Articles from ‘Independent News Roundup’

Northern Ireland veteran politician Jeffrey Donaldson has said he will give up his knighthood and seat on the UK Privy Council after being convicted of rape and child abuse. On Monday, a jury found the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) guilty of 18 counts of sexual abuse, including one count of rape, against two girls. · The offenses were reportedly committed between 1985 and 2008, when both victims were children of primary…

On June 19, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky issued an ultimatum to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, demanding the removal of drone relay stations allegedly located on Belarusian territory and being used to guide Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. By Sergey Poletaev, information analyst and publicist, co-founder and editor of the Vatfor project. · On June 24, Zelensky stated that Lukashenko had complied with his ultimatum and the relay…

Denmark is considering a nationwide ban on the Islamic call to prayer. Immigration Minister Morten Bodskov has said it has “no place” in the country. The move comes amid a Danish government crackdown on “Islamization.” Speaking to local news outlet Ritzau on Wednesday, Bodskov, a senior figure in the governing Social Democrats party, stated that the Danish authorities are set to reopen an investigation into whether the ‘Adhan’, or call to…

A senior virologist working at the United States National Institutes of Health has been charged by federal prosecutors over allegations that he and a colleague attempted to smuggle biological materials into the United States after travel from the Republic of Congo. Report by INR · According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Vincent Munster, Chief of the Virus Ecology Section at NIH’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories…

Breaking news on RT international. Russia's top diplomat says Moscow is yet to see any positive outcome from last year's much-hyped Alaska summit with the US, as Washington is clearly shifting its stance on the conflict with Ukraine. · Kenya halts a controversial US ebola treatment centre following weeks of violent protests. The facility sparked outrage as it was intended for American citizens only. · While Lebanese and Israeli officials work…

‘If Netanyahu gets the war back on, Trump is kicking the can down the road. They can’t win against Iran. Tehran is at a 30% escalation level while the US is maxed out’ – ‘The Cradle’ founder, Sharmine Narwani. On the latest episode of ‘Sanchez Effect’, Sharmine Narwani explains how Iran’s massive geographic advantages, from the Strait of Hormuz to its mountain terrain, make it untouchable. She says Bibi needs the war to politically survive, but…

Earlier this week Andy Burnham, the popular former mayor of Manchester, forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign as leader of the Labour Party in a meticulously planned and well executed bloodless political coup. By Graham Hryce, an Australian journalist and former media lawyer, whose work has been published in The Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, the Sunday Mail, the Spectator and Quadrant. · As a result, Burnham is now…

Billionaire Bill Gates has claimed that the late pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein tried to blackmail him over affairs he had with Russian women, according to newly released congressional testimony. The Microsoft co-founder appeared before the US House Oversight Committee on June 10 as part of an investigation into the convicted sex offender’s activities and ties to influential figures. A transcript of the closed-door interview was…

For the first time in two years, Hungary has convened a summit of the Visegrad Group – a format designed to allow four Central European nations to coordinate, debate current agendas, and work on their own dimension of European integration matters. By Ksenia Smertina, senior lecturer at the HSE Institute for Media, expert at the Russian International Affairs Council on Eastern and Central Europe · In recent years, the forum has not spoken with a…

An EU watchdog is investigating European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over a secret group chat involving Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and several other European leaders, according to the Dutch outlet Follow the Money (FTM). The probe follows a complaint by FTM after the European Commission refused to release messages from a private group chat that reportedly included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel…