Columbia University president Minouche Shafik asked the New York Police Department to come to campus and clear an occupied administration building, Hamilton Hall, which had been taken over by pro-Palestinian protesters. In her letter, Ms. Shafik said that outside forces, not students, were leading the occupation.
In other news, a 14-year-old boy was killed when an attacker armed with a sword went on a rampage in London. Four other people, including two police officers, were wounded before the alleged perpetrator could be subdued and apprehended.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, JW, LP, Reader from Chicago, SS, Upananda Brahmachari, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Consumer Spending, Investment Boosts French First Quarter Growth
The French economy gained momentum in the first quarter, growing slightly faster than expected thanks to a pick-up in consumer spending and business investment, official data published on Tuesday showed.
Growth in the eurozone’s second-biggest economy rose by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year after a 0.1 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, statistics agency INSEE said in its quarterly GDP report.
Economists polled by Reuters had an average forecast of 0.1 per cent growth while the Bank of France had forecast 0.2 per cent growth and INSEE had expected flat growth.
The better than expected growth is good news for the government which drew fierce criticism from opposition parties for its handling of the economy after it revised down its full-year 2024 growth forecast to 1 per cent in February from 1.4 per cent and hiked its budget deficit expectations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Council Adopts Fiscal Reform With New Rules for Budgets and Debts
The European Council has adopted three pieces of legislation designed to reform the European Union’s economic and fiscal governance framework.
Signed off on April 29, the reforms are intended to guarantee stable and sustainable public finances while encouraging inclusive and continuous growth in all Member States.
Hans Dewachter, Chief Economist with the KBC group and former macroeconomics professor at the University of Leuven, told Brussels Signal that the reforms were a return to a “period of fiscal discipline”.
According to Dewachter, the new rules “make macroeconomic sense but the impact is still unknown, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating”.
He said he expected that this year and next would usher in “significant government cutbacks”, and that budgetary policy will become increasingly embedded into broader macroeconomic policy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Head of EU’s EIB Lending Arm Calls for Spending Cap to be Scrapped
The head of the European Union’s EIB lending arm has called on the bloc’s member states to scrap a spending cap currently imposed on the development bank.
The European Investment Bank is being urged to do more to fund the EU’s key priorities but it has a rule in its statute book that says it can’t lend more than 2.5 times the value of the “subscribed capital” committed by member states.
That pledged capital is currently €248 billion while the bank’s balance sheet has grown to around €600 billion in recent years, leaving it only €20 billion off the theoretical €620 billion limit.
Nadia Calvino, who took over as the EIB’s president at the start of the year, described the cap on Monday as an outdated constraint from the 1950s that penalised capital investment and the EU’s startup industry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Wage Needed to Live Comfortably in Czechia Rises by 10 Percent
Financial experts have calculated that the minimum decent wage for a person with a child in Czechia to live comfortably, along with having suitable leisure time and small savings, is CZK 45,573. Researchers from the Platform for a Minimum Decent Wage say that two-thirds of employees in Czechia were earning less than this sum in 2023.
The study took into account essential expenses such as food, housing, clothing, transportation, health, education, and leisure while comparing the average national wage, which was CZK 43,341 in 2023. The decent minimum wage has surged compared to its 2022 level, when it stood at CZK 40,912.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
13 Arrested at Princeton After Building Takeover to Demand Israel Divestment
Thirteen people were arrested at Princeton University on Monday night as they took over an administration building to pressure school officials to listen to their demands for divestment from companies linked to Israel’s military campaigns.
The protesters entered administrative offices in Clio Hall at about 4:30 p.m., put up barricades and called for university officials to meet with them. During their takeover and sit-in, hundreds of students rallied outside the building, chanting “Up, up with liberation, down, down with occupation.”
Princeton’s Department of Public Safety and the Princeton Police Department responded and cleared Clio Hall of protesters at about 6 p.m. Protesters then surrounded the bus carrying the arrested students until they were released.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Moves to Declassify Weed as Schedule 1 Drug
President Joe Biden’s US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reportedly moved to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug instead of Schedule 1, labeling it as less dangerous.
The agency’s move to classify it as less dangerous was confirmed by reporting from the Associated Press on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Columbia University president Minouche Shafik issued a letter to the NYPD to ask them to come to campus and clear the occupied administration building, Hamilton Hall. In that letter, she said that she believed that outside forces, not students, were leading the protests and occupation.
This while mass arrests were conducted on campus, caught by Freedom News. Multiple keffiyeh-clad students could be heard screaming as they were dragged away by officers.
CBS News’ Ali Bauman reports that sources at New York’s City Hall said that there was “evidence that the wife of a known terroist is with protesters on Columbia University campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Columbia Students Seize Building, Smashing Windows and Lowering ‘Intifada’ Banner
NEW YORK — Student protesters at Columbia University seized an academic building on 116th and Broadway late Monday night, breaking windows and using outdoor campus furniture to barricade themselves inside.
“They started streaming towards Hamilton Hall,” said Lily Zuckerman, a sophomore at Barnard College who witnessed the move. “At some point, I can’t say when, they smashed the windows with a hammer, got into the building, and they started bringing in the picnic tables outside the building inside to barricade the doors.”
The rioters also covered security cameras, Zuckerman told the Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Columbia University Suspends Press Access on Campus Amid Pro-Palestine Protests
Columbia University banned media access on its campus Tuesday as pro-Palestine protests continue.
“Media access to campus is suspended. Campus is accessible only to CUID-holders and essential personnel as a safety measure and that includes media,” read an announcement on the university website.
The university also revealed that early Tuesday morning, “a group of protestors occupied Hamilton Hall on the Morningside campus of Columbia University.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A protester at Columbia University spoke out on Tuesday and delivered the demands of those occupying Hamilton Hall on the school’s Morningside campus. The protester was identified as Johanna King-Slutsky, who has been a campus activist at least since 2021. She was with the Student Workers of Columbia and is a PhD student in English and Comparative Literature.
“Why should the university be obligated to provide food to people who’ve taken over a building?” She was asked. Officers would move onto the campus later that evening.
“Well uh first of all we’re saying that they should be obligated to provide food for students who pay for a meal plan here.” Press was later blocked from campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Deceased Suspect Identified in Fatal Shooting of Four Officers in N.C.
Authorities on Tuesday identified the deceased suspect in the killing of four law enforcement officers who were shot trying to serve him with a warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, was killed in an exchange of gunfire Monday after he allegedly fired a high-powered rifle at a U.S. Marshals task force that included local law enforcement officers, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Hughes also allegedly injured four other officers in the shootout before he was fatally shot in the front yard of the home where officers had attempted to serve him.
The four law enforcement officers killed were Sam Poloche, 42; William “Alden” Elliott, 46, both 14-year veterans with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks Jr.; and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Joshua Eyer, authorities said.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
FAFO Video: New Yorker Keys Florida Trump Supporter’s Car But Then…
“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don’t FA with Florida Man’s car.” — Jim Croce, possibly.
New York Man was visiting his Summerland Key vacation home earlier this month and decided to hit the Winn-Dixie one night “to pick up some coffee and Key lime pie,” as he told his arresting officer two days later. Key lime pie is not a controlled substance in Florida — thank goodness — but keying somebody’s car for having a “Let’s Go Brandon” sticker is.
What New York Man, later identified as Richard Philip Brothers, 63, of Syracuse, didn’t know was that he’d been caught on video doing his dirty deed in the Winn-Dixie parking lot. The sheriff’s deputy showed up well-prepared, with his Miranda warning card and the surveillance video ready to go.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fani’s Follies Continue: A State Rep. Sues Willis While the DA Dodges Debates
At this point, it might be an understatement to refer to Fani Willis as the embattled district attorney of Fulton County, Ga. She’s had a harsh spotlight on her since she decided to take on Donald Trump and other co-defendants in her investigation, but the revelations of corruption and an inappropriate affair with one of the special counsels on the Trump case have dinged her reputation. After all, this was the woman who once campaigned as an anti-corruption prosecutor.
Her troubles aren’t over by any means. A state legislator is suing Willis for her failure to tackle crime in the county. Rep. Mesha Mainor (R-56th District) announced her suit in a press release and Facebook post last week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Protesters Occupying California University Building Arrested in Police Crackdown
Police cracked down on a pro-Palestine demonstration at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, early on Tuesday morning, clearing two buildings that protesters had occupied since last week, arresting dozens of people and detaining at least one journalist.
The public university on California’s far north coast said in a statement early Tuesday that an operation by law enforcement, which included police from across the state, had “restored order” to the campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Dems Rush to Save Mike Johnson From MTG’s Motion to Vacate
Democrat leaders in Congress have said that they will vote to support House Speaker Mike Johnson in the case of a motion to oust him from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, Whip Katherine Clark, and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar released a statement, saying, “At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction. We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
The Democrat lawmakers placed blame on House Republicans over delays in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other bills that went through Congress.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jim Jordan Seeking Communications Between Federal Agencies and Prosecutors for Trump Cases
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio said Tuesday that he is seeking communications between federal agencies and state officials regarding former President Donald Trump’s criminal cases.
“We know that Fani Willis through Nathan Wade was having all kinds of communications with [what] looks like the Justice Department, the January 6 committee [and] maybe even the White House Counsel’s Office when they were putting that crazy case together in Atlanta, Georgia,” Jordan said on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show.
“We want to know what was [Matthew] Colangelo doing while he was at DOJ, and then headed over to New York to be part of Alvin Bragg’s team,” he added. “We’d like to know some answers there. So we’re we’ve subpoenaed information in the Fani Willis case. We’re asking for this information in the Alvin Bragg and Colangelo case. We’ll see what we get.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Fines Trump $9,000 for Violating Gag Order in Hush Money Case
Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday fined former President Donald Trump for violating a gag order in the hush money case in New York.
The judge held Trump in criminal contempt for nine violations related to some of his posts on Truth Social. Each violation is a $1,000 penalty.
The gag order prohibits Trump from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” and “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LA Metro Eyes Invasive Facial Recognition in Wake of Murder
A murder that happened in the Los Angeles transport system has prompted transport officials to announce a public safety emergency, and also use the tragic case to promote plans to install more facial recognition devices in the public spaces under their authority.
The Los Angeles press is reporting about this, specifying that the initiative came after a 66-year-old woman was stabbed to death in the Metro system.
Given this and another four attacks that happened on public transport in April (in a city of nearly 4 million people), Metro officials seem to have decided to treat the highly controversial biometric surveillance as the panacea — including for their failings.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Louisiana Will Form a New City of Almost 100,000 People After Battle Made it to State Supreme Court
Residents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have finally won a legal battle to create a new town called St. George.
“This is the culmination of citizens exercising their constitutional rights. We voted and we won,” attorney Andrew Murrell, one of the leaders of the St. George movement, said in a statement following the Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision.
“Whether you are for or you are against St. George, now is your opportunity, a historic opportunity, to create a city from the beginning, from the ground up,” he said. “It’s your ideas, it’s your policies, it’s your way of life and now you can come together and put those out there and have someone accountable to you.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Arrests at UT Austin’s Gaza Camp Were Not UT Students
Of the over 70 people arrested at the University of Texas Austin campus on Monday at the school’s Gaza Camp, 46 of them were not students at the school.
UT Spokesperson Mike Rosen told the Austin American-Statesman that based on preliminary numbers, 46 of 77 people arrested Monday were not students, though it is unclear whether this number included faculty or staff members.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Millions of Dollars in Damage at Cal Poly Humboldt Campus After Gaza Camp Takeover
The administration of Cal Poly Humbolt released a statement on Sunday after the Gaza protesters took over a main building, Siemens Hall, occupying and vandalizing it for days. They said that the damage from the illegal activities of the students stretched into the millions. The students had renamed the building “Intifada Hall.”
“Since the beginning, the University’s concern has not been the protest itself,” the statement read. “We have a long history of activism and civic engagement on this campus, and we unequivocally support the rights of students and others to assemble peacefully, to protest, and to have their voices heard. The concern in this case is the ongoing unlawful occupation of campus buildings by students and non-students and other criminal acts (e.g., vandalism, theft, destruction of state property, and intimidation of University employees). These ongoing occupations have also created safety hazards for those who have barricaded themselves inside, blocking exits to the building.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Portland State University shut down on Monday after Antifa members in the Gaza Camp protest seized the library on campus.
The library at PSU was taken over and doors were barricaded on Monday evening.
On Tuesday morning, an announcement was sent out saying that the campus would be shut down.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After five days of anti-Israel demonstrators occupying Deering Meadow on Northwestern University’s campus, Northwestern president Michael Schill and the rest of the university’s leadership decided to accede to several of the protesters’ demands.
While not committing to divesting its endowment from companies that do business in Israel and ending partnerships with Israeli institutions, the university released a list of concessions in a celebratory statementMonday afternoon in exchange for the removal of the encampment on the lawn.
Most notable among those concessions is a promise to offer full-ride scholarships to Palestinian students and guaranteed faculty jobs for Palestinian academics.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Not a Daycare:’ 12 Arrested During Student Protests at 2 Florida Universities
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Protestors at the University of Florida and University of South Florida were arrested on Monday, according to university officials.
UF officials said that nine people were arrested by the university’s police department and the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to the university, charges included failure to obey a lawful command, resisting without violence to trespass after warning. One was allegedly charged with battery after spitting on an officer.
In a release, UF spokesman Steve Orlando announced the arrests, saying that the university had provided ample warnings last week regarding “prohibited activities.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYPD Given Permission to Enter Columbia University Campus Amid Protests. Watch Live Coverage.
NEW YORK — The NYPD has been given permission to enter the Columbia University campus amid ongoing protests.
An alert sent from the school Tuesday urged students on the Morningside campus to “shelter in place for your safety due to heightened activity” and “avoid the area until further notice.”
NYPD given permission to enter Columbia University campus
Hundreds of NYPD officers were seen outside the campus gates around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The city has a letter in hand from Columbia authorizing it to send the NYPD on to campus, according to a senior city official.
Students were seen being brought out in handcuffs. It is unclear how many arrests have been made at this time.
NYPD officers were seen driving an Emergency Service Unit to reach a window of Hamilton Hall and enter the building around 9:30 p.m.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Hamas Wisconsin Students Heil Hitler During Protests
Yes, you read the headline correctly.
Students at the University of Wisconsin are the latest bunch of college kids camping on school grounds to declare support for Hamas as they fight Israel, and apparently, they really did start saying “Heil Hitler” at a group of Jewish students passing by.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Refreshing: Ohio State’s President Says Protestor Arrests Were Necessary for Campus Safety
Ohio State University (OSU) president Walter “Ted” Carter, Jr., issued a refreshing statement on Monday to “set the record straight regarding the events” that took place on the main campus’ South Oval on April 25 when Carter had around three dozen pro-Hamas protestors arrested and removed hundreds more from the Columbus campus.
Carter, a no-nonsense decorated combat veteran who served our nation for 38 years, underscored his commitment to “support and defend” the First Amendment rights of the OSU community. “I value and welcome free speech,” he said in an email to OSU’s students, faculty, and staff.
“I wanted you to hear directly from me that Thursday’s actions were not about the content of anyone’s speech,” he said. “They do not mean we are limiting individuals’ right to gather and demonstrate.”
Instead, Carter expertly walked the line between the protestors’ rights and his duty to provide a safe campus.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. to Challenge TikTok Ban on Constitutional Grounds
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, has declared his intent to fight against a potential TikTok ban, arguing that the measure is more about political posturing than genuine national security concerns. This announcement comes as the Biden administration tightens its grip on Chinese technology firms with a recent $95 billion national security package that allows for banning the app if its parent company, ByteDance, does not sell it.
Kennedy, voicing his opposition on the social platform X, stated, “I’m going to file a lawsuit challenging the TikTok ban on Constitutional grounds.” He believes the move to block TikTok has little to do with protecting user data from Chinese surveillance and is more of a distraction. “Don’t be fooled — the TikTok ban is not about China harvesting your data. That’s a smoke screen,” he declared.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Qualifies for Ballot in California
Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has qualified for the ballot in California, his campaign announced on Monday, marking the third official state the dark-horse qualified for.
The long-shot Independent and his running mate Nicole Shanahan have qualified for ballots in Michigan and Utah so far, but they have also met the ballot signature threshold in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska and Iowa.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A student with Turning Point USA was allegedly attacked during an occupation-style protest at University of Washington (UW) which launched on Monday after being delayed.
The student, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk posted, was “holding an Israeli flag and walking in solidarity with his Jewish friends.” The flag-waving student is Japanese and in the process of gaining American citizenship, Kirk said. The student filed a police report after the alleged assault, according to Kirk’s post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Leads Biden in 7 Swing States: Emerson
New polling has revealed that Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in seven swing states, including when third-party candidates are added into the mix.
Swing state polls from Emerson College Polling/The Hill found that Trump leads Bidenin Arizona 48 to 44 percent, in Georgia 47 to 44 percent, in Michigan 45 to 44 percent, in Nevada 45 to 44 percent, in North Carolina 47 to 42 percent, in Pennsylvania 47 to 45 percent, and in Wisconsin 47 to 45 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a lengthy interview with Time magazine, former President Donald Trump spoke about many topics, but also touched on an “anti-white” feeling in the country that has propped up among those on the left.
In the interview with Time, Trump told the reporter, “There is a definite anti-white feeling in the country.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Columbia University students attempted to blunt the break-in of Hamilton Hall on campus at the hands of anti-Israel throngs, telling Fox News they wanted to make a quiet statement by standing up to unruliness.
Charles Beck and Rory Wilson spoke to “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday after Beck was filmed being assailed by masked demonstrators. Wilson joined his classmate in a “spur of the moment” decision stemming from his disdain for the chaos.
Video of the confrontation showed the two students standing on the steps of Hamilton Hall, which was besieged and ultimately occupied by protesters who at one point had a pizza hoisted up to a higher floor of the building.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U of M Buildings Remain Closed as Anti-War Protests Continue on Campus
Updated: 6:20 p.m.
A dozen buildings on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus remained closed Tuesday as an anti-war protest encampment continued on Northrop Mall.
Although university police had cleared an encampment on campus last week and gave dispersal orders for the current encampment on Monday night, it remained in place overnight into Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UCLA Protesters Block Jewish Student From Attending Class: They Want ‘Mass Genocide of Jews’
A Jewish student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who was barred from attending class by anti-Israel protesters, spoke out after the incident as he and others fear for their safety on college campuses nationwide.
UCLA student Eli Tsives documented the interaction with the protesters and explained why he fears the pro-Palestinian sentiment will likely escalate further.
“I take the same path to class every single day, and when I got there, it was blocked off by the students, not a security guard, but by these students,” Tsives said on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UN Official Condemns Health “Misinformation,” Advocates for “Digital Integrity Code”
The United Nations continues with an attempt to advance the agenda to get what the organization calls its Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms implemented.
This code is based on a previous policy brief that recommends censorship of whatever is deemed to be “disinformation, misinformation, hate” but that is only the big picture of the policy UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming is staunchly promoting.
In early April, Fleming gave a talk at Boston University, and here the focus was on AI, whose usefulness in various censorship ventures makes it seen as a tool that advances “resilience in global communication.”
A piece on the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases site first asserts that AI had a “major role” in helping spread misinformation and conspiracy theories “in the post-pandemic era,” while the UN is described as one of the institutions that have been undermined by all this, while “working to dispel these narratives.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
University of Minnesota Closes Buildings for 2 Days Over Protests
MINNEAPOLIS — Protests supporting Gaza and the people of Palestine continue to pop up across the country and are growing in size. That is certainly true at the University of Minnesota.
On Monday and then again Tuesday, the university sent out a notice it would be closing a dozen buildings that surround the location of demonstrations due to safety concerns including Coffman Student Union and Walter Library.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Noé Chartier via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Canada’s drug regulator asked Pfizer to provide data on the size of DNA fragments in its COVID-19 vaccine, due to genomic integration concerns, shortly after learning the pharma giant withheld information on DNA sequences contained in its product.
“Concerning the residual plasmid DNA in the drug substance, provide data/information characterizing […] the size distribution of the residual DNA fragments [and] residual intact circular plasmid,” says a request for clarification Health Canada issued to Pfizer on Aug. 4, 2023.
The information was released as part of records obtained through an access-to-information request. It shows, in part, that a Health Canada official was keeping the department’s counterparts in the United States and Europe apprised of the department’s interactions with Pfizer, in a bid to harmonize the regulators’ approaches regarding the recently discovered DNA fragment impurities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AstraZeneca has acknowledged for the first time in court that its Covid vaccine may cause rare side effects, reports The Telegraph.
The pharmaceutical giant is facing a collective lawsuit alleging dozens of deaths and serious injuries, with a demand for £100 million in compensation. A total of 51 cases have been filed. For instance, the plaintiff Jamie Scott claims that after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, he suffered irreversible brain damage due to the formation of a clot and bleeding in the brain, which prevented him from working.
While AstraZeneca generally disputes these claims, it admitted in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February that its Covid vaccine “may very rarely trigger TTS syndrome.” TTS (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome) causes the formation of clots and low platelet counts in people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Britain Implements Physical Checks on EU Food Products: Potential Market and Price Impacts Expected
Three years after exiting the EU single market, the United Kingdom has entered a new phase of border operational model, introducing physical checks for fresh food products from the European Union, Reuters reports. The second stage of the operation began on Tuesday, including checks on products of animal and plant origin such as meat, fish, cheese, and dairy products.
New measures, including visual inspections and temperature measurements of goods, are being taken to prevent the entry of diseases and pests into the country. The government emphasizes that these checks also level the playing field for British exporters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Republic Advocates for EU Enlargement, Supports Ukraine and Moldova
Czech Republic supports the idea of new rounds of enlargement in the European Union, as reported by Der Spiegel. Countries like Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia are pressing for EU membership. President Pavel described this as a “geostrategic necessity.”
Twenty years after its own accession to the EU, the Czech Republic has emphasized the importance of forthcoming rounds of enlargement. President Petr Pavel expressed this at a European conference in Prague, attended by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czechia: Health Ministry Eyes Sugar Tax on Soft Drinks for Mid-2025
Health Minister Vlastimil Valek has suggested a new consumption tax on drinks with a high sugar content to combat their negative health effects. The proposal aims to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, which have been linked to obesity and other adverse health effects. However, not all coalition parties are in agreement.
Targeting the least-healthy drinks
Valek says he supports the National Economic Council’s (NERV) proposal to implement a consumption tax on sugary drinks. NERV suggests that the government start collecting a tax of CZK 3.4 on drinks with a sugar content of more than 50 grams per liter. For every additional 10 grams of sugar in the drink, the state would then collect a tax of CZK 0.35.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czechia Falls Out of Europe’s Top 10 Safest Countries
According to the 2024 Safety Index by statistical aggregator Numbeo, Czechia is no longer among Europe’s top 10 safest countries, ranking 12th. This is a sharp decline from last year’s position, when it was Europe’s eighth-safest state. However, Numbeo ranks it as the second-safest country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
To establish its index, Numbeo asked the residents of different countries about their general perception of safety where they lived. These questions included feelings of safety while walking during the day and night, concerns about specific crimes (such as hate-related or prejudice-based attacks), property crimes (like burglary or muggings), and fears about major crimes (such as murder or rape).
Czechia’s score on the Safety Index is 73.2 out of a possible 100, placing it higher than neighbors Austria, Poland, and Slovakia. According to the ranking, Czech residents also feel safer than those in Norway, Luxembourg, and Spain (ranked 17th, 21st, and 22nd respectively). Czechia is also safer than Germany, which is way down in 27th position. Slovenia is the only CEE nation perceived as safer than Czechia.
The 2023 Prague mass shooting likely contributed substantially to decreased feelings of public safety. Crime levels have however been on a broad decline in the past 10 years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Has Canceled Its Largest Air Show in the Name of Saving Money, Rescheduling it for 2025
The Danish air show, one of the country’s largest military aviation events, has been canceled due to the urgent need for cost-saving measures. The Danish Air Show, scheduled for June 9, has been postponed to 2025, as announced by the Danish Air Force and TV2 channel.
Economic considerations were the main reason for canceling the air show. The lack of sufficient financial resources in the country’s treasury forced the military authorities to make this decision. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had previously stated her intention to increase defense spending by $5.9 billion over five years. However, it seemed that the military budget was insufficient to support such a large-scale event.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Investigates Facebook’s and Instagram’s Handling of Disinformation Ahead of Elections
The European Commission has initiated an investigation into Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over alleged failures to curb disinformation and deceptive advertising in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections. The move follows concerns regarding potential sources of disinformation both within and outside the EU.
According to a report by Reuters, EU tech regulators have raised alarms over the proliferation of misleading information — not only from external actors like Russia, China and Iran, but also from political parties and organizations within the EU. These concerns have prompted the European Commission to take action amid preparations for the upcoming elections scheduled for June 6-9.
The investigation is rooted in suspicions that Meta Platforms may be in breach of EU online content rules, particularly the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect last year. Under the DSA, major tech companies are obligated to take more robust measures to combat illegal and harmful content on their platforms, with potential fines reaching up to 6% of their global annual turnover.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Commission President Hints at TikTok Ban in EU
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hinted at the possibility of a TikTok ban within the European Union during a debate in Maastricht involving leading party candidates in the bloc’s 2024 elections, as reported by Politico.
“It’s not impossible,”
von der Leyen remarked, responding to a moderator’s mention of the United States, where TikTok faces a national ban unless it undergoes a change in ownership.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Calls on Germany to Jointly Strengthen European Defense
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sédillot has urged Germany to collaborate in bolstering the European defense industry. He made these remarks in an interview with Die Welt.
The Foreign Minister noted that Paris and Berlin have previously “implemented ambitious projects,” citing, among other things, the European Recovery Plan during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Like at every stage of building European defense, France and Germany share responsibility for setting goals and taking swift and decisive actions,” Sédillot said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French to Use EP Elections to Punish Macron, Survey Suggests
French voters will use the European Parliament elections in June to express their dissatisfaction with French President Emmanuel Macron, research has found
According to a survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), 37 per cent of respondents expressed their intention to cast their EP votes primarily as a means of indicating opposition to Macron’s politics; with only 12 per cent wanting to show support for them.
58 per cent of respondents also said that their voting decisions would be influenced more by national issues rather than wider European Union ones.
This prevailing emphasis on domestic concerns comes amid growing French dissatisfaction with Brussels, with 54 per cent of respondents indicating that political decisions in the bloc negatively impacted their daily lives.
Only those aligning with Macron’s Renaissance party represented an exception in holding a favourable view of the EU.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Government Inaction Endangers Polish Wallets: Changes in VAT Approaching Rapidly
The looming new EU directive on VAT rates presents the Polish government with important decisions regarding tax breaks, as reported by Money.pl. Starting January 2025, Poland must adjust its VAT rates to comply with the new regulations. However, the government’s lack of action raises concerns among experts and the public.
Currently, the Polish Ministry of Finance has taken no steps to develop a draft of VAT law changes that would define new groups of goods and services eligible for reduced tax rates. According to the EU directive, such changes should be ready by the end of 2024. However, due to government inactivity, much remains unclear about future tax breaks.
According to experts, the new VAT rates could significantly impact the wallets of Poles. Some goods currently benefiting from preferential rates may lose tax benefits, leading to price hikes. While decisions in this matter lie with the government, failure to act could have negative consequences for the economy and budget.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Opts Against 20th Anniversary EU Celebration Amidst Rising Tensions
Hungary does not plan an official celebration for the 20th anniversary of its EU accession, as reported by Kurier. Although 84 percent of Hungarian voters voted for EU accession in 2003 and the country joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, no central celebration is planned, as reported by the media on April 30.
Since Orban’s right-wing nationalist party Fidesz took over the government in 2010, the initial euphoria for the EU in Hungary has turned into increasing confrontation with Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Saman May Have Been Killed by Mother
Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old Italian-Pakistani woman killed by her family on the night between 30 April and 1 May 2021 at Novellara near Reggio Emilia, may have been murdered by her mother, judges said in their explanation issued Tuesday of the life sentences handed down to her parents earlier this year.
“The defendants Abbas Shabbar and Shaheen Nazia literally accompanied their daughter to her death and it is not excluded that the mother was the material executor”, said the 600-page explanation of the sentencing, which also saw her uncle get 16 years.
The mother is a fugitive from justice somewhere in Pakistan while the other family members are in jail in Italy.
The judges also said they had ruled out the motivation of the murder being Saman’s alleged refusal of an arranged marriage with an older man in Pakistan, saying the killing had been “spur of the moment” and in apparent anger at the young woman wanting to leave home and go to live with her boyfriend in a a Western-style arrangement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Outrage as Macron Floats Putting EU Under French Nuclear Umbrella
French President Emmanuel Macron’s offer to put the entire European Union under France’s nuclear-weapons umbrella has provoked outrage from both the Left and Right.
The French nuclear arsenal, consisting of about 300 operational nuclear warheads, could be shared as part of an EU defence deal, Macron argued.
“I am in favour of opening this debate which must therefore include anti-missile defence, long-range weapon firing, nuclear weapons for those who have them,” he said in an interview on April 27.
Such missiles would form part of a “credible European defence” going beyond NATO as part of a “European defence framework”.
That suggestion prompted outcry from both the Left and Right, with senior Rassemblement National (RN) politician Marine Le Pen decrying Macron’s intention to “dispossess the French people of everything they have built, of everything that protects them, of everything that makes them a free people”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PM Sanchez Aiming for ‘Regime Change’ in Spain
The leader of the Spanish opposition has accused Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of “working behind the scenes to foment a regime change” in Spain.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) called out Sanchez over remarks he made on April 29, during which he announced his decision to remain as premier after previously hinting he may resign the role.
The PP leader took particular issue with Sanchez’s declaration that Spain must fight “far-right” news outlets that are “perverting” democracy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Has Submitted a Request to Host American Nuclear Weapons
Poland has officially requested to host American nuclear weapons by applying to participate in the Nuclear Sharing program, said Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Zalewski on local TV.
“We are talking about a program called Nuclear Sharing. This is a NATO program, but the decision and full control over the use of nuclear weapons, for example, if they were to be deployed in Poland, would be made by the Americans. Of course, this program operates in Europe. Belgium, Italy, Germany participate in it. And Poland has declared its readiness to participate in this program. And this readiness statement has not been withdrawn,” Zalewski said.
Earlier, President Andrzej Duda stated that he was willing to agree to the placement of American nuclear weapons on Polish territory. Prime Minister Tusk criticized this, while NATO stated that they have no plans to deploy nuclear forces in Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Palestinian Student Activists Blockade Universities Across France
Inspired by student leftists in the United States, pro-Palestinian activists have spread their blockades of French universities nationally after taking on the Sorbonne and the Sciences Po in Paris over the past week.
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied several provincial Institutes of Political Studies (IEP) — more commonly known as Sciences Po — throughout France on Tuesday, with students blockading entrances to the research universities in Lyon, Menton, Rennes, and Strasbourg.
It follows similar actions in the United States on the campuses of major universities such as Colombia in New York City and Harvard. It also followed the occupation of Paris’ Sciences Po last week and the blockade of the prestigious Sorbonne University on Monday, which forced school administrators to cancel exams and classes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Study Shows Alarming Trend in Freedom of Speech Levels in the EU
Media freedom is declining across the European Union, with certain countries dangerously close to a breaking point. This is highlighted in a report by the leading civil liberties network, Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties).
In particular, Liberties emphasizes that there are attacks on the independence of public broadcasters, but hopes that new legislation will improve the situation.
“Media freedom is clearly and consistently declining in the EU — in many countries due to deliberate harm or neglect by national governments,” noted Liberties’ senior rights officer, Eva Simon.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Used Electric Car Timebomb — Older EVs Could be Hard to Sell Because Batteries Aren’t Guaranteed
Many EVs will lose up to 12% of their charge capacity by six years. Yet the cost of replacing an EV battery is astonishingly high, our research found.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Hainault: Boy, 14, Killed in Sword Attack
A 14-year-old boy has died after an attacker armed with a sword went on the rampage in north-east London.
Police were called to reports of a car crashing into a house and people being stabbed in Hainault at about 07:00 BST.
The boy was taken to hospital where he later died.
Four other people, including two police officers, were injured before the suspect — who had been leaping over people’s garden fences — was cornered and Tasered in a front garden.
The 36-year-old man was arrested and the Metropolitan Police said he was in hospital being treated for injuries sustained when the vehicle he was in crashed into the house.
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Officers are hunting down two men following the incident in the Smethwick area of Birmingham earlier this month, which saw three people enter a convenience store with a large knife.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: One Killed, Four Injured: Alleged London Swordman Arrested After Vehicle-Ram Stabbing Rampage
One person has died and four people were injured in East London after a man is alleged to have driven a van into a residential building before drawing a sword and attacking people, including police officers.
UPDATE 1430 — 14 Year Old Boy Has Died
Bad news from East London, where one of the five people reported injured in this morning’s sword attack has died. London Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said at the scene:
It is with great sadness that I confirm one of those injured, a 14-year-old boy, has died. He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died shortly afterwards.
The child’s family are being supported by specially trained officers. Everyone across the Met is keeping them in our thoughts at this unimaginably difficult time.
Two members of the public and two police officers were injured. Chief Superintendent Bell said the injured officers sustained “significant” but not life-threatening stab wounds while the members of the public remain in hospital.
One important detail: the Guardian newspaper has spoken to an eye witness who said the suspected killer performed some kind of victory ritual after stabbing a “young victim” who may have been the boy who has now died. The paper quoted the witness — who wished not to be named — as saying the alleged swordsman as raising his arms in celebration, as if to say “ yay, yay I’ve done it, sort of proud”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Teenagers Released on Bail After Alleged Attempted Kidnapping of Orthodox Jewish Man in London
Police from the London Borough of Hackney confirmed over X on Tuesday that five teenagers were arrested in relation to an alleged attempted kidnapping of a haredi Jew on Friday.
The teenagers, aged from 15-18 years old, have all since been released on bail.
“Five teenagers, three aged 17, one 15 and one 18-years-old have been arrested and taken into custody in connection with a reported attempted kidnap in Stamford Hill. Officers in Hackney are investigating the incident which happened on Friday in Moundfield Road, N16,” Hackney Police shared.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: NATO’s Stoltenberg Blasts EU Over Military Support ‘Shortfalls’
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has sharply criticised the European Union for failing to provide military assistance it had promised to Ukraine.
During a meeting of the Atlantik-Brücke group in Berlin on April 25, Stoltenberg accused member states of having fallen particularly short on its promises to hand over ammunition.
“In Europe, the delivery of ammunition is far below the levels we said we would provide,” the NATO boss said.
“These delays have consequences,” he added. “Ukraine has been outgunned, allowing Russia to push forward on the front line.”
Speaking to Brussels Signal, a source within the European defence industry cited production backlogs as being one of the main reasons why countries were so unwilling to hand over munitions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Von Der Leyen Fights for Survival in Live YouTube Debate
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen found herself fighting for survival in an EU election debate on Monday.
Livestreamed on YouTube, Von der Leyen appeared alongside seven rival candidates from various EU political groups, many of whom wish to seize the top European Commission job from her following the June vote.
Von der Leyen is meanwhile battling to hold onto the role amid various ongoing controversies, some of which have seen former allies turn on her in recent weeks.
Amid intense questioning, she passionately defended the EC’s position on issues such as trade deals with Ukraine, the Russia situation and online giant TikTok.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Blinken Says ‘Time to Act is Now’ for Hamas to Accept Cease-Fire Deal
Amman, Jordan — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept a proposed cease-fire deal in its conflict with Israel, saying that there are “no more excuses” and “the time to act is now.”
“Our focus right now is on getting a cease-fire and hostages home. That is the most urgent thing, and it’s also I think what is achievable because the Israelis have put a strong proposal on the table. They’ve demonstrated that they’re willing to compromise, and now it’s on Hamas,” Blinken told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Jordan.
He also stressed the importance of getting more humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“This has been part of our work every single day. It’s also been the focus of every single one of my trips to the region,” Blinken said, adding that he will discuss the issue when he holds meetings in Israel on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
German Ambassador Attacked by Palestinian Mob During Ramallah Visit
German Representative to the Palestinian Authority Oliver Owcza was heckled and his vehicle was attacked by students during his visit to Birzeit University near Ramallah in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Social media clips showed him walking quickly to his car as protesters followed him.
Shots also showed how a mob surrounded the vehicle, threw objects at it, kicked it and broke off a side mirror to show their anger at Germany’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Over Half of Israelis Believe Netanyahu Should Resign Immediately — Poll
Over half (58%) of the Israeli public believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign immediately, including 28% of those who voted for the bloc that supports Netanyahu, according to a poll published by N12 on Tuesday.
Additionally, 48% of Israelis believe Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should resign immediately, 50% believe IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi should resign immediately, and 56% believe Shin Bet head Ronen Bar should resign now.
Regarding when elections should be held, 54% of respondents said they should be brought forward. Over a third (37%) said that Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot should leave the government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Open-Source Intel Offers Glimpse of War Casualty Figures Russia is Trying to Hide
The number of Russian soldiers killed in combat since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine remains a secret that the Kremlin goes to great lengths to hide. However, open-source research has recently yielded figures that show Moscow’s losses have been heavy.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Pictures: Ukraine’s ‘Harry Potter Castle’ Burns After Russian Strike
Five people were killed and dozens injured in a missile strike on Ukraine’s third city, Odesa, with an ornate seafront building locally known as the ‘Harry Potter Castle’ burnt out.
Ukraine’s military stated an Iskander-M ballistic missile “with a cluster warhead” fell on Odesa, the south-eastern coastal city which is now one of Ukraine’s main ports after Russia occupied Crimea in 2014. According to state media five people were killed in the strike, and 32 were injured, including a young child and a pregnant woman.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
India: Arju Turned to Aarti to Marry Dinesh After Adopting Hindu Dharma
Uttar Pradesh: Muslim girl reached the Devi temple, married a Hindu boy in a Mahoba.
Shivani Pandey | HENB | Mahoba | April 20, 2024:: A Muslim girl living in Panwadi police station area of Uttar Pradesh fell in love with a Hindu youth. When love blossomed, both of them decided to mature their relationship through a marriage. The girl broke the wall of religion for her love and adopted Sanatan Hindu Dharma. Not only this, she also changed his name. After taking seven rounds of the temple, three such words uttered by the girl, which no one had expected.
A case of Muslim girl marrying a Hindu boy from Panwadi police station area in Mahoba has come to light. Arju Raine adopted Sanatan Dharma and after marriage changed her name to Aarti Jaiswal. Arju Raine raised slogans of Jai Shri Ram at the wedding ceremony amid chanting Vedic mantras in the Devi temple. She seemed very happy to return to Hinduism of her own free will.
Arzoo told that she was very happy with Hindu religion and she wanted to return to Sanatan Dharma. For this purpose, she reached the Gauraiya Mata temple in Panwadi Kashmir and as per Hindu customs, she got married to Dinesh Jaiswal of the same town and converted to Hindu religion.
Arju Raine has been loving Hindu religion for the last many years. Goddess worship during Navratri, dedication to Lord Shri Ram on Ram Navami, bursting crackers during Diwali has been Arju Bani Aarti’s favorite. She says that we all are people of Sanatan Dharma considering the root. This society had separated all of us but I have always been inspired by Hindu religion, that is why I have loved Dinesh Jaiswal. Now I want to live my life with Dinesh forever.
Arzoo further said, ‘In our (Muslim) society, Nikah i.e. marriage is considered a compromise but in Hindu society, seven rounds during marriage are considered a relationship of seven births. I like this very much. I have got Dinesh in this life and may he always love me like this and may I always be with him. As Arzoo raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as soon as the marriage was over, everyone present there was startled.
According to the information, in 2018, Arzoo had run away from home with her lover Dinesh. Both lived in Noida-Delhi. Even during the Corona period, both of them remained out of the house. During this time Arzoo became the mother of two children. Arzoo has returned to her in-laws house after six years. However, her parents and family members are still against this relationship and tried to break the relationship of Arzoo with Dinesh. After returning to her in-laws house, Arzoo reached Gauraiya Mata temple and got married as per Hindu customs and adopted Sanatan Dharma.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Nationalist Leader of Sindh Condemns Forced Conversion of Hindu Girls in Pakistan
ANI | Karachi | Apr 28, 2024:: : In a recent video message, Sohail Abro, chairman of the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM), urged international human rights organisations to intervene for the safe release of Priya Kumari, a young Hindu girl who went missing two years ago while serving mourners of a Muharram procession in Sindh. Abro highlighted the alarming trend of Sindhi Hindu girls being forcibly converted and married off to Muslim men, often under the influence of extremist figures in the country.
He criticised the judiciary for siding with individuals accused of such actions and called for justice for victims like Priya Kumari. “Sindhi Hindu girls are forcibly converted and married off to Muslim men and people like Mian Mithu are free to do such activities. Even when girls express their desire to go with their family, courts refuse to do so as they are on the side of people like Mian Mithu” said Sohail in his message on social media. The extremist cleric Mian Mithu is accused of kidnapping and forcing religious conversions of Hindu teenage girls in Pakistan.
In a significant event, a rally was organized by the Jeay Sindh Freedom Movement (JSFM) commemorating the death anniversary of GM Syed, a prominent Sindhi politician. The participation of demonstrators from various districts of Sindh suggested a widespread sentiment among Sindhis for their rights and freedoms. The issues highlighted, such as the recovery of missing persons and the protection of Sindhi Hindu girls from forced conversions, reflect ongoing concerns within the Sindhi community.
“Sindhi and Baloch activists are abducted by Pakistani intelligence officials. For several years these activists remain missing. A political activist and student Sohail Raza Bhatti has been missing for the past eight years. No one knows whether he is alive or dead. His parents are knocking on the doors of the press club and courts,” said Sohail in the video message.
| — Hat tip: Upananda Brahmachari | [Return to headlines] |
Bishop Makes Bold Stand Against Censorship in the Wake of Wakeley Church Stabbing
Only two weeks after surviving a stabbing attack, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel returned to give his sermon, and an impassioned plea to the Australian authorities not to undermine freedom of speech in the country.
In the wake of the terrorist act known as the Wakeley church stabbing which left another person injured, and the subsequent protests, Australian authorities were quick to go after social media companies and put additional pressure on them.
Meta and X were targeted by the government to block what it termed “offensive” content (videos of the attack) both in Australia, and globally. In addition, government officials and some opposition representatives took the opportunity to push for even more restrictive rules around content censorship (“moderation”) in Australia.
However, the Orthodox Christian dignitary took his own opportunity to remind the government that treating free speech as a danger and pushing for censorship means they are ultimately undermining democracy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
McDonald’s Stabbing: Man Left Fighting for Life After Being Wounded at St Albans Venue
A man has been rushed to hospital after he was found with severe injuries in a McDonald’s car park.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Tucked away in the $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a $3.5 billion slush fund to open new processing centers for Muslim migrants, in what Sen. Eric Schmitt described as a bid to “supercharge mass migration from the Middle East.”
And as Breitbart points out, the $95 billion package does not include any funds to help rebuild America’s border defenses against illegal migration — but it does contain $481 million to settle migrants in US cities, and of course, the $3.5 billion to expand migration programs worldwide.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Moves to Bring Palestinian Refugees to US
The Biden administration has indicated that they are considering bringing Palestinian refugees from Gaza into the US to give these displaced persons “a permanent safe haven.” This would be the first time that the US refugee program, established in 1980, took on the project of Palestinian resettlement in large numbers in the US.
President Donald Trump has vowed to restrict any refugees coming in from Gaza and other hotbeds of terrorism. “We aren’t bringing in anyone from Gaza or Syria or Somalia or Yemen, or Libya, or anywhere else that threatens our security,” he said in an October 2023 speech.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boston has announced plans to turn a National Guard armory into a shelter as the state deals with an influx of asylum seekers.
Up to 55 migrant and homeless families will be temporarily moved to the local armory in Lexington, as reported by the Boston Herald.
‘We have identified a state-owned building in Lexington to use as a safety-net site for families experiencing homelessness,’ said Emergency Assistance Director General Scott Rice.
Preparations are underway in close collaboration with local officials, and we expect to open the site next month.’
Massachusetts has logged more than 11,000 migrants from October 2022 to September 2023, the federal fiscal year — that is an increase of more than 152 percent over the previous fiscal year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DHS Info on Paroled Immigrant Flight Program Released, Reveals Over 45 Cities Where They Entered US
The House Homeland Security Committee subpoenaed documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday detailing a list of 45 cities that thousands of paroled migrants flew into in the past two years via a controversial immigration program.
The DHS established the immigration policy in October of 2022, which was intended for Venezuelans to enter the country legally as long as they had an American sponsor, and passed a vetting process. It was later opened to migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua. The program did not secure the flights itself, but allowed the newcomers to enter the country legally.
The program allowed more than 200,000 migrants to enter the country during an eight month window last year, spanning from January through August of 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Estonia Will Not Deport Ukrainian Men With Expired Passports
The Estonian Ministry of the Interior has announced its decision not to deport Ukrainian men of conscription age back to Ukraine if their passports expire. This decision applies to those who are legally residing in the country.
Anneli Viks, an advisor in the Citizenship and Migration Policy Department of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior, emphasized that the issue of mobilization is a matter of the state and its citizens. She also added that the Ministry of the Interior does not plan to forcibly repatriate citizens of Ukraine who legally reside in Estonia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Frontex Border Guards to Extend Stay at Finnish-Russian Border Amid Migrant Surge
Frontex, the EU agency responsible for border control, deployed about 50 border guards to assist Finland due to an uptick in undocumented migrants at eastern border checkpoints, as reported by YLE News.
These guards are expected to stay at the Finnish-Russian border until at least autumn, as reported by Uutissuomalainen.
Marko Saareks from the Finnish Interior Ministry stated that they’ve proposed to Frontex for the border assistance to continue until October, with the expectation that it will be accepted. This continued assistance includes patrols and surveillance equipment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— as capital’s Skid Row ‘tent city’ continues to grow
The political storm brewing between the UK and Irish governments as the Republic grapples with rising immigration is just the latest symptom of growing discontent on the streets of Dublin and beyond.
Recent months have seen the spread of anti-immigration anger in Ireland, with riots erupting at a centre earmarked to house asylum seekers in County Wicklow last week.
The capital has seen frequent marches and demonstrations, with a contingent of particularly disgruntled protesters cordoning off a factory in the north of the city set to host migrants and guarding the premises around the clock.
Some sites have even been subject to arson attacks, with a 19th Century Georgian country hotel in Galway burnt to the ground in December after officials announced it was being reserved to house migrants.
hat followed widespread anti-immigration riots that erupted in Dublin in November after the stabbing of a five-year-old girl and creche worker who came to her rescue.
Meanwhile, the ‘tent city’ that has engulfed the International Protection Office (IPO) on Dublin’s Mount Street continues to grow.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Missing Young Asylum Seekers: Contrasting Trends in Europe
The number of young asylum seekers missing in Europe has generally increased, but in the Netherlands, it has actually decreased. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 50,000 disappearances were reported, which is a significant increase compared to previous years.
However, the Netherlands saw a decrease in the number of missing minor asylum seekers, from 318 in 2021 to 244 in 2023, as reported by nu.nl.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Missing Child Migrant Report Lacks ‘Alignment With Reality’, Austria Says
Austria’s interior ministry has rejected a widely shared report on missing migrant children in Europe.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, a spokesperson for the ministry rejected the findings of the “Lost in Europe” collective, which claimed that around 47 children have vanished every day in Europe over the past three years.
In a report published on April 30, the group claimed that more than 50,000 unaccompanied child migrants have gone missing after arriving in Europe between 2021 and 2023.
Lost in Europe pointed to Italy and Austria as being particular black spots, with Austria said to have lost over 20,000 children.
Asked by Brussels Signal about the report, the Austrian interior ministry said it had “major concerns”, accusing it of lacking “alignment with reality”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 47 Refugee Children Go Missing Every Day in Europe
Over the past three years, more than 50,000 unaccompanied minor refugees have gone missing after arriving in Europe. That means an average of around 47 migrant children disappear each day. And these are only documented cases — the actual number could be higher. This is according to findings from the journalist group Lost in Europe, as reported by CNN.
Data obtained from 31 European countries show that at least 51,433 unaccompanied minor refugees were registered as missing between 2021 and the end of 2023. The actual number could be higher because not all countries collect such data at all.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish Farmers Have Ceased the Blockade of Border Checkpoints With Ukraine
Polish farmers have announced the cessation of the blockade of all border checkpoints (BCPs) with Ukraine, according to a representative of the Ukrainian State Border Service.
Protests by farmers, which began on February 9, led to road closures and checkpoints being blocked along the border with Ukraine. As part of the protest, unknown individuals spilled grain from Ukrainian trucks and railway wagons several times
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A rancher in Texas wants the state to pay him before erecting a border all through his property despite falling victim to several migrant break ins.
Dr. Gary Schwarz, an oral surgeon from the Rio Grande Valley, owns a deer hunting and bass fishing ranch called La Perla in rural west Zapata County situated along Highway 83 — three miles from the United States-Mexico Border.
The 71-year-old gets the water for his ranch from the strip of land he owns that leads to the Rio Grande — which is exactly where the state wants to build its border wall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK and Irish Ministers to Convene Amid Escalating Tensions Over Rwanda Asylum Policy
As tensions rise over the UK’s stance on migrants, British and Irish ministers are set to meet to address the growing concerns. The Irish government reports a surge in asylum seekers from Northern Ireland, fearing deportation to Rwanda. Ireland asserts it won’t serve as a loophole for others’ migration challenges, as reported by BBC.
However, the UK stands firm, stating it won’t repatriate them unless the EU alters its stance on returning migrants to France.
Scheduled talks between the UK home secretary and Irish justice minister were postponed without explanation, but discussions will proceed during the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in London.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Prime Minister wants to counter a spike in Vietnamese arrivals by agreeing a returns deal similar to one which led to a dramatic fall in Albanian migrants.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: First Asylum-Seeker is Deported to Rwanda Under Rishi Sunak’s Migrant Crackdown…
— African man is handed £3k of taxpayers’ money and flown to Kigali after losing bid to stay in Britain
The first asylum seeker has been deported to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s migrant crackdown.
The migrant, whose name is unknown, was flown out of the UK yesterday evening and arrived in Kigali.
He was put on a commercial flight and given around £3,000 from the British taxpayer to help relocate under the terms of a deal with Rwanda.
It marks the first time the government has relocated a failed asylum seeker to a third country.
The man’s attempt to stay in Britain was rejected at the end of 2023, before he accepted the offer to start a new life in the central African nation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Appeals Court Says State Health Policies Excluding Transgender Surgeries Violate Constitution
Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled against two state-level health policies that exclude so-called “gender-affirming” treatments, teeing up potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court…
Judge Roger Gregory, an appointee of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, wrote in his majority opinion that the policies’ exclusion of surgeries such as vaginoplasties for certain diagnoses violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
“The coverage exclusions facially discriminate on the basis of sex and gender identity, and are not substantially related to an important government interest,” he said.
The 8-6 decision affirmed lower court decisions against West Virginia’s Medicaid policy and the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. Both aimed to preclude coverage of procedures or treatments pursuant to attempts at changing one’s gender.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech President Signs Law Granting Same-Sex Couples More Rights — But Not Marriage
President Petr Pavel has today signed into law a new bill that changes the rights of same-sex couples in civil partnerships in Czechia. The amendment, which resulted from compromise agreements in the Chamber of Deputies, will give same-sex civil partnerships most of the rights that married couples have — but crucially, not all.
Enhanced property, inheritance, adoption rights
The key changes to this law, which won’t come into effect till next year, will give LGBTQ+ couples in a civil partnership joint property rights and an entitlement to a widow’s or widower’s pension after the loss of a partner.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Five Middle School Girls Who Refused to Play Against Trans Competitor Banned From Sport
Five female West Virginia middle school athletes have been banned from taking part in track and field events after refusing to compete against a trans-identifying biological male on April 18, a new lawsuit filed by their parents has revealed.
Governor Patrick Morrisey submitted an amicus brief in support of the parents, and vowed to do whatever he could to defend the quintet.
According to the lawsuit, the parents of the Lincoln Middle School student athletes were informed by Principal Lori Scott on April 25 that their children would not be allowed to compete in a track meet scheduled for April 27.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina All Sue Biden Admin Over ‘Unlawful’ Changes to Title IX
The Biden administration’s Department of Education issued rule changes to Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which is the provision that guarantees equal protections for women’s spaces and sports, and in response, the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina are suing the administration, namely, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
Cardona has refused to say that he knows what a woman is when he was asked in Congress. When he was head of the education department in Connecticut, prior to working for the Biden administration, he oversaw the inclusion of males in girls’ high school athletics. The state of Connecticut was sued by female athletes for discrimination.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
SCOTUS Upholds Texas Law Requiring Age Verification to Access Porn Online Pending Appeal
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court denied requests to block a Texas law that required anyone attempting to access websites with pornographic to provide age verification.
The justices sided against the plaintiffs, among whom were the Free Speech Coalition, an adult content trade association, and various companies that host porn-hosting websites. One of the main companies that has gone back and forth with Texas Gov. Abbott on the law is Aylo, the company that owns Pornhub.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas is the Second State to Say it Will Defy Biden Administration Title IX Revisions on Gender
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Monday that his state would not abide by the Biden administration’s new guidelines for transgender students in the revised Title IX rules published last week.
Texas becomes the second state to defy the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules on transgender students. Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made it clear that his state would not comply with the new rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Win for Reality: UK’s National Health Service Constitution to Declare ‘Sex is Biological’
In a marked rejection of transgender ideology and a win for women’s rights activists, the constitution of Britain’s National Health Service will publicly declare that sex is a biological reality that must inform how patients are treated.
Following the move by the National Health Service to prohibit the prescription of life-altering puberty blockers to children, another major pillar of wokist medicinal thought, that sex is a fluid concept, looks to be dismantled as the NHS’ constitution will state: “We are defining sex as biological sex.”
In practice, the update to the governing document of the socialised healthcare system will mean that so-called transgender women will be barred from female-only hospital wards, The Telegraph reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Financial experts have calculated that the minimum decent wage for a person with a child in Czechia to live comfortably, along with having suitable leisure time and small savings, is CZK 45,573.
– the absolute majority of Czechs make less than 25,000 CZK a month. The German owners of the Factories in the Protektorat make huge profits off that. “The German Economic Engine of Europe” – are, in fact, the Poles, the Czechs and Slovaks and Hungarians who work for 6 Euro an hour.