World

Trudeau Accuses Opposition Parties of ‘Partisan Games’ as MPs Prepare to Vote on Johnston’s Removal

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing federal opposition parties of playing “partisan games” as the House of Commons prepares to vote on an NDP motion that, if passed, will call upon the Liberal government to remove David Johnston as the special rapporteur on foreign election interference.
Trudeau’s comments come amid refusals and delays by all opposition leaders to receive briefings of the secret intelligence information that Johnston says led him to recommend against calling for a public inquiry into foreign interference in his first report released on May 23.
“What we’ve highlighted is that that intelligence is available for the leaders of the opposition parties to avail themselves of, to understand what underpins the very good report that Mr. Johnston put out,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on May 31….

Trade Union Demands Clarity From Labour Over Halting New Oil and Gas Production

Trade union Unite called on Sir Keir Starmer to clarify that workers will not pay the price should any plan to block new North Sea oil and gas developments be announced by the Labour Party.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said on Wednesday that tens of thousands of workers in North Sea and supporting industries should be able to keep their jobs if Labour confirms plans to halt new oil and gas production.
Her comments come amid reports that Starmer will set out his net zero energy policy when he launches his latest “national mission” in Scotland next month.
“When Keir Starmer decided to let the world know that he would halt new oil and gas production in the North Sea he left out everything that was important—the detail. Labour must now be very clear that they will not let workers pay the price for the transition to renewable energy. When it comes to jobs we can’t have jam tomorrow,” said Graham….

Billions in Untracked Federal Grants Going to China, Russia: Ernst

Hundreds of millions of American tax dollars went to recipients in China and Russia in recent years without being properly tracked by the federal government, including a grant that enabled a state-run Russian lab to test cats on treadmills, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
Ernst and her staff investigators, working with auditors at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS), plus two non-profit Washington watchdogs—Open The Books (OTB) and the White Coat Waste Project (WCWP)—discovered dozens of other grants not counted on the federal government’s USASpending.gov internet database.
The total value of the uncounted grants the Ernst team found is $1.3 billion, but that amount is just the tip of the iceberg, GAO reports….

Moscow Claims Ukrainian Military Intelligence HQ Hit by Russian Strike

Recent Russian barrages near Kyiv included a successful strike on the headquarters of Ukraine’s military intelligence apparatus, Russian officials—including President Vladimir Putin—have said.
“We have already mentioned the possibility of strikes targeting decision-making headquarters and centers,” Putin said on the evening of May 30.
“The Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters, which was hit two or three days ago, falls into this category,” he told reporters while visiting a cultural center in Moscow.
Earlier the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing that its forces had carried out multiple strikes on “central decision-making points where terrorist attacks against Russian territory were being planned under the guidance of Western intelligence experts.”…