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Farmers protest post-Brexit rules and trade deals

Organisers of the protest have also slammed labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in the country…reports Asian Lite News

Farmers in the UK protested against pro-Brexit rules and trade deals on Monday, claiming they are threatening their livelihoods and food security.

To the sound of car horns, Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers drove tractors in slow-motion through south London towards Parliament Square, where supporters awaited.

Displaying signs that read “no farmers, no food, no future”, the protesters called on the government to end trade deals they say allow imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK and undercut local farmers.

“They’re not telling the truth,” said the founder of Save British Farming Liz Webster when asked by a BBC News reporter what she would say to claims by the government it backs farmers. 

“They negotiated trade deals which literally see us slaughtered,” she continued. “They’re the worst trade deals in the world.”

“We have been totally and utterly let down by this government,” Webster added. “We are demanding change.”

The UK’s exit from the EU has significantly affected its agriculture. Taking the country outside the bloc’s free trade zone and web of rules has left farmers grappling with bureaucratic headaches, exporting difficulties and labour shortages.

Many British farmers supported Brexit, opposing the EU’s much-criticised Common Agricultural Policy.  Many now say post-Brexit trade deals between the UK and countries like Australia and New Zealand have opened the door to cheap imports they cannot compete with.

Organisers of the protest have also slammed labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in the country. 

Mass farmers’ protests have gripped countries across the EU. Farmers in Poland, France and Germany have demonstrated against what claim is cumbersome bureaucracy, Brussels’ environmental policies and unfair foreign competition.  They claim they are being driven to bankruptcy, like the British.

Public opinion in the UK on Brexit has soured, according to several polls.  A recent poll by Opinium found a clear majority of the British public now believes withdrawing from the European Union in 2020 was bad for the country’s economy.

The survey of more than 2,000 UK voters also revealed strikingly low numbers of people believe Brexit has benefited them or the country.

ALSO READ-UK begins post-Brexit trade talks with Turkey

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India News Politics

Cong workers holds protest demanding ticket for youth president

Congress announced names for seven seats in Karnataka, including DK Suresh contesting from Bangalore Rural…reports Asian Lite News

Youth Congress workers on Monday held a protest in front of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru demanding a ticket for Mohammed Nalapad from Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha Constituency.

Nalapad is the Youth Congress President in Karnataka.

Notably, Congress this month released its first list of 39 candidates for Lok Sabha elections.

Of the total 39 candidates announced, 16 were from Kerala, seven from Karnataka and six from Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana. Two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Lakshwadeep.

Also, Congress announced names for seven seats in Karnataka, including DK Suresh contesting from Bangalore Rural.

Meanwhile, after the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party chief BY Vijayendra lauched a scathing attack on Congress and said that the mood across the state is in the favour of the BJP.

“Congress party despite being power in the state, they aren’t able to find candidates in any Lok Sabha constituencies. They’re trying hard to convince their minister to contest the elections but fortunately, the mood across the state is in the favour of the BJP and PM Modi…” said Karnataka BJP chief.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as he started his campaign for Lok Sabha elections from Kharge’s home district Kalaburagi.

He said that the party is sure to win 20 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka including Kalaburagi.

“PM Modi is afraid of the leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. Hence he started his election campaign from Karnataka, especially Kalaburagi. Congress will win 20 seats in Karnataka including Kalaburagi parliamentary constituency,” Shivakumar told ANI.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats. In 2019, BJP won 25 seats with a vote share of 51.7 per cent while Congress won one seat with a 32.1 per cent vote share. On the other hand, JD(S) too got one seat and South Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh and independent MP won the Mandya constituency in Karnataka with the support of the BJP. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Congress-SP Partnership Hopes to Turn Tide in UP

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-Top News India News Punjab

Farmers’ Protest Cuts Off Delhi

Farmers are protesting over their demands which include “MSP guarantee law” and debt waiver…reports Asian Lite News

Massive security arrangements that were put in place on the borders of the national capital to stop protest by farmers on Tuesday turned into a nightmare for commuters in Delhi. To ensure law and order, Delhi enforced Section 144, restricting entry of tractor trolleys and large assemblies.

Visuals from Delhi’s Gazipur border, Shambhu border and Tikri border showed barricades and barbed wires erected on the roads blocking entry. Similar arrangements are observed at the Singhu border with rows of barricades lining the road.

Multi-layered barricades were placed at borders to restrict the protesting farmers from entering the national capital. Meanwhile, Mohammed Sarfaraz, SP, Patiala city reviewed the security arrangement at Delhi’s Shambhu border.

As per the police, a force of more than 2000 personnel, including CAPF, Crime Branch staff and battalions, are keeping a vigil to maintain law and order and address any untoward incidents.

Ankit Singh, DCP of the North East District on Monday said, “Section 144 is in place. Bringing in tractor trolleys and assemblies is restricted. The Delhi Police and the CAPF are here. We have prepared to seal the border. We will ensure that no one breaks this border. If there is any untoward incident we will seal it completely.”

Meanwhile, the meeting between the farmer union leaders and the government ended in a stalemate with no common ground in sight.

On the meeting, Union Minister Arjun Munda said he remains hopeful of a breakthrough, adding that the Centre wants to arrive at a resolution through dialogue.

Speaking to the reporters here after holding a fresh round of talks with the protesting farmer leaders, the Union Minister informed that while a breakthrough wasn’t achieved, a broad consensus was reached on most of the issues of contention.

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda were among the team holding talks with farmer leaders. Punjab Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal was also present. Farmers are protesting over their demands which include “MSP guarantee law” and debt waiver.

‘Tried our best to find a solution’

Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday said that all efforts were made in the meeting to find a solution to avoid a confrontation with the government adding that they anticipated a positive result.

“We want to present our views before the whole of India that we tried our best in yesterday’s meeting to take some kind of decision so that we can avoid confrontation with the government and we get something that we had hoped for. We can only hope and trust. After doing this, we sat in the meeting for 5 hours,” Pandher said while addressing media in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib.

He alleged that the police are harassing the people in the villages of Haryana and Punjab while expressing concern over the situation in these states.

“We presented the position of Haryana before them that you have turned Haryana into the valley of Kashmir, you are sending police to every village in Haryana. You have sent water cannons to every village of Haryana. Farmers and relatives of every village of Haryana are being harassed,” he said.

“It is being said that your son is doing MBBS, they will not let him do it, the kind of degree your son should get. If your brother is working at home, we will fire him from his job and cancel your passport. Then other types of harassment are also more and more, whatever kind we say, it is more and more. See it seems that Punjab and Haryana are not two states from India but an international border, by what we are seeing now,” Pandher asserted.

The farmer leader rubbished the claims of Congress party’s support to the farmers and labourers adding that the latter is as guilty as the ruling BJP in the plight of the farmers.

“We are the farmers and labourers of the country, whatever is being said in the media, no Congress supports us, we consider Congress as guilty as BJP is guilty. These policies have been brought by Congress, We are not left, CPI, and CPM who ruled Bengal, made 20 mistakes, what kind of revolution came from there in West Bengal, we are not on anyone’s side, we are farmers and labourers,” Pandher said.

“Those who are going to raise their voice are their men, and then we will appeal to our people, whether they are singers of Punjab or the country or intellectuals, NRI brothers, whether it is another civil society that also includes journalists,” he said.

“This is not just our issue, or question, that is definitely in this big movement, it is not just us, this is the demand of 140 crore countrymen,” Pandher added.

The farmers have put forth 12 demands before the central government for which they’re marching to Delhi. The protest this time has been called by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.

According to the protesting farmers, the centre promised them better crop prices after which they ended the 2021 protest.

ALSO READ-Farmer’s Protest Chokes Capital

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-Top News India News Politics

Farmer’s Protest Chokes Capital

Punjab CM Mann expressed hope that discussions will take place in coming times in the larger interests of the farmers and people…reports Asian Lite News

Following the call by three farmer organisations to march to the Parliament, hundreds of farmers of Noida and Greater Noida from around 140 villages in the state came together to protest against the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Authority, and the Uttar Pradesh government, for allegedly not accepting their demands related to compensation for their land.

Though the farmers had planned to walk up to the Parliament in the Capital, they were stopped by Noida Police at Dalit Prerana Sthal. Following talks with the police and representatives of the Gautam Budha Nagar administration, the stir, which started around 1 pm, was called off after around six hours even as farmers said they will continue their protest at their respective places in Noida and Greater Noida.

Among assurances given to the farmers were formation of a high-powered committee to look into their issues, and a meeting with the police commissioner later in the day.

“A high-powered committee has been formed, where all the farmer issues related to Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Authority will be discussed in detail,” Sukhbir Khalifa of Bharatiya Kisan Parishad, one of the organisations leading the protest, said. The other organisations were Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Sangathan and Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha. The committee would comprise an MP, an MLA, CEOs of all three authorities, NTPC CMD, and the Industrial Development minister.

On the meeting with the police commissioner, Rupesh Verma, district president of Kisan Sabha, said, “The meeting has completely failed and remained inconclusive. In the end, it was decided that another round of meetings with CEOs of three authorities will be held.”

The protest also created a huge traffic jam in the city, especially on the roads leading to Delhi with the police installing barriers at all the borders connecting Noida with the Capital.

A Noida authority official said the demands were discussed in previous meetings and were forwarded to the government.

“The board discussed both the major demands of the farmers, which is 10% developed plot and additional compensation, in its earlier meetings and the proposal has been forwarded to the UP government to take a final call…,” said the official.

Meanwhile, on the personal intervention of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Union government and farmers reached a consensus on Thursday evening over various issues during the first round of deliberations, the state government said.

The meeting was held here and was attended by Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai besides the Chief Minister and representatives of various farmers unions.

An official statement quoting the Chief Minister said during the first round of talks a general consensus emerged on rolling back the cases registered against farmers during the agitation against the repealed farm laws.

He said the deliberations were held in a congenial atmosphere and the Union Ministers gave their in principle approval to sympathetically consider the demands of the farmers. Mann said exemplary punishment was sought against the manufacturers of the spurious seeds so that interests of the food growers are safeguarded, adding the issue of paddy straw burning was also vehemently raised.

The Chief Minister, while presenting the case of the farmers, batted for continuing the minimum support price (MSP) regime on the crops by asserting that it is the need of hour to secure the interests of the farmers.

He said the withdrawal of the MSP is figment of imagination of only the armchair economists, who sit in their cozy offices in the national capital without bothering about the ground realities. Mann said any such move to discontinue the MSP regime will jeopardise the food security of the country and is not in the interest of the nation.

Dwelling on another issue, the Chief Minister also batted for giving major push to the crop diversification in the country as it will be beneficial for the people.

He said the country today imports pulses from countries like Mozambique and others whereas if farmers get remunerative prices then they can produce these pulses here. Mann said this would save the foreign reserves of the country, besides bringing the farmers out of rut of paddy circle thereby saving the precious water in the state.

Thanking the Union government and farmers for coming on table to discuss the issues, the Chief Minister said this is the right platform for solving the issues.

“We too don’t want that agitation should take place on these issues and rather these matters must be sorted out through bilateral dialogue,” he said.

Mann expressed hope that more such discussions will take place in coming times in the larger interests of the farmers and the people.

ALSO READ-Pinarayi Protests In Delhi

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India News Kerala

Pinarayi Protests In Delhi

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann join Kerala CM at Jantar Mantar to protest against the central government’s discrimination towards Kerala…reports Asian Lite News

The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala staged a protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Thursday against the central government’s alleged discrimination towards Kerala.

The protest was led by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and saw participation of Ministers, legislators, and parliamentarians from the State.

The legislators were seen raising slogans against the central government and holding banner that read “Fight to protect Federalism”.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann also joined the protest at Jantar Mantar.

DMK Minister P Thiaga Rajan represented his party in the protest after Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin endorsed the protests led by his Kerala counterpart.

Addressing the protestors at Jantar Mantar, CM Vijayan asserted that the fight will strive to maintain balance in Centre-State relations.

“Today, we are at a historical juncture of the Indian republic. A democracy that was envisaged as a ‘Union of States’ is slowly and steadily being crippled into an undemocratic ‘Union over States’. We are seeing its manifestations around the country, especially in opposition-ruled states,” Vijayan said.

“We have all come together to register our strong protest against this and to preserve the federal structure of India. Today we are marking the beginning of a renewed fight that would herald a dawn of ensuring equitable treatment of the States. This fight would also strive to maintain a balance in the Centre-State relations. Thus, February 8, 2024, is going to be a red letter day in the history of the Republic of India,” he added.

He also thanked the state governments and opposition political parties whose representatives have joined the LDF-led protest today.

“At the outset, let me extend a warm welcome and convey greetings to all those who have gathered here representing various State Governments and opposition political parties. The fight to ensure that India remains a sovereign secular democratic republic, with federalism as its hallmark, will be a long-drawn one. Let this be an opportunity for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to this struggle,” the Kerala Chief Minister said.

Speaking on the protest, LDF convenor EP Jayarajan said that they are raising people’s demands through the mega agitation.

“We are raising the people’s demands. Yesterday it was Karnataka, today it is Kerala, tomorrow other states will also come,” Jayarajan said.

Kerala Minister Kadannappalli Ramachandran said, “Due to the central government’s activities, they are not in favour of keeping up the constitution. We wanted to get some help as far as the constitution is concerned, but they refused.”

Union Minister V Muraleedharan slammed the Kerala government over the protests and accused it of ‘conveniently’ blaming the central government in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

“The Lok Sabha elections are approaching. The present government in Kerala has been there in power for the last 8 years. They had made tall promises when they fought the elections in 2016-2021 but now they have realised that they have nothing to say about their achievements. So, they want to blame somebody else and they have found a convenient way of blaming the Government of India,” Muraleedharan said.

Speaking on the protest, Kerala MLA K K Shailaja said, “Without getting proper tax share and funds from Central government, the state cannot sustain. They are not allowing us to borrow money also. Central govt is implementing some rules, especially for Kerala lowering the borrowing limit.”

“Karnataka CM yesterday expressed his solidarity with us,” she added.

Besides issues like sidelining Kerala in the financial sector and when it comes to Centrally-sponsored schemes, Vijayan said another important point that is being raised is with regard to Governors.

“We are seeing how Governors should not function. They are sidelining the state legislatures. The (Kerala) Governor (Arif Mohammed Khan), who has turned the state into a stage for his theatrics, withholds bills approved by the Assembly and misuses his chancellorship to disrupt the functioning of universities.

“These actions pose a direct challenge to constitutional values. These actions are necessitating legal actions and people’s protests to safeguard federalism and democracy. Indian constitutional values have never before encountered such serious challenges except during Emergency,” Vijayan said.

He also said that a strong Centre alongside empowered states is crucial for upholding India’s unity and integrity.

“Kerala’s gathering in Delhi marks a significant stride towards this overarching objective. In this regard, we earnestly seek the wholehearted support of all the advocates of democracy,” said Vijayan.

On Wednesday, Karnataka Congress veteran and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accompanied by his deputy DK Shivakumar and other state ministers staged a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the alleged injustice to southern states in devolution of taxes.

MK Stalin had, on Tuesday (February 6), written a letter to Pinarayi Vijayan stating that he extends full support towards Kerala government’s legal measures against the central government for allegedly releasing the funds allocated to the state. In the letter, he also said that DMK would take part in the agitation and the party leaders would be wearing black clothes.

“Our voice will not rest until we establish cooperative federalism and retrieve state autonomy,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.

ALSO READ-Pinarayi to Inaugurate FOKANA’s 21st Convention in Washington

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Hundreds of thousands protest against far right in Germany

Among the participants at the talks was Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria’s Identitarian Movement, which claims there is a plot by non-white migrants to replace Europe’s “native” white population…reports Asian Lite News

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across towns and cities in Germany to protest against the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

On Sunday, rallies against the AfD were held in Berlin, Munich and Cologne, as well as in more traditional AfD voting strongholds in eastern Germany such as Leipzig and Dresden.

While national polls show AfD in second place behind the main centre-right opposition bloc and ahead of the parties in the government, demonstrations against the far-right party gained momentum after a January 10 report from investigative news website Corrective revealed that migration policies including mass deportations of people of foreign origin were discussed at a meeting of German right-wing hardliners in Potsdam.

Among the participants at the talks was Martin Sellner, a leader of Austria’s Identitarian Movement, which claims there is a plot by non-white migrants to replace Europe’s “native” white population.

The AfD has denied the reported migration plans are party policy.

On Sunday, demonstrators outside the German parliament in Berlin carried signs that said “no place for Nazis” and “Nazis out”.

In Munich, protest organisers said 200,000 people attended, adding that they were forced to end the demonstration early due to overcrowding. Katrin Delrieux, 53, told the AFP news agency in Munich that she hoped the protests against the far right would “make a lot of people rethink” their positions.

“Some might not be sure whether they will vote for the AfD or not, but after this protest, they simply cannot,” she said. In Frankfurt, protester Steffi Kirschenmann told the news agency Reuters that the rallies are “a signal to the world that we won’t let this happen without commenting on it”.

Meanwhile in Dresden, the capital of the eastern region of Saxony, where the far-right party is leading in the polls, authorities had to alter the course of a protest march. The procession was lengthened to make space for an “enormous number of participants”, police in Dresden said on the social media platform X.

Business leaders have also voiced their concerns, with Siemens Energy supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser telling Reuters the reports revealed by Correctiv trigger “bitter memories”.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also come out in support of the rallies across Germany and views them as a sign of strength against right-wing activism.

In a video message on Sunday, Steinmeier said: “You are standing up against misanthropy and right-wing extremism; these people encourage us all.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who joined a demonstration last weekend, highlighted that any plan to expel immigrants or citizens alike amounted to “an attack against our democracy, and in turn, on all of us”.

He urged “all to take a stand – for cohesion, for tolerance, for our democratic Germany”.

ALSO READ-UK’s chief rabbi says Israel ‘genocide’ claims false

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India News PAKISTAN USA

Protest Outside White House Challenges Pak Actions in Baloch

When asked about their expectations from the upcoming general elections in Pakistan, he said that there is no hope for elections as there have never been free and fair elections…reports Asian Lite News

Members of the Balochistan diaspora have been staging protests outside the White House against Pakistan and the enforced disappearances of Baloch people

One of the protestors, Waheed Baloch, a former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, highlighted that they are holding these protests against the atrocities committed in Balochistan over the last 75 years.

“We’re protesting against the atrocities that have been done to Balochistan by Pakistan for the last 75 years. We’re protesting here in support of those Baloch families that were abducted and missing. For the last 75 years, Pakistan has forcefully occupied Balochistan,” he said.

When asked about their expectations from the upcoming general elections in Pakistan, he said that there is no hope for elections as there have never been free and fair elections.

“There has never been a free and fair election in Pakistan, and there is no hope…for Balochistan, they just reelect their nominees… It is unconstitutional and undemocratic,” he added.

Moreover, in response to Pakistan’s accusation that Balochis are sponsored by the Indian government, he dismissed the claim, stating that Pakistan have lied in the past and are lying again.

“They (Pakistan) just say that Balochis are sponsored by the government of India but they never have produced any evidence…it is rubbish. They lied before, and they are lying again. If India had been supporting Balochistan, Balochistan would not have been this weak. These are just distracted tactics…,” he added.

Sufi Laghari, a Sindhi foundation member, said that one of the biggest failures of Pakistan is that they always blame India.

“One of the biggest failure of Pakistan is that they always blame India…thousands of people in Balochistan have disappeared; do you think it is sponsored by India? These are useless weapons they’re using. These are just blames, games and fake theories…that’s why we are here in this difficult weather; we came here, and our families and children are here…This is going to be the end of the story for Pakistan and we are going to get the freedom soon,” he added.

Sammi Baloch, a young Baloch protestor who was also present at the protest outside the White House, said that whatever happened to the Baloch people is atrocious and a violation of human rights violations.

“I am here because the Baloch genocide is happening and it has been happening since partition… We are here because many Baloch people have been murdered and they have been genocided and kidnapped by the Pakistani army and the military today we are here to stand with them and their families because what happened to them is atrocious and is human rights violation,” she said. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Pak SC Seeks Guarantee Against Illegal Arrests of Baloch Protesters

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Protesters mass outside Netanyahu’s house as anger grows

As the initial shock has faded, public anger has grown, with many families of the hostages held in Gaza bitterly critical of the government response and calling for their relatives to be brought home…reports Asian Lite News

Police held back protesters outside the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, amid widespread anger at the failures that led to last month’s deadly attack by Hamas gunmen on communities around the Gaza Strip.

Waving blue and white Israeli flags and chanting “Jail now!”, a crowd in the hundreds pushed through police barriers around Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.

The protest, which coincided with a poll showing more than three quarters of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign, underlined the growing public fury at their political and security leaders.

Netanyahu has so far not accepted personal responsibility for the failures that allowed the surprise assault which saw hundreds of Hamas gunmen storm into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking at least 240 hostage.

As the initial shock has faded, public anger has grown, with many families of the hostages held in Gaza bitterly critical of the government response and calling for their relatives to be brought home.

In Tel Aviv, thousands demonstrated, waving flags and holding photographs of some of the captives in Gaza and posters with slogans like “Release the hostages now at all costs” while crowds chanted, “bring them home now”.

Ofri Bibas-Levy, whose brother, along with his four-year-old son Ariel and 10-month-old son Kfir were taken hostage by Hamas, told Reuters that she came to show support for her family.

“We don’t know where they are, we don’t know what condition they are kept in. I don’t know if Kfir is getting food, I don’t know if Ariel is getting enough food. He is a very small baby,” said Bibas-Levy.

Since the attack, Israel has launched an intense air and ground offensive in Gaza, killing more than 9,000 people, health authorities in the Hamas-run area say, and reducing large areas of the enclave to rubble.

Even before the war, Netanyahu had been a divisive figure, fighting corruption charges, which he denies, and pushing through a plan to curb the powers of the judiciary that brought hundreds of thousands to the streets to protest.

On Saturday, a poll for Israel’s Channel 13 Television found 76% of Israelis thought Netanyahu, now serving a record sixth term as prime minister, should resign and 64% saying the country should hold an election immediately after the war.

When asked who is most at fault for the attack, 44% of Israelis blamed Netanyahu, while 33% blamed the military chief of staff and senior IDF officials and 5% blamed the Defense Minister, according to the poll.

ALSO READ-UAE, Indian Leaders Call For Urgent Peace Efforts in Gaza

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-Top News Europe

Unrest in France

President Emmanuel Macron to postpone state visit to Germany as rioters clash with police over deadly police shooting of a teen…reports Asian Lite News

Young rioters clashed with police and looted stores overnight Friday in a fourth night of unrest in France triggered by the deadly police shooting of a teen, leading President Emmanuel Macron to postpone a state visit to Germany as he comes under pressure to confront the crisis.

While the situation appeared to be somewhat calmer compared to previous nights, turmoil gripped several cities across the country.

Firefighters in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, where the shooting occurred Tuesday, extinguished the blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets. In the neighbouring suburb Colombes, protesters overturned garbage bins and used them for makeshift barricades.

Looters during the evening broke into a gun shop and made off with weapons, and a man was later arrested with a hunting rifle, police said, and in the southern Mediterranean port city of Marseille, officers arrested nearly 90 people as groups of protesters lit cars on fire and broke store windows to take what was inside.

Buildings and businesses were also vandalised in the eastern city of Lyon, where a third of the roughly 30 arrests made were for theft, police said. Authorities reported fires in the streets after an unauthorised protest drew more than 1,000 people earlier in the evening.

On Saturday morning, the Interior Ministry confirmed that that 1,311 arrests were made overnight.

The fatal shooting of the 17-year-old, who has only been identified by his first name, Nahel, was captured on video, stirring up long-simmering tensions between police and young people in housing projects and disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

Despite repeated government appeals for calm and stiffer policing, Friday saw brazen daylight violence, too. An Apple store was looted in the eastern city of Strasbourg, where police fired tear gas, and the windows of a fast-food outlet were smashed in a Paris-area shopping mall, where officers repelled people trying to break into a shuttered store, authorities said.

Violence was also erupting in some of France’s territories overseas.

Some 150 police officers were deployed Friday night on the small Indian Ocean island of Reunion, authorities said, after protesters set garbage bins ablaze, threw projectiles at police and damaged cars and buildings. In French Guiana, a 54-year-old was killed by a stray bullet Thursday night when rioters fired at police in the capital, Cayenne, authorities said.

In the face of the escalating crisis that hundreds of arrests and massive police deployments have failed to quell, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency. This option was used in similar circumstances in 2005.

Instead, his government ratcheted up its law enforcement response. Already massively beefed-up police forces were boosted by another 5,000 officers for Friday night, increasing the number to 45,000 overall, the interior minister said.

Some were called back from vacation. The interior minister, Gérla Darmanin, said police made 917 arrests on Thursday alone and noted their young age – 17 on average. He said more than 300 police officers and firefighters have been injured.

It was unclear how many protesters have been injured in the clashes.

Interior Minister Darmanin on Friday ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown of all public buses and trams, which have been among rioters’ targets. He also said he warned social networks not to allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence.

“They were very cooperative,” Darmanin said, adding that French authorities were providing the platforms with information in hopes of cooperation in identifying people inciting violence. We will pursue every person who uses these social networks to commit violent acts,” he said.

Macron, too, zeroed in on social media platforms that have relayed dramatic images of vandalism and cars and buildings being torched, saying they were playing a “considerable role” in the violence. Singling out Snapchat and TikTok, he said they were being used to organise unrest and served as conduits for copycat violence.

Macron said his government would work with technology companies to establish procedures for “the removal of the most sensitive content,” adding that he expected “a spirit of responsibility” from them.

Snapchat spokesperson Rachel Racusen said the company has increased its moderation since Tuesday to detect and act on content related to the rioting.

The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host 10,500 Olympians and millions of visitors for the summer Olympic Games. Organisers said they are closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the Olympics continue.

The police officer accused of killing Nahel was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide, which means investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified.

Prache said officers tried to pull Nahel over because he looked so young and was driving a Mercedes with Polish license plates in a bus lane. He allegedly ran a red light to avoid being stopped and then got stuck in traffic.

The officer said he feared he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car as Nahel attempted to flee, according to the prosecutor.

Nahel’s mother, identified as Mounia M, told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer but not at the police in general. “He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said, adding that justice should be “very firm”.

“A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives,” she said.

ALSO READ-Violent protests spread across France over police shooting 

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-Top News Europe

Violent protests spread across France over police shooting 

Six people were taken in for questioning after participating in a protest banned by authorities in Lille, the regional authority said…reports Asian Lite News

More than 400 people have been arrested in France amid violent protests that continued across the country over the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old driver by the police at a traffic stop, authorities said on Friday.

At least 421 people were arrested in the protests from Thursday night into Friday morning, CNN quoted Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin as saying to the local BFMTV.

More than half of those arrests took place in the Paris region, in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, BFMTV reported, citing Paris police.

The protests continued for a third consecutive day on Thursday prompting the country’s elite police force, the RAID, to be deployed in the cities of Bordeaux, Lyon, Roubaix, Marseille and Lille, to help contain the violence, reports CNN.

In Nanterre, a suburb in Paris where Nahel M was shot at point-blank range by a police officer on Tuesday as he refused a traffic stop and drove away, clashed flared up between protesters and police on Thursday.

Amid burning debris, “vengeance pour Nael” (revenge for Nahel) appeared to be spray painted on a wall in Nanterre, according to footage from the suburb.

A bank was also set on fire in the suburb and15 people have been taken in for questioning by police after a march held in memory of the teenager turned violent.

Meanwhile in Marseille, protesters threw fireworks at police officers, CNN quoted BFMTV as saying in a report.

Footage from the northern city of Lille showed fires burning on streets and running riot police officers.

Six people were taken in for questioning after participating in a protest banned by authorities in Lille, the regional authority said.

Buses and tramways in Lille shut down after 8 p.m. on Thursday night, while several Parisian suburbs have imposed curfews.

Bus and tram services were also suspended in the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, from Thursday night

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said it planned on deploying 40,000 police officers across the country, including 5,000 in Paris.

When the unrest first erupted on Tuesday night, 40 cars were burned and 24 police officers injured, French authorities claimed.

The police officer who shot the teenager has been put under formal investigation for voluntary homicide and placed in preliminary detention, BFMTV reported on Thursday.

Nahel is the second person this year in France to have been killed in a police shooting during a traffic stop.

Last year, a record 13 people died in this way.

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