[SUDANTRIBUNE] The warring factions involved in Sudan’s conflict are ready for negotiations aimed at ending months of fighting, an official said.
"There are now clear indications that peace talks could take place. There are now efforts to consolidate coordinating mechanisms since the parties have indicated readiness to engage in the peaceful dialogue," South Sudan’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister, Deng Dau Malek told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.
He said talks will take place in the presence of credible mediators and guarantors.
Malek did not give additional comments when reached to provide an update on the efforts of President Salva Kiir in his capacity as one key contact in the region.
After the eruption of the armed conflict in Sudan, the Sudanese army leaders and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have failed to commit to a ceasefire, forcing over 3 million people to flee the capital and parts of the Darfur region.
The multiple regional and international initiatives and sanctions also did not persuade them to stop the war. Khartoum rejects some mediators, while some countries where the warring parties deposited their money did implement international punitive measures against them.
On Monday, however, a South Sudanese diplomat with direct knowledge of President Kiir’s role in the Sudanese conflict separately told Sudan Tribune that "signs of the possible truce between the two sides have started emerging.
The official said the Sudanese military had accepted calls from the region and international backers encouraging unconditional participation in peaceful talks.
According to the source, Kiir received phone call from the Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan pledging readiness to engage in dialogue to cease hostilities and return the country to peace and stability.
"The president received a phone call from his Sudanese counterpart last week, and it was cordial. They discussed the situation in Sudan and how it can be handled. His Excellency expressed his sincere support because Sudan is in a very delicate situation that requires seriousness and compromise to avert not only collapse and destruction but fragmentation of Sudan into ethnic enclaves," he said.
According to the presidential aide, Kiir advised al-Burhan "to put the country first and not be pulled back by the hardliners and open his doors for talks."
The source, however, doubted the seriousness of the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary force to ceasefire and engage in a peaceful dialogue.
"But even if the white smoke appears, some allies and military figures with Gen al-Burhan have maintained a hard-line stance. They are making demands," he stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2023 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Almost 800 irregular migrants colonists drowned off Tunisia in the first half of this year as they tried to reach Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... by boat, a National Guard front man told AFP Thursday.
"789 bodies of migrants colonists were recovered from the sea, including 102 Tunisians, the others foreigners and unidentified people," said Houcem Eddine Jebabli, adding that more than 34,000 were rescued.
The North African country has become a major gateway for irregular migrants colonists and asylum-seekers attempting the perilous sea voyage in often rickety boats in the hope of a better life in Europe.
The distance between Tunisia, near its second city of Sfax, and the Italian island of Lampedusa is about 130 kilometres (80 miles), and the sea voyages pick up in the summer months.
Between January 1 and June 20, a total of 34,290 migrants colonists were intercepted and rescued, sharply up from 9,217 over the same period of last year, Jebabli said.
More than 30,000 of those rescued this year were foreigners, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, he said.
Coastguard units carried out 1,310 operations in the first six months, more than double the number of missions for that period last year.
The Italian government says that more than 80,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to arrive on its shores so far this year, mostly from Tunisia and from war-scarred Libya.
The central Mediterranean has become the world's deadliest migratory route, claiming more than 20,000 lives since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
FLARING RACIAL TENSIONS
Or tribal, perhaps, or cultural.
As Tunisia has become a growing hub on the migrant route, racial tensions and violence have flared in the country of 12 million which is struggling with a deep economic crisis.
High inflation and growing unemployment have seen many Tunisians too try to flee their country.
Xenophobic attacks have repeatedly targeted black African migrants colonists and students, fuelled by incendiary rhetoric from autocratic President Kais Saied.
Saied -- who rules by decree since a power grab two years ago -- has alleged that "hordes" of sub-Saharan migrants colonists were causing crime and posing a demographic threat to the mainly Arab country.
Earlier this month, as Sfax was rocked by racial violence, authorities loaded many migrants colonists onto buses and left them stranded in remote desert areas near Algeria and Libya in searing summer heat.
Human Rights Watch said up to 1,200 black Africans were "expelled or forcibly transferred by Tunisian security forces" to the border regions with Libya and Algeria this month.
The Tunisian Red Islamic Thingy, and Libyan border guards, have reported helping migrants colonists left without water and food in heat that has topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Saied sacked the Tunisian government and froze parliament in a dramatic July 2021 move against the sole democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has recently been in talks with his government, offering Tunisia a major funding package to help it revive its flagging and debt-hit economy, and better secure its borders.
[AFRICANEWS] The leader of the mutinous soldiers who detained the democratically elected president in Niger addressed the nation on Friday, two days after the military takeover.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani, who goes by Omar, said the country needed to change course to secure its preservation and he and others had decided to intervene to overcome "security, economic and social challenges".
"The action of the CNSP is motivated by the sole preoccupation of preserving our dear country, faced in part with the degradation of the security situation in our country and for which our authorities didn't leave a real solution for a way out of the crisis, and the other part is for the bad economic and social governance" says General Omar (Abdourahmane) Tchiani.
The general said he spoke on behalf of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country (CNSP), the group of soldiers who said they staged the takeover.
"I reiterate the appeal of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country for serenity, calm, vigilance and patriotism for together in unison we can overcome the security, economic, and social challenges mentioned before. To the international community, the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country reaffirms its willingness to respect all international engagements to which the Republic of Niger subscribes, including to human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... 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 the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have condemned the "coup d'état"and called for President Mohammed Bazoum to be liberated amid reports that members of the presidential guard were holding him inside his palace.
More courtesy of badanov:
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] General Chiani is the new head of the military junta in Niger.
France has stated that it does not recognize Chiani and does not agree with the overthrow of former President Bazum. Even if they didn't support him. But if the military plays their cards correctly, then they can bet on the opinion of France with the device. Moreover, there is someone to turn to for help. The US is also threatening Niger with the lifting of security agreements and sanctions. Something is suspected about the future political vector of Niger.
Meanwhile, speeches in support of the military with Russian flags and anti-French slogans continue in the country.
Also yesterday they burned down the office of the ruling party. The people and the army are united.
The country is now led by the "National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland", which will deal with the just order of life in Niger. The old constitution has been abolished. The future device of Niger will be presented in the coming weeks.
The stuffing that is happening now about alleged Russian interference in the situation in Niger is devoid of any grounds. This was stated on July 28 by Vsevolod Tkachenko, Head of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.
“Those stories that are happening (about the alleged interference of the Russian Federation in the situation in Niger. - Approx. ed.) Are aimed at trying to at least once again blame us for something without any reason,” he said.
The diplomat clarified that the Russian side had already declared its attitude to what was happening in the African country, pointing out that the situation there must be normalized as quickly as possible and returned to the legal field.
Tkachenko explained that the relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry with other countries are built according to the classical scheme: through the Russian embassy and through the country's embassy in Moscow, the department works with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry and the departments implementing economic projects.
“What is happening now requires some time to evaluate,” he added.
As IA Regnum reported , on July 27, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the coup in Niger an anti-constitutional undertaking. He stressed that Russia stands for the restoration of constitutional order in the country.
There was an attempted coup in Niger on July 26 . President Mohamed Bazum, after unsuccessful negotiations, was detained by his own guards. The office of the head of state said that individual guards started a mutiny, trying in vain to enlist the support of the National Armed Forces and the National Guard.
Later, the Niger army command declared solidarity with the military rebels. The military explained this decision by saying that they want to prevent bloodshed and preserve the physical integrity of the president captured by the rebels.
[Breitbart] The White House has announced a new deal that gives Mexico even more power over the flow of wage-cutting economic migrants into jobs and communities throughout the United States.
“Today we are announcing our full support for an international multipurpose space that the Government of Mexico plans to establish in southern Mexico to offer new refugee and labor options for the most vulnerable people who are currently in Mexico,” said the July 28 announcement by the White House’s top security official, Jake Sullivan.
The deal cements the gatekeeper role of Mexico’s pro-migration government at the U.S. border, responded Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies. “It gives Mexico leverage over the United States, because now [President Joe] Biden had to expend political capital to persuade the Mexicans to do this and has become dependent on them [to minimize chaos at the border],” she told Breitbart News.
The gatekeeper deal “improves the optics [at the border], but it’s not going to reduce the flow” of migrants into Americans’ workplaces and communities, Vaughan added.
The deal also “suggests that the Biden administration has been willing to sacrifice a deal on the [cartel] drug [smuggling] problem to get the migration deal that it wants,” she said. On July 25, lower-level Biden officials announced a toothless deal over drug smuggling.
The deal also will not stop the cartels’ labor smuggling, because many people will pay the cartels to help them get around the Mexican gatekeepers as well as U.S. border agents, she added. But it will also allow U.S. elites to hurt Americans’ pocketbooks by using the new migrants to ratchet down Americans’ wages and push up their housing costs and inflation.
[Shafaq News] The Swedish Migration Agency has initiated a re-examination of the residence permit belonging to an Iraqi refugee, linked to a series of Koran desecration incidents in Stockholm, stirring widespread outrage among the Moslem community globally.
According to the Swedish News Agency (TT), the man in question, Salwan Momika, currently holds a temporary residence permit in Sweden, which is scheduled to expire in 2024. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... the agency has decided to review his case in light of recent events.
In response to the escalating situation, the migration agency emailed the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, stating that information provided by Swedish authorities has raised concerns and warranted a thorough evaluation of whether the individual's status in Sweden should be revoked.
Recent days have witnessed Koran burning ...One of the basic tenets of Islam is that once a Koran has been printed it is expected to last for all time, no matter how old, ratty, and smelly other, lesser holy books may become. Should it actually become necessary to put a Koran out of its misery there is a ritual that includes extensive charivari, featuring long drawn-wailing and head bonking, ritual wife beating, and the sacrifice of dozens of women's noses and pubic lips. When the actual disposal has been completed there is a prescribed period of celebratory gun sex with the expectation of a minimum of two hundred casualties. Should actual infidels dispose of a Koran, Islamic custom calls for three weeks of rioting and a minimum of three dozen dead, which is a holdover from the days of Moloch worship.... s in Sweden and Denmark, leading to widespread condemnation from Arab and Islamic communities. The next round of anti-Islam protests began in Sweden when an Iraqi-origin man, Salwan Momika, burned a copy of the Koran outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm. Later, a Danish Far-Right Group replicated the incident by burning the Iraqi flag.
Incidents also occurred near the Egyptian, Iranian, and Ottoman Turkish embassies in Sweden and Denmark.
Following the events, Iraq withdrew its charge d'affaires in Stockholm, and Sweden temporarily relocated its seconded embassy staff and operations from Baghdad to Sweden for safety reasons.
Last week, the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... General Assembly passed a resolution addressing rising violence based on religion and abuse of religious symbols and holy books, condemning such acts as violations of international law.
The resolution promotes dialogue between religions and cultures and calls on the international community to tackle hate speech, which can fuel religious tensions and incite violence. It strongly denounces all forms of violence against individuals based on religion or belief and condemns acts directed against religious symbols, holy books, and sacred places that violate international law.
On July 12, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva condemned recent attacks on the Koran, despite some Western countries voting against the resolution. The Council's resolution called for condemning such attacks and labeling them "acts of religious hatred."
Danish and Swedish authorities expressed concern over the situation and condemned the burning of the Koran. Both countries have laws banning hate speech against ethnic, national, and religious groups and people based on sexual orientation. However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... burning holy scriptures has not been classified as hate speech but is seen as acceptable criticism.
[Breitbart] It is easier to adopt a dog or cat in Washington, DC, than it is to become a sponsor for Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) under President Joe Biden, Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) says.
During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing this week, Lesko called out Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra for applying vetting standards for those adults in the United States seeking to sponsor UACs that are below the standards set by animal rescue shelters, as well as state foster care programs. Lesko said.:
Secretary Becerra, I have the requirements here needed to become a foster parent for dogs and cats through City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue in D.C. All the people who want to take a dog or cat into their home need to fill out an application, are interviewed by the rescue shelter, and their home is inspected.
“Mr. Becerra, does [the Office of Refugee Resettlement] inspect the homes of 100 percent of the prospective UAC sponsors?” Lesko asked, to which Becerra replied repeatedly that HHS does “a thorough vetting process of any sponsors” but could not say that sponsors’ homes are inspected in 100 percent of cases.
“Do you, yes or no — 100 percent of the UAC sponsors sir, do you inspect the homes of the unaccompanied children proposed sponsors?” Lesko asked again.
“We will often do home studies,” Becerra replied, to which Lesko said, “Well, I guess that’s a no.”
The rest of the exchange went as follows:
Posted by: Skidmark ||
07/29/2023 00:50 ||
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[Dawn] The police conducted 203 search and strike operations during the last six months under the National Action Plan against suspected holy warriors and their controllers in the Swabi district, arresting 4,208 of them, sources told Dawn here on Friday.
During this period, the sources said the police also killed two holy warriors.
The sources said a total of 349 FIRs were registered against suspects and their controllers in different cop shoppes.
The sources said from June 1 to July 24, the police conducted a total 76 search and strike operations, arrested 1,177 suspected terrorists, registered 158 FIRs and 163 arms of different categories were seized.
District police officer Najamul Hassain told Dawn that they had targeted both suspected snuffies and their controllers.
"We always remain fully alert to foil any attempt by the holy warriors," he said.
ARREST: Sohail Khan, former Chota Lahor tehsil nazim ...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council... , who is considered the right hand of former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, was arrested when he was crossing the Jahangira Bridge in a car here the other day.
Mr Sohail is one of the prominent leaders of 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.... in Swabi and remained very active during the protest demonstrations held soon after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... on May 9. He was among the protesters, who had blocked the Islamabad-Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... Motorway for eight hours.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/29/2023 04:55 ||
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[Dawn] The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistan (TTP) might be seeking a merger with Al Qaeda to create an umbrella organization that shelters all hard boy groups operating in South Asia, warned a monitoring report submitted to the UN Security Council.
"Some [UN] member states registered concern that TTP might provide an umbrella under which a range of foreign groups operate, or even coalesce, avoiding attempts at control by the Taliban," the report added.
The report, compiled by a UN committee that monitors terrorist activities across the globe, endorsed Pakistain’s complaint that the banned TTP has increased its influence in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
"One member state noted the possibility of [Al Qaeda] and TTP merging. It assessed [Al Qaeda] to be providing guidance to TTP for conducting increased attacks within Pakistain," the report warned.
According to the document, training camps run by various terrorist groups in Afghanistan’s Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... are being used by fighters of the banned TTP as well.
"Since the reunification with several splinter groups, and emboldened by the Taliban take over in Afghanistan, TTP has aspired to re-establish control of territory in Pakistain."
UN monitors noted that the proscribed TTP remained focused on high-value targets in border areas and soft targets in urban areas.
"TTP capability is assessed as not matching its ambition, given that it does not control territory and lacks popular appeal in the tribal areas," the report added.
The UN committee reported that in June, certain elements of the banned TTP were relocated away from the border area, as part of the Taliban’s efforts to rein in the group under pressure from the government of Pakistain.
Member states told UN monitors they were concerned that the outlawed TTP could become a regional threat if it continues to have a safe operating base in Afghanistan.
The UN committee, which submitted its report to the Security Council on July 25, shed light on how the banned TTP was gaining momentum in Afghanistan since the Afghan Taliban took control in August 2021.The report also highlighted how other terrorist outfits were using the TTP cover to operate in the war-torn country.
"The distinctions between members of Al Qaeda and affiliated groups, including TTP, and [IS-K] are at times blurred at the edges, with individuals sometimes identifying with more than one group and a tendency for people to gravitate towards the dominant or ascending power," the report noted.
"There is growing reporting that other sanctioned terrorist groups are using support to TTP as a means to evade control by the Afghan Taliban," it added.
The document defined Afghanistan as a place of global significance for terrorism, with approximately 20 terrorist groups operating in the country and spreading their influence across regions and to build theocratic quasi-state entities.
The UN committee observed that relationship between the Taliban and Al Qaeda remains close and symbiotic. For the most part, Al Qaeda "operates covertly in Afghanistan to help promote the narrative that the Taliban comply with agreements not to use Afghan soil for terrorist purposes".
Under the patronage of high-ranking officials of the de facto Taliban authorities, "Al Qaeda members infiltrate law enforcement agencies and public administration bodies, ensuring the security of Al Qaeda cells dispersed throughout the country".
It estimated that the Al Qaeda core in Afghanistan remains stable at 30 to 60 members, while all Al Qaeda gunnies in the country were estimated to be 400, reaching 2,000 with family members. Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent had approximately 200 fighters.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/29/2023 04:54 ||
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No doubt. But will whoever is running the current government — or the next— do any better?
[GEO.TV] A top official during the 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.... (PTI) government said the country would have economically collapsed had the Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... -led regime completed its tenure.
The PTI's tenure was cut short in April 2022, when the government was ousted after Khan was removed as the prime minister through a no-confidence motion, paving the way for Shehbaz Sharif and allies to come into power.
One of the primary reasons behind ousting the Khan-led government was economic mismanagement and the increasing burden of inflation on the masses, as claimed by the incumbent rulers, who were then in the opposition.
"Had this [PTI] government continued, the party would not have even secured 5% votes as the country would have economically collapsed," former Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi told Geo News' Shahzeb Khanzada on Friday.
The top tax collection body's ex-boss said he had advised Khan to rectify his government's shortcomings and "settle things, but he was not in the mood of listening [to anyone]".
Although Zaidi — whose stint as the federal tax collection authority's chief lasted from 2019 to 2020 — revealed that when he pointed out the economic crises Pakistain was headed towards during the PTI's tenure, Khan had removed Asad Umar as the finance minister.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
And no doubt all involved are now filled with a virtuous (or something) glow. Not that it matters; the UN General Assembly is nothing more than a talk shop, with no power whatsoever. Thank goodness for that bit of cynical wisdom by the founders.
[GEO.TV] The United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution to counter hate speech and strongly deplore attacks against places of worship, religious symbols, and holy books.
The Moroccan-backed, entitled Promoting Interreligious and intercultural dialogue and Tolerance in countering hate speech, was co-sponsored by Pakistain.
It won the approval of the 193-member assembly amid growing acts of desecration of the Holy Koran.
Diplomats said that Pakistain led the efforts, along with Malaysia and Egypt, to work toward the resolution of the language aimed at upholding the sanctity of religious sites, symbols, and holy books.
"Strongly deploring all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their religious symbols, holy books, homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centres or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites and shrines in violation of international law," the paragraph reads.
Spain submitted an amendment asking for the last words of that paragraph "in violation of international law" to be deleted.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , the Spanish delegate emphasised that although such actions are deeply offensive and disrespectful, they do not constitute a violation of international law, and thus proposed the elimination of the reference to "in violation of international law".
But the amendment to change the phrasing was defeated. It secured only 44 votes in favour, with 62 voting against. There were 24 abstentions.
Under the terms of the resolution, the general assembly urged member states to engage with all relevant stakeholders to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue and respect and acceptance of differences, among other things, to reject the spread of hate speech that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Devout Moslems
[GEO.TV] The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced holding an extraordinary virtual session for the Council of Foreign Ministers of Member States (CFM) on July 31 (Monday) to discuss the repeated incidents of desecration and burning of copies of the Holy Koran in Sweden and Denmark.
"This session has been convened at the request 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... , the Chair of the 14th Islamic Summit, and the Republic of Iraq," the top Moslem bloc said in a statement.
This urgent meeting of ministers has been called in response to the final statement issued by the OIC Executive Committee after an extraordinary meeting held at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah on July 2, this year, it added.
The statement addressed the burning of a copy of the Holy Koran in Sweden and called for high-level emergency meetings as needed.
"The meeting is being held considering the OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha’s consultations with the member states regarding the implementation of the final statement issued by the Executive Committee," read the OIC statement.
Further measures are also being considered in response to the repeated provocative actions that represent deliberate religious hatred and intolerance, it added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?... Saudi Arabia summoned a Danish diplomat to protest the desecration of the holy book by an extreme-right group in Copenhagen, state media reported early Friday.
During the meeting on Thursday with the Danish charge d'affaires, Saudi foreign ministry officials delivered a protest note urging an end to "these disgraceful acts, which violate all religious teachings (and) international laws and norms" and can "fuel hatred between religions", the official Saudi Press Agency said.
The far-right group Danske Patrioter on Monday posted a video in which a man is seen desecrating and burning what appeared to be a copy of the Holy Koran.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Devout Moslems
As far as I can tell, Israel has about 170,000 active service personnel, and heading toward 500,00 reservists. So about 2% of reservists are withholding themselves. Whoopee.
[Jpost] Some 10,000 reservists from throughout the IDF will no longer show up for service, they announced in a press conference on Saturday evening, according to N12.
These reservists are joining more than 1,000 Air Force reservists who made the same announcement in a letter on Friday.
Lefties, “edgy” fellow travellers, Antifa still only get it up to 2.2% — still whoopee.
"This is one of the most difficult evenings for the State of Israel, but it's also one of the most important in the state's history," said Brothers in Arms leader Eyal Neve. "We represent some 10,000 reservists who are telling the government, the defense minister and the prime minister the responsibility is on you! If you want us on your side as we've served under right and left wing governments, we are calling on you to stop the legislation."
"We are fighting for the dearest thing to us so that our kids can continue to live here," said another Brothers in Arms leader Ron Sheref. "This government is fighting against the state's values and against the spirit of the IDF. There is an incredible list here of people from all the units. Everyone here is the people of Israel who only want to go back to living in a democratic country without waking up every morning with someone threatening them and their basic values."
The move, which is being repeated after reservists made the same threat shortly before the Knesset broke up for Passover, was faced with criticism from the coalition MKs who called them refuseniks and said they were being undemocratic.
FORMER DEFENSE CHIEFS SUPPORT THE RESERVISTS
On the other hand, a group of former IDF, Israel Police, Mossad, and Shin Bet chiefs backed up the decision in a letter that was sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.
The reservists were also defended by former IDF chief of staff MK Gadi Eisenkot who said they weren't refusniks. He also voiced that he blames Netanyahu for the situation and added that reservists have the right to stop volunteering for service.
This is a change from earlier this week when he, together with fellow former IDF chiefs Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, made a statement urging reservists not to make good on their threat to stop showing up for service.
Earlier this week, the IDF put out a statement saying that despite the reservists' protest, the army was still ready for war, but N12 reported on Saturday evening that IDF Chief of Staff said that if the reasonableness standard bill passes, the army's readiness will be significantly damaged within 48 hours. The IDF later denied this.
In light of the situation, Walla reported that Netanyahu and Halevi will meet on Sunday to discuss the issue.
The situation is similar to what it was in March when it led Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to call on the government to stop the legislation out of concern for the security of Israel. The statement led Netanyahu to fire Gallant, but he later rescinded his decision citing the safety of the country.
[Shafaq News] ISIS grabbed credit for the devastating attack targeting the Sayyidah Zeinab area in southern Damascus.
The area houses one of Syria's major Shiite pilgrimage sites, making it a significant target for holy warrior violence.
According to Syrian authorities, the earth-shattering kaboom killed at least six people, while over 20 others were maimed.
In a statement released on Telegram Friday evening, ISIS asserted that its fighters had successfully breached security measures in the area. The group claimed to have employed a booby-trapped cycle of violence, detonating amid the Shiite pilgrims' gathering.
This act of violence follows another bombing executed by ISIS on Tuesday, in which a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims was targeted in the same vicinity. That attack resulted in at least two injuries and the destruction of the bus.
In light of the religious event of Ashura, which holds immense significance for Shiite Moslems, Syrian authorities have recently intensified security measures in the Sayyeda Zeinab area.
The attack is not the first in the area. In February 2016, a double suicide kaboom claimed by the holy warrior group occurred merely 400 meters from the shrine, resulting in the tragic loss of 134 lives, including over 90 civilians. Before that, ISIS grabbed credit for a triple blast near the site, claiming the lives of at least 70 people.
[Al Ahram] Over the past month, the Syrian pound has plummeted against foreign currencies to unprecedented levels. There are now 9,000 to 12,500 pounds per dollar, marking a 25 per cent loss in value within a single month.
The rapid erosion of the value of the pound has plunged Syrians already living in impoverished conditions into a deep abyss and made them unable to withstand any further deterioration in their circumstances.
The Syrian economy is now in its worst condition since the onset of the uprising against the regime led by Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 12 years ago.
The Syrian pound has plummeted, inflation has surged, and public services have eroded or are non-existent. Industrial production has drastically declined, and oil production has plummeted.
Even in the capital Damascus, electricity is available for just a few hours a day, while prices have skyrocketed. These conditions pervade all of Syria, whether in areas under state or opposition control.
Wages and salaries in Syria are at their lowest levels in history and fail to cover even a fraction of the cost of living. Many Syrians are forced to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, and a large proportion of the population now relies on humanitarian aid or remittances from relatives living abroad.
Since the onset of the uprising, the Syrian economy has been beset by a series of shocks, including the destruction of infrastructure as a result of the conflict in the country.
The displacement and flight of millions of Syrians, the spread of corruption and the emergence of warlords, the depletion of the country’s financial reserves to finance the war, and the imposition of US and European sanctions on the Syrian regime have led to successive economic difficulties.
The global economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the catastrophic earthquake that struck northwestern Syria and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... in February this year, and the effects of the Russian war in Ukraine have all compounded the economic crisis.
All these factors have contributed to the spread of corruption at all levels and the proliferation of exploitation to an unprecedented degree.
There has been a near stop in oil shipments to Syria from Iran, which has been the primary source of fuel for Syria during the years of war. Kurdish forces supported by the US have taken control of the largest oil reserves in northeastern Syria, exacerbating the fuel crisis that has severely impacted electricity production and other essential services.
The Syrian regime has attributed the fuel shortage to Western sanctions and long delays in oil supplies.
UN Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen has emphasised that the needs of the Syrian people have now reached their worst levels since the beginning of the conflict. He has called on the international community to urgently address the needs of the Syrian people before additional humanitarian disasters occur.
Pedersen has placed particular emphasis on opposition-controlled areas that lack resources and receive little or no support from the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[14 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I hadn't realised it wasn't in freefall already
Posted by: GA Mike ||
07/29/2023 3:42 Comments ||
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#2
I hadn’t realized that they still had an economy.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/29/2023 8:21 Comments ||
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#3
Captagon Pharmaceutical based
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2023 8:43 Comments ||
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#4
If only they had some of those baby milk factories...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/29/2023 8:50 Comments ||
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#5
All because Netflix cut back on Assad sharing his account.
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 land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
...One of the basic tenets of Islam is that once a Koran has been printed it is expected to last for all time, no matter how old, ratty, and smelly other, lesser holy books may become. Should it actually become necessary to put a Koran out of its misery there is a ritual that includes extensive charivari, featuring long drawn-wailing and head bonking, ritual wife beating, and the sacrifice of dozens of women's noses and pubic lips. When the actual disposal has been completed there is a prescribed period of celebratory gun sex with the expectation of a minimum of two hundred casualties. Should actual infidels dispose of a Koran, Islamic custom calls for three weeks of rioting and a minimum of three dozen dead, which is a holdover from the days of Moloch worship....
...aka 
...Arabic for 
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
