Oligarch sanction setbacks are no big deal, Brussels says (www.euronews.com)
A string of EU court judgements overruling asset freezes on Russian businessmen doesn’t upend the overall strategy....
The cycling revolution in Paris continues: Bicycle use now exceeds car use (english.elpais.com)
Enjoy
Macron warns Europe ‘can die’ in alarmist speech on protectionism, geopolitical threats (www.politico.eu)
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday that Europe faces possible demise if it does not take bold action to tackle U.S. and Chinese protectionism, amid serious geopolitical threats from authoritarian regimes....
The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5 as ship comes under attack in the Gulf of Aden (apnews.com)
Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip killed at least five people....
‘Kharkiv Is Unbreakable’: A Battered City Carries On (www.nytimes.com)
Russian attacks have destroyed all three major power stations, but residents continue to live and work with only a few, often unpredictable, hours of electricity each day. More than 100 schools have been damaged or destroyed but classes go on, deep underground in subway stations. Dozens of fire and paramedic stations have been...
Solomon Islands election yields no majority for pro-China party (asia.nikkei.com)
Asthma: Action needed on needless deaths, says charity (www.bbc.com)
Urgent government action is needed to stop preventable asthma deaths, a leading charity has said....
Genocide 'against non-Arab groups' taking place in Sudan's Darfur (www.middleeasteye.net)
The independent inquiry carried out by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre has found that there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and its allied militias “have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit,” a Black African group....
Children below 12 yrs must get to sit with at least one parent: DGCA to airlines (www.hindustantimes.com)
Child among at least five migrants dead in English Channel crossing attempt hours after Rwanda bill passed (www.independent.co.uk)
The French coastguard has confirmed that five people, including a child, have died attempting to cross the English Channel on Tuesday morning...
Deforestation pushes animals in Uganda forest to eat virus-laden bat poo (www.bbc.com)
Animals in a Ugandan forest have been eating bat poo laden with viruses after tobacco farming wiped out their usual food source, a study has found....
The Latest | Tent compound rises in Khan Younis as Israel prepares for Rafah offensive (apnews.com)
The tent construction is near Khan Younis, which has been targeted by repeated Israeli military operations over recent weeks. Israel has said it plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah during an anticipated offensive on the southern city, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge during the war, now in its seventh...
A new report says Mexico has abandoned protection of loggerhead sea turtles (apnews.com)
Thais make peace broker offer to Myanmar junta, rebels in Myawaddy (www.bangkokpost.com)
Lawsuit Links Wild UAE-Financed Smear Campaign to George Washington University (theintercept.com)
Hafez would seem like an unlikely target for a smear campaign. A well-respected academic researcher in Austria, his work focused on documenting and combating anti-Muslim racism in Europe. He was a co-author of the European Islamophobia Report, a scholarly annual analysis of anti-Muslim discrimination on the continent, and was...
Mexico's president is getting a little sloppy in the rush to finish projects before his term ends (apnews.com)
Mexico’s president is in a rush to finish the big legislative and building projects he promised before his term ends in September, and experts say officials are getting a bit sloppy amid all the haste....
Unprecedented wave of narco-violence stuns Argentina city (apnews.com)
The order to kill came from inside a federal prison near Argentina’s capital. Unwitting authorities patched a call from drug traffickers tied to one of the country’s most notorious gangs to collaborators on the outside. Hiring a 15-year-old hit man, they sealed the fate of a young father they didn’t even know....
Israel Iran attack: Damage seen at air base in Isfahan (www.bbc.com)
Looks like the missile hit a radar dish....
LW users when an Ukrainian soldier dies (lemmynsfw.com)
NATO secretary-general says some allies have air defense systems they could give to Ukraine (apnews.com)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday pressed member countries to give more Patriot missile systems to Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated Kyiv’s almost daily appeals for more Western air defense equipment....
Iran consulate in Paris cordoned off following report someone entered with an explosive (www.lemonde.fr)
A man was arrested as a large security perimeter was deployed around the consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Paris, at mid-day on Friday, April 19. Security services were alerted to the presence of a person suspected of carrying an explosive device. Paris police officials told Agence France-Presse the man was arrested....
Tunde Onakoya: Nigerian attempts to break chess marathon record (www.bbc.com)
Under the beaming lights of New York’s iconic Times Square, Nigerian chess master Tunde Onakoya is attempting an ambitious challenge to break the record for the longest chess marathon....