■ APPLICATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP (ORDER OF 26 JANUARY 2024) (.pdf) + APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS (.pdf)
■ THE EXPRESSION OF HATRED FOR GENTILES (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

Israel's war on Gaza, now in its 230th day, has killed 35,800 Palestinians —predominantly babies, children, and women — and wounded over 80,200, with an estimated 10,000+ residents said to be buried under debris of bombed homes. | 1356 GMT — The Palestinian death toll has mounted to 35,800 amid relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza since last Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said. ● At least 80,200 people have also been injured in the Israeli offensive, the ministry added in a statement. ● "The Israeli army killed 91 people and injured 210 others in nine ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.

After a sobering trip to Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is urging the president to lift some restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms. | Since the first American shipments of sophisticated weapons to Ukraine, President Biden has never wavered on one prohibition: President Volodymyr Zelensky had to agree to never fire them into Russian territory, insisting that would violate Mr. Biden’s mandate to “avoid World War III.” ● But the consensus around that policy is fraying. Propelled by the State Department, there is now a vigorous debate inside the administration over relaxing the ban to allow the Ukrainians to hit missile and artillery launch sites just over the border in Russia — targets that Mr. Zelensky says have enabled Moscow’s recent territorial gains.

■ Ukraine seeks to spark direct NATO-Russia clash – Moscow (RT.com)
■ Give Ukraine long-range missiles to hit Russian targets, German minister says (05/22/24)
■ So calculate well the range of what you allocate to the Nazis, gentlemen (Dmitry Medvedev)(05/19/24)

Kit Klarenberg | Academics Benny Morris of Ben-Gurion University and Benjamin Z. Kedar of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have produced an extraordinary paper based on a welter of archival material, exposing in disturbing detail the hitherto obfuscated dimensions of an operation by Zionist forces to use chemical and biological weapons against both invading Arab armies and local civilians during the 1948 war. | That brutal conflict created the state of Israel, and led to permanent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, known as the “Nakba” – Arabic for disaster, catastrophe, or cataclysm. ■ Morris and Kedar offer a highly granular timeline of events, starting in the initial months of that year, as Britain prepared to evacuate Mandatory Palestine on May 15. In the lead up to that date, Zionist settlers were very much on the defensive, with militias “continuously” attacking their enclaves and convoys, with the support of neighboring armies, due to their joint rejection of UN Resolution 181, passed in November 1947, which proposed partitioning Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states.

Abbas Juma | Disbelief enveloped the nation when the news broke | Throughout the night of May 19-20, Iranian rescue teams searched through dense fog for the wreckage of the helicopter carrying the president and the foreign minister. The search was hindered by the weather conditions and terrain, with the rain-soaked ground impeding both personnel and equipment. Meanwhile, Iranians across the country prayed, wept, and anxiously awaited news. ■ During the night, prominent and reputable regional and global media outlets, in a frenzy for sensational updates, disseminated inaccurate information about the search efforts. Some later hurriedly removed these reports. Social media was flooded with hastily fabricated falsehoods, fueled by opponents of the Iranian government. According to one widely spread rumor, mass celebrations erupted in Tehran, with claims that people were rejoicing over the president’s death and launching fireworks. ■ Refuting these blatant lies was not difficult, as I spent the night on Valiasr Street, one of Tehran’s main thoroughfares. Loudspeakers broadcasting prayers were promptly set up in the square, and journalists actively gathered the views of residents who had come out to support the president. ■ There is no panic in Iran, only pain. On the morning of May 20, the Islamic Republic donned black for five days of mourning. People, especially women, went to work with faces swollen from the night’s tears. The religious Iranians in the holy city of Qom, whom I spoke with, believe that everything is in the hands of the Almighty. They prepare themselves for death daily, thus experiencing neither panic nor surprise.

■ Pictures speak louder: Raisi funeral turnout debunks Western claims (Al Mayadeen)
■ Ebrahim Raisi: The president's death leaves Iran at a crossroads (Seyed Hossein Mousavian)

Western officials claim that Georgia’s crackdown on foreign influence “undermines democracy” | The US is looking into how it could punish Georgia over a ‘foreign agents’ bill which was recently passed in the country's parliament, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a congressional hearing on Wednesday. ● Georgia’s Transparency of Foreign Influence Act would require non-profit organizations, media outlets, and individuals which derive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities “promoting the interests of a foreign power” and disclose their income and sponsors or face fines of up to $9,500. ● The legislation ignited weeks of violent protests and clashes across the country, which is an applicant to both the EU and NATO. ● Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the bill on Friday, but the gesture is considered to be largely symbolic, as the Georgian Dream party has a majority in parliament and is expected to overrule it.

■ Еврокомиссар назвал упоминание инцидента с Фицо вырванным из контекста (TACC.ru)
■ “You see what happened to Fico, and you should be very careful.” (RT.com - Telegram)
■ Georgian PM accuses EU of ‘blackmailing’ him with assassination threat (RT.com)
■ The Shameless Hypocrisy of Clown World (Theodore Beale)

Egor Shapovalov | In a historic diplomatic move, Norway, Ireland, and Spain have officially recognized the Palestinian state, a decision that has sparked fierce condemnation from Israel. This symbolic but significant gesture marks a shift in international relations and suggests a changing narrative in the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. | Veteran war journalist Elijah Magnier provided insights into the implications of this recognition in a recent interview to the Sputnik's Critical Hour.

💬 "The Israelis have lost the war, they've lost the diplomatic war, and they're losing the political war with the West," said Magnier.

The coordinated announcements by the European nations indicate a growing international consensus that peace in the Middle East requires acknowledging Palestinian rights. Magnier emphasized that this recognition is the minimum the global community can offer to the Palestinians, fulfilling promises made in the Oslo Accords of the 1990s.

■ Israel's First Reaction - Here's What We Know (One India)

Oslo said it would grant exceptions "in certain cases," including for those visiting their close family residing in Norway 💬 "Russian citizens whose purpose is tourism and other non-essential travel will be rejected upon entry across the external border. The restriction applies both to those who have visas issued by Norway before visa practices were restricted in the spring of 2022 and to visas issued by other Schengen countries," the Norwegian government said in a press release on its website, adding that the move will come into effect on May 29. Oslo said it would grant exceptions "in certain cases," including for those visiting their close family residing in Norway or for Russian citizens working or studying in Norway or other Schengen countries.

[Editor's comment: Many Norwegians are tired of this nonsense, and find the Norwegian government's complete submission to its vassal lord, the USA, embarrassing. It is to be hoped that the Russians realize that not everyone in Norway agrees with the shameful policy of the government in Oslo.]