Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Ol'ga Kuznetsova
[REGNUM] They were found buried in the garden of a house on the outskirts of the municipality of Florencio Varela in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires.
Three dismembered bodies, who until recently were Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, cousins, aged twenty, and Lara Gutierrez, aged fifteen.
They were last seen around September 19th. Then, the girls got into a car—later revealed to have fake license plates—and disappeared in an unknown direction. They allegedly planned to attend a party. However, some claim that Morena, Brenda, and Lara were promised not only a party but also payment for potential sexual services.
As is already clear, things ended differently. The girls were not only brutally tortured and mutilated, but the events were also broadcast to a private social media chat room, which was shared by approximately forty-five people associated with their tormentors.
According to Argentine operatives, representatives of an Argentine-Peruvian drug trafficking group were behind the crime.
"THAT'S WHAT THEY DO TO THIEVES."
During the horrific stream, the killers declared that "this is what they do to those who steal my drugs."
According to police, the massacre was indeed carried out to “send a message” after one of the victims stole a small package of illegal substances.
The provincial security minister later confirmed the version at a press conference, calling the torture and murder a “settling of scores.”
It was this detail that created a real stir in the Argentine media, where such things are not nearly as common as in Mexico, Colombia or Ecuador.
In these countries, this really does happen almost every week: cartel members stage public executions for a variety of reasons. Some are sent to the afterlife for espionage, others for treason, but there's another, very broad category of those killed: those who tried to harm the "business" in one way or another.
It doesn't matter how. Some try to sell drugs without asking permission or sharing. Some sell them in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and not under the name of the "right" people—they're dealt with under the guise of "poisoning our children."
And then there are those who "stole from the cartel." And that's where you have to watch out. This could be drugs, various types of fuel, weapons, all kinds of contraband. And in such cases, to avoid further incidents and conduct "public outreach," a showpiece murder is committed, news of which is disseminated on social media with due fanfare.
In Mexico, they don't limit themselves to online communities. Dismembered bodies are left in bags (or even without them) in public places, and planted at the doors of police stations and government agencies. In some cases, they are hanged from bridges without dismemberment, but this is more of an execution for competitors than for thieves.
Very often, the victims of such stories are young or elderly women. In such cases, the cartel always uses language related to theft or "child poisoning" in an attempt to justify itself. It's not like they're going to lose their status as "protectors of the common people" over such stories.
DRUG DEALER IN A FISH TRUCK
But let's return to Argentina. Shortly after the bodies were discovered, four people were arrested—two men and two women. During interrogation, it emerged that the main culprit was a Peruvian nicknamed "Little Jota." He was the one who complained on camera about the girls stealing his drugs.
A few days later, "Little Jota" was arrested in Peru; he turned out to be 20-year-old Tony Valverde Victoriano. He was pulled from a truck carrying fish seventy kilometers from the Peruvian capital.
Victoriano has vehemently denied any involvement in either the murder or the drug mafia. However, Argentine authorities, cooperating with the Peruvian National Police, reported that they possessed telephone recordings and the identity of Victoriano's closest associate, at whose meeting he was captured.
Thanks to wiretaps, it was discovered that the girls had stolen three kilograms of cocaine from "Little Jota," for which he took revenge.
BENEFIT FOR MILEUS
The incident also fueled political tensions.
Before the criminals were caught, Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, who is also one of the main opposition figures against President Javier Miley, stated that the criminals most likely had a base of operations in the capital.
National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich publicly questioned the governor's words and said that he, Kicillof, must solve the province's enormous security problem - even though he has no information about those involved in the massacre.
She was indirectly echoed by the bishopric, in whose diocese the murder occurred. Priests declared that vast swaths of the country had fallen under the control of the drug mafia, and that a criminal culture of death was developing among the youth.
Relatives of the victims and feminist organizations predictably took to the streets to demonstrate.
Javier Miley, however, once again reiterated his own words about intolerance towards drug trafficking and banditry, and at the same time began introducing amendments to the criminal code.
The amendments include lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 13 and increasing penalties for crimes against private property and public order. In principle, this was planned without the murder of the girls, but now the publicity campaign for the amendments can be much more active.
And this won't do any harm to the Miley regime, which is losing popularity.
[Kurdistan24] Iran’s seismic vulnerability is well-documented. Located atop multiple tectonic plate fault lines, the country is one of the most earthquake-prone nations in the world. Its most devastating modern tragedy occurred in 1990, when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in northwestern Iran claimed nearly 37,000 lives and left 100,000 others injured.
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, reviving concerns over the site's stability after recent Israeli and U.S. strikes targeted its underground enrichment infrastructure.
A hint that Allah considers building nuclear facilities in Iran a Very Bad Idea.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
10/04/2025 00:00 ||
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#Sudan: We’ve followed the money behind Sudanese warlord Hemedti’s militia, the RSF. It led us to the United Arab Emirates.
RSF frontmen in Dubai set up a business network of more than a dozen firms linked to RSF leadership, including the brother of Hemedti. The companies aren’t… pic.twitter.com/gqDyYTlwcf
Text:
Sudan: We’ve followed the money behind Sudanese warlord Hemedti’s militia, the RSF. It led us to the United Arab Emirates.
RSF frontmen in Dubai set up a business network of more than a dozen firms linked to RSF leadership, including the brother of Hemedti. The companies aren’t what you’d expect to see linked to a paramilitary group:
💍 jewelry trading firms
🛋️ an interior design business
📊 a management consultancy
[IsraelTimes] Jihad al-Shamie reportedly had other convictions but wasn’t on police anti-terrorism radar. Witness: He shouted, ‘This is what they get for killing our children,’ as he attacked
The terrorist who attacked a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur was on bail for alleged rape, UK media reported Friday, as resurfaced Facebook posts showed his father, who has condemned the attack, lauding the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... onslaught of October 7, 2023.
In what appeared to be the first statement linking the deadly attack to the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , one eyewitness also told the UK’s ITV News that the attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, shouted "this is what they get for killing our children" as he tried to enter the Heaton Park Congregation on Yom Kippur.
The reports came amid a vigil near the site of the terror attack, where UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister David Lammy was jeered by audience members demanding the government shut down pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protests.
Local residents Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed and three people were seriously maimed in the attack that took place on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Shamie, a 35-year-old Syrian-born UK citizen, was fatally shot as he tried to force his way into the synagogue. Daulby was apparently accidentally rubbed out by law enforcement as he helped barricade the door, police said, applauding his heroism.
According to UK media, Shamie was under investigation for a rape thought to have occurred earlier this year, and was out on bail when he carried out the attack.
A source cited by The Guardian said Shamie had several lesser criminal convictions unrelated to terrorism. Another source said he was "on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a criminal record," which Greater Manchester Police head of counter-terrorism policing Laurence Taylor later confirmed.
"At this stage, we believe Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology," Taylor added.
Giving up on the “no clear motive” thingy? Public shame is a powerful thing.
“Establishing the full circumstances of the attack is likely to take some time.”
Only if the policework is not done properly. But given how the police have been stolidly ignoring crimes by Britain’s Moslem miscreants as much as humanly possible for well over a generation… It’s a good thing the news media and the pbloggers are on the case to shame the police into acting.
UK police are also investigating if Shamie was behind a death threat sent in 2012 to then-Conservative MP John Howell, The Guardian said.
Howell reportedly received an email signed “Jihad Alshamie” that said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.” The former lawmaker said he believes he was threatened due to his pro-Israel views.
FATHER CONDEMNS ATTACK, PRAISED HAMAS ON OCT. 7
Shamie’s family condemned his “heinous” attack on the synagogue, which they said left them in “profound shock.”
“The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us,” wrote father, Faraj al-Shamie, on Facebook. “The Al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians.
“We fully distance ourselves from this attack and express our deep shock and sorrow over what has happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort,” he wrote. “May God have mercy on the innocent victims, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”
Taqqiya.
Hours afterward, UK newspaper The Times uncovered Facebook posts by the terrorist’s surgeon father calling for Israel’s destruction and applauding Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Amid the war, Jews worldwide have experienced a sharp uptick in antisemitic attacks.
In a post from the day of the Hamas onslaught, Shamie hailed the terrorists invading Israel by land and air as “God’s men on earth,” adding that they “prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Israel will not remain.”
In a post three days later, he called on Hamas to “release the elderly and children.
But not the rest of the hostages, including the Druze, Arabs, and foreigners. Sorry, that’s about creating an image, not fixing the problem.
What you have done so far is a miracle by all standards. Do not harm them in a moment of anger. They have no place in war.”
“May God grant you victory, support you, and guide you to the right path in a battle that history will record as the beginning of the liberation of Al-Aqsa, God willing,” he added.
Do you give your Jewish and Christian patients the same good treatment you give your Sunni patients, doctor?
While expressing criticism of the Islamic Republic, he also celebrated Iran’s deadly missile strikes on Israel during the two countries’ 12-day war in June, writing alongside footage of impact sites, “We are waiting for more,” and “your goods are being returned to you.”
Shamie’s posts show that he has worked as a trauma surgeon in war zones, including in South Sudan during the civil war there, the Times noted.
VICTIM WAS A ‘HERO,’ FAMILY SAYS
Greater Manchester Police on Friday praised Daulby for his heroic actions after he was apparently accidentally shot dead by police while barricading the synagogue door during the attack.
An earlier statement had said one of the worshippers was apparently shot dead by law enforcement, but did not identify the victim.
“Adrian was one of the brave worshippers attending the synagogue at the time of the incident and prevented the attacker from gaining access to the premises,” police said in a later statement. “It is currently believed that Adrian’s injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by our officers to bring a vicious attack to an end.”
Daulby’s family said in the statement that he “was a hero and tragically lost his life in the act of courage to save others.”
“He was a beloved brother, loving uncle to his four nieces and one nephew and a cherished cousin. The family is shocked by the tragic, sudden death of such a lovely down to earth man.
“His final act was one of profound courage and he will forever be remembered for his heroic act,” the family said.
Alan Levy is the chair of trustees at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, where two people were killed in a terror attack on Thursday.
He told us how he ran to alert worshippers, blockading the door shut as the Al Shamie kept trying to force his way in. pic.twitter.com/famNrbfXmY
Levy recalled hearing the attacker shouting, “This is what they get for killing our children” as he tried to break down the door.
Shamie was holding “a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through” the door, said Levy.
“Our children aren’t safe in schools; we have to have guards. Our people are not safe at the synagogue going to pray on the holiest day of our year,” he said, adding: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the local community, Jewish and non-Jewish, who’ve offered help and support to us in this time.”
Following the attack, he said, “We carried on our service at the police station when we went to give our statements.”
“We will be carrying on our services at another venue, and we’re going to carry on,” said Levy. “We’re going to be strong, and we’re not going to let this defeat us in any way.”
Synagogue Rabbi Daniel Walker, who also helped barricade the door, told ITV: “Half an hour into the prayers, I heard an almighty bang from outside, shouting. Someone was trying to get in with a knife.”
“When he tried to get inside the synagogue, there was a large number of us trying to hold him off,” Walker said.
He said Shamie was “shouting threats” as he tried to burst into the synagogue, where the community was gathered for Yom Kippur services to mark the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Shamie was not successful in his attempt to force his way into the building, which Walker attributed to “the very, very brave men, security guard and volunteer [who] stopped him and blocked him literally with their bodies and are still in hospital.
Daulby “defended the synagogue with his life,” said Walker.
Asked by ITV about whether the war in Gaza has impacted day-to-day life in his community, Walker confirmed that they have “been feeling much less secure.”
Still, he said, “I didn’t think it would actually become something physical.”
LAMMY JEERED OVER PALESTINE RALLIES
Meanwhile, former UK foreign minister Lammy was jeered as he vowed at the vigil outside the synagogue on Friday to “stand in defiance of those terrorists who seek to divide us.”
The Guardian reported that audience members call out “shame on you,” “go to Palestine, leave us alone,” “you’ve allowed it to grow on the campuses” and “you have blood on your hands” at Lammy as he took the stage. At least one audience member turned her back to Lammy as he spoke, according to the outlet.
One former congregant, Joanne Lazarus, 61, was quoted telling the PA news agency she didn’t think Lammy would care about the response he received. lShe said she “can’t take” weekly pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests and wants the government to shut them down.
“I can’t take these marches every single Saturday,” she said. “I’ve been into town on a Saturday and have been told I’m a baby killer and to ‘go home’.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria, who is Jewish,
…not that it makes her husband functionally hate Israel or Jews any less — she is no Queen Esther, saviour of her people….
visited the site of the attack in the morning. They could be seen shaking hands with emergency responders outside the synagogue, a day after the premier vowed to “do everything in my power” to protect Jews in Britain.
UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper also initiated a call with her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar on Friday following the terror attack in Manchester, according to Sa’ar.
“I said that this is a decisive moment in the UK’s own history, for preserving its character, and it requires relentlessly combating the poisonous antisemitic movement,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “I raised the need to fight the pro-Palestinian marches and protests, which bear antisemitic traits, and at times include explicit support for terror.”
Cooper said in the call that her Labour Party’s recent decision to recognize Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide does not “reflect the government’s policy and the government dismissed them,” according to an Israeli readout.
Uh huh. So your government bocott is over — you’ll now resume selling Israel the F-35 parts they need, as well as the rest of the supplies they used to get from you?
4 October 2025 06:00
Police have said the suspect was influenced by “extreme Islamist ideology” as three addition people are arrested.
“We believe Al-Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology. Establishing the full circumstances of the attack is likely to take some time,” Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Laurence Taylor said.
“We have now arrested three further people, one man and two women, aged between 18 and mid-40s. This brings the number of people in custody arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism to six.
4 October 2025 04:00
Neighbours describe suspect’s quiet life in Prestwich
Police activity has been focused on Langley Crescent in Prestwich, around two miles from the site of the attack that left two people dead and three injured.
Neighbours of Jihad Al-Shamie, the suspect named in the Manchester synagogue terror attack, told the Manchester Evening News that he lived on the street with a family member.
Simon Barlass, 56, said he often saw Al-Shamie “bench pressing in the garden” and using nearby shops. He claimed he had also noticed a car parked on the street in recent days that matched footage of the vehicle used in the attack.
Another neighbour told the Telegraph that Al-Shamie had lived there for about a decade, appearing to have no wife or children.
“He never seemed to speak to anyone,” she said, describing him as muscular and often seen walking in pyjamas and sandals, carrying shopping bags.
3 October 2025 12:09
One injured victim was working for charity that provides security to Jewish community
One of the victims injured in the Manchester synagogue attack was working for the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which provides security to the Jewish community.
Its chief executive Mark Gardner said in a statement: “I said after October 7 that I did not believe in ‘reassurance’, because it sounds like a magic wand that nothing will happen.
“Instead, I gave you my ‘assurance’ that CST would do everything in our power to keep Jews safe so as to encourage strength and resilience.
“In pursuit of that mission, one of our CST personnel was seriously injured in yesterday’s terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue. We pray for his continuing recovery and salute the courage of all those who helped stop the terrorist from getting into the shul.
“We will keep doing all we can in the protection of our community and thank all of those who support us in doing so.”
Major General Paul Tedman said Russian forces are actively trying to disrupt UK-based military activities 'weekly' and are closely monitoring the country's space assets.
'We're seeing our satellites being jammed by the Russians on a reasonably persistent basis,' he told the BBC.
The UK operates approximately six dedicated military satellites for communications and surveillance, which Major General Tedman said were equipped with counter-jamming technology.
He added: 'They've got payloads on board that can see our satellites and are trying to collect information from them.'
It comes after Munich Airport was forced to close overnight when multiple drones were spotted near the runways, grounding 17 departures, diverting 15 incoming flights and affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, before operations resumed early the next morning.
[Kurdistan24] On Thursday, an official Syrian Ministry of Defense delegation, headed by Ali Abbas, Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army, arrived in Moscow. The delegation was received by Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, the Russian Deputy Defense Minister.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense declared that the purpose of the visit was to enhance the mechanisms of military cooperation and coordination between the two states. The ministry stressed that the talks were aimed at strengthening defense ties in light of recent political transformations in Syria and the collapse of the Assad regime.
Observers said the move was part of broader efforts to re-establish a framework for defense partnership between Damascus and Moscow, ensuring that Russia’s presence in Syrian military bases and its ongoing role in regional security arrangements remain central. Analysts described the visit as an attempt to formalize new plans for military cooperation, expand joint operational coordination, and revive established military frameworks in a way that corresponds with the new political reality in Syria.
This is not the first such high-level exchange in recent months. At the end of July 2025, a senior Syrian delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad Shibani and Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra traveled to Russia, where they held extensive talks with Russian officials and commanders.
The developments occur against the backdrop of striking revelations made weeks earlier by Ahmed Sharaa, Syria’s transitional president, in a wide-ranging interview with Syrian state television channel Al-Ikhbariyah. For the first time, Sharaa publicly acknowledged Russia’s role in the fall of Bashar al-Assad, shedding light on Moscow’s shifting posture during decisive battles.
Al-Sharaa emphasized that from the beginning of the transitional phase, Syria’s policy was anchored in protecting citizens and ensuring livelihoods. He highlighted judicial reform, educational development, and human resource investment as the backbone of the emerging Syrian economy, noting that “the greatest capital for the economy lies in human capacity.”
He further explained that establishing a balanced economic environment required careful regulation of multiple files simultaneously, with reconstruction being far more complex than a simple slogan. “We start with what is available, and despite the challenges, what is available is not little,” Sharaa said, stressing that Syria must avoid dependence on politicized aid or loans and instead open its doors to investment. He underlined the importance of blending regional experiences with Syria’s own resources, fostering projects that create jobs and restore infrastructure, while expanding export markets for Syria’s growing production.
On international ties, Sharaa drew a sharp distinction between relations with Iran and Russia after Assad’s fall. He stated that the collapse of the regime forced Iranian influence out of Syria, cooling bilateral relations. “We do not say there will be permanent estrangement with Iran, but certain factions still see the loss of Syria as the collapse of their regional axis,” he said. By contrast, Sharaa underscored the importance of managing Syria’s inherited ties with Russia carefully, with a view to stability and sovereignty. “If we remain prisoners of the past, we cannot move forward. Our relations with Moscow must be handled with composure, respecting sovereignty and prioritizing Syrian interests.”
He recalled that during the battles for Hama and Homs, Russia withdrew from the military scene under a negotiated arrangement with the opposition, signaling a crucial turning point in Assad’s downfall. “They gave commitments, we gave commitments, and both sides fulfilled them,” Sharaa said, confirming Moscow’s decisive role in the regime’s collapse.
Sharaa also broke ground on the sensitive question of relations with Israel. He remarked that certain Israeli policies suggested regret over Assad’s fall, since Tel Aviv had long sought to preserve Syria as a perpetual arena of conflict with regional powers, particularly Iran. According to Sharaa, Israel harbored ambitions to partition Syria, turning it into a battleground for its own rivalries.
Now, however, Syria is engaged in negotiations over a new security arrangement with Israel. Sharaa noted that Damascus has consistently upheld its commitment to the 1974 disengagement agreement despite regime change, while Israel had considered Assad’s collapse as Syria’s withdrawal from that accord.
“Israel was surprised by the fall of the regime, because they were accustomed to exploiting Syria’s entanglements,” Sharaa explained. “Today we are in negotiations, and the important principle remains Syrian sovereignty and the independence of our decisions.”
The juxtaposition of Bashar al-Assad’s reported poisoning in Moscow and the Syrian Ministry of Defense delegation’s official visit to Russia underscores the fragile and shifting dynamics defining Damascus’s foreign and security posture. For the transitional government under Ahmed al-Sharaa, reconstruction and balanced economic recovery remain paramount, while recalibrated relations with Moscow and cautious negotiations with Israel form the backbone of Syria’s new diplomatic strategy.
The attempt on Assad’s life highlights lingering volatility around the ousted leader, while the military delegation’s reception in Moscow signals a clear continuity in defense ties. Together, these events reflect both the turbulence of Syria’s past and the precarious process of charting its future.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
10/04/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] French multinational changes name of stores to HyperMax in several countries, earning applause of BDS, though move hasn’t been explicitly linked to boycott calls
The Carrefour name has disappeared from storefronts in some Arab countries, with pro-Paleostinian shoppers and activists hailing the shift as a victory for their boycott of brands perceived as being linked to Israel. The French multinational has long been in the crosshairs of Paleostinian supporters, who accuse it of selling products from Israeli settlements and partnering with Israeli firms operating there.
The group has denied operating in the settlements in the West Bank, which are considered illegal by most of the international community.
But in the past year Majid Al Futtaim, the group that operates the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, has closed the brand’s supermarkets in Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. It has since reopened under the new name HyperMax, citing "growing demand for locally sourced products and services in a number of our markets." It did not explicitly link the rebranding to the boycotts, and experts are divided over how much of a role they played in the closures.
But pro-Paleostinian shoppers have nonetheless claimed victory.
’BROADER SCALING DOWN’
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign,
…a PLO project to isolate Israel, begun because the Arabs proved unable to defeat Israel via war or two Intifadas of terror attacks. Even though BDS also has not defeated Israel, the Jew haters of the world have gleefully entered into the spirit of the thing…
which began two decades ago, has accused Carrefour of "profiting from Israel’s illegal settlements" through its franchise partnership with Israeli retailer Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary, supermarket chain Yenot Bitan. According to BDS, Yenot Bitan has stores in settlements and both firms are "directly involved in a number of projects fostering Israel’s illegal settlements enterprise."
It has accused Carrefour-Israel of supporting Israeli soldiers "partaking in the unfolding genocide of Paleostinians in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... with gifts of personal packages."
It also demanded that Carrefour stop selling products from the settlements.
Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard has said previously that no Carrefour stores are operating in West Bank settlements and has denied having any "partisan or political ties."
The Israeli government accuses supporters of the BDS movement of being antisemitic.
Of course — that’s the point.
In Bahrain, which has ties to Israel, activists have held weekly protests and vigils for Gaza, where Israeli forces have been fighting against Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... since the terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. According to a HyperMax employee in the country, foot traffic slowed noticeably after the start of the Gaza war, when the store was still operating under the Carrefour brand.
"Almost all our customers stopped coming," he said, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. Since the rebranding, "I am seeing more customers coming in, particularly Bahrainis and Arabs."
For M.R. Raghu, who heads the Marmore Mena Intelligence consulting firm, the Carrefour closures are part of a "broader scaling down of operations by the retailer, amid weakening financial health" as its stores also shut elsewhere in the world.
And Majid Al Futtaim has maintained Carrefour franchises elsewhere in the Middle East, including in the Gulf’s two biggest economies, 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 United Arab Emirates.
’BRAND CONCERNS’
Ghassan Nasaif, a pro-Paleostinian activist in Bahrain, called Majid Al Futtaim’s decision a "great victory" for the movement, saying "this is exactly what we were asking" from the group.
Majid Al Futtaim saw its retail revenue, which includes Carrefour, drop 10 percent last year following a four percent decline in 2023, with the company citing "geopolitical tensions" affecting consumer sentiment, among other factors. In the first half of this year, retail revenues have softened one percent from the same period a year earlier.
"Consumer demand is currently strong and growing across the Gulf, and the fact that the regional franchise holder, MAF, has been rebranding many Carrefour stores as HyperMax does seem to imply a link to boycott-related brand concerns," according to Justin Alexander, director of Khalij Economics, a consulting firm.
For Musab al-Otaibi, an activist in Kuwait, people have "no other weapon than boycotts" as the corpse count climbs in Gaza.
Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University, called the Carrefour closures "a microcosm of a bigger story."
"It shows that the voices of people in the Gulf do matter... that there are ways to express yourself even if you’re in a restricted space," he said.
[IsraelTimes] Dutch government announces it will continue embargo just hours after country’s top court gave it 6 weeks to review the policy, ruling it had previously overstepped its brief
The Netherlands said Friday it would maintain its ban on exporting parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel despite a Supreme Court order giving it the option to change its policy.
The ban on exporting parts for the jets used by Israel in its campaign against Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... 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... has been in place since February 2024, when an Appeals Court ordered the government to halt exports.
But earlier Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that this court had overstepped its brief and said it was up to the government, not judges, to set foreign policy.
Supreme Court judges gave the government six weeks to review its policy on export licenses, but the decision came in a matter of hours.
"Given the current circumstances, it is unreasonable to resume the export of F-35 components from the Netherlands to Israel at this time," the government said in a statement.
The US-owned F-35 parts are stored at a warehouse in the Netherlands, then shipped to several partners, including Israel, via existing export agreements.
The government stressed its commitment to the F-35 program as "a vital factor in safeguarding our security and that of our allies."
It said it had taken the case to the Supreme Court "because, according to the cabinet, it is up to the state to shape its foreign policy."
However,
you can observe a lot just by watching... this step was unrelated to what the government called "the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip."
"A ceasefire must be reached as soon as possible to end the violence and the suffering of the population, and to release the hostage," said the statement.
Friday’s Supreme Court ruling put an end to a long-running legal saga over the parts.
Supreme Court Vice-President Martijn Polak ruled that the Appeals Court had erred in siding with rights groups that argued the parts contributed to violations of international law by Israel.
"The Court of Appeal may not assess for itself whether granting the permit constitutes a clear risk of serious violation of international humanitarian law," said Polak.
"THAT IS UP TO THE MINISTER."
Dutch authorities had argued it was not clear whether they even had the power to intervene in the deliveries, part of a US-run operation that supplies parts to all F-35 partners.
Government lawyers also argued that Israel could easily find the parts elsewhere if their export from the Netherlands were banned.
In June, the High Court in London rejected a legal challenge brought by a Paleostinian rights group seeking to block Britannia from supplying parts for Israeli F-35s.
[IsraelTimes] Protesters clash with police amid rallies over Israel’s interception of flotilla, Meloni’s stance on war; demonstrators hold anti-Israel banners: ‘Let’s stop Zionism with the resistance’
[NYPOST] US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is leading a delegation into Cairo to begin talks with Israeli and Hamas negotiators to wind down the nearly two-year war in Gaza, starting with ''the immediate release of all hostages,'' according to multiple reports.
''Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Egypt later today to finalize the technical details of the hostage release and discuss the lasting peace deal,'' a White House official said.
''I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed,'' Trump posted on his Truth Social Saturday. ''Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again. Let's get this done, FAST. Everyone will be treated fairly!''
''Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Egypt later today to finalize the technical details of the hostage release and discuss the lasting peace deal,'' a White House official told Axios on Saturday. AP
The summit, first reported by Axios, will kick off the first phase of President Trump's 21-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip, which has received qualified endorsements from both sides in the conflict after he gave the terror group until Sunday at 6 p.m. to agree to it — or watch ''all HELL'' break loose.
The 48 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be still alive, could be released ''within a few days,'' a senior Israeli official told Channel 12 news on Saturday, as the Jewish state's military withdraws from Gaza and officials release Palestinian prisoners amid a cease-fire.
Witkoff, the envoy to the Middle East, has already led negotiations that have resulted in the release of all the living US hostages. Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, was the top Middle East envoy during President Trump's first term.
… based on national responsibility and concern for the fundamentals, rights, and supreme interests of our people, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has held in-depth consultations within its leadership institutions, extensive consultations with Palestinian forces and factions, and consultations with mediators and friends to reach a responsible position in dealing with US President Donald Trump's plan.
After a thorough study, the movement made its decision and submitted the following response to the mediating brothers:
(The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, an exchange of prisoners, the immediate entry of aid, the rejection of the occupation of the Gaza Strip, and the displacement of our Palestinian people from it.
In this context, and in order to achieve a cessation of hostilities and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the movement announces its agreement to release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump's proposal, provided the field conditions for the exchange are met. In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement.
The movement also renews its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.
The other issues mentioned in President Trump's proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people are linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant international laws and resolutions. They are to be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework. Hamas will be part of it and will contribute to it with full responsibility.
Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas
Friday: Rabi' al-Thani 11, 1447 AH
Corresponding to: October 3, 2025 CE
However, the military is still carrying out defensive operations, and the IDF said earlier that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed troops to “remove any threat.”
Palestinian media reports that some strikes are ongoing
Four Palestinians are killed in a strike in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, and artillery shelling was carried out in an area north of Bureij in central Gaza and in the Khan Younis area in the Strip’s south, according to Palestinian media.
The IDF overnight put out a statement saying “per the order of the political echelon,” Zamir instructed troops to gear up “for the implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plans to free the hostages,” without detailing what the order entailed, after meeting with top generals for “a special situational assessment in light of the developments.”
Trump says he believes Hamas ‘ready for peace,’ demands Israel ‘immediately stop bombing of Gaza’
[IsraelTimes] US President Donald Trump says that after reviewing Hamas’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war, he now believes that the terror group is “ready for lasting peace” and that therefore “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly.”
“Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that,” Trump writes in a shocking Truth Social post.
This is the first time since returning to office that Trump has called on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza.
“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” he adds.
“This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump says, reiterating his belief that an end to the war in Gaza will pave way for the expansion of the Abraham Accords.
#6
Way too early to celebrate. This is only the first act, the Setup. Stay tuned for act two, the Confrontation, where Hamas tries to weasel out of releasing the hostages because without hostages, they got nothing.
[FoxNews] Neighbor of mosque says some residents have been afraid to speak up out of fear of being labeled 'Islamophobic'
In Dearborn, Michigan, some neighbors are pressing city officials to enforce its noise ordinance, saying a nearby mosque's daily call to prayer is disruptive and intrusive.
Andrea Unger, who has lived in Dearborn for 40 years, said the loudspeakers at a mosque about a quarter-mile from her home carry the call to prayer multiple times a day, often lasting about five minutes. She said the sound is so loud it can be heard clearly inside her home, sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m.
She has been raising concerns with the police department and city council for the past two years, but said the problem continues.
"Our city ordinance does not permit unusual, annoying sounds for five minutes or longer, but the mosque continues to violate our privacy inside our home daily," she told Fox News Digital. "It's not like going down to the park and people will ask you about God or someone comes to your door. This is coming into your home, and you have no choice."
At the Sept. 23 city council meeting, Unger presented a petition signed by 40 neighbors urging enforcement of the city’s noise ordinance, which prohibits "the continuance of any unreasonably loud, disturbing, unusual or unnecessary noise which annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace or safety of others within the limits of the city."
The city ordinance states that noise in residential areas cannot exceed 55 decibels at night (after 10 p.m.) or 60 decibels during the day (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Loudspeakers are prohibited between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Unger told Fox News Digital she recorded the call to prayer for 30 consecutive days and found it consistently exceeded 70 decibels.
She emphasized that her concerns are not about religion, but about fairness and equal enforcement.
"The Supreme Court has stated that no public school may have a specific prayer to a specific God. Yet this prayer to Allah is prayed on loudspeakers over our school grounds and our playgrounds daily. There is no atheist, Christian, Jewish, Catholic, or other group that is allowed to use loudspeaker to blast a five-minute prayer into the homes of people in the East Dearborn community," she added.
Unger said that some of her neighbors were hesitant to speak out, fearing they would be labeled anti-Muslim.
"I have heard a lot of people say, 'I'm glad you said something,' because people are afraid they'll get called names like ‘Islamophobic,’ like our mayor [Abdullah H. Hammoud] called [Dearborn resident and Christian minister] Ted Barham, because you disagree," she said. "We're not Islamophobic, we're not anti-Muslim, we are not anti-Jewish. We just want to live in the community that it's always been [before] something changed two years ago to allow this," she told Fox News Digital.
City Council President Mike Sareini told residents last week at the city council meeting that police were investigating and had already found ordinance violations.
"It’s not legal, nor do we support it," Sareini said, noting that he was waiting for a full report from the police chief before pursuing enforcement.
The Islamic Institute of Knowledge, the mosque at the center of Unger's complaint, lists seven daily prayer times on its social media pages.
Multiple attempts to reach the mosque for comment were unsuccessful.
Another mosque in the city told Fox News Digital it had voluntarily lowered its sound system in response to community concerns.
"We always respect our neighbors," said Nabeel Bahalwan, director of the Dearborn Community Center, which had also been mentioned in conversations around the issue. He said the center had shut off its microphone broadcasting the call to prayer until the matter is resolved.
Dearborn’s city council drew widespread attention in September after Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud called Christian minister and Dearborn resident Ted Barham a "racist," "bigot" and an "Islamophobe" after he raised objections over street signs being renamed to honor a controversial Islamic leader.
#4
Back in the day, mass communication was some guy yelling from a tower. Nowadays, everyone has a cell phone. Just send the worshipers a text message and stop bothering people.
[IsraelTimes] Funds aimed at ramping up pressure on Iran-backed terror group to lay down its weapons, as Israeli drones target its fighters in southern Lebanon, killing three operatives
US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... ’s administration approved $230 million for Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... ’s security forces this week as they push to disarm Hezbollah, sources in Washington and Beirut said Thursday.
The funds will likely bolster Lebanese forces in their campaign to defang the once powerful Iran-backed terror group, which sustained heavy losses during its war with Israel that ended last November.
Democratic US congressional aides said the funds for Lebanese forces had been released just before Washington’s fiscal year ended on September 30.
"For a small country like Lebanon, that’s really, really significant," one of the aides said on a call with news hounds, requesting anonymity in order to speak freely.
A Lebanese source familiar with the decision said the funding included $190 million for the Lebanese Armed Forces and $40 million for the Internal Security Forces. The budget would allow the Internal Security Forces to take over internal security so the LAF can focus on other critical missions, he added.
The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The funding was released at a time when the Republican president’s administration has been slashing many foreign assistance programs, saying that its priority in spending taxpayer dollars is "America First."
The release of the funds appeared to reflect the priority Trump has put on trying to resolve the conflict in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and the wider region.
War with Israel badly battered Hezbollah last year — upending a power balance that had long been dominated by the Shi’ite Moslem group — and left swathes of Lebanon in ruins.
Since a US-brokered truce took effect last November, the Lebanese army has regularly collected caches of weapons and ammunition from the area south of the Litani River, from which Hezbollah has largely withdrawn, but the group’s heavier missiles and drones have remained hidden.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam asked the US-backed army on August 5 to devise a plan to ensure that all arms across the country would be in the hands of security forces by the end of the year.
ISRAEL CONTINUES TARGETING HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVES IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
As the US approved funds for Lebanese government forces, Israel’s military announced that it had killed three Hezbollah operatives over the past day in dronezaps over southern Lebanon.
A strike in Kafra on Wednesday afternoon killed Ali Mohammed Qarouni, who served as Hezbollah’s local representative in the town.
Qarouni "acted to seize private property for the organization’s military needs, such as renting homes for storing weapons and conducting surveillance," the army said.
A separate strike Thursday in Kfar Reman killed two more Hezbollah operatives, who the IDF said were engineering operatives involved in restoring the terror group’s infrastructure in the Mount Dov and Khiam areas.
Under the ceasefire provisions, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, though Israel has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic. It continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon in response to what it says are ceasefire violations.
Israel has said its strikes aim to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and to protect residents of its northern border area, and will withdraw from sites in Lebanon that its troops still occupy if Hezbollah lays down its weapons.
Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm since the devastating war with Israel. But the Iran-backed group is under pressure to give up its weapons from its rivals in Lebanon and from Washington.
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.
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
[IsraelTimes] French multinational changes name of stores to HyperMax in several countries, earning applause of BDS, though move hasn’t been explicitly linked to boycott calls
...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...
[IsraelTimes] Dutch government announces it will continue embargo just hours after country’s top court gave it 6 weeks to review the policy, ruling it had previously overstepped its brief
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
