Russia launched a missile strike against Kyiv while UN Secretary-General António Guterres was visiting the Ukrainian capital. Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly sold $66 billion in oil and gas since the Ukraine crisis began.
In other news, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque in Kabul, killing more than fifty people. The target mosque is Sunni, but engages in a ritual practice that is considered heretical by mainstream Sunnis.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Caroline Glick, Dean, Insubria, JW, Reader from Chicago, 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.
Basic Income Naples Spending Equal to Whole North Italy
446,000 Neapolitan recipients compared to 432,000 in north
(ANSA) — ROME, APR 28 — The amount spent on the government’s ‘citizenship wage’ basic income and pension in the province of Naples is almost equal to that spent in the whole of northern Italy, the ad hoc observatory of pensions and social services agency INPS said Thursday.
In and around the southern Italian port city, it said, basic income expenditure in March amounted to 105.3 million euros, compared to 107.7 million in the entire north of the country.
Over 166,000 Neapolitan households totalling some 446,000 recipients got the benefit in March compared to 221,000 households and 432,000 beneficiaries in the north.
The average monthly cheque was 631.88 in Naples in March compared to 486 euros in the north
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Inflation Hits Record High of 7.5% in Countries Using Euro
BRUSSELS (AP) — Inflation hit a new record for the 19 countries that use the euro as skyrocketing fuel prices boosted by the war in Ukraine add new burdens to household finances and weigh on a slowing economic recovery from the latest outbreaks of COVID-19.
Annual inflation hit 7.5 percent for April, the highest since statistics started in 1997 and the sixth record in a row, topping the old record of 7.4 percent from March, the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
HOUSTON — A 13-year-old has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the deadly shooting of a 16-year-old, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed.
On Thursday, March 3, a teen boy was found shot in the head outside of a business located in the 6800 block of Fry Road near FM 529.
Gonzalez said the deadly shooting occurred following an argument with two other teens outside of the business in northwest Harris County.
Investigators spoke to the victim’s brother, who told them that the other teens fired several rounds into their vehicle following the fight and then fled on foot.
Gonzalez said the 13-year-old did not know the other teen and the shooting occurred as a result of non-verbal gestures.
The 13-year-old is currently in the custody of Harris County Juvenile Probation…
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Another Day, Another Criminal Not Charged by the Woke DA From the Smollett Case
Apparently, standing bloodied over a corpse and confessing to the murder isn’t enough for woke Cook County, Illinois, District Attorney Kimberly Foxx to put you in jail.
Foxx is best known, of course, for her role in dropping all charges against disgraced actor Jussie Smollett, but she’s far worse than that. In this case, a Chicago police detective commander had to override Foxx to get the suspect charged with murder.
Police allegedly encountered the suspect, Gregory Stamps, minutes after he allegedly murdered someone with a hammer in his bedroom. He reportedly had the victim’s wallet in his pocket and blood on his hands and clothes.
Investigators stated that Stamps confessed to killing the victim, then removing the victim’s clothes and dragging his naked body down three flights of stairs, leaving the body in an alley, and trashing the victim’s clothes. Yet, Foxx still declined to prosecute Stamps for murder despite this admission of guilt. And, to make matters worse, Stamps was already on parole for attempted murder.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An explosive report from The Post Millennial’s editor-at-large Andy Ngo and journalist Eva Knott details how a San Diego Antifa member who was charged with multiple felonies allegedly has a close relationship with an investigator for the San Diego Public Defender Office and they allegedly worked together in obtaining information to intimidate witnesses and victims.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As Cops Leave and Crime Rate Rises, Seattle Police Chief Diaz Eyes Plan to Turn the Tide
SEATTLE — From a staggering staffing crisis to soaring crime rates, the Seattle Police Department is in a dire situation.
Interim Chief Adrian Diaz was candid when he spoke to KOMO News Thursday about how his officers are struggling to deal with 911 calls. But he said he also has a new plan he hopes will retain officers over the long term.
“I am concerned as the crime rate goes up,” said Diaz, who didn’t mince words during the interview. “We’re also augmenting 99.7 percent of our shifts (and) that gets concerning because officers are getting tired.”
The department is still losing more officers than it’s hiring, and now the agency is struggling to keep up with crime in the city and its 911 calls.
“Right now, when you look at Priority 3 calls, they are approaching an hour,” he said.
- Since January of 2020, the police department lost 332 officers — or 26 percent of its force.
- Department officials said there are about 940 deployable officers.
- The department is down 30 officers since the start of the year since 43 of them have left with only 13 hired as replacements.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden ‘Disinformation’ Chief’s Criticisms of Lab Leak Theory Were Boosted by CCP
The Biden administration’s new “disinformation” czar was cited favorably by the Chinese Communist Party in 2020 for her criticisms of proponents of the hypothesis that COVID-19 emerged from a Wuhan lab, which she dismissed as a pro-Trump talking point.
The episode is another example in which Nina Jankowicz, the newly named executive director of the Department of Homeland Security’s new Disinformation Governance Board, either labeled claims as disinformation that were later found to have credibility or gave credence to assertions that were later discredited. Most notably, she also backed Trump dossier author Christopher Steele and cast doubt on the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Press Secretary Supports New Disinformation Unit But Admits She Doesn’t Know What it Does
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House supports the new Disinformation Governance Board to be run by the Department of Homeland Security, but she does not know exactly what the board will be doing.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced the new disinformation board, saying it will be responsible for fighting misinformation that could affect homeland security.
In a Thursday press conference, Psaki said she supports the creation of the board but does not know what it will do, how it will work, or what authority it will have.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boston Juveniles Charged in Racially Motivated Assault Now Accused of Attacking College Students
A group of juveniles in Boston arrested for two recent attacks, including a racially motivated assault, have also been accused of attacking two Suffolk University students walking through the Boston Common on Wednesday evening.
This week’s alleged incident occurred near the Earl of Sandwich restaurant at approximately 6:30 pm Wednesday. Suffolk University said one of the students was punched by one of the juveniles, who were about 11 to 14 years of age.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CNN+ Goes Bust Two Days Earlier Than Announced
In an email sent to subscribers of CNN’s ill-fated streaming service CNN+, subscribers were warned that it will go dark two days earlier than expected, on April 28.
Those that subscribed to the service will be refunded, with Digital Trends noting that those who signed up for their monthly plan received a 50 percent discount during the early bird window, which was set to end on April 28, so subscribers can expect to see a $3 refund in their account.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Crazy’ That Trump Was Banned on Twitter But Taliban Remained as it Seized Kabul: Farage
Nigel Farage says it is “crazy” that Donald Trump was banned from Twitter but the radical Islamic extremist Taliban remained on the platform even as it stormed Kabul.
Discussing South Africa-born Tesla tycoon Elon Musk’s reported purchase of the microblogging platform Twitter with investigative journalist Tom Bower on his GB News show, Farage welcomed the change as at least a potential win for freedom of speech online.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democrats Consider Dragging Elon Musk to Congress Over Twitter Buyout
Democrat senators are deliberating whether to haul Elon Musk into Congress to hold a hearing over his takeover of Twitter.
As Rebel News reported on Monday, Twitter and the Tesla CEO reached a $44 billion agreement to sell the company in its entirety to Musk. The acquisition of the company comes weeks after Musk criticized the platform’s failure to uphold the principles of free speech. Musk said that he wants to bring the company in line with First Amendment principles and overhaul its moderation policies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to put safeguards to stop Elon Musk from liberating the social media landscape and has called for new “rules” to govern “unregulated” social media amid the billionaire’s takeover of Twitter.
Speaking to MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber” on Wednesday, Warren said that decisions about large communications platforms like Twitter needed to be made “as a democracy” — calling for government restrictions on the Internet. She argued that the rules can’t be dictated by someone like Musk, who “plays by his own set of rules.”
Warren previously called the deal “dangerous for democracy.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Teases AOC With ‘Stop Hitting on Me’ Tweet
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday after she made a dig at a “billionaire with an ego problem.”
The exchange took place as Musk, who convinced Twitter this week to accept a $44 billion buyout, has been garnering headlines tweeting about politics and making the social media platform more fun.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk: “Democratic Party Has Been Hijacked by Extremists”
Prospective new Twitter owner Elon Musk says part of the reason for free speech being in peril is that the Democratic Party “has been hijacked by extremists.”
The billionaire has continued to respond to the fallout from his $44 billion dollar purchase of the company via the social media network.
On Thursday, Musk tweeted a diagram showing how the Overton Window has been dragged so far left, that people who not so long ago considered themselves liberals are now being lumped in with conservatives as “bigots.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Vows to Fight Biden’s ‘Ministry of Truth’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vowed to fight back against the Biden administration’s new Orwellian disinformation bureau, insisting a “Ministry of Truth” cannot exist in the United States.
“They want to be able to put out false narratives without people being able to speak out and fight back,” DeSantis said. “But we’re not going to let Biden get away with this one, so we will be fighting back.”
DeSantis is the latest conservative to slam the Department of Homeland Security’s new “Disinformation Governance Board”, which has come under intense scrutiny since it was first revealed Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican committees have filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after researchers at the North Carolina State University’s Department of Computer Science found that Google’s Gmail marked emails from Republican candidates as spam at an astronomically higher rate than Democrat candidates.
The findings were published in a study titled “A Peek into the Political Biases in Email Spam Filtering Algorithms During US Election 2020.” The study looked at three email service providers, Google, Outlook, and Yahoo.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. DeSantis Says it’s ‘Wrong’ For the Feds to Forgive Student Loan Debt
‘Almost 60% of it is graduate school debt.’
President Joe Biden continues to mull some form of student loan forgiveness. But Republicans aren’t sold, and Gov. Ron DeSantis is no exception.
On Friday in Williston, DeSantis blasted the concept of debt forgiveness as a regressive measure that punished working class people by forcing them to absorb debt incurred for advanced degrees.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Indiana’s Attorney General Sues Black Lives Matter Over Its Use of Donations
An attorney general has launched the most aggressive legal action against Black Lives Matter yet.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against activist group Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLM) on Thursday. The suit is Rokita’s latest move in his investigation of the group’s finances and use of donations.
“I filed a lawsuit against the Black Lives Matter organization to protect Hoosiers from this house of cards,” Rokita said of the suit on social media. “BLM has concerning patterns of behavior [and] we’ll do what it takes to get to the bottom of it on behalf of generous Hoosiers who have donated to them.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS ‘Beatle’ Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Terror Beheadings
One of the men convicted of kidnapping and killing American journalist James Foley, along with three other Americans in Syria, was sentenced to life in prison in a Virginia court Friday.
Alexanda Kotey, who was joined by El Shafee Elsheikh, was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia for crimes he inflicted upon four Americans that ultimately resulted in their deaths.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LOS ANGELES — A leading voice in the movement to oust Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor told Fox News the race to collect the number of signatures required to put a recall question on the ballot will come down to the wire.
“I believe that we will get the required signatures to get the recall of [District Attorney] George Gascon on the ballot,” Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami said. “However, it is going to be a photo finish.”
“It will be very close,” he added. “It is going to require the entire movement to keep working together until the last day, which is something I and all of us intend to do.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Americans Approve of Elon Musk’s Buyout of Twitter: Poll
According to the results of an upcoming poll obtained by the New York York Post, the majority of Americans approve of SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter.
A Rasmussen poll scheduled to be released Friday found that 62 percent of adults think Musk will improve the platform, even as employees of the tech giant lament the billionaire’s acquisition of the company.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mississippi Bans Vaccine Passports, Requires Religious Exemptions for Employer Jab Mandates
JACKSON, Mississippi (LifeSiteNews) — The governor of Mississippi signed legislation recently that prohibits vaccine mandates by government entities.
House Bill 1509, signed on April 21, declares it “unlawful discriminatory practice” for state agencies, including public universities, to “deny to a person any” access or services on the basis of the “person’s COVID-19 vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYC Repeat Offender Who Hit Asian Man With a Hammer Indicted on Hate Crime Charges
A suspect accused of striking an Asian man with a hammer on a Manhattan subway platform on March 8 has been indicted on hate crime charges, the District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday.
Christian Jeffers, 48, who identifies as a woman, was arrested a day after the incident had occurred on the 7th Avenue and West 14th Street station on the 1/2/3 line in Chelsea.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYPD Searching for Suspects Who Stole From Brooklyn Vape Shop in Grab-and-Go Scheme
The New York Police Department is searching for a group of suspects who were part of a grab-and-go theft at a Brooklyn vape shop last week.
The thieves entered the store around 6:40 p.m. on April 20 and could be seen stuffing various items in their pockets. Some of them also took money out of the cash register, according to the NYPD.
Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials have pledged to crack down on surging crime in the city.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rand Paul: Fauci “Is a Man That is Against Everything That America Stands for”
Appearing on Fox News Thursday, Senator Rand Paul again vowed to subpoena Anthony Fauci and force him to answer questions he has repeatedly dodged, urging that Fauci is “against freedoms”.
Speaking to Send Hannity, Paul declared that “Fauci’s sort of nonsense over whether the pandemics ended or not — when you see him come out and he basically has said that the court shouldn’t be involved with limiting his power. What he is saying basically is that he’s against individual choice, he’s against American freedoms to choose their own medicine, to choose their treatment.”
“So this is a man that is against everything that America stands for,” the Senator asserted.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ron DeSantis Vows to Make ‘Gunshine State’ Even Friendlier for Pistol-Packers
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed Friday to make the Sunshine State a “constitutional carry” jurisdiction where firearm enthusiasts can pack heat without a permit.
Backers of the move argue that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to possess a firearm without the need for additional documentation or permit approvals.
Roughly half of American states have “constitutional carry” laws in some form, with Alabama, Ohio, Georgia and Indiana joining those ranks this year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Joins TRUTH Social: ‘I’m Back! #COVFEFE’
Former President Trump joined his own TRUTH Social on Thursday, posting on a social media platform for the first time in more than a year with a throwback to his now-infamous 2017 typo “covfefe.”
“I’M BACK! #COVFEFE,” Trump posted on TRUTH Social Thursday afternoon with a photo of himself in front of his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida.
The hashtag “covfefe” was referring to one of his deleted tweets in 2017 in which he decried the media’s coverage of his administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter’s Chief Lawyer Could Face Expulsion After Ownership Transfers to Musk
Twitter’s chief lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, could face expulsion from the company after ownership of the company transfers over to Elon Musk.
Gadde, who reportedly earned $17 million in 2021 as the company’s top legal counsel, may find her job on the chopping block due to her role in censoring conservatives. She has since become the subject of controversy after Musk remarked upon the platform’s decision to censor the New York Post for its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, calling her decision “obviously incredibly inappropriate.”
The article, which was published about Joe Biden’s son weeks ahead of the election, was banned from being posted on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook as being in violation of their “hacked materials” policy.
Twitter’s then-CEO Jack Dorsey later condemned the company’s decision to censor the article, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that the action was wrong in November 2020. The authenticity of the report itself has been validated by the New York Times earlier this year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video Shows Officer Striking Motionless Woman on Ground During Capitol Riot
Newly released video appears to show a Washington, D.C., police officer striking Rosanne Boyland with a wooden stick while the Jan. 6 protester was motionless on the ground during the Capitol riot.
The beating of Boyland, 34, who was one of the four individuals who died after losing consciousness during the siege of Congress, amounts to a felony assault, an expert told the Epoch Times, which obtained previously unreleased body camera footage of the altercation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Dr. Drew Switches to Rumble After YouTube Blocks Him Over Vaccine Video
Dr. Drew Pinsky announced Friday that YouTube has locked his channel for a week, so he livestreamed on Rumble instead.
YouTube also deleted the video that caused the strike on his channel, which was the channel’s second-most popular video, according to Pinsky.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: DeSantis Defends Dissolving Disney’s Self-Governing District
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended dissolving Walt Disney World’s self-governing district Thursday, saying Disney is simply “being treated the same as any company in Florida.”
DeSantis appeared in a town hall hosted by Laura Ingraham to field questions about the company losing its Reedy Creek Improvement District after signing the proposal into law two weeks ago despite protest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti Old-Growth Logging Protesters Glue Themselves to Door of Vancouver Hotel
Demonstrators opposed to old-growth logging in B.C. are once again staging a protest, only this time they aren’t blocking Highway 1 in Metro Vancouver.
According to a picture released by Save Old Growth, two of its members have glued themselves to the entrance of the downtown Vancouver hotel where the Council of Forest Industries is holding its annual convention.
Premier John Horgan is set to deliver a speech there Friday afternoon.
The group also blocked the Trans Canada Highway in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island for a short time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
B.C. Gov’t to Spend $12 Million to Attract Foreign Nurses While Firing Thousands Due to Vax Mandates
Close to 100 nurses are preparing to take legal action against the British Columbia government whose COVID-19 vaccine mandates resulted in thousands of front-line health-care workers being forbidden from providing care and thousands of them losing their jobs all together.
The province of B.C. has struggled with shortages of family doctors and nurses for years, an issue that’s only been exacerbated during life with COVID and its policies, like vax-or-be-axed mandates. And while the legacy media has been praising the B.C. government’s recent decision to spend $12 million taxpayer dollars to “fast track” international nurses to the province, the outlets continue to ignore the elephant-in-the-room question: why is B.C. doing that before allowing the thousands of healthy, often naturally immune, unvaccinated healthcare workers back to work?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hundreds of Cops Converge at EY Centre for Rolling Thunder’s Rally in Ottawa
We happened upon the EY Centre some 20 minutes outside of downtown Ottawa, and what a sight we saw! Hundreds of police officers from the police services of City of Toronto as well as Durham Region and York Region. There were also officers from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
They had converged at the EY Centre to come up with a strategy in terms of shutting down the upcoming peaceful protest that is going to be staged by the bikers who comprise “Rolling Thunder”, many of whom are war veterans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Most Non-Homeowners in Canada Say They Have Given Up on Owning One: Poll
A recent poll put out by Ipsos on Friday shows that 63 percent of those surveyed have decided that they have given up on ever owning a home.
This 63-percent figure is culled from the subset of those polled who don’t already own at least one property.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘No Records’ on Church Choirs Spreading COVID
Nova Scotia’s government has confirmed it has “no records” that singing in a choir at a faith gathering spreads COVID-19.
The lack of records turned up in response to the following Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ottawa Police Declare Travel for Protests Illegal With ‘Vehicle Exclusion Zones’
The “Rolling Thunder” convoy of motorcycles is set to begin arriving in Ottawa Friday afternoon as part of a new demonstration Saturday against remaining COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.
On a recent Rebel News DAILY Livestream, Sheila Gunn Reid and David Menzies weighed in on the Ottawa Police declaring an “exclusion zone” around several blocks of Ottawa’s downtown and promising strict enforcement for protesters in the nation’s capital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ottawa Police Fortify Downtown in Advance of ‘Rolling Thunder’ Biker Convoy
Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie arrived in Ottawa Thursday afternoon and signage was already erected in the city core warning about “special event” parking restrictions.
Blockades had also been erected on major thoroughfares into Ottawa.
Alexa was given a blue arm band to indicate she was lawfully able to be in the so-called exclusion zone set up by the Ottawa Police and the City administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Trudeau Government Relied on CBC’s Fake News to Freeze Canadians’ Bank Accounts
Despite the fact that the CBC publicly retracted a news story about the Freedom Convoy that erroneously claimed that support for the protest had largely come from foreigners, the Trudeau government relied on the state broadcaster to justify its use of the Emergencies Act. This week, Attorney General David Lametti confirmed that the government relied on false CBC reports when freezing the bank accounts of Canadians who supported the protest.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arctic Sea Ice is Now Just 3% Below Its 30 Year Average
According to the latest report from the EU’s Earth observation programme, Arctic sea ice is just 3 per cent below its 30 year average.
Whoops, narrative fail!
The Daily Sceptic’s environmental editor Chris Morrison explains the data.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Average Gross Wage in Hungary Was Almost 1,500 EUR in February
The average gross wage of full-time employees in February was 546,000 forints (EUR 1,470), 31.7 percent higher than the same period a year prior, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday.
The jump in the average wage was largely linked to big salary increases for defence and law enforcement staff as well as minimum wage hikes, the KSH said. The gross average wage without bonuses or benefits was 445,000 forints, 14.5 percent higher than a year earlier, while net average pay increased by 31.7 percent to 363,100 forints. The median gross wage was 378,100 forints, 14.6 percent higher than a year earlier.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Journalist ‘Too White’ to Interview Black Writer Was Placed Under Police Protection
A Belgian journalist deemed “too white” to interview far-left African-American essayist Angela Davis, required police protection after receiving serious threats from activists.
Journalist Safia Kessas interviewed Angela Davis earlier this week at the National Theatre in Brussels and had to be placed under police protection during the event due to the number of threats she had received as activists claimed she was “too white” to interview the black writer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Britain Makes Voter ID Compulsory — But Mail-in Voting Still a Weakness
Britain’s new Elections Act, which has just received Royal Assent, has finally made voter ID compulsory at polling stations — but questions remain about mail-in voting fraud.
The new legislation was widely opposed by left-wing political parties, including the Labour opposition, and activists, with allegations that the poor, ethnic minorities, and “trans and non-binary people” would be disenfranchised being widespread.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czechia now has oil reserves for three months, gas reserves for two summer months, and nuclear fuel reserves for two to three years, the country’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed during proceedings in the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday.
Fiala was responding to questions concerning the energy self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic in connection with Russia stopping deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria. Czechia is one of the European countries most dependent on Russian gas and Fiala’s remarks came at the heel of the former Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek’s warning of a possible “return to Middle Ages.” Fiala said that oil reserves were now good enough for 94 days while gas reserves would be sufficient for two summer months.
Also on Thursday, the Minister of Industry Jozef Sikela issued an extraordinary measure which ordered that gas storage facilities in the Czech Republic should be 80 percent full before the heating season.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The vice-president of the European Commission suggested citizens should ‘support Ukraine’ and the embargoes on Russia by taking fewer showers, not driving cars, and airing their clothes instead of washing them.
Yes, really.
Frans Timmermans, the Dutch vice-president of the bloc’s executive body, made the remarks during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Ukrainian President Yushchenko Hails Poland as ‘New Leader in Europe’
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has warned his country’s European neighbors that the current conflict in Ukraine “is knocking on everyone’s door” and has praised Poland for showing real leadership throughout the ongoing crisis.
“Few in Europe could say for whom the bell tolls,” Yushchenko claimed in an interview with Polish commercial news channel TVN24. It always tolls for you, for everyone of us,” he said, adding that he was watching the situation across Europe and the continent’s new leaders “with fascination.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Announces Digital Identity App Just Days After Macron Re-Election
The French government has announced the creation of a new digital identity app for citizens to access private and public services, in line with a broader push for digital identity systems in Europe.
Just days after the re-election of globalist President Emmanuel Macron, the Ministry of the Interior has announced that it will be crafting a smartphone application to house a new digital identity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Police Stoned by Mob While Arresting Drug Dealer
French police came under attack by a violent mob hurling stones and projectiles as they attempted to arrest a drug dealer last week, according to reports.
The incident unfolded on Saturday afternoon in Strasbourg, a city in the Alsace region and home to the European Parliament.
Cops on patrol in the Hautepierre district saw a group of suspicious individuals gathered in the lobby of a building on Boulevard Victor-Hugo.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gay Belgian MP ‘Afraid to Hold a Man’s Hand’ In No-Go Islamist Molenbeek
Openly gay Belgian MP Gilles Verstraeten has suggested that he is fearful of holding hands with another man in the no-go Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, claiming integration of migrants has been poorly managed.
Verstraeten, a member of the centre-right New Flemish Alliance, highlighted the issues of integration in areas like Molenbeek, a well-known hotspot for radical Islamist activity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The latest polls carried out by the Social Changes agency show Law and Justice (PiS) with the support of 40 percent, its highest rating for nearly two years and an increase of 4 percent on the previous poll.
According to Artur Wróblewski, a political scientist, this shows that voters feel the ruling party is passing the test posed by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and that this is partly due to its surefooted handling of energy and migration policies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Swedish Political Class Dumbfounded by Paludan’s Koran-Burning, Muslim Violence
In 2005, Sweden was one of the safest countries in Europe. But by November last year, the leading German newspaper Bild was pointing out that Sweden was now the most dangerous country in Europe, with four times the EU average when it comes to people dying from gunshot wounds [‘Sweden is the most dangerous country in Europe,’ writes Germany’s top-selling newspaper, Remix News, November 1, 2021]. Sweden’s major cities are now dominated by warring Muslim gangs, with innocent passers-by falling victim to their turf wars. It thus takes a very brave man to go to the most Muslim-heavy areas of such cities and set fire to the Koran. But this is what a Danish-Swedish politician, Rasmus Paludan, did this month, resulting in serious rioting that has garnered international attention. It’s just more evidence that immigration-imported Diversity Is Strength.
Paludan is the 40-year-old leader of the minor Danish political party Stram Kurs (“Hard Line”) which narrowly missed out on gaining seats in the Danish parliament in the country’s 2019 election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The EU’s Digital Services Act is the Next Big Threat to Free Speech
Authorities across the world continue to use the Ukrainian crisis as the backdrop against which to pass, in some cases unprecedented in the way they restrict or censor free speech, legislation regulating the digital industry.
These trends are nothing new, but the current massive global crisis presents an excellent excuse to introduce draconian measures with little or no scrutiny or opposition. And so, in the EU, the Digital Services Act just got “enriched” by a new law that will allow the bloc to declare a state of emergency — on the internet.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Population of Hungary Continues to Decrease Rapidly
Preliminary data show that 6,970 children were born and 11,746 people died in March 2022 with the number of live births increasing by 2.2 percent compared with April last year, while deaths decreased by 0.9 percent, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday.
As the number of deaths was lower than last year and births increased slightly, a 12 percent decrease in the natural population loss was registered, with a loss of 4,776 in March 2022 as against 10,147 in March 2021. In March 2022, 4,541 couples tied the knot, up 12 percent from 593 in March 2021.
In the past 12 months, 90,371 children were born, down 2.2 percent from the same period of last year, while 148,574 people died, 0.9 percent fewer people than in the previous year. The natural population loss came to 58,203 compared with 57,570 in the same period of last year, an increase of 1.1 percent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Court: No Basis for EU Objections to Hungarian Judicial Appointments
The European Commission’s objections to how judges in Hungary are appointed — raised within the rule-of-law mechanism launched against the country on Wednesday — “is not a rule-of-law issue since it has nothing to do with reality,” Hungary’s top court, the Kúria, said in a statement.
In the Hungarian judiciary, special appointments are issued if a court faces “temporary difficulties” due to unforeseen events or if it cannot provide other solutions to those difficulties, the statement said on Thursday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Court of Appeal to Review ‘Unduly Lenient’ Sentences of Five Rape Gang Predators
Five rape predators may have their “unduly lenient” sentences for the abuse of a girl in Keighley, West Yorkshire increased by the Court of Appeal.
35-year-old Amjad Hussain now joins fellow rape gang memebers Baber Hussain, 36, Hassan Basharat, 32, Imran Sabir, 42, and Omar Safdar, 30, in being referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney-General’s Office for a possible increase in his prison term under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme, local media reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Automotive: Stellantis Will Produce Electric Cars in Serbia
From 2024.The announcement came during the Tavares-Vucic meeting
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, APR 28 — Stellantis will produce a new electric car model in the Kragujevac plant, Serbia, where the Fiat 500L is currently manufactured. The announcement came on the sidelines of a meeting between Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade today.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Caroline Glick: No One to Talk to in Washington
On Tuesday, Israel Hayom reported that there is a growing sense among Israeli and U.S. officials that the Biden administration will not reach a nuclear accord with Iran. To be understood the report has to be seen in the context of a statement made later Tuesday by President Joe Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki.
During her daily press briefing, Psaki said that the administration assesses that Iran is just weeks away from nuclear breakout capabilities. Nuclear breakout is reached when a state achieves the independent wherewithal to develop nuclear weapons. A nuclear breakout state does not necessarily have nuclear weapons. But it is regarded as a nuclear armed state because it has the capacity to build a nuclear arsenal at will and within a relatively short period of time.
The Biden administration began its nuclear talks with the Iranian regime in Vienna in April 2021. The declared purpose of Biden’s nuclear diplomacy, like the declared purpose of the Obama administration’s nuclear talks with Iran which led to the 2015 nuclear agreement, is to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. But the content of Obama’s nuclear agreement and the leaks regarding the content of the deal that Biden’s team is negotiating make clear that the opposite is the case. The content of both makes clear that far from preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear armed state, the intended end of the both agreements, was and remains, enabling Iran to become a nuclear armed state, equipped with the economic wherewithal and diplomatic power to dominate its neighbors in the region…
| — Hat tip: Caroline Glick | [Return to headlines] |
Erdogan Visits Saudi Arabia After Crisis Over Khashoggi Case
Normalisation process began last year
ISTANBUL — Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday started a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia on the invitation of King Salman bin Abd al Aziz al Saud.
A statement by the Presidential Communications Directorate made the announcement, noting that talks on bilateral relations were on the agenda as well as the “possibility of developing cooperation” between Turkey and Saudi Arabia and a look at recent events at the regional and international levels.
On the eve of Erdogan’s official visit to Riyadh, Turkey’s Treasury and Economy Minister Nureddin Nebati discussed trade cooperation with his Saudi counterpart Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
“We exchanged views on how to improve economic cooperation between our two countries on investment and trade,” Nebati wrote on Twitter.
The visit is part of a process started last year for the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia that had been almost entirely severed since 2018 after the killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul of Saudi journalist and critic of the kingdom Jamal Khashoggi.
The problems between the two countries led Saudi businessmen to impose a sort of unofficial embargo on exports from Turkey that last year dropped to their lowest level ever.
According to Saudi sources cited by the Anadolu news agency, Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia will go back to normal when relations are re-established.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Responds With Airstrikes to Vast ISIS Attack in Syria
In triangle between Raqqa, Aleppo and Homs
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, APRIL 29 — A wide-ranging attack by Islamic State (ISIS) militants was conducted on Friday in central areas of Syria and Russia responded by carrying out 30 airstrikes on ISIS positions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
SOHR reported that the ISIS attack had been launched south of Raqqa on government positions and those of local militias co-opted by Russia in the area.
It added that the Russian airstrikes had been carried out in the same area of the attack against ISIS positions in the triangle between the cities of Homs, Aleppo, and Raqqa in central Syria.
There is no information currently available on casualties. A number of ISIS militants reportedly sustained injuries but the information is not able to be verified independently on the ground.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Latest News in the Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine: Rescue workers looked for survivors in a Kyiv apartment block that was hit by a Russian missile on Thursday. The strike came shortly after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian troops raise the flag above the town of Ruska Lozova north of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city. Ukraine said Russian troops were continuing their efforts to gain full control of the Donbas region in the east of the country, where heavy fighting continued.
American volunteers are in Ukraine teaching local forces how to use Javelin antitank missiles, as Kyiv’s Western allies race to supply NATO-standard heavy weapons and train Ukrainian forces. Poland, meanwhile, has sent at least 240 tanks to Ukraine, enough for two brigades, along with other heavy equipment, officials said.
Washington: President Biden asked Congress for $33 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and to approve legislation targeting Russian oligarchs.
Russia: The Bank of Russia lowered the key interest rate again, continuing an effort to spur an economy battered by war and sanctions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Study: Russia Has Sold $66 Billion Worth of Fossil Fuels Since Start of Ukraine Invasion
Despite ongoing sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is raking in billions on fossil fuel sales. The Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air released a study that said Russia has garnered about $66 billion since the war began.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Blast at Kabul Mosque Kills More Than 50 Worshippers
Explosion in Afghan capital is latest in string of attacks on civilians during Ramadan
A powerful explosion has killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at a Kabul mosque, the latest of a series of attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan during Ramadan.
The blast hit the Khalifa Sahib mosque in the west of the capital in the early afternoon, according to Besmullah Habib, the deputy spokesperson for the interior ministry.
The attack came as worshippers at the Sunni mosque gathered after Friday prayers for a congregation known as Zikr — an act of remembrance practised by some Muslims but seen as heretical by several Sunni groups.
Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, said someone they believed was a suicide bomber joined them in the ceremony and detonated explosives. “Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies were everywhere,” he said, adding that his nephews were among the dead. “I survived, but lost my beloved ones.”
A local resident, Mohammad Sabir, said he had seen people being loaded into ambulances. “The blast was very loud. I thought my eardrums were cracked,” he said.
The emergency hospital in downtown Kabul said it was treating 21 patients wounded in the blast and two were dead on arrival. A nurse at another hospital, who declined to be identified, said it had received several people in a critical condition.
A health source said hospitals had so far taken in at least 30 bodies in total…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
India Orders VPN Providers to Collect Data on Users
India’s cybersecurity agency, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), will require government organizations, corporations, service providers, data centers, and intermediaries to report cyber incidents within six hours.
“To effectively fight cybercrime, all companies and enterprises must mandatorily report cyber incidents to IndianCERT New CyberSecurity directions for a SafeAndTrusted Internet issued under Sec 70b of IT Act,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister of state for electronics and IT said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shanghai Residents Use Code Words, Video to Protest COVID Lockdown
As a young tech professional in Shanghai, Daniel was unprepared for the April 1 Covid-19 lockdown that barred him from leaving his building, forcing him to rely on sparse government rations and a group chat on a mobile app for essential supplies.
The WeChat group of about 200 residents in his compound allows him to make group buys of meat, vegetables and rice — and gives him a ringside view of growing frustration over the city’s handling of the pandemic, with increasing expressions of dissent online.
“People are angry, and questioning the authorities for limiting their freedom of speech. This is new in China,” said Daniel, 31, who asked that his last name not be used.
“People use all sorts of code words to refer to the government and to political leaders, or to something that was censored, including videos being blocked,” added Daniel, who has lived in the financial hub for nearly three years.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bosnia Clears Velika Kladusa Migrant Camp
300 transferred to reception center in Lipa
BELGRADE — A camp for illegal migrants in Velika Kladusa in the far northwest of Bosnia-Herzegovina along the border with Croatia was cleared on Thursday of the approximately 300 people present.
The migrants were moved to a new reception center in Lipa, set up in recent months near Bihac, just south of Velika Kladusa.
In reporting the news, regional media said that the operation had been conducted with the intervention of the local police and that no incidents had resulted.
The camp in question had sprung up in 2018 amid continual arrival of migrants along the so-called Balkan Route on their way towards Croatia and then western Europe.
The Lipa reception center was built with funding from the international community and can host up to 1,500 migrants with adequate conditions even in winter.
The local police estimate that fewer than 3,000 illegal migrants are currently in northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Calais Migrants Concerned They May Have to Apply for Asylum Elsewhere After UK-Rwanda Deal
Migrants in Calais have expressed concerns over the new migrant deal between the UK and Rwanda, with some stating they are considering looking to seek asylum in another country.
Earlier this month, the British government signed a £120 million deal with Rwanda that could see male illegal immigrants sent to the African country who illegally cross the English Channel and remain int he country while their asylum claims are being processed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Finance Minister: EU Subsidies for Ukrainian Refugees Not Enough
The Hungarian government is pushing for a larger contribution from the European Union to the financial burdens related to the current influx of refugees from Ukraine.
This is what the Hungarian Finance Minister Mihaly Varga admitted on Facebook. According to his calculation, Hungary has spent 600 billion forints (1,6 billion euros) to protect its southern border and 40 billion forints to deal with the Ukrainian refugee situation, while the EU grant covers just two percent of the immense costs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Migrant Integration Has Failed and Created Parallel Societies and Gang Violence, Swedish PM Admits
Sweden’s migrant integration policy has failed, leading to parallel societies and gang violence, the country’s prime minister said today.
The Nordic country took in more people per capita than any other EU nation during the migrant crisis in 2015.
But PM Magdalena Andersson blasted the after-effects of the open-doors policy today, saying: ‘We live in the same country but in completely different realities.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Texas Approves $495 Million Transfer to Border Security Operation
Texas leadership approved an additional $495 million for Operation Lone Star, the majority of which will fund the Texas National Guard deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The new funds will be reallocated from other state agencies, including the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of Public Safety, said a letter to agency heads Friday that was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and some members of the state legislature.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: UN: More Than 5.4 Million Refugees
Around 57,000 fled in the past 24 hours
(ANSA) — BELGRADE, APR 29 — Nearly 57,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled their country in the past 24 hours following the invasion of Russian troops on February 24, bringing the total to over 5.4 million, data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published today show. The flow of refugees has slowed markedly since the end of March, although it has increased slightly in recent days. Women and children represent 90% of the refugees,
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The United States (US) and 60 partner countries, including the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia, and members of the European Union (EU), have signed a sweeping “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” which commits to bolstering “resilience to disinformation and misinformation” and somehow upholding free speech rights while also censoring “harmful” content.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Discovery+ to Premiere Show Featuring Teenage Drag Queens
The streaming service Discovery+ is set to drop a show in June following teen drag queens as they prepare for an event in Colorado.
The show, Generation Drag, will premiere on June 1, and follows five teens and their families as they prepare for Dragutante, a drag show put on for LGBTQ youth.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: ‘Birthing Person’: Midwife Students Taught How to Deliver Babies Through ‘Male Genitalia’
A British university has reportedly instructed students studying to become midwives on how to deliver babies from “birthing persons” with a penis.
A “skills workbook” produced by Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland has drawn criticism after it was revealed that it had initially instructed midwifery students on how to assist biological males in giving birth.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austria. Since “Z” is a propaganda symbol used by Putin’s supporters, the Zgonc family company (founded in 1957) will no longer use this letter.
https://unser-mitteleuropa.com/oesterreich-baumarktkette-zgonc-in-zukunft-ohne-z/
https://www.heute.at/s/raun-ned-kauf-zgonc-wirft-das-z-raus-100203617
It’s a shame the missile didn’t target Guterres, that sold out piece of [solid waste], while he was pm of Portugal he sold us to the deep state, that’s probably why we was chosen to be president of the un.
they still think the far right has moved… it’s the same. far left power is the change. they are crazy and, if they weren’t left, they’d be crazy far right. they are just crazy.