Trump pushes plan for US to take over Canada

President Donald Trump on Monday marked election day in Canada by pushing his plan for the country give up its independence and become part of the United States.

Canada could become “the cherished 51st state,” he said on social media. “No more artificially drawn line from many years ago. Look how beautiful this land mass would be.”

“Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE!” he wrote.

25 arrested after prison attacks in France

No fewer than twenty-five people were arrested in police raids across France on Monday, following a series of coordinated prison attacks that shook the government earlier this month, according to a source familiar with the case.

According to AFP, the early morning arrests occurred outside of Paris, as well as in Marseille, Lyon, and Bordeaux.

This month, unidentified assailants targeted multiple jails and other facilities around France, torching cars, spraying the entryway of one prison with automatic gunfire, and leaving enigmatic inscriptions.

The assaults have embarrassed the right-wing government, whose tough-talking justice and interior ministers, Gérald Darmanin and Bruno Retailleau, have promised to step up the campaign against narcotics and drug-related crimes.

President Emmanuel Macron has guaranteed that the attackers will be “found, tried, and punished”.

French anti-terror prosecutors, who are in charge of the probe due to the coordinated nature of the attacks, announced 22 arrests on Monday, with three more made later in the day.

According to the BFMTV channel, several of the arrests occurred inside jails, with alleged operation leaders, who are thought to have commanded them from within, being retrieved from their cells for questioning by police.

The anti-terror prosecutor’s office and the office for the battle against organised crime, known by its abbreviation JUNALCO, stated that the attacks were “likely” to be part of “very serious organised crime”.

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According to the prosecutors, the inquiry has made “significant progress” in identifying potential attackers and instigators.

They claimed they have identified approximately 15 assaults between April 13 and 21, but more attacks have been reported at other jails; however, no links can be established at this time.

Almost 200 investigators have been deployed during the two-week investigation.

Justice Minister Darmanin has accused people involved in drug trafficking of being responsible.

“Thank you to magistrates and law enforcement for arresting the alleged perpetrators of the attacks against prison officers and our country’s prisons early this morning,” Darmanin said on X on Monday.

“We remain committed to the law and to the Republic in our relentless fight against drug trafficking.”
Darmanin has suggested a link with his intention to imprison 200 of France’s 700 most dangerous drug dealers in two high-security prisons.

Retailleau also complimented the investigators, complimenting their “great professionalism” that “made it possible to achieve results in a very short time”.

The raids occur as the French parliament’s upper and lower houses prepare to vote this week on a law aimed at ratcheting up the fight against drug traffickers, with the goal of final passage.

On April 13 in Agen, southwestern France, the tag “DDPF” — standing for “Rights of French Prisoners” — appeared next to seven cars set on fire in the car park of a prison staff training centre.

This was followed by a series of arson attacks targeting prison staff cars and other assaults, and a jail near the southern city of Toulon, France, was sprayed with automatic gunfire.

While some of the attacks followed the pattern of organised crime, others were evocative of ultra-left methods, according to a police source.

25 arrested after prison attacks in France

Scores killed as driver rams car into crowd in Vancouver

Scores were killed and several others injured as a driver rammed a car into a crowd celebrating Filipino Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, Canada.

This year’s Lapu Lapu festival, a commemoration of Filipino anti-colonial leader, turned bloody due to the incident.

Vancouver Police confirmed this incident in a statement posted on X on Sunday, announcing arrest of the driver.

The police said, “A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival at E. 41st Avenue and Fraser shortly after 8 p.m. tonight. The driver is in custody. We will provide more information as the investigation unfolds.”

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The prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, has commiserated with victims of the incident in a post on X, adding “We are monitoring the situation closely, and thankful to our first responders for their swift action.

“I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver earlier this evening. I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you.”

Vancouver’s Mayor, Ken Sim, also said, “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Scores killed as driver rams car into crowd in Vancouver