TV News LIES

Iran’s top diplomat has said a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, as concern grows that Israel could undermine diplomatic efforts to finally end the Middle East war, with Donald Trump even criticising his ally and war partner as irresponsible.

“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” said the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

A Hezbollah media relations official also said the group had received ⁠assurances from Iran that it ⁠would ⁠demand a ​withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon ⁠in its next phase of talks ⁠with the US.

The comments came as Donald Trump, speaking at the G7 leaders summit, rounded on the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he had to behave “more responsibly in Lebanon”, adding that a recent Israeli bombing attack on Beirut was “vicious”.

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Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), backed by both President Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp (R), is projected to lose the Republican runoff for Georgia governor to healthcare executive and billionaire Rick Jackson, according to Decision Desk HQ. 

Jones’s loss deals a major blow to the president, adding another statewide loss to his primary scorecard.

Jackson will now face Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) in the general election, which the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report considers a “toss up.” 

Jones was long seen as the frontrunner in the GOP race after he received an early endorsement from the president. A long-time ally of the president, Jones previously served as the Georgia co-chair for Trump’s first presidential campaign and signed Electoral College documents falsely claiming Trump beat former President Biden in the 2020 election.

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The White House has argued that funding related to security ‒ including a hospital underneath the ballroom and a rooftop drone center ‒ is separate from the ballroom project.

In response to the explosive report, the White House said Trump remains committed to spend $400 million in private funds on the ballroom. "President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Ingle pointed to the June arrests of five suspects in what the FBI alleged was a plot to attack Trump's Ultimate Fighting Championship event as an example of why a larger, more secure ballroom is needed.

"The events over the weekend and the foiled attempted attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements," Ingle said.

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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter on Tuesday to FBI Director Kash Patel, demanding answers regarding allegations he's using a "slush fund" to pay out allies.

"We have been receiving troubling reports that you may be using part of the budget of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a personal slush fund to make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in unlawful 'bonus' payments to loyalist MAGA henchmen who have engaged in misconduct," begins the letter, adding:

We write to find out precisely how much slush fund largess you have put on the American taxpayer's tab. According to information received by the House Committee on the Judiciary, your office has issued more than $1 million in awards to special agents serving on your "Director's Advisory Team" —a curated group of agents who are willing to carry out your unlawful partisan and personal orders—and special agents on your security detail, circumventing the mandatory maximum pay caps established by statute.

Raskin goes on to suggest that Patel's payouts may be illegal.

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On Sunday, Israeli settlers torched vehicles and attempted to set fire to a mosque in the West Bank, prompting The Israeli military to deploy troops to quell riots described as violent acts by "Israeli civilians."

In the village of Burqa, settlers set fire to a car and broke down a mosque door, setting its entrance alight before fleeing, according to Wafa. In nearby Deir Dibwan, settlers torched two vehicles, the Palestinian news agency reported.

Security forces were dispatched to the Binyamin Brigade area to disperse riots and extinguish fires, the military said. The military stated forces "strongly condemn all acts of violence."

Days before these attacks, the United Nations warned settler violence in the West Bank had reached record levels, averaging six attacks daily. More than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to such violence.

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A Middle East Eye investigation can reveal details of properties advertised in occupied Palestinian territory, including illegal Israeli settlements, at the Great Israeli Real Estate Event on Sunday.

This comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday he had discussed the event with the Metropolitan Police, and that he had been "informed that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation".

MEE revealed details last week of companies set to participate in the event which had extensive links to illegal Israeli settlements.

On Sunday MEE saw numerous photos from the event, which was held at the Edgware United Synagogue. 

The company Jerusalem Real Estate (JRE) advertised projects in French Hill and Ramat Eshkol, illegal settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, in a brochure at the event.

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The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling and found the UK government’s ban on the direct action group Palestine Action to be lawful.

In February, the High Court found that then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group was "unlawful" and "discriminatory", following a challenge brought by the group's co-founder Huda Ammori.

It ruled that the ban constituted a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights as it entailed "a very significant" interference with rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It further held that the ban was not consistent with the home secretary's own policy.

The government immediately stated its intention to appeal the ruling, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood saying she was “disappointed” with the outcome, adding that the ban "followed a rigorous and evidence-based decision-making process".

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Abdullah Ibrahim, the South African jazz pianist deemed his country's equivalent to Mozart by Nelson Mandela, died Monday in his adopted home of Germany after a short illness. He was 91 years old.

"Abdullah passed away peacefully with South Africa and its people in his heart," his partner, Marina Umari, said in a statement. "His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself."

In an extraordinarily accomplished career that spanned eight decades, Ibrahim helped bring bebop stylings to South Africa, and he bonded with Duke Ellington, who produced one of his early, influential recordings. In his later years, he became an idol and an inspiration to new generations of jazz pianists.

Abdullah Ibrahim was born Adolph Johannes Brand in 1934. His mother was a pianist at their church, and he began taking piano lessons at the age of 7. By the time he was 15, he was playing professionally — billed as Dollar Brand — and in the late '50s formed a group, the Jazz Epistles, that featured trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In January 1960, the group recorded Jazz Epistle Verse One, the first jazz album by an all-Black South African jazz ensemble.

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