FRANCE CALLS ON EU TO LIST WAGNER AS ‘TERRORISTS’
The French parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to formally label Russia’s mercenary Wagner force a “terror group” as reports emerged that the United Kingdom also appears poised to designate the group a “terror organisation”, Al Jazeera reports.
The resolution on Tuesday, which is non-binding and largely symbolic, passed France’s parliament with unanimous support across the political spectrum.
“Wherever they work, Wagner members spread instability and violence,” French legislator Benjamin Haddad told parliament.
“They kill and torture. They massacre and pillage. They intimidate and manipulate with almost total impunity,” he said.
Wagner fighters are not simple mercenaries driven by an “appetite for money” but they “follow a broad strategy, from Mali to Ukraine, of supporting the aggressive policies of President [Vladimir] Putin’s regime towards our democracies”, he added.
Authorities in France have also blamed the group for running anti-French propaganda operations in West Africa, particularly Mali.
Haddad said he hoped the resolution would encourage the 27 members of the EU to put Wagner on its official list of “terrorist organisations”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the French parliament in a video message and urged other countries to follow France’s example.
“Special thanks to the French parliament for today’s decision to recognise the Russian pseudo-private Wagner group as a terrorist organisation,” Zelensky said.
“This is something that should be adopted by the entire world – every manifestation of terrorism must be destroyed, and every terrorist must be convicted,” he said.
UKRAINIAN ARMY COUNTER- OFFENSIVE PLAN NOT YET APPROVED
Final plans for Ukraine’s counteroffensive have not yet been approved by the country’s Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"The office of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, our country’s president, is in charge of the ultimate decision regarding the dates and directions [of the counter-offensive]. When people start talking, even people from respectable Western institutions, trust me: there are no people who know the full extent of our plans. Because the final plans have not yet been approved.
We have several options [for the counteroffensive]. They are all being considered. Decisions will be made depending on the circumstances that prevail at any given moment. There’s no need to expect, or not expect, anything.
We have already proven that we are an invincible nation, and we will definitely [win]. In no small part, thanks to the help of our partners," Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council said.
In early April, Danilov said that no more than five people on the planet know where and when the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive will begin.
ISRAEL ATTACKED GAZA
The Israeli military launched a strike against members of the Islamic Jihad armed group at a rocket launch site in Gaza, the army said on Wednesday (May 10), as witnesses reported explosions in the Khan Younis area in the southern part of the enclave, Reuters reports.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The incident came a day after Israeli jets hit Gaza in a series of strikes the military said were targeted against Islamic Jihad leaders responsible for planning attacks against Israel.
Imran Khan supporters clash with Pakistan police, face tear gas in Peshawar
Clashes erupted in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday (May 10) as police tried to repel supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan who turned up in large numbers to protest his arrest for a second day, Reuters reports.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party called for nationwide protests, presenting yet another another blow to the nuclear-armed country struggling with an economic crisis.
"Imran Khan's arrest is illegal and unconstitutional. The protesters will not stop until Imran Khan is released," said Farhad Khan, a supporter of PTI.
The former prime minister was arrested on Tuesday (May 9) by an anti-graft agency on corruption charges. Government officials alleged that Khan and his wife received land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through a charitable trust. Khan and his aides have denied any wrongdoing.
