WORLD ROUNDUPWhat Would War Between Israel and Iran Look Like? | North Korean nuclear weapons, 2024 | France Wins Gold for Public Spending, and more
· Tommy Robinson Stokes Southport Riots — from Holiday in Europe
The far-right agitator is riling up his 800,000 online followers from abroad and posting images of violence linked to the EDL
· France Wins Gold for Public Spending, but the Largesse Bequeaths a Toxic Legacy
No one does social security like the French, but with the budget deficit soaring amid a political vacuum, the markets are getting nervous and the EU is demanding action
· What Would War Between Israel and Iran Look Like?
Two assassinations within hours suggest that Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is daring Tehran to retaliate and provoke an open conflict
· IDF Uncovers Hamas-built Drive-Through Tunnel on Gaza-Egypt Border
Pictures show combat vehicles can easily pass through the huge concrete-fortified underpass buried beneath the desert terrain
· North Korean nuclear weapons, 2024
Since 2006, North Korea has detonated six nuclear devices, updated its nuclear doctrine, and continued to introduce a variety of new missiles test-flown from new launch platforms
· ‘Pro-democracy Activist’ Convicted in U.S. of Giving Dissidents’ Intel to China
Shujun Wang helped found a pro-democracy group in New York city
Tommy Robinson Stokes Southport Riots — from Holiday in Europe (Dipesh Gadher, Dominic Hauschild, Katie Tarrant, Joey D’Urso, The Times)
Tommy Robinson has been stoking tensions over the Southport stabbings from thousands of miles away in southern Europe.
Analysis of the far-right activist’s social media posts suggest Robinson was in Spain last Tuesday as he egged on far-right thugs who clashed with police and attacked a mosque in the Merseyside seaside town.
He is believed to have travelled on to Greece to enjoy a holiday with his children while continuing to promote further protests in Britain this weekend.
Robinson, 41, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, left the UK last Sunday after being released on unconditional bail following a stop by police under terrorism laws at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone, Kent. He was due to appear at the High Court in London the next day over alleged contempt proceedings.
Merseyside police believe supporters of the English Defense League (EDL), the far-right group previously led by Robinson, were among those responsible for injuring more than 50 officers and terrorizing Muslim worshippers during the Southport riot.
The violence erupted following false claims on social media that the main suspect in the stabbings, who is accused of murdering three young girls and injuring eight other children and two adults, was a Muslim asylum seeker.
France Wins Gold for Public Spending, but the Largesse Bequeaths a Toxic Legacy (Peter Conradi, The Times)
Now at close to 57 per cent of GDP, government spending in France has long been way higher than in any of its G7 rivals; the equivalent figure for Britain is 44.2 per cent and for America 37.5 per cent. At the same time, tax rates are high, while social charges — the French equivalent of national insurance — are vast.
Yet, in recent years, successive governments have been finding it increasingly difficult to balance the books: the budget deficit is running at 5.5 per cent of GDP, which has helped push up French government debt to 110.8 per cent of GDP, third only to the figures for Greece (159.8 per cent) and Italy (137.7 per cent). (Cont.)
