist Get together of Greece)
- Kostas Papadakis (Greece – Communist Get together of Greece)
- Miroslav Radačovský (Slovakia – Slovak PATRIOT, which is a right-wing get together)
- Milan Uhrík (Slovakia – Hnutie Republika or Republic – a far-right get together)
- Martin Sonneborn (Germany – Die Partei or The Get together, which is a satirical get together)
- Tatjana Ždanoka (Latvia – Latvijas Krievu savienība or the Latvian Russian Union, which is backed by ethnic Russians and different Russian-speaking minorities)
World
China Box Office: ‘The Last Frenzy’ Keeps Theatrical Lead as Momentum Slows Further
“The Last Frenzy,” a comedy film about a dying man’s last hurrah, retained the top spot in mainland Chinese cinemas for the third weekend of its four weeks on release. Other signs of theatrical malaise were plentiful.
“The Last Frenzy” earned $5.8 million (RMB41.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That lifted its total to within a whisker of the $100 million landmark, at $98 million (RMB696 million) since releasing on May 1.
“Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” the Soi Cheang-directed crime action film set in Hong Kong’s now demolished Kowloon Walled City, held on to second place. It earned $4.9 million and has a cumulative of $86.2 million.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which two weeks earlier had been the biggest title before slipping to fourth, regained a position. In third, it earned $2.8 million for a cumulative of $25.6 million, since debuting in China on May 10.
“Three Old Boys,” a crime action film directed by Gao Qunshu (“Beijing Blues,” “Old Fish”) was the weekend’s highest opener. Starring Bao Bei’er, Han Geng and Guo Tao, the film earned $2.7 million (RMB19.0 million).
(“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” opened outside the top ten. Other data providers estimate that it earned a fraction over $500,000 in its opening three days.)
Fifth place ove the latest weekend belonged to “Hovering Blade” with $1.8 million. The iQiyi-backed revenge-action film is a Chinese adaptation of a crime novel by Japanese author Keigo Higashino about a father on a revenge mission after discovering that his school-age daughter has been raped and murdered. After ten days in cinemas, it has a cumulative of $10.9 million.
Theatrical momentum, which has made China the world’s biggest cinema market so far this year, continues to slow in the flat spot between the May Day holiday and China’s own summer season.
Artisan Gateway calculates that year-to-date box office in China has now passed the $3 billion mark and totals $3.03 billion. The year-to-date score is now 1% below the comparable figure in 2023.
World
Biden urged to outlaw antisemitic Palestinian ‘terrorist’ group banned in Germany, Israel
JERUSALEM – The Biden administration is facing new calls to sanction Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which has links to Iran’s regime and the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas.
Germany outlawed Samidoun in November and Israel classified the Palestinian organization as a terrorist entity in 2021.
“If the U.S. is going to get serious about the pro-Hamas mobs who’ve wreaked havoc on U.S. campuses, they will have to take action to ban Samidoun and investigate their allies and supporters,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the LA-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, told Fox News Digital.
Samidoun has chapters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Iran, as well as in numerous European states: Sweden, France and Spain.
Nancy Faeser, German federal minister of the interior, said in a November statement, “Today, I banned all activity in Germany by Hamas, a terrorist organization whose aim is to destroy the State of Israel. Samidoun is an international network which disseminates anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda while claiming to promote solidarity with prisoners in different countries. Samidoun also supported and glorified various foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas… Banning the activity of Hamas and Samidoun, and dissolving Samidoun Deutschland, will put a stop to such demonstrations of hate in Germany.”
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She added, “With its spontaneous ‘celebrations’ here in Germany following the horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel, Samidoun revealed its antisemitism and absolute lack of regard for human life in an especially abhorrent way.”
When approached about the German and Israeli bans of Samidoun, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “We are aware that Germany banned Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. We do not comment on deliberations, or potential deliberations, related to the U.S. terrorist designation process.”
The State Department spokesman added, “Unlike many of our foreign partners, the United States, under the First Amendment, cannot designate organizations based solely on hateful speech. As a matter of law, in order to designate any group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization the Secretary of State must determine that it is a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity that threatens the security of United States nationals or our national security.”
Terrorism experts have, however, noted that Samidoun’s links to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) meet the criteria for a ban.
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The role of Samidoun during the pro-Hamas campus protests has drawn greater scrutiny from experts.
On May 16, Steven Stalinsky, the counterterrorism expert and executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), wrote on the Fox News op-ed page, “Also lending its support to U.S. students was a coalition of jihadi Gaza student organizations representing Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, PFLP, and others. Its statement of ‘solidarity’ with the ‘Student Intifada in the United States,’ translated into English and published by the PFLP affiliate Samidoun on April 25, saluted the American students who are ‘rising up to put an end to the Zionist-U.S. genocide’ and lauded their ‘work to transform their universities into ‘Popular Universities for Gaza.’”
MEMRI also posted a video of a speech by the Canadian-based Charlotte Kates, the international coordinator of Samidoun, who glorified Hamas’ mass murder of roughly 1,200 people on October in southern Israel. Hamas murdered over 30 Americans on Oct. 7 and kidnapped more than 250 people.
ELITE UNIVERSITY JOURNALISM PROFESSOR EXPOSED FOR MONTHSLONG CAMPAIGN JUSTIFYING HAMAS
Kates said on April 26 in Vancouver, British Columbia: “We demand a free Palestine from the River to the Sea. And we stand with the Palestinian resistance and their heroic and brave actions on October 7. As they said, long live October 7th! And we say today: long live October 7th!”
The Canadian authorities arrested Kates for her pro-Hamas terrorism speech. On the other side of the Atlantic, Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, dismantled and outlawed on May 16 the NGO Palestine Solidarity Duisburg because it provides support to Hamas and Samidoun.
Reul said, “This ban comes at the right time and sends the right signal. In many cases, solidarity with Palestine hides nothing other than hatred of Jews – as is the case with the organization that was banned today. We will use all legal options to combat antisemitism and ideological support for terrorism. Today, the state has shown a clear stance against extremism.”
Yet, the ban of Samidoun and its activities in Germany has not been a complete success. Dr. Rafael Korenzecher, the publisher of the German-Jewish newspaper Jewish Review (Jüdische Rundschau in German), told Fox News Digital, “The half-hearted bans on Samidoun and Hamas, which still leave too much leeway for anti-Jewish activities, come far too late and are purely alibi actions by the responsible political actors to divert attention from the fundamental.”
According to the recently released domestic intelligence report from North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of Hamas operatives rose from 150 in 2022 to 175 in 2023. In 2003, Germany along with the EU, formally sanctioned Hamas as a terrorist entity. Germany, however, did not strictly enforce the ban and it became a hotbed of Hamas membership, recruitment and fundraising.
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The German state of Baden-Württemberg has taken a lax approach to Hamas. The state’s Green Party governor, Winfried Kretschmann, has refused to ban Palestine Committee Stuttgart – an NGO that has raised funds for Samidoun. The capital city of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, allows the contact information of the Palestine Committee Stuttgart to appear on the municipal webpage.
Professor Michael Wolffsohn, a prominent German-Jewish historian and commentator on modern antisemitism and Islamism, told Fox News Digital that the “structural problem” in Germany can be grounded in former German Chancellor “Angela Merkel’s migration policy. Not just in the years 2015-16. Hundreds of thousands of times, Islamic antisemites were allowed into the country unchecked. Only attention was paid to right-wing extremism, which was also certainly dangerous, and left-wing extremism was downplayed as partners of the Islamists.”
Wolffsohn warned, “It’s not just about this or that federal government. You also have to look at the state governments and municipalities,” while noting that also includes the “the police and judicial authorities.”
The future for Jews in Germany appears bleak based on the massive outbreaks of Jew-hatred since Oct. 7. Just last week, nearly 4,000 German Muslims, leftists and ordinary Germans protested against Israel in front of the main synagogue in Munich, Bavaria.
“Jewish life in Germany is becoming increasingly impossible,” Korenzecher said. “Illegal migration from predominantly Islamic countries, where hatred of Jews and Israel is partly propagated by the state and is virtually part of the raison d’être there, is an existential threat to Jewish life.”
Fox News Digital approached Samidoun for a comment.
World
Israeli airstrikes kill 35 in Rafah as displaced people hit
Palestinian medics say Israeli strikes in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah have killed at least 35 people, many of them displaced civilians.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 35 people on Sunday and hit tents for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and numerous others were trapped in flaming debris, Palestinian health workers said.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, women and children made up most of the dead and dozens of wounded.
The attacks came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population had sought shelter before Israel’s incursion earlier this month.
Tens of thousands of people remain in the area while many others have fled.
Footage from the scene of the largest airstrike showed heavy destruction. Israel’s army confirmed the strike and said it hit a Hamas installation and killed two senior Hamas militants. It said it was investigating reports that civilians were harmed.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was in Rafah on Sunday and was briefed on the “deepening of operations” there, his office said.
A spokesperson with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the death toll was likely to rise as search and rescue efforts continued in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood about two kilometres northwest of the city center.
The society confirmed that Israel had designated the location as a “humanitarian area.” The neighborhood is not included in areas Israel’s military ordered evacuated earlier this month.
The airstrike was reported hours after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel’s massive air, sea and ground offensive.
Southern Gaza largely cut off from aid
Southern Gaza has been largely cut off from aid since Israel launched what it called a limited incursion into Rafah on May 6. Since then over 1 million Palestinians, many already displaced, have fled the city.
Northern Gaza receives aid through two land routes that Israel opened during global outrage after Israeli strikes killed seven aid workers in April.
A few dozen trucks enter Gaza daily through a US-built floating port, far below the 150 trucks a day that officials hoped for. Aid groups say 600 trucks a day are needed.
Around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes, severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.
Israel detains man over mutiny threat
Israel’s military said it had detained a suspect over a widely circulated video in which a man dressed as a soldier threatens mutiny. The man says tens of thousands of soldiers were ready to disobey the defence minister over his suggestion that Palestinians should govern Gaza after the war, and pledged loyalty to Netanyahu alone.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the man has been removed from reserve duty. It was not clear when or where the video was made. The prime minister’s office released a brief statement condemning all forms of military insubordination.
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