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Strike in Italy Over Gaza Flotilla Strands Commuters 

Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners as they occupy the carriageways of the main road to the port in Livorno, Italy, 03 October 2025. (EPA)
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners as they occupy the carriageways of the main road to the port in Livorno, Italy, 03 October 2025. (EPA)
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Strike in Italy Over Gaza Flotilla Strands Commuters 

Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners as they occupy the carriageways of the main road to the port in Livorno, Italy, 03 October 2025. (EPA)
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners as they occupy the carriageways of the main road to the port in Livorno, Italy, 03 October 2025. (EPA)

A general strike in Italy in support of the Gaza aid flotilla disrupted trains and threatened more commuter chaos Friday in a second day of demonstrations in Rome.

The strike, called by the USB and CFIL unions, follows demonstrations Thursday in several cities across the world, including in Milan and Rome, where some 10,000 people marched from the Colosseum.

Protesters began to amass again Friday morning in Rome to march to the vast plaza outside the central train station of Termini, where services were canceled or delayed up to 80 minutes.

"The squares will be packed," the head of the CGIL union, Maurizio Landini, told Radio Anch'io Friday.

"It shows the humanity and determination of decent people who want to stop genocide and are doing what governments and states have pretended not to see or are even complicit in," Landini said.

In Milan and other cities, travelers experienced similar delays and cancellations, with national railway Trenitalia warning that the national strike would extend through 20:59 pm Friday.

"Today, one million Italians will be left stranded on trains alone," Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told the Mattino Cinque television show.

Commercial traffic was blocked at the port of Livorno, local media reported.

The strike began as Italy's foreign ministry announced that four Italian parliamentarians had been released by Israel after being arrested in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which aims to break Israel's siege of Gaza.

The two Italian members of parliament and two Italian members of the European Parliament were due to arrive back in Rome Friday, the ministry said.

The flotilla said Friday the Israeli navy had intercepted 42 vessels this week while officials said more than 400 activists were detained. The last ship set sail on Friday.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the national strike while at an EU meeting in Copenhagen Thursday.

"I would have expected that at least on an issue they considered so important, the unions would not have called a general strike on Friday, because long weekends and revolution do not go together," said Meloni.

The head of the right-wing government had previously called the flotilla a "dangerous, irresponsible" initiative, even while Italy sent a navy frigate to provide assistance.

Meloni's reluctance to overtly criticize Israel and her unwillingness to break ranks with US President Donald Trump has encountered increasing resistance in Italy, spurring a wave of protests in recent weeks.

Italy's strike watchdog has already called Friday's action illegal, due to unions not having given the necessary 10-day notice.

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World

US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)

The US military has stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports, a US official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star ignored multiple warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The ship was disabled by US aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there, the official said, adding that US forces have not boarded it.

With the latest action, US military has stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade. One was allowed to proceed.

The US launched the blockade on April 17 in response to Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz after the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7.

Now the region and wider world await word on whether a deal is being reached to extend it by 60 days while new talks would be held on Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

Events in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman have shaken the global economy, with shipments of significant amounts of oil, natural gas and related supplies like fertilizer largely stranded, increasing the strain on consumers and food producers.

The US blockade seeks to limit Iran’s own shipments and further weaken its access to cash, creating more pain for its long-weakened economy.

US President Donald Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.

World

Canada’s Broader Citizenship Rules Draw Strong American Interest, Data Shows

Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
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Canada’s Broader Citizenship Rules Draw Strong American Interest, Data Shows

Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)

While US-Canadian relations have frayed under US President Donald Trump, data on Canadian citizenship approvals under recently widened rules suggests many Americans would welcome the chance to become Canadian.

Under the new rules, which allow more descendants of Canadians to claim citizenship compared with just first-generation descendants previously, approvals for proof of citizenship by descent have risen by more than 1,000 per month so far this year, data from Canada's immigration agency shows.

That compares with just 275 additional approvals in ‌December 2025, when the ‌new law went into effect.

The data also shows ‌that ⁠roughly 48% of ⁠the additional approvals through February originated from the US.

Immigration lawyers say the high percentage of Americans reflects the historically close ties between the two neighboring countries, while signaling that many Americans see Canada as an attractive place to live or study, especially given recent US political uncertainty.

"The biggest thing is it gives our family options," said William Hunnewell, a 41-year-old based in Seattle who applied earlier this year and expects a ⁠response in nine months to a year. His great-grandfather was ‌a homesteader in Saskatchewan before World War One ‌and his grandfather was born in Canada.

"If my kid wants to study or ‌live in Canada, she can just go — there's no visa, no deadlines," he ‌said.

Most new citizens approved under the law will likely remain abroad but many want to keep their options open, said Nick Berning, a US-based immigration lawyer.

"Current interest in Canadian citizenship is definitely influenced by US politics," Berning said. "They want to stay in the US, but ‌if things become untenable, they want a way out."

Political divisions have deepened in the US, where polls show growing dissatisfaction ⁠with the Trump ⁠administration. Ties between the US and Canada have also grown tense since Trump imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian goods and talked of annexing Canada as the 51st state.

Canadian approvals this year under the newly established category for proof of citizenship totaled 1,140 in January, 1,255 in February and 1,405 in March, according to data that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided to Reuters.

Canada's new citizenship law responded to a 2023 court ruling that found limiting citizenship to the first generation born abroad was unconstitutional.

People who have lived outside Canada for generations can now be considered citizens if they can prove descent. That is in sharp contrast with Canadian government efforts in recent years to lower immigration targets.

Berning noted, however, that new citizens who have never lived in Canada cannot pass citizenship on indefinitely to children born abroad.

World

Tens of Thousands March in Support of Türkiye’s Deposed Opposition Leader

Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
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Tens of Thousands March in Support of Türkiye’s Deposed Opposition Leader

Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)

Tens of thousands of supporters of the deposed leader of Türkiye’s main opposition party marched through central Ankara on Saturday.

Ozgur Ozel was removed from his post at the head of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, by court order on May 21. Many people consider the ruling to be a politically motivated bid to neutralize the opposition.

Crowds earlier gathered in Guven Park in the heart of the Turkish capital to hear Ozel deliver a speech condemning his removal. They then joined him on an impromptu march to the mausoleum of Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

"They are attempting to replace the CHP’s elected chairman and appoint a trustee," Ozel told supporters. "Today is the day to restart our march to power. I wish this were an internal party matter. This is not an internal matter for the CHP. This is a matter between (President) Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the nation."

The appeals court ruling overturned a 2023 party congress vote that appointed Ozel as CHP leader. The court decision replaced him with his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sparking outrage among party supporters.

Ozel, 51, succeeded the 77-year-old Kilicdaroglu after 13 years of mostly ineffective opposition to Erdogan.

Ozel has framed the court case, which centered on alleged irregularities in the congress vote, as the latest legal attack on the CHP. Criminal cases across the country, mostly alleging corruption in CHP-run municipalities, have seen hundreds of elected officials and party members detained.

The government insists that Türkiye’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

As people were gathering in Guven Park, Kilicdaroglu was holding a rival gathering at the CHP headquarters in Ankara, which police stormed last Sunday to remove Ozel and his supporters.

Addressing a much smaller crowd, Kilicdaroglu condemned the previous party administration for overseeing widespread corruption.

The CHP is level with the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in most recent opinion polls and although the next election is not due until 2028, many expect Erdogan to push for early elections.

Ozel delivered a serious blow to the AKP in the 2024 municipal elections, strengthening the opposition’s grip on key cities it had won five years earlier, including Istanbul and Ankara.

The CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, emerged as the likeliest challenger to Erdogan, who has ruled Türkiye since 2003, in the next presidential poll. But he has been imprisoned since March last year as he faces several criminal cases that could see him sentenced to decades behind bars.