Israeli security forces secure the entrance of the Allenby Bridge, between the West Bank and Jordan, after a Jordanian truck driver killed three Israeli border agents. (Photo: Debbie Hill)
Three Israeli border guards were shot dead by a Jordanian truck driver at the Allenby Crossing on the border between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Emergency Services said Sunday.
The IDF described the shooting as a terror attack and is investigating whether the truck was rigged with explosives. The truck driver was identified as Maher Dhiab Hussein al-Jazi (39). The gunman got out of the truck during an inspection at the terminal and opened fire at several of the workers.
Security guards returned fire at the terrorist, killing him. Two other crossings between Israel and Jordan — Rabin and Jordan River — were closed after the attack. Palestinians can only use the Allenby Bridge Crossing to enter Jordan from the West Bank, while Israelis generally use the Rabin and Jordan River crossings.
The three Israeli victims were settlers from Ma’ale Efraim, Na’ama, and Ariel. Two weeks ago, the IDF carried out raids, bulldozing highways, and launching airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank.
Last week, the IDF shot and killed a 26-year-old Turkish-American female humanitarian who was protesting the dislocation of Palestinians from the West Bank.
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in an undated photo via social media. She was shot in the head and the UN called for a complete investigation.
More than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza War began in Oct 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The IDF alleged most of the Palestinians were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, has been highly critical of Israel’s military operations in the West Bank and Gaza. And the UK recently restricted some military aid to Israel so that the weapons may not be used to perpetrate war crimes against Palestinians. See previous posting.
Meanwhile, Israelis held massive demonstrations nationwide demanding a deal to return the remaining Jewish hostages, as protesters flooded the streets 11 months after the start of the war in Gaza.
One of the largest demonstrations was in Tel Aviv, where videos showed what appeared to be many thousands of protesters choking Begin Road. Family members of some of the estimated 101 remaining hostages implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close a cease-fire deal to gain their release.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday demanding a cease-fire and calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Organizers claimed 400,000 demonstrators took part as the country marked 11 months since militants kidnapped hundreds of Israelis on 7 Oct 2023. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE.
A recent editorial from Canada dubbed Israeli PM Bejamin Netanyahu “the curse of Israel.” Already indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, a cessation of hostilities is not in Netanyahu’s best personal interest. He is playing for time with the Gaza War, using it to avoid his criminal bribery and corruption trials, as well as an inquiry into whether he could have prevented Hamas’ surprise attack last October. The longer everything is put off, the better it is for Netanyahu.
Sources:
Netanyahu is Israel’s curse – The Hill Times
Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu – Wikipedia
Hundreds of thousands march across Israel to demand return of hostages – UPI.com
Filipino Pastor on FBI’s Most Wanted List Captured by 2,000 Police Officers
Influential pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of god” who was wanted in the US for child sex trafficking, was arrested in the Philippines on Sunday.
Over 2,000 police were deployed for more than two weeks to search a 74-acre compound in the southern city of Davao owned by his church – the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) – on suspicion that he was hiding there in a bunker.
Quiboloy’s followers had blocked the gate of the compound to prevent shield-carrying police from enforcing a court order to arrest him. Police also used helicopters to circle over a cathedral, a college, and a 75,000-seat stadium. The police reportedly recorded the warmth and heartbeat of a human body, deep in the earth, using thermal imaging and radar technology.
Apollo Quiboloy, a longtime friend of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, was charged by the US Justice Department in 2021 with sex trafficking of girls and women between the ages of 12 and 25 to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals”, who were allegedly required to have sex with him.
He is also accused of bulk cash smuggling and a scheme that brought church members to the US using fraudulently obtained visas. They were then forced to solicit donations for a bogus charity, raising funds that were instead used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.
The evangelist preacher, who is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, has denied wrongdoing.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sources:
Apollo Quiboloy: How Filipino Pastor On FBI’s Most Wanted List Was Arrested By 2,000 Cops (ndtv.com)
Wildfires Force Thousands to Evacuate as Heat Wave Scorches Western US
A wildfire east of Los Angeles exploded overnight — more than doubling in size — as strong winds and dry conditions keep it raging out of control. Evacuation orders are in place for some mountain communities and neighborhoods near Highland, California — east of San Bernardino.
Meanwhile, in Nevada, the Davis Fire has torched a reported dozen buildings south of Reno and knocked out power to thousands as crews struggle to establish any containment.
RELATED STORY | Yes, wildfires are actually becoming more intense and more common, study says
Triple-digit heat will keep baking the Western US until Tuesday, offering fire-friendly conditions and straining crews working on the ground. In the cities, meanwhile, the heat could force power outages. Controlled outages may be implemented to help prevent broader outages or any new fires. However, no power also means no air conditioning as temperatures soar.
Source:
Wildfires force thousands to evacuate as heat wave scorches Western US (scrippsnews.com)
Dozens of ‘High-Risk’ Viruses Discovered on Fur Farms in China
Two workers at the Jiaozuo leather factory in Henan province, China, in 2006. (Guang Niu / Getty Images)
An international team of scientists offers insights into where and how the next pandemic may be brewing. Researchers analyzed the organs of 461 animals from dozens of species raised on fur farms in China, one of Asia’s leading producers. All the animals had died for unknown reasons.
The results reveal the presence of more than 100 different viruses, many of them unknown. Among them are 39 that are defined as “high risk,” as they have the ability to jump between species and potentially to humans. The research describes several viruses from wild animals that have spread to domestic species, often raised in their thousands in overcrowded cages and without sanitary controls. Samples were collected between 2021 and 2024 in more than a dozen provinces, mainly the four major fur-producing provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, in the northeast of the country. The results were published 4 Sep in the journal Nature.
British virologist Edward Holmes theorized that the COVID-19 pandemic virus originated in bats and reached humans through other animal carriers sold in Chinese markets. “Breeding animals for fur is an obvious way in which a pandemic coronavirus, or flu virus, could emerge in humans,” Holmes said. Another researcher emphasized: “Our study shows that viruses have jumped from wild species to farm animals. Because humans are in close contact with these animals, there is also a risk of contagion, and in fact we see that some human viruses have been transmitted to animals.” Researchers have so far detected no cases of human-to-human infection.
Raccoon dogs, members of the fox family, are nocturnal carnivores that are bred by the millions on Chinese fur farms for their pelts. Another coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed nearly 800 people — severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — was also detected in a Guangdong animal market in raccoon dogs. The new work points to this mammal, along with mink, guinea pigs, rabbits, and arctic foxes, as the major carriers of viruses classified as “high-risk” to humans.
Among the pathogens isolated are viruses from many families, including coronaviruses and influenza viruses. The most “worrying” of these, according to Holmes, may be the HKU5 coronavirus, which originated from the common bat and was found in mink that died of pneumonia. This pathogen is related to MERS, which has been detected in 27 countries and has killed nearly 900 people since 2012. The jump from bats to mink is “alarming” and requires monitoring.
The research is published just as the world is witnessing the worst avian flu epidemic ever recorded. A new, highly pathogenic H5N1 virus emerged in wild birds in 2021. It has since spread to domestic species, forcing the culling of hundreds of millions of birds, and infected wild and domestic mammals, including dairy cows in the US and mink on fur farms in Spain. It has already spread to humans and reached Antarctica, the most isolated and pristine continent on the planet. If H5N1 gains the ability to transmit efficiently between people, a new pandemic would ensue.
Source:
Human Rights Group: Chechen Forces Coerce Gay Men into Military Service; Seven Sent to Frontlines in Ukraine
A serviceman listens to Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, as he addresses troops in Grozny, the regional capital of Chechnya, on 29 March 2022. Source: AP Photo
Security forces in Chechnya are forcibly sending detained homosexual men to Ukraine by blackmailing them into “volunteering” for the frontlines, according to a report from the human rights group NC SOS («СК СОС»). The human rights activists have reported at least seven such cases, with one of the men sent to the front already having been killed.
SK SOS reports that these forced conscription methods began before 21 Sep 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of the army. In early Sep 2022, six men in Chechnya were detained on suspicion of being homosexual. They were threatened with fabricated criminal charges and warned they would be sent to pre-trial detention, where their orientation would be revealed to fellow inmates.
The detainees were given the choice of paying a ransom or volunteering for the war in Ukraine. Three of the men were forced to become “volunteers,” as the ransom amount — 1.5 million rubles (over $17,000) — was unaffordable for their families. One of these men was reportedly killed in action. In 2023, several members of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested. The women among them were released to their families later that evening, while four men were forcibly sent to Ukraine. Their fate remains unknown.
Source:
‘Very Dangerous’ British Prisoner Among Five to Escape High-Security Prison in Portugal
Top (L-R): Fernando Ferreira, Fabio Loureiro, Shergili Farjiani; Bottom: Mark Roscaleer, Rodolfo Lohrmann
Mark Cameron Roscaleer (39) had been serving a nine-year sentence for kidnapping and robbery at the Vale de Judeus Prison, 43 miles north of Lisbon. He and four others escaped the high-security prison Saturday morning. According to the Portuguese prison service (DGRSP), the convicts received “external help” from accomplices who provided a ladder which “allowed the inmates to scale the wall.” With three accomplices outside the prison, the five prisoners fled the scene in a Mercedes and a Volvo.
Vale de Judeus Prison. The prison guards’ union has criticized a lack of staffing at the high-security prison, saying there were not enough guards to properly watch the perimeter wall
The four other escapees are:
Fernando Ferreira (61), Portuguese, serving 25 years for drug trafficking, theft, robbery, and kidnapping.
Fabio Loureiro (33), Portuguese, jailed for 25 years for extortion, theft, and money laundering.
Rodolf Lohrmann (59), Argentinian, sentenced to 18 years and 10 months for theft, robbery, and money laundering.
Shergili Farjiani (42), originally from Georgia, given a seven-year term for violent crimes theft and forgery.
Luis Neves, national director of the Judicial Police, said that with the exception of Shergili Farjiani, all the prisoners were “very dangerous” and their escape was “very well prepared”.
He also told a news conference on Sunday they have “already tried to escape from prison several times” and will do “anything to remain free”, direly warning:
“When I say everything, I mean everything, including the fact that human life may be at stake here.”
Source:
Thieves Snatched Phone in London; One Month Later It Was in China
In April, a thief on the back of an electric bike snatched Akara Etteh’s phone in central London, making him another victim of an estimated 78,000 “snatch thefts” in England and Wales.
Mr. Etteh put his iPhone 13 into “lost” mode so the thieves couldn’t access its contents. He then turned on the Find My iPhone feature using his laptop. This allowed Akara to track his phone’s rough location as shown in the illustration above.
Stolen phones often end up in Shenzhen – where if devices can’t be unlocked and used again, they are disassembled for parts. The city is home to 17.6 million people and is an enormous hi-tech hub, sometimes referred to as China’s “Silicon Valley.”
One phone snatch victim, James O’Sullivan (44), says he lost more than £25,000 when thieves used his stolen device’s Apple Pay service. Another victim, Katie Ashworth, said her phone was snatched in a park along with her watch, and a debit card in the phone case. The phone contained the last photos of her mother while she was healthy.
Devastated by the loss of the photos, Ms. Ashworth says there was a lack of action from the constabulary.
“The police never even followed it up with me, despite my bank transactions showing exactly where the thieves went. The police just told me to check Facebook Marketplace and local second-hand shops like Cex.”
Source:
Thieves snatched his phone in London – he tracked it to China (bbc.com)
Baby Beavers Born in Urban London for First Time in Over 400 Years
The beavers constructed six dams and two lodges
At least two kits have appeared just eight months after the pioneering reintroduction of a beaver family to west London. The last time beavers had a presence in London was during the time of William Shakespeare.
The births of the kits mark the end of a more than 400-year absence of breeding beavers in urban London. At least two new kits born in the spring appear to be thriving, announced organizers of The Ealing Beaver Project.
In what is being called “a huge advancement in urban rewilding”, the successful reintroduction of beavers to London – and now the birth of the kits – is the fruit of a collaboration between multiple organisations and bodies.
The babies have been spotted venturing outside of their lodge in recent weeks at what is a publicly accessible site in Paradise Fields, a wetland in Greenford, west London. Beavers used to be permanent residents in the capital, before hunting, habitat destruction, and persecution led to the loss of the species throughout the UK. Their arrival shows that humans and wildlife can thrive side by side in urban environments, said Dr Sean McCormack, the license holder at the Ealing Beaver Project and chair of Ealing Wildlife Group.
“I had every confidence our beaver family would settle in at Paradise Fields, but to discover they’ve had new baby kits this spring is really the icing on the beaver cake,” he said. “These are not a wilderness species, they are an important animal we once lived alongside up and down the country and welcoming them back, even to our towns and cities, is the right thing to do. We may need to learn to live alongside them again, and sometimes manage their behaviour, but the ecosystem services they provide have been clearly demonstrated here already at the Ealing Beaver Project.”
Since their reintroduction, water quality has improved, flooding has reduced, and more insects and other wildlife have already been attracted to the site.
Source:
Ealing: First baby beavers born in urban London for 400 years (bbc.com)
Coriolanus 