The Babylon Times

📜 300 SEQUEL SWAPS GERARD BUTLER FOR ELLIOT PAGE Forwarded via Marduk by @nebuchadnezzarll @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPIKES TRAITORS WITH PUBLIC SHAME Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei delivers the goods:

"He who betrays in secret shall be exposed in public."

@TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IDF ANNOUNCES DEATH OF 20-YEAR-OLD STAFF SERGEANT NEGEV DAGAN IN LEBANON Israeli military confirms Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, bought it during their operations in Lebanon. Announcement offers zero details on how or where exactly in the occupied territory. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP THANKS XI FOR FRIENDLY CHATS ON KEEPING STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN AFTER IRAN AND US CLOSED IT Former US President Donald Trump, in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, thanked Xi and his reps as "great people" his team got friendly with. They discussed Iran, sharing views like wanting the Strait of Hormuz open—after Iran shut it and the US closed it further. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 US SENATOR RUBIO WARNS NUCLEAR IRAN WOULD SEIZE STRAIT OF HORMUZ US Senator Marco Rubio claims a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten by controlling the Strait of Hormuz, making it a "permanent global problem." He insists Iran would pay a "significant price" for getting the bomb. This comes after Iran closed the strait, with the US responding in kind, amid recent US talks with China to keep it open. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 RUBIO INSISTS TRUMP DIDN'T BOTHER ASKING XI FOR IRAN HELP Senator Marco Rubio, in an Iran chat, claims President Trump asked zilch from President Xi on the matter. US doesn't seek China's aid, Rubio stresses, and sure doesn't need it. This comes after Trump's recent Iran nod to Xi, both supposedly aligned on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open following its fresh shutdown. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 US SENATOR RUBIO CLAIMS $100 MILLION IN CUBAN FOOD AND MEDICINE READY BUT REGIME BLOCKING IT Marco Rubio says $100 million worth of food and medicine sits available for Cubans right now. The Cuban regime, he claims, is the one keeping it from the people. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 NETANYAHU CLAIMS ISRAELI FORCES CONTROL 60% OF GAZA STRIP Netanyahu says Israeli forces now hold 60% of the Gaza Strip, with tomorrow's "developments" up in the air. This comes amid ongoing Israeli military operations across Gaza, including recent IDF advances and the killing of their Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, in Lebanon. No details on where or when that 60% figure applies. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 US PREPARES CHARGES AGAINST RAÚL CASTRO FOR 1996 CUBAN SHOOTDOWN OF CIVILIAN PLANES The U.S. is gearing up possible charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over Cuba's shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue Cessna planes on February 24, 1996, killing four. Cuban fighter jets fired missiles at the Miami-based exile group's civilian aircraft over international waters. An international probe confirmed the planes were outside Cuban airspace. Fidel ran the show; Raúl commanded the armed forces. CBS News @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP PUSHES CHINA TO BUY OIL FROM TEXAS LOUISIANA AND ALASKA Former President Trump claims he pitched Chinese President Xi Jinping on snapping up oil from Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska. Trump says Xi gave a thumbs-up to the notion, and he's betting a deal seals the works. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP CALLS XI JINPING CENTRAL CASTING FOR HOLLYWOOD CHINESE LEADER ROLE Former President Donald Trump picked Chinese President Xi Jinping as the perfect Hollywood pick for a Chinese leader, dubbing him "Central Casting." Trump pointed out Xi's impressive height, especially standout in China where folks run a bit shorter. The flattery dropped amid Trump's latest public praise for Xi during U.S.-China talks. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TRUMP BLASTS BIDEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHILE BUTTERING UP CHINESE PREZ XI AS G2 SUPERSTARS Former President Trump took to social media to trash President Biden, then gushed over Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump dubbed the US and China the "G2," the two great countries that outrank dusty relics like the G7 or G8. He fawned over Xi's looks, calling him "Central Casting" for a Hollywood Chinese leader flick thanks to his height. Trump reminisced about pitching Xi on buying oil from Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, with Xi giving the thumbs up. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 TRUMP BRUSHES OFF CHINA THREATS AS MUTUAL TAT-FOR-TAT WITH HANNITY Fox News host Sean Hannity fretted in a recent interview that folks worry about China's nefarious intentions. Former President Donald Trump shrugged it off, saying,

"They do things to us, and we do things to them."

The back-and-forth underscores Trump's take on U.S.-China ties as just two big powers swapping blows. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 TROY, BUT INSTEAD OF BRAD PITT, IT’S ELLIOT PAGE Hollywood recasts ancient epic with Elliot Page stepping in for the shirtless warrior role once filled by Brad Pitt. Forwarded via Marduk by @nebuchadnezzarll @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 IRANIAN FM CALLS DIPLOMATS SOLDIERS OF VELAYAT-E FAQIH DOCTRINE Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Iran will dive headfirst into strong diplomacy. He paints its diplomats as soldiers enforcing the Islamic Republic's system and Velayat-e Faqih doctrine. @TheBabylonTimes

BREAKING: The Department of Justice will be dropping charges against Gautam Adani, one of India’s richest men and a scammer, declaring him “above the law.” @GeneralMCNews

📜 CUBA RUNS DRY ON DIESEL AND FUEL OIL, SPARKING WORST BLACKOUT CRISIS IN DECADES Cuba's announced its diesel and fuel oil reserves are bone-dry, plunging the island into its nastiest blackout mess in years. Havana's big swaths get a measly 2-4 hours of power daily, sparking protests, rotting food, stalled buses, and chaos in healthcare and water supply. Key plants sit idle, leaving millions in the dark under economic squeeze. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

📜 3.5-MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS NEAR QAL'EH QAZI IN IRAN'S HORMOZGAN PROVINCE A 3.5-magnitude earthquake conveniently rattled the area around Qal'eh Qazi in Iran's Hormozgan Province. Earth shook, as it does, without picking favorites. @TheBabylonTimes

📜 AIR DEFENSES LIGHT UP SKY OVER KIRYAT SHMONA SETTLEMENT TO SWAT DOWN LEBANESE ROCKETS Video catches air defenses over the Kiryat Shmona settlement in northern Israel springing into action, intercepting rockets fired from southern Lebanon. Bright flares streak the night sky as interceptors launch and burst overhead, with alerts blaring and distant rocket trails visible. No immediate impacts or casualties reported in the settlement. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum

UPDATE:📜 IRAN'S TOP GENERAL SAYS FORCES READY TO SMACK DOWN ANY NEW ENEMY ATTACK Brigadier General Ali Reza Sheikh, executive deputy to Iran's armed forces commander, states Iranian forces are fully capable of responding if the enemy launches any new attack. He adds they can thwart enemy plans with strategic and military moves, already forcing the enemy to negotiate. @TheBabylonTimes | Forum