EU "deeply regrets" U.S. sanctions on UN expert on Palestinians, says EU spokesperson
"We deeply regret the decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese", spokesperson Anouar El Anouni told reporters during a daily EU briefing, adding that the European Union "strongly supports the United Nations human rights system."
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Albanese would be added to the U.S. sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.
Albanese has been a vocal critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, and recently published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some U.S. firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.
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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Our city is being ruined by 'billionaires' playground'... we're being forced out by tourists
A Texas city is becoming a billionaires' playground as it moves forward with a new sports arena that locals are riling against. A project that was initially code-named Project Marvel is facing huge backlash from local residents who have no desire for a new San Antonio Spurs arena to be constructed downtown. 'We don't need to provide a $4.5 billion playground for tourists and billionaires that does not provide economic development for our city,' Father Jimmy Drennan, of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, told the San Antonio Express-News. For years, there have been talks amongst city officials about building a new Spurs arena behind closed doors and forcing consultants and developers to sign nondisclosure agreements. But locals don't want their taxpaying money to go toward the new arena, which they say, won't get any love from those residing there, only tourists and billionaires. 'This is a business deal with the Spurs and the city. It should also be a business deal for us,' Patrick Stolmeier, a local, told The Express-News. Anne Alexander cofounded a campaign called Stop! Project Marvel and several of her organization's signs - which read: 'No! Project Marvel' - have been popping up in plenty of neighborhoods since. The campaign might become a thorn in politicians' sides as more and more residents are becoming disdainful about the project. And locals are angered by the lack of transparency and communication and don't want it to be on the ballot in November. 'There are too many unanswered questions, including costs, economic benefits, alternatives, and financing,' Alexander's campaign said in a statement. 'Is downtown for the people or just for tourists?' Alexander's cofounder, Annalisa Peace, questioned. They also worry about traffic jams from the all the tourists coming downtown and whether or not locals would even be able to afford tickets to the games, which is currently held at the Frost Bank Center on the East Side. The average income in San Antonio is $34,000 for an individual and $63,000 for a household. 'When I tell people: "Would you like to sign in opposition?" they grab it out of my hands to try to sign it,' Mike Phillips, a COPS/Metro Alliance, an interfaith group that opposes the arena, told the outlet. Assistant City Manager, Lori Houston, told The Express-News that officials hear the backlash, but said the city has no desire to cancel their plans. 'I've heard people say: "How do I stop this project?" You take a vote,' she said on Tuesday. 'But we don't want to stop this project.' Tourism is a huge moneymaker for the Southern city and adding the arena downtown would help increase foot traffic and help finance the area through taxes on hotels and rental cars. Officials also worry that if the area isn't built, the basketball team could look elsewhere and that would lower the city's profit margin. And not every resident is viciously opposed to it and Keely Petty told The Express-News that she believes it could put San Antonio on the map next to Houston and Dallas. The city is also looking to expand the convention center again, which could cost up to $900million and would have to move the San Antonio Water System chilled water plant to do so. How much it would cost to move the water system is unknown.
The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
Rosie O'Donnell goes medieval on Trump over citizenship threat: ‘King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan'
Rosie O'Donnell fired right back at President Donald Trump after he threatened to revoke her U.S. citizenship in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning. The comedian and former talk show host, a longtime critic of the president, was — like Trump — born in New York to one American-born parent and one immigrant parent. In a blistering response to his threat, she called him 'King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan,' a reference to a much-hated, sadistic, authoritarian character from Game of Thrones. Trump earlier wrote on Truth Social: 'Because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.' He continued: 'She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!' O'Donnell, who relocated to Ireland days before Trump began his second term, didn't take long to respond. She posted a photo of Trump with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to Instagram, and wrote: 'Hey Donald –you're rattled again? 18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours.' O'Donnell wrote that while he had called her 'a threat to humanity,' she is 'everything you fear: a loud woman, a queer woman, a mother who tells the truth'. After contrasting their lives and outlooks, O'Donnell writes: 'You want to revoke my citizenship? Go ahead and try, King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan.' She adds: 'I'm not yours to silence. I never was. 🇮🇪 Rosie.' O'Donnell and Trump have been feuding since 2006, when she criticized his moral character, calling him a 'snake-oil salesman' and 'not a self-made made,' while she was a host of The View on ABC. They have traded barbs ever since. There is no presidential power to strip anyone of citizenship, but since returning to the White House, Trump has sought to end birthright citizenship, guaranteed to Americans under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The 14th Amendment states: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.' In another alarming move, a recently unveiled memo from the Department of Justice outlines the Trump administration's plans to 'maximally pursue' denaturalization of American citizens. Approximately 25 million people in the U.S. are naturalized citizens, or immigrants who completed the lengthy legal process to gain citizenship. According to the June 11 memo, the Justice Department's civil division will 'prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.' That evidence would need to be proof that an individual 'illegally procured' citizenship through fraud or other means. It is rare, but it does happen. Days before Trump's return to the White House, the 63-year-old comedian left the U.S. and moved to Ireland, which she says has helped improve her health and sleep. Nevertheless, she remains a fierce critic of Trump, and on Sunday, she blamed him for the impact of the deadly flash floods in Central Texas in a lengthy TikTok video. 'And, you know, when the president guts all of the early warning systems and the weather forecasting abilities of the government, these are the results…' O'Donnell said in part. As many as 129 people are known to have died in the disaster, with contributing factors being an insufficient early warning system and the timing of the storm, which hit as it did in the middle of the night. In March, O'Donnell questioned how Trump comfortably won every swing state in the 2024 election, claiming that one of his 'best friends owns and runs the internet,' likely referring to former 'first buddy' Elon Musk. Despite her long-running criticism of the president, there is no evidence that O'Donnell is a 'threat to humanity.'
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Thousands of calls to FEMA went unanswered following Texas floods after contracts weren't renewed
Thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency calls went unanswered following the deadly Texas floods after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem allegedly failed to renew call center contracts. Nearly two-thirds of calls to the disaster assistance line went unanswered in the two days after the floods, which have so far claimed the lives of at least 121, a source told the New York Times. It came after hundreds of contractors at call centers were fired on July 5 after their contracts lapsed and weren't extended, according to documents obtained by the outlet. The agency received 3,027 calls from survivors as flood waters receded on July 5. Roughly 3,018 calls were answered, the NYT reported. But the next day, as contracts expired and hundreds of contractors were fired, FEMA received 2,363 calls and only 846 were answered, according to the documents. On Monday, 16,419 calls were made by survivors with only 2,613 answered by the agency. It was five days after the contracts expired before they were renewed by Noem, according to the NYT source who added she has also recently instituted a new requirement for her personal approval of any expenses over $100,000. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told the NYT: 'When a natural disaster strikes, phone calls surge, and wait times can subsequently increase. 'Despite this expected influx, FEMA's disaster call center responded to every caller swiftly and efficiently, ensuring no one was left without assistance.' The devastating floods hit at a time when FEMA was already facing large amounts of scrutiny, as Donald Trump has also called for its eradication. The alleged contract renewal delays caused frustration within the agency, and by July 8 an email from a FEMA official said: 'We still do not have a decision, waiver or signature from the DHS Secretary', per the NYT. Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, who directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, told the outlet: 'Responding to less than half of the inquiries is pretty horrific. 'Put yourself in the shoes of a survivor: You've lost everything, you're trying to find out what's insured and what's not, and you're navigating multiple aid programs. 'One of the most important services in disaster recovery is being able to call someone and walk through these processes and paperwork.' Democratic lawmakers also expressed concern on Friday that Noem's new expenses requirement would continue to stall the deployment of search-and-rescue teams to Texas. A letter obtained by the NYT to David Richardson, FEMA's acting administrator, from the Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform detailed that Noem had not approved teams to be deployed until July 7, three days from the beginning of the floods. Texas's Fourth of July weekend saw devastation as the raging waters swept through the state and claimed the lives of at least 121 people, including dozens of children at Christian summer camp Camp Mystic. The toll of missing persons sat at around 160 people ahead of Trump's visit to the devastated state. Friday evening, about 300 people showed up at the memorial for a vigil with speakers that included faith leaders and some who told harrowing tales of narrowly escaping the flood. FEMA lamented that it ran into bureaucratic obstacles that, four insiders told CNN, prevented them from more swiftly responding to the disaster. But Noem is pushing back on this claim. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the secretary did not need to initially authorize additional FEMA resources to help respond to the floods because it used other DHS search and rescue assets – including tapping assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection. She said as more need for FEMA resources came up, the requests then immediately received Noem's approval. 'FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,' McLaughlin said. 'The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades,' she added. The FEMA insiders who spoke with CNN said that the recent changes have stripped the agency of its autonomy – especially under emergency situations where every moment can make a difference. The White House also has pushed back at criticism that FEMA and the National Weather Service was understaffed, making early warning efforts more difficult. ' Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing on Monday. And, in a Cabinet meeting this week, Trump praised Noem for her department's handling of the response. The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 'You had people there as fast as anybody's ever seen,' the president told Noem. Trump, unlike in other disasters, has not cast blame on anyone for the tragedy, calling it a horrible accident. 'I would just say this is a hundred-year catastrophe, and it's just so horrible to watch,' the president said on Sunday. Trump also signed a disaster declaration for Texas on Sunday to unlock federal aid for those affected. 'The president immediately delivered the dollars, Texas already has that money in their hands, and Governor Abbott is the lead decision-maker when it comes to the Texas floods,' a White House official told the Washington Post.
