International

The Member of the European Parliament from the European People’s Party (EPP), Javier Zarzalejos, chairs the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, from which he oversees regulations such as the Migration and Asylum Pact, which will come into effect in June, or the Returns Regulation, approved by the European Parliament at the end of March. In addition to Europe’s migration policy, the parliamentarian – who is also the director of the FAES Foundation – discusses with La Vanguardia other issues such as the need to protect minors in the digital world, including the regulation of influencers; or the change of government in Hungary.

Almost 24 hours after Israeli soldiers detained 175 participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla, who were heading with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, near the Greek island of Crete – more than 1000 kilometers from the Israeli coast – Israel and the Greek government confirmed a change of plans. The activists will not be transferred to Israel, as their government had stated shortly after intercepting 21 of the 58 ships that made up the flotilla on Wednesday night, but will disembark on a “Greek beach,” wrote Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, last night.

An alleged suicide note attributed to financier Jeffrey Epstein has remained under judicial secrecy for almost seven years in a federal court in New York, according to the New York Times revealed this Thursday.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has insisted on his threat to withdraw the troops that his country has deployed in the joint military bases of Spain and Italy.

The accused of attempted assassination of the President of the United States, Cole Allen, has accepted this Thursday, in his second hearing in a Washington court, the precautionary measure requested by the Prosecutor’s Office against him to remain detained in preventive custody until the trial is held. His lawyer, Moxila Upadhyaya, has confirmed to the judge that she will not challenge the Government’s attempt to keep him under federal custody.

When the European members of NATO decided not to come to Donald Trump’s rescue when he asked for help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the president said it no longer mattered, that the United States did not depend on the oil coming from the Gulf and that its blockade by Iran would have no consequences in Washington. “I have a suggestion for you: buy it from the U.S., we have plenty, and arm yourselves with the courage you lack, go to the strait and simply take the oil,” he urged the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and other European allies.

West of the Greek island of Crete, in waters of international jurisdiction -according to Greece-, and 1,100 kilometers from Gaza, the Israeli armed forces intercepted on Wednesday night at least 22 of the 57 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which were heading with humanitarian aid to the Palestinian strip, according to reports from the flotilla and Israel. The Israeli Foreign Minister stated that about 175 activists have been detained, who are being transferred to the Hebrew country.

Surrender or die. Last Saturday, the fewer than 400 Russian soldiers defending the military base in Kidal, the symbolic city of the Tuareg in northern Mali, had to choose between life or a retreat smelling of failure. They chose to live.

According to most indicators, China’s manufacturing sector is the largest in the world and has grown faster than that of any other major economy in the past 25 years. The manufacturing sector has generated a total of about 5 trillion dollars in value added; and in 2024 it employed about 70 million workers in manufacturing enterprises above a certain size. China’s share in the global manufacturing industry has experienced strong increases: it went from 6% in 2000 to 26% in 2015; and, despite the ups and downs of some years, it approached 30% in 2024.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, which seeks to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, reported being intercepted by vessels identifying themselves as Israeli while sailing near the coasts of Greece.