International Glance
In a historic first for Germany, nearly 700 students at the University of Leipzig voted almost unanimously on 19 May to demand that their university sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions over the genocide in Gaza.
The location is significant.
For decades, Leipzig has been regarded as one of Germany’s strongest centers of the "Antideutsche" current, a tendency within the radical left defined by militant anti-nationalism and vocal support for Israel under the banner of combating antisemitism. Antideutsche activists also frequently clash with pro-Palestinian activists at demonstrations and events.
The adopted list of demands calls on the university to recognise and condemn the genocidal nature of Israel’s war on Gaza, including the scholasticide taking place there, a term used to describe the systematic destruction of educational institutions, students and staff.
Students demand an end to all cooperation with Israeli universities and institutions, and insist that the University of Leipzig neither participate in, promote, nor publicise collaborations or activities organised or hosted by Israeli universities.
In German first, Leipzig students vote for academic boycott of Israel
US and Israel 'actively working' to strip Jordan of Al-Aqsa custodianship, sources say
The US and Israel are "actively working" to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and are pursuing a new arrangement that would see the management of the revered Muslim site closely align with Israeli interests, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye.
US, Jordanian and Palestinian officials, as well as western and Gulf Arab sources, told MEE that under the plan, championed by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has no official role in the administration, and the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf would abruptly end and a new body created by the Israeli government would declare the Al-Aqsa Mosque a "multi-faith centre".
According to the officials, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, the "new arrangement" would grant Jews "equal access" to the Muslim site and formally allow large-group Jewish prayer.
Israel would also have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in signing off on the content mentioned in Friday sermons.
Two US officials told MEE that Washington had drafted a paper on how they envisaged the mosque's future. The officials said that the Trump administration would like to see the Al-Aqsa Mosque stripped of its Muslim identity, with the site turned into a landmark tourist attraction that hosts all three Abrahamic religions.
Ukraine Condemns Russian Threats Against Foreign Diplomats as ‘Shameless Blackmail’
Russian threats against the foreign diplomatic corps in Ukraine, calling the Kremlin’s statements “shameless blackmail” aimed at intimidating the international community.
The ministry said the security situation in Kyiv remains consistent with the level of threat the capital has faced in recent months amid repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.
In its statement, the MFA expressed gratitude to foreign diplomatic missions and personnel who continue to work in Ukraine despite the ongoing risks.
Ukrainian officials thanked foreign diplomats for continuing their work in Ukraine despite Moscow’s attempts at intimidation. The ministry said it remains ready to assist and coordinate with foreign missions to strengthen their security.
World Leaders Condemn ‘State Terrorism’ After Massive Russian Assault on Kyiv
A broad coalition of international heads of state and foreign ministers responded with sharp condemnation to Russia’s highly destructive overnight aerial bombardment of Kyiv, with several capitals labeling the operation an explicit act of state terrorism.
The diplomatic backlash follows a massive Russian attack involving 90 missiles and 600 strike and decoy drones that impacted more than 40 separate locations across the Ukrainian capital, killing two civilians and wounding 77 others.
The most severe diplomatic incident arising from the bombardment occurred when an unintercepted weapon or heavy missile debris directly impacted an urban residential complex housing Albania’s Ambassador to Ukraine. Albanian Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha confirmed that the strike put the diplomat’s life under severe, immediate threat.
“Targeting or endangering civilian areas and diplomatic personnel represents a grave escalation and another stark reminder of the human cost of Russia’s continued aggression,” Hoxha stated.
In immediate retaliation for the security breach, the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially summoned the Russian Federation’s ambassador to Albania to demand an immediate explanation. Hoxha reiterated Tirana’s unconditional support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and demanded that those responsible for planning the strikes be held legally accountable under international humanitarian law.
‘There is profound disappointment in him’: mood in Russia turns against Putin
Vadimir Putin pulled up to a hotel in central Moscow earlier in May in a Russian-made SUV, dressed casually in jeans and a light jacket. Carrying a bouquet of flowers, he walked unhurriedly into the lobby and embraced his former schoolteacher Vera Gurevich, who kissed him on both cheeks.
He then helped Gurevich into his car and drove her to dinner at the Kremlin.
It came just a day after several western media outlets, citing a European intelligence report, claimed Putin had spent weeks hiding in an underground bunker, gripped by fears of assassination or even a coup.
The televised meeting was carefully crafted to reinforce a very different image of the Russian leader, one which he has refined over 25 years in power: the approachable, confident president, a man of the people casually dropping in on an old teacher.
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy sounds warning after Russia strikes Kyiv with Oreshnik missile
Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was hit by a massive strike of missiles and drones early on Sunday, shortly after its air force warned Russia might launch a hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile. Explosions reverberated through the city shortly after 1am after the air force announced a threat of an Oreshnik launch on its Telegram channel.
At least three people were injured and several residential buildings damaged across the city, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said. “There are currently reports of at least four locations affected by the attack: Shevchenkivsky, Dniprovsky and Podilsky districts. Fires and damage to residential buildings are preliminarily reported.” Debris was on fire on the premises of a school in the city centre, Klitschko said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the use of such weapons as the Oreshnik missile “sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors”. He added in a social media post: “If Russia is allowed to destroy lives on such a scale, then no agreement will restrain other similar hatred-based regimes from aggression and strikes.
We count on a response from the world – and on a response that is not post factum, but preventive. Pressure must be put on Moscow so that it does not expand the war.”
US temporarily bans green-card holders from entering country from African nations
US authorities have temporarily banned green-card holders from entering the country if they have traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.
The order issued on Friday is part of an expanding attempt to prevent Ebola from entering US borders. A previously announced travel restriction blocked only people without US passports who had visited those countries from entering but exempted US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
“HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] and CDC [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] have determined that permitting the director of CDC or other secretarial delegate the discretion to prohibit entry of certain lawful permanent residents is reasonably required in the interest of public health,” the order reads.
The order added that green-card holders may maintain stronger ties to families and communities outside the US than US citizens and nationals, “such that prohibiting their entry is comparatively less burdensome”.
US citizens returning from the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan now have a second point of entry to the US, the CDC said, in addition to Washington’s Dulles airport. The agency said on Saturday it is expanding its enhanced Ebola screening to include the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport.
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