Important Takeaways:
- A dangerous Venezuelan gang has taken over at least four apartment complexes in San Antonio, Texas, as it expands its reach in yet another America city, DailyMail.com can reveal.
- Dubbed the ‘epitome of evil’, Tren de Aragua (TdA) is known to run drug smuggling, child prostitution and human trafficking rings in South America, with its members crossing over into the US in recent years amid a wave of Venezuelan migrants.
- The tattooed mobsters have since unleashed a wave of crime across the country from Miami and Texas to Denver and New York.
- The gang’s activities in the American cities are back in the spotlight after ABC News’ Martha Raddatz claimed the instances of gang members’ presence in apartments was limited to a ‘handful’ of complexes in Aurora, Colorado.
- Just last week a small army of police officers raided an apartment complex in San Antonio and arrested 19 individuals – including four gang members.
- Law enforcement sources confirmed TdA had been operating at the Palatia Apartments for five to six months – squatting in empty units they either rented out to other migrants, used as a base to deal cocaine or, most horrifically, as prostitution dens to pimp out women and children.
- But now DailyMail.com can reveal that this apartment invasion is just the tip of the iceberg in the major southern Texas city, with at least three other rental properties also occupied by the criminal organization.
- com is not naming the three other apartment complexes to avoid jeopardizing ongoing police investigations.
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Important Takeaways:
- The US has issued a stark ultimatum to Israel, warning it must relax restrictions on the flow of aid into and around Gaza lest it face being cut off from arms imports.
- The threat, delivered in a letter penned by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, constitutes Washington’s strongest warning to Israel over the worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestine enclave.
- Washington’s top diplomat cited the strict controls Israel is imposing, including ‘burdensome and excessive’ restrictions on import materials and the denial of most humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza.
- ‘Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy… and relevant US law,’ the letter concluded, citing a section of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military aid to countries that impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
- It comes at a time when the threat of escalation in the Middle East appears at an all-time high.
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Important Takeaways:
- North Korea blew up parts of two major roads connected to the southern part of the peninsula on Tuesday, South Korean authorities said, after Pyongyang warned it would take steps to completely cut off its territory from the South.
- Parts of the Gyeongui line on the West coast and Donghae line on the East coast, two major road and railway links connecting the North and South, were destroyed by explosives at around 12 p.m. Korean local time, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
- In practical terms, the destruction of the travel routes makes little difference – the two Koreas remain divided by one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders and the roads were not in use for years. But its symbolism comes at a time of particularly fiery rhetoric between the two Korean leaders.
- North and South Korea have been separated since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement. The two sides are still technically at war, but both governments had long sought the goal of one day reunifying.
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Important Takeaways:
- The US Embassy in Beirut is calling on Americans to leave Lebanon as soon as possible as the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies.
- “US citizens in Lebanon are strongly encouraged to depart now,” the embassy said in a notice to citizens on Monday. “US citizens who choose not to depart at this time should prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further.”
- Just 1,100 of the estimated 86,000 Americans who live in Lebanon have fled the nation so far, with the US setting aside thousands of seats on flights out of Lebanon since Sept. 27, according to the State Department.
- The embassy, however, warned that the flights “will not continue indefinitely,” urging all Americans in Lebanon to make a decision sooner rather than later.
- Embassy officials stressed that any plans for those who choose not to leave “should not rely on the US government for assisted departure or evacuations.”
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Important Takeaways:
- The purpose for the balloons’ GPS capabilities isn’t clear, but none of the possibilities are good news for South Korea.
- Among the balloons being sent across the border from North Korea to the South are examples carrying GPS transmitters, according to the Republic of Korea military. Waves of excrement and trash-filled balloons have been sent over South Korea since the summer, but the latest development suggests that the North is also using them for limited intelligence-gathering, perhaps in preparation for future contingencies, or to develop more balloon-based military capabilities. The announcement comes only days after Pyongyang accused the South of sending multiple waves of drones over the North Korean capital to drop propaganda leaflets, as you can read about here.
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says that GPS transmitters were found in some of the North Korean balloons. Although it’s unclear when exactly these balloons were sent, there have been no previous reports of them carrying such devices, since the current campaign began.
- A balloon of this kind cannot have its course altered based on returned GPS data, but the equipment could have other implications of varying degrees of impact.
- Tracking balloon movements over time would show North Korea the kinds of routes they are taking, how far they can travel, and at what speeds.
- By their nature, the balloons are very likely to be intact once they come down — provided they are not shot down — meaning that the signal can still be transmitted, at least until it descends below the receiving station’s horizon. Local cellular networks could also be leveraged for sporadic communication.
- However, if the balloons are brought down by South Korean air defenses, resulting in a sudden loss of connectivity, it’s the resulting data could also help to highlight potential strong and weak spots in the country’s defensive coverage.
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel is ‘the most concrete threat to regional and global peace’ says Erdoğan
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told local media on Saturday that Russia, Iran and Syria should do more to protect Syria’s “territorial integrity.”
- “It is essential that Russia, Iran and Syria take more effective measures against this situation, which poses the greatest threat to Syria’s territorial integrity,” Erdoğan said when asked about the recent alleged Israeli airstrike in the nation’s capital, Damascus.
- Shortly after the Hamas invasion and massacre of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Turkish president canceled a planned trip to Israel and refused to condemn Hamas.
- “Hamas is not a terror organization,” Erdoğan said at the time. “It is waging a battle for its land.”
- In November, Erdoğan slammed Israel’s ground incursion into Gaza, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the butcher of Gaza.”
- In May 2024, at Erdoğan’s urging, Turkey announced that it was halting all trade with Israel. That same month, it announced it would join South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
- The country also sent its intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, to Doha, Qatar to meet with Ismail Haniyeh, then the political leader of Hamas.
- In July, Erdoğan appeared to threaten an invasion of Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza during a party speech.
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Important Takeaways:
- The UNSC “emphasized the need for diplomatic endeavors that would bring a durable end to the conflict and allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes.”
- The United States, which has typically blocked such measures, backed the statement. The carefully worded statement did not mention either Israel or Hezbollah, but rather referred to “the parties.”
- UNSC members expressed their “deep concern for civilian casualties and suffering the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the rising number of internally displaced people.,” Baeriswyl said. “They called on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law,” she added.
- Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said, “We will continue to strike Hezbollah without mercy everywhere in Lebanon – including Beirut. Everything is according to operational considerations.
- “We have proven this recently and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well,” he stated prior to holding security consultations later that night in the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.
- For the second day in a row, he also called on the United Nations to remove the peacekeepers from the border during the IDF operation to remove Hezbollah from that area.
- [Netanyahu] “Hezbollah uses UNIFIL facilities and positions as cover while it attacks Israeli cities and communities. These attacks have claimed the lives of many Israelis, including yesterday,” Netanyahu said as he referred to the Hezbollah drone that attacked an airbase in Israel, wounding 63 people and killing four.
- “Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah and will continue to do so,” Netanyahu stated.
- “We regret any harm done to UNIFIL personnel and the IDF is doing its utmost to prevent such incidents,” he stressed.
- “But the best way to assure the safety of UNIFIL personnel is for UNIFIL to heed Israel’s request and to temporarily get out of harm’s way,” Netanyahu said.
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Important Takeaways:
- “It’s going to go down as one of the biggest failures in food history. Business schools will be presenting lessons on lab-grown meat,” says Julian Mellentin, a food consultant whose company has advised alternative protein companies – and told them not to do it.
- But in what may be the most shameless pivot that a startup sector has ever made, it now wants you and me, the taxpayers, to bail them out of their folly. And guess what: the Government is sympathetic.
- Since the first lab-grown burger was demonstrated more than a decade ago, billions of pounds have been thrown at the technology. It involves extracting cells derived from animal fetuses and cultivating the cells in sterile bioreactors, a process that takes a lot of energy and expense. The resulting slurry is then stretched and shaped to resemble animal tissue, although the backers – who include Bill Gates and Richard Branson – understandably prefer the euphemism “cultivated meat”.
- We were told that this innovation would transform how we eat and farm – but this month, leading industry figures admitted the game was all but up. Which is where you come in.
- In reality, it never stood a chance. The economics were always stacked against meat bioreactors. The process requires pharmaceutical industry-level lab conditions, very expensive nutrients – which amount to about two thirds of the cost – specialized labor and long timescales. Optimistically, producers would be doing well to hit $63 (£48) per kilo wholesale as a break-even price, one study found. That made the output not remotely competitive with premium meat products.
- SCiFi Foods, backed by the band Coldplay and Andreessen Horowitz, closed down this year. Israel’s Aleph Farms has laid off 30pc of its staff. Upside Foods cancelled its plans for its first production bioreactor.
- But the real reason is not so much economics as it is lack of demand, expressed in the form of public disgust.
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Important Takeaways:
- Florida could see another hurricane in the next week as tropical storm ‘Nadine’ moves through the Atlantic.
- The National Hurricane Center (NHC) revealed Monday that the low-pressure storm has a 50 percent chance of developing into a hurricane as it produces ‘some disorganized showers and thunderstorms.’
- Meteorologists are closely monitoring Nadine’s path, finding it could hit the Sunshine State within the next seven days or take another route toward Mexico and Central America.
- This comes just days after Hurricanes Helene and Milton rocked the southeast coast, bringing torrential flooding and tornadoes from Florida up to North Carolina.
- It’s unclear if the tropical storm will definitively develop into a a hurricane or when, but meteorologists are continuing to monitor it as it approaches the coast.
- The NCH also said the storm has a 10 percent chance of growing into a hurricane within the next 48 hours.
- The storm’s strength depends on how long it spends over water which could allow it to grow and develop into a hurricane.
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Important Takeaways:
- China insisted on Monday it would never renounce the “use of force” to take control of Taiwan, after ending a day of military drills around the self-ruled island that Beijing said was a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces.
- Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory, deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle the island in its fourth round of large-scale war games in just over two years.
- The United States said China’s actions were “unwarranted” and risked “escalation” as it called on Beijing to act with restraint.
- China declared the drills over at around 6:00 pm (1000 GMT), about 13 hours after they had begun.
- “We sincerely strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force and will not leave any space for ‘Taiwan independence'” Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian said soon after.
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