Former Premier Berlusconi Ends Italian Presidential Run

Mark Clouse January 25, 2022

Berlusconi drops bid to be elected as Italy’s president

From abcnews.go.com
2022-01-22 21:36:32

Excerpt:

ROME — Former premier Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday bowed out of Italy‘s presidential election set for next week, claiming he had the votes to win but the country could ill-afford political divisions during the pandemic.

Berlusconi also announced that he is opposing, along with his allies in a center-right bloc, any bid for the presidency by Premier Mario Draghi. Draghi, the former head of Europe’s central bank, is now leading a pandemic-unity government with wide political support.

Together, Berlusconi, anti-migrant League leader Matteo Salvini and nationalist Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni could command some 400 of the 1,009 grand electors who are set to start casting written ballots for Italy’s next president on Monday.

The electors from the lower house of the Italian parliament, the Senate and special regional representatives are tasked with choosing a figure who could unite the country.

Berlusconi, 85, who founded the center-right Forza Italia party three decades ago and…

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Australian Reich Bans Peng Shuai Protests at Australian UnOpen

Mark Clouse January 25, 2022

Martina Navratilova labels Australian Open’s Peng Shuai protest ban ‘really cowardly’

From www.independent.co.uk
2022-01-24 09:49:23

Excerpt:

Martina Navratilova has accused Australian Open organisers of “capitulating” to China over the banning of T-shirts supporting Peng Shuai.

Spectators at Melbourne Park were instructed to remove T-shirts and banners bearing the slogan “Where is Peng Shuai?”, drawing attention to the predicament of the Chinese player.

Tennis Australia said it did not allow “clothing, banners or signs that are commercial or political” but that it continued to work with the WTA in seeking clarity on the situation.

There has been significant concern for the wellbeing of the former world doubles number one since early November, when Peng disappeared from public view after making allegations against a high-profile Chinese official on social media.

She has since been seen several times, including giving a TV interview, but her situation remains unclear.

Navratilova, an activist on a range of social issues, said on Tennis Channel: “Sports has always been kind of on the forefront of social issues,…

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US Citizens in Ukraine Abandoned by Biden

Mark Clouse January 25, 2022

Joe Biden Just Told Americans in Ukraine to Go Jump in a Lake – RedState

From redstate.com
2022-01-23 21:00:17

Excerpt:

Are you ready for some more of that foreign policy “expertise” Joe Biden is supposedly famous for? As RedState has reported, tensions between Ukraine and Russia are nearing a boiling point, with the latter possibly invading at any moment. On Saturday, the State Department moved to evacuate all embassy personnel and their families.

Now, the call to leave the country has extended to all Americans. Unfortunately, because absolutely no lessons were learned from Afghanistan, the Biden administration isn’t planning on offering any help. In fact, they basically told Americans still in Ukraine to go jump in a lake.

From State Dept call: “Given that the President has said military action by Russia could come at any time. The US government will not be in a position to evacuate US citizens. So US citizens, currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly.” Arrange commercial flights.

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) January 24, 2022

Telling Americans to “plan…

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Armenia Wants to Normalize Relations with Turkey, Unconditionally

Mark Clouse January 19, 2022

Armenia ready to normalize relations with Turkey without conditions

From www.plenglish.com
2022-01-17 14:54:17

Excerpt:

Yerevan, Jan 17 (Prensa Latina) Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Akop Arshakian said today that his country is ready to start normalizing relations with Turkey without preconditions and open the border, according to the interests of the state and the people.

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Fears Mount of Massive Loss of Life After Tonga Tsunami

Mark Clouse January 19, 2022

Rescuers can still get little, if any, aid to the hardest islands hit by the underwater Tongan volcanic eruption and the subsequent tsunami that followed. Some islands are wholly covered in mud, ash, or both, so rescuers fear that the current death toll of 2 could go dramatically much higher.

Tonga tsunami: Runway ash hampers relief efforts as scale of damage emerges

From www.bbc.co.uk
2022-01-18 07:38:12

Excerpt:

Ash cloaking a runway has hampered relief efforts to Tonga, as the scale of the damage from a volcanic eruption and a tsunami becomes clear.

New Zealand is trying to send clean drinking water and other supplies but planes cannot land at the main airport.

Some of Tonga’s small outlying islands have suffered substantial damage, aid agencies say.

Two people have been reported dead, but with communications limited there are fears the true toll could be higher.

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Watchdog Warned Biden Before Pullout that Afghan Air Force Would Collapse

Mark Clouse January 19, 2022

It appears the Biden administration plainly knew that the Afghan Air Force would soon collapse after a US troop pullout, but the warnings were ignored by Team Biden, and the withdrawal went forward, unchanged, with no lingering US Air support left behind. The result was one of the greatest military disasters in American history. In terms of the wealth lost, and the resources given to our enemies, the failure is near the top.

Now, with evidence coming from a watchdog within the Department of Defense, we know that Biden, or whatever constitutes whatever the Biden decision group really is, had every reason to believe a pullout would lead to the rap[id collapse of the Afghan state and all that such a result would entail (including losing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of American arms and military vehicles to the Taliban, a fascistic Islamist cult that murders even Muslims for not being the right kind of Muslims).

Before pullout, watchdog warned of Afghan air force collapse

From www.washingtonpost.com
2022-01-18 17:10:47
By Kathy Gannon | AP
Excerpt:

Even as the U.S. Department of Defense touted the Afghan air force’s progress “in combat operation capabilities, pilot and ground crew proficiency, as well as air-to-ground integration,” Sopko said, they continued “to struggle with human capital limitations, leadership challenges, aircraft misuse, and a dependence on contractor logistic support.”

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China Still Has a Peng Shuai Problem

Mark Clouse January 19, 2022

World Tennis Star Peng Shuai has not been seen from since a video showed her being interviewed by what is presumed to be a Chinese State sponsored foreign journalist. In that bizarre video, Peng Shuai said everything was great and there was nothing to any of the allegations she made that a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party leader sexually assaulted her.
The world has not stopped talking about Peng Shuai, however, with a Yale Student, presumed to be a Chinese-American, writing anonymously in the college’s new journal in support of the tennis star, and still asking the Chinese Communist Party, and Chairman Xi, to reveal, “Where is Peng Shuai?”

‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ Yale student demands answers, calls for China divestment

From www.thecollegefix.com
2022-01-18 05:02:50
Margaret Kelly – Assistant Editor
Excerpt:

A Yale student, writing anonymously to protect family in China, speaks out against the Communist Party’s ‘oppressive regime’

An anonymous student penned an op-ed in the Yale Daily News to declare support for Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai and call for the university’s divestment from China.

The Chinese Communist Party will try to make the world forget Peng, the author stated, for her allegations of sexual assault against a former party official:

A month after Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai publicly accused a former Communist Party official of sexual assault, I still don’t know if she is safe and free. But I know how the oppressive regime will bury her: Peng Shuai won’t be made a martyr. She won’t be charged. She will disappear from the public, except for a few official publicity stunts. Finally, after months and years, she will be forgotten. Or so planned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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Russia Warned to Stay Out of Ukraine by Germany

Mark Clouse January 18, 2022

German Chancellor warns of ‘serious’ consequences if Russia threatens Ukraine

From www.rawstory.com
2022-01-18 03:44:00
DPA
Excerpt:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russia to de-escalate the crisis along the border with Ukraine, where there has been a massive build-up of Russian troops.

The situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border worries the governments in Berlin and Madrid and is “very, very serious,” said Scholz on Monday in the Spanish capital during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

“Military aggression against Ukraine would have serious political and economic consequences. That’s why it’s our job to do everything we can to avoid such a development, which in the end everyone would be worse off for,” he said.

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Prince Harry Says UK No Longer a Safe Space

Mark Clouse January 18, 2022

Prince Harry Says It’s Not Safe to Return to the UK

From www.popsugar.com
2022-01-16 18:40:03
Princess Gabbara
Excerpt:

Prince Harry says it’s unsafe to return to the UK with his wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, due to a lack of security. In an effort to avoid missing Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee this summer, Harry is threatening legal action against the British government, seeking police protection whenever he and his family are in Britain. On Saturday, the Duke of Sussex’s legal representative issued a statement detailing why additional security is needed beyond his own private security team. “Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats,” Harry’s legal representative wrote. “While his role within the institution has changed, his profile as a member…

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The Weaponized Migrants Used by Belarus to Attack the EU

Mark Clouse January 18, 2022

Belarus deploys migrants in clash with European Union – Kashmir Reader

From kashmirreader.com
2022-01-17 21:18:00

Excerpt:

The key to this migrant crisis has been Putin. He has been Lukashenko’s benefactor and guarantor.

When Alexander Lukashenko crushed a nationwide revolt against his fraudulent presidential victory, he had been hampered by sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union since the summer of 2020, which were biting hard. In response, Lukashenko began offering safe passage for Middle Easterners to Europe, first to Minsk, capital of Belarus, and then, often by government bus, to Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. The motive behind this was to force EU to ease its sanctions against Belarus, by directly threatening an immigration flood tide. In some cases, migrants had even paid five to ten-thousand dollars to come to Belarus, reflecting money profiteering by Lukashenko’s regime. However, there were also others, mostly economic migrants, who had come with minimal expense.
The migrants fleeing the war-torn countries included Afghans, Iraqis and ethnic Kurds. The desperation…

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