[DW] As the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... resumes flying humanitarian supplies to parts of Afghanistan, the EU and other countries are debating how to increase aid to Afghans without lending credibility to the Taliban ...Arabic for students... The United Nations has resumed air operations in Afghanistan through its Humanitarian Air Service in a bid to enable some 160 aid organizations to continue their activities in the war-ravaged country's provinces, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. Aid supplies from the United Arab Emirates also arrived in Afghanistan on Friday.
The UN flights — operated by the World Food Program — connect the Pak capital of Islamabad with Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and Kandahar in the southeast.
Dujarric said the Rome-based food program has reported that three flights have landed in Mazar-e-Sharif since August 29 and efforts are being made to increase operations to additional regions.
EU CONSIDERS STANCE ON TALIBAN ENGAGEMENT
As aid operations to Afghanistan take off, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has been trying to decide how best to provide aid to Afghans without lending recognition to the Taliban.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said there could only be engagement according to strict conditions, and that engagement did not equate to regarding the fundamentalist group as Afghanistan's official rulers.
"In order to support the Afghan population, we will have to engage with the new government in Afghanistan, which doesn't mean recognition. It's an operational engagement," Borrell said.
The EU’s chief diplomat said women's rights must be upheld and the country would have to form an inclusive, representative transitional government.
Provision of aid would be dependent on the level of access given by the Taliban.
One regional expert doesn't think the Taliban are about to change their ways. Amalendu Misra, a professor of international politics at Lancaster University, told DW that the way the Taliban treated women was tied to its terror strategy and that the bad boy group may well continue on this path.
"It is very much more Taliban is doing, is very much a part of its terror strategy," he said. "It undermines the self-worth of women."
Misra also said the Taliban's core values fly in the face of democratic principles and are unlikely to change.
"There is going to be very little or direct participation of individuals in the decision-making process," he said. "It is going to be a form of theocracy, and it is also going to be authoritarian."
CHINA'S EMBASSY COULD BECOME AID GATEWAY
A Taliban front man said China would be keeping its embassy in Kabul open. Suhail Shaheen tweeted: "The Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister said that they would maintain their embassy in Kabul, adding our relations would beef up as compared to the past."
At a press briefing on Friday, Beijing said the embassy is functioning normally and would become an important channel between the two countries.
"We hope the Taliban will establish an open and inclusive political structure, pursue moderate and stable domestic and foreign policy and make a clean break with all terrorist groups," said Chinese Foreign Ministry front man Wang Wenbin.
Since the Taliban seized control of Kabul, ousting the Western-backed government on August 15, fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in the country have loomed large and relief organizations are holding talks with the Taliban to continue critical aid.
The UN has warned that 18 million people face the threat of a humanitarian disaster and another 18 million could soon join them if conditions deteriorate further.
Afghanistan has been battling a protracted drought, while the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic in 2020 put further pressure on a barely functioning health system.
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Idriss Azami Al Idrissi, head of Morocco’s National Council of the Justice and Development Party and the mayor of Fez, slammed head of National Rally of Independents (RNI) and agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch, saying he was not qualified to serve as prime minister because he is "dominating the economy".
He explained that a prime minister should manage the country and its interests, while Akhannouch would limit foreign and local investment because of a conflict of interest given his economic clout in Morocco.
He added that Akhannouch is monopolizing the fuels sector in Morocco and owns a company that sells oxygen.
Al Idrissi urged the need to name an impartial prime minister who sets public interests above his own, noting that Akhannouch’s wealth had actually grown during the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic when businesses were incurring major losses.
The greatest challenge looming on the horizon in Morocco during the September 8 polls is the "cartel of money, authority and media," he warned.
Al Idrissi noted Akhannouch’s influence over the media, saying his party has swept social media with paid electoral campaigns.
"Such influence could undermine freedom of expression," he warned.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2021 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[MAIL] Prince Charles's aide Michael Fawcett has today been seen breaking cover after dramatically resigning over claims he offered to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a billionaire Saudi donor to the royal's charity.
Mr Fawcett was earlier spotted walking his dog outside his London home after last night stepping down as chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation. He did not answer questions when approached by a BBC camera crew as he returned to his home.
The bombshell resignation came after he was confronted with a letter in which he said the Royal charity would be ‘happy and willing’ to use its influence to help businessman Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, who had given it hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The charity said that Mr Fawcett – arguably the Prince’s most trusted aide – had ‘offered to step down temporarily’ while its trustees investigate.
A former Palace official said the loss of Mr Fawcett was ‘an earthquake’ to the future King.
#3
Our founders especially despised inhereted aristocracy. And granted heraldic titles. So we have a country of old idiots worshipping "Camelot" and a bunch of young morons worshipping "prince" Harry and his mulatto "wife" because Oprah tells them to.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/05/2021 12:02 Comments ||
Top||
Yesterday we had the report of his attacks, today news he was formally charged for the crime.
[IsraelTimes] A man accused of assaulting Jews in London’s Stamford Hill neighborhood appears in court today as he is charged over the attacks.
Aaaaaand a name, ladies and gentlemen:
Abdullah Qureshi, 28, is accused of assaulting five people on August 18, including a 64-year-old he allegedly punched, knocking him unconscious. Police arrested Qureshi on Thursday.
The charges against Qureshi are one count of racially or religiously aggravated wounding or grievous bodily harm; four counts of racially or religiously aggravated common assault; and one count of racially or religious aggravated criminal damage.
[Right Scoop via FOX] It was announced today that the Biden administration will help Tajikistan secure its border with Afghanistan, which is not sitting well with many in the US:
FOX NEWS — The United States is helping Tajikistan secure a portion of its border with Afghanistan to help combat security threats in the region since the U.S. troop withdrawal from Kabul Monday, despite the ongoing crisis at the U.S. border that’s seeing thousands of migrants pour into the country every day.
The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe has launched a project to construct new facilities for a Border Service detachment along the Tajik-Afghan-Uzbek border, allowing Tajikistan’s border troops to deploy more quickly in response to threats in the region, the embassy said in a press release Wednesday.
"The United States and Tajikistan enjoy strong security cooperation, and this border detachment project is just another example of our shared commitment to the security and sovereignty of Tajikistan and Central Asia," Ambassador John Pommersheim said in a statement.
The project is scheduled to break ground in early 2022. When completed, the new facility will provide housing for Tajikistan’s border troops and their family members, the release said.
Border agents have spoken out about this calling it a slap in the face:
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Saturday to tighten counter-terrorism laws this month after a knife-wielding hard boy known to the authorities stabbed and maimed seven people in a supermarket. but now they'll add charges against the dead guy? WTF?
Police rubbed out the 32-year-old attacker, a Sri Lankan national who had been convicted and imprisoned for about three years before being released in July, moments after he launched his stabbing spree on Friday.
Ardern said earlier the man was inspired by the ISIS hard boy group and was being monitored constantly but could not be kept in prison by law any longer.
"I am committing, that as soon as Parliament resumes, we will complete that work - that means working to pass the law as soon as possible, and no later than by the end of this month," Ardern told a news conference. while smoking crack
The Counter Terror Legislation Bill criminalizes planning and preparation that might lead to terror attack, closing what critics have said has been a loophole allowing plotters to stay free.
But Ardern said it would not be fair to assume that the tighter law would have made a difference in this case.
"This was a highly motivated individual who used a supermarket visit as a shield for an attack. That is an incredibly tough set of circumstances," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2021 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists
#1
They'll still be able to attack random people, but will have to be in an unplanned manner. Got it.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/05/2021 11:13 Comments ||
Top||
[DW] On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban ...Arabic for students... flag is flying over Kabul again. A German police expert fears that Afghanistan could once again become a gathering place for jihadis — including from Germany.
Sven Kurenbach still remembers the images of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing and the spontaneous minute of silence at the Berlin police department that followed. When Islamist murderous Moslems weaponized passenger planes on September 11, 2001 — killing nearly 3,000 people — Kurenbach was still head of inspection for the Berlin police's special units. Today he is Germany's top investigator into jihadist activities.
Continued on Page 49
#1
So there are 48 countries that are guilty of war crimes and whose heads of state need to be tried at The Hague. I can't believe anyone in this day and age still thinks the Iraq war was justified. The WMD didn't exist and they knew that going in.
"This section examines the legality of the 2003 US-UK war on Iraq. Shortly before the outbreak of hostilities, UN Secretary General stated that the use of force without Council endorsement would "not be in conformity with the Charter" and many legal experts now describe the US-UK attack as an act of aggression, violating international law.
Experts also point to illegalities in the US conduct of the war and violations of the Geneva Conventions by the US-UK of their responsibilities as an occupying power. The section also looks at wartime violations on the Iraqi side."
#3
The increase in Islamist movements worldwide and also in Germany has to do with the way the "war on terror" — proclaimed two decades ago by then US President George W. Bush — was conducted.
I tend to agree with this part of the statement.
Having ZERO civilizational confidence and putting on display craven submission and masochism (not cowardice!) in the immediate aftermath of a mass fatality war crime attack on your country will make you look like the weak horse:
#4
The WMD didn't exist and they knew that going in.
They did exist, actually. We documented that here at Rantburg at the time and for years afterward. Search the archives, my dear Blinky Pholuling8616 Mostly chemical weapons in bulk in the form of huge bunkers storing pesticides that have the same effects on humans as they do insects — do you remember the villages full of dead rebellious Kurds in the 1990s? It was all over the Western news that Saddam Hussein was using chemical weapons on them — but also small amounts of biologicals that the Al Qaeda cadres and others were trained to use at the facilities for terrorists at Salman Pak, who got some of the training given to Saddam Hussein’s extra special forces, and barrels of uranium yellow cake that killed some peasants who found the stuff in an unguarded bunker after the 2003 invasion, as I recall, and nuclear bomb-making equipment, if I recall correctly, hastily buried under the rosebushes at the bottom of the head nuclear scientist’s garden. Then there were the burn ditches around Baghdad and the truck convoys running full down to Syria with Iraqi weapons and gold, then coming back empty — both going on for months before the 2003 invasion. Do recall that the Israelis had destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor the French had built back in 1981, which did not destroy Iraq’s small but real uranium stockpile or the yellowcake precursors.
Did the inspectors find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
Yes--and they destroyed more of them than the U.S.-led coalition did during the Gulf War.
[tw note: This implies that there were still plenty of them at the time of the invasion in 2003.]
Among other things, U.N. inspectors located hundreds of tons of chemical weapons agents and thousands more tons of the chemicals used to make them; a major biological weapons production facility; machines for separating out radioactive isotopes that could be used to fuel a nuclear bomb; and dozens of missiles, launching pads, and missile warheads for both conventional and chemical munitions. Inspectors were stunned by the volume of information and material they found, and surprised that Iraq’s weapons programs were much more advanced than they had expected.
#5
Residual WMD did exist, but an active WMD program did not...and we knew this going in.
The 9/11 attack was one important sub-para in OBLs larger campaign plan. The elimination of Massoud was one point...clearing his six.
The attack against us (opposed by Zawahiri for all of the relevant reasons) was intended to rally the troops to the black banners.
Always talked about third phase...but never openly proven or documented...was OBLs intent to assassinate Saddam...one bullet is all it takes to change that form of government...and if the troops are rallying to the black banners...intent was to emplace a ruler that would be loyal to AQ.
Thus, the cause and effect. The Bush admin did not want to risk a ready made WMD program falling to AQ at that point in time.
But, Saddam did not have a WMD program, he did maintain enough WMD to paraphrasing his words - to keep the Kurds and Shia in line. If they did not fear him, well then Shia v alhus Sunnah open warfare would be in full bloom. He was a prophet.
#6
I remember it the way TW described.
Saddam had chemical and biological weapons when Bush ordered the invasion.
Plus, they were shooting at our aircraft daily.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Europe has been talking about this for years, but in the end nobody wants to pay for supplying their share of men and matériel.
EU leaders are debating a 5,000 strong force from willing countries in the bloc
Calls have grown in the US and Europe for stronger EU military capabilities
But some are resistant over fears of an EU army strengthening the 'superstate'
#1
Of course it's going to strengthen the superstate. That's the whole idea. The EU will use this army not against external threats, but against the European people. Imagine EU paratroopers dropping into Warsaw airport to force the landing of airliners full of refugees. That will be the sort of mission generated for the EU army.
#5
/\ Yes, I don't seem to recall our 'top men' in Washington asking State's Legislators or their constituents about their opinions, wants or desires relative to Afghan refugees or Central American border crossers being relocated (by the Federal Government) within their States.
#6
They might want to talk to the Dutch or Swedish goverments about this; they got their people out at the drop of a hat.
They had already planned it out, and didn't talk to anybody about it
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/05/2021 12:45 Comments ||
Top||
[NBCnews] The U.S. plans to send at least two Afghan evacuees back out of the country to Kosovo because of security concerns raised after they arrived at a U.S. airport, said two sources familiar with the U.S. evacuation.
The Afghans will undergo a further review in Kosovo.
The sources caution, however, that federal officials are acting out of abundance of caution, and just because a person is flagged does not mean they are a terrorist or pose a threat.
True. The No Fly lists are notoriously rife with errors.
Something in their profile — their name, background or a number in their cellphone — raised enough concern that they could not be permitted to stay in the U.S. pending additional review, according to the sources.
"A lot of people were moved very quickly and the intelligence community has been working hard to evaluate whether any of them pose a threat," said a senior federal law enforcement official. "Some of the vetting occurs while they are overseas, and some of it occurs here ... We are not going to allow people to intentionally be released into the community if they have unresolved derogatory information."
Any other evacuees who trigger similar concerns will also be sent to Kosovo, said the sources.
Of more than 30,000 evacuees from Afghanistan to the U.S., about 10,000 needed additional screening as of Friday, said the sources, and of those about 100 were flagged for possible ties to the Taliban ...Arabic for students... or terror groups. Two of those 100 raised enough concern for additional review.
Other evacuees who are currently being evaluated in the D.C. area were found to have been deported from the U.S. previously for past criminal offenses, said two sources briefed on the data. The Department of Homeland Security is now deciding what to do with the individuals.
Throw ‘em back. We don’t need to import known criminals who proved they won’t live by our rules.
In addition, U.S. officials are trying to arrange placement for unaccompanied minors, with up to 10 Afghans under the age of 18 arriving in the U.S. per day. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that Afghan children arriving in the U.S. unaccompanied would be sheltered by Health and Human Services while the agency finds a permanent home with a relative or sponsor.
As NBC News previously reported, Mayorkas said Friday that some evacuees whose names were on terror watchlists were prevented from entering the U.S.
“We are working with our international allies to address the disposition of those individuals,” Mayorkas said.
The appearance of a name on a terror watchlist does not necessarily mean that an individual poses a threat.
[EpochTimes] Some 40,000 people airlifted from Afghanistan have arrived in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday.
U.S. troops flew or facilitated the flight of more than 120,000 people from the airport in Kabul during about two-and-a-half weeks through Aug. 30, when the troops withdrew from Afghanistan completely.
Approximately 13 percent of the evacuees that have entered the United States have been U.S. citizens, according to Mayorkas. Another 8 percent were lawful permanent residents. The rest were Special Immigrant Visa holders or applicants or other Afghan nationals deemed vulnerable to Taliban ...Arabic for students... Death Eaters if they had not been evacuated.
Mayorkas has been using his powers of parole to let in some Afghans who lack a visa, the Department of Homeland Security revealed last week. Mayorkas declined to say how many Afghans have been granted parole.
The evacuees were initially flown from Kabul to U.S. military bases in third countries, such as Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
After vetting by a team of hundreds of government workers, including FBI ...Formerly one of the world's premier criminal investigation organizations, something for a nation to be proud of. Now it's a political arm of the Deep State oligarchy that is willing to trump up charges, suppress evidence, or take out insurance policies come election time... officials, the cleared evacuees were flown to the United States. Most have been landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia or Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania.
They are then shuttled to one of eight military bases scattered across the country, including Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.
Approximately 25,600 Afghans were being housed at the military bases as of Sept. 3, Pentagon front man John Kirby told news hounds in Washington.
The military has a capacity across the eight installations for about 36,000 but is working to increase that to at least 50,000. No more bases are expected to be needed to house the evacuees.
About 1,000 Afghans have been resettled, or moved off of bases, according to U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northern Command.
Mayorkas said the number of evacuees is expected to come in above 50,000.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) said he visited Fort McCoy last week and discovered all Afghan nationals there were on parole.
"The Biden administration, the guys that caused the debacle in Afghanistan ...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed experts affiliated with the Biden Crime Family. Entrusted with an entire nation as the result of a suspicious election, they set about happily implementing stuff they absorbed in college, all of which blew up and splattered the rest of us... has circumvented the SIV process," he said.
Afghans are also being allowed to leave the base at will, he added.
#3
The State Department has assembled a task force in D.C. who are processing Afghans out at Dulles Airport. Evacuees are then being sent from Dulles to Camp Atterbury, IN.
[OneIndia] With reports stating that nearly 20 persons from Kerala who joined 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) are roaming free in Afghanistan, an alert has been sounded in India.
Security agencies say that these persons could try and make their way back into India. An alert has been sounded at the airports as the agencies suspect that they may try and make their way back into India.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
09/05/2021 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Influential holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry... ’s announcement that he was reneging on his decision to sit out the October elections has reshuffled the political cards in Iraq.
Some sides have benefited from his return, while other have been harmed by it. Those who had initially rejoiced at Sadr’s absence from the October 10 elections, now find themselves at a loss in how to deal with his return.
Ultimately, the parties that had declared their withdrawal from the race on the heels of Sadr’s withdrawal have emerged as the greatest losers. They are the Iraqi National Accord, of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and the Iraqi Communist Party.
With Sadr’s return, the Iraqi political scene has become embroiled in a cutthroat battle ahead of the polls with all rivals vying for the greatest seats in parliament. Regardless of who emerges on top, all sides will be eying the ultimate prize: naming the prime minister, who is always a Shiite, the parliament speaker, who is always a Sunni, and president, who is always Kurdish.
Sources told Asharq al-Awsat that behind-the-scenes efforts are focusing on the electoral mechanisms and means to limit electoral fraud. They are also getting ahead of themselves by focusing on the three presidencies.
The Shiite forces, for example, in spite of their deep differences, especially with Sadr’s return to the race, are preoccupied with setting the characteristics of the next premier. A seven-part committee is tasked with the mission.
The Shiites are seeking to agree on the name of the prime minister even before the elections are held.
With Sadr’s return, his supporters will want him to hold sway over naming the PM that will ultimately give the holy man major power over the political scene in the country.
Sadr’s return has taken all discussions on the name of the three presidents, especially the premier, back to square one. The holy man wants the PM to be a loyalist of his Sadrist movement.
Question remarks remain over current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who had previously said that he was not seeking a second term. This may have changed with the return of Sadr, who backs Kadhimi. The premier also enjoys the support of Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Other potential candidates include national security advisor and former interior minister Qassem Araji and former PM-designates Adnan al-Zurfi and Mohammed Shaya al-Sudani. Members of the State of Law coalition have suggested the nomination of its leader, former PM Nouri al-Maliki.
Heated discussions are also ongoing among Sunni and Kurdish circles over the name of the president and parliament speaker. Their choice will have to pass the approval of the Shiite parties. The president is nominated by the two main Kurdish parties, but he needs to be approved by the main Shiite parties. The same goes to the parliament speaker.
As it stands, deep divisions are plaguing the Kurdish and Sunni parties. If the camps remain divided even after the elections, the Shiites will emerge as the most powerful players on the political scene.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2021 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
#1
Wiki: What percent of Iraq is Shia?
The data on the religious affiliation of Iraq's population are uncertain. 95–99% of the population are Muslims. The CIA World Factbook reports a 2015 estimate according to which 29–34% are Sunni Muslims and 64–69% Shia Muslims.
[Rudaw] Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim, a leading Shiite religious authority, has died of a sudden heart attack, his office announced on Friday.
Hakim died at the age of 87 at al-Hayat Hospital in the holy city of Najaf of a sudden heart attack, reported state media.
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... an unnamed source close to the dear departed’s office told AFP that Hakim died after undergoing a surgery three days ago.
President Barham Salih offered his condolences on Twitter, saying that Hakim was "one of the most prominent [figures] of the Islamic nation who combined knowledge with work in consolidating the values of justice, faith, love and peace."
The US embassy in Baghdad described the figure as "a symbol of peace, love, and harmony across the region."
"Grand Ayatollah Hakim was one of the four elite holy mans of Najaf. He was considered by many to be the leading candidate for succeeding Grand Ayatollah Sistani, and his death will raise many questions about succession in the Hawza," tweeted Iraqi researcher Marsin al-Shamary.
#2
Tavor is nice, but stupidly expensive and proscribed by many countries defense establishments. Why re-invent the wheel. Look at India's ongoing tragedy in the "must be made here" department for guidance.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/05/2021 8:04 Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Counterterrorism expert says Paleostinian ally of bin Laden unwittingly revealed 2002 plan to kill hundreds at nightclubs, enabling thwarting of attacks ’at the last moment’
Al-Qaeda planned to carry out massive terrorist attacks on Israeli nightclubs in 2002 and was in the final stages of the plan, but was thwarted with the help of United States intelligence operatives, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation researcher has said.
Ali Soufan, who with other agents had monitored al-Qaeda for the FBI
Continued on Page 49
[IsraelTimes] Excluding tourism and services, commerce with several nations more than tripled during first 7 months of 2021 compared to same period the year before
Trade between Israel and countries in the Middle East and North Africa has grown significantly this year, following the Jewish state’s normalization of ties with additional Arab states, new data revealed.
In the first seven months of 2021, trade grew by 234 percent compared to the same period in 2020, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures cited by Yonatan Gonen, a Foreign Ministry cadet.
The statistics showed trade with the United Arab Emirates surged from $50.8 million between January and July 2020 to $613.9 million in the same period in 2021.
The UAE was the first of four regional states who normalized ties with Israel last year, following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 as the only Arab nations to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Trade with Jordan has also increased this year, from $136.2 million to $224.2 million, and trade with Egypt went from $92 million to $122.4 million. With Morocco, trade rose from $14.9 million to $20.8 million.
According to the data, trade with Bahrain was practically non-existent in the first seven months of 2020. During that same period this year, $300,000 in trade was registered.
The figures did not include trade in tourism and services.
The 2020 agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, also known as the "Abraham Accords," broke with the longstanding Arab notion that there should be no normalization with Israel until it reaches a comprehensive peace deal with the Paleostinians. Paleostinian leaders condemned the agreements as "a stab in the back" and "treason."
Israel has already signed a raft of deals with both UAE and Bahrain, ranging from tourism to aviation and financial services.
"Just the beginning," Avi Berkowitz, a former White House official who was part of the team that negotiated the accords, tweeted in reference to the new data.
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.
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
[MAIL] Prince Charles's aide Michael Fawcett has today been seen breaking cover after dramatically resigning over claims he offered to help secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a billionaire Saudi donor to the royal's charity. 
[Right Scoop via FOX] It was announced today that the Biden administration will help Tajikistan secure its border with Afghanistan, which is not sitting well with many in the US:
...Arabic for 
...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed 
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
