World
Your Thursday Briefing: NATO Boosts Its Eastern Presence
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We’re masking NATO’s plans to bolster its jap troops and the Taliban’s reneged promise to open women’ faculties.
NATO bolsters troop presence close to Ukraine
NATO’s secretary basic, Jens Stoltenberg, introduced plans to double the alliance’s battlegroups on its jap flank — in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia — hours earlier than President Biden was set to land in Brussels for a significant summit with allies.
The NATO motion and the upcoming conferences are a part of a coordinated effort by the West to push for harder penalties to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from rising right into a wider battle. Biden is anticipated to focus on Russian lawmakers with new sanctions this week.
On the bottom in Kyiv, Ukraine, a hail of rockets landed in a residential space close to town middle, inflicting intensive injury however few casualties. Russia’s progress has been sluggish: British intelligence has advised that the battlefield within the north of the nation has stayed largely static for days. Right here’s a map monitoring the motion of troops in Ukraine.
Appeals overseas: Briefly remarks to Japan’s Parliament, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, appealed to the nation’s recollections of nuclear catastrophe and a chemical-weapon assault in an try to garner assist.
Throughout Asia, Covid guidelines are swiftly disappearing
Covid restrictions had largely vanished in India by the point hundreds of thousands of individuals celebrated a Hindu pageant final weekend. Within the Philippines, the place 1000’s gathered at a political rally on Sunday, Covid protocols had taken a again seat.
Many Asian-Pacific international locations are dismantling their yearslong Covid guidelines at breakneck speeds, regardless that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus remains to be raging in components of the area. The adjustments are pushed by a mixture of medical recommendation, financial pressures and the sentiment of a pandemic-weary public.
New Zealand introduced plans to loosen extra restrictions, which had been among the world’s hardest. And Japan, which had among the tightest entry limitations, is contemplating eradicating quarantine necessities for overseas businesspeople and college students.
The one main exception is mainland China, which continues to have strict Covid restrictions after lengthy adhering to its “zero Covid” method.
In different pandemic information:
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West and Central African international locations have fared higher with Covid than many rich ones. The talk in regards to the causes has divided scientists.
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Moderna stated it might search emergency authorization of its coronavirus vaccine for youngsters youthful than 6 within the U.S.
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South Korea requested crematories to extend their capability and funeral houses to safe extra fridges as Covid deaths surge.
Taliban renege on promise to open women’ faculties
The Taliban abruptly reversed their choice to permit women’ excessive faculties to reopen this week, saying that they might stay closed till officers may guarantee their accordance with Islamic legislation.
Most of the over a million high-school-aged women who had grown up in an period of alternative for ladies had been devastated by the information. Some came upon after that they had already arrived for courses yesterday. One Twelfth-grade pupil in Kabul stated the choice had stamped out her final little bit of hope that she may obtain her dream of turning into a lawyer.
A spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Training stated that they had determined to not permit women to return due to an absence of a spiritual uniform and feminine lecturers, amongst different points.
The transfer may threaten the Taliban’s capacity to safe billions of {dollars} of humanitarian support. It comes a bit greater than per week earlier than a pledging convention the place the U.N. had hoped donor international locations would commit hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in badly wanted help. Each the U.N. and the U.S. condemned the Taliban’s choice.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan: Whereas many ladies had been blocked from lecture rooms in Kabul and elsewhere, no less than two northern cities started their semesters as deliberate, a geographic discrepancy indicative of the Taliban’s largely erratic policymaking.
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Asia Pacific
Confronted with a hovering divorce charge, China launched a legislation final yr forcing {couples} to endure a 30-day “cooling off” interval earlier than finalizing their separation. The rule seems to have labored; current authorities statistics present a steep drop in divorces. However the nation has a a lot larger problem: Fewer Chinese language residents are marrying within the first place.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Filming Gotham (in Liverpool)
Within the latest Batman film, launched earlier this month, the skyscrapers and imposing structure of the fictional metropolis Gotham are featured prominently.
However moderately than filming in New York — town most intently related to Gotham — “The Batman” used the streets of Liverpool as the most recent backdrop for the superhero.
Gotham’s metropolis corridor is definitely St. George’s Corridor in Liverpool, and a statue proven exterior within the film is Benjamin Disraeli, a Nineteenth-century British prime minister. “The Batman” is the most recent in a string of flicks and TV reveals — fueled particularly by streaming companies like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime — to deliver manufacturing to Britain.
Greater than 80 % of the spending on movie and high-end TV productions in Britain is from American and different abroad manufacturing corporations. However native authorities have additionally capitalized on the pattern. Liverpool’s movie workplace invested $2.6 million in six TV reveals and put aside hundreds of thousands extra for studio area.
For extra on “The Batman,” take a look at our Anatomy of a Scene function.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook dinner
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World
Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader
![Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/dcac1a4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/700x394+0+28/resize/1440x810!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F90%2F29%2F4e3c1cc7446089a9101a7bdff4c8%2Fdefaultshareimage-copy.png)
BEIRUT (AP) — The Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader.
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike.
Sinwar has not made any public appearances since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 as hostages, triggering Israel’s now 10-month-old campaign in Gaza.
World
5 US service members, 2 contractors injured in rocket attack at al-Asad air base: defense official
![5 US service members, 2 contractors injured in rocket attack at al-Asad air base: defense official 5 US service members, 2 contractors injured in rocket attack at al-Asad air base: defense official](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-1193437930.jpg)
Five U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors were injured Monday afternoon when two rockets struck Ain al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, a U.S. defense official told Fox News on Tuesday.
Five of the injured personnel were being treated at Ain al-Asad Airbase, while two others have been evacuated for further care, the defense official said, adding that all seven of the injured U.S. personnel were in stable condition.
“Post-strike assessments are still ongoing,” the official said. “We’ll continue to provide updates as they become available.”
Earlier Monday, Iraqi security officials confirmed the attack, but no group has claimed responsibility. The attack comes amid a recent uptick in strikes on American forces by Iranian-backed militias.
ISRAEL STRIKE IN LEBANON REPORTEDLY KILLS 4 HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES AS REGION BRACES FOR POSSIBLE IRAN ATTACK
Five U.S. service members and two U.S. contractors were injured Monday in a rocket attack on Ain al-Asad military airbase in Iraq, a U.S. defense official said. (AYMAN HENNA/AFP via Getty Images, File)
Hours after the attack, President Biden said on X that he and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed about “developments in the Middle East,” on Monday.
“We received updates on threats posed by Iran and its proxies, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, and preparations to support Israel should it be attacked again,” the post read. “We also discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing.”
![A-Asad airbase](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1200/675/al-asad-airbase.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Ain al-Asad airbase is located in the Anbar province in Iraq. (Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani, File)
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated in recent weeks as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.
CENTCOM COMMANDER MEETS WITH ISRAELI OFFICIALS IN STRONG SHOW OF ‘SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL,’ DEFENSE CHIEF SAYS
The assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East further. Israel has not come out publicly to claim responsibility for the killing, but Iran and Hamas are accusing the Jewish state of being behind it.
![Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2021/01/1200/675/GettyImages-1229433335.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has vowed to avenge the death of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week. (Getty Images, File)
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has vowed to avenge the death of Haniyeh, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel remains ready for any scenario.
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
EU politicians should stop mulling cooperation with the far right
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.
Right now, by drawing a red line against any future deals with the far right, President von der Leyen can make one of the most decisive steps to ensure the EU stands firm for all Europeans, Barbara Skrobol writes.
Izabela Sajbor, my sister-in-law, was just 30 years old when, at 22 weeks pregnant, she found herself in a hospital bed.
Surrounded by doctors who refused to act due to the stringent abortion laws enacted under the far-right Law and Justice (PiS) government, Izabela died from septic shock 24 hours later, leaving behind a 9-year-old daughter and a grieving family. She is believed to be the first known victim of Poland’s abortion ban.
Izabela’s death sparked protests across Poland against the misogynist laws of the PiS government under the slogan “Not a single woman more”.
The official investigation blamed medical malpractice. Which is partly true — there were medical errors.
But most of all, I believe that the change in abortion law influenced the doctors’ decision, ultimately leading to my sister-in-law’s death.
This tragedy is a reminder of the dangers posed by far-right politics, which prioritise ideology over human life, of the ways the political becomes personal.
We came to Brussels to share our stories
Our story is not unique. Across Europe, wherever the far right gets into power, we see attacks on families, wars on women, and the shredding of personal freedoms and choices.
The makeup of the new European Parliament will worry people across Europe who traditionally bear the brunt of far-right power.
As Euronews put it, the new Parliament is “more right wing, with fewer women”. New hard-right groupings include Viktor Orban’s and Marine Le Pen’s Patriots for Europe with 84 seats and the AfD-led Europe of Sovereign Nations with 25 seats may not have seized control, but they will now have enough traction to make it all too tempting to make deals with them.
But normalising these parties would be a huge mistake for a Europe that is attempting to lead the world as a model of liberal democracy.
A recent delegation to Brussels of victims of the far right, in which I took part, came to warn centre and left parties not to cosy up to the ultra-right. We all had our stories to tell.
In Hungary, a children’s book editor witnessed far-right MPs tearing up pages at a press conference, reminiscent of Nazi book burnings. Orbán’s government later banned the depiction of gay people in educational materials and TV shows for under-18s, a move condemned as a violation of children’s rights.
In Italy, two lesbian mothers face a legal battle to keep both their names on their child’s birth certificate, following Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s directive to stop registering same-sex parents’ children. If they lose, one mother could lose her parental rights overnight, a heartbreaking prospect for any family.
And then there was the tragedy of my sister-in-law.
It’s people who bear the scars of governance
These stories expose the ugly face of the far-right, and they are why I have joined a group of survivors from different countries to warn politicians and people alike of how dangerous they are.
Our group is diverse — but each of us bears the scars of far-right governance. We include LGBTQ+ individuals who have been attacked for who we love or who we are, parents who fear losing the right to parent their children together, and an editor fighting for free speech.
First and foremost, we are just ordinary people who want to live our lives and love our families. But every day is a fight because of the far right.
Although von der Leyen has so far avoided any alliances with the far right, there is still a danger. Analysis has shown that, including the centre-right EPP, every committee in the European Parliament will have a right-wing majority (except for the Committee on Women).
This is significant. Committees have a huge influence. And the temptation for the EPP and Meloni’s ECR may well be to align with the harder right on upcoming issues where their views align.
Lived realities of countless others across Europe
The simple fact is the far right offers false solutions to the real problems facing Europeans — problems such as rising food prices, housing shortages, and failing public services.
Instead, they thrive on division and scapegoating. They will erode our freedoms, attack our families, and undermine democracy. These are not abstract fears; they are the lived realities of people like me, my family, and countless others across Europe.
Right now, by drawing a red line against any future deals with the far right, President von der Leyen can make one of the most decisive steps to ensure the EU stands firm for all Europeans.
Let Izabela’s tragic death not be in vain. Not one more life should be lost to the cruel and oppressive policies of the far-right. Stand with us, and together, we can safeguard the future of Europe for all its citizens.
Barbara Skrobol is the sister-in-law of Izabela Sajbor, the first known victim of the de facto abortion ban in Poland.
At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.
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