News of the World

[kyonides]

MIDDLE EAST

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Cameron on Israel & Iran

David Cameron Arrives in Israel to (Again) Urge Restraint Against Iran

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron arrived in Israel on Wednesday for talks where he is expected to repeat his warning against any  response to the recent missile attack by Iran.

Lord Cameron will meet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has vowed to retaliate to Iran’s weekend attack.

As Breitbart News reported, the state-on-state strike by more than 300 missiles and drones from Iran caused only modest damage in Israel as most were shot down by its Iron Dome defence system and with help from the U.S., Britain, France and Jordan.

The BBC reports the UK’s most senior diplomatic envoy will push Israel to reign in the scope and scale of its response over fears it could lead to a wider war across the Middle East, repeating a previous message to the Jewish state not to resort to force.

He called on Israel’s government to be “smart as well as tough.”

Speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, Lord Cameron said he was there to “show solidarity after that appalling attack by Iran,” adding:

It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act. We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible. And in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough.

But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza.

Biden "Prevented" Israel From Invading Haifa...

Biden Claims He Prevented Israel from Invading Haifa — an Israeli City

President Joe Biden appeared to confuse the Israeli port city of Haifa with the Palestinian town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip during an interview on Wednesday in his home town Scranton, Pennsylvania.

In video circulated by the Republican National Committee — but evidently cut from the version of the interview that  eventually aired on TV stations — Biden claimed credit for having pressured Israel not to launch an attack on its own city:

The president was apparently trying to claim credit for pressuring Israel, in response to a question about how he had responded to anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters who have followed him for months.

Biden has tried to pressure Israel not to enter Rafah, a city in Gaza on the Egyptian border that is thought to be the location of the last Hamas battalions, and the remaining Israeli hostages.
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Israel has said it will invade Rafah to destroy the remnants of Hamas, and that it has prepared a plan to evacuate the Palestinian civilians from elsewhere in Gaza who have taken refuge in the city.

The Israeli government reiterated Thursday to Breitbart News that it had set a date for its attack on Rafah, though it did not say when that would happen.

Iran Claims Biden Admin Lying About Being Warned of Israel Missile Attack

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told regime media on Thursday that Tehran “told the Americans in messages clearly” that the rogue terrorist regime would bomb Israel this weekend.

“We told the Americans in messages clearly that the decision taken by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council headed by the president to punish the Zionist regime [Israel] was definite and final” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Amir-Abdollahian as saying, “and after the punitive action (Operation True Promise), approximately at 2:30 am on Sunday of this week, we sent another message to the United States through diplomatic channels mentioning that we are not looking for the escalation of tension in the region.”

Amir-Abdollahian reportedly made the comments in New York, where he arrived on Thursday to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting.

The foreign minister’s claim, which he also reportedly made on Sunday, contradicts statements by members of the administration of leftist President Joe Biden, who have insisted that they did not receive and forewarning of Iran’s attack and calling such reports “ridiculous.”

Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday, launching over 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at its neighbor. The Islamist regime claimed that the attack was a necessary response to an airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that eliminated seven senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Israel is widely believed to have orchestrated the strike but has not taken responsibility for the action.

Israel Strikes Iran Near Nuclear Sites

Reports emerged early Friday morning local time that Israel had attacked several Iranian sites — including targets near the suspected locations of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Israel’s Army Radio reported at 5:00 a.m. local time that ABC News had identified Israeli strikes near the town of Isfahan, Iran, as well as in locations in Syria and Iraq.

The Times of Israel reported:

Iran’s Fars news agency says that explosions have been heard near the airport at the country’s central Isfahan city, but the reason is unknown.

“The cause of these sounds is still unknown, and investigations continue until the exact details of the incident are determined,” the semi-official Fars news agency says.

Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Speculation mounted on social media that the Syrian and Iraqi targets were linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the external terrorist wing of the Iranian military.

The Israeli strikes apparently came in response to a massive Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend. Though the attack was largely intercepted by Israeli and allied air defenses, it marked the first such direct attack by Iran against Israel from Iranian territory.

Israel had promised that if any attack originated from within Iran, Israel would respond with attacks inside Iran.

Israel has also long considered a strike against Iran’s nuclear program, with or without the support of the United States.

The Iranian regime is not thought to have significant air defenses. Dr. Shay Har-Zvi of the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS) at Reichman University told Breitbart News on Thursday during a press briefing that Iran’s air defenses, which had been supplied from Russia, did not yet include the latest generation, the S-400.

He agreed that Russian-Iranian cooperation might lend urgency to an Israeli response to Iran, because Israel knew it would have a limited window in which to strike back before Russia supplied more advanced air defense systems to Iran. He added that Russia was unlikely to be willing to become directly in a confrontation between Iran and Israel.

Hezbollah Kills Muslims in Israel

Hezbollah Drone Hurts 7 [now 13] in Muslim Arab Village in Northern Israel

The pattern of Islamic terrorists hurting fellow Arabs and Muslims continues, with seven residents of the Bedouin Arab town of Arab Al-Aramshe in northern Israel hurt by a Hezbollah drone attack on Wednesday.

The Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist army has fired rockets, drones, and anti-tank missiles sporadically at northern Israel since October, when Hamas — another Iranian-backed terrorist army — attacked Israel on October 7.

The Times of Israel reports:

At least seven people were wounded as an apparent drone fired from Lebanon struck a community center in the northern border village of Arab al-Aramshe on Wednesday, medics and the military said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that two of the victims were listed in serious condition. Another person was moderately hurt, and four others were in good condition, MDA said.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a building used by the Israeli military with guided missiles and explosive-laden drones.

Typically, warning sirens provide residents with 15 to 30 seconds to seek shelter. On this occasion, there were no sirens, according to the Times of Israel.

As in the Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend, whose only casualty was a severely injured Bedouin Arab Muslim girl, the victims of Iran and its proxies are not limited to Israeli Jews.

Breitbart News was near Arab Al-Aramshe on Monday, in the nearby Israeli community of Shlomi, several miles to the west, whose residents have largely been evacuated since the start of the war.

Update: Israel’s Army Radio reported that the number of wounded had been raised to 13, and that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had returned fire at Hezbollah positions.

Palestinians Hit the Beach

PHOTOS: Palestinians Hit the Beach in Gaza

Palestinians have been flocking to the beach in Gaza this week, as temperatures soared and families took advantage of a lull in fighting in most of the area.

Israel pulled out its ground forces from southern Gaza earlier this month, leaving one brigade in control of an access road that divides the northern and southern Gaza Strip. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers have continued to attack Hamas in targeted operations, but most areas of Gaza are enjoying calm.

At the same time, Israeli authorities — urged by the U.S. — are accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. There is so much food entering Gaza that the prices of commodities like flour and eggs have collapsed.

Though aid organizations and foreign critics of Israel continue to warn about “famine,” there is evidence of plenty in the Gaza Strip. The IDF unit known as COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) posted photographs of markets in Gaza brimming with fruit, vegetables, and other food items for sale.

As images of Gazans at the beach circulated on social media, many pro-Israel voices pointed to the photos as evidence that there is no “famine” or “genocide” in Gaza.

Qatar The Mediator & The Victim

Qatar Claims to Begin ‘Re-Evaluation’ of Israel-Hamas Mediation, Citing ‘Abuse’

A senior official in the government of Qatar told reporters Wednesday that the country is reconsidering acting as a mediator for talks between its neighbor Israel and Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization whose leaders live lavishly in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani reportedly said that Doha is mulling an exit from the talks, meant to find an agreement to free an estimated 133 hostages still in Hamas custody in exchange for Israel stopping its self-defense operations in the Hamas stronghold of Gaza, due to “abuse” from unnamed politicians.

Hamas took an estimated 250 hostages during its unprecedented, savage siege of Israel on October 7, in which Hamas terrorists also killed about 1,200 people and engaging in gruesome acts of infanticide, abuse of corpses, rape, and more. Much of the Middle East rallied around Hamas following the attack, claiming it was just retribution for Israel’s “occupation” of its sovereign territory.

Among the most belligerent parties was state sponsor of terrorism Iran, one of Hamas’s top sources of revenue, which launched an unprecedented, but failed, missile and drone assault against Israel this weekend. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made one of his first phone calls following the attack to the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Prime Minister al-Thani told reporters in Doha that the Qataris felt disrespected in the talks between Hamas and Israel.

“Qatar is in the process of a complete re-evaluation of its role,” the prime minister reportedly said.

“There is exploitation and abuse of the Qatari role,” he continued, according to the Times of Israel, and accused unnamed “politicians” of “trying to conduct election campaigns by slighting the State of Qatar.”

The Saudi outlet al-Arabiya quoted al-Thani as saying that Qatari was disappointed by the “misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests, and this necessitated Qatar to undertake a full evaluation of this role.”

The Qatari government often identifies any criticism of its policies as victimizing and abuse. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which Qatar hosted despite international condemnation by human rights experts, Emir al-Thani claimed his country was facing an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism in bad faith, built on “fabrications and double standards.” In reality, condemnation of Qatar was based on years of evidence that it had used slave workers to build World Cup facilities, its long history of human rights abuses against suspected gay people, and its complete lack of free speech or other basic civil liberties.

Prime Minister al-Thani had lamented on Wednesday before the announcement that Doha was reconsidering participating in the talks that negotiations between Israel and Hamas were “stalling.”

Erdogan & Haniyeh

Hamas Chief to Visit NATO Ally Turkey, Erdogan Reveals in Anti-Israel Diatribe

Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in a speech to members of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Wednesday that he will host Hamas “political” leader Ismail Haniyeh this weekend in Turkey.

The visit will following a reported meeting between Haniyeh and Erdogan’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in Qatar on Tuesday.

Erdogan used his speech – which reports indicate was interrupted by cheers of “death to Israel” – to reiterate his false claim that Hamas “is not a terrorist organization” and compare the jihadists to the fighters that established the Republic of Turkey in the early 20th century. Erdogan notably referred to Haniyeh as “the leader of the Palestinian cause” in his remarks, in apparent dismissal of the Palestinian Authority and its elderly leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and of rival jihadist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hamas, a jihadist terror organization bankrolled by state sponsor of terrorism Iran, controls the territory of Gaza but its elite leaders, such as Haniyeh, live in luxury in Doha, Qatar, receiving safe haven alongside the leaders of similar terrorist organizations from the government there.

Erdogan is one of Hamas’s most vocal supporters on the international stage, complicating Turkey’s close relationship to Israel’s top ally America. Turkey is a member of the NATO alliance, meaning America is treaty-bound to defend Turkey from any foreign invasion if it invokes Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and vice versa. Despite being a member of a largely Western alliance, Turkey has enthusiastically supported Hamas in the aftermath of its harrowing October 7 siege of Israel, in which Hamas terrorists butchered entire families in their homes and engaged in torture, gang rape, and other atrocities.
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In his remarks on Wednesday, Erdogan boasted that he would “be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people … as long as God grants me life.” He accused Israel of engaging in “massacres” during its self-defense operations in Gaza following October 7 while simultaneously defending Hamas, the group responsible for the slaughter that necessitated Israel’s Gaza incursion.

“When no one else would speak, we stood up and said: ‘Hamas is not a terrorist organization, but a resistance group,” Erdogan said proudly, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency.

“I will host the leader of the Palestinian cause at the weekend. We will discuss a number of issues,” Erdogan promised, apparently referring to Haniyeh.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Haniyeh had met with Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister, on Tuesday in anticipation of his visit. The news outlet claimed the two discussed “humanitarian aid to Gaza, ceasefire efforts and talks on hostages.” While a close ally of the Turkish authoritarian government, Haniyeh has not met with Erdogan since October 7, last visiting Ankara in July alongside Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Oil Rig as Theme Park?

Saudi Arabia Plans Oil Rig ‘Adventure Tourism’ Theme Park

Saudi Arabia is expecting “around a million guests a year” to visit its oil rig-themed “adventure tourism” park that will feature an underwater restaurant, “immersive theater,” and multiple hotels, the executive in charge of the project told the Emirati newspaper The National on Tuesday.

The project, simply called “The Rig,” will be a series of floating offshore attractions built into both a formerly operative oil rig and newly constructed platforms, developers have promised, featuring a water park, roller coasters, and diving and submarine activities. The idea is “inspired by Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas heritage” and tied to “Vision 2030,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s all-encompassing plan to move Saudi Arabia’s economy away from dependence on oil and gas.

“The Rig” is one of several extravagant tourism projects bin Salman, the de facto leader of the country, has approved since the implementation of Vision 2030 in 2016. Tourism is a critical pillar of the plan to move the economy away from fossil fuels, an ambitious proposal given Saudi Arabia’s longtime reputation of being a haven for fundamentalist Wahhabi Islam. The country introduced the availability of tourist visas in 2019, after bin Salman assumed the position of crown prince, and began preparing the country for an influx of tourists with employee training programs to give job opportunities to local workers.

Bin Salman has invested billions in changing the public face of Saudi Arabia into one competing with the neighboring United Arab Emirates, which welcomed a record 17 million tourists to Dubai in 2023 looking for luxurious, high-end experiences.

In addition to The Rig, Saudi Arabia announced the development this year of a theme park based on the Japanese anime series Dragonball Z and the expected opening of the first tourist resort in “Neom,” a brand-new city under construction that the crown prince has said he hopes to see “compete with Miami” to attract large-scale events and tourism.

ASIA

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China on Iranian Attack

Chinese Foreign Minister Calls Iran ‘Good-Neighborly and Friendly’ After Israel Barrage

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held calls with the top diplomats of Iran and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in which he expressed support for Iran’s unprecedented bombing on Israel on Saturday and the Muslim world’s opposition to Israel generally.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, summarizing the call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said that Wang accepted Iran’s justification for the launching of over 300 missiles and drones at Israel and described Iran as “good-neighborly and friendly.”

“China noted Iran’s statement that its action was restrained and was an act of self-defense in response to the attack on its embassy,” Lin told reporters during his regular briefing on Wednesday. “China appreciated Iran’s emphasis on not targeting regional and neighboring countries and its reiteration of its continuing commitment to a good-neighborly and friendly policy.”

Iran launched a flurry of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at Israel on Saturday, claiming it was a just retaliation against an airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.

The Damascus strike eliminated seven officers with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, including commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who an IRGC-affiliated group claimed was involved in the planning of the harrowing October 7 massacre of civilians in Israel by Iranian proxy terror organization Hamas. Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike.

Iran’s air assault was a catastrophic failure. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel intercepted all of Iran’s UAVs and cruise missiles, allowing only a small number of ballistic missiles through that caused no significant damage. An estimated 99 percent of Iran’s weapons did not land. Israel documented one casualty, an Arab Bedouin girl hit by shrapnel.

Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, reportedly justified the failed assault and, rather than criticize Iran’s belligerence, “strongly” condemned the Damascus airstrike.

“Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China strongly condemns and opposes the attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria and that the attack is a serious and unacceptable violation of international law,” spokesman Lin Jian said. “China believed that Iran is fully cognizant of the situation and will avoid causing further turbulence while defending its sovereignty and dignity.”

USA

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[spoiler=Hush Money Trial]

All 12 Jurors Seated for Donald Trump Hush Money Trial

All 12 jurors were seated on Thursday, the third day of former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan.

“We have our jury,” Judge Juan Merchan said when the 12th juror was picked.

The 12 jurors and one alternate included seven men and six women.

The jurors included, according to NBC News:

— A man who lives in West Harlem and works in sales. He is married, likes to do “anything outdoorsy,” and gets news from The New York Times, Fox News and MSNBC.

— A man who works in investment banking, follows Twitter as well as Truth Social posts from Trump and said, “I don’t have any beliefs that might prevent me from being fair or impartial.”

— A young man who has lived in Chelsea for five years, works as an attorney in corporate law, and likes to hike and run. He gets news from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Google.

— A man who’s a security engineer and likes woodworking and metalworking.

— A young woman who is a Harlem resident and works as a teacher. She lives with her boyfriend, loves writing, theater and traveling. She gets news from Google and TikTok and listens to podcasts on relationships and pop culture.

— A young woman who lives in Chelsea and works as a software engineer. She gets news from The New York Times, Google, Facebook and TikTok.

— A man who lives on the Upper East Side and works as attorney as a civil litigator. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors and gets his news from The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Washington Post.

— A man who’s retired but worked for a major wealth manager. He said he enjoys skiing, fly fishing and yoga.

— A woman who is a speech therapist, gets news from CNN and likes reality TV podcasts.
— A man who works in commerce, reads The New York Times and listens to podcasts on behavioral psychology.

— A woman who works as a product development manager and watches late-night news and reads Google, business and fashion news.

— A woman who is a physical therapist who likes running and tennis and listening to podcasts on sports and faith.

Ilhan Omar's Daughter

Ilhan Omar’s Daughter Suspended from College for Involvement in Anti-Israel Encampment

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D) daughter revealed that she was suspended from college for her involvement in a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University.

In a post on X, Isra Hirsi explained that she was an organizer with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, which pushes the university to “divest from apartheid and genocide.”

Hirsi added that she had received notice on Thursday that she is one of three students “suspended” from Barnard College “for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”

“I’m an organizer with CU Apartheid Divest @ColumbiaSJP, in my 3 years at @BarnardCollege I have never been reprimanded or received any disciplinary warnings,” Hirsi wrote.

“I just received notice that I am 1 of 3 students suspended for standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide,” she added:

In a separate post, Hirsi wrote, “Those of us in Gaza Solidarity Encampment will not be intimidated. We will stand resolute until our demands are met. Our demands include divestment from companies complicit in genocide, transparency of @Columbia’s investments and FULL amnesty for all students facing repression.”

Hirsi’s suspension reportedly comes in relation to her involvement in an encampment that several students took part in before police officers came in to break it up.

According to video footage on social media, students set up tents on the south lawn of the university carrying signs that read, “Liberated Zone,” “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” “Barnard Students Say: Divest Before Donations,” and “Black lives 4 Palestine.”

Representatives from Barnard College entered the encampment after being informed by Columbia University that students had been asked to “break it up,” and it had not been done.

“We’re trying to see if there’s a way that any of you want to come talk to us,” one of the representatives said. “We’re here to work with you, if you’d like to do that.” The representative warned that if students did not disperse and follow what the university was asking them to do, students would “potentially be subject to sanction at Barnard.”

Is Democrat Rep. OK with People Burning American Flags? *Crickets*

Democrat Katie Porter Silent When Asked if She Is ‘Okay with People Burning’ American Flag

Democrat Rep. Katie Porter of California was silent when asked if she supports recent pro-Palestinian protests in which the American flag is burned and protesters chant, “Death to America.”

Porter was questioned by Fox News reporter Hillary Vaughn about a recent protest in New York City where pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the Brooklyn Bridge, set fire to the American flag, and could be heard calling for, “Death to America.”

“Anti-Israel protesters blocking the Brooklyn Bridge burned the American flag and chanted, ‘Death to America.’ Do you condemn this type of rhetoric?” Vaughn can be heard asking in a video.

While Porter remains silent, a spokesman walking behind Porter answers by explaining she has to get to “her next event.”

“Are you okay with people burning the American flag?” Vaughn asks again.

Again, the spokesman following behind Porter and Vaughn cuts in to say, “If you’d like to follow up with us –” before being interrupted by Vaughn.

“Are you okay with people chanting, ‘Death to America?'” Vaughn asks Porter.

“Sorry, we’ve got to head into the –” the spokesman begins to say.

Vaughn asks Porter, “Congresswoman Porter, are you okay with people chanting, ‘Death to America?'” before adding, “Is it okay? Do you not have a problem with it?”

Democrat Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) were also questioned about the recent protest. While Presley remained silent when asked if she supports “that type of protest,” Ocasio-Cortez said she had not seen “these reports” and needed to “check for them” herself.

House Speaker Johnson on Rules

Johnson: Motion to Vacate ‘Harmed this Office,’ But We Lack the Votes to Change the Rules for Now

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) came out Thursday in opposition to the current rules on the motion to vacate that threatens to end his speakership, lamenting he does not have the votes to change the rules at this time.

Johnson’s carefully worded statement stopped short of outright calling for a rule change that could save his gavel, but he made clear he opposed the current rules and understands “the importance of that idea” of changing them.

“Since the beginning of the 118th Congress, the House rule allowing a Motion to Vacate from a single member has harmed this office and our House majority,” Johnson posted to his official X account. “Recently, many members have encouraged me to endorse a new rule to raise this threshold. While I understand the importance of that idea, any rule change requires a majority of the full House, which we do not have. We will continue to govern under the existing rules.”

Rep. Thomas Massie pointed out Johnson’s misleading statement, responding to it on social media.

“The Speaker tried to change the rules to eliminate the motion to vacate but he didn’t have the votes today,” Massie posted on X.

Breitbart News asked Johnson’s office if he plans to change the motion to vacate rules once those changes have his support – even if a majority of Republicans oppose them – and if he would commit to not doing so but did not receive a response.

Republicans argued on the House floor Thursday morning about changing the rule. With a large bloc of establishment Republicans clearly supporting restoring the Speaker Nancy Pelosi-era rule that would weaken conservative opposition to Johnson’s agenda, Johnson’s statement clearly asserts not enough Democrats support changing the rules at this time.

Donald Jr. on Ukraine Aid

‘They’re Not Our Friends’: Don Jr. Warns Against Republicans Unbothered by Mike Johnson’s Ukraine Flip-Flop

Donald Trump Jr. blasted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for his reversal on Ukraine funding, saying Republicans unbothered by Johnson’s flip-flop are “not our friends.”

Trump Jr. posted a compilation — accompanied by the bumbling soundtrack of Curb Your Enthusiasm — on X of Johnson saying repeatedly that the border is in chaos, it must be secured, and a border security deal is required before a foreign aid package to Ukraine. Remarkably, after months of trumpeting that message, Johnson reversed course and is advancing a foreign aid package with tens of billions of American taxpayer funds for Ukraine without any funding or policy changes for border security.

“Enough already! If you ever even begin to start believing anything anyone in Republican leadership tells you just watch this,” Trump Jr. said. “Pay close attention to those that don’t seem bothered by this. They’re not our friends.”

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) piled on, saying he is “certainly bothered by” Johnson’s remarkable Ukraine flip-flop.

Vance continued, “Perhaps Mike Johnson should stop going on TV and telling the world that Donald Trump endorses every piece of his ridiculous betrayal.”

Johnson appears ready to ally with Democrats to pull rarely used procedural mechanisms to bypass conservatives and pass his foreign aid package.

Breitbart News asked Johnson spokesman Raj Shah for a comment on Trump Jr.’s tweet but did not receive a response.

More Gun-Free Zones in New Orleans?

New Orleans Police Chief Pushes More Gun-Free Zones — Where Tourists Can’t Be Armed for Self-Defense

New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick wants gun-free zones within the city where even licensed concealed carriers would be barred from carrying for self-defense.

4WWL reported that Kirkpatrick is pushing the zones in response to the constitutional carry bill signed by Gov. Jeff Landry ® on March 5, 2024.

“New Orleans is unique. And this is not a one-size-fits-all bill. And so, what would apply and maybe be perfectly acceptable in a different part of the state of Louisiana, it’s not going to be effective for the entire city of New Orleans,” Kirkpatrick said. “Too much gun violence as it is in the city. We’ve made great strides. This will reverse the strides.”

She explained how wide an area she would like see labeled gun-free:

We’ve looked at it internally, it would be Calliope over to the Marigny and then Rampart down to the river, because it would encompass the main thoroughfares that our tourists would be. The Superdome, down to the warehouse, entertainment area, and the Convention Center. So, it’d be broader than just the French Quarter.

The legislation intended to accomplish the creation of such gun-free zones is House Bill 498, sponsored by state rep. Alonzo Knox (D).

On July 27, 2023, Breitbart News noted that 94 percent of mass public shootings occur in gun-free zones.

In a 2014 study, updated in 2018 then again on July 6, 2019, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) showed that 94 percent of mass public shootings between 1950 and the date(s) of the study occurred in gun-free zones.

Never Enough For Immigrants Living in NYC

Migrants Blast New York City for Quality of Free Food, Want Longer Stays in Free Housing

Immigrants, mostly from Africa, flooded a meeting in New York City on Tuesday with complaints that the free food and free housing they are being given are not good enough for them despite the tens of billions in tax dollars spent to care for them.

Hundreds of migrants, many of whom are Muslims from Africa, told members of the New York City Council at City Hall that the tax-funded freebies they are receiving are not adequate for them and those with families.

The migrants were invited to speak to the city’s immigration committee on Tuesday, and one woman was heard complaining about the free food and blasted city officials for not giving them more permanent places to live for free.

“At the shelter, my kids cannot eat the food at the shelter,” the woman complained through a translator. “On Ramadan, we could not eat during breaks because the food is not good at all,” the woman exclaimed.

She went on to demand long-term housing.

“They give us two months to stay at the shelter, and then you have to go out with your luggage and your kids and find another place. Very difficult,” she insisted.

The same woman also complained that the city had not allowed her 19-year-old son to attend school for free.

The complaint session occurred inside as more than 1,500 migrants — mostly military-aged, single men — paraded outside City Hall Park.

Many of these migrants have been complaining about the millions of dollars in free food they have been given for some time already.

Late in 2023, it was reported that on one day in November, migrants threw away 5,000 prepared meals without eating them, costing the city at least $770,000 in food waste for that day alone. With metrics like this, the Big Apple is seeing more than one million dollars in food waste for migrants every month.

Biden on Venezuelan Oil

Biden Concedes Defeat, Restores Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden reinstated oil and gas sanctions on Venezuela on Thursday, a recognition that lifting the sanctions did nothing to entice the socialist regime to host a free and fair election.

The Biden administration lifted some of the strictest U.S. sanctions on dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime last year as part of a dialogue in which Maduro agreed to host a presidential election sometime in 2024. The deal collapsed rapidly; Maduro scrapped it in October and launched a new wave of violence against anti-socialist dissidents, likely bankrolled by new oil profits.

The Biden sanctions relief lasted for six months and expired on April 18 at 12:01 a.m.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) informed on Wednesday that it had issued a new license granting U.S. companies a 45-day time frame to wind down operations and businesses involving the Venezuelan state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), unless they hold a specific license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“After a careful review of the current situation in Venezuela, the United States determined Nicolas Maduro and his representatives have not fully met the commitments made under the electoral roadmap agreement, which was signed by Maduro representatives and the opposition in Barbados in October 2023,”  a Department of State statement explained. “Therefore, General License 44, which authorizes transactions related to oil or gas sector operations in Venezuela, will expire at 12:01 AM on April 18.”

The statement continued:

Despite delivering on some of the commitments made under the Barbados electoral roadmap, we are concerned that Maduro and his representatives prevented the democratic opposition from registering the candidate of their choice, harassed and intimidated political opponents, and unjustly detained numerous political actors and members of civil society.  We again call on Maduro to allow all candidates and parties to participate in the electoral process and release all political prisoners without restrictions or delay.

Last year, representatives of the Maduro regime and the Venezuelan opposition conducted a series of negotiations in Barbados that led to an electoral agreement signed in October.

EUROPE

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Iranian Carrying Sign Saying Hamas is Terrorist Arrested

Police Arrest Iranian Activist for Carrying Sign Saying ‘Hamas Is Terrorist’ in London

London’s Metropolitan Police arrested an Iranian activist again on Wednesday for carrying a sign saying that Hamas are “terrorists”, despite even the British government branding the radical Islamist Palestinian group a terror group.

Niyak Ghorbani, a 38-year-old man from Iran, has come to national attention for holding a sign reading “Hamas Is Terrorist” at pro-Palestinian rallies in London over the past months. For merely holding up a sign factually stating the legal position of the British and American governments, Ghorbani has been arrested multiple times at protests and has even faced assault by anti-Israel activists.

The Iranian activist was arrested again on Wednesday outside Parliament during a pro-Palestinian rally, with footage posted on social media appearing to show officers question him about his sign and threaten him with arrest if he approached the pro-Palestinian activists.

In a statement following the arrest, the Met said: “Officers arrested a man for a suspected public order offence in relation to a sign he was carrying.

“It was quickly established that the man should not have been arrested and the wording on the banner did not constitute an offence. He was de-arrested a short time later.”

Commenting on his latest arrest, Ghorbani said: “I fought for the people of UK, for the people of Israel, for the honorable and brave people of Iran, and to show the truth, and ultimately for my dignity, to prove to you what situation you are in, and if you don’t wake up, you will Iran experience 1979 in UK.

“The people of Iran and Israel will soon destroy the Islamic Republic and Hamas. What will the future hold for the people of UK?”

During a previous arrest in March, the Metropolitan Police claimed that Ghorbani was not arrested for his supposedly controversial sign, but rather for assault following an altercation. The Met said that after reviewing the footage and finding that he was not at fault, Ghorbani was later “de-arrested”.

Russia Treats Victim as the Bully

Putin Praises Iran’s Missile Assault on Israel: ‘Best Way to Punish Aggressor’

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin praised Iran’s unprecedented, 300+ missile and drone assault against Israel on Tuesday in conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, claiming it was the “best way” for Tehran to address its tensions with Israel.

The Iranian government propaganda outlet PressTV claimed that Putin effusively supported the missile attack – which failed almost entirely, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blocked 99 percent of the missiles and drones shot its way – while speaking to Raisi on the phone. Russian media notably omitted any such belligerent comments, instead emphasizing that Putin urged “restraint” on behalf of both parties.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel – conducted by its military, not one of its many proxy terrorist organizations – on Saturday that Iranian officials claimed was targeting IDF infrastructure. Iranian leaders described the attack, which they branded “Operation True Promise,” as necessary retaliation against an airstrike on an Iranian consulate facility in Damascus, Syria, that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Israel is widely believed to have conducted the strike but has not taken official responsibility for the act at press time.

Following the assault, the IDF confirmed that it had fully intercepted all 170 drones Iran launched at Israel and over 30 cruise missiles. The vast majority of the ballistic missiles shot at Israel also never hit targets, and the few that did caused only minimal damage. Authorities documented one casualty: a young Arab Bedouin girl hospitalized after being hit by shrapnel.

Russia is one of Iran’s closest diplomatic allies, the product of years of cooperation supporting the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad in Syria and their joint membership in the BRICS coalition, established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Iran joined BRICS in January.

Denmark Sells F-16s to Argentina, Send Others to Ukraine

Denmark Selling 24 F-16s to Argentina, Will Give Others to Ukraine

Argentina’s defense minister signed a deal Tuesday worth about 2.1 billion kroner ($300 million) to buy 24 of Denmark´s aging F-16 fighter jets.

Denmark is getting new F-35 aircraft, and the sale of the nearly 40-year-old F-16s that “have been thoroughly maintained and technologically updated” means that Argentina will “become part of the global F-16 family,” said the Danish defense minister, Troels Lund Poulsen.

Denmark has 30 operative F-16s. An unspecified number of the remaining jets have been promised to Ukraine as part of a donation.

No date for the F-16s to be handed over to Argentina was announced. They are expected to be transferred in the coming years.

Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighter jets, and the switch to them is taking place at the end of 2025.

In March, Poulsen visited Argentina and signed a letter of intent to sell some of Denmark´s F-16 jets. Tuesday’s deal was signed at a Danish air force base.

LATIN AMERICA

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Mexican Border City in Chaos

Mexican Government, Media Silent as Shootouts, Kidnappings Plague Border City

Mexico’s government continues to suppress information about the raging cartel violence that plagues one of its main border cities. The lack of information is further worsened by a gag order of sorts placed by organized crime on local news outlets in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Despite appearing to be peaceful on the surface, Matamoros has a long history of being controlled by the Gulf Cartel, which can carry out multiple crimes for its own benefit with complete impunity. Since last weekend, Matamoros has witnessed various shootouts and blockades in different parts of the city. Other than a few obscure social media posts shared by local authorities, no tangible information about the shootouts has been released. Similarly, the highway that connects Matamoros with the central part of the state has seen several kidnappings that have been ignored by government officials and local news alike.
On Wednesday afternoon, cartel gunmen and federal authorities clashed on the city’s southwest side. The short clash led to a series of roadblocks as gunmen tried to slow down authorities during their escape.

That clash comes just days after Mexican National Guardsmen tried to capture a leading cartel figure in an operation that turned into a clash and a series of blockades set up by gunmen. For the blockades, cartel gunmen stole several trucks at gunpoint and parked them across several main avenues as a way to keep police forces from moving about the area. Since then, government officials have only released short social media statements saying the roads are all clear. No information has been released about the nature of the operation or if any arrests took place.

In a similar fashion, on April 13, a group of gunmen believed to be with a faction of Los Zetas raided a restaurant near the town of Abasolo, Tamaulipas, along the highway that connects Matamoros with the central part of the state. During that raid, the gunmen kidnapped two men who have not been heard from again. State officials have remained tightlipped about the case, and local news outlets have largely ignored the issue.

Argentina on Latin America & Hezbollah

Argentina: Latin American Neighbors Are Letting Hezbollah Thrive

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich of Argentina warned this week that the Shiite jihadist organization Hezbollah has greatly expanded its presence throughout South America.

Bullrich, in an interview given to the local Todo Noticias news channel on Sunday evening, stated that Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel prompted the Argentine government to raise its threat level and bolster security, especially in the northern tri-country border that Argentina shares with Paraguay and Brazil.

“Argentina has suffered two attacks and is in an area where there is an active presence of two forces that are allied to Iran, which are from Hezbollah that is in the triple border of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina,” Bullrich said in the interview.

“There has also been a presence in Iquique, in the north of Chile, last year in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a few weeks ago in Peru. And last year two people from Hezbollah were arrested in Sao Paulo,” she continued.

Bullrich was referring to reports published in 2011 that stated that U.S. authorities believed Hezbollah had established a presence in the northern Chilean city of Iquique, noting that “substantial information” indicated that Hezbollah was engaging in significant fund-raising in northern Chile. Bullrich also referenced the arrest of Hezbollah-linked individuals in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in November 2023.

The individuals arrested by Brazilian authorities stand accused of plotting terrorist attacks against Jewish community centers in response to Israel’s declaration of war against the Sunni terrorist organization Hamas following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

Argentina, home to the largest Jewish community in South America, has been the victim of two terrorist attacks against Israeli targets in its territory, both suspected of being the work of the Iran proxy terror group Hezbollah. In 1992, Hezbollah members carried out a suicide bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 people and leaving over 240 injured. In 1994, Hezbollah terrorists drove an explosive-filled van into the headquarters of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), killing 85 people and leaving hundreds more injured. The AMIA bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

Bukele & China

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Seeks Free Trade Deal with China

Salvadoran Economy Minister María Luisa Hayem announced Tuesday evening the official start of El Salvador’s negotiations with communist China, intended to culminate with the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

A Free Trade Agreement with China “as soon as possible” has been a goal of President Nayib Bukele’s since 2022, when China first expressed its willingness to begin negotiations to broker a trade deal with El Salvador after the Central American nation cut ties with the nation of Taiwan in favor of China.

“This is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive negotiations that El Salvador has undertaken in recent years,” Hayem said during a brief press conference.

Hayem stated that El Salvador hopes to broker an FTA with China that covers “issues such as intellectual property, services, investment, digital economy, and other areas that will boost our development.”

“We will work to prevent the existence of tariff barriers that prevent Salvadoran products from accessing the Chinese market,” she added, asserting that El Salvador finds itself in “the best moment” to reinforce its commercial and investment ties with a “strategic partner” such as China.

Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen expressed, on behalf of the communist nation, that he hoped both teams “can work together, understand and address each other’s concerns in order to sign the treaty as soon as possible.” Wang claimed that the prospective trade deal would be  “comprehensive, modern and high-level.”

According to Wang, trade between China and El Salvador amounted to more than $1.8 billion in 2023, with the trade balance favoring China. El Salvador’s top exports to China are coffee and sugar.

“Our two economies most complement each other, the signing of a free trade agreement would help boost economic and trade cooperation, raise the quality and level of trade and investment,” Wang said.

El Salvador, during the administration of former President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, established ties with China shortly after cutting ties with Taiwan in 2018, effectively endorsing the Chinese Communist Party’s “One China Principle,” which claims that there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is part of it.

Maduro "Surely Knows" How to Threaten Biden Before Sanctions Had Been Reinstated

Venezuela’s Maduro Sends Devastating Message to Biden in English: ‘I You Want I Want I You to Want I Do Want’

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro attempted to issue a message in English to U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday to discuss the upcoming expiration of Biden’s generous oil and gas sanctions relief package to his regime.

The dictator’s latest attempt to speak English prompted the laughter of the audience of his weekly television show Con Maduro Más (“With Maduro Plus”), leading to his video going viral on social media platforms.

Maduro — who, prior to becoming Venezuela’s socialist dictator, was his predecessor Hugo Chávez’s foreign minister — has developed a reputation for poor proficiency of the English language. The dictator has issued several “English”-language messages and threats to former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama during their respective administrations.

“I tell the negotiators to tell President Biden the following message,” Maduro said in Spanish, before attempting English: “I you want I want, I you to want I do want.”

Maduro was apparently attempting to invite Biden to a bilateral dialogue.

After his audience laughed at his English, Maduro decided to translate his message to Spanish in clear “Caraqueño” as a citizen of Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas.

“If you want to, I want to. If you don’t want to, I don’t want to. That’s the end of it,” he clarified, eliciting the applause of his show’s audience.

Biden gifted Maduro and his socialist regime a broad oil and gas sanctions relief package in October. The package rescinded sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA oil company in 2019 during the Trump administration, issued in response to the rogue socialist regime’s human rights violations against its own people.

Biden’s sanctions relief package allows the Maduro regime to once again freely sell Venezuelan oil in U.S. and international markets, leading to a surge in Venezuela’s oil exports and the signing of deals with other countries, restoring the authoritarian regime’s main source of revenue. The sanctions relief package, which has a six-month duration, is set to expire on Thursday.