Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia today for an official visit. It’s the first time he has visited a member country of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest early last year. Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Mr. Putin and hand him over to the court in The Hague.
In other news, President Joe Biden said today that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, JW, LP, McN, MM, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
“Brawl” Breaks Out at Philly Area High School Football Game, Forcing Cancellation
It must officially be fall in the United States…after all, what’s more American than leaves falling, sweatshirt weather, pumpkin spice lattes…and massive brawls outside of high school football games?
That’s exactly what took place in Norristown, just miles outside of Philadelphia, where a fight at the Norristown Area High School’s football stadium caused a game to be cancelled.
During the annual “Battle of the Bridge” varsity football game between Norristown and Upper Merion, no issues occurred inside the stadium. However, a “series of altercations” erupted in the parking lot at halftime on the 1900 block of Eagle Drive.
Five juveniles from Norristown Area High School were taken into custody, according to ABC News 6.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Claims He ‘Spoke to’ American Hostage Found Dead in Hamas Tunnel in Latest Apparent Gaffe
President Biden appeared to mistakenly claim on Monday that he “spoke to” the American hostage who was found dead in a Hamas tunnel over the weekend — adding to his string of uncomfortable gaffes in the last months of his presidency.
It happened after Biden, 81, was asked if he had a message for the families of six hostages who were discovered dead in a Hamas tunnel by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday.
One of the hostages was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held hostage for nearly 11 months since he was abducted from a music festival on Oct. 7.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The California legislature concluded its final week in session on Saturday and has approved a number of bills aimed at banning deepfakes and regulating AI in the state.
One of the laws passed as the deadline loomed is the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024.” It requires that a “large online platform,” defined as a “public-facing internet website, web application, or digital application, including a social media platform,” block “the posting of materially deceptive content related to elections in California, during specified periods before and after an election.”
The period set forth by the bill is between 120 days before an election in the state and 60 days after the election. Campaigns will also be required to disclose if they are running ads with materials that have been altered by AI. The bill passed the Assembly on August 28 and the Senate on August 27.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eagles Removing Viral ‘Counterfeit’ Kamala Harris Ads Throughout Philadelphia
The Eagles aren’t with her.
The NFL team distanced itself from ads strewn throughout Philadelphia calling Vice President Kamala Harris the “official candidate” of the team.
“We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” the Eagles’ X account posted on Monday.
The ads, posted on 16th and Spring Garden Streets, 18th Street and JFK Boulevard, and 34th and Walnut Streets, picture Harris in an Eagles helmet and jersey and carrying a football.
A URL at the bottom — belonging to the team’s real website — offers nonpartisan voting information for residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Some have posited the artwork is that of Winston Tseng, a street artist who satirizes brands to highlight societal issues, though he has not taken credit for the Eagles posters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Elon Musk Slams New York Times Writer for Calling the Constitution ‘Dangerous’
Billionaire Elon Musk slammed a New York Times writer who wrote an article that claimed the US Constitution can be considered one of the “biggest threats” to the country.
Times book critic Jennifer Szalai claimed that “The United States Constitution is in trouble” due to the fact that former President Donald Trump was able to become president through the Electoral College.
“Americans have long assumed that the Constitution could save us; a growing chorus now wonders whether we need to be saved from it,” Szalai said. “The document that’s supposed to be a bulwark against authoritarianism can end up fostering the widespread cynicism that helps authoritarianism grow.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Feds Subpoena Miami Hotel Records as Part of Investigation Into Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York investigating singer Sean “Diddy” Combs in an effort to secure a criminal indictment have issued a new grand jury subpoena against a Miami, Florida hotel, demanding documents and evidence related to him. The subpoena, which names both Combs and his ex-girlfriend Daphne Joy, requires the hotel to provide reservation records involving the two and other business associates.
The subpoena covers reservations from 2008 to the present and requests detailed information, including check-in and check-out dates, room numbers, guest preferences, special requests, and billing information, according to TMZ. Prosecutors have also asked for associated email and mailing addresses, phone numbers, and payment methods.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Four People Shot to Death While Sleeping on Chicago Commuter Train: Police
Four people were shot dead while they were sleeping on a Chicago Transit Authority train in a suburban village on Monday morning, according to police.
Police responded to a report of a shooting at the CTA Blue Line Station in Forest Park — located just west of Chicago in Cook County — around 5:30 a.m. and found four men shot, ABC Chicago reported.
Three victims were declared dead at the scene while a fourth was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center where they died from their wounds, Deputy Chief Christopher Chin told The Post.
The shooter fled the scene. However a suspect armed with a gun was later taken into custody on a CTA Pink Line train in Chicago, according to ABC.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Horrific Details Emerge in CTA Train Shooting That Left 4 Victims Dead
Police in Forest Park are releasing new details after four individuals were shot and killed on a CTA Blue Line train Monday morning.
According to authorities, police received a 911 call after several individuals were shot onboard the train. Officers responded to the Forest Park station and cleared it of passengers before getting on the train, where they discovered four victims.
Three of the individuals were pronounced dead at the scene, and a fourth died a short time later at a local hospital.
Police have been examining surveillance footage, and it paints a disturbing picture of how the attack unfolded.
Authorities say the footage shows that the four victims were likely asleep in different parts of the train, and that all four were sitting separately as the attack occurred.
Police also believe there were no fights or other confrontations on the surveillance footage. An eyewitness was identified via that footage, and police are working to track the individual down.
The suspect in the case fled the train after the shooting, with police using surveillance footage to identify the individual. The suspect was later found onboard a CTA Pink Line train and was taken into custody. A weapon was also recovered, but it is unclear if it was the same gun used in the attacks.
While a motive has not been established, police say the shootings appear to be random in nature.
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Open to ‘Enforceable’ Supreme Court Code of Ethics
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she is favor of an “enforceable” code of ethics for the Supreme Court. This comes as Democrats have made allegations of wrongdoing against more conservative justices on the court.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on CBS News Sunday Morning, the justice told Norah O’Donnell, “A binding code of ethics is pretty standard for judges, and so I guess the question is: Is the Supreme Court any different? I guess I have not seen a persuasive reason as to why the court is different.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
LMPD Makes Arrests, Confiscates Cars Involved in Illegal Street Racing
Louisville Metro Police made four arrests, issued one citation and confiscated two cars, three handguns and one rifle Sunday evening, in response to reports of street racing over Labor Day weekend.
LMPD Interim Chief Paul Humphrey called the incidents “unacceptable” in a statement Sunday night.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A Sunday robbery at mall near the Pentagon in Arlington occurred while a top government official was reportedly on the scene. After evacuating the building, police locked down the mall, according to the Daily Mail.
Reporter Steve Brusk posted: “Images from inside the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, VA. There is a large police presence after reports of shots fired. It appears to be a smash and grab incident. No indications of injuries. Mall has been evacuated.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mark Cuban Runs Trump vs. Harris Poll on X, Overwhelming Number of Followers Choose Trump
Mark Cuban’s followers prefer Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harrisdespite the billionaire preferring Harris for the presidency. This comes as the business mogul has become an outspoken critic of Trump in the 2024 election cycle.
A polling post from Cuban over the weekend read, “Who’s persona and character would you like to see young children grow up to have?” The poll gave the options of Trump or Harris.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A NASA astronaut at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday reported hearing a “strange noise” emanating from the Boeing Starliner that is scheduled to return home to earth via autopilot. Astronaut Butch Wilmore immediately contacted Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston to report the anomaly and inquire about its possible origin.
Wilmore can be seen moving the phone closer to the speakers so that MIssion Control can hear what he is referring to, a pulsating sound that can be heard at regular intervals. “Butch, that one came through,” Mission Control responds after initially not hearing the sound. “It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
National Guard Vets Say ‘Gitmo Would be a Good Place for’ Tim Walz Over Stolen Valor Accusations
Veterans of the Army National Guard are accusing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of being a “habitual liar” about his military rank and the reasons he left his unit before it deployed to Iraq, with one joking that “a good place” for the Democratic vice presidential candidate to end up would be Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Tom Behrends, Paul Herr, Tom Schilling, and Rodney Tow told SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly in an interviewreleased Monday about their time serving as Guardsmen with Walz, who last month was chosen as a running mate by Vice President Kamala Harris.
“He’s a habitual liar,” Herr said. “He lies about everything. He lies about stuff that doesn’t make sense.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr: There Has to be “A Reckoning” for “Immoral, Homicidal” COVID Criminality
Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that individuals who engaged in “criminal” behaviour during the pandemic still need to be held accountable.
Kennedy, who is in line for a health related position in Donald Trump’s administration should he be elected, declared recently that there needs to be a “reckoning” brought upon those responsible.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
RFK Jr. Sues North Carolina Elections Board to Remove Him From Ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the North Carolina election board to have his name removed from the 2024 presidential election ballot after it originally denied his request last Thursday.
The lawsuit follows his decision to drop out of the race and endorse former President Donald Trump last month.
The ex-Independent candidate filed the suit in the Wake County Superior Court on Friday, stating that the board’s refusal to remove the We the People party, which nominated him, violated the state’s election law and his freedom of speech, according to the News & Observer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Several Arrests in One Night After Nearly a Dozen Illegal Car Exhibitions Across Maryland
Several people were arrested across three Maryland counties Saturday night into Sunday morning at nearly a dozen different illegal car exhibitions, according to Maryland State Police.
Officers arrested seven people ranging from 20 to 33 years of age, police said in a news release. Those arrested face charges ranging from assault on police to destruction of property, disorderly conduct and DUI. A stolen vehicle and illegal firearm were also recovered.
The exhibitions, police said, consisted of up to 200 people gathering to watch drivers attempt unsanctioned racing and tricks. Participants gathered in parking lots or tried to shut down intersections, according to police.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Shooting at West Indian Day Parade in NYC Leaves 5 Wounded, Police Searching for Suspect
Five people were shot at a parade in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday when a man began firing into the crowd of the West Indian American Day festival parade, with two in critical condition.
“One person intentionally going after a group of people tried to ruin the day for everybody, and we’re not going to let that happen,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said in a news conference after the shooting.
He said four of the victims were men and one was a woman, with two in critical condition and three expected to survive.
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
State Police Stop Street Takeovers, Multiple Arrests Made
BERLIN, Conn. (WFSB) — Multiple people were arrested after state police stopped multiple attempted street takeovers Sunday morning.
State police say they responded to the Route 571 connector (Polish Legion Highway) in Berlin at 1:55 a.m. for a report of a mass gathering.
When troopers arrived, they found a gathering of cars trying to block the roadway for a street takeover.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Street Takeover in Tampa Ends With 10 Arrests, Several Cars Impounded
TAMPA, Fla. — A coordinated street takeover in Tampa ended with 10 people in custody.
The Florida Highway Patrol and the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office said Sunday night’s event was organized over social media.
It attracted a crowd of spectators and a large number of cars.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Tim Walz Rides on as Motorcade Crashes in Pile-Up, Leaving Staffer Injured
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz continued on after his motorcade crashed in a several-car pile up that injured a staffer Monday on their way to a campaign stop for Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee, Wisc.
The motorcade crashed at 1:57 p.m. ET, when several press vans in the line up slammed into each other.
Walz, who was toward the front of the motorcade, was unaffected and kept going, according to reporters who were in the vans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Tim Walz went viral for all the wrong reasons during a stopover at the Minnesota State Fair Sunday, appearing to duck a reporter who asked him about the grim news that six Israeli hostages had been executed by Hamas in Gaza.
In the video, which has been widely shared and viewed millions of times online, Walz, clutching a vanilla milkshake, is seen speaking to a small crowd of fairgoers and reporters.
An unidentified woman’s voice inquires off camera, “What’s your reaction to the six hostages being foundin Gaza?”
At that very moment, Walz’s attention is drawn to an approaching aide holding a smartphone. Walz tells the man, “alright,” and tells the cheering crowd “thanks, everybody!” as he bids them farewell with a friendly wave without addressing the question.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Up to 7,000 unruly anti-Israeli protesters — including some proudly waving Hamas flags — stormed through the Big Apple on Labor Day, lighting flares and setting off smoke bombs as they marched toward the heart of the city.
The chaotic demonstrators gathered at Union Square in Manhattan in the early afternoon and began their raucous march to Washington Square Park.
Video footage shows NYPD officials attempting to halt the march, only to be shoved aside by a few of the demonstrators.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Why a NJ Woman Jailed in Case of Mistaken Identity Can’t Sue the Officers Who Arrested Her
A New Jersey woman served two weeks of someone else’s parole violation — and those responsible for her wrongful incarceration are apparently constitutionally protected from blame, a federal appellate court ruled.
Judith Maureen Henry, hailing from New Jersey, shares her name with another woman who pleaded guilty to drug possession and skipped out on her parole in Pennsylvania during the 1990s.
In 2019, this stranger’s past caught up with Henry instead and landed her in Essex County jail in Newark.
Henry set out to sue the US marshals involved, but can’t, as the Fourth Amendment granted them qualified immunity, a legal protection that shields law enforcement officers from liability.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trudeau Demands Hamas Release All Hostages and ‘Have No Future in the Governance of Gaza’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded Sunday to the murder of six Israeli hostages at the hands of Hamas, condemning the “murder of six Israeli hostages” and demanding that the terrorist organization “lay down its arms” and be expelled from governing Gaza.
“The murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas terrorists in Gaza is devastating and enraging. Canada stands with the victims’ families in your grief,” he posted.
“Hamas must release all hostages, lay down its arms, and have no future in the governance of Gaza. Leaders must reach a deal to bring the rest of the hostages home and end the violence.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
AfD Celebrates Triumph in German Regional Elections
The right-wing anti-immigration party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won its first-ever regional election in the eastern state of Thuringia and achieved its best-ever election result in Germany since the party was founded eleven years ago.
AfD received 32.8% of the votes at the regional elections on Sunday, September 1st, increasing its vote share by almost ten percentage points compared to 2019.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alternative for Germany Wins Big in State Elections
German State elections in Saxony and Thuringia saw the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party make big gains while anti-establishment firebrand Sahra Wagenknecht’s new party (BSW) also performed well.
Parties from the national ‘traffic-light’ coalition, Socialists, Greens and Liberals, all had abysmal results.
In Thuringia, the Greens and Liberals lost all their seats and no longer have a representative. The Socialists are now the smallest party, with only six seats.
The loss of all their seats brought Madeleine Henfling, the local Green Party president, to tears.
In Saxony, the Greens lost half of their seats. Socialists, who were already a minor force, lost one.
German Chancellor Scholz, of the Socialist Party, called the election results “bitter”.
Federal Minister of Finance and Liberal Party (FDP) chairman Christian Lindner was dismayed by his party’s poor performance: “The results in Saxony and Thuringia hurt,” Lindner said on X. Hi insisted that no one should believe the party was giving up its fight for liberal values. For all parties “of the democratic centre, there is a lot to think about”, he added.
Björn Höcke, who was accused of having Nazi sympathies by the establishment, saw his AfD party go from 23.4 per cent of the vote in 2019 to 32.8 per cent.
AfD did particularly well among young voters.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Babis’ ANO Opposition Favorite to Win Czech Local Elections
The Czech opposition party, ANO, is the favorite to win local elections across the country later this month, new polling has found.
According to a survey by the Kantar CZ and Data Collect polling agencies for Czech Television (CT), the party of former Czech prime minister, Andrej Babis, is expected to amass up to nearly half of the vote in some regions.
In second place in several regions is Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s “Spolu” coalition comprising his Civic Democratic Party (ODS), KDU-CSL, and TOP 09.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The regional elections in the German states of Saxony and Thuringia brought the expected major advance of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), coupled with a significant result for the left-wing breakaway party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a crushing defeat, as did the government’s coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Confusion With Italian Governing Parties Position on Ukraine
Uncertainty has arisen in the Italian government over their position on Ukraine following the long-awaited summit of Italy’s three governing party leaders, intended to signal the trio’s alignment on the eve of the start of parliamentary work after the summer recess.
“The majority is united on foreign policy, as has been officially clarified even after the centre-right summit. And there will be no parliamentary initiatives at odds with this, as some left-wing media have suggested today, a notion we categorically reject,” read a statement from Matteo Salvini’s Lega on Sunday.
The statement continued, “The government’s position on Ukraine is clear,” following an incident that began with the League itself two days prior.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU Now Turns a Blind Eye to ‘Lawlessness’ in Poland, Warns President Andrzej Duda on Republika TV
During an interview on TV Republika, President Andrzej Duda called out President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova for allowing illegal actions to take place in Poland due to Tusk being an accepted ally.
While state institutions and Poland’s highest offices “openly question” Poland’s laws, “(i)t is a pity that the authorities of the European Union, European institutions and the European Commission pretend not to see this.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Europe Should Develop AI Now and Regulate Later,’ Macron Says
Europe should focus on developing its own brand of artificial intelligence (AI) and leave the issue of its regulation for later, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
Speaking during a trip to Serbia over August 28-29, the Liberal leader appeared to reject the agreed EU approach of regulating AI, instead focusing on the fact that the entire continent is playing catch-up to both China and the US.
“We Europeans have fallen a little behind,” he said, warning that both world superpowers were “investing much more” than Europe.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Finnish Government to Ban Russian Property Purchases
A law proposing that Russian citizens and entities be banned from buying property in Finland to minimise the security risk in times of crisis has been put forward by the Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen on Monday (2 September).
A working group set up by Häkkänen (National Coalition party, EPP) in May proposed that the ban apply to citizens and funds from countries that the EU considers having violated other countries’ territorial sovereignty and that could threaten Finland’s national security.
“In practice, this broader wording makes it possible to target Russians who might buy property in Finland”, a source close to the matter told Euractiv.
“But this wording also has the advantage of being able to be extended to other countries. Just in case.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Macron Meets Hollande and Sarkozy as PM Hunt Widens
French President Emmanuel Macron has met with two of his predecessors, François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, amid an increasingly wide-ranging hunt for a new French prime minister.
Since Macron last month rejected Lucie Castets — the hard-left New Popular Front (NFP) group favourite for the job — several names have been suggested in the media, with much of the interest focusing on senior Socialist politician Bernard Cazeneuve.
Having served as PM late into Hollande’s tenure as French head of state, Cazeneuve — who was in power during the Bataclan massacre in 2015 — is seen as having support on both the Left and Right.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Le Pen Requests Extraordinary Parliamentary Session to Overcome Endless Deadlock
President Macron is embarking on a new—and perhaps final—round of consultations, aiming to appoint the next prime minister. With almost two months passed since the 2nd round of the legislative elections and deadlock dragging on, Marine Le Pen —president of the Rassemblement National (RN) deputies—is calling for an extraordinary parliamentary session.
The series of consultations launched by the President at the end of August with the leaders of the main parties represented in Parliament has so far failed to name the future prime minister.
Emmanuel Macron has therefore scheduled further meetings on Monday, September 2nd, to help him make his decision, which is expected to be imminent. He is due to receive two former presidents of the Republic at the Élysée Palace, Nicolas Sarkozy for the Right and François Hollande for the Left.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Today, September 2nd, is a historic day. It is the first time ever that an Islamic cleric will have to stand trial for issuing an assassination fatwa.
In a few weeks, it will be 20 years since policemen wearing bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns arrived at my home. They gave me ten minutes to pack, pushed me into an armoured car and drove me off to an unknown destination. The evening of November 4, 2004, was the last time that my wife and I were in our house. Since that moment, we have been forced to live in various safe houses. We have lost our freedom and privacy. Everywhere I go, I am constantly surrounded by bodyguards.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
As knife crime becomes more of an “everyday” part of life in Germany, more and more people are concerned about how they should respond if they are attacked or threatened with a knife. The Berlin police’s tip to “sing loudly” has now been dropped from their website after being widely mocked on X.
“A screenshot of our homepage has been circulating for a few days, according to which we recommend that in the event of an attack, you irritate the perpetrator through unexpected behavior, such as singing,” write Berlin’s police. However, they then go on to write that they have removed this advice from their website.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German Political Establishment Will Do Anything to Keep AfD From Seizing Power
Left-wing nationalist party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), which wants to stop uncontrolled migration and has a pro-peace stance on the Ukraine war, will be the kingmaker in the parliaments of Saxony and Thuringia following regional elections in the two eastern German states.
As we reported, voter dissatisfaction with the left-liberal ‘traffic light’ coalition in Berlin resulted in a massive victory for the anti-immigration party AfD in Thuringia, which also finished second in Saxony, just behind the centre-right CDU.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Girls Wear Headscarves Out of Fear,’ Warns Austrian Schoolmaster in New Book
A new book from a headmaster in Austria is shining a light on the threat of mass immigration and Islamization in the Viennese school system in terms of women’s rights and safety.
Christian Klar, the headmaster of a secondary school in Vienna, reports on the dramatic conditions in his new book, which was released last month, entitled, “What’s going on in our schools?”
“Islam is now everywhere in Viennese schools,” stated Klar, the principal of a high school in Vienna, who reported on the dramatic conditions prevailing in the schools of the Austrian capital in an interview with the oe24 news portal.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungarian Teachers’ Union Fights Mobile Phone Ban in Schools
The Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ) has written to the Hungarian government, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the decree restricting the use of mobile phones in schools.
In a letter to Minister of State for Public Education Zoltan Maruzsa and Minister of the Interior Sandor Pintér, the teaching union also asked for a position on who is financially responsible for the safekeeping of high-value mobile devices.
According to the union, the decree, which requires students’ mobile phones to be collected every morning and returned only at the end of the school day, raises serious constitutional concerns. They have thus listed several concerns regarding the regulation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland ‘Looking Into Legality’ of EU-Israel Trade Agreement
Ireland is reportedly probing the legality of the European Union trade agreement with Israel ahead of a European Council meeting in September.
Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris, of the Fine Gael party, said on August 30 he had referred the matter to his country’s attorney general.
Harris in particular highlighted lines in the deal discussing the need to respect human rights as a point of contention for his government.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: In a shocking incident that came to light from France, a major fire broke out at a historic church in northern France on Monday morning. Horrific visuals of the massive blaze emanating from the bell tower of the church have surfaced on social media. The bell tower of the church collapsed due to the intense fire that originated in the tower. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reacted to the video of the massive blaze and raised questions over the incident.
Elon Musk questioned the tragic incident, asking, “Is this definitely arson?” The video was shared on social media with the caption, “BREAKING: Yet another church in France is in flames. This one is from 1854 and survived two world wars. Why does this keep happening? SHARE — The media won’t show you this.” The social media user expressed suspicion over the sudden fire that damaged the historic church in France.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leadership Race: Top Tories Scrabble for Least Important Political Job in the UK
Contenders to be the next leader of the rump Conservative Party are setting out their stalls, but as things stand even managing to lead without being deposed before the next general election would be a major achievement.
The UK Parliament returned to Westminster on Monday after the summer recess, and with it the leadership campaigns for those seeking to be the next head of the Conservative Party, now in opposition as a much reduced force after 14 years of squandered power and doggedly pursued by Nigel Farage’s Reform from the right and the Liberal Democrats from the centre.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Letter Reveals Infighting at Top of Austria’s Social Democratic Party
Less than four weeks before the general election on September 29, Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) is in crisis mode.
In late August a newspaper published an internal letter sent by party heavyweight Doris Bures to the SPÖ’s Presidium — a body comprising the party’s 11 most influential members.
In that, Bures — who is vice president of the Austrian Parliament — complained about the party’s electoral programme, insinuating that it lacked seriousness and undermined the credibility of the SPÖ.
The critique of the programme — which has so far not been officially published — was widely seen as a direct attack on the man responsible for it, Andreas Babler. He became the SPÖ’s leader in November 2023 and is its candidate for Federal Chancellor in the upcoming elections.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked Report Outlines Major Overhaul of EU Defense Investment Rules
Brussels is set to unveil its long-awaited competitiveness report sometime this month, authored by former European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi. Policymakers and business executives across Europe have eagerly awaited the document, expected to serve as the blueprint for the second Ursula von der Leyen Commission’s long-term economic vision, but delayed since before the EU election in June.
According to Politico, which has seen a draft, one of its main recommendations is a major overhaul of the EU’s defense investment rules—to foster industrial capabilities, military readiness, and cross-border cooperation—making Europe less dependent on U.S. arms sales and more secure to pursue its own strategic interests.
The draft document is dated June 20th but provides a general idea about what the final version will look like.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Left-Wing UK Government Suspends Dozens of Arms Export Licences to Israel
The left-wing Labour Party government in Britain announced Monday that it will be suspending dozens of arms export licences to Israel over concerns of UK weaponry being used to violate human rights in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons that the British government will be suspending 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel, including UK-made components used in military drones, helicopters, and aircraft, including fighter jets used by the Israelis.
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Most Poles Support Shooting Down Unidentified Objects: Poll
Most Poles want the army to shoot down potentially dangerous objects that enter their country’s airspace, even if they are civilians, a recent poll has found.
Earlier this week, an unidentified object, probably a military drone, entered Polish airspace from Ukraine, which at the time was under massive Russian bombardment. The Polish Armed Forces, responsible for policing Polish skies, were prevented from shooting down the object because they could not identify it.
In peacetime, Lieutenant-Colonel Jacek Goryszewski, spokesman for the Armed Forces Operational Command, explained that the military must verify an object before shooting it down to avoid accidentally hitting civilian objects.
The army soon lost contact with the object which is yet to be recovered from Polish soil.
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The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Free University Amsterdam have announced they are taking extra measures to ensure the safety of Jewish and Israeli students and staff.
The move announced on August 30 was deemed necessary after intense protests from pro-Palestinian activists, with plans for future demonstrations prompting concerns for the safety of Israeli and Jewish students and staff, newspaper Het Parool reported.
At the UvA, a new QR code system will be introduced for access to certain events. Upon arrival, attendees must sign in to receive a unique QR code, which will serve as their entry pass.
Additionally, coats and bags will not be allowed into events, and instead must be stored in a cloakroom prior to entry.
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The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) recommended called on judges to convict 56-year-old Mullah Muhammed Ashraf Jalali for attempting to incite the murder of Geert Wilders, the leader of far-right political party PVV. The OM said the Pakistani man should spend 14 years in prison during his trial on Monday. A second Pakistani man tried separately for similar charges, Saad Hussain Rizvi, should be convicted and jailed for six years, prosecutors argued.
Neither of the two suspects appeared at the heavily secured courthouse near Schiphol Airport. They also did not appoint attorneys to appear on their behalf. Wilders was there, and he told the court about the negative impact caused by threats on his life.
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Netherlands: Two Pakistani Men in Court for Threatening PVV Leader Wilders
Two Pakistani men will have to answer to the judge on Monday for threatening PVV leader Geert Wilders. The religious leader and the political leader allegedly called on their followers to murder Wilders. It is likely that both men will not be present in court and that there will be no lawyers representing them. Wilders will attend the trial.
The 56-year-old Mullah Muhammed Ashraf Jalali is suspected of attempting to incite the murder of the Dutch politician. In several calls, he allegedly said “that this act will be rewarded in the hereafter.” TLP leader Saad Hussain Rizvi (29) is suspected of incitement to murder. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), he shouted that he and his audience should take on this task. He did this after Khalid Latif, a former Pakistani cricketer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Netherlands for attempting to incite the murder of Wilders.
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New Right-Wing Party to Create French ‘Union of the Rights’
Acknowledging the splintering of his political family following his controversial decision to form an alliance with Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National in June, Les Républicains (LR) party chairman Éric Ciotti announced the birth of a new right-wing political party, the UDR, or Union des Droites pour la République.
On Saturday, August 31st, Ciotti announced in a rally the creation of a new party, born from the rubble of Les Républicains.
The acronym was not chosen by chance. For Ciotti, the UDR stands for ‘Union des Droites pour la République‘ (Union of the Rights for the Republic) and embodies his programme initially sketched in June—a right-wing political party willing to work hand in hand with the Rassemblement National—but above all, it stands as a historical reference for the French.
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Poland Holds State Burial for 700 Recently Discovered Nazi-Era Mass Grave Victims
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland on Monday held a state burial of the remains of over 700 victims of Nazi Germany’s World War II mass executions that were recently uncovered in the so-called Valley of Death in the country’s north.
The observances in the town of Chojnice began with a funeral Mass at the basilica, leading to an interment with military honors at a local cemetery of the victims of the Nazi crimes. President Andrzej Duda, local authorities and top officials of the state National Remembrance Institute, which carried out and documented the exhumations, took part in the events.
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Report Blasts Europe’s Carbon Capture Policy
Oil Change International, a non-profit US organisation that focuses on exposing the impacts of fossil fuels and advocates for a transition to clean energy, has issued a report that blasts climate policies and spending in Europe. In the firing line particularly are policies relating to carbon capture (CCS) and fossil hydrogen.
European countries, together with the US, were accused in the report published on August 28 by Oil Change International of wasting billions on environmental policies that “consistently fail, overspend, or underperform.”
Tthe European Union announced its first onshore carbon dioxide removal project on August 19 though the “green” NGO claimed this was a waste of time and money.
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Spain: Fugitive Catalan Leader Escaped Police by Hiding in Multiple Apartments
On-the-run Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont took refuge in at least two different private flats during his recent trip to Spain. The revelations will cause further embarrassment to police,who failed to detain the ex-Catalan president despite him addressing a rally of hundreds of people.
Puigdemont spoke to a crowd at the Arc de Triomf, just metres from the Catalan parliament in central Barcelona, on the day that Salvador Illa, a member of Spain’s governing Socialist party, was invested as the first non-nationalist Catalan president in over a decade.
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Until recently, news personality, journalist, and environmental activist Agnieszka Wozniak-Starak openly supported the ruling coalition, but now, reports about the government possibly allowing part of the Bialowieza Forest to be cut down have her enraged.
“Donald Tusk’s government” will pay dearly for this,” she says, according to Salon24.pl.
On Friday, reports from the ecological organization Workshop for All Beings (“Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot”) caused quite a stir in the media, indicating that the Ministry of Climate and Environment has prepared changes in forest management that may open up the possibility of cutting down part of the Bialowieza Forest.
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UK Smoking Ban Could Put Pub Staff at Risk of Violence
Labour insists it is “not attacking the hospitality industry” with proposed plans to ban outdoor smoking.
Yet reports over the weekend revealed that the authoritarian measure would not only damage pub trade but could even put pub staff at risk of violence.
This claim splashed on the latest edition of The Sunday Express, which quoted solicitor Suraj Desor as saying that “such a ban could … result in crowds congregating at the last moment before entering pubs or football stadiums for one last cigarette, which may lead to issues of nuisance or public safety.
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Volkswagen Warns of German Plant Closures
Volkswagen said on Monday it can no longer rule out plant closures in Germany as it pursues ways to save several billion euros in a cost-cutting drive at its namesake brand.
The carmaker considers one large vehicle plant and one component factory in Germany to be obsolete, its works council said, vowing “fierce resistance” to the executive board’s plans.
Volkswagen said that it also felt forced to end its job security programme, which has been in place since 1994 and which prevents job cuts until 2029, adding all measures would be discussed with the works council.
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Von Der Leyen Changes Stance and Becomes Pro-Nuclear Cheerleader
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that Europe needed “more nuclear”, marking a departure from her previous, more sceptical stance.
Speaking at a security conference in Prague, the GLOBSEC Forum 2024 on September 2, von der Leyen said: “We have learnt our lesson. When we speak about our energy, we have to produce more of our own energy — more renewables, more nuclear, more efficiency.”
Von der Leyen made the speech in light of Europe’s security architecture, which she said needed a “fundamental rethink”.
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Serbian President Doubts EU Membership by 2028
At the 2024 Security Forum in Prague, arranged by the non-partisan Central European NGO GLOBSEC, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed doubts that his country, or other Western Balkan candidates, will achieve EU membership by 2028 due to ongoing challenges.
Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovic, in contrast, remains optimistic about his country’s EU prospects. As a NATO member, Montenegro aims to join the EU by 2028. Milatovic remarked:
We would like to come to the final stage, and now the goal is to become the 28th member state of the EU as of 2028. This is an ambitious goal but I very much hope (it) to be a realistic goal.
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Serbia Signs $3 Billion Fighter-Jet Deal With France
Serbia has inked a historic deal with French company Dassault Aviation to buy 12 Rafale fighter jets for a total of €2.7 billion.
Both countries signed the agreement during a State visit by President Emmanuel Macron to Belgrade, AP reported on August 30.
Serbia will get nine single-seat and three two-seat Dassault-built jets by 2029, a modernisation of its ageing Soviet-era combat jets.
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6 Israeli Hostages Shot Multiple Times at Close Range, Indicating Execution: Autopsy Report
The six dead hostages including an American citizen that were recovered from a tunnel underneath the Gazan city of Rafah on Saturday were shot multiple times at close range 48 to 72 hours before they were located by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The gunshot wounds indicated that they were executed. ;
Israel’s Health Ministry said Sunday that the hostages were likely executed on Thursday or Friday, according to the results of an examination carried out by Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, per the Times of Israel.
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Biden Says Netanyahu Not Doing Enough to Secure Hostage Deal
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) — President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and the U.S. was close to presenting a final proposal to negotiators working on a hostage and ceasefire agreement.
Biden was speaking to reporters at the White House after Israeli forces over the weekend recovered the bodies of six hostages, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from a tunnel in Gaza. Israel’s military said they had been recently killed by Palestinian Hamas militants.
That has sparked criticism of the Biden administration’s Gaza ceasefire strategy and ratcheted up pressure on Netanyahu from Israelis to bring the remaining hostages home.
Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was doing enough to reach a hostage deal, Biden said “No.” He did not elaborate on his remarks.
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Iraq Cracks Down on Lottery-Based Suicide Cult That Has Seen Dozens of Deaths
Via Middle East Eye
Iraq has one of the youngest populations in the world, with about 60 percent under the age of 25. Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the country has been mired in instability, war, corruption and economic stagnation — a situation that has left many young people with little hope for their futures and or sense of purpose in their lives.
The latest movement to latch on to this sense of despair, shocking the country and prompting a fierce state crackdown, is a religious group that practices a system of lottery-based suicide. The Allahiyah movement, also known as the Qurban (“sacrifice”) group, is thought to have formed in Basra and Dhi Qar in early 2020 and has as many as 2,500 adherents.
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Turkey Formally Requests to Join BRICS, Citing Frustration in EU Bid
Via The Cradle
Turkey has formally requested to join the BRICS group of emerging economies, Bloomberg cited informed sources as saying on Monday.
Ankara “seeks to bolster its global influence and forge new ties beyond its traditional Western allies,” the sources said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes “that the geopolitical center of gravity is shifting away from developed economies” and that the push to join BRICS “reflects its aspirations to cultivate ties with all sides in a multipolar world, while still fulfilling its obligations as a key member of NATO.”
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Watch: US Soldiers Assaulted by Turkish Mob After Navy Ship Makes Port Call at Izmir
On Monday a mob of Turkish men attacked American soldiers who had been walking the streets of Izmir in southern Turkey, apparently as the US personnel were on liberty after the USS Wasp which they are attached to made port call.
Social media video shows a group of men surrounding one US soldier and while violently constraining him. The Turkish men then stick a white bag over his head in an effort to humiliate and possibly kidnap the American and those with him. The brief clip then shows a couple more US troops jumping in to push the Turkish men off their fellow soldier.
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Putin Arrives in Mongolia in First Visit to ICC Member State Since Arrest Warrant
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Monday in Mongolia, a member of the international court that issued an arrest warrant for him.
The official visit, in which he is to meet Tuesday with Mongolian leader Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, is Putin’s first to a member country of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest nearly 18 months ago on charges of war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukraine has called on Mongolia to arrest Putin and hand him over to the court in The Hague. A spokesperson for Putin said last week that the Kremlin isn’t worried about the visit.
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Ukraine Attacks Russia With Barrage of Drone Strikes Targeting Energy Infrastructure
One week after Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the response in kind came from Ukraine as it hit energy facilities near the Russian capital of Moscow with a reported 158 drones.
The attacks caused significant damage to an oil refinery and two power plants near the capital.
The Russian state news agency and local officials have reported that dozens of drones targeted several regions of Russia. Among these, Moscow, Tver, Voronezh, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Kursk were attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overnight.
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Ukraine Criticises Mongolia’s Failure to Arrest Putin
Sept 2 (Reuters) — Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Mongolia’s failure to arrest visiting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, wanted on an international warrant, dealt a severe blow to the international criminal law system.
Putin arrived in Mongolia on Monday for talks likely to focus on a new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China.
An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued last year against Putin obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
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US Researchers Find Possible Launch Site for Russian Nuclear Missile Putin Claims is ‘Invincible’
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as “invincible.”
Putin has said the weapon — dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO — has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik’s strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
Using images taken on July 26 by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, the two researchers identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names — Vologda-20 and Chebsara — as the new missile’s potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.
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Fire Erupts at Wentworth Park, Sydney Under Bridge Where Homeless Live
A fire has erupted under a bridge at Wentworth Park in Sydney.
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Prices have risen in all other Australian capitals.
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“An Outlaw”: Brazil’s Full Supreme Court Upholds ‘Darth Vader’ Ban on Elon Musk’s X
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court on Monday ruled to uphold a countrywide ban as well as fines on Elon Musk’s X social media platform amid a high profile spat between the billionaire and the court.
Of a five-member panel of the country’s’ high court, three judges formed a majority to upheld Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s previous ruling to shut down the platform for not complying with local regulations.
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At Least 2 Killed, Dozens Injured in Massive Fireworks Explosion in Mexico
MEXICO (KABC) — At least two people were killed and dozens were injured Monday in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas during an explosion that was reportedly caused by fireworks.
The incident happened in the border city of Reynosa around 12:50 p.m., according to authorities.
Dozens of properties and vehicles in the area were damaged, and a nearby high school had to be evacuated. The campus was damaged in the explosion, but no one was injured, according to authorities.
Surveillance footage from a transportation business shows the moment the building exploded. It’s unclear what the structure housed.
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US Seizes Venezuelan President Maduro’s Plane, Flies it to Florida
In a surprise and unusual escalation of Washington’s actions against Venezuela, the Unites States has seized President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane on allegations its acquisition was a violation of US sanctions.
The plane is a Dassault Falcon 900, estimated to have cost around $13 million, and was seized at an airport in the Dominican Republic. It had been in the country for several months for unknown reasons, where the US Department of Homeland Security began monitoring it.
Anonymous US officials have confirmed to several media outlets that they flew the aircraft, which serves as the equivalent of Venezuela’s Air Force One, to Florida on Monday.
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Venezuelan Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Opposition’s Former Presidential Candidate
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A Venezuelan judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the opposition’s former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as part of a criminal investigation into the results of the highly anticipated July election that both the ruling party and its opponents claim to have won.
The warrant was issued at the request of authorities who accuse Gonzalez, a former diplomat, of various crimes including conspiracy, falsifying documents and usurpation of powers. The move is the latest escalation of repression against the opposition in the month after election officials declared President Nicolas Maduro had won a third term in office.
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Afghan Child Rapists Paid €1,000 Following Deportation From Germany
An Afghan child rapist has been handed €1,000 by the German government following his deportation back to his homeland along with 27 other convicted criminals.
The unnamed individual claimed to be 16 years of age when he was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Neustrelitz Castle Park back in July 2022.
The case sparked outrage among conservative politicians after the perpetrator received a one-year suspended prison sentence for the attack.
However, Germany’s Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser confirmed that 28 Afghan criminals had been deported in the first repatriation effort to Afghanistan since the return to power of the Taliban.
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While California lawmakers have passed legislation to grant illegal immigrants up to $150,000 toward home down payments in the state, a pair of bills aimed at providing reparations to black residents has stalled.
The pair of bills, authored by Democrat state Senator Steven Bradford, are Senate Bill 1331, which would have created a new state fund for reparations, and Senate Bill 1403, which would have created a new state agency to oversee these efforts and determine eligibility, according to Fox News.
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Illegal Migrants Crossing Polish Border ‘Should be Shot’, Says Presidential Candidate
Slawomir Mentzen, who is the presidential candidate for Poland’s right-wing Confederation party, has said that illegal migrants should be shot by border guards if they tred to force their way across the border between Belarus and Poland.
Mentzen also said his country should arrest German police who crossed the border trying to push back migrants they claimed had arrived from their eastern neighbour.
Speaking at the launch of his presidential campaign in Warsaw on August 31, Mentzen said: “We cannot tolerate illegal migrants coming across our eastern border. If someone attempts to force their way into Poland then they should be fired on.”
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Masked Gunmen Raid Home in Denver Suburb Amid Migrant Gang Fears
A trio of masked gunmen were caught on camera raiding a home in a Denver suburb and stealing a motorcycle as the Democrat city is overrun by migrant gangs.
Cops in Commerce City shared surveillance footage showing three masked and hooded suspects pull up to a suburban home with its garage door left open early Thursday morning.
Two of them were seen carrying what police described as a handgun and an AR-style rifle, then using flashlights to look around the garage.
Eventually the suspects kneeled down and dragged a motorcycle out of the garage, before fleeing in what police describe as a dark-colored, older-model Ford pickup with a silver stripe on the bottom.
‘We always take property crime seriously… but when you bring an AR-style rifle to a home burglary/motor vehicle theft, we can’t help but wonder how much worse this could have been and how dangerous you really are,’ police wrote in an apparently since-deleted post, according to KDVR.
It remains unclear whether the motorcycle thieves were part of a Venezuelan migrant gang that have taken over the nearby city of Aurora.
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Jefferson Maldenado, a 31-year-old migrant from Ecuador, has been arrested in New York City five times since arriving in the US earlier this year.
His latest bust was for stealing a pair of pants and a beer from the Target near Herald Square.
Asked why he committed the crime, the migrant thief said, “I wanted to change my clothes and think.
“I wanted to sit down and think about my life, about what to do. Because this is not a normal world.”
He was just one of five migrants in a Manhattan courtroom for arraignment one night last week.
Across New York, recently arrived migrants are flooding the criminal-justice system — at far higher rates than public officials have acknowledged.
Police sources shared with The Post a staggering estimate that as many as 75% of the people they’ve been arresting in Midtown Manhattan in recent months for crimes like assault, robbery and domestic violence are migrants. In parts of Queens, the figure is more than 60%, sources there estimate.
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A notorious people smuggler who fuelled Europe’s migrant crisis by shuttling countless asylum seekers to Europe has been assassinated near Libya’s capital city.
Abdel-Rahman Milad, once a high-ranking member of Libya’s coastguard, was killed on Sunday in the town of Sayyad, which lies around 15 miles west of Tripoli, near a naval academy he once lead.
Local media outlets published pictures of a bullet-riddled white Toyota Land Cruiser on the side of a road, with a man’s body inside, and said tat he had been assassinated, though provided no further evidence.
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A migrant who illegally entered the country and had been previously deported has been arrested for stabbing a 14-year-old Illinois girl at her brother’s baseball game.
On Saturday at around 3:45pm local time, the teenage girl was with her mother watching her brother play at a field in unincorporated Lowell, about 100 miles west of Chicago.
Dimas Gabriel Yanez, 26, allegedly stabbed the girl in the hand and tried to stab her mother, both of whom have yet to be identified, with a ‘butcher-style knife’.
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German Podcasters Might Face Prison or €250,000 Fine for Misgendering Trans Activist
A German court ordered an episode of the Hoss and Hopf podcast to be deleted after a prominent transgender activist sued the hosts for calling him a “man” and using the male pronouns when referring to the activist during the show. The gag order is not the end of the saga though, as the podcasters might even face jail time or a fine of up to €250,000, the feminist news site Reduxx reported.
In the controversial episode, the hosts were discussing the case of Laura—formerly Nicolas—Holstein, who has been making headlines in Germany by abusing the law to demand access to female spaces. Recently, for instance, Holstein has been pursuing legal action against a female-only gym in Bavaria with the help of Berlin’s federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.
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Irish teacher Enoch Burke has been jailed for a third time after he was arrested outside the school that sacked him for refusing to ‘call a boy a girl’.
The Evangelical Christian was yesterday placed inside a Garda vehicle outside Wilson’s Hospital School in Ireland’s Co Westmeath and driven to the Four Courts in Dublin, reported the Irish Independent.
He was back behind bars at Mountjoy Prison last night having already spent more than 400 days incarcerated there for repeatedly defying a High Court injunction banning him from the school’s grounds.
Justice Michael Quinn jailed him for contempt of court after the history and German teacher refused to give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer when asked if he intended to return to the Westmeath school again.
As the order was passed, Mr Burke told Justice Quinn: ‘You will answer to God for imprisoning me for my religious beliefs.’
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Ireland govt pressuring Israel while in early stage of genociding it’s own people
Biden and the UK with its arms announcement are signaling to Iran and every terrorist group that they don’t support Israel wholeheartedly. Worse than that, they communicate weakness against all terrorism
Hamas will harden its position once again in the hostage negotiations, as it understands the pressure is on Israel and not them.
What a backwards world! This ushers in more danger for every Western country as well. Hostage taking and violence has always been a part of Islam and this will continue to increase everywhere.
Reading a lot of backwards responses to the killing of the hostages. Hamas murdered and abducted them, plain and simple. You are exactly right. Palestine would be fine without crazed Islamists.
‘Toddlers’re as predictable as a well-regulated Rolex.
“An audio recording from a 911 dispatch call on Monday night reveals that an armed group of 32 Venezuelan nationals reportedly took control of a Chicago apartment building.” —American Military News (3 Sep 2024)
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/09/audio-venezuelan-gang-takes-over-chicago-apartment-building-report/
“If she’s elected president, Kamala Harris pledges to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the wall along the southern border — a project she once opposed and called “un-American” during the Trump administration.” —Axios (27 Aug 2024)
https://www.axios.com/2024/08/27/kamala-harris-flip-flops-border-wall
“[Easy] Prediction: Within days of Harris/Biden’s inauguration, caravans of ILLEGALS—which’ll no longer BE illegal under the Harris/Biden administration—will begin streaming into the US across the southern US border in record numbers.
Which leads to….
Today’s Rhetorical Question: Once Harris comes to realize the [inevitable and predictable] torrent of new “immigrants” are putting an unsustainable strain on state and local systems, what’s she gonna do? (HINT: BUILD A WALL)” —posted to fb (Jan 2021)