BREAKING: New US Attorney in Los Angeles, @billessayli, announces his office is charging this illegal alien with felony re-entry, and they will seek to imprison him federally for up to 20 years once CA releases him.
[VANGUARDNGR] The Ministry of Defence has reaffirmed the Nigerian government's commitment to enhancing military cooperation with the State of Israel.
The Permanent Secretary, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, gave the commitment during a courtesy visit by the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, at the Ministry's Headquarters in Abuja.
Aduda, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the two countries had discussed strategies towards bolstering defence cooperation, strengthening mutual security frameworks, and exploring opportunities for enhanced military training and capacity building within the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He highlighted the critical need to deepen defence ties in the light of evolving global security challenges.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised the importance of strategic areas such as joint operations, knowledge exchange, and the modernisation of defence cooperation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar applauds a decision by Paraguay to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas, and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.
Sa’ar commends the South American country and President Santiago Peña for the “landmark decision” in a post on X.
Peña reopened his country’s embassy in Jerusalem last December and condemned Hamas “criminals” in a speech at the Knesset during the same visit.
“We were with you, we are with you, we will stay with the people of Israel forever,” the Paraguayan president told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the ceremony for the embassy reopening.
[DailyWire] According to the FBI, some Venezuelan government officials, in order to erode public safety in the United States, “likely facilitate” the migration of Tren de Aragua gang members to the United States.
Tren de Aragua has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
The Venezuelan move to destabilize other countries also includes Chile, Ecuador, and Peru, Fox News Digital reported, adding, “The FBI assesses that in the next six to 18 months, Venezuelan government officials likely will attempt to leverage Tren de Aragua members in the United States as proxy actors to threaten, abduct and kill members of the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States who are vocal critics of [Venezuala President Nicolás] Maduro and his regime.”
“These findings should shock Americans but not the law enforcement community,” an unnamed Trump administration official told Fox Digital. “They reflect the sentiments of numerous other intelligence assessments across multiple agencies. Nicholas Maduro is a Marxist dictator who hijacked a once-prosperous Venezuela and brought in nothing but total economic collapse and gang takeover. He crumbled Caracas, now overrun with drugs and violence, and wants to do the same across the United States by sending his most violent and dangerous criminals into our communities.”
“The Trump administration will continue to use every authority in our power to make sure these TdA terrorists, who are some of the worst in the world, are kept out of our country,” the official continued. “The American people voted overwhelmingly to make America safe again, and that is exactly what we will do.”
On April 18, the Associated Press reported, “A new U.S. intelligence assessment found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government, contradicting statements that Trump administration officials have made to justify their invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deporting Venezuelan migrants, according to U.S. officials. The classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council, released this month, is more comprehensive and authoritative than an earlier intelligence product released Feb. 26 and reported last month by The New York Times.”
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard reacted harshly, writing on X:
The weaponization of intelligence to undermine the President’s agenda is an assault on democracy. Those behind this illegal leak of classified intelligence, twisted and manipulated to convey the exact opposite finding, will be held accountable under the full force of the law. Rooting out this politicization of intelligence is exactly what President Trump campaigned on and what Americans overwhelmingly voted for. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence fully supports the assessment that the foreign terrorist organization, Tren De Aragua, is acting with the support of the Maduro Regime, and thus subject to arrest, detention and removal as alien enemies of the United States.
An official from the office of DNI said the information Fox News Digital was reporting was “based on intelligence that the illegal leakers and propaganda media conveniently did not include because it gets in the way of their biased narrative and attempt to deceive the American people.”
Posted by: NoMoreBS ||
04/25/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
Does the CIA still do wet work? I mean on non-Americans?
[IsraelTimes] France evacuates over 100 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a French official tells The Times of Israel.
The effort is part of France’s campaign since the war started 18 months ago to evacuate French nationals, Palestinians working for France and their relatives, and Palestinians with links to France. The Gazans were evacuated for health and humanitarian reasons, says the official.
Israel has made approval of evacuations from Gaza easier in recent weeks, The Times of Israel has learned.
[IsraelTmes] Smaller partners of minority government accuse Pedro Sanchez of ‘breach of contract’ after he includes already agreed upon 6 million-euro bullet purchase in defense spending boost
A decision by Spain’s Socialist government to backtrack on a promise to cancel a contract to buy bullets from an Israeli firm drew a rebuke on Wednesday from its junior coalition partners, with some allies threatening to withdraw support.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s minority government has struggled to pass legislation since securing a new term by cobbling together an alliance of left-wing and regional separatist parties in 2023.
On Wednesday, the ministry said it had been advised by Spain’s state attorney that breaking the contract would have meant paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.
On Tuesday, Sanchez angered far-left junior partner Sumar after unveiling a plan to boost defense spending.
Spain is a long-time critic of Israel’s policies toward Paleostinians 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... and the West Bank, and has outraged Jerusalem by recognizing Paleostinian statehood last May, along with Norway and Ireland.
Sanchez’s government pledged to stop selling arms to Israel shortly after October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... -led bully boyz stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Last year, the government widened that commitment to include weapons purchases from Israel.
Sumar, a platform of left-wing parties that controls five ministries led by deputy premier Yolanda Diaz, said Wednesday that the decision to go forward with the arms purchase was "a flagrant violation" of the alliance’s coalition agreement with Sanchez’s Socialists.
"We demand the immediate rectification of this contract," Sumar said in a statement.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said last October it was canceling a contract worth 6.6 million euros ($7.53 million) to buy more than 15 million 9-millimeter rounds from Guardian LTD Israel.
On Wednesday, the ministry said it had been advised by Spain’s state attorney that breaking the contract would have meant paying the full amount without receiving the shipment.
*Snicker*
Guardian LTD Israel did not immediately comment on the decision.
Izquierda Unida (United Left) politician Enrique Santiago, whose party is part of Sumar, suggested there were legal grounds to cancel the contract without paying, but that even "a breach of contract of only about six million [euros] will be applauded by the whole country."
Asked if IU could abandon the coalition government, he told news hounds: "We are currently considering all scenarios."
Before the news of the ammunition contract broke, Diaz had said her group disagreed with the increase in defense spending, particularly a plan to procure more weapons, but that the coalition was in good health and would see out the legislative term ending in 2027.
HARLINGEN — The Rio Grande Valley’s airports are trying to offset revenue losses stemming from a drop in migrant travel.
In Harlingen, Valley International Airport’s revenues are down about 6%, with its $9.1 budget losing about $500,000 in revenue, with expenditures at $9.6 million, Bryan Wren, the airport’s assistant director of aviation, said.
"When we started the fiscal year, we were at break-even," Wren said.
Now, he said, the airport’s facing a $500,000 deficit.
Officials are attributing much of the revenue decline to a drop in migrant travel since President Donald Trump took office in January.
"The immigrants used to come through our airport using facilities, coming through the terminal, buying tickets, going up north with family," Wren said.
Most of the migrants traveling north were awaiting asylum hearings, he said.
After taking office, the Trump administration canceled the CBP One program, which allowed undocumented migrants to use a mobile app to submit information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection instead of waiting along a Southwest border port of entry, Rogelio Nunez, executive director of Casa de Proyecto Libertad in Harlingen, said.
"I call that collateral damage — big time," he said, referring to the drop in migrant travel’s economic impact.
At Valley International, the number of outbound passengers dropped to 120,596 from January to March 2025, down from 133,369 during the same period last year, records show.
In Brownsville, Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport’s number of outbound passengers dropped to 36,512 from January to March, down from 47,139 during the same period last year, records show.
"There has been a drop since the administration change," Gustavo Hernandez, an airport accountant, said. "The immigrant count from last year to this year is 6% down."
At McAllen-Miller International Airport, American Airlines’ passenger numbers dropped by nearly 5% in January, about 16% in February and about 1.25% in March, records show.
Meanwhile, the airport’s United Airlines’s passenger numbers were up about 7.5% in January before dropping by about 24.5% in February and falling about 43% in March, records show.
In McAllen, an increase in the number of flights over the past year has boosted airport numbers. Carriers such as Delta Air Lines, Allegiant, Aeromexico and Volaris also serve the airport.
From January to March, records show the airport’s passenger numbers stood at 142,713, up from 140,483 during the same period last year.
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
04/25/2025 03:02 ||
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#1
Oh, how tragic for the Valley airports, crying over their half-million-dollar deficit because they can’t profit off Human trafficking of Illegal migrants anymore. Truly heartbreaking that the end of a program letting people flood our borders has cut into their snack bar sales. Maybe they can pivot to, I don’t know, actual tourism instead of banking on human Trafficking? Just a thought.
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
04/25/2025 7:45 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Yeah funny how when the slave trade dries up the slave traders go broke.
#3
"The immigrants used to come through our airport using facilities, coming through the terminal, buying tickets, going up north with family," Wren said.
Most of the migrants traveling north were awaiting asylum hearings, he said.
[FoxNews] Plan had called for the Navy to use 100% emissions-free vehicles by 2035
The Navy will no longer pursue a zero-emissions goal instituted under the Biden administration, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced on Wednesday.
"We need to focus on having a lethal and ready naval force, unimpeded by ideologically motivated regulations," Phelan said in a video announcing he would rescind the Navy Climate Action 2030 Plan.
The plan had called for the Navy to use 100% emissions-free vehicles by 2035 and to use 100% carbon pollution-free electricity sources by 2030, with a 65% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.
Naval installations all along the coast are threatened by rising sea levels and increased storms, Meredith Berger, the former assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, argued at the time.
"2030 is the marker that we laid down initially because the scientific community and others have said that this is the decade of decisive action, and so we’re taking that very seriously," she told reporters.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth applauded Phelan’s move in a post on X: "Well done."
Under Biden’s Navy secretary, Carlos del Toro, the service branch produced a 32-page document deeming climate change "one of the most destabilizing forces of our time."
It laid out a series of climate change-related threats to the Navy: destructive storms, black flag days at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit where strenuous training is curtailed, and strains on the energy grid as people compete for power. The document followed Biden’s own bold plan to make the U.S. economy net-zero-emissions by 2050.
During the Obama administration, then-Navy Sec. Ray Mabus launched an effort dubbed the "Great Green Fleet," aimed at renewable energy sources for warships. The effort was canned by the first Trump administration in 2017.
In February, Hegseth ordered Pentagon agencies to identify 8% of their budget that could be cut, "low-impact and low-priority" Biden-era programs, and the funding redirected to Trump priorities.
Programs that could be on the chopping block include "so-called 'climate change' and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy," according to Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses.
. @SecDef "No more social engineering. No more climate change worship. No more electric tanks. No more gender confusion. No more pronouns. No more excuses. No more quotas.
No more WOKE bullsh*t that undermines commanders and command climates. We are laser focused on our mission… pic.twitter.com/02v9OTHDij
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Savin
[REGNUM] On April 22, in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, unidentified men emerged from a forest near the town of Pahalwam and opened fire on a group of civilians, including tourists, with automatic weapons. According to Indian estimates, 27 people were killed and dozens more were wounded. A little-known group called Kashmir Resistance claimed responsibility.
New Delhi, however, blamed Pakistan directly and immediately expelled Pakistani diplomats, closed the border (the only land checkpoint, Wagah, operates between Lahore and Amritsar) and cancelled visas for all Pakistani citizens.
In addition, the water treaty, which obliges the parties not to restrict river flows - the Indus, Jhelum, Ravi and Chenab flow into Pakistan from India - was denounced. To top it all off, India has launched counter-terrorism operations in the Kashmir Valley and along the Line of Control.
Pakistan, for its part, said the allegations were baseless and in violation of bilateral agreements and UN Security Council resolutions. Indian military advisers in Pakistan were declared persona non grata, visas for Indian citizens were cancelled, and the armed forces were put on alert.
Pakistani airspace is now closed to Indian aircraft. Economic interaction, including contacts through third countries, has been completely suspended.
The Pakistani Prime Minister's office also issued a statement: if India restricts water supplies to Pakistan, it will be considered a military action and any means may be used in response. And the Pakistani stock exchange responded to the incident by falling indicators.
The escalation is obvious, although its real causes are clearly politicized by the Indian side. Pakistan has also suffered from the actions of various extremist and separatist groups for many years, and the annual number of victims in the country is significantly higher than in India.
Well, mutual accusations and placing blame on the intelligence services of the opposing country are commonplace, since the two states have been at odds since the very beginning of their independence from Britain in 1947.
Putting aside historical grievances, the most pressing question is how India, which is much stronger than Pakistan economically and militarily, will behave. But since Pakistan has nuclear weapons, there is a risk of further escalation. It is no coincidence that year after year, Western experts have identified Kashmir as a potential hotbed of regional war.
Assuming that New Delhi follows the logic of previous precedents, India may well launch a limited retaliatory strike. The only question is where and at whom?
The most recent major attack took place in February 2019 in Pulwama, south Kashmir, when a suicide bomber drove up to a police convoy and detonated an explosive device. More than 40 people were killed.
That time, the Jaish-e-Mohammed group claimed responsibility, while India struck in Azad Kashmir, a formally independent quasi-state under Islamabad's protection.
According to a wry Pakistani comment, the strike then “hit trees.” Although India said precision weapons were used to attack a terrorist training camp, there were no casualties on the other side of the Line of Control.
As for the Indian-controlled territory of Kashmir (in addition to the Pakistani part, another historical part of this former princely state is under the control of China, an ally of Pakistan), its special status was revoked in 2019, which led to the loss of some rights by the indigenous people.
As a revenge for this action, which led to a change in the demographic balance, the "Kashmir Resistance" carried out its action. And, probably, the dissatisfied will continue to try to somehow resist the pressure from New Delhi.
In this case, there are interesting nuances that are worth paying attention to.
First, Indian Kashmir is one of the most militarized zones in the world. There are 700,000 Indian soldiers, police, and security personnel on its territory. If they managed to miss such a terrorist attack, then this is a serious failure. And, in addition to the repressive measures promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some cabinet reshuffles should follow.
Secondly, the attack occurred during the visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance, who publicly called on India to buy more American weapons. As is known, Vance's wife is of Indian origin.
In Pakistan itself, there is concern that the attack was nothing more than a false flag operation to justify some radical measures, like those carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip. The “Islamic fundamentalism” narrative, given the historic US war on terror and the current position of the White House, could help. And India could benefit not only from diplomatic solidarity between the US and Israel, but also from their military assistance.
On April 24, a military transport plane flew from the US Air Force base in Qatar to India, which Pakistan also regarded as part of some secret plan directed against it, and possibly China. It should also be noted that the military leadership in Pakistan is now closely connected with the British lobby, which is quite critical of the Trump administration.
If we look objectively at the terrorist threats to India, then, in addition to the long-standing problem in Kashmir itself, India has other vulnerable points. One of them is Punjab, where some Sikhs are interested in creating an independent state of Khalistan.
The other is central and eastern India, where the so-called Naxalite belt stretches from south to north. There are armed Maoist groups there, against whom the government is fighting. And while the state of Jammu and Kashmir is conducting a counter-terrorism operation, similar measures are being taken against the Naxalites in another part of the country.
And according to official data, in the Bastar region of the small central state of Chhattisgarh alone, 1,623 civilians were killed by Maoists between 2021 and 2024, and another 228 were killed by explosive devices. Security forces lost 1,292 people.
Based on these figures alone, it can be concluded that violent deaths in Kashmir were far fewer than those caused by leftist extremists. At the same time, India does not officially accuse China or any other leftist governments of supporting these groups.
Probably, in this sense, Pakistan acts in a more familiar role of opponent for the Indian leadership, which is not forgotten by the historical memory of the first (1947-1949) and second (1965) Indo-Pakistani wars for Kashmir, as well as the Kargil War (1999). And the establishment of direct contact with the US administration on the one hand and membership in such structures as BRICS and the SCO on the other significantly expand India's ability to dictate its geopolitical interests.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Pakistan will regard India's attempt to divert the flow of water from the Indus River as an act of war. This was stated by the country's National Security Committee.
"Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water, or usurp the rights of lower riparian states, will be considered an act of war," the department said in a decision published by Dawn.
The committee also said that trade with India, including to and from any other country via Pakistan, is being suspended. Islamabad is also stopping all visas under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) visa waiver scheme. Visas issued to Indian citizens are now considered cancelled.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, following the meeting of the Pakistani Security Council, which was held in connection with New Delhi's reaction to the terrorist attack in the Indian part of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan decided to close its airspace to India. The press service of the country's Prime Minister's Secretariat clarified that this decision concerns all Indian or Indian-run airlines.
In addition, Pakistan is closing the Wagah crossing point with immediate effect. All cross-border transit from India via this route shall be suspended without exception. Those who have crossed the border with the appropriate permits may return through this crossing point, but not later than April 30.
On April 22, gunmen opened fire in the city of Pahalgam. They opened fire on tourists who were horse riding. At least 27 people were killed, including foreigners, women and elderly people. The attackers managed to escape.
According to the News18 TV channel, the Lashkar-e-Taiba group (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.
That evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to Indian President Droupadhi Murmu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the terrorist attack near the city of Pahalgam. The Russian leader also confirmed his readiness to further increase cooperation with Indian partners in the fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/25/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Despite a procedural victory for Israel, officials in Jerusalem condemn the fact that court did not cancel the arrest warrants for war crimes charges against Netanyahu and Gallant
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) unanimously ruled on Thursday to return to a lower chamber Israel’s challenge against the court’s jurisdiction to try Israeli citizens for war crimes, saying an initial decision on the issue had failed to sufficiently address Jerusalem’s arguments that it is entitled to challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
In a procedural victory for the Jewish state, the ruling by all five judges upheld Jerusalem’s assertion that it had a right to appeal the jurisdiction issue, but did not deal with the substance of the case. The Appeal Chamber’s language was nevertheless critical of the Pre-Trial Chamber’s failure to consider the merits of Israel’s challenge.
The Appeals Chamber said it was not ruling on Israel’s request that arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant issued last year for suspected war crimes 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... be suspended, arguing the issue was not directly connected to the matter of jurisdiction, and saying it was for the Pre-Trial Chamber to determine.
An aide to Netanyahu condemned the decision not to suspend the arrest warrants, saying "Israel expects the [ICC] to cancel the warrants immediately."
And Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... Danny Danon said the decision to revisit the question of jurisdiction "exposes the lack of legitimacy behind the political arrest warrants."
Prof. Yuval Shany of Hebrew University’s Faculty of Law, who filed an amicus brief to the ICC in July last year challenging the court’s jurisdiction, said the Appeal’s Chamber ruling "does not reflect very positively on the Pre-Trial Chamber’s performance."
In May 2024, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over their conduct of the war against Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... in Gaza, on charges of crimes against humanity and other war crimes charges.
Specifically, Khan accused the two leaders of "causing extermination," "causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies," and deliberately targeting civilians in a conflict.
Despite challenges filed by Israel and other nations to the prosecutor’s request, including on issues of jurisdiction, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I rejected those arguments and approved Khan’s request for warrants in November 2024.
Israel filed two appeals to that decision in December.
One appeal dealt with the jurisdiction issue, with Israel arguing that since the terms of the Oslo Accords signed by Israel and the Paleostinians explicitly deny any Paleostinian entity legal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, the Paleostinian Authority never had the right to delegate jurisdiction to the ICC in the first place.
When the ICC announced an investigation into Israel in 2021, Israel raised this issue and the court ruled it would only decide on "further questions of jurisdiction" if and when the prosecutor filed requests for arrest warrants for Israelis.
When ruling on Khan’s request for warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I asserted it was too early to consider such arguments.
But the Appeals Chamber ruled on Thursday that the Pre-Trial Chamber had an obligation to consider the jurisdictional challenge by Israel, pointing out that the 2021 ruling had said explicitly that "issues pertaining to the impact of the Oslo Agreements on the Court’s jurisdiction ’may be raised by interested States...’ at a later stage."
The Appeals Chamber added that the lower chamber had therefore "committed an error of law" by failing to sufficiently deal with Israel’s arguments about its right to challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
In its second appeal, Israel contended that Khan should have provided new notification to Israel of his investigation into the allegations regarding the prosecution of the war in Gaza, but instead relied on notification issued in 2021 of an investigation the court had initiated at that time.
Notification is a fundamental principle of the court, whereby the prosecutor must tell the state in question that it is investigating its citizens to allow that country to conduct its own investigation.
In a technical ruling of a three to two majority, the Appeals Chamber ruled that Israel had not had the right to appeal this issue when it did, but may request that the Pre-Trial Chamber grant it permission to appeal, which it has actually done in parallel to the appeal.
A aide close to Netanyahu said in a statement to The Times of Israel following the decision that the Appeals Chamber ruling "highlights the injustice done to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the former defense minister, when the Court issued absurd warrants without having the authority to do so." The source added that "Israel expects the [ICC] to cancel the warrants immediately."
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote in a post on X in that "The [ICC] warrants were issued unlawfully. They are null and void," adding that the ICC "doesn’t have, and never had jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister and its former Minister of Defense."
Sa’ar said the Appeals Court "instructed the Court today, to do what it should have done from the start: to make a determination with respect to jurisdiction. On this topic, there is only one correct answer: the Court has no jurisdiction over Israel."
Danon alleged that the ICC "operates as a political tool serving Israel’s enemies," adding, "When international institutions punish democracies and ignore terrorism, they harm not only Israel but the very values on which the free world is built," in a statement from his office.
[VANGUARDNGR] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria and other African countries to raise tax revenue by expanding the tax base and curtailing tax evasion.
Briefing the press at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the Fund and the World Bank in Washington, yesterday, the Managing Director of the IMF, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, said that those steps were crucial for Nigeria and the entire region to navigate the current global economic challenges.
Her words, ''We have seen over the last years, the African continent having some of the fastest growing economies, but we also have seen low income countries primarily and among the fragile conflict affected countries falling further behind, this is a shock for the continent.
''The direct impact of tariffs on most of Africa, not on all of Africa, but on most of Africa, is relatively small, but the indirect impact is quite significant. Slowing global growth means that all other things equal, they would see a downgrade. And actually we have downgraded the growth prospects for the continent.
''For oil producers like Nigeria, falling oil prices create additional pressure on their budgets. On the other hand, for the oil importers, this is a breath of fresh air. In other words, different countries face different challenges. If I were to come with some basic recommendations that apply to Africa, I would say, and actually, they apply to Nigeria, they apply to Egypt, they apply to Ghana, they apply to Cote d'Ivoire.
[IsraelTimes] The Israeli military acknowledges that troops mistakenly shelled a United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... facility in central 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... last month, killing a UN worker.
Until now, the IDF denied it had struck the UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah on March 19.
The IDF’s high-level General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war, is looking into the event.
The mechanism’s initial findings were presented today to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and UN representatives, the military says.
According to the findings, on March 19, an IDF tank operating in the area fired a shell at the building, following a "suspicion of enemy forces in it." The investigation has found that the building was not identified by the tank crew as belonging to the UN.
Zamir has instructed the head of the mechanism, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Har-Even, to conclude the probe in the coming days and present the full findings to the UN representatives.
The IDF says it "regrets this serious incident and continues to conduct thorough review processes to draw operational lessons and evaluate additional measures to prevent such events in the future."
"We express our deep sorrow for the loss and send our condolences to the family," the military says.
#2
The investigation has found that the building was not identified by the tank crew as belonging to the UN.
Then its a "Oopsie!" in a war theater. The original Geneva required that sanctuary buildings be clearly and unequivocally marked to avoid such mishaps. Just because the UN doesn't want its buildings shelled is not enough.
[IsraelTimes] IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir tells officers in the Gaza Strip today that if there is no hostage deal in the near future, the military will significantly expand its offensive against Hamas.
“We are continuing with the operational pressure and tightening the ring around Hamas as needed, and if we see no progress in the return of the hostages, we will expand our activities to an intense and even more significant move, until we reach the defeat [of Hamas],” Zamir says.
“Hamas is responsible for the start of this war. It now holds the hostages cruelly and is responsible for the difficult state of the population in Gaza. Hamas is mistaken when it comes to our abilities, intentions and determination, just like [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah and his top command,” he adds.
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Israel Katz has approved the entry of 600 Syrian Druzeholy mans into Israel tomorrow to celebrate the holiday of Ziyara at the tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Lower Galilee, the Walla news site reports.
This would mark the first time Syrian Druze visitors are permitted to stay overnight in Israel. They will return to Syria the following day.
In March, Katz authorized a similar visit for 60 holy mans, who met with the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, and visited the sacred site.
The IDF’s Northern Command is expected to heighten its readiness during the visit and will oversee the crossing of the holy mans across the border, according to the report.
[IsraelTimes] In desperate push for removal of US sanctions, Islamist leader tells American lawmaker Syria wants to normalize ties with Jerusalem ‘under the right conditions’
New Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Damascus seeks to normalize ties with Israel, US Congressman Cory Mills
…(R-Florida), 82nd Airborne sergeant — Yugoslavia and Iraq, business owner …
told Bloomberg on Thursday after a meeting with him last week in Syria.
Mills said he held talks with Sharaa about the conditions for removing US-imposed economic sanctions, as well as the possibility of peace with Israel, according to the report.
Sharaa told Mills during their meeting that Syria is interested "under the right conditions" in joining the Abraham Accords — the series of normalization agreements that US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... ’s previous administration negotiated between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
According to Mills, Sharaa is also open to clarifying how he plans to address the presence of imported muscle still operating in Syria and offer guarantees to Israel, which remains deeply distrustful of the Syrian leader and opposes any easing of sanctions.
Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership has pushed for the US and Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to fully lift sanctions so the country can kickstart an economy decimated by more than a decade of civil war.
Mills, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, and US Congressman Marlin Stutzman
…(R), farmer, business owner….
of Indiana, both landed in Damascus on Friday to meet Syrian officials, the first visit by American politicians to the war-ravaged country since Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... was ousted from power by an Islamist-led rebel offensive in December.
Mills met with Sharaa, who is still under US and UN sanctions for his previous ties to al-Qaeda, on Friday night, during which the two discussed the US sanctions and 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 some 90 minutes.
Mills told Bloomberg that he will bring Trump a letter from Sharaa, without providing details on its contents, and that he will brief the US president and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz after his trip.
"I am cautiously optimistic and look to maintain open dialogue," Mills said.
Mills and Stutzman, both members of Trump’s Republican party, toured parts of the Syrian capital destroyed by the war, met with Christian religious leaders, and said they planned to meet other Syrian government ministers.
"There’s an opportunity here — these opportunities come around once in a lifetime," Stutzman told Rooters. "I don’t want Syria pushed into the arms of China, or back into the arms of Russia and Iran."
Last month, the US gave Syria a list of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief — including removing imported muscle from leadership roles — but the Trump administration has otherwise engaged little with the new rulers.
Stutzman said Syrians in Damascus spoke to him about Israel’s strikes on the country, which have targeted military sites in the south as well as around the capital. Israel has also sent ground troops into a buffer zone in southern Syria and has repeatedly expressed its distrust of Sharaa.
"My hope is that a strong government is established in Syria that is supportive of the people of Syria, and the people of Syria support the government — and that the relationship between Israel and Syria can be a strong relationship. I think that’s possible, honestly, I do," Stuzman said.
Among the conditions placed by the US to remove its sanctions on Syria is the destruction of any remaining chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented... stores and cooperation on counter-terrorism, sources told Rooters last month.
In return for fulfilling all the demands, Washington would provide some sanctions relief, sources said. One specific action would be a two-year extension of an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions and possibly the issuance of another exemption.
The US would also issue a statement supporting Syria’s territorial integrity, reported Rooters, adding that Washington did not provide a specific timeline for the conditions to be fulfilled.
SYRIA’S AIMS AND ISRAEL’S MISTRUST
In a past interview with The Economist in February, Sharaa explicitly said he doesn’t rule out regional normalization, but noted that accomplishing it with Israel is complex.
When asked if he could establish ties with Israel as part of a broad peace deal in the Middle East, Sharaa said his country "want[s] peace with all parties, but there is great sensitivity regarding the Israeli matter in the region."
He named the three major wars fought between Israel and Syria, and Israel’s control over the captured Golan Heights since 1967, as complicating issues.
Israel has since annexed the portion of the Golan Heights that it captured in 1967, and the move was recognized by Trump in his last term. However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... it has not been recognized by the rest of the international community.
"We entered Damascus only two months ago, and there are many priorities in front of us, so it is too early to discuss such a matter because it requires a wide public opinion. It also requires a lot of procedures and laws in order to discuss it, and to be honest, we have not considered it yet," Sharaa said at the time.
The report on Sharaa’s desire to join the Abraham Accords is not surprising, said Carmit Valensi, senior researcher on Syria and head of the northern arena program at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
"Al-Sharaa has made several comments in recent months expressing an interest in peace with their [Syria’s] neighbors and saying they have no desire to enter into conflict with Israel," she told The Times of Israel.
Valensi acknowledged "the restrained and cautious policy" Sharaa has adopted toward Jerusalem, saying how "Despite the IDF’s presence in Syrian territory, despite the intense Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and Israel’s demand to demilitarize southern Syria, [Syrian leaders] have not tried to act against or challenge Israel—in fact, they’ve generally maintained moderate rhetoric toward it."
A day after the fall of the Assad regime, Israel sent its troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights, where it now maintains a military presence. The IDF has described its presence in southern Syria’s buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, though Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that troops will remain deployed in the area "indefinitely."
Israel has repeatedly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... , the Islamist faction headed by Sharaa that toppled Assad and emerged from a group that was affiliated with al-Qaeda until it cut ties in 2016. Israel has also expressed its intention to prevent Syria from falling into the hands of any hostile regime.
Israeli and Ottoman Turkish delegations met in Azerbaijan earlier this month for Syria deconfliction talks aimed at preventing unwanted incidents as both countries’ militaries operate in the country.
Last month, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rebuked Sharaa and called for international condemnation of the actions of Syria’s new rulers, after reports that over a thousand civilians were massacred in the country’s Alawite heartland.
"They were jihadists and remain jihadists, even if some of their leaders have donned suits," said Sa’ar, referring to Sharaa.
TRUMP’S AMBITIONS AND THE "RIGHT CONDITIONS"
Trump vowed in March that more countries would be added to the Abraham Accords, speaking to news hounds at a cabinet meeting at the White House.
US Vice President JD Vance added that with the return of Trump to the White House, they are being tasked with "building out the Abraham Accords, adding new countries to it," and that while it’s "early, we’ve made a lot of progress."
Trump reiterated this on Thursday.
Asked whether he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump responded, "Maybe for the Abraham Accords."
Speaking to news hounds in the Oval Office, the American leader reiterated his claim that additional countries will normalize relations with Israel through brokering from the US. "We are going to be filling it up very rapidly... A lot of countries want to come into the Abraham Accords," he said.
"There’s no doubt that it takes a fair amount of courage to make such a statement," said Valensi about Sharaa’s expression of interest in normalizing ties with Israel.
"Sharaa is already facing serious criticism over the moderation process he’s undergoing, and that criticism is only going to intensify now. The question is the second part of the sentence: what does he consider the ’right conditions’? That’s what we’ll need to find out."
"I think it will be easier for [Syria] to move [toward normalization with Israel] if there’s also progress with Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , so the move would be perceived as part of a regional trend," Valensi continued.
"As for the conditions, they could range from a minimal demand for troop withdrawal and a halt to attacks, to more strategic demands regarding the future of the Golan Heights—an Israeli withdrawal, or at the very least, a declaration of it as a demilitarized zone or under joint control."
In a sign that Sharaa was moving beyond talk, Paleostinian media reported Tuesday that the new Syrian regime arrested Khaled Khaled, in charge of the Syrian arena in the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... terror organization, and Abu Ali Yasser, responsible for the organization’s executive committee in Syria, though there was no official confirmation from Syrian authorities on the matter.
In an official statement, the PIJ said they were arrested in a manner "they wouldn’t expect" from Syria.
Mahyar Tousi is a journalist and podcaster whose father is in hiding in Iran. He stands against rising Islamism, but police in the UK have been trying to stop him from speaking out.
[IsraelTimes] Rubio says US looking to avoid war, but will do whatever necessary to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons; satellite images show regime fortifying buried nuclear facilities
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... is determined to prevent 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... from attaining a nuclear weapon, and would prefer to do that by negotiations as opposed to military means. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome... he said the US would be willing to see Tehran have a civilian nuclear program as long as it was not enriching uranium.
"We do not want a war," Rubio told Bari Weiss on her Honestly podcast.
"We do not want to see war. This is not a president that campaigned on starting wars. And as he said very clearly, Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon, and he reserves every right to prevent that from happening, but he would prefer it not happen. He would prefer that there not be a need to resort to military force, either by us or anybody else. He would prefer that it’d be something that we can negotiate."
Rubio offered a vote of confidence in US special envoy Steve Witkoff, the leading American representative in the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, saying "We have good people negotiating."
"The Iranians have shown a willingness to talk. We’re going to talk to them," stressed Rubio, adding that "if Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one. That is, they import enriched material."
Rubio emphasized how "complex" a war with Iran would be, explaining that, "Any military action at this point in the Middle East, whether it’s against Iran by us or anybody else, could in fact trigger a broader conflict."
"They have spent billions of dollars developing military capabilities that we’re seeing, for example, being used in Ukraine right now, with drones and the like," he noted.
A third round of US-Iran nuclear talks is scheduled for Saturday in Oman.
IRAN DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENSE
While Washington asserts Iran’s openness to a nuclear deal that could prevent military confrontation, Tehran is ringing two deeply buried tunnel complexes with a massive security perimeter linked to its main nuclear facility amid US and Israeli threats of attack, a report said Wednesday.
The Institute for Science and International Security released its report based on recent satellite imagery as the US and Iran prepare for this weekend’s talks.
Trump, who pulled the US out of a 2015 pact designed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, has threatened to bomb Iran unless a deal is quickly reached that would ensure that same goal.
Trump’s withdrawal prompted Iran to breach many of the pact’s restraints. Western powers suspect it is pursuing the capability to assemble a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies.
David Albright, the institute president, said the new perimeter suggested that the tunnel complexes, under construction beneath Mt. Kolang Gaz La for several years, could become operational relatively soon.
Tehran has not allowed UN nuclear inspectors access to the complexes, Albright said.
That has raised concerns that they could be used to store Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium or undeclared nuclear materials, and advanced centrifuges that could quickly purify enough uranium for a bomb, he said.
Iran has said that advanced centrifuges would be assembled in one complex in place of a facility at the nearby Natanz plant, the centerpiece of its nuclear program, which it said was destroyed by sabotage in 2020.
The complexes, Albright said, are being built at depths much greater than Iran’s deeply buried uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom.
Commercial satellite images taken on March 29 showed hardened entrances to the complexes, high wall panels erected along the verges of a graded road encircling the mountain peak, and excavations for the installation of more panels, the report said.
The north side of the perimeter joins the Natanz plant security ring, it said.
The ongoing construction at the complexes appears to underscore Tehran’s rejection of demands that any talks with the US lead to the total dismantlement of its nuclear program, saying it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.
Israel has not ruled out a strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that any talks must lead to the complete dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, referring to concerns about the vulnerability of the country’s nuclear program, on Tuesday appeared to refer to projects such as the construction of the new security perimeter around the tunnel complexes.
"Efforts are ongoing" to "expand protective measures" at nuclear facilities, Eslami was quoted by Iranian state media as saying.
CHINA IN THE MIX
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited China on Wednesday for consultations ahead of the talks in Oman, which will be led by Araghchi and Witkoff.
A technical meeting between nuclear experts from the two countries will also be held on Saturday in the Omani capital of Muscat.
"It is necessary for us to keep our friends in China informed of developments and to consult with them," Araghchi told Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
He said it was too early to judge the outcome of Iran-US talks, but that negotiations were going in the right direction.
China was a party to the 2015 nuclear agreement before Trump abandoned the arrangement.
"China has played an important and constructive role on the nuclear issue in the past, and the same role is certainly necessary in the future," the Iranian minister added.
TEHRAN ACCUSES US, ISRAEL OF UNDERMINING PROGRESS Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... Iran’s foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned new US sanctions targeting its oil network, calling the move a sign of Washington’s "hostile approach" ahead of continued talks.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry front man Esmaeil Baqaei said the US policy of imposing sanctions on the Iranian people was a "clear contradiction with the United States’ demand for dialogue and negotiation and indicates America’s lack of goodwill and seriousness in this regard."
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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.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...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 
