International

Netanyahu faces delicate balancing act in US after Biden exits race

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu faces delicate balancing act in US after Biden exits race

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the US this week under pressure to end the Gaza war, from both Israelis and the US administration. How might the political turbulence in Washington shape the trip and future relations?

Mr Netanyahu is set to meet Joe Biden – if the president has recovered from Covid-19 – and address a joint session of Congress, the only foreign leader to do so for a fourth time.

The trip offers him a platform for a reset with Washington after months of tensions over his hardline approach to the war, and an opportunity to try and convince Israelis that he hasn’t undermined relations with their most important ally.

But it is overshadowed by President Biden’s decision not to seek re-election, highlighting political uncertainties about Israel’s next partner in the White House and possibly eclipsing some of the attention on Mr Netanyahu’s visit.

The prime minister got a lot of unwelcome attention in Israel until the moment he boarded the plane.

A drumbeat of protests demanded that he stay home and focus on a ceasefire deal with Hamas to free Israeli hostages.

“Until he has signed the deal that’s on the table, I do not see how he picks up and flies across the Atlantic to address the American political chaos,” said Lee Siegel, one of the family members who has come out to demonstrate. His 65-year-old brother Keith is a captive in Gaza.

The trip is a political move, he added, unless Mr Netanyahu stops being a “hurdle” and signs the ceasefire agreement.

Mr Siegel reflected a widespread view that Mr Netanyahu is slow-rolling the process for his own political reasons, roiling his negotiators when he recently threw new conditions into talks that seemed to be making progress.

The prime minister has been accused of bowing to pressure from two far-right cabinet ministers who’ve threatened to bring down his government if he makes concessions to Hamas.

These perceptions have added to frustrations in the White House, which announced the latest formula for talks and had been expressing optimism an agreement could be achieved.

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Mr Biden remains one of the most pro-Israel presidents to sit in the Oval Office, a self-declared Zionist who’s been lauded by Israelis for his support and empathy, cemented by his flight to Israel just days after the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

But since then, he’s grown alarmed at the cost of Mr Netanyahu’s demand for a “total victory” against Hamas in Gaza.

The administration is frustrated with the Israeli prime minister for rejecting a post war solution that involves pursuing a Palestinian state.

It’s angry with him for resisting appeals to do more to protect Palestinian civilians and increase the flow of aid to them. It’s facing a domestic backlash over the mounting death toll in Gaza. And it’s worried that the conflict is spreading to the region.

As Joe Biden’s presidency weakened in the swirl of controversy over his abilities, analysts said there might be less room for him to keep up the pressure on the Israeli prime minister.

But Mr Biden’s decision to drop out of the race could actually have strengthened his hand, says Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister and a critic of Mr Netanyahu.

“He is not a lame duck in regard to foreign policy, in a way he’s more independent (because) he doesn’t have to take into account any impact on the voters,” Mr Barak told the BBC.

“With regard to Israel probably he feels more of a free hand to do what really needs to be done.”

Mr Barak believes it was a mistake for Congress to invite Mr Netanyahu to speak, saying that many Israelis blame him for policy failures that allowed the Hamas attack to happen, and three out of four want him to resign.

“The man does not represent Israel,” he said. “He lost the trust of Israelis…And it kind of sends a wrong signal to Israelis, probably a wrong signal to Netanyahu himself, when the American Congress invites him to appear as if he is saving us.”

Whatever politics he may be playing, Mr Netanyahu insists military pressure must continue because it has significantly weakened Hamas after a series of strikes against the military leadership.

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In comments before departing Israel, he suggested that would be the tone of his meeting with President Biden.

“It will also be an opportunity to discuss with him how to advance in the months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries,” he said, “achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran and its proxies and ensuring that all Israel’s citizens return safely to their homes in the north and in the south.”

He’s expected to bring the same message to congress, “seeking to anchor the bipartisan support that is so important to Israel”.

The reality is that Mr Netanyahu’s polices have fractured that bipartisan support. The Republicans are rallying around him, but criticism from Democrats has grown.

The Democratic Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer caused a small earthquake in Washington recently when he stood up in the chambers and said Mr Netanyahu was one of the obstacles standing in the way of a lasting peace with Palestinians.

“I hope the prime minister understands the anxiety of many members in congress and addresses them,” the former US ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, told the BBC at the weekend. He’d been addressing one of the many rallies demanding a hostage release.

That includes “on humanitarian issues and to articulate that this fight isn’t with the Palestinian people, it’s with Hamas.”

It’s a message that Kamala Harris would repeat if she were to become the Democratic nominee. There’d be no change in US policy: a commitment to Israel’s security while pushing for an end to the Gaza conflict and a plan for the Day After embedded in a regional peace with Arab states.

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But there might be a difference in tone.

Ms Harris does not share Mr Biden’s long history with and emotional ties to Israel. She’s from a different generation and “could more closely align with the sentiments of younger elements of the Democratic party,” says Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East.

“That’s a stance more likely to include restrictions on weapons, on munitions from the United States for use in Gaza,” he said.

Mr Netanyahu could very well use the visit to steer the conversation from the controversy over Gaza to the threat from Iran, a topic with which he’s far more comfortable, especially after the recent escalation with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But his main audience will be domestic, says Tal Shalev, the diplomatic correspondent at Israel’s Walla News.

He wants to revive his image as “Mr America,” she says, the man who can best present Israel to the US, and to restore his image which was shattered by the October 7 attacks.

“When he goes to the US and speaks in front of Congress and [has] a meeting in the White House, for his electoral base, it’s the old Bibi is back again,” she says, referring to the prime minister by his nickname. “This is not the failed Bibi who was responsible for the seventh of October. This is the old Bibi who goes to the Congress and gets the standing ovations.”

It also gives him an opportunity to pursue connections with the former President Donald Trump at a time of great political flux in Washington.

“Netanyahu wants President Trump to win,” she says, “And he wants to make sure that he and President Trump are on good terms before the election.”

There is a widespread view that Mr. Netanyahu is playing for time, hoping for a Trump win that might ease some of the pressure he’s been facing from the Biden administration.

“There is a near-universal perception that Netanyahu is eager for a Trump victory, under the assumption that he will then be able to do whatever he wants,” writes Michael Koplow of Israel’s Policy Forum.

“No Biden pressuring him on a ceasefire or on West Bank settlements and settler violence… There are many reasons to doubt this reading of the landscape under a Trump restoration, but Netanyahu likely subscribes to it.”

The question is whether that pressure from Biden will ease as he steps away from the presidential race, or whether he will in fact use his remaining months in office to focus on achieving an end to the Gaza war.

Netanyahu faces delicate balancing act in US after Biden exits race

BBC

International

Spain Train Crash: Death Toll Hits 68 as Two High-Speed Trains Collide

Published

12 hours ago

October 28, 2026

Trends Admin

Spain Train Crash: Death Toll Hits 68 as Two High-Speed Trains Collide

At least 68 people have been killed and dozens injured after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain, triggering a major rescue operation and the suspension of rail services along one of the country’s busiest routes.

The crash occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, near Urda in Toledo province, about 130 kilometres south of Madrid. The trains, operated by state-owned Renfe and private railway company Iryo, were travelling towards Seville when the collision occurred.

According to preliminary reports, the Renfe train struck the rear of an Iryo train that had stopped on the tracks. The impact derailed several carriages, some of which plunged down an embankment, leaving twisted metal and wreckage scattered across the crash site.

Authorities said the two trains were carrying approximately 544 passengers, including an infant. Emergency workers, firefighters, police officers and medical teams were deployed to rescue survivors, recover victims and transport injured passengers to nearby hospitals.

Spain’s regional authorities confirmed that at least 68 people had died, while 58 others required hospital treatment. Rescue operations continued as emergency teams searched the wreckage for additional victims.

Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente said a signalling-system failure preceded the collision. According to his preliminary account, a communications problem affecting the railway’s traffic-control system caused several trains to stop automatically.

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The control centre subsequently authorised trains to resume their journeys, but the Renfe train was reportedly allowed to continue despite a stop signal remaining active. The minister questioned the decision to restart normal traffic and said investigators were examining the circumstances surrounding the instruction.

He cautioned against assigning responsibility before the investigation established the facts.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the crash site and promised a thorough investigation into the disaster. He said authorities would determine whether negligence or safety-system failures contributed to the collision and take appropriate action if wrongdoing was established.

Sánchez also announced three days of national mourning, from October 29 to 31, in honour of the victims.

The tragedy has renewed concerns about railway safety in Spain, coming just nine months after another deadly collision near Adamuz in Córdoba province killed 46 people. That January disaster also involved trains operated by Renfe and Iryo.

The latest crash has prompted fresh scrutiny of railway infrastructure, signalling procedures and the management of train movements during technical failures.

Rail services between Madrid, Ciudad Real and Andalusia were suspended following the collision, disrupting travel along a major high-speed corridor.

Authorities said investigations would continue to establish the full circumstances of the crash and determine whether additional safety measures were required.

Spain Train Crash: Death Toll Hits 68 as Two High-Speed Trains Collide

International

US Extradites Nigerian Over Alleged $100m Tax Refund Fraud

Published

1 day ago

October 28, 2026

Trends Admin

US Extradites Nigerian Over Alleged $100m Tax Refund Fraud

The United States has extradited a Nigerian man, Akinade Adedeji Raheem, from the Republic of Benin to face federal charges over an alleged $100 million tax refund fraud scheme involving stolen identities and more than 300 fraudulent tax returns.

Raheem, 43, was arraigned in a federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, October 26, 2026, following his extradition to the United States. He was detained in the custody of the US Marshals Service pending further court proceedings.

According to US prosecutors, Raheem allegedly conspired with Abayomi Quadri Eletu and other accomplices between 2018 and 2023 to obtain fraudulent refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax authority, by using the identities of American taxpayers and tax professionals.

The alleged scheme involved more than 300 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $100 million in refunds. However, the amount represents the value of the claims allegedly submitted and does not necessarily mean the full sum was paid out.

Investigators alleged that the group obtained confidential personal information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers, by creating online accounts with the IRS and requesting private taxpayer records.

The suspects allegedly used the stolen information to file false tax returns and direct refund payments to prepaid debit cards under their control. They also allegedly changed taxpayers’ registered addresses and arranged for mail to be forwarded to locations where they could intercept correspondence from the tax authority.

In some cases, prosecutors alleged, members of the group impersonated legitimate taxpayers to verify their identities and facilitate the release of refunds.

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The alleged proceeds were subsequently moved through transactions designed to conceal their origins. Prosecutors said the suspects purchased money orders in amounts intended to avoid reporting thresholds and used them to buy used vehicles through auction platforms. Some of the vehicles were allegedly shipped to Nigeria, while other proceeds were spent on designer clothing and personal items.

US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the alleged scheme involved hundreds of stolen identities and affected individual taxpayers as well as the US Treasury.

The investigation was conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation division and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, with assistance from other American and international law enforcement agencies.

Raheem’s extradition followed an international search. Federal agents reportedly attempted to arrest him at his residence in April 2026 but were unable to take him into custody.

Investigators later discovered that he had booked a flight from Mexico City to Benin. He arrived in Benin on April 15, 2026, and was arrested by local authorities pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice, an international request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar legal proceedings.

Beninese authorities subsequently extradited him to the United States. US prosecutors described the transfer as the second extradition from Benin to the United States.

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia indicted Raheem on February 24, 2026, on charges including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, 14 counts of access device fraud and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft.

In plain language, the fraud conspiracy charge alleges that he worked with others to cheat victims through postal services or electronic communications. The money laundering charge alleges that the group agreed to conceal or disguise money believed to have come from criminal activity.

The access device fraud counts concern the alleged illegal use of payment cards or other devices and account details to obtain money or access funds. The aggravated identity theft counts allege the unauthorised use of other people’s identifying information in connection with certain serious crimes.

If convicted, Raheem faces substantial prison terms. The fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges each carry maximum penalties of up to 20 years, while the access device fraud charges carry up to 10 years. Each aggravated identity theft conviction carries a mandatory two-year prison term under applicable federal law, generally imposed consecutively to the sentence for the underlying offence. Actual sentences would depend on the convictions and applicable sentencing rules.

His alleged co-conspirator, Eletu, was separately indicted in the Western District of Texas on February 17, 2026. He was arrested in the United Kingdom, where extradition proceedings remain pending.

The case is being prosecuted by attorneys from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Justice Department’s Tax Section.

Raheem has not been convicted of the allegations. He is presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

US Extradites Nigerian Over Alleged $100m Tax Refund Fraud

International

Operation Blackout: FBI Arrests Nine in Nigeria, Seizes 53 Devices

Published

2 days ago

October 27, 2026

Trends Admin

Operation Blackout: FBI Arrests Nine in Nigeria, Seizes 53 Devices

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested nine suspects in Nigeria and seized 53 electronic devices in an international operation targeting cybercrime networks accused of defrauding victims, particularly in the United States.

The operation, code-named Operation Blackout, also led to the identification of approximately $11 million in funds across multiple countries that could potentially be frozen, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

Patel disclosed the development in a statement published on his official X account on Sunday, October 25, describing the operation as part of efforts to dismantle international criminal networks accused of stealing billions of dollars from unsuspecting victims.

“Operation Blackout is taking the fight directly to the international cybercriminal networks stealing billions from Americans,” Patel said.

He added that the networks operated across national borders, exploiting victims and depriving them of their life savings.

“These scam centres exploit innocent victims, steal life savings, and operate across international borders believing they are beyond the reach of law enforcement. They’re wrong,” the FBI director stated.

Patel commended Nigerian law enforcement agencies and their partners in London for their cooperation, warning that suspects operating from overseas would not escape prosecution simply because they were outside the United States.

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The FBI has not publicly identified the nine suspects arrested in Nigeria or disclosed the specific locations where they were apprehended. Details of the individual allegations against them have also not been made public.

The arrests formed part of a broader international law enforcement campaign targeting online fraud networks operating across West Africa.

According to the US Department of Justice, the coordinated enforcement exercise involved agencies from Nigeria, Ghana, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, alongside private-sector technology and financial companies.

The wider operation resulted in 28 arrests, comprising nine in Nigeria and 19 in Ghana. Authorities in Ghana also seized 303 electronic devices, while the Nigerian operation accounted for the 53 devices seized.

Investigators and participating companies additionally helped identify more than 3.7 million fraudulent online accounts, pages and groups, which were subsequently removed or disrupted.

The US Department of Justice said the targeted schemes included law enforcement impersonation scams, digital arrest extortion, cryptocurrency investment fraud, commonly known as “pig butchering”, and other online fraud operations targeting victims across different countries.

The operation also uncovered human trafficking linked to scam activities in Ghana. Authorities there identified 117 people described as victims of trafficking who were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.

Officials also identified 89 fraud victims in Ghana who suffered estimated losses of approximately $8.3 million, according to the US Justice Department.

The trafficking victims and fraud victims were identified as separate groups in the department’s account of the operation.

Although the FBI director announced that $11 million in potentially freezable funds had been identified across several countries, authorities have not confirmed that the entire amount has been frozen, seized or returned to victims.

The distinction is important because identifying funds that may be frozen does not mean that the money has already been recovered.

The crackdown highlights growing international cooperation against cyber-enabled fraud, with investigators increasingly working with technology companies and financial institutions to identify suspicious accounts, trace funds and disrupt the digital infrastructure used by criminal networks.

Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies have participated in several international investigations involving alleged online fraud. The latest operation adds to efforts to pursue suspects accused of targeting victims across national borders.

The FBI has not disclosed when the nine suspects arrested in Nigeria will appear in court or whether formal charges have been filed against each of them.

The allegations against the suspects remain subject to investigation and due process.