The Syrian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement extending “its condolences to the families of the Syrian and American security personnel who were killed in the terrorist attacks that took place in Palmyra and northern Syria.” The statement reiterated Syria’s “firm commitment to fighting the Islamic State.” A US official told CNN that since the December 13 attack, US forces and partner forces have carried out 10 operations that resulted in the killing or arrest of approximately 23 individuals. On December 14, Syria’s Ministry of Interior said that its units carried out an operation in Palmyra to arrest five suspects accused of involvement in the killing of US service members in “coordination with the General Intelligence Directorate and the International Coalition forces.”
Archiv: Ausreden / Versprechungen / Beschwichtigungen / Rechtfertigungen / Alibis / excuses / promises / appeasements / justifications / alibis
US launches retaliatory strikes in Syria on dozens of ISIS targets
Hegseth said „Operation Hawkeye Strike“ was carried out in Syria „to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria.
U.S. Central Command also confirmed in a statement that Jordanian fighter aircraft also participated in Friday’s strikes.
„This is not the beginning of a war — It is a declaration of vengeance,“ said Hegseth.
Not in that: PM says T&T not involved in US blockade against Venezuela
“They have asked for no assistance about blockading in Venezuela, no, they have not,” Persad-Bissessar said after attending the funeral for former colleague Daphne Phillips.
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When asked about Trinidad and Tobago’s position should any US military strikes occur, Persad-Bissessar stressed that the Government’s priority is to keep the country safe. She made it clear that T&T has no aggressive intent towards Venezuela.
“T and T first, that will always be our position. We have no intention of engaging in any war with Venezuela. I’ve always said we stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and we will continue so to do.”
US gets green light …Military aircraft to use local airports
“In keeping with established bilateral cooperation, the ministry has granted approvals for United States military aircraft to transit Trinidad and Tobago’s airports in the coming weeks,” Monday’s release stated.
U.S. military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people
(December 16, 2025)
The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted „designated terrorist organizations,“ killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third boat. It didn‘t provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding.
Security experts reject PM’s claim that unflagged vessels can be attacked
(December 10, 2025)
Former director of the National Coastal Surveillance Radar Centre and National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader, retired Coast Guard commander Norman Dindial, said that the Prime Minister’s claim is legally unsound. He said flagless vessels are classified as stateless, not pirates, and cannot be considered lawful targets.
His comments follow renewed questions about the September 2 strike near Trinidad and Tobago’s waters, now under scrutiny for allegedly killing two survivors in a second hit. Speaking outside Parliament on Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar said the incident “had little to do with Trinidad and Tobago” and suggested the unregistered vessel may have been viewed as carrying pirates. Dindial dismissed that interpretation.
PM on US ‘double tap’ strike: Unflagged vessel treated as pirate ship
(December 10, 2025)
Asked Sunday about the “double tap” strike, Persad-Bissessar had asked for more time to research the matter.
Asked again yesterday outside the Parliament, the Prime Minister said, “I don’t see how it applies to me or what it has to do with me or Trinidad and Tobago. The United States is a sovereign nation and they are free to exercise their sovereignty in manners that they see or deem fit. I cannot be judge and jury here to determine whether they are right or whether they are wrong. Those are not within our jurisdiction or my remit.”
But Persad-Bissessar maintained that any vessel sailing without a national flag risks being classified as a pirate ship and, as such, would not be entitled to the same protections afforded to legitimate maritime vessels.
The US bulldozed the prospect of Uniting for Peace in Palestine
(December 2, 2025)
Calls for international protection are not new, Aboudi told The Electronic Intifada.
In April 2025, “we called for international protection and we called for international forces to come, forcefully impose a ceasefire and guarantee the opening of all crossings to Gaza for the flow of humanitarian aid and personnel to save the population of Gaza,” Aboudi said.
Following a PNGO statement in August, specifically calling on the UNGA to adopt the Uniting for Peace resolution, Colombia wanted to push the idea forward.
“We already had a draft proposal by the Colombian government,” Víctor de Currea-Lugo, Middle East advisor to Colombia’s President Petro, told The Electronic Intifada. That proposal was “ready to be presented” in the General Assembly.
“We organized a strategy to visit different countries and to mobilize our embassies, our consulates and our mission before the United Nations [meet] in New York. The problem was, at that moment, Trump presented his plan for the pacification of Gaza,” de Currea-Lugo said.
Adding to the obstacles, according to Aboudi, “the Palestinian Authority weren’t really pushing for it.”
“They still were betting on US intervention and involvement: that it would end the genocide, that it would give them the path for a Palestinian state and for the recognition of Palestinian rights. This gamble did not pay off,” he said.
White House says admiral approved second deadly boat strike
Hegseth “authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” Leavitt said. “The president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists again are trafficking illegal drugs towards the United States, he has the authority to kill them. That is what this administration is doing.”
White House Confirms Second Strike on Alleged Drug Boat and Defends Move as Legal
(December 1, 2025)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command acted “within his authority and the law” when striking an alleged drug boat a second time on Sept. 2 after the first strike left survivors.
The White House has scrambled in recent days to respond to reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an elite military unit to kill everyone on board an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in early September, leading the commander to send a second strike that killed survivors from the first attack.
Prime Minister defends silence on US Marines in Tobago ‘I withheld work on radar details to protect national security’
On Wednesday, when a C-17 Globemaster with the words Air Force emblazoned on its side was spotted at Tobago’s airport, a picture of the aeroplane was circulated widely on social media, with several citizens questioning its purpose.
Later that day, outside the Red House, the Prime Minister explained that the aircraft had brought in US marines to assist in constructing a roadway. At the time, she said that, to her knowledge, there were no longer any marines in the country. However, US marines were later seen at a popular hotel in Tobago. The day after, the Prime Minister clarified that following further inquiries, she had been informed that marines were still in Tobago and were assisting with work on the runway, roadway, and radar system at Tobago’s airport.
Senators vow oversight after report Hegseth told troops to ‘kill everybody’ in boat strike
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
Security Council adopts US resolution on Gaza stabilisation force
The Security Council has just voted in favour of the resolution.
The vote tally was as follows: 13 votes in favour, zero against and two abstentions, including Russia.
A reminder that this resolution contains language that outlines a potential future path to Palestinian statehood.
Security Council to vote on new Gaza force: Here’s what you need to know
If adopted, the resolution would provide international legal authority for a multinational security mission, seen by potential troop-contributing countries and donors as necessary for deployment. No UN peacekeeping presence is envisaged.
It could represent a decisive transition from active conflict to stabilisation and reconstruction, combining security guarantees with reforms to governance and services.
Trump’s Gaza peace plan faces a pivotal UN Security Council vote. Can it get across the line?
While many countries continue to be concerned about the details (or lack thereof) in the resolution, support from a broad coalition of regional states will probably push it over the line.
Neither the Israelis nor Palestinians have been formally included in the negotiations, but Israel has presumably worked closely to shape the text. It has pushed back strongly on language supporting Palestinian statehood and will continue to do so.
The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has given his broad support to the plan.
Israeli jets strike southern Lebanon towns, escalating near-daily attacks
(November 6, 2025)
Israeli jets struck several towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday after urging residents to leave, marking an escalation in their near-daily strikes on the country.
The airstrikes came hours after militant group Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government not to enter negotiations with Israel.
Military devise ‚war‘ plans after call-out – Troops stand down
MILITARY COMMANDERS have devised three specific courses of action to be taken in the event of any land strikes involving US forces and neighbouring Venezuela.
This follows a mandatory call-out of thousands of active soldiers, sailors and other personnel on October 31 to report for duty by 6 pm and a subsequent lockdown of all military installations.
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The combination of a motion to extend the state of emergency for three months being debated in Parliament, media reports of an imminent strike to Venezuela, sparked a wave of anxiety in some parts of the country with some schools ending earlier and private businesses shutting their doors.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar later called for calm, vowing to keep the public informed of any major developments.
15th US strike kills 3 more
The operation carried out on Saturday brings the total number of strikes carried out by the US in the Caribbean and Pacific to 15 and the total number of deaths 65.
US military kills three in another strike on Caribbean vessel
The operation, which began in early September, has killed more than 62 people, including nationals from Venezuela and Colombia, and destroyed 14 boats and a semi-submersible.
The Trump administration has said the attacks are targeting alleged drug smuggling, but has yet to present any evidence to the public to substantiate its claims.
Critics have called the strikes a form of extrajudicial killing and a violation of international law, which largely prohibits countries from using lethal military force against noncombatants outside a conflict zone.
Death toll in massive police raid on drug gang in Brazil rises to 119
Local activist Raull Santiago said he was part of a team that found about 15 bodies before dawn.
“We saw executed people: shot in the back, shots to the head, stab wounds, people tied up. This level of brutality, the hatred spread – there’s no other way to describe it except as a massacre,” Santiago said.
Castro said on Tuesday that Rio was at war against “narco-terrorism,” a term that echoed the Trump administration in its campaign against drug smuggling in Latin America. Rio’s state government said that those who had been killed had resisted police action.
US kills 14 in new attack on Pacific vessels
Fourteen people were killed and one survived, as a result of another attack by the U.S. War Department against three vessels sailing in the waters of the Eastern Pacific.
The information was confirmed by the Secretary of the US Department of War, Pete Hegseth, who detailed in his X account that “three lethal kinetic attacks were carried out against four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (…) A total of 14 narcoterrorists died during the three attacks.”
Graham says lawmakers to be briefed on potential Venezuela land attack
(October 26, 2025)
“There will be a congressional briefing about a potential expanding from the sea to the land. I support that idea, but I think [Trump] has all the authority he needs,” Graham added.
Starting in early September, the president authorized a series of strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing at least 43 people.
Sen. Lindsey Graham says land strikes in Venezuela are a „real possibility“ amid rising tensions
(October 26, 2025)
„I think President Trump‘s made a decision that [Nicolas] Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, is an indicted drug, drug trafficker, that it‘s time for him to go, that Venezuela and Colombia have been safe havens for narco-terrorists for too long, and President Trump told me yesterday that he plans to brief members of Congress when he gets back from Asia about future potential military operations against Venezuela and Colombia,“ Graham said Sunday on „Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.“
Another US strike in Caribbean targets alleged drug-running boat, killing 6, Hegseth says
In a 20-second black and white video of the strike that was posted to social media, a small boat can be seen apparently sitting motionless on the water when a long thin projectile descends on it resulting in an explosion. The video ends before the explosion dies down enough for the remains of the boat to become visible again.
In his post, Hegseth said that the strike was conducted in international waters and boasted that it was the first one conducted at night.
UAE’s Gargash says discussions ongoing on deployment of security personnel to Gaza
Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, has addressed the situation in Gaza during in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi.
He said much work remains to ensure…
Germany to send military personnel to support Gaza ceasefire monitoring
The deployment does not require authorization from the German parliament, „as no involvement in armed operations is expected,“ the ministry said.
The announcement follows German Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s earlier commitment to provide strong political, financial, and technical support for the Gaza ceasefire plan while stopping short of committing troops to the planned International Stabilization Force.
Israel renames Operation Iron Swords to War of Revival as fighting in Gaza resumes
(today, 11:57)
As fighting in Gaza resumed, Israel’s Cabinet on Sunday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to rename the ongoing conflict The War of Revival, replacing the previous title Operation Iron Swords.
Trump says 2 survivors of US strike on submarine being sent to Ecuador, Colombia in move that avoids legal fight
In a legal defense provided to Congress, Trump told lawmakers that the U.S. is in an „armed conflict“ with the cartels and that drug smugglers are „unarmed combatants.“
Some legal experts have said such an argument is unlikely to hold up in court. However, it was unclear who would challenge Trump’s rationale in defense of the drug cartels, with few lawmakers speaking out against it and Trump continuing to expand military operations in the region in recent weeks.
IDF: 5 Palestinians killed in Gaza City had crossed ceasefire line and neared troops
The IDF says the five Palestinian suspects who were killed after approaching forces in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood this morning had crossed the so-called Yellow Line, to which the military withdrew as part of the ceasefire.
Attempts were made to disperse the suspects, and after they refused to, the IDF says it carried out fire to “remove the threat.”
UK Grants Police New Powers to Crush Peaceful Protests as Palestine Action Demonstrations Continue
Police arrested nearly 500 more pro-Palestine demonstrators on Saturday—including many Jewish activists—who participated in a protest calling for the government to “Lift the Ban” on the protest group Palestine Action, which was outlawed under Britain’s anti-terrorism law in July.
Those arrested included an 83-year-old Anglican priest, the 79-year-old daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and a 79-year-old Jewish man with terminal illness, among hundreds of others who held signs in opposition to the ban as part of a “silent vigil.”
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“The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country. However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear,” said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. “Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated, and scared to leave their homes. This has been particularly evident in relation to the considerable fear within the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions in these recent difficult days.”