Al-Shabaab is reportedly considering leaving Al-Qaeda.
Growing reports indicate that Al-Shabaab’s senior leadership has become convinced of the need to withdraw from its alliance with Al-Qaeda and revise its ideological position regarding global jihad.
— Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari (@HOA_ANALYST) May 20, 2026
Text:
Al-Shabaab is reportedly considering leaving Al-Qaeda.
Growing reports indicate that Al-Shabaab’s senior leadership has become convinced of the need to withdraw from its alliance with Al-Qaeda and revise its ideological position regarding global jihad.
Two individuals considered to be among the closest associates of leader Ahmed Diriye reportedly made secret trips to undisclosed countries in January and April of this year, where they presented recommendations aimed at changing the group’s current direction. Events that have taken place in Afghanistan and Syria in recent years have significantly influenced both the leadership and members of Al-Shabaab.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[KavkazUzel] A military court in Rostov-on-Don is hearing the case of Olesya Bichenova, a native of North Ossetia, who left for Syria with her husband and subsequently spent several years in a refugee camp there.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the FSB placed North Ossetian resident Olesya Bichenova, then 28, on its wanted list back in 2018 on suspicion of involvement with militants in Syria. The security service claimed that Bichenova had voluntarily joined a terrorist organization and was actively participating in combat operations.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don is hearing the criminal case of 36-year-old Olesya Bichenova, a native of North Ossetia who returned to Russia from St. Petersburg after spending several years in the Al-Hol refugee camp. She is charged with terrorism training, Mediazona reported (included in the register of foreign agents).
In court, Olesya Bichenova's mother testified that after finishing school, the girl left North Ossetia for Moscow, found work there, and subsequently converted to Islam. According to her mother, Olesya first married a native of Dagestan in the capital, but later divorced him. She went to Syria to join her second husband, whom her mother-in-law described to the investigator as an ISIS* militant.
VERSION CONSEQUENCES
Investigators claim that in February 2023, Bichenova "underwent training in the use of firearms," including a pistol and an assault rifle. This version contradicts information Bichenova herself previously told reporters: by November 2022, she had been living with her daughter in the Syrian refugee camp "Al-Hol" for over four years.
According to Bichenova, at the age of 24, she moved to Syria to live with Samat Baidzhanov, an ethnic Kazakh from Orenburg, whom she met online. After marrying him, she gave birth to a daughter.
The couple lived in ISIS territory, in Raqqa, but Bichenova insists that neither of them participated in the fighting. According to her, "her husband led a normal life and had no intention of fighting anyone." He was caught in the crossfire and seriously wounded, so he "wasn't called up for war, but he couldn't work properly either," according to her account in a Lenta.ru article from November 1, 2022.
"IT WAS A MISTAKE OF MY YOUTH."
Later, when Raqqa was surrounded by pro-American coalition forces, Bichenova's husband was killed in the shelling, and she and her daughter moved into a widows' dormitory. "In the final days of the encirclement, a shell landed in our apartment: I was wounded in the leg and still live with a shrapnel wound," she said.
Olesya Bichenova reported to journalists about the harsh living conditions in the refugee camp. She claimed that a criminal case had been opened against her in Russia under articles on aiding terrorist activity and participation in an illegal armed group (Articles 205.1 and 208 of the Russian Criminal Code).
Despite this, while in Al-Hol, she hoped to return to her homeland. "I really want to escape this hell (...) I regret coming to Syria—it was a mistake of my youth. But I paid for it in full. I want to work like all normal people, raise my daughter, and help my mother," she said.
In October 2022, Olesya's daughter was taken to Moscow, but she claimed that Russia, for "some unknown reason," refused to take her mothers back. Journalists have no information about how or when Bichenova returned to Russia.
Apparently the canary.co is a Kommie outfit ("anti-Zionist").
Skimming over the data provided, it sounds like Israeli intelligence maintains a read only (intelligence gathering) program in France, a prudent activity. Just my two kopeks.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] A dissection of another Mossad IPS operation outside of Israel.
Details of BlackCore's activities and a shadowy Israeli influence operation are revealed. This is only the latest in a series of so-called "psy-ops" that have been exposed.
The IPS operation targeted the "France Insoumise" party, led by leftist presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The targets were the party's current mayoral candidates in Marseille and Toulouse, Sébastien Delogu and François Piquemal, who were branded "pro-Palestinian," "pro-Muslim," and "rapists" on social media.
Analysts conducted an extensive review of BlackCore's digital presence, including its website and other sites that appear to be part of a larger campaign. For example, the company's marketing website—a minisite in Hebrew and English—showcased BlackCore's flagship product: "political campaign management."
BlackCore's infrastructure is built on the use of 1,600 avatars and fake social media accounts to "infiltrate Facebook groups, manipulate trends, and skewer polls on TikTok and Instagram." The investigation failed to find a single legal entity named BlackCore registered in any country. Its website contained no information about its owners or management, nor did it list a physical address. 1,600 avatars/accounts ain't a lot.
The domain blackcore.online was registered with an Icelandic registrar, allowing the owners to remain anonymous. The address was acquired only last August by a company that presents itself as a long-established entity.
Researchers found connections to two Israeli businessmen. One, Guy Geyor, is a "tech entrepreneur and former contestant on the Israeli versions of the reality shows 'Survivor' and 'The Bachelor.'"
The other is lawyer Doron Afik. Both denied knowledge of BlackCore and denied "political activity in France." However, a connection to Israeli intelligence unit 8200 and Yigal Unna, the former head of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, was revealed.
It can be assumed that Israeli intelligence agencies are also engaged in similar activities in Russia. They wouldn't be worth their salt if they didn't
[FoxNews] Rep. Grothman's bill seeks close the loophole creating a 'significant financial incentive' to hire foreign workers
The discovery of 10,000 "phantom employees" exploiting a federal work program has helped spur Republicans to tackle the financial incentives behind a foreign worker pipeline costing Americans hundreds of thousands of jobs per year.
Under current federal law, hundreds of thousands of foreign students and employers participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension program are exempt from paying Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, which companies are required to pay for domestic workers. This has led to the creation of a "significant financial incentive" for employers to hire foreign OPT workers over Americans.
Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin introduced a bill Thursday, titled the "OPT Fair Tax Act," that eliminates that incentive by requiring employers to pay the same Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes paid for American workers. By closing the loophole, Grothman believes the bill "helps create a more level playing field for American graduates entering the workforce."
The congressman told Fox News Digital that "Americans should not be put at a disadvantage because Washington created a loophole that favors hiring foreign workers over qualified U.S. citizens." He added that "too many young Americans graduating from our colleges and universities are forced to compete against a system that tilts the playing field against them."
Grothman’s bill is the House companion to a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in September.
Though Cotton’s bill has not passed, OPT has faced increased scrutiny after Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced federal investigators uncovered more than 10,000 foreign students connected to "suspect employers" as part of a massive fraud scheme involving the program.
Lyons said that OPT, which lets international students on F-1 visas work temporarily in the country in jobs related to their field of study, had "ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States."
He said that "as the program size exploded, so has the fraud."
"Today, we are announcing we have identified over 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers, and that’s just among the top 25 OPT employers. This is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.
The ICE director also said investigators uncovered what he referred to as "phantom employees," who he said are foreign students who obtained work authorization through OPT but never actually showed up for work at the sites they claimed to work out of.
Grothman told Fox News Digital that these findings "point to serious vulnerabilities within the OPT program."
He said that "reports that thousands of foreign students in the OPT program were tied to phantom employees and suspicious employers should alarm every American," adding, "Right now, the federal government has created a financial incentive to hire foreign workers over Americans."
Grothman said the scale of the tax preference has been significant. He pointed to data gathered by the technology and industry think tank Institute for Progress, which found that between fiscal years 2017 and 2022, an average of approximately 330,000 students participated in OPT annually. The think tank also estimated that eliminating the tax exemption would increase federal revenue by between $27 billion and $36 billion over a 10-year period.
[IsraelTimes] The United States has removed Francesca Albanese, a UN special rapporteur on the West Bank and Gaza, from its list of sanctioned individuals, according to the US Treasury Department website, which doesn’t provide an explanation for the move.
The removal comes a week after a federal judge temporarily blocked the sanctions, finding that the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights by imposing the measures.
Albanese, who has long been accused of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric against Israel, had been sanctioned by the Trump administration last year for alleged “political and economic warfare” against the US and Israel, barring her from entering the US and banking there.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz meet with soldiers on the eastern border with Jordan, where efforts are underway to reinforce defenses, according to a statement from the premier’s office.
“It is an extremely important mission to defend the eastern border. We are taking into account that our enemies want to invade Israel, and therefore we rely on you,” Netanyahu tells the soldiers in the IDF’s 96th Division, responsible for the Jordan border area.
The prime minister and defense minister “received a detailed briefing on efforts being made to reinforce defenses on the eastern frontier,” including barrier construction and the deployment of newly advanced systems and equipment, the statement reads.
Israel has become increasingly wary of border vulnerability since the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion, and has been increasing efforts to defend its 300-mile-long border against weapon smuggling and terrorist infiltrations.
#1
What has changed? The Jordanian border has been stable for decades. Can Israel actually afford to defend that length of border at the same intensity as the northern and Gazan borders? Do the diplomatic channels no longer work there?
#2
Israel started building a proper wall along the Jordanian border, I think about two years ago. There have been more crossers with malign intent who needed to be hunted down, and one or two vehicle attacks if I recall correctly.
[IsraelTimes] The US State Department’s oversight body is investigating the now-defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and how it spent millions of dollars in emergency aid, the Financial Times reports, citing three people familiar with the inquiry.
The Office of Inspector General is focusing on a $30 million grant announced by the State Department last June to the organization backed by the US and Israel to distribute aid in Gaza, the report says.
[IsraelTimes] Clip shows minister waving Israeli flag as activists forced to kneel on ground and national anthem blasts over loudspeaker; Italy, France summon Israeli envoys over treatment of their citizens
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Wednesday in which he is seen taunting activists from a 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... flotilla intercepted by Israel, immediately sparking an international outcry.
Dozens of activists can be seen in the clip forced to kneel on the ground, with their hands tied, at an Ashdod port facility where they were being processed ahead of their likely deportation.
Those aboard the flotilla intercepted by Israel earlier this week included Italian and Spanish nationals, whose governments said they would summon the respective Israeli ambassadors in their countries for a reprimand over Ben Gvir’s behavior. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare rebuke of the far-right cabinet member he appointed, insisting that the national security minister’s conduct was not in line with Israel’s values.
The video begins with a female activist shouting "Free Paleostine," before being grabbed by the head and shoved to the ground by officers who drag her out of Ben Gvir’s way, as he tours the facility.
The treatment of the detainees appeared akin to security forces’ handling of the most severe murderous Moslems in the prisons overseen by Ben Gvir’s office, which has also prompted allegations of abuse.
With dozens of bound activists kneeling on the ground, Ben Gvir is seen waving a large Israeli flag and shouting in Hebrew, "Welcome to Israel! We are in charge here!"
Another shot pans through the kneeling activists, as Israel’s national anthem is blasted over a loudspeaker. Ben Gvir is subsequently seen shouting "Am Yisrael Chai" (the nation of Israel lives) at a bound detainee trying to argue with him.
Ben Gvir is also heard urging guards at the facility "not [to] be bothered by their screams," as a woman can be heard crying out in the background.
[IsraelTimes] udges rule that requirement for aid groups to provide information on their employees has ‘clear security purpose,’ rejecting proposal for ‘independent screenings’
The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Wednesday against a petition by an association of 19 international aid organizations against new security regulations imposed by the government, asserting that state agencies are entitled to require strict security checks to ensure foreign organizations are not connected to terror groups.
The petition was filed by the AIDA umbrella organization after an inter-ministerial working group under the authority of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry published the new regulations in 2025 for any aid groups operating in Israel, the West Bank or 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... . Thirty-seven organizations refused to comply with the new rules, saying doing so would endanger their employees and violate international law.
The licenses of the organizations were subsequently revoked earlier this year.
Among the 37 organizations are multiple branches of Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, the Danish and Norwegian Refugee Councils, Caritas Internationalis, an umbrella for Catholic charities, the Quaker-founded American Friends Service Committee and the International Rescue Committee.
"It is clear that the information requirement serves a clear security purpose," wrote Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz, quoting a comment in a recent ruling by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, who said terrorist organizations had sought to take control of humanitarian aid shipments during the war in Gaza.
"The existence of a security inspection mechanism is not only legitimate, but constitutes a critical necessity that serves the paramount interest of state security and the protection of human life," wrote Canfy-Steinitz.
The court gave the organizations whose licenses were revoked 30 days to comply with the new security screening regulations, which require them to file a raft of documentation about their organizations and operations, including a list of all foreign and Paleostinian employees, as well as those workers’ passports and personal identification numbers.
The Diaspora Ministry has said the moves are a safety measure meant to weed out NGO workers with ties to terror groups.
But NGOs say that compliance will expose local employees to potential retaliation, undermine the principle of humanitarian neutrality and violate European data protection law.
They’ve also expressed concern that Israel would use the information NGOs provide to target their employees. Jerusalem maintains that it has only targeted those involved in terror activity.
Instead, the aid groups proposed alternatives to handing over staff lists to Israel, including "independent sanctions screening" and "donor-audited vetting systems."
But the court determined on Wednesday that security screening "falls within the core sovereign powers of the state," and that self-assessments conducted by international aid organizations cannot replace independent state security reviews.
"The rejection of the petition sends a clear and unequivocal message — the State of Israel will not allow terrorist activity to operate under the guise of humanitarian aid," said Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli.
AIDA’s legal representative, Yotam Ben-Hillel, criticized the "deeply disappointing" ruling, which he said will harm the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The ruling "once again reflects the marginal status accorded to international law within the Israeli judicial system," he said.
The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million residents rely on aid groups for food, water, health care, shelter and other essentials after the two-year war that began with Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... ’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in Israel destroyed much of the Strip. Hundreds of thousands are living in tents, and reconstruction has yet to begin following a shaky ceasefire agreement reached in October.
The banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations say that they collectively support or implement more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, 60 percent of field hospital operations, and all inpatient treatment for children suffering severe acute malnutrition.
COGAT, the Defense Ministry agency overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, has claimed that the organizations whose licenses were revoked contributed less than 1% of the total aid going into the territory.
COGAT has previously asserted that the registration process is designed "to prevent the exploitation of aid by Hamas," which it says has worked under the cover of international aid organizations for "the diversion of aid, the use of local employees for terrorist purposes, and the transfer of funds from terror-linked sources."
[TBSnews] Donald Trump says Kurdish forces kept US weapons meant for Iranian protesters, allegations Kurdish leaders categorically deny. Analysts say the president is scapegoating the groups to make up for his own policy failures
In early March, at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Trump said it would be "wonderful" if Iranian Kurdish forces based across the border in Iraq launched attacks against the Islamic clerical regime in Tehran.
The following month, Trump told Fox News that the United States had tried to send weapons to protesters inside Iran through Kurdish intermediaries.
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"We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them," Trump said. "And I think the Kurds took the guns."
In May, he said he was "very disappointed in the Kurds," adding that Washington had sent "some guns with ammunition, and they were supposed to be delivered, but they kept it."
DW has spoken to sources on condition of anonymity from several Kurdish factions in Iraq, Turkey and Syria, who all categorically denied receiving any weapons from the US.
IRANIAN KURDISH LEADERS DENY KEEPING US WEAPONS
In Iran, Kurdish organizations, including the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), an armed militant group, have similarly rejected the White House's narrative.
The leadership of these groups views Trump's statements as both logistically impossible and politically damaging.
Fariba Mohammadi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, described the allegations as "psychological warfare."
She said such weapons have never reached Kurdish political parties or forces, emphasizing that the resurgence of these claims is best analyzed within the framework of political pressure in regional equations, rather than the reality on the ground.
Echoing this stance, Adib Vatandoust, a Central Committee member of Komala (Communist Party of Iran), said his organization has not received "a single bullet, nor even a negligible cent."
He characterized the alleged operation as a project serving the US and Israeli agendas rather than the genuine democratic interests of the Kurdish people.
Furthermore, Mustafa Mouloudi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), highlighted that from a logistical standpoint, the accusations are unfeasible.
He pointed out that the heavily militarized borders, the pervasive presence of Iranian security forces, and the strict security agreements recently cemented between Tehran and Baghdad make such cross-border arms transfers virtually impossible.
WHO ARE THE KURDS?
Experts argue that Trump's rhetoric exposes his fundamental lack of understanding of Kurdish political society.
The US president refers to "the Kurds" as if they were a single, unified proxy force awaiting orders from Washington.
In reality, the Kurdish population of over 30 million people is spread across several countries — primarily Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.
Each country has its own intricate political landscape, diverse ideological parties ranging from leftist to conservative, and unique regional dynamics.
Dr. Kamran Matin, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex, highlighted the danger of this ignorance.
"Trump has a very limited understanding of both Kurdish society and politics. By blaming the Kurds collectively, while neglecting the multiplicity of Kurdish actors, parties, and regions, he redirects and inflames anti-war and anti-American public opinion against the Kurds, which could lead to dangerous attacks on them," he told DW.
WHY IS TRUMP MAKING THESE CLAIMS NOW?
Experts interviewed by DW say that Trump's disputed claims about weapons deliveries are a classic case of political deflection.
Kamal Chomani, Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East-focused The Amargi Outlet, draws a parallel to the "Golden Calf" in the Bible — a story about leadership failures and shifting blame.
Chomani argues that Trump, heavily influenced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, operated on the flawed, overly optimistic assumption that the Iranian regime was on the verge of imminent collapse. When that collapse failed to materialize, Trump needed a scapegoat.
"To cover up this failure, Trump uses the Kurds as a 'Golden Calf,'" Chomani explained.
"No weapons were sent to the Kurds to be transferred to Iranians inside the country; as we saw, even delivering Starlink satellite internet faced severe difficulties, let alone weapons," he added.
Matin echoed this assessment: "Trump tries to justify the failure of his war on Iran to achieve any of its key objectives by blaming the Kurds."
The US president also "tries to blame the Kurds for his failure to deliver on his promise to Iranian protesters that he would come to their aid when they were being massacred by the Iranian regime," he added.
#3
The Kurds are not one monolithic block; there are at least three separate power groups (much like Lebanon.) Think Communist, Nationalist, Religious.
#4
I dunno, but there seem to be quite a few untrained civilians using weapons with deadly results in Baltimore, Chicago, Nueva York, Houston, Memphis, &c., &c.
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority says in a post on X that there will be a “controlled maritime zone” at the Strait of Hormuz.
The authority, which was set to manage the strait, set the zone as the “line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern side of the strait, to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western side of the strait.”
It says transit through the area to pass through the strait will require coordination and authorization from the authority.
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy says they allowed more than 25 vessels, including oil tankers, to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.
Iran has largely blocked shipping through the strait, a vital global energy conduit, since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28.
Iran, which has been under a US naval blockade since April 13 despite a ceasefire, has insisted that ships transiting through the waterway must obtain permissions from the Iranian armed forces.
“Over the past 24 hours, 26 vessels — including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels — transited the Strait of Hormuz,” says the Guards’ navy in a post on X. It adds that the ships passed after “coordination and security provided by the IRGC Navy.”
Yesterday, South Korea said one of its oil tankers passed through the strait, marking the first passage by a vessel from the country since the war began.
[Rudaw] More than 1,500 families displaced from the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwest Syria are set to return to their homes on Thursday from camps and host communities in northeastern Hasaka province as part of an ongoing process supported by Kurdish authorities and Damascus, according to a local official.
Ahmed al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasaka, said preparations are underway for the fifth convoy of displaced families to leave from Derik (al-Malikiyah) and Qamishli cities.
"We are making preparations for another convoy of displaced people from Afrin to return to their villages and towns from the Derik and Qamishli areas in Hasaka province. This convoy includes more than 1,500 families," Hilali told Rudaw.
He added that "the convoy will set off early in the morning."
The latest development follows the return of five previous convoys under the implementation of the late January agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus, which included provisions for the return of displaced civilians to their home areas after weeks of fighting in northern and eastern Syria.
The new convoy comes just days after the first batch of Afrin IDPs - consisting of more than 600 families - returned to their homes from Kobane. So far, four previous convoys from Hasaka and Qamishli have already brought more than 2,400 families back to Afrin.
Families from Afrin have endured multiple waves of displacement in recent years. Many first fled in 2018 during the Ottoman Turkish-backed offensive on the Kurdish-majority city. Others were displaced again in 2024 following the collapse of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... ’s regime, and once more earlier this year amid renewed festivities between Syria’s interim authorities and the SDF.
In mid-January, the Syrian Arab Army and allied gangs launched a major offensive into areas controlled by the SDF, prompting Kurdish-led forces to withdraw from parts of eastern Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka.
Despite the recent returns, many families continue to face obstacles, particularly because some homes in Afrin are still occupied by Arab settlers who moved into properties left behind by displaced Kurdish residents.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian leader posts photo of present, harking back to White House meeting where Trump gave him a similar gift before asking him how many wives he had
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has thanked US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th and 47th President of the United States... for a gift of Trump cologne, a callback to their historic meeting in November when the American leader lavished his fragrance on the Syrian jihadist-turned-statesman.
Sharaa was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country’s independence in 1946.
"Some meetings leave an impression; ours apparently left a fragrance," Sharaa wrote in English on X late on Tuesday, including an image of two Trump-branded fragrance boxes, one red and the other black.
"Thank you, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump, for your generosity and for topping up this precious gift. May the spirit of that meeting continue to shape a stronger relationship between Syria and the United States."
After the November meeting, a video emerged showing Trump gifting Sharaa his cologne, spraying some on him and on Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
At the time, Trump also gifted Sharaa a perfume box for his wife, jokingly asking him "how many wives" he had.
A note to Sharaa from Trump, pictured alongside the new boxes, read: "They’re all talking about the picture we took when I gave you this great cologne — Just in case you ran out!"
The cologne’s website says the fragrance, which sells for $249 a bottle, "embodies strength, power, and victory."
Since ousting longtime Syrian ruler and Washington foe Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... in 2024, Sharaa and his new Islamist authorities in Damascus have rebooted ties with the US.
Trump has ended sanctions and taken other steps to boost Sharaa at the urging of the Syrian leader’s allies, Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... , despite Israeli misgivings.
Trump met Sharaa for the first time in May last year in Saudi Arabia during a regional tour, dubbing the Syrian leader "a young, attractive guy."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/21/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1760 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
#1
An appropriate gift for someone who never bathes.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/21/2026 10:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
He’s working hard to seduce the world, trying to go legit — $1000 tailored suits, not off the rack And his wife clearly goes to the same designer as Mrs Erdogan — she’s given up plain black sacks for beautifully fitted wool crepe pastels
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The next round of US-Iranian talks could take place after the end of the Hajj season. This was stated by Al Arabiya TV journalist Abdullah Khaluf on May 20. A video of the talks was published on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
According to Khaluf, the parties intend to conclude an agreement.
The journalist added that for approximately two weeks, Pakistani authorities have been working on agreements regarding issues related to Iranian enriched uranium and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, the US Senate supported a resolution to end military action against Iran for the first time. The initiative was drafted by Democratic Party members and was supported by 50 senators, including four Republicans.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/21/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1764 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
Despoiler of Deraa...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
