He spoke a day after Austria said it would follow the United States and Hungary in backing out of the UN pact over concerns that it would blur the line between legal and illegal migration. A minister in Poland’s arch-conservative government has also recommended his country quit the agreement. Source: Cyprus Mail
hinese President Xi Jinping landed in Italy on Thursday evening, starting a five-day whistlestop European tour amid increasing unease in Western capitals over the economic powerhouse’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Source: Asia Times.
The French government’s decision to deploy the army as backup during Saturday’s weekly “yellow vest” protests has drawn fire, with the opposition warning of the risk of using soldiers for law and order.
Under pressure to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s rioting and looting on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the government on Wednesday announced plans to redeploy soldiers from the anti-terrorism Sentinelle patrol force to help police guard public buildings. Source: France24
Previous US administrations have treated Golan Heights as occupied Syrian territory, in line with UN security council resolutions. Trump declared his break with that policy, in a tweet on Thursday. Source: The Guardian
