International

EU’s Borrell slams Putin’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine

AFP

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday condemned the “barbaric” invasion on Ukraine by Russian president Vladimir Putin and confirmed a fourth sanctions package against the Kremlin.

Borrell said Moscow was targeting not only the Ukrainian military but also civilians, noting that at the besieged southern port of Mariupol “more than 2,400 civilians have died” since the invasion started.

“Putin’s war is not only about Ukraine, it’s about security and stability of our European continent. It affects all of us”, Borrell told a press conference in Skopje.

The fighting has spurred more than 2.6 million Ukrainian refugees to flee abroad, “the biggest movement since World War Two”, he added.

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Borrell confirmed the fourth package of sanctions against Russia’s trade, market access, membership in international financial institutions and the export of luxury goods — specifically targeting steel, coal and energy sectors.

“This will be another major blow to the economic and logistic base upon which the Kremlin is building the invasion and taking the resources to finance it,” Borrell said.

The EU’s top diplomat called the Western Balkans a “strategic priority” for the bloc.

“This is, I hope, the awakening moment for Europe,” Borrell said after meeting North Macedonia’s prime minister.

“This is a moment to reinvigorate the enlargement process and anchor the Western Balkans firmly to the European Union.”

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North Macedonia’s long-standing EU dreams have been upset by Bulgaria’s claim that the Macedonian language is a dialect of Bulgarian.

North Macedonia is Borrell’s first stop on a tour of the Western Balkans with stops in Albania on Tuesday and Bosnia on Wednesday.

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.