Iraq and Cuba hit by blackouts amid US pressure and attacks on Iran

Baghdad has reported a disruption of Iranian gas supply to its power plants, while Havana blames a US blockade for outages on the island

Both Iraq and Cuba have been plunged into nationwide blackouts, with the Middle Eastern country’s grid collapsing after a sudden drop in gas supplies to a major power plant in Basra, while the Caribbean island’s outage is being blamed on chronic fuel shortages worsened by the US blockade on Venezuelan oil.

The day before the Iraqi blackout, an Electricity Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying that “incomplete supplies” of gas from neighboring Iran were already affecting power plant operations. Iran has been facing a massive US-Israeli air campaign since Saturday.

A separate power facility also experienced a shutdown in central Salah al-Din province, with local police explicitly denying reports that the station was targeted by an attack, according to the state-run INA news agency.

Iraq relies on Iranian gas for 30-40% of its power generation. The dependence is a direct consequence of decades of foreign intervention in the country. Before the 1991 Gulf War, the grid, though strained by sanctions, largely met demand. The war destroyed 75% of its generating capacity, and the 2003 US-led invasion caused a catastrophic collapse to less than 10% of prior output.

Blackouts also hit Cuba on Wednesday, with a widespread power outage plunging approximately two-thirds of the island into darkness, including the capital Havana.

The blackout was caused by a shutdown at one of the island’s largest thermoelectric power plants, according to the Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The island nation’s chronic fuel shortages have been severely exacerbated by a US blockade on oil from Venezuela. Since US forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, Washington has seized multiple tankers bound for Cuba.

The Cuban government has long attributed its economic crisis to decades of US sanctions, which it says contribute directly to the lack of investment in power generation and its crumbling electric grid.

Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump suggested last week that the US could carry out a “friendly takeover of Cuba,” claiming the island nation’s government is on the brink of collapse and is actively negotiating with Washington.

https://www.rt.com/news/633916-iraq-cuba-blackouts-us-pressure/

Flashback The Most Dangerous Cult in The World!

Sat, 30 Jul 2005 17:26 UTC

Comment: Given that many conservatives today, including Donald Trump, support Israel, we thought it time to republish this article, first posted 19 years ago.

The article explores the explosive intersection of Christian Zionism, dispensationalist eschatology (often called Armageddon theology), and the long-standing push for a Third Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Drawing from the works of Gershom Gorenberg (The End of Days) and Grace Halsell (Forcing God's Hand), it examines how certain evangelical Christian groups — along with allied militant Zionist elements — view the modern State of Israel, the regathering of Jews, and preparations like the breeding of unblemished red heifers as literal fulfillments of biblical prophecy signaling the approach of Christ's Second Coming, the Rapture, Tribulation, and ultimate apocalyptic battle.

These beliefs, rooted in 19th-century teachings from figures like John Darby, portray support for Israel's expansion and control over contested holy sites not merely as political solidarity, but as a divine imperative to hasten end-times events — even if that means endorsing conflict over the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque stand. The piece critiques this alliance as cynical and dangerous: one side anticipates Jewish conversion or destruction in the process, while the other pursues messianic restoration, with Palestinians caught in the crossfire of prophetic literalism.

As of early 2026, preparations continue: The Temple Institute reports four red heifer candidates still under observation at Shiloh (following disqualifications and practice rituals in 2025), with ongoing monitoring for ritual purity that could enable Temple service resumption. Record numbers of Jewish ascents to the Temple Mount in 2025, combined with persistent evangelical advocacy, underscore how these ancient rituals and modern geopolitics remain intertwined in a volatile mix that many see as a "sacred blasting cap" for regional — and potentially global — conflagration.

This is the story of a theology that doesn't just predict the end of the world… but actively works to bring it about.

July 30, 2005

During the Reformation era, the Biblical Hebrews came to be associated with their modern co-religionists. At the same time it became popular belief among Protestant adherents that the Jews scattered in their present dispersion would be regathered in Palestine in order to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ… The Old Testament not only became the most popular literature for the Protestant laity, but also the source book for general historical knowledge. This is the moment when a process of historical manipulation began. — Regina Sharif, Non-Jewish Zionism

Who will the Antichrist be? … Of course he will be Jewish. — Jerry Falwell

Prophetically, the only thing that could prevent it (a Jewish holocaust) is Israel's repentance. — Dwight Pentecost in an interview with Paul Boyer

The creation of Israel in 1948 means "a return at last, to the biblical land from which the Jews were driven so many hundreds of years ago… The establishment of the nation of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and the very essence of its fulfillment." — Former president Jimmy Carter

As a Christian, I see the return of Jews to the Holy Land but one sign of the coming of the messianic age in which all humans will enjoy the benefits of an ideal society. — Former Senator Mark Hatfield

For the first time in more than 2,000 years, Jerusalem, being in the hands of the Jews, gives the student of the Bible a thrill and a renewed faith in the accuracy and validity of the Bible. — L. Nelson Bell, editor, Christianity Today

The Rev. Clyde Lott, Canton, Miss., a Pentecostal minister, interprets passages of the Bible to say that a third Jewish temple must rise in Jerusalem before the Second Coming can happen… Lott is producing perfect red heifers, virginal cows "without spot" that could be sacrificed to produce ashes for ritual use in the future temple. For that to happen, Muslim shrines like the Dome of the Rock would have to be knocked down… Lott is convinced that God will attend to this in due time. — The New York Times, December 27, 1998

More

https://www.sott.net/article/236475-The-Most-Dangerous-Cult-in-The-World

Dozens Killed and Thousands Displaced in Growing Pakistan-Afghan Border Conflict

Amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, Pakistan's recent assertiveness against the Taliban also serves as a message to the West.

“Even after iftar we could still hear the fighting. Pakistani jets keep circling above us,” said Mohammad Alam, a 38-year-old former NGO worker, on the phone from Kabul. It was late evening, shortly after the daily breaking of the fast during Ramadan. Such nights in Afghanistan are usually lively—families visiting each other, tea houses open late, children playing in courtyards. This year, he told Drop Site News, the soundscape has changed. Almost five years after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, above the rooftops of Kabul fighter jets and drones have become a familiar presence again.

This time, the jets and drones are Pakistani. In Afghanistan’s eastern provinces—Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar—residents report artillery fire and aircraft passing overhead. Especially along the so-called Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, clashes have intensified in recent days.

“It was very loud. Rockets hit near our house in western Kabul,” said Abdul Rauf, a man in his late twenties who lives not far from the historic Dar-ul-Aman Palace, describing an attack in the early hours of Friday, February 27. According to multiple residents and local journalists, Pakistani fighter jets struck several targets across Afghanistan, including locations in Kabul, Kandahar, and the eastern province of Paktia. Near the palace in western Kabul, witnesses reported powerful explosions and shockwaves that rattled windows. Videos circulating online showed aircraft flying low over the city.

“Everyone knew immediately that something serious had happened,” said Marouf Khan, who lives in the neighborhood. “People said the war had returned.”

Islamabad quickly confirmed the operation. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared war and said that his country’s “patience” had run out. He also framed the attack as one that Islamabad had been forced to make, and that followed Afghanistan’s “aggression”—a narrative that was also supported by U.S. President Donald Trump. When he was asked about the operations, Trump answered that “Pakistan has the right to defend itself.” The strikes, officials said, targeted facilities linked to militant groups operating from Afghan territory.

In Kabul, the Taliban authorities condemned the attacks as a violation of Afghan sovereignty. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that fighting was taking place along several parts of the border. Independent casualty figures from the February 27 strikes remain difficult to verify. A local journalist in Kandahar told Drop Site that civilians in his area had not been directly affected, though residents fear that further escalation could change that quickly.

A week earlier, on the night of February 22, Pakistani aircraft had bombed targets in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, while additional explosions were reported in Paktika. Islamabad said those strikes targeted positions of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant movement often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, as well as the Afghan branch of the so-called Islamic State, Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP).

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/pakistan-afghanistan-border-war-taliban-durand-line

Zionist Cerinthus Apocalypse Replaced John's Revelation

https://www.bitchute.com/video/tUZMnNIZ3lPh/

University antisemitism watchdog. Rails run for Segal pick Greg Craven?

Not content with one antisemitism envoy, the Federal Government appointed a university antisemitism watchdog in a questionable process.

There are red flags aplenty around university anti-Semitism watchdog Greg Craven, an academic with many links to staff at the office that chose him.

A rushed selection process – with careful written submissions giving way to brazen backing for one candidate – isn’t how you’d think high-profile appointments happen in Australia. But when the issue at stake is antisemitism, and there’s a need to placate powerful pressure groups, checks and balances fly out the window.

FOI documents seen by MWM reveal just such haste in the appointment of Craven as leader of the controversial University Report Card Project (URC), part of the government’s crackdown on antisemitism following the October 7 attacks.

Craven – a retired Catholic academic who once accused universities of “moral complicity” in the spread of antisemitism – is now in charge of monitoring those very same seats of learning.

How did officialdom arrive at this point?

Flawed selection process

MWM approached the relevant parties, Home Affairs (DHA) and the office of the Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism (ASECA), about the rush to appoint Craven. We queried the apparent absence of ‘business plan’ documents backing his candidacy and – importantly – the conflict-of-interest for at least two of ASECA’s six staff members.

Neither office responded to our questions, but here’s what we’ve learned so far under Freedom of Information (FOI):

After an open market tender for the position brought no bids, DHA went to a “limited tender” process on October 20 last year. ASECA picked five “eminent individuals” and declared a strong preference for “working our way down the list”, one by one, until they found a taker;

At the top of that list was Craven, a clear ASECA favourite for the job, “given his standing both as a former university administrator and as a respected jurist”.

once the former Australian Catholic University (ACU) Vice Chancellor showed an interest, he was pretty much assured of the job, with no evidence on hand ASECA even spoke with the other four names on its list;

As part of the limited tender process, DHA had asked for “a strong and well-documented business case” in support of Craven. It seems that never happened, ASECA instead telling DHA “time is of the essence … to get this rolling before the end of the year”;

On November 14, Craven got the job. It seems nobody else came under serious ASECA consideration.

More

https://michaelwest.com.au/university-antisemitism-watchdog-rails-run-for-segal-pick-greg-craven/

“[Defense Minister Antti] Häkkänen told a press conference that the country’s legislative ban on nukes, dating back to 1980, was no longer relevant in the current geopolitical context. ‘The legislation does not meet the needs that Finland has as a NATO member’, Häkkänen said, according to regional media.”

The Finnish authorities are considering the possibility of lifting the ban on the transit of nuclear weapons within the country, - Yle

The ban is under review by the country's defense ministry, sources have reported.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/03/finland-allow-import-storage-nuclear-weapons-its-territory/

American Conservative co-founder Pat Buchanan has warned against conflict with Iran for decades:

"The Neocons want the United States to fight Israel’s war against Iran. And the Israelis want us to fight Iran as well. But it’s not in the interest of the United States.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/2027958557937963172

“Get Into Shelters Now”: Emergency Alerts Sent, Missiles Hit Dubai, Azerbaijan, UAE & Saudi Arabia

The United States and Israel continue their history-shaping shock and awe style military campaign against Iran, with Israeli forces also now intensifying strikes in Lebanon. Since Saturday, at least 1,230 people have been killed in what’s clearly morphed into a regime change operation on Tehran, according to official numbers, which are expected to climb by the day. The war is expanding to nearby countries like Azerbaijan, and possibly even Turkey – in addition to the Gulf states.

Black smoke is billowing over the Saudi capital where US diplomats have been warned to take cover following an Iranian missile attack.

The American embassy in Riyadh has today issued a security threat with staff urged to shelter. It comes as Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said three Iranian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj near Riyadh.

Meanwhile the UAE has confirmed it was struck with a ballistic missile and six drones after a barrage of 131 suicide drones were fired towards Dubai earlier today. Sirens later blared across Dubai as the UAE announced it was responding to further Iranian drone threats.

And Sir Keir Starmer has revealed the UK will send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar where residents living near the US embassy in Doha were evacuated as it intercepted multiple missile attacks.

And Azerbaijan has become the latest country to be dragged into war after two drones struck an airport and a school. Iran has denied it fired the weapons.

Iranian leaders are calling for President Trump’s “blood” after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Tehran over the weekend, vowing to take action over the “atrocity.”

Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli said Iran was looking to shed “Trump’s blood” on state television, according to The Associated Press.

American forces have led assaults on land and water, with assaults resulting in more than 1,000 Iranian casualties, per the AP.

“The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on social platform X.

https://youtu.be/tzHU6YPYZD0

Learn More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitica…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti…

https://www.godlikeproductions.com/fo…

https://thehill.com/policy/internatio…