Far..

 Far-right, anti-immigrant populist Geert Wilders has won a surprise victory in the Dutch general election, sending a clear message to Brussels about the strength of feeling across Europe.

With most of the votes counted, Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is forecast to win 37 out of the 150 seats in parliament. That puts him well ahead of his nearest rival, a left-wing alliance led by former EU commissioner Frans Timmermans, which is likely to have won 25 seats. 

The result has "shaken Dutch politics and it will send a shock across Europe too", said the BBC. The PVV's victory has come after Wilders said he would hold a binding referendum on Dutch membership of the European Union, as well as promises to halt all aid to Ukraine, and withdraw the Netherlands from global climate pacts. 

Anguish..

 

United States has its own intelligence that the militant group Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza, along with tunnels buried underneath, to plan operations and store weapons, the White House said Tuesday.

The U.S. intelligence appears to back Israeli claims about militant group activities underneath Gaza's hospitals — including Al-Shifa Hospital, the major complex in Gaza City that is the territory's largest medical center.
"We have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages," said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.

Can we trust the intelligence that failed the country time and time again?

And if that was true, is that a reason to prevent food, water and fuel from reaching Gaza's civilians? 

Is bombing a hospital a way to clear the bad people?

"The anguish that comes with seeing the daily images of babies, children, elderly people, women, and other civilians suffering in this crisis is wrenching. I feel it myself," Blinkin said. Just a thought.

Truce..

 

• The truce between Israel and Hamas will begin Friday at 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET), with 13 civilian hostages to be released by Hamas hours later, Qatar announced. More will follow, with a total of 50 hostages freed over four days, while Palestinian prisoners are also released in waves.
• The initial group of freed hostages will include members of the same families released together, a Qatari official said. 
• Israel's defense minister has vowed to continue the fight "forcefully" after the brief truce, saying he expects at least two more months of battle. Israel heavily bombarded sites in Gaza.
• Seven weeks of bombing Gaza civilians, causing death and destruction then comes peace with great results. When are these war hungry leaders learn?

Peace..

 

Line..

 

Cut Back..

 

De Son Vivont..

 

Lebanese-born doctor Gabriel Sara attends a press conference for 'De son Vivant' (Peaceful) during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival

It’s not unusual to find non-professional actors breaking out at the Cannes Film Festival. But those who do, don’t often come with a medical degree.

In De Son Vivant (Peaceful), the new film from French director Emmanuelle Bercot, a man refuses to accept his terminal illness. The cancer specialist who handholds him through this torturous process is played by real-life oncologist Dr Gabriel Sara, a Lebanese-born medic who has lived in New York for the past 40 years.

Acting opposite established French stars Benoit Magimel, who plays Benjamin, “a failed actor” with incurable stage four pancreatic cancer, and Catherine Deneuve as his controlling mother Crystal, the good doctor more than holds his own, playing his role with humanity and honesty.

At the premiere on Saturday at the festival’s plush Lumiere theatre, the film's cast and crew received a standing ovation. “First of all, I didn’t feel it was for me,” Sara explains, modestly. “I felt all along that we were a family on this movie.”

Level..

 

Plan..

In August 2014, Moshe Feiglin, then-deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, called for the destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza and offered a detailed plan for shipping Palestinians living in Gaza across the world. Specifically, he envisioned a scenario where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would find areas on the Sinai border to establish “tent encampments... until relevant emigration destinations are determined.” He further suggested that the IDF would then “exterminate nests of resistance, in the event that any should remain.”

He subsequently wrote in an op-ed, “After the IDF completes the ‘softening’ of the targets with its fire-power, the IDF will conquer the entire Gaza, using all the means necessary to minimize any harm to our soldiers, with no other considerations.”   Just a thought.

Killed..

 

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel had “a right to defend itself” from rockets from Hamas, but made no mention of the dozens of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in recent days.