NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT FRIDAY 2/1/2019

(EDITING, EXPANSION, ADDITIONS ETC. UNTIL 645 AM EASTERN US)

North Korea has pledged to destroy all of its nuclear enrichment facilities.

That's the word from the US representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun.

The North Koreans made this pledge to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last October.

President Trump said Thursday that the date and location of his next summit meeting with North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un will be announced soon.

"I'll continue to build the wall, and we'll get the wall finished"

That's what President Trump told two "New York Times" reporters at the White House.  He said that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is doing the country a "tremendous disservice".   Pelosi saying there will be no border wall funding coming out of the talks going on between the White House and Congress.

The President has said he will use emergency powers to build a barrier on the nation's southern border if necessary.

The US backed Syrian Democratic Forces are talking with Islamic State about the fate of the last ISIS fighters in the Euphrates River Valley in eastern Syria.

The Syria Observatory for Human Rights in the UK, a pro-Syrian opposition group, providing the story of the talks which focus on the fate of the top ISIS leaders.

Many ISIS fighters are said to have already surrendered in the lower ranks.

There's been a Russian media report in recent weeks that ISIS fighters are being airlifted with their families to the Central Asian country of Tadzhikistan.

In northern Syria's Idlib province the attacks by the HTS jihadist group, formerly Al-Qaeda, have broken the peace guaranteed by Russia and Turkey in a "de-confliction" zone.

This week Turkish and Russian military officials are meeting in Moscow and now the Turkish Foreign Minister is blaming the US and allied nations of the anti-Syrian government coalition for the HTS attacks.

Melvut Cavusoglu told the "Hurriyet" newspaper that Russia wants a joint operation to deal with the jihadists.   He said:

"Russians have a joint operation offer.  They say we should remove them from there"

The Venezuelan police came to the apartment of Interim President Juan Guaido and intimidated his wife and child.    The people living nearby responded to the riot police invasion of their neighborhood with a traditional banging of the pots and pans.

Opposition street protests against the regime of Nicolas Maduro planned for tomorrow, Saturday, in Venezuela.

Yellow Vests protests across France tomorrow, Act 12,  including a "white march" in Paris honoring the thousands of protesters injured by police during the protests..

Last Saturday's police attack on Yellow Vests media figure Jerome Rodrigues highlighted the issue.

There are 116 official investigations into police violence during the Yellow Vests protests.

In Marseille, Yellow Vests will erect a "wall of shame" in memory of 14 protesters who died in the last 12 weeks.   Eleven in France and three in Belgium killed in traffic accidents on the sidelines of the protests.

Opposition to police violence will be the theme in other cities.    Yellow Vests protests in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rouen and Caen and numerous other cities and towns set for tomorrow.

Also, Yellow Vests figure Eric Drouet and the CGT trade union calling for a "general strike" next Tuesday in France.

The Battle of Brexit and talk about delaying Brexit past the March 29th deadline.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying the delay might be needed if there is a last minute agreement the EU, which is currently rejecting any talks to amend the original deal offered to the UK.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee, saying it would be acceptable to him for a delay under such circumstances.

Delay is viewed with suspicion by Brexit supporters.

Gerard Batten, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, has petitioned Her Majesty The Queen, to prorogue Parliament past March 29th to ensure Brexit takes effect at the appointed time without any interference or delay by Parliament.

BREAKING NEWS:  Israel's Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit says there is no legal reason to prevent him from deciding before Israel's election on indictment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in three corruption cases.

Netanyahu had asked for a delay until after the election.  Word has leaked out that lawyers in the State Prosecutor's office want Mendelblit to indict the Prime Minister in two of the cases.

If he is indicted, a court hearing will have to be held before the indictments go forward.

Israeli politics now with a new poll out for the April 9th General Election.    The "Israel Hayom" newspaper and its partners took this poll after the inaugural speech of former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.

It shows Likud, the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the lead at 28 seats in the 120 seat Parliament (Knesset).

But in second, the Israel Resilience Party of the newcomer Gantz at 19 seats.   Gantz's party has increased its strength in this poll following his Tuesday speech.

Other parties Yesh Atid, the secularists, at 9 seats and the Joint Arab List also with 9 seats.

The "New Right Party" at 7 seats and Untied Torah Judaism at 7 seats.

Other parties in play as well further down the list.  Israel proportionally allocates it parliament seats to all parties getting over four percent of the popular vote.

Also, a poll from the "Maariv" newspaper in Israel puts Likud at 31 seats, Israel Resilience at 20 with Yesh Atid at 12.      It also ran the poll another way, saying that Gantz's Israel Resilience and Yesh Atid as one party would get 32 seats and tie Likud also at 32 seats.


And that's the way it really is Friday morning February 1st, 2019.