Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace today in an apparent coup attempt, but President Luis Arce vowed to stand firm. He appointed a new military commander, who ordered troops to stand down.
In other news, in a post today on social media Geert Wilders said that Islam “is a disgusting, reprehensible, violent and hateful religion.”
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Daniel Greenfield, Dean, JW, LP, McN, Reader from Chicago, Roger, 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.
Hooters Suddenly Closes Dozens of Restaurants Without Warning
Famous fast-casual chain Hooters announced Monday that dozens of its locations would be closing across the nation, citing “current market conditions.” This comes as inflation cripples the restaurant industry.
“Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores,” Hooters said in a statement to Nation’s Restaurant News. “Ensuring the well-being of our staff is our priority in these rare instances…We look forward to continuing to serve our guests at home, on the go, and at our restaurants here in the US and around the globe.”
An estimated 40 Hooters restaurants have already closed across the country as a result of the decision. The chain told the NRN that its primary focus is opening new restaurants — both domestically and internationally — in locations that would thrive. Hooters said it was also working on launching its frozen food items in grocery stores.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“DMCA Does Not Apply”: Musk Says X Will Not Remove CNN Debate Streams, Footage
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news
X owner Elon Musk has clarified that the platform will not block or remove live streams and footage of the Presidential debate on Thursday, despite apparent demands by CNN that social media companies do not allow creators to use their feed.
Podcaster Tim Pool claimed that he’d been told by CNN that he would not be legally allowed to simulcast the debate and provide his own commentary and fact checks on it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
58-Year-Old Asian Woman Attacked by 2 Thieves With Baseball Bat in Downtown Manhattan
A surveillance video from New York City has revealed a disturbing incident where two masked men randomly attacked an Asian woman on the street.
The footage, obtained by the New York Post, showed the 58-year-old woman walking down Monroe Street around 2 pm, checking her cell phone, when two men dressed in all black and wearing masks approached her from behind.
One assailant is seen punching the woman in the back of the head, while the other pushed her up against a wall and began to beat her repeatedly with a baseball bat while the pair attempted to steal her bag. The attackers then fled the scene empty-handed, leaving the woman badly beaten against a wall.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Campaign Dismisses Calls for Drug Test Pre-Debate as Poll Shows Most Americans Support it
The Biden campaign has dismissed public calls for President Joe Biden to undergo a drug test before Thursday’s presidential debate on CNN despite polling showing that the vast majority of Americans support both candidates undergoing such testing.
Trump floated the proposal on Tuesday, posting on Truth Social, “DRUG TEST FOR CROOKED JOE BIDEN??? I WOULD, ALSO, IMMEDIATELY AGREE TO ONE!!!”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
California Floats an Idea to Fight Shoplifting That May Even Affect Who Controls Congress
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California initiative to once again make shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders is developing into a contest over whether the state’s Democrats are tough enough on crime to hang on to their seats in Congress.
A broad coalition of law enforcement and retailers aims to crack down on retail theft in the state, where videos of large groups of people brazenly rushing into stores and stealing in plain sight have gone viral. A proposal on the verge of appearing on the November ballot calls for harsher penalties for repeat shoplifters and drug dealers, among other things. The measure is set to be certified by the secretary of state Thursday.
Top Democrats are fighting to kill the proposal, citing concerns it would disproportionately incarcerate low-income people and those with substance use issues. But they are also motivated by the political implications of the tough-on-crime initiative bringing Republicans and conservative voters to the polls in droves.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tasers deployed by the Denver police failed to stop a trans suspect from trying to stab officers. The 52-year-old trans person, Miguel Tapia, came at the officers with a knife after the tasers did not stop him from coming. “Hey, put your stuff down and put your hands on your head! Put your hands on your head!” An officer can be heard to say on the body cam. When Tapia continued to approach, the officers then shot him to death.
Body cam footage released by the Denver PD show the suspect failing to comply with officer’s demands before officers deployed their weapons. When officers approached the person, laying motionless in the street, they referred to the male as “she.” The incident occurred on June 16 at about 11:30 am on Broadway and Lawrence Street.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Five Charged After Juror Receives Gift Bag Stuffed With $120,000
Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have charged five people with attempting to deliver a $120,000 bribe to a juror taking part in a high-profile fraud case earlier this month.
US Attorney Andrew Luger compared the alleged conduct to mafia-style tactics.
“This really is an attack on our system of justice,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The suspected Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooter declined to change his plea to guilty at a Wednesday hearing, crushing victims’ families who watched on in the courtroom.
Robert Crimo III is accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens of others in the mass shooting at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
Crimo was expected to plead guilty to seven counts of murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm at the hearing, according to The Associated Press. Instead, the 23-year-old rejected the agreement, which would have sentenced him to life.
Crimo is scheduled for trial in February 2025.
“We came to court today in hopes that we could put this out of our mind,” Leah Sundheim, whose mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, was killed, said at a news conference Wednesday.
“We have Fourth of July coming up and it will be two years,” she said. “All I wanted was to be able to fully grieve my mom without the looming trial, knowing that he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. And instead, we were yet again shown [Crimo’s] complete and blatant disregard for humans.”
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Jonathan Turley: Jack Smith Has a ‘Serious Problem of Restraint’ on Trump Case
Legal scholar Professor Jonathan Turley has blasted Special Counsel Jack Smith’s lack of “restraint” while pursuing politically motivated charges against President Donald Trump.
Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, was responding to the recent filing from Smith demanding that United States District Judge Aileen Cannon issue a “gag order” on Trump for the classified documents case in Florida.
Smith initially requested a gag order last month after Trump criticized the FBI’s authorization to use “deadly force” during the August 8, 2022 raid on his Mar-a-Lago home.
The FBI insists that the authorization, which was issued by Democrat President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ), was “standard protocol.”
Turley said that the request was part of a pattern of pushing “outside the navigational beacon.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Oklahoma City Bus Driver Critical After Stabbing Over Booze on Bus
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A man who was told he could not bring alcohol onto an Oklahoma City bus stabbed the driver early Saturday, leaving him in critical condition.
Oklahoma City police officials said the man climbed aboard the bus, which was parked at the terminal, around 8 a.m. Saturday, according to KOCO-TV. He was carrying alcohol.
When the driver told the man he could not have alcohol on the bus, the man reacted.
“For whatever reason, the man pulled out a knife at that point and attacked the driver, stabbing him in the neck,” Master Sgt. Gary Knight with Oklahoma City police said in a statement.
The driver was taken to a hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries. Neither the driver’s name nor that of the alleged attacker has been released.
The crime marked the second time an EMBARK driver has been attacked in recent months, KOCO reported. The first attack happened in April.
| — Hat tip: Roger | [Return to headlines] |
Seattle to Reduce Minimum Pay for App-Based Delivery Drivers After Increased Wages Reduced Demand
The Seattle City Council has voted to amend a recent law designed to ensure a minimum wage for app-based workers in the city.
The law, which went into effect last January, required delivery workers to earn $26.40 per hour plus mileage before tips. However, many workers have complained that the law’s intentions have backfired, resulting in fewer customers placing orders due to increased labor costs, according to KOMO News.
In response, the Seattle City Council committee has voted to revise the current law, reducing the minimum wage to $20 per hour plus 35 cents per mile. The revised law must now go before the full council for a vote before it can officially go into effect. Initially scheduled for a vote on May 28, the decision has been delayed and remains controversial.
Drive Forward Seattle, a nonprofit founded by gig workers that has spoken out against the wage increase, argues that it has caused prices to rise.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Sides With Biden Administration Over Accusations of Social Media Censorship Pressure
The US Supreme Court has ruled in the hotly-awaited decision for the Murthy v. Missouri case, reinforcing the government’s ability to engage with social media companies concerning the removal of speech about COVID-19 and more. This decision reverses the findings of two lower courts that these actions infringe upon First Amendment rights.
The opinion, decided by a 6-3 vote, found that the plaintiffs, lacked the standing to sue the Biden administration. The dissenting opinions came from conservative justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch.
We obtained a copy of the ruling for you here.
John Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel at NCLA, responded to the ruling, telling Reclaim The Net, “The majority of the Supreme Court has declared open season on Americans’ free speech rights on the internet,” referring to the decision as an “ukase” that permits the federal government to influence third-party platforms to silence dissenting voices. Vecchione accused the Court of ignoring evidence and abdicating its responsibility to hold the government accountable for its actions that crush free speech. “The Government can press third parties to silence you, but the Supreme Court will not find you have standing to complain about it absent them referring to you by name apparently. This is a bad day for the First Amendment,” he added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Turns Away COVID-19 Vaccine Appeals
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 24 rejected appeals brought over COVID-19 vaccines by Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a nonprofit founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate running for president.
The nation’s top court rejected an appeal seeking to overturn lower court rulings that found that CHD and its members lacked standing to sue the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its emergency authorizations of COVID-19 vaccines for minors.
The justices also rebuffed another CHD appeal in a case that challenged the COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed on students at Rutgers University, a public college in New Jersey.
The Supreme Court did not comment on either denial. It included them in a lengthy list dealing with dozens of cases.
“Disappointing that the courts are closed to FDA fraud harming millions of Americans,” Robert Barnes, an attorney representing CHD in the FDA case, told The Epoch Times in an email.
He called for Congress to pass reforms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Leading Biden in 5 Electoral College Forecasts for November General Election
Former President Trump is leading President Biden in 5 Electoral College forecasts for the 2024 general election.
The Economist’s forecast shows him winning 303-235.
Decision Desk’s election prediction webpage shows Trump ahead 282-256.
JHK Forecasts has Trump leading Biden 287-251 in the electoral vote count.
Larry Sabato’s “crystal ball” at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics has Trump in the lead against Biden 251-241.
FiveThirtyEight predicts that Trump is ahead slightly 270-268.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Holds 4-Point Lead Over Biden Ahead of First Debate — His Biggest Jump Yet, New Poll Reveals
Former President Donald Trump has opened up a four-point lead over President Biden ahead of his Thursday debate with his 2024 opponent, a new poll shows.
Trump, 78, received 48% support among likely voters in comparison to Biden’s 44% backing, a New York Times/Siena College poll released Wednesday found.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Files Appeal to Disqualify DA Fani Willis From Georgia Case
President Donald Trump’s legal team is seeking to appeal a lower court’s decision to allow embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to head the Democrats’ politically motivated case against him in Georgia.
Willis has been accused of misconduct over a secret affair with another lead prosecutor in the case.
Trump is embroiled in a racketeering case with 18 other defendants for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
However, it later came out that Willis was romantically involved with Nathan Wade before hiring him to help prosecute the case.
It also emerged that the pair used taxpayer money to fund romantic getaways.
Trump’s lead attorney, Steve Sadow, had argued that Willis should be removed from his election interference case in Georgia over this misconduct.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
U.S Army Admits COVID Shot Caused Soldier’s Heart Failure
The United States Army has admitted that an American soldier suffered heart failure as a direct consequence of receiving a mandated Covid mRNA injection.
24-year-old Army National Guard Specialist Karoline Stancik is lucky to be alive after suffering a Covid shot-induced heart attack.
After receiving her second dose of the Moderna mRNA shot, Stancik suffered three heart attacks and a stroke.
The young woman has now been forced to have a pacemaker fitted.
Stancik developed a headache, sinus problems, cough, and chest pain after her first dose.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Voters Believe Democrats Are Planning to Drop Biden After Trump Wins Debate, Poll Shows
A large number of American people say they are expecting the Democrats to drop President Joe Biden as the candidate for the November election if he doesn’t win this week’s highly-anticipated first presidential debate.
According to a new poll from Rasmussen Reports, one-third of Democrat voters say they expect Biden will be dropped if President Donald Trump wins the debate.
They believe the debate is Biden’s “last chance” to prove himself as the Democrats’ best candidate to take on Trump in November.
However, voters from all sides say a loss by Biden could force the party to kick him off the 2024 ticket.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
What I Saw at a Terrorist Rally Outside a Synagogue
Thirty minutes after Hamas supporters first set up their operation outside a Los Angeles synagogue, they maced their first Jew. And the Los Angeles police did nothing.
Not until an hour into the terrorist rally outside a synagogue, did the LAPD finally step in, pushing back masked Jihad supporters in keffiyeh terror scarves from the entrance of Congregation Adas Torah (Congregation of the Bible) which they had occupied.
And then the mob, chanting calls for “intifada” and the destruction of Israel, moved outward to target two smaller synagogues attended by Persian Jewish refugees from Islamic terror in Iran.
“Billions of us will come and kill you,” a heavily accented Middle Eastern man in a keffiyeh unprompted rasped at me as I walked up. Only dozens had actually shown up, but they made up for it with bullhorns, robotic chants, and assaults in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.
The Jewish counterprotesters had come waving American and Israeli flags while the other side was a sea of terrorist flags. A man wore an Antifa cap, another had come in ski goggles during 90-degree heat, while others toted bear spray, metal bottles, and other implements of violence.
The Jewish community members included older men and women, as well as families, while the Hamas contingent was mostly young and many were masked. A pair of rabbis led a melodic song that could hardly be heard over the harsh clatter of the hateful terror chants.
Despite knowing that a terrorist rally was planned outside a synagogue, the LAPD had allowed the terrorist supporters to take over the entire sidewalk leaving only a thin lane for attendees to walk through to get inside. The LAPD did little to interfere with the terrorist supporters, but did block Jewish counterprotesters from reaching their own synagogue. The police also did nothing as clumps of masked Hamas supporters broke away from the synagogue and began confronting, threatening, and attacking Jewish community members on the street.
| — Hat tip: Daniel Greenfield | [Return to headlines] |
7 in 10 Canadians Want Names of MP Foreign Interference Collaborators Released
A majority of Canadians want the Trudeau government to release the names of MPs who had allegedly wittingly collaborated to interfere in Canada’s democracy on behalf of foreign nations.
A bombshell report by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians found that some unidentified Parliamentarians, past and present, had been collaborating with foreign governments wittingly or semi-wittingly. Much of the relevant portion of the report has been made classified by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Only a handful of MPs and party leaders have read the largely unredacted version of the report and are unable to publicly release details, lest they face potential prosecution for divulging confidential information.
A poll from Angus Reid found that 69% of Canadians believed that the government should release the list of MPs who are under suspicion of working with foreign actors, with only 12% of Canadians believing the government should not release the names.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Conservative MP’s Bill Proposes Criminal Offences for Church Arson, Causing Wildfires
A Conservative MP is putting church arsonists on notice.
Conservative MP Marc Dalton introduced a private member’s bill to amend the Criminal Code to include specific arson offences targeting places of worship. He is also seeking a new offence for causing a wildfire.
“This enactment amends the Criminal Code to create an offence for causing a wildfire and an offence for causing damage by fire or explosion to a place of worship,” reads a summary of the proposed legislation.
“It also requires a court to consider as aggravating circumstances, in the context of arson by negligence, the fact that it resulted in a wildfire or the destruction of a place of worship.”
Despite minimal media coverage, dozens of churches have burned down across Canada over the past several years, most recently St. Anne’s Anglican Church earlier this month. A total of 100 churches have been vandalized or burned since True North began tracking church fires across Canada in 2021 after the Kamloops residential school announcement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Montreal Anti-Israel Activists Vandalize Queen Victoria Statue at New Encampment
Anti-Israel activists in Montreal have set up a new encampment in Montreal’s famed Victoria Square, and have vandalized a statue of the square’s namesake.
Organizers are calling their protest the “Al-Soumoud popular camp” and want Quebec pension fund to divest from the Jewish state.
In a statement to the media, the Divest for Palestine Collective said they are demanding “that CDPQ immediately withdraw from its $14.2 billion worth of investments in the 87 companies identified as complicit in the Israeli occupation.”
They also want to see the Quebec government close its Tel Aviv office.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly Half of 124 Arrested by Ontario’s Carjacking Task Force Were Out on Bail
Nearly half the people arrested by Ontario’s Provincial Carjacking Joint Task Force were out on bail at the time of their arrest, a number that skyrockets to almost three-quarters for minors.
Between Sept. 2023 and Mar. 2024, the task force made 124 arrests, laid 749 criminal charges, seized eight firearms, and recovered 177 stolen vehicles — valued at over $10 million.
The task force was co-led by the Toronto Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police, along with various other local police services from Ontario.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Robert Johnson emphasized that law enforcement is just one branch of the system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Faulkner Show — Tommy Robinson Explains His Arrest and Detainment in Canada
British political activist and journalist Tommy Robinson speaks to Harrison Faulkner about his recent arrest and detainment by officers of the Canadian Borders Services Agency. Robinson says that he has not been charged with a crime and is being held inside Calgary for an unknown period of time. But what happened? Did he not fill out his visa application correctly or is the Canadian government trying to silence his Canadian speaking tour?
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“History Textbooks Are Getting Worse”: An Interview With José Rodriguez
José Rodriguez Cuadrado studied Business Administration at Lancaster University and ICADE. After working as a banking consultant at Oliver Wyman, he went to a monastery, where he discovered his teaching vocation. He then took a second degree in humanities and worked as a teacher for eight years. In 2019, he entered municipal politics in Majadahonda (Madrid), as councillor for Children and Family. Together with other teachers, he has created “Historia con texto” (History with text), a project that aims to change the way history is studied.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nicolas Bay has been a French MEP since 2014. In February 2022 he was suspended from Rassemblement National (RN) and joined Éric Zemmour’s Reconquête party. He was re-elected in the June 9th elections and, following his expulsion from Reconquête due to cooperation with Marine Le Pen’s RN, now sits as a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) in the European Parliament.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AfD: No ‘Imminent’ Decision About New ‘Sovereignist’ Group
Earlier reports in the German and international press indicating that Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was ready to formally launch a new European parliamentary group named “The Sovereignists” this Thursday (June 27th) were mistaken and a result of an unauthorized leak from within the German delegation, The European Conservative has learned from a senior party official close to the negotiations.
As we also wrote based on an initial report from Der Spiegel a few days ago, the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) appeared to be ready to move on from trying to re-enter the French National Rally (RN)-led identity and Democracy (ID) group in Brussels. Instead, it was preparing to launch its own group after teaming up with smaller, non-aligned right-wing parties on the fringes.
The list of parties most likely to be part of the new group—named ‘The Sovereignists,’ but unofficially referred to as the ‘Hooligans’—included the Polish Konfederacja, the Spanish SALF, the Bulgarian Revival, the Slovak Republika, the Greek NIKH, the Hungarian Our Homeland, and SOS Romania. Together these parties would have 34 seats, comfortably above the threshold needed to form a new political family in Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
African Attacker Dies in Botched Bombing of Arab-Owned Restaurant in Germany
One person has died and four others were injured after an African man detonated an explosive device outside a restaurant in the German city of Solingen on Tuesday.
The incident occurred shortly after 2 p.m. outside residential and commercial premises on Konrad-Adenauer-Straße in the North Rhine-Westphalia city.
German news outlet Junge Freiheit reported the targeted restaurant was an independent chain owned by a large Arab family and the perpetrator was of African origin.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Agreement Reached on Von Der Leyen and Top EU Jobs
The leaders of the mainstream European parties reached a deal about the top EU positions for the next five years on Tuesday night, June 25th, two days before the official negotiations would resume between all 27 member states in Brussels. The majority of the EU leaders were left out of the discussions and will be presented with the outcome as a fact. Similarly, European voters have once again been ignored in the grand scheme of European democracy.
‘Business as Usual’
According to reports, the negotiation involved only six EU leaders: the Polish and Greek prime ministers Tusk and Mitsotakis representing the centrist European People’s Party (EPP); German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Spanish counterpart Pedró Sanchez from the social democrats (S&D); and French President Emmanuel Macron and (the caretaker) Dutch PM Mark Rutte from the liberal Renew Europe.
This means that despite the heavy right-wing shift during the elections, the shots are still being called by the center-left ‘Ursula coalition’ (EPP, S&D, Renew), whose five-year governance has been significantly challenged—if not utterly rejected—by the European voters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Brussels: Police Bring Down Major Marseilles-Based Drug Mafia
A major anti-narcotics operation by Belgian police targeting a Marseilles-based crime syndicate resulted in the arrest of a dozen suspects on Tuesday, June 25th. This follows months of gruesome gang murders, kidnappings, and even gang-enforced blockades around working-class estates in western Brussels.
Machine guns, drugs, and large quantities of cash were recovered in the raids. The recently arrived gang operated out of migrant estates in the Anderlecht municipality of the city. Perhaps most worryingly for authorities, gang leaders previously arrested in February of this year were able to continue to run their drug empires from behind bars.
The arrival of the new Marseilles gang over the past year has resulted in multiple killings by established Moroccan gangs. A police spokesman described how the Marseilles organised crime group aspired “to take control of the drug market in the Belgian capital.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Commissioner Reynders Defeated in Bid for Top Job at Council of Europe
Brussels Commissioner Didier Reynders, who took a leave of absence without pay to look for a new job, has failed in his bid to become President of the Council of Europe.
On June 25, an election over two rounds was held for the new presidency of the pan-European body dedicated to the defence of democracy and human rights (it has no connection to the European Union).
Former Swiss president Alain Berset, a Socialist who was the frontrunner after the recent first round, gained 114 votes in the second round and triumphed. Indrek Saar, Estonian former culture minister and also a Socialist, secured 85 votes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
European Commission Accuses Microsoft of Breaching Antitrust Rules
The European Commission announced that Microsoft breached EU antitrust rules by illegally bundling its chat and video app Teams with its Office product.
“We are concerned that Microsoft may be giving its own communication product Teams an undue advantage over competitors, by tying it to its popular productivity suites for businesses” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.
“Preserving competition for remote communication and collaboration tools is essential as it also fosters innovation in these markets. If confirmed, Microsoft’s conduct would be illegal under our competition rules,” she added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Former Polish PM Morawiecki May Run for President
Mateusz Morawiecki, who was the Polish prime minister in the last Conservative (PiS) government, said he may run for president in next year’s election and might be prepared to do so without the backing of his party.
Michal Dworczyk MEP, who served in the Morawiecki government, told Polish State Radio 3 on 24 June that the real issue was whether Morawiecki would run at all, rather than if his party would back him.
“I will support him if he stands. The only issue is whether he actually stands,” Dworczyk said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Bans Extreme-Right and Radical Islamic Groups Ahead of Polarizing Elections
PARIS (AP) — France’s government on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of multiple extreme right and radical Muslim groups, four days before the first round of high-stakes legislative elections that may see a surge in support for political extremes.
Snap national elections called by pro-business moderate President Emmanuel Macron have plunged the country into a hasty and disorderly electoral race, in which hate speech is becoming a growing concern.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced Wednesday that the government ordered the shutdown of several groups peddling extremist hatred. A series of decrees announcing the shutdown outlined investigations into the groups and said they posed risks of violence.
The groups affected include GUD, known for violence and antisemitism. Its members have supported far-right political leader Marine Le Pen in the past.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Marine Le Pen Party’s Security Adviser is an Alleged Russian Agent
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is under fire over a former model and alleged Russian “agent of influence” who is now an adviser to the party as it looks to form France’s next government.
Tamara Volokhova, 34, is causing the hard-Right party particular embarrassment because it has vowed to ban dual-national immigrants from key jobs if it comes to power.
During a live TV debate on Tuesday, before parliamentary elections start this weekend, Jordan Bardella, the would-be National Rally (RN) prime minister, said: “Would you put a Franco-Russian in charge of a nuclear power plant? Don’t you think that’s a subject of national interest?”
Gabriel Attal, the incumbent prime minister of France, replied by naming Ms Volokhova, a Moscow model turned security adviser to the RN in the European Parliament, and a former personal assistant to Ms Le Pen.
Ms Volokhova became a French citizen in 2020 despite a leaked report from the DGSI, France’s domestic intelligence service, that identified her as a suspected “agent of influence” working for Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France’s Greens Urge Presidential Coalition to Block Far Right in Second Round
The head of France’s Green Party has called on the presidential coalition’s leaders to commit to withdrawing from second-round legislative races to prevent far-right candidates from winning.
In a letter addressing the presidents of four political parties in Emmanuel Macron’s coalition, Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the French Ecologists party, wrote that the country’s “situation called for simple and clear commitments.”
Her party would “do everything to beat National Rally candidates”, Tondelier added.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Internet activism has taken France’s electoral campaign by storm with left-wing supporters using social media to reach young voters.
After the rightwing National Rally (RN) came out on top in the European Parliament elections of June 6-9, the Left’s counter-offensive is being organised via networks such as Discord.
Tahzio, co-founder of a Discord server “La gauche d’internet“ (left-wing internet), is one of those using the internet to build sympathy for the Left and attract young voters.
A Discord server can have multiple text channels. They are typically used for the community to ask and answer questions, and share jokes and memes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: After EU Election Failure: Olaf Scholz Rebrands Himself as Critic of COVID Measures
In a recent ARD interview, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) argued that he had always “advocated caution” on compulsory vaccination and lockdowns during the COVID pandemic.
What Scholz neglected to mention was that it was he who drove much of the debate on compulsory vaccination and curfews.
Scholz refused to take any responsibility for—and in some cases declaring himself a critic of—”over the top” decisions made by his government, including the lockdowns.
“I didn’t understand why you couldn’t go for a walk outside at certain times if you were wearing a mask and didn’t meet anyone in the forest. And I don’t think it should have been necessary,” he explained.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Records Explosive Rise in Antisemitism
The number of antisemitic incidents committed in Germany almost doubled in 2023 compared to the year before, according to a new report by a group that tracks antisemitism in the country.
The Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (Rias) reports that a total of 4,782 antisemitic incidents were recorded last year, an 80% increase on the previous year, with two-thirds of these cases occurring after October 7th.
On that day, the Palestinian terror group Hamas brutally massacred 1,200 Israeli civilians and kidnapped more than 200 more, after which Israel launched an offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war has been ongoing since, and the offensive has sparked anti-Israel protests all across Europe, mainly within Muslim-majority communities.
Out of the 4,782 antisemitic incidents in Germany, seven were categorised as being extremely violent, including an arson attack against a synagogue in Berlin and serious bodily harm caused to an Israeli Jew in a train station in the capital.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Giorgia Meloni Supports Hungary’s EU Presidency Programme
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her support for Hungary’s upcoming EU Presidency at a meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Rome on Monday evening, June 24th. The two conservative allies highlighted migration and the continent’s demographic decline as two areas of concern that need to be addressed. They also agreed that the results of the European elections and the European Parliament’s rightward shift should be considered when dividing up the EU’s top jobs.
Rome was the second stop of Viktor Orban’s tour of Europe during which he is briefing fellow European leaders about the programme of the Hungarian EU Presidency which begins on July 1st. The prime minister met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last Friday and will travel to Paris for negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron next week.
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Gunman in Spanish Politician’s Shooting Was Set to Kill Iranian in the Netherlands: Prosecutors
The 38-year-old Tunisian man arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of shooting Spanish politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras was also preparing to assassinate an Iranian activist and journalist, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Wednesday. The Iranian individual was not identified, but is currently living in the Netherlands.
The Tunisian suspect was taken into custody in Haarlem on June 6. The OM also revealed for the first time that the suspect was caught with an alleged co-conspirator, a 27-year-old man from Colombia. Both suspects are being kept in restricted custody, and can only have contact with an attorney. Typically, this also puts the OM under a gag order at this stage of the case. The OM has not confirmed the identity of the suspects.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Blocks Joint EU Statement Denouncing Russia’s Media Ban
Hungary once again waged its veto to derail the European Union’s foreign policy on Wednesday by blocking the release of a joint statement denouncing the Kremlin’s recent decision to ban 81 European media outlets in Russia.
The outlets targeted by Moscow include well-known brands in Europe, such as Austria’s ORF, Germany’s Der Spiegel, Ireland’s RTE, Spain’s El Pais and El Mundo, Italy’s RAI, Portugal’s Público, France’s Le Monde and AFP, and Finland’s YLE.
The list includes one Hungarian site, the 444 news portal, which is independent.
All of them have been banned from broadcasting and online spaces in Russia.
Moscow says the restrictions would be lifted if the bloc annuls the sanctions placed last month on RIA Novosti, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, which are widely considered to be spreaders of pro-war propaganda. The sanctions also affected Voice of Europe, the Dutch-based site that has become involved in the so-called Russiagate.
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Incoming State Secretary Says That the Netherlands Will Continue to Support Ukraine
New State Secretary Gijs Tuinman (Defense) thinks the Netherlands should continue to have a “pioneering role” in supporting Ukraine in the war with Russia. He said this in a hearing with members of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament, the Tweede Kamer. He was asked about this because his party, the BBB, voted against a motion in December made by NSC and GroenLinks-PvdA calling for continued support for Ukraine. The PVV also voted against this motion.
Tuinman said that he would be able to remove those concerns. He sees that the Netherlands is currently one of the leaders in this and thinks that this “is a good position which also fits in how the Netherlands views the rest of the world.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Meloni Says EU Top Jobs Deal Ignores Voters’ Wishes
ROME (Reuters) —Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised on Wednesday plans to share out the top jobs in EU institutions, saying they ignored the successes of rightwing parties at this month’s European Parliament elections.
Sources said on Tuesday that the three main, broadly centrist European groups — which do not include Meloni’s conservatives — had agreed to a deal on the bloc’s top posts, which would include picking Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the EU’s executive Commission.
The deal will be submitted for European Union leaders’ approval at a summit in Brussels starting on Thursday. If confirmed, it would represent continuity from the past, with pro-EU factions keeping hold of power despite a surge in support for far-right and eurosceptic parties in the EP elections.
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A few days before a Cabinet containing ministers from the far-right PVV is installed for the first time, party leader Geert Wilders lashed out fiercely against Islam in a post on social media. Wilders said the religion “is a disgusting, reprehensible, violent and hateful religion” on Wednesday.
He invoked the coalition agreement’s caveat that “criticism of religion” is allowable, and the four parties in the coalition agreed to uphold the basic rule of law. Wilders made his statement in the context that he has endured “20 years of protection, safe houses, 5 fatwas, thousands of death threats and visits to many Islamic countries.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Polish President Andrzej Duda, accompanied by his wife Agata Kornahaser-Duda, is visiting China, where he held extensive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. There, Duda conveyed Poland’s viewpoint on the Ukraine war and Europe’s security landscape.
“I presented our point of view on the security situation in Europe and the world, above all in our part of Europe,” Duda told reporters after his meeting in Beijing.
Duda expressed his hope that China would support international efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution in regard to Russian aggression in Ukraine. He emphasized that any resolution must adhere to international law and respect Ukraine’s recognized borders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Strengthens Military Cooperation With Germany and France, Plans Joint Exercises
Poland, Germany, and France are solidifying their military ties, with plans to conduct joint exercises on Polish soil next year, announced Polish Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
The agreement was reached during a meeting in Paris with his counterparts from Germany and France, Boris Pistorius and Sebastien Lecornu, as part of ongoing efforts within the Weimar Triangle, an initiative aimed at enhancing cooperation between the three nations.
The defense ministers discussed several key security issues affecting Europe, including a new “mobility initiative” signed by Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands, which has also now been extended to include France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The initiative aims to enhance the logistics capabilities of these nations.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Rolls Out ‘Holidays With the Army’ in a Recruitment Drive With Russia in Mind
NOWOGROD, Poland (AP) — With assault rifles laid out before them, the young Polish men and women kneel on the grass and follow orders on how to pack their survival kits. Next comes a lesson on applying camouflage paint to their faces. Not too much neon, an instructor says as he shows them how to add dark streaks of green.
Many at the training in eastern Poland are new high school graduates, with the men’s heads freshly shaven and the women’s hair tied back. They have signed up for a new summer program, “Holidays with the Army,” which offers basic military training for thousands of Poles aged 18 to 35.
The military introduced the program in a search for recruits as Poland expands its 198,000-member army in the face of renewed Russian aggression in the region, including neighboring Ukraine.
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Rivals Blast Macron for Fearmongering After French President Warns ‘Civil War’ on Horizon
French President Emmanuel Macron faced a backlash this week after he claimed that a win for either the far-right or hard-left in the upcoming snap election could lead to a “civil war.”
“This is a strategy of fear,” Eric Ciotti, leader of the conservative Republicans, said during an appearance on radio station BFMTV-RMC.
Patrick Kanner, the head of the Socialists in the French Senate, claimed that Macron’s comments showed that people are dealing with “someone who no longer controls anything.”
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally Party argued that Macron’s comments betray that he “thinks he’s lost the election,” and National Rally President Jordan Bardella quipped that the French president “should not say that.”
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Scotland Plans Live Facial Recognition Technology
More controversy is developing in the UK, this time in Scotland, around the use by law enforcement of cameras equipped with live facial recognition technology.
Reports say that the police in Scotland may intend to start using this tech to catch shoplifters and persons who break bail conditions. But civil rights group Big Brother Watch is warning against any kind of deployment of live facial recognition as incompatible with democracy — primarily because it indiscriminately jeopardizes the privacy of millions of people.
To make sure this is not happening, the non-profit’s head of research Jake Hurfurt has told the press that the tech should be banned.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Setback for Poland’s Gdansk Port as Asia Shipments Diverted to Germany
A decision by a global shipping leader will affect the Polish Port of Gdansk, as it plans to redirect its transportation routes to Germany starting next year. This move will result in Gdansk losing direct container shipments from Asia to the benefit of German ports, shifting the dynamics in the Baltic and North seas.
Danish shipping company Maersk and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd have agreed on a long-term partnership, signifying a major reshuffling of power in the Baltic Sea. The companies stated that their new strategy is designed to shorten delivery times and enhance flexibility. According to the Money.pl financial news outlet, this will practically halve the connection network, directly affecting Gdansk’s port.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Six EU Nations ‘Not Yet Ready for Euro’
Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden are not ready to join the euro currency, despite legal commitments to do so, according to the European Commission’s latest Convergence Report.
Bulgaria is currently the only country that fulfils all but one criterion and where national legislation can be considered to be compatible with the rules of the Economic and Monetary Union, the EC said in the report published on June 26.
Overall, it referred to “mixed results” in terms of nominal euro convergence.
Sofia is aiming to sign up in 2026, becoming the 21st member of the currency group.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia’s Defence Official Claims Ex-Government Broke the Law by Donating Migs to Ukraine
The sitting government of Slovakia is busy filing criminal complaints against its predecessors in office over their donation of fighter jets to Ukraine, claiming that the transfers went ahead illegally.
As reported by Slovakian media, State Secretary of the Defence Ministry Igor Melicher has filed a total of four official reports against former Prime Minister Eduard Heger and his Minister of Defence Jaroslav Nad.
“These two gentlemen have been able to disarm Slovakia better than any enemy would,” Melicher said at a press conference on Friday.
“I am convinced that Jaroslav Nad betrayed Slovakia, his homeland.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain’s Transport Ministry Manipulated Media Coverage of ‘Delcygate’ Scandal
Spain’s transportation ministry had a plan to limit government advertising to media willing to report along its guidelines on the ‘Delcygate’ scandal—a clandestine meeting in Spain between then-transport minister José Luis Ábalos and the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, who was prohibited from setting foot on European soil.
The document, entitled ‘Delcygate Communication Strategy,’ was, in its own words, a response to the “deteriorating” image of the ministry in light of the scandal. The ministry handles all the advertising for the state-backed train companies Renfe and Adif, among many other public transport services.
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Stink of Commission Hypocrisy Over Fines for Perfume Giant
The European Commission seems set to fine fragrance companies €15.9 million, after a senior employee was found to have intentionally deleted WhatsApp messages during an antitrust investigation, prompting claims of hypocrisy this week.
The American-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and its French wing received the fine after a year-long investigation by EU antitrust officials, who claimed that a corporate cartel existed within the fragrance industry.
The story first gained media prominence in March 2023, when the company and three others had their premises raided. Officials found one company employee exchanging “business-related information” in deleted WhatsApp messages discovered during phone inspections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden Democrats Demand Seats in Next Cabinet
Jimmie Åkesson, President of the hard-right Sweden Democrats (SD), has demanded representation in the government after the 2026 election. Otherwise the party will join the opposition, he said.
“It’s the only option available,” the SD leader told Swedish newspaper Expressen.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to explain to our voters why we are not in the government. Why we do not have the executive power position that the other three parties have. There is a strange dynamic in the negotiations.”
In the national elections of 2022, the SD party was the big winner, earning 21 per cent of the vote and growing to become the largest party in the right-wing bloc.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Russian Groups Responsible for Cyberattacks on Poland, Says Deputy PM
Two Russian groups, orchestrated by the Russian military intelligence service GRU, are actively engaging in cyberattacks against Poland, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski stated on TVN 24 commercial news channel on Tuesday.
Gawkowski said that one of these groups aims to spread disinformation within Poland, while the other focuses on paralyzing the nation’s critical infrastructure.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Labour Would Create ‘Office of Net Zero’ to Push Green Agenda: Report
The left-wing Labour Party will reportedly establish a new bureaucracy to push forward the ‘net zero’ green agenda if it wins the July 4th general election.
In the mad dash towards eliminating carbon emissions in Britain, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s transition team, headed by former top bureaucrat and Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray will look to establish an “Office of Net Zero”, Sky News reports.
Gray — known for leading the investigation into the lockdown party scandal which contributed to the collapse of the Boris Johnson government before controversially jumping ship and joining the Labour Party — will reportedly seek to draft a group of civil servants dedicated to speeding up the green transition.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police ‘Trying to Take Control’ of Betting Scandal Investigation
Scotland Yard has taken control of some criminal investigations into the Westminster betting scandal from the gambling watchdog, it emerged on Wednesday night.
It comes after Scotland Yard was accused of trying to take control of the election betting scandal inquiry from the Gambling Commission.
The force said it will take charge of a small number of cases where offences such as misconduct in public office are alleged to have been committed.
The Metropolitan Police is aiding the Gambling Commission as it tries to unravel a series of bets placed on the timing of the election.
In a sign of growing tensions, a source close to the Home Office questioned the need for Scotland Yard to become further embroiled in the investigation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Watch: Serbia Fans Chant Vladimir Putin’s Name Amid Violent Clashes With German Police
There were violent clashes between Serbia fans and riot police before the country’s final European Championship group game against Denmark.
Footage online showed what appeared to be a mass confrontation in Munich’s central Marienplatz, where Serb supporters were also filmed chanting “Vladimir Putin”.
Clips of Serbia fans paying tribute to the Russian president had previously emerged after their opening Group C defeat by England.
The build-up to that game had witnessed minor skirmishes between rival supporters that led to several arrests.
But the violence in Munich before Serbia’s goalless draw on Tuesday, which led to them being eliminated from Euro 2024, appeared much more serious.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Weimar Triangle to Develop Next-Gen European Fighter and Tank
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told a ministerial-level Weimar Triangle meeting in Paris on Monday, June 24th that Warsaw might be open to joining two key Franco-German defense projects. Both schemes aim to develop next-generation weaponry designed to arm Europe in future. The Weimar Triangle is the Franco-German-Polish cooperation format, revived since the Polish PM Donald Tusk took office.
Euro fighters and tanks of the future
The joint arms development projects—dubbed “Future Combat Air System” (FCAS) and “Main Ground Combat System” (MGCS)—are expected to result in an entirely European-made next-gen fighter aircraft and a core battle tank series, respectively.
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ID Verification Company Partnered With X Suffered Data Leak, Report Claims
AU10TIX, an identity verification company operating out of Israel and serving prominent clients like TikTok and more recently Elon Musk’s X, was found to have inadvertently left sensitive user information vulnerable after administrative credentials were exposed online, according to a report from 404 Media.
The company, known for processing photos and drivers’ licenses to verify identities, allegedly had this security lapse exposed by cybersecurity firm spiderSilk, revealing a potential goldmine for hackers.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Forces Strike North and South Gaza, Clash With Hamas in Rafah
CAIRO: Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Wednesday, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where tanks were also trying to force their way north amid heavy clashes. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters attacked Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs.
Since early May, ground fighting has focused on Rafah, abutting Egypt on Gaza’s southern edge, where around half of the enclave’s 2.3 million people had been sheltering after fleeing other areas. Most have since had to flee again.
Israel says that it is close to destroying the last remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah, after which it will move to smaller scale operations in the enclave.
Medics said two Palestinians were killed in one Israeli missile strike in Rafah.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Opens Second Front in Hybrid War Against NATO’s Eastern Flank
The eastern flank of NATO is witnessing a series of incidents aimed at provoking and destabilizing nations bordering Russia, increasingly turning the Baltic region into a second front in the West’s conflict with Moscow. Recently, several masked men in boats removed orange navigational markers on the border river Narva, which separates Estonia from Russia.
According to the government in Tallinn, the placement of navigational markers on the river was traditionally agreed with Moscow to prevent fishing and recreational boats from inadvertently entering Russian territory. However, since 2023, Russia has not consented to the placement of about half of the 250 buoys planned for this year. Estonia has demanded the return of the removed markers and stated that it will install more unless Russia provides evidence of a change in the navigation route. Estonia is still awaiting a response.
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U.S. Journalist Goes on Trial in Russia
Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist who has been locked up in a Moscow jail for almost 15 months, went on trial today, June 26th, in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. He was arrested on espionage charges in March last year while reporting on the war in Ukraine.
The White House has long described the allegations against Gershkovich—that he was “collecting classified information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret”—as “ridiculous.”
Gershkovich’s ordeal is a fairly blatant show trial, set up to facilitate a future prisoner exchange. The BBC suggests that Vladimir Putin could use him to release Vadim Krasikov, an alleged Russian agent who is serving a life sentence for murder in Germany. Euronews added that no exchange will take place until a verdict is reached in Gershkovich’s case.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Vladimir Putin’s troops have launched around 100 deadly glide bombs and dozens of drones across the border with Ukraine over the past day.
Russia had launched 96 glide bombs, two missile strikes, 4000 shells and 44 kamikaze drones over the last 24 hours, according to the Ukrainian army.
A glide bomb is a standard air-dropped bomb modified to be launched from a distance rather than directly over the target — with some weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.
It comes as Russia’s former defence minister and a leading general have been slapped with arrest warrants over attacks on civilian targets amounting to war crimes in Ukraine by a top international court.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Dagestan Attacks: Renewed Islamist Terror Challenge for Putin
Sunday’s terrorist attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent—the two largest cities of the southern Russian majority-Muslim republic of Dagestan—were the most severe experienced by the republic in 14 years. Gunmen left 15 policemen and four civilians dead, including one Orthodox priest whose throat was slit.
The Russian Federal Security Service’s anti-terrorist operation killed five of the attackers. The terrorists targeted religious sites, opening fire with automatic weapons in two Orthodox churches and a synagogue which is home to an ancient Jewish community. The gunmen also targeted a police station. Regional authorities have declared three days of mourning.
A subsequent investigation revealed that two of the suspected gunmen are the sons of the head of Dagestan’s Sergokala district, Magomed Omarov. Ironically, Omarov organized a local counter-terrorism meeting as recently as April. He has since been arrested, interrogated, and sacked.
Another attacker was formerly affiliated with a pro-Kremlin party. Taken together, this has prompted concern that the Dagestani political elite might have been infiltrated by Islamists.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘No Physical Harm to Anyone by Leaks’: Assange’s Freedom a Huge Blow to Detractors
These are the images the world has been waiting for (with the exception of all Neocons, Liberal interventionists, natsec hawks, and Killary types…). “Free at last,” WikiLeaks said in a post on X, upon Julian Assange emerging rom his plane after landing in the Australian capital of Canberra.
Assange raised his fist on the tarmac, and lovingly embraced his wife Stella and his children and family. His guilty plea arrangement with the United States was a success.
During the Wednesday morning stopover and court appearance in a US district court in Saipan, the 52-year old Assange formally pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets.
One of Assange’s lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, said after the hearing that the whole ordeal “sets a dangerous precedent that should be a concern to journalists everywhere.”
During the hearing he appeared emotional and there were moments of humor and laughter in interaction with the judge and with the court, according to The Guardian. For example, when the judge questioned whether satisfied with the plea conditions, Assange responded: “It might depend on the outcome.” This immediately drew some laughter in the courtroom.
Chief Judge Ramona Manglona said at the start: “Not many people recognize we are part of the United States, but that is true.” By the end she pronounced: “It appears this case ends with me” and followed with “I hope there will be some peace restored.”
The moment he walked out of the courtroom a free man:
Julian Assange Free At Last!!! pic.twitter.com/Vpzcxr6lbi
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 26, 2024
Crucially, the judge said something which marks a significant blow to Assange’s and WikiLeaks’ detractors, who have long maintained that the leaks — particularly the Iraq and Afghan war logs — put intelligence officers and foreign assets in danger and may have gotten some killed.
Manglona explained that key to the deal for his freedom was that he already served years in a notorious and harsh UK prison, but also that no actual physical harm was actually caused due to Assange’s actions.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Military Flees Bolivia Government Palace After Coup Attempt Fails, General Taken Into Custody
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt, but President Luis Arce vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down.
Soon the soldiers pulled back, along with a line of military vehicles, as hundreds of Arce’s supporters rushed the square outside the palace, waving Bolivian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering.
Arce, surrounded by ministers, waved at the crowd. “Thank you to the Bolivian people,” he said. “ Let democracy live on.”
Hours later, the Bolivian general who appeared to be behind the rebellion, Juan José Zúñiga, was arrested after the attorney general opened an investigation. It wasn’t immediately clear what the charges were against him.
| — Hat tip: McN | [Return to headlines] |
Soldiers Storm Bolivian Presidential Palace in Suspected Coup
Bolivian soldiers used an armoured troop carrier to smash their way into the presidential palace on Wednesday in an apparent attempted coup.
After battering down the vast wooden doors, heavily-armed soldiers surged into the building in the centre of the capital La Paz.
Inside, President Luis Arce confronted the army’s former top officer, Juan José Zúñiga, who appeared to be leading the rebellion, and told him: “I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers. I will not allow this insubordination.”
Hours later, Bolivian authorities arrested General Zúñiga and took him into police custody, according to reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Some 144 migrants were detected crossing the English Channel to the UK yesterday, taking the overall tally to more than 13,000 for the first six months of the year.
The number of migrants arriving in small boats has reached 50,108 since Rishi Sunakbecame the Prime Minister on October 25, 2022.
This year alone has seen 13,056 migrants cross the channel so far, according to provisional figures from the Home Office, a record for the first six months of the calendar year.
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A 20-year-old German national, beaten into a coma on Sunday evening by several members of a migrant gang, has died in hospital as a result of his injuries.
Philippos and his 19-year-old friend were returning home from a graduation party in the North Rhine-Westphalia town of Bad Oeynhausen at around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday when around 10 migrant males confronted them.
The pair were punched to the floor before being kicked as they lay defenseless on the ground.
As horrified witnesses called the police, the gang casually walked from the crime scene toward the town center.
The victims were hospitalized as a result of their injuries, but Philippos was particularly hurt and was induced into a protective coma which he sadly never woke up from.
Philippos was declared brain dead on Monday evening and died in Minden Hospital on Tuesday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Moves to Ease the Deportation of Foreigners Who Glorify Terrorist Acts
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government on Wednesday launched new legislation to ease the deportation of foreigners who publicly approve of terrorist acts. Under the law, a single comment on social media could provide grounds for kicking people out.
The measure approved by the Cabinet was pledged by Chancellor Olaf Scholz following a knife attack last month on members of a group that describes itself as opposing “political Islam,” an assault that left a police officer dead. It comes as Scholz’s government faces broader pressure to curb migration.
The Interior Ministry said that the law on residence will be changed so that approving or promoting “a single terrorist crime” is grounds for a “particularly serious interest in expulsion.” That means that in future a single comment that “glorifies and endorses a terrorist crime on social media” could constitute a reason for expulsion.
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Get With the Program or Leave, French Far-Right’s Immigration Tsar Tells Civil Servants
PARIS (Reuters) — French officials unwilling to work with a potential far right government should find a new job, the National Rally’s (RN) immigration tsar told Reuters, as he outlined plans to restrict French citizenship, welfare and healthcare for new arrivals.
Fabrice Leggeri, the former director of the European Union’s border agency Frontex, joined the RN earlier this year in a major coup for the party and went on to launch a successful run for a seat in the European Parliament.
He quit Frontex in 2022 after accusations, which Leggeri has dismissed, that the agency mistreated migrants under his watch.
In an interview on Monday, just days before a two-round legislative election that polls show could catapult the eurosceptic, anti-immigrant RN to power, Leggeri said he was already contacting likeminded public servants he knows from years of working for the French government and the European Union to build a potential RN government. He said others had approached him with offers to help.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
During a press conference at the Polish parliament, one of the right-wing Confederation leaders and MEP Grzegorz Braun accused non-governmental organizations of facilitating migrant smuggling into Poland.
Braun detailed ongoing incidents at the border with Belarus, where foreign nationals from various African and Middle Eastern countries have been involved in near-daily attempts to illegally cross into Poland and incidents involving attacks on Polish military and border personnel. To counter these activities, the government has implemented measures, including the use of weapons and the establishment of a buffer zone.
Braun voiced concerns about the operations of organizations that self-identify as “humanitarian,” claiming they are part of an “anti-Polish diversion” that complicates the urgent tasks of border services and is influenced by foreign funding sources.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A migrant accused of shooting two NYPD officers claimed a vicious Venezuelan gang has been smuggling guns into city-run shelters by stuffing them infood delivery bags, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.
Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, will be placed in protective custody after his explosive accusations against the notorious Tren de Aragua gang during a Queens criminal court hearing.
Mata admitted in hospital-bed confessions that he’s a gang member who two fellow Tren de Aragua goons tapped to commit robberies, according to audio recordings read by prosecutors.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Dispatch From the TERF Wars: An Interview With Dora Moutot
The transgender movement’s cultural Blitzkrieg swept the elite institutions of the West in less than a decade, but their hold on the public imagination has always been far more tenuous. It is one thing to get academics and activists to believe that the phrase “her penis” makes perfect sense; it is quite another to condition ordinary people into believing that. Consequently, the transgender movement has attempted to enforce their agenda by government totalitarianism on one side, and street-level violence on the other.
This is not hyperbole. Vassilis Tsiartas, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek soccer stars of all time, was convicted in 2022 of “transphobic” social media posts and given a 10-month suspended prison sentence and 5,000 euro fine for “violence or hatred for reasons of gender identity.” Norwegian filmmaker and actress Tonje Gjevjon was criminally investigated for stating that men cannot be lesbians; her compatriot, the feminist Christina Ellingsen, was investigated for saying that men cannot become women.
As a result, we have seen a strange, diverse group of dissidents spring up in opposition to the transgender movement—feminists, social conservatives, professional athletes, famous authors, parents, and ordinary people who found themselves facing demands to do things they could not do or say things they could not say. One of those dissidents is French journalist Dora Moutot. In 2022, she was invited to debate “France’s first transgender mayor,” Marie Cau, on TV. During the debate, she was heckled and insulted, but stuck to the facts: Cau was a male with feminine tastes, not a woman.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Officials Push for Age Limit for Child Gender Surgeries to be Reduced
Officials in Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration are pushing for the age limit to be reduced for children to undergo life-altering gender surgeries.
The push was exposed in recently unsealed court documents.
The files show that health officials in the Biden administration urged an international transgender health nonprofit to omit the age limit in its guidelines for surgical procedures for adolescents.
The push for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to omit the age limit succeeded, the documents revealed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Supreme Court Inadvertently Releases ‘Idaho Emergency Abortion’ Opinion
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The U.S. Supreme Court released an opinion in an abortion case on June 26 but quickly unpublished the ruling, in what a spokesperson described as a mistake.
The opinion involves a case against an Idaho law that bans most abortions.
The opinion “has not been released,” Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“The court’s publications unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the court’s website.”
She said the opinion will be published “in due course.”
The nation’s top court had an opinion release day on Wednesday and is scheduled to publish additional opinions on Thursday and Friday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Track Coaches Outraged as Male Athlete Crushes Female Competitors at State Championship
A male athlete has provoked outrage after destroying female competitors in the girls’ competition at the state championship.
Two track coaches from Liberty High School near Seattle, Washington blasted the governing body for allowing a male to compete in female events because he claims to be a transgender “woman.”
Brad Anderson, the boys’ track head coach, and Jason Keniston, the girls’ track head coach, are speaking out after watching a male athlete crush his female competition.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trans Person Arrested After Being Found With Body of Dead Minneapolis Trans Activist
A trans-identified suspect from Iowa was criminally charged on Tuesday after being found with the dead body of murdered Minneapolis transgender activist, Liara Tsai, 35. Both the victim and suspect are trans-identifying males.
Myles “Margot” G. Lewis, 32, of New Liberty, Iowa, was arrested on Saturday around 7 am after Lewis crashed into a guardrail on I-90 near Eyota, Minnesota. Authorities discovered Tsai’s dead body in Lewis’s car while responding to the crash site. Tsai was located deceased on the back seat wrapped in a bed sheet, blanket, futon-style mattress, and a tarp, police said, per the Star Tribune.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Labour Pushes Trans Law That Could Criminalise Parent-Child Conversations
The same Labour Party which two months ago described the Cass report into the treatment of children who believe they are transgender as a “watershed moment,” and which said it would “work to implement [its] expert recommendations,” is now desperate to ban transgender conversion therapy, despite the author’s concerns.
Paediatrician Dr. Hillary Cass, the report’s author, opposes conversion therapy—therapy to overcome homosexual attraction or to preserve someone’s biological gender identity—in principle but has warned that a trans-inclusive ban would have unintended consequences. Campaigners have also highlighted that a law banning trans conversion therapy could criminalise legitimate conversations between parents and their own children.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The United Nations has unveiled the latest in a series of censorship initiatives, this one dubbed, the Global Principles for Information Integrity.
Neither the problems nor the solutions, as identified by the principles, are anything new; rather, they sound like regurgitated narratives heard from various nation-states, only this time lent the supposed clout of the UN and its chief, Antonio Guterres.
The topic is, “harm from misinformation and disinformation, and hate speech” — and this is presented with a sense of urgency, calling for immediate action from, once again, the usual group of entities that are supposed to execute censorship: governments, tech companies, media, advertisers, PR firms.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trans woman sues McDonald’s: Muslim female employee refuses to share changing room
https://www-berliner–zeitung-de.translate.goog/mensch-metropole/transfrau-aus-berlin-verklagt-mcdonalds-mitarbeiterin-weigert-sich-umkleide-zu-teilen-li.2228348?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true
Popcorn!
More spice… this trans person originates from Libya.
https://www-siegessaeule-de.translate.goog/magazin/trans-frau-verklagt-mcdonalds-wegen-diskrimierung-am-arbeitsplatz/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Just outrageous what is happening in Germany !!, it’s no normal germans anymore? So sad , this traitors sold this country to this !!, and it’s the big problem..
This is a skewed perception. Normal people don’t make such headlines and therefore get less visibility in the media. Of course they continue to exist. And usually get slapped with the bill for mopping up the mess.
What makes this case interesting is that members of two “protected groups” are clashing over their conflicting beliefs. That none of the two are native means that the usual shaming tactics cannot be used, they will have to drill down to the roots of such conflicts. We’ve been waiting for this because the powers that be kept insisting that there cannot be what they say there must not be. Reality deniers finally hitting the wall. There will be blood.
“What makes this case interesting is that members of two “protected groups” are clashing over their conflicting beliefs.”
Survival of the feralist.
“There will be blood.”
Considering the parties involved, you betcha.
Ref: Geert Wilders- Islam is not a religion- it is an ideology and one that will devour Europe and the UK, if the policies adopted by European Governments inc UK, continue to embrace any degree of tolerance towards the teachings of Islam.
If I was a corrupt Amazon shareholder. I’d be soft on retail crime.