The EU is veering to the right, but the rapid growth of radical nationalist movements simply strengthens the vertical concentration of power in Brussels because when nationalist politicians become part of the system they abandon their anti-establishment rhetoric. Look no further than Giorgia Meloni's party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy): in the EU parliament it has the strongest voting agreement with its allies in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group and votes more often with the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) than with the more extreme Identity and Democracy (ID) group which is deeply divided around the Russia-Ukraine issue.

So, despite their booming numbers, the main effect of the victory of nationalist parties in the June EU election will be to shift the parliamentary cursor to the right while fully co-opting and neutralizing anti-establishment forces. Centre-right conservatives will then be able to further slash social security and public health care programs, and divert more financial resources to military programs. @LauraRuHK

L'UE sta virando a destra, ma la rapida crescita dei movimenti nazionalisti radicali finisce per rafforzare la concentrazione verticale del potere a Bruxelles, perché quando i politici nazionalisti diventano parte del sistema abbandonano la loro retorica anti-establishment. Basti pensare al partito Fratelli d'Italia di Giorgia Meloni: al Parlamento europeo ha il più forte accordo di voto con i suoi alleati del gruppo dei Conservatori e Riformisti Europei (ECR) e vota più spesso con il Partito Popolare Europeo (PPE) di centro-destra che con il gruppo più estremo Identità e Democrazia (ID), che è profondamente diviso sul conflitto Russia-Ucraina.

Quindi, nonostante i loro numeri siano in crescita, l'effetto principale della vittoria dei partiti nazionalisti alle elezioni europee di giugno sarà quello di spostare il cursore parlamentare verso destra, cooptando e neutralizzando completamente le forze anti-sistema. I conservatori di centro-destra potranno quindi tagliare ulteriormente i programmi di assistenza sociale e sanitaria e dirottare maggiori risorse finanziarie verso i programmi militari (contributi alla NATO, esercito europeo, industria bellica). @LauraRuHK

Israel airstrikes Iran consulate in Syria, killing 5 - Iran's ambassador in Damascus, Hossein Akbari, said, "the five-storey consulate building was attacked by Israeli F-35 fighter jets and with six missiles." Akbari vowed a "decisive response" as the attack killed at least five people including three military personnel.
The only other historical instance of bombing an embassy was NATO bombing the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999, killing 3 Chinese journalists. In that case the US apologized, claiming it was a mistake, an explanation that China never accepted.

Israel won't even do that. The genocidal entity is completely unhinged and doesn't care about "optics" because its international reputation is already damaged beyond repair.

It's now up to any sane country to respond forcefully to Zionist crimes against humanity, and to this strike as it hit the very core of international relations: the inviolability of diplomacy. Israel's impunity must end. @LauraRuHK

Hamas and the Arab mediators – Egypt and Qatar – rejected Israel’s proposal to deploy an international military contingent in the Gaza Strip in order to ensure security inside and on the border of the Palestinian enclave, Al Arabiya reported citing its sources.

Meanwhile, Hamas underscored that it is not opposed to the presence of the UN and other international organizations that would monitor the compliance with the ceasefire regime and would facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave. (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK

Seven foreign aid workers and their Palestinian translator have been killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip, which is enduring a genocidal Israeli war.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced the information on Monday, saying the victims were all employees of the World Central Kitchen (WCK), a food aid charity.

It said the foreigners included citizens of Australia, Canada, Poland and the UK.

"This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER," the WCK posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Gaza-based resistance movement of Hamas said the attack had sought to "terrorize" workers of international humanitarian agencies and deter them from pursuing their missions.

The Israeli regime began the war on October 7 after Gaza’s resistance groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed around 32,800 Palestinians and injured nearly 75,300 others.

Chef Jose Andres, who started the WCK in 2010, said on X that he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those who had died in the airstrike.

The Israeli regime, he said, "needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”

Last month, the United Nations warned that in the absence of any changes in the war, Gaza was on course to experience all-out famine. (Source: Press TV) @LauraRuHK

The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into allegations that Ukraine and its Western backers are involved in terrorist activities on Russian soil. It follows complaints from MPs and public figures last week.

The initial claim, which the Committee confirmed receiving last Wednesday, identified the US and its allies as allegedly driving a string of attacks on Russian soil. The agency is looking into the purported “organization, financing and conduct of terrorist acts” by those nations. “The US and its allies are today conducting terrorist acts on Russian territories with the hands of ISIS and Ukrainian special services,” Nikolai Kharitonov, of the Communist Party, was one of the MPs who filed the claim. Last week he wrote on Telegram “We demand that the political leadership of the US and Ukraine, as well as the intelligence services of these countries, be held criminally liable for organizing, financing, and conducting terrorist operations directed against Russia and the entire modern world.”

The complaint was signed by three Russian lawmakers as well as some public figures, including the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. His daughter Darya was killed by a car bomb in August 2022. @LauraRuHK

Il partito di Giorgia Meloni, Fratelli d'Italia,' per anni ha fatto campagna contro lo Ius Soli, ma Guido Crosetto, Ministro della Difesa, non si fa nessun problema a proporre di arruolare migranti nell'esercito usando la promessa della cittadinanza italiana come incentivo. @LauraRuHK https://infodifesa.it/la-difesa-in-cerca-di-militari-il-progetto-di-arruolare-giovani-migranti-in-cambio-della-cittadinanza/?fbclid=IwAR1huraitKTqYv-CX62odLWMcCV99ZQ7uE1aNVtTn7EWlgEeb39pCV4qagk#google_vignette

Yet another resounding "success" of US foreign policy. 😂 For the first time, more people in Southeast Asia favour alignment with China over the United States, according to a new survey – driven by disillusionment with Washington’s foreign-policy actions and the economic benefits of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, among other factors.
The Americans’ “strong, almost unquestioning” pro-Israel stance on the Gaza war, in particular, had led to “diminished confidence in US moderation and deliberation”, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
“This extends beyond the fact that there are large Muslim populations in Southeast Asia. US willingness to hold up and veto UN processes looking at Israeli behaviour have decreased trust in Washington’s commitment to the current rules-based international order,” Chong said.

The sixth edition of “The State of Southeast Asia” study was led by researchers from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and surveyed close to 2,000 Southeast Asians from January to February on key issues facing the region.
China saw a significant surge in popularity among respondents, with 50.5 per cent indicating that the Asian giant is their preferred choice of alignment compared with the US, up from 38.9 per cent a year earlier.

Conversely, the US saw a drop in popularity from 61.1 per cent last year to 49.5 per cent in the latest study. (...) The shift towards China was “particularly evident” in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and Laos, the study said, as these states had benefited from Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. It found a 20 per cent increase in respondents’ preference for China in these countries.
Support for the US, meanwhile, has waned in Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar and Cambodia, the study revealed.
The Philippines was an outlier, however, recording a significant increase in confidence in the Americans – primarily due to increasing tensions in the South China Sea. @LauraRuHK https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3257494/southeast-asians-swing-towards-china-alignment-pro-israel-bias-hurts-us-new-survey-shows?module=top_story&pgtype=homepage

European prosecutors are investigating allegations of criminal wrongdoing in connection with vaccine negotiations between Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla.

Investigators from the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) have in recent months taken over from Belgian prosecutors investigating von der Leyen over "interference in public functions, destruction of SMS, corruption and conflict of interest," according to legal documents seen by POLITICO and a spokesperson from the Liège prosecutor's office. While EPPO’s prosecutors are investigating alleged criminal offenses, no one has yet been charged in connection with the case.

The probe was originally opened by Belgian judicial authorities in the city of Liège in early 2023 after a criminal complaint lodged by Frédéric Baldan. He was later joined by the Hungarian and Polish governments — although the latter is in the process of withdrawing its complaint after the election win by a pro-EU government led by Donald Tusk.@LauraRuHK

Russia has set up a flawless trap to country 404.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially demanded to Kiev the “immediate arrest and extradition” of EVERYONE in 404 involved in terrorism.

That falls under the UN-adopted International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The Ministry revealed no names, aside from the head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk - who “cynically admitted on March 25 that Ukraine organized the bombing of the Crimean Bridge in October 2022 and revealed details on the organization of other terrorist attacks in Russia.”

Everyone knows how 404 will respond. That will constitute a breach of Ukraine’s international obligations on fighting terrorism and “entail its international legal responsibility.”

Using the letter of the law, Moscow is about to prove that 404 is a certified terror state. And on top of it “led” by a cokehead dictator: elections in 404 supposed to have been held yesterday, were cancelled.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has apprehended, jointly with the Federal Customs Service, a group of smugglers who had been carrying explosives hidden inside Orthodox icons and liturgical utensils from Ukraine into Russia.

"In the process of inspecting a vehicle at the Ubylinka international automobile checkpoint (near the Latvian-Russian border in the Pskov Region), FSB officers uncovered foreign-made explosives that had been hidden inside a consignment of Orthodox icons and liturgical utensils and were being smuggled from Ukraine into Russia," the FSB said.

As many as 27 ready-to-use improvised explosive devices disguised as icons, 70 kg of a factory-made high-power plastic explosive, 91 electric detonators, and components for an RPG-7 rocket launcher were confiscated from a cargo shipment originating in Ukraine that had passed through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia en route to Russia. (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK

More on World Central Kitchen, whose aid workers were targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip. Wyatt Reed and Max Blumenthal wrote an article about it a few days ago. 📌State Department-linked Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés has emerged as the US government’s preferred conduit for aid to enter Gaza, following the Biden administration’s decision to suspend funding to the enclave’s main supplier of food, aid and education, the UNRWA. Immediately before their recent pivot to Gaza, Andrés’ WCK spent several weeks providing meals to Israeli soldiers following Hamas’ October 7 attack.

On October 16, when Spain’s then-Minister for Social Rights, Ione Belarra, condemned Israel for conducting a “genocide” in Gaza, Andrés immediately jumped to Tel Aviv’s defense and demanded her resignation. The chef’s intimate relationship with the US predates the current conflict in Ukraine. In 2020, he was honored at an event by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he was warmly introduced by now-CIA chief Bill Burns, who called it a “special pleasure” to bring Andrés onstage. @LauraRuHK https://thegrayzone.com/2024/03/27/us-state-depts-chef-gaza-aid-rubble/

❗️In merito alle richieste avanzate dalla Russia nei confronti dell’Ucraina nell’ambito della Convenzione Internazionale per la repressione degli attentati terroristici compiuti per mezzo di esplosivi e della Convenzione Internazionale per il contrasto alle attività di finanziamento del terrorismo
 
⚡️Il sanguinoso atto terroristico compiuto il 22 marzo a Krasnogorsk (Mosca), che ha sconvolto il mondo intero, non è stato certo il primo attacco terroristico perpetrato ai danni del nostro Paese negli ultimi tempi. Come mostrano le attività di indagine condotte dalle autorità competenti della Federazione Russa, tutte le tracce di questi crimini riconducono all’Ucraina.

Altri feroci attentati compiuti per mezzo di ordigni esplosivi sono costati la vita ai giornalisti Daria Dugina e Maksim Fomin (noto con lo pseudonimo di Vladlen Tatarskij), hanno causato il grave ferimento dello scrittore Evgenij Prilepin e la morte del suo autista Aleksandr Šubin, mentre 5 persone sono morte a seguito dell’esplosione avvenuta sul Ponte di Crimea e 42 persone sono rimaste ferite nell’esplosione avvenuta nella caffetteria di San Pietroburgo. Gli assalti condotti dall’organizzazione terroristica chiamata “Corpo volontario russo” (RDK) hanno lasciato dietro di sé morti e mutilazioni tra i civili, tra i quali anche bambini.

❗️In relazione a questo, il Ministero degli Affari Esteri della Federazione Russa, nell’ambito della Convenzione Internazionale per la repressione degli attentati terroristici compiuti per mezzo di esplosivi e della Convenzione Internazionale per il contrasto alle attività di finanziamento del terrorismo, ha trasmesso alle autorità ucraine le richieste di arresto immediato e di estradizione di tutti i soggetti coinvolti in tali atti di terrorismo.

Tali richieste includono anche l’arresto del capo del Servizio di Sicurezza dell’Ucraina Vasil’ Maljuk, il quale il 25 marzo ha ammesso con freddezza che l’Ucraina è responsabile dell’esplosione al Ponte di Crimea dell’ottobre 2022, e ha rivelato i dettagli relativi alla pianificazione di altri attentati compiuti all’interno della Federazione Russa.

La lotta al terrorismo internazionale è responsabilità di ogni Paese.

☝️La parte russa esige dal regime di Kiev l’immediata interruzione di ogni tipo di sostegno alle attività terroristiche, l’estradizione dei colpevoli e il risarcimento per i danni causati alle vittime. L’inadempimento da parte dell’Ucraina agli obblighi sanciti nell’ambito delle Convenzioni per la lotta al terrorismo ne comporterà la perseguibilità ai sensi del diritto internazionale.

The White House reportedly cancelled Ramadan meal after many Muslim invitees declined the invitation in protest of President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

#GazaGenocide #RamadanInGaza

@PressTV

The fusion of Liberalism to Zionism has long defined the Democratic Party in the US, but

“Israel’s war in Gaza has supercharged a transformation on the American Left. Solidarity with Palestinians is becoming as essential to leftist politics – as is support for abortion rights or opposition to fossil fuels. And, as happened during the Vietnam War and the struggle against South African apartheid – leftist fervour is reshaping the liberal mainstream”.

Put plainly, in tandem to Israel moving to the far Right, pro-Palestinian support in the U.S. has hardened. By November 2023, 49 percent of American Jewish voters ages 18 to 35 opposed Biden’s request for additional military aid to Israel. American Jews – those most committed to Zionism; the ones who run establishment institutions – see that liberal America is becoming less ideologically hospitable. They are responding to this shift by forging common cause with the American Right. What are the implications for Team Biden and Netanyahu? Read Alastair Crooke's latest article https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/04/01/israel-war-netanyahu-gamble/

As you know, cognitive warfare aims, among other objectives, to create confusion and undermine trust not only in targeted societies but also among targeted individuals. We are all bombarded with fake news, but those of us who choose to be on the frontlines of the information war also receive threats via messages/email/ phone calls. In addition to this toxic mix, impostors who claim to be "friends" or officials from friendly countries keep approaching us (the fake Maria Zakharova's email comes to mind, and so do messages from people claiming to work for Russian state media) other impostors are trying to impersonate us after hacking our communications. Their objective is to make it increasingly difficult for anyone to figure out who is who, what is true and what is not and thus disturb our activity or undermine our credibility (no, i am not an escort and don't approach subscribers with strange offers). I am very vigilant but obviously my limited skills and means can't protect me from hackers. In addition, i have recently discovered that many email messages i received from subscribers to this channel ended up in the spam box. For this reason i invite those who intend to contact me to use this alternative email and to avoid sending attachments. Thank you for your understanding. lauraru852@yandex.ru