Former British ISIS Fighters Speak Out

Business Insider: Western ISIS recruits wouldn't stand too close to each other for fear they could get blasted by a drone strike, captured fighter claims

* Western ISIS recruits kept far apart from each other because they knew some were targets for drone strike assassinations.
* "A lot of the westerners were kept distances from one another because one of the primary affairs was targeted drone strikes," British recruit Hamza Parvez told the BBC from prison in Syria.
* "People wouldn't want to be associated with one another just in case. So we'd really be scared of, ok, "this guy might be," and "this guy might be"."
* The physical defeat of ISIS forces in Syria was declared on March 23 and a number of captured western recruits have spoken to media since about the caliphate's final days.

ISIS terrorists recruited from western countries like the US and UK always kept their distance from each other because of the threat of drone strikes, according to a captured member of the terror group.

"A lot of the westerners were kept distances from one another because one of the primary affairs was targeted drone strikes," captured ISIS member and ex-police cadet from London, Hamza Parvez, told the BBC from a Kurdish prison in Syria.

Parvez left the UK to join ISIS in 2014 but was captured in Baghuz, the final ISIS bastion in Syria, according to the BBC. The government has stripped him of citizenship.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Their claims that they did not know how bad ISIS was/is does not wash with me. They knew who ISIS was, and they joined because they wanted to.

More News On Former British ISIS Fighters Speaking Out

Is there a McDonald’s here? Once-pudgy jihadi ‘Hungry Hamza’ asks about fast food after capture in Syria -- SCMP/Washington Post
British Islamic State fighter: 'We would never have come if we'd known the realities of Isis' -- Yahoo News
Brit ISIS fanatic ‘Hungry Hamza’ who moaned he missed KFC surrenders in Syria -- Daily Star
ISIS fanatic captured in Syria just wants to eat McDonald’s NYPost

Is China Building An Anti-Satellite Laser Base?

Xinjiang laser facility

Washington Free Beacon: Satellite Photos Show Chinese Anti-Satellite Laser Base

Images also reveal work on EMP and electronic warfare weaponry.

Commercial satellite images have provided the first photographs of a secret Chinese anti-satellite laser base in western Xinjiang province, along with other high-technology weapons facilities.

The laser facility is located near a lake and is about 145 miles south of the Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

The facility was discovered by retired Indian Army Col. Vinayak Bhat, a satellite imagery analyst who specializes on China.

China is using its satellite tracking stations located throughout the country as a means of identifying and targeting satellites.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Land based anti-satellite laser systems have not lived-up  to the hype that they are able to knock out low-orbit satellites. Then again .... maybe the Chinese have discovered something that will make it work?

Hundreds Of Chinese Ships Are Lurking Near A Philippine Island In The South China Sea

Thitu (Pag-asa in Tagalog), in the Spratly Islands

Business Insider: The Philippines says hundreds of Chinese ships have been lurking near an island it occupies in the disputed South China Sea

* The Philippines has officially protested the presence of hundreds of Chinese ships around a island in the South China Sea.
* The vessels have been detected around Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, aka Pag-asa, since January.
* The Philippines considers the vessels to be maritime militia, though China says they're fishing boats.

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of more than 200 Chinese boats near an island occupied by Manila in the disputed South China Sea, the president's spokesman said on Monday.

President Rodrigo Duterte has pursued warmer ties with China since taking office in 2016 in exchange for billions of dollars of pledged loans and investment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs protested against the vessels near the Philippines-occupied Thitu island, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular news conference, without describing the boats.

Read more ....

Update: Philippines Alarmed by Roughly 200 Chinese Ships Near Disputed Island (Bloomberg).

WNU editor: This swarming of Chines ships around this Philippine island follows this incursion into Taiwanese space over the weekend .... For The First Time Since 2011 Chinese Jets And Warships Have Crossed The Median Line In The Taiwan Strait.

In A 2013 Speech, China's President Xi Says Western Countries Have Long-Term Economic And Military Superiority

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C), attends military ceremony in front of Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Guillermo Granja

Business Insider/Reuters: China's Xi Jinping says Western countries have long-term economic and military superiority

* In a recently released 2013 speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned that developed countries in the West have long-term advantages over China.
* Xi acknowledged that China's Communist Party had made mistakes but said the party's history is "generally speaking glorious."

BEIJING (Reuters) - Developed Western nations have long-term economic, technological and military advantages over China, and the Communist Party has to realize that some people will use the West's strong points to criticize socialism's failings, President Xi Jinping said.

Since assuming power in China more than six years ago, Xi has ramped up efforts to ensure total party loyalty and discipline, including a sweeping crackdown on corruption, warning the party's very survival is at stake.

This year, which is marked by a series of sensitive anniversaries including three decades since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square, has seen a further increase in calls for party loyalty.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  He is right that the West has long-term economic and military superiority. But he is wrong if he thinks socialism will be China's salvation.

Cuba Is Active In Propping Up The Maduro Regime In Venezuela

How Has Maduro Survived? With Lots of Help From Cuban Operatives

Ethan Bronner, Alex Vasquez and David Wainer, Bloomberg: How Has Maduro Survived? With Lots of Help From Cuban Operatives

The men who ripped Carlos Guillen’s toenails out and tightened a plastic bag over his face at counterintelligence headquarters in Caracas were Venezuelan. But the officers overseeing his torture were Cuban.

What immediately gave them away was how they spoke Spanish, said Guillen, a former lieutenant in the Venezuelan military who was accused of treason and, after being placed under house arrest and escaping, fled to Colombia.

Accents were a tip-off, too, for Maria Martinez Guzman. She was on the Univision team that scored an interview in February with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and she said she was amazed by what she witnessed: Cubans in suits and earpieces telling Maduro aides, wearing jeans, what to do. The president was so angered by the journalists’ questions that he ordered the crew briefly detained and then thrown out of the country.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The involvement of Cuba's military and intelligence services in Venezuela have been known for a long time .... Wall Street Journal: A Dozen High Level Cuban Military Officers And Thousands Of Intelligence Agents Are Now In Venezuela (May 22, 2017). My one contact in Caracas told me at the beginning of the year that most of the men who were surrounding and protecting the area around the Presidential compound in Caracas are Cuban, as well as a few very "white looking" men that he assumed were Russian.

Venezuela Announces Power Rationing. Maduro Calls On Armed Groups To Keep Order

DW: Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro introduces month-long electricity rationing

Acting President Nicolas Maduro's government ordered schools to remain closed and to reduce daily working hours. The country's chronic electricity and water shortages have fueled protests nationwide.

Venezuela's acting president President Nicolas Maduro announced on Sunday announced the beginning of a 30-day electricity rationing plan.

The acting president said the rationing regime would balance generation and transmission with consumption, and had the aim of ensuring water supply. Maduro did not elaborate on how the rationing program would be carried out.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez also announced on Sunday that school activities would remain suspended and business hours would be reduced to end the workday at 2 p.m.

Read more ....

More News On The Crisis In Venezuela

Venezuela’s Maduro announces power rationing amid outages -- AP
Venezuela: Maduro calls on armed groups to keep order amid electricity rationing -- The Guardian
Venezuela's Maduro announces power rationing as electricity crisis goes on -- France 24
Venezuela will RATION electricity for a month following nationwide power cuts that have caused misery for millions -- Daily Mail
Venezuela's Maduro announces power rationing amid blackouts -- Al Jazeera
Nationwide Blackouts Are the New Normal in Venezuela as Power Goes Out Again -- Time/AP
Maduro Announces Power Rationing, Blames Opposition for 'Violence and Chaos' -- Sputnik
Venezuelans plan protests over power and water as rationing looms -- Reuters
Venezuelans set up burning barricades over lack of power, water -- Reuters
Riots erupt as Venezuela's Maduro introduces 30-day power rationing -- The National
Venezuela crisis: Opposition's Guaidó awaits army support -- BBC
Moscow refuses to withdraw troops from Venezuela after President Trump says ‘get out’ -- News.com/AP
Turkey pledges continued support to Venezuela's Maduro -- FOX News/AP
US frustrated at Venezuela president’s staying power as ally Russia props him up -- SCMP

Ukraine Presidential Election Results -- News Updates April 1, 2019

Reuters: Comedian takes commanding lead in Ukraine presidential vote

KIEV (Reuters) - A comedian with no political experience took a commanding lead in the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election, offering a fresh face to voters fed up with corruption in a country on the front line of the West’s standoff with Russia.

With three quarters of votes counted on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old comic who plays a fictional president in a popular TV series, had won more than 30.5 percent.

It leaves President Petro Poroshenko in a distant second with just 16.6 percent of the vote, a hole that may be too deep to climb out from. He faced a public furious at his failure to stamp out corruption or improve living standards five years after a pro-Russian leader was swept out by a popular revolt.

Read more ....

Ukraine Presidential Election Results -- News Updates April 1, 2019

Comedian leads Ukraine presidential vote, runoff in 3 weeks -- AP
Ukraine election: Comedian leads presidential contest -- BBC
Popular comedian races ahead in Ukrainian presidential election -- Reuters
Ukraine: Comedian Zelensky and incumbent Poroshenko set for runoff vote — exit poll -- DW
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky takes big lead in Ukraine elections -- CNN
Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy leading Ukraine's presidential race, exit polls suggest -- ABC News Online
Comedian secures comfortable first-round win in Ukraine’s presidential elections -- CNBC
Zelensky to face Poroshenko in Ukraine runoff after early count -- Al Jazeera
Ukrainian comedian sure of victory in presidential runoff -- AP
Ukraine elections: TV comic favourite to win in presidential runoff -- The Guardian
Zelensky’s victory in first round boosts his presidential chances to 75%, says expert -- TASS
Poroshenko’s campaign headquarters says he is set to win runoff -- TASS
Poroshenko to fight tooth and nail in Ukrainian presidential election runoff — analysts -- TASS
Kremlin says will not comment on Ukraine’s election until end of runoff -- TASS

World News Briefs -- April 1, 2019

Daily Mail: President Erdogan's party LOSES mayoral race to secular opposition in Turkish capital as his party is dealt significant blow in local elections

* Erdogan's AKP party lost the key mayoral seat of Ankara after the local elections
* Despite losses in several Turkish cities Erdogan declared victory on Sunday
* The AKP also looks set to lose Istanbul to the Republican People's Party (CHP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lost the mayoral race in the capital Ankara to Turkey's secular opposition as the country staged pivotal local elections.

Erdogan declared victory in the elections on Sunday night but the opposition's success in Ankara and elsewhere dealt a significant blow to his party's dominance.

Votes are still being counted in Istanbul where the race for mayor is said to be 'too close to call'.

The candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey's largest city Istanbul is ahead in the vote count against the candidate of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP), the head of the country's High Election Board said on Monday.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Turkey elections: opposition claims victory in Ankara, pulls ahead in Istanbul. Erdoğan’s party loses Ankara in Turkish local elections blow.

Killed by cholera, Yemeni doctor knew he was fighting 'disastrous' epidemic.

Palestine, Golan Heights take centre stage at Arab League summit.

Arab leaders to seek U.N. Security Council resolution on Golan.

Hamas tightens grip on Gaza, fails to break Israel blockade.

Gaza violence: Crossings reopen after negotiated 'calm'.

Putin, Netanyahu discussed military ties, Middle East.

Iraq arrests Mosul ferry owners after deadly disaster.

ASIA

Chinese fighter jets cross Taiwan Strait after Tsai Ing-wen urges Pacific pushback against Beijing.

Vietnam protests over China’s sinking of vessel in contested South China Sea.

4 militants killed in Kashmir following gun battle with Indian security forces.

Thai demonstrators protest against alleged polls cheating.

North Korea calls for probe into 'terror attack' on embassy in Spain.

Woman gets 3 years in plea deal for killing half-brother of Kim Jong Un.

14 suspected rebel communists killed in operations in Philippines.

New Zealand outlines strict new gun controls.

Nepalese PM: 27 dead, 612 injured following massive storm.

AFRICA

Algeria's President Bouteflika names caretaker government.

Algeria's embattled Bouteflika to resign within days: Report.

Sudan police fire tear gas as protesters rally: witnesses.

Xenophobic attacks spark South African response.

Mozambique confirms 1st cholera death as cases above 500.

Sierra Leone bans industrial fishing for a month.

Rwanda's genocide killers learn new life back home.

EUROPE

Ukraine: Comedian Zelensky and incumbent Poroshenko set for runoff vote — exit poll.

Kremlin says will not comment on Ukraine’s election until end of runoff.

Brexit in disarray: May under pressure to go for soft Brexit.

Jean-Claude Juncker warns EU's patience 'running out' over Brexit. Juncker says EU running out of patience with London over Brexit stalemate.

Slovakia elects first female president, a liberal lawyer.

UN Security Council: Germany, France share presidency.

Treaty's end would give U.S., Russia impetus to make more nukes: study.

AMERICAS

US cuts aid to three Central American countries over migration.

Trump aides stress president's resolve to close US-Mexico border. Mulvaney: only 'something dramatic' will stop Trump closing Mexico border.

Trump surprises his aides and allies with abrupt decrees.

Allegations test Biden ahead of 2020 run. Joe Biden denies Lisa Flores's misconduct allegations.

Venezuelans set up burning barricades over lack of power, water.

US condemns Russia troop deployment to troubled Venezuela.

Lavrov: Washington informed of what Russian troops are doing in Venezuela.

Venezuela crisis: Opposition's Guaidó awaits army support.

Brazil to open diplomatic office in Jerusalem.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Alleged UK spy ‘Osama bin Bieber’ who joined daesh executed by terror group.

Western ISIS recruits wouldn't stand too close to each other for fear they could get blasted by a drone strike, captured fighter claims.

Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf's children out of battle zone after fleeing Islamic State.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Delays as major US airlines hit by computer outages.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg asks for government and regulator help in controlling internet content.

Unfazed by trade war, Google collaborates with Huawei on health care AI initiative.

Ethiopian Airlines to give preliminary report on Boeing crash.

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2019

YouTube

Kris Osborne, Warrior Maven: Massive Warship Expansion: Navy to Add 30 New Destroyers by 2034

Within the next 15 years, the Navy plans to add as many as 30 DDG 51 Destroyers

The Navy’s ambitious fleet-size expansion relies upon a massive increase in heavily armed Destroyers able to launch long-range attacks, fire interceptor missiles, defend carrier strike groups and engage in massive open blue water warfare.

Within the next 15 years, the Navy plans to add as many as 30 DDG 51 Destroyers, including 22 new, high-tech DDG 51 Flight III warships and eight state-of-the-art DDG 51 Flight IIA destroyers. Prioritizing such a large number of these warships offers an interesting analytical window into Navy thinking about the next five decades of ocean war.

In addition to adding 30 new destroyers, the Navy’ also seeks 15 LCS’, 18 of the new Frigates and as many as 32 new attack submarines in the next 15 years. While many new ships are now under construction, the current number of Navy ships is roughly in the high 280s, a number the Navy hopes to grow to 355 by 2034.

Read more ....

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2019

Why two carriers left Norfolk just hours apart -- Mark D. Faram, Navy Times

Pacific Commander Wants Subs The Navy Just Doesn’t Have -- Breaking Defense

USS Eisenhower back at sea after upgrades in Norfolk -- UPI

U.S. Navy Turned A British Amphibious Ship Into A Mine-Clearing Sea Base Packed With Drone Tech -- Warzone/The Drive

Count Unmanned Vessels -- Jerry Hendrix, NRO

Boeing awarded $87.5M for work on Harrier trainers -- UPI

Major Pacific Exercise Preps Marines, Sailors for Large-Scale Maritime Battle -- Military.com

Army To Replace Nearly Half Of Its Apache Gunships With Future High-Speed Armed Recon Helo -- Warzone/The Drive

What the US Army can learn from the Brits’ ‘snowflake’ recruiting campaign -- Army Times

New ‘Black Hawk Down’ documentary tells story of soldiers who saved Rangers, Delta Force troops -- Army Times

F-35's Most Sinister Capability Are Towed Decoys That Unreel From Inside Its Stealthy Skin -- Warzone/The Drive

The Pentagon’s cost assessment office needs to reassess its F-15EX findings -- Douglas Birkey, Defense News

More than Planes and Pickle Buttons: Updating the Air Force’s Core Missions for the 21st Century -- Heather Venable, War On the Rocks

The Newest AI-Enabled Weapon: ‘Deep-Faking’ Photos of the Earth -- Defense One

America is still trying to win the last cyber war -- Christopher Porter, The Hill

Congress to Pentagon: Um, we asked you to buy tech faster -- C4ISRNet

Army Gen. Stephen Townsend is nominated to lead AFRICOM -- Stars and Stripes

Tweeting Trump injects White House into SEAL war crimes case -- Navy Times

Key senator looks to block Apache sale to Egypt over injured American -- Al-Monitor

NATO Membership for Cyprus. Yes, Cyprus. -- Damon Wilson, Atlantic Council

'Serious' questions over SAS involvement in Yemen war -- The Guardian

US, Russian Bombers Zip Past One Another Over Norwegian Sea in Drills -- Sputnik

WATCH Russian IL-112V Military Transport Plane Successfully Make Maiden Flight -- Sputnik

New Russian aircraft successfully completes its first test flight -- TASS

‘Flying Nightmare’: Russia Makes Aerial Shotgun-Wielding Drone -- Sputnik

Donald Trump nears sale of new F-16V jets to Taiwan, a move seen as ‘huge shock’ to Beijing -- SCMP

Taiwan blasts China for ‘reckless and provocative’ fighter jet incursion -- SCMP/AFP

Chinese jets’ incursion across Taiwan Strait is Beijing’s way of pushing back against the US, say analysts -- SCMP

China’s Activities in the Polar Regions Cannot Go Unchecked -- By Captain Tuan N. Pham, U.S. Navy, US Naval Institute

India launches top secret spy satellite into orbit along with cubesat swarm (VIDEO, PHOTOS) -- RT

India's anti-satellite missile test may have created 6,500 pieces of space junk larger than a pencil eraser, according to a new simulation -- Business Insider

Australia's Transition to the Hunter-Class Frigate -- Marcus Hellyer, The Strategist

South Korea begins excavation of war remains in DMZ -- UPI

More bad news about this Pearl Harbor memorial -- Navy Times/AP

After Almost 70 Years NATO Is In Better Shape than Most People Think

Dan Runde, The Hill: The state of NATO is better than you think

Foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will gather in Washington on April 3 and 4 to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary. We should celebrate that NATO has been the most successful alliance of all time, preventing a major great-power war such as World War I and World War II, during which 15 to 20 million and 62 to 78 million people died, respectively.

In the context of NATO’s success, we should review the criticisms of the organization — particularly burden-sharing.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I see NATO staying around for another few more decades.