Saudi Arabia and Syria to restore ties
MIDDLE EAST - Saudi Arabia and Syria will reopen their embassies after more than a decade of hostility, according to reports from multiple news outlets. The potential thaw comes after a landmark Chinese-brokered deal set the path for normalization of relations between the Saudi kingdom and Iran, bitter rivals who backed opposing sides in Syria’s civil war.
The two nations are preparing to reopen their respective embassies after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in April, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a “source aligned with Damascus.” A second Syria-linked source told the agency that the breakthrough came after talks in Saudi Arabia involving a senior Syrian intelligence official.
Saudi sources appeared to confirm the news later on Thursday night, with a foreign-ministry official telling state TV that “discussions are underway with officials in Syria to resume consular services.”
German defence minister shoots to fame
GERMANY - Germany’s defence minister has become an unexpectedly popular figure less than three months into a notoriously difficult job, as he promises to overhaul the nation’s armed forces and champions a strong response to the war in Ukraine.
Boris Pistorius’s zeal for his new role has catapulted him to the top of the public popularity rankings and drew admiration from allies, in stark contrast to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose reputation took a hit in international circles due to his reluctance to approve military aid for Ukraine. Pistorius, meanwhile, has impressed opposition lawmakers, diplomats and defence industry executives.
Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of parliament with the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and a former colonel, said Pistorius “has shown a heart for the troops and his communication is excellent. As a former army guy, I must say in comparison to 13 or 14 defence ministers I’ve experienced since [joining the military in] 1982, he could become a really excellent one.”
Pistorius’s enthusiasm and direct style have made him a hit with the public, with polling by broadcaster ZDF naming him the country’s most popular politician in both February and March.
200 more pilots to skip weekly training flight
ISRAEL - Organizers say Netanyahu’s vow to enact law to control judicial appointments was breaking point for many in the IAF who hadn’t already joined protest. Roughly 200 Israeli Air Force reserve pilots reportedly notified their units that they would not be reporting for their weekly flying session following the announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the government will move forward with its plan to overhaul the judiciary, despite widespread public protest.
The failure to report for weekly training sessions has serious implications because pilots who miss them are not certified to fly operational missions. The protesters included pilots from different branches of the IAF including those who fly combat missions, helicopters and transport planes, Channel 12 reported.
Increasingly, reservists — who are a key part of the army’s routine activities, including in top units — have warned they will not be able to serve in an undemocratic Israel, which they charge the country will become under the government’s plan.
Netanyahu is expected to FREEZE judicial reform
ISRAEL - Israel's president has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'come to your senses now' as the PM sparked widespread protests and a national strike by sacking his defence minister for objecting to judicial reforms. Netanyahu was expected to announce this morning that he was stopping his plans, although his public statement was postponed after a coalition ally pleaded for him not to back down, Channel 12 TV reported.
It came as all flights were grounded at Ben Gurion Airport, the nation's main international hub, after the head of the Israel Airports Authority workers' committee announced a strike. President Isaac Herzog said 'the eyes of the whole world are on you' following Netanyahu's dismissal of Yoav Gallant on Sunday.
Herzog said: 'I am addressing the prime minister, the members of the government and the companies and members of the coalition: the feelings are difficult and painful. Deep concern surrounds the entire nation.'
Rejection of Globalism
HUNGARY - Globalists are trying to brainwash citizens with their environmental and nutritional propaganda to control citizens’ food choices. Hungary has enacted stricter rules against the clandestine insectification of foods. The Minister of Agriculture István Nagy announced on his social media site that they are now requiring foods containing insect proteins to carry the label “Warning! Food containing insect proteins” and must be displayed separately from other products,
The minister stressed that the government wants to protect Hungarian consumers from foods containing insect protein authorized by Brussels in the European Union (EU) through strict product labeling and segregation rules. Hungary was the only member state not to support the EU’s intention to allow insects to be marketed as food and food ingredients in the EU.
He added that the European Commission is risking our gastronomic traditions and eating habits. That is why the Ministry of Agriculture has amended the food-labeling regulation to provide accurate information to consumers.
Most Germans Fear Inability of their Country to Defend Itself
GERMANY - Over half of Germans believe that their country could be heading towards a future war and that the country is unable to defend itself, polling has revealed. Should such a war come about, it appears that most in the country appear to doubt it will go well, with 63 per cent of the survey respondents reportedly saying that they do not believe the modern German state would be able to defend itself successfully in the event of an armed conflict.
Such a viewpoint appears to largely be in keeping with the country’s own government, with the German Minister for Defence, Boris Pistorius, coming out earlier this month to say that the country’s armed forces would not be able to successfully defend the homefront should Germany become embroiled in war. “We have no armed forces that are capable of defence, ie capable of defending against an offensive brutally conducted war of aggression,” the minister admitted.
Such a situation has reportedly only been made worse by Germany’s support for Ukraine, with the nation’s military reportedly left with massive supply shortages after the ruling traffic light coalition decided to donate large swathes of its weapons and ammo stockpiles to the invaded nation.
Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, the chief of Germany’s army, has warned that such donations have now left the country’s armouries “bare”, and that weapon and ammo shortages will ultimately end up impacting the military’s defensive capabilities. “There comes a point where we can no longer do our jobs,” he reportedly warned in the wake of Germany announcing it was delivering tanks to the Zelensky administration.
Japan and Germany Are Again Preparing for War
EUROPE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called this moment a “historic turning point.” In Japan, a famous comedian named Tamori coined the (somewhat obscure) phrase “new prewar,” and it has been widely used to say much the same thing: That Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced both countries to take their own military preparedness more seriously.
Germany’s turning point and Japan’s “new prewar” are far from meaningless. The first hesitant, cautious, painful steps toward taking on more responsibility for their own defense have been taken. “Never again” can no longer be taken for granted. But, for better or worse, Pax Americana is far from exhausted. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have seen to that.
Israel’s post-democracy moment
ISRAEL - The political crisis in Israel over the government’s judicial reforms has deepened. Yet as law professor Avi Bell has pointed out, for many decades after the State of Israel was founded, only the Knesset could legislate and no court could overturn legislation for any reason. Attorneys-general and all other legal advisers could be dismissed and their legal opinions bound no one. No government action could be reversed by the Supreme Court simply because the Court considered it “unreasonable.” In other words, the reforms will largely return Israel to the situation that prevailed before 1993, when Supreme Court President Aharon Barak launched his revolutionary campaign of judicial activism.
So, what explains this unprecedented uproar? The clue lies in the claim that the reforms spell the end of democracy in Israel, whose values will no longer be recognizably Jewish. In fact, at the core of the protests lies an attack on Jewish values. Judaism has something important to say about both law and politics. Law is central to the Torah and therefore to Judaism. Moreover, during the Davidic monarchy, judges — along with prophets and priests — provided an essential brake on the otherwise despotic powers of the monarch.
This is no longer a protest against government policy. It represents a fundamental split in the West over how to view the world and how society should be ordered. It is an extremely dangerous inflection point, not just for Israel but for Western civilization, in a battle for which Israel’s beleaguered government is now revealed to be the unwitting outlier.
End of Days, Collapse & Calamity – Steve Quayle
USA - Renowned radio host, filmmaker, book author and archeological dig expert Steve Quayle says the global banking meltdown, tanking economy, CV19 vax deaths and disabilities and war in Ukraine is all part of what the Bible calls “End of Days.” Brace yourself. It’s not going to get better anytime soon. Quayle explains, “Preachers in the pulpit are whores. They won’t even speak the name of Jesus. They want to be friends with the world."
"They want to be seeker friendly and user friendly. Jesus said, ‘To be friends with the world is enemies with God.’ So, the battle lines are being drawn. People are going to have to decide which side they are on, and then they are going to have to stand. They are going to have to call on God for him to be with us because God is the only one that can stand with the fire that is now already manifesting itself in the world before us.”
Quayle goes on to say, “All Hell is breaking loose with the banking system… Let me define ‘All Hell breaking loose’ and what that will mean. When all Hell breaks loose, there will be no credit cards. When all Hell breaks loose, there will be no transactions because there will be nothing on the shelves that you can buy with paper money. We are going into hyperinflation right now. We are watching the housing market collapse. We are watching the automobile market collapse. The word collapse is a great word, and the other word that comes with collapse is calamity."
Russia to station nuclear weapons in Belarus
BELARUS - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long raised the issue of stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders Poland, Putin said: “There is nothing unusual here either: firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries.”
'It was very rare': Mississippi tornado
USA - Two dozen tornadoes tore through Mississippi and parts of Alabama obliterating towns - one cutting a deadly path across 170 miles leaving at least 25 dead. The Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Saturday after surveying the extensive damage in the wake of the storm. The White House has offered 'full federal support' to communities devastated by the natural disaster - president Joe Biden saying he's praying for those affected
The weather service said that the extremely 'rare' weather system, which killed at least 25 people, took place because 'all the ingredients were there.' The Governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency on Saturday after surveying the extensive damage in the wake of the deadly storm in the hardest hit towns Silver City and Rolling Fork. It comes as flood predictions loom over the weekend with an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain possible through Sunday.
Can We Afford to Pay A Trillion Dollars Interest on Our Debt?
USA - The Federal Reserve announced its latest decision on interest rates. The Fed raised rates once again. This brings the prevailing short-term rate to 5%. That means that all forms of Debt will continue to have higher interest payments. This includes the massive debt of the US Government. Today’s interest rate increase will likely mean that the Government’s interest rate payment this year will exceed $1 trillion for the first time in history.
It will come as no surprise that our Government has chalked up a tremendous amount of debt. Recently the amount of debt we’ve added has grown astronomically. The Covid-19 Pandemic, and the subsequent economic lockdown, added about 20% to the Federal Government’s debt load. Currently, the National Debt stands at more than $31 trillion, or about $14,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country.
US ‘extremely troubled’ over Israeli law
USA - The US government has voiced major concerns after Israeli lawmakers passed a bill allowing for the construction of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that the measure would facilitate the theft of Palestinian land. The State Department’s principal deputy spokesman, Vedant Patel, said Washington is “extremely troubled” by the law, which rescinds parts of a 2005 bill that ordered Israeli settlers to vacate Gaza and some areas of the West Bank.
“The US strongly urges Israel to refrain from allowing the return of settlers to the area covered by the legislation,” he told reporters on Tuesday, noting that “At least one of the [former] outposts in this area... was built on private Palestinian land, which is illegal under Israeli law.”
Calling the legal change “particularly provocative” and “counterproductive,” Patel said the creation of new settlements would pose “an obstacle to peace” in the region, also arguing the decision marks a “clear contradiction” of Israel’s repeated vows to de-escalate hostilities with the Palestinians.
EPA’s Decision to Grant California a Waiver to Ban Diesel Trucks
USA - Governor Gavin Newsom (Democrat) celebrated the EPA’s decision to grant California a waiver to ban diesel trucks. Last year it was reported the Marxists on the California Air Resources Board were looking to ban all gas and diesel trucks. The board boasted about being the first to adopt a rule requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel to electric beginning in 2024.
It is unclear how California will charge all of these vehicles when they can’t even keep the lights on during heatwaves and days with gusty winds. Biden’s EPA is going to approve California’s new rules. “The EPA plans to grant California a waiver that will allow the state to phase out diesel-powered trucks, helping communities burdened by truck pollution,” The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Los Angeles area hit by rare tornado
USA - Wednesday’s intense weather comes as California has been plagued in recent months by at least 12 atmospheric rivers that have brought devastating flooding and hurricane-force winds. An atmospheric river is like a fire hose that carries saturated air from the tropics to higher latitudes, dumping relentless rain or snow. At least five people died due to the storm in the San Francisco Bay Area as fierce winds lashed cities on Tuesday, toppling trees and power lines. The city of San Francisco said its 911 call center had four times its normal call volume during the peak of the storm, which resulted in over 700 fallen trees and limbs and reports of glass and debris falling from high rise towers.
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The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.
