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Russia plans to establish a military base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast to serve as a logistics center for the Russian navy, according to a draft agreement between Moscow and Khartoum signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and released publicly Nov. 11. The agreement states that Sudan will provide a land plot for the Russian base free of charge for a period of 25 years. It will automatically renew for subsequent 10-year periods. To terminate the deal, one of the parties must notify the other party of its intention at least one year before the expiration of the next...

Last week, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour compared the Trump administration to Kristallnacht, a horrific and devastating event that served as a precursor to the Holocaust in which Nazis violently destroyed Jewish homes, synagogues, schools and businesses and killed almost 100 Jews. The CNN host said: “It was the Nazis’ warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity and in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack of fact, knowledge, history, and truth. After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values by Donald Trump, the Biden-Harris team...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Tuesday announced plans to reduce U.S. troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying the decision fulfills President Donald Trump’s pledge to bring forces home even as Republicans and U.S. allies warn against a rash withdrawal. The new plan will accelerate troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan in Trump's final days in office, despite arguments from senior military officials in favor of a slower, more methodical pullout. Trump has refused to concede his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, who takes office Jan. 20, just five days after the troop withdrawals are...

The experts all told us Donald Trump had no chance to win the presidency in 2016. Then he had the audacity to win anyway. The experts all told us Joe Biden would crush Donald Trump in 2020, and that the Democrats would sweep Congress. Reality intervened: Republicans gained in the House, have more than a shot at keeping the Senate, and the presidential election was diabolically close, whatever its ultimate outcome turns out to be. The experts didn’t seem to have a problem with socialism, riots, or “defund the police,” but those are triggering civil war within the Democratic...

ction class="post-body"> Al-Qaeda’s second in command, accused of masterminding the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, was gunned down in the streets of Tehran by Israeli intelligence agents, reports the New York Times. Abu Muhammad al-Masri was killed by two men on motorcycles in Tehran on August 7. It is believed Israel acted at the behest of the United States, which had been tracking al-Masri and other al-Qaeda “prisoners” living in Iran for years.Much was made of Tehran’s “cooperation” in holding al-Qaeda operatives under “house arrest” by Iran’s apologists on the American left. In truth, Iran was giving them safe...

Stunning stone etching of two horned individuals at prayer found at mouth of rare circa-11th century citadel in Israel’s north; could predate famous Geshur site, Tel Bethsaida Dating to around the time of King David 3,000 years ago, what may be the earliest fortified settlement in the Golan Heights was recently discovered during salvage excavations ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood. Incredible rock etchings of two figures holding their arms aloft — possibly at prayer with what could be a moon — were uncovered inside the unique fort, which was dated to circa 11th-9th century BCE. The striking...

The archaeologists consider that the fort was built by the kingdom of Geshur, the ally of King David, in order to control the region. The excavation was undertaken prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in Hispin, and funded by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Golan Regional Council, with the participation of many residents of Hispin and Nov, and youth from the pre-military academies at Natur, Kfar Hanasi, Elrom, Metzar and Qaztrin. According to Barak Tzin and Enno Bron, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The complex we exposed was built at a...

The decision by three Arab states to make peace with Israel can be credited both to efforts by the Trump administration and the recognition by these Sunni states that their security would improve against the ongoing threats they face from Turkey and Iran. Iran and its proxies interfere with Arab states while promoting their Shi’ite revolutionary ideology; likewise, Turkey pushes its Sunni revolutionary ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the region. Turkey and Iran look to overthrow the Sunni Arab states that do not align with them, such as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The normalization deals between the...

A former senior aide to Joe Biden said rejoining the Iran nuclear deal was “high on his agenda” and that the US president-elect would move to do so shortly after taking office. “I believe that in the first months [of Biden’s presidency], we’ll either see him rejoin the deal fully, or what I would call ‘JCPOA-minus,’ meaning lifting sanctions in exchange for suspending some of the Iranian nuclear programs [developed] in the past three years,” Amos Hochstein said Sunday in an interview in Hebrew with Channel 12 news.

Congressman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) called for the US to defund Israel due to what she defined as “ethnic cleansing.” On Friday, Omar tweeted a reaction to the news that Israel had demolished illegally built structures in Khirbet Humsah, also known as Humsah Al Bqai’a, located in Samaria in the Jordan Valley. “This a grave crime—in direct violation of international law,” Omar wrote. “If they used any US equipment it also violates US law. An entire community is now homeless and will likely experience lifelong trauma. The United States of America should not be bankrolling ethnic cleansing. Anywhere.”

The message was clearly aimed at Gulf states and others that are partnered with the US. Iran has sought to reach out to its Arab neighbors, with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warning them that US President Donald Trump will be leaving in 70 days, but Iran’s regime will remain “forever.” He urged them to realize that “betting on outsiders to provide security is never a good gamble.” In Arabic and English, he called for dialogue and to work together. The message was clearly aimed at Gulf states and others that are partnered with the US. Iran was offering them...

Jerusalem (AFP) - - The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, hammered by US cuts, said Monday it lacks the funds to pay full November salaries but is confident President-elect Joe Biden's administration will restore support. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "never recovered" from the total funding cut imposed by President Donald Trump in 2018, agency spokeswoman Tamara Alrifai told AFP. Before Trump's cuts the US had been providing UNRWA $300 a year, roughly a third of its core annual budget. Alrifai said 2019 shortfalls were filled by additional support from...

The Nafah IDF base recently made headlines in an Israeli TV series on the 1973 Yom Kippur War which was bought by HBO, Valley of Tears. Now an archaeological excavation conducted on the Golan Heights reveals for the first time that the name Nafah was given to the site as early as 1700 years ago. A boundary stone inscribed in Greek was discovered during an archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority ahead of the Mekorot Water Company project to install a water pipeline in Nafah. At some point, the boundary stone was re-purposed as a tombstone... According to...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning congratulated Joe Biden after US news outlets declared him the winner of the election. "Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel," he tweeted. Netanyahu also thanked Trump for his friendship and actions taken during his presidency. "Thank you Donald Trump for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and...

Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden’s position on the Iran Deal could lead to war between Israel and Iran, Settlements Minister Tzachi Hanegbi warned on Wednesday night. “Biden has said openly for a long time that he will go back to the nuclear agreement,” Hanegbi said. “I see that as something that will lead to a confrontation between Israel and Iran.” Hanegbi said he is not concerned about a likely Biden victory on most fronts, including the area of settlements, but Iran is a glaring exception. The minister told Channel 13 News that he, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most...

Israeli Settlements Minister Tzachi Hanegbi warns that a Biden presidency could ignite war in the Middle East, while Egypt fears Biden would aid the resurgence of Islamists in the region. Hanegbi pointed out that Biden has indicated he will resurrect America’s nuclear agreement with Iran which was cancelled by the Trump administration. For Israel, this would represent an existential threat to national security and drastically increase the chances of war with Tehran. “If Biden stays with that policy, there will, in the end, be a violent confrontation between Israel and Iran,” said Hanegbi. Meanwhile, other Middle Eastern countries such as...

Descendants of the Ottoman genocide are volunteering to fight as Armenia and Azerbaijan remain locked in deadly conflict For many members of the Armenian diaspora, the war is about more than just territory: it is an assault on their ethnic identity BEIRUT: Kevork Hadjian was a much loved opera singer, famous for his mesmerizing voice and the allure he lent to patriotic Armenian anthems. Born and raised in southern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, the ethnic Armenian lived for a time in Kuwait before moving to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, with his family in 2004. An ardent patriot, Hadjian held a special...

It's not officially over yet, but it now appears highly likely that Joe Biden will be elected and assume office in January as the 46th President of the United States. If and when that occurs, Biden will no doubt lay out a governing agenda, parts of which may pass. But so long as Republicans retain the Senate -- a likelihood, pending the outcomes of the Georgia races (likely in a pair of runoffs) -- his party's more ambitious progressive designs will be thwarted. I actually suspect that development might come as something of a relief for Biden. My biggest concern...

There are some things that are just not up for debate. These aren’t political issues. What happened in Florida didn’t center on MAGA hats, flag burning, or the merits of tax cuts. We actually had a high school principal question whether the Holocaust was a “historical, factual” event. The Palm Beach Post has the story. A mother of a student tried for a year to reason with the school administration to, you know, actually teach kids about this terrible period in human history without the nonsense. She wondered how this was being taught at the school. The emails between the...

School officials in Florida have fired a high school principal again over comments he made regarding the HolocaustA Florida high school principal was fired again on Monday over a comment he made to a student's parent last year regarding the Holocaust. The Palm Beach County School Board's vote on Monday morning reversed an earlier decision to reinstate Spanish River High School Principal William Latson. SNIP On Monday, the board reversed course and voted 7-0 to fire Latson following outrage in the Jewish community, the Palm Beach Post reported.