The Chinese military has chased away a United States warship near the disputed Xisha/Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army said on Saturday, calling Washington a “security risk maker” and the “biggest destroyer” of peace and stability in the region.
The breach of China’s territorial waters by the USS Hopper guided-missile destroyer “severely jeopardized” Beijing’s sovereignty, and once again proved that Washington is seeking “navigation hegemony” and “militarization” of the South China Sea, said spokesman for the PLA’s Southern Theater Command, senior colonel Tian Junli.
The Chinese military deployed “air and naval forces to follow and monitor” the intruder, and “drove it away according to law,” CGTN reported. The Pentagon has yet to comment on the incident.
The Xisha islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, which is de-facto governed by China. Known internationally as the Paracel Islands, they are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. Washington does not recognize China’s claim of sovereignty over the islands and has repeatedly called it “unlawful” and posing “a serious threat to the freedom of the seas.”
Similar incidents with American warships “caught trespassing” near the Paracel Islands have happened before. Destroyer USS Milius was “warned away” from the region by the Chinese Navy in March this year, while USS Benfold was chased away twice in 2022.
FILE PHOTO: Geert Wilders speaks to journalists outside the Dutch National Bank in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 12, 2014
Geert Wilders is a stalwart of the Dutch opposition, whose controversial views on immigration and Islam have seen him live under police protection for nearly two decades. Now, after a fresh election victory, he has a chance to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands.
Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) won 37 seats in Wednesday’s general election, more than doubling its presence in parliament and making it the country’s largest single party. After decades in opposition, Wilders declared in his victory speech that he intends to form a government, and is “confident that [he] can reach an agreement” with the mainstream right, which has for years balked at working with the PVV.
Wilders’ began his political career as a member of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Following the assassination of Pim Fortuyn – a popular politician and critic of Islam – in 2002, Wilders made a series of speeches condemning multiculturalism and Islamic immigration. When the VVD endorsed Türkiye’s bid for EU membership in 2004, Wilders split from the party and formed the PVV. In a manifesto published two years later, Wilders called for a moratorium on all non-Western immigration to the Netherlands, a ban on the founding of new mosques, and a tax on the wearing of the Hijab by Muslim women. Wilders went on to call the Islamic Prophet Mohammed “the devil,” the Quran “a fascist book” that should be outlawed, and Moroccan immigrants “street terrorists.”
Targeted by extremists
Wilders’ hardline positions and proclivity for political stunts – including his hosting of a ‘Prophet Mohammed cartoon competition’ in 2019 – have led to death threats from extremist preachers and terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda. He was placed under police protection in 2004, after plans for his assassination were discovered, and to this day he is watched 24/7 by armed officers. Wilders has been tried twice for hate speech in the Netherlands. In 2016, a court found him guilty of inciting “discrimination and hatred” over a speech he gave two years earlier, in which he asked his supporters whether they wanted “fewer Moroccans” in the country. The verdict was overturned in 2020.
A right-wing liberalWhile Wilders is often described in the media as “far-right,” he rejects the label, and has distanced himself from other European right-wing movements. “I’m very afraid of being linked with the wrong rightist fascist groups,” he told The Guardian in 2008, explaining in subsequent interviews that he views Islam as a threat to women’s and LGBT rights, free speech, and social tolerance.
Wilders toned down his anti-Islam rhetoric during this year’s campaign, although immigration remained front and center. His manifesto promised a freeze on the admission of asylum seekers, the deportation of criminal immigrants, and the prioritization of native Dutch people for social housing. “The Netherlands will be returned to the Dutch,” he said in his victory speech, declaring that “the asylum tsunami will be curbed.” In a nod to potential coalition partners – likely the VVD or the newly formed and centrist New Social Contract party – he added that all of his proposals will be “within the law and the constitution.” In this year’s manifesto, Wilders also proposed to either hold a referendum on leaving the EU or dramatically lower the Netherlands’ contributions to the union, scrap climate legislation, and halt arms transfers to Ukraine. While Wilders has condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, he argues that the Netherlands should bolster its own military rather than that of Kiev. Wilders has also vowed to block Ukraine’s accession to the EU and NATO, and has called sanctions on Russia “ineffective and also bad for the Netherlands.”
The next prime minister?“We want to govern and…we will govern,” Wilders said in Wednesday night’s speech. To do so, Wilders will need the backing of 38 other lawmakers to make up a majority, a situation that could lead to protracted talks and compromise from the PVV leader. New Social Contract leader Pieter Omtzigt said that his party is “available to govern,” potentially adding another 20 seats, while Thierry Baudet, whose right-wing Forum for Democracy (FVD) managed to secure only three seats, said that he would “contribute… in any way.” With 24 seats, the center-right VVD is a potential coalition partner, having secured the PVV’s support to form a government in 2010. However, the deal fell apart within two years, and the VVD’s current leader, Dilan Yesilgoz, has previously ruled out entering a coalition with Wilders.
The history of relations between Paris and its former colonies on the continent explains the recent spate of anti-French coups
“The atrocities committed by the French in Niger could have never come to light, if one of the junior officers, Lieutenant Louis Péteau, had not described them in a letter to his fiancée. In the 15-page letter, he wrote how porters who were too weak from dysentery were beheaded and replaced by enslaved locals. Voulet ordered the severed heads to be placed on stakes in order to scare the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. The letter contains many details of war crimes committed by French soldiers. It was eventually made public and provoked a major scandal.”
The French, who are so proud of their elegant cultural heritage and Enlightenment values, were actually capable of savage atrocities against those who were not part of their culture, particularly colonized peoples. The cruelty of the French knew no bounds. They were involved in murder, rape, the plundering of African wealth, and the use of slave labor in the Central African Republic, Chad, and the Republic of the Congo. All these events happened in recent history and were recorded in archives, but no one has been held accountable so far.
As the whole world has turned its attention to the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the events in Ukraine have faded into the background, nearly everyone has forgotten about another region that is permanently unstable and immersed in conflicts and crises – Africa.
Over the past several years, there have been a series of coups in Africa – precisely, eight coups in three years. The last one occurred in Gabon. At the time, the media discussed Africa’s anger at colonialist France and the pro-French governments that toppled like dominoes. For Paris, that was a real disaster, since African countries had only formally escaped from under its ‘wing’ and were still subordinated to France politically and economically. Moreover, Africa is rich in minerals, oil, gas, gold, and other resources. For example, Niger supplies about 15% of France’s uranium needs.
We will find out why Africans have such a hostile attitude towards France and how this confrontation may end.
Occupied Niger
French colonialism in Niger began with the infamous and brutal military campaign to expand control over West Africa in 1899 (the so-called Central African-Chad Mission). The local population fiercely resisted the invaders, headed by captains Paul Voulet and Charles-Paul-Louis Chanoine (also known as Julien Chanoine). However, the forces of the two sides were unequal.
After leaving Dakar, the Voulet-Chanoine Mission was supposed to explore Chad and Niger and unite the French territories. Voulet had previously demonstrated sadistic tendencies in Burkina Faso, and his associate Chanoine was not any better. Moreover, Chanoine was the son of the powerful general and Minister of War Jules Chanoine, a fact that untied the mission’s hands.
The atrocities committed by the French in Niger could have never come to light, if one of the junior officers, Lieutenant Louis Péteau, had not described them in a letter to his fiancée. In the 15-page letter, he wrote how porters who were too weak from dysentery were beheaded and replaced by enslaved locals. Voulet ordered the severed heads to be placed on stakes in order to scare the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. The letter contains many details of war crimes committed by French soldiers. It was eventually made public and provoked a major scandal.
This did not stop the mission, however, and in 1922, after a severe drought and famine, the French established control over the territory.
France was primarily interested in Niger’s natural resources. Despite the fact that the country’s economy largely depended on agriculture and animal husbandry, the world’s largest uranium deposits were later discovered there. France seized hold of these resources.
In 1960, Niger was formally liberated. However, even after the 1960s, all the officers of Niger’s army were Frenchmen with French-Nigerian dual-citizenship. As of 1960, there were only ten African officers in the Armed Forces of Niger, all of low rank.
Paris would continue to exploit Niger’s rich resources for many years. Most recently, Niamey criticized the agreement with France and demanded a fairer share of the profits from the extraction of uranium ore.
Africa soaked in blood
A few years ago, the adviser to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Cheikhi said that after the massacre staged by the French in Algeria, the bones of the Algerians were taken out of the country and used to make soap and for sugar filtration. Cheikhi stressed that his country had become “a real field of experiments for the brutal practices that France later applied in other colonies.” He added that today Paris attempts to hide the crimes by destroying historical archives.
Some tragedies, however, could not be hidden, since they were witnessed by tens and even hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are still alive. Here are just a few chilling episodes from France’s colonial past.
Burning everything in its path
The French, who are so proud of their elegant cultural heritage and Enlightenment values, were actually capable of savage atrocities against those who were not part of their culture, particularly colonized peoples. The cruelty of the French knew no bounds. They were involved in murder, rape, the plundering of African wealth, and the use of slave labor in the Central African Republic, Chad, and the Republic of the Congo. All these events happened in recent history and were recorded in archives, but no one has been held accountable so far.
There has been no justice in the case of the Thiaroye massacre, when on the outskirts of Dakar French forces shot West African veterans who had once defended France in cold blood. Likewise, no one was held responsible for the Rwandan genocide, nor for France’s nuclear experiments in Algeria. In February 1960, France tested its first atomic bomb, exposing over 24,000 people to radiation. It is difficult to imagine the real losses caused by the resulting pollution since today we do not know the locations of all the test sites and areas of disposal of nuclear waste. But it’s safe to say that the French don’t care about this.
An uprising soaked in blood
The people of Madagascar also have many painful memories. The French army subjected them to severe repressions simply because they wished to be independent– and this despite the fact that at the time, France itself had just been liberated from Nazi occupation. Tens of thousands of Malagasy people were tortured and killed during the Franco-Malagasy Wars and in their aftermath. There were even cases when people were thrown out of airplanes.
In 1946, the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Rejuvenation (abbreviated MDRM in French) was founded in Madagascar. It wanted to put an end to the inhumane treatment of people and advocated political equality, prosperity, and independence. But less than a year after the party was formed, France intervened. On May 5, 1947, a massacre happened in Moramanga – a city that had become the epicenter of the Madagascar uprising against colonial rule. At midnight, French officers gave the order to attack three passenger train cars with MDRM members inside. The train cars were fired upon using a machine gun. Most of the people inside were killed, and those who survived were executed without a trial shortly afterward. This event became a symbol of French repression in Madagascar.
The forgotten genocide
The fate of the Bamileke people of Cameroon is sometimes compared to the fate of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. It is not known exactly how many were killed – the numbers vary from 100,000 to 500,000 people. Some even say there were a million victims. In any case, this was a real genocide staged by the French under the leadership of the anti-communists Charles de Gaulle and Jacques Foccart, in their fight against the Union of Populations of Cameroon (UPC) – a liberation movement founded in April 1948.
We find an eyewitness account of those horrible events online. Jeannette was just a little girl when her country became flooded with blood and tears:
“In the evening, the military convoys come back filled with heads that are dumped and exposed at the crossroads that will become the crossroads of the maquisards, until my departure from Cameroon, in 1976, and even perhaps until today. It is in the heart of Bafoussam, about thirty meters from the house of my parents that all this is exposed. This is also where the executions take place. After a certain pause, because of the famine and in the absence of any help, the populations returned to the kingdoms without homes and without cultures. Others went to camps created by the occupier, without water, without access to the wood, and terrorized by the military.”
“Some, especially the occupier himself, have dared to advance the figure of 400,000 dead. Over what period? Are dead people in the Mungo area counted? Many died there. Others were tattooed and sent back to the West, where massacres and crowding in the camps were raging.
“After the war, the region was almost empty…”
Hell on Earth
Doubtlessly one of the most terrible genocides in world history was the Rwandan genocide, which claimed the lives of over 800,000 Tutsis in 100 days (other sources claim there were over a million victims).
France also carries the burden of this crime on its conscience. Numerous human rights organizations and historians (basing their assumption on documents) claim that France armed the Hutu government. Moreover, these events happened in light of Operation Turquoise, launched by France on June 23, 1994, in order to supposedly stop the mass killings of people. Instead, France secretly helped the participants of the genocide to flee.
Renowned French historian Vincent Duclert, who was commissioned by President Macron to prepare a report on the Rwandan genocide, concluded that Paris was responsible for what happened, at least in terms of ignoring the racist nature and brutality of the Hutu regime.
“Françafrique”: The illusion of freedom
The UN proclaimed 1960 the “Year of Africa”: 17 African nations gained independence that year – but only on paper.
France didn’t take leave of Africa without making sure that it could continue to exploit the resources of its former colonies, and continue to dominate them – even if from now on, that would happen behind the scenes.
In his memoirs, Charles de Gaulle wrote that France brought civilization to Africa, helped it build nation states and educated the elites, teaching them to act based on principles of human rights and freedoms (and, of course, French interests). At the same time, the founder of the Fifth Republic wrote that Paris was supposed to become a “specially privileged partner” for Africans. In other words, the colonizers wanted to take leave of Africa but preserve their influence over it. This is probably what de Gaulle meant by “privileged partnership.”
This is how the “Françafrique” [“French Africa”] concept was born – a system of special ties between Paris and its former colonies, developed by Jacques Foccart. Informal ‘guardianship’ of Africa through the Françafrique system guaranteed France political, economic, and military control over the region and, as a result, uninterrupted access to its natural resources – whether it was oil from Gabon, uranium from Niger, or cocoa from the Ivory Coast.
Making use of the economic whip and corruption, Foccart appointed his own people to high-ranking positions – these were the ‘elite’ raised by the French, which de Gaulle mentioned in his memoirs. If something went wrong, the French resorted to contract killing, terror, blackmail, intrigue, and bribery. When that did not help, France used its special services to eliminate high-profile politicians and even organize military rebellions. This is what the legendary French mercenary Bob Denard spoke about.
“One way or another, there was always some kind of interaction with the special services. Sometimes, Monsieur Foccart acted as a link. To involve the army in this or that operation, a lot of preliminary preparation was required. But my squad was light and mobile and could carry out the same mission using small forces,” Denard said.
Finally, in those cases when the efforts of mercenaries and the intrigues of special services failed, France conducted direct military interventions, meddling in the affairs of the “free” African nations. To this end, Paris had and still has military bases in Senegal, Djibouti, Gabon, and on the Ivory Coast. Until 2008, eight African countries had active agreements with France which allowed the latter to legally invade their territory and “restore order.”
Modern colonialism
On July 31, 2022, the government of Mali demanded that French President Emmanuel Macron abandon the principles of neocolonialism – above all, with regard to economic control over the continent.
Experts around the world have long discussed the CFA franc, which was introduced in December 1945. At the time, the abbreviation CFA stood for “French African colonies” (Colonies Françaises d’Afrique). By the 1960s, it meant “African Financial Community” (Communauté Financière Africaine). Today, the CFA franc is pegged to the euro, but until recently it was dependent on the exchange rate of the French franc. Moreover, the member countries of the zone where the CFA franc is in use are required to keep half of their monetary and gold reserves in the Treasury of France.
The CFA franc makes it possible for Paris to buy up Africa’s natural resources at extremely low prices. And considering the Françafrique system, local elites often derive benefits from the economic intervention of France.
Paris is almost impossible to push away since it is a major investor in the region. In 2020, for example, French foreign direct investments (FDI) in Cote d’Ivoire topped $500 million. It is just one example – other such countries include Tunisia, Morocco, etc. The French industrial sector in West Africa is also quite influential. For example, TotalEnergies accounts for 17 percent of the African oil market and is the leading distributor of petroleum products in Africa.
For Paris, the African continent has become a giant market for selling overpriced goods – despite the fact that France itself was indignant when the US took advantage of the political situation and sold it gas at exorbitant prices. In contrast, goods from the former French colonies are sold cheaply.
This system is called neocolonialism, and this is exactly what Africa is rebelling against.
In conclusion
France continued to devour Africa in the decades after de Gaulle. Each of the eight subsequent presidents contributed to the disintegration of the African continent. Of course, African leaders, who saw France as a natural guarantor of their personal security, were also responsible for the situation. Africa gifted its patrons, bowed before them, and coordinated every step with the Élysée Palace. But this didn’t help. The fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is a good example – and this is the man who financed the election campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy.
The political processes happening in Niger today are not a color revolution or a nonconformist riot backed by an external force. These processes are a result of wounds and sorrows accumulated over many decades. There is a chance that Niger may help other African countries move towards real liberation, particularly now that France has encountered major competitors in Africa in the face of China and Russia. But in fact, these developments have only accelerated inevitable changes.
The sources cited the letter as one factor among a longer list of grievances by the board leading to Altman’s firing, among which were concerns over commercializing advances before understanding the consequences.
Ahead of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s four days in exile, several staff researchers wrote a letter to the board of directors warning of a powerful artificial intelligence discovery that they said could threaten humanity, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The previously unreported letter and AI algorithm were key developments before the board’s ouster of Altman, the poster child of generative AI, the two sources said. Prior to his triumphant return late Tuesday, more than 700 employees had threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft in solidarity with their fired leader.
The sources cited the letter as one factor among a longer list of grievances by the board leading to Altman’s firing, among which were concerns over commercializing advances before understanding the consequences. Reuters was unable to review a copy of the letter. The staff who wrote the letter did not respond to requests for comment.
After being contacted by Reuters, OpenAI, which declined to comment, acknowledged in an internal message to staffers a project called Q* and a letter to the board before the weekend’s events, one of the people said. An OpenAI spokesperson said that the message, sent by long-time executive Mira Murati, alerted staff to certain media stories without commenting on their accuracy.
Some at OpenAI believe Q* (pronounced Q-Star) could be a breakthrough in the startup’s search for what’s known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), one of the people told Reuters. OpenAI defines AGI as autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks.
Given vast computing resources, the new model was able to solve certain mathematical problems, the person said on condition of anonymity because the individual was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company. Though only performing math on the level of grade-school students, acing such tests made researchers very optimistic about Q*’s future success, the source said.
Reuters could not independently verify the capabilities of Q* claimed by the researchers.
‘Veil of ignorance’
Researchers consider math to be a frontier of generative AI development. Currently, generative AI is good at writing and language translation by statistically predicting the next word, and answers to the same question can vary widely. But conquering the ability to do math — where there is only one right answer — implies AI would have greater reasoning capabilities resembling human intelligence. This could be applied to novel scientific research, for instance, AI researchers believe.
Unlike a calculator that can solve a limited number of operations, AGI can generalize, learn and comprehend.
In their letter to the board, researchers flagged AI’s prowess and potential danger, the sources said without specifying the exact safety concerns noted in the letter. There has long been discussion among computer scientists about the danger posed by highly intelligent machines, for instance, if they might decide that the destruction of humanity was in their interest.
Researchers have also flagged work by an “AI scientist” team, the existence of which multiple sources confirmed. The group, formed by combining earlier “Code Gen” and “Math Gen” teams, was exploring how to optimize existing AI models to improve their reasoning and eventually perform scientific work, one of the people said.
Altman led efforts to make ChatGPT one of the fastest-growing software applications in history and drew investment – and computing resources – necessary from Microsoft to get closer to AGI.
In addition to announcing a slew of new tools in a demonstration this month, Altman last week teased at a summit of world leaders in San Francisco that he believed major advances were in sight.
“Four times now in the history of OpenAI, the most recent time was just in the last couple weeks, I’ve gotten to be in the room, when we sort of push the veil of ignorance back and the frontier of discovery forward, and getting to do that is the professional honor of a lifetime,” he said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
This week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky – and his Western backers – celebrated the tenth anniversary of the start of the Maidan protests in Kiev. Of course, they led to a US-backed coup and, ultimately, the current conflict with Russia.
“Ten years ago, we began a new chapter in our struggle. Ten years ago, Ukrainians launched their first counteroffensive. Against lawlessness and an attempt to rob us of our European future. Against unfreedom. Year after year, step by step, we make every effort to ensure that, among the other stars on the EU flag, which represents the unity of European nations, our star shines as well. The Ukrainian star,” Zelensky tweeted.
Except that, in reality, it’s been a full ten years now of “f**k(ing) the EU,” as US State Department fixture Victoria Nuland was caught saying back then in a leaked conversation with then ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt.
“F**k the EU,” she demanded. And, well, they sure did exactly that.
And it was no one-night stand, either. Instead, it has turned into a marathon, sadistic orgy on the EU people who are endlessly getting the shaft in this whole mess while the bloc’s chief whip-cracker, unelected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tells Western Europeans to bend over and take the pain for Ukraine as she and her pals blow up their own economies with endless sanctions against Russia. Not to mention that her fellow Germans just sat there like a bunch of masochists while their own cheap energy supply got blown up.
“F**king the EU” for ten years straight has been good for her though, apparently. “Ten years of dignity. Of pride. Of striving for freedom. The cold winter nights of Euromaidan have changed Europe forever. Today, it is clearer than ever. The future of Ukraine is in the European Union. The future that the Maidan fought for has finally begun,” von der Leyen said.
Meanwhile, speaking of masochists, Germany is currently panicking over money problems, largely as a result of selling out its own industry to the US-led agenda for Ukraine. “The house is in flames,” one member of the ruling coalition told Bloomberg. Well, it could be a fire. Or it could be German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lighting some romantic candles while tweeting, “10 years ago, the Maidan became a symbol of freedom, democracy and sovereignty. The courage of the Ukrainians will not be forgotten. Ukraine is part of Europe – and we stand by its side.” Scholz still hasn’t bothered to tell us who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline network carrying Russian gas into Germany – his country’s economic and industrial lifeline – an attack which happened to come just a few months after Scholz himself stood right beside Joe Biden while the US president openly threatened the pipeline’s existence. With the International Monetary Fund forecasting a recession for the German economy, Scholz has since resorted to congratulating himself for securing deals like the one to replace a whopping 2% of the pricey American liquified natural gas on which Berlin is now dependent, with Nigerian gas – maybe by 2026.
It’s also quite the revisionist history from Zelensky, saying that Euromaidan was about Ukraine fighting against being robbed of its “European future” and freedom. In reality, Ukraine already had freedom to deal with both Russia and the West, was courted by everyone like the hottest girl in town, and the country’s president at the time, Viktor Yanukovich, had, in fact, just refused to sign an agreement with the EU, which would have reduced Ukraine’s diversity of options and its freedom, and would have put all its eggs in the Western basket. All that is the exact opposite of what Zelensky is now spinning.
Zelensky is also getting poetic about something he calls the Ukrainian star – whatever that is – shining among the stars on the EU flag that represent the bloc’s unity. In any case, some EU leaders have already thrown cold water on the wet dream of Ukraine’s integration into the bloc, which would require unanimity among all member states.
Not only is Zelensky fantasizing about Ukrainian stars but also about Western European unity. But even the bloc’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, whose actual job is to present the EU’s best face to the world, isn’t quite that delusional. Borrell has repeatedly referred to major dissent within the bloc on everything from Ukraine and US-China competition to migration, which Borrell has called nothing less than a potential “dissolving force.” None of this sounds like the quaint little constellation of 27 countries among which Zelensky already sees Ukraine. More like a Big Bang.
The thing about romanticizing relationships is that it can turn out to be a bummer when you have to deal with real life. And here in the real world, Ukraine is already getting into fights with other European countries, most recently Poland and Slovakia, whose truckers, by the thousands, have been blockading roads to three border crossings for days, and effectively blocking humanitarian aid. They apparently feel that they’re losing business amid the Ukraine conflict and that their government isn’t doing anything about it. So there isn’t even an engagement date in sight between Kiev and the EU, let alone a wedding day, and already there’s trouble in paradise.
Too bad all these elites can’t just get a room already and leave the rest of us out of it.
“Crowds of rioters have set police and public transport vehicles on fire in the Irish capital, Dublin, amid rumors that a man who stabbed three children and a woman at a city school is a foreign national.
Protesters began to assemble in the center of the city on Thursday afternoon following the knife attack. One of the victims, a five-year-old girl, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Police arrested a man in his 50s at the scene, and although no description of the man has been released, Irish news site Gript identified him as an Algerian national, citing police sources.
Riot police were deployed to keep the protesters in check, but clashes soon broke out, with multiple officers assaulted, RTE News reported. Fireworks and crowd-control barriers were hurled at police, who attempted to push crowds of angry locals back with riot shields.
Several police vehicles were set on fire, with arsonists also targeting at least two double-decker buses and a tram, according to multiple reports.”
“Our citizens should know the urgent facts…but they don’t because our media serves imperial, not popular interests. They lie, deceive, connive and suppress what everyone needs to know, substituting managed news misinformation and rubbish for hard truths…”—Oliver Stone