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French President Emmanuel Macron favors “shifting the center of European gravity towards China,” according to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. “I do not quite understand the concept of strategic autonomy if it means de facto shooting into our own knee,” Morawiecki said Thursday. “European autonomy sounds fancy, doesn't it? But it means shifting the center of European gravity towards China and severing the ties with [the] U.S.” Morawiecki did not identify Macron by name, but the reference to the French leader’s signature “strategic autonomy” concept made the rebuke unmistakable. And it punctuated a wider denunciation of traditional powers of Western...

SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama assured Israel and its U.S. Jewish supporters on Wednesday he was a friend who would not press for peace concessions that would compromise its security. Hailing Israel as a "miracle," he vowed staunch support and held only a low-profile meeting with Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank. Obama, seeking to allay wariness among some U.S. Jewish voters about his policy towards Israel, flew to Sderot, a town hit by rockets fired from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, saying he hoped to bring peace but would not dictate the terms of...

Protesters in Paraguay have staged a public crucifixion calling for a jailed former army general to be set free. Tomas Velazquez, a supporter of General Lino Oviedo, popular among Paraguay's indigenous people, was tied and nailed to a cross outside the Supreme Court. Mr Velazquez called on the court to review Gen Oviedo's 10-year jail sentence for plotting a 1996 coup. Gen Oviedo remains popular in parts of Paraguay, with supporters saying his sentence was politically motivated. He was convicted by a military tribunal in 1998 of plotting to overthrow Paraguay's government. He was arrested after returning to Paraguay in...

Jun. 22, 2005 0:50 | Updated Jun. 22, 2005 3:01 China, Israel discuss expanding defense ties By NINA GILBERT Expansion of defense ties with Israel was on the agenda during talks with his Israeli counterparts this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Tuesday. Li, who spoke at the start of a meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, did not go into detail about the current dispute between Israel and the US over the Israel upgrade of Chinese Harpy drones. He said that during his visit he had held talks on expanding ties in the fields of...

Press Briefing to the Traveling Press Secretary Condoleezza Rice En Route to Shannon, Ireland June 17, 2005 SECRETARY RICE: Welcome aboard. I just want to talk a little bit about the first stop on our trip, which is to go to the Palestinian territories and then also to meet with the members of the Israeli government. And the principal reason for this trip, you’ll remember that the President said that he wanted me to come out before the disengagement and so this is an opportunity to see how the process of coordination is going between the parties as they get...

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 The Bush administration has begun to block arms shipments to Israel and suspend joint programs after the two allies failed to resolve a dispute over arms sales to China. U.S. officials said the Defense Department and Israeli representatives were unable to draft a memorandum of understanding that would halt Israeli weapons sales to China. They said the two sides could not agree on a supervision mechanism for Israeli arms exports. Israel has agreed to increase government supervision of arms exports, the long-held turf of the Defense Ministry, Middle East Newsline reported. But officials said the Israeli...

How radical Muslims masquerading as "moderates" are infiltrating our government, our military, our prisons, our schools -- and even the Department of Homeland Security Infiltration by Paul Sperry The most dangerous Muslim radicals won't be sneaking through our borders from the Middle East -- they're already here. That's the alarming message of Washington-based investigative reporter Paul Sperry's new book, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington. Using access to classified documents as well as exclusive interviews with FBI agents, Customs officers, and military intelligence officials, Sperry reveals how the top levels of our government, armed forces and intelligence...

<p>I have just witnessed one of the strangest events I have ever seen on the political campaign trail.</p> <p>It began shortly after the conclusion of Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign rally in downtown Modesto. As the press was filing out, several reporters suddenly surrounded a woman standing in the pedestrian mall near the rally site. Only a few reporters could hear what she was saying. Soon the word spread: "She's looking for Arnold," one reporter told another, who told another. More reporters gathered around. Cameras and tape recorders were thrust toward her face.</p>

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SAT OCT 04, 2003 15:01:37 ET XXXXX FINAL DIRT PUSH TAKES TOLL; CONCERN FOR MARIA'S HEALTH A late barrage of negative reports directed at Arnold Schwarzenegger and his race to be governor of California are taking a toll on wife Maria Shriver, campaign insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT. "She is rail thin and has been suffering bouts of light-headed dizziness... she refuses to address it," one source said on Saturday. One reporter covering the campaign for a local Los Angeles TV station watched as Shriver appeared on the verge of fainting backstage at a recent event....