Elon Musk compares Newsom to ‘The Joker’ after voter ID requirements banned in California
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning local governments from requiring voters to present an ID at the ballot box in order to cast a vote – a move which sparked backlash from Elon Musk, who branded Newsom as “The Joker.” “Wow, it is now illegal to require voter ID in California! They just made PREVENTING voter fraud against the law,” Musk wrote on X late Monday. “The Joker is in charge.” The bill was passed by the California Assembly in August after being introduced earlier in the year by state Sen. David Min, a Democrat. Newsom signed the bill into law on Thursday. NEWSOM SIGNS ELECTION ‘DEEPFAKE’ BAN, MUSK CLAPS BACK RESHARING AI-ALTERED VIDEO OF KAMALA HARRIS The new law was in response to the beachside city of Huntington Beach passing a voter ID amendment, Measure A, in March with the support of a majority of residents which would allow the city to require voter identification, increase in-person voting sites, and monitor ballot drop boxes in local elections. The measure won at the polls in March with 53.4% approval, county election data shows. But Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber challenged Huntington Beach’s voter ID law, which would have amended the city’s charter to allow voter ID requirements by 2026. In their lawsuit, Bonta and Weber argued that the city’s voter ID law “unlawfully conflicts and is preempted by state law.” California is one of 14 states that does not require voter ID at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “The right to freely cast your vote is the foundation of our democracy and Huntington Beach’s voter ID policy flies in the face of this principle,” Bonta said in a statement earlier this year. He argued that state elections already contain “robust voter ID requirements with strong protections to prevent voter fraud.” He said the new requirements would disproportionately burden “low-income voters, voters of color, young or elderly voters, and people with disabilities.” AG GARLAND PLEDGES TO FIGHT VOTER ID LAWS, ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES While that lawsuit made its way through the courts state, Min introduced Senate Bill No. 1174. It passed out of the State Assembly in a 57-16 vote and in the State Senate in a 30-8 vote. The Huntington Beach City Council placed the voter ID measure on the March ballot after taking a series of hotly contested decisions on topics ranging from flag flying to the removal of books from the public library’s children’s section over concerns about the appropriateness of materials. The moves were initiated by a politically conservative council majority, which took office in 2022, and have drawn scores of residents on all sides of issues to city meetings. Huntington City Attorney Michael Gates said in March that the passage of the amendment approved by voters was “not only permissible” but backed by the state constitution. Last week he vowed to continue to enforce Measure A. “That bill means nothing to the city of Huntington Beach,” Michael Gates said, per OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “The city is going to proceed with its voter ID laws because it has a constitutional right to do so.” Musk’s outburst is not the first time he has sparred with Newsom. Musk last month encouraged his 198 million X users to share an AI-doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris after Newsom signed a bill into law banning digitally altered political “deepfakes.” Musk said he also plans to move the California headquarters for SpaceX to Texas after Newsom signed a bill into law that will bar school districts from notifying parents if their child uses different pronouns or identifies as a gender that’s different from what’s on school records. The Space X owner has also said Democratic states are gaining an unfair advantage over red states in elections as a result of illegal immigration since the census is based on a simple headcount of all residents, both legal and illegal. He said congressional representation and electoral votes are apportioned based on all residents instead of just focusing on citizens. Musk has often weighed in on voter integrity and immigration matters, writing on X in March that “failure to require photo ID to vote obviously makes it impossible to prove voter fraud. That is why the far left refuses to require photo ID to vote.” Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
GOP leader says Vance ‘absolutely prepared’ for VP debate showdown with Walz
NEW YORK – Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley is confident that Sen. JD Vance of Ohio is “absolutely prepared” for Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate showdown. Vance, former President Trump’s running mate on the GOP 2024 ticket, will face off in New York City with Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota in the one and only debate between the two running mates. “You look at everything he’s done since he was named as the candidate. He’s been preparing, he’s been talking with the press, he’s been out there, he’s been moving around and talking to the American voters. So, he’s very ready to have this conversation,” Whatley emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview hours ahead of the debate. A source familiar with Vance’s debate prep told Fox News Digital that over the last month, the senator took part in a series of murder board sessions with his team, where a group of people ask tough questions and have candid discussions to help someone prepare for a difficult examination or test, or in Vance’s case, a vice presidential debate. THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHEN OF TUESDAY’S JD VANCE-TIM WALZ VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE According to the source, Vance conducted a mock debate over the past week, with Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, playing the role of Walz. Former Trump administration Treasury Department assistant secretary Monica Crowley played the role of one of the moderators from CBS News, which is hosting the debate in New York City. Halfway through the mock debate, the power went out, as a strong storm slammed through the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, where Vance lives and where the prep session was held. But according to the source, who shared the details first with Fox News, Vance and the team continued on, using lanterns for lighting and cellphones for timers. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE VP DEBATE Heading into the 2024 vice presidential debate, the 40-year-old Vance has been very talkative, sitting for scores of interviews and taking plenty of questions from reporters on the campaign trail. Walz, who is 60, has been much more reluctant to speak with the national news media. The governor was in debate camp ahead of the showdown to prepare. Walz huddled with advisers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – who played the role of Vance in mock debates – in Harbor Springs, Michigan, near the northern tip of the state’s lower peninsula. Also helping out – Walz’s wife – Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz. Asked on the eve of the showdown with Vance how his wife had been helping him with debate preparation, Walz told reporters, “She wins every one.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POWER RANKINGS SHOW With a second face-to-face showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump unlikely – and with a margin-of-error White House race with five weeks until Election Day in November – there will be heightened stakes at the running mate debate, which is traditionally seen as a second-tier event in the presidential campaign. “Given that we’re only likely to have one head-to-head match-up between the principal candidates and this is the last meet-up between the two tickets directly before the election, it heightens the importance and significance of this debate,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, told Fox News. Most political pundits said Harris bested Trump last month in their first and likely only debate. And flash polls of debate watchers agreed. So a strong showing by Vance in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate could give Trump a boost. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION And there’s a precedent from 12 years ago. After a shaky first debate by then-President Barack Obama against 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, then-Vice President Joe Biden’s well-regarded performance in the running mate debate against Romney running mate Rep. Paul Ryan gave the Democrats’ ticket a big boost. Whatley, the former RNC general counsel and former North Carolina GOP chair who’s a close ally of Trump, told Fox Digital that Vance’s debate mission is to “deliver the message” to voters across the country. Whatley argued that “if you look at the Democrats, they don’t just have messenger problems, they have message problems. The polices that they’re pushing right now are not popular with the American people…. I think on every single one of these issues, the Republican ticket is the ticket of strength, the ticket of common sense, and I feel really great about where we’re going into tonight.” The RNC chair also said that when it comes to Vance’s game plan for the debate, “I think he’s going to talk about the issues that the voters care about and those are the issues like inflation, like the southern border, like prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump. That’s really what people care about. That’s what we’re going to talk about.” Part of the Harris campaign’s strategy ahead of the debate is to raise expectations for Walz. For weeks, they’ve painted Walz as a regular guy who will be facing off with the Ivy League-trained Vance. What they don’t mention is that Walz won six House races and two gubernatorial elections. The Trump campaign’s playing the same game. “Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well-prepared for tomorrow night,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on Monday. But Trump seemed to undercut this campaign’s argument, charging in an interview with Kellyanne Conway’s Fox Nation program “Here’s the Deal with Kellyanne” that Vance is “going up against a moron. A total moron, how she picked him is unbelievable.” Walz comes into the debate with better poll numbers than Vance. According to the latest Fox News national poll, Walz was slightly above water
Sadhguru’s Isha foundation raided by 150 police officers after father alleges daughters being held hostage
A police team searched Isha Foundation’s ashram following a court directive, investigating claims of two women being held against their will and other criminal allegations.
Unearthed photo shows Tim Walz appointee decorated house with posters of murderous communist dictators
A cabinet-level political appointee of Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz decorated the walls of her home with posters of murderous communist dictators, according to a photo posted on Facebook in December 2021 that was discovered by a Minnesota resident and shared with Fox News Digital. Ida Rukavina, the commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, was appointed by Walz in 2022 to oversee the economic development of the northeastern part of the state, where the world’s largest untapped copper-nickel reserve sits. On Dec. 19, 2021, Rukavina posted a photo of her dog to Facebook, according to metadata attached to the image, which appears to have been deleted. In the background were clearly visible posters of communist leaders Mao Zedong and Che Guevara decorating the wall. The poster of Mao, China’s communist dictator from the late 1940s until his death in 1976, and whose policies have been blamed for the deaths of millions, included the communist slogan frequently extolled during his rule: “Revolution is not guilty.” Meanwhile, the poster honoring Guevara, a prominent communist figure during the Cuban Revolution who murdered and tortured hundreds of his political opponents, was paired with a novel on Rukavina’s bookshelf about his life. MINNESOTA WALZ-APPOINTED BOARD REQUIRES TEACHERS TO ‘AFFIRM’ THEIR STUDENTS’ GENDER IDENTITIES Fox News Digital reached out to both Rukavina and the Walz campaign several times but did not receive a response by publication time. Rukavina’s affinity for communist leaders comes amid scrutiny over Walz’s ties to communist China. By the governor’s own admission, he has traveled there several times, including a trip in 1993 that was paid for by the Chinese government. Walz, a former social studies teacher, was often accompanied on these trips by his students, one of whom described the governor turned vice presidential candidate as “Maoist to the core.” Rukavina was tapped by Walz to ensure “local communities in northeastern Minnesota have the resources they need to thrive.” Part of the region Rukavina oversees includes one of America’s only primary domestic sources of nickel, which the United States currently exports from a variety of other countries, including Russia, Canada and Norway. In 2024, the United States experienced a negative trade deficit on raw nickel of $79.4 million, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. BIDEN ADMIN SEEKS TO LOCK UP CRITICAL MINERALS WITH ECO PROTECTIONS AMID GREEN ENERGY PUSH Rukavina is the daughter of the late Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Tom Rukavina, who has been described as holding communist and socialist sympathies. “Tommy Rukavina is someone I once called ‘Tommy the commie’ on the House floor,” Congressman Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said jokingly during remarks eulogizing his relationship with the late politician. Meanwhile, Rukavina reportedly once boasted he was the last socialist in the Minnesota legislature, according to local news outlet the Pioneer Press. “He’s gotten a little conservative in his old age. He’s a socialist now,” former Democratic state Rep. Carly Melin said, the local news outlet added. HARRIS VP PICK SPENT YEARS PROMOTING RESEARCH FACILITY THAT COLLABORATED WITH ‘CHINESE MILITARY COMPANY’ Meanwhile, last week, the Daily Caller News Foundation uncovered that one of Walz’s other political appointees in Minnesota is a member of China’s third-largest political party, which has been granted permission to operate in the communist country because it pledges to “rally closely around” the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, the outlet reported. The appointee, a Minnesota-based attorney named Chang Wang, was tapped by Walz in 2020 to serve on the Minnesota Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, which advises “the Governor, the Legislature, state agencies, and Asian Pacific organizations and citizens,” on issues impacting the Chinese Minnesotan community. Wang is currently the council’s vice chair, according to his profile on the council’s official government website, and his term there is expected to conclude in January 2025.
Tirupati laddu row: SIT probe into ‘adulteration’ temporarily stalled until SC hearing
The top court was hearing a batch of pleas, including those seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged use of animal fat in making Tirupati laddus.
Tim Walz said he went to China ‘dozens’ of times, now his campaign says its ‘closer to 15’
Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said he traveled to China much less than he had initially highlighted in congressional hearings and media interviews. “I have been to China dozens of times,” Walz said during a 2016 congressional hearing. “I’ve been there about 30 times,” Walz told an agriculture-focused publication the same year. However, a Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson recently acknowledged to Minnesota Public Radio that the number was “closer to 15 times.” The revision comes amid growing scrutiny from GOP critics over Walz’s potential ties to the People’s Republic of China and its ruling Communist Party. Earlier this month, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter renewing pressure on the FBI to produce documents related to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entities or officials that Walz has purportedly engaged with in the past. WALZ APPOINTEE WITH APPARENT CCP TIES COULD EXPOSE POTENTIAL VEEP’S NATIONAL SECURITY WEAKNESS, LAWMAKER SAYS According to Walz’s own testimony, he first went to China in 1989 amid the Tiananmen Square uprising. Walz was part of the first delegation of American teachers to ever go to the communist nation during the trip. He was a participant in Harvard’s WorldTeach program, which gave Walz the opportunity to live and teach young students in China for a year. Walz apparently enjoyed his time in China so much that after transitioning his teaching career to the U.S., Walz continued to take annual trips back to China with his students. Walz eventually set up a company with his wife Gwen, called Educational Travel Adventures, Inc., which was dedicated to taking students on trips to China and other international destinations. The two even honeymooned in China on one of their trips in 1993. Walz’s annual trips with students took place between 1993 and the early 2000s, before he began running for public office. FANS BOO TIM WALZ AS HE LEAVES MICHIGAN-MINNESOTA GAME: ‘GET OUT OF HERE’ Walz and his wife dissolved their student-travel company after he won his seat in Congress in 2006. However, Walz’s China experience was a matter of pride for the now-vice presidential candidate when he was trying to join Congress. Walz’s campaign website at the time, for instance, highlighted his work as a visiting fellow at Macau Polytechnic University, a university in China with ties to the CCP. “What we need in education, what we need in the military, and what we need when I’m fostering cultural exchanges with China, is real solutions,” Walz also said when he debated incumbent GOP Rep. Gil Gutknecht in 2006, once again highlighting his work in China. However, after Walz became Harris’ running mate this year, Minnesota Public Radio began trying to verify the “dozens” of trips he claimed to have gone on. In the end, they could only verify that about 12 of them had actually occurred. FOX NEWS MEDIA WILL PRESENT SPECIAL LIVE PROGRAMMING OF VANCE-WALZ DEBATE When the news outlet reached out to the Harris campaign for documentation proving the rest of Walz’s trips did indeed take place, instead of offering such proof they acknowledged that Walz had previously exaggerated the number of trips he took to China, and it was actually “closer to 15 times” not “dozens of times.” Besides apparently misrepresenting how many times he traveled to China, Walz has also been accused of misrepresenting his rank in the Army National Guard as well. “I’m a retired command sergeant major,” Walz asserted while running for Congress in 2006. However, while Walz did serve briefly with that rank, he retired too early to keep it. Walz’s retirement also prevented him from deploying to the Middle East, another point of criticism against the vice presidential candidate who has suggested that he saw combat. Meanwhile, it has been alleged that Walz and his wife have made false assertions about their use of IVF as well. A former national guard veteran who reportedly served with Walz told talk show host Megyn Kelly that they think Walz is a “habitual liar.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He’s a habitual liar. He lies about everything. He lies about stuff that doesn’t make sense.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign but did not hear back prior to publication time.
Fox News Power Rankings: Trump maintains lead on 2 top issues ahead of VP debate
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are hours away from the first and only vice presidential debate. As the latest Fox News Power Rankings reveal, Vance starts the evening with a lead on the economy and immigration, while Walz has an advantage on abortion. Vice presidential hopefuls do not attract as much attention as their bosses when they debate, but as Fox News’ Arnon Mishkin argued Monday, they have changed the direction of at least six elections in the last 50 years. In most cases, these debates are won on policy. Voters are not as familiar with these nominees as they are with former President Donald Trump or even Vice President Kamala Harris, and they do not need to make their choice. The smart play for these vice presidential candidates is to focus on the major issues at stake and how their administrations would solve them. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS TICKS UP AND SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKE CHARGE That is especially true for Walz on the economy and immigration, since the Harris campaign continues to lag on those issues. Vance, meanwhile, has struggled with poor favorability ratings, so his challenge is to hammer the popular parts of the Trump agenda and avoid wading into the culture war trenches. There are also style points up for grabs. Many voters will only ever see this debate in short clips on social media, so acting like a policy wonk is less likely than ever to get the job done. Trump continues to hold an advantage on two of the top three issues in this campaign. He leads on the economy by nine points and immigration by 11. Those numbers have barely budged since Harris and Trump debated. In August, when the Power Rankings last looked at the major issues, the former president led on the economy by eight and immigration by 13. Harris is far out in front on abortion. She leads by 17 points on that issue, also a negligible movement since the last tracker (Harris +18). This tracker includes polls from Fox News, Quinnipiac, CNN/SSRS, NBC News and the New York Times/Siena. Trump lost a point in the horse race after his debate with Harris while the vice president gained one; these modest shifts mirrored those after the first debate in 2020. Together, these results suggest that the cause of Trump’s slight decline was style rather than substance. Conversely, while Harris won the debate and held on to her advantage on abortion, she has not consistently closed the issues gap, particularly on immigration. That is not ideal for her, given the economy (38%) and immigration (17%) are two of the top three issues for voters. A recent Fox News national survey showed those issues and abortion (16%) were the only three that a double-digit percentage of voters called their “most important” issue in deciding their vote. According to the same survey, Harris has strong leads in issues outside the top three. That includes health care, helping the middle class and climate change. These are “bread and butter” issues that the left has relied on to drag out base voters in previous elections. The Democratic candidate also has a lead in uniting the country and, as consistent with previous trackers, having the right temperament for the job. The candidates are evenly divided on national security. Neither has an advantage in handling a crisis that puts the country at risk, being commander in chief or decisions about using nuclear weapons. Trump’s temperament deficit should give Harris an opportunity to lead on some of these qualities, but that has not materialized. ARNON MISHKIN: JD VANCE IS AN EXCELLENT DEBATER AND PRACTICES FOR THE DEBATE EVERY SUNDAY Finally, voters prefer Trump on foreign policy. He has a six-point lead in handling the Israel/Hamas war and an eight-point lead on the Ukraine/Russia war. Tuesday is debate night. Walz and Vance will face off at an event hosted by CBS News in New York City. Fox News will simulcast the debate with special coverage anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum at 8:20 p.m. ET. Fox News Media has proposed a second Harris-Trump debate to be moderated by MacCallum and Baier in October. Voters can now cast a ballot in more than half of all states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. While many voters are expected to cast a ballot early, Election Day itself is just five weeks away.
India’s batting blitz yields stunning win over Bangladesh in rain-hit Test
India bowled out Bangladesh for 146 and then raced to 98-3 in 17.2 overs in a match that lost more than two days to rain. India won a race against time to pull off a remarkable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the rain-hit second Test match. Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed 51 as India, needing 95 for victory, reached 98-3 in just 104 balls in the second session on the final day at Kanpur. A draw loomed large over the match after two and a half days were lost to bad weather with only 35 overs played in the first three days at the Green Park Stadium. Jaiswal reached his second fifty of the match in 43 balls including eight fours and one six before falling to Taijul Islam, ending a 58-run stand with Virat Kohli. Former captain Kohli hit 29 and was there at the end as Rishabh Pant hit the winning boundary. Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz had earlier removed Rohit Sharma, for eight, and Shubman Gill, for six. India rode on Jaiswal’s 72-run blitz in the first innings to force a result in a match which saw no play on Saturday and Sunday because of rain and a wet outfield. India’s captain Rohit said his team wanted to force a result despite the loss of time. “We had to think a lot to keep the game moving forward,” Rohit said after the match. Bangladesh resumed their second innings on 26-2 but the batting fell apart during the first session, with opener Shadman Islam top-scoring on 50. The hosts bundled out Bangladesh for 146 before lunch on the final day. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin broke through in the third over of the day when he had first-innings centurion Mominul Haque caught at leg slip by KL Rahul for two. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who had taken his 300th Test wicket on Monday, struck in his first over of the day when he bowled Najmul, who had made 19. Shadman reached his fifty off 97 balls but fell almost immediately after to fast bowler Akash Deep. Jadeja also picked up the wicket of veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, caught and bowled without scoring, in what could be the former captain’s last Test for Bangladesh. India’s bowlers, especially Jasprit Bumrah and spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, cleaned up the Bangladesh batting for 146 on the final day [Money Sharma/AFP] “We didn’t bat well,” admitted Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. “If you look at all our batters, they played 30 to 40 balls and then got out. It’s important for one batsman to get big runs.” Even after India bowled out Bangladesh for 233 on day four, few expected a result until India came out to bat for the first time. Opener Rohit himself led from the front, whacking the first two balls he faced for sixes and India went on to eclipse Bangladesh’s total in 28 overs scoring at a rate unprecedented in test cricket. By the end of day four, India declared their innings on 285-9 and even removed both the Bangladesh openers. “When we came on day four, we wanted to get them out as early as possible and see what we can do with the bat,” Rohit told reporters. “It was a risk that we were willing to take … when you are trying to bat like that, it’s very easy to get bundled out for a low score as well. Even if we got all out for 150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to get a result.” Earlier on Monday, it was breathtaking batting as India reached 50 in three overs, 100 in 10.1 overs, and 200 in 24.2 overs – the fastest ever by a Test team. The series victory extends India’s lead at the top of the World Test Championship rankings ahead of Australia in second. Adblock test (Why?)
Rutte declares Ukraine ‘top priority’ as he takes over as NATO head
NATO must ensure that Ukraine prevails in its war against Russia, the new head of the transatlantic military alliance said after he took charge. Mark Rutte branded Ukraine his “top priority” as he formally became NATO secretary-general at a ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday. The former Dutch prime minister took over the job from Jens Stoltenberg more than three months after the alliance’s 32 members appointed him. Stating that he “cannot wait to get to work”, Rutte told journalists: “We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation.” He also noted that, amid the growing war between Israel and Hezbollah, monitoring the situation in Lebanon is also at the top of his list. The new NATO chief also asserted that he is not worried about the upcoming presidential election in the United States as he could work with either candidate. It has been suggested that the Republican candidate, former US President Donald Trump, could cut support to Ukraine or weaken security guarantees for some NATO members should he return to the White House after the November elections. Rutte noted Trump’s continued push for NATO allies to spend more on defence, but said he was not worried as he had worked with the US presidential hopeful before. “He was also pushing us on China, and I think he was right there,” he added. The NATO chief also noted that ramping up Western defence industry production and deepening ties with partners in the Asia Pacific as important tasks. “Mark has the perfect background to become a great secretary-general,” a visibly emotional Stoltenberg said as he ended a decade in office. “He has served as prime minister for 14 years and led four different coalition governments … therefore he knows how to make compromises, create consensus, and these are skills which are very much valued here at NATO,” he said. Rutte will likely need to call on such skills to navigate uncertainty over future Western support for Ukraine. Aside from the ambiguity around future US support, the European Union’s policies have been weighted down by opposition from the likes of Hungary. No change Meanwhile, Russian forces have been advancing on the battlefield more than two-and-a-half years after the Kremlin’s all-out invasion. On Tuesday morning, seven people, including three women, were killed when Russian troops shelled the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office. The attack came in an area near a central bus stop and a central market at about 9am (06:00 GMT), the office said in a statement. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin published a video showing the blurred corpses in civilian clothes lying near a market stall with tomatoes and other vegetables. Russia has denied targeting civilians but has regularly struck towns and cities behind the front line. Kyiv has urged its allies to raise military aid to help it repel such attacks. NATO, whose members have supplied 99 percent of all foreign weaponry to Ukraine, agreed at a summit in July to play a bigger role in delivering arms to Kyiv and Rutte would be key in stewarding that support. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media he wants to work “productively” with Rutte towards bringing his country into the military alliance – an idea that Russia has declared a red line. I congratulate Mark Rutte on taking up his duties as NATO Secretary General. I wish him every success in this new role and look forward to working productively together to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security and our partnership with the Alliance, as Ukraine continues on its path… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 1, 2024 “I wish him every success in this new role and look forward to working productively together to strengthen Euro-Atlantic security and our partnership with the alliance, as Ukraine continues on its path towards full-fledged NATO membership,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. A spokesman for the Kremlin said Russia expects no change of policy from the new NATO chief. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli bombardment kills at least 31 in Gaza
Israeli air strikes have killed at least 31 people in Gaza, local medics reported. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had carried out a strike targeting a Hamas command centre. However, it made no immediate comment on two strikes on two houses that Palestinian health officials said killed at least 13 people, including women and children, in Nuseirat. The other strike, on a school sheltering displaced Palestinian families in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, killed at least seven people, medics said. The Israeli military said in a statement the air strike targeted Hamas fighters operating from a command centre embedded in a compound that had previously served as Shujayea School. It accused Hamas of using the civilian population and facilities for military purposes, which Hamas denies. Later on Tuesday, two separate Israeli attacks killed five Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and in the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, medics said. In Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, six Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a tent housing displaced people, medics said. The armed wings of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and other smaller factions said in separate statements that their fighters attacked Israeli forces operating in several areas of Gaza with antitank rockets, mortar fire and explosive devices. The renewed surge in strikes on Gaza came as Israel launched a ground operation in Lebanon, saying its paratroopers and commandos were engaged in intense fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah. The conflict follows devastating Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah’s leadership. Some Palestinians said they feared that Israel’s shift in focus to Lebanon could prolong the conflict in Gaza, which marks its first anniversary next week. “The eyes of the world now are on Lebanon while the occupation continues its killing in Gaza. We are afraid the war is going to go on for more months at least,” said Samir Mohammed, 46, a father of five from Gaza City. “It is all unclear now as Israel unleashes its force undeterred in Gaza, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and God knows where else in the future.” Adblock test (Why?)