[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... once again slammed the bigwigs actively working in the government for forming new anti-government political coalitions.
Hekmatyar made the remarks during an interview with the foreign journalists in Kabul.
He said considering the internal situation of Afghanistan and its regional position, a strong central government is always a need along with a president who has full authorities, insisting that without this it would be difficult to ensure peace and bring stability in the country.
The leader of Hezb-e-Islami questioned the current government’s authorities, saying when a president is even prevented from appointing a governor by the internal and external circles, how such a government would be able to eliminate violence and govern on the nation.
Hekmatyar also criticized the senior government officials for the formation of the new political coalitions and expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s regarding the threats, show of power, and rallies by their armed supporters.
He said billions of dollars have been embezzled, banks have been looted, hundreds of acres of land have been grabbed, and the government remains weak to try the perpetrators.
The remarks by Hekmatyar comes as efforts are underway by some key political figures, including General Abdul Rashi Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... , Ata Mohammad Noor, and Mohammad Mohaqiq to formally declare the establishment of their new political coalition.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s administration has once again criticized Pakistain for the selective fight against the terror groups, warning that President Trump will not tolerate support to Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... or related groups.
In an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, President Trump’s national security adviser, Gen. Herbert McMaster said White House wants to see a "change in behavior" from interested groups in the region, particularly Pakistain. The top aide said that while Pakistain has taken "great losses" fighting the Taliban, they have done so "selectively."
"This is Pakistain in particular that we want to really see a change in‐ and a reduction of their support‐ for‐ these groups," he said. "I mean, this is‐ of course, you know, a very paradoxical situation, right, where Pakistain is taking great losses."
"They have fought very hard against these groups," McMaster argued, "but they’ve done so really only selectively."
He said that Trump is making clear that the U.S. will no longer tolerate any support for the Taliban or related groups.
"The president has also made clear that he, that we need to see a change in behavior of those in the region, which includes those who are providing safe haven and support bases for the Taliban," McMaster added.
This comes as the United States Department of States released its latest reports regarding terrorism for 2016 last week, providing an overall report regarding the terrorism related upheavals during the year.
The new report by the State Department further strengthens the claims made by the Afghan officials regarding the presence of the safe havens of the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist network inside the Pak territory.
"Afghanistan, in particular, continued to experience aggressive and coordinated attacks by the Afghan Taliban, including the affiliated Haqqani Network (HQN) and other myrmidon and terrorist groups," the report stated.
The Department of State also added that a number of these attacks were planned and launched from safe havens in Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Wonder why the same 'guidance' wasn't given to Turkey, Syria, Saudi, Iran,..China? Oh yeah, easy to punch down.
[SHABELLENEWS] Æthiopian forces are to be deployed to help retake a town in Somalia after holy warrior group al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... captured it on Friday.
A Voice of America journalist who covers the Horn of Africa region, Harun Maruf, said the Æthiopian contingent that arrived in the city of Baidoa are to be tasked with retaking the town of Leego.
Leego, a strategic town linking the Somali capital, Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa was captured by al-Shabaab after 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... and Somali forces left.
It is unclear why they left the town. Retaking the town is important in order to reopen the road to the capital.
Æthiopia, seen as a key security player in the Horn of Africa region has troops fighting the hard boyz in next door Somalia. Kenya also has troops in Somalia, they have, however, suffered the brunt of the hard boyz who continue to carry out attacks on Kenyan soil.
Reports also indicated that the 40 Æthiopian troops had a hard time making it to Baidoa as a result of al-Shabaab ambushes along the road from the town of Waajid. Æthiopia years back was at the heart of pushing the hard boyz out of Mogadishu.
In the wake of spreading anti-government protests last year, Æthiopia withdrew some of its forces from Somalia ‐ ostensibly to beef up the security situation back home.
Addis Ababa denied any connection but an al-Shabaab leader stressed that as a reason ‐ the hard boyz almost immediately retook towns where these pullouts were made.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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[SHABELLENEWS] The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Somalia because of widespread terrorist and criminal activity. Unpack, Ethel!
Militants associated with both the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia... , and the self-proclaimed 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.... of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) operate with relative impunity throughout large parts of the country, including Mogadishu, and attack civilian, military, and government targets.
U.S. citizens should be aware that kidnapping, bombings, murder, illegal roadblocks and other violent incidents are common throughout Somalia, including Somaliland.
There is no U.S. embassy presence in Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Why do we want to interfere with Darwinism?
The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Somalia because of widespread terrorist and criminal activity.
[SHABELLENEWS] The politicians of Somalia’s northern self-declared region of Somaliland have on Sunday overwhelmingly voted to elect a new speaker, following the resignation of Abdirahman Irro.
Bashe Mohammed Farah has been elected as the new speaker, after beating his main rival contender Abdirahman Talyanle with majority 39 votes during the voting.
Farah who served as the first deputy speaker of the representative house is a member of the ruling Kulmiy party, while his opponent Talyanle is from the opposition Waddani party.
Talyanle secured 38 votes from the all votes cast by 78 members of Somaliland assembly.
Somaliland is gearing up to a presidential election slated for November, which has been delayed for several times in the past due to drought and others problems facing the region.
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08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] On 16 July, the Egyptian Armed Forces launched the fourth phase of Operation Martyr's Right, which aims to counter holy warrior and terrorist activity in Sinai, 10 days after 26 Egyptian security personnel were killed in an attack in North Sinai’s Rafah city.
During the fourth stage of the operation, the army said that its forces killed 40 Lions of Islam involved in the 7 July attack.
Army spokesperson Tamer El-Rifaai said that between 17 July and 6 August, the Armed Forces killed 48 Lions of Islam and jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! 20 suspects believed to have provided logistical support for those who carried out the attack.
Prior to launching the fourth stage of Martyr’s Right, the army conducted four operations that resulted in the destruction of 50 4x4 vehicles, 85 cycle of violences, a fuel warehouse, one fuel tanker, 63 holy warrior hideouts and 11 manufacturing workshops.
The military spokesperson has revealed that the current phase of operations involves areas covered by the second and third field armies.
Earlier phases of Martyr’s Right have mostly been restricted to the areas of Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and El-Arish, which are the deployment site of the second field army. However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... a number of operations have extended to Central Sinai in the vicinity of Gabal El-Halal.
The current phase of the operation is targeting static hideouts used by Death Eaters as well as dynamic holy warrior targets, infrastructure and reinforcement lines
The fourth phase of the operation also involves targeting holy warriors’ organizational infrastructure and destroying shelters, weapons and ammunition storage facilities, vehicles, IED's, and communication centres.
It also involves arresting those who provide Lions of Islam with logistical support and securing major roads in North Sinai’s Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, El-Arish and surrounding villages and preventing holy warrior activity from spreading outside these areas, as well as developing counter-tactics to tactics used by holy warriors.
Special units from the army’s counterterrorism forces have also been on the forefront of these operations, while air forces have provided aerial support and conducted recon missions.
The fourth phase of the operation has also witnessed improved capacity by the army to detect and disarm IEDs planted on roadsides to target security personnel.
Military operations have also expanded to include maritime targets, with the army targeting and destroying sea vessel attempting to enter Egyptian territorial waters.
Despite restrictions against 4x4 vehicles entering Sinai, these vehicles are still heavily used in orchestrating car kabooms, which raises a question as to how they are still entering the peninsula.
The arrest of people using cycle of violences to transport money to Lions of Islam reveals that funds are delivered to holy warrior groups using primitive methods.
Smuggling operations and drug trafficking are still taking place on a large scale in Sinai, though the army has been successful in foiling smuggling operations before the contraband reaches Sinai.
Operation Martyr’s Right was first launched in September 2015. Its second and third phases began in January and April 2016.
[IsraelTimes] Charged with possession of prohibited weapon, Khaled Merhi is to appear in court later this month
Australian police Sunday released a second man locked away ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... during counter-terrorism raids, days after two others were charged with terrorism offenses over an alleged plot to bring down a plane.
The 39-year-old man, named by his lawyer as Khaled Merhi, was among the four arrested during raids across Sydney last Saturday, which also led to tightened security at all major Australian airports.
"This investigation remains ongoing," Australian Federal Police and New South Wales state police said in a statement.
"A 39-year-old man, detained in relation to allegations regarding a potential terrorist attack, has been charged with one count of possession of prohibited weapon and released from police custody."
Merhi, whose detention by police had been extended by a magistrate, was due to be released Sunday if he was not charged. He is set to appear in court on the prohibited weapon charge on August 24.
Two other men -- Khaled Khayat, 49, and Mahmoud Khayat, 32 -- were charged with terrorism offences and refused bail Friday. They face life imprisonment if convicted, with their case back in court on November 14.
Another man, 50-year-old Abdul Merhi, was released without charge Wednesday.
Australian police alleged Friday that as part of the plans, a senior 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.... commander directed a group of Australian men to build a bomb destined for an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney. The improvised bomb was due to be smuggled onto the July 15 flight, but the attempt was aborted before they reached security.
Police said they had also foiled a second alleged plot involving a "chemical dispersion device," designed to release hydrogen sulphide, but this was in the early stages. The second plan was hatched after the first one failed, police said, and was not necessarily targeted at a plane.
[Reuters] Italian prosecutors are investigating leading humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), a legal source said on Saturday, over its role in rescuing migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Italian police on Wednesday seized a migrant rescue boat operated by German organization Jugend Rettet on suspicion of aiding illegal immigration.
A legal source now says that MSF is also part of the investigation over the alleged rescue of migrants carried out just off the Libyan coast when there was no immediate threat to their safety.
MSF said in a statement it had not been notified of the inquiry and that it stood ready to cooperate with prosecutors since similar accusations first surfaced in the press months ago.
"We hope any doubts can be dispelled soon to end this trickling of accusations that poisons the atmosphere in an ever gloomier situation," it said.
Italy is under pressure to manage new arrivals because some 600,000 migrants have reached it by sea from North Africa since 2014. Immigration has become a potent political issue ahead of elections in spring 2018.
In a press interview on Saturday, Luigi Di Maio, who is expected to lead the populist Five-Star movement in next year's vote, called for "an immediate stop to the sea-taxi service". The Five-Star is ahead of the ruling Democratic Party in polls.
Rome has asked eight NGOs to sign a code of conduct for the southern Mediterranean, including a demand that they carry an armed policemen on board their boats.
Only four aid groups have agreed to it.
Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti urged the four NGOs that have not signed the document to do so.
"Those who do not sign cannot remain part of Italy's rescue system, though nobody is questioning the law of the sea and international treaties," he said in an interview with Saturday's Il Fatto Quotidiano.
"Because migrants arrive in Italy, we must find a balance between their rights and those of the country that hosts them. We need complete trust between those who carry out the rescues and the country that opens up its ports," he said.
MSF said in the statement that it would respect most of the code's tenets, but could not sign it as it neglected humanitarian principles and elements which it considers essential for rescues to be effective.
[DAWN] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... leader Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi has termed Ms Ayesha Gulalai’s accusations against party chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... a conspiracy to divert public attention from Panama Leaks issue.
"The people who are criticising the army and the judiciary are violating the Constitution," he said.
He said this talking to the media here on Saturday.
"The people who are criticising the army and the judiciary are violating the Constitution," he said.
He said the Supreme Court’s verdict in Panama Leaks case was historical.
In a reference to preparations being made in connection with ousted premier Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... ’s return to Lahore, he said that using government machinery and resources for the political activities was misuse of the public money.
Mr Qureshi said Chaudhry Sarwar was not a party ticket-holder for NA-120 in the last general election, so he would run PTI’s election campaign in the constituency.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] PML-N MNA retired captain Mohammad Safdar on Saturday declared the disqualification of former prime minister and his father-in-law Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... by the Supreme Court a conspiracy against the country, Constitution and people’s mandate and announced the start of a movement against it.
The Panama Papers issue was a conspiracy hatched by Israel and India
"I am going to launch an agitation against the disqualification of PM Nawaz Sharif and for the supremacy of the 1973 Constitution. The Panama Papers issue was a conspiracy hatched by Israel and India," he told a party rally staged here to express solidarity with the ousted prime minister.
The rally, which began from the Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... Road, ended at Markazi Chowk, where Mr Safdar and federal religious affairs minister Sardar Mohammad Yousuf addressed it.
Mr Safdar said the movement against the ouster of Mr Nawaz and for the supremacy of the Constitution was to be launched from the soil, where Reshmi Romal and other historic movements originated before and after the Partition.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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[Feral Jundi] Man, this is a story that is not getting the attention it needs, but is very much significant to the war effort. Janus Global is being tasked with clearing the thousands of IEDs and explosive remnants of the battle in Mosul. In the words of a US government official in reference to Mosul, it is ’like nothing we’ve encountered’.
Clearing Mosul will take in some estimates, up to ten years! Not only that, but think about the other areas that ISIS had control over in Iraq or even Syria. Weapons removal and abatement will keep this company and others like it, busy for a long time....
As to the particulars of these contracts, I have no idea if the contractors doing the clearing are using an organic security force or partnering with the host nation forces or subcontracting security. For the CMC projects during the Iraq war, security was a huge deal and it was done internally and contracted out, along with partnering with local security companies. Quite a few security contractors cycled through those projects back then and it was extremely successful in cleaning up old Ammunition Supply Points that were destroyed in the war.
I should note that this has been an incredibly dangerous assignment for this company. Last year, a Janus Global contractor was killed clearing munitions in Ramadi and I don’t think this will be the last. Good job to the company and I wish everyone good luck as they clear these battlefields. ‐Matt
Posted by: Besoeker ||
08/07/2017 07:34 ||
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#1
Install a trailer town infrastructure,
move the people,
bomb Mosul to dust.
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] Israel said Sunday it plans to ban Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... 's flagship al-Jazeera network from operating in the country over allegations it incites violence, joining Arab nations that have shut down the broadcaster amid a separate political dispute. The news organization, in turn, said it will take legal action.
Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said he plans to revoke the press credentials of al-Jazeera journalists, effectively preventing them from working in Israel.
Kara said he has asked cable and satellite networks to block Al Jazeera transmissions and is seeking legislation to ban them altogether.
The minister, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, gave no timetable for such measures.
Doha-based al-Jazeera on its English language website condemned the measures as "undemocratic" and said that it will take legal action. It said it will continue operating in the Gazoo Strip and the West Bank.
Walid al-Omari, the broadcaster's bureau chief in Jerusalem, said on air that his office has not been informed by Israeli officials of any possible measures the government might take.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
that must be al j's arab version because the al j english version has less anti israel bias than the bbc
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/07/2017 0:39 Comments ||
Top||
#2
the al j english version has less anti israel bias than the bbc
[IsraelTimes] Measure called for by interior minister; judge rules that by committing a terror attack, Alaa Raed Ahmad Zayoud removed himself from society
The Haifa Magistrate’s Court on Sunday revoked the citizenship of an Arab Israeli man convicted of carrying out a combined stabbing and car-ramming attack that seriously injured an IDF soldier as well as three others last year.
The ruling marked the first time Israel has stripped an Arab Israeli of citizenship over terror charges, activists said.
The court was responding to a request from Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.
Alaa Raed Ahmad Zayoud was convicted of four counts of attempted murder after he rammed an Israeli soldier, seriously injuring her, and then stepped out of the car to stab three others, causing them light to moderate wounds, on October 11, 2015.
The attack took place on Route 65 near the entrance to Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, northeast of Hadera, in the midst of a wave of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in June last year.
The court ruled that after Zayoud’s citizenship is revoked in October he will be given a temporary status.
The court ruled that after Zayoud’s citizenship is revoked in October he will be given a temporary status, as exists in citizenship laws, and that it will be extended from time to time at the discretion of the interior minister after he has completed his sentence.
The Adalah NGO said it would file a Supreme Court appeal of what it called a "dangerous precedent," along with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
"Alaa Zayoud will be left stateless, in contravention of international law," Adalah said in a statement.
At the time, Deri said he had also informed the family that the ministry would not renew the residency of Zayoud’s Paleostinian father, who is not an Israeli citizen.
Deri, last May, filed a request with the court to revoke Zayoud’s citizenship. The move had also been green-lighted by the attorney general. Zayoud is a resident of the Arab Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm. At the time, Deri said he had also informed the family that the ministry would not renew the residency of Zayoud’s Paleostinian father, who is not an Israeli citizen.
An interesting precedent for all involved.
Deputy president of the Haifa Magistrate’s Court Avraham Elyakim said in his ruling that the measure was "suitable and proportional."
"For every citizen, alongside his rights, there are commitments," Elyakim reasoned. "One of them is the significant and important commitment to maintain loyalty to the state, which is given expression also in the commitment to not carry out terror acts to harm its residents and their security.
"We cannot allow an Israeli citizen to impact the lives and dignity of other Israeli citizens, and whoever decides to do so in acts of terror removes himself from the general society of the country," he added.
Deri said the decision will help prevent future attacks, Channel 2 new reported.
"The court decision strengthens the deterrent and strengthens our campaign to protect the security of the country," Deri said in a statement. "The decision states unequivocally that anyone who harms the state or its citizens can’t be a part of it."
Zayoud had admitted to Sherlocks that his attack was "nationalistically motivated," a police term indicating a terror attack. His confession marks a retraction from his initial claim that the attack was an accidental car collision, and the stabbings an act of self-defense after he was attacked by onlookers.
In his testimony, Zayoud told Sherlocks he wished to kill himself by killing Jews.
The miscreant's citizenship will be revoked in October. His Palestinian father will lose/has lost residency privileges he'd acquired by marriage to an Israeli Arab, and must return whence he came.
[Iran Press TV] Syria has reiterated its calls for the dissolving of the US-led coalition over its "continued and systematic massacre" of civilians.
"Syria renews its call to immediately dissolve the coalition which was established outside the framework of the UN and without requesting permission from the Syrian government," said Syria’s Foreign Ministry in two letters sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the chairman of the UNSC on Sunday.
The letters stressed that the coalition’s continued destruction of residential neighborhoods and the use of phosphorus munitions are a flagrant violation of international humanitarian laws.
They further called on the UNSC to carry out its responsibility of preserving international peace and security, and urged all states to abide by the UNSC resolutions, especially resolution No. 2253.
UNSC Resolution 2253, adopted unanimously in December 2015, covers asset freeze, travel ban, arms embargo and listing criteria for ISIS, al-Qaeda bandidosforces of Evil and "associated individuals, groups, undertaking and entities."
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08/07/2017 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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The US President 
Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
[AlAhram] On 16 July, the Egyptian Armed Forces launched the fourth phase of Operation Martyr's Right, which aims to counter
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] Israel said Sunday it plans to ban 
