[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth.... and owner of a world-class comb-over
on Tuesday sacked the country’s police chief, Abdelghani Hamel, until now seen as a likely successor to the head of state.
Bouteflika "today signed two decrees, the first putting an end to the duties of Abdelghani Hamel, as director general of national security forces (DGSN), and the second on the nomination of Mustapha el-Habiri as the head of the DGSN," the president’s office said in a statement published by APS news agency.
The unexpected decision comes against the backdrop of a cocaine trafficking scandal which has tarnished numerous officials including magistrates.
The DGSN has denied media reports of Hamel’s personal chauffeur being embroiled in the affair, instead pointing the finger at "a driver from the management’s fleet".
Hamel has gained influence in recent years as Algeria’s police chief and was seen as a possible contender for Algeria’s presidency.
Originally trained as a computer engineer, he joined Algeria’s gendarmerie -- a police force that is part of the army -- and rose through the ranks to become general and head of the Elite Republican Guard in 2008.
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06/29/2018 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Egyptian authorities will close the Rafah border crossing with Gazoo from 29 June to 1 July, al-Ahram Arabic news website reported on Thursday.
The Rafah crossing was opened during the entire month of Ramadan, which ended in mid June, upon orders from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
The president's orders came amid the killing of dozens of Paleostinians by Israeli occupation forces during protests in Gazoo against the moving of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Egyptian authorities also opened the Rafah crossing during the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday following Ramadan, and the crossing has been open since.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Yemen’s legitimate government emphasized the need for a complete withdrawal of Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militias from the city of Hodeidah and its ports as a main condition before starting the peace negotiations.
This comes following a meeting between the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur where Griffiths said that a deal was struck with the Houthis who reportedly agreed to allow Hodeidah to be placed under UN surveillance.
Yemen’s foreign minister Khaled al-Yamani said in a statement that the government’s main demand from the start was the complete withdrawal of the militias, and the entrance of government forces to guarantee the security of the area and reopen ports to receive humanitarian aid.
Yamani stressed that managing the ports and ensuring security cannot happen if they are isolated from the city.
"Security and stability cannot be achieved in the west coast, and the protection of international navigation without the withdrawal of all Houthi militias from the city, including the ports of al-Salif and Raas Issa," Yamani said.
Yamani blamed the Houthis for using civilians as human shields in Hodeidah, and increasing their attacks on government buildings. He added that in their fight against the militias, the government and the Arab coalition making large efforts to avoid injuring civilians or damaging the city’s infrastructure.
Yemeni parliamentary blocs stressed the need to continue the battle to liberate Hodeidah, which they said "suffered the scourge of domination of Houthi terrorist militias who loot ports, as well as humanitarian and relief products."
Parliamentary blocs also called on all Hodeidah residents to cooperate with the Yemeni army to force out the Houthis, and not allow bandidossnuffies to spread out in their neighborhoods.
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06/29/2018 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Thursday that 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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... ’s argument before the International Court of Justice in the Hague yesterday was pathetic in its appeal for sympathy, a weak position Doha could not support with facts and figures.
In a series of tweets, Gargash added: "The UAE’s argument today was strong and refuted the Qatari allegations using figures, exposing its falsity and weakness of fundamentals and evidence, and documented the state’s carelessness towards Qatari citizens who are victims of this government’s policies."
Gargash said in another tweet that "The legal team of the UAE has refuted the allegations of grievances and revealed that the issue of the Qatari government is a media fanfare marketed by Doha media, and the figures show a distinction between the political position and the humanitarian responsibility," he said.
Gargash noted that "with evidence and figures, the UAE legal team clarified the state’s keenness towards the Qatari in education, medication, trade and investment even after the crisis. The Qatari government seeks to fabricate a human injustice that is incompatible with reality."
The UAE minister added: "The sovereign decisions taken by the UAE to protect itself from the conspiracies of the Qatari government have not overshadowed its humanitarian responsibility, and the pleading today has shown all this with evidence and figures. It exposed the lies of the Qatari media machine."
The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said: "The International Court of Justice has seen documented figures for students completing their studies, citizens being treated, renewed trade licenses and bank transfers in hundreds of millions. The lying and counterfeiting in international courts that has been practised before by Qatar and was exposed"
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[NBCNEWS] The Occupy Ice PDX protesters, who were rallying against President Trump’s immigration policies, set up camp at the ICE facility more than a week ago.
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#1
Hope they cracked a lot of skulls in the process.
[DAWN] Pakistain was officially placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 'grey list' on Wednesday, failing the country’s efforts to avoid the designation, diplomatic sources claimed.
The sources said that a terrorism financing watchdog took the decision during a plenary meeting in Gay Paree, arguing that Pakistain had failed to act against terror financing on its soil.
The FATF did not make an official announcement till late in the night.
Being placed on the 'grey list' means that Pakistain's financial system will be designated as posing a risk to the international financial system because of "strategic deficiencies" in its ability to prevent terror financing and money laundering.
After being placed on the 'grey list', Pakistain will be directly scrutinised by the financial watchdog until it is satisfied by the measures taken to curb terror financing and money laundering.
Thanks to the opacity of FATF’s operations, it is uncertain what exactly Pakistain is expected to do, but what is clear is that the government has taken some steps to come into compliance with the global body’s requirements, such as proscribing key groups, whose open operations were a bone of contention, and seizing their assets.
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[FOXNEWS] Nikki Haley ...Trump administration's ambassador to the UN. First woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, and the second Indian-American governor in the country, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. At the age of 39, Haley was the youngest governor in the U.S., a distinction formerly held by Jindal. She is a Republican, which really grates on the Dems... , the U.S. envoy to the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... , said Thursday her country is urging Pakistain more strongly not to give safe haven to terrorists.
She said Pakistain has been cooperating with the United States, but Washington cannot accept any government protecting terrorists.
"We are communicating this message to Pakistain more strongly than in the past and we hope to see changes," Haley told members of the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank.
Pakistain's cooperation is seen as key to the success of 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 Afghanistan policy.
Pakistain is under pressure from Washington and the Afghan government to stop offering safe haven to Death Eaters blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistain also insists its influence over the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... has been exaggerated.
India has also blamed a Pakistain-based group, Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , for attacks on Mumbai in November 2008 that killed 166 people. The U.S. has designated the group a terrorist organization.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... , whose political bloc came first in a May parliamentary election, said on Thursday he was scaling back his militia to strengthen the incoming government and its security forces.
The holy man’s list won the most seats in an election marred by low turnout and allegations of fraud.
He is currently embroiled in negotiations with the heads of other blocs over forming the next government, in which he is expected to play a leading role.
Sadr said in a handwritten order published on his website that his Saraya al-Salam (Peace Companies) militia must disband in all cities except for the capital Baghdad and the cities of Karbala and Samarra, both homes to holy Shi’ite shrines.
Call for nationwide disarmament
The holy man had earlier this month called for a nationwide disarmament campaign after an arms cache went kaboom! in his stronghold district of Sadr City in Baghdad, killing 18 people. Political opponents said the cache had belonged to his militia.
His Thursday order called on his men to store arms in a manner that protects civilians. All the militia's leaders except those in the three named cities were prohibited from "activities on the ground’.
Sadr said the militia was also now banned from conducting any operation outside Iraq, and all weapons received from the government and its security forces were to be returned.
Like most Iraqi politicians, Sadr has consistently maintained a powerful militia.
In the past he has mobilized tens of thousands of followers to protest against government policies and has been seen as a wild card in Iraq’s turbulent politics, which is often driven by sectarian interests.
His militia, once known as the Mahdi Army ... an Iranian fifth column masquerading as an Iraqi militia ... , staged two violent uprisings against US occupation forces after their invasion of Iraq and toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi and US officials described him at the time as the biggest security threat in Iraq.
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A bigwig from Lebanese Shia militia Hezbollah has arrived in Iraq to engage in political talk on efforts to form the upcoming Iraqi government, informed sources were quoted saying Thursday.
Shafaaq News website quoted the sources saying that Mohammed Kawtharani, Hezbollah’s official in charge of the Iraqi file, arrived Wednesday in Baghdad to meet up with Shia politicians and discuss efforts to form the next Iraqi government.
"Kawtharani will convey Hezbollah’s views regarding the Iraqi government’s formation," according to the sources.
Negotiations for alliances among Iraqi political groups are underway to form the biggest parliament bloc and form the coming Iraqi government, the first after the ouster of 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.... myrmidons.
Shia Iran is understood to have a significant influence over Shia political groups in Leb and Iraq, but observers believe the Islamic republic has started to feel unease with Iraqi politicians promoting independent decision-making.
[IsraelTimes] Jordan, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and Paleostinian Authority reportedly call on Jerusalem to ensure Erdogan doesn't claim a stake in holy city
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... is trying to extend its sphere of influence to East Jerusalem, according to a report Thursday, causing alarm in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Paleostinian Authority, which have urged Israel to act.
Amman, Riyadh and Ramallah are concerned that the move is an attempt by newly reelected Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... to claim he is the custodian of the Moslem sites in the city, weakening their own interests and harming Israel’s, the Haaretz daily reported.
Officials from Israel’s security forces told Haaretz that they were aware of the situation and following it closely.
Ottoman Turkish Islamic associations have lately been sponsoring activities and trips for thousands of people in East Jerusalem, the paper reported, and had a strong presence in protests around the Temple Mount.
Diplomats told Haaretz that Jordan began expressing its concern to Jerusalem over a year ago and accused the government of "being asleep at the wheel." The Jordanians claimed that after Israel signed a reconciliation deal with Turkey in 2016 it was afraid of confrontation with Erdogan.
Relations between Jerusalem and Ankara imploded in 2010 following an Israeli naval raid on a Ottoman Turkish ship trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede,-controlled Gazoo Strip. The raid, in which IDF commandos were attacked by activists on board, left 10 Turks dead and several soldiers maimed.
Israeli security officials confirmed to Haaretz that the Jordanians had contacted them but they rejected the criticism. They told the paper that the issue reached its peak a year ago when Ottoman Turkish citizens would visit the Temple Mount waving Ottoman Turkish flags and banners of Erdogan’s AKP party and start fights with the Israeli guards. The officials said that Israel tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! and deported the leaders of the group, and barred their reentry to the country.
An official told Haaretz that Israel was aware that Turkey was trying to extend its influence to Jerusalem, and was attempting to purchase property through its charities. He told the paper that the Paleostinian Authority was concerned about Erdogan trying to muscle in, saying "they were not interested in having another landlord in East Jerusalem."
The report said Riyadh is concerned that Erdogan will attempt to use his authority in Jerusalem to cement his increasing influence over the Arab-Moslem world, and will become its spokesperson in confronting Israel and the US regarding the city.
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06/29/2018 00:20 ||
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#1
Sounds like turf wars amongst the 5 families in NYC.
Sounds like Yippee wants to take on the role of Lucky Luciano. Pop-corn anyone?
[IsraelTimes] 51 plaintiffs say they were systematically tortured on suspicion of providing Israeli authorities with information and assistance
In a landmark ruling, the Jerusalem District ordered the Paleostinian Authority to pay compensation of 13.2 million shekels (approximately $3.5 million) to dozens of suspected collaborators with Israel who were systematically tortured while incarcerated.
Hadashot news reported Thursday the plaintiffs hope that Israel will be able to collect the compensation from the Paleostinian Authority, and that if not, it could be raised by offsetting tax revenues.
The 51 plaintiffs alleged they had been locked away You have the right to remain silent... on suspicion of providing Israeli authorities with information and assistance.
The court last year ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in an 1,800-page summary following 90 court sessions and years of deliberations, with judge Moshe Drori saying the testimonies and evidence proved the allegations beyond any reasonable doubt.
Many of the plaintiffs were arrested by the PA’s forces from within Israeli territory ‐ mostly East Jerusalem ‐ and/or have Israeli citizenship. The Jerusalem court therefore ruled it had the jurisdiction to preside over the case.
Plaintiffs said while held between 1990 and 2003, interrogators beat them, put out cigarettes on their bodies, pulled out their teeth, forced them into painful positions for lengthy periods of time and withheld food and drink. Several said their genitals were abused, leaving them sterile and impotent.
One man told Hadashot news of the physical abuse he suffered, explaining how his arms and legs were restrained and his face covered with a bag.
"You can’t see anything. You just receive blows till you pass out," he said.
Another said that he was unable to have sexual relations after he was forced to sit on a broken glass bottle.
In some cases prisoners were locked inside hot metal containers on hot days, or were alternately doused with searing and freezing water. Others recounted being forced to drink out of toilet bowls or sit on broken bottles. Some were made to witness the executions of other suspected collaborators. Prisoners were often denied medical attention.
The PA, while acknowledging the imprisonment of some of the plaintiffs, denied that any torture took place.
Israeli officials told Hadashot news that they do not believe the abuses still occur in Paleostinian incarceration facilities.
[REUTERS] An Israeli-American teenager was found guilty in Israel on Thursday of making about 2,000 hoax bomb threats against Jewish and other institutions in the United States and elsewhere during 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 rise to the U.S. presidency in 2016 and 2017.
The incidents stoked allegations by some American critics at the time that the Republican contender was encouraging anti-Semitism and other forms of racism. Trump has denied any such wrongdoing.
The defendant has been separately indicted for hate crimes in several U.S. states, where he was named as Michael Kadar, 19.
Israeli authorities have not published his name as he was a minor when some of the offences were committed.
Partly on the basis of a confession, Tel Aviv District Court convicted him of offences between his 18th birthday in August 2016 and his arrest in March 2017. It held off on formally convicting him of earlier charges pending a youth parole review.
Kadar was found guilty of counts including extortion, disseminating hoaxes in order to spread panic, money laundering and computer hacking over bomb and shooting threats against community centers, schools, shopping malls, cop shoppes, airlines and airports in North America, Britannia, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Denmark. He was also convicted of assault for trying to grab a gun from a policewoman who searched his home.
The counts each carry potential jail terms of several years. The court did not immediately set a date for Kadar’s sentencing.
[Al Jazeera] 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... , Jordan and Paleostine have warned Israel on separate occasions about The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... 's creeping influence in East Jerusalem, according to a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The report notes that bigwigs from the three Arab countries told Israel that Turkey was "extending its influence in Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem" which they said was "part of an attempt by Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... to "claim ownership over the Jerusalem issue."
Israeli sources claimed to have been aware of Turkey's expanding influence and say they have been monitoring Ankara's efforts for more than a year.
According to the report, Jordanian officials are said to have been upset with Israel's slow response which they described as "sleeping at the wheel", especially since the signing of a 2016 reconciliation agreement which Israel is adamant to maintain.
Officials from the Paleostinian Authority also expressed concern at Turkey's drive to further its influence in East Jerusalem which comes in the form of donations to Islamic organizations in Arab neighbourhoods or through organised tours by Ottoman TurkishMoslem groups with close ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
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06/29/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
As Berserker said: "Doesn't everybody know that?"
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.
Bouteflika
[AlAhram] Egyptian authorities will close the Rafah border crossing with 
...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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
...Trump administration's ambassador to the UN. First woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, and the second Indian-American governor in the country, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. At the age of 39, Haley was the youngest governor in the U.S., a distinction formerly held by Jindal. She is a Republican, which really grates on the Dems...
...the 
Moqtada 
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
