Le Pen found guilty of embezzlement and barred from French elections for five yearsMs Le Pen was also sentenced to two years’ imprisonment under house arrest. In addition, the judge handed down guilty verdicts for embezzling public funds to eight other current or former members of her party who, like Ms Le Pen, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/le-pen-found-guilty-embezzlement-and-barred-elections-five-yearsThames Water picks private equity firm as preferred buyerIt will now enter the next stage of the investment process with KKR, one of the world's largest private equity firms with $160bn of investments globally. KKR is already a shareholder in another UK water provider, Northumbrian Water.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crldrylyy9do Nationwide strike across Belgium severely disrupts public transport and other services The Christian and Socialist trade unions organised the strike in protest against budget cuts announced by the country's coalition government, nicknamed "Arizona" because the coalition party colours match those of the Arizona state flag, led by Flemish nationalist Bart de Wever.
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/31/nationwide-strike-across-belgium-severely-disrupts-public-transport-and-other-serviceshttps://archive.ph/k6nUtIndigenous groups in Peru protest Glencore's Antapaccay mineA source close to the company confirmed that protests had blocked access to mine vehicles. Images from a local online news program showed small groups of people at different points in the road, holding signs.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indigenous-groups-peru-protest-glencores-antapaccay-mine-2025-03-31/Evo insists on running for President of Bolivia despite reelection limits”There is no plan B here (…) The only candidate (is) Evo,“ said the indigenous leader in front of supporters who filled a stadium in Villa Tunari, his political stronghold in the central department of Cochabamba. ”Here, sisters and brothers, we are going to give birth to another name, the true name of the political instrument,“ said the former head of state.
https://en.mercopress.com/2025/03/31/evo-insists-on-running-for-president-of-bolivia-despite-reelection-limitsThe attackers set off from military base | Six civilians executed in Baniyas countryside According to local sources, the gunmen set off from Al-Desaynah base, a former camp of the former regime force, in Baniyas countryside. The attackers carried out that attack and returned to the base where forces of the ministries of defence and interior are stationed.
https://www.syriahr.com/en/358998/Israel orders Rafah evacuation as it continues bombardment of GazaHe called on Palestinians to immediately move to shelter in al-Mawasi on the coast. The area has regularly come under Israeli fire during the war in Gaza, despite being designated as a “safe zone”. Shortly after the evacuation order, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that at least two people were killed during an Israeli attack on a tent housing displaced people in the area.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/31/israel-orders-rafah-evacuation-as-it-continues-bombardment-of-gazahttps://archive.ph/okmryIsraeli troops killed 15 Palestinian medics and buried them in a mass grave, UN saysFor days, Israeli forces would not allow access to the site where the emergency teams disappeared, the U.N. said. On Wednesday, a U.N. convoy tried to reach the site but encountered Israeli troops opening fire on people.
https://apnews.com/article/gaza-medics-killed-israel-ambulances-f34b6ecc985d9127265a400bd52c72b7Bengal Polls: RSS Eyeing ‘New’ Hindu Votes to Give BJP an EdgeA major concern for the BJP brass is that they do not have a cohesive, active state organisation. Despite several interventions by the central leadership, deficiencies persist in the party’s state unit and intra-party differences have made cohesive functioning a far cry.
https://www.newsclick.in/bengal-polls-rss-eyeing-new-hindu-votes-give-bjp-edgePoor and migrants bear brunt of south east Asia earthquakeAuthorities say that so far at least 1,700 people are known to have died, but many more are unaccounted for. And there is enormous danger for the living, particularly those at quake’s epicentre, Mandalay–Myanmar’s second city. Many now homeless people have been forced to sleep in the open and while the military regime remains focused on fighting its four-year civil war against democracy activists.
https://socialistworker.co.uk/international/poor-and-migrants-bear-brunt-of-south-east-asia-earthquake/