Author: yreape

According to reports, the government has appointed Justin Kelly to the post of garda commissioner, replacing Drew Harris who retires on September 1. Reportedly, Mr Kelly who is from Dublin has worked in an garda siochana for 31 years, rising to the rank of detective, detective superintendent, detective chief superintendent and for the past 7 years assistant commissioner.

According to a report, he has been commended for transforming the quality of garda investigations into domestic and sexual crimes and for prosecuting those involved in organised crime which lead to a substantial drop in gun related crimes in Ireland. Reportedly, he has obtained a bachelor of civil law from University College Dublin, a master of criminal justice from John Jay College in New York, a master of business administration from Dublin City University, a master of serious crime investigation from the University of Limerick and has completed a strategic command course at the college of policing, UK.

According to reports, the israeli prime minister will travel to the u.s. on Monday to meet with the president who said he is optimistic that a Gaza ceasefire deal can be agreed after hamas submitted a positive response to a proposal for a 60 day truce, but requested several changes including a halt to the u.s. backed aid system, the Gaza humanitarian foundation. Reportedly, hamas said they want aid to be distributed exclusively by the u.n. and their partners.

According to the report, a hamas official said negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of israeli troops in return for the release of the remaining hostages will start on the first day of the truce.

According to a report, two of Nigeria’s main opposition leaders have joined the same party, the african democratic congress, in order to challenge president Bola Tinubu who won the 2023 election with 37% of the vote. Reportedly, Atiku Abubakar formerly of the labour party who won 29% of the vote and Peter Obi, formerly of the people’s democratic Party who won 25% of the vote had a series of talks that culminated in their decision to join forces for Nigeria’s next general election in 2027.

According to the report, the decision was described by the african democratic congress interim chairman as an attempt to save the country’s democracy and to stop Nigeria from becoming a one party state. Reportedly, both the people’s democratic Party and the labour party are struggling with crises which some believe have been instigated by external forces.

According to reports, it is the Dalai lamas 90th birthday on July 6 and representatives from hinduism, christianity, islam, baha’i, judaism and janism were guests at the celebrations held in 3 seperate locations in India and China.

China has governed Tibet since its annexation in 1950 and it is now considered a part of China. According to a report, under 18s must now attend Chinese state run schools and learn mandarin. Reportedly, they are not allowed to study buddhism until they are 18 years old and must be patriotic to China. According to the report, a Tibet scholar said that China wants to turn the lion of tibetan culture into a poodle.

Reportedly, the Dalai lama who is the spiritual leader of tibetan buddhism and historically the political leader of Tibet has lived in exile in India since 1959. According to the report, he handed over political authority to a democratically elected government in exile in 2011 who had talks this year with China about succession plans. Reportedly, the Dalai lama has suggested that his predecessor would be from the free world, but experts say that China is expected to name their own Dalai lama. According to the report, Beijing who are described as having a propaganda apparatus in place say that the process of succession should be handled in accordance with national law. Reportedly, they have been sending teams to offices, schools and villages to teach people about the new regulations for choosing a Dalai lama.

According to reports, the u.s. senate passed the president’s tax and spending bill on Tuesday but it will still need final approval. Reportedly, the bill offers $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, extending the president’s 2017 tax cuts and making them permanent, it also increases government funding on defence and border security and is partly funded by cutting healthcare and food programmes.

According to the report, the independent congressional budget office estimates that the bill will increase the u.s. debt by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years. The u.s. owes $36.21 trillion, and as a percentage of gross domestic product is the eighth highest globally. Followed by France and Canada.

In his first western interview since the u.s. airstrikes Iran’s foreign minister spoke to cbs news, saying no-one exactly knows what has transpired in the Fordo nuclear site but what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged. Reportedly, it isn’t clear whether the atomic energy agency in Iran are able to access Fordo and Iran are waiting for an assessment in order to gage whether or not Fordo will be able to relaunch.

According to the report, he said that Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful and will remain peaceful, and he doubts that nuclear talks with the u.s. will resume quickly though he isn’t ruling out diplomacy.

According to a report, on Wednesday morning it was outlined that 6 people were killed when israeli forces opened fire at crowds waiting near an aid distribution centre in central Gaza, and 3 near an aid distribution centre in Rafah, but details are provided by hamas, and the israeli military said they were not aware of any incidents with casualties in those areas.

Reportedly, Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian aid at the beginning of March which they eased after 11 weeks when Israel and the u.s. backed the establishment of a new aid distribution authority, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which bypasses the u.n. as the main supplier of aid in Gaza. According to the report, the ghf which uses private security contractors and has delivered 44 million meals since they began operating was established to prevent aid being stolen by hamas.

Reportedly, palestinians in Gaza differed about what the conflict between Israel and Iran meant for the territory. According to the report, some palestinians viewed the assault on Iran as a positive for achieving peace in Gaza (as Iran is a backer of hamas) forcing the group to ease their demands.

According to a report, a u.s. democratic member of the house foreign affairs committee said it is unclear what the strike on iranian nuclear facilities had accomplished. Reportedly, he said that the administration hadn’t said whether the strikes destroyed Iran’s ability to weaponise their uranium, their uranium enriching centrifuges or depleted their stockpile, which he said was enough to create 9 nuclear weapons. According to the report, satellite images reveal little of what really happened underground (they do not suggest massive subsidence) though the centrifuge machines are sensitive which means the strike has probably sent them spinning off their axis.

Reportedly, the site of Fordo has been under intense scrutiny since western intelligence first said it was home to a secret nuclear facility in 2009. According to the report, developing a clearer picture of any damage at Fordo may be possible from intercepted communications and/or sensors such as lidar (light detection and ranging) which can provide 3d maps using laser pulses from aircraft or drones to try and look inside the mountain.

Reportedly, the president of the institute of science and national security and an expert on secret nuclear weapons development said it will take significant time, investment and energy for Iran to restore their nuclear programme. According to the report, in a post on X he wrote, Iran is under intense scrutiny and observation from the u.s. and Israel, Reportedly, they risk further attacks if they try to rebuild.

According to a report, following Saturday’s bombing an early u.s. defense department intelligence assessment into the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan reported that Iran’s nuclear programme was not destroyed but only set back by months. Reportedly, anonymous sources familiar with the defence intelligence agency evaluation told cbs news that Iran’s centrifuges (devices that enrich uranium) are largely intact, that the impact was limited to above ground structures and Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. According to the report, the Whitehouse said the wrong assessment was leaked by a loser in the intelligence community.

Reportedly, it is unclear from satellite images how much damage the three sites sustained below the surface, and sources said that enriched uranium had been moved and the sites had been evacuated prior to the attack.

According to the report, the u.s. has 18 intelligence agencies which sometimes have conflicting reports (and the differences of opinion may sometimes be political), for instance, the u.s. intelligence community are still not in agreement about the origins of covid 19.

According to reports, both Israel and Iran have accused the other of violating the u.s./Qatar brokered ceasefire. Reportedly, Israel said they agreed to the ceasefire at 6.00 am on Tuesday (09.00 in Israel, 09.30 in Iran), but Israel accused Iran of launching further attacks hours later.

According to the report, Iran’s Islamic revolutionary guard corps (irgc) said they had struck military and logistical centres in Israel in the final moments before the ceasefire came into effect. Reportedly, an irgc affiliated news agency reported that Israel had launched a military strike after the ceasefire.