The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) have agreed to integrate their military forces into the army of the new Syrian government.

The agreement is also believed to involve the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, commonly known as "Rojava", which is the civil authority that rules SDF-held areas of Syria.

The fighters are believed to be those affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which waged a decades-long insurgency against key Syrian ally Turkey, and which has many forces in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Syrian Democratic Union (PYD), which is the main component force of the SDF, is essentially the Syrian wing of the PKK, meaning that this move will bring an end to fighting between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces that have blighted post-Assad Syria.

The SDF held around 25 percent of Syrian territory, including many of the richest areas in terms of oil, natural gas and minerals, with many of these areas being Arab-majority areas prior to the war and their conquest by the Kurdish force.

There has not yet been any comment from the US, which materially and physically supports the SDF, including the use of several American bases in the areas under their control.

An Israeli soldier recently released from Gaza has told media that Hamas allowed her and other prisoners to observe Jewish traditions and holidays, permitting them to practice their religious rituals.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth published an interview on Wednesday with Agam Berger, who was recently released from Gaza as part of the prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group.

She recalled that she and other captives "were surprised" when Hamas provided them with various items, including a Jewish prayer book, known in Hebrew as siddur.

"We have no idea how it happened, but they simply handed us prayer books," she said, describing the issue for her as "particularly unusual." "It (the prayer book) wasn't random ... it arrived exactly when we needed it most," Berger said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26284554

By Syma Mohammed
Published date: 20 February 2025 21:44 GMT

Alex Tyrrell, party leader of the Green Party of Quebec, who accompanied Engler to the police station on Thursday, spoke to the Middle East Eye about Engler’s arrest.

“I think it’s a shocking attack on free expression and democratic rights and criticism of Israel in Canada - a country that’s supposed to be a free, democratic society. We’re supposed to speak out about a genocide," Tyrrel told MEE.

“Most of the PA’s aid doesn’t come from the State Department. It comes from the CIA. Last I heard, they haven’t changed their policy on the PA,” a member of Fatah told MEE.

Tahani Mustafa, the International Crisis Group's senior Palestine analyst, told MEE it can be difficult to tally just how many American dollars are flowing to the PA’s security services because they are covertly funded by US intelligence, whose funding is likely not impacted by the aid freeze.

“State Department and Department of Defence funding are not the whole part of the PA security services funding,” Mustafa said.

“In fact, they are less than those that will have a critical impact on national security, that being funding from the CIA.”

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/26263029

Feb 20, 2025
contains article and podcast

from #DropSiteNews [you may get a request to sign up for free subscription]

Yesterday, two B-52H long-range bombers of the United States Air Force launched from the Fairford Air Force Base, as well as at least 4 KC-135R tanker aircraft launched from the Mildenhall Air Force Base crossed the Mediterranean Sea near Italy yesterday, heading towards the Middle East.

After they were denied access to Egyptian airspace, they received permission and began conducting exercises over Jordan, probably in conjunction with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF). The long-range strategic bombers then crossed into Iraq and the Persian Gulf, flying along the border with Iran in an apparent "show of force," according to flight tracking websites.

Egypt has received its first batch of J-10CE fighter jets from China, marking a significant shift in the country’s air defence strategy and reinforcing its commitment to diversifying military suppliers.

The J-10CE, a 4.5-generation multi-role fighter, enhances Egypt’s air superiority capabilities. Comparable to modernised F-16 models, it is equipped with PL-15 long-range air-to-air missiles, capable of engaging targets up to 300 km away – beyond visual range. This capability allows Egypt to intercept hostile aircraft and aerial threats before they reach its airspace.

Following the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, Cairo shifted its focus to American F-16 fighter jets, acquiring one of the world’s largest fleets. However, the US refused to supply AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, limiting Egyptian F-16s’ beyond-visual-range air combat capabilities.

There is already a serious problem in modern discourse with the term "independent media," a phrase commonly defined as any media outlet, no matter how big an empire it is, that is not owned or funded by the state (as if that is the only form of dependence or control to which media is subject). But even at this extremely low bar, all these outlets fail. Indeed, Weimers' warning underlines the fact that none of them are independent in any meaningful way. They are, in fact, completely dependent on USAID for their very existence.

Not only that, but some USAID-backed journalists candidly admit that their funding dictates their output and what stories they do and do not cover. Leila Bicakcic, CEO of Center for Investigative Reporting (a USAID-supported Bosnian organization), admitted, on camera, that "If you are funded by the U.S. government, there are certain topics that you would simply not go after, because the U.S. government has its interests that are above all others."

While USAID specifically targets foreign audiences, much of its messaging comes back to America, as those foreign outlets are used as credible, independent, and reliable sources for newspapers or cable news networks to cite. Thus, its bankrolling of foreign media ends up flooding domestic audiences with pro-U.S. messaging as well.

My reports for UK Column yesterday

Europe doubles down on Ukraine war w/ Jeffrey Sachs (Live)#TheDuran #TheDuranLiveFollow Jeffrey Sachs: The Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), https:/...

If you believe that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, you will likely compare Putin to Hitler and will likely oppose President Trump’s peace negotiations with Russia. After all, if Putin’s invasion was unprovoked, a settlement would reward naked aggression and would be akin to Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 appeasement…

“Between 2007 and 2013, USAID spent over US$120 million to subvert the constitutional order in Cuba. It is unusual for an official development agency to spend money to support a change of government and enrich those who see a business in the suffering of the Cuban people,” he said on social media.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/33073424

Hanoi (AFP) – Vietnam's parliament approved plans on Wednesday for an $8 billion rail link from its largest northern port city to the border with China, boosting links between the two communist-ruled countries and making trade easier.

The new rail line will run through some of Vietnam's key manufacturing hubs, home to Samsung, Foxconn, Pegatron and other global giants, many of whom rely on a regular flow of components from China.

The route will stretch 390 kilometres (240 miles) from the port city of Haiphong to the mountainous city of Lao Cai, which borders China's Yunnan province, and will also run through the capital Hanoi.

Construction of the railway was backed in a vote by 95 percent of parliamentarians in Vietnam's rubber-stamp National Assembly, an AFP journalist in the chamber said.

China will provide some funding through loans for the project, which is expected to cost more than $8 billion.

It is one of two railway lines to China that Vietnam plans as part of its "Two Corridors, One Belt" initiative, which connects to Beijing's Belt and Road global infrastructure programme.

A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday the two countries were "working to expedite the construction of the connection line" between Lao Cai and the Chinese border city of Hekou.

Both sides had "held multiple discussions on advancing railway connectivity", Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing but referred reporters to "relevant authorities" for details.

The approval comes just over a year after the neighbours pledged during a visit to Vietnam by President Xi Jinping to deepen ties as Beijing sought to counter growing US influence with Hanoi.

Vietnam's transport infrastructure is considered relatively weak, with a road network struggling to keep up with demand and an underdeveloped rail system.

The country is an increasingly favoured destination for foreign businesses looking for an alternative to China, but low-quality infrastructure is seen as holding back surging investment.

Dan Martin, international business adviser of Dezan Shira & Associates, said the new rail link could help smooth out bumps in international supply chains caused by the current reliance on slow and costly trucks that are "prone to border bottlenecks".

"China supplies much of the raw material that fuels Vietnam's manufacturing sector, and keeping that pipeline steady is critical," he told AFP.

"A modern rail link cuts through... inefficiencies, ensuring goods move smoothly whether they're flowing into Vietnam's factories or heading to global markets via Haiphong's port," he said.

Vietnam says a feasibility study for the Haiphong-Lao Cai railway will begin this year and it wants the line finished by 2030, although the country has a history of overruns on major infrastructure projects.

The line, spanning nine provinces and cities, will follow roughly the route of an existing rail track built during the French colonial period.

Trains can currently run on that rail at just 50 kilometres an hour (30 mph), but Vietnam says the new line will accommodate both passenger and freight cars with speeds of up to 160 kph.

Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs, said last week the rail link would "promote economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation between the two countries as well as in the region".

It comes just three months after Vietnam approved plans for a $67 billion high-speed railway from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, another much-needed boost to infrastructure that is expected to drive growth.

That railway, which will stretch more than 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) from the capital in the north to Vietnam's business hub in the south, will reduce the current journey time by rail from 30 hours to around five.

The other line to China, which has not yet been approved by parliament, will connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, which borders China's Guangxi region, travelling through another area packed with global manufacturing facilities.

The two countries signed more than 30 agreements, including a pledge to develop rail links, during Xi's visit to Hanoi.

Vietnam has long pursued a "bamboo diplomacy" approach, striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.

It shares US concerns about Beijing's increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea but also has close economic ties with China.