Tucker Carlson pushed a new conspiracy theory that Donald Trump is being prosecuted for calling out Washington DC insiders over Iraq and weapons of mass destruction in his latest Twitter show. The former Fox News host defied his former employer’s threats after they sent him a “cease-and-desist” letter stating that his new show is a violation of his contract with the right-wing network. Carlson told his audience that the former president was now in legal trouble because of his position on Iraq during the 2016 Republican primary debates, in which he said the US had “destabilised” the Middle East with its invasion of Iraq. “Seven-and-a-half years later we can point to the precise moment when permanent Washington decided to send Donald Trump to prison,” said Carlson on Tuesday evening as he played footage of the debate in Greenville, South Carolina. In it Mr Trump excoriates Washington DC insiders, saying “We should have never been in Iraq...they said there were weapons of mass destruction and there were none, they lied, they knew there were none.” Carlson insisted that by calling them “liars” Mr Trump had “sealed his fate.” “That was the one thing you were not allowed to say as it implicated too many people on both sides, which on this topic is really just one side,” he said. “Hillary Clinton was guilty, but so was Paul Ryan, all of them were guilty, they all knew and they all lied and to a person they hated Donald Trump for exposing them.” Carlson said that from the start of his administration, Mr Trump was targetted by “flatterers”, and name-checked Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo and Lindsey Graham. He then accused them of “piling on with maximum force” in the wake of Mr Trump being charged over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House. Carlson then accused Mr Pompeo of not supporting Mr Trump’s agenda and “undermined at every turn” the former president’s policies and ideas, before accusing him of “toadying up” to his boss. “Now the same person is telling Fox News he fears for the safety of our military...because Donald Trump took some classified documents home and didn’t immediately return them to the National Archives. What a lie that is,” he said. Carlson then said that the prosecution of Mr Trump was not “just political it is ideological.” “Nobody with Trump’s views is allowed to have power in this country. Criticise our wars and you are disqualified, if you keep it up we will send you to prison,” he said. “That’s the message that Washington DC is sending, not just the Democratic party but the message both parties are sending.” Read More Trump indictment - live: Trump pleads not guilty and turns arraignment into 2024 rally in Miami and Bedminster Special counsel Jack Smith stared at Trump throughout historic court appearance, report says Supporters pray over Trump and sing him ‘Happy Birthday’ immediately after arrest Trump lashes out at ‘Fake’ Tapper after disgusted CNN host cuts away from arraigned ex-president meeting fans Trump's historic federal arraignment was virtually invisible to the public Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Russia was actively preparing to steal grain supplies and starve the Ukrainian population of food for months before Vladimir Putin ordered last year’s invasion, according to new evidence compiled by human rights experts. When Russian tanks did roll across the border on 24 February 2022 they deliberately targeted grain-rich areas and food production infrastructure first, the new report by international human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance found. GRC found that Russia’s defence contractor began purchasing trucks to transport grain, as well as three new 170-metre bulk carrier cargo ships, as early as December 2021, evidence of advance planning for the pillage of Ukrainian food resources “on an unprecedented scale”. Russia began commandeering Ukrainian farms within less than a week of its invasion, and at its peak was exporting 12,000 tonnes of grain per day from across occupied territories. The evidence of a “highly coordinated level of pre-planning” will be provided by to the International Criminal Court and GRC hopes it will lead to a first international prosecution against Mr Putin for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare. It is “highly likely” Russia will be found guilty, Catriona Murdoch, a partner at Global Rights Compliance, and if so Mr Putin could face another ICC arrest warrant to go with the one issued in March this year for the unlawful deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territories. “Russia not only deployed a multi-pronged approach by besieging civilian populations, destroying critical infrastructure, but it also pre-planned the seizure and pillage of agricultural commodities in an insidious plan. Moscow has sparked a global food crisis and attacked Ukraine’s agriculture sector as a warfare tactic,” Ms Murdoch told The Independent. The grain pillaged from Ukraine so far has an estimated market value of $1bn per year. Multiple private Ukrainian grain companies were forcibly incorporated into Russia’s state operator, the GRC said. Beyond its impact on Ukrainian citizens, Russia’s invasion has affected millions around the world by increasing global food insecurity – Ukraine was the world’s largest wheat producer prior to the conflict. A farmer in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine said his grain farm was taken over by Russian forces five days after the full-scale invasion began. “Multiple convoys of vehicles were seen carrying grain in the direction of the Crimean Peninsula in the following weeks, and GPS trackers on farmers’ stolen trucks show them driving through Crimea and into Russia,” the GRC said. Satellite images shared with The Independent by the GRC showed grain trucks at a facility in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia bearing licence plate numbers registered in occupied Crimea. Other images show train carriages labelled “grain” leaving Beridansk train station in Zaporizhzhia. And another image from March this year shows a newly constructed storage building in Melitopol with grain visible throughout the compound. GRC said that despite the apparent planning that went into Russia’s theft of Ukrainian grain, job adverts seen in Russia suggest the government was unable to recruit truck drivers quickly enough to transport the vast quantities of stolen food. The investigation into grain theft ran up to August this year. GRC said that while Russia has not captured any more grain-rich territory since then, it still controls all of the Crimean peninsula – one of the main regions from which grain is transported by sea to Russia and abroad. Yousuf Syed Khan, senior lawyer at GRC, called Russia’s weaponisation of Ukraine’s grain industry “unprecedented in modern history”. Russia is now appealing to the UN and other global powers to ease war-related sanctions so it can resume grain exports from occupied territory to developing countries hit hardest by the food crisis. The offer of grain to friendly third countries was also part of Mr Putin’s failed charm offensive to get back onto the UN Human Rights Council. “Russia is doing this to represent itself as the legitimate authority of Ukrainian territory, in turn also weakening Ukraine’s national economy,” Mr Khan said.

Justin Sylvester filled in for Hoda Kotb as she took her time off to celebrate her 59th birthday

The way Greg Gutfeld met Elena Moussa was just like a rom-com and they have been together for more than a decade

Gold held gains as conflict in the Middle East continued to roil markets, while investors considered whether tightening

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 9, 2023--

By Sumit Khanna AHMEDABAD, India Authorities in India's western state of Gujarat evacuated more than 75,000 people from

Labor unions say they will end disruptive strike actions at Chevron Corp.'s liquefied natural gas plants in Australia that provide more than 5% of global LNG supplies

I love sunscreen the way some people love cheese or Vanderpump Rules. Since I was 18, I’ve religiously worn SPF in the name of avoiding sun damage. To this day, on the cusp of my 30th birthday, I’m still routinely asked if I’m a student. A student! In addition to being a smart skin-care choice in the name of vanity, you also don’t need us to school you on the health benefits of wearing sunscreen on a daily basis.

By Maggie Michael In the days after war erupted in Khartoum, Dr Abeer Abdullah rushed between rooms at

Longstanding issues with rhetoric used in online gaming communities persists, as a new study reports

WASHINGTON House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks will visit the U.S. State