News of the World

[kyonides]

USA

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Biden Offers Israel Money to Prevent IDF from Striking Iranian Targets

Report: Biden Offering Israel ‘Compensation’ to Not Hit Iranian Targets

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the Biden administration has offered Israel a “compensation package” in exchange for refraining from attacks on a list of specific targets in Iran.

“The package would include a total guarantee of comprehensive diplomatic protection as well as a weapons package and was offered directly in return for holding off on striking certain targets in Iran,” said a report from Israel’s Kan11 news cited by the Jerusalem Post.

“An American official said, ‘If you don’t hit targets A, B, C, we will provide you with diplomatic protection and an arms package,’” said Kan11’s Amichai Stein.

According to Stein, the Israeli government was somewhat cool to the proposal, although it remains in active consultation with the U.S. government and military about its response to Iran’s missile attack last week.

“Israeli officials responded saying, ‘We consider the United States and listen to them. But we will do anything and everything we can to protect the citizens and the security of the State of Israel,’” said Stein.

Iran launched over 180 missiles at Israel last Tuesday night, ostensibly in response to Israel killing Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US Ordered Britain to Leave Strategic Islands

Biden White House Ordered Britain to Hand Over Strategic Indian Ocean Islands Before U.S. Elections: Report

The sudden declaration that the United Kingdom is surrendering a chain of strategic islands was forced by the Biden administration that wanted it done before the November election, a British newspaper reports.

Last week, the British government shocked the world by announcing it was handing over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), also known as the Chagos Islands, to Mauritius. The largest of these islands is Diego Garcia is best known for hosting a large U.S.-UK military base, providing support to long-range bombers, warships, as well as observation and signals intelligence across the ocean into Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The Mauritius claim on the land was long treated as unserious but the UK has suddenly moved towards accepting them in recent years and even opened talks to discuss matters under the last Conservative government, although this was controversial among Tories then. While there was no prospect of a quick decision, the matter seems to suddenly have been resolved within a matter of weeks after the last UK general election despite it not having been discussed during that election, there having been no parliamentary debate, and no public consultation on what is a major change to the United Kingdom.

Now a report in Britain’s The Daily Telegraph claims that far from simply being a matter of whim to the recently elected left-wing British government, the issue was in fact pushed by Joe Biden’s White House.

The paper asserts “senior officials” from the U.S. National Security Council and State Department ” told the incoming Labour government that refusing to sign away the islands would jeopardise the “special relationship” with Washington.”

Of this alleged blackmail, the Biden White House is alleged to have told the UK that: “a quick deal should be signed before the American and Mauritian elections next month”. The American position is allegedly borne of concern Mauritius would attempt to use international law to try and force the Islands out of Britain’s hands anyway, leading to the loss of the base. Under the agreement announced last week but not revealed in any detail, the UK and U.S. get a 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia base, but concerns about Chinese influence on the Mauritius government and even their possibly being able to establish their own listening posts on other nearby islands persist.

While this latest claim contradicts earlier reports that London was cautioned by Washington D.C., it is a rare day when a national capital speaks with one voice and the elected government and the well-embedded deep state of many democratic nations are often opposed on such matters. Indeed, on the BIOT-Chagos Islands question, both positions are congruous with past U.S. foreign policy, to have strategic bases on one hand, and to be the shepherding hand of European decolonisation on the other.

Protests in New York, Los Angeles

‘Largely Peaceful’ Pro-Palestinian Protests in New York, Los Angeles Mark October 7

Pro-Palestinian protests are marking the first anniversary of the October 7 terror attack against Israel in several American cities, including a weekend demonstration in Los Angeles and a protest set for Monday in New York.

In Los Angeles, as described by the Los Angeles Times, hundreds of protesters shouted genocidal slogans as they marched through the city on Saturday. One protester was arrested for vandalizing police headquarters.

The Times, describing the protest as “largely peaceful,” noted:

Hundreds of demonstrators held a pro-Palestinian rally in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Long live the intifada” as they protested Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon while marching from Pershing Square to City Hall.

The largely peaceful demonstration came two days before the anniversary of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants in Gaza attacked Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.
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At City Hall, a protest leader led the crowd in a chant of “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” Banners read “End the Siege of Gaza” and “Hands Off Yemen.”

In New York City, pro-Palestinian protests are planned for October 7 itself, with students from a dozen colleges expected to walk out of classes and join demonstrations, according to the New York Daily News.

Pro-Israel groups have also been holding commemorations over the weekend, and will continue to do so Monday, though these gatherings have been quiet, and small, due to security concerns.

DeSantis: Kamala Has No Role in this Process

DeSantis Blasts Kamala for Hurricane Milton Comments: ‘She Has No Role in This Process’

Monday, during an appearance on FNC’s “Hannity,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) excoriated Vice President Kamala Harris for injecting herself into his state’s storm preparation as Category 5 Hurricane Milton approaches the Sunshine State.

DeSantis was reacting to comments from Harris, who called the Florida governor “selfish” to reporters.

“[F]or Kamala Harris, to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish is delusional,” he said. “She has no role in this. In fact she’s been vice president for three-and-a-half years, have dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts. So what I think is selfish – trying to blunder into this – know and here’s the thing – she has no role – know, she has no role in this process, I’m in contact with the president of the United States. I’m in contact with FEMA director. I’m obviously managing a lower state agencies. We’re supporting our local government, and I will say this: I had storms under both President Trump and President Biden, and I work well with both of them.”

“She’s the first who is trying to politicize this storm and she is doing that just because of her campaign. She’s trying to get some type of an edge. She knows she is doing poorly. And so she is playing these political games. I don’t have time for political games. I’ve got people whose lives are on the line. I’ve got people whose homes and their possessions are on the line. And we are focused 100% on that mission. I’m not worried about playing her political games. She is being selfish by trying to blunder into this when we’re working just fine.”

Texas Governor Will Send Help to Florida & Tennessee

Texas Gov. Abbot Directing Resources to Help Florida, Tennessee with Hurricane Relief

The office of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Monday that the Lone Star state will be directing resources to help Florida and Tennessee with hurricane relief efforts.

The governor said that he will direct the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy Texas emergency response and recovery resources to Florida and Tennessee to deal with the damage from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.

“Texas is swiftly deploying emergency response personnel and resources to Florida as Hurricane Milton prepares to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast later this week,” said Gov. Abbott. “I also directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to send additional state resources to Tennessee to assist in recovery efforts for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.”

“America is stronger when we come together in times of crisis, and Texas will continue to deploy crucial resources to support our fellow Americans as they prepare for and recover from these destructive storms. I thank all the Texas emergency response personnel for their work in Hurricane Helene recovery efforts and for answering the call to support the people of Florida as they brace for Hurricane Milton,” the governor added.

As Breitbart News reported on Monday, Hurricane Milton has “intensified even further after rapidly developing into a major Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).”

Tampa Mayor Scared of Hurricane Milton?

Hurricane Milton — ‘You’re Going to Die’: Tampa Mayor Issues Grave Warning to People Ignoring Evacuation Orders

Residents of Tampa, Florida, are being warned that ignoring evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton approaches could result in dire consequences.

During an interview on Monday, Mayor Jane Castor said “I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die,” Axios reported on Tuesday.

Castor also noted that from the looks of the highways, people were heading north to safety:
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The storm became a Category 5 hurricane on Monday not long after Hurricane Helene hit Florida and several other states.

Meteorologist Rick Davis who works with the National Weather Service in Tampa, shared insight with the New York Times on how this hurricane could affect the area:

The region’s coastal landscape was altered by Helene, he said: Barrier islands were badly damaged, sand dunes were destroyed, sand levels were left “very low” and many of the trees and other natural vegetation that are usually present along beaches were uprooted.
“Just after our latest hurricane, we are extremely vulnerable, especially to surge,” he said.

Hurricane Milton threatens to bring a life-threatening storm surge, wind damage, flooding rainfall, and tornadoes as it nears Florida on Wednesday, the Weather Channel reported on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving Getting Near? Don't Count on Target NOR Walmart

Target, Walmart Will Both Be Closed (Again) on Thanksgiving

Shoppers considering spending some time in retail superstore outlets at the end of next month might need to rethink their strategy.

Walmart will not open on Thanksgiving Day for the fifth consecutive year to enable staff across the country to enjoy some family time, the company announced Monday.

Target is also remaining shuttered on the holiday.

“Walmart stores will be closed once again on Thanksgiving Day so associates can spend the day with their families,” a corporate statement from the outlet announced.

The company has made clear however it is offering its first Holiday Deals event of the season starting in October for customers to get started on their holiday shopping choices.

Target also will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

In a statement last November, Target announced the policy would be permanent.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 28.

Ohio Court Rejects Hatian Group's Request

Ohio Court Rejects Haitian Group’s Request for Arrest Warrants for Trump, Vance

An Ohio court rejected a Haitian group’s request for arrest warrants against former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) regarding comments about Haitian migrants.

While a panel of judges referred a case from the Haitian Bridge Alliance against Trump and Vance to county prosecutors, the judges reportedly “found no probable cause” for them to issue arrest warrants or summons for “misdemeanor charges,” city officials explained, according to the Associated Press.

“The matter was then referred to the Clark County prosecutor’s office for further investigation,” Springfield officials said in a statement, according to the outlet.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance is described as being a “non-profit organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and connects migrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services,” according to the organization’s website.

In September, the group reportedly “invoked a private-citizen right” and filed charges “over the chaos and threats” the Haitian community in Springfield dealt with after Trump issued claims that Haitian migrants were eating cats, dogs, and people’s pets, according to the outlet.

During the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump on September 10, Trump said that Haitian migrants in Springfield were “eating the dogs” and the cats, and “the pets of the people that live there.”

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments came after residents in Springfield alleged that Haitian migrants were taking and eating “ducks” from a local park.

“They’re in the park grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off and walking off with them and eating them,” Anthony Harris claimed during an August 27 city meeting.

A Facebook post also alleged that a Springfield resident’s “friend had lost her cat” and had discovered the cat “hanging from a bran at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten,” according to the Springfield News-Sun.

While the Springfield police admitted that they were aware of the Facebook post, they revealed that they had not received any reports of any pets being taken or eaten, according to the outlet.

The claims come as over the past four years, the population of Haitian migrants in Springfield has “ballooned to more than 20,000,” Breitbart News’ Warner Todd Huston reported.

LATIN AMERICA

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Mexican Mayor Killed by Gunmen

[/url][url=https://www.breitbart.com/border/2024/10/07/graphic-gunmen-behead-mexican-mayor-six-days-after-taking-office/]GRAPHIC: Gunmen Behead Mexican Mayor Six Days After Sworn In

Despite numerous claims by Mexico’s government about a decrease in crime, a group of gunmen beheaded the mayor of the capital city of Guerrero just six days after he took office. The killing sparked much outrage by politicians at the national level since the murder victim hails from one of the parties opposed to Mexico’s ruling party, Morena.

The killing took place on Sunday afternoon when a group of gunmen left the body of Alejandro Arcos Catalan, the new Mayor of Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The gunmen had left his headless body inside a vehicle and his head on top of the vehicle’s roof.
Arcos Catalan’s killing comes just three days after gunmen murdered Chilpancingo’s City Secretary, Francisco Tapia, in a separate attack that has sparked much concern in the city.

The state’s governor, Evelyn Salgado, expressed her outrage at the killing and claimed to have ordered an in-depth investigation. Salgado’s comments appear ironic since she has spent much of her administration claiming that public safety has improved under her administration and the rule of the Morena Party.
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The killing is expected to turn into a political firestorm for Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum since Arcos Catalan was from an opposition party and had won against a member of the Morena party.

Alejandro Moreno, the leader of the opposition party PRI, quickly took to social media to call for federal authorities to investigate the case, claiming that Guerrero State has been unable to deal with the ongoing security crisis.

Another Immigrant Caravan

Migrant Caravan Departs Southern Mexico for U.S. Border

Multiple sources report that a large group of mostly Central and South American migrants departed the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, intending to reach the U.S. border. The group reportedly demanded faster processing of transit permits from the new Mexican government under President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Independent journalist Ali Bradley estimated size of the new migrant caravan to be approximately 6,000 migrants.
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Videographer Auden Cabello said the migrants expressed frustration with the Biden-Harris CBP One app. Unable to make appointments for border crossings at ports of entry or direct flights into the U.S., the group departed Tapachula, Chiapas, on Saturday and headed for the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
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“The caravan is currently being escorted by Mexico’s National Guard, state police, and an ambulance,” Cabello reported. “Authorities are offering migrants the option to remain in Tapachula and receive assistance with their CBP One applications.”

Another migrant caravan departed the southern Mexican border region in July, Breitbart Texas reported. That group of approximately 3,000 migrants began making their way north to the U.S.-Mexico border.

By mid-September, large migrant group crossings returned to the Eagle Pass, Texas, border region.

“The large migrant group crossed the Rio Grande late in the afternoon near the small community of Normandy, Texas, roughly 16 miles north of Eagle Pass, Breitbart Texas’ Randy Clark wrote. “As reported by Breitbart, Texas, the area was once notorious for the frequency of large migrant crossings but has since slowed after increased election-year enforcement efforts in Mexico significantly slowed the flow of migrants arriving at the United States border.”

Since when should an army escort a caravan to another country? Why don't they arrest at least some of those illegal immigrants?

Iran, Its Proxies + Cuba & Venezuela Threaten US

A Year After October 7, Iran and Its Proxies Still Threaten U.S. Via Latin American Allies

The alliance linking Iran and its proxy, the Shiite jihadist group Hezbollah, to the authoritarian regimes of Cuba and Venezuela continues to pose a threat to the United States in the region, a year after an attack by another Iranian terror proxy sparked an ongoing war in the Middle East.

Experts have long denounced Iran’s decades-long plan to expand its influence in the region by brokering alliances via “cooperation agreements” with countries led by far-left governments in several fields such as military and economy. Most recently, and most alarmingly, has been the case of Bolivia, which the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) Joseph Humire describes as Iran’s “most successful project” in the region.

Hezbollah has maintained a presence in the region for decades, acting on behalf of Iran to attack Israeli targets in Argentina during the 1990s. Hezbollah is responsible for the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) and the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. The 1994 AMIA bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The Venezuelan and Cuban regimes share longstanding deep, anti-U.S., and anti-Israel ideological relations with Iran. Those regimes’ ties to Iran were reinvigorated in recent years through the exchange of official head of state visits, starting with the visit of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro to Tehran in 2022. Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi traveled to the region in June 2023 and the Cuban figurehead “president” Miguel Díaz-Canel visited Iran in December.

Both countries recently expressed their support of Iran’s latest missile attack on Israel, justifying it as Iran’s “legitimate defense against threats and crimes of the Israeli regime.”

In the case of Venezuela, Iran established its firm foothold in the country following the arrival of late socialist dictator Hugo Chávez’s “Bolivarian Revolution” to power in 1999. Chávez and Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held several encounters through the years in which Ahmadinejad often reiterated his support for Venezuela in “confronting imperialism” – namely, the United States.

Raisi claimed in June 2023 that Iran and Venezuela have a “strategic relation” with “common interests, views,” and “enemies.” The Venezuelan-Iran alliance “opened” the gates for Hezbollah’s increased presence in the region.

Maduro confirmed his regime’s military cooperation with Iran during his visit to Tehran in 2022. At the time, both countries signed a broad 20-year cooperation agreement. In March, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned of Iran’s growing military influence in Venezuela and the presence of military assets that directly pose a threat to U.S. cities within its attack range, such as Miami, Florida.

“The Venezuelan Armed Forces are the first to have armed drones in their inventory, courtesy of Iran. As well as the shipment of Iranian-made precision-guided short-range missiles, probably to arm the drones,” Humire said in February. “All has been delivered under the guise of commercial cargo shipment. This has been Iran’s modus operandi, as it did with Yemen; now we are seeing it in the region.”

EUROPE

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Ukraine Hit Oil Terminal

Ukraine Strikes Major Oil Terminal in Russian-Occupied Crimea

Ukraine´s military said it struck a major oil terminal Monday in Crimea that provides fuel for Russia´s war effort as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war has entered a key phase.

Both sides are facing the issue of how to sustain their costly war of attrition – a conflict that started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and that shows no signs of a resolution.

Ukraine´s General Staff said on social media that the oil terminal in Feodosia, on the south coast of the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula, has been supplying the Russian army with fuel and that the strike was part of an ongoing effort to “undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation.”

Russian-installed authorities in the city of Feodosia on the coast of the Black Sea reported a fire at the terminal on Monday morning but did not say what might have caused it.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted rear areas that are essential for Russia´s onslaught, now deep into its third year. It has developed long-range drones that have hit oil depots and refineries as well as armories.

Ukraine’s aim is to impair Russia´s ability to support its front-line units, especially in the eastern Donetsk region where the main Russian battlefield effort is stretching weary Ukrainian forces.

Kyiv is still awaiting word from its Western partners on its repeated requests to use the long-range weapons they provide to hit targets on Russian soil.

Developments on that question could come next weekend at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, when defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations that coordinate military aid to Ukraine are due to meet.

Russian Casualties Keep Increasing

Russian Invasion Casualties Reach New High, Says London

Russia may have just experienced its deadliest month of its invasion yet, a combination of human-wave tactics and Ukraine’s counter-invasion of Russian home territory combining to see casualty figures continue to soar.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence says daily military casualties — killed and injured — reached a new high in September, averaging 1,271 a day through the month. The intelligence digest shows this new level of daily losses are not just the highest level of the conflict yet, but are now head-and-shoulders above those inflicted on Russia even in the bloody first 12 months of the war Moscow started.

Even at its peaks, daily average casualties for Russia in 2022 were less than half what they are now.

The Ministry of Defence in its analysis states the surge in casualty rate this year is “almost certainly” down to Ukraine’s counter-invasion of Russia in Kharkov and Kursk, and Russia’s human-wave tactics. London describes these huge pushes as: “mass to overwhelm defensive positions and achieve tactical gains”. There is no end in sight, the analysis suggests, saying the onset of winter hasn’t seen a decrease in intensity in the past two years, and nothing is likely to change now.

In all Russia is “likely” to have suffered over 648,000 casualties, the digest said, citing Ukrainian government figures. Ukraine state media itself claims the nation inflicted 38,130 casualties on Russian armed forces in September, and also destroyed 6,283 vehicles of various types. This includes, they said, 291 Russian tanks and 787 armoured vehicles.

While Western sources like the British government, or the interminable leaks and briefings handed to a small handful of beltway-interest newspapers by the U.S. intelligence community, tend to focus on Russian casualties, understanding those in context is difficult as Ukrainian figures are much harder to come by...

EU Will Sanction Saboteurs

EU Will Sanction Pro-Russian Saboteurs, Even if They Aren’t Russian Citizens

The European Union on Tuesday set up a system for imposing sanctions against people accused of cyberattacks, information manipulation or acts of sabotage on behalf of Russia to undermine EU support for Ukraine.

NATO warned earlier this year of Russian “hostile state activity” against the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the U.K., and said that the Kremlin´s actions “constitute a threat to allied security.”

The EU said that it too has “detected an increasing number of a broad range of activities.” It said that Russia also continues to disrupt satellite communications, violate European airspace and organize physical attacks against people.

The challenge is that many of the activities fall below a threshold that might require a military response and both organizations are struggling to discourage such attacks effectively.

The EU´s new framework will allow it to target people, agencies or organizations that seek to undermine its fundamental values or “security, independence and integrity.” But no actual sanctions have yet been imposed. These measures would come later, once agreed by member countries.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the members are “united and determined to address these activities and hold perpetrators accountable. Our support to Ukraine will remain solid and unwavering for as long as it takes.”

UK: Population Increase

Mass Migration Drives Record Population Increase in the UK over Past Year

Despite natural population growth being negative, the United Kingdom saw a record annual increase in its population due to the mass migration policies imposed upon the nation from Westminster.

The combined population of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland surged from around 67.6 million in mid-2022 to 68.3 million in mid-2023, as 662,400 more people resided in the UK, or an increase of one per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The 662,400 increase in the population is the largest numerical yearly jump since records began in 1971. The ONS noted that this resulted mostly from mass migration policies of the previous Tory government, with net migration for the period currently estimated at around 677,300.

“Net international migration was the main contributor to population increase for all four countries of the UK in the year to mid-2023,” the ONS said.

Latest migration figures show 1.16 million UK visas were granted for work, study or family reasons in the year ending June 2024.

Just over 75,000 people were granted permission to stay via schemes for refugees and for people from places such as Ukraine and the former British colony of Hong Kong.

During the same period, just over 38,700 people – a small proportion of the numbers coming to the UK – were detected arriving by “irregular routes”, such as small boat crossings.

Were it not for mass migration, the UK population would have fallen, with 16,300 more deaths than births being recorded across the country in the year to mid-2023. This natural decline in population occurred quicker than anticipated, with the ONS previously predicting that the rate would not turn negative until the middle of the next decade.

UK: Foreigners Getting Arrested on Suspicion of Crimes

Foreigners Twice as Likely to Be Arrested in Britain: Report

An analysis of police and census data has found that foreigners are two times as likely to be arrested on suspicion of crimes than British citizens.

While counties like the United States and Denmark regularly publish crime data relating to immigrants, the UK government and deep state bureacracy have steadfastly refused to entrust the British public with such information.

However, analysis of what data is available conducted by The Telegraph broadsheet compared arrest figures from 26 police forces over a three year period and the latest census population data to estimate the breakdown of suspected crimes committed by foreigners.

According to the findings there were 140,163 arrests of people without UK passports across the 26 forces, which were home to 2.1 million known foreigners. This means that there was an approximate arrest rate of 22.2 per 1,000 people. Conversely, the same metrics were found to show 806,672 arrests of UK citizens out of a population of 26.2 million, equating to 10.3 per 1,000 people.

While the data set is limited, with the previous census not reflecting the previous two years of record years of immigration and the inability to distinguish between foreign-born UK passport holders and native born Britons, the figures suggest that migrants are on average twice as likely to be suspected of committing crimes than the British citizens.

The report suggested that age may be a factor in the over representation of foreigners on the arrest rolls, with the paper noting that while half of all migrants in the country are between the ages of 20 and 40, while just 23 per cent of UK citizens fall into the same age range.

France: Afghans Involved in Terror Plot

France Arrests Afghan Nationals Over Suspected Terror Attack Plot

French anti-terror prosecutors announced the arrests Tuesday of three people in southwest France in a probe led by the country’s domestic intelligence agency into a suspected attack plot.

Police detained the three people in the Toulouse region, the national anti-terror prosecutors’ office said. It didn’t confirm French media reports that two of the suspects are Afghan nationals.

The prosecutors’ office said the DGSI domestic police intelligence service is leading the investigation into a suspected plot to carry out a terror attack or attacks.

It gave no details about possible targets or motives.

MIDDLE EAST

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Netanyahu: War of Rebirth

Netanyahu Proposes New Name for Conflict: ‘War of Rebirth’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a new name for the ongoing war facing Israel since October 7, 2023: the “War of Rebirth.”

Netanyahu made the proposal at a special meeting of his cabinet to commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7 attack. Until now, the official name of Israel’s response has been “Operation Iron Swords.”

After noting that Israel was exacting a price from its enemies that they had never experienced before, Netanyahu continued:

“We are in a war and we will win. From that black day [October 7], we have been fighting. This is our existential war, the ‘War of Rebirth’. I would like to ask that we refer to the war that way in an official manner.”

His remarks, in Hebrew, were shown in a video published by the Government Press Office and published by Ynet. The Hebrew word used by Netanyahu, “tekumah,” can mean “resurrection,” “revival,” or “rebirth.”

There have been several other proposed names for the war over the past year — “October 7 War”; “Second War of Independence”; and even — according to one host on Israel’s Army Radio — the “War Without a Name.”

Israel is fighting on as many as seven fronts, facing Iran-backed terror organizations and Iran itself.

To most Israelis, the war is an existential one, waged against terrorists and against a regime who are determined to destroy the Jewish state.

Iran & Qatar & US$6 Billion

Iran Has ‘Good Understanding’ with Qatar on Access to $6 Billion Biden Windfall

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claims he has reached a “good understanding” with Qatar for access to the $6 billion windfall of cash paid by President Joe Biden after a prisoner exchange deal with the United States in September 2023.

Biden administration officials continue to insist Iran will have only limited access to the funds.

“In Qatar, we have $6 billion in assets. The issue was discussed during a meeting between the governors of the two countries’ central banks, as well as the meeting with the Qatari Emir. We reached a good understanding in this regard,” Pezeshkian said after returning to Tehran on Thursday from a two-day trip to Qatar.

The Iranian president was referring to $6 billion in Iranian assets that were frozen in South Korean banks until September 2023, when the Biden administration issued a sanctions waiver allowing the funds to be transferred to Qatar’s central bank.

The Biden administration was strongly criticized for paying such a gigantic ransom for just five prisoners released by the Iranians, who also received five prisoners of their own in addition to Biden’s cash windfall.

The administration insisted the payment was not really a “ransom” and claimed Tehran would only be able to use the money for purchasing “humanitarian goods.”

Critics responded that money is fungible, so even if the Biden Administration kept its promise to limit Iranian access to the funds, giving Iran $6 billion to spend on food and medicine would free up $6 billion for more malign investments, such as arms and financial support for Tehran’s network of terrorist proxies.

Criticism over the $6 billion payout grew so intense that Tehran felt it necessary to insist in October 2023 that Biden’s ransom could not be taken back and the U.S. would not long be able to prevent Iran from accessing the funds for any purpose it desires.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed around the same time that Iran has somehow always had access to the “frozen” funds for humanitarian purposes, but was merely unable to use them due to “technical reasons” cleared up by the Biden hostage deal.

CBS News in October 2023 reported that a “quiet understanding” between the Biden administration and Qatar was reached to prevent Iran from accessing its $6 billion windfall in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians on October 7.

Pezeshkian said another “good understanding” was reached between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) oil states about “resolving any problems between us, or the disputes that existed” pertaining to the war in Gaza and Lebanon. He reportedly met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and with a delegation from the Hamas terrorist organization, during his trip to Qatar.

Erdogan Threatens Israel Again

Turkey’s Erdogan Threatens ‘Hitler’ Israel on October 7: ‘You Will Pay’

Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the world’s government leaders most fervently supporting the jihadist terrorists of Hamas, issued a statement on Monday marking the anniversary of Hamas’s unprecedented slaughter of Israeli civilians in which he threatened Israel.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, an Iran-backed jihadist terror organization based in Gaza, invaded Israel from Gaza and engaged in the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians and other widespread atrocities. Hamas terrorists killed entire families in their homes, engaged in door-to-door raids of residential communities, and tortured, gang-raped, and otherwise tormented their victims. Israeli officials estimate that 1,200 people were killed on October 7, including children as young as infants. An estimated 250 others were abducted into Gaza, of whom about 101 remain unaccounted for today.

Erdogan made no note of the October 7 massacre on Monday, instead comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and describing October 7 as the anniversary of the day Israel randomly began a “genocide” in Gaza. In reality, Israel declared war on Hamas on October 8 and launched a self-defense operation in Gaza to prevent a repeat of the atrocities that occurred the day before.

“It should not be forgotten that Israel will sooner or later pay the price for this genocide that has been going on for a year,” Erdogan warned in a statement on social media on Monday, according to the Turkish state outlet Anadolu Agency. “Just as humanity’s common alliance stopped Hitler, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his murder network will be stopped in the same way.”
Erdogan concluded by declaring that Turkey would “stand against the Israeli government regardless of the cost.”

The Turkish strongman addressed Israel again on Tuesday, speaking to college students in Ankara. Erdogan decried the “Zionist lobby” for supporting Israel’s attempts to prevent an eruption of violence led by the overtly and unapologetically genocidal Hamas and claimed that, in Western countries, police have repressed peaceful pro-Hamas protests.

“Western countries that have lectured us about democracy at our universities for years have failed this test,” Erdogan claimed.

Contrary to Erdogan’s depiction, pro-Hamas campus riots in the United States and elsewhere were largely violent, destructive affairs necessitating law enforcement action, particularly in America’s largest cities. On Monday, a pro-Hamas riot at Columbia University in New York resulted in a Democrat activist, who attended in defense of Israel, receiving a mob beating for daring to suggest opposition to Hamas.

Underlings in Erdogan’s authoritarian government similarly condemned Israel on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in its history.