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CEP Mentions
ZDF TV documentary (in German) with CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler: “The Hamas network in Germany: The battle for minds and hearts”
Germany has become a Hamas sphere of activity. A network of clubs and organizations is suspected of raising money and spreading terrorist propaganda.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: Normalization with Israel complicated but beneficial, Syrian sources say
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signaled a willingness to explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, according to senior Syrian officials. The move would represent a major shift in Damascus’ longstanding stance toward its southern neighbor, which it has technically been at war with since 1948. The remarks were made during a meeting earlier this month in Damascus with US Representatives Marlin Stutzman and Cory Mills and were first reported by Bloomberg News. Syrian government sources confirmed the account to The Media Line, emphasizing that any such normalization process would need to preserve Syria’s unity and full sovereignty.
United States
New York Times: Trump Says U.S. Could Lead Military Action Against Iran if Talks Collapse
If an agreement with Iran to limit its nuclear program proves elusive, the United States could spearhead military action against it, President Trump said in an interview published on Friday. Mr. Trump’s comments, in an interview with Time magazine marking his first three months in office, came as American and Iranian officials were set to meet for the third consecutive Saturday in an effort to reach an agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Times of Israel: UNRWA not immune from lawsuits in US, DoJ says, arguing Oct. 7 victims’ suit can go ahead
In a reversal of a previous stance, the US Department of Justice has said that the contentious UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, UNRWA, is not entitled to immunity from lawsuits in the United States, according to a court document circulated online late Thursday by lawyers, and subsequently by pro-Israel activists. The Department of Justice’s opinion was submitted as part of an ongoing lawsuit in which the families of more than 100 victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror assault are claiming $1 billion in damages from UNRWA, asserting that the UN agency aided and abetted the terror group’s attack. The lawsuit was filed last June in the Southern District of New York. It alleges that UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, let Hamas use its facilities for weapons storage, allowed tunnels and command centers to be built under its sites, and funneled cash into the terror group’s coffers by insisting on paying employees in US dollars.
Associated Press: Alleged leader of MS-13 street gang on the East Coast is arrested in Virginia
The alleged leader of the violent MS-13 street gang on the East Coast has been arrested in Virginia, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday. Bondi lauded the the early morning arrest of the 24-year-old man from El Salvador, who was described as one of MS-13’s top three leaders in the United States, as a major victory in the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on a gang known for brutal violence and extortion.
CNN: Authorities raid 5 Michigan homes amid yearlong vandalism investigation into pro-Palestinian graffiti
Authorities raided five homes in southeastern Michigan on Wednesday as part of a yearlong vandalism investigation into pro-Palestinian graffiti targeting the homes of University of Michigan officials and others. Search warrants, authorized by a Michigan state court, were executed in Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti, according to a Thursday news release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General. The individuals whose homes were searched were not arrested, though some were detained and later released, officials said. The search warrants were executed as part of the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s investigation into at least 12 “coordinated and related” acts of vandalism and property damage that occurred in multiple Michigan counties between approximately February 2024 through March 2025, officials said. The estimated cost of the damage is about $100,000, according to authorities.
New York Times: Protesters Near Yale Hurl Water Bottles at Far-Right Israeli Official
Hundreds of demonstrators in New Haven, Conn., gathered late on Wednesday to denounce a visit by Israel’s far-right national security minister, who had been invited to speak at an event near Yale University’s campus. Some demonstrators hurled water bottles at the official, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as he left the event at Shabtai, a private Jewish intellectual discussion society based at Yale that is not affiliated with the university. More than 300 protesters had assembled outside the Shabtai house over several hours, waving Israeli and Palestinian flags, according to the student newspaper, the Yale Daily News.
The Guardian: Alleged former members of neo-Nazi group claim its leader is Russian spy
Alleged former members of an international neo-Nazi terrorist organization are claiming its Russia-based and American leader is a Kremlin spy, according to online records reviewed by the Guardian. The allegation that Rinaldo Nazzaro, a former Pentagon contractor and founder of the Base, listed as a designated terrorist organization all over the world, is an alleged Russian intelligence asset could bring new meaning to his group’s latest effort: sabotage and assassination missions inside Ukraine to weaken the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
BBC: Rwandan beekeeper arrested in US over genocide charges
A Rwandan beekeeper living in the US has been arrested over his alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide in his country. Faustin Nsabumukunzi is accused of committing "heinous acts of violence abroad" when he served as a local leader at the start of genocide, the Justice Department said. The 65-year-old suspect was also charged with visa fraud and attempted naturalisation fraud when he moved to the US in 2003. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bail.
Paraguay
United Press International: Paraguay hits Iran's IRGC with terrorist designation; expands designations for Hamas, Hezbollah
Paraguay has designated Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and expanded its previous designations of Hamas and Hezbollah to include both their military and political arms. President Santiago Pena announced the designations in a statement Thursday, describing the move as a reaffirmation of Asuncion's commitment to the global fight against terrorism while strengthening its strategic allegiances with the United States and Israel.
European Union
Reuters: Trump’s tariffs inflict political pain on Hungary’s Orban, other European far-right leaders
After Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban predicted the “Trump tornado” would usher in a golden era for Europe’s far right. It isn’t working out that way. In Hungary, the strong economy that helped Orban win previous elections is now struggling and could worsen as Europe confronts Trump's aggressive trade policy. Hungary’s political opposition appears stronger than at any point in Orban’s 15-year rule. And Orban’s close association with Trump no longer offers clear advantages as U.S. tariffs threaten Hungary’s economy.
Germany
B.Z.: Prosecution - Right-wing extremists kick SPD party members with combat boots
The public prosecutor's office has charged the men, now aged 20, 17 and twice 19, with dangerous bodily harm, assault on police officers and insults. Four other suspects aged 15, 19 and 21 and a 16-year-old from the far-right scene are still under investigation. The young men now charged are said to have traveled from Halle in Saxony-Anhalt to a neo-Nazi demonstration in Berlin on 14 December 2024 and accidentally encountered two SPD members at an information stand. They allegedly harassed and attacked the campaigners and pushed them to the ground. The thugs ripped the SPD members' caps off their heads and insulted them as "left-wing ticks". Then the neo-Nazis struck. Both victims fell to the ground and one man lying on the ground was kicked with combat boots. One victim was severely kicked several times in the head and torso and suffered injuries to his head and body. The men then allegedly hurled racist insults at police officers and also attacked them.
The Netherlands
Associated Press: Amsterdam mayor apologizes for the city’s role in the Holocaust
The mayor of Amsterdam apologized Thursday for the role the Dutch capital played in the persecution of its Jewish citizens during World War II, saying the government at the time “let its Jewish residents down terribly.” Speaking at an event marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mayor Femke Halsema said that civil servants in Amsterdam played an active role in the murder of some thousands of Jewish citizens of the city.
Romania
Bloomberg: Romania Far-Right Frontrunner Faces Scrutiny on US Lobbying
Romania’s electoral authorities are looking into the finances of the country’s far-right presidential frontrunner days before a key vote, after details emerged of an alleged contract between his party and a US lobbying firm. Local media reported that the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, led by George Simion, signed a contract with the US-based BGD Legal & Consulting firm to organize meetings in the US and consult on media engagement for a fee of $1.5 million.
Russia
Associated Press: A Russian general was killed by a car bomb just outside Moscow
A Russian general was killed by a car bomb on Friday, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency said, in the second such attack on a top Russian military officer in four months. The Investigative Committee said that Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow.
Israel
Associated Press: Palestinians create role for a vice president and possible successor to aging leader Abbas
he Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday announced the creation of a vice presidency under 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has not specified a successor. The PLO Central Council’s decision came as Abbas seeks greater relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Associated Press: Freed Israeli hostage feared the ‘many ways to die’ in Gaza but kept hope alive
Whether the threat was abusive Hamas guards, hunger, illness or Israeli strikes, there were moments during Tal Shoham’s 505 days of captivity in Gaza when he didn’t think he’d be alive the next morning. There were “many times that I separated from life and ... tried to accept death,” the 40-year-old Israeli, who also holds Austrian citizenship, told The Associated Press. “There are so many ways to die there.” Shoham was one of dozens of hostages released from Gaza in February as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that has since been broken. His wife, two children and three other family members were also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and were freed a month later.
Times of Israel: ‘No future here’: Bedouin hamlets are erased as residents flee settler harassment
Over the past two years, more than 1,000 Bedouins living in Area C of the West Bank have fled or been forced from their homes, driven out by what residents describe as escalating settler violence and systemic inaction, or complicity by Israeli authorities. Area C is under complete Israeli jurisdiction, both civil and security-wise. In areas A and B of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority maintains a degree of control. Several serious incidents involving land confiscation and theft targeting Bedouins have reached the police and the courts, but are progressing slowly. At the same time, the State of Israel has continued to fund the very outposts that, by the Bedouins’ accounts, are the source of the violence, and plans to transfer even more land in the area to settlers.
Times of Israel: IDF reservist killed, three wounded during fighting in northern Gaza
An Israeli reserve soldier was killed and three others were wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, the military announced. The Israel Defense Forces later named the slain soldier as Master Sgt. (res.) Asaf Cafri, 26, a tank driver in the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 79th Battalion, from Beit Hashmonai.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Berri: We will not hand over weapons now
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Hezbollah will not hand over its weapons before Israel fulfills its ceasefire agreement obligations. “We will not hand over the weapons now before the implementation of the terms requested from the enemy” as per the ceasefire agreement, Berri said in an interview with the Asas Media news portal. “Our weapons are our cards which we will not give up without an actual implementation of the ceasefire agreement and consequently heading to a dialogue over their fate,” Berri added.
Naharnet: Aoun says 'diplomacy is only solution' for the South
President Joseph Aoun stressed Friday that “diplomacy is the only solution” for ending Israel’s occupation of parts of south Lebanon. “We can no longer bear the rhetoric of war,” Aoun reiterated. Aoun has repeatedly pledged to implement a state monopoly on arms. But it is a "delicate" matter that must be approached through dialogue and carried out when "the circumstances" allow, he said on Sunday.
Naharnet: Drone wounds 8 in Lebanon after exchange of shelling on Syria border
Lebanese official media said eight people were wounded in a drone attack in a border village, as Syria said it responded to artillery fire from Lebanon. Eight Syrian refugees were wounded and taken to hospital in the northeast Lebanese area of Hermel after an "explosives-laden drone blew up" in the border village of Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali, Lebanon's National News Agency said. The Lebanese Army sent reinforcements "after gunfire was heard," the report added.
Syria
New Lines Magazine: In Post-Assad Syria, the Legacy of a Narco-State Lingers
For Hezbollah, Assad’s fall represents a significant blow, not only politically but also economically. The group had relied on smuggling routes through Syria’s Homs and Palmyra to connect with allies in Iraq and Iran. Much of the drug was destined for Gulf markets like Saudi Arabia, hidden in various objects. These routes carried more than drugs; they also transported weapons and missiles into Lebanon. “This route of Wadi Hanna was crucial for Hezbollah,” says Abu Jaafar, a farmer from al-Aqrabiyah, a Shiite-majority Syrian town near the border where Lebanese drug lords like Nouh Zaiter operated freely under Assad. Captagon production was one of the pillars of Syria’s economy under Assad, earning an estimated $6 billion annually by 2024 — nearly 80% of global production, according to United Nations estimates. Now, the new Damascus authorities, still under international economic sanctions, will have to find a way to compensate for this considerable financial loss.
Jerusalem Post: Normalization with Israel complicated but beneficial, Syrian sources say
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signaled a willingness to explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, according to senior Syrian officials. The move would represent a major shift in Damascus’ longstanding stance toward its southern neighbor, which it has technically been at war with since 1948. The remarks were made during a meeting earlier this month in Damascus with US Representatives Marlin Stutzman and Cory Mills and were first reported by Bloomberg News. Syrian government sources confirmed the account to The Media Line, emphasizing that any such normalization process would need to preserve Syria’s unity and full sovereignty.
Iran
Reuters: Iran summons Dutch envoy to protest assassination attempts claim
The Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Dutch ambassador to Tehran on Friday, the official IRNA news agency reported, a day after the Netherlands called in Iran's envoy over suspicions that Iran was behind two assassination attempts. An Iranian foreign ministry official described the Dutch accusation as "laughable" and based on "suspicions or assumptions", according to IRNA.
Iran International: Revolutionary Guards shelter Swedish gang leader linked to Europe attacks
The leader of a Swedish criminal network accused of assisting Tehran in attacks on Israeli-linked targets in Europe is currently living in Iran under the protection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sources told Iran International. Rawa Majid received funds from Iran’s embassy in Denmark to help coordinate attacks against Israeli diplomatic facilities in Copenhagen and Stockholm, according to a source familiar with the matter inside the IRGC. The source also said the gang leader travels between Iran and Afghanistan for operations overseen by the IRGC. Majid leads a criminal group, Foxtrot, recently sanctioned by the UK and the US for its alleged role in orchestrating attacks on Israeli interests. Both governments accused the group of working as a proxy force for Iran in Europe. Tehran has denied the charges.
Yemen
New York Times: U.S. Says Blast in Yemen Was Caused by Houthi Missile, Not U.S. Strike
A deadly blast on Sunday near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen’s capital was caused by a Houthi missile, not a U.S. airstrike, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command said on Thursday. The health ministry of the Houthi-led government said earlier this week that an American airstrike had hit a densely populated neighborhood of Sana, the Yemeni capital, killing 12 people and injuring 30 others. The blast struck an area adjacent to Sana’s Old City, a UNESCO world heritage site filled with ancient towers. Dave Eastburn, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that while the damage and casualties described by local health officials most “likely did occur,” they were not the result of an American attack. While the United States had conducted military operations over Sana that night, the closest American strike was more than three miles away, he added.
India
Associated Press: Indian officials say troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers in disputed Kashmir
Indian and Pakistani soldiers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian officials said Friday, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists. India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian, as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir. It was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
Reuters: India searches for militants in Kashmir, as tensions soar with Pakistan
Armed police and soldiers searched homes and forests for militants in Indian Kashmir on Friday and India's army chief visited the area to review security, after the killing of 26 men earlier this week - the worst attack on civilians in nearly two decades. The militant attack triggered outrage and grief in India, along with calls for action against neighbour Pakistan, whom New Delhi accuses of funding and encouraging terrorism in Kashmir, a region both nations claim and have fought two wars over.
Economic Times: 'My brother is Mujahideen', admits sister of the Pahalgam terrorist whose house was demolished in Kashmir
Speaking to reporters near the ruins of the demolished house, she said, “My one brother is in jail, the other brother is a Mujahideen, and I also have two sisters. Yesterday, when I came here from my in-laws' place, I did not find my parents and siblings at home. Police had taken them away. While I was here, the Security Forces came and asked me to move to a neighbour’s house. I saw a man wearing a camouflage uniform placing an object like a bomb on top of the house. After that, the house was demolished… We are innocent. They have destroyed our house.”
Democratic Republic of Congo
France 24: DR Congo and M23 agree to 'immediate' ceasefire, pledge to continue talks
The DR Congo government and the M23 group on Wednesday issued a landmark joint statement saying they had agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country while they work towards a permanent truce. The surprise announcement follows talks mediated by Qatar. The two sides said they had "agreed to work towards the conclusion of a truce" in the conflict that has seen M23 seize key cities in the conflict-stricken region.
Australia
Bloomberg: Australian Leaders Blast Neo-Nazi Hecklers at Memorial Event
Australia’s political leaders condemned a group suspected of being led by a convicted neo-Nazi for heckling at a national memorial service for the country’s soldiers. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized the group who booed at an Anzac Day event in Melbourne early Friday. The incident came days before a nationwide election.
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