News of the World

[kyonides]

INTERNATIONAL

---

US Military Bases in Europe in Danger?

U.S. Military Bases in Europe Placed on Heightened Security Alert

Several U.S. military bases in European countries such as Germany and Italy were placed on an increased security alert over the weekend.

Bases such as the U.S. Army Garrison in Stuttgart, Germany, the U.S. Army’s Rheinland-Pfalz base, and the U.S. Army’s Ramstein Air Base were among the bases that were placed on a threat level of “Charlie,” according to Stars and Stripes.

This came after the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), which is headquartered in Stuttgart, issued an increased threat level to “Charlie.”

Other U.S. military bases such as the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s base in Baumholder, Germany, and other military bases in Romania, Bulgaria, and the Aviano Air Base in Italy also increased their threat level to “Charlie.”

The outlet noted that another base in Germany, the Spangdahlem Air Base, directed military members not to wear their uniforms off base, or even when commuting to work.

According to the U.S. Army’s website, Charlie is one of five security levels in the Force Protection Condition (FPCON).

The lowest threat level is, “Normal,” which is followed by threat level “Alpha,” which applies when “there is an increased general threat of possible terrorist activity against personnel or facilities,” according to the U.S. Army’s website.

Bravo is the third threat level, which “applies when an increased or more predictable threat of terrorist activity exists.”

After the Bravo threat level is Charlie, the second highest threat level, which “applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received” that indicates “some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely.”

The “Delta” threat level, which is the highest, “applies in the immediate area where a terrorist attack has occurred or when intelligence has been received that terrorist action against a specific location or person is imminent,” according to the U.S. Army’s website.

EUCOM explained in a statement that it is “constantly” reviewing “factors” that may affect “the safety of the U.S. military community abroad,” according to the outlet.

A United States official stated that the current threat level had not been seen “in at least 10 years,” according to CNN.

Le Pen is Kicking Macron's Butt in Parliamentary Elections?

Macron Wipeout in Snap Election he Called, Le Pen Surges and Could Take Outright Majority

The Parliamentary faction of President Emmanuel Macron has been utterly destroyed in the unexpected snap election he called just three weeks ago, with Le Pen’s Party looking to nearly treble its seat holding.

Polling has closed in France for the first round of this week-long Parliamentary election. While actual seat distribution won’t be fully known, the exit polls following this knock-out round have given a confident answer that Marine Le Pen’s nationalist-populist National Rally (RN) won the day. Per the exit polls, her faction gained 34 per cent of the vote, while the left-wing coalition founded for the purpose of this election picked up 29 per cent, and President Macron’s Ensemble looks at just 20 per cent.

In terms of seats, any one party or group would need 289 seats in the 577 seat house. A series of exit polls suggest that by the end of next Sunday, RN could have as few as 250 seats, but could get as many as 310 depending on second round voting. This is a simply enormous leap for RN, given Le Pen’s party had just 88 Members of Parliament last time.
[X Post]
Speaking this evening, Marine Le Pen urged voters to back her in the second round to give the party an absolute majority in the house so it can choose the next Prime Minister and begin the end of the Emmanuel Macron presidency. She boasted her faction has practically “wiped out the Macron camp”.

More detailed results will continue to come in overnight and into Monday. There now follows a week of further campaigning, before the final head-to-head rounds next week.

Because of the French system which sees this knock-out round followed a week later by the decider, there is a specific tradition of parties issuing tactical voting guidelines to their voters and horse-trading between parties to maximise the chances of defeating the first-placed candidate. For instance, while Le Pen’s RN looks set to be the largest single party and will fight a large number of constituencies next Sunday, it will be doing so against the combined weight of votes of all other parties coalescing around a single opposing figure.

This system makes the final outcome hard to predict — hence the very wide margin of error in the exit polls — and makes clear much remains to play for. President Macron has already called on the public to vote against the right next week.

The Ongoing Chinese Purge

China: Communist Party Purge Takes Down Two Former Defense Ministers on Same Day

Chinese state media confirmed the expulsion on Thursday of two former defense ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, from the Communist Party and said they are both facing criminal investigations based on alleged “serious violations of discipline and laws.”

Wei Fenghe retired from China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) in October 2022 and the defense minister position in early 2023, apparently without controversy, in part due to his age. Li Shangfu succeeded him in March 2023, but abruptly disappeared in August before being accused of unspecified improprieties while on the job.

The Communist Party did not explain why Li suddenly vanished from all public obligations at the time. In August, Beijing suddenly announced that genocidal dictator Xi Jinping had fired him, an ominous sign that he may face corruption charges. Despite China being in the throes of multiple significant military challenges – most of them on its borders, where the Communist Party regularly violates the sovereignty of neighboring states – Chinese authorities chose to simply not have anyone hold the office of defense minister until announcing the appointment of the current incumbent, Dong Jun, in December.

The Chinese government newspaper China Daily on Friday reported that both former ministers were under investigation “following clues uncovered during cases handled by the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission.”

“According to the statements, both Li and Wei seriously violated political and organizational discipline, and resisted organizational scrutiny,” China Daily continued.

Li reportedly “sought improper benefits in personnel arrangements” and took bribes, among other corrupt acts.

Wei, the outlet continued, reportedly “accepted gifts and money in violation of regulations, exploited his position to benefit others and accepted large sums of money, and is suspected of taking bribes.”

The accusations are notable given their similarity despite Wei holding the defense minister position for much longer – nearly five years from 2018 compared to Li, who took office in March and disappeared in December.

China Daily, citing the flagship Chinese government news agency Xinhua, declared the two officials apostates of communism, claiming they had “lost [their] faith and loyalty” in the Communist Party.

The U.S. outlet Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Friday that the criminal investigations appear to be part of a larger purge by Xi that included several other senior military leaders, including two generals with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force. The South China Morning Post listed “nine generals, including previous and serving commanders from the PLA Rocket Force and the air force as well as a number of CMC officials with the Equipment Development Department” purged in December.

More Than An Article This One Looks Like Coming From a Fantasy Videogame...

Maldives Arrests Climate Change Minister for Performing ‘Black Magic’ on President

The state minister at the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy for the Maldives, Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, was detained and suspended from her position on accusations of committing acts of “sorcery” on President Mohamed Muizzu, Maldivian outlets reported on Thursday.

The Maldivian newspaper the Edition reported on Friday that the national police service confirmed that Shamnaz and Minister at the President’s Office Adam Rameez had been suspended from those top government roles due to an ongoing investigation but did not clarify the nature of the probe. Accusations of “black magic” can result in serious legal consequences in the Maldives, an explicitly Islamist government in a majority Sunni Muslim country.

Some forms of indigenous magic practices are legal with a license, and witchcraft is not explicitly illegal but is considered a violation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Islamic leaders in the island nation have, for years, attempted to strengthen laws against sorcery, with minimal results.

A sorcery scandal rocking the highest levels of the Muizzu government follows a challenging time for Maldivian international relations, including high-profile feuds with Israel and the Maldives’ closest neighbor, India. The Muizzu government recently banned Israeli passport holders from entering the country in an attempt to protest Israel’s self-defense operations against the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas — a move officials later admitted could negatively affect “millions” of Arab Israelis with Israeli passports.

The Maldives also dramatically escalated what began as a benign tourism rivalry with India following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion that Indian nationals choose domestic beaches for their vacations over the Maldives. Various ministers in the Maldivian government responded with personal insults towards Modi, including deriding him as a “puppet of Israel.”

Multiple reports revealed on Friday the suspension of the climate change minister, who possesses outsized power in the Maldives as an island nation that prioritizes climate alarmism as a state policy. The Indian Hindustan Times reported on Friday that Shamnaz and Rameez were two of four people arrested on charges of “black magic” — specifically, “charges of using witchcraft, reportedly to get closer to Muizzu.”

“The incident came to light on June 23, following which the four accused were remanded in custody for seven days. On Wednesday, Shamnaz was suspended as the state minister at the ministry of environment, reported local media house Sun,” the Hindustan Times reported. It noted that Rameez is known to be close to Muizzu but disappeared from the public eye nearly half a year ago.

The Edition confirmed the suspensions of both officials with Muizzu’s office on Friday as the result of an unspecified “investigation.”

“However, the Maldives Police Service said on Wednesday that Shamnaz and two others, excluding Rameez, have been placed under arrest on charges of sorcery,” it added. “It is yet unclear whether Rameez is suspected of being an accomplice.”