JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T
MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE
MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET
SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO
OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST
FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 33 - ISRAEL-US WAR ON IRAN CONTINUES.
THE
NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES
MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER
IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32
Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a
spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of
their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of
them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a
desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of
man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located
along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting
Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to
Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of
Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS)
the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN)
will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will
scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where
the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT
OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT
BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed
before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE
LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them,
(MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the
sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them;
(DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my
throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy
from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY
GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring
back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS
NOW)
WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The
500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from
Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration
occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February,
the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and
pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April.
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main
Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes
the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of
birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake
Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel)
are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species:
Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors,
and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April.
The
500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late
August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when
the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and
November.
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key
Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and
steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of
storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in
the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the
spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23
Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they
have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the
sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath
seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in
travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of
war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I
will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it
shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN
DAMASCUS)
I ALWAYS
THOUGHT APRIL FOOLS DAY TODAY. WAS JUST A FUN DAY. BUT NOW THINKING HARD
ABOUT IT. I REALISE ITS A LEGAL DAY TO LIE TO EVERYBODY. AND WE WONDER
WHY PEOPLE LIE SO MUCH AND THINK NOTHING OF IT. I WON'T BE DOING ANYMORE
LIES TO PEOPLE ON THIS DAY ANY MORE.
Israel strikes Iran's capital as Trump set to address US on war.
Tehran,
April 1 (AFP) Apr 01, 2026-Israel struck Iran's capital on Wednesday
ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned address to the American
public on the month-long war he said could end within weeks.The conflict
that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran has
mushroomed throughout the region, sending energy markets into a tailspin
and threatening to torpedo the global economy.With the official status
of talks to resolve the conflict uncertain, Iranian state television
reported "attacks on Tehran" and explosions heard in the capital's
north, east and centre early Wednesday.The Israeli military confirmed it
had carried out a "wide-scale wave of strikes" on Tehran and later said
it was intercepting a new missile attack from Iran, the first in around
20 hours.Trump, whose statements on the war have swung from combative
to conciliatory, had earlier said the war could be over in "two weeks,
maybe three"."But we're finishing the job," he insisted.The White House
said he would give "an important update on Iran" to the nation at 9:00
pm Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday).His Iranian counterpart Masoud
Pezeshkian meanwhile assured that the Islamic republic had the
"necessary will" to end the war, provided its enemies guaranteed it
would not flare up again.The comments came as Iran's Revolutionary
Guards threatened major US tech firms from Wednesday if more Iranian
leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".The Guards said that 18
companies, including Intel, Tesla and Palantir, were complicit in
previous killings and warned they should expect "destruction" if there
were any further deaths.But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said the campaign would go on, even after insisting the conflict had
"changed the face of the Middle East" and eradicated Iran's ballistic
and nuclear threats."We had to act, and we acted," he said in a
televised statement on the eve of the Passover holidays. "We will
continue to crush the terror regime."Israel said on Wednesday its air
defences were responding to a missile fired from Yemen, which Israeli
media said was intercepted with no reports of casualties.Yemen's Houthi
rebels joined the war over the weekend, firing missiles at Israel, and
have threatened Red Sea shipping, which would further hamper trade
already constrained by Iran largely shuttering the Strait of Hormuz.-
Tanker hit -On another front, Lebanon's health ministry said early
Wednesday that seven people were killed in Israeli strikes in south
Beirut and a nearby area, while the Israeli military said it had struck a
senior Hezbollah commander.Israel's campaign against Iran-backed
Hezbollah has left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, according to the
health ministry, with over a million displaced.The Israeli military said
Wednesday it had struck "approximately 7,000 targets" since the start
of the war, including "4,000 terrorist targets" in Iran.More than 2,000
Iranian soldiers and commanders were "eliminated" in the strikes, it
said.Iran has kept up retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations it accuses as
serving as a launchpad for US strikes and has threatened to target vital
infrastructure across the region, including energy sites.Kuwait's civil
aviation authority said Wednesday that the Gulf state's international
airport had come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large
fire" at its fuel tanks.Bahrain's interior ministry said a fire broke
out at a business facility "as a result of the Iranian aggression".Saudi
Arabia's defence ministry said several drones were "intercepted and
destroyed".A tanker was hit by a projectile in the Gulf, off the coast
of Qatar's capital Doha, a British maritime security agency said,
reporting some damage but no casualties.- 'Nothing they can do'
-Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters early Tuesday after
he visited US troops in the Middle East, vowed that "the upcoming days
will be decisive.""Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can
militarily do about it."US Central Command shared a video late Tuesday
it said showed forces dropping "precision munitions on underground
military targets deep inside Iran".Trump had threatened on Monday that
if Iran didn't agree to a deal, US forces would "obliterate" its oil
wells, its main Kharg Island export terminal, and possibly water
desalination plants.The United States has not said who it is speaking
with in Iran, which has denied it is in talks.Iranian Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that he still receives messages from US
envoy Steve Witkoff, "directly, as before, and this does not mean that
we are in negotiations."Crude prices jumped on lingering worries about
Iran's closure of the strategic Hormuz strait, even as Asian stocks
rallied on the back of Trump's comments about the war possibly ending
soon.Japan's Nikkei climbed more than three percent at the open
Wednesday and South Korea's Kospi was up nearly five percent.Trump said
France, China and other countries that seek passage through the Strait
of Hormuz will have to "fend for themselves," lashing out at allies that
have refused to help Washington secure the waterway while fighting
takes place.Rising fuel prices in the US stoked by the standoff have
become a headache for Trump.At a gas station in Washington's suburbs,
Jeanne Williams, 83, was aghast at more costly prices visible on an LED
board."That is horrible," she said."I'm just bewildered, confused,
unhappy. Because we didn't ask for the war."But the US leader said he
was not worried about spiking prices hurting American wallets."All I
have to do is leave Iran," he told reporters."And we'll be doing that
very soon, and they'll come tumbling down."burs-jfx/ceg
Middle East war: global economic fallout.
Paris,
France, April 1 (AFP) Apr 01, 2026-Here are the latest economic events
in the Middle East war:- Australian PM to address the nation -Australian
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will make a rare address to the nation
across television and radio networks on Wednesday, outlining Canberra's
response to the Middle East conflict.Albanese will make the address at
7:00 pm Canberra time (0800 GMT) and is expected to urge Australians to
save fuel for industries that need it.Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced
temporary tax relief for small businesses on Wednesday, and said the
longer the war drags on the greater the impact on the economy.- Stocks
soar, oil retreats -Stocks rallied and oil eased after US President
Donald Trump said the Middle East war may be over in up to three weeks
and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to
bring it to an end.Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 4.0 percent while
benchmarks in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul all rose.Wall Street stocks
had already rocketed higher on Tuesday, with the blue-chip Dow index
finishing up 2.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 3.8
percent.Crude was still trading well above $100 a barrel, however.-
Tanker struck off Qatar -A tanker has been hit by a projectile in the
Gulf, off the coast of Qatar's capital Doha, a British maritime security
agency said Wednesday, reporting some damage but no casualties.-
Desalination plant hit -Strikes have knocked out a desalination plant on
Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported, without
saying when the attack took place."One of the desalination plants on
Qeshm Island was targeted... and is now completely out of service, as it
is not possible to repair it in the short term," the ISNA news agency
reported, quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.- China ships
transit -China's foreign ministry thanked "the relevant parties" on
Tuesday for helping three Chinese ships to transit out of the Strait of
Hormuz.Two container vessels belonging to shipping giant Cosco passed
through the strait on Monday, tracking data showed. Beijing gave no
details on the third ship.- Eurozone inflation -Eurozone inflation rose
to 2.5 percent in March, the highest level since January 2025, owing to
surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.- Asia war woes
-Asia faces the gravest fallout from the war and is confronting a major
energy crisis, the head of global maritime analytics firm Kpler told
AFP.Jean Maynier said the continent did not have enough energy resources
to cover the gap, adding: "It will not be enough in China, it will not
be enough to cover in big countries like the Philippines or Indonesia.
So it's a real energy crisis."- Indonesia rations fuel -Indonesia
announced fuel rationing and mandated work from home for civil servants
as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes because of
the Middle East war.It earlier said it would not increase fuel prices
despite rising budget pressures from the war.- Kuwait tanker blaze -An
Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port,
state media reported on Tuesday. There were no injuries, according to
the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had
extinguished the blaze.Maritime intelligence agency Vanguard and ship
tracker MarineTraffic identified the ship as the Al Salmi, a 332-metre
(1090-feet) long Kuwait-flagged crude tanker.- Ethiopia rations fuel
-Ethiopia will prioritise vehicles transporting essential goods and
those in the public transport sector at fuel stations as the country
grapples with shortages caused by the Middle East war, authorities said
Tuesday.- Sri Lanka hikes electricity -Sri Lanka announced a nearly
40-percent increase in electricity prices from Wednesday as it battles
an energy shortage caused by the war in the Middle East.Sri Lanka has
raised fuel prices three times this month, increasing them by more than a
third, and has imposed a four-day working week in a bid to save
energy.burs-rl-gc/des/ceg/ami
Trump threatens to obliterate Iran's Kharg island if no deal reached 'shortly'.
Washington,
United States, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-US President Donald Trump
threatened Monday to destroy Iran's oil export hub of Kharg Island, oil
wells and power plants if it does not soon agree to a deal to end the
war.A day after sounding conciliatory and suggesting a deal could be
reached this week, Trump wrote on his Truth Social network that the
United States is in "serious discussions" with "a more reasonable
regime" in Tehran. But he added an ominous warning."Great progress has
been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it
probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for
Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and
completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil
Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which
we have purposefully not yet 'touched,'" Trump said.On Sunday night,
Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the United States had
achieved "regime change" in Iran through the war launched a month ago
with Israel, citing the number of Iranian leaders who have been killed.
He called the new leadership "much more reasonable"."We're dealing with
different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole
different group of people. So I would consider that regime change."Asked
whether there could be an agreement with Iran this coming week, Trump
said: "I do see a deal in Iran. Could be soon."
Facts about Strait of Hormuz shipping blockade.
London,
March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-Here are the latest key facts and figures
about the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route
virtually paralysed by the Middle East war.Around a fifth of global
crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in
peacetime.The war erupted on February 28 when the United States and
Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes
across the region and sharply restrict access to the strait.- Handful of
crossings -Fifteen vessels crossed the strait over the weekend, 12 of
them on Saturday, making it one of the busiest days for crossings since
March 1, according to Kpler.From March 1 to 30 as of 0900 GMT Monday,
commodities carriers made just 195 crossings, according to data from
analytics firm Kpler -- a decrease of 95 percent from peacetime.Of
these, 121 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling
east out of the strait.- Chinese container ships pass -Later on Monday,
two further ships -- ultra-large container vessels owned by Chinese
shipping giant Cosco -- appeared to have successfully crossed the strait
after an aborted attempt last week, maritime tracker MarineTraffic said
on X.It interpreted their passage as "signalling a potential shift in
conditions for commercial shipping".- Steel, soybeans shipped -Seven of
the ships passing through the strait over the weekend were dry bulk
carriers transporting steel, iron ore pellets and soybean meal.Four
vessels were liquified petroleum gas tankers and the rest were liquid
tankers.The channel in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits,
according to shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List.- 2,000
ships in Gulf -Around 2,142 vessels have sent transponder signals in the
Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz in the past day, according to
Bloomberg data.Of those, 298 were tankers, including 10 very large gas
carriers and 55 very large crude carriers.- No reported incidents since
March 22 -Since March 1, 2026, 24 commercial vessels, including 11
tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents in the Gulf, the
Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Oman, according to the British naval
maritime security agency UKMTO.No incidents have been logged since March
22, when the bulk carrier Phoenix reported an explosion next to the
ship in Emirati waters, according to the UKMTO.Drones struck fuel tanks
at Oman's Salalah port on Saturday, injuring one worker and disrupting
operations but hitting no vessels.- Eight sea workers killed -Since the
conflict began, at least eight seafarers or dock workers have died in
incidents in the region, according to the International Maritime
Organization (IMO).A further four remained missing and 10 were
injured.Around 20,000 seafarers are affected in the region, according to
the IMO.- Iran-approved route -Recent crossings appeared to have mainly
used a route apparently approved by Iran around Larak Island just off
the country's coast.Leading shipping journal Lloyd's List last week said
at least 34 ships had been tracked using it.Over the weekend three
ships sent signals close to Larak Island before turning off their
transponders to cross the strait.Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the
route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports linked to its
"enemies".- 45% sanctioned ships -Since the war started, 45 percent of
the crossings have been by ships under US, EU or UK sanctions, according
to an AFP analysis of passage data.Of the crossings by oil and gas
tankers, 61 percent were by vessels under sanctions.lmc/rlp/rl
Regime change'? The Iranian leaders killed in Israeli-US war.
Paris,
France, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-Since the start of the war,
US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran have killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei
and a whole echelon of the political and military elite in the Islamic
republic.US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the war had achieved
"regime change" and that "we're dealing with different people than
anybody's dealt with before".But several key figures have survived and
the Islamic republic has shown resilience in rapidly replacing killed
leaders and also keeping up the war against the US and Israel.In the
latest fatality, Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the naval force of
the Revolutionary Guards who Israel had said was responsible for the
blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, died of his wounds from an Israeli
strike on Thursday, the Guards said.Here is a recap of the some of the
key figures killed so far in the war:- Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei -Khamenei, Iran's number one since 1989, was killed in the
first hour of the war on February 28 in a strike on a meeting of senior
officials in Tehran that also left his daughter-in-law, daughter and at
least one grandchild dead, according to reports.His low-profile son
Mojtaba survived -- although reportedly with injuries -- and took over
as supreme leader. He has yet to make a public appearance.Ali Khamenei
has yet to be buried although Mojtaba has said in a written statement he
saw the body.- Security chief Ali Larijani -The killing of Larijani,
who despite not being a cleric was a pillar of the system for decades,
was likely the biggest loss to the Islamic republic after the death of
Ali Khamenei.Larijani was killed on March 17 in an Israeli strike,
reportedly in the Tehran region and which also killed family members.The
previous week, he had defiantly walked in public in Tehran at a
pro-government rally.- Revolutionary Guards chief Mohammad Pakpour
-Pakpour, previously head of the Guards' ground forces, took over as
commander-in-chief in June 2025 after his predecessor Hossein Salami was
killed in Israel's 12-day war against Iran.He was killed on the first
day of the war and has been replaced by former interior and defence
minister Ahmad Vahidi.- Guards naval chief Alireza Tangsiri -A veteran
of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, Tangsiri was one of the longest-serving
senior figures in the Revolutionary Guards as the head of its navy since
2018 and one of its highest-profile faces within the Islamic
republic.Israel's defence minister described him as the "man who was
directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking
the Strait of Hormuz".- Adviser Ali Shamkhani -Shamkhani, a mainstay of
the Islamic republic's armed forces since the 1980s, was killed in an
airstrike on the first day of the war.He was given a public funeral in
Tehran's Tajrish Square and reportedly buried without his head.He had
been severely wounded, and initially reported dead, in a strike during
Israel's June war against Iran but later re-emerged.- Intelligence
Minister Esmail Khatib -A cleric, Khatib was killed by an Israeli strike
in Tehran early on March 18. As Iran's intelligence minister since
2021, he was accused by rights groups of playing a key role in the
suppression of protests.- Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh -A veteran of
the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, Nasirzadeh had served as defence
minister since 2024. He was also killed in a strike on the first day of
the war.- Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani -Soleimani headed the
Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group that is a branch of the
Revolutionary Guards and notorious among rights groups for suppressing
protests. He was killed in an airstrike on March 17.- Guards spokesman
Ali Mohammad Naini -Naini was killed at dawn Friday in what the Guards
described as a "cowardly" attack by the United States and Israel.Just
before his death was confirmed, the Fars news agency issued a statement
quoting Naini as saying Iran's missile production deserved a "perfect
score" and was continuing despite the war.- Head of military office
Mohammad Shirazi -Killed on the opening day of the war, Shirazi had the
crucial job of coordinating between the various branches of the Iranian
security forces at the office of supreme leader.- Armed forces chief
Abdolrahim Mousavi -Mousavi, killed on the first day of the war, had
only taken up his post, a senior position which coordinates between the
Guards and the regular army, in June 2025 following the death of his
predecessor Mohammad Bagheri in the 12-day war.
UN nuclear watchdog says Iran heavy water plant 'damaged' after Israeli strike.
Vienna,
March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-The International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) said on Sunday that Iran's heavy water production plant in
Khondab was no longer operational after an Israeli military strike.The
Israeli military said Friday it carried out a strike against a heavy
water plant in Arak, central Iran, describing the site as a "key
plutonium production site for nuclear weapons".On Sunday, IAEA said
based on an independent analysis of satellite imagery the heavy water
production plant at Khondab, which Iran reported had been attacked on 27
March, had "sustained severe damaged (sic) and is no longer
operational".It added the "installation contains no declared nuclear
material".
Iran reports strike at Bushehr nuclear plant, third in 10 days: IAEA.
Vienna,
March 28 (AFP) Mar 28, 2026-A strike hit near Iran's Bushehr nuclear
power plant late Friday but caused no radiation leak or damage to the
reactor, the UN atomic watchdog said, after Israeli strikes on the
Islamic republic.Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency that
the plant was operating normally and had suffered no technical or
structural impact, the agency said on X.The incident was the third in a
series of reported strikes in Iran within the past 10 days, the IAEA
said, as the war in the Middle East entered its second month.The Israeli
military said Friday it had struck a heavy water reactor and a uranium
processing plant in central Iran, but did not mention Bushehr.IAEA chief
Rafael Grossi urged "maximum military restraint".Iranian state news
agency Fars reported that a projectile hit the plant's grounds at 11:40
pm on Friday (2010 GMT), blaming the "American-Zionist enemy".There were
no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the site, Fars
added.The Bushehr plant in southwestern Iran has the country's only
operational nuclear power reactor and was first connected to the grid in
2011, according to the IAEA.
Israel army says struck missile production sites in Tehran.
Jerusalem,
March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-Israel's military said Monday it had struck
dozens of weapons production sites including a long-range
surface-to-air missiles manufacturing line in Iran's capital
Tehran."During waves of airstrikes over the past two days in Tehran,
approximately 40 weapons production and research facilities were
struck," the military said.The targets, it said, included "a facility
used for assembling long-range surface-to-air missiles", a site
assembling components for "anti-tank missiles and small anti-aircraft
missiles", and a facility that produced and researched "ballistic
missile engines."
Israel hit Iran-led terror axis with ’10
plagues’ -- PM-Trump: No deal needed to end the war, Iran won’t be able
to obtain a nuke ‘for years’US president says war ‘coming to an end’
even as he keeps amassing troops for potential invasion, expresses
doubts Tehran can reach buried uranium; Netanyahu: Iranian nuclear
production abilities ‘smashed’ By Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman-31 March
2026, 11:29 pmUpdated: Today, 3:48 am
WASHINGTON — US President
Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran does not have to agree to a deal to
end the ongoing US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, as he stated
that the United States will probably wrap up the war in two or three
weeks.Trump also declared that Iran’s surviving stockpiles of enriched
uranium did not concern him at all since they are buried underground and
inaccessible, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that
Israel during the current conflict has “smashed” Tehran’s ability to
produce nuclear weapons.The remarks from both Trump and Netanyahu
appeared to potentially set the stage for the conclusion of the war,
even as the US has been amassing troops for a potential ground operation
in Iran.“No, [the Iranians] don’t have to make a deal,” Trump said in
response to reporters’ questions at the White House, which later
announced the president will “address the nation” about the war on
Wednesday night at 9 p.m. eastern time.“When we feel that they are… put
into the stone ages and won’t be able to come up with a nuclear weapon,
then we’ll leave whether we have a deal or not,” he said. “It’s
irrelevant now.”Trump has claimed that the US already obliterated Iran’s
nuclear program in strikes last year and said earlier Tuesday that he
was not focused on Iranian uranium stockpiles, so it’s not clear what
else Trump is looking to accomplish militarily. It also remains unclear
if Iran will follow suit if the US unilaterally ceases fire.“It’s
possible that we’ll have a deal because they want to make a deal more
than I want to make a deal,” Trump added.“But in a fairly short period
of time, we’ll be finished, and they will not be able to do a nuclear
weapon for years,” he continued.“Maybe in a long time from now, [they’ll
be] able to do a nuclear weapon, you’ll have a president [who] will be
like me, and he will go there and knock the hell out of them again,”
Trump said, acknowledging that the ongoing war with Iran may not be
definitive.Just three weeks ago, Trump made the reverse claim, saying
that he wanted to “make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10
years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do
it.”US to be ‘leaving’ Iran ‘very soon’While speaking with the media
Tuesday in the Oval Office, Trump was adamant that the US will be
“leaving” Iran “very soon,” insisting that gasoline prices will
subsequently “tumble down” as well.After a reporter noted that Americans
are feeling the financial squeeze at the gas pump, Trump declared
they’re also “feeling a lot safer” because Iran doesn’t have a nuclear
weapon.Trump claimed the “detour” from improving the US economy was
necessary in order to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb,
something he said he already prevented in last year’s strikes against
Tehran’s nuclear sites.As for the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said other
countries who want to get their oil through the key waterway will have
to “fend for themselves,” acknowledging that Iran could drop mines or
direct machine gun and RPG fire at ships.“I think it’ll be very safe,
but we have nothing to do with that,” Trump said of the strait, which
Iran has shuttered in response to the US and Israeli attacks.Trump
stated the US has done its part by taking out dozens of Iran’s
“radicalized lunatic” leaders.He also reiterated his claim that the US
has enacted “regime change” in Iran, even though the Islamic Republic is
still standing. Still, he asserted that the new leadership is “much
more rational.”Trump then said regime change was not even his goal to
begin with, even though he urged Iranians to take over the government
once the bombing stops in the speech he gave upon launching the war.He
claimed that he only had one war aim: Ensuring Iran cannot have a
nuclear weapon.His aides have listed at least four other goals, though
those too have ranged from the destruction of Iran’s missile program,
the destruction of its navy, the destruction of its air force and the
cessation of its support for proxies-Pressed for a more specific
timeline for when the war might end, Trump responded,“I think week two
or three weeks.”“Within maybe two weeks — maybe a couple of days
longer,” Trump added later on.Trump has a history of providing two-week
timelines in a variety of policy fields that he hasn’t typically stuck
with.“We want to knock out every single thing they have now, [But] it’s
possible that we’ll make a deal before that,” Trump said, adding that
he’d like to hit some additional bridges in Iran, predicting that it
will take 15 to 20 years to rebuild what has been hit in the
war.Speaking separately on Tuesday at Pentagon briefing, US Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said American forces have
carried out more than 11,000 strikes against Iranian targets, while
revealing they have also successfully begun conducting “overland
missions” of B-52 bomber sorties, thanks to the air superiority the
United States has over Iran.Also Tuesday, the White House said the US
military was prepared to thwart any attacks by Iran, responding to
threats by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against US tech giants,
such as Apple and Google, in the region.“The United States military is
and was prepared to curtail any attacks by Iran, as evidenced by the 90
percent drop in ballistic missile and drone attacks by the terrorist
regime,” said a White House official, who did not wish to be
named.Iran’s uranium ‘deeply buried’ underground-In an earlier phone
interview with CBS, Trump said he doesn’t “even think about” Iran’s
stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, whose recovery some experts say
is critical to ensuring that Tehran can’t rush to a nuclear weapon.“I
don’t even think about it. I just know that it’s so deeply buried it’s
going to be very hard for anybody” to reach it, Trump said, referencing
the US strikes last June on Iran’s nuclear facilities where the
stockpiles are believed to be held.“We’ve watched it. And at least I
think finally people admit it was obliteration. It’s down there deep…
Even without a war, they haven’t been able to do it. So… it’s pretty
safe. But, we’ll make a determination,” he added.Asked when the war
could wind down completely, Trump was again non-committal. “It won’t be
long,” he said.“I would say we are two weeks ahead of schedule,” Trump
claimed, even though the White House previously said the war would last
four to six weeks, and the war is now in its fifth week.Trump added that
it would take Iran “10 years to rebuild” after the war.Later, in an NBC
interview, Trump reiterated, “We’re doing great” in the war. “And it’s
coming to an end.”Meanwhile, in a video statement, Netanyahu lauded the
IDF’s accomplishments in the war against Iran last June and in the
current campaign, including “hitting hard and distancing two existential
threats.” Tehran, he specified, was “moving ahead to develop nuclear
weapons and tens of thousands of ballistic missiles.”“In Operation
Rising Lion, we removed from upon us the immediate threat of Iran arming
itself with a nuclear weapon and many ballistic missiles,” he said,
referring to the June war. And in the current war, he added, “we brought
a complementary achievement, by smashing the industrial capability of
the regime to produce these tools of destruction.”Netanyahu said Ali
Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed on the war’s first day,
had wanted to bury those programs deep underground to make them immune
from Israeli attacks.The premier promised that “sooner or later,” the
Iranian regime will fall — seemingly contradicting Trump’s assertion
that the killing so far of a series of top Islamic Republic officials
has already constituted “regime change.”Netanyahu said that Iran’s
“trillion dollar” investment in ballistic missiles, in nuclear
enrichment and in supporting armed proxies “has gone down the drain.”He
summed up 10 major achievements he said were accomplished in the war,
including the creation of “security zones” in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon
that are patrolled by the IDF.He claimed that Israel has hit Iran and
its axis with “10 plagues,” a reference to the holiday of Passover,
which begins Wednesday evening.Netanyahu listed the blows Israel has
delivered to terror groups Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the
Houthis in Yemen and others in the West Bank, as well as to the ousted
Assad regime in Syria. He also listed five “plagues” delivered to Iran —
hitting its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, regime infrastructure,
internal security forces, and senior leaders.Pakistan, China unveil
truce plan; US reportedly doesn’t oppose it.Also Tuesday, Pakistan and
China issued a joint call for an immediate ceasefire followed by peace
talks between the US and Iran.PR No.85/2026 Five-Point Initiative of
China and Pakistan for Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and
Middle East Region (Beijing, March 31,2026) pic.twitter.com/JAkSsro17a —
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) March 31,
2026-Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met his Chinese counterpart,
Wang Yi, in Beijing, after which they issued their five-point
initiative.The plan also calls for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz
and for a UN-backed peace agreement.In a call with Israel’s Channel 12,
Trump didn’t deny knowledge of the plan, saying only that talks about
ending the war were progressing.An official with knowledge of the
details was cited by the outlet as saying that the White House does not
oppose the Chinese-Pakistani initiative.
Analysis-Iran’s regime
remains defiant despite absorbing massive blows from Israel and the
US-While the US insists Tehran is ‘effectively neutralized,’ experts say
the regime is entrenched, looks to ’cause sustained pain and to drive
up the costs of the war’ for Trump-By Isabel Debre and KONSTANTIN
TOROPIN 31 March 2026, 8:54 pm
BEIRUT (AP) — Since the United
States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, the
Trump administration claims to have all but “obliterated” the Islamic
Republic’s military capabilities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
declared last week that “never in recorded history has a nation’s
military been so quickly and so effectively neutralized.”But after more
than a month of punishing US-Israeli airstrikes, a degraded Iranian
military nonetheless remains a stubborn foe. Its steady stream of
strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors are causing regional
chaos and an outsized economic and political shock.Its missiles continue
to penetrate Israeli airspace and kill civilians. Its cheap drones slip
through its neighbors’ air defenses, shattering Gulf Arab nations’
carefully curated images of invincibility and wounding US troops. Its
threats to attack oil and gas tankers strangle the Strait of Hormuz,
sending energy prices soaring.US President Donald Trump has sought
negotiations and threatened extreme destruction in hopes of securing
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and compelling it to reopen the
Strait of Hormuz.To maintain its leverage, Iran just needs to withstand
the conflict long enough to pressure Washington to seek an off-ramp,
experts say.“Their strategy is to try to cause sustained pain and to
drive up the costs of the war for the US,” said Kelly Grieco, an expert
in US military strategy and operations who is a senior fellow at the
Washington-based Stimson Center think tank.Iran is firing fewer
ballistic missiles than at start of the war-Since the first day of the
US-Israeli bombing campaign, officials from both countries have
repeatedly pointed to a steep drop-off in Iran’s firing of ballistic
missiles as proof that their efforts to destroy launchers and weapons
stockpiles were working.Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan
Caine told reporters on March 4 that Iran’s “ballistic missile shots
fired are down 86 percent from the first day of fighting and their
one-way attack drone shots are down 73%.” At a press briefing two weeks
later, Hegseth said the volume of Iran’s ballistic missile attacks had
dropped “90% since the start of the conflict.”On Tuesday, Hegseth told
reporters at the Pentagon that in the past 24 hours Iran had fired its
“lowest number” of missiles and drones, though neither he nor Caine gave
any updated percentages. Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social that “Iran
has been, essentially, decimated.”Claims of a slowdown in Iranian
strikes are backed up by independent data from Armed Conflict Location
& Event Data (ACLED), a US-based group that tracks conflicts around
the world.On March 1, the second day of the war, Iran fired off almost
100 strikes. The next day, its strike count dropped to 53 and it hovered
at that rate for the next few days. In the three and a half weeks since
March 6, ACLED data shows Iran hasn’t fired more than 50 strikes on any
given day. A “strike,” in ACLED’s methodology, can include multiple
individual strikes in the same location on the same dayIran has
maintained an average of 30 strikes each day for the last three weeks,
and at various points it has picked up its tempo of attacks.“That makes
me question whether it’s a capacity issue or a strategy issue,” Grieco
said of the initial decline in Iran’s strike rate. In other words, Iran
may not be running out of firepower as much as deliberately rationing
its missiles and drones.Iran fires more drones that are harder to
intercept-The ACLED data shows that some 40% of Iran’s salvos across the
region are breaking through air defenses, signaling strain on American
and Israeli supplies of interceptors. Iran has been deploying fewer
missiles but more low-flying drones that are harder to intercept.“We are
vaporizing billions of dollars in long-range anti-missile defenses,
which are scarce national resources,” said Tom Karako, the director of
the Missile Defense Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic
and International Studies.The danger, Karako said, is that the US and
Israel could run out of interceptors before they are able to take out
the rest of Iran’s missile stockpiles and mobile launchers — an
objective that has proven “maddeningly difficult.”Over a month into the
war, Trump administration officials continue to refer to the first 72
hours as their point of comparison for claims about Iran’s crippled
capacity.“A good percentage of Iranian missiles, at least half of the
arsenal, is stored in very hardened facilities that are not easily
reachable with air power,” said Farzin Nadimi, an expert on the Iranian
missile program at The Washington Institute. “It looks like the
Americans and the Israelis have been underestimating some level of
complexity.”Experts say Iran focuses its attacks to cause economic
harm-Contrary to Hegseth’s characterization of the Iranians as “flailing
recklessly” by striking civilian and energy infrastructure across the
Arabian Peninsula, analysts say Tehran appears to have fine-tuned its
timing and targets to maximize damage.“They have been able to strike
targets more efficiently and therefore use fewer missiles to achieve the
same result,” Nadimi said.Iran has increasingly concentrated its
firepower on sensitive sites like oil pipelines and water desalination
plants across the Persian Gulf in a bid to impose a settlement on the
US, hitting nearby states like the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait
hardest. Last week, Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at a Saudi
air base, wounded more than two dozen US troops and damaging
aircraft.This UGC image posted on social media on March 29, 2026 and
verified by AFP staff appears to show a destroyed US Air Force Airborne
Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, primarily used for air
traffic control, in the aftermath of a projectile strike at Prince
Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. (UGC / AFP)“In this asymmetrical war,
the most important thing for Iran is attack the world economy in hopes
of coercing the US to stop,” said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli
brigadier general and senior researcher at the Institute for National
Security Studies. That has become more important to Iran than attacking
Israel, which views this war as existential and won’t be dissuaded, he
added.How long Iran can sustain its current level of retaliation remains
unclear, as US and Israeli intelligence on Iran’s missile and drone
inventory is limited.Military experts from both countries offer varying
estimates on the remaining arsenal, but agree that Iran most likely
still has thousands of cheap, locally manufactured drones that it can
deploy to menace US allies even if much of its midrange ballistic
missile capacity has been destroyed.“Iran built itself to be able to
ride a war like this out,” said Karako. “It has been preparing for
this.”
AnalysisIsrael & her allies will continue to act -
Israel's US amb.As Trump signals retreat from war, Israel may have to
keep fighting Iranian threat-The US president may be ready to end the
campaign even if the regime still stands and remains able to attack its
neighbors. In that case, for Israel and the Gulf, the war would not be
over By Lazar Berman-31 March 2026, 7:05 pm
As has been the case
for much of the war, the outcome of the conflict in Iran hangs on US
President Donald Trump’s decision on how much longer he wants to keep
fighting.Anyone familiar with Trump’s style knows that getting a read on
his thinking is a notoriously difficult task. He often contradicts
himself, intentionally speaks in ways that invite multiple
interpretations, and likes to leave his options open.There have been
reports throughout the war that Trump is eager to end the fighting,
especially as energy prices rise and the Strait of Hormuz remains
largely closed.The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the
president told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against
Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened.The White House has come
to the conclusion, according to the report, that a mission to reopen the
waterway would extend the length of the war past Trump’s four- to
six-week timeline.At the same time, Trump has ordered thousands of
troops to the region over the past week in what has been described as
preparation for a potential ground operation, though the buildup could
also be aimed at pressuring Iran into accepting Washington’s ceasefire
terms.The leaks about Trump wanting to pull the US out of the military
campaign could themselves be part of an elaborate ruse meant to lull
Tehran into letting its guard down before the launch of a ground push.At
the same time, the unpopularity of the war at home and its impact on
the economy give the president serious reasons to want out.Whether
Israel’s government wants to keep fighting or is also interested in
ending the war under certain conditions, there’s no guarantee that it
would be able to change Trump’s mind once the president himself has made
it up.But Israel does have the ability to alter its operations to
maximize the time remaining, plan for the future, and do whatever it can
to make sure Iran’s ability to threaten it in the coming years is as
limited as possible.The ‘completion phase’Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu remains vague about when Israel might be willing to end its
military campaign or what conditions it would want to see met.“It’s
definitely beyond the halfway point,” he said in an interview on Monday.
“But I don’t want to put a schedule on it.”Even if Netanyahu cannot
pencil in a firm end date for the war, Israel should still have a clear
end state in mind, and a military plan for getting there — though that
plan must remain flexible and adaptive in order to react to a rapidly
changing situation.But Israel’s desired end state continues to be a
question, more than a month into the war.There is no doubt that much has
been accomplished so far. Key Iranian leaders are dead, Tehran’s
conventional military capabilities have been decimated, and it likely
can’t rebuild quickly.It is less clear, however, how long the
achievements will last before Iran manages to reconstitute its threats
to Israel, and develop new ones.The IDF has nearly completed bombing all
of the targets it defined for itself before the war, and has now been
ordered by Netanyahu to shift to hitting “economic” targets, The Times
of Israel learned on Monday.On Saturday, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie
Defrin said that “within a few days” the military would complete
targeting all of the “critical” assets of Iran’s military production
industries, sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel. The
military has also said it has taken out most of Iran’s ballistic missile
launchers and air defense systems.Israel’s defense apparatus is now in
what it describes as the “completion phase” of the goals it set out at
the start of the war: degrading Iran’s military capabilities and
“creating the conditions” for the Iranian regime to fall.Netanyahu
changes his message-That second goal seems to have fallen by the wayside
in the latter stages of the war.In the first three weeks of the
campaign, Netanyahu stressed repeatedly in prepared remarks that Israel
was working to set the stage for the Iranian people to rise up, and even
told the Iranian public that the “time is fast approaching” for Israel
to “pass the torch” to them to overthrow the regime.Now, Netanyahu no
longer says there will be a signal given to the public, or talks about
creating the conditions for regime change. Instead, he makes do with
predicting that the regime will collapse.The US, for its part, seems
uninterested in bringing the Islamic Republic down. Worryingly for
Israel, Trump argues — in an entirely novel definition of the term —
that regime change has already been secured since Iran’s senior
leadership has been wiped out.“The one regime was decimated, destroyed,
they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime —
we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before,”
Trump told reporters on Sunday.And even more problematically for Israel,
he calls his Iranian interlocutors “very reasonable.”That seemingly
includes Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whom Trump
has said is the “top man” with whom the US is interacting, a figure
closely tied to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Most
analysts view Ghalibaf as no less hardline than those who were unwilling
to accept US demands to date.The coming campaign-Israel’s goal of
removing Iran’s ability to pose a threat likely cannot be achieved
without regime change, Israel’s ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter
said on the What the Hell is Going on? podcast Monday.The purpose of the
campaign, he said, “is to make sure that we don’t have a power, an
entity in Tehran, which is developing nuclear weapons, is developing
weapons of mass destruction in terms of these ballistic missiles, and is
supporting proxies around the region. That’s what we’re focused
on.”“Now, if that can be done without regime change, okay. Probably
can’t, though,” he added.Now, if that can be done without regime change,
okay. Probably can’t though.If Israel can’t set in motion regime
change, he said, at least Israel wants “regime collapse.”Leiter defined
“de facto regime collapse” as a situation in which Iran is not producing
ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons, not enriching uranium and not
supporting proxies.The ambassador probably left listeners somewhat
confused about what exactly the end of the war looks like for Israel.
Iran won’t stop threatening Israel unless the regime collapses, he said,
but regime collapse is achieved when Iran stops threatening
Israel.Despite his circular argument, Leiter hinted at something with
far-reaching consequences — that Israel has plans for keeping the fight
against Iran going in some form even if Trump pulls the plug.“This isn’t
going to end even if at some point the US says, we’ve done our job,
we’ve taken out all the production sites, we’ve destroyed them
militarily and now we’re wrapping up,” he said.Some of Israel’s post-war
efforts will continue to go after Iranian commanders, he said: “The
threat — at least from Israel, of going back to these targeted takeouts
of these very bad people — certainly will be a cloud hanging over their
heads for a long time. We’re not going to sleep.”“Israel and her allies
will continue to act,” he said, pointing at a new, tighter defense
alliance between Israel and Arab states.“Whether it’s UAE, Bahrain, I
think we’ve become closer to the Saudis, closer to the Omanis,” he said.
“Closer to the Kuwaitis for crying out loud. They’ve asked us for
assistance.”Netanyahu also indicated as much on Tuesday.According to the
Hebrew-language Maariv daily, he told ministers at a cabinet meeting
that new alliances are being formed with leaders of Arab countries who
“are talking about fighting together on our side.”“In the past, I had
secret conversations with Arab leaders,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “I
told them, ‘As soon as Iran can, it will conquer you and overthrow your
kingdoms.’ Back then, they didn’t really internalize things. Today they
understand.”Israel, it seems, is making plans for the distinct
possibility that Trump moves on from the war and the Iranian regime
survives. It will then be facing a much-weakened Islamic Republic, but
one that still commands massive resources to pour into rebuilding and
still has armed proxies ready to do its bidding.The military campaign,
in that case, may then be over, but the war will be far from its end.
Israel
envoy: War aims hard to achieve without regime change-Frustrated with
allies, Trump tells countries needing fuel to go to Hormuz and ‘just
take it’US president also accuses France of refusing access to
Israel-bound US planes carrying arms; Netanyahu reportedly says some
Arab countries ‘talking about fighting together on our side’By Jacob
Magid,Lazar Berman and Nava Freiberg-31 March 2026, 6:35 pm
US
President Donald Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who
have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling
them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure
of the Strait of Hormuz sent average US gas prices past $4 a
gallon.Trump singled out Britain and France as unhelpful in the
month-long war that has roiled global markets, driven up energy prices,
and seen Iran effectively close oil tanker traffic through the
Strait.“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the
Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved
in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy
from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed
courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” Trump said in a Truth
Social post.“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself,
the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t
there for us. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”He also lashed
out at France for not letting planes carrying military supplies to
Israel fly over French territory.“The Country of France wouldn’t let
planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over
French territory. France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the
‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated!” Trump posted
on his Truth Social platform.Allies have refused to get involved-The
French military has previously said France allowed the US Air Force to
use the Istres base in southern France, because it had guarantees that
only planes not involved in carrying out strikes would land there.Spain,
which has emerged as Europe’s loudest critic of the war, said Monday
that it had closed its airspace for US planes involved in the
conflict.Italy has refused permission for US military assets to use the
Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive in
the Middle East, an official with knowledge of the matter said,
confirming a local press report.The denial was issued a few days ago and
concerned American aircraft, including bombers, which were supposed to
land at the base before continuing toward the Middle East, said the
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak publicly.The Italian government later insisted that
its relationship with the US is “solid and based on full and loyal
cooperation.”‘It’s not just our problem set going forward’US Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s sentiment regarding the Strait of
Hormuz in a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, lamenting that the United
States has done the lion’s share of the work in making Iran less of a
threat, and arguing that other countries now need to step up to reopen
the key shipping route.“There are countries around the world who ought
be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. It’s not just
the United States Navy,” Hegseth said. “So the world ought to pay
attention to be prepared to stand up. President Trump has been willing
to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this
threat of Iran. It’s not just our problem set going forward.”Trump later
told CBS News he was not yet ready to abandon US efforts to reopen the
Strait. “At some point, I will, not quite yet. But countries have to
come in and take care of it,” he said.Hegseth also said the next few
days in the Middle East conflict would be decisive, saying there had
been major desertions from the Iranian armed forces.Citing intelligence,
Hegseth said: “Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian
military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and
causing frustrations amongst senior leaders.”“We have more and more
options, and they have less… in only one month we set the terms, the
upcoming days will be decisive,” he said. “Iran knows that, and there’s
almost nothing they can militarily do about it.”Hegseth also revealed
that he visited troops in the Middle East on Saturday to witness the
military operation against Iran, touting the successes of Operation Epic
Fury.“The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and
drones fired by Iran,” he said.Echoing Trump, Hegseth claimed that
regime change had effectively been completed in Iran, thanks to the
US-Israeli strikes to decapitate its leadership, even though the Islamic
Republic has remained intact.“This new regime, because regime change
has occurred, should be wiser than the last,” he said. “President Trump
will make a deal. He is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to
them.”“If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department
will continue with even more intensity,” he added.At the briefing, US
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine reiterated that US
forces had carried out more than 11,000 strikes against targets in
Iran.Speaking during a Pentagon briefing on the war, Caine revealed that
the US has successfully begun conducting “overland missions” of B-52
bomber sorties, thanks to the air superiority that the US currently has
over Iran.‘Secret conversations with Arab leaders’Meanwhile on Tuesday,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers at a cabinet meeting
that Israel is “forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking
about fighting together on our side,” according to multiple
Hebrew-language reports.“In the past, I had secret conversations with
Arab leaders,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “I told them, ‘As soon as Iran
can, it will conquer you and overthrow your kingdoms.’ Back then, they
didn’t really internalize things. Today they understand.”On Monday,
Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said that Gulf countries were
asking Israel for help.“Some of our allies have become even greater
allies over the past month,” he told hosts Danielle Pletka and Marc
Thiessen on the American Enterprise Institute’s “What the Hell is Going
On?” podcast. “Whether it’s UAE, Bahrain, I think we’ve become closer to
the Saudis, closer to the Omanis. Closer to the Kuwaitis for crying out
loud.”“They’ve asked us for assistance. So we become closer, and
there’s going to be a concerted effort,” he said, without elaborating.He
also hinted at joint action with Arab countries: “Israel and her allies
will continue to act. This could really make the difference going into
the future.”Leiter also said Israel “probably can’t” achieve its goals
in the war with Iran without regime change — contradicting the US
contention that regime change has already been achieved.“The purpose [of
the war] is to make sure that we don’t have a power, an entity in
Tehran, which is developing nuclear weapons, is developing weapons of
mass destruction in terms of these ballistic missiles, and is supporting
proxies around the region,” he said.“That’s what we’re focused on. Now,
if that can be done without regime change, okay. Probably can’t,
though. So at the very least, what we want is regime collapse,” Leiter
said.Regime change was never one of the official goals of the war, and
while Israeli leaders indicated their desire to topple the Islamic
Republic at the start of the conflict, the regime’s apparent resilience
has led recent messaging to focus mostly on degrading its military
capabilities.Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this
report.
Iranian media says desalination plant on Gulf island
non-functional after airstrikes-Iran’s foreign minister had said a US
strike took place on March 7 on Qeshm Island, a popular yet heavily
militarized tourist destination for Iranians-By AFP and ToI Staff 31
March 2026, 4:39 pm
Iranian media said Tuesday that airstrikes
have put a desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm island in the strategic
Strait of Hormuz out of service, though the report did not specify when
the attack took place.“One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island
was targeted… and is now completely out of service, as it is not
possible to repair it in the short term,” the ISNA news agency reported,
quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.Iran’s Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi had said a strike had taken place there on March 7,
accusing the US of a “blatant and desperate crime” launched from its
military base in Bahrain.Qeshm is the largest Iranian island in the
Gulf, stretching for around one hundred kilometers (62.14 miles) across
the Strait of Hormuz.It has become a popular tourist destination in
recent years for Iranians thanks to its rare UNESCO-listed rock
formations and turquoise waters, but is also heavily militarized,
analysts say.There have been several attacks on desalination plants in
the ongoing war, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February
28.Bahrain reported an Iranian strike on a facility on March 8, apparent
retaliation for the US hit on Qeshm the day before.Kuwait reported an
Iranian attack on a desalination and electricity plant on Monday, which
Tehran blamed on Israel, without offering proof.The Middle East is among
the driest regions in the world, with many countries dependent on
desalination plants for domestic and industrial water supplies.US
President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to “obliterate” Iran’s power
infrastructure, oil wells and “possibly all desalination plants.”That
would likely draw a tit-for-tat reaction from Tehran that would escalate
the conflict dramatically.Desalinated water provides 42 percent of
drinking water in the United Arab Emirates, 70% in Saudi Arabia, 86% in
Oman and 90% in Kuwait, according to a 2022 report from the French
Institute of International Relations think tank.Some analysts have
warned that Gulf states would see an attack on their critical water
infrastructure as a reason to enter the war directly against Iran.They
have so far remained on the sidelines of the conflict, sustaining damage
from Iranian attacks while hosting US bases used for operations against
the Islamic Republic.Israel launched its campaign against Iran,
alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities,
distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic
missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to
topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.The
Israeli Air Force has conducted hundreds of waves of strikes in Iran
since February 28, dropping over 13,000 bombs on the Iranian regime and
military sites, including air defense systems, ballistic missile
launchers, weapon production sites, nuclear facilities, and various
headquarters.The IDF has estimated that some 5,000 Iranian soldiers have
been killed in Israeli strikes, along with tens of thousands more
wounded, many of them members of the internal security forces and Basij
paramilitary force.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with
sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE
DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18
By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE
17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS
KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE
BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND
DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in
that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN
WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4
billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto
them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against
Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten
by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE
SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE
CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH
IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY
TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH
FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER
JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH
WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there
shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and
troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11
And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE
SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great
signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7
By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25
And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in
the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the
stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE
WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for
fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven
shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11
And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with
child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF
THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And
he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS)
man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be
against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against
him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL
ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the
morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF
THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM
MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the
bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or
peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels
land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the
future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq
west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe
23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN
THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE
FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN
HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A
TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS
POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations,
and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead
with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
And here are
the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war
or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only
Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land
in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel,
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half
of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18,
Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY
OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND
IN THE FUTURE.
Israel says air defences responding to missile from Yemen.
Jerusalem,
April 1 (AFP) Apr 01, 2026-The Israeli military said air defences
responded early Wednesday to a missile launched from Yemen, where Iran's
Houthi allies have claimed attacks on Israel in recent days.A military
statement said Israeli forces had "identified the launch of a missile
from Yemen toward Israeli territory, aerial defence systems are
operating to intercept the threat", later announcing that residents were
"permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the
country".Israeli media said the missile was intercepted, and there were
no reports of any casualties or damage.Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels
claimed missile and drone attacks targeting Israel over the weekend,
their first in the current war.The Israeli military also said on Monday
that two drones launched from Yemen were intercepted.From Yemen, the
Houthis could potentially disrupt shipping through the Red Sea, as they
did at the height of Israel's war on Gaza.The Houthis have previously
threatened shipping through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which
requires vessels to travel through a narrow strait off Yemen's coast.
Drone attack targets Kuwait airport, fuel tanks on fire: aviation agency.
Kuwait
City, Kuwait, April 1 (AFP) Apr 01, 2026-Kuwait's civil aviation
authority said Wednesday that the Gulf state's international airport had
come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at fuel
tanks."Kuwait International Airport has been subjected to blatant
attacks by drones launched by Iran and the armed factions it supports,"
the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) quoted the spokesman of the
General Directorate of Civil Aviation as saying.The spokesman, Abdullah
Al?Rajhi, said "fuel storage tanks... were targeted, resulting in a
large fire at the site", reporting no casualties.Iran has fired missiles
and drones at Israel and US allies in the Gulf since the start of the
war, which began with US-Israeli strikes against the Islamic republic on
February 28.Elsewhere in the Gulf on Wednesday, Bahrain's interior
ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility "as a result of
the Iranian aggression".Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said several
drones were "intercepted and destroyed".A tanker was also hit in the
waters off Qatar, a British maritime security agency said.The UK
Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said "the vessel was struck by two
projectiles" 17 nautical miles (31 kilometres) north of Ras Laffan, a
major natural gas facility.One projectile caused a fire, which was
extinguished, and another "remains unexploded within the vessel's engine
room", UKMTO said in an update to its initial report, which stated that
all crew members were reported as safe.It added there was "no
environmental impact" and that authorities were investigating the
incident.On Tuesday, KUNA said an Iranian attack sparked a fire on a
Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, causing no injuries.The oil-rich Gulf
has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to the US-Israeli
strikes that sparked the war.Tehran has threatened to target vital
infrastructure across the Gulf, including energy sites.
Macron lauds Europe's 'predictability' in seeming contrast to Trump.
Tokyo,
April 1 (AFP) Apr 01, 2026-French President Emmanuel Macron praised
Europe's "predictability" during a visit to Japan on Wednesday,
contrasting it with countries that "could hurt you without even
informing you" in an apparent swipe at Donald Trump.The US president
lashed out at France on Tuesday, writing on social media that Paris had
been "very unhelpful" during the war with Iran, which has since spread
across the Middle East."I'm well aware that sometimes Europe can be seen
as a continent that is slower than others," Macron told an audience of
Japanese business leaders and investors in Tokyo."But predictability has
value, and we have demonstrated that over all these past years and,
dare I say, even these past weeks: we are where you know we will go," he
added."That's not bad, in times like these, believe me."Macron
criticised countries that said they were "going much faster" than their
allies, but "you don't know whether the day after tomorrow they will
still be in that position, and whether tomorrow they won't make a
decision that could hurt you without even informing you".The remark was a
reference to the month-long US-Israeli war on Iran, which has responded
by virtually closing the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a large
share of the oil imported by Japan normally transits.Before meeting
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later Wednesday, Macron spoke of
the "dramatic impacts on energy" as a result of the war."Europe stands
by your side," he said."We are also on the side of international law, on
the side of negotiation and the return of diplomacy."Japan depends on
the Middle East for 95 percent of its oil imports and has had to dip
into strategic stockpiles to temper the impact of rising fuel prices
since the start of the war.During Macron's talks with Takaichi, "the
crisis in the Middle East will be at the heart of discussions", the
Elysee said ahead of his Asia trip, which will also include a visit to
South Korea.France and Japan are also expected to discuss security and
partnerships in the space sector, and intend to sign a roadmap on
nuclear power in Japan, the Elysee said.
Inside story'We must
expel the villages and strongholds of the enemy'After uprooting
Palestinian hamlets, extremist settlers set sights on purge of entire
West Bank-As settler violence escalates, apparently under cover of Iran
war, some behind the attacks appear to be pursuing a deliberate campaign
aimed at ethnically cleansing the whole territory By Jeremy Sharon-31
March 2026, 1:41 pm
Extremist settler violence against
Palestinians in the West Bank, already at unprecedented levels over the
last three years, has reached a new zenith since the outbreak of war
between Israel and Iran at the end of February.Civil rights groups and
activists have reported extremely high rates of Jewish extremist attacks
since war broke out, with multiple incidents of assault, vandalism,
theft, and harassment occurring daily.The number of extremely severe
incidents, such as fatal shootings, has also increased, with seven
Palestinian civilians shot dead by extremist settlers since the war
began.And last week bore witness to further escalation, as mobs of
extremist Jewish youth from the settlements and illegal outposts of the
West Bank descended on rural Palestinian villages, set homes and
property ablaze, and violently assaulted Palestinian residents, in
“revenge” for the death of a fellow settler activist who died in unclear
circumstances on March 21.The severe spike in attacks during the course
of the last month has been accompanied by extreme rhetoric by radical
activists on social media networks, including explicit and proud
statements in favor of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from the West
Bank.Alongside the rhetoric, extremist settler actions once limited to
Area C of the West Bank where Israel has full civil and security control
— and where the overwhelming majority of settlements and illegal
outposts are located — have begun to widen into Areas A and B as well,
where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to hold political
autonomy.This has included intensified violent settler raids into
Palestinian towns and villages, as well as the establishment of Jewish
settlement outposts in Areas A and B, as part of the grander plan to
assert Israeli control over the entire territory from the Mediterranean
Sea to the Jordan River.Civil rights groups such as B’Tselem and Yesh
Din have alleged that the timing is not coincidental — that the radical
settler activists are using the Iran war as cover for increased violence
targeted at displacing Palestinians.According to the Yesh Din
organization, which tracks settler violence, there were 257 incidents of
extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank from
the day the war with Iran began on February 28 until March 26, based on
cross-referenced public statements and reports from different
sources.These incidents included the killing of six Palestinian
civilians who were shot dead by settler radicals, a figure that has
since risen to seven.“Under the cover of war, settler violence is
increasing with the goal of expelling Palestinians and taking control of
their land,” Yesh Din alleged on March 5.The B’Tselem human rights
organization, which also tracks settler extremism, made a similar
observation, noting the spread of intense violence to Areas A and B of
the West Bank.“The combination of the increasing and lethal use of live
fire by Israeli militias and the expansion of attacks on large,
established Palestinian communities indicates the intensification of
Israel’s ethnic cleansing efforts under cover of the war with Iran,”
B’Tselem charged on March 9.Extremist vanguard-In the first week of the
current Iranian war, an administrator of a public WhatsApp channel
dubbed “Hilltop News” spelled out the strategy of the extremists.The
channel, run by extremist settlers, is one of a number of similar
outlets seen as representative of the settler movement’s most radical,
and often violent, wing.The post argued that it must be the settler
radicals who first advance the goal of removing Palestinians from the
West Bank, a concept they term “transfer.” Their efforts, if determined
enough, will eventually be adopted by the state, similar to how the
settlement movement itself started at the grassroots level before being
backed by the government in the 1970s and 80s, it claimed.“In the end,
transfer will really happen due to the initiative of private
individuals, and not because the government woke up,” declared the
post.It referenced the fact that many thriving settlements began life as
illegal outposts before being retroactively authorized.“Just as it
happens with the settlements, first Jews move into the area, and only
after a few months or years do the heads of regional councils, cabinet
ministers, and members of Knesset arrive to ‘approve’ and cut the red
ribbon,” the post continued.Jewish extremists in the West Bank have been
working toward the goal of expelling as many Palestinians as possible
from Area C for several years, human rights groups have alleged. But
those efforts shifted into high gear with the outbreak of war in Gaza
following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and
atrocities.According to B’Tselem, 57 Palestinian communities, home to
over 3,900 people, have been displaced since that date due to settler
violence and harassment in Areas C and B of the West Bank. Another
530-odd Palestinians have been forced out of their homes in 17 partially
displaced West Bank communities.The strenuous attempts to displace
Palestinians from the region have been accompanied by similarly
energetic efforts for Jewish Israelis to control as much West Bank land
as possible, which also stepped up over the last three years. According
to Peace Now, 86 illegal outposts were established in 2025, 62 in 2024,
and 32 in 2023.The average number of illegal outposts established every
year until the current government took office was six.The spike comes as
settlers have also shifted from establishing small, densely clustered
outposts to setting up agricultural bases that allow them to lay claim
to vast tracts for growing or grazing, expanding the reach of their land
grab. These activities often bring about fraught encounters with
Palestinian herding communities.In many cases, extremists have appeared
to use outposts as forward positions to harass and attack local
Palestinians in a bid to force them to abandon their homes.Several dozen
Palestinian Bedouin families fled Wadi as-Seeq in October 2023, in the
face of persistent settler harassment and violence after radical
activists established an illegal outpost right next to the hamlet.The
entire population of Khirbet Zanuta in the South Hebron Hills also fled
their village due to persistent violence and harassment from extremists
from the nearby Meitarim Farm outpost.And the residents of Mu’arrajat in
the Jordan Valley fled their homes in July 2025 after extremists set up
an outpost encampment less than 100 meters from the Palestinian hamlet,
stole from their homes, vandalized their property and engaged in other
forms of harassment and intimidation.Depopulation and war-Settler
extremists have not explicitly said they are using the war as cover to
step up attacks on Palestinians while the world is looking away, but
comments from members of the community make clear that at the very
least, the fighting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon has not
distracted them from the goal of expelling Palestinians.“Sad Jews are
reporting that even during Operation Roaring Lion [the IDF campaign
against Iran] happy Jews continue Operation You Shall Inherit in Judea
and Samaria!” sneered one bulletin posted on the Hilltop News channel,
mocking human rights activists lamenting the displacement that week of a
Bedouin community next to the Palestinian town of Duma.“Operation You
Shall Inherit” is the biblically inspired name given by the settler
extremists to their campaign to expel Palestinians from the West Bank,
also called Judea and Samaria, and crops up frequently in their rhetoric
and social media posts.In a post in another extremist WhatsApp group
called “Fighting for Life,” extremist settler ideologue Rabbi Menachem
Ben Shahar portrayed the war as a model for how to expel Palestinians
from the West Bank.“There is an unbelievable gap between the actions of
the people of Israel against the distant enemy in Iran, and Beirut, and
the nearby enemy,” said Ben Shahar, who has been investigated by the
police for incitement.“Issue notices, expel entire villages, bomb. An
enemy is an enemy is an enemy. Bomb the enemy wherever they are,” urged
Ben Shahar, a teacher in a yeshiva in Homesh, a far-flung settlement in
the northern West Bank that had been evacuated by the government in 2005
and was only recently re-legalized.“Now we must bridge the gap and
defeat the close enemy as well. We must expel the villages and
strongholds of the enemy in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], the
Galilee, Ramallah, Qalqiliya, everywhere in the land,” he
declared.Another post in Hilltop News by an administrator cheered the
uprooting of Palestinian Bedouin communities, which often bear the brunt
of settler violence, and expressed hopes that such efforts would soon
expand to larger Palestinian population centers.The post quoted a
“senior figure in Hilltop News” who “clarified that while there is yet
another military campaign, he is optimistic, and that it will be
possible to go to the stage of expulsion from the big towns in the
coming months.”In the past, settler extremists have raided Palestinian
towns, setting fires and beating residents, in revenge for terror
attacks — often with little or no link between their victims and those
behind the terror activity — or as part of a program of retaliation for
Israeli authorities moving against them.Yet the post indicated that
settlers are now looking to carry out such attacks with the goal of
expelling Palestinians to points unknown.Such processes may already be
underway.In the northern West Bank, settler extremists, apparently from
the nearby illegal outpost of Kol Mevaser, attacked the Bedouin hamlet
of Khalet a-Sidra with such brutality that the approximately 16 families
living there decided to leave. The same decision has been made by
dozens of other similar communities in the last three years.Since then,
what appears to be the same group has turned its attention to the
long-established village of Mukhmas, just a few hundred meters from
Khalet a-Sidra, including one incident in which a 19-year-old youth was
shot and killed and over 350 sheep were allegedly stolen from the
residents of the village.When Israeli authorities tore down some of Kol
Mevaser’s structures on March 18, several settler extremists descended
from the wildcat hilltop outpost and set fires in Mukhmas.“The clear
goal of the Kol Mevaser outpost is to use violence to force Palestinians
out of their homes,” said Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who heads the dovish
Torat Tzedek organization and has monitored violence in the area. “They
are now working on the village of Mukhmas as well.”In Mukhmas, as
elsewhere, Palestinians who are under attack say they will not leave
their land, and it may not matter whether settlers are motivated by
revenge or a campaign of ethnic cleansing. The end result of both is the
same: death and fiery destruction.“I’m not going to leave,” Youssef
Hammas Abu Ali, a Mukhmas chicken farmer whose coops were assaulted,
told The Times of Israel recently. “This is my village. I have my house
[here], my land.”No more ABC-The notion of putting up illegal settlement
outposts in the areas governed by the Palestinian Authority was given
full expression this week, with the almost unprecedented establishment
of three illegal settlement outposts in Area A of the West Bank.In the
past, almost all settlement activity has been limited to Area C, the 60
percent of the West Bank that Israel has full military and civil control
over, which is home to all the Israeli settlements and several hundred
thousand Palestinians.Area A, which Palestinians both govern and secure,
comprises around 18% of the territory, almost all of which is made up
of the urban core of Palestinian cities and towns.Pictures posted by
Palestinian media outlets this week of one of the new outposts in the
northern West Bank close to the Palestinian town of Jaba and just north
of the Palestinian village of Beit Imrin showed a stone building with an
Israeli flag raised over it.The Times of Israel confirmed that
extremist settler activists had indeed taken up residence in the
building.The establishment of the outpost appeared to be a response to
the death of Yehuda Sherman, a resident of the illegal agricultural
outpost of Shuva Yisrael, located very close to Beit Imrin.Like other
activists of his ilk, Sherman was “driven crazy” by the distinction
between areas of the West Bank under Israeli versus Palestinian control,
viewing the whole West Bank as a Jewish inheritance, his father
Yehoshua Sherman was quoted saying in the Olam Katan weekly, which is
associated with the far right.“When they established the [Shuva Yisrael]
farm I brought a surveying gauge for them to measure where Area C was.
Yehuda asked me ‘Dad, what does it matter? Why are you limiting us? It’s
the Land of Israel,’” the elder Sherman told the weekly.At the funeral,
Yehoshua Sherman called on the government to annul the Oslo Accords of
the 1990s, which split the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C.“The
generation that grew up here doesn’t know what A, B and C is, it just
knows that all of the Land of Israel is ours,” said Sherman in his
eulogy.Yehuda Sherman was killed when a Palestinian vehicle hit the ATV
he and his brother were in while they conducted a “patrol” close to
their illegal settlement outpost. The police and Shin Bet stated on
Thursday that “suspicions are growing” that Sherman’s death was the
result of a terror attack.The death sparked two nights of attacks on
Palestinian communities across the West Bank, with the violence reaching
levels that managed to break through the Iran war’s monopoly on
attention. Military officials were alarmed to the point that an Israel
Defense Forces unit was redeployed from Lebanon to help quell the
violence.The attacks have largely ended, but settler extremists are
still speaking openly of their desire to rid the West Bank of
Palestinians.On Thursday, Elisha Yered, a central figure in the network
of extremist settler activists, wrote a lengthy essay calling for the
abolition of the Oslo Accords, the expansion of Israeli settlements into
Areas A and B, and the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank,
saying such actions would fulfill the “unwritten will” of Yehuda
Sherman.“We must not be content with the Oslo borders… but continue
forward with all our might,” he wrote, asserting that the government’s
support for illegal settlement outposts was proof of how such radicals
can influence government policy.“That which has been done in the farming
outposts and in the hills must be replicated as soon as possible in
Areas A and B, in places in Area C that the enemy has already invaded,”
declared Yered, a suspect in several crimes against Palestinians in the
West Bank. “[We must] not be afraid to proudly demand expulsion,
occupation, and inheritance alongside the settlement of the land and the
flourishing of the wilderness.”
Trump administration planning
international summit on countering antifa violence-Some officials fear
the confab on the unstructured leftist movement is a distraction as the
US faces a more pressing threat from Iran-linked terror groups-By
Reuters 31 March 2026, 3:13 pm
WASHINGTON — The Trump
administration is organizing an international summit focused on
countering the left-wing movement antifa and other groups, three sources
familiar with the matter said, an effort that highlights the shift in
the US government’s counterterrorism priorities over the past year.The
conference, tentatively planned for June or July, will convene officials
from various nations to discuss strategies for battling antifa and
encourage intelligence sharing, said the sources, who requested
anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.US President
Donald Trump has portrayed antifa as a severe threat to the
US.Counterterrorism experts argue it does not exist as an organized
entity, though people claiming affinity to antifa have been involved in
armed attacks in the US.Among the officials organizing the event is
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Thomas DiNanno, said two of the people.In response to requests for
comment, spokespeople for the White House and State Department both
described antifa as a major security concern for the Trump
administration.“The anarchists, Marxists, and violent extremists of
antifa have waged a terror campaign in the United States and across the
Western world for decades, carrying out bombings, beatings, shootings,
and riots in service of their extreme agenda,” said Tommy Pigott, the
State Department’s principal deputy spokesman.A question of
priorities-The planned event has raised concerns among some current and
former officials, who argue that the summit would be a distraction when
the US faces threats from Iran-sponsored terror groups driven by the war
in the Middle East.“I am just skeptical that now, with everything going
on, when you see the number of plots being put together by Iran and
Hezbollah, that there really is a compelling need to spend limited
counterterrorism resources on the antifa threat right now,” said Michael
Jacobson, who was the director of strategy, plans and initiatives for
the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau until 2025. Now, he is a
senior fellow at the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy think
tank.A State Department official argued the administration had taken
“unprecedented steps to combat terrorism worldwide,” including many
actions against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Yemen-based Houthis, and various
drug cartels.Many details of the planned event were unclear, including
which countries were invited and would participate.As of last week,
formal invites for the conference had not yet been sent, two of the
people said. The State Department official said no summit date had been
set.It was also unclear if the event would focus narrowly on groups or
individuals that self-identify with antifa, or on left-wing groups
generally. At times, senior administration officials have used antifa as
public shorthand for leftist extremism of all stripes.One source
expected European governments to receive many of the invites. In
November, the Trump administration designated four left-wing entities in
Germany, Italy, and Greece as foreign terrorist organizations under US
law. Seven people allegedly linked to one of those groups, known as
Antifa Ost, went on trial in Germany in November for charges including
attempted murder.The source said administration officials hoped to
announce a global coalition countering antifa around the time of the
planned conference.Acts of violence — but no hierarchy-Antifa, short for
“anti-fascist,” is not an organized political group but is a
decentralized movement without a clear structure, command hierarchy, or
leader, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report.Some
experts on political extremism, along with former FBI director
Christopher Wray, have argued that antifa is better viewed as an
ideology than a cohesive entity, and legal and civil rights advocates
have expressed concerns that Trump’s pursuit of antifa amounts to an
attempt to criminalize certain political views.Supporters of the
administration’s focus on antifa point out that individuals who identify
as antifa sympathizers have, in fact, committed acts of violence.A
federal jury in Fort Worth this month convicted nine people, who
prosecutors said were antifa operatives, on terrorism-related and
weapons charges for an attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
detention center in Texas last year.Trump first sought to designate the
movement as a domestic terror organization in 2020, when left-wing
demonstrators attacked federal buildings in Portland, Oregon, during
weeks of unrest following the police killing of George Floyd.A
self-identified antifa supporter shot and killed a member of the
far-right group Patriot Prayer in Portland in August 2020 and was in
turn killed by federal and local law enforcement officers.Iran threat
looms large-Most Western counterterrorism officials are now focused on
the threat of Iran-sponsored terror attacks directed at US, European,
and Israeli targets.Ahead of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on
February 28, the FBI warned law enforcement agencies that Tehran might
try to retaliate for any US strikes by launching surprise drone attacks
in California, according to a security bulletin seen by Reuters.European
police body Europol has warned that the conflict has “immediate
repercussions” for European Union security, with an increased threat of
acts of terror on the continent.Both at home and abroad, US officials
have in recent years focused more on right-wing extremism than left-wing
extremism.But Trump has made countering left-wing groups — and antifa
in particular — a priority. He singled out the movement on the campaign
trail in 2024, and he vowed to take action against left-wing groups he
accuses of fomenting violence after the murder of conservative activist
and ally Charlie Kirk in September.Publicly available evidence in that
case has not tied alleged assassin Tyler Robinson to antifa.Shortly
after the assassination, Trump signed an executive order labeling antifa
a “domestic terrorist organization.”Legal experts have said the
domestic terrorist designation is legally and constitutionally dubious
and raises free-speech concerns.Times of Israel staff contributed to
this report.
UN probe shows roadside blast killed 2 UNIFIL
troops; IDF: Hezbollah planted bombs--UN security source says 3rd
Indonesian peacekeeper killed this week was hit by Israeli tank fire,
says debris from shell found nearby; IDF investigating both incidents-By
ToI Staff, Agencies and Emanuel Fabian-31 March 2026, 10:17 pmUpdated
at 10:59 pm
A roadside explosion appears to have struck the
convoy of two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon, the UN
peacekeeping chief said on Tuesday, citing initial findings of an
investigation.The two peacekeepers with the UNIFIL force were killed on
Monday near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon and two other soldiers were
wounded.A preliminary review of the incident conducted by the Israel
Defense Forces found that the blast was caused by roadside bombs likely
placed by Hezbollah, a military official told The Times of Israel.In an
official statement, the military said that “a comprehensive operational
examination indicates that no explosive device was placed in the area by
IDF troops, and that no IDF troops were present in the area at
all.”“The IDF is operating against Hezbollah, and not against UNIFIL,
the Lebanese Armed Forces, or Lebanese civilians. The IDF calls on
UNIFIL to avoid presence in combat zones where the IDF has issued
warnings to the civilian population to evacuate for their safety,” the
military added.Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunday
into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group’s
positions. According to a UN security source, the peacekeeper was killed
by Israeli fire.“UNIFIL is conducting investigations to determine the
circumstances of these reprehensible developments,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix,
the head of UN peacekeeping, told a UN Security Council meeting on
Lebanon, where a new war between Israel and Lebanese terror group
Hezbollah erupted on March 2.Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, blamed
the deaths of the three peacekeepers on Hezbollah. He charged that the
group launches rockets from villages next to UN positions, “putting
peacekeepers directly in the line of fire.”Three UNIFIL peacekeepers
were killed in south Lebanon in less than 48 hours.@UNPeacekeeping chief
Jean-Pierre Lacroix affirmed that UN peacekeepers "remain on the
ground, carrying out Security Council-mandated tasks, in extremely
dangerous conditions."https://t.co/qGgYopzCya
pic.twitter.com/me6M6uDVWA— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) March 30,
2026-Asked about Danon’s statement, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel
said: “We invite them to share their evidence with our investigative
team.”UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a briefing a “roadside
bomb, most likely an IED,” or improvised explosive device, was to blame
for the Bani Hayyan incident.The third peacekeeper, who was killed the
previous night, was struck by fire from an Israeli tank, a UN security
source told AFP on condition of anonymity.“Debris from a tank round has
been recovered” at the site, the source added.The IDF said it was
probing the incident.“It should be noted these incidents occurred in an
active combat area,” the military said, adding that “it should not be
assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused
by the IDF.”UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the
killing of the peacekeepers, saying that such attacks were “grave
violations of international humanitarian law… and may amount to war
crimes.”“There will need to be accountability,” he added in a
statement.Indonesia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned the attacks
“in the strongest terms,” adding that they reflected the deteriorating
security environment in the region. It said that ongoing Israeli
military operations have placed UN peacekeepers in Lebanon at grave
risk.US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz told the Security Council meeting
that since 1978, more than 300 UNIFIL peacekeepers had been killed,
showing that the council “must think very carefully about the
effectiveness of this effort.”“We can help refocus international efforts
on supporting Lebanese state institutions, reducing risk to
peacekeepers, and pressing Hezbollah and Iran to cease their
destabilizing activities,” he said.Ten European countries, including
France and the United Kingdom, urged all sides to ensure the safety of
UNIFIL.“We urge all parties, under all circumstances, to ensure the
safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises, in accordance with
international law,” the foreign ministers of Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus,
France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United
Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat, said in a joint
statement.In line with a Security Council decision, UNIFIL will cease
operations at the end of 2026 and withdraw in 2027. As of March, UNIFIL
had 7,505 peacekeepers from 47 nations.Israel has long argued that the
observer force has failed in its mission, doing little to block
Hezbollah from building up its forces near the Israeli border over
decades.
Israel renews strikes on Beirut suburbs, kills Lebanese soldier.
Beirut,
Lebanon, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-Israel renewed its bombardment of
Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday while continuing air strikes on
Lebanon's south, one of which targeted an army checkpoint and killed a
soldier.Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East conflict when
Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2
in revenge for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, the opening salvo
in the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.Israel has responded
with large-scale air strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive in
the south. Lebanese authorities say more than 1,200 people have been
killed since the hostilities broke out.On Monday, two strikes hit
Beirut's southern suburbs, one of them targeting an apartment in a
residential building, according to an AFP photographer, who said
Hezbollah gunmen imposed a security cordon at the site after the
attack.A security source told AFP that three Hezbollah members were
killed in the strike and three others wounded.An eyewitness who declined
to be named said victims were evacuated from the site following the
strike.The building targeted is located in a residential neighbourhood
packed with shops and commercial establishments, several of which were
damaged, according to the photographer.The Israeli army, which had
issued an evacuation order for the area -- where most residents had
already fled -- said it had "begun striking Hezbollah terrorist
infrastructure in Beirut".In south Lebanon, where state media reported a
series of Israeli air strikes, the Lebanese army said one of its
soldiers was killed and others wounded in an attack on one of its
checkpoints in the Tyre region.A military source told AFP that the
strike was the first direct targeting of a Lebanese army checkpoint
since the start of the war.Earlier, the army's command announced the
deaths of eight soldiers in the south and east of Lebanon since the
war's beginning, although they were not on duty at the time of their
deaths.On Sunday, an Indonesian soldier with the UN's peacekeeping force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was also killed when a projectile exploded near a
UNIFIL position close to the border, while three others were wounded.The
source of the projectile has not yet been determined.Other UN
peacekeepers were wounded on Monday in a separate "incident" near the
Lebanese-Israeli border, a spokesperson for the force said, without
specifying the nature of the incident.Hezbollah, for its part, continued
to claim attacks against Israeli positions and forces, including on an
intelligence base on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.The Israeli military
announced Monday that one of its soldiers was killed fighting in south
Lebanon, and another seriously wounded, bringing the number of Israeli
soldiers killed in Lebanon to six.
Russian strike on Chernobyl caused 500 mn euros damage: France.
Abbaye
de Sept-Fons, France, March 26 (AFP) Mar 26, 2026-The dome protecting
the nuclear reactor that exploded in Ukraine's Chernobyl in 1986 will
require almost 500 million euros of repairs after it was damaged in a
Russian strike last year, France's foreign minister said Thursday.The
structure was pierced in a Russian drone strike in February 2025,
sparking international anger and concern about the safety of the power
plant some four decades on from the world's worst nuclear accident.In
1986, while Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, a reactor at Chernobyl
exploded during a botched safety test, sending clouds of radiation
across much of Europe and forcing tens of thousands of people to
evacuate."We presented this evening the first financial estimate of the
damage caused by this drone which amounts to around 500 million euros,"
said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot after chairing a meeting
of G7 foreign ministers.The G7 group of industrialised democracies,
which France currently chairs, will play a key role in raising the
funds, he said.It will work closely with the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), he added."I went to the scene in
July 2025 to witness the devastation of this war without limits," said
Barrot.In November 2016, a massive metal dome was erected over the
remains of the reactor -- paid for with 2.1 billion euros in
international funding -- to stop future leaks.The Russian drone strike
left a large hole in the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the outer of two
radiation shells covering the remnants of the nuclear power plant.It
functions as a modern high-tech replacement for an inner
steel-and-concrete structure -- known as the "sarcophagus", a defensive
layer built hastily after the 1986 incident.The plant's director told
AFP in late 2025 it could take another three to four years before the
outer dome regains its primary safety functions.Russia's army captured
the plant on the first day of its 2022 full-scale invasion Ukraine,
before withdrawing a few weeks later.Ukraine has repeatedly accused
Moscow of targeting Chernobyl and its other nuclear power plants, saying
Moscow's strikes risk triggering a potentially catastrophic
disaster.dt-sjw/ah/pdw
G7 ministers tackle economic fallout of Mideast war.
Paris,
France, March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-G7 ministers and central bank
officials gathered Monday to tackle the economic consequences of the war
in the Middle East that has sent energy prices soaring and has
triggered fears for the world economy.The United States and Israel
launched strikes on Iran in late February, and Tehran has hit back by
targeting crude-exporting countries in the region and halting most
shipments through the Gulf.The squeeze on supply has pushed oil and
natural gas prices higher, with drastic knock-on effects for supply
chains in multiple industries.French Finance Minister Roland Lescure
said the G7 was convening finance ministers, energy ministers, and
central bank officials, the first gathering in that format since the G7
was established in 1975."We know that what's happening now in the Gulf
is having energy consequences, economic consequences, financial market
consequences and potentially inflation consequences," he told reporters
ahead of the meeting."The idea is to monitor developments, to exchange
diagnoses especially on potential disruptions."Representatives of the
International Energy Agency (IEA), the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank were present at the meeting held by video
link.The G7, an informal grouping of the United States, Canada, Britain,
France, Germany, Italy and Japan, helps shape policy debates in the
world's wealthiest nations.France currently holds the rotating
presidency of the G7 advanced economies.The United States has sought
support from the group to help halt Iran's blockade of the Strait of
Hormuz shipping route.After a meeting last week, G7 foreign ministers
said it was an "absolute necessity" for Iran to re-establish free
passage through the strait and called for an end to attacks on civilian
infrastructure.- 'Act quickly' -Under increasing pressure, many
governments have rolled out measures to limit the impact of supply
difficulties and soaring energy prices.On Friday, the French government
announced it would spend 70 million euros ($80 million) to help the
fishing, agriculture and transport industries in April.Lescure said on
Monday that measures of support should be targeted and rapid."This is a
crisis that affects all of us and that will result in costs for the
nation," Lescure told reporters.We need to "act quickly and act fairly,"
he said.US officials, including President Donald Trump, have said their
goals in the war are almost achieved, but thousands of US personnel
have been sent to the region in an unprecedented military
build-up.Activists based outside Iran say the US-Israeli campaign has
killed more than 3,000 people in the country, over half of them
civilians, while Lebanese officials have said more than 1,000 have been
killed there since Israel began attacking its territory in retaliation
for Hezbollah attacks on March 2.Officials in Israel and countries
across the Gulf have also reported much smaller numbers of casualties.
Somali troops enter key city ruled by renegade leader.
Mogadishu,
March 30 (AFP) Mar 30, 2026-Somali federal troops Monday entered the
key city of Baidoa after clashes with forces loyal to the head of the
region, whose mandate Mogadishu says expired four years ago.The fighting
broke out about six kilometres (3.7 miles) from the city of several
hundred thousand inhabitants and local forces fled, Hassan Mohamed, a
commander of the Somali National Army, told AFP."We have now entered the
town from the side of the animal market, and very soon, we are planning
to clear the rest of the city of the deposed regime loyalists," he told
AFP."Their remnants are still in some parts of the town, but we will
force them to retreat or surrender," he added.Residents contacted by AFP
confirmed that Somali army soldiers had entered the city, accompanied
by fighters from a militia opposed to the local authorities."There was
no fighting inside Baidoa so far, the opposition forces and the members
of the national army have managed to enter the town after brief fighting
in the suburbs of the town," Mahdi Ali, a resident, said by phone.A few
hours before pro-government forces entered Baidoa, an official from the
South West State, where Baidoa is located, had insisted that local
authorities and forces would repel any attack."Those who have invaded
the people of the South West State will never succeed. They will be
defeated," said Ugaas Hassan, spokesman for the state
administration.Deeply fractured Somalia's central government accuses the
South West State president, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, of
having illegally extended his mandate, which in theory expired in
2022.Tensions have risen recently after Laftagareen opposed a reform of
the Somali constitution, adopted in early March, which extends the
presidential term from four to five years and introduces the election of
Somali MPs and senators by direct universal suffrage instead of the
current indirect, clan-based system.On Sunday, several security sources
said Mogadishu had sent between 600 and 800 soldiers as reinforcements
to retake Baidoa, supported by hundreds of local
militiamen.Laftagareen's fate and whereabouts are currently unknown.
Kentucky
governor: Gaza ‘genocide’ claims shouldn’t be a litmus test for
Democrats-Andy Beshear, a 2028 presidential hopeful, says Israel ‘has
the right to exist as a democratic country, as a Jewish country’ while
bashing Trump and Netanyahu over the Gaza and Iran wars-By Grace Gilson
Today, 6:48 am-APR 1,26
JTA — Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
declined to label Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in an interview
with Politico published Sunday, instead critiquing the question as a
litmus test among Democrats.“That’s becoming one of those new litmus
tests that we said we would never do as a party again,” Beshear told
Politico’s Dasha Burns after being asked if he agreed with the label.
“It’s trying to throw out a word and, ‘Are you going to raise your hand
or are you not going to?’”Beshear is the Democratic governor of a
solidly red state and a potential 2028 presidential contender. His
remarks come as Democratic candidates increasingly grapple with their
stances on Israel amid record low support for Israel among its
base.While several lawmakers, including Vermont’s Jewish Senator Bernie
Sanders, an independent, have called Israel’s actions in Gaza a
“genocide,” the label has not gained mainstream support in the
Democratic party. Last October, former Vice President Kamala Harris
declined to use the “genocide” label, which Israel had long rejected,
but said, “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest
about it.”Some Democrats have embraced the question, with a New York
congressional candidate telling the leftist streamer Hasan Piker this
week that she is “100%” comfortable with the issue serving as a litmus
test in her party.Others have acted as though the litmus test is already
in place. In January, for example, California congressional candidate
Scott Wiener announced that he believes Israel’s actions in Gaza
constitute a genocide after drawing scrutiny for declining to answer the
question during a debate.While Beshear told Burns that Israel “has the
right to exist as a democratic country, as a Jewish country,” he added
that his feelings about President Donald Trump and Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct during the war in Gaza and ongoing war in
Iran were “a different thing.”“I believe the United States needs a
strong Israel, but not one with decisions being made in the way that
Netanyahu is making them,” Beshear said.Beshear also critiqued US
President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis in Gaza.“I believe that
it could have been done without a lot of the suffering, but I put a lot
of that blame also on Donald Trump,” he said. “If he’d said we are
coming in and we are bringing food and aid and you are going to make
sure that we’re safe, it would’ve happened.”Last week, a spokesperson
for Beshear told Politico that “AIPAC has never contributed to Governor
Beshear and they’re never going to — ever,” a response that dovetailed
with a host of other potential Democratic presidential candidates,
including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who are increasingly
distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobby.“I think that’s up to
each and every Democrat,” Beshear answered when asked whether he thought
his fellow Democrats should take money from AIPAC.“In the end, I think
people need to be clear about their stance on these issues,” Beshear
said. “And for me, it’s one where I believe that we need a future with
an ally in Israel. But we need decision makers there that are not acting
the way that Netanyahu is and we need a president that will push when
we are seeing humanitarian crises to actually do something about it.”
'I
graduated from Manischewitz'Trade war meets tradition: Canadian Jews
confront a Manischewitz-free Passover-The ban on American booze, which
came in response to the country’s tariffs, has ‘created a meaningful
opening’ for Israeli wineries in Canada, according to a wine
executive-By Joseph Strauss Today, 4:26 am-APR 1,26
TORONTO (JTA)
— Max Kirschner pondered the kosher wine section at an uptown Toronto
liquor store, two days before the start of Passover.As he mulled over
which six bottles to purchase for his two Seders, he had plenty of
options: Wines from Israel, Italy, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand
lined the shelves. The South African sauvignon blancs were directly
below the French bordeaux.There was something missing, though: any
product from the United States.That’s because all US-produced wines and
spirits have been pulled from the shelves across the province of Ontario
in response to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Other
provinces have enacted similar bans.Which means that, for the second
year in a row, Jewish customers don’t have access to some traditional,
kosher-for-passover options such as Manischewitz.The change has left
some Jewish Canadians scrambling for alternative, sweet kosher red
wines, or even having bottles shipped across the country. On Monday
afternoon, however, Kirschner seemed unbothered by the change.“I
graduated from Manischewitz,” Kirschner said. “Twenty, 25 years ago
Manischewitz and Carmel were the only two choices. Now, there’s lots of
choices.”Though tucked away in a corner on the second floor, the kosher
section is particularly robust at this liquor store location, in the
predominantly Jewish Ledbury Park neighborhood. An employee, who’d been
speaking on the phone about wines for haroset, guided a steady stream of
customers through the global selection of kosher wines.Mike, who
declined to share his last name to avoid potential backlash at his
workplace for supporting Israel, said Manischewitz has never been on the
table at his family’s Moroccan Jewish Seders.But he said he saw a
silver lining for those who partook in the Manischewitz tradition. “Now
people can buy Israeli,” he said.A number of customers said they would
be supporting Israel by buying bottles from its wineries. And according
to Josh Greenstein, executive vice president of the Israeli Wine
Producers Association, the American booze ban in provinces like Ontario
has “created a meaningful opening” for Israeli wineries in Canada.That
demand has been “absorbed primarily by domestic Canadian wines,” but
Greenstein said there are “pockets of increased interest in imported
alternatives, including Israeli wines — particularly within the kosher
market and among consumers already familiar with the category.”While the
long-term impact will depend on future trade dynamics and consumer
behaviors, he said, “Israeli wine is well-positioned to gain incremental
share, and we are actively working with partners to support that
growth.”Some Jewish Torontonians are not making a trip to the liquor
store at all.For Sylvia Babins, Manischewitz is a crucial ingredient in
her haroset recipe — so she ordered a shipment from a liquor store
across the country, in Calgary, Alberta, where American wines are still
on shelves.Babins said she ordered nine bottles of the kosher wine — six
for her, three for her sister — at a cost of $11 per bottle and about
$50 in shipping.“I’m sure I can go find a sweet, red kosher wine [at a
Toronto liquor store], but I make haroset every year for the family and I
always use Manischewitz,” Babins said. “I need it.”Haroset in a silver
holder for Passover. (The Toby Press)-In a Jewish Toronto Facebook group
that she’s in, Babins said other members reported making the two-hour
drive to Buffalo, New York. But between paying for gasoline and import
duties, Babins said the costs would’ve exceeded her shipping payment
anyway. Plus, she added, she didn’t have to give her business to an
American store.“Yeah, I’d rather support Canada,” she said.There was
clearly some demand for the sweet Manischewitz taste at the store on
Monday. An employee pointed out a spot on the bottom-left shelf, where
they’d kept the bottles of Carmel Palwin, a sweet, yellow-labeled
Israeli wine that tastes similar to Manischewitz (though it isn’t made
with Concord grapes)-They had run out.
Knesset restores
rabbinical courts, echoing Isaiah: “I will restore your judges as of
old”Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-Israel News-March 26, 2026
The Knesset
passed a law on Tuesday morning restoring to rabbinical courts a power
they had exercised for decades before it was stripped away by a judicial
ruling 20 years ago. By a vote of 65 to 41, lawmakers approved
legislation allowing state rabbinical and Sharia courts to arbitrate
civil disputes, a move supporters describe as a return to tradition and
critics warn could reshape the balance between religion and state.The
law, advanced by United Torah Judaism and Shas, grants religious courts
authority to adjudicate financial disputes when both parties give
explicit and recent consent. Until 2006, rabbinical courts regularly
handled such arbitration, a practice halted by a court decision that
removed their standing in civil matters. Under the new law, their
jurisdiction remains limited: they cannot hear criminal or
administrative cases, matters involving the state, or disputes tied to
marriage and divorce. Labor disputes are also excluded unless initiated
freely by the employee.Rabbinical courts are already embedded in
Israel’s judiciary, overseeing areas such as divorce, inheritance, and
conversion. The system includes 12 regional courts, with the Great
Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem serving as the highest authority. It is
currently headed by Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef.Supporters framed
the legislation as a correction of a historical anomaly. MK Yitzhak
Pindrus told lawmakers that “for 50 years after the state’s founding,
rabbinical courts deliberated on these matters,” dismissing claims that
the law disrupts the status quo. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
called the bill “a liberal and egalitarian” measure grounded in free
choice, adding that Israelis should have access to “a legal system with
values and morality” rooted in Jewish tradition.MK Moshe Gafni, one of
the bill’s sponsors, tied the moment to a broader religious vision. “We
are now at the stage of ‘I will restore your judges as of old,’” he
said, invoking the verse: “And I will restore your judges as at the
first, and your counselors as at the beginning; afterward you shall be
called the city of righteousness, the faithful city” (Isaiah
1:26).Jewish law (Halacha) prohibits resorting to non-Torah-based legal
systems. Outside of Israel, rabbinic injunction resorts to a workaround
called dina d’malkhuta dina — “the law of the land is the law” — which
permitted Jews living under foreign sovereign rule to engage with
gentile legal systems.In the Land of Israel, the halachic leniency that
permits the use of non-Torah-based courts is considerably stricter than
in the Diaspora. The principle of dina d’malkhuta dina does not apply in
Israel, according to the majority of halachic authorities. This is
because the doctrine was conceived specifically to address Jewish life
under non-Jewish governance; in a Jewish state, no such dispensation
exists. The prohibition of arkaot, bringing disputes before secular
tribunals, therefore stands in full force. Rooted in the Talmud’s
reading of Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1) and codified by Maimonides, the
prohibition means that a Jew who takes a fellow Jew to Israel’s secular
civil courts violates Torah law, desecrates God’s name (chillul Hashem),
and bypasses the divinely ordained system of mishpat Ivri, Hebrew law
administered through batei din (rabbinical courts). Many leading Israeli
halachic authorities, including Rav Shaul Yisraeli and others
associated with the religious Zionist tradition, have written
extensively on this point.Ironically, Israel’s secular court system is
inherited largely from British Mandatory law and shaped by modern civil
jurisprudence, which handles the overwhelming majority of civil,
commercial, and family disputes among Israeli Jews. For Torah-observant
Jews, this creates a profound tension: the state’s legal apparatus is
readily accessible and enforceable, while the batei din (Rabbinic
courts), though recognized for matters of personal status such as
marriage and divorce, have limited jurisdiction and enforcement power in
civil matters. ‼️ UPDATE:Knesset members rushed to shelters after the
IDF detected an Iranian ballistic missile attack targeting Jerusalem and
central Israel.Lawmakers were forced to leave the wartime plenum
mid-session while debating a bill to significantly expand the authority
of Israel’s… pic.twitter.com/OPfUmHN6lT— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil)
March 23, 2026It is precisely this gap that makes recent Knesset
legislation expanding the authority and jurisdiction of rabbinical
courts so halachically significant. By broadening the scope of cases
batei din may adjudicate and strengthening their ability to enforce
rulings, the legislation offers observant Jews a viable and halachically
sanctioned alternative, potentially allowing them to resolve disputes
fully within the Torah’s legal framework without resorting to the
secular courts that Jewish law forbids.Opposition figures in the Knesset
delivered sharp criticism of the new law, warning of long-term
consequences. Opposition leader Yair Lapid declared the religious status
quo “dead, buried, eliminated [and] canceled,” while MK Merav Michaeli
described the law as “another step toward a halachic state.” MK Merav
Cohen pointed to the absence of female judges in rabbinical courts,
arguing that “a system that does not allow women to be partners cannot
provide them with equality.”Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a former Member of
Knesset and founder of the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation, “We’re talking
about a situation where both sides agree, and it’s only giving the
authority to the Bet Din to enforce their decisions. The ability to make
these decisions was already given by the agreement of both sides.”Rabbi
Glick saw the Knesset law as returning the role of the Bet Din to its
Biblically intended role.“It’s a very wonderful development, because
until now, the religious Bet Din was perceived as a place where you get
married or divorced, but not really a true Bet Din that was involved in
the jury system.Now, they can make decisions influencing everyday life,
including arguments between people. That’s really that’s what a Beit Din
is all about.”“That’s what the Torah and Parshat Mishpatim talk about
when neighbors have disagreements. That’s what the Beit Din is for.
Until now, you always had to go to the Israeli court, which is based on
the Turkish and British systems, but you couldn’t go to a Bet Din that’s
based on Torah. That was also a source of indictment against Torah
laws, as if following the Torah laws is something primitive and
something that is… not reasonable.”“Now, Israeli law recognizes the fact
that the Jewish Torah, [the] Beth Din, has the authority to make
decisions. And I think that’s very, very wonderful, and I hope more and
more people will use it, and we’ll see that the Bet Din searches for
justice. When standing before judges today, they’ll tell you that they
are not looking for truth or justice. They are looking for legality.
We’re looking for whatever our legal system decides.“With a Bet Din,
we’re looking for true justice. I am sure that more and more people are
going to want to follow Torah law, because it really is law,” Rabbi
Glick concluded.Civil society voices also raised concerns. Rabbi Seth
Farber, director of the ITIM nonprofit, said the law “could further
alienate large segments of Israeli society from Judaism itself,” warning
against coercion within religious institutions. Uri Keidar of Israel
Hofsheet called on a future government to repeal the legislation.The law
includes provisions intended to address such concerns. Arbitration is
permitted only with clear consent from both parties, and rulings cannot
violate Israel’s civil rights laws, including protections for women.
Lawmakers also removed earlier provisions that would have allowed the
courts to rule on child custody and disputes involving married couples,
narrowing the scope significantly during committee
deliberations.Supporters argue that the law’s principle, often described
as judicial pluralism, allows communities to resolve disputes according
to their own legal traditions. Critics counter that even voluntary
frameworks can carry social pressure, particularly within close-knit
religious communities.The passage of the law during wartime intensified
the political debate. Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman called
the timing “absolute madness and moral bankruptcy,” while coalition
members argued that strengthening Jewish legal institutions is what the
moment demands.
Jewish legal scholar: “Trump leadership might have stopped the Holocaust.”Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-Israel News-March 31, 2026
Alan
Dershowitz, a prominent legal scholar, said in a televised interview
that if Donald Trump had been in power in the mid-1930s, the Holocaust
might have been prevented, a claim he tied directly to current efforts
to confront the Iranian regime.Speaking on Newsmax, Dershowitz framed
the present conflict with Iran as a historical inflection point,
comparing it to the rise of Adolf Hitler. He argued that early, forceful
intervention of the kind he attributes to Trump could have stopped Nazi
Germany before it carried out the systematic murder of six million
Jews. “Had President Trump been in charge in 1935, 1936, I think the
Holocaust would have been prevented,” Dershowitz said, adding that
similar resolve is now required to stop what he called “Nazi
Iran.”Students of history note that justice must be pursued actively,
not deferred until it is too late. History records what happens when
powerful nations fail to act. This was perhaps most clearly illustrated
by Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement aimed to maintain peace
with Nazi Germany by making concessions to Hitler’s territorial demands,
most famously the 1938 Munich Agreement. Believing Hitler could be
reasoned with and that another war would be catastrophic, Chamberlain
ceded the Sudetenland to Germany. While initially popular and hailed as
“peace for our time,” this policy failed to stop Hitler, who violated
agreements, ultimately leading to World War II.Dershowitz’s remarks come
as critics of Israel accuse the Jewish state of committing “genocide”
in Gaza, even as Israel continues its war against Hamas, a terrorist
organization responsible for the October 7 massacre. The charge stands
in stark contrast to the documented reality of the Holocaust, in which
Nazi Germany industrialized the murder of six million Jews—men, women,
and children targeted solely for being Jewish.Had President Trump been
in charge in 1935, 1936, I think the Holocaust would have been
prevented.I think he would have gone in after Nazi Germany, he would…
pic.twitter.com/anKo22YFA7— The Daily News (@DailyNewsJustIn) March 24,
2026 By comparison, data cited in recent analyses show that population
figures in Gaza have not declined in a manner consistent with genocide
claims. Civilian casualties, while tragic, have occurred in the context
of urban warfare against an embedded terrorist force. The term genocide,
as defined after World War II, describes the intentional destruction of
a people. That definition emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust, not
from modern asymmetrical conflicts.At the same time, the Iranian regime
has been responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of its own
citizens in crackdowns on dissent. Yet many of the same political voices
condemning Israel remain largely silent about these mass killings. The
selective outrage underscores Dershowitz’s broader argument about moral
clarity and political will.He also warned of internal divisions within
the United States, criticizing figures he accused of undermining efforts
to confront Iran. In his remarks, he described opposition within
political circles as dangerous at a moment he considers historically
significant.Dershowitz has long argued that comparisons between Trump
and Hitler distort the historical record. In previous interviews, he
labeled such claims as a form of Holocaust denial, insisting that the
scale and nature of Nazi crimes must not be trivialized.The historical
comparison he now advances cuts in the opposite direction. Instead of
equating modern leaders with Hitler, he argues that strong leadership
could have stopped Hitler before the machinery of genocide was fully
operational.
YouVersion CEO: The Best AI Models Misquote the
Bible at Least 15% of the Time-Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-Biblical
News-March 29, 2026
YouVersion, the most widely used Bible app in
the world, with over one billion downloads, is refusing to let
artificial intelligence answer spiritual questions — and the reason is
damning. Bobby Gruenewald, founder and CEO of YouVersion, has gone
public, warning that the best AI models on the market misquote the Bible
at least 15% of the time, and some err as much as 60% of the time.This
technical glitch has grave spiritual implications. The Torah commands
lo tosif al ha-davar — “you shall not add to the word” (Deuteronomy
4:2). Yet AI systems are inventing verses, altering punctuation and
wording, and presenting fabricated text as authentic..Jeremy Hodes of
Evangelical Missions Quarterly documented ChatGPT inventing a verse and
labeling it John 5:5: “We know that we shall behold a Mocker of
Defamers; and, as the defamers, we are of the mockers.” The actual John
5:5 describes a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been ill for 38
years. Fox News reported another fabrication, attributed to Jesus:
“there is no man or woman.” No such verse exists anywhere in the
Christian or Jewish canon.YouVersion uses AI internally to accelerate
coding and streamline workflow. Gruenewald utilizes the technology,
describing himself as an early AI adopter. But he has drawn a sharp line
between back-office automation and putting AI in front of a billion
users to answer questions about God. “When it comes to answering life’s
most important questions and trying to give direction from God’s Word,”
he said, “we need it to be better in order to rely on it.”He added: “The
best model with the best performance, with the most popular versions of
the Bible that are most indexed, misquotes Scripture at least 15% of
the time. Some of them as much as 60% of the time.”Gruenewald said that
YouVersion has privately challenged AI developers to improve how their
models handle Scripture. He has told them that if they can consistently
quote the Bible accurately, YouVersion will help them gain access to
reliable biblical texts. So far, no model has cleared that bar.The
broader Christian world is moving in the opposite direction. Churches
are using AI to draft sermons. Platforms allow users to “chat” with
biblical characters. Prayer apps are being powered by algorithms. Ken
Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter, put it plainly
in Harbingers Daily: “AI can be a useful tool, but it should never
replace careful study of the Scriptures for yourself. Remember, it is
programmed by fallible, sinful humans.”Gloo, a faith-oriented technology
firm, is attempting to build guardrails — evaluating AI systems against
standards like theological integrity and human flourishing. The effort
is serious, but it remains upstream of the problem. The models
generating Scripture responses are general-purpose systems trained on
vast swaths of the internet, not curated biblical texts reviewed by
scholars.For Gruenewald, the technology may get there eventually. “If we
ever do fully adapt AI, it will be because we feel very confident that
it can be done safely and be done with a level of accuracy and
integrity,” he said. But “eventually” is not now.Younger generations
already turn to chatbots before they turn to clergy. Most users have not
memorized Scripture. They will not catch a fabricated verse. They will
not know when a comma has shifted the meaning of a passage that took
scholars centuries to translate. They will simply read what the machine
tells them, assume it is accurate, and carry that error forward.It
should be emphasized that Gruenewald is not telling people to avoid AI
entirely. He is saying that speed and popularity do not outweigh
fidelity to the text. That is not a conservative position. That is the
only defensible position.
Canada’s bill C-9 raises alarm: could quoting the Bible become a crime? Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz-World News-March 30, 2026
A
vote in Canada’s House of Commons has set the stage for the rapid
passage of Bill C-9, legislation that has ignited a fierce backlash from
religious leaders who warn it could criminalize core expressions of
faith. With debate abruptly cut off by a 186–144 vote led by Liberal and
Bloc Québécois MPs, the bill now advances toward final approval,
raising alarm among Christian groups who say the measure strips away
long-standing protections for quoting Scripture.Bill C-9, known as the
“Combating Hate Act,” introduces new hate-related offenses while also
removing a religious exemption that had shielded individuals from
prosecution if their statements were made in good faith and rooted in
sincerely held beliefs. Critics argue that this change exposes clergy
and laypeople alike to criminal liability for articulating traditional
teachings on marriage, gender, and the sanctity of life.David Cooke of
Campaign Life Coalition stated that the legislation “will certainly
result in the prosecution of Canadian Christians who quote Holy
Scripture in defence of God’s design for marriage, gender, and the
sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.” He added
that removing the requirement for Attorney General approval could allow
police to act on complaints without Attorney General approval,
dramatically increasing the likelihood of charges.Christian leaders
point to previous cases in which street preachers were investigated or
charged for public expressions of biblical teaching. They argue that
Bill C-9 will expand such enforcement. Conservative MP Andrew Lawton
wrote that the bill is being “rammed through” without meaningful debate,
while MP Larry Brock called the move to end discussion an unacceptable
attempt to silence concerns about religious freedom.The Canadian
Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a formal warning after the
government removed the religious exemption clause. In a letter to
lawmakers, Cardinal Frank Leo wrote that while combating hatred is
necessary, “this should not come at the cost of diminishing or doing
away with basic, fundamental civil liberties.” He urged the Senate to
amend the bill to explicitly protect the reading and teaching of
Scripture.At the center of the concern is the possibility that passages
from the Bible addressing moral conduct could be interpreted as “hate
speech” under the revised law. The fear is not theoretical. Legal
experts have noted that the amendment opens the door to prosecution
based on subjective claims of harm, including alleged violations of
personal “feelings.”Jewish advocacy groups in Canada have taken a
different position. Major organizations, including the Centre for Israel
and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith Canada, publicly supported the bill,
citing a surge in antisemitic incidents across the country. In a joint
statement, they described Bill C-9 as “an important and necessary step
to strengthen tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to protect
targeted communities and hold criminals accountable.” At the same time,
these groups emphasized that further action will be needed to combat
rising antisemitism and anti-Israel activism.The divide reflects two
competing concerns: the urgent need to confront real threats against
Jewish communities and the equally serious warning from Christian
leaders that expanding hate speech laws without clear safeguards risks
criminalizing religious expression itself. With the Senate expected to
review the bill shortly and approval widely anticipated, Canada is
poised to enact legislation that will test the boundaries between
protecting vulnerable communities and preserving the right to speak
openly from sacred texts.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE
POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
(SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
I
KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP
WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2,
19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS
DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE
CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD
TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN
WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO
GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK
WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA,
KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS
A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM
5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A
POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E
(BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A
SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO
"GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING,
-TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα,
στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German
stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in
or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves
and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded
or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general
they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped
themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling,
Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.)
Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says
he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils,
hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of
Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary,
servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage
cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.)
French state buys nuclear supercomputer firm.
Paris,
France, March 31 (AFP) Mar 31, 2026-France's government on Tuesday
completed the purchase of the supercomputing arm of IT firm Atos, which
builds machines for nuclear weapons development as well as artificial
intelligence and quantum computing.The move marked "a decisive step for
France's technological sovereignty," economy minister Roland Lescure
said in a statement -- a concern that has shot to the top of the agenda
in Europe amid transatlantic tensions.Paris is now the only shareholder
of the Atos supercomputing spinoff dubbed Bull, which the company said
was valued at up to 404 million euros ($467 million).Bull has around
3,000 employees worldwide and revenues of 720 million euros in 2025 --
up 16 percent year-on-year.The unit last year completed Europe's first
"exascale" supercomputer, Germany-based Jupiter, able to carry out more
than one quintillion (a billion billion) operations per second.While
that computer is powered by chips from American giant Nvidia, the
company's US rival AMD will contribute to its next, more powerful
project, France-based Alice Recoque, set for completion in 2027."We are
the only European player capable of building computers and systems
suited to AI," Bull chief Emmanuel Le Roux told AFP.Being spun off
"gives us the agility required to respond to a market undergoing
far-reaching transformation," he added.The company has doubled the
capacity of a factory in Angers in western France and aims to deliver
its first hybrid quantum-classical computer within five years, Le Roux
said.Bull is also aiming to achieve an 80 percent ratio of European
components in upcoming supercomputers.dax-mng/tgb/giv
Thales subsidiary to provide ABIS for Sweden’s migrant biometrics checks-Mar 31, 2026, 1:13 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Sweden’s
Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) has signed a 30 million Swedish
kronor ($3.2 million) contract with Thales subsidiary AB Svenska Pass
for the implementation of an Automated Biometric Identification System
and subsequent support functions.The Swedish Migration Board will use
the ABIS in its issuance and verification of residence permit cards,
which include the bearer’s face and fingerprint biometrics.Under the
contract, AB Svenska Pass is responsible for an on-premises deployment
of the ABIS at a Migrationsverket facility, as well as support during
Swedish office hours and software upgrades. When the RFI for the project
was issued last year, the authority said the register includes
biometric data from various immigration applicants, including asylum
seekers, holding 3 million fingerprint records and 7 million facial
images.The contract’s estimated term began earlier this year, and runs
until the beginning of 2034.Previously, Migrationsverket has used a
police ABIS.Thales acquired AB Svenska Pass when it acquired Gemalto AB
back in 2019 and integrated the company and its subsidiaries with its
Digital Identity and Security division. The Swedish ID provider also
holds the contract for Sweden’s biometric passports and national ID
cards.Sweden’s government had budgeted up to SEK 40 million
(approximately US$4.2 million) for the project before evaluating
bids.Other bidders for the contract include major European biometrics
firms Idemia Public Security, Dermalog, Neurotechnology and Sopra
Steria.
Biometrics providers prepare for emerging wave of biometrics demand-Mar 28, 2026, 9:29 am EDT | Chris Burt
The
tremendous commercial opportunity for biometrics is shown in a major
provider merger and growing demand from airports to the internet. The
week’s top stories on Biometric Update illustrate the land-rush
developing in age assurance and already underway in border control, as
well as national digital identity and ensuring trust as a wave of AI
agents arrives.Precise Biometrics and Fingerprint Cards announced a
merger agreement, creating a Swedish biometrics giant with a full stack
of sensors, hardware, algorithms and software. The deal values FPC at
approximately $14.5 million, but could create up to $4.8 million in cost
synergies, along with cross-selling and product development
opportunities.Avoiding those airport lines-Portugal has adopted the
Travel to Europe app as part of its EES border control implementation
without increasing airport lines and wait times. It is the second
country to adopt Frontex’ biometric app, developed with tech from
Signicat subsidiary Inverid and iProov.Long airport lines are all too
familiar, and biometric corridors could help prevent them. Alan Goode
explores Paravision’s biometric corridor pitch with partner AiFi at PTE
World London 2026 in a column.Online age and liability
anxiety-Businesses are adopting biometric facial age estimation at a
rapid pace for an emerging technology that is not yet accompanied by
robust testing methodologies and capacity, Ingenium’s Chris Allgrove
pointed out in an EAB workshop this week. Experts from KJR, Cognitec,
NIST, the University of Southampton, Ghent University and Ofcom
discussed how far the FAE ecosystem has come and important next steps.A
policy framework for AI from the White House not only prioritizes age
assurance, it specifically suggests “parental attestation” as an
appropriate method. It could also open up a new market for age
estimation and verification providers. And regulators are not the only
stakeholder that can drive platforms to adopt age checks. The jury in a
California civil lawsuit has ruled Meta and YouTube must pay $6 million
to a plaintiff who began using the platforms in childhood, specifically
raising minimum age enforcement questions for Meta and setting an
expensive precedent.Age checks are coming to all iPhone and iPad users
in the UK, with the EU to follow, so Apple can apply age filters. Yoti
CEO Robin Tombs tells Biometric Update in emailed comments that the move
sends a clear positive about the importance of age assurance, but does
not address some important scenarios.MOSIP implementations advance--Sri
Lanka has closed submissions from managed service providers for its
MOSIP-based national digital ID system, and plans to evaluate its MSP
options in April. A phased rollout is planned over a two year period to
ensure the necessary capabilities and core infrastructure are in place
before a transition away from the previous national ID is
complete.Zambia has revealed some details of its planned MOSIP
implementation planned for this year. SZI will build the country’s
digital ID through a largely home-grown approach, but also contract an
international technology partner.Trust shields up-iProov argues in an
infosheet that AI agents are on the cusp of striking a blow to public
trust on the same scale as deepfakes due to an “accountability vacuum.”
The company’s Johan Sellström will demonstrate its solution for binding
AI agents to human intent cryptographically in a keynote at RSA
Conference 2026.The impact deepfake fraud has had on hiring practices
and what businesses can do to detect it was the focus of Socure Head of
Product Deepanker Saxena’s discussion with the Biometric Update
Podcast.Testing patience-The EU may need its own independent biometrics
evaluation capability comparable to NIST in the U.S. to ensure tech
sovereignty, according to a policy brief from the EU Innovation Hub for
Internal Security. The brief was coordinated by eu-LISA with cooperation
from the EC, Europol and Frontex.NIST released an update to its latent
fingerprint biometrics dataset SD 302, as well as open-source
fingerprint data quality assessment software OpenLQM, to help improve
software and expert performance alike.Please let us know if you come
across any podcasts, videos or other content we should share with the
people in biometrics and the broader digital identity community in the
comments below or through social media.
PALOP countries collaborate to enhance digital Identity and public services-Mar 31, 2026, 2:22 pm EDT | Masha Borak
Portuguese-speaking
African countries (PALOP) face structural obstacles, including limited
infrastructure, uneven institutional capacity, and unequal access to
digital technologies. The issues are affecting the development of
digital identity systems that help citizens access public services,
speakers shared at a webinar organized by the United Nations
University’s Operating Unit on Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), the
Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information
Society (Cetic.br) and the Brazilian Network Information Center
(NIC.br).The webinar, held on March 26th, is part of a broader
initiative called Digital Governance Dialogues, which aims to enhance
digital governance in PALOP countries on both the supply and demand
sides, meaning both governments and users.The project includes a series
of thematic sessions, hosted in Lusophone African countries, between
2025 and 2027.The inaugural webinar was held in October 2025 and focused
on national digital governance strategies, policies and plans. The
latest session, on the other hand, examined the role of digital ID as
foundational digital public infrastructure, as well as questions around
implementation, efficiency, and integration between services.The webinar
can be viewed on YouTube (in Portuguese).The activities involve all
PALOP countries, including Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau,
Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as other
Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Brazil and Portugal. The events
are directed at government representatives and policymakers, as well as
international and regional organizations.
US criticizes allies’ deepfake laws as other countries tighten AI controls-Mar 31, 2026, 2:08 pm EDT | Lu-Hai Liang
Reality
is blurring with misinformation and deepfakes, and opposing views on
regulation is leading to some high-level tension.South Korea, for
example, is pursuing a bill that would impose heavy fines on traditional
news outlets as well as online media that publish false or fabricated
information, including deepfakes or synthetic likenesses, that cause
verifiable damage.South Korea’s bill has faced criticism from the
current U.S. administration, which has accused countries pursuing
digital regulation of censorship. A senior politician who has strongly
criticized South Korea’s bill is due to visit Seoul and Tokyo.At
present, the EU, UK and Australia have drawn Washington’s ire over
online safety bills that cover issues such as age assurance for social
media. These digital regulations threaten U.S. corporations such as
Apple, Meta and Google, especially as more countries draft revised
online safety bills or impose age limits on social media.The U.S. Under
Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, raised tensions
with Seoul after calling the new law a “censorship bill threatening
U.S.–Korea technology cooperation.” The revised Information and
Communications Network Act, which was passed last year, targets
deepfakes. Rogers has said that the Act risks “encouraging global
regulatory trends.”During her visit to Japan and South Korea, Rogers is
expected to convey her concerns and to “reaffirm the Trump
administration’s commitment to safeguarding freedom of expression and
digital freedom,” according to a State Department release. The Chosun
Daily reports that Rogers is scheduled to meet with Big Tech
representatives in Korea during her visit.This comes even as experts
warn of the deleterious effects of deepfakes on public trust, especially
as political parties in the U.S. are running AI-generated deepfake
campaign ads. That’s right. Political campaigns are using deepfaked
content ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November, as Reuters
reports. The news agency reports that both Democrats and Republicans are
using the technology, with the red side more enthusiastic users.Daniel
Schiff, a professor who’s studied deepfakes at Purdue University, told
Reuters that content that spreads political misinformation could erode
the rigor and credibility of democratic systems, with the damage risks
“supercharged” with growing use. Worryingly, AI researchers have found
that political deepfakes can be persuasive even if people know they
aren’t real.America flies against international trends-While the U.S.
takes a relatively relaxed stance toward deepfakes, other countries are
moving in the opposite direction, treating AI‑driven impersonation as an
urgent national security and economic threat.In Malaysia, regulators
and researchers are sounding warnings. The Institute for Data Innovation
and Artificial Intelligence (IDEA‑AI) says the country must rapidly
strengthen its AI policies and legal framework to counter a surge in
deepfake‑enabled scams.Fraud syndicates are already using AI tools to
mimic voices and identities, contributing to more than 35,000 online
fraud cases in 2024 and another 12,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
Existing laws that were drafted long before deepfakes existed offer
little protection, Mohd Saberi Mohamad, CEO and director of IDEA-AI,
told Bernama.Malaysia’s National Artificial Intelligence Office is now
developing a comprehensive regulatory framework covering risk
management, harm mitigation, incident reporting and ethical standards,
while the Ministry of Digital prepares an AI Governance Bill.IDEA‑AI’s
leadership is calling for a risk‑based regulatory model, with strict
oversight for high‑risk AI uses such as biometrics, finance and
automated decision‑making. They also want a dedicated AI Act to clearly
assign responsibilities to developers and users.The Philippines is also
taking a proactive stance. With 67 percent of Filipinos now worried
about online misinformation and disinformation, the country is treating
deepfakes not just as a political problem but as a business‑continuity
and cybersecurity threat.Filipino organizations are shifting to building
reactive resilience, including rapid breach detection and strict
reporting timelines. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing
banks to adopt server-side biometric authentication such as fingerprint
or face biometrics. The country’s central bank wants this stored and
verified on secure backend systems, replacing one-time passwords (OTPs)
for enhanced security. It aligns with the Anti-Financial Account
Scamming Act (Afasa), which aims to reduce fraud, account takeovers and
phishing attacks.
Brazil investing $8M to accelerate switch to new digital ID in remote communities-Mar 31, 2026, 12:31 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald
The
Brazilian government has announced a financial boost, under a program
dubbed PROCIN, to enable some states to expand issuance of the country’s
new national digital ID (CIN). PROCIN is an acronym for the National
Program for Promoting the Management and Issuance of the National
Identity Card.Launched this week by the Ministry of Management and
Innovation in Public Services, the first round of the financial support
initiative amounts to 44.25 million Brazilian reais (US$7.76 million),
and will help issue digital IDs in difficult-to-reach communities in the
states of Bahia, Amapá, Amazonas, and Maranhão. The initiative also
targets vulnerable people.The funding from the government will
particularly be used to upgrade infrastructure, staffing and mobile
units in order to reach more people speedily. Issuance of early copies
of the card is free of charge.The government news agency reports that
the move is part of the central government’s push to increase CIN
adoption, and facilitate identity verification and access to services
for millions of Brazilians. Brazil is seeing a switch from the
traditional RG cards to the CIN.Brazil’s government launched the Federal
Biometric Service to oversee issuance of the CIN last year.In an
announcement in Salvador, Minister of Public Service Esther Dweck said
the initiative is designed to assist states to boost their ID issuance
capacity, especially in remote areas, and make it easier for people who
have often faced challenges in getting the service.The government
official also spoke about the security features of the digital ID which
uses the CPF as a single and universal identifier, instead of multiple
state-issued identification numbers for different purposes such as
social protection, worker registration, social security, voter ID, and
more.Dweck said this security upgrade makes the ID ten times more secure
and a crucial tool in helping the government fight identity fraud and
other identity-related crimes. She also underscored the importance of
the digital ID, saying it is a requirement for access to social
protection benefits, as well as a good number of public and private
sector services. Last year, the government introduced biometric ID
verification for access to social benefits.“All Brazilians will have to
exchange their old RG for the CIN, which is the new card, [which is] ten
times more secure than the old RG,” Dweck is quoted by the news
agency.The CIN can be accessed via the Gov.Br digital government mobile
application which is now used by 175 million citizens. To obtain it,
users must first register online, where they will pick an appointment
for a physical visit to submit their biometrics.Already, 49 million
Brazilians have switched to the new digital ID, but the government is
eyeing a target of around 150 million people by the end of this year.
The CIN will become mandatory nationwide by 2032.
Spain’s
national digital ID going live with full legal status-Phase 2 of digital
DNI rollout begins this week-Mar 31, 2026, 11:58 am EDT | Ayang
Macdonald
From April 2, public and private institutions in Spain
are required to begin putting in place measures to accept or support the
digital version of the country’s national identity card (DNI). The
digital ID takes the same legal status as the physical ID card on
Thursday.The acceptance step constitutes the second phase of a
nationwide effort to put in place a digital ID system that aims to
facilitate secure identity verification, and make access to public
services easier.Among other things, the digital DNI can streamline
access to services like voting, banking, in-person age verification,
hotel check-ins, car rentals, package collection, and entertainment
venues.As part of this second phase rollout, users of the digital ID
will be able to have access to more online services, and there’s also
the imminent activation of a digital signature feature to make certain
digital transactions and internet-based operations easier, according to
the government’s official website.Users store the digital ID on a mobile
application, MiDNI, which was launched in April last year. The
objective, authorities explained, is to streamline identity verification
and transform how public services are delivered. Only the MiDNI app is
legally accepted for the digital ID storage. The app can be unlocked
with a password or native device biometrics.With the digital ID,
citizens are not obliged to carry along their physical ID cards for any
transactions and it is a system that keeps the power of personal data
control fully in the hands of the subject, who can decide what
information to share, how, with whom and when to do so.There are three
levels of data-sharing via the app and all of them involve a QR code
which can be scanned, but not copied due to time limitations. Also, as
part of the security and privacy measures, the mobile application is
connected to police servers to enable data verification in real-time.The
government has explained that to get the digital ID app, users first
need to register by linking their mobile phone to their DNI using
official platforms of the national police that have been made available,
after which they can download the app either from Google Play or the
App Store.At the expiry of a physical card, the corresponding digital ID
must also be reactivated, officials have advised.
WTO E-Commerce Agreement sets stage for regulatory alignment to boost digital trade-Mar 31, 2026, 11:06 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald
The
World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded its 14th Ministerial
Conference (MC14) in the early hours of March 30 in the Cameroonian
capital Yaounde, with marked progress in the push to fully implement its
agreement on digital trade.The MC14, which started on March 26, brought
together an estimated 4,000 delegates including trade ministers from
the organization’s 166 member states.On the final day of the
deliberations, discussions at ministerial level on the digital trade
agreement and other issues related the WTO’s reform agenda, dragged on
for many hours as members disagreed on several issues, with the goal of
finding common ground and a sustainable path forward for global
business.Ahead of the ministerial debates, however, 66 member states of
the organization that make up 70 percent of global trade had, a day
earlier, agreed to the adoption of a pathway to bring into force the WTO
Agreement on Electronic Commerce, as the instrument is officially
labelled.Before the agreement actually gets approved by all member
states and incorporated into the WTO’s legal framework, it is expected
to function under what the body describes as “interim
arrangements.”Already, this is considered a major step towards the full
adoption of the document which the WTO described as “the world’s first
baseline set of global digital trade rules.” It is also seen as a key
step forward given that digital transactions contribute over 60 percent
of global GDP.In remarks after the adoption of the pathway, the WTO
Director General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called digital trade an
exciting frontier for driving economic growth and job creation.“By
moving forward with the E-Commerce Agreement, participating economies
are helping to establish a shared regulatory framework that can lower
costs and unlock new opportunities. They are also demonstrating that the
multilateral trading system can respond, and is responding, to new
challenges and changing economic circumstances,” Okonjo-Iweala said.The
shared regulatory framework will presumably include alignment on KYC and
AML rules, if not specifically on cross-border digital identity
verification. The E-Commerce Agreement also comes at a time when Africa
is working to operationalize its single market ambition, with secure,
safe and interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI) seen as a
cornerstone in realizing that objective.A new Cambridge DPI Regulatory
Programme was also launched weeks ago in help coordinate the regulatory
alignment that can help turn digital ID and DPI gains into financial
opportunity.Okonjo-Iweala added that with that vital step already taken,
there is need for “continued cooperation” to ensure that “digital trade
remains open and predictable, and that its benefits are shared across
economies at all levels of development.”Japan was one of the
co-convenors of the pathway adoption. Its State Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry, Yamada Kenji, said it was “a historic step in
implementing global digital trade rules.”Trade ministers of Australia,
Canada, China, Costa Rica, The Gambia, Mauritius, Peru, Singapore,
Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, as well as the EU Commissioner for Trade
and Economic Security, who also participated in the adoption process,
all described it as a major win for the establishment of a global
framework that defines how digital trade should happen.To the WTO,
having operational rules for digital trade will “significantly bolster
stability and predictability for businesses and consumers around the
world,” and “unlock new opportunities for micro, small, and medium
enterprises by reducing regulatory barriers and enhancing access to
global markets.”
Socure launches payment screening as fintechs
seek streamlined IDV, risk checks-Plaid strikes authentication deal,
OneID pitches privacy-preserving identity verification-Mar 31, 2026,
11:48 am EDT | Masha Borak
Although fraud has been rising –
Australia reported financial losses of US$1.4 billion due to scams –
companies such as Socure and Plaid are launching new products and making
new deals to prevent fraudsters from accessing their users’
money.Identity verification firm Socure has launched a new payment AML
screening product that avoids fragmentation by integrating real-time
sanctions and watchlist monitoring into the payment flow.Organizations
can evaluate transactions for sanctions risk through a single,
orchestrated API call, including senders, beneficiaries, intermediary
banks, and payment identifiers such as BICs and blockchain addresses,
the company says in a release.The payment screening solution is part of
its anti-fraud platform, RiskOS, and relies on matching identities on a
watchlist to a persistent identity within Socure’s Identity Graph. The
matches are based on identity similarities rather than just name
matches, reducing false-positive alerts.Socure recently announced the
expansion of its Bank Account Verification coverage to more than 30
countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. The product builds on the
RiskOS platform.Finix integrates Plaid’s authentication for bank account
verification-Bank account verification is one of the most critical
steps in payments. This is why payment processor Finix integrated
Plaid’s authentication and identity software to support fast bank
account verification during merchant onboarding, payouts and payment
management.San Francisco-based Finix helps businesses accept and send
payments online and in-store. The integration with Plaid will enable
businesses to connect, verify, and update bank accounts, reduce
onboarding delays, mitigate fraud risk and streamline compliance
workflows, the firm says.As a data network that serves as the financial
services analytics layer, Plaid has been adding capabilities to help
banks and other financial institutions reduce fraud risk during remote
customer onboarding. Last year, the company upgraded its identity
verification tools, including adding DMV-backed identity
verification.OneID promotes privacy-by-design IDV-UK identity service
OneID believes that one of the biggest challenges for identity
verification in the financial services is verifying users without
creating unnecessary privacy risk. Companies often err on the side of
caution, gathering more data and asking users to upload documents,
submit selfie biometrics and additional information – even though they
don’t need it.OneID says that’s not necessary. It doesn’t require users
to download any apps or scan documents, but verifies age through digital
IDs, bank-backed identity and telecom-verified data.“Start with the
minimum data required for the decision in front of you, then use a
trusted verification method that gives you strong assurance without
over-collecting,” the company says in its latest blog post. “For
customer onboarding, that can mean verifying core identity attributes
through authoritative sources instead of defaulting to document
upload.”OneID crossed over the 10 million user threshold for its age
verification service in 2025 and is rolling out its services in the U.S.
and several European markets.Australians were scammed out of $1.4B in
2025-Australians reported more than AU$2.1 billion ($1.4 billion) in
financial losses due to scams in 2025, according to the National
Anti-Scam Centre.Although the financial losses were 7.8 percent higher
year-on-year, the 2025 figure represents a slowdown from the 2022 record
of AU$3.1 billion ($2.1 billion) in losses. Overall, the organization
counted more than 481,000 scam reports, of which over 274,000 resulted
in financial losses.The most lucrative scams for fraudsters were
investment scams, followed by payment redirection, romance, phishing and
remote access scams.The data was collected from Scamwatch, run by the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC); the government
cybercrime portal ReportCyber; the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange
(AFCX); identity theft support organization IDCARE; and the Australian
Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
FTC order bars OkCupid from misleading users about biometric data sharing-Mar 31, 2026, 8:55 am EDT | Anthony Kimery
Dallas,
Texas-based dating app company Match Group Americas and its subsidiary
Humor Rainbow, Inc., doing business as OkCupid, have agreed to a
proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement that would bar the
two companies from misrepresenting how they collect, use, disclose,
delete or protect users’ personal data, including biometrics.The FTC
alleged the companies shared OkCupid user information with a third-party
facial recognition company despite privacy promises to the contrary.
That company has been identified as Clarifai, an AI company that makes
facial recognition software.In May 2022, the FTC filed a petition to
force Match to comply with a demand for documents related to an alleged
2014 data-sharing deal between Match, its subsidiary OkCupid, and
Clarifai.The Washington, D.C.-based law firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP
said this week that it “is investigating OkCupid and its affiliate,
Match Group Americas, following reports that OkCupid provided a
third-party, Clarifai, with unauthorized access to millions of users’
personal data.”The FTC order, filed in the Northern District of Texas,
resolves the FTC’s claims against Match Group Americas and Humor
Rainbow.The FTC’s complaint alleges the companies engaged in deceptive
acts or practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act by providing
OkCupid user data to a third-party facial recognition technology company
in a way that contradicted statements in OkCupid’s privacy
policies.Match and OkCupid neither admit nor deny the allegations, but
they waive any right to challenge the validity of the order and agree to
its entry.“The FTC enforces the privacy promises that companies make,”
said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer
Protection. “We will investigate, and where appropriate, take action
against companies that promise to safeguard your data but fail to follow
through – even if that means we have to enforce our Civil Investigative
Demands in court.”The proposed settlement does not impose a civil
penalty. Instead, it centers on a broad, forward-looking injunction
covering privacy representations tied to the OkCupid service and any
successor online dating service.Under the order, Match and OkCupid are
permanently prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they
collect, maintain, use, disclose, delete or protect covered information,
the purposes for which they handle that information, and the function
of privacy controls or consumer choices presented through their
interfaces.The definition of “covered information” in the order is
expansive. It includes names, physical addresses, email addresses and
other online contact information, phone numbers, financial account and
payment card information, precise geolocation, photos and videos, and
persistent identifiers such as cookies, static IP addresses and mobile
device IDs.The “covered service” is defined as OkCupid and any successor
online dating service.The order also puts in place a lengthy compliance
regime. Within ten days of entry, each defendant must submit a sworn
acknowledgement that it received the order, and for ten years, the
companies must distribute the order to principals, officers, directors,
managers, and employees with managerial responsibility for
consumer-facing privacy representations and obtain signed
acknowledgements from those recipients.They also must submit a detailed
compliance report after one year and notify the FTC within 14 days of
key corporate changes or bankruptcy filings that could affect
compliance.Record keeping and monitoring provisions extend the oversight
further. For 10 years the companies must create specified records and
keep each for five years, including accounting records for the covered
service, consumer complaints and refund requests related to privacy
practices, and materials needed to demonstrate compliance.The FTC may
demand additional reports, take depositions, inspect documents and
communicate directly with the companies for monitoring purposes. The
order states it will remain in effect for 20 years.The case traces back
to a long-running dispute over the use of dating app photos in facial
recognition systems.Earlier, Match sought to keep FTC court proceedings
secret while the commission investigated claims that the company shared
users’ photos with a facial recognition business, an issue that followed
earlier biometric data privacy litigation involving Match-owned
services.That earlier litigation was tied to the Illinois Biometric
Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which has become one of the most
important state laws governing the collection and use of biometric
identifiers and biometric information.Plaintiffs had alleged Match
dating platforms improperly used or disclosed users’ facial geometry
data through facial recognition-related practices.The FTC matter ran on a
parallel track, focusing not on BIPA directly but on whether OkCupid
misled consumers about their privacy practices.The case is notable
because it sits at the intersection of biometric privacy, consumer
protection law, and the especially sensitive nature of data held by
dating services.Photos, profile information and related identifiers on
dating apps can reveal intimate details about users’ lives,
relationships, and habits.Even where biometric data itself is not
singled out in a federal privacy statute, regulators have increasingly
treated misleading statements about data sharing and privacy controls as
potential deception under the FTC Act.The Match order reflects that
approach by focusing heavily on representations to users and on how
privacy controls are described.The settlement also shows the FTC’s
continued reliance on long-duration conduct orders in privacy cases.
Rather than requiring only a one-time change, the order creates an
extended structure of accountability, with sworn submissions,
preservation duties and access for agency investigators.For a company
operating a major online dating service, those provisions could shape
internal privacy governance well beyond OkCupid itself, particularly
because the order applies not just to the current service, but also to
any successor dating service covered by the definition in the settlement
document.The order still requires court entry to take effect formally.
Once entered, the court will retain jurisdiction to enforce or modify
it. The stipulation was signed by FTC attorneys and by counsel and
corporate officials for Match Group Americas and Humor Rainbow in
February, indicating the parties had already reached agreement before
the filing date.For Match, the settlement closes a chapter that has
lingered since at least 2021 and 2022, when the company was fighting
both private biometric privacy claims and scrutiny over how user photos
may have been made available to facial recognition technology.For the
FTC, it is another example of using deception authority to police
promises around personal data handling in the absence of a comprehensive
federal privacy law.
Sumsub integrates AI risk intelligence
layer from ComplyAdvantage-Strategic partnerships unify identity
monitoring functions to strengthen KYC, AML compliance-Mar 31, 2026,
9:45 am EDT | Joel R. McConvey
A strategic partnership with
ComplyAdvantage will see Sumsub integrate its full-cycle verification
platform with Mesh, ComplyAdvantage’s AI-native risk intelligence layer
for identity resolution, financial crime risk data and enterprise-scale
threat detection to maintain compliance.A release says Mesh will now
serve as the foundational layer powering Sumsub’s AML screening
platform, available across its Know-Your-Customer (KYC),
Know-Your-Business (KYB) and Transaction Monitoring products.The
partnership aims to enhance anti-money laundering (AML) screening
capabilities for compliance teams globally.“Compliance teams don’t need
more tools – they need one powerful system that does it all,” says
Andrew Novoselsky, chief product officer at Sumsub. “Sumsub brings
together verification, screening, monitoring, and intelligent
decisioning into a single environment, giving teams complete control,
real-time intelligence, and the ability to scale with confidence in an
increasingly complex regulatory landscape.”An API first technical
approach brings “a marked improvement on performance, screening
flexibility and supports broader customization to align with varying
risk appetites and regulatory expectations.” The integration will
improve screening accuracy and signal quality and provide richer profile
information. Sumsub will also launch Mesh Bring Your Own Key (BYOK),
enabling customers to connect their own ComplyAdvantage Mesh API
credentials directly into the Sumsub platform.Financial infrastructure
provider Noah claims it has shortened screening times through Sumsub’s
partnership with ComplyAdvantage.Mark Watson, chief technology and
product officer at ComplyAdvantage, says the partnership with Sumsub
brings its foundational capabilities in proprietary data sourcing and
AI-native risk classification to “a broader set of compliance teams who
demand both speed and precision, alongside a full-cycle verification
platform.”Approvely partnership to support scaling in gambling
market-Sumsub has announced a strategic partnership with Approvely, a
fintech infrastructure platform serving regulated and high-risk
industries across North America.Sumsub’s identity verification will be
integrated directly into Approvely’s payments and risk management
ecosystem aimed at gambling merchants, to provide what a release calls
“a single, compliant path from user onboarding to transaction
processing.” Services will include automated KYC, AML screening, and
document verification available across more than 220 countries and
territories.The intention is to enable Approvely to expand its presence
at scale across regulated markets, as advanced fraud attacks, including
synthetic identity fraud, multiaccounting, bonus abuse, and organized
first-party fraud, make strong verification a necessity. Meanwhile,
users demand minimal friction for “a direct path from identity
verification to checkout.”“Regulated industries demand verification that
is both rigorous and fast,” says Anastasia Shvechkova, business
development director for Americas at Sumsub. “Our partnership with
Approvely reflects our commitment to helping businesses in
compliance-intensive verticals onboard users with confidence, reduce
fraud at the source, and scale across jurisdictions without operational
drag.”ComplyAdvantage’s AI-native Mesh platform powers risk intelligence
within Sumsub’s AML screening, enhancing accuracy, efficiency, and
flexibility for compliance teams.
Face biometrics to accelerate motorcycle border crossings in Singapore-Mar 30, 2026, 4:36 pm EDT | Lu-Hai Liang
Faces
can be better than fingers, particularly in wet weather. That’s what
Singapore has discovered following what appears to be a successful
border biometrics trial.Singapore will begin phasing in facial scanning
as the primary biometric identifier for motorcyclists and pillion riders
at land checkpoints from March 31. It replaces fingerprints as part of
the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) push toward fully
contactless clearance.Superintendent Eliane Chee, senior assistant
director of operations at ICA, told the Straits Times that face
biometrics are “especially useful on rainy days, as wet fingerprints are
harder to detect.” The same publication reports clearance times are
reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds at lanes using facial scanning.The
decision follows trials launched in January at selected motorcycle
lanes in the Arrival Zone of Woodlands Checkpoint, where more than
150,000 travellers tested the face biometrics system.ICA said feedback
from the trials helped refine the technology, including improving its
ability to detect when facial features are obscured by masks or
sunglasses and adding on‑screen prompts instructing travellers to remove
such obstructions.From the end of March, facial recognition will be
deployed at 18 automated motorcycle lanes in the Woodlands Arrival Zone,
with the rollout expanding to all 70 automated arrival and departure
motorcycle lanes in the months that follow. Tuas Checkpoint is expected
to adopt the system in the third quarter of 2026.Singaporean border
officials began trialling face biometrics from Tascent for in-car
clearance of motorists at Woodlands in mid-2022, before the company
folded. At the time Tascent had an existing partnership with NEC at
Singapore’s borders. Idemia provides the Automated Border Control System
(ABCS) and Borderguard Lanes used across Singapore’s air, land and sea
checkpoints. The system employs high-accuracy facial recognition to
allow passport-less clearance. Idemia has been supplying biometrics to
Singapore’s government for border security checks since a 2017
deployment at Changi Airport.As part of the new clearance sequence,
motorcyclists and pillion riders must present either a QR code or their
passport before undergoing biometric verification. ICA reports that 62
percent of travellers in this group already use QR codes generated
through the MyICA mobile app, and the agency is encouraging wider
adoption to speed up traffic flow.Travellers are still required to carry
their passports, which may be requested for verification, and must
update their QR code if their passport details change.The contactless
shift forms part of the ICA’s New Clearance Concept (NCC), which aims to
deliver faster and more secure immigration processing via biometric
automation. The process applies to Singapore residents, long‑term pass
holders and foreign visitors who have previously entered the country.
First‑time visitors, or those arriving with a different passport from
their last trip, will continue to undergo manual clearance but will be
eligible for automated, biometric‑based clearance on subsequent visits.
Precise, FPC each meet April 30 to approve merger for full biometrics stack-Mar 30, 2026, 3:05 pm EDT | Chris Burt
A
pair of Extraordinary General Meetings are planned for April 30 to
finalize shareholder votes on the proposed merger between Precise
Biometrics and Fingerprint Cards.Precise will hold its meeting at 9:30
CEST in Lund, Sweden, while FPC’s begins at 10:00 in
Stockholm.Fingerprint Cards shareholders will have the option to vote by
post, and shareholders of either can assign a proxy. In addition to the
merger proposal itself, FPC shareholders will have to decide on a
reduction of its share capital to cover its loss, according to the
agenda.
Dover and Eurotunnel report new EES delays-Mar 30, 2026, 1:37 pm EDT | Masha Borak
The
Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, the primary routes for Brits travelling
to the EU, are once again delaying Entry-Exit System (EES) biometric
border checks, even as the April 10th deadline for the full launch of
the system draws near.The rollout has been pushed back after French
authorities reported technical setbacks, a spokesperson for the Port of
Dover said last Friday.“We are working closely with our French border
agency partners to ensure a smooth introduction of the EU Entry/Exit
System (EES) for tourist passengers, which includes waiting until
current issues with the French technology are resolved and thorough
testing at Dover has been conducted,” the statement noted.The Port of
Dover has previously postponed EES registrations for car passengers at
the request of French authorities.Eurotunnel’s LeShuttle railway service
said that full biometric checks will be introduced once it receives
formal go-ahead from French and EU authorities.Starting April 10th,
French border police (Police aux Frontières or PAF) will begin manually
registering car travellers in the EES at crossing points, though
biometric data such as facial recognition and fingerprints will not be
collected at the outset. Passport stamping will continue in the interim,
according to Connexion France.French border authorities intend to run
passport lanes at full capacity, adapting operations to “deliver the
high‑quality, stress-free travel experience customers expect from
LeShuttle,” according to a Eurotunnel spokesperson.The UK has been
warning travelers to Europe of potential traffic disruptions and queues
due to the introduction of the EES. Similar warnings can be heard across
the Channel.French port union requests meeting with gov over EES
failures-Last week, a union representing French ports and commercial
shipping warned of “serious risks of congestion and disorganisation” at
the border this summer, requesting an urgent meeting with the ministers
for the interior and transportation.French port borders are seeing
software failures in pre-registration kiosks and tablets which are
preventing their proper use, the Union des Ports de France and Armateurs
de France said in a letter addressed to the French government.Another
issue is that the current organisation of checks and staffing levels
will not be able to handle expected high-season traffic volumes. The
system has been designed with airport traveller flows in mind, making it
ill-suited to the particular challenges of large numbers of passengers
arriving by ferry in their vehicles.“The consequences could be serious:
massively lengthened turnaround times in port, knock-on delays to ferry
services, deterioration of passengers’ experiences, security risks and a
loss of competitiveness by French ports,” the letter notes.The issues
seem to go beyond technical difficulties: Ports de Normandie said
earlier this month that it is still waiting for the state to deliver the
pre-registration equipment, Connexion France reports.Aside from sea
ports, French airports are also struggling with the introduction of the
new system. Last month, Aéroports de Paris (ADP) group, which manages
Paris Orly and Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airports, has requested a
postponement of further EES rollouts until after the tourist
season.According to the EU plan, all 29 Schengen area countries must
have EES operational at every border crossing to record the entry of all
third-country nationals by collecting their biographical and biometric
data on April 10th.Member states will be able to partially suspend EES
operations where necessary during an additional 90-day period, with a
possible 60-day extension to cover the summer peak. This means that
manual passport stamping could remain in place at many crossings well
into the summer.
iProov warns of ‘accountability vacuum’ with rise of autonomous AI agents-Mar 26, 2026, 11:03 am EDT | Lu-Hai Liang
In
a world of AI agents whizzing around, the potential infinitude of these
agents could wreak havoc. Long-time identity company iProov is sounding
a stark warning about the risks of autonomous AI agents as it argues we
could be sleepwalking into an “accountability vacuum.”This is a black
hole where high‑impact decisions are made without any verifiable human
authorization. The company has shone a light on the issue at RSA
Conference 2026, where iProov’s Johan Sellström will demonstrate new
methods for cryptographically binding AI‑agent actions to confirm human
intent.iProov has titled research it conducted “The Great Trust
Recession.” It sees a parallel to the deepfake‑driven fall in public
trust with the threat coming not just from external manipulation but
from organizations’ own automated systems acting without meaningful
human oversight.Andrew Bud, iProov’s founder and CEO, argues that the
identity infrastructure operating today was never designed for
autonomous decision‑making. Even authentication standards such as FIDO2,
one‑time passcodes and push notifications assume a human is
present.These systems verify identity and permission, but they cannot
verify intent. As Bud puts it: “The entire trust chain begins and ends
with a real person,” but AI agents break that assumption.The U.S.
National Cyber Strategy calls for rapid adoption of agentic AI to
modernize national‑scale systems, while regulators in Europe and the
U.S. are converging on the principle that human oversight must be
“meaningful, not ceremonial.” NIST’s recent concept paper on agent
identity identifies human‑in‑the‑loop binding as a core
requirement.iProov argues that effective oversight requires three
elements: the right human with the authority to make the decision,
sufficient context to make a real choice, and an attributable,
timestamped record tied to a verified identity. Without these, the
company warns, enterprises risk legal, financial and ethical exposure.At
RSA 2026, Sellström will demonstrate how AI‑agent actions can be
cryptographically tied to verified human approval. iProov says this kind
of binding is essential if organizations want to scale agentic AI
safely and avoid the internal trust collapse it predicts.Agentic AI a
big theme for RSA 2026-Agentic AI was a big theme of the RSA Conference
2026, held in San Francisco, with Cisco president and chief product
officer Jeetu Patel giving a keynote address on how AI agents are
challenging the foundations on which security architecture was built.The
speed and scale of AI erodes the fabric of traditional security models,
he said. Cisco’s 2026 Data Privacy Benchmark Study found that 90
percent of organizations have added AI to their privacy programs but
that only 12 percent say their AI governance is mature and proactive.
Patel believes the rise of AI agents will need a new model for
establishing trust, granting access, and maintaining ownership.Meta
incident shows why humans should be kept in the loop-Mark Zuckerberg’s
Meta meanwhile is spending enormous amounts on developing AI, setting
aside billions to hire top talent and to invest in AI infrastructure.
Yet it has succumbed to the risks of AI when an AI agent, acting without
permission, caused a data leak that exposed sensitive details for
hours, reports The Information (via AI Magazine).According to The
Information’s reporting, a software engineer at Meta posed a technical
query on an internal forum. Another employee used an in-house AI agent
to look at the problem. But instead of just providing the analysis, the
AI agent posted its response in the forum without the employee telling
it to do so.The software engineer who’d posted the original question
then acted on the guidance given by the AI agent. And this is what
caused the exposure of sensitive data. The incident illuminates what
phrases like “human oversight” and “trust” really mean.There was no
human oversight of what the AI agent did when it posted its answer,
while there was also a layer of oversight lacking when the software
engineer implemented its advice. They trusted the guidance when full
trust of LLMs is not advisable.The incident highlights the need to keep
humans in the loop, an expert told AI Magazine. Artificial assistants
must be kept on track, with guard rails in place, to ensure they behave
as intended, and its actions and outputs are reviewed, they suggested.
