International
Trump’s proposal for Gaza is “steroid imperialism,” according to UN rapporteur
The UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned on Wednesday as “steroid imperialism” President Donald Trump’s proposal to expel the Palestinians from Gaza and called it “illegal and immoral madness” that will make the situation “even more draconian” and “coverturn” the system of international law.
In a meeting with a group of journalists in the Dutch city of The Hague, including EFE, Albanese warned that Trump’s proposal is “grotesque and insulting.”
And he does, he added, that “suddenly, something that the Palestinians have experienced for decades, is no longer just an Israeli policy that has led to catastrophic results and international crimes.”
Trump proposes that the US take and rebuild Gaza as a real estate project under the name of the “Middle East River”, expelling Gazans to neighboring states such as Jordan and Egypt.
“What authority does the United States have for this? Let’s go back to what’s really happening: this is steroid imperialism (…) It’s not new, but it’s now completely exposed. It’s crazy, but it’s also illegal, it’s immoral. And it arrives in the middle of genocide. It is irresponsible, and will not bring stability to the region,” he warned.
The Italian lawyer said she was “very concerned about the legal implications of what Trump is saying” because “what he has said includes deportation, forced displacement, aggression” which, according to her, “will become the foreign policy of the United States from now on.”
Trump announced his plan for Gaza, Albanese said, while he was with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is “seeked and arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity” for the war in Gaza.
“When the president of the United States, instead of condemning him, moving away, embraces him… So, what do we have left? The implications in Gaza for the Palestinians will continue to be tragic,” he lamented.
Gaza is “part of the territory occupied” by Israel and is “part of the territorial unity of the State where there is international consensus that the Palestinians have an exclusive right over their land,” he said.
In this sense, he assured that the two-state solution for Palestine and Israel has been an “opportunity” for the latter to “distract attention from the continuous annexation of Palestinian lands (…) by taking land, displacing people to its extreme consequences.”
“What is happening to the Palestinians is not only an announced tragedy, but it is the result of impunity. And it will continue to be. The system is collapsing in our hands, and living in a world without laws, where force makes law, is not going to protect any of us,” he warned.
Albanese is visiting the Netherlands this week, where he is giving speeches and participating in round tables. However, both the government and the country’s parliament rejected a formal meeting with her because of their criticisms of Israel, but several deputies will receive it informally.
In this sense, he regretted that representatives of the Netherlands “do not want to listen to a lawyer, an expert in international law, who has been appointed by the UN, while listening to pro-Israeli organizations that are financed by who knows who.”
Albanese explained that “there are a small number of States that have broken the chains of control,” while other countries are “waiting to see where the wind blows” and others “are becoming even more accomplices of this lack of legality.”
“I think that, ultimately, this is also an opportunity for us in the West to do better. To take the opportunity to demonstrate that we can be fairer without giving lessons to others about human rights,” he said.
And he concluded: “The genocide is not only the concentration camps: it is the lack of food and medical care, health conditions, induced famine.”
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.
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.
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.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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