Boris Johnson wanted $1 million for interview – Tucker Carlson
The former Fox host accused Britain’s ex-prime minister of attempting a “shakedown”

American journalist Tucker Carlson has said former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would only agree to an interview if he received a $1 million fee. He made the claim following his high-profile interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to Blaze TV founder Glenn Beck for an interview that aired on Tuesday, Carlson contrasted his experience interviewing Putin with attempts to sit down with Johnson, who has slammed the former Fox host as a “tool of the Kremlin” after Carlson’s lengthy discussion with the Russian president earlier this month.

Monkey with a grenade: Why nukes in EU hands would be a nightmare
Scared of being abandoned by the US under Trump, European officials are floating the idea of the bloc’s own nuclear force

In 2023, US President Biden convened the second so-called “Summit for Democracy” with selected countries. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part via video link. He addressed the US President directly: “Thank you very much! Joe, a very special thank you for this important and encouraging initiative. Democracy delivers what it promises to the people and therefore the future belongs to democracy.” At the first summit in 2022, Taiwan had also been present. The Chinese government had reacted sharply. It said that organising the summit was a dangerous attempt to revive the Cold War mentality.

Jamila Eleywa, 66, gathered what little belongings remained to herself and her two surviving granddaughters and packed them into several bags. The elderly woman had decided to return to Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip after she heard that the impending Israeli invasion of Rafah was all but guaranteed, resolving to leave her current refuge to avoid the slaughter she knew would follow.

By Tareq S. Hajjaj / Mondoweiss

The question must be posed: does defending democracy still mean supporting Joe Biden?

And the simplest answer must immediately be proffered: yes, if Joe Biden is the Democratic presidential candidate in November, then defending democracy means vigorously supporting him.

But November is many months away, and a lot can change between now and then. And at the same time, at least one thing has not changed: Biden’s poll numbers are weak, Biden’s candidacy seems extremely vulnerable, and Biden’s advanced age is becoming an increasingly important liability, because of the way opponents have successfully framed it, but also because of his own performance, as an elderly man who lacks the physical and mental vigor that many Americans reasonably associate with the job of President of the United States.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is “too ill” to attend his appeal against the UK's decision to extradite him to the US, his lawyers have said. The US wants him on 17 charges of espionage tied to WikiLeaks’ publication of State Department and Pentagon files in 2010.

Assange, 52, has been held largely in solitary confinement in the Belmarsh maximum security prison in England since 2019, when Ecuador revoked his asylum at American insistence. The Australian-born publisher had requested to appear in court personally, but was unable to do so due to poor health, according to his lawyers. 

Antony Lerman says Israel’s response to the ICJ ruling continues a decades’ old ploy for neutralizing criticism of, and generating sympathy for, the Jewish state

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem on Jan. 28 for a far-right conference.

It called for the Jewish resettlement of the Gaza Strip and the transfer of the population living there, described dubiously using the euphemism “a legal way to voluntarily emigrate them.”

In January, an Australian child innocently brought home a couple of handfuls of garden mulch from near a playground in Sydney's inner west. 

Looking at the mulch, the child's parent was horrified to spot what looked like chunks of bonded asbestos.

Russia must allow an international investigation into the death of opposition activist and anti-corruption campaigner Alexey Navalny, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell has said. The 47-year-old Navalny unexpectedly died on Friday in a Russian prison, where he was serving a lengthy sentence stemming from several criminal convictions.

“Russia must allow an independent and transparent international investigation into [the] circumstances of his sudden death,” Borrell said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the European bloc “will spare no efforts to hold Russia’s political leadership and authorities to account,” and threatened to impose more sanctions on Moscow. He reiterated that the EU has been “outraged” by Navalny’s death.

Canada will donate more than 800 SkyRanger R70 drones to Ukraine, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced on Monday. Kiev has relied heavily on commercial and military UAVs during its conflict with Russia, which will enter its third year on February 24.

“These drones are going to help Ukraine’s front line troops assess targets and threats quickly with accuracy and effectiveness,” Blair stated at a press conference in Toronto.

The R70s can be used for reconnaissance missions and are capable of carrying payloads of up to 3.5 kilograms.

The UAVs are a part of the $370 million aid package pledged to Kiev by the Canadian government in June 2023. Overall, Ottawa has provided $1.78 billion worth of assistance since February 2022, including tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery.

HALLE, Belgium (AP) — The writing of angry farmers was on the Paris-to-Brussels highway in giant yellow letters visible from up high: “Ursula, We are here!” 

It was chalked onto the road with an equal measure of defiance and desperation, warning European Commission Ursula von der Leyen not to ignore farmers’ concerns for better prices and less bureaucracy.

The Western Ruling Elite: Its Development and Its Betrayal

THE PROBLEM WITH THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE BY FINN ANDREEN IS SIMPLE: IT IGNORES THE FACT THAT RULING ELITES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OLIGARCHIC. YET IN SOMEWAY, IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE SOME ATTEMPTS AT STUDYING (AND SOLVING?) THE “PROBLEM” OF ELITISM IN DEMOCRACY — FROM AN ELITIST PERSPECTIVE….

BY Finn Andreen

The Western ruling elite has become oligarchic in nature; its political and economic influence is disproportionate and even harmful to society. It is necessary, therefore, to review its historical evolution and expose its current goals.

Back in the 1960s and 70s, the media was referred to as ‘The Fourth Estate’. The media played a role as a check and balance against government abuse of power, corruption, and overreach. The media was an integral part of any healthy democracy.

Ursula von der Leyen will formally announce her candidacy for a second term as president of the European Commission on Monday, German tabloid Bild has reported. Von der Leyen has already hinted that she seeks a second term, promising on Saturday to appoint a dedicated “defense commissioner” if she holds on to her office.

To secure a second term, von der Leyen will first have to be nominated by her faction in the European Parliament, the centrist European People’s Party (EPP). Speaking to Reuters last month, EPP lawmaker Daniel Caspary said the party would nominate von der Leyen at a congress in March, “if that’s what she wants.”

US President Joe Biden’s efforts to punish Moscow over the Ukraine crisis have failed, and his rhetoric and weak leadership have only encouraged more aggression by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, ex-White House aide John Bolton has claimed.

Bolton made his comments in a NewsNation interview on Friday, after Biden and other US officials rebuked President Putin over the death of opposition politician Alexey Navalny in a Siberian penal colony. The former US national security advisor argued that contrary to statements by the Biden administration, Navalny’s death does not demonstrate weakness in Putin’s government.