Tolo News has a pretty little table of the returns of all the candidates here, including those who withdrew from the race.
[KhaamaPress] The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan announced the preliminary presidential election results after a prolonged delay.
Hawa Alam Nuristani, the head of Independent Election Commission announced the preliminary election results of the Afghan presidential elections held on September 28.
According to the results announced, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
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[Khaama Press] Taliban announced on Friday that the intra-Afghan peace dialogue is possible only after a full foreign forces withdrawal agreement is in place. And there's Mullah Fazl on the left walking about freely. Detained on the battlefield, years in Gitmo, traded for SGT Bergdahl, now publicly again w/ the Taliban negotiating w/ U.S. Amb Khalilzad. Thanks be to Soetoro.
"Intra-Afghan negotiations will begin only after an agreement with America on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan is signed," Taliban spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen tweeted on Friday,.
This comes as, US peace envoy, Zalmai Khalilzad paused the US, Taliban peace talks a week ago, following a Taliban’s attack on the Bagram US military base in order to give some more time to Taliban leadership for consultation on violence reduction.
"When I met the Talibs today, I expressed outrage about yesterday’s (12 Dec) attack on Bagram, which recklessly killed two and wounded dozens of civilians. Taliban must show they are willing & able to respond to Afghan desire for peace. We’re taking a brief pause for them to consult their leadership on this essential topic, said Khalilzad." Zalmay Khalizad tweeted on Dec 13.
Khalilzad visited Pakistan officials, following which he arrived in Kabul to meet the NUG leaders, US officials and key Afghan political figures.
Calling the trip as ’productive’, Khalilzad said in a Twitter post that he met with the U.S. Ambassador John Bass, Resolute Support Mission Commander Gen. Scott Miller, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, former President Hamid Karzai and other political leaders.
"We discussed efforts to achieve violence reduction and pave the way to intra-Afghan negotiations... We’re approaching an important stage in the Afghan peace process," Khalilzad tweeted on Thursday at the end of his two-day consultation.
[ToloNews] Three Taliban ...Arabic for students... delegates visited Pakistain and met with their leaders and agreed to a reduction of violence and ceasefire, some sources close to the Taliban said on Sunday.
The delegation led by Mawlawi Shahabuddin Delawar, a Taliban big shot based in 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... , met with leaders and agreed to a "short-term ceasefire" after an agreement is signed between the US and Taliban, according to sources.
The US delegation in meetings with the Taliban in Qatar demanded a ceasefire and a reduction of violence before signing any agreement with the group.
"They went (to Pakistain) to consult with their elders about short-time ceasefire and it seems that the consultation was positive and overall it’s possible to announce a ceasefire," said Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban commander.
The question now is whether the Taliban’s military commanders’ views are aligned with their leaders in Qatar.
"They (Taliban leaders) are our elders and are moving forward with consultations (among themselves) and we believe in them," said Abubaker Marhaba, a Haqqani Network commander in Paktia.
"The peace will come with direct talks between the government of Afghanistan and Taliban. The Taliban should not ignore the current peace opportunity and it should respect the demands of the people for a ceasefire and a beginning of negotiations," said Najia Anwari, a spokesperson for the Afghan State Ministry for Peace Affairs.
#1
Is Afghan peace, or an ideal of democratic coexistence between taliban and moderates really important to anyone in America except Zalmay Khalilzad ?
If you should withdraw overnight, a surprise pull-out without notice from the fucking place; you'd see even some 'moderate democracy lovers' turn to their true colours. Suddenly things would become clear, but the American taxpayer would be livid.
[Libya Observer] An official at the presidency of Tunisia has revealed that Tunisian President Kais Saied is to announce an initiative to settle the Libyan crisis.
This coincided with a diplomatic criticism of excluding Tunisia from the Berlin Conference on Libya.
Adviser to the Tunisian president, Rachida El-Niefer revealed in an interview with Tunisian state radio on Saturday, the diplomatic position of Tunisia regarding the Libyan file.
The Tunisian official explained that her country respects international legitimacy, but said that Tunisian president "will activate an initiative related to the settlement of the Libyan file and achieving Libyan reconciliation, emphasizing that he will not hesitate to push for any initiative to stabilize the security situation in the region.
[Rooters via JPost] The funeral is expected to take place on Tuesday, a day on which students in the large North African country have been staging weekly protests for much of the year.
Algeria's powerful army chief, who masterminded the state's response to mass protests this year, died suddenly of a heart attack on Monday, and a likely successor quickly emerged from the same old guard the demonstrators want swept away.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah had become the most visible figure in Le Pouvoir - the "power," as Algerians describe their secretive ruling elite, helping to bring down long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April.
As military chief of staff, his strategy was to replace Bouteflika and his allies while keeping the essential structure of power unchanged and allowing the protests to continue, hoping to wait out the demonstrators.
Huge crowds continued to flood the streets through much of 2019 to demand wholesale change to the leadership, unappeased by Bouteflika's resignation and the arrest of many of his aides and allies on corruption charges.
The protest movement in the major oil- and gas-exporting country has no formal leaders or organization. But among its main demands throughout the weekly rallies has been that the army step away from its central political role since Algeria's 1962 independence from France, with marchers often chanting: "A civilian state, not a military state."
As the year wore on, protesters also increasingly called for Gaed Salah himself to resign, especially after he pushed hard for an election to replace Bouteflika that they regarded as illegitimate while the old guard still held sway.
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12/23/2019 13:42 ||
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#1
IMO, military dictatorship is the most progressive form of government an Islamic country can aspire too. At the very least, military brass doesn't care that you think as long as you do as told.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/23/2019 12:14 Comments ||
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#3
"We don't care" isn't clear enough?
Simple declarative sentence. Not bureaucratese at all. Howzabout:
"Never have we heard of such a harsh and brutal injustice that we cared so little about."
Could someone remind me who is fighting whom? I've kinda sorta lost track.
#5
While it's calvinball with heads over there, 'warlord' Haftar is using mercenaries, independents, gangs, ex-terrorists and everyone he can enlist to fight the UN backed GNA and affiliated islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya. The islamists have good representation, and better lawfarers and the UN. Turkey supports the GNA. Russia covertly supports Haftar. The latter gets painted as an evil bastard because he won't take prisoners and won't bother about innocent collateral. Also, the MSM goes with what the UN says.
Quite a mess. Trump rightly said, America don't have any stake in this other than if it comes to terrorism in your domain.
[Libya Observer] The American and German foreign ministers have expressed concern about violations of the arms embargo imposed on Libya and the growing involvement of mercenaries in the fighting in the country.
This came in a statement issued Friday by US State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus who explained that the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo discussed in a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Heikou Maas the international support for the UN envoy Ghassan Salame in his mission to achieve a cease-fire in Libya and return to the political process.
[Bloomberg] ...But the word from the high seas hasn’t been calming.
There have been two large-scale acts of piracy in the waters off West Africa this month alone. On Dec. 3, 19 people were taken hostage when hijackers attacked the oil tanker Nave Constellation as it was anchored off the coast of Nigeria. In the first nine months of 2019, more than 100 ships around the world were assaulted by pirates, with most of the hostage-taking occurring in the broad Gulf of Guinea—shared by Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Cameroon. According to the International Maritime Bureau, about 86% of the incidents worldwide took place there. The hijacking of the Nave Constellation is just one of the latest attacks, says Max Williams, chief operation officer of security firm Africa Risk Compliance Ltd. “There’s been a spate in the last 40 days of quite significant maritime security incidents in the area.”
In the first nine months of 2019, more than 100 ships around the world were assaulted by pirates, with 86% of the hostage-taking occurring in the broad Gulf of Guinea—shared by Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Cameroon.
“Piracy is a business,” says John Steed of the Hostage Support Partnership. “And the investors are still putting money in the business.” He adds, “As piracy is reduced in East Africa, piracy in West Africa and Southeast Asia has increased.” It feeds off the enormous amount of global ship traffic, with 11 billion tons shipped internationally in 2018. Says James Gosling, a consultant for Holman Fenwick Willan’s London office who was awarded an Order of the British Empire by the Queen for his work on releasing hostages: “If you ask the average person in this country where their fridge comes from they would just say the supermarket. They don’t realize we import 90% of our stuff.”
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#1
....A few of these groups find themselves unpaid and on the wrong end of a visit from the SEALs or SAS, and I suspect it would slow down PDQ.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/23/2019 3:57 Comments ||
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#2
unpaid and on the wrong end of a visit from the SEALs or SAS
As the Freakonomics boys say, economics is all about incentives.
This might be a opportunity for private military contractors, given government reluctance and lack of capability to get their hands dirty. Lots of whinging from the ICC, Amnesia International and rest of the usual suspects, but all this stuff (piracy and it's consequences) happens in rather lawless areas. Hard boys, hard consequences. Think sea-going RAB.
#9
I heard from a marcos buddy that some naval vessels and illegally armed merchants almost always destroy them whenever they can. A lot of dead pirates in the oceans, with Indian/Chinese/Sri Lankan/New Zealand bullets in 'em. Naturally they don't report them. Who wants a Zulu chief or some Kenyan tribal in a suit at the UN seat sneering down at them for saving their own ship ?
Periodic surgical drone strikes on suspicious vessels between the gulf of Aden and Socotra might be good ? What could they do, the somalis - take you to the ICJ ? Tell the soddy's to claim it's their drones.
#10
“As piracy is reduced in East Africa, piracy in West Africa and Southeast Asia has increased.”
It’s not Somalia, anymore, Dron66046. Since you report that armed self defense has worked so well on that side of things, it’s time for shippers passing the west coast of Africa to adopt proven methods.
#12
Responding to something half read is a general problem, dear Dron66046, for which I’ve had to apologize far more often than I am comfortable admitting.
#13
My friend tells me nothing short of regime change and actually accountable governments in Nigeria will help. But he's a navy man, a bloody rubber duck collecting Yatch golfer, what does he know ? I'm for napalming several acres in the Niger delta, wipe off the MEND and the crazies.
Also that we shamefully paid $2 million recently for some of our kidnapped sailors ! That and China is seeking to militarily secure a port of Conakry in Guinea, and has a $150 million investment in port Lekki, nigeria with advance payments for safe passage of materiel to everyone from officials to many pirate cartels who kidnap people.
[Rudaw] Rivalries between parliament’s biggest blocs, the confirmation of an unsurprising nomination for prime minister from the Bina Coalition, and a fruitless search for answers by Iraqi President Barham Salih mean a looming deadline to select a new premier will likely be extended once more.
Following months of popular protest, Iraq’s parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on December 1, less than a year after he took office.
A constitutionally decreed 15-day deadline for the appointment of a new prime minister to form a new government lapsed on Thursday, amid wrangling over potential candidate by Iraqi political parties. The constitutional deadline to choose a new prime minister was extended to midnight on Sunday.
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12/23/2019 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] PA police say man died of an unspecified illness after two-week hospitalization; deceased had been held since 2012. "He had Joooooo Cooties™"
A Paleostinian man who was convicted by a Paleostinian Authority court of selling land to Israeli Jews died on Sunday in jug, PA Police front man Louay Arzeikat said.
The Paleostinian man, who was serving a ten-year prison sentence for "illicitly trading lands to the enemy," died in a hospital in Ramallah after "facing an illness" over the past two weeks, Arzeikat said in a statement, adding that the PA Police and Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the matter.
The statement did not provide details on the illness the front man said the man was facing and it only referred to him by his initials, M.E.
Arzeikat added that the dear departed had been in the PA’s custody since 2012 and was transferred to the hospital on December 14.
Paleostinian law considers attempting to sell or selling land to Israeli Jews a punishable offense. According to the law, possible punishments for trying to sell or selling land to Israeli Jews include various degrees of hard labor and imprisonment, as well as execution.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the law requires that PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... approve any death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... , and he has not signed off on any executions since 2006.
Arzeikat said the man was also being held by the PA over "the falsification of official documents." He did not clarify whether he had been convicted or sentenced on charges concerning that issue.
The front man did not respond to several phone calls seeking clarification about the man’s death.
A media official in the PA Attorney General’s Office said he had no additional details to provide on the man’s death as of Sunday evening.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his contentment over United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s retweet of a journalist’s analysis about "an Arab-Israeli alliance...taking shape in the Middle East."
"I welcome the closer relations between Israel and many Arab states. The time has come for normalization and peace," Netanyahu tweeted in a dual-language English-Arabic tweet.
Sheikh Abdullah’s tweet linking to an analysis in The Spectator garnered media attention on Saturday, including 1,600 retweets and over 4,000 likes.
The article he linked to, written by former Tony Blair advisor and ex-Council on Foreign Relations fellow Ed Husain, argued that Netanyahu’s 2018 Oman visit could be seen as a watershed moment for Israel’s traditionally difficult relations with many of its Middle Eastern neighbours.
"A new narrative is emerging in the Middle East. New maps of the Moslem mind are being drawn and old hatreds are on the run. The anti-Semitic craze to destroy Israel was powerful in the 1960s, uniting Egypt’s President Nasser with his fellow Arabs. But now, Sunni Arab neighbours are changing course," Husain wrote.
In the article, the journalist commented on improving relations between Islam in Judaism throughout the Gulf states and elsewhere, and argued that part of the warming attitudes may be the joint feeling by leaders in both Israel and the Sunni Arab states about "the need to stand firm against Iran."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2019 00:00 ||
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Prominent street leaders on Sunday shunned an invitation by Lebanon’s prime minister-designate to sit for talks over the formation of a new government, saying they are not ready to extend support.https://t.co/p8owx7FOI4
#1
The day is not far when like bangladesh, girls will be burnt by school staff for denying the mullah principal sex. Next up, public caning on report card day.
#8
I wonder how the teachers would feel if the Girl was honor killed as a result of their call to the parents.
On the other hand they probably woudld think its ok because "That's their culture."
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.
...Arabic for 
[Bloomberg] ...But the word from the high seas hasn’t been calming.
[Rudaw] Rivalries between parliament’s biggest blocs, the confirmation of an unsurprising nomination for prime minister from the Bina Coalition, and a fruitless search for answers by Iraqi President Barham Salih mean a looming deadline to select a new premier will likely be extended once more. 
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
