[KhaamaPress] In a joint statement Monday, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... Delegations based in Kabul "strongly" condemned the "unlawful attacks" on media practitioners and religious leaders, holding the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... accountable for civilian causalities across Afghanistan.
While the Afghan government — including international allies — put efforts together for peace and prosperity in the country, the Taliban seem to have doubled up violence throughout Afghanistan that target journalists, religious scholars, human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activist and students to name a few.
"We consider these not only as savage attacks against Afghan blood, but as an attack on the very grinding of the peace processor in Afghanistan," the statement read. "Recognizing the bravery of Afghanistan’s people, we are confident that these attacks will fail in their intent to silence the diversity of opinions."
Addressing efforts on grinding of the peace processor since early September, the EU delegation call for all-inclusive negotiations that will open the doors for Afghans in all walks of life to freely express and actively engage in building a peaceful country.
"It has never mattered more for the people of Afghanistan to feel able to express themselves freely and provide their opinions on the peace talks, as well as engage in the process, to achieve an inclusive and sustainable peace," the statement read.
"Upholding the free flow of information and holding the perpetrators accountable will benefit everyone who wishes to live in a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan."
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella went down under the weight of the custard... the delegations praised media practitioners in Afghanistan for advancing "freedom of expressing and freedom of press" despite ongoing threats to their lives.
"We honor all those in Afghanistan who work tirelessly to advance freedom of expression and freedom of the press," the statement said.
"Our respective missions expect that all parties to the conflict will protect the freedom and the independence of the media and civil society in Afghanistan, which is indispensable to a vibrant, functioning, and economically viable democracy."
EU delegation reaffirm commitment to champion the freedom of all the Afghan people, calling for immediate compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
[ToloNews] Afghan politicians on Monday reacted to the plan to release 7,000 additional Taliban ...Arabic for students... prisoners as part of the US-Taliban deal, saying that it will not be a good decision if implemented.
The politicians said that the Taliban is not committed to their promises and that over 5,000 prisoners of the group were released but "many returned to the battlefield."
US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson in a chat with news hounds on Sunday said that the Taliban is expecting the release of thousands of their prisoners under their agreement with the United States by mid-December.
"The specific provision relating to another 7,000 Taliban prisoners is contained in the US-Taliban agreement," Wilson said.
"If you do the math, the Taliban expect under the terms of that agreement that there would be progress on releasing those prisoners by roughly mid-December. I have forgotten the exact date," he said.
Wilson said that "all of the various parts of the US-Taliban agreement are interlocked with one another, intersect with one another and that you can’t just take out one and say this one has to be adhered to without other aspects being adhered to."
"It will be better that there is a ceasefire during the negotiations," said Gulalai Mohammadi, an MP.
"No concessions should be given to the Taliban when it comes to the release of their prisoners unless the Taliban agrees on a ceasefire," said Ali Akbar Jamshidi, an MP.
The MPs said they are concerned that if more prisoners are released, more fighters will return to the battlefield.
"Those who have been released from prison all have returned to the battlefield," said Nazifa Zaki, an MP.
The politicians said that despite the winter season, dozens of people are killed and maimed in the ongoing violence in the country every day.
"Over the last two weeks, dozens of military and civilians have bit the dust," said Sadiq Qaderi, an MP.
Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani, who is also a member of the leadership committee of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said that there is an urgent need for a ceasefire in the country.
"The release of 7,000 Taliban prisoners, which was mentioned by the Us ambassador, will result in extremism and the strengthening of the Taliban," Rahmani said.
The government recently said that at least 80 released prisoners of the Taliban who returned to the battlefield have been killed in festivities with Afghan forces. The Taliban has rejected the claim.
[IsraelTimes] French authorities said Monday that the main suspect behind October’s deadly Nice church attack has been handed terror murder charges.
Brahim Issaoui’s
...alternately spelt Ibrahim Issaoui, Brahim Aouissaoui, and Brahim Aoussaoui, the 21 year old Tunisian ran away from his poverty-stricken family home for Lampedusa only a few weeks before he snuck into France — or was passed along a jihadi underground railroad, given the variety of his acquaintances subsequently arrested —arrived at the Nice church one morning and, shouting “Allahu Akbar”, promptly beheaded an old woman, knifed a middle aged sacristan and a hard working, young immigrant mother, and within minutes was shot down by the brave French policemen who arrived at the run...
health had impeded authorities’ ability to question him. Issaoui was seriously maimed by police following the attack, and remained hospitalized in life-threatening condition for some time.
But on Monday a communique said the Tunisian migrant was charged with "liquidations in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "participation in a criminal terrorist association." It is unclear if this means that the suspect was finally questioned as part of the investigation.
He is suspected of stabbing three people to death at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice, the southern French city’s biggest church.
[JustTheNews] DNA collections were required by law passed by Congress in 2005, but the B.O. regime granted an exemption to stop CPB from complying. The Trump administration has reversed the exemption.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is expanding nationwide its efforts to collect DNA samples from certain illegal immigrants colonists suspected of crimes and plans to complete the process by month's end, well ahead of its deadline.
"This aggressive timeline represents a strong commitment by CBP to implement collection under this law, well ahead of the 3 years contemplated by the rule," the agency said.
The DNA collections were authorized by the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 passed by Congress in early 2006, which required CBP to gather DNA from individuals who are arrested, facing criminal charges or convicted, and from non-U.S. individuals who are detained under federal authority. The samples are supposed to be added to the FBI database known as the Combined DNA Index System or CODIS.
Under the B.O. regime, however, CBP was granted an exemption from complying with the law by claiming "operational exigencies or resource limitations."
The Trump Justice Department eliminated that exemption earlier this year, and CBP began a pilot program in January to begin the legally required DNA collections.
"The pilot programs that began in January have provided the information CBP needed to successfully meet its legal requirements for nationwide collection," the agency said last week. "CBP has rolled out the collection program more broadly in monthly phases and will reach full operation by Dec. 31, 2020."
Border patrol agents now will collect DNA samples from non-U.S. citizens between the ages of 14 and 79 who have been detained under federal law and from U.S. citizens and lawfully admitted residents arrested by CBP and facing federal charges.
The agency said it won't collect DNA from immigrants colonists who:
have been legally admitted to the United States or are being processed for lawful admission;
are being held at a port of entry during consideration of admissibility and not subject to further legal proceedings;
are being held in connection with maritime interdiction
who already have a DNA profile in the CODIS database
[Jpost] Arab-Israelis are split on supporting the Joint List, with 51.6% of respondents saying the party is performing well.
Over 64% of Arab-Israelis support forming an Arab-Jewish party for the next Knesset elections, although the voter participation rate among Arab-Israelis is not expected to be high at just 55.6%, according to a new study by the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
Arab-Israelis are also split on supporting the Joint List, with 51.6% of respondents saying the party is performing well, while 45.4% said the party wasn’t.
The main arguments of respondents in favor of an Arab-Jewish party were a fundamental belief in a joint Arab and Jewish political struggle and the hope that such a party would help increase the impact of Arab-Israelis in politics.
While 71.6% of respondents said that they did intend to vote, the Dayan Center compared this to the weighting of actual voter participation in the past elections for the 23rd Knesset which was only 64.8% and estimated that voter participation will stand at only 55.6%.
Despite objections by the Joint List, most (61.8%) of the Arab community supports the normalization agreements with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, with only 35.5% opposing the agreements.
Almost three-fourths (73.9%) of Arab-Israelis are in favor of the results of the US presidential election, with a quarter feeling that the involvement of the US in the Middle East will now likely reinforce stability in the region.
The economic situation of most (61.6%) of the Arab-Israeli community has worsened in the past year due to the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... crisis.
The most important issues for Arab-Israelis are the fight against crime and violence (51.9%), dealing with the economic situation (13.4%), planning and building in Arab localities (13.3%), reducing coronavirus infection rates in Arab communities (6.2%) and integration of Arab-Israeli youth into the workforce and higher education (5.4%).
Bread and butter issues completely unrelated to Jew hate and Palestinian conquest.
Over half of the Arab community feel that the anti-Netanyahu protest movements this past summer did not represent Arab citizens, although over 75% feel that Arab citizens should support these movements.
While most of the respondents expressed opposition to recognizing the rights of LGBTQ+ people, some 34.1% expressed support for recognizing their rights. Arik Rudnitzky, project manager of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, stated that this amount of support shows a growing openness among Arab-Israeli society.
[Jpost] An official close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini... denied rumors on social media on Monday that the 81-year-old's health was deteriorating.
"By the grace of God and with the good prayers of devotees, the gentleman (Ayatollah Khamenei) is in good health and is busy vigorously carrying out his plan according to his routine," the official, Mehdi Fazaeli, said on Twitter.
Fazaeli has worked in an office publishing Khamenei's work. His tweet was also reported by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.
The statement about Khamenei's health appeared to be a response to reports by several news organizations, which referred to a tweet by a journalist in Arabic who said Khamenei had transferred duties to his son because of his health.
Khamenei has served as supreme leader since 1989, with the final say on all state matters. His health has been the subject of speculation for years.
A security official in Israel, which closely follows events in its enemy Iran, told Rooters: "We are aware of these rumors, and regard them as rumors only."
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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.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
[IsraelTimes] French authorities said Monday that the main suspect behind October’s deadly Nice church attack has been handed terror murder charges.
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...
