WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 57 APR 25,26 - TRUMP WILL NOT USE NUKES ON IRAN REPORTS.

 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 57  APR 25,26 - TRUMP WILL NOT USE NUKES ON IRAN REPORTS.

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)

Trump rules out striking Iran with nuclear weapon.

Washington, United States, April 23 (AFP) Apr 23, 2026-US President Donald Trump on Thursday ruled out striking Iran with a nuclear weapon, after his previous threats to completely destroy Iranian civilization."No, I wouldn't use it," Trump told reporters at the White House."Why would I use a nuclear weapon when we've, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it?" he asked."A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody."Trump on April 7 issued a genocidal threat to Iran that a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back," but within hours agreed to a ceasefire that he has since extended in the war launched by the United States and Israel.Vice President JD Vance during the conflict warned that the United States was ready to intensify damage on Iran with weapons not previously used, but the White House denied he was threatening nuclear strikes.Vance in failed negotiations had pushed Iran for greater concessions on its contested nuclear work.Trump told reporters that he was seeking an Iran "without a nuclear weapon that's going to try and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East."Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and the UN nuclear watchdog says that an atomic bomb was not imminent before the war.The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in combat, obliterating the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, killing some 214,000 people.Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not publicly acknowledge them.Trump's blanket statement against any nuclear use would appear to be at odds with longstanding US nuclear doctrine, which reserves the right to use nuclear weapons.Trump has previously called for an end to a US moratorium on nuclear testing in response to US allegations of secret testing by China and Russia.Former president Barack Obama had called for an eventual goal of a world without nuclear weapons, but his administration also said that so long as they existed, the US arsenal would serve as a deterrent.The United States has rejected calls to declare that it will never use nuclear weapons first in a conflict.

Says deadlock doesn't necessarily mean war restarting-Trump cancels Witkoff and Kushner’s trip to Islamabad for ‘time-wasting’ Iran talks-US president claims Iran submitted a better but not good enough proposal minutes after he canceled his negotiators’ trip; Iran’s FM departs Pakistan after meeting local leaders By Agencies, ToI Staff and Jacob Magid-Today, 9:29 pm-APR 25,26

US President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Islamabad by two envoys to meet Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday after Iran’s foreign minister flew out of the Pakistani capital following talks, dealing a new setback to peace prospects.Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he said was tremendous confusion in the Iranian leadership.“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,'” he wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”Speaking to Fox News, Trump said: “I’ve told my people…  ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there… We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”Trump further told the Axios news site that this didn’t necessarily mean the war was restarting. “It doesn’t mean that,” he said in response to a question from the outlet. “We haven’t thought about it yet.”Later Saturday, Trump claimed Iran submitted a response to Washington’s latest proposal for a nuclear deal minutes after he announced that Witkoff and Kushner would not be making the trip to Pakistan. He said the latest Iranian proposal was much better than the previous one, but still not adequate.“The Iranians gave us a paper that should have been better and interestingly, the minute I cancelled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better… They offered a lot but not enough,” Trump told reporters.After holding talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other top officials, Araghchi and his delegation departed Pakistan’s capital with a military jet escort, government sources said. Details of the talks were scant.Araghchi said it remained to be seen whether the United States was “truly serious” about diplomacy. In a post on X, he said he had “shared Iran’s position concerning [a] workable framework to permanently end the war.”It was not immediately clear if or when Araghchi would return to Pakistan. Iran previously ruled out a new round of direct talks with the United States.Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, while the US blocks Iran’s oil exports.Iran sets out its ‘principled positions’The conflict, in which a ceasefire is now in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran carried out strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, and the war pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.In Pakistan, Araghchi “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran,” said a statement on the minister’s official Telegram account.Asked about Tehran’s reservations about US positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: “Principally, [the] Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands.”US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier told reporters that Iran had a chance to make a “good deal.”“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely,” he said. “All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways.”Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson posted on X that Iranian officials did not plan to meet US representatives and that Tehran’s concerns would be conveyed to mediator Pakistan.Trump told Reuters on Friday that Iran planned to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands but that he did not know what the offer entailed. He declined to say who Washington was negotiating with, “but we’re dealing with the people that are in charge now.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come this weekend, and that Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.Days after Trump extended the ceasefire, international flights resumed from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday, Iranian media said. The first passengers departed for Saudi Arabia, Oman and Turkey, with operations expected to accelerate in the coming days.“Well, it’s a good feeling. When flights resume, trade is done, and people can do their jobs. It’s a good feeling,” said one passenger at the airport, where passengers were queuing at check-in desks.Iranian airspace has been largely closed since the start of the war. Tens of thousands of flights have been canceled, rerouted and rescheduled worldwide, shutting much of ​the Middle East’s airspace because of missile and drone threats.Oil prices surged this week, with Brent crude futures soaring 16%, on uncertainty over the fate of the peace talks and as violence flared in the region.Shipping data on Friday showed that five ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours, compared to around 130 a day before the war. The ships included an Iranian oil-products tanker, but none of the vast crude-carrying supertankers that normally feed global energy markets.Data analytics firm Vortexa said this week it had recorded 35 total transits through the US blockade from April 13 to 22, involving Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels for inbound and outbound journeys.“The enemy, whose objective of crippling Iran’s missile and military capabilities has failed, is now seeking an honorable exit from the quagmire of war,” Iranian media quoted a defense ministry spokesperson as saying. “Iran is today in firm control of the Strait of Hormuz.”Iranian state TV quoted the country’s top military command as reiterating that Iran would react if US forces continued their “blockade and piracy” in the region.Iran attacked three ships this week, while the US maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines, he said.Israel’s cabinet on Thursday discussed preparations for a potential return to hostilities, with Channel 12 news reporting that Jerusalem and Washington were both preparing options for quick operations in Iran that would be over in weeks — likely attacks on energy and national infrastructure.

Iran hangs man for role in protests, claims he was working for Mossad-Regime has ramped up its executions since the outbreak of war with Israel and the US, putting to death 9 people linked to the protests since mid-March By AFP Today, 10:51 am-APR 25,26

TEHRAN — Iran on Saturday executed a man for his role in mass anti-government protests in January, claiming he was carrying out a “mission” on behalf of Israel’s spy agency, the judiciary reported.It is the latest in a string of executions since war broke out with Israel and the United States.Erfan Kiani was hanged after his sentence was upheld by the country’s Supreme Court, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.It described Kiani as one of the “main operatives” in a “mission assigned by Mossad” during unrest in the central Iranian province of Isfahan.The judiciary accused him of “destruction of public and private property, arson, possession and use of Molotov cocktails, carrying a bladed weapon, blocking vehicle routes, attacking officers, and creating fear and panic among citizens”.His execution follows the hanging on Thursday of another man in Iran who was convicted of membership in a banned opposition group.According to the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, the death sentence of Erfan Kiani one of the protesters arrested in Isfahan during the January 2026 protests has been carried out. In its statement, the judiciary listed charges including “destruction and arson of public and private… pic.twitter.com/ubMeU98ri9 Advertisement — Iranriseonline (@iranriseonline) April 25, 2026-Iran has in recent weeks ramped up executions during its war with Israel and the United States that began on February 28.Authorities have attempted to portray the mass protests that were violently supressed with thousands killed as being instigated by Israel, the US and opposition groups, including the banned People’s Mujahedin.The protests initially started as demonstrations against Iran’s dire economic situation and quickly spread across the country.Since March 19, Iranian authorities have executed nine men on charges linked to the protests.Iran is the world’s second most prolific user of the death penalty after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report

Analysis-The US protected Hormuz shipping from Iranian attacks in the ’80s. Could it again? Small IRGC gunboats and ambitious US goals could make it tough to replicate the relative success of ‘Tanker War’ that grew out of the fighting between Iran and Iraq, analysts say By Jon Gambrell Today, 12:23 pm-APR 25,26

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Naval mines bobbing in the waters of the Persian Gulf, threatening oil tankers. Iranian speed boats raking ships with machine-gun fire in the Strait of Hormuz. And the United States right in the middle of the fight.This isn’t the current conflict between Iran and the US, paused by a shaky ceasefire. Instead, it’s the “Tanker War,” when Iran targeted shipping during its 1980s war with Iraq, and US warships stepped in to escort Kuwaiti tankers to ensure the flow of crude oil to the global market.The US could follow that model now and become more aggressive to protect ships passing through the strait, through which 20 percent of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime. It conducted more limited escorts of ships that came under attack in the Red Sea in recent years, and US President Donald Trump said this week that he has ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats.But offering escorts in the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t be so easy. Military technology has advanced since the “Tanker War.” The US hasn’t defined the same clear, narrow goals in this war as it did in the 1980s. And it’s not clear international shippers would feel safe even with an American Navy escort, given that it is now a combatant.Small boats, big problemsThe US Navy has long been familiar with the small-boat tactics deployed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has adapted to international sanctions blocking its ability to access military vessels by using smaller civilian ships for military purposes.For years, the Guard has used vessels the size of small commercial fishing boats to shadow American aircraft carriers whenever they pass through the strait. Instead of bearing fishing poles, most have Soviet-era heavy machine guns bolted to their bows with a small rocket launcher on top.Iran’s revolutionary guard has released a video said to show its forces seizing a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The container ship was one of two captured by Iran on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/tURhZmqZ3U— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) April 23, 2026-Using those small boats, Iran seized two cargo ships this week. A video released by the Guard showed its forces aboard patrol boats dwarfed by the massive container ships. Guardsmen opened fire on the cargo ships, then stormed the vessels, carrying assault rifles.Beyond their propaganda value, the seizures showed that nearly eight weeks into the war with the US and Israel, with the US Navy imposing a blockade on Iran’s coasts, the Guard can use limited resources to effectively shut down the strait and hold the global economy hostage.The ‘Tanker War’The “Tanker War” grew out of the fierce eight-year conflict between Iraq and Iran in the 1980s.Iraq first targeted Iranian oil infrastructure and tankers in the Persian Gulf. Iran eventually responded with a concerted campaign of its own against ships in the region, including laying mines.Iraq ultimately would attack over 280 vessels to Iran’s 168, according to the US Naval Institute. But Iran’s use of mines caused havoc in the region.The US, which supported Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with intelligence, weaponry and other aid, launched “Operation Earnest Will” and began escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers, which were reflagged as American.It wasn’t without danger. The Kuwaiti supertanker Bridgeton struck a mine while under US escort at the start of the operation. An Iraqi missile strike on the USS Stark killed 37 sailors, while an Iranian mine attack wounded 10 on the USS Samuel B. Roberts.The US also mistook a commercial airliner for a fighter jet and shot it down, killing all 290 people aboard Iran Air flight 655.No easy way out-Despite the challenges, the “Tanker War” operation saw the US Navy ships successfully escort some 70 convoys through the region.But it would be hard to replicate that today.The US would have to guarantee that it could create a cordon that Iran couldn’t pierce — a tall order since just one Iranian missile, drone or boat-borne attack would bring back the fear that now pervades the strait.“I think even if you compare it with the ‘Tanker War,’ I think just in terms of the way military technology has evolved, especially on that asymmetrical side, it’s much more difficult to secure a waterway now than it was then,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.“Unless there is some sort of agreement or unless the US can significantly curb Iran’s ability to launch fast boats, to launch drones, to launch short-range missiles, then this problem just remains unresolved.”That’s one of the reasons European countries, despite pressure from Trump, have said they wouldn’t join a mission to escort ships until the war is over.The Reagan administration also had narrower, clearer goals in its Cold War operation, such as keeping the strait open, according to Tom Duffy, a former US diplomat and naval officer.“In contrast, the American goals (now) have been sort of a kaleidoscope of regime change to all sorts of very maximalist goals,” said Duffy, who recently published a book called “Tanker War in the Gulf.”In recent years, the US Navy offered limited escorts of vessels through the Red Sea corridor to protect them from attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. But the Navy focused on US-flagged ships or those carrying supplies for the American government.In those operations, the Navy faced its most intense combat at sea since World War II. Using force to make the Strait of Hormuz safe to transit may see a similarly intense fight.And Duffy noted that it’s not clear the Trump administration even wants the fight.“There’s a White House statement this week in which we said that the ceasefire is not in jeopardy because they aren’t attacking US and Israeli ships. That’s a fundamental shift,” he said. “That goes past centuries of US practice and statements about the need for freedom of the sea.”

As Iran tries to wipe Israel off the map, a museum charts those who first put it on-Now reopened with war on hold, Israel Museum exhibition explores maps produced from the 15th to 19th century that blended geography with biblical beliefs and contemporary politicsBy Rossella Tercatin-Today, 9:11 am-APR 25,26

In 1483, Bernhard von Breydenbach, a dean from the German city of Mainz, embarked on a months-long pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the journey, von Breydenbach and his group, which included Dutch artist Erhard Reuwich from Utrecht, visited Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, several sites in the Galilee, and concluded their pilgrimage at the Saint Catherine Monastery in the Sinai desert.The trip was recorded in a richly illustrated journal published a few years later, marking the first such mass-produced travelogue, and the first to include a largely accurate panoramic map of the Holy Land. Drawn by Reuwich, the illustrated graphic shows much of the area traversed by the group, spanning from Mecca to Damascus, with Jerusalem and the crimson-topped Dome of the Rock at its center.A sensation when it was first printed, the map is once again in the spotlight, this time at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where it is featured prominently in the exhibition “Fact, Faith, and Fantasy — Maps of the Holy Land from the Chinn Collection.” The show opened in January and is once again open to visitors after the museum was closed for several weeks due to the war with Iran.British philanthropists Sir Trevor and Lady Susan Chinn began collecting ancient maps after receiving one as a wedding gift in 1965. They donated their still-expanding collection to the Israel Museum around 10 years ago.The Breydenbach/Reuwich map unfurls to the length of several pages to capture the breadth of the region. Jerusalem alone occupies about one-third of the graphic, with the city displayed larger and more detailed than any other location.“Maps make many manipulations, even modern or topographic maps,” said the exhibition’s curator, Ariel Tishby, who is in charge of the Holy Land Maps section at the museum. “[Maps] are means of communication, and they are also used for propaganda, including religious propaganda.”The exhibition features dozens of maps spanning from the 15th to the 19th centuries, depicting the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.Though informed by accounts from travelers and rudimentary cartography, many of the artifacts are heavily influenced by stories from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In the Breydenbach/Reuwich map, the Muslim holy shrine of the Dome of the Rock us labeled “Templum Salomonis,” or Solomon’s Temple.“This is how the Crusaders called the Dome of the Rock,” Tishby told The Times of Israel during a visit to the exhibition. “Likely the Crusaders did not really think that [the shrine] was the [Jewish] temple, but they saw this beautiful architecture exactly in the place [where the Temple stood].”On the map, the facade of the Holy Sepulchre is also rotated by about 90 degrees to face the viewer.“Things are mixed up, historically, and religiously,” Tishby added.The exhibition traces a number of “families” of ancient maps, groupings in which the structure of an earlier map is copied and reused as a basis for a later map, often without even crediting its predecessor.“In those days, there was no copyright legislation,” Tishby noted.One of the “families” of maps is believed by experts to date back to the 2nd-century geographer Claudius Ptolemy and his treatise “Geography,” which listed thousands of locations worldwide by their latitude and longitude. (While the latitudes were calculated correctly, the longitudes were not, due to ancient scholars being unaware of the circumference of the planet.)The maps included in the treatise got lost over the centuries, but the text survived and gained new fame in the Renaissance, inspiring a new generation of cartographers.“Ptolemy was forgotten during the Middle Ages, but during the 13th and 14th centuries, many manuscripts were brought from Alexandria [in Egypt] to Rome and translated into Latin,” Tishby said.While many old maps were oriented with the east at the top, Ptolemaic maps, like modern maps, point north.One of the maps on display, by 15th-century Florentine geographer Francesco di Nicolo Berlinghieri, appears to be one of the closest to a modern map. The atlas shows the geographical features of the region, including the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea, while cities are marked as names next to small circles, with no particular emphasis on Jerusalem or any other biblical location.Sacred geography-The vast majority of maps from the period, though, adhered to a genre that modern scholars refer to as “sacred geography,” blending science and devotion.“These maps mostly served as a tool for religious meditation and contemplation about the Bible,” noted Tishby.Most of the cartographers behind the pieces in the exhibit did not visit the Holy Land in person, and their works were not intended as a road map to guide those making the perilous journey. Instead, the maps were meant to help transport readers’ minds to a place revered as holy, but too distant and dangerous for them to actually reach.“In case you want to travel through the Promised Land and stay in your everyday peace, comfortable at home, we shall please you with this map to your own insight and show you what would otherwise cause you much suffer and inconvenience with exhausted limbs,” reads the text featured on a fragment of a Dutch map printed around 1600, according to a translation provided by the curator.One of the most important artifacts on exhibit, the fragment comes from a map produced by Herman van Borculo from the Dutch city of Utrecht, which was considered lost for centuries before three of its parts resurfaced in recent decades.The map consisted of several sheets intended to be glued together to create a much larger work, likely measuring 140 x 80 centimeters (50 x 31.5 inches). The part on display at the Israel Museum depicts the port of Jaffa and two ships, a Venetian galley and an Ottoman galley, which experts interpret as reflecting the Christian yearning to reconquer the Holy Land.“In real life, you see just ruins of old cities and savage places where one shows you many things that the eye cannot see,” the text adds. “When you contemplate this map from town to town, the Old Testament and the Gospels, both are shown here in the large, also accurately mapped.”The Dutch ‘Exodus’The Dutch were among the medieval world’s best and most respected mapmakers, and much of what they produced was influenced by the connection they saw with ancient Israel.“What is referred to as ‘the golden age of Holland’ occurred after their war of independence, the Eighty Years’ War with the Spanish [1568-1648], which was also a religious war between Protestants and the Catholics,” Tishby explained.“The Dutch were mainly Protestant and identified themselves with the story of the Israelites in the Bible,” he added.This sympathy emerged in some of the maps. Tishby pointed to a map that preceded the Gospels section in the 1648 Dutch States-General Bible, which was widely disseminated to every family that had at least one member who could read.The map bears the words Daat Ioodtsche Lant, which translates to “The Jewish Land,” to describe the region, a term not common in early modern Europe.“In a way, this is very Zionist,” Tishby joked.The map that opens the exhibit also dates back to the Dutch Golden Age, a monumental map oriented to the East, titled “A New Description of the Holy Land or the Promised Land.”Originally designed in 1619 and printed in 1670 on ten sheets of paper bound together, the artifact portrays the land of Israel divided into the portions assigned to the biblical Twelve Tribes after they entered the land following 40 years of wandering in Egypt.The map also features some 800 references to the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the 1st-century CE Jewish-Roman author Flavius Josephus.“[This map] actually encompasses the whole sacred history,” said Tishby. “It is a very clear combination of art, science, geography, religion, and politics.”The exhibition includes several maps that present a bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem and its main monuments, including the Dome of the Rock and the Holy Sepulchre, and its surroundings.Tishby noted that what is considered a map has changed over the years. Academics used to have what he described as a “very narrow-minded” view, in which maps were defined “as a schematic, graphic representation of a geographical region.”Today, according to the expert, a map is understood to be a representation of the milieu or cultural environment, a definition that can encompass both a road atlas and the types of medieval illustrations included in the exhibit.“It is everything that goes into the cultural world of a person,” Tishby explained.The exhibit will be open until June 6, 2026.

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH) (DO NOT EVER LISTEN TO ANYBODY THAT SAYS THE WORLD IS ENDING.ITS NEVER GONNA HAPPEN-4 BILLION WILL BE LEFT ON EARTH TO GO INTO JESUS" 1000 YEAR RULE)(THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD TO ANY ONE, DOES IT-NOT ME.THE EARTH IS JUST RENOVATED.NEVER ENDED.

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.

G7 'concerned' at Russian, Chinese nuclear build-up.

Paris, France, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2026-G7 countries on Friday insisted on their support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), warning of the dangers from a Russian and Chinese build-up."We are concerned with China's and Russia's significant nuclear weapons build-up and modernization," the G7 Non-proliferation Directors Group said in a statement published on the French foreign ministry website.The group brings together the diplomats from the G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US -- who lead work on limiting the spread of nuclear arms.Their statement comes ahead of the Monday opening of a month-long New York conference to revise the NPT, under the shadow of intensifying international competition and multiple crises with nuclear dimensions such as the wars in Iran and Ukraine."We commit to working with all States Parties to achieve a successful Review Conference in 2026 and to pursue the broadest possible consensus on measures to reinforce the NPT regime across all its three pillars," the G7 negotiators said -- referring to disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful use of atomic energy.The group added that they "strongly encourage the United States' pursuit of multilateral strategic stability."US President Donald Trump has frequently expressed hostility and suspicion towards major multilateral treaties.But he has backed the idea of a three-way deal between the US, Russia and China -- as well as threatening to resume nuclear testing and accusing Beijing of carrying out secret weapons trials.The NPT conference will seek consensus to keep the broader treaty alive.Two previous meetings saw the 191 signatories fail to agree a final text, with observers expecting a repeat at this year's event.

CORRECTED: Crunch nuclear proliferation meeting at UN amid raging global wars.

United Nations, United States, April 25 (AFP) Apr 25, 2026-Signatories of the landmark nuclear non-proliferation treaty will meet at the UN from Monday as hopes fade they can reach agreement and tensions soar between the atomic powers.In 2022, during the last review of the treaty that is considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned humanity was "one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation."The situation has only worsened since then."I think there is a shared, if you will, sense of crisis by all states parties," said Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs."We don't have any bilateral arms control agreements between the two largest nuclear weapon states," she said referring to the February expiration of the New Start treaty between Moscow and Washington."We are also beginning to see quantitative increase of nuclear capabilities in all nuclear weapon states."Nakamitsu said that mounting geopolitical tensions had halted the post-Cold War trend of disarmament.The nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), signed by almost all the countries on the planet -- with notable exceptions like Israel, India, and Pakistan -- aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote complete disarmament, and to encourage cooperation on civilian nuclear projects.The nine nuclear-armed states -- Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea -- possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).The United States and Russia hold nearly 90 percent of nuclear weapons globally and have carried out major programs to modernize them in recent years, according to SIPRI.China has also rapidly increased its nuclear stockpile, SIPRI said, with the G7 raising the alarm Friday over Moscow and Beijing boosting their nuclear capabilities.US President Donald Trump has indicated his intention to conduct new nuclear tests because "other countries are doing it too."In March, France's President Emmanuel Macron announced a dramatic shift in nuclear deterrence, notably an increase in the atomic arsenal, currently numbering 290 warheads.- NPT could 'unravel' -"It is obvious that trust is eroding, both inside and outside the NPT," Seth Shelden of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, told AFP.He questioned the likely outcome of the four-week summit.Decisions on the NPT have to be agreed by consensus, with the previous two conferences failing to adopt final political declarations.In 2015, the deadlock was largely due to opposition by Israel's arch-ally Washington to the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.In 2022, the impasse was due mainly to Russian opposition to references to Ukraine's nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Moscow.This year's summit could fall on any number of stumbling blocks.The ongoing war in Ukraine, Iran's nuclear program and the war there, non-nuclear states' fears over proliferation and North Korea's developing arsenal could all be deal-breakers.If there is a third consecutive failure, the treaty "might not implode overnight" said Christopher King, the conference's secretary-general.But there is a risk "it will, over time, unravel."Artificial intelligence could be a prominent issue as some countries call for all sides to keep human control over nuclear weapons.

Investments in nuclear weapons production surge: study.

Geneva, April 23 (AFP) Apr 23, 2026-Financial institutions are increasing their investments in atomic weapons production, anti-nuclear campaigners said Friday, warning the trend risked fuelling already surging military spending at a time when global conflicts are multiplying.Experts have been warning of a new atomic arms race at a time when nuclear-armed states are involved in conflicts in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, while long-standing efforts towards disarmament and non-proliferation appear to be eroding.In a fresh report released on Friday, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and another anti-nuclear pressure group, PAX, said a growing number of financial institutions were investing in companies helping the world's nine nuclear-armed states swell and modernise their arsenals.As of September 2025, 301 banks, pension funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions had financing or investments in companies involved in producing nuclear weapons, according to the annual "Don't Bank on the Bomb" report.That marked a 15-percent hike compared to a year earlier, reversing years of decline, it said.- 'Risky' -"For the first time in years, the number of investors trying to profit from an arms race is on the rise," said ICAN's director of programmes Susi Snyder, a contributing author of the report."This is a short term and risky strategy that contributes to a dangerous escalation," she warned in a statement, adding that it was "impossible to profit from an arms race without feeding one".The world's nine nuclear-armed states -- Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea -- are currently modernising and often expanding their arsenals and "driving demands for these weapons", the report said.In February, New START -- the last remaining treaty between Russia and the United States limiting the top nuclear powers' deployment of nuclear warheads -- lapsed.The stock market valuation of many major defence contractors had risen sharply, the report said.Faced with the threat from Russia and growing fears that Europe can no longer rely on Washington's protection, many governments have argued that investing in the rearmament of Europe should not be restricted by ethical considerations, the report said.- $709 bn invested -Friday's report identifies 25 companies that are involved in producing nuclear weapons, with Honeywell International, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman earning the most, excluding consortia and joint ventures.Other major producers include BAE Systems, Bechtel and Lockheed Martin.The top three investors in those companies, measured by the value of shares and bonds, were US firms Vanguard, BlackRock and Capital Group, the report found.From January 2023 to September 2025, the report said investors held more than $709 billion in shares and bonds in the 25 nuclear weapons-producing companies -- an increase of over $195 billion from the previous period analysed.At the same time, nearly $300 billion was provided in loans and underwriting to nuclear weapons manufacturers, up nearly $30 billion since the last report, it said.The top three lenders were US banking giants Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, the report said.At the same time, the report stressed that a number of financial institutions had proven it was possible to abandon investments linked to nuclear weapons without giving up on turning a hefty profit.As of the end of 2025, the total value of assets under management by institutions that explicitly avoid investing in such companies stood at more than $4 trillion, the campaigners said.

Chernobyl, 40 years since disaster: five things to know.

Chernobyl, Ukraine, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2026-Ukraine on Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant -- the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history.It comes four years into the Russian invasion that has put the plant once again under threat and raised risks of another radioactive catastrophe.Here are five things to know about the disaster and the plant today:- Explosion -At 01:23 on April 26, 1986, a human error during a safety test triggered a blast in reactor number four at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.The explosion tore the inside of the building apart, sending a plume of radioactive smoke into the atmosphere, with nuclear fuel burning for more than 10 days.Thousands of tonnes of sand, clay and lead ingots were dropped by helicopter to contain the radioactive leak.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) determined the main cause of the disaster was "severe deficiencies in the design of the reactor and the shutdown system" combined with "violation" of operation procedures.- Radioactive cloud -In the following days, the radioactive plume heavily contaminated Ukraine, Belarus and Russia before spreading across Europe.The first public alert came only two days later, on April 28, when Sweden detected a spike in radiation levels on its territory.The IAEA was officially notified of the accident on April 30, but Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev did not publicly acknowledge it until May 14.Thousands are estimated to have died as a result of exposure to the radiation, though assessments of the precise human toll vary.A 2005 UN report put the number of confirmed and projected deaths at 4,000 in the three worst-affected countries. Greenpeace in 2006 estimated that the disaster had caused close to 100,000 deaths.According to the United Nations, some 600,000 people involved in the clean-up operation -- known as "liquidators" -- were exposed to high levels of radiation.The disaster raised public fears of nuclear energy, fuelling a surge in anti-nuclear movements across Europe.- Russian occupation -Russian forces occupied the power plant on the first day of Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.They captured the plant without fighting after sending tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks into Ukraine from Belarus, Moscow's close ally.Russian soldiers dug trenches and set up camps in areas such as the so-called Red Forest, named after the colour its trees turned from radiation explosion.Their seizure of the defunct plant raised intense fears a military incident could trigger a catastrophic nuclear disaster at the site.Russia's army withdrew around a month into the war, as part of a pullback after failing to encircle and capture the capital Kyiv amid fierce Ukrainian resistance.- New threats -The remains of the plant are covered by an inner steel-and-concrete structure known as the sarcophagus, hastily built after the 1986 disaster.A newer hi-tech outer shell, the New Safe Confinement, was installed in 2016-2017, designed to eventually replace the sarcophagus, which was not intended to be a permanent solution.The massive metal outer structure was punctured by a Russian drone in February 2025, losing its ability to contain radiation.In a report published in April, Greenpeace said as the outer shell "cannot be repaired at the moment, it cannot function as it was designed, there's a possibility of radioactive releases."Repairs are expected to take around three to four years.Another Russian strike could see the radiation shelter collapse, the plant's director told AFP in December 2025.- Exclusion zone -The area around the plant was evacuated and became an exclusion zone, with abandoned towns, fields and forests.In total, more than 2,200 square kilometres in northern Ukraine and 2,600 square kilometres in southern Belarus are effectively uninhabitable.People will not be able to safely live there for the next 24,000 years, the IAEA says.The city of Pripyat, three kilometres from the plant with a population of 48,000 residents in 1986, was completely evacuated.It remains abandoned, with its empty decaying buildings -- including a rusting amusement park and ferris wheel -- resembling a post-apocalyptic ghost town.Before Russia's 2022 invasion, guided visits to the site were possible, but for nearly three years the area has been closed to tourists.Without human presence, the area has effectively become a vast nature reserve, where the rare and endangered Przewalski horse was reintroduced in 1998.

Syria to begin trying Assad-era figures Sunday, justice ministry official says-Cases against security officials and militia leaders accused of atrocities signal first test for Syria’s new justice system-By AFP Today, 8:45 pm-APR 25,26

Trials of prominent figures from the rule of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad are set to begin Sunday, a justice ministry official told AFP on Saturday, starting with a former security official.Najib is the former head of political security in south Syria’s Daraa province, the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising, and is accused of orchestrating a crackdown there. He is also a cousin of the ousted leader.The ministry official said trials would follow for Wassim al-Assad — another of the former president’s cousins — and Amjad Youssef, the main suspect in a 2013 massacre who was arrested this week, as well as “pilots who took part in bombing Syrian cities and towns.”Syria’s civil war began with a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests and spiralled into a 13-year conflict that killed more than half a million people.Assad’s forces pounded rebel-held areas, including with airstrikes and crude barrel bomb attacks, while tens of thousands of people disappeared, some into the country’s brutal prison system.Next Sunday marks the start of the public trial of Atef Najib, Assad’s cousin and former security chief in Daraa, who led the 2011 crackdown on peaceful protesters that catalyzed 14 years of brutal repression. This marks a critical step towards justice and accountability for… pic.twitter.com/wZYrAAzNRo — Syrian Emergency Task Force (@syrianetf) April 24, 2026-Since seizing power in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities have repeatedly announced the arrests of former officials, vowing to provide justice and accountability for Assad-era atrocities.Assad fled to Russia with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom reportedly went abroad or took refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority.Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said Friday on X that the Damascus criminal court was ready “for the moment that victims have long waited for: the start of public trials,” calling them “part of the transitional justice process.”Rights groups, activists and the international community have repeatedly emphasized the importance of transitional justice in the war-ravaged country.

Hezbollah fires rockets at north, Israel hits terror targets in Lebanon amid shaky truce-None hurt as terror group targets Israeli communities; military says it killed several gunmen who posed a threat to troops By Emanuel Fabian,ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 5:39 pm-APR 25,26

A steady exchange of Hezbollah attacks and Israeli strikes persisted in northern Israel and southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite the extension of the tenuous ceasefire between the warring sides by several more weeks.Two rockets and a drone were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel on Saturday afternoon, activating sirens in several towns. The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted the drone and one of the rockets, while a second rocket struck an open area. No injuries were caused.The military also said it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” over an area of southern Lebanon where Israeli troops are deployed. It said the target was suspected to be a Hezbollah drone.In another incident, Hezbollah launched several explosive-laden drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon. The IDF said the drones exploded near the forces, but did not cause any injuries.The terror group has made use of small first-person view (FPV) drones in its attacks on Israeli troops. Some of the drones are guided using a spool of fiber optic cable, which mitigates efforts to electronically jam their signal.“The Hezbollah terror organization has again blatantly violated the ceasefire agreement,” the military said in a statement.At the same time, the IDF said it struck and killed several Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon.In one incident, the military said it struck and killed “three Hezbollah terrorists who were traveling in a pickup truck armed with weapons.” The strike took place in Yohmor, just north of the Israeli-held security zone.In another case, in the security zone, the military said it struck and killed a “terrorist riding a motorcycle.” Two more Hezbollah armed operatives, who were identified by troops in the security zone, were killed in an airstrike, the military said.The IDF said all the operatives “posed a threat to IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon.”Additionally, the IDF said it struck several buildings used by Hezbollah, including the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, in the southern Lebanon security zone. The buildings were used by Hezbollah for storing weapons and carrying out attacks, the IDF said.“The buildings were struck to remove a threat to IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians,” the military said in a statement.Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes in the south had killed four people.The Israeli Air Force also struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon overnight, the military said. The launchers were struck in the towns of Deir ez-Zahrani, Kfar Reman, and Sammaaiyeh, all north of the IDF-held security zone. The military said the launchers “posed a real threat to IDF troops and Israeli civilians.”The incidents came despite an ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, which US President Donald Trump said Thursday night would be extended by three weeks, while noting that Israel could carry out strikes in Lebanon in self-defense.The IDF has said that since the truce took effect on April 17, it has killed over 30 Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops, and destroyed hundreds of the terror group’s sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been carrying out multiple attacks per day on Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon amid the ceasefire, while claiming that it is responding to alleged Israeli violations of the truce.Trump announced the ceasefire extension after hosting Israeli and Lebanese envoys for the second round of the two countries’ highest-level negotiations in decades. The sides in a joint statement agreed on the “urgent need” to revive a November 2024 ceasefire deal that required the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accused Hezbollah of trying to sabotage the truce.“We have begun a process to achieve a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it is clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this,” he said in a statement. “We are maintaining full freedom of action against any threat, including emerging threats. We struck yesterday, and we struck today. We are determined to restore security to the residents of the north.”The negotiations are the first direct, sustained contact in decades between Israel and its northern neighbor, which have technically been at war since 1948, when Israel was established.The first round of negotiations took place on April 14. Two days later, Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which is set to expire on Sunday. The ceasefire came as Iran warned that Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon could upend the ceasefire that Trump announced with the Islamic Republic on April 8.Israel and Hezbollah have continued exchanging smaller-scale blows, accusing each other of violating the Lebanon ceasefire.Israel has pushed troops deeper into Lebanon and carried out massive airstrikes there after Hezbollah started firing rockets at Israel on March 2 for the first time since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. That agreement ended over a year of conflict initiated by Hezbollah, during which Metula was largely evacuated and heavily damaged by rocket fire.The terror group has said it renewed its attacks in response to both Israel’s continued attacks and presence in Lebanon since that agreement, and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran on February 28.

IDF says Gaza strike killed Oct. 7 attacker; local officials report 13 dead in attacks-Military says series of strikes targeted imminent threats to troops; Palestinian officials say woman, pregnant with twins, and two children killed in strikes on homes near hospital By Emanuel Fabian,ToI Staff and AP Today, 11:05 pm-APR 25,26

The IDF said Saturday that a recent airstrike in central Gaza killed several Hamas operatives who planned attacks on Israeli troops, including a terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, as Palestinian officials reported that at least 13 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the enclave the same day.The strike on Thursday targeted a cell of Hamas operatives who planned “imminent” attacks on Israeli troops stationed in central Gaza, according to the IDF.The military and Shin Bet security agency said the strike killed Hazem Rami Ali Aidi, a commander of a Hamas cell who invaded Israel during the October 7 attack. It also killed Ibrahim Mansour, a Hamas platoon commander and a “key figure” in the terror group’s efforts to restore its capabilities, and Maher Tantawi, a Hamas intelligence operative.In a separate incident, the IDF said on Saturday that it struck and killed armed Palestinian terror operatives in the southern Gaza Strip the day prior, who were planning to carry out “imminent” attacks on troops.Troops on Friday identified a pickup truck “carrying several armed terrorists,” the military said, adding that “the terrorists were working to advance imminent” attacks on soldiers stationed in the Strip.The terror operatives were then targeted in an airstrike “to remove the threat,” the IDF said.Gaza’s civil defense agency, run by Hamas, said Saturday that Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory on Friday had killed at least 13 people, including a woman pregnant with twins and two of her children, who died when Israeli artillery struck residential homes near Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals published the names of 12 of the 13 victims. The 13th victim was reported as a 12-year-old whose identity could not immediately be confirmed.Khalid Al-Tanani of Beit Lahiya recalled the series of strikes that killed his wife and two of his four children: “With the first shell, thank God we all survived and were calling out to each other. Then they fired the second, third and fourth shells one after the other. Their voices fell silent.”“I went inside and found my wife, Islam Al-Tanani, martyred, and my son, Hamza, and Naya in her mother’s arms,” he said. “I found them martyred.”The children were 4 and 13 years old, he said.Hamza’s 13-year-old twin survived, along with another of the couple’s children. Al-Tanani said they had just started talking about gathering baby items and clothes for the twins.“You took my soul with you, Hamza, you took me with you and broke me, Hamza,” his grandmother sobbed during the funerals held on Saturday.In a separate incident, eight people, including a child, were killed and several others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a police vehicle in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, the Hamas-led agency said. According to the territory’s Hamas-run interior ministry, two of those were police officers.In a third attack, an Israeli aircraft struck another police patrol in Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban center, killing two people identified as police officers and injuring two others, it added.According to the interior ministry, the strike targeted members of the Hamas police force while they were patrolling near a police station in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza City. Two men were also killed in the strike, according to Palestinian reports.The IDF confirmed a strike in the area on Friday, saying it struck and killed several armed Hamas operatives who “posed a threat” to Israeli forces stationed nearby in the northern Gaza Strip.The operatives were targeted in an airstrike “to remove the threat to our forces,” the military said in a statement.Kites fly in from Gaza, raising concernsA kite apparently flown from the Gaza Strip landed in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Friday, the second such incident in recent weeks, according to the border community.“In the past two weeks, two kites that crossed from the Gaza Strip were located and landed within the kibbutz area. For the residents of Nahal Oz, this is a serious incident that illustrates that the security reality has not changed sufficiently,” the community said in a statement on Saturday.Starting in 2018 and over a period of several years, Palestinian terrorists repeatedly launched kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices at Israeli border communities, setting fire to wide swaths of land.In response to a query, the IDF said that it located a kite on Friday in Nahal Oz.“No suspicious findings were identified on the kite,” the military said.The IDF said the incident is still under review, while a military source said that the kite likely came from the Gaza Strip.

 UNIFIL: 2nd peacekeeper dies of wounds from apparent IDF attack-Amid truce, Hezbollah attacks IDF in south Lebanon; troops kill 6 gunmen in Bint Jbeil-IDF also strikes buildings from which terror group launched rocket barrage at north shortly before Trump announced ceasefire extension; Israeli drone downed over Tyre By Emanuel Fabian-24 April 2026, 9:44 pm

Hezbollah carried out several attacks on Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon on Friday, as the Israel Defense Forces published footage showing six of the terror group’s gunmen being struck after exchanging fire with troops in the town of Bint Jbeil.Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order and carried out strikes in southern Lebanon in response to a rocket barrage that the Iran-backed terror group fired at Israel late Thursday.The incidents came despite an ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, which US President Donald Trump said Thursday night would be extended by three weeks, while noting that Israel could carry out strikes in Lebanon in self-defense.The IDF has said that since the truce took effect on April 17, it has killed over 30 Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops, and destroyed hundreds of the terror group’s sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been carrying out multiple attacks per day on Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon amid the ceasefire, while claiming that it is responding to alleged Israeli violations of the truce.Trump announced the ceasefire extension after hosting Israeli and Lebanese envoys for the second round of the two countries’ highest-level negotiations in decades. The sides in a joint statement agreed on the “urgent need” to revive a November 2024 ceasefire deal that required the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah.On Friday morning, six Hezbollah gunmen were killed in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, the military said.Bint Jbeil is located in the Israeli-held security zone in southern Lebanon. The IDF assessed that, as the ceasefire took effect last week, several Hezbollah operatives remained holed up in the town after more than 100 were killed during the fighting there in recent weeks.The military said that soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade spotted fresh food and military equipment at the entrance to a building in Bint Jbeil’s “kasbah,” or fortified quarter.The paratroopers sent in a drone and a dog from the Oketz canine unit to scan the site before the soldiers entered. The dog revealed the position of the six gunmen before being shot dead by them.The soldiers then surrounded the building and identified the gunmen fleeing to the rooftop using the drone.Within an hour and a half of the initial identification, all six gunmen were killed by troops with light arms, tank shelling and an explosive drone. The IDF said that at least two of the gunmen were killed by the paratroopers, with the other four killed in the strikes. No Israeli soldiers were hurt.The incident was a “blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF said.Separately, the IDF said Friday morning that it struck buildings used by Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese towns of Khirbet Selm and Touline in response to the terror group’s late-night rocket barrage on the northern border community of Shtula.The buildings were used by Hezbollah to advance attacks on troops and Israel, according to the military.The IDF also ordered residents to evacuate a southern Lebanon town from which the attack on Shtula was launched.“Hezbollah’s terror activities and the launching [of rockets] from the village force the IDF to act against it in your area of residence,” army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warned residents of Deir Aames, which is located north of the Israeli buffer zone.Adraee called on the residents to “immediately” evacuate their homes and move at least a kilometer from the village, which is located outside of the Israeli-held security zone in southern Lebanon.The IDF later said it struck buildings in Deir Aames that Hezbollah used to launch the barrage on Shtula. Lebanese state media reported three Israeli strikes in the town. No casualties were reported.On Friday afternoon, sirens sounded in several border communities in the Western Galilee, warning of a Hezbollah drone attack from Lebanon. The IDF said it shot the drone down before it crossed the border from Lebanon.Elsewhere in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah launched several explosive-laden drones at Israeli troops stationed in the Israeli-held security zone.The IDF said the drones struck near the forces, but no injuries were caused.Another suspected drone was identified over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are stationed, according to the military. The IDF said it lost contact with that drone, indicating that the drone crashed.“The Hezbollah terror organization once again blatantly violated the ceasefire agreement,” the IDF said.Hezbollah, in several statements, said it had targeted troops operating in the villages of Qantara and Ramyeh, located in the Israeli buffer zone.The terror group has made use of small first-person view (FPV) drones in its attacks on Israeli troops. Some of the drones are guided using a spool of fiber optic cable, which mitigates efforts to electronically jam their signal. According to military officials, the FPV drones have ranges of up to 15 kilometers.The Israeli military separately confirmed that one of its own drones was shot down by a Hezbollah anti-aircraft missile over Tyre in southern Lebanon on Friday afternoon. Footage published by Lebanese media showed the immediate aftermath of the interception.“The incident is under investigation,” the IDF said.Hezbollah took responsibility for the incident, saying it shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle.Also on Friday, troops also struck surveillance equipment at a Hezbollah rocket-launching site in the southern Lebanon town of Kounine, the IDF said, adding that the equipment “posed a direct threat to the forces operating in the area.”In another incident, the IDF said it struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in the southern Lebanon towns of Yater and Kafra, which are located north of the Israeli-held security zone.The launchers “posed a threat to IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the military said.Amid the Hezbollah attacks on troops and Israel, the mayor of Metula, Israel’s northernmost town, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of cowing to Trump’s ceasefire.Some northern municipal leaders have expressed skepticism about the diplomacy and urged the government to wipe out Hezbollah, which has rained hundreds of rockets and drones a day on their region.Writing on Facebook earlier Friday, Metula Mayor David Azulay said: “This morning we woke up to another day in our dismal reality.”“We got a message from President Trump about three more weeks of ceasefire. I didn’t know he’s the leader of the State of Israel,” said Azulay, adding that Netanyahu was “trapped in (Trump’s) bear hug.”A separate statement from Azulay said the city had put up US flags in a jab at the government’s purported subservience to the White House. “It’s sad that the government of Israel and its head are losing our independence as an independent, sovereign and democratic state,” the statement read.Later Friday, breaking a nearly day-long silence on the ceasefire, Netanyahu said Israel was “maintaining full freedom of action against any threat” in Lebanon, and accused Hezbollah of seeking to “sabotage” peace talks between Israel and Lebanon.“We struck yesterday and we struck today. We are determined to restore security to the residents of the north,” he said.Meanwhile, Lebanese lawmaker Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, called on Beirut to “withdraw” from the direct talks with Israel.“The authorities ought to feel ashamed before their people and withdraw from what has been called direct negotiations with the Zionist enemy,” he said, adding that “any official contact or meeting bringing together the Lebanese and Israeli sides amid the ongoing war… will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus.”“Any so-called truce that grants the occupying enemy in Lebanon a special exemption to open fire… is not a truce at all, but rather a devious deception and an attempt to dupe others, one that entails covering up Israeli hostility and turning a blind eye to the enemy’s continued violations,” Raad accused.Israel has pushed troops deeper into Lebanon and carried out massive airstrikes there after Hezbollah started firing rockets at Israel on March 2 for the first time since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. That agreement ended over a year of conflict initiated by Hezbollah, during which Metula was largely evacuated and heavily damaged by rocket fire.The terror group has said it renewed its attacks in response to both Israel’s continued attacks and presence in Lebanon since that agreement, and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran on February 28.The ceasefire with Lebanon started on April 16 amid warnings from Iranian officials that failure to stop the fighting there could upend the Iran ceasefire that began on April 8.Separately, on Friday, the IDF published footage that it said demonstrated Hezbollah’s use of ambulances for military purposes.The footage showed weapons troops found inside ambulances bearing the logo of the Risala Scout Association, a paramedic group affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.❗️EXPOSED: Hezbollah’s use of ambulances for terror Hezbollah uses ambulances and medical teams as cover for transporting weapons and operatives, undermining the special protections granted to medical facilities and equipment under international law. During IDF searches in… pic.twitter.com/h9qCVu1pBs — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 24, 2026-The IDF said Hezbollah “systematically and repeatedly uses medical facilities and equipment — particularly ambulances — to conceal terrorist activity,” including by using “vehicles and medical teams as cover for transporting weapons and operatives, thereby undermining the special protections granted to medical facilities and equipment under international law.”During an incident this week, the IDF said, several armed Hezbollah operatives were killed in the Qantara area after violating the ceasefire terms and posing a threat to troops. During scans in the area following the incident, troops of the Golani Brigade located “an ambulance used by the terrorists to conceal weapons,” including explosive devices, mortar shells, magazines and a grenade, the military said.In another incident this month, troops of the 7th Armored Brigade killed an RPG-wielding Hezbollah operative near an ambulance. The IDF said, “Weapons were uncovered inside the ambulance, which had been used by the terrorist to establish himself in the area and carry out attacks from a ‘protected’ position.”Additional footage released by the IDF showed what it said were Hezbollah operatives who survived Israeli strikes fleeing and hiding until an ambulance arrived to collect them.According to the IDF, Hezbollah has “increased its use of ambulances to transport operatives between locations while disguising their identities,” due to Israeli warnings to Lebanese civilians ahead of strikes, which make it “harder for Hezbollah operatives to blend in with non-combatants and move throughout the area.”UNIFIL says 2nd peacekeeper dies of wounds from apparent Israeli strike-An Indonesian peacekeeper died Friday from wounds sustained in an apparent Israeli strike on one of the observer force’s bases in southern Lebanon last month. Another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed during the incident.“UNIFIL deplores the passing today of Corporal Rico Pramudia, who was critically injured following a projectile explosion in his base in Adchit Al Qusayr on the night of 29 March,” UNIFIL said in a statement.Pramudia, who was critically hurt, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Beirut, the multinational force said.Statement on the passing of an Indonesian peacekeeper injured last month: UNIFIL deplores the passing today of Corporal Rico Pramudia, who was critically injured following a projectile explosion in his base in Adchit Al Qusayr on the night of 29 March. pic.twitter.com/YPJcR7XhBr — UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) April 24, 2026-A UN source told AFP on condition of anonymity that investigations had shown the fire came from an Israeli tank, adding that “debris from a tank round has been recovered” at the site.The IDF has said it is investigating the incident.Times of Israel staff, Lazar Berman and Agencies contributed to this report.

Israeli-American mentalist Oz Pearlman to perform-Trump to attend White House Correspondents Association gala after years of boycott-Journalists urge organizers of Saturday night’s event to protest Trump’s bid ‘to trample freedom of the press’ during presidency By Helen Coster Today, 3:46 pm-APR 25,26

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US President Donald Trump, famous for his clashes with reporters and denunciations of the “fake news” media, will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday — his first time as president.Every year since its inception, the WHCA has invited the sitting president to its annual celebration of press freedom. Except for Trump, all have attended at some point during their presidencies.After Trump boycotted the black-tie event in his first term and in 2025, his participation this year has become both the subject of surprise and high anticipation in Washington, particularly given the president’s combative, complicated relationship with the press.He has filed lawsuits against media outlets, dismissed coverage as “fake news” and personally attacked journalists. His administration banned the Associated Press from the White House press pool and restricted reporters’ access at the Pentagon, among other moves.Yet, he also provides reporters with far more access than his recent predecessors, regularly speaking to journalists on his cell phone and answering their questions during frequent press appearances.Some within Washington’s press corps object to Trump’s presence at the Washington Hilton on Saturday.“Trump’s entire presidency is, of course, an affront to a free press,” HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Whitney Snyder wrote in a column explaining the outlet’s decision to skip the dinner.Over 350 individual former and current journalists, including former network news anchor Dan Rather, as well as groups including the Society of Professional Journalists, signed a letter calling for the WHCA to use the dinner as an opportunity to “forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”The letter noted that some journalists plan to wear pocket handkerchiefs or lapel pins featuring the words of the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech.The WHCA said the dinner reinforces the importance of press freedom. “As we mark America’s 250th birthday, our choice to gather as journalists, newsmakers and the president in the same room is a reminder of what a free press means to this country and why it must endure,” WHCA President Weijia Jiang said in a statement.“Not for the media or the president, but for the people who depend on it.”A White House spokesperson referred Reuters to Trump’s March 2 Truth Social post, in which the president said that he previously skipped the event because the press was “extraordinarily bad” to him, but accepted this year.“In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday,” he wrote, “and the fact that these “Correspondents” now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!”For many Trump chroniclers, the dinner holds a fabled place in his story. As a private citizen in 2011, Trump attended the dinner when Democratic President Barack Obama roasted him from the stage. Trump appeared not to take the jokes well, giving rise to a storyline that the event helped crystallize Trump’s decision to run in 2016, a theory Trump has denied.Israeli-American mentalist/mindreader Oz Pearlman will be the entertainment after the Correspondents’ Association decided to forgo the traditional comedian hosting the event.The president is due to speak on Saturday for about 40 minutes, and is likely to have some choice words for the press seated in the audience alongside Washington’s political power players.His remarks will follow a series of escalating confrontations with news organizations. Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to investigate ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over on-air remarks and urged stations to drop his show or face possible fines and license revocations.This week, the New York Times reported that the FBI began investigating a New York Times reporter after she wrote a critical story about its director. The FBI said that the New York Times story is not true.Trump has filed and settled lawsuits with ABC and the parent company of CBS over their coverage, while suing the Wall Street Journal over an article describing a birthday card to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump’s signature. Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed that defamation lawsuit.The birthday card story is one of several from the Journal that the WHCA is honoring Saturday.Dinner starts with red carpet arrivals at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Saturday and Trump will speak after 10 p.m.Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report

Turnout low as Palestinians in West Bank and part of Gaza vote in local elections-Only 21.2% of registered voters cast ballots in Strip’s Deir el-Balah area, with first vote there since 2006 seen largely as a test for possible future polls By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 11:05 pm-APR 25,26

Palestinians in the West Bank and part of central Gaza voted on Saturday in municipal elections, the first since the Gaza war erupted, marked by low turnout and a narrow slate of contenders.Nearly 1.5 million people were registered to vote in the West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission (CEC).“We are very pleased to exercise democracy in spite of the many challenges we face, both locally and internationally,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told journalists after voting in Al-Bireh, according to the official Wafa news agency.Early Saturday, a steady trickle of voters headed to polling stations in the West Bank, as foreign diplomats observed the process.By 5 p.m., turnout in the West Bank reached 40.62 percent, the CEC said. But participation in Deir al-Balah was significantly lower, at just 21.2 percent, by the time polls closed there at 6 pm.In the previous municipal elections in March 2022, turnout was 53.7 percent in West Bank cities. Voting in the West Bank ended at 7 pm, with a notable late surge of women voters in Jericho, an AFP journalist said.“We will elect someone who can improve the local community… things like water and repairing the streets,” said Manar Salman, an English teacher in the city. “We don’t receive much support from outside, and the occupation affects us in many ways… it limits what the municipality can do.”Some questioned the election’s timing.“We didn’t want elections at this time — not with war in Gaza and settler attacks ongoing in the West Bank,” said Ziad Hassan, a businessman from Dura Al-Qaraa village. “The decision was imposed on us, and so we are compelled to elect an administrative body for the village council.”Israeli settler attacks have surged across the West Bank in recent months.“The main thing is security from settlers. That’s why we need new faces, young people willing to fight for our rights,” said Abed Jabaieh, 68, former mayor of Ramun village.Most electoral lists were aligned with Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah movement or composed of independents. Hamas, Fatah’s bitter rival and the ruling power in Gaza, which took control of Gaza in a violent coup against Fatah in 2007, was absent from the race.In many municipalities, Fatah‑backed lists faced off against independents supported by smaller factions such as the Marxist‑Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, designated a terror group by Israel, the US and the European Union.Municipal councils oversee water, sanitation, and local infrastructure but do not enact legislation. Still, with presidential or legislative elections frozen since 2006, councils have become one of the last remaining democratic mechanisms under the Palestinian Authority.The PA faces widespread criticism over corruption, stagnation and declining legitimacy. Western and regional donors have increasingly tied financial and diplomatic support for the PA to reform, particularly in local governance.The European Union called the vote an “important step towards broader democratization and strengthened local governance… in line with the ongoing reforms process.”The polls closed earlier in Deir al-Balah to allow for counting in daylight because of the lack of electricity in the war-devastated Strip, the CEC told AFP.Public infrastructure, sanitation and health services in Gaza are all struggling to function after two years of war left swaths of Gaza destroyed.Under Hamas control since 2007, Gaza experienced its first vote since the 2006 legislative elections that the Islamist terror group won.The PA is holding elections only in Deir al-Balah to test its “success or failure, since there are no post-war opinion polls,” said Jamal al-Fadi, a political scientist at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University.It was chosen as one of the few areas where the population has not been massively displaced.After voting there, Mohammed al-Hasayna, 24, said that although the elections were largely symbolic, they served as a sign of people’s “will to live.”“We are an educated people with strong determination, and we deserve to have our own state,” he told AFP. “We want the world to help us overcome the catastrophe of war. Enough wars — it is time to work towards rebuilding Gaza.”

US accuses Southern Poverty Law Center of defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants-Civil rights group defends its now-defunct program; charges come after FBI cut ties with organization for listing slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s group as extremist By Collin Binkley, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and Rebecca Boone Today, 11:47 am-APR 25,26

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to secretly pay leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups for inside information, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said.The US Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with more than $3 million paid to informants through a now-defunct program to infiltrate white supremacist and other extremist groups.Prosecutors allege some of the money was used by extremists to carry out other crimes, but court papers did not include specific examples.“The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Blanche said.The civil rights group faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case brought in the federal court in Alabama, where the organization is based.The indictment came shortly after the SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its disbanded informant program to gather intelligence on extremist group activities.The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement.The SPLC said it “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work” against what it described as false allegations. The group said its informant program saved lives.“Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do,” interim CEO and president Bryan Fair said in a statement.“The actions by the DOJ will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the Civil Rights Movement becomes a reality for all,” said Fair.A program that dated back to the 1980s-The US Justice Department alleges the SPLC made false statements to banks in order to set up accounts used to funnel money to informants. The group created bank accounts for fictitious entities such as “Fox Photography” and “Rare Books Warehouse” that were used to send money from donors to informants, in a scheme to conceal the money’s actual purpose, the indictment alleges.Prosecutors say the group never disclosed to donors details of the informant program.“They’re required to under the laws associated with a nonprofit to have certain transparency and honesty in what they’re telling donors they’re going to spend money on and what their mission statement is and what they’re raising money doing,” Blanche said.The indictment includes details on at least nine unnamed informants were paid by the SPLC through a secret program that prosecutors say began in the 1980s. Within the SPLC, they were known as field sources or “the Fs,” according to the indictment.One informant was paid more than $1 million between 2014 and 2023 while affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance, the indictment said. Prosecutors say another informant was a member of the “online leadership chat group” that planned the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.The informant attended the rally at the direction of the SPLC, according to the indictment, and helped coordinate transportation for several others. That person was allegedly paid more than $270,000 between 2015 and 2023.The SPLC said the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”The center has been targeted by Republicans-The SPLC, which is based in Montgomery, Alabama, was founded in 1971 and used civil litigation to fight white supremacist groups. The nonprofit has become a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan.The investigation could add to concerns that Trump’s Republican administration is using the Justice Department to go after conservative opponents and his critics. It follows a number of other investigations into Trump foes that have raised questions about whether the law enforcement agency has been turned into a political weapon.The SPLC has faced intense criticism from conservatives, who have accused it of unfairly maligning right-wing organizations as extremist groups because of their viewpoints. The center regularly condemns Trump’s rhetoric and policies around voting rights, immigration and other issues.The center came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brought renewed attention to its characterization of the group that Kirk founded and led. The center included a section on that group, Turning Point USA, in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” that described the group as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was severing its relationship with the center, which had long provided law enforcement with research on hate crimes and domestic extremism. Patel said the center had been turned into a “partisan smear machine,” and he accused it of defaming “mainstream Americans” with its “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.US House Republicans hosted a hearing centered on the SPLC in December, saying it coordinated efforts with former US President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration “to target Christian and conservative Americans and deprive them of their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.”

As Pensacola’s oldest synagogue turns-APR 25,26

PENSACOLA, Florida (JTA) — Mention the Jewish exodus to Florida, and people immediately think Miami Beach, Boca Raton, or Aventura.But it was here in Pensacola — along the Gulf Coast’s fabled “Redneck Riviera” — that German-speaking Jewish pioneers first put down roots in the Sunshine State. In 1876, when Pensacola’s Temple Beth El was founded, Florida had 200,000 inhabitants, just 2,000 of them Jews.Today, Florida is home to 24.3 million people, and a Jewish population exceeded only by New York and California. Most of the state’s 762,000 Jews reside in three South Florida counties — eclipsing much older congregations in Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Pensacola that thrived long before the advent of air-conditioning and interstate highways.Pensacola is home to only about 1,800 Jewish adults, according to the American Jewish Population Project — a number that has remained constant for a century. Yet locals in this laid-back resort in Florida’s Panhandle, more than 600 miles northwest of the bustling Jewish communities of South Florida, say it is ripe for a Jewish renaissance.“I’d like to make the case that this is also Florida, even though we’re only 10 miles from Alabama,” said Rabbi Joel Fleekop, 47, spiritual leader of Beth El since 2012. “The cost of living here is very low, we have no traffic or congestion, and there are plenty of good jobs.”Pensacola also has three synagogues: a Chabad House, an Orthodox-style congregation, and Beth El, which this month marks the 150th anniversary of its founding, with a weekend of prayers, local art, Israeli music, and dancing.Beth El’s celebration began on Friday with a Shabbat service led jointly by Fleekop and Cantor Richard Cohen, former director of the Hebrew Union College’s School of Sacred Music and a Pensacola native.In a sermon, Fleekop told the story of the children’s book “Bone Button Borscht,” in which a wandering man helps the people of an impoverished town to create soup from their own meager ingredients that somehow taste far better together than separately.“For 150 years, this temple — our temple, Temple Beth El — has thrived because similar to the people making soup in the story, its members have contributed and done what they could to nourish and enhance and better our community,” he said. “Our founding families, like the man who set up the pot, provided the vision that this little corner of the world could have a thriving Jewish community. Others provided the resources to build the sacred spaces our congregation has called home and to keep on the lights and, this being Florida, the air conditioning also on.”Summarizing the wide range of contributions that members have made over the decades, Fleekop also noted changes that Temple Beth El experienced over the last 150 years: the number of stars on the American flag grew, the Israeli flag was created, the amount of Hebrew in the service increased; and congregants are wearing “fewer neckties and fewer fancy hats” but more kippahs and tallits than they once did.“Inevitably, each generation had its own taste and so added their own ingredients, the spiritual equivalent of maybe some okra, or zaatar, or even some sriracha,” he said to laughs. “At 150 years, our congregation is no doubt very different from what was imagined at its inception. … The soup that is our temple has gone from a Bavarian borscht to a Gulf seafood gumbo to a gluten-free, Asian fusion matzah ball soup. But in many ways, in the most essential ways, we are still the same congregation.”The following evening, a gala dinner featured dancing and a live band. And on Sunday morning, congregants toured Pensacola’s Jewish cemetery, where the oldest tombstone dates from 1874 and many inscriptions are in Hebrew and German, as well as English.Among those buried in the cemetery is Florida’s first Jewish mayor, Adolph Greenhut, who served from 1913 to 1916 — two decades after his stint as Beth El’s president. Beth El also takes great pride in having been home to the nation’s first de facto female rabbi, Paula Ackerman, in the 1960s.“There were really very few Jews in South Florida until the 1940s. People can’t believe there was a thriving Jewish community here at the turn of the century,” said Bill Zimmern, 74, a native Pensacolan like his mother and grandmother, whose wife, Beverly, was once mayor of suburban Gulf Breeze.That community was born after the Civil War, when Jews settled in Milton — a northwest Florida lumber hub — bringing their skills from heavily wooded areas of Bavaria and southern Germany. They began relocating to Pensacola in the 1870s as the city developed.Zimmern added that nearby Naval Air Station Pensacola, home to the Blue Angels, has long welcomed Jews to the area, and that many Jewish men and women in uniform who were once stationed there eventually settled in Pensacola and joined the congregation.Beth El’s first home was a wooden structure on Chase Street in downtown Pensacola, but it burned down in 1901 and all records of the shul’s first 25 years of existence disappeared in that fire. It was later rebuilt near what is today the on-ramp for Interstate 110, but closed in 1931 when its members inaugurated the current synagogue on nearby Palafox Street, and the previous structure became a roller-skating rink.Soon after Beth El’s founding, Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe — mainly traders and merchants — settled in the area, and they were not especially happy with its Reform services. So in 1899, they parted ways and established B’nai Israel as an Orthodox synagogue.In 1923, congregants bought a house and converted it into a house of worship; by 1953, they had finally raised enough money to construct the building it currently occupies, according to Yehoshua Mizrachi, B’nai Israel’s rabbi.At the time, it also chose to affiliate with the Conservative movement, then the largest denomination in the United States. It remained part of the movement until about a decade ago, separating after the Conservative movement opted to ordain gay rabbis and sanction same-sex marriages.“I am the 19th rabbi to hold this pulpit, and all but three or four of them were Orthodox,” said Mizrachi, 62. Originally from Lakewood, New Jersey, he said B’nai Israel’s membership consists of 60 to 70 families, compared to 185 families at Beth El.“This congregation is independent, so they dropped their affiliation 10 years ago. When they hired me, I told them not to expect me to do anything to compromise my personal integrity as a Jew,” Mizrachi said.Even so, the rabbi added, “we are not an Orthodox congregation. We have mixed seating and women are called to the Torah. In all other aspects, this shul operates according to the standards of halacha,” or Jewish law.Rabbi Mendel Danow runs the Pensacola Chabad Jewish Center along with his Israeli-born wife, Nechama, from a 120-year-old house less than a mile from B’nai Israel. Between 500 and 600 people are on his mailing list, he said.“A lot of Jews here are unaffiliated. They don’t have that natural connection,” said Danow, 30. The best way of drawing them in is by inviting them to Friday night services and Shabbat dinner; anywhere from 20 to 80 people usually show up, he said. “It’s laid back. Davening [prayer] is shorter, dinner is longer. It’s been a very important part of our community.”Danow is clear-eyed about the challenges of living an observant Jewish life in Pensacola.“There’s no kosher restaurant within a 400-mile radius. The closest is in Jacksonville or Atlanta,” he said. “Obviously, we’re not the first destination for an Orthodox Jew looking to move to Florida.”But he is trying to make things easier. His Chabad recently opened Pensa-Kosher — a mini-market for the handful of locals who strictly observe Jewish dietary laws. He and his wife, who have six children together, run a Hebrew school with close to 20 students, as well as a preschool with 10 children. And they are trying to support the few Jewish students at the nearest university.“When we moved here, one of the first things we noticed was a lack of Jewish life on campus, so we started a Chabad student club at the University of West Florida,” Danow said.With Pensacola enjoying a relatively low cost of living and ranking high when it comes to job growth, beach quality and even the density of Waffle House restaurants, the city is growing — and Chabad is bursting out of its current home. Early next year, it will relocate to a larger complex two blocks down the street. Among other things, the new facility will include a synagogue, Hebrew school, and Pensacola’s first full-service mikveh, or ritual bath.Danow said any antisemitism in the city is dwarfed by support for Israel and Jews.“Three years ago, a gang of four teenagers threw a brick through our window, and ‘Heil Hitler’ was spray-painted on the brick,” he recalled. “But after [the bloody Hamas invasion of southern Israel on] October 7, [2023], people began dropping off flowers and giving donations. There was such a sense of sharing in our pain. People would stop me on the street to say, ‘We’re praying for Israel.’”Mizrachi shared similar experiences. “There’s a church on every street corner. People are very pro-Israel here,” he said. “Strangers stop me in the supermarket and tell me they love Israel. It happens all the time.”The front lawn of Zimmern’s best friend, Charles Kahn, 74, a retired federal judge, boasts two signs: “Go Gators” — a reference to his alma mater, the University of Florida — and “We Stand With Israel.”“Right after October 7, I got that sign,” Kahn said while sipping coffee as he sat on his porch overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. “My neighbor on one side is a retired Navy captain. He asked for one also, and my other neighbor on the other side asked for one too — and then the people across the street, then two houses down. We ended up with five of them just on this street.”Kahn is a past president of Beth El, as is his wife Janet. Their Reform synagogue is by far the largest Jewish house of worship in the city.“We’re a full-function, mainstream Reform synagogue. We follow Reform rules, and our house of worship is a place where people who disagree on politics can still be friends,” said Fleekop, a Philadelphia native who grew up in Reno, Nevada, and moved to Pensacola 13 years ago. His wife, Andrea, runs the temple’s School for Jewish Living, which has 55 children enrolled.“We welcome the LGBTQ community. Some gay and lesbian Jews who were rejected elsewhere have found themselves here at Beth El,” he said. “We also have a lot of Jews by choice.”One of them is Nichole Friedland, 51, a Pensacola-born nurse who was raised Catholic but converted to Judaism 16 years ago — on Easter Sunday no less — under Fleekop’s guidance. She’s now the vice-president of Beth El and treasurer of the Pensacola Jewish Federation.“Most of our congregants are either interfaith or have converted to Judaism,” said Friedland, who, with her husband, is raising a blended family of eight kids. “I wanted my children to have a good foundational religion, and Judaism made the most sense to me. It was, and is, the correct choice.”The federation, based inside Beth El, is entirely volunteer-run and rarely publicizes events or occasions — a sharp contrast to the vibe in the Jewish metropolises of South Florida.But Mizrachi sees potential for Pensacola in some of the same forces that are luring Jews to Boca and Aventura — including unhappiness among New Yorkers with the city’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani.“After Mamdani’s win, a lot of people are thinking of moving to Florida,” Mizrachi said. “But instead of going to Dade or Broward, they should consider Pensacola. There is Jewish life here.”

Report: New US immigration policy could see green card applicants rejected for anti-Israel social media posts.

Would-be immigrants to the United States could now have their green card applications rejected for expressing anti-Israel sentiment on social media or participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, according to a New York Times report, which cites internal documents distributed within the Department of Homeland Security.According to the Times, the documents include updated training material that instructs agency employees to reject applications for a green card — a US permanent resident visa — if the applicant is found to have expressed opinions or beliefs deemed by the administration to be “anti-American.”The report notes that although ideology has always played a part when vetting a green card applicant, it had previously only impacted people belonging to Communist or other totalitarian parties, or who had supported calls to overthrow the US government.Now, however, the report says immigration officers have been instructed to reject applications from anyone with a history of “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.”One example cited as potential grounds to reject an application was a mock-up of a social media post demanding to “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine,” the Times says.Another example seen by the Times showed a map of Israel with the country’s name crossed out and replaced with “Palestine,” while another is said to have called for revenge on Israel for the war in Gaza.DHS also told immigration officers to pay particular attention to anyone who took part in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel campus protests in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and subsequent war in Gaza, the report says.

EU approves 20th sanctions package against Russia and $105 billion loan to Ukraine-Russia vows to retaliate after sanctions imposed on ​oil and gas, the linchpin of Russia’s economy; loan to Ukraine comes just before the war-torn state was set to run out of money-By Agencies 24 April 2026, 7:58 pm

The European Union formally approved on ‌Thursday new sanctions against Russia and a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine ahead of an informal summit of the bloc’s leaders in Cyprus, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended.This is the EU’s 20th package ​of sanctions against Russia over ​Moscow’s war in Ukraine in February 2022.More than 40 ships believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, illicitly transporting oil, were targeted as part of the sanctions, furthering ⁠restrictions on the transportation of Russian ​oil and gas and sanctions against ​oil producers and refineries.Oil revenue is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.A number of banks were targeted, and a ban was imposed on Europeans using Russian cryptocurrency.Asset freezes were slapped on around 60 more “entities” — often companies, government agencies, banks, or other organizations — adding to a growing list of more than 2,600 Russian officials and entities already under sanctions, including Putin, his political associates, oligarchs, and dozens of lawmakers.The EU has been trying since February to push through a new raft of sanctions against Russia to undermine its war effort, but Hungary and Slovakia were blocking those measures over an oil feud with Ukraine.The feud began in January when Russian oil deliveries to the two EU countries were halted after a pipeline was damaged. Ukrainian officials blamed the damage on Russian drone attacks. Both countries confirmed Thursday that deliveries have resumed.Russia responded on Friday, saying that new EU ​sanctions on its oil and ‌gas would hurt developing countries and the EU itself, and promised to retaliate.“All this is happening amid a global energy crisis and resource shortages that ​are being acutely felt in most ​regions of the world,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman ‌Maria ⁠Zakharova told reporters at her weekly press conference.“By attempting to further destabilize energy markets, Brussels is hurting both itself ​and developing ​countries, which ⁠are no longer able to afford energy at artificially inflated ​prices.”She said the sanctions also ​threatened ⁠food security as they included restrictions on fertilizers.“We will take retaliatory measures. They ⁠will ​be tough, designed in ​accordance with our interests,” Zakharova added.Russian diplomats on Friday also denounced the sanctions.“We would like to remind you that only ​sanctions imposed by the decision of the UN Security Council are legitimate,” state news agency TASS quoted a statement ​by diplomats at Russia’s mission to the ​European Union.“All others are unilateral coercive measures, and ​essentially — arbitrariness and aggression that contradict international law and the ‌UN ⁠Charter.”Ukraine gets loans-The loan is set to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s needs for the next two years. Economists had said Ukraine would start to run ​out of money by June if the EU loan was not disbursed by then, requiring deep cuts to public ​services.The political greenlight for the loan package came after Russian oil began flowing to Hungary and Slovakia again through the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Ukraine. Populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico welcomed that development as “good news.”“While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to ⁠the brave Ukrainian nation, enabling Ukraine to defend itself and putting pressure on Russia’s war economy,” European Commission chief Ursula von ​der Leyen said.“Promised, delivered, implemented,” European Council President António Costa posted on social media. A few hours later, as he arrived to chair a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, Costa told reporters that the priority now must be to advance Ukraine’s quest to join the bloc.Standing alongside him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his European partners for their support. “We will work to make sure the funds are delivered as soon as possible,” he said. “This will strengthen, of course, first of all our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow us to boost production.”The Iran war-EU leaders also discussed the war in ​the Middle East, energy measures in response and the EU’s next long-term budget.They were joined by ⁠leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Gulf Cooperation Council for lunch on Friday.The European Commission set out plans on Wednesday to cut electricity taxes and coordinate the summer refill of countries’ gas storage, as it seeks to cushion the energy fallout from ⁠the Iran war.The ​published plans show the EU will, for now, avoid major market interventions ​such as capping gas prices or taxing energy companies’ windfall profits – measures it used in 2022 when Russia cut gas supplies and prices hit record highs.

EU, US sign critical minerals plan to counter China reliance.

Washington, United States, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2026-The European Union and United States signed an agreement Friday to coordinate on the supply of critical minerals needed for key industries including defense, as China's dominance becomes a growing concern.The pact marks a rare embrace by President Donald Trump's administration of the role of the EU, which it often berates as it instead champions right-wing populists within Europe.Flexing its muscle at times of tension, Beijing has restricted exports of critical minerals needed for products including semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries and weapons systems."The overconcentration of these resources, the fact that they're dominated by one or two places, is an unacceptable risk," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he signed a memorandum of understanding with EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic.Sefcovic told a separate press briefing that the agreement "formalizes our partnership across the entire value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing, refining, recycling and recovery."- Cost of dependency -On concerns that China could retaliate against a potential critical minerals deal involving multiple parties, Sefcovic said: "For us, it's really a matter of economic security. It's a matter of overcoming dependencies."From recent experience, "we know how dependencies could be expensive, and we have a huge price tag for being dependent on the sources of our fossil fuels," he added."We simply want to learn from that experience and have a much more diversified portfolio of suppliers," Sefcovic said.Rubio noted that the United States and the EU combined are "the largest customers and users" of critical minerals."We have to make sure that these supplies and these minerals are available for our futures and in ways that are not monopolized in one place or concentrated heavily in one place," Rubio added.An action plan said that the EU and United States would explore setting minimum prices on critical minerals -- effectively preventing China or other outside powers from flooding the market with inexpensive exports.They will also look at coordinating any subsidies and stockpiles of critical minerals, and could coordinate joint standards to ease trade across the Western world, and together invest in research.The US Trade Representative's office said this plan will be the main mechanism to "coordinate trade policies and measures on critical minerals supply chains with a view to concluding a binding plurilateral agreement on trade."The Trump administration has previously called for a preferential trade zone among allies on critical minerals.Washington has also unveiled critical minerals action plans with Mexico and Japan, alongside a supply framework with Australia and others.

China slaps export curbs on European firms over Taiwan arms sales.

Beijing, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2026-China has imposed restrictions on seven European entities related to the defence sector, Beijing said Friday, citing their involvement in alleged arms sales or "collusion" with Taiwan.The measures, which took effect immediately, are needed "to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation", the commerce ministry said in a statement.The curbs apply to companies including Belgian guns manufacturer FN Herstal and German defence electronics firm Hensoldt, as well as the national aerospace research and development centre in the Czech Republic, VZLU Aerospace.They prohibit exports of "dual-use items" to the seven named entities or transfers of such items that originated in China by "foreign organisations and individuals", the statement said."Any ongoing related activities must be immediately ceased," the statement said.Applications could be submitted to the commerce ministry "in special circumstances where export is truly necessary", it added.Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take control of it one day -- by force if necessary.In a separate statement, an unnamed commerce ministry spokesperson said that the measures target "only a small number of EU entities involved in military-related activities, specifically those that have participated in arms sales to Taiwan or engaged in collusion with Taiwan"."Law-abiding and trustworthy EU entities have absolutely no cause for concern," the statement added.Beijing has tightened export controls in recent years, complicating access overseas to Chinese technology and products in certain strategic areas.In February, the commerce ministry imposed export controls against 20 Japanese entities, ramping up pressure on Tokyo in the midst of heightened political tensions sparked by comments on Taiwan in November by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.Prior to that, China's curbs on rare earth exports last year sparked global concerns over supply, also giving Beijing crucial leverage in trade talks with Washington.The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China warned in a report earlier this month that Beijing's stringent export controls -- particularly on rare earths -- are posing a "long-term business risk".

CORRECTED: Russia pounds Ukraine's Dnipro for 20 hours straight, killing eight.

Kyiv, Ukraine, April 25 (AFP) Apr 25, 2026-Russian barrages of drones and missiles pounded Ukraine's central-eastern city of Dnipro for 20 hours straight, killing eight people and wounding dozens, local authorities said on Saturday.The attack -- the largest ever on the city -- began overnight and lasted well into the afternoon, coming in waves that hit homes, businesses and energy infrastructure."20 hours... For more than 20 awful hours, the Russians attacked Dnipro in waves. They struck with missiles and drones," said military governor of the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Ganzha.Dnipro's mayor Borys Filatov described the barrage as "the largest-scale attack on Dnipro."Rescuers spent hours sifting through debris despite the ongoing strikes, clearing out the rubble of bombed apartment buildings and searching for survivors and bodies, photos from the Ukrainian emergency service showed. One apartment building was struck twice at different times, authorities said.The attack killed eight people and wounded 49, including two children. Among the wounded was the mayor's deputy, who was "nearly killed", Filatov said. Another ten people were wounded in the Dnipropetrovsk region.Strikes also hit the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, killing one person and wounding four in a civilian minibus, said regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov.Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 619 drones and 47 missiles overnight, adding that most of them had been repelled.Russia has recently shifted from largely nighttime air raids to longer, periodic strikes that begin overnight and stretch well into the day.- 'Massive strike' -Russia's defence ministry said it had "launched a massive strike" on Ukrainian military targets over the past 24 hours. Moscow denies having targeted civilians throughout the four-year war.Following the barrage, a drone crashed in Romania, a NATO and EU country bordering Ukraine, local authorities said. More than 200 people were evacuated as a precaution, and British fighter jets stationed inRomania were scrambled.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on a visit to Azerbaijan, called for a stronger international response to Russia's attacks."It is important that the world does not remain silent about what is happening and that this Russian war in Europe is not overshadowed by the war in Iran," he said on social media."We count on the timely implementation of each of our political agreements to strengthen air defence," he added.The industrial hub of Dnipropetrovsk lies more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the front line, which snakes through eastern and southern Ukraine.Russian troops have captured a sliver of territory in the wider Dnipropetrovsk region, which is not one of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed after its invasion.- Attacks on Russia -In recent months, Kyiv has stepped up its own retaliatory attacks on Russia, hitting civilians and energy infrastructure among other targets.Ukrainian drone attacks over the past 24 hours wounded one person in Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, governor Alexander Khinshtein announced Saturday on Russia's state-sponsored messenger app Max.The governor for Russia's neighbouring Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a woman had been killed and a man seriously wounded in a drone attack on a car, and a man driving a tractor wounded in another strike.A rare Ukrainian drone strike hit an apartment high-rise in Yekaterinburg, a large industrial city in Russia's heartland more than a thousand miles away from Ukraine, said local governor Denis Pasler. No one was seriously hurt in the attack, he added.Three people were killed after Ukrainian drones struck a village in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region, said Moscow-installed governor Leonid Pasechnik.On the front line in Ukraine, the Russian army claimed to have captured the village of Bochkove in the Kharkiv region.Diplomatic efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II are at a standstill with US mediation efforts diverted by the outbreak of the Middle East war in February.