[Rudaw] One of the 25 Kurds who returned from Libya on Friday described the harrowing ordeal he endured at the hands of smugglers and prison guards in the north African nation where his attempt to reach Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... ended.
"The situation there is horrible," said Ramyar Haidar. "A friend of mine asked for some bread and they [smugglers] put a gun to his head and were about to kill him."
Haidar was among 25 Kurds, most from the town of Ranya in the Raparin administration of northern Sulaimani province, who were returned to Erbil through the joint efforts of the Kurdistan Region’s Department of Foreign Relations and the Iraqi consulate in Libya.
The Libya-Italia route is increasingly popular among youth from Raparin trying to get to Europe as tighter restrictions have made the The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, but not the most reliable... -Greece crossing less viable. Dozens have been repatriated to the Kurdistan Region after being stranded in Libya.
Haidar spoke to Rudaw about the conditions in Libya’s prisons. "Each of us were given one loaf of bread a day," he said. "We had lost all hope there. Even now I can not believe that I am finally back."
He said some Kurds are still detained in Libya and their situation is "very bad."
He advised his fellow Kurds not to take the same route he did. "Europe is not worth it. Whoever experiences what I have will know what I mean," he said.
Ramyar’s father, Haidar Abdullah, said his son was repeatedly sold by smugglers. "Since July 14, my son had been in Tunisia for two months before going to Libya, where he was detained for over a month. Until now, smugglers have sold and transferred them seven times," he told Rudaw.
Baghdad’s consulate in Libya is working to return 12 more people who are currently in Misrata, approximately 250 kilometers from the capital, Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , Chargé d'Affaires Ahmed al-Sahaf told Rudaw on Thursday.
The Kurdistan Region has seen repeated waves of youth emigration over the past decade, largely driven by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
The Libya-Italia journey typically takes around eight hours, compared to up to 72 hours through Greece, but can cost as much as $17,000 per person, much of it paid to militias that control Libya’s coast, according to Bakr Ali, head of the Association of Returned Refugees.
…who will not be remembered as one of Mexico’s shining lights…
denounced the war on drugs, claiming that her government was not going to go that route because killing drug traffickers is a fascist approach that violates their rights. The comments come at a time when Mexico’s government has been harshly criticized worldwide for the raging cartel violence and the government corruption that has enabled it. Plata o Plomo
During one of her conferences this week, Sheinbaum said returning to a state of war against drug cartels like prior administrations had done is not an option.
“Not an option,” she said. “First, because it is outside of the legal framework. All of these people from the right that fill their mouths with or use the words ‘rule of law’ and defend the war against the Narco, the war against the narco is illegal. Because, like I said or have said on various occasions, it’s permission to kill, without any trial. That in Mexico, no one or very few are in favor of. Second, it did not do anything (in the past) but raise the number of murders in Mexico and the level of violence. These authoritarian calls to go back to that are a call to fascism.”
The comments come at a time when Sheinbaum’s government has been harshly criticized following the murder of Carlos Manzo, the Mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, who had gained international fame for his hard stance against drug cartels and his efforts to root them out of his town. A cartel-connected gunman shot and killed Manzo on November 1 during a Day of the Dead event in Michoacan. The murder has led to several protests and riots where groups even torched city halls and the Michoacan Governor’s palace.
Most recently, politicians in Peru called Mexico a narco-state as they announced the end to diplomatic relations between the two countries and declared Sheinbuam Persona Non-Grata in Peru over her granting asylum to a former politician who is wanted in that country on corruption charges.
#1
Yes, they're just tryingta make a living.
They're just tryingta feed their families.
And yes, if Americans did not DEMAND cocaine and fentanyl then there'd be no one to SUPPLY that demand.
Perhaps.
Even if one were to stipulate all tnat, the fact is that the USA has the right, nay the obligation, to protect its borders.
And so, good President Sheinbaum, perhaps you might use your good offices to encourage these folks to develop employable skills for alternative occupations.
Or perhaps encourage them to seek markets in Asia or Africa. Or Australia. Or Europa.
Posted by: Paul Runyan ||
11/09/2025 2:17 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Another enemy self-identifies, removing any doubt held before her clarifying statements. Essentially, she has declared war.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
11/09/2025 4:27 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Hague Convention of 1907 - "a neutral country has the obligation not to allow its territory to be used by a belligerent. If the neutral country is unwilling or unable to prevent this, the other belligerent has the right to take appropriate counteraction."
#6
The Mexican government and drug gangs merged some time ago.
Sheinbaum would get Charlie Kirked if she offered any real resistance.
"Another enemy"? Calm down there, Himmler. Go watch some more Tucker Qatarlson videos.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Akhmad Batlukhsky, a religious figure from Dagestan, was detained at the Moscow airport on slander charges. This was announced on November 8 by Shamil Khadulaev, Chairman of the Republic's Public Monitoring Commission.
"The well-known Dagestani religious figure Akhmad Batlukhsky was detained at the Moscow airport today," Khadulaev wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, Batlukhsky's arrest is related to a criminal slander case brought against him. The religious figure has already been transported to Makhachkala for further investigation.
According to the Dagestan Online portal, Batlukhsky previously criticized Dagestan Mufti Akhmad Abdulaev and his entourage, accusing them of corruption, nepotism, and a departure from true Islamic principles. In his speeches, he also alleged the muftiate's excessive enrichment and the exploitation of religion for personal gain.
[IsraelTimes] A Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7, 2023, massacre is living in Belgium and has been traveling freely across Europe, the Belgian JID antisemitism watchdog finds.
Mohannad al-Khatib, who defines himself as a freelance journalist, was seen in images inside Israel on October 7 and makes regular anti-Israel posts, according to Hebrew media outlets citing the watchdog report.
JID Vice President Ralph Pais tells Channel 12 news that they have handed a 65-page dossier to the authorities with evidence that Khatib was involved in the massacre and is now publishing anti-Israel propaganda from Belgian soil.
[X]
They're not all dead though. Mohannad al-Khatib, who can be seen in the video, is now living it up in Belgium. This is him at a pro-Hamas rally in Bruxelles, posted Oct 11, 2025.#leavingGaza Link in 1st comment https://t.co/R1WqEBBGyppic.twitter.com/b367LNlwUb
Mohannad Al Khatib
Mohannad Al Khatib serves as a news presenter at Sky News Arabia. In his current role, he is the senior presenter of Sky News Arabia’s new flagship program, Newsroom. Prior to joining Sky News Arabia, Mohannad worked as a talk show host for MBC in Beirut. He later joined Al Arabiya as a senior news anchor and host of a weekly current affairs program. Following this stint, he served as the anchor for Radar 360, a weekly show that presents international news round ups on Future TV.
Early in his career, Mohannad was an international radio broadcaster at the Voice of America in Washington, DC. He then joined UNICEF as Communications Officer for the MENA region.
Mohannad holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration from Towson University in Maryland. He also has a Master’s in International Affairs from the American University in Washington, DC.
[IsraelTimes] Salah Abdeslam taken for questioning on suspicion of uploading jihadist propaganda from an illicit USB stick to his computer in prison
La Belle France’s anti-terror unit said Saturday three people were in jug as part of an investigation into a suspected terror threat linked to Salah Abdeslam, the last surviving perpetrator of the devastating November 13, 2015, Gay Paree attacks.
On Thursday, La Belle France will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks in Gay Paree and nearby Saint-Denis, paying homage to the 130 people killed and hundreds more maimed.
Abdeslam, who is incarcerated in Vendin-le-Vieil prison in northern La Belle France for his involvement in the attacks, was briefly taken into custody for questioning Tuesday as part of an investigation opened in January 2025 concerning the illicit possession of a USB memory stick in prison.
La Belle France’s anti-terror unit PNAT said Saturday it had "expanded" the investigation to include the offense of terrorist conspiracy aimed at preparing a crime against individuals.
Abdeslam is suspected of concealing illicit items and was again taken into custody on Friday after his initial detention on Tuesday, the prosecutor said.
Another person was taken into custody on Tuesday, the prosecutor added, stating that their detention was "ongoing and has been extended beyond the initial 96 hours, by an additional duration of 24 hours."
Under French law, custody may be extended beyond 96 hours in cases of "serious risk of the imminence of a terrorist action in La Belle France or abroad" or if "the necessities of international cooperation imperatively require it."
Anti-terror officials rarely resort to the measure, which requires a judge’s authorization.
RTL radio reported that the second person detained Tuesday is Abdeslam’s partner, identified by the Le Gay Pareeien newspaper as Maeva B.
The 27-year-old reportedly maintained a long-standing correspondence with the detainee before being allowed to meet him.
PNAT said she was in jug for receiving illicit items for a detainee and for criminal terrorist conspiracy.
"Two other individuals were taken into custody on charges of criminal terrorist conspiracy on Friday," it said, adding that their custody is "ongoing."
A prison union source told AFP on Thursday that "USB stick connections were found" on Abdeslam’s computer, which he was permitted to "attend classes" with as long as usage was "very limited."
The USB stick, which Le Gay Pareeien reported was used to transfer jihadist propaganda to Abdeslam’s computer, "was searched for but not found," the union source said.
The same source outlined a specific monitoring situation for Abdeslam entailing "regular jail cell changes" and systematic searches of his belongings.
La Belle France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor, Olivier Christen, said in an interview with AFP that the jihadist threat "has been increasing" over the past three years.
November 13, 2015, was the worst attack on Gay Paree since World War II.
Jihadist button men and jacket wallahs staged a series of coordinated attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de La Belle France stadium and in bars and restaurants, killing 130 people.
[IsraelTimes] Hospital officials in Gaza say they have received the bodies of 15 Palestinians returned from Israel.
The handover comes in accordance with the ceasefire deal reached last month, in which Israel agreed to exchange the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every slain hostage handed over by terror groups in Gaza.
Last night, Lior Rudaeff’s body was returned to Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
[IsraelTimes] No news yet of planned return, amid reports terror group demanding safe passage for trapped gunmen in return; IDF chief visits Goldin family to update them
A Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... official said on Saturday that the terror group had recovered the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an IDF soldier who was killed and kidnapped by the terror group during the 2014 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... war.
A senior officer in Hamas’s military wing was cited by 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... ’s Al Jazeera as saying that Goldin’s body had been located in an IDF-held area of southern Gaza’s Rafah. The source added that the bodies of six "deaders" — apparently referring to Hamas fighters — were also recovered.
In a video the terror group issued of the recovery, operatives pinned the name "Hadar Goldin" to a body bag dug out from the sands.
The terror group did not immediately announce its intention to return the body, which it has held for 4,117 days, to Israel.
An unnamed security source told the Ynet news outlet that there was a growing assessment in Israel that the body was indeed Goldin’s, but cautioned that further details were still needed. Israel is highly unlikely to make a conclusive assessment as to the identity before receiving the body for forensic testing.
PART OF A WIDER DEAL
A report on Channel 12 news indicated the subject of Goldin’s return could be more complicated than that of other hostages’ bodies, with Hamas tying the matter to Israel allowing 100-200 Hamas Death Eaters holed up in a tunnel under Israel-controlled Rafah safe passage in return — an issue which has been under debate for several days.
The United States has reportedly been pressuring Israel to allow the trapped terror operatives safe passage for Goldin’s return. According to a White House plan reported by Channel 12, after Goldin’s body is returned, the Death Eaters will surrender and hand over their arms, Israel will pardon them, and they will then go into exile or into the Hamas-controlled area of Gaza. The tunnel in which they are hiding will be destroyed, the network added.
Top White House advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may come to Israel this week to close the deal, according to the report. Solving the episode under the terms of the US proposal would serve as a model for Hamas’s peaceful disarmament, an American official told the outlet.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously indicated he had no intention of making a deal regarding the trapped terror button men, with a Monday statement attributed to an "Israeli official" — often a euphemism for Netanyahu’s office — saying the premier "is not allowing safe passage for 200 Hamas terrorists."
The Hamas announcement that it had found Goldin’s body came hours after the Saudi al-Hadath newspaper reported that Hamas operatives and Red Thingy vehicles were heading to the Jenina neighborhood of Rafah to search for the body of one of the five deceased hostages still in Gaza.
Defense officials said earlier this week that Goldin’s body was being held in the area, although the IDF denied having any intelligence indicating that his remains were held with the trapped button men, and the Channel 12 report on Monday said they indeed apparently were not.
GOLDIN WAS KILLED IN A HAMAS BREACH OF 2014 CEASEFIRE
Givati fighter Goldin was killed and kidnapped during the 2014 war in Gaza, also known as Operation Protective Edge.
At 9:05 a.m. on August 1, 2014, just over an hour after the start of a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the war brokered by the UN and the US, Hamas button men emerged from a tunnel in the southeastern part of Rafah and attacked troops of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, killing three soldiers, including Goldin — whose body was dragged by the terror operatives back into their tunnel.
The following day, the IDF announced that Goldin had been killed in combat before his abduction, and he was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
Days earlier, Hamas had killed and kidnapped the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul. Months later, the terror group would go on to capture two mentally unwell Israeli civilians who entered Gaza while in distress in two separate incidents, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
For almost a decade, until the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023, the four men — two slain soldiers and two live civilians — were the sole Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and their plight and their families’ struggle to bring them back often failed to garner significant public attention or government action.
Various indirect talks were held over the years, often with Egypt serving as an intermediary, but they failed to yield any results, as Hamas was reportedly demanding the mass release of Paleostinian security prisoners in exchange for the four men, and Israel was refusing to give in.
Goldin’s parents and his twin brother, Tzur, were at the forefront of the fight to recover the hostages, with Tzur establishing the Goldin Foundation to fight for their return.
After October 7, the foundation became the basis of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the ad hoc organization that represented the families of the 251 hostages seized during the Hamas-led invasion and massacre, and the Goldin family has been active in the forum ever since.
[IsraelTimes] Israel views “with great severity” Hamas’s violation of the ceasefire deal by its delay of the return of the body of IDF officer Hadar Goldin, a diplomatic official says.
“Israel demands his return immediately,” the official says.
Hamas has given no official indication of when the ostensible body of Goldin is to be returned, and Israel has received no indication either. Hamas told Al Jazeera yesterday that it had located the remains of Goldin, whom the terror group killed and abducted amid a ceasefire during the 2014 Gaza war.
[X]
Hamas-linked sources released photos of six deceased Al-Qassam Brigades fighters recovered from a Rafah tunnel, where the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an IDF officer killed and abducted during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, was also found. Handover details remain unconfirmed. pic.twitter.com/6dOcDrY8h8
[Rudaw] Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Monday to meet with United States President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... , marking the first visit by a Syrian leader to the White House since the country gained its independence in 1946.
Analysts believe that Washington is interested in a stable Syria, particularly under a leader who, at least for now, appears willing to engage with the US.
"President Trump met with al-Sharaa in Riyadh at the behest of Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... , the crown prince of 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 so, Trump, I think, wanted to do Mohammed bin Salman a favor... there was the issue of unity of Syria in the heart of the Middle East," Gregory Aftandilian, an expert on Middle East politics and US foreign policy, told Rudaw.
"So, if Syria could be stable under strong leadership, that would presumably help US strategic interests in at least calming that area down. And then obviously he said in Riyadh he was going to lift sanctions. He did lift most US sanctions, but Congress still has to lift some of them that remain. On the other hand, there is concern, especially in Congress, over the treatment of minority rights in Syria," he added.
The rights of minorities - Kurds, Druze, Christians, Alawites - is a concern for many members of Congress. Lawmakers insist that any easing of sanctions or renewed engagement with Syria must be tied to clear guarantees on human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and political freedoms.
If sanctions are to be lifted, "there have to be strict conditions that civil liberties and individual lives be preserved and protected, and that Syria is committed to impact peace and police, particularly with not only its Arab neighbors, but also with Israel," said Senator Richard Blumenthal.
The US on Friday announced it was lifting sanctions on Sharaa and Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab a day after the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Security Council did the same thing.
"These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime," the State Department said in a statement.
"This new Syrian government, led by President al-Sharaa, is working hard to [locate] missing Americans, fulfill its commitments on countering terrorism and narcotics, eliminating any remnants of chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented... , and promoting regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process," it added.
During his historical visit to the White House, Sharaa is expected to join the international coalition against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) while also opening the door to a potential agreement with Israel.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/09/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1759 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
In As-Suwayda, southern Syria, earlier today: Unit 108 of Brigade 164 of the Druze National Guard held a large military parade through the streets of As-Suwayda. According to the Druze, Brigade 164 is a special forces unit.
…giving interviews during the parade, alongside some of the Druze National Guard’s infantry equipment.
Druze media channels are celebrating the formation of the Druze army, calling it the “Bashan Army – the Defense Army of Mount Bashan and the State of Bashan.”
@h3976a
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was seen shooting hoops alongside senior U.S. military figures, among them CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper. pic.twitter.com/2KkLVE04hx
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...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...
