News of the World

[kyonides]

USA

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CNN's Journalists Are Very Professional...

CNN Defends Debate Hosts from Critics: ‘Respected Veteran Journalists’

CNN defended its debate co-hosts from critics on Monday after they came under fire for being biased against former President Donald Trump.

The statement came after the Trump campaign ripped CNN for abruptly ending its interview with Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt. CNN’s Kasie Hunt, a former MSNBC host, suddenly ended the interview when Leavitt highlighted CNN’s Jake Tapper’s long history of criticizing Trump.

Tapper is co-hosting Thursday’s first presidential debate with Dana Bash. Both are critics of Trump.

They suggested Trump is a liar, was tougher on Democrats than Putin, pushed Russia propaganda, used rhetoric similar to Adolf Hitler, pushed falsehoods “fast and furious,” “tried to kill democracy once. He’ll do it again,” is an antisemite, could cause a civil war, and blamed Trump’s rhetoric for a New Zealand shooting.

“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined,” the network said in a statement obtained by the Hill.

“They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate this cycle,” the network said. “There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion and we look forward to the debate on June 27 in Atlanta.”

The debate comes at a pivotal time for CNN. The network is on track for its lowest-rated month in prime time since 1991, the New York Times reported, citing Nielsen ratings that showed fewer than 100,000 average viewers a night among adults ages 25 to 54.

The debate is scheduled to be a highly watched first rematch between the two candidates since Biden took control of the federal government. Under Biden’s regime prices soared about 20 percent across the board, and more than 1.7 million known “gotaways” (illegal immigrants who evaded Border Patrol) entered the country, according to Congress.

 Oh really... And this is how veteran journalists in a "prestigious" news medium do almost on a daily basis?

Trump Campaign Slams CNN for Cutting Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Microphone Off Mid-Interview

The Trump campaign ripped CNN on Monday for abruptly ending its interview with Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

CNN’s Kasie Hunt, a former MSNBC host, suddenly ended the interview when Leavitt highlighted CNN’s Jake Tapper’s long history of criticizing former President Donald Trump. Tapper is co-hosting Thursday’s first presidential debate.
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“CNN cutting off my microphone for bringing up a debate moderator’s history of anti-Trump lies just proves our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly in Thursday’s debate,” Leavitt said in a statement obtained by Breitbart News.

“Yet President Trump is still willing to go into this 3-1 fight to bring his winning message to the American people, and he will win,” she added.

After the segment, Hunt posted on X that she cut Leavitt off because she allegedly did not show respect to Tapper, someone who perpetrated the Russia collusion hoax and refused to cover Trump live due to “potentially dangerous” content.

“You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period,” Hunt said. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows.”

Temporary Election Worker Was a Known Felon

Police: Temporary Election Worker for Maricopa County Arrested for Theft of Keys from Election Center

A temporary election worker for Maricopa County in Arizona was arrested after he allegedly stole items from an election center.

Law enforcement officials revealed that 27-year-old Walter Ringfield was arrested on Friday after he reportedly stole a security fob and keys from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center, according to KTAR News.

Ringfield, who was on probation for a previous felony, was booked into jail on charges of “theft and criminal damage,” according to the outlet.

The Maricopa County Elections Department said in a statement to ABC15 that election workers who had been conducting “daily inventory” on Friday morning, realized that “an item” was missing “from the Ballot Tabulation Center and had been taken the night before.”

“On Friday morning, when completing a daily inventory, Maricopa County election workers identified that an item was taken from the Ballot Tabulation Center on Thursday evening,” the Maricopa County Election Department said. “Staff took immediate action to investigate the matter and contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The stolen item has been recovered but to ensure the integrity of the Maricopa County Elections, election workers are reprogramming and reconducting logic and accuracy testing of all equipment.”

Security footage reportedly showed an employee taking the security fob and keys off a desk before placing the items in his pocket.

When questioned, Ringfield reportedly denied taking the items. However, law enforcement officers who arrived at his home the following day spotted “part of the keys” in his car.

The security fob was reportedly not found, according to the outlet.

Ringfield is reportedly not eligible for bond due to being on probation.

Illinois State Attorney Attacked

Illinois Man Accused of Throwing Big Gulp at Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx

A man is accused of throwing a Big Gulp drink on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx during an altercation outside her home in Flossmoor, Illinois.

Assistant Public Defender Catherine Stockslager said Friday that the suspect, identified as 34-year-old William Swetz, apparently did not recognize Foxx when the two bumped into each other as he drove along the 800 block of Sterling Avenue on Friday, CWB Chicago reported on Sunday:
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Foxx was taking a walk when the suspect came upon her in his pickup truck. According to Assistant State’s Attorney Jose Villareal, the man ordered Foxx to get out of the way and Foxx “made a hand gesture” at him.

“Official documents provided to CWBChicago say Foxx flipped Swetz off. The documents also say Swetz’s initial remark to Foxx was a bit spicier: ‘Get the f*** off the road, b**ch,'” the outlet said.

Swetz reportedly brought his vehicle to a halt before allegedly reversing toward Foxx, leading her to believe he might strike her. However, she moved out of the way as he pulled up beside her.

While the man remained in the vehicle, the pair continued the confrontation, and he is accused of throwing a “brown drink” on Foxx, who believed it was root beer because some of the liquid hit her mouth.

The suspect is accused of throwing the drink at Foxx from a Big Gulp cup and fleeing the scene. He was arrested hours later. Foxx did not suffer any serious injury during the incident, Fox 32 Chicago reported on Sunday:

Prosecutors Say Marylander Was Killed by Illegal Immigrant

Prosecutors: Illegal ‘Got-Away’ Beat, Raped, Strangled Rachel Morin in Most Horrific Case Ever in Maryland County

Harford County, Maryland, prosecutors say the rape and murder of 37-year-old Rachel Morin, a mother of five children, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien “got-away,” is the most horrific case ever seen in the county’s history.

On August 5, 2023, Morin was last seen heading out for a walk at the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, in Harford County. When Morin did not return home, her boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing. The following day, her body was found on the side of the trail.

On June 15, 2024, the Tulsa Police Department announced that they had arrested 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, an illegal alien from El Salvador with ties to the MS-13 Gang, in connection with Morin’s rape and murder as well as a violent assault of a nine-year-old girl and her mother in Los Angeles, California.

Harford County prosecutors have since detailed a brutal rape and vicious murder where Morin was found with ten to 15 head wounds. They allege that Martinez Hernandez raped and strangled Morin to death.

Martinez Hernandez is among roughly two million known illegal alien got-aways who have successfully crossed the southern border on President Joe Biden’s watch, undetected by Border Patrol agents.

“Biden’s first day in office was to remove every executive order that Trump had put in place to secure our border,” Morin’s half-sister, Erin Morin Layman, told Fox News. “[Biden] stopped building the wall. As far as I’m concerned, the Biden administration has the blood of Rachel Morin on their hands.”

“It’s sickening because this could have all been prevented,” Layman continued. “How many more like this? It’s just really sad, and no one’s safe. It’s not the first story, and it won’t be the last.”

Assange in the Northern Mariana Islands

Julian Assange to Plead Guilty in Plea Agreement with U.S. Government, Avoiding Prison

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

A court document from the United States District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands states:

The defendant, JULIAN PAUL ASSANGE (“ASSANGE”), was not a United States citizen, did not possess a U.S. security clearance, and did not have authorization to possess, access, or control documents, writings, or notes relating to the national defense of the United States, including United States government classified information.

Assange will appear in court at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday before a judge in Saipan, which serves as the capital and the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a letter from Matthew J. McKenzie.

The letter states:

We appreciate the Court accommodating these plea and sentencing proceedings on a single day at the joint request of the parties, in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea and the proximity of this federal U.S. District Court to the defendant’s country of citizenship, Australia, to which we expect he will return at the conclusion of the proceedings.

Mark This Democrat's Words That Justify Violence

Maxine Waters: If Trump Wins in November There Will Be Violence, More Killings

Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) said on this week’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Saturday Show” that if former President Donald Trump wins in November, there will be violence and “more killings.”

Host Jonathan Capehart asked, “How concerned are you about your safety if Donald Trump is re-elected?”

Waters said, “I’m very concerned, not only about my safety and not only about the safety of members of Congress. I’m concerned about the safety of so many people in this country, particularly people of color. Donald Trump has said that if he does not win, it is going to be fraud, and because it is going to be fraud, there will be blood in the streets. He threatens about a civil war, and he threatens there’s going to be violence. I would say all of this talk is motivational with many of those who are racist, who are sitting at home listening to him, and they are taking him up on his threats even before the elections take place. It is about thousands, maybe millions of people being threatened and being at risk because of Donald Trump and his desire to seek revenge on anything and everybody.”

She added, “I do believe having listened to Donald Trump so many times and having the attack, the insurrection that took place on the House of Representatives in Congress, on the Capitol, the Capitol grounds, we could be in for more killings like that. I think Donald Trump has to take responsibility for what he is saying about blood in the streets and violence if he is not elected to be the president of the United States of America.”

If you think I'm exaggerating here, remember what Antifa and BLM did while Trump was still in office. They didn't stop even when Biden had already become the next president. Then keep in mind the words of other leftists like those French guys that asked for protests in the streets and the eradication of the right wing in France.  

Florida on Immigration

Florida Reform Slashes Free Healthcare Spending on Migrants

Florida’s healthcare spending on illegal migrants has been nearly cut in half since legislation now requires hospitals to track unpaid care given to illegal migrants.

Senate Bill 1718, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), went into effect in July of 2023, and with almost a full year in effect the results are stunning. While the bill does not require that illegals be denied care that hospitals know will never be paid for, the amount of those unpaid bills has decreased considerably in the year since migrants have been asked for their immigration status.

The new reporting system has confirmed a 54 percent drop in Medicaid spending since the law took effect last year, according to Politico.

While the results have not been thoroughly proven to be a direct result of the reporting requirement, state Republicans are hailing the law as a success.

Unsurprisingly, advocates for illegals are stunned and dismayed by the law and have accused Republicans of using the reporting requirement to chase illegals out of Florida.

“Obviously, there’s been somewhat of an exodus of migrants in Florida,” Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition told Politico. “When this was all going through — we had warned about the exacerbated work[force] shortages and the distressed industries — we said this would be a bad idea.”

Feds on China & Sinaloa Cartel

FEDS: Sinaloa Cartel Laundered Money with Help from Chinese Underground Bankers

Federal authorities revealed that members of the Sinaloa Cartel used a network of Chinese underground bankers to launder more than $50 million in drug proceeds.

This week, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a ten-count superseding indictment charging 24 men allegedly tied to the international conspiracy involving individuals in California, Mexico, and others with ties to China.

“This DEA investigation uncovered a partnership between Sinaloa Cartel associates and a Chinese criminal syndicate operating in Los Angeles and China to launder drug money,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a prepared statement. “Laundering drug money gives the Sinaloa Cartel the means to produce and import their deadly poison into the United States.”

Authorities began charging some individuals in 2023, and soon after, some fled to Mexico. According to the USDOJ, they worked with Mexican and Chinese authorities to arrest several individuals who had fled from Los Angeles.

Federal prosecutors claim the lead defendant, 45-year-old Edgar Joel Martinez Reyes, who is from East L.A., would run a network of couriers who would collect drug cash, and then he would work with Chinese money launderers to make money available to Sinaloa Cartel members in Mexico. Court documents claim that Martinez would use cryptocurrency and various financial schemes to move the funds. These schemes included depositing small amounts of money at a time.

According to the USDOJ, the Chinese underground money laundering network works by individuals depositing Chinese currency into bank accounts. Once the money was deposited, the individual received the cash in U.S. dollars. The Sinaloa Cartel would then use the funds moved to China to pay for various goods and services from Chinese partners who supplied the cartel with precursors or equipment.

Prosecutors claim that the money laundering operation ran from 2019 to 2023 and that in 2021, Martinez Reyes traveled to Mexico, where he struck a deal with the Chinese underground bankers.

Did Biden Reduce Crime as He Claims?

Fact Check: Biden, Democrats Claim Crime Is Down Based on FBI Report Lacking Data from Thousands of Police Precincts

CLAIM: President Biden and his fellow Democrats claim crime is down based on an FBI report.

VERDICT: False. Biden and his fellow Democrats do not mention that thousands of police precincts are not reporting crime data to the FBI.

On June 11, 2024, Biden told an Everytown for Gun Safety gun control gathering:

You know, the year before I came to the presidency, the murder rate was the highest increase on record. Last year, we saw the largest decrease of murder in the history of (inaudible). (Applause.) And those rates are continuing to fall faster than ever. Last year, we also saw one of the lowest rates of all violent crime in nearly 50 years. Murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery all dropped sharply, along with burglary and property crime.

He did not mention that 2021 and 2022 witnessed a decline in crime reports from police precincts around the country.
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The Marshall Project explained that that in 2020, “almost every law enforcement agency was included in the FBI’s database.” However, in 2021, the FBI went to a new system for compiling data and would only accept police precinct reports through the new system.

The result? “Thousands of police agencies fell through the cracks because they didn’t catch up with the changes on time.” Thus, in 2022 there were far fewer police precincts turning in crime data; the Marshall Project reported in 2023 that “more than 6,000 law enforcement agencies were missing from the FBI’s national crime data last year, representing nearly one-third of the nation’s 18,000 police agencies.”

At some point in 2023 the FBI pivoted, announcing that it would accept crime data via the old reporting system once more. But the Marshall Project says it remains to be seen how many of the over 6,000 outstanding police precincts will begin or have begun reporting again.

One thing that the Marshall Project noted as certain: NYPD and LAPD are still not reporting crime data to the FBI.

How convenient for Biden and the FBI...  
I wonder if Laken Riley would approve of that. Right, she can't because an illegal alien killed her, just like the 12-year-old killed just days ago.  

CANADA

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Conservative Leader VS Trudeau

Canada’s Conservative Leader Flips to Oppose Justin Trudeau’s Migration

The likely next prime minister of Canada has suddenly flipped his pro-migration platform and is now promising to deeply cut Justin Trudeau’s migration flood.

“It’s going to be much lower, especially for temporary immigration,” said Pierre Poilievre, head of the pro-migration Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He continued:

It’s impossible to invite 1.2 million new people to Canada every year [as Trudeau has done]. When you’re building 200,000 housing units, it’s impossible. There’s no room.

Poilievre declined to give a target number for more migrants. Instead, he said that immigration should be tied to the rate of home building and job creation.

The sudden shift comes after Canadians have rejected the mass migration policies imposed by Trudeau. Those investor-backed open-door policies have demoralized young Canadians, slashed wages, reduced productivity, rocketed housing prices, and super-charged poverty and crime.

“Our economy is now smaller than it was in 2019 when adjusted for inflation and immigration, and pretty much in the same place it was a decade ago,” admitted a June 4 report by Canada’s RBC Royal Bank. Amid Trudeau’s migration, “a growing share of savings and investment has flowed to real estate and construction, which, while needed and beneficial for many reasons, are both relatively inefficient and can hold back the overall productive growth of an economy,” the report said.

LATIN AMERICA

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Argentina And Its First Week With No Inflation

Argentina Logs First Week with No Inflation in Food Prices in 30 Years

For the first time in 30 years, Argentina experienced a zero-percent increase in the inflation rates of food and drinks during the third week of June, President Javier Milei confirmed on Monday morning.

A study published on Sunday by Econométrica, a private Argentine consulting firm, first reported the no-inflation week. In its study, Econométrica analyzed 8,000 prices in local online supermarkets and found no change when compared to the preceding week — something that has not happened in Argentina in three decades. In addition to the lack of variation in prices in one week, the study found that the prices of food and drinks only experienced an increase of 0.1 percent in the past 15 days.

President Milei, who is currently in Prague, confirmed the study’s findings on Monday morning in a telephone interview held with Argentina’s Radio Mitre, celebrating the news as a result of his economic policies.

“That means that we are on the right path — which there is still a long way to go, but the first signs that things are working are beginning to appear,” Milei told Argentine journalist Eduardo Feinmann.

“I sometimes present it, explain it, but, well, I have encountered in recent times gross levels of intellectual dishonesty. Because we all know that wholesale inflation is the one that predicts and anticipates retail inflation and the reality is that inflation in December when we arrived was 54 percent, that annualized gives 17,000,” he continued.

Milei added, “it also speaks of the misery or incompetence of other colleagues, doesn’t it? But the truth is that there is no country in the world where we are not recognized for our titanic task in terms of lowering inflation.”

We Could Dare to Say Nicaragua Now Works For China

Report: Nicaragua Communist Regime Hands over Nation’s Gold Mines to China

Nicaragua’s communist regime has granted control of the nation’s gold mines to China in dubious and expedited procedures, the Argentine news outlet Infobae reported over the weekend.

Nicaraguan biologist and activist Amaru Ruiz explained to Infobae that the regime of dictator Daniel Ortega has granted at least 13 mining leases over the past six months to three Chinese companies through procedures that are “not normal,” as the leases were approved in an expedited manner and without due process. Some of them were allegedly approved as quickly as two months after being requested.

The 13 lease contracts reportedly grant the Chinese companies Zhong Fu Development, Thomas Metal, and Nicaragua XinXin Linze Minera Group exclusive rights for the exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits spanning nearly 250,000 hectares for a period of 25 years, renewable for an additional 25 years.

The three companies, Infobae stated in its report, would manage 11.66 percent of the entire mining area that communist dictator Daniel Ortega has so far leased, which is estimated at almost 2 million hectares according to official information.

“We don’t even know if there are environmental impact studies with the granting of these concessions,” Ruiz said. “We consider that they do not exist because of the time in which the concession is granted, which is really very short compared to other processes of other companies.”

Gold has become Nicaragua’s top export in recent years, registering over $1.1 billion in gold export revenues during 2023, a 22.4-percent increase when compared to 2022.

In May, the United States imposed sanctions on Comintsa and Capital Mining, two Nicaraguan-based gold companies with ties to the Ortega regime. The Department of the Treasury explained that Comintsa is owned by Salvador Mansell Castrillo, who previously served as Ortega’s energy and mines minister and one of the Ortega regime’s high-ranking offers sanctioned by the United States in 2021.

Similarly, the U.S. Treasury Department explained in its May statement that Capital Mining serves as an intermediary company of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua’s gold sector controlled by Laureano Ortega Murillo, dictator Daniel Ortega’s son.

“The designations of Comintsa and Capital Mining target government-affiliated gold companies generating revenue for the Ortega-Murillo regime,” the Department of the Treasury stated. “Gold is Nicaragua’s top commodity export, and this action aims to degrade the ability of the Ortega-Murillo regime to manipulate the sector and profit from the corrupt operations of Comintsa and Capital Mining.”

Take into account that some of that gold has been stolen from a Costa Rican region called Crucitas in San Carlos, Alajuela.
The Costa Rican authorities have been dealing with this issue for years now. 

EUROPE

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EU on Russian Ghost Fleet of LNG Tankers

EU Announces Sanctions on Russia’s ‘Ghost Fleet’ of Liquid Natural Gas Tankers

The European Union on Monday slapped new sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s shadow fleet of tankers moving liquefied natural gas through Europe as well as several companies.

At a meeting in Luxembourg, where the sanctions were endorsed, EU foreign ministers also expressed concern about a rise in hybrid attacks by Russia – including allegations of election interference, cyber-attacks and sabotage.

In an effort to push Russia into using more costly routes for energy purposes, the ministers said in a statement, the EU will “forbid reloading services of Russian LNG in EU territory for the purpose of transshipment operations to third countries.”

The EU estimates that about 4-to-6 billion cubic meters (141 billion-212 billion cubic feet) of Russian LNG was shipped to third countries via EU ports last year. Russia is suspected of running a “ghost fleet” of up to 400 ships to evade sanctions and keep up the flow of energy earnings so that it can finance the war.

The measures will target ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers as well as reloading operations. It also involves a crackdown on the re-export of LNG to third countries via the EU, plus a ban on new investments to help Russia complete LNG projects it is working on.

Scores of new “entities” – often companies, banks, agencies and other organizations – were added to the EU´s list, including some in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Many are accused of circumventing the bloc´s sanctions or providing sensitive equipment to Russia.

Russia Summons US Ambassador

Russia Summons U.S. Ambassador over Ukraine’s Alleged Use of American Missiles in Crimea Strike

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador on Monday to protest what it says was the use of U.S.-made advanced missiles in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-annexed Crimea that reportedly killed four people and wounded more than 150.

Washington “has effectively become a party” to the war on Ukraine’s side, the ministry said in a statement, adding, “Retaliatory measures will certainly follow.” It did not elaborate.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. or Ukrainian officials. The Associated Press could not independently verify Russia’s claims about the missiles used.

Kyiv’s forces have relied heavily on Western-supplied weaponry since Russia’s invasion more than three years ago. The military aid has been crucial in allowing Ukraine to hold the Kremlin’s army at bay, with few major changes along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine for many months.

Some Western countries have hesitated over providing more – and more sophisticated – help for Kyiv’s army because of concerns about potentially provoking the Kremlin. But as Ukraine has at times struggled to hold the line against Russia’s bigger and better-equipped military, Western leaders have gradually relented and granted more support.

In the latest key development, the Pentagon said last week that Ukraine’s military is being allowed to use longer-range missiles provided by the U.S. to strike targets inside Russia if it is acting in self-defense. Since the outset of the war, the U.S. had maintained a policy of not allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it provided to hit targets on Russian soil for fear of further escalating the conflict.

Terror Attacks in Russia

Russia Terror Attack: Synagogues and Churches Attacked by Gunmen in Muslim Region

At least 22 people have been killed in a large coordinated terror attack on two synagogues, two churches, and a police outpost in a Russian Muslim-majority region.

Six gunmen were killed by the Russian security services, the Kremlin said overnight, following a series of coordinated terror attacks on a Holy day in the country’s southwestern-most Dagestan Republic. The total number of killed and injured has not been published, but it may stretch into the dozens. As well as the slain terrorists claimed, at least 15 police officers were also killed and “several civilians”.

Among the civilian dead is a long-serving Christian Orthodox priest, Father Nikolay, who was killed at his church where he has been priest for 40 years.

Per information from the Russian state, two Synagogues at the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, two Orthodox churches, and a police outpost were attacked on Sunday. In the case of the Derbent Synagogue, the Russian Jewish Congress stated, the attack started shortly before evening prayers. They said the attack at Makhachkala was similar.

Police were on routine patrol at the Derbent synagogue and private security were also present station. They were killed, and terrorists set fire to the synagogue. The fire was extinguished by early hours of Monday morning.

Three days of mourning have been declared by Dagestan, one of the constituent Republics of the Russian Federation bordering the Caspian sea on the Caucasus region.

Russian authorities say they have identified the attackers and say they received foreign funding, but have not released specific details, nor officially stated what the motive for the attack may be. Yet the Russian Dagestan Republic is a Muslim majority area and anger in the area over the Israel-Hamas war has seen attacks targeting Jewish people living in the area.

In 2023, a “mob” of Palestine flag-carrying men besieged a hotel and Dagestan’s main airport “in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel”. The Guardian stated at the time:

Airline employees were shown hustling passengers back inside planes as the crowds approached the aircraft. Russia closed Makhachkala airport on Sunday evening due to “intruders” at the airport.

“This is your captain,” one announcement said. “There’s an angry mob outside that doesn’t know where we’ve come from and why [we are here]. It’s possible we’ll also come under attack.”

Strange Car "Accident"

Police Officer Dies as Car Crashes Into Viktor Orbán’s Motorcade in Germany

A German police officer escorting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Stuttgart has died after a car rammed into the Hungarian leader’s convoy.

While on the way Monday to the airport after watching his national football team compete against Scotland in the UEFA European Championship in Stuttgart, Germany the previous night, Prime Minister Orbán’s motorcade was hit with tragedy.

According to a report from the German daily Bild, a 69-year-old woman ignored signs for road closures as the Hungarian leader’s convoy made its way through the city, ramming into the police motorcycle of a 61-year-old officer accompanying Orbán’s car.

The strength of the crash flung the officer’s motorcycle into a fellow 27-year-old officer on another motorcycle who was blocking traffic at the time of the incident.

Despite being rushed to hospital, the 61-year-old officer died from his injuries. The 27-year-old officer is meanwhile reported to have sustained “serious injuries”.

Stuttgart Police Chief Markus Eisenbraun said: “We are deeply shocked by the accident of our colleagues. The tragic circumstances of the death of our valued colleague have left us speechless and have hit the entire Stuttgart police force to the core.”

Macron's Promises

Facing Lame Duck Status Macron Promises to ‘Act’ Until End of Term, Makes Vague Vow of ‘Change’

Facing the prospect of becoming a lame duck president with three years left in his term and the French establishment turning against him, Emmanuel Macron said Sunday he would continue to “act” until 2027 while making a vague vow of “change”.

In an attempt to regain legitimacy following his drubbing in the European Parliament elections to Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally earlier this month, President Macron made a madcap gambit of calling for snap legislative elections, which will be conducted in two rounds, starting on June 30th and concluding on July 7th.

Macron appeared to be banking on divisions on the left and fear of the so-called “far-right” to convince the French public to once again coalesce around his centrist neo-liberal government.

However, with just a little over a week left before the French people head back to the polls, it seems his gamble will not pay off, with his Renaissance party continuing to languish in a distant third place behind the National Rally and the hastily cobbled together New Popular Front led by far-left socialist Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Making a last-ditch attempt at reclaiming the narrative, in an open letter published in regional newspapers across the country, Macron wrote on Sunday that he recognised that his decision to call for a snap election has resulted in “anger that has turned against me,” Le Monde reports.

“The goal cannot be to just continue as things were. I have heard that you want change,” he said. “Yes, the way we govern must change profoundly… The government to come, which will necessarily reflect your vote, will, I hope, bring together republicans of different persuasions who have shown courage in opposing the extremes.”

Mr Macron has faced calls from opposition leader Marine Le Pen to resign if he were to lose control of the National Assembly following the elections, but Macron shot down on Sunday any possibility of relinquishing power before the end of his second — and final — term in office.

“You can trust me to act until May 2027 as your president, protector at every moment of our republic, our values, respectful of pluralism and your choices, at your service and that of the nation,” Macron said, while dismissing the idea that the elections represented a referendum on whether he should stay in office, but rather just on “who should govern France”.

Farage Makes Strange But Serious Accusation

Farage Accuses Legacy Media of ‘Collaborating’ with Kremlin to Save ‘Dying Conservative Party’

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused a prominent legacy media outlet of printing falsehoods and “collaborating” with the Kremlin to smear him to protect the “dying Conservative Party”.

The Mail on Sunday, the sister paper of the Daily Mail, may be facing a lawsuit from Nigel Farage over its headline over the weekend which read: “Zelensky: Farage Is Infected with ‘Virus of Putin’,” after the Brexit leader stated the West played a role in provoking the Russian invasion with EU and NATO expansionism.

Mr Farage said that the headline was “totally untrue” and said he instructed the Carter-Ruck law firm to “deal with it”.
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The alleged quote from Zelensky appears to have originated from BBC journalist Gordon Correrra, who said on X that a source within the government in Kyiv allegedly said in response to Mr Farage’s comments: “The virus of Putinism, unfortunately, infects people.”

Mr Farage noted that the quote was not attributed to Zelensky and did not mention his name personally as the MoS headline appeared to imply. The BBC also reported that the Zelensky government refused to put out an official statement on the controversy.
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Meanwhile, the Brexit leader also criticised the Daily Mail for directly approaching the Kremlin to ask whether it considered him an “ally”.

The “Daily Mail are so desperate to smear Reform that they have now contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry and goaded them into a supposed quote from someone in Sergey Lavrov’s office calling me an ‘ally’,” Mr Farage said.

“That a UK newspaper group is actively collaborating with the Kremlin to protect their dying Conservative party is an absolute scandal. The British people will see through this act of utter desperation.”

Germany BARELY Removes Illegal Immigrants

Leftist German Government Removes Less Than 3 Per Cent of Migrants with Deportation Orders

Despite vowing last year to increase deportations the leftist coalition government in Germany only managed to deport less than three per cent of migrants set for removal in the first four months of the year.

In the wake of soaring antisemitic incidents and Islamist attacks across Europe following the October 7th terror attacks on Israel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that his government would begin deportations of illegals, failed asylum seekers and foreign criminals on a “large scale“.

However, figures reported by public broadcaster Deutsche Well have shown that this has yet to come to pass, with just 6,300 foreigners being removed from Germany from January to April. This is compared to 240,000 who faced a deportation order, meaning that just 2.63 per cent of migrants were removed after receiving an order to leave.

DW reports that around 80 per cent of those with a deportation order could not be removed because they either did not have identification papers or came from countries that Germany currently considers unsafe — such as Syria and Afghanistan — and therefore refuses to send migrants back to homelands.

Chancellor Scholz has said that his government would look to end the prohibition on sending migrants back to Syria and Afghanistan, following a mass stabbing that left a police officer dead by a failed asylum seeker from Afghanistan who avoided removal on the grounds that his home country was unsafe.

“It outrages me when someone who has sought protection here commits the most serious crimes. Such criminals should be deported, even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan,” the chancellor said earlier this month.

However, this would likely need the requirement of the Islamist governments in control of the two countries, meaning that it is currently unknown when deportations will actually start to resume to Afghanistan and Syria.

At a conference in Potsdam over the weekend, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that rather than negotiating with the Taliban regime in Kabul, Berlin has begun talks with Afghanistan’s regional neighbours on possibly accepting Afghan nationals from Germany.

ASIA

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UN & the Taliban

U.N. Invites Taliban to Afghanistan Summit, Who Reportedly Demand Ban on Women

The United Nations invited the jihadist Taliban terrorist organization to a two-day conference on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, next weekend, its third such meeting since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The Islamist extremists have reportedly demanded no Afghan women should be allowed to participate in the meeting.

Human rights activists seem deeply worried that the U.N. will bow to the Taliban’s demands and create some political cover by scheduling other meetings in Doha that would include critics of the Taliban’s misogynist policies.

“Excluding women risks legitimizing the Taliban’s abuses and triggering irreparable harm to the U.N.’s credibility as an advocate for women’s rights and women’s meaningful participation,” said Tirana Hassan of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

“What is happening in Afghanistan is the most serious women’s rights crisis in the world and the idea that the U.N. would convene a meeting like this and not discuss women’s rights and not have Afghan women in the room is beyond belief,” said Heather Barr, another HRW representative.

“The only plausible explanation is that they’re doing this to get the Taliban to the table, but for what? Already, three years of diplomatic engagement has produced nothing and all this does is set an appalling precedent, emboldens and legitimizes the Taliban and hands them a huge political win. It is a betrayal not just of Afghan women but all women around the world,” said Barr.

MIDDLE EAST

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IDF on Hamas

IDF Chief of Staff: We Have Nearly Dismantled Hamas in Rafah

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told soldiers on Sunday night in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, that they have nearly succeeded in dismantling Hamas’s remaining battalions in the area.

In a statement, Halevi said (translation via IDF):

We have very high levels of achievements from the combat in Rafah, and I express great appreciation for that. This is reflected in the amount of terrorists that have been eliminated, as well as the infrastructure destroyed, the underground tunnel routes, its mapping, its destruction, and the progress in the complex underground combat. The fact that the 162nd Division now controls the Philadelphi Corridor from the sea to the border between Israel, Gaza, and Egypt, is very significant in cutting off Hamas’ supply for future smuggling. We are now dealing with the underground assets. We are clearly approaching the point where we can say we have dismantled the Rafah Brigade, that it is defeated not in the sense that there are no more terrorists, but in the sense that it can no longer function as a fighting unit. It has suffered many casualties, and you will ensure until the completion of the mission here, to eliminate as many terrorists and destroy as much terrorist infrastructure as possible going forward. With great appreciation, what is happening here is very impressive professionally, keep it up.

While Israel has all but eliminated Hamas as a fighting force above ground, it retains significant assets underground — including weapons, leaders, and dozens of Israeli hostages.

One Israeli analyst has concluded that it will not be possible to destroy Hamas completely while it hides underground — at least, not in the near term — because Israel has not developed a strong enough underground fighting capability, and there is too much danger to soldiers to send them directly into the tunnels to confront Hamas.

There is growing pressure from the Israeli public to reach a deal with Hamas on the release of hostages — though Hamas insists on Israel ending the war and promising, with U.S.-backed guarantees, never to fight against the terror group ever again. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected that condition.

The Biden administration opposed Israel’s entry into Rafah, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe that never materialized. A million Palestinians who had taken refuge in the town, which borders Egypt, simply evacuated.

Israel now controls the Gaza-Egypt border, and with it the smuggling routes used by Hamas to rearm its forces.

AFRICA

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Nigerian Priests Kidnapped by Terrorists

‘Terrorists’ Kidnap Third Priest This Month in Nigeria

Father Mikah Suleiman was abducted by armed gunmen in northwest Nigeria this weekend, the third such kidnapping of a Christian pastor in the past month.

As Breitbart News has reported, Nigeria has been experiencing a “surge” in anti-Christian violence in recent weeks, including numerous kidnappings and execution-style murders, carried out mostly by radical Islamists.

On June 2, Muslim Fulani raiders murdered a pastor, his wife, and three other Christians at around midnight in Plateau state, central Nigeria.

The following day, Muslim terrorists associated with the Islamic State executed three Christians, creating a propaganda video out of the slaying.

On Sunday, June 9, Father Gabriel Ukeh was kidnapped from the rectory of Saint Thomas Parish in Zaman Dabo in Kaduna State, northwest Nigeria, an area hit hard by anti-Christian violence.

Then on June 16, armed assailants abducted Father Christian Ike — the pastor of St. Matthew’s Church in Ajalli, southern Nigeria — after a church service at an outstation of the parish.

Now, a “gang of terrorists” has abducted Father Mikah Suleiman, parish priest of St. Raymond Damba Catholic Church in Zamfara State, from his parish rectory in the early hours of Saturday June 22.

“We invite all the faithful of Christ and all men and women of good will to pray sincerely that he be released immediately safe and sound,” reads a statement from the Sokoto diocese, where the priest carries out his ministry.

Human rights activists have protested the inaction of the Nigerian government as well as the silence of world leaders in the face of the ongoing anti-Christian assaults.

ENTERTAINMENT

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Pirates of the Caribbean Actor Killed by Shark

‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Actor and Surfing Star Tamayo Perry Killed by Shark in Hawaii

Tamayo Perry, surfing legend turned actor in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, lost his life from a shark attack off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, on Sunday.

Perry was struck around one p.m. near Goat Island and his body was soon found by other surfers. His body was missing an arm and a leg, Stab magazine reported.

A local surfer called emergency services when he thought he saw a surfer being attacked by a shark, and first responders got to the scene quickly. But efforts to revive Perry after his body was brought to shore proved fruitless, according to the New York Post.

“Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,” said acting Honolulu ocean safety chief Kurt Lager. He added that Perry was “a lifeguard loved by all.”

Perry was also employed as a popular local lifeguard.

“Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. The mayor also said Perry’s death is “a tragic loss.”

The 49-year-old Oahu celebrity parlayed his surfing status into a part in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides among other films.

Perry has appeared in more than a dozen surfing videos including The Bomb (1998), Revelation (2000), All Aboard (2002), and Loaded Pipe (2004)

[/spoiler

SPORTS

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[spoiler=Euro 2024]

Switzerland 1 - Germany 1
Substitute Niclas Fullkrug scored a late equaliser for Germany
as they rescued a draw with Switzerland to top Group A

The Swiss thought they were going through to the last 16 as group winners after an early goal from Dan Ndoye until Fullkrug headed in the equaliser.

There was an outburst of celebration from home supporters behind the goal as Germany maintained their unbeaten start to Euro 2024.

It was a blow to Switzerland, who had defended resolutely for more than 90 minutes but they still progress to the knockout stages.

"At the end I think this point is well deserved. We risked a lot, as we could have conceded a second goal," said Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.

"It was a very strong group and a very good match. I think if we had scored that first goal, it would have been very difficult for Switzerland."

Murat Yakin's Swiss side knew victory would see them leapfrog Germany and they almost delivered in Frankfurt until pressure took its toll in stoppage time.

Germany, who had largely frustrated the home fans in the stands, created a flurry of chances late on and eventually did enough.

Earlier, Swiss fans were bouncing and singing in the stands after Ndoye had placed a first-time shot into the roof of the net from Remo Freuler's dangerous cross.

Copa América 2024

Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica - Copa America 2024: Vinicius Jr and co fail to win opening fixture after sluggish display

Brazil are off to an underwhelming start at the Copa America after being held to a 0-0 draw in their opening clash with Costa Rica on Monday night.

Despite enjoying 74 percent of the ball in Los Angeles, the likes of Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo were unable to inspire the nine-time champions to victory in their first game at the tournament.

Instead, a resilient Costa Rica backline restricted them to just three shots on target in the game as the underdogs secured an invaluable and unexpected point in Group D.

Marquinhos thought he had fired Brazil ahead when he tapped in from close range after 33 minutes, only for VAR to deem that he did so while in an offside position and rule the goal out.

Rodrygo also felt he should have had a penalty when he was brought down inside the box in the first half, yet the referee waved away Brazilian protests.
The team known for decades of sublime offensive play never got closer to a scoring in front of a lively crowd of 67,158 dominated by their yellow-clad fans at SoFi Stadium.

The result leaves Colombia top of Group D after their 2-1 victory over Paraguay earlier in the evening.

Brazil has won the Copa America nine times, but its current transitional squad led by Real Madrid stars Vinicius and Rodrygo got off to a discouraging start.

The draw was a monumental achievement for Costa Rica, the undermanned CONCACAF team with the youngest roster in the tournament but a reputation for overachievement and sturdy defending. Los Ticos had lost nine straight meetings with Brazil.

Vinicius was taken down in the box in the 22nd minute by a big hit from Haxzel Quiros, but got no whistle.

In the 30th minute, Rodrygo went low to head on Raphinha's free kick to Marquinhos, who banged it home at the far post. However, A four-minute VAR review then followed, before Mexican referee Cesar Ramos eventually agreed with the assistant's decision to wave it off for offside by a minuscule margin.

In the 39th minute, a kick by Lucas Paqueta appeared to go off a hand of Juan Pablo Vargas in the penalty area but Ramos made no call.

Paqueta ripped a shot off the post in the 63rd minute. Costa Rica then survived when Haxzel Quiros nearly headed the ball into his own net before Sequeira smothered it.

Costa Rica survived a few more moments of chaos beginning in the 86th minute, with Rodrygo failing to capitalize on a pair of scoring chances and not getting a foul call against Jeyland Mitchell in the box.

Bruno Guimaraes then had a clean look at the net in the first minute of injury time, but pushed it just wide.

Brazil's national team is in a transitional period - particularly without Neymar, who hasn't played since tearing a knee ligament in a match for Brazil last October. Neymar spoke to team Sunday before watching the match at SoFi Stadium, where he got massive cheers in the second half when his worried face appeared on the scoreboard.