🇪🇺 EU Condemns Settler Attack on European Diplomats
The European Union has strongly condemned attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including assaults targeting European diplomats and a French mayor during the Palestinian olive harvest season.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said settlers attacked Palestinian civilians, European diplomats and the French mayor. The EU's foreign policy spokesperson issued the condemnation on Sunday, calling for "full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians." The bloc also urged Israel to comply fully with international humanitarian and human rights law.
The EU acknowledged condemnations by several Israeli representatives but said concrete action was needed to prevent further violence.
📊 AI Boom Set To Lift Global Economy, Economists Say
A survey of 94 economists conducted by the Financial Times points to an AI-driven surge in global economic growth, with benefits expected to extend well beyond the US and China.
The majority of respondents forecast that productivity gains from artificial intelligence will materially boost output across multiple regions, though the timeline and distribution of those gains remain subjects of debate among those polled.
The findings suggest growing consensus among professional economists that AI's macroeconomic impact will be broad-based — a shift from earlier assessments that concentrated expected gains in leading tech economies.
🇺🇸 Omar Lawyers Call FBI Home Search Unlawful, Demand Return of Evidence
Lawyers for US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar have challenged the legality of a federal search of her Washington home, demanding prosecutors return all seized property and provide recordings made during the operation.
In a letter sent Friday, the Minnesota Democrat's legal team argued the search — carried out by Homeland Security Investigations agents on Monday under a federal judge-approved warrant — was "neither justified nor lawful." The investigation centres partly on how Omar obtained US citizenship after arriving from Somalia. "There is no legitimate basis for any suggestion that she has violated any law concerning her citizenship status," the letter stated. Lawyers also alleged the search violated constitutional protections for members of Congress.
🕌 Israel Expands Military Operations Deep Into Southern Syria
Israeli forces have conducted raids and mass arrests across southern Syria, with survivors describing beatings, physical restraints, and psychological abuse by Israeli soldiers during detention.
The operations have pushed the local population to a breaking point, according to accounts gathered from those who endured the conditions. The reports detail systematic mistreatment inside Israeli-run detention facilities.
The raids mark a significant expansion of Israeli military activity beyond the buffer zone established after Syrian government forces collapsed, raising serious questions about the scope and legal basis of Israel's military presence in Syrian territory.
Street protests in India this year are on track to be the highest in over a decade, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, as youth-led demonstrations spread despite a heavy security response.
Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed to contain protesters, who scaled barricades, scuffled with police, and chanted anti-government slogans. "Long live the revolution," shouted one demonstrator before being detained.
The surge signals mounting domestic pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with youth discontent driving what analysts describe as a significant escalation in organised dissent.