The bishop who was stabbed during a live-streamed church service in Sydney says he forgives his attacker. Meanwhile, audio is circulating on social media of a man praising the knifeman who allegedly stabbed the bishop.
In other news, Dubai experienced severe flooding yesterday and today after two years’ worth of rain fell in just 24 hours. Some analysts believe the torrential rain was caused by cloud-seeding operations that had been conducted prior to the deluge.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Dora, 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.
‘Russian Economy to Outgrow All Advanced Nations in 2024,’ IMF Forecasts
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted the Russian economy will this year grow faster than those of the Western countries trying to isolate it.
In its latest forecast, published on April 16, the IMF saw Russia’s economy growing by 3.2 per cent this year, outpacing Western nations including the US, which will manage 2.7 per cent.
Japan’s economy is set to expand by just 0.9 per cent and the overall Eurozone’s by 0.8 per cent.
Within the European Union, Spain will grow 1.9 per cent but France and Italy will only manage 0.7 per cent, with Germany, the traditional engine of Europe, chalking up a weak 0.2 per cent — although that would be an improvement on the German economy’s 0.3 per cent contraction over 2023.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Do Not Touch Me… I Am a Faculty Member”: Cornell Professor Disrupts Coulter Speech
Authored by Jonathan Turley
Monica Cornejo, an assistant professor of interpersonal communication, was forcibly removed from a Cornell University event this week after disrupting a speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter. She is only the latest faculty member to seek to prevent others from hearing opposing views. The question now is what Cornell will do about her conduct.
To its credit, Cornell resolved to reinvite Coulter to speak after a prior event was disrupted by protesters.
On March 13, Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff stated that:
“Having been deeply troubled by an invited speaker at Cornell (any speaker) being shouted down and unable to present their views, I agreed that there could be few more powerful demonstrations of Cornell’s commitment to free expression than to have Ms. Coulter return to campus and present her views.”
Kotlikoff should be commended for taking a principled stance in favor of free speech.
The question, however, is how he will handle Cornejo. In a 36-second video posted by The College Fix officers indicate that she is under arrest for “disorderly conduct.”
According to the site, she repeatedly responded “don’t touch me — do not touch me,” and tells them “I am a faculty member.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Last week Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote in a Tuesday op-ed that officials from 15 federal agencies “knew in 2018 that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was trying to create a coronavirus like COVID-19.”
These officials knew that the Chinese lab was proposing to create a COVID 19-like virus and not one of these officials revealed this scheme to the public. In fact, 15 agencies with knowledge of this project have continuously refused to release any information concerning this alarming and dangerous research.
Government officials representing at least 15 federal agencies were briefed on a project proposed by Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. —Rand Paul
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Students at New York City’s Columbia University set up a “Liberated Zone” on Wednesday to protest the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the New York Daily News, students said the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” would remain in the university’s main lawn until their demand that the school divest Columbia’s finances from companies and institutions that work with Israel is met by the administration.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alaska Airlines Grounded All Planes in the US Wednesday Morning
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Alaska Airlines grounded all flights in the U.S. early Wednesday morning, according to the air carrier.
The aircrafts “experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance,” Alaska Airlines officials said in a statement to KOIN 6 News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Israel activists who were arrested Monday for blocking the freeway leading to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were bailed out of jail by the Northwest Community Bail Fund. The fund is committed to defunding the police and abolishing prisons.
A spokesperson for the Port of Seattle told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, “20-24 flights were delayed. The majority were 20 minutes or less. The longest were two international flights that were delayed 90 and 77 minutes as their flight crews were delayed by the blockage.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Admin Hit With Lawsuit for Deleting Emails in Case That Could Have Consequences for Trump
FIRST ON FOX: A nonprofit legal organization filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on Wednesday, alleging it has deleted federal employees’ emails in violation of existing statute.
In a sweeping complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the America First Legal Foundation (AFL), the group headed by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, accused the Department of Health and Human Services of regularly deleting official emails and violating the Federal Records Act. The group also named the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is tasked with overseeing the unlawful destruction of federal records, as a defendant.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Boeing Whistleblower Tells Lawmakers: “They Are Putting Out Defective Airplanes”
Update (1530ET):
“I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft, and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk about them,” Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour said in his opening statement on Capitol Hill today at the second Senate committee investigating the plane manufacturer’s safety problems. He said when he raised concerns about the 787 Dreamliner, he was “ignored” by the company and “told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.”
Salehpour warned that the 787 Dreamliner fuselage was improperly put together and that the company “rushed to address the bottlenecks in production.” The result, he warned, is “premature fatigue failure” on these planes. He noted, “They are putting out defective airplanes.”
“If something happens to me, I am at peace because I feel like coming forward, I will be saving a lot of lives,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Updated on April 17 at 8 p.m.
Hundreds of students set up tents on South Lawn beginning at around 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning, pledging to occupy the space until the University divests from companies with ties to Israel.
The protest began only hours before University President Minouche Shafik testifiedbefore Congress alongside board of trustees co-chairs Claire Shipman, CC ‘86, SIPA ‘94, and David Greenwald, Law ‘83, as well as David Schizer, the co-chair of the antisemitism task force.
“The presence of tents on South Lawn is a safety concern and a violation of university policies,” a University spokesperson wrote in a statement to Spectator. “We are informing the students they are in violation of university policies and for their own safety and for the operation of the university they need to leave.”
At around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, encampment protesters were handed paper notices from the University notifying them that they must “immediately cease your participation in this encampment and leave the campus.”
The letter also reads that the University previously told protesters to “disperse by 11:00 a.m.” or “they would face sanctions.” Protesters “disregarded” both warnings, according to the letter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Columbia University president Minouse Shafik refused to characterize the popular chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic.
Instead, Shafik told legislators that the phrase was “hurtful” and declined to comment on whether or not it is permitted under official school policy, per the New York Post.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Court Papers Show Sen. Bob Menendez May Testify His Wife Kept Him in the Dark, Unaware of Any Crimes
NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez may seek exoneration at his May bribery trial by blaming his wife, saying she kept him in the dark about anything that could be illegal about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday.
Several sentences in a January court filing by lawyers for the Democrat were unsealed in Manhattan federal court after some news organizations insisted that public disclosure was required. Menendez’s lawyers had redacted the documents, claiming that the sentences revealed trial strategy that could bias the jury pool.
According to the passages that were unsealed, Menendez plans to testify about what he believes were exculpatory communications with his wife, Nadine, if he decides to take the witness stand in his defense.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Teases Return of Vine to X Platform
X owner Elon Musk on Wednesday teased the possible return of the former social media platform Vine.
Musk posted a poll to his account, asking, “bring back Vine?”
With over 431,000 votes an hour into the poll, 70.5 percent of respondents said they wanted the app to return.
The popular social media platform allowed users to post 6-second looping clips. It was bought by Twitter for around $30 million in 2012,according to The Verge, and it was announced in late 2016 that the app as it was known would be shutting down, instead turning into a camera app where users could post videos directly to Twitter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Georgia prosecutor from Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis’ office got into a shouting match Wednesday with the judge overseeing the trial of rapper Young Thug as the pair argued over evidentiary matters.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love and Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville got into a heated shouting match when the judge ruled that the evidence Love wanted to introduce would be excluded.
“Why didn’t we file this stuff months ago and let’s wind it out and air it out at that point in time,” Glanville told the defense before asking Love about the matter.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times
A federal judge has ruled Meta Platforms, Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will not face personal liability in 25 legal complaints alleging his social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, have harmed children.
Meta is facing dozens of separate legal complaints alleging the company failed to sufficiently warn adolescent users about the potentially addictive nature of their social media platforms. Those various complaints were consolidated into a multi-district litigation (MDL) currently being handled by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Twenty-five of the complaints sought to hold Mr. Zuckerberg personally liable for the harm allegedly caused by his social media platforms, but U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a ruling on Monday granting his motion to dismiss the cases.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Employees Arrested After Staging Sit-in to Protest Contract With Israel
Several Google employees were arrested on Tuesday after staging a sit-in to protestthe company’s $1.2 billion contract with Israel, known as Project Nimbus.
The disruptions occurred at Google offices in New York, California, and Washington. Law enforcement arrested nine of the dozens of employees who protested at these locations, according to Jane Chung, a spokesperson for the protestors.
Those arrested were involved in occupying Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office in Sunnyvale, California, and the 10th Floor of Google’s offices in Manhattan, New York. Google employees who protested in Seattle, Washington were reportedly not arrested.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. attorneys general are calling out Bank of America’s alleged “discriminatory behavior” in a penned letter that condemns the de-banking efforts targeting customers for their religious and political beliefs.
Indiana’s Todd Rokita, one of 15 U.S. attorneys general who signed the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, criticized the discriminatory “pattern” taking corporate America by storm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Judge Halts Texas AG’s Pursuit of Media Matters
Ken Paxton’s investigation into Media Matters is on hold after a judge’s ruling. Media Matters is currently involved in a legal situation with the Texas Republican Attorney General. Paxton, who has criticized the often pro-censorship group Media Matters as an “anti-free speech organization,” initiated an investigation into the group alleging “potential fraudulent activity.”
This investigation was recently paused by a court order that granted a preliminary injunction.
Media Matters for America had lodged a federal lawsuit against Paxton. The organization accused Paxton of violating First Amendment rights.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kyle Rittenhouse Speaks at Kent State After Opposition From Students, Shooting Survivor
As Kyle Rittenhouse took the stage Tuesday evening to talk about gun rights and the night he shot and killed two people in 2020, hundreds of protesters lined the streets and sidewalks outside Kent State University’s student center in opposition to his presence.
While he argued that students should be allowed to carry guns into classrooms, some protesters said guns had no place on college campuses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Most Americans Do Not Believe Trump Acted Illegally in New York Fraudulent Docs Case: AP/NORC Poll
A new AP/NORC poll has revealed that just 35 percent of Americans believe Donald Trump did nothing illegal in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s falsified business document case against him.
Overall, 35 percent of Americans said that Trump acted illegally in the case, while 31 percent said he acted unethically, but not illegally. An additional 14 percent said he did nothing wrong, while 19 percent said they “don’t know enough to say.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New NPR CEO Gave Ted Talk Asserting “Truth” is a “Distraction”
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news
New NPR CEO Katherine Maher gave a Ted Talk during which she asserted that “truth” is a “distraction” which is “getting in the way of getting things done.”
Calls are growing for NPR to have its government funding withdrawn after a series of tweets by Maher were uncovered in which she supported far-left causes, including endorsing racial reparations and making claims that the planet is “burning.”
But the content of the Ted Talk she gave is raising even more eyebrows.
Maher ludicrously suggested during the speech that far-left Wikipedia had a model “which actually works really well” in determining “what the truth really is.”
Acknowledging that Wikipedia writers are “not focused on the truth, they’re focused on something else, which is the best of what we can know right now,” Maher suggested the “truth” was not a priority.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a recent undercover video released by James O’Keefe’s O’Keefe Media Group, Tyler Robinson, Special Advisor to the Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, made startling claims about political influence within the Biden administration.
Robinson referred to former Facebook Board Member and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients as the “second most powerful person in Washington,” explaining that Zients has a large amount of control over what President Joe Biden does.
“Whatever [Zients] says, it’s what the President says,” Robinson claimed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The corporate media is warning that nationwide pro-Hamas protests could become more extreme ahead of the critical 2024 elections.
The Washington Post is warning that anti-Israel protests could ramp up as activists adopt more “extreme tactics” to increase pressure on Democrat President Biden as the election nears.
According to the report, Americans should brace for a “summer of protests” that will be “more extreme” than the current wave of demonstrations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Punished NPR Journalist Resigns After Calling Out Partisan Trainwreck
Update (Wed. 1103ET): Following his suspension from NPR for calling out their overt partisan bias, veteran journalist Uri Berliner has resigned after 25 years with the network.
I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years,” Berliner wrote, adding “I don’t support calls to defund NPR.”
“I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay,” he continued.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Predict Dems to Pay Price ‘Heavy Price’ in Election After Mayorkas Impeachment Bid Fails
Republicans warned that vulnerable Senate Democrats would be punished in the upcoming November general election for their votes to kill the impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Makes it Easier to Sue for Job Discrimination Over Forced Transfers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it easier for workers who are transferred from one job to another against their will to pursue job discrimination claims under federal civil rights law, even when they are not demoted or docked pay.
Workers only have to show that the transfer resulted in some, but not necessarily significant, harm to prove their claims, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court.
The justices unanimously revived a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by a St. Louis police sergeant after she was forcibly transferred, but retained her rank and pay.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Top Researchers Confirm COVID Shots Stimulate Cancer Growth
A major new study has confirmed that Covid mRNA vaccines contain a component that suppresses the immune response in recipients and stimulates cancer growth.
The study was conducted by an international consortium of renowned scientists and published in the prestigious International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.
The researchers investigated the impact on humans of a vaccine ingredient known as “N1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1[PSI]).”
In the study’s paper — titled, “N1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1[PSI]): Friend or foe of cancer?” — the scientists explain that vaccine ingredient plays a role in immune suppression and cancer proliferation.
m1[PSI] was incorporated into Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to enhance its efficacy.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump’s New Streaming Strategy Aims to Reshape Media Landscape With Liberated Content
The Trump Media & Technology Group revealed its latest venture this week, a streaming TV platform designed to broadcast a spectrum of content, including news and films, that the company believes is often overlooked by mainstream media and Big Tech.
The move to launch a streaming service is seen as a strategic play to attract a broad audience and, in turn, entice advertisers.
In terms of content, the forthcoming streaming service will initially be accessible through the Truth Social app, with plans to expand to home TV streaming setups.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Worst Host Ever’: Trump Slams TDS Sufferer Jimmy Kimmel in Epic Truth Post
On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump mocked ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, calling him “stupid” after Kimmel, who is notorious for his hostility toward the former president, referred to Trump as a “lying, cheating, scumbag” during his Tuesday night monologue, which focused on Manhattan District Attorney Avlin Bragg’s falsified business documents case against Trump.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Podcaster Tim Pool revealed on Wednesday that YouTube has retroactively enforced its rules to remove the two biggest episodes of his podcast, Timecast IRL. The episodes featured Joe Rogan, Michael Malice, and Alex Jones and despite these episodes being three years old, the platform has now removed them.
“Youtube has declared war on Timcast IRL retroactively enforcing rules against our 2 biggest shows ever featuring Joe Rogan, Michael Malice, and Alex Jones,” Pool wrote.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Six Men Arrested in Toronto Gold Heist That ‘Belongs in a Netflix Series’
Police investigating a brazen multimillion-dollar gold heist at Toronto’s main airport have arrested six men and seized dozens of firearms linked to the case which officers said “belongs in a Netflix series”.
Six thousand six hundred gold bars, worth C$21m, and C$2.7m in cash were stolen from a cargo facility at Toronto’s Pearson international airport a year ago in the country’s largest-ever gold heist.
On Wednesday, Peel regional police were joined by members of the US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to announce developments linked to a “vast and complex” investigation that spanned the two countries. Investigators have arrested six people — five in Canada and one in the US — laid 19 charges and issued three Canada-wide warrants.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The European Parliament must explain the issue of blocking post-pandemic funds for Poland, says MP Waldemar Buda, a development minister in the last conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party government.
“In the next term of office of the European Parliament, a special commission must be established to explain how it is possible that funds from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) for Poland were blocked for a year and a half,” said Buda on Monday.
The blocking of EU funds was widely believed to be tied to pressure applied by Brussels to bring down the conservative government in the lead up to national elections. With the new left-liberal government in power, the EU has raced to send the funds to Poland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Astronomers Spot Massive Black Hole Less Than 2,000 Light-Years Away
(CNN) — A massive black hole has been spotted less than 2,000 light-years away, making it the second-closest known black hole to the earth.
Astronomers discovered the “sleeping giant” while combing through observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia Space Telescope.
The black hole was named Gaia BH3.
Gaia BH3 has a mass nearly 33 times that of the sun and is the largest known stellar black hole in the Milky Way galaxy.
The closest black hole to the earth is Gaia BH1, which is located about 1,500 light-years away. Its mass is less than 10 times that of the sun.
| — Hat tip: Dora | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium, Czech Republic Seek Sanctions for Russian Interference in EU Elections
BRUSSELS (Reuters) —Belgium and the Czech Republic have called for new European Union sanctions to counter Russian influence in the upcoming European elections after several countries discovered early interference, an open letter to the EU leadership showed.
The letter, dated April 16 and signed by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and Czech President Peter Fiala, was addressed to the heads of the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.
The two leaders say instances of pro-Russian disinformation and interference had already been found in several member states. In particular, Belgian security services unearthed a network inside Belgium that involved cash transfers that took place in part in the Czech Republic.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Call to Designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a Terrorist Group Splits EU
The designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation has split the European Union as leaders gathered for a two-day summit to decide the bloc’s response to Iran’s April 13-14 missile attack on Israel.
The European Parliament already backed the designation move in 2023 and the proposal has vocal support from the Netherlands, Sweden and Czech Republic.
Germany and France, though, strongly oppose proscribing the 120,000-member wing of Iran’s military, saying it could lead to the country cutting diplomatic ties or targeting and imprisoning dual nationals.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech PM Bullish on Ammo Plan for Ukraine, Envisions 1.5 Million Rounds in a Year
BELFAST — A campaign led by the Czech Republic and financed by international partners to source artillery shells on the open market for Ukraine could lead to delivery of 1.5 million rounds by April 2025, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
The Czech government has already secured 500,000 shells, Fiala told the Hudson Institute on Tuesday, but, “There is no reason why we cannot deliver 1 million more in the next 12 months.”
The ammunition initiative involves the Czech Republic collaborating with a number of supplier nations from countries in Africa and Asia to secure the shells, purchased with funds from other friendly nations and eventually delivered to Kyiv.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dutch Deliver Three More F-16s for Training Ukrainian Pilots in Romania
FETESTI, Romania, April 17 (Reuters) — The Netherlands on Wednesday has handed over another three F-16 fighter jets to a training facility in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground staff are being taught to fly and maintain the planes in battle.
The Netherlands has been one of the driving forces behind an international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16s to strengthen its air defense against the Russian invasion.
Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States expect to deliver the first of dozens of F-16s to Ukraine within a few months after establishing the pilot training programme and donating aircraft.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
EU Auditors Say Lobbyists Can Easily Slip Under Bloc’s Radar
Lobbyists can easily bypass EU transparency rules to influence policy, the 27-nation bloc’s auditors said on Wednesday.
The European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) report comes as European Union institutions discuss a new Ethics Body to guide the conduct of officials and ahead of a planned review of the bloc’s transparency register of lobbyists.
That review follows a 2022 cash-for-influence scandal at the heart of the European Parliament in which Qatar and Morocco have been accused of bribing decision-makers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Drafting Error Creates Financial Trading ‘Wild West’
In an embarrassing drafting mistake, the European Securities and Markets Authority — the European Union’s financial markets regulator — created an 18-month window starting in late April where investors could buy and sell unlimited amounts of shares in so-called “dark pools” — despite that being a business method it has specifically tried to limit for a decade.
Only when keen observers spotted the gaffe did the European Commission issue an emergency 11th-hour “interpretative notice” clarifying that previous regulations “remain applicable until the new ones enter into force” in late 2025.
Otherwise, the drafting error would have, for a year and a half starting in April, created an unregulated “Wild West” in dark-pool trading — with no rules — experts said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Air Defence Initiative Splits Polish PM Tusk and President Duda
olish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said his country is ready to take an active part in the German led European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) but President Andrzej Duda and the conservative PiS opposition have both called it a “German business project”.
They argued that Poland should concentrate on its Patriots system based air defences instead.
Tusk, speaking after his meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on April 15, signalled that Poland wanted to participate in the building of a European air defence system against air and rocket attacks.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The “authoritarian” order to shut down a political conference of European populists and conservatives on Tuesday was emblematic of the “last-ditch” efforts of globalist forces seeking to cling on to power by any means, a French Member of the European Parliament who was blocked by police from entering the event told Breitbart News.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exiled Former Catalan Leader Says Party Close to Victory
Catalonia’s exiled former separatist leader has pledged to return to the region to claim the presidency if his party wins next month’s elections.
Carles Puigdemont has claimed that his party is “neck and neck” with Spain’s governing Socialists in the race to win power in the region in northeast Spain.
Puigdemont is the lead candidate for his separatist Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) party, basing his campaign just across the border in France.
Recent polls put the Socialists ahead, but Puigdemont claims his party’s internal polling shows the race narrowing.
However, both parties will still likely fall well short of a majority in Catalonia’s highly fractious parliament and will have to rely on the support of others to govern the region. Current polling gives a narrow majority to all the separatist parties combined.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fears of Political Violence in Spain Grow After Basque Election Candidate Attacked
The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) candidate for the upcoming regional elections, Imanol Pradales, was attacked on his way to a televised debate.
As he was leaving a campaign rally in the town of Barakaldo in the province of Biscay, a 49-year-old man allegedly pepper-sprayed Pradales.
Pradales was on his way to the TV studios of EITB, the Basque Country’s public broadcasting station, to take part in a debate between the seven Lehendakari(president of the Basque Country) hopefuls in the April 21 vote.
The Ertzaintza, the Basque Police force, captured a suspect who was later put on probation. He faces charges of violating electoral law and if found guilty could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The National Conservatism Conference will resume for its second day on Wednesday after a Belgian court struck down an order from a left-wing local Brussels mayor shutting down the event.
NatCon’s lawyers were embroiled in a legal battle late on Tuesday before the Conseil d’État, the highest court in Belgium relating to issues of public administration, which ruled the conference should be allowed to proceed without interference from state authorities.
DF International, a legal organization committed to the protection of free speech, backed the legal challenge and was before a judge at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday before receiving the verdict in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Suspected Arson Attack on AfD Politician’s Moving Company Trucks
Security services in Saxony-Anhalt are investigating a suspected arson attack that saw nearly all of a local Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) politician’s fleet of moving trucks torched, resulting in several hundred thousand euros in damage.
Local AfD politician Sven Elbert, the owner of the moving company Umzüge Ebert. who sits on the Schkopau municipal council and the Saale district council, was awakened on Monday night to find out that five of the six trucks in his Hohenweiden fleet had been destroyed, with another company car severely damaged, after catching fire, Junge Freiheit reports.
Per reports from German media, the flames and kilometer-high plumes of smoke that resulted from the ignited vehicles could be seen as far as 10 kilometers away in the city of Halle.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Police Raid AfD Headquarters in Lower Saxony
The public prosecutor’s office in Hanover is investigating Ansgar Georg Schledde, State Parliament member and Deputy State Chairman with the German hard-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, over alleged financial irregularities.
He is accused of not forwarding donations deposited in his personal account on to the AfD.
On April 17, the police raided the AfD headquarters in Lower Saxony and the Ems-Vechte AfD district association in light of the allegations.
Lower Saxony AfD member Schledde is accused of having violated State party law, in particular Section 31d of the Political Parties Act.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Names a Convicted Politician From Albania´s Ethnic Greek Minority as Candidate in EU Election
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece´s governing conservative party added a convicted politician from Albania´s ethnic Greek minority to its list of candidates for…
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The latest farmer protest is turning out to be another one targeting European bureaucratic eco-activism that is hurting ranchers in Switzerland.
Farmers in Switzerland dumped the carcasses of sheep that were killed by wolves in front of a regional government building last weekend and demanded more action to control the predators’ numbers.
About a dozen breeders came from the Saint-Barthélemy area in the western Swiss canton of Vaud to lay 12 carcasses in front of Lausanne’s Chateau Saint-Maire, the regional government headquarters, AFP reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Live: St. Josse Mayor Sends Police to Shut Down NatCon Brussels
European Conservatives and Reformists Group from the European Parliament: “The end of democracy begins when the mainstream silences dissent.”
Belgian Prime Minister weighs in, describing today’s events as unconstitutional.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NatCon Censorship Masterminds Are ‘Danger to Democracy’ — Meloni
Those behind attempts to censor the National Conservatism conference in Brussels are a “danger to democracy”, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said.
In a statement read out to the event — which had been declared illegal on Tuesday, April 16, before a court overturned the ruling — Meloni decried attempts to censor a law-abiding gathering.
“As soon as I heard the news coming from this place, I contacted the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, to ask him to take an interest in what was happening,” her statement — read out Fratelli d’Italia MEP Nicola Procaccini — said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NatCon: Belgian Court Overturns Local Mayor’s Decision to Ban Event, ‘Free Speech Has Prevailed’
The organisers behind the National Conservatism conference have won their appeal in court against local mayor Emir Kir. The event is allowed to go on.
Some speakers who were barred on Tuesday, April 16, will give their speeches today, including French former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour. This morning, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will address attendees.
When the mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district in Brussels, Emir Kir, ordered the shut down of the conference, the organisers immediately initiated summary proceedings against the decision.
Late in the evening, the Belgian Conseil d’État or Council of State judges ruled against the actions of Kir.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
NatCon Brussels: Inventing a Fascist Threat
With the offensive against the National Conservatism Conference, the European and local authorities in Brussels are inventing a fascist peril under pressure from extremist organisations.
The organisation of the second NatCon in Brussels is in a state of flux. After twice being forced to change venues, the organisers of the conference, which opened on Tuesday, April 16th in the Belgian capital, are now under a police blockade preventing any new speakers from entering. Participants and speakers are being subjected to what amounts to a state of siege, since the service providers responsible for supplying the conference venue are also clearly barred from entering.
Reviews of the event in the French-language Belgian press are revealing of the state of psychosis of those seeking to have the conservative gathering banned. “Europe’s far-right meets in Saint-Josse”, ran the headline in the mass-circulation newspaper Le Soir.
[Comment: The article is a little dated but provides interesting information, I think.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pro-Russian Voice of Europe Back Online From Kazakhstan
The outlet Voice of Europe, allegedly involved in a pro-Russian propaganda network, has restarted operations based in Kazakhstan after it was ousted from the Czech Republic last month, Euractiv’s data shows.
On 27 March, the Czech and Polish authorities’ investigation uncovered what they said was a pro-Russian influence operation in Europe involving pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk and the news outlet Voice of Europe. Shortly after the revelation, the website went offline.
According to data reviewed by Euractiv, the IP address 109.248.170.82 was updated on the 10 of March, while the website is now hosted in ghost.kz, a Kazakh cloud and website service. The site then published again on 11 April.
The Czech Republic is now pushing to include Voice of Europe in the EU sanctions list alongside Moscow-sponsored Russia Today and Sputnik, an EU diplomat told Euractiv, while De Croo said he would bring the topic of Russian interference to the EU leaders’ summit this Wednesday and Thursday (17 and 18 March).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland Ditches Green Goals After Climate Watchdog Says They Are Unattainable: Report
The Scottish government is expected to ditch its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030, according to reports.
The reality check came after ministers missed eight of the last 12 annual emission targets, with experts claiming it is now impossible for the country to meet the 75% reduction by the end of the decade, BBC Scotland reported.
While the country’s final goal of reaching “net-zero” by 2045 will remain, Scotland’s government is reworking their climate objectives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Rent Control Leads to Rising Rental Prices
In Spain, government interventions in the market are having the opposite effect to the one desired—instead of the rent controls lowering the rental price for long-term residential housing, rents have risen.
The bad news about government regulation of the housing market comes from the Catalonia region of Spain, the only region to implement price controls on rental housing, as allowed under a housing law that went into effect last year.
Last summer, the Catalan regional government initiated the process of implementing rent controls in 131 cities in the region.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s Likely Next Commissioner Doubles Down on Green Deal
Days after a leaked EU document hinted that Brussels may be toning down the green rhetoric ahead of June’s elections, the frontrunner to become Spain’s next European commissioner has doubled down on eco zealotry.
Teresa Ribera, the Spanish Ecological Transition Minister, told Euractiv: “I’m always prepared to fight for the climate, for clean energy, for my country and for Europe.” When asked about her interest in becoming an EU commissioner, she added. “I have never discarded [the option], but it is not me who takes the decision.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK High Court: London School Can Keep Prayer Ban Challenged by Muslim Student
Britain’s High Court has ruled that banning prayer at ‘Britain’s strictest school’ is lawful.
A Muslim student had challenged the ban at Michaela Community School in Wembley, North West London, which was imposed in March last year “against a backdrop of events including violence, intimidation and appalling racial harassment” against teachers.
The school, which was founded by headteacher Katherine Birbalsingh, is regarded as one of the best in the country. It imposes strict rules on pupils, including silence in corridors, finishing every interaction with teachers with “Sir” or “Miss”, and groups of more than four pupils are not allowed in the schoolyard.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Zemmour: Brussels Bid to Shut Conference Was ‘Putsch’ Against ‘European Democracy’
n attempt by left-wing authorities in Brussels to shut down a conservative conference in the city was a “putsch” against “European democracy”, Eric Zemmour said.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, the Reconquete leader expressed delight at being able to attend the National Conservatism conference, which managed to successfully overturn an order for it to be shut down issued by local mayor Emir Kir.
In a court order issued late last night, the Belgian Council of State ruled that the order violated the country’s constitution.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dubai Sees Severe Flooding After Getting 2 Years’ Worth of Rain in 24 Hours
Flood conditions continued to impact Dubai on Wednesday, after two years’ worth of rain fell in just 24 hours, records show.
Over a half foot — 6.26 inches — of rain was recorded in the United Arab Emirates city between 10 p.m. local time Monday and 10 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to the Dubai Meteorological Office.
Dubai receives 3.12 inches of rain per year on average, according to the World Meteorological Organization, meaning two years’ worth of rain fell in 24 hours.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
By the end of Tuesday, more than 5.59 inches of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 3.73 inches of rain at Dubai International Airport.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
As experts question whether Dubai’s devastating deluge was self-inflicted, this step-by-step graphic reveals how the controversial cloud seeding technique works.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Dan Andrews is Banned From Russia as Putin Blocks 235 High Profile Aussies in Shock New Move
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has released a list of 235 Australians barred from the country, including current and former political leaders.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The exact cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains opaque and hard to assess. Still, claims continue to vary wildly, from as little as 31,000 Ukrainian dead according to Kyiv, to as many as half a million Russian “casualties”.
There have now been more than 50,000 Russian soldiers “confirmed” as having died since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine so far and the true number may be far higher, a project between Britain’s state broadcaster, an independent media monitoring group, and volunteers claims.
The BBC says it has been monitoring the appearance of new graves in Russia, collating open-source information and newspaper reports, and watching social media to reach the figure.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Missiles Slam Into a Ukraine City and Kill 17 People as the War Approaches a Critical Stage
KYIV, Ukraine — Three Russian missiles slammed into a downtown area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Wednesday, hitting an eight-floor apartment building and killing at least 17 people, authorities said.
At least 61 people, including three children, were wounded in the morning attack, Ukrainian emergency services said, as rescue workers searched through partially demolished buildings and tall mounds of rubble. Chernihiv lies about 90 miles north of the capital, Kyiv, near the border with Russia and Belarus, and has a population of around 250,000 people.
The latest Russian bombardment came as the war has stretched into its third year and approaches what could be a critical juncture. A lack of further military support from Ukraine’s Western partners increasingly leaves it at the mercy of the Kremlin’s bigger forces.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Begins Mass Production of Copied Russian Kamikaze Drone
Ukraine is already mass-producing a self-developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an armored warhead copied from the Russian Lancet drone, the Kyiv Independent reports.
Ukraine is currently working to produce 1 million military drones each year, some of which would be specially designed to neutralize armored military vehicles. To this end, the Ukrainian military industry has copied one of Russia’s most successful weapons, the ZALA Lancet anti-tank drone.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Uttar Pradesh’s Gazipur district, some houses of Hindus have been attacked with stones. The accusation of stone-pelting is against 5 members of the Muslim community, against whom an FIR has been registered. On Friday (April 12, 2024), the police arrested 2 people in connection with the case. The complainant has alleged that the attack was a conspiracy to scare them away. The Bajrang Dal has accused some troublemakers from the Muslim community of not only harassing Hindu girls but also spitting on houses after chewing betel.
This incident is from the police station area of Dildarnagar in Gazipur district. Shiv Vilas Gupta, who lives in Usiya village, filed a complaint stating that on April 5, 2024, two troublemakers pelted stones at his house. During this time, the CCTV camera installed in the house was also targeted. After this incident, on the night of April 9-10, some troublemakers started stoning Shiv Vilas’s house.
The victim mentioned that during the stone-pelting, he identified 5 accused from the Muslim community from CCTV footage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rape is regarded as one of the most horrific crimes against women, although at times the offenders escape punishment for their transgressions. However, a reported vigilante in Bangladesh decided to take matters into his own hands and took the lives of at least three suspected rapists. The peculiar case which equally intrigued and astonished the world came to the fore in 2019.
His identity also appeared to be shrouded in mystery, reminiscent of any popular superhero movie where a ‘Dark Knight’ rises to seek retribution for the beleaguered people. He also left messages and warnings in the name of the Greek divine hero, “Hercules,” adding a further layer of secrecy to the entire thing.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Did China Overhear German Chancellor’s Private Call to G7 Leaders?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz may have breached security protocols during a conference call with world leaders from a hotel room in China. According to German publication Apollo News, Scholz was on a visit to China when news of Iran’s attack on Israel broke. Leaders of the G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union—held a group video call on Sunday, April 14th, to discuss the events, but on official photos of the call, all the leaders except Olaf Scholz were visible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bishop Forgives Alleged Stabber in First Message After Terror Attack in Sydney’s West
T?he bishop who was stabbed during a live-streamed church service says he forgives the attacker in his first message following the incident.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was allegedly stabbed by a 16-year-old in a terror attack at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on Monday night.
Emmanuel gave an online audio sermon? that was streamed to the church’s website, Facebook and YouTube this morning.
He said he forgave the alleged stabber and anyone who may have been involved.
“Love never fails… wh?atever has happened to me personally I thank the lord Jesus,” Emmanuel said.
“It is a huge blessing for me.
“I forgive ?whoever has done this act and I say to him, you are my son, I love you and I will always pray for you.
“?And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well, in Jesus’ mighty name.
“I have nothing in my heart ?but love for everyone, whether this person is Christian or not, that is totally beside the point.”
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
The father of a teenager who allegedly stabbed bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel spent the night seeking refuge at Sydney biggest mosque after he learned of the attack.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
The sickening attack — which took place in Girrawheen, in Perth, on Tuesday night — has left the couple in their 70s ‘traumatised’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Melbourne renter Gemma Upson-McPike, 26, said moving in with her parents had been her only option after her landlord increased her rent from $390 to $450 a week.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Perth Family Forced to Move Into a Tent as Australia’s Housing Crisis Worsens
Kristine Meakins, and her four kids, aged two, five, eight and 15, have been living in a tent at a caravan park in Perth ‘s south for the past two weeks.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
A young woman has recalled the shocking moment a teenage girl allegedly violently bashed an elderly woman on a bus, labelling the attack as ‘senseless’ and ‘disgusting’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Chilling audio is circulating on social media of a man praising the teenager who is alleged to have repeatedly stabbed a Christian Bishop, claiming ‘we should all strive to be like him’.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Why This Single Image of an Old Lady Outside Coles is Making Australians Angry: ‘So Messed Up’
A picture shared to social media which appears to show police officers going through an elderly woman’s grocery shopping has outraged Australians.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
During a Tuesday city council meeting in New York City, African migrants complained about the food they were given and having to leave the city accommodations after a set period.
One woman, speaking through an interpreter, told the Committees on Immigration and Hospitals that her children “cannot eat the food at the shelter.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Police Hunt 6 Migrants Who Gang-Raped Two 14-Year-Old Girls in Rostock
A group of six foreign perpetrators allegedly gang-raped two 14-year-old girls in Rostock on Thursday. Although the men remain on the run, the victims described the men as foreigners.
The scene of the crime was the Wallanlagen, a park around the old town of Rostock, according to a news report from Nordkurier newspaper, citing the police. Officers became aware of the case when one of the girls filed a complaint on Saturday.
“We are investigating the suspicion of rape,” the police confirmed to the newspaper when asked. The perpetrators were six foreign men between the ages of 19 and 25. After sexual acts had taken place, “the victims were able to free themselves from the situation and flee,” the police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Haitian Asylum Seeker Charged in Murder of Roommates Approved to Enter US Via Biden’s CBP One App
It has been revealed that the Haitian illegal immigrant who allegedly killed his roommates in Middleton, New York earlier this month entered the United States using the Biden administration’s CBP One app.
Kenol Baptiste, 30, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon before his deportation hearing was set to take place
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary and Poland Warn: Asylum and Migration Pact Would be “Disaster” for EU
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki lambasted the European Union’s Migration and Asylum Pact for not resolving the migration crisis, instead reaffirming the open borders policy of the EU. The conservative politicians were speaking at a press conference in the European Parliament (EP) on Tuesday, April 16th, one day before the start of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
The Migration and Asylum Pact was recently adopted by the left-liberal majority of the EP, and has been harshly criticised by conservative and right-wing forces in Europe for infringing on nation-states’ sovereignty, and—in effect—sending out a letter of invitation to migrants wanting to reach the continent. The most controversial part of the pact is the ‘mandatory solidarity mechanism’—a tool forcing countries to choose between accepting migrants or paying hefty sums into a common fund.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Budapest I and XII District Prosecutor’s Offices have filed charges against a Georgian man who tried to smuggle 35 people out of Hungary and then went on a dangerous car chase, which ended in a car crash in Budapest. The prosecutor’s office has proposed a prison sentence and deportation proceedings against him, according to the Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
In December 2023, the human smuggler had agreed to transport several illegal immigrants from Hungary in his client’s van for money. The vehicle, whose unventilated cargo hold was not suitable for safe travel, was hired by an unknown person in Warsaw.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Illegal Alien Arrested for Deadly Crash That Killed Democrat Senator’s Advisor
Police have arrested an illegal alien from Honduras over a fatal car crash in Nevada that killed a father-of-one.
Kurt Englehart, a senior adviser to Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), was killed in the deadly two-vehicle crash on April 6.
18-year-old illegal alien Elmer Rueda-Linares is the suspected driver of the vehicle that caused the crash before fleeing the scene.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lindsey Graham Says DHS Told Him Laken Riley’s Alleged Murderer Was Paroled Into US Illegally
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted to social media that the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to him that Laken Riley’s alleged murderer was paroled into the U.S. illegally because the Central Processing Center in El Paso, Texas, was capped.
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has been charged in the murder of Riley. The 22-year-old Augusta University nursing school student was killed Feb. 22, while jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed with Fox News Digital previously that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered Ibarra Sept. 8, 2022, and he was “paroled and released for further processing.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
North Carolina High School Student Suspended Over Using the Term ‘Illegal Alien’: Report
Using the term “illegal alien” is reportedly an infraction worthy of suspension in a North Carolina high school.
In an email to the Carolina Journal, Leah McGhee described an incident in Central Davidson High School in Lexington where her 16-year-old son was suspended for three days last week over the term.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Officers of the Polish Border Guard have discovered that since January of this year, there has been a significant operation involving a Ukrainian woman counterfeiting and forging various documents within a rented apartment in Gdansk.
“The array of forged items includes residence cards, Polish and foreign ID cards, driving licenses, passports, visas, and various other documents from regional prefects, social insurance institutions, employers, medical professionals, and insurance companies,” said Tadeusz Gruchala, the local press spokesman for the Border Guard.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Albanian nationals Myrteza Hilaj, 50, and Kreshnik Kadena, 37, from Leyton in East London , organised at least nine illegal migrant journeys in 2016 and 2017.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Looks to Regularize Half a Million Illegal Immigrants
illegal migrants regularized, potentially opening a pathway to Spanish citizenship.
The bill passed in the Congress of Deputies last week with the support of all parties in the left-liberal government as well as the center-right opposition Partido Popular (PP) who, after signaling they would oppose the measure, reversed their position at the last moment, leaving the conservative, sovereigntist VOX party as the sole dissenting voice.
During a debate that preceded the vote, VOX MP and parliamentary spokesman Rocio De Meer laid out the party’s position on the legislation, saying:
We want Spain to remain Spain, not Morocco, nor Algeria, nor Nigeria, nor Senegal. And this is not hatred nor is it xenophobia, nor racism, it is pure common sense.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A failed asylum seeker whose deportation was blocked after cabin crew prevented his repatriation flight from taking off has pleaded guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl.
Anicet Mayela, 40, who once protested outside a detention centre with a sign that read ‘migrants are not criminals’, could now face life in jail.
Oxford Crown Court heard that there was a high level of ‘dangerousness’ during the sex attack by the former economics student, The Sun reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally and stopped by Border Patrol so far this fiscal year has exceeded the enormous number seen in all of fiscal year 2023 — with six months still to go.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, in the first six months of fiscal 2024, which began in October, Border Patrol had caught 24,296 Chinese nationals crossing illegally between ports of entry. That exceeds the 24,125 caught in all of fiscal 2023.
For comparison, in fiscal 2022, there were just 1,987 apprehensions, and in fiscal 2021 there were just 342.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill That Would Have Codified Biological Sex, Not Gender, Into Law
On Tuesday, Democrat Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have codified biological sex into state law, not gender.
The governor also vetoed a bill that would have permitted teachers to have copies of the Ten Commandments in their classrooms, Fox News reported.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Move to Repeal Scotland’s New Hate Crime Laws Fails After Holyrood Debate
The motion lodged by the Scottish Conservatives was voted down following a debate at Holyrood on Wednesday.
Russell Findlay MSP, shadow justice secretary for the Scottish Tories, kickstarted proceedings and said the act had “transformed Scotland into a place of international mockery”.
He branded it the “clype’s charter” and said it was a “disaster on paper and it’s a disaster in reality”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Italian Law Would Increase Opportunities for Pro-Life Advocates
The lower chamber of the Italian parliament passed a measure on Tuesday that will allow pro-life groups to work in abortion counseling centers.
This measure, designed to guarantee the freedom of speech and conscience of pro-life activists, is part of a larger package of initiatives originating in Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s cabinet. It is also expected to pass easily in the Senate.
“We must not criminalize those who are against abortion,” Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said. “We have always allowed freedom of conscience on issues of this kind. I believe it is right for everyone to behave according to their own beliefs and conscience.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Embattled NPR president and CEO Katherine Maher sidestepped a question about whether she should prioritize “viewpoint diversity” in the newsroom in the wake of the resignation of a veteran editor who sounded the alarm about the organization’s liberal groupthink.
During a conversation Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Maher was asked about “viewpoint diversity,” a topic NPR’s senior business editor Uri Berliner tackled last week in his bombshell essay in The Free Press, which resulted in his suspension and exit following reported “turmoil” that erupted among colleagues.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Parliament Passes a Law to Make it Easier for Young People to Legally Change Their Gender
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Swedish parliament passed a law Wednesday lowering the age required for people to legally change their gender from 18 to 16. Those under 18 still need approval from a guardian, a doctor and the National Board of Health and Welfare.
No longer required is a gender dysphoria diagnosis, defined by medical professionals as psychological distress experienced by those whose gender expression does not match their gender identity.
Sweden joins a number of countries with similar laws including Denmark, Norway, Finland and Spain.
The vote in Sweden passed 234-94 with 21 lawmakers absent, following a debate that lasted for nearly six hours.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
I don’t know if it has been covered, and I can’t find any english speaking sources, but…
…the latest development in the Czech Republic is that our Ukrainian Government just signed immigration deal with the EU…
https://rmx.news/european-union/eu-migration-pact-stokes-divisions-as-visegrad-nations-vow-to-defy-agreement-backed-by-western-europe/
…so the lucky us should receive 30,000 doctors and engineers every year, and we (the Czech Republic) should pay 20,000Euro for every migrant the EU gives us and “we” refuse…
what a deal…
But it should be noted that our Ukrainian Interior Minister, who signed the deal, lied about it before, and even after, that it is not so.
Openly, on TV, unashamadly lying, interior minister, responsible for the police…
And it is this immigration pact that he was and is lying about.
I might be wrong again but this is something even the dull Czechs will remember and never forgive. Czechs may be dull, when it comes to politics, but this does heat up the debate over here quite a bit.
“And I made it clear to Israelis – don’t move on Haifa.” —Prince Aricept (18 Apr 2024)
Note: Haifa’s an Israeli city.
“[Repeat] Prediction: The question will be: Is Joe Biden [mentally] competent to stand trial?” —posted to fb (Apr 2020)
“Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs VETOED a bill to codify the meaning of “woman” in state law…Senate Bill 1628…would have provided biologically based definitions for terms such as “woman” and “man”.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/apr/17/arizona-gov-katie-hobbs-vetoes-womens-bill-of-righ/
Repeal the 19th! It’s the only [bloodless] way left to stop the infantile Bolshevism that’s preying on US. Just sayin’ (again)..
To heck with it, at this point I’m with Heinlein, only those with military service should be allowed to be citizens and vote. The rest are either too dumb, indoctrinated or subjugated low IQ to be allowed to be left to their own devices.
“I’m with Heinlein, only those with military service should be allowed to be citizens and vote. The rest are either too dumb, indoctrinated or subjugated low IQ to be allowed to be left to their own devices.”
I like the Brits’ [pre-1832] voting requirement that specified: “men aged 21 or over, owning freehold lands or tenements with an annual net value of 40s or more”.
The idea being that those with a strong constitution (i.e., physically healthy with a pragmatic/reasonable mind) and skin-in-the-game (i.e., a good deal of their own assets invested in the land) would be motivated to become better informed and, therefore, be better stewards of the community.
Women, as was observed, easily and often experienced bouts of hysteria; and were designed—with broad hips—to make and raise babies (men, in contrast, were designed—with broad shoulders—to make things). And anything that diverted womens’ attention away from those two IMPORTANT tasks was considered to be both a detriment to future generations and a threat to peace and prosperity of the current one.
“The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” —(generally attributed to) Winston Churchill
Obamerica: The Art of Collapse.
“In a MANDATORY course on “STRUCTURAL RACISM” for first-year medical students at the University of California Los Angeles, a guest speaker who has praised Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel led students in chants of “Free, Free Palestine” and demanded that they bow down to “mama earth,” according to…audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.” —Free Beacon
https://freebeacon.com/campus/ucla-med-school-requires-students-to-attend-lecture-where-speaker-demands-prayer-for-mama-earth-leads-chants-of-free-palestine/
Listen (~ 2 mins)..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOOqAHLuSMQ
“It’s like a Kafka novel where you wake up and the two year-olds’ve become the mommies…and they’re all authoritarian commies. But it’s not a novel, it’s not a mistake…it’s real, it’s the plan…it’s PAA’s “remaking America”…it’s Obamerica.” —posted to fb (June 2020)
Questions? Peanuts? Popcorn? Cracker Jack?
I can’t wait until these commie toddlers get a load of the shock and awe that awaits them, it will be music to the ears of all the screaming, pleading and crying for mercy that awaits them. Let the games begin.
Today’s Rhetorical Question: What kinda “medical professionals” do you think UCLA’s producing?
“Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia, who has referred to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks as “justice,” began the March 27 class by leading students in what she described as a “non-secular prayer” to “the ancestors,” instructing everyone to get on their knees and touch the floor—”mama earth,” as she described it—with their fists. At least half of the assembled students complied.”
https://freebeacon.com/campus/ucla-med-school-requires-students-to-attend-lecture-where-speaker-demands-prayer-for-mama-earth-leads-chants-of-free-palestine/
She needs to met with steel toed boots as a response, do this a few times will shut these commies up.