[Jpost] Ramy Shaath, 50, was arrested in 2019 together with several Egyptian activists and businessmen on suspicion of assisting a terrorist group: the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian authorities have freed Egyptian-Palestinian rights activist Ramy Shaath after more than 900 days of arbitrary detention, a statement from Shaath's family said on Saturday.
Shaath, who was a member of several secular political groups in Egypt and a co-founder of Egypt's pro-Palestinian BDS movement, had been forced to renounce his Egyptian citizenship and was on his way to France, his family said.
"If we are glad that the Egyptian authorities heard our call for freedom, we regret that they forced Ramy to renounce his Egyptian citizenship as a precondition for his release that should have been unconditional," the family statement said.
"No one should have to choose between their freedom and their citizenship."
Shaath, 50, a co-founder of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Egypt, is the son of Nabil Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority foreign minister and veteran member of the Palestinian leadership.
He was arrested in 2019 together with several Egyptian activists and businessmen on suspicion of assisting a terrorist group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, in the case known as Al-Amal (Hope) Cell.
He also faced charges of disseminating false news about political and economic conditions in Egypt.
The younger Shaath is on his way to France, where he will join his wife, French national Celine Lebrun, who was deported from Egypt after her husband’s arrest, according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources.
An Egyptian court had added Shaath and 12 defendants linked to Al-Amal Cell to Egypt’s terrorism list for a period of five years.
“[Muslim] Brotherhood fugitive leaders, including Mahmoud Fathi, Ahmed Mohammed Abdel Hadi and Ali al-Sayed Ahmed, plotted to provide financial support [to the defendants] for their hostile actions against the Egyptian state with the aim of harming national interest and economic security and carrying out aggressive actions against the army and the police,” the court ruled.
The Brotherhood leaders allegedly recruited Shaath and other activists and provided them with weapons and firearms to carry out schemes against the Egyptian authorities, according to the court.
Shaath, who was born in Lebanon, moved to Cairo with his family in 1977, his family said in a statement after his arrest.
“He dedicated his entire life to the defense of Palestinian rights and to freedom and justice in the region,” the statement said.
“He served as a political and strategic consultant to former PA president Yasser Arafat,” it said. “From Cairo, he played an active role in the negotiations for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state; after the negotiations failed, he withdrew from politics in the late 1990s.
“Much later, in 2010 as a movement for democracy and social justice was growing in Egypt, Ramy joined the coalition of activists who led the popular uprising that led to the ousting of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.”
The family accused the Egyptian authorities of “persecuting Ramy for many years for his public positions against all forms of political repression in Egypt, as well as his defense of Palestinian rights against Israeli occupation and apartheid.”
[BBC] The Coast Guard has taken delivery of the last Fast Response Cutter the service plans to station in Bahrain.
Bollinger Shipyards, which builds the Fast Response Cutters, in a Thursday news release announced the delivery of the cutter Clarence Sutphin.
“USCGC Clarence Sutphin is the final of six FRCs to be home-ported in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace the aging 110’ Island Class Patrol Boats, built by Bollinger Shipyards 30 years ago, supporting the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest overseas presence outside the United States,” the company said in the release.
USCGC Clarence Sutphin is part of the Sentinel-class of Fast Response Cutters built by Bollinger in its Louisiana shipyard. The ship is set to be commissioned in April.
Once based in Manama, Bahrain, the new cutter will work with the Coast Guard’s Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.
“Ensuring that the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard have the most state-of-the-art, advanced vessels as they work to build and maintain the necessary regional alliances to ensure maritime security in the region is a top priority,” Ben Bordelon, the president of Bollinger, said in the release. “Bollinger is proud to continue enhancing and supporting the U.S. Coast Guard’s operational presence in the Middle East and ensuring it remains the preferred partner around the world.”
The ships are 154 feet long and can go more than 28 knots, according to a promotional video from Bollinger.
The Coast Guard also has several Fast Response Cutters based in Guam for operations in the Indo-Pacific. The service in July commissioned three cutters in Guam – USCGC Frederick Hatch (WPC-1143), USCGC Myrtle Hazard (WPC-1139) and USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC-1140).
“The triple commissioning of Coast Guard cutters Myrtle Hazard, Oliver Henry and Frederick Hatch signals our dedication to regional partners and the growing maritime demand in the region,” Coast Guard Forces Micronesia Sector Guam commander Capt. Nick Simmons said in a July news release about the commissionings.
At the time, the Coast Guard said it has contracted for 60 Fast Response Cutters and that 43 were currently operating in the fleet.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsReadOnline] In Kazakhstan on January 7, crime boss Arman Dzhumageldiev was detained in a pseudo ” Wild Arman “.
This is reported by Sputnik Kazakhstan.
Wild Arman is suspected of involvement in the riots in the country. According to available information, Dzhumageldiev recently returned to Kazakhstan from Turkey.
According to the Russian “Interfax”, together with “Dikim Arman” security forces detained six more people in Almaty. The detainees allegedly found four semi-automatic pistols of different brands and calibers, ammunition for them, edged weapons, and an armored vehicle. So far, all this has been confiscated from them.
According to Telegram channels, Dzhumageldiev flew to Kazakhstan to support the protesters, but after a skirmish with them, during which he was beaten, he began to call for an end to the violence and protests.
As a reminder, protests over gas prices began in Kazakhstan in early January.
As reported, the President of Kazakhstan, Kasim-Zhomart Tokayev, said that he had given an order to the security forces open fire to kill without warning. He stressed that "whoever does not surrender will be destroyed."
[IsraelTimes] Quoting Aussie rocker Nick Cave, open letter states that ’cultural boycott of Israel is cowardly and shameful’; 30 acts withdraw over Israel sponsoring one of the shows
Over 120 entertainment industry figures signed an open letter against the boycott of a major cultural festival in Sydney, Australia, that began Thursday, after 30 acts and individuals withdrew over a sponsorship deal with the Israeli embassy.
In the letter published Thursday by the Creative Community for Peace, the signatories said they "believe the cultural boycott movement of the Sydney Festival is an affront to both Paleostinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition.
"While we all may have differing opinions on the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict and the best path to peace, we all agree that a cultural boycott is not the answer," the letter continued.
It quoted comments made by Aussie rocker Nick Cave in 2018, in which he said: "The cultural boycott of Israel is cowardly and shameful."
"Israel is a real, vibrant, functioning democracy — yes, with Arab members of parliament — and so engaging with Israelis, who vote, may be more helpful than scaring off artists or shutting down means of engagement."
Earlier this week, 30 bands, individual artists, companies, and panel members canceled their gigs or went ahead without sponsorships at the Sydney Festival 2022, in response to the Israeli funding for a show tied to an Israeli choreographer.
The embassy provided $20,000 for "Decadance," a show based on a work by Ohad Naharin and Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company, as part of the Sydney Festival 2022.
It was performed by the Sydney Dance Company on January 6 at the Sydney Opera House as scheduled, and is scheduled to run through January 9.
On the festival website, the embassy is listed as a "star partner" due to the sponsorship.
Artists pulled out in response to calls for a boycott by Arab, pro-Paleostinian, and other activist groups, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. Some of those who withdrew accused Israel of apartheid practices toward the Paleostinians.
However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... festival organizers remained determined to allow the performance to go ahead.
The Paleostinian Justice Movement Sydney claimed in December that the Israeli embassy funding was agreed on in May and called for a boycott, accusing the festival of contributing "to the normalization of an apartheid state."
PJMS called for a protest demonstration to be held opposite Sydney’s opera house when the festival kicked off Thursday.
The pro-Paleostinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement says it seeks to end Israel’s control of lands captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and what it describes as discrimination against Israel’s Arab minority. It also calls for a "right of return" for millions of Paleostinian refugees and their descendants to ancestral lands that they fled or were expelled from in the 1948 war during Israel’s creation.
Israeli officials vehemently reject the apartheid accusations, and Israel and other BDS opponents say that the BDS campaign encourages antisemitism and aims to delegitimize or even destroy Israel as a Jewish state.
[IsraelTimes] Erik Kurilla gained extensive experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
A senior Army three-star general with extensive experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been nominated to become the top US commander for the Middle East.
President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S., father of Hunter, close friend of an imaginary negro named Corn Pop. He blames Trump for losing Afghanistan.... has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Erik Kurilla to head US Central Command and be promoted to four-star general, according to multiple US officials.
The Senate Armed Services Committee notice says only that Kurilla has been nominated to become a general, and does not detail which job he would get if confirmed. But his nomination for US Central Command has been expected for several months. US officials confirmed the planned job on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been made public.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kurilla would replace Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, who has led the command for the past three years and is expected to retire.
CENTCOM officially assumed responsibility for the US military’s relationship with Israel at the beginning of September. The IDF and CENTCOM have sine held a number of joint exercises.
Israel had previously been kept in the area of responsibility of EUCOM in order to prevent possible tensions between CENTCOM and the Arab and Moslem nations under its purview, many of whom did not maintain formal ties with Israel, and would therefore not want to be considered as mutual allies. The US Central Command’s area of responsibility stretches across the Middle East to Central Asia, including the Persian Gulf region, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistain.
In recent years, however, CENTCOM’s Arab allies have increasingly developed relations with Israel, some informally, so these issues have largely faded.
Thank you, President Trump.
Kurilla would take over as the Pentagon continues to try and shift its focus to the Indo-Pacific and counter a rising China, and to bolster defenses against Russia in Europe, where Moscow is massing troops near the Ukraine border, fueling fears of an invasion.
The US has withdrawn all forces from Afghanistan and has now formally shifted its role in Iraq from combat to advising and assisting the Iraqi forces. But the US strategy to put more emphasis on China and Russia has been repeatedly stymied by Iran, forcing the Pentagon to maintain a significant troop presence across the Middle East and cultivate strong relations with allies in the region.
In recent weeks, Iranian-backed militia groups have increased the pace of their attacks on US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria. The groups have made it clear they want all US troops out of Iraq, and have vowed to continue attacks until they are gone.
Kurilla, who is from Elk River, Minnesota, is currently commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, but previously served as the chief of staff at Central Command, working for McKenzie and, before that, Gen. Joseph Votel.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1988, and has served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanding conventional and special operations forces. He commanded a Stryker battalion in Iraq in 2004, and was shot and maimed.
He later was commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, overseeing combat teams deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as director of operations at the Joint Special Operations Command and was commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Damn it Mohammed! Idiot! You had to use the same memory card as our photos for our Yearbook??
[Jpost] Oops! The drone shot down by the IDF on Wednesday had a memory card installed, revealing the Hezbollah operatives' faces and vehicles.
A Hezbollah drone downed by the Israeli military had a memory card with clear pictures of operatives belonging to one of the Lebanese terror group’s elite units.
The drone that was shot down by the IDF on Wednesday after it infiltrated Israeli airspace had images of its operators, belonging to the elite Radwan unit that uses unmanned aerial vehicles to gather intelligence on Israeli troops.
The pictures were likely taken by mistake by the UAV, but the pictures on the memory card revealed their faces, vehicles, complete with their license plates, as well as the operatives flying another drone that had also been downed a few months ago by the IDF.
According to a recent report by the ALMA Research Center, Hezbollah has some 2000 unmanned aerial vehicles, many of them advanced UAVs from Iran, others manufactured independently by the Lebanese terror group. Other UAVs used by Hezbollah are civilian drones, similar to the one downed on Wednesday.
The group was said to have 200 Iranian-made UAVs in 2013 and with the help from the Islamic Republic, it has since significantly increased its fleet that is set to be used for kamikaze attacks on strategic national assets in Israel as well as reconnaissance against IDF troops and bases.
Over the past year, Hezbollah violated Israeli airspace by sending 74 drones into Israel, a decrease from the 94 drones in 2020, but still an increase from 54 UAVs flown over the border in 2019.
[Rudaw] Hundreds of people, including security members, were killed and kidnapped in suspected Ottoman Turkish attacks targeting north and northeastern Syria (Rojava) over the past year, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a recent report displaying the upsurge in offensives in the region.
Over 700 civilians were kidnapped and 134 were maimed in Ottoman Turkish attacks in 2021, the SDF said on Thursday.
One hundred and forty eight SDF members died responding to Ottoman Turkish attacks and pursuing 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) sleeper cells that remain active in the region, the report added.
Ankara often targets Rojava, killing and injuring civilians and security forces.
Rojava saw 47 Ottoman Turkish ground attacks and incursion attempts, as well as 89 drone offensives, according to the SDF.
Fifty-eight villages and three districts were the targets of direct bombardment. Zirgan district has seen an increase of suspected Ottoman Turkish bombardments recently.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... has not yet commented on the report.
At least one person was injured in a Ottoman Turkish attack in the area last year, days after a similar attack took the lives of at least three people in Zirgan.
Rojava’s internal security forces (Asayish) have previously described Turkey’s offensives targeting northern Hasaka as "an attempt to displace the residents."
Hundreds of families have left Zirgan district as Ottoman TurkishArclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and bombardment spark fear in the residents, a conflict monitor reported at the beginning of the year.
Turkey has conducted three military operations in northern Syria since 2016, two of them against Kurdish fighters who Ankara considers a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and a threat to its national security. It has been threatening a new offensive against Kurdish forces in Rojava in recent months.
[Rudaw] America does not attribute the latest attacks on US military in both Iraq and Syria to any particular group, an official from the White House said late Thursday following an upsurge of offensives on bases housing coalition forces
"We don’t have any specific attribution today, in terms of the particular group by name or groups who might be responsible for this," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki ...a valley girl who woke up one morning and found she was spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State under Obama. A new American success story, under Biden she became spokeswoman for the whole administration, and she was even able to get her sister a job... said in a press briefing.
The US-led coalition fighting 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) came under fire in a series of attacks last week, at the same time thousands of people across the Middle East held emotional commemorations marking the second anniversary of the liquidation of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia commander in a US dronezap on January 3, 2020.
Psaki noted that "it is certainly possible" for the recent attacks to be due to "the anniversary of the Soleimani strike."
Widely blamed on the Iran-backed militias, attacks on American forces stepped up following Soleimani’s killing, allowing Iran ...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979... to increase its influence in Iraq.
The American troops shot down two explosive-laden drones targeting a US compound in Baghdad airport on Monday, marking exactly two years since the general’s death.
Photos of the shot-down drones were shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) with the phrase "Soleimani's Dire Revenge" written on them.
Five rockets targeted Ain al-Asad airbase on Wednesday evening while "eight rounds of indirect fire" were reported from Syria.
The Pentagon late Tuesday said their troops in Iraq and Syria "remain at risk," after they foiled another rocket attack in northeast Syria (Rojava) and shot down two explosive-laden drones in western Iraq on the same day.
"We continue to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran. But again, I don't have specific attribution on who was responsible for these specific sites," Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby said.
The US strike on Soleimani was ordered by former US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... who called Soleimani "the number one terrorist anywhere in the world" and claimed he was planning attacks on US forces. Tehran has threatened Dire Revenge for the general’s death.
Last year, at least 36 rocket and drone attacks were reported on bases and facilities housing US forces and personnel in Iraq and Syria, according to data compiled by Rudaw English.
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.
[BBC] The Coast Guard has taken delivery of the last Fast Response Cutter the service plans to station in Bahrain.
...46th president of the U.S., father of Hunter, close friend of an imaginary negro named Corn Pop. He blames Trump for losing Afghanistan....
...
[Rudaw] America does not attribute the latest attacks on US military in both Iraq and Syria to any particular group, an official from the White House said late Thursday following an upsurge of offensives on bases housing coalition forces
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
