By Yadnom Awu/ Asaba
Israel
US VP, Vance, Carpets Israel’s Parliament Over Vote On West Bank Annexation
For the first time in recent memory, a top official of the American government has publicly lashed at Israel .
This followed the early positive vote by the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The Knesset had, in an early vote, endorsed the move sponsored by the far right elements of the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The bills for the annexation had been put before the Knesset during the visit of American Vice President, J.D. Vance, who, in response to the vote, tagged it “a stupid political stunt.”
Vance, furious at the move, said he personally felt insulted by the development.
He emphasized that
America, under Trump, would never allow Israel to annex the West Bank , and that Israel had better wake up to that reality.
The development came as the American envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told Israel that it must respect the interest of Palestinians if it wanted full integration in the region.
The Vance public outburst came a day after the International Court of Justice, ICJ, found Israel guilty of not facilitating enough basic needs of Palestinians.
The ICJ verdict was its third such similar judgment against Israel, and the decision followed a compound suit brought against the Jewish state by a coalition of more than 40 countries.
Israel had dismissed the earlier judgments of the court, and far right wing members of the Israeli government have labelled the ICJ a kangaroo court
America
America Sanctions Russia
The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time.
The sanctions target two oil firms which account for a little over half of the country’s huge oil revenue.
Oil and gas exports are thought to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Trump announced the sanctions moments after he said that ” negotiations with Putin,( the President of Russia) go nowhere,.”
The American move was quickly aped by the European Union, EU, which also targeted the two firms for sanctions.
The 27- member EU is meeting in Brussels, Belgium,to figure out how to sustain its support for the efforts of Ukraine as Russia tightens its military hold on its tiny neighbour.
A key consideration of the EU is the prospect of using frozen Russian assets, thought to be around $300billion, in Belgium to advance Ukraine $13 billion) to buy military assets to sustain its war.
Ukraine
Zelensky Welcomes US Russia Sanctions
The President of Ukraine, Wolodymr Zelensky, has publicly welcomed America ‘s sanctions on Russia.
The sanctions target two key oil and gas firms which account for more than half of the revenue of the Russian state.
The EU, a strong ally of Ukraine, has also imposed similar sanctions on the two firms, and placed a lid on the purchase of Liquefied Natural Gas from the country.
Reacting to the wave of sanctions, President Zekey said they were a welcome development.
He said that only effective sanctions tions could make Russia yield to pressure to reach a peace deal with his country.
His comments came a day after he had said that he supports the proposal of American President, Donald Trump, for the war between his country and Russia to be frozen along the current battle front lines.
Russia has either full or partial control of four regions of Ukraine.
On its part, Russia wants a comprehensive settlement of all the issues that have birth to the war.
A core demand of Russia is for Ukraine to give up the territories it has lost, and to drop its ambition to develop the nuclear bomb and join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, which eastwards expansion had incensed Moscow.
Russia
Mo’scow Decries American, EU Sanctions
The Kremlin has decried the wave of American and European Union EU Sanctions _on_ two of its oil giants.
The move is to ensure lower revenues for Russia and prod it to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine.
But reacting to the new sanctions, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, described the measures as ” entirely counter- productive ”
He reiterated the earlier submissions by the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Russia was only interested in lasting peace, not a ceasefire as Ukraine and its backers, especially the EU, desire.
Meanwhile Ukraine launched a series of air strikes against Russia in overnight attacks.
The development comes as readers of the EU meet in Belgium to try and shore up support for Ukraine, as well as examine the prospects of deploying frozen Russian foreign reserves in the country to fund a military assets loan for Kiev.
Sudan
Again, RSF Targets Khartoum Airport
For the third consecutive day running, the Rapid Support Forces RSF of Sudan has targeted the Khartoum International Airport.
The facility, which partially reopened on Wednesday after two years of closure, had been shut for rehabilitation after the Sudanese Armed Forces retook it from the RSF.
The airport is the only one with facilities for international travels and the reopening, after a $3 million retrofitting, was meant to reassure the international community that peace and security had begun to return to the troubled country.
Tunisia
40 Migrants in Boat Mishap
At least forty migrants have died off the coast of Tunisia, formerly called Carthage
The accident happened when the boat in which they were travelling skidded off the coast .
The identities of the migrants were not clear at press time, neither was there any word as to what made the boat to skid off the coast.
North Africa, on which Tunisia lies, is the main sea route for migrants from West and Central Africa to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
Most of the migrants , trafficked by gangs that extort them, are transported in rickety, boats that are often overloaded..
Vatican
British Monarch Begins Historic Visit to Pope Leo XIV
The British monarch, King Charles, and his ,Queen, Carmela, are in the Vatican at the beginning of a historic visit to the seat of the papacy.
The visit is the first by a British monarch since the 16 th century when the Church of England, headed by the King, broke ranks with the Catholic Church.
King Charles , the titular head of the Church of England, today prayed with the Pope in the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel is the part of the Vatican where the echelon of the church, called Cardinals, sit to elect a new Pontiff.
The move is intended to bolster inter- faith relations.
