News of the World

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USA

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Russia Fears Trump's Return

WSJ: Fear of Trump Prompted Russia to Speed Up Prisoner Swap

Russia became more interested in a prisoner swap with the United States after it became clear that Donald Trump could return to the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal, whose reporter, Evan Gerskovich, was freed.

The Journal noted Saturday that “Moscow’s concerns about a potential Trump presidency speeded up the deal.”

It added:

The German negotiation team was led by the deputy chief of the foreign secret service BND Philipp Wolff, a former prosecutor who joined the intelligence agency in 2007.

Wolff’s team saw an opening when their Russian counterparts said they wanted to wrap up the deal before the U.S. election in November. Some officials deduced that the Russians were either concerned about an unpredictable Donald Trump coming again to the presidency, or they feared that [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz would no longer be willing to help a president who rarely misses an opportunity to criticize Germany.

At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month, Trump notably said: “And to the entire world, I tell you this, we want our hostages back — and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.”

Trump has prided himself on freeing Americans held abroad without being forced into lopsided exchanges such as those the Biden administration has accepted — and which, critics say, provide incentives for more hostage-taking in future.

In 2018, Turkey released Ameican pastor Andrew Brunson after Trump threatened to hit the Turkish economy with tough economic sanctions.

Russia may have preferred to negotiate with the more pliant Biden administration, which had shown its willingness in the past to trade valuable, even dangerous, convicts for Americans held abroad.

The Biden prisoner swap still left many Americans behind in Russian prisons, the Journal noted separately.

The Squad Got Sued

Students Hit Leftist ‘Squad’ Members with Lawsuit for ‘Inciting’ Anti-Israel Protests at Columbia University

Some leftist members of the “Squad” in Congress are facing a class-action lawsuit regarding the anti-Israel encampment and protests that erupted at Columbia University a few months ago.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) have been accused of “inciting and encouraging” the events, the New York Post reported on Saturday.

The outlet continued:

The trio of radical Democrats were among the “outside champions” who also slammed law enforcement for breaking up the hateful demonstrations — which included masked protesters taking over a campus quad, chanting “Free Palestine!” and burning an Israeli flag and throwing rocks — resulting in the violent April 30 takeover of the school’s Hamilton Hall, according to court papers.

Five anonymous students made the filing that also targets several activist groups. They called the encampment illegal and claimed it violated the university’s rules.

“Its occupants harassed, followed, physically blocked, intimidated, and bullied Jewish students,” the document read. According to the Post, two of the five students are Jewish.

In May, Jewish students at Columbia University wrote an open letter in defense of Israel following the protests, Breitbart News reported at the time.

“The letter not only celebrated Israel’s defense of Jewish people but also it being a democracy in the Middle East that also serves as home to Muslims and Christians. It concluded with a call for peace and understanding,” the article said.

The outlet reported on May 31 that anti-Israel protesters again set up an encampment at the university after the New York City Police Department (NYPD) conducted a raid.

Texan Woman Arrested

Police: TX Woman Accused of Threatening Trump Arrested Near White House with Unlicensed Firearm

A woman from San Antonio, Texas, was arrested Friday in Washington, DC, for allegedly threatening former President Donald Trump, the news coming after a gunman tried to assassinate him during his rally on July 13.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the agency received information about the suspect, identified as Christina Montoya, who had apparently traveled to the nation’s capital, where police found an unlicensed firearm and a magazine on her, KENS 5 reported on Friday. However, Trump was reportedly in the Hamptons to meet with donors the day of the woman’s arrest.

The type of threats she allegedly made against Trump were unclear, the outlet said, adding, “It’s also unknown the timeline of when she allegedly made them in the context of her Friday arrest, but the police report lists an ‘offense start date’ of July 20, 2024.”

“According to a police report, MPD arrested Montoya less than a mile from Capitol Hill and about three miles from the White House. She had the gun and a magazine on her at the time, authorities say,” the KENS 5 article stated.

Following the failed assassination attempt during his outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump credited God for his survival while speaking at another rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, according to Breitbart News.

Trump described the Secret Service agents who protected him once the apparent shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire, calling the agents “brave.”

Kamala's Husband Cheated on Her

Doug Emhoff Acknowledges Affair with Nanny

Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, acknowledged that he had cheated on his first wife, film producer Kerstin Emhoff, with their children’s nanny, adding that he “took responsibility” for his actions.

In a statement to CNN, Emhoff acknowledged that he and Kerstin had gone “through some tough time” due to his “actions,” but that they had dealt with things “as a family” and were now stronger.

Emhoff’s statement comes after a report from the DailyMail claimed that Emhoff had an affair with the couple’s nanny, Najen Naylor, 47, and allegedly got her pregnant.

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions,” Emhoff said in his statement. “I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.

The outlet claimed that a “close friend” who had known about the affair and the alleged pregnancy said that Naylor did not end up keeping the baby.

Upon being approached by the outlet at her home in the Hamptons, Naylor reportedly told the outlet that she was “kind of freaked out right now” and did not comment on the story.

At the time of the affair, Naylor had worked as a teaching assistant and teacher at the Willows Community School in Culver City, California, as well as a nanny for Emhoff’s daughter, Ella. The school, which consists of kindergarten through eighth grade, has tuition prices that run from $32,525 to $41,535, according to the school’s website.

Stacey Brooks, another friend of Naylor’s, who gave birth to twin boys around the same time that Naylor would have been expecting her child, reportedly also confirmed the affair and the pregnancy, but would not provide additional details without consent from Naylor, according to the outlet.

The outlet reported that Naylor’s Facebook shows a video with three babies, Sawyer, George, and Brook. Sawyer and George are reportedly Brooks’ children who were born in July 2009, while it is uncertain whose child the third baby is, according to the outlet.

Another friend of Naylor’s reportedly dismissed claims that Naylor had been pregnant, stating that “There was no baby.”

WH's Election Ploy

ELECTION PLOY: Biden-Harris Border Numbers Fall to Trump-Era Levels for 1st Time, 3 Months Before Vote

Following a series of election-year gambits, Border Patrol reports show that migrant apprehensions along the southwest border fell to Trump-era levels for the first time since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office in 2021. According to an unofficial Border Patrol report reviewed by Breitbart Texas, the number of agents encountered fell to just over 56,000 during July.

In February 2021, the first full month of the Biden-Harris administration, agents encountered 97,643 migrants who illegally crossed the southwest U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry, according to official U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports. From there, the numbers continued to increase, peaking at 249,741 in December 2023. At that point, the Biden-Harris administration entered into an agreement with Mexico to reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. southern border during the months leading up to presidential elections in both countries, Breitbart Texas reported.

“Executive action and diplomatic efforts resulted in the current slowing in border crossings, not a big surprise,” a source operating within CBP told Breitbart Texas. “We know consequences work. Sadly, it’s an election year stunt and a charade that will end if this same administration wins in November.”

Late in December, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary traveled to Mexico to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), Breitbart News reported.

The article states that the Mexican president hinted to the U.S. delegation that he would reduce migrant crossings into the U.S. if President Joe Biden provided more aid and support to Latin American dictators. Reports from Mexico indicate AMLO wanted increased support for Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

An unofficial Border Patrol report reveals that agents encountered just over 56,000 migrants illegally crossing the border between ports of entry in July. This is the lowest number since September 2020, when agents encountered 54,771.

The busiest of the nine southwest border sectors in July were San Diego (just over 15,000), Tucson (nearly 12,000), and El Paso (nearly 12,000).

Following dropping approval ratings for President Biden and Vice President Harris on the topic of immigration and border security and a meeting between the Mexican president and two Biden administration cabinet members, actions taken by the Mexican government led to a drop of more than 125,000 migrant apprehensions in January. Apprehensions from nearly a quarter-million migrants in December to 124,215. As a point of reference, the largest number of migrants encountered during the Trump administration came in May 2019 when agents apprehended 132,856 migrants.

The July encounters report (approximately 56,000) reveals the lowest number of apprehensions during the Biden-Harris administration. In contrast, the lowest number of migrant encounters during the Trump era came in April 2020, when agents apprehended only 16,182 migrants.

A CBP official told Breitbart Texas in February that Mexico’s efforts are not a long-term fix to the problem. “The migrants are just being delayed from reaching the U.S. border,” the source stated. The migrants are being moved further south, delaying their efforts to reach their goal of seeking asylum in the U.S.”

Secret Service Knew of an "Issue"

Rowe Says Before the Shooting, Secret Service Knew of an ‘Issue’ to Trump’s Right

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe on Friday admitted that at the July 13 campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, the Secret Service was aware that local law enforcement was “working an issue” off to Trump’s right — where the shots would come from — but still could not explain how they missed the shooter until he fired.

During a press briefing, Rowe told reporters that all Secret Service members present at the rally knew was that “locals were working in issue at the President’s three o’clock — which would have been off to his right which is where the shot came from.”

He also said, “Our detail, our counter snipers, everyone that was there that day, were operating under the assumption, [and] under the last bit of information they received that there was an issue that the locals were working at the three o’clock. That’s the bit of information that we had, not anything about a weapon.”

However, Rowe could not explain why — knowing there was an issue at Trump’s right — Secret Service were still not able to stop Crooks sooner. Rowe said a Secret Service counter-sniper fired at Crooks fifteen-and-a-half seconds after Crooks began firing.

A recently released video recorded by one of the injured victims at the rally obtained by Fox News showed Crooks running atop the roof, clearly visible from where he was sitting behind Trump.

Asked about the video, Rowe did not explain how the Secret Service missed Crooks.

“As far as the timeline of him running back and forth, I know the FBI has provided a bit of a chronology as well. And so I’d have to go back and look at that. But the bottom line is…this was a Secret Service failure. That roofline should have been covered. We should have had better eyes on that,” he said.

Rowe claimed at the briefing that Secret Service never saw Crooks on the rooftop “with a firearm” until he fired at Trump, but did not specify when exactly they first saw Crooks.

Earlier this week, Rowe told Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) at a hearing that Secret Service did not see Crooks on the rooftop at all — with or without a firearm — until he fired at Trump.

However, ABC News reported on July 18 that Secret Service had seen Crooks on the rooftop 20 minutes before he fired at Trump.

Senator Hawley Makes a Bold Claim

Hawley: Secret Service Whistleblower Alleges Retaliation Against Those Voicing Trump Event Security Concerns

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Thursday revealed a Secret Service whistleblower alleged Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe made cuts to personnel who could have helped prevent an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and that there was retaliation against those who expressed concerns about security at Trump events.

In an August 1, 2024, letter to Rowe, Hawley said a whistleblower alleged that the agency’s Counter Surveillance Division (CSD) did not perform its typical evaluation of the site of Trump’s July 13 campaign rally and was not present at the rally.

“This is significant because CSD’s duties include evaluating potential security threats outside the security perimeter and mitigating those threats during the event,” Hawley said.

“The whistleblower claims that if personnel from CSD had been present at the rally, the gunman would have been handcuffed in the parking lot after being spotted with a rangefinder,” he added.

Hawley also said the whistleblower alleged that CSD could have flagged or mitigated the risk of leaving the building where a shooter fired at Trump from outside the Secret Service’s perimeter.

Hawley said the whistleblower alleged that Rowe “personally directed significant cuts to CSD” that included reducing the division’s manpower by 20 percent, and noted that Rowe did not mention this during his testimony to the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday.

Furthermore, Hawley said the whistleblower alleged retaliation against those within the Secret Service who expressed concern about security at Trump events.

“The whistleblower claims that following an event with the former President at a golf tournament in August of last year, Secret Service personnel present expressed serious concern that the Secret Service’s use of local law enforcement was not adequate for security needs: local law enforcement were not properly trained for the event or otherwise prepared to execute the tasks given them,” Hawley said.

“Further, Secret Service personnel expressed alarm that individuals were admitted to the event without vetting. The whistleblower alleges that those who raised such concerns were retaliated against,” he added.

Hawley asked Rowe for all records by August 8 relating to policy and personnel changes made to the CSD, and his personal involvement in changing or revising those policies, as well as the number of Secret Service agents facing disciplinary actions after raising concerns about Secret Service security practices.

Hawley additionally sought the exact breakdown of Secret Service personnel at the July 13 rally by division or unit.

RFK Jr, a Bear & NYC Central Park

Watch: RFK Jr. Admits to Dumping a Dead Bear in NYC’s Central Park, Staging a Bicycle Accident

Third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) released a bizarre video on Sunday in which he admitted to dumping a dead bear cub in New York City’s Central Park and staging it to look like it had been hit by a cyclist.

Kennedy released the video on X to stay ahead of an upcoming piece in the New Yorker about the incident. As noted by the San Francisco Chronicle, the female black bear was “discovered in bushes and partially covered by a bicycle in October 2014, prompting an investigation into the circumstances that never revealed answers, at least publicly, until Sunday.”

In the video, Kennedy spoke with Roseanne Barr about dumping the bear, saying he scooped the animal up after witnessing a woman hit it with her van. While laughing, Kennedy said he hoped to skin the bear and later eat it. However, as the hours passed, he ran out of time and devised a plan to abandon the bear in Central Park alongside an old bicycle he had in his van. At the time, the city had been dealing with an uptick in bicycle accidents.

“The next day, it was on every television station,” Kennedy told Barr. “Luckily, the story died down after a while.”

The bizarre confession follows another bizarre story in which he was alleged to have eaten a barbecued dog. He denied it. Last month, Vanity Fair released a detailed profile on Kennedy, publishing explosive allegations about his personal and political life, chief among them being the claim he ate a dog while visiting South Korea. Per the report:

Last year Robert Kennedy Jr. texted a photograph to a friend. In the photo RFK Jr. was posing, alongside an unidentified woman, with the barbecued remains of what appears to be a dog. Kennedy told the person, who was traveling to Asia, that he might enjoy a restaurant in Korea that served dog on the menu, suggesting Kennedy had sampled dog. The photo was taken in 2010, according to the digital file’s metadata—the same year he was diagnosed with a dead tapeworm in his brain. (A veterinarian who examined the photograph says the carcass is a canine, pointing to the 13 pairs of ribs, which include the tell-tale “floating rib” found in dogs.)

More Pro-Palestine Protests on the Horizon

September Surprise: Pro-Palestinian Protests to Resume When School Is Back in Session

Anti-Israel protesters who started encampments and protests on college and university campuses in the spring say that protests will resume for the fall semester.

Students will “continue their activism” in both “conventional and unconventional ways” as protesters continue to push their universities and colleges to divest from Israel and end academic ties with Israeli institutions, among other things, several pro-Palestinian protesters explained to the Hill.

This comes after anti-Israel protesters set up encampments on college and university campuses such as Columbia University, Rutgers University, George Washington University, and Harvard University, among many others.

“What we will see [is] the students will continue their activism, will continue doing what they’ve done in conventional and unconventional ways,” Mahmoud Khalil told the outlet. Khalil had worked as a negotiator for the protesters at Columbia University.

Khalil added that students will not only organize protests and set up encampments, but will take “any available means necessary” to push Columbia University to divest from Israel.

Anti-Israel encampments began popping up on college and university campuses throughout the United States after an initial encampment at Columbia University was established on April 17. While the university removed the encampment, it later returned.

Protesters at the universities issued a varying list of demands, such as calling for their universities to divest from Israeli companies, full amnesty for protesters who were either suspended or arrested for their involvement in the protests or encampments, and the end of study abroad programs and academic ties to Israel.

Zainab Chaudry, who serves as a spokeswoman and the Maryland Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Hill that protesters were discussing how they could “continue to advocate” and raise awareness for “Palestinian human rights and genocide” occurring in Gaza.

“There’s definitely conversations happening regarding how they can continue to advocate, to raise awareness about Palestinian human rights and genocide that’s happening in Gaza,” Chaudry explained.

Why's Kamala Afraid of Facing Trump on TV?

Kamala Harris Refuses Fox News Sept. 4 Debate with Donald Trump in Pennsylvania

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday refused to debate former President Donald Trump September 4 on Fox News, demanding the debate take place September 10 on ABC News.

Political insiders perceive ABC News as an ally of the Democrat party, although Fox News has not generally been pro-Trump, especially since Paul Ryan, former speaker of the House, became a member of the Fox Corporation Board of Directors.

“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out. He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told Newsweek.

“The Vice President will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience. We’re happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to. Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” he added.

Late Friday, Trump said he agreed to debate Harris on Fox News on September 4. “The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant,” he posted on Truth Social.

“The FoxNews Debate will be held in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at a site in an area to be determined,” he continued. “The Moderators of the Debate will be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and the Rules will be similar to the Rules of my Debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his Party – BUT WITH A FULL ARENA AUDIENCE!”

President Joe Biden and Trump previously agreed to debate on September 10, but after Biden dropped out of the race, Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director, said on July 25 the event was scuttled.

“[It] would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds,” he said at the time.

Chinese Intruder Arrested at Mar-a-Lago

Police: Chinese Citizen Trespassed at Mar-a-Lago, Claimed CCP Has Ties to Trump Assassination Attempt

A Chinese national has been arrested after allegedly trying to enter Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida club, while claiming to have documents that tie China to the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.

Police said Zijie Li, of El Monte, California, attempted to get into the property on multiple occasions between July 19 and July 30, Fox News reported:

Li’s first of several attempts to reach Mar-a-Lago was… July 19, when Li reportedly drove up to the estate’s main entrance on South Ocean Boulevard in a gray Toyota Prius and told Secret Service agents that he had documents showing China was involved in the attempted assassination, according to an arrest report obtained by the Palm Beach Post.

…

Agents then reportedly told Li that he was trespassing and was not allowed on the property and the Palm Beach Police Department issued him a written warning, the report said. Police also told Li that he was not permitted to return to Mar-a-Lago, and if he did, he would be arrested.

Li’s next visit to Palm Beach was July 22, where footage from town security cameras showed that he drove east and then west again over the Royal Park Bridge twice, first in the morning and then in the afternoon, the arrest report said.

While Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago on Li’s July 19 visit, he was there when the man was seen driving on the Royal Park Bridge, which connects the club and other locations on the beach to the mainland.

On July 30, Li was seen once again while driving toward the club’s security checkpoint, leading to another police confrontation where an officer noticed that Mar-a-Lago’s address was loaded into the alleged trespasser’s GPS directions, the arrest report stated.

The police let Li go and he left town, but Fox News reported that it was “less than an hour later when his car was spotted south of Mar-a-Lago on South Ocean Boulevard.”

Palm Beach Police and Secret Service agents again told him not to return to Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Li was finally arrested the next day, Wednesday, at an intersection near the club after he again returned, according to the outlet.

Trump was not on the property at the time.

Li is now facing a misdemeanor trespassing charge, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Jail records obtained by the outlet revealed that Li’s arrest was the first one related to security at Mar-a-Lago since the Butler, Pennsylvania Trump rally shooting, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots at the former president and injured his ear, two of his supporters, and killed another.

Li’s next court appearance is scheduled to take place on Monday. He was still in the Palm Beach County Jail on Thursday morning on a $3,000 bond, court records viewed by the local publication showed.

The contents of the mysterious documents the alleged trespasser claimed to have not been publicly released.

EUROPE

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England Has Serious Issues with Rioters & Migration

England Anti-Migration Rioters Storm ‘Migrant Hotel’ in Grooming Gang Hotspot Rotherham

As the anti-immigration protests and riots in England entered their fifth day on Saturday, hundreds of people surrounded a believed migrant hotel in Rotherham, setting fire to the building and clashing with police.

Anti-immigration protesters descended upon the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire on Sunday afternoon as nationwide unrest continues in the wake of the killing of three young British girls at a children’s dance party in Southport by an alleged Rwandan-heritage teenager.

The hotel, which has previously seen protests against housing supposed asylum seekers — many likely illegal boat migrants — at taxpayer expense. According to The Telegraph, the crowd could be heard chanting “Get them out”.

Footage posted on social media showed rioters throwing fire extinguishers and other objects at the retreating lines of police, while others were seen breaking into the hotel, which had partially been set on fire.

It comes as nationwide protest and riots broke out across the country on Saturday, many of which occurred in working-class, deep strongholds of the Labour Party such as Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester.

Rotherham, also a Labour stronghold, is best known internationally for the infamous grooming gang scandal, in which at least 1,400 girls — some as young as nine — were groomed by Pakistani child rape gangs for years as the local Labour council and other officials turned a blind eye to the abuse over fears of being seen as racist.

The protests have become the first major crisis for recently-elected Labour Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer, who has faced heavy criticism for failing to take control of the situation.

Amid the power vacuum, there have been increasing calls from the left for a radical response. For example, Lord Walney, the government’s independent adviser on political violence, has suggested that coronavirus-style lockdown measures could be put in place to quell the riots.

England on the Brink: Starmer Vows Swift Action Against Anti-Immigration ‘Extremists’, Gov’t Advisor Backs Covid-Style Lockdowns to Stop Riots

British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has vowed that police have his full support in taking on “extremists” as anti-mass migration protests and riots have broken out across the United Kingdom following the mass stabbing at a children’s dance party in Southport earlier this week.

Facing a full-blown crisis less than one month into office, recently elected leftist Prime Minister Starmer gathered top cabinet ministers on Saturday as unrest erupted in dozens of towns and cities throughout the UK, in many cases in typical Labour Party strongholds in the north of England, in response to the slaying of three young girls and the stabbing of eight others, including children, allegedly by a 17-year-old Rwandan-heritage second-generation immigrant on Monday.

The Guardian, citing the far-left Hope Not Hate organisation, reported that an estimated 35 locations had been scheduled to see protests on Saturday, some of which saw violent clashes between participants and the police, as well as attacks on businesses, particularly in Belfast, Hull, Liverpool, and Manchester. According to The Telegraph, at least 90 arrests were made throughout the country on Sunday.

A Downing Street spokesman told the paper: “The prime minister set out that the police have our full support to take action against extremists on our streets who are attacking police officers, disrupting local businesses and attempting to sow hate by intimidating communities.

“The prime minister ended by saying the right to freedom of expression and the violent disorder we have seen are two very different things. He said there is no excuse for violence of any kind and reiterated that the government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”

The hardline rhetoric from the left-wing PM, who has characterised the protests and riots as “far-right,”  on the outpouring of rage and violence has been contrasted to his response during the deadly and deeply destructive Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, when he infamously took the knee in solidarity with the Marxist movement and described those involved as “people rightly demanding justice”.

The government has also faced criticism for refusing to discuss footage posted on social media appearing to show violent responses from large groups of Muslim or leftist counter protesters.

Belgian Team Withdraws from Olympics

Belgium Withdraws From Olympic Triathlon Event After Athlete Who Swam in Seine River Falls Ill

Belgium’s Olympic committee announced Sunday that it would withdraw its team from the mixed relay triathlon at the Paris Olympics after one of its competitors who swam in the Seine River fell ill.

Claire Michel, who competed in the women’s triathlon Wednesday, “is unfortunately ill and will have to withdraw from the competition,” the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee said in a statement.

The mixed relay triathlon is scheduled to take place Monday, with the swim portion of the competition slated for the Seine as well.

The statement did not elaborate on Michel’s illness but it comes after concerns over the river’s water quality.

Did Ukraine Sink a Sub?

Ukraine Long-Range Strikes Sink Russian Submarine, Hit Airfield

Ukraine has sunk a Russian submarine and hit a Russian airfield in the past 24 hours, in line with a surge of long-range attacks against Russian targets, officials said. Russia said Ukrainian drones also hit an apartment building, killing one person.

The uptick in attacks since July come as Ukraine mounts pressure on allies to allow it to use long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia. Western allies, in particular the U.S., have so far resisted, fearing escalation from Moscow.

Ukraine struck a Russian Kilo-class submarine and an S-400 anti aircraft missile complex in the Moscow-occupied Crimean peninsula, according to a statement from the General Staff on Saturday. The air defense system was established to protect the Kerch Strait Bridge, an important logistics and transport hub supplying Russian forces.

Units of the missile forces, as well as the Navy damaged four launchers of the Triumph air defense system, while in the port of Sevastopol, the “Rostov-on-Don” – a submarine of Russia´s Black Sea fleet – was attacked and sank, the statement said.

The General Staff also confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region after launching a massive drone barrage on Russia. Hits were recorded in warehouses with ammunition, where guided aerial bombs were stored. The operation was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine, the Main Directorate of Intelligence and the Defense Ministry, the statement said.