John Hayward - Page 3

A senior official at the al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa, Syria on Thursday pleaded with European and American officials to take control of the facility, before clashes between Syrian government troops and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) create more opportunities for Islamic State terrorists to escape. Syrian officials are also suggesting Western powers take custody of the foreign-born ISIS fighters they have allowed to languish in Syrian prisons for years.

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that an “armada” of American warships is heading for Iran, and implied that military force could be on the table if the regime in Tehran continues murdering its own people to stay in power.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition group headquartered overseas, said on Wednesday it has received reports of sexual assault against teenage protesters who were taken prisoner during the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrations this month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the Europeans in his address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. He thought the Europeans looked weak and pathetic in their efforts to alternately hector and wheedle President Donald Trump.

Peter Schweizer’s new book details how a seemingly innocuous program to entice foreign investors became a massive operation for laundering foreign donations to American politicians, primarily Democrats.

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday that “about 200 low-level Islamic State fighters” escaped from the al-Shaddadi prison camp on Monday after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the facility.

President Donald Trump discussed the conflict in northeastern Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Tuesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, fresh from toadying to the Communist dictatorship of China, slammed the United States in his address to the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.

Iranian-American activists are circulating online petitions asking the U.S. to deport relatives of senior Iranian regime officials.

Residents of Iran’s capital of Tehran told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Monday that the city remains under “virtual martial law” after last week’s murderous crackdown on protesters, with a heavy security presence rolling through the largely-deserted streets. 

President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Monday to discuss the conflict between Sharaa’s forces and the Kurds of northeastern Syria, who have complained of abuses by government troops and blamed them for releasing around 120 Islamic State terrorists from a Kurdish-run prison in Hasakah province.

A bomb detonated in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 7 people and severely injuring 20 others. The Chinese embassy in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that one of the dead was a Chinese national, as were five of the injured.

The family of a teenage Indian boy who groped a female American tourist is accusing the victim of “overreacting” to the incident.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae said on Monday she will dissolve the lower house of the Japanese Parliament on Friday, setting the stage for snap elections on February 8. The next parliamentary election was not scheduled until October 2028.

An unnamed Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that at least 5,000 people were killed during the regime crackdown on protests last week.

The Chinese government on Monday released its latest round of dismal demographic data, revealing that birth rates have hit their lowest level since the Communist revolution of 1949, and the population is still declining despite years of expensive efforts to convince more couples to have children.

Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Friday that some 4.7 million social media accounts have been shut down since her country’s ban on social media for children under 16 went into effect in December.

Chinese officials are reportedly seeking assurances that its massive loans to Venezuela will be protected after the fall of Nicolas Maduro.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a high-ranking member of the Iranian theocracy who sits on several of its highest governing bodies, on Friday demanded the execution of protesters and made threats against President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang embraced Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Beijing on Thursday, telling the Canadian leader that his visit represented a “new starting point” for the previously strained relations between their countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday claimed the massive nationwide uprising against the regime he serves was an “Israeli plot” carried out by “ISIS-style terrorist operations,” and the regime has defeated these “terrorists” after three days of pitched battle.

The U.S. has taken some steps across the Middle East over the past few days that could indicate preparations for an operation against Iran, although they could also be acts of simple prudence or feints.

Thousands of people in northwestern Nigeria have fled their homes after a powerful gang leader threatened to exterminate them.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia posted data this week that showed it carrying out at least 356 executions in 2025, the highest number recorded in the modern era, and a significant increase over the record-breaking 338 executions in 2024.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae decided to relax after their summit meeting in Nara, Japan, on Tuesday by picking up drumsticks and playing K-pop tunes, including a song from the Netflix animated hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”

The death toll continues to climb as the Iranian theocracy unleashes its security troops and militias against civilian demonstrators.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney departed for a visit to China on Tuesday, fulfilling a promise he made to dictator Xi Jinping when they met in South Korea in October.

Former U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, 25, was sentenced to 200 months in prison on Monday for selling technical data on American ships to Chinese intelligence agents.

The semi-autonomous Kurdish government in northeastern Syria on Sunday accused the Syrian Army and its affiliated militias of committing “war crimes” against Kurdish communities in the city of Aleppo.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday elbowed its way into the debate over President Donald Trump’s effort to acquire Greenland, slamming the U.S. for “using other countries as an excuse for pursuing its own selfish interests.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that his regime remains open to negotiations with the United States, even as President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the regime for killing protesters.

The Iranian opposition group known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran/Mojahedin-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK) claimed on Tuesday that the death toll from the nationwide uprising against the Iranian regime has surpassed 3,000, with casualties reported from 195 cities. President Donald Trump urged the “patriots” of Iran to stay strong, and promised “help is on its way.”

President Donald Trump argued on Sunday that Greenland’s defensive capability amounts to “two dog sleds,” so the United States must acquire the strategically valuable Arctic territory to protect it from Russia and China.