The Babylon Times

📜 MARANDI WARNS US ATTACK ON IRAN WOULD DOOM ITS PROXIES AND ZIONIST INFRASTRUCTURE Strategic affairs expert Mohammad Marandi says a US strike on Iran's power stations and bridges would wipe out America's Gulf proxies for good. The Islamic Republic, he notes, would promptly smash the Zionist entity's vital infrastructure in return. That retaliation, Marandi adds, guarantees a global economic nosedive. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRAN'S UN AMBASSADOR CALLS OUT PALESTINIAN DISPLACEMENT AS REGIONAL TRAGEDY Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani notes this day recalls the displacement of Palestinians, branding it a symbol of major regional tragedy. He insists Palestine's future gets decided by Palestinians themselves, not the usual suspects. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 LEBANON FM HEADS TO INDIA ON MINAB 168 TO HONOR MARTYRS OF AL-SHAJARA AL-TAYYIBA SCHOOL Lebanon's Foreign Minister flew to India on a "Minab 168" aircraft, same as his post-ceasefire jaunts with Israel. The trip marks the martyrs from Al-Shajara Al-Tayyiba School. Meanwhile, the US State Department just tacked on another 45 days to that Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP NIXES TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE PUSH IN CHAT WITH XI US President Donald Trump shot down Taiwan's formal independence dreams at a summit with China's Xi Jinping. "I’m not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he said after Xi leaned on him over US Taiwan backing. Taiwan hasn't chased formal independence anyway. Flashpoint lingers in US-China tensions. Fox News, Beijing context. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 LEBANON AND ISRAEL EXTEND CEASEFIRE BY 45 DAYS AMID ISRAELI STRIKES KILLING 22 INCLUDING 8 CHILDREN Lebanon and Israel agreed to stretch their ceasefire another 45 days. The truce kicked off April 16, 2026, at 17:00 EST for 10 days, then U.S. President Donald Trump tacked on three weeks. Israel's strikes on Wednesday took out at least 22 in Lebanon, eight of them children, per the health ministry. Hezbollah calls past extensions pointless with Israeli ops rolling on. This one's supposed to tee up permanent talks if Lebanon plays enforcer. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 PRO-ISRAEL PROTESTERS RALLY OUTSIDE NEW YORK TIMES OVER REPORT ON ISRAEL'S SYSTEMATIC RAPE OF PALESTINIAN DETAINEES Pro-Israel crowds gathered outside the New York Times office in New York today, protesting a report detailing Israel's systematic rape of Palestinian detainees. Video captures them on the street in front of the building, waving signs and chanting pro-Israel slogans. Some milled on sidewalks and nearby spots under daylight. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP OFFERS CUBA TALKS IF IT DITCHES RUSSIAN AND CHINESE SPY POSTS Former US intel boss John Ratcliffe, on a jaunt to Cuba, passed along Trump's note: America's game for economic and security chit-chat with Havana, but only after Cuba scraps those pesky Russian and Chinese listening posts spying on US comms. Ratcliffe hammered it as the non-negotiable price tag for thawing ties. New York Times @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EBOLA OUTBREAK HITS 246 SUSPECTED CASES IN EASTERN DRC'S ITURI, 65 CONFIRMED DEAD Africa CDC tallies 246 suspected Ebola cases in Ituri, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. That's 65 confirmed deaths so far. Security headaches and political mess there are predictably gumming up containment. Virus spreads via body fluids, triggers brutal bleeding and organ shutdown. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 PROF. KENNETH ROTH CALLS OUT EUROPEAN COWARDICE BEFORE UAE WEALTH Prof. Kenneth Roth, ex-Human Rights Watch boss and Princeton hanger-on, says European countries steer clear of slamming the UAE publicly thanks to its fat wallet and sweet contracts. He dubs it "rich country exceptionalism," letting the UAE dodge blame for aiding mass atrocities. From his full interview here. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN MP SAYS TRUMP'S NEGOTIATING TABLE WON'T DELIVER WHAT HIS FANCY WEAPONS COULDN'T Iranian parliamentary bigwig Ali Reza Salimi dismissed Trump's military flops—despite all those advanced toys—as unlikely to fare better at the bargaining table. He shrugged off Trump's China jaunt, insisting it won't budge the regional power setup or touch Tehran-Beijing pacts.

"What Trump failed to achieve on the military battlefield despite relying on advanced weapons will certainly not be achieved at the negotiating table either."

@TheBabylonTimes

📜 EBOLA RAGES IN EASTERN CONGO AMID SECURITY CHAOS AND POLITICAL MESS Ways to dodge Ebola infection: skip direct contact with infected folks' bodily fluids, scrub hands religiously with soap, water, or booze sanitizers, and gear up with gloves and masks if stuck caring for the sick. Virus hitches rides on tainted objects or surfaces, so bury the dead right with infection controls, and isolate suspects fast. In Ituri province, 246 suspected cases, 65 confirmed deaths—Africa CDC's containment gets the shaft from security woes and instability. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 TRUMP SAYS HE DIDN'T BOTHER ASKING CHINESE PRESIDENT TO STRONG-ARM IRAN ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ Trump stated he did not ask the Chinese president to pressure Iran into opening the Strait of Hormuz. Just another day of not twisting arms in the great geopolitical chess game. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 ISRAELI MEDIA CLAIMS ASSASSINATION OF HAMMAS QASSAM CHIEF OF STAFF IZZ AL-DIN AL-HADDAD Israeli media reports claim Izz al-Din al-Haddad, current chief of staff for Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades—their military wing—and former Gaza City Brigade commander, has been assassinated. Nicknamed the "Qassam Ghost," he sat on the group's smaller military council and ran naval operations in northern Gaza. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 NETANYAHU CLAIMS IDF TARGETED STRIKE ON HAMAS MILITARY CHIEF IN GAZA Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the IDF carried out a targeted strike in Gaza against Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, tagged as Hamas's military chief. No details released on where or when it happened, or any civilians caught in the crossfire. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 ZELESNKY CLAIMS RUSSIA DRAGGING BELARUS DEEPER INTO WAR TO STRIKE KYIV FROM NORTH Russia eyes launching attacks from Belarusian soil against Ukraine's Chernihiv-Kyiv region or NATO neighbors. Zelensky claims Ukraine has Russian docs listing strike targets in Kyiv and other cities, hitting political and military spots on Bankova Street where army brass and officials hang out. Russia planned this long ago, dusted it off after roping in Iran, and now tracks Ukrainian leaders, intel, and special services. "Ukrainians will never give up their independence, land, sovereignty, or state," Zelensky emphasized. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EX-TRUMP OFFICIAL JOE KENT SAYS ISRAEL PUSHED TRUMP TO ASSASSINATE IRAN'S LEADER Joe Kent, who just quit his Trump administration gig, claims Israel begged Trump to take out Iran's leader. Israelis assured him it'd trigger an instant uprising by Iranians, crumbling the regime quick and painless. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP ADMITS NOT UNDERESTIMATING IRAN'S RESILIENCE AFTER ISRAELI ASSASSINATION FLOP Trump stated he did not underestimate Iran's ability to withstand pressure. The remark follows reports of Israeli officials urging him to assassinate an Iranian leader, promising a quick uprising by the Iranian people to topple the regime—a prediction that bombed. Joe Kent, a former Trump administration official, revealed past U.S. strikes on Iran driven by those same Israeli interests. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD BAGS MOSSSAD SPIES IN ARDABIL Iran's Revolutionary Guard Public Relations in Ardabil announced they identified a Mossad-linked espionage network. They arrested its main member in a complex operation. The occupiers' tentacles snapped, just like that. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 PALESTINIANS MARK 78 YEARS OF NAKBA AMID ISRAELI AGGRESSION AND IRAN BUSTS MOSSSAD SPIES Palestinians observe 78 years since the Nakba, their 1948 displacement by Israeli forces and the endless push to wipe them out. Resistance rolls on. Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards snag Mossad-linked spies in Ardabil province, exposing the usual sneaky ops against regional foes. Commemoration spotlights Palestinian grit through decades of displacement and crackdowns. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 PROF. KENNETH ROTH CALLS OUT UAE SILENCE ON ISRAEL'S GAZA CAMPAIGN AFTER ABRAHAM ACCORDS UAE stayed mum—no protests, no warnings about accords crumbling. Silence, basically. Roth contrasts this with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who took a firmer line despite his own spotty rights record. UAE dodges Palestinian state talk, just props up Israel instead. Full interview: https://youtu.be/MjV0fnEx-DE. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum