Moon of Alabama | "I don’t believe in western morality, i.e. don’t kill civilians or children, don’t destroy holy sites, don’t fight during holiday seasons, don’t bomb cemeteries, don’t shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral." | I have not written much about the war on Gaza. It is so brutal and and the Zionist behavior is so alien to me that I lack words to describe it. I have difficulties to understand how anyone, any group of people, could set themselves so far outside of the common human realm, as I perceive it, and commit itself to starve and genocide millions of people.

Pakistan claims India planning to attack within 36 hours as tension between nuclear-armed neighbors soars | A week after 26 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, concern was mounting over a possible military clash between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan. Pakistan's government claimed late Tuesday night that it had "credible intelligence" that India was planning to take military action within hours in retaliation for the April 22 terrorist attack, which Indian officials blame on Pakistani-backed militants.

💬 "Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends carrying out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of concocted and baseless allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident," Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at a midnight news conference.

The remarks came hours after Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the country's armed forces "complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets and timing of our response to the terror attack."

■ Pakistan claims 'credible intelligence' India is planning an imminent military strike (BBC)

Simplicius | Unfortunately, Ukraine and US both continue to hold that Ukraine should be able to maintain a military force, which is a non-starter for Russia | Peskov likewise interestingly noted that “if Ukraine were to withdraw from the four regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson” then Russia would stop the war immediately. As always, consider that the chances of Ukraine withdrawing from Kherson and Zaporozhye cities, the latter being nearly one million in population, are slim to none. ● Ex-foreign minister Kuleba, having floated down in his ‘golden parachute’ somewhere in the West, insists “we are not even close to real negotiations”

The Indian leader has authorized the military to decide the mode and timing of any armed response to Pakistan | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gave the country’s armed forces “full operational freedom” to determine the mode, targets, and timing of India’s response to the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people, Indian media has reported citing sources. The message was delivered at a high-level security meeting attended by Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Chief of Defense Staff General Anil Chauhan. NDTV reported that during the meeting, Modi reiterated New Delhi’s resolve to “deal a crushing blow to terrorism” and that he has “complete faith and confidence” in the Indian military. [...] The attack on April 22 left 26 people, mostly tourists from various parts of India, dead and dozens injured. The massacre was unleashed by terrorists in broad daylight at a popular picnic spot in Pahalgam, southern Kashmir.

■ All those who have stood by as Israel exterminates Gaza are guilty (Ahmed Abu Artema)

Leo’s Newsletter | LEGENDARY BRITISH JOURNALIST: You've been 'fed steady diet of propaganda rubbish' about Ukraine and 'the invented Russian menace'. Not since the Iraq War and those notoriously elusive 'weapons of mass destruction' have the people of America and Europe been told bigger lies by their warmongering political leaders. | Peter Hitchens, in an Op-Ed published by the Daily Mail, says he learned long ago that governments specialize in lying and in getting others, especially the mainstream corporate media, to lie for them. “It is what they do,” he writes. And yet, seldom has he seen such a massive cloud of lies as we face now with regard to the war in Ukraine.

💬 “There has been nothing like it since we were all lied to about the Iraq invasion, with bilge about fictional ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. The liars were caught. And they learned from it. They learned to lie more skillfully.”

PoliticalSatire (Telegram) | Yesterday, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to Vladimir Putin on the complete liberation of the Kursk Region. The losses of the AFU exceeded 76 thousand people killed and wounded. In addition, Ukraine was deprived of shock troops and special forces equipped with Western equipment. ■ The failure of the attempt to hold the Kursk border area destroyed Kyiv's calculations on “territory bargaining”. Instead of weakening the Russian Armed Forces in Donbas, Ukraine received an accelerated offensive on several fronts simultaneously. Western media are already calling the situation an outright failure of Zelensky. ■ It is also important that our allies from the DPRK, who fought alongside Russian units, officially made their mark on the battlefield. This is the first open signal of forming a real coalition of states that do not recognize the world architecture of the West. And it is just the beginning of a larger party where the rules of the game are no longer dictated by the old world. (DeepL)

Fascist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is set to appear on April 27 at the home of a Brooklyn businessman and Jewish power broker named Harry Adjmi, according to a private invitation. | The Grayzone has obtained a private invitation to a “welcoming” party for Itamar Ben-Gvir, a messianic settler who has been convicted in a Jerusalem court of abetting a terrorist organization. The party will be held at the home of Harry Adjmi, a Brooklyn-based businessman and influential local Jewish powerbroker who has donated to the campaigns of Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Republican President Donald Trump. Adjmi confirmed to The Grayzone that he will be hosting Ben Gvir at his home in the Syrian Jewish bastion of Midwood, just off Ocean Avenue. ● Hailing from the openly supremacist Jewish Power (Otzmah Yehudit) party, Ben Gvir is the most extreme figure to have ever served as an Israeli minister. A zealous supporter of torture and genocide, he has been filmed celebrating a settler terror attack in which a Palestinian baby was burned to death. Ben Gvir was also videotaped in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron leading a mob of fellow settlers in a violent assault on Palestinian merchants. The Biden administration considered banning him from entering the US in 2022.

■ Macron snubbed during Trump–Zelensky meeting in Vatican (RT)

Ignat Kuzin has fully confessed to carrying out the terrorist attack that killed Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said on Sunday. | The explosion occurred Friday morning in the courtyard of a residential building in the Moscow Region's Balashikha. Investigators determined that the blast was caused by a shrapnel-filled improvised explosive device planted on a car. Kuzin, a suspected Ukrainian intelligence agent, was detained on Saturday.

✅ The enemy has struck at a Russian decision-making center (Elena Panina)

After Large Explosion at Port of Bandar Abbas, Iran now seeing fires/explosions at multiple other sites | As many of you may already be aware, an accidental fire involving a fuel tank at the Port of Bandar Abbas, triggered a very large explosion in a nearby Chemical Storage building yesterday. Today, more (ahem) "accidents" are happening. A steel Plant - miles away - has now also gone up in flames, as has the Bandar Abbas Electric Generating Station - also miles away. Tonight, miles away from all the other situations, the "Persian Gulf Star Refinery" is now also burning. It is the largest gas condensate plant in the entire Middle East.

■ Death Toll in Blast in Iran’s Bander Abbas Port Rises to 25 People (RT)

Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli agent tasked with blackmailing U.S. politicians and business people by providing them with under-age girls. Virginia Giuffre, then 17, was on of those victims. Epstein was jailed and, on August 10 2019, found dead in his cell. | Today we learn that Virginia Giuffre is dead. This is curious. Potential renal failure in March is supposed to be the cause for a suicide in late April? Why is the NY Times insinuating this? We have dialysis to counter renal failure and hundreds of thousands survive with it. Then there are kidney transplants. Giuffre was 40 years old. One does not die of kidney failure at that age. It is not a reason to suicide oneself. Consider this:

💬 Virginia Giuffre @VRSVirginia - 3:32 UTC · Dec 11, 2019
I am making it publicy known that in no way, shape or form am I sucidal. I have made this known to my therapist and GP- If something happens to me- in the sake of my family do not let this go away and help me to protect them. Too many evil people want to see me quiteted

Gerasimov made official confirmation of the active participation of North Korean troops in the Kursk theater | Gerasimov reports they fought shoulder to shoulder with Russian troops. And now that the cat’s out of the bag, there are more details trickling out from Russian frontline journos who had previously been sworn to OPSEC about the DPRK forces.

■ ‘Not a single North Korean violated his oath’ (RT)

The Arctic is attracting unprecedented global interest, taking existing geostrategic and military competition to new levels. | Under the cover of "defense readiness," the West is steadily turning the Arctic into its next military playground. 13 Norwegian soldiers, members of a Norwegian military intelligence regiment, are now enduring -37°C in 100-day survival missions. The goal is to test gear, tech, and the soldiers' own physical resilience for future conflict in freezing conditions.

The funeral of the first Latin American pope is being attended by over 160 delegations, including more than 60 heads of state and governments and also leaders of the European Union, according to the data of the Holy See’s press office | A funeral Mass has begun in St. Peter’s Square in the presence of dozens of world leaders, reigning monarchs and religious figures to pay last respects to late Pope Francis. ● The funeral of the first Latin American pope is being attended by over 160 delegations, including more than 60 heads of state and governments and also leaders of the European Union, according to the data of the Holy See’s press office. ● Aside from the European leaders, the funeral ceremony is being attended by US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Argentina Javier Milei and India’s President Droupadi Murmu. Russia is represented by Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova.

■ Pope Francis latest: Private burial for pontiff at his favourite church after hundreds of thousands gather to say goodbye (Sky News)
■ Trump to meet with Meloni, Starmer, Zelensky in Rome (TASS)

Exchange of gunfire between Pakistani and Indian forces; Large Pakistani army reserves being moved north toward Kashmir | Pakistan looking at a possible preemptive strike on India fearing Indian attack on Pakistan after the ISI backed LeT terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam Kashmir ! Pakistan Army is relocating grain stocks to Punjab from Balochistan & Waziristan. The Pakistan Air Force has deployed F16s at Lahore & Rawalpindi. ● Yesterday, India closed four dams on the Indus River, which supplies fresh water to Pakistan. Today, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, CR Paatil, stated that Pakistan would "not receive even a single drop of water from the Indus River." Pakistan has already publicly declared that if India cuts-off Pakistan fresh water, it will be considered "an Act of War" and Pakistan "will respond with force."

■ India Cuts-off Fresh Water to Pakistan (04/25/25)

Two days before his death, Pope Francis made his final call to the sheltering community at Holy Family Church in Gaza and publicly denounced Israel’s U.S.-backed assault upon the enclave. | In his final public address on Easter Sunday, following his last conversation with Romanelli the previous night, Pope Francis called for peace in Gaza and other conflict zones.

💬 “I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” Francis said in a statement read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli due to his poor health. “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!”

This plea on behalf of the assailed population of Gaza was an echo of previous statements, including one during the pope’s annual address to the Holy See’s diplomatic core last January,

💬 “I renew my appeal for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, where there is a very serious and shameful humanitarian situation, and I ask that the Palestinian population receive all the aid it needs,” the pope said at the time.

Yaroslav Moskalik, general staff deputy chief of operations, has been assassinated in a car bomb plot outside Moscow | A Russian one-star general serving as deputy operations chief of the general staff has been killed by a car bomb, officials have confirmed. The incident that claimed the life of Maj.Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik occurred on Friday morning in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha. Russia’s Investigative Committee has said the improvised explosive device planted inside the car was packed with metal fragments for additional lethality. The news agency TASS has reported that investigators estimated the yield of the device as the equivalent of 300 grams of TNT.

■ Ukraine recruiting terrorists for attacks in Russia – security chief (RT)
■ High-ranking Russian military general blown up in car explosion in Moscow (New York Post)
✅ The enemy has struck at a Russian decision-making center (Elena Panina)

India [has] closed all the flow gates at four (4) separate Dams along the Indus River, that feed fresh water into Pakistan. | Yesterday, in response to a terrorist attack in Kashmir which killed 26 India (Hindu) Tourists, India blamed Pakistan and took aggressive actions against Pakistan. Among the actions taken by India was "suspension" of the Indus River Water Treaty, which has been in-place since 1960. The Indus River flows from the Himalaya Mountains southwestward through northern India. It then crosses into Pakistan and flows due south through all of Pakistan, emptying into the Arabian Sea. The River provides Pakistan with fresh water for its people.

■ Pakistan did ‘dirty work’ for the West in supporting terrorists (RT)
■ India urges its citizens in Pakistan to return home (Al Jazeera)
■ India and Pakistan ramp up tit-for-tat spat (Associated Press)
✅ The Pahalgam Terrorist Attack (Andrew Korybko)

Harald Wilimsky, the leader of the opposition faction of the Freedom Party of Austria in the European Parliament, has called on the European Union to cease financing military conflicts worldwide in order to reaffirm its commitment to peace. 💬 "The EU must finally put an end to funding arms purchases and conflicts across the globe," Wilimsky emphasized. "No one has challenged the president of the European Commission or the head of euro-diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, on this point: the EU is fundamentally a peace project, not a tool for waging war," the party’s press service quoted him as saying. "It is particularly absurd that, under the guise of a 'peace fund,' the EU is now financing arms acquisitions."

✅ Setback For U.S. 'Ceasefire' Deal In Ukraine (Moon of Alabama)
■ Sending peacekeepers to historical Russian lands may lead to WWIII, Shoigu warns (TASS)
■ UK, France, and Germany Urging Ukraine to Consider Territorial Concessions – Reports (Sputnik)

The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal. | Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year. Talk of a deal with the U.S. - which is also in discussions with Ukraine over a minerals pact - has circulated in Kinshasa for weeks.

■ Blackwater founder and Trump ally strikes mineral security deal with Congo (Mining.com)

After a Pakistani Muslim terrorist attack in Kashmir, India has ordered EVERY Pakistani to leave the country within 48 hours. | The decision comes following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, in which 26 Indian tourists were killed — an incident for which India blames Pakistan. In a stunning series of moves over the past 12 hours, India also took the following actions:

 ● Indus Waters Treaty suspended: The treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, is no longer in effect, according to Indian officials.
 ● Wagah border closure: After shutting down the Attari checkpoint, India is preparing to close the Wagah Border, halting people-to-people contact.
 ● Reduction in diplomatic staff: Pakistan's diplomatic staff in New Delhi will be reduced from 55 to 30. India too will recall its own military experts — Defense, Navy, Air — from Islamabad.
 ● No more visas: India will not issue any visas to Pakistani nationals. Even regional SAARC visas have been revoked.
 ● 48-hour deadline for Pakistanis: All Pakistani nationals currently in India have been ordered to leave the country within 48 hours.

Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russia has not had any problems with Finland or Sweden | Russia is not going to attack anyone, it has no problems with either Finland or Sweden, which have joined NATO, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the French magazine Le Point. "No," Peskov said when asked whether Russia had plans to attack anyone. "We have not had and do not have any problems with Finland or Sweden, which have joined NATO." He pointed out that "military infrastructures are gradually appearing on Finnish territory." "How is Russia reacting? It takes measures to improve its security that our military deems necessary. But we have no conflict potential," Peskov noted.

■ US has ‘better understanding’ of Russia’s stance on Ukraine – Rubio (RT)

In the study of the drug, there were about 23% more deaths in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. This was stated by US Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy Jr. 💬 “We have observed a huge association of myocarditis and pericarditis with strokes and other injuries, with neurological damage. And it was obvious, even in the clinical data that was obtained by Pfizer, there were more deaths. There were about 23% more deaths in the vaccine group than in the placebo group,” Kennedy said.

■ EU state’s PM issues Covid vaccine warning (RT)

VIDEO: In Ireland, migrants burned down a church | In Derrybeg, a fire completely destroyed St. Mary's Church at night. This is not the first such incident: in recent years, more than 1,000 churches have been burned or desecrated across Europe. Local residents blame migrants for the reasons for what is happening.

Of all the military movements we have seen towards the Middle East over the last month or so, this one to me is the most telling that something is likely imminent. | After DOZENS of C-17's and numerous C-5 military cargo aircraft bringing-in thousands of tons of war gear, today two U.S. Air Force E-3 “Sentry” Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft arrived earlier today in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area-of-responsibility, from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. USAF 79-0001 E-3G Sentry call sign EDGY26 Hex #AE11E7. USAF 75-0556 E-3B Sentry callsign EDGY25 Hex #AE11D6. The arrival of these particular aircraft seem to indicate a battle sequence is laid-in and ready. They use THESE planes to detect foes for our military as we go into battle.

■ Marco Rubio says US could soon ‘move on’ from Ukraine conflict: ‘This is not our war’ (Lifesite News)

Iraq Body Count | In this first of a series of analytic articles we describe some remarkable findings revealed by an updated named victims list obtained directly from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH) in late March 2025 (with limitations placed on distribution, but not on analysis). This list contains greater detail than in any list made publicly available. We focus here on how the new detail in this list better allows us to document the progression and scale of the ongoing genocide. | A notable feature of Gaza’s official medical and medico-legal response to the Israeli attacks from October 7, 2023 onwards has been the periodic release of the names of its citizens killed and officially recorded up to that point in time, understanding that many would still be undiscovered or unrecorded. Gaza’s MoH has issued eight separate such lists, giving each victim’s name, age, sex, and ID number. Every list has been longer than the one before, in line with the escalating death toll.

■ Israel Attacks Kill Over 100 Gazans in 72 Hours (Antiwar.com)
✅ How Israel hunts and executes Palestinian medics (Eva Bartlett)
✅ The graver Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, the quieter the BBC grows (Jonathan Cook)

Sede Vacante is a period that spans from the death or resignation of the Pope to the election of his successor | Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025 at the age of 88. He was the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church. His demise set off a period known as Sede Vacante, which means a "vacant seat." ● At this time the life of the entire church comes almost to a complete standstill, as most of its officials resign. Among those who retain their posts are the dean of the College of Cardinals, the major penitentiary, and the camerlengo, who manages the daily affairs of the Holy See. ● Among his other duties, the camerlengo must officially announce the pope’s death, seal his private chambers, manage the Holy See’s property, arrange the funeral and make sure that everything is in place for the election of a new pontiff. ● During Sede Vacante, coins are minted that don’t display a papal portrait. In 1978, when two popes - Paul VI and John Paul I - passed away, two coin sets were struck. The second one bore the inscription "sede vacante-2." These coins are the most coveted by numismatists.

■ Pope Francis to be buried late this week (TASS)
■ RIP Pope Francis (Moon of Alabama)
■ "World" Mourns Passing of Pope Francis (Sputnik)
■ Hong Kong’s Catholic Church recalls ‘inspirational leader’ Pope Francis (SCMP)
■ The canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, is postponed after the pope’s death (Associated Press)
✅ The prophecy of the end of the world: Pope Francis has died, a strange prediction is connected with this (E. Suchov)