Day: May 22, 2024

By Rajnish Singh

(EurActiv) — UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced today Wednesday (22 May), that he will go to the polls on 4 July, after 14 years of his party The Conservative and Unionist Party (ECR) being in government.

In a special press announcement made outside 10 Downing Street, Sunak highlighted how he came to office to restore economic stability, he was proud of what he had achieved, and how he will fight for every vote.

Ending months of speculation as to when he would call a new vote, Sunak, stood outside his Downing Street office in pouring rain and announced he was calling the election earlier than expected, a risky strategy, with his party far behind Labour (S&D), the main opposition party in the opinion polls.

Almost shouting to be heard above the song ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ – a dance anthem associated with the Labour Party which was being played by protesters just outside the gates to Downing Street – Sunak listed what he said were his achievements in government, not only as prime minister but also as a former finance minister.

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” he said, describing that choice as one between stability with him and the unknown with Labour leader Keir Starmer.

“Over the next few weeks, I will fight for every vote, I will earn your trust and I will prove to you that only a Conservative government led by me will not put our hard earned economic stability at risk.”

In an attack on Labour, he said that Starmer, conversely, always took the “easy way out” and had no plan. “As a result, the future can only be uncertain with them,” he said.

Sunak heads into the election not only far behind the Labour Party in the polls but also somewhat isolated from some in his party, increasingly dependent on a small team of advisers to steer him through what is set to be an ugly campaign.

But he seems to have decided with some economic gains, such as inflation falling and the economy growing at its fastest pace in almost three years, now was the time to take a risk and present his agenda for a new term formally to voters.

The former investment banker and finance minister took office less than two years ago, and since then has struggled to define what he stands for, becoming increasingly frustrated that what he sees as his successes have failed to be appreciated.

Both parties have all but kicked off campaigning for an election, with the attack lines on the economy and on defence already firmly drawn.

Sunak and his government accuse Labour of being poised to increase taxes if in government and that the party would not be a safe pair of hands for Britain in an increasingly dangerous world as it lacks a plan, charges the opposition denies.

Labour accuses the government of 14 years of economic mismanagement, leaving people worse off, with a series of chaotic administrations that have failed to give the stability businesses have craved to spur economic growth.

If Labour wins the election, Britain, once known for its political stability, will have had six prime ministers in eight years for the first time since the 1830s.

Labour said before the announcement it was more than ready for an election.

“We are fully ready to go whenever the prime minister calls an election. We have a fully organised and operational campaign ready to go and we think the country is crying out for a general election,” Labour leader Starmer’s spokesperson told reporters.

Starmer kicked off his party’s election campaign last week by pledging to “rebuild Britain”, setting out the first steps he said Labour would take if it forms the next government.

Labour is running about 20 percentage points ahead of Sunak’s Conservatives in opinion polls but some party officials are concerned their advantage is not as solid as it appears, fearing many voters remain undecided.

Sunak might be aiming to capitalise on that uncertainty and also to wrongfoot Labour, which has still to complete the selection of all its parliamentary candidates, a party veteran said.

Sunak will also hope that some economic gains and the first flights in his centrepiece immigration plan of sending illegal asylum seekers to Rwanda might also boost his party’s fortunes. The earliest possible date for those flights is June 24, 10 days before the election.

While some Conservatives welcomed the move to call an election, not all were happy.

“Death wish 2024,” said one Conservative member of Parliament on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Wednesday, May 22.

Pashinyan traveled to Tehran to pay tribute to the memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other top officials killed in a helicopter crash on May 19.

The Prime Minister expressed his condolences on the death of President of Iran Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Hossein Abdollahian and their accompanying persons. Pashinyan noted that he has warm memories of the contacts with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and noted that the Republic of Armenia and its people are standing by the good friend and neighbor state and people during this difficult period for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Khamenei thanked the Prime Minister for visiting and participating in the tribute event during this difficult time for Iran.

The two expressed belief that Armenia and Iran will continue the steps aimed at the development and expansion of warm and friendly relations for the benefit of the progress of both states and peoples.

By Najia Houssari

Hezbollah mourned two of its members on Wednesday, the 228th day of confrontations between the group and the Israeli army in southern Lebanon.

The total number of Hezbollah fatalities, along with its affiliated medics and members of its ally, the Amal Movement, has reached 330.

Confrontations continued between the two sides through airstrikes, with both sides employing combat drones in addition to conventional warfare methods.

Israeli combat drones raided the towns of Mays Al-Jabal and an area between the towns of Alma Al-Shaab and Dhayra. Two missiles fired by an Israeli combat drone targeted the town of Aita Al-Shaab.

Israeli artillery shelled the town of Markaba, causing a large fire that civil defense teams worked to extinguish.

The town of Hula was also subjected to Israeli artillery shelling, as were the outskirts of the towns of Tayr Harfa and Alma Al-Shaab.

The two Hezbollah members were killed on Tuesday night in an airstrike by an Israeli drone that targeted the town of Odaisseh; Mohammed Ali Bou Taam (born in 2000) from the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon, and Ali Hassan Sultan (born in 1991) from the town of Souaneh in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah targeted several Israeli military sites, including the Ramim barracks, with Burkan missiles, and the Al-Sadah site, and said in a statement that it “directly hit it with artillery shells.”

Brig. Gen. Mounir Shehadeh, the former Lebanese government coordinator to UNIFIL and former head of the military court, said that the escalation on the southern front carried two messages from Hezbollah. The first, he said, was “a response to the repeated threats from Israeli officials to launch a major military operation in southern Lebanon to push Hezbollah to withdraw to the north of the Litani Line. The second message is that the party is ready to escalate if Israel decides to enter Rafah and commit more massacres.”

Shehadeh said that Hezbollah was using new tactics and weapons. He said that targeting the newly established Israeli military sites was an indication of the capabilities it possessed, especially in intelligence and reconnaissance. He added that repeatedly targeting the Meron base and downing two balloons had caused Israel to lose control and air superiority over the northern front, especially as Hezbollah said that it has so far used only 20 percent of its qualitative capabilities.

The Israeli army has rigged combat drones; on Tuesday, a small drone launched by the Israeli army exploded in the direction of a house in the town of Naqoura.

Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 website noted “an increase in the use of drones by Hezbollah,” considering that “its lethal capability has increased.”

The website reported that a study conducted by the Alma Center, which specializes in researching the security challenges facing Israel in the north, stated that “24 incidents of drones entering Israeli airspace occurred in March, the number increased to 42 incidents in April, and 20 incidents were recorded in May.”

The website quoted officials at Alma Center as saying: “There is a difficulty related to the way drones fly toward the target.”

Tal Barry, director of research at Alma Center, told Channel 12 that “Hezbollah is using the current battle to evaluate the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Israeli army, and also to compare its capabilities with those of the Israeli army.”

Amid the tension on the southern front and increasing protests by Israeli settlers who were evacuated from settlements in the north, a video spread across Israeli websites, shared on social media, showing an Israeli man appearing on Israeli Channel 12. In the video, the man calls what he claimed to be Caesars Park Hotel (in Beirut), demanding evacuation for himself and thousands of Israelis.

The Israeli caller, speaking in Arabic, asked the person who answered from the hotel: “I am calling from Israel. There are 30, 40, 50 thousand people who need to come to Beirut because of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran. Do you have any available space?”

The hotel employee responded with surprise, “Where are you from?” The Israeli caller answered in Arabic, “We are from Israel, we are 50, 60 thousand people, we want to come to Beirut to your hotel.” The employee angrily replied, “Go to hell,” and hung up.

The Lebanese hotel employee’s response angered the Israeli caller, who insulted the person on air.

Arab News contacted the hotel on Hamra Street in Beirut to confirm the Israeli call. A hotel source confirmed that the call was received by the employee “through the landline.”

The Israeli caller claimed on the Israeli TV channel that he had previously visited Beirut and stayed at the hotel, but the hotel source strongly denied this.

This Israeli infiltration via phone call was preceded by a similar infiltration at the start of the confrontations. Israelis used the Lebanese phone network to contact dozens of southerners who had evacuated their homes in border regions, inquiring whether they were in their residences or had abandoned them, pretending to be from financial institutions or relief associations. It was later revealed that based on people’s responses, the Israeli side was tracking the movement of Hezbollah members in order to demolish their homes.

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah revealed these communications and urged people to avoid using the Internet in the border region and to remove external surveillance cameras from homes because of Israeli infiltration. The Israeli army managed to kill a significant number of Hezbollah members by this method.

Six people were killed last week in New Caledonia following widespread unrest triggered by changes to voting rules approved by French lawmakers. The changes would allow individuals who moved to the island after 1998 to vote in provincial elections.

The unrest has primarily involved Caledonian youth from working-class communities, who have erected barricades, blocked roads, and clashed with police in protest against the reform. In response, the French government has deployed over 1,000 additional armed forces to the island.

Local pro-independence groups, including the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and French left-wing factions, argue that the new voting rules are against the spirit of the Nouméa Accord, an agreement adopted in 1998 to support New Caledonia’s path towards self-determination. They emphasize that the rights of the indigenous Kanak population, which constitutes a bit more than 40 percent of the island’s residents, are at risk.

The Kanak people continue to live in significantly worse conditions than inhabitants of New Caledonia who originate from Europe. Poverty rates are significantly higher in Kanak communities, as are unemployment and imprisonment rates.

In light of the violence, political parties and movements in New Caledonia have called for de-escalation and renewed dialogue with France. Yet, they continue to criticize France’s handling of New Caledonia’s path to self-determination, particularly regarding the 2021 independence referendum held during the COVID-19 pandemic. The referendum saw a 96 percent vote in favor of remaining a French territory, but it was boycotted by pro-independence groups and remains contested.

Georgia man drowns in North Country pond after jumping off cliff  syracuse.com

Georgia: Dark day as parliament bulldozes adoption of repressive “foreign influence” bill  Amnesty International

NPR News: 05-22-2024 6PM EDT

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