(Worthy Insights) – China’s premier defense exhibition, Zhuhai Airshow, opened its gates this week headlined by the J-35A fifth-generation fighter as well as a J-15T fighter designed for catapult operations aboard aircraft carriers.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a secretive organization, but it uses events like the Zhuhai Airshow to unveil new equipment for the armed forces. This applies to the J-35A, which appeared emblazoned in PLA Air Force (PLAAF) markings.

As the J-35A joins the J-20 in Chinese service, China becomes the second nation in the world to operate two different fifth-generation, stealthy fighters. The only other country to achieve this is the U.S., which flies the F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – A man employed by the U.S. government abroad was charged with leaking what appears to be Israel’s plans to retaliate against Iran, according to sources familiar with the matter and charging documents unsealed Wednesday.

Asif William Rahman is charged with willful transmission of national defense information, according to a court documents.

The documents are vague about what exactly he allegedly shared, but sources have confirmed that the charges are related to the leak reported widely last month — although it’s not immediately clear whether Rahman is believed to be the primary source of the leak. [ Source: ABC News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday announced on social media that he has appointed Mike Huckabee to be his ambassador to Israel.

My colleagues and I are absolutely thrilled by this appointment.

After all, Mike is a dear friend, a devout Evangelical follower of Jesus Christ, and one of the most influential pro-Israel voices in the Christian world.

He is a passionate champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance and a fierce defender of Israel against the “avalanche of lies” he sees coming from the Iranian regime, other hostile world governments, and much of the U.S. and global media. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – House Republicans are seeking “systemic transparency” when they launch a new round of hearings on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) — aka UFOs — on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

The House Oversight Committee is holding the joint subcommittee hearing in an effort “to further pull back the curtain on secret UAP research programs conducted by the U.S. government, and undisclosed findings they have yielded.”

The hearing will, in part, follow up on information provided by whistleblower David Grusch, who asserted in July 2023 that the Pentagon has been operating a secret crash retrieval program for UFOs, something the Defense Department has denied. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Qatar has decided to end its role as mediator between Israel and Hamas amid long-stalled negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, a diplomat familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Saturday.

The diplomat, who is not American, also confirmed Friday’s revelation by the US that Doha told Hamas officials late last month to leave the country, but appeared to deny that the decision was taken in connection with a request from the Biden administration.

Later on Saturday, Qatar officially confirmed its decision to halt mediation efforts, but framed the decision as reversible, if the parties demonstrate willingness to re-engage. The foreign ministry made a point of claiming that “media reports” on the topic — and specifically those on Qatar’s decision to close the Hamas office in Doha — are “inaccurate.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – More internal government communications will soon be revealed in a high-profile censorship case that already hit the U.S. Supreme Court, thanks to a Friday court ruling in Missouri v. Biden. The historic free speech case uncovered that federal officials, all the way up to President Joe Biden, pressured social media companies to remove specific posts and discussion terms, systemically slanting society in favor of Democrats by controlling public discussions.

After the Supreme Court ruled in June that the plaintiffs didn’t meet the higher legal standard for a preliminary injunction against government officials, as the case moved forward, the case went back to a Louisiana district court, where it originated. The judge in that case, Terry Doughty, on Friday allowed the plaintiffs to obtain more public records, which they say will help establish that federal officials specifically targeted their speech on social media monopolies such as Facebook, Google, and X.

“Because we find that Plaintiffs have demonstrated the necessity of jurisdictional discovery, and because their proposed discovery does not appear to be a jurisdictional fishing expedition—Plaintiffs shall have the opportunity to conduct such discovery,” Doughty wrote in his Nov. 8 ruling. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Taiwan has received its first batch of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States, Taipei’s defense ministry said Wednesday, as the island races to boost its defenses against a potential Chinese attack.

Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.

In the past five decades, the United States has sold Taiwan billions of dollars worth of military equipment and ammunition, including F-16 fighter jets and warships. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – US President-elect Donald Trump ruled out on Saturday re-appointing two senior figures from his first administration, ex-secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

Writing on his Truth Social social network, Trump said he “will not be inviting” either figure to join his administration as speculation swirls about the identity of his new team.

Pompeo had outlined a hawkish plan for Ukraine in July involving more weapons transfers and tough action against Russia’s energy sector which analysts noted on Saturday was at odds with Trump’s campaign statements. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – An overwhelming majority of the German parliament’s lower house voted on Thursday in favor of a resolution that calls for excluding boycotters of Israel from public funding and acknowledges the link between Muslim immigration and antisemitism.

The motion received the support of all the parties of Germany’s left-leaning ruling coalition, which has 415 out of 733 seats in the Bundestag. The center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which helped co-author the resolution, added its 196 seats. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) also supported the resolution with its 76 seats, meaning it had the support of 93% of the Bundestag.

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The Left party, which has 28 seats, abstained during the vote, and the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which has 10 seats, was the only political party that voted against the resolution, according to the Tagesschau news site. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have unveiled a series of videos purportedly showing the interrogation and torture of Palestinian civilians by Hamas.

This revelation comes amid ongoing tensions in Gaza, where 101 hostages remain unaccounted for, more than 400 days after a significant escalation of violence.

The footage, which spans thousands of hours, was reportedly obtained from surveillance cameras installed between 2018 and 2020. It was discovered during a recent IDF raid on a Hamas facility located in the Jabaliya refugee camp. The videos depict disturbing scenes of detainees restrained with chains, their heads covered, and one clip showing a man in visible distress. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – A federal judge has overturned Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.

U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn’s said his Friday decision applied universally, not just to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act, signed into law in January 2023 by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, took effect Jan. 1. It bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and an assortment of attachments largely in response to the 2022 Independence Day shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – The Defense Ministry signed a $5.2 billion agreement with Boeing on Wednesday to purchase 25 advanced F-15IA fighter jets, funded through U.S. military aid.

The deal includes an option for 25 additional jets in the future. According to the ministry, jet deliveries will begin in 2031, with 4–6 planes arriving annually.

The authorization was signed by Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir during a visit to the U.S. last month, following negotiations led by Israel’s procurement delegation and the Israeli Air Force. [ Source: Ynet News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – As fighting continues in Gaza with no ceasefire deal in sight, many wonder about the future of the region.

After studying similar situations over the past 100 years, one group of Israeli lawyers has a plan they believe is critical for Israel’s security.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting Hamas be destroyed by the end of the war. Others believe the priority is a peace deal, and that Gaza can be dealt with later. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy Insights) – Justice Department officials have been evaluating how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office to comply with long-standing department policy that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, two people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The latest discussions stand in contrast with the pre-election legal posture of special counsel Jack Smith, who in recent weeks took significant steps in the election interference case against Trump without regard to the electoral calendar.

But the sources say DOJ officials have come to grips with the fact that no trial is possible anytime soon in either the Jan. 6 case or the classified documents matter — both of which are mired in legal issues that would likely prompt an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, even if Trump had lost the election. [ Source: NBC News (Read More…) ]