Your one-stop destination for all the top international stories of the day.
Iran To Israel: There Will Be Nothing Left If…
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said there will be nothing left of Israel if it decides to launch an attack on Iran. Iran’s official state agency IRNA quoted Raisi as saying – An Israeli attack on Iranian territory could radically change dynamics and result in there being nothing left of the ‘Zionist regime’. Raisi has just wrapped up his 3-day visit to Pakistan. Explosions were heard over the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday, after what US sources called an Israeli military operation. Tehran downplayed the incident and asserted it had no intentions of retaliating. Before that on April 13, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Israel in retaliation for what it claimed was Israel’s deadly strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. Israel intercepted and neutralised a majority of the missiles and drones.
Witness Says Tabloid Suppressed Stories That Could Hurt Donald Trump
David Pecker, the first witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York has said he used his tabloid to suppress stories that could have hurt Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. Pecker was the publisher of National Enquirer and he said the tabloid paid at least 2 people who were peddling stories of Trump’s sexual misbehavior but never published them. The tabloid also paid a sum far in excess of what would normally be paid for such stories. Pecker said he took the call to bury the stories after a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower where he told Trump he would publish favourable stories on him. The prosecutors say what Pecker did helped Trump deceive voters during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
A Message For TikTok And $95 Billion In Aid For Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan
President Zelenskyy thanked the US for approving crucial aid to Ukraine that’s struggling on its frontlines as Russia advances. The $95 billion aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan cleared the Senate with an overwhelming majority of 79 to 18 votes. The House had cleared it last Saturday after months of delays. US President Biden said he will sign it soon and military aid and equipment that Ukraine desperately needs is expected to be sent this week from the US. It includes aid for Israel and humanitarian help for conflict zones like Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and support for partners in the Indo-Pacific. The aid package also passed a bill that could block popular social media platform TikTok in the US if its Chinese owner ByteDance doesn’t divest from the company in one year’s time.
5 Migrants Die Trying To Cross English Channel
Hours after the UK cleared the Rwanda Bill that will deport migrants seeking asylum to Rwanda while their appeal is pending, 5 migrants died while trying to cross the English Channel. Among the dead is a 7-year-old girl. The French Navy rescued 49 people but 58 others refused to disembark, choosing to continue their dangerous journey across the Channel. The Rwanda bill is a top priority for the ruling Conservative Party’s ‘stop the boats’ campaign to stop illegal immigrants from coming into the UK. Human rights activists have called the bill inhumane. More than 6,000 people have arrived on the shores of the UK this year in small, overloaded boats, many of whom are fleeing violence and persecution in their own nations.
Blinken On Trip To China To Boost Ties Among Disagreements
In his first trip to China since the spy balloon incident that increased tensions with Beijing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip aims to boost ties between two global superpowers as disagreements remain. Blinken starts his visit in Shanghai where he will meet business leaders and then head to Beijing to meet his counterpart Wang Yi and a likely meeting with Xi Jinping. The visit is the latest in the high-level contact between the two nations after relations took a major hit early last year. The visit coincides with the US Senate clearing a massive aid package that includes additional funding for Taiwan. It also includes a push for ByteDance to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the US. It also comes less than a month before the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, who China has called a separatist.
