Foreign Tit Bits Today
By Yadnom Awu/ Asaba
America:
Deployed National Guard Troops To Bear Arms-Pentagon
The Pentagon, seat of the American military, says that National Guard Troops deployed in Washington would soon begin to bear arms.
The development comes just a week after the Pentagon has spoken to the contrary.
The troops were deployed by the administration of Donald Trump in order to reclaim the city from t what he termed he clutches of violent crimes.
The move, which many say is unconstitutional, has drawn the ire of many who accuse the President of overreaching his constitutional mandate.
Around 700 Guards were deployed in the first tranche of deployment and critics say Trump, boosted by the low level resistance to his move, could be tempted to increase deployment either to the city or to others he seems crime- prone.
Trump is a Republican and Washington, like most other places he has dubbed as unusually prone to violent crimes, is controlled by Democrats.
The deployment of the troops,the first in American history, came as official statistics showed that violent crimes had fallen to a 30- year low in the capital of the World’ s most powerful country.
Netherlands
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Over Israel’ s Palestinian policies
The Foreign Minister of The Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, has resigned .
His resignation followed his inability to mobilise his co- ministers to agree a wave of sanctions against Israel for its inhumane policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The Minister had imposed trave bans on some officials of the Israeli government but his efforts to enhance the scope of the sanctions and the number of targets met with opposition from his colleagues who failed to back him.
Netherlands, which hosts both the International Court of Justice( ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel and its policies in both the enclave of Gaza and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
United Kingdom
Britons Stage Massive Anti- Israeli Protests
Tens of thousands of Britons on Friday night, staged massive protests at the precints of the Israeli Embassy in London.
The protests were the single largest in recent times, and came strong on the heels of the release of a report by a United Nations UN – backed IPC establishing that there is man- made famine in Gaza.
The report, which release had attracted widespread condemnation of Israel and its inhumane policies in Gaza, found that Israel was deliberately using starvation as a weapon of war.
And in London, the tens of thousands of protesters called for an end to the war, the release of hostages and the free flow of humanitarian supplies into the enclave.
They described the policies of Israel as shameful and stressed the necessity for sustained pressure to make Israel change its policies and for it to be held accountable.
Britain, a major member of the Western alliance that backs Israel, has indicated that it could recognize the state of Palestine at the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly UNGA in September.
France, Canada, Australia, Portugal and New Zealand have all spoken in a similar manner.
Yemen
Again, Yemenis Mount Anti- Israeli Protests in Sanaa
Tens of thousands of Yemenis have protested in Sanaa against the policies of Israel in Gaza and other parts of Palestine.
Otganisers say that as many as 200,000 persons drawn from across the spectrum of the Yemeni society, attended
The protests came after Israel,last week,bombed oil facilities in the country.
The Yemeni group, the Houthis, have been fighting Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
America conducted several military raids on Houthi targets before it struck a. ceasefire deal with the group earlier in the year.
.Aside from hitting Israeli targets within the Jewish state, the Houthis have targeted ocean vessels,mainly those linked to Israel and its allies.
America
Uproar As Trump Denied Advance Knowledge Of FBI Raid On His Former NSA
Cynicism has trailed the denial by President Donald Trump of prior knowledge of the raid on the office and residence of his former Security aide, John Bolton, by the Federal Bureau of Investigations ( FBI).
Agents of the FBI had, in a surprise move on Friday, raided the office and home of Bolton who once served as National Security Adviser (NSA) to him.
Amateur video which surfaced online, showed agents of the FBI bearing empty boxes as they made it into the premise of Bolton, who is a strong critic of the current Trump presidency.
Addressing the media at a forum.meant to unfold details of the 2026 Soccer World Cup championship holding his country, Mexico and Canada, Trump denied knowledge of the raid before hand.
He described Bolton as a smart quiet man , adding the he expected to be brief later on the raid.
Trump and Bolton have fallen out of favour and critics of the President said the raid could be politically motivated, given growing public concerns at his level of political intolerance.
United Kingdom
Hosts, UK, Trounce America in Rugby World Cup Championship Opener
The United Kingdom (UK) have trounced America in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup championship holding in Britain.
The Brits overwhelmed America by an impressive 69-7.
The win sets Britain out as favourite at the games which have attracted an unprecedented scale of public interest.
Unlike before when moderate crowds attended such meets , more than 42,000 fans watched the tie live.
Palestine
37 Killed In Israeli Strikes Since Dawn Today
More than 37 persons have been killed and many more wounded in Israel military strikes in Gaza since dawn today
Ten of them were killed while hunting for food
The development comes after the United Nations (UN)- backed IPC returned a verdict of man- made famine in Gaza.
The report, turned in yesterday, rubbished Israeli government claims that Gaza had enough food for its residents.
Meanwhile, 275 Gazans have starved to death, according to the Hamas- run Gaza Health Ministry.
The dead included 113 children .
The two- year war has led to the death and injury to more than 185,000 persons in Palestine, including 62,000 fatalities
Israel, on its part, said it had suffered nearly 900 troops fatalities.
