News of the World

[kyonides]

The Coronation of King Charles III in Two Minutes

Officially ushering in the Caroline Era, Charles III was crowned as the King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms in the ancient Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday.

The 74-year-old King succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who herself was coronated in 1953, as the oldest person in history to ascend to the British throne after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in the nation’s history.

On a rainy day in London, King Charles III travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey by the Gold State Coach — which was originally built in 1762 — greeting his subjects along a Royal procession.

At the ancient abbey, the King took his solemn oath to rule the British people as a devoted servant with his hand on the Bible and was anointed with Holy oil blessed in Jerusalem. The British monarch was then presented with ceremonial items, such as the Jewelled Sword of Offering, which was presented to him by Lord President of the Council and Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt, the first woman to perform such an act in the history of the country.

Charles was crowned by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who placed the nearly four-century-old crown of St Edward upon the head of the monarch, proclaiming “God Save the King”.

NATO Believes Russia Has Already Set Explosives
on Europe’s Undersea Pipes, Cables

NATO leaders believe it is “obvious” why Russia has been showing such interest in the undersea infrastructure of European nations and there is suspicion that cables and pipes may already have been “mined”, a report claims.

Russian forces have mined European critical infrastructure with explosives, NATO leaders allegedly believe according to an establishment media report citing military insiders and an ongoing major investigation into Russian maritime activity by a group of Nordic broadcasters.

As previously reported, Russian seagoing assets — which are often ostensibly civilian ships allegedly giving cover to their activities — have been observed obsessively sailing around critical infrastructure. Essential equipment for keeping the modern world going, including high voltage electrical transmission cables, gas and oil pipelines, and internet data cables all cross the seabed floor and are said to have been objects of interest for these ships.
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A report in The Times claims NATO leaders think these expeditions have gone beyond mere reconnaissance and may have mined this infrastructure to explode on command, an ace in the sleeve in case the West becomes more directly involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

An unnamed NATO officer cited in the report is claimed to have said: “Why is there this Russian focus on undersea offshore infrastructure? The answer is obvious… If Russia attacks one of our power plants on land, that is war. If the Russians can sabotage one of our undersea pipelines or cables then — look at Nord Stream, we still do not know who did that — they can attack deniably.”

And how is it possible for them to know this but they still haven't done anything to prevent the Russians from planting all those explosives under water?

DW journalist Bülent Mumay sentenced in Turkey

A Turkish court handed a suspended prison sentence of one year and eight months to a Deutsche Welle journalist, the German broadcaster said on Saturday.

DW is appealing the verdict against Bülent Mumay, the coordinator of the broadcaster's office in Istanbul.

The Istanbul criminal court issued the sentence against Mumay on Friday for "spreading personal data" in a case brought forward by construction company Met-Gun Insaat.

The judge said Mumay posted information on his Twitter account in 2020 in violation of a court order.

Mumay had shared information about Met-Gun Insaat's links to the Istanbul Metropolitan Government's confiscated subway loans, which the company had sought to keep secret.
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"Those who are not ashamed to confiscate the people's money are now trying to imprison those who make this public," [Mumay] added.

Why the mafia loves Germany

Yes people, that is the actual heading of this news article.  

Coordinated raids against 'ndrangheta organized crime syndicate across Europe this week attracted international headlines and generated explosive insider stories about the details of the investigation. What the raids didn't do was surprise seasoned mafia investigators.
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Some 108 people were arrested in Italy and more than 30 more in Germany, following a more than three-year investigation called Operation Eureka into drug and arms trafficking. The 'ndrangheta, which has its origins in Italy's southern Calabria region and is one of the richest and most powerful crime groups in Europe, is said to have built up a worldwide money-laundering operation to hide the money.

For Reski, who has written several books about the Italian mafia, this week's arrests brought a certain gratification, as some of those arrested had sued and threatened her over her reporting. In some cases, German courts have forced her to redact some of her books about organized crime activities.

I thought DW was criticizing the Turkish regime for pretty much the same reason, but here they are...

Iran executes Swedish-Iranian dual national for 'terrorism'

Habib Chaab was convicted of "corruption on earth" for allegedly heading a rebel group and carrying out bombings, including one in Khuzestan in 2018. Sweden derided Iran's "inhumane" decision to execute him.
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Iranian agents arrested Cha'ab in 2020 when he left Sweden for Turkey, taking him to Tehran without disclosing any other details.

In 2022, Iran started his trial on the charges of leading the separatist Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz and plotting and carrying out "numerous bombings and terrorist operations." The separatist movement, born in a region of minorities who have long complained of marginalization, seeks a separate state in the oil-rich Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran.

Chaab was convicted of "corruption on earth" for heading the rebel group and sentenced to death on December 6 of last year.
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The Scandinavian nation condemned the execution with the rest of the European Union, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a tweet. "The death penalty is an inhumane and irreversible punishment and Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its application under all circumstances," it said.

 I do think that Americans and other allies condemned and executed some war criminals in the aftermath of WWII. So why would it be any different here? If the culprit is an actual terrorist, keeping him alive would be a terrible risk that can't be justified.

Of course, Tehran fears that the popular revolts against the government of the tyrannical ayatollahs might get out of control if such figures stay alive for the next couple of years or even months. As reported not long ago, one of the provincial ayatollahs was killed in dubious circumstances. (Meaning that Raisi didn't want to admit that the people got fed up with their extremist policies.)

Iran expels four Azerbaijani diplomats

Iran expelled four Azerbaijani diplomats on 5 May, naming them “persona non grata.” The move was a response to Baku’s decision to expel Iranian diplomats from its territory in early April, Al-Mayadeen reported.
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Recent weeks have seen tensions between Baku and Tehran escalate, with Iran accusing its northern neighbor of fueling a hostile media campaign against it, and asking Azerbaijani officials for clarification on their country’s hostile cooperation with Israel.

Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Gihon Bayramov, the development of bilateral relations between Tehran and Baku, as well as other regional issues.

Amir-Abdollahian told his Azerbaijani counterpart that “enemies are the only beneficiaries of the differences of regional countries,” referring to “the conspiracy of the Zionist entity against the unity, security and progress of the countries of the region.”

Though Israel and Azerbaijan have had relations for 30 years, cooperation between the two countries in the economic and security spheres has intensified recently.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Baku last month, following the opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel for the first time earlier this year.

Israel views such cooperation as crucial, as it hopes to use Azerbaijan as a base for destabilizing the country’s fellow Shia neighbor, Iran.

 Did I say anything about the Iranian regime fearing what might happen in the not so far future?

Iran, Syria vow continued strengthening of ties

Syria and the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a joint statement on 5 May, which praised the expansion of ties between the two countries, and called for a continuation of the fight against extremism, Iranian media reported.

The statement marked the end of the two-day visit by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to Syria, which was the first visit by an Iranian president to the country in 13 years.
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It also emphasized the importance of developing commercial and economic relations, as well as bilateral cooperation regarding the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria.

This was represented in the many agreements signed between the two countries during Raisi’s meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which included an agreement on the launching of a jointly-run bank and insurance company, aimed at offering services to businesses involved in Syrian-Iranian trade, Press TV reported.

The statement went on to express “satisfaction with joint cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism,” calling for a continuation of these efforts with the goal of achieving “the ultimate destruction of all terrorist groups.”

 Then why don't you just stop funding Hezbollah for starters?