[ABC News] Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, is on his way back to the United States, where he will face criminal charges for allegedly smuggling illegal immigrants. Abrego Garcia’s return comes more than two months after the Trump administration deported him from Maryland to his home country.
His return to the U.S. comes after the Trump administration repeatedly said that they were unable to bring him back despite his mistaken deportation.
Where is the mistake? He was an evil person who should never have been allowed to enter America — or did they mean to keep him here so they could jail him for human trafficking before throwing him out?
"Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country," Bondi said.
Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted of the charges, upon the completion of his sentence he will be deported back to his home country of El Salvador. "The grand jury found that over the past nine years, Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring," Bondi said. "They found this was his full time job. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women. He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country."
In March, Abrego Garcia's family filed a lawsuit over his deportation. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ultimately ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that ruling on April 10. So his return has been facilitated! Who were the Maryland Democrats who flew to El Salvador to rescue their 'constituent'?
[X]
BREAKING: @FoxNews has obtained the DOJ indictment of “Maryland man” Kilmar Abrego Garcia, charging him with 8 USC 1324 (federal human trafficking), alleging he smuggled illegal aliens in the U.S. from 2016-2015 as part of MS-13. It was filed on 5/21 and was just unsealed. pic.twitter.com/pFtlTrKnDj
Jason Cohen 🇺🇸
@JasonJournoDC
🚨NEW:
@ScottJenningsKY
on Kilmar Abrego Garcia:
"I suspect that Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, when he heard that Saint Abrego Garcia was coming back, took a shower, put on his nice suit, got on OpenTable, found out what maybe party of two reservation they could get for tonight — so they could continue the bromance they started when he went back to visit Saint Abrego in El Salvador."
"He was not deported because he was a bad guy. He was deported because he was an illegal immigrant, living in the country illegally for 14 years, who had gone through due process, who had an existing deportation order."
"It so happens that it turns out he may in fact well be a really, really bad person that we would not want in the country. Here are his possible outcomes: Number one, he gets convicted of this stuff and goes to prison for a long time."
"Number two, he gets acquitted and goes back to El Salvador ... Either way, it's what the White House said all along."
"There's no future where 'the Maryland man' goes back to Maryland to live quietly in the suburbs. That is over!"
[Garowe] The defence capability of the Somali National Army (SNA) was significantly enhanced following the delivery of the T129 helicopters in the country by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , which would assist in the fight against al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... holy warriors.
The three modern helicopters were delivered upon the request of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who spoke with his Ottoman Turkish counterpart, His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... , who has traditionally supported Somalia’s independence.
According to multiple security sources who spoke to the Middle East Eye, Turkey delivered the helicopters this week, a few days after the discussion between the two leaders. Simultaneously and in line with the defence cooperation signed last year, Turkey also handed two utility helicopters to the Somali Navy.
Turkey has been training several Somali pilots to operate Atak helicopters for the past year. The shipment of the helicopters was delivered after the pilots completed their final stage of training, the publication notes.
Over the past week, the Open-source data shows six Ottoman Turkish A400M and 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... i C-17A transport aircraft have arrived in Mogadishu. The government of Turkey has yet to comment on the issue.
"The delivery of the Atak helicopters to Somalia is an indication that Ankara is not only aiming to transfer weapons but also to build up an integrated war capacity for Somalia," said one of the sources familiar with the shipment.
Erdogan, who spoke with Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, told the Somali president that Turkey supports Somalia’s development vision through democracy. Hassan Sheikh has been accused of violations of human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... Somalia is set for electoral contests next year, and already, there is internal uproar on the model to be used, with Hassan Sheikh preferring universal suffrage, a move rejected by several stakeholders, who accuse him of pushing for term extensions through delays.
Turkey is seemingly preparing the country by pushing for stability ahead of the polls, with al-Shabaab turbans also being on the resurgence, a move which has raised concerns among international partners.
Al-Shabaab has made significant gains in central Somalia, notably capturing villages south of the capital, Mogadishu, last month. However,
a woman is only as old as she admits... the group made similar advances in previous years, later abandoning its positions due to military pressure from Somali forces.
Turkey has also raised its military presence in Somalia, potentially triggering resistance from the opposition.
Although Ottoman Turkish TB2 Bayraktar drones were already in operation, Ankara has recently transported two Akinci drones to Somalia. These drones, capable of flying at high altitudes for extended periods, are considered more effective against al-Shabaab due to their advanced night vision and 24-hour operational capabilities.
At the same time, the US is scaling down military operations in the Horn of Africa nation, a move that has caused panic in both Mogadishu and Washington. The US wants international partners to contribute equally to the stabilisation project in Somalia.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] PMC Wagner announced the completion of its main mission in Mali. Information about this appeared on June 6 in the Telegram channel "Wagner Unloading".
"We destroyed thousands of militants and their commanders who had been terrorizing the civilian population for years. We helped local patriots create a strong and disciplined army capable of defending their land," the publication says.
It is specified that the PMC operation lasted 3.5 years, its main goal was to return the regional capitals under the control of the legitimate authorities. Now the fighters are returning home.
Since late 2021, Russian instructors have replaced French troops and international peacekeepers in Mali to help local authorities fight militants who have threatened communities in the central and northern regions of the African country for more than a decade.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, from July 22 to 27, 2024, Wagner Group fighters and the Malian military fought fierce battles with militants near the settlement of Tin-Zoutine in the north of the country. The Russians and their Malian allies suffered losses after falling into an ambush set up by Tuareg separatists from the Coordination Movement of Azawad and the jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Sahel (JNIM, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation).
On July 28, the General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces reported that the army was carrying out massive strikes on terrorist and smuggler concentration sites. Five terrorist targets were successfully destroyed by drones, the statement said.
[IsraelTimes] Three Iranian men appeared in court in London earlier today accused of assisting Iran’s foreign intelligence service and plotting violence against journalists working for a British-based broadcaster critical of Tehran.
The three men — Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55 — have been charged with offences under Britain’s National Security Act, brought in to give the authorities new powers to target threats from foreign states.
They are accused of “engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service” between August 2024 and February this year, and police have said that it related to Iran.
Sepahvand is also charged with carrying out surveillance in preparation to commit serious violence against a person, while Manesh and Noori were charged with surveillance with the intention that serious violent acts would be committed by others.
The men appeared by video link for a brief hearing at London’s Old Bailey court during which their lawyers said all intended to plead not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors told a hearing last month that the allegations involved the targeting of journalists based in Britain connected with Iran International, a broadcaster critical of the Iranian government.
They were remanded in custody until a formal plea hearing on September 26 and they are due to go on trial in October next year.
The suspects were arrested last month on the same day counter-terrorism police detained five other men, including four Iranians, as part of a separate operation. Those men were later released without charge.
[FoxNews] USS Cole joins ongoing maritime operations that recently seized $13.6M worth of cocaine
The Navy on Friday announced a third destroyer is being sent to the southern border to aid in the ongoing efforts to patrol the U.S.-Mexico boundary in an effort to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling.
Navy officials said the USS Cole, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, has departed Mayport, Florida, to support southern border operations.
Earlier this year, the USS Spurance deployed from its homeport of San Diego, and the USS Gravely deployed from its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.
Both vessels are currently sailing in waters on either side of Mexico, with a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) team on board. Together, the crews will work closely with the Coast Guard to intercept drug trafficking operations.
The Cole will take over duties from the Gravely and commence similar operations in support of U.S. Northern Command’s (NORTHCOM) border security objectives, the Navy said.
The Gravely entered the Gulf of America on March 15, and since then has received support from P-8 aircraft assigned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, allowing for enhanced and increased identification of illicit activity by the Coast Guard.
"USS Gravely remains at the forefront of maritime operations, ready to take on any challenge," USS Gravely Cmdr. Gregory Piorun said. "We will continue to stand strong, protect vital waters, and ensure that justice prevails. True to our motto, we remain always, ‘First to Conquer.’"
Gravely helped seize an estimated 860 pounds of illegal drugs from a vessel in the Caribbean Sea on May 25. The interdiction by Gravely was conducted by the ship’s Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team alongside a LEDET assigned to the ship.
The VBSS team boarded the vessel and discovered and seized 19 bales of cocaine, with an approximate weight of 860 pounds, estimated to be valued at more than $13.6 million, according to the Navy.
"This operation supports the administration’s focus on integrated homeland defense and maritime border security," Capt. Raymond Jackson, commanding officer of Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, said. "By uniting Coast Guard law enforcement expertise with Navy reach and surveillance, we’re enhancing deterrence, increasing domain awareness and reinforcing our commitment to protecting the homeland."
How very clever of him to notice. Now that he has, what does he intend to do about it?
[DW] Chancellor Friedrich Merz has told US media that migration is a factor behind the rise in antisemitism in Germany.
In an interview with Fox News, Merz was asked what he was doing to combat antisemitism in Germany and he said: "This is, especially for Germany, a terrible challenge that we are faced with such an amount of cases of antisemitism in Germany."
"We are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down," Merz continued. "We are prosecuting those who are against the law. And frankly, we have a sort of imported antisemitism with the big numbers of migrants we have within the last 10 years, and we have to tackle this and we have to resolve this problem."
"I would like to make it very clear, that the German government, and the vast majority of the German parliament, is strictly against antisemitism and against these people and we are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down."
Merz's comments come on the back of data which earlier this week showed the rising numbers in antisemitic incidents in Germany.
In 2024, 8,627 antisemitic incidents occurred — 77% more than in 2023.
The data published by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) showed that of the cases documented, 5,857 were classified as "antisemitism related to Israel."
A total of 544 cases were attributed to right-wing extremist views.
Macron’s next move is a blood libel. Congrats, dood — you’ve joined the fashionably vicious pseudo-intellectuals.
[IsraelTimes] Officials probe French members of hardline Israeli groups that blocked aid trucks; separate investigation opened after IDF strike allegedly kills French woman’s grandchildren
French anti-terror prosecutors have opened two probes into “complicity in genocide” and “incitement to genocide” over French-Israelis suspected of having blocked aid intended for the Gaza Strip and the Israeli Defense Forces’ wartime conduct.
The anti-terror prosecutor’s office said the investigations were opened in the wake of two separate legal complaints and were to investigate possible “complicity in crimes against humanity” between January and May 2024.
Several sources with knowledge of the cases told AFP that they are the first known probes in France to investigate alleged violations of international law in Gaza.
A French court in 2019 convicted [mother] Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a “terrorist” group for giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
One investigation was opened in response to the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim, who jointly filed a complaint in November targeting alleged French members of hardline right-wing groups “Israel is Forever” and “Tzav 9.”
It accused them of “physically” preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the IDF.
They managed to block things briefly, then the Israeli police arrested them and took them away. Passage was stopped for several hours, as I recall, not enough to be noticeable at the receiving end.
In a separate case made public on the same day, the grandmother of two children with French nationality who were allegedly killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint in Paris, accusing Israel of “genocide” and “murder,” her lawyer said.
Two children equals genocide? Call the dictionary police!
The French judiciary has jurisdiction when French citizens are involved in such cases.
Israel vehemently rejects allegations that its ongoing offensive in Gaza, a response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, amounts to genocide.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the first case, Damia Taharraoui and Marion Lafouge, told AFP they were happy a probe had been launched into the events in January 2024 — “a time when no one wanted to hear anything about genocide.”
A source close to the case said prosecutors last month urged the investigation in relation to events at the Nitzana border crossing point between Egypt and Israel, and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza.
Around that time, hardline Israeli protesters — including some friends and relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza — blocked aid trucks from entering Gaza and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom.
A second complaint from a group called the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (CAPJO) accused members of “Israel is Forever” of having blocked aid trucks, using photos, videos and public statements as evidence.
In the separate case, Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of six- and nine-year-old children allegedly killed in an Israeli strike, filed her complaint accusing Israel of “genocide” and “murder” with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said.
Though formally against unnamed parties, the complaint explicitly targets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government and the IDF.
Of course — he’s the perennial favourite.
The complaint states that an Israeli missile strike killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023.
“We believe these children are dead as part of a deliberate, organized policy targeting the whole of Gaza’s population with a possible genocidal intent,” Alimi said.
Because genocidaires warn those on the targe they’re about to hit, pause the war so that children can be vaccinated, and arrange for the besieged populace to be fed…
The children’s brother Omar, now five, was severely wounded but still lives in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z, per the complaint.
A French court in 2019 convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of having funded a “terrorist” group for giving money in Gaza to members of Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
One would think it would raise the question about the jihadi parent deliberately putting her innocent children in danger, but clearly one would be wrong.
[IsraelTimes] A French judge has charged three Serbs with vandalizing Jewish sites with paint last weekend “to serve the interests of a foreign power,” a judicial source says.
A source close to the case says investigators suspect Russia is behind the attacks for which the men were charged on Thursday evening.
Huh? Why Russia, when Iran is known to hire the venal and criminal to attack Jewish and Israeli sites around the world?
They had exchanged messages on Telegram with other individuals not yet apprehended, it added.
France’s Holocaust memorial, three Paris synagogues and a restaurant were vandalised with paint on Friday night last week, in what the Israeli embassy denounced as a “coordinated antisemitic attack.”
The source following the case describes the three suspects, two born in 1995 and one born in 2003, as having completed a task motivated by financial compensation, but without being aware of any geopolitical implications.
They were two brothers and a third person who had lived in France for several years, the source says.
They were arrested on Monday in southeast France as they tried to leave the country.
Russia has previously denied involvement in a number of attacks attributed to it by French officials, including an incident in May 2024 when red hands were tagged on Paris’s main Holocaust memorial.
[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... ’s defense minister said on Wednesday that it has no immediate plans to withdraw its troops stationed in Syrian territory and is currently engaged in training and advising Syria’s army.
The withdrawal can "only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done," Yasar Guler told Rooters.
Turkey sent its army into northern Syria in 2016 to conduct cross-border operations against Kurdish forces, establishing dozens of bases and seizing control of vast stretches of land in the process.
In 2018, Turkey and its allied Syrian militias seized control of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in Rojava. Thousands of Kurds fled, with many settling in the nearby Shahba region. International organizations have recorded widespread violations in Afrin since then, including killings, kidnappings, looting of crops, and extortion of Kurdish farmers.
"We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria’s defense capacity," Guler said.
In December, the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) launched a blistering offensive from their stronghold of Idlib in northwest Syria and marched on Damascus, overthrowing Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... ’s regime. HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa set up a transitional government and appointed himself as interim president.
Ankara has enjoyed strong ties with the interim authorities in Damascus and has promised to help rebuild the war-torn country and assist in the return of millions of Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey during the civil war.
Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... also played a central role in US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria, and was thanked by Sharaa for his efforts in a meeting between the two heads of state in Istanbul late last month.
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[PakExpressTribune] The new designation reflects “true nature and ideology” and “nefarious designs” backed by India, said notification
In a significant development, the federal government has officially designated all terrorist groups operating in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... as ’Fitna al Hindustan’, accusing India of sponsoring a proxy war through these outfits.
Like the Baloch Liberation Army, I imagine.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on Saturday, the move stems from "the involvement of some organizations and groups in terrorist activities in Balochistan, which are detrimental to Islamic faith, the illusory sovereignty of Pakistain, and its customary traditions."
The notification further stated that the new designation is intended to reflect "the true nature and ideology" of these groups and their "nefarious designs" sponsored by India.
"All government entities are directed to start the above practice immediately," the notification said, underscoring a concerted effort to reframe the narrative around bad boy violence in the province.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of escalating indirect aggression after what he described as its defeat in a recent security operation dubbed "Marka-e-Haq".
Accusing India of intensifying a proxy terrorism campaign in Pakistain, particularly in Balochistan, he said, "India, after suffering strategic setbacks, has resorted to indirect aggression". "But Pakistain will thwart all such nefarious designs and stand resolute against Fitna al Hindustan and its proxies."
A day earlier, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had also addressed the ongoing unrest in Balochistan, stating that bad boy groups there were not indigenous but rather acting on behalf of foreign interests.
"These faceless myrmidons are not Baloch. They are agents of disruption sponsored by India," the army chief said, reiterating the armed forces’ stance that separatist violence in the province is externally instigated.
The government’s decision to adopt a new label for Balochistan-based bandidos bad boys mirrors a similar move last year, when the Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistain (TTP) was officially designated "Fitna al-Khawarij".
At that time, the Ministry of Interior said the term "Khariji" was chosen to expose what it described as the TTP’s misrepresentation of Islam.
Trying to force an incident that they can then blame on Israel to justify whatever they do next.
[IsraelTimes] London has so far rejected Israeli requests to prevent a high-profile activist mission sailing under a UK flag from reaching Israeli waters in the coming days, an official in Jerusalem tells The Times of Israel.
“They can act,” says the official, “but they say only will if there is a safety risk.”
The UK asked Israel to ensure the safety of the boat and its crew, says the official, calling the mission “the selfie flotilla.”
The Madleen, which was organized by the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Freedom Flotilla Coalition, is expected in Israeli waters in the coming days.
Among the 12 activists on the ship are Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, Irish “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian European Parliament member.
[Rudaw] Mosul, the capital of Iraq’s northern Nineveh province and once the declared capital of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) so-called caliphate, marked a major milestone in reconstruction efforts on Thursday as an aircraft successfully completed the first test landing at Mosul International Airport in over a decade.
Nineveh Governor Abdulqadir al-Dakhil, who was on board the test flight, described the moment as “historic” and “long awaited by the people of the province.”
Speaking to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), Dakhil underlined that “the preparations for the inauguration of Mosul International Airport have been complete.”
In comments to INA, Dakhil confirmed that “preparations for the inauguration of Mosul International Airport have been completed,” adding that the facility’s navigational systems have been fully modernized. “A cargo section has been added, and the runway has been extended and equipped with advanced night lighting systems,” he noted.
“The airport will officially open soon.”
Originally established in 1920, Mosul International Airport spans approximately 1,600 dunams. Its recent reconstruction began in August 2022, when then-Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi laid the cornerstone of the project.
The total cost of the rehabilitation project is estimated at 200 billion Iraqi dinars (approximately $142.8 million), with half of the funding drawn from previously frozen provincial funds dating back to the war with ISIS.
Speaking to Rudaw, Ahmed Dubardani, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, confirmed that following Thursday’s test flight, the airport will begin “experimental operations” on June 10.
“Once fully operational, the airport is expected to become a major international gateway and to handle up to 550,000 passengers annually,” according to Al-Dobardani.
Mosul fell to ISIS in June 2014 during the group’s rapid territorial expansion across Iraq and Syria. The city became the epicenter of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate, with the airport among the many critical infrastructures rendered inoperable.
During its occupation, ISIS enforced a brutal and extremist interpretation of Sharia law, committing widespread human rights abuses, targeting religious and ethnic minorities, and destroying historical and cultural landmarks.
A large-scale operation to retake Mosul was launched in October 2016, led by Iraqi forces with vital support from the US-led Global Coalition. Kurdish Peshmerga forces also played a crucial role in the battle, securing key eastern and northern fronts, clearing surrounding areas, and severing ISIS supply lines into the city.
Mosul International Airport was recaptured in February 2017, and the city was officially declared liberated in July of that year.
[IsraelTimes] The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former US officials, a move that would involve the US more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos.
The sources and former US officials, all of whom request anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, say that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the US State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some US officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources say.
The State Department and GHF do not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official say the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source says that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The two sources say that some US officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources say.
#1
What, is Israel broke or something?
Why do we have to pay?
This is THEIR war!
Has nothing to do with us!
Oh, fucking USAID, say no more.
In other words, the free river of money from the sweat of our brow that gets used to fund operations that harm us.
I don’t know if this matters, but it seem the kind of thing you lot would like to know:
[IsraelTimes] A Chicago-based private equity firm — controlled by a member of the family that founded American publishing company Rand McNally — has an “economic interest” in the logistics company involved in a controversial new aid distribution operation in Gaza.
McNally Capital, founded in 2008 by Ward McNally, helped “support the establishment” of Safe Reach Solutions, a McNally Capital spokesperson tells Reuters. SRS is a for-profit company established in Wyoming in November, state incorporation records show.
It is in the spotlight for its involvement with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which last week started distributing aid in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. The foundation paused work on Wednesday after a series of deadly shootings near the distribution sites of people on their way to pick up aid. It has suffered from the departure of senior personnel.
“McNally Capital has provided administrative advice to SRS and worked in collaboration with multiple parties to enable SRS to carry out its mission,” the spokesperson says. “While McNally Capital has an economic interest in SRS, the firm does not actively manage SRS or have a day-to-day operating role.”
SRS is run by a former CIA official named Phil Reilly, but its ownership has not previously been disclosed. Reuters has not been able to establish who funds the newly created foundation.
The spokesperson doesn’t provide details of the scale of the investment in SRS by McNally Capital, which says it has $380 million under management.
McNally Capital founder Ward McNally is the great great great grandson of the co-founder of Rand McNally. The McNally family sold the publishing company in 1997.
A spokesperson for SRS confirms it works with the foundation, also known as GHF, but doesn’t answer specific questions about ownership.
GHF, which resumed aid distribution on Thursday, doesn’t respond to a request for comment.
SRS subcontracts with US private security firm UG Solutions, which provides armed US military veterans to guard the distribution sites and transportation of the aid, two sources familiar with the operations say. UG Solutions doesn’t respond to a request for comment.
The SRS spokesperson says in a statement that under Reilly’s leadership, “SRS brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts in security, supply chain management, and humanitarian affairs.”
McNally Capital has investments in defense contracting companies. Among the firms it acquired was Orbis Operations, a firm that specializes in hiring former CIA officers. Orbis doesn’t return calls for comment. Reilly used to work for Orbis.
[IsraelTimes] A Palestinian man testifies that he was allegedly used by IDF soldiers as a human shield for three months during operations in northern Gaza.
Jamil Al-Masri, 63, speaks with the fringe far-left Uncaptured Media online news outlet.
Masri says he was “starved, humiliated and abused,” and forced to search tunnels and homes under the orders of troops, beginning in October 2024, Uncaptured Media reports.
The military has not responded to the report or images circulating on social media last month showing Masri with troops.
The IDF said in March that it had launched investigations into at least six cases where troops operating in the Gaza Strip allegedly used Palestinians as human shields. It said that such conduct is prohibited, and that this has been made clear to troops.
#5
He most likely was a snitch and doesn't want Hamas to cut his throat. As for the human shield aspect, were I an IDF soldier, I would not be opposed to the use.
[Rudaw] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... unveiled a €175 million (around $190 million) aid package to support the recovery of Syria under its new interim government, following the recent suspension of key sanctions by the United States and European countries.
In a Wednesday statement on X, Dubravka Suica, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, said, "After lifting economic sanctions, we are proposing a €175 million recovery package to help rebuild the [Syrian] economy, create jobs, support institutions, promote accountability and human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... "This is a pivotal moment - a new chapter in EU-Syria relations for the benefit of all Syrian people," Suica underlined.
According to an EU statement released on Wednesday, the funding is expected to support public institutions with international expertise, including members of the Syrian diaspora.
It will also finance community-driven projects in energy, education, health, and agriculture, as well as economic revitalization, job creation, support for vulnerable communities, and promoting justice and human rights efforts, the statement added. and then there's that food thing.
In May, the EU officially decided to lift its economic sanctions on Syria. At the time, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, remarked, "We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria."
The decision followed a March pledge of $2.7 billion in aid for Syria by the EU. Germany and the United Kingdom also committed $327 million and $200 million respectively in humanitarian relief. In the previous weeks, the EU had suspended sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport, and banking sectors to ease reconstruction and facilitate humanitarian transactions.
In parallel, the US Treasury in May issued Syria General License (GL) 25, effectively lifting all sanctions to "enable new investment and private sector activity" in the country. The move came shortly after US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... announced his decision to lift sanctions to allow Syria a "fresh start."
Following a swift offensive in early December, a coalition of opposition groups, led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) under Ahmed al-Sharaa, toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... . In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president.
Since taking office, the new leadership in Damascus has prioritized the removal of international sanctions. However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... Western governments have repeatedly warned that sanctions could be reinstated if the interim government fails to make tangible progress towards inclusive governance and the protection of Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/07/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[46 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
#1
A portion will go to terrorism, a portion will go to Syrian government officials (a distinction without a difference) and a portion will go to the EU version of Lindsey Graham.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/07/2025 10:35 Comments ||
Top||
[NAHARNET] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that his visit to Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... was not only aimed at signing his new book but was also part of Iran's policy of ''enhancing ties with the new Lebanese government.''
In an interview with al-Manar television, Araghchi added that his talks in Lebanon were ''fruitful and resulted in an agreement for expanding commercial and economic cooperation and increasing political coordination in a manner that respects the illusory sovereignty of the two countries and the principle of noninterference in domestic affairs.''
He also stressed his country's ''full support for Lebanon's independence and illusory sovereignty,'' calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of parts of south Lebanon.
As for the controversial issue of Hezbollah's weapons, Araghchi emphasized that ''this file is a purely Lebanese affair that must be discussed nationally between the Lebanese government and the various political and popular components.''
''The decision regarding this topic is to be taken by the resistance (Hezbollah) in coordination with the Lebanese forces,'' the Iranian minister added.
Moreover, Araghchi denied the presence of any link between the Iranian nuclear file and the issue of Hezbollah's arms, underscoring that ''the nuclear negotiations with the United States are exclusively limited to the peaceful Iranian nuclear activities.''
Posted by: Fred ||
06/07/2025 00:00 ||
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[24 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[IsraelTimes] The Lebanese Armed Forces condemns the Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs last night, which the IDF said targeted Hezbollah drone facilities.
It notes in a statement that after the IDF announced the imminent strikes, the LAF contacted the ceasefire monitoring committee in an attempt to prevent the strike from going ahead, but “the enemy refused to respond to the committee.”
It says that Lebanese Army patrols were dispatched to inspect the buildings ahead of the strikes as part of the attempt to prevent them from going ahead.
The strikes were “an attempt to undermine the revival of our homeland,” it asserts.
[IsraelTimes] The US has issued a new round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 10 individuals and 27 entities, including at least two companies it said were linked to Iran’s national tanker company, the US Treasury Department said on Friday.
The sanctions, which target Iranian nationals and some entities in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, were announced as US President Donald Trump’s administration is working to get a new nuclear deal with Tehran.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Ace Petrochem FZE, and Moderate General Trading LLC, both registered in the UAE, to its Specially Designated Nationals List, freezing any of their US assets. OFAC said they are both linked to the state-owned National Iranian Tanker Company, which is under US sanctions for exporting oil.
Talks between Iran and the US that aim to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions have been stuck over disagreements about uranium enrichment.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/07/2025 00:00 ||
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[20 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...Arabic for 
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
