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)
THE POPE BLESSED A GIANT ICE BERG CUBE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE.AND HAMAS PEACE PLAN OR GET BOMBED.
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.
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.
THE ISRAEL HATING KILLER, PEDOPHILE ISLAMIC DEATH CULT BURN IN HELL FIRE FOREVER HAMAS REPLYS TO TRUMPS GAZA PLAN.
Hamas
replies to Trump-Full text: Hamas’s response to Trump plan for ending
Gaza war, returning hostages-Terror group says it agrees to release all
Israeli hostages, living and dead, ‘according to the exchange formula’
in Trump proposal, ‘provided the field conditions are met’ and enter
talks on details of the deal-4 October 2025, 10:14 am
The
following is the text of Hamas’s October 3, 2025, response to US
President Donald Trump’s September 29, 2025, “comprehensive plan to end
the Gaza conflict”:In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most
Merciful-In an effort to halt the aggression and war of extermination
being waged against our steadfast people in the Gaza Strip, and based on
national responsibility and concern for the fundamentals, rights, and
supreme interests of our people, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
has held in-depth consultations within its leadership institutions,
extensive consultations with Palestinian forces and factions, and
consultations with mediators and friends to reach a responsible position
in dealing with US President Donald Trump’s plan.After a thorough
study, the movement made its decision and submitted the following
response to the mediating brothers:The Islamic Resistance Movement,
Hamas, appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well
as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for an end to the
war on the Gaza Strip, an exchange of prisoners, the immediate entry of
aid, the rejection of the occupation of the Gaza Strip, and the
displacement of our Palestinian people from it.In this context, and in
order to achieve a cessation of hostilities and a complete withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip, the movement announces its agreement to release all
Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange
formula contained in President Trump’s proposal, provided the field
conditions for the exchange are met. In this context, the movement
affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the
mediators to discuss the details of this agreement.The movement also
renews its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip
to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on
Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.The other
issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal regarding the future of
the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people are
linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant
international laws and resolutions. They are to be discussed within a
comprehensive Palestinian national framework. Hamas will be part of it
and will contribute to it with full responsibility.
Hamas denies
it has begun gathering hostages' bodies-Hamas faces ‘complete
obliteration’ if it clings to power in Gaza, warns Trump-President said
to tell Netanyahu, ‘You’re always so f*cking negative. This is a win.
Take it’; negotiators head to Egypt; PM tells bereaved families deal
will not progress until all hostages freed-By Lazar Berman,Nurit
Yohanan-and Jacob Magid-5 October 2025, 9:09 pm
Hamas faces
annihilation if it tries to cling to power in Gaza, US President Donald
Trump warned on Sunday, as Israel and the Gaza terror group sent
delegations to Egypt ahead of talks on Trump’s plan to return the
hostages and end the war.Trump’s warning to Hamas came as reports
emerged that the US president held an acrimonious call with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he reportedly became annoyed at
the Israeli leader, telling him to stop being “so fucking negative.”
Israeli sources downplayed the disagreement.Asked by CNN on Sunday what
would happen if the terror group will not relinquish power, Trump
responded by text, “Complete obliteration!”The terror group has said
repeatedly it does not want to remain the sole ruler of Gaza, but it has
not consented to its total disarmament and has demanded some role in a
future Palestinian state.Speaking to reporters later in the day at the
White House, Trump expressed optimism that the deal was going to move
ahead, despite serious gaps between Israel and Hamas on core elements of
his plan.“We don’t need flexibility, because everyone has pretty much
agreed to it,” said Trump. “But there’ll always be some changes,” he
added.“You get the hostages back almost immediately. Negotiations are
going on right now, will probably take a couple of days,” he
continued.Guarded optimism over an agreement also came from the
relatives of hostages held in Gaza, and Muslim countries that are in
contact with Hamas.But the negotiations face obstacles: Hamas said it is
prepared to release the hostages it is holding, but is expected to make
additional demands regarding the Israeli military’s withdrawal from the
Strip, and the terror group’s leadership is reportedly split over the
deal. Netanyahu is likewise working to quell opposition to the agreement
within his own government.After successfully pushing for some changes,
Netanyahu accepted the plan during his visit to Washington last week,
but has been more circumspect than the president.He also “wasn’t happy
with the Hamas response” to Trump’s plan on Friday, an Israeli source
told The Times of Israel.Axios reported earlier on Sunday that Trump
told Netanyahu during a tense Friday call after Hamas responded to the
plan, “I don’t know why you’re always so fucking negative. This is a
win. Take it.”The Israeli source told The Times of Israel that there was
indeed a disagreement, but that it was not acrimonious. “That’s all. He
didn’t think it was a yes. There was a push [from Trump] to accept it
and move forward.”Hamas was surprised by the extent to which Trump
embraced the group’s response to his proposal for ending the war, an
Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.However, the group’s abroad
leadership was also “annoyed” by Trump’s latest threat over the weekend
to blow up the deal if Hamas did not move quickly to release the
hostages, with the Arab diplomat maintaining that Hamas has already
demonstrated goodwill by expressing willingness to release all remaining
hostages, without securing a more significant withdrawal of Israeli
troops beforehand.Hamas is also seeking clarity regarding the terms of
Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in the Cairo talks, the Arab diplomat
said.While the White House published a map demarcating the three phases
of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the Arab mediators understand the
image to be illustrative and are looking to get more clarity regarding
the redeployment of Israeli troops in order to bring Hamas on board, the
diplomat said.PM: Hostages first, or nothing else happensNetanyahu held
a meeting with his negotiating team on Sunday afternoon, before they
flew to Cairo to participate in talks on Monday.Strategic Affairs
Minister Ron Dermer, will lead the team, Netanyahu said late Sunday,
despite earlier reports that Dermer would only join based on progress in
the talks.According to the Kan public broadcaster, US envoy Steve
Witkoff and Trump’s close adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will
not be joining the talks right away.Government hostage pointman Gal
Hirsch will be attending. On Sunday morning, he met the head of the
International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Israel Julien
Lerisson for a “preparatory meeting.”The Red Cross has transferred
hostages out of Gaza during previous rounds of hostage releases and will
likely be called upon to do so again if the current US proposal is
implemented.Meeting with members of the right-wing Gvura Forum on
Sunday, which represents families of soldiers killed in action in Gaza,
Netanyahu said no other element of Trump’s plan will move ahead until
every single hostage is released.“Until the first clause — the release
of all the hostages, living and dead — until the last of the hostages,
all of them, are transferred to Israeli territory, we will not move on
to any other clause,” Netanyahu pledged, according to Hebrew language
media.If Hamas does not release the hostages “by the end of the time set
by President Trump,” he said, Israel will go back on the offensive in
Gaza “with the full backing of all the countries involved.”“Trump’s
pressure is increasing,” he told the group in the 40-minute meeting in
Jerusalem. “Trump will not hesitate to wait longer than he has allotted.
This time, he is determined.”There was no official comment from his
office on the reported remarks.Rubio: Hamas has agreed-US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Hamas has “agreed to the
president’s hostage release framework.”Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the
Press,” Rubio said, “I’m not telling you here that these are people I
trust 100% nor should we. But they have said basically that they agree
to his proposal and the framework for releasing the hostages. That’s an
enormous achievement. They’ve also agreed, in principle, in generality,
to enter into this idea about what’s going to happen afterwards, the
Palestinian technocrats, etcetera.”“We will know very quickly whether
Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the
logistics” of a potential hostage release, said Rubio.Rubio said the US
expects the hostage release to take place “as soon as possible.”“But
priority number one, the one that we think we can achieve something very
quickly on hopefully, is the release of all of the hostages in exchange
for Israel moving back to that yellow line, which is basically where
they stood at the middle part of last month, or of August,” Rubio
explained. “And that’s the one we’re focused on.”On Sunday, Defense
Minister Israel Katz echoed predictions that the hostages could be home
in a matter of days, two years after they were taken captive in the
October 7, 2023, attack that began the war.“We may soon be informed of
the return home of all our hostages, the living and the fallen alike, in
accordance with the initiative of US President Donald Trump, at the end
of which Hamas will be disarmed and the Gaza Strip will be
demilitarized,” Katz said at a memorial ceremony for the Yom Kippur War.
“We now expect the implementation of the first phase in the near future
and the immediate release of all the hostages.”A senior Hamas official
on Sunday said the Palestinian terror group is motivated to reach an
agreement to end the war and exchange the hostages it is holding for
Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli custody.“Hamas is very keen to
reach an agreement to end the war and immediately begin the prisoner
exchange process in accordance with the field conditions,” said the
Hamas official, who was speaking anonymously, as he was not authorized
to speak on the matter.He added, referring to Israel, “The occupation
must not obstruct the implementation of President Trump’s plan. If the
occupation has genuine intentions to reach an agreement, Hamas is
ready.”On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the UAE,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt put out a joint
statement praising Hamas’s “readiness” to meet key demands in the Trump
proposal, expressing their support for an eventual full IDF withdrawal
from Gaza and the return of the Palestinian Authority to the
territory.The diplomats welcomed “the steps taken by Hamas regarding US
President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war in Gaza, release all
hostages, alive or deceased, and the immediate launch of negotiations on
implementation mechanisms.”Whether a deal will be had quickly, however,
remains to be seen. Conflicting reports have emerged this week over
whether Hamas will agree to the plan’s clauses, which would entail the
group releasing all 48 hostages, disarming, and ceding control of
Gaza.According to Trump’s plan, Israel is expected to release 250
Palestinian prisoners with life sentences and more than 1,700 detainees
from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7, 2023.A Hamas
source told the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya that Hamas operatives in Gaza
have begun collecting the bodies of the dead hostages across the Strip,
and that the organization demands that Israel halt its aerial strikes so
that they are able to complete the task. Hamas later denied that it had
begun gathering bodies.The report also said that Hamas has received
American guarantees requiring Israel not to resume the war and to
withdraw IDF forces from the strip.The sources also claimed that Hamas
has agreed to hand over its weapons to a Palestinian–Egyptian body under
international supervision — a claim that Hamas sources later denied.The
report was not confirmed by any other source.
Hostage families
pray, sing together at Hostages Square-As negotiators head to Cairo,
Trump urges ‘first phase’ of Gaza deal this week-The president urges all
sides to ‘MOVE FAST’ toward an agreement, as Hamas reportedly prepares
to make additional demands and Netanyahu said trying to placate his
right-wing allies-By Jacob Magid,Nurit Yohanan,Jessica Steinberg and
Nava Freiberg-Today, 2:59 am-OCT 5,25
A delegation of Hamas
officials led by the terror group’s leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in
Egypt on Sunday night to begin negotiations on Washington’s plan to end
the war in the Gaza Strip and free the remaining hostages, as US
President Donald Trump implored all parties to move fast toward an
agreement.Israel’s delegation, led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron
Dermer, also departed for Cairo on Sunday night, even as Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu was still attempting to keep his right-wing coalition
allies on board with Trump’s ambitious 20-point plan and prevent them
from jumping ship and bringing down his coalition.Disapproval within
Netanyahu’s coalition is not the only obstacle to reaching an agreement:
Hamas has said it is prepared to release the hostages it is holding,
but is expected to make additional demands regarding the Israeli
military’s withdrawal from the Strip and the release of Palestinian
security prisoners in exchange for the hostages.According to Trump’s
plan, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life
sentences and more than 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip who were
arrested after October 7, 2023.The sides have not agreed on which
prisoners will be released, although Channel 12 news reported on Sunday
evening that Hamas was demanding the release of several of the most
notorious Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.Hamas “won’t give up” on
securing the release of these terrorists, Channel 12 quoted a Hamas
source as saying, “even at the cost of dooming the deal.”The terror
group, on Sunday night, confirmed that it had arrived in Cairo “to begin
negotiations on mechanisms for a ceasefire, withdrawal of occupation
forces, and prisoner exchange.”Despite the non-insignificant bumps that
can be expected on the road to an agreement, Trump struck an upbeat tone
on Sunday night, saying that there had been “very positive discussions”
between Hamas and Arab and Muslim interlocutors over the weekend aimed
at securing the release of the hostages, ending the war in Gaza and
achieving “PEACE in the Middle East.”“These talks have been very
successful, and proceeding rapidly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding
that “technical teams” will meet again on Monday in Egypt to “work
through and clarify the final details.”“I am told that the first phase
should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST,”
Trump said, although it was not immediately clear what he meant by
“first phase” and whether he was suggesting that hostages will begin
being released this week.“I will continue to monitor this Centuries old
‘conflict,'” the president said, and reiterated his warning to Hamas to
act speedily in an all-cap addendum at the end of his post: “TIME IS OF
THE ESSENCE OR, MASSIVE BLOODSHED WILL FOLLOW — SOMETHING THAT NOBODY
WANTS TO SEE!”He later told reporters outside the White House that the
effort to secure the agreement “looks like it’s working,” but cautioned
that the US would “wait for a little while, [and] see how it all turns
out.”“I think it’s going to go very quickly. We’ll let you know soon,”
the president added.Among the requirements laid out in Trump’s plan for
the Gaza Strip is a demand for Hamas to disarm. As to how this will play
out, however, “must be addressed within a Palestinian framework,”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday.Speaking to the
Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, he expressed hope that the Palestinian
Authority’s security apparatus would assume the task of controlling Gaza
after an unspecified transitional period, framing the possibility as a
political horizon toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.He
said Cairo was also seeking to define the limits of authority for the
international force expected to enter the Strip under the plan, and
noted that, eventually, the same force would also need to enter the West
Bank to link the two areas — Gaza and the West Bank — and to support
the Palestinian Authority’s security mechanisms.The Palestinian
Authority’s future involvement in the governance of the Gaza Strip and
the potential path to Palestinian statehood are the two key issues that
Netanyahu’s far-right allies have taken issue with.Far-right lawmakers
stand down — for now-But on Sunday evening, Channel 12 reported that
Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir and Religious Zionism chair Bezalel
Smotrich had given the premier leeway to facilitate at least the
implementation of the first phase of Washington’s plan, and would not
bring down his government over the matter, or at least, not yet.The two
demanded assurances from Netanyahu that Israel would be able to continue
to fight Hamas if the terror group does not disarm in the second phase
of the agreement, the outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the
matter.The first stage of the proposal, as it currently stands, will
enable the release of all 48 remaining hostages, the living and the
dead, and will require the IDF to redeploy to positions that allow it to
continue to oversee Gaza. In the second phase, Hamas will be required
to disarm and Gaza will be demilitarized.In their meeting with the
premier yesterday, National Security Minister Ben Gvir and Finance
Minister Smotrich focused on the second phase of the deal, Channel 12
reported, and sought “explicit guarantees” from Netanyahu that Israel
would be able to resume fighting if Hamas refused to disarm.Netanyahu
reportedly gave the ministers the impression that if Hamas does not
disarm, Israel will be able to act — though such a guarantee does not
appear anywhere in the US proposal’s current 20 points.Despite this,
anonymous sources said that the two men left the meeting feeling that
Netanyahu had not provided sufficient assurances on the issue. Still,
they decided that for the time being, they would give him more time to
carry out the agreement, but warned that they would not tolerate Hamas
restoring its capabilities in Gaza.Ben Gvir had said the day before that
his faction would leave the government if Hamas “continues to exist”
after the hostages are returned.On top of the pressure at home from his
far-right allies, mounting reports have suggested that Netanyahu is also
facing pressure abroad, from none other than Trump himself.Reports of
tensions between the two men began to emerge after Trump welcomed
Hamas’s response to his proposal on Friday night, in a move that was
said to have caught Netanyahu off guard, as he had been preparing to
declare the terror group’s response to be a rejection of Trump’s
offer.The disagreement over whether Hamas had accepted or rejected
Trump’s plan led the US president to rebuke his Israeli counterpart,
telling him in a tense phone call on Friday to not be “so fucking
negative,” the Axios news outlet reported Sunday.According to a US
official, Netanyahu had told Trump the ambivalent Hamas response, which
welcomed parts of the proposal while hinting at disagreements over other
sections, was “nothing to celebrate.”Adding fuel to the fire, Trump
shared a New York Times article on Truth Social on Sunday, which
detailed how fury over Israel’s botched strike against Hamas leaders in
Doha last month led him to pressure Netanyahu to end the war.Trump did
not offer any commentary when sharing the story on Truth Social, but the
decision to do so further bolstered the narrative about how the US
president has lost patience with Netanyahu.The Prime Minister’s Office
has sought to downplay the notion, insisting that the two are on the
same page regarding Trump’s Gaza plan.Anxiety and hope in Israel and in
Gaza-With top negotiators gathering in Cairo and Trump predicting a
swift procession to the deal’s implementation, the mood on the ground in
both Israel and Gaza was tense, yet still hopeful.In Israel, relatives
of the hostages gathered with former hostages and bereaved relatives at
Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to pray and sing together and express their
hope for an end to the two-year-long nightmare they have
experienced.Julie Kuperstein, the mother of hostage Bar Kuperstein, said
she “can’t get excited yet,” while Sigi Cohen, the mother of former
hostage Eliya Cohen said she felt in her heart that the stage at
Hostages Square would no longer be needed by next week.Sasha Trufanov,
who was released from captivity in February 2025, spoke to the crowd
about the power of the High Holidays — Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur — and
was joined by fellow freed hostage Agam Berger, who performed the
liturgical prayer “Ana b’Koach,” on her violin.Elhanan Danino, the
father of Ori Danino, who was killed by his captors in the tunnels of
Gaza in August 2024, spoke about Yom Kippur in general, and the liturgy
that reflects the great losses and trauma suffered by Israel on October
7, 2023.“Enough, God Almighty, have mercy on your nation who are calling
to you,” said Danino.He noted that while those marking the Yom Kippur
fast went home to full refrigerators to sate themselves after the
24-hour fast, the hostages have been fasting for more than 15,000
hours.“They don’t know what date it is. They don’t know the hour. Every
day is Yom Kippur for them,” said Danino. “If we can’t bring them home
with ammunition, let’s use our prayers so that the living will sit in
the sukkah with their families and the others will be brought to a
proper burial.”In Gaza, too, Trump’s plan has stirred hope for peace,
but there was no let-up of Israeli attacks on Sunday, as planes and
tanks pounded areas across the enclave, killing at least 19 people,
local health authorities said.Four of those killed were seeking aid in
the south of the strip and five were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City
in the early afternoon, they said.The figures could not be
verified.Still, Muin Abu Rajab, 40, a resident of the city’s Al-Rimal
neighborhood, told AFP that there had been “a noticeable decrease in the
number of air strikes” since the previous day, when the IDF was
instructed to move to defensive operations only.“The tanks and military
vehicles have slightly pulled back, but I believe this is a tactical
move, not a withdrawal,” he said.Ahmed Assad, a displaced Palestinian
man in central Gaza, said he had been hopeful when news broke of Trump’s
plan but said nothing had changed on the ground.“We do not see any
change to the situation, on the contrary, we don’t know what action to
take, what shall we do? Shall we remain in the streets? Shall we leave?”
he asked.Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
Hamas
said to demand release of terror chiefs, Oct. 7 terrorists in deal for
hostages-Source says terror group to fight for release of life-termers
‘even at the cost of dooming the deal,’ wants deeper initial IDF
withdrawal and is working to ensure PA role in ‘day-after’ Gaza-By ToI
Staff Today, 1:35 am-OCT 5,25
Hamas is set to demand the release
of some of the most notorious Palestinian terrorists, whom Israel has
refused to set free, in talks set to start in Egypt on Monday to
finalize the return of all Israeli hostages in the first phase of US
President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.Citing Hamas
sources, Channel 12 reported that among the terrorists Hamas is
demanding are Marwan Barghouti, the Fatah Tanzim chief serving five life
sentences for his part in planning three terror attacks that killed
five Israelis during the Second Intifada, and Ahmad Sa’adat, leader of
the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP), who was sentenced in 2008 to 30 years behind bars for
masterminding the 2001 assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam
Ze’evi.Hamas was also demanding the release of Ibrahim Hamed, serving
45 life terms for orchestrating the killings of numerous Israelis as
Hamas’s West Bank commander during the Second Intifada, Abbas al-Sayed,
who orchestrated the 2002 bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanya in which
39 Israelis were killed, and Hamas’s Hassan Salameh, who is serving 48
life terms for plotting multiple suicide bombings.Channel 12 cited a
Hamas source saying the terror group “won’t give up” on securing the
release of these and other life-term terrorists, even at the cost of
dooming the deal.”There are currently 303 security prisoners serving
life sentences in Israel.In a separate, unsourced report, the network
said Hamas is also demanding that Israel release terrorists from Hamas’s
elite Nukhba force, who took part in the terror group’s October 7,
2023, invasion and massacre — a demand Israel has consistently
rejected.Speaking to Channel 12, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter — a
cabinet minister and former Shin Bet chief — appeared to indicate that
Israel would be willing to release the convicted terrorists, but raised
doubts about freeing those involved in the October 7 invasion.Dichter
noted that in the past Israel had freed some of the most notorious
terrorists, including Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was
twice released in deals. In 1985, Israel traded him and 1,150 other
security prisoners for three captured IDF soldiers. He was later
rearrested. In 1997, he was released as part of a deal in exchange for
two Mossad officers captured in Jordan while trying to kill Hamas leader
Khaled Meshaal.“I twice brought him to jail and once to the end of his
life,” said Dichter, who was Shin Bet chief when Yassin was assassinated
in an IAF helicopter strike in 2004.Dichter said that while there was
precedent for releasing convicted terrorists, those who participated in
the October 7 massacre had not yet been tried for their crimes.“It’s a
different story,” he said.According to the Hamas sources cited by
Channel 12, the terror group also wants guarantees that there will
ultimately be a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, with a timetable; and
that the IDF’s initial withdrawal be larger than the one shown in a map
issued by Trump on Sunday. Hamas was said to be demanding a withdrawal
to the lines where the IDF was deployed in January during the last
ceasefire.Palestinian sources close to the negotiations were cited by
the Kan public broadcaster saying that Hamas’s top priority was the
depth and timeline of the IDF withdrawal, while long-term issues such as
the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip were on the back burner for the
terror group.Channel 12 further reported that the Hamas negotiating team
under Khalil al-Hayya will hold simultaneous talks with a Palestinian
Authority team, as it seeks to ensure that the initial mechanism for
“day-after” Gaza includes the PA.The report noted a statement by PA
President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday promising PA reforms, including the
formulation of a temporary constitution within three months and
elections within a year. According to Channel 12, Abbas would permit
Hamas to contest those elections only if it accepts Israel’s right to
exist.Under Trump’s plan, the PA — which Israel accuses of incitement to
terrorism in its schools and through payments to terrorists — would
take control of Gaza only after it “has completed its reform program.”
Until then, the plan stipulates that the Strip will be governed by an
international transitional “Board of Peace” led by Trump.The US
president announced his plan on Monday in a joint press conference with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who endorsed the proposal. Trump
accepted Hamas’s response on Friday, which said the terror group agreed
to the hostage-prisoner exchange formula set out in the plan and was
willing to immediately hash out the details with mediators.The formula
would see Hamas release the remaining 48 hostages within 72 hours, in
exchange for 250 life-term Palestinian prisoners; 1,700 Gazans detained
since the October 7 massacre, which sparked the Gaza war; and the
remains of 15 slain Gazans in exchange for each deceased hostage, of
whom there are at least 26, according to the IDF.Hamas’s response said
the release of the hostages would be subject to “field conditions,” and
has indicated that returning the buried, slain hostages within 72 hours
could be difficult due to IDF presence.
'We are not Jews with
trembling knees'Anger, defiance in the UK as October 7 anniversary
colored by Manchester attack-After a terror attack at the Heaton Park
Synagogue on Yom Kippur left two dead and four seriously injured,
memorial events blame government inaction as they remember the fallen-By
Zev Stub-5 October 2025, 11:38 pm
British Jews gathered on
Sunday to mark two years since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacres in
southern Israel with anger, sadness, and defiance in ceremonies that
were heightened by the shock of the deadly terror attack on a synagogue
over the Yom Kippur holiday.Participants lamented that the wave of
antisemitism unleashed after the Hamas attack and subsequent war in Gaza
had been left unchecked in the UK, where rabid anti-Israel and
antisemitic protests have become regular events.In Manchester, where a
knifeman assaulted congregants on Thursday at the Heaton Park Synagogue
in an attack that left two dead and four seriously injured, thousands
gathered under the banner, “We are not Jews with trembling knees.”In
London, Keith Black, chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, told a
crowd of some 3,000 gathered at Trafalgar Square that “antisemitism in
this country is out of control.”“Our streets have been filled with
protesters screaming Jew hatred, our students have faced relentless
waves of abuse on campus,” Black said.“A new concept called ‘ambient
antisemitism’ has entered our vocabulary, a prevailing undercurrent
across society, across a society that has turned against Israel, in
consequence, against us as Jews,” he added.Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
led prayers for the release of the remaining hostages and in memory of
those killed in the attack. Candles were lit in memory of the different
communities that were attacked on October 7, and the names of British
citizens killed in the attack were read.The rally came a day after
nearly 500 people were arrested Saturday at a pro-Palestinian,
anti-Israel protest, also held in London’s Trafalgar Square. In the
aftermath of that event, the British government granted local police
forces the power to restrict repeat protests in the same place,
recognizing the cumulative impact of protests on a local community.In a
video message, British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was kidnapped by Hamas
terrorists on October 7 and held hostage in Gaza for 471 days, urged the
crowd “to use your voice” to secure the hostages’ release, adding: “We
can never give up on them.”Another survivor, Shaun Lemel, who had been
at the Nova Festival, recalled the day “everything changed” within
minutes when things went from “an epic music festival to the most
horrific battlefield.”“At 6:18 a.m., I was dancing and having the time
of my life. At 6:29 a.m., the music stopped,” Lemel said.The images from
that day are seared in our collective memories, said Phil Rosenberg,
president of the Board of Deputies.Defiance in Manchester-Meanwhile, in
Manchester, more than a thousand people attended the ceremony outside
the Manchester Cathedral on a chilly, rainy day, as bolstered security
forces guarded a crowd still fearful after two members of their
community were murdered days earlier.After a six-minute rampage Thursday
morning outside the synagogue, police shot dead the terrorist, a
British man of Syrian descent who counterterrorism police said may have
been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology. The attacker was on bail
over an alleged rape, but had not been charged.“Adrian and Melvin’s
bravery will never be forgotten,” banners proclaimed, referring to the
two victims of the attack, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz.Rabbi Amir
Elituv led prayers and a moment of silence for the victims of both the
October 7 and the Heaton Park attack before blowing the shofar.Marc
Levy, chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater
Manchester, offered condolences to the families of the murdered and
injured, and thanked the security forces that helped prevent the attack
from being even worse.“Being Jewish in the UK over the last two years
has been a very lonely place. We have been screaming about the abuse we
were suffering in all sections of society, and we were largely ignored,”
Levy said. “There are no words that will comfort their families, but I
hope the fact that we are all here united will resonate and provide some
comfort to them.”Raphi Bloom, a prominent community member who attends
Heaton Park Synagogue, blamed Prime Minister Keir Starmer for
emboldening Hamas by recognizing Palestinian statehood last month.“For
two years, our community has faced unprecedented Jew hatred,” including
assault, vandalism, and marches that made city centers effectively
off-limits for Jews, Bloom said.Never has Jewish life in the UK been as
uncertain, and it is not an exaggeration to say that our government’s
demonization of Israel and inaction and failure in tackling
[antisemitism] has played a significant part in allowing this Jew hatred
to flourish and to make many British Jews question in our country,” he
said.“When you fail to act on constant calls to globalize the intifada,
the results are that the intifada came to our Manchester Jewish
community with horrific consequences,” Bloom concluded.Elsewhere in
Manchester, the leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch,
said that pro-Palestinian marches in the country had become “carnivals
of hatred directed at the Jewish homeland.”The terror attack on Yom
Kippur “was not just an attack on British Jews, it was an attack on all
of us,” she told the annual Conservative Party conference.Badenoch
suggested that in the spirit of the Day of Atonement, Britain should
consider where it went wrong, and that one mistake was tolerating
rhetoric at anti-Israel demonstrations that are most plausibly
understood as calls for violence against Jews.“You hear it in the
asinine slogans; you hear it in ‘from the river to the sea,’ as if the
homes and the lives of millions of Jewish people should be erased,” she
said.“You hear it in ‘globalize the intifada,’ which means nothing at
all if it doesn’t mean targeting Jewish people for violence,” she
continued to applause.“We have tolerated this in our country for too
long, and we have tolerated the radical Islamist ideology that seeks to
threaten not only Jews, but all of us, of all faiths and none, who want
to live in peace.”“We must now draw a line and say that in Britain you
can think what you like, and within the bounds of the law you can say
what you like, but you have no right to turn our streets into the
theaters of intimidation, and we will not let you do so anymore!” she
asserted.Trouble brewing for British Jews-The feelings expressed at the
rally outside the Manchester Cathedral were highlighted by a study
published ahead of the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre by
the UK-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) which, found
that 82 percent of British Jews now consider antisemitism a
“significant” problem and nearly half described it as “very big,”
compared to just 11% a decade earlier.The survey of 4,800 adult British
Jews conducted in June and July 2025 found that nearly one-third of Jews
experienced at least one antisemitic incident in 2024, and 35% rated
their safety between 0–4 on a 10-point scale. Trust in UK institutions,
political parties and media is poor, and 45% said they experience
“ambient antisemitism” — hostile media coverage, online comments, and
microaggressions — “frequently” or “regularly.”Increases were noted in
levels of Zionist and Jewish identity, but younger Jews are increasingly
critical of Israel, and disagreements about Israel’s military actions
in Gaza have exacerbated communal tensions, the report found.Times of
Israel staff contributed to this report.
'I'll be honest, I
didn't think we would find anything'Archaeologists unearth
1,500-year-old synagogue below abandoned Syrian village in Golan-A team
from the University of Haifa and Kinneret College identifies an ancient
wall facing Jerusalem and 150 synagogue items, including a stone
engraved with a menorah-By Rossella Tercatin-5 October 2025, 9:58 pm
A
team of Israeli archaeologists has unearthed the remains of a synagogue
in the Golan Heights, roughly dating to 1,500 years ago, the Israel
Nature and Parks Authority and the University of Haifa said on
Sunday.The Yehudiya Nature Reserve, known for its streams, canyons, and
waterfalls, is named after the Syrian village of Yehudiya, which was
inhabited until Israel captured the area from Syria in 1967. The town
likely preserved the name of an ancient settlement that might have had a
Jewish population.For decades, Israeli researchers had surveyed the
village, which contains several stones and architectural elements from
the synagogue incorporated into its houses. However, the synagogue’s
exact location remained a mystery.“The abandoned Syrian village is built
on top of ancient remains,” said Dr. Mechael Osband from the Zinman
Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa and the Department
of Land of Israel Studies at the Kinneret Academic College. “You’d walk
into a house and see a pillar in the middle used as a support for the
roof, or a Doric capital underneath an archway.”Overall, some 150 items
from the synagogue have been documented across the ruins of the village,
including a stone engraved with a menorah.Four years ago, Osband and
his partner, Prof. Haim Ben-David, also from Kinneret College, began a
systematic survey of the site. They mapped out the remains of the
synagogue and the exact locations where they had been found.“After we
mapped out the remains, we told ourselves that we would do two probes
and see if we could figure out where the synagogue was,” Osband told The
Times of Israel over a phone interview. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think
we would find anything.”Osband explained that the finds in secondary
use were scattered across the village, and no researcher had managed to
pinpoint the actual building.The archaeologists first excavated below a
house that had been suggested as a possible location for the synagogue
already 30 years ago, but did not uncover anything.“Then we checked
another place, where three columns had been discovered that were not in
secondary use,” explained Osband. “It was December 2024, and we opened a
3×3 meter survey area. There, we unearthed the base of a column and a
stone floor.”In July, Osband and Ben-David returned to Yehudiya for a
larger excavation, accompanied by students and volunteers.“We found the
southern wall of the building with three entrance ways, and different
architectural elements, so it was clear that we found the spot,” Osband
said. “We are really just beginning the excavation. We have not even
uncovered the northern wall yet. I look forward to seeing what else is
there.”The researchers estimate that the building was approximately 13
meters wide and at least 17 meters long. It was constructed in a
basilica style, featuring a rectangular structure with two rows of
columns and benches along the walls, a common layout in ancient
synagogues in Israel.Among the remains uncovered was a “tabula ansata,”
or a large rectangular stone tablet with dovetail handles.“In Roman and
Greek architecture, they usually carry some writing, but here there is
nothing,” Osband said.The archaeologist noted that the study of the
artifact is ongoing, and it is possible that, with the aid of new
technologies that can highlight faded inscriptions invisible to the
naked eye, some writing might still be identified.The team also found
several stone benches.“The benches were not in their original place, but
in secondary use, or in other words, someone went into the building and
reused it for a different purpose at a later time,” Osband
said.According to Osband, the dating of the synagogue remains
preliminary, as it is based on stylistic considerations of the
architectural elements, which do not allow for precision.“Stylistically,
[the building] is very similar to other synagogues in the area which
date mainly from the late 3rd century to the 7th, 8th centuries [CE],”
the archaeologist explained.“As is the case in many synagogue buildings,
there were probably different stages, possibly beginning in the late
Roman period, and continuing through the Byzantine period, and maybe a
bit later,” he added. “We don’t know yet.”So far, archaeologists have
uncovered the remains of approximately 130 ancient synagogues in the
Land of Israel, with about 30 of them located in the Golan.Osband
explained that two factors likely contributed to the abundance of finds
in the region.“It’s an area where there was continuous Jewish presence
from the Hasmonean period [2nd century BCE] up until the late Byzantine,
early Islamic periods [6th-8th centuries CE],” he said. “In addition,
the Golan has not been as intensely settled over time as other areas
such as the Galilee, so [ancient remains] are preserved better.”The team
plans to return to excavating next summer, hoping to uncover more of
the building and answer additional questions about those who once prayed
there.“Every synagogue has its own story,” Osband noted.He explained
that ancient synagogues in Israel were built in a variety of styles,
especially in the Golan Heights. Therefore, it will be essential for
archaeologists to gain a deeper understanding of the specific features
of the structure in the Yehudiya Reserve.“When was it built? In what
ways is it similar [to other synagogues]? Is it unique? And what does it
say about the community that built it?” he said. “Those are research
questions we hope to address as we uncover more.”
Ukraine says Russia intensifying railway strikes to cut off civilians near front.
Kyiv,
Ukraine, Oct 4 (AFP) Oct 04, 2025-The head of Ukraine's railways said
Saturday that Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on the
network in an attempt to isolate frontline communities ahead of
winter.Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovsky also warned that
Russian drone strikes were becoming more precise, complicating Kyiv's
ability to fend off incoming attacks.Russia launched drones at two
passenger trains in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region on Saturday,
killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian
officials."We clearly see the intensification of enemy attacks on the
railway infrastructure," Pertsovsky told reporters, including AFP."There
is no military purpose whatsoever," he said."The only purpose is to sow
panic among people... that the connection will be destroyed and people
will be left alone," he added.Speaking via video call while on a train
to Shostka, the station that was hit, he said there had been "40 major
attacks" on railway infrastructure since August, "pretty much every
other day".Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Saturday's
attack, which occurred around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Russian
border, "savage".He posted a video showing a mangled train carriage
engulfed in flames with twisted metal and busted windows."The Russians
could not have been unaware that they were striking civilians," he
said.Russia's army has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's railways since
invading in February 2022.Pertsovsky said there had not been a single
week of the war without this occurring.In April 2022, more than 60
people waiting to evacuate the frontline city of Kramatorsk were killed
when a Russian missile crashed into the busy station there.Pertsovsky
expressed particular concern about Russian weapons becoming more
precise, saying that without effective air defence, "it's unfortunately
very easy to imagine that a similar attack could bring way, way worse
results"."They have very precise Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones) that
are targeting individual locomotives; they are able also to target
energy infrastructure very effectively, making many of the tools that
were used for protection ineffective at the moment," he said.Russia has
also stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as the
weather chills.Moscow earlier this week launched its largest-ever strike
on Ukraine's gas infrastructure, while strikes on Saturday cut off
power to some 50,000 households in the northern Chernigiv region.
Iran says cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog 'no longer relevant'
Tehran,
Oct 5 (AFP) Oct 05, 2025-Iran's top diplomat said Sunday that
cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog was no longer
relevant following the reimposition of international sanctions on the
Islamic republic."The Cairo agreement is no longer relevant for our
cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," Foreign
Minister Abbas Araghchi said, referring to a September deal with the UN
agency.The deal had set up a framework to resume cooperation and allow
the watchdog to inspect Iranian sites, after Tehran suspended
cooperation following Israeli and US strikes on its key nuclear sites in
June.But the agreement lost its significance to Iran as Britain,
France, and Germany -- signatories to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal --
triggered the return of the UN sanctions over Tehran's
non-compliance.Tehran had threatened to halt cooperation with the agency
if they sought to reimpose the sanctions."The three European countries
thought they had a leverage in their hands, threatening to implement a
snapback," Araghchi said during a meeting with foreign diplomats in
Tehran."Now they have used this lever and seen the results... the three
European countries have definitely diminished their role and almost
eliminated the justification for negotiations with them."He added that
the European trio "will have a much smaller role than in the past" in
any upcoming diplomacy over Iran's nuclear dossier.Iran accused the IAEA
of failing to condemn attacks conducted by its arch-enemies on its
nuclear installations, despite it being a signatory of the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).Western countries, spearheaded by the
United States and joined by Israel, accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear
weapons and define uranium enrichment as a red line.Iran categorically
rejects the accusations, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for
civilian purposes and that it has a right to enrichment under the
NPT.Some Iranian MPs have floated the idea of leaving the NPT, while
President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran will remain committed to its
obligations under the treaty.Araghchi said Tehran's "decision regarding
cooperation with the agency will be announced", without elaborating,
while adding there was still room for diplomacy.Iran had engaged in
talks with the United States starting in April to reach a new deal over
its nuclear program.However, the June attacks on Iranian nuclear,
military and residential sites by Israel brought the talks to a
halt.Tehran accused the United States of undermining diplomacy and urged
guarantees and recognition of its rights before any possible resumption
of negotiations.
Gaza civil defence says heavy strikes despite Trump appeal.
Jerusalem,
Oct 4 (AFP) Oct 04, 2025-Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday that
Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza
City despite US President Donald Trump's appeal to end bombardments
after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal."It was a very violent night,
during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and
artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite
President Trump's call to halt the bombing," civil defence spokesman
Mahmud Bassal told AFP.Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which
operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in
the overnight bombardments.Gaza City's Baptist Hospital said in a
statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in the
city's Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and several
wounded.Gaza's Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were
killed and eight people wounded in a drone strike on a tent in camp for
displaced Gazans.The peace plan for Gaza, presented by Trump this week
and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a
ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas's disarmament
and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.Hamas said on Friday it was
ready to release hostages held in Gaza under the Trump plan but wanted
negotiations on the details and a say in the future of the Palestinian
territory.
octors Without Borders ‘outraged’ after 15th staffer
killed in Gaza-Military looking into incident, says target of strike was
Hamas operative; four said killed while seeking aid in southern Gaza,
at least 8 killed in Gaza City strike-By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies
Today, 5:07 am-OCT 5,25
The medical charity Doctors Without
Borders (MSF) voiced sorrow and outrage following the death of a
colleague in Gaza on Sunday, as Israeli strikes continued to pound into
the enclave, even as negotiators prepared to discuss US President Donald
Trump’s plan to end the war in the Palestinian enclave.Abed El Hameed
Qaradaya, 43, succumbed to shrapnel injuries sustained on Thursday, amid
an attack that killed MSF colleague Omar Hayek and injured several
others, the organization said.MSF said the attack was carried out by
Israeli forces. It said its staff were waiting for a bus to the
charity’s field hospital at the time, and were all wearing MSF vests.In
response to a query by the Times of Israel, the IDF said the strike on
October 2 targeted a Hamas operative in central Gaza.“Reports were
received of a local Palestinian employee of an international
organization who was killed, along with several local employees who were
injured,” the military said, adding that “the details of the incident
are under investigation.”The IDF said that it took steps to mitigate
civilian harm in the strike, while stressing that Hamas “embeds itself
in the civilian population and exploits it as a human shield for terror
purposes.”El Hameed is the 15th MSF staff member killed in the nearly
two-year-long conflict, and the third in less than 20 days.“His loss is
immense and has a tragic impact on his loved ones, MSF and the health
system in Gaza,” the Geneva-based NGO said in a statement.“For 18 years,
Abed El Hameed was a cornerstone of MSF’s physiotherapy department in
Gaza. He was a unique and invaluable specialist in both physiotherapy
and occupational therapy.”MSF said he innovated and adapted tools, and
was the driving force behind opening a 3D physiotherapy department.“We
are profoundly grieved and outraged by the loss of our colleagues — a
stark reminder of the pattern of complete disregard for civilian lives
and human dignity,” it said.In June 2024, after another MSF staffer,
Fadi al-Wadiya, was killed in an IDF strike, the military said he was an
Islamic Jihad operative involved in developing the terror group’s
missiles. MSF denied the accusation, then the IDF published a photograph
of Wadiya in a PIJ uniform.Also on Sunday, the IDF published footage
showing weapons that it said were left behind by Hamas operatives in a
kindergarten and a school in Gaza City.“Last week, IDF troops identified
Hamas terrorists fleeing a kindergarten in al-Shati, Gaza City. The
troops later found an explosive device and an AK-47 rifle inside the
kindergarten,” the military said on its English-language X account.In a
separate post, the IDF’s international media spokesman, Lt. Col. Nadav
Shoshani, posted a picture of uniforms, military equipment, and a Hamas
flag in a classroom, saying: “These weapons were discovered in a school
in Gaza a few days ago, a place meant for learning, not terror.”Both
educational facilities likely have not been active during the war.The
IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilian sites — including
schools, mosques, and hospitals — for terror, and has published
extensive footage showing how the terror group dug tunnels and set up
weapon depots in such facilities.The IDF has also made use of schools in
Gaza as temporary encampments for troops during the war.Planes and
tanks pounded areas across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, despite the IDF
having moved to purely defensive operations a day earlier.The military
was ordered to halt offensive operations in Gaza City on Saturday amid
Trump’s push to bring about an end to the war in the enclave, and so
shifted to defensive operations only, acting against those it deemed to
pose a threat to troops.In total, local health authorities said at least
19 people were killed across the Strip on Sunday.Four of those killed
were shot dead near an aid distribution site in the southern city of
Rafah, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel’s military said it was not
involved.At least eight others were killed in multiple strikes in Gaza
City, according to Shifa hospital, which received the casualties. A
security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to talk to the media said the strikes were against Hamas
militants who were a threat to troops.The toll could not be
independently verified.The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than
67,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the
fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not
differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed
over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600
terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel’s toll in
the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations
along the border with the Strip stands at 471. The toll includes two
police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.
'What
we are facing today is a spiritual catastrophe'Two years in, some are
asking if the war in Gaza is changing Judaism-Rabbis and pundits say the
war’s death toll and humanitarian crisis — alongside simultaneous
settler violence in the West Bank — are causing engaged Jews to question
their faith-By Andrew Silow-Carroll Today, 3:41 am-OCT 5,25
JTA —
In the two years since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, the
Jewish discourse over the war in Gaza has been agonizing and polarizing.
Jews have argued over the Israeli government’s military aims, over what
it means to “bring the hostages home,” over the left’s betrayal of its
Jewish allies and over the influence of Israel’s far-right
ministers.Since the summer, however, a number of Jewish religious and
thought leaders are debating another assertion: that the war in Gaza is
not just a military, ethical or diplomatic challenge, but a crisis of
faith. They are warning that the death toll and humanitarian crisis in
Gaza and the settler violence in the West Bank are shaking the beliefs
and practices of engaged Jews.“What we are facing today is a spiritual
catastrophe, and what is at stake is not just the future of the state of
Israel, but the very soul of the Jewish people,” Rabbi Sharon Brous,
leader of the independent IKAR congregation in Los Angeles, said in a
Rosh Hashanah sermon.Most, but not all, of these spiritual critiques are
coming from liberal Zionist thinkers and rabbis from the non-Orthodox
denominations, not to mention pundits opposed to or disillusioned with
Zionism. Critics of their stances, meanwhile, say the real spiritual
hazard is that Jews abandon Israel and the hostages during a just war
that Israel didn’t ask for.But the latest discourse suggests that among
many Jews in the mainstream, the second anniversary of the attacks is
raising difficult questions about Israel, Judaism and Jewish identity.In
an interview in August, the journalist Peter Beinart asked Rabbi Ismar
Schorsch how he would respond to a fellow Jew who might be dismayed over
Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.“What would you say to
someone,” Beinart continued, “whose very belief in God and whose belief
in Judaism had been brought into question by what Israel is doing in
Gaza and the West Bank?”Schorsch, 89, the chancellor emeritus of the
Jewish Theological Seminary, accepted the premise of Beinart’s question,
replying:“I think that in some ways, Judaism is at [a] critical moment.
Are we going to be able to defend Judaism, which has the burden of the
chillul Hashem [desecration of God’s name], taking place in the West
Bank and in Gaza? Will we be able to live [with] that Judaism, and if we
don’t speak out now, it may be too late. This may be our final moment.
In raising the ethical constraints that need to be imposed on the
Israeli government, we are defending Judaism, and Judaism is going to
have to survive this catastrophe. And how will we be able to live with
ourselves if we were silent?”The response was surprising, perhaps,
coming from a historian who, from 1986 until his retirement in 2006, as
head of Conservative Judaism’s flagship, was not known for either fiery
rhetoric or public criticism of Israel. In some rabbis’ forums, there
was dismay that Schorsch had aired his views in conversation with
Beinart, an observant Jew whose very public drift from Zionism has been
the subject of debate and much ridicule.But Schorsch had aired similar
misgivings about the spiritual toll of the war over the summer, in an
essay for the fast day of Tisha B’Av. “The unremitting violence against
helpless Palestinians in Gaza and their wholly innocent coreligionists
on the West Bank will saddle Jews with a repulsive religion riddled with
hypocrisy and contradictions,” Schorsch warned. “The messianism driving
the current government of Israel is sadly out of kilter with
traditional Judaism — and an utter moral abomination.”In her sermon,
Brous describes Hamas as a “formidable foe who has repeatedly expressed
its intent to repeat the massacres of the 7th of October again and again
and again.” And yet she excoriates Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
for “the perpetuation of a war now nakedly advanced to keep in power a
craven prime minister,” and government ministers who “openly share their
feverish anticipation of a full resettlement of Gaza at all
costs.”Beyond what could be read as a partisan political sermon from a
well-known liberal Zionist, Brous also speaks of the spiritual costs of
what she calls “manifest disregard for Palestinian lives.”“To be clear,
core to our Jewish faith is the notion that every human being is created
in God’s own image, which means that the death of any innocent is a
moral catastrophe. A moral catastrophe,” she said. “And yet the
devastation continues to rain down on Gaza. And I must wonder, have
those leaders completely divorced themselves from Jewish history, from
our Jewish tradition?”Brous quotes the Israeli historian Yuval Noah
Harari, who in August called the war “a spiritual catastrophe for
Judaism itself.”“What is happening right now in Israel could basically, I
think, destroy 2,000 years of Jewish thinking and culture,” Harari said
on “The Unholy” podcast. Driving his grim prediction for Judaism’s
future, he said, were “an ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza and the West
Bank,” the “disintegration of Israeli democracy,” and the creation of a
new Israel which is based on “an ideology of Jewish supremacy and the
worship of what were completely anti-Jewish values for the last two
millennia.”It’s not just liberal Zionists like Brous and Schorsch and
critics of Zionism like Beinart — whose latest book is titled, “Being
Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning” — who are talking
about the war’s impact on Judaism.In August, 80 mostly Modern Orthodox
rabbis, representing a staunchly Zionist cohort, signed a letter calling
for “moral clarity” in response to the hunger crisis in Gaza. The
letter expressed their critique in terms of Jewish texts calling for
“justice and compassion.”“They are the foundations of our ethical
obligation — to demand policies that uphold human dignity, to provide
humanitarian aid wherever possible, and to speak out when our
government’s actions contradict the Torah’s moral imperatives, no matter
how painful this may be to accept,” according to the letter.The
letter’s author, Rabbi Yosef Blau, told JTA that he wrote the letter in
part to defend Judaism and its Orthodox practitioners from the
consequences of policies that he called antithetical to tradition. Blau,
a former spiritual adviser at Yeshiva University, said the letter was
intended in part for the secular Israeli Jew who might say, “I don’t see
a Judaism that stands for moral values that I can identify with.”For
some critics — and Blau and his colleagues had plenty, within Orthodoxy
and beyond — public moralizing about the war is dangerous because it
gives rhetorical ammunition to Israel’s enemies. They also accuse those
who call the war a spiritual crisis of cherry-picking Judaism: In
addition to its calls for justice and compassion, they say, Jewish
tradition justifies war in the name of self-defense and in securing the
Land of Israel against its enemies.They also point to some polling and
anecdotal evidence showing that the trauma and stress of war inspired
many Jews to intensify their engagement with Judaism.“Their sermons are
not courageous; they are capitulating,” the author and rabbi Shmuley
Boteach wrote in an angry response to the rabbis’ letter. “Their
statements are not moral; they are derelictions of duty.”Jews on college
campuses and those attending synagogues, Boteach continued, “need
spiritual leaders who roar with pride. Rabbis who declare that Israel is
our shield, our heart, our destiny. Rabbis who teach that Israel’s war
is not only just but holy — a fight for the survival of the Jewish
people against the forces of annihilation.”Jonathan S. Tobin,
editor-in-chief of JNS.org, similarly urged rabbis and pundits to resist
the impulse to “virtue-signal their ambivalence about a war against a
truly evil opponent,” and instead “join in solidarity with Israel’s
efforts to extinguish Hamas.”“Inevitably, many of the resulting
reflections often have more to do with political opinions than
dispassionate moral judgments,” wrote Tobin. “And that can be
particularly egregious when applied to the efforts of those who serve
its cause in the middle of an armed conflict with the genocidal Islamist
forces that head the Palestinian national movement.”Tobin was
responding to a column by Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the
Shalom Hartman Institute. An American-born Israeli who leans
center-right, Klein Halevi had written in advance of the High Holidays
that Israel and its supporters should undergo a process of “moral
self-critique” in keeping with the holidays’ themes of introspection and
repentance — within limits.“Even when fighting an existential war
against enemies without moral restraint, there are limits to what is
morally permitted to the Jewish state,” wrote Halevi in The Times of
Israel. “And given the nature of our enemy and the threats against us,
there are limits to the self-recrimination Jews should
assume.”Nevertheless, he writes, “something has gone very wrong in
Gaza,” citing the humanitarian crisis, the high civilian death toll, the
messianic intentions of Netanyahu’s cabinet, and, beyond the war
itself, the settler rampages on the West Bank. Writes Halevi:“This
season of self-reckoning that begins with the Hebrew month of Elul and
culminates on Yom Kippur is intended not only for individual Jews but
also — in fact primarily — for the Jewish collective. Undergoing this
process as a people doesn’t weaken us. It provides spiritual
protection.“Just as we need a language for defending ourselves against
the lies and distortions, we need a parallel language in which we
struggle with the moral dilemmas raised by this war. Those of us who
love Israel must not forfeit the moral conversation to Jews who have
despaired of Israel or who openly side with our enemies.”An observant
Jew and journalist who has covered both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, Halevi is comfortable using the language of Jewish tradition
in discussing politics and policy.Pulpit rabbis are typically more
hesitant. Unlike retired university administrators like Blau and
Schorsch, they face congregants who may, and do, revolt over a sermon
they don’t agree with. In her sermon at New York’s Central Synagogue on
the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl told her
congregants, “I have never been so afraid to talk about
Israel.”Buchdahl, one of the country’s best-known pulpit rabbis, went on
to discuss the spiritual hazards of the war, but was careful to
describe defects among both Israel’s critics and its defenders. She
framed her talk around the Torah portion read on the first day of Rosh
Hashanah, which is about the conflict between Abraham’s wife, Sarah, and
her handmaid Hagar. Judaism’s ancestors chose to have the story read on
Rosh Hashanah when, she said, “our tradition asks us to take a cheshbon
hanefesh, an accounting of our souls.”The story is about empathy, which
has been lacking on both sides, said Buchdahl. Israel’s critics refuse
to acknowledge the vulnerability Israelis feel after October 7 and “take
the worst accusations against Israel at face value,” while the
defenders have become callous toward the children in Gaza, “who are
suffering, exiled, and desperate.”“This war has tested our empathy. All
of us,” she said. “I see the ways that my fear has disabled my empathy
response. I still struggle to find the emotional bandwidth to read the
tragic stories coming out of Gaza while my extended family is still held
captive, while calls to ‘blacklist Zionists’ or to ‘globalize the
intifada’ still ring around the world, and even this city. But who do we
become when we harden our hearts?”Jay Michaelson, a rabbi and
contributing columnist at the Forward, suggests the discussion over how
the war might change Judaism is the latest expression of an age-old
tension between universalism and particularism. Liberal Jews, he writes,
tend to favor the universal aspects of tradition that cultivate
“compassion for everyone, not only Jews or even primarily Jews.”
Israel’s right-wing government, and the observant Jews who support it,
represent a “hyper-particularist” strain for whom “Judaism is about the
love of other Jews, first and foremost.”Michaelson rejects this
particularism in favor of a Jewish path “committed to human rights,
justice, love and universalism.” In some ways, he writes, he practices
“a different religion, a different way of life, from at least half the
religious Jews in the world,” and appears reconciled to that
division.Schorsch, meanwhile, thinks the moral stakes demand rebuke. He
directs his remarks at fellow clergy, calling it their responsibility to
denounce the “excesses” being carried out by Israel and being condoned
by right-wing rabbis.In his interview with Beinart, Schorsch sympathized
with rabbis who do not feel comfortable using their pulpits to question
Israel, but said they should do it anyway in the spirit of the
self-correcting tradition of the Jewish prophets — and for the sake of
Judaism itself.“The prophets were the critical spokesmen that limited
the authority of the monarchy, and the voice of the prophets is silent
today,” he said. “There is nothing more destructive of religion than
hypocrisy and for us to defend what is happening on the West Bank and in
Gaza religiously is simply hypocritical, and I think will be a burden
for the future history of Judaism.”The views and opinions expressed in
this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
THAT LITTLE SNOT RAG, FLEE BAG, ISRAEL HATER, CLIMATE NUTJOB OF SCAMS GRETA THUNBERG GOT DEPORTED FROM ISRAEL FOR THE 2ND TIME.
Greta
Thunberg set to be deported from Israel Monday on flight to Athens-Some
70 flotilla activists expected to leave for Greece, where they will be
able to catch flights to their home countries; Activist bites prison
staff member, delaying deportation-By AFP and Charlie Summers-Today,
3:39 am-OCT 5,25
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg will be among
more than 70 people of different nationalities to leave Israel on Monday
after they were seized aboard an intercepted Gaza aid flotilla.Most, if
not all, those being released from Israeli detention will be flown to
Greece, where they will be able to get flights to their home countries,
their respective governments said on Sunday.Those flying out of Israel
on Monday include 28 French citizens, 27 Greeks, 15 Italians, and nine
Swedes.Twenty-one Spaniards separately returned to Spain on Sunday from
Israel.The release still leaves several foreigners in Israeli custody,
including 28 Spanish nationals.All had been on board the 42-vessel
Global Sumud Flotilla carrying activists and politicians, who had been
aiming to get past an Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza, where the
United Nations says famine has taken hold — a charge that Israel
rejects.Israel started intercepting the ships in international waters on
Wednesday, detaining the more than 470 people who had been aboard the
boats.The Italian and Greek foreign ministries said their released
nationals would on Monday fly from Israel to Athens. Italian Foreign
Minister Antonio Tajani said on X that the 15 Italians would have
assistance for a subsequent transfer to Italy.France’s foreign ministry
said the 28 French citizens would be flown to Greece. They accounted for
most of the 30 French nationals Israel seized aboard the flotilla.The
Swedish foreign ministry did not say where the Swedes would fly to, but
Swedish media said they, too, could be put on the flight to Greece.The
plane carrying the deported activists to Greece will take off from
southern Israel’s Ramon Airport and land in Athens.In total, 170
flotilla activists have been deported so far. Those who remain are being
held in Ketziot prison, in what their legal representation has
described as substandard conditions.On Sunday evening, a Spanish
activist caused a stir in the prison by biting a medical staff member,
prison staff said.They said she bit the staff member while being
escorted from a routine medical examination, as part of preparations for
her deportation, which was initially scheduled for tomorrow morning,
but has since been pushed back.The medical staff member was treated in
the prison for minor injuries, and police were called to the scene to
handle the activist.The incident was reported to have delayed the
activist’s deportation, as she was taken for questioning and is due to
appear before a court on Monday.Legal aid organization Adalah has
reported that the detained activists are being mistreated by the Israeli
Prison Service, with some telling the Israeli Arab organization’s
lawyers that they were denied food and water, and others reporting that
they were manhandled by Israeli law enforcement.Thunberg told the
Swedish Embassy on Saturday that she was suffering from dehydration,
having received “insufficient amounts of both water and food.”The
embassy relayed that Greta had said she “had developed rashes, which she
suspects were caused by bedbugs. She spoke of harsh treatment and said
she had been sitting for long periods on hard surfaces.”While Israel’s
Foreign Ministry dismissed the accusations of mistreatment as “brazen
lies,” far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who
oversees the Israel prison system, appeared to take pleasure in the
reports, saying he was proud the activists were being treated like
terrorists.“All the detainees’ legal rights are fully upheld,” wrote the
Foreign Ministry on X.In contrast, Ben Gvir said that he visited
Ketziot and “was proud that we are treating the ‘flotilla activists’ as
terror supporters, whoever supports terrorism is a terrorist, and
deserves the conditions of terrorists.”The Sumud flotilla, which set
sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge
Israel’s years-long naval blockade of Gaza.Similar attempts were
intercepted in June and July, amid spiking international anger at Israel
over the humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Israeli officials have
denounced the Sumud and other missions as pro-Hamas media stunts.In an
August report that Israel has rejected, the UN declared a famine in
parts of northern Gaza. Israel, which blocked the entry of aid into Gaza
for nearly three months until May, has accused Hamas of systematically
looting aid entering the Strip since the war there was sparked when the
Palestinian terror group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023.Meanwhile, a
new nine-boat flotilla organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is
also expected to approach Gaza soon and be intercepted by the Israeli
Navy. The mission, said to include about 100 activists on one of the
boats, set sail from Italy about a week ago and was approaching the
coast of Egypt’s Alexandria, its live-tracker showed Saturday.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and
the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the
light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of
his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold,
the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the
burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his
tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22
And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED)
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE)
those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID
HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him
glory.
EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7
And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the
stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon
shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9
I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy
destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not
known.
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his
vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every
living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5
And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord,
which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6
For they(False World Church and Dictator and baby murderers by abortion)
have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them
blood to drink; for they are worthy.
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the
light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the
light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of
his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold,
the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the
burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his
tongue as a devouring fire:
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)
Typhoon Matmo disrupts holiday travel, forces closures in China.
Beijing,
Oct 4 (AFP) Oct 04, 2025-Chinese authorities will cancel flights and
close businesses on Saturday as Typhoon Matmo hurtles towards the
country's southern Hainan and Guangdong provinces during the busy
National Day travel period.According to China's National Meteorological
Centre (NMC), Matmo is expected to make landfall on Sunday morning, the
middle of an eight-day public holiday when many domestic tourists flock
to tropical Hainan Island.All flights at Meilan International Airport in
Haikou, Hainan's provincial capital, are scheduled to be cancelled from
11 pm (1500 GMT) on Saturday, state media outlet Xinhua said.The
airport was originally expected to handle more than 632,000 passengers
between October 1 to 8 for the combined National Day and Mid-Autumn
Festival holiday, according to Hainan Airport Group, which operates the
airport.Haikou also plans to suspend schools, public transport and
construction from Saturday afternoon, while businesses will also be
ordered closed.Both Hainan and Guangdong provinces have upgraded their
emergency typhoon response, with authorities warning that heavy rains
and strong winds could trigger flash floods and landslides.They have
also cancelled many rail services and ordered fishing boats back to
port.Downpours are also expected in Yunnan province and the Guangxi
region, both also in China's south.Matmo is likely to bring winds of up
to 45 metres per second, or 160 kilometres per hour (100 miles per
hour), before its intensity gradually weakens after landfall, the NMC
said Saturday.
Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Matmo lashes southern China.
Beijing,
Oct 5 (AFP) Oct 05, 2025-Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated
from their homes as Typhoon Matmo lashed China's southern coast on
Sunday, state media reported.The powerful storm made landfall around
2:50 pm (0650 GMT) in Guangdong province, according to state broadcaster
CCTV.The National Meteorological Centre recorded winds of more than 150
kilometres per hour (93 mph).As the storm approached, authorities
evacuated 197,000 people from their homes on Hainan Island and 150,000
from Guangdong province, according to the official Xinhua news
agency.Public transportation, construction sites and businesses were
also shuttered in coastal cities including Haikou, Wenchang, Zhanjiang
and Maoming.The city of Beihai in the south of Guangxi region also
announced Sunday it would suspend work, classes and transportation.The
storm had already caused sea levels to rise in a port in Maoming on
Sunday morning, leading to a "serious" risk of flooding, according to
CCTV.The intensity of the typhoon is expected to gradually decrease
after making landfall, the meteorological centre said.But torrential
rain and strong winds were expected until Monday in Hainan and parts of
Guangdong and Guangxi.China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse
gases, which scientists say are accelerating climate change and making
extreme weather events more frequent and intense.It is also a world
leader in renewable energy and aims to be carbon neutral by 2060.
FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of
Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE
HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an
angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS
TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN
FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING
BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @
39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the
earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY)
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS)
and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U
WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS)
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were
filled with their flesh.
Zephaniah 2:1-15
1 Gather together, yes, gather,O shameless nation,
2
before the decree takes effect[a] -before the day passes away like
chaff—before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before
there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 Seek the
Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands;[b] seek
righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of
the anger of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon
shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the
seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against
you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no
inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows[c] for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7
The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of
Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they
shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of
them and restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab
(JORDAN) and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my
people and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I
live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become
like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles
and salt pits, and a waste forever.The remnant of my people shall
plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11
The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods
of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the
lands of the nations.
12 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword.
13
And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy
Assyria,(SYRIA) and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like
the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of
beasts;[d] even the owl and the hedgehog[e] shall lodge in her
capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the
threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the
exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and
there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild
beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.Sa'ar: No
free meals; talks possible if more hostages freed Israel halts aid into
Gaza, citing Hamas refusal to extend first phase of truce
Footnotes-a
-Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth, b-Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his
judgment, c-Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves, d-Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of
every nation, e-Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl
and hedgehog is uncertain
DANIEL 2:37-45
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made
thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after
thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And
the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these,
shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the
feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom
shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known
to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
DANIEL 7:17-26
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19
Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of
the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn
that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was
more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of
the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,
which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the
ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and
another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his
hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
THE WORLD IN 10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION THE WORLD LEADER, NOT AMERICA.I PREDICT.
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND REVIVED ROMAN WORLD GOVERNMENT
DANIEL 2:31-33,36-43, DAN 7:3-8,17
First From Daniel Chapter 2
1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (HEAD OF GOLD) DAN 2:31-32,36-38, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (CHEST & ARMS OF SILVER) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (WAIST & HIPS OF BRONZE) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (2 LEGS OF IRON) DAN 2:33,40, ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) (FEET IRON & CLAY) DAN 2:33,41-43,10 TOES
Now From Daniel Chapter 7
1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (LION WITH EAGLES WINGS) DAN 7:4, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (BEAR ON HIND LEGS) DAN 7:5, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (LEOPARD 4 WINGS, 4 HEADS) DAN 7:6, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (HUGE IRON TEETH) DAN 7:7 (10 HORNS), ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) DAN 7:8,19-20,23-25 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS
REV
17:9,12, 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS, 7 HILLS ROME. REV 13:1 BEAST WITH 7 HEADS.
THE E.U LEADER OF WORLD GOVERNMENT DAN 2:40-45, 7:7-8,23-25,27, 8:23,
REV 13:3,7,8,12,14,16
REVELATION 17:10-12
10 And there are
seven kings (7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY) five are fallen, (EGYPT,
ASSYRIA, BABYLON,:MEDO-PERSIAN,GREECE and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS
DAY-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh,(FUTURE-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE-EUROPEAN UNION TODAY) he must
continue a short space.(7 YEARS OF WORLD DOMINATION-BUT 3 1/2 YEARS OF
NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
12 And the ten horns (10
WORLD TRADE BLOCS OR REGIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour
with the beast.
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (10
WORLD TRADE BLOCS-NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast.
13 These have one mind,(WORLD SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
We
shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only
question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or
consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February
1950
Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in
1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a
man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection
to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten
to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept
him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man.
DICK
MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t
look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.
THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.
REVELATION 16:1-2
1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels,
Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the
earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth;
and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the
mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16
And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
I KNOW THIS MARK WILL
BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK
SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE
VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW
LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE.
UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW
AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION
13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION
AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO
IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE
SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE),
OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX,
KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125
THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR
RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM
1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE;
FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 -
STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick;
(cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.;
Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According
to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of
their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to
indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even
some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their
gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα
τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in
Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left
there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by
him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and
approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on
Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian,
Plutarch, Lcian, others.)
THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo
THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.
LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA
THE
CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS,
POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8,
DAN 7:23-24
WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME
NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html
FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of
Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE
HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an
angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men,
and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS
TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN
FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING
BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @
39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the
earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY)
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS)
and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U
WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS)
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were
filled with their flesh.
COUNCIL FOR EUROPE ON DEFENCE
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6d6f889c-e58d-4caa-8f3b-8b93154fe206_en?filename=SAFE%20Regulation.pdf
ECB picks Feedzai, G+D among preferred tech providers for digital euro-Oct 3, 2025, 3:51 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Feedzai
and Giesecke + Devrient are among five “first-ranked” technology
providers selected by the European Central Bank (ECB) to build five
components of its system for managing the digital euro.Suppliers were
named in two ranks, with the first option getting service requests and
the second “approached only if required,” the ECB says.The ECB chose
Feedzai to build the risk and fraud management component of the system,
with Capgemini as the second option. G+D and its partners Nexi and
Capgemini have been chosen for the offline solution, with the second
option yet-unnamed. Partners Sapient and Tremend Software Consulting
have been named for the alias lookup component, with Dutch payment
company equensWorldline as backup. Almaviva and Fabrick won the app and
SDK development job, with Sapient and Tremend second choice, and Senacor
will get first dibs on the secure exchange of payment information,
followed by equensWorldline.All of the above have signed framework
agreements, which do not entail any payment yet, but Feedzai estimates
the risk and fraud management component alone could be worth 79.1
million euros (approximately US$92.9 million) or more, up to €237.3
million (US$278.6 million). Feedzai has subcontracted PwC for its work
on that component.“Being selected as the first-ranked tenderer in the
framework agreement to secure the digital euro is both an honor and a
responsibility,” says Feedzai CEO and Co-founder Nuno Sebastião. “With
tens of billions of transactions expected across the eurozone, success
depends on AI that can adapt as quickly as fraud evolves. Our role is to
provide the intelligence that keeps even the most sophisticated fraud
out, ensuring trust in every digital euro transaction from day
one.”Feedzai detects fraud risk through behavior analysis, transaction
history monitoring and device data.The company also just announced a $75
million investment round at a $2 billion valuation.G+D notes the
digital euro is expected to enable direct peer-to-peer payments without
the involvement of a third party, like cash is in the physical world.
The estimated value of its component is €220.7 million, with a cap of
€662.1 million.The contracts are for 4 years, but could be extended to
15.The ECB brought in experts in digital identity and authentication to
help establish the rules for the digital euro in 2023, but has committed
to issue digital euros only after the Digital Euro Regulation has been
adopted.
Biometrics enrollment and Big Brother fears loom: is the post office the answer? Oct 4, 2025, 1:49 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Biometrics
hold stunning potential for establishing trust and enabling inclusion
for people living outside of bureaucratic systems, but these goals can
clash. A possible solution for national ID systems emerges from some of
the week’s top articles on Biometric Update.The role of the post office
in an era of digital government may be delivering trust, in the form of
biometric binding for digital credentials. Governments and online
platforms around the world are running up huge trust deficits, but
perhaps one of the more reliable public institutions, possibly rebranded
as the “trust office,” can provide some of the basic assurances
necessary.Feedzai’s impressive funding round shows the confidence
investors have in the latest fraud prevention technologies once people
are interacting with digital financial services.Public opinion
divide-The UK government’s mandatory digital ID plan has left digital
identity providers certified under the DIATF wondering if they have
wasted effort and money only to be undercut. PM Kier Starmer’s proposal
aligns with suggestions from former Labour PM Tony Blair’s eponymous
institute, which counts an American Big Tech mogul among its major
doners, and is facing immediate resistance in Ireland and Scotland. DSIT
has promised a consultation, but offered little detail on the plan so
far.Switzerland is also divided over digital ID, with 50.4 percent
approving a government plan in a national referendum. The narrow margin
laid bare a lack of trust that the government will have to address as it
rolls out the optional digital ID and Swiyu digital wallet. The result
does represent 14 percent more support than the Swiss national digital
ID had in 2021, though, providing some hope for its proponents.People
are right to be skeptical of digital IDs, says Andy Higgs of DINZ, but
the group sees New Zealand as ready for decentralized identities in the
form of mobile driver’s licenses, which could be launched by the end of
2025. Open standards for digital wallets, ZKPs and the Biometric
Processing Privacy Code all contribute to that readiness.Countries
around the world are looking for a range of benefits from their digital
ID, from the immigration reduction intentions of the UK to the economic
boost Sri Lanka is hoping for by enabling its fintech sector. Most of
these goals require a tricky combination of robust biometric enrollment
and identity binding and inclusive availability. One institution that
has long trafficked in trust and accessibility is the post office.A new
purpose for a venerable institution? In the UK, the Post Office is
already a digital ID provider, through a partnership with Yoti, but a
new paper from the organization says it can do more. The paper says the
removal of Biometric Residence Card collection and other services has
hurt its bottom line, but it could be made sustainable again if
designated the in-person contact point for the digital ID system for
interactions like biometrics enrollment.Poste Italiane is already
Italy’s top provider of digital ID services, and it has provoked some
criticism from the public with the announcement of plans to start
charging fees for them. Competitors Aruba and InfoCert are already
charging for SPID services though, and Post Italiane serves around half
of the country’s digital ID users.A new report from eu-LISA on digital
travel identity management emphasizes the need for continuous research
and investment in technology. The report delves into the potential of
blockchain for people claiming asylum, and the challenge of remote
biometrics enrollment.America’s border biometrics-Bi2 has won a contract
with ICE worth up to $4.6 million to supply iris biometrics for
enforcement field operations. ICE will use the MORIS mobile front-end
system and the IRIS back-end to match subjects against millions of
arrest records.The golden work visa scheme put in place by U.S.
President Donald Trump could dramatically cut a source of funding to DHS
for the biometric entry-exit system. But the collections have
disappointed so far anyway, and funding specifically allocated to
biometrics spiked with the allocation of $165 billion for the department
earlier this year.CBP’s biometric exit is continuing to evolve, quietly
adding scans with mobile devices carried by federal officers to the
cameras installed at boarding gates by airlines, following an extensive
testing process. Little is known about the mobile devices used, however,
fueling suspicions about government surveillance.Startup and
scale-up-Handwave CEO Janis Sturna discuss the potential of hashed palm
biometrics for a range of applications including payments, loyalty
programs and age assurance in the latest episode of the Biometric Update
Podcast. He explains the combination of characteristics his company
uses, and its U.S. expansion plans.Feedzai has raised $75 million at a
$2 billion valuation, and plans to scale its fraud protection business
and developing technology for its comprehensive platform. The company
also signed a potentially lucrative agreement with the ECB to support
the digital euro.Please let us know if you spot any webinars, reports or
other content we should share with the people in biometrics and the
digital identity community, either in the comments below or via social
media.
Hold your horses and don’t call it a card’: UK govt to
digital ID petitioners-Clarity on DIATF certifications for Right to Work
pending-Oct 2, 2025, 5:00 pm EDT | Chris Burt
The UK
government has responded to a petition calling for a commitment to not
launch a national digital ID with a firm “no.”A response from the
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to the
petition, which had garnered 2.7 million signatures as of late evening
UK time on October 2, promises a public consultation in the weeks ahead.
It also casts the status of numerous businesses and their investments
in supporting the UK’s digital ambitions into doubt.“By the end of this
Parliament, employers will have to check the new digital ID when
conducting a ‘right to work’ check,” DSIT says.There are currently more
than 40 service providers certified for Right to Work checks under the
Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF). The government
has previously suggested that its plans for GOV.UK still leave plenty of
room for private sector roles, particularly around orchestration. But
less than 20 percent of those certified for Right to Work qualify as
orchestration service providers (OSPs)Robin Tombs, co-founder and CEO of
one of those DIATF-certified providers, Yoti, commented on the success
of the private-sector issued credentials and expressed hope for clarity
in a LinkedIn post.The response from DSIT begins by explaining the
rationale behind the move, in terms of first tackling illegal migration,
then of “making people’s everyday lives easier and more secure,” and
finally “driving growth.” By way of clarification, the government says
“the new digital ID will build on the GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK
Wallet.” DSIT also notes: “This is not a card.”The Department says it
will consult with employers, trade unions, civil society “and other
stakeholders” on the new system’s design, and then bring forward
legislation to back it.At the recent Labour Party conference, Prime
Minister Kier Starmer did not talk about his digital ID plans. But his
former communications adviser Peter Hyman said at a meeting during the
conference that the plan “will be dead in the water in six months’ time”
if the approach to communicating about it is not corrected, The
Register reports.Here come the exceptions-Another type of consultation
has already begun, with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary
Benn holding discussions with the Irish Government about how the plan
will apply there.He acknowledged the possibility that Ireland could
issue its own digital ID, and expressed optimism that the system could
be applied in a way that aligns with the Good Friday Agreement and the
Common Travel Area.Lindsay de Sausmarez, President of Guernsey’s Policy
and Resources Committee says “no decision” has been made yet on whether
the digital ID plans apply in the self-governing Crown dependency, the
BBC reports.
Denmark closes airspace to civilian drones amid rise in sightings-by Danielle Haynes
Washington
DC (UPI) Sep 29, 2025-Denmark will ban all civilian drones beginning
Monday over safety concerns as Copenhagen prepares to host an EU summit
on European defense.Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen announced the
airspace closure Sunday after a slew of incidents involving unidentified
drones in recent weeks. The closure will be in effect from Monday to
Friday.He said the drones have created disruption and uncertainty in the
country, particularly among the military and police. He said the
closure of airspace to civilian drone use will allow law enforcement to
focus on security for EU meetings Thursday and Friday.The European
Council is meeting informally Thursday to address general defense in
Europe as well as the body's support for Ukraine amid its war with
Russia. A more formal summit of the European political community is
expected to take place Friday.Last week, Denmark's defense minister,
Troels Lund Poulson, said the recent drone sightings in Danish airspace
likely weren't by Russia though there has been a rise in Russian
violations of allied airspace. He instead described them as "hybrid
attacks," meaning they were the result of different types of drones.
Authorities believed they were launched from somewhere local.The drone
incidents have caused Denmark to at times shut down airports and the
airspace around its largest military base.During his speech Wednesday
before the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky warned the international community that Russia's
advanced weaponry and defense technology is putting the entirety of
Europe under threat. He cited Moscow's use of drones and artificial
intelligence."We are living through the most destructive arms race in
human history," Zelensky said.European leaders, including Poulson, met
on the sidelines of the U.N. general debate last week to discuss the
establishment of a "drone wall" to prevent drone attacks -- from Russia
or otherwise. The system to detect and disable drones would create a
virtual wall along eastern EU countries, including Finland, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.There have been other unidentified drone
sightings in Lithuania, Poland and Romania.
Former Boston Police
Commissioner joins ROC Board of Directors-One Identity names CEO,
Signicat, Alcatraz, Ping focus on market expansion-Oct 5, 2025, 2:26 pm
EDT | Stephen Mayhew
U.S. biometrics firm ROC has appointed
former Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis III to its Board of
Directors.Commissioner Davis, who guided the city through the 2013
Boston Marathon bombing response, brings more than 35 years of frontline
leadership in law enforcement, crisis management, and public safety
innovation to the dual role as Independent Board Director and Chair of
ROC’s Audit Committee.Davis will provide ROC strategic guidance and
oversight as the company expands its AI-powered biometrics, video
analytics, and decision intelligence platform to serve law enforcement,
national security, and commercial markets worldwide.Praerit Garg named
One Identity CEO-Unified cloud-first identity solutions provider One
Identity has named Praerit Garg Chief Executive Officer replacing
current CEO Mark Logan.Garg brings deep expertise in identity and access
management and SaaS product leadership across both startups and large
enterprises.Prior to joining One Identity, Garg served as President of
Product & Innovation at Smartsheet; GM of Identity, Directory, and
Access Services at Amazon Web Services (AWS); co-founder of Symform, a
cloud- storage startup later acquired by Quantum; and held various
product and engineering roles at Microsoft, contributing to the
development of Windows software and its security features, including
Active Directory.Signicat appoints to drive growth Sweden-Signicat has
named Sofia Busck as Country Manager Sweden to strengthen the digital
IDV provider’s customer relationships and drive growth in Sweden, the
wider Nordic region, as well as Europe.Busck brings more than a decade
of leadership experience across commercial strategy, customer success,
and operational growth in regulated and technology-driven sectors, most
recently as Chief Revenue Officer at Worldfavor. She has served in
market expansion and operational excellence roles at Klarna, and managed
strategy and operational transformation projects for financial services
clients at EY.Busck will be based in Stockholm and report to Joakim
Harging, Chief Enterprise Nordics & UK at Signicat.Alcatraz taps
security industry vet to expand strategic partnerships-Alcatraz has
appointed Kasia Hanson to Vice President of Strategic Partnerships,
responsible for expanding the facial biometric authentication company’s
partner ecosystem and deepening relationships across key sectors
including critical infrastructure, corporate campuses, higher education,
and major stadiums and venues.Hanson’s experience includes more than
two decades at Intel, where she led the Global Security Ecosystem
Development and Partnerships team in the Security Center of Excellence
and advanced go-to-market strategies for AI, IoT, edge computing and
cybersecurity.Ping Identity names new ANZ sales director-Daniel Gardner
has been appointed Ping Identity Sales Director for Australia and New
Zealand.Based in Sydney, Gardner will focus on expanding the presence of
the Ping Identity Platform among public and private sector
organizations. Gardner returns to Ping Identity after having previously
served Account Executive.Alcatraz CEO joins Bay Area Council Board of
Directors-Alcatraz CEO Tina D’Agostin has been appointed to the Bay Area
Council Board of Directors and will serve as Co-Chair of the Council’s
Public Safety Committee.D’Agostin is a recognized leader in biometric
authentication and security with more than 25 years of experience in
smart building and city technologies. She has contributed to
skyline-changing projects across the Bay Area, bringing advanced
security and infrastructure expertise to some of the region’s most
ambitious developments.The Bay Area Council is a business-sponsored
public policy organization and plays a vital role in convening
government and industry leaders to address issues of public trust,
infrastructure resilience, and technology readiness.
FTC warns
companies not to soften policy to accommodate UK, EU online safety
laws-Transatlantic sparring continues, this time over iffy cybersecurity
concerns-Oct 3, 2025, 2:46 pm EDT | Joel R. McConvey
The U.S.
government does not like Europe’s new digital safety laws. It does not
like them on free speech, claiming that they stifle the First Amendment
rights of American companies. And now, it has issued a warning that
companies implementing policies to comply with foreign tech laws could
be engaging in deceptive or unfair business practices.A report from MLex
cites comments from the chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), Andrew Ferguson, who says weakening encryption or other security
measures to comply with laws like the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) or
the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) could violate Section 5 of the FTC
Act.If a company tells consumers that it “encrypts or otherwise keeps
secure online communications but adopts weaker security due to the
actions of a foreign government, such conduct may deceive consumers who
rightfully expect effective security, not the increased susceptibility
to breach or intercept desired by a foreign power.”The suggestion is
that the U.S. law offers better data protection than the EU or UK for
tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta and X. Given how the current
administration is trending, it is most likely to be one of two things: a
warning not to put foreign interests ahead of America’s, or a boastful
slight aimed at the EU and UK.Meanwhile, UK regulatory developments
continue to fell violators – or at least chase them away. Having
received notice that it faced an imminent fine from the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over violations of the Children’s Code,
MediaLab, which owns image sharing site Imgur, has yanked the site from
the UK.“From September 30, 2025, access to Imgur from the United Kingdom
is no longer available,” says a notice on its website. “UK users will
not be able to log in, view content, or upload images. Imgur content
embedded on third-party sites will not display for UK users.”According
to The Register, the ICO’s interim executive director, Tim Capel, says
its findings are provisional, and that the ICO is willing to consider
evidence before issuing a fine. However, he also says MediaMatters can
be fined even if Imgur is no longer available to UK users: “We have been
clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organization to avoid
responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and
our investigation remains ongoing.”OneID to enable age verification per
item on ShopWired-UK-based eCommerce platform ShopWired has integrated
OneID’s bank-based digital identity and age verification offerings. A
release from OneID says it means merchants on ShopWired can now apply
product-level age restrictions, marking individual items for automatic
age checks during checkout.Customizable settings mean merchants can
enable an “always verify” option for stricter compliance, and
comprehensive admin controls that allow merchants to manage and audit
age verification and import and export verification details for
reporting purposes.“We are delighted to partner with ShopWired to
deliver frictionless, bank-verified age checks at the point of
purchase,” says Keith Mabbitt, Chief Commercial Officer at OneID. “This
collaboration ensures merchants can comply with regulations while
offering customers the simplest, most secure way to prove their age –
without ever oversharing personal data.”KWS to power age checks for
Bluesky in Ohio-Ohio’s age assurance law for adult content is now in
effect, and that means implementing age verification for red hot,
salacious nookie sites – like left-wing social media platform Bluesky,
which has announced it will enable Kids Web Services’ (KWS) age
verification in the state, according to the Columbus Dispatch.Once
Missouri’s law goes into effect later this year, half of all states in
the U.S. will have enacted online safety laws with age verification
requirements.
Biometrics, identity services caught in crossfire of Washington funding stalemate-Oct 3, 2025, 2:05 pm EDT | Anthony Kimery
The
U.S. government’s lapse in congressional funding has produced a
patchwork of stoppages and slowdowns across federal systems that hinge
on biometrics and digital identity. Some high-visibility programs are
fully suspended; others are operating under “excepted” status with fewer
staff and longer delays.The clearest shutdowns so far are at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where the
government’s gold-standard biometric evaluations have been taken
offline, and at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS)
E-Verify program, which is unavailable to employers.Meanwhile,
credentialing centers that enroll federal workers for PIV cards are
warning of limited coverage or closures. At the same time, frontline
border and aviation screening are continuing, albeit with the strains
that come with extended operations during a shutdown.The most
consequential pause for the biometrics industry is at NIST. The agency
has posted an explicit banner stating that its Face Recognition
Technology Evaluation (FRTE), Face Analysis Technology Evaluation
(FATE), and iris evaluation (IREX) are suspended for the duration of the
shutdown, with no submissions processed and no inquiries answered until
funding resumes.For companies that time product launches, accuracy
claims, or sales cycles to new leaderboard results, the stoppage freezes
a primary yardstick of performance and a key source of marketing
validation. That affects a broad swath of face and iris vendors that
regularly participate in NIST testing.E-Verify, the employment
eligibility system used by millions of workers and hundreds of thousands
of participating employers, is also down. USCIS has placed an “E-Verify
is Temporarily Unavailable” notice on its program pages and on the
public E-Verify site, reflecting the program’s reliance on annual
appropriations rather than user fees.In practical terms, employers
cannot create new cases, resolve tentative nonconfirmations, enroll new
accounts, or access case data while the system is offline. Advisories
emphasize that standard Form I-9 obligations still apply and that,
consistent with prior shutdowns, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) suspends E-Verify’s three-day case-creation deadline and tolls the
clock on mismatch resolution until the system returns.For HR platforms
and employer agents that integrate directly with E-Verify’s APIs, this
means building queues and preparing for a surge of backlogged
submissions once funding is restored.Not everything tied to biometrics
is shuttered. USCIS’s core casework continues because the agency is
primarily fee-funded. That includes routine application processing and
the operation of Application Support Centers that capture biometrics,
though USCIS has cautioned that dependencies on other agencies or
conditions created by the broader shutdown can still introduce delays.In
short, while petition adjudications keep moving, some steps that rely
on outside systems may slow.At DHS’s operational components, most
frontline screening and enforcement remain “excepted” activities. DHS’s
contingency guidance outlines how essential functions continue during a
lapse in appropriations and travel reporting this week reflects that
Transportation Security Administration officers and other critical staff
are working without pay, a dynamic that can stretch operations if the
shutdown persists.For the public, that means airports and land borders
remain open and biometric traveler screening continues, but protracted
shutdowns can translate into longer lines or episodic service
disruptions as fatigue and staffing constraints mount.Customs and Border
Protection’s (CBP) traveler statistics and advisory pages carry the
standard banner noting that sites won’t be actively updated during the
lapse, which is a signal of staffing limitations rather than a shutdown
of border operations themselves.One federal identity service that is
seeing immediate, tangible effects is the government’s HSPD-12
credentialing network for federal employees and contractors. The General
Services Administration (GSA), which oversees USAccess credentialing
centers where enrollees provide fingerprints and identity documents for
PIV cards is warning that centers may be operating under limited
coverage or closed during the shutdown.Federal workers scheduled for
enrollments, activations, or maintenance appointments are being told to
check for cancellations and confirm a site’s status before traveling.
That translates into potential delays for on- and off-boarding and for
routine card maintenance across agencies that rely on USAccess sites.By
contrast, the government’s public authentication hub, Login.gov, has no
outage notice and continues to be described in GSA documentation as a
shared service with a standing authority to operate. That said, during
previous government shutdowns GSA has prioritized continuity for core
services while deferring some noncritical support and feature work.Users
should expect the authentication experience to remain available, even
if ancillary program updates are slower while the agency manages through
the funding gap.The indirect effects are more diffuse but no less real.
TSA and CBP continue biometric screening at checkpoints and ports of
entry, which prevents the kind of cascading disruption a full stop would
cause, but prolonged shutdowns have historically produced absenteeism
and operational stress, and this one begins against a backdrop of
national staffing shortfalls in aviation.If the stalemate in Congress
lingers, travelers could see longer queues, slower redress, and federal
agencies may defer non-urgent technology deployments or data refreshes.
Those decisions reverberate into industry roadmaps, especially for
airport biometrics and identity-verification pilots that depend on
government personnel for testing, data collection, or approvals.For
federal identity credentials, the USAccess warnings translate into
concrete scheduling risk for the workforce and for vendors that support
identity proofing, card issuance, and lifecycle management.Missed or
delayed appointments ripple into delayed building and system access for
new hires, postponed renewals for expiring credentials, and slowed
remediation when cards or certificates need reissuance.In the private
sector, contractors that require timely PIV provisioning to begin work
on site can find contract start dates slipping day by day.If the
standoff is resolved quickly, the impact will look like a temporary
freeze with a noisy restart. If it doesn’t, watch three pressure points.
NIST’s testing calendar, which sets an industry tempo for face and iris
claims, will compress, crowding releases later into the year.Employer
compliance operations will be juggling paper-first I-9s and pent-up
E-Verify submissions, a burden that falls heavily on large onboarding
platforms and employer agents.And finally, the longer USAccess sites run
on reduced coverage, the more agencies and contractors will slip
schedules that depend on PIV enrollments and reissuances. Those are the
places where a funding fight spills directly into the identity layer of
government services, and into the timelines of the companies that power
it.
NYPD turns public housing Internet program into surveillance network-Oct 3, 2025, 1:35 pm EDT | Anthony Kimery
The
New York Police Department (NYPD) has quietly begun wiring cameras at
scale in public housing into its real-time surveillance network,
sparking a political battle over privacy, transparency, and the use of
digital-equity infrastructure as a policing tool.By tapping the
broadband lines of the city’s Big Apple Connect program, officers are
now able to watch New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents
through a live feed connected to NYPD’s Domain Awareness System (DAS), a
move officials say will speed investigations, but which critics warn
turns public housing into a testing ground for expanded government
monitoring.Originally designed as a counterterrorism platform, DAS now
aggregates CCTV, license-plate readers, 911 calls, complaint, arrest and
warrant data, and other NYPD databases, and can surface linked records
about people, locations, and vehicles.The public first got a clear
picture of the scope of the system’s expansion this week when the New
York City Council held an emergency oversight hearing in response to
reporting that the mayor’s administration has been using Big Apple
Connect to wire NYCHA’s CCTV network directly into DAS.At the hearing,
the NYPD’s information-technology chief testified that 68 cameras at one
development are already live and that the department plans to add
roughly 1,900 cameras across 19 properties by year’s end, with a
longer-term buildout to nearly 17,900 cameras at 119 developments.He
framed the change as an “unbelievably valuable” shift from
after-the-fact retrieval to instant access that can show crimes
unfolding and rapidly identify suspects, witnesses, or dead ends.Council
members pressed officials on why none of this had been publicly
disclosed until contract records surfaced. City technology officials
conceded they had not notified residents and apologized for
contradictory statements given over the summer.The NYPD also
acknowledged it may share information gleaned from NYCHA feeds with
federal immigration authorities “when required by law.”The broadband
program was extended last week through 2028, locking in city spending at
an annual cost of about $38 million, well over $100 million over the
term.The mayor’s office touted the digital-equity benefits, including
free Internet for more than 300,000 residents while advocates warn that
an infrastructure marketed as a social good is now doubling as a
law-enforcement backhaul.Civil liberties organizations and technologists
reacted sharply as details emerged. The Surveillance Technology
Oversight Project argued that public housing has repeatedly been used as
a proving ground for invasive policing tools, and that “using public
broadband does not mean anyone invited NYPD into their homes.”The group
said residents need “surveillance-free broadband” to participate in
daily life without becoming the subjects of continuous
monitoring.BetaNYC’s executive director likewise warned that linking
public-housing cameras to the Domain Awareness System without POST Act
transparency or resident input “erodes trust and threatens civil
liberties” and undermines public support for the very broadband programs
meant to close the digital divide.The POST Act, in its current or
revised form, mandates certain disclosures of surveillance technologies,
data flows, retention, and usage policies, though gaps and enforcement
challenges persist.Defense attorneys and community advocates carried
their concerns into the council chamber. A Harlem public defender
testified that NYPD surveillance in NYCHA has already been used to watch
who young people spend time with on camera, raising First Amendment
questions about freedom of association.Council members also honed in on
the integration with the Domain Awareness System, which has long been
criticized for opacity around facial recognition and “precision
policing” models.NYPD officials said they can audit which officers view
specific feeds and for how long. Council members suggested that
independent, proactive auditing is needed to prevent “suspicionless
long-term monitoring of individual residents.”In the weeks leading up to
the hearing, New York Focus traced how the plan evolved behind closed
doors. NYCHA initially told the outlet that Big Apple Connect “is not
intended to support” its cameras; OTI, the city’s tech office, insisted
there were “no live feeds.”Later, NYPD confirmed the program allows
officers to view live video, access playback, and pull up to 30 days of
footage, contradictions that fueled council demands for a halt and a
full accounting. Local coverage by News12 and amNewYork amplified those
findings and helped trigger the emergency session.In April the city
council strengthened the POST Act with a package that, among other
provisions, empowers the Department of Investigation to demand detailed
inventories of surveillance tech, mandated a public policy and biannual
audits for facial recognition, and requires disclosure of all outside
entities that receive NYPD surveillance data.The Brennan Center, which
pushed for the reforms after the city’s inspector general flagged
compliance gaps, said the updated law closes some longstanding loopholes
that let the NYPD sidestep meaningful disclosure. Council leaders who
shepherded the package through have since signaled they want tighter
auditing and clearer rules for inter-agency data sharing connected to
NYCHA feeds.Lawmakers meanwhile have begun to introduce measures
specifically aimed at oversight of the NYCHA pipeline.Sponsors and
privacy groups are also floating resident-centric guardrails, notifying
tenants when live access is activated at a development, posting clear
signage and impact-use policies at building entrances, publishing
selection criteria for camera integration, and setting retention limits
with independent audits.The mayoral administration and NYPD argue the
change is a technical modernization, not a “new technology,” and
therefore not subject to the POST Act’s public notice provisions.That
interpretation landed poorly with council members and civil liberties
groups, who countered saying that swapping “how” access occurs is
precisely the sort of shift the POST Act was written to surface.The
debate matters because the POST Act’s updated rules now require
disclosure of data flows to outside agencies and regular audits of
sensitive systems, obligations that would directly address advocates’
concerns about immigration referrals and cross-database profiling.For
residents, the stakes are immediate. Real-time camera access, wired
through an equity-branded broadband network, risks normalizing
continuous observation of exteriors, lobbies, and corridors with
potential ripple effects into gang databases, predictive-policing
models, and immigration enforcement.The city council’s hearing, powered
by document disclosures pried loose through records litigation, forced
the city to acknowledge that residents were not informed and that public
explanations shifted under scrutiny.With the broadband program extended
through 2028, pressure is likely to climb for statutory guardrails that
move oversight from internal logs to independent audits that treat
method changes as “new” for transparency purposes, and that guarantee
public-housing tenants the right to know when their buildings become
nodes in the city’s surveillance web.
Norway’s data privacy
watchdog seeks ban on remote biometric identification-DPA lobbying to
become designated market surveillance authority-Oct 3, 2025, 12:58 pm
EDT | Joel R. McConvey
Norway is exploring stronger
regulations on AI – and a potential ban on biometric recognition
technology for surveillance.A translated statement from Datatilsynet,
the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (DPA), offers recommendations on
a new law submitted for consultation by the Ministry of Digitalisation
and Public Administration.Among the main recommendations are a demand
for a national ban on what translates as “remote biometric
identification” – defined here as tech that “aims to identify natural
persons without their participation, usually at a distance, by comparing
a person’s biometric data with the biometric data in a reference
database.” (In other words, 1-n facial recognition, including live
facial recognition.)“The use of remote biometric identification
constitutes a serious infringement of privacy and the right to privacy,”
it says. As such, it calls for a general ban in Norway against the use
of biometric recognition, regardless of purpose.“These are measures that
involve major interference with the right to privacy, cf. Article 8 of
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Section 102 of the
Constitution, and which may also have consequences for other fundamental
rights, such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.”It notes
that “the Ministry is assuming that such use is illegal today in any
case. However, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority believes that
borderline cases and situations of doubt may arise, and that this should
therefore be included and specified in a prohibitory provision in
law.”Full adoption of the AI Act into national law-The DPA also calls
for clearer frameworks on the implementation of the EU AI Act in
Norwegian law, emphasizing that the entire regulation is implemented in
Norwegian law to “ensure that the legal protection of Norwegian citizens
is not weaker than for other citizens in the EU.”The agency says it is
“positive about taking on a role as a market surveillance authority,” as
designated by the ministry, and believes it should be given
“supervisory responsibility for the use of high-risk AI systems for law
enforcement purposes.”Alas, it says, this requires sufficient resources.
Or – in a cruder translation – ante up to support protections.But, keep
your distance.“We also emphasize the need for independence, both in its
own role and in the case of a possible complaints body. We further
point out that a complaints body must have sufficient expertise and that
the market surveillance authorities must be able to bring legal
proceedings in important cases.”Additional recommendations seek
clarification on questions of jurisdiction, fines and information
sharing, and call for the establishment of “a list of public authorities
that oversee fundamental rights.”
Zambia plans domestic digital
ID development with help from international partners-Deals to support
national ID, biometric cards for refugees-Oct 3, 2025, 12:20 pm EDT |
Chris Burt
Zambia is engaging with a continental leader in
digital identity and international institutions as it works to issue
digital identity to its people and improve the conditions for refugees
and their host communities in the country.The government is launching
the new Zambia Refugee and Host Communities Project (ZRHCP) with $30
million in support from the World Bank and technical support from UNHCR.
The funding is provided under the IDA20 Window for Host Communities and
Refugees (WHR).The World Bank committed $120 million to support
Zambia’s implementation of digital public infrastructure (DPI) earlier
this year.Biometric national registration cards will be issued to
refugees and former refugees under the initiative, which is managed by
Zambia’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security (MoHAIS).Home
Affairs and Internal Security Minister Jack Mwiimbu said in the
announcement by UNHCR that the biometric cards are intended “to improve
access to socio-economic opportunities for both refugees and host
communities.” The government also hopes to improve access to essential
services.Schools, healthcare facilities, water systems and roads will be
upgraded as part of the project, in a bid to enable sustainable
development.The country participated in a workshop with the UNHCR on
forcibly displaced people at ID4Africa’s 2024 AGM.There are 112,000
refugees and forcibly displaced persons residing in Zambia. The project
is planned for completing at the end of October, 2028.MoU with
Ethiopia-The leaders of SMART Zambia and Ethiopia’s national ID
authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on
digital identity implementation, TechAfrica News reports.SMART Zambia
Institute National Coordinator Percy Chinyama noted the value of digital
ID for public access to healthcare, education, banking, and social
services, as well as benefits to government transparency and
accountability.The agreement, signed by Chinyama and Yodahe Zemichael,
ED of Ethiopia’s NIDP, deepens bilateral relations between the
countries, according to the report.Chinyama said during the Africa
Innovation Conference, held in April in Addis Ababa, that Zambia wants
to follow Ethiopia’s model for national digital identity because it is
centered on a domestically developed system, according to reporting by
TechAfrica News at the time.Zambia’s E-Government Division, meanwhile,
is taking proposals at it prepares to tender a contract for a Mobile
Virtual Network Operator for the SMART Zambia Institute (SZI) under a
public-private partnership (PPP).The goal is to upgrade the e-government
platform to lower the cost of service delivery and enable the agency to
tailor the services it is rolling out. Perhaps most importantly, the
current platform is hindering government efforts to identify duplicate
social program beneficiaries.
Papua New Guinea prepares digital ID trust framework ahead of 2026 launch-Oct 3, 2025, 12:13 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Papua
New Guinea’s Cabinet has approved the National Digital Identity Policy
2025, under which the government plans to issue a secure and
interoperable digital ID to all citizens.The National Executive Council
(NEC) endorsed the plan from the Department of Information and
Communications Technology, which would establish a Digital Identity and
Trust Framework. The digital ID is intended for use with public
services, the government says, and could lower fraud and improve data
protection in the country.PNG piloted its SevisPass digital identity
successfully in 2024, and began promoting it to stakeholders and
integrating data earlier this year.Acting Minister for ICT Peter
Tsiamalili Jr. hailed the approval as a transformative moment for
PNG.“We are not just catching up—we are setting a new standard for
digital governance in the Pacific,” Minister Tsiamalili said in a
government announcement. “This is about building trust, protecting
rights, and unlocking opportunities for every citizen.”The
implementation is planned to begin early next year, and proceed in
phases.PNG’s government is also warning the public about fake websites
requesting personal information from visitors.Digital ID details
emerge-The policy document positions Papua New Guinea’s Digital Identity
and Trust Framework as a foundational piece of its digital public
infrastructure (DPI). The framework will be built with “an open, modular
and interoperable architecture, aligned with international best
practices such as ITU’s GovStack.”The government wants to roll out the
“SevisPass Digital ID and Trust Framework” over 18 months, with a
six-month “stabilization” period following.It will involve developing
minimum viable products for the SevisPass, SevisWallet, SevisPortal,
SevisAdminPortal, and SevisDEx, which are identified as key system
components.While the government announcement stresses the use of the
digital ID for government services, the policy notes its value for
financial services, including in completing KYC and AML checks and
meeting FATF standards.It also stipulates that the system must include
multiple authentication options, including biometrics, one-time
passwords (OTPs), QR codes and PINs.Enrollment will include biometrics,
but allowances will be made for those medically unable to provide
them.The policy also explicitly states that digital ID cannot be
required to access essential services.
Facial recognition
strengthens security for Asia’s expanding rail, metro sector: Panel-Oct
3, 2025, 11:16 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald
In a recent webinar
organized by RecFaces, biometrics and transportations security experts
explored how facial recognition systems can be useful in ensuring the
safety and security of rail and metro passengers in Asia.Contributions
during the exchange came from Oleg Kurychkin, Business Development
executive for Asia Pacific at RecFaces; Dr. Ajay Talwar, head of
Business Verticals for India & SARC at Bosch Security and Safety
Systems, and Shadan Khan, chief security commissioner at South Central
Railway (SCR) in India.The discussions come on the heels of a surge in
those modes of public transportation and the challenges that come with
them in countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the
Philippines, Cambodia and India. Projections suggest the use of rail and
metro means of transportation in Asia will reach 97 percent by 2050.In
the course of the webinar, discussants touched on how face biometrics
can strengthen both security and operational capacity, cited examples of
successful biometric deployments for transit, and looked at how
operational optimization can be achieved using data-driven
approaches.The panelists acknowledged that Asia’s rail and metro sector
is expanding rapidly, driven by a number of factors that include
government investment, sustainability goals, and passenger demand.
Alongside infrastructure growth, operators are increasingly embracing
digitalization and, specifically, facial biometrics to enhance security,
streamline operations, and improve the passenger experience.Kurychkin
noted the security pressures that come with those systems of transport.
“Railways are the critical infrastructure. They move millions of people
and goods every day, and that makes them attractive targets for
organized theft, vandalism and even terrorism,” he said,He then added
why biometrics should be used as a proactive security measure. “Manual
ID checks take 30-60 seconds. With facial biometrics, verification takes
less than one second. They just have to approach the gate, look at the
camera, and pass through. It is simple, intuitive, and
effortless.”Talwar emphasized that biometric security for these
transport systems must be deployed with reliable and proven surveillance
infrastructure in order to be effective. He also highlighted Bosch’s
long-standing role in metro and railway security, citing the Delhi Metro
where their platforms have been operational since 2002.“Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation has been using our solution for more than two decades
now, at more than 300 locations,” he said, before adding that “these
systems are very complex; it is not simple installing cameras nowadays,
it is becoming more of an AI-based thing.”Khan, for his part, admitted
that rail and metro projects are capital-intensive which means there’s
need for stronger government involvement. He also shared his thoughts
about the issue of security, stating that because of the growing
vulnerability to theft, vandalism, and terrorism and with rising
passenger volumes, technology must be inevitably used to fill the gap.
He referenced their own system.“Thanks to a very well-functioning facial
recognition system, we could handle the Kumbh Mela mega event [a
religious gathering] successfully and securely,” he said. “The smartness
of the system is that even with cover-ups like masks or caps, it
recognizes the face and gives us the real-time alert.”Facial recognition
shaping urban mobility-Meanwhile, in an analysis, RecFaces explains
that many of the countries in Asia are resorting to rail and metro
facial recognition for several reasons including ticketless boarding,
contactless travel payments, enhanced security through real-time alerts,
fraud reduction and operational efficiency.The analysis cites examples
from Japan, Indonesia and India where rail and metro networks have face
biometrics systems, some on pilots and others on full deployment.Japan’s
Osaka Metro, it says, has installed facial recognition gates at 130 of
its 134 stations in order to improve passenger flow and security, while
JR East network is trialling facial recognition on the Joetsu Shinkansen
line for ticketless boarding.The write-up mentions the Indonesia
example where facial recognition systems have been installed and are
active in 22 major rail and metro stations. Passengers can use the
system from a mobile app to complete contactless boarding in a move that
also seeks fight congestion and contribute to greener travel following a
jump in car ownership.In India, biometrics deployments appear to be
motivated more by security, rather than easily ticketing, RecFaces
notes. It mentions that an AI-based face biometrics system is being
deployed in seven of the country’s busiest railway stations to assist in
the real-time identification of persons linked to serious
offenses.RecFaces says it is well positioned “to provide the expertize,
technology, and compliance needed to make Asian metros and railways
ticketless, contactless, and secure for millions of daily passengers.”
Meta
allows impersonation scams to run rampant as political deepfakes hawk
phony benefits-Fake likenesses of Trump, Musk, Ocasio-Cortez flood
social giant’s ad library-Oct 3, 2025, 12:08 pm EDT | Joel R.
McConvey
By now, it is hardly a secret that social media, and
Facebook in particular, has become a garbage dump for bad information.
Already targeted by foreign actors as fertile ground in which to sow
discontent and partisan hostility, its inextricable ties to AI
development mean it is now awash in so-called AI slop: memes, images and
advertisements created with generative learning models.It’s an ideal
habitat for scammers. A new investigation by the Tech Transparency
Project (TTP) has found that scammers are spending heavily on Facebook
ads that use deepfake videos of prominent political figures to push
bogus government benefits. They come from groups with names like I Love
My Freedom and End the Wokeness, and Get Covered Today.“Scammers who use
deepfake videos of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and lawmakers like
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders to promote fictitious
government benefits are among the top political ad spenders on Meta
platforms,” it says.Sixty-three 63 scam advertisers are responsible for
150,000 political ads on Meta platforms, spending a whopping 49 million
dollars – putting them among the top political ad spenders on Facebook
and Instagram in 2025.Scams target seniors with dubious incentives-The
bait is fake stimulus checks, government spending cards and Medicare
payments, alongside old fashioned investment scams and snake oil sales.
(“Get a free ICE hat just by paying this mandatory packaging fee!”) The
quarry is seniors, who are young enough to be on social media, but often
lack the digital literacy needed to spot scams and deepfake media.“The
findings show how scammers are taking advantage of advances in
artificial intelligence technology, public confusion around the status
of social safety net programs, and lax Meta content moderation to target
new victims,” TTP says. “Meta is allowing this activity even though it
prohibits scams and says it invests in scam prevention to keep users
safe.”“All of the 63 scam advertisers showed they had ads removed by
Meta within the past 12 months for violating the company’s policies,
though nearly half (30) continued to advertise as of Sept. 30, 2025.”TPP
says Meta did not respond to its request for comment, but did make a
statement to the New York Times, which reported on the findings, saying
it will “invest in building new technical defenses.”Time to stop
believing what Meta says-Social media companies have been promising to
make their platforms safe and secure for as long as there’s been doubt
about their safety and security. Yet the fraud problem keeps getting
worse: according to the Pew Research Center, nearly three quarters of
U.S. adults have experienced some kind of online scam or attack. Some
older adults have lost their life savings to scammers.It is past time to
stop taking what Meta and its offshoots say at face value. The firm
says it is “constantly working” to weed out scams. Yet a May 2025 report
from the Wall Street Journal asserts that “current and former employees
say Meta is reluctant to add impediments for ad-buying clients who
drove a 22 percent increase in its advertising business last year to
over $160 billion.” Meta knows some of these are scammers – but the
money’s too good to get rid of them.TTP’s research, conducted using
Meta’s Ad Library, found that Meta subjects political ads to an
“enhanced level of scrutiny.” Nonetheless, it found dozens of
advertisers running scam ads targeting U.S. users: “for example, during
the 90-day period from April 3 to July 1, 2025, at least 45 scam
advertisers spent more than 18 million dollars on Meta platforms.”In its
conclusion, TTP says that, “even when Meta disables these accounts or
removes the ads, the damage has already been done to consumers – and the
company has already profited.” It believes that the mass availability
of generative AI tools is likely to further turbo-charge scams “unless
Meta takes steps to improve enforcement of its own policies.”This seems
unlikely to happen in any comprehensive way. However, there are efforts
being made on the biometrics front to try and stem the bleeding. Meta
already has a facial recognition system that flags suspicious celebrity
faces in ads (so-called “celeb-bait”) and matches them to the profile
photo of the celebrity in question, to determine if they are real. Last
month, the government of Singapore ordered Meta to deploy its biometric
systems to crack down on government official impersonation
scams.Regardless, the current status underlines a concerning truth that
is becoming more evident by the day. To quote a statement issued by U.S.
Senator Bernie Sanders, whose likeness has been used to push fake
benefit scams: “AI is advancing rapidly, but the laws and protections we
have in place for everyday Americans are dangerously outdated.”Stronger
regulations for AI are presumably not high on the list of priorities
for a U.S. administration that, right out of the gate, tried to block
any AI regulation at all for ten years. As such, the problem is likely
to get worse before it gets better.
Croatian digitalization head shares concerns about EUDI Wallet certification-Oct 3, 2025, 10:58 am EDT | Lu-Hai Liang
Croatia
is steadily advancing toward the rollout of the European Digital
Identity (EUDI) Wallet. It is aligning national infrastructure, policy,
and services to meet the requirements of the new EU framework. As Igor
Ljubi, head of division for the Croatian Ministry of Digital
Transformation, took to the stage at the 11th Trust Services and eID
Forum, he spoke on trust, usability and cross-border functionality.At
the heart of the transformation is the belief that digital identity must
be more than just a technical tool: it must be a trusted gateway to
public services. “If you don’t know who’s behind the screen, then you
won’t feel safe sharing data,” Ljubi said. This principle is especially
critical in cross-border scenarios, which is key to the EUDI
Wallet.Croatia’s journey began in 2014 with the launch of the National
Identification and Authentication System (NIAS), offering seven
credentials. By 2025, this has expanded to 29 credentials, including
eight at a high level of assurance, 17 significant, and four low-level.
The country’s eIDAS node was established in 2017, and by 2018, Croatia’s
eID and NIAS were notified for cross-border use.Croatia is implementing
the EU Digital Identity framework into its national Digital Information
Infrastructure (DII), and aligning with the Architecture Reference
Framework (ARF) to ensure wallet rollout within 24 months. This includes
upgrades to the DII system, development of the wallet, initiation of
certification processes, and preparation of attribute sources. The
issuance of the certified EUDI Wallet is planned for Q4 2026, alongside
the integration of private electronic services and public promotion
efforts.But as Ljubi emphasizes, “The wallet is not just an app.” The
focus has to be on building an ecosystem that delivers meaningful use
cases — such as insurance, driving license, and digital diplomas — that
make the wallet relevant and useful to citizens. One example is ISeVO,
the Digital Diploma Register, which is integrated with the e-Citizens
platform and will serve as the central registry for higher education
entities in Croatia.The country’s mobile digital identity solution,
Certilia, developed by Agencija za komercijalnu djelatnost (AKD),
already supports a wide range of credentials including eID, health
insurance cards, student cards, and the EU Digital Travel Credential
(DTC) as part of an EU pilot. Certilia is integrated with national
registries and open to third-party app integration via Certilia
Developer. With over 350,000 users and 100,000 daily mobile
interactions, it has facilitated more than 11 million qualified remote
signatures.Croatia is also an active participant in the EU Digital
Identity Coordination Group (EUDICG), contributing to the drafting of
implementing and delegated acts and sharing best practices with the
European Commission. At home, the government is upgrading digital
platforms like mCitizens and the e-Citizens portal to improve user
experience and expand access to public services.Technical and safety
activities are underway, including the implementation of ODIC,
Verifiable Credentials, and W3C standards. Croatia is working closely
with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, ENISA, and FESA to
ensure privacy and cybersecurity compliance. However, challenges remain,
particularly around interoperability, GDPR alignment, and the lack of a
national certification scheme for wallet solutions.Ljubi acknowledges
these hurdles candidly: “I’m worried about certification. If there’s no
scheme, there is no wallet.” He said Croatia hopes to learn from other
countries and explore training opportunities to catch up. The National
Working Group is currently drafting the Implementation Act to formalize
roles and responsibilities across creation, issuance, management,
supervision and reporting.
UN panel on digital ID and AI coasts
on assumptions about role of AI agents-Equating people and agentic bots,
UN panel highlights tech’s zeal for the next thing-Oct 3, 2025, 10:34
am EDT | Joel R. McConvey
At an event held during the 80th UN
General Assembly, a discussion addressed the question of “Trusted
Digital Identity for People & AI,” through the lens of deploying
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that is secure and equitable – with
the topic of AI agents dominating the conversation.A blog from the
Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF), which had two members on the
panel, says the primary challenge that panelists looked at is “the
persistent gap between policy and production.”“While global goals like
SDG 16.9 are clear, the goal of providing legal identity for all by 2030
is often stalled by protocol fragmentation and the lack of a robust
architectural model for a world where both people and AI agents are
first-class citizens,” it says.The UN Sustainable Development Goals were
not designed with AI agents in mind, nor is it clear on what basis they
would claim citizenship. But the current moment proceeds as though AI
is inevitable, and as such it must be tabled for discussion.“Today
there’s not really a robust model for AI agents,” says Matt McKinney,
CEO of AIGNE, “the agentic ecosystem for AI apps,” and one of the
aforementioned DID members. “That’s something a lot of people are
working on, but there really is no clear line of sight or clear path in
terms of bringing AI agents into our trusted ecosystem.”No structured
framework, but AI agents welcomed into ecosystem anyway-That statement
raises the question of whether or not agentic AI – a relatively new
entrant into the tech ideasphere – should be part of a robust, trusted
digital identity ecosystem at all. Nonetheless, McKinney says that, “as
we build identity and as we think about bringing people into a kind of
trusted environment, we first need to acknowledge that there are two
types of subjects that we’re dealing with. One is people and the second
is AI agents that they authorize.”For all its purported transformational
power, however, agentic AI never comes without a warning that we need
some way to distinguish who’s real from who’s bot. Humans, McKinney
says, “need the ability to safely delegate tasks without actually
handing over the keys to their entire entire digital life. And as AI
moves closer and closer to us, this is becoming a bigger and bigger
issue: how do we actually maintain our personal identity from an agent’s
perspective?”Once again, rather than ask, “should we step back and ask
whether a continued convergence of humanity with algorithmic large
language models is actually beneficial,” McKinney suggests the trick is
in the right settings: you just have to make sure the agents only have
the keys they need to unlock the doors you want them to.He suggests this
can be accomplished through controller-bound credentials, “a special ID
that permanently links the AI to its owner so we always know who’s
accountable,” often achieved with encrypted biometrics; and by ensuring
that AI is audible and accountable by implementing “scoped and time box
permissions.”Most important, however, is “having an auditable path to
revocation, meaning we log every time the AI uses its key and we have
the power to turn off that key at any time.”AI adds another element to
be sold to doubting public-The confidence in models that has seized the
identity sector reflects boundless optimism about the potential for mass
uptake of digital identity. But adding AI agents to the mix means
adding a layer of trust that will need to be sold to the public just
like digital identity itself. Given the recent reception to Kier
Starmer’s digital ID salvo in the UK, there is already more than enough
work to be done before we begin granting citizenship to algorithms.“The
next question is how do we actually build this without taking on a big
risk,” McKinney observes. He outlines four key steps. The first is
“starting from policy. So, first policy and architecture: before we
actually build anything, we sit down and we create the rules.”That
approach is dead on arrival, in that it has already failed: the tech is
built, and the rules are not yet written.“An internet of trust” comes up
in the discussion, as does “trust elevation,” both phrases of Nicola
Gallo of Nitro Agility. Ken Ebert, CEO of Indicio, steers the
conversation toward biometric verifiable credentials, as a defense
against AI deepfakes and exploding financial fraud.So the conversation
cycles: AI will do everything for us, but the risks mean we need to
control it, and since we can’t yet we need more AI to combat fraud
enabled by AI, because AI will do everything for us.Which is to say, AI
agents in the workflow have been sold as a revolution in efficiency. But
if every innovation creates a new problem, trust will be elusive –
which will only make the sales pitch for digital ID even harder.The
session as described aimed to focus on “turning the UN’s digital
identity strategy into a deployable reality, grounded in the core
principles of interoperability, privacy by design, and inclusion for
all.” Inadvertently, it highlighted the tension between these stated
goals and a relentless culture of innovation that will tell us something
is indispensable before it even exists.
CLEAR+ enrollment opens US biometric lanes to passengers from 40 more countries-Oct 3, 2025, 9:52 am EDT | Anthony Kimery
Clear
Secure, Inc. announced a sweeping expansion of its premium identity
service, Clear+, opening enrollment to passport holders from 40
additional nations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.With this move,
international travelers arriving in the U.S. can now join Clear+ by
beginning the process online and finalizing it in person at
participating airports with a valid passport.Enrollment opens the door
to Clear’s network of more than 150 biometric lanes across 60 U.S.
airports, enabling members to expedite the identity-check stage of
airport security.Caryn Seidman Becker, CEO of Clear, framed the
announcement as more than a product extension. “We’re thrilled that
travelers from 40 additional countries can finally enjoy a seamless
airport experience here in the U.S. with Clear+,” she said.“As millions
arrive for holidays, sporting events, and once-in-a-lifetime
celebrations, we’re excited to provide more international visitors with
the ability to relax on their travels knowing that CLEAR is their
partner helping them move through airports more quickly and easily,”
Becker said.This expansion builds on a prior enlargement of eligibility
in August when Clear opened enrollment to travelers from the U.K.,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.Together, these moves enlarge Clear’s
addressable market globally and position the company for heightened
traffic during major upcoming events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and
the U.S.’s 250th anniversary celebrations.The list of newly eligible
countries now includes France, Germany, Spain, South Korea, Singapore,
Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Taiwan. Once travelers enroll,
they can use Clear’s lanes to skip parts of the identity verification
line and move more directly into screening.Clear said it currently
serves more than 7.6 million Clear+ members and over 33 million users on
its broader secure identity platform.The company asserts that this
global enrollment expansion is part of its continuing investment in a
technology-enabled airport experience, and is accompanied by plans to
scale automated biometric gates deployment across its airport
footprint.The timing is strategic. The biometric eGate model, already
deployed at airports including Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson, John F.
Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington ,and Seattle–Tacoma
International Airport in Seattle, gives enrolled Clear+ members a
gateway that captures and matches a live facial image to booking and ID
data, opening the gate in a few seconds and ushering travelers into the
screening zone without stopping at a manned identity station.The
deployment of eGates dovetails with TSA’s broader push to modernize
checkpoint operations through advanced technology such as Credential
Authentication Technology (CAT-2) systems, AI-enhanced threat detection,
and upgraded Computed Tomography (CT) carry-on scanners.One of the
arguments behind automation is that freeing up personnel from manual
identity checking allows them to be redeployed to more critical security
tasks as passenger volumes rise.Instead of handing a boarding pass and
identification to a security officer, Clear+ members step up to an
automated portal where a live facial image is captured and compared
against their booking and ID data. If the match is successful, the gate
opens and the traveler walks directly into the physical screening
area.According to TSA and Clear, the process takes between three and six
seconds. For TSA, the benefit is not just faster lines, but the ability
to reassign personnel to higher-priority security functions. As
passenger volumes continue to rise, automating identity verification is
viewed as essential to maintaining efficiency.Clear operates and
finances the gates, but TSA retains authority over access, vetting, and
watchlist enforcement. TSA officials have stressed that the arrangement
comes at no cost to taxpayers.The program is expected to expand soon to
Washington Reagan National Airport and Seattle–Tacoma International,
with additional airports likely to follow if the pilot proves
successful.For Clear, the eGates are not merely an add-on to its
service, but a sign that the company is becoming part of the mainstream
security checkpoint architecture.The eGate initiative is part of TSA’s
larger modernization agenda, which includes deploying CAT-2 machines and
advanced CT scanners. Automating the ID check aligns with TSA’s
long-term strategy of using technology to offset staffing pressures
while attempting to improve both security and customer experience.For
Clear, this alignment with TSA’s modernization plan is strategically
advantageous. By funding and operating infrastructure that TSA endorses
but does not directly pay for, CLEAR strengthens its value proposition
to airports and the federal government alike.The company’s executives
argue that their biometric network complements TSA’s mission while
creating a scalable business model based on membership fees rather than
taxpayer dollars.While Clear and TSA insist the program is voluntary,
the reality of long lines and slow processing in conventional lanes can
pressure travelers into opting in, an issue that has provoked the ire of
lawmakers.Privacy advocates also question whether images truly remain
ephemeral. TSA says they are deleted after successful matching except in
limited testing scenarios. The collection and transmission of biometric
data in real time, combined with the use of private contractors at
critical choke points, has sparked calls for stronger statutory
safeguards.Another concern lies in the perception of a two-tier system.
Clear+ is a subscription service that costs members $189 a year, though
airline partnerships and credit card perks often lower the effective
price. That price point means only certain travelers will benefit from
faster, automated lines, raising questions about equity in access to
public infrastructure. While TSA PreCheck and Global Entry are also
fee-based programs, critics argue that outsourcing part of the
checkpoint to a private subscription model represents a more profound
shift.Today’s expansion announcement underscores Clear’s ambition to
scale its membership base at a time when biometric eGates are gaining
traction.By opening enrollment to dozens of new countries, the company
ensures that the system will not be limited to U.S. citizens and a small
group of allied nations. Instead, international travelers who enroll
can arrive in the United States already prepared to use the biometric
gates.The move also expands Clear’s operational leverage. With physical
infrastructure already in place at more than 60 U.S. airports, each
additional enrollee increases throughput and revenue without
proportionally increasing costs. The economics become more favorable as
more travelers subscribe, and the network effect strengthens as
biometric gates become more common place.
Cybernetica to provide interoperability layer for digital government in Côte d’Ivoire-Oct 2, 2025, 4:09 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Côte
d’Ivoire’s national IT development company and Cybernetica have signed a
contract for the Estonia-headquartered company to provide a secure data
exchange layer for as part of its digital government transformation.The
Société Nationale de Développement Informatique (SNDI) was commissioned
to set up the data exchange by the Ministry of Digital Transition and
Digitalization (MTND). An implementation project is expected to take 20
months and will be carried out in partnership with Digital Afrique
Telecom (DAT).Côte d’Ivoire intends to complete its digital
transformation by 2030 under its National Digital Development
Strategy.Cybernetica is tasked with enabling data interoperability among
government institutions, but also between the public and private
sector. Its Unified eXchange Platform (UXP) will provide the basis for
the exchange of data, documents and services, according to the company
announcement.“We have chosen a robust solution that guarantees our
digital sovereignty and will accelerate the digital transformation of
our country,” says SNDI Director General Soro Nongolougo.If successful,
the project will also speed up administrative procedures for individuals
and make interactions with businesses more efficient.“While the
individual level of digitalisation of services in the country is already
quite high, the next step is enabling these systems to work together,”
says Cybernetica Head of Data Exchange Technologies Ants Anupold. “With
our secure data exchange solution (UXP), organisations can communicate
more easily, reducing the administrative burden for civil servants and
making services more convenient for it’s citizens. This project will
open new doors for digital governance and lay a strong foundation for
further interoperability developments. By connecting organisations and
systems, the government will be able to provide faster, more reliable
services and strengthen engagement between citizens, businesses, and the
state.”Côte d’Ivoire’s fellow West African nation Benin also uses
Cybernetica’s UXP for a data exchange layer to make its digital ID
interoperable.
THE FALSE VATICAN POPE LEO 14TH
ISAIAH 23:15-17
15
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten
seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of
seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go
about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody,
sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall
come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit
Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with
all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE
70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE
WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND
CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET
ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR
TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.
REVELATION 13:11-18
11
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN
POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he
spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR
FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE
WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE
NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had
power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth
all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:1-18
1
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the
judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:(VATICAN)
2
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN
POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with
the wine of her fornication.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES
HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE
BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS
FACTORY).
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the
woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN
COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN)
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup
in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE
VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND
WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE
THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS
CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast
that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall
wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven
heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS
BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are
fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one
is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet
come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED
ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE
EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL
HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR
TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE
EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION
TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE
THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD
OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE
EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS
CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received
no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them:
for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him
are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The
waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE
WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the
beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her
desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD
HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in
their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)
HOW THE FALSE POPE IS ELECTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj3Qnr_30Z4
POPE FRANCIS SISTER (PEDOPHILIA WAY WORSE THEN THOUGHT) (CARDINAL MATEO TERESCO-THE NEXT COVERUP POPE OF PEDOPHILIA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usFshfmBPmY
FALSE POPE LEO 14TH 2012 INTERVIEW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVkJ5TQi1s
POPE 14TH WILL BE WORSE THAN FRANCIS.
https://banned.video/watch?id=681cf97a22a2c8ae0e09b5d0
I
GUESS POPE LEO 14TH BLESSED THE GREEN LAND ICE FOR THE GOOD OF THE
EARTH AND FOR THE CHILDREN.LIKE ALL THE LIBERALS DO FOR THE GOOD OF THE
EARTHS CLIMATE CHANGE SCAM HOGWASH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUnngkHkHEI
Pope
Leo Blessing Ice Sparks Anger: ‘Pagan Earth-Worship
Ritual’Published-Oct 02, 2025 at 12:17 PM EDT-By Jordan King-US News
Reporter
Multiple people have spoken out against Pope Leo
blessing a block of ice during a global church summit on climate
change, with one calling it part of a “weird pagan Earth-worshipping
hippy ritual.”Leo carried out the blessing while he presided over the
10th anniversary celebration of immediate predecessor Pope Francis's
landmark ecological encyclical (a papal letter sent to all Roman
Catholic bishops), Laudato Si, or Praised Be.Pope Leo was presiding over
the Raising Hope for Climate Justice’ International Conference at
Castel Gandolfo, just south of Rome, in front of more than 1,000 people,
according to the National Catholic Reporter.Footage of him blessing a
block of ice has been shared widely online. Several figures have
criticized the move, classing it as “paganism” and saying the “the
leader of the Catholic Church shouldn’t be anywhere near this
nonsense.”Newsweek has contacted the Vatican, via email, for comment.Why
It Matters-The event unfolded against the backdrop of heightened U.S.
political polarization around climate issues, with Pope Leo delivering
veiled criticism of those who ridicule global warming science.This comes
as Leo is already facing backlash for his comments about abortion and
what it means to be consistently pro-life.What People Are Saying-The
Pope used the event, attended by bishops, indigenous and environmental
groups and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, to call on
people to "put pressure on governments to develop and implement more
rigorous regulations, procedures and controls.""The challenges
identified in Laudato Si are in fact even more relevant today than they
were 10 years ago," Leo said. "These challenges are of a social and
political nature, but first and foremost of a spiritual nature: they
call for conversion."Matt Walsh, the influential conservative
commentator, said in a post on X: “Horrific. The whole thing. Pope Leo
blesses a block of ice and then stands there while these communist
freaks do some kind of weird pagan Earth worshipping hippy ritual. The
leader of the Catholic Church shouldn’t be anywhere near this nonsense.
What the hell are we doing here.”Similarly, Social media commentator Ian
Miles Cheong said: “The Pope blesses a slab of ice and then just
lingers there while a bunch of communist weirdos prance around in some
pagan Earth-worship ritual. The head of the Catholic Church has no
business being anywhere near this circus.”An account called “Catholics
for Catholics” (@CforCatholics) said: “Pope Leo blesses ice at a Raising
Hope for Climate Justice Conference. What are we doing here...?”Father
Federico Palma, a traditionalist Catholic priest, said: “The Vatican II
religion touched a new low. Leo XIV in one week did perhaps more damage
to the Catholic Faith than Francis in a couple of years. First, he
undermines the pro-life cause, secondly, he promotes ecumenism and
religious indifferentism, and now he performs this truly esoteric
‘blessing’ of water. What a disgrace.”Others have defended the move,
including Roman Catholic Levi Borba (@abrobivel), who said: “Ice is just
water. The church has been blessing water since the 4 century and it is
widely justified both by the tradition and the scriptures. Jesus was
baptized in Blessed water by the way.”Pope Leo posted on X on Wednesday:
"We are one family, with the same Father, who makes the sun to rise and
sends rain on everyone (Mt 5:45). We live on the same planet, and must
care for it together. I renew my heartfelt appeal for unity around
integral ecology and for peace!"What To Know-Leo is already under fire
for his comments on Tuesday, when he said: “Someone who says I’m against
abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life.
Someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the
inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if
that’s pro-life.”He was speaking about an ongoing dispute between U.S.
Catholic leaders over plans by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of
Chicago, to honor Democrat Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a Catholic
politician who supports abortion rights, with a lifetime achievement
award for his immigration advocacy.Cupich was planning on honoring
Durbin with the award at the “Keep Hope Alive Benefit 2025” on November
3, hosted by Cupich himself and the Archdiocese’s Office of Human
Dignity and Solidarity Immigration Ministry at St. Ignatius College Prep
in Chicago.The Archbishop has defended the award, arguing that the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2022 instructed bishops
“to reach out to and engage in dialogue with Catholic politicians within
their jurisdictions.” But multiple people have spoken out against this
too.Since Tuesday, Durbin has “decided not to receive an award at our
Keep Hope Alive celebration,” Cupich said in a statement.What Happens
Next-The ice blessing episode adds fuel to long-standing tensions
between the Vatican and political conservatives—especially Trump
supporters—who challenge the Church's engagement with contemporary
social and ecological issues. The controversy underscores broader
debates within American Catholicism about the intersection of faith,
ritual, and political advocacy.
Pope Leo XIV Attends Swearing-In of Swiss Guards, First for a Pope in Nearly 60 Years
The
Holy Father was joined by a crowd of spectators watching as the 27 new
members were sworn into the ranks of the papal guard.Pope Leo XIV on
Saturday attended the swearing-in of Swiss Guards at the Vatican, the
first time a pope has attended the pomp-filled ceremony since the
pontificate of Pope Paul VI in 1968.The event took place in the
Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard. The Holy Father was joined by a crowd of
spectators watching as the 27 new members were sworn into the ranks of
the papal guard.The swearing-in ceremony, when the new guards promise to
protect the pope, if necessary with their lives, was postponed from the
traditional date of May 6 due to the conclave that saw Leo
elected.Swiss Guards swearing-in 2025-Pope Leo XIV observes the Swiss
Guard during a swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 4,
2025. (Photo: Francesco Sforza)@Vatican Media-Swiss Guards 2025-The Pope
observes the Oct. 4 ceremony.Swiss guard ceremony 2025-The Pope met the
recruits and their families at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 3, ahead of
the swearing-in ceremony.“From the first steps of my pontificate, dear
Swiss Guards, I have been able to count on your faithful service,” the
Pope said on Oct. 3.“The successor of Peter can fulfill his mission in
service to the Church and the world in the certainty that you are
watching over his safety,” he added.He encouraged the new guards to draw
inspiration from the stories of the first Christian martyrs in Rome to
deepen their relationships with Jesus and to cultivate their interior
lives “amid the frenzy of our society.”
Cardinal Cupich Is Right:
We Need to Work This Out-EDITORIAL: Catholics must model unity and
dialogue if we hope to help heal a divided nation.The Editors
Editorial-October 3, 2025
Much ink has already been spilled over
Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plan to give one of the nation’s leading
pro-abortion politicians a “lifetime achievement award” in recognition
for his work on immigration issues.Our purpose here is not to heap
further scorn on what was, it must be said, a shocking lapse of
judgment. The idea that the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Human
Dignity and Solidarity would fete Sen. Dick Durbin, someone who
obstinately and repeatedly denies the inherent human dignity of the
unborn, predictably provoked a firestorm of outrage. Who thought we
needed more of that right now? That the controversy came to cause
problems for our Holy Father, who has consistently called for peace and
unity since the moment of his election, only added further to the
needless tumult.Enough said. As members of the Body of Christ, more
pressing than casting aspersions and pointing blame is to start taking
seriously the question, “Where do we go from here?”Tragically, too many
of us in the American Catholic Church are at each other’s throats over
the hair-trigger issues of our day: sexual morality, liturgy,
immigration policy and anything and everything connected with Donald
Trump, to name but a few. The intensity of this crippling polarization
isn’t so surprising, given the divisiveness of our wider society. Why
should Catholics be any different? Because we’re supposed to be
different. We’re supposed to set an example.Make no mistake: Those on
the outside of our Church see how divided we are, and they’re watching
us very closely to see if we can figure out how to put the brakes on
this runaway train of suspicion and animosity. Because if we can manage
to do that, maybe the country can, too. Conversely, if we can’t, how can
we hope the country will? In that spirit, it’s worth taking a serious
look at some of the laudable things that Cardinal Cupich had to say when
he announced the news on Sept. 30 that Sen. Durbin (to his credit) had
declined the archdiocese’s honor. Here are the highlights:Cardinal
Cupich spoke strongly in defense of the unborn. He clarified that the
decision to honor Durbin was not meant to signal “a softening of our
position on abortion.” That’s good to hear.Instead, he said, “We firmly
assert what the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear: ‘Since the
first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured
abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.’” “The
Catholic bishops heroically responded when the right to life of the
unborn was negated by the 1973 decisions of the Supreme Court,” he
added. “That right to life still needs to be defended without
compromise.”He correctly reminds us that we can’t be “one-issue
Catholics.” How simple life would be if we could take a one-and-done
approach to politics. But life is complicated. So is defending life, in
all its stages and vulnerabilities. “The tragedy of our current
situation in the United States is that Catholics find themselves
politically homeless. The policies of neither political party perfectly
encapsulate the breadth of Catholic teaching,” Cardinal Cupich observed,
adding that “the tragic reality in our nation today is that there are
essentially no Catholic public officials who consistently pursue the
essential elements of Catholic social teaching because our party system
will not permit them to do so.”“Total condemnation is not the way
forward, for it shuts down discussion,” he said. That’s 100% true. Yet
finding some better way to function in today’s overheated public square
won’t come easy. The social media giants have figured out that keeping
us all at an “11” on the anger amp is a wonderfully lucrative business
model. But look around and see where that’s gotten us. Criticism and
debate are foundational to healthy civil discourse. Demonization and
denunciation undermine it. “No one wants to engage with someone who
treats them as a thoroughgoing moral threat to the community,” Cardinal
Cupich said in his statement. “But people will engage with, and may even
learn from, those who recognize them as making some contribution to a
common endeavor.” This is one of the great challenges of our day,
especially for Christians.Cardinal Cupich said he is “open to
suggestions” for how we can promote a more constructive dialogue. Let’s
take him at his word. Giving awards to those who fundamentally
disrespect our core values is not the way to go about this, obviously.
But there are plenty of other means. Can we discuss that? Cardinal
Cupich, for his part, suggests “synodal gatherings,” which some
Catholics might view with skepticism. Call it whatever you want, but we
desperately need to learn to listen — to those we vehemently disagree
with — and to Pope Leo and especially to Our Lord, whose prayer that
“they may all be one” remains unrealized yet unceasing.
A Papal
Intervention and a Canceled Award: What (If Anything) Did Pope Leo XIV’s
Comments Have to Do with Sen. Durbin’s Decision? The next day,
Catholics are still trying to understand what just happened.Jonathan
Liedl Nation-October 1, 2025
It all went down with breakneck
speed: a papal intervention into a weekslong controversy in the
Pontiff’s home city, followed just hours later by the abrupt end of the
controversy in question. The next day, Catholics are still trying to
understand what just happened.A tumultuous five hours on Tuesday began
at about 2 p.m. ET, when an EWTN Vatican journalist asked Pope Leo XIV
to address the ongoing controversy over Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s
plan to give a “lifetime achievement award” to Sen. Dick Durbin, a
baptized Catholic who has long advocated and voted for legalized
abortion.Back home in the U.S., the controversy had dominated headlines
for nearly two weeks. Eight sitting diocesan bishops had publicly asked
Cardinal Cupich to rescind the award over concerns that it would
compromise the Church’s pro-life witness, a rarity for a group of men
who tend to keep their disagreements private. Furthermore, the story was
front and center for Catholic media outlets across the ecclesial
spectrum. It had even been picked up by secular media, including The
Associated Press.The Pope’s Response-EWTN Vatican’s query was the last
of several questions posed to Pope Leo by members of the media during
what have become regular weekly conversations between the Pope and the
press as he arrives at Castel Gandolfo, where he typically spends his
Tuesdays. “I wanted to ask one thing that has become a divisive subject
in the U.S. right now, with Cardinal Cupich giving an award to Sen.
Durbin,” asked the reporter, Valentina Di Donato. “Some people are
having a hard time understanding this because he is for legalized
abortion. How would you help people of faith right now decipher that,
feel about that, and how do you feel about that?”In his response, Pope
Leo XIV began by noting that he was “not terribly familiar with the
particular case” before adding that “it’s important to look at the
overall work that a senator has done during, if I’m not mistaken, in 40
years of service in the United States Senate.”“I understand the
difficulty and the tensions,” said Pope Leo XIV. “But I think as I
myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues
that are related to the teachings of the Church.”The Pope continued:
“Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion’ but is in favor of the death
penalty is not really pro-life,” the Pope explained. “Someone who says,
‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of
immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”“So
they are very complex issues, and I don’t know if anyone has all the
truth on them,” he said, “but I would ask, first and foremost, that they
would have respect for one another and that we search together both as
human beings, and in that case as American citizens and citizens of the
state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say that we need to be close
to all of these ethical issues. And to find the way forward as a
Church. The Church teaching on each one of those issues is very
clear.”Strong Reactions-Pope Leo’s response sparked strong reactions
back home in the United States. Some suggested that by emphasizing the
need to look at all aspects of the Church’s social teaching, Pope Leo
was clearly giving reason to question the logic of honoring a
pro-abortion senator. “The question is whether Durbin is pro-life,”
wrote Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture. “By the Pope’s own statement, he
is not. … Therefore Durbin should not be honored by a Catholic
institution. Case closed."But others contended that by shifting the
focus to self-identified pro-lifers who don’t follow Church teaching on
immigration or the death penalty, the Pope was giving cover for the
award. For instance, a headline from Politico read: “Pope Leo defends
Church honoring Durbin.” But just hours after the Pope’s comments hit
the wire, the debate over the meaning of his words was diverted. Because
at about 7 p.m. ET, Cardinal Cupich announced that Durbin “had decided
not to receive” the award. “While I am saddened by this news, I respect
his decision,” said Cardinal Cupich in a two-page statement, adding that
the award had been meant to recognize the Illinois Democrat’s “singular
contribution to immigration reform and his unwavering support of
immigrants.” Cardinal Cupich also lamented that neither major political
party in the U.S. embraces the totality of the Church’s social teaching,
adding that his outreach had been an attempt to encourage Durbin to
“extend [his] good work to other areas and issues.”Lingering
Questions-The immediate controversy seems effectively over. But in the
aftermath, people are still wondering what, if anything, Pope Leo’s
comments and the subsequent announcement of Durbin’s decision had to do
with each other.Did Pope Leo XIV request that Cardinal Cupich’s award to
Sen. Durbin be spiked? Or was the fact that the senator declined the
award mere hours after the Pope’s comments purely coincidence? Despite
speculation being rife on social-media platforms like X, these, and
other related questions, remain unanswered. But other relevant facts
have emerged that add some important context.At the end of last week,
multiple sources had told the Register that the only likely “off-ramp”
for Cardinal Cupich to not go through with giving the award would be for
Durbin to decline it, given that the Chicago cardinal had already
doubled down on his intent to give the award despite criticism.
Furthermore, The Pillar reported late last night that the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops was preparing to release a statement on
the Durbin-Cupich situation, after several bishops had written into the
conference requesting that the controversy be addressed. The report
indicated that the apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Christoph Pierre, had been
made aware of the development. Citing unnamed bishops, The Pillar also
suggested that Cardinal Cupich may have shut down the award so as not to
be seen as opposed by the USCCB, or because the nuncio had urged him to
do so.But while the controversy over the Durbin award might be over,
what isn’t is the deep-seated divergence between some U.S bishops on the
priority abortion should or should not have in their advocacy. In
November 2023, the USCCB voted to reaffirm that abortion is their
“preeminent priority,” given its scope and the fact that it targets the
most vulnerable members of the human family. But a minority of bishops,
including Cardinal Cupich, have long advocated for removing the
“preeminent” language, arguing that in a polarized society, it
undermines advocacy on other issues like immigration or care for
creation.This divide between the bishops will likely be in the
background next month at the USCCB’s November meeting in Baltimore. So,
too, will questions of Pope Leo’s own priorities as they relate to the
Church and society in the United States, especially considering that the
bishops are set to elect a new conference president to a three-year
term.As Pope Leo has said in a Sept. 14 interview, he wants to influence
American politics and society by engaging “with the bishops primarily,”
as opposed to the more direct approach Pope Francis often took with
figures like President Donald Trump. To do so will require good
bilateral relations between the Pope and the bishops’ conference of his
native land. That relationship will be defined in a major way at the
upcoming USCCB meeting, which will now be colored by the dispute
American Catholics just saw play out between their bishops.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3
Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a
witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment
come.(IN 1 HR THE STOCK MARKETS WORLDWIDE WILL CRASH)
17 For in one
hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all
the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood
afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping
and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich
all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one
hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast
their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be
removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to
deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy
their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the
stumblingblock of their iniquity.
MARK OF THE BEAST (engraved microchip in your hand or forehead)
AI in an 'industrial bubble' but will benefit society: Bezos.
Turin,
Italy, Oct 3 (AFP) Oct 03, 2025-Artificial intelligence technology is
in an "industrial bubble," Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told a tech
conference in Italy on Friday, but the benefits to society will be
"immense"."Investors don't usually give a team of six people a couple
billion dollars with no product... and that's happening today," Bezos
told an audience at Tech Week in Turin."This is a kind of industrial
bubble," said Bezos, who has invested in the American generative AI
start-up Perplexity.But that is not the same as a banking bubble such as
the 2008 financial crisis, he argued."Those bubbles society wants to
avoid. The ones that are industrial are not nearly as bad, it could even
be good, because when the dust settles and you see who are the winners,
society benefits from those inventions... and that's what's going to
happen here.""This is real," Bezos continued. "The benefits to society
from AI are going to be gigantic."Multiple technologies are in a kind of
"golden age," he said, echoing language used by US President Donald
Trump. "There's never been a better time to be excited about the
future.""AI is real. And it is going to change every industry... it is
going to affect every company in the
world."tsz/jra/LyS/st/rl-Amazon.com-EXOR-Stellantis-FERRARI N.V.
Hong Kong to install surveillance cameras with AI facial recognition.
Hong
Kong, Oct 3 (AFP) Oct 03, 2025-Hong Kong plans to install tens of
thousands of surveillance cameras that will make use of AI-powered
facial recognition, the city's security chief said on Friday, bringing
it closer to China where authorities often monitor public spaces with
cutting-edge technology.The Chinese finance hub has already installed
almost 4,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras under a police
crime-fighting programme. That number will increase to a total of 60,000
by 2028, according to documents submitted to the legislature.Artificial
intelligence is being used to monitor crowds and read licence plates,
and that technology "will naturally be applied to people, such as
tracking a criminal suspect", Hong Kong's security chief Chris Tang told
lawmakers."That is something we must do," he said, adding that
authorities are still considering issues such as resource allocation and
choice of technology, without specifying a timeline for the
rollout.Police say the SmartView programme is needed to safeguard
national security and to prevent and detect crimes, crediting the use of
CCTV cameras with solving more than 400 cases and scoring 787 arrests
since the initiative was launched last year.Officers will start using
real-time facial recognition "as early as the end of this year", the
South China Morning Post reported in July.Similar technology has also
been adopted in Britain, although critics argue that it grants the
government unchecked power to invade privacy on a massive scale.Concerns
have also been raised over false matches leading to wrongful
arrests.The European Union adopted an Artificial Intelligence Act last
year that banned "the use of 'real-time' remote biometric identification
systems in publicly accessible spaces for the purposes of law
enforcement", with some exceptions.Hong Kong's privacy watchdog, an
independent statutory body, declined on Friday to say whether it had
been consulted in drawing up plans to expand the surveillance camera
programme.Eric Lai, a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian
Law, said Hong Kong's police have not been subject to effective
oversight by independent watchdogs and the city has no clear rules on AI
use by law enforcement agencies."It is therefore questionable whether
the existing legal and regulatory framework is sufficient to prevent
police abuse of power in deploying AI technology for surveillance, or
whether procurement processes are conducted with proper regard for human
rights due diligence," Lai told AFP.
Cyberattack halts shipments from Japan's biggest brewer.
Tokyo,
Oct 3 (AFP) Oct 03, 2025-A damaging cyberattack on Japanese beer giant
Asahi this week has halted shipments from its breweries and there is no
resumption in sight, the company warned Friday, fuelling fears of
shortages.Asahi Group, producer of Japan's most popular beers, said
Monday it had "experienced a system failure" owing to a cyberattack that
forced the suspension of orders and shipments of various beverages --
including its flagship Asahi Super Dry."No immediate recovery of our
system is in sight at the moment. Ordinary shipments remain halted," a
spokesperson, who declined to be named, told AFP on Friday."Production
is not directly affected (by the system dysfunction) but it has been
halted because shipments are suspended."The company said it was looking
into the possibility of a ransomware attack after announcing in Monday's
statement that its local operations had been hit.The news is worrying
for Japan's ubiquitous convenience stores, who are major stockists of
Asahi beer.A spokesperson for Seven & I Holdings, which operates the
7-11 convenience store chain, said it was preparing to put up notices
to warn customers of the suspension, but added that the halt "had not
yet caused major disruptions"."We don't expect (Asahi drinks) to
disappear from all our stores at once, although it all depends on how
sales will go at each of these outlets."AFP visited several convenience
stores and supermarkets in Tokyo Friday, all of which still had
stock.Asahi Group's shares are down almost seven percent from last
Friday's close.The attack comes after a cyberattack halted operations at
Jaguar Land Rover's British factories for almost a month.The
Indian-owned automaker said on September 2 that it had been targeted by
hackers, severely disrupting sales and production and forcing it to seek
emergency funding.The firm announced on Monday that it would partially
restart production.tmo-aph/dan
US says kills four in new attack on alleged drug-smuggling boat.
Washington,
Oct 4 (AFP) Oct 04, 2025-US forces carried out a strike on an alleged
drug-smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela on Friday, killing four
people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.The latest strike, which
Hegseth announced in a post on X, brings the number of such US attacks
to at least four, leaving at least 21 people dead.An accompanying video
shared by Hegseth showed a boat speeding across the waves before being
engulfed in smoke and flames."Four male narco-terrorists aboard the
vessel were killed," the Pentagon chief wrote.He said the strike "was
conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while
the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics -- headed
to America to poison our people.""These strikes will continue until the
attacks on the American people are over!!!!" he added.Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro and some of his allies in the region condemned
the attack.The latest military action comes after President Donald
Trump's administration said in a notice to Congress that he has
determined the United States is engaged in "armed conflict" with drug
cartels.Washington has not released evidence to support its assertion
that the targets of its strikes are drug smugglers, and experts say the
summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed narcotics
traffickers.The administration's letter, a copy of which was obtained by
AFP on Thursday, was designed as a legal justification for at least
three previous strikes."The president determined these cartels are
non-state armed groups, designated them as terrorist organizations, and
determined that their actions constitute an armed attack against the
United States," said the notice from the Pentagon, which also described
suspected smugglers as "unlawful combatants."- 'Armed aggression' -Trump
posted the same video as Hegseth on his Truth Social platform, saying
that "a boat loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE
was stopped... from entering American Territory."Maduro called US
actions in the region "an armed aggression to impose regime change, to
impose puppet governments, and to steal Venezuela's oil, gas, gold and
all natural resources."Speaking at an event in Caracas, Maduro ordered
the mobilization of reservists and militias "if it is necessary to move
from unarmed combat to armed combat."The Bolivarian Alliance for the
Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a leftist Latin American bloc co-founded
by Maduro's late mentor, Hugo Chavez, condemned in a statement the
"illegal incursion" by US fighter jets, deeming the raid a violation of
international law.ALBA argued that the repeated US strikes aim to
"destabilize the region" and instill fear in its people.Colombian
President Gustavo Petro -- a fierce critic of Trump's policy of striking
alleged traffickers -- wrote on X that "the narco-terrorists don't go
in the boats -- the narcos live in the US, Europe and Dubai.""There were
poor Caribbean youths on that boat," Petro wrote, adding that striking
vessels that could instead be intercepted at sea "violates the universal
judicial principal of proportionality."Tensions between the United
States and Venezuela have been high over the deployment of multiple
American warships in the region.Venezuela said Thursday it had detected
"an illegal incursion" by five US fighter jets flying off its shores,
with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino denouncing the alleged flights as
a "provocation."Trump last month dispatched 10 F-35 aircraft to Puerto
Rico, a US territory in the Caribbean, as part of the biggest military
deployment in the area in over three decades.wd/dw/acb/ami/mtp
French navy responds to drone threat with jamming and a 'wall of steel'
Toulon,
France, Oct 3 (AFP) Oct 03, 2025-The 76-mm cannon fires three shells
into the sky, shaking the floor of the bridge. "UAV (unmanned aerial
vehicle) destroyed," shouts a sailor on board the French frigate
Lorraine, his eyes glued to binoculars.Moments earlier, a target
representing a surface drone slowly sank into the depths of the
Mediterranean Sea, riddled with 12.7-mm machine gun bullets."You nailed
it, Tristan!" the crew cheered the 20-year-old seaman for his perfect
shot from a distance of 300 metres (984 feet).Sailors on the Lorraine
have been training in counter-drone warfare and testing new equipment,
firing at aerial or surface drones singly or in groups, as well as
electronic warfare exercises against aircraft simulating drones or
missiles."We adapt our methods and equipment through innovation," said
the ship's captain, Laurent Toncelli.The threat from drones is
transforming the battlefield, from Ukraine to the Red Sea and hybrid
operations in the skies above Europe.A recent spate of mysterious drone
sightings over European countries has caused surging tension with
Russia, which denies being behind them.The French navy, like military
forces across the continent, wants to modernise as quickly as it can
against the new threats."It's better to have a partial but rapid
response than a total one that will come too late or so late that it's
obsolete," said Frederic Petit, a weapons engineer and innovation
advisor to the naval chief of staff.- Better detection -The new
equipment tested on the Lorraine is housed in a container installed at
the rear on the helicopter platform, bristling with antennae, radars and
optics out of bounds for visitors and photographers.A handful of
industry representatives and France's Directorate General of Armaments
mill around it.The equipment allows them to "explore jamming
capabilities, increase the lethality of our weapons, particularly
small-calibre ones, and integrate additional optronics to better detect
the threat", the ship's commander said.The ship's crew are testing, for
example, a new firing assistance system on the two Narwhal 20-mm cannons
remotely operated from the bridge, which detects and tracks targets
more effectively.On the screen, boxes with numbers appear."This is the
percentage the system is confident is a target," said Baptiste, 21,
wearing a headset to listen to orders and instructions, and holding a
walkie-talkie to communicate directly with industry representatives."I
told them I was above the threshold on my shots," he said.- 'Full beam'
-"There are two ways (to take down drones): the old-fashioned way, like
at Pearl Harbor, which is labour- and ammunition-intensive, and the
refined technical approach, where we aim for a strike on the first
shot," said artillery officer Francois, 36, from the operations nerve
centre on the frigate.The navy is combining the two approaches, as well
as improving accuracy."We are strengthening our capacity to create a
steel wall," added Francois."Since 2025, we've installed additional
machine guns at the rear of the frigate and during this exercise we've
tested twin-barrel machine guns that are even more efficient, with more
ammunition, higher firing rates and better aiming aids."Beyond focusing
on short-range destruction of drones, "electronic warfare and jamming
are effective methods" to neutralise them from a distance, without
having to fire the very costly Aster missiles housed in the bow, said
Petit.Jamming theoretically allows several targets -- like a swarm of
drones -- to be neutralised at once."The cannon aims at only one target,
whereas we target an area," explained Kevin, a 33-year-old electronic
warfare operator."It's like a full beam in your eyes at night: you're
blinded. It's the same for the drone."fz/sva/lpt/phz/jhb
