Two-thirds of Germans in Saxony think the country is dangerously infested by foreigners. Meanwhile, an Afghan asylum seeker told a German court that he raped a teenager who fell asleep on train because he felt like it.
In other news, a patriotic Australian couple were threatened with arrest by a policeman for wearing Australian flags in their hats while doing some shopping on Australia Day.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, Dora, Fjordman, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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.
EU Miraculously Avoids Recession in Q4 as Spain’s Gain Offset Germany’s Drain
After Q3’s 0.1% decline, the euro-zone was expected to see a similar economic growth (contraction) of —0.1% in Q4, crystallizing the ‘technical’ recession, giving The ECB the ‘all-clear’ for rate-cuts.
But thanks to surprising gains in Spain (and an improvement in Italy) — which offset Germany’s ugliness and France’s stagnation — the Eurozone economy was unchanged in Q4, technically — and miraculously — avoiding recession.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
IMF Accused of Domestic Meddling After Telling UK to Reach Net Zero Targets by Raising Taxes
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been accused of intervening in the U.K.’s domestic politics by warning Chancellor Jeremy Hunt against tax cuts so that net zero targets can be achieved.
In the latest update to its economic forecasts, IMF analysts said that the U.K. Treasury should not be considering cuts to taxation — as hinted at recently by Hunt ahead of March’s budget statement — and should instead raise it in particular areas — all at a time when ordinary Brits continue to struggle with the cost of living.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Had Highest Minimum Wage Rise in Europe Under Previous Conservative Government
Under Poland’s previous conservative government, the minimum wage soared higher, according to new data from the EU agency Eurofund.
According to data for the EU, Poland had the highest increase in the minimum wage in 2023 (21.5 percent) while inflation in the country has now come down to 6.2 percent. The minimum monthly wage at the beginning of 2024 increased in Poland to 4,242 zlotys (€986).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
$500 Million Harvard Megadonor Halts Donations, Says Elite Schools Produce ‘Whiny Snowflakes’
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who has donated more than $500 million to Harvard University over the years, has halted contributions to his alma mater and claimed elite schools produce “whiny snowflakes.”
Griffin, one of the richest people in the world, joins a growing list of donors to Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and other top schools who have decided to close their checkbooks.
At a conference in Miami on Tuesday, Griffin expressed deep frustration with the state of American universities, including the disastrous testimony before Congress by the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amtrak Passenger Train Derails in Colorado After Hitting Farm Vehicle
An Amtrak passenger train has derailed in Colorado after striking a farm vehicle on tracks, according to reports.
The train came into contact with a tractor hauling a tanker of milk, authorities said.
The crash caused the train to leave the tracks, sending at least three people to the hospital.
The California Zephyr train was traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area to Chicago when the crash happened at around 10 p.m. on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
According to the “Anarchist Newspaper” at the University of Washington (UW), which was also giddy about the news, students reportedly celebrated the charges being dropped against 6 of the anti-Israel, students who occupied the office of the university’s president on the first night of Hannukah.
The campus “Anarchist Newspaper,” The Nightly, stated in a report, “Students celebrate this week as a disciplinary hearing on Monday concluded with UW dropping all charges and investigations of six of the students who had allegedly taken part in the December sit-in at Gerberding Hall.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Puts the DEI in the Death Penalty
A racist shooter is getting the death penalty while the 9/11 mastermind is getting a pass.
Over the summer, the Biden administration warned 9/11 family members that it was negotiating a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the attacks, and four other Al Qaeda terrorists directly involved in the plot to murder thousands of people in America.
Biden had previously freed Mohammed al-Qahtani, the 20th 9/11 hijacker, and Zuhail al-Sharabi, another hijacker for an expanded version of the 9/11 attacks, along with an Al Qaeda ally who plotted to smuggle nukes into America and still another terrorist who plotted to blow up gas stations in Maryland, among others of the ‘worst of the worst’ still being held in Gitmo.
No wonder that Biden ducked out on the 9/11 commemoration to avoid facing family members.
While Biden’s people are trying to cut a plea deal for the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, they have, for the first time, demanded the death penalty for another killer.
Payton Gendron’s massacre of ten people in a Buffalo supermarket was not the only such supermarket mass killing. A year earlier, Ahmed Al-Issa, a Syrian Muslim immigrant, had opened fire in a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, and killed ten people. The case quickly vanished from the news (although the Washington Post did inquire whether the Arab Muslim mass killing of Americans could somehow count as “white male violence”.)
Instead of trying Ahmed in federal court in a death penalty case, the Biden administration was only interested in trying and executing Payton. Why? According to the Justice Department, “Gendron, a white male, committed a mass shooting attack targeting Black people.” (The racial capitalization here comes from the DOJ.) “Gendron’s motive for the mass shooting was to prevent Black people from replacing white people and eliminating the white race.”
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
Biden to Campaign on Trump’s Economic Policies After ‘Bidenomics’ Fail
Biden’s plan to campaign on Trump’s economic policies is a recognition that Biden’s economy is a losing line of attack for his reelection.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Biden’s SEC Targeting Rumble May Influence 2024 Election, Rep. Byron Donalds Says
In light of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into free speech platform, Rumble, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) has voiced concern that the actions of the regulator may be politically motivated and potentially impact the 2024 presidential election.
Rumble has seen a surge in popularity, especially among political channels, due to its advocacy for free speech. This appeal is largely in response to increasing concerns about content censorship on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.
The platform’s stance as a champion of free speech has attracted users and creators who feel their views are suppressed elsewhere. Political commentators have flocked to Rumble as it is perceived to have less restrictive content moderation policies and does not force content creators to uphold certain narratives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden WH Hosted Lecture on ‘Indigenous Knowledge’ at 2022 UN Conference in Egypt: Report
It has been revealed that the Biden administration hosted a lecture on indigenous knowledge during the November 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The speaker, Chadian activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, bashed western scientific methods and suggested the world would be better off if more decisions were made via traditional ways of knowing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Trump administration official Mike Gill was in critical condition on Tuesday after being shot during a carjacking in Washington, DC. Gill was on his way to pick up his wife when he was shot on K Street NW in the evening at approximately 5:45 pm on Monday.
Gill was inside the car when he was shot, and though he managed to exit the vehicle, he collapsed shortly thereafter. He is the father of three. Gill was the COO of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Trump White House.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CDC: COVID & Stress to Blame for Soaring Sudden Heart Attack Deaths
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just published a study claiming that Covid and stress are to blame for the unprecedented soaring numbers of sudden heart failure-related deaths that have been recorded since 2021.
Researchers from Democrat President Joe Biden’s CDC teamed up with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine for the study.
In a research article on their study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the researchers blamed the pandemic-era rise in the U.S. cardiovascular disease death rate on disruptions in access to healthcare, stress, and the lingering effects of COVID-19.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Launches Criminal Investigation Into Democrat Cori Bush
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has just launched a criminal investigation into radical “Squad” Democrat Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).
Bush, one of the leaders of the Marxist “defund the police” and “abolish prisons” movements, was caught spending taxpayer money on her own private security.
According to Punchbowl News, the DOJ has subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records relating to the misspending of federal security money.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
E. Jean Carroll Slammed for Saying She Will Use Trump Settlement Money to Buy New Wardrobe
Donald Trump rape accuser E. Jean Carroll has been ripped apart online for saying she would use the money she was awarded from her lawsuit against the former president to fund a new wardrobe.
The columnist appeared on “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday night to talk about her victory in court last week, when the MSNBC host asked her about the $83.3 million award.
“You’ve talked about using some of Trump’s money you’re about to get to shore up women’s rights,” Maddow pressed. “Do you know what that might be, what that might look like?”
Carroll instantly replied that she has “such big, great ideas for all the good I’m gonna do with all this money.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk’s Joe Rogan Comment Goes Viral
Elon Musk has used the platform he owns X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday to endorse a speech that hits out at “baby boomers” and praises outspoken stand-up comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan.
In a video shared to X on Saturday by account @TheChiefNerd, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was running as a Democrat before switching parties, shared his views about voters born in the “baby boomer” generation, those who are born between 1946 to 1964, and how they have a “disability” when it comes to voting during a recent speech.
As of Monday morning, the video had been viewed over 463,000 times, with Musk’s comment on the video also receiving over 148,000 views from app users.
“The one cohort I am doing really poorly with is baby boomers,” Kennedy Jr. said, who added that he should be doing “good” with that demographic as they will “remember the Kennedy era.”
John F. Kennedy, his uncle, was the 35th president of the United States between 1961 to 1963. His father, Robert F. Kennedy, was the U.S. attorney general from 1961 to 1964 and a Democratic senator from New York between 1965 to 1968.
“They have a disability, which is they only get their news from ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and the New York Times, and if I was living in that information ecosystem, I would have a low opinion of myself as well,” Kennedy Jr. said in his speech.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive — UNC Pays Anti-Affirmative Action Group $4.8 Million After US Supreme Court Loss
(Reuters) — The University of North Carolina has agreed to pay $4.8 million to cover the fees and expenses of a group founded by affirmative action critic Edward Blum that won a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the school’s consideration of race in student admissions.
The university disclosed those details in response to a public records request by Reuters seeking information on how much it agreed to pay to settle the fee demand by Students for Fair Admissions, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization. Under a federal law called the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976, courts are authorized to award plaintiffs who prevail in certain civil rights cases reasonable attorneys’ fees.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Monday, two anarchist extremist brothers in New York City were indicted after authorities discovered an arsenal of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ghost guns, propaganda, bomb-making instructions, and a “hit list.” One of the brothers had been a security guard for a Long Island elementary school.
According to Fox 5, Angelo Hatziagelis, 51, had been a security guard at the JFK elementary school in the Great Neck Public Schools system. He and his 39-year-old brother Andrew were indicted on charges related to being in possession of home-made explosives and other weaponry.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A former FBI agent has revealed that the bureau tied the suspect wanted in connection to pipe bombs planted at both the Republican and Democrat National Committee buildings in DC before January 6, 2021, to a DC Metro fare card and a license plate, but his team was prevented from interviewing the person of interest.
After over three years, the person wanted for placing the pipe bombs in these locations has yet to be found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An anonymous letter reportedly sent to Harvard University this week alleges that the school’s DEI head committed multiple instances of plagiarism throughout her academic career, even plagiarizing from one of her husband’s academic works.
The letter, sent anonymously to Harvard, the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin-Madison, alleged that chief diversity and inclusion officer Sherri Ann Charleston committed 40 instances of plagiarism over the years, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
The Free Beacon first reported on the complaint, describing the details of how Charleston allegedly committed these counts of plagiarism, including not properly attributing sources or quotes almost a dozen times in her 2009 dissertation at Michigan.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Harvard Antisemitism Task Force Head Skips Panel on Antisemitism: ‘Not Appropriate at This Time’
The head of Harvard’s antisemitism task force, Derek Penslar, reportedly claimed it would not be “appropriate” for him to speak at an antisemitism panel.
Penslar was previously scheduled to appear at a Center for Jewish History panel titled, “What is Antisemitism? Definitions and Debates” in New York City on Sunday. However, once the panel began, moderator Gavriel Rosenfield announced that Penslar would not be attending and instead read a statement from the Harvard professor.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Major Texas Chicken Farm Destroyed by Massive Explosion & Fire
A huge explosion has triggered a massive fire at a major chicken farm in Texas, according to reports.
Early reports indicate that the Feather Crest Farms in Bryan, Texas may have been completely destroyed by the incident.
Numerous fire departments have been battling the blaze.
Additional emergency personnel have also been responding to the fire.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A federal official has expanded on exactly why billionaire investor Mark Cuban may be in legal violation of hiring discrimination based on race or gender with FOX Business.
“The law’s crystal clear. There’s no legitimate business reason that justifies discrimination based on race or sex. Mr. Cuban is conflating the idea that someone’s race and sex can be part of the complete package,” Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) official Andrea Lucas told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu who also noted that one employment lawyer “would not be surprised” if a lawsuit against the billionaire was filed today.
“But that’s not provided for under the law,” she continued. “And if he’s using it as a factor, even if it’s not the only factor or the dispositive factor, if it’s any part of the decision, then it’s a motivating factor, and that’s illegal.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pelosi Faces Backlash for Demanding Swarming Protesters ‘Go Back to China’: ‘Slanderous Accusations’
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi., D-Calif., was blasted on social media after a video surfaced from October in which she told pro-Palestinian protesters from Code Pink to “go back to China” where their “headquarters is.”
“In October, Pelosi told our members calling for a ceasefire to ‘go back to China,’ Code Pink posted on X on Monday along with a video of Pelosi interacting with protesters.
“These same women have been protesting for peace at her house for 17 years. Pelosi takes thousands of dollars from AIPAC every year. Who’s the foreign agent here?”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Says Trump Team Has ‘Reached Out’ About Being Ex-Prez’s VP Despite Denial
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Donald Trump’s team has indeed reached out to him about the possibility of joining the Republican front-runner’s ticket — despite attempts from the 77-year-old’s top aides to throw cold water on the possibility.
“People from the team have reached out to me,” the 70-year-old Kennedy told NewsNation before shooting down the chance of a Trump-Kennedy ticket.
“I would not take that job,” he said. “I’m flattered that President Trump would offer it to me, but it’s not something that I’m interested in.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sotomayor Overwhelmed by Demanding SCOTUS Workload: ‘I Live in Frustration’
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor vented about being “tired” from her demanding workload on the high court as well as her “frustration” with the conservative-dominated bench.
Speaking to a group of students at the University of California, Berkley School of Law, the 69-year-old jurist opened up about the vicissitudes of serving on the court while increasingly in the political crosshairs.
“Cases are bigger. They’re more demanding. The number of amici are greater, and you know that our emergency calendar is so much more active. I’m tired,” she said, per Bloomberg Law.
“There used to be a time when we had a good chunk of the summer break. Not anymore. The emergency calendar is busy almost on a weekly basis.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Leads Haley by a More Than 2-to-1 Margin in South Carolina: Poll
Donald Trump continues to hold a dominant lead over Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary race — despite her recent blitz of negative ads attacking her rival, according to internal polling conducted by the super PAC backing the former president.
Trump, 77, leads Nikki Haley by a more 2-to-1 margin in the Palmetto State, where the 52-year-old White House hopeful was born and raised and served as governor for six years, according to a poll released by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Stays on Illinois’ Ballot as Election Board Declines to Ban Him Over Capitol Riot
Illinois’ election board on Tuesday kept former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot, a week before the US Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the Republican’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol disqualifies him from the presidency.
The board’s unanimous ruling comes after its hearing officer, a retired judge and Republican, found that a “preponderance of the evidence” shows Trump is ineligible to run for president because he violated a constitutional ban on those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Major California Companies Are Providing Security for Workers Amidst Crime Wave
A crime surge in Oakland, California prompted two major employers in the state to provide security guards with a third even telling workers to stay inside for meals, according to local reports.
Blue Shield, a health insurance provider, and Clorox are hiring “security escorts” for workers to walk them to “BART, parking garages and restaurants,” CBS News Bay Area reported.
A representative for Blue Shield told the San Francisco Chronicle that it would assist workers with “ride-hail services, secure parking and security guards” among the “various options” to keep workers safe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A cross-country United Airlines flight was diverted Sunday because the Boeing jet had a cracked windshield, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
United Airlines Flight 1627 had been heading from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, on Sunday when it made a sharp turn for an unexpected stop, as seen on its path tracked by Flight Aware.
It “landed safely at Denver International Airport in Colorado … after diverting due to a cracked windshield,” the FAA said.
United confirmed the diversion, telling The Post in a statement that it was due to a “maintenance issue.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Delays Killing Mentally Ill People Amid Widespread Public Disgust
The Canadian government on Monday announced an indefinite delay in its plans to expand Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) to patients with mental illness, but no physical ailments.
Canada’s long march to assisted suicide seems to have finally stalled with the proposal to provide physician assistance for mentally ill people to kill themselves. Canadian doctors have gone from discussing euthanasia as a last resort to aggressively recommending it, even to patients who desire treatment rather than death. Critics fear that if MAID is extended to the mentally ill, Canada’s overburdened socialist healthcare system will be sorely tempted to use euthanasia to clean up long waiting lists for psychiatric care.
Assisted suicide is spreading faster in Canada than in any other nation in the world, than any other nation in history. MAID deaths quadrupled over the past five years and now account for four percent of all deaths in the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On Monday, Liberal Health Minister Mark Holland announced that the federal government needed more time before it could expand the medical assistance in dying (MAID) program, or state-sponsored euthanasia, to include those for whom mental illness is the sole underlying condition.
The proposed expansion was set to take effect on March 17, and while Holland did not give an exact timeline, he nonetheless stated that it would happen eventually.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Liberals Move to Expand Voting Period, Mail-in Ballot Use Ahead of 2025 Election
The Trudeau government is engaged in secret negotiations with the New Democratic Party (NDP) — which props up the Liberal minority government — to produce “electoral reform” legislation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has talked about rejigging the Canadian election system in the past.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tucker Carlson on Anglo Cleansing in Montreal — And the Great Replacement
This is from the website of Canada’s National Post, but it’s a story from Montreal’s English language paper, the Montreal Gazette:
Controversial American pundit Tucker Carlson said Montreal has been “cleansed” of its English heritage and suggested English Montrealers have accepted moving to Ontario.
Carlson, a former Fox News television host who was fired last year for his racist comments, is on a speaking tour in Canada.
Speaking in Calgary on Wednesday, the thrust of his argument was immigration is changing the nature of the country.
“I’m going to say the most controversial thing,” Carlson said. “I’ve watched when Montreal was cleansed of its anglo legacy. I’m not anti-French, just for the record, not at all. But I am anglo and I have friends in Montreal, and in the span of a generation, that’s all gone, they were forced out.
“They’re all like: ‘OK, I guess we’ll go to Ontario.’ What? My grandfather built this city. I’m not going anywhere? How about that? That never occurred to anyone because no one could say out loud what was actually happening: a series of acts of hostility aimed at you because of things you didn’t choose, like how you were born. Once you keep allowing that, you have no future.”
Carlson added “they are taking away your voting power by changing the population of your country, and no one wants to talk about that.”
‘Montreal was cleansed of its anglo legacy,’ Tucker Carlson says as his speaking tour hits Quebec
I’m not anti-French … but I am anglo and I have friends in Montreal, and in the span of a generation, that’s all gone, they were forced out’
Jason Magder, Montreal Gazette, by January 26, 2024
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bulgaria Issues Warrants for Six Russians Accused of Destroying Arms Warehouses
Bulgaria has issued a European arrest warrant for six Russian citizens accused of involvement in the destruction of arms factories and warehouses between 2011 and 2020, the prosecutor’s office said on January 30. It did not release their names. The first object was destroyed in Lovnidol in 2011, followed by two in the village of Iganovo in 2015, and one near Maglizh was blown up in 2020. The prosecutor’s office announced a joint investigation into the four bombings in 2021. In a new revelation, the prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the participation of Bulgarians in the blasts.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark’s Oldest Runes Inscribed on Ancient Knife
Archaeologists in Denmark have discovered runic letters inscribed on a knife blade dating back nearly 2,000 years, making them some of the oldest runes ever found in the country.
The 3-inch (8 centimeters) iron blade was found in an ancient grave near the city of Odense on the central island of Funen in 2021 and since then has been stored at the Odense Museum. But curators only recently made out the inscription.
Five runes inscribed on the blade spell the word “hirila,” which may mean “little sword.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Diversity’ Exhibition Laughably Claims Original Brits Were Black
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news
An exhibition celebrating ‘diversity’ in London laughably claims that the first Britons were black and that “Britain was black for 7,000 years before” white people arrived.
Yes, really.
The Brilliant Black British History exhibition held at Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, south London, received taxpayer funding to spout patently false nonsense.
The very first display panel in the exhibition states, “By testing DNA, scientists made an amazing discovery — the first migrants to Britain around 12,000 years ago had black skin. Yes, that’s right, the very first Britons were black!”
Fact check: Nope.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Not Prepared to Use ‘Nuclear Option’ Against Hungary — Yet
The European Commission will not invoke the so-called “nuclear option” under Article 7 against Hungary for breaches of fundamental rights until there is a strong majority among member states on the issue, said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Monday.
The European Parliament, in a resolution voted on earlier this month, called for Article 7 to “go into second gear” and establish a “serious and persistent breach” of fundamental rights in Hungary. However, this new step requires a written proposal from the European Commission or a third of member states, according to Hungarian news outlet Mandiner.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Government Announces New Measures to Calm Farmers’ Protests, as Barricades Squeeze Paris
JOSSIGNY, France (AP) — France’s new prime minister showered promises of help on angry farmers Tuesday, from emergency cash aid to controls on imported food, in hopes that cools a protest movement that has seen tractors shut down highways across France and inspired similar actions around Europe.
Farmers seeking better pay, fewer constraints and lower costs are camped out on hay-strewn highways and encircling Paris, posing the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Gabriel Attal since his appointment less than a month ago. He sought to assuage their concerns in a sweeping policy speech Tuesday at the National Assembly.
“We need to listen to the farmers, who are working and are worried about their future and their livelihood,” Attal said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Farmer Protests Halt EU Trade Talks With South America
Farmer protests in France have led President Macron to oppose continued negotiations on a prospective free trade agreement between the EU and Latin America. Shifting his position on the EU-Mercosur (the South American trade bloc commonly known by the Spanish abbreviation Mercosur) trade deal, the president “very firmly reiterated to the Commission the fact it was impossible to conclude talks in these conditions,” an Macron adviser told the media on Monday.
The presidential adviser told reporters that the EU understood it was impossible to reach a trade deal and that EU talks with Mercosur countries had been stopped. “It is our understanding it has instructed its negotiators to put an end to the negotiation session underway in Brazil and in particular cancel the visit of the Commission’s vice-president that had been envisaged in view of a conclusion.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Antifa Extremist Jailed for Brutal Attacks in Budapest
A German left-wing extremist has been sentenced to three years in prison in Hungary, while two of his Antifa accomplices, an Italian and a German woman will be summoned to a Budapest court in May for taking part in violent attacks last year. The case has caused a diplomatic spat, with Italy complaining about the conditions of the prison where the Italian woman is being held, and demanding her extradition by Hungary.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary, Ukraine Attempt to Mend Fences
Encouraging steps have been taken toward restoring a climate of trust between Hungary and Ukraine, but there is still a long way to go and a lot of work will be needed, which Hungary is ready to do, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjartó said in Uzhhorod on Monday after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
At the meeting, Szijjartó presented a list of 11 Hungarian requests, chief among them being the restoration of the Hungarian ethnic minority’s schooling and language rights.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly Half of Germans ‘Worried’ About Possible Russian Attack
Nearly half of the German public are living in fear of a potential attack from Russia, a survey published this week found.
Amid heightened rhetoric and warnings of the Ukraine proxy war spilling over into a full-blown conflict between Europe and Russia, 46 per cent of Germans are “worried” about Moscow launching an attack on their country.
The INSA survey conducted for the BILD tabloid, which polled 1,001 members of the public, found conversely that 44 per cent were not currently afraid of a Russian assault.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
PVV leader Geert Wilders acknowledged that there is considerable pressure on the Cabinet formation talks. His party has spent the past seven weeks trying to form a new Cabinet with NSC and BBB, potentially with the backing of VVD. Wilders was asked about a number of tweets he published on social media platform X last weekend, including one in which he referred to VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz as “sour,” and another which he hinted at the prospect of new elections.
Wilders said the talks have been comprised of “tough negotiations,” without wanting to elaborate further. “These are exciting times, these weeks,” Wilders said, explaining his statements on social media.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland’s Conservatives May Sink Permanently to the Number 2 Spot, Says Expert After Latest Poll
The latest United Surveys poll conducted for the Wirtualna Polska news outlet shows that the Polish political scene might be witnessing a significant shift.
The poll indicates that if elections were to be held next Sunday, the conservative Law and Justice party, formerly in power and led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, would garner 28.3 percent of the vote, closely followed by the Civic Coalition (KO) with 28.2 percent. This near tie marks a notable change in the political landscape, especially under the new governance of the coalition between the Civic Platform (PO), the Third Way, and the Left.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spanish Farmers Gear Up to Join Protest Movement
Spanish farmers are joining their European colleagues in taking to the streets to protest their difficult situation and voice their rejection of policies coming both from national governments and the European Union.
Pedro Barato, president of the largest farmers’ union in the country, Asaja, announced on Spanish media on Monday that provincial chapters of the association had already begun to plan local protests and that the national board was meeting later in the week to plan a national protest. He also said that they were working with Copa-Cogeca, the European farmers’ organization based in Brussels, to coordinate with farmers in other EU countries, particularly France, Italy, and Portugal, and plan a demonstration in either Brussels or Strasbourg that would include farmers from across the bloc.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trying to Put Out the Fire: New French PM’s First Major Policy Speech
As the farmers’ protests rumble on, with a blockade of the main motorways leading to Paris, the new prime minister, Gabriel Attal, appeared before the National Assembly for his first general policy speech. This was an opportunity for him to try to convince people of his ability to manage a situation of high tension—given his young age and relative inexperience. The various opposition forces did not rule out a motion of censure against him.
Attal, who was appointed head of government on January 9th, was due to take the floor to present the broad lines of his government’s action on Tuesday, January 30th. But the course of his action had already been set by President Emmanuel Macron at his press conference on January 16th.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Disposable Vaping Ban ‘Not Evidence-Based’
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will ban disposable vapes and heavily restrict the marketing of other vaping products, despite evidence that this could see more people smoking. Critics say his team is “rushing” measures through in an attempt to gain popularity ahead of a significant general election.
Government officials have centred their plans on the protection of children’s health, though much has also been made of the environmental damage—including litter—from disposable vapes following reports that almost five million are thrown away every week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BBC: Don’t Hire People Who Are ‘Dismissive’ of Diversity
In what critics say illustrates left-liberal “groupthink” at the British state broadcaster, a recruitment policy document at the BBC instructs staff not to hire people who are “dismissive and derisory” of diversity and inclusion.
The leaked recruitment policy document, revealed by The Daily Telegraph, obliges recruiters to ask applicants to “explain what diversity and inclusion means to you and, should you be successful, what opportunities do you see for you to promote, celebrate or encourage diversity and inclusion in your role?”
It goes on to say: “Don’t hire [candidates who are] unsuited to the organization” if they are “dismissive or derisory of diversity and inclusion and surrounding topics.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: BBC Was “Allowed” to Misrepresent COVID to Justify Lockdown
The BBC failed to follow its own editorial standards during lockdown and instead misrepresented COVID in a way that justified tougher restrictions, a government advisor has claimed.
A submission last week by an eminent epidemiologist to the official UK Covid Inquiry caught the attention of many of those who feel that the government’s COVID response was disproportionate to the threat.
Professor Mark Woolhouse, who advised the Scottish government during the pandemic, told the Inquiry that Britain’s national leading broadcaster “repeatedly reported rare deaths or illnesses among healthy adults as if they were the norm.” He added that this helped to create the “misleading impression” that “we are all at risk” and “the virus does not discriminate.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: General Election 2024 Poll Tracker: How Do the Parties Compare?
It is now less than a year before a UK general election must be held.
Use our interactive poll tracker to check the latest trends measuring how people say they intend to vote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A man armed with a sword, crossbows, a knife and a hatchet, was gunned down by London police after he tried to break into a home on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old intruder was wearing body armor and carrying two crossbows when he forced his way into the south London home just before 5 a.m., according to the Metropolitan Police.
His motivations for the invasion remain unknown, but he is believed to have known one of the two people who were inside the house and was trying to hurt them, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A woman was heard screaming for help from inside the home in footage obtained by the Guardian.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Tory MPs Urge Sunak to Rethink Net Zero
Rishi Sunak spent much of last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions attacking Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over his costly net zero pledges. Perhaps he had forgotten about members of his own party’s frustration with the Conservative attachment to the green agenda.
The prime minister was, however, reminded of this on Tuesday by Craig Mackinlay, chairman of the 50-strong net zero scrutiny group of Tory MPs. He accused Sunak of leading Britain down a “path to ruin” by pursuing net zero targets and urged him to “wake up” before climate commitments cause too much damage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: UK Cop Orders Christian Singer to Stop Singing ‘Church Songs’ in Public
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news
Video footage of a police support officer ordering a young Christian singer to stop performing gospel songs in public on London’s Oxford Street has gone viral.
The officer, who is an unpaid volunteer, is seen in the video telling 20 year old performer Harmonie London that she is “not allowed to sing church songs outside of church grounds.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
With Protesting Farmers Putting on the Pressure, EU Lowers Limits on Ukrainian Agricultural Imports
The EU has decided to use the period from June 2022 to June 2023 — rather than all of 2023, as had been planned — to work out the baseline limits for Ukrainian agricultural products. The new baseline will offer a slight measure of relief for European farmers from cheaper Ukrainian imports.
The European Commission has been mulling the new regulations with regard to the trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine, a matter of great importance to Polish farmers who have been affected by the inflow of Ukrainian agricultural produce onto the Polish and EU markets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
WW3 Watch: Prepare for Russian Missiles, Drones, Sabotage Against European Cities Says NATO Officer
A top NATO general warns the lessons of the Ukraine War shows Europe its interior and cities cannot expect to be left untouched if Russia and the Alliance fight.
“Rear areas will be severely contested” in an attempt to “destroy lines of communication” in the case of a war between Russia and NATO, a top general from the alliance states, while warning the ability of NATO to credibly deter aggression has been erroded since the end of the Cold War.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trial of Serbian Teenage Mass Shooters’ Parents Begins in Belgrade
The trial of the parents of a 13-year-old boy who shot dead 10 people in his school in May last year has begun in Belgrade, Serbia.
The mother and father of the mass shooter, Kosta Kecmanovic, were charged with a “serious act against general safety” for failing to safeguard the weapon and ammunition used in the attack that left nine students and one security guard dead.
Kecmanovic’s father could face up to 12 years in prison after teaching his son how to use a gun and regularly taking him to the shooting range where the manager and instructor have also been charged.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At Least Half of Gaza’s Buildings Damaged or Destroyed, New Analysis Shows
More than half of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its retaliation for the Hamas attacks of 7 October, new analysis seen by the BBC reveals.
Detailed before-and-after imagery also shows how the bombardment of southern and central Gaza has intensified since the start of December, with the city of Khan Younis bearing much of the brunt of Israel’s military action.
Israel has repeatedly told Gazans to move south for their own safety.
Across Gaza, residential areas have been left ruined, previously busy shopping streets reduced to rubble, universities destroyed and farmlands churned up, with tent cities springing up on the southern border to house many thousands of people left homeless.
About 1.7 million people — more than 80% of Gaza’s population — are displaced, with nearly half crammed in the far southern end of the strip, according to the United Nations.
Further analysis, by BBC Verify, reveals the scale of destruction of farmland, identifying multiple areas of extensive damage.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it is targeting both Hamas fighters and “terror infrastructure”, when challenged over the scale of damage.
Now, satellite data analysis obtained by the BBC shows the true extent of the destruction. The analysis suggests between 144,000 and 175,000 buildings across the whole Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. That’s between 50% and 61% of Gaza’s buildings.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Studies Ceasefire Proposal After Deadly Israeli Hospital Raid in West Bank
West Bank/Gaza/Doha: Hamas said on Tuesday it was weighing up a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces would not withdraw from the enclave until they had achieved “total victory”.
The developments came hours after Israeli commandos disguised as medical workers and Muslim women killed three Palestinian militants in an undercover raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank — an action that underscored the risk of the Gaza conflict spreading to other fronts.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
In the Absence of an Official Israeli Postwar Plan, Settlers Push Their Goal of a Jewish Gaza
‘We can no longer look at this as some kind of fringe phenomena,’ said Israeli political analyst
While Israel’s government has been vague about its vision for what happens to the Gaza Strip — and the roughly two and a half million Palestinians who live there — after the war, the country’s far-right settler movement has a very clear idea of what it wants.
Over the weekend, thousands of right-wing activists attended the “Settlement Brings Security” conference in Jerusalem. On display in the foyer was a huge green map of Gaza, dotted with clusters of proposed Jewish settlements.
The map showed a Star of David placed on top of Gaza City. Prior to Israel’s recent assault, which drove out most of its population, it was Gaza’s largest community, with 600,000 Palestinian residents.
Organizers at the conference stood behind booths handing out T-shirts and brochures inviting potential settlers to make early plans to relocate.
Israeli settler organizer Daniella Weiss at a conference in Jerusalem.
“Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu left us an opening for returning to Gaza,” said chief settler organizer Daniella Weiss, one of the movement’s most prominent voices. “He invites this pressure that you see here today,” she told CBC News at the event.
The implication was that the conference was actually part of a broader — but not yet public — Israeli government strategy to occupy the Palestinian territory when the war ends.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Army Says Flooding Gaza Tunnels to Halt Hamas Attacks
Jerusalem (AFP) — The Israeli army said Tuesday it is channelling water into Gaza’s tunnels in a bid to destroy the sprawling underground network used by Hamas militants to launch attacks on Israel.
“It is part of a range of tools deployed by the IDF (Israeli army) to neutralise the threat of Hamas’s subterranean network of tunnels,” the military said in a statement, confirming media reports.
Dubbed “the Gaza metro” by the Israeli army, there were 1,300 tunnels over 500 kilometres (310 miles) in Gaza at the start of the war in October, according to a study from US military academy West Point.
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| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Israeli Soldiers Dressed as Doctors Raid Hospital to Kill Suspected Terrorists
Israeli commandos disguised as nurses and doctors have raided a West Bank hospital, killing three alleged terrorists in a lightning-fast, clandestine operation.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the operation had taken place on Tuesday, after Palestinian media released CCTV video footage showing people dressed as medical workers and Muslim civilians entering a hospital in Jenin, brandishing assault rifles.
The team of IDF and police counter-terrorism commandos entered Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin overnight, killing a man they identified as a member of Hamas, and two other suspects, the Israeli military said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Erdogan Looks to Expand Power Base Through New Party
Eager to establish a presence in the European Parliament, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AKP) has founded a German offshoot of his own party, set to run in the June 9th European elections.
The German AKP affiliate, the Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening (Dava), comprises four male candidates who have all previously supported Erdogan’s AKP, Bild reports, including one who has a record of “supporting Hamas and its affiliated organizations.”
As Germany’s 5% electoral threshold does not apply to the EU election, fledgling parties have a greater chance of securing a spot in the European Parliament.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US Not Withdrawing Its Armed Forces From Syria — Nuland
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United States is not planning to withdraw its military from Syria, Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has said.
Several Arab and international media have reported that the US is considering full withdrawal of its forces from Syria but the final decision is not yet taken.
“Well, first let me set the records straight, the United States is not withdrawing from Syria,” Nuland told CNN Turk.
The statements regarding the very legitimacy of US military presence in Syria have been resurfacing against the backdrop of multiple drone and missile attacks targeting US bases in the Middle East.
On Monday, a local source told Sputnik that two rockets fell near a US military base controlling Al-Jabsa oil fields in the northeastern Syrian town of Ash Shaddadi. The US military scrambled helicopters in response to the attack, which came just a day after a drone attack that killed three US troops and injured 25 others at another US base in Jordan, near the border with Syria.
The US and its allies control large swathes of land in northeastern Syria’s gas and oil production region. Its bases in Syria, Iraq and Jordan have been a frequent target of attacks by what the Pentagon describes as Iran-backed militias.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Could the War in Ukraine End This Year? Former Top US Admiral Explains Why That is a Likely Outcome
The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin almost two years ago continues despite tens of thousands of military deaths on both sides, but former NATO commander, retired U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, believes the conflict could end within the next year.
He believes the war in Ukraine will end like the one in Korea, with Russia retaining territory in the neighboring country but Kyiv joining NATO. The retired U.S. Navy admiral says both Russia and Ukraine “are increasingly exhausted by this war,” and this could lead to the two countries starting negotiations towards the end of 2024.
The 68-year-old Stavridis was commander of the United States European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, and is currently a defense analyst for NBC News and a managing director-partner of the global investment firm the Carlyle Group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia is advancing towards a China-like extensive surveillance system. The Perm region is the first to mandate that private video camera owners must integrate their devices into a regional surveillance network, a practice poised to be replicated nationwide.
The initiative, driven by a decree from Perm’s Governor Dmitry Makhonin, took effect on January 25. This move aligns with President Vladimir Putin’s martial law declaration in Ukraine’s occupied territories in October 2022, granting regional governors augmented powers to ensure the “security” of their areas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia has developed and deployed new camouflage technology for its troops that many have nicknamed “invisibility cloaks,” local news has reported.
“This new ‘cloak-nevidimka’ is part of the Russian — and previously Soviet — doctrine of ‘maskirovka’ (translated literally as ‘disguise’ but conceptually, the etymology is ‘masquerade’), which is the foundational principle of the Russian military doctrine,” Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and the author of Putin’s Playbook, told Fox News Digital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
US and UK to Blame for Ukraine Conflict — Former Czech President
By RT
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is the result of a series of mistakes made by the US and its NATO allies, former Czech President Vaclav Klaus told the World Economic Forum in Davos in a speech published on Friday.
The West’s blatant disregard for the geopolitical context led to this “tragic historic event” that “could and should have been avoided,” Klaus, who led the Czech Republic between 2003 and 2013, said.
“This war started on 4 April 2008,” Klaus argued, referring to a NATO summit in Bucharest, where members of the US-led bloc decided to support Ukraine and Georgia’s “aspirations for membership,” saying both nations “will become members of NATO” at some point in the future.
Recalling the event at which he was present, Klaus called it “a tragic mistake.” He said he had personally opposed the decision and “tried to argue against it,” but it was “pushed through by the US and the UK.”
Most other NATO members, including Germany and France, were also against it at the time, he said, adding that many of the attending presidents and prime ministers stayed “irresponsibly silent” in the face of pressure from London and Washington.
The West remained oblivious to the nature of Ukrainian statehood, Klaus argued, calling the country an example of an “unsuccessful and unfinished transition from communism to parliamentary democracy and market economy.”
Ukraine, he said, was not “a consolidated country” as it had major differences in ethnic composition and political preferences between its northwest and southeast. The country had already been in a state of “civil war” since 2014, long before the current escalation, Klaus said.
Following the US-backed coup in 2014, the then-Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, known as Donbass, refused to accept the new government, which increasingly embraced nationalist ideology. The regions proclaimed their independence and Kiev responded with a military campaign that led to a years-long conflict.
“To pretend that this was not the case and to discuss the current war… as if it were taking place in a vacuum is neither helpful nor productive,” Klaus argued, adding that it was “a big mistake not to pay attention to this fundamental split” within the country.
Klaus also argued that Moscow had not intended to occupy Ukraine when it launched its military operation in February 2022, but merely sought to prevent it from joining NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin also recently pointed to NATO’s 2008 decision as making conflict inevitable, having “drastically changed the situation in Eastern Europe.” Moscow has repeatedly said that preventing Ukraine’s accession to NATO is one of the key reasons for its military campaign.
It is now clear that “all sides in the conflict have miscalculated,” Klaus said, adding that the frontlines remain “frozen” and no end to the conflict is in sight. He called on the West to change its approach and engage in meaningful dialogue with Moscow.
“My modest advice is to start negotiating,” Klaus concluded.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Election Rally Bombing, Insurgent Raid Kill Several in Southwestern Pakistan
Islamabad — A bomb explosion at an election rally in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province Tuesday killed at least four people and injured several others.
Police and health officials confirmed the casualties, saying the attack in the town of Sibi targeted a motorcycle campaign rally led by the Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf, or PTI, party, headed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Hospital sources said many of the injured were in “critical condition,” and that the death toll was likely to rise. No group or individual immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
PTI confirmed that its supporters were the targets of the attack. It said that a party candidate for the National Assembly or lower house of parliament had organized the gathering ahead of Pakistan’s February 8 national elections.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Astonishing Video Exposes Melbourne Truckie’s Drug-Fuelled Delivery Shocker: ‘Out of It’
Hasan Osman, 40, was filmed ‘out of it’ at the Fitzroy construction site in July 2023 and he narrowly avoided jail this week.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A public servant who was forced to get a Covid vaccination to keep his job but then became gravely ill has won a major legal victory involving compensation and medical bill payments.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
NAB Bank Closes Dozens of Branches Across Australia
NAB shocks Aussies with branch closures, prompting widespread criticism. As closures loom, public skepticism grows over the bank’s reasons.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A patriotic couple say they were ‘gobsmacked’ to be threatened with arrest by a police officer for wearing Australian flags in their hats while doing some shopping on Australia Day.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Kiwis are flocking to Australia for the higher wages on offer, leading to concern of a New Zealand ‘brain drain’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
El Salvador’s Bukele Looks Set for Landslide Election Win on Gang Crackdown
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has described himself as the “World’s Coolest Dictator,” has in less than five years transformed El Salvador from a country infamous for its record on murder and gangs to a nation with one of the lowest homicide rates in the Americas.
That record means he is all but certain to be re-elected in a presidential election on Sunday for another five-year term — despite a constitutional bar on immediate re-election, voter worries about the economy, and criticism of his draconian crackdown on civil and human rights.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jamaica Travel Warning Issued After 65 Murders in Just Four Weeks
The State Department issued a stark travel warning for another Caribbean nation Tuesday — cautioning that Jamaica has been rocked by 65 murders this month.
The US embassy in Jamaica upgraded the travel advisory to a Level 3: “reconsider travel,” which is just one level short of the most severe that warns Americans against travel altogether.
The crimes have become so pervasive that tourists aren’t even safe in the shelter of their resorts, the embassy said.
“Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common. Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts,” the warning stated.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘No Obstacle’ to Argentina Mega Reform Bill in Congress, Government Says
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) — Argentina’s government said on Tuesday that it was confident its sprawling economic reform bill, known as the “omnibus bill”, would gain approval in Congress after it made concessions removing some divisive sections from the legislation.
The bill is a central plank in libertarian President Javier Milei’s aims to overhaul the South American country’s economy that is buckling under high debt loads, inflation running at over 200% and myriad capital controls to protect the peso.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Panama Soccer Star Luis ‘Matador’ Tejada Drops Dead of Heart Attack at 41
Panama’s world-famous soccer star Luis “Matador” Tejada has died suddenly at just 41 years old, according to reports.
Tejada was a former Panama striker who was victorious in over 100 caps for his nation.
According to the Panamanian Football Federation (FEPAFUT), he passed away unexpectedly on Sunday.
He reportedly collapsed suddenly and died.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A man was taken into custody after walking out of an emergency exit door and onto the wing of an Aeromexico airplane Thursday.
Passengers of the flight are defending the man, claiming the man’s actions “saved” them from dangerous conditions.
The Associated Press reported that the airport said in a statement that “a passenger on a flight to Guatemala opened an emergency door on a plane while it was stationary at a remote position, stood on a wing, and then re-entered the cabin, without affecting the aircraft or anyone else.”
A social media post on X showed that the passengers of the flight wrote a letter that detailed they “were kept on the tarmac for hours without proper ventilation or water during a flight delay.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A new poll shows that in the eastern German state of Saxony, two out of three residents believe Germany is “dangerously infested” with foreigners.
In the poll, known as the Saxony Monitor and conducted every year by the Saxon government, 64 percent are of the opinion that Germany is “dangerously infested with foreigners,” which is 24 percentage points more than two years ago.
It also found that 82 percent of residents of the state, which features Dresden as its capital, have little or no trust in the ruling left-liberal government, which represents a drop of 26 percent since the last poll conducted a year ago.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
3 Dead After Former ICE Detainee Enters Minnesota Home Dressed as UPS Worker, Allegedly Shoots Them
A convicted felon who had previously been detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has been arrested in connection with the killing of three people in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, a small town about 15 miles north of Minneapolis.
Alonzo Pierre Mingo, 37, was subsequently charged with three counts of second-degree murder.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
An Afghan asylum seeker and convicted pedophile has told a German court that he raped a teenager who fell asleep on an inter-city train because he “felt like it.”
The court in Stuttgart heard how 30-year-old defendant, Sefatullah S., targeted his 19-year-old victim on the ICE 619 train from Stuttgart to Ulm on Aug. 7, 2023. At around 3:45 a.m., the young woman fell asleep in her seat and rested her head on the communal table in
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Colorado’s capital has joined the evergrowing list of cities that have become overwhelmed by the influx of migrants — with over 38,000 asylum seekers arriving in Denver in the past year.
The Mile-High City has struggled to accommodate the new arrivals who have inundated city shelters and hospitals, prompting state officials to enact a limit on how long migrants can stay in state-funded rooms starting Feb. 5.
The city initially paused the discharge of migrant families from shelters on Nov. 17 to assist the increasing number of new arrivals.
However, after seeing a dramatic uptick, the city is now housing 4,500 migrants and will resume discharging migrant families.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Government Already Wants This Year’s Asylum Budget Topped Up by €600 Million
The outgoing Dutch government has already requested an extra €600 million to be allocated to the country’s asylum budget for 2024, warning the initial budget is insufficient to cater to the influx of new arrivals.
A memorandum of amendment filed on Friday by Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgöz’s department notified of the need for “extra budgetary space… for the reception of asylum seekers,” despite current spending on the Dutch asylum policy being at record levels.
More than €4 billion has been reserved to provide hospitality for asylum seekers this year, while €3.2 billion is allocated to accommodate Ukrainian refugees — a total of more than €7.2 billion.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Blasts Biden’s Push for Border Deal: “No Laws Need to be Passed”
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
President Joe Biden’s call for a bipartisan Senate deal to tackle the border crisis drew criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who said the president was overlooking—or refusing to see—simple fixes that don’t require new laws to address the problem.
On Friday, President Biden posted a statement on X calling for Congress to pass legislation giving him new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.
“If given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law,” the president insisted while reiterating his call for Congress to approve more money for border security.
“If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill, and I will sign it,” he said.
Mr. Musk, who recently argued that the Biden administration was “actively aiding illegal immigration” by suing Arizona and Texas to block state-level efforts to secure the border, posted a critical take on President Biden’s insistence on the deal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Publication Tries to Backtrack on AfD ‘Remigration’ Hit Piece
The much-touted media hit piece that propelled a wave of anti-AfD protests in Germany— including calls for the party itself to be banned—has come under fire this week as one of its lead journalists described heavy exaggeration in the German press.
Anette Dowideit, the deputy editor of the left-wing Correctiv media outlet, in an interview on national TV on Sunday evening, stated that, contrary to media coverage, there was no direct talk of mass deportations—’remigration’— in a meeting between nationalist migration-critical Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and key figures on the radical right.
This raises serious questions about the credibility of the reporting, especially given its role in prompting protests and calls for political repression.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Meloni Kickstarts Grand Plan to Curb Migration by Boosting African Economies
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni opened the Italy-Africa Summit on Monday by outlining her plan to invest in the development of dozens of African countries in a long-term effort to curb human trafficking and illegal migration through the Mediterranean.
Under what’s dubbed as the “Mattei plan”—named after the late Enrico Mattei, founder of the state oil company Eni, who advocated for the systemic economic development of Africa—dozens of African countries could see Italian grants and loans to help them advance their infrastructure and strengthen their economies, Il Giornale wrote, as Rome hopes it would contribute to the continent’s stability as a whole.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rishi Sunak faced mounting pressure last night as it emerged that migrants will account for 92 per cent of Britain’s population explosion in the coming years.
Data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that higher-than-expected immigration figures are set to see the numbers living in the UK grow by 6.6 million to 73.7 million by 2036.
According to the projections, net migration will hit 315,000 a year from 2028 onwards — putting a strain on public services.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York May Screw 4,000 Legal Residents Out of a Job — So Migrants Can Have Them
In a move that would once again punish those who entered the country legally, the state of New York is mulling a plan to hire around 4,000 ‘migrants and asylum seekers’ into mostly entry-level jobs that are allegedly ‘hard to recruit for,’ according to a Jan. 12 memo from the Department of Civil Service obtained by Bloomberg.
The jobs in question would largely consist of areas like food service, equipment repairs, facilities management and office assistance, and would apply to those who have obtained a work permit, the memo states.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NYC Homeless Shelter Population Surges 53% During Migrant Crisis: Mayor’s Report
The number of homeless people in New York City’s shelter system skyrocketed 53% over the past year — driven by the unrelenting surge of migrants, according to Mayor Eric Adams’s preliminary management report released Tuesday.
The report compares data and performance of city agencies for the first four months of the fiscal year — July through October of 2023 — with the same period in 2022.
“During the first four months of Fiscal 2024, the average number of individuals in shelter per day increased by 53 percent compared to the same period in Fiscal 2023, driven by the unprecedented increase in entrants, primarily asylum seekers who made up over half of all entrants during the period,” the Department of Homeless Services said its quarterly assessment of its shelter system included in the 432-page report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Somali Terrorist Roamed Free in US for a Year After Being Released by Biden’s Border Agents
A new internal federal memo has revealed that federal authorities captured a terrorist at the southern border, but released him into the United States where he roamed free for around a year before being arrested in Minnesota.
The memo, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, stated that the unidentified individual who is a member of the Somali terror group al-Shabaab, was released shortly after being caught entering the US illegally near San Ysidro, California on March 13, 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Take Our Border Back convoy heading to Texas is expecting at least 700,000 people to turn out for their events on Feb. 3.
The organizers of the convoy left Virginia Monday and stopped overnight in Florida where they rallied for more people to join their cause and organized to try and push the Biden administration into taking action on border issues.
Pictures taken by The Post Tuesday morning show the painted vans and trucks that have joined the growing convoy in Jacksonville, Florida, as they prepared to head through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana onto Quemado, Texas, near border security flashpoint Eagle Pass.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
— TOM LEONARD sees troubling echoes of the American Civil War in small-town Texas
Clutching assault rifles, and surrounded by Humvee armoured cars and state police, a group of National Guardsmen in full combat gear stand menacingly next to a gate under a 20ft-high reinforced steel fence.
Given the endless strife along America’s southern frontier a few hundred yards away, it’s not an unexpected sight in this rough-and-ready border town.
But these troops are not facing Mexico. Instead, they’re staring back towards the Texan town of Eagle Pass — and the rest of America.
For this particular display of military muscle isn’t meant to send a signal to the hordes of asylum seekers pouring into the country week after week. Instead, it’s to stop the federal law-enforcement agents of the Biden administration from coming anywhere near.
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The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing demands to house hundreds of migrants in his Lambeth Palace home amid a backlash at his latest criticism of the Rwanda plan.
Tory MP Lee Anderson branded the Most Rev Justin Welby a ‘hypocrite’ following the Archbishop’s fresh blast at Government plans to deport asylum seekers.
In a House of Lords debate on the Prime Minister’s new Rwanda Bill, Mr Welby warned Rishi Sunak is ‘leading the nation down a damaging path’ with his plans.
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Video: Migrants Pummel NYPD Cops Outside Times Square Shelter
A group of migrants pummeled NYPD officers attempting to make an arrest outside a shelter in Times Square, police and sources said Tuesday.
Two officers and a lieutenant from the NYPD’s Midtown South Precinct approached the group of men outside a migrant shelter on W. 42nd St. near Seventh Ave. around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, cops said.
The incident seemed likely to raise the temperature of the already heated debate surrounding the migrant crisis, in which more than 100,000 migrants came to the city last year.
Four of the suspects were released without bail following arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The officers had been trying to break up the disorderly crowd outside the Candler Building, where the city announced the opening of a mega-shelter in March. When the cops attempted to put one of the men under arrest, multiple people attacked, according to authorities.
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A Montana family claims they lost custody of their 14-year-old child after opposing her interest in changing genders — and while the governor’s office defended the move, it stressed to The Post that the state does not remove minors to provide gender transition services.
The state’s Child and Family Services (CFS) reportedly took custody of the teen from her father Todd Kolstad and stepmother Krista this month, leading the parents to speak out about how the action has “destroyed” their family and “trampled” their rights.
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Six Pro-Life Activists Found Guilty, Face 11 Years in Prison for Peaceful Protest
Six pro-life activists were found guilty on Tuesday for “conspiracy against rights” and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) in relation to a peaceful protest outside of a Tennessee abortion facility in 2021.
President Joe Biden’s pro-abortion administration announced in October 2022 that it had charged 11 activists involved in the March 5, 2021, “blockade” of the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mount Juliet. Attorneys for the activists said they were conducting a “rescue” and had gathered on the second floor of the office building where the clinic is located to pray, sing hymns, and urge women not to go through with abortions. The peaceful protest was also live-streamed on Facebook, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).
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Bethany Hamilton, 33, was attacked by a 14-foot shark while surfing in 2003 — and despite her life-changing injuries, she went on to become a professional athlete.
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Gen Z influencer Ali C. Lopez, from Arizona, has said men are expecting too much in their relationships with women. She said society is ‘getting out of control’ when it comes to sensitive topics.
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Trans-Identified Male Runner Breaks New York School’s Women’s Records AGAIN in Track and Field
At a track and field meet held on Friday in Rochester, NY, a trans-identified male runner with the Rochester Institute of Technology broke two school women’s records that were previously held by the student.
Sadie Schreiner placed first in the Women’s 200 and 300-meter races, with a time of 25.27 in the 200 and a time of 40.78 in the 300. The 300-meter race times was over 2 seconds ahead of the first female runner and the 200-meter race time was one second ahead. According to the school, Schreiner received an Atlantic Region Championship qualifying time.
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Angela Markle is the reason that this muslim filth has taken over Germany.
She wanted to end Germanys independence from the EU and threw the German flag on the ground.
She does qualify to be the rumored daughter of Hitler himself.
She’s younger than I am, so ol’ Adolf must have had his sperm frozen, and then someone did artificial insemination on her mom.
Seems somewhat improbable to me…
Ole Hitler would have had that commie beast hung from a meat hook for what she did. Please try to be historically accurate instead of throw the word nazi and Hitler out there like confetti at a parade. If the Germans had won the war, there sure as heck wouldn’t be a 3 rd worlder inside of Europe, the marxist left did this.