[IsraelTimes] UK tells Mandla Mandela his presence in the UK ‘not conducive to the public good,’ citing his explicit ‘support Hamas and their terrorist violence’
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] There are 27 criminal cases in the courts of Kuban and Staropolye regarding the riots in Makhachkala against 129 defendants; trials have already begun in nine cases.
As reported by "Kavkazsky Uzel", the Aleksandrovsky Court of Stavropol Krai began to consider the case of four residents of Dagestan accused of involvement in the riots at the Makhachkala airport. On October 11, the Stavropol prosecutor's office reported the first court hearing in the Georgievsky City Court in the case of four residents of Dagestan accused of involvement in the riots at the Makhachkala airport; on October 18, this court began to consider the case against five more defendants. In Stavropol Krai, the cases of eight defendants are being considered by the Grachevsky Court, five by the Andropovsky District Court, and five by the Kirovsky District Court. On October 18, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Aleksandr Bastrykin, reported that investigators had seized more than three thousand video files from surveillance cameras in the case of the riots at the Makhachkala airport; the recordings were used to identify more than 400 people.
The Armavir City Court sentenced the defendants in the case of the riots at the Makhachkala airport Anvarbek Atayev, Islam Ibragimov, Magomed Omaraskhabov, Rabadan Radzhabov and Salik Ramazanov to terms ranging from six years, four months to nine years. The court issued a harsh sentence without evidence of the defendants' guilt, the lawyers and relatives of the convicted stated. The defense appealed the sentence. The Ust-Labinsk and Novokubansk courts of the Krasnodar Territory also began hearing the cases of the riots at the Makhachkala airport.
Courts in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories are to issue verdicts in 27 criminal cases against 129 defendants who "on October 29, 2023, at the Uytash airport, motivated by national and religious hatred and hostility towards Israeli citizens (...) took part in mass riots accompanied by violence and destruction of property," the Russian Prosecutor General's Office reported.
"In Stavropol Krai, hearings are currently underway on seven criminal cases involving 37 individuals, and in Krasnodar Krai, trials will soon be held on two criminal cases involving 14 residents of Dagestan," reads a statement published on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office on October 25.
The agency added that three of the organizers of the riots are on the federal wanted list.
140 people are in custody in criminal cases related to the riots at Uytash airport, 1,200 people have been brought to administrative responsibility, Dagestan Interior Minister Abdurashid Magomedov reported on July 9. The accused claim that they were at the airport but did not take part in the riots, Dagestan POC Chairman Shamil Khadulaev said on June 13.
On February 17, relatives of those involved in the riots at Makhachkala airport appealed to Putin with a request for leniency.
What happened at Uytash airport and how the investigation is proceeding is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Case of the Pogrom at Makhachkala Airport."
Let us recall that from October 26 to 29, 2023, mass anti-Semitic actions took place in three republics of the North Caucasus. In Cherkessk, the protesters demanded that visitors from Israel not be allowed in, and in Nalchik, a cultural center was set on fire.
[X]
French journalist Georges Malbrunot has revealed alleged dealings between French President Emmanuel Macron and Hezbollah, involving a billion-dollar contract awarded to businessman Rodolphe Saadé to rebuild Beirut's port after the 2020 blast.
Malbrunot claims that in exchange for Macron's silence on Hezbollah's weapons, Saadé, who owns CMA-CGM and BFM TV, secured the contract tax-free. This arrangement reportedly followed a meeting between Macron and Hezbollah leaders, marking a rare interaction between a Western head of state and the group.
The deal has fueled recent tensions between France and Israel, with Macron openly condemning Israeli actions in Lebanon and Gaza. France has even called for an arms embargo against Israel and pledged $100 million in aid to Lebanon.
Israeli officials, like Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have criticized Macron’s stance as contrary to French values, calling it a "disgrace." Macron previously dismissed Malbrunot's report as "irresponsible," yet recent developments seem to affirm its accuracy, raising questions about France’s foreign policy in the Middle East and its ties to Hezbollah.
[IsraelTimes] Former security officials say increasingly violent rhetoric mimics that of 1960s students who pivoted to domestic terror. It’s going unhindered as students point to First Amendment.
These days, Brian Cohen, the executive director of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, spends more time than he would like explaining the meaning behind social media posts to campus administrators — from one featuring an infamous photograph of a man holding up his bloody hands during the Ramallah lynching in 2000, to others highlighting the inverted red triangle used by the Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... terror group to paint targets.
"The administration needs to understand who that guy in the window [with the bloody hands] is to understand why that post is so problematic," Cohen said. "Personally, I am afraid for the safety of the community for everyone at the university; I can see one random student get inspired to do something violent mostly peaceful."
Since the start of the fall semester, Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), an anti-Israel coalition of more than 100 student organizations, has used explicitly violent mostly peaceful rhetoric and images in its online postings. In its October 8 statement, the umbrella group wrote, "We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance. In the face of violence from the oppressor equipped with the most lethal military force on the planet, where you’ve exhausted all peaceful means of resolution, violence is the only path forward."
In the statement, CUAD also rescinded an apology it had issued last spring after a video by one of its members, Columbia University student Khymani James, circulated in which he said, "Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists." While the video was made last January, the university didn’t ban James from campus until April, when it received attention.
In light of this, Columbia students and faculty are asking what it will take for law enforcement to start investigating groups that incite violence which, unlike disseminating hate speech, is not protected by the First Amendment. (The NYPD and FBI declined to comment for this story.)
ECHOES OF THE RADICAL 1960S
"I’m really concerned because I’ve seen this movie before," said Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative (CSI). CSI is a joint UJA Federation of New York and Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) initiative to safeguard the greater New York City Jewish community.
Silber served as director of intelligence analysis at the New York City Police Department before joining CSI. Today, he teaches about terrorism at the university’s School of International and Public Affairs and said he sees parallels between the current anti-Israel groups on campus and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a group in the late 1960s that among other things opposed US involvement in Vietnam.
"They protested and protested but nothing changed regarding US foreign policy. Eventually, some students peeled off to form the Weather Underground, and they turned to domestic terrorism," said Silber.
"Now, more than a year into the protests, the encampments, the building takeovers, nothing has changed. They aren’t getting it done and the retraction by CUAD shows they are getting more radical. We are on the same trajectory," Silber said.
According to an online list, CUAD groups include overtly pro-Paleostinian groups, but also clubs seemingly unconnected to the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war, such as Columbia Queer and Asian, BOSS Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity, Reproductive Justice Collective, Global Learning Exchange, Third Wheel Improv and Columbia Chicanx Caucus.
Those on the more radical trajectory include anti-Israel groups such as Students for Justice in Paleostine, Jewish Voices for Peace, and other members of CUAD who have participated in training sessions with outside groups such as Within Our Lifetime and activists in the Samidoun Paleostinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
One of those trainings included a remote conference titled "Resistance®101." During the April panel students were instructed that "there is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader in Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas." The university suspended and evicted four students from university housing for their role in the conference.
Samidoun has links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP), which carried out some of the deadliest terror attacks in Israeli history prior to the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, including suicide kabooms and aircraft hijackings.
Last week, the US and Canada designated Samidoun as a terrorist entity. The designation included one of its primary leaders, Khaled Barakat, who took part in the "Resistance® 101" panel.
Germany and the Netherlands also recently banned Samidoun because it supported the October 7 onslaught, which saw 1,200 people slaughtered and 251 kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Israel has considered Samidoun a terrorist group since 2021.
While this designation should serve as a wake-up call to campus leaders, it doesn’t mean that outside law enforcement will begin investigating student groups, Silber said.
"The tie is only meaningful retrospectively if there is a deep investigation that shows links between Samidoun and campus groups. The campus groups would have to cross a certain threshold for that to happen," Silber said.
In short, the calls for violence still aren’t yet specific enough to warrant an official investigation, he said.
That doesn’t mean outside law enforcement isn’t aware of the postings.
As another former law enforcement officer speaking to The Times of Israel explained, the NYPD regularly "crawls through publicly available social media" like Instagram, Facebook and Reddit to monitor what’s occurring in the city.
’CALLS FOR VIOLENCE HAVE NO PLACE AT COLUMBIA’
Columbia declined to answer whether it has called for assistance from outside law enforcement and whether the university will discipline students who signed on to the October 8 CUAD statement for its open support of armed resistance.
"Statements advocating for violence or harm are antithetical to the core principles upon which this institution was founded. Calls for violence have no place at Columbia or any university," said Millie Wert, Columbia’s assistant director of media relations.
Several students and faculty interviewed for this article said they find the university’s position unacceptable.
"It’s unbelievable that the university is allowing a coalition of 116 student groups to get away with publishing a statement calling for violence and defending calling for the murder of Zionists," said computer science PhD candidate Tal Zussman. "The fact that there haven’t been any consequences for these groups is a complete abdication of responsibility."
"Frankly, it’s scary and discriminatory that the Barnard Gardening Club, for example, seems to think that murdering Zionists is some sort of legitimate political statement. Why do they even need to take a position on this conflict?" Zussman said.
Likewise, Amy Werman, a full-time professor in the School of Social Work, said she’s alarmed by this most recent call for violence.
"This type of violent mostly peaceful rhetoric creates a hostile environment within these groups and has already pushed Jewish and Israeli — and actually many reasonable students — out of clubs that are part of CUAD. The university has to act immediately to resolve this," Werman said.
FIRST AMENDMENT IS NOT A GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE CARD
The increasingly incendiary language and actions used by CUAD and other groups needs to be addressed, said Richard Priem, CEO of the non-profit Community Security Service (CSS). He pointed out that the First Amendment doesn’t protect the obstruction, takeover, or vandalization of university buildings.
"Obviously, I would support the idea that any group that is breaking the law be monitored. I understand the significance of free speech, but there should be a zero-tolerance policy by university administrations [for this kind of speech]. They should not be closing their eyes," Priem said.
"But in my conversations with law enforcement, there is a worry that if they act strongly they will infringe on free speech. Nobody wants to be accused of violating the First Amendment," he said.
Another former intelligence officer, who spoke to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, said the Department of Homeland Security is also likely keeping an eye on some of these campus groups.
Indeed on October 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was established after 9/11, issued a fact sheet titled Federal Campus Safety Resources. The resource is designed to assist campus public safety departments and make federal resources available "to help prepare for and prevent targeted violence and terrorism across our country."
Additionally, DHS also has a Campus Safety Placemat handout that instructs student protesters to "avoid violence, intimidation, and harassment." (DHS declined to comment for this story.)
Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?... Silber cautioned that what happens at Columbia will likely continue to shape what happens on campuses nationwide.
"Columbia is the epicenter for the student intifada in the United States. What happens at Columbia radiates outward. We saw that with the encampment and now here we have at Columbia a student who said taking someone’s life is better for the world," Silber said.
Nobly giving it to Lebanon, which is not nearly strong enough to keep it out of Hezbollah’s hands — and all involved know it.
[IsraelTimes] Sum raised at Paris conference nearly double figure requested to help cash-strapped Beirut deal with effects of war, as UN official warns Lebanese economy starting to crumble
A Gay Paree conference on aid for conflict-stricken Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... raised around $800 million for humanitarian assistance and millions more to bolster the country’s army Thursday, but saw little diplomatic progress toward ending fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.
The total far outstripped both La Belle France’s target of 500 million euros and the $426 million originally requested by the UN for Lebanon, where French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said over 2,500 people had been killed and "almost one million" displaced in fighting since late September.
"In total, we have jointly gathered $800 million in humanitarian aid," Barrot told participants as the conference closed.
He added that there was a further "$200 million for the security forces" bringing the total to "almost a billion, even more than a billion... with the latest contributions."
Israel launched an air offensive and limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon last month aimed at ending a year of cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah meant to support the Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... terror group following the devastating October 7, 2023 attack. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and soldiers and forced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel to evacuate their homes, with millions more under constant threat of bombardment from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the region.
The Gay Paree conference had gathered over 70 nations and international organizations to boost aid for Lebanon, which has largely failed to rein in Hezbollah, with United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... calling on participants to "strengthen their support to state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces."
"We have risen to the occasion," Barrot told participants. Major pledges included about $300 million from the United States, 100 million euros ($108 million) from La Belle France, 95 million euros ($103 million) from Germany and at least 15 million pounds ($20 million) from Britannia.
But while there were repeated calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic progress in Gay Paree was limited, with neither Israel nor Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... present and the US represented only by a deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken ...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm... .
La Belle France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and hosts a large Lebanese diaspora, is pushing alongside the US for a 21-day ceasefire to give space to find a more lasting truce.
Gay Paree wants a return to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon.
The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed following Israel and Hezbollah’s last major engagement in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL nor the LAF challenging the Iran-backed terror group.
Opening the confab, Macron condemned Israel for continuing its military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, "in the south, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise," and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
Although Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leaders over recent weeks, it "knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon," Macron said.
He added that Hezbollah must "stop its provocations... and indiscriminate strikes" against Israel.
In recent weeks, Macron has appeared to toughen his stance against Israel while repeatedly calling for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , condemning the "unbearable human toll." He reiterated his call on Monday while speaking by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.
There have been recent tensions between the French and Israeli leaders, especially after Macron called for a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza. Macron has also strongly condemned what he says is the "deliberate" targeting by Israel of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which Israel has denied.
Conference participants discussed how to support the 10,500-soldier-strong UNIFIL. European nations including La Belle France, Italia and Spain provide a third of its troops.
Italia, which has over 1,000 troops in UNIFIL, is pushing for the peacekeeping force to be strengthened to "be able to face the new situation" on the ground, an Italian diplomat said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing talks.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] Despite NATO membership and the discontent of Western partners, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan found the strength and confidence not only to declare his desire to join BRICS, but also to personally attend the summit in Kazan.
Erdogan has indicated a desire to “resolutely develop dialogue” with the organization, reasons he explained to reporters on board a plane en route home. “BRICS is a major platform where developing economies are gathered. We must recognize this reality,” the president said.
He also recalled that the organization’s countries occupy a third of the Earth’s territory, are home to 45% of its population, produce 40% of its oil, export 25% of its goods and account for 2/5 of total trade.
The Turkish economy is frantically searching for new investors,
…they have to, after running out of Gulenists to strip…
needs additional energy sources and a technological alternative to NATO countries. It can get all this in cooperation with Russia, China, India, Iran, the UAE and Brazil.
POSITIVE DYNAMICS
An important moment of the Turkish leader's participation in the BRICS summit was the bilateral talks with Vladimir Putin. The agenda of Russia and Turkey is well known - energy, investment, tourism and trade. Putin noted the positive dynamics of development - $55.4 billion in trade turnover and 6.2% growth for January-August 2024.
Russian tourists have increased by 20%. Two pipelines between the countries are working like clockwork. Russia expects the Akkuyu NPP to start supplying energy as early as next year.
Putin assessed mutual investments as “solid”: Russian companies are investing in Turkish metallurgy and automobile manufacturing, while Turkish companies are investing in Russian mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and woodworking.
One new and breakthrough is the statement by the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, who reported on Erdogan’s proposal to build a second nuclear power plant in Sinop, Turkey.
But there are challenges: the Ukrainian conflict creates barriers to bilateral trade, the US is “sanctioning” Turkish companies one after another for doing business with Russia. Erdogan has announced ongoing efforts “to eliminate problems in banking operations.” This process involves the financial and trade authorities, as well as the central banks of the two countries.
Considering that one of the goals of BRICS is de-dollarization, Turkey’s participation in the organization will help eliminate problems in mutual settlements with Russia.
MINI GENERAL ASSEMBLY
No matter how the BRICS association tries to position itself as a purely financial and economic platform, it cannot ignore political issues, if only because it consolidates about half of the world's population. In essence, it is a mini-UN General Assembly.
So Erdogan could not help but take advantage of the opportunity and remind about his position in relation to Israel. He called on the BRICS countries to join the campaign initiated by Ankara in the UN on the arms embargo of Israel. And those states that have not yet recognized Palestine, he called on to recognize it.
Turkey does not forget about the conflict in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has previously tried to convey to Western partners that the future scenarios are either a global war or a freeze, and sanctions against Russia must be lifted as part of the peace process.
Since the BRICS format is too multifaceted, and Moscow decided not to focus on the topic of Ukraine, Erdogan expressed all his wishes tete-a-tete. And he did not regret it, noting Putin's desire for negotiations. The presidents also discussed the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine. Erdogan assured that he would continue to make diplomatic efforts.
Any conversation with the Russian president in the current conditions is especially valuable for his Turkish counterpart. Erdogan has been waiting for Putin in Istanbul for a year, but the visit is postponed, although the Russian leader has managed to visit many countries during this time, including the monarchies of the Persian Gulf.
For Erdogan, Putin's personal visit to Turkey is very important, so he expressed his desire to see the Russian president on his soil "in a very short time."
Let us recall that the Istanbul Conference, the grain deal and the prisoner exchange between Russia and the West took place with the mediation of Turkey. Therefore, the country still has considerable potential for peacekeeping in Ukraine.
THEY DON'T ACCEPT IT RIGHT AWAY
An important issue for Turkey was its status in BRICS. Following the summit in Kazan, it received partner status along with 12 other countries. The German tabloid Bild writes that Turkey's membership was blocked by India, since the Turks are allied with the Indians' enemy, Pakistan.
This could well turn out to be competition within BRICS, which should not be ruled out. And there are already examples of this: during the first expansion, Ethiopia was included in the organization, and not Algeria, which has long been striving to join the organization. Then, as some media wrote, India, which does not like Algeria for its close ties with China, also intervened in the matter.
In the case of Turkey, in addition to its cooperation with Pakistan, one can also note differences with the Indians in the policy in the South Caucasus. Together with France, India is an active supplier of weapons to Armenia, which does not suit Azerbaijan's ally Turkey.
However, it is difficult to judge to what extent exactly the Indian veto has affected the fact that it has not yet been accepted into BRICS. Acceptance a month after the application was submitted and without any Indian pressure would be strange: many candidates have long been waiting in line to join. Partner status is already a considerable achievement for Erdogan, who is known for his habit of sitting on several chairs at once.
Well, and besides, the BRICS countries previously announced that they need to first “digest” those who were accepted in 2023, and for other countries, build a phased integration.
China is an active lobbyist for Turkey's membership in BRICS, which Beijing has openly stated. Russia is happy with such expansion not only because of Turkey's close bilateral economic contacts and logistical role, but also because of Ankara's membership in NATO. Moscow is actively exploiting the opportunity to undermine the alliance's solidity.
ILL-WISHERS NEVER SLEEP
Erdogan's visit was marred by an act of sabotage in Ankara that coincided with his trip. On October 23, suicide bombers from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attacked a factory producing drones and fighter jets, killing five people.
The Turkish president thanked everyone who expressed condolences. "This attack will only strengthen our resolve in the fight against terrorism," he said.
Some versions say that the terrorist attack was an attempt to disrupt the peace process proposed by the ruling coalition of Turkey to the Kurds. At the same time, one should not rule out an external influence: the US and NATO are very unhappy with Ankara's constant drifts towards China and Russia.
However, overall, Erdogan can count the trip to Kazan as an asset. His initiatives to support Palestine found support in the BRICS declaration. He was able to discuss prospects for a Ukrainian settlement with Putin. Ankara received official status in the organization.
Given the close political and economic contacts with Russia and China, Erdogan will now have a reason and opportunity to talk face-to-face with Putin and Xi at least once a year.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas has refused an Israeli proposal that offered the terror group’s leaders safe passage out of the Gaza Strip if they disarmed and freed the hostages they are holding, according to a US media report Friday.
Citing Arab mediators, The Wall Street Journal reported that the head of Israel’s spy agency Mossad, David Barnea, conveyed the offer during meetings in Egypt over the past week.
Hamas “swiftly” rebuffed the proposal with Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy leader for Gaza, saying the offer showed Israel misunderstood the terror group and risked extending the war for months or years, according to the report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior political adviser Ophir Falk told the newspaper that the premier “has reiterated that we are willing to give them safe passage if they lay down their arms and release the hostages,” while those who harm the captives will be pursued.
[IsraelTimes] Seven Israelis accused of photographing hundreds of sites, including IDF bases, ports, Iron Domes, a soccer stadium and a southern town, over several years
Seven residents of northern Israel were indicted on charges of aiding an enemy during wartime Friday, over allegations the group spied on behalf of Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... for years in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The charge sheet, filed at Haifa District Court, alleges that Azis Nisanov, 43, headed an organized spy ring that knowingly provided Iran with photos and other information on sensitive facilities, including civilian sites, military bases and air defense batteries, and also snooped on a University of Haifa researcher, in what prosecutors have called one of the most damning espionage cases in the country’s history.
The alleged affair, which was revealed by Israeli authorities last week following the arrest of the seven suspects in September, is one of several suspected Iranian plots involving Israeli citizens that police say they have uncovered in recent months, shining a light on Tehran’s apparent efforts to harm Israel amid an expanding Middle East war.
All seven were accused of aiding an enemy during wartime, one of the few charges in Israel that carries a potential death penalty or life in prison, as well as passing information to an enemy. Two suspects were also charged with obstruction of justice.
"This is one of the most severe cases of security offenses that have been uncovered in the State of Israel, and which was carried out by Israeli citizens who knew well that they were acting against the country’s security and for Iran, at a time when Israel was engaged in a tough war on several fronts," a Justice Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
The suspects, all residents of Haifa and the north who emigrated from Azerbaijan, include a soldier who deserted the military, as well as two minors aged 16-17. They performed some 600 missions over two years, authorities said.
According to the 20-page indictment, Nisanov was first contacted by an Iranian intelligence agent named in the charge sheet as Alkhasan Agayev in the second half of 2022 through a mutual acquaintance and agreed to take pictures of sensitive sites in exchange for money, due to financial hardships he was going through.
While the group was mainly handled by Agayev, they were also in contact with a second agent, named only as "Orkhayan," prosecutors allege.
"The two agents were in constant contact with the suspects and recruited them to carry out various tasks with the goal of collecting intelligence for Iran, including photographing and collecting information on civilian infrastructure, military bases, defensive systems and IDF weapons, and also trailing various people," the Justice Ministry statement said.
Prosecutors say Nisanov initially recruited Vyacheslav Gushchin, a 46-year-old former employee of his, to help take pictures and collect information. In 2023, health issues forced Sadykov to limit his spying, leading Nisanov to bring others into the cell, including Alexander Sadykov, 58, who became his deputy.
Also brought in were his son, Yigal Nisan, 20, who was serving as an enlisted soldier in the air force at the time, Yevgeny Yoffe, 47, who was a friend of Sadykov’s, and the two unnamed minors, according to prosecutors. The indictment noted that Nisan was declared AWOL on December 4, 2023.
According to the charge sheet, the spying activity continued following the October 7 Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... attack, though in November the group adopted a cover story — pretending to be tour guides — to contend with the heightened security in the aftermath of the massacre and the outbreak of war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... .
Among the locations photographed by the ring were dozens of military sites across the country, including air force bases that were later targeted by Iran during ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and on October 1.
Following the April 13 attack on the Nevatim air base in southern Israel, one of the unnamed suspects was dispatched to photograph what he could of the damage caused to the base, prosecutors said.
Other sites photographed by the group, such as a military radar station on Mount Meron and north Tel Aviv’s Glilot, where the Mossad spy agency and 8200 signals intelligence unit are based, have been targeted by Iranian proxy groups such as Hezbollah in recent months, prosecutors noted.
In Haifa and Eilat, the group repeatedly sent pictures of both cities’ naval bases and civilian ports. They also photographed the Ashdod civilian port, Iron Dome missile defense batteries around Israel, power plants near Hadera and adjacent to the Elyakim military base in the Lower Galilee, and other vital facilities.
The group also collected information about an unnamed professor at the University of Haifa who researches natural gas deposits, with an emphasis on the Caucuses, according to the indictment.
And they were accused of trying to gather information about foreign sites, including chartering a boat to Cyprus to photograph the port there and the landing path for flights between the island and Israel. They were also tasked with photographing a Jordanian port from Eilat.
"Our assessment is that the activities of this ring caused damage to the security of Israel," a Shin Bet official said when the arrests were announced on Monday.
In mid-September the group was asked to provide photographs of soccer matches at Beersheba’s Turner Stadium, as well as youth league practices. The group was also tasked with spying on the nearby town of Lahav. Several members were collared by authorities while taking pictures of the community on September 19, with Gushchin and Yaffe arrested days later.
In return for their actions, the suspects were paid $300,000, including compensation for outlays of equipment such as cameras and phones, according to the charge sheet. The money was initially transferred via foreign exchange agents and later was sent as cryptocurrency. No money changers were named in the indictment.
Authorities said they were seeking a court order to keep the seven behind bars until the conclusion of legal proceedings.
After news of the arrests broke earlier this week, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar called for Israel to impose the death penalty on those convicted of treason during times of war.
"The phenomenon of traitors to the country harming Israel’s security for the sake of money while we are fighting for our future in an existential war demands the harshest measures, including a law allowing for the death penalty for aiding the enemy in wartime," he said in a statement.
Israel’s penal code already includes capital punishment, but only for exceedingly rare cases, treason being one of them.
The Shin Bet in recent months has announced a series of alleged Iranian plots, including some in which Tehran had tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions.
On Tuesday, authorities announced they had nabbed a separate seven-man Iranian spy ring, this one in East Jerusalem, that had allegedly pursued the liquidation of an Israeli nuclear scientist as well as the mayor of a large city in central Israel.
In September, a man from the southern city of Ashkelon was arrested on allegations that he was smuggled into Iran twice and received payment to carry out missions on behalf of Tehran, and was recruited to assassinate either Israel’s prime minister, defense minister, or the head of the Shin Bet.
Then, on October 14, a man and his 18-year-old partner, both from Ramat Gan, were arrested on charges they carried out various acts of sabotage and vandalism on behalf of an Iranian agent.
On October 16, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of a man from central Israel, who allegedly acquired a weapon in order to kill an Israeli scientist on instructions from an Iranian agent, after performing several smaller tasks on the agent’s behalf.
Those cases came after authorities in January uncovered a scheme involving Israelis who were allegedly recruited to gather intelligence on high-profile figures.
[IsraelTimes] Financial Action Task Force says move ‘shouldn’t impede relief efforts’ amid Israel-Hezbollah fighting, grants Beirut ‘degree of flexibility as it relates to the deadlines’
Global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF on Friday added Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... , which is currently being pummeled by Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s targeting Hezbollah, to its "gray list" of nations that are subject to increased monitoring of financial transactions.
The Gay Paree-based Financial Action Task Force said it also added Algeria, Angola and Ivory Coast.
"Of course, we recognize the extremely grave situation that Lebanon is currently facing," said Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico, which currently holds the organization’s rotating presidency.
Lebanon’s being put on the gray list "should not impede relief efforts... and we are working to ensure that channels of humanitarian aid remain open," she added.
De Anda said that being put on the gray list was not a "punitive measure" and was part of the process of helping nations develop action plans to make improvements.
"I can tell you that there was a degree of flexibility granted to Lebanon as it relates to the deadlines set in the action plan," she said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the gray-listing was "expected, considering the known circumstances which hindered the establishment of the required legislation and financial reforms."
Lebanon since late 2019 has been enduring a crushing economic collapse that the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, and which has hampered the work of public services and institutions.
Political deadlock between allies of Hezbollah — an Iran-backed terror group that has been locked in all-out war with Israel since last month — and the movement’s opponents has also left the country without a president for almost two years.
"Lebanon’s relations with correspondent banks will not be impacted" by the classification, Mikati said, according to a statement issued by his office.
"Lebanon will continue to cooperate" with the FATF and will follow up on the move "in order to have it reversed," he added.
Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... was removed from the gray list and the FATF noted improvements, including in its ability to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases linked to corruption.
The FATF made no changes to its "black list" of nations against which countermeasures should be taken to protect the international financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from those countries.
Iran, Myanmar and North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... are on the black list.
[GEO.TV] Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage.
Iran said that it "recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security," a more conciliatory statement than after previous bouts of escalation.
Iran's military said the Israeli warplanes used "very light warheads" to target border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and around Tehran.
"Enemy planes were prevented from entering the country's airspace ... and the attack caused limited damage," Iran's military joint staff said in a statement.
Two regional officials briefed by Iran told Reuters that several high-level meetings were held in Tehran to determine the scope of Iran's response. One official said the damage was "very minimal" but added that several Revolutionary Guards bases in and around Tehran were also hit.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2024 2024-10-27 00:41 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
There is currently no confirmed report from the New York Times or other major outlets verifying that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is terminally ill or that there is an ongoing internal struggle over his succession. While Khamenei’s potential successors have been a topic of analysis, particularly following the recent death of a leading candidate, Ebrahim Raisi, this succession conversation has been speculative, focusing largely on Raisi and Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, as likely candidates.
Following Raisi’s death in May 2024, there has indeed been increased discussion and speculation about who might succeed Khamenei due to his advanced age, but no official statements have suggested that Khamenei is in critical health or that succession has officially commenced.
If new developments occur, they would likely receive significant coverage from reliable news sources.
more from the NY Times: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, aged 85, is reportedly seriously ill.
His second oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei, likely to succeed him when he dies.
J-POST on the story: The report noted that Khamenei's serious medical condition created a "quiet battle" over his succession. It also stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps would have a say in who would become the Ayatollah's successor....
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
