ISRAEL - Israel issued the stern warning to the international community as it strongly denied charges of genocide following a hearing in front of the International Court of Justice. Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated his country has the right to defend itself as he responded to charges of genocide the South African government lodged with the International Court of Justice. Following a second day of hearings in The Hague, Katz said: "I commend our Israeli legal team for representing us with honour and pride at the International Court of Justice in The Hague against South Africa’s display of hypocrisy." He added: "No force will prevent Israel from exercising its right to self-defence. We will continue to fight on the legal, political, and military fronts until all 132 of our hostages return to their loved ones."

USA - The United States last week announced it would withhold the shipment of certain types of weapons to Israel in a bid to get Netanyahu to change his plans for Rafah. Joe Biden withholding weapons from Israel won't keep Tel Aviv from pursuing its plans for Rafah but only "emboldens Hamas and Iran," a former Israeli intelligence official claimed. The Biden administration confirmed last week it had decided to withhold the shipment of certain weapons until Israel proposed plans for its Rafah operation guaranteeing the protection to Palestinian civilians. Israel gave the order to over 100,000 residents to leave the area ahead of resuming heavy bombardments last week. Despite Biden halting the shipment of the weapons, Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is ready to continue hunting down Hamas members alone.

EUROPE - Concerns have been raised over Russian disinformation on social media as millions across Europe prepare to vote. Tens of millions of people across Europe are set to head to the ballot box in early June for the 2024 European Elections. People living across the 27-member bloc are casting their first votes for the European Parliament since Brexit, with hundreds of MEP seats up for grabs from Portugal to Bulgaria and from Finland to Malta. However, concerns have been raised about misinformation being used by Russia - currently at loggerheads with many European countries following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine - to influence the results. Research reported by the Observer newspaper this weekend suggests a vast pro-Russia progaganda campaign is being waged on social media - with users in France and Germany amongst those targeted.

EUROPE - Electric car disaster as EU ports fill up with 100,000s of Chinese models no one wants. Chinese EV companies have aggressively targeted European markets as they look to take advantage of the EU's green agenda. Major EU ports are almost full to capacity with Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) that no one wants to buy. A slump in sales across Europe has caused parking lots at the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge to fill up with the Chinese imports. In an effort to encourage drivers to go green, many EU states have offered generous incentives using millions of euros of taxpayers' money. Yet EV sales in March slumped by 11.3 percent overall across the EU, with purchases in Germany down by as much as 28.9 percent.

FRANCE - France will struggle to prevent drones from disrupting this summer’s Olympic Games, experts warned last night. More than 300,000 spectators are expected to line up along the banks of the river Seine in July, as 10,000 athletes sail along on some 160 barges in the first ever opening ceremony not held inside a stadium. Last year, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin singled out drones as "without doubt the main threat to be dealt with", and the threats are numerous. While France's national security alert is already at maximum level following an attack on a concert venue in Moscow in March, for which Islamic State claimed responsibility, memories of the 1972 terror attack on the Munich Games by the Palestinian Black September group are uppermost in organisers' minds. So, too, is the prospect of Russian or Iranian attacks using drone swarms, or even disruption from environmental groups.

UK - Olive oil prices have skyrocketed by 39 per cent in the last year heaping more misery on cash-strapped families battling to afford the weekly shopping bill. Shoppers browsing the shelves for the product, a staple in pasta dishes and salads for households across the country, have recently seen the cost of the more expensive extra virgin variety hit a whopping £20 a bottle. Over the last 12 months, olive oil has soared in price more than any other food or drink item, with one litre now setting consumers back £8.04 compared with £5.78 in 2023 and just £3.54 in 2021, according to Office for National Statistics data. Poor harvests across the Mediterranean thanks to a combination of extreme weather, disease and drought have driven up the price of the oil in the UK. This has even led to criminals flooding the market with counterfeit olive oil, diluted with sunflower, lamp or canola oil, with 450 litres seized near Lisbon, Portugal, earlier this week, according to the Food and Economic Security Authority.

VATICAN - The Vatican is set to hold a press conference announcing updated church doctrines on “apparitions and other supernatural phenomena” on Friday. Notice of the press conference, which will be held in the Holy See Press Office at midday (8pm AEST), sparked a wave of tabloid headlines earlier this week inaccurately claiming the Vatican could be making an announcement about “aliens”. Rather, Catholic Church officials will “present the new provisions of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for discerning between apparitions and other supernatural phenomena”, the notice states.

UK - BBC boss claims impartial news is 'increasingly becoming an affront' to audiences who feel balanced coverage is 'an attack on their values'. Deborah Turness, chief executive of news and current affairs, says those who spend time in an 'echo chamber' - where they only hear and read views that align with their own beliefs - feel balanced coverage is 'an attack on their values'. Ms Turness, who joined the Corporation in September 2022, added that she is deeply concerned about this issue.

USA - Powerful storms tore through eastern Texas on Thursday evening, decimating transmission towers and plunging over a million residents into darkness. "Severe thunderstorms moving across the Houston metro area have a history of producing damaging winds! This destructive storm will contain wind gusts to 80 MPH! A tornado is possible!" the National Weather Service of Houston wrote on X.

UKRAINE - Russia is about to overrun Ukraine’s defenses – why are there no peace negotiations? There are two classic propaganda narratives used by governments when it comes to keeping the public invested in any war campaign that does nothing to advance their national interests:

USA - A barge crashed into the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, causing a section of the bridge, including railroad tracks, to smash down onto the barge, FOX 7 Austin reports. Officials said there were no reports of injuries in the collision that occurred around 10 am. Video from the scene shows debris from the bridge and part of the rail tracks on top of the barge as it rests against the bridge. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the barge to strike the bridge. Pelican Island is north of Galveston and is connected to the city by the bridge, which is the only way people can access the island by land, and officials said the bridge has been shut down to traffic in both directions.

USA - Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled south-eastern Texas for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Officials urged residents to keep off roads following Thursday’s storms, as many were impassable and traffic lights were out. The storm system moved through swiftly, but flood watches and warnings remained on Friday for Houston and areas to the east. John Whitmire, the mayor of Houston, said four people died during the severe weather. At least two of the deaths were caused by falling trees and another happened when a crane blew over in strong winds, officials said.

EUROPE - The EU has urged Israel to end its military operation in Rafah in southern Gaza “immediately,” warning that a failure to do so would undermine relations with the bloc. The warning comes as Israeli forces in recent days have pressed deeper into the city in pursuit of what they say are four Hamas battalions. The offensive was launched despite international calls to hold off to avoid mass civilian casualties as more than a million people fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict have sought refuge in Rafah. “The European Union is calling on Israel to refrain from further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and reopen the crossing point of Rafah,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) premier automaker, BYD, is selling a $12,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) that “could be a nightmare” for the United States auto industry without an all-out ban or steeper tariffs on such cars made by Chinese companies. A report from the Detroit News, which interviewed several industry insiders, details the impact that BYD’s all-electric Seagull — which sells for just $12,000 in China and about $21,000 in Latin America — may have on American auto workers without fierce trade protections.

CANADA - No internet, no phone: Remote communities suffer total loss of communications after fires damage critical fibre optic cables. Shortly before sunset on Friday, residents of Canada’s Yukon territory discovered their connection to the outside world had vanished. Internet access had gone. Mobile phones showed no signal. Landlines had failed. Chaos quickly set in. Electronic payments couldn’t be processed. In Whitehorse, the capital, most ATMs couldn’t function and the few that did were quickly drained of cash from panicked residents. City officials warned that the ability to call police, ambulance or fire services was non-existent.