[AlAhram] Afghan opium producers have had a bumper year with output soaring 87 percent as the area under poppy cultivation hit a record high, the latest annual survey said Wednesday.
Agricultural advances, including the use of solar-powered irrigation systems, fertilizers and pesticides, may have made opium production viable in desert areas and helped to lift the average yield by 15 percent.
The price of opium -- the lifeblood of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... -- as it left farms in war-torn Afghanistan this year soared by 55 percent to almost $1.4 billion, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said, helping to fuel the bloody insurgency.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/16/2017 10:51 Comments ||
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#2
International donors have spent billions of dollars on counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts to encourage farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. But those efforts have shown little results.
Yeah, right. If our government was serious about eradicating opium in Afghanistan we'd be using napalm, not just on the crops but on the farmers. The only reason I can imagine to squander billions of dollars on other approaches is graft, big time, world class graft.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/16/2017 10:57 Comments ||
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#3
It would be good to dry up the demand but that is doubtful.
[RadioShabelle] The African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) announced on Tuesday that some 1,000 soldiers will be withdrawn from Somalia by Dec. 31 in line with the African Union and UN Security Council resolutions.
The Special Representative of the African Union Chairperson for Somalia, Francisco Madeira, stressed that the withdrawal of AMISOM troops from Somalia will be "gradual" and "conditions-based."
"AMISOM has begun its drawdown from Somalia and will have its troop numbers reduced by 1,000 by Dec. 31. Our drawdown and transition must be gradual, conditions-based, responsible and done in a manner that does not compromise the safety and security of the Somali people," Madeira told journalists in Mogadishu.
As result of this, he said, troop movements have started in different parts of the Horn of Africa nation and will continue for the coming as security responsibilities start to shift to the local military.
"This is a process of re-alignment to effect the reduction in numbers and begin the handover of security responsibilities to Somali forces. I want to assure all that this exercise’s being conducted with caution to ensure the security of the Somali people is not compromised," he said.
Madeira said as part of the military drawdown, the pan African body will deploy an extra 500 coppers who will strengthen training and mentoring for Somali Police
"The deployment of additional coppers will help extend law and order in Somalia hence further securing the country," the AU envoy said.
AMISOM will reduce its troops by 1,000 by December, followed by further cuts next year, an exercise expected to end by 2020 as part of its exit strategy.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... AMISOM’s exit is also pegged on the ability of the Somali National Security Forces, particularly the SNA to ably take over the security of the country.
The AU envoy’s remarks came a day after AMISOM launched a massive security operation to flush out al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... holy warriors in Middle Shabelle region in southern region.
The major offensive comes barely a month after the country’s Oct. 14 deadly attack killed 358 people and left several others injured.
Madeira said the ongoing troop movements should not cause alarm, but the withdrawal has begun earlier than expected.
"The re-alignment of AMISOM troops is a process that must be implemented as part African Union and UN Security Council resolutions. We are proud and envisioned a time when we could hand over responsibility to the Somali National Security Forces," Madeira said.
He said the Somali forces urgently need to be equipped with necessary weapons and key logistical support including timely payment of stipend to enable them to flush out the holy warriors out of the country.
"Other urgent support includes provision of quality medical care and establishment of key infrastructure ‐ barracks and training centers," he said.
Some Western countries including the United States have expressed concern that Somalia’s security forces will not be ready by then.
AMISOM is comprised of troops drawn from Kenya, Æthiopia, Djibouti, and Burundi who are deployed in six sectors covering south and central Somalia.
Ugandan troops are deployed in Sector 1 which comprises the regions of Banadir and Lower Shabelle.
[RadioShabelle] The Security Council on Tuesday renewed until 15 November 2018 the partial lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia, authorization for maritime interdiction of illicit arms imports and charcoal exports, and the humanitarian exemption.
In the resolution adopted by 11 affirmative votes and four abstentions, the 15-member body requested the Somalia and Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... Monitoring Group (SEMG) to continue its investigations related to the export to Somalia of chemicals that may be used as oxidizers in the manufacture of improvised bombs, such as the precursors ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate and sodium chlorate.
Those abstained in the vote were Bolivia, China, Egypt, and Russia.
Further, the Council extended until 15 December 2018 the mandate of the SEMG, and recognised that during the course of its current and three previous mandates, the SEMG has not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... in Somalia.
The Council expressed its intention to keep measures on Eritrea under regular review, in light of the upcoming midterm update by the SEMG due by 30 April 2018.
Recalling the three meetings between an Eritrean government representative and the SEMG, the Council reiterated its expectation that Eritrea’s Government will facilitate the entry of the SEMG into Eritrea to discharge fully its mandate.
The Council urged Eritrea and Djibouti to engage on the issue of the Djiboutian combatants missing in action and to seek all available solutions to settle their border dispute peacefully.
[AlAhram] A South Giza criminal court issued a preliminary death sentence on Wednesday against a man convicted of killing Coptic Orthodox priest Samaan Shehata in Cairo last October.
The court has referred the case to the country's Grand Mufti for a non-binding opinion on the death sentence per Egyptian law.
The court set 15 January for a session to issue its verdict.
The defendant, Ahmed El-Sonbaty,
...who has been described as an extremist with a criminal record, whatever that means, and did the deed with a cleaver...
was charged by the prosecution of premeditated murder of a Christian clergyman Shehata to death and injuring another priest in Madinat El-Salam in east Cairo.
The defence argued that the defendant was insane, but the prosecution answered that he was fully aware of his actions.
Shehata was an archpriest at the St Julius Church in El-Fashn in the governorate of Beni Suef in Upper Egypt.
The injured priest, Beymen Moftan, administers the El-Malak church in Matay, Minya.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] CNN has reported an investigation into the slavery trade in Libya and the human suffering of migrants colonists stranded on its shores after failing to cross into Europe.
The report relied on secret footage showing a market auctioning migrants colonists to sell them for use as workers or farmers.
The video shows two people sold within a few minutes for a thousand and two hundred Libyan dinars, less than three hundred dollars, and this is taking place in a natural atmosphere as if the people of this region are accustomed to this terrible sight.
Tens of thousands of migrants colonists cross the border every year from the sub-Saharan Africa to Libya, sailing on boats to the Italian coast, but the recent campaign by the Libyan Coast Guard in coordination with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has blocked smugglers' operations.
While the number of boats has been reduced on average, the number of migrants colonists has increased in the warehouses of smugglers, so that they begin to treat migrants colonists as goods offered for buying and selling when the smugglers fail to profit from them as passengers on their "death boats."
The investigation highlighted young Victor, a 21-year-old Nigerian. Victor said he escaped corruption in Nigeria, and his mother borrowed money so that he could travel to Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to fulfill his dream.
But as the European Union fought against illegal immigration and returned migrants colonists to Libya, Victor found himself stranded in a detention center amid bleak humanitarian conditions.
Most of the migrants colonists in Libya are being subjected to human trafficking, he said. The fate of these immigrants colonists remains unknown. Either the immigrant dies at sea or dies more than once on Libyan territory.
CNN said it had handed over the evidence it had to the Libyan authorities, who on their part promised to investigate the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel said Wednesday that North Africa is under threat from imported muscle escaping ISIS defeats in Iraq and Syria.
Messahel spoke at a news conference in Cairo after a meeting with his Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts, Sameh Shoukry and Khemaies Jhinaoui, over Libya.
ISIS rose to prominence in the chaos of Syria’s conflict, which broke out in 2011 with protests against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... After its explosive rise in 2014 and conquest of vast swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, ISIS established a "caliphate" that attracted thousands of imported muscle.
But a string of losses this year have left the jihadists clinging on to pockets of territory in Iraq and Syria.
"The region is threatened... with the return of imported muscle," said Messahel. "The signs and reports say the return will be in our region."
The ministers also met to discuss Libya in February in Tunisia and again in June in Algeria, as the three countries push for a solution in Libya.
The priority is "preserving Libya’s unity and stability and territorial integrity, and maintaining dialogue and Libyan political agreement as the sole basis for settling the Libyan crisis", Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The theory and practice of Jihad, or Islamic holy war, will no longer be taught in school or college classrooms in Bangladesh, which houses the fourth-largest Moslem population in the world and is grappling with rising religious extremism.
Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina’s Awami League government has ordered madrasas, or traditional Islamic educational institutions, to drop certain chapters from textbooks, which will be distributed in 2018 to prevent impressionable youth from falling prey to fanaticism.
In July 2016, home-grown bully boyz stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s diplomatic enclave and bumped off 22 Italian, Japanese, American, Bangladeshi and an Indian hostage heralding the arrival Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... -backed terrorism in the South Asian country hemmed in by India and Myanmar.
Congratulating the government for revising the syllabus, Professor Anisuzzaman, President of Bangla Academy and one of the country’s most respected writers with a string of awards and laurels, said "it’s inconceivable how that concept crept stealthily into the curriculum in a democratic nation whose Constitution is based on the rule of law".
The 70-year-old intellectual who reportedly figures on fundamentalists’ hit-list said that madrasa textbooks should have been "cleansed" long ago but "it’s better late than never".
Curbing radicalization
According to leading Bangladeshi newspapers like Dhaka Tribune and Daily Star, the administration was spurred into action by the high-powered National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention (NCMRP) tasked with curbing radicalization of young Bangladeshi men and women.
Madrasa textbooks define the concept as "fight against the enemies of Islam", which according to NCMRP fanned "slow radicalization" and "encouraged them to join violent groups in the country and abroad to fight the "enemies of Islam."
Abdullah Yousuf, principal of Alia Madrasa in Noakhali, told Dhaka Tribune: "To be fair to Islam, what's prescribed by our religion and holy warrior activity are entirely different and the government must send a clear message to the students to distinguish between the two".
Amid hectic preparations to welcome Pope Francis in Dhaka from November 30 to December 2, Theophil Norkek, secretary of Catholic Bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission, backed the government.
"The Hasina regime has taken a good decision and I guess it is intended to eradicate radicalism and to help students become moderate Moslems. The concept has been widely misinterpreted to brainwash Moslems into regarding people of other faiths as enemies of Islam".
Since the gruesome Bakery massacre, Bangladeshi security forces have killed roughly 100 holy warriors, often in cold blood, and incarcerated Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! hundreds to curb terrorism in the essentially secular and liberal country.
A big source of worry is the induction of educated youth from affluent backgrounds into krazed killer outfits like the Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
Dhaka clearly hopes that purging textbooks will curb the growth of fanaticism sullying the image of a centuries-old religion as glorious and peace-loving as Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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Britain is preparing to transfer over 400 million pounds ($527 million) to Iran as it seeks the release of a jailed Iranian-British aid worker, The Telegraph newspaper reported, citing unidentified British sources.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was sentenced to five years after being convicted by an Iranian court of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment. She denies the charges.
Britain has sought legal advice over whether it could transfer the funds which it owes as a result of a disputed arms deal in the 1970s. Diplomats told the newspaper that any payment should not be linked to the fate of Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity organization that is independent of Thomson Reuters. It operates independently of Reuters News.
A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office could not be reached for comment out of normal business hours.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru ||
11/16/2017 02:21 ||
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#1
What is it about the number 400? Is it the Danegeld leap payoff or something?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/16/2017 3:59 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe four hundred sounds especially good in Farsi.
#8
There was $400 million in cash seized by British intelligence on 11/10/17 from a Clinton Foundation warehouse. Here. Any chance this seized money was linked to this Iranian transfer? That's a lot of cash on hand. CF has said it distributes about 88% to charity but experts say only about 10% goes to charity. Maybe I've been looking at the internet too much lately and just getting a little too conspiratorial.
#9
^ I'd pretty much give my life (minus a few minutes to make some phone calls) for that story to be true. Sadly, I think I'm safe. Pretty subtle work for a site like that.
[Breitbart] For the first time in Danish history, a citizen born in Denmark has had his citizenship revoked after being convicted of being a member of the Islamic State terror group.
Danish-born Muslim Enes Ciftci, 25, who is also a citizen of Turkey, was found guilty of supporting the terror group and sentenced to six years in prison and expulsion. The court found that Ciftci had expressed support for terrorist attacks committed by the group and had actively tried to raise funding for them, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation reports.
The case is the first time a Danish citizen born in the country has had their citizenship revoked. However, it is not the first time a foreign-born Islamic radical has been stripped of citizenship.
Last year, Muslim bookshop owner Said Mansour was the first criminal to be stripped of his Danish citizenship after being sentenced to four years in prison for supporting terrorist groups. Mansour, 56, came to Denmark from Morrocco as an adult in 1988.
In the case of Ciftci, the court justified taking away his citizenship saying that he had twice attempted to join Islamic State in 2013 and 2015.
He is also said to have raised 20,000 Danish krone (£1,400) for the terror group and praised the Copenhagen terror attacker Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein.
Hussein was responsible for attacking both a presentation put on by Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, as well as shooting up a synagogue in the city, killing two and injuring several others in 2015.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Pope Francis got the keys to a fancy new Lamborghini on Wednesday ‐ but he won't be tooling around the Vatican gardens in it.
Instead, the special edition Huracan will be auctioned off by Sotheby's, with the proceeds going to charities including one aimed at helping rebuild Christian communities in Iraq that were devastated by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Officials from the luxury sports car maker presented Francis with the sleek white car with papal yellow-gold detailing on Wednesday, outside the Vatican hotel where he lives. The pope promptly blessed it.
Base prices for the Huracan, which was first introduced in 2014, usually start at around 183,000 euros ($217,000.) A special edition built for a papal charity would be expected to fetch far more at auction.
Francis got around his native Buenos Aires on public transport and has long railed against people who buy the latest model cars or cellphones. As pope, he uses a blue Ford Focus inside the Vatican walls, and he has made a statement on all his foreign trips by shunning fancy, bullet-proof SUVs and opting instead for modest Fiats or KIAs.
Some of the funds raised from the auction will go to rebuilding homes, churches and public buildings in Iraq's Nineveh Plains that were devastated during three years of fighting by the Islamic State group. The Vatican said the aim is to allow Christians who were forced to flee Nineveh "to finally return to their roots and recover their dignity."
Other funds will go to charities that help women who are trafficked and forced into prostitution, and those that provide medical care in Africa.
The Sant'Agata Bolognese-based Lamborghini is owned by Germany's Volkswagen.
[AnNahar] A Frenchie accused of a deadly 2014 shooting at a Brussels Jewish museum was handed preliminary terrorism charges in La Belle France Wednesday relating to a separate case in Syria, according to his lawyer.
was escorted under high security for "just a few hours" to Gay Paree from Belgium, where he is currently being held, to face the French authorities.
The charges of "kidnapping and illegal sequestration with links to a terrorist enterprise" relate to allegations that Nemmouche, 32, was the jailer of four French journalists held in Syria between June 2013 and May 2014.
The lawyer said Nemmouche remained silent throughout.
...possibly because, according to Ynet, the Belgians have kept Mr Nemmouche in solitary confinement for the past three years. Perhaps one day they will actually put him on trial.
Nemmouche is suspected of gunning down four people with an assault weapon in the Brussels museum in May 2014.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit. Y'got the wrong guy! he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed... the Gay Paree prosecutor's office said that the lone surviving suspect in the massacres in La Belle France in November 2015, Salah Abdeslam,
...who has been described as a Belgian-born French national...
went before a French judge also on Wednesday in Gay Paree.
Abdeslam, 28, remained silent during the hearing into the attacks that left 130 dead in Gay Paree and its suburbs, according to the Gay Paree prosecutor's office.
Abdeslam is currently in prison in La Belle France and unlikely to face trial there for several years.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution against serious human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... violations in Syria, most notably is their call on Iranian militias to leave Syria.
The UN resolution condemned systematic violations and abuses against Syrian civilians since the start of the revolution in 2011. The UN also held the regime accountable for the violence.
The resolution demanded imported muscle in Syria to leave, mainly referring to the Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on Tuesday which condemns Iran for its widespread violations, increased executions and repression of nationalities and religious minorities.
Supporters of the resolution expressed their concern about the increasing number of human rights violations in Iran, including high death rates, discrimination against women, ethnic and religious minorities and arbitrary arrests of activists, journalists and critics.
The Canadian representative at the UN General assembly, whose country prepared the resolution in question, said that the international community is deeply concerned about the increasing number of executions, particularly the execution of minors and women.
Similarly, the Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah al-Muallami said during resolution discussions that Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... supports the UN resolution on the human rights situation in Iran.
Muallami also accused Iran of serious violations towards the rights of Ahvaz Arabs in Iran. Earlier, laws were passed to remove these people form their areas of residence in order to change the demographic structure of the region east and north of the Arabian Gulf.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[IsraelNationalNews] The Deputy State Prosecutor decided in coordination with the State Attorney to close the investigation against Breaking the Silence spokesman Dean Issacharof.
The investigation was opened after Issacharoff said in a video that he had beaten an Arab during his military service in Hevron. The comments had been made to highlight alleged human rights abused by the IDF Breaking the Silence claims take place in Judea and Samaria.
However, the investigation revealed that the events described by Issacharoff "did not happen at all." There is a simple rule to determine whether a leftist lies - are the lips moving?
[Bangkok Post] Thailand's deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwon expressed concern about the risk of fighters from the Islamic State or other terrorist groups getting into Thailand. He made his remarks during an interview about the current crackdown on criminals who have overstayed their visas. The deputy premier, who is in charge of security affairs, said the government now fears there are "probably" elements of foreign terrorist groups in the country.
Posted by: ryuge ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi Press Agency representative Jamal al-Saheli said that a kidnapped Saudi national held in Leb has been released.
Ali al-Basharawi was handed over to the Lebanese army intelligence after two cars brought him to al-Sayyid Ali deserted area.
The Saudi Embassy in Leb has been working with security authorities at the highest level to release the kidnapped citizen.
The kidnapped Saudi citizen originally hails from Dammam in the Eastern Province of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... A Lebanese security source said that his wife contacted the security forces last Thursday and reported the disappearance of her husband.
Lebanese media sources said that the family of the Saudi national received a call demanding $1 mln to release him.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Lebanese President Michel Aoun ...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... , who has refused to accept Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. ’s resignation as prime minister unless Hariri returns from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , welcomed comments from Hariri that he plans to come home soon, palace sources and visitors said on Monday.
Hariri, who threw Leb into political crisis by reading out his resignation on Nov. 4 from Riyadh, gave his first public remarks since then in an interview late on Sunday, saying he planned to return within days.
He suggested he could even withdraw his resignation, provided the Shiite group Hezbollah -- allied to Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran -- renounces interference in conflicts across the Middle East.
"President Aoun expressed his pleasure at Hariri’s announcement of his return to Leb soon," a source said.
Aoun said that Hariri was "leaving all doors open including rescinding his resignation", according to one of a group of visitors who met Aoun. The visitors declined to be identified while discussing the closed-door conversations.
The visitors quoted Aoun as saying that Hariri’s remarks showed that the political deal underpinning Leb’s coalition government -- which includes both Hariri’s Sunni party and the heavily armed Shiite movement Hezbollah -- still stands.
Aoun has been convening high level meetings with Lebanese politicians and diplomats since Hariri stepped down, and the visitors said the president believed that Hariri’s comments showed such efforts were working.
Silence from Hezbollah
Nearly 24 hours after Hariri’s interview, which appeared on a TV station he owns, Hezbollah had still not commented on his remarks. Hezbollah’s allies in Iran said Hariri’s remarks gave hope he would return to Leb.
In his resignation speech Hariri, whose father, also a former prime minister, was killed by a bomb in 2005, said he feared liquidation. He said in his interview eight days later that he was free to leave Saudi Arabia but that his movements were also guided by concern for his family’s safety.
Hariri’s Future Movement political party said on Monday it saw his plan to return to Beirut within days as a "good sign" and a step on the road to repairing Leb’s foreign relations.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] President Emmanuel Macron has invited Leb's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and his family to La Belle France, the French presidency said on Wednesday, seeking to defuse a brewing crisis in the Middle East.
Hariri announced his abrupt resignation as premier 11 days ago from the Saudi capital Riyadh, propelling Leb to the front of a regional contest for power between Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and Iran.
"After speaking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri the president has invited Saad al-Hariri and his family to La Belle France," the Elysee said in a statement.
A source in the Elysee palace said Hariri was expected to arrive in Gay Paree with his family in the coming days.
La Belle France's foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, was due in Riyadh on Wednesday evening.
The Elysee palace statement referred to Hariri as Leb's prime minister and gave no explicit reason for Macron's invitation.
Ynet adds that President Macron does not intend this to be an offer of exile, but merely a visit of a few days to reduce tensions before Mr. Hariri returns to Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Study records 25,673 terrorism-related deaths in 77 countries; notes significant decreases in Syria, Pakistain, Afghanistan. La Belle France found more affected by terror than Israel.
The number of people killed in terror attacks declined for the second successive year in 2016 but more countries were affected, according to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released Wednesday.
Its report, produced by Australia’s Institute for Economics & Peace, found there were 25,673 deaths last year due to terror attacks ‐ down 22 percent from a 2014 peak.
It noted significant decreases in Syria, Pakistain and Afghanistan.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... 77 countries experienced at least one fatal attack, more than at any time in the 17-year history of the Global Terrorism Database, on which it is based.
The report also ranked nations in terms of their exposure to terror. Iraq experienced the most terrorism in 2017, followed by Afghanistan and Nigeria.
The Institute for Economics & Peace found that La Belle France, ranked 23, was affected more by terror than Israel and the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gazoo Strip ‐ identified collectively by the study as "Paleostine" ‐ which were ranked 36 and 30, respectively.
The data set, collated by America’s University of Maryland, is considered the most comprehensive of its kind globally.
The GTI called the falling victim numbers the "main positive finding" and "a turning point in the fight against radical Islamist extremism."
It reported the biggest improvement in Nigeria, where terrorism deaths attributed to Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... fell by 80% last year.
But deaths attributed to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group increased by nearly half in 2016, with the majority of the rise ‐ 40% ‐ in Iraq.
The GTI found "disturbing" trends in the worldwide spread of terrorism.
A dozen more countries were the victim of a deadly strike last year than in 2015.
The report’s authors also warned of the potential for Islamic State fighters from Iraq and Syria to join new radical offshoots in other countries.
In Afghanistan, they described the picture as "complex" in 2016, as the Taliban ...Arabic for students... reduced attacks against civilians but stepped up conflict with government forces.
In Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and other developed countries, it was the deadliest year for terrorism since 1988, excluding the September 11 attacks in 2001, according to the GTI.
It blamed Islamic State activity for the continued spike there, with 75% of terror-related deaths in these countries directed or inspired by the organization since 2014.
"There has been a general shift towards simpler attacks against non-traditional and softer civilian targets," the authors noted.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... they also found that Islamic State’s "diminishing capacity" had led to a sharp drop in the number of deaths in the first half of 2017.
[RT] Syrian sources claim the son of British jihadist Sally Jones, dubbed the ’White Widow’ by the media, is alive and well. Joe ’Jojo’ Dixon, 12, was thought to have been killed alongside his mother in a CIA Reaper dronezap in June.
Initial reports suggested the British woman used her indoctrinated son as a human shield while trying to flee the Syrian city of Raqqa. The Kent mother took her son and travelled to Syria in 2012 to join her new husband Junaid Hussein and Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIS). She quickly rose through the ranks of IS to become a top recruiter, and is said to have recruited hundreds of UK women to become jihadi brides.
When Jones’ husband was killed in a 2015 raid, her son was taken from her by the caliphate. The news of Jojo’s survival comes as Westminster faces criticism for failing to help UK citizens abroad. The parents of ’Jihadi Jack,’ a British man who is being held by Kurdish forces in northern Syria after travelling to the war ravaged country to join IS, have accused the Foreign Office and Boris Johnson of being "obstructive" in their bid to bring their son home. Johnson has also been criticized after comments he made in a foreign affairs committee meeting resulted in the possibility of a British woman’s jail sentence in Iran being extended by five years.
Anonymous sources told The Telegraph that UK-born Jojo is currently in the village of al-Shaafa, near Syria’s eastern border. He was last seen in the village three weeks ago.
According to two separate sources, when Jojo turned 12 in December he was considered to be of fighting age and was conscripted into the ranks of IS. He is now known by the Islamic name Hamza, and was inducted into Islamic State’s ’cubs of the caliphate’ training camps in northern Syria in early 2016
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Syrian sources claim the son of British jihadist Sally Jones, dubbed the ’White Widow’ by the media, is alive and well.
Nothing's forever, son.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/16/2017 12:52 Comments ||
Top||
#2
First, they were all scared to target her because they might kill her son. Now they're all worried that her son will be a problem in the future.
Pick one. And generalize the logic that went into that choice.
#3
The parents of ’Jihadi Jack,’ a British man who is being held by Kurdish forces in northern Syria after travelling to the war ravaged country to join IS, have accused the Foreign Office and Boris Johnson of being "obstructive" in their bid to bring their son home.
Hey Mom and Dad - how about you move there
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/16/2017 14:48 Comments ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A series of rare and complex investigative reports on krazed killer movements, especially al-Qaeda, ISIS and Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Lebanon pot stirred. Mostly eradicated by the Leb army... , filed over the years by journalist and director Medyan Dairieh, is set to take the form of a book soon.
The investigations conducted by Medyan have led to unraveling of secret documents, confessions, photos, video clips, and letters, written by leaders of these organizations.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Shaker al-Absi
Posted by: Fred ||
11/16/2017 00:00 ||
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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.
the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
the personification of Somali state failure...
[AlAhram] A South Giza criminal court issued a preliminary death sentence on Wednesday against a man convicted of killing Coptic Orthodox priest Samaan Shehata in Cairo last October.
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Breitbart] For the first time in Danish history, a citizen born in Denmark has had his citizenship revoked after being convicted of being a member of the Islamic State terror group.
[AnNahar] A 
[Bangkok Post] Thailand's deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwon expressed concern about the risk of fighters from the Islamic State or other terrorist groups getting into Thailand. He made his remarks during an interview about the current crackdown on criminals who have overstayed their visas. The deputy premier, who is in charge of security affairs, said the government now fears there are "probably" elements of foreign terrorist groups in the country.
Michel Aoun
Hariri, who threw 
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
