Could we have a little bit more time between dramatic/major news, please.

#ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC announces applications for arrest warrants in relation to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of #Palestine ⤵️
icc-cpi.int/news/statement…

If Raisi is indeed dead, the key takeaway is not really who succeeds him (that’s the 1st VP Mohammad Mokhber, but only as a caretaker for 50 days before an election).

It’s the fact that the next Supreme Leader is most likely Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Internal

Raisi, an ultraconservative cleric in his 60s who won a presidential election in 2021, had been seen as a favorite to eventually succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Hopes are fading that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister have survived a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain and icy weather. reuters.com

BREAKING: Israeli War Cabinet member minister Benny Gantz will give a speech at 1:30 pm ET and is expected to lay out an ultimatum to Netanyahu regarding the Gaza war strategy. But as with many cases before, Gantz's delivery and tone will matter as much as his actual words

'If you want to experience the real Europe, you should travel less to Berlin, Paris or Rome and more to Yerevan, Kyiv or Tbilisi. There you can experience what Europe really,' says Michael Roth - official 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪 (& personally I couldn't agree more).

Il briefing di oggi #18maggio è online:

Putin dice di non voler occupare Kharkiv | Sequestrati asset di UniCredit in Russia | Israele si difende dalle accuse di genocidio | La Juventus esonera Allegri

app.goodmorningitalia.it/briefing/2024-…

All #EU 'experts', media people & European Commission people saying Geert Wilders & his #Dutch coalition are nothing to fret too much about, will be short lived & implode, have you spoken to any brown or black Europeans? #Muslims ? We are pretty terrified...but hey #BrusselsSoWhite

In Europa c’è un brutto clima (stavolta il Green Deal non c’entra).

Dopo il tentato omicidio di Fico, odio e minacce colpiscono il polacco Tusk e il belga De Croo. E per Bruxelles c’è lo zampino della disinformazione online (qui).

Su Il Messaggero.
ilmessaggero.it/mondo/tusk_min…

++ Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Beijing in July, less than one month after leading the G7 head of state meeting, Il Foglio can reveal ++ ilfoglio.it/esteri/2024/05…

It seems to me that VVD’s days as part of Renew Europe and ALDE Party are numbered. They may move to EPP which hasn’t pledged not to ally with far right.

It was always weird that there have been 2 Dutch parties in Liberal ALDE group (centre-right VVD & centre-left D66).

A week after Macron & VDL asked Xi to use its influence on Russia to end the war:

Xi and Putin on Thursday pledged to step up their military ties, despite Western pressure on Beijing to rein in Moscow from advancing in Ukraine.

scmp.com/news/china/dip…

La líder de los liberales en el Parlamento Europeo advierte duramente contra la coalición de su partido neerlandés, el VVD, con la ultraderecha de Geert Wilders (PVV).

'Una coalición con un partido así les coloca fuera de los valores que defendemos', dice Valérie Hayer.

The pro-independence protests in #NewCaledonia have been sparked by planned changes to voting laws that will allow more long-term French residents to vote in local elections. The indigenous Kanak population fears their influence will be further diluted. theguardian.com/world/article/…

The new far right-led government in the Netherlands has agreed on a coalition programme that potentially sets it up for clashes with Brussels on migration, energy and climate policies - via ⁦⁦Financial Times⁩ ft.com/content/45d022…

France has accused Azerbaijan of fomenting deadly riots in New Caledonia.

trib.al/ybD1Hrs

Rischi per i minori su Instagram e Facebook: la Commissione avvia una procedura contro Meta sulla base del #DigitalServicesAct .

Did Margaritis Schinas just recruited #TheSimpsons as part of the 🇪🇺campaign to boost (not so) young voter turnout ahead of the #EUelections2024 ? 🤔

#UseYourVote

‼️🇷🇺Wow. Looks like Slovak PM Robert Fico's reported assailant, writer Juraj Cintula, was associated with pro-Russian paramilitary group Slovenskí Branci (SB). Their leader was even trained by Russian ex-Spetsnaz soldiers. Read more on VSquare 👇vsquare.org/slovenski-bran…