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Today: 71 articles and 182 comments as of 15:47.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Libya declares UK Ambassador persona non grata
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Africa Horn
Somali President Suspends Prime Minister's Powers, Accuses Him Of Land Fraud
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Somali President Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed said on Monday he had suspended the powers of the prime minister amid a corruption probe in what the assistant information minister said amounted to an "indirect coup".

Mohammed accused Roble of looting public land owned by the Somali National Army and of interfering with a defence ministry investigation, Rooters reports. All other ministers would continue with their duties, he said.

Roble was not immediately available for comment.
"I can say no more!"
But the government spokesperson, Mohammed Ibrahim Moalimuu, said on Facebook the president's action was unconstitutional.

He said the prime minister would continue with his duties.

Mohammed and Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble on Sunday each accused the other of holding up ongoing parliamentary elections in a dispute analysts say may distract the government from its fight against the al Qaeda-linked insurgency al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
Mohammed also said he had removed the commander of marine forces, General Abdihamid Mohammed Dirir, from office while a similar investigation was being carried out.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If I'm a corrupt Somali politician I'd rather move to the US, marry my brother and run for Congress not be stealing shit worthless Somali real estate.
Posted by: Raj || 12/28/2021 0:13 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt, Jordan, Palestine ministers review proposals to break stalemate in Middle East peace process
It’s a waste of effort, but I’m sure the meals were delicious.
[AlAhram] A trilateral ministerial meeting was held in Cairo on Monday between Egypt, Jordan, and Paleostine in Cairo to discuss proposals to break the current stalemate in the Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor.

The meeting was held between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and Paleostinian Civil Aviation Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, where they discussed the recent developments in the Paleostinian issue.

The meeting was also attended by the intelligence chiefs of the three countries.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Libyan MP Calls for Tougher Penalties against Human Traffickers
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Saturday, the Head of the Internal Affairs Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR), Suleiman al-Harari, called for imposing severe penalties against human traffickers. He also stressed the need to bring all drug pushers to justice.

In a statement, the Parliament’s media office said that al-Harari stressed the need to deal with the issue of combating human smuggling and all illicit psychoactive substances as a national priority. He called for security operations to be launched nationwide to combat the phenomenon of human trafficking.

Al-Harari expressed the parliamentary committee’s appreciation for the wide security operation carried out by the competent authorities to pursue human smugglers in the city of Tobruk and its neighboring border areas.

The Member of Parliament (MP) also stressed on human and legal treatment of migrants colonists who were freed from human smugglers.

Al-Harari affirmed the keenness of the HoR to support the relevant security services in combating all smuggling activities, and that the Interior Committee’s work will increase penalties in all smuggling-related cases.

Abuse of migrants colonists is widespread in war-torn Libya. Migrant smugglers and people traffickers, as well as militias have been exploiting the chaos which has reigned since the 2011 ousting of dictator longtime ruler Muammar Qadaffy
...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later...
. Those intercepted at sea by Libya’s controversial coasties and returned to Libya are usually brought to detention centres notorious for abuse, torture, slavery, extortion and rape.

According to International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 3,200 people were being held in 11 detention centres in Libya last October.

Since the overthrow of Qadaffy in 2011, Libya has become the major transit point for African and Arab migrants colonists hoping to reach Europe. Thousands of people have crossed into Libya from neighboring countries in recent years and traveled onwards to the Mediterranean coast, where human traffickers operate boats bound for Europe.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Human Trafficking


Arabia
Yemeni Minister Urges 'Withdrawal' of Hizbullah from Yemen
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Iraq
ISIS attacks killed over 350 people in Iraq in 11 months
[Rudaw] More than 350 people have died in over 200 Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) attacks in disputed territories in the first 11 months of 2021, an official from the Peshmerga ministry told Rudaw on Monday, following an increase in the bully boy group’s activities.

In the first 11 months of the year "ISIS turbans conducted 229 attacks in disputed territories, as result of which 356 people were martyred, 480 were maimed and 33 were kidnapped," the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Peshmerga Jabar Yawar told Rudaw.

The terror group has killed 22 Peshmerga fighters since November 27.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials held security meetings and launched joint military operations against the bully boy group.

The Iraqi counter-terror forces have conducted over 300 operations against ISIS, according to data provided to Rudaw English by Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (ICTS) Sabah al-Numan.

The Iraqi army and the Peshmerga started talks in July to form two joint brigades to counter ISIS remnants but efforts to form these brigades have so far stalled.

However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
Numan told Rudaw English the joint-brigades will be established within the first two months of the new year.

Multiple ISIS suspects have recently been arrested across Iraq.

Iraqi forces on Thursday arrested five ISIS members including a health worker that has admitted to treating ill and maimed members of the bully boy group.

Kurdish security forces detained a group affiliated with ISIS in Erbil on December 18. Two ISIS arms smugglers were also captured in Erbil earlier in the month.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 12 attacks in Iraq from December 16 to December 22, killing and injuring 26 people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2021 00:02 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  U.S. traffic deaths soar 18% in 2021 to highest first half since 2006 [20,160]

Lifestyle choices.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/28/2021 13:41 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran demands oil export permission before nuclear talks in Vienna
[IsraelTimes] Ahead of the resumption, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the agenda should be "the issue of guarantees and verification" on the lifting of US sanctions.

"The most important thing for us is to reach a point where we can verify that Iranian oil will be sold easily and without any limits, that the money for this oil will be transferred in foreign currency to Iranian bank accounts, and that we will be able to benefit from all the revenues," he said, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2021 00:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  NO
Posted by: Frank G || 12/28/2021 7:39 Comments || Top||

#2  "Give us everything we want and *then* we can hold the soon-to-be-failed negotiations."
Posted by: SteveS || 12/28/2021 11:14 Comments || Top||

#3  /\ "Give us everything we want and *then* we can hold the soon-to-be-failed negotiations."

How very Russian.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/28/2021 11:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Sure, then covertly sink the tankers.
Piss off the Sellers
Piss off the Buyers
Piss off the Bankers
Piss off the Shippers
Piss off the Insurers
Piss off the Money Washers
Piss off the Ecos

Just a few and the message will get across.
An all around WIN!
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/28/2021 13:37 Comments || Top||


Aoun Criticizes Hizbullah without Naming It
[An Nahar] President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
on Monday criticized Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
and the Amal Movement without naming them as he called for "urgent" national dialogue over key matters.

"I tried to prevent the collapse and I called for several meetings and conferences, proposing solutions, but the system’s parties refused to give up any gains, without the taking the people into consideration," Aoun said, in an address to the nation.

"The solution first requires accountability, which means identifying those responsible for the collapse, as well as protecting people's money and returning it to depositors. It also requires transiting to a civil state and a new system based on broad administrative and financial decentralization. The coming elections must be a referendum on this," the President added.

As for the controversial issue of Hizbullah’s arsenal of weapons, Aoun said "it is true that defending the country requires cooperation between the army, people and resistance," but stressed that "the main responsibility belongs to the state."

"Only the state devises a defense strategy and oversees its implementation," he added.

He also urged an end to "the premeditated, systematic and unjustified obstruction that leads to the disintegration of institutions and the dissolution of the state."

"It is necessary for the government to convene as soon as possible to address the problems around Cabinet’s table. Under which law, logic or constitution is Cabinet being paralyzed?" Aoun asked, lamenting that Cabinet is being asked to "take a decision that does not fall under its jurisdiction" and that it is being paralyzed due to "an issue that does not represent a dispute that has to do with the National Pact."

He added: "I do not want to antagonize anyone, neither individuals nor groups, and I don’t want to undermine the unity of any sect, but we must be frank: procrastination is lethal and I will not accept to be a witness to the fall of the state."

"From my position as someone entrusted with the constitution, I call for urgent national dialogue to agree on three issues, and later work to approve them in institutions," the President went on to say.

He said the three issues are "broad administrative and financial decentralization, a defense strategy to protect Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...
, and a financial and economic recovery plan that would include the necessary reforms and a fair distribution of losses."

In an apparent jab at Hizbullah, Aoun added: "I want the best relations with Arab countries, specifically with the Gulf states, and I ask: what is the justification for straining the ties with these countries and interfering in affairs that do not concern us?"

Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Can't blame a guy for wanting to stay alive.
Posted by: Raj || 12/28/2021 0:10 Comments || Top||


Bassil Meets Safa, 'FPM-Hizbullah Alliance Ongoing'
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
chief Jebran Bassil has reportedly met with Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
coordination official Wafiq Safa in the past few days.

Well informed sources told ad-Diyar newspaper, in remarks published Monday, that the two officials have met for "open and frank" talks and discussed the recent "crisis" that occurred between the two parties after the Constitutional Council failed to issue a ruling on the appeal against the electoral law’s amendments.

The results of the meeting were "positive," according to the sources.

Bassil and Safa discussed what has been said about "a deal that failed at the last minute," the sources said, adding that "had the bargain succeeded, the FPM would have benefited from it" while it would have "come at a high cost" for Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

The sources said that the discrepancies between the FPM and Hizbullah have been clarified and that the two parties have both affirmed the continuation of their alliance, meetings and regular communication.

Bassil last week blamed Hizbullah and Amal for the Constitutional Council’s no-ruling, saying it is a result of a "new four-party alliance" in the face of the FPM.

President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
is scheduled to make a televised address today, Monday.

Aoun will voice "explosive" remarks and will tackle all the obstacles that marred his tenure by both "allies and rivals" and will "call things by their name," Baabda Palace sources told al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published Sunday.

Bassil is also scheduled to have a speech on January 2.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


President al-Assad issues new financial law for administrative units
[SANA.SY] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
issued on Monday the new financial law for administrative units.

The law unifies all financial laws related to the revenues of administrative units in one law, and allows these units to provide their budgets with new revenues to help them improve their financial situation and enable them carry out their responsibilities and the development and service role entrusted to them in local societies.

It comes in light of the Local Administration Law issued in 2011 that expanded the capacities and authorities of the administrative units’ councils to perform their duties in the economic, social and service development.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Locals in al-Ziyara village, Aleppo countryside protest against Turkish occupation crimes
[SANA.SY] The locals in al-Ziyara village in Aleppo northern countryside have staged a stand in protest against the crimes of the Ottoman Turkish occupation and its terrorist mercenaries against the Syrian citizens.

Over the past weeks, locals in a number of towns and villages in Aleppo northern countryside have organized several stands in protest against the Ottoman Turkish occupation and its mercenaries of terrorist organizations and in condemnation of their crimes against the Syrian citizens.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte



Who's in the News
30[untagged]
4Hezbollah
4Sublime Porte
4Commies
3Banditti
2Palestinian Authority
2Govt of Pakistain Proxies
2Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
2Human Trafficking
2Govt of Syria
2Islamic State
2Govt of Iraq
2Govt of Iran
1[untagged]
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Antifa/BLM
1Arab Spring
1Devout Moslems
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Jaish-e-Mohammad
1Mob Rule
1Taliban/IEA

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2021-12-28
  Libya declares UK Ambassador persona non grata
Mon 2021-12-27
  DRC - Deadly bombing at restaurant packed for Christmas
Sun 2021-12-26
  Desmond Tutu aka 'The Red Arch' tango uniform at 90
Sat 2021-12-25
  Poland: Migrants Attacking Border with ‘Full Aggression’ Using ‘Stones, Logs, Metal Poles as Weapons’
Fri 2021-12-24
  Egypt’s border guards arrest over 2,000 irregular migrants, seize tons of drugs
Thu 2021-12-23
  Nigeria: Fulani Jihadists Kill 45 Christian Farmers in 'Barbaric' Attack
Wed 2021-12-22
  Sudan's Prime Minister Abadalla Hamdok to resign
Tue 2021-12-21
  Saudi Arabian 'potential terrorist' nabbed at US-Mexico border
Mon 2021-12-20
  Death Toll In Fresh Bandits’ Attack On Kaduna Communities Rises To 38
Sun 2021-12-19
  2018 Bodh Gaya blast: 3 JMB terrorists get life imprisonment
Sat 2021-12-18
  ISIS-linked extremists decapitate Christian pastor in Mozambique
Fri 2021-12-17
  US Navy rescues Iranian drug smugglers from burning ship off coast of Oman
Thu 2021-12-16
  Libya PM's office surrounded by militia
Wed 2021-12-15
  Police foil Al-Shabaab's attempt to abduct Imam in Kenya Mosque
Tue 2021-12-14
  Taliban Seek Ties with U.S., Other ex-Foes


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