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Saturday, September 13, 2025

Category: World
December 12, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Corruption
Science
World

Motorists in This European Country Paid Over a BILLION Dollars in China Climate Scams

Motorists in a major European country paid over a billion dollars for alleged climate protection projects in China that are suspected of being fraudulent. German mineral oil companies are expected to meet legally prescribed climate targets, but they can achieve them by reducing CO2 emissions anywhere in their supply chain, including overseas. These “Upstream Emission Reduction” (UER) projects can be financed by German companies and count toward German climate balances. Multiple companies have been opting to finance projects in China, some of which were paid for by motorists through climate taxes at gas stations.

Germany’s Federal Environment Agency claims that 45 of the 66 UER projects in China were fraudulent, with Chinese projects unable to deliver what they had promised. The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office has also been investigating at least 17 people connected with commercial fraud relating to climate scams, focusing on auditing companies that certified and validated the projects.

Earlier this year, the German government rejected carbon credits for 215,000 tons of CO2 emissions due to suspected fraud in China.

According to some estimates, the cost of achieving net zero carbon emissions set by governments worldwide could be a staggering $275 trillion by 2050. The global GDP is around $100 trillion per year.

Billions of dollars have already been spent on climate change initiatives, but few real results have been seen so far.

In Sweden, a Swedish Taxpayers’ Association survey ranked climate change spending as the biggest waste of public money. The poll results came after the government spent billions on carbon reduction only to see emissions increase.

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Motorists in a major European country paid over a billion dollars for alleged climate protection projects in China that are suspected of being fraudulent. German mineral oil companies are expected to meet legally prescribed climate targets, but they can achieve them by reducing CO2 emissions anywhere in their supply chain, including overseas. These "Upstream Emission Reduction" (UER) projects can be financed by German companies and count toward German climate balances. Multiple companies have been opting to finance projects in China, some of which were paid for by motorists through climate taxes at gas stations. show more
December 11, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
War
World

WATCH: Syrians Burn Tomb of Assad’s Father.

Jihadist rebels in Syria have set the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the former dictator and father of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, on fire. Rebels, led by al-Qaeda re-brand Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Syria after Assad fled to Russia.

Video footage shared on social media shows members of the rebels setting the tomb of Hafez al-Assad on fire in Qardaha, in the Latakia region, a stronghold of Syria’s Alawite minority.

Hafez al-Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, was the dictator of Syria from 1971 until 2000 when his son Bashar was declared President. Since the fall of the Assad government, rebels have taken to the streets to destroy statues and images of both Assad and his father across the country.

The rebels, which were partially trained by the Ukrainian armed forces, are wanted terrorists in many countries. Their leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, declared in 2018 that he and HTS aimed to conquer Jerusalem following the conquest of Damascus.

“Allah willing, we will reach not only Damascus. Jerusalem awaits us as well. Every bullet we fire here will reverberate throughout the Islamic world. Your place as a Jihad fighter on this blessed land is in itself a grace of Allah, Who chose you from among billions of people,” he said.

Following the Islamist rebels’ victory, several countries have begun freezing asylum claims from Syrian nationals, including the United Kingdom and Germany, which has the largest population of Syrians in Europe.

It remains to be seen how the rebels will treat minorities like the Alawites, Syrian Christians, Druze, and others.

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Jihadist rebels in Syria have set the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the former dictator and father of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, on fire. Rebels, led by al-Qaeda re-brand Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Syria after Assad fled to Russia. show more
December 11, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Crime
World

Jihadists Arrested for Plot Against City Where Christians Saved West from Islamic Army.

Three Islamist extremists have been arrested for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack targeting a city hall linked to a famous battle between a Christian army and Muslim invaders. The trio were arrested in Nîmes and Nantes, in France, after starting the process of creating explosives.

Aged between 19 and 20, the Islamists are said to have been university students on their way to creating the explosive acetone peroxide (TATP) before French authorities arrested them on December 7. Among their proposed targets was the city hall of Poitiers, which the Islamists selected due to its links to the Battle of Tours in 732 A.D. This clash saw Christians led by Charles Martel defeat a Muslim invasion force that had struck central France, preventing Islam from sweeping deep into Western Europe.

The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) confirmed the men had been investigated by the DGSI, France’s internal spy agency. The men had used encrypted messaging apps to communicate. The men also conducted preliminary tests on the explosives after ordering equipment to make them.

Two of the men are said to have been born in France and come from North African backgrounds, while the third is from the French overseas territory of Mayotte, an island between the African mainland and Madagascar.

The potential attack is just the latest to be foiled this year in Western Europe, which has also seen several executed attacks. For instance, a mass stabbing at a Festival of Diversity in Solingen, Germany, by a Syrian migrant left three people dead.

In the United Kingdom, a similar mass stabbing attack in Southport saw three young girls murdered and sparked riots across the country. Months later, British authorities also revealed the attacker, born in Wales to Rwandan migrants, had al-Qaeda terror manuals in his possession.

Image by Robert Huffstutter.

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Three Islamist extremists have been arrested for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack targeting a city hall linked to a famous battle between a Christian army and Muslim invaders. The trio were arrested in Nîmes and Nantes, in France, after starting the process of creating explosives. show more
December 9, 2024
Jack Montgomery
World

Netanyahu Claims Credit for Fall of Assad.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken credit for the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria from a speech delivered from the Golan Heights—where Israeli forces have seized territory formerly occupied by the Syrian Arab Army. “This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action,” Netanyahu declared.

Calling the takeover of Damascus by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebrand of former al-Qaeda branch al-Nusra, an “historic day for the Middle East,” Netanyahu said: “The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers… [It] means that we have to take action against possible threats.”

Chief among these is the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria, he said, which “collapsed” when Assad’s army “abandoned its positions.”

“We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found,” he claimed.

“If we can establish neighborly relations and peaceful relations with the new forces emerging in Syria, that’s our desire. But if we do not, we will do whatever it takes to defend the State of Israel and the border of Israel,” he added.

Israeli forces have launched a series of strikes described as “very intensive” by Israeli press sources since Assad’s ouster, devastating the country’s air defenses and supposed “strategic weapons sites.”

HTS’s Turkey-backed leaders, who are mainly Sunni Muslims, have pledged they will not persecute minorities following their takeover. However, members of the Alawite minority, which Assad hailed from, as well as Christians, Druze, and others, may attempt to flee to Europe to avoid reprisals in the coming weeks and months.

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken credit for the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria from a speech delivered from the Golan Heights—where Israeli forces have seized territory formerly occupied by the Syrian Arab Army. "This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action," Netanyahu declared. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
I’m not sure I’d be celebrating all that heartily just yet, but remember, for Netanyahu, the past year has been a non-stop sprint to outflank and overpower those who have presented existential threats to his nation and people
for exclusive members-only insights
I’m not sure I’d be celebrating all that heartily just yet, but remember, for Netanyahu, the past year has been a non-stop sprint to outflank and overpower those who have presented existential threats to his nation and people show more
for exclusive members-only insights
December 7, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Crime
World

Police Foil Yet Another Christmas Market Terror Plot in Europe.

Police in have foiled yet another terrorist attack plot against a Christmas market, arresting a migrant from Iraq earlier this week. Police in the German city of Augsburg arrested the 37-year-old Iraqi migrant on Wednesday, December 4, after Bavarian authorities were given a tip by a foreign intelligence agency that had monitored the suspect’s online activities.

The Iraqi had allegedly posted online about his support for the terrorist Islamic State group and had posted photographs of the Christmas Market in Augsburg. He had also communicated his desire to drive a vehicle through the market, copying the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack that saw a dozen killed by a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker.

The possible foiled pilot is just the latest this year and follows the arrest of an Islamist teenager in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein region last month. The 17-year-old Turkish-German in this case was also allegedly plotting an attack on the Christmas market in Elmshorn. He looked to drive a truck through the market, killing as many innocent people as possible.

Last year, two teenagers were also arrested for plotting to attack a Christmas Market in Cologne, stating their intentions online and also expressing support for the Islamic State. The youngest, just 15, was already on a terrorist watchlist prior to his arrest.

Western Europe has seen a wave of terrorist attacks in 2024, with at least 21 terror attacks and attempted attacks reported back in September. Among the attacks that were successfully carried out was a mass stabbing by a Syrian asylum seeker at a diversity festival in Solingen that led to the deaths of three people. The Syrian also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Image by Neitram.

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Police in have foiled yet another terrorist attack plot against a Christmas market, arresting a migrant from Iraq earlier this week. Police in the German city of Augsburg arrested the 37-year-old Iraqi migrant on Wednesday, December 4, after Bavarian authorities were given a tip by a foreign intelligence agency that had monitored the suspect's online activities. show more
December 6, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Politics
World

European ‘Democracy’ CANCELS Presidential Election Because Pro-Trump Populist was Winning.

The Constitutional Court in the European Union (EU) and NATO member state Romania has canceled its presidential elections just days before a scheduled vote, claiming a Russian interference campaign is the reason a pro-Trump candidate populist was the favorite to win the race.

Romanian judges annulled the second round of the presidential elections as polls suggested populist, NATO-critical candidate Călin Georgescu, who won a surprise victory in the election’s first round, was likely to win Sunday’s vote. According to the court, Georgescu benefits from an influence campaign on social media platforms like TikTok, similar to some run by the Russian government.

The move comes after Romanian intelligence information was declassified by the government, claiming that Russia was trying to manipulate the outcome of the election. Georgescu, who is pro-Trump, pro-life, and opposed to escalating the Western proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, was set to face pro-EU globalist Elena Lasconi on Sunday.

Over the past year, European governments have consistently attempted to blame Russian interference campaigns for the rise of populists across Europe, shutting down alternative media in the Czech Republic ahead of the European Parliament elections, for example.

Russian interference has been blamed for the rise of populism in the United States and the United Kindom for years. However, the infamous Russia hoax accusations against President Donald J. Trump and the allegations of extensive Russian interference in the Brexit referendum in 2016 all proved to be false.

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The Constitutional Court in the European Union (EU) and NATO member state Romania has canceled its presidential elections just days before a scheduled vote, claiming a Russian interference campaign is the reason a pro-Trump candidate populist was the favorite to win the race. show more
December 5, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
Politics
World

Six in Ten French Want Macron to Resign After Government Collapse.

Polling released on Thursday, December 5, reveals that as many as 59 percent of the French public want President Emmanuel Macron to resign from office. On Wednesday, populist Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) joined far-left parties to support a vote of no confidence against Macron’s government, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

Despite fears that the collapse of the minority government could cause a political crisis, polling firm ODOXA suggests that 51 percent of the French public supported bringing down the government.

President Macron is set to address the French nation on Thursday evening and may discuss the possibility of attempting to appoint a new Prime Minister. According to the ODOXA polling, 59 percent of the French want him to appoint someone not affiliated with any political party, such as a technocrat.

Of the 14 established political names proposed by the pollsters to the French public as a new prime minister, none held a majority of support.

ROAD TO RUIN.

The current crisis has its roots in Macron’s call for a snap election following his party’s defeat in the European Union Parliament elections, in which Le Pen’s National Rally placed first.

The July elections saw the New Popular Front (NFP), a coalition of several far-left parties, place first, followed by Macron’s bloc, and the populist RN in third place despite placing first in the popular vote. The RN was the single largest party in the National Assembly, however.

After months of delay in nominating a prime minister, ostensibly due to the Paris Summer Olympics, Barnier was appointed in late September to head a minority government.

Unable to please either the left or the right-populist RN, who demanded budget policies like attaching state pensions to inflation rates, Barnier attempted to use controversial provisions in the French constitution to push through the budget without a vote.

This strategy failed when the right and left voted to collapse the government on Wednesday.

Image by Pedro Gontijo/Senado Federal.

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Polling released on Thursday, December 5, reveals that as many as 59 percent of the French public want President Emmanuel Macron to resign from office. On Wednesday, populist Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) joined far-left parties to support a vote of no confidence against Macron's government, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier. show more
December 5, 2024
Jack Montgomery
World

FLASHBACK: Kassam Predicted French Government’s Collapse.

Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, predicted the collapse of the French government shortly after President Emmanuel Macron called surprise legislative elections in July—before it had even had time to form.

The snap election, called in response to Marine Le Pen’s anti-mass migration, euroskeptic Nationally Rally (RN) party winning the European Parliament elections in France, left the National Assembly in shambles. The governing “Macronist” bloc comprised of globalists and progressives fell to third place in the popular vote and second place by share of seats. The RN placed first in the popular vote and became the single-largest party by seat share, but third overall. A hastily assembled coalition of far-left parties, the New Popular Front (NFP), placed second in the popular vote and first by share of seats.

No one party had enough seats to control the legislature outright, making an unwieldy coalition the only possible outcome. However, with the Macronists at odds with NFP as much as the populist right in many areas, any coalition seemed unlikely to be sustainable—as Kassam explained live from Paris shortly after the dust had settled.

“There are vast swathes of policy positions that all these separate parties that have pulled together this kind of unholy alliance of the left vehemently and violently disagree with one another on,” he said. “It makes you wonder, can there even really be any form of government here? And if there can’t, well, maybe we’ll see another election… We see this happen across Europe all the time—’We can’t get anything done, we have to go back to the people, we have to ask them to give somebody a mandate to govern.'”

NEXT MOVES.

To cut out the far left, particularly the NFP’s leading party, France Unbowed, Macron ultimately chose to parachute in Michel Barnier, of the center-right Les Republicains (Republicans), to head a minority government. He appears to have hoped Le Pen would accept this as the least-worst option. However, she opted to bring down the government, alongside the likes of France Unbowed, after Barnier tried to force through a budget she opposed without a vote, using a controversial constitutional mechanism.

With no budget passed, France and the wider European Union could now be headed for a financial crisis. Macron’s next steps are unclear, as he will struggle to form another government with the legislature composed as it is, and there is some doubt as to whether he can legally call another snap election until 12 months have passed since the previous one.

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Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, predicted the collapse of the French government shortly after President Emmanuel Macron called surprise legislative elections in July—before it had even had time to form. show more
December 4, 2024
News
Politics
World

Pro-Trump NATO Critic Poised for Victory in European Presidential Runoff.

A new president is set to be elected in NATO and European Union (EU) member state Romania on Saturday, and populist, pro-life candidate Calin Georgescu could cause a shock upset. Georgescu is challenging pro-EU globalist Elena Lasconi and seems increasingly likely to win the race.

Georgescu won the election’s first round on November 24, unexpectedly outperforming mainstream candidates. He is an avowed supporter of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, saying he “knows what he wants, he loves his people, he put America first, just like I put Romania first … we have the same ideology.”

Georgescu also describes Russia’s President as “a man who loves his country” and Ukraine as “an invented state,” although he denies being pro-Russian. He says his concern is making Romania “a sovereign and self-sufficient power” and insists, “I am for God and my country, period.”

Opinion polls indicate Georgescu’s support hovers around 60 percent, although approximately 40 percent of voters remain undecided, leaving the exact outcome uncertain. If Georgescu prevails, analysts suggest it could shift Romania’s political landscape towards other central and eastern European nations with populist, anti-war leaders, such as Hungary and Slovakia.

Despite denying aspirations to leave NATO or the EU, Georgescu advocates for autonomous decision-making and has been critical of EU mandates. He is known for social conservativism, opposing both abortion and same-sex marriage.

Over the course of 2024, Europe has seen a wave of populist victories and advances. Populists led many countries in the European Union Parliament elections and won elections in the German region of Thuringia as well as the Austrian national election.

Despite these victories, populist parties have been largely unable to govern, as establishment parties in European countries resist forming coalitions with them.

Jack Montgomery contributed to this report. 

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A new president is set to be elected in NATO and European Union (EU) member state Romania on Saturday, and populist, pro-life candidate Calin Georgescu could cause a shock upset. Georgescu is challenging pro-EU globalist Elena Lasconi and seems increasingly likely to win the race. show more
December 4, 2024
Christopher Tomlinson
World

BREAKING: Le Pen Brings Down Macron’s Government in Historic Vote.

Populist Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) have successfully brought down President Emmanuel Macron’s government in a decisive confidence vote that could spark snap elections and a political crisis in the European Union (EU). Le Pen, along with elements of the left, including the far-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, voted to bring down the government of globalist Prime Minister Michel Barnier just months after he assumed the role.

A total of 331 French MPs voted against the government in favor of a censure motion, far beyond the 289 votes required.

Prime Minister Barnier will be forced to step down as head of the government, while President Emmanuel Macron will have to decide if a new government can be formed or if the country can hold its second snap election in less than a year.

The vote is historic as it is the first time a French government has been ousted in a confidence vote since 1962, with Barnier’s government being the shortest in power since 1958.

Following the July election earlier this year, which saw the populist RN emerge as the single largest party, President Macron took until late September to finally appoint a new Prime Minister, leading a minority government backed by a smattering of leftist and center-right lawmakers.

BARNIER’S GAMBIT. 

When Prime Minister Barnier attempted to pass a budget, he could not secure support from Le Pen, who demanded that pensions be raised in line with inflation and other measures. He had opted to shut the populists out of government and key positions in the French legislature despite their success in the elections, leaving him with little leverage.

Barnier, instead, invoked Article 49.3 of the French constitution to pass through the budget without a vote. This maneuver opened his government to the vote of confidence, which he has now lost.

French media have claimed that since a new budget has not been passed, many public sector workers may not be paid, as the government would be shut down. This could lead to a financial crisis for France, which could spill over into the wider European Union.

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Populist Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) have successfully brought down President Emmanuel Macron's government in a decisive confidence vote that could spark snap elections and a political crisis in the European Union (EU). Le Pen, along with elements of the left, including the far-left France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, voted to bring down the government of globalist Prime Minister Michel Barnier just months after he assumed the role. show more