Preliminary data shows that the CHP is ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the local elections for the first time in 20 years. | The opposition's mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas of the Republican People's Party (CHP), has so far received over 60% of the votes in the ongoing local elections, as confirmed by Turkish news media on Monday. ● Preliminary data shows that the CHP is ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the local elections for the first time in 20 years. ● As of Monday morning, 99.81% of the polling stations' votes have been processed, the Hurriyet newspaper reported, as state-run news agency Anadolu reported that Yavas received 60.35% of the votes, and his AKP opponent, Turgut Altinok, garnered 31.69%. ● This shows that the opposition mayors of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir maintained their posts.

■ ‘Turning point’ for Turkey after worst election defeat for Erdoğan in 20 years (iNews)
■ 5 things to know about Turkey’s momentous election (Turkish Minute)
■ Türkiye’s Erdoğan concedes ruling party’s electoral loss (RT.com)

The head of state thanked the people of Russia for their trust and support after the three-day elections. | President Vladimir Putin has addressed the people of Russia following a historic election victory with over 87% of the vote in his favor, amid a record-high turnout. Here are the key takeaways from his speech and a question-and-answer session at campaign headquarters in Moscow on Sunday night.

Many leaders express how the high voter turnout proved "global stability" and "Russian sovereignty". | Following the reelection win of Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders rushed to congratulate him as the voting numbers showed a high turnout. ● Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi congratulated Putin on his victory in the presidential election, the Iranian Embassy in Moscow said on Monday. ● After extending congratulations, China expressed confidence that relations between Moscow and Beijing will continue to develop, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday.

■ Putin Has Won: What to Expect From His Next Six-Year Term? (Sputnik News)
■ Russian Presidential Election Results (Sputnik News)
■ People are the power in Russia – Putin (RT.com)
■ IN BRIEF: Olympic truce, Navalny and buffer zone: what Putin told reporters after polls (TASS)
■ US is not a democracy – Putin (RT.com)
■ Russia says statements on ‘illegitimacy’ of presidential election ‘absurd’ (Anadolu)
■ Moscow responds to West’s election criticism (RT.com)

4,268,291 ballots were issued to voters in 28 Russian regions, who had applied for voting online | Online voter turnout in Russia’s presidential election on the federal platform has reached 90%, according to the portal on online vote monitoring. ● As of 9:27 p.m. Moscow time (6:27 p.m. GMT), as many as 4,268,291 ballots were issued to voters in 28 Russian regions, who had applied for voting online. Thus, voter turnout on the federal platform of electronic voting was 90%. ● Residents of Moscow can vote on Moscow’s own platform and were not required to apply for remote voting beforehand. ● The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, officially designated March 17, 2024 as the day of the presidential election. The Central Election Commission (CEC) then announced that voting would take place over three days on March 15-17. ● Four candidates are vying for the top office, namely New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov; self-nominated candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky; and Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov.

■ ‘This time the campaign has had a referendum-like nature’: Your guide to Russia’s 2024 Presidential Election
■ Putin to tighten grip on Russia as opponents pose election day challenge (aNews)
■ Protest call as Russian vote to confirm Putin wraps up (aNews)
■ LIVE UPDATES: Day Three of Russian Presidential Election (Sputnik News)
■ В России началось голосование на выборах президента. Как это будет (RG.ru)(03/15/24)

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the West has organized misinformation campaigns and influence in the cyber sphere: from spreading the corresponding content to blocking the apps of Russian organizations on digital platforms, which is also "a very serious element of influence" | Moscow’s Western opponents actively tried over the past year to disrupt the Russian presidential election, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Saturday.

💬 "Our opponents stirred up not just a week or a month ago. It seems to me that over the past year they did everything to either disrupt the presidential election or prevent it from being held or distort the conception of the elections in different ways," the diplomat said. The West has organized misinformation campaigns and influence in the cyber sphere: from spreading the corresponding content to blocking the apps of Russian organizations on digital platforms, which is also "a very serious element of influence," she pointed out. The West also used paid opposition that turned out to be "agents of influence and simply hirelings," the diplomat explained. "That is, all methods were used," she pointed out.

■ LIVE UPDATES: Day Two of Russia's Presidential Election (Sputnik News)
■ Polls open for Russian Presidential election, projected turnout at 71% (03/15/24)

Polls open in Russia for the presidential elections, which will extend for three days, marking the first election since the reforms of 2020. | Polling stations have opened across Russia for the 2024 presidential election, with President Vladimir Putin contending against three opponents. ● The voting will span three days until Sunday, and this will mark the first Russian presidential election since the 2020 constitutional reform. The reform had imposed a limit of two terms for any president. This also nullified Putin's former terms, enabling him to run again. ● In this election, four candidates vie for the six-year presidential term. Putin, running independently, competes against Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party, and Vladislav Davankov representing the New People party.

■ LIVE UPDATES: Russians Head to the Polls to Elect Next President (Sputnik News)
■ Voting starts in 3-day Russian presidential election (Anadolu)
■ В России началось голосование на выборах президента. Как это будет (RG.ru)

Labor Party accuses government of not prioritizing return of hostages taken on Oct. 7 | The Israeli left-wing Labor Party said on Wednesday that it will present a proposal to the Knesset to withdraw confidence from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government due to its failure to release hostages held in Gaza. 💬 "It has been 103 days since the kidnapping of our children by Hamas and the government is torn and does not care at all," the party said in a statement on X. "There is no confidence in a government that does not prioritize the return of its hostages," it added, calling for "overthrowing" it. Led by former Minister of Transportation Merav Michaeli, the Labor Party has four seats in the 120-member Knesset. Withdrawing confidence requires at least 61 lawmakers to vote in favor of the proposal. The government led by Netanyahu has a majority of 64 seats, making it difficult for the proposal to pass.

■ Zionist media to settlers: Get prepared for civil war (Yemen News Agency)
■ Lipid’s Party: Bibi’s Gov’t Can’t Continue to Exist (Alahed News)
■ Mother of captive in Gaza says IOF killed her son, not Hamas (01/18/24)

"Maybe Hungary can create more trouble. Maybe Hungary can force us to use a few different tools. But ultimately Hungary cannot stop us providing money to Ukraine," said EU senior official | EU member states are considering the possibility of stripping Hungary of its voting rights in order to conclude an agreement on allocating funds to Ukraine, The Financial Times has quoted European diplomats as saying. ● According to the officials, the EU may apply Article 7 of the 2007 European Union Treaty, which allows for depriving a country of the right to vote due to a violation of European legislation. This process can be blocked by any other EU member, but as the daily notes, after Poland's recent elections, "Hungary no longer has a guaranteed protector" the EU. ● Despite this, some EU members are wary of the idea of imposing restrictions on Budapest. Instead, they intend to demonstrate to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the "full costs" of isolating the country within the EU in order to force him to change his mind regarding the allocation of funds to Ukraine. If that fails, the FT says, the EU's 26 other members could strike a deal on their own, although "it would take time and only offer a short-term fix."

■ EU could stop Hungary voting on Ukraine – FT (RT.com)

Geert Wilders’ Party For Freedom has more than doubled its presence in the Netherlands' parliament, pollsters say | The right-wing Party For Freedom (PVV) has taken a commanding lead in the Dutch general election, winning 35 parliamentary seats, compared to the Green-Labour alliance’s 26, according to an early exit poll. ● Released half an hour after voting closed on Wednesday night, the poll showed retiring Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) taking only 23 seats. The newly-formed New Social Contract, a centrist party, is projected to finish in fourth place with 20 seats.

Israeli forces shooting inside al Shifa hospital. pic.twitter.com/8KCrCzQHUp

— Edward Hulme 💙🇵🇸 (@hulme_edward) November 15, 2023

‘Israeli’ occupation forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Medical Complex. However, their tanks remain positioned in its vicinity, the Director General of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, said late on Wednesday. | Abu Salmiya confirmed, yet again, that the ‘Israeli’ occupation forces "did not find any military gear or weapons in the hospital," emphasizing that the Hospital's management does not allow weapons on its premises. He pointed to the futility of the ongoing communications with international organizations, which were unable to deter the occupation from committing yet another war crime in the Gaza Strip. ● Abu Salmiya further revealed that the occupation detained two medical engineers and interrogated several medical staffers in the complex. In detail, the two detained engineers are the only available experts at the hospital who are tasked with the management of the complex's electrical generators and oxygen supply systems, according to Munir al-Bursh, the Director General for the Ministry of Health in Gaza. ● Al-Bursh revealed that the occupation sabotaged and destroyed crucial systems and assets in the complex, having failed to find their alleged spoils.

■ Israeli forces withdraw from Al-Shifa having not found any weapons (Al Mayadeen)
■ Qatar condemns, requests investigation into al-Shifa hospital invasion (Al Mayadeen)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brought back former leader David Cameron as foreign minister on Monday (13 November) in a reshuffle triggered by his firing of interior minister Suella Braverman after her criticism of police threatened his authority. | It was the latest reset for a prime minister whose party is badly lagging the Labour Party before an election expected next year. The return of Cameron suggested Sunak wanted to bring in a more centrist, experienced hand rather than appease the right of his party which supported Braverman. ● It also reawakens divisive debate over Brexit: Cameron held the referendum on European Union membership in 2016 and was hated by many on the right of the party after he campaigned to remain. He quit hours after Britain voted to leave.

■ What David Cameron’s shock return means for Gaza (MEE)
■ Suella Braverman sacked as Rishi Sunak shakes up Cabinet team (Belfast Telegraph)

Putin enjoys robust domestic support, with Kremlin-associated polls displaying an 80% approval rating. | Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled his intent to run in the upcoming March 2024 presidential elections, an assertion from multiple sources that could see him maintain power until at least 2030. This move comes at a time when Russia confronts its most severe geopolitical and economic challenges in recent history. ● In an unprecedented political reign, Putin, who assumed the presidency on the last day of 1999 after Boris Yeltsin’s resignation, is set to outpace his predecessors in longevity, surpassing even the likes of Josef Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev. ● Despite escalating tensions and complex crises both at home and abroad, Putin enjoys robust domestic support, with Kremlin-associated polls displaying an 80% approval rating. This support, coupled with the state-controlled media landscape and the lack of public dissent, makes his electoral victory a seeming foregone conclusion.

David Miller | How lobbying works | This is how Zionist lobbying works, Zionists are seeded throughout the economic, political, and cultural fabric of society – sometimes via the agency of only one family unit like the Jon and Nicola Mendelsohn – and can then be called upon to play both ends of any relevant game. All in all, the case of Mendelsohn shows that the peaks and troughs of Zionism from “right” to “left” are a mirage. What unites all Zionists is Zionism – a commitment to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

Their discussion focused on the situation in Libya and the surrounding region, according to the Kremlin | Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting in Moscow with the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. 💬 “Yes, we confirm this meeting. Indeed, it took place today in the Kremlin. The situation in Libya and in the region as a whole was discussed,” said Peskov. LNA officials said Haftar discussed “bilateral relations between the two countries, ways of their strengthening and development, as well as issues of mutual interest” during his meeting with the Russian leader. The Libyan commander arrived in Russia for an official visit on Tuesday, when he was greeted by Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. ● A Russian Defense Ministry delegation visited Libya for the first time on August 22. According to the department’s press service, Yevkurov and Haftar planned to discuss the potential for collaboration in the fight against international terrorism and other issues of mutual interest.

■ Putin meets with South Sudanese president (RT.com)
■ Russian cars to be produced in Africa (RT.com)

The bloc should aim to expand in 2030, the European Council head has claimed | The European Union intends to begin discussions on admitting Ukraine and several other countries as early as October, European Council President Charles Michel announced on Monday. Enlargement “is no longer a dream,” Michel told the officials from Albania, Bulgaria and former Yugoslav states gathered at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia. ● The bloc’s leaders will discuss enlargement at the next European Council meeting, said Michel, where they “will take a stand on the opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.” That meeting is scheduled for October.

■ ‘Ukraine Cannot Become a Member of NATO’ Amid Conflict, EU Commissioner Says

Estonia’s Kaja Kallas says she has no intention of resigning | The Estonian prime minister said on Monday that she would refuse to appear before two parliamentary committees probing her family's business activities, and denied any wrongdoing. Kaja Kallas is fighting for her political survival after Estonian media revealed that her husband, Arvo Hallik, held a stake in a company operating in Russia despite Western sanctions. ● The scandal erupted last Wednesday, when ERR discovered that Arvo Hallik was a part-owner of Stark Logistics, a shipping firm that has continued to transport goods to and from Russia even after hostilities in Ukraine escalated in February 2022. Not only was this a possible breach of EU sanctions against Russia, but Kallas herself has been a hard-liner on supporting Ukraine, insisting that “all business with Russia must stop.”

"Germany" is debating whether to ban the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the party surges to 21 per cent in the polls, amid warnings from intelligence officials that its members are becoming increasingly "extreme". | Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, warned in a speech to the country’s domestic intelligence agency that “we all have it in our hands to put those who despise our democracy in their place”. ● His speech at the castle where the German post-war constitution was created has widely been seen as support for a ban after Thomas Haldenwang, the domestic spy chief, warned about growing Right-wing extremist influence in the party. ● Mr Haldenwang said: “We see a considerable number of protagonists in this party that spread hate against all types of minorities here in Germany.”

■ A Stunning Coincidence (Paul Joseph Watson)(VIDEO)

The new case targets 18 co-defendants alongside the former commander in chief | A Georgia grand jury has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump on 41 criminal counts, including a felony racketeering charge linked to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential race. ● Several of his current and former allies also face prosecution, among them ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who previously served as Trump’s lawyer.  ● District Attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County, Georgia, unveiled the new case on Monday night, with the ex-president set to be charged for an alleged violation of the state’s organized crime law, known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO. ● The charges also include several counts for conspiracy to interfere in an election, perjury, and others for soliciting a public official to violate their oath.

■ Trump and 18 Others Indicted! [...] 41 CHARGES – RICO & CONSPIRACY (Gateway Pundit)
■ Donald Trump, 18 others indicted in Georgia election probe (Just-the-News)
■ Trump Indicted for Fourth Time in Georgia Election Interference Case (Sputnik News)
■ Georgia grand jury indicts Trump in election case (TASS)

Victor Davis Hanson | What is the long-term Democrat strategy that requires such short-term malodorous skullduggery? | Joe Biden has about 17 months left as an elected politician—if he is lucky. That projection guides most of the inexplicable and shameless behavior of the Department of Justice and Biden himself. View Biden as in a race against the truth. Will he be physically and mentally able to complete his term and head to retirement before his decades-long crimes of corruption catch up to him? Joe Biden’s serial yarn that he never knew anything about his son Hunter’s quid pro quo grifting with rich foreign grandees has been finally exposed as the old lie it always was.  [...] Democrats will have enough trouble keeping Biden semi-coherent and upright over the 17 months without a string of indictments involving high crimes and misdemeanors from bribery to treason, if indeed Biden did alter U.S. policy at the bequest of his paymasters in China, Russia, Ukraine or Romania. In other words, Weiss was selected for his past loyal suppression of the Hunter investigation and his future further quashing indictments as special counsel. That fact almost ensures that Biden can finish his first term without an impeachment trial in the Senate or a forced Nixon-style resignation, given the enormity of his own illegality. Ensuring the viability of Biden’s next year-and-half will mean Kamala Harris does not inherit the presidency from either a physically or mentally incompetent Biden—or a president so reduced by bribery and racketeering counts that he is forced to resign.

US Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) filed an impeachment resolution against US President Joe Biden for his alleged role in bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice, fraud and financial involvement in drugs and prostitution, according to a document published on Friday. 💬 "Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as president, and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States," the resolution reads. ● "Wherefore, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States." ● Steube said he designed the Hunter Act to help get to the bottom of the cocaine story when a package with the drug was found at the White House, because he alleged the Secret Service is doing everything possible to cover up the Biden family's actions. ● The resolution lists four articles of impeachment, including abuse of power, bribery, extortion, fraud, obstruction of justice, and financial involvement in drugs and prostitution. [But, look...over there..."China is run by bad folks" (Biden)]

President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell report on his Truth Social platform that the sham committee overseeing the investigation of the January 6th Capitol riot has destroyed their documents and records illegally. On Tuesday, Trump wrote: 💬 So now that I have full Subpoena Power because of the Freedom of Speech Sham Indictment by Crooked Joe Biden, Deranged Jack Smith, and the DOJ, it has just been reported that the Unselect January 6th Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs has illegally destroyed their Records and Documents. This is unthinkable, and the Fake Political Indictment against me must be immediately withdrawn. The system is Rigged & Corrupt, very much like the Presidential Election of 2020. We are a Nation in Decline! ● The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Dr. Jan Halper-Hayes, during a recent interview, said that special counsel Jack Smith made a huge mistake in indicting Trump related to Jan. 6 incident because it gives him the power to subpoena people. “They’ve made a huge mistake with this one, because even though we thought what was going to happen was they were going to go after him for treason or sedition, they did criminally charge him, but they didn’t go to that extreme. As a result, he has due process, so he can subpoena people and bring things in,” she said.

The Department of Justice is committing election interference by attempting to prosecute former President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump, US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said in a statement. 💬 “Biden’s Department of Justice is actively participating in election interference by trying to put his top political opponent, President Donald Trump, behind bars,” Greene said on Thursday. ● Earlier in the day, Trump pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith for allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election. Trump called the charges against him “persecution of a political opponent." Greene characterized the prosecution as “pure corruption.”

■ Election 2024 - Two Legal Cases And One Winner (Moon of Alabama)
■ Washington ‘Terrified’ Trump May Defeat Biden in 2024 Election (Sputnik Globe)
■ Donald Trump’s ‘very sad day for America’ went about as expected (SCMP.com)
■ Trump pleads not guilty to charges of efforts to overturn 2020 election (CGTN.com)

While posing as a defender of free speech, Florida’s Ron DeSantis has played point man on the Israel lobby’s crusade to criminalize American citizens for their exercising their constitutionally-protected right to boycott Israel. | Branding himself the “most pro-Israel governor in the United States,” the Florida Republican announced an official investigation into the financial ratings firm Morningstar over allegations related to Florida’s ban on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 💬 “Today, I am happy to make — and this law just took effect at the beginning of July — I’m happy to announce for everybody, that Florida has formally instituted an investigation against Morningstar for violations of our anti-BDS law. We’re not letting them target Israel and get away with it, we’re using our tools to fight back,” DeSantis announced at a conference of Christians United for Israel (CUFI). ● Morningstar has been accused by the state of Florida of downgrading companies that are associated with Israel. During the same event, DeSantis referred to the occupied Palestinian West Bank by its biblical name, “Judea and Samaria,” insisting it was “not occupied territory.”

Trump is expected to be processed by law enforcement, be officially taken into custody and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge | Donald Trump is due in federal court Thursday to answer to charges that he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, facing a judge just blocks from the U.S. Capitol that his supporters stormed to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power. ● In what's by now become a familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual, Trump is expected to be processed by law enforcement, be officially taken into custody, and enter a not-guilty plea in front of a judge before being released, so he can rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. ● An indictment Tuesday from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo the presidential election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a years-long prison sentence in the event of a conviction. Trump was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six co-conspirators — mostly lawyers — they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by President Joe Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

■ RIGGED: Obama-Appointed, J6-Hating Judge Presiding Over Trump Case Worked at Same Law Firm as Hunter Biden
■ Latest Indictment Against Trump BACKFIRES; Gives Trump Ability to Re-Litigate ENTIRE 2020 Election (Hal Turner)

Simplicius The Thinker | Momentous things are setting into motion geopolitically all over the globe, most notably in Africa. A coup took down the president of Niger, a country of critical importance to France and the NATO bloc. The Atlanticists are extremely worried now. ● France is the #1 country in the world for total percentage of nuclear use for energy generation, and #2 in total number of nuclear power plants. I’ve seen figures that Niger supplies upwards of 40% of France’s Uranium, though some have it in the 15-25% range, as well as 25% to the EU itself. ● Now, the coup leader Abdourahamane Tchiani has reportedly banned Uranium and gold exports to France, which could devastate their energy industries, though it could be just a tactic for renegotiations; Naturally, Ukraine blames Russia.