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Over 80 Al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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12:20 2 16:33 DarthVader [113]
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Tearful wife of 'migrant influencer' who urged others to 'invade' US, squat in homes can't see husband inside Ohio jail
[NY Post] The wife of the "migrant influencer" who urged people to "invade" the United States grew emotional Saturday as she revealed she’s not allowed to see her jailed husband.
Prob'ly afraid she won't leave.
Veronica Torres was spotted crying outside the Sonesta Simply Suites Columbus Airport long-stay hotel in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus, a day after her husband Leonel Moreno was booked into jail.
Oh, woe is me! Oh, boo hoo!"
"We don’t know where they took him and I can’t see him," she told The Post. "I can’t give you any more information because I don’t know much."
And that's today's news, Rantburg.
Many hotel guests — half of whom are paying guests — said they saw Moreno inside the hotel last week before his arrest and said he "kept to himself."
"Dey're comin' fer me, Manuel! I gotta hide!"
"Have you thought about Nicaragua?"

"I’ve seen him here for a week," Chrissy Rowell, 30, told The Post. "He didn’t bother anyone."
"They disappeared him for no reason at all!"

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Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2024 17:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [86 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia Foreign Ministry demands that Ukraine arrest the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 12:20 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [113 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Or what? They will invade? Morons.

Snark O'The Day
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 12:21 Comments || Top||



Science & Technology
Eat Your Broccoli!
[Epoch Times] Researchers from the Heart Research Institute (HRI) in Australia have found that a common vegetable eaten by millions every day may be able to prevent and treat a leading cause of death worldwide.

The study, published in the journal ACS Central Science, shows results from a three-year investigation into how a natural chemical found in broccoli can help dissolve blood clots and improve the action of a common clot-busting drug used to treat an acute ischemic stroke.

"What we found in a preclinical trial is that the tPA success rate increases to 60 per cent [sic] when the medication is given with the broccoli-derived [sulforaphane]," Mr. Liu said in an HRI interview. "Excitingly, this naturally occurring compound does not cause any signs of bleeding, which is a common side effect associated with blood-thinning agents tested in stroke treatment."

The only drug currently available to treat an acute ischemic stroke is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a thrombolytic agent that breaks up blood clots and restores adequate blood flow to the brain. Unfortunately, tPA comes with severe limitations and potential dangers, including bleeding into the brain with up to a 45 percent fatality rate when this occurs.

Xuyu Liu, the study’s lead researcher, who holds a doctorate in chemical biology, stated on the HRI website in 2022: “Current treatments are a double-edged sword—by clearing blood clots, it also means a patient has an increased risk of bleeding in the brain should they need emergency surgery. We are looking for clues in nature to find this magic anti-clotting drug which can work where it’s needed but also still allow patients to have antithrombotic treatments.”

HRI researchers discovered that the natural chemical in broccoli, sulforaphane, may improve the performance of tPA and could lead to newer, safer, and more effective medications for acute stroke.
Research is still at the pre-clinical phase. So we’ll have to see if human clinical trails prove that it works in the real world. In the meantime, especially if you’ve had Covid, eat your cruciferous vegetables!

Posted by: Bobby || 03/31/2024 08:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [247 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes, cruciferous plants (cross shaped flowers). Cabbage is also good.
Posted by: ed in texas || 03/31/2024 9:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Steamed broccoli with Soy Vay sauce is a favorite of mine.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 9:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Homemade chicken broccoli potato soup.
Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 9:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Yuck. Would rather risk a heart attack
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 13:14 Comments || Top||

#5  Raw broccoli in salads is yummy! Cooked not so much.
Posted by: magpie || 03/31/2024 13:37 Comments || Top||

#6  It’s good when breaded deep fried
Posted by: Beavis || 03/31/2024 13:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Boosh doesn't like it. That makes me like it more.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 14:34 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Three girls, between 12 and 13, arrested for beating disabled man to death on DC street
[NY Post] A 12-year-old girl and two 13-year-olds were arrested this week in Washington DC for a brutal 2023 attack on a disabled man in which they chased him through an alley and stomped him to death, reports said.

The three maiden of tender yearss were allegedly caught on camera carrying out what detectives described as the "horrific" Oct. 17 middle-of-the-night attack murder of Reggie Brown.

The graphic video showed a group of five girls chasing the disabled 64-year-old down an alley and ripping him off a chain link fence as he desperately tried to flee.

They stomped his head on the concrete before pulling his pants down to his ankles and using his own belt to beat him, Sherlocks testified in court Friday, according to the Washington Post.

The deranged group allegedly laughed as Brown began bleeding from his head, with one of the girls shouting: "He’s leaking!"
As if it were merely a video game instead of real life.
Brown was found dead on the street just before 1 a.m. suffering from gruesome injuries consistent with assault, according to Metro Police. An autopsy later listed his manner of death as blunt force trauma.

According to police, Brown was disabled and had mental health issues. He also had a metal plate in his head and only two fingers on each hand.

“My uncle really didn’t deserve this,” a niece of Brown’s said in a statement to News4.

“He was known in this community for years so for this to happen where he lived for 64 [years] is insane. They have to be held accountable!”

Detective Harry Singleton testified that a man in his early 20s initiated the attack by grabbing Brown by the collar and throwing him against a brick wall.

The girls happened to be walking by at the time, one of whom asked the man, “Can I fight him?” to which he responded “Yes.”
Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2024 04:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [285 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Even if convicted I would be surprised they spend any time in jail; it is not like they walked past the Capital on Jan 6
Posted by: Airandee || 03/31/2024 7:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Lord of the Flies
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2024 8:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Paul Kersey for President.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 8:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Since they don't mention race, I bet I know what race they are and it breaks the narrative.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 10:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Asking permission and making quips, out at midnight, isn't deranged. Its a lifestyle.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:09 Comments || Top||

#6  DV - the victim was black. If the perps were anything other than black it would be in the first sentence
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2024 12:40 Comments || Top||

#7  My first thought was Rudyard Kipling's The Young British Soldier :
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
"

Tribal barbarism on display here.
Posted by: magpie || 03/31/2024 13:21 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm not surprised that DC has severe crime problems. A dangerous place.
Posted by: JohnQC || 03/31/2024 16:23 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
This Good Friday, 100s of J6ers Still in Prison
[PJMedia] This Good Friday, when Christians remember the arrest, Passion, and death of Christ, hundreds of Americans are still in prison, some for years without trial.

Jan. 6 protester Adam Johnson, a father of five, highlighted the nature of America’s new two-tiered justice system in a piece last year. Johnson was caught on camera smiling and waving while carrying then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) podium through the Capitol rotunda on Jan. 6. He was arrested, isolated, and denied basic hygiene and necessities. This tallies with other J6 prisoners' reports of inhumane conditions, being denied not only rights but necessities like medical care, and being treated worse than terrorists.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Scruggs informed Johnson, "Everyone should be held accountable for their crimes." This to a man who simply entered an open Capitol door and moved furniture. Johnson said he had to endure various punishments, including an ankle monitor, travel restrictions, and random drug tests. Yet when Scruggs was later arrested for violently attacking a motorist with a deadly weapon in a road rage incident, even stabbing another motorist, he was able to post bail within 24 hours and no conditions were set for his release. More than 1,300 individuals have been arrested in connection with Jan. 6, and some of them didn’t even enter the Capitol.

And yet, for all the disturbing double standards, Johnson was one of the lucky Jan. 6 protestors; he wasn't sentenced to many years in jail, as I previously reported:

A peaceful 69-year-old cancer patient who was present on Jan. 6 went to jail. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was unarmed, peaceful, and never entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for "seditious conspiracy." Richard Barnett, who carried — but did not use — a walking stick that doubled as a stun gun on Jan. 6 and was photographed at Nancy Pelosi’s desk, received a 4.5-year jail sentence. A Green Beret Jan. 6 whistleblower was handed a seven-year prison sentence after he "trespassed" at the Capitol. Former Proud Boys leader and Purple Heart recipient Joseph Biggs was sentenced to 17 years in prison because he tore down a fence. These are just a few examples.

Peaceful protestor Raymond Chambers entered the Capitol for only three minutes on Jan. 6, 2021, but he now faces jail time; and several other J6ers with "viable defenses" were convicted around the same time. Jan. 6 prisoner Jake Lang has been in jail for three years, often in reportedly abusive prison conditions, without trial. He and other J6ers, including Philip Anderson, recently said on Twitter/X that they cannot expect objective justice as long as Joe Biden is in office. Regardless of whether a January 6 prisoner actually did commit violent crimes or is completely innocent, he has certain rights under the Constitution, including the right to a speedy trial. That right is being violated.

Pray for the Jan. 6 prisoners and their families this Good Friday, that God be with them and that objective justice be served.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:37 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [133 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Meanwhile, career criminal Guy Rivera (left) is released, walks the streets shooting cops.

NYPD cop, 31, fatally shot by career criminal during Queens traffic stop ID’d as husband, dad of young child
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 1:15 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian sources report an alleged Israeli strike in southwestern area of Daraa
Perhaps there will be an update with actual details in the morning.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian sources are reporting an alleged Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in southwestern Syria, in the Daraa area, according to multiple reports in the Hebrew-language media, which cited no further details.

The strike is not yet reported in Syrian media.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:33 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [134 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Top US general said to lay out Washington's proposed alternative to Rafah offensive ‐ report
How very helpful he is, to be sure.
How do we know he is a "Top General?" He could be a bottom, in the current environment.
I really, really don’t want to know what other people get up to in private. I miss life being G rated.
[IsraelTimes] A top US general laid out Washington’s proposal for an alternative to a ground IDF offensive sought by Israel 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
’s southernmost city of Rafah during a recent conversation with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reports tonight.

According to the report, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, conveyed that the US would not "accept" mass civilian casualties in Rafah, given the toll of civilian deaths in north and central Gaza.

The report says Brown summed up Washington’s proposal which includes securing Gaza’s border with Egypt with technological advances to prevent the smuggling of weapons through the Philadelphi Corridor, the isolation of the city of Rafah and the launch of targeted raids, and the establishment of a joint control room to coordinate on the targeted operations.

The conversation occurred last week during a visit to Washington by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Kan reports.

Israel is intent on operating in Rafah, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",’s last stronghold in Gaza, to dismantle its last four battalions in the city. Washington and much of the Western world have signaled their opposition to the plan, amid mounting concern for over a million Gazooks who have taken refuge in the city from fighting in other areas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Biden administration, the guys that caused the debacle in Afghanistan
...the pack of self-imagined masterminds of strategy and intrigue at the service of the Biden Crime Family and a grateful nation...
have been locked in a growing public spat over the potential ground operation in Rafah.

Last week, a plan to send a senior Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss a Rafah offensive was scrapped by Netanyahu after the US abstained from a UN Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire, ensuring it would pass.

A US official then said the sides were working on a new date for the inter-agency meeting.

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Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:30 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [391 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  US would not "accept" mass civilian casualties in Rafah, given the toll of civilian deaths in north and central Gaza.

Hey CQ, all they have to do is put down their weapons, raise their hands and surrender. Nobody gets hurt.

Notice if you will, he made no comments on the hostages.

Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 1:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Đồng minh của chúng tôi là người Mỹ

زموږ متحدین امریکایان دي
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  https://rantburg.com/headlinez.php

Remains inoperative. Any recommendations on a work-around ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 1:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Same group that planned the withdrawal from Afghanistan, yeah?

Fuck them.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 1:34 Comments || Top||

#5  I agree with DV completely.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 03/31/2024 7:56 Comments || Top||

#6  the establishment of a joint control room to coordinate on the targeted operations.

Will Brandon need to sign off on each individual rules of engagement? In real time, of course.
Posted by: Bobby || 03/31/2024 8:38 Comments || Top||

#7  When it was the War Department before it became the Department of the Army, how many wars did it win and how many after? When it was the War Department how many foreign adventures and commitments did it have? Would the old War Department standby when its southern borders were overrun?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2024 9:40 Comments || Top||

#8  meddling fool.
Posted by: irish+rage+boy || 03/31/2024 9:58 Comments || Top||

#9  /\ Among a city of "meddling fools."
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 10:01 Comments || Top||

#10  Another affirmative action hire proving the worthlessness of the entire concept.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 10:11 Comments || Top||

#11  Some good news for a change.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 10:53 Comments || Top||

#12  Charlie Brown doesn't take a dump without a plan, son.

Its just that it involves the kitchen sink, a garden hose, a roll of pennies, and a picture of your dad.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:01 Comments || Top||

#13  Ow!
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 11:03 Comments || Top||

#14  Shut the fuck up, you don't tell a sovereign nation what to do.
When people are ordered to evacuate and don't, what happens is on them, not Israel.
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 11:43 Comments || Top||

#15  Must have come as a total surprise.

People in a war zone who have no Plan-B must suffer the consequences. Best of luck to yaz.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 12:16 Comments || Top||

#16  So, General Brown, you've basically endorsed the use of human shields by terrorist groups.

Is there a medal for this?
Posted by: lord+garth || 03/31/2024 13:39 Comments || Top||

#17  Charlie Brown is really gonna kick that football this time.
Posted by: Regular+joe || 03/31/2024 13:46 Comments || Top||

#18  Netanyahu to undergo hernia surgery, Prime Minister's Office says

It's his job - having to deal with Biden.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 14:14 Comments || Top||

#19  The actual decision matrix behind this announcement. The Lightbringer HATES Bibi and Israel, and Jojo was promised an extra pudding cup!




Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/31/2024 14:19 Comments || Top||

#20  At this point, I think a Curtis LeMay firestorm plan would be the best starting option, followed by three days of rubble bouncing and then finally a second firestorm. Once completed, it will be sufficiently prepared for a combined arms entry.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 03/31/2024 18:30 Comments || Top||


Britain
Thousands gather for London anti-Israel rally; police arrest four for hate crimes, public disorder
[IsraelTimes] Thousands of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protesters rallied in London today, in the latest demonstration in the British capital demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and more aid for the war-ravaged territory.

The event, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at Russell Square in the city center before attendees marched to Trafalgar Square for a mid-afternoon rally.

A smaller number of demonstrators also turned out for a counter-protest in support of Israel, with lines of police separating the two gatherings.

London has seen numerous large-scale anti-Israel protests since Israel mounted its military response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, as well as smaller pro-Israel counter-demonstrations.

The rallies for Palestinians have proved contentious, attracting criticism for fueling a hostile environment towards Jewish people. Some ruling Conservative lawmakers have branded them "hate marches."

Police have made dozens of arrests over those months for antisemitic chanting and banners, promoting a proscribed organization, and assaulting emergency workers.

That included on Saturday, with officers making four arrests for hate crime, public disorder and terrorism offences.

A man was detained for the terror-related offence related to "inviting support for a proscribed organization," London’s Metropolitan Police say.

Organizers have insisted throughout they are exercising their democratic rights and that law-breakers make up a tiny minority of the sometimes tens of thousands of people who have turned out.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this month called for officers to take tougher action against protesters at such events, saying they "had descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence".

The pro-terrorist mob is marching through London carrying their genocidal signs. pic.twitter.com/uFohdPKvwV

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) March 30, 2024


Protesting the Hamas demonstration in London today and demanding release of hostages still being tortured and sexually abused by Hamas in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Xk8NKcOrEg

— Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ ⋁ (@COLRICHARDKEMP) March 30, 2024


Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:26 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [247 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Police have made dozens of arrests over those months for antisemitic chanting and banners, promoting a proscribed organization, and assaulting emergency workers.

Any convictions?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 1:23 Comments || Top||

#2  its time to evict ALL muslims from civilized nations. A muslim is defined by subscription to sharia law which is uncivilized.
Posted by: irish+rage+boy || 03/31/2024 9:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Arrests? What they do, say an officer looks like a thespian? Not pay their BBC bill?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:30 Comments || Top||



Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS kills four pro-regime soldiers in Raqqa: Monitor
[Rudaw] At least four pro-regime soldiers were killed on Wednesday in a desert attack by Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) cells in northern Raqqa province, a war monitor reported, amid fears of a resurgence of the terror group.

"Armed men from ISIS launched a surprise attack with light and medium weapons in the deep of the Syrian desert, targeting military points of the National Defense Forces [NDF] ... and killing four members of the militia," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor.

ISIS attacks have been on the rise in Syria, particularly in the vast expanses of its eastern and northern deserts where the terror group launches surprise attacks amid a security vacuum.

On Monday, ISIS killed 11 unsuspecting truffle hunters in the Raqqa desert, days after five people, including NDF fighters, were killed in an ISIS attack in the same area while hunting for truffles.

The NDF is a pro-government militia that has fought alongside Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

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Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:07 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [130 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraq
Baghdad takes KRG to court over closing IDP camps
[Rudaw] On Sunday, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit filed by Baghdad accusing Erbil of failing to shut down camps hosting people who have been displaced from federally-controlled provinces for years.

The Iraqi government has closed most internally displaced person (IDP) camps in the country and on January 23 it set June 30 as a deadline for the Kurdistan Region to close its camps. Erbil has refused to forcibly close the camps, leading Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced Evan Faeq Jabro to file a lawsuit against the Kurdish government.

There are more than 630,000 IDPs in the Kurdistan Region, though most of them reside outside of the 23 camps established across Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaimani provinces, according to figures from the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Joint Crisis Coordination Center. The Kurdistan Region was hosting several million IDPs at the peak of the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS).

Iraq says there are over 30,000 IDPs from Iraq’s southern and central provinces living in the Kurdistan Region’s camps. Baghdad has offered four million dinars to families who return to their homes by July 30 - the date the federal government will cease all aid for IDPs.

Despite the financial incentive, many families are reluctant to leave because of continuing violence in their hometowns, a lack of reconstruction following the destruction of their homes, and little in the way of basic services. Some who voluntarily left the camps have been forced to return, unable to piece together the basics.

The camps in the Kurdistan Region suffer from a lack of funds. In December, a Sulaimani migration department official told Rudaw that residents of Arbat camp were moved to Ashti camp to save money after aid was cut off.

Human rights advocates have expressed concern about Iraq’s push to close the camps and said that all returns must be voluntary.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:05 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [117 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi soldier killed in suspected ISIS attack in Kirkuk
[Rudaw] An Iraqi soldier was killed in Kirkuk province on Friday in a suspected attack by the Islamic State (ISIS), a military source told Rudaw.

A member of Iraq’s armed forces told Rudaw on condition of anonymity that one of his colleagues from the 44th Brigade was killed in a valley located on the border of Kirkuk and Salahaddin provinces.

"Despite a response from my colleagues, no ISIS members were hurt. They managed to run away," said the soldier, who was off-duty at the time of the attack, but was told what occurred by his fellow soldiers.

The incident took place in Shay Valley in the Daquq district of Kirkuk province.

ISIS has not immediately claimed responsibility.

The Iraqi government has said that ISIS is no longer a public security threat as the group has been confined. Baghdad is now in talks with the United States to wind down the global mission against the terror group in Iraq.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 04:02 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [87 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa North
IMF confirms more than doubling Egypt's bailout loan to $8 billion
[IsraelTimes] The executive board of the International Monetary Fund confirms a deal with Egypt to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion, in a move that is meant to shore up the Arab country’s economy which is hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation.

In a statement, the board says its decision will enable Egypt to immediately receive about $820 million as part of the deal that was announced earlier this month.

The deal was achieved after Egypt agreed with the IMF on a reform plan that is centered on floating the local currency, reducing public investment and allowing the private sector to become the engine of growth, the statement says.

Egypt has already floated the pound and sharply increased the main interest rate. Commercial banks are now trading the US currency at more than 47 pounds, up from about 31 pounds. The measures are meant to combat ballooning inflation and attract foreign investment.

The Egyptian economy has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and most recently, the Israel-Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
. The Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea have slashed Suez Canal revenues, which is a major source for foreign currency. The attacks forced traffic away from the canal and around the tip of Africa.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:54 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [150 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pouring water into a leaky bucket
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 3:13 Comments || Top||


Europe
Second aid shipment for Gaza leaves Cyprus port with 400 tons of food
[IsraelTimes] A second shipment of aid carrying almost 400 tons of food for Gaza left Cyprus’s Larnaca port on Saturday, a Reuters witness said.

A cargo vessel already anchored outside the port carrying aid was joined by a salvage vessel and a platform also carrying aid and which had previously been moored in port, the witness said. The salvage vessel will be towing the aid.

It will be the second dispatch of aid via Cyprus where Cypriot authorities have established, in cooperation with Israel, a maritime corridor to facilitate pre-screened cargoes arriving directly to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:52 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [68 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IDF strikes Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon after Saturday morning rocket fire
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [143 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Jordan's FM says ‘famine' in Gaza can be avoided if all Israeli crossings opened
[IsraelTimes] Contrariwise, Hamas could just lay down their arms and give back the hostages. After all, there was no famine in Gaza on Octover 6th. Nor is there now, except for those who can’t afford to buy the tons of stolen donated supplies now available in Gazan street markets.

Update from Twitter at 12:35 p.m ET:
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [138 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  There is no famine in Gaza - there's food rotting on the ground
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 3:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Hamas slashes food prices as Gaza flooded with humanitarian aid
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 14:12 Comments || Top||


After nearly six months of war, hostages' families join with anti-government rallies
What the hell is wrong with these people? How are they incapable of realizing that Hamas are the ones refusing to negotiate, and that every time they protest they strengthen Hamas’s resolve?
[IsraelTimes] ’We will not meet here again,’ says father of abductee at Tel Aviv’s Hostages’ Square rally; tens of thousands at protests across Israel; over a dozen arrested in clashes with police

Tens of thousands of people turned out for mass protests across Israel on Saturday night as the weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv by the hostages’ families took a dramatic turn after speakers called on attendees to "take to the streets" and join the anti-government protesters in the heart of the city, announcing an apparent discontinuation of the separate gathering.

Eli Albag, father of Hamas-held hostage Liri Albag, said there would be no more separate protests at Hostages’ Square in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

"This is the last Shabbat that we will be here," he said. "We won’t meet here anymore, we will be in the streets... this is the moment where we turn off the lights."

The only light that remained on stage was from a giant screen with a message to protesters in Hostages’ Square: "Come with us to Begin [Street] and Dizengoff Street to make our shouts heard. All of them, now!"

"The rallies are over, the protests have just begun," tweeted Hostages and Missing Families Forum spokesman Haim Rubinstein soon after the announcement from the stage.

Police made over a dozen arrests in Tel Aviv where some protesters blocked major roads, and deployed water canons to disperse the demonstrations.

Clashes with police were also recorded in Jerusalem, where about 200 protesters burst through a set of police barriers to demonstrate about 100 yards from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Azza Street, and in Caesarea where police detained protesters who blocked roads near Netanyahu’s private residence and chanted for the PM to resign.

Protesters also gathered in Sderot, Or Akiva, and Beersheba, in the wake of the public statement by hostage family members, calling the longtime prime minister an "obstacle to a deal" to release the hostages.

The protests were among the largest since the war broke out on October 7 with Hamas’s shock onslaught that killed 1,200 and saw 253 taken hostage, about 130 of whom remain in Gaza, not all of them alive.

Efforts to secure a second hostage deal, following the one in November in which 105 were freed, have faltered but have not been called off.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of Hamas captive Matan Zangauker, called Netanyahu’s handling of the hostage issue "incomprehensible and criminal," in a speech on Saturday night in Jerusalem.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu, after you abandoned our families on October 7, and after 176 days when you didn’t bring a deal [for their return], and because you are continually engaged in torpedoing a deal, we have realized that you are the obstacle to the deal. You are the obstacle. You are the one who stands between us and the return home of our loved ones," she said.

"From now," she pledged, "we will work to immediately replace you. We have concluded that that is the fastest way to bring a deal... We will demonstrate and demand your ouster. We will publicly hound you."

After the anti-government rally dispersed on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street and participants in the hostage families’ protest left the Hostages’ Square, a mass of demonstrators from both events converged at the nearby Begin Street where Brothers and Sisters in Arms, a reservist group that was among the leaders of last year’s anti-judicial overhaul protests, called for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

There was a large police presence throughout the entire area, with barricades on large chunks Begin and Kaplan streets, as well as some of the exits to the Ayalon Highway to prevent protesters from blocking that road.

Like in previous weeks, protesters lit a bonfire on the road, which police extinguished, only for another one to be lit. Many demonstrators waved torches, a symbol of the hostages’ plight.

Organizers used the bridge above Begin Street as a makeshift podium from which family members of the hostages spoke one after the other, with more combative rhetoric than that of previous weeks.

Hadas Calderon, whose two children were released from Gaza while their father, Ofer Calderon, remains there, stressed to the crowd below that her children were released only through negotiations and that a deal must be made to release the rest of the hostages.

Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod Cohen, a soldier taken hostage on October 7, spoke after Calderon, saying that he talked with Netanyahu this week as part of a wider group of parents of abducted IDF soldiers, and asked him what price Israel was willing to pay to return his son, and that he never received an answer.

He added that if Netanyahu cannot bring his son home, he should resign and let someone else try.

Early on in the protest on Begin Street, police commander Menashe Mansour declared the rally for a hostage deal illegal and urged protesters to disperse, setting off a series of skirmishes between demonstrators and police. Though this is a weekly occurrence, an announcement came at a much later stage on previous Saturday nights.

A group of protesters also managed to block part of Ayalon Highway and marched southward before police managed to disperse them with water cannons.

Police said they made 16 arrests overall in Tel Aviv and gave fines to nine for disturbances and blocking traffic.

’THE EXCUSES HAVE RUN OUT’
Before the lights went out at Hostages’ Square, two former Hamas hostages who were freed during the truce deal in November spoke harshly about Netanyahu’s conduct, marking a change in tone for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum rallies whose speakers — until this week — made an effort to abstain from overt condemnation of Israel’s current government.

Aviva Siegel, whose husband Keith Siegel remains in captivity, called on Netanyahu and other members of the government to stop treating hostage negotiations "as if they are a children’s game."

"You cannot bring back the delegation from Qatar without a deal," she said onstage, referring to ongoing, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Doha.

"Do you hear me Bibi? I don’t know if my husband is alive. Stop talking about victory, stop talking about military pressure. Nothing will work. Nothing has worked until now. They’re dying there every day," she continued.

Raz Ben Ami, a freed hostage who was also released in November and whose husband is also still a hostage in Gaza, joined Siegel in urging the government to strike a deal with Hamas.

"They [the hostages] won’t last there, no one can survive what they go through there. Believe me," said Ben Ami at the weekly Hostages and Missing Families forum protest in Tel Aviv’s Hostages’ Square.

Shira Albag, Liri’s mother, called on protesters to take up the struggle "against indifference, and in support of life."

"It’s been 176 days that I haven’t turned a blind eye to the thoughts and fear of what Liri and the other abductees are going through," she said. "The people of Israel won’t forget or forgive anyone who prevents a deal that would bring them [the hostages] back to us. After 176 days, 4,224 hours, the excuses have run out."

’INCREASING THE PRESSURE’ ON NETANYAHU
At the weekly Jerusalem protest, Udi Goren, cousin of Tal Haimi who was killed while defending Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, said that his cousin’s new baby is about to be born.

"Listen to me, they’re coming home, until the very last one. It’s on us to make sure it happens as quickly as possible," he said, listing the names of the hostages. "Bibi, listen, you’re right, the victory is in our hands, let the nation of Israel win and bring the hostages home."

In Caesarea, a local protester named Hannah Zissel told The Times of Israel that the rallies are designed to "increase the pressure on him [Netanyahu] so he goes to a new election."

Amos Malka, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate, kicked off the speaker’s portion of the rally with an address in which he accused Netanyahu of "abandoning the hostages" that Hamas is holding in Gaza.

"If the families knew how small the gap is, which Netanyahu is refusing to close" in negotiations with Hamas, "they would explode," said Malka. "This is more evidence of his unsuitability to serve."

Speaking to The Times of Israel, Malka, a leader of the protest movement against Netanyahu’s government, clarified that "the failures leading up to October 7 are shared among many, across the defense and establishment community. But what happened since" — that’s on Netanyahu.

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Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [263 views] Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM

#1 
After nearly 6 months, I am sad to say I have my doubts that many of the hostages are still alive and/or uninjured.

For HAMAS to prove otherwise, it should be required to have the hostages pictures taken holding an Israeli Newspaper with a current date and Headline on it.

Because I wouldn't trust any US MSM, nor a lot of other nations Media given their openly Anti-Semitic positions of late.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 03/31/2024 6:53 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 11:38 Comments || Top||

#3  ^ You trolled that one already Harcourt
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2024 11:45 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi Islamic resistance forces strike targets across Zionist entity
27 March 2024
[HodhodYemenNews] The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has said it has carried out new operations against Israeli targets in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Did Israel notice?
The Iraqi umbrella group of anti-terror groups said in a statement published on its Telegram channel on Wednesday that the first operation targeted the Ovda air base in the occupied Palestinian territories using drones.

"The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, targeted on 03/26/2024, the Israeli Uvda Air Base with drones," the Islamic Resistance statement said.

In the second operation, the resistance’s drones hit Israel’s Speer military site also in the occupied territories.

"The fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted this morning, Wednesday 27/3/2024, the ’Speer’ military site of the Zionist occupation in our occupied lands by drones," the statement said.

"The Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, targeted on 03/27/2024, the Israeli Speer military site with drones," it added.

The Iraqi resistance said the operations were carried out in response to the latest massacres of the people of Gaza by Israel.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out several key operations in recent months, including multiple attacks on Ben Gurion Airport, a power plant in Tel Aviv as well as major Israeli ports in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:20 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [124 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Arabia
Yemeni authorities deport 168 illegal immigrants to their countries
22. March 2024
[HodhodYemenNews] The Immigration, Passports, and Nationality Department in Sana’a, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, returned 168 illegal immigrants through Sana’a International Airport to their countries in the Horn of Africa.

The head of the department, Brigadier General Ammar Al-Hamli, indicated that the transfer of illegal immigrants comes within the voluntary repatriation program, and this batch was deported through Sana’a International Airport to their countries, in accordance with international regulations and laws and in coordination with the International Organization for Migration.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:18 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [91 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants

#1  Welcome to Yemen- Civil war for 9 years but we still have better border security than the US…
Posted by: Slaith Flavirt8975 || 03/31/2024 10:55 Comments || Top||


At ninth anniversary of Saudi-led invasion of Yemen, death toll of bombings is over 18,000
[HodhodYemenNews] The Humanitarian Eye Center for Rights and Development published on Monday shocking statistics on the crimes of the Saudi-led coalition over the past nine years.

According to the center’s report, the total number of civilian casualties resulting from direct bombardment during this period stands at 50,025, comprising 18,381 martyrs and 31,644 wounded individuals.

The report highlighted the tragic toll on vulnerable demographics, with 4,123 child fatalities and 4,992 injuries, along with 2,486 women killed and 3,057 wounded. Additionally, 11,772 men lost their lives, with 23,595 sustaining injuries.

The Humanitarian Eye Center’s data indicated widespread targeting of civilian infrastructure, including 613,992 homes, 427 hospitals and health facilities, and 1,843 mosques.

Educational institutions were not spared, with 1,331 schools and 186 university facilities destroyed. Furthermore, 146 sports facilities, 269 archaeological sites, 63 media facilities, and 393 tourist sites were among the casualties of the aggression.

The report also documented the destruction of critical infrastructure such as 15 airports, 16 seaports, 354 power stations, and generators, 647 communication networks and stations, 3,332 water tanks and stations, 2,155 government facilities, and 7,940 roads and bridges.

Economic targets suffered immense losses, with 417 factories, 397 fuel tankers, 12,534 commercial facilities, 12,775 agricultural fields, 484 poultry and livestock farms, 10,801 means of transportation, and 493 fishing boats destroyed.

Additionally, the aggression targeted essential food supplies, bombing 1,043 food warehouses, 434 fuel stations, 712 markets, and 1,162 food trucks.
Another HodhodYemen News article adds:
Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched a war on Yemen in March 2015, claiming the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power. Despite the fact that Hadi has been removed from any semblance of power by the Saudis themselves in 2022, the war on Yemen still continues to this day..
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:14 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [78 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


At least seven militia forces injured in Al-Qaeda attacks in Abyan
26 March 2024
[HodhodYemenNews] At least seven militia members of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) were injured on Monday, in two separate attacks in Abyan Governorate, southern Yemen.

Informed sources reported that Al-Qaeda elements targeted approximately seven soldiers affiliated with the STC’s factions with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Wadi Omran, east of Mudiyah district, resulting in the injury of five.

The same source confirmed that the second operation by Al-Qaeda targeted a motorcycle carrying two of the STC’s soldiers who sustained serious injuries.

The attacks occurred approximately 24 hours after the killing of two soldiers and the injury of four others from the STC in an ambush with an IED followed by an armed attack in the same district
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:11 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [90 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula


Yemeni Armed Forces carry out series of strikes on Zionist, British and US targets
26. March 2024
[HodhodYemenNews] The Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out a series of military operations during the past 72 hours against US and British ships and destroyers in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden, as well as against Zionist targets in the area of Umm Al-Rashrash in the south of occupied Palestine, Yemen’s military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out six military operations during the past 72 hours using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones, as follows:

• The naval forces and the missile force carried out four joint operations on four ships, including the American ship Maersk Saratoga in the Gulf of Aden, the American ship APL Detroit in the Red Sea, the British ship Huang Pu in the Red Sea, and the ship Pretty Lady, which was heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.

• The Air Force carried out a specific military operation targeting two American war destroyers in the Red Sea.

• The missile force carried out a military operation and targeted a number of Israeli targets in the Umm al-Rashrash area, south of occupied Palestine.

Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e confirmed that the military operations achieved their objectives successfully.

He added, "These operations are carried out in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and in retaliation for the American-British aggression against our country."

"The Yemeni Armed Forces, in dedicating these military operations to all the Mujahideen in the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, confirm their continuation of carrying out more operations against all hostile targets and confirming the continuation of the decision to prevent Israeli navigation or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas and in the Indian Ocean, until the aggression is stopped and the siege is lifted on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," the Brigadier General stressed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 03:08 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [124 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


-Great Cultural Revolution
The Nazis of academia: a very incomplete round up of Jew-hate in action (Week of 31. March 2024)

UC Santa Barbara, where Jewish student president harassed, under discrimination probe
US Department of Education opens new Title IX investigation into university after student government president posts images of campus activists targeting her with threatening signs

Columbia University probing ’Resistance 101’ student event where speakers hailed Hamas
Gathering was originally scheduled to take place at women’s school that’s part of university but was forced to move online due to lack of approvals, spokesperson says

Rutgers joins growing list of schools under GOP House investigation for antisemitism
Panel chair says New Jersey university’s center for Muslim and South Asian studies ’a hotbed of radical antisemitic, anti-American, anti-Israel, and pro-terrorist activity’

Massachusetts parents say public school teachers union sowing anti-Israel bias
Rhetoric during a webinar last week on ’The Struggle Against Anti-Palestinian Racism’ was the last straw for many who say students are being ’indoctrinated’ in the wake of Oct. 7

Harvard Law School Student Gov’t Passes Resolution Accusing Israel of Genocide, Calling for Divestment

Cancer doc speaks out on suit against NYU Langone for termination over anti-Hamas posts
Researcher Dr. Benjamin Neel claims his former employer tarnished his reputation after firing him, but reinstalled another doctor who described the Oct. 7 atrocities as ’liberation’
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 02:36 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [174 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  In Hebrew we say "Fish rots from the head down".
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 4:01 Comments || Top||

#2  The measure’s passing — by a vote of 12-4 with 3 abstentions, according to The Harvard Crimson — follows what has been described by dissident students as a “rushed” process to bring it before the body for a vote and questionable amendments to its constitution to allow for a secret ballot concealing from the public how members voted. Normally, per its own bylaws, the student government would hold an in-person roll call vote.
Posted by: Huputle+Cherelet4131 || 03/31/2024 9:22 Comments || Top||

#3  In America we say "kill the head and the body dies."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 9:27 Comments || Top||

#4  What they're doing is illegal in South Dakota. Jail time for all of them.
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 11:41 Comments || Top||

#5  For some odd reason, 3,000 fewer people applied for admission to Harvard (undergraduate) than did last year. It's a mystery.
Posted by: Tom || 03/31/2024 12:59 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF, Shin Bet say several senior Hamas terrorists killed as Shifa op continues
[IsraelTimes] Army chief Halevi visits troops, praises ’very, very successful’ campaign at hospital, as fighting continues throughout Gazoo

The IDF and Shin Bet security agency on Saturday announced that four senior Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, bad boyz were potted by troops at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital in recent days.

Troops have been raiding buildings at the hospital complex, following intelligence indicating that brass hats in the terror group are holed up there. They’ve arrested hundreds of terror operatives and killed over 200 in days-long exchanges of fire at the complex.

In one incident, the IDF said troops of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 unit, Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion and Duvdevan unit encountered and killed a group of armed Hamas operatives who ran out of Shifa’s emergency room.

Among them was senior Hamas commander Raad Thabet — named by the IDF on Thursday as the head of the terror group’s recruitment and supply acquisition — and Mahmoud Khalil Zakzuk, who the IDF says is the deputy commander of Hamas’s rocket unit in Gaza City.

In another incident, troops of the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit killed senior Hamas operatives Fadi Dweik and Zakaria Najib during a chase at Shifa’s maternity ward, according to the IDF.

The IDF and Shin Bet say Dweik was a senior member of Hamas’s intelligence division. He perpetrated the 2002 terrorist shooting attack in the West Bank settlement of Adora, killing four civilians, and was exiled to the Gaza Strip in the 2011 Shalit deal with Hamas, in which Israel released 1,027 Paleostinian terror convicts in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In Gaza, he continued to advance attacks in the West Bank, defense officials say.

Najib, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, was a senior operative in Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters, tasked with promoting attacks against Israel from the West Bank. He is accused of involvement in the 1994 abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman, and was also released in the 2011 Shalit deal.

Other Hamas button men have been killed by troops in and around the hospital, the IDF said, adding that troops have seized weapons and intelligence documents.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi hailed the ongoing operation at Shifa Hospital during a visit to the medical center on Friday.

"Almost two weeks, very, very successful, and this is an operation... to plan it in a war, to carry it out in a war, to execute it correctly in a war, [is] very, very complex," Halevi told troops.

"So far [there have been] very great achievements... no one can roll back [the effects of] such a large number of arrested terrorists, such a large number of dead terrorists, so many senior people," he said.

Halevi said the operation has "achieved its goal," but added that it will continue "thoroughly until it is announced that we are done."

The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said Saturday that at least 32,705 people had been killed in the territory during more than five months of war between Israel and the Paleostinian terror group.

The toll includes at least 82 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 75,190 people had been maimed in the Gaza Strip since the war was triggered by the devastating Hamas-led onslaught against Israel on October 7.

The Hamas-run ministry’s figures, which are unverified, do not differentiate between fighters and civilians, and are also believed to include Paleostinians killed by terrorists’ misfired rockets. Israel says some 13,000 terror operatives are among the dead.

Earlier Saturday the Paleostine Red Islamic Thingy said five people were killed and dozens maimed by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery in Gaza.

AFP said it had footage of a convoy of trucks moving quickly past burning debris near the distribution point in pre-dawn darkness as people shout and gunfire echoes — some of which were warning shots, according to unnamed witnesses quoted by the French news agency.

The Red Islamic Thingy said it happened after thousands of people gathered for the arrival of around 15 trucks of flour and other food, which were supposed to be handed out at Gaza City’s Kuwait roundabout, in the territory’s north. The roundabout has been the scene of several chaotic and deadly aid distribution incidents, including a deadly incident on March 23 that drew intense international scrutiny.

Eyewitnesses told AFP that Gazooks overseeing the aid delivery shot in the air, and that Israeli troops in the area also fired and some moving trucks hit people trying to get the food. The Israeli military told AFP it "has no record of the incident described."

In the al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the IDF said troops of the Givati Brigade killed several button men, including some who tried to attack them with bombs.

The Israeli Air Force carried out dozens of strikes across Gaza over the past day, mostly in al-Amal and al-Qarara, which the IDF said was to support the maneuvering ground troops.

The IAF also struck three tunnel shafts in an area from which a rocket was fired toward the border community of Kissufim on Friday, the IDF said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke...
in central Gaza, the IDF said troops of the Nahal Brigade killed several terror operatives over the past day.

In one incident, the army said Nahal troops spotted a cell moving weaponry and called in a dronezap against them. Large secondary blasts were seen after the strike, according to the IDF. A fighter jet later struck the building the cell was seen leaving.

Two more Hamas cells were struck by drones in northern Gaza after being identified by the 215th Artillery Regiment. Fighter jets later also struck a building used by those operatives, the IDF adds.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 02:12 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [120 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


-Great Cultural Revolution
Biden Just Declared Easter Sunday 'Transgender Day of Visibility'
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 01:52 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [352 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The federal government's celebration of child mutilation carried out by freaks in scrubs trained by Harvard. Welcome to the United States of America.

Posted by: Angealing+B.+Hayes4677 || 03/31/2024 5:02 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm starting to see the value of blasphemy laws...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 6:57 Comments || Top||

#3 
Need any additional proof this Regime is supporting immorality, mental illness and Satan's goals?

OPEN QUESTION TO THE POPE:
Given the open blasphemy of his Executive Declaration and since he claims to be Catholic.

Will he be Excommunicated or not?

OH! that's right. What was I thinking?
This Liberal FAR Left leaning Pope supports Homosexuality, and other immoral activities the Holy Bible directly addresses as evil.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 03/31/2024 7:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Even though the Biden administration has in the past given a nod of recognition to March 31 as “Transgender Day of Visibility,” Friday’s proclamation is the first time that the president has used the authority vested in him by the U.S. Constitution to officially declare it as such.

Epoch Times
Posted by: Bobby || 03/31/2024 8:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Remember when Obama started talking about 'the new normal'? Well, here it is - the continuing and unceasing effort to make the abnormal into normal.
Posted by: Raj || 03/31/2024 9:15 Comments || Top||

#6  ...and - Freddy Mercury lives!
Posted by: Raj || 03/31/2024 9:15 Comments || Top||

#7  You don't hear anything about AIDS anymore. COVID was Fauxi's bid to paper over his failure with HIV.

Regrettably, he mostly succeeded.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 9:20 Comments || Top||

#8  Tranny Day is tomorrow.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:04 Comments || Top||

#9  In all fairness for the past 10 years tranny day has been March 31. Easter Sunday won't happen on March 31 for another 86 years. I still don't understand why we need a tranny day.
Posted by: Deacon+Blues || 03/31/2024 11:49 Comments || Top||

#10  #3:
Is it the Pope or the local bishop that does the excommunicating of members of his flock? The local bishop has a lot of politicians and partisans in his flock. I've wondered about politicians: I don't know that going to confession is all that useful if you fully intend to go back out and keep lying about your political opponents.

It would seem reasonable to assume, unless proven otherwise, that politicians are "in a state of mortal sin" and should not receive communion; especially around election time. But I'm not Catholic--maybe there are subtleties I don't get. Catechism entries #2477, #2284, #2285 ...
Posted by: James || 03/31/2024 12:05 Comments || Top||

#11  The Catholic Church is a very political animal, not known for being conservative except when shoving its own dirty laundry under the rug.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 12:10 Comments || Top||

#12  Frankly, the 2nd Vatican Council (1962-65) made such a hash of Catholic doctrine that it is really impossible to figure out what the church teaches.

People criticize the current Pope, and rightly so; but he can point back to documents ratified by the Council for just about everything he says and does. The damage to the Catholic church happened back in the 60s and continues till now.
Posted by: Tom || 03/31/2024 13:08 Comments || Top||

#13  A long history of dubious behavior including the Medici Popes and the mythic Pope Joan add texture to the Papacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Joan
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/31/2024 13:42 Comments || Top||

#14  To Biden, Transgender is just like transubstantiation.
Posted by: lord+garth || 03/31/2024 13:43 Comments || Top||

#15  Biden Condemns Jesus For Rising Again On Trans Day Of Visibility [Bee] President Biden issued a stern condemnation of Jesus Christ after learning that the Savior of mankind had the audacity to rise from the dead on Biden's "Trans Day Of Visibility".

"Who does this Jesus think he is?" shouted an angry Biden. "Today is about dudes becoming chicks and chicks becoming dudes, not dead people becoming alive! Come on, man!"

President Biden released the announcement for the "Trans Day Of Visibility" on Good Friday, moments after the memorial of Christ's crucifixion. "It was bad enough Jesus stole my thunder by dying the day I announced it," muttered Biden. "As if that wasn't enough, then Jesus goes and rises from the dead -- right on my day celebrating guys who want to use women's showers! I'm starting to think this Jesus guy scheduled all of this on purpose!"

According to sources, Jesus Christ's resurrection bringing the hope of salvation and eternal life to mankind has, in fact, distracted from people looking at guys wearing skirts. "Admittedly, Biden is not wrong. In light of the risen Christ, everything else fades," reported local man John Marshall. "What else can we do but look to Him?"

At publishing time, Heavenly sources confirmed that the evil and silliness of all earthly powers were but mist in the light of Christ's eternal kingdom.
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2024 14:17 Comments || Top||

#16  Wilton Cardinal Gregory likely has a staff member working to canonize Liberace. Biden is on safe ground within DC.
Posted by: Super Hose || 03/31/2024 14:19 Comments || Top||

#17  Bidet and others seem to relish slapping Christians in the face.
Posted by: JohnQC || 03/31/2024 16:48 Comments || Top||

#18  ^^^^^
Obama does, and he just cannot help himself, he loves the barely concealed, obviously intended gesture. Jojo just does what he is told.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/31/2024 18:14 Comments || Top||


Good Morning


IMF confirms more than doubling
Egypt's bailout loan to $8 billion
03/31/2024

UniversalStarlets Fresh off the casting couch.1944
Africa Horn
Indian Navy Says It Intercepted Hijacked Vessel Near Somalia
Africa Horn
Bodies Of 6 Kenyans Killed In
Somalia By Al Shabaab Airlifted To Isiolo
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian sources report an alleged
Israeli strike in southwestern area of Daraa
Britain
Thousands gather for London anti-Israel
rally; police arrest four for hate crimes, public disorder
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IDF strikes Hezbollah positions in
southern Lebanon after Saturday morning rocket fire
Israel-Palestine-Jordan
After nearly six months of war, hostages'
families join with anti-government rallies

Posted by: Fred || 03/31/2024 01:44 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [252 views] Top|| File under:

#1  https://rantburg.com/headlinez.php

Link still inoperative. Any work-around available ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 2:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Happy EASTER, bunnies.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2024 8:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Every time you spit on marxist cultural degradation, Jesus tells His Dad to send more kittens.

Happy Easter to all at Rantburg!

Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 8:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Early Appian Way MAGA people. They just didn't know it at the time.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 9:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Link still inoperative. Any work-around available ?
I sent you an email, dear Besoeker. You deserved it, after being so polite. <3
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 12:03 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Publication of the Office of the Director National Intelligence (ODNI)
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 01:30 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [184 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I must need more broccoli.
This hurts my heart.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/31/2024 8:49 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm reminded of Archie Bunker talking about "the grossest national product."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 8:52 Comments || Top||


#4  A political publication from a political office (which is actually in charge of nothing) and convenient media cover for..... I don't have to tell you who.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 9:33 Comments || Top||

#5  The cartoon-ish inclusion in the format is baffling. It suggest an inability of either the author/editors or the target audience to focus and concentrate on reasoned content and requiring visual prompts to make key points. Pretty sure the folks in China/Iran/Cuba find yet another reason to laugh their asses off!
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/31/2024 13:29 Comments || Top||

#6  The cover page looks like it would be a poster on a wall in the opening moments of the music video for Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax'.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 20:45 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
More on the early Friday airstrikes on Aleppo that killed 36 Syrian soldiers
[Rudaw] Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s targeted multiple locations in Aleppo in the early hours of Friday, including positions of Iran-backed militias and Syrian military bases, killing at least 36 Syrian regime soldiers and injuring dozens others, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian defense ministry said that the attacks were launched at around 1:45 am, striking several military positions in the countryside of Aleppo, killing and injuring a number of civilians and military men.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the attacks struck a weapons depot belonging to Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...
’s Hezbollah, near Aleppo International Airport, as well "defense factories" in al-Safira subdistrict, 25 kilometers southeast of Aleppo.

The airport was not damaged in the attacks, SOHR noted.

The war monitor described the overnight strikes as being among Israel’s deadliest attacks on regime forces in Syrian territory.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its nearly 13-year civil war, often claiming to strike pro-Iran
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
militias such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah that supports the Syrian army.

Israel has intensified its strikes on Syria since October 7. It has attacked Syrian territory at least 26 times since the start of the year, killing around 90 people and wounding over 20 others, according to SOHR.

At least two non-combatants were killed after an Israeli attack struck a residential building in the countryside of Damascus, Syrian state media reported.

While it rarely comments on strikes attributed to it in Syria, Israel has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate its arch-rival Iran gaining a foothold there.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 01:20 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [116 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Africa Horn
Over 80 Al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia
[Garowe] At least 80 al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
holy warriors have been killed following operations across Somalia in the last week, the government has confirmed while calling for vigilance in the fight against the group, which has strained economic progress in the country.

Somalia activated the fight against al-Shabaab in the last two years when President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took over, leading to the death of over 3,000 Death Eaters. The military focused on Hirshabelle and Galmadug state in Somalia.

According to the government, the operations took place in Harardhere (Mudug), Fiiqaay jungle near Daaru-Nicma (Middle Shabelle), and a hideout near Waajid town (Bakool). In general, the government reports, that over 80 holy warriors were killed.

The operation in Fiiqaay, officials said, was participated by ’international parents’ and has targeted holy warriors who attacked Daaru-Nicma on Tuesday. The holy warriors had also heightened their attacks across the country during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

To thwart the group's cowardly attacks, the government has deployed security officers in strategic towns across the Horn of Africa nation. Special Forces have been working hard to secure Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia and regional administrative states.

On Thursday, al-Shabaab holy warriors reported seizing a surveillance drone that crashed near Bulobarde town, Hiran region. The Somali National Army has been working closely with the US Africa Command and the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in the ongoing operations.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 01:02 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [308 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians say teen shot dead by IDF in West Bank; army says it fired at gunmen
[IsraelTimes] Military says incident under review, occurred during exchanges of fire near Jenin

Israeli forces rubbed out a 13-year-old Paleostinian boy during a raid in the West Bank, the official Paleostinian news agency Wafa reported on Saturday, an incident which the Israeli military said was under review.

There were confrontations with Israeli forces at the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, during a pre-dawn military raid there, the Wafa report said. The Israeli military said a number of Paleostinian button men had shot at its troops, who returned fire.

A report was later received regarding a Paleostinian minor who was killed, the military said.

"The circumstances of the incident are under review," it said in a statement to Rooters.

The teen’s death was confirmed by Fawaz Hammad, director of al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, Wafa said.

On Thursday three Israelis were maimed in a terror shooting against school buses and other cars on a major highway in the West Bank. The attack took place in the town of al-Auja. Route 90, the main north-south artery in the Jordan Valley, passes through the Paleostinian town.

Two bulletproof school buses and at least two cars were hit in the attack as they drove through al-Auja, according to medics and local authorities.

In one of the cars, a 30-year-old man was shot and left in moderate condition and another man was shot and lightly hurt, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said. In the second car, a 13-year-old boy hit by glass shards was lightly hurt.
More from the Times of Israel:
The Paleostinian Authority’s official news agency reports that a 13-year-old was killed by Israeli fire during a raid in the northern West Bank.

He is named as Moatasem Nabil Abu Abed, 13, of Qabitya. The report says two other young men were also maimed, one seriously, during confrontations between soldiers and Paleostinians in Qabitaya, and that the first Israeli forces to enter the town did so in vehicles bearing Paleostinian license plates.

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Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:59 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [86 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Prices for private maritime security guards shoot up after resurgence of Somali pirates
[ShabelleMedia] Prices for private maritime security guards onboard have shot up this year, a new analysis from sister title Splash Extra shows.

With the Red Sea disruption created by the Houthis latterly combined with resurgent pirate attacks off Somalia, demand for armed guards has leaped in 2024, and with it prices have shot up with three-day transits costing as much as $20,000 today.

The rise in demand for private maritime security companies (PMSCs) has once again brought calls for this industry to face greater regulation.

Elsewhere in the March issue of Splash Extra, there’s regular markets commentary, an interview with the head of the Baltic Exchange, the best analyst commentary plus a look at how secondhand bulker tonnage prices have jumped this month.

March’s in-depth feature looks at the thorny issue of ship valuations. Prices given by two platforms for arguably the most famous ship in the world, the Ever Given, vary by more than 25%, a stark example of how assessing vessel prices is very unclear.

"The marine appraisal profession is not regulated in the international shipping market, and banks tend to accept appraisals from any broker, without requiring any qualifications — just the premise that brokers have the pulse of the market. Brokers make more money in brokerage commissions than in appraisal fees, thus, some appraisals may be biased," commented Basil Karatzas, CEO of New York-based Karatzas Marine Advisors.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:58 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [77 views] Top|| File under: Pirates


Indian Navy Says It Intercepted Hijacked Vessel Near Somalia
[ShabelleMedia] India’s navy said Friday it intercepted a fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea after a suspected hijacking, its latest anti-piracy operation after a spate of regional attacks on shipping.

Two Indian vessels had approached the Iranian-flagged FV Al Kamar 786 around 165 kilometers (103 miles) southwest of the Yemeni island of Socotra, not far from the eastern tip of Somalia.

An operation was "currently underway by the Indian Navy towards the rescue of hijacked FV & its crew," the navy said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The statement added that nine armed pirates were believed to have taken over the vessel. It did not say how many crew members were aboard.

India’s navy has been deployed continuously off Somalia since 2008.

It stepped up anti-piracy efforts last year following a surge in maritime assaults, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

This month, the Indian navy rescued 19 crew members off the Maltese-flagged cargo ship MV Ruen, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in December.

On Saturday, it brought 35 Somali nationals accused of the hijacking to Mumbai aboard the warship INS Kolkata, which had led the rescue operation, to face a piracy trial in an Indian court.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:51 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [183 views] Top|| File under: Pirates


Bodies Of 6 Kenyans Killed In Somalia By Al Shabaab Airlifted To Isiolo
[ShabelleMedia] The bodies of six Kenyan traders who were rubbed out by Al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...

gunnies at Dhobley town in Somalia on Friday have been airlifted to Kenya.

A police report seen by Citizen Digital indicated that a helicopter belonging to the Kenya Defence Forces ferried the bodies on Saturday morning and flew them to Isiolo town.

"Today 30/03/2024 at around 0940hrs Kenya Air Force helicopter airlifted the bodies from Atmis Dhobley Somalia to Isiolo. The same has been confirmed to have landed in Isiolo through cellphone conversation," read the report.

The six people who had crossed the Kenya-Somalia border to open their shops on the Somalian side were ambushed and killed in cold blood by the terror group at around 7 am.

Garissa County Police Commander John Samburumo confirmed the incident saying the button men whose faces were covered and were driving in a probox shot at them randomly killing four on the spot while two died while receiving treatment in hospital.

The suspects then fled immediately.

Reports have since emerged claiming that the victims were targeted due to their perceived religious association.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [151 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Science & Technology
Does America Need A Nuclear Dead Hand More than Ever?
[WarOnTheRocks] Given the questionable mental awareness of the current US President.

A discussion on the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in nuclear command, control, and communications systems.
I’ve read enough science fiction to be deeply uncomfortable with decision trees that do not have human input at every point.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [300 views] Top|| File under: Allied Democratic Forces

#1  Aside from the articles subject matter itself.
It is loaded with links to other DOD info of interest.

As far pushing the button it must ALWAYS be a Mentally Aware/Competent and honestly elected leader.

Right now, I am sure I am not the only one with worries one of Biden's inter-circle handlers might take control of the Football and open the USA up to outside attack.

Especially, if and when he is removed from office in Nov.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 03/31/2024 7:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Why, when you have a 'Nuclear Dead Head' already?
Posted by: Bobby || 03/31/2024 8:44 Comments || Top||

#3  What's more dangerous? A dead hand or a dead head?
Posted by: Mercutiio || 03/31/2024 8:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Deadheads have good drugs but their hygiene is lacking...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 8:47 Comments || Top||

#5  I spoke to Jerry for about 30 seconds back in 68..he did have an odor about him.
Posted by: Ulailet+Thud3602 || 03/31/2024 9:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Who says the US do not have such a system in place? cough Raven Rock cough
Posted by: Rupert+Gleck2911 || 03/31/2024 9:43 Comments || Top||

#7  cough Raven Rock cough

This doesn't involve mine shafts, does it?
Posted by: SteveS || 03/31/2024 10:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Have a Coca-Cola and a smile.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:17 Comments || Top||

#9  Rightnow, I am sure I am not the only one with worries one of Biden's inter-circle handlers might take control of the Football and open the USA up to outside attack.

Especially, if and when he is removed from office in Nov.
Posted by: NN2N1 2024-03-31 07:13


NN2N1,

A plausible variant on that would be one of the handlers deciding that a red state needs to be made an example of.

They've already threatened us with 'em.

Mike
Posted by: MikeKozlowski || 03/31/2024 11:36 Comments || Top||

#10  See if I can remember the quote close enough from a sci-fi flick:

Those who trusted their planet to the governance of Artificial Intelligence learned the hard way that logic has no empathy.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/31/2024 11:50 Comments || Top||

#11  Slim Pickens likes this post.
Posted by: Super Hose || 03/31/2024 14:26 Comments || Top||

#12  #10 There's a story by Gordon R. Dickson (Dorsai) called "Computers Don't Argue"
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 14:30 Comments || Top||

#13  Stolen elections have consequences. So far none good.
Posted by: JohnQC || 03/31/2024 16:43 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Eight years with Wagner
Translation via Google Translate.
Memoir translated to Russian and in its entirety at the link.

[CoolLib] Memoir by Wagner operator Kirill Romanovsky

FROM THE AUTHOR
Over the years, I have worked in hot spots and met many of the greatest warriors of our time. Many of them wrote the history of great Russia with their blood. I bequeath these stories to be published after my death. Let only the truth remain in them.

— Kirill Romanovsky "Eight years with Wagner"
Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [101 views] Top|| File under:


International-UN-NGOs
UN has compiled a vague report on torture in Ukraine - Miroshnik
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The report prepared by the UN on torture in Ukraine is formulated rather vaguely, it cannot be called a serious study, said the Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik.

“This cannot be called a serious study and an absolutely adequate reflection of reality. We are faced with many facts that are now inaccessible, including to structures such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), because they are quite highly politicized, and I would not treat them as the last resort, ” Miroshnik told RIA Novosti.

According to him, this is caused by the inability to actively protect Ukraine. According to the reports made, Ukraine is presented as white and fluffy, the country allegedly lives according to international humanitarian law, observes all human foundations and principles. In fact, everything is completely wrong, the diplomat pointed out.

Miroshnik added that OHCHR “for political reasons was forced to take at least part of the data,” which in fact quite clearly characterizes Ukraine’s actions.

As Regnum reported, the UN OHCHR report said that Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine were tortured from December 2023 to February 2024. It is noted that department employees learned about this after communicating with 44 Russian prisoners. Some of them told how they were held in the basements of houses in the Kharkov region. Some of the prisoners spent several days there, others up to a month and a half. During interrogations, 13 prisoners of war were beaten with wooden sticks and tortured with electric current. Ukrainians also staged executions and, in two cases, threatened Russian soldiers with sexual violence.

Commenting on the UN OHCHR report, the Kremlin noted that all war crimes of the Kyiv regime are carefully documented. According to Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, the data contained in the report is not news for Moscow. Russia will seek to punish everyone who is behind the crimes of the Kiev regime, he emphasized.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [80 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
All 18 Filipinos on tanker seized by Iran released, Manila says
[IsraelTimes] The Philippines says Iran
...They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has freed all 18 Filipino crew members of an oil tanker that was seized in the Gulf of Oman in January.

Iran’s navy had boarded the Greek-owned St. Nikolas, which was carrying 19 crew, off the coast of Oman. The only Greek crew member was released the following week.

Tehran began freeing the Filipino crew in batches at the end of January after a replacement crew was hired from Russia and other countries, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega tells AFP.

"They were not hostages... but they were not allowed to leave without replacements," de Vega says of the Filipino crew.

The last of the Filipino crew returned to Manila last week, he adds.

The Marshall Islands-flagged ship was carrying 145,000 tons of oil from Iraq and heading to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
when it was seized. It has been anchored in the vicinity of the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

Iran’s state media has said the seizure was in retaliation to the "theft" of Iranian oil by the United States from the same tanker, at the time named the Suez Rajan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [81 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


International-UN-NGOs
World Bank assumed the bankruptcy of Ukraine in 2025
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Ukraine will face bankruptcy as early as 2025 if the West refuses to write off its debts, including those of its private companies. TASS reported this on March 30, citing a source at the World Bank, who commented on the allocation of a $1.5 billion loan to Kiev through this organization.

“If in 2025 Western creditors refuse to write off Kiev’s debts, including the debts of private companies and banks, the country may face bankruptcy,” the source noted.

As the source clarified, the Russian directorate at the World Bank voted against the project to provide a loan to Kyiv, citing the organization’s charter.

It is emphasized that the document itself openly talks about the catastrophic situation of Ukraine’s public finances due to the economic downturn and reduction in foreign aid.

It is also noted that, in general, the organization’s management recognized the risks of cooperation with Kiev as extremely high, so the bank does not provide its own funds, but uses guarantees from donors - Japan and Britain.

As Regnum reported, in March 2024, the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded Ukraine’s long-term sovereign rating in foreign currency to “SS”. The negative outlook reflects risks to servicing Ukraine's commercial debt, given the country's government's debt restructuring plan, analysts noted.

Ukraine will never be able to pay off its debts, political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko told a Regnum correspondent, commenting on Ukraine’s multi-billion dollar debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He noted that no one gives money to Ukraine for nothing and Kyiv will be forced to repay its debts.

Earlier, information was published on the IMF website that in 2024 Ukraine must pay the IMF $2.9 billion, which is 6.4% of the Ukrainian budget revenues planned for the current year. Over the next seven years, Ukraine must repay another $11.5 billion in debt.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [74 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Echos: the French contingent will not be able to change the situation in favor of Ukraine
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] The possible dispatch of French troops to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not change the situation on the battlefield, the newspaper Le Echos wrote on March 29.

“Paris is not able to deploy a contingent that could radically change the situation in favor of Ukraine. Without allies, they will not be able to put up a serious barrier against the Russians - neither along the Dnieper in the Zaporozhye region, nor on the approaches to Odessa,” the authors admitted.

According to the publication, France is not able to tip the scales, even if it sends battalions reinforced by the air force. It is assumed that they can only increase the losses of the Russian army, but not affect the situation in the combat zone, since the Russian Armed Forces have guided bombs and other long-range weapons.

As Regnum reported, on February 27, French President Emmanuel Macron said that European leaders discussed the possible sending of troops to Ukraine during a summit in Paris. At the same time, the conference participants were unable to agree on this issue, but Macron did not rule out the possibility that European troops would enter Ukrainian territory in the future. The French leader said that Paris will do everything to prevent Russia from emerging victorious from the conflict.

Macron should think about Russia’s response if Paris nevertheless sends troops to Ukraine, says former head of the main military headquarters of the European Union Jean-Paul Perruch. According to his assumption, the Russian Armed Forces may open fire on French soldiers. Intervening in a conflict with a limited contingent, the forces of one country, without taking into account the possible consequences, would be extremely risky, Perruch added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that Macron was talking about sending troops to Ukraine in order to please the United States and provoke NATO allies. The Foreign Minister recalled that all the French leader’s statements about “strategic autonomy” made in recent years “turned out to be nothing.”

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [80 views] Top|| File under:


Germany to quiz citizenship candidates about Israel, Jews, to filter out antisemites
[IsraelTimes] Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tells De Spiegel that ’contempt for humanity rules out naturalization’; applicants will need to make commitment to protecting Jewish life in Germany

The test for German citizenship will in the future include questions on the Jewish religion and the State of Israel, in a move designed to filter out antisemites from among applicants.

"Antisemitism, racism, and other forms of contempt for humanity rule out naturalization," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Spiegel weekly in its Thursday edition.

"Anyone who does not share our values cannot get a German passport," Faeser said in the report first published on the magazine’s website.

In the new citizenship test, which applicants must pass to acquire German nationality, candidates may be asked the name of the Jewish place of worship, the founding year of Israel or Germany’s particular historical obligation to it, according to Spiegel.

The punishments for Holocaust denial and the membership requirements for Jewish sports clubs would also be among the possible questions, according to the magazine.

Germany recently agreed to ease strict citizenship laws, reducing the time needed to be able to apply for a passport and making dual nationality more available.

The overhaul of Germany’s citizenship legislation was a key pledge made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left-led coalition government when it came to power at the end of 2021.

The change to the law was put forward in August last year, but came under scrutiny following Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw,’s devastating October 7 attack on Israel and in the context of a subsequent rise in antisemitic incidents in Germany.

In addition to a commitment to the constitution, applicants will now also be required to make a commitment to protecting Jewish life in Germany.

Under normal conditions, candidates will be able to apply for citizenship after five years in Germany, as opposed to eight previously. Those who are particularly well-integrated and have very good German language skills will be able to obtain nationality after just three years.

A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said in late November that it had documented a drastic increase in antisemitic incidents in the month after Hamas’s attack — a total of 994, an increase of 320 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.

Scholz has repeatedly vowed to protect Germany’s Jewish community against the surge in antisemitism.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [119 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Never heard of taqiyya?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 3:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Just make them eat a ham and cheese sandwich.
Posted by: EMS Artifact || 03/31/2024 10:30 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian Perspective: Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (30 March 2024)
Direct Translation Via Google Translate. Edited.

Article Linked To Is Available Only Via VPN

[EngMilRu] In the period from 23 to 30 March, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered one mass strike and 57 group strikes by ground-, sea-, and air-based high precision long-range weaponry, including Zirkon hypersonic missiles and Kizhal ballistic missile, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukrainian military objects and supporting infrastructure.

As a result of the strikes, Ukrainian defence industry enterprises, decision-making centres of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian Security Service, uncrewed surface vehicle production facilities, arsenals, POL depots, air defence and power objects, as well as temporary deployment areas of special operations units and foreign mercenaries were wiped out. The goal of the strikes have been achieved. All the assigned targets have been engaged.

In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of seven AFU mechanised brigades and four territorial defence brigades near Ivanovka (Kharkov region), Stelmakhovka, and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

11 counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 95th Air Assault Brigade, 57th Motorised Rifle Brigade, 30th, 32th Mechanised brigades, and 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade were repelled near Sin'kovka (Khar'kov region), Terni (Donetsk People's Republic), and Serebryansky forestry.

The AFU losses amounted to up to 310 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, three armoured fighting vehicles, and 22 motor vehicles.

In the course of counter-battery warfare, 19 field artillery systems, including three howitzers: U.S.-made M777 and M198, and one French-made CAESAR self-propelled artillery system were neutralised.

In Donetsk direction, as a result of successful actions of the Yug Group of Forces' units, Krasnoye (Donetsk People's Republic) was liberated and tactical situation along the front lines was improved.

Strikes were delivered at units of six AFU assault brigades, two airmobile brigades, one tank brigade, and nine mechanised brigades near Belogorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Andreyevka, Maksimilyanovka, Novomikhailovka, Paraskoviyevka, Spornoye, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).

In addition, 12 counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 67th Mechanised Brigade and 80th Air Assault Brigade were repelled near Bogdanovka and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 2,360 Ukrainian troops, five tanks, 16 armoured fighting vehicles, 61 motor vehicles, and 23 field artillery systems, including 11 foreign-made samples.

In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces continued to move into the depth of the enemy's defences and captured more advantageous lines.

Aviation, artillery, and heavy flamethrower systems delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of eight AFU brigades, as well as 64 enemy counter-attacks were repelled near Semyonovka, Orlovka, Novgorodskoye, Umanskoye, Netaylovo, Pervomayskoye, Tonen'koye, and Berdychi (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses in this direction amounted to more than 1,870 Ukrainian troops, 13 tanks, 20 armoured fighting vehicles, and 50 motor vehicles.

In the course of counterbattery warfare, 30 field artillery systems, including five U.S.-made M777 howitzers, one U.S.-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one German-made Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery system, and one 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS were neutralised.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front line and inflicted losses on units of seven AFU and Ukrainian National Guard brigades near Malinovka (Zaporozhye region), Urozhaynoye, Makarovka, and Ugledar (Donetsk People's Republic).

Moreover, five attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 58th Motorised Rifle Brigade, 127th, and 128th Territorial Defence brigades were repelled near Staromayorskoye, Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 860 Ukrainian troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, 35 motor vehicles, seven field artillery systems, including two Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery systems and two UK-made FH-70 howitzers.

In Kherson direction, as a result of the Dnepr Group of Forces cohesive actions, losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of the AFU 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, 28th, 65th, 118th Mechanised brigades, 35th Naval Infantry Brigade, and three territorial defence brigades near Rabotino, Novosyolovka, Nesteriyanka, Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region), Ivanovka, Mikhailovka, Gavrilovka, and Tyaginka (Kherson region).

The AFU losses amounted to more than 370 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, seven armoured fighting vehicles, 29 motor vehicles, and 13 field artillery systems, including five U.S.-made M777 howitzers.

Missile Troops, Artillery, and unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian Groups of Forces wiped out four MLRS combat vehicles, including one German-made MARS II MLRS, one Czech-made Vampire MLRS, and one Grad MLRS, five P-18 radar stations for detecting and tracking air targets, three U.S.-made counterbattery warfare stations, namely, AN/TPQ-36, AN/TPQ-48, AN/TPQ-50, as well as 18 electronic warfare stations, namely, Nota, Anclav-N, and Bukovel-AD.

18 Ukrainian servicemen have been taken prisoner during the week.

Aviation and air defence units shot down 11 UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, three Neptune anti-ship missiles, four U.S.-made ADM-160 MALR guided missiles, two S-200 air defence missiles converted to hit ground targets, two French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 171 HIMARS, Vampire, and 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS projectiles, as well as 1208 unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, 577 airplanes and 270 helicopters, 17,773 unmanned aerial vehicles, 489 air defence missile systems, 15,644 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,257 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,582 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 20,381 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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1944: 24 salutes to the liberators of Odessa
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RedStar] 80 years ago, an offensive operation was successfully carried out in southern Ukraine.

by Yuri Avdeev


The goal of the operation was the defeat of the enemy's coastal group between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers, the liberation of the northwestern coast of the Black Sea, including the port city of Odessa, and access to the State border of the USSR with Romania. The reward materials of the Red Army soldiers, which are carefully stored in the archives of the Ministry of Defense, tell in detail about the exploits of the liberators of Odessa.

ACCORDING TO THE PLAN AND OUTSIDE THE PLAN
The plan for the Odessa operation, developed by the commander of the front forces, Army General Rodion Malinovsky, together with the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky, was approved on March 19, 1944 by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin.

The planned liberation of Nikolaev, Odessa and the defeat of enemy troops became part of a unified system of offensive operations to liberate the territory of the USSR from the occupiers. in the general plan of the strategic offensive, this was the so-called third Stalinist blow to defeat the enemy on the entire Soviet-German front of the Great Patriotic War.

The operation was entrusted to the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Rodion Malinovsky, who was symbolically from Odessa. The front was allocated additional forces, including the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Admiral Philip Oktyabrsky and the 17th Air Army under Colonel General Vladimir Sudets. The total strength of the created group consisted of about 470,000 soldiers, more than 400 tanks and self-propelled guns, 12,000 guns and mortars, and over 400 aircraft.

They were opposed by a German-Romanian group, which had a total of about 350,000 soldiers, 3,200 thousand guns and mortars, 160 tanks and assault guns, 550 aircraft.

The start of the operation was postponed to March 26. The fact is that the area of ​​the upcoming offensive was covered by heavy torrential rains. The roads turned into a solid clayey mess, in which even tractors and heavy tanks got stuck.

In order to increase the mobility of troops, quickly bypass resistance centers and enemy strongholds, reach the rear and capture important road junctions, crossings and bridges on rivers, divisions created mobile forward detachments consisting of up to a company of machine gunners, a platoon of sappers in vehicles, with one two 45-mm guns or self-propelled artillery mounts.

During the Odessa operation, Red Army soldiers showed examples of endurance and military skill

NIKOLAEV LANDING
On the night of March 26, shock units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began crossing the Southern Bug and attacking Nikolaev. A landing detachment from the 384th Separate Naval Infantry Battalion and the 1st Guards Fortified Area of ​​the 28th Army in the amount of 67 people under the command of the holder of the Order of Alexander Nevsky, senior lieutenant Konstantin Olshansky, left the village of Bogoyavlenskoye for Nikolaev on seven rowing boats.

Overcoming the current, in inclement stormy conditions, the paratroopers walked up the Southern Bug for about 25 km. At dawn, they quietly landed in the area of ​​the new elevator in the port of Nikolaev, silently removed the sentries and took up defense in the elevator building.

The enemy soon discovered that he had lost control of an important facility. Not knowing the size of the landing party, the enemy initially estimated its forces at a battalion and sent up to 1000 soldiers against it. The enemy's attacks did not reach the target, and he increased the force of continuous attacks, using mortars, artillery, tanks, and flamethrowers. All the officers died in fierce battles, but the landing force continued to fight.

The award sheet for Senior Lieutenant Olshansky states: “A detachment of paratroopers-sailors fought the enemy for two days and inflicted losses on the enemy of up to 700 soldiers and officers killed and wounded. During this time, 18 enemy attacks were repulsed, including fierce battles using all types of weapons. ...The heroic landing accelerated the advancing units of the Red Army in quickly capturing the mountains. Nikolaev".

The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front launched a decisive offensive from bridgeheads on the right bank of the Southern Bug. On March 28, together with units of the 6th, 5th Shock and 28th Armies, the 384th Separate Naval Infantry Battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union Fedor Kotanov entered the city. For the courage and heroism shown during the liberation of Nikolaev, the battalion was given the name Nikolaevsky.

The Motherland highly appreciated the feat of the paratroopers in the elevator area. All of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 55 of them posthumously. The square in the center of Nikolaev is named after the heroic paratroopers. On it, the city residents erected a majestic monument to immortalize this feat. One of the streets is named after K.F. Olshansky.

The liberation of the city was celebrated in Moscow with a gun salute - 224 guns fired twenty artillery salvos.

ASSAULT ON ODESSA
Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front attacked simultaneously in several directions. Soviet troops almost immediately broke through the enemy's layered defenses near Odessa, and the cavalry-mechanized group of the Guards Lieutenant General Issa Pliev, having destroyed the enemy's rear, created the threat of complete encirclement. Units of the Red Army, interacting with the partisans, actively maneuvered, knocked out the enemy from key positions, and created threats of encirclement in various areas. The enemy made a breakthrough, withdrawing its troops from Odessa.

The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were supported by the 17th Air Army, as well as naval aviation and ships of the Black Sea Fleet, which launched massive attacks on the columns of the retreating enemy.

On the evening of April 9, units of the 8th Guards and 6th Armies reached the approaches to Odessa from the northwest. The next day, troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, with the active participation of partisans and underground fighters, liberated Odessa from the invaders. At the same time, partisan detachments eliminated the enemy’s subversive teams, preventing port structures, warehouses, and dams of the Khadzhibey estuary prepared for explosions in order to flood the Peresyp, which opened the way to the city for Soviet troops. The Soviet flag was raised over the building of the Opera and Ballet Theater.

The occupation of Odessa by Romania and Germany lasted 907 days and claimed the lives of 82,000 Soviet citizens. Of the 604,000 people who lived in the city before the war, a little more than half remained on the day of liberation.

During the Odessa operation, Red Army soldiers showed examples of endurance and military skill. Many units and formations of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which most distinguished themselves in combat operations, were awarded orders, and 27 were awarded honorary titles of Odessa.

From the award sheet of the mortarman of the Guard Sergeant Vladimir Gerasimov: “Pursuing the retreating enemy, his crew provided the opportunity for our units to break through to the city of Odessa, while up to 18 enemy soldiers and officers were destroyed and his crew was among the first to break into the city of Odessa, for which it is worthy of the government awards of the Order of the Red Star.

“In the battles on the outskirts of Odessa, and especially in the battle on the outskirts of the city on April 10, 1944, Comrade. Kovalev showed courage and courage, boldly attacked the enemy, quickly knocked the Nazis out of the occupied trenches, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. Thanks to a skillful maneuver, the company quickly broke into the outskirts of the city and started a street battle, pursuing the fleeing Nazis. In this battle, the soldiers of his company destroyed 60 and captured 15 German soldiers,” the command noted, presenting Lieutenant Andrei Kovalev for a government award.

As a result of the operation carried out between March 26 and April 14, 1944, Soviet troops inflicted a heavy defeat on the German 6th and Romanian 3rd armies. Enemy losses amounted to over 27,000 people killed and more than 11,000 people captured, 952 guns, 443 tanks and assault guns, 95 warehouses with ammunition and food.

In the coastal direction, significant changes have occurred in the strategic plan. The Black Sea Fleet was able to relocate ships and aircraft to the northwestern region of the Black Sea basin. A threat from the sea was created to the enemy's Crimean group, which was already blocked from land, and conditions were created for further operations in Moldova, Romania, and the Balkans.

On April 10, Moscow saluted the valiant troops who liberated Odessa with twenty-four artillery salvoes from 324 guns.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [70 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
SDF, pro-Iran militia clashes in Deir ez-Zor Wednesday
[Rudaw] Clashes broke out between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Iran-backed militia groups in eastern Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province on Wednesday, with no reports of casualties, according to a war monitor.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the festivities occurred in the town of Ayyash, west of Deir ez-Zor and on both banks of the Euphrates River, using machine guns and mortar shells.

The banks separate the areas under the control of the Syrian regime and those under the control of the SDF. The area is characterized by frequent smuggling operations, due to the difference in price of goods on either side.

The SDF, who control northeast Syria (Rojava), has been the main ally of the US-led global coalition in the war against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) in Syria. The forces arrested thousands of the group’s fighters along with their wives and children when they defeated ISIS territorially and took the group’s last stronghold in Syria in 2019.

The watchdog on Tuesday reported that at least 16 pro-Iran
...The nation is 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...
turbans were killed in unidentified Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in Deir ez-Zor. Damascus blamed Washington for the attack, but the Pentagon denied responsibility later in the day.

US forces have in recent months carried out several rounds of retaliatory strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions in Syria following a series of attacks by Iran-backed militia groups on American bases in the country and neighboring Iraq.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [123 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Unidentified strikes kill thirteen pro-Iran militiamen, WHO staffer in Syria Tuesday
[Rudaw] At least thirteen pro-Iran militiamen were killed in unidentified airstrikes on Tuesday in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, a war monitor reported. A local media outlet attributed the strike to the US.

"Nine pro-Iran militiamen were killed and more than 20 wounded as a result of airstrikes that targeted sites and headquarters of Iran-affiliated militias in Deir ez-Zor after midnight," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a Britain-based war monitor, adding that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander was among the dead.

SOHR later updated the death toll, saying four militants were killed in a separate airstrike on the town of al-Bukamal in Deir ez-Zor countryside. The strikes injured 36 people, including ten civilians.

Local news outlet DeirEzzor24 said the strikes targeted military and security headquarters of the IRGC in the province, seriously injuring an IRGC commander known as Hajj Askar.

The strikes come amid simmering tensions in Syria and Iraq against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war, with Washington having previously engaged in tit-for-tat strikes with pro-Iran militias in the region.

US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under a series of rocket and drone attacks by pro-Iran militias since October 7, in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip.

In early February, Washington launched a large-scale retaliation campaign against IRGC-Quds Force and affiliated militia groups in Syria. The strikes were ordered in retaliation for the deaths of three US soldiers in a drone strike carried out by pro-Iran militias on a US military base in Jordan a week prior.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the IRGC, has claimed responsibility for over 165 rocket and drone attacks on US interests in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.

Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).

World Health Organization says staff member killed in Syria strikes Tuesday
But why was the WHO staffer hanging out with Iran’s sockpuppets? Don’t people realize that being near one of Israel’s targets is unhealthy?
[Rudaw] The World Health Organization on Tuesday said that a member of its team in Syria was killed in Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s launched hours earlier in the country’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, which also killed 16 pro-Iran
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
militiamen.

Emad Shehab was working as an engineer with the organization and was the focal point for water, sanitation, and hygiene in the city. Shehab was killed when his building was struck by the airstrikes launched in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"His untimely death is a stark reminder of the ongoing violence and suffering endured by the people of Syria. He will be greatly missed," WHO Director-General Tedris Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least 16 pro-Iranian Death Eaters were killed in the strikes. Iranian media reported the death of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser in the strikes.

Local news outlet DeirEzzor24 said the strikes targeted military and security headquarters of the IRGC in the province, seriously injuring an IRGC commander known as Hajj Askar.

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes and blamed Washington for switching roles with Israel, accusing both of seek to cause regional instability.

Washington on Tuesday evening denied carrying out the strikes.

"We did not carry out air strikes in Syria last night," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told news hounds.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its 12-year civil war, often claiming to strike pro-Iran militias such as Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity™, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade...
’s Hezbollah group that supports the Syrian army. The US has also carried several rounds of retaliatory strikes on IRGC positions in Syria following attacks by Iran-backed militia groups on American bases in the country and neighboring Iraq.

Iran says IRGC officers serve an advisory role in Syria at the invitation of the government to prop up Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
during a decade-long civil war. Iran-backed militia groups maintain a strong foothold in Deir ez-Zor, particularly in the area near the Iraqi border.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [128 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Current information on the situation on the front line: March 30 (updated)
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:35 Front birdbroadcasts:

Seversky direction. After a long operational pause, our army resumed intensive operations on the Northern Ledge.

Our troops have been conducting intensive artillery preparation for two days now. Strikes are carried out with the entire range of weapons. The advanced assault groups began to move forward. There are successes in the coming (hours, days) the main blow will be dealt.

20:23 An air raid alert in Ukraine has been declared in Kyiv and a number of regions -map.

Dnipropetrovsk region
Kiev region
Sumy region
Chernihiv region
Kiev

19:43 Russian Aerospace Forces inflicted strikes on enemy infrastructure in the village. Paraskovievka.

The Russian Aerospace Forces dealt a crushing blow to the infrastructure of Ukrainian nationalists in the occupied village of Paraskovievka in the Kurakhovsky direction. Warplanes rendered the road from the village unusable, the restoration of which is now impossible due to flooding. Now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers in Novomikhailovka will not be able to quickly receive ammunition and evacuate the wounded to the rear, which will speed up the liberation of this settlement.

18:41 Telegram channel “Fisherman":

Ugledar direction: advance of the RF Armed Forces in Novomikhailovka

Russian troops are developing success in Novomikhailovka and the surrounding area. From the footage in one of the reports about the battles in the populated area, it becomes clear that the naval infantry of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade went significantly further than the center of the populated area, taking control of the territory of the school, recreation center, post office and village council.

The western part of the village and at least part of the Mashinostroitel gardening partnership remain under enemy control, which is confirmed by footage of an attack by a Russian armored group in this area. According to our data, the Russian Armed Forces were able to get hold of the eastern outskirts of the facility.

In addition, the very fact of the actions of Russian units along the forest belt indicates the absence of enemy forces there. Footage also emerged of an airstrike on Paraskovievka, where one of the two enemy-controlled asphalt roads leading to Novomikhailovka was seriously damaged.

On the southern outskirts of the village, the Russian Armed Forces are also trying to advance in the area of Shevchenko and Timiryazev streets, the enemy is resisting and striking with artillery and drones.

17:47 Kherson direction:

Reported, that this afternoon, the aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces worked on identified enemy positions on the right bank.

Our UVAB-250 and UVAB-500 smashed enemy fortified positions to pieces.

15:09 Statement by the head of the press center of the Vostok group -video.

Units of the Vostok group of troops continue to carry out combat missions in the South Donetsk direction.

During active operations, the group’s units improved the situation along the front line and repelled a counterattack by formations of the 127th Territorial Defense Brigade in the Priyutnoye area.

Bomber strikes, artillery fire, and heavy flamethrower systems hit strongholds and areas where manpower and equipment accumulated in the 128th Territorial Defense Brigade in the areas of Makarovka and Urozhayny.

Over the course of 24 hours, up to 90 military personnel, the Nota electronic warfare station, and two vehicles were destroyed.

14:15 Statement by the head of the press center of the Center group -video.

The Center group of troops continues to carry out tasks in the special military operation zone.

Artillery fire and air strikes inflicted fire on formations of the 47th, 59th Mechanized and 25th Airborne brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Berdychi, Tonenkoye, and Pervomaiskoye areas.

In addition, fire damage was caused to 37 strong points, about 100 field artillery positions and two enemy command posts. During the counter-battery fight, two 122mm D-30 howitzers, a 120mm mortar and a German-made Panzerhowitzer-2000 self-propelled artillery mount were destroyed.

The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to over 305 military personnel, three armored combat vehicles and four cars. Three Hymers MLRS rockets were shot down by air defense systems.

13:35 Hit for an oil storage facility in the Poltava region.

Tonight, Russian troops struck the territory of the Poltava Oil and Gas Company in the village. Sokolova Balka, Geran-2 attack UAVs were used.

Coordinates: 49.2122552, 34.6525281

On the territory of the facility there are tanks for storing petroleum products and gas condensate with a volume of 2000 cubic meters. Three kamikaze drones managed to destroy two tanks (which ones are unknown). A strong fire broke out on the spot, the glow from which was visible for several kilometers in the area.

In turn, local authorities have already indirectly confirmed the defeat of the target - “There are several hits on an infrastructure facility in the Poltava region.”

After multiple attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on Ukrainian refineries and fuel storage bases, Ukrainian formations began to use the territories and reservoirs of private oil and gas enterprises in the logistics supply chain for their groups of troops in various directions. Thus, trying to “not keep all your eggs in one basket,” but to disperse the reserves of fuels and lubricants.

Yes, the RF Armed Forces periodically strike at oil and gas industry facilities, but to achieve the desired effect and create a fuel shortage, systematic development of such targets is necessary. A one-time destruction or defeat of several tanks, although unpleasant for the enemy, does not carry any catastrophic consequences.

At night, repeated strikes were also carried out on energy facilities in the Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk regions. These were probably the Usatovo 330 kV substation and the Pervomaiskaya 330 kV substation, the extent of the damage is unknown. After reports of explosions in the Usatovo area, local residents began to receive reports of power outages.

12:25 They report the advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the southern part of the Seversky salient and in the Razdolovka area -map.

Last week, our troops also advanced in the fields and plantings between Razdolovka and Vesely.

11:37 Front bird broadcasts:

Khar'kov region (border region). 30.03

A repeated strike on a military facility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is reported. The Ukrainian Armed Forces' electronic warfare system was damaged.

Military equipment was damaged.

Our tactical aviation worked without entering the enemy’s air defense coverage area.

10:33 Telegram channel «WarGonzo":

Frontline report for the morning of 03/30/2024

- Zaporozhye Front. Long-range weapons on both sides continue to work actively. In Rabotino, the Russian Armed Forces tried to advance into the village. No results. Neither side has yet been able to seize the initiative. North-west of Verbovoy LBS without changes.

– Donetsk front. Here, Russian troops continue to put pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Novomikhailovka, slowly but surely taking more and more new positions. There are tactical successes in Georgievka, where, with the support of aviation and artillery, the Russian Armed Forces also improved their positions.

In the Nevel'skoye area - no changes. In Tonen'koye, Russian troops continue to attempt to advance westward, in the direction of Umanskoye. There are some successes, but they come with great difficulty. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively defending themselves. There are fierce battles on the outskirts of Semyonovka. The Ukrainian Armed Forces periodically counterattack, trying to prevent Russian troops from gaining a foothold on the southern outskirts of this settlement.

– Artemovskoe (Bakhmutskoe) direction. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, apparently, pulled up reserves and counterattacked in Ivanovsky (Krasny). It is extremely unprofitable for Ukrainian troops to leave positions on the western outskirts of this settlement. The Russian Armed Forces fought back, but the situation in the area is tense. Repeated surges of the APU cannot be ruled out.

10:05 Front bird broadcasts:

Khar'kov region (border region). Russian Aerospace Forces. 30.03

A second attack on a military facility by air-to-ground missiles is reported. A military facility, including an engineering workshop, was damaged.

Our tactical aviation worked without entering the enemy’s air defense coverage area.

09:31 Criminal Kyiv regimecontinuesto fire at the civilian infrastructure of settlements on the left bank of the Kherson region, yesterday during the day the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired from cannon artillery:

-- n.p. Dnepryan three rounds;

-- n.p. Alyosha eight rounds;

-- n.p. Kakhovka two rounds;

-- n.p. Kazachi Lagery four rounds;

-- n.p. Podlesnoe three rounds.

During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the village. Podstepnoye, n.p. Korsunka, n.p. Aleshki, n.p. Golaya Pristan, Kakhovka, firing a total of 20 rounds from cannon artillery.

Civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure are being determined.

08:48 Telegram channel “Fisherman":

Chronicle of a special military operation
for March 29, 2024

– Russian troops again launched a series of attacks on rear areas in territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. Once again, the target was energy infrastructure facilities, including the Kremenchug hydroelectric station in the Poltava region. Explosions also occurred at similar facilities in other areas.

– At the same time, Ukrainian formations continue artillery attack border regions, including settlements in the Belgorod region. In Belgorod, one of the drones hit a residential building, killing one civilian.

– In the Artemovsky (Bakhmutsky) direction, the enemy launched counterattacks in the direction of Ivanovsky (Krasny), but did not achieve success. During the day, Aerospace Forces aircraft carried out several strikes on targets in the area of ??Chasov Yar and Konstantinovka.

– In the Avdeevsky direction, the Russian Armed Forces managed to level the configuration of the front line east of the Tonenkoye-Vodyanoye line. The offensive continues in the direction of Umansky. The use of Russian robotic platforms with weapons was also noted at the site.

– In the Donetsk direction, assault groups of the Russian Armed Forces entrenched themselves in the center of Georgievka, and the enemy retreated to prepared positions on the territory of the Selkhozkhimiya enterprise.

08:10 Official summary of Representative offices of the DPR in the JCCC:

A total of 21 facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded by the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC.

One civilian was reported injured.

Damaged:

Five residential buildings,

one civil infrastructure facility.

Ten attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction,

Ten attacks from the Armed Forces in the Gorlovka direction,

One artillery attack from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Yasinovatsky direction.

In total, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 59 units of various ammunition.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [68 views] Top|| File under:


Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 31, 2024
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.

[Korrespondent] 22:13 In the morning, Russian troops dropped explosives from a drone in Berislav, Kherson region - a nurse who was walking along the street was wounded. In the evening, the enemy fired at Stanislav - one of the shells hit near a private house, a local resident was injured, the prosecutor's office reported.

22:02 The Russians hit civilian infrastructure in the Shevchenkovsky district of Kharkov with a guided projectile, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. No casualties were reported.

20:46 British intelligence writes that Russian troops have “almost certainly” captured Tonenkoye and Orlovka in the Donetsk region and are continuing their gradual advance west of Avdiivka. Analysts also note that Russia is recruiting about 30 thousand people a month into the army, and “most likely will continue to do so in order to compensate for losses and continue attacks aimed at exhausting Ukrainian forces.”

18:11 During the day, air defense forces of the Pivden air command destroyed an X-59 guided missile, a Supercam reconnaissance drone and a Lancet attack UAV.

14:40 The Russian army fired artillery at the city of Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region - two people were killed, one was wounded, the prosecutor's office reported.

11:38 Up to 80% of DTEK’s capacities were damaged or destroyed as a result of Russian shelling, said the company’s executive director Dmitry Sakharuk. According to him, five of the six stations accessible before the latest large-scale attacks were very badly damaged. Some blocks are almost completely destroyed, others - partially.

08:47 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of March 30:

  • personnel - about 441,520 (+730) people,

  • tanks - 6951 (+29),

  • armored combat vehicles - 13,284 (+20),

  • artillery systems - 11,006 (+15),

  • MLRS - 1023 (+0),

  • air defense systems - 736 (+1),

  • aircraft - 347 (+0),

  • helicopters - 325 (+0),

  • UAV of operational-tactical level - 8701 (+45),

  • cruise missiles - 2046 (+24),

  • ships/boats - 26 (+0),

  • submarines - 1 (+0),

  • automotive equipment and tank trucks - 14,670 (+25),

  • special equipment - 1814 (+7).

08:28 Over the past 24 hours, 72 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the enemy tried 25 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka and Vodyanoye of the Donetsk region. Another 20 attacks were repelled in the Avdeevsky direction - in the areas of the settlements of Berdychi, Umanskoye, Tonenkoye, Semenovka, Pervomaiskoye and Nevelskoye in the Donetsk region.

The enemy did not conduct offensive actions in the Kupyansk direction. In the Liman direction, the Defense Forces repelled 16 attacks in the areas of Ternov, Donetsk region and Belogorivka, Lugansk region; on Bakhmutskoye - four attacks in the Kleshcheevka and Andreevka areas of the Donetsk region; on Orekhovsky - four attacks in the areas of Staromayorskoye, Donetsk region and north-west of Verbovoye, Zaporozhye region; on Kherson - three attacks.

08:06 In the Poltava region, during a night attack by drones, several hits were recorded on an infrastructure facility in the Poltava region, said the head of the OVA, Philip Pronin. No people were hurt.

07:39 In the morning, the Russians hit Nikopol in the Dnepropetrovsk region with a kamikaze drone, damaging an infrastructure facility, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Lysak. In addition, at night, fragments of a downed UAV fell on the territory of the elevator - a fire started, which was promptly extinguished, no people were injured.

07:23 Air defense at night destroyed nine of the 12 attack UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type, which Russia attacked from the Crimean Cape Chauda, ​​the Air Force reported. The drones were destroyed within the Kherson, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and Poltava regions. In addition, at night the Russians attacked the Donetsk region with four S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [73 views] Top|| File under:


Consequences of the strike by the Russian Armed Forces on March 22, 2024 for the energy system of Ukraine
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Text taken from a post by Russian military correspondent Rybar

[ColonelCassad] Strike of the Russian Armed Forces on March 22, 2024 on the territory of the so-called. Ukraine was remarkable in many respects. First, a large list of targets was hit, which included both power plants and distribution substations (DS). Secondly, the attack was massive in nature, with several missiles fired at each target. The effect was also enhanced by the fact that the enemy clearly did not expect the attack and was unable to fully prepare for it: for example, this time there were no preventive power outages that had been used previously.

In the future, attacks on energy system facilities are called Ukraine continued: on March 28, according to local authorities, objects were hit in the Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy and Poltava regions.

Which objects in which regions were affected by

Kharkov and the Kharkov region

-- The strikes were carried out on 330 kV substations: Zalyutino, Kharkovskaya and Losevo. They were affected by 330/110 kV autotransformers.
An impact and subsequent fire was recorded in the engine room of CHPP-5, where the 2nd turbogenerator was destroyed, and the 1st and 3rd were seriously damaged. The station stopped working.

Arrivals at Zmievskaya TPP were recorded. Judging by satellite images, there are multiple impact marks on the roof of the engine room. Their location of damage suggests that turbogenerators No. 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 (numbered from west to east) were damaged. However, it should be taken into account that some of the generators No. 7–10 are presumably mothballed or taken out for repairs, so their damage does not affect the generating capacity of the station. Generator transformers No. 3, 4, 5, 6 were also damaged. The condition of the remaining turbogenerators is unknown, the station was shut down.

Poltava region
According to local authorities, the target of the strikes by the Russian Armed Forces were the Poltava 330 substation and the Mirgorod substation 330, but there is no objective evidence of this. Power outage schedules have been introduced, but there is no talk of a complete blackout, so there is no talk of serious damage to equipment.

Sumy region
According to the Ukrenergo website, power outage schedules have been introduced in the Sumy, Konotop and Shostka regions. The strike presumably struck the Konotop 330 substation, but the extent of the damage is unknown.

Zaporozhye and Zaporozhye region
Eight missiles hit the largest hydroelectric power station, the so-called. Ukraine - DneproGES. The power plant is shut down.

Most of the ammunition hit DneproGES-2: almost the entire turbine hall was destroyed there, 6 of 8 hydraulic generators and an open switchgear (OSU-154 kV) were damaged, three of four generator transformers were destroyed. The crane tracks on the dam were also damaged, which made it impossible to control the hydraulic valves on part of the dam. DneproGES-2 is virtually destroyed and requires lengthy repairs.

One rocket hit the turbine hall of DneproGES-1 and damaged one generator transformer and overhead communication lines with the outdoor switchgear of DneproGES, causing a short circuit on the equipment. DneproGES-1 received minor damage and is expected to be put into operation again in the near future, albeit without one hydrogenerator.

Dnepropetrovsk region
The missiles hit the Dneprovskaya 750 substation and caused a short circuit, which led to the disconnection of the communication line with the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. The substation was heavily damaged as a result of strikes last year and has not been fully restored, but transit and distribution of 750 kV and 330 kV electricity is carried out through it, since open switchgears, unlike autotransformers, have been fully restored.

The strikes were also carried out on the Pavlogradskaya 330 substation, but they did not cause critical damage to the equipment.

Arrivals were also recorded at all substations of Krivoy Rog - substation Pervomaiskaya 330, substation Kirovskaya 330 and substation Yuzhnaya 330. Satellite images show signs of damage to autotransformers at substation Yuzhnaya 330, at substation Kirovskaya and substation Pervomaiskaya 330 there are signs of damage to outdoor switchgear-330 kV. The damage is not critical, but taking into account the fact that there is damage at all substations, this ultimately led to interruptions in the city's power supply. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the Gornaya 330 substation was damaged as a result of the February strikes.

The Pridneprovskaya and Krivoy Rog thermal power plants are operating - the first approximately at power units 5 and 6, the second at power units 3 and 4.

Vinnytsia region
Another blow to the Ladyzhynska Thermal Power Plant. The missiles hit the area of ​​the 4th and partly the 3rd turbogenerator, damaging the engine room and partly the boiler room, and part of the roof collapsed. The pictures showed smoke from the fire and possibly a damaged boiler. The station is stopped. Turbine generators No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 appear to have been undamaged, and after the process pipelines and utilities are restored, the station can continue to operate with limited power on the remaining generators.

Odessa region
As a result of attacks on substations, power supply to most consumers was cut off. The main blow was supposedly on the Adzhalyk 330 substation, which disrupted the transmission of electricity from the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant to Odessa. Taking into account the shutdown of the Ladyzhinskaya Thermal Power Plant, the only sources of power remained the import of electricity from Moldova, the Odessa Thermal Power Plant and solar and wind power plants. There are no traces of damage on the Usatovo 330 substation, Novoodesskaya 330 substation and Tsentrolit 220 substation on satellite images. However, we assume that the Usatovo 330 substation received some damage, since on the night of March 22-23, the import of electricity from Moldova actually stopped for several hours. It seems that this time was used to repair the substation, then imports grew steadily and are now in the range of 600–700 MW (in reality it is higher, since part of the electricity comes back from Ukraine to Moldova to the Rybnitsa substation). If there was serious damage at the Usatovo substation, such high traffic would be impossible.

Khmelnitsky region
Substation Shepetivka 330 and substation Khmelnitskaya 330 were hit. At the substation Shepetivka, equipment of the 330 kV outdoor switchgear and a technical building were allegedly damaged. The object was not critically damaged. At the Khmelnitskaya substation, judging by satellite images, an autotransformer was destroyed. A schedule of power outages has been introduced in the region.

Ivano-Frankivsk region
Apparently, the target of the attack was the Burshtyn thermal power plant, but the extent of the damage to the station is not yet known. According to local authorities, as a result of the impact, a disruption in heat supply was recorded, but there were no interruptions in power supply. Indirectly, this suggests damage to the pumping station with network pumps.

Unidentified electrical power facilities in the Nikolaev and Lvov regions were also affected.

What are the consequences of the strike for the Ukrainian energy sector?

The most difficult situation with electricity supply has developed in Kharkov. The defeat of the region's two main generating stations - Zmievskaya TPP (capacity 2200 MW) and CHPP-5 (540 MW) - deprived the city of 93% of its generating capacity. Impacts on 330 kV substations greatly reduced the possibilities of receiving electricity from the center of the country.

However, in Kharkov, CHPP-2 and CHPP-3 remained, capable of producing 230 MW in nominal mode. Also at the Losevo and Kharkovskaya substations there were intact autotransformers capable of receiving electricity and reducing it to the level of 110 kV. The city can be supplied with electricity from other regions via several 110 kV overhead lines, which also provides power, albeit limited. Mobile diesel and gas piston power plants were brought to the city, which also contribute to the electricity supply. All this made it possible to return electricity to the city and some industrial enterprises within a few days, but with strict restrictions. At the same time, the situation in Kharkov is truly critical.

The strikes in the Sumy and Poltava regions can be regarded as additionally blocking the transmission of electricity from the western regions to Kharkov. In the event of repeated attacks on the remaining autotransformers and on CHPP-2 and CHPP-3, as well as the destruction of the 110 kV outdoor switchgear of the Losevo substation and a raid on the Poltava 330 substation, we can expect a complete collapse of the energy sector of Kharkov and the region.

The decommissioning of the DneproGES greatly affected the ability to regulate load peaks in the energy system. Part of the station (DneproGES-1) will probably be put back into operation soon, but the station has already lost 60% of its generating capacity.

Zaporozhye is now completely dependent on the energy of neighboring regions, and the Dnepropetrovsk region also cannot boast of a stable power supply. Moreover, if Dnepropetrovsk is relatively stable due to the operating thermal power plant and Sredneprovskaya hydroelectric power station, then there is clearly not enough energy for the industrial areas of Krivoy Rog. The technical condition of the Krivoy Rog Thermal Power Plant apparently does not allow it to launch more than two or three power units, and this is clearly not enough for such a number of consumers. Thus, Krivoy Rog and Dnepropetrovsk are critically dependent on the transmission of electricity from the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant via both 330 kV and 750 kV lines. The 750 kV substations, although very seriously damaged during last year's strikes, still retain limited ability to transmit and step down the voltage from 750 kV to 330 kV, partially unloading the 330 kV lines.

The situation in Odessa is largely explained by weak power supply backup. Of all the large cities, Odessa has the smallest safety margin, and any blow to substations has a much stronger impact on it than on other administrative centers of the regions. However, it is saved by the proximity of Moldova and Romania, from where there is a constant flow of electricity. The key distribution center for electricity is the Usatovo 330 substation, and as long as it is operational, the import of electricity does not stop. Another bottleneck is the Adjalyk 330 substation, through which electricity is supplied from the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. The last source is the Ladyzhinskaya Thermal Power Plant. During the strikes on March 22, it was possible to neutralize two of the three sources of power supply (Substation Adzhalyk and Ladyzhinskaya Thermal Power Plant), as a result of which serious power outages immediately occurred in the city.

The attacks on substations in the Khmelnytsky region were intended to make it impossible to transit electricity from the Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants to the eastern regions of the country. At the same time, the raid was more of a test rather than an accentuated one.

The defeat of the Burshtynska Thermal Power Plant would have had a fairly serious impact on the power supply of the Carpathian and Transcarpathian regions, but, unfortunately, this time it was not possible to achieve serious damage.

Total
On March 22, an attempt was made to organize a blackout in Kharkov and Odessa and create significant difficulties. However, this was not enough. After the end of previous systemic attacks on the energy sector, the enemy took measures to protect facilities: for example, powerful reinforced concrete sarcophagi are being erected at each 330 kV substation, and at most substations their construction has already been completed. It is extremely difficult to hit such structures with Geraniums; in addition, the equipment in them is completely protected from fragments. At many substations, work is underway to create underground premises into which not only autotransformers will be located, but also distribution equipment. All this required huge capital expenditures, but the management of the so-called. Ukraine went for it, which indirectly confirms the colossal damage that the country’s energy sector suffered during last year’s attacks.

All this makes attacks on substations less and less effective and leads to the need for attacks on power plants. Large hydroelectric power stations on the Dnieper (Kremenchugskaya, Kievskaya and Sredneprovskaya) and the Dniester (Dnestrovskaya 1) and large thermal power plants (Pridneprovskaya, Tripolskaya, Burshtynskaya, CHPP-5 and CHPP-6 in Kiev, Dobrotvorskaya) remained untouched during the attack on March 22. Of these, on March 28, the Pridneprovskaya Thermal Power Plant and the Sredneprovskaya Hydroelectric Power Station were hit (with an as yet unknown result).

At the moment, the main element of the energy system is the so-called. Ukraine consists of three nuclear power plants - Rivne, Yuzhnoukrainsk and Khmelnytsky, which continue to provide electricity to the country and for some reason are ignored as targets for strikes. I would like to remind you that the enemy does not suffer from such sensitivity and has repeatedly tried to attack the Kursk and Smolensk nuclear power plants with drones. In this case, we are not talking about attacks on the reactors or turbine halls themselves (which would give rise to accusing the Russian Federation of “nuclear terrorism”), but about depriving nuclear power plants of the ability to supply power to the energy system. Preferably forever.


Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [80 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
First Palmyra. Bride of the Desert. Part 1
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. See the link for maps and photos

Text taken from Commissioner Yarrick post

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics

Posted for preserving the Russian historical perspective of the Syrian Civil War

[CHERNARUSIANNARCOWARS] FIRST PALMYRA. DESERT BRIDE

With a noose around the neck

In 2014, the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, where by that time there was already a long-term military conflict, changed dramatically. By mid-summer 2014, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) ousted the forces of moderate and radical opposition from Eastern Syria, occupying almost the entire province of Deir ez-Zor. On June 30, 2014, the leader of ISIS militants Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the creation of a “caliphate” - a terrorist quasi-state in the territories of Syria and Iraq with claims to global expansion.

Having no other opponents among competing groups in eastern Syria, ISIS militants (which by that time had changed its name to IS - “Islamic State”, thereby removing the regional link) soon moved on to attacks on Syrian government forces. In August and December 2014, IS gangs attacked the Deir ez-Zor airbase and surrounding areas of the city, blockading the last Syrian army enclave on the banks of the Euphrates. And in parallel with this, IS is making its first forays into Central Syria with the aim of capturing strongholds of the government army.

On July 16, 2014, a small mobile force of 100 experienced IS fighters attacked the Al-Sha'ir gas field northwest of Palmyra. The gas field was defended by about 400 SAA soldiers and National Defense Forces militias, supported by Syrian Air Force aircraft from the nearby Shayrat airbase. After 12 hours of continuous fighting, IS captured eight checkpoints around the field, encircling Syrian army units. Only 30 military personnel managed to escape from the “cauldron”: the 270 people remaining on Al-Shair, including 11 civilian workers, were executed by the militants. Up to 200 more people who found themselves in the “cauldron” remained in captivity or went missing.

Read the rest at this link

PART II
The Path to the East

As we remember from previous articles, in the very first days of the Russian operation in the SAR, together with the air group of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the “Syrian Express”, a group of Russian volunteers and military veterans under the command of Dmitry Utkin (“Wagner”, “Ninth”), which was supposed to support the actions of the Syrian army, as well as ensure the implementation of the most complex and dangerous operations. The first meeting of the “musicians” with Syrian militants was the battles in Northern Latakia in the fall of 2015: it was the fighters of the “orchestra” who were in the vanguard of the Syrian troops clearing the approaches to the Russian Khmeimim airbase. Then, with the direct participation and activity of Russian attack aircraft, the fighters of the Syrian army for the first time managed to show a phenomenal result - move from positional warfare to an offensive, shift the front in the mountainous regions of Latakia and divert any threat from the Russian airbase.

Over the next few months, the fighters of the Wagner Group were transferred to the Palmyra area, where they received a new task. The Orchestra fighters had to begin advancing along the route, while the Syrian army was churning the mud near Mkhin and Khavarin, cutting a road directly to Palmyra - but so far without storming the city itself. Having accepted the task, in parallel with the advance of the Syrian army near Jebel al-Hazm, supported by attacks from Russian cruise missiles, the “musicians” began an assault on the eastern slopes of the Jebel Khayal mountains, captured several points and advanced east towards Palmyra.

As the GRAY ZONE Telegram channel notes, by this time the Wagner Group had been completed with new fighters from the assault squads. The total number of the “Orchestra” in Syria by this time reached almost 2.5 thousand people. Since the Palmyra operation already required specialized military equipment, units of heavy armored vehicles, as well as pickup trucks with installed large-caliber weapons, were transferred to the balance of the Wagner Group through the mediation of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Some equipment was captured from the militants, some weapons were transferred to Russian fighters from Syrian units. As a result, by the winter of 2015/16, the Wagner Group was armed with several infantry fighting vehicles, T-90, T-72 and T-62 tanks, armored vehicles, recoilless rifles, ATGMs, numerous variations of Kalashnikov assault rifles (from Russian manufacturers to low-quality Chinese "Samsungs") and even foreign sniper rifles (in particular, Austrian Steyr-Mannlicher).

Read the rest at this link
Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [113 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Protest breaks out in Beirut after UNRWA suspends Lebanese teacher
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian aid agency does not explain why staffer put on leave, but many speculate it was due to affiliation with Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw,

Dozens of people protested outside the Beirut office of the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
Paleostinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) on Wednesday, after it put a staff member on administrative leave over possible violations of staff conduct regulations.
OOOoohh! "Dozens"!
School teacher Fathi al-Sharif was put on leave for three months without pay, as the UN agency investigated alleged activities "that are in violation of the Agency’s regulatory framework governing staff conduct," the agency told Rooters in a statement.

UNRWA said it could not discuss further details. It did not say whether the teacher was accused of membership in a terrorist group.

Sharif spoke at the protest on Wednesday, where a crowd had gathered to support him. Several people told Rooters that he had been accused of links to Hamas, the Paleostinian terror group which led the murderous onslaught in southern Israel on October 7.

"The job can go, and we will stay!" he told those gathered.

UNRWA, which provides services including education and health to Paleostinian refugees across the region, has been in crisis, after multiple countries froze funding over accusations that some of its employees took part in the October 7 attack, and that many others are affiliated with Hamas.

Israel informed the UN that it would no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
, where famine is possible by May, according to a UN-backed report published last week. An Israeli government front man said on Monday that Israel would stop working with UNRWA altogether in Gaza.

Earlier this year, Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip of taking part in the Hamas-led attack on Israeli soil on October 7 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered and 253 were taken hostage.

Israel’s allegations prompted a suspension of funding by more than a dozen donors, some of whom have since resumed funding.

The accusations also sparked an investigation by a UN oversight body and a separate review process by UNRWA, which its Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity™, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade...
representative, Dorothee Klaus, told Rooters would examine safeguards protecting its neutrality and independence.

She said she expected her branch of the agency would be consulted in a possible review of whether staff in Lebanon were affiliated with terrorist groups.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [72 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
With truce talks stuck, Israel said planning Rafah incursion in April or May
[IsraelTimes] Pro-Hezbollah newspaper says offensive will come after Ramadan and will last 4-8 weeks; Israel reportedly vows to notify Cairo in advance of an IDF operation into Philadelphi Route

Following the apparent failure of the latest round of negotiations in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, Israel is not willing to make any further concessions to Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, and is gearing up for a ground operation in Rafah, a Lebanese newspaper reported Wednesday.

The pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar daily, citing Egyptian sources who were said to have been in contact with Israel Defense Forces officials, reported that the expected offensive would come after Eid al-Fitr — the three-day holiday that follows Ramadan and ends around April 12 — or in early May at the latest.

The ground incursion inside the last bastion of Hamas in 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
Strip would last from four to eight weeks, the sources said, and would be accompanied by an evacuation of the civilian population sheltering in Rafah, which amounts to about 1.5 million people, toward the center of the Strip along specific routes and at specific times, announced to civilians in each area of the city in advance.

The mass evacuation would be monitored from the ground and the air to ensure that no Hamas fighters or Israeli hostages are hidden among the Gazook civilians, the Egyptian officials said.

Four Hamas battalions remain in Rafah, and it is believed that Hamas leadership and at least some of the hostages — 130 of those kidnapped on October 7 remain in Gaza, not all of them alive — are in the city bordering Egypt.

Cairo expressed its deep concerns over an IDF operation in the Rafah area, noting that it could lead to a further escalation not only in Gaza, but in the whole region, al-Akhbar reported.

Israel reportedly vowed to notify the Egyptians in advance of an IDF incursion into the Philadelphi corridor, which runs west of Rafah along the border between Gaza and Egypt.

The Lebanese paper also reported that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi refused a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a direct line to remain in contact.

Additionally, it claimed that negotiations are underway under the auspices of UAE mediation to bring medication to Israeli hostages in exchange for large amounts of medical aid to be allowed into the Strip.

Netanyahu and the Biden administration (aka the Wilmington comorra)
...the pack of self-imagined masterminds of strategy and intrigue at the service of the Biden Crime Family and a grateful nation...
have been locked in a growing public spat over a potential ground operation in Rafah.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Senate, Tremulus continued with his speech against Varius and his cohorts, watching as his colleagues dropped off to sleep one by one...
on Wednesday, former Hamas politburo head Khaled Mashaal said that Israeli hostages will remain captive until Israel halts hostilities, withdraws its troops from Gaza, allows displaced civilians to return to their homes, and ends a blockade on the Strip, adding that the terror group will not budge but indicating it is continuing to negotiate with Israel.

Speaking at a women’s event in Jordan, Mashaal said that Hamas is waging a "negotiating battle that is no less fierce" than its armed fight to achieve a halt of the Israeli "aggression." He seemed to imply that the group is preparing for an intensification of Israeli operations at the end of Ramadan, saying there are "threats" looming at the end of the holy Moslem month.

Mashaal said Hamas will keep on fighting on the ground, and urges Moslems around the world to support the struggle so that "their blood will mix with the blood of the people of Paleostine." He also called for financial donations for the people of Gaza.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [73 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


While diplomatic efforts go on, IDF is bracing for short but devastating war in Lebanon
Hattip Grom the Reflective.
[IsraelTimes] As Defense Minister Gallant met with US envoy Amos Hochstein in DC, escalations by Hezbollah cast doubt on notion anything but a military solution will deter the terror group

The last few days on the Israeli border with Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...In 2020 Hezbollah blew up a considerable portion of Beirut and many of its inhabitants when its ammonium nitrate facility exploded. They blamed it on... somebody else. It wasn't them though. Trust them on that. And it ain't never coming to trial...
can be defined as violence-heavy. Both sides are on an escalatory ladder, and both are climbing it, trying to stay on top — while avoiding stepping too high.

A symmetry of sorts has taken shape in the north over the last five months, as Hezbollah has maintained its near-daily attacks on Israel and the Jewish state has responded in kind, a symmetry reflected not just in strikes but in the civilian toll as well. Just as Israel felt compelled to establish a kind of "security zone" in the north, evacuating tens of thousands of residents from towns near the border, similar action has been taken in south Lebanon. Some 80,000 residents of northern Israel have been forced to leave their homes amid the hostilities. According to Israeli estimates, more than 120,000 Lebanese have become internally displaced by the fighting.

In certain south Lebanese villages where Israel has intelligence on a major Hezbollah presence, the IDF’s fire policy is strict: Anyone defined as a suspect is attacked.

Amid the daily cross-border attacks, Wednesday’s Israeli strike in Lebanon — in which seven members of the Jamaa al-Islamiya
...The Islamic Group. Sunni Islamist alignment in Lebanon. The group was founded in 1952 as the Leb branch of the Moslem Brüderbund. Its current leader is Faisal Mawlawi. The party has a military wing known as the al-Fajr Forces. Currently they have 1 seat in the Lebanese Parliament...
terror group planning to carry out an infiltration attack on the border were killed — was different from what we’ve seen so far, both in scope and in the identity of those killed.

The terror cell in question was made up of Paleostinians active in an holy warrior Sunni Islamist organization centered in the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, who were eliminated far from their normal area of operations. They appeared to choose the Mount Dov area for their planned attack, with the lack of a border fence making it relatively easier to infiltrate into Israeli territory.

Interestingly, throughout the months-long conflict, Hezbollah has chosen to send Paleostinian groups rather than its own people to carry out such infiltration attempts. The organization appears to be doing this in order to be able to portray the acts as ostensibly tied to the defense of 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
, rather than unprovoked aggression.

In an official announcement after the elimination of the terror cell, the IDF emphasized that the strike was conducted to thwart an imminent attack. It is quite possible that Israel had been following the cell for some time.

Hezbollah was quick to respond to the strike, accusing Israel of massacring civilians and launching a barrage of 30 rockets at Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding area.

One of the rockets struck and killed 25-year-old Zaher Bashara in the Druze village of Ein Qiniyye.

The escalation in cross-border fire came at the end of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to Washington, where he met with the US special envoy to the region Amos Hochstein, who has been leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Hezbollah standoff.

Despite the latest Israeli fatality caused by Hezbollah, Israel is committed to staying the course with Hochstein as he tries to find a way out of the crisis.

Israel’s Archimedean point is unchanged for now: Gaza comes first. Everything else will wait for a time when conditions are right.

But that doesn’t mean Israel isn’t preparing for an expanded conflict on the northern front.

DRILLING FOR A SHORT WAR; WATCHING A ’CONSIDERABLE’ RETREAT
On Wednesday, battalion commanders in the IDF completed a seminar organized by the 36th Division in preparation for a possible offensive in Lebanon. The division, which was stationed in Gaza for more than three months at the start of the war, shared its lessons from the fighting and how they may be implemented in Lebanon.

And on Thursday the IDF said it carried out a surprise exercise aimed at preparing the military for war in the north. The drill, led by the Operations Division, involved all the IDF’s commands, wings and directorates, as well as the General Staff.

Still, as far as the IDF is concerned, the current situation in southern Lebanon with regard to Hezbollah’s deployment is fundamentally different from that of Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", in Gaza on October 7.

"Practically, we aren’t that far from [UN Resolution] 1701, in terms of Hezbollah presence," a security bigshot said, referring to the motion that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and which mandated that Hezbollah forces retreat kilometers from the border — a resolution the terror group has patently ignored for many years.

"The organization has retreated considerably [in recent weeks], including the Radwan forces that had been deployed along the border in the last year," he said, referring to the elite commandos seen as a particular threat by Israel. "So the threat of a raid is significantly decreased."

This raises the question of whether residents of evacuated northern communities should be able to return home. After all, the threat of a Hamas-esque invasion was the chief reason for the rapid evacuation of northern border communities at the start of the war in Gaza.

Such a decision can only be made by politicians, and until they do decide, official policy remains the same — residents will only be allowed to return after Hezbollah is removed from the border, peacefully or otherwise.

HITTING ’HEZBOLLAH’ OR ’LEBANON’
"The next Lebanon war, whenever it breaks out, will be shorter than we think, especially because of the issue of international legitimacy," a diplomatic source told The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site Zman Yisrael.

"International scrutiny of events in Lebanon is different from that in Gaza," the source said. "There are many Western nations and international bodies involved in Lebanon, and therefore the time Israel would have to operate against Hezbollah in Lebanon would be far less than that afforded to it in Gaza."

This means Israel will need to prepare a lethal plan of action, one that will bring about the desired goals in a very short time. Israel has not specified what that will look like, but it’s clear that a war would be a matter of weeks and not longer.

Some in the IDF hold an optimistic view on the prospects for such action and have presented their position to politicians. The latter will no doubt examine it carefully, for fear an operation could stall and fizzle out as in the Second Lebanon War in 2006, dealing a heavy blow to Israeli deterrence.

The intensity of such a war must be taken into account — both in the damage Israel will suffer and that caused to Lebanon. The ferocity of such a war, particularly when taking into account Hezbollah’s massive stock of missiles and rockets, only underlines the need for a swift, decisive campaign.

Nearly six months into the conflict, Israel is still finding it difficult to define when the Rubicon will be crossed — when it would have to move from harming strictly Hezbollah to the Lebanese state itself.

An adherence to the principle of not harming Lebanese state assets could in the end mean a longer war, and severe damage to the projection of Israeli power and its regional deterrence.

Israeli Air Force resumes training exercises following halt since October 7

[IsraelTimes] The Israeli Air Force has returned to carrying out exercises, which had largely been on hold since the onset of the war on October 7.

The military says it has approved a new training program for the IAF amid the war, with an emphasis on preparing for war in the north.

The IDF says that as the war began on October 7, the IAF "froze the annual training program and all resources and attention were directed to the war effort."

For the past few weeks the IAF has gradually been returning to training, and a new program was recently approved, the IDF says.

"The training program will focus on increasing the Air Force’s readiness for war in the northern arena and in other theaters, amid prolonged combat," the IDF says in a statement.

The IDF says the drills will include "massive, long-range strikes, flights deep in enemy territory, decision-making in war conditions... and surprise exercises will be held for the various units."

According to the IDF, the drills have been adapted to not harm the IAF’s routine operations amid the war in the Gazoo Strip and on other fronts.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [210 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  "Nearly six months into the conflict, Israel is still finding it difficult to define when the Rubicon will be crossed — when it would have to move from harming strictly Hezbollah to the Lebanese state itself." I don't think that is true. Israel does not want a two front war for the moment. Once its success is achieved in Gaza it will turn on Lebanon. Plans are to demilitarize Lebanon south of the Litani River. The problem exists now as it has, what force can be employed to ensure that demilitarization, and will demilitarization necessitate depopulation?
Posted by: Huputle+Cherelet4131 || 03/31/2024 9:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Lebanon harbors Hezbullah. They make all the obsequious noises about not being able to control them, but in the end, the state of Lebanon harbors them and can't claim ant indemnity.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 9:39 Comments || Top||

#3  The USA stands with Israel. Let us know what you need and we will deliver.
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 12:34 Comments || Top||

#4  I am sorry, but I think you are much to optimistic. When Israel turns on Lebanon you will see Biden rush to support Hizbollah.
Posted by: Huputle+Cherelet4131 || 03/31/2024 13:58 Comments || Top||


Europe
Baerbock accuses Putin of wanting to drag NATO into a war with Russia
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock said that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly wants to drag NATO into war.

This is why Russia allegedly refuses peace negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine, Burbock said.

“He (Putin - editor’s note) definitely does not want to negotiate,” the Tagesspiegel quotes the German Foreign Minister as saying.

Baerbock also stated that if Russia wins in Ukraine, security in Europe and international order will allegedly be at risk. At the same time, she opposed sending Western troops to Ukraine.

As reported by Regnum news agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry previously stated that NATO is preparing members of the bloc for a potential clash with Russia. This is precisely what is connected with the militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, as well as the accelerated strengthening of NATO capabilities in Poland and the Baltic states, the department noted.

Statements by the West about Russia’s alleged plans to attack Europe after Ukraine are nonsense and nonsense, Russian President Vladimir Putin previously noted. He also stated that Moscow and the EU countries have no territorial claims against each other and that Russia is interested in constructive relations.

In March 2024, Putin noted that Russia has never given up on negotiations on Ukraine and remains ready for them, but such negotiations must be based on reality. The Kremlin and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have previously repeatedly emphasized that Russia is ready for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine, subject to the fulfillment of all the requirements set before the start of the Northern Military District, and subject to the recognition of new territorial realities - the return of four regions to Russia in 2022, noting that otherwise In this case, the special military operation will continue.

More from regnum.ru
Zakharova offers to buy Annalena Berbock a map and a history textbook

German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock needs to buy a map and a history textbook, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on March 30.

This is how she commented on Berbock’s statements that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly wants to drag NATO into a war with the Russian Federation and that is why he allegedly refuses peace negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine.

“I would like to ask Berbock: is she not aware that it was not Russian bases that surrounded NATO countries, but that NATO was expanding east along the perimeter of Russia? Buy Annalena a map, a history book and chewing gum so that she says less of this kind of nonsense,” Zakharova told RIA Novosti.

As reported by IA Regnum, in her statement, Berbock also made the assertion that if Russia wins in Ukraine, then security in Europe and international order will allegedly be under threat. At the same time, she spoke out against sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Trying to blame the Russian President for refusing negotiations on Ukraine, Berbock wants to shift the blame to Russia for the breakdown of the negotiation process, noted Georgy Fedorov, head of the Center for Social and Political Research “Aspect”, in an interview with Regnum.

Statements by the West about Russia’s alleged plans to attack Europe after Ukraine are nonsense and nonsense, Vladimir Putin previously noted. Moscow and the EU countries have no territorial claims against each other, and Russia is interested in constructive relations, the head of state said.

In March 2024, the president noted that Russia has never abandoned negotiations on Ukraine and remains ready for them, but such negotiations must be based on reality.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [112 views] Top|| File under:

#1  hope his plan works! We'll butcher the Russians. We're fresh while they're bloodied. It's the best thing that could happen.
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 12:30 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Let's Face It: the Hostages Are Probably Dead
[PJMedia] During its Oct. 7 terror invasion of Israel, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", took more than 250 hostages of every age, sex, and nationality. Around 130 hostages remain in secret locations in 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
Strip — or do they?

It's a sad thing to have to conclude. But given recent political developments and actions on the ground in Gaza, it seems certain that most or perhaps all of the hostages are dead. They include, or perhaps I should say, included six Americans.

Late Monday, Hamas rejected Israel's generous offer of releasing "as many as 800 prisoners, including 100 inmates convicted of murder," in exchange for just 40 hostages. Hamas rejected the offer, even after getting political cover provided by the Biden administration, the same old faces in slightly different places, the same old ideas, the same old graft
...the gang of subgeniuses trying to pass themselves off as the adults in charge of the series of calamities characteristic of the administration of a mentally challenged geriatric case...
's shameful abstention in Monday's UN vote to demand a ceasefire that didn't include the return of any hostages.

In response — and obvious frustration — Israel on Tuesday recalled its negotiators from Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
where the talks with Hamas were being held. In a statement, PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas’s decision is "clear proof it is not interested in continuing talks and a sad testament to the damage caused by the UN Security Council resolution."

Indeed. But why would Hamas give up the chance to get back hundreds of its own, plus a ceasefire long enough to rebuild its defenses?

There are two possibilities, and they aren't mutually exclusive.

The first is that by rejecting another ceasefire offer, Hamas — and more importantly, its sponsors in Tehran — continues to sow political confusion in the West. The antisemites infesting the media, education, and the Biden administration (plus a few losers on the Right), have more opportunities to stake their claim over American public opinion and this country's proud tradition of supporting freedom in the Middle East.

The second is that Hamas has few or no living hostages left to trade. Through abuse, neglect, or just Hamas bully boyz getting its thrills, the hostages might all be dead.

(There's actually a third possibility. Hamas just likes killing Jews and, the longer the war drags on, the more Jews it can murder. But even if that's the case, again, the other two can still be true.)

That brings us to David Bernstein, who posted on Twitter/X on Monday, "Unfortunately, I think a subtext for what's been going on is that Israel has concluded that a large % of the hostages are dead, either murdered on 10/7 or thereafter." Going further, Bernstein looked at the recent fighting at Sifah and concluded that the IDF raid was meant to gather "intelligence on who remains alive and where they might be, before any Rafah incursion and any further hostage negotiations. Which is why Israel took pains to capture the bully boyz instead of kill them."

Jerusalem has almost certainly come to the same conclusion that I have — that most or even all of the hostages are dead and that Hamas has no more bloody bargaining chips to play.

When — if? — the order comes down to the IDF to sweep Rafah, you couldn't blame those soldiers for adopting a take-no-prisoners attitude if it turns out Hamas has murdered all of theirs.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [230 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  That brings us to David Bernstein, who posted on Twitter/X on Monday, "Unfortunately, I think a subtext for what's been going on is that Israel has concluded that a large % of the hostages are dead, either murdered on 10/7 or thereafter." Going further, Bernstein looked at the recent fighting at Sifah and concluded that the IDF raid was meant to gather "intelligence on who remains alive and where they might be, before any Rafah incursion and any further hostage negotiations. Which is why Israel took pains to capture the bully boyz instead of kill them."

A likely assessment.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/31/2024 1:21 Comments || Top||

#2  As posted in another comment.

After nearly 6 months, I am sad to say I have my doubts that many of the hostages are still alive and/or uninjured.

For HAMAS to prove otherwise, it should be required to have the hostages pictures taken holding an Israeli Newspaper with a current date and Headline on it.

Because I wouldn't trust any US MSM, nor a lot of other nations Media given their openly Anti-Semitic positions of late.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 03/31/2024 7:04 Comments || Top||

#3  The Lindbergh baby, having an otherwise nice day with Jesus, smiles sadly...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 9:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, quite a few are dead already, but, and this is my speculation, I think the IDF found that some of the hostages that survived are being held by "ordinary" palestinians that swept into Israel after hamas on 10-7 taking the opportunity to capture a few slaves to do with them as they pleased.
Posted by: Rupert+Gleck2911 || 03/31/2024 9:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Not many remember the Lindberg Baby RIP.
Posted by: Chesney+Sleting4519 || 03/31/2024 15:08 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Al-Shabaab strikes key town in central Somalia
27-03-2024
[Garowe] Heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy...
was reportedly in Somalia on Wednesday, multiple sources confirmed, following an al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...

raid in Harardhere town, a strategic region in the fight against the Death Eaters who are fighting to control the country.

According to sources, heavy fighting erupted in the town after the Death Eaters targeted military officers, resulting in casualties on the al-Shabaab side. Local government officers faced the Death Eaters in the early morning battle.

The fighting reportedly started after soldiers on patrol clashed with al-Shabaab fighters in Bacaadka area near Harardheere. The town was recaptured from al-Shabaab early last year, records in our possession indicate.

Since the start of Ramadan, the Death Eaters have heightened attacks across the country, leading to deaths of several officers and innocent civilians. The government has activated security forces to help restore peace and stability across Somalia.

On Tuesday, al-shabaab launched a vicious attack on government soldiers in Daaru-Nicma village in Middle Shabelle region. Tuesday's attack was at least the third time al-Shabaab fighters attacked the village since last year.

A source in the region told VOA that phone calls are not going through but they they know government troops are under attack. The Death Eaters have been on the receiving end for the last two years following activation of serious onslaught against the group.
Shabelle Media adds:
In the midst of increased operations, the Somali army and clan militia targeted Al-Shabaab militants in their stronghold in the country’s central Galmudug state.

Seven kilometers from the Harardhere district in central Somalia, in the Farah Adan area, the combined troops and Al-Shabaab rebels engaged in fierce combat.

Mohamed Yusuf, the governor of the Harardere district and a combatant himself, claimed that they killed numerous Al-Shabaab members, including foreigners, by attacking the group from multiple angles.

They were now in the locations where the battle took place, as the governor stated, adding that the fighting went on for several hours.

In the operation, some government soldiers lost their lives, according to the governor. He made the remarks after the gunfight stopped, and the the SNA and clan militia overpowered the militants.

In order to attack the Harardhere district, he claimed that the Al-Shabaab had sent additional troops to the Farah Adan Sand area. Nonetheless, he claimed that the army that was fighting morally was unable to overcome Al-Shabaab.

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Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [138 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia launched 38 missile and 75 air strikes, — General Staff
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] During the past day, 72 combat clashes took place.

Ivanna Kapustyanska


The seven hundred and sixty-sixth day of Russia's large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine has begun. During the past day, 72 combat clashes took place.

This is stated in the morning summary of the General Staff.

In total, the enemy launched 38 missile and 75 air strikes, carried out 98 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas. As a result of Russian terrorist attacks, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. A number of high-rise buildings, medical facilities, cars, a school, a kindergarten and other objects of civil infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

At night, the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine again, using "Shahed" type UAVs and cruise missiles of various types. Data on the attack is being verified.

During the past day, airstrikes took place in the villages of Kirikivka, Sumy region; Bochkove, Uspenivka, Khrypuny, Izyumske, Zybyne, Liman of the Kharkiv region; Novoyehorivka in Luhansk Oblast; Terny, Yampolivka, Andriivka, Chasiv Yar, Ivanivske, Oleksandropil, Karlivka, Kurakhove, Berdychi, Nevelske, Novobakhmutivka, Mezhove, Yasnobrodivka, Krasnohorivka, Kostyantynivka, Staromayorske of the Donetsk region; Orihiv, Novodanilivka and Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia.

About 120 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions were under artillery fire.

On the Volyn and Poliske directions, the operational situation remains without significant changes.

In the Siver and Slobozhan directions, the enemy maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts sabotage activities to prevent our troops from moving to dangerous directions, and increases the density of mine and explosive barriers along the state border.

The enemy did not conduct offensive (assault) actions in the Kupyansk direction.

In the Lyman direction, our soldiers repelled 16 attacks in the Terna settlements of the Donetsk region and Bilogorivka in the Luhansk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defenses of our troops.

In the Bakhmut direction, our soldiers repelled 4 attacks in the areas of Klishchiivka and Andriivka settlements of the Donetsk region.

In the Avdiivsk direction, our defenders repelled 20 attacks in the areas of Berdychi, Umanske, Tonenke, Semenivka, Pervomaiske and Nevelske settlements, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to knock out our units from the occupied lines.

On the Novopavlivskyi direction, the Defense Forces continue to hold back the enemy in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgiivka, Novomykhailivka, and Vodiane settlements of the Donetsk region, where the enemy tried 25 times to break through the defenses of our troops.

In the Orihiv direction, the occupiers launched 4 unsuccessful attacks on the positions of our defenders in the districts of Staromayorskyi of the Donetsk region and north-west of Verbovoy of the Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson direction, the enemy does not give up its intention to knock out our units from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. During the past day, he attacked the positions of our troops 3 times.

During the past 24 hours, the Air Force of the Defense Forces struck 1 command post, 1 anti-aircraft defense system, and 10 areas of concentration of enemy personnel, weapons, and military equipment.

Units of missile troops damaged 2 areas of concentration of personnel, two means of anti-aircraft defense and artillery means of the occupiers.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [71 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
RFK Jr. Picks Radical Leftist As Running Mate, DNC unhappy
[PJMedia] Speculation can finally end as sources reveal that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has selected Nicole Shanahan, a Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, attorney, as his vice presidential candidate for his campaign.

In addition to being an attorney, Shanahan, 38, runs a foundation dedicated to left-wing causes like child sacrifice abortion rights, criminal justice reform, and fighting climate change. According to the Wall Street Journal, prior to joining forces with Kennedy, Shanahan had a history of supporting Democratic campaigns, including Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S., who gives the term geriatric a bad name. He blames Afghans for losing Afghanistan....
's 2020 presidential campaign. Kennedy is expected to formally introduce Shanahan as his running mate during an event scheduled for Tuesday in Oakland, Calif., Shanahan's hometown.

Shanahan, a political novice, was thrust into the spotlight over her public split with [Google co-founder Sergey] Brin amid a brief alleged affair she had with Elon Musk in 2021 that ruptured the billionaires’ long friendship, The Wall Street Journal reported. After the article published, Musk denied the allegations.
No, no! Certainly not!
and Shanahan later followed suit.

A Journal spokeswoman has said the Journal stands by its reporting.

In addition to donating to Kennedy’s campaign, Shanahan told the New York Times

... which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

she donated $4 million to the Kennedy-aligned super PAC that ran the Super Bowl ad supporting his candidacy. Shanahan not only paid for a significant portion of the controversial ad—which repurposed an ad from when his uncle John F. Kennedy Jr.ran for president and caused controversy with some members of his family—but she was a key force in the ad’s production.

She has said that she aligns with Kennedy on issues such as vaccine skepticism and the environment. Kennedy is known for his claims—debunked by public-health experts—linking childhood vaccinations to autism and casting doubt on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines. In an interview with the Journal last year Kennedy said he wasn’t antivaccine but believed they should go through more rigorous scrutiny. Shanahan used a similar line in her New York Times interview..

There's something else about Shanahan that you should know, according to Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA.

While it's hardly shocking that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would pick a radical leftist to join his ticket, it will be interesting to see how some conservatives who have found themselves attracted to Kennedy's candidacy will respond to this selection. So far, they've refused to acknowledge his left-wing record, which includes donating extensively to Democrats, admiring Bernie Sanders
...The only first openly Socialist member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders was Representative-for-Life from Vermont until moving to the Senate for the rest of his life in 2006, assuming the seat vacated by Jim Jeffords. He ran for the 2016 nomination for president, to be cheated out of it by Hillary Clinton, then went back to being an Independent socialist, waiting for 2020 to roll around...
and Louis Farrakhan, and supporting radical policies like the Green New Deal, divesting from fossil fuels, child sacrifice abortion on demand without limits, and huge tax hikes.

Kennedy has previously maintained that his independent bid for the presidency hurts Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
more than Biden; however, recent polls have been suggesting the opposite. Had Kennedy chosen a centrist or a moderate Republican as his running mate, it may have helped his bipartisan appeal, but it seems likely now that Shanahan could turn off conservatives who weren't willing to see Kennedy's left-wing radicalism before, further threatening Biden.

It will no doubt take some time to see if Shanahan's inclusion on the ticket will impact the race, but I don't think it will be good news for Biden.

Related: DNC Goes Into Full Panic Mode About Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Presidential Bid
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [310 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the demoncrats are already waging lawfare against him to keep him off the ballot in multiple states.... even though he has the signatures.

Also anything that gets the collective panties in a bunch for the demoncrats I support.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/31/2024 1:42 Comments || Top||

#2  He would be a terrible president, but it is amusing that he is now a threat to the Democrats from the left, not just because he has the Kennedy name and grin.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 6:38 Comments || Top||

#3  waging lawfare

Cause their concept of 'democracy' is 'our power'
Why should the people have a choice
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2024 7:28 Comments || Top||

#4  The word democracy has lost all serious meaning.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 7:30 Comments || Top||

#5  #4 ochlocracy?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 10:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Anything that reduces the likelihood of president Kamala is OK with me (and you can't say that, as an Israeli, I don't have an interest).
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 03/31/2024 10:07 Comments || Top||

#7  We Americans may well vote for that. And that's democracy - the principle that the people should get what they voted for. Good and hard.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 10:12 Comments || Top||

#8  @#5 - Kleptocracy might as well.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 03/31/2024 10:51 Comments || Top||

#9  I've only talked with one person who MIGHT consider voting for RFK Jr and he's most likely to vote for Trump again. His wife might vote for Kennedy because Trump is, well she's not quite clear on what she doesn't like about him.

Posted by: EMS+Artifact || 03/31/2024 11:16 Comments || Top||

#10  ^ Mean tweets? Or something else equally important?
Posted by: Frank G || 03/31/2024 11:48 Comments || Top||

#11  Does he have AIPAC's support? If not his candidacy is dead in the water.
How about Shanahan? This could be the fastest VP run ever. I look forward to tomorrow's news where she's discovered to be an antisemite and withdraws from the race.
Posted by: Anginenter+Sherelet4063 || 03/31/2024 12:32 Comments || Top||

#12  More likely, Kennedy flip flops on support for Israel to pander to the far left.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/31/2024 12:41 Comments || Top||

#13  Kennedy threatens Biden’s left flank. There was talk that he would steal Trump voters. I think that theory can be buried after the VP choice. Not sure why a Kennedy would want a Deep State connected VP. They already tried that.
Posted by: Super Hose || 03/31/2024 14:25 Comments || Top||


Europe
In the Netherlands, unknown persons took hostages in a cafe
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Several people were taken hostage in the city of Ede in the eastern Netherlands. The Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation ( NOS ) reported this on March 30.



It is noted that unknown persons took people hostage in a popular cafe in the city center. Nothing is yet known about the number of captured people and about the invaders themselves.

Several police and special forces units were sent to the scene. Residents of 150 houses located nearby were evacuated.

As IA Regnum previously reported, in January in the German city of Ulm in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, an unknown person took four people hostage in a Starbucks cafe.

It was also reported that an armed man took employees of a Procter & Gamble plant in Istanbul hostage. The attacker was allegedly protesting against events in the Gaza Strip by taking hostages.

More from regnum.ru
In the Netherlands, a suspect was detained in holding hostages in Ede

Police in the Dutch city of Ede have detained one suspect in hostage-taking. The local police reported this on the social network X on March 30.

“One person was detained,” the message said.

It is noted that two more hostages were released.

As Regnum reported, on the afternoon of March 30, several people were taken hostage in the city of Ede in the eastern Netherlands.

It was noted that unknown persons took people hostage in a popular cafe in the city center. No information was provided about the number of captured people or the invaders themselves. Several police and special forces units were sent to the scene. Residents of 150 houses located nearby were evacuated.

It later became known that the police released three hostages who were held in the cafe.
Al Arabiya adds a few details:
A hostage drama at a nightclub in the eastern Netherlands ended peacefully after several hours on Saturday with the arrest of a suspect - a man wearing a balaclava mask who exited the building and surrendered to police.

"The last hostage has just been released. One person has been arrested," a police statement said. "We cannot share more information at this time."

Several people, including employees, had been taken hostage at the Cafe Petticoat in the town of Ede early on Saturday morning. The motive was unclear.

Officials said at a news briefing that the suspect, who was previously known to police, had threatened the hostages with knives. There was no indication of a terrorist motive, police have said.

The suspect walked out of the club, put his hands behind his head and got to his knees before being handcuffed by police, a Rooters video journalist at the scene said.

Police explosives units had been deployed to the building in the town center. Streets in the area had been evacuated and trains canceled to the town, nearly 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Amsterdam.
Breitbart liveblogged events here.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [161 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Nederland Times makes it sound like the man was mentally ill rather than a jihadi. The 28 year old man from Ede “looked lifeless, like a doll.”
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 19:11 Comments || Top||


Britain
Iran International journalist stabbed, wounded outside his London home
[IsraelTimes] Pouria Zeraati, who interviewed Netanyahu last year, sustains leg injury; UK counter-terror police probe if assault connected to his job after multiple plots against opposition outlet

British counter-terrorism detectives are investigating after a journalist working for a Persian language media organization was stabbed in London on Friday amid fears he had been targeted because of his job, police said.

Police said the man, aged in his 30s, was attacked and sustained an injury to his leg in the incident in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Friday afternoon.

Britannia’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the victim was prominent British-based Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati, who hosts a show on the Persian language television news network 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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
International, which is critical of Iran’s government. Last year, Zeraati interviewed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Police said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening and he was in a stable condition.

"This cowardly attack on Pouria is deeply shocking, and our thoughts are with him, his family and all of his colleagues at Iran International," Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary said in a statement.

In January, Britannia imposed sanctions on Iranian officials it said were involved in threats to kill journalists on British soil.

Those officials were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Unit 840, which an investigation by ITV news in Britannia said was involved in plots to assassinate two television presenters from Iran International in the UK.

"While we are keeping an open mind, given the occupation of the victim and our publicized concerns about the threat to employees of that organization, the investigation is being led by the Counter Terrorism Command," Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of that unit, said.

"I must stress that, at this early stage of our investigation, we do not know the reason why this victim was attacked and there could be a number of explanations for this."

There was no immediate response from Iranian officials to the report.

British police and security officials have increasingly warned about Iran’s growing use of criminal proxies to carry out attacks abroad.

They say there have been more than 15 direct threats to kill or kidnap dissidents or political opponents that were linked to the Iranian state apparatus over the last two years.

In December, an Austrian man was convicted of collecting information that could be used in a terrorist attack after he was accused of carrying out "hostile reconnaissance" on Iran International’s London headquarters.

Last year, Channel 12 reported that Israeli security officials gave intelligence to the United Kingdom suggesting that Iran intended to harm journalists at Iran International, leading them to shift their broadcasts to Washington.

"It is too early to know whether this violent mostly peaceful assault is connected to the escalating intimidation and harassment by Iran, including the plot to assassinate journalists Fardad Farahzad and Sima Sabet in 2022," Stanistreet said.

"However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
this brutal stabbing will inevitably raise fears among the many journalists targeted at Iran International and the BBC Persian Service that they are not safe at home or going about their work."

Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [98 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
'Something about the glorious past.' The real source of inspiration for the executioner from the SBU
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Denis Davydov

[REGNUM] The head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk, as befits a true Ukrainian patriot, draws his inspiration from the past. In the comments under his almost hour-long interview on one of the central Kyiv TV channels there are many thanks for the amazing combination of a warrior and a subtle connoisseur of history.

So Vasily Vasilyevich, if not for his Neanderthal appearance, could well compete for the role of the nation’s sex symbol. But for now he is only competing for the laurels of “terrorist No. 1” with the Main Intelligence Directorate and the slender Kirill Budanov. But this jealousy, the desire to snatch a piece of glory and at the same time highlight their boss Zelensky, whom the general regularly mentions, provides an opportunity to look into the ugly world where the new Ukrainian elite, the best of the best, lives. To look at what is happening, one might say, from Malyuk’s head.

Take, for example, his calls for brotherly love. All Ukrainian troubles are due to internal discord, teaches Lieutenant General. As the sons of Yaroslav the Wise began to smoke, so it went and went. But the enemy is not asleep, rushing to take advantage of disunity, delivering vile blows: “There were 13 full-fledged big wars with the Russian Federation. And if we take smaller conflicts, then there are actually more than 23 of them.” The ancient evil of the Russian Federation has haunted Ukraine since the 11th century, so it is necessary to “eat up”, not forget about the glorious past that bubbles in the veins, “turn on your national “I”.

But at the same time, you should remember that there are many traitors around, and if you see something suspicious in your neighbor, unmasking signs, do not hesitate to call the SBU. And there they will give a “legal assessment” and figure out whether this is a friend or a well-disguised enemy. “We will closely monitor the person, and maybe he will become a defendant. Or maybe, on the contrary, he will become a double agent and begin to work for the benefit of Ukraine,” the country’s chief counterintelligence officer explains to the TV viewer.

He is sad that for many the basic archetypes do not work to maintain the proper level of patriotism. Thus, the work of the criminal group of people’s deputies of Ukraine (which, it turns out, included Alexander Dubinsky, who was actually locked up in a pre-trial detention center for trolling Zelensky) was personally supervised by the deputy head of the Russian GRU, Vladimir Alekseev. But he is a native of Vinnytsia, complains Malyuk, and probably loves borscht, lard and tsybul, “but in reality he supervises the work of enemy special services on the territory of Ukraine.” The lard vaccination, alas, did not work.

Or another case: an agent with the rank of lieutenant colonel was identified as part of the operational-strategic group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Khortitsa”. It turned out that he refused his salary and worked in the interests of Russia completely free of charge, out of conviction. Here, the head of the SBU would have had his hair stand on end if he had: the traitor was a native of the Volyn region, “his grandfather potentially ran with a machine gun among those drunks and fought the enemy, and this is how he showed himself.” What a horror.

At the same time, without blinking an eye, Vasily Vasilyevich talks about the “mental support” that he feels from his deceased ancestors. The grandmother was a saboteur in the NKVD partisan detachment, which also operated in Poland. Grandfather went from private to captain in the 3rd Guards Tank Army of Pavel Rybalko, two Orders of Glory. Although in his picture of the world these are actually accomplices of Moscow, who served in the enemy army and contributed to the “re-occupation of Ukraine.” It is quite possible that the old people are spinning in their graves, looking at the outstanding intellect of their grandson-general, convinced that Russia is extending its greedy tentacles to Ukraine purely out of envy of its ancient history. After all, when Russia was baptized in Kiev, in the place of Moscow there were still “toads and kumkals.”

But if the basic archetypes do not work for Malyuk himself, the burden falls on the shoulders of his subordinates quite logically. A lot of people, not tied hand and foot by love for lard, the UPA* and resentment over the destruction of the Zaporozhye Sich by Catherine II, are fighting modernity to the best of their ability. She clearly doesn't suit them.

Therefore, in addition to the lieutenant colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there was also a lieutenant colonel of the National Guard. Or in the Kyiv region, a group of young people completed courses for combat drone operators, purchased equipment and were going to destroy the Patriot air defense system. And in the Odessa region, another group united to collect and transmit information to the Russian Armed Forces. About two months ago, an operation was completed to uncover an intelligence network that included former employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Foreign Intelligence Service and a current SBU officer. They had already collected intelligence information throughout the country, but were caught and “already confessed.”

We might never have known about the existence of such resistance in Ukraine if it were not for Malyuk’s desire to boast and talk about respect from the heads of Western intelligence services, who “take off their hats.” Because most of the news that appears on the air is about the arrest of another “accomplice” who, in a drunken case, blurted out something wrong to his own relatives. There are many such cases; according to the head of the SBU, more than 8 thousand “suspicions” have been announced, mostly not brought to trial. And those that are reported are often shocking: in Kharkov Lyubotin, a woman was sentenced to five years in prison for leaving a comment in the wrong telegram channel.

This, as it turns out, also has a completely rational explanation. In a burst of revelation, Malyuk shared that according to his established procedures, an employee is not considered a full-fledged operative until he has documented at least one act of treason or complicity. Still, counterintelligence is the basis. So its representatives every day make their contribution to the “unity of the nation” - just like the media workers who remain at work. The older presenter nods sympathetically to her interlocutor, thanks him for his excellent work, and wonders: what will happen when the governor of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is already behind bars?

“Everything has its time,” the general answers her optimistically and tells her a parable. Like, when the troops of General Tekelia approached the Sich, the Cossacks, naturally, were preparing for battle. But then a representative of the “Moscow Church” came to the gate and appealed to the Orthodox brethren, offering not to shed Christian blood. As a result, the chieftain Pyotr Kalnyshevsky was tortured in the dungeons of Solovki. So the current representatives of the “Moscow Patriarchate” have a uniform sticking out from under their cassock. Fortunately, Malyuk is always on duty and will not allow evil to take its poisoned roots.

His “large operational family” includes employees who ruin the lives of ordinary people every day, terrorists who organize explosions and murders, informers and agents provocateurs who “perform feats in the occupied territory.” They change their appearance and documents, keep in touch with them, they are charged with the destruction of those who just yesterday were compatriots. But refusing to be among the subjects of the big and small Malyuks, to merge with them in a patriotic frenzy, they were automatically sentenced to death.

A hefty freak in camouflage, rather grinning at the mention of someone’s death, is now the standard citizen of Ukraine. An example of the success that everyone should strive for, and he himself sheds a stingy fatherly tear when talking about the young lieutenants: what great fellows, they absorb valuable experience like a sponge. And looking at him, you understand why in the most terrible crimes of the past, the main active role was played by the Ukrainians themselves, the locals, “our own people.” There lies true inspiration, and not in the routine speeches about the Cossacks and Catherine.

The same active and convinced guys organized Jewish pogroms near Petlyura. And in the 30s they were engaged in food appropriation, dooming people to hunger. Nobody asked them to do exactly that, sweeping everything up to the last grain—they tried themselves. They themselves looked for “enemies of the people” and personally shot them. And then, just as calmly, they went to the Germans and burned entire villages and people with their own hands. So that after a while they can calmly return and stand in line for medals as honored veterans.

In new times, such specialists are also needed. Torture, rape, execute, blindly shell residential areas, endlessly come up with new ways to bring suffering to others for the sake of another idea that no one asked to serve in this way. They just enjoy it. This is actually where all the Nazi symbols come from, seemingly inexplicably connected with “patriotism.” But it’s very good that modern means of communication allow you to see them all in advance. And the ugly world exposed has clearly recognizable features.

So, when the time comes, Ukrainian society will have to look around again in search of “unmasking signs” in its neighbor. And burn out their carriers like a dangerous virus that brings only destruction and death. And this time will definitely come.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [100 views] Top|| File under:


Ukrainian Armed Forces repel Russian attacks in several directions
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian defenders bravely resist enemy pressure.

In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Russian army tried more than 30 times to break through the defenses of our troops.


The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces published operational information about the Russian invasion as of Saturday evening, March 30.

“During the day, 79 military clashes were recorded. In general, the enemy carried out 13 missile and 56 air strikes, and carried out 57 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas,” the report says.

In the Liman direction, Ukrainian defenders repulsed five Russian attacks in the areas of the settlements of Terny, Donetsk region and Belogorovka, Lugansk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defenses of our troops.

In the Bakhmut direction, four attacks were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Chasov Yar, Ivanovskoye, Klishchievka in the Donetsk region, where the enemy tried to improve the tactical situation.

In the Avdeevsky direction, our defenders repulsed 16 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Berdich, Umanskoye, Pervomaiskoye, Nevelskoye, Donetsk region, where the enemy tried to dislodge our units from their occupied lines.

In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Defense Forces continue to contain the enemy in the areas of the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Pobeda, Novomikhailovka and east of Vodyanoye, Donetsk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defenses of our troops more than 30 times.

In the Orekhovsky direction, the enemy made five attacks on the positions of our defenders in the Staromayorsky district of the Donetsk region and Robotinoy of the Zaporozhye region.

In the Kherson direction, during the day the enemy made one attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops on the left bank of the Dnieper.

During the day, Defense Forces aviation carried out strikes on three anti-aircraft missile systems and 11 areas where enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.

The missile force units hit 4 radar stations, one control point, onme personnel concentration area, two air defense systems and one enemy artillery weapon.

Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian defenders over the past day, March 29, liquidated another 730 invaders. Russia has lost about 441,520 personnel since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [68 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Three Palestinians killed by Israeli troops in Jenin drone strike, heavy clashes
27. March 2024
[IsraelTimes] IDF says 2 button men targeted by UAV, 3rd man killed after hurling explosives at soldiers in West Bank city; troops destroy vehicle containing primed bombs

Three Paleostinians were killed — two of them in a dronezap — during an arrest raid in the West Bank city Jenin on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The military said that the two killed in the dronezap were button men, and that the third Paleostinian killed by Israeli fire during the raid had hurled bombs at troops, who responded by opening fire toward the man.

The official Paleostinian news agency Wafa named the two killed in the dronezap as Hamza Ararawi, 27, and Muhammad Nasser al-Sabti, 19.

The army said that combat engineers destroyed a vehicle that contained several primed bombs during the raid, which began overnight and continued into the morning.

Two suspects in the car were detained by troops before it was blown up. Combat engineers also uncovered roadside explosives in the city.

One more wanted Paleostinian was detained in Jenin, and weapons were seized, the IDF added.

Videos on social media showed army vehicles and bulldozers operating in the northern West Bank city, amid gunfire and at least one large explosion.

Security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been on high alert since the start of Ramadan last week. Tensions were already high between Israelis and Paleostinians due to the war between Israel and Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
, triggered by the October 7 massacre.

Since October 7, the IDF has said troops have arrested some 3,600 wanted Paleostinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,600 affiliated with Hamas.

Paleostinians say over 450 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since hostilities broke out, most while carrying out attacks or during festivities with IDF troops during nightly raids that have largely concentrated on a handful of areas in the northern West Bank. However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
killings of innocent bystanders have also been alleged.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [105 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
FSB defeated an extremist cell in Rostov-on-Don
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Security forces detained six people in Rostov-on-Don, calling them members of the Allya-Ayat
… apparently a new-age religious group originating in Kazakhstan, whatever that means…
extremist organization banned in Russia. According to the prosecution, they were actively engaged in recruitment “under foreign supervision.” The court sent four defendants into custody and another one under house arrest. 

One of the detainees, a 65-year-old resident of Rostov-on-Don, is considered by law enforcement to be the organizer of the activities of a banned religious association. Five more detainees, according to investigators, were its participants.

According to investigators, the elderly man was a “follower of the Alla-Ayat creed and in 2023 organized a religious association based on it in Rostov-on-Don, where he attracted local residents.

“The defendants held general meetings and “pseudo-treatment” sessions in a rented office, using the religious practices of an extremist organization,” says a message published on March 27 on the official website of the regional department of the Investigative Committee.

The report notes that FSB and Ministry of Internal Affairs officers jointly conducted searches in the houses of the detainees and in the office where, according to their information, meetings were held. According to the department, “items and documents relevant to the investigation were seized,” but the publication did not specify which items were being referred to.

The detainees acted “under foreign supervision,” pursued an “aggressive recruitment policy among residents” and transferred “financial flows” to “unfriendly states,” TASS reported, citing a source in law enforcement agencies.

On March 27, the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don chose a preventive measure for five defendants - the alleged organizer of the cell and three alleged participants, including two women, and were assigned detention until May 24. The court sent another alleged member of the organization under house arrest, the agency reported.

The accused carried out recruiting work not only among the civilian population, but also among the military, a RIA Novosti source claims. According to him, “participants of the occult-religious movement promoted their own method of pseudo-healing and self-medication,” which had previously spread in Kazakhstan.

The 65-year-old Rostovite was charged under the article on organizing extremist activities (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia), which provides for six to ten years in prison. The remaining five detainees were charged under Part 2 of the same article, which implies from two to six years in prison. 



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Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [93 views] Top|| File under:


A native of Stavropol receives a long sentence in the case of involvement in ISIS
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a native of the Stavropol Territory, Asadulu Abdulaev, to 18 years of strict regime, recognizing him as a participant in hostilities in the Middle East as part of IS units*. 

Abdulaev was charged with three counts: undergoing training for the purpose of terrorist activities, participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and participating in an illegal armed group.

According to the prosecution, in 2016, Abdulaev joined an illegal armed group as part of the international terrorist organization "Islamic State" and took the oath to its leader. In September-October of the same year, the accused studied at a militant training camp, and after that he participated in battles against Syrian government forces, guarded militant locations and carried out other orders from commanders.

The prosecution believes that Asadula Abdulaev left the militants in February 2017 and went to Cairo, where he was hiding from law enforcement agencies. He was detained on August 3, 2023, according to a message from the official Telegram channel of the court dated March 28.

The Southern District Military Court, having considered the case, found Abdulaev guilty and sentenced him to 18 years in a maximum security colony. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.

The name of the convicted person appeared on the list of terrorists and extremists maintained by Rosfinmonitoring. According to the list, Abdulaev was born in 1996 in the village of Krasny Manych in the Stavropol region. The "Caucasian Knot" does not yet have any comments from the accused or his lawyer regarding the verdict.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [86 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Europe
Sweden’s Quran burner says he is leaving for Norway over threat of deportation
[IsraelTimes] Christian Iraqi Salwan Momika, who drew outrage from Moslem world with torching of Islam’s holy tome, says Swedish freedom of expression and rights laws are ’a big lie’

An Iraqi refugee in Sweden who stoked international outrage by repeatedly desecrating the Koran last year, said Wednesday that he was leaving the country for neighboring Norway after Sweden revoked his residency permit.

Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Korans at a slew of protests in Sweden last summer, told AFP that he had left Sweden and arrived in Norway, where he planned to seek asylum.

"I left Sweden because of the persecution I was subjected to by government institutions," Momika said in a text message.

Momika’s Koran burning
...One of the basic tenets of Islam is that once a Koran has been printed it is expected to last for all time, no matter how old, ratty, and smelly other, lesser holy books may become. Should it actually become necessary to put a Koran out of its misery there is a ritual that includes extensive charivari, featuring long drawn-wailing and head bonking, ritual wife beating, and the sacrifice of dozens of women's noses and pubic lips. When the actual disposal has been completed there is a prescribed period of celebratory gun sex with the expectation of a minimum of two hundred casualties. Should actual infidels dispose of a Koran, Islamic custom calls for three weeks of rioting and a minimum of three dozen dead, which is a holdover from the days of Moloch worship....
s sparked widespread outrage and condemnation in Moslem countries.

Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.

The Swedish government condemned the desecrations of the Koran but stressed the country’s laws regarding freedom of speech and assembly.

But prosecutors have investigated whether his actions are permissible under Sweden’s hate speech law, which prohibits incitement of hatred against groups or individuals based on race, religion or sexual orientation. Momika says his protests target the religion of Islam, not Moslem people.

Sweden’s intelligence agency heightened its terror alert level in mid-August to four on a scale of five after the angry reactions made the country a "prioritized target."

The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika’s residency permit in October, citing false information in his original application, but he was granted a temporary one as it said there was an "impediment to enforcement" of deportation to Iraq.

The month before, Iraq had requested his extradition over one of the Koran burnings.

"Sweden has become a threat to me after the decision to expel me and the threat to extradite me to Iraq," Momika said, calling Sweden’s freedom of expression and protection of human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
"a big lie."

His Koran-burning activities led to a Moslem activist muppet requesting and receiving permission to burn Jewish and Christian versions of the Bible outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm.

The move sparked widespread outrage in Israel and Jewish groups with President Isaac Herzog calling it an act of "pure hate" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying "Israel viewed very severely this shameful decision to harm the holy of holies of the Jewish people."

However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
the activist muppet, identified as Ahmad Alush, 32, backed off from the threat saying he only wanted to draw attention to Momika’s burnings.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [80 views] Top|| File under: Migrants/Illegal Immigrants


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Not a sword, but peace: the capitulation of Paris, 1814
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RedStar] March 31 marks the 210th anniversary of the surrender of Paris - the Russian army put an end to the ambitions of the French emperor, who intended to bring Russia to its knees.

by Alexander Bondarenko


On the night of March 19 (31), 1814, the guard adjutant of the Russian Emperor, Colonel Mikhail Fedorovich Orlov, drew up and signed the capitulation of Paris. On the same day, the troops of the allies - Russia, Prussia and Austria - entered the capital of the still French Empire (it will be abolished on April 6). The Parisians rejoiced when they met them...

The Allied army of 110,000 bayonets and sabers approached Paris on the morning of March 18 (30); the city was defended by 42,000 people - small detachments of Marshals Marmont and Mortier, forces of the National Guard, students of the Polytechnic School, disabled gunners... Napoleon, who planned to go behind the rear of the allied armies, hurried to Paris from Saint-Dizier, but did not have time to approach.

The battle for Paris has begun. At three o'clock in the afternoon, 12 guns of Colonel Taube's guards artillery battery, installed on the Chaumont Heights, opened fire on Paris itself. Their cannonballs, although they did not cause much harm, significantly shook the resolve of the Parisians, who were preparing to fight and die in the streets and boulevards of their capital. Meanwhile, Russian infantry began an assault on the city.

An hour later, when Alexander I was already preparing to send his most reliable force, the guard, to the tsar, a French envoy arrived to the tsar, reporting that the garrison command was asking to stop shooting and was ready to enter into negotiations.

To resolve the issue of starting negotiations, the sovereign sent his aide-de-camp, Colonel Orlov, to Marshal Marmont. Having galloped through a hail of rifle bullets and grapeshot, since no one had yet stopped firing, Orlov saw the marshal in a chain of French riflemen. Marmont approached the Russian officer:

“I am the Duke of Ragusa! Who are you?”

- Guard Colonel Orlov, aide-de-camp of the Russian Emperor, who wants to save Paris for France and for the world!

“This is also our desire and our only hope, otherwise all of us would only have to die here!”

After these beautiful phrases, the marshal asked what the Russians want. Orlov replied that a ceasefire should be held, the French troops should be withdrawn behind the city outposts and a commission should be appointed to negotiate the surrender of Paris. These were the demands of the victors, so Marmont could only set a time and place for a meeting with the Russian representatives. Then, by order of the marshal, the drums struck the all clear. The firefight began to subside and soon died out.

Upon his return, the colonel reported to the emperor about his conversation with the marshal and received orders, together with the Secretary of State and Privy Councilor Count Nesselrode, accompanied by Russian and Austrian officers and a convoy, to go to accept the surrender of Paris, thereby putting the last point in that war. Addressing the parliamentarians, Alexander I said with pathos that “tonight Europe should spend the night in Paris.”

...But it’s unlikely that anyone, except Orlov, and even the emperor himself, could then remember that it was Mikhail who opened the first page of that war!

In 1812, June 12, on the night of the 13th, the French began crossing the border river Neman. Early in the morning of the 14th, two horsemen, accompanied by a trumpeter and two Cossacks, rode out from Vilna (now Lithuanian Vilnius) in a western direction towards the advancing enemy. These were the Minister of Police, Lieutenant General Balashov, and Lieutenant of the Cavalry Regiment Orlov. The minister was carrying a letter from the Russian emperor to the French, which said:

“If Your Majesty is not inclined to shed the blood of our subjects because of such a misunderstanding and if you agree to withdraw your troops from Russian possessions, then I will ignore everything that happened and an agreement between us will be possible...”

Balashov’s conversation with Napoleon turned out to be empty: the French emperor blamed the Russian Tsar for everything and expected repentance from him. Upon returning to Headquarters, the minister briefly reported this to the emperor, who nodded and told him to go and rest. But Orlov was not only invited to a meeting of military leaders, where he modestly sat in the corner, but was also left by the sovereign for a personal conversation. Over the course of several days spent in the enemy’s rear, he was able to get an idea of ​​the number of enemy corps, their routes of movement, the mood in the ranks of the army, problems with food, the death of horses that could not withstand the loads of marching, and much more...

This is how the Patriotic War began for Orlov, and now, almost two years later, it was he who was supposed to officially complete the Foreign Campaign.

At the Pantenskaya outpost, the Russian parliamentarians were met by Marshal Marmont, with whom they went to the Villettes outpost, where Marshal Mortier was waiting for them in a small, Parisian-style cozy tavern.

The marshals immediately dismissed the Russian demand to surrender the city with its entire garrison, declaring that they would rather bury themselves under the ruins of Paris...

The Russian representatives, realizing that the troops that would freely leave Paris would join Napoleon’s army, insisted on their own. The conversation threatened to drag on, but suddenly rifle and artillery fire was heard. The interlocutors jumped to their feet, looking at each other in bewilderment. The silence returned as suddenly as it had broken.

Soon a French officer entered the tavern and reported to the marshals that the Russian General Langeron, one of the French emigrants who had not yet been notified of the truce due to his distance from the main forces, had taken the Montmartre Heights dominating Paris in battle. It became clear that the situation of besieged Paris was becoming significantly more complicated, but this did not shake the tenacity of the marshals. In the end, Count Nesselrode decided to return to the sovereign.

The French general Lapointe also went with the parliamentarians, who, in addition to some official documents addressed to the allied monarchs, also carried Napoleon’s secret letter to Field Marshal Prince Schwarzenberg. The Emperor reported that secret peace negotiations were supposedly taking place between him and his father-in-law, the Austrian Emperor Franz, a treaty was almost signed, so it would be better to withdraw Austrian troops from Paris...

Fortunately, in the nine years that passed after 1805, when the deceived Austrians surrendered without a fight, they became somewhat wiser, or perhaps the anticipation of a quick victory and the fear of not being present at the division of the “French pie” affected them. Schwarzenberg introduced the letter to Alexander I and Friedrich Wilhelm.

At 7 p.m., the parliamentarians again arrived at the Villettes outpost and presented much more lenient demands: the troops were to leave Paris in parts and follow the Brittany road, that is, in the opposite direction from where Napoleon was staying. But the marshals again objected.

An hour later it became clear that the negotiations had finally reached a dead end. Mortier announced that he was leaving for the troops to prepare the city for defense. Nesselrode, to whom Orlov declared that it was impossible to storm Paris at night, decided, accompanied by his entire retinue, to return to the outposts. Of course, the colonel was somewhat disingenuous: if the artillery had opened fire on Paris with firebrands and incendiary shells, then taking the city in the light of a gigantic fire would not have been so difficult. But what a nightmare this night assault would turn into!..

Orlov remained in the city as a hostage from a sudden attack by the Allies. Nesselrode promised Marmont: “The attack on Paris will not be resumed until Colonel Orlov crosses the Russian outposts.”

Interestingly, this was not the first time during this war that Mikhail found himself in a similar position - alone among the French, protected only by the status of a parliamentarian. First, as we remember, this happened in June 1812, then in August, after the Battle of Smolensk, when he was sent to find out about the fate of General Tuchkov 3rd, who was captured, and in the end he even met and talked with Napoleon. There was another trip to the headquarters of the French army in January 1813, about which historians know nothing.

... Orlov was woken up at about two o'clock in the morning - a package was delivered from the Russian sovereign with an agreement to accept surrender on French terms, but with the condition that the allied army grants itself the right to pursue the retreating French along any road they choose.

On the morning of March 31, Allied troops entered Paris. The first to follow was the Life Guards Cossack Regiment, followed by the regiments of the Guards Light Cavalry Division, then the other guard regiments; after the Russians came the Austrians, Prussians and Badenians... The people on the outskirts greeted the foreigners rather gloomily, but the prosperous center of Paris applauded and showered them with flowers.

And this was not without reason, because Russian troops brought “not a sword, but peace” to the soil of France. They did not take revenge on Paris for the desecrated and burned Moscow - and thus reassured France, which was already quite tired of its warlike emperor and his exorbitant ambitions.

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [84 views] Top|| File under:


A symphony orchestra concert is taking place at Crocus in memory of the victims
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Near Crocus City Hall, on the ninth day after the terrorist attack, a concert of a symphony orchestra led by conductor Valery Gergiev began in memory of the victims. A Regnum correspondent reports this.

Before the concert of an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet by composer Sergei Prokofiev, a minute of silence was announced. Many people stand with lamps and continue to carry flowers. A projection appeared on the wall of Crocus City Hall with all the victims of the terrorist attack.



With the first chords of the orchestra, it started pouring rain, but no one leaves the concert, many stand without umbrellas.

During the event, victims of the terrorist attack told their stories of salvation and expressed condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.

As IA Regnum reported, on the evening of March 30, figures of cranes made from candles were lit near the walls of Crocus City Hall in memory of those killed in the terrorist attack.

Representatives of public organizations, volunteers and everyone wishing to honor the memory of the victims took part in the mourning events near Crocus City Hall.

In the afternoon, at the site of the spontaneous memorial at Crocus, Archbishop Thomas of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk performed a memorial service.

Relatives and loved ones of those killed in the terrorist attack, as well as government officials, volunteers and citizens who came to honor the memory of the victims of the tragedy, took part in the memorial service. Residents and guests of the capital region also continue to bring flowers to the spontaneous memorial.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, more than 250 heads and employees of over 130 foreign diplomatic missions took part in the funeral ceremony at Crocus City Hall.
Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [94 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Deprive Russia of its voice. Why was Vladimir Solovyov 'canceled' in Armenia?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Gevorg Mirzayan

[REGNUM] Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan took another decisive anti-Russian step - the country banned the broadcast of programs by TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov.

“CJSC “TV and Radio Broadcasting Network of Armenia”... blocked the broadcast of the programs “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” and “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” distributed in the Public Multiplex by the RTR-PLANET TV channel,” the organization said in an official statement.

Solovyov’s programs regularly criticized Pashinyan’s anti-Armenian and anti-Russian policies. And for this criticism, the Armenian authorities decided to simply cut the presenter off the local air.

At first glance, such actions look, to put it mildly, strange.

“My friend Vladimir Solovyov, of course, has a civic position. And on this issue it does not coincide with the position of the Armenian authorities - just as it does not coincide with me.

With this ban, they, in fact, showed their weakness and wretchedness. Instead of discussing with Solovyov, they are trying to remove him. But this is very stupid, since the Armenian population will still look for a way to watch and listen to it,” says political scientist and publicist, member of the Public Chamber of Russia Armen Gasparyan to IA Regnum.

At the same time, you need to understand that Pashinyan’s logic is based not so much on long-term calculations, but on the personality traits of the Armenian prime minister. And on the destructive goals he is trying to achieve.

“Pashinyan blocked the programs “Evening with Solovyov” and “Sunday Evening with Solovyov” on Armenian television solely out of fear of Vladimir Rudolfovich.

Pashinyan, despite the fact that he has been in power for 6 years, remains a journalist and is very afraid of the information war. The figure of Vladimir Solovyov today is so great that his every word about Pashinyan evokes horror and fear in the latter,” says Armenian blogger and activist Mika Badalyan to IA Regnum.

Of course, the point is not that Vladimir Rudolfovich is scary and terrible. He simply tells people what they want to hear from Russia - direct criticism of Nikol Pashinyan and his Russophobic policies.

Moreover, Solovyov’s status, the energy of his speeches and his good reputation in Armenia greatly enhance the effect of criticism. Which is what Pashinyan is afraid of.

“Even though he dresses up as a liberal, he is obviously trying to block any negative information. To prevent his voters from realizing the catastrophe to which he led and continues to lead the country,” Nikita Mendkovich, head of the Eurasian Analytical Club, explains to IA Regnum.

According to Mika Badalyan, now Russian LOMs need to speak as directly and openly as possible, since people in Armenia “want to hear the frank truth.”

“But what they want even more is action. And I’m sure that everyone will see these actions very soon,” Badalyan notes.

Moreover, it is worth talking not only with ordinary people, but also with representatives of the Armenian elite. Nikita Mendkovich is confident that the current elite, especially the government and the parliamentary majority, are dictating a course destructive for Armenia - and its consequences need to be explained to opinion leaders in Armenia itself, who are not controlled by the government and Pashinyan.

“Including organizations associated with the Karabakh community that suffered from Pashinyan’s betrayal of Karabakh,” says the expert, adding that this is a very large and serious work, but without such interaction it will be difficult to normalize bilateral relations.

Now, Mendkovich continues, Armenia is being consistently turned into “anti-Russia,” but moving along this path, Armenia will most likely cease to exist as a subject. After all, due to Pashinyan’s mistakes, we can no longer talk only about the loss of Karabakh, but about the loss of the statehood of Armenia itself.

“Constant confrontation with Azerbaijan, relying on European allies who only need to destabilize the Caucasus, will lead to a further deterioration of bilateral relations with Russia,” sums up the head of the Eurasian Analytical Club.

Actually, this is what Vladimir Solovyov spoke about - and others are talking about it. Unfortunately for Pashinyan, he cannot cancel these people on television, cannot ban them from entering the country (as he banned the head of RT Margarita Simonyan and State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, who did many times more for the security of Armenia than Pashinyan).

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently stated that “the Armenian leadership, frankly speaking, under far-fetched pretexts, distorting the history of the last three years, is deliberately leading to the collapse of relations with the Russian Federation.”

Moreover, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry directly said that Pashinyan is pursuing other people’s interests. The interests of those with whom he was associated before coming to power in Armenia.

“When Nikol Pashinyan was in the opposition and headed the movement he created, which - everyone knew - had connections with the Soros Foundation, the slogan of his movement was “Exit.” Exit from the CSTO and from the Eurasian Economic Union,” recalled Sergei Lavrov.

After coming to power, Pashinyan tried to assure Vladimir Putin that “both the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union are structures that are fundamental for Armenia, for the development of its economy, for preventing its isolation in the South Caucasus.”

However, now Pashinyan is returning to his previous slogans.

“Armenian officials - both in the Security Council of Armenia and in the parliament - directly say that we need to rely more on the European Union, that the CSTO allegedly does not fulfill its obligations to the republic.

That is, in essence, the circle is closing, and the Armenian leadership is beginning to express ideas similar to those with which Pashinyan formed his “Exit ” movement,” sums up Sergei Lavrov.

The main question: will the residents of Armenia hear Russian experts and diplomats before the circle closes completely?

Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [119 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
US, UK slap sanctions on individuals, companies who fundraised for Hamas
[IsraelTimes] Gazoo Now media site founder Mustafa Ayash is sanctioned alongside Aozma Sultana and two of his companies, after they raised thousands of dollars for terror group

The US and Britannia said on Wednesday that they jointly sanctioned two individuals and three entities for providing financial support to a media network that they said supports the Paleostinian Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, terrorist group and promotes terrorism.

The UK Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday that Aozma Sultana and Mustafa Ayash were sanctioned under domestic counter-terrorism powers and both would be subject to a full asset freeze for supporting Gaza Now, a media network.

Britannia banned Hamas in 2021 and under the Terrorism Act, anyone expressing support for the group, flying its flag, or arranging meetings for the organization would be in breach of the law.

The US Treasury Department added that Ayash was Gaza Now’s founder, Sultana was the director of al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited, and all three companies were sanctioned as well.

According to the US Treasury Department, Gaza Now began an online fundraising campaign for Hamas after October 7 when the terrorist organization launched its unprecedented attack on Israel, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253 to Gaza.

Al-Qureshi Executives and Aakhirah Limited gave thousands of dollars to Gaza Now, the statement added, and advertised the network as a fundraising partner for Hamas.

As such, the US Treasury said that all property and interests belonging to Ayash and Sultana or the three companies that are in the US or being held by American individuals would be immediately frozen.

"The UK and its partners are committed to cutting off funding sources to Hamas, 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...
, and any others supporting terrorist activity that prevents sustainable peace in the Middle East," said Charlotte Vere, a junior UK treasury minister.

"Treasury remains committed to degrading Hamas’s ability to finance its terrorist activities, including through online fundraising campaigns that seek to funnel money directly to the group," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "The United States, in close coordination with our British partners, will continue to leverage our tools to disrupt Hamas’s ability to facilitate further attacks."

This is the fourth US and British coordinated sanctions action related to Hamas fundraising efforts since October 7.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [117 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  What about countries that fund raised for them?
Posted by: Gloluns Turkeyneck4904 || 03/31/2024 7:35 Comments || Top||

#2  If nations fund UNRWA they are funding Hamas.
Posted by: Huputle+Cherelet4131 || 03/31/2024 9:25 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF using facial recognition tools to identify targets in Gaza
[IsraelTimes] AI tech first deployed to find Israeli hostages is increasingly being used on Paleostinians, reports New York Times

... which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

, with some claiming error-prone tools lead to mistaken arrests


Israel has arrested hundreds of Paleostinian suspects in 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
Strip using an experimental, artificial intelligence-powered surveillance apparatus, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed "Israeli intelligence officers, military officials and soldiers."

The newspaper cited four intelligence officers as saying the program relies on Google Photos and technology — developed by private Israeli company Corsight AI — to identify faces in crowds and low-quality drone footage. According to the paper, three people with knowledge of the program said they were speaking out about it because they considered it a "misuse of time and resources."
Fine, take a DNA tissue sample from their amygdala
The tool was first used to find Israeli hostages who had been kidnapped to Gaza, but has increasingly been used against potential suspects in Gaza, the newspaper reported, saying that it is employed, among others, by the army’s 8200 cybersecurity unit.

An IDF front man told The New York Times that the military "carries out necessary security and intelligence operations, while making significant efforts to minimize harm to the uninvolved population."

"Naturally, we cannot refer to operational and intelligence capabilities in this context," he added, declining to comment on activity in Gaza.

The Times interviewed one Gazook, 31-year-old poet Mosab Abu Toha, who said that on November 19, Israeli security forces pulled him out of a crowd marching through a military checkpoint. Abu Toha, who said he has no connection to Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw,, told the Times that he was later blindfolded and interrogated.

"I had no idea what was happening or how they could suddenly know my full legal name," said Abu Toha, who was trying to flee Gaza with his 3-year-old son. He was later taken to an Israeli detention center, where he claims he was beaten for two days before being returned to the Strip without explanation.

Upon his release, Abu Toha told the Times, IDF soldiers told him his interrogation had been a "mistake," though a military spokesperson said at the time that he had been taken for questioning due to "intelligence indicating a number of interactions between several civilians and terror organizations inside the Gaza Strip."

The newspaper said three Israeli intelligence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, later confirmed that Abu Toha, now in Cairo, had been nabbed by face recognition software which found that he was on a list of wanted people.

"I did not know Israel was capturing or recording my face," Abu Toha told the Times when shown the information, but added that he felt Israel had "been watching us for years from the sky with their drones. They have been watching us gardening and going to schools and kissing our wives. I feel like I have been watched for so long."

The war in Gaza has seen unprecedented deployment of AI tools by the IDF to identify targets. The technology has said to have been perfected over previous rounds of fighting in the enclave. A 8200 officer revealed in 2021 that artificial intelligence had been used to pinpoint Hamas commanders, saying hundreds of man-hours had been saved in the process.

A 2023 Amnesia Amnesty International report had previously detailed the extent of Israel’s use of facial recognition technology in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but the New York Times suggested that since October 7, Israel’s surveillance efforts in Gaza have surpassed those in the other areas.

Soldiers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem scan Paleostinians’ faces with smartphone apps and high-resolution cameras, according to the paper, while in the Gaza Strip the IDF has, until the current war, relied on wiretaps, drones and images from social media. In the current war, soldiers entering Gaza have been given cameras to supplement the existing surveillance apparatus there, the New York Times said.

War broke out on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led murderous Moslems stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and take 253 hostages, more than half of whom remain in Gaza. Vowing to dismantle the Paleostinian terror group and release the hostages, Israel mounted an unprecedented offensive on the Gaza Strip, destroying about half the enclave’s residences and displacing over a million people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [80 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Europe
French politicians in uproar after school principal resigns over hijab altercation
[IsraelTimes] Gay Paree school head receives death threats after getting into a fight with a student who refused to remove her hijab as per French law

French politicians from across the spectrum expressed dismay on Wednesday over the resignation of a Gay Paree school principal who received death threats after asking a student to remove her Moslem veil while on the school premises.

In a show of support, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a former education minister, was set to meet with the principal Wednesday, his office said.

Secularism and religion are hot-button issues in La Belle France, which is home to Europe’s largest Moslem community.

In 2004, authorities banned school children from wearing "signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation" such as headscarves, turbans, or kippas, on the basis of the country’s secular laws which are meant to guarantee neutrality in state institutions.

The headmaster’s departure comes at a time of deep tensions in the country following a series of incidents including the killing of a teacher by an Islamist former pupil last year.

The headmaster at the Maurice-Ravel lycee in eastern Gay Paree quit after receiving death threats online following an altercation with a student last month, officials told AFP on Tuesday.

In late February, he had asked three students to remove their hijabs on school premises, but one of them refused and an altercation ensued, according to prosecutors. He later received death threats online.

In a message addressed to the school’s staff, quoted by the French communist daily L’Humanite, the principal said that he had taken the decision to leave for his "safety and that of the school."

Education officials said he had taken "early retirement."

A ’COLLECTIVE FAILURE’
"It’s a disgrace," Bruno Retailleau, the head of the right-wing Republicans faction in the Senate upper house, said on X on Wednesday.

Boris Vallaud, the head of the Socialist deputies in the National Assembly lower house, told television broadcaster La Belle France 2 that the incident was "a collective failure."

Marion Marechal, the granddaughter of far-right patriarch Jean-Marie Le Pen and a far-right politician herself, spoke on Sud Radio of a "defeat of the state" in the face of "the Islamist gangrene."

Maud Bregeon, a politician with President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, also took aim at "an Islamist movement."

"Authority lies with school heads and teachers, and we have a duty to support this educational community," Bregeon said.

Socialist Gay Paree mayor Anne Hidalgo called the principal to "assure him of her total support and solidarity," said her office, adding that she was "appalled and dismayed."

The student lodged a complaint against the principal, accusing him of mistreating her during the incident. She told the French daily, Le Gay Pareeien, that she had been "hit hard on the arm" by the principal.

The student is an adult who was at the school for vocational training.

The Gay Paree public prosecutor’s office told AFP on Wednesday that the student’s complaint had been dismissed.

CYBER-HARASSMENT PROBE
At the same time, an investigation was opened into cyber-harassment following the death threats against the headmaster.

In a further show of support, the education ministry said that it would "never" abandon teachers in the face of "threats." The ministry said that "all teams" remained mobilized, adding that the principal’s decision to leave his post was "understandable, given the seriousness of the attacks against him."

Education Minister Nicole Belloubet visited the school in early March and deplored the "unacceptable attacks."

A 26-year-old man has been arrested for making death threats against the principal on the internet. He is due to stand trial in April.

The uproar comes as dozens of French schools have received threats in recent weeks.

Attal has pledged to "hunt down" the people responsible for sending them.

Around 50 schools in Gay Paree received new bomb threats on Wednesday, some including a "very violent mostly peaceful video," education authorities said. The mayor’s office said classes were briefly interrupted for security checks.

The prime minister pledged to increase security, including near schools, after the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
jihadist group grabbed credit for the killing of 137 people at a Moscow concert on Friday.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [176 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Time for Operation Martel
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/31/2024 9:36 Comments || Top||

#2  I admire your thought process, but I'm afraid it's more like half past Martel in poor France.
Posted by: Cesare || 03/31/2024 10:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, "poor France." Worse ally ever.
Posted by: Regular+joe || 03/31/2024 13:48 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
'Four days in a row.' How Russian soldiers were saved near Artyomovsk
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Mark Dranitzyn

[REGNUM] A little less than a year has passed since the capture of Artyomovsk, and the fighting in the “Bakhmut Triangle” does not subside for a moment. Regiments of winged infantry, special forces groups "Akhmat" and other units fight here - not only pushing the front forward, but also strengthening the near rear.

A military hospital near Svetlodarsk, the town closest to the mouth of the “Bakhmut meat grinder”. A conditionally safe zone where a wounded soldier is operated on and put back on his feet. There is nothing closer yet. The key is for now.

On the floor of the granite corridor, as if painted with the brush of a lifeless artist, two thick bloody stripes turn purple. You can’t tell right away whether these prints are fresh or a hundred years old - the traces of the always unequal struggle between good and evil look so ordinary.

“Let’s go to the first one, the second one is busy now, ” the senior surgeon with the call sign Caduceus, in the world - Alexander, pulling off his rubber glove as he walked, escorted him into the empty operating room.
\
The phenomenon is rare, practically a failure in the system, the doctor admits. Usually you can’t breathe here: sometimes you have to heal for four days in a row. Sleep - two hours, the rest of the time - kilotons of coffee.

- So what to do? “You just work automatically, ” says Caduceus, leaning his elbow on the rack with drugs. - One, two, three. Then you switch off and don’t count anymore.

HEALING IS GETTING CLOSER, BUT EVACUATION IS GETTING SHORTER
They say about people like Caduceus: “golden hands.” The former Wagner soldier now performs tasks as part of the Akhmat special forces. After serving in the PMC, he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense, where at first he was almost assigned to the attack aircraft. A doctor who has saved hundreds of lives and resuscitated countless injured limbs is a Stormtrooper!

Fortunately, caring comrades recaptured him from the soulless bureaucratic machine in time.

- There is not enough hardware. It’s catastrophically lacking, ” says Caduceus, frowning over his respiratory mask.

Sasha doesn’t hide her face; rather, it’s a matter of habit—the medical visor feels like a second skin.

“We’ll have to install tires soon, it’s no good.”

“Iron” in professional slang is special medical equipment. Clamps, entrenching rods, supporting tubes... There is an acute shortage of all this in the hospital. And, as if one misfortune were not enough, the enterprises that produce unique items are loaded to capacity - sometimes there is nowhere to get them, even if there is money.

“Here some armchair experts blame you - they say, your salaries are three hundred thousand.” Why, you can’t buy everything for yourself - under an IV in the ward above lies a huge bearded man with the call sign Glamor, the head of the local autobat. - And diesel, tires, spare parts - all this falls from the sky, or what? There is practically nothing to ride anymore. I saw the roads myself.

The roads at the front truly provide an unforgettable experience. A terrible muddy road in which MAZs are drowning and Tigers are trying to roll over onto their sides. Even if the soil manages to freeze, it doesn’t last long—there are no winters akin to those in central Russia.

With spring comes real bedlam. The asphalt surface beyond large urban agglomerations, such as Mariupol, is either completely absent or resembles a landscape sieve. It was not repaired for decades by the Ukrainian authorities and was supplemented by craters from the arrival of artillery and kamikaze drones.

FLUTTER LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A HORNET
“According to my “loaf”, one such bird just worked the other day, ” Hornet, who had just returned from a combat mission, is a stocky man, short in stature with a long gray beard, shaved temples and a punk braid falling on his shoulders, who has a black cap. -white and red PMC Group patch, barely catching his breath, shakes hands and continues the story. “It means we were driving during the day, and this is a guaranteed suicide.” She swooped down on us. I'm on the side of the road and the car flips over. We had only just managed to get out when our own “beha” drove over us to get away from the arrival. It's a miracle they survived. But it got a little crazy, of course. Not too much, tolerable!

Hornet shows a short video. The consequences of the collision are clearly visible on the small screen: the torn UAZ turned into a pancake; fires are raging nearby without dying out.

— That’s it, it was the last normal “loaf”, with medical attachments. “They put so much effort into it, ” Hornet laments, sipping a cigarette in the smoking room. - There is only one “farmer” left. I have no idea what to do.

I’m trying to somehow cheer up my comrade. I say, let’s submit an application and I’ll show it to caring people. Maybe something will burn out. I ask if they have an office where the unit’s seal signed by the commander can be stamped at the end of the list.



I look into the smartphone gallery - there are quite a few electronic samples of these very regimental applications from different directions: for communications, electronic warfare - and even for shovels with tires. I show the navigator one of them.

“Oh, I understand, you need to rub shoulders with Uncle Lyosha, now I’ll look for him, ” Hornet suddenly stops in his tracks. - Or better yet, come with me right away.

We go down to the ground floor. They are transporting a wounded soldier. We open the doors wider and hold them until the doctors with the gurney roll inside. Three hundredth cheerfully, as much as possible in his condition, talks about the meeting with the tank.

I ask Caduceus, who promptly commands the preparation of the operating table, if it is possible to film the work of his fellow doctors.

“No question, just cover up the guy later during editing, ” Sasha approves of the idea. - That's it, I'm running away on business!

While we were waiting for Uncle Lyosha, we started talking about life.

— You are the first in at least six months who came here to see everything in person.

DATING AT THE FRONT IS FOREVER
It's time to tell you how we met the guys in the first place. The Russian land is full of kind people. And so one volunteer, with whom he became friends in the Kherson region through local tank crews, collected several tons of cargo for the hospital.

But there was nothing to transport - no one wanted (or could) provide transport. But every day spent is the lives of our soldiers. It was no longer possible to delay it any longer.

“I was looking for a five-ton truck, I was ready to get behind the wheel myself—there is a suitable category of license, ” says volunteer Seryoga.

Together we managed to find the treasured truck. But also not right away, because, ironically or by some unknown plan from above, the car at that moment was transporting a large cargo to the Lugansk region. And part of the parcel was intended for the 299th Guards Parachute Regiment, which is now based exactly in the Bakhmut direction.

One of the commanders of the unit is the famous Guard Colonel Vityaz. It was he and his soldiers who stormed Mariupol and entered Azovstal.

The paratroopers of the 98th division, which includes the regiment, are right now fighting in the vicinity of the “Artyomov triangle”, where the enemy is trying to squeeze our guys out of advantageous positions. So the famous “Bakhmut meat grinder” did not stop for a second.

“Andrey, the son of my friend, Hero of Russia Alexei Voloskov, a young lieutenant, commanded a platoon, recently fell in battle, ” Colonel Vityaz shares with bitterness an almost personal tragedy. — In the morning, the enemy began a massive rocket and artillery shelling, and then moved on the offensive.

After the start of the artillery barrage, Andrei Voloskov, regardless of life and health, waited for a second between the explosions of enemy shells, rushed to the dead VSEushnik, took the ammunition and returned to his position.

Alas, a little later a kamikaze drone flew into the dugout, which tore off the lieutenant’s left arm up to the shoulder.

At the same time, Voloskov, setting an example of the impeccable courage of a Russian officer, categorically refused evacuation, because there would simply be no one to command the battle at its height.

The enemy fought head-on for several hours, and then turned on mortars. As a result, one of the ammunition exploded near Andrei and broke his legs.

It was thanks to the courage and dedication of Lieutenant Voloskov that the airborne platoon entrusted to him did not allow a single breakthrough on the allocated section of the front.

A little later, Andrei Voloskov was awarded the highest title - Hero of the Russian Federation - by presidential decree. Father and son are both Heroes of Russia. Fortunately, the glorious line of warriors was not interrupted - Andrei still had a little boy. Who, without a doubt, looking at his great ancestors, will grow up to be a worthy man.

“To be a warrior is to live forever, ” the winged infantry warriors proudly remember their fallen comrade.

After a minute's pause, the captain, who shared the details of the battle, takes the floor again.

“It was with difficulty that they took his body from there.” They don’t allow you to enter or exit - the “birds” are circling, the art works uninterruptedly.

It is important to clarify something - the enemy now does not skimp on attacks, even against single targets. He throws all his bestial hatred into mowing down our manpower. Because of this, rotation on the front end is extremely difficult. What can I say - it’s almost unrealistic.

“Here, look at what they’re sending!” - the military officer shows boxes of either stewed meat or other canned food. - What should I do with this?

“Add army biscuits there and send them back, ” a sudden proposal is born.

Severe peasant laughter can be heard throughout the commander's dugout.

I don’t know if the guys managed to bring their intended joke to life. But I can report with confidence: good people sent the paratroopers the first batch - among other needs - of extremely important cargo specifically for solving their combat missions.

Four hundred anti-thermal imaging raincoats. What kind of thing is this? Let's explain it in our fingers.

Thanks to the special coating, the fighter is almost impossible to see through a thermal imager. Let it not be long - only about forty minutes. But thanks to camouflage, his chances of survival are greatly increased. For example, during the previously mentioned rotation, run to your own. And those who are replaced in positions should go back to the PVD.

Of course, this is only a small part of what our glorious citizens, including major politicians and businessmen on their own behalf, do for the front (which, by the way, the author witnessed. And more than once!).

However, we must understand that where there are intense battles, all these, of course, useful things are just consumables that will soon become unusable. And you will need to bring more.

THE TONGUE WILL BRING YOU TO A “GLASS”
“Get in, let’s go now, ” commands the senior medical group with the call sign Narva.

He, as it turned out, is Lyosha’s uncle, a veteran of the Syrian campaign. I even visited Africa. No fancy tactical bells and whistles - just a regular worn-out pixel.

The eyes are warm and fatherly. The voice is hoarse, but even and calm. Or, rather, magical: when he speaks, no one moves, no one shifts from foot to foot. The soldiers do not listen to the order, but to the person from whom it comes.

And they listen like yard boys - they look into their mouths, catch every word and try to race to show who is the fastest and bravest here, so that next time Uncle Lyosha will ask them for something again.

“It’s a good night today, we’ll come back alive, a hundred pounds, ” the eldest reassures. “If you’re not afraid, then we’ll go for a drink.”

“We’re afraid, of course, but we’ll go, ” I brag a little in response.

When asked what kind of “glass” this was and why, they answered briefly: “You’ll see!”

Hornet turns off the light in the cabin, and we set off. Artyomovsk awaits us, where our fellow doctors plan to set up a field hospital so that the soldiers can be operated on right there, on the spot. And for such an enterprise you need beds, equipment and... And a bunch of other stuff, in general.

That’s why we’re driving into the deep darkness along the most shot-through highway from Kleshcheevka. Which, to match the black army humor, was called the “road of life”: burnt equipment, including fresh equipment, is a frequent visitor at this crossroads. The soldiers are already using the silent skeletons of military and civilian vehicles to navigate turns.

Scary? And how! But if our guys risk their lives every day, do we have the right to sit out in the warmth? It was in these thoughts that time flew by until Artyomov’s “drink.”

An ideal place for a rear base for airborne guards. Which are now being trained to the point of sweat nearby, in the hunting grounds of a separate regiment, directly subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Airborne Forces, General Mikhail Teplinsky.

And this is not just an exemplary, but an elite assault unit, into which it is difficult even to become an instructor - the vacancies are closed.

Venerable warriors serve here, all of them with advanced combat experience. IA Regnum will talk about them separately.
Posted by: badanov || 03/31/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [81 views] Top|| File under:



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