[GEO.TV] Afghanistan's economic recovery is buckling as nine in 10 households are forced to skip meals, sell belongings or take on debt to survive, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... said on Wednesday, warning that mass returns are exacerbating the country's worst crisis since the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... returned to power.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report said nearly one in 10 overseas Afghans has been forced back home, with more than 4.5 million returnees since 2023, mainly from 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... and Pakistain, swelling the population by 10%.
On top of that, earthquakes, floods and drought have destroyed 8,000 homes and strained public services "beyond their limits."
QUAKES, FLOODS, AND HUNGER
A survey of more than 48,000 households found that more than half of Afghanistan's returnees have skipped medical care to buy food, and 45% rely on open springs or unprotected wells for water.
Nearly 90% of returning Afghan families are in debt, owing $373 to $900, up to five times the average monthly income of $100 and nearly half of the annual per-capita gross domestic product, the UNDP said.
In areas with high numbers of returnees, one teacher serves 70 to 100 students, 30% of children work, and joblessness among returnees reaches 95%. The average monthly income is 6,623 Afghanis ($99.76), while rents have tripled.
The UNDP warned that without urgent support to strengthen livelihoods and services in high-return areas, overlapping crises of poverty, exclusion, and migration will deepen.
It said sustaining aid is critical as donor pledges have plunged since 2021, covering only a fraction of the $3.1 billion that the UN sought for Afghanistan this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2025 00:00 ||
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[X] Golly. All that, and they didn’t even have to leave their base.
Tribesmen from Yemen’s Bani Matar have declared full mobilization, driving vehicles over U.S. and Israeli flags while chanting “Death to America, death to Israel, victory to Islam.” pic.twitter.com/eNyNqu5QKn
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Yemen has been rocked by a spy scandal: Ansar Allah (Houthi) security forces have uncovered a large spy network operating in the country for the past several years, operating in the interests of three intelligence agencies—the CIA (US), Mossad (Israel), and the General Intelligence Service (Saudi Arabia).
And while the involvement of Americans and Israelis in the Houthis' "spy games" in Yemen didn't come as much of a surprise, the inclusion of the Saudis on this list was a real scandal—albeit one that unfolded mostly behind the scenes.
A WELL-ESTABLISHED SYSTEM
The spy network, controlled by three countries, was created before the global pandemic but remained dormant until 2024. It was only after the Houthis began seriously threatening US and Saudi Arabian interests in the region by imposing a naval and air blockade on Israel that it was finally activated.
It's worth noting that the network was built in a manner quite atypical for the Middle East: its scale and security far exceeded those of other previously identified spy organizations.
Its first (lowest) level was represented by a group of small cells (2-3 people) consisting of local loyalists and informants. Typically, these were defectors from the North (territories controlled by pro-Saudi forces) who had proven their loyalty to Ansar Allah in combat or in civilian service.
At the second level, there were “field operatives” operating, who were subordinate to the Saudi intelligence services and, under various guise, were deployed to Yemen during the active phase of the civil war.
Third, high-ranking Saudi intelligence officers who carried out operational control of the structure and sometimes met with agents in neighboring countries.
At the highest—the fourth—level were managers from the Israeli and American intelligence services, who ensured overall coordination of the intelligence network's activities and compiled data for reports to higher-ups in Washington and Tel Aviv. They, however, never left Riyadh and communicated with their subordinates exclusively through trusted contacts.
The system that was built, despite its complexity, ensured flexibility in decision-making and allowed ordinary agents to work for three countries at once, without realizing the true goals of their work.
And it's worth noting that there were plenty of "operational assignments": loyalists monitored military command posts, identified the locations of military camps and weapons depots, and compiled dossiers on influential security officials and their inner circle.
Some of the data received by the operations center was later used in strikes on Yemen during Operations Black Flag and Long Arm.
FALSE FLAGS
However, the work of the "spy trio" was not limited to the usual surveillance of enemy functionaries and the mapping of military installations.
A far more important task was to discredit Ansar Allah in the eyes of the international community, to present them as an organization hostile to the entire world, and to achieve its recognition as a terrorist organization at the UN level.
The latter would make it possible to introduce comprehensive sanctions against the movement and minimize international support for its activities.
It must be said that the spy network was adept at playing on the emotions of the "Yemeni street." And the friendships of some of the detained agents with field commanders also helped quickly mobilize security forces, disguising their influence campaigns as Houthi activity. This allowed some orchestrated actions to be presented as Sana'a's initiative.
For example, in August 2025, Ansar Allah supporters stormed several UN buildings in the territories they controlled and arrested a large group of UN employees, accusing them of spying for the United States and Israel.
The arrests took place a couple of days after a high-profile Israeli airstrike on the Yemeni capital, which killed several high-ranking officials of the alternative government.
By the time Sana'a figured out that the trail was false, the international uproar had reached such proportions that Yemeni diplomats were forced to apologize earnestly (albeit behind the scenes) to the UN Secretary-General and the leaders of several superpowers—just to avoid being blacklisted.
It is noteworthy that the "trio" agents managed to pull off the same trick again - in October 2025, when the Houthi intelligence services again arrested UN employees, 15 of whom were foreign citizens, on charges of "aiding the enemy."
True, the second time the Houthis, having learned from their previous experience, limited themselves to routine checks and quickly released most of those detained.
There have also been attempts to blame Ansar Allah for attacks on neutral ships.
Specifically, on October 18, 2025, after the ceasefire in Gaza had already taken effect, unknown forces attacked the MV Falcon tanker, which was carrying liquefied petroleum gas, in the Gulf of Aden. As a result of the attack, the vessel caught fire and began drifting. Immediately afterwards, footage of missile launchers deployed on the shore, which allegedly hit the vessel, flooded the internet.
However, a few days later it became clear that the Houthis had not carried out any operations in the area and, moreover, did not even have any prepared infrastructure there, which was confirmed by satellite images that later appeared.
The disaster on board the MV Falcon was caused by a technical failure in the engine room.
The news of the shore-based shelling was eventually deemed fake. However, who exactly deployed and then just as quickly hid the dummy launchers remains a mystery.
OPERATION RETRIBUTION
However, despite the high level of skill of the spies they planted, they stumbled over a small thing – an attempt in early September to win over the personal barber of the Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Moreover, it was not an ordinary agent who was sent to the conversation, but a seasoned operative who served in Saudi intelligence.
The latter introduced himself as an activist of the semi-virtual pro-Iranian group "Islamic Resistance in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques," allegedly operating in Saudi Arabia, and attempted to gain their trust under the pretext of strengthening contacts. However, he hadn't bothered to thoroughly check his interlocutor's background beforehand.
The hairdresser, who turned out to be a counterintelligence officer, quickly reported the conversation to the appropriate authorities, and surveillance was placed on the active underground worker.
Less than two months later, security forces already had dossiers on a significant portion of the conspirators. And here, too, chance played a role.
Even though the cells in Yemen operated autonomously, they were somehow connected through five "managers," some of whom were spotted at the meeting with the Saudi. And through them, other suspicious individuals were identified. All that remained was to make the arrests.
In early November, Ansar Allah security forces finally made a counterattack, carrying out an operation codenamed "And Their Plot Will Fail."
Raids and arrests took place simultaneously in all provinces under government control. Several people were arrested directly on the line of contact, causing considerable surprise among rank-and-file soldiers.
As a result of the operation, Houthi counterintelligence captured up to fifty agents and informants working for foreign countries. Among them was at least one woman, known as Huda Ali.
According to investigators, she ensured the infiltration of agents into "women's gatherings"—informal clubs for the wives of high-ranking Ansar Allah officials, where operatives, acting primarily in Israel's interests, collected information on the daily habits and pain points of potential targets.
Furthermore, the Houthis managed to seize several advanced spy devices assembled in Saudi Arabia and Israel. This allowed them to identify several more security breaches—at customs and in several civilian agencies, where a series of arrests of senior and mid-level officials recently occurred.
However, the Houthis failed to apprehend the "resident" who orchestrated the unified network. Sensing trouble, "Mr. X" managed to escape from Sana'a to Taiz province in southwest Yemen and relocate to central government positions.
An attempt to apprehend the fugitive resulted in a brief firefight, during which both sides suffered casualties. It's highly likely that the mysterious mastermind behind the entire spy network, having covered his tracks in territory controlled by the Saudi protégé, moved to Riyadh, closer to the mastermind behind the hit.
CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SAUDIS
The spy scandal in Yemen will most likely have serious consequences for the House of Saud, both strategic and image-related.
The fact is that since 2022, when the active phase of fighting in Yemen ceased, a kind of gentleman's agreement was reached between Ansar Allah and Riyadh: the Houthis agreed to cease shelling Saudi oil and gas facilities and reduce pressure on the frontlines in Yemen in exchange for a complete freeze on Saudi operations against them. This included, of course, intelligence operations.
Now that information about Riyadh's involvement in espionage has come to light, the Houthis have a number of grievances against their royal neighbors. The most obvious concerns the violation of informal agreements.
The Houthis no longer consider themselves bound by these obligations and may resume attacks on Saudi infrastructure in the near future. This is evidenced, among other things, by the accelerated redeployment of local troops closer to the border.
However, the Houthis are much more active in pushing the narrative of Riyadh's betrayal of Palestinian interests. Saudi intelligence has effectively leased its assets to the CIA and Mossad, allowing the latter to reduce the effectiveness of anti-Israel campaigns and strengthen their pressure on the Gaza Strip. If Ansar Allah succeeds in promoting this narrative, the Saudis' image as "defenders of Palestine" will be irreparably damaged.
Riyadh recognizes these risks and is trying to mitigate them, including through generous promises to the Houthi leaders. Signals to this effect are being sent to Sana'a via neutral countries—Oman and Qatar.
It appears that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will try to negotiate with Donald Trump some kind of security guarantees for the Ansar Allah leadership in exchange for them turning a blind eye to the Saudis' involvement in the conspiracy.
However, whether Trump will agree to this is a big question.
[IsraelTimes] Al-Haq group sought to challenge exemption from partial arms embargo, which court said was for government to decide; Dutch court threw out similar case this month
A Paleostinian NGO was on Wednesday refused permission to appeal a court ruling that Britannia lawfully allowed F-35 fighter jet parts to be indirectly exported to Israel, despite accepting they might be used to breach international humanitarian law.
Al-Haq unsuccessfully challenged Britannia’s Department for Business and Trade over its decision last year to exempt F-35 components when it suspended export licenses for arms that could be used in the war 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.
The group last month asked the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge a lower court ruling that found Britannia’s decision was lawful and dismissed al-Haq’s challenge.
The Court of Appeal refused permission, ruling that it was a matter for the government to decide whether national security issues relating to the supply of F-35 components outweighed an assessment that Israel was not committed to complying with international humanitarian law, a charge Israel denies.
When it suspended export licenses in 2024, Britannia assessed that Israel was not committed to complying with such law in its military campaign, which was launched after the Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... terror group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
But Britannia did not suspend licenses for British-made F-35 components, which go into a pool of spare parts Israel can use on its existing F-35 jets.
London’s High Court rejected the challenge in June, saying in its ruling that then-business minister Jonathan Reynolds was "faced with the blunt choice of accepting the F-35 carve-out or withdrawing from the F-35 program and accepting all the defense and diplomatic consequences which would ensue."
The Court of Appeal heard al-Haq’s application for permission to appeal as Israel and Hamas signed a hostage release-ceasefire agreement last month.
In a similar case earlier this month, a Dutch appeals court confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by activist groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Israel has acted against al-Haq in the past, designating it a terrorist organization over its alleged links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP), a terror group.
[ABCnews] "Green Hell" revived as Trump shifts the military’s focus to Latin America.
For the first time in more than two decades, the Pentagon has begun sending conventional ground forces to Panama to train in the jungle there, returning U.S. soldiers and Marines to a three-week course once called the "Green Hell" because of its similarities to Vietnam.
The training program at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, formerly known as Fort Sherman, is relatively small in scope but is expected to ramp up over the next year, according to one defense official.
The program began earlier this year and is not intended to prepare troops for a potential mission, including inside Venezuela, the official said. Nahhhh, but a message is being sent
Still, the military's interest in jungle warfare in Latin America is noteworthy given Trump's heightened focus there. Since taking office, Trump has vowed to "take back" the Panama Canal and repeatedly threatened to attack Venezuela because of its alleged role in transiting illegal narcotics.
"If you can train and fight in one of the most difficult and challenging locations in the world, you build a really lethal, effective force," the defense official said of the rationale behind the new training program.
Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at The Atlantic Council, said the new training course wouldn't likely play a role in potential operations inside Venezuela. The training effort appears to be more about building Panama's capacity to handle security threats in the region.
But the move signals a shift in priorities by the Trump administration, he said.
"It's an expansion of an existing military relationship, but it's not happening in a vacuum," Plitsas said. "It's happening as a broader change in policy. There's a renewed interest in South America, where the president sees the drug flow to the United States as a national security issue with the intention of potential military action."
Jungle training hasn't been a priority for the military since 9/11, when the nation's focus shifted to counterterrorism operations in the Middle East. The Defense Department in recent years has relied on a smaller Army jungle training center in Hawaii and at a Marine Corps site in Okinawa, Japan.
During the Vietnam War, however, Fort Sherman was considered a prime location where most troops could hone their jungle survival skills before shipping off to war.
Conditions at the Panamanian training site are considered among the harshest in the world, including venomous snakes and several layers of thick, towering vegetation that can make it difficult to operate communications and night-vision equipment or evacuate wounded personnel.
By 1999, the training site shuttered and the last of the U.S. military departed Panama as part of an agreement ceding U.S. control of the Panama Canal.
Shortly after taking office, though, Trump expressed renewed interest in the region, declaring the U.S. would be "reclaiming" the Panama Canal. That effort has since been couched by Pentagon officials as a renewed "partnership" with Panama to prevent Chinese influence over the canal, which the U.S. relies on heavily for shipping.
Trump also has overseen an unprecedented buildup of U.S. troops to the region, deploying 10,000 troops and, more recently, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier. The public display of force appears to be a kind of pressure campaign aimed at forcing out Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
By August, the military had set up the "Combined Jungle Operations Training Course" with Marines and Panamanian forces training as part of a pilot program. A military spokesperson said there have since been 46 graduates of the three-week course: 18 Marines, one Army soldier and 27 personnel from Panama's National Aeronaval Service, National Border Service and National Police.
According to the Defense official, the Army plans to ramp up training over the next year, eventually sending in platoons of some 40 soldiers at a time to train.
Steve Ganyard, a retired Marine Corps colonel and ABC contributor, said the renewed interest in Panama is likely a practical one, but it also can be used to send a message.
"From a practical perspective, it's easier to get to Panama than Okinawa. And the jungles of Central and South America have their own unique challenges," he said. "That said, no doubt a message is being sent to Maduro by conducting combat training in his neighborhood."
[IsraelTimes] Comments by Lin Chia-Lung praising Israel and denigrating Palestinian policy are latest sign of warming relations between Taipei and Jerusalem.
[IsraelTimes] A Danish court puts two Swedes on trial on terrorism charges for having thrown two hand grenades at the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen last year.
The two men, aged 18 and 21, have also been charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder.
“My client pleads not guilty to the charge of terrorism,” Jakob Buch-Jepsen, the lawyer for the 18-year-old, tells the court. The defendant pleads guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault.
“He admits to throwing two grenades… but he did not throw them at the embassy,” Buch-Jepsen says, while his client, dressed in a white T-shirt, looks on.
According to Swedish media, the young man was recruited by Swedish criminal network Foxtrot while he was in high school.
Ah. Another government of Iran proxy. Got it.
The same teenager is also being prosecuted in Sweden for a shooting at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on October 1, 2024.
The second defendant, wearing a black puffer jacket, pleads not guilty to all charges.
Two explosions were reported near the Israeli embassy in the area of Hellerup in Copenhagen in the middle of the night on October 2, 2024.
According to prosecutors, the men had transported five hand grenades to the area near the embassy.
They then threw two of the hand grenades in the direction of the embassy, but they hit a nearby residential building and exploded.
Police identified the DNA of the 18-year-old man on one of the grenades, which was found in a garden, says prosecutor Soren Harbo.
The two men were arrested at Copenhagen’s train station as they prepared to travel to Amsterdam.
A six-day trial has been scheduled, with the days spread out and it is expected to end on February 3.
The embassy attack came hours after the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, in neighboring Sweden, had been hit by shots.
A trial for that incident has still not taken place.
In May 2024, Swedish intelligence services claimed that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to carry out attacks against Israeli institutions, which Tehran has denied.
IIRC, Foxtrot is a narcotic criminal organization of a particular ethnicity. "Iranian backed" is as close to pointing out what kind of ethnicity as Big Media gets.
This is really about second hand information circulating through the American intelligence community during the Biden-Harris Politburo period, possibly created, like that video the former Israeli attorney spliced together purporting to show prison guards torturing Palestinian prisoners — and shared with American intelligence agents.
[IsraelTimes] Report by Reuters says Israelis discussed soldiers sending Palestinians into tunnels potentially lined with explosives; IDF says practice is prohibited, it is investigating
The US gathered intelligence last year of Israeli officials discussing how their soldiers had sent Paleostinians into 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... tunnels they believed were potentially lined with explosives, two former US officials familiar with the matter told Rooters.
The information was shared with the White House and analyzed by the intelligence community in the final weeks of former US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. I'm not working for you. Don't be such a horse's ass.... ’s administration, the officials said.
International law prohibits the use of civilians as shields during military activity. Israel has long accused Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... of using human shields as a strategy by operating in plainclothes from heavily populated areas and buildings such as schools, mosques, and hospitals. Media reports have indicated that the terror group has used civilians as human shields, though Hamas has denied those accusations.
The officials, who spoke to Rooters on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national security information, did not provide details on whether the Paleostinians referenced in the intelligence were prisoners or civilians.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said it "prohibits the use of civilians as human shields or coercing them in any way to participate in military operations." The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating "suspicions involving Paleostinians in military missions," the statement said.
The Israeli government did not answer questions about whether it discussed the intelligence with the US. Rooters could not determine whether the Biden administration discussed the intelligence with the Israeli government.
Former Biden White House officials did not respond to requests for comment. The CIA did not respond to a request for comment.
Officials inside the Biden administration had long raised concerns about news reports that indicated Israeli soldiers were using Paleostinians to potentially protect themselves in Gaza. Washington’s collection of its own evidence on the subject has not been previously reported.
The US intelligence gathered in the final months of 2024 raised questions inside the White House and the intelligence community about how widely the tactic was being used and whether IDF soldiers were acting on guidance issued by military leaders, the US officials said.
The intelligence about the IDF’s use of civilians as human shields was one of several pieces that circulated inside the government during the Biden administration’s late stages. It came as the intelligence community was increasingly analyzing new streams of information that revealed internal Israeli deliberations about its military conduct in Gaza.
Some former US officials said the broad set of intelligence received late in the Biden administration described only individual incidents in Gaza and did not represent overarching Israeli practice or policy.
Rooters reported last week that around that time, the Biden administration had also gathered intelligence that Israeli lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
The Israeli government did not respond to requests for comment about that story. A ceasefire has been in effect in the territory since October 10.
The former US officials said the new intelligence from inside Israel raised serious concern among brass hats who believed the information supported allegations from some inside the US government that Israel was committing war crimes.
If Israel were found guilty of war crimes, the US could be held liable for providing weapons to the IDF. It would also likely force the US to stop sharing intelligence with Israel.
Lawyers from across several US agencies determined in the final weeks of the Biden administration, however, that the evidence did not show that Israel had committed war crimes and that the US could continue supporting Israel with weapons and intelligence.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli ambassador rejects allegations as ‘disinformation’; committee acknowledges ‘very disturbing’ accusations against Hamas which it ‘will take up…with the state of Palestine’
Israel was questioned at the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... on Tuesday and Wednesday over multiple reports alleging the torture of Paleostinian detainees, in particular since the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... invasion of October 7, 2023.
Israel, which strongly rejected the claims, was undergoing its periodic review before the UN Committee against Torture.
"The committee has been deeply appalled by the description we have received, in a large number of alternative reports, of what appears to be systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of Paleostinians, including children," the body’s rapporteur Peter Vedel Kessing said.
"It is claimed that torture has become a deliberate and widespread tool of state policy... from arrest to interrogation to imprisonment."
The Committee against Torture comprises 10 independent experts who monitor the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by member countries.
Citing reports before the committee, Kessing said that since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , torture and ill-treatment has escalated, reaching "unprecedented levels" and carried out with impunity.
Those reports, he said, came from various UN bodies, Israeli, Paleostinian and international non-governmental organizations, and other sources.
"Many of those detained and subsequently released have reportedly been subject to torture and other ill-treatment," said Kessing.
"Severe beatings, including on the genitals; electric shocks; being forced to remain in stress positions in prolonged periods; deliberate inhuman conditions and starvation; waterboarding; and widespread sexual insults and threats of rape," he said, giving examples.
In July 2024, the UN human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... office published a report stating that Paleostinians detained by Israel during the Gaza war have largely been held in secret and in some cases subjected to treatment that may amount to torture.
The Hamas terror group has been accused of torturing hostages and hiding them from international monitors.
’DISINFORMATION’
Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, rejected the allegations, branding them "disinformation," particularly, he said, on the part of the UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry, and La Belle Francesca Albanese, the UN’s independent special rapporteur on Paleostinian rights who has a history of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric.
Meron said Israel was "committed to upholding its obligations in line with our moral values and principles, even in the face of the challenges posed by a terrorist organization."
Kessing said "the fact that one of the parties to the armed conflict violates and disregards obligations under these rules cannot be used as an excuse for the other party" to do likewise.
He told the Israeli delegation that the committee was aware of allegations of acts of torture and war crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
"This is, of course, very disturbing and something we will take up...with the state of Paleostine" in a future session.
Big of them, though I note that someday is not very definite..
The committee’s 83rd session, running from November 10 to 28, is conducting periodic reviews of Albania, Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... , Bahrain and Israel’s efforts to implement the convention’s provisions.
The committee is set to publish its findings on Israel on November 28.
[Rudaw] Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Wednesday released 99.74 percent of the results for Iraq's parliamentary elections, confirming a significant lead for the coalition led by sitting Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, followed by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The preliminary count for the 329-seat Council of Representatives secured the first position for the Sudani-led Reconstruction and Development Coalition, earning more than 1.3 million votes.
Despite the strong performance by Prime Minister Sudani's coalition, he is now to begin politicking to bring together the 165 politicians needed to form the largest bloc - a prerequisite to nominate Iraq’s next premier. Of note, Sudani has not shied down from expressing his keenness to secure another term in office. The named prime minister will be tasked with forming Iraq’s next cabinet.
Soon after the results announcement, Sudani took to X to announce that his coalition is "first" because "we believe that ’Iraq comes first.’"
He added, "We extend our deep gratitude to the Iraqi people for their support in the path of work, construction, and achievement."
TOP WINNERS
The KDP, led by President Masoud Barzani, has come in second, securing over one million votes.
"I would like to convey my warm congratulations to members, supporters, and the leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on this big victory that we achieved," KDP Deputy President Nechirvan Barzani said in a video message. "Together, we surpassed the one-million vote challenge."
Barzani went on to say: "This adds a huge force to the KDP, and a huge force to Kurdistan. God willing, with your support, we will make the KDP bigger, and make Kurdistan stronger."
The Takaddum Front, led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, a prominent Sunni politician and former speaker of the federal parliament (2018-2023), secured the third position with over 945,000 votes.
The State of Law Coalition, spearheaded by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki (2006-2014), came in fourth place, earning more than 727,000 of votes.
The Sadiqoon Bloc, an affiliate of the Qais al-Khazali-led Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq gang, earned the fifth spot, with over 685,000 votes.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - the second largest political party in the Kurdistan Region - followed in sixth position, earning over 516,000 votes, followed closely by the Hadi al-Ameri-led Badr Organization with over 512,000 votes.
The National State Forces Alliance - led by Ammar al-Hakim, a prominent Shiite holy man and head of al-Hikmah Movement, and former prime minister Haider al-Abadi (2014-2018) - secured the eighth-highest total of votes, garnering over 492,000 votes.
The Azm Alliance, led by prominent Sunni politician Muthanna al-Samarrai, secured the ninth position with over 483,000 votes, followed by the Sovereignty Alliance led by prominent Sunni businessman and politician Khamis al-Khanjar who garnered a notable 292,000 votes.
The overall voter turnout was confirmed by the IHEC to be 56.11 percent of eligible voters, a notable increase from the previous 2021 election when the turnout stood at around 12 points less.
[IsraelNationalNews] Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett harshly criticized the possibility of transferring security control in Gaza to international forces, especially to countries such as Qatar and Turkey.
In his statement, Bennett warned, "Transferring security control in Gaza to multinational forces-some of which are hostile, like Turkey, endangers Israel’s security."
Stressing that the move poses both political and military risks, he added, "Handing over control of our destiny to Hamas-sponsoring Qatar and to [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is Oslo on steroids."
In his statement, Bennett also emphasized the key lesson from the October 7 massacre, adding: "If there’s one takeaway burned into us from the October 7 failure, it’s that we cannot afford to fall asleep and hope for the best. The IDF must always have the freedom to act - to ’mow the grass,’ to address threats while they’re still small, before they turn into terror monsters like we’ve experienced in the south and the north."
He also criticized current political and military decision-making: "How did we get to a point where our soldiers must coordinate the movement of Israeli forces with the American command center in Kiryat Gat? Israel is not a protectorate."
Concluding his statement Bennett wrote, "I demand the immediate publication of all commitments and concessions being made behind the backs of Israeli citizens. What is the declared or hidden motive of the Israeli government in agreeing to surrender our security and freedom of action? The citizens of Israel deserve full transparency regarding their safety."
[IsraelTimes] US secretary of state hails Herzog and IDF for condemning latest spate of settler violence, in rare comments from an American official on unchecked attacks against Palestinians
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... on Wednesday said "there’s some concern" about events in the West Bank undermining efforts to maintain the ceasefire in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , in his first remarks on the latest spate of settler violence.
"Certainly there’s some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza," Rubio told news hounds before clarifying that he hopes the violence doesn’t undermine the ceasefire and does not expect it too either.
Rubio hailed the condemnations that were issued by President Isaac Herzog and senior commanders in the IDF against the settler violence, a day after dozens of Israelis launched a large-scale arson attack on Paleostinians in the West Bank, targeting factories and farmland between the major cities of Nablus and Tulkarem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of his coalition have been mum on the phenomenon, as critics accuse the government of tacitly backing the attacks, which have been taking place on a near-daily basis.
Though he avoided an outright condemnation, Rubio’s comments marked a rare instance in which US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... ’s administration weighed in on the issue of settler violence.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order ending the sanctions regime established a year earlier by then-president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant.... against turban settler individuals and entities.
Attacks have continued unabated since, including repeated raids of several Christian villages. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who is an ordained pastor, paid a visit to one of those towns in July and called for those targeting the village to be brought to justice, but no indictments have been filed to date.
Prosecution of such crimes by Israel is highly rare. The commander of the police’s West Bank division is under investigation for ignoring settler violence in order to curry favor in the eyes of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police. The commander was still allowed to return to the police force, as the probe into his conduct continues.
Only four suspects were arrested for the Tuesday attack, three of whom were freed by Wednesday.
The IDF and police have traded blame over Israel’s inability to rein in the phenomenon, while some security officials were quoted as privately faulting the government, whose far-right members have ties to the perpetrators.
The Trump administration has also sought to limit international attention on the matter.
A G7 statement issued on Wednesday sufficed with member states ministers pledging to "continue to maintain attention on the situation in the West Bank."
Last year, when a similar statement was crafted while Biden was still in office, it said, "We express our concern for the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank. All parties must refrain from unilateral actions and from divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... statements that may undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israel’s expansion of settlements, legalization of settlement outposts and any annexation of the West Bank."
Just as Rubio wrapped up his comments, reports came in of another settler attack, this time targeting the West Bank village of Sinjil north of Ramallah, where the perpetrators were said to open fire at the village’s civilian guard.
A young man was struck in the foot by the live fire, though, his injuries were characterized as minor, Paleostinian Authority’s official Wafa news site and Al Jazeera reported.
"This crime is part of an escalating spate of attacks by settlers who are supported by the occupation army," the Sinjil Municipality said in a statement.
AS SETTLER ATTACKS RISE, POLICE ENFORCEMENT HAS PLUMMETED, DATA SHOWS
The number of police investigations into Jewish nationalist violence in the West Bank has sharply declined over the past three years, even as settler attacks on Paleostinians have reached all-time highs, according to a Channel 12 news report.
Under far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. there has been a 73% decline in the number of investigations opened since 2023, according to the outlet. Police have opened only 60 investigations into settler violence this year, compared to 150 cases in 2024 and 235 cases in 2023, despite reports of attacks going up over that period.
The report said just 10% of investigations led to indictments in 2023, a figure even lower the next year, though the network did not specify the exact percentage and simply noted that the majority of probes have stalled or were closed with no charges filed.
Ben Gvir, who resides in a West Bank settlement, worked as a lawyer who often represented far-right Jewish Israelis accused of turban violence before entering politics, after having himself been convicted on incitement and terrorism charges several times.
The decline in the number of investigations goes hand-in-hand with a marked rise in settler violence, with over 704 incidents of "nationalistic crime" recorded by the IDF since the start of the year. In all of 2024, the IDF recorded 675 incidents of nationalistic crime.
[IsraelTimes] The White House flatly denies a report that the US is planning to establish a large military base in Israel near the Gaza border for use by international forces that would operate inside the Strip to maintain the ceasefire there.
“This article was based on a single piece of paper — an inquiry that somebody in the Department of Navy made about an idea that may happen in the future, and this reporter deemed that as an official plan,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says in response to a question about yesterday’s Ynet report.
“I checked with the highest levels of the United States federal government. This is not something the United States is interested in being engaged in,” she continues. “Sometimes we see reporters take a piece of paper like this and just deem it as official policy, and sometimes that misleads people a little bit.”
[IsraelTimes] Civilian reconstruction teams stumbled upon several loaded assault rifles and walkie-talkies in a kindergarten in Be’eri, remnants of the Hamas-led invasion of the kibbutz two years ago, police announce.
The workers reported their discovery to police this morning.
Police say the equipment consists of loaded Kalashnikov rifles and handheld radios that were used by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Southern District police sappers arrived at the scene and neutralized the weapons, police add.
[GEO.TV] President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said a joint French-Palestinian committee would be created to work towards drawing up a Palestinian constitution.
"We decided together to establish a joint committee for the consolidation of the state of Palestine," Macron said after a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, adding that it would "contribute to drawing up a new constitution, a draft of which president Abbas presented to me".
Abbas said he agreed "to the swift establishment of the constitutional committee".
[GEO.TV] Israel reopened the Zikim crossing in northern 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... to allow humanitarian aid trucks into the enclave, COGAT, the Israeli military's arm that oversees aid flows, said.
The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said that the crossing was shut on September 12 and no aid groups have been able to import supplies since. Israel's military has not responded to a request for comment on its reasons for the closure.
Some humanitarian aid was allowed into northern Gaza through the south, but more was needed as the northern Gaza City and surrounding areas were officially suffering from famine, a global hunger monitor had said a month earlier.
A COGAT statement said the crossing opened "in accordance with a directive of the political echelon."
"The aid will be transferred by the UN and international organizations following thorough security inspections by the Land Crossings Authority of the Ministry of Defence," it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2025 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, writes in a lengthy social media post following Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s White House visit that the next steps after the meeting include a new stage in relations between Israel, Turkey and Syria.
Barrack writes that among the topics discussed at a meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani were “redefining Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations, and advancing the alignment that underpins the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as well as various Lebanese border issues.”
He also calls on the US Congress to lift sanctions on Syria.
Barrack, who has reserved harsh criticism for Lebanon in the past, has pushed Middle Eastern countries to join the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel. Israeli-Turkish ties are likewise at something of a nadir after collapsing during the Gaza war.
After his meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump at the White House, the first ever by a Syrian leader, Sharaa threw cold water on the prospect of Syria normalizing ties with Israel.
[IsraelTimes] The US sanctions individuals and entities in several countries related to their support of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone production, in the latest attempt to pressure Tehran.
A total of 32 individuals and entities based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, India, Germany and Ukraine that operate multiple procurement networks are being targeted in Wednesday’s designations, the Treasury Department says in a statement.
“These networks pose a threat to US and allied personnel in the Middle East and to commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” the department says in a statement.
[GEO.TV] The Israeli military accused Lebanese gang Hezbollah of seeking to rebuild its combat abilities in south Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... to the point of threatening Israel's security and undoing last year's ceasefire deal.
"We are committed to the agreement but it must be held. We will not return to the reality of October 7 (2023) with a threat of thousands of snuffies on our border within walking distance of our civilians...," says Military front man Nadav Shoshani.
Hezbollah denies it is rebuilding its military capabilities in south Lebanon, saying it is committed to the 2024 ceasefire.
However,
you can observe a lot just by watching... Hezbollah has rejected calls to disarm in full.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/13/2025 00:00 ||
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#1
what's new?
Posted by: chris ||
11/13/2025 0:32 Comments ||
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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.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call 
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
