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Today: 59 articles and 131 comments as of 14:33.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Imran to be next PM
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
9 22:45 Daniel [6]
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Top US envoy met with Taliban officials in Qatar to explore ways for peace talks
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A delegation of US officials led by Ambassador Alice Wells, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, met with the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
officials in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
to explore ways for the revival of Afghan-led peace talks, it has been reported.

Sources privy of the development have told The Wall Street Journal that the top U.S. envoy for South Asia met with Taliban officials this week to discuss ways to lay the groundwork for peace talks.

The sources have further added that the aim of the discussion was to build on momentum created by a recent three-day cease-fire that offered Afghans a tantalizing taste of peace after decades of war, these people said.

"Ambassador Alice Wells, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, led the U.S. delegation, which met with members of the Taliban’s political commission in Doha, Qatar," according to the report.

The Taliban’s political office in Qatar and the US Department of State has not commented regarding the meeting so far.

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
a State Department official has told the paper that "The United States is exploring all avenues to advance a grinding of the peace processor in close consultation with the Afghan government."
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Op. Sinai 2018 destroyed terrorism infrastructure in N Sinai: Egypt's army spokesperson in first-ever interview
[AlAhram] Just over five months have passed since the Egyptian armed forces launched the comprehensive military Operation Sinai 2018 in cooperation with the police.

On 9 February the plan to fully confront terrorist and criminal individuals and organizations began to be implemented in North and Central Sinai, and in other areas in the Nile Delta and desert areas west of the Nile Valley, according to the first Armed Forces communiqué on the operation.

Egypt's Armed Forces Spokesperson Tamer El-Refaie gave an in-depth interview with al-Ahram al-Araby weekly magazine which is set to be published in full on Saturday, highlighting the latest developments on the ground and achievements of the Sinai 2018 operation.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Arabia
Houthi forces warn of more surprises for Saudi-led Coalition after Abu Dhabi attack
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Spokesman of the National Salvation Government, ’Abdul-Salaam ’Ali Jaber, issued a stern warning to the Saudi-led Coalition on Thursday night, vowing more surprises to come after their Abu Dhabi Airport attack.

In a statement obtained by the Yemen-based Saba News Agency on Thursday, Jaber confirmed that the Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
forces targeted the Abu Dhabi International Airport with an armed drone.

The Yemeni opposition leader said that this attack was conducted in response to the United Arab Emirates’ war crimes against the people of Yemen.

Jaber then stated that the Saudi-led Coalition had not achieved any military objective in Yemen, despite their three year long intervention.

Earlier today, the Houthi forces attacked the Abu Dhabi International Airport using their domestically-manufactured Sammad-3 armed drone.

This attack by the Houthi forces marked the first time since the founding of the United Arab Emirates that this Gulf nation had been bombed by a foreign entity.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Bangladesh
Holey Artisan attack case to be moved to the Anti-Terrorism Special tribunal
[Dhaka Tribune] Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court has ordered that all documents, including the charge sheet, of the case filed over the 2016 terrorist attack on Gulshan’s Holey Artisan Bakery be sent to the Anti-terrorism Special Tribunal.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Saifuzzaman Hiru issued the order on Thursday after scrutinizing the case dockets, according to court sources.

Earlier in the day, Metropolitan Magistrate Nurunnahar Yasmin had accepted the charge sheet and sent it to him for observations.

Sources said the case documents would be sent to the special tribunal in Dhaka on Sunday.

The trial of the case at the tribunal will start after its Judge Md Mujibur Rahman accepts the charge sheet.

Last Monday, police had pressed charges against eight leaders and members of bad boy outfit New JMB in the sensational case.

Six of the accused are Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, Rashedul Islam alias Rash, Sohel Mahfuz alias Hatkata Mahfuz, Rakibul Islam Reagan, Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan, and Hadisur Rahman Sagor.

They are currently behind bars having confessed in court their roles in the attack on the upscale eatery in the capital’s diplomatic zone.

Police have prayed to the court to issue arrest warrants against two other bandidos bully boyz ‐ Shariful Islam Khalid and Mamunur Rashid Ripon ‐ who are still on the run, and reportedly hiding in India.

The Sherlocks had also dropped former North South University teacher Hasnat Reza Karim’s name from the charge sheet as the charges against him could not be proved.

However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
Metropolitan Magistrate Fahad Bin Amin denied his bail plea on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)


Chargesheet in Sholakia blast case due next week
[Dhaka Tribune] Investigators are set to submit the charge-sheet, accusing five holy warriors, in the case over the suicidal kabooms near Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj in July, 2016 next week, reports BSS.

"We have already prepared the charge-sheet in the case over the blasts near Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj. We hope to submit the charge-sheet before the court against five forces of Evil by July 31," Superintendent of Kishoreganj police Mashruqur Rahman Khaled said.

When contacted, the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case and also Inspector (investigation) of Kishoreganj Sadar cop shoppe, Arifur Rahman said he will send a petition to the legal wing of the Home Ministry on Sunday seeking approval for the charge-sheet in the Sholakia blast case.

He hoped that police will be able to submit the chargesheet before the court by Monday, if the ministry gives its nod soon after receiving it.

"We have found involvement of 23 forces of Evil in the attack. But five of them will be accused in the charge-sheet as 18 others have been killed in different assaults of the law enforcers," he added.

Of the accused, Rajib Gandhi
Apparently not an alias.
and Sohel Mahfuz gave confessional statements under section 164 before the court. Both Rajib and Sohel were included in the list of accused in the charge-sheet of Holey Artisan Cafe attack case.

In his statement, Rajib Gandhi confessed that the New-JMB had taken preparations to carry out two large-scale kabooms (at Holey Artisan Cafe, at Gulshan in the capital and Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj) mainly to upset the government and attract the attention of international holy warrior organizations.

Police in their investigation found that New-JMB front ranking leaders Tamim Chowdhury, Major Zahid, Akash, Abir and Don separately visited the place of occurrence one day (July 6, 2016) ahead of the attack on July 7, 2016, around a week after the Holey Artisan Cafe attack.

Four people, including two coppers, a woman, and a suspected assailant, were killed in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Nearly 200 Russian military police return home from Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] Nearly 200 Russian military police that were deployed in Syria have received orders to return home after a long deployment, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced this morning.

In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Defense said that about 200 members of the military police in the southern region returned on a military transport aircraft after their successful operation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

During their tenor in Syria, the Russian military police worked to establish and maintain reconciliation agreements, while also ensuring the return of refugees and displaced civilians.

The Russian military police also trained thousands of local Syrian military police to patrol several areas around the country.

This move by the Russian Ministry of Defense comes just a month after they withdrew dozens of planes and several military personnel from Syria.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  ...and boy, are their arms tired!
Posted by: Gleang Borgia3176 || 07/27/2018 0:12 Comments || Top||


Europe
Report: Paris turns into Mossad's playground
Fascinating stuff.
[Ynet] According to Le Monde, the Israeli spy agency set up an operations room in the French capital for Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's liquidation in Dubai, among other missions; 'French hands are tied, our ability to respond to their actions is limited,' complains French intelligence official.

Gay Paree has become a center of operations for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, according to an article published this week in French newspaper Le Monde.

The article, titled "The Mossad's shadow hovers over Gay Paree," cites senior French intelligence officials, one of whom claimed that "The city is the Mossad's playground. The Chinese and the Russians may be our enemies, but let us not forget the Israelis and the Americans are also conducting themselves with great aggression."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We pays our rent, frogee.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/27/2018 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  We pays our rent, frogee.

I figured that was what this tidbit referred to:
"La Belle France's hands are tied" since it depends on Israel "in many sensitive issues"

Translation: we'd kick the bums out but we need their intel and assistance to deal with the Islamists.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/27/2018 0:54 Comments || Top||

#3  How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'


Given whom we're discussing, why would you want to?
Posted by: AlanC || 07/27/2018 7:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Tsk, tsk, after Macron was honored with a State Dinner, too. Shame.
Posted by: Clem Kadiddlehopper9000 || 07/27/2018 9:55 Comments || Top||

#5  To: Le Monde
From: Flyover Country (Ohio)

You guys just now figured this out?
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/27/2018 10:09 Comments || Top||


Report: Iran using German companies to finance war in Yemen
[Jpost] Germany is widely considered the least cooperative of European allies in confronting Iran's bellicose activities, according to two sources familiar with US-German talks on the Iran nuclear deal.
Countries are supposed to have pragmatic interests, not friendships, but it is hard to give up a connection that has endured for two centuries.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps employed German companies to disguise illicit activities in its funding of the war against the pro-US government in Gulf country's capital of Sana'a.

Time Magazine reported on Thursday: "For several years, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been using German front companies to buy advanced printing machinery, watermarked paper and specialty inks in violation of European export controls. "

According to interviews with US Treasury Department officials, Time added: "The IRGC had then printed counterfeit Yemeni bank notes potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars and used them to help fund its proxy war against the beleaguered pro-US government in the capital of Sana’a. German companies were being used as a cover by the Iranians to finance the world’s worst humanitarian conflict."

The report said that US officials, who uncovered the deceptive Iranian operation, met with their German counterparts at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin last April.

The Jerusalem Post reviewed intelligence agency reports from German states covering Iran. The reports document Iran's strategy of using front companies to engage in illicit procurement of nuclear and missile technology in Germany during 2017.

According to Time: "The evidence, uncovered by US illicit-finance Sherlocks, was meant to sway the Germans, but not just in hopes of countering Iran’s moves on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula" but also "to convince Berlin that Tehran cannot be trusted and that the Germans should join the Trump Administration in imposing economy-crippling sanctions on Iran."

US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
issued an Executive Order in 2017 extending a terrorism designation to the IRGC. Germany has declined to outlaw the IRGC as a terrorist entity. The mass circulation BILD reported on Thursday that Germany will permit a former member of the IRGC Hadi Mofateh to run an Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Center of Hamburg.

Time wrote that weeks after the initial meeting in the German finance ministry: "American officials presented their hosts with one last set of documents: detailed blueprints on how the Trump Administration was preparing to unleash financial warfare on the Iranian economy."

Germany is widely considered the least cooperative of European allies in confronting Iran's bellicose activities, according to two sources familiar with US-German talks on the Iran nuclear deal. German exports to the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran climbed to €3.5 billion in 2017 from €2.6b. in 2016.

A German intelligence report from the city-state of Hamburg in July said Iran’s regime is continuing to seek weapons of mass destruction.

The Post reviewed the 211 page document that says: "some of the crisis countries... are still making an effort to obtain products for the manufacture of atomic, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction (proliferation) and the corresponding missile carrier technology (rocket technology)."

The Hamburg report added: "the current main focus points of countries in the area of relevant proliferation activities are: Iran, Syria, Pakistain and North Korea."
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  These Aryans sure stick together!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/27/2018 7:01 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ Heh
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/27/2018 10:09 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
US congress passes bill to limit transfer of F-35s to Turkey
[ALMASDARNEWS] The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would limit the transfer of the new F-35 fighter jets to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
, Politco reported.

According to the Politco report, the House passed a new $717 billion defense policy bill by an overwhelming vote of 359 for and 54 against.

The bill ultimately restricts the transfer of the F-35 fighter jets to the Ottoman Turkish military until a report is delivered on their behavior.

This report by the U.S. would include the assessment of Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program, as well as the risks posed by Ankara’s acquirement of the Russian S-400 missile system.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  About time. Turkey is not an ally. Turkey needs to be thrown out of NATO as long as islamist like Erdogoan is in charge
Posted by: Boss Spoper5850 || 07/27/2018 12:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Good. As Boss said, they ain't an ally anymore.

Don't give them shit and disband NATO.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/27/2018 19:27 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Religious parties fail to make their presence felt
[DAWN] A very nice change.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


PTI leading with 105 of 228 NA seats as final results trickle in
[DAWN] With preliminary results from 228 seats in, the PTI is leading the race with 108 seats followed by the PML-N with 58.

PPP looks strong on the third spot with 28 seats, followed by the MMA with five. PML-Q has also managed to win four seats so far while the MQM-P has won only 3.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Women herded to polling station to meet condition of election law
[DAWN] The women, barred from voting in general elections for long, were forced to cast vote to save results of a constituency from becoming null and void yet many in conservative areas of the province preferred to stick to their old tradition of not casting vote.

After promulgation of Election Act, 2017 that required Election Commission of Pakistain to declare a constituency’s result null and void if at least 10 per cent women turnout was not recorded, things seemed a little better as ECP and local authorities checked trend of barring women from vote. There was at least no open or declared agreement like the past to keep women away from voting.

Some people could not, however, break away from their old tradition and women turnout was low in some areas.

"Just one woman polled her vote out of 987 registered voters at polling station No.31 in Haji Banda area of NA-29 and PK-72 constituencies," said Shahida Anjum, a presiding officer of a women polling station. She said that no one had turned up all day.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Imran promises wide-ranging reforms: 'All policies for the people'
[DAWN] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
on Thursday, in his first public address since his party grabbed a lead in the preliminary General Election results, shared his vision for the country and pledged to safeguard the interests of ordinary citizens.

Khan, in a speech made in Bani Gala that was broadcast via video link, claimed victory, saying that he was thankful to have finally been given the chance to implement the manifesto he had envisioned 22 years ago.

"Thanks to God, we won," he said. "We were successful and we were given a mandate," the 65-year-old cricketer-turned-politician said during a live broadcast, adding that there was "no politician victimisation" in the acrimonious contest.

Addressing outcry by opposition political parties that the elections had been rigged or manipulated, Khan promised to provide them the assistance required to investigate such allegations. In the same breath he dismissed such allegations, terming yesterday's polls "the fairest in Pakistain's history".

"If you think there has been rigging, we will assist you in the investigation if you have any doubts. We will stand by you. I feel that this election has been the fairest in Pakistain's history. If any party has any doubts, we will open up the results of those constituencies for investigation."

He commended the people of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
who voted on election day, despite a suicide kaboom that left 31 people dead, and the armed forces who provided security for the polls.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Imran declares support for Afghan peace after taking lead in elections
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Chairman of Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
Pakistain Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
talked about the foreign policy of his government including the likely approach towards Afghanistan after taking lead in the elections.

"Another challenge is foreign policy. No other country needs peace like we do. We will strengthen our relations with China, they have given us a chance by investing in the China-Pakistain Economic Corridor, and we also want to learn how to improve people’s lives, drag them out of poverty. Will also learn how to deal with corruption," he was quoted saying by Dawn News.

Imran further "Next is Afghanistan. They have suffered most in the ’war on terror’, and before that in the Afghan jihad. Peace in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistain."

Khan also added that he envisions open borders with Afghanistan reminiscent to those within the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
This comes as preliminary votes count put Imran Khan in the lead during the elections in Pakistain.

According to reports, Imran Khan’s party has secured 113 seats out of the 272 seats in National Assembly of Pakistain.

Although the political parties claim voting rigging in the elections but the officials in the Independent Elections Commission of Pakistain say the elections have been organized 100 per cent in transparent way.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "They voted for me after all."
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/27/2018 12:41 Comments || Top||


Iraq
30 Kurdish villages in Dibis evacuated due to ethnic tensions
[Rudaw] Thirty Kurdish villages near the town of Dibis in Kirkuk province have evacuated since October 16 owing to threats from non-Kurdish groups, according to residents and local officials.

"There are more than 65 villages around Dibis, 30 of them are Kurdish and the rest have mixed ethnicities of Kurds and Arabs. In all multiethnic villages, the Kurdish residents have evacuated and in the 30 Kurdish village, either all left or few villagers remained. Some villages have tried to build a local defense force," Abdullah Nuradin, mayor of Dibis, told Rudaw.

Ismail Omar, a resident of Qoshqaye, a village in Dibis, fled his village after October 16, when Iraqi forces and Shiite paramilitias took over the disputed territories. Now he lives in Kirkuk city. Most of Qoshqaye, about 70 households, went to Kirkuk to avoid ethnic violence at the hands of Arab forces.

"When in 2003 we returned to our village, we were really happy and thought that we live the rest of our live there. But after the October 16, military and civilian Arabs came and threatened us to evacuate our village," Omar told Rudaw.

"Arabization after the October 16 has started from the villages around Daquq and Tuz Khurmatu and it will include areas near Prde, Shwan, and Qarah Anjir," Mulla Farman, a member of the national council of the Change Movement (Gorran), told Rudaw.

"Those Arabs who attack the Kurdish villagers are those Shiites who were brought to Kirkuk during Saddam Hussein’s rule and now they have the support of Hashd al-Shaabi and the federal army. They have even changed the Kurdish name of villages," Farman added.

Many villagers from areas around Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu also came to Sulaimani and Erbil.

Kurdish residents of Mardan, a village near Khanaqin, have also been forced to evacuate amid a wave of ISIS killings. They also suspect Shiite paramilitias are trying to push them out.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Mosul too insecure for Kurdish Shabak families, now settled in Duhok
[Rudaw] This Kurdish Shabak family recently moved to Bardarash in Duhok from their home in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
. Displaced by the war with ISIS, the family had initially returned to their home following the city's liberation - but security concerns soon convinced them to leave.

There are around 200,000 Shabak Kurds
...yet another of the unnoticed minorities in Iraq, this time a sub-population of Kurds who speak a North Iranian Kurdish dialect and follow a 14th century Muslim mysticism that may or may not be heretical, though they mostly consider themselves Shiites. They mostly live in thirty-five villages east of Mosul; estimates of their population ranged as high as 550,000 before ISIS rampaged through the area....
in Iraq. Before the war with ISIS, the ethno-religious minority was concentrated in villages around Mosul.

"The government is very weak. Even if it exists, it is not during both daylight and night. People, especially Shabak, do not feel 100 percent secure when staying at home," said Ahmed Sadiq, one of the Shabak IDPs.

More than 50 Shabak families have moved from Mosul to Duhok due to a lack of security and basic services. They have settled in Bardarash, Shekhan, and Khabat.

"There is no security. The government is a failure in Mosul," said another IDP, Ahmed Shahab.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hundreds of Gazans protest UN agency layoffs, pay cuts
[Ynet] UNRWA employees continue sit-in, demanding agency to cancel recent job eliminations and downgrading of contracts as the UN body struggles with budget shortfall in the wake of US decision to cut its funding.

Employees of the UN Paleostinian refugee agency escalated their protest Wednesday in the Gazoo Strip against sweeping pay cuts and dismissals as the organization blamed US funding cuts on the crisis.

Hundreds of UNRWA staff continued a sit-in that began Monday at the organization's Gazoo office and announced plans to go on an open-ended strike, demanding the agency cancel recent job eliminations and downgrading of contracts.

"We declare a labor dispute. We will practice all union work. After the strike tomorrow, we will take more steps that could paralyze life in the Gazoo Strip," Amir al-Miss'hal, head of UNRWA's Paleostinian employees union, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

On Wednesday, UNRWA fired 154 staff, 125 of them in Gazoo, where it also downgraded another 580 to contract workers. al-Miss'hal says the agency technically canceled about 1,000 more jobs by stopping hiring new employees to fill in for those who retired.

Of the five areas in which the agency operates, Gazoo is the most vulnerable given its dire living conditions and devastated economy after more than a decade under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. More than two-thirds of Gazoo's population of 2 million are refugees or their descendants.

Chris Gunness, an UNRWA front man, said the organization "is prioritizing food security support to the most vulnerable refugees by continuing its emergency food program to nearly 1 million refugees" in Gazoo.

Israel contends UNRWA perpetuates the refugee problem rather than resolving it. In cutting the funds, President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
linked their resumption to the Paleostinian Authority renewing peace talks with Israel.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I love my president so much. This should have been done ages ago.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 07/27/2018 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  What happened to all money that all these people promised for this money?
Posted by: bernardz || 07/27/2018 7:25 Comments || Top||

#3  More than two-thirds of Gazoo's population of 2 million are refugees or their descendants.

Sorry but after 50 years, you are no longer 'refugees'.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/27/2018 8:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Now if Europe redirects their money to their NATO obligations...things might actually have to start working there.
Posted by: Clem Kadiddlehopper9000 || 07/27/2018 9:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Wait til all the seething Hamasniks who were "employed" by the UNRWA get all violenty on em
Posted by: Frank G || 07/27/2018 10:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Looking on the bright side, no one has to take time off work to go to the protest.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/27/2018 11:48 Comments || Top||

#7  "Salaam, brother. I am a fifth generation refugee. Can your spare a dime?"
"Truly, brother, your suffering must be great! I'm only fourth generation, myself. Let us go on strike together."
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 07/27/2018 16:29 Comments || Top||

#8  The lamentations of their women and children
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/27/2018 16:35 Comments || Top||

#9  Your first gen "refugees" fled so the Mighty Arab Armies™ could crush the Joooos and send them into the sea to die. Oops.

They chose poorly
Posted by: Frank G || 07/27/2018 19:34 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran replaces central bank chief as economy faces crisis
[DAWN] Iran replaced its central bank chief on Wednesday, local media reported, amid the fallout over banking scandals and the crisis facing the country’s economy.

Valiollah Seif, who had served as the bank’s governor since President Hassan Rouhani took power in August 2013, was replaced by Abdolnasser Hemati following a cabinet meeting, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Hemati, 61, previously served as head of Central Insurance of Iran, as well as both Sina Bank and Bank Melli. He had been slated to become ambassador to China until he was recalled at the last minute.

The head of Iran’s Planning and Budget Organisation, Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht, who is also government front man, offered his resignation at the cabinet meeting but it was rejected by Rouhani.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Abdolnasser can conjure money from air?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/27/2018 7:02 Comments || Top||

#2  crisis facing the country’s economy.

And why would that be? Didn't they get > a billion delivered at the airport a short time ago?
Posted by: AlanC || 07/27/2018 7:59 Comments || Top||

#3  about 44,000 Rial per dollar on the official rate this morning

Rial has lost about 35% in value over the past 12 months (again per official rate). Over the past 10 years, the Rial has lost about 75% of its value (again per official rate).

The blackmarket exchange rate is probably closer to 90,000 rial to a dollar today.

As far as foreign assets held by Iran, that is something of a mystery. The govt of Iran reports that it has over $100B in foreign currency, notes and gold but whether that is true and how much of it is held by the republican guards, the religious centers, etc. is unknown.

Per AlanC's comment, the funds the US gave them in cash and gold in 2016 probably amounted to about $1.7 billion. Likely as not, most of these funds were distributed to the various power players with a few dollars spent on some public projects for show.
Posted by: lord garth || 07/27/2018 9:11 Comments || Top||


Rojava Kurds will support Assad in Idlib – if it helps them retake Afrin
[Rudaw] Kurdish authorities in Rojava say they are ready to take part in a Syrian government operation in Idlib if doing so brings them closer to retaking Afrin, which was seized by the Ottoman Turkish military and its Syrian opposition proxies earlier this year.

"One of the steps towards liberating Afrin is that we must put pressure on The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
and ask them to withdraw from the soil of Syria completely ‐ and our enclaves in particular," Aldar Khalil, co-president of the executive body of the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), told Rudaw.

"To evict them, we must try whatever means necessary, be they diplomatic efforts, military means, or through the media," he added.

The defeat of Ottoman Turkish troops in Idlib would pave the way for their defeat in Afrin, he said.

TEV-DEM is the governing coalition in Rojava, the Kurdish-dominated self-autonomous enclave in northern Syria. The Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party within TEV-DEM, has been excluded from the Geneva and Astana processes, at the insistence of Ankara.

Preparations for the Syrian government’s Idlib operation are expected to begin soon after Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
’s forces, with Russian and Iranian backing, retook swathes of territory around the capital Damascus and areas in the country’s southwest.

Idlib province is controlled by the Nusra Front ‐ a former al-Qaeda affiliate ‐ and Ottoman Turkish troops.

Rojava authorities are yet to make an official statement on their involvement in such an operation, nor have they been invited to take part by the Assad government, Khalil said.

In recent remarks, Assad hinted his government will soon shift its focus from the south to the north to retake territories from several different gangs.

The Ottoman Turkish army has carried out military operations in northern Syria, dubbed Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch, alongside the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA). Their stated aim is to clear the Ottoman Turkish border of ISIS and Kurdish groups, which Ankara consider terrorists.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Russia allegedly thanks Israel for striking Daesh in Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Russian Defense Ministry said that an Israeli counterattack on Wednesday on ISIS positions in Syria killed Lions of Islam and destroyed rocket launchers.

The Russian ministry said that a strike on Israeli territory on Wednesday was made from ISIS* positions and that the response from Israel had hit terrorists’ missile launchers in Quneitra.

The ministry also expressed gratitude to the Israeli Defense Forces for the counterattack.

"Russian armed forces’ command in Syria used the existing communication channels to thank the IDF leadership for killing Lions of Islam and stopping a massive provocation," the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian military said the ISIS terror group tried on Wednesday evening to draw Israeli fire onto Syrian army positions by launching rockets into Israel.

"A precision strike by jets and IDF artillery operatively destroyed ISIS Lions of Islam and their rocket launchers," the Russian ministry stated.

The IDF said earlier its warplanes had targeted a rocket launcher in response to two projectiles fired at Israel from Syria. The the surrounding area was struck by IDF artillery. The Israeli military did not attribute blame for the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Assad says White Helmets are terrorists, they can choose surrender or death
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
lashed out at the organization known as the "White Helmets" (var. Syrian Civil Defense), today, while speaking to Russian journalists in Damascus.

Assad heavily criticized the group to the Russian journalists, calling them ’terrorists’ and demanding that they surrender their weapons or face potential death.

"The fate of White Helmets will be the same as any other terrorist," Assad began, as quoted by Russia Today.

"They have two choices: to lay down their arms and use the amnesty we have offered over the last four or five years, or be killed like the other terrorists," Assad said.

The Syrian President has criticized the group for their ties to western governments and several rebel groups in Syria, despite non-partisan claims.

Recently, over 400 members of the White Helmets were evacuated from the southwestern region of Syria to the occupied Golan Heights by the Israeli military.

This move to evacuate the White Helmets from the Daraa and al-Quneitra governorates was reportedly planned by the U.S., Canadian, and British regimes, and coordinated with the Israeli military.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Assad urges ‘every Syrian to come back to Syria’
[ALMASDARNEWS] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
has urged all refugees, first of all those having their own business, to return to Syria.

"We encourage every Syrian to come back to Syria, especially after the terrorism started to be defeated mainly in Aleppo at the end of 2016," the Syrian president said in an interview with Russian journalists on Thursday.

"Of course, now there is an acceleration in defeating the terrorism and the majority of the Syrian territories have been liberated from the terrorists. So, we’ve been encouraging those refugees, many Syrians who have their own business, not only refugees, in different countries," he said.

"So, now this is the main issue between the Syrian and the Russian governments, how to bring more humanitarian assistance in order to help accelerating the refugees come back to Syria," the Syrian leader said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "Because we are running out of cannon fodder!"
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/27/2018 12:41 Comments || Top||


Syria’s Assad says Russian military needed in Syria long-term
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
said on Thursday Russian forces were needed in the country long-term and for more than just fighting terrorism, Russian news agencies reported, citing an interview with the leader.

The rapid return of refugees to Syria is the main issue being discussed between Damascus and Moscow, Interfax news agency cited the president as saying.

Furthermore al-Assad said that the "White Helmets" activists who have refused amnesty will be liquidated like all terrorists.

The Syrian President also said that Idlib province and other areas where murderous Moslems are located will be the priority for the Syrian army activities.

As for the refugees, al-Assad said a rapid return of refugees to Syria is the main issue being discussed between Damascus and Moscow.

Posted by: Fred || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani warns US and Donald Trump: ‘If you begin the war, we will end it'
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 07/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Sounds like an invitation to me.
Posted by: gorb || 07/27/2018 1:19 Comments || Top||

#2  “We are near you, where you can’t even imagine ... Come. We are ready. If you begin the war, we will end the war,” Tasnim news agency quoted Soleimani as saying.

He's obviously threatening the US with asymmetrical war i.e. Iranian sponsored terror attacks.

This is one of the reasons he can be reasonably unafraid of bad consequences.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 07/27/2018 4:42 Comments || Top||

#3  No Iran, no terror payments, threats evaporate.
Posted by: gorb || 07/27/2018 5:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Did we suddenly have an outbreak of neo conservatism? Since when are we in favor of invading and conquering other countries?
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 07/27/2018 6:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Since when are we in favor of invading and conquering other countries?

Who said anything about conquering?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/27/2018 6:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Invading 500lb bombs from 30,000 feet, then return to base. Invasion over.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/27/2018 7:20 Comments || Top||

#7  Herb gets the vapors over any projection of national will and power outside our borders. Johnny One-Note
Posted by: Frank G || 07/27/2018 7:44 Comments || Top||

#8  'Neocon' invasions objectively facilitated the conquest of the West by theocratic totalitarians.

The West hasn't conquered anyone or anything. Not even an attempt has been made.

The decision wrt Iran is whether or no to neutralize a threat.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 07/27/2018 7:49 Comments || Top||

#9  Since when are we in favor of invading and conquering other countries?

When they declare war on us. Invading one's country (ie storming the embassy) is still an unsettled bit of history. By all measures of history, we've been at war since then, but everyone wants to ignore it. So, its been an unending festering wound compounding one incident after another getting us to this place now, dealing with alligators instead of draining the swamp.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/27/2018 7:55 Comments || Top||

#10  "'Neocon' invasions objectively facilitated the conquest of the West by theocratic totalitarians."

What a load of horse shit.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 07/27/2018 8:31 Comments || Top||

#11  I doubt the US goes to war with Iran. But the US can make life unpleasant for the mullahs.
Posted by: jvalentour || 07/27/2018 9:57 Comments || Top||

#12  No one seems to remember Desert Storm do they?
Posted by: Shake || 07/27/2018 13:47 Comments || Top||

#13  "'Neocon' invasions objectively facilitated the conquest of the West by theocratic totalitarians."

What a load of horse shit.


Today Sharia is relevant in the West. The Rushdie rules have been accepted by the Western political class. That wasn't the case before these interventions took place.

They provided the adversaries of free speech with one of their main arguments: Anything that potentially enrages the people in Muslim nations will endanger Western forces.

South Park could depict Mohammed in July of 2001 without anyone taking special notice. In 2010 am attempted depiction was censored. The canary in the coal mine had fallen from its perch.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 07/27/2018 14:57 Comments || Top||

#14  Yeah, because those projections of power have gone *so* well. Iraq, Syria, Egypt, yaknow there have been so many I can't even remember them all. And all they did was make more people hate us and wish to harm us. You know the whole reason Iran hates us is because we overthrew their government in the 1950s and installed the Shah? So we could steal Iran's oil wealth? Show of hands, who knew this? Yeah, that's why Iran hates us and chants "Death to America". It's why they took the hostages and sponsored terrorism against us.

Fun fact: the CIA op that overthrew Iran's government was so easy and cheap, the CIA got to the idea they could do that everywhere. Boy, that sure worked out well, didn't it? It worked so well they tried the formula against the opposition candidate in the last election.

We've been in Afghanistan for 17 years and the only thing we've managed to accomplish there is to significantly increase the Afghan's opium production. Libya, the most recent NATO incursion, has resulted in a migration crisis and slave trading in the open.

I mention NATO because the US founding fathers consistently warned against being entangled in foreign alliances because interests always change over time.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 07/27/2018 15:53 Comments || Top||

#15  Not to worry. We're not going to start the war, so they won't have to worry about ending it.

I suppose there might be a few 'encounters'.
Posted by: Bobby || 07/27/2018 16:45 Comments || Top||

#16  #14 - that's simplistic BS in Iran's case. Iranians didn't like SAVAK, I agree, but the country moved into the Westernized tech and culture in teh big cities and among educated Iranians. Khomeini mobilized the ignorant Shia third-world rural population - the same ones protesting now. #FAIL
Posted by: Frank G || 07/27/2018 20:07 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2018-07-27
  Imran to be next PM
Thu 2018-07-26
  Houthis send missiles at tankers transiting from the Red Sea
Wed 2018-07-25
  Russian Air Force launches more than 40 airstrikes over southwest Syria
Tue 2018-07-24
  2 Syrian missiles with half-ton warheads trigger Israel's anti-missile system
Mon 2018-07-23
  Several dead in Kabul suicide blast as exiled VP Dostum returns
Sun 2018-07-22
  Iraq protests death toll reaches 11 amid ongoing popular unrest
Sat 2018-07-21
  Rebels handover more towns to ISIS in southwest Syria
Fri 2018-07-20
  Senegal convicts 13 suspected Boko Haram fighters
Thu 2018-07-19
  26 persons killed in regime offensive on Daraa and Qunaitra
Wed 2018-07-18
  15 Afghan Taliban killed in attack by suspected IS rivals
Tue 2018-07-17
  Israeli army drills for Gaza incursion, in apparent warning to Hamas
Mon 2018-07-16
  Boko Haram overruns Nigerian military base
Sun 2018-07-15
  Palestinian killed in mysterious Gaza blast identified as head of rocket unit
Sat 2018-07-14
  Nawaz Sharif, daughter arrested upon arrival in Lahore
Fri 2018-07-13
  Afghan forces have reportedly suffered heavy casualties in Kunduz attack


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