The International Monetary Fund released a report that shows the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency is fast shrinking, especially in the last 20 years. The shrinkage is not coming from the rise of other world currencies like the yuan but from the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
In the report, IMF economists Serkan Arslanalp, Barry Eichengreen and Chima Simpson-Bell claimed “Strikingly, the reduced role of the U.S. dollar over the last two decades has not been matched by increases in the shares of the other ‘big four’ currencies—the euro, yen, and pound. Rather, it has been accompanied by a rise in the share of what we have called nontraditional reserve currencies, including the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, South Korean won, Singaporean dollar, and the Nordic currencies.”
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The U.S. dollar is suffering “stealth erosion,” according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) … [+] as the Federal Reserve is gearing up for a new global liquidity cycle that could boost the bitcoin price, ethereum, XRP and other cryptocurrencies.
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“Strikingly, the reduced role of the U.S. dollar over the last two decades has not been matched by increases in the shares of the other ‘big four’ currencies—the euro, yen, and pound,” IMF economists Serkan Arslanalp, Barry Eichengreen and Chima Simpson-Bell wrote in a report.
“Rather, it has been accompanied by a rise in the share of what we have called nontraditional reserve currencies, including the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, South Korean won, Singaporean dollar, and the Nordic currencies,” they wrote, pointing to “new digital financial technologies such as automatic market-making and automated liquidity management systems,” as powering that shift.
“This recent trend is all the more striking given the dollar’s strength, which indicates that private investors have moved into dollar-denominated assets,” the economists added.
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York wrote a report outlining the narratives around “declining dollar shares in official reserves, and increasing roles for gold holdings by central banks,” which it says has been “inappropriately” generalized beyond “the actions of a small group of countries.”
“The Fed now admits some countries are moving to gold,” tech investor and former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan posted to X, pointing to what the Fed says is a “small group” that “represents 3 billion people. So 37.5% of the world is moving away from dollars towards gold.”
The U.S. dollar decline comes as the Federal Reserve is gearing up to cut interest rates after a two-year war on inflation in the aftermath of historical Covid-era stimulus and money printing.
“Central banks around the world have already started to cut rates, which suggests a broader trend towards monetary easing,” analysts at the Bitfinex bitcoin and crypto exchange wrote in emailed comments.
Fed chair Jerome Powell this week indicated the Fed will cut rates at least once this year after the European Central Bank (ECB) moved to lower interests rates in the Eurozone earlier this month.
“It seems clear that the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve will follow suit in the coming months,” the Bitfinex analysts added. “The global liquidity cycle indicates that money supply is likely to increase, which can support asset prices, including cryptocurrencies.”
The anti-junta army, the Arakan Army has ravaged the border with Bangladesh, racking up multiple wins and capturing junta bases. Now, the junta is barely holding on in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw region. Recent engagements saw the junta lose 200 soldiers, including their regional commander, Colonel Tayzar Htay.
Myanmar’s Military is Nearing Annihilation on Border With Bangladesh
The Arakan Army has captured 10 more junta camps in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw in less than two weeks, killing about 200 junta troops including a strategic commander during battles to capture the township, the ethnic army said.
The ethnic army has targeted junta military camps and border guard police positions in the township’s south after seizing northern Maungdaw last month.
It launched a large-scale attack on Maungdaw town in late May following its capture of Buthidaung town. Both towns are located in northeastern Rakhine State near its border with Bangladesh. The people who live in the area are predominantly Rohingya.
In an announcement on Friday, the Arakan Army said it has seized four more junta camps this week, including the Mawyawaddy tactical command base and Na Khaung To camp on Thursday.
During the battles, its forces killed Colonel Tayzar Htay, strategic commander of Mawyawaddy, and about 200 junta troops.
Biden and Trump agree rules for first election debate of 2024
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face off in a 90-minute debate with mutable microphones, broadcaster CNN said Saturday (Jun 15), as it laid ground rules for the first in-person clash between the pair ahead of November’s election.
The rules for the Jun 27 debate, which will have two hosts and no studio audience, were agreed by the Biden and Trump campaigns, according to CNN.
“Both candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium, and their podium positions will be determined by a coin flip,” the channel said, adding that microphones “will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.”
No props or notes will be allowed on stage, with candidates only given a pen, pad of paper and a bottle of water, CNN said.
It said the debate, hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks – during which campaign staff cannot interact with their candidate.
Saudi Arabia is urgently seeking investment from China for its ambitious Neom megacity project, which is at the heart of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 strategy.
The plan aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from fossil fuels and transform it into a global hub for innovation and technology.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has signed various tech deals with China, further strengthening their economic ties. However, this growing alliance has sparked warnings from the United States, which cautions against the potential consequences if Saudi Arabia draws too close to China.
At a recent exhibition in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia showcased its futuristic vision for Neom, revealing detailed plans for The Line, a vast residential structure intended to house nine million people.
The exhibit also featured designs for a network of underground tunnels for transportation and a desert ski resort in the mountains. This exhibition was part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure billions in new investment for Neom, a project whose costs could escalate to over a trillion dollars.
The mayor-elect of a small municipality near the crime-plagued Mexican resort city of Acapulco was assassinated early Monday, local prosecutors said — the latest in a series of attacks targeting politicians.
Salvador Villalba Flores — who was to take office in October in Copala, a town of about 4,000 residents about 80 miles southeast of Acapulco — was shot dead while traveling on a highway, prosecutors in Guerrero state said in a statement.
Prosecutors said that they had launched an investigation into the murder, but declined to provide further details.
Residents of a flood-hit neighbourhood in Chile are living in fear of their homes collapsing at any moment because of a sinkhole caused by heavy rain.
Terrifying footage shows the building complex in Viña del Mar at risk of giving in as it stands precariously above a massive cavity caused by the storms blighting Chile over the past week.
Pictures show the damage caused by the sinkhole as sand swept through people’s homes and car parks.
HELSINKI (AP) — The World War II mystery of what happened to a Finnish passenger plane after it was shot down over the Baltic Sea by Soviet bombers appears to finally be solved more than eight decades later.
The plane was carrying American and French diplomatic couriers in June 1940 when it was downed just days before Moscow annexed the Baltic states. All nine people on board the plane were killed, including the two-member Finnish crew and the seven passengers — an American diplomat, two French, two Germans, a Swede and a dual Estonian-Finnish national.
A diving and salvage team in Estonia said this week that it had located well-preserved parts and debris from the Junkers Ju 52 plane operated by Finnish airline Aero, which is now Finnair. It was found off the tiny island of Keri near Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, at a depth of around 70 meters (230 feet).
Amman, June 16 Jordan on Sunday confirmed the deaths of 14 citizens and the missing of 17 others who were performing Haj rituals in Saudi Arabia.
Sufian Qudah, the spokesperson for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the Jordanian side is following up with concerned Saudi authorities on burials or home returns of the deceased at their families’ request, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Saudi authorities were also continuing the search for the 17 missing pilgrims, according to the statement.
The statement did not detail further nor disclose the cause of the tragedy, but the Jordanian Foreign Ministry reported a day earlier that six Jordanians had died of heat stroke during the Haj pilgrimage.
NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar, June 13 (Xinhua) — The Chinese government-aided Myanmar National Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Medical Training Center was officially handed over to Myanmar on Thursday.
Speaking at a handover ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai congratulated the completion and handover of the project, saying that the China-aided Myanmar National Center for Disease Control is a landmark project of China-Myanmar friendly cooperation and the largest aid project from China to Myanmar in recent years.
Noting that China and Myanmar have always understood and respected each other, Chen said China adheres to the people-centered development concept and will continue to adhere to the friendly policy towards Myanmar for all the Myanmar people, strengthen political mutual trust with Myanmar and deepen practical cooperation to ensure that friendly cooperation between the two countries further benefits the two peoples.
On behalf of the Myanmar government, Secretary of the State Administration Council Lt-Gen Aung Lin Dwe thanked China for the CDC project.
The United Nations says that one year after fighting erupted between rival armed factions in Sudan, the country is still plunged into a devastating war, which has claimed nearly 15,000 lives and left 8 million civilians displaced.
On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), under the command of General Mohamed Hamdan Doglo, known as Hemedti, announced via their X account handle that they had shot down a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) warplane.
According to the publication read out to APA, the RSF “succeeded in shooting down a warplane belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their extremist allies linked to the former regime.”
The RSF said that the aircraft was engaged in barrel bombing of innocent civilians in various towns across Sudan and wreckage from the burning aircraft was found scattered east of the town of El Fasher.
Record 57% of asylum seekers had no ID to date in 2024
As huge numbers of migrants continue to enter Germany this year, a record number of them have no identification papers, making deporting these newcomers a near-impossible task.
So far in 2024, 57 percent of asylum seekers — up from 48 percent in 2023 — had no identification to prove their identity, their age, or their country of origin, according to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
According to German newspaper Welt, approximately 100,000 migrants entered Germany illegally between January and May, and well over half of them had no passport or national ID.
A lack of identification offers a huge advantage to illegal migrants, as Germany is almost always unable to deport these foreigners. German authorities simply do not know their country of origin, and the countries where these migrants come from will almost never accept a citizen back if they do not have a passport.
Is this why Germany’s @AfD performed so well in EU elections?
A powerful speech from @Alice_Weidel breaks down why Germans are increasingly abandoning the left-liberal government.
Germany currently has 250,000 migrants it would like to deport; however, from January to April this year, only 6,300 of these migrants were actually deported.
Not fleeing war or persecution, but almost never deported
Notably, pro-migrant groups say it is easy to have a passport or ID lost in the process of fleeing war or persecution, but the data from Turkish nationals tells a different story. Only 1 out of 10 Turkish nationals are offered asylum rights in Germany by officials, The reason? The vast majority of them are not fleeing war or persecution. Despite that, 57.5 percent of Turks entering the country illegally do not have any identification papers with them.
Turks are now also the third-largest group of illegal migrants entering Germany, after Syrians and Afghans.
An official from the BAMF who spoke with Welt on the condition of anonymity said that the fact that Turkey is an “OECD and NATO member state” that has “a large number of citizens without any identity papers is absurd.” In fact, Turkey has a strict law that “every Turkish citizen is obliged to have an identity card.” Turks are also not allowed to access services or send their children to school without identification papers.
Another official who deals with deportations told Welt that the majority of Turks can “hardly report anything substantial” during asylum hearings to prove they were fleeing persecution. However, hardly any of these rejected Turks are ever deported.
“As long as we cannot present a passport to the Turkish side, nothing will happen,” said the authority.
Another federal air officer who works on the flights deporting migrants said: “I’m telling you — if we don’t pay attention to who we bring in, we will never solve this through deportations, it is incredibly complicated.”
Notably, other countries, such as Ireland, are facing the same issues, with Ryan Air CEO Michael O’Leary stating that migrants are flushing their IDs down the drain on flights inbound to Ireland.
The practice of migrants discarding IDs on their journey to Europe is commonplace and has been ongoing for nearly a decade now. As Remix News reported in 2020, there are 400,000 migrants with the birthdate of January 1 in Germany due to the fact that all of these migrants entered Germany without IDs.
Migrants also benefit from being able to state their own age, with some of them claiming to be minors when they are actually adults. These migrants are even harder to deport, and they gain access to education and social benefits not available to older migrants. When migrants are tested by medical specialists, the vast majority of cases show they are older than their stated age.
Migration has cost Germany tremendous sums of money. Academic expert and economist Prof. Bernd Raffelhüschen from the University of Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg revealed that immigrants have already cost Germany €5.8 trillion due to social welfare, housing, and other services.
A family of six, including three children, were killed Friday by gunmen in the southern Mexico border state of Chiapas in a town marred by cartel-backed militia violence.
Julio Pérez, the mayor of the Chiapas town of Pantelho, said the killings happened there Friday, and called it “a massacre.” Two warring militia groups suspected of being backed by drug cartels have been battling for control of the town.
In a brief statement, the state prosecutor’s office said three suspects were arrested but neither the victims nor the detainees have been identified.
It was the latest in a string of mass killings in which hitmen have wiped out entire families in Mexico.
Labour could win ‘freak majority’ bigger than Blair’s and Thatcher’s combined
Boris Johnson has warned Britain faces a Labour “freak majority” bigger than that of Sir Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher combined unless Tories turn out to vote at the election.
The former prime minister also claimed that Sir Keir Starmer gaining a supermajority would be “dangerous” and lead to “the least-merited election triumph in history”.
His remarks in his Daily Mail column came as he intervened in the general election campaign for the first time by starting to produce video endorsements for Tories standing for re-election.
There was some criticism that Mr Johnson appeared to be choosing to support those former MPs who had been most loyal to him.
But a source close to him told The Telegraph: “Every Conservative MP who has asked for a digital endorsement from him will get one.”
The South American nation of Peru is allowing China to build a massive new port in its country that creates a significant security risk to the United States of America. The $3.5 billion port will be built in Chancay, Peru by China’s state-owned shipping giant, Cosco Shipping. The port is scheduled to be complete by the end of this year, 2024.
A $3.5 billion deep-water port in Chancay, Peru, primarily owned by China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The port will facilitate direct shipping routes between South America and Asia, significantly reducing transit times for commodities like soy, corn and copper to China.
The U.S. is worried the port’s ability to handle megaships directly between Peru and China could shift trade dynamics, making it easier for China to extract and control South American resources. The U.S. is also concerned about China’s growing economic leverage in the region.
There are also fears the port could be used for military purposes. General Laura Richardson of the U.S. Southern Command has highlighted concerns about the dual-use nature of such infrastructure, where commercial ports could potentially serve military functions. This includes worries about data security and the control over cargo scanning and logistics.
The Chancay port is expected to transform Peru into a strategic commercial hub, facilitating the export of commodities not only from Peru but also from other South American countries like Brazil. This development is seen as a significant step in China’s strategy to deepen its economic ties with Latin America, which has become a new battleground for resources among global powers.
Peruvian officials have downplayed U.S. concerns, suggesting that if the U.S. is worried about China’s growing presence, it should increase its own investments in the region. This stance reflects a broader trend in Latin America, where countries are increasingly looking to China for financing and development projects due to a significant gap in infrastructure funding.
The Arakan Army (AA) claims that the military junta forces, after facing
relentless setbacks in various fronts, develop grudges and start
attacking residential villages every day.
“The junta forces are continuously conducting
aerial bombardments and drone attacks on the villages of Rakhine State
including towns and villages under the AA’s control. The villages under
Maungdaw, Thandwe and Ann townships are under relentless attacks,” said a
statement issued by the AA on 11 June.
The junta soldiers have targeted almost everything
like hospitals, clinics, markets, schools, monasteries, etc and they are
supported by the navy personnel with artillery shelling.
Niger’s highest court on Friday lifted immunity from prosecution for ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, clearing the way for the military junta that removed him from office to try him for treason.
The ruling was made by Niger’s State Court, which has become the country’s highest judicial authority since it was created last year by the military officers who orchestrated the coup that overthrew Bazoum and his government last July. Shortly after the coup, the junta had announced plans to prosecute the president for high treason and undermining national security.
Bazoum, the nation’s democratically elected president, has been held under house arrest in the presidential palace along with his wife, Hadiza, since the July 26, 2023, coup despite protests and demands for his reinstatement from the Economic Community of West African States as well as Western nations.
A Hamas spokesman stated on Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is “part of the problem, not the solution.” This comment came as Blinken urged the Palestinian militant group to agree to a ceasefire deal.
This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been traveling in the Middle East following a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed the administration’s proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release. The U.S. administration announced that Israel had accepted this proposal.
Under U.S. pressure, Israel agreed to the proposal while emphasizing its goal of dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities. President Biden incorrectly claimed that the proposal originated from Israel, a statement that Israeli officials denied.
Russian Nuke Ships Are 90 Miles Away From Florida. What Could Go Wrong?
The ghost of the Cuban Missile Crisis has reared its ugly nuclear head roughly 60 years after JFK stared down the Soviets back in October 1962.
Four Russian ships, including one nuclear-armed frigate and a nuclear submarine, sailed into Havana harbor on Wednesday after cruising a mere 25 nautical miles from the coast of Florida.
One of the ships is an oil tanker, and the other is a tug. Russia’s newest frigate, called Admiral Gorshkov, can launch hypersonic missiles.
FACT-O-RAMA! Hypersonic missiles travel at a speed of roughly one mile per second and can allegedly carry nuclear warheads. This means Miami can be destroyed from Cuba in about 90 seconds, or in less than half a minute if launched from 25 miles away.
Vladimir Putin’s Ministry of Defense stated that the ships were conducting drills and dress rehearsals involving hitting targets more than 370 miles away as well as anti-aircraft maneuvers.
BREAKING:
🇷🇺🇨🇺 Russian ships and a nuclear submarine have arrived in Havana
After coming within a mere 25 miles of Florida, the Russian frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” entered the port of Havana, Cuba. pic.twitter.com/hdR7YN8KJn
Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) has issued a report that claims members of Parliament are engaging in acts of treason by assisting foreign governments in interfering with national elections, including past elections in 2019 and 2021. The report was heavily redacted, not revealing the names of the members.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said, “The national security committee indicates there are members of this House that have knowingly worked for foreign hostile governments. Canadians have a right to know who and what is the information — who are they?”
The Canadian Parliament is in the grip of dramatic allegations from a national security committee that some lawmakers assisted a foreign government in interfering in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
The bombshell report gives few details. No names have been named, no party singled out. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is refusing to fill in the blanks, leading to wild speculation that it is his party that’s involved in treason.
The heavily redacted, 92-page report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) is a separate investigation from an inquiry into election interference by foreign powers in those elections.
“The national security committee indicates there are members of this House that have knowingly worked for foreign hostile governments,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday. “Canadians have a right to know who and what is the information — who are they?”
The NSICOP said it reviewed intelligence that suggests “semi-witting or witting” members of Parliament have worked with foreign countries, “to mobilize voters during a political campaign; have taken cash ‘knowingly or through willful blindness’ from foreign missions or their proxies; and have shared privileged information with foreign diplomatic officials.”
One of the most damaging lines in Monday’s report points out Canada’s failure to address long-standing challenges in how national security information can be used in criminal proceedings. The report says this is one reason why criminal charges for the potentially illegal activities are unlikely.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Tuesday that she takes the issue seriously. She deflected when asked if Canadians have the right to know the identity of the parliamentarians involved.
“We should recognize this is a new time,” she said, adding that authoritarians want to undermine democracies by sowing public distrust in government.
Freeland will not commit to releasing any names. Evidently, “transparency” is something reserved for members of the Conservative Party.
Justice Marie-Josée Hogue is conducting the parallel investigation into foreign interference in Canadian elections. Her commission is investigating “claims that the Chinese government helped mobilize voters against a Conservative candidate in western Canada and helped elect another as a Liberal in the Toronto area,” according to Politico.
Which members of Parliament are assisting foreign governments in interfering in elections?
“We all know that no responsible government would reveal names under these types of confidential circumstances,” Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc responded on the floor of the House of Commons.
Do we all know that?
“It’s important for Canadians to understand that these names are contained in intelligence reports, in some cases, it’s uncorroborated or unverified intelligence information,” he told a parliamentary committee studying foreign interference. “The idea that there’s a perfect list of names that is entirely reliable that should be released to the public is simply irresponsible.”
David McGuinty, chair of the NSICOP, which published the buzzy redacted report, said the decision to publicize the names of lawmakers is outside of his control.
McGuinty and the nine other NSICOP members with top-secret security clearance are bound by Canada’s Security of Information Act and risk prosecution if they inadvertently reveal classified information, he said.
He wouldn’t say if he’s bothered by sitting in the same party caucus with potential abettors of foreign interference.
“I’m more concerned about the fact that now the government has to move forward on this,” McGuinty said.
Conservative MP Michael Chong, whom China has been targeting for his advocacy on behalf of Uyghurs, is demanding that the committee release the names. China had spied on him and his family, and he wanted to know which of his colleagues was helping them.
“Certain members of this House acted in the best interest of hostile foreign regimes interfering in Canada’s democracy. This is a disgusting betrayal of Canadians who elected us,” party legislator Jasraj Singh Hallan told the House on Monday.
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage had originally decided not to run in the UK Elections but changed his mind after it became apparent the “conservative” party had virtually no support left in the country. Since announcing his decision to run, Farage has faced two attacks by leftists, with the latest attack happening in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on June 11, 2024.
Farage tweeted out after the attack, “My huge thanks to South Yorkshire Police today. I will not be bullied or cowed by a violent left-wing mob who hate our country.”
Nigel Farage has been the subject of a second attempted physical assault in a week since returning to front-line British politics, with a protester hurling objects from a building site as the campaigner went by.
Brexit pioneer and now Reform UK leader Nigel Farage campaigned in support of his local candidate in Barnsley, South Yorkshire on Tuesday and was being greeted by waving supporters, video he published showed. An object was then thrown, narrowly missing Mr Farage, by a man wearing a red shirt shouting “fascist, fascist scum”.
The backlash against leftist policies in Europe continues as the right and the center-right make significant gains at the expense of the far-left in the latest EU Parliament election The biggest successes were in France, Germany, and Belgium. In France, Macron’s party lost so badly he immediately dissolved the parliament and called for flash elections.
In Germany, the Greens have faded to near irrelevancy, while the right’s AfD party surpassed Germany’s ruling party in votes, undermining PM Scholz’ legitimacy as the leader of the country. Belgium’s PM, Alexander De Croo, resigned after his party was crushed in the election. The Austrian Freedom Party garnered the most votes in the election with 25.7 percent of the votes going to them.
BREAKING: Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration nationalist party has just trounced Emmanuel Macron’s party in the French EU Elections, winning 34% of the vote.
The results may also help alleviate the suffering of European farmers and ordinary citizens who are being crushed by ludicrous Green New Deal-esque policies. The Greens were reportedly crushed across most of Europe, including in Germany where they have been aggressive in pushing ridiculous policies hobbling farming and food production.
In Germany, Greens are imploding. They are projected to be the biggest losers from last time out, losing 8.6% of their vote in the Euro election. It is a big blow because they put major effort & money into EU elections. Their voters are the most pro-EU party in Germany (91%) pic.twitter.com/2xxdrxcQVy
… In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections, a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
. . . . In Germany, the most populous nation in the 27-member bloc, projections indicated that the AfD overcame a string of scandals involving its top candidate to rise to 16.5%, up from 11% in 2019. In comparison, the combined result for the three parties in the German governing coalition barely topped 30%.
Scholz suffered such an ignominious fate that his long-established Social Democratic party fell behind the extreme-right Alternative for Germany, which surged into second place. “After all the prophecies of doom, after the barrage of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” a jubilant AfD leader Alice Weidel said.
… Overall across the EU, two mainstream and pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remained the dominant forces. The gains of the far right came at the expense of the Greens, who were expected to lose about 20 seats and fall back to sixth position in the legislature. Macron’s pro-business Renew group also lost big.
. . . . Germany, traditionally a stronghold for environmentalists, exemplified the humbling of the Greens, who were predicted to fall from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and elsewhere, the defeat of the Greens could well have an impact on the EU’s overall climate change policies, still the most progressive across the globe.
The Austrian “far-right” Freedom Party came out on top in the EU elections, winning 25.7% of the votes and beating their rivals. The “moderates” and the Greens lost. They hope to maintain their momentum in the upcoming general elections.
Exit polls from EU elections suggest, as predicted, a huge swing to the far right. Less noticed (but still connected) is the implosion of Greens. French Greens saw their worst performance in 30 yrs. In 2019 German Greens were 2nd place. In 2024 the hard-right AfD is 2nd. . . . The French Greens (Europe-écologie-Les Verts) even faced outright extinction. France has a 5% cut-off to enter the chamber. They very nearly had no seats at all. And the Greens spend A LOT on the European elections. It’s where they win their most votes.
. . . . Belgium’s prime minister has resigned. Belgium held national election concurrent with the European Parliament election, and the ruling coalition got smashed to bits, too.
Alexander De Croo, who is vocally anti-Israel, RESIGNED after his party received just 5.8% of the votes.
Another big winner was the party of right-wing Geert Wilders in the Netherlands that supports the farmers. They saw a massive gain in exit polls, gaining many seats to become the second largest party.
Austria:
In Austria, the right-wing FPÖ party is projected to double their number of seats to become the largest party.
Spain:
Also in Spain the right-wing Vox party is making gains, becoming the third largest party with around 10% of the votes.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Far-right parties rattled the traditional powers in the European Union and made major gains in parliamentary elections Sunday, dealing an especially humiliating defeat to French President Emmanuel Macron.
On a night where the 27-member bloc palpably shifted to the right, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni more than doubled her seats in the EU parliament. And even if the Alternative for Germany extreme right party was hounded by scandal involving candidates, it still rallied enough seats to sweep past the slumping Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Sensing a threat from the far right, the Christian Democrats of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already shifted further to the right on migration and climate ahead of the elections — and were rewarded by remaining by far the biggest group in the 720-seat European Parliament and de-facto brokers of the ever expanding powers of the legislature.
Undoubtedly however, the star on a stunning electoral night was the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen, dominated the French polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Although he will oversee a caretaker government until a new coalition is created, he will nevertheless hand in his resignation to Belgium’s King Philippe on Monday at the royal palace in Brussels.
The results in both France and Belgium indicate a growing political move in Europe toward the right as economic issues, unfettered immigration, and other concerns are turning off voters:
The Vice President of Malawi, Saulos Chilima, has been confirmed dead after a plane carrying him and 9 others crashed 240 miles north of the nation’s capital, Lilongwe. He was scheduled to arrive at Mzuzu but was told by air traffic controllers not to land there due to bad weather. They were returning to Lilongwe when the plane crashed. They were on their way to attend the funeral of a former government minister.
Malawi’s vice president Saulos Chilima has been confirmed dead along with nine others, after their missing military plane was located by armed forces.
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera announced in a live address on Tuesday that the plane had been completely destroyed and everyone onboard was killed on impact.
Former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former President Bakili Muluzi, was also on the plane, the president had said. There were seven passengers and three military crew members onboard.
The aircraft was found wrecked in a foggy forest by search teams. It disappeared during its 45-minute flight from Lilongwe, the capital, to Mzuzu, located approximately 370 kilometers to the north.
Air traffic controllers told the plane not to attempt a landing at Mzuzu’s airport because of bad weather and poor visibility and asked it to turn back to Lilongwe, Chakwera said in an address late Monday night. Air traffic control then lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar, he said.
Chakwera expressed his thanks for assistance from the US, the UK, Norway, and Israel, who provided specialised technologies to aid in the search.
The group was traveling to Mzuzu to attend the funeral of a former government minister. Chilima had just returned from an official visit to South Korea on Sunday.
The Dutch right-wing coalition finally mustered enough votes to form a coalition government, one that will replace a far-left one. The coalition will select former security chief Dick Schoof to be the replacement for current left-wing PM Mark Rutte.
The coalition government followed last year’s November elections in which Geert Wilders’ party was able to secure a plurality of votes. Wilders as the PM choice of the coalition, however, was not going to work, so he stepped aside in deference to the coalition.
Dutch right-wing coalition parties on Tuesday (28 May) nominated former security chief Dick Schoof as their preferred candidate to become the Netherlands’ next prime minister.
Schoof, 67, is currently the top official at the justice ministry and a former head of the Dutch secret and immigration services. He will succeed outgoing Premier Mark Rutte.
“On the recommendation of, and with the support of the parliamentary coalition leaders… I have found Mr Dick Schoof willing to be available as the intended prime minister,” said Richard van Zwol, the official tasked with leading talks to form a new Dutch government.
Despite a stunning election victory in November, far-right leader Geert Wilders reluctantly gave up his ambition to lead the European Union’s fifth-largest economy amid widespread unease over his anti-Islam, anti-European views.
Instead, Wilders and other coalition leaders asked Schoof, who originally came from the left-wing Labour party but is seen as a no-nonsense securocrat able to tackle threats from both inside the Netherlands and abroad, to take the role.
Schoof will now be tasked to form a government together with Van Zwol and the four right-wing coalition partners who have 88 seats in the 150-member lower house of parliament.
This includes Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV), outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), newcomers to the New Social Contract (NSC) party and the agriculture-friendly Citizen-Farmer Movement.
The coalition has decided that the cabinet will be split in half between politicians and outside experts to implement the Netherlands’ “toughest” immigration policy ever.
Israeli shelling and airstrikes killed at least 37 people, most of them sheltering in tents, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight on Tuesday. The attacks targeted the same area where strikes triggered a deadly fire days earlier in a camp for displaced Palestinians, according to witnesses, emergency workers and hospital officials.
The fire at the tent camp has drawn widespread international outrage, including from some of Israel’s closest allies.
The Israeli military suggested Sunday’s blaze in the tent camp may have been caused by secondary explosions, possibly from Palestinian militants’ weapons. The results of Israel’s initial probe into the fire were issued on Tuesday. Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the cause of the fire was still under investigation but that the Israeli munitions used were too small to be the source.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces scrambled F-15 fighter aircraft on Monday to intercept a Chinese Air Force drone making its first appearance near the country’s southwestern islands, its Defense Ministry said.
The Joint Staff Office in Tokyo said Japanese Air Force jets were launched to head off a possible airspace violation by a Wing Loong-10 unmanned aerial vehicle, which had entered Japan‘s air defense identification zone but not its territorial airspace.
A Newsweek map, created using the Joint Staff’s geospatial data, shows the flight path of the military drone, which Japan identified as a reconnaissance and attack aircraft, during a sortie in the East China Sea.
Tokyo said the WL-10 approached from China’s east coast and circled the waters at least twice before returning to the Asian continent.
