03 World

House Intelligence Committee Democrats Demand Independent Review of Signal Chat Leak– slaynews.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

House Intelligence Committee Democrats Demand Independent Review of Signal Chat Leak– slaynews.com
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Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are demanding that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard conduct an independent review of the recent Signal chat leak.

It comes after an anti-Trump journalist was inadvertently added to a Signal chat about a military attack, WPRI-TV reported.

Ranking member Jim Himes (D-CT) sent a letter to Gabbard Monday demanding a written response.

The issue occurred because National Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added an Atlantic journalist to the Signal chat with officials.

The left-wing “news” outlet subsequently published the messages.

They were discussing a strike on Houthi terrorists.

White House desperately wants you to forget national security fail– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

White House desperately wants you to forget national security fail– www.dailykos.com
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The Trump administration is attempting to shut down growing concerns over the war plans leak, even as congressional requests for independent investigations have begun to surface.

Senior members of the Trump administration—including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz—discussed confidential war plans in a Signal group chat, in which journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally included.

“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team, and this case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

Leavitt, who has a history of lying, said that “steps have been made” to ensure that another leak doesn’t happen in the future but gave no details on what those purported steps were.

Tammy Bruce: Annexing Greenland Is ‘For Their Own Good’– crooksandliars.com

pgnewser April 3, 2025 0

Tammy Bruce: Annexing Greenland Is ‘For Their Own Good’– crooksandliars.com
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During her hit on Fox Business Network Monday, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce ignored Trump’s military threats to acquire Greenland, claiming instead the US only wants to protect them from foreign threats.
.
When has Greenland been threatened?

Oh, wait. The U.S. just did.

VARNEY: Now this, President Trump did not rule out using military force to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce joins me now. Tammy, how far will Mr. Trump go to control Greenland?

BRUCE: Well, you know, this is not, and good morning, Stu, nice to see you.

Crisis in Sweden as nuclear bunkers are readied for WW3 clash | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Crisis in Sweden as nuclear bunkers are readied for WW3 clash | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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Sweden has announced a £7.7million plan to modernise its civil defence bunkers after warning Swedes to prepare for the risk of war. The Scandinavian country which shares a border with Russia has 64,000 such bunkers. Space is said to be sufficient enough for seven million people, almost three quarters of Sweden’s 10.5 million population.

The country’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) is reported to be inspecting the shelters, some of which can accommodate thousands of people. The bunkers offer protection against the blast and heatwaves triggered by a nuclear weapon as well as radioactive fallout, gas from chemical or biological weapons and bomb fragments.

MSB said on Monday (April 1) that the modernisation work would take two to three years, with work already underway on 25 of the 80 largest shelters.

Sweden’s action comes amid rising tensions over the war in Ukraine and doubts over US President Donald Trump‘s commitment to defending Europe.

Trump Administration Health Funding Cuts: 23 states sue Trump administration over $11 billion health funding cut– timesofindia.indiatimes.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Trump Administration Health Funding Cuts: 23 states sue Trump administration over $11 billion health funding cut– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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A coalition of attorneys general from 23 states has sued the Trump administration over its decision to revoke $11 billion in federal health funding, arguing that the move is illegal and endangers public health across the country.

The lawsuit has been filed in a federal court in Rhode Island.
According to the news agency AP, the move aims to block the administration from pulling back funds that were originally allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic for testing, vaccination, mental health services and addiction treatment.
The states involved in the lawsuit include New York, California, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, as well as the District of Columbia.
“Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Tuesday.
As per the news agency Reuters, the US department of health and human services (HHS) defended the cuts, stating that “the Covid-19 pandemic is over” and that taxpayer dollars should no longer be spent on what the agency described as a “non-existent pandemic”.
The funding in question was being used by states not only for pandemic-related efforts but also for tracking other infectious diseases such as measles and bird flu, as well as supporting mental health services and addiction treatment programs, reported Reuters.
Local and state health departments have warned that the sudden withdrawal of funds will lead to massive job losses, with some infectious disease teams expected to lose up to 90% of their staff.

Military Analysis: Europe’s Firepower is Far Behind U.S., Russia, and China | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Military Analysis: Europe’s Firepower is Far Behind U.S., Russia, and China | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com
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After eighty years of relying on the U.S. for defense, the EU’s combined military power remains dwarfed by the U.S., Russia, and China.

Recent media reports have claimed that Europe is bolstering its defenses to counter Russia, increasingly independent of U.S. assistance.

These headlines, while attention-grabbing, often gloss over a critical clarification: Europe is not a unified political entity. It is a continent—a geographic space—lacking its own institutions or a standing army.

When such claims surface, they could plausibly refer to three distinct entities: NATO, the US-led transatlantic alliance with its collective defense framework; the European Union (EU), a political and economic union with limited military integration; or a broader notion of “greater Europe,” encompassing all nations on the continent, including non-EU and non-NATO countries like Russia itself.

For this article, I assume these claims point to the EU’s militarization efforts. And for the analysis, I am employing this PMEI framework—Political, Military, Economic, and Infrastructure—widely used in strategic and national security contexts, to provide a comprehensive lens to assess the EU’s complex systems, identifying strengths, vulnerabilities, and interdependencies across these critical domains.

France Cracked Down on Far-Right Corruption—And Team Trump Is Triggered – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

France Cracked Down on Far-Right Corruption—And Team Trump Is Triggered – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen has not proven to be as lucky as Donald Trump was in skirting consequences of breaking the law.Alexis Sciard/IP3/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

After a French court found far-right leader and former presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzlement on Monday—a conviction that will bar her from holding political office for five years—some of President Donald Trump’s closest allies are boosting baseless conspiracy theories alleging that Le Pen’s conviction is part of a global scheme to keep right-wing populists from holding office.

Le Pen is reportedly accused of wrongfully diverting $5 million in funds earmarked for the European Parliament to staffers of her nationalist, xenophobic party, the National Rally, over a 12-year period. The verdict makes her ineligible to run in the country’s next presidential election in 2027—and comes after she was polling at 37 percent, more than 10 points ahead of her closest challenger. Le Pen has run for that office three times before, and became more popular as right-wing political parties across Europe rose in prominence in recent years; in the 2022 presidential runoff, Le Pen earned 41.5 percent of votes to President Emmanuel Macron’s 58.6 percent. (Macron is term-limited.)

 

Iran, Facing Trump Threats, Says It Positioned ‘Launch-Ready Missiles’ To Strike ‘US-Related Positions’– freebeacon.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Iran, Facing Trump Threats, Says It Positioned ‘Launch-Ready Missiles’ To Strike ‘US-Related Positions’– freebeacon.com
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Iran says it has readied “a significant number” of advanced missiles capable of striking American bases and military outposts in the Middle East, drawing a sharp warning from the Trump administration.

Iran’s “armed forces have readied missiles with the capability to strike U.S.-related positions,” the Tehran Times, a state-controlled newspaper, reported on Monday. “A significant number of these launch-ready missiles are located in underground facilities scattered across the country, designed to withstand airstrikes.”

The announcement came in response to President Donald Trump’s threat over the weekend to bomb the country if it does not enter into negotiations over its contested nuclear weapons program. But Trump is not backing down—the White House, in response to Tehran’s war preparations, told the Washington Free Beacon it does “not take kindly to military threats.”

“President Trump and his administration do not take kindly to military threats,” said White House National Security Council communications director James Hewitt. “The President has made clear he prefers direct diplomatic channels with Tehran, or they will face serious consequences if they do not end their work to obtain nuclear weapons.”

Fresh US strikes extend air campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthis | News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Fresh US strikes extend air campaign targeting Yemen’s Houthis | News– www.aljazeera.com
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Houthis claim to down US drone. President Donald Trump declares Yemeni rebel group ‘decimated’ by air strike campaign.

The United States military launched a series of air attacks on Yemen overnight, targeting Houthi rebels.

Strikes hit an area near the capital, Sanaa, as well as the northern province of Saada early on Tuesday as the US extended a bombing campaign against targets in Yemen that began in mid-March and has killed dozens of people.

The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that US forces launched 15 raids on the northern province of Saada, including the city of Saada and the districts of Majz and Sahar. Mount Nabi Shuaib, in the Bani Matar district of Sanaa province, was also reported to have been targeted.

Thousands flee Gaza’s Rafah after Israel issues new evacuation orders– www.euronews.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Thousands flee Gaza’s Rafah after Israel issues new evacuation orders– www.euronews.com
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UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said 140,000 people are impacted by the Israeli military’s latest displacement orders, which indicate it could soon launch another major ground operation in Gaza’s southernmost city.

Thousand of Palestinians fled Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah on Monday after the Israeli military issued new sweeping evacuation orders, indicating it could soon launch another major ground operation.

At least 140,000 people were affected by the evacuation order, according to Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees.

“People are treated like pinballs with constant military orders playing with their fate and lives,” Lazzarini wrote on the social platform X.

Starmer dismisses claims he’s been ‘played’ by Trump, and says future trade deal could lessen impact of tariffs – UK politics live | Politics– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Starmer dismisses claims he’s been ‘played’ by Trump, and says future trade deal could lessen impact of tariffs – UK politics live | Politics– www.theguardian.com
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Keir Starmer has dismissed claims that he has been “played” by President Trump over tariffs.

In an interview with Sky News this morning, echoing what Jonathan Reynolds said in his morning interview round (see 8.58am), Starmer said that a future trade deal with the US might lead to the UK getting some exemptions from the tariffs coming tomorrow. He said:

We are of course negotiating an economic deal which will, I hope … mitigate the tariffs.

Asked if he had been “played” by US President Donald Trump, Starmer replied:

The US is our closest ally. Our defence, our security, our intelligence are bound up in a way that no two other countries are.

So it’s obviously in our national interest to have a close working relationship with the US, which we’ve had for decades, and I want to ensure we have for decades to come.

He said talks on an economic deal would normally take “months or years” but “in a matter of weeks we have got well advanced in those discussions”.

Starmer also confirmed that it was likely the UK would be affected by the tariffs being announced tomorrow.

We are obviously working with the sectors most impacted at pace on that.

Nobody wants to see a trade war but I have to act in the national interests.

Le Pen conviction ‘a very big deal’ – Trump — RT World News– www.rt.com

pgnewser April 1, 2025 0

Sweden pledges $1.6 billion in new Ukraine aid, including air defense– www.yahoo.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Sweden pledges $1.6 billion in new Ukraine aid, including air defense– www.yahoo.com
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PARIS — Sweden announced additional military aid for Ukraine to the tune of 16 billion Swedish kronor ($1.6 billion), in response to a Ukrainian request for capabilities in air defense, artillery, satellite communications and the maritime domain.

The new military aid package, Sweden’s biggest yet, brings support for Ukraine’s defense to 29.5 billion kronor this year, the government said on Monday. The Nordic country said it has provided 80 billion kronor of military aid to Ukraine since 2022.

“We are stepping up the support and we are increasing it in strength and scope, and there are strong reasons to do this in light of the very serious situation in Ukraine,” Minister for Defence Pål Jonson said at a press briefing in Stockholm on Monday. “Russia has the initiative in the war, and we need to support Ukraine to break that trend right now.”

The Swedish government has proposed to provide 40 billion kronor in aid in Ukraine in 2025, partially by moving funds earmarked for 2026 to this year.

Israel Issues Evacuation Order for Southern Gaza– www.nytimes.com

pgnewser March 31, 2025 0

Israel Issues Evacuation Order for Southern Gaza– www.nytimes.com
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The Israeli military issued a sweeping evacuation order for the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, signaling that it could relaunch intensive assaults in the area.

The order — which came during the Eid al-Fitr holiday — heralded renewed hardship for Palestinians in the southernmost city of Rafah, which has been battered by the war between Israel and Hamas, and has endured periods of being overwhelmed with displaced people and depopulated by evacuation orders. The war restarted two weeks ago after a monthslong cease-fire collapsed.

In the past, the Israeli military has ordered evacuations ahead of both aerial attacks and ground maneuvers that it has said were targeting Hamas.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, on Monday posted a map of the affected areas on his social media accounts, including Rafah and parts of neighboring Khan Younis. He said Palestinians must relocate to shelters in a costal region to the north.