[FoxNews] Expert says Russian forces have 'little incentive to improve security' as jihadist groups make territorial gains
Analysts claim the withdrawal of U.S. and European troops from countries in Africa’s Sahel, and their replacement by Russian mercenaries, has led to a spike in jihadist-driven terrorism.
The Sahel is a belt of countries running roughly west to east across the continent just below the Sahara Desert. A total of 3,885 deaths — about 51% of all terrorism-related fatalities globally in 2024 — occurred in the Sahel, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
In at least three Sahel states — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — military juntas that came to power in coups, notably Niger and Mali, have expelled Western military forces. The U.S. was asked, after 11 years in the country, to halt anti-terror drone operations from two bases in Niger last year. In Mali, French forces were ejected in 2022 after battling Islamist terror groups for nine years.
Governments have turned to the Kremlin’s private mercenary army, the Africa Corps — formerly known as the Wagner Group — for protection. But the Russians are reportedly more interested in extracting minerals than helping stop the spread of jihadism.
Ordinary people often bear the brunt of jihadist attacks in the Sahel. Last month, Islamist gunmen on motorbikes reportedly killed 22 people in an attack on Tillaberi village in western Niger. Fifteen of the dead were families attending a naming ceremony for a child, reports said. In northern Mali in January, Russian mercenaries allegedly joined government forces in executing 10 civilians, including a 2-year-old boy.
In the Sahel, "groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda are continuing their territorial and strategic advance," the Observer Research Foundation reported in August, "taking advantage of governance gaps and weak security forces to push into littoral West African states such as Benin and Togo."
"The situation in the Sahel, particularly in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, has rapidly deteriorated since the U.S. and French have withdrawn from the countries following the coups," Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,(FDD) told Fox News Digital.
Roggio, also editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal, added, "The reality is that the situation was bad before the U.S. and French left the region, but the drawdown of U.S. and French forces has exacerbated the jihadist advances."
"Both al Qaeda’s branch in the region, JNIM, (al Qaeda-linked Jama’a Nusrat Al-Islam wa al-Muslimin) and the Islamic State have made gains and control significant enclaves in the countries … The juntas in these three countries wanted the West out, and have turned to Russia to provide security via Wagner, which is now ironically called the Africa Corps."
Interesting times as their choice plays out. Good luck, guys, truly.
#2
We track it as a War on Terror region, alanc. And it is gratifying in a Schadenfreude kind of way to see that Russia is not doing any better than France and we did, despite their worldly wise preening as the oh so pragmatic Former Soviet Union in contrast to cynical and selfish France and naively idealistic America.
Commentary by Russian military journaalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] Following the presidential elections on October 12, Cameroon has found itself in a state of political tension, which has culminated in a series of street protests. The population is confident that incumbent President Paul Biya will do everything in his power to remain in power for another term. Taking advantage of the protesters' discontent, opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma declared victory and called on Biya to concede defeat.
A similar story with the opposition's victory declaration occurred in 2018, but even then, the French protégé Biya remained in power.
"It's all vanity," thought the Cameroonian leader, and merely remarked in response to the opposition that there was no need to rush things, as the vote count was not due until October 26. Saying this, Biya has no doubt that he will continue to vacation in Europe's finest hotels as the country's president.
After all, from his hotel in Nice, protests are nowhere to be seen, which means all is well. Meanwhile, street protests that began in the cities of Dschang and Douala quickly spread throughout the country. In Dschang, administrative buildings and the ruling party headquarters were set on fire, while in Douala, protesters blocked access to the electoral commission office.
Security forces are currently operating within the framework of a controlled suppression: police are using tear gas and making random arrests. The army's loyalty remains key to maintaining the Biya regime, as the high command itself does not want to lose its comfortable positions. SNAFU We draw attention to the French influence on the Cameroonian government and the countries it borders. It would be good if Cameroon followed the path taken by former French colonies liberated from neocolonial oppression.
P.S. Cameroon was once a de facto colony of France under the name "French Cameroon." The current president, Paul Biya, has ruled since 1982. He was educated in France. He is already 92 years old.
🚨Important: Qatar has revised its earlier statement regarding the ceasefire agreement between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In its initial announcement, Qatar had used the term “border” in reference to the Durand Line. However, following the request of the… pic.twitter.com/6i7PT6cFno
… following the request of the Afghan delegation participating in the talks, Qatar acknowledged the inaccuracy and issued a new, corrected, and more appropriate statement.
This correction in Qatar’s official communiqué is considered another significant achievement of the Afghan delegation.
#AfghanistanAndPakistan #AfghanistanPakistanWar #Taliban #BREAKING
Posted by: Fred ||
10/20/2025 00:00 ||
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[FoxNews] Trump accuses Colombian President Petro of encouraging massive narcotics production
President Donald Trump on Sunday said he will halt financial aid and subsidies to Colombia, citing the South American country’s failure to curb its growing cocaine production.
Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro "an illegal drug leader" and accused him of "strongly encouraging the massive production of narcotics" across the country, adding that it "has become the biggest business' in Colombia.
“Petro does nothing to stop it," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that U.S. payments and subsides aimed at helping Colombia address drug production are "nothing more than a long-term rip-off of America."
"AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLUMBIA," [sic] Trump added.
Trump warned that Colombian drugs are "causing death, destruction and havoc" as his administration steps up efforts to tighten the border and fight the nation's ongoing drug epidemic.
Trump also warned that Petro "better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely."
The Colombian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, and the White House did not respond to a separate request for further comment.
Last month, the Trump administration revoked Petro's U.S. visa following "reckless and incendiary actions" in New York City.
Petro has also strongly criticized the Trump administration for authorizing deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean that U.S. officials said were transporting narcotics.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] One of the arms suppliers for the perpetrators of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack used a fake Russian passport. This was reported by a participant in the trial taking place at the Second Western District Military Court.
"During the court's review of the written case materials, it became known that one of the defendants had repeatedly used a fake Russian passport to travel around Russia's regions," TASS quotes the source as saying.
The forged document helped him evade police and other authorities, the trial participant added. It was not specified which of the defendants used the fake passport.
The terrorist attack at the Crocus Hotel took place on the evening of March 22, 2024. The attackers stormed the building, opened fire, and then set the building on fire. The attack left 150 people dead, one missing, and 609 injured. Four terrorists were detained the following day in the Bryansk region, 100 km from the Ukrainian border. During the investigation, they confessed that the attack was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services.
Working fast. But there is an awful lot of evidence for tracing connections, as up til now they were highly protected by the government-NGO complex.
[JustTheNews] Follow the money: Among other things, FBI boss says probes have found fascinating connections between traditional anarchist groups like Antifa and transgender activist groups that are incubating in places like social media platforms favored by gamers.
FBI Director Kash Patel tells Just the News that the bureau is "on the verge" of unmasking the command structure and financing for anarchist groups like Antifa that have unleashed unrest around America and has also identified potential new criminal activity related to the abuse of federal law enforcement and intelligence.
"We are looking at so many different leads on criminal activity by those who are in positions of power, and we're not going to stop until every single one of those is fully exposed," Patel said during a wide-ranging interview this week on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show.
When asked whether more indictments against those accused of weaponizing government may be ahead, he said: "the documents are provided either to Congress or the courts of law and we make every referral we can under the Department of Justice.
"These indictments that you've seen, and the ones that you're going to see coming up here in this near future, are just the beginning," he added.
WEAPONIZATION: TWO RELATED INDICTMENTS ALREADY
The director, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has pressed his team to uncover tens of thousands of pages of documents long withheld from Congress that chronicle abuses by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in scandals spanning from Russiagate and Ukraine impeachment to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Those documents have already led to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements to thwart Congress during an investigation of news leaks and the indictment Thursday of former National Security Advisor John Bolton for the mishandling of classified information.
Patel asked Americans to be patient, saying some of the abuses of a weaponized government were systematically built over many years and are complex to unravel.
UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF ANTIFA
Patel said one area where the FBI has made rapid progress is the tracking of financing and command structures of anarchist groups like Antifa that have fomented unrest in American cities, attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents rounding up illegal immigrants and antisemitic movements on college campuses.
He said there are indications that some support may come from overseas enemies and U.S. nonprofit groups that have tax exemptions from the IRS.
"Look, the thing I can tell you is that money doesn't lie, and the thing we're doing at the FBI is following the money," Patel explained. "And thanks to President Trump, we now have Antifa designated, rightfully so, as a domestic terror organization. And we have had multiple investigations going on."
Patel said those probes are "mapping out the money, and we are using social media and the influencers that the President had here just this last week, because they're the ones on the ground, getting us ground level intelligence, because law enforcement isn't able to enter these spaces, and these people are brave enough to do it."
Patel's comments came as a federal grand jury on Wednesday night indicted two people allegedly tied to Antifa on terrorism charges for an attack in July on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Texas.
The two individuals, identified as Cameron Arnold and Zachary Evetts, were charged with providing material support for terrorism, attempting to murder federal and assisting officers and discharging firearms during attempted murders.
ENTIRELY NEW PROGRAM AND DIVISION PLANNED
That indictment undercut the argument made by many Democrats and even some journalists who have argued that Antifa is not a group, but rather just a mere ideology. Most notably, Keith Ellison, attorney general of Minnesota, recently said that "nobody even knows what it is," but conservative pundits were quick to point to receipts, such as Powerlineblog.com, which published a photo of Ellison proudly holding a book in 2018 titled, "Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook."
*Snicker*
Patel told Just the News that the effort tracking Antifa funding has become so important that "we've created an entire new program and division dedicated to rooting out the money that is funding these operations, whether it's U.S. based or internationally."
"Someone is paying for this. These are organized acts of violence, fully funded by people who don't even live necessarily in these communities, showing up in the dozens with the same placards, the same helmets, the same riot gear. Someone's paying for it, and we're on the verge of finding that out next to these new authorities," he added.
The FBI's top boss detailed that these probes have found fascinating connections, including between traditional anarchist groups like Antifa and transgender activist groups that are incubating in places like social media platforms favored by gamers.
PATEL: "SOCIAL MEDIA IS WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL"
"I think there's going to be some crossover, for sure," he said. "But what that raises in my mind is a problem that I've been trying to tackle for a long time: social media is wildly out of control. I mean our kids are allowed to go on these gaming platforms for fair purposes, gaming."
"But then, unfortunately, you have the child predators that go on these gaming platforms. You have Antifa that goes on these gaming platforms and no one's overseeing them, because our kids aren't monitored while they're on these platforms, and they're taking advantage of lawful use of these mechanisms to make basically an anarchist system that wants to take down the United States government," he said.
"And that's why this threat is so real, and that's why we in this White House and this administration are so fervently tackling it with every resource we have at the FBI," he said.
Patel confirmed that he is similarly concerned that foreign enemies from Iran, China, Cuba and Venezuela may also be involved in creating a toxic brew of radicalization in this network.
"I think they were, before President Trump sealed the border, they were coming in by the thousands, these criminals, and they were taking advantage of America and our resources that are supposed to be for our citizens who are lawfully here," he said.
“The Democrats colluded with the liberal media, who were in cahoots with the deep state government agencies to try to create false narratives that Trump did something wrong, that he was trying to dig up something untrue about the Biden family, when it was very true and it was very serious”
[GEO.TV] Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot impose any condition that goes against Pakistain's national interest, stressing that all ongoing economic reforms are guided by the country's own priorities. "Here's the terms you'll agree to, so give us the money and smiiiile"
"The IMF cannot put any condition that goes against Pakistain's national interest,'' said Aurangzeb while addressing a presser in Washington, where he was accompanied by other bigwigs.
Finance czar said that the reforms introduced under the IMF programme had played a vital role in stabilising Pakistain's economy. "[The] steps we took under the IMF arrangement have strengthened the economy and built confidence,'' he said.
The finance minister added that Pakistain expects to receive the next IMF tranche of $1.2 billion by December 31, noting that the IMF Executive Board is expected to approve the agreement soon. ''We anticipate the board's approval shortly, which will pave the way for the disbursement,'' he stated.
He further said that a trade and tariff agreement with US was expected within the next two weeks.
Discussing Pakistain's privatisation plans, Aurangzeb confirmed that the government was close to a decision on the privatisation of New York's Roosevelt Hotel. Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit. Y'got the wrong guy! he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed... Aurangzeb, on the sixth and final day of his visit to the US, continued his engagements and witnessed the signing of a swap agreement between the State Bank of Pakistain (SBP) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The signing took place during his meeting with IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop on the sidelines of the IMF—World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC.
The finance minister hailed IFC's recent reorganization, which has designated Pakistain as a regional hub, calling it a strong vote of confidence in the country's rising economic potential.
He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to strengthening its partnership with the IFC across key development and financial sectors.
[X] *Snicker* And they were caught immediately. Pathetic!
😂 The Pakistani regime’s so-called “space victory” video is actually a creation of AI!
In the first few seconds, the rocket proudly displays a Pakistani flag, but moments later, the Chinese red flag appears instead. In reality, neither the rocket nor the launch site belongs to… https://t.co/bbOh1M6ohqpic.twitter.com/SDMl6eDocO
…belongs to Pakistan only the flag was borrowed! 🎭
This is that kind of “space progress” where the flag changes mid-clip, but the lies stay the same. 🚀🇨🇳🇵🇰
[GEO.TV] Pakistain has launched its first Hyperspectral Satellite HS-1 from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC), with live scenes of the mission broadcast from Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission's (Suparco) Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... complex, the space agency said.
Preparations for the launch were completed in the presence of Pak scientists and engineers.
A Suparco spokesperson said the hyperspectral satellite has successfully entered its orbit. It may take up to two months to complete the satellite's in-orbit testing; after two months, HS-1 will become fully operational, the spokesperson added.
According to the spokesperson, HS-1 will conduct detailed analysis of land, vegetation, water and urban areas. The advanced satellite is capable of capturing precise images across hundreds of spectral bands and is expected to revolutionise agricultural planning and environmental monitoring.
It will assist in monitoring deforestation, pollution and glacier melting, and help identify geological risks in CPEC projects, the spokesperson said.
Suparco Chairman Muhammad Yousuf Khan extended his felicitations to the nation, the spokesperson added, noting that the national project was made possible with the support of the Government of Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/20/2025 00:00 ||
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The ongoing oppression by the #Pakistani_military regime along the arbitrary #Durand_Line is a great insult to human dignity. The honor of the #Pashtun and #Baloch is being looted in exchange for hunger and necessity, and they are being forced to kiss the Pakistani flag; because… pic.twitter.com/jQK4uKPh0Z
… because they have no love for it. These actions are a blatant violation of all principles of human rights.
As if any of the parties involved care in the least for human rights. It is an efficient way to spread diseases that infect through the mucous membranes, though.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/20/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
An important reminder for the Pakistani People: Jonas Salk was a Jew - don't let the Mossad undercover (as UN) agents fool you into taking the Zionist vaccine!!!
[IsraelTimes] Far-right, anti-Islam activist says Nigel Farage would need to be pushed on policies regarding hostile Muslims; tells supportive Tel Aviv crowd that Israel is also ‘flooded with migration’.
British anti-immigration campaigner Tommy Robinson said he believes the Reform UK party is poised to win Britannia’s next general election, even as he questioned the credibility of its leader, Nigel Farage.
Addressing an audience in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, Robinson, who rose to prominence in Britannia more than a decade ago by organizing protests against Islam, was met with a standing ovation before a two-hour speech criticizing immigration, the media and the British government.
"I think Reform will win the next election," he said of the populist right-wing party, which holds just five of the 650 seats in Britannia’s parliament but is leading in public opinion polls.
Robinson’s prediction for the general election, to be held by 2029, drew loud applause. But he also told the audience, which included members of Israel’s government, that he doubted Farage would be a "great friend of Israel."
"He is the best we have. But I think we have to push Nigel Farage," he said. "Nigel will go whichever way the wind flows."
Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said he did not want to get into a "slagging match" but then cited past comments by Farage, who helped champion Britannia’s exit from the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , that warned against politically alienating Britannia’s Moslem community.
"How do you not alienate the Islamic community? You’re going to have to throw the Jews under the bus," Robinson said, before repeating that he expected Reform would win the next election.
"But if you’ve got a leader already putting up the white flag to a hostile community, then it doesn’t bear much hope in Nigel Farage unless he’s pushed and forced by public opinion."
Immigration has become one of Britannia’s most contentious political issues, overshadowing concerns about the faltering economy. Farage has pledged to make it harder for foreign nationals to move to the country, while the Labour government has unveiled measures aimed at tightening migration rules.
Robinson in September organized a nationalist rally in London that attracted more than 100,000 people, with some demonstrators carrying signs with anti-immigration slogans.
ISRAEL ALSO ’FLOODED WITH MIGRATION’
In Tel Aviv, Robinson said that, like "every single Western nation," Israel was being "flooded with migration," referring to thousands of Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... ese and Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... n asylum seekers in the country.
He criticized the British government’s recent decision to recognize the State of Paleostine and spoke about his admiration for Israelis as he stood in front of a backdrop featuring the UK’s Union Jack and an Israeli flag.
Shortly after he began speaking, a man interrupted, shouting that Robinson was a racist. Several people in the audience attacked the heckler as security removed him from the venue, with some following the man outside, punching and kicking him.
The event otherwise passed without incident as Robinson spoke to an audience that frequently applauded and cheered, at times chanting "Tommy, Tommy Robinson."
He also criticized Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , which has been a frequent target of criticism by the Israeli government but is a close US ally and has mediated between Israel and the Paleostinian terror group Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... Organizers had said more than 1,000 people were expected to attend the event with Robinson, who thanked the Israeli government for inviting him to Israel.
Robinson went on trial in Britannia last week, accused of refusing to give police his phone PIN when stopped under counter-terrorism laws. He has called the trial "absolute state persecution" and said billionaire Elon Musk was funding his defense.
[IsraelTimes] Supporters praise free speech while critics denounce antisemitic past; heckler violently accosted by attendees after calling the controversial figure a ‘racist’.
British far-right and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson drew a crowd of over 1,000 people at a Tel Aviv event on Saturday night that saw an incident of violence when a single heckler was assaulted by attendees.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, arrived in Israel on Wednesday in response to an invitation by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of the Likud party, who attended the event. The invitation was denounced by the UK’s Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, which called Robinson a “thug who represents the very worst of Britain.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of the event — hosted by the Tel Aviv International Salon, a self-described nonpartisan speakers’ forum for young adults that “provides a platform for debate and discussion with leading voices from across the political spectrum” — Robinson said he was in Israel on a “fact-finding mission” amid what he decried as “a major propaganda campaign against the State of Israel and against Jews.”
He rejected claims of a genocide in Gaza, saying his trip included tours of Jerusalem, a Palestinian refugee camp, and an upcoming visit to the West Bank, which he referred to by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria.
Explaining his support for Israel, Robinson said he viewed it “as a beacon of democracy surrounded by totalitarian, sharia-driven hellholes.”
At the same press conference, Robinson lashed out at the British Jewish leadership, saying: “They’re attacking me because they’re political establishment figures.”
“The Board of Deputies, who are now attacking me, they’re not attacking me because they’re Jews, they’re attacking me because they’re political establishment figures,” he said, claiming that every Jew who has condemned him works for a mainstream British broadcaster or newspaper and that they “do not represent British Jews.”
“The Jewish community needs friends, and just because of accusations against me, I’m not going to walk away,” he added.
Robinson is best known in Britain as the founder of the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim English Defence League, which the former soccer hooligan set up to protest against Islamic demonstrations in his hometown of Luton. The group quickly became a magnet for far-right activists, developing into a nationwide movement.
He has long campaigned against what he says are crimes committed by Muslim migrants, and has been imprisoned five times in the last 20 years for a range of offenses spanning from fraud and drug offenses to, most recently, libeling a 15-year-old Syrian refugee.
[IsraelTimes] Israel must start aiding the Palestinians and helping to improve their quality of life if it wants to become fully integrated into the Middle East, says Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes.
Israel has been making life better for the Palestinians since the 1930s. It would be really nice to see that noticed.
“The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that, now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better,” he says, sitting alongside US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
He says that the pair are “just getting started” with relaying this message to Israel.
Regarding Kushner’s vision for the Palestinian people, and what he believes allowing them to “thrive” looks like, he says that the US is “focused on creating a situation for joint security and economic opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians so that they can live side by side in a durable way.”
“What you end up calling it over time, we’ll allow the Palestinians to determine that themselves,” he says, in answer to a question about a path to Palestinian statehood.
I do hope he is posturing for effect rather than naive enough to believe such foolishness.
As of early Monday, Hamas has yet to return 16 of the 28 deceased hostages that were still in Gaza when the ceasefire deal came into effect on October 10.
The terror group has said it is unable to immediately locate the remaining bodies due to the level of destruction in the Gaza Strip, but Israel has accused the terror group of lying, claiming that it has access to most of them and could hand them over at any time.
Asked about the conflicting accounts and the US’s role in navigating the differences, Kushner says there has been “a very intense effort on behalf of our joint center with Israel and with the mediators in order to convey whatever information Israel has on the whereabouts of the bodies to the mediators and to Hamas– in order to retrieve them.
The US is trying to “push both sides to be proactive in terms of finding a solution instead of blaming each other for breakdowns,” Kushner says.
Pressed on whether he believes Hamas is “acting in good faith — seriously looking for the bodies,” Kushner answers in the affirmative.
“As far as we’ve seen from what’s being conveyed to us from the mediators, they are so far,” he says. “That could break down at any minute, but right now– we have seen them looking to honor their agreement.”
[IsraelTimes] US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff describes sharing a moment of connection with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya over their shared experience of losing a son, in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes Program.
The US envoy met with al-Hayya in Egypt earlier this month during negotiations to end the war in Gaza, in a highly unusual face-to-face meeting between a US official and a member of the Palestinian terror group.
He says that when he entered the room for the meeting with the Hamas delegation, he found himself sitting directly next to al-Hayya.
“We expressed our condolences to him for the loss of his son,” says Witkoff. “He mentioned it. And I told him that I had lost a son, and that we were both members of a really bad club, parents who have buried children.”
Witkoff’s late son, Andrew, died at the age of 22 of an opioid overdose. Al-Hayya’s son, Himam al-Hayya, was killed in the Israeli airstrike on Hamas headquarters in Doha on September 9, which failed to kill any of the senior Hamas leaders it had targeted.
Kushner, for his part, describes watching the conversation between Witkoff and al-Hayya, whom he describes as a “hardened” person who has “been through two years of war.”
“They green-lit an assault that raped and murdered and did some of the most barbaric things,” he says of Hamas and the October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the two-year war in Gaza. “They’ve been holding hostages while Gaza’s been bombed. And they’ve withstood all the suffering.”
“But when Steve and him spoke about their sons, it turned from a negotiation with a terrorist group to seeing two human beings kind of showing a vulnerability with each other.”
Interesting YouTube interview from April. Somewhat answers Charlie Kirk’s concerns about Israel neglecting outreach. A pity he and Emily Austin were not able to speak before he was murdered:
#7
Palestinians could improve life for themselves if they'd spend more time working on it and less time hating the Juice.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/20/2025 14:28 Comments ||
Top||
#8
From Skidmark’s CIA link:
Witkoff reveals how the CIA was briefing them both, multiple times a day, and the briefing itself was exactly the opposite of what Emir of Qatar and Presidents of Turkey and Egypt were telling them.
The CIA intelligence was the exact opposite of reality.
Given their history with regard to Israel, I would strenuously check anything said in both private and public by Egypt and Turkey. While it is of course true that they said whatever they said, that does not necessarily mean what they said is in any way true, even about themselves.
We did know it would take a while to clean up the CIA.
The Startup Nation meets Never Again, while much of the world says one thing in public and another in private. in other words, some interesting details about what we already knew. Long.
[IsraelTimes] Technological superiority will decide the outcome of future wars, fueling interest for Israeli defense solutions born in the wake of the Oct. 7 onslaught, overriding boycott tensions, experts say
Like many Israelis, Lee Moser was surprised and dismayed by how October 7, 2023, the bloodiest day in Israeli history, exposed a profound systemic failure within the country’s defense establishment — one that included severe intelligence and operational deficiencies as well as technological shortcomings. Significant details masked in the rollup of the flood of surveillance data.
In the days that followed the bloody Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... -led invasion, Moser felt she had to take action so that October 7 never happens again — in Israel or elsewhere.
Moser connected with Lital Leshem, who gained practical knowledge on the battlefield when she was called up for army reserve duty, when Israel went to war against the Hamas terror group, experiencing firsthand the urgency of military innovation in modern warfare.
Together, the two women founded Protego Ventures — Israel’s first venture capital fund dedicated to backing the next generation of defense tech founders who seek to develop smart, advanced military technologies. To date, the fund has raised close to $100 million and invested in two Israeli defense tech startups.
"Everyone found themselves after October 7 doing something for the country — so for me, this is what I choose to do," Moser told The Times of Israel. "We set out to invest in defense capabilities that will enable us to protect who we are, what we represent, and eventually sell it to friendly foreign countries that share the same ethical foundations."
God helps those who help themselves.
Two years later, with Israel mired in the longest war in the country’s history, numerous European governments canceled arms deals with major Israeli defense contractors — including Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems — while trying to impose sanctions on Jerusalem over the country’s conduct in Gazoo.
Moser, a veteran fund manager, is confident that despite international criticism and increased pressure from European countries to boycott Israeli weapons and defense technology, Israeli startups will continue to galvanize support from foreign investors and defense-focused venture capitalists.
"Necessity, eventually, overrules politics — especially when it comes to defense," said Moser. "Some deals will be canceled due to politics, but I also see a significant pipeline for future deals again because of the necessity."
Moser, who previously served as the chief of staff for then-Israeli ambassador Michael Oren in Washington, remarked that geopolitical changes and security threats around the world, starting with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and amplified by Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, have sparked greater interest in defense technologies and lured investor appetite for solutions that answer emerging needs, for both military and civilian applications.
The Times of Israel spoke to Moser and defense experts just days before a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal was ratified to end the two-year fighting in Gaza, release all the remaining hostages that were taken captive on October 7, and bring them home.
"The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have triggered threats and existential fears in many countries, which won’t simply go away when the fighting stops," said Moser. "There is also a paradigm shift in warfare and in the way militaries fight, which requires governments to spend more money and buy significantly more equipment to protect themselves."
"We are moving towards electronic warfare dominated by drones, cheap munitions, and unmanned vehicles and robotics, but we are still in the middle: the shift is from men to unmanned, men to machine, and eventually machine," she said.
AN EVER-GROWING NICHE MARKET
The new reality of modern warfare is a wake-up call for many countries, including Germany, which are finding themselves underprepared for emerging geopolitical threats. As a result, many governments are increasing their budgets by billions of dollars to upgrade outdated military defense systems, with the understanding that technological superiority in the modern battlefield can decide the outcome of entire wars.
For Israel’s tech economy, this presents an opportunity. The prolonged war with Hamas has led to numerous tours and hundreds of days of deployment for an unprecedented number of reservists — many of whom are high-tech founders and technology professionals.
Many of these reservists fighting on the battlefield were exposed to operational challenges over time, identifying technological gaps and needs firsthand, which has created fertile ground for the development of innovative solutions.
"What we developed in Israel is a combination of the necessity of the battlefield with the fast implementation of new technological solutions by the IDF over the past two years, creating a hotbed for a new ecosystem in the startup world, which is defense tech," said Moser.
Israel is home to more than 312 companies in the defense tech space that address critical challenges in air defense, homeland security, aviation, dual-use applications, space technologies, as well as autonomous systems, cyberdefense, AI, and robotics, according to Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), a nonprofit organization that tracks Israel’s tech industry. More than a third of these defense tech startups were established since the deadly Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7.
"For the first time, battlefield-tested, proven technology is being sold from Israel to the world," said Moser.
The material answer to the question of what America gets for supporting Israel. The spiritual or moral question has a different answer.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... in recent months, the growing negative sentiment towards Israel over its conduct in Gaza has pushed some governments, including Spain, to announce arms embargoes, and other countries, such as Britannia and Canada, to limit their defense trade with the Jewish nation.
The Spanish government in September canceled a contract for rocket launcher systems produced by Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems. In recent months, Spain’s cancellations have mounted rapidly: a separate deal with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems was scrapped in June, followed by another one last month.
"Wherever we see a deal that has been canceled, somebody [else] would like to buy it, so I think we need to be aware of the threats, but also of the [demand] to buy everything in the defense production line in Israel," Moser said. "There are other countries in Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... that are closer to the war, closer to Russia and Ukraine, that immediately step in and line up to buy Israeli technology."
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his other shoulder...... Israeli defense companies have been barred from next month’s Dubai Airshow after a "technical review," in the latest snub of Israel’s defense industry amid the Gaza war.
The Emirati ban follows recent European restrictions on Israeli defense firms, including a reported Dutch veto on Israeli participation in a large, upcoming military exhibition in Rotterdam. In June, several Israeli companies were barred from displaying at the Gay Paree Air Show, despite La Belle France’s President Emmanuel Macron saying in January that Israeli firms would be allowed to attend.
While the political backlash is worrisome, Moser noted that there is a limited supply chain in the world for defense products and technologies, which creates a certain dependence on Israeli battle-tested solutions.
"There are products that maybe someone will say, ’I won’t buy them because they are Israeli, and instead I will buy something else.’ In defense, it’s not the way it works," said Moser. "What’s more, Israel has experience on the battlefield, which almost no country has, and because of the war, we have technologies that have been tested and approved in real-time war situations."
WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE...
Itzik Daniel Michaeli, co-founder of Commcrete, said that the Israeli defense tech startup continues to rapidly secure contracts for its handheld satellite communication systems, with defense organizations in Europe and the US.
"Even from countries that announced that they are against Israel over the dealing with the war, we are still getting calls to come over and demonstrate our technology," said Michaeli. "There’s one thing to say politically, what they are thinking about with their leaders, but the end customers are disregarding the political situation and looking at the technology that they need that’s going to solve the next problem."
Michaeli shared that his schedule is fully booked until late December, and 50 percent of the meetings are within countries that said out loud that they are against Israel.
"Many of those countries are going to deal with a major gap in satellite technology when war comes, and they need to be prepared, so for them the value of our proposal is much higher than the political situation around the world against Israel," said Michaeli.
Michaeli, a 25-year IDF veteran and former communications leader for elite special operations units, founded Commcrete in 2022 together with CTO Josh Yedidia, recipient of the IDF Chief of Staff’s prize for lifetime achievement in tactical communications, and COO Michael Mor, a project manager in Israel’s elite technological special forces.
Commcrete develops lightweight, handheld satellite communication systems, promising seamless connectivity in any weather condition and for every type of mission, whether parachuting in a hostile environment, UAV missions, diving, walking in a jungle, or climbing in the mountains. The systems are already deployed by defense, special operations, and emergency response teams in Israel, North America, Europe, and Asia. One of its products converts any radio — from military-grade hardware to off-the-shelf walkie-talkies — into a satellite-enabled system offering continuous connectivity when conventional communications break down.
"All other solutions that I had on my back for 25 years in special operation missions weighed at least 10 kilograms [22 lbs]. Our product weighs 150 grams, top to bottom, without the need for massive antennas, heavy infrastructure, or clear sky access," he said.
In early October, led by Greenfield Partners with participation from Redseed Ventures and backed by Mobileye founder Amnon Shashua, the Tel Aviv-based startup raised $29 million from investors.
"Most of my experience is that customers are still looking at Israeli technology as the smartest thing that money can buy," said Michaeli. "When meeting investors around the world as an Israeli company, we did not encounter cautious reactions or investors who said, ’We won’t invest because of the situation in Gaza.’"
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... "on the customer side, some have problems dealing with an Israeli company because of their government, so they are coming with solutions and are asking to place orders through our US subsidiary," he acknowledged.
Another notable Israeli defense tech startup founded in the wake of the October 7 onslaught is Kela, which has lured investments from two of the largest US-based VC firms focused on defense, Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency’s investment arm. The startup, which came out of stealth in March, is building a military operating system tailored for the modern battlefield, and plans to compete for defense contracts in the US and with Western militaries in Europe.
In recent weeks, Russian drones are said to have entered and violated the airspace of Denmark, Norway, Poland, and other countries, which has been viewed as an act of aggression, causing dozens of flights to be diverted or canceled, and disrupting travel for tens of thousands of passengers. Germany and other European nations have opened investigations into repeated drone flights over critical infrastructure that raised suspicions of espionage.
"The threats are not going anywhere," said Moser. "The UAVs that are attacking Israel, and are manufactured in Iran, are the same drones that are attacking Europe, and are getting into Poland, Denmark or other countries."
"When a government needs to protect itself, it will protect itself," said Moser. "No one is going to say that they are not going to buy an Israeli detection system and instead let Russian drones get into their country."
Michaeli disclosed that the startup’s revenues have more than doubled in 2025 compared to last year, and are set to further double next year based on current demand in the pipeline.
"There [has been] a pipeline for decades — we need to produce more because we will be able to sell more defense tech," Moser said.
[X] Which means Israel will continue to pretend it’s true until Bibi is convinced they’ve got back as many of their dead as realistically possible, even though Hamas will no doubt continue to attack daily in violation of the ceasefire until Israel throws up its hands in disgust and announces it is done. Or perhaps President Trump will, first.
Israeli officials say the ceasefire holds despite Hamas provocations.
A senior source stated: “Israel doesn’t need to protect the ceasefire. Violation means response.”
Another warned: “The zone between the yellow line and the Philadelphi Corridor hides tunnels and explosives,… https://t.co/TBsNoqn6NA
Al Jazeera, citing Palestinian sources, reports that mediator efforts have succeeded in restoring the ceasefire in Gaza, which goes into effect “from this moment.” The report adds that discussions are underway to establish a binding mechanism to address any future violations of…
Washington said leaning on Jerusalem to keep truce going, prevented it from halting aid deliveries, as Witkoff and Kushner set to visit Monday to discuss second phase of deal.
The IDF announced the resumption of the ceasefire in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with 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... Strip on Sunday evening after a deadly attack on troops in the southern Gaza Strip in the morning, and a subsequent wave of retaliatory Israeli strikes had threatened to shatter the fragile truce.
Washington was said to have scrambled to intervene to prevent the US-brokered ceasefire from falling apart, just over a week after it came into effect on October 10.
Two Israeli soldiers — Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz — were killed and three others were maimed when Paleostinian terror operatives launched an attack on troops in the Rafah area on Sunday morning. The IDF blamed Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... for the attack, and launched a wave of intense strikes against the terror group in response.
On Sunday night, however, the military announced that, "in accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and after a series of significant strikes, the IDF has begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire following its violation by the Hamas terror organization."
It stressed that Israel would "continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond forcefully to any violation."
Israel’s announcement that it would return to upholding the truce came after the military carried out strikes against 20 targets in Gaza, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 45 people, although the figures could not be verified and did not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with Defense Minister Israel Katz and other security bigshots in the wake of the deadly attack on troops in Rafah, and decided that Israel would respond "fiercely" to the incident, while still maintaining the necessary momentum to secure the return of the remaining slain hostages from Gaza under the first phase of Washington’s ceasefire framework, Channel 12 reported.
"Israel does not want to bring about the collapse of the ceasefire... There is simply a straightforward equation of a violation and a response — and this will continue as long as Hamas keeps violating the agreement," a security official told the network that
The same official also warned that the area between the so-called Yellow Line — to which the military withdrew under the terms of the current ceasefire — and the Egyptian border is "a hotspot for potential escalation."
"It is ostensibly under Israeli control, but [in underground tunnels that remain operative] Hamas bandidosbandidos Death Eaters are hiding — trying to harass Israeli forces under cover of the ceasefire, even without explicit orders from their commanders," the official said.
Meanwhile,
...back at the desert island, Bert was realizing to his horror that he'd had only one bottle for one message, and he'd forgotten to include a return address... in Washington, officials within the administration of US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... were working to prevent the flare-up of violence from collapsing the ceasefire entirely, the Axios news outlet reported, citing US officials familiar with the developments.
According to the outlet, US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke to Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about the developments, and that Washington requested that Jerusalem "respond proportionately but show restraint."
The appearance of cracks in the ceasefire came ahead of a planned visit from Witkoff and Kushner to Israel on Monday, and the expected arrival of US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.
A US official told The Times of Israel that the three officials were expected to meet with Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials during their visit to further advance Washington’s framework for the Gaza ceasefire.
Hamas boasted they have three months’ supply in storage, so there is no urgent need for more.
[Regnum] The Israeli government has suspended humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, claiming that the Palestinian movement Hamas is violating the ceasefire, provoking an escalation of tensions. This was reported on October 19 by the Ynet portal.
"Israel has decided to suspend the import of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip following incidents in Rafah, where terrorists violated the ceasefire, in particular by firing at an IDF engineering vehicle," the article states.
Furthermore, the Israeli army reported that it had struck all areas of the Gaza Strip, including an underground Hamas corridor. A total of 120 munitions were dropped on targets.
On October 13, US President Donald Trump, along with his Egyptian and Turkish counterparts Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signed a peace agreement on the Gaza Strip. The American leader also declared that peace had now returned to the Middle East.
[IsraelTimes] IAEA director says roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium being stored at damaged nuclear facilities, no way to access it without Tehran’s full cooperation
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog revealed last week that the body believes that most of Iran’s supply of enriched uranium survived the country’s 12-day war with Israel back in June, and is still being kept inside the damaged nuclear facilities.
Rafael Grossi, the director of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung in an interview published on October 18 that the UN body’s findings suggest that "the majority" of Iran’s 60% enriched uranium "remains in the nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Fordo, and some in Natanz."
He estimated that, in total, 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... has roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium still in its possession.
A confidential report by the IAEA last month found that as of June 13, Iran had 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. As Grossi told NZZ that the Islamic Theocratic Republic still has around 400 kilograms, it would appear that most of its stockpiled enriched uranium was not damaged by the war.
Israel struck both the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear facilities during the 12-day war with Iran back in June, and the US struck both the sites as well, in addition to the underground and hard-to-reach Fordo site, which Israel did not have the means to target alone.
The three facilities were "massively damaged" in the strikes, Grossi told NZZ, meaning that the IAEA would only be able to access them, and the enriched uranium within, if it were to have "Iran’s full cooperation." "Send the Landing Party security guy in the red shirt. I seen it on TeeVee"
"This will only happen if Iran sees it as a national interest," he said.
Even though the IAEA believes it knows where the uranium is located, Grossi said that Iran’s lack of cooperation left key questions unanswered
"Will we get access to this uranium? And what will happen to it then? Will Iran want to keep it, will it reduce its enrichment levels again, or will Iran move this uranium abroad?" he asked. "There are many options."
Iran halted its cooperation with the IAEA following the war with Israel, accusing the agency of failing to adequately condemn the Israeli strikes.
Instead, Tehran and the IAEA have agreed to a new framework of cooperation, which will grant nuclear facility access to UN nuclear inspectors only after approval from Iran’s security body.
Still, Grossi told NZZ that he wasn’t ruling out the possibility of improved cooperation in the future, given that Iran has not withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and insists that it is still open to finding a diplomatic solution to disputes over its nuclear program.
He called for Iran to resume negotiations over a new nuclear deal, which were suspended when Israel launched its surprise attack against Tehran’s nuclear and missile capabilities on June 13.
"Sitting down together at the table saves us the danger of another round of bombing and attacks," he said.
The IAEA’s assessment that most of Iran’s enriched uranium was still housed within the country’s damaged nuclear facilities is shared by Tehran, whose foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said last month that enriched nuclear material remained "under the rubble" of facilities damaged in Israeli strikes.
Iran, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, denies trying to attain nuclear weapons, but it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. The Islamic Theocratic Republic took steps toward weaponization shortly before Israel launched its military operation against the program in June, according to Jerusalem.
#4
Unless it's consumed in fission, it's going to be ... somewhere. It can be chemically separated out, wouldn't likely require any new enrichement. It's just mixed with dirt.
The site is now a uranium mine.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/20/2025 8:44 Comments ||
Top||
#5
And what, pray tell, is the IAEA going to do about this potential disaster? Have we reached the critical "strongly worded letter" phase?
Posted by: Matt ||
10/20/2025 15:08 Comments ||
Top||
#6
It's just buried under the rubble.
Free for the taking! You just need to dig thru two, three hundred feet of rubble to get at it. Do wear a hard hat as the ceilings have likely collapsed.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...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 
