Israel is mourning after the deadliest attack in its 75-year history, as more than 1,500 Hamas members attacked through the Gaza security barrier in their coordinated land, air and sea attack on the Jewish Sabbath.
Hamas' ability to remain undetected while preparing and launching such a big, complex assault from the closely monitored and heavily guarded Gaza strip could serve as kind of evidence of an => unprecedented intelligence failure for US ally Israel <=.
One Hamas official claimed that when they got into southern Israel they were surprised by the [Israel Defense Forces] IDF’s weak response: “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.” It would be granting too much to Hamas to assume that it had no interest in murdering local civilians and no plans to do so. But with the IDF absent there was nothing to prevent them going on a rampage, moving into nearby towns and villages, shooting whoever they found and breaking into houses to kill residents. [Financial Times, October 14]
Israeli authorities say Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,200 people and wounded over 2,700 as they swept into small towns and kibbutzim and indiscriminately killed residents who hid in their homes or died defending their communities.
Israel has been relentlessly pounding Hamas targets in Gaza in response, and the war has already claimed the lives of more than 3,700 lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, soldiers and combatants.
=> Why We Refused <= is an article published in Israel's newspaper Haaretz on Sept. 25, 2002. It's about three Israeli bomber pilots who refused to bomb civilian areas and non-military targets in Lebanon.
In Washington, President Joe Biden has pledged to send more US munitions and military hardware and expressed revulsion at the "sheer evil" of the slaughter of civilians.
Republican Congressman Michael McCaul (Foreign Affairs Committee / before: Committee on Homeland Security) said the attack may have been planned as long as a year ago. "We're not quite sure how we missed it. We're not quite sure how Israel missed it," he told reporters.
Cairo has not commented officially on suggestions that it may have offered an early warning. But Arabic media quoted senior security sources from Egypt on Monday Oct. 9, confirming that such warnings had been issued.
However this is not all !
Israel's army has undergone a loss of qualified personnel due to dramatic changes in society. Qualified young Israelis are not willing any longer to join the army for a rather low salary while well-paid jobs are waiting for them elsewhere.
But there is even more when it comes to severe changes planned for Israel's judicial system on behalf of prime minister Netanyahu. His efforts to cling to his outstanding government position seem to be => Netanyahu's way to avoid prison for corruption charges <=. To serve his purpose, he doesn't even refrain from building an alliance with the most questionable hardliners to be found in Israel's society.
If Netanyahu was ever charged and sentenced with corruption, this would not be the first time for a high-ranking Israeli politician to commit a criminal offence: On 22 March 2011, Moshe Katsav was sentenced to seven years in prison and two years' probation for rape, indecent acts, sexual harassment and obstruction of justice, in this way becoming the first former President of Israel to be sentenced to prison. I still find it difficult to believe that such extent of criminal attitude and behaviour on the highest level of society, deeply rooted in the personality of a public leader, could be observed in a nation we have to call 'civilized'.
So there is something foul in the state of Israel !
Above: Latest News from BBC on October 14.
Below: Footage of the Hamas attack on Israel
by Erem News إرم نيوز including pictures from
people fleeing the youth music festival where
Israeli hostages were taken. Pictures taken
of cheering Palestinians at a border breach.
Inside Israel, 2 fighter jets of Israel's air force
were removed on low-loaders to protect them
during Hamas attacks with Qassam rockets.
Foreigners are being shown, trying to leave
Tel Aviv in a hurry from Ben Gourion airport.
"Safe region" of Israel
By the way, all that is necessary to know
about the Hamas attack can be found in
my repeatedly updated blog from Oct. 7, the
original address of which has been corrupted.
This should have something to do with firewall
synchronization, a subject of cyber security.
The Chinese source is quoting Israel's newspaper Haaretz which has published a list of high-ranking Israeli officers who died in the conflict. Major General Nimrod Aloni, former commander of the Gaza Division, was captured at the beginning of the war. Brigadier General Peled, deputy commander of the border police, died together with his family of three.
To be honest, there are no generals or senior commanders who have been killed. The problem is that the Israel Defense Forces have always been considered as an advanced army and capable of fighting well. In the four Middle East wars, senior officers took the lead and commanded effectively, leading the Arab countries' armies to loose their armor... How does it come that in the 21st century, while equipment has been modernized, yet personnel has become more and more regressed?
The fundamental reason is that with the changes in Israeli society, the quality of Israel's soldiers is getting worse and worse. Compared with other industries in Israel, the salary and benefits of soldiers are pitifully low. Although Israel has a compulsory military system and all young people of appropriate age must join the army, however, after their service period none is willing to stay in the army and devote their youth, and it is impossible to retain talents. Especially the quality of the army's grassroots officers and ordinary soldiers is getting lower and lower.
First news from Israel
Hamas fired a large number of rockets towards Israel, launched
from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this morning, Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas terror commander Mohammed Deif has called for more attacks and encouraged assaults against Israel to take place from within Israel, according to Al-Mayadeen, which is considered pro-Iran.
Al-Mayadeen as well as Iranian media such as Tasnim News have all detailed the widespread attack. This illustrates the widespread Iranian axis involvement in the wave of rocket fire and attacks on Saturday morning.
Al-Mayadeen said that Deif had announced the “Al Aqsa Storm” operation in response to “the occupation” and Israel’s policies in Jerusalem. He referenced claims that women had been assaulted in Jerusalem.
“In response to the occupation’s orgy in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the dragging of women in its courtyards” the Hamas terror leader said that 5,000 rockets had been fired at Israel, Al-Mayadeen claimed.
...........................
The terror group successfully invaded around 22 Gaza corridor communities, of varying sizes, by cutting through the IDF’s supposedly enhanced border fence, amphibious landings with naval commandos at Zikim, and makeshift small air transport and drone-type vehicles simultaneously starting around 6:30 a.m.
...........................
According to local Israeli media released today, more than 250 Israelis have been killed and more than 1500 wounded. An unknown number has been kidnapped and brought to Gaza where they are still being held hostage. The wounded and dead resulted from all attacks: the invasion, the rockets, and from a surprise attack on various youth events in open areas. This was the largest number of Israeli casualties, especially civilians, in decades. [Jerusalem Post October 7, 2023]
Latest news on October 9 mentioned a death toll of more than 800 Israeli citizens. Israeli prime minister Netanyahu declared the 'state of war حالة الحرب'.
On October 11, the death toll of Israeli citizens was reported to have reached 1,200 while 1,500 Hamas activists should have perished in their operation 'Al-Aqsa Storm/Flood'. The number of hostages taken by Hamas militants at a Youth Music Festival in Israel is being considered to comprise about 150 persons, including at least 5 German citizens.
[Western TV & Radio stations and other sources]
The proceedings of Operation 'Al-Aqsa Storm' on Oct. 7 in a daily
video overview published by channel Al-Jazeera قناة الجزيرة
2 years ago, the Voice of America (VOA) has published a video
showing Israeli bombardment of Ghaza as it used to take place
in the past. - This should serve as a typical example of Israeli
air force routine.
Heavy Israeli Bombardment of Ghaza قصف إسرائيلي عنيف على غزة
Al-Manar (Hezbollah TV) - Special news for latest proceedings of the Al-Aqsa Brigades
during their Operation 'Al-Aqsa Flood' [Al-Aqsa Storm]. المنار - طوفان الأقصى
Voices from Iran اصوات من إيرانا
الصحف الإيرانية: "طوفان الأقصى" عملية مفاجئة ومخططة بدقة
Iranian newspapers: The "Al-Aqsa Flood" is a
sudden and meticulously planned operation
في سياق متصل، قال "جعفر قنادباشي" أحد المحلّلين الاستراتيجيين الإيرانيين لأوضاع المنطقة في صحيفة "جام جم" إنّ: "العملية الكبيرة، وغير المسبوقة التي أطلقتها فصائل المقاومة أمس، كانت مفاجئة ومخططة بدقة وعلى أساس حسابات عسكرية دقيقة، ولم يسبق لها مثيل في تاريخ فلسطين"، مؤكدًا أنّ: "هذه العملية هي نتيجة لسلسلة من الجهود التي بذلت على مدى عدة عقود للرد على مجمل جرائم المحتلين خلال السبعين سنة الماضية".
In a related context, Jaafar Qandabashi, one of the Iranian strategic analysts of the situation in the region, said in the [Iranian] newspaper “Jam-e Jam جام جم”: “The large and unprecedented operation launched by the resistance factions yesterday was sudden, meticulously planned and based on precise military calculations, and was unprecedented in Palestinian history. That [reference to Palestinian history] is stressing that: “This operation is the result of a series of efforts made over several decades to respond to all the crimes of the occupiers during the past seventy years.” [العهد = The Alliance / Epoch, Lebanon, Oct. 9]
US President Herbert Hoover - A capitalist working in Russia
An article published in the English edition of Russia Beyond.
Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, worked in Russia as an entrepreneur from 1909 to 1913 and helped during the mass famine of 1921-1923.
Herbert Clark Hoover - US President 1929-33 during the "Great Depression".
"Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die."
"Children are our greatest natural resource."
Hoover, a mining engineer by profession, had been working in Russia since 1909. In Kyshtym in the Urals, he bought the enterprises from the heirs of the South Urals merchant Lev Rastorguev and created the joint-stock company ‘Kyshtym Mining Plants’. He was engaged in both financial reorganization and modernization of production.
This success at Kyshtym brought important repercussions. Russian industry had, hitherto, been often dominated by German and British operators. The Russians were always suspicious of them, fearing political implications. They resented the assumed superiority of the British and the German officials. They had none of that feeling toward Americans. The Russian engineers were most able technical men, but lacked training on the administrative side. There was instinctive camaraderie by which the Russians and Americans got along together,” Hoover wrote in his memoirs.
Hoover, who quickly gained prestige in Kyshtym, was later invited to supervise the development of the mining fields in the Altai Mountains. In his opinion, it was the largest and richest ore deposit known in the world. American engineers worked there until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
Hoover left Russia in 1913.”"Had it not been for World War I, I would have had the largest engineering fees ever known to man,” he recalled of his work in Russia. He also headed several mining and oil companies.
In 1917, the United States severed diplomatic relations with the newly formed Bolshevik government. Nevertheless, when a mass famine broke out in Soviet Russia in 1921, Hoover, already Secretary of Commerce and head of the American Relief Administration (ARA), sent humanitarian supplies to the country, despite the fact that he was extremely negative about Bolshevism.
ARA donated aid to 20 million people in Soviet Russia. It provided food and shoes, agricultural machinery and seeds and opened hospitals and dispensaries.
Under President Hoover, the U.S. actively developed trade relations with the USSR. In 1932, with American assistance, an automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod and a metallurgical plant in Novokuznetsk were launched.
Russian peasants suspected of cannibalism on a photo with human remainings found at their home. [Contemporary documents are also available from the same Russian (?) source.]
.......................
Mass Famine in Russia - A Historic Event.
Another article published on 15 June 2022
in the German edition of Russia Beyond.
Originally, the U.S. initiative was aimed at curbing the influence of the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia. During the great famine between 1921 and 1922, however, it saved the lives of millions of people.
One of the greatest disasters since the Middle Ages.
The catastrophe that forced the United States to send large-scale humanitarian aid to Russia is sometimes called one of the largest European disasters since the time of the Black Death, that is, the plague.
As a result of the First World War, the Civil War, hunger and the policies of the Bolsheviks, many regions in Russia suffered from an unprecedented famine between 1921 and 1922. Tens of millions of people were affected. The total number of victims who died due to the famine is estimated at at least five million. This state of affairs prompted the Soviet regime to ask for help from the "capitalist world" for the first time.
A struggle with food shortages and the "Bolshevism disease".
Two years before the outbreak of the devastating famine in Russia, the U.S. Congress had passed the "European Famine Relief Bill" in April 1919 with a sum of 85 million euros. The program was intended to help European countries suffering from food shortages after the First World War. The fight against hunger was led by the newly created American Relief Administration (ARA) under the leadership of Herbert Hoover, then U.S. food administrator and future president of the United States.
Bolshevik Russia was not directly represented in the list of countries that received assistance from the United States. This would have been hard to imagine, considering that the US and other Western countries had only recently intervened in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White Army and supported anti-Bolshevik troops in several Russian regions with army units.
Furthermore, the entire program was directed against Soviet Russia, as it was believed that left-wing radicalism might have spread to other European countries along with hunger. The historian Bertrand Patenaude puts it this way: "The economic and political instability of these states, most of which had just been built from the ruins of old empires, made them susceptible to the plague of the East, commonly called "the Bolshevism disease." European and American statesmen generally assumed that this evil was caused by hunger; that Bolshevism was the consequence of good people starving."
Russian intellectuals and Kremlin's plea for help.
However, this situation changed in the middle of 1921. The Bolshevik regime successfully resisted the foreign invasion and defeated its opponents – they had to be taken very seriously at the latest. Moreover, the famine at that time was so terrible that it was impossible to ignore it. Around 100,000 people fell victim to the disaster every week.
Russian writer Maxim Gorky turned to the international public and asked for help. Lenin also turned to the international proletariat for support. Then, in September, the famous Norwegian adventurer Fridtijof Nansen spoke to the public from the League of Nations rostrum and said that it was not right "to sentence millions of people to death just because of enmity with the Soviet regime."
At the same time, the ARA and the Soviet government concluded an agreement. However, it would be a mistake to think that Hoover dropped his political agenda during the time he was helping the Soviet Union. "Hoover believed that if only he could rid the Russians of starvation, they would regain their sanity and regain their physical strength in order to free themselves from the oppression of the Bolsheviks," Patenaude argues.
ARA poster "A gift from the American people".
Food for ten million people every day.
Hoover did not succeed in achieving his political goals. On the contrary, with his help, he contributed to the stabilization of the situation in Russia. Nevertheless, his support saved millions of lives.
The situation was indeed dramatic. As journalist and scientist Cynthia Heaven writes, people in the famine-stricken areas had to eat everything they could find: "grains of ground bones, tree bark and clover, but also horses, dogs, cats, rats and straw from the rooftops. The government sought to put an end to the sale of human flesh and set up guards in cemeteries to protect them from looting." Heaven also cites the terrifying memories of an ARA employee in Russia: "I've seen stacks of half-naked and frostbitten corpses in the most bizarre positions, with signs that they may have been eaten by stray dogs. I saw all these bodies – and it was a sight I'll never forget." During this time, the authorities opened more than 7,000 kitchens to feed people in need – far from enough.
ARA poster "America – for hungry Russians".
[The steamer "Phoenix" with a cargo of food
arrived in Petrograd on 1st September 1921.]
In August of the following year, for this reason, the ARA set up another 19,000 kitchens and supplied ten million people every day to support the Soviets. Usually, a meal included corn semolina, canned milk, cocoa, white bread and sugar – goods imported into the Soviet Union from abroad. In addition to the soup kitchens, ARA opened emergency shelters for the homeless and wise men and helped fight the typhus epidemic.
"Your help will go down in history as a unique, huge achievement, which deserves the greatest honor, which will long be remembered in the memory of millions of Russians whom you saved from death," Maxim Gorky wrote to Herbert Hoover in gratitude for his support.
Editor's Comment:
It should be added that the former Soviet Union during all the time of its existence never succeeded in feeding its population properly. Purchase of grain from Canada and even from the US became a regular item during its last years, not to mention the grave mistakes committed in the concept of agricultural production by Stalin and his followers. While the Great Famine of 1921-22 was mainly a result of an unusual drought, exaggerated by the consequences of a civil war that emerged after the Bolshevist revolution, Russia's new leaders, namely Lenin, managed to keep in the background instead of actively inviting foreign help into their country. Everything that was done to fight mass starvation remained the initiative of Hoover's ARA and other international aid organizations. Instead, the Cheka as an instrument of supervision and suppression was activated under the guidance of the Politburo to 'prove' any anti-Bolshevist attitude among members of such aid organizations, especially those from America.
Even years later, more money was spent to finance industrial espionage operations instead of modernizing Russia's inadequate economical structures. I remember a Professor at my West-Berlin university who unexpectedly became the target of a little snoop, obviously sent by some 'informal member' (IM) for East-German state security (Stasi), and who kept a facade for science espionage at East-Berlin's Humboldt University. That IM operated in close connection with Russia's KGB when it came to detect anything new discovered by Western scientists. As to the above-mentioned West-Berlin Professor, it was his professional interest in a certain group of chemicals occurring in nature which lead him to the development of chemically stable fungicides for plant protection, a project turning into a big-selling hit for Germany's agricultural chemicals branch much later.
After the crumbling of the East-German state in 1989, their state security IM in the background, and who held the post of a regular Humboldt Professor, was immediately licensed (*) while his 'errand boy' vanished to the Munich region, embedded in a group of similar guys. He is still naming himself 'Herr Onur' in allegation to his documents describing him as the Turkish citizen Onur K., and who should have undergone academic formation. In fact, he usually behaves like some crook who jumps on the back of his victim from behind. Despite his feigned interest in a local 'Institute of Turkish Culture', he avoided to speak Turkish, his alleged native language, at the time when he had to face two of my Turkish colleagues on our West-Berlin campus. He was therefore regarded as rather coming from one of the Caucasian Soviet Republics (Georgia / Chechnya) with a very limited knowledge of his alleged 'scientific profession'. I came to think that he had already entered 'the radar screen' of West-German security authorities many years ago, so I didn't mention him earlier.
China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning is often being compared with its 'sister ship', Russia's carrier 'Admiral Kusnezov', as the hull of both ships was originally built in the former Soviet Union. China bought one of both ships, equipped and renamed it Liaoning. Up to now, it served the Chinese Navy as a training ship. After recent overhaul, the Liaoning will finally enter the class of combat ships.
As to the remark 'Kusnezov collapsed in the mud', to be found in the headline of the above quoted Chinese article, this refers to the Kusnezov now lying in a muddy dry dock. The meaning of it: There has nothing been done to modernize the Russian ship while China's Liaoning has undergone significant changes.
China has commissioned a total of two aircraft carriers, one Shandong and one Liaoning, and in 2018, the Liaoning ship has already begun related renovation work, and a few months later it will appear in a new posture, both in appearance and in various systems, it has undergone tremendous changes.
For example, the appearance of the ship island looks cleaner and simpler than before, in addition, the control tower on the ship island has also undergone related modifications, not only the window area has become larger, but also a lot of new humanized design.
The most recent upgrade was last December. At that time, after the Liaoning completed a Western Pacific cruise, it directly entered Dalian Shipyard for upgrades. According to the photos released by media, the workload of the Liaoning ship upgrade will reach an unprecedented level.
Since it is China's first aircraft carrier, the outside world pays special attention to the Liaoning's every move. Hong Kong media announced the recent dynamics of the aircraft carrier, and it can be seen from a large number of high-definition photos that the transformation and upgrading work will involve all aspects, such as air defense systems, radars, control systems, shipborne weapon systems, etc.
Image: The outside world speculates that Liaoning is likely to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults.
According to sources, the Liaoning is likely to carry heavyweight equipment on board, that is, electromagnetic catapults.
In this view, electromagnetic catapults can greatly improve the number of aircraft hosted and the takeoff and landing efficiency, or carry more fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft. In a certain sense, this would enhance the combat effectiveness of the Liaoning, making it a real combat ship.
However, there are also many experts who have doubts about this speculation, after all, the space of the Liaoning ship is limited, the Soviet-style structure adopted has long been fixed, and it will be very difficult to install an electromagnetic catapult. Moreover, the electromagnetic catapult is inseparable from the medium-voltage DC integrated power supply system, and in order to realize the equipment on the ship, the Liaoning ship must at least overhaul the power system, so that the workload will undoubtedly multiply.
It is reported that the command post was established in the Soviet era and was once the Central Communications Center of the Ukrainian Navy, number A-2929, which was renamed the 744th Communications Center of the Black Sea Fleet Command after the Russian army occupied Crimea. The center consists of several above-ground buildings and a large network of antennas, as well as a large underground section that can communicate with other fleets of the Russian Navy and higher-level units.
Usually, such military installations themselves have strong defensive capabilities to withstand direct hits from heavy bombs, and there are air defense systems nearby, but the "Storm Shadow" and "Scalp-EG" missiles [French version of Storm Shadow], provided by Britain and France to Ukraine, with "drilling" warheads are designed to deal specifically with such targets: After hitting the target, the "drill shaped" first-stage warhead will make a hole in the outer wall of the building, and the second-stage high-explosive warhead will drill into the target building from this hole and explode.
It is noteworthy that this attack was carried out during the day, while similar attacks in the past were distributed late at night or at dawn. Inaccurate information indicates that the Ukrainian Air Force's Su-24M "Fencson" front-line bombers fired multiple Storm Shadow cruise missiles and fired 3 AGM-160 MALD decoy shells, but the Russian "Pantsir-S1" air defense system deployed at Cape Talhancourt and Belbek Airport shot down 5 missiles, and 3 missiles successfully penetrated and hit targets.
Visual evidence confirms that since this month, including the landing ship "Minsk" and the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" destroyed in dry dock, at least 6 ships of the Black Sea Fleet have been attacked by Ukrainian forces, 4 of which have been destroyed or sunk, and the Black Sea Fleet is powerless in the face of such an attack. Forced to evacuate the warships, the landing ship goes to the Sea of Azov and the submarine withdraws to Novorossiysk. Novorossiysk, however, is not safe and has also been attacked by unmanned suicide boats of the Ukrainian Navy.
For fear of Russian air strikes, Ukrainian grain transporters have been temporarily anchoring their ships at night on the Romanian bank of the Danube arm Chilia, which forms the border with Ukraine. Diplomats from the EU and the United States had negotiated this protection option with Romanian and Ukrainian authorities in August, told the director of the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, Florian Vizan, the German Press Agency (DPA). He had been present at these talks.
A REUTERS report on tankers carrying Russian Liquefied Natural Gas
(Russian LNG) via Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
While the European Union has imposed sweeping sanctions on the Kremlin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it still allows gas imports from Russia. Some European politicians, however, condemn the purchase of Russian LNG, which increased after Gazprom cut off pipeline supplies as a result of the war.
In Germany, the arrival of LNG tanker Amur River for loading in Zeebrugge, Netherlands, has caused special public interest because the German government earlier declared to be unwilling to accept any delivery of Russian gas. It is now feared that from the vessel's final destination in India the Russian gas might find its way back to the EU as crude or refined product. Germany is therefore taking a rather firm position in comparison with other European partners which might result, in the log run, in an expensive solution for the country.
Reuters
Thu, September 21, 2023 at 5:45 PM GMT+2
The following liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are expected to arrive in Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in the coming weeks. Estimated arrival dates, often revised by port authorities and AIS Live ship-tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon, are updated below. Some tankers heading for Belgium and Britain may be loading at the terminal. Those expected to load are indicated with an (L). Those likely to perform ship-to-ship transfers are indicated with (STS). Tankers that have docked are indicated with (A). Floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) terminals are added to the table when they near deployment. As of Dec. 27 2022, this includes the Eemshaven terminal in the Netherlands, and the Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbuettel and Lubmin terminals in Germany.
For the Reuters LNG guide:
DESTINATION - LNG TANKER - CAPACITY (cubic metres) - EXPECTED ARRIVAL IN PORT
BRITAIN Arctic Lady 145,000 Sept. 21 (A = has arrived)
Norway Isle of Grain Maran Gas Amorgos 174,000 Sept. 26
United States South Hook Methane Julia Louise 168,000 Oct. 14
Spain Milford Haven BELGIUM LNG Merak 174,000 Sept. 22
Russia Zeebrugge Lusail 143,000 Sept. 27
Qatar Zeebrugge Boris Davydov 170,000 Sept. 29
Russia Zeebrugge Clean Vision 162,000 Sept. 30
Russia Zeebrugge Amur River 157,000 Oct. 1 (L = expected to load in Zeebrugge)
N/A Zeebrugge Sonangol Etosha 158,000 Oct. 3
Angola Zeebrugge Al Areesh 149,000 Oct. 8
Qatar Zeebrugge NETHERLANDS Adamastos 174,000 Sept. 21 (A)
United States Eemshaven Energy Universe 165,000 Sept. 22
Portugal Gate Cadiz Knutsen 136,000 Sept. 26
United States Gate Lngships Empress 174,000 Sept. 28
Portugal Eemshaven Woodside Rees Wither 170,000 Sept. 30
United States Gate Elisa Larus 174,000 Oct. 1
United States Gate Traiano Knutsen 180,000 Oct. 6
United States Eemshaven Sonangol Benguela 158,000 Oct. 6
United States Gate LNG Schneeweisschen 177,000 Oct. 2 (L)
N/A Gate GERMANY LNG Endurance 174,000 Sept. 21
United States Wilhelmshaven Sources: Ports, AIS Live ship tracking, Refinitiv Eikon data.
(^) Partial unload (*). Arrival date estimated based on flows data. (Reporting By Susanna Twidale)
According to a CCTV news report, on September 15 local time, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia, and went to the Gagarin aircraft factory.
South Korean media quoted intelligence agency sources as saying that Kim Jong-un's visit to a Russian aircraft factory was the "highlight of his visit" to Russia. The outside world said that this sends a very important signal that North Korea is eager to upgrade its large and aging air power and equally solve the question of another fighter generation.
In 2002, after defeating the Mikoyan Design Bureau [ => MIG-41 ] in a competitive bid to win the project for the development of a Russian fifth-generation fighter, the Sukhoi Design Bureau immediately chose to cooperate with the Gagarin aircraft plant. At present, the Gagarin aircraft factory has delivered the fifth-generation stealth fighter Su-57 to the Russian Defense Ministry. According to TASS on August 30, a source in the Russian military-industrial complex said the Su-57 hit targets at a distance of 120 km during the special military operation [ => Ukraine ], and soon in the future, aviation missiles capable of hitting targets within 300 km will be obtained.
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yong-ho said: "After the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the DPRK, judging from the movements between North Korea and Russia, Kim Jong-un's recent inspections of munitions factories, the entourage of the summit, and Russia's hint at providing artificial satellites to North Korea, the two sides are continuing to strengthen military transactions."
An interesting thing happened in the international community when the Russian foreign minister visited North Korea and carried out arms sales transactions. It is embarrassing that Russian front-line positions over there were attacked by North Korean arms. Weapons that were supposed to rescue themselves [i.e. the Russians] were actually received by the enemy and used to strike at themselves. Russia should have been confused at the time, and probably suspected North Korea's intentions.
I am trying to recount the gist of this story; it is therefore some kind of a 'commented translation'.
It is said that North Korean weapons used by Ukraine have been provided by the US who could have seized them from a ship. That ship, however, was not operated by North Korea but simply transporting such ugly things from the battle fields of the Middle East, where they should have protected Russian units [i.e. especially in Syria], to anywhere else. As can be seen in the photo below, transferring rotten ammunition is not necessarily a secretive matter. For a US spy satellite it should not be too difficult to detect and identify them on a slowly moving vessel. From there it sounds understandable the US seized the North Korean weapons on the basis of international sanctions and gave them away to the Ukrainians who might have used them.
Early in the morning: Russian officials receive Kim JongUn at
the border station Khasan between North Korea and Russia.
The private train of Kim JongUn entered the yard of Khasan Railway
Station at 6:00 AM local time. Kim was greeted by Alexandr Kozlov,
the minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia, and Oleg
Kozhemyako, the governor of the Maritime Territory Administration.
[Workers Party News - North Korean news site]
Kim JongUn meets Putin at Russia's far-eastern spaceport.
[KCNA News - North Korean news site]
The day before, I already guessed that the chief propagandist of Russia's state TV, Margarita Simonyan, was => preparing for a change <= in her pro-Putin campaign; - today we have the proof for it. North Korea is emerging as a 'friend in combat' to Putin in Russia's war on Ukraine !
Against the backdrop of Ukraine accelerating its counterattack and the situation on the Korean Peninsula continuing to be tense, news suddenly spread that Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un would meet in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok. According to Western media, Putin invited Kim Jong-un to "come over" with the intention of seeking arms assistance from North Korea. This news immediately exploded in the Western camp. If Kim Jong-un agreed to Russia's request, it would be extremely detrimental to the Ukrainian army, so Western countries must find ways to stop it. Sullivan, the national security adviser to the US president, warned the DPRK that if the United States finds out that North Korea is providing weapons to the Russian army, the United States will make the DPRK "get into a jam". [China's NetEase 网易 on September 9, 2023]
DPRK = Democratic People's Republic of Korea
North Korea's Workers Party News about Russia's
contribution to N Korea's 75th Anniversary. [Sept.11]
On September 6, Newsweek confronted us with a rather strange comment on the Russian-Ukrainian war, launched by 'Russia's State TV Boss' Margarita Simonovna Simonyan, chief editor of RT ('Russia Today') and saying: Russia has no allies in the Ukraine war and is waging the "most difficult, toughest and generally unprecedented war in our history" while Russia's traditional allies are only watching the scene with some sympathy.
A certain Anton Gerashchenko, the provider of English subtitles to the official video, describes himself on his Twitter/X-account as "a Ukrainian patriot, advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and founder of the Institute of the Future, as well as an official enemy of Russian propaganda."
The video prepared by Gerashchenko, however, can be regarded as authentic because the same stance of Margarita Simonovna Simonyan has already been quoted by other sources, including China's Tencent 腾讯 news center.
There are public comments to the Chinese article mentioned above, including one that introduces a brandnew aspect, the role of North Korea :
在侵略乌克兰的战争中，俄罗斯只有朝鲜，白俄罗斯两个盟友。
[这说明了得道多助失道寡助的道理。]
In the battle of invading Ukraine, Russia has only two friends: North Korea and Belarus.
[This is clearly the reason for mentioning a little help when speaking of all help would be wrong.]
Editor's Opinion: This point of view can be easily understood when it comes to a recent North Korean offer to provide weapons for Russia in its war on Ukraine. In addition to weapons, North Korea could rent out, as well, a mercenary army of almost any size in order to benefit the financial needs of the Kim family. So there could be some kind of: Two misunderstood and sanctioned countries brotherly united against the rest of the world. Maybe this is what Russia's Margarita Simonyan had in mind and wants to lead on. In her video performance, however, she only mentioned Belarus.
Today, on 6 September 2023, Shiite pilgrims celebrate the holiday of Arbaeen (الأربعين) in Karbala, Iraq. The holiday marks the end of the fourty-day mourning period for Imam Hussein after the anniversary of his martyrdom, the Ashura عاشوراء). Karbala in Iraq is the location where Husayn ibn Ali الحسين بن علي lost his life in a battle against the ruling caliph Yazid in 680. Hussein was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Imam (or protector of the faith), and Muhammad's daughter Fatima. It is therefore that Hussein is being venerated by the followers of Shia Islam as the 3rd Imam after his predecessors Ali, his father, and Hassan, his elder brother. Shia Islam is practised especially in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon. The Lebanese TV station Al-Manar is therefore concentrating on the subject in today's broadcast and news edition.
The Mosque of Karbala in Iraq, center of veneration for Hussein, is hosting the shrine containing his remains.
Three hours ago, the Chinese news center 腾讯 quoted Russian, Ukrainian and Western reports about Ukrainian drones having attacked a remote Russian military airfield on August 30.
卫星照片曝光，至少2架伊尔-76受损！俄媒称乌军已在地面炸毁24架战机
Satellite photos exposed that at least 2 Il-76s were damaged ! Russian media said the Ukrainian army has blown up 24 war planes on the ground.
Planet Labs, a US remote sensing satellite data company, released satellite photos of Pskov airport in Russia after the drone attack. On the satellite photos two damaged Il-76 transport aircraft can clearly be seen. From the damaged position it is speculated that the drones tried to attack the fuel tank part of the Il-76 transport aircraft. Near one of the Il-76 transport aircraft, there are two red cars suspected as fire engines.
Editor's Note: Russia's Pskov airfield (普斯科夫机场) is situated north of Belarus, near the border to the Baltic states Estland and Lettland. That means it is more difficult to reach than most other military airfields in Western Russia.
It should be noted that due to the thick local clouds, the satellite did not take an overall photo of Pskov airfield. Earlier, the Main Intelligence Service of Ukraine (GUR) announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed four Il-76 transport planes in a suicide drone attack on Pskov airfield. The airport's refueling facilities were attacked, as well. The Russian side denied such claims and said there were no human and material losses.
After analyzing reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, media and open-source intelligence agencies, Russian media outlet Verstka said that since the start of war last year, the Ukrainian army has launched at least nine attacks on air bases in Russia, Crimea and Belarus so far, in which at least 24 aircraft have been damaged.
Map of Russian military airfields attacked and aircraft damaged (number/type) by
Ukrainian suicide drone attacks since the beginning of war (2022 - August 2023).
