NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT MONDAY 12/31/2018 NEW YEARS EVE NEWSDUMP
(THIS IS POSTED AT 11PM SUNDAY NIGHT BUT WILL BE UPDATED AND EXPANDED EARLY MONDAY MORNING AFTER 4AM)
Turkey and Russia have reached agreement on the next steps, military, humanitarian and otherwise in Syria.
But the Turkish government is frustrated with the pace of the US military withdrawal from Syria.
And Turkey says that Egyptian security teams have been spotted in the city of Manbij at the western end of the US occupied region of Syria.
Internet sources that monitor air traffic say that an Egyptian C-130 aircraft was flying in and out of Aleppo in northern Syria, 55 miles southwest of Manbij.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a major supporter of jihadist groups opposing the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, says he's reassured after speaking with President Trump about the withdrawal of US forces from Syria.
Graham says Trump is planning a slow withdrawal from the country and that he is committed to the defeat of Islamic State.
Russia's FSB security agency says an American citizen has been detained while on a spy mission.
A man identified by the Russian authorities as Paul Whelan was taken into custody Friday in Moscow. The Tass News Agency reports an investigation is underway and if Whelan is found guilty, he faces 10 to 20 years in jail.
A South Korean newspaper reports a conciliatory message from North Korea's ruler to President Trump. It quotes a diplomatic source as saying Kim sent the message to Trump Friday.
Kim also sent a message to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in expressing hope for future summit meetings between the two Koreas.
New revelations about French President Emmanuel Macron's former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla.
Christmas week we learned that Benalla had a diplomatic passport after he left Macron's employ and was travelling overseas. Now on the week of the New Year we learn that Benalla is saying he exchanged encrypted messages with Macron online since he left his employ earlier this year amidst controversy.
With the call for a 'festive and non-violent' Yellow Vests protest and a recent terrorist attack in the country some 12-thousand French police will deploy in Paris for New Year's Eve. As of 4pm local time (10 am in the Eastern US) a security zone will be set up around the Champs-Elysees where a traditional series of light shows are planned for the evening.
Those entering the area will be searched. At least 8-thousand have indicated on social media they plan to attend the Yellow Vests protest in Paris. Other Yellow Vests gatherings are set for Nice and Bordeaux, France to bring in the New Year.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a major supporter of jihadist groups opposing the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, says he's reassured after speaking with President Trump about the withdrawal of US forces from Syria.
Graham says Trump is planning a slow withdrawal from the country and that he is committed to the defeat of Islamic State.
Russia's FSB security agency says an American citizen has been detained while on a spy mission.
A man identified by the Russian authorities as Paul Whelan was taken into custody Friday in Moscow. The Tass News Agency reports an investigation is underway and if Whelan is found guilty, he faces 10 to 20 years in jail.
A South Korean newspaper reports a conciliatory message from North Korea's ruler to President Trump. It quotes a diplomatic source as saying Kim sent the message to Trump Friday.
Kim also sent a message to South Korea's President Moon Jae-in expressing hope for future summit meetings between the two Koreas.
New revelations about French President Emmanuel Macron's former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla.
Christmas week we learned that Benalla had a diplomatic passport after he left Macron's employ and was travelling overseas. Now on the week of the New Year we learn that Benalla is saying he exchanged encrypted messages with Macron online since he left his employ earlier this year amidst controversy.
With the call for a 'festive and non-violent' Yellow Vests protest and a recent terrorist attack in the country some 12-thousand French police will deploy in Paris for New Year's Eve. As of 4pm local time (10 am in the Eastern US) a security zone will be set up around the Champs-Elysees where a traditional series of light shows are planned for the evening.
Those entering the area will be searched. At least 8-thousand have indicated on social media they plan to attend the Yellow Vests protest in Paris. Other Yellow Vests gatherings are set for Nice and Bordeaux, France to bring in the New Year.
Stepped up patrols in the English Channel by both the UK and France following a recent uptick in migrant arrivals on the southern English coast.
Closed Circuit Television pictures of the Parkland High School mass murder last February have been released over the weekend ahead of a report on it. The link is below:
In the Congo, once called Zaire, now called the "Democratic Republic of Congo" a presidential election that has been delayed two years held Sunday with electronic voting machines not working in some places.
Over 1 million of the country's 40 plus million voters not able to vote because of the ebola virus.
21 candidates running for president of the country with three frontrunners, one of them loyal to the current President Joseph Kabila, who's been in power for 17 years.
The final result of the election due in one week.
The final result of the election due in one week.
In Bangladesh the presidential election held with the opposition leader in jail on corruption charges and the opposition alleging a rigged election.
The official results show a big win for incumbent President Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League. Her majority increased as results came in.
The BBC reports that one of its correspondents saw filled ballot boxes at polling places before the voting started.
There's plenty of new polling data in Israel following the big political development over the weekend, a decision by two of the country's most prominent politicians to form "The New Right" party.
The new party could draw anywhere from six to 14 seats in the April 9th elections for the 120 seats in Israel's parliament.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked are leaving the more religiously based "Jewish Home" party to launch the more broad-based party as a more conservative alternative for those disaffected from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his policies.
And that's the way it really is on this New Year's Eve morning, December 31st, 2018.
The BBC reports that one of its correspondents saw filled ballot boxes at polling places before the voting started.
There's plenty of new polling data in Israel following the big political development over the weekend, a decision by two of the country's most prominent politicians to form "The New Right" party.
The new party could draw anywhere from six to 14 seats in the April 9th elections for the 120 seats in Israel's parliament.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked are leaving the more religiously based "Jewish Home" party to launch the more broad-based party as a more conservative alternative for those disaffected from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and his policies.
And that's the way it really is on this New Year's Eve morning, December 31st, 2018.
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