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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Al Qaeda trying to regain primacy as Islamic State loses ground: NATO
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Jalaluddin Haqqani’s death not to affect the activities of the network: Nabil
[KhaamaPress] The former Afghan Intelligence Chief Rahmatullah Nabil says the death of the Haqqani network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani
...founder and still late titular head of the Haqqani Network. Jalaluddin is old and tough and very crafty, one of the few Pashtun warlords who was worth spit...
will not affect the activities of the network.

In an online statement posted in his Twitter account, Nabil said some of the other leaders of the terror network, including Sirajuddin Haqqani
...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
, Khalil Haqqani, Hamza Haqqani, Yahya Haqqani, Aziz, and some others have been fully trained as the brutal successor of Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Nabil also claimed that Jalaluddin Haqqani has died long ago and disclosure of his death likely has direct links with the scheduled visit of the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
group issued a statement earlier today confirming that the founder of the network has died due to the illness he was suffering from during the recent years.
Jalaluddin was approximately 182 years old, give or take a couple dozen.
Haqqani network was formed in the late 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The group is allied with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban and cooperates with other terrorist organizations in the region.

The network is accused of staging numerous cross-border attacks from their base in North Wazoo, including the 19-hour siege at the US Embassy in Kabul in September 2011.

It is considered the most lethal krazed killer group targeting the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-led coalition security forces and Afghan personnel in Afghanistan.

The US Department of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 7, 2012.
An Nahar adds:
Jalaluddin, thought to be in his 70s or 80s, had been bedridden for years and had already passed the leadership to his son Sirajuddin, who is also the Taliban's deputy leader.

Unverified reports have placed him in Pakistan in recent years.

There had been rumours of his death before, in 2008 and 2015, though this was the first time the Taliban have issued a statement on it.

The Haqqanis, suspected of links to Pakistan's shadowy military establishment, were described by US Admiral Mike Mullen in 2011 as a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence.

Jalaluddin's son Sirajuddin was running the network "with major ISI involvement", a foreign diplomat in Kabul told AFP, referring to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.

Designated a terrorist group by the US, the Haqqanis are known for their heavy use of suicide bombers, indiscriminately killing Afghan civilians and security forces.

They were blamed for the devastating truck bomb in the heart of Kabul in May 2017 that killed around 150 people -- though Sirajuddin later denied involvement in a rare audio message.

The network has also been accused of assassinating top Afghan officials and holding kidnapped Westerners for ransom.

In Kabul, the group is widely believed to have been behind many of the recent attacks on the capital that were claimed by the local wing of the Islamic State group.

Some analysts believe it works with IS -- which at the same time is involved in a bloody turf war with the Taliban -- to avoid blame and political blowback.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Haqqani Network


Taliban Block Cellphone Services in Helmand’s Lashkargah
[ToloNews] Residents in Lashkargah city, the center of southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, on Tuesday said that telecommunication services have been disconnected in the city for the past ten days.

Cellphone services were cut after the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
issued threats against private telecommunication companies in the volatile region - once a key Taliban stronghold in the south.

The only cellphone company operating at the moment in the province is the government-run Salaam network.

The Helmand governor has said that the issue will not be settled until telecom companies reach an agreement with the Taliban.

"The ban on telecommunication services has posed harm only to the people; only the people are the victims of the terrorist actions. We are planning to boost the capacity of the government telecommunication services so that the people can benefit," said provincial governor Yasin Khan.

The Taliban has confirmed that they had issued warnings to telecom companies.

"The government is also silent, the Taliban terminate all telecommunication services only through one order, but I don’t know why government does not have power to issue an order against them, our government should take the problem of the general public into consideration," said a resident of Lashkargah Sediqullah.

The provincial directorate of telecommunications also said they have plans to extend government-owned telecom services in the province.

The head of Helmand Provincial Council, Attaullah Afghan, on Saturday said most parts of Helmand are under the control of the Taliban adding that telecommunication companies have suspended services in fear of having their towers and other facilities destroyed by the myrmidons.

"Telecommunication networks are under Taliban control not under government’s control. The telecom antennas which are located in the center of Lashkargah City, in Bost Road or in the Cinema circle (in Lashkargah City) were disconnected on the orders of the Taliban and not on the orders of government," Afghan said.

Ghazni meanwhile is also largely without communication links, after having had it services disconnected on Monday.

Resident say cellphone services are only allowed to open their lines between 7am and 10am.

Residents also claim that services were suspended after Taliban threatened telecom companies.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Libyan rival factions agree on ceasefire, fire at American embassy
[AlAhram] A ceasefire has been reached between armed factions fighting over the Libyan capital for more than a week, the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
said on Tuesday, but it was unclear how it would be implemented.

Dozens of people have been killed in fighting engulfing Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
as rival gangs vie for power and money in the chaos persisting in the oil producer since the toppling of Muammar Qadaffy
...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest...
in 2011.

"A ceasefire agreement was reached + signed today to end all hostilities, protect civilians, safeguard public and private property," the U.N. mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Twitter.

The Tripoli Matiga airport - closed since Friday - would also be reopened under the deal, the United Nations said, showing pictures of the meeting hosted by U.N. Special Envoy Ghassan Salame but giving no immediate details.

It was not clear how the ceasefire would be implemented as militias have ignored previous calls to lay down arms by the U.N.-backed government which is largely powerless.

There is no police or army or functioning state to enforce peace in a country ruled by gangs who defy authority and form flexible alliances.

"Today does not aim to fix all the Libyan capital's security problems; it seeks to agree on a broader framework on the way to start addressing the issues," UNSMIL quoted Salame as saying.

In a sign of the chaos, hundreds of African migrants colonists beat feet from a detention centre in Tripoli as the fighting between rival groups raged nearby, an aid official said.

A video posted on social media on Tuesday purportedly showed hundreds of Africans, some carrying plastic bags, walking in a long line away from the detention centre. It is located on the road to the former Tripoli International Airport, which was destroyed in a battle between rival militias in 2014.

Libya is a major departure point in North Africa for migrants colonists crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, mainly from other parts of Africa.

The aid official, who works for an international organization, said as many as 1,800 migrants colonists might have escaped the facility on Tuesday. It was unclear where they had gone.

If confirmed, this would mean that almost a quarter of Libya's placed in durance vile
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
migrants colonists, mostly Africans, are on the run. Most had been placed in durance vile
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
after the Libyan coastguard intercepted their makeshift boats bound for Italia.

Tripoli is formally controlled by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord, but gangs working with it act with autonomy. Eastern Libya is controlled by a rival administration.

Last Thursday U.N. agencies and authorities relocated hundreds of migrants colonists from government-run detention centres in southern Tripoli to safer locations.

In a further sign of chaos, some 400 prisoners also escaped on Sunday from a jail in southern Tripoli, forcing open the doors as the guards retreated.

More than 1,800 families have been displaced from their homes since the start of the fighting, a report by the Tripoli-based ministry for displaced people said.

Libya: fire breaks out in U.S. embassy in Tripoli amid violence

[IraqiNews] Fire has broken out inside the United States embassy in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Libyan media reported Tuesday as violence continues among gangs linked with the internationally-recognized government.

Al-Marsad, an online Libyan news portal, said the fire behind the embassy’s wall has gone out of control.

The embassy is located on the " (Tripoli) airport road", where much of the violence has occurred over the past week.

No official statement has yet been made by the embassy confirming the incident.

Festivities have claimed the lives of at least 40 people.

Libya, since the killing of former leader Muammar al-Qhadafi in the 2011 uprising, has been divided between the internationally-recognized government in the west and the elected, army-backed parliament in the east.

Clashes raged Monday in Tripoli as UN called for talks

[DAWN] Clashes raged on Monday on the outskirts of Libya’s capital Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
trapping residents indoors and hampering rescue efforts, as the UN called for talks after more than a week of deadly violence.

Fighting since Aug 27 between rival militias in the southern suburbs has killed at least 47 people and maimed 129 others, most of them civilians, according to an updated toll put out by the health ministry Sunday night.

Following a failed ceasefire on Friday, the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) invited the "various Libyan parties" to Tuesday talks for an "urgent dialogue on the current security situation in Tripoli".

UNSMIL did not give further information on the guest list, but analysts said the chaos of changing alliances on the ground made it difficult to predict who would be at the table. "The situation is too fluid and the alliances are still volatile and changing," said Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert at the University of Gay Paree 8.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  but it was unclear how it would be implemented.


The only difference between unclear and nuclear is U.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/05/2018 9:47 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Arabia declares online satire punishable offence
[DAWN] Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
will punish online satire that "disrupts public order" with up to five years in prison, the public prosecutor said Tuesday, as the kingdom cracks down on dissent.

"Producing and distributing content that ridicules, mocks, provokes and disrupts public order, religious values and public morals through social media ... will be considered a cybercrime punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of three million riyals ($800,000)," the public prosecution tweeted late Monday.

The kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....
has drawn harsh criticism from rights groups over the targeting of human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
activists and political dissidents across the spectrum since his appointment in June 2017.

Saudi Arabia's legislation on cybercrime has sparked concern among international rights groups in the past. Dozens of Saudi citizens have been convicted on charges linked to dissent under a previous sweeping law, particularly linked to posts on Twitter.

In September 2017, authorities issued a public call for citizens to report on the social media activities of their fellow citizens, under a broad definition of "terrorist" crimes.

Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Britain
Direct Links Between Jihadists in Afghanistan and Terror Cells in UK
[Breitbart London] British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has revealed direct links between terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan and cells in both Britain and "the whole of continental Europe".

The Tory MP revealed the threat in an interview with Sky News from Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazeer-i-Shareef.

"What we see is a real threat posed by these groups to the UK and we’ve got to be acting as we are to ensure that we do not see future Manchester-style attacks," Williamson told Sky’s correspondent.

"We consistently see terrorist groups operating here in Afghanistan, [and] evidence of their links back not just to the United Kingdom but to the whole of continental Europe."
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Somebody tell General Miller.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/05/2018 10:50 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Netanyahu to shut down Israeli Embassy in Paraguay
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also the foreign minister, ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay on Wednesday hours after the Latin American nation said it had decided to return its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/05/2018 15:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Prime Minister Of Saxony: The Merkel Admin Lied In Chemnitz There Was No Mob, No Manhunt, No Pogrom
The link is to an article in German.

In a speech before Saxony's state parliament PM Kretschmer said verbatim: "Es gab keinen Mob, keine Hetzjagd und keine Pogrome."/"There was no mob, no manhunt and there were no pogroms."

This means that he's explicitly accusing the MSM and the Merkel administration of lying. Some MSM had retracted the reports about pogroms, mobs and manhunt days ago but the Merkel admin is steadfastly standing by the story (without providing any evidence.)

So either the German Federal Executive under Merkel is a brazen liar or the Saxon State Executive is a brazen liar.

Saxony is governed by the same coalition as Germany and PM Kretschmer is a member of Merkel's party.

In a normal Western democracy this could only end with the resignation of one party, but Germany isn't normal at all.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/05/2018 09:06 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  the Merkel admin is steadfastly standing by the story

Desperately seeking another Reichstag fire.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/05/2018 11:26 Comments || Top||


Europe demand for more talks does not help Iran nuclear deal, cleric says
[AlAhram] Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
is not helping preserve the agreement on Iran's nuclear programme by asking for additional negotiations on issues like missiles, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a powerful anti-Western holy man, said Tuesday, according to the Islamic Theocratic Republic News Agency.

Jannati is the head of the Assembly of Experts, an influential body that can select and dismiss the supreme leader, the highest authority in Iran.

Last week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Tehran should be ready to negotiate on its future nuclear plans, its ballistic missile arsenal and its role in wars in Syria and Yemen. Iran's foreign ministry rejected the idea.

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...
pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is re-imposing sanctions on Tehran. The other parties to the accord - China, Russia, Britannia, La Belle France and Germany- are trying to find ways to save the agreement.

"Europe has announced that they won’t leave the deal," Jannati said, according to IRNA. "In practice, by bringing up a discussion of missiles and other issues they are not following an appropriate path."

Last month, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
decided to provide 18 million euros ($21 million) in aid to Iran to offset the impact of U.S. sanctions, part of efforts to salvage the deal.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


India-Pakistan
Schoolteacher dies in Mastung bomb attack
[DAWN] A schoolteacher was killed and his young son injured in an kaboom in Mastung, police said on Monday.

The teacher, who was identified as Abdul Rauf, was on his way to a graveyard for offering Fateha on the grave of his brother along with his son late on Sunday night when a bomb placed on the roadside went kaboom! in Khandwa area.

Sources said that the bomb exploded by remote control.

"The schoolteacher went titzup receiving fatal wounds while his son got injured in the blast," a police officer said.

Police and personnel of Frontier Corps
...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations....
rushed to the site and shifted the body and the injured to the district hospital in Mastung.

Police said Rauf’s brother was bumped off last week.

Police said the incident appeared to be an outcome of old enmity.
Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hizb chief says Indian agencies are victimising his family
[DAWN] MUZAFFARABAD: A top Kashmiri holy warrior leader has said that Indian agencies are constantly victimising his family members in India-held Kashmire to force him abandon his pro-freedom activities but added that they will not succeed.

Issued on Monday, the statement of Syed Salahuddin
...the aging, morbidly obese chief of Hizbul Mujaheddin and the titular head of the United Jihad Council in idyllic Kashmire. Originally owned body and theoretical soul by Jamaat-e-Islami he and his organization are currently controlled by Pakistain's ISI. Salahuddin's hobbies include crocheting doilies shaped like the Taj Mahal, combing his enormous beard, and eating....
, supreme leader of Hizbul Mujahideen
...Party of Holy Warriors, founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar in September 1989. One of the Pak sock puppets waging jihad in Indian Kashmir. It was originally organized as the armed wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. In 1990, Dar declared Hizbul as the sword arm of Jamaat. Hizbul murdered many of the pro-independence intelligentsia in Kashmir. After the organization was taken over by Syed Salahuddin Dar and several other ex-Hizb leaders were assassinated between 2001 and 2003...
, Kashmire’s largest and mainly indigenous holy warrior outfit, came in the wake of arrest of his son Syed Shakil Ahmad by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a night raid at his residence in Rambagh area of Srinagar, last Thursday in a funding case.

Ahmad, who works as a lab technician in a health facility in Srinagar, was shifted to India’s infamous Tihar jail in New Delhi.

In October last year, the NIA had incarcerated
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
Ahmad’s elder sibling Syed Shahid Yousuf, an employee of the agriculture department, in the same case, who has also been languishing in Tihar jail ever since.

Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hizbul Mujaheddin


Faisalabad communal violence: Ahmadi, Muslim communities sign accord for peace
[DAWN] FAISALABAD: The Ahmadi and Moslem communities of Ghaseetpura signed a written agreement, promising to avoid giving a religious colour to personal and individual disputes and present any issue in future to the local committee.

Agreement was signed by Mian Nazir, Abdul Jabbar, Prof Abdul Hameed, Rana Idrees, Muhammad Sarwar and Muhammad Hanif, representing the Jamat Ahle Sunnat and Shafi, Allah Rakha, Rana Manzoor, Bashrat Ahmed, Arshad and Ghulam Murtaza of the Jamaat Ahmadiyya on Aug 28, following a clash which left 19 people from both sides, including 13 Moslems and six Ahmadis, injured.

On Aug 23, both the sides clashed and resorted to firing against each other from the worship place of Ahmadi and adjacent houses. The Ahmadi worship place (Baitul Zikr) was also ransacked and some of its belongings damaged.

According to the six-point accord, any personal and individual disputes would not be given religious colour. Any dispute or any other issue would be brought to the notice of the local committee. Both the sides would not deliver provocative speeches or make announcements (against each other) in mosques or the worship places. The Ahmadi community would bear the repair expenses of its worship place damaged in the clash and no objection would be raised to the repair work. Both the communities would exercise their religious rights according to the law and constitution of Pakistain. An ex parte decision will be made in case of violation of the agreement.

Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Pak govt to IMF by month-end ‘very likely’, says Citi
[DAWN] With projected external financing requirements of $31 billion in FY19, Pakistain is "very likely to seek an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme", says Johanna Chua, Citigroup’s Head of Emerging Markets Asia Economics & Strategy Bank in a report released on Monday. The report says an approach is likely by end September.

"The sheer size of Pakistain’s external financing gap and an experienced list of technocrats advising the government on economic issues will likely lead to the same conclusion" she says, going on to warn that "not going to the IMF is a far more economically and politically painful/riskier option than otherwise."

The report says the IMF "and other major stakeholders" should be supportive, adding that the Fund appears to be "very ready to engage the government" and that the US "sees a stable Pakistain economy in its best interest geopolitically" while the Chinese and the Saudis "do not want to be the ’lenders of last resort", a reference to speculation that a bilateral bailout might be on the cards.
It’s not a loan when the “borrower” sees no reason to pay it back.
However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
this time around, the support may come with strings attached, the report says. Pakistain has already had 21 fund agreements with the IMF; it is likely that the agency would push for a "more effective program than in the past."
In other words, “It’s time to seriously tighten your belts, and possibly stop channeling tax recepts into your private bank accounts”
This could include a range of reforms such as central bank independence, exchange rate flexibility and aggressive push to privatize public sector enterprises (PSEs) the report says.
Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


'We will not bow to extremists': Govt hits back after vicious campaign targets Atif Mian
[DAWN] The 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....
government on Tuesday defended a leading international academic appointed by Prime Minister Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems...
to the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), saying that Pakistain "belongs to minorities as much as it belongs to the majority".

The statement came from the Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhary amidst a vicious online campaign targeting the academic for his Ahmadiyya faith.


The appointment of Dr Atif R. Mian of Princeton University (Department of Member Economics and Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy) to the 18-member EAC set up to advise the government on economic policy was opposed by some individuals and groups, including Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP), who objected to his Ahmadi faith.
The appointment of Dr Atif R. Mian of Princeton University (Department of Member Economics and Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy) to the 18-member EAC set up to advise the government on economic policy was opposed by some individuals and groups, including Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP), who objected to his Ahmadi faith.

A social media smear campaign erupted against the economist's appointment, with many calling for his removal.

A large number of detractors, however, showed support for Mian, saying that one's religion should not factor into their professional qualifications or employment.

Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


PTI's Dr Arif Alvi elected 13th President of Pakistan
[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....
's (PTI) Dr Arifur Rehman Alvi has been elected the 13th President of Pakistain, according to results provided by the Election Commission of Pakistain.

Alvi, who is now set to succeed the outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain, edged out PML-N backed chief of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Fazlur Rehman and senior PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan in the presidential race by garnering more votes than both his rivals combined.

The ECP, in a blurb, said that a total of 1,110 voters participated in the presidential polls held simultaneously at the Parliament House and the four provincial assembles today. Of the total votes cast, 27 votes were declared invalid.

Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


International-UN-NGOs
UK, Spain also to boost its funding of Palestinian refugee agency
[IsralTimes] The British government announced Tuesday it would increase its contribution to the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
agency that provides services to Paleostinian refugees, days after the US announced it was cutting all funding to the organization.

The UK will give an additional £7 million ($9 million) to UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Paleostine Refugees (UNRWA), bringing its total contribution for the current year to £45.5 million ($58.5 million).

Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian...
Spain also announced it was doubling it’s $1 million in funding to $2 million this year.

The Trump administration announced Friday it was cutting nearly $300 million in planned funding for UNRWA, and that it would no longer fund the agency after decades of support. Instead, it said it would seek other channels by which to aid the Paleostinians.

The US had supplied nearly 30 percent of the total UNRWA budget, which provides health care, education, and social services to Paleostinians in the West Bank, Gazoo Strip, Jordan, Syria, and Leb.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 01:37 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Britain is deep state central.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/05/2018 3:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Proving our money was never needed in the first place.

Man, just think of all the other places we can cut.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 09/05/2018 6:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Agree, Herb.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 09/05/2018 23:03 Comments || Top||


Facebook definition of terrorism helps states mute dissent: UN
[DAWN] A UN human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
expert urged Face­book on Monday to narrow its "sweeping" definition of terrorism to stop governm­e­nts arbitrarily blocking legi­timate opposition groups and dissenting voices.

Fionnuala N. Aolin wrote to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg saying Facebook wrongly treats all non-state groups that use violence in pursuit of any goals as terrorist entities.

"The use of such a sweeping definition is particularly worrying in light of a number of governments seeking to stigmatise diverse forms of dissent and opposition [whether peaceful or violent] as terrorism," wrote N Aolin, UN special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism.

Facebook’s policy did not take account of rebel gangs that comply with international humanitarian law, the letter said. She did not give examples, but governments facing armed opposition, such as in Syria, frequently label all their op­­ponents as terrorists, even if other countries do not agree. A Facebook spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment.

N Aolin commended "the important role Facebook plays in offsetting terrorist activity online", but said it must not unduly interfere in the human rights of its users, and should ensure there is a way to challenge wrong decisions.

Overly broad and imprecise definitions of terrorism may lead to "discriminatory implementation, over-censoring and arbitrary denial of access to and use of Facebook’s services", wrote N Aolin, a UN Human Rights Council independent expert.
Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
4 Million Iraqis Return Home after War on IS
[AnNahar] Nearly four million Iraqis displaced by the war on the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group have returned to their homes, the U.N. migration agency said in a report released Tuesday.

When IS swept across Iraq in 2014, eventually seizing around one third of the country, it forced six million Iraqis to flee for safety, said the International Organization for Migration.

The IOM said the six million who were displaced represented around 15 percent of Iraq's total population.

"For the first time in nearly four years, the number of displaced Iraqis has fallen to below two million," the agency said. "Nearly four million have returned home."

According to the IOM, the displaced who have returned home cited several reasons for their decision, including "the improved security situation (and) availability of housing."

Others said they were encouraged to return by community leaders, friends and relatives, or simply had the financial means to do so.

But those who are still displaced -- 1,931,868 people -- complain of lack of means and job opportunities, as well as insecurity and of damaged homes and infrastructure, said the IOM.

It said most of those who had gone back were displaced from the northern province of Nineveh -- home to Iraq's second city djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
and an IS bastion for three years before it was driven out in 2017.

Displaced Iraqis have also gone back in large numbers to the Sunni province of Anbar bordering Syria and scene of the last major battle against IS.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared "victory" in December in the fight against IS.

But sleeper cells still operate in the country from sparsely populated areas, including desert regions near the border with Syria.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:26 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  All thanks to bold action years ago by 0bumhole, I'm sure. Just like the current economy. Or are we supposed to say it was Bush's fault? I'm confused.
Posted by: gorb || 09/05/2018 13:55 Comments || Top||


Kurdish party to await Iraqi court verdict before seeking alliances
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurdistan’s leading political party will await an Iraqi court verdict determining the bloc that won a parliament majority alliance before deciding which to join.

Shawan Taha, a leading member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, was quoted saying in a press statement on Tuesday that the KDP will await for a ruling by the Iraqi Federal Court before taking a decision out of their negotiations with various Iraqi political groups.

"Political blocs have not answered the unified Kurdish lit regarding the constitutional demands for normalization of ties with Baghdad and the method of state administration through the next government," said Taha, as quoted by Baghdad News.

Iraq held the first session for its 329-seat parliament on Monday, having held judicially-challenged polls in May. Political alliances led by incumbent premier Haider al-Abadi and Vice President Nuri al-Maliki have exchanged announcements that each had secured the largest parliament bloc able to form the next government, but it is understandable that Kurdish representatives, who had won 47 seats, will be decisive for declaring the biggest bloc.

Representatives from the KDP and its ruling partner, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have recently ratcheted up talks with political groups willing to win Kurds in their bloc.

Relations between Erbil and Baghdad had shaken due to the referendum Kurdistan held last year, in which a majority voted for the semi-autonomous region’s secession from Iraq. But both government later headed towards dialogue to resolve controversial issues, including illusory sovereignty over disputed territories
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
German minister: Mistakes made in Chemnitz suspects’ cases
[IsraelTimes] Poor communication between authorities caused asylum-seekers not to be deported before they slayed man in Chemnitz, sparking widespread protests

Mistakes were made
Passive voice translates as "The Gods were being whimsical and we are all at their mercy. See Homer, The Trojan War, verses 1 through the end.

Active voice would have been: "Karl-Heinz, Fritz, Helmut und Dietrich were talking about going fishing and lost control of things. They have been demoted and reassigned to German Research Station Number One in Anarctica, schweeping up penguin poop!" See? There's some kinda difference between the two, ain't there?

in the cases of two asylum-seekers accused in the slaying of a German man which sparked large-scale far-right protests, Germany’s top security official said Tuesday.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Tuesday that poor communication between Germany’s migration office and other authorities meant the deadline was missed to return Iraqi Yousif A. to Bulgaria, the country responsible for his case under European rules that say migrants colonists must apply for asylum in the country where they first enter the EU.

Seehofer said there were also cooperation issues between authorities in the case of Syrian Alaa S.

He said changes he has instituted in how Germany deals with migrants colonists, including new centers being set up in border areas to process people quickly, should help stop similar failings in the future.

"Such delays and mistakes need to be prevented," he said in a statement.

The men, whose last names weren’t disclosed, are being held on manslaughter charges in the August 26 fatal stabbing of 35-year-old Daniel Hillig, which sparked anti-migrant protests in the city of Chemnitz that shocked many in Germany and beyond. On Tuesday Saxony state authorities said they are seeking a third suspect in the killing, identified only as an asylum-seeker from Iraq.

Seehofer’s comments came after he met Monday with the head of Germany’s migration office.

In another issue that came up, Seehofer said Yousif A. presented an Iraqi passport, citizenship documents, and a national identity card to authorities on November 7, 2017. Those were determined to be fakes, but not until June 15, 2018.

He said that was due to a shortfall in highly specialized document experts available at the migration office ‐ an issue Seehofer said had already been identified and is being rectified.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 01:37 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Without the protests this murder would have been local news only.

The public would never have found out about the fact that literally nothing is known about these individuals.

Nothing, that is, beyond their allegations substantiated by forgery.

Malice, not incompetence!
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/05/2018 2:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Basically, no process is being followed, no checks are being made, and no evictions are being made.

Every effort is being made to keep as many gimmigrants in Germany.

Since a potential migrant has to earn above average wage to be break even (before taking into account migrants greater cultural acclimation to violence and crime), this can only be an attack on the German people.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/05/2018 3:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Basically, no process is being followed, no checks are being made, and no evictions are being made.

That's my impression. For the malicious elements in politics it's "known unknowns." For the non-malicious dunces like e.g. Seehofer it's "unknown unknowns."

When the unknowns turn into knowns for the dunces they apologize.
The malicious ones are utterly unapologetic.

this can only be an attack on the German people.

And Europe and the West in general. (Bataclan, Turku, Amsterdam, Paris police station attack)
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/05/2018 10:01 Comments || Top||

#4  There seems to be an acceptance in Europe that a certain level of terroristic violence is unpreventable, and therefore must be endured. I remember back in the 1980s, when Mr. Wife did not tell me until later about the Communists throwing bombs into Paris cafés one summer, and whoever it was that blew up the main post office in Athens shortly after he left, and came alongside the overfull island ferry with machine guns, raking the decks from stern to stem. I started paying close attention to the international news because I needd to know when and where to worry about him when he was away.

Now the terroristic threats come from those poor unfortunates who fled difficult circumstances in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, but from a certain perspective the overall threat level hasn’t much changed, so why fuss?
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 11:16 Comments || Top||

#5  The (Soviet/East Germany sponsored) terror campaigns affected very few people directly.

Europe wasn't being flooded with millions of fanatical communists at the time.

Chemnitz or even the Berlin rape case aren't terrorism in the narrow sense.

These are acts committed by people who subjectively perceive themselves as conquerors who are lording over the defeated civilian populace.

The civilian populace of course disagrees with this view.

Again, Chemnitz wasn't terrorism. It was a rather ordinary murder of a German man committed by refugees.

Had there been no protests there's no way this would have made national or international news.

The public would never have learned that the suspected attackers should have been deported years ago or that literally nothing is known about their identity.

Only the protests made the difference.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/05/2018 11:35 Comments || Top||

#6  Slightly off topic: I stand corrected by European Conservative regarding the maximum penalty for the Kandel murderer.

I had read that the medical expert report had stated that the Afghan's most likely age was 20.

I had then incorrectly assumed that he was being tried as a 20 y/o.

The report however gave his minimal age as 17.5 which is the age the court recognized.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/05/2018 12:07 Comments || Top||

#7  EH

I forgot to add that receiving a sentence of 10 years means that you might actually serve less than 7 years.

People in Kandel are NOT happy
Posted by: European Conservative || 09/05/2018 20:14 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hundreds of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Return Home
[AnNahar] Hundreds of Syrian refugees returned to their homeland early on Tuesday, the latest group to return to Syria from its western neighbor, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said hundreds of Syrian families left this morning in buses from the northern city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, the southern town of Nabatieh, from the Hasbaya towns of Shebaa and al-Arqoub and from the area of Bourj Hammoud.

The refugees have assured that Leb’s General Security -helping refugees return home in coordination with Syria- "have facilitated their return," and affirmed their "eagerness to return back to their homeland."

Leb is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees, a large number for a country of 4.5 million people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Trump wanted to ‘f***ing kill’ Assad after alleged 2017 chemical weapons attack
[ALMASDARNEWS] A new book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward claiming to offer insight into a tumultuous Trump White House revealed the tense atmosphere during the lead-up to the US missile strikes against Syria in April 2017.

According to Woodward, following the alleged chemical attack at Khan Shaykhun on April 4, 2017, which Syrian and Russian officials slammed as a false flag attack aimed at discrediting the Syrian government, President Trump was so furious that he wanted to assassinate Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
In a telephone call with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Trump allegedly said the following, according to Woodward: "Let’s f***ing kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f***ing lot of them."

Telling the president that he would deal with it, Mattis hung up the phone and instead allegedly told an aide: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."

Three days later, following internal consultations, but before the alleged chemical attack could be properly investigated, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat air base, in what Washington claimed was a direct response to the Khan Shaykhun "attack."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the US aggression a violation of international law, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei describing it as a strategic mistake.

The US strike, which killed several Syrian troops and civilians, and destroyed several planes, failed to reach its objectives of crippling the Syrian Air Force, with aircraft taking off from the base’s runways just hours after the attack to strike terrorist targets.
Posted by: Fred || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Bird cage lining, if pages removed and laid overlapping.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/05/2018 4:43 Comments || Top||

#2  ROGER L. SIMON: Bob Woodward's Latest Novel
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/05/2018 5:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Ah, Hitler Diaries Part Deux
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/05/2018 7:01 Comments || Top||

#4  The left is desperate. They are dragging out the Nixonian hatchet duo. Both Woodward and Bernstein have come out with books. Some mentioned in the books have said that what was written is B.S. Basically, hit pieces.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/05/2018 10:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Some mentioned in the books have said that what was written is B.S. Basically, hit pieces.

Not that I'm suggesting they are partisan hacks, but it makes you wonder about their previous acts of 'journalism'.

Besides, like that guy said, "in the future, everyone will want to kill Assad for 15 minutes". I bet Putin has thought about it.
Posted by: SteveS || 09/05/2018 12:48 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm sure all these anonymous sources would prefer Hillary.
Posted by: gorb || 09/05/2018 13:57 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Al Qaeda trying to regain primacy as Islamic State loses ground: NATO
[AlAhram] Al Qaeda is trying to regain its primacy over international militancy as Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
loses ground, a senior NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
official said on Tuesday, seeing a potentially increased risk to the West from the groups' rivalry.

But Arndt von Loringhoven, the alliance's assistant secretary general for intelligence and security, said Islamic State retained some personnel strength despite its combat losses, including fresh recruits among women and kiddies.

"ISIS-ISIS weakening has provided al Qaeda with an opportunity to attempt to regain its former status," Von Loringhoven told a security conference hosted by Israel's IDC Herzliya college, using a term for Islamic State.

"While ISIS-ISIS has occupied the world's attention for the last four-five year, al Qaeda has been quietly rebuilding its global networks and capabilities," he said, citing activity in Kashmire, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.

"Rather like ISIS-ISIS, al Qaeda's strategic aim is to regain leadership of like-minded Death Eaters and holy warriors. The competition for legitimacy, affiliates and recruits among the two major global holy warrior groups potentially increases the terrorism threat to NATO and our partners."

Al Qaeda carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, prompting U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. forces killed al Qaeda's leader, the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
, in a Pak hideout in 2011. Soon after, Islamic State, which is guided by a similarly holy warrior form of Sunni Islam, arose.

Islamic State's fiefdoms in Syria and Iraq have been largely dismantled in recent years by offensives launched by Damascus and Baghdad with the backing of various foreign coalitions.

Von Loringhoven said NATO estimated that Islamic State's peak strength of around 39,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq had been halved to between 18,000 and 20,000, most of them dispersed around the two countries and "gone underground".

"A very worrisome trend is the group's concerted effort to use propaganda to radicalise women and minors, who have emerged as a new target for recruitment relatively recently," he said.

"This trend may have led to increased involvement of women and minors in the planning and execution of a number of attacks, including in NATO countries," he said.

Citing the arrest in June of a Tunisian man suspected of planning a ricin attack Germany, von Loringhoven said Death Eaters could increasingly try to turn to homemade chemical or biological arms or attacks using commercially available drones.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/05/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda



Who's in the News
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3Hamas
2Houthis
2Moslem Colonists
1al-Nusra
1al-Qaeda
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Haqqani Network
1Hizbul Mujaheddin
1Govt of Iran

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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.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2018-09-05
  Al Qaeda trying to regain primacy as Islamic State loses ground: NATO
Tue 2018-09-04
  Jalaluddin Haqqani joins the Choir Eternal
Mon 2018-09-03
  Islamists militants in northeast Nigeria kill up to 30 48 soldiers: Sources
Sun 2018-09-02
  Yemen’s army imposes full control over Saada’s Al-Zaher directorate
Sat 2018-09-01
  Dutch police shoot suspect after he stabs two people at an Amsterdam train station
Fri 2018-08-31
  ISIS leader Yasir Khurasani killed with 5 comrades in Nangarhar drone strike
Thu 2018-08-30
  Egyptian forces kill 20 militants in Sinai operation: Army
Wed 2018-08-29
  Syrian Army foils ISIL breakout attempt in east Sweida
Tue 2018-08-28
  Idlib: Nusra arrest 20 ISIS turbans, Gov’t closes key crossing
Mon 2018-08-27
  Elite Army units moving to Idlib for major assault
Sun 2018-08-26
  John McCain dies at 81
Sat 2018-08-25
  Syrian Army launches powerful assault in northern Hama
Fri 2018-08-24
  Arab coalition thwarts Houthi boat bomb targeting commercial ships off Yemen
Thu 2018-08-23
  Syrian Army cuts all supply lines to ISIL’s last stronghold in southern Syria
Wed 2018-08-22
  ‘IS militants’ launch attacks in Chechnya; five killed

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