Sunday, April 28, 2019

NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT SUNDAY 4/28-MONDAY 4/29/2019


(WORK IN PROGRESS,  ADDITIONS, EDITING ETC., UPDATES TILL MONDAY MORNING)



Spain's Socialist Party achieved a first place finish in the country's general election.  Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez  improved the position of his party in Spain's Parliament, but fell short of a majority in the lower house.

Sanchez took power with minority support in the country's parliament when corruption allegations forced Mariano Rajoy, former leader of  Popular Party of  the "Right",  out of power.

Sanchez tried to mobilize voters based on fear of the newly emerging Vox Party that opposes mass immigration.  Vox has picked up more than 10 percent of the popular vote and two dozen seats in the 350 seat Chamber of Deputies.

At 99.9 percent of the vote counted, 123 Socialists, 66 Popular Party, 57 Citizens Party, 42 Podemos, 24 Vox with the leading Catalan pro-independence party at 15 seats, a gain of six with a smaller Catalan pro-independence party set to get 7 seats as well.   Other smaller separatist parties have won seats giving the Socialists options to gain a 176 seat majority in the lower house.

The Socialist Party can claim a majority in Spain's 265 seat Senate.    They won 121 of the 208 elected seats there and have 18 of the appointed seats for a total of 139.

Police in Sri Lanka killed the father and two brothers of the man believed to have organized the eight terrorist attacks last Sunday.

Police launched an operation on a house in the eastern part of the country Friday with 15 reported dead afterwards.

Terrorist leader Zahran Hashim is believed to have died in a suicide attack on one of the Easter Sunday targets, a hotel.

Christian churches were also targeted and churches were closed this Sunday for security reasons.

The president and prime minister of Sri Lanka attended a Christian service that was televised across the country.

On Monday Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sisirsena used an emergency law to ban face coverings in public.     The move taken to ensure national security.

Four people suspected of planning a terrorist attack on French police were arrested last Friday, April 26th.

France's domestic intelligence agency, DGSI, involved in the investigation.

Early word is that one of those arrested is a teenager who had done prison time for seeking to go to fight with jihadists in Syria.

One of two suspected spies for the United Arab Emirates committed suicide while in a Turkish prison.

That's the report from the government's "Haberturk" news channel Monday.

Later word from a spokesman for Turkey's justice ministry is that the suspect hanged himself at the Silivri prison, west of Istanbul.

The two were arrested earlier this month by Turkish authorities with a senior Turkish official saying the pair admitted spying on Arab nationals.

One of them being probed for any connection to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul last October.

The commanding officer of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba relieved of command.

A month long investigation led to Rear Admiral John Ring losing his job due to what is called "a loss of confidence in his ability to command".

There are 40 detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

President Trump called Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, injured in the Saturday attack on a California synagogue, with the Rabbi asking:

"What are you doing about the anti-Semitism?"


In part the President responded:

"My love is for the Jewish people."


Rabbi Goldstein spoke with Israel Defense Forces radio (Galei Zahal) about his conversation with Trump.

More on this story from Israel National News.......LINK

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North being forced out as President of the National Rifle Association when his term expires Monday.

North says he won't be allowed to run for re-election.   North has alleged that NRA leaders have engaged in financial wrongdoing.

The NRA Chief Executive Wayne Lapierre accused North of threatening to remove him by releasing damaging information.

The chairman of the Conservative Party in the UK, Brandon Lewis, says his party's priority is cutting a deal with the European Union before the European Parliament elections take place on May 23rd to cancel them.

The party's hope is Prime Minister Theresa May will reach agreement with the Labor Party to force through her controversial "Brexit" agreement with the EU.

British voters go to the polls this Thursday in local government elections that the Tories are contesting along with Labor and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) among others.

The Conservatives likely to lose local government seats because of Mrs. May's position on Brexit.

In the EU election campaign that's on for now, the sister of a prominent Conservative explains why she is running with Nigel Farage's "Brexit Party".

Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of Euroskeptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, tells the "The Telegraph":

"I don't want to damage the Conservatives"


More on the story from "The Telegraph".....LINK

Mainstream media in the UK that normally support the Conservative Party are giving big coverage to Farage's Brexit Party right now.

"Brexit Party" is running very strong in polling right now, almost even the Labor Party overall.

Its a news story that UKIP leader Gerard Batten is calling libelous.    The "Daily Mail" claiming that information has been passed to British police about UKIP's highest profile candidate in the European Parliament elections making online posts in favor of sexually abusing boys.

Carl Benjamin, also known online as "Sargon of Akkad", already having his Twitter campaign account suspended Friday.     He's also been attacked for comments about rape and a Labor Party politician years ago.

Benjamin is planning libel action against the newspaper.  Fake screenshots from years ago are said to be involved.   More at this link......HERE

In northern Syria, the second attack in 72 hours on the Russian air base at Hmeimim.   The unidentified objects approaching the base were intercepted early Sunday morning.

Russian Aeropsace Forces responded with air attacks on the positions of jihadists believed behind the attacks.

From Israel, the Attorney General telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyers they have until May 10th to schedule a pre-indictment hearing.  Netanyahu facing charges in three separate corruption cases.   AG Avechai Mandelblit said the hearing must take place before July 10th.

If no hearing is scheduled, Mandelblit said he will move forward with final decision making on Netanyahu's cases on the basis of evidence he currently has.

And that's the way it really is on this Monday morning April 29th, 2019.

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