WORLD BRIEFING: April 15, 2024
The Wall Street Journal reports US officials saying 'roughly 50% of the ballistic missiles fired by Iran failed to launch or crashed before reaching their target.’ Meanwhile, Israel has drawn up plans to attack Iran, an Israeli military spokesman has suggested. The plans were approved at a war cabinet meeting as the West urged Israel to exercise restraint. It is not clear whether Israel intends to immediately carry out the attack, the Daily Telegraph reported.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he will try to advance wartime aid for Israel this week as he attempts the difficult task of winning House approval for a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine. The Republican, is already under immense political pressure from his fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to stretch between the Party's divided support for helping Kyiv defend itself from Moscow's invasion. The Republican speaker has sat for two months on a $95 billion supplemental package. The attack by Iran on Israel early Sunday further ratcheted up the pressure on Johnson, but also gave him an opportunity to underscore the urgency of approving the funding. Johnson told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he and Republicans “understand the necessity of standing with Israel" and he would try this week to advance the aid. “The details of that package are being put together right now,” he said. "We’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a news conference also said that President Joe Biden held a phone call Sunday with the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, including Johnson. The New York Democrat said there was consensus “among all the leaders that we had to help Israel and help Ukraine, and now hopefully we can work that out and get this done next week..It’s vital for the future of Ukraine, for Israel and the West,” Schumer said. The White House said Biden "discussed the urgent need for the House of Representatives to pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible." - Euronews
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are increasingly wielding strong-arm tactics to subdue political opponents and critics of the ruling Hindu-nationalist party ahead of the nationwide elections that begin this week. A decade into power, and on the cusp of securing five more years, the Modi government is reversing India’s decadeslong commitment to multiparty democracy and secularism. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has brought corruption charges against many officials from its main rival, the Congress Party, but few convictions. Dozens of politicians from other opposition parties are under investigation or in jail. And just last month, Modi’s government froze the Congress party’s bank accounts for what it said was non-payment of taxes. Civil liberties are under attack. Peaceful protests have been crushed with force. A once free and diverse press is threatened. Violence is on the rise against the Muslim minority. And the country’s judiciary increasingly aligns with the executive branch - AP
A year ago, fighting broke out in Sudan and neighboring countries, said Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Despite the belligerents’ commitment in the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians, horrifying accounts of unbridled violence continue today. In Sudan and neighboring countries, millions of children, women and men struggle to access food, water and healthcare. Beyond words of commitment, they need immediate action.”
Alcohol consumption in the EU has declined by 0.5 litres between 2010 and 2020. However, there are several countries where consumption increased. Germany (10.6 litres) had the highest amount of alcohol consumption, among the EU's "Big Four" in terms of economy and population, followed by France (10.4 litres), Spain (7.8 litres) and Italy (7.7 litres). It was 9.7 litres in the UK - Euronews
