Trump celebrates Kimmel show suspension as Democrats push free speech bill

After Jimmy Kimmel’s popular talk show was cut off because of his comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, US President Donald Trump appears to be enjoying the suspension of the late comedian.

President Trump retorted a clip from the previous year’s Academy Awards in which Kimmel took aim at the US leader, saying, “He made a total FOOL of himself.”

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Trump claimed Kimmel was fired earlier this day because he had uttered a “horrible thing” about a “great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk.”

Trump claimed to have returned from a trip to the United Kingdom that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which controls all US broadcasts, should think about getting rid of broadcasters’ licenses if they “hit Trump.”

Trump said, “I would think maybe their license should be revoked,” despite federal law’s prohibition against the FCC from revoke a broadcaster’s license for demeaning coverage or speech.

According to Trump, “FCC Chair] Brendan Carr will decide it,” he continued.

Following Kimmel’s opening monologue, which stated that “the MAGA gang” was trying to “score political points” from Kirk’s death, the Disney-owned ABC network suspended the Jimmy Kimmel Live show indefinitely on Wednesday.

Disney made the decision after Carr, a Trump appointee, suggested on a right-wing podcast that Kimmel’s remarks had put Disney’s license in jeopardy.

Carr stated, “This is a very, very serious issue for Disney at this time.”

They are required to operate in the public interest as a result of the FCC’s license granted to them.

In a 2020 US Senate oversight hearing, former Federal Communications Commission commissioner Brendan Carr speaks.

According to Bloomberg News, Kimmel and three Disney network executives were scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the future of his program.

The comedian is just the latest in a growing number of media figures, journalists, and news organizations facing Trump’s wrath through personal attacks and lawsuits.

Following Colbert’s criticism of CBS’s parent company Paramount for a $ 16 million settlement in a case with Trump, CBS announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would begin airing in 2026.

Additionally, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million for an anchor’s inaccurate statements that Trump had been “liable for raping” writer E Jean Carroll. Trump was in fact held accountable for sexual abuse. Trump is suing The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for their coverage of his relationship with high-flying financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has been convicted of sex offender, in a multibillion dollar lawsuit more recently.

Trump appeared to suggest further late-night comedian suspensions, namely two well-known NBC hosts, in another Truth Social post on Wednesday.

The president referred to Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers as “two total losers” on Fake News NBC.

“They have terrible ratings.” NBC, please! “!

No Political Enemies Act legislation is currently being pushed by Democratic Party lawmakers to pass it. They in turn credited Kimmel’s suspension with this.

According to a legislative summary, the bill aims to deter government employees from retaliating against free speech and provides tools for those who are targeted by it. Its passage by the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely.

In a press conference announcing the bill, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called for Carr’s resignation from the FCC on Thursday.

Let’s be absolutely clear: In America, political violence has no place, Schumer said.

Let’s be clear, though, that the Trump administration’s campaign of threats against free speech and civil society has violated every principle that the country has upheld since the signing of the Constitution, according to Schumer.

The White House and its allies are conducting an assault on democracy, he said, and we see more proof of it every day.

Magnitude 7.8 quake shakes Russia’s Far East region, prompts tsunami alert

The Kamchatka region in Russia’s Far East has experienced an “aftershock” from a sizable earthquake in July, which the US Geological Survey has referred to as an “aftershock.”

There were no reports of damage despite the region’s early on Friday’s quake, which issued a number of tsunami warnings.

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The quake, according to the US Geological Survey, was the result of “shallow reverse faulting” at a depth of 10 kilometers (66.2 miles), followed by a number of aftershocks of up to 5.8 magnitude.

[Al Jazeera]

The magnitude of the earthquake, which was reported as 7.2%, was reported by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry.

No damage has been reported so far, according to Kamchatka regional governor Vladimir Solodov, who stated that all emergency services have been placed in a state of high readiness.

Solodov wrote in the Telegram messaging app, “This morning once more tests the resilience of Kamchatka residents.” We began a quick inspection of social institutions and residential buildings right away following the earthquake.

The peninsula’s eastern shore, which extends far beyond the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, is issued with a tsunami warning.

Other officials along the peninsula’s coast reported tsunami waves that ranged from 30 to 62 centimeters (1 to 2 feet).

The Emergencies Ministry reported that parts of the northern Kuril island chain received a tsunami warning.

People’s light fittings shook, furniture shook, and cars parked in the street rocked as their security alarms sounded, according to videos posted on social media.

Following the earthquake, the US National Weather Service and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami advisory for some of Alaska.

At least two earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 7.0 have occurred in Kamchatka over the past week because the area is extremely seismic.

A tsunami flooded a seaport town in July, which had an magnitude of 8.8 and sent tsunami warnings to the entire Pacific.

UK’s MI6 spy agency launches dark web portal, seeks out foreign spies

According to Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the spy agency will launch a web portal on the dark web to find informants and get access to secret information from Russian and international agents.

On Friday, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) will make the official announcement that the secure messaging service “Silent Courier” will be available.

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It aims to make use of the anonymity of the dark web, a murky, secret area of the internet frequently used by criminal actors, and make it possible for anyone to contact the UK spy agency securely anywhere in the world.

According to a statement from the Foreign Office, users of the portal can offer their own services or securely share information about illicit activities anywhere in the world.

The MI6 chief’s departure on Friday will set up the website in Istanbul, which will be officially launched on Friday.

When Moore formally reveals the plans, Moore will say, “Today, we’re asking those with sensitive information about global instability, international terrorism, or hostile state intelligence activity to contact MI6 securely online.”

He will add, “Our virtual door is open to you.”

The verified YouTube channel for MI6 will have instructions for how to use the portal available to the public.

Users have been persuaded to use VPNs and other self-contained devices to access it.

MI6 was established in 1909, but the UK government did not give it official recognition until the 1990s.

Only its head, known as “C,” is a publicly recognizable member of the service and operates from the iconic SIS Building on the banks of the Thames in London.

New Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper remarked in advance of the portal’s launch that “national security is the first duty of any government and the foundation of the prime minister’s Plan for Change,” referring to a national revitalisation plan that the premier and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer had outlined in December.

We must ensure that the UK is always one step ahead of our adversaries as the world changes and the threats we face grow, Cooper said.

She continued, “We’re now supporting their efforts with cutting-edge technology so that MI6 can find new spies for the UK, in Russia and all over the world,” she continued.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,303

On Friday, September 19, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

    As Ukraine launches its offensive against Russia’s extensive oil and gas industry, Ukrainian drones strike a significant oil processing and petrochemical complex in the Bashkortostan region and a refinery in the Volgograd region.

  • According to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, Russian military units claim to have taken over Yampol, a village in western Ukraine, and established new positions close to five residential areas there.
  • Valery Gerasimov, the head of Russia’s most powerful force, claimed that along the front lines with Ukraine, Russia is “almost gaining ground” in “almost all directions.
  • In response to Ukraine’s “heroic defense” of the region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the country’s president, asserted that Russian losses have increased in Pokrovsk, in the eastern city.
  • Authorities in Latvia discovered debris near Ventspils, a Russian drone, on the Baltic coast. Andris Spruds, the country’s defense minister, claimed the object was a “decoy” Gerbera drone’s tail end, and that it was safe to use it.

Regional security

  • The US Department of State has approved the purchase of Polish Javelin missile systems for an estimated $ 780 million. The agreement would improve the security of a NATO ally, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
  • Polish engineers and soldiers will be taught how to defend against drone warfare by Ukraine. More than 20 drones were shot down by Polish and NATO forces in Ukraine’s airspace during a Russian airstrike on neighboring Ukraine a week prior to the announcement.
  • Andrius Kubilius, the European Commission’s defense commissioner, announced plans to meet with defense ministers next week to discuss building a “drone wall” along the eastern border of the EU. This idea was already being discussed prior to the most recent instances of Russian drone incursions in EU airspace.
  • At this week’s Taiwanese defense expo, Ukraine’s anti-drone technology was displayed. It had been tested against Russia.

Process of peace

  • Donald Trump, the president of the US, expressed his disappointment with Vladimir Putin over his failure to reach an agreement on a peace deal with Ukraine in a Fox News interview.
  • Because of my relationship with President Putin, I anticipated that the solution would be Russia-Ukraine. So I’m disappointed, Trump said.
  • Trump also stated in the same interview that the US would assist in Ukraine’s efforts to end world war two. We would assist in ensuring peace once the war is over. And I believe that will ultimately occur,” he said.
  • After speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a separate press conference, Trump claimed that President Putin “has really let me down.”
  • Trump and Starmer “decisively” put pressure on Putin to agree to a peace deal during the discussion, according to Starmer.
  • According to TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reacted to Trump by saying, “I don’t know him very well, but I know him well, but I have spoken with him several times, and I have forged a certain impression… that this is partly because he wants quick solutions.”

diplomacy and politics

    President Zelenskyy thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on X for his “assistance in returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.” He claimed to have spoken with him. After making reference to Ukraine at a dinner with Trump on Wednesday, he thanked King Charles of the United Kingdom for his “steady support.”

Energy and the economy

  • According to the Reuters news agency, Russia’s Ministry of Finance has announced a new measure to protect the country’s budget from oil price fluctuations and Western sanctions. For September, Russian oil and gas sales are expected to decline by 23 percent from the previous year, according to the Reuters news agency.
  • Putin reaffirmed his desire to boost Russia’s wartime economy by enacting measures to increase taxes on the wealthy, such as a luxury tax or higher stock dividend taxes.

Sanctions

  • According to an official, the European Commission will release its 19th package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, which includes a proposal to outlaw Russian liquefied natural gas.
  • 95 “shadow fleet” Russian vessels, which are oil tankers used to evade Western sanctions, have received new sanctions from Australia. Following a similar move by the EU, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan, the government also reduced the price cap for Russian oil to $47.60 per barrel, from $ 60 per barrel.

Panic in Gaza City as Israel advances on centre, ‘sandwiching’ population

In an effort to force residents of Gaza City to leave the country’s largest urban center, the Israeli army is “sandwiching” them and “sandwiching” them in two directions, trying to force them to the coast.

Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for the Israeli army, reported to the Reuters news agency on Thursday that the air force was supporting an advance against the armed group Hamas.

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Hani Mahmoud, a journalist for Al Jazeera, claimed that the Israeli military was “sandwiching people in the middle” and was pushing them to the west of the city, where the al-Rashid coastal road leads south, from the northwest and the southeast.

“The attacks on overcrowded neighborhoods are causing panic and fear, and people are literally fleeing for their lives,” said one resident. He reported from Nuseirat in central Gaza, where we are now seeing waves of people performing exactly that.

People in Gaza City reported nonstop attacks by the Israeli army, including “aerial strikes by drones and fighter jets” and detonations from remote-controlled “robots” — unmanned vehicles loaded with explosives that the army has been using to bomb neighborhoods as it advances inward.

According to medical sources, at least 40 people were killed in Gaza City on Thursday.

Lifelines fall apart

In the midst of the apocalyptic scenes, frightened families faced the heartbreaking prospect of new displacement in a place without “safe zones,” only this time with the very real possibility that they would never be able to go home.

Many have remained put, though. As of Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 740, 000 people, or roughly 35 percent of Gaza’s 2. 1 million people, were still living in the north of the city.

However, the bureau acknowledged that the number of people who are being targeted by Israeli attacks are likely to drop and that basic services will cease to exist.

On Thursday, the UN’s (OCHA) sent a warning that Gaza City’s last lines were collapsing.

OCHA alleged that Israel was “systematically stifling” efforts to aid people in Gaza’s famine-stricken north, citing the closure of the Zikim crossing and the ban on some food items.

” Blatant disregard “

At least 10 Palestinians were killed outside of Gaza City by Israeli fire, according to medical sources.

Four of its soldiers were reported missing in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in the early morning hours of the morning, according to the Israeli military.

Israel’s “blatant disregard” of international law requirements by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine was exposed on social media by the Palestinian government’s “blatant disregard” for civilian airstrikes in Gaza.

The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for the return of hostages held by Hamas, the lifting of aid restrictions, and the continuation of Israel’s offensive on Thursday.

UK court clears the way for deportation of Eritrean asylum seeker

After losing a High Court request to have his removal temporarily thwarted, an Eritrean man who has been fighting to stay in the United Kingdom is set to be deported to France.

The 25-year-old Eritrean man crossed the English Channel in August for legal reasons, and he was scheduled to leave on Wednesday as part of a “one in, one out” pilot agreement reached between the UK and France in July.

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However, pending a thorough examination of his trafficking claim, the High Court of London on Tuesday granted him an interim injunction preventing his removal.

The man claimed to have fled Eritrea in 2019 due to forced conscription before moving to France. Before heading to the UK, he spent about three weeks in an encampment known as “the jungle” in Dunkirk, on the English Channel.

The High Court agreed at a hearing on Thursday, stating that there was “no serious issue to be tried in this case.” The UK’s Home Office objected to the attempt to temporarily halt the man’s removal.

The man’s allegations of trafficking were inconsistent, according to the judge, Clive Sheldon.

The Home Office could determine that his credibility had been severely harmed and that his account of trafficking couldn’t be reasonably believed, the judge said.

The man will be deported to France on Friday at 6:15 a.m. (GMT) at 5:15.

UK implements new plan

The Home Office, the UK interior ministry, was testing out its new plan to deport an Indian man to France as the court ruled against the Eritrean man. The man, who boarded a small boat in the UK in August, took a commercial flight to France on Thursday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that this deportation provided “proof of concept” that the agreement is successful, and that this deportation was the first under the partnership between the UK and France.

At a press conference alongside US President Donald Trump, Starmer stated, “We need to ramp that up at scale, which was always intended under the scheme.”

People who enter the UK are then returned to France under the “one in, one out” agreement between the UK and France, and the UK accepts an equal number of recognized asylum seekers with family ties.

The plan is defended by Downing Street, calling it “fair and balanced” and aimed at reducing irregular migration.

The scheme has been condemned by UK charities.

According to Griff Ferris of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the “cruel policy that targets people who come here for safety” was a “grim attempt… to appease the racist far-right.”

Anti-immigrant sentiment is growing.

While Starmer’s government has made stopping small boat crossings a top priority, anti-immigrant sentiment has remained high in the UK.

Over the weekend, far-right activist Tommy Robinson organized a protest in central London that involved up to 150, 000 demonstrators. A glass bottle that appeared to have smashed into a police horse at one point caused serious injuries to four police officers during the demonstration.