Terrorists Kill Five, Wound 22 at Turkish Aerospace Company Near Ankara

At least five people have been killed and 22 others wounded in an attack on the headquarters of Turkiye’s aerospace and defence company, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), near the capital Ankara.

“Two terrorists were neutralised” in the incident at the headquarters of the state-run firm, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on X.

“Sadly, we have 5 martyrs and 22 wounded in the attack. Three of the injured were already discharged from hospital, 19 of them under treatment,” he said.

In orderly fashion, ambulances line up at the entrance of the headquarters of Turkey’s aviation company, TUSAS [Photo: Reuters]

Footage from the scene broadcast by local media just after the attack, which took place at 3:30PM local time (12:30 GMT), showed huge clouds of smoke and a large fire raging at the site in Kahramankazan, a small town some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Ankara.

Security camera images from the attacks showed a man in plainclothes carrying a backpack and holding an assault rifle. The images also appeared to show a woman carrying a weapon.

15,000 people work at the TUSAS campus in Kahramankazan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the justice minister said an investigation had been opened and said it was “probably linked” to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long rebellion against the government.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was holding talks in Russia with Vladimir Putin at the time of the attack, condemned what he said was a “heinous terrorist attack”. Putin offered Erdogan his “condolences in connection with the terror attack” at the start of their meeting in the Russian city of Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit of major emerging market nations that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Earlier this week, the leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which belongs to Erdogan’s ruling coalition, invited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to address parliament to announce his movement’s dissolution.

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) released a statement condemning the attack and saying he “condemns terrorism, no matter who or where it comes from”.

The main pro-Kurdish DEM party also condemned the attack, saying it was “noteworthy that the attack took place just as Turkish society was talking about a solution and the possibility of dialogue” with the PKK.

The attack occurred as a major trade fair for the defence and aerospace industries was taking place in Istanbul, which was visited this week by Ukraine’s top diplomat.

Turkey’s defense sector, which is widely known for its Bayraktar drones, accounts for nearly 80 percent of the nation’s export revenues with revenues expected to top $10.2bn in 2023. Ukraine is a main recipient of these drones. TUSAS is one of those important defense and aviation companies, producing KAAN, the country’s first national combat aircraft, among other projects.

The TAI Kaan is a stealth, twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter, pictured here on its inaugural flight on 21 Feb 2014 (Photo: AA)

In response to this attack, Turkey’s Air Force struck Kurdish targets in Iraq and Syria in apparent retaliation. The Ministry of National Defence reported 47 targets were “destroyed” in the aerial offensive without providing details on the locations that were hit, adding that “all kinds of precautions” were taken to prevent civilian harm.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that Turkish air attacks in northern and eastern Syria killed 12 civilians, including two children, and wounded 25 people.

There was no immediate statement from the PKK and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on TUSAS.

Unclear is whether this was a suicide attack on TUSAS or if the terrorists had an escape plan. This murderous attack was well-prepared and timed to both embarrass Turkish President Erdogan while he is visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and as PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was invited to address the Turkish Parliament to establish a dialogue between Ankara and the Kurdish minority. These homicidal maniacs accomplished little other than killing unarmed civilians and causing irreparable emotional harm to the families of the victims. But the attack may help maintain a wedge between Ankara and its Kurdish minority if these perpetrators were indeed linked with the PKK.

Sources:

At least five killed in attack on aerospace firm near Turkey’s Ankara | News | Al Jazeera

Turkey strikes Iraq, Syria after attack on defence company near Ankara | Military News | Al Jazeera

Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General Resigns Amid Draft-Dodging Scandal

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin (Undated image: RadioSvoboda.org / RFE/RL).

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin has resigned amid investigations that found dozens of government officials had dodged military service by claiming disability benefits.

Kostin announced his resignation on 22 Oct on Telegram after a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security Council attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Kostin “should take political responsibility” for corruption and loopholes being used to get draft deferrals.

“The problem is not just that officials use their connections to get disabled status. It is also the fact that people who are really disabled, especially in combat, often do not get the appropriate status and fair payment,” Zelensky said.

Earlier this month, investigators found that a number of public prosecutors in the western Khmelnytskiy region had falsely obtained disability permits and were receiving special benefits. Investigations into the issue are ongoing in other parts of Ukraine.

Kostin’s resignation still needs parliamentary approval, but that is expected to move through the legislature with little resistance, as Zelensky’s party holds a majority of the seats.

“I consider the position of President Zelensky to be absolutely correct…. I [also] think it is correct to announce my resignation as prosecutor-general,” Kostin said.

Soon after Kostin’s resignation, Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal announced the dismissal of several other senior officials, the management of the central commission overseeing fitness for service, and officials in the Health Ministry who coordinate the activities of local commissions.

In a sign of the precarious situation Ukraine faces as it tries to hold off Russia’s massive troop advantage, military recruiters in recent weeks have shown up at conspicuous events like concerts and weddings looking for men who had not registered for service under a long-debated and highly controversial military mobilization law that was adopted last spring.

Mobilization is a sensitive issue in Ukraine, whose troop numbers have been depleted after more than 2 1/2 years of fighting Russia’s invasion. In this video, a military-age male in Ukraine is dragged off the street.

Zelensky has acknowledged several times the “very, very difficult” situation the military is facing, while he also tries to keep the country unified during the war, which has had drastically differing impacts on various population groups, with its burden falling most heavily on Ukrainians from the south and east of the country.

Highlighting the growing unrest over the issue of mobilization, protesters in August tried to force their way into a military recruitment center in Ukraine to demand the release of four young men who they claimed were illegally detained amid the country’s increased mobilization efforts. Days earlier, Zelensky endorsed bills extending martial law and a general military mobilization for 90 days, the 11th time he had done so since Russia invaded.

Press ganging is not a new phenomenon. 1780 caricature of a press gang by an unknown artist courtesy of Wikimedia.org.

President Zelensky is doing the best he can leading Ukraine in its defense against Russia, but he cannot magically increase his population pool to match Russia’s, which is also facing manpower shortages. Zelensky and Putin are not alone when it comes to conscription problems. 50,000 to 125,000 young Americans fled to Canada to avoid being drafted for Vietnam. During the First World War, while 24 million American men registered for the draft, as many as 3.5 million failed to do so, thereby successfully evading induction.

Notably, two American icons avoided getting killed in war. Heavyweight boxing contender Jack Dempsey was somehow exempt from fighting the Kaiser in the First World War. He would become heavyweight champion after the war ended. Physically fit 1-A John Wayne was somehow not mustered into service during the Second World War, although he reportedly tried to enlist at age 34. The “Duke” would win an Oscar in 1969 for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.

Heavyweight champion Jess Willard (L) suspected that draft-dodging Jack Dempsey (R) wore “loaded gloves” when he lost the title to him on 4 July 1919. Dempsey floored Willard seven times in the first round. Dempsey would go on win the bout to became heavyweight champion. Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth became popular athletic celebrities in the “Roaring 20s.” (Image: boxrec.com)

Like a sky-pilot who never goes into battle himself, handsome rigged John Wayne inspired and motivated thousands of patriotic Americans to fight and die in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. John Wayne toured US military bases with the USO in the Pacific Theater of Operations, but he completely evaded military service. Above is a four-for-one sale of those inspirational movies.

Sources:

Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General Resigns Amid Draft-Dodging Scandal (rferl.org)

Amid Corruption Scandals And Mounting Problems, Ukraine Vows To Shake Up The Military Enlistment System. It’s A Tough Task. (rferl.org)

Men Dragged Off The Street As Ukraine Tries To Tackle Manpower Crisis At The Front (rferl.org)

Draft Resistance and Evasion | Encyclopedia.com

Why John Wayne Was Labeled a ‘Draft Dodger’ During World War II | Military.com

GLOVES LOADED? DEMPSEY SAYS NO; Willard Supports Charges Made by Kearns – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

America’s First Line of Defense, the FBI, has been busy with Donald Trump’s “useful idiots,” white supremacist nitwits. Two cases follow.

NY Proud Boy Found Guilty of Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During 6 Jan 2021 Attack on US Capitol

William Joseph Pepe is on the right. Note this maniac was carrying a walkie-talkie on 6 Jan. (Photo: FBI)

William Joseph Pepe (35), of White Plains, NY was found guilty of felony and misdemeanor charges related to his egregious conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Aware that USDJ Timothy J. Kelly is a Republican and Donald Trump appointee, Pepe (probably upon advice of defense counsel) opted for a bench trial. He was convicted nevertheless and will be sentenced on 11 Mar 2025.

On 6 Jan 2021, Pepe met an army of approximately one hundred Proud Boys members in Washington, DC near the Washington Monument at approximately 10:00 AM. Shortly after, the rabble marched toward the US Capitol building with Pepe as vanguard against police lines. At the Peace Circle, the mob violently disassembled and trampled the metal bike rack barriers blocking entry into Capitol grounds.

After the police retreated and reformed, Pepe encouraged the rioters, yelling into a camera “Let’s go! This is what we came for, yeah!”

Officers deployed pepper spray and other crowd control measures. Pepe posted a selfie-style video in which he declared:

“Yo, the cops pepper sprayed me and Hooks. Me and Hooks got f—ing maced. Storming that Capitol, baby!”

Pepe made his way into the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door where he recorded and sent a video to fellow Proud Boys, stating “We did it.” (Photo: FBI)

The FBI arrested Pepe on 22 Jan 2021, in White Plains, NY.

With this felony conviction, this 35-year-old Proud Boy threw his life and career away with the MTA in NY.


Former NJ Governor Chris Christie doppleganger Republican USDJ Timothy J. Kelly will sentence his fellow Republican on 11 Mar 2025. (Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia.org)

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/new-york-proud-boy-found-guilty-felony-and-misdemeanor-charges-actions-during-jan-6

https://www.yahoo.com/news/did-ex-mta-worker-convicted-203836477.html

Texas Couple Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During 6 Jan 2021 Attack on US Capitol

Mark Middleton (55) and Jalise Middleton (54). Note how joyful they look on 6 Jan 2021. (Photo: FBI)

Mark Middleton (55) and Jalise Middleton (54) both of Forestburg, TX were sentenced to 30 and 20 months in prison, respectively, by the Honorable USDJ Randolph D. Moss for their heinous and violent conduct on 6 Jan 2021.

Mark Middleton was additionally sentenced to 36 months’ supervised release, and a $2,000 fine. Jalise Middleton was additionally sentenced to 30 months’ supervised release, and a $2,000 fine.

After the “Stop the Steal” rally, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded to the West Front of the US Capitol building to assist USCP officers against an army of amassed rioters.

Mark Middleton called the officers “traitors” and then pushed against the barricades and the police line. Officers are heard on body-worn camera footage repeatedly ordering Mark Middleton and others to “Get back!” In response, Mark Middleton is heard yelling “f— you!” as he continued to push against the police barricades. Mark Middleton resisted MPD officers, grabbed onto an MPD officer’s left arm, and pulled the officer forward over the barricades and towards the mob.

Jalise Middleton repeatedly grabbed and struck the same officer over the barricade with her hand, striking him in the face, chest, and arms. Another officer stepped in to assist, and Jalise Middleton struck that officer as well. Mark Middleton then used his flagpole to strike the second officer in the head. This lunatic couple continued to grapple with and strike at the officers. The Middletons attempted to pull the first officer into the mob, as rioters jabbed, slashed, and swung flag poles at officers. The injuries sustained by those police officers were not revealed in this press release.

(Photo: FBI)

The Middletons only broke off their vicious assault after they were sprayed in the face with chemical irritants, forcing them to retreat. Both miscreants later posted social media messages touting their key role in helping to breach the barricades by fighting officers and that they had only stopped because they were pepper sprayed.

Mark and Jalise Middleton were arrested on 21 Apr 2021 in Forestburg, TX.

Mark and Jalise Middleton. This middle-aged couple do not appear as happy in these mugshots from Collin County Texas Jail as they do in the photo of them on 6 Jan at the top.

In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Middle age is not a good time to get jammed up by the federal system. These two white supremacist imbeciles threw their lives away with these felony convictions and incarcerations, heeding the idiotic call of Donald Trump. The Lone Star State hosts 17 federal correctional facilities (FCIs) of varying security levels. Two of these prisons will be the Middleton home for the next few years.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/texas-couple-sentenced-prison-assaulting-law-enforcement-and-other-charges-during-jan-6

First Presumed Human Infections of Avian Flu Under Investigation in Washington State

(Map: beautifulwashington.com)

Four agricultural workers tested presumptively positive for avian influenza after working with infected poultry at a commercial egg farm in Franklin County. The individuals experienced mild symptoms and have been provided with antiviral medication. Testing of additional individuals on the farm is currently pending and the number of cases under investigation may change.

(Image courtesy: hightoppoultry.com)

These are the first presumed human cases of H5 virus under investigation in Washington state. The cases took place at a farm that was the site of an avian influenza outbreak in chickens. About 800,000 birds were euthanized after test results by the Washington State Department of Agriculture on 15 Oct showed that they were infected with avian influenza.

Any employees or contractors who may have worked on a poultry farm in Benton or Franklin counties since 7 Oct should contact BFHD at 509-460-4550 if they have symptoms such as red eyes or respiratory infections.

Washington is the sixth state to identify a human infection of H5N1. H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has caused ongoing multistate outbreaks in poultry, dairy cattle, and wildlife.

Avian influenza is a disease caused by avian influenza Type A viruses that naturally occur in wild aquatic birds throughout the world. H5N1 viruses can also infect other species of birds, and occasionally mammals, and can cause significant mortality in poultry species, such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, or guinea fowl.

On rare occasions, avian influenza viruses infect people and make them sick. Most instances of people becoming infected with avian influenza have happened after prolonged, close contact with animals infected with avian influenza or environments contaminated with avian influenza.

The CDC currently considers the risk to the general public from this H5N1 avian influenza to be low; however, people with job-related or recreational exposures to infected birds, cattle, or other potentially impacted domestic or wild animals are at higher risk and should take precautions, including wearing personal protective equipment.

DOH reminds the community to never handle or allow pets near dead birds. For more information on safety precautions, visit https://doh.wa.gov/avian-influenza.

Sources:

First presumed human infections of avian influenza under investigation in Washington state | Washington State Department of Health

Bird Flu | Bird Flu | CDC

Gang Members Drown Off Haitian Coast While Re-Supplying Ammunition for Attack

(Map courtesy of https://www.viamichelin.fr)

Approximately 50 suspected gang members have died this week after attacking a coastal town in Haiti, including at least a dozen who drowned after their boat capsized.

While the majority were killed by police, a group of gunmen drowned after their boat hit the reef as they ferried ammunition to gangs attacking the town of Arcahaie, reported Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency.

The attack began on Monday with gunmen burning homes and cars in the town located just northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince. When the gangs ran out of ammunition, they hid in nearby areas and were ferreted out by residents and police.

The attack is still ongoing and the Civil Protection Agency warned that officers on the scene urgently need reinforcements from soldiers and special police units.

The attack is blamed on a gang coalition called Viv Ansanm, which also has targeted communities in Port-au-Prince recently.

Undated photo of Viv Ansanm gang members. Note the “leader” in the center is unmasked.

The spike in gang violence comes just months after a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police began with the aim of quelling a surge in violence from gangs, who control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince. More than 700,000 people have been left homeless, thousands have been killed, and the country’s main airport was forced to close for nearly three months earlier this year because of the violence.

The US government and top Haitian officials have warned that the Kenyan-led mission lacks personnel and funding and have asked that it be replaced with a UN-peacekeeping mission.

Haiti, a failed state, is the Somalia of the Caribbean. Violence, rape, murder, and chaos have been plaguing the Haitian people for years now. Malnutrition and cholera are also spreading amongst the population. If Haitians aren’t being murdered by gang members, they are drowning in boats trying to escape. Haiti’s neighbor, the Dominican Republic, has been cracking down on Haitian refugees who made it to safety across the border. This failed state needs a massive military intervention and financial assistance beyond a small but robust police contingency. But with US attention and resources focused on helping Ukraine and Israel, other nations must fill the void.

Haitians wait to cross the border into the Dominican Republic in Dajabon, Dominican Republic, Friday, 19 Nov 2021. Santo Domingo “profusely rejected” the denunciation of its migratory crackdowns on Haitian migrants by a growing number of countries and human rights agencies. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

Sources:

At least a dozen gang members drown near Haiti while ferrying ammunition: Official – ABC News (go.com)

“VIV ANSANM” amplifies the misery of the poorest in Haiti (vantbefinfo.com)

Deadly Violence in Haiti at Record High, Some Worst Scenarios Now Realities, Special Representative Tells Security Council, Urging Deployment of Support Mission | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

Haiti’s health system pushed to breaking point: UNICEF | UN News

Dominican Republic rejects criticism of Haitian deportations | AP News

Five countries pledge personnel for Haiti security mission, UN says | Reuters

Australia: Pet Owners Warned About Tick Boom on East Coast After Last Year’s Hot, Wet Summer

Note the red area on the east coast is where lies the threat of the paralysis tick. (Illustration courtesy of the Karl McManus Foundation.)

Global warming has not only been a boon to mosquitos, but also to disease vector ticks. Pet owners in Australia have been warned about a tick boom unfolding along their east coast, with some experts predicting an unusually bad season for our furry friends.

Veterinary scientist and parasitologist Peter Irwin, an emeritus professor at Murdoch University, said the severity of a tick season was largely determined by the preceding weather, and last summer had been very hot and wet along the east coast”.

“That implies the tick season this year will be bad, and indeed it seems to be panning out that way,” he said.

Paralysis ticks – found along a narrow strip of coastline stretching from north Queensland to Lakes Entrance in Victoria – were responsible for 95% of tick bites in humans, and were potentially lethal to cats, dogs, and other animals.

Factors influencing tick seasons were complex. Temperature and humidity played a key role, as well as the abundance of host animals like kangaroos and bandicoots. “You also have human factors as well – how often are people moving in and out of tick habitat?” he said.

If people or their pets were bitten, it was important to remain calm and not to try to pull the tick off. “You should always freeze it, not squeeze it” using tick-freezing spray from a pharmacist.

On a recent trip to Culburra Beach on the south coast of NSW, Eleanor removed 39 live ticks from her four-year-old Finnish lapphund, Beans.

Beans, a Finnish lapphund, had no fewer than 39 ticks removed while on a holiday at Culburra Beach on the New South Wales coast, her owner said. (Photo: The Guardian)

She was aware it was tick season but “had no idea it would be like this”, she said. Beans was “crawling with parasites”.

“The number of ticks we found on her was nightmarish,” she said. “We spent every evening when the kids went to bed pulling ticks out of her fur.”

Irwin said adult paralysis ticks, mainly active between August and December, were a serious concern for pet owners and veterinarians.

Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus). Photo: Peter Rowland

“Cats and dogs, untreated, will die of tick paralysis. Even treating them is not always successful,” he said. Luckily the disease was largely preventable, with effective collars, tablets, and treatments.

Prof Ala Tabor, an animal health specialist with the Queensland alliance for agriculture and food innovation at the University of Queensland, said the larger an animal was the more likely it would be able to survive paralysis tick toxins.

This season the university lost a cow to paralysis ticks, Tabor said.

Tabor was developing a paralysis tick vaccine for cats and dogs that was being licensed to an Australian company.

Once a vaccine was available, an annual dose would probably be cheaper and easier for pet owners and could provide a solution for animals that had adverse reactions to chemicals in common treatments.

Sources:

Dog owners warned about boom in ticks on Australia’s east coast after last year’s hot, wet summer | Environment | The Guardian

Fact File: Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) – Australian Geographic

Who We Are – Karl McManus Foundation

Tick Check | NexGard® Range

Japan Scrambles Jets to Intercept Chinese Bomber and Spy Plane

ADIZ over Japan (blue), South Korea (green), China (pink), and Taiwan/ROC (Orange). (Map: Wikimedia)

Japan recently scrambled fighter jets as China sent a bomber and a spy plane over waters near the Japanese southwestern islands for a long-distance mission from the Chinese mainland.

The Joint Staff Office (JSO) under the Defense Ministry of Japan reported the Chinese military aircraft’s movement within its air defense identification zone. The H-6 bomber and the Y-9 spy plane were spotted flying from mainland China and heading into the Miyako Strait. 

Japan, the US, Taiwan, and South Korea have set up air defense identification zones (ADIZ) around the countries in the interest of national security. The zone begins where sovereign airspace ends and is within the international airspace.

The Miyako Strait lies between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa, part of the so-called first island chain. This US defense concept extends from Japan to Taiwan and the Philippines to the south, attempting to contain China in the Western Pacific Ocean.

According to a Chinese military observer, the bomber was a H-6J, which the Pentagon described as a maritime strike bomber and a naval variant of the H-6K operated by the Chinese air force.

In this photo provided by the Defense Ministry of Japan, a Chinese H-6 bomber transits the Miyako Strait on 20 Oct inside the Japanese ADIZ.

The new and larger advanced H-6J has six pylons for carrying weapons instead of four, capable of firing supersonic antiship cruise missiles. The bomber is equipped with advanced avionics and upgraded engines, the Pentagon said in a report released in October last year.

Long-range bombers are part of the Chinese military’s anti-access/area denial capabilities. These aim to prevent the American military forces—especially the navy and its aircraft carriers—from approaching the first island chain during a potential conflict with Taiwan.

China held a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan last week, a self-ruled island that has been viewed by Beijing as part of its territory. During the exercise, Chinese warships and combat aircraft have engaged in drills focusing on blockades on key ports and areas.

This was not the first time the Chinese sent the same types of bombers and spy planes over waters near the southwestern islands of Japan, where they had conducted a similar mission on 12 Mar.

Chinese Y-9 spy plane transits the Miyako Strait on 20 Oct. (Photo: JSO)

Japan’s Joint Staff Office on Thursday reported that from 1 Apr to 30 Sep, its air force scrambled fighter jets 358 times in response to foreign military aircraft approaching the country, showing a decrease from the same period last year, which occurred 424 times.

Among the Japanese scrambles, 241 of them were against the Chinese military aircraft, which is fewer than last year’s 304 times. However, the number of scrambles against the Russian military aircraft was 115 times, which is an increase from last year’s 110 times.

On 12 Sep, a pair of Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft flew on an anticlockwise flight around Japan.

This week the World Uyghur Congress is taking place in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and the BRICS summit convened in Kazan, Russia. China is flexing its growing muscles while probing and testing the new Japanese Prime Minister. Japan should expect more of these near-intrusions from China as Beijing has eyes on maritime waters, economic fisheries, that they claim is theirs.  Last year, Chinese and Russian aircraft violated the South Korean ADIZ, forcing the ROK AF to scramble. Seoul could expect more near-intrusions now that they have warned Moscow that using North Korean troops might lead to massive weapons transfers to Ukraine.

Source:

US Ally Scrambles Jets To Intercept Chinese Bomber and Spy Plane – Newsweek

Chinese, Russian military aircraft enter KADIZ, South Korea scrambles fighter jets (joins.com)

Family on Road Trip Hear Cry for Help — Then Realize it’s Coming from Engine

The “cat distribution system” works in mysterious ways. On a road trip, the Wolford family reached its destination and heard a strange cry coming from within the car. They quickly exited the vehicle and popped the hood. To their sheer astonishment, a pair of wide, innocent eyes and a tiny, fluffy face met their gaze from underneath the engine.

Wedged snugly in the engine of their car was a tiny kitten. It appeared as though this little feline friend had been their silent passenger for the entire duration of their journey. The Wolford family couldn’t believe their eyes.

Mary Wolford recounted the moment, saying, “Everyone was shocked that he was alive. He rode probably 20 or 30 miles in there.”

With great care and gentleness, they managed to free the kitten from their car, yet their relief was short-lived. As soon as he was in their arms, he executed a daring escape, leaping out and darting away.

The kitten, who they named Racoon, hid another car, but was safely extracted and cleaned up.

Eventually, the family dogs, including a large Great Dane, welcomed Racoon into their midst.

Raccoon’s journey had taken a remarkable turn. When he had initially climbed into this caring family’s car engine, he was in search of a temporary refuge. Little did he know that he was about to find a loving forever home.

Source:

Family on a Road Trip Hear Cry For Help — Then Realize it’s Coming From the Engine – We Love Cats and Kittens

Mexico’s First Female President Takes Oath of Office, Promises to Help Poor

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum addresses supporters during a rally in the Zocalo, Mexico City’s main square, on her inauguration day, 1 Oct 2024. Photo: AP

Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s new president, becoming the country’s first female president and the first president of Jewish descent in the largely Roman Catholic country. Her win comes 70 years after women in Mexico won the right to vote. President Sheinbaum is also the first woman to lead a government in North America. Should Kamala Harris win the US election next month, the continent will have two women in charge of their nations, another first.

The daughter of activist academics, Sheinbaum (62) was also the first female mayor of Mexico City, Mexico’s capital. She stepped down from that position last year for her presidential campaign, which had the support of her predecessor and political mentor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

She has promised to continue the social welfare programs for the country’s poor that Lopez Obrador initiated, despite Mexico’s current massive budget deficit and sluggish economy.

Sheinbaum is also facing a country beset with violence, such as battles between drug cartels that often erupt onto the streets of the northwest city of Culiacan, where many cartels are located. Local security forces have had little luck in quelling the violence.

As mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum was applauded for reducing the city’s homicide rate by increasing the salaries of an expanded police force, a strategy she has promised to duplicate across the country.

Sheinbaum is also assuming Mexico’s helm just as the country is implementing a judicial overhaul, a move spearheaded by Lopez Obrador. The controversial reform will eventually replace all of Mexico’s judges with new ones elected by popular vote.

Former President Ernesto Zedillo, who has been critical of the overhaul, said in a recent guest essay in Britain’s Economist magazine that “our hard-won democracy will be transformed, for all practical purposes, into a one-party autocracy.”

Sheinbaum, however, said, “The reforms to the judicial system will not affect our commercial relations, nor private Mexican investments, nor foreign ones. Rather, the opposite. There will be a greater and better rule of law and democracy for everyone.”

The first trip for the new president, a former climate scientist who has a doctorate in energy engineering, will be to Acapulco, the resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast, which was brutalized last week by the rains of Category III Hurricane John, after being devastated last year by Hurricane Otis.

Population of Mexico: 130,739,927; GDP per capita: $22,400 (2023 est.) Data and map: CIA

Sources:

Mexico’s first female president takes oath of office, promises to help poor (voanews.com)

Mexico Factsheet – The World Factbook (cia.gov)

Russian Forces Execute 16 Ukrainian POWs Near Pokrovsk

In 2022, Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in Ukraine’s first war crime trial following Russia’s invasion. He had pleaded guilty to killing a 62-year-old citizen in north-eastern Ukraine. There will be more war crimes trials in the future. Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Russian forces appear to have shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Oblast, the largest recorded case of mass execution of surrendered soldiers on the battlefield, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on 1 Oct.

Evidence of the execution appeared on social media earlier on 1 Oct. The POWs were reportedly killed after surrendering on the front line near Pokrovsk. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was verifying the material published online and investigating the circumstances around the case.

The execution of POWs is a “cynical and gross violation of the Geneva Conventions,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said.  

“This is the most massive known case of execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.

“The murders and torture of prisoners are not an accident, but a purposeful policy of the Russian military and political leadership,” he added.

In early September, Russian forces executed three Ukrainian POWs near Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast. The Prosecutor General’s Office said earlier this year that it was investigating more than 50 cases of execution of Ukrainian POWs.

The US Department of Justice has been investigating Russian war crimes as well. Last year the DOJ charged four Russian soldiers with torture, inhumane treatment, and unlawful confinement of a US national in Ukraine.

Sources:

Russian forces execute 16 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say (kyivindependent.com)

Office of Public Affairs | Four Russia-Affiliated Military Personnel Charged with War Crimes in Connection with Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine | United States Department of Justice

Russian soldier jailed for life in Ukraine’s first war crime trial (brusselstimes.com)

Iran Counterattacks Israel on Behalf of Lebanese Hezbollah with Ballistic Missiles

Photo: AP

Iran launched a massive ballistic missile attack at Israel on 1 Oct in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in a new escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed resistance group.

Israeli air defenses intercepted many of the estimated 180 missiles that were fired, though some landed in central and southern Israel. There were no reports of any injuries and after about an hour after the attack was launched it was safe for them to leave their bomb shelters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “a big mistake” and said Tehran “will pay for it.” He added: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them.”

US President Joe Biden said he would discuss a response with Netanyahu. Asked what the response would be, Biden replied: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”

He added that the attack appears to have been “defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the US military” and said the US is “fully supportive of Israel.”

Israeli police reported that at least six people were killed and nine wounded in a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv. Police said it was a “terrorist” attack carried out at a light rail station and the two attackers were later killed by civilians and inspectors using their own firearms. There has been no claim of responsibility.

While the missile attack sent Israelis scurrying to take cover in bomb shelters, it prompted people in Iran to celebrate. State television broadcast images from the city of Mashhad showing people in the streets waving the yellow flag of Hezbollah and portraits of the group’s slain chief, Hassan Nasrallah. Similar celebrations also took place in the capital Tehran and in several provincial cities.

World leaders urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink and negotiate a cease-fire.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East” following fighting in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

To a hammer, everything is a nail as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is demonstrating. He has ignored the entreaties of the UN and world leaders for a cease-fire, as well as the pleas of his citizens to make a deal to release the remaining hostages. The widening conflict will keep Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial in abeyance while casualties begin to mount.  In this “David versus Goliath” conflict, Israel and her supporters should expect asymmetric attacks or lone-actor reprisals against soft civilian targets, ranging from runamok knife attacks (like in Germany earlier this year), vandalism against synagogues, or bomb threats against Jewish hospitals (like earlier this year in Canada).  

Lebanese man stands in remains of a building destroyed by the IDF in Beirut on 1 Oct 2024. The Lebanese economy was already in shambles before the Israeli onslaught. Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI.

A French naval ship is deploying to Lebanon to assist with any evacuations of French citizens. Approximately 23,000 French and Franco-Lebanese residents live in Lebanon. The French embassy in Beirut has established a hotline and started coordinating evacuation options for civilians who wish to leave. Two French nationals have already been killed by the IDF.

Sources:

Iran Launches Massive Ballistic Missile Attack On Israel (rferl.org)French navy deploys near Lebanon as Israel launches ground raids on Hezbollah (rfi.fr)

Florida Man Found Guilty of Felony Destruction of Property and Other Charges During 6 Jan Capitol Breach

Supporters of then-US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol’s Rotunda on 6 Jan 2021, in Washington, DC. Photo: NBC News.

A federal jury in the District of Columbia found Marcus Smith (47) of Fleming Island, FL, guilty of a felony offense of destruction of government property and several misdemeanor charges during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Joining the mob that stormed the US Capitol, Smith noticed some rioters trying to breach a locked door inside the building. The defendant joined them in breaking down the door. The Architect of the Capitol later determined that the value of the damage to the door, which was part of the original construction of the Senate Wing of the Capitol and dated back to the 1850s, necessitated the door being replaced at a cost of approximately $21,000.

After further trespassing within the US Capitol, this runamok finally departed at approximately 2:50 PM. The FBI arrested Smith on 26 Jan 2024, in Fleming Island. 

This brontosaurus represents America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), dead-ender white supremacists clinging on to the last vestiges of white privilege in the US. Marcus Smith is lucky that he wasn’t charged with any crimes of violence against USCP officers. The Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich will sentence Smith on 10 Jan 2025.

In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source:

District of Columbia | Florida Man Found Guilty of Felony Destruction of Property and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

US Targets Israeli-Occupied West Bank Settler Violence with Sanctions

Hilltop Youth settlers in West Bank (Photo credit: REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen)

The US sanctioned one informal organization and two people as the Biden administration continues to tighten its financial grip on those it accuses of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The US Treasury designated Hilltop Youth, an extremist group of West Bank settlers accused of attacking Palestinians and destroying their homes and property. The US government listed Hilltop Youth as a “criminal organization.”

The Treasury said the group of settlers has “conducted a campaign of violence against Palestinians,” which includes killings, arson, assaults and intimidation, with the goal of driving Palestinians out of the West Bank. It conducts what are called “price tag” assaults, which are revenge attacks conducted in reprisal for actions carried out against settlers.

The late author and Israel Prize laureate Amos Oz who was known as: “The humane heart of Israel.”

In 2014, the late Amos Oz condemned the perpetrators of “price tag” attacks, saying “‘Price tag’ and ‘Hilltop Youth’ are cute nicknames for a monster that needs to be called what it is: Hebrew neo-Nazi groups.” Oz went on to say that the only difference between neo-Nazis around the world and those who commit hate crimes in Israel is that “our neo-Nazi groups enjoy the support of numerous nationalist or even racist legislators, as well as rabbis who give them what is in my view pseudo- religious justification.”

The State Department sanctioned Eitan Yardeni and Avichai Suissa, who leads Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli non-government organization the US sanctioned in late August.

Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory and the establishment of settlements are widely viewed as illegal under international law and have attracted the repeated criticism and condemnation of the UN and the wider international community.

The US has been a critic of Israel’s occupation and has said it represents an obstacle to a two-state solution. The Biden administration has sanctioned 27 individuals and entities accused of perpetuating violence there under an executive order that President Joe Biden signed in February.

The Biden administration has used the sanctions to criticize Israel for not doing more to curb violence in the West Bank, while critics have called on the administration to use its sanctioning power against those in the Israeli government who enable the violence against Palestinians.

“The Biden administration imposes more sanctions on settlers for violence against West Bank Palestinians but still hasn’t imposed sanctions on any of the Israeli officials who are encouraging the settler violence,” Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and current visiting professor at Princeton, said on X.

According to an update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there have been some 1,390 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians between the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 Oct and 23 Sep.

Of those attacks, 135 involved the killing and wounding of Palestinians, 1,110 saw Palestinian property damaged and about 150 caused both casualties and property damage. The report added that some 1,628 Palestinians, including 794 children, have been displaced by the settler violence. The AP reported that 623 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank.

Sources:

Sanctions List Search (treas.gov)

U.S. targets Israeli-occupied West Bank settler violence with sanctions – UPI.com

Amos Oz: Hilltop youth are Hebrew neo-Nazis – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen on Trial for Misusing EU funds

Marine Le Pen sits in the European Parliament, Strasbourg, in Jan 2017.  She looks quite pleased with herself. Photo: AP / Jean-Francois Badias

Marine Le Pen, her father, and 25 colleagues – including current and former French lawmakers and MEPs – are accused of embezzling public funds and collusion. Prosecutors claim that the defendants set up a fake jobs scheme using European parliamentary funds to pay for assistants who in fact worked for her National Rally party, formerly called the National Front, rather than on European affairs.

The scheme, which ran from 2004 to 2016, was in breach of EU rules.

The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that 6.8 million euros had been embezzled. Marine Le Pen has always denied any wrongdoing.

The trial runs through to 27 Nov. If found guilty, Le Pen could face a maximum ten years behind bars and a €1 million fine. That’s unlikely, but she also faces a possible five-year ban on standing for public office. This would rule her out of the 2027 presidential election she is preparing for, and which a recent poll suggests she has a stronger than ever chance of winning.

A total of 11 members of the European Parliament, 12 of their parliamentary assistants and four party collaborators are to be tried as well, while the RN party itself faces charges of concealing the wrongdoing. Among the high-profile figures are Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, her former partner Louis Aliot – the mayor of the southern city of Perpignan – and RN spokesperson Julien Odoul.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who is 96 years old, will not be present in court after a medical report in July diagnosed him as “unfit” to stand trial.

The National Rally is not the only party to be accused of misappropriating MEP funds.

In February this year the centrist MoDem party, currently part of President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition, was fined €350,000 for similar charges.

MoDem’s leader, Francois Bayrou, was acquitted due to reasonable doubt, but the eight people found guilty were ordered to pay fines, sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 18 months and were banned from serving in public office.

Sources:

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on trial for misuse of EU funds (rfi.fr)

Far right election gains ensure a financial jackpot for Le Pen’s National Rally

Germany Arrests Chinese Woman Accused of Spying

German police arrested a Chinese woman accused of spying on the country’s defence industry while working in a logistics company.

Named only as Yaqi X., she allegedly reported to another suspected Beijing agent now under arrest, Jian G., who was working in the office of a German far-right member of the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah. The woman arrested on Monday is “strongly suspected of acting as an intelligence agent for a Chinese secret service.”

Yaqi X. worked for a company that provides logistics services at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany.

She allegedly used her position to gather information on “the transport of military equipment and persons with connections to a German arms company.”

Between mid-2023 and February, she “repeatedly sent information on flights, cargo and passengers at the airport to an employee of a Chinese secret service — namely Jian G., who is being prosecuted separately,” prosecutors said.

Jian G., a German national, was arrested in April on suspicion of spying while working in the Brussels office of German MEP Krah of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Her Leipzig home and workplace were also searched.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told Bild daily that “the arrest of a suspected Chinese spy in Leipzig shows us once again that foreign intelligence services have long had Germany in their sights.

Citing unnamed security sources, news site Der Spiegel reported that Yaqi X., a 38-year-old, in particular had targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.

Her alleged handler Jian G. was arrested on suspicion of sharing European Parliament information with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.

The European Union assembly, which had listed Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to Krah, moved to suspend him earlier this year. Krah posted on X at the time that prosecutors had confirmed to his lawyer that he was “not a suspect in the investigation”. The allegations involving China were among a series of controversies to hit Germany’s AfD, including claims that some of its members have links to Russia.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the allegations against Guo “very serious” and said that, if confirmed, it was “an attack on European democracy from within”.

According to German broadcasters ARD, RBB, and SWR, Guo was no stranger to German intelligence. He had reportedly offered his services as an informer at least a decade ago but was turned away on suspicion he might be a Chinese double agent.

Source:

Germany Arrests Chinese Woman Accused Of Spying | Barron’s (barrons.com)

California Wildfires One Million Hectares This Year

Map: FIRMS US / NASA

The total hectares burned in California this year surpassed one million as spiking temperatures Tuesday added to the challenges facing firefighters struggling to contain a stubborn blaze in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles that flared up over the weekend.

Evacuation orders were expanded again Monday for remote communities northeast of Los Angeles as the Line Fire that has been burning for nearly a month spread over nearly 176 square kilometers (68 square miles) of the San Bernardino Mountains, and containment dropped from 83% to 76%.

“The dry vegetation, steep slopes and wind aligned … to create conditions for the rapid fire spread,” according to a statement late Monday from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heat wave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.

San Francisco, where residents typically break out the sweaters in October, could hit 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), while triple digits 38 C were predicted for Sacramento. The weather service office in the state’s capital urged residents to stay indoors during the heat of the day on Tuesday.

Dry, hot winds in the northern part of the state prompted Pacific Gas & Electric to pre-emptively cut power to small clusters of customers in high-risk areas. The utility routinely stops electricity service in counties where weather conditions increase the probability of fires.

In Southern California, the Line Fire’s surge pushed the total hectares burned across the state in 2024 to 405,492 (1,001,993 acres) as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. The milestone surpasses the total scorched during the same time last year — 118,719 hectares (293,362 acres) — but is roughly on par with the five-year average for the period, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At its height, the blaze threatened more than 65,000 homes in and around the Big Bear Lake area.

A 34-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to starting the Line Fire on 5 Sep. Justin Wayne Halstenberg of Norco, CA, was charged with 11 arson-related crimes.

Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, CA, 9 Sep 2024.

Sources:

Wildfires in California have burned 1 million hectares so far this year (voanews.com)

NASA | LANCE | FIRMS US/Canada

Vietnam: 25 Students Suspected of Poisoning After Drinking Free Soft Drinks; Other Cases of Possible Food Poisoning Reported This Summer

Pediatric patient treated at the hospital. Photo: BVCC

After drinking free soft drinks at the gate of Binh Minh Secondary School, Thanh Oai, 25 students showed signs of poisoning; 12 were hospitalized with headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Physicians suspect food poisoning. Three more serious patients were transferred to Intensive Care, the rest were treated at the Infectious Diseases Department. The children drank free bottled soft drinks outside the school gate. There is no information yet regarding the brand or the ingredients, but the product was distributed for free for advertising purposes.

Authorities recommend that schools in the area, as well as parents, educate their children not to eat snacks outside the school gate and absolutely not to accept food from strangers.

On 21 Sep, 70 people at Primary and Secondary School in Nong Thuong commune, Bac Kan city vomited, had abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and were hospitalized. The day before, 88 students and five teachers ate rice, fried chicken, vegetable soup with melons, stir-fried potatoes, and watermelon.

The next morning, 20 students appeared with hot fever, abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, and were admitted to the emergency city health center. The number of sick patients increased to 70 with similar symptoms. The cause is unknown.

On 16 Sep, 34 students of Ton Duc Thang Secondary School in Pleiku drank milk tea at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Within a few hours, 21 students had abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. They received emergency medical treatment and doctors suspected food poisoning.

The City Health Center took food samples for testing to find the cause.

Without further information, these incidents appear to be isolated examples of poor quality control over food and beverage production in Vietnam, and not a sinister plot to murder innocent children.

Sources:

25 students suspected of poisoning after drinking soft drinks are given out for free – VnExpress Health Newspaper

70 people in Bac Kan were hospitalized with the same symptoms of vomiting and headache – VnExpress Health Newspaper

21 students suspected of poisoning after the Mid-Autumn Festival party – VnExpress Health Newspaper

Used Baby Incubators Help Save Orphaned Kangaroos by Imitating Their Mother’s Pouch

Story: Andy Corbley; Photo: Mandy Watson

When an Australian nurse working at a hospital with outdated incubators happened upon a kangaroo rescue center, she realized she could help save lives.

Once used to help save premature human babies, the incubators are now mimicking the conditions of a mother kangaroo’s pouch, where her joey will live for the first eight months of its life.

Every year dozens of orphaned joeys and pinkies, or marsupial pups who haven’t opened their eyes yet, are brought into Kununurra Kangaroo Rescue Haven in East Kimberly, Australia.

Since they are the largest terrestrial animal in Australia, an adult kangaroo rarely has to worry about predators and their populations can balloon quite dramatically. This, unfortunately, renders them much like whitetail deer in the US—at extreme risk of becoming roadkill.

Mandy Watson, director of the Kununurra Haven, has saved hundreds of orphaned joeys from their moms who have been hunted or struck by vehicles. Young, pinky joeys can struggle to survive without the warmth and humidity of their mother’s pouch. She has seen hundreds of orphans return to the wild, but thousands not make it to adulthood.

“In 20 years, we’ve released 823 back into the wild. It’s really hard, especially in the dry season, for us to keep up that constant temperature,” Watson told ABC News Down Under. “The humidicrib (incubator) is going to be a constant temperature that’s going to dramatically help [to] save a few more lives.”

The humidicribs were donated by nurse Jane Darlington, a clinical pediatric nurse at the Kununurra District Hospital. The hospital needed to get rid of them as the rapid march of medical technology had seen them become obsolete.

Darlington got the idea while shopping in town. She saw a volunteer from the rescue center helping to raise awareness of their work by walking around in a wallaby costume, holding one of their orphaned joeys.

Mandy Watson (left) and a volunteer play with some joeys next to their truck-mounted incubator. Photo: Jane Darlington

Source:

Old Incubators Help Save Orphaned Kangaroos by Imitating Their Mother’s Pouch (goodnewsnetwork.org)

“What? The right-wing in Europe is linked to Russian and Chinese intelligence? And involved in financial chicanery? Who knew?!”

Ukraine Intelligence Chief: North Korean Aid to Russia Poses Biggest Threat to Kiev

North Korea has recently bolstered military ties with Russia, with President Vladimir Putin making a rare visit to Pyongyang in Jun 2024, where he signed a mutual defense agreement with Kim Jong-Un.

North Korean military aid to Russia is the most damaging for Ukraine, intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on 14 Sep. “Our biggest problem from all these allies of Russia is from North Korea. Because with the volume of military products that they supply, they actually affect the intensity of the fighting.” His remarks came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to deepen ties with Russia. Kyiv has been monitoring arms deliveries from Pyongyang to Moscow and feels their effect on the battlefield. “There is a direct correlation. They are supplying huge volumes of artillery ammunition, which is critical,” Budanov said.

Western powers have accused cash-strapped North Korea of selling ammunition to Russia in defiance of sanctions over the more than 30-month war in Ukraine.

North Korean state media showed leader Kim Jong Un (R) meeting with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu (L) at an undisclosed location (Image: AFP)

Russian security chief Sergei Shoigu held talks with Kim Jong-Un this weekend at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Experts suspect it was the Kumsusan Guest Palace in Pyongyang, which has hosted both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Shoigu heads Russia’s Security Council after stepping down as defence minister in May. He last met with Kim in July 2023, during a celebration in Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Korean War armistice. Their latest meeting comes two days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the testing spree was possibly of weapons meant “for export to Russia.”

Using debris analysis, a recent Conflict Armament Research report indicated “that missiles produced this year in North Korea are being used in Ukraine.”

An Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft belonging to North Korean air carrier Air Koryo takes off from Beijing airport after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un left Beijing, China, on 20 Jun. Photo by Wu Hong/EPA

Observers of North Korea detected increased air travel between the two pariah states after the Jun 2024 meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un. Five North Korean flights flew to Vladivostok, a trip unusually involving cargo planes.

Three cargo planes and two passenger flights of the North Korean national carrier Air Koryo traveled to Russia’s far-eastern port city. The trip involved three unusual cargo flights of the model used to transport personal armored vehicles of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his overseas trips, including his visit to China in June. The IL-76 cargo aircraft hasn’t made a trip to Vladivostok since 2010 and the cargo is unknown.

Two passenger flights make regular round-trips between Pyongyang and Vladivostok on Monday and Friday. And extra passenger flights were spotted flying during weekdays. One report cited an anonymous source saying the extra cargo flights were sent to bring back North Korean workers in the Russian city as their work permit expires soon.

As posted here on Coriolanus.page, North Korea recently released images of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time, and Kim stressed “the need to further augment the number of centrifuges in order to exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense”.

Russia, a historical ally of North Korea, is one of a handful of nations with which Pyongyang maintains friendly relations. Ties have warmed since the 2022 start of the Ukraine war ruptured Russia’s relations with the West.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million, as Moscow’s brutal invasion of Ukraine drags on for more than 2 ½ years.

Sources:

North Korean Aid To Russia Poses Biggest Threat To Ukraine, Intelligence Chief Says (rferl.org)

North Korean cargo flights fly to Russia in unusual trip – UPI.com

N. Korea Pledges Deeper Ties With Russia As Security Chief Visits | IBTimes

Putin orders military to boost troop numbers by 180,000 to 1.5 million as Ukraine fighting continues – ABC News (go.com)

IDF: ‘High Probability’ Three Hostages Mistakenly Killed in Airstrike in Nov 2023

People hold cut outs of yellow ribbons at a protest calling for a hostage deal outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem after six hostage bodies were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel in Rafah in Gaza, on 1 Sep. File photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI | License Photo

Israel’s military on Sunday concluded in an investigation there is “high probability” three Israeli hostages were killed during an airstrike in Nov 2023 intended to take out a Hamas northern Gaza brigade chief. The IDF informed the families last week that a comprehensive inquiry revealed they died by IDF actions. IDF officials and hostage families started to leak the results of the investigation.

On 14 Dec, three bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Jabaliya. The tunnel included a large elevator, large rooms, and split into side rooms, such as command centers, medical stations, prayer rooms, and rooms for manufacturing weapons. The three were abducted on 7 Oct.

Evidence included where bodies were found and their condition; a pathological report and one by the state’s forensic institute; and operations research into the battlefield situation and activities. Initially, the families were initially told the hostages had been killed by Hamas captors. In January, the IDF rejected Hamas’ assertions that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

In a video released by Hamas, the three hostages were seen holding up pieces of paper with their names and personal information. In a statement posted alongside the video, Hamas claimed that “they tried to keep them alive – but Netanyahu insisted on killing them.”

The airstrike on 10 Nov was intended to take out Ahmed Ghandour, who was taking cover in a tunnel.

“At the time of the strike, the IDF did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound,” the military said. “Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages.”

In December, the IDF revealed finding five hostage bodies, three of whom were the ones later confirmed likely killed by IDF. In the same month, the Israeli military said its troops killed three hostages in Gaza after mistakenly identifying them as a threat.

Six to seven thousand Palestinians were being held in detention for alleged security violations, the majority who have never been convicted of a crime. 2,000 of the incarcerated Palestinians are being held in administrative detention, in which the Israeli military holds a person without charge or trial. Such detention can be renewed indefinitely based on secret information, which the detainee is not allowed to see. Administrative detainees are held on the presumption that they might commit an offense at some point in the future. Israeli authorities have held children, human rights defenders, Palestinian political activists, and healthcare workers, in administrative detention, often for prolonged periods.

Palestinian armed groups conducted a surprise attack on Israel on 7 Oct 2023 and seized hundreds of valuable Israeli hostages presumably for a prisoner swap. An estimated 101 Israelis remain hostage. Keeping them alive gives Palestinians a bargaining chip to release some of the thousands being held in Israeli prisons.

Sources:

Israel’s military: ‘High probability’ 3 hostages mistakenly killed in airstrike in November – UPI.com

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/12/15/IDF-Gaza-hostages-remains/6761702640286/

Dozens killed, injured in Gaza humanitarian zone as Israeli warplanes target Hamas

Hundreds of thousands march across Israel to demand return of hostages

Why Does Israel Have So Many Palestinians in Detention and Available to Swap? | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

Donald Trump Unharmed After Assassination Attempt at Florida Golf Resort

This screengrab taken from AFPTV on 16 Sep 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally calling for humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kiev, Ukraine, on 27 Apr 2022.

Former US President Donald Trump was unharmed late Sunday, after what the FBI said was an apparent assassination attempt at his golf club in West Palm Beach, FL. The incident, in which Trump was not hurt, came two months after he was grazed in the ear during a campaign event in Butler, PA.

Members of Trump’s security detail were securing areas of the golf course ahead of where Trump was playing Sunday when they spotted a gunman in the bushes. Secret Service agents fired at the suspect, who fled the area and was later arrested.

The local sheriff said the suspect left behind an “AK-47-style rifle” with a scope, a GoPro camera and two backpacks.

US President Joe Biden said in a Sunday evening statement that he was relieved Trump was unharmed. Vice President Kamala Harris said she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump.”

Various national media sources cited unnamed law enforcement officials who identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh (58) of Hawaii. Social media posts show Routh backing Trump’s 2020 election campaign, but more recent posts expressing support for Biden and Harris. Routh also repeatedly discussed the war in Ukraine and appeared to try to recruit soldiers to aid in Ukraine’s war effort.

Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.

Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the 13 Jul assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the USSS. The previous director the USSS resigned after the 13 Jul assassination attempt in Butler, PA, and several agents from the Pittsburgh Field Office were re-assigned.

Source:

Trump unharmed after second assassination attempt, authorities say (voanews.com)

Canada and Australia Sanction Iran

An Iranian walks next to a wall painting of Iran’s national flag at a street in Tehran, Iran, on 2 Jun 2022. Canada on Sunday expanded its list of Iranian government officials who are not admissible to the country. File Photo by Abedin Tahereknareh/EPA-EFE

Canada and Australia are banning more Iranian officials over the Middle Eastern country’s involvement in human rights violations and alleged terrorism on the second anniversary of the jailing and death of Mahsa Jina Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman was arrested in Sep 2022 for ‘improperly’ wearing her hijab.

In Nov 2022 Public Safety Canada designated Iran as a terrorist regime under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Iranians who have served as senior officials since 15 Nov have been barred from entering the North American country. Canada changed the inadmissibility date to 23 Jun 2003 — the day when Iranian authorities detained Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi. She was detained while working as a journalist outside Iran’s infamous Evin prison. She was reportedly beaten and died from her injuries on 10 Jul 2003.

Any senior official who served in the Iranian government at any time since 23 June 2003, is now inadmissible to Canada. The move also opens those with temporary or permanent resident status to undefined “enforcement action” that could include removal from the country. Accord to statistics from the Canada Border Services Agency, some 17,800 applications were reviewed under the inadmissible rule as of 26 Aug, resulting in 82 visas cancelled.

Fifteen people were also reported inadmissible under the rule, with two issued deportation orders, adding that another person was removed from the country and five cases were pending. Canada’s Iranian diaspora community has a population of more than 200,000, according to government statistics.

Australia is also imposing more sanctions on Iranian officials on the second anniversary of the jailing and death of Mahsa Jina Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman was arrested in September 2022 for ‘improperly’ wearing her hijab.

Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said that Australia stood in solidarity “with Iranian women and girls in their struggle for equality and empowerment.”

Wong announced financial sanctions and travel bans on senior security and law enforcement officials who have allegedly been involved in the ‘violent repression’ of protests in Iran. Female activists continue to be detained and handed death sentences. She said that abuses by Iranian authorities have continued since the death of Amini two years ago.

“We have sanctioned five Iranian security and law enforcement officials who have been involved in these law enforcement so-called activities, which are ultimately a repression – a violent repression – of the Iranian people,” Wong said.

Australia has now imposed sanctions on almost 200 individuals and organizations with links to Iran, including those associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Sources:

Canada expands entry ban on Iranian officials – UPI.com

Australia imposes more sanctions on Iran over human rights concerns (bignewsnetwork.com)

Zimbabwe Orders Cull of 200 Elephants Amid Food Shortages from Drought

Elephants and giraffes near a watering hole in Zimbabwe which is home to an estimated 100,000 elephants – the second-biggest population in the world after Botswana. Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Zimbabwe will cull 200 elephants as it faces an unprecedented drought that has led to food shortages, a move that tackle a ballooning population of the animals, the country’s wildlife authority has said. Zimbabwe had “more elephants than it needed”, the environment minister said in parliament, adding that the government had instructed the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) to begin the culling process.

The 200 elephants would be hunted in areas where they had clashed with humans, including Hwange, home of Zimbabwe’s largest natural reserve. Due to conservation efforts, Hwange is home to 65,000 of the animals, more than four times its capacity, according to ZimParks. Zimbabwe last culled elephants in 1988.

Neighbouring Namibia said this month that it had already killed 160 wildlife animals in a planned cull of more than 700, including 83 elephants, to cope with its worst drought in decades.

Zimbabwe and Namibia are among a swathe of countries in southern Africa that have declared a state of emergency because of drought. About 42% of Zimbabweans live in poverty, according to UN estimates, and authorities say about six million will require food assistance during the November to March lean season, when food is scarcest.

The move to hunt the elephants for food was criticized by some, not least because the animals are a major draw for tourists. Namibia’s cull of elephants has been condemned by conservationists and the animal rights group Peta as shortsighted, cruel and ineffective.

But the government said the 83 to be culled would be only a small fraction of the estimated 20,000 elephants in the arid country, and would relieve pressure on grazing and water supplies.

Source:

Zimbabwe orders cull of 200 elephants amid food shortages from drought | Zimbabwe | The Guardian

281 Inmates Escape After Floods Bring Down Prison’s Walls in Northeast Nigeria

Nigeria Prison Escape© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Nigerian authorities said 281 inmates escaped after devastating floods brought down a prison’s walls in the country’s northeast. Security personnel were able to recapture seven of the inmates and an operation is still ongoing to locate the rest.

A major dam collapsed on 10 Sep, unleashing severe flooding that left 30 people dead and over one million people displaced, prompting evacuations across the state of Borno.

Map: Researchgate.net

The collapse caused some of the state’s worst flooding since the same dam collapsed 30 years ago. The state government said the dam was at capacity due to unusually high rains. Two years ago, heavy flooding in Nigeria killed more than 600 people across the country. West Africa has experienced some of the heaviest flooding in decades this year, affecting over 2.3 million people, a threefold increase from 2023, according to the UN.

This summer Africa experienced two other prison breaks. Thirteen inmates escaped a police station in Nairobi, Kenya, including a suspect who police say confessed to the murders of 42 women and was being detained over the discovery of dismembered bodies.

An attempted jailbreak in Congo’s main prison left 129 people dead, including some who were shot and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility. A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were fatally shot by “warning” shots fired by guards as they tried to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital of Kinshasa. There were 59 injuries including some cases of rape.

The main prison holds both male and female inmates and it was not known if all 129 fatalities were inmates. Also, it wasn’t immediately clear how the stampede occurred as details of the jailbreak remained sparse. Makala, Congo’s largest penitentiary with a capacity for 1,500 people, holds over 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report.

Sources:

281 inmates escape after floods brought down prison’s walls in northeast Nigeria – ABC News (go.com)

Mass Prison Break Includes Man Who Confessed to Killing 42 Women – Newsweek

Jailbreak attempt at Congo prison kills 129 people as chaos erupts with a stampede and gunshots (nbcnews.com)

Over 30 Killed in Mexico Cartel Stronghold After Sinaloa Leaders Detained in US

A Mexican Army soldier stands guard after an armed attack against a business selling new and pre-owned cars in Culiacan, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on 12 Sep 2024. The US issued a security alert because of “reports of car thefts, gunfire, security forces operations, roadblocks, burning vehicles, and closed roadways” in the vicinity.

Eleven more people have been killed in a wave of violence in a Mexican cartel heartland shaken by gang infighting. The latest fatalities included five men whose bodies were found on a highway south of the city of Culiacan.

More than 30 people have been reported dead in a week of bloodshed in Sinaloa, although authorities did not specify how many were believed to be linked to the cartel infighting.

The clashes follow the dramatic arrest on US soil on 25 July of Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who claimed he had been kidnapped in Mexico and delivered into US custody against his will. Zambada pleaded not guilty last week in New York in a drug trafficking case that accuses him of engaging in murder plots and ordering torture.

Zambada (76) was detained along with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of El Chapo, who is serving a life sentence in the US. The violence is believed to pit gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others aligned with Zambada, who pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges in a New York court.

Schools were closed Thursday and Friday due to the violence and the governor said Sunday’s Independence Day festivities had been canceled.

In an unexpected twist, last month Mexican prosecutors said they were bringing charges against Guzmán for apparently kidnapping Zambada — but it also cited another charge under an article of Mexico’s criminal code that defines what he did as treason.

Nowhere in the statement does it mention that the younger Guzmán was a member of the Chapitos — “little Chapos” — faction of the Sinaloa cartel, made up of Chapo’s sons, that smuggles millions of doses of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the US, causing about 70,000 overdose deaths each year. According to a 2023 indictment by the US Justice Department, the Chapitos and their cartel associates used corkscrews, electrocution, and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were “fed dead or alive to tigers.”

El Chapo, the Sinaloa cartel’s founder, is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado after being convicted in 2019 on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offenses. Last year, El Chapo sent an “SOS” message to Mexico’s president, alleging that he has been subjected to “psychological torment” in prison.

This year Mexico elected its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. Vladimir Putin was invited to attend the 1 Oct inauguration in Mexico City.

Source:

Over 30 killed in Mexico cartel stronghold as violence rages after Sinaloa leaders detained in U.S. – CBS News

A Cat Named Drifter is Safe After Being Trapped in Sewer for Nearly Eight Weeks

A cat aptly named Drifter is safe at home after sneaking outside and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly eight weeks.

The 3-year-old tabby — an indoor feline who had aspirations of being an outdoor cat — went missing from the home of Clifton Nesseth and Ashley Comstock in the northeastern Minnesota city of Duluth on 18 Jul. His owners presume that he went to check out the construction underway in their neighborhood at some point.

The family, including their 12-year-old daughter, April Dressel, hung up posters and searched across the city without luck. They were beginning to plan a small memorial service for Drifter on Tuesday when neighbor kids came over and said they heard meowing coming from a storm drain at the construction site. The family also heard him meowing as they started digging through the dirt and cutting through the landscape fabric.

“A little paw shot out of a tear in the fabric,” Nesseth said. “It was a tabby cat paw. We tore the fabric more and then his head popped through.”

A neighbor, Dahlia Boberg (16) captured the reunion on video.

“Drifter!” Nesseth is seen exclaiming as he lifts the cat high, while neighbors who are gathered around laugh with delight and amazement. “He’s been under there the whole time! He’s really skinny.”

Source:

A cat named Drifter is safe after sneaking out and getting trapped in a sewer for nearly 8 weeks | AP News

CENTCOM: US, Iraqi Security Forces Kill 15 ISIS Operatives; In Yemen, Two Shia Houthi Drones Destroyed

A UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a 2022 mission targeting ISIS. (MAJ Karl R. Cain II/ US Army)

CENTCOM forces and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a partnered raid in Western Iraq in the early hours of 29 Aug, resulting in the death of 15 ISIS operatives.  Seven US casualties were reported. The ISIS element was armed with numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive “suicide” belts.  There is no indication of civilian casualties or if any prisoners were taken for interrogation or prosecution. Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided. CENTCOM also reported in the past 24 hours they destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

The Houthis are a Shia Muslim minority in Yemen, seen as heretical by the majority Sunnis Muslims on the Saudi Peninsula. After the Yemen government collapsed earlier this century, Saudi Arabia, led by the king and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), supported the Yemeni Sunnis in the ensuing civil war. After the Yemeni Shias defeated and humiliated the Saudi Army in 2015, MBS instituted a Saudi air and naval blockade of Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. This created an appalling humanitarian disaster of starvation and disease. The UN estimates 130,000 deaths from lack of food, health services, and infrastructure as of December 2020.

Hashem Mahmoud Atin, a 10-month-old displaced child suffering from acute malnutrition and who is unable to reach a hospital for treatment, is held by his mother at a refugee camp in Yemen. (2020 image: Sky News).

The famine and blockade propelled the beleaguered Shia Yemenis into the arms of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, their fellow Shia co-religionists.  This is why we see Houthi drone counterattacks against Western maritime targets in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden after Israel conducts an Extra-Judicial Killing (XJK) in Lebanon, Syria, or sovereign Iranian territory (via drone, missile, jet, or assassin). The Shia Houthis are simply supporting the two groups that are helping them to survive. This humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen can be laid squarely at the feet of the notorious MBS, who allegedly had a dissident journalist named Jamal Khashoggi literally butchered and dismembered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 Oct 2018.

Sources:

CENTCOM Forces and Iraqi Security Forces conduct partnered raid in Western Iraq > U.S. Central Command > Press Release View

15 ISIS militants killed, 7 US troops injured during Iraq raid (airforcetimes.com)

Yemen in ‘a desperate situation’ as famine looms and hundreds of thousands face starvation | World News | Sky News

The Houthis: Who They Are and Why Conflict Exists (brookings.edu)

Famine in Yemen (2016–present) – Wikipedia

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi – Wikipedia

Hundreds of Taiwanese Disappear in China Like a Black Hole Over Past Ten Years

Victims of enforced disappearance in China (L to R) rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, retired university professor Sun Wenguang, 2022 bridge banner protester Peng Lifa, and the 11th Panchen Lama.

More than 800 nationals of democratic Taiwan have “disappeared” over the past ten years in China, which has long used forced disappearances to silence and control its own dissidents and rights activists, rights groups. Figures compiled by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and several other non-government groups showed that 857 Taiwan nationals have been “forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily arrested” in China.

The victims include publisher Li Yanhe (pen name Fu Cha), detained in Shanghai since April 2023, democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh, who served a five-year jail term in Hunan province for “attempting to subvert state power,” and businessman Lee Meng-Chu, jailed for nearly two years for “espionage” after he snapped photos of People’s Armed Police personnel during the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese lawmaker Hung Shen-han warned that it’s not only Taiwanese who are at risk of arbitrary arrest and “disappearance” in China. “Chinese citizens themselves face the same problem.”

Geng He, the US-based wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng said it has been seven years since he “disappeared” on 13 Aug 2017.

Disappeared Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in an undated photo. (Weiquanwang)

Chinese authorities have also forcibly disappeared Uyghurs and Tibetans in the far-western part of mainland China. An estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang under flimsy pretexts during mass incarcerations that began more than seven years ago in an effort by Chinese authorities in a massive Sinicization project.

Former Xinjiang University President Tashpolat Teyip, who himself vanished in 2017 amid rumors he had run afoul of China’s increasingly hardline policies in Xinjiang has had no news about his brother, Nury, who also fell victim to an enforced disappearance. Teyip, who now lives in the US state of Virginia, said he has lost faith in the UN and international human rights organizations which did little to help except release a statement.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy highlighted a “disturbing trend” of underreporting of the number of Tibetans who are victims of enforced disappearances as China cracks down more heavily with restrictions and heightened surveillance in Tibet.  The rights group has documented more than 63 known cases of Tibetans subjected to enforced disappearance in Tibet over the past four years, but said the underreporting likely had to do with fear of reprisals. 

In February 2024, Tibetan performer  Gyegjom Dorjee (pictured below), who sang publicly about the exiled Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and blasted Chinese leaders as “false,” was arrested in China’s Sichuan province.

In March, Chinese police arrested Pema, a Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery, for staging a solo protest while holding a portrait of the Dalai Lama.  And on May 28, the Chinese authorities arrested Rabgang Tenzin who hoisted the Tibetan national flag in Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture as part of a consecration ceremony.  

The U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China and the Tibetan government in exile urged Beijing to reveal the whereabouts of one of the highest Tibetan Buddhist leaders, the 11th Panchen Lama, or Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as one of the “most prominent enforced disappearance cases.” He was abducted by Chinese authorities in May 1995, just days after the Dalai Lama recognized the then six-year-old as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader in the largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Source:

Hundreds of Taiwanese ‘disappear’ in China over past 10 years — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Since Its War in Ukraine, Russia Relies More on “Bargain Basement” Spies

Pablo Gonzalez (second from left in back), a freelance journalist from Spain, listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing him and other “swapped” Russian prisoners upon their arrival in Moscow on 1 Aug 2024. (Imagery: Radio Free Europe)

After Russia lost many of its valuable spy assets when dozens of diplomats were expelled from Western countries after the invasion of Ukraine, non-diplomatic civilian agents have now become essential. 90% of operations now carried out by these shadowy figures.

Many manage to avoid detection by working in innocuous jobs that allow them access to events and people of interest to Moscow. One purpose of these low-level spies is to exert influence on the Western world by infiltrating radical protest groups or opposition organizations.

A recent prisoner swap with Moscow included supposed art dealers and a Spanish-Russian freelance reporter Pablo Gonzalez, also known as Pavel Rubtsov.

On the surface, Pablo Gonzalez worked as a reporter for media outlets that included Deutsche Welle (DW) and the Voice of America (VOA), specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. But in reality, according to the head of the British MI6 secret service, Gonzalez was gathering information on Russian opposition groups and trying to destabilize Ukraine in the run up to Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Polish authorities detained Gonzalez in February 2022. Until 1 August, he was held in a high-security jail on charges of spying for Russia — allegations he had denied.

Media watchdogs condemned the conditions in which Poland held Gonzalez, but video footage of him being welcomed by Putin after the swap appeared to confirm his primary role was spy craft, not journalism.

Marc Marginedas, a correspondent for Spanish newspaper El Periodico, said despite the expulsions of Russian diplomats after the Ukraine invasion, the Russian intelligence service is like a small army. Staff in Russian embassies and state-run media organizations are probably forced to work in some kind of intelligence capacity. Marginedas agreed that “illegals” or “bargain basement” agents are now a mainstay of Moscow’s spying operation.

“Russia has invested heavily in ‘illegal’ agents who do not enjoy diplomatic protection,” he said. “Putin, by receiving those people with pomp at [Moscow’s] airport and promising them jobs and medals, was sending out the message to the future spies that the Russian state will not abandon its spies.”

Sources:

‘Renaissance of illegals’: Since its war in Ukraine, Russia is relying more on bargain basement spies (voanews.com)

Putin’s welcome ends speculation around true identity of Pablo Gonzalez

South Africans Flocking to Visiting Chinese Hospital Ship for Free Medical Care

The Peace Ark has a capacity to treat 700 patients each day and the service forms part of a joint exercise between the South African and Chinese armies. (Image: BBC)

As reported above, while undesirables are disappearing in China, Beijing is fostering goodwill in Africa with the Peace Ark, a 300-bed hospital that is docked in Capetown, South Africa. The military medical staff on board are providing free health care to needy South Africans.

Since the Peace Ark arrived last week, more than 2,000 South Africans have been treated on board – ranging from maternity check-ups and cataract surgeries to cupping therapy. Approximately 60 surgeries have been carried out so far, a tiny dent in the province’s waiting list of 80,000 patients.

The floating hospital leaves Cape Town for Angola before moving on to several other countries. The Peace Ark already visited the Seychelles, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Mozambique on this 10th excursion since being commissioned in 2008.

China enjoys a strong political partnership with South Africa, and this is Beijing’s latest show of soft power and a further step in China’s efforts to increase its influence on the African continent.

The 300-bed Peace Ark has a crew of 100, 20 intensive care beds, operating theatres, clinical departments, and a rescue helicopter.

Source:

Peace Ark: South Africans flock to Chinese hospital ship in Cape Town (bbc.com)

West Nile Virus Kills Two in New Jersey as US Death Toll Reaches Five; EEE Threatens New England

Two people have died in New Jersey after contracting West Nile virus — marking the fourth and fifth deaths in the US this year from the mosquito-borne disease. Little is known about the victims, beyond that they’ve been identified as “older adults.”

The deaths come on the heels of two virus-related fatalities in Wisconsin and one in Illinois. There have been a total of eight West Nile cases in New Jersey this year, leading to seven hospitalizations for encephalitis or meningitis. In 2023, 14 cases were reported in New Jersey and one death. NYC has reported six cases of West Nile and a total of 20 cases have been reported throughout NYS.

To the north as reported in a previous post, New England health authorities have been dealing with mosquitos carrying eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). Vermont’s health department is urging residents of several towns, including one bordering Quebec, to stay indoors from dusk to dawn to prevent the spread of a mosquito-borne illness.

Sources:

Department of Health | News | State Officials Urge Residents to Take Precautions Against Mosquito-Borne Illnesses (nj.gov)

West Nile kills 2 in NJ — 5 total dead across US (nypost.com)

Quebec towns near U.S. border alerted as Vermont faces mosquito-borne illness threat | CBC News

Jews and Arabs Hoped to Fill One Truck with Aid for Gaza Civilians. They filled 300.

Haviva Ner-David (R) with other Standing Together volunteers collecting humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza at Umm al-Fahem, a mostly Arab Israeli city in the Haifa district, 11 Aug 2024. (Photo: Faisel Mahagneh)

Standing Together, a joint Jewish-Arab Israeli national activist movement working for peace, equality and justice, had a plan to hire one big truck to go from one Arab town to another across Israel collecting donations of supplies. These would then be transported across the border and distributed to Gazan civilians through an international organization.

But already at the first site in northern Arab city of Sakhnin, it became clear more than one truck would be needed and volunteers filled three trucks. At Umm El Fahem, these volunteers collected 29 trucks full of aid. Donations included tuna fish, baby formula, bags of legumes and flour, as well as packages of diapers and menstrual pads. By the end of the humanitarian aid drive, which was extended a few extra days to include a couple more sites, Standing Together filled 300 trucks with supplies.

Before the war, back in January 2023, Standing Together organized the first mass demonstration against the government in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of Arabs and Jews.

Humanitarian aid collected for civilians in Gaza at a warehouse in Umm al-Fahem, Israel, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jacob Ner-David)

Source:

Jews and Arabs hoped to fill a truck with aid for Gaza civilians. We ended up filling 300. – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

American Warzone: NFL Rookie Wounded During Robbery Attempt in San Francisco

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, 31 July 2024. Photo by: Jeff Chiu/AP

America’s two favorite pastimes, firearms and football, collided this weekend when 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (23) was shot Saturday during an attempted robbery in central San Francisco.  Police said that Pearsall was injured while being robbed and so was the suspect. Both were taken to the hospital and Pearsall’s condition was reported as “good” by his teammate Deebo Samuel (posted on X).

In an average year, 3,299 people die and 9,787 are wounded by guns in California. The Golden State has the 32nd-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Per CBS News, California firearms licenses in 2021 numbered 406,360 and an estimated 28.3% of adults in California have guns in their homes. The number of illegal firearms in California is unknown.

Sources:

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall shot during attempted robbery (scrippsnews.com)

Gun-Violence-in-California-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)

4. California – Gun map: Ownership by state – statistics and rates (cbsnews.com)

Baby Rhino’s First Video: Southern White Calf Born in Melbourne Zoo

The new rhino calf will be named by public vote in the coming weeks. His mother, Kipenzi, means “precious one” in Swahili. Imagery: Werribee Open Range Zoo

Kipenzi is an 11-year-old southern white rhino, one of the most numerous rhino subspecies. Her calf was born on 18 Aug, and unlike her first baby which she tragically rejected years ago, she has been an attentive mother this time around.

Sheltered from public view as the two bond, visitors will soon be able to see the new boy stomping about his enclosure. Dr. Mark Pilgrim, the zoo’s director, said that Kipenzi was “doing her best to shepherd it and keep it close to her, and making sure that it’s not wandering off too far. So she’s just doing the perfect thing we expect a mother rhino to do.”

Kipenzi herself was born at Werribee Zoo in 2013 to resident rhino Sisi, who also presented a danger to her calf as she would not let Kipenzi out of her sight, even just to walk alongside her to nurse.

Source:

Baby Rhino’s First Video: Adorable Footage of Southern White Calf Born in Aussie Zoo (goodnewsnetwork.org)