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Congress grills RFK Jr. on budget cuts, measles vaccine – The Washington Post Congress grills RFK Jr. on budget cuts, measles vaccine – The Washington Post Congress grills RFK Jr. on budget cuts, measles vaccine The Washington PostWATCH: RFK Jr Senate hearing disrupted by screaming protesters: ‘RFK kills people with hate’ Fox NewsRFK Jr.: ‘I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me’ Central New Jersey NewsBen & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen arrested as Kennedy testifies at Senate hearing AxiosDemocrats confront RFK Jr. on budget cuts, but will need Republican help to stop them Politico Source link #Congress #grills #RFK #budget #cuts #measles #vaccine #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Tech Life Tech Life Young people from marginalised groups tell of the online abuse they receive. Source link #Tech #Life Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Mosquito-borne killer disease threatens blackbirds Mosquito-borne killer disease threatens blackbirds Helen BriggsBBC environment correspondent•@hbriggsGwyndaf Hughes BBC climate and science team Getty Images The blackbird is one of the ***’s most common and familiar birds, known for its cheerful song A mosquito-borne disease freshly arrived in Britain has spread large distances, with scientists racing to understand the risks to wild birds. Infected insects can spread the deadly Usutu virus to blackbirds, raising fears for the famous songsters. New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations. Scientists are monitoring its spread amid warnings that mosquitoes and the diseases they carry may expand their range under climate change. “We’ve seen that the virus has spread further than we thought it might do, and it’s persisted,” Dr Arran Folly of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) told the BBC. Getty Images Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito, has been found to carry and transmit the Usutu virus Scientists at the APHA in Weybridge, Surrey, have been tracking mosquito-borne diseases in wild birds for decades, amid warnings that climate change is turning Europe into a potential breeding ground for the insects. Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating conditions for the nuisance insects to move into areas that were previously inhospitable to them. Until 2020, all results came back clear. Then, after the summer heatwave of that year, Usutu was detected in several blackbirds in Greater London. “Blackbirds specifically are quite susceptible to the virus and since 2020 we’ve found a decline in blackbirds of approximately 40% in Greater London,” said Dr Folly. “It gives an indication that in the future we might get other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes emerging in the ***.” Diseases such as Usutu are a growing threat to wild birds, amid a host of other pressures, including habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use. What is Usutu?Usutu virus was first detected more than half a century ago around southern Africa’s Usutu RiverIt has since spread around the world, reaching Europe three decades ago, and was picked up for the first time in the *** in 2020Blackbirds are particularly susceptible to the virus, which can also infect horses and, from time to time, humans. The latest data shows that Usutu has spread further than the scientists expected. It has now been detected in wild birds across much of southern England, at least as far west as Dorset and as far north as Cambridgeshire. How big a risk Usutu poses to wild birds is uncertain. The virus has been linked to mass die-offs of blackbirds elsewhere in Europe, though that doesn’t seem to be the case in Britain. And the blackbird remains one of the commonest garden birds with numbers holding steady in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and in the north. Getty Images In May, blackbirds are nesting and rearing young, with fledglings eventually leaving the nest To untangle the puzzle – and gather more data on blackbird numbers – the scientists have joined forces with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). They are calling for volunteers to count blackbirds in their gardens over the summer months to find out more about the comings and goings of the birds. Around now blackbirds are breeding and raising their young, frequently seen hopping along the ground and singing from the branches of trees on summer evenings. Gwyndaf Hughes/BBC Lucy Love in her garden within metres of the sea near Selsey, Sussex Lucy Love, a garden birdwatch ambassador for the BTO, knows the blackbirds in her gardens by sight and has grown fond of them. “They’re beautiful birds – intelligent, friendly and they have the most beautiful song with a lovely melodic tone to it,” she explained. “And we cannot lose them – they’re a vital part of our ecosystem.” Source link #Mosquitoborne #killer #disease #threatens #blackbirds Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

2025 GWM Tank 500 PHEV to beat Prado, Everest in offering plug-in power in Australia 2025 GWM Tank 500 PHEV to beat Prado, Everest in offering plug-in power in Australia A plug-in hybrid Tank 500 will join the off-roader’s fight against Toyota LandCruiser Prado and Ford Everest – and a couple of powertrains are on the cards. Source link #GWM #Tank #PHEV #beat #Prado #Everest #offering #plugin #power #Australia Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ex-FBI agent and Pentagon contractor sues over secret recording showing him criticizing Trump Ex-FBI agent and Pentagon contractor sues over secret recording showing him criticizing Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI agent and Pentagon contractor has sued the founder of a conservative nonprofit known for its hidden camera stings over secretly recorded videos showing the contractor criticizing President Donald Trump to a woman he thought he had taken on a date. Jamie Mannina says in his lawsuit that he was misled by a woman he met on a dating website who held herself out as a politically liberal nurse but who was actually working with the conservative activist James O’Keefe in a sting operation designed to induce Mannina into making “inflammatory and damaging” remarks that could be recorded, “manipulated” and posted online. Clips from their January conversations were spliced together to make it appear that Mannina was “essentially attempting to launch an unlawful coup against President Trump,” and articles released online with the videos defamed Mannina by painting him as part of a “deep state” effort with senior military officials to undermine Trump’s presidency, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington. Mannina does not deny in the lawsuit making the comments but says his words were taken out of context, edited and pieced together in a manner designed to paint him in a false light, including in a written description on YouTube that accompanied the publication of one of the recordings. O’Keefe founded Project Veritas in 2010 but was removed from the organization in 2023 amid allegations that he mistreated workers and misspent funds. He has continued to employ similar hidden camera stings as part of a new organization he established, O’Keefe Media Group, which also is named in the lawsuit along with the woman who pretended to be on dates with Mannina. Her identity is not known, the lawsuit says. O’Keefe told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Mannina “voluntarily” offered up the comments in the recording and that it was important for the public to hear Mannina’s remarks. O’Keefe pointed out that the District of Columbia requires the consent of only one party, not both, for a conversation to be recorded. He called the lawsuit an “attack on the First Amendment” and said he was prepared to fight it all the way to an appeals court if necessary. “He said what he said. We did not take him out of context. The words that we reported came out of his mouth,” O’Keefe said, adding, “We stand by our reporting.” The lawsuit includes claims of defamation, false light, fraudulent misrepresentation and violations of the federal Wiretap Act. Though the lawsuit acknowledges that D.C.’s consent law for recording conversations, it asserts that the law nonetheless prohibits “the interception and recording of a communication if it was for the purposes of committing a tortious act.” The complaint arises from a pair of dates that Mannina had in January with the woman and a series of videos that O’Keefe released in the following days. During their first date, the lawsuit alleges, the woman expressed her distaste for Trump and repeatedly pressed Mannina on his political views and about his work with the government. Mannina told her that included working as a “spy catcher” several years earlier when he was an FBI counterintelligence agent. A recording that O’Keefe released shows Mannina being asked at one point by the woman, whose name was not disclosed in the lawsuit, about his “overall assessment of Trump.” “He’s a sociopathic narcissist who’s only interested in advancing his name, his wealth and his fame,” Mannina can be heard saying. Asked in the recording whether there was anything he could do to “protect the American people,” Mannina replied that he was in conversation with some retired generals to explore what could be done. The lawsuit says Mannina and the woman met for a second date over lunch, and as they left the restaurant, a man with a microphone approached Mannina and said: “Jamie, you’re a spy hunter, you say. Well, I’m a spy hunter, too, but I’m evidentially a better spy hunter than you.” The man was O’Keefe, the lawsuit says. Mannina was swiftly fired from Booz Allen, where he worked as a contractor, after O’Keefe contacted the press office and presented at least parts of the video of the two dates. The lawsuit was filed by Mark Zaid, a prominent Washington lawyer who routinely represents government officials and whistleblowers. Zaid himself sued Trump last week after the president revoked his security clearance. “Lying or misleading someone on a dating app, which no doubt happens all the time, is not what this lawsuit seeks to address,” Zaid said in a statement to the AP. “The creation of a fake profile for the specific purposes of targeting individuals for deliberately nefarious and harmful purposes is what crosses the line.” The lawsuit says the O’Keefe Media Group painted Mannina in a false light by misconstruing his words and his title, including in an article published on its website that said, “BREAKING VIDEO: Top Pentagon Advisor Reveals On Hidden Camera Conversation ‘with a Couple of Retired Generals to Explore What We Can Do’ to ’Protect People from Trump.'” According to the lawsuit, the characterization of Mannina as a “top Pentagon adviser,” when he was actually “one of a countless number of defense contractors,” was intended to support “fabricated claims that Mr. Mannina was essentially attempting to launch an unlawful coup against President Trump.” The lawsuit does not directly say why Mannina was targeted, but it does note that in 2017, when he was working at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, he published three articles in the Huffington Post and The Hill newspaper that were critical of Trump. Source link #ExFBI #agent #Pentagon #contractor #sues #secret #recording #showing #criticizing #Trump Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Trump franchise is expanding in the Middle East — and so are ethical concerns The Trump franchise is expanding in the Middle East — and so are ethical concerns President Donald Trump brushed off questions Wednesday over ethical concerns about the growing Middle East footprint of his family business, as his trip in the region takes him to three countries with Trump-branded ventures. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he didn’t know how an Emirati-backed firm had struck a deal with the Trump family company’s digital coin for $2 billion. “I really don’t know anything about it,” Trump said, adding that he is a big cryptocurrency fan and if the U.S. doesn’t lead in crypto and AI, China will. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of the World Liberty Financial crypto venture and the son of the president’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, announced the investment at a conference in Dubai earlier this month. Asked if the Saudi-financed and Trump-linked LIV Golf tour came up during his conversations with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the last two days, Trump said it had not. “We didn’t discuss that,” he added. He also sidestepped Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer’s threat to block his nominees until there are more answers on a high-priced jet that Qatar has offered as a gift and instead mused that there was “just something wrong” with Schumer, a New York Democrat. The Trump Organization, led by the president’s two oldest sons, has also significantly expanded its Middle East footprint, with new ventures in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. These include a Trump International Hotel & Tower in Dubai, a golf resort in Doha with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund’s real estate arm, a Trump Tower in Jeddah, and a hotel under construction in Muscat. The projects are partnered with Dar Global, a developer linked to the Saudi government. It’s unclear how long the projects will take to complete. The Trump-branded projects have drawn scrutiny in Washington from the president’s political opponents and even some allies, who point out that the president has not divested from the Trump Organization and continues to profit from — and personally promote — these business ventures in his second term. The company has said that Trump handed over management of his assets to his family before returning to office and has no day-to-day role. “The Trump Organization developments in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates raise serious conflict of interest questions, as President Trump meets with top officials of all three countries this week,” said Meghan Faulkner, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an advocacy group and watchdog focused on issues of public integrity and affiliated with Democrats. “The American people should not have to wonder if Donald Trump is prioritizing their interests or his own bottom line while he is making foreign policy decisions, but his business ties make that an unavoidable question.” The White House did not return a request for comment. Trump’s affinity for the Middle East is well known, with the president finding fertile ground in the region as he works to carve out an image as a global peacemaker and the leader of a country that is open for business. On Tuesday in Riyadh, he announced plans to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria and offered Iran “a new, hopeful path” toward a better future. During a state visit with Qatar’s emir on Wednesday, Trump praised the warming Qatar-Saudi Arabia relationship, lavishing flattery on his host. “We just came from Saudi Arabia, where we have another great man over there that’s a friend of yours,” he said. “You guys get along so well and like each other. You sort of remind me a little bit of each other, if you want to know the truth. They’re both tall, handsome guys who happen to be very smart.” This marks a shift from his first term, when a Saudi-led coalition blockaded Qatar over alleged terrorism support. And Trump has defended as “a great gesture” the Qatari jet gift, saying before leaving Washington that turning it down would be foolish. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,'” Trump said, adding that it would go to his presidential library foundation once he leaves office. Qatar, however, appeared to temper the announcement. Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attaché to the U.S., clarified that the transfer is “under consideration” by Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, with no final decision having been made. Democrats in Washington are capitalizing on the controversy, with the Democratic National Committee announcing plans to fly a banner that reads “Qatar-a-Lago” over Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Wednesday. Some Republican allies of the president have also raised concerns about the jet: Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson called the gift a “very odd offer,” and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the plane could bring “significant espionage and surveillance problems.” At a news conference Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed concerns about the Trump family’s foreign business dealings, claiming he did not have expertise on the matter and stressing that Trump has been transparent. “President Trump has nothing to hide,” Johnson said. “He’s very upfront.” He stressed that ethics oversight is in place and emphasized that his focus is on leading the House. And he said Qatar’s gift of the plane was “to the country,” not Trump personally. Refitting the plane could cost $1 billion and take years to complete, more than twice the plane’s reported value, NBC News reported. The cost, likely to come at taxpayers’ expense, raises questions about the practical implications of a gift to a president who may no longer be in office at the time it’s ready to use. —Vaughn Hillyard, Ryan Nobles, Syedah Asghar and Frank Thorp V contributed. Source link #Trump #franchise #expanding #Middle #East #ethical #concerns Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Snake Eyes G.I. Joe AAA Game Gets First Look Snake Eyes G.I. Joe AAA Game Gets First Look Developer Atomic Arcade has offered a first look at the upcoming Snake Eyes video game, showcasing small details from the character model. Source link #Snake #Eyes #G.I #Joe #AAA #Game Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Unpacking the geopolitical significance of Trump’s embrace of Syria’s new president Unpacking the geopolitical significance of Trump’s embrace of Syria’s new president Unpacking the geopolitical significance of Trump’s embrace of Syria’s new president – CBS News Watch CBS News President Trump stopped in Qatar on his Middle East trip where he embraced a former jihadist who now leads Syria. Will Toddman, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins to discuss. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Unpacking #geopolitical #significance #Trumps #embrace #Syrias #president Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

House Democrat withdraws Trump impeachment bill that angered party leaders – ABC News House Democrat withdraws Trump impeachment bill that angered party leaders – ABC News House Democrat withdraws Trump impeachment bill that angered party leaders ABC NewsTop House Dems say they’ll join GOP to quash Trump impeachment effort Fox NewsThanedar opts against forcing impeachment vote amid backlash PoliticoSmart politics or a publicity stunt? The man behind the latest effort to impeach Donald Trump AP NewsLone Democrat’s Trump impeachment push blindsides party CNN Source link #House #Democrat #withdraws #Trump #impeachment #bill #angered #party #leaders #ABC #News Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link development has been canceled, Square Enix hard at work at KH IV Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link development has been canceled, Square Enix hard at work at KH IV -Foxtrot2h ago I’m kind of glad it got cancelled, we don’t need another lore heavy game especially hidden away on mobile that might end up going offline years later. Kingdom Hearts X, Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts ReMind with all this Yozora stuff. Do we really need Missing Link to make things even worse before KHIV comes around? It’s sad because they gave off the impression that they were going to stop all this after the third game, where you wouldn’t need to play other games to understand future games but they were even doing this in the third game with the ****** Box arc along with the people in the robes wearing animal masks. Source link #Kingdom #Hearts #MissingLink #development #canceled #Square #Enix #hard #work Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Jails ‘on brink’ and ‘stalling’ post-Brexit talks with Brussels Jails ‘on brink’ and ‘stalling’ post-Brexit talks with Brussels A mix of stories lead Thursday’s papers, but several focus on new plans to address overcrowding in prisons announced by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The government is going “soft on criminals”, the Daily Mail writes, after announcing that some inmates who are recalled to prison for breaking the terms of their release will be released early after 28 days. But Mahmood warns of a “total breakdown of the justice system” if the issue remains unaddressed. Jails are “on brink”, leads the Times. It says the early release of ******* offenders will put the public “at risk”, according to the government’s victims’ commissioner. Justice Secretary Mahmood had “no choice” but to take action, the paper also reports, with space in male prisons due to run out in November. Plans for prisons also feature on the front page of the Guardian. But the paper leads with an exclusive on accusations that Science Secretary Peter Kyle is “too close” to US big tech firms. Kyle led a 70% “surge” in meetings with people in or close to firms like Google, Amazon and Meta, compared to his predecessor, the paper says. A spokesperson for his department told the Guardian: “We make no apologies for regularly engaging with the sector – one that employs nearly 2 million people in the ***.” Fresh criticism of another Labour policy – cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners – leads the Daily Express, after a new poll found more than 81% of over-65s could not afford basics on the state pension. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately says the government is “punishing pensioners and pushing them to the edge”. Images of US President Donald Trump’s milestone meeting with Syrian interim president Ahmed al -Sharaa top the Financial Times. But the paper leads with a “stall” in talks between the *** and EU ahead of a summit next week, after Brussels “demanded further concessions” over fishing rights and youth mobility. As part of a post-Brexit “reset”, the EU wants its students to pay the same fees as British students and long-term fishing access to *** waters. Sealing a deal on food safety standards with the EU could help bring food prices down, the i paper reports, as rising prices “threaten” Labour’s pledge to boost living standards. Higher national insurance contributions and levies on packaging are to blame to soaring costs, according to the Food and Drink Federation. The Daily Telegraph reports the NHS is treating nursery-age children who believe they are transgender, after removing an age limit on access to specialists. The children are not given “powerful drugs such as puberty blockers”, according to the paper, but “are offered counselling and therapy”. “Fewer than 10” children have been referred to the service, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. A “family feud” fronts the Sun, which reports on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “secretly supporting” Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz. Beckham’s absence from his father’s 50th birthday celebrations fuelled speculation of a fallout, but according to an unnamed source, Prince Harry offered his “unwavering support as someone who has been through similar”. Metro leads with the jailing for 14 years of Reece Galbraith, a drug dealer whose cannabis sweet factory exploded last year, killing seven-year-old Archie York, and decimating several homes. Katherine Errington, Archie’s mother, told the dealer in court: “You killed our beautiful boy… we’ll never forgive you”. Photos of a handcuffed 18-year-old Bella May Culley at a court in Georgia lead the Daily Mirror, as details of her “dream hol to jail hell” story continue to emerge. The British teen was arrested on suspician of drug offences. “She’s not a drug trafficker… She must be terrified,” her grandfather William, 80, tells the paper. Bare-knuckle boxer Paddy Doherty says Universal Studios will have to “battle” travellers for the site of a new theme park, according to the Daily Star. The My Big **** Gypsy Wedding star warned Universal that residents of a caravan park near the proposed 476-acre site “won’t be moving for anyone”. Source link #Jails #brink #stalling #postBrexit #talks #Brussels Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Hordes of Hunger Review | NoobFeed Hordes of Hunger Review | NoobFeed “The Leamigton Spa-based (the ***) indie games publisher Kwalee and Warsaw-based (Poland) indie games developer Hyperstrange, today announced with great joy and excitement that their fast-paced 3D action survivorslike/hack and slash game “Hordes of Hunger“, is coming to PC via Steam Early Access on March 6th (2025).” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #Hordes #Hunger #Review #NoobFeed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

RACWA drops bombshell with $1.35b deal to sell insurance business and enter 20-year IAG partnership RACWA drops bombshell with $1.35b deal to sell insurance business and enter 20-year IAG partnership The Royal Automobile Club of WA will sell off its insurance business and enter into a decades-long partnership with Australia’s biggest insurance group in a deal worth more than $1.3 billion as it battles a rising number of claims and increasing regulation. RACWA will collect $400 million from the ***** of RAC Insurance and a further $950m under a 20-year exclusive distribution agreement covering its branded home, motor and niche insurance products. The terms of the deal with IAG were revealed on Thursday, with RAC saying the biggest shake-up in the WA motoring mutual’s 120-year history was borne from an increasingly complex regulatory environment, higher claims volumes and expenses, and rising reinsurance costs. It was also being required to hold larger capital reserves for claims and natural disasters. RAC will continue to distribute general insurance products under the RAC Insurance brand while IAG will take on underwriting, claims management, product development and pricing. Chief executive Rob Slocombe said the deal with IAG — which also operates NRMA Insurance, CGU and WFI — would give RACWA national scale, global reinsurance capability and leading technology to support its 1.3 million members. “They have the experience needed to manage increasing volatility and improve the insurance products and services we provide,” Mr Slocombe said. “This will also enable us to continue to invest in member services, advocacy and community initiatives. “As a result of this partnership with IAG, we will continue to work together to ensure all RAC members have access to leading insurance products and an excellent claims experience.” “The partnership will support RAC to deliver for our members, employees, and all Western Australians through continued access to innovative insurance products and services provided locally under the RAC brand, to safeguard their future for years to come.” More to come Source link #RACWA #drops #bombshell #1.35b #deal #sell #insurance #business #enter #20year #IAG #partnership Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Soulstone Survivors Developer Details The Game's Early Access Journey Soulstone Survivors Developer Details The Game's Early Access Journey Action roguelike Soulstone Survivors embraced robust community support and feedback from the beginning of its Early Access journey. Source link #Soulstone #Survivors #Developer #Details #Game039s #Early #Access #Journey Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fate of Menendez brothers will soon be in the hands of California’s parole board Fate of Menendez brothers will soon be in the hands of California’s parole board A judge has agreed to reduce the Menendez brothers’ sentence for the 1989 murders of their parents to 50 years, making them immediately eligible for parole under state law. NBC News’ Laura Jarrett reports California’s parole board will now determine if they should be released. Source link #Fate #Menendez #brothers #hands #Californias #parole #board Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FBC: Firebreak Hands-On Preview – Game Rant FBC: Firebreak Hands-On Preview – Game Rant Game Rant went hands-on with Remedy Entertainment’s upcoming cooperative first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak, and it’s clear it’s onto something here. Source link #FBC #Firebreak #HandsOn #Preview #Game #Rant Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Top Iranian official says Tehran would forego highly enriched uranium in nuclear deal with Trump Top Iranian official says Tehran would forego highly enriched uranium in nuclear deal with Trump Iran is ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions with President Donald Trump in exchange for lifting economic sanctions, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader told NBC News on Wednesday. Ali Shamkhani, a top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is one of the most senior Iranian officials to speak publicly about the ongoing discussions. He said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium which can be weaponized, agree to only enrich uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran. Asked if Iran would agree to sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Shamkhani said, “Yes.” His comments appear to be the clearest public statement yet on Iran’s expectations and willingness to reach a deal from the supreme leader’s inner circle. Iran’s supreme leader has the final say on all matters of national security. “It’s still possible. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani said, adding, “it can lead to a better situation in the near future.” Shamkhani sat down with NBC News just hours after Trump offered Iran “an olive branch” that was combined with threats crippling economic sanctions should Iran not accept an agreement to limit the country’s nuclear program. Shamkhani expressed frustration at Trump’s tone and continued threats. “He talks about the olive branch, which we have not seen. It’s all barbed wire,” he said. Trump has repeatedly said Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. While Iran has always denied that it is seeking to do so, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, says that it has enriched enough uranium close to weapons-grade quality to make six nuclear bombs. The U.S. and Iran have been holding talks over Tehran’s nuclear program for weeks, with Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, calling the last round in Muscat, the capital of Oman, “encouraging.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, called the negotiations “difficult but useful.” “Enrichment is an issue that Iran will not give up, and there is no room for compromise on it,” he said. “However, its dimensions, levels or amounts might change for a ******* to allow confidence-building.” In Wednesday’s interview, Shamkhani expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, often known by the nickname Bibi, could try to derail the process through backchannel lobbying in Washington. “If the Americans remove the Bibi effect, they can easily sign the deal,” Shamkhani said. There are signs, however, that Trump may be distancing himself from Netanyahu. NBC News previously reported that, according to two U.S. officials, two Middle Eastern diplomats and two other people with knowledge of the tensions, the two leaders are increasingly at odds over a strategy for tackling challenges in the region, including Iran. While Netanyahu has supported military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump has begun to see an opportunity to remove the threat of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon by making a deal with the government, the sources said. Source link #Top #Iranian #official #Tehran #forego #highly #enriched #uranium #nuclear #deal #Trump Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Latest Leaks Show Helldivers 2 Players and SEAF Fighting Side by Side on Super Earth The Latest Leaks Show Helldivers 2 Players and SEAF Fighting Side by Side on Super Earth Helldivers 2 players dream of fighting in Mega Cities on Super Earth, with SEAF reinforcing them, some leaks suggest this will come true. Source link #Latest #Leaks #Show #Helldivers #Players #SEAF #Fighting #Side #Side #Super #Earth Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Inside the ‘Andor’ Finale’s Big Reveal – Rolling Stone Inside the ‘Andor’ Finale’s Big Reveal – Rolling Stone Inside the ‘Andor’ Finale’s Big Reveal Rolling Stone‘Andor’ Was the Reawakening Star Wars Needed The AtlanticAndor Series Finale Review IGNAndor kicks off its final stretch with two mesmerizing scenes AV ClubAndor Explained | Season 2 Finale: Episodes 10, 11 & 12 StarWars.com Source link #Andor #Finales #Big #Reveal #Rolling #Stone Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of bloody civil war Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of bloody civil war Barbara Plett Usher BBC News Reuters Port Sudan, which was once considered a relatively safe city, has been hit by a series of drone attacks targeting key infrastructure Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan’s civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a “shock and awe campaign”. Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country. The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages. “It’s a level of power projection within this region that we haven’t seen yet,” says Alan Boswell, the ***** of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group. “I think it raises the stakes quite a bit,” he added. The barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial losses. And it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa. Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the country. In recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power stations. But their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength. Reuters Some people had fled more dangerous parts of the country to seek safety in Port Sudan, like these women who were pictured sheltering at Abdallah Nagi camp “The RSF is trying to show that they don’t need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there,” says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair. The group is trying to achieve a “narrative shift” away from “the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum,” she says. “It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: ‘You can take Khartoum back, but you’ll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won’t be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable’… They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so.” The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war crimes. Both sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass ***** and genocide. The change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological advancement. The RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to ****** into targets and can carry out coordinated attacks. It seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase. He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the base. The make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year. The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated ******** manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range strikes. Jeremy Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane’s, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape. Reuters Sudan’s war is taking a massive humanitarian toll with citizens fleeing their homes being hit in strikes One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF’s anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still unproven. The South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month. Some experts see the RSF’s bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as retaliation. The escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan’s civil conflict. “This is a war of technology,” says Justin ******, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation. “That’s why the foreign supporters are so important, because it’s not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They’re being given this stuff.” The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the attacks. The UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the RSF. But Mr ****** says the evidence is overwhelming. He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with “near certainty” the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo. He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan attacks. He also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the ***** of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence firm. Iran has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied involvement. The increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the region. Over a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country’s only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army’s supply lines. The city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this “major escalation” could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties. “This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it’s also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war,” says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army. “The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor,” he says “and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head.” The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine. “These weapons have more precision, you don’t need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets,” says Mr Binnie. “This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa.” The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take “effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia,” a reference to the UAE. Mr ****** believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war. “This war is always evolving, always changing,” he says, “but you’ll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it.” More about Sudan’s civil war from the BBC:Getty Images/BBC Source link #Drone #attacks #raise #stakes #phase #bloody #civil #war Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Meet the ‘invisible’ backstage team who make the song contest tick Meet the ‘invisible’ backstage team who make the song contest tick Mark Savage Music Correspondent Getty Images Icelandic boyband VÆB were the first act to perform on the Eurovision stage this year Thirty-five seconds. That’s all the time you get to change the set at Eurovision. Thirty-five seconds to get one set of performers off the stage and put the next ones in the right place. Thirty-five seconds to make sure everyone has the right microphones and earpieces. Thirty-five seconds to make sure the props are in place and tightly secured. While you’re at home watching the introductory videos known as postcards, dozens of people swarm the stage, setting the scene for whatever comes next. “We call it the Formula 1 tyre change,” says Richard van Rouwendaal, the affable Dutch stage manager who makes it all work. “Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody. “It’s a bit like ice skating.” Watch a 30-second set change at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool The stage crew start rehearsing their “F1 tyre change” weeks before the contestants even arrive. Every country sends detailed plans of their staging, and Eurovision hires stand-ins to play the acts (in Liverpool 2023, it was pupils from the local performing arts school), while stagehands start shaving precious seconds off the changeovers. “We have about two weeks,” says Van Rouwendaal, who’s normally based in Utrecht but is in Basel for this year’s contest. “My company is around 13 Dutchies and 30 local guys and girls, who rock it in Switzerland. “In those two weeks, I have to figure out who’s right for each job. Someone’s good at running, someone’s good at lifting, someone’s good at organising the backstage area. It is a bit like being good at Tetris because you have to line everything up in a small space, in the perfect way.” As soon as a song finishes, the team are ready to roll. As well as the stagehands, there are people responsible for positioning lights and setting pyrotechnics; and 10 cleaners who sweep the stage with mops and vacuum cleaners between every performance. “My cleaners are just as important as the stage crew. You need a clean stage for the dancers – but also, if there’s an overhead shot of somebody lying down, you don’t want to see shoeprints on the floor.” The attention to detail is clinical. Backstage, every performer has their own microphone stand, set to the correct height and angle, to make sure every performance is camera perfect. “Sometimes the delegation will say the artist wants to wear a different shoe for the grand final,” says Van Rouwendaal. “But if that happens, the mic stand is at the wrong height, so we’ve got a problem!” SRG / SSR Construction of this year’s stage began in early April, three weeks before rehearsals kicked off Spontaneously changing footwear isn’t the worst problem he’s faced, though. At the 2022 contest in Turin, the stage was 10m (33ft) higher than the backstage area. As a result, they were pushing heavy stage props – including a mechanical bull – up a steep ramp between every act. “We were exhausted every night,” he recalls. “This year is better. We’ve even got an extra backstage tent where we prepare the props.” Getty Images Spain’s giant staircase is one of several props that Richard (pictured, inlay) and his team have to build in the middle of a performance at this year’s show Props are a huge part of Eurovision. The tradition started at the second ever contest in 1957, when Germany’s Margot Hielscher sang part of her song Telefon, Telefon into (you guessed it) a telephone. Over the intervening decades, the staging has become ever more elaborate. In 2014, Ukraine’s Mariya Yaremchuk trapped one of her dancers in a giant hamster wheel, while Romania brought a literal cannon to their performance in 2017. This year, we’ve got disco ******, space hoppers, a magical food blender, a Swedish sauna and, for the ***, a fallen chandelier. “It’s a big logistics effort, actually, to get all the props organised,” says Damaris Reist, deputy head of production for this year’s contest. “It’s all organised in a kind of a circle. The [props] come onto the stage from the left, and then get taken off to the right. “Backstage, the props that have been used are pushed back to the back of the ******, and so on. It’s all in the planning.” ‘Smuggling routes’ During the show, there are several secret passageways and “smuggling routes” to get props in and out of vision, especially when a performance requires new elements half-way through. Cast your mind back, if you will, to Sam Ryder’s performance for the *** at the 2022 contest in Italy. There he was, alone on the stage, belting out falsetto notes in his spangly jumpsuit, when suddenly, an electric guitar appeared out of thin air and landed in his hands. And guess who put it there? Richard van Rouwendaal. “I’m a magician,” he laughs. “No, no, no… That was a collaboration between the camera director, the British delegation and the stage crew.” In other words, Richard ducked onto the stage, guitar in hand, while the director cut to a wide shot, concealing his presence from viewers at home. “It’s choreographed to the nearest millimetre,” he says. “We’re not invisible, but we have to be invisible.” Reuters Sam Ryder’s performance in 2022 included a stylised space rocket and a magically-appearing guitar What if it all goes wrong? There are certain tricks the audience will never notice, Van Rouwendaal reveals. If he announces “stage not clear” into his headset, the director can buy time by showing an extended shot of the audience. In the event of a ******* incident – “a camera can break, a prop can fall” – they cut to a presenter in the green room, who can fill for a couple of minutes. Up in the control room, a tape of the dress rehearsal plays in sync with the live show, allowing directors to switch to pre-recorded footage in the event of something like a stage invasion or a malfunctioning microphone. A visual glitch isn’t enough to trigger the back-up tape, however – as Switzerland’s Zoë Më discovered at Tuesday’s first semi-final. Her performance was briefly interrupted when the feed from an on-stage camera froze, but producers simply cut to a wide shot until it was fixed. (If it had happened in the final, she’d have been offered the chance to perform again.) “There’s actually lots of measures that are being taken to make sure that every act can be shown in the best way,” says Reist. “There are people who know the regulations by heart, who have been playing through what could happen and what we would do in various different situations. “I’ll be sitting next to our head of production, and if there’s [a situation] where somebody has to run, maybe that’s going to be me!” Sarah Louise Beennett British act Remember Monday perform on top of a giant fallen chandelier during their song at this year’s Eurovision Sarah Louise Bennett French star Louane poses a particular challenge this year, as her performance involves several kilograms of sand being poured onto the stage. To compensate, she performs on a large canvas that can be folded over and carried off stage. It’s no surprise to learn that staging a live three-hour broadcast with thousands of moving parts is incredibly stressful. This year, organisers have introduced measures to protect the ******** of contestants and crew, including closed-door rehearsals, longer breaks between shows, and the creation of a “disconnected zone” where cameras are banned. Even so, Reist says she has worked every weekend for the past two months, while Van Rouwendaal and his team are regularly pulling 20-hour days. The shifts are so long that, back in 2008, Eurovision production legend Ola Melzig built a bunker under the stage, complete with a sofa, a “sadly underused” PS3 and two (yes, two) espresso machines. “I don’t have hidden luxuries like Ola. I’m not at that level yet!” laughs Van Rouwendaal “But backstage, I’ve got a spot with my crew. We’ve got stroopwafels there and, last week, it was King’s Day in Holland, so I baked pancakes for everyone. “I try to make it fun. Sometimes we go out and have a drink and cheer because we had a great day. “Yes, we have to be on top, and we have to be sharp as a knife, but having fun together is also very important.” And if all goes to plan, you won’t see them at all this weekend. Source link #Meet #invisible #backstage #team #song #contest #tick Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Liberal, Nationals leaders nutting out power share deal Liberal, Nationals leaders nutting out power share deal After a bruising election defeat, Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud will meet to chart a different course for a depleted coalition. The pair will hold their first formal talks on Thursday to set up a coalition agreement between the parties, which is renewed after every election. Mr Littleproud is travelling to Ms Ley’s home in Albury, in regional NSW, for the meeting. The coalition agreement will help to determine how frontbench positions are carved up between the parties in the next parliament, as well as positions on policy. Issues over where the coalition goes on its nuclear policy or its net-zero emissions targets by 2050 are also set to feature in discussions. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has called for the junior coalition partner to have a ******* seat at the table. “(The coalition) is a very successful partnership over a long ******* of time, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted,” she told Nine’s Today program. “The National Party, proportionately, did incredibly well. We haven’t had this amount of political clout within the coalition since the ’70s.” While the Nationals retained nearly all of its lower house seats at the election, it lost the NSW seat of Calare to Andrew Gee, a former National who defected from the party to serve as an independent. The coalition have won 43 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, while the opposition has 26 seats in the Senate with counting still continuing. Senator McKenzie said the Nationals needed to have a ******* say in the frontbench make up of the party. “We want to see see a whole raft of not just number of portfolios, but the way the coalition operates, and indeed, the type of portfolios that we hold,” she said. Elsewhere, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has expressed his desire to one day lead the party. The West *********** was touted as a contender in the recent Liberal leadership contest, but did not put his hand up. In a podcast interview, Mr Hastie said while family reasons prevented him from standing for leadership, he wanted to one day lead the party. “I’d be foolish to say I don’t have a desire to lead, I do have a desire to lead,” he told the Labor-aligned Curtin’s Cast. “The timing was all out for personal reasons.” Just days into her role as opposition leader, Ms Ley said the coalition needed to listen to the message it received from voters at the ballot box. “We must listen, change and develop a fresh approach,” she wrote in an opinion piece. “To all Australians, those who did vote for us and those who didn’t, we will work day and night to earn your trust over the next three years. “Now more than ever, the federal Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia.” Source link #Liberal #Nationals #leaders #nutting #power #share #deal Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Putin, Trump to skip Ukraine’s peace talks that Russian leader proposed Putin, Trump to skip Ukraine’s peace talks that Russian leader proposed By Steve Holland and Tom Balmforth WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats. Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday “without any preconditions”. Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin. After the Kremlin’s delegation announcement, a U.S. official said Trump would not attend – days after saying that he was considering the trip. While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and U.S. presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had challenged the Kremlin leader to attend the talks “if he’s not afraid,” in an apparent contest to show Trump who wants peace more. Zelenskiy was on his way to Turkey, a Ukrainian official said. Earlier, the Kyiv leader has said he would take part in the negotiations only if Putin were there. Trump wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe’s biggest land war since World War Two, and a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday there could also be discussions about a huge prisoner of war exchange. Zelenskiy backs an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed. MORE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA? Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to push them towards a peace settlement, said he was “always considering” secondary sanctions against Moscow if he thought it was blocking the process. U.S. officials have spoken about possible financial sanctions as well as potential secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil. A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday that Ukraine’s leadership would decide on its next steps for peace talks in Turkey once there was clarity on Putin’s participation. The U.S. delegation to Turkey included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said early on Thursday he had met with Rubio to share Zelenskiy’s peace vision and “coordinate positions during this critical week.” Medinsky and Fomin, part of the Russian delegation, took part in the last set of negotiations between the two sides in the first weeks of the war. Direct talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia last took place in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what he calls a “special military operation” to root out neo-Nazis. Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Tom Balmforth, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Moscow and Kyiv bureaus; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Franklin Paul and Stephen Coates) Source link #Putin #Trump #skip #Ukraines #peace #talks #Russian #leader #proposed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Road to Trump’s Embrace of White South Africans The Road to Trump’s Embrace of White South Africans It was May 2019 and national security officials were in the Situation Room discussing Iran when President Trump abruptly changed the subject. He wanted to talk about granting asylum and citizenship to white South African farmers. Mr. Trump had floated the idea before, claiming that the farmers were a persecuted ********* group being displaced from their land, according to John R. Bolton, his national security adviser at the time, who was at the meeting. Mr. Bolton said he thought little of Mr. Trump’s wish. The president had embraced fringe ideas and false narratives pushed by white Afrikaner activists, Mr. Bolton said. “It never amounted to anything, so I just put it as typical Trump,” Mr. Bolton recalled in a recent interview. “Some random person tells him something and he’s obsessed with it.” Five years later, Mr. Trump’s views on white farmers in South Africa are shaping U.S. foreign policy in his second term. On Monday, the first group of Afrikaners, a white ethnic ********* that ruled during apartheid in South Africa, landed in Washington, as the Trump administration upended a refugee system that had provided sanctuary for those fleeing war, famine and natural disasters. The administration is welcoming white South Africans after suspending the program for everyone else, including other Africans who have waited in refugee camps for years and were vetted and cleared, and Afghans who supported the U.S. war in their country. The extraordinary development capped months of a diplomatic spiral between the two nations. In early February, Mr. Trump signed an executive order halting all foreign aid to South Africa, claiming that its government had engaged in “race-based discrimination.” In March, his administration expelled South Africa’s ambassador after he criticized Mr. Trump for playing to white grievance in America and warned of a “global protective movement that is beginning to envelop embattled white communities.” A convergence of factors has fueled the administration’s hostile approach to South Africa. They include meetings with Afrikaner activists, a break between the two countries over Israel’s war in Gaza and Mr. Trump’s focus on eradicating diversity and inclusion programs that the administration alleges have led to racism against white people. His most influential advisers include hard-right conservatives executing an agenda influenced by white victimhood. The officials who might have rebuffed Mr. Trump’s ideas have been replaced by loyalists, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are willing to turn his impulses into policy. And a conversation with the renowned South African golfer Gary Player stayed on Mr. Trump’s mind. When Mr. Trump raised the issue of white farmers in the Situation Room, Mr. Bolton recalled that the president, while practicing his swing with Mr. Player, had heard that the Afrikaners were being “driven from their land.” Two other former administration officials also said Mr. Trump had heard about the struggle of Afrikaners from Mr. Player. In February, Mr. Player said he had “not even once” spoken to Mr. Trump about U.S. policies in South Africa. “I’m a big Trump fan, but I can’t get involved with politics,” Mr. Player said, adding, “Donald Trump’s going to make the decisions about South Africa. That’s going to come from him.” Asked about Mr. Bolton’s account last month, an adviser to Mr. Player, Dave King, said the golfer did not recall the conversation with Mr. Trump. “He considers all discussions that he has on the golf course as private,” Mr. King said. White House officials did not respond directly to questions about how Mr. Trump’s views on South African’s plight evolved into U.S. policy. Instead, they reiterated their concerns about the Afrikaners. “Afrikaner refugees who arrived in the United States today shared their harrowing stories of discrimination and persecution in South Africa, including violent attacks, vandalism of property, death threats, racial slurs against farmers, songs calling for the death of all Afrikaners, affirmative action laws that prevent many from finding work and a government that, at a minimum, did not respond to their requests for help,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement on Monday. “It’s truly sad The New York Times is attempting to minimize the suffering of this long-persecuted ********* group.” To Mr. Trump, South Africa is a cautionary tale for the United States. In the 1990s, when one of his advisers mentioned a news item projecting that nonwhite people could become the majority in the United States, Mr. Trump shot back that there would be a revolution should that happen. “This isn’t going to become South Africa,” he said, according to a book about the president, “Confidence Man,” by Maggie Haberman, a New York Times reporter. Years later, in August 2018, one of Mr. Trump’s favorite newscasters crystallized his views of South Africa. Tucker Carlson, a Fox News host at the time, said that South Africa’s president had begun “seizing land from his own citizens” under a new law that Mr. Carlson called “the definition of racism.” “Racism is what our elites say they hate most — Donald Trump is a racist they say — but they pay no attention to this at all,” Mr. Carlson said. Within hours of the newscast, Mr. Trump had fired off a tweet claiming that there was “large-scale killing” of white farmers in South Africa, and that he had directed the State Department to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations.” “South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers,” he wrote, tagging the accounts of Fox News and Mr. Carlson. With that comment, Mr. Trump had weighed in on an issue at the root of tensions in South Africa for generations. For nearly five decades, South Africa lived under the Afrikaner-led apartheid government, which violently segregated the ****** majority, denying them access to quality housing, education and land, and the ability to build generational wealth. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the government has made efforts to undo the economic imbalance created by the system, including through a program created to redistribute land to ****** South Africans that had been seized by the former colonial and apartheid governments. But ****** South Africans continue to lag behind white South Africans by virtually every economic measure. President Cyril Ramaphosa this year signed a law enabling the government to take private land without compensation when it is deemed to be in the public interest. Legal experts say that uncompensated seizures are likely to be rare — the government has long purchased land from white farmers. The law also includes a judicial process that gives landowners an opportunity to challenge seizures. Despite Mr. Trump’s statement, white South Africans still dominate landownership. White-owned farms occupy about half of South Africa’s surface area, even as white people make up just 7 percent of the population. While gruesome killings of white farmers in South Africa have captured national attention, police statistics show that the farmers are no more vulnerable to violent crime than other people in the nation. The State Department report on South Africa in the first Trump administration said that “farm killings represented only 0.2 percent of all killings in the country.” Those killings have remained minuscule in the years since. South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress, has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid. But the party has been plagued by accusations of corruption and political retribution campaigns, and has struggled to provide basic needs for its people. Critics of the government say that it has escaped scrutiny from allies like the United States, where many politicians still have a romanticized view of the country that elected Nelson Mandela. U.S. officials and Afrikaner activists have pointed to a different South African political party’s rallying cry of “Kill the Boer!” as evidence that white South Africans are being targeted. Boer means farmer in Dutch and Afrikaans. The African National Congress distanced itself from the chant years ago. After lobbying for decades to gain allies in Washington, the Afrikaners finally found the most powerful one in Mr. Trump. Ernst Roets, a prominent Afrikaner activist who has been featured on Mr. Carlson’s show, said activists have long wanted U.S. leaders to put more pressure on South Africa. “South Africa is changing,” he said, “and the American administration has taken note of this.” Divisions Erupt, and the Ambassador Is Expelled Mr. Trump wasted no time resurrecting the Afrikaner issue when he returned to office this year. And he was no longer surrounded by officials willing to limit his fringe ideas to social media. Elon Musk, the South African-born billionaire who has become a ubiquitous presence in Mr. Trump’s second term, has made baseless claims on social media about a “genocide of white people in South Africa.” Just weeks after Mr. Trump was inaugurated, Mr. Rubio announced that he would skip a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa. He accused the South African government of using the occasion to promote “solidarity, equality and sustainability,” the official theme of this year’s G20. “In other words: D.E.I. and climate change,” he said. Mr. Rubio and other Trump aides were particularly incensed that South Africa had brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. They consider the South African government a leader in rallying global outrage against Israel. In late February, Trump administration officials met with Afrikaner activists in Washington, who outlined their concerns. The officials asked about the ******* rate of white farmers, racial quotas and laws that have been passed to address racial inequities. “They link it in a sense to their whole D.E.I. issue in America,” said Jaco Kleynhans, who leads international engagement for the Solidarity Movement, an Afrikaner rights organization that met with the White House officials earlier this year. “They said there must only be merit.” And while Mr. Trump’s aides privately inquired about South Africa’s handling of race, some of them raged over the South African ambassador’s criticism of Mr. Trump’s approach to race. The ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was quoted in a Breitbart article as saying that Mr. Trump was leading a “supremacist” movement against “incumbency, those who are in power” in South Africa. After reading the article in March, Mr. Rubio announced the expulsion of Mr. Rasool, calling him a “race-baiting politician who hates America and hates” Mr. Trump. Meeting at the White House Mr. Trump’s executive order shocked even Afrikaner activists. Days earlier, in a post on X, Mr. Ramaphosa defended the recently adopted Expropriation Act, writing that it was “not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process.” He said he looked forward to explaining the difference to the Trump administration. “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?” Mr. Musk wrote in response, reposting Mr. Ramaphosa’s message on his own account. Four days after Mr. Musk’s response, Mr. Trump issued an executive order halting aid to South Africa. He said his administration would prioritize the resettling of “Afrikaner refugees” into the United States because of policies that he said had “racially disfavored landowners.” Mr. Kleynhans, the Afrikaner rights group activist, said that after the order was issued, many of his organization’s members were concerned that things could get worse for them at home. He and other leaders in the Afrikaner movement decided to lobby the Trump administration to provide support for Afrikaners who wanted to remain in South Africa. He declined to say who from the White House met with the delegation. But a congressional official said the meeting included Brendan McNamara, the director of African affairs for the National Security Council, and Dan Dunham, a staff member in the council’s Africa group. The delegation also met with senior State Department officials. The South Africans told the American officials that while they appreciated the Trump administration’s acknowledgment of the Afrikaners, they most wanted help fixing South Africa so that Afrikaners could continue living there, Mr. Kleynhans said. But according to Mr. Kleynhans, it was clear that the White House officials believed that the Afrikaners, the descendants of European colonialists, would be better off in the United States. Several people brought up the fact that many Afrikaners were already working on farms in America. Some mentioned businesspeople they knew who were Afrikaner. White House officials seemed to believe that Afrikaners could quickly contribute to America’s economy, he said. Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, made the administration’s cultural affinity for Afrikaners clear on Monday when he was asked why the South Africans were welcomed over other refugees, including Afghan allies. “Some of the criteria are making sure that refugees did not pose any challenge to our national security,” Mr. Landau said after meeting with the newly arrived white South Africans at Washington Dulles International Airport. “And that they could be assimilated easily into our country.” The same day, Mr. Trump repeated his debunked claim that “it’s a genocide that’s taking place.” “It’s a terrible thing that’s taking place and the farmers are being killed,” he said. Mr. Trump added: “They happen to be white.” Alan Blinder, Maggie Haberman and Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting. Source link #Road #Trumps #Embrace #White #South #Africans Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Georgetown researcher released from ICE custody after judge’s order – The Washington Post Georgetown researcher released from ICE custody after judge’s order – The Washington Post Georgetown researcher released from ICE custody after judge’s order The Washington PostJudge Orders Georgetown Academic Released From Immigration Detention The New York TimesIndian academic held over pro-************ views released from Ice jail The GuardianJudge orders release of Georgetown researcher arrested by ICE after allegedly spreading ****** propaganda Fox NewsThese detained foreign nationals have been released from ICE custody Axios Source link #Georgetown #researcher #released #ICE #custody #judges #order #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]