[TWZ] AN/TWQ-1 Avengers fire FIM-92 Stinger missiles and have been joined by counter-drone fly-away sensor and jammer kits from U.S. Northern Command.
U.S. Army Humvee-based AN/TWQ-1Avenger short-range air defense systems (SHORADS) have been set up near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as at Donald J. Trump International Airport, about three miles to the west. The Avengers were deployed about two weeks ago amid heightened concerns about the president’s safety.
Iran threatened Trump’s life long before he ordered the joint attack with Israel on the Islamic Republic in February. Airstrikes wiped out much of Iran’s senior leadership structure at the onset of Operation Epic Fury. Now the American leader is mulling over plans to renew attacks on Iran as early as next week. In addition, Trump has been the target of assassination attempts and threats not connected to Iran. There may also be elevated security concerns surrounding the midterm elections.
Officials would not provide any specific reasons for the presence of the SAM systems when we asked.
“At the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and under NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and USNORTHCOM [U.S. Northern Command] authorities, NORAD and USNORTHCOM recently deployed ground-based air defense [GBAD] assets and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System capabilities in and around Mar-a-Lago, Florida,” the commands told us in a statement. “These assets add a complementary layer of technology to enhance protection. Due to operational security, we are unable to provide additional details. For further detail, we refer you to the USSS.”
“The U.S. Secret Service is operating in a heightened threat environment, and we continuously adapt our protective operations to incorporate cutting-edge tools, technology, and methods to safeguard our protectees,” the Secret Service told us. “At the request of the U.S. Secret Service, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command are providing Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System capabilities in support of our protective operations.”
NORAD/NORTHCOM declined to say what kinds of ground-based air defense assets are involved or where they are set up. However, Getty Images photographs show two Avenger systems set up on a floating platform in Lake Worth Lagoon on the Mar-a-Lago shoreline and one on the beach.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
10/31/2026 00:00 ||
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[21 views]
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#1
Why wasn't this done before?
Posted by: chris ||
10/31/2026 3:52 Comments ||
Top||
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Sudanese authorities have provided the United States with evidence of the use of American weapons transferred by Ukraine. Sudanese Foreign Minister Muhyeddin Salem announced this on October 30.
The minister reported that last year he personally led an official delegation to Washington and handed over numerous pieces of evidence and documents.
"We have provided the American side with numerous pieces of evidence and documents confirming the use of American weapons in Sudan, which arrived there from Ukraine and other sources," Salem noted in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
On August 5, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, stated that Ukraine is involved in terrorist activity in Africa, including the supply of drones and the training of militants by Ukrainian military instructors. According to him, the West is using Ukraine not only for a "proxy war" against Russia but also to advance its own interests on the African continent.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that Ukraine has become a logistics hub for the illegal arms trade and weapons supplies to terrorists in Africa. In March, the ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, stated that every third assault rifle used by extremist and terrorist groups worldwide is of Ukrainian origin.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/31/2026 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[GaroweOnline] Uganda has begun withdrawing its troops from Somalia after nearly two decades of military involvement, marking a significant development in 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... 's security mission as financial pressures and shifting international support raise questions about its future.
Uganda's Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced the start of the withdrawal Thursday, saying the country was handing over security responsibilities to Somali forces.
"As we promised, we have started withdrawing UPDF from Somalia. After 20 years of a lot of blood and sacrifice we are handing over security to our Somali brothers," Kainerugaba wrote on X on Oct. 29.
The announcement comes as the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, known as AUSSOM, faces growing financial and logistical challenges following changes in international funding arrangements.
According to Uganda's Daily Monitor, the withdrawal comes amid a 25% reduction in funding from the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Support Office in Somalia and uncertainty over continued U.S. support for the mission.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ...President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote... had previously defended the deployment, saying Uganda's involvement was driven by regional security interests and solidarity with neighboring countries.
Speaking at a summit of troop-contributing countries in Kampala on July 31, Museveni said Somalia would not be abandoned even if international partners withdrew their support.
"If the international community wants to pull out, let them... Somalia will not be abandoned. We have the capacity," he said.
The financial difficulties have also raised concerns about the sustainability of AUSSOM, which relies heavily on international assistance for essential logistical support, including food, fuel, medical services and transportation.
The United States had indicated in July that it would not support renewing the mission's mandate at the United Nations Security Council in December. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... Washington later agreed to give the U.N. an additional 12 months to wind down its logistical support, with the drawdown expected to begin in January 2027.
Uganda was the first country to deploy troops to Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2007 and has maintained one of the largest military contingents in the country.
Over the years, Ugandan forces have fought alongside the Somali National Army in operations against al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... , helping secure strategic towns and protect key government installations.
AMISOM was replaced by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in 2022, which was subsequently succeeded by AUSSOM in 2025.
The current mission is tasked with supporting Somali security forces, protecting civilians and facilitating the gradual transfer of security responsibilities to national institutions.
The African Union has pledged to continue supporting Somalia despite the funding challenges. African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the bloc would mobilize political, diplomatic and financial assistance to support the country's security transition.
The beginning of Uganda's withdrawal raises questions about the future composition of the African Union force and Somalia's ability to assume greater responsibility for national security as international support undergoes significant changes.
[Jpost] Marhabi was arrested in March 2016 for helping a Jewish family and an 800-year-old Torah leave Yemen. In March 2018, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Over the past three years, hundreds of Jewish hostages have been released from captivity across the Middle East, including Israeli hostages held in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was released after more than two years in captivity in Iraq. Yet, a Jewish man held by Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran-backed 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... movement, remains in captivity, despite a Houthi appeals court ordering his release in 2019. Yet Levi Salem Musa Marhabi, a Jewish man held by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement, remains in captivity, despite a Houthi appeals court ordering his release in 2019.
Marhabi was arrested in March 2016 for helping a Jewish family and an 800-year-old Torah leave Yemen. In March 2018, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, but remains detained in Sanaa to this day, where Houthi snuffies continue to torture and mistreat him.
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Houthis have beaten and electrocuted Marhabi, deprived him of food, and blocked him from communicating with his family.
The torture and inhumane conditions have caused his teeth to fall out, worsened his kidney and lung conditions, and he continues to suffer from medical neglect. The American Sephardi Federation reported that the years of mistreatment have also left Marhabi partially paralyzed.
Following Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... ’s 2023 invasion on Oct. 7, USCIRF said that the Houthis transferred Marhabi to a prison ward with Lions of Islam who threatened him. A 10-day prison strike eventually saw the Houthis relocate him to solitary confinement.
MARHABI SUFFERS INHUMANE CONDITIONS, LOSES TEETH, SUSTAINS KIDNEY, LUNG DAMAGE
Asharq al-Awsat reported in 2021 that the Houthis reached a deal to release Marhabi, exiling the three last Jewish families in Yemen in exchange for his release.
"They gave us a choice between staying in the midst of harassment and keeping Salem a prisoner or leaving and having him released," one of the displaced Jews told Asharq al-Awsat. "History will remember us as [some of] the last of Yemeni Jews who were still clinging to their homeland until the last moment... We had rejected many temptations time and time again, and refused to leave our homeland, but today we are forced."
Since coming to power, the Houthis have made the governorates of Sanaa, Saada and Amran Judenfrei, banishing the last residents of Jewish communities that are said to date back as far as the Jewish merchants who returned with the Queen of Sheba after her visit with King Solomon in the 10th century BCE.
I guess the Iranian soak-off attacks didn't work as planned
🚨 عاجل
📌أيران تبلغ قادة الحرس الثوري والخبراء
مغادرة اليمن باقصى سرعة
📌وتسحب مشغلي الصواريخ البالستية
وتنقلهم عبر البحر الاحمر
📌الولايات المتحدة تخبر الدول المجاورة لايران استعدادها للحرب التي سوف تبدأ بين ايران وامريكا https://t.co/Jr91DVgVo1
[Jpost] Andreas Malm, an academic at Sweden's Lund University, has been a vocal critic of Israel and has expressed strong support for the Palestinian movement.
Swedish climate academic Andreas Malm said on Friday he had been denied entry to the UK, where he was due to speak alongside the co-founder of Paleostine Action, a group banned as a terrorist organization.
I’m confused. What has Palestine to do with climate?
Malm, an academic at Sweden's Lund University, has been a vocal critic of Israel and expressed strong support for the Paleostinian movement.
Britannia's Home Office (interior ministry) said it did not comment on individual cases.
MALM SUSPECTS HE WAS BARRED DUE TO SPEAKING EVENT WITH PALESTINE ACTION FOUNDER
Malm told the BBC's Radio 4 he had received a message from the Home Office saying his "presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good" with no further clarification.
He said he suspected he was barred because he was due to appear at an event next Wednesday organized by a socialist magazine alongside Paleostine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, where he said he was due to speak about the war in Iran. He added he had not publicly endorsed, promoted or financially supported Paleostine Action.
Appearing with one of their leaders gives her sanction by his presence.
"I've been going back and forth to the UK for years, for decades, to do my scientific work, my archival research, my participation in conferences. This is the main purpose of my visit to the UK this time too," Malm said.
"What this means is that I am banned from doing my work as an intellectual, as an academic." "now I'm just a regular asshole"
Asked by the BBC whether the ban could be linked to previous comments he made calling Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... 's October 7 attack on Israel "an act of liberation," Malm said, "it could be."
Malm is best known for his book "How to Blow Up a Pipeline," which argues radical action is necessary to stop fossil fuel extraction.
Oh. He’s an apologist for terror.
Britannia's Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal next week on the proscription of Paleostine Action under terrorism laws, which has made expressing support for the group a criminal offense.
Earlier in October, Irish novelist Sally Rooney said her books will no longer be sold in Britannia over her plans to use her royalties to support Paleostine Action.
In June, Britannia blocked left-wing Ottoman Turkish-American media personality Cenk Uygur and his nephew Hasan Piker from entering the country to speak at events.
Britannia has also imposed travel bans on far-right Israeli ministers and banned Israelis from attending a prestigious London defense studies college.
[Breitbart] Conservative President of PeruKeiko Fujimori on Thursday announced the construction of two new prisons in her country during her official visit to El Salvador.
One of the two prisons, Fujimori detailed, will be “similar” to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, which she toured as part of her official itinerary in the Central American nation, while the other will be of a lower security level.
President Fujimori is presently conducting a multi-day official visit to El Salvador that will run through Saturday, October 31, seeking to bolster her country’s cooperation with the government of President Nayib Bukele while meeting with Salvadoran authorities and business representatives. The two heads of state met on Thursday evening and signed a joint cooperation agreement on security, health, education, economy, trade, and the fight against organized crime.
Prior to the encounter, President Fujimori visited the CECOT mega-prison accompanied by the prison’s director and Salvadoran officials, seeking to obtain first-hand knowledge of the Bukele administration’s crackdown on violent gangs in the country. Per the Salvadoran newspaper El Mundo, Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro provided Fujimori with a portfolio containing information on El Salvador’s security model during the visit.
Speaking to reporters after the visit, Fujimori emphasized that organized crime groups do not respect borders but are “terrorist organizations” that must be fought “with firmness,” echoing statements issued to the United Nations General Assembly in September. She stressed that Peru not only faces the threat of organized crime, but also the threat of drug trafficking and illegal migrant networks.
“We know that in Peru we need to build prisons. We need to complete the six that are currently under construction. Today’s tour will be a great source of inspiration for us as we seek to replicate these prisons with all these initiatives,” Fujimori said.
Fujimori, in separate remarks to the press after her meeting with Bukele, announced that Peru will construct two additional prisons — 0ne of which, she said, will be similar to the CECOT, while the other will house “less dangerous” inmates.
She described the Salvadoran mega-prison as “impressive” and “emblematic,” praising Bukele for returning to Salvadorans “that which is sacred, peace, security, and the freedom to once again be able to walk through the streets without fear.”
Fujimori described El Salvador as a “beacon of hope for Latin America.”
“Peru has several prisons nearing completion, and we will begin construction on two more. One will be for highly dangerous inmates, where we will build something similar,” Fujimori said, per the official newspaper El Peruano. “Then we will build a prison for less dangerous inmates, but where we will have to implement productive workshops and the ‘Zero Idleness’ plan, another initiative we are also adopting.”
Per Radio Programas del Peru, the conservative President considers it vital that CECOT is capable of blocking telephone communications, preventing the entry of information to criminals. Fujimori stressed that the message this gives to Peru is that prisons “are meant for serving sentences, not to be the center of criminal organizations.”
“We’re taking many of these ideas with us,” she said.
President Bukele reportedly noted that what El Salvador did to curb gang violence and crime cannot be simply replicated by other countries in a direct manner, noting that the situation in Peru is far different from that of the Central American nation and that each country’s gangs and organized crime groups operate differently.
“For various reasons, El Salvador’s system will be effective. There will be a lot to take into account, given the factors that apply to one country or another. However, copying it exactly wouldn’t make sense, since every country has different realities,” Bukele said. “Peru’s problem with insecurity is real, but it’s not comparable to the one El Salvador faced. You don’t need such a strong remedy for a less serious illness.”
“The nature of crime in Peru is different from that in El Salvador. We have never claimed that this is the system for all countries. This is the system for El Salvador,” he continued.
Bukele has issued similar assertions during visits from other Latin American officials over the past years, such as Argentine President Javier Milei’s national security officers.
In addition to discussing bilateral cooperation in security and other areas, Presidents Fujimori and Bukele reportedly discussed plans towards a future Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between both nations. Additionally, Fujimori invited Bukele to visit Peru at a later date — with the conservative President stressing that Bukele will be received in Peru “with our important Peruvian gastronomy.”
[Jpost] Patrick O’Brien, 60, told an Australian Jewish couple it was a shame Hitler hadn’t finished the job, then threatened to shoot the wife. Jewish groups say the sentence is too lenient.
A court in Avignon, in southern La Belle France, gave Patrick O’Brien, a 60-year-old Irish citizen, a six-month suspended prison sentence on Friday after convicting him of making antisemitically motivated death threats and of justifying crimes against humanity, a criminal offense in La Belle France. O’Brien had threatened to kill a Jewish couple from Australia during a confrontation at a supermarket.
The judges also ordered him to pay the woman and her husband €500 [$560] each, and rejected prosecutors’ request to ban him from La Belle France for three years. Jewish organizations that joined the case criticized the sentence, arguing that it was too lenient to serve as a deterrent.
The incident took place on August 11 at an Auchan superstore in Le Pontet, near Avignon. The Australian couple had struck up a friendly conversation with O’Brien, a Dublin native, about the French national soccer team jersey the husband was wearing. When the conversation turned to Ireland’s policy toward Israel, O’Brien became aggressive and made antisemitic remarks.
'IT’S A SHAME HITLER DIDN’T FINISH THE JOB'
"It’s a shame Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like... didn’t finish the job," he told the couple, according to their testimony. When the woman took out her cellphone and began recording, O’Brien threatened to put a bullet in her head. The video went viral on social media, sparking outrage in La Belle France and beyond. The woman’s father is a Holocaust survivor, and members of her family were murdered at the Auschwitz death camp.
C.H.A.R., a French organization that fights hatred, antisemitism, and racism, joined the case as a civil party, a status under French law that allows victims and advocacy groups to take part in criminal proceedings and seek damages, and was represented by attorney Annie Cohen. The group welcomed the conviction but said it was deeply disappointed by the sentence.
"To publicly wish for the completion of the Holocaust, and then to threaten to murder a woman because she is Jewish, and to come away with a suspended sentence and a payment of just a few hundred euros: this is a message that minimizes the gravity of these acts, and we cannot accept it," a spokesperson for the organization said after the sentencing.
The group also emphasized the victim’s family history. "The victim’s father survived the Holocaust; members of her family were murdered in Auschwitz. What was said to her was, in effect, an expression of regret that her family had not been wiped out entirely," it said.
B’nai B’rith also joined the case as a civil party. The court ordered O’Brien to pay each of the two organizations €300 [$335].
After the video spread online, Sherlocks from La Belle France’s gendarmerie, a national police force, identified O’Brien using the supermarket’s security cameras and tracked him down at his home in the Avignon area. He was arrested on August 26. Digital devices seized from his home contained additional racist content, according to prosecutors, including remarks targeting people from developing countries.
O’BRIEN ADMITTED MAKING THE STATEMENTS BUT CLAIMED THEY CAME DURING A HEATED ARGUMENT
Avignon prosecutor Stéphanie Huin said O’Brien admitted making the statements but claimed they came during a heated argument about Ireland’s policy toward Israel. She said he expressed remorse and explained that he had lost his temper. During the trial, he portrayed himself as someone opposed to violence, described himself as "a committed humanist," and said he has health problems.
Despite convicting him on both counts, the court chose not to send him to prison.
The case drew condemnation as early as August, when French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised the Sherlocks’ work, stressing that "antisemitism must be fought with determination and without respite." Now, following the sentencing, Jewish organizations are warning that lenient sentences for explicit death threats and statements praising the Holocaust could send a dangerous message at a time of growing concern over antisemitism in La Belle France.
No doubt mostly mockery because the Netherlands doesn’t do well there, despite being a founding member, so the ha8trs are happy to again have an excuse to avoid the humiliation — they skipped it last year, using the same excuse.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Olesya Orlenko
[Regnum] France is counting the damage caused by the unrest, which is far from over.
How much will it cost to compensate the victims? Where will the funds come from, and what will the payment mechanism be? These questions are of serious concern to French society.
According to Xavier Crétez, professor of political science at Sciences Po University and co-author of the book "Political Violence in France," the participants in the current protests can be divided into three groups.
One group consists of politically motivated protesters, among whom far-left forces are indeed influential. Another group consists of those who enjoy participating in the general "movement," which is especially characteristic of young people. And the third group consists of rioters and looters, who commit their actions for various purposes, including profit.
The latest estimates indicate that approximately three thousand stores and other retail outlets have been affected by the actions of criminals. The total economic damage has already exceeded one billion euros.
To understand this, it's worth comparing these figures with the economic damage reported during the previous protests against pension reform in 2023. Back then, the reported damage to trade was estimated at €794 million.
However, experts conducting a detailed analysis revealed a more serious scale of losses. Subsequently, a special Senate committee estimated the loss at one billion euros, calling it colossal. There is every reason to believe that the actual damage in 2026 will also be much higher than current estimates.
Business representatives began alerting the authorities to their problems immediately after the large-scale pogroms began. Their first meeting with the government took place on October 19, during which the victims presented preliminary damage data and demands for government support measures.
State involvement is being sought on the grounds that inadequate government action is considered one of the reasons for the scale of the destruction. And despite attempts to justify it, the government acknowledges this fact.
It is no wonder that the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, who recently headed the Paris police, admitted that the state had “lost control” of the situation and submitted his resignation, which, however, was not accepted by the president.
To compensate for economic losses in France in 2026, two serious steps were taken.
The first is the parliament's adoption of the so-called "pogromist law" in its first reading on October 28. According to the new law, those responsible for pogroms and looting will be fined to compensate the victims. Financially insolvent pogromists will face the loss of benefits and other budget payments.
The second measure is the so-called mandatory "riot tax," which will increase insurance premiums by 0.8%. The collected funds will be used to replenish the funds from which insurance companies pay compensation to victims of natural disasters.
The law was passed last winter in 2026 and will come into force on January 1, 2027. The government has decided to use this method to combat the reluctance of insurers in some regions to include compensation for damage caused by rioters in their contract terms.
But this decision has sparked widespread criticism. Citizens and experts are questioning the fairness of equating unpredictable natural disasters with mass unrest, which could have been avoided if the state and security forces had carried out competent work.
Moreover, basic riot insurance covers a limited number of events. To receive a full payout, the policy must specify multiple types of damage (broken display windows, broken furniture, damaged electrical wiring, etc.). And, obviously, insurance companies, taking advantage of numerous nuances, will use every opportunity to hinder or reduce the payment of compensation.
Meanwhile, stories of looted and ransacked French stores and their owners are being actively discussed by journalists and bloggers around the world. Pierre Colan, whose video game store in Nice was attacked on October 17, has become an international celebrity. He fought with the attackers, a video of which was leaked online. And a photo of Hassan Robioul near the ruins of his store has become a symbol of the tragic events of that same day in Paris.
Large factories were reportedly unharmed due to better security. However, one group of thieves managed to break into the Framatome plant, France's only hafnium producer. This rare metal is used in the production of nuclear power plant rods, Rafale fighter jet turbine blades, and nuclear submarine components.
Similar incidents have occurred at the plant before. However, it appears the necessary security measures were never taken. There is no known connection between the robbers and street criminals. But this incident is further evidence of the extremely dire situation in the country.
The French have already come to the conclusion that they will have to protect their property themselves. Demand for private security services has skyrocketed over the past three weeks, but their personnel cannot cover everyone. Consequently, many are calling for people to arm themselves in preparation for the next demonstration, scheduled for October 31st.
Against this backdrop, cases of fraud are also on the rise. Large-scale fundraising campaigns for affected shop owners are not always run on behalf of real people. For example, the aforementioned Hassan Robiul claimed that the approximately 50 "volunteers" raising money supposedly to restore his shop have no connection to him.
The current protests are undoubtedly quite large-scale, especially in terms of violence. However, it's not as if the country hasn't faced similar challenges before.
But the peculiarity of today is the systemic weakening of France, which is squandering valuable resources anywhere but on resolving domestic crises. Only a radical shift in domestic policy can change the situation, something that current politicians are apparently incapable of.
[Rudaw] A boat painted in the colors of the Kurdish flag carrying dozens of migrants colonists crossing the English Channel made headlines in the UK on Thursday as authorities in the Kurdistan Region, UK, and La Belle France are cracking down heavily on people smugglers.
The incident occurred on Thursday on a Belgian beach across the French border where batches of migrants colonists make the dangerous journey to the UK.
A team from Rudaw has previously documented the journeys of migrants colonists from one of the notable camps in northern La Belle France informally dubbed ’Dunkirk Jungle’ - just 10 kilometers from Belgium - where hundreds of people are living in limbo as they attempt crossings to the UK, paying thousands each.
The UK home office is yet to publish the data of Thursday’s crossings. In the previous week, no migrants colonists arrived illegally after three incidents were prevented. Data for the months of October shows 24 boats carrying migrants colonists crossed the English Channel.
Footage posted to X on Thursday appeared to show a dinghy painted in the Kurdish colors- green, white, red, and a strip of yellow. The vessel had approximately 25 men aboard who responded to the videographer that they were heading to the UK.
"Are you looking forward to England?" the videographer asked. "Yes," those abroad replied.
The video gained significant traction online with right-wing commentators and outlets following right-wing leader of the Reform UK Party Nigel Farage’s post, stating, "This boat is even custom-made to match the Kurdish flag. The gangs are laughing at us."
A picture of the Kurdish flag accompanied Farage’s post.
Farage highlighted the Belgian authorities, also present in the footage, who appeared not to stop the vessel from leaving.
"We now have gangs painting the boats their national colours. They are taking the piss. We’re being invaded from Calais, Normandy - and now Belgium too. I will deploy the Royal Navy and stop the boats forever," stated a second post.
Does the British navy have enough ships to patrol the channel?
It is not known from where the vessel or those aboard have originated or are going.
Aside from the backlash, the incident has highlighted the ongoing ubiquity of Kurdish people involved with trafficking to the UK.
A committee dedicated to "irregular migration" was told last month that there was an "over-representation of Iraqi Kurds" present in the gangs involved in people-smuggling to the UK.
In 2026, several high profile individuals from the Kurdistan Region involved with these operations were arrested. In May, the BBC identified ’Kardo Jaf’ - an alias - as a "key player" in a network based in the Kurdistan Region which facilitated irregular migration.
During their investigation, a BBC news hound impersonating a client received a quote from Jaf offering a "VIP" service to Manchester for an entire family for $214,000.
That’s a lot of money.
Jaff was arrested in the Kurdistan Region's Ranya by security forces. His family denied the accusations leveled against him.
Nonetheless, Jaf’s case represents one of many.
The BBC further talked to Muthanna Amin, a sitting member of the Kurdish Islamic United Party (KIU), who also works with the foreign relations committee.
Amin described Ranya in the Sulimani governorate as having a "powerful network" connected with people-smugglers.
"If you really catch these smugglers that are controlling things from Ranya, then maybe you can solve 70% of the problem you see with migration in the UK," he said.
Due to the covert and complex logistical nature of people smuggling, it is difficult to establish concrete figures of those from the Kurdistan Region involved in the illicit activity.
Authorities in the past years have clamped down also on irregular immigration. The UK Home Office records a 42 percent reduction in ’small boat’ arrivals to the UK in 2026 as compared to 2025.
Of 41,000 migrants colonists who crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2025, 4 percent were Iraqi nationals, according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.
This decline perhaps reflects a concerted bilateral effort from both the UK and KRG to combat this issue.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Masrour Bazani met with UK National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, along with the UK’s ambassador to Baghdad and the Consular General to Erbil. Among other topics, the UK reaffirmed its "commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation, particularly in tackling illegal migration."
In March 2024, the UK Home Office launched an advertising campaign in Sorani Kurdish that aimed to deter people from attempting to reach the UK illegally.
One poster covering the face of a young woman read, "they promised me a good job, instead they made me a slave."
[FoxNews] FinCEN identified suspicious payments directed by foreign agents through U.S. money services businesses from 2021 to 2025
The Trump administration uncovered what it says is more than $8 billion in potentially fraudulent cross-border wire payments that were made under foreign agents’ direction, issuing new guidelines for nonprofits who take foreign money, executing multiple FBI search warrants and building out a large-scale indictment.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the Treasury Department said it identified suspicious wire payments from 2021 to 2025 that were sent through U.S.-based money services businesses at the direction of foreign agents.
the Treasury Department has investigations in the U.S. and abroad into "Al-Shabaab, its networks and its enablers. Since the start of the Trump administration, FinCen data have also supported the law enforcement effort that led to the arrest and charging of 115 fraudsters, as well as 75 convictions and nearly 3,000 subpoenas across Minnesota."
"When greed meets negligence, the American people suffer," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Under President Trump and Vice President Vance’s leadership, Treasury stopped nearly $190 million in funds tied to overseas fraud and returned more than $100 million to U.S. victims. We are working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud to help prevent this kind of abuse from happening again, in Minnesota or anywhere else."
At a Friday press conference, Bessent said: "In the weeks following my visit, Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, issued a geographic targeting order to trace criminal networks.
That diverts funds overseas and ensures that taxpayer dollars go to the American people, not terror groups like Al Shabaab."
He added that the Treasury Department has investigations in the U.S. and abroad into "Al-Shabaab, its networks and its enablers. Since the start of the Trump administration, FinCen data have also supported the law enforcement effort that led to the arrest and charging of 115 fraudsters, as well as 75 convictions and nearly 3,000 subpoenas across Minnesota."
Bessent said that on Thursday, "IRS-CI assisted with investigative activity at several sites suspected of fraud. I want to give a shout-out to our great officers at IRS-CI. They don't get much press, but they are quietly one of the most affected groups in the United States government for fighting fraud."
Bessent, FBI Director Kash Patel, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson held a news conference in Minnesota to detail the substantial fraud uncovered and FBI Minnesota's actions.
The Treasury secretary has previously taken aim at fraud and bad actors funding nonprofit organizations in the U.S. In April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tightened tax-exempt reporting requirements in an effort to uncover nonprofit funding being used for "extremist activity" and "hiding fraud."
Neville Roy Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations.
"Tax-exempt status is not immunity from scrutiny," Treasury Assistant Secretary and acting IRS chief counsel Ken Kies wrote in a statement. "If an organization receives public funds or tax-deductible donations, it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes."
Bessent has also been involved with the Department of Justice’s grand jury probe into the nonprofit network of Neville Roy Singham. Sources at Treasury told Fox News Digital that Bessent met with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and discussed Singham’s previously held accounts at the bank, which Singham used to distribute funds to a number of nonprofits.
Singham, a 72-year-old American who sold his tech company for $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai, has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017, according to a Fox News Digital investigation. These groups regularly organize and participate in anti-ICE, anti-Israel and pro-Iran demonstrations.
Singham has not been charged, and the investigation at the Southern District of New York remains ongoing.
[Jpost] Delegates say they were questioned and given no reason for the refusal as they headed to a Progressive International congress in Ramallah, where they planned to accompany Palestinian farmers.
A 23-person multinational delegation aiming to meet Palestinians in the West Bank during olive harvest season has been banned from entering the territory, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
The group of French, Spanish, Luxembourgish, Swiss, Greek, Danish, Irish, and American delegates planned to attend Progressive International’s Second Ramallah Congress in November, hosted in partnership with Birzeit University.
Ah — a PLO activity. But unlike the American group the other day, they appear to have no Jews or rabbis among them…
According to the congress’s website, the program has participants “hear expert testimony, deliberate the economic and legal dimensions of occupation, and prepare a collective roadmap for urgent international action.”
The usual tiresomely fancy words for planning another round of the Western proxy war against Israel for daring to continue to exist.
British parliament member Sam Tarry, formerly with Labour, told The Guardian the group thought they had a “genuine chance of going across” the Allenby crossing with Jordan into the West Bank. However, authorities stopped and held the group for about nine hours before refusing them entry, without explaining why.
“You people are scum, which is reason enough,” the officials tactfully did not say.
“They made a political decision very clearly based on the fact they didn’t want people to witness what’s been going on in the West Bank, especially ahead of the elections,” Tarry continued.
If y’all aren’t allowed in, nobody has to watch you manufacture incidents for your pet journalists to blow up in the international press.
Labour Party parliament member Clive Lewis told The Guardian: “We were detained, taken aside and then interrogated. People were shouted at. We were asked why we were going in, what was happening, why our stories were one way or the other. The bottom line was it was a deeply unpleasant experience.”
That’s because you are deeply unpleasant people.
'TURNED AWAY AT THE BORDER WITH NO REASON'
UK Member of Parliament Lara Bird,
…Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey is a Scottish National Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry since 2026. She reportedly crossed her fingers while taking her oath of office in a fake Scottish accent…
who was among those detained and barred from entering the West Bank on Tuesday, said in a statement that she "came to stand alongside Paleostinians being attacked for harvesting olives on their own land. Instead, we were turned away at the border with no reason given."
"It is more important now than ever that we bear witness and show our solidarity. But we were prevented from doing so," the statement read.
The Guardian reported they contacted the Israeli embassy for comment.
The prohibition came after Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed officials at the beginning of October to pursue administrative removal orders against activists whose activities were believed to threaten public order or security in the West Bank, following a request from Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Ganz.
In one incident following Katz's order, the IDF detained nearly 90 US, Israeli, and British volunteers aiming to help Paleostinians harvest olives near Bethlehem in the West Bank, including New York congressional candidate Brad Lander. The IDF and Foreign ministry claimed that the group of volunteers did not coordinate their visit and activities ahead of time and were in a prohibited zone.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... The Jerusalem Post received a copy of a letter sent by the organizers to coordinate their visit with the IDF nearly two months before the incident.
INCREASE IN SETTLER VIOLENCE
Extreme Israeli nationalist attacks in the West Bank have been on the rise as the seasonal olive harvest has flared confrontations.
Earlier this month, the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... aid coordination office (OCHA) recorded at least 160 attacks on Paleostinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank during the first two weeks of the olive harvest. The UN report also claimed that the IDF and Israeli border police protected settlers and even participated in attacks on Paleostinians.
The Paleostinian Ministry of Agriculture claimed that attacks on olive trees and harvesters have resulted in $157 million in losses and the destruction of roughly 286,000 olive trees since he start of the war with Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... in October 2023.
The military of Jordan is deploying additional reinforcements to the border region with Syria; the border with Daraa province.
This follows a call by Syrias *Tribal Army* to move towards Daraa in the coming days.
While escalations may happen by individual actors - it is very unlikely that an escalation of larger scale occurs.
The Syrian government deploys its *Tribal Army* to show the residents of Daraa that the „state is with them“ like Syrias FM Shaibani told them today; Jordan simply takes precautions.
The military of Jordan is deploying additional reinforcements to the border region with Syria; the border with Daraa province.
This follows a call by Syrias *Tribal Army* to move towards Daraa in the coming days.
While escalations may happen by individual actors - it is very unlikely that an escalation of larger scale occurs.
The Syrian government deploys its *Tribal Army* to show the residents of Daraa that the „state is with them“ like Syrias FM Shaibani told them today; Jordan simply takes precautions.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/31/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A dramatic surge in military tension has taken center stage as President Trump ordered a third US aircraft carrier to the Middle East – all while making cryptic claims that the standoff will soon reach its conclusion.
US Central Command confirmed that bringing three aircraft carrier strike groups into the Middle East represents the largest US naval surge in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Trump voiced confidence today that the conflict would dissipate, though he provided no specific timeline or strategy for how that outcome would be secured.
'It's going to get wrapped up soon,' Trump stated during an interview with a Kansas City radio station. 'We need a guarantee there'll never be a nuclear weapon.'
The remarks comes as questions surrounding Trump's domestic campaign itinerary arise, with the President rescheduling several canceled rallies over the weekend.
Vice President JD Vance also canceled a scheduled Friday press briefing in St. Cloud, Minnesota, focused on the administration's 'War on Fraud.'
Officials have not provided a reason for the cancellation.
Recent reports suggest the administration is laying the groundwork for a fresh wave of aggressive military strikes if Iranian leaders refuse to sign an agreement.
Despite initiating the war in February expecting a rapid surrender from Iran's weakened regime, Trump has continuously maintained that the conflict will draw to a close, even while combat intensifies and global economic damage continues to mount.
This has led to voter dissatisfaction across both parties ahead of the midterm elections.
During campaign appearances, he has argued that hostilities will wrap up shortly following the midterms, provided the GOP retains control of Congress.
Two US officials report that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East by late November.
Upon arrival, the Roosevelt will operate alongside the USS George H.W. Bush, which deployed in April, and the USS George Washington, which arrived in August as a replacement for the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the nation's highest–ranking Middle East commander has reportedly briefed Trump on potential strike scenarios regarding Iran.
Admiral Brad Cooper visited the White House on Thursday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Despite initiating the war in February expecting a rapid surrender from Iran's weakened regime, Trump has continuously maintained that the conflict will draw to a close, even while combat intensifies and global economic damage continues to mount.
This has led to voter dissatisfaction across both parties ahead of the midterm elections.
During campaign appearances, he has argued that hostilities will wrap up shortly following the midterms, provided the GOP retains control of Congress.
Two US officials report that the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East by late November.
Upon arrival, the Roosevelt will operate alongside the USS George H.W. Bush, which deployed in April, and the USS George Washington, which arrived in August as a replacement for the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the nation's highest–ranking Middle East commander has reportedly briefed Trump on potential strike scenarios regarding Iran.
Admiral Brad Cooper visited the White House on Thursday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
10/31/2026 00:08 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[KhaamaPress] The Pentagon has raised the official number of U.S. military personnel who have died in connection with the war against Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... to 23, adding two non-combat deaths to its casualty count, according to Sky News.
Both newly recorded deaths involved Air Force personnel. One service member died from an illness, while the cause of death in the second case remains under investigation. Neither death was classified as resulting from combat, the report said.
The updated figures show that 11 of the 23 deaths were caused by hostile action, while 12 were classified as non-hostile. Six of the non-combat deaths involved the crew of a U.S. KC-135 refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq in March.
The Pentagon’s casualty figures also show that more than 865 U.S. service members have been maimed in operations connected to the conflict. The department records casualties under separate categories, including Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the initial phase of the military campaign, and subsequent overseas operations.
The latest update follows earlier changes to the official tally. In October, the Pentagon raised the publicly reported corpse count to 21 after adding two non-combat deaths. The Washington Post had previously reported that the number of U.S. military personnel who died in the Middle East during the conflict could be higher than the figure disclosed in the department’s public casualty database.
In a September report, the newspaper cited six U.S. officials familiar with internal casualty accounting. Five said at least 22 service members had died, while another put the number at 23. The officials cautioned that not all of the deaths were directly related to the Iran conflict, although they involved U.S. personnel in the region during the hostilities.
The Pentagon disputed the newspaper’s earlier reporting. The discrepancy highlighted questions about how military deaths in the region were being classified and reflected in the department’s public database.
The updated figures distinguish deaths caused by hostile action from those resulting from illness, accidents or other non-combat circumstances. The categories are used by the Pentagon to record military casualties across its operations.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/31/2026 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Then why we talking about it? PPL die from shit everyday.
Posted by: chris ||
10/31/2026 3:54 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote...
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
[Jpost] Marhabi was arrested in March 2016 for helping a Jewish family and an 800-year-old Torah leave Yemen. In March 2018, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
[Jpost] Andreas Malm, an academic at Sweden's Lund University, has been a vocal critic of Israel and has expressed strong support for the Palestinian movement.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like...
[Rudaw] A boat painted in the colors of the Kurdish flag carrying dozens of 
[Jpost] Delegates say they were questioned and given no reason for the refusal as they headed to a Progressive International congress in Ramallah, where they planned to accompany Palestinian farmers.
Earlier this month, the 
...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 
