TV News LIES

The Trump administration has quietly instructed federal prosecutors in Miami to avoid pursuing criminal investigations into Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials, in the latest sign of warming relations between the White House and the oil-rich nation.

It’s unclear whether prosecutors had implicated Rodríguez in any crimes or whether investigators were moving toward an indictment. A Justice Department spokesperson said in an email “there was never an investigation into her to shut down.”

But DEA records obtained by The Associated Press earlier this year show she consistently surfaced on the radar of federal law enforcement dating to at least 2018, though she has never been criminally charged in the U.S. like several other senior Venezuelan officials.

The directive to pause scrutiny into Rodríguez was meant to avoid upsetting the administration’s efforts to stabilize Venezuela after the capture of her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, among other reasons, the official said. It was not clear whether the White House, which deferred comment to the Justice Department, was involved in the decision.

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Canada has entered into talks to buy Saab’s GlobalEye early warning jets, which are based on Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft. The deal is projected to support 3,000 jobs in Canada’s aerospace and defense sector.

Canada picked Saab over Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail jets, which have been plagued by cost overruns. Another option would have been the Aeris X made by L3Harris.

“The first job of the government is to keep Canadians safe. Our government is protecting Canadians and supporting our Allies with an approach that transforms defence procurement,” Carney said in a statement. “With our new strategy, we are building our economy and creating careers in the skilled trades, science and engineering. The GlobalEye procurement will help us secure our North and build our economy at once.”

GlobalEye is equipped with powerful active and passive sensors, able to provide long-range detection and identification of objects at sea, air and on land.

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THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES Bill will be brought before cabinet for government approval later, with the aim of enacting it before the Dáil summer recess.

The long-awaited bill was first proposed by senator Frances Black in 2018 and would ban trade from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee will later seek government approval and aims to meet this summer deadline.

A department spokesperson remarked that Ireland has “continually advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians”.

However, the spokesperson added that it is “clear from the actions of the Israeli government, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, that they have no intention of reaching a peaceful resolution”.

The spokesperson added that it “remains the government’s preference that collective action would be taken at EU level” and that McEntee is “continuing to actively pursuing this”.

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In a historic first for Germany, nearly 700 students at the University of Leipzig voted almost unanimously on 19 May to demand that their university sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions over the genocide in Gaza.

The location is significant.

For decades, Leipzig has been regarded as one of Germany’s strongest centers of the "Antideutsche" current, a tendency within the radical left defined by militant anti-nationalism and vocal support for Israel under the banner of combating antisemitism. Antideutsche activists also frequently clash with pro-Palestinian activists at demonstrations and events.

The adopted list of demands calls on the university to recognise and condemn the genocidal nature of Israel’s war on Gaza, including the scholasticide taking place there, a term used to describe the systematic destruction of educational institutions, students and staff.

Students demand an end to all cooperation with Israeli universities and institutions, and insist that the University of Leipzig neither participate in, promote, nor publicise collaborations or activities organised or hosted by Israeli universities.

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The US and Israel are "actively working" to strip Jordan of its historic custodianship of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and are pursuing a new arrangement that would see the management of the revered Muslim site closely align with Israeli interests, multiple sources have told Middle East Eye.

US, Jordanian and Palestinian officials, as well as western and Gulf Arab sources, told MEE that under the plan, championed by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has no official role in the administration, and the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the authority of the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf would abruptly end and a new body created by the Israeli government would declare the Al-Aqsa Mosque a "multi-faith centre".

According to the officials, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, the "new arrangement" would grant Jews "equal access" to the Muslim site and formally allow large-group Jewish prayer.

Israel would also have a major say over the appointment of imams, preachers and senior mosque officials, and would also be involved in signing off on the content mentioned in Friday sermons.

Two US officials told MEE that Washington had drafted a paper on how they envisaged the mosque's future. The officials said that the Trump administration would like to see the Al-Aqsa Mosque stripped of its Muslim identity, with the site turned into a landmark tourist attraction that hosts all three Abrahamic religions.

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Russian threats against the foreign diplomatic corps in Ukraine, calling the Kremlin’s statements “shameless blackmail” aimed at intimidating the international community.

The ministry said the security situation in Kyiv remains consistent with the level of threat the capital has faced in recent months amid repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.

In its statement, the MFA expressed gratitude to foreign diplomatic missions and personnel who continue to work in Ukraine despite the ongoing risks.

Ukrainian officials thanked foreign diplomats for continuing their work in Ukraine despite Moscow’s attempts at intimidation. The ministry said it remains ready to assist and coordinate with foreign missions to strengthen their security.

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