[SudanTribune] A military source confirmed to the Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese government has frozen the establishment of a Russian base on the Red Sea for the time being, asserting that recent reports regarding the base’s construction are inaccurate.
Recent reports, most notably by the Wall Street Journal, stated that the Sudanese government presented a 25-year plan to Russian officials in October. The report alleged that in exchange for granting Moscow the right to station troops and warships in Port Sudan, the Sudanese military would receive advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems and other weaponry to support its war against the Rapid Support Forces.
The military source, who spoke to the Sudan Tribune on condition of anonymity, said that procedures regarding the proposal are currently frozen and that neither side has moved them forward this year.
He stated that current developments in Sudan and the priorities of the “Battle of Dignity” necessitate the prioritization of files.
At the same time, he emphasized the continuation of cooperation with Russia, describing it as a strategic matter for Sudan.
He added that the government is committed to all its past and current pledges, including the delivery of humanitarian aid without obstruction or exception.
Khartoum and Moscow signed an agreement at the end of 2020 to establish a material-technical support point for the Russian naval fleet in Sudan. The agreement stipulated that the number of personnel at the base would not exceed 300, including military and civilian staff, and that it would not host more than four ships simultaneously, including nuclear-powered vessels.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
12/08/2025 00:00 ||
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A high-level delegation of United States politicians and diplomats on Sunday visited Nigeria for a security-focused fact-finding mission, amid growing concerns in Washington over alleged large-scale persecution and killings of Christians across the country.
A U.S. politician, Riley Moore, who is among the delegates, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), "I came to Nigeria in the name of the Lord and on behalf of the American people.
"Just ending a very productive visit to Nigeria and rounds of meetings. More details to come. Happy Sunday. God is Great!"
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, also announced the visit in a series of posts on X, stating that he hosted the U.S. Congressional delegation in Abuja following earlier engagements in Washington, D.C., centred on joint security priorities.
"This morning, I received a U.S. Congressional delegation on a fact-finding mission to Nigeria, following our earlier engagements in Washington, D.C., on shared security priorities," Ribadu wrote.
He added, "The delegation included Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Rep. Norma Torres >...Nasty-mouthed Dem machine congresswoman from Guatamala, by way of Califonia, of all places. Famous, though probably only briefly, for calling her Republican collegues sex-starved males on the floor of the House...> , Rep. Scott Franklin, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, and Rep. Riley M. Moore.
"U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Richard Mills, also attended, reflecting the importance both nations attach to this engagement."
Ribadu said discussions focused on counter-terrorism cooperation, regional stability, and efforts to strengthen the Nigeria—U.S. strategic security partnership.
"I’m optimistic this engagement will deepen trust, collaboration, and shared commitment to peace and security," he added.
The visit comes as the U.S. Congress intensifies scrutiny of worsening insecurity in Nigeria, particularly attacks on Christian communities in the North and other parts of the country.
Over the past months, several American politicians, including members of the House Appropriations Committee and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), have publicly accused the Nigerian government of failing to stop what they describe as a "genocidal campaign" by bully boy groups and armed militias.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the U.S. House Appropriations Committee warned that Nigeria was "rapidly becoming one of the most dangerous places on Earth to follow Christ," vowing to push for stronger diplomatic action and conditioning of security assistance.
Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Intersociety, and Open Doors have also documented mass killings, abductions, and village burnings carried out by gangs, with thousands of civilians killed annually.
While the Nigerian government rejects the genocide characterization, insisting that the violence is driven by banditry, terrorism, and resource conflict rather than religion, the President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... administration recently designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), as pressure continues to mount internationally.
The presence of multiple U.S. Representatives, including Republican and Democratic politicians, signals bipartisanship in Washington’s concerns.
Rep. Riley Moore, one of the visiting members, has been particularly vocal about religious persecution in Nigeria, urging U.S. officials to reassess military aid and expand oversight of how American security assistance is used.
[KhaamaPress] Local media say about 100 schoolchildren kidnapped in Niger state last month have been released, following weeks of uncertainty and no official confirmation.
Likely a ransom was paid, though it’s not much talked about…
Local media in Nigeria have reported that around 100 schoolchildren kidnapped last month in Niger state have been released, weeks after what was described as one of the country’s worst mass kidnappings.
The Christian Association of Nigeria earlier said 303 students and 12 staff members from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in the village of Paikoro were taken by gunnies on November 21. About 50 children managed to escape on the first day, but there had been no confirmed information on the remaining hostages since then.
The jihadis kidnapped about half the total student body that day: boys for child soldiers, girls for wives to worthy turbans, and the excess of both to be sold on the world market. The courage it takes to be Christian in that part of the world…
Officials said some of the kidnapped children were as young as six. The reported release has not yet been formally confirmed by state or federal authorities.
Daniel Atori, spokesperson for the Christian Association, said: "We have not received any official notice. We hope the reports are true and continue to wait for updates on the remaining students."
The attack has renewed concern over persistent insecurity in Nigeria, where gangs continue to target schools for ransom. The abduction has drawn comparisons to the Chibok school kidnappings nearly a decade ago, prompting calls for stronger protection of educational institutions and clearer communication from authorities.
Sahara Reporters reports that the federal government arranged the release, but adds no further details, including no mention of who did the dirty deed. Update from the Times of Israel at 5:00 p.m. ET, which has a photo of some of the students:
Around 100 schoolchildren who had been kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria last month are handed over to state officials, a day after authorities secured their release.
The children — many wearing football jerseys — were driven into the Niger State Government House in white buses escorted by a dozen military vans and armoured vehicles.
[HUMANGLEMEDIA] Billions of dollars in gold are being smuggled out of distressed parts of Africa, as record demand drives production and lax regulatory frameworks encourage cross-border illicit trades.
Nasiru Adamu has a toxic relationship with terrorists operating in Zamfara, a state in northwestern Nigeria. In exchange for protection, he shovels the earth to dig up pieces of gold and gives the terrorists their share. Proud like a peacock, Adamu thinks his shady deal with the criminals terrorising his community brings him peace and gives him some prestige among his associates.
“I know most of the gangs and have a relationship with them,” he brags. “Although they have significant control over us and demand more from us than we prefer, we’ve learned to live with them.”
Adamu is just one of many young men colluding with terrorists, in desperate search for gold. The relationship is symbiotic, and it is a straightforward trade, he says. “We give them some fraction of the gold we dig, and they give us protection against their fellow criminals, who often come from elsewhere.”
While on the mining site in the Miyanchi area of the state, the terrorists would emerge dressed in military camouflage, with their faces shrouded in masks. “They often greet us as we work and ask for cigarettes and Indian hemp to smoke,” Adamu continues. They got so comfortable around each other that the terrorists began to open up about their criminal exploits. They shared accounts of attacks they coordinated with the miners, sometimes showing them bruises from their encounters with security agents and local vigilantes. More at the link
[HiUMANGLEMEDIA] In northeastern Nigeria, communities have noticed a dramatic rise in the number of Boko Haram/ISWAP defectors returning to their homes without completing formal rehabilitation programmes. This has sparked worries about security and safety.
The journey of a typical Boko Haram/ISWAP member often begins with recruitment, which may be voluntary or coerced.
Once enlisted, the individuals serve either as fighters or in non-combatant roles. Life in the forest encampments where these groups operate varies, shifting between periods of relative stability to episodes of intense chaos. Over time, many eventually leave the group due to unfavourable conditions or a change in personal conviction. Those who surrender typically go through the Operation Safe Corridor programme, a code name for Nigeria’s official rehabilitation process for terrorists who surrender. Over 50,000 people have reportedly surrendered to Nigerian authorities through it.
Abubakar Adam’s story, unlike many others, is different. He voluntarily joined Boko Haram in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, in 2014, a period when the group was at the height of violent operations seeking to establish what it believed to be an Islamic State.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
12/08/2025 00:00 ||
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Every word a lie, including and and the. The senior West Midlands police officers have no honour, and the force reflects their masters.
[IsraelTimes] Senior West Midlands officer sends apology letter to Birmingham community after incorrectly assuring lawmakers that local Jews were consulted and backed banning Israeli fans
The UK’s West Midlands Police has admitted it wrongly told members of parliament that the Birmingham Jewish community had been consulted and supported the banning of fans of Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a match in the city, London’s Sunday Times newspaper reported.
The testifying assistant chief constable sent an apology letter to the Jewish community, saying he did not intend to give politicians the impression that its members backed the ban.
The controversial ban led to a follow-up parliamentary committee meeting last week, where police were challenged over alleged discrepancies in key information on a past Maccabi game in Europe, and admitted that a risk assessment included another game that was fictitious.
"Please can I apologise and make very clear that it was not my intention to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who had explicitly expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans," West Midlands assistant chief constable Mike O’Hara reportedly wrote in the letter.
He also said he would tell MPs about the situation.
The Aston Villa soccer club announced in October that no Maccabi fans would be allowed at the November match following a police assessment that classified the event as "high risk" and suggested banning Israeli fans from the stadium.
The decision to ban Israeli fans from the game sparked criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who set about trying to reverse the move, though Maccabi Tel Aviv later announced it would decline tickets for its fans anyway, citing safety concerns.
Last week, a home affairs select committee grilled Chief Constable Craig Guildford and O’Hara about the ban.
MPs asked O’Hara about the "community impact assessment," which determined the risk of Maccabi fans to groups in Birmingham. He said the report was compiled "to capture the views of the local population and local interest groups, both Jewish and Moslem."
Asked if Jewish representatives said they did not want Maccabi fans in the city, O’Hara answered "yes."
Committee chair Karen Bradley asked to clarify "if there were Jewish community representatives who said that they did not want the Maccabi fans there?"
O’Hara replied that "a range of faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities" were concerned, and when asked again if that included Jews, he reportedly said "Yes" and noted it was in the risk assessment.
However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... Jewish community sources told The Sunday Times that there was no real consultation and that the only formal meeting with representatives was held after police had already decided to ban the Maccabi fans.
"I am aware that there is some consternation within the local Jewish community about what I presented on Monday," O’Hara wrote in his letter.
"Having re-watched the footage, I am sorry if my response has created confusion by suggesting members of the Jewish community had expressed support for the ban. From my perspective, that is not the case, and I will ensure this is clearly articulated when I respond to the further written questions we are anticipating," he reportedly said.
A police front man told the newspaper: "We recognize that this has been a difficult time for our local Jewish community; we therefore have and continue to actively engage."
The front man said the force was anticipating subsequent contact with MPs and "we will ensure this is clearly articulated as it has been with representatives of the Jewish community."
"This is another way in which we now know that the evidence given by the police to the committee was incorrect and serious questions about the accuracy of the West Midlands police intelligence police report and about the intent that lay behind it remain unanswered," Nick Timothy, an opposition Conservative MP, told The Sunday Times.
The police risk assessment also cited "violent mostly peacefulfestivities and hate crime offenses" by Israeli fans during a Europa League match in Amsterdam between Maccabi and local team Ajax last November.
However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... Dutch law enforcement sources said in response that the examples used by British police to justify the ban were false.
At the time of the incident, Dutch and Israeli officials said that Maccabi fans were deliberately targeted by roving gangs of Moslems, calling the incident an antisemitic "pogrom."
Guilford also conceded to MPs that police presented fictitious information about a 2023 match between Maccabi and West Ham, which the report said was the Israeli club’s "last appearance on UK soil to date."
However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... no such match was played, and Maccabi has never faced off against the East London club.
And Guildford and O’Hara admitted in the committee that they had met with Independent MP Ayoub Khan, an outspoken anti-Israel figure, while authoring the report that suggested banning Israeli fans from the November match.
The admission appeared to contradict their earlier claims that there was "no political pressure" to ban Maccabi supporters, as Khan had previously contacted Aston Villa to voice his strong opposition to allowing Israeli fans at the event, arguing that they were a security risk.
The match was played on November 6 without Maccabi fans in attendance, with the Premier League side defeating the Israeli squad 2-0.
More than 700 police were deployed across Birmingham as some 200 pro-Paleostinian and a few dozen pro-Israel protesters held separate demonstrations outside Villa Park stadium in the run-up to kickoff.
[IsraelTimes] German air freight carrier Lufthansa Cargo says it has suspended the transport of military and security-related goods and equipment to and from Israel until further notice.
“Lufthansa Cargo fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations,” a Lufthansa Cargo company spokesman says in an emailed statement. “Due to the UK Export Control Order and relevant sanctions, the transport of military equipment and components to and from Tel Aviv is currently not possible for Lufthansa Cargo, independent of the routing.”
“We are working on a solution to enable respective shipments,” the company spokesman says.
The move comes as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Israel on Saturday. Last week, Israel handed over its Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system to the German Air Force in a ceremony at an airbase south of Berlin, completing a 4 billion euro ($4.6 billion) sale, the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF and Shin Bet identify three Hamas members who are said to be involved in smuggling money to the terror group from Turkey, under the directives of Iran.
According to the military and Shin Bet, Hamas operates a network of money changers made up of Gazans residing in Turkey, “exploiting the country’s financial infrastructure for terror purposes.”
“The Gazan money changers work in full cooperation with the Iranian regime and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars directly to the Hamas terror organization and its leadership,” says the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, in a post on X.
He says that the money changers “run extensive economic activity in the heart of Turkey, including receiving Iranian funds, storing them, and transferring them to Hamas.”
Adraee names three Palestinians from Gaza who are part of the network based in Turkey: Tamer Hassan, a senior official in Hamas’s finance ministry, who works directly under political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya, and money changers Khalil Farauna and Farid Abu Dayr.
“The Hamas terror organization, with support and encouragement from the Iranian regime, after having caused the destruction of the Gaza Strip, continues to pursue terror schemes against the State of Israel and attempts to rebuild its capabilities, including outside the territory of the Strip,” Adraee says.
#خاص 🔴 جيش الدفاع وجهاز الشاباك يكشفان الستار عن شبكة صرافة سرّية تديرها حماس في قلب تركيا بتوجيه إيراني
⭕️يكشف جيش الدفاع وجهاز الشاباك وثائق تابعة لمنظمة حماس الإرهابية تبين أن قيام حماس - وبقيادة إيران - بإدارة شبكة من صرّافي الأموال مكوّنة من غزيّين يقيمون في قلب تركيا،… pic.twitter.com/2YsObe8XxV
Translated from Arabic by
#خاص 🔴 The IDF and Shin Bet uncover a secret money exchange network run by Hamas in the heart of Turkey under Iranian direction
⭕️ The IDF and the Shin Bet reveal documents belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization showing that Hamas - under the direction of Iran - operates a network of money changers made up of Gazans residing in the heart of Turkey, exploiting the country's financial infrastructure for terrorist purposes.
⭕️ Gazan money changers operate in full cooperation with the Iranian regime, transferring hundreds of millions of dollars directly to the Hamas terrorist organization and its leaders. These money changers conduct extensive economic activity in the heart of Turkey, which includes receiving, storing, and transferring Iranian funds to Hamas.
⭕️ We reveal documents belonging to the network, in which a small part of the money transfer operations is documented, with amounts reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
⭕️ The identities of three individuals, of Gazan origin, working as money changers within the network under Iranian direction in the heart of Turkey, are now being revealed:
🔴 Tamer Hassan - a senior official in Hamas's Ministry of Finance, based in Turkey, who works directly under Khalil al-Hayya.
🔴 Khalil Farawneh and Farid Abu Dayir - money changers working within the Hamas network.
⭕️ The terrorist group Hamas - with the support and encouragement of the Iranian regime - and after causing the destruction of the Gaza Strip, is persisting in its efforts to advance terrorist plots against the State of Israel and attempting to rebuild its capabilities, also outside the territory of the Strip.
⭕️ The IDF and the Shin Bet warn against establishing any relations or dealings with this money exchange network and with all other economic arms of the Hamas terrorist organization.
[IsraelTimes] The United Nations appeals for an aid budget only half the size of what it had hoped for this year, acknowledging a plunge in donor funding at a time when humanitarian needs have never been greater.
By its own admission, the $23 billion UN appeal will shut out tens of millions of people in urgent need of help as falling support has forced it to prioritize only the most desperate.
The funding cuts come on top of other challenges for aid agencies that include security risks to staff in conflict zones and lack of access.
“It’s the cuts ultimately that are forcing us into these tough, tough, brutal choices that we’re having to make,” UN aid chief Tom Fletcher tells reporters.
“We are overstretched, underfunded, and under attack,” he says. “And we drive the ambulance towards the fire. On your behalf. But we are also now being asked to put the fire out. And there is not enough water in the tank. And we’re being shot at.”
A year ago, the UN sought some $47 billion for 2025 – a figure that was later pared back as the scale of aid cuts by US President Donald Trump as well as other top Western donors such as Germany began to emerge.
November figures showed it had received only $12 billion so far, the lowest in 10 years, covering just over a quarter of needs.
Next year’s $23 billion plan identifies 87 million people deemed as priority cases whose lives are on the line. Yet it says around a quarter of a billion need urgent assistance, and that it will aim to help 135 million of them at a cost of $33 billion – if it has the means.
The biggest single appeal of $4 billion is for Palestinians. Most of that is for Gaza, devastated by the two-year Israel-Hamas conflict, which has left a majority of its 2.3 million inhabitants displaced and dependent on aid.
Second is Sudan, followed by Syria.
Fletcher says humanitarian groups faced a bleak scenario of growing hunger, spreading disease and record violence.
“[The appeal] is laser-focused on saving lives where the shocks hit hardest: wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics, crop failures,” he says.
UN humanitarian agencies are overwhelmingly reliant on voluntary donations by Western donors, with the United States by far the top historical donor.
UN data showed it continued to hold the number one spot in 2025 despite Trump’s cuts but that its share had shrunk from over a third of the total to 15.6% this year.
[IsraelTimes] Manal Radwan says Palestinian Authority is already working on reforms, but Israeli government opposes two-state solution, incites against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.
Obnoxious, not diplomatic at all. But they just can’t restrain themselves about those uppity Jews who refuse to submit… and can enforce their refusal. Even though thr Saudis desperately need Israel as well as America to protect them from Iran, because even with all the fancy weapons they lack both the training and numbers to protect themselves. All the details at the link, for those interested.
More obnoxiouties (yes, I know it isn’t a real word, but it ought to be):
It’s their money. They can choose not to throw it away rebuilding what Hamas will only ensure will be destroyed yet again.
[IsraelTimes] In onstage interview with Tucker Carlson, Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani claims some people are putting in ‘a lot of effort to sabotage the relationship between Qatar and the United States’
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/08/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
[IsraelTimes] Official in hostage negotiations says she spent 2 weeks at beginning of war trying to locate pregnant captive who never was
Faulty indications early in the war that a Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... -held hostage was pregnant and had given birth in captivity were "impossible to ignore" at the time, an Israel Defense Forces intelligence official involved in hostage negotiations said Sunday.
Speaking to Kan public radio, the unnamed colonel on Israel’s hostage negotiating team — who goes by the alias "K" — said that she had spent weeks focused solely on the worrying case, which turned out to have been an unfounded rumor.
"As a woman and a human being, it was very difficult to even imagine this situation," she said. "We received a few indications that it happened, and they were indications that were impossible to ignore. Thankfully, when we jump to the end of the incident it becomes clear that this never happened."
K said that the case was "the only thing I focused on" for two entire weeks. "My goal was to understand who she was, where she was located and what immediate solution we could provide for the situation," she said.
In November 2023, Israeli officials cleared for publication that one of the hostages kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught had likely given birth in captivity.
Rumors soon began to swirl around the hostage’s identity as the IDF and Defense Ministry remained silent on the matter. The woman was presumed by officials to have been in her ninth month of pregnancy, though they lacked any concrete evidence.
At one point Channel 13 claimed the purportedly pregnant hostage was Nutthawaree Munkan, a Thai foreign worker who was freed as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas in November 2023.
After several outlets contacted foreign workers’ organizations, the freed hostage’s relatives, and Thai officials regarding the matter, the rumor was thoroughly debunked. Sunday’s interview marked the first time an IDF official has spoken publicly about the affair.
"After we used all the means at our disposal, both intelligence-gathering and consultations with experts from all relevant fields... we managed to reach a point where we were able to rule out this story," said K.
With just one deceased hostage now remaining 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... following the return of slain Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, the intelligence official told the outlet that she has been "imagining this moment since October 7."
"The processes were very challenging, full of difficulties, full of moments where we really thought that maybe we wouldn’t succeed. That didn’t make us stop. But I also had concerns about other big things that fortunately did not happen," she said.
[IsraelTimes] During a visit to the Gaza Strip today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the Yellow Line, demarcating where the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the ceasefire, is “a new border line.”
“We will not allow Hamas to reestablish itself. We control large parts of the Gaza Strip and stand along [strategic] lines. The Yellow Line is a new border line, a forward defensive line for the communities and an offensive line,” he says during a tour of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, according to remarks provided by the IDF.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that Israel would soon enter phase two of the ceasefire deal, once the last hostage’s body is returned. In phase two, the IDF is supposed to gradually withdraw from its current lines if and when Hamas begins disarming.
Zamir also highlighted that Israel was waiting for the return of the final deceased hostage.
“The vast majority of our hostages have returned, but our mission will not be complete until the final fallen hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, is brought back,” Zamir says.
The IDF chief tells forces that the military “must not be complacent; we must prepare across all arenas and maintain readiness and vigilance alongside adherence to operational norms.”
“The IDF is preparing for the scenario of a surprise war; this is one of the cornerstones of the upcoming multi-year plan,” Zamir adds.
[IsraelTimes] Bassem Naim says Hamas hopes to ‘avoid any further clashes,’ but that Trump’s peace plan, which mandates the group’s disarmament, needs ‘a lot of clarifications’
Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... is ready to discuss "freezing or storing" its arsenal of weapons as part of its ceasefire with Israel, a bigwig in the terror group said Sunday, offering a possible formula to resolve one of the thorniest issues in the US-brokered truce 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... Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s decision-making political bureau, spoke as the sides prepare to move into the second and more complicated phase of US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s 20-point plan for the enclave.
"We are open to have a comprehensive approach in order to avoid further escalations or in order to avoid any further festivities or explosions," Naim told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... ’s capital, Doha, where much of the group’s leadership is located.
The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, followed two years of war in Gaza triggered by the Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were murdered and 251 kidnapped. Asked whether that attack was a mistake, Naim called it an "act of defense." Hamas leaders have vowed to carry out further October 7 onslaughts in pursuit of the terror group’s avowed goal of destroying Israel.
The ceasefire agreement required Hamas to return all living and deceased hostages it was holding, in exchange for Paleostinian security prisoners. With the remains of only one hostage still held in Gaza — Israeli policeman Ran Gvili, who was killed in the October 7 attack — the sides are preparing to enter the second phase of the US-backed plan.
The new phase aims to lay out a future for war-battered Gaza and promises to be even more difficult — including steps such as the deployment of a multinational security force, the formation of a technocratic Paleostinian governing committee in Gaza, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the disarmament of Hamas. An international board, led by US President Donald Trump, is to oversee the implementation of the deal and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Israel has demanded Hamas’s disarmament, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to accomplish "the hard way" if the terror group refuses to give up its weapons. Naim said Hamas retains its "right to resist," but claimed that the group is ready to lay down its arms as part of a process aimed at leading to the establishment of a Paleostinian state.
Naim gave few details on how this might work, but suggested a long-term truce of five or 10 years for discussions to take place.
"This time has to be used seriously and in a comprehensive way," he said, adding that Hamas is "very open-minded" about what to do with its weapons.
"We can talk about freezing or storing or laying down, with the Paleostinian guarantees, not to use it at all during this ceasefire time or truce," he said.
It is not clear whether the offer would meet Israel’s demands for full disarmament.
The elements of the second phase are included in the 20-point plan presented by Trump, with international "guarantor" nations, in October. The plan, later adopted by the UN Security Council, offered a general way forward. But it was vague on details or timelines and will require painstaking negotiations involving the US and the guarantors, which include Qatar, Egypt and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... "The plan is in need of a lot of clarifications," Naim said.
One of the most immediate issues is deployment of the so-called International Stabilization Force. Several countries, including Indonesia, have expressed a willingness to contribute troops to the force, but its exact makeup, command structure and responsibilities have not been defined. US officials say they expect "boots on the ground" early next year.
One key question is whether the force will take on the issue of disarmament.
Naim said this would be unacceptable to Hamas, and that the group expects the force to monitor the agreement.
"We are welcoming a UN force to be near the borders, supervising the ceasefire agreement, reporting about violations, preventing any kind of escalations," he said. "But we don’t accept that these forces have any kind of mandates authorizing them to do or to be implemented inside the Paleostinian territories."
In one sign of progress, Naim said Hamas and the rival Paleostinian Authority are moving forward on the formation of the new technocratic committee set to run Gaza’s daily affairs. He said they have agreed upon a Paleostinian cabinet minister who lives in the West Bank, but is originally from Gaza, to head the committee. He did not give the official’s name, but Hamas officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... to discuss the negotiations, have identified him as Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated violations of the deal during the first phase. Israel has accused Hamas of dragging out the hostage returns, while Paleostinian health officials claim that more than 370 Paleostinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire took effect.
Israel says its strikes have been in response to Paleostinian violations of the truce, including the movement of operatives into the Israeli-held half of Gaza. Three IDF soldiers have been killed in festivities with Hamas button men that Israeli and Egyptian officials say were holed up underground in Israeli-held territory.
Naim said Hamas was "not aware" of these button men when the ceasefire was signed, and that communications with them were "totally cut."
"Therefore, they are not aware about what’s going on now on the ground," he said.
He claimed that Israel has rejected Hamas’s offers to resolve the standoff and added numerous "conditions" to the operatives’ surrender. Israel has not acknowledged the negotiations and says it has killed several dozen of the operatives in multiple festivities over the past two months.
Naim said Hamas is committed to "fulfilling its obligations" and claimed that Israel has fallen short of key pledges, including by not flooding Gaza with humanitarian supplies and failing to reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Most of the supplies entering Gaza, he said, are goods for private merchants to sell to the few people in Gaza with money, leaving masses of poor people struggling without food or shelter.
Last week, Israel said it was ready to reopen Rafah, but only for people to leave the Strip. Egypt and the Paleostinians fear this is part of a plot to expel Gaza’s Paleostinians and said that Israel is obligated to open the crossing in both directions.
Naim acknowledged the Paleostinians have paid a heavy price for the October 7 attack, but when asked if the group regrets carrying it out, he insisted it came in response to years of Israeli policies going back to Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.
"History didn’t start on October 7," he said. "October 7 for us, it was an act of defense. We have done our duty to raise... the voice of our people."
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledges disagreements with Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, dismissing the idea of a state “committed to our destruction at our doorstep.”
“We have a different point of view, obviously, because the purpose of a Palestinian state is to destroy the one and only Jewish state,” Netanyahu says alongside Merz at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“They already had a state in Gaza, a de facto state, and it was used to try to destroy a one and only Jewish state. We believe there’s a path to advance a broader peace with the Arab states, and a path also to establish a workable peace with our Palestinian neighbors, but we’re not going to create a state that will be committed to our destruction at our doorstep,” he says.
Netanyahu insists Israel will maintain security between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. He says that annexation of the West Bank remains a subject of discussion, with the status quo expected to remain for the foreseeable future.
[IsraelTimes] Netanyahu says he’ll give multinational force a chance, and in the end, disarmament ‘will be done,’ also claims Israel is ‘stronger than ever’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced skepticism about the notion that a multinational force meant to patrol 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... could successfully disarm Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , though he vowed disarmament would occur while touting Israel’s strength.
The various members of the proposed international force have refused to disarm Hamas as well as to actively force the Gazans to be peaceful, clearly envisioning a more ceremonial role like UNIFIL in Lebanon. So Bibi’s skepticism is legit.
The remarks, made Sunday evening to a meeting of Israel’s ambassadors in Jerusalem, came after the premier had said earlier in the day that the first phase of the ceasefire in the Strip was close to finished. The second phase, as laid out in a 20-point plan for Gaza presented by US President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... , outlines governing arrangements for the enclave.
The plan envisions Hamas disarming, a Paleostinian technocratic body managing Gaza’s affairs, and a multinational force deploying there as the IDF withdraws. Israel has demanded Hamas’s disarmament as a condition for moving forward with the plan.
Given that it’s a major condition of the ceasefire, which Qatar is now insisting is merely a truce and not even a full ceasefire until Israel pulls out completely, I’m skeptical Hamas will ever get to the next phase. There’s also the question of delivering the last hostage corpse…
In his remarks to the ambassadors, Netanyahu suggested that the multinational force, called the International Stabilization Force, might not be able to force the terror group to lay down its weapons.
"In the second phase, we are moving to disarmament and demilitarization," he said, adding that he said "Go ahead" when presented with the idea of the multinational force.
"We know that there are certain missions that this force could do," he continued. "There are certain things they can’t do, maybe the main task they can’t do, but we will see."
But he vowed that Hamas would be disarmed, repeating a phrase he has used multiple times when discussing disarmament.
"We can do it the easy way, or the hard way," he said. "But in the end it will be done."
Disarmament has proven to be one of the toughest issues in the negotiations over the second phase of the Gaza plan. Hamas has previously vowed not to lay down its weapons, though on Sunday one of its bigwigs said the terror group was ready to discuss ’freezing or storing’ its weapons for a period of years as part of a process aimed toward establishing a Paleostinian state.
A hudna? Joy.
But the official, Bassem Naim, said the multinational force could not be the one tasked with disarming Hamas.
That leaves Israel doing it. Y’all won’t lead? Then follow or get out of the way.
"We are welcoming a UN force to be near the borders, supervising the ceasefire agreement, reporting about violations, preventing any kind of escalations," he told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "But we don’t accept that these forces have any kind of mandates authorizing them to do or to be implemented inside the Paleostinian territories."
At a presser earlier on Sunday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu said that the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza is "almost" complete. The ceasefire stipulated that Hamas release all hostages, living and deceased. The remains of one slain hostage, Ran Gvili, are still held in Gaza, and Netanyahu has vowed to see his body returned to Israel.
Netanyahu said he would discuss phase two of the plan with Trump during his White House visit later this month.
Trump has pushed for a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , and in his speech to the diplomats, Netanyahu dismissed media reports that certain peace deals cannot happen without Israel doing things first — a likely reference to the Saudi demand that Israel commit to an eventual Paleostinian state.
"The opportunities are there because of the tectonic changes we made in the balance of power in the Middle East," he said.
"We no longer have a policy of containment," he added. "We identify a threat, and we act."
He also referenced his philosophy of "peace through strength," and claimed Israel was unprecedentedly strong. That strength is a key factor in other countries’ decisions to make peace with Israel, he argued.
"With the strong, pacts are made. With the strong, peace is made," he said.
"Israel is stronger than ever," Netanyahu continued. "It is a superpower — certainly regional. In several fields, it is a world power."
He claimed that Israel has become stronger military and economically since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, and that "as a result, we have increased our diplomatic strength."
Netanyahu also related that Trump admired the Israeli public as well as its military.
"He was also amazed by the decisions we made" during the war, the premier said to the ambassadors.
"All of these things made it clear to him that there is a very strong country here," he continued, "and a very strong army," which brings Israel’s allies closer to it. "Israel revealed that it’s not only a strong country, but an unusually strong country," he said.
He added that Israel is embarking on an independent military build-up through its defense industries, but stressed that he was not proposing an "autarkic economy."
In September, Netanyahu sparked a firestorm by saying that Israel could become a "super-Sparta" that "will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics." He later walked the comments back, saying they referred to defense production.
Israel is "flooded" with requests from foreign countries for its weapons, he told the diplomats.
...which means they can choose their customers. So sorry, Sir Kier.
He’s slick enough to do it, just like Bashir al Assad did, where all the parties and candidates must first be approved by the government and comply with government positions. Or he’s stalling to soothe idealists at home and abroad.
[KhaamaPress] Syria’s Acting President Ahmad Sharaa has announced plans to hold a presidential election within the next four years, emphasizing governance and economic recovery.
Syria’s transitional government leader, Ahmed Shar’a, announced that the country’s next presidential election will take place within four years, in accordance with the constitutional framework.
Speaking at the Doha Forum on Saturday, Shar’a said all political groups are represented in the transitional government, but emphasized that power-sharing based on ethnicity or sect would be a serious mistake.
He highlighted that government participation will be based on merit and national responsibility rather than factional arrangements, and that the reconstruction of Syria should focus on strengthening state institutions rather than individual leaders.
Shar’a also stated that lifting U.S. sanctions would help improve the country’s economic situation, noting that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... has indicated support for steps toward economic relief.
These statements come as Syria continues to face humanitarian crises, widespread displacement, economic collapse, and localized security challenges after more than a decade of civil war.
Analysts said that while setting a timeline for elections may stabilize diplomatic engagement, challenges such as displaced voter participation, remaining armed factions, and international oversight remain significant.
Diplomats attending the Doha Forum added that the coming years will test whether Syria can transition from conflict toward institution-based governance, with regional diplomacy and international pressure expected to influence the pace of reforms.
#3
Good question, Grom. Quite possibly the Druze will all have moved to the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, if it comes to that, where they’ll be Hell on wheels, finally as free as their cousins who were lucky enough to be there all along. If the Alawites are smart they’ll escape to their co-religionists in Iran, where they’ll have to put up with endless insults for being shiftless Arabs, though better Arabs than the Sunni lot over by Baluchistan. If the Alawites are stupid, they’ll join their co-religionists in Lebanon, to be lorded over by Hezbollah and pay for the privilege by going as suicide bombers against Israel. Because it’s much too late to make Hijra to Europe or America, though England might stupid enough to take them…
[IsraelTimes] More than 3 million Syrians have returned home since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s rule a year ago but a decline in global funding could deter others, the UN’s refugee agency says.
Some 1.2 million refugees, in addition to 1.9 million internally displaced people, have gone back home following the civil war that began in 2011 and ended with Assad’s overthrow, but millions more are yet to return, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The agency says much more support is needed to ensure the trend continues.
“Syrians are ready to rebuild – the question is whether the world is ready to help them do it,” says UNHCR head Filippo Grandi. Over 5 million refugees remain outside Syria’s borders, mostly in neighboring countries like Jordan and Lebanon.
Grandi told donors in Geneva last week that there was a risk that those Syrians who are returning might even reverse their course and come back to host states.
“Returns continue in fairly large numbers but unless we step up broader efforts, the risk of [reversals] is very real,” he said.
Overall, Syria’s $3.19 billion humanitarian response is 29 percent funded this year, according to UN data, at a time when donors like the United States and others are making major cuts to foreign aid across the board.
The World Health Organization sees a gap emerging as aid money drops off before national systems can take over.
The slow pace of removing unexploded ordnance is also a major obstacle to recovery, says the aid group Humanity & Inclusion, which reported over 1,500 deaths and injuries in the last year. Such efforts are just 13 percent funded, it said.
[KARAMSHAAR] Oil and gas pipelines form the backbone of Syria’s energy sector, linking upstream production fields with downstream refining, distribution, and export. Before the conflict, the government pursued several projects to strengthen the network and reinforce Syria’s role as a regional transit hub, but ensuing insecurity and widespread infrastructure damage brought that vision to a halt. In the post-Assad era, the new authorities have begun rehabilitating the system, recognizing that a functioning network is vital for economic recovery and reintegration into regional trade.
This article focuses on the gas pipeline network; a follow-up piece in the coming issues will cover the planned regional projects, and a subsequent article will examine the oil pipelines.
THE GAS PIPELINE MAP
Syria has an extensive domestic natural gas pipeline network of over 2,500 km of transmission lines across the country that deliver processed, ready-to-use gas to power plants and other domestic needs, such as industry and households.
Complementing this system are over 2,200 km of gathering pipelines that link production wells to a network of gathering and pressure stations, all managed through the National Gas Coordination Center. The network is supported by more than six gas processing plants. Together, these components form an integrated framework for gas production, processing, and distribution across the country. It is also worth noting that Syria developed well-functioning oil and gas infrastructure with international support; overall infrastructure quality was near the world median in 2011, rated 3.3 out of 7 by the World Economic Forum.
The bulk of Syria’s natural gas reserves lie in the central and eastern regions. The last official assessment in 2011 put reserves at 285 billion cubic meters (BCM), but we estimate that production since then has reduced remaining onshore proven reserves to about 231 BCM. Over the same period, offshore potential was estimated at roughly 170 BCM, while the former authorities reported two minor onshore discoveries—Deir Atiyah in 2019, yielding only 500 cubic meters, and Zamlat al-Mohr in 2022, for which no reserve figures were released.
Before the conflict intensified in 2012, Syria’s gross natural gas production reached its historical peak at approximately 30 million cubic meters per day (MMCM/D) in 2011. At that time, about 9% of the gross production was flared, vented, or re-injected to maintain pressure in oil wells. By 2024, production had fallen sharply to around 7.4 MMCM/D, while fields under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria produced roughly an additional 1 MMCM/D. Figures from 2023 indicate that more than half the total gas supply was used for electricity generation.
Syria’s shift to gas-fired electricity generation after 2005 pushed demand beyond domestic supply, making the country a net gas importer by 2008. The Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) enabled these imports, supplying Egyptian gas until 2011, when repeated attacks in Sinai and falling Egyptian output halted the flow. Over its four years of operation, Damascus imported an average of 1.44 MMCM/D.
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The Lebanese theatre continues. They locate rockets that were damaged, rendered unusable, and abandoned by #Hezbollah, and declare that they are ‘disarming’...
On December 4th, a video was published showing a Lebanese Army force together with #UNIFIL moving through an area west… pic.twitter.com/9gVZ0HOi3k
The Lebanese theatre continues. They locate rockets that were damaged, rendered unusable, and abandoned by #Hezbollah, and declare that they are ‘disarming’...
On December 4th, a video was published showing a Lebanese Army force together with UNIFIL moving through an area west of Marjayoun, south of the Litani.
In the video, a Lebanese Army Land Rover jeep can be seen carrying approximately four rockets, supposedly. The jeep is accompanied by several other Lebanese Army vehicles as well as UNIFIL vehicles. The report claims that the Lebanese Army, accompanied by UNIFIL, acted to dismantle Hezbollah military positions and remove rockets from them.
This is an area that was heavily attacked by Israel (as stated in the report), both during the war and during the ceasefire. The Lebanese Army is coordinated with Hezbollah. It only arrives at sites in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah allows it, for appearances’ sake. The ‘disarmed weapons’ are usually weapons that were already rendered unusable due to Israeli strikes and that Hezbollah had already abandoned.
If the Lebanese Army does, in fact, ‘by mistake’ take functional weapons or weapons that can be restored, they are usually returned to Hezbollah if Hezbollah demands them. The Lebanese state and the Lebanese Army cannot (and do not want to) disarm Hezbollah. Every day that passes—due to the American desire (and sometimes also the Israeli one) to give another chance—further strengthens Hezbollah’s recovery.
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.
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
