Lionel Messi says he will join Miami's MLS team

Messi heads to America to play in Miami","description":"Lionel Messi on Wednesday announced that he intends to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as a free agent after parting ways with French champions Paris St Germain and snubbing a lucrative contract offer in Saudi Arabia. Ryan Chang reports.

Lionel Messi has pulled off his latest stunning feat: He is headed to Major League Soccer, and joining Inter Miami.

After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David Beckham, since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.

That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami's owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.

It was widely believed that Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a nation where some clubs now are funded by the state's sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise where he spent most of his career, was another possibility.

But in the end, he made the call that surprised many. Messi is joining MLS. He said in the interviews Wednesday that some final details still need to be worked out, but that he has made the call to "continue my path" in Miami.

"After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way," Messi said.

He didn't take the money. He didn't choose the memories. He picked Miami instead. Messi's next matches are likely to be exhibitions with Argentina against Australia on June 15 at Beijing and at Indonesia in Jakarta four days later — and then his Inter Miami debut figures to be sometime in July.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner — the trophy given annually to the best player in the world — makes his move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. At 35, Messi has nothing left to prove in the game and filled the only significant unchecked box on his resume back in December by leading Argentina to the World Cup title.

Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport's history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents — 16 of those goals coming on U.S. soil. He scored twice in last year's World Cup final against France, a match that officially ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing in penalty kicks.

He has been to the absolute mountaintop of the game.

And now he comes to MLS, and a team that is struggling — last place in the Eastern Conference, just a few days removed from the firing of coach Phil Neville (who was hand-picked by Beckham two years ago).

Messi's decision to play in the U.S. might be the biggest boost ever for American soccer on the pro stage. Some of the game's biggest names — Pele, Thierry Henry, Beckham himself — have come to the U.S. toward the end of their careers, but landing a player still no worse than near the pinnacle of his game and just a few months removed from hoisting a World Cup is simply huge.

It took months of negotiations with MLS, the Inter Miami ownership, Adidas and even Apple getting involved in a creative pitch to bring Messi to Miami's pitch. Apple — which is a broadcast partner of MLS — announced Tuesday that it will show a still-untitled four-part documentary series "featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to global superstar Lionel Messi.... In his own words, Messi tells the definitive story of his incredible career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate and unprecedented look at his quest for a legacy-defining World Cup victory."

And now, his story will have a Miami chapter.

Inter Miami needed six years from inception to playing its first match, and its first four seasons have been less than stellar.

Messi is joining a team that sits last in the Eastern Conference and just fired its coach. It has made the playoffs in two of its first three seasons but has yet to finish a season with a winning record or even a positive goal differential.

Still, there have been hints for months that Miami remained very much in the Messi sweepstakes. Messi met with Inter Miami co-owner Beckham this spring, and that was shared publicly almost to ensure that everyone knew the sides were still talking. Messi and his family also own several pieces of luxury real estate in South Florida, and — almost as if to suggest something big was coming — the MLS club told fans the only way they could get tickets for the second half of this season was to purchase a season-ticket package.

He's an enormous draw everywhere on the globe, including Miami. Two days after Argentina won the World Cup, Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry sat on his team's bench for a game unable to play because of injury. He wore a Messi jersey that night.

Inter Miami still plays home matches in a temporary home in Fort Lauderdale, about 45 minutes north of the site in Miami where the team wants to build a permanent complex.

And even in an area where the population has a serious Latin flavor, and where more people might actually call the sport futbol than soccer, Inter Miami has struggled to generate the same attention as do the area's primary pro teams — basketball's Heat, baseball's Miami Marlins, football's Miami Dolphins and hockey's Florida Panthers.

Messi could change that in an instant. In a flash, he becomes the biggest name in MLS and makes everything Miami does newsworthy.

His decision ends what has been a wild saga. Barcelona made Messi a superstar, but the financial issues that forced the team to letting him go two years ago still remain an issue.

"I heard that they'd have to sell players or lower players' salaries and the truth is, I didn't want to go through that," Messi said Wednesday.

There are no financial issues with Saudi Arabia, and speculation that he would end up there intensified when Messi made an unauthorized trip to the kingdom. PSG suspended him and some fans turned on him, serenading him with jeers toward the end of his season with the French club.

Everyone knew he wouldn't be back with PSG. Few likely thought he was heading to Miami. But here he is, a move to Miami by a superstar that might even be more shocking than LeBron James arriving to join the Heat 13 years ago.

Russian, Chinese strategic bombers conduct joint aerial patrol in Asia-Pacific alarm regional US allies And Russia Special Military Operation Video

An air task force of Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying aircraft and Chinese H-6K strategic bombers conducted a joint aerial patrol over the waters of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"On June 7, 2023, the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted a new joint aerial patrol in the Asia-Pacific region. The air task force composed of Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Hong-6K strategic bombers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted an aerial patrol over the waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea and the western part of the Pacific Ocean," the ministry said in a statement.

The joint flight lasted about eight hours, the ministry specified.

The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Chinese Air Force conducted joint air patrols in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported

Su-30SM and Su-35S jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Chinese Jian-11B fighters provided support for the air group along the entire flight route, it said.

Several strategic bombers were joined by Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter craft, as well as a Chinese Shenyang J-11B, which provided air cover for the larger planes. The Chinese jet is based on the design of the Soviet-era Su-27, the first version of which entered service in 1985.

The ministry also noted that the drill was part of plans to step up military engagement with Beijing, but said it was “not directed against third countries.”

During the joint aerial patrol, Russian aircraft made landings and take-offs from a Chinese airfield and fighter jets of foreign states escorted the strategic missile-carrying bombers at some stages of the aerial patrol, the ministry said.

Russian and Chinese strategic bombers conducted their joint aerial patrol in the Asia-Pacific region in compliance with international law, it said.

"In the course of fulfilling their objectives, the aircraft of both countries acted in strict compliance with international law. There were no violations of the airspace of foreign states," the ministry said.

The strategic bombers conducted their joint aerial patrol as part of the 2023 military cooperation plan and the flight was not directed against any third countries, the ministry

"Fair Russia - For the Truth" is preparing amendments on the right of territorial defense units to use small arms, Mironov said.

While Moscow maintained the exercises were fully in line with international law, they nonetheless triggered anxiety for Japan and South Korea. Soon after the training mission kicked off on Tuesday, both countries said Russian and Chinese craft had flown too close to their airspace and scrambled fighter jets in response, with Seoul issuing a “stern” protest after claiming its air defense identification zone had been breached.

“The Defense Ministry expressed regrets to the two countries over the flight to the sensitive areas close to our air space,” the South Korean military said in a press release, adding that it was not notified about the drills in advance.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also claimed the fly-over was meant as a “clear show of force” and posed “a grave security concern” to Japan, but acknowledged that its territory was not violated.

The latest air patrol marks the sixth such exercise between Beijing and Moscow in the region and follows several other rounds of joint drills in recent months. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu declared in March that military ties between the two powers had “reached a whole new level.”

Special operation, June 6th. Main:

▪️Within three days, Kyiv launched a long-promised offensive in different sectors of the front, concentrated a large amount of equipment and manpower for this, Shoigu said;

▪️The Russian Armed Forces thwarted the attempts of the Ukrainian troops to attack: on June 4, the enemy attempted an offensive in five directions, but did not succeed in any of them; On June 5, there were attempts to attack in seven directions, the enemy was stopped;

When holding Avdiivka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine use the same tactics as in Mariupol and Artemovsk - they hide behind civilians and put equipment in city blocks, a Russian intelligence officer told RIA Novosti

▪️Ukrainian troops lost up to 3,715 military personnel in 3 days of hostilities, as well as 52 tanks, 48 guns and 7 aircraft and helicopters, Shoigu said;

▪️Among the destroyed equipment are 8 Leopards and 3 AMX-10 wheeled tanks, 136 units of other military equipment, including 79 foreign ones;

▪️️The attack of Ukrainian militants on the settlement of Berkhovka near Artyomovsk was successfully repelled, reports that the point was abandoned by Russian troops do not correspond to reality, the RF Ministry of Defense reported;

▪️️In the area of Artemivsk, four attempts at the offensive of the Ukrainian troops were successfully repelled, bypassing the Russian defense was not allowed;

On Tuesday night, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a group missile attack on one of the decision-making centers of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian Su-25s, one Su-27 fighter, two Mi-8 helicopters, Storm Shadow and HARM missiles, destroyed ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the DPR and Zaporozhye region;

▪️Ukrainian military intelligence planned to carry out a terrorist attack in Russia using a "dirty bomb" containing radioactive substances and render the area unusable for human habitation, the FSB reported;

▪️Ukrainian troops carried out a series of strikes on the Kakhovskaya HPP last night, Vladimir Leontyev, head of the administration of the Novokakhovka urban district, told RIA Novosti;

▪️The Kiev regime blew up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in order to transfer troops to the area of its offensive operations from the Kherson direction, weakening its positions there, Shoigu said;

▪️The Russian Federation condemns the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station by Ukrainian troops, which is a terrorist act and was planned by Kiev as part of the so-called "counteroffensive", the Russian Foreign Ministry said;

The Russian Defense Ministry showed footage of the destruction of a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles

▪️Russia will request a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, said the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vasily Nebenzya.

Terrorist attack on the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. Important for this moment:

▪️Putin, in a conversation with Erdogan, called the destruction of the hydroelectric power station a barbaric action of Kyiv.

▪️Erdogan proposed the creation of an international commission to investigate what happened at the hydroelectric power station.

▪️The water level in Nova Kakhovka is decreasing, but it will take at least seven days before it completely leaves all flooded areas, the city administration said.

▪️In Novaya Kakhovka, electricity and water have already appeared in the morning, public utilities are eliminating the consequences. An emergency situation at the regional level has been introduced in the Kherson region.

The Cabinet of Ministers and the authorities of the Kherson region took priority measures to help people after the disaster, Deputy Prime Minister Abramchenko said.

▪️The consequences of the destruction of the infrastructure of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station may affect more than 20 thousand civilians, Abramchenko said.

▪️In total, 35 settlements were flooded in the Kherson region, said Acting Governor Saldo.

▪️After the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, there is a threat of infection in Novaya Kakhovka, one of the cemeteries is washed out, but so far the chemical analysis is in line with the standards, the head of the city administration said.

Western media are discussing what happened at the Kakhovskaya HPP:

Wall Street Journal: Destroying the dam could "buy Russia time to rebuild its defenses" and at the same time "deprive Ukraine of some options for a pending counteroffensive." For Ukraine, this could be beneficial because the flood could wash away Russian fortifications and minefields.

The Ministry of Defense showed footage of the destruction of armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by army aviation using guided missiles

Washington Post: The water release sparked "deep concern" about the environmental and economic damage it caused. Ukrainian troops have previously delivered a "trial strike from a HIMARS rocket launcher provided by the Americans" at a hydroelectric power station.

New York Times: The breach of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam has increased the likelihood of "long-term environmental and humanitarian disasters" in the area.

Special operation, June 7th. Main:

▪️The Ukrainian DRG blew up an ammonia pipeline in the Kharkiv region, the RF Ministry of Defense reported. As a result of the explosion, there are victims among the civilian population;

▪️The section of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Russian Federation is cut off from the Ukrainian part, it is in good condition under constant monitoring and is safe, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of PJSC Transammiak;

▪️The Foreign Ministry said that Kyiv will not calm down and will carry out terrorist acts around the world;

▪️Kyiv is considering the possibility of blowing up a storage facility with spent nuclear fuel, the Russian Foreign Ministry said;

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published a video showing Ka-52 helicopters attacking Ukrainian forces in the South Donetsk direction

▪️Up to 40 thousand people were affected by the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, 35 settlements and territories were flooded, Saldo said;

▪️Putin instructed the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to organize assistance to people in the flood zone in the Kherson region;

▪️Aviation and artillery of the "Center" grouping inflicted a defeat on the positions of 3 brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in two directions, RIA Novosti said in the Ministry of Defense;

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled three attacks by Ukrainian troops on the Vremevsky ledge, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️In the Artemovsk area, Ukrainian troops lost up to 415 people, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian military, using the Lancet-3 kamikaze drone, destroyed the radar station of the IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile system supplied to Kiev by NATO countries, follows from the published video of the Russian Defense Ministry

Bagaimana bantuan desa Indonesia mendanai senjata untuk pemberontakan Papua - Reuters

A man who is identified as Philip Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot who is said to be held hostage by a pro-independence group, sits among separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region in this undated handout picture released on May 26, 2023. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)/Handout via REUTERS

"Separatis di wilayah Indonesia Papua di mana seorang pilot Selandia Baru disandera pada bulan Februari telah menyedot uang bantuan pemerintah untuk membeli senjata pasar gelap untuk perang gerilya yang mematikan," kata para pejabat, berdasarkan kutipan dari media Reuters.

Menurut Reuters, "Dana Desa" yang diperkenalkan oleh Presiden Joko Widodo pada tahun 2015 dan bernilai $4,7 miliar tahun ini telah lama dikritik sebagai rawan korupsi. Tidak ada tempat yang lebih menantang untuk mengawasi skema ini selain di dataran tinggi terpencil Papua.

Lebih dari 3.000 km (1.800 mil) dari Jakarta, pemberontak Papua telah berjuang untuk kemerdekaan sejak wilayah yang kaya akan tembaga, emas, nikel, dan gas alam itu diserap oleh Indonesia setelah pemungutan suara tahun 1969.

Pemberontakan yang meningkat bertepatan dengan lonjakan penjualan senjata ilegal di wilayah tersebut, menurut pengacara dan dokumen pengadilan, dengan dana desa menjadi sumber pendapatan utama.

Pada 2015, hanya ada satu kasus perdagangan senjata dan amunisi ilegal di Papua, menurut dokumen dan laporan pengadilan. Pada 2021, jumlahnya melonjak menjadi 14.

Di Nduga, di mana pilot Susi Air Phillip Mehrtens telah disandera selama lebih dari tiga bulan, polisi sangat prihatin karena dana desa digunakan untuk membeli senjata sehingga mereka meminta pemerintah pusat untuk menahan $14 juta yang dialokasikan ke kabupaten tahun ini.

“Kalau ini tidak kita blokir, maka dana desa akan mengalir ke desa dan mereka (pemberontak) mungkin akan terus meminta dukungan… Mungkin untuk membeli senjata, untuk membeli makanan,” kata Kabid Humas Polda Papua Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo kepada Reuters.

Juru Bicara Pemerintah Kabupaten Nduga, Otomi Djiwage, mengatakan Dana Desa "tidak didukung pengawasan yang benar" dan pemerintah daerah tidak memiliki kewenangan untuk mengawasinya.

“Jadi wajar jika penggunaan dana desa agak longgar dan siapa saja bisa melakukan apa saja dengan itu.”

Dia tidak mengomentari klaim dana yang digunakan oleh pemberontak, karena itu hanya dugaan, katanya.

SENJATA ILEGAL

Tidak jelas berapa banyak dari $337 juta dana desa yang dialokasikan untuk wilayah Papua pada tahun 2023 dialihkan untuk senjata.

Namun Faizal Ramadhani, kepala satuan tugas Operasi Perdamaian Cartenz yang mengawasi keamanan di Papua, mengatakan kepada Reuters sekitar 40% kasus senjata ilegal yang dia selidiki melibatkan dana dari program Dana Desa. Dia menolak untuk memberikan rincian lebih lanjut.

Juru bicara Polri dan TNI menolak berkomentar untuk cerita ini.

Kementerian Keuangan, yang mengawasi distribusi Dana Desa, mengatakan ada mekanisme pemantauan untuk memastikan dana digunakan sebagaimana mestinya, tetapi menolak mengomentari klaim bahwa pemberontak Papua telah menyalahgunakan uang.

Pada tahun 2021, LSM Indonesia Corruption Watch mengidentifikasi 154 kasus dugaan korupsi terkait dana tersebut, tertinggi dari pengeluaran sektor pemerintah mana pun.

Sebby Sambom, juru bicara Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat (TPNPB), sayap bersenjata dari Gerakan Papua Merdeka, membantah pemberontak menggunakan dana desa tetapi mengatakan kelompok itu sebagian secara tidak sengaja didanai oleh negara.

"Kami memiliki tanah yang kaya sehingga kami melakukannya dengan cara kami sendiri. Kami dapat menghasilkan uang melalui penambangan emas dan kayu serta banyak pembayaran pemerintah," katanya kepada Reuters. "Kami memiliki hak untuk menggunakan uang itu."

Dirancang untuk memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi, Dana Desa telah meningkat tiga kali lipat sejak 2015, tetapi di Papua, beberapa orang mengatakan tidak banyak yang bisa ditampilkan.

“Saya belum pernah melihat proyek yang dibiayai dana desa, tidak sama sekali,” kata Bernadus Kobogau, pejabat pariwisata di Intan Jaya. Sebaliknya, katanya, baku tembak mematikan yang dulu terbatas di hutan kini terjadi di tengah kota.

'PAJAK REVOLUSIONER'

Meningkatnya daya tembak para pemberontak Papua terlihat jelas dalam foto-foto terbaru yang dirilis bersamaan dengan ancaman akan menembak Mehrtens jika pembicaraan kemerdekaan tidak dimulai dalam waktu dua bulan.

Para pemberontak di Nduga mengacungkan sebuah peluncur granat, beberapa senapan mesin dan 18 senapan serbu, termasuk yang diproduksi oleh pembuat amunisi senjata negara Pindad, menurut Deka Anwar, dari Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).

“Lewatlah sudah hari-hari di mana pemberontak Papua menyimpan peluru berharga,” kata Anwar. "Sekarang mereka bisa syuting berhari-hari."

Di dataran tinggi Papua, dana desa diperlakukan seperti "pajak revolusioner", katanya, yang disita baik melalui intimidasi dan paksaan, atau diberikan secara sukarela oleh pendukung kemerdekaan.

Disimpan langsung ke rekening bank desa, dana tersebut secara teratur dibagikan secara tunai oleh kepala desa di dataran tinggi Papua.

“Mereka punya banyak uang di Papua, jadi mudah untuk membeli senjata,” kata Latifah Anum Siregar, direktur Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua (AIDP) dan pengacara yang meliput kasus penjualan senjata ilegal.

Menambah masalah, pemberontak sebagian besar membeli senjata dari pejabat militer dan polisi yang korup, katanya.

Seorang petugas melakukan perjalanan ke kota Nabire di Papua sembilan kali untuk menjual senjata secara ilegal, menurut dokumen pengadilan.

"Di Indonesia kami menyebutnya 'senjata makan tuan'," kata Siregar tentang dinamika yang sarat ironi: pemberontak mempersenjatai dana negara untuk melawan negara. "Artinya itu menjadi bumerang."

Mahasiswa ITB Meninggal saat Uji Coba Pesawat Tanpa Awak

Mahasiswa teknik mesin ITB angkatan 2021, Muhammad Rasyid Ghifary (Almarhum). (facebook.com/ITB)

Mahasiswa Program Studi Teknik Mesin Fakultas Teknik Mesin dan Dirgantara Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Muhammad Rasyid Ghifary, meninggal dunia saat uji coba menerbangkan pesawat tanpa awak. Peristiwa yang merenggut nyawa Rasyid terjadi di Lanud Sulaiman, Kabupaten Bandung, pada hari Selasa, 06/06/2023.

Saat itu, Rasyid bersama rekannya yang tergabung dalam UKM Aksantara ITB tengah melakukan uji terbang pesawat tanpa awak.

"Itu adalah mahasiswa mesin angkatan 2021, jadi mahasiswa di fakultas kami, mahasiswa itu sedang bersama timnya sedang melakukan kegiatan di unit kegiatan mahasiswa (UKM)," kata Dekan Fakultas Teknik Mesin dan Dirgantara ITB, Prof Dr Tatacipta Dirgantara dikutip dari detikJabar, hari Rabu, 07/06/2023.

Dia menjelaskan, saat itu UKM Aksantara ITB sedang mempersiapkan pesawat tanpa awak untuk mengikuti ajang perlombaan KRT (Kontes Robot Terbang). Tatacipta mengatakan bersama beberapa rekannya, Rasyid bertolak ke Lanud Sulaiman Selasa sore.

Namun, cuaca saat itu hujan dan membuat tanah di sekitar lokasi menjadi lembek. Kondisi tanah lembek itulah yang membuat pasak dari alat pelontar pesawat tanpa awak tercabut dan mengenai Rasyid.

"Selasa sore itu hujan ya, kemudian sesudah reda mereka kemudian mencoba. Tapi karena hari Senin, Selasa hujan jadi tanah itu basah, jadi dia menancapkan pasak ke tanah. Jadi karena basah, nggak kuat," jelasnya.

"Ketika pelontar itu ditarik, pasaknya tercabut dari tanah, karetnya kena orang. Mengenai dua orang, yang satu nggak kenapa-kenapa, hanya kena tangan. Satu lagi (Rasyid) kena area yang fatal," tambahnya.

Tatacipta memastikan saat uji coba, pesawat tanpa awak yang dibuat Rasyid dan rekan-rekannya tidak mengalami masalah apapun. Kondisi tanah yang basah yang jadi penyebab kecelakaan itu terjadi.

"Itu pesawatnya mau uji coba, pesawatnya mah nggak ada masalah, tapi yang masalah pelontar pesawatnya itu loh," ujarnya.

Almarhum Rasyid sudah dimakamkan oleh pihak keluarga di Jakarta, Rabu siang. Tatacipta menyatakan keluarga besar ITB sangat berduka atas kepergian Rasyid yang dikenal sebagai mahasiswa aktif dan berprestasi.

"Tentu kita merasa kehilangan dan berduka mahasiswa yang tergabung dalam tim ini sebetulnya mahasiswa yang baik dan nilainya bagus, aktif menggali potensi diri. Kami kehilangan dan sudah bertemu dengan keluarga mengucapkan duka dari Rektor dan keluarga besar ITB," ucapnya.

Fox News tries to silence Tucker Carlson – media

FILE PHOTO
©AP/Brynn Anderson

Fox News has alleged that former host Tucker Carlson breached his employment contract by launching a new talk show on Twitter, arguing that the network has exclusive rights to his services.

Fox News general counsel Bernard Gugar sent a letter on Tuesday evening to Carlson’s lawyers, warning that the network would take action to protect its contractual rights, Axios reported on Wednesday. “This evening, we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes,” the outlet quoted Gugar as saying. “Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Mr. Carlson’s services shall be completely exclusive to Fox.”

Carlson, who boasted the highest ratings in US cable news history, was ousted by Fox in April, after the network agreed to pay a $787 million defamation settlement to Dominion Voting Systems for allegedly making false statements about the company. Axios said Fox, which continues to pay Carlson his contractually agreed salary, aims to keep him silenced through 2025, which would keep him sidelined through the 2024 presidential election.

The host’s own Twitter talk show debuted on Tuesday, attracting more than 90 million views in its first 24 hours. The ratings highwater mark for his primetime show at Fox was 5.3 million viewers.

Gugar’s letter claimed that under Carlson’s contract, the host was “prohibited from rendering services of any type whatsoever, whether over the internet via streaming or similar distribution, or other digital distribution whether now known or hereafter devised.”

Bryan Freedman, a lawyer representing Carlson, blasted Fox’s effort to block Carlson from expressing his views. “Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds,” he said in a statement. “Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events.”

Carlson has accused Fox of fraud and claimed that network executives reneged on their promises, including a pledge not to settle with Dominion “in a way which would indicate wrongdoing.” Axios said a Fox board member told the host that he was taken off the air as part of the legal settlement.

Tucker Carlson steamrolls Ukraine propaganda in new show

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has released the first episode of his new series on Twitter, taking Western news agencies to task for one-sided reporting on the conflict in Ukraine and open hostility toward anybody voicing dissenting views.

Dubbed ‘Tucker on Twitter’, the show’s first ten-minute segment was shared on the social media platform on Tuesday night. The clip opened with a monologue on the alleged Ukrainian attack on a major dam in Russia’s Kherson Region this week, which Carlson dubbed “an act of terrorism.”

“Blowing up the dam may be bad for Ukraine, but it hurts Russia more, and for precisely that reason the Ukrainian government has considered destroying it,” he said. Carlson went on to observe that a Ukrainian general had admitted to planning attacks on the Kakhovka dam facility in comments to the Washington Post last December.

Ep. 1 pic.twitter.com/O7CdPjF830

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2023

While Carlson said he had little doubt that Kiev was behind the incident, he noted that several American media outlets had already suggested that Moscow may have arranged the attack, claiming they view Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as simply “too decent for terrorism.”

“Of all the people in the world, our shifty, dead-eyed Ukrainian friend in the tracksuit is uniquely incapable of blowing up a dam. He’s literally a living saint, a man in whom there is no sin,” he went on, describing the general attitude within the mainstream press.

The pundit drew comparisons to last year’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to carry natural gas from Russia into Germany. Though Carlson argued it was “obvious” that Ukraine had carried out the sabotage, he said US media outlets had little interest in investigating, helping to make Americans among “the least informed people in the world.”

Putin, Saudi crown prince discuss trade, economic ties — Kremlin

©Gavriil Grigorov/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud had a phone call, discussing cooperation within the OPEC+, the Kremlin press office announced Wednesday.

"A phone call took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud. […] Both sides praised the level of cooperation within the OPEC+, which make it possible to take timely and efficient steps in order to maintain the balance of oil demand and supply. The sides noted the importance of the agreements in this regard, achieved during the recent ministerial meeting in Riyadh," the press office said.

Other topics

The two leaders also touched upon the topic of increasing of trade and economic ties between Russia and Saudi Arabia an implementation of "perspective joint projects in investments, transportation logistics and energy."

In addition, the sides "substantially reviewed the issue of ensuring stability on the global energy market," the press office said.

Bilateral cooperation

The two leaders also discussed various aspects of the Russian-Saudi cooperation within other multilateral organizations and agreed to continue contacts at various levels.

Last time, Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince had a phone call on April 21.