Category: Watching

‘Risk of Failure Real’: Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte Warns Coronavirus Could Bring About EU’s Downfall

Sputnik News – April 9, 2020

As Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, with almost 700,000 confirmed cases, and Italy particularly hard-hit, the pandemic has become a stress-test for EU unity, as stark differences have thwarted an agreement on more support for coronavirus-hit economies, with talks suspended.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned that the European Union risks failing amid the coronavirus global pandemic, reported the BBC.

According to Conte, the EU must “rise to the challenge” of what he referred to as “the biggest test since the Second World War” and take concerted efforts to extend much-needed aid to the countries that were worst hit by the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory virus.

The Italian Prime Minister insisted that Europe’s leaders were “facing an appointment with history”.

“If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real,” said Conte.

As the infection rate in Italy shows signs of decelerating, and the death toll gradually starting to diminish, Giuseppe Conte warned viewers  against lowering their guard and emphasised that the national lockdown could only be eased slowly.

https://sputniknews.com

Fifth Circuit Court Upholds Texas’ Temporary Halt on Elective Abortions During Coronavirus Crisis

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NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an order from the governor of Texas postponing “all surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary,” which includes elective abortions.

The court ruled that the order is not unconstitutional as it does not ban all abortions but only postpones those that are not medically necessary. Christians believe that abortion is never necessary, and a number of doctors and nurses have stated that killing a child is never warranted to save the life of a mother as physicians will simply deliver the baby early should concerns arise.

“[W]e conclude that GA-09 — an emergency measure that postpones certain non-essential abortions during an epidemic — does not ‘beyond question’ violate the constitutional right to abortion,” wrote Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, nominated to the bench by President Trump, on behalf of the 2-1 majority.

“Properly understood, GA-09 merely postpones certain non-essential abortions,” he outlined. “GA-09 includes an  emergency exception for the mother’s life and health, based on the determination of the administering physician.”

The court also found that the order is fair as it applies equally to all elective surgeries, and the fact that it doesn’t mention abortion demonstrates that abortion facilities were not specifically targeted.

https://christiannews.net

European leaders warn coronavirus could lead to the breakup of their union

Loveday Morris, Michael Birnbaum – April 1, 2020

BERLIN —The coronavirus pandemic, with its simultaneous health and economic crises, is

deepening fault lines within Europe in a way some leaders fear could prove to be a final reckoning.

The cohesion of the European Union had been battered by Brexit, bruised by the political fallout from the 2015 migration surge and the 2008 financial crisis, and challenged by rising autocracy in the east that runs contrary to the professed ideals of the European project.

Now, if Europe’s leaders cannot chart a more united course, the project lies in what one of its architects described this week as “mortal danger.”

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the response among European Union member states showed that national interests trump more-altruistic European ideals. Border restrictions were reimposed haphazardly, and Germany and France threw up export bans on medical equipment such as masks and ventilators, even as Italy clamored for assistance.

Quick to capitalize were the propaganda machines of Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing have swept in with much-trumpeted — if sometimes defective — medical aid, pushing a savior narrative and providing fodder for the region’s Euroskeptics.

E.U. countries have begun to coordinate their efforts to procure supplies, and they have sent more aid to hard-hit Italy than China has. But the past week has seen a reemergence of a north-south rift over how to handle the economic response. The union is also being pulled east and west, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has used emergency powers to effectively suspend democracy, riding roughshod over Europe’s basic principles of the rule of law.

Collectively, these tensions could overwhelm the alliance.

https://www.msn.com

U.S. Justice Department Argues Transgender Athletes Should Not Be Treated as Girls

PAT EATON-ROBB – March 25, 2020

(HARTFORD, Conn.) — The U.S. Justice Department is getting involved in a federal civil rights lawsuit that seeks to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from competing as girls in interscholastic sports.

Attorney General William Barr signed what is known as a statement of interest Tuesday, arguing against the policy of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the board that oversees the state’s high school athletic competitions.

The conference allows athletes to compete as the gender with which they identify, arguing it is following a state law that requires high school students be treated according to their gender identity. It also argues the policy is in accordance with Title IX, the federal law that allows girls equal educational opportunities, including in athletics.

The Justice Department, in its filing, disagrees.

“Under CIAC’s interpretation of Title IX, however, schools may not account for the real physiological differences between men and women. Instead, schools must have certain biological males — namely, those who publicly identify as female — compete against biological females,” Barr and the other department officials write. “In so doing, CIAC deprives those women of the single-sex athletic competitions that are one of the marquee accomplishments of Title IX.”

The lawsuit was filed in February by runners Selina Soule, a senior at Glastonbury High School; Chelsea Mitchell, a senior at Canton High School; and Alanna Smith, a sophomore at Danbury High School, against the conference and several local boards of education.

They argue they have been deprived of wins, state titles and athletic opportunities by being forced to compete against transgender athletes.

https://time.com

BREAKING: Congress passes $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, blocks funding for Planned Parenthood

Calvin Freiburger – March 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to pass a $2 trillion coronavirus relief spending bill. The bill, which is meant meant to give temporary relief to Americans who have lost their jobs or business due to mandatory shutdowns, provides small businesses and certain non-profits money to fund their payroll during the period of the crisis. It is apparently worded in such a way that Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain, will not be able to access such funds.

The bill gives $1,200 to most Americans making less than $75,000 per year (and smaller payments to Americans who make more), as well as expanded unemployment benefits, temporary waivers on student loan payments, suspension of certain rules on retirement accounts, and relief for businesses such as suspended payroll tax payments.

It has been controversial due to the sheer size of its spending, as well as it containing hundreds of millions in unrelated expenditures for various public entities, including PBS, NPR, the Kennedy Center, and salaries and expenses for members of Congress.

House leaders initially hoped to pass the bill via unanimous consent, but the opposition of libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) required House members to return to Capitol Hill for a full recorded vote. President Donald Trump excoriated Massie, stating that while he too doesn’t like everything in the bill, compromises were necessary to “save our workers”:

Ultimately, the bill passed by voice vote, Politico reports. It now awaits the president’s signature.

In one victory for conservatives, Vice reports that the final version of the bill is worded in a way that makes Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain, ineligible for the bill’s bailout money. It empowers Trump administration to deny Planned Parenthood access to relief loans via the Small Business Administration. These provisions remain despite the loss of language that would have made the ineligibility of Planned Parenthood – an organization that took in $616 million from taxpayers, almost $370 million in private revenue, and over $590 million in private donations last year – even more explicit.

https://www.lifesitenews.com

Netanyahu rival Gantz chosen to form new Israeli government

JOSEF FEDERMAN – March 15, 2020

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz will be given the first opportunity to form a new government after an inconclusive national election this month, the country’s president said Sunday, raising questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future.

The decision by President Reuven Rivlin was announced by his office after he consulted with leaders of all of the parties elected to parliament. He will formally designate Gantz with the task on Monday and give him a month to cobble together a governing coalition.

The political wrangling comes at a sensitive time. Netanyahu has been leading the country as it confronts a growing coronavirus threat, with over 200 cases diagnosed and the number quickly rising. Netanyahu also faces serious legal troubles as he prepares to go on trial to face corruption charges.

Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest party in the March 2 election, Israel’s third in under a year. But with his smaller religious and nationalist allies, he received the support of only 58 lawmakers during Sunday’s consultations, leaving his right-wing bloc three seats short of the required majority in parliament.

Gantz’s Blue and White received the support of parties representing 61 seats, a slim majority. However, those parties are also divided, and it is not clear whether Gantz will succeed in putting together a coalition. One lawmaker refused to endorse either side.

Given the likelihood of continued deadlock, Rivlin late Sunday summoned both Netanyahu and Gantz to an emergency meeting, where the men pledged to explore a unity government.

https://apnews.com

‘Can No Longer Afford NATO?’ Twitter Aboil as Johnson Vows Historic Overhaul of Post-Brexit Defence

Sputnik News – February 26, 2020

Boris Johnson has ordered a major overhaul of Britain’s defence sector as part of a government review to determine the county’s post-Brexit course and ensure the nation is prepared for any potential threats, the BBC reported.

For the first time in decades, it will also cover the UK’s overseas operations, including aid cash.

Whitehall hopes insights from internal and external experts will challenge “traditional Whitehall assumptions”, regarding the diplomatic service, use of technology, tackling organized crime, etc.

Announcing the review, Boris said last night: “We must do more to adapt. We will be judged by how we respond to the opportunities ahead”, noting the UK could not “rest on our laurels”.

“As the world changes we must move with it – harnessing new technologies and ways of thinking to ensure British foreign policy is rooted firmly in our national interests, now and in the decades ahead”, the prime minister explained.

The government says it is set to “utilise expertise from both inside and outside government for the review, ensuring the UK’s best foreign policy minds are feeding into its conclusions and offering constructive challenges to traditional Whitehall assumptions and thinking”.

The UK’s last comprehensive security and defence review was completed in late 2015, before Britain voted to leave the EU. The new one, first announced by Johnson during his election as the “biggest since the Cold War” is expected to be outlined in a formal statement later on.

https://sputniknews.com

‘Dominoes to Start Toppling’: Ex-Brexit Party MEP ‘Foretells’ Next Country to Leave EU

Sputnik News – February 16, 2020

Following the UK’s official exit from the EU on 31 January, all eyes currently are on Britain’s efforts to clinch new trade deals with other countries as well as the bloc during an 11-month transition period.

Former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney has claimed that proof of successful life post-Brexit may prod the EU’s “dominoes to topple”, making other bloc members officially announce their bids to withdraw from the organisation.

In an interview with the Daily Express on Sunday, Daubney referred to his brief stint in the European Parliament, during which he heard increasing anti-EU sentiments among a whole array of member states which are now “watching what happens next.”

“It’s amazing how many friends we’ve made. We’ve not been these renegades, we’ve got a lot of mates from the German, the Polish. They’ve been giving us a standing ovation when we put our flags on our desks, standing up for the national flag. Make no mistake, eurosceptics are watching what happens next”, he said.

Daubney asserted in this context that it will be Germany that may become next member to exit from the EU if Britain provides it with “evidence” of success outside the bloc.

“If we can forge it on our own, we can go ahead and strike out and become a huge international force without the EU”, he said, adding that the Germans, who “like evidence” may follow suit.

“When they see the evidence that you can stand outside the EU, I think the dominoes are going to start toppling. We’re the first to go, we’re not the last”, Daubney claimed.

https://sputniknews.com

With UK out, Macron unveils ‘nuclear weapons doctrine’ with France leading an EU army

– February 14, 2020

The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss Emmanuel Macron’s speech where the French President unveiled his nuclear doctrine advocating for a more coordinated European Union defence strategy in which France, the EU’s only post-Brexit nuclear power, and its arsenal holding a central role.

Macron warned all those in attendance that the European Union ‘cannot remain spectators’ in the nuclear arms race.

In a much anticipated speech to military officers graduating in Paris, Macron called on EU member states to play a more direct role in halting a new nuclear arms race, saying they “cannot remain spectators” against a threat to the continent’s collective security.

“In the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil,” said Macron.

Setting out his country’s nuclear strategy in a bid to show leadership a week after nuclear-armed Britain officially exited the EU, Macron highlighted how France sees its nuclear weapons as a deterrent against attacks from belligerent foes.

Macron’s speech comes at a time when long-standing accords on limiting the growth of nuclear arsenals appear increasingly at risk.

https://theduran.com

McConnell Tees Up 2 Abortion Bills in Election Year Push

Newsmax – February 13, 2020

Two abortion bills are being teed up post-recess by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., which might not have the votes to pass but would force vulnerable senators to go on record on the issue, according to The Hill.

The bills are, per the report:

  1. Proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Banning abortions after 20 weeks with exceptions for the mother’s life, rape, or incest – and doctors violating the law would face up to five years in prison.
  2. Proposed by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.: Penalizing doctors who do not  “exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.”

Senate passage would require 60 votes and Republicans hold just a 53-47 in the chamber. That would make them unlikely to be passed, but it would pin vulnerable pro choice Democrats down on the issue in an election year, The Hill reported.

Republicans will be holding the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) later this month, too, potentially making abortion a boilerplate voting issue in GOP efforts to hold the Senate, if not retake the House.

“Unfortunately abortion extremism has grown to such an extent in the Democrat Party that leading Democrats – including a Democrat presidential candidate – have not only ruled out banning late-term abortions, they’ve actually refused to rule out infanticide,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said on the Senate floor Thursday, per the report.

https://www.newsmax.com