[ToloNews] The Swedish Committee helped facilitate 675 general educational classes for more than 22,000 students including 14,000 girls, in 15 districts of the southeastern province of Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... , officials said.
An official of the Swedish committee in Paktika, Samar Gul Samsor, said that 675 classes have been held in various districts of Paktika.
"In Paktika province, we can say that around 22,000 children have been provided with education by the Swedish committee in Afghanistan. Around 14,000 of them are girls,"
The Paktika department of education said that if the facilities were provided, they would establish schools in areas where the residents were deprived of schools previously.
"We have cooperated with them (organizations) within our capacity and ordered the relevant departments to provide them with all types of assistance," said Abdul Qayom Farooqi, head of the Paktika department of education.
TOLOnews reached out to the Zarandhi area of Orgoon district of Paktika province.
The students expressed happiness about the classes but said that there is no school for the girls and that the classes should become permanent.
"We are very happy about this class. We want a permanent, official school," said Suraya, a student.
"We are very happy. I have learned a lot of things in this class. We want schools to be built for us," said Nazia, a student.
"Since I came to school, I have learned a lot of things," said Nooria, a student.
A teacher told TOLOnews that many residents of the area are interested in sending their girls to the classes.
"All (residents) of the village want to send their children to come here and learn. Those who there is space for fit in, they come here, but those who do not fit in, they will come next year," said Nooria, a teacher.
"We want schools for the female students," said Amanullah, a tribal elder.
The calls for the construction of permanent schools for girls comes as the Islamic Emirate banned girls in grades 7-12 from going to school.
[KhaamaPress] Sheikh Abdul Rahim Moslemdost, in a recent interview with al-Mersaad Media, claimed that Pakistain is financing the ISIS group in Afghanistan.
Moslemdost was a former founding member of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Khorasan Province (ISKP) who surrendered to the Taliban ...Arabic for students... in March 2022, according to the media reports.
In his interview, he claimed that Pakistain-based Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... provided 50 Lakh Pak Rupee to the ISKP in 2015.
One lakh equals 100,000. 1 USD = 283.287 PKR. So 5,000,000 Pak Rupees equals almost US$17,650. It doesn’t seem much to support a bunch of jihadi idiots training for, then waging a small war against their neighbours, but presumably they have other sponsors as well — and Dron did say at one point that ISIS-K are much more local contractors than idealists. Though why the true rulers of Pakistan, via the Army’s ISI, feels such actions necessary against their clients the Afghan Taliban, is beyond me.
He added, "The PAK embassy attack in Kabul was just a drama. Nothing happened to the Pak Ambassador. Only a bodyguard was injured. They want to whitewash the ISKP group," he said.
The IS-Khorasan branch has emerged as the primary security challenge to the Taliban government since 2021.
The group has intensified their attacks on several regions of the country, particularly Kabul, Balkh and Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... provinces.
The recent attacks in the Balkh province claimed by the Islamic State killed the governor and two others. A separate incident in Tebyan Cultural Center during the gathering’s journalists in an award ceremony killed 18 journalists and maimed more than seven. Both the responsibility of the attack claimed by the group.
The IS group is the main rival of the Taliban government, aiming to target Taliban officials, foreigners and Afghan civilians.
[iNews] After being rejected under one resettlement scheme for Afghans, he said he feels ’betrayed’ by the Government as he and his family wait to escape to the UK.
A former British Council teacher in hiding in Afghanistan and fearing Taliban ...Arabic for students... retribution said he feels "betrayed" by the Government following a nine-month wait after applying for a UK resettlement scheme.
Continued on Page 49
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has pledged to expand support for Africa's Sahel region beyond security cooperation. He announced this during his visit to Niger.
It is noted that in this way the United States is trying to present itself as a better partner than Russia, which is expanding its presence in the region.
During the visit, the US official noted that Niger had been successful in containing insurgent groups and managing democratic change in a region prone to upheaval.
He also announced that the United States will provide $150 million in humanitarian assistance for the African Sahel region. It is clarified that assistance will be received by Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania, as well as Sahelian refugees in Libya. The allocated funds will be used to implement a rehabilitation program for former extremists, as well as a program to combat desertification.
Blinken's trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by U.S. government figures as Washington seeks to boost ties with a continent where China's influence is strong and many countries maintain cordial relations with Russia.
Landlocked Niger and its neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Chad are all struggling to repel Islamist murderous Moslems who have killed thousands of people, displaced millions more, and in some cases seized control of vast swathes of territory.
Groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... have carried out dozens of attacks in southwestern Niger, including some in which dozens of Nigerien soldiers were killed, but the violence has not spread across the whole country as it has done elsewhere.
Shortly after landing in the capital Niamey, Blinken met with people involved in a program, partly funded by the U.S., to disarm and rehabilitate defectors from bully boy groups.
'RIGHT CHOICES'
While violence in Mali and Burkina Faso led to military coups and a shift in alliances away from Western nations and towards Russia, Niger managed a democratic transfer of power in 2021 and has retained smooth relations with the West.
"They're making the right choices, we think, to help deal with the kind of threats that are common across the Sahel. So, we're trying to highlight a positive example," a senior State Department official told news hounds.
The official praised Niger's President Mohammed Bazoum for speaking out against Russia's private Wagner group of mercenaries, which has been hired by Mali's junta to help fight murderous Moslems there. Mali describes the Wagner personnel on its territory as "trainers".
Blinken said the use of Russian mercenaries had not proven an effective response to insecurity.
"It's not just we know this is going to end badly, we've already seen it end badly in a number of places," Blinken said.
A French-led international force has been on the ground in Mali for a decade but has fallen out of favor with Mali's leadership. Anti-French sentiment has been on the rise in Mali and several other former French colonies in West Africa.
Ghana has asserted that Burkina Faso has also hired Wagner mercenaries. Burkina Faso's junta has neither confirmed nor denied that.
When thousands of French soldiers were kicked out of Mali during a dispute with the junta there last year, they moved their base into Niger.
First the hijab, then other things, if it is not stopped there.
[KavkazUzel] Deputies of the Parliament of Ingushetia have supported the idea of amendments to the federal law "On Education", which would prohibit educational institutions from restricting the right of students to wear clothes in accordance with their religion. The bill was proposed against the backdrop of a resonant expulsion of natives of Dagestan and Chechnya from a college in Novocherkassk.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 11, five students - natives of Dagestan and Chechnya - were expelled from the medical college in Novocherkassk for wearing hijabs. The girls complained to the prosecutor and the Ombudsman, and Ramzan Kadyrov stood up for the students.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Several phrases were cut from the comedy performance "Tsol's Wedding," which had previously caused criticism from the muftiate. The performance was returned to the repertoire of the North Ossetian Academic Theatre.
As the "Caucasian Knot" has reported, the comedy performance "Tsol's Wedding" based on the play by Georgy Chedzhemov was removed from the repertoire of the North Ossetian Academic Theater due to claims by representatives of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of North Ossetia, who did not like the mention of the Prophet Muhammad in the play.
The DUM of North Ossetia was outraged by the scene in which the main character Tsola, pretending to be a Turkish merchant, forces another character to convert to Islam and takes a promise from him "not to torture the poor people", while mentioning the prophet.
The artistic director of the theater Givi Valiev and acting director Chermen Dudati explained to the muftiate that the theater did not aim to offend anyone's feelings, and the performance was a success with the audience and never caused such a reaction. The entire dialogue of the characters is fully consistent with the play by the author Georgy Chedzhemov, staged for the first time in 1981, they emphasized.
Several phrases will be removed from the scene, which caused disagreement with the leadership of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of North Ossetia, in the new screenings, the "Osnova" reported today, citing theater director Chermen Dudati.
The website and social networks of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of North Ossetia by 15.30 Moscow time do not contain comments about the resumption of the performance.
As follows from the information on the theatre's website, the performance is scheduled to be shown on April 1, ticket prices range from 200 to 600 rubles. By 15.30 Moscow time, about a quarter of the seats have been sold out, 461 tickets are on sale.
The second show in April will take place on April 28, at 15.30 there are 587 tickets on sale, 36 sold.
Man-on-the-street quotes ignored, because those willing to be quoted in Washington, DC in no way represent the temper of the rest of the country.
Making it like we were never there...
[Rudaw] The United States Senate on Thursday took a step towards revoking the law that allowed the country to launch a war against Iraq in 2003, a decision welcomed on the streets of the capital.
Almost exactly 20 years after the US invasion, the Senate voted in favor of a bill cancelling the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which were used by former presidents George HW Bush and George W. Bush to attack Iraq.
Ending the authorizations will prevent future administrations from "abusing" them, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ...Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras and microphones. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower, which is 47.27928 years, or 330.95496 years in dog years. Senate minority leader as of 2017... . The 2002 AUMF was used to justify former President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... ’s decision to assassinate Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. So, that was a point in its favor...
The senate is expected to hold a final vote on the bill next week, before sending it to the House of Representatives.
The US security relationship with Iraq fully transitioned into an advising and assisting role in December 2021 and there are currently about 2,500 US troops in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region.
During a visit to Baghdad earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Washington’s sole purpose for staying in Iraq is its focus on ensuring the defeat of ISIS.
[GEO.TV] In a major relief for Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... , the Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday approved protective bails of 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 in eight terrorism cases and one civil case — a total of nine — after he appeared before the court in person.The PTI chief had approached the LHC earlier in the day to seek protective bail in nine cases. Five of those cases are registered in Islamabad and four in Lahore.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2023 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Friday that nine of their fighters from a counter-terrorism unit, including a commander, were killed when two helicopters crashed in Duhok province earlier this week. There have been conflicting reports about the incident and this is the first confirmation of who was on board.
Two helicopters were carrying members of the SDF’s anti-terror forces (YAT) to Sulaimani province "with the purpose of exchanging security and military experience to boost the level of the unit’s fighting," the SDF stated on Friday.
The Kurdish-led force blamed bad weather for the crash that killed nine YAT members, including the head of the force Servan Kobane, who is reportedly a relative of SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi. Farhad Shami, head of SDF media centre, said in a tweet that they will publish the identities of the other dead soon. Abdi shared the photos of the dead in a tweet, saying "their sacrifices will remain a method for us to preserve the freedom of our people and our land."
YAT is affiliated to the SDF and has played a key role in the fight against ISIS.
The SDF did not reveal who the helicopter belonged to. The Kurdish-led force is the main ally of the global coalition against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) in northeast Syria (Rojava) and is not known to have any aircraft in its possession.
Erbil-based counterterrorism forces had reported that one unidentified helicopter crashed in Duhok’s Chamanke subdistrict late on Wednesday, killing seven people on board whom they claimed were from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Chamanke in Duhok province is located 15 kilometres from Mount Gara, a region where Ankara in February 2021 targeted the PKK in an operation dubbed Claw-Eagle-2.
Eyewitnesses said there was a second helicopter. Duhok Governor Ali Tatar told news hounds on Thursday that one helicopter had crashed, but the other one "fled." Security forces are investigating.
The SDF called on the Kurdistan Region authorities to cooperate in returning the dead bodies to Rojava.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... quickly denied reports that the crashed helicopter belonged to them.
PKK spokesperson Zagros Hiwa told News Agency that Dare Not be Named that they do not have helicopters and the fighters on board were not their members. He suggested that the chopper might belong to the US-led coalition and was carrying Kurdish fighters from Syria.
Iraq and the US-led coalition have also denied ownership of the chopper, according to the Kurdistan counterterrorism forces.
Sources suggested to al-Monitor that the helicopter belonged to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which might have come into the possession of the aircraft due to its close ties to Iran. The PUK has not yet commented.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani visited Rojava in late December when he met with the SDF commander. They talked about "developing anti-terror joint efforts to preserve the region's stability," Abdi tweeted at the time.
Rudaw English has reached out to coalition forces for comment.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday nine of their fighters got martyred in a helicopter crash while on their way to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
The SDF Media Center said in a statement that in the framework of exchanging security and military experiences to boost the forces’ security and fighting abilities with the aim to continue their missions in countering terrorism and protect residents of north and east Syria, a group of the SDF anti-terrorism forces (YAT) were transferred on March 15 by two helicopters to the KRI.
The two helicopters crashed down due to bad weather conditions,
...bad weather is much friendlier than Turkish sidewinders, or whatever they use nowadays...
as a result nine of the SDF fighters, including head of the anti-terror forces, Sharvan Kobani, got martyred.
The statement added that these forces have involved in fierce anti-terror battles in Kobani, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor and that they are trained on advanced fighting methods.
The SDF called on relevant authorities in the KRI to cooperate in handing and moving the bodies of the fighters to northeast Syria.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli, Palestinian, American, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are set to convene Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for a summit aimed to help foster regional calm ahead of the sensitive Ramadan period, which begins next week.
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi is set to lead the Israeli team, as he did at a previous summit in Jordan’s Aqaba in February. Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Brig. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the military liaison to the Palestinians, will also attend.
Israel committed to halting new settlement projects at the Aqaba talks, according to a joint communiqué issued after the meeting, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly denied there would be any construction freeze over the Green Line.
According to the joint readout from last month’s gathering, Israel and the Palestinian Authority also agreed to de-escalate tensions and prevent further violence ahead of the Muslim holy month. The two sides agreed to “immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months,” said the readout of that meeting.
A top PA official later told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem had also committed to transfer millions of dollars in tax revenues it has withheld from the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, but had not done so.
“They promised at Aqaba that they would transfer all of the funds, but as of now we haven’t gotten anything,” PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said in early March. Al-Sheikh also serves as secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee and is one of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s closest advisers.
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.
[ToloNews] The Swedish Committee helped facilitate 675 general educational classes for more than 22,000 students including 14,000 girls, in 15 districts of the southeastern province of 
[KhaamaPress] Sheikh Abdul Rahim 
...the 
[iNews] After being rejected under one resettlement scheme for Afghans, he said he feels ’betrayed’ by the Government as he and his family wait to escape to the UK.
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
...aka 
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
[IsraelTimes] Israeli, Palestinian, American, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are set to convene Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for a summit aimed to help foster regional calm ahead of the sensitive Ramadan period, which begins next week.
