Pompeo Describes What Kim Jong Un Is like in Person

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By The Daily Caller. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described what North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is like in person during a Sunday interview with Fox News . . .

“He knows his brief, he knows what he is trying to achieve for the North Korean people, he’s able to deal with complexity when the conversation requires it,” Pompeo said.

The Secretary of State also noted that Kim Jong Un pays attention to Western media, saying, “He does follow the Western press. He will probably watch this show at some point. He’s paying attention to things that the world is saying.” (Read more from “Pompeo Describes What Kim Jong Un Is like in Person” HERE)

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Pompeo: U.S. Firms Could Invest in North Korea and Kim May Get ‘Security Assurances’

By The Guardian. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that if North Korea agrees to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program, the Trump administration will allow the American private sector to invest in the country.

Pompeo also hinted that the US might assure Kim Jong-un he can stay in power after any deal.

If a deal is reached at or after the summit meeting between Kim and Trump scheduled for Singapore on 12 June, Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday, “private sector Americans, not the US taxpayer” could “help build out the energy grid that needs enormous amounts of electricity in North Korea”. Americans could also help, he said, with investment in infrastructure and agriculture to help feed the North Korean people.

Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Pompeo floated the possibility of “sanctions relief”, a remark that jarred a little with a comment by Donald Trump’s national security adviser. John Bolton told CNN’s State of the Union: “I wouldn’t look for economic aid from us.”

Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, said private investment or sanctions relief for the North would “be the best money we ever spent”. (Read more from “Pompeo: U.S. Firms Could Invest in North Korea and Kim May Get ‘Security Assurances’” HERE)

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Angry Iran Threatens to Expose Western Officials Who Took Bribes to Make Nuke Deal Happen

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Shortly after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal last Tuesday, an adviser to a top Iranian official retaliated by dropping a bombshell threat. . .

An adviser to H.J.Ansari Zarif, the deputy for parliamentary and Iranian affairs within Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically threatened to expose every corrupt official who accepted bribes to make the Iran deal happen three years ago.

“If Europeans stop trading with Iran and don’t put pressure on US then we will reveal which western politicians and how much money they had received during nuclear negotiations to make #IranDeal happen,” he either said or wrote, according to Hassan Ghashghavi.

A Middle East analyst for The Jerusalem Post, Ghashghavi posted the adviser’s threat on his Twitter profile Tuesday afternoon, only about an hour or so after Trump’s announcement.

The adviser’s tweet appears to suggest that some Western officials partook in “pay-to-play” schemes by accepting money to support and ultimately sign the deal. The accusation makes perfect sense given that there was no legitimate reason whatsoever to support the horrible one-sided deal pieced together in 2015 by then-President Barack Hussein Obama. (Read more from “Angry Iran Threatens to Expose Western Officials Who Took Bribes to Make Nuke Deal Happen” HERE)

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Mueller Indicted a Russian Company That Doesn’t Exist

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By The Daily Wire. This week, one of the Russian companies accused by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of funding a conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was revealed in court to not have existed during the time period alleged by Mueller’s team of prosecutors, according to a lawyer representing the defendant.

U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey asked Eric Dubelier, one of two lawyers representing the accused Russian company, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, if he was representing a third company listed in Mueller’s indictment . . .

“What about Concord Catering?” Harvey asked Dubelier. “The government makes an allegation that there’s some association. I don’t mean for you to – do you represent them, or not, today? And are we arraigning them as well?” . . .

“That company didn’t exist as a legal entity during the time period alleged by the government,” Dubelier continued. “If at some later time they show me that it did exist, we would probably represent them. But for purposes of today, no, we do not.” (Read more from “Mueller Indicted a Russian Company That Doesn’t Exist” HERE)

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Mueller, It’s Time to Wrap This Investigation Up

By The Hill. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been the leading story in the headlines ever since his appointment on May 17, 2017. He promised the nation a swift, narrow, focused investigation into the allegations that President Trump had colluded with Russia, and as we approach the one year anniversary of his appointment he has failed to deliver despite extraordinary waivers of executive privilege by the Trump administration.

It would be a terrible thing for Mueller to stain, forever, his superb reputation going into this job by his conduct of the investigation. A key problem is that Mueller has two major conflicts of interest, which suggest, at a minimum, that he is the wrong man for this job.

First, the big legal charge he seems to be investigating is whether President Trump obstructed justice by firing former FBI director, James Comey, a close personal friend of Mueller’s with whom Mueller worked closely both during both the second Bush and Obama administrations. Nobody should be picked to investigate the legality of the firing of a close personal friend or acquaintance.

As the investigation has unfolded, a different conflict of interest for Mueller has arisen, which is that serious questions have arisen about whether the integrity of the FBI itself was seriously compromised during the time when James Comey was the FBI director. It is obvious that Mueller, a former FBI director, is not the right person to conduct an investigation into possible impermissible conduct by the FBI. (Read more from “Mueller, It’s Time to Wrap This Investigation Up” HERE)

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Soccer Team Renames Itself for Trump

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Jerusalem’s largest soccer club announced Sunday that it has changed its name to “Beitar Trump Jerusalem,” in honor of the US president’s recognition of Israel’s capital and moving his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv . . .

“For 70 years has Jerusalem been awaiting international recognition, until President Donald Trump, in a courageous move, recognized Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel,” the club wrote. “President Trump has shown courage, and true love of the Israeli people and their capital, and these days other countries are following his lead in giving Jerusalem its rightful status.”

The announcement comes the day before the official opening of the new embassy in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, in a ceremony to be attended by US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Adviser Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, as well as ambassadors and officials from all over the world.

The soccer club stated that it was permanently changing its name in honor of the occasion.

“Beitar Jerusalem, one of the most prominent symbols of the city, are happy to honor the president for his love and support with a gesture of our own,” the Facebook post read. “The chairmen of the club, the owner Eli Tabib and the executive manager Eli Ohana have decided to add to the club’s title the name of the American President who made history, and from now on will be called Beitar Trump Jerusalem.” (Read more from “Soccer Team Renames Itself for Trump” HERE)

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Middle East Melee: Are Iran and Israel on the Brink of War?

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By The Blaze. As tensions mount in the Middle East, Israel’s government is ramping up its civil defense. Bomb shelters are mandatory, gas-masks and emergency kits are issued to citizens at government distribution centers.

“That said to me an awful lot. They are trying to protect human life,” said Glenn Beck on “The News and Why it Matters”. He added, “It’s not the same way on the other side of the border.”

Iranian forces launched more than 20 rockets at Israel Wednesday. Most of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system. Israel retaliated with missiles and artillery fire across the boundary between Syria and Israel. (Read more from “Middle East Melee: Are Iran and Israel on the Brink of War?” HERE)

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11 Iranians Among Dead in Israel’s Strikes in Syria, Monitor Says

By The Times of Israel. At least 11 Iranians were among those killed in unprecedented Israeli strikes in Syria Thursday, a monitor said Saturday.

“At least 27 pro-regime fighters were killed: six Syrian soldiers and 21 foreign fighters, including 11 Iranians,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

That updates the monitor’s initial death toll of 23, which did not specify the number of Iranians.

“The new report is due to the death of wounded or missing persons whose deaths have been confirmed,” Abdel Rahman said.

Israeli officials told Hadashot TV news Friday night that the security cabinet believes Iran “has gotten the Israeli message, and won’t mess with us in the near future,” — a day after Israel launched dozens of strikes on Iranian military sites in Syria in response to an Iranian missile barrage directed at northern Israel. (Read more from “11 Iranians Among Dead in Israel’s Strikes in Syria, Monitor Says” HERE)

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Muslim Nations Cheer U.S. on Iran Decision

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Iranian politicians burned U.S. flags and chanted “death to America” this week while Barack Obama and former members of his administration lashed out at President Trump when he announced his decision to drop the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear deal. . .

However, Trump is getting huge support from a coalition of Muslim nations.

That’s because the divide between the radical Muslim hierarchy in Iran and the West is not significantly larger than the divide between the radical Muslim hierarchy in Iran – and large parts of the rest of the Muslim world.

According to research from the Middle East Media Research Institute, the president’s announcement “won broad support from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Saudi Arabia officially stated that it welcomed the announcement, calling it vital in light of the flaws inherent in the agreement and in light of Iran’s taking advantage of it to develop its ballistic missile program and to support terror organizations in the Middle East. The Saudi announcement also expressed hope that the international community would take a similar firm position vis-à-vis Iran.” . . .

It was the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh’s May 9, 2018 editorial, titled “Washington Has Had Its Say,” that stated: “The announcement by the American president Donald Trump of his country’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal is an important historic event on the international level. Following this announcement, the agreement … became in effect a thing of the past, with the most important country’s and largest superpower’s withdrawal from it.” (Read more from “Muslim Nations Cheer U.S. on Iran Decision” HERE)

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Trump Welcomes Home Americans Freed from North Korea

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By Daily Mail. Donald Trump welcomed three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to the U.S. in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and said words most observers thought no American president would ever utter: ‘We want to thank Kim Jong Un.’

The president and his wife Melania arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington at 2:00 a.m. to greet Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim, and called them ‘incredible people.’

In extraordinary scenes, Trump and the first lady clapped and cheered as the men walked down the steps with their arms in the air and giving triumphant ‘V’ signs signifying both peace and victory.

Their first steps back on American soil came hours earlier, in Alaska, when the plane carrying them home stopped to refuel.

On the tarmac in suburban Maryland, Trump said: ‘These are great people. Frankly, we didn’t think this was going to happen, but it did. It was important to get these people out. This is a special night for these three really great people.’ (Read more from “Trump Welcomes Home Americans Freed from North Korea” HERE)

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History in the Making as Trump Welcomes Prisoners Home

By CNN. Just maybe, the extraordinary scene that unfolded in the dead of night on an airfield outside Washington early Thursday is the start of something truly historic.

President Donald Trump welcomed home three American prisoners from North Korea, citing their release as proof that his diplomacy with the isolated state is delivering. In what must have been a surreal experience, Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk — who were only released from custody on Wednesday — were suddenly plunged into a media circus.

“I think you probably broke the all-time in history television rating for 3 o’clock in the morning,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews as he stood alongside the freed prisoners.

(Read more from “History in the Making as Trump Welcomes Prisoners Home” HERE)

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Iranian Forces Fire at Israel Military Base

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By Breitbart. Iranian forces operating from Syria fired about 20 rockets at Israeli army positions in the Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday night.

Some of the missiles were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system, and there were no reports of injuries, the IDF stated.

A video posted on social media in Syria purports to show a volley of rockets from a launcher being fired into Israel.

(Read more from “Iranian Forces Fire at Israel” HERE)

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IDF: Iranian Forces Fire 20 Rockets at Israel; Iron Dome Intercepts Some

By Times of Israel. Some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces in southern Syria just after midnight on Thursday, with some of the incoming missiles being intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, the army said, amid sky high tensions on the northern border.

There were no reports of Israeli casualties in the attack. An army spokesperson said damage was caused to Israeli military bases, but that it was “limited.”

The Israeli army said the missile barrage was carried out by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. This appeared to be the first time that Israel attributed an attack directly to Iran, which generally operates through proxies. The late night rocket barrage was also the largest attack, in terms of the number of rockets fired, in the seven years of the Syrian civil war.

Tehran has repeatedly vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid — widely attributed to Israel — on April 9, killing at least seven members of the IRGC, including a senior officer responsible for the group’s drone program. (Read more from “Idf: Iranian Forces Fire 20 Rockets at Israel; Iron Dome Intercepts Some” HERE)

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Three Prisoners Released from North Korea

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By Breitbart. The three men released from North Korea into the custody of United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put out a joint statement as they traveled home to the U.S.

Kim Hak Song, Kim Dong Cul, and Kim Sang-Duk said, according to Reuters:

We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home. We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world.

Pompeo gave a briefing to reporters traveling with him on the trip back to the U.S. from North Korea. Asked if there were any glitches during the 13-hour stay, Pompeo said, “It was a long day. But there were no moments where I felt like we were going to be anything but successful in the day.” (Read more from “Three Prisoners Released from North Korea” HERE)

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North Korea Frees Three U.S. Detainees Ahead of Trump Summit

By BBC. North Korea has freed three US citizens from prison, according to a tweet from US President Donald Trump.

It is viewed as a goodwill gesture ahead of a historic summit between Mr Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.

Mr Trump said he would greet the men when they return with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been in Pyongyang to arrange the planned talks.

Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul boarded the plane “without assistance”, the White House said.

They had been jailed for anti-state activities and placed in labour camps. (Read more from “North Korea Frees Three U.S. Detainees Ahead of Trump Summit” HERE)

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New Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo Kills 17, Said to Have ‘International Impact’

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By The Blaze. . .Two out of five samples collected from patients were confirmed to have tested positive for Ebola, which the DRC reported to the World Health Organization. With a fatality rate of fifty percent, WHO is mobilizing to act quickly to address the outbreak of the virus. The organization released $1 million from a Contingency Fund for Emergencies in order to help stop the spread.

WHO deputy director-general for emergency preparedness and response, Dr. Peter Salama, said, “Our top priority is to get to Bikoro [a neighboring province] to work alongside the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak.

“Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease.” Doctors Without Borders is one of the organizations who will assist the WHO, and the response will be modelled after the methods used in a 2017 Ebola outbreak that occurred in another DRC province.

Since 1976, this is the ninth outbreak of Ebola in Congo. The virus is highly contagious and can cause organ failure as well as internal and external bleeding.

The WHO Regional Director for African, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said, “We know that addressing this outbreak will require a comprehensive and coordinated response. WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response. We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing.” (Read more from “New Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo Kills 17, Said to Have ‘International Impact’” HERE)

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New Outbreak of Ebola Kills 17 in Northwest Dr Congo

By AFP. Seventeen people in northwest Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have died from Ebola, the health ministry said on Tuesday, describing the fresh outbreak as a “public health emergency with international impact.”

“Twenty-one cases of fever with haemorrhagic indications and 17 deaths” have been recorded in Equateur province, it said, citing a notification to the ministry as of May 3.

It is the DRC’s ninth known outbreak of Ebola since 1976, when the deady viral disease was first identified in then-Zaire by a Belgian-led team.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) said lab tests in the DRC confirmed the presence of Ebola virus in two out of five samples collected from patients.

“WHO is working closely with the government of the DRC to rapidly scale up its operations and mobilize health partners, using the model of a successful response to a similar… outbreak in 2017,” it said in a statement. (Read more from “New Outbreak of Ebola Kills 17 in Northwest Dr Congo” HERE)

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