[Townhall] *shrug* It’s traditional for Big Kahuna gangsters to finally get their comeuppance on tax evasion, not the actual crimes they’re also guilty of.
#2
The Law, in its majesty, brooks
No exceptions, requiring that crooks,
Like us shnooks whom they bleed --
Via congress, indeed! --
All keep timely and accurate books.
[Dawn] The Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... administration is proving adept at collecting tax — and seemingly without the corruption associated with the previous administration.
A dusty logjam of trucks inches across a rut in the mountains splitting Pakistain and Afghanistan, teeming with a cargo of fruit and coal — and paying the Taliban authorities for the privilege of passage.
In downtown Kabul, a patrol of accountants inspects a bazaar, billing shopkeepers for trading honey, hair conditioner and gas hobs under the snapping white flag of the country’s new rulers.
Afghanistan is frozen deep in a second winter of humanitarian turmoil since the Taliban seized power in 2021, but cash is changing hands at a dizzying pace.
The Taliban administration is proving adept at collecting tax — and seemingly without the corruption associated with the previous administration.
At Torkham on the border, one trucker told AFP that under the old regime he would pay 25,000 Afghani ($280) at illegal checkpoints along a 620 kilometre (380 mile) trip to Mazar-e-Sharif.
"Now we travel day and night, and no one asks us to pay," said 30-year-old driver Najibullah.
In late January, the World Bank reported "strong" revenue collection at 136 billion Afghani ($1.5 billion) over the first nine months of 2022 — broadly in line with the final full year of the US-backed regime.
"It has been reported quite consistently that they’re doing quite well on revenue, and that too is happening when economic activity is quite subdued," an official with a foreign organization in Afghanistan told AFP.
"It was a shock."
However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... in a country where the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... says half the citizens face severe hunger, the figures beg many questions.
AT THE COALFACE
About 60 per cent of the Taliban treasury is funded by customs, the World Bank says, raised at tumbledown checkpoints like Torkham in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province, where truckers trade rubber-stamped paperwork for cash.
Incoming freight is mostly food — oranges, potatoes and World Food Programme (WFP) flour — but the outgoing lane is dominated by a convoy of lavishly painted trucks loaded with chromite and coal.
Neighbouring Pakistain has been hammered by the global energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine at a time when an economic crisis has withered dollar reserves.
So it brokered a deal to pay for Afghan coal in rupees — cutting out usual suppliers in South Africa and Indonesia.
According to a 2022 report by research group XCEPT, coal exports to Pakistain likely doubled under the Taliban government and earned Afghanistan $160 million in tax — three times what the previous administration was capable of.
But the mining industry relies heavily on child labour, with punishingly low pay and the barest safety measures.
"This has been their strategy from day one — to increase revenue no matter what," former deputy commerce and industry minister Sulaiman Bin Shah told AFP.
The Taliban’s lodestar has always been law and order — albeit on their ultra-conservative terms — and there are signs Kabul’s coffers have benefitted from a crackdown on corruption which leeched the US-backed government for 20 years.
Afghanistan climbed 24 places up Transparency International’s corruption perception ranking last year, a rare case of a metric improving for the country.
"Afghanistan has that capacity, which now we are collecting," said finance ministry front man Ahmad Wali Haqmal. "The main problem was the corruption."
But analyst Torek Farhadi sees it another way.
"They are more effective because people are scared of them," he said. "The Taliban have an iron grip on the administration. They have the guns, and nobody can steal any money."
OUT OF THE SHADOWS
The Taliban’s transition from murderous Moslems to babus bureaucrats is not entirely surprising.
During their 20-year guerilla war, they established a shadow government in many areas they controlled, including courts, regional governors and a tax system to fill their war chest.
Afghanistan’s customs director Abdul Matin Saeed once ran shadow toll booths for the insurgency in Farah province, bordering Iran, and Balkh, bordering Uzbekistan, roving the territory on raspy cycle of violences to evade capture.
"We didn’t have complete control over the roads ... but still we were meeting our ends," he told AFP.
This experience was "very handy" when the republic fell and he took office in Kabul, he says.
The government’s ability to raise revenue has far-reaching implications.
The international community has pressured the regime over restrictions on women’s rights with financial sanctions, but their ability to raise domestic revenue grants them greater independence.
It also presents a dilemma for donors — does providing humanitarian support free up the Taliban administration to pursue discretionary aims such as quashing dissent?
But perhaps the most glaring issue is the lack of clarity over how all this cash is spent.
Last year, the Taliban government issued an annual budget outlining 231 billion Afghanis of spending, but scant further detail.
"This money goes to the functioning of the government of the Taliban," said analyst Farhadi. "I want to see how they spent it. Where did it go? "
[ToloNews] The acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Shuhabuddin Delawar, said that a mafia exists in all mine sectors of the country.
Delwar stressed the need to counter domestic and international mafia, saying the international mafia doesn’t want Afghanistan to reach self-sufficiency.
"There is not only one mafia. The mafia exists in various areas. The coal mines have a separate mafia, and talc has a separate mafia. Even there are mafias in our salt mines. The precious and semi-precious stones have separate mafias. Chromite has a separate mafia. flouride has a separate mafia. We are fighting against all of these mafias," Delwar said.
He said that the ministry has made significant efforts to counter mafia groups and has stopped them from smuggling of minerals.
"The mafia has been prevented now at the national and international level. In the mining sector, the mafias exist at the international level, who do not want Afghanistan to reach self-sufficiency and do not want Afghanistan to stand on its feet," Delwar said.
Economists said that Afghanistan’s mines have been looted under various titles.
"Based on the national constitution all underground property of Afghanistan belongs to its people. Therefore, any kind of interference in these mines is indeed a national betrayal. Unfortunately, the national traitors are still interfering," said Sayed Masoud, an economist.
"If the Afghan mines are rescued from looting and corruption, and were extracted professionally, and the minerals were processed inside the country, it would create thousands of jobs and poverty would decrease," said Azeraksh Hafizi, an economist.
According to the figures, Afghanistan has 1,400 mines.
[ToloNews] Family members of eight people who were shot and killed in Mazar-e-Sharif by Islamic Emirate forces for "being involved in kidnapping," protested in front of the UNAMA compound.
They claimed their slain family members were involved in private sector business and had gone to their relatives’ houses in Mazar-e-Sharif.
"I want justice. Whoever gave the wrong information, that person should be questioned about why he/her gave inaccurate information," said Samandar, a family member of the victims.
"They must answer for themselves. Why did they shoot at them? Why were these youth martyred without committing any offense?" said Abdul Baqi, a relative of a victim.
"One of them is deputy of a company and another one is head of the company, and they are brothers. Their nephews were working as marketing managers because the company was both logistics and construction," said Abdul Jabar, a protestor.
The Interior Ministry’s front man, Abdul Nafay Takor, said that the Islamic Emirate’s forces conducted operations against these individuals and they responded with armed resistance, so they were shot and killed.
"Our security forces conducted an operation in Mazar-e-Sharif and eliminated 8 kidnappers. The kidnappers were eliminated after they showed armed resistance," he said.
The protestors called for justice.
On Wednesday, the security department of Balkh announced that at least eight people were killed in an operation conducted by the Islamic Emirate.
The Balkh security department said these individuals were involved in abduction cases.
Are these Talib-oriented madrassahs, or are they more like a stripped down jihad trade school?
[KhaamaPress] Taliban ...Arabic for students... officials reported on Friday that more than 500 people have graduated from Jihadist schools in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , Laghman ...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman.The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin.
He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property.
After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men... , and Sar-e-Pol provinces.
Bakhtar News Agency has reported that 300 people in Helmand, 160 in Laghman, and 50 others in northern Sar-e-Pol province have graduated from religious schools.
Following the collapse of the previous government, the Taliban-run Administration has focused on establishing Jihadist schools across Afghanistan.
Over the past 18 months, the ruling regime has also incorporated several religious subjects into the school curriculum and removed certain other courses that seemed unnecessary for the Taliban group.
According to the statements of the Minister of Education of the Taliban, the group is going to establish three to ten religious schools in each district throughout the country.
A decree attributed to Hibatullah Akhundzada, Taliban Supreme leader, reveals that each religious school will have ten teachers and eight staff members — which will train between 500-1000 students each semester.
It is also reported that each student at the Jihadi school receives 150 Afghanis per day. Additionally, each teacher at religious schools will receive between 15,000-25,000 Afghanis as a monthly salary, whereas, a teacher with an undergraduate degree receives only 9,000 Afghanis.
Educationists and experts believe that the Taliban-run administration has drastically modified school and university curricula. They have completely removed certain subjects, which can negatively affect students in mastering modern subjects and will eventually lack competitiveness in the job market.
Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the de facto authorities have imposed restrictions on the rights of women and girls to attend education and work, which prompted worldwide criticism. Instead of easing or removing the gender-based bans, the group emphasizes establishing more and more Madrasas (religious schools) across the country.
[AlAhram] Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi performed Friday prayers at Mosheer Tantawy Mosque in New Cairo’s Fifth Settlement district on the occasion of Martyr’s Day, which falls on 9 March.
The president was accompanied by Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohammed Zaki, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the country's Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa, and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal.
On Thursday, the president delivered a speech marking the 37th Armed Forces cultural symposium on Martyr’s Day held in Cairo.
The Armed Forces Martyr's Day was designated in honour of former army chief of staff Abdel-Moneim Riad, who was killed on the front on 9 March 1969.
Riad was killed by Israeli fire while overseeing military operations during the War of Attrition against Israel in preparation for the liberation of Sinai.
[Jpost] Tehran and Riyadh sent officials for talks in China, where eventually Iran-Saudi ties were restored.
Why China?
Iranian and Saudi media said a statement by the two countries emphasized respect for sovereignty and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
Saudi Arabia's state news agency said they also agreed to activate a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001, as well as another earlier accord on trade, economy and investment.
Iran's top security official, Ali Shamkhani, who signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia's national security adviser, Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, praised China for its role in the rapprochement, Iran's Nour News reported. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting talks in 2021 and 2022.
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A White House national security spokesperson said the United States was aware of reports of the agreement and welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
IRANIAN-SAUDI DIPLOMATIC HISTORY
The two leading Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East have been at odds for years, and backed opposite sides in proxy wars from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that normalizing relations offered great prospects for both countries and for the Middle East, and hinted at further steps.
"The neighborhood policy, as the key axis of the Iranian government’s foreign policy, is strongly moving in the right direction and the diplomatic apparatus is actively behind the preparation of more regional steps," Amirabdollahian tweeted.
A senior Iranian security official said Friday's agreement had been endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Both Oman and Iraq have hosted talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the past, something which the two countries thanked them for.
US SAYS IT WAS NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN TALKS
Saudi Arabia kept Washington informed of its talks with Iran to restore diplomatic relations but the United States was not directly involved, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday.
"The Saudis did keep us informed about these talks that they were having, just as we keep them informed on our engagements, but we weren't directly involved," Kirby told reporters.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/11/2023 00:00 ||
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[KhaamaPress] The police in Lahore on Thursday booked 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.... , and 400 others on the charges of murder and terrorism following a clash with police that left one activist muppet dead and several others injured.
According to PTI, this is the 80th case the coalition government led by the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) has brought against the former Prime Minister Khan during its 11 months in power.
Violence broke out during yesterday’s Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... election rally in Lahore, killing PTI activist muppet Ali Bilal and injuring over a dozen others while the police detained 100 PTI members.
According to the FIR, 11 coppers were hurt when rocks were thrown at them during the clash between police and PTI workers.
Current opposition leader and former premier Khan were ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April of last year. In addition to pushing for early parliamentary elections, he has contended that his expulsion was illegal.
Khan’s petitions have been turned down by Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... ’s administration, which asserts that the general election will occur as scheduled later this year.
Moreover, in a recent decree, Pakistain’s media regulator has banned TV channels from broadcasting speeches and news conferences by Imran Kahn, accusing him of attacking the state’s institutions and promoting hatred.
The authorities said that Khan was inciting hate speech by making offensive remarks about government leaders and institutions, which is against the law and is likely to cause public unrest.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/11/2023 03:05 ||
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#5
According to PTI, this is the 80th case the coalition government led by the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) has brought against the former Prime Minister Khan during its 11 months in power.
"...This time, for sure!!"
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/11/2023 16:39 Comments ||
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#6
"The walls are cloosing in!"
/Trump
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/11/2023 17:48 Comments ||
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[GreaterKashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... ] The silence of guns on the Line of Control (LoC) due to the ceasefire between Indian and Pak soldiers for the last two years has brought in an era of peace with people living in villages along the heavily-guarded LoC terming this peaceful time as a dream coming true.
They have called for continuity of ceasefire stating that peace was the basic need of every human being and now they could see life aspects other than braving shells that used to be a routine at the time of ceasefire violations and cross-LoC shelling.
The LoC ceasefire was agreed upon by India and Pakistain in February 2021 after which a situation of calm has been prevailing on the Line of Control, along with the International Border (IB).
Official figures also reveal that not a single incident of violation of ceasefire from Pak side had been registered in the last two years and the first week of March.
This ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistain completed two years on February 23 with people living along the LoC being the prime beneficiaries of this truce.
In Niaka village of Rajouri, civilian population is now able to live life without the fear of death due to mortar shells, rocket launchers, or bullets that were a routine at the times of ceasefire violations.
"For four years, our family was thinking of building a new house. However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... we were not able to construct the new house, as ceasefire violations in the area were a regular feature," said Ibrar Ahmad Kohli, a youth from Niaka village.
Niaka village in Rajouri is India's last village ahead of LoC in Tarkundi sector.
This village has seen intense shelling during ceasefire violations in the past.
Two women from the village also bit the dust in 2017 after a mortar shell hit their house.
Kohli said that earlier due to ceasefire violation no mason or labourer used to work in the village as remaining under the open sky during shelling was like an open invitation to death.
"Things now have changed due to the ceasefire. Now everyone is busy with their lives like people in other villages," he said.
Muhammad Yousuf, a social activist muppet, said that things had improved to a major extent due to the ceasefire and everyone in the area wanted this peace pact to continue.
"Only we know the hardships that are faced during shelling. No one outside our villages can even think of the nightmare we used to have," Yousuf said.
Muhammad Nazir, 41, who lives in the last hamlet on the LoC termed the ceasefire as a dream come true for the people of this border area.
"We always dreamt of a dignified life without fear of death, without bangs of mortar shelling, without explosions, without bullets, and a life in which we can send our children to schools without fear, in which we can work in our fields without fear and a life in which we can sleep inside our houses without thinking of dying due to a mortar shell landing on us," he said.
He said that the people living in villages along the LoC including Ratti Mitti, Chiti Bakri, Niaka, Chamba, Panjgrian, and Peryali were poor and faced a severe crisis of basic amenities like road connectivity, water supply, electrification, schooling, healthcare.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the first thing that people want is peace, which only the silence of guns amid ceasefire can bring.
[Shafaq News] The United States has agreed to a partial transfer of frozen Iranian funds in Iraq, a top Iranian trade official told Iranian media on Friday.
Hamid Hosseini, Secretary General of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, stated that Washington had given the green light for the release of some frozen Iranian assets at the Trade Bank of Iraq.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq has announced to the United States that they owe Iran ...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979... about $18 billion, while the Governor General of the Central Bank of Iran has announced a lower figure, and the figure of $10 billion was announced previously," Hosseini explained, citing the discrepancy in the figures.
Hosseini also revealed that the US had granted another sanction waiver to Iraq, enabling the payment of $500 million from Iraq's electricity debt to Iran.
"Iran's money is in a bank under the supervision of the United States, and it is only allowed to import goods that are not sanctioned," Hosseini added, highlighting the restrictions on Iran's access to its frozen assets.
He went on to reveal that 4,000 megawatts of Iraq's electricity are supplied by Iran annually, and that the increasing trend of exports to Iraq this year is expected to drive Iran's exports to a new record high of more than $9 billion.
US sanctions have long prevented Iran from accessing billions worth of its assets in foreign banks, and the partial transfer of frozen Iranian funds in Iraq marks a rare concession from Washington.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/11/2023 00:11 ||
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#1
Secretary General of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce
Well, that worked out well for us. Thanks, Cheney family.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/11/2023 11:41 Comments ||
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[NPASyria] On Thursday, Syria’s Central Bank raised the US dollar exchange rate against the Syrian pound from 7.100 to 7.200 SYP, edging close to the black market rate, which is 7.500 SYP.
The Central Bank raised the exchange rate of the US dollar in the March 9 bulletin to the highest number in its history, in an attempt to control the currency exchange operations in the black market.
The bank also raised the euro exchange rate and set it at 7.928 SYP.
In Hasakah Governorate, the exchange rate witnessed a notable spike; the exchange rate of one US dollar reached 7,500 SYP. As for the euro, it went up to 7,900 SYP.
An owner of a currency exchange shop in the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria, told North Press that "the currency exchange market is witnessing a state of instability."
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03/11/2023 00:14 ||
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[NPASyria] As Syria’s southern governorate of Daraa is witnessing an increasing pace of security chaos, 15 killing cases have been recorded in different areas of the governorate and its countryside in one week.
On Thursday, local sources told North Press that three coppers were killed in an attack by unidentified gunnies on their car near the town of Khirbat Ghazaleh, in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
The killed coppers are Khaled Shofni, Alaa Qarada and Khaled Abduljalil, according to the sources.
As a result of the festivities that took place, Omran Suleiman al-Rajih, one of the button men who used to be a Death Eater in the ranks of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS, formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front) was killed, the source added.
In July 2018, the opposition armed faction and the government forces reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia in the opposition-held areas in Daraa. Under the deal, the opposition armed factions agreed to hand over their heavy weapons in exchange for staying in Daraa, and those oppose the agreement would go to Idlib, which is under the control of the HTS.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in line with the 2018 agreement, the governorate has been living in a state of security chaos, with one or two daily liquidations targeting soldiers and officers of the government forces, not to mention the spread of thefts.
Recently, the Eighth Brigade, affiliated with the military intelligence of the government forces, raided a number of towns in the eastern countryside of Daraa, in search for people involved in drug trade.
On March 8, a local source told North Press, "Fayez al-Radi [the leader of the group] and Musa al-Sharif were killed after being targeted by unknown button men riding a cycle of violence in the town of Tibah in Daraa eastern countryside."
"Al-Radi and al-Sharif hail from the town of Nassib in eastern Daraa. Both worked in a drug trafficking group," the source added.
On the same day, locals told North Press that the body of "Muhammad Youssef al-Mazawi" was found with gunshot wounds near the town of Dael in the central countryside of Daraa.
The sources added that al-Mazawi is "a Shiite who hails from the city of Busra al-Sham in eastern Daraa and a Death Eater of the Lebanese Hezbollah."
Al-Mazawi had joined ranks of forces that fought against opposition factions when they attempted to control Busra al-Sham in March 2015.
On March 7, local sources told North Press that Raed al-Radi, Odai al-Zoghbi, Ali al-Abed and Anwar al-Rifai were killed in festivities took place between the Eighth Brigade, affiliated with the military intelligence of the government forces, and the groups of Fayez al-Radi and the group of Ismael al-Qaddah [leader of a drug ring], nicknamed Smigel, in the town of Umm al-Mayathin, in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
In 2018, the Eighth Brigade, which is backed by Russia, was established out of the remnants of the Shabaab al-Sunna faction headed by Ahmad al-Awda of the Syrian opposition during its control of southern Syria.
The sources added that all the killed individuals are operating within al-Radi and al-Qaddah groups in drugs trading.
On March 6, local sources told North Press that Muhammad al-Hariri was killed in festivities between the Eighth Brigade and the Fayez al-Radi group in the town of Tibah in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
On the same day, individuals rubbed out the young man Yaman Marwan Kiwan in the city center of Daraa.
The sources added that Kiwan, who hails from the town of Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa, was killed for Dire Revenge.
On March 5, local sources told North Press that Ziyad Shehade known as Talsh was killed in the village of al-Yadudah in the western countryside of Daraa.
The sources added that Shehade was rubbed out in al-Yadudah camp.
Shehade had joined ranks of Syrian opposition factions before the government forces took control of Syria’s south in 2018 and he was accused of drugs trading.
On the same day, a local source told North Press that "Nader Khalaf Abu Nbout, nicknamed "Abu Jazwan," was killed after he was targeted by button men riding a cycle of violence in the al-Abbasiya neighborhood in the city of Daraa."
The source added that Abu Nbout had worked with an gang headed by the so-called "Muhammad al-Masalma," nicknamed "Hefo," which is an ISIS-affiliated group.
On March 4, eyewitnesses told North Press that residents found the body of the 17-year-old Hassan Hussein al-Hariri in the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
With these killing cases Daraa recorded the highest weekly corpse count since early 2023.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/11/2023 00:12 ||
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[Rudaw] Syria's Aleppo airport, a key conduit for relief flights after the devastating February earthquake, reopened on Friday, an official said, following Israeli air strikes this week that hit its runway.
The damage caused by Tuesday's raid forced aid deliveries and all flights to be diverted to Latakia and Damascus airports, the transport ministry had said.
"The airport has been operational since 8 his morning the morning (0500 GMT)... We repaired all the damage," ministry official Souleiman Khalil told AFP on Friday.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... "no civilian planes are scheduled to land in Aleppo airport today", an airport official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because he is not allowed to talk to the press.
Israeli warplanes killed three people in the raid on the airport in Aleppo, Syria's second city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor had said.
Before that more than 80 aid flights had landed there with relief supplies following the quake that killed more than 50,000 people in Syria and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , Khalil had said at the time.
The United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... ' resident Syria coordinator El-Mostafa Benlamlih said in a statement on Wednesday that he was "deeply concerned" about the airport closure.
"The impact of this closure impedes humanitarian access and could have drastic humanitarian consequences for millions of people who have been affected by the earthquake," he added.
Tuesday's Israeli raid was the second of its kind since the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Syria and Turkey.
On February 19, an Israeli air strike killed 15 people in a Damascus district housing state security agencies, the British-based Observatory had said.
Israel has attacked Aleppo and Damascus airports several times in recent years, but it rarely comments on individual strikes against Syria.
It has, however, vowed to keep up its air campaign against Syria to stop arch foe and Damascus ally Iran ...They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... from consolidating its presence there.
Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against its northern neighbour, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/11/2023 00:10 ||
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#1
Must have a better Transportation Secretary than Buttigieg.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/11/2023 11:38 Comments ||
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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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for 
...aka 
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
Hezbollah
...They hate 
