Le Monde - Projet de loi « immigration » : le baiser de la mort de Marine Le Pen, qui revendique une « victoire idéologique »

Après avoir clamé qu’il voterait contre le texte pour s’opposer à une mesure de régularisation, le Rassemblement national l’a finalement soutenu afin de pouvoir revendiquer un succès sur la « préférence nationale ».

Marine Le Pen justifie sa volte-face en revendiquant une « victoire idéologique ». Aux yeux du RN, le fait que le gouvernement fasse inscrire dans son projet de loi une forme de « préférence nationale » dans le droit français valide l’une de ses revendications les plus symboliques : la différence de droits entre les Français et les étrangers en situation régulière sur le sol français.

Le Monde - Loi « immigration » : experts et associations soulignent la rupture politique marquée par le texte

La version adoptée mardi 19 décembre par le Parlement entérine notamment le rétablissement du délit de séjour irrégulier, le conditionnement de l’accès aux prestations familiales et aux aides au logement, la remise en cause de l’automaticité du droit du sol et la possibilité de placer en rétention certains demandeurs d’asile à la frontière.

Haaretz - Why France's Most Famous Nazi-hunting Jew Is Now Embracing the Far Right

Serge Klarsfeld has played an outsized role in exposing France’s collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust. He used to unwaveringly condemn the contemporary French far right for its racism and antisemitism. But now he’s praising Marine Le Pen for her ‘allyship’ with Jews

When Le Pen vowed to join the march against antisemitism in Paris last month, political figures on the left and center expressed their outrage. Yet Klarsfeld then dropped his other shoe. In an interview in Le Figaro, he insisted that while the extreme left had abandoned the fight against antisemitism, “we have seen that there are many decent people in the RN.” As for Le Pen, Klarsfeld was equally clear. Not only has she “affirmed her solidarity with French Jews,” but more important, “in difficult times one needs allies.”

Al-Jazeera - Entire Gaza population facing hunger crisis, famine risk: UN-backed report

The entire 2.3 million population of Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger and the risk of famine is increasing each day, a United Nations-backed report says.

The proportion of households in Gaza affected by high levels of acute food insecurity is the largest ever recorded globally, according to the report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published on Thursday.

Mediapart - « J’ai subi l’électricité » : les Palestiniens faits prisonniers à Gaza témoignent de tortures et d’humiliations

Les vidéos filmées et diffusées par des soldats israéliens montrant des personnes arrêtées par l’armée israélienne dans le nord de la bande de Gaza suscitent l’indignation quant au traitement réservé aux prisonniers palestiniens. Des témoignages d’hommes libérés renforcent l’inquiétude.

Haaretz - No Progress on Hostage Deal, but Israel Is Playing Up Talks to Ease Public Pressure

[…] Hamas has expressed agreement, in principle, for an “all for all” hostage-prisoner swap that would include a cessation of hostilities. Behind closed doors, Israel’s position has been consistent for some time: It is demanding the resumption of the humanitarian deal from where the previous deal was cut off, and the release of a group of about 40 hostages, including women who were not released in the previous deal, along with the elderly and sick.

Israel has also made it clear time and time again that contrary to Hamas’ demands, such a deal would not lead to a permanent ceasefire, but rather a truce that would allow the kidnappers to locate hostages and release them.[…]

Haaretz - Hillary Clinton Tells Hostages' Families: Netanyahu Busy With 'Politics and Personal Survival'

The former secretary of state said she was aware of efforts to produce another hostage release deal soon but that it’s all in the hands of Hamas and the Israeli government

Haaretz - Israeli Ministers Will Soon Face the Letdown of the War's Most Ardent Backers

The shock of October 7 isn’t enough to sustain the exhausted Israeli public through a drawn out war, and those leading it won’t be the ones to reap the benefits

As Israel’s war cabinet attempts to continue forging ahead with the war in Gaza despite the rising price in blood, a heart-wrenching split is emerging in Israeli society between the “hostage camp” and the “eliminate Hamas camp”.

Haaretz - Houthis Strike Ship With Ballistic Missile, Another With Drone

The Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking vessels in Red Sea shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles at Israel. They have said they would continue their attacks until Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip

Al-Jazeera - Are Houthi Red Sea attacks hurting Israel and disrupting global trade?

How seriously are they disrupting trade?

[…] The Bab al-Mandeb is where 12 percent of the total global seaborne trade of oil, as well as 8 percent of liquified natural gas, passed through in the first half of 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That is 8.8 million barrels per day of oil and 4.1 billion cubic feet per day of LNG.

Some shipping companies are choosing the only other maritime alternative – to take a much longer route around Africa. But that can mean increased costs, and it can add up to two weeks to their journey.

The complications for shipping companies come amid another unfortunate incident for them as the vital Panama Canal has also faced a sharp decrease in the traffic it can handle due to drought.[…]

Who could get affected the worst?

Israel, the first direct intended target of the Houthis, has already felt an impact from the disrupted maritime trade.

Traffic through its southern port of Eilat, located in the city which is also a tourist destination, has come to a halt, and the foreseeable future seems uncertain as the war rages.

Europe and states in the Mediterranean are poised to suffer the most losses if the current situation persists in the long term, as many of the ships taking cargo to and from those countries have been affected. […]

NBC News - Xi warned Biden during summit that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with China

The Chinese leader’s message in San Francisco got the attention of U.S. officials because it was delivered at a meeting that was intended to reduce tensions.

The Chinese leader also referenced public predictions by U.S. military leaders who say that Xi plans to take Taiwan in 2025 or 2027, telling Biden that they were wrong because he has not set a time frame, according to the two current and one former official briefed on the meeting.

Chinese officials also asked in advance of the summit that Biden make a public statement after the meeting saying that the U.S. supports China’s goal of peaceful unification with Taiwan and does not support Taiwanese independence, they said. The White House rejected the Chinese request.