Iranian sources have confirmed that an Israeli missile strike on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. Meanwhile, rumors have spread on social media claiming that nine Iranian surface-to-air missiles have been smuggled into the U.S. intended to shoot down Donald Trump’s private plane, Trump Force One.
In other news, Italian President Sergio Mattarella warned against the growing lure of populism in Europe during his state visit to Germany yesterday.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to David Codrea, Dean, JW, Reader from Chicago, SB, SS, Vlad Tepes, WRSA, 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.
France’s Debt Weighs Heavier Ahead of Budget Debate
France’s vast public debt pile grew in the second quarter, official figures showed Friday, as Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s shaky minority government girds itself for a gruelling budget debate.
New borrowings of 68.9 billion euros ($77 billion) between April and June increased the country’s debt pile to almost 3.23 trillion euros, or 112 percent of annual output, data from statistics agency INSEE showed.
The figures underline the scale of the challenge for Barnier, the former European Union commissioner and Brexit negotiator heading a centrist and conservative coalition heavily outnumbered in the National Assembly lower house.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Breaking: SpaceX Launches Mission to Return 2 NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space
SpaceX has launched its mission to rescue the two astronauts stuck in space on the International Space Station (ISS). The two NASA employees have been stuck at the ISS since earlier this year after Boeing’s Starliner ship was deemed unable to return them home due to safety concerns.
According to the Associated Press, the rocket launched on Saturday with Crew-9 to fetch the two stranded astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, after the Boeing aircraft had to be returned empty to Earth earlier this month. By the time Wilmore and William return, they will have logged around eight months in space after launching in June.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
CBS News, which is set to host the vice-presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance, announced, along with the debate rules, that it would be the candidates’ responsibility to fact-check each other during the event, rather than relying on moderators for that role.
This format contrasts with the previous debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, during which the ABC News moderators attempted to fact-check Trump’s statements. However, they did not similarly fact-check Harris, even when she made inaccurate or misleading claims. The seemingly partisan nature of these fact checks have led to widespread criticism of the network’s handling of the debate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Notified of Suspected Faulty Welds on Subs, Aircraft Carriers at Newport News Shipbuilding
Shipuilder Newport News Shipbuilding, Va., informed the Department of Justice of faulty welds that may have been made intentionally on non-critical components on in-service Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, USNI News has learned.
HII reported to the Navy that welds on new construction and in-service submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers were made not following welding procedure, according to a Tuesday memo from Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
Guertin told SECNAV and CNO the workers did not follow proper techniques to weld the suspect joints with an early indication that some of the welding errors were intentional. Based on the Newport News assessment of the welds, the shipyard notified the Department of Justice over the issue.
Portions of Guertin’s memo were first circulated on social media sites on Thursday.
Newport News acknowledged their internal quality assurance systems discovered production problems in a Thursday statement to USNI News
“We recently discovered through internal reporting that the quality of some welds did not meet our high-quality standards. Upon this discovery, we took immediate action to communicate with our customers and regulators, investigate, determine root cause, bound these matters and insert immediate corrective actions to prevent any recurrence of these issues,” reads the statement.
“HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding is committed to building the highest-quality aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy. We do not tolerate any conduct that compromises our company’s values and our mission of delivering ships that safeguard our nation and its sailors.”
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
DOJ Sues Alabama Over Attempt to Remove Noncitizens From Voter Rolls
The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday it is suing Alabama for trying to remove noncitizens from voting lists, arguing the effort comes too close to the presidential election in November.
According to the Washington Times, the DOJ asked a federal judge to order Alabama to put the names of the presumed ineligible voters back on the active voter lists, in part because it claims that some actual citizens were told that they had been moved to an inactive voter file.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Hateful’ Vandal Smashes Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary With Rock From Garden of NYC Church
A “hateful” vandal smashed a statue of the Blessed Mary outside a Catholic church in Queens this week, police said.
The callous creep used a rock to desecrate the statue in front of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica at around 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Diocese of Brooklyn said.
“The man picked up a rock from the parish garden and began to repeatedly strike the statue, causing damage to the face, side, and hands of the Blessed Mother statue,” the Diocese said in a Friday statement.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
House Committee Pushes for FBI Testimony on Suppressed Hunter Biden Laptop Story
The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), has expressed keen interest in gathering testimony from an FBI analyst. This specific analyst previously affirmed the legitimacy of Hunter Biden’s laptop — infamously referred to as the “laptop from hell” — to Twitter moderators, even as the social media platform was suppressing The New York Post’s explosive report concerning the device’s contents.
Chairman Jordan penned a letter last Thursday, acquired by The New York Post, in which he requested a verbatim transcript from an anonymous FBI employee. The staff member of the FBI purportedly made significant contributions to the bureau’s initiatives to silence factual information linked to the Biden family’s alleged wheelings and dealings, which emerged shortly ahead of the hard-fought 2020 presidential election.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian-American Indicted for Spying on U.S. for Iran
Sept. 28 (UPI) — A naturalized U.S. citizen lied to obtain employment with a contractor and gain access to sensitive information that he shared with the Iranian government, the Department of Justice said.
Former Federal Aviation Administration contractor Abouzar Rahmati, 42, formerly was an officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and on Friday was indicted for allegedly acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the Iranian government in the United States.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Joe Rogan Says the First Amendment Will be Under Threat if Harris Becomes President
Popular podcaster Joe Rogan warned that the First Amendment could be clamped down on if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the 2024 presidential election.
On his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan interviewed Navy SEAL and CIA contractor Shawn Ryan in which they discussed free speech and concerns of a Harris presidency.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Person Arrested Outside Trump Rally in Michigan Faces Explosives Charges
WALKER, MI — A person arrested outside former President Donald Trump’s rally Friday in Walker faces charges related to possessing explosives and false threats of terrorism.
Walker Police Chief Keith Mankel said that while a comment was made about a possible explosive device, officers did not find one.
No one was injured in the Friday, Sept. 27, incident, and the person did not get inside the rally’s protected area, Mankel said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican Bill Eliminates COVID ‘Vaccine’ Maker Protections to Unleash Wave of Lawsuits
A new Republican bill seeks to eliminate the protections afforded to vaccine manufacturers that prevent them from being sued for killing and injuring citizens with Covid mRNA shots.
The legislation was proposed by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
Gosar’s bill seeks to “amend the Public Health Service Act to end the liability shield for vaccine manufacturers and for other purposes.”
Under the bill, all vaccine makers’ waiver of liability would end in a sweeping proposed legal change in the form of a rejection of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Act.
The legislation is titled, “End the Vaccine Carveout Act.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Sudden Infant Deaths Surged After COVID ‘Vaccine’ Rollout, Study Confirms
A disturbing new study has confirmed that sudden infant deaths surged dramatically after Covid mRNA “vaccines” were rolled out for public use.
The study was conducted by a team of top researchers at the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine.
The results of the study were published Thursday in the JAMA medical journal.
The study found that sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) increased slightly in 2020 after restrictions were implemented during the pandemic.
However, when Covid mRNA injections were rolled out for public use in 2021, cases of SUID and SIDS skyrocketed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Surface-to-Air Missiles and Kill Teams in New Donald Trump Plot? Claims Surface
An international war correspondent on X, platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday claimed that nine surface-to-air missiles have been smuggled into the US to target Trump Force One. Ann Vandersteel added that the operation will allegedly be led by Sinaloa Cartel of Mexico. However, she did not provide any concrete evidence to back the story.
In a tweet, which is now going viral, Vandersteel said that the surface-to-air missiles could be of Iranian origin. This comes after former President Donald Trump said that the US will blow Iran to ‘smithereens’ if Tehran is involved in assassination attempts on former presidents and presidential nominees. The Republican candidate survived an assassination attempt in July. The FBI is also investigating another apparent attempt in Florida earlier this month.
| — Hat tip: David Codrea | [Return to headlines] |
Ted Cruz Warns ‘We Are Living on Borrowed Time’ Regarding Terrorist Attack
In the last year, terrorist threats have increased to a level not seen since the Sept. 11, 2021, terrorist attack, only worsening after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel, federal officials say.
“We are living on borrowed time,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. “I believe that today we’re at a greater risk for a major terrorist attack than we have been at any point since Sept. 11, 2001. The policies of [President] Joe Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris and [U.S. Rep.] Colin Allred have made every Texan and every American much less safe.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A meeting in Thornton Township devolved into chaos over the scandal-ridden Dolton, Illinois mayor Tiffany Henyard Tuesday night.
According to CBS News Chicago, the meeting was originally meant to address the Thornton Township Board currently operating without a fiscal budget, leading trustees to demand Henyard, who also serves as Thornton Township Supervisor, be more open about her lavish spending habits.
Though former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot previously investigated Henyard for her spending habits in the Village of Dolton, there has been no investigation into her spending habits regarding Thornton Township.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Force One: Rumors Spread of Mexican Cartel Plotting Trump Assassination
Rumors about a third alleged assassination plot targeting Donald Trump have emerged on social media, claiming that nine surface-to-air missiles have been smuggled into the U.S. to strike Trump’s private plane, Trump Force One.
Ann Vandersteel, a right-wing journalist and host of ‘Operation Burning Edge,’ posted the claims on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 26. “Intelligence just in from the southern border that 9 surface-to-air missiles have been smuggled into the U.S. across the New Mexico border. Intended target: Trump Force One,” Vandersteel wrote.
Vandersteel also suggested the missiles could be of Iranian origin and that the operation was linked to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, but did not provide evidence to back these claims, only stating that “a confidential human source relayed [the information] to Doc Pete Chambers and Baz ARC.”
Vandersteel further speculated that an operation of this scale would likely require insider help from high-level officials, possibly within the intelligence community or the Department of Justice. Her post has since gone viral, fueling more online speculation.
| — Hat tip: WRSA | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Arrives at Alabama-Georgia Game to Chants of ‘USA,’ ‘Four More Years’
For the first time this year, Donald Trump is in the building for a college football game.
The former president and three-time Republican presidential nominee is in Tuscaloosa to attend Saturday night’s game between Alabama and Georgia.
Trump began his day in Wisconsin for a rally, which was supposed to take place outside, but it was moved indoors due to a Secret Service staffing shortage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Voters Aged 18-24 Identifying as More Conservative Than Liberal: Harvard Youth Poll
The youngest voting-age group between the ages 18 and 24, including those who will be getting the opportunity to vote for the first time, are identifying as more conservative than liberal, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll. This is a shift from the slightly older group of voters between 25 and 29.
The poll found that among American men between the ages of 18 to 24, 26 percent identify themselves as conservative while only 22 percent identify as liberal. This number is five percent higher than men between the ages of 25 to 29, where only 21 percent identify as conservative.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Welfare Fraud Charges Filed Against 103 Recipients in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania investigators charged 103 welfare recipients with fraud over the summer, according to an announcement Wednesday from the Office of Inspector General.
All but one of the beneficiaries risk felony convictions, which carry possible maximum penalties of seven years in prison and $15,000 fines. The remaining case is filed as a misdemeanor charge. For deception involving food stamps, cash assistance and subsidized daycare programs, defendants will be disqualified from receiving benefits for the amount of time they defrauded the state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects RFK Jr. Bid to Get His Name Off State Ballot
Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will remain on the state’s presidential ballot in November even though he has suspended his independent campaign.
In a ruling on Sept. 27, the Supreme Court said Kennedy’s appellate briefs offered no argument that the lower court misinterpreted the law stating a candidate can only be removed from the ballot in the event of their death.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Crew of Ill-Fated Franklin Expedition Cannibalized Their Commander, Archeologists Prove
For over two years, both the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus (Greek mythology’s personification of death) remained encased in ice near the top of the world. Amid frigid Arctic conditions, dwindling rations, and no hope in sight, the surviving crew of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated 1845 expedition to chart a Northwest Passage to China finally abandoned their two ships on April 26, 1848. However unlikely, the men hoped to make a last-ditch effort to escape across the frozen ice and tundra.
Their final months lived up to both vessels’ names. No one aboard either Terror or Erebus ultimately made it out alive, and many are believed to perish around King William Island in Nunavut, Canada’s largest and most remote territory. In the end, evidence even shows the last few sailors eventually resorted to cannibalism—and new analysis proves they did so regardless of respect for a superior’s rank.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Baltic States and Poland Seek EU Funds for a Massive Border Defense Line
HELSINKI (AP) — NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will seek European Union funding to build a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonia’s officials said Saturday.
The three Baltic countries initially announced the plan for a “Baltic Defense Line” in January. In May, Poland announced a similar project called the “Eastern Shield” with a purpose to strengthen its borders with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and with Belarus.
“The need for a (Baltic) defense line stems from the security situation and supports NATO’s new forward defense concept,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement, adding that “it is extremely important to coordinate our activities with Poland.”
“At the same time, it strengthens the security of the European Union and the military defense of its borders, which is why we clearly see that the EU could also financially support the project,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eco-Madness: Leftist UK Gov’t Green Housing Demands Could Cost Up to £36 Billion, Report Finds
The radical climate plans by the Labour Party government in Britain could cost landlords, taxpayers, and housing associations up to £36 billion to renovate their properties to comply with impending energy efficiency standards, the cost of which will likely being passed onto renters, a report has found.
Energy Security and Net Zero minister Ed Miliband has argued that banning landlords from renting older and energy inefficient homes until they make costly upgrades would lift a million families out of “fuel poverty”. However, critics have claimed that such a move would merely push further costs onto renters, who are already struggling under the weight of housing shortages, inflation, and high taxation.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
EU to Vote on Oct 4 to Finalize Tariffs for China-Made EVs, Bloomberg News Reports
(Reuters) — The European Union is planning to vote on whether to introduce tariffs as high as 45% on imported electric vehicles made in China on Oct. 4, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Member states have received a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, the report said, adding that the new date could still change.
According to the report, the vote among the bloc’s member states was slightly delayed amid last-minute negotiations with Beijing to try to find a resolution that would avoid the new levies.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French News Agency AFP Hit by Cyberattack
French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) has been hit by a cyberattack, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.
The attack on AFP’s IT system, which partly affected transmission technology to customers, was discovered on Friday.
It is unclear who was behind the attack.
AFP’s technical department, assisted by the National Cybersecurity Agency of France (ANSSI), is handling the incident and the authorities have been notified, the company said.
Although the attack temporarily impaired transmission, AFP’s worldwide reporting continued as usual, it said.
The attack on the news agency follows a major cyber incident in March which affected several French ministries and state institutions.
Pro-Russian hackers claimed responsibility for the attack, according to media reports, though the French authorities did not confirm this at the time.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s AfD Leadership Picks Alice Weidel as Chancellor Candidate
The co-leaders of Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, have agreed that Weidel will run as the candidate for chancellor in next year’s federal election campaign.
However, this is so far only an agreement between the two co-leaders, Stephan Brandner, an AfD member of the Bundestag, told dpa on Friday. This must now be confirmed by the party’s committees.
The Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland news outlet had previously reported that the federal executive committee and the federal-state conference plan vote on the selection at the beginning of December.
Weidel is not expected to be officially placed in the role until early next year.
The next federal election in Germany will be held in September 2025.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany’s Pistorius Says for Russia ‘Ukraine is Only the Beginning’
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius issued a stark warning about the dangers of Russian rearmament on Thursday, calling the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine a “wake-up call” to the West about its wider intentions.
“We are witnessing how Russia is rapidly ramping up its weapons production and dramatically building up its armed forces,” Pistorius said in a speech before the Lithuanian parliament in Vilnius.
“All of this leaves no doubt: For Russia, for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia, Ukraine is only the beginning.”
For Putin, the free and democratic way of life is the real enemy, said Pistorius, whose speech was applauded at several points. “Ukraine was a wake-up call, perhaps the last one we will get.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s Salvini Set on Staying in Office Even if Given Jail Time
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday that he will remain in office even if he is initially convicted of charges relating to his blocking a migrant ship from entering an Italian port.
He is hoping for an acquittal, but if not, he would still be back in his ministerial office and working the next day, he said in Rome. Salvini, 51, heads the right-wing governing party Lega.
“I am counting on an independent judge to come to the conclusions that seem clearest to me. If this is not the case in the first instance, there are fortunately two further instances in Italy,” he wrote.”
Whether acquitted or convicted, he will continue to work as usual. But if he is convicted, he will be “a little angry,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy’s President Warns Against Populism During Germany Visit
Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Friday warned against the growing lure of populism in Europe during his three-day state visit to Germany.
Asked about the successes of right-wing parties in EU member states, Mattarella said that some were making the deceptive promise of returning to a ‘golden age’ of 50 or 60 years ago.
“The world is changing dramatically,” he said. Large migration flows are unsettling many people, added Mattarella, who called for constructive solutions to be found.
In the morning, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender received the Italian president and his daughter Laura Mattarella with military honours at Bellevue Palace, the president’s official residence in Berlin. Steinmeier and his Italian counterpart are close friends.
Mattarella is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Italian Democratic Party (Partito Democratico). In the political spectrum, he is far removed from Italy’s ultra-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) party.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Lithuania Wants to Buy German-Built Leopard 2 Tanks
Lithuania intends to purchase Leopard 2 German battle tanks for a new division of its army, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told Lithuanian television on Friday.
He did not say how many tanks or which version of the Krauss-Maffei built tanks his country would purchase — or what they would cost.
The contract could be signed in November, after the National Security Council has made a final decision on the purchase, Kasciunas said. Lithuania is a member of both NATO and the European Union.
Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s ally Belarus. The Baltic state sees Russia’s war in Ukraine as a direct threat to its national security. The government in Vilnius has therefore increased military spending and is massively upgrading its army.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: PVV Leader Wilders Says Dutch PM Schoof “Is Absolutely Not in Charge”
Prime Minister Dick Schoof “is absolutely not in charge,” asserted PVV leader Geert Wilders on X on Saturday. He was contradicting Schoof’s own previous statement about his Cabinet, formed from a coalition of the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB political parties.
Since Schoof took office as a nonpartisan prime minister of a Cabinet aiming to operate more independently from the four-party coalition, there has been uncertainty about his position. In political theory, the prime minister is essentially the chair of the Council of Ministers, but over the past few decades, the role has grown increasingly powerful.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Newly Released Documents Reveal Big Tech Limited Millions of Posts During EU Elections
Ah, elections—the pinnacle of democracy where the common folk cast their ballots and, ideally, choose their fate. But hold onto your hats, because behind the grandeur of the European Parliament elections this year lurked a very different sort of governance, one executed not in the open streets but in algorithmic backrooms. Welcome to the Age of Censorship-as-a-Service, brought to you by our ever-dependable friends at Meta, Google, and TikTok.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Number of Deaths From Floods in Poland Rises to Nine
While the water levels of rivers in Poland are falling again, the country’s authorities are taking stock of the victims and damage from the devastating floods.
Nine bodies have been found so far, police chief Marek Boron said following a Cabinet meeting in Warsaw. He said the number of confirmed fatalities has thus increased by two. In addition, one person is still missing.
The identity of the two most recently found bodies has not yet been clearly established, Boron said.
In the areas most threatened by floods, residents are still in danger from the after-effects, warned Boron.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK Ex-PM Johnson Says He Planned Raid on Dutch Factory to Get COVID Vaccines
LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he ordered military chiefs to plan a raid on a Dutch factory in March 2021 to secure 5 million COVID vaccines that the European Union had threatened to bar from being exported to Britain.
Johnson said the deputy chief of Britain’s defence staff at the time, Lieutenant General Doug Chalmers, had told him a raid using small boats to cross the Channel and navigate Dutch canals would be possible — but warned him of diplomatic repercussions.
According to Johnson, Chalmers — who has since retired from the military — told him it would not be possible to carry out the mission undetected and that “if we are detected we will have to explain why we are effectively invading a long-standing NATO ally”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The 12-year-old killer was jailed today for hacking teenager Shawn Seesahai to death with a 16-inch machete in a Wolverhampton park last November.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Words, Not Deeds! Climate Radical Gen-Z Actually Worst at Recycling, Study Finds
There can be little doubt the ranks of the myriad green extremist groups are swollen by students, but the Generation-Z cohort is the least likely to do their recycling, suggesting something of a gap between happiness to virtue signal and willingness to make change in their own lives.
Research by the packaging industry shows that while young people overwhelmingly believe they have “committed to a sustainable lifestyle”, they are also the worst at actually recycling. DS Smith states data from market research they commissioned, based on a survey of 2,000 adults in the United Kingdom, showed the best-behaved generation are actually the Baby Boomers, 54 per cent of whom say they always recycle their paper and cardboard.
Just 19 per cent of Gen-Z say they do all their recycling. Indeed, a considerable majority at 92 per cent of the adults born after 1997 “admitted to throwing something in the bin instead of recycling it because they couldn’t be bothered to clean it out,” the survey said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Iranian General Killed Alongside Hezbollah Leaders in Israeli Strike
A brigadier general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was among those killed in Israeli strikes on a headquarters of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, according to Iranian media reports.
Multiple Iranian news outlets reported on Saturday that Brigadier General Abbas Nilforushan, the deputy head of operations of the IRGC, suffered martyrdom alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Nasrallah and senior Hezbollah commanders were killed on Friday in airstrikes on a compound located beneath residential buildings in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Says it Hit 140 Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon in Latest Attacks
The Israeli military said on Saturday that it is continuing to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and has hit 140 sites in a wave of attacks since last night.
The Israeli air force struck more than 140 positions of the Lebanese militant group including buildings where weapons were stored, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Some 100 missiles were fired towards Israel from neighbouring countries since the morning, the IDF said.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Higgins: Hezbollah Was Unprepared for Israel’s Fury and Determination
In June, Hashem Safieddine, the possible heir to the now dead Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, threatened Israel by saying, “Let (the enemy) prepare himself to cry and wail.”
But for quite some time, and especially since October 7, Israel has not been content to just mourn its dead, to watch idly as bombs rain down on its cities, or to be the world’s scapegoat for all the troubles in the Middle East.
After the very public horror and evil of October 7 by Hamas, Israel has gone on the offensive. And lately Israel has been sending a very clear message to its enemies: we know where you are, we know how to get you, and we will.
On Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of terror group Hezbollah for 32 years, was killed in a massive airstrike on a Beirut suburb, along with other commanders, including Ali Karaki, the head of the so-called Southern Front who survived an assassination attempt days earlier.
| — Hat tip: JW | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Strikes on Ukraine Medical Centre Leave at Least Nine Dead, Kyiv Says
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two consecutive Russian attacks on a medical center in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least nine people on Saturday morning, officials said.
The first strike killed one person. Russia attacked again while patients and staff were evacuating, said Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
Local officials in Sumy said Shahed drones were used in the attack. Twelve other people were wounded, Sumy’s City Military administration said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Russia Diverted 40,000 Troops After Ukraine’s Kursk Insursion, Zelenskiy Claims
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on September 19 that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region had resulted in the Russian military diverting 40,000 troops to the area.
His comments in his nightly video address came after Moscow and Kyiv gave conflicting accounts of the situation in the Kursk region following Ukraine’s surprise incursion launched in August.
Earlier on September 19, Russia’s military claimed it had gained ground in attempts to beat back the incursion, while Ukraine’s military said the Russian counteroffensive had been halted.
Russian Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of a Chechen special forces unit and an official within the Defense Ministry, said on September 19 that Russian forces had recaptured two villages in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskiy, meanwhile, told AFP that a Russian flanking maneuver in the Kursk region was “stopped.”
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Growing Hostilities: Bangladesh Hindus Fear for Safety as Islamists Oppose Durga Puja
An Islamist outfit called ‘Insaf Keemkari Chhatra-Janta’ staged a protest in Dhaka, holding placards in Bangla that read: “no worship everywhere by closing roads, no pollution to water by idol immersion, no idol worship”.
Moni Basak | HENB | Kolkata | Sept 28, 2024::Tensions are running high in Bangladesh as the Hindu community prepares to celebrate Durga Puja, one of their most significant festivals. Radical Islamic groups are vehemently opposing the open celebration of the festival and nationwide holidays during this period.
Recently, extremist groups took to the streets of Dhaka’s Sector 13, protesting the use of a playground by Hindus for their Durga Puja celebrations — a tradition that’s been ongoing for years. The protesters carried placards with slogans that read, “No worship anywhere by closing roads, no pollution to water by idol immersion, no worship to idols.
The extremist group, Insaf Keemkari Chhatra-Janta, presented a 16-point list of demands, citing environmental damage as a reason to stop Durga Puja celebrations. Their demands include:…
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Argentina: Milei Moves to Privatize Flag Carrier in Standoff With Unions
Argentina’s President Javier Milei announced steps Friday to privatize flag carrier Aerolineas Argentinas amid a standoff with unions over salaries and labor rights.
On Thursday, a labor court in Buenos Aires had suspended a decree by Milei to limit the right to strike in the aviation sector.
The court ruled the decree, which ordered that airlines maintain at least 50 percent of flights in the event of a work stoppage, was unconstitutional, according to the Airline Pilots’ Association.
The decision was the latest judicial setback for budget-slashing Milei, who came to power in December promising a dose of shock therapy for the ailing Argentine economy.
The self-declared “anarcho-capitalist leader” says state-owned Aerolineas Argentinas is costing the country too much but his efforts to cut costs have been met with fierce resistance from unions.
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Elon Musk’s X Set to Reboot in Brazil After Final Fine Payment
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is now clear to resume its online activities in Brazil with the settlement of one final penalty according to an announcement made last Friday by Brazil’s controversial justice official, Alexandre de Moraes. The supreme justice authority in the country, known as the Federal Supreme Court (STF), had previously sanctioned a nationwide suspension of X in late August, a decree that was sustained by a judicial panel on September 2 following X’s noncompliance with the court’s orders.
The controversy originated in the spring when STF’s Minister de Moraes initiated an investigation into Musk and X after the platform refused to heed its censorship demands.
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A report from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that revealed over 420,000 illegal immigrants convicted of various crimes are currently free in the United States went largely uncovered by CBS and ABC News during the evening primetime shows on Friday, according to a report from Fox News.
This week reports showed that ICE sent a letter to Texas Representative Tony Gonzales and other members of Congress, detailing that as of July, 425,431 convicted criminal migrants who entered the US illegally through the southern border are awaiting deportation. An additional 222,141 migrants have pending charges.
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Nelson W. Mijango Santos, an illegal immigrant, is accused of “disemboweling” a man with a folding knife in a parking lot in Madison, Wisconsin. According to Wisconsin Right Now, Santos allegedly asked the victim, “Do you want to die?” and “Do you want to see the devil with me?” before attacking him, leaving the victim’s intestines exposed from his stomach.
The incident occurred on August 16, when police responded to a call at the Men’s Shelter in Madison. Upon arrival, officers discovered a chaotic scene with people shouting in Spanish and pointing toward a vehicle. One individual showed officers a severe stomach wound with what “appeared to be his intestines sticking out of his stomach,” according to the criminal complaint.
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Migrants in Central, South America Hoping Kamala Beats Trump: Report
Numerous reports from Central and South America have revealed that migrantsseeking to enter the United States are hoping for a victory by Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming November election against Donald Trump. According to the Daily Mail, Latin American media outlets have highlighted concerns over a potential Trump win, with migrants fearing it would lead to stricter immigration policies.
“Migrants see risks with Trump’s return,” a September 20 Mexican article was titled. Another article noted that Ecuadorian migrants want Harris to win because they feel it would provide them more “reassurance” about their ability to remain in the US for longer periods.
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Netherlands: Cabinet Minister Expects Asylum Seeker Distribution Law to Remain for Up to 2 Years
During a closed-door meeting with representatives from ministries, provinces, municipalities, and the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber said on Thursday that she expects the law governing the fair distribution of asylum seekers across the Netherlands to remain in place for another one to two years before it is repealed, according to a source.
On Friday, following a Cabinet meeting, Faber reiterated that she would continue enforcing the law as long as it remains in effect. However, she declined to comment on whether she would use her authority to force municipalities to establish additional reception centers for asylum seekers. The controversial law permits the national government to do just that as a way of guaranteeing all regions shelter asylum seekers proportionately.
Repealing the measure was a key election promise late last year from Faber’s far-right party, the PVV, which strongly opposes the dispersal law.
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t least nine people are dead, with dozens more feared drowned, after a migrant boat capsized in the Canary Islands.
The vessel, believed to be carrying 84 people from Africa, got into trouble about four miles off the coast of the island of El Hierro in the early hours of yesterday.
Last night, nine were confirmed dead, including a teenage boy, with the whereabouts of 48 others unknown.
A further 27 were rescued, with three taken to a hospital on the island as search-and-rescue boats and helicopters continued to look for survivors.
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Tough Migration Stances Challenge EU’s Schengen Open Border Zone
A long-standing debate in Germany on how to handle migrants has intensified following deadly knife attacks in Solingen and Mannheim this year, prompting Europe’s largest economy to expand border controls despite protest from its neighbours.
The Solingen suspect, a Syrian citizen, had evaded an order to be deported from Germany to Bulgaria, where he first entered the European Union. And an Afghan citizen is in custody following the Mannheim attack in May, which left a police officer dead.
On September 16, Germany expanded controls to the frontiers of all nine of its neighbours in the hope of curbing the flow of irregular migrants, addressing threats from Islamist terrorist groups and clamping down on cross-border criminal organizations.
The move, however, has sparked protests from other EU member states.
Germany lies at the heart of Europe and of the visa-free Schengen zone, which is designed to allow the free movement of people and goods, a core tenet of the EU.
Poland, Austria and Greece have been among countries to complain about the border checks, which are set to last an initial six months.
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The editor-in-chief of the far-left “Mother Jones” publication declared on Friday that it was an example of “creeping Christian nationalism” when a flight attendant on an airline wished her and others to have a “blessed” evening.
Clara Jeffery, the EIC of the left-wing outlet, wrote about her apparent experience in a post: “Creeping Christian nationalism alert: Alaska Airlines flight attendant just wished us a ‘blessed’ night as we landed in SFO (!) to groans. Other adjectives that would have sufficed: great, awesome, fabulous, amazing, fantastic.”
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Boris Johnson has revealed that he struggled not to laugh when Penny Mordaunt told him that the issue of trans rights was the “most important of our time”.
The former Prime Minister disclosed the details of the event in his memoirs Unleashed, stating how the former Equalities Minister had raised the issue in a cabinet meeting.
During his time as Foreign Secretary under the premiership of Theresa May, both Johnson and his fellow cabinet member, Philip Hammond — who served as Chancellor at the time — struggled to keep a straight face when their Conservative colleague made the comment.
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