[Khaama Press] President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. inaugurated two power projects in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan which have been completed with the financial support of Germany.
The Office of the President, ARG Palace, said the two projects were inaugurated in Khulm and Marmol districts.
According to a statement released by ARG Palace, the two projects have been completed with the financial support of Germany amounting to €7.6 million.
The statement further added that first project, 220/20 kV substation was inaugurated in Khulm district while the electricity distribution network was inaugurated in Marmol district.
The ARG Palace also added that nearly 18 thousand families will benefit from the two projects which have been built with the non-refundable aid of Germany.
President Ghani arrived in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan earlier today to inaugurate the electricity projects.
In the meantime, presidential front man Shah Hussain Murtazawi says President Ghani will also meet with the local officials during his visit to the province.
President Ghani is also expected to hold talks regarding the government’s support to residents of Balkh, Sar Pul, Jawzjan, and Faryab who have been affected due to recent floods.
[Libya Observer] The Head of the High Council of State (HCS) Khalid al-Mishri, said a ceasefire must take effect in Derna, in eastern Libya, pointing out to the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) which says no to any military conflicts across Libya and advocates for reconciliation.
"Derna is suffering from a siege on civilian population that reached over 2 years leading to acute shortages of all basic needs such as foods, medicines and others, thus leaving the civilians to their own fate struggling with the deteriorated humanitarian conditions." al-Mishri explained in an interview with La Belle France24 in Gay Paree on Tuesday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the city.
Al-Mishri told Gay Paree meeting on Tuesday that southern Libya, especially Sabha, is going through certain hostilities and "foreign parties" are involved in it, hence leading to deteriorated humanitarian conditions as well in the southern region, according to the HCS official Facebook page.
"Unity of Libya, illusory sovereignty, civilian authority in the country, no military solution, the basis of solutions is the LPA, peaceful circulation of power, alleviating economic burdens on Libyans, fighting terrorism and extremism, and uniting Libyan institutions are the main points I stressed in Gay Paree conference." al-Mishri told La Belle France24.
Al-Mishri also indicated that the HCS doesn't recognize Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... - the commander of the self-styled army in east Libya - as he is not legitimate but merely a commander of a formation of military forces.
"I don't recognize a chief commander named Haftar; I recognize the commander in chief Fayez al-Sirraj as per the LPA." He remarked, adding that he didn’t talk nor shake hands with Haftar during Gay Paree meeting.
"We are ready to work with the House of Representatives as per LPA Article 15 and we back up holding elections in the country to end transitional phase but there should be a referendum on the constitution before that." He elaborated.
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05/31/2018 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Benjamin Herman fatally shot two policewomen and a bystander in Liege, is suspected of killing a fourth person
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.... terror group on Wednesday claimed one of its "soldiers" killed two policewomen and a student in the Belgian city of Liege this week, the jihadist’s Amaq propaganda agency said.
"The author of the attack on the city of Liege in Belgium is a soldier of the Islamic State," IS said in a statement published on Amaq’s Telegram account a day after the attack.
The terror group said "he led the attack in response to calls to target the countries of the US-led international coalition," which is fighting the jihadist group mainly in Syria.
The attacker identified as Benjamin Herman repeatedly stabbed two policewomen in Liege on Tuesday before using their own firearms to kill them, according to Sherlocks in Belgium.
The 31-year-old also rubbed out a student sitting in a parked car in the center of the industrial city.
Belgian police have identified Herman as a drifter who spent a decade in and out of prison for acts of violence and petty crimes.
Prosecutors said his method of attack was a known "modus operandi" of IS, which claimed deadly attacks in Brussels in 2016.
Amateur footage obtained by AFP showed the gunman shouting "holy shit! Allahu akbar" (Arabic for "God is greatest") as he walked through the streets during the rampage.
Herman is also suspected in the killing of a fourth person on the eve of his rampage, federal prosecutors’ front man Eric Van Der Sypt told a presser on Wednesday morning.
"The facts are qualified as terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder," Van Der Sypt said, referring also to the shootings that maimed four other coppers.
The killer "is also suspected of a manslaughter in On, Marche-en-Famenne," in southern Belgium, he added.
Earlier Wednesday, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said the person Herman killed in On was a former inmate who did prison time with Herman. Herman is alleged to have killed the man on Monday evening by hitting him over the head with a blunt object.
"The exact circumstances of this offense are the subject of a separate investigation," Van Der Sypt said.
A source close to the investigation told AFP that the gunman was on a special police watchlist because of his contacts with radical Islamists.
The source said Herman had past convictions for robbery, violence, and drug dealing.
He was reported by Belgian broadcaster RTBF to have been released from prison on Monday.
"He is suspected of having been radicalized [in prison]... He has been reported or presumed to be belonging to the entourage of an Islamist recruiter," the source said on condition of anonymity.
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05/31/2018 00:12 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... ’s new foreign minister says the international community should decide whether the UN refugee agency for Paleostinians has become a "state within a state," questioning whether the Swiss should continue to help funding it.
In what critics call a break from vaunted Swiss neutrality, Ignazio Cassis doubled down on his recent comments that UNRWA had strayed too far from its original ambition to help Paleostinian refugees temporarily.
Switzerland has given UNRWA more than $20 million annually in the last five years, and plans to continue similar funding through 2020.
Cassis tells RTS radio Wednesday it’s his job to question Swiss public funding.
He visited Jordan this month. He tells the Aargauer Zeitung newspaper that UNRWA was once part of the solution, but has become "part of the problem" in the Middle East.
#2
Are the Swiss looking at the waves of displaced migrants and considering that the 'next' UNRWA-like UN project is in the offing? There will be tens of camps across the Mediterranean and cost thousands of times more danegeld from their pockets?
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurdistan said cargo flights resumed at Erbil airport after a ban imposed late last year by the Baghdad-based federal government of Iraq.
Aljournal News website quoted a spokesperson of the Kurdish transport ministry saying in a press statement that commercial freight flights have resumed to and from Erbil International Airport.
Baghdad lifted an embargo on flights to and from Kurdish airports in March. The embargo was imposed right after the autonomous region voted in favor of independence from Iraq in a popular poll in September, a step deemed unconstitutional by the Iraqi government.
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05/31/2018 00:00 ||
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s High Elections Commission announced on Wednesday it was cancelling voting results in the recent parliament elections from more than 1000 polling stations, adding it would hold violators accountable.
It said its teams scrutinized 102 stations at 10 provinces where vote manipulation was reported by political parties, adding that violations were verified.
The commission added it voluntarily scrutinized 2000 more stations, out of which 852 proved to have witnessed breaches, hence cancellation of results.
It clarified that 67 stations for expatriate voters also had their results cancelled due to violations, including in the United States, Germany, the U.K., Sweden, Jordan and Turkey.
According to the commission, the measures put the total of stations where results had been cancelled at 1021. It said it continues to receive challenges to results and “would not hesitate in holding violators accountable”.
Last week, the Iraqi cabinet said it formed a panel to investigate alleged forgery in the elections that were held on 12th of this month. Last Monday, the parliament urged concerned bodies to take necessary measyres to address the violations, including recount and cancellation of results if required.
According to official result, Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s al-Nasr list came third. First came Saeroon list, sponsored by Shia leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist seeking to break away from Iranian influence and scathingly opposed to foreign military presence in Iraq. Second came al-Fatah, an alliance of former leaders of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shia-led troops that backed government forces campaign, under Abadi, to drive out Islamic State militants since 2014.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi president Fuad Masum has slammed a decision taken by the Iraqi parliament to cancel results of expat votes in the parliamentary elections as unconstitutional, vowing to take legal action against it.
“The parliament’s decision dated May 28, 2018 to cancel election results in some governorates and to recount votes in other constituencies violates provisions of the Iraqi constitution and law of the Independent High Electoral Commission,” Sputnik quoted Masum as saying in a statement Wednesday.
He further pledged to take the opinion of the Federal Supreme Court on that issue.
On Monday, the Iraqi parliament decided, during a special session, to cancel the result of expat votes in the parliamentary polls, the first since the defeat of Islamic State in the country last year.
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05/31/2018 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] National Security Council says it 'welcomes' Jerusalem's willingness to take Washington's concerns about West Bank construction into consideration
The United States avoided condemning Israel’s approval of thousands of West Bank homes on Wednesday, instead insisting that it "welcomes" Jerusalem’s commitment to taking US concerns regarding its settlement policy into consideration.
"The Israeli government has made clear that going forward, its intent is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes the president’s concerns into consideration. The United States welcomes this," a spokesperson for the National Security Council told The Times of Israel.
"The president has made his position on new settlement activity clear, and we encourage all parties to continue to work toward peace," the US official added.
The White House position on settlements has shifted considerably since former president Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... left office in the beginning of 2013. Contrary to his "not one brick policy," which opposed any construction beyond the 1967 lines, his successor 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... has taken a less confrontational approach.
The former real estate mogul has several times voiced his view that settlements are "unhelpful," and asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements."
However, a woman is only as old as she admits... the White House has also avoided criticizing any particular plan from the dozens that have been approved for construction during Trump’s first year and a half in office.
In March 2017, Netanyahu announced a new policy regarding settlements, proclaiming that his government was respecting Trump’s concerns over unfettered construction.
Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office at the time said that the new approach includes self-imposed restrictions that will "significantly limit the expansion of settlements beyond the footprint of existing settlements."
According to the left-wing Peace Now NGO, at least 1,500 of the housing units advanced Wednesday "are clearly outside the built-up areas" of their respective settlements. Maps of several of the approved projects show that they are for neighborhoods not contiguous with the already existing settlements.
Of the 1,957 homes green-lighted by the Civil Administration’s High Planning subcommittee, 696 gained final approval for construction while 1,262 cleared an earlier planning stage known as a "deposit."
Roughly half of the homes advanced will be located in isolated settlements, outside the so-called settlement blocs that most Israeli leaders argue will remain part of the Jewish state in any peace deal with the Paleostinians.
Nonetheless, the US National Security Council front man insisted that "the [Trump] administration is firmly committed to pursuing a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Paleostinians."
#1
I say we dust off and nuke it from orbit. They ain't about to change and nothing else we do will make a bit of difference. Yes, it's a waste of human capital, but sometimes you just need to reboot.
#5
Some may, some may not recall the 'duck and cover' grade school exercises of the '50s.
Fire alarms, crawling under the desks and subsequent random incoherent PA alerts, "If your last name starts with [M], you have been injured by the blast. Please go to the Gym for first aid."
"If your last name starts with [T] you have been killed by the blast. Please go to the cafeteria to be prepared for body recovery and interment."
#6
Another article in this day's list about Israel approving a new allowance of "settlements" may be relevant.
Settlements work. Israelis settled those "settlements" and that piece of real estate then has kindergartens with little jewish kids who grow up to be decent human beings. They provide citizens who don't bomb school buses and other kindergarteners.
Somebody has to win this war. You win because the Gazooks don't win. Settlements, every one of them, provide an effective way to dry up the Gazooks so they don't get born and they eventually blow away like dried leaves.
Somebody has to win, there is no "sharing" with a Palestinian or a Gazook. A ''sharing" with them is no solution. , its a one way ticket to a forever of bombed school buses and no future for ANY kindergarten. The Gazooks have NO intention of "sharing". They have a policy of hostages and killing children.
Make a choice about who and why you want to win. Its that simple.
I know. It was a metaphor. Someone recently said you can always negotiate as long as both parties are not fighting over the exact same thing. In this case, there's people who want to kill the Juice and the Juice don't want to be killed. That is not going to get resolved sitting around a table. I wish it were otherwise, but it's not.
#8
Israel can reclaim Gaza.
They can then give the arab occupants a choice between keeping sharia law and moving to the east bank of the jordan river or embracing Israeli law and staying in what once was gaza or anywhere else in Israel.
[Ynet] India's Reliance Industries Ltd, owner of the world's biggest refining complex, plans to halt oil imports from Iran, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a sign that new US sanctions are forcing buyers to shun oil purchases from Tehran.
Reliance's move, expected to take effect in October or November, came after 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... abandoned a 2015 nuclear agreement this month and ordered the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.
Some sanctions take effect after a 90-day "wind-down" period ending on Aug. 6, and the rest, notably on the petroleum sector, after a 180-day "wind-down period" ending on Nov. 4.
India has said it does not follow US sanctions but companies with links to the US financial system could be liable to penalties if they do not comply.
Reliance, an Indian conglomerate controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has significant exposure to the financial system of the United States, where it operates some subsidiaries that are linked to its oil and telecom businesses among others.
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05/31/2018 00:12 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] More than 320 Syrians have returned to their homes in the Homs province and Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, in the past 24 hours, said Major General Yuri Yevtushenko, the chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides in Syria.
"Over the past 24 hours, 201 people have come back to their homes in the Homs province and 121 more in Eastern Ghouta," he said on Wednesday.
The reconciliation center said that illegal gangs were reported to have violated the ceasefire in the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia and Daraa in the past day.
Russian field engineers searched three buildings in al-Nasriya and destroyed four shells and one improvised bomb.
"Repair works on international highway M5 are in full swing. Road safety barriers are being installed along the road connecting Ar-Rastan and Tell Bisa, lamp posts are being assembled and demolition waste is being taken away," Yevtushenko said.
The center for reconciliation of conflicting sides alongside Syria’s government is engaged in work on post-conflict settlement in the republic. In the Homs de-escalation zone, 2,931 people have regulated their status by surrendering twelve units of small arms. Since May 16, at least 26,940 people have undergone the procedure.
Apart from that, Russian military police set up observation posts near al-Rastan, Kafer-Laha, Talbiseh, Zaafarana, Haret-Tuqman and Asiri-Qarabesi to prevent provocations and illegal activities.
Russian military doctors provided medical services to 214 Syrians, including 96 children.
In the city of Aleppo, Russian servicemen opened a field kitchen to provide with 300 portions of warm meals and more than one tonne of fresh bread to the population at the end of Ramadan’s daylight fasting hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2018 00:08 ||
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[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... and the United States have reached an agreement on a plan for the withdrawal of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from Syria's Manbij, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the three-step plan, which will become finalised during a visit by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Washington on June 4, the YPG will withdraw from Manbij 30 days after the deal is signed, Anadolu said.
Ottoman Turkish and U.S. military forces will start joint supervision in Manbij 45 days after the agreement is signed and a local administration will be formed 60 days after June 4, Anadolu said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Not so fast, ya Turkey.
US denies Manbij agreement, despite Turkish claim
State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert denied that any agreement existed between Washington and Ankara over the future of Manbij. Also:
Late on Friday, Reuters reported that the Trump administration had decided to “withdraw assistance from northwest Syria,” where Islamist rebels dominate, to “focus recovery efforts” on the northeast, the area liberated from the Islamic State and now administered by the SDF and its local allies.
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.
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
