Iranian police have arrested suspects in the twin bombings that killed at least 89 people in Kerman. Meanwhile, Iran said it is shutting its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan to increase security.
In other news, the House of Representatives moved to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying its subpoenas.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, McN, MM, 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.
Italy: Meloni Bends Knee on EU Bailout Fund Despite Fratelli Fears
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this week indicated a major policy shift regarding Italy’s support of the EU’s controversial euro zone bailout fund. After staunchly opposing Italy ratifying the fund while in opposition, Meloni in her end-of-year press conference appeared to be open to changing her position if the “obsolete” fund could be made “more efficient.” This is despite vocal objections from within her own party and her own previous disavowals of the financial support mechanism while in opposition.
A majority of MPs from Meloni’s own ruling Fratelli d’Italia party last month rejected a left-wing resolution for Italy to ratify the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a fund launched in 2012 by Eurocrats to allow ailing euro zone economies to tap into financial liquidity on the open market provided they make the required fiscal changes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Record 6.1% Wage Growth in 2023 Fails to Offset Inflation Impact
Average wages in the Netherlands experienced a remarkable growth of 6.1% last year, as reported by the national statistics office CBS. Despite this surge, it proved insufficient to counteract inflation, resulting in a decrease of 2.1% in spending power over the course of the year, according to preliminary data released by the CBS.
Civil servants of the national government fared the best, enjoying an average pay increase of 7%. Within the private sector, the transport and logistics industry boasted the most substantial average rise at 8.4%, while those employed in real estate sales and rental experienced the smallest increase at 2.4%.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Payrolls Increased by 216,000 in December, Much Better Than Expected
The U.S. labor market closed out 2023 in strong shape as the pace of hiring was even more powerful than expected, the Labor Department reported Friday.
December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 positions for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Payroll growth showed a sizeable gain from November’s downwardly revised 173,000. October also was revised lower, to 105,000 from 150,000, indicating a slightly less robust picture for growth in the fourth quarter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Unemployment Benefits in Germany Reach 3.58 Billion Euros Monthly
Unemployment benefits in Germany have reached 3.58 billion euros per month in 2023, according to exclusive data from the employment agency obtained by BILD.
Starting from January 1, salaries will increase by an additional 61 euros, reaching a total of 563 euros per month. The data provides insights into the demographics of benefit recipients.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Earlier in the week, we saw Jeffrey Epstein’s brother Mark explain to Tucker Carlson how he has struggled to obtain basic documents related to his bother’s death in federal custody.
As the identities of Jeffrey’s various ‘associates’ is released this week, it is clear from the ‘eliteness’ of this list of alleged creeps that many people stood to benefit from Epstein’s perpetual silence and Tucker Carlson expressed skepticism about the official cause of death being ruled suicide, writing:
The U.S. government claims Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a federal detention facility in Manhattan four and a half years ago, just before his trial.
If that’s true, why are there so few records available from that night?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Biden administration doesn’t seem quite certain how to do it — but it would clearly like to see AI watermarking implemented as soon as possible, despite the idea being marred by many misgivings.
And, even despite what some reports admit is a lack of consensus on “what digital watermark is.” Standards and enforcement regulation are also missing. As has become customary, where the government is constrained or insufficiently competent, it effectively enlists private companies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alaska Airlines Plane Window Blows Out Mid-Air, Forcing Emergency Landing
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) — An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Friday night after a large window section of the aircraft blew out in mid-air.
Dramatic photos sent to KPTV by a passenger on the plane, who wished to remain anonymous, show a large section of the airplane’s fuselage missing.
Other passengers said the flight was headed from PDX to Ontario, California. It departed Portland at 4:40 p.m. Pacific time and was back in Portland around 5:30 p.m.
One passenger reported that the extreme depressurization caused a child’s shirt to be ripped off. It was not clear if anyone on board the flight was injured.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
AOC-Linked Progressive Group Launches Ad Campaign Demanding Biden ‘Step Aside’: ‘It’s Time to Go’
A new ad campaign has been launched by a progressive group that calls for Democrat President Joe Biden to “step aside” for the 2024 election.
There is a substantial portion of Democrat voters, particularly those who are young and progressive, who do not enthusiastically support Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
Many would prefer other options for the Democratic Party’s nominee.
A major last-ditch effort to remove and replace Biden as the presumptive Democrat nominee has now been launched by a progressive group that is closely aligned with radical Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the Washington Examiner reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Avi Loeb: ‘US Government Need to Disclose What it Knows’ on UFOs
The US Government has been urged to disclose any information it has on UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) by a leading Harvard astrophysicist.
Avi Loeb joined Patrick Christys on GB News America to explore claims that authorities in America are hiding details on the matter from the public.
He told Christys that it is “possible” the government are aware of more they are letting on.
“The government monitors the sky for national security purposes”, he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ballot Cleansing: Democrats Are Moving to Bar Republicans From Ballots Nationwide
Authored by Jonathan Turley
Below is my column in the New York Post on the expansion of the 14th Amendment theory to attempt to remove Republican candidates for Congress from the ballots.
Dozens of Democratic members have already called for the disqualification of up to 126 Republican colleagues under the same sweeping theory.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Rips Trump Over Jan. 6, Touts ‘Sacred Cause’ of Democracy in Campaign Speech
During a campaign speech in Valley Forge, Penn., President Joe Biden on Friday excoriated former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and suggested a second Trump administration was a threat to democracy.
Biden has made the preservation of the American democratic system a central theme of his reelection effort, characterizing Trump’s supporters as members of an “extremist movement.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Gates Insider Warns of Massive Population Plunge in ‘Highly Vaccinated Countries’
A Bill Gates insider, who served as the Microsft co-founder’s vaccine specialist, has blown the whistle and issued a warning to the public that massive population declines will soon devastate humanity.
Former Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation scientist and vaccine expert Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche has warned that population numbers around the world will plunge by “up to 30-40% in highly vaccinated countries.”
Bossche raised the alarm during an interview with vaccine expert and investigator Steve Kirsch.
He also notes that Covid is impossible to tackle with mRNA injections because it will always continue to mutate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Blue States Saw Highest Rates of Homelessness in 2023
Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness
In the year 2023, the highest recorded rates of homelessness on average were found in states that lean Democratic, as well as the District of Columbia.
As the Daily Caller reports, the data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was released in December.
Although not actually a state, Washington D.C. had the highest rate of homelessness in the country, at 73.3 for every 10,000 residents, which amounts to roughly 4,922 total homeless.
New York came in second with 52.4 homeless people for every 10,000, or 103,200 total. Vermont came in third with 50.9 per 10,000, or about 3,295. Rounding out the top five was Oregon, in fourth place, with 50 per 10,000, equating to about 20,000 people; and California, with 46.5 per 10,000, equivalent to 181,399 people.
The city of San Francisco in particular saw a surge in homeless tent encampments in the aftermath of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic, reaching a record high of over 500.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: House Moves to Hold Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress for Defying Subpoenas
The House Oversight Committee has announced that they will hold a session on January 10 to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
Hunter Biden refused to appear on December 13 before House committees that subpoenaed him, instead issuing a speech on the Capitol lawn stating that he would speak with the committees only in a public hearing, against House rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The suspect accused of pushing a man onto Philadelphia’s SEPTA tracks who was killed by an oncoming train has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
According to NBC 10, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that 40-year-old Chaz Wearing was charged with involuntary manslaughter stemming from the Thursday evening incident.
Investigators believe Wearing to be homeless. There’s currently a bench warrant out for him for strangulation in Delaware County.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CHD Sues California Over Efforts to Penalize Doctors for “Misinformation”
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) earlier this week sued the Medical Board of California for continuing to threaten doctors with disciplinary action related to their stance on Covid, which the board treats as “misinformation.”
The filing before the US District Court for the Eastern District of California explains that this is happening despite the fact that a law the board used to justify such actions is no longer enforced.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DC Lawmaker Who Championed Criminal Justice Reform Effort Nixed by GOP House Now Faces Recall
The District of Columbia lawmaker who led the failed effort to reform the city’s criminal justice system amid a crime wave is now facing and unprecedented recall effort.
The lawmaker, Democrat Council member Charles Allen, was chairman of the council’s Judiciary Committee when the criminal code reform effort was proposed last year and shepherded the measure to a vote, according to Axios.
However, Congress, which has oversight over D.C., passed a resolution of disapproval last year, with bipartisan support, to block the implementation of the bill, which included the elimination of most mandatory sentences and lower penalties for such violent offenses as carjackings and robberies.
President Biden, a Democrat, in March 2023, signed into law the legislation that overturned the bill.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Florida Man Sentenced to 10 Years for J6, Carrying Pepper Spray, Avoiding Arrest
On Thursday, the Department of Justice sentenced a Florida man to 10 years in prison on charges relating to the January 6 protest at the US Capitol in 2021.
Christopher Worrell, 52, of Naples, Florida, was sentenced to 120 months in prison on multiple felony counts that included assaulting a group of police officers with a deadly and dangerous weapon. Worrell deployed pepper spray on a line of police officers at the Capitol on the west plaza, according to the Department of Justice.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gun Crimes Fall After Constitutional Carry Laws Adopted, Study Shows
Several U.S. cities have seen rates of gun crimes fall after they adopted constitutional carry laws, a new study has found.
The study analyzed data on crime rates for before and after a constitutional carry law was implemented in Ohio.
The researchers found that gun crimes dropped in six of the state’s eight largest cities.
A report from the Ohio Star cited the work on the study by the Center for Justice Research.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Jeffrey Epstein Trafficked Teen to Prominent US Politicians, ‘World Leaders’ to Blackmail Them: Docs
Jeffrey Epstein trafficked a teenage girl to prominent US politicians, world leaders — and even a “well-known Prime Minister” — and then made her detail the sexual encounters so that he could potentially blackmail the men, according to newly unsealed court documents.
The accuser, identified in the 2014 filing by the pseudonym “Jane Doe 3,” was forced to have sex with a host of “powerful men.”
That list included “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders,” the document alleged, without naming the individuals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Confirms Opinion: Oregon’s Measure 114 Gun Law Violates State Constitution
Authored by Scottie Barnes via The Epoch Times
A state court’s preliminary ruling against Oregon’s Measure 114 gun control policy will stand after a hearing in which Harney County Circuit Court Judge Robert Raschio considered additional arguments against his original case findings.
Judge Raschio rejected every objection that defense attorneys for the Oregon Department of Justice raised to his opinion about the case. That opinion found the measure violates the state’s constitutionally protected right to bear arms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judicial Watch Sues Biden DHS for Records Targeting Judicial Watch and Its President Tom Fitton
Judicial Watch has announced that it is suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after this federal agency ignored the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Judicial Watch had asked for all information that Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is a part of DHS, has compiled regarding the nonprofit and its president, Tom Fitton.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government on behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot and killed inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021 (Estate of Ashli Babbitt and Aaron Babbitt, et al. v. United States of America (No. 3:24-cv-00033)).
The lawsuit includes claims against the U.S. Government for wrongful death, assault and battery, and various negligence issues.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Media Matters Receives Millions From Democrat Megadonors, Leaked Donor List Reveals: Report
The left-wing advocacy group Media Matters for America is being bankrolled by some of the biggest Democratic megadonors in the country, according to a new report.
The Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday that Media Matters, a liberal nonprofit often cited by legacy news organizations as a media watchdog, might have “mistakenly” identified some of its biggest donors in a November filing to the New Mexico attorney general’s office.
According to the filing obtained by the Free Beacon, Media Matters’ biggest donor was Deborah Simon of the shopping mall giant Simon Property Group, who gave $4 million to the nonprofit. As the Free Beacon noted, Simon had been outspoken in her pledge to defeat former President Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election and has collectively given $53 million to various Democratic campaigns and causes since 2018.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
More Than a Third of US Adults Say Biden’s Election Was Illegitimate: Poll
Authored by Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
More than one-third of U.S. adults now believe that President Joe Biden wasn’t legitimately elected, a new survey shows, marking an uptick from December 2021.
The Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, conducted last month, found that 36 percent of respondents believe that President Biden’s election was illegitimate—a 7-point increase from two years ago.
Comparatively, 62 percent said he was legitimately elected, down from 69 percent in 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Number of Police Officers in US Shot on the Job in 2023 Hits New High, Report
A new report shows the number of police officers shot on the job hit a new high in 2023.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, a national police group with nearly 400,000 members, released the report, which showed 378 officers were shot in the line of duty in 2023, up 14% from the previous year, when 330 were shot.
Of the 378 shot this year, 46 died from their injuries.
A graphic from the report shows the significant increase in recent years as well as the breakdown by state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poll: Biden Holds Worst Net Approval Rating for a President in Modern History at This Time in Office
President Joe Biden, 81, holds the worst net approval rating in history at this time in office, 1,080 days into his tenure, FiveThirtyEight polling found this week, highlighting just how unpopular Biden is going into a presidential election just ten months away.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ron DeSantis Law Pushes United Teachers of Dade Union to Brink of Extinction
A Florida law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last May has the nation’s third-largest teachers union facing what was once unthinkable — extinction.
The United Teachers of Dade — which represents 25,000 Miami school workers — has suddenly found itself scrambling for survival after nearly 50 years at the helm.
“This is a very real existential threat,” said Allison Beattie, Director of Labor Relations at the Freedom Foundation, a conservative union watchdog. “This would be a blow not just to this union, but to the influence of teachers unions across the country.”
Asserting that educator unions were increasingly out of touch with their members, DeSantis passed legislation that ended the practice of automatically deducting dues from paychecks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
SCOTUS to Take Up Trump Colorado Ballot Case
The Supreme Court on Friday announced it would hear former President Donald Trump’s appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court decision to disqualify him from the ballot under the 14th Amendment.
Oral arguments will take place on Feb. 8, the Washington Post reported.
In late December, the Colorado Supreme Court determined that Trump was ineligible for the presidency under the “insurrection” provision of the 14th Amendment due to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump’s attorneys swiftly vowed to appeal the decision and formally requested the Supreme Court’s intervention on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Third Epstein Document Dump: Former Driver Recalls Taking Girls to Epstein’s Home
The Southern District of New York on Friday released a third batch of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 civil suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, the late sex-trafficking kingpin’s girlfriend, pursuant to a court order from Judge Loretta Preska.
The first of the documents became public on Wednesday, with a subsequent batch being published Thursday. The Friday batch included 44 documents, among them a deposition of Tony Figueroa, Giuffre’s former boyfriend and Maxwell and Epstein’s former driver.
Figueroa’s deposition includes his admission that he would “get girls” to visit Epstein’s home, for which he would receive $200 each.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Blasts Biden Over ‘Fearmongering’ Speech
Former President Donald Trump on Friday excoriated President Joe Biden over a bellicose speech the incumbent commander-in-chief delivered at Valley Forge, Penn., in which he castigated his Republican adversary over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and asserted that Trump would “sacrifice our democracy” to maintain power.
Biden has, in recent days escalated his campaign rhetoric characterizing the 2024 election as a fight to preserve American democracy, with his campaign releasing an ad labelling Trump’s supporters as an “extremist movement.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Virginia Officials Shut Down Viral TikToker’s Tunnel Project
A TikToker’s viral plan to dig a tunnel under her house was stopped by Virginia officials barring a full inspection.
The user known as “Kala” gained over 500,000 followers since documenting the excavation of her sub-basement in her Herndon, Virginia, home. Her earliest video from Oct. 23, 2022, featured “Kala” stating that she was planning to construct a storm shelter.
Various other videos showed her working on the project by herself as she documents the construction process. However, new developments may grind the process to a halt.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
What Does She Know? Megyn Kelly Says World May Hear ‘Directly’ From Epstein This Year
A video going viral online shows the moment journalist Megyn Kelly hinted she knows information about deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein that can’t yet be revealed.
The strange remark came during a recent airing of The Megyn Kelly Show where the former mainstream news anchor told her audience, “We’re not done with Jeffrey Epstein. I can tell you that for a fact. I can’t tell you how I know but I can tell you for a fact we’re going to hear a lot more about Jeffrey Epstein in the coming year and you may be even hearing from him directly. More on that as I’m aloud to tell you.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wyoming Judge Dismisses Effort to Bar Trump From Ballot
A Wyoming district court judge dismissed a lawsuit aiming to remove former President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis from election ballots, sparking celebration from Wyoming Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray.
“I am extremely pleased with Judge Westby’s decision to dismiss Mr. Newcomb’s outrageously wrong and repugnant lawsuit to remove Donald Trump and Cynthia Lummis from the ballot in Wyoming,” Gray said in a press release provided to Fox News Digital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amsterdam Mayor Warns of Netherlands’ Risk of Becoming a ‘Narco State’
In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema expressed concern that the Netherlands is at risk of turning into a “narco state,” as reported by Dutch News.
Halsema acknowledged that the Dutch approach, which historically focused on minimizing health risks for users, had been relatively successful in the past with minimal impact on the economy and daily life. However, she noted that due to globalization as well as the international criminalization of drugs, the illegal drug trade has evolved into a more profitable, professional and violently ruthless enterprise.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Police Report 80% Surge in Climate Activist Disruptions in 2023
According to reports, the Berlin police were involved in 550 protest and blockade actions by climate activists last year, representing an 80 percent increase from the previous year, said Police President Barbara Slowik to the news agency dpa.
Since the start of the protests about two years ago, a total of 6130 criminal complaints have been filed with the Berlin police. The majority of these complaints involved the climate protection group “Letzte Generation” (Last Generation), according to Slowik. Additionally, 138 complaints were directed against individuals who confronted the demonstrators, including drivers who verbally or physically aggressed and removed blockades from the streets.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Experts Call for Suspension of Genetic mRNA Vaccines
Recently, Dutch molecular biologist Dr. Maarten Fornerod and renowned immunologist Prof. Theo Schetters called for the suspension of genetic mRNA vaccines, shedding light on potential concerns related to these vaccines.
In a program on BlckBx.TV last week, the experts discussed various issues, including DNA contamination found in mRNA vaccines and the impacts of ribosomal frameshifts. These concerns are highlighted in a recent study, suggesting the need for caution in genetic vaccine development.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Steams Ahead With Controversial, Centrally-Controlled Digital Euro
The European Union (EU) has been known to waste a lot of money on wrong or even hopeless causes, and opponents of centralized digital money (CBDCs) must be hoping that the digital euro, which has just had €1.3 billion earmarked towards its development, will be one of those.
In fact, in announcing the move EU’s European Central Bank (ECB) made sure to add the disclaimer that it is “not making a commitment to launch any of the development work listed.”
But for the moment, ECB is pushing forward with its plans, and much earlier than observers expected — so much so that the announcement is viewed by some as a surprise.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Amid the debates on immigration laws in France, Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National party has seen a surge in popularity.
With that surge in popularity, allies of Macron’s globalist ruling party are leveling accusations that Le Pen’s party is influenced by Moscow, citing Kremlin documents obtained by a European security service.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Ruling Left-Globalist SPD Sinks to 6% in Bavaria
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Bavaria is experiencing a significant decline, dropping to 6 percent according to recent survey data, indicating diminishing support for the traffic light parties across various federal states.
The SPD’s decrease in Bavaria comes shortly after the state elections, where it had already experienced a slight setback, falling to 8.4 percent compared to the 2018 election. The latest figures paint a more alarming picture, showing a further decline of 2.4 percentage points within three months, bringing the party dangerously close to the five percent threshold, which would mark the end of its parliamentary representation in the second-largest federal state, German media reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Maaßen, Former Domestic Intel Chief, to Form New Party to Rival CDU
Hans-Georg Maaßen, the chairman of the Values Union, has unveiled plans to establish a rival party to the Union, marking a significant move away from the CDU and CSU. The association’s upcoming general meeting on January 20th will focus on proposed changes to the statutes, including the transfer of naming rights to a newly envisioned party named WerteUnion.
Should the general meeting approve these substantial changes, it would signify the initial step toward the Values Union’s separation from the CDU and CSU, the German press reported. Maaßen, the former President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, emphasized the subsequent plan for a founding party conference for the newly proposed WerteUnion (WU).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Discovers New Energy Pipelines to Replace Russian Gas Have Been Sabotaged
The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office is investigating “suspicions of unconstitutional sabotage” after holes were discovered drilled into a new gas delivery pipe installed to overcome the country’s dependence on imported Russian hydrocarbons.
Germany believes a number of one-centimetre (approximately half, or 13/32ths of an inch) holes have been “drilled” into a new gas delivery pipeline delivering the energy source to Germany’s national grid, an act of what is believed to be sabotage discovered in November but made public now. The exact cause of the damage or motivation behind an attempt to sabotage Germany’s energy imports is not known, but the Schleswig-Holsteinische Zeitungsverlag reports Dutch-German energy company Gasunie has now confirmed the damage took place, and that they believe it was caused by “third-party intervention”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Receives Additional 170 Billion HUF in EU Funding for Key Development Initiatives
Minister of Finance of hungary Mihaly Varga has announced that Hungary has obtained an additional 170 billion forints (EUR 445 million) from the European Union, as reported by About Hungary.
This recent allocation, coupled with the 779.5 million euros received for recovery funding last week, results in Hungary securing a total of 470 billion forints in funding over the past few days.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary: PM Orban Takes Aim at Brussels in New Year’s Speech
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is gearing up for a significant political shift in Brussels as the upcoming EU Parliament election approaches. Orban sees a need to address three major issues that he believes demand urgent attention from politicians who seem disconnected from reality.
Orban describes the current year as one of “big plans,” expressing his intention to bring about substantial political changes in Brussels. He points out a prevalent belief in Hungary that “Brussels bureaucrats” live in a “bubble,” leading many EU politicians to be “blind” to the actual challenges faced by the populations of member states. According to Orban, these politicians have distanced themselves from the real issues confronting people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Fake Populist PM Meloni Says There Are “Irreconcilable Differences” With Germany’s AfD
Italy’s phony populist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who oversaw a 50% increase in illegal migration in 2023, has said there are “irreconcilable differences” between her Brothers of Italy party and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Speaking at a news conference in Rome, originally intended as her end-of-year event but postponed due to illness, Meloni addressed the possibility of an alliance with the AfD and the French National Rally in Europe, the German press reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Madrid Banishes Older Cars With New Low Emissions Zone
Madrid has introduced harsh new emissions measures that may stop a full quarter of the country’s private cars from even entering the capital. Spain has one of the most aged vehicle fleets in the EU, with the average car being 14 years old.
Cars and light gasoline vans manufactured before 2001 and diesel cars and vans from before 2006 are not allowed to enter or circulate in the city unless they were registered to a city resident before 2022 or pay an annual environmental penalty. Permitted cars receive an “environmental label,” in line with regulations applied from January 1.
Penalizing older vehicles primarily impacts poorer Spaniards, while providing municipal Madrid with a steady revenue stream in the form of fines.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of East Germans Want to See AfD-CDU Government
A potential coalition between the Union (CDU/CSU) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining popularity as the favored government option in East Germany, according to an Insa survey commissioned by the news portal Nius.
The survey focused on coalitions that are mathematically feasible and would secure a majority in the Bundestag. Among the respondents, 32 percent expressed a preference for a black-blue federal government, consisting of the Union and AfD. Other queried options included a coalition between the Union and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), as well as an alliance involving the Union, the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Germans Back Return of Compulsory Military Service: Younger People Not So Sure
More than half of Germans of all ages — with one key cohort excepted — want to restore compulsory military service, a survey released Thursday reveals, as war on the European continent between Russia and Ukraine drags on into another year.
The revelation comes courtesy of a representative survey by the opinion research institute Insa and published by Welt. It shows 52 percent of respondents are in favor of armed service while 32 percent are against it.
Germany scrapped compulsory military service back in 2011 although a growing call for rearmament right across Europe is now forcing it to think again.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mob of German Farmers Accosts Top Green as Protests Escalate
BERLIN — Tensions over Germany’s budget crisis escalated significantly late Thursday as a group of angry farmers protested against tax hikes by blocking Greens Economy Minister Robert Habeck from disembarking from a ferry as it docked in northern Germany.
The mob of more than 100 people harangued Habeck in a scene local police described as “very, very tense.”
The incident underlines growing discontent and political tensions over spending cuts that the leaders of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition have proposed amid the country’s still-roiling budget crisis. The government had to significantly reduce spending in a new draft budget for 2024 after a constitutional court ruling in November blew a €60 billion hole in its finances.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Musk Talks Population Collapse With Incoming Dutch Populist Prime Minister Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders, who is presently in negotiations in his native Netherlands to become the next Prime Minister after a populist-right surge in recent elections has been exchanging thoughts on migration and birthrates with Elon Musk.
The “collapse of our own culture and Western values” due to open borders and mass migration is the “biggest problem we face today”, veteran populist and possibly next Prime Minister of the Netherlands Geert Wilders and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk agreed. The pair swapped messages on Musk owned-X (née Twitter) in response to a post about “population collapse”, noting how in nations around the world the fertility rate is falling to record lows.
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New Law Mandates Disclosure of Wages, Sparking Controversy in the Czech Republic
A forthcoming law in the Czech Republic will compel the disclosure of wages, a move stirring heated debates on the right to access information about colleagues’ salaries, Novinky.cz writes.
The legislation aligns with a European directive requiring member states, including the Czech Republic, to incorporate the rule into their laws. However, companies approached by Czech newspaper Pravo express concerns, cautioning that such transparency may be misused and could strain workplace relationships.
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Polish Farmers Resume Ukraine Border Blockade Amidst Unresolved Demands
Polish farmers are set to renew their blockade of the Medyka border crossing with Ukraine starting Thursday, according to statements from protest leaders to the state-run news agency PAP, as reported by Reuters.
Despite Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski providing assurances in a note that their demands would be met, the farmers are resuming the protest as Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not issued a signed declaration.
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Polish Journalists in Limbo After Tusk TV Purge
The clocks went back to the pre-glasnost era for Pawel Pietkun last month as the veteran foreign correspondent turned up to find black-clad police officers barring his way into work at the state-funded broadcasting channel TVP World’s headquarters in central Warsaw.
Serving as deputy director of the influential foreign affairs channel which functions as the Polish equivalent of the BBC World Service, Pietkun was just one of the 200 TVP World staff forcibly locked out of their workplace—in a supposedly buoyant liberal democracy—at the behest of Poland’s new Tusk government, in an eerie throwback to an era of Soviet domination.
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Prague Students March Tribute to Victims of Recent Mass Shooting
In a poignant display of solidarity, hundreds of students and fellow Czechs undertook a silent march through Prague on Thursday to pay homage to the 14 lives lost in the nation’s most devastating mass killing just two weeks prior.
Commencing at a makeshift memorial outside Prague’s Charles University headquarters—where thousands had previously gathered to illuminate candles in remembrance of the December 21 tragedy—the procession was led by Charles University Rector Milena Kralickova and Faculty of Arts Dean Eva Leheckova. Holding an oil lamp ignited from the memorial candles, they guided the march through Prague’s Old Town to Palach Square, the site of the fatal shooting within the main faculty building. The assailant, a Czech student, claimed 14 lives and wounded 25 others before taking his own life.
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Spain’s Socialist Government Announces Costly 2027 Nuclear Shutdown
Madrid looks like bucking the recent European trend on nuclear energy as Spain’s socialist government confirmed shortly before Christmas that it would begin a total phase-out of nuclear power from 2027, despite opposition claims that the country is not prepared for a post-nuclear future.
In one of the first European countries to embrace nuclear energy, it now accounts for approximately a fifth of Spain’s energy consumption. Despite nuclear’s importance since the 1960s, the Sanchez government is looking to complete its shutdown by 2035. Spain currently has five active nuclear power plants. Their closure on ‘environmental grounds’ is a longstanding goal of the country’s anti-nuclear Left.
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The European Country Where Temperatures Have Dropped to -43C as 1,000 Cars Trapped
Hundreds of people who were trapped in thick snow on a road Sweden have now been evacuated.
As temperatures in Sweden plummeted to a low as —43C in some parts of the country, rescuers freed people from around 1,000 cars on the main E22 road in the Skane area of southern Sweden. It wasn’t before the army had to be deployed to deliver water and food to those who’d been trapped — many with children and pets and some with medical conditions.
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UK: ULEZ Vigilantes Spark Copycat Attacks as Speed Cameras in Cornwall Targeted
A spate of raids on speed cameras in Cornwall have taken place in what look to be copycat attack of those on Ulez cameras in London.
A spate of raids on speed cameras in Cornwall have taken place in what look to be copycat attack of those on Ulez cameras in London.
Two more cameras have been cut down overnight after multiple were damaged in November.
One previously chopped down camera was replaced with a steel support but was knocked down again.
The other was a bi-directional camera located on a busy main road which spots drivers not wearing seat belts and using their mobile phones.
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Serbia Contemplates Reintroducing Mandatory Military Service
As tensions escalate in the Balkan region, Serbia’s defense ministry has proposed the reintroduction of compulsory military service with the potential for service lasting up to four months.
The Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, in a statement, outlined the aim to enhance the defense capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces by rejuvenating and improving the training of active and reserve forces. The proposal, submitted to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, is a response to the current challenges faced by Serbia as a militarily neutral country.
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ISIS Spokesman Calls for Global Attacks on Jews: ‘Kill Them Wherever You Find Them’
Islamic State spokesman Abu Huthaifa al-Ansari, in a speech published by the terror group’s media arm Al-Furqan on Thursday evening, called on ISIS supporters around the world to attack Jews and avenge the killing by the Israel Defense Forces of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
In a 30-minute recording titled, “And kill them wherever you find them,” Al-Ansari instructed terrorist cells to strike Israeli and Jewish targets across the United States and Europe, including synagogues, Jewish gatherings and Israeli diplomatic missions.
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Nasrallah Warns Northern Israel ‘First to Pay the Price’ if Full-Blown War Erupts
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened that Israel’s northern residents would be “the first to pay the price if a full-scale war were to erupt” along the front, and boasted of the terror group’s achievements in recent daily skirmishes, in a nationally televised speech Friday.
The leader of the Iran-backed terror group also used the address to repeat many of the same threats against Israel that he made earlier this week again vowing to avenge deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri’s killing in Beirut while remaining vague on the specifics.
Nasrallah said that all of Lebanon would be exposed to further Israeli strikes if the group did not react to the assassination of Arouri in Beirut, allegedly carried out by Israel.
“The response is coming. The decision has already been made. The matter now depends on what will unfold on the ground and on Allah,” Nasrallah said.
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Germany Urges Swift Departure From Lebanon Amid Rising Tensions
Germany issued a call for its citizens to promptly leave Lebanon, cautioning about the potential escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict, as reported by Barron’s. The advisory was prompted by a drone strike in Beirut that resulted in the death of a senior Hamas leader.
The German foreign ministry, using X, urged all remaining German citizens in Lebanon to register on the ELEFAND crisis preparedness list and evacuate the country as soon as possible. The government’s crisis unit convened on Wednesday to assess the situation.
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Iran Moves to Seal Borders With Afghanistan and Pakistan After Deadly Blasts
Iran said it is shutting its vast borders with neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan to increase security after the twin bombing that killed at least 89 people in the southeastern city of Kerman on January 3.
The Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying his government was prioritizing border crossings along borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which range for almost 1,000 kilometers.
The bombings in Kerman targeted people attending ceremonies to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the late military commander General Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone.
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Iran Apprehends Suspects in Bomb Blasts, Mourners Call for Retaliation
In the aftermath of two fatal explosions in Iran, mourners gathered on Friday to mourn the victims. While state TV reported that a number of suspects had been arrested in connection with the attacks, claimed by the Islamic State, Reuters writes.
State TV footage from the funerals in Kerman, the site of the Wednesday explosions, showed crowds chanting “revenge, revenge.” These blasts marked the bloodiest attacks in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The explosions occurred during a memorial service for General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone.
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Ukraine Praises Donald Trump for Sanctions on Nord Stream Pipeline: ‘A Person You Can Work With’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview on Wednesday that he does not believe the election of former President Donald Trump as president in 2024 would necessarily result in less U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort. Kuleba explained, “Trump is a person you can work with; you just need to know how.”
Kuleba noted to Ukraine’s NV media outlet:
Who sold the first American weapon to Ukraine? President Trump [sent us] Javelins. Who launched the program of free delivery of the first naval vessels, the Island and Mark VI boats, to Ukraine? Trump. Who fought the Nord Stream 2 project and imposed sanctions on the well-known but already forgotten Fortuna ship that laid this pipeline? It was Trump.
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Ukraine Sends Fresh Wave of Drones to Russian and Occupied Cities
Associated Press — Russian air defenses downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday, officials said, as Kyiv pressed its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula and taking the 22-month war well beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Air raid sirens wailed in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second straight day on a bridge connecting the peninsula, which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago, with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The span is a crucial supply link for Russia’s war effort.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its defenses intercepted 36 drones over Crimea and one over Krasnodar, part of an emerging pattern of intensified Ukrainian aerial attacks in recent days.
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Ukrainian forces executed a cross-border raid into Russia, where they attacked military positions, inflicted a number of casualties, and mined the only road in the area, Kyiv said on Friday.
In a statement shared to the social media platform Telegram, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said its troops carried out the assault just over the border into Russia’s western Belgorod region and that it was intended to protect civilians who live near Russia and who suffer from attacks by Moscow. It’s unclear when, exactly, the raid took place.
The Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence, an arm of the country’s defense ministry also known as the HUR, said it had gathered information that Russian military leadership planned to inspect positions in Belgorod after receiving complaints from troops about poor conditions there. The HUR said it then planned and carried out the raid to inflict losses and deal a blow to Russia’s morale.
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US Readies Aid as Japan Earthquake Death Toll Nears 100
WAJIMA, Japan, Jan 5 (Reuters) — The United States said on Friday it is preparing military logistical support and aid for regions in Japan devastated by an earthquake that killed 94 people, forced about 33,000 people to leave their homes, and left over 200 people unaccounted for.
“The U.S. is here to support our friend and ally in its earthquake response. Military logistical support, food, and other supplies are being readied,” U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel posted on social media site X.
Japan is in talks with the U.S. about emergency assistance and rejected offers for help from other countries including China for the time being.
“We are not accepting any personnel or material aid from other countries or regions at the moment given the situation on the ground and the effort that would be required to receive them,” Japan’s top spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
A U.S. official who declined to be named told Reuters the two governments were coordinating on possible assistance from U.S. troops.
About 54,000 U.S. forces personnel are based in Japan, the biggest U.S. military presence abroad, according to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
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On Friday, America First Legal launched an investigation into the Transportation Security Administration’s vetting of illegal immigrants, or lack there of, following numerous reports of undocumented newcomers spotted traveling through airports and boarding planes across the United States.
Via a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the TSA, AFL is seeking to “uncover the extent of this national security risk” posed by “effectively tak[ing] illegal aliens at their word for their identities.”
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President and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump spoke in Sioux City, Iowa on Friday, only moments after President Joe Biden delivered his bizarre rant in Valley Forge, PA. In his first campaign speech of the 2024 election season, incumbent President Joe Biden took aim not only at his primary political opponent but also at his supporters. He has no respect or concern for those Trump voters who value freedom and liberty over war, open borders, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The timing of this first speech was no coincidence, it was designed to mark the 3rd anniversary of the J6 protests at the Capitol in 2021. That was a protest that opposed Biden’s impending leadership, and Biden still cannot forget it. His 2023 year end approval rating of 37 percent won’t let him.
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Court Rules Somalian Migrant Who Murdered Swedish Teenager Cannot be Deported
In a disgusting attack in Landskrona, a Somali man, Ali Said, who was on the run from a youth home, murdered a 19-year-old man in broad daylight outside a grocery.
However, it was allegedly a case of mistaken identity, and the victim was not the intended target. The judiciary describes the incident as a “pure execution.” On May 14 of the previous year, the 19-year-old, who was on the brink of graduation, was with friends outside the store when a masked man, riding an electric bike, approached and fired several shots, according to a report from the Swedish press.
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Democrat ‘Sanctuary City’ Mayors Blast Biden Over Border Crisis: ‘We Are So Frustrated’
Democrat mayors of so-called “sanctuary cities” are blasting President Joe Biden over his failure to address the border crisis.
Since border states started transporting illegal aliens to “sanctuaries” across the country, Democrat-led cities have been flooded with migrants.
The move has turned the border crisis into a national issue, with Democrats now publicly demanding action from Biden.
Democrats are now openly complaining of “mounting crises in their cities” as illegal immigrants continue to arrive in cities across the country, according to a new report.
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France: Unaccompanied Migrant Minor From Ivory Coast Stabs Street Vendor in the Throat
In a tragic incident on Tuesday, January 2, at a funfair on Cours Gay Lussac in Limoges (Haute-Vienne), a 16-year-old unaccompanied migrant minor from Ivory Coast is suspected of stabbing a 25-year-old man in the throat.
The altercation ensued after a scuffle and verbal exchanges between the suspect and the victim, leading to the UM stabbing the victim in the carotid artery. The incident occurred around 6 p.m., according to a report from French media.
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France Annually Spends Around 2 Billion Euros on Illegal Migrants
The Court of Auditors strongly criticizes France’s policy against illegal immigration, highlighting an annual cost of 1.8 billion euros with mixed results, as reported by Le Figaro.
According to the report unveiled on Thursday, the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for 80% of this policy.
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France Says Britain Not Doing Enough to ‘Stop the Boats’
British officials have long accused France of doing too little to stop migrants leaving its safe shores by crossing the English Channel on small boats. But now France is pointing out double standards on the opposite shore.
A report by the Court of Accounts, which independently analyses French public spending, claims that Anglo-French cooperation on the Channel crisis is “still disappointing.” The British, it argues, “do not communicate exploitable information on the departures of the small boats and give very general, unverified first-level information,” such as “very piecemeal information” on “the references or serial numbers of the boats and the engines” transporting migrants.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported over 142,000 people in 2023 — less than 5% of all 3.2 million migrants encountered at US borders.
In its 2023 annual report released last week, ICE readily noted its number of expulsions was double those of the previous year, but under Joe Biden’s presidency the agency is deporting far fewer people than it did under Donald Trump.
For example, in the immigration agency’s 2018 financial year, ICE removed 265,000 individuals from the US, representing over 30% of the 680,000 migrants encountered at the border that year, according to Customs and Border Protection’s figures.
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Italian Premier Meloni Emphasizes Investment, Not Charity, in Curbing African Migrant Arrivals
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni conveyed to her European Union counterparts that the effort to reduce migration flows from African countries is more about fostering strong partnerships and strategic investments than charitable actions.
During a year-end news conference, Meloni stated that while the recent EU Migration and Asylum Pact has partially improved Italy’s situation and that of other asylum countries, it does not constitute a comprehensive solution to the growing challenge of migrant arrivals.
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Number of African Illegal Immigrants to US Skyrockets as Europe Clamps Down
The number of African illegal immigrants into the United States has skyrocketed over the last year while many European countries are shutting down their borders.
In 2023, the number of African illegal immigrants who have been apprehended at the southern border has hit over 58,000. That is up more than four times the amount in 2022, according to government data obtained by the New York Times.
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Record 39,910 Illegal Migrants Landed in Canary Islands in 2023
The illegal immigration route to the Spanish Canary Islands is known as one of the most dangerous to Europe and statistics reveal that last year nearly 40,000 migrants made the perilous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean last year, more than double the number in 2022.
The number of migrants who arrived in Spain overall in 2023 numbered 56,852, up 82.1% compared to the figure from 2022, largely driven by migrants crossing the Atlantic to the Canary Islands, a report from the newspaper Le Figaro notes.
The figures come from the Spanish Interior Ministry and represent the highest number of illegal arrivals to Spain since 2018 when over 64,000 migrants arrived on Spanish shores.
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At the Linköping district court, three Syrian citizens, two 17-year-olds, and one 18-year-old, face charges related to aggravated rape and child pornography.
Allegedly, they raped a minor girl in a public toilet in central Linköping on September 18 last year, the Swedish press reports. The suspects are accused of locking the door, preventing the girl from leaving, and then sexually assaulting her. Additionally, one of the suspects filmed parts of the assault on a mobile phone and shared the footage via Snapchat, leading to charges of child pornography.
DNA evidence links two of the suspects to the crime scene. All suspects, who were minors at the time of the incident, deny the accusations and require an interpreter in Arabic.
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A Texas sheriff has issued a warning to Democrat President Joe Biden and his administration over the illegal migrant crisis at the Southern Border.
During an appearance on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” on Friday, Kinney County, Texas Sheriff Brad Coe warned the American people that he is expecting a “human tsunami” to flood the border around the 2024 election.
Coe suggested that the Democrats will be orchestrating large migrant caravans over the summer to influence the presidential election.
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Republicans have warned the next terror attack on American soil will be linked to an illegal border crosser after a visit to the hotspot of the migrant crisis this week.
‘We have no idea how many terrorists have come in,’ Speaker Mike Johnson said on the bank of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, noting that 312 people from the terrorist watchlist had been caught at the border since Biden took office.
‘I am 100 percent certain that we are going to suffer another terror attack U.S. soil and you’re going to be able to trace it back to this,’ Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a former FBI agent who spent his entire career in counterintelligence, told DailyMail.com.
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Republican Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine Bans Gender Transition Surgery for Minors
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Friday banning gender reassignment surgery from being performed on minors.
“This ban is effective immediately,” the Ohio governor told reporters after signing the order.
A week ago, DeWine vetoed comprehensive legislation that would have outlawed doctors from prescribing hormones and puberty blockers for minors, as well as performing gender reassignment surgeries.
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Supreme Court Allows Idaho to Enforce Emergency Room Abortion Ban
The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Idaho to enforce its abortion ban while it considers whether emergency room doctors can legally use the procedure in order to stabilize a patient.
A lower court had blocked Idaho’s abortion ban in hospital emergencies after a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration argued that doctors must comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).
The 1986 federal law requires ER physicians to provide an abortion when necessary as part of stabilizing treatment for an emergency medical condition.
The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance about the law two weeks after the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, and the Biden administration sued Idaho a month later.
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Workers at West Sussex Fire and Rescue are given training on how to be transgender and non-binary inclusive.
Firefighters have been told that biological sex is “just a label” and that it “runs on a spectrum”.
Workers at West Sussex Fire and Rescue are given training on how to be transgender and non-binary inclusive.
In the guidance, one section asks the question: “What is the gender binary?”, before clarifying that “in white Western cultures, gender is seen as being an either/or choice, also known as a binary”.
Fire service staff have also been told that gender in fact is a set of behaviours.
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Woke Fail: ‘Harry Potter’ Profits Soar as Trans Mob Attempts to Cancel J.K. Rowling
Acclaimed author J.K. Rowling just keeps on winning. Despite the combined forces of left-wing critics and woke dissemblers, the Harry Potter creator has defied all efforts to cancel her and can sit back and enjoy seeing her bank balance rise.
Over the past 12 months Pottermore publishing — a global digital audiobook and eBook publisher of Harry Potter books and affiliated Wizarding World titles — experienced a surge in sales, soaring from approximately U.S. $7 million to more than U.S. $11.9 million over the last fiscal year, GB News reports.
Critics sought to banish the British author in 2020 after she voiced her stance on protecting sex-based rights for women, as Breitbart News reported.
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