The Babylon Times

📜 IDF SOLDIERS SWARM PALESTINIAN CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME IN SHOAFAT REFUGEE CAMP RAID Fully armed IDF troops barged into Shuafat refugee camp in northern occupied Jerusalem. They zeroed in on a Palestinian child with Down syndrome, surrounding him up close. The kid recoiled in terror from their weapons and intimidation in the tight camp confines. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EXPLOSIVE DEVICE KILLS FRIDAY PRAYER LEADER AT SAYYIDA ZAINAB SHRINE IN DAMASCUS Seyyed Farhan Al-Mansour, Friday prayer leader at the Sayyida Zainab shrine, got taken out by an explosive device right after his sermon. The bomb targeted him directly at the Damascus shrine in Syria. Video captures the aftermath, site in disarray, emergency responders on scene amid civilians. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRGC NEUTRALIZES U.S.-MADE AGM-154 JSOW GLIDE BOMB IN TEHRAN Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps took down a U.S.-made AGM-154 JSOW glide bomb in Tehran's Bishaf area. The hefty 450-500 kg beast relies on GPS guidance, courtesy of American ingenuity. Photos capture the intact dud on the ground, markings screaming its Stars-and-Stripes origins and specs. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN VOWS TO STAND FIRM AGAINST ANY THREAT Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Amir Hatami laid it out plain: Iran will stand against any threat under the leadership of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, backed by the Iranian people. No backing down from whatever's coming. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRAN HANDS LATEST PROPOSAL TO PAKISTAN MEDIATOR FOR US TALKS Iran's state news agency says the country slid its newest negotiation pitch to Pakistan Thursday evening. Pakistan's playing middleman in whatever passes for talks with the United States. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 GOLD SURGES OVER FIVEFOLD TO $5,000+ PER OUNCE AMID IRAN WAR Gold's climbed from about $1,000 per troy ounce in 2020 to over $5,000 now, right as countries hoard reserves during the ongoing Iran war, per the New York Times. Russia, China, India, Poland, and the Czech Republic pile into gold for economic independence—its liquidity beats currency traps, dodging bond and bank messes that foreign cash dependencies invite. Turkey's leaned on its stash to prop up its currency in the mess. Central Banking Publications and HSBC analysts see $5,250 by end of 2026. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 NEW MURAL IN TEHRAN'S VALIASR SQUARE SAYS IT ALL WITH "IT HAS BECOME NARROW" A fresh mural popped up in Valiasr Square, smack in the heart of Iran's capital Tehran. The artwork spells out "ضاقت" — that's "It has become narrow" in English — capturing that snug feeling of constraint and distress. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 LEGO VIDEO EXPOSES EPSTEIN NETWORK CRIMES AND TRUMP COVER-UP A four-minute LEGO-animated video titled "Monsters never sleep" lays out the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein's network. Victims detail their suffering from the harassment and abuse of underage girls. A somber song croons,

"The strings are pulling tighter till we can no longer breathe. In this house of mirrors there is no way to leave."

It alleges Donald Trump tried to bury parts of the Epstein scandal. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 CAR BOMB RIPS THROUGH DENSELY POPULATED SHIITE NEIGHBORHOOD IN RURAL DAMASCUS A car bomb exploded in the Sayyida Zaynab area of rural Damascus. The blast hit this Shiite-majority neighborhood, packed tight with residents and dotted by shrines that keep drawing sectarian attacks. No casualty numbers or perpetrator details confirmed yet. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 EXPLOSION ROCKS SAYYIDA ZAINAB NEAR SHIA SHRINE SOUTH OF DAMASCUS An explosion hit Sayyida Zainab, that neighborhood south of Damascus hugging a shrine dear to Shia Muslims. Initial reports point to an Israeli airstrike zeroing in on the area. Local media's holding back on casualty counts or anything else for now. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 IRANIAN WORKERS GATHER AT KHOMEINI'S SHRINE FOR ANNUAL PRE-MAY DAY RITUAL Workers from Iranian industrial companies showed up at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei's residence on the eve of International Workers' Day, keeping up their yearly tradition. This time, they assembled at the spot where Imam Martyr Khamenei ascended—noticeably different from past meetups. Video captures the crowd rolling in and gathering there. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 ISRAELI OCCUPATION AIRCRAFT STRIKE BRAASHIT AND YAHMOR IN SOUTHERN LEBANON Israeli occupation aircraft hit the towns of Braashit and Yahmor in southern Lebanon with two airstrikes. These blasts form part of the nonstop Israeli aggression in the region, featuring civilian killings like the child Mila in recent incidents. Video footage captures the impacts, explosions illuminating the night sky over residential areas while shockwaves rip through the towns. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 ISRAELI FORCES KILL YOUNG GIRL MILA IN SOUTHERN LEBANON Israeli forces took out a young girl named Mila in southern Lebanon. This comes right after their occupation aircraft hammered the towns of Braashit and Yahmor. Video captures the aftermath, with the child's body amid rubble and destruction in the residential area. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN REJECTS FOREIGN MEDDLING IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ Iran's ambassador to Italy made it clear his country won't tolerate outsiders poking around the Strait of Hormuz. He insisted diplomacy's the sole route to sorting out squabbles with the US—because apparently, that's still an option.

"Diplomacy is the only path to resolving disputes with the United States."

@TheBabylonTimes

📜 US F-22S HIT PHILIPPINES FOR SHOW, EXPOSING PATHETIC LIMITS AGAINST CHINA F-22's unrefueled combat radius limps at 460 nautical miles—half of China's J-20—useless over Pacific expanses with Chinese missiles eyeing bases and tankers. Stealth and avionics lag behind even the F-35; no IRST like the J-20's standard kit, electronics already outdated in 2005. Air-to-air missiles only—no ground attack, cruise, anti-ship, or long-range options, skipping recent US strikes on Iran. Readiness at 40%, $85,000 per flight hour, retirement by 2030. All while China's J-20 fleet grows. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 TRUMP WORRIES IRAN MIGHT WIN FIFA WORLD CUP White House correspondent hit former US President Donald Trump with the hypothetical of Iran winning the FIFA World Cup. Trump called it concerning, put his faith in FIFA President Gianni Infantino to do what he thinks is right, and wondered aloud about the strength of Iran's team. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 ISRAEL SLIPS UAE DRONE-DETECTION GADGET "SPECTRO" AMID IRAN ATTACKS Financial Times says Israel quietly rushed a small drone-detection system called Spectro to the United Arab Emirates during Iran's recent missile and drone barrage. This fits Israel's steady arms flow to the UAE. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN FM SAYS NETANYAHU'S GAMBLE HAS COST US $100 BILLION SO FAR Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi figures Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's little gamble has already burned through $100 billion of US cash. He dropped that nugget while calling out the Israeli leader's high-stakes play. Earlier this week, a senior Pentagon suit pegged the ongoing war with Iran at $25 billion. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 SHURA COUNCIL DEPUTY THREATENS MILITARY HIT ON NAVAL BLOCKADE TO SELL OIL Mounir Mteki, deputy in the Islamic Shura Council, says fighters might launch an op tomorrow or in a week to end the naval blockade choking their trade and oil sales. He points to the tanker Jawir, peddling 1.5 million barrels of Emirati oil, and demands their own oil gets shipped too—or else. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 CHROME'S GEMINI LIVE VULNERABILITY LETS MALICIOUS EXTENSIONS HIJACK AI FOR SPYING This "trusted" feature, meant to summarize pages and run tasks with deep access to user doings, got patched in version 143. Extensions with declarativeNetRequest permissions could slip in JavaScript, snagging local files, screenshots from HTTPS pages, and firing up camera and mic sans permission. Just the sort of "agentic" AI perk that hands phishers and snoopers enterprise gold. @TheBabylonTimes