[MiamiHerald] Miami Beach nightclub Vendôme apologized Sunday for a "deeply offensive and unacceptable" video circulating online, which appears to show a group of popular and controversial influencers partying to Kanye West’s anti-Semitic song, "Heil Hitler."
People took to social media platforms over the weekend including Instagram, TikTok and X about "how this requested song came to be played during a bottle parade,"
The dirty dozen: Andrew Tate, Tristan Tate, Nick Fuentes, Clavicular, Sneako, Myron Gaines and Justin Waller. If you don't know these names you should. If you catch young men watching any of them take them aside and explain what they're doing is wrong. They're being led astray and they are our future.
according to Vendôme’s social media post.
West’s song is banned in Germany and major music platforms in America took steps to remove or ban the song due to its messaging.
Another video clip from inside Vendôme appears to show the same group of influencers partying and singing "Heil Hitler" during bottle service, according to social media footage.
"We want to be unequivocally clear: Vendôme and our hospitality group do not condone antisemitism, hate speech, or prejudice of any kind," the nightclub said. "These values are fundamentally opposed to who we are and the environments we strive to create."
The club is conducting an internal review and "will take immediate action to hold the responsible parties accountable," the post said.
"Our ownership and leadership reflect a diverse group of partners, backgrounds, and faiths including members of the Jewish community, and we are deeply disturbed by the harm caused by this incident and the circulation of this footage," the nightclub said.
These RW influencers
…are they really conservative, or are they just claiming that because conservatism is the anti-establishment position for this generation, just like Communism was the anti-establishment position for the first half of the last century, before it became reactionary? Conservatives to me are oriented toward finding joy in marriage and family, faith, hard work, living within one’s means, and contributing to the community. These influencers don’t seem to be for any of that, especially joy…
are all in the redpill and manosphere movements, deeply misogynistic refuges for loser white men who have never kissed a girl and never will.
Naturally, DA JOOOZ are to blame. It could be they're just video game playing morons who have nothing to offer women, but that's not what these influencers tell them. And they view tons of porn that shows women in the most degrading positions and think that's what all women are like. At first I thought it was stupid but now I'm kind of noticing how porn is bad.
This isn't Playboy or Hustler, as bad as those were. At least Playboy had articles. The new porn is like crack cocaine, it reprograms these men's minds like the brainwashing our POWs went through in China during the Korean Conflict.
Hustler definitely had articles, too, though as I recall they tended to start with “There I was at the truck stop when this toothless woman came up to me…” It was funny once, from an anthropological perspective, but vocabulary was uninspired.
Posted by: chris ||
01/19/2026 0:11 Comments ||
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#2
What’s a bottle parade? I saw a video, but the drunken idiots were just standing around, waving their arms — clearly their ignorance of history includes having no idea what a Hitler salute looks like.
#3
They aren't "conservatives." Ronald Reagan, Thomas Sowell and William F. Buckley were conservatives. They are right-wingers. These are new. You won't find them championing individual liberty or reading Adam Smith or Voltaire. They read Schmitt and Nietzsche and listen to old Father Coughlin radio broadcasts on Youtube.
#4
I don't know wtf you are on about. But conservatives are not out in Miami beach with bottle parades and such. Sounds like you're from maybe out of town, and from what I've seen from your post before, you just shoot shit out your mouth. Some of us southern CONSERVATIVES may take offence and tell you to go shove it up your ass in a not so nice way.
Posted by: chris ||
01/19/2026 2:11 Comments ||
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#5
They're not southerners, they're from out of town. Tate just got out from a prison sentence in Romania. Sneako is famously from New York City. Fuentes is a Chicagoan. Miami is just the northernmost city in Cuba, anyway.
#6
and you do their dirty work by promoting these no-names.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/19/2026 3:56 Comments ||
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#7
Lots of Venezuelans in Miami now, I believe.
chris, Jairong's right wingers — who sound like they’ve gone so far round the back that they met up with far left there — are the idiot RW influencers he lists, not the idiots drunkenly singing an idiotic Hitler love song.
#8
Interesting. MGTOW - men going their own way. Guys who are fed up with the narcissism and entitlement drilled in too many females addicted to social media and DEI programming. You call it red pill, they call it reality. It's already been posted here the book out describing a lost generation of men who were made the victim of a decade of DEI discrimination and devaluation. Youtube is full of compilations of young women and their demands/expectations that only .2% of the population could fulfill, trolling young men for free $$$ meals under the guise of a date, wanting men to pay for their rents et al in just as friends. Women are crying men are not approaching, but actually its the men they want, not the average guy. Yesterday a link was posted to a site that explained this all. Lots of women posting on social media asking where have all the good men gone. They've withdrawn from a losing game.
#9
Well, they're around whether anyone knows about them or not. Forewarned is forearmed. They're spreading like wildfire among young men, they start as video game streamers, get an audience and then go political. Someone else just posted a link to @hoe_math who is another one of them.
There are tons of Islamic terror groups nobody has heard of like Al-Nusra, DFLP, Fatah and M23 but they exist regardless.
What a perfect encapsulation of the progressive left: a bunch of white people threatening and assaulting a non-white dude, in the name of tolerance. https://t.co/Iz9bL84nxQ
He knows the cost, he chooses to pay it. Does it escalate with repeated offenses?
[IsraelTimes] The NFL fined Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for writing “Stop the genocide” across his eye black, an apparent reference to Gaza, ESPN reports.
He drew the $11,593 fine for a violation of NFL uniform and equipment rules after displaying the message during last week’s 30-6 AFC wild-card win at Pittsburgh, per the report.
In spite of the fine, Al-Shaair could be seen wearing the same message in his eye black before Houston’s AFC divisional playoff game at the New England Patriots on Sunday. Later during the game, he was observed with the message removed. He can wear it again next weekend, while sitting on his couch watching the Patriots play
Al-Shaair, 28, has long been a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate. In December 2023, as a member of the Tennessee Titans, Al-Shaair chose to support the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund through the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program.
[PJM] Smart cops who see what's coming and want no part of it or cops "encouraged" to take family leave to help justify activating the MN National Guard?
From Alpha News:
Around 100 Minneapolis police officers could soon be off duty for weeks to months from an already critically understaffed police department, and just as the city faces a serious public safety crisis with protesters inciting confrontations with the surge of federal agents working in the city.
Multiple sources confided to both Alpha News senior reporter Liz Collin and to Crime Watch Minneapolis that 60 to 100 officers from the Minneapolis Police Department have applied or plan to apply for the state’s new paid leave program. The Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program was signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz during the 2023 DFL trifecta and went into effect on the first of this year.
#1
Sounds like they have applied but not been accepted. Not sure what the actual Dept headcount is but minus 100 isn’t going to help. If that is something you can do annually, Minnesota may cease to function in the American system. All manufacturers will certainly leave the state.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/19/2026 11:49 Comments ||
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#2
^ I would have to read the actual law, but I doubt very many legitimate applications will/can be denied.
If you look back at the frequency of Al-Shabaab attacks from 23 December until today (a span of 26 days) in #Middle_Shabelle, it is evident that the group is pivoting toward the coast.
- December 23: They seized Nuur Dugle, a strategic link between Middle Shabelle to central… pic.twitter.com/L1H8KxM2S3
This Shabaab advancement is the result of three primary factors:
1) According to intelligence sources, Al-Shabaab’s plan is to seize control of the coastal road linking Mogadishu to the Central Regions (mainly Galmudug State). Warsheikh is the strategic linchpin of this route, which is why Al-Shabaab militia focused their offensive toward the shoreline.
2) There is a total lack of a defensive military strategy in #Mogadishu to counter the group. This is largely due to a collapse in troop morale; many soldiers have abandoned the front lines citing grievances. We are hearing high number of guns sold in the black market by defector soldiers. This is compounded by hunger, poor welfare, and the fact that many soldiers' families have been affected by the recent forced evictions in Mogadishu.
Abduction of Fulani woman, Aisha Goma heightens fear of attacks in Kaduna community
By: Zagazola Makama
The abduction of a married Fulani woman, Aisha Goma, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State has sparked fresh fear and anxiety among residents of the area.… pic.twitter.com/jlxw7y3x6q
Abduction of Fulani woman, Aisha Goma heightens fear of attacks in Kaduna community
By Zagazola Makama
The abduction of a married Fulani woman, Aisha Goma, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State has sparked fresh fear and anxiety among residents of the area.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the victim was abducted from her home at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, while her husband was away.
According to the sources, the attackers, suspected to be armed bandits, besieged the residence and forcefully took the woman to an unknown location.
Green on green. Both are criminals who do it for the glory of Islam, or possibly jihadis who commit crimes to support their jihad. It’s a gradient. But as usual the woman and children are hardest hit.
[IsraelTimes] Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who led now-defunct Southern Transitional Council, does not attend but sends delegation; Saudi officials give assurances that STC officers will still get paid
Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... i politicians met Sunday in 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... ’s capital in their first public gathering since a southern separatist group backed by the United Arab Emirates was disbanded following weeks of festivities
The meeting in Riyadh discussed the future of southern Yemen ahead of a Saudi-sponsored conference, the dates of which haven’t been announced yet.
The separatist demands in southern Yemen are one element in a complex civil war that has gripped the county since 2014, when Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels backed by 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... descended from their northern stronghold and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee first southward, then into exile in Saudi Arabia. The war involves a complex interplay of sectarian and tribal grievances and the involvement of regional powers.
Al Qaeda is in there, too, intermarrying with the tribes and embedding themselves like ticks on a dog.
"This meeting expresses a unified southern will, represented by southern leaders from all segments of society and governorates, seeking a just, secure and guaranteed solution to our cause," the politicians said in a statement following their meeting.
Saudi Arabia had bombed the positions of the now-dissolved Southern Transitional Council after the separatist group refused to withdraw from areas it seized in its December offensive, including Hadramout ...the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate, annexed by Communist South Yemen in 1968, encompassing a region along the Gulf of Aden, extending eastwards to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman. The people are called Hadhramis and speak Hadhrami Arabic. The city Tarimis is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (PTUI) anywhere in the world, approximately seven in every square yard... on the border with Saudi Arabia. Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, have regained control of Hadramout and Mahra provinces.
The escalation exposed cracks within a Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war. Ties also frayed between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Aidarous al-Zubaidi, who led the STC, had reportedly declined to attend the talks in Riyadh and instead sent a delegation. Saudi Arabia has accused the UAE of smuggling him to Abu Dhabi through Somalia, after the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council expelled him and charged him with treason.
Sunday’s meeting included members of the STC leadership who have been in Riyadh for about two weeks. Their participation was apparently meant to refute claims by al-Zubaidi supporters that the delegation was kidnapped in Saudi Arabia.
"There is no doubt that today’s moment is historic, and we are at a juncture that requires everyone’s cooperation," said Abdel-Rauf al-Saqaf, who was a senior STC official. "The southern demand is clear: the restoration of the southern state."
The STC was established in April 2017 as an umbrella organization for groups that seek to restore South Yemen as an independent state as it was between 1967 and 1990. It gained financial and military support from the UAE. The STC leadership dissolved the council earlier this month.
A statement from Sunday’s meeting said the participants received "direct and practical assurances" from Saudi officials that members of forces allied with the STC will receive their salaries and "support to enhance their capabilities."
[IsraelTimes] The IDF reveals new details from a clandestine operation in the Gaza Strip a year ago, during which the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul was recovered by special forces after being held by terror operatives for more than a decade.
Shaul was killed and abducted by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza War, and his remains were located and returned to Israel on January 19, 2025, shortly before a ceasefire took effect between Israel and the terror group.
The military now discloses that the information on the location of Shaul’s body was obtained from a “key figure” who lived at a civilian site in Gaza City, where the remains of the slain soldier were believed to be.
Troops of the elite Sayeret Matkal unit nabbed the figure in a special operation. Following an interrogation by the Shin Bet, the figure provided accurate information on the location of Shaul’s body, the IDF says.
A day later, forces from the Shin Bet, the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit, and the 188th Armored Brigade raided the civilian site and retrieved the body, where it had been held for many years, according to the military.
The IDF says the operation was planned and carried out in a way that did not endanger any of the living hostages who had been held in Gaza City at the time.
[IsraelTimes] Three new F-35I fighter jets landed in Israel earlier today, the military says, bringing the number of fifth-generation stealth aircraft that the Israeli Air Force has in its arsenal to 48.
The three fighter jets traveled from the United States to the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, where they will join the IAF’s 116th and 140th squadrons. after upgrades
The three are part of Israel’s initial order of 50 F-35 jets, and the move is unrelated to the ongoing tensions with Iran. Another 25 F-35s were ordered from US defense contractor Lockheed Martin in 2024, and are expected to be delivered starting in 2028.
[IsraelTimes] Senior officials in Israel’s defense establishment have warned the political leadership in recent days that Hamas has been emboldened under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Channel 12 reports.
In recent discussions with the country’s political echelon, the defense officials shared assessments that aspects of the second phase of Trump’s plan — specifically the inclusion of Turkish and Qatari representatives in the executive committee that will take part in managing Gaza under Trump’s Board of Peace — offers an opportunity for “long-term hope and short-term boldness” to the terror group and could gradually undermine what the IDF achieved over two years of war in Gaza, according to the report.
In the short term, the officials say the terrorist organization is seeking to rebuild itself and planning attacks against IDF soldiers deployed in Gaza. In the long term, officials sat Hamas has no intention of relinquishing its weapons and is hoping to replicate the “Hezbollah model,” a reference to the Lebanese terror group on Israel’s northern border, which Israel says is attempting to rebuild following a November 2024 ceasefire.
The officials say Hamas “will do everything it can to drag out the process and exhaust all parties, while reconstruction on the ground begins in practice.”
These views are also shared by senior political officials, the report adds, noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself is believed to have objected to the makeup of the executive committee due to Trump’s decision to involve Qatar and Turkey – which have close ties to Hamas and are fiercely critical of Israel.
Long overdue, but at least they’re working on imposing costs on the selfish idiots. And anyway, the Progressive billionaires and probably the government of Qatar who are paying their protest expenses will cover the fine as well.
[IsraelTimes] The Ministerial Committee for Legislation advances a bill that would slap a fine of up to roughly NIS 75,000 ($23,850) on protesters who block “essential roads” during protests, Hebrew media outlets report.
The bill, according to the Ynet outlet, refers to high-traffic highways with no alternative routes that lead to public institutions or medical facilities.
Protesters who block roads in aggravating circumstances, including lighting bonfires, could be liable to pay a fine of up to NIS 226,000 ($71,850) under the reported text of the bill.
Recent years have seen mass anti-government protests, and protests on behalf of hostages held in Gaza, which frequently block roads. A series of Haredi protests against IDF conscription have also blocked roads.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reportedly objects to the bill on the grounds that police already have the necessary tools to open roads when needed.
“Damn all those Protestants for thinking for themselves, anyway, when they’re supposed to leave the thinking to those trained for millennia to do so.”
[IsraelTimes] The leaders of the major Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Orthodox, and other churches in the region issue a condemnation of Christian Zionism, which they call one of the “damaging ideologies” being pushed in Israel that “mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.”
“These undertakings have found favor among certain political actors in Israel and beyond who seek to push a political agenda which may harm the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East,”
”Donchaknow it’s dangerous for Christians to be known in the Ummah as supporters of Israel?”
say the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land, who also emphasize their concern that Christian Zionists “have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally.”
The Church leaders insist that “they alone represent the Churches and their flock in matters pertaining to Christian religious, communal, and pastoral life in the Holy Land.”
[IsraelTimes] Iran indicates that it might go ahead with execution of people detained during the unrest, after the country’s foreign minister had suggested there would not be hangings.
“A series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments,” Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir tells a press conference today.
Mohareb, an Islamic legal term meaning to wage war against God, is punishable by death under Iranian law.
An Iranian official tells Reuters that the verified death toll was unlikely to “increase sharply,” adding “Israel and armed groups abroad” had supported and equipped those taking to the streets.
The clerical establishment regularly blames unrest on foreign enemies, including the US and Israel.
[Rudaw] The Syrian interim government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached an agreement to immediately halt festivities and integrate SDF-held areas into state institutions. The deal includes significant concessions by the Kurdish-led force. Following the announcement, the Syrian army declared a nationwide ceasefire.
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the agreement late Sunday, saying it was signed by him and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi. Sharaa said Abdi had been scheduled to visit Damascus, but the meeting was postponed to Monday due to bad weather.
Earlier in the day, Sharaa met US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack at the presidential palace.
Key provisions of the agreement include the integration of SDF personnel "individually" into the Syrian defense ministry rather than as a unified force, the full handover of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa provinces, and the integration of their civil institutions and employees into national ministries. The deal also outlines state control over all border crossings and energy resources, including oil and gas fields, with the aim of returning them to the national economy, while acknowledging the unique status of Kurdish areas.
Implementation of the landmark March 10 agreement between Sharaa and Abdi had stalled after the SDF pushed to be incorporated as a unified bloc, a demand rejected by Damascus, which has insisted on absorbing SDF fighters individually into regular army units.
The agreement aims to end escalating fighting between Damascus forces and the SDF after factions affiliated with the Syrian government reportedly captured the city of Tabqa in Raqqa province, south of the Euphrates River. The SDF has accused the Syrian army of violating a truce brokered on Friday by the US and other international actors.
Earlier on Sunday, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) announced a state of "general mobilization" in support of the SDF and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), citing w
hat it described as "an existential war" launched by Damascus and allied murderous Moslem groups in violation of an internationally mediated truce.
US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said the United States "commends" the Syrian interim government and the SDF "for their constructive efforts in reaching today’s ceasefire agreement, paving the way for renewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria."
"This agreement and ceasefire represent a pivotal inflection point, where former adversaries embrace partnership over division," he added.
Barrack said the US "looks forward to the seamless integration" of the SDF and Damascus in the fight against ISIS.
The full text of the agreement can be read at the link. So what think you, dear Reader: permanent or hudna?
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/19/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1768 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
[Rudaw] More than 500 Kurdish families displaced from areas west of the Euphrates River have arrived in northeastern Syria (Rojava) as fighting escalates between the Damascus-affiliated forces and the Kurdish-led forces, according to the Kurdish Red Islamic Thingy.
Hadiya Abdullah, co-chair of the organization, told Rudaw on Sunday that "so far, 540 families from west of the Euphrates have reached Rojava."
Abdullah said that 400 families have arrived in Qamishli city, while 100 families headed toward al-Malikiyah (Derik) and 40 others went to Amuda in Hasaka province, adding that "a number of other families are also on their way." She noted that relief teams are prepared to respond and confirmed that "we have deployed mobile medical centers to receive the displaced people."
For his part, Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees in Rojava, told Rudaw English on Sunday that large numbers of displaced people have arrived in the Jazira region which encompasses areas east of the Euphrates, covering much of the provinces of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka.
He said that "our people from Afrin, Shehba, and Aleppo who had moved to Tabqa and Raqqa - the Kurdish people from around those cities - basically all the displaced from the outskirts and Kobane, many have come to the Jazira region," making it difficult to determine exact figures.
He said security at camps holding Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) members and their families remains stable, adding that "the SDF, Asayish [Internal Security Forces], and the coalition [forces] are still providing them with protection," and stressing that "there have been no problems."
The displacement comes amid heightened tensions after Damascus and allied holy warrior groups attacked the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the de facto military force in Rojava - on Saturday as SDF fighters were preparing to withdraw from parts of eastern Aleppo and the Raqqa countryside. The Kurdish-led force said the attacks took place despite an internationally sponsored truce that granted them "a 48-hour withdrawal period," according to an SDF statement on X.
Following the festivities, Syria’s state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Syrian Arab Army had taken control of all areas west of the Euphrates River, including Deir Hafer and Maskanah in eastern Aleppo province, as well as Tabqa in the western Raqqa countryside.
Earlier on Sunday, SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi warned that hostilities were continuing despite mediation efforts. Speaking to the Rojava-based Hawar News Agency (ANHA), Abdi described the assaults as "systematic attacks" on Kurdish-administered areas, while stressing, "Our efforts to achieve de-escalation and a ceasefire are continuing with the assistance of international parties."
After expelling Kurdish fighters from two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo earlier this week, which led to the displacement of 150,000 people, Damascus expanded its operations into SDF-held areas of eastern Aleppo province, including Deir Hafer, Maskanah, and surrounding districts. The areas were declared "closed military zones," and residents were ordered to evacuate by Friday evening.
An Associated Press reporter in the area said that large military convoys swept into Raqqa city and were greeted by residents. It appeared that the SDF had withdrawn.
The SDF took Tabqa from Islamic State in 2017 as part of its military campaign to take down the Islamic State group’s so-called caliphate, which at its peak stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq. At the height of its control, Islamic State declared Raqqa its capital.
ℹ️ Update: While ordinary internet connectivity in #Iran remains disrupted at hour 238, traffic data indicate a significant return to some online services including Google, suggesting that heavily filtered access has been enabled, corroborating user reports of partial restoration pic.twitter.com/YR1YfkxZCU
Iran considering ‘gradually’ restoring internet access after shutdown amid protests
[IsraelTimes] Iranian authorities say they are considering “gradually” restoring internet access after imposing an unprecedented communications shutdown 10 days ago, which rights groups say masked a violent crackdown that killed thousands during mass nationwide protests.
Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into anti-regime protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.
The rallies subsided after a crackdown that rights groups call a “massacre” carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8 as the protests grew in size and intensity.
Government officials say calm has been restored, with schools reopening today — Iran’s weekend falling on Thursday and Friday — after a week of closure.
Late yesterday, the Tasnim news agency reported “the relevant authorities announced that internet access would also be gradually restored,” but gave no further details.
Citing an unnamed “informed source,” the agency said local messaging applications “will soon be activated” on Iran’s domestic intranet.
This morning, AFP was able to connect to the internet from its Tehran office, though the vast majority of internet providers and mobile internet remain cut.
Outgoing international calls have been possible since Tuesday, and text messaging was restored yesterday morning.
For days, text messages and international phone calls — and at times even local calls — were cut off.
Iran has since been relying on its intranet, which has supported local media websites, ride-hailing apps, delivery service and banking platforms. Despite the restrictions, information had still filtered out, with reports of atrocities emerging, according to rights groups.
Amnesty International says it has verified dozens of videos and accounts in recent days.
They show “that security forces have been relentlessly firing at protesters from the streets and from elevated positions” and that hospitals had been “overwhelmed with the injured” in a “massacre of protesters,” says Amnesty’s Iran researcher Raha Bahreini in a video posted online.
Iranian official says verified death toll in Iran protests reaches at least 5,000
[IsraelTimes] An Iranian official in the region says the authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, blaming “terrorists and armed rioters” for killing “innocent Iranians.”
The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also tells Reuters some of the heaviest clashes and highest number of deaths were in the Iranian Kurdish areas in northwest Iran, a region where Kurdish separatists have been active and where flare-ups have been among the most violent in past periods of unrest.
“The final toll is not expected to increase sharply,” the official says, adding that “Israel and armed groups abroad” had supported and equipped those taking to the streets.
The Iranians authorities regularly blame unrest on foreign enemies, including Israel, an arch foe of the Islamic Republic which launched military strikes on Iran’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs in June.
The US-based HRANA rights group said on Saturday the death toll had reached 3,308, with another 4,382 cases under review. The group said it had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.
The Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw, based in Norway, has said some of the heaviest clashes during protests that erupted in late December were in Kurdish areas in the northwest.
CEO of Iran’s second-biggest phone company fired for failing to block internet
[IsraelTimes] The chief executive of Irancell, Iran’s second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government’s decision to shut down the internet amid mounting anti-regime protests, Iran’s Fars news agency reports.
Iran cut off all communications on January 8 without warning, as calls intensified for the anti-government protests, which were initially sparked by an economic crisis.
Access to the internet has been virtually impossible in Iran since then, although restrictions began to ease today for some foreign websites, such as Google.
“Alireza Rafiei was removed from the position of CEO of the company after about a year of activity,” Fars reports. “Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations.”
“The relevant institutions decided to dismiss the CEO of Irancell, citing ‘failure to comply with the announced rules in crisis situations,'” Fars adds.
Iranian authorities have announced they are planning to restore internet access “gradually.”
Irancell was founded in 2005 and claims 70 million subscribers.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/19/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1785 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Hack it again and play Team America.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/19/2026 5:04 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a 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...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
