Assassin Riddle

R: How many gunmen does it take to assassinate a president?

A: 28 mercenaries  

Jovenel Moïse: Foreign hit squad killed Haiti's president, police say:

A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, including retired Colombian soldiers, assassinated Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse earlier this week, police say. After a gun battle in the capital Port-au-Prince, 17 were detained, some at the house they were using, others after entering Taiwan's diplomatic compound. Three suspects were killed by police and eight are still being sought.

Bloodied and bruised, arrested suspects were shown to the media on July 7th, along with a slew of seized weapons. It is still unclear who organised the attack and with what motive.

The attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday, when gunmen broke into the president's home in Port-au-Prince, shooting him dead and wounding his wife. Mr Moïse, 53, was found lying on his back with 12 bullet wounds and a gouged eye, according to authorities. Martine Moïse, 47, was seriously wounded and is in a stable condition after being flown to Florida for treatment.

Regressives not approved

EU votes for action over Hungary's anti-LGBT law:

The European Parliament has voted in favour (459/147/(58)) of urgent legal action over Hungary's new law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s. The new legislation breached "EU values, principles and law", MEPs said. The parliament added that the law was "another intentional and premeditated example of the gradual dismantling of fundamental rights in Hungary".

In a resolution passed on Thursday with 459 in favour, 147 against and 58 abstentions, MEPs said the latest developments in Hungary followed a broader pattern of political censorship. The parliament urged the European Commission to use a new tool that allows the EU to reduce budget allocations to member states in breach of the rule of law, to ensure that the Hungarian government reverse the decision.

It also urged legal action against Hungary's right-wrong-wing nationalist government at the European Court of Justice.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban insists school policy is a matter for Hungary, not "Brussels bureaucrats". 

[Make the decision, endure the consequences, Diktator!]

ALWAYS a recovery operation

Beyond one boy fortunate to be rescued quickly, the Surfside search was always a recovery operation. The only consolation regarding this avoidable tragedy is that death would have come very quickly for all the tragically unfortunate victims.

"Rescue teams combing the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Florida are switching from a search-and-rescue mission to a recovery effort.

The decision comes about two weeks after the 12-storey Champlain Towers South fell in the middle of the night. [Rule of 3s: survival = 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours in harsh environment, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.]

Sixty victims have been found and 80 are still missing, Surfside city officials said on Thursday. No survivors have been found since the initial collapse, and rescue crews say many victims were found in their beds."

Why the delay of the obviously inevitable? Hope springs eternal, and families need time to adjust.

Fleeing Radical Religionists

Afghanistan: Soldiers flee to Tajikistan after Taliban clashes:

He only drugged and raped WHITE women, Phylicia

"Bill Cosby's on-screen wife is at the centre of controversy after tweeting her support for him when his sexual assault conviction was overturned."

No, myope, a terrible wrong has been supported.

Idiocy Knows No Bounds

Ukraine [ministry's] plans for women to march in high heels spark [justified] outrage: 

Plans by Ukraine's defence ministry to have female soldiers march in high heels instead of army boots in a parade next month have caused angry reactions. Iryna Gerashchenko, an opposition member of parliament, said it was sexism, not equality.

Imaginary Coups easier than Staging a Coup

 21-7-2 Lukashenko orders Belarusian borders closed because of [presumably imaginary] "planned coup".

Belarus has closed its border with Ukraine, claiming that arms are being smuggled into the country. President Alexander Lukashenko claims it is part of an attempt by outside powers to overthrow his authoritarian regime.

Lukashenko claimed - without providing proof - that his security services had uncovered a foreign-backed terrorist sleeper cells plotting to oust him from power. He alleged the weapons were being shipped to terrorist cells funded by Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US. [Funny that his chief worry - Russia - is not mentioned.]

"A huge amount of weapons is coming from Ukraine to Belarus. That's why I ordered border-security forces to fully close the border with Ukraine," Lukashenko said, at a ceremony marking the country's 30 years of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[Yeah, yeah, and you have a bridge to sell. As though Ukraine is not busy enough holding Russia's invasion in check.]