Robert Fico was shot multiple times on Wednesday while engaging with supporters in town of Handlova | Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico underwent another operation after a shooting and remains in serious condition, said Defense Minister Robert Kalinjak on Friday. "The operation lasted about two hours, and the doctors tried to move the patient's condition to a positive prognosis," Kalinjak told journalists in front of the hospital in Banska Bystrica where Fico has been undergoing treatment since Wednesday after the assassination attempt. [...] Slovakia President-elect Peter Pellegrini said Thursday that the medical council at the hospital will probably meet on Monday, May 20, when it should decide on the further treatment of Fico.

■ Russophobia Rears Its Head: Mere moments after Slovakian PM shot & in critical condition (05/16/24)
■ Slovak PM Fico shot (05/15/24)

Under the title, “Sinwar and Nasrallah can relax: Netanyahu wants a complete victory, but not over them”, the “Jerusalem Post” daily lamented the fact that Ten million “Israelis” wake up disturbed at night as their “country” is on its knees. | According to the daily “For the first time, ‘Israel’s’ enemies succeeded in occupying bases and cities in the south and forced the ‘Israeli’ government to evacuate a large area of land in the north.” ● It further mentioned that “The havoc that Netanyahu has wreaked on ‘Israel’ in all areas is incomprehensible and unprecedented.”

💬 “He has dismantled the social fabric, the unity of the ‘country’, the ‘Israeli’ brotherhood. He has ruined the economy. He has not lifted a finger to stop the breakdown of academia. It has led to the weakening of ‘Israel's’ growth engines such as the hi-tech and technology industries,” the daily cautioned.

Slamming the entity’s PM, the famous “Israeli” daily mentioned that “He has turned ‘Israel’ into a leper colony. He destroyed the deterrence. He is listed as the supreme responsible minister [prime minister] in all the greatest disasters that have befallen us, from the fire in the 'Carmel' through the ‘Meron’ tragedy to October 7, but he is not willing to accept responsibility, he is not willing to draw conclusions, he is not willing to implement what he recommended at the time to Ehud Olmert.”

Ukrainian lawmakers are also pushing for the use of US weapons in cross-border strikes, the New York Times said | Kiev has urged Washington to provide intelligence on targets on Russian soil, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces lose ground on the battlefield, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, saying US administration officials have begun “to review” the request. ● In addition, members of Ukraine's parliament have approached lawmakers in Washington, requesting the green light to use US-provided weapons in strikes on Russia, the paper wrote, citing US and Ukrainian officials. ● The Russian offensive in Kharkov Region was facilitated by the US restrictions, which are “handcuffing the Ukrainian war effort,” Kiev’s delegation told Congress, according to [the CIA's] news website Politico. ● Despite such requests being turned down in the past, administration officials are now reviewing the latest requests, the NYT wrote.

■ As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine (New York Times)
■ West ‘playing with fire’ – Moscow (RT.com)
■ Russia warns US, EU, Kiev they are playing with fire — MFA about Ukrainian strikes (TASS)

Islam Khamayseh was involved in organizing a number of terror attacks in the area, the army’s press service reported | The infrastructure of Palestinian radicals was the target of an Israeli army airstrike on the territory of the West Bank city of Jenin, as a result of which one of the local commanders was eliminated, the army’s press service reported.

💬 "Based on Israel Security Agency (ISA) intelligence, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jet and helicopter struck a compound used as an operations center of the terror infrastructure in Jenin. A number of significant terrorists were inside the compound, some were involved in shooting attacks in the area of Jenin and planned to carry out additional terror attacks in the immediate future," the statement said.

According to the military, the strike eliminated Islam Khamayseh, who held an important position in the structure of local armed groups. The Israeli army said that he was involved in organizing several terror attacks in the area, including an attack in the Jewish settlement of Hermesh in May 2023 that killed an Israeli citizen.

■ Israel Defense Forces Says Eliminated "Significant" Target During Strike on Jenin (Sputnik News)

Yemen’s Armed Forces continue their pro-Palestine naval operations and remain undeterred despite continuous US airstrikes on the country | Yemeni Armed Forces announced on 17 May shooting down a US MQ-9 Reaper over the country’s Marib province the day before, the fourth drone of its kind shot down by Sanaa’s army. ● “Yemeni air defenses were able to shoot down an American MQ9 aircraft yesterday evening, Thursday, while it was carrying out hostile actions in the airspace of Marib. It is the fourth aircraft that was shot down during the Battle of the Promised Conquest and the Holy Jihad in support of Gaza,” said military spokesman Brigadier-General Yahya Saree.

💬 “The plane was targeted by a locally made surface-to-air missile,” Saree added. The MQ9 is worth around $30 million. ● “The Armed Forces confirm their full readiness at all levels, land, sea and air, and confirm that all attempts of the enemy will fail.”

The downing of the drone came a day after the Yemeni army announced targeting two ships in the Red Sea, one of them a US warship.

■ Houthis Take Down Another US Reaper Drone, Reiterate Threat to Target Ships in Mediterranean (Sputnik News)
■ Yemeni air defenses shoot down US MQ-9 drone over Marib: YAF Spox (Al Mayadeen)
■ US spy balloon crashes in northeast Syria (The Cradle)

Yves Smith | On May 8, 2024, as Israel escalated its brutal assault on Rafah, President Biden announced that he had “paused” a delivery of 1,700 500-pound and 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, and threatened to withhold more shipments if Israel went ahead with its full-scale invasion of Rafah. | The move elicited an outcry from Israeli officials (National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted “Hamas loves Biden”), as well as Republicans, staunch anti-Palestinian Democrats and pro-Israel donors. Republicans immediately prepared a bill entitled the Israel Security Assistance Support Act to prohibit the administration from withholding military aid to Israel. ■ Many people have been asking the U.S. to halt weapons to Israel for seven months, and of course Biden’s move comes too late for 35,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza, mainly by American weapons. ■ Lest one think the administration is truly changing its position, two days after announcing the pause, the State Department released a convoluted report saying that, although it is reasonable to “assess” that U.S. weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law, and although Israel has indeed delayed or had a negative effect on the delivery of aid to Gaza (which is illegal under U.S. law), Israel’s assurances regarding humanitarian aid and compliance with international humanitarian law are “credible and reliable.” ■ By this absurd conclusion, the Biden administration has given itself a green light to keep sending weapons and Israel a flashing one to keep committing war crimes with them.

Mohammad Al-Jaber | Though there was no indication that he would become a military mastermind, Mohammad Deif grew up like many other Palestinians under the Israeli occupation in conditions that made him the leader he is today. | Mohmmad Deif is a name that is no stranger to headlines and media discussions at a time when he coordinated and dealt what is arguably the most devastating blow to the Israeli occupation since its inception, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, giving hope to the Arab and all the righteous people that "Israel" was not that invincible entity it has proclaimed to be. ■ While picking holes in the Israeli occupation's deterrence has been his profession for decades at this point, little is known about the Resistance leader who has put Hamas at the top of the list of threats to the very existence of the Israeli occupation through his strategic prowess and admirable patience that culminated in the Palestinian cause receiving more worldwide and regional support than it ever has.

'Facing the Beast' is the title of the new book by American writer and journalist Naomi Wolf, a book about 'trust, courage, and resistance in a new dark time'. Program maker Flavio Pasquino invited her to Edam to talk about, among other things, the creation of her new work. ■ Wolf was a political advisor to the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore and wrote several books, including the 2007 bestseller: 'The End of America'. In it, she describes ten steps in the transition process from open societies to fascist systems in the current era. ■ The American was long known as a highly respected writer, but this image changed over the past ten years. She acquired the image of a conspiracy theorist and was heavily criticized for her views on topics such as ISIS and the Ebola pandemic. In 2021, she was accused of spreading misinformation about COVID-19, lockdowns, and mRNA vaccines. Her accounts on YouTube, X, and Facebook were suspended. ■ Despite the tumultuous years, the journalist and author does not give up. In this in-depth interview, you get to know her for who she is and what she stands for. Wolf is optimistic about the future. Sit back for this fascinating conversation and share it with those around you.

At the "Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum", Afghan Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi says Kabul would like Moscow to "participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and contribute to this process." | Afghanistan's acting commerce and industry minister told Sputnik on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia’s Kazan that his government wishes Russia's help in rebuilding the country. At the "Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum", Haji Nooruddin Azizi said,

💬 "We would like Russia to participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and contribute to this process".

The International Economic Forum of Russia and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IOC) "Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum" is being conducted in Kazan, the capital of the Muslim-majority Russian region of Tatarstan, from May 14-19. Azizi added that Afghanistan has increased its imports of Russian oil products despite facing some restrictions in 2023, and that Kabul is hopeful that these restrictions could be lifted.