[Jpost] Senior Egyptian security officials visited the Libyan capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... for the first time in years on Sunday and held talks with officials from the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the Libyan interior ministry said.
The visit was the first for senior Egyptian officials to Tripoli since 2014 when the country entered a civil war between the GNA, based in the capital, and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalia Haftar.
Tripoli's government is backed by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... while LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Libya descended into chaos after the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... -backed overthrow of leader Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... in 2011, and Egypt is concerned about instability in its neighbor and Turkey’s support for Tripoli forces.
GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and Head of the Intelligence Service Emad Trabelsi discussed "ways to support the ceasefire agreement and discuss the outputs of the 5+5 committee" with the Egyptian delegation, the Libyan interior ministry said in a statement.
[AnNahar] Voters went to the polls in Niger on Sunday for an election that could seal a first peaceful handover between elected presidents, against the backdrop of a bloody jihadist insurgency.
The West African country, unstable since gaining independence from La Belle France 60 years ago, is ranked the world's poorest country according to the UN's Human Development Index.
Around 7.4 million people are registered to vote for the ballot for presidency, which coincides with legislative elections.
"I expect the Nigerien president to put security, health, progress and democracy first," Aboubakar Saleh, a 37-year-old launderer, told AFP in Niamey without revealing who he voted for.
Issaka Soumana, a 52-year-old lorry driver, said he wanted change.
"Niger is not moving forward. Our country must rise," he said, brandishing his thumb stained with ink to show he had cast his ballot.
President Mahamadou Issoufou, who was elected in 2011 after the country's last coup in 2010, is voluntarily stepping down after two five-year terms.
"It is a special day for Niger which will experience for the first time in its history a democratic transition," Issoufou said after voting at the city hall in Niamey.
The frontrunner in the 30-strong field is his designated successor, Mohammed Bazoum, 60, a former interior and foreign minister.
"It is a great pride that this date of December 27 has been respected," Bazoum said after voting.
Bazoum's main rival, former prime minister Hama Amadou, was barred from contesting the vote on the grounds that in 2017 he was handed a 12-month jail term for baby trafficking -- a charge he says was bogus.
- OVERSHADOWED BY INSECURITY -
Polling stations are scheduled to close at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) but are instructed to close later in case of delays to ensure 11 hours of voting.
Partial results for the presidential election are expected to be announced on Monday with final counts on Wednesday or Thursday.
A second round, if necessary, will be held on February 20.
Campaigning has been overshadowed by insecurity -- Niger is being battered by jihadists on its southwestern border with Mali, and its southeastern frontier with Nigeria.
A jihadist insurgency that has spilt across borders in Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , Mali and Niger claimed some 4,000 lives last year from jihadist violence and ethnic bloodshed stirred by Islamists, according to the UN.
In Niger itself, hundreds have died in the past five years, and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.
The economy, already fragile, has suffered devastating blows.
Around 42 percent of Nigeriens lived last year on under $1.90 (1.56 euros) per day, according to the World Bank, while nearly a fifth of its surging population of 23 million relied on food aid.
- ARMY DEPLOYED -
On Monday, seven troops and 11 suspected jihadists died in an ambush in the southwestern region of Tillaberi, the government said on Thursday.
On December 12, 34 villagers were massacred in Toumour, in the southeastern region of Diffa, on the eve of municipal and regional elections that had been repeatedly delayed because of poor security.
The army has been massively deployed for Sunday's vote, the authorities say.
"Sporadic attacks will not prevent the staging of the elections," a front man said on Thursday. The attack in Toumour triggered three days of national mourning, but the elections the following day went ahead smoothly, officials say.
[Rudaw] Russia repatriated 19 children from camps in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Saturday, the Russian presidency-linked Commissioner for the Rights of the Child has announced.
The children, aged between 3 and 15, had been living at al-Hol and Roj camps in Rojava, administered by Kurdish-led authorities. They were flown home on a Russian defence ministry plane, landing at Chkalvosky airport near Moscow. I'd keep an eye on them, Ivan
The children were taken to a medical facility for examination, and will be subject to a coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/28/2020 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
If you're not bogged down by 'internationally advocated' humanist conventions, you can always isolate and re-educate to your hearts content.
[AlAhram] Fitch Solutions expects debt in Gulf States to rise sharply as efforts are elevated globally to transition to a green economy
The global economy is expected to return to growth in 2021, yet oil prices will remain below pre-Covid-19 crisis levels for several years ahead, according to Fitch Solutions.
In its outlook insights for the global oil market amid the Covid-19 crisis, shared with Ahram Online, Fitch Solutions forecast that Brent prices will only average $51/bbl in 2021, adding that prices will probably pick up gradually, but will remain below the 2010-2014 average until 2029.
As a result, Fitch Solutions expects that the fiscal positions of emerging market (EM) governments that are dependent on oil revenues will deteriorate over the coming years, adding that oil prices will remain below the break-even level that major producers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region need to balance their budgets.
In this regard, Fitch said that this situation will require structural changes to fiscal and budget management, which could be hard to implement in the short term. On the other hand, Fitch expects that the prolonged period of low oil prices would force governments in the Gulf and elsewhere to accelerate their efforts to raise more tax revenue from the non-oil sector. Accordingly, Fitch expects Gulf States’ debt to rise sharply over the coming decade.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... global oil consumption is expected to accelerate in 2021 by 3.7 percent as the economy rebounds, according to Fitch Solutions. Yet, Fitch expects that the growth of global demand will slow, falling to less than 0.8 percent per year by the end of the decade — half the rate recorded between 2010 and 2018.
"This slowing of demand growth will be driven by a gradual transition towards less carbon-intensive fuels. This process will probably accelerate over the following decades. Even if environmental policies and consumer trends remain unchanged, it is estimated that the world will consume 8.6 percent less oil in 2050 than it did in 2018. Under the firm’s alternate scenarios, demand could fall by between 50 percent and 80 percent by 2050," Fitch said.
According to Fitch forecasts, Gulf States are among the few EM oil exporters that will not witness production growth over the coming decade, while the production decline will probably be steepest in Africa, particularly in Algeria, Angola and Chad.
The gradual decline of the oil sector, as a driver of economic growth, will not be a major problem if governments manage to diversify their economies and build up new growth engines, according to Fitch.
#6
I think once the war breaks out in the Middle East the price will go up and in ways that won't support the Presnident-Elect of Alzheimerica's family's need for graft.
I have no doubt that much of it is true, at least half of it is deserved, and none would have been necessary were the European border nations not experiencing a full-fledged invasion for the past five years. There is also the question of how the border forces of Egypt, whose newspaper editors countenanced this piece, treat those caught crossing their border illegally.
The Border Violence Monitoring Network is an independent network of NGOs and associations that monitors human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... violations at the external borders of the EU
The European Parliament issued a resolution on the human rights situation in Egypt on 18 December 2020, which is International Moslem colonists Migrants Day. Ironically, the resolution coincided with the presentation of The Black Book of Pushbacks, compiled by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), which includes dozens of non-governmental organizations and associations.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Are the guard dogs also going to be indicted for protecting their masters' land; or do the humanitarian groups draw the line at harming careers of good soldiers and lives of citizens only?
[AnNahar] Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... chief Sayyed His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... on Sunday accused Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince and modernizer 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... as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... of raising the issue of assassinating him with the U.S. administration.
"According to our information, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman raised during his visit to Washington the issue of assassinating me," Nasrallah said in an interview on al-Mayadeen TV.
"The Americans agreed to the Saudi request but said that it must be carried out by Israel," he added.
"Saudi Arabia has been inciting for my liquidation since a long time, at least since the war on Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ," Nasrallah went on to say.
Noting that "the targeting of Hizbullah’s leaders is an Israeli-U.S.-Saudi common objective," Nasrallah said he had been warned of possible liquidation attempts against him prior to and after the U.S. presidential election.
"Before and after the U.S. elections, I was warned of an liquidation operation, and several sides warned us of an attempt on my life after the martyrdom of the (Iranian) commander Qasem Soleimani," Nasrallah said.
He added: "There is information that Saudi Arabia is inciting for my liquidation."
Nasrallah also reiterated his call for caution and vigilance during U.S. President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s remaining days in the White House.
As for Israel, Nasrallah noted that the Israeli "media tumult" indicates that there will not be "real actions."
He also denied Lebanese media reports about an alleged Israeli landing on the shores of the Lebanese region of Jiye.
"According to our information, this is not correct," he said.
As for the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, Nasrallah noted that the Israelis are still "very cautious" in their movements on the frontier.
The Times of Israel has more from the Sunday interview here.
#1
...Actually, this time I think ol' Fatso might have something, because the Saudis will do it. With a Trump Administration, they would likely give us a discreet heads up; under the Biden Administration there won't be a sound until it's all over.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/28/2020 4:40 Comments ||
Top||
#2
That's why he ran (courageously) to Iran
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2020 7:36 Comments ||
Top||
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.
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
...Crown Prince and modernizer of 
