News of the World
07-12-2024, 05:46 AM
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST
Is China Transporting & Selling Fuel or Cooking Oil?
China Caught Using Fuel Tankers to Store Cooking Oil
China’s state-owned China Grain Reserves Corporation, better known as Sinograin, is facing both public outrage and government investigations after a state-run newspaper caught the company transporting cooking oil in uncleaned tankers also used for fuel shipments.
Sinograin is China’s largest grain storage and transportation company. Reporters from the Beijing News followed tanker trucks from Sinograin and a privately-owned corporation called the Hopefull Grain and Oil Group and discovered the trucks were switching between cargoes of fuel and cooking oil without getting cleaned between shipments.
Some of the fuel involved in these unclean shipping procedures was from the China Energy Investment Corporation, which is also a state-run enterprise. The state-run China Daily reported that the fuel included loads of “coal-to-liquids,” a toxic chemical produced during coal processing.
Truck drivers told Beijing News it was an “open secret” among their ranks that tankers carrying toxic liquids, including some industrial chemicals in addition to fuel, were also transporting edibles, like cooking oil and syrup.
Chinese consumers, who have suffered through a long series of food and pharmaceutical safety scandals, were outraged by the report, especially since it involved major brand names and state-owned enterprises. One of the biggest social media firestorms of recent years erupted Saturday.
Sinograin tried a little damage control on Saturday, claiming it was as shocked by the Beijing News report as anyone and would order a full company investigation into truckers who might be violating food safety regulations.
The company’s spin doctoring was in vain. By Monday, Communist Party-controlled media outlets were denouncing company executives as accessories to attempted murder and demanding tough investigations by the central government.
State-run CCTV said the actions of Sinograin and Hopefull were “tantamount to poisoning,” and the public was “confused and stunned” to discover big brands linked to the state would show such “extreme disregard for the life and health of customers.”
China’s powerful State Council, effectively the national cabinet, sought to reassure the public by swiftly assembling a “joint investigation group” with officials from several ministries, including the Food Safety Commission and the Public Safety Bureau.
“Enterprises in violation and relevant responsible persons will be severely punished according to law,” the State Council pledged.
China’s state-run Global Times noted that social media users have uncovered old videos of news reports dating back to 2005 that documented dangerous incidents of food oil transported in the same tankers as chemicals.
The Global Times burbled that swift action by the gigantic Communist government could ensure food safety problems are “nipped in the bud,” but if these unsafe practices have been going on for 20 years or more, the situation would seem to have long ago passed the bud-nipping stage.
All of the companies linked to the scandal have promised to perform internal investigations, and Sinograin appears to have pulled its cooking oil products from some e-commerce platforms, although they remain available on others.
China’s state-owned China Grain Reserves Corporation, better known as Sinograin, is facing both public outrage and government investigations after a state-run newspaper caught the company transporting cooking oil in uncleaned tankers also used for fuel shipments.
Sinograin is China’s largest grain storage and transportation company. Reporters from the Beijing News followed tanker trucks from Sinograin and a privately-owned corporation called the Hopefull Grain and Oil Group and discovered the trucks were switching between cargoes of fuel and cooking oil without getting cleaned between shipments.
Some of the fuel involved in these unclean shipping procedures was from the China Energy Investment Corporation, which is also a state-run enterprise. The state-run China Daily reported that the fuel included loads of “coal-to-liquids,” a toxic chemical produced during coal processing.
Truck drivers told Beijing News it was an “open secret” among their ranks that tankers carrying toxic liquids, including some industrial chemicals in addition to fuel, were also transporting edibles, like cooking oil and syrup.
Chinese consumers, who have suffered through a long series of food and pharmaceutical safety scandals, were outraged by the report, especially since it involved major brand names and state-owned enterprises. One of the biggest social media firestorms of recent years erupted Saturday.
Sinograin tried a little damage control on Saturday, claiming it was as shocked by the Beijing News report as anyone and would order a full company investigation into truckers who might be violating food safety regulations.
The company’s spin doctoring was in vain. By Monday, Communist Party-controlled media outlets were denouncing company executives as accessories to attempted murder and demanding tough investigations by the central government.
State-run CCTV said the actions of Sinograin and Hopefull were “tantamount to poisoning,” and the public was “confused and stunned” to discover big brands linked to the state would show such “extreme disregard for the life and health of customers.”
China’s powerful State Council, effectively the national cabinet, sought to reassure the public by swiftly assembling a “joint investigation group” with officials from several ministries, including the Food Safety Commission and the Public Safety Bureau.
“Enterprises in violation and relevant responsible persons will be severely punished according to law,” the State Council pledged.
China’s state-run Global Times noted that social media users have uncovered old videos of news reports dating back to 2005 that documented dangerous incidents of food oil transported in the same tankers as chemicals.
The Global Times burbled that swift action by the gigantic Communist government could ensure food safety problems are “nipped in the bud,” but if these unsafe practices have been going on for 20 years or more, the situation would seem to have long ago passed the bud-nipping stage.
All of the companies linked to the scandal have promised to perform internal investigations, and Sinograin appears to have pulled its cooking oil products from some e-commerce platforms, although they remain available on others.
Chinese Warplanes Flying Over Taiwanese Airspace
Taiwan Reports Single-Day Record of Chinese Warplanes in Its Airspace
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Thursday it detected 66 Chinese warplanes and seven Chinese naval vessels circling the island during the previous 24 hours, marking the largest Chinese incursion into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in 2024.
Taiwanese officials said 56 of China’s planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which was once considered an informal buffer zone that neither side would cross to avoid misunderstandings and conflict escalation. China publicly stated in April 2023 that it would no longer respect the median line.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry noted that some of China’s ships and planes were apparently on their way to a military exercise involving the aircraft carrier Shandong. At the very least, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) did not go out of its way to avoid passing through Taiwan’s ADIZ while mustering its forces for the naval exercise.
The Defense Ministry published some photos of China’s aircraft, including the advanced J-16 Hidden Dragon strike fighter and the nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.
“The military has a detailed grasp of the activities in the seas and waters around the Taiwan Strait, including of the Chinese Communists’ aircraft and ships,” the ministry said, without indicating if the photos were new pictures taken on Wednesday.
Military expert Su Tzu-yun of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research noted that the incursions on Wednesday and Thursday were the largest since China petulantly staged aggressive military exercises in May to “punish” the island for electing William Lai Ching-te as president.
Su told Voice of America News (VOA) that China might be in punishment mode again, reacting angrily to Lai’s meeting on Wednesday with Raymond Greene, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The AIT informally serves as the U.S. embassy to Taiwan, making Greene the new de facto ambassador.
Greene told Lai the United States is committed to enhancing the “already rock-solid” ties between America and Taiwan and helping Taiwan defend itself. Su suggested China sent its warplanes and ships around Taiwan to “express its displeasure” at the support Taipei enjoys.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo added the observation that when China sent the aircraft carrier Shandong to join the PLAN exercise, it did not pass through the Bashi Channel, the route south of Taiwan normally used by Chinese ships heading for the Pacific. Instead, the carrier used the more southerly Balingtang Channel route, which took it close to the Philippines — another neighbor China has been working hard to intimidate lately.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Thursday it detected 66 Chinese warplanes and seven Chinese naval vessels circling the island during the previous 24 hours, marking the largest Chinese incursion into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in 2024.
Taiwanese officials said 56 of China’s planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which was once considered an informal buffer zone that neither side would cross to avoid misunderstandings and conflict escalation. China publicly stated in April 2023 that it would no longer respect the median line.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry noted that some of China’s ships and planes were apparently on their way to a military exercise involving the aircraft carrier Shandong. At the very least, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) did not go out of its way to avoid passing through Taiwan’s ADIZ while mustering its forces for the naval exercise.
The Defense Ministry published some photos of China’s aircraft, including the advanced J-16 Hidden Dragon strike fighter and the nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.
“The military has a detailed grasp of the activities in the seas and waters around the Taiwan Strait, including of the Chinese Communists’ aircraft and ships,” the ministry said, without indicating if the photos were new pictures taken on Wednesday.
Military expert Su Tzu-yun of Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research noted that the incursions on Wednesday and Thursday were the largest since China petulantly staged aggressive military exercises in May to “punish” the island for electing William Lai Ching-te as president.
Su told Voice of America News (VOA) that China might be in punishment mode again, reacting angrily to Lai’s meeting on Wednesday with Raymond Greene, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The AIT informally serves as the U.S. embassy to Taiwan, making Greene the new de facto ambassador.
Greene told Lai the United States is committed to enhancing the “already rock-solid” ties between America and Taiwan and helping Taiwan defend itself. Su suggested China sent its warplanes and ships around Taiwan to “express its displeasure” at the support Taipei enjoys.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo added the observation that when China sent the aircraft carrier Shandong to join the PLAN exercise, it did not pass through the Bashi Channel, the route south of Taiwan normally used by Chinese ships heading for the Pacific. Instead, the carrier used the more southerly Balingtang Channel route, which took it close to the Philippines — another neighbor China has been working hard to intimidate lately.
Local Bully Accuses Neighbor of Committing a Crime
China Claims Japanese Destroyer Entered Its Waters ‘Illegally’
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Beijing lodged a formal complaint with Tokyo about the “illegal and improper” actions of a Japanese destroyer that entered Chinese territorial waters near Taiwan on July 4.
The JS Suzutsuki is an Akizuki-class destroyer that the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates. The ship was sailing off the coast of China’s Zhejiang province in July to monitor Chinese naval drills.
Zhejiang officials announced on July 3 that a “no-sail zone” was being established off the coast so the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could conduct live-fire drills.
For reasons not yet clear, the captain of the Suzutsuki reportedly disregarded warnings from Chinese ships to leave the area when it made a rare approach within 12 nautical miles of the coast on July 4. This was much closer than JMSDF vessels usually come to Chinese territory.
Instead of leaving the area, the Suzutsuki reportedly accelerated and entered Chinese territorial waters for about 20 minutes before departing.
Japanese officials said the destroyer made a “procedural error” and entered Chinese waters by accident. They cited a provision of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that permits “innocent passage” through the territorial waters of another nation.
Some international legal experts question if the right of innocent passage can be applied to a military vessel since the UNCLOS stipulates that such passage must be safe and pose no realistic threat to national security.
Chinese officials countered that the Japanese ship was too advanced and its crew too skilled for such a navigational error to occur. They said the Suzutsuki did not request permission to enter China’s waters, as it could easily have done, so its passage could be interpreted as an “intentional provocation” or an illegal effort to gather intelligence on Chinese activities.
“I wonder why Japan made such a provocative move amid efforts by both countries to stabilize relations,” a Chinese diplomatic source grumbled to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Thursday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday that Beijing has “lodged representations” with Japan over the “illegal and improper actions” of the Suzutsuki. Japanese and Chinese officials have spoken unofficially since the incident occurred but have issued no formal statements as of Thursday.
Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the Japanese Defense Ministry has launched an investigation into the actions of the Suzutsuki’s captain. The ministry would offer no public comment on the status or scope of the investigation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Beijing lodged a formal complaint with Tokyo about the “illegal and improper” actions of a Japanese destroyer that entered Chinese territorial waters near Taiwan on July 4.
The JS Suzutsuki is an Akizuki-class destroyer that the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates. The ship was sailing off the coast of China’s Zhejiang province in July to monitor Chinese naval drills.
Zhejiang officials announced on July 3 that a “no-sail zone” was being established off the coast so the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could conduct live-fire drills.
For reasons not yet clear, the captain of the Suzutsuki reportedly disregarded warnings from Chinese ships to leave the area when it made a rare approach within 12 nautical miles of the coast on July 4. This was much closer than JMSDF vessels usually come to Chinese territory.
Instead of leaving the area, the Suzutsuki reportedly accelerated and entered Chinese territorial waters for about 20 minutes before departing.
Japanese officials said the destroyer made a “procedural error” and entered Chinese waters by accident. They cited a provision of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that permits “innocent passage” through the territorial waters of another nation.
Some international legal experts question if the right of innocent passage can be applied to a military vessel since the UNCLOS stipulates that such passage must be safe and pose no realistic threat to national security.
Chinese officials countered that the Japanese ship was too advanced and its crew too skilled for such a navigational error to occur. They said the Suzutsuki did not request permission to enter China’s waters, as it could easily have done, so its passage could be interpreted as an “intentional provocation” or an illegal effort to gather intelligence on Chinese activities.
“I wonder why Japan made such a provocative move amid efforts by both countries to stabilize relations,” a Chinese diplomatic source grumbled to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Thursday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday that Beijing has “lodged representations” with Japan over the “illegal and improper actions” of the Suzutsuki. Japanese and Chinese officials have spoken unofficially since the incident occurred but have issued no formal statements as of Thursday.
Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the Japanese Defense Ministry has launched an investigation into the actions of the Suzutsuki’s captain. The ministry would offer no public comment on the status or scope of the investigation.
MIDDLE EAST
Western Countries & Israel
Report: Western Countries Slowing Ammunition to Israel in Informal Boycott
Western countries are slowing deliveries of ammunition to Israel in what amounts to an informal arms embargo, according to media reports.
The Biden administration has agreed to resume shipments of 500-pound precision bombs to Israel, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. But it is continuing to withhold 2,000-pound bombs, and several other countries are reportedly withholding “simple” ammunition.
The Israeli newspaper HaCalcalist (“The Economist”) reported Tuesday (via Google Translate):
Calcalist has learned that arms suppliers from European countries … simply stopped answering their Israeli counterparts, and also that a foreign power other than the US, which used to trade with Israel, has since October 7 refused to supply Israel with raw materials from which ammunition can be manufactured.
…
Despite the requested attempt to strengthen local industry and thus reduce dependence on the world, those who believe that Israel will be able to produce all the ammunition it needs for itself are likely to be deluded. First of all, even in the case of a massive increase in Israeli production capacity, a significant portion of the ammunition is still expected to come from foreign countries in any scenario due to limited production potential. Even the United States is having trouble these days supplying itself and its allies, including Israel and Ukraine, with all the shells they need. Secondly, in order for the Israeli defense industries to be able to produce weapons materials in large quantities, a large quantity of raw materials from which bombs can be made is needed and cannot be to be mined in Israel, therefore these must also eventually come from foreign countries.
…
Since the outbreak of the war, more and more reports have been received about countries and companies wishing to reduce or limit defense trade with Israel. Among other things, a problem was reported in the supply of F-35 spare parts with Dutch suppliers; the governments of Italy, Canada and Belgium announced the cessation of defense exports to Israel (despite reports of shipments continuing to arrive and deals continuing to be signed); and the Spanish government even prevented a ship carrying a shipment of weapons from India to Israel from docking on the country’s shores.
At the same time, the report says, Serbia has helped supply Israel with ammunition, and “another country” has begun selling Israel the raw materials necessary for manufacturing weapons.
Still, the shortage of ammunition is so worrying to Israeli defense officials that some tanks in Gaza are not being fully loaded with shells, due to a desire to conserve resources for a possible war in Lebanon, according to a report in the New York Times earlier this month.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, asked about the reports of an informal arms embargo, said Wednesday that he could not confirm them. But rumors of arms shortages have been circulating in Israel for several months.
Western countries are slowing deliveries of ammunition to Israel in what amounts to an informal arms embargo, according to media reports.
The Biden administration has agreed to resume shipments of 500-pound precision bombs to Israel, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. But it is continuing to withhold 2,000-pound bombs, and several other countries are reportedly withholding “simple” ammunition.
The Israeli newspaper HaCalcalist (“The Economist”) reported Tuesday (via Google Translate):
Calcalist has learned that arms suppliers from European countries … simply stopped answering their Israeli counterparts, and also that a foreign power other than the US, which used to trade with Israel, has since October 7 refused to supply Israel with raw materials from which ammunition can be manufactured.
…
Despite the requested attempt to strengthen local industry and thus reduce dependence on the world, those who believe that Israel will be able to produce all the ammunition it needs for itself are likely to be deluded. First of all, even in the case of a massive increase in Israeli production capacity, a significant portion of the ammunition is still expected to come from foreign countries in any scenario due to limited production potential. Even the United States is having trouble these days supplying itself and its allies, including Israel and Ukraine, with all the shells they need. Secondly, in order for the Israeli defense industries to be able to produce weapons materials in large quantities, a large quantity of raw materials from which bombs can be made is needed and cannot be to be mined in Israel, therefore these must also eventually come from foreign countries.
…
Since the outbreak of the war, more and more reports have been received about countries and companies wishing to reduce or limit defense trade with Israel. Among other things, a problem was reported in the supply of F-35 spare parts with Dutch suppliers; the governments of Italy, Canada and Belgium announced the cessation of defense exports to Israel (despite reports of shipments continuing to arrive and deals continuing to be signed); and the Spanish government even prevented a ship carrying a shipment of weapons from India to Israel from docking on the country’s shores.
At the same time, the report says, Serbia has helped supply Israel with ammunition, and “another country” has begun selling Israel the raw materials necessary for manufacturing weapons.
Still, the shortage of ammunition is so worrying to Israeli defense officials that some tanks in Gaza are not being fully loaded with shells, due to a desire to conserve resources for a possible war in Lebanon, according to a report in the New York Times earlier this month.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, asked about the reports of an informal arms embargo, said Wednesday that he could not confirm them. But rumors of arms shortages have been circulating in Israel for several months.
Kibbutz Be'eri Massacre
IDF Inquiry Faults Delays, Commends Armed Citizens in Be’eri Massacre
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released the results Thursday of its investigation into the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas on October 7, finding that the military had failed to defend citizens and that armed civilians had stepped in.
Breitbart News was among the first outlets granted access to Kibbutz Be’eri in the days after the attack, and reported:
Buildings blown apart. Walls, homes, riddled with bullet-holes. Bloodstains, shattered glass. Spent bullet casings. Crushed bicycles. A kindergarten with a massive hole from a rocket-propelled grenade.
This is the scene at one of the communities hit hardest by Palestinian terrorists on October 7.
On this collective farm a few kilometers from the border with Gaza, 108 residents were brutally murdered, out of a population of about 1,100, meaning the kibbutz lost 10% of its residents.
…
Rami Gold, 70, a resident of the kibbutz, spoke about how he and about ten neighbors battled 120 Hamas terrorists for several hours, down to their last bullet, until finally Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resevists arrived to give them ammunition.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released the results Thursday of its investigation into the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas on October 7, finding that the military had failed to defend citizens and that armed civilians had stepped in.
Breitbart News was among the first outlets granted access to Kibbutz Be’eri in the days after the attack, and reported:
Buildings blown apart. Walls, homes, riddled with bullet-holes. Bloodstains, shattered glass. Spent bullet casings. Crushed bicycles. A kindergarten with a massive hole from a rocket-propelled grenade.
This is the scene at one of the communities hit hardest by Palestinian terrorists on October 7.
On this collective farm a few kilometers from the border with Gaza, 108 residents were brutally murdered, out of a population of about 1,100, meaning the kibbutz lost 10% of its residents.
…
Rami Gold, 70, a resident of the kibbutz, spoke about how he and about ten neighbors battled 120 Hamas terrorists for several hours, down to their last bullet, until finally Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resevists arrived to give them ammunition.
Hezbollah Rockets Kills 2 Civilians
Hezbollah Rocket Kills Two in Car in Israel’s Golan Heights
A rocket fired Tuesday by the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah killed two people traveling in a vehicle in Israel’s Golan Heights, part of a barrage fired to avenge the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s former bodyguard.
Israel National News / Arutz Sheva reported:
Two people were killed in a rocket barrage fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization on the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening. Both victims were in a vehicle that burst into flames upon being struck by a rocket and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The IDF stated that about 40 rockets were fired in the barrage on the Golan Heights.
Police, including bomb disposal squads, are working at multiple sites where rockets struck or debris from intercepted rockets landed in the Golan Heights. Police are also searching for additional sites where rockets may have struck or landed to remove any risk to the public.
The Times of Israel confirmed that the two killed were both civilians.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed Yasser Qarnabash, Nasrallah’s former bodyguard.
The Golan is sparsely populated, and therefore it is somewhat rare that a rocket should hit a car directly. Drivers are advised to leave their cars and lay down on the shoulders of the road when sirens warn of incoming rocket attacks.
Israel and Hezbollah are on the edge of a full-scale war, following months of rocket and missile attacks by Hezbollah against Israel. Hezbollah began firing at Israel in October after the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
By operating in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 1707, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
A rocket fired Tuesday by the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah killed two people traveling in a vehicle in Israel’s Golan Heights, part of a barrage fired to avenge the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s former bodyguard.
Israel National News / Arutz Sheva reported:
Two people were killed in a rocket barrage fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization on the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening. Both victims were in a vehicle that burst into flames upon being struck by a rocket and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The IDF stated that about 40 rockets were fired in the barrage on the Golan Heights.
Police, including bomb disposal squads, are working at multiple sites where rockets struck or debris from intercepted rockets landed in the Golan Heights. Police are also searching for additional sites where rockets may have struck or landed to remove any risk to the public.
The Times of Israel confirmed that the two killed were both civilians.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed Yasser Qarnabash, Nasrallah’s former bodyguard.
The Golan is sparsely populated, and therefore it is somewhat rare that a rocket should hit a car directly. Drivers are advised to leave their cars and lay down on the shoulders of the road when sirens warn of incoming rocket attacks.
Israel and Hezbollah are on the edge of a full-scale war, following months of rocket and missile attacks by Hezbollah against Israel. Hezbollah began firing at Israel in October after the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
By operating in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 1707, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
100 Terrorists Working for UNRWA
Israel Identifies One Hundred ‘Terrorist Operatives’ Working for U.N. Relief Agency
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the United Nations last week that one hundred “terrorist operatives” have been identified as employees of UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for the Palestinians.
Israel asked the U.N. to terminate these employees without delay.
The letter from Israeli Ambassador Amir Weissbrod to UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini was sent on July 4, but was not made public until Thursday, when media outlets including Fox News and Germany’s Bild obtained copies of it. The editors of Bild were very upset to learn German money might have been used to fund terrorist operatives.
In the letter, Weissbrod noted the presence of Hamas operatives among UNRWA staff has been a “recurring concern” for Israeli officials. In January, the United States and several other countries suspended funding for UNRWA after Israel accused a dozen of its employees of actively participating in the Hamas atrocities of October 7.
Most of those countries eventually resumed funding for UNRWA, citing the desperate need of Palestinians in Gaza for humanitarian aid. Israel’s letter to the U.N. suggested that resumption of funding was a terrible mistake, because UNRWA’s staff in Gaza is still riddled with terrorists.
“In recent months Israel has discovered that hundreds of terrorists, members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been employed by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, some of them holding high-ranking positions in UNRWA or in Hamas,” Weissbrod told Lazzarini.
The Israeli ambassador attached a document listing one hundred names of “terrorists operatives who are currently employed by UNRWA-Gaza,” along with identifying information.
Weissbrod said this list was but a “small fraction” of the Hamas and PIJ operatives working as UNRWA staffers, promised more lists would be forthcoming – and vowed to send the lists to both Lazzarini and UNRWA’s donors.
“Israel expects from you and your organization to immediately terminate the employment of any member of Hamas or PIJ,” Weissbrod wrote. “Their work in UNRWA poses a security risk for Israel, and represents a breach of the principle of neutrality as was mentioned in Ms. Colonna’s report.”
Fox News noted that Lazzarini claimed he was horrified to learn UNRWA employees participated in some of the worst atrocities in human history, and moved fairly quickly to fire those identified by Israel.
“Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” Lazzarini vowed in January.
The UNRWA chief’s tune has changed since then. At a meeting of the UNRWA Advisory Committee in Geneva on June 24, Lazarini complained Israel was making “a concerted effort to dismantle UNRWA with the aim of changing the established political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the United Nations last week that one hundred “terrorist operatives” have been identified as employees of UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for the Palestinians.
Israel asked the U.N. to terminate these employees without delay.
The letter from Israeli Ambassador Amir Weissbrod to UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini was sent on July 4, but was not made public until Thursday, when media outlets including Fox News and Germany’s Bild obtained copies of it. The editors of Bild were very upset to learn German money might have been used to fund terrorist operatives.
In the letter, Weissbrod noted the presence of Hamas operatives among UNRWA staff has been a “recurring concern” for Israeli officials. In January, the United States and several other countries suspended funding for UNRWA after Israel accused a dozen of its employees of actively participating in the Hamas atrocities of October 7.
Most of those countries eventually resumed funding for UNRWA, citing the desperate need of Palestinians in Gaza for humanitarian aid. Israel’s letter to the U.N. suggested that resumption of funding was a terrible mistake, because UNRWA’s staff in Gaza is still riddled with terrorists.
“In recent months Israel has discovered that hundreds of terrorists, members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been employed by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, some of them holding high-ranking positions in UNRWA or in Hamas,” Weissbrod told Lazzarini.
The Israeli ambassador attached a document listing one hundred names of “terrorists operatives who are currently employed by UNRWA-Gaza,” along with identifying information.
Weissbrod said this list was but a “small fraction” of the Hamas and PIJ operatives working as UNRWA staffers, promised more lists would be forthcoming – and vowed to send the lists to both Lazzarini and UNRWA’s donors.
“Israel expects from you and your organization to immediately terminate the employment of any member of Hamas or PIJ,” Weissbrod wrote. “Their work in UNRWA poses a security risk for Israel, and represents a breach of the principle of neutrality as was mentioned in Ms. Colonna’s report.”
Fox News noted that Lazzarini claimed he was horrified to learn UNRWA employees participated in some of the worst atrocities in human history, and moved fairly quickly to fire those identified by Israel.
“Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” Lazzarini vowed in January.
The UNRWA chief’s tune has changed since then. At a meeting of the UNRWA Advisory Committee in Geneva on June 24, Lazarini complained Israel was making “a concerted effort to dismantle UNRWA with the aim of changing the established political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
Iraq Issues Death Sentence for First Wife of ISIS Leader
Iraq Issues Death Sentence for Wife of Slain Islamic State Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq on Wednesday sentenced an unnamed wife of former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to death, almost five years after her husband was killed by an American Special Forces operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
The Iraqi court ruled Baghdadi’s wife was guilty of cooperating with ISIS operations and holding Yazidi women kidnapped by the terror state as slaves in her Mosul home.
“The criminal court today sentenced Baghdadi’s wife to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Yazidi people, and also for contributing to terrorism actions,” an Iraqi court official said.
The Yazidi are a tiny religious and ethnic minority who live primarily in the Sinjar mountains of Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province. The Yazidis were hideously abused by the Islamic State, which raped, murdered, and enslaved them with feral glee. Some Yazidi children were forced into service as soldiers by ISIS.
The Yazidi, who are disdained as devil-worshipping heretics by some Muslims, were nearly wiped out by ISIS at the height of its power. Almost a decade after the attempted genocide began, many of them still live in refugee camps, in part because the central government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been fighting over jurisdiction in Nineveh and delaying reconstruction of the devastated Yazidi homeland.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – who, as his sobriquet implied, was born in the Baghdad region of Iraq – was the self-declared “caliph” of the Islamic State. His real name was Ibrahim Awad al-Badri.
Baghdadi was a secretive figure who was known mainly through mythmaking anecdotes spread by ISIS recruiters, but he was definitively known to have participated in the terrorist resistance to United States occupation after the fall of Saddam Hussein and was detained by American forces in 2004. Exactly how he came to be the political, military, and religious leader of the ISIS terror state remains something of a mystery.
Baghdadi lost much of his mystique by dying very poorly when U.S. special forces found him hiding in Syria in October 2019.
According to President Trump, he “died like a dog” after being chased into a tunnel by literal dogs, dragging three of his children with him as body shields. Trump said Baghdadi was “whimpering, and crying, and screaming all the way” until he decided to kill himself and his children by detonating a suicide vest.
“He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone. Baghdadi was vicious, and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying,” Trump said.
Al Jazeera News said on Wednesday that Baghdadi was “known to have four wives,” one of whom was captured in Turkey about a week after his death.
The BBC spoke to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official who identified the woman sentenced to death on Wednesday as Baghdadi’s first wife Asma Mohammed, who also uses the name Umm Hudaifa.
Hudaifa was arrested in Turkey in 2018 and transferred to Iraqi custody in 2023. She gave an interview to the BBC from a prison in Baghdad in June, during which she denied participating in ISIS crimes and claimed she was married to Baghdadi for years before she realized he was a terrorist. She further claimed she did not know he was the “caliph” of the Islamic State until she saw him announce the foundation of the terror state on television.
The Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq on Wednesday sentenced an unnamed wife of former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to death, almost five years after her husband was killed by an American Special Forces operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
The Iraqi court ruled Baghdadi’s wife was guilty of cooperating with ISIS operations and holding Yazidi women kidnapped by the terror state as slaves in her Mosul home.
“The criminal court today sentenced Baghdadi’s wife to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Yazidi people, and also for contributing to terrorism actions,” an Iraqi court official said.
The Yazidi are a tiny religious and ethnic minority who live primarily in the Sinjar mountains of Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province. The Yazidis were hideously abused by the Islamic State, which raped, murdered, and enslaved them with feral glee. Some Yazidi children were forced into service as soldiers by ISIS.
The Yazidi, who are disdained as devil-worshipping heretics by some Muslims, were nearly wiped out by ISIS at the height of its power. Almost a decade after the attempted genocide began, many of them still live in refugee camps, in part because the central government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been fighting over jurisdiction in Nineveh and delaying reconstruction of the devastated Yazidi homeland.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – who, as his sobriquet implied, was born in the Baghdad region of Iraq – was the self-declared “caliph” of the Islamic State. His real name was Ibrahim Awad al-Badri.
Baghdadi was a secretive figure who was known mainly through mythmaking anecdotes spread by ISIS recruiters, but he was definitively known to have participated in the terrorist resistance to United States occupation after the fall of Saddam Hussein and was detained by American forces in 2004. Exactly how he came to be the political, military, and religious leader of the ISIS terror state remains something of a mystery.
Baghdadi lost much of his mystique by dying very poorly when U.S. special forces found him hiding in Syria in October 2019.
According to President Trump, he “died like a dog” after being chased into a tunnel by literal dogs, dragging three of his children with him as body shields. Trump said Baghdadi was “whimpering, and crying, and screaming all the way” until he decided to kill himself and his children by detonating a suicide vest.
“He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone. Baghdadi was vicious, and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying,” Trump said.
Al Jazeera News said on Wednesday that Baghdadi was “known to have four wives,” one of whom was captured in Turkey about a week after his death.
The BBC spoke to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official who identified the woman sentenced to death on Wednesday as Baghdadi’s first wife Asma Mohammed, who also uses the name Umm Hudaifa.
Hudaifa was arrested in Turkey in 2018 and transferred to Iraqi custody in 2023. She gave an interview to the BBC from a prison in Baghdad in June, during which she denied participating in ISIS crimes and claimed she was married to Baghdadi for years before she realized he was a terrorist. She further claimed she did not know he was the “caliph” of the Islamic State until she saw him announce the foundation of the terror state on television.
Houthis Are Back
Houthis Claim Missile Attack on Maersk Ship, Fourth Attack in 24 Hours
The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen took responsibility on Tuesday for attacking the container ship Maersk Sentosa in the Arabian Sea — the fourth Houthi attack on commercial shipping in 24 hours.
The Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles at the Maersk Sentosa and two other ships on Tuesday. On Wednesday, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a fourth ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait reported explosions nearby.
UKMTO said the captain of the Maersk Sentosa also reported explosions near his ship as he passed 180 nautical miles to the east of Nishtun, Yemen. The U.S. Navy’s Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) confirmed the attack and flagged it as the Houthi’s longest-range attack against international shipping since they launched their terror campaign in November.
“No injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported. The vessel is currently continuing her voyage towards her next port of call,” Danish shipping giant Maersk said in a statement on Tuesday.
Maersk described the Maersk Sentosa as a U.S.-flagged vessel sailing for the Maersk Line, Ltd. subsidiary, which often transports cargo for the American military and government agencies.
JMIC also confirmed a Liberian-flagged ship, named Mount Fuji, was attacked south of Mocha on Wednesday.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree additionally claimed missile and drone attacks against the Malta-flagged container ship Marathopolis in the Arabian Sea and the Liberian-flagged Patnaree III in the Gulf of Aden. Saree claimed the Patnaree III was an “Israeli ship,” although it sails under the Liberian flag.
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc told his company’s clients in July that he expected Houthi terrorism to continue disrupting Red Sea shipping into the third quarter of 2024 and beyond. Clerc warned that high shipping costs and delays were likely to grow even worse, as long detours around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks kept ships at sea for longer and reduced the availability of cargo containers.
The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen took responsibility on Tuesday for attacking the container ship Maersk Sentosa in the Arabian Sea — the fourth Houthi attack on commercial shipping in 24 hours.
The Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles at the Maersk Sentosa and two other ships on Tuesday. On Wednesday, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a fourth ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait reported explosions nearby.
UKMTO said the captain of the Maersk Sentosa also reported explosions near his ship as he passed 180 nautical miles to the east of Nishtun, Yemen. The U.S. Navy’s Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) confirmed the attack and flagged it as the Houthi’s longest-range attack against international shipping since they launched their terror campaign in November.
“No injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported. The vessel is currently continuing her voyage towards her next port of call,” Danish shipping giant Maersk said in a statement on Tuesday.
Maersk described the Maersk Sentosa as a U.S.-flagged vessel sailing for the Maersk Line, Ltd. subsidiary, which often transports cargo for the American military and government agencies.
JMIC also confirmed a Liberian-flagged ship, named Mount Fuji, was attacked south of Mocha on Wednesday.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree additionally claimed missile and drone attacks against the Malta-flagged container ship Marathopolis in the Arabian Sea and the Liberian-flagged Patnaree III in the Gulf of Aden. Saree claimed the Patnaree III was an “Israeli ship,” although it sails under the Liberian flag.
Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc told his company’s clients in July that he expected Houthi terrorism to continue disrupting Red Sea shipping into the third quarter of 2024 and beyond. Clerc warned that high shipping costs and delays were likely to grow even worse, as long detours around Africa to avoid Houthi attacks kept ships at sea for longer and reduced the availability of cargo containers.
Was Biden's Gaza Pier a Scam?
Report: President Biden’s $230M Taxpayer-Funded Gaza Pier to Be Dismantled Permanently
President Joe Biden’s $230 million American taxpayer-funded Gaza pier is shutting down after about three weeks of usage and an unclear amount of aid actually delivered to Palestinians in Gaza.
Several U.S. officials anonymously told the Associated Press on Tuesday the pier — which Biden announced with fanfare during the State of the Union address in March and forced the U.S. military to build and operate — will be permanently dismantled after several more days of usage.
Biden announced the ill-fated idea during his speech on March 7. The pier — which took at least 1,000 U.S. troops to build and install and operate — opened on May 16.
The purpose was to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The pier broke apart just nine days later, and had to be removed for repairs.
It was then reattached on June 7, but then had to be removed again a week later on June 14. It was then put back and then removed on June 28.
The Biden administration blamed the pier breaking apart on unexpected weather. However, as Breitbart News reported, the pier system, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), was never meant to be used in conditions with waves over about four feet. Breitbart News obtained exclusive video of the pier being battered by waves.
President Joe Biden’s $230 million American taxpayer-funded Gaza pier is shutting down after about three weeks of usage and an unclear amount of aid actually delivered to Palestinians in Gaza.
Several U.S. officials anonymously told the Associated Press on Tuesday the pier — which Biden announced with fanfare during the State of the Union address in March and forced the U.S. military to build and operate — will be permanently dismantled after several more days of usage.
Biden announced the ill-fated idea during his speech on March 7. The pier — which took at least 1,000 U.S. troops to build and install and operate — opened on May 16.
The purpose was to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The pier broke apart just nine days later, and had to be removed for repairs.
It was then reattached on June 7, but then had to be removed again a week later on June 14. It was then put back and then removed on June 28.
The Biden administration blamed the pier breaking apart on unexpected weather. However, as Breitbart News reported, the pier system, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS), was never meant to be used in conditions with waves over about four feet. Breitbart News obtained exclusive video of the pier being battered by waves.
New Iranian President But Same Bloody Speech
‘Moderate’ Iranian President-Elect Launches Anti-Israel Rant to Shore Up Regime Support
Masoud Pezeshkian, the “moderate” and “reformist” candidate who won a surprising victory in Friday’s special election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, on Tuesday declared his unwavering support for the regime’s terrorism against Israel and its Western allies.
Pezeshkian made his anti-Israel remarks to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who called to congratulate him on his victory in the election. Sudani told Pezeshkian he hoped to develop more “bilateral, regional, and international cooperation with Tehran” under the new administration, as Iran’s state-run Tasnim News put it.
Pezeshkian, in turn, commended the Iraqi government for its “wise and dignified” stance against Israel, which he accused of “crimes against the people of Gaza” during its military operation against the terrorists of Hamas.
Pezeshkian touched base with Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon on Monday, congratulating its murderous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, for his missile attacks against Israel.
“The Islamic Republic has always supported the resistance of the people of the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime,” Iran’s new “moderate” president told the Hezbollah kingpin.
“I am certain that the resistance movements in the region will not allow this regime to continue its warmongering and criminal policies against the oppressed people of Palestine and other nations of the region,” he said.
Pezeshkian promised that Iran’s financial and military support for Hezbollah is “rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “will continue with strength.”
A Hezbollah missile attack on Israel injured two civilians on Sunday, one of them a U.S. citizen. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said the American citizen, who is listed in serious condition at Galilee Medical Center, was not a U.S. government employee.
Masoud Pezeshkian, the “moderate” and “reformist” candidate who won a surprising victory in Friday’s special election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, on Tuesday declared his unwavering support for the regime’s terrorism against Israel and its Western allies.
Pezeshkian made his anti-Israel remarks to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who called to congratulate him on his victory in the election. Sudani told Pezeshkian he hoped to develop more “bilateral, regional, and international cooperation with Tehran” under the new administration, as Iran’s state-run Tasnim News put it.
Pezeshkian, in turn, commended the Iraqi government for its “wise and dignified” stance against Israel, which he accused of “crimes against the people of Gaza” during its military operation against the terrorists of Hamas.
Pezeshkian touched base with Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon on Monday, congratulating its murderous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, for his missile attacks against Israel.
“The Islamic Republic has always supported the resistance of the people of the region against the illegitimate Zionist regime,” Iran’s new “moderate” president told the Hezbollah kingpin.
“I am certain that the resistance movements in the region will not allow this regime to continue its warmongering and criminal policies against the oppressed people of Palestine and other nations of the region,” he said.
Pezeshkian promised that Iran’s financial and military support for Hezbollah is “rooted in the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and “will continue with strength.”
A Hezbollah missile attack on Israel injured two civilians on Sunday, one of them a U.S. citizen. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said the American citizen, who is listed in serious condition at Galilee Medical Center, was not a U.S. government employee.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
![[Image: SP1-Scripter.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Scripter.png)
![[Image: SP1-Writer.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Writer.png)
![[Image: SP1-Poet.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Poet.png)
![[Image: SP1-PixelArtist.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-PixelArtist.png)
![[Image: SP1-Reporter.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/GmxWbHyL/SP1-Reporter.png)
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
