[ToloNews] Data collected by TOLOnews shows that 51 people were killed and 70 more were maimed in security and crime incidents in Kabul from Jan. 20 to Feb. 19.
The data shows that 66 security and crime incidents happened in Kabul during this time that indicates a slight increase in security and crime incidents in Kabul compared to a month before.
The findings show that 39 IED explosions, 8 cases of liquidation and armed attacks and 20 crime incidents happened in Kabul between January 20 to February 19.
In the latest incident, two university lecturers were killed in a magnetic IED blast near Kabul University on Thursday.
Victims’ families said security agencies have failed to prevent assassinations in the city.
According to the findings, most of the incidents have happened in Kabul’s PD5, PD7, PD10, PD12 and PD2.
"The enemy infiltrates when duty is not taken seriously," said military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhil.
Somali politics as usual. Not really anything to do with the local battles in the War on Terror, except they’re using traditional non-democratic means to determine who gets to rake the standard percentage off the top of international donations.
[Garowe] Gun and mortar fire could be heard in central Mogadishu on Friday morning amid a lockdown imposed by the government — ostensibly in place to enforce social distancing but timed to coincide with mass protests called by opposition parties.
The outgoing Trump administration in Washington ordered the removal of around 700 U.S. security personnel from Somalia by January, to be repositioned on bases in neighboring Kenya and Djibouti where they continue to advise and train Somali special forces.
Somalia has been in a constitutional crisis for nearly two weeks after an agreed-upon election date elapsed on Feb. 8 without voting, leaving president Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed "Farmajo" without a mandate, his opponents said.
Negotiations on a new date have failed, and Somalia’s fragile and often violent mostly peaceful politics have went kaboom! into acrimony. In Friday’s early morning hours, a hotel where two major opposition candidates were staying came under heavy gunfire in what one — Farmajo’s former deputy, Hassan Ali Khaire — called a crude liquidation attempt.
Continued on Page 49
[LibyaReview] The Algerian government has authorised the opening of the Debdab border crossing with Libya. It gave permission to export goods and the adoption of the zero kilometer point as an exchange point for the goods.
Algerian Prime Minister, Abdel-Aziz Djerad sent a letter to the Minister of Trade regarding the opening of border crossings with Libya and Tunisia, according to the Algerian newspaper Elbilad.
The authorities called on their Libyan counterparts to work on securing the border post and the goods to be imported.
Algiers also decided to postpone the opening of the second border crossing in Tin al-Koum with Libya to a later date, pending the establishment of the necessary administrative services to run the post. It confirmed that it will continue holding consultative meetings to assess the situation in Libya, and study the possibility of licensing economic dealers to enter Libya if the security situation permits.
[AnNahar] The US military is looking for fallback bases in 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... to prevent its troops deployed there from becoming obvious targets in the event of tensions with Iran, a senior US military official said Thursday.
"We are not looking for new bases. I want to be clear on that," said General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Army Central Command (Centcom), during a tour of the Middle East.
"What we would like to do, without shutting down these (current) bases .... is to have the ability to go to other bases to operate in a period of heightened risk," he explained.
"These are things that any prudent military planner would want to do to increase their flexibility, to make it more difficult for the adversary to target them."
The Wall Street Journal reported on plans for ports and air bases in the kingdom's western desert, which the US military would seek to develop as positions to be used if war were to break out with Iran.
At the year's end, the US military deployed the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to the region and had two B-52 bombers overfly the area.
The show of force was intended to deter Tehran from carrying out any attack on US forces on the first anniversary of the liquidation by the United States of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani
President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Candidate for president in 2020. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... 's administration said Thursday it was ready to meet with Iranian officials under EU auspices to jumpstart diplomacy, and reversed Trump's widely derided contention that the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... had imposed new sanctions on Iran.
Even close US allies had dismissed the argument and the United Nations said that no such additional sanctions had come into force.
[IsraelTimes] A Kazakhstani man who assaulted a Jewish man wearing a kippah in front a synagogue in Hamburg will not go to prison because he has psychiatric issues, a German judge ruled.
...originally described as a German of Kazakh origin dressed in what looked like a German army uniform...
The 29-year-old assailant, identified in the German media only as Grigory K., bludgeoned the Jewish man with a folding shovel so severely on October 4 that the victim had life-threatening injuries.
Grigory K. had taken a taxi to the synagogue and carried a drawing of a swastika in his pocket as well as a folding knife, which he did not use, the Judische Alegemeine reported Thursday.
Dozens of members of the Jewish community protested the ruling in front of the Hamburg prosecutor’s office earlier this week.
Grigory K. may be tried for attempted murder, with hate as an aggravated element. Owing to the court’s impression, however, that his psychiatric condition at the time of the assault makes him not responsible for his actions, he will not be sent to jail but treated at a psychiatric facility regardless of the outcome of any judicial proceeding.
The Mossad should undertake such stuff, I'm sure it wouldn't take much money either. Even if a few richer people from the community could contract a private action, that'd be good.
[AnNahar] Cyprus hit out at The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... on Friday for acts it said were behind the creation of a new migration route that had "disproportionally burdened" it with the EU's highest percentage of asylum-seekers.
The Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... since 2004, has seen a surge in asylum-seekers in recent weeks and months.
Many enter by illegally crossing the UN-patrolled buffer zone that divides the island between the Greek-majority south and a breakaway Ottoman Turkish Cypriot state in the north.
Cyprus said it has had the highest proportion of asylum applications in the EU for four consecutive years, at four percent of its population compared with the bloc's average of close to one percent.
"The overwhelming majority of migration flows originated from Turkey, a country that fails to implement all agreements regarding migration towards Cyprus," its foreign and interior ministries said in a joint statement.
"In fact, Turkey's stance has led to the creation, rather than prevention, of a new migration route in the eastern Mediterranean, which disproportionally burdens Cyprus, and places enormous strain on the national asylum system."
Nicosia would raise "the extent of the migration crisis faced by Cyprus" in Brussels to ensure it "receives the assistance required to effectively address it", the statement said.
It said there was an "urgent need" for the European Commission and international organizations to assist Cyprus to stop illegal migrant flows and ensure legal returns.
At a meeting on Thursday, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Interior Minister Nikos Nouris had highlighted "the gravity and scale" and "disproportional weight Cyprus shoulders from migration flows", it added.
They agreed to ensure migration features prominently on their agendas ahead of a March 15 teleconference of EU foreign and home affairs ministers, as well as "upcoming discussions on Turkey at EU level".
Cyprus has the highest number of first-time asylum applications in the EU relative to its population, according to the bloc's latest statistics.
The republic registered 1,640 first-time asylum applications in the third quarter of 2020, a figure representing 1,848 per million of its population, Eurostat said.
In December, Nouris said that in 2019, Cyprus received approximately 17,000 asylum applications, an increase of more than 500 percent compared with 2015.
[AnNahar] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... has hired an international law firm to help it win back its spot in the US-led F-35 fighter jet programme, state media reported on Friday.
The six-month contract with Hunter Biden Arnold & Porter --- worth a reported $750,000 (620,000 euros) -- comes as Turkey seeks to find a solution with US President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Candidate for president in 2020. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier... over its controversial Russian missile system purchase.
The Washington-based law firm did not immediately comment.
Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019 as punishment for its decision to acquire the advanced Russian hardware after failing to come to terms on US Patriots used by most other NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... member states.
Washington slapped Turkey's military procurement agency with sanctions after the S-400s were tested for the first time late last year.
The United States fears that the S-400 systems could help Russia gather intelligence and better shoot down NATO warplanes if fully integrated in Ottoman Turkish defences.
The Pentagon confirmed earlier this month that it believed the Russian systems were "incompatible" with the F-35 jets and that the sanctions on Turkey would stay in place until the S-400s are removed.
Ottoman Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar suggested a compromise solution earlier this month that would see the S-400s boxed up and only deployed when needed.
The State Department appeared to reject that suggestion by saying: "Our policy vis-a-vis the S-400s has not changed."
Biden's administration has assumed a much tougher posture with Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, 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. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... than Ankara enjoyed when 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... was in the White House.
Biden has still not called Erdogan and the State Department has sharply rebuked Turkey's human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. record since his swearing in last month.
Turkey was both a parts supplier and buyer of the F-35s.
US officials say the sanctions will still allow the jets' prime contractor Lockheed Martin to honour its outstanding contracts in Turkey.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/20/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
Readiness for the US F-35 fleet is going down because of engine problems and a shortage of spares. Of course it's time to sell more of them to the turdish califake.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/20/2021 8:17 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] The United States said Thursday it was easing draconian restrictions imposed by Donald Trump ...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election... 's administration on movements of Iranian diplomats accredited at the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... , headquartered in New York City, as part of a bid to reduce tensions.
"The idea here is to take steps to remove unnecessary obstacles to multilateral diplomacy by amending the restrictions on domestic travel. Those had been extremely restrictive," a State Department official told news hounds.
As part of his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, Trump in 2019 barred Iranian diplomats from all but a few blocks around the United Nations and their mission, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values... saying he was even prohibited during a UN visit from visiting a colleague in a New York hospital.
The State Department said that Iranian diplomats would still be subject to restrictions on diplomats applied to nations with poor relations with the United States, such as North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... , who need authorization to go beyond a 25-mile (40-kilometer) radius from Midtown Manhattan.
President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden ...Candidate for president in 2020. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.... 's administration also said Thursday it was ready to meet with Iranian officials under EU auspices to jumpstart diplomacy and reversed Trump’s widely derided contention that the United States snapped back UN sanctions against Iran.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/20/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
FBI must have run out of leads to the Iranian Spy Rings; let the dogs out , see where they run.
Posted by: Bill Angoluper3577 ||
02/20/2021 5:02 Comments ||
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#2
^^^ yeah right. sarc/
Posted by: Chris ||
02/20/2021 9:57 Comments ||
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#3
I know that Iranians, as Moslems, don't celebrate Christmas. But the Biden administration is going to be one nonstop Christmas for them.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/20/2021 11:49 Comments ||
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Toolkit case: Delhi court sends Disha Ravi to 3-day judicial custody
[OneIndia] A Delhi court Friday sent climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested for allegedly being involved in sharing a "toolkit" on social media related to the farmers' protest, to three-day judicial custody.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain sent Ravi, 21, to jail after Delhi Police produced her before the court on expiry of her five-day custodial interrogation.
Police said that her custodial interrogation was not required for the time being and the agency may seek her further interrogation once her co-accused -- Shantanu Mukul and Nikita Jacob -- join the interrogation. Police said Ravi was evasive during her previous interrogation and tried to shift blame on the co-accused.
Mukul and Jacob have been asked to appear before the investigating agency on February 22, the agency told the court.
The police also said that there was a call for economic warfare against India and some companies. This found a mention in the toolkit that was tweeted by Greta Thunberg.
While the tractor rally by the farmers on Republic Day was meant to be a peaceful affair, it turned violent due to the instigation by certain elements, who were involved in the creation of the toolkit.
The police also said that the pro-Khalistan outfits have been pushing their agenda under the garb of the farmers' protests. They have also been instigating people by offering money and also circulating unlawful material on the social media in a bid to cause violence. They are trying to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of India.
The FIR further said that the toolkit called for economic warfare against India. There were plans for February 4, 13, 14, 21 and 26. Further there was also a call to target Indian symbols like tea, yoga. It also spoke about targeting certain regions, the FIR also said.
Sources tell OneIndia that all the instructions to the foot-soldiers in India came from abroad. The specific instruction was to create unrest and also begin a disinformation campaign, the investigations have also found.
The toolkit that was tweeted by Greta Thunberg was created by the pro-Khalistan outfit, Poetic Justice Foundation and was meant to amplify fake news and other falsehoods.
A section of this toolkit document mentioned action points under the title prior action, such as digital strike through hashtag on January 26. On Republic Day, the farmers' protest turned violent and one person died, while scores of police personnel were injured.
Be ready to sacrifice your standing crop: Rakesh Tikait to farmers
[OneIndia] Asserting that they won't return home till the farm laws are repealed, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said farmers should be ready to sacrifice their standing crop for it.
Tikait said the government should not be under the impression that the movement against the laws will end as farmers will go to their villages to harvest their crop.
"Even if you have to set your standing crop on fire, you should be prepared for it. The government should not harbour this impression that farmers will return home. We will harvest crops and continue our agitation at the same time," he said addressing a "mahapanchayat" at Kharak Poonia village of Hisar.
"There will be no ''ghar wapsi'' till then," he said.
Tikait also asked farmers to be ready for the next call of the unions spearheading the stir.
"Keep your tractors filled with fuel and facing towards Delhi''s direction. You can get a call to move at any time, that will be decided by the committee (farmers unions)," he said.
Tikait said after Haryana, they will be holding panchayats in other parts of the country, including West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
While earlier farmers had given a call for a "tractor rally" in Delhi, Tikait said the next time, they will go to the national capital with their agricultural implements.
#1
Isn't it interesting how some documented foreign interference in a nation's political life is pooh-poohed as "illusory" or out and out wonderful but some imaginary foreign interference is out and out gospel to some?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/20/2021 9:33 Comments ||
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#2
If I understand all this, the reforms that Mr. Modi is proposing will open up the free market in agriculture and eventually benefit everyone--more efficient farming, higher incomes, lower prices, less government bureaucracy, etc.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/20/2021 11:50 Comments ||
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#3
^ Exactly, Tom.
Earlier, the farmer had to rely on a syndicate of richer farmers and produce market officials. Now, the farmer can simply sell to the corporate procurer for whatever price above or equal to a minimum set price. Earlier, the farmer had to get his produce to the market himself, paying octroi, bribes, transport fees etc all the way. Now, the buyer is responsible for all of this.
Naturally it cuts out many middlemen and touts who one had to pay. These are the bulk of the people 'protesting'. They are claiming that Modi is setting up his corporate friends with a system that will cheat the farmer somehow, 'cut jobs', etc. Putting touts and thugs out of business is not cutting jobs.
[DailyTimes.pk] Former Interior Minister and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. today on Thursday has written a letter to Financial Action Task Force President Dr Marcus Pleyer, pleading him to remove Pakistain from FATF’s Grey List and take action against India for money laundering and terror-financing.
He Malik made the letter public while addressing a presser and said that he terms it a discriminatory treatment with Pakistain as compared to India for not proceeding against it despite of evidence.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/20/2021 00:00 ||
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[12 views]
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#3
If Pakistan is moved from the FATF’s grey list (being watched while it works to meet the checklist it was given in 2018) to the black list (Pakistan refuses to curb support of terror and must be punished), the result will be tough sanctions on its banks and a freeze on official and private money flows. Also, America will very likely cut off support and joint projects.
And India will point and laugh, which is just about as humiliating.
[AlMasdar] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... ’s permanent representative to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Thursday said allies should handle the differences of opinion and respect the security concerns of one another.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the 69th anniversary of Turkey’s NATO membership, Basat Ozturk said Turkey has been a valuable and important country for the alliance, adding: "Although we have different opinions with some allies, in the end, NATO is a platform to address these differences."
NATO should be the main consultation platform on all matters concerning the security and defense issues of all allies as also required by the Washington Agreement, Ozturk said, noting that Stoltenberg’s vision for 2030 also strengthens this role of NATO.
Ozturk also said some EU members discuss their security and defense issues in the EU meetings but not in NATO.
"Some of our allies have exploited the EU to exert pressure on Turkey over bilateral issues. But we’ve always defended to address the bilateral issues between the allies directly through bilateral channels," he stressed, adding that NATO plays a very important role in these kinds of situations.
Turkey, nearing 70 years of NATO membership, is ready to contribute to expanding the mutual trust and solidarity within the alliance, Ozturk said.
"So, each ally must respect the security concerns and interests of one another," he added. "They must show this solidarity not only against the ISIS[/ISIS] and al-Qaeda terrorism but also against the PKK terrorism."
He also underlined that NATO allies should not impose sanctions and embargo on each other or threaten to do so.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded on April 4, 1949, currently has 30 members and is headquartered in Brussels.
Turkey joined NATO in 1952 after 12 founding countries of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, La Belle France, Britannia, Iceland, Italia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/20/2021 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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#1
We do, but Turkey is no longer an ally.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/20/2021 1:42 Comments ||
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#3
A sociable beast is the Ottoman,
Half muscleman, half hippopotaman,
So call at his burrow
Come teatime tomorrow...
Though he'll probably let just your bottom in.
Posted by: Ho Chi Shusogum5632 ||
02/20/2021 2:11 Comments ||
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#4
Or affable, dammit.
Posted by: Ho Chi Shusogum5632 ||
02/20/2021 2:13 Comments ||
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#5
You know I was engaged in light heartedness, per the above, Vin & Crémants is really Wine and Champagnes. The word Champagne can only be used by a region of France, to describe their sparkling wine, per EU law, so the Dutchy of Luxembourg came up with a law to describe their regional sparkling wine "Luxembourg Crémants"
My late wife and I used to enjoy drinking it at our Thanksgiving meal out with our, now departed, friends.
#7
God bless you, Snomoter -- though you wouldn't want to take that check to the bank -- and may you all be reunited -- over crėmant or Riunite, as the case may be -- at such time as pleases you.
Posted by: Ho Chi Shusogum5632 ||
02/20/2021 2:31 Comments ||
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#8
why does nato include italy and turkey? neither one abuts the north atlantic ocean.
Herr Schlosser, mit polish und Wasser,
Shines letters hot from the embosser.
"Since everyone whines,
We are changing the signs,
So I brighten the brass on this 'TOSSER.'"
Posted by: Ho Chi Shusogum5632 ||
02/20/2021 9:58 Comments ||
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#10
Without Turkey, we can't present Russia with two avenues of invasion. That's the whole reason they're in NATO in the first place.
What is it with mentally ill or autistic Israelis running off to dangerous places? There are two or three of them in Gaza, at least one of whom Israel has had to ransom several times.
[IsraelTimes] A central aspect of the agreement to secure the release of an Israeli woman who crossed into Syria that was brokered by Russia this week has been barred from publication by the military censor, despite the fact that the matter would be seen as deeply controversial to the Israeli public. (The woman, whose name has not been released for publication, was flown back to Israel, via Moscow, overnight Thursday-Friday.)
“Last week, I raised in the Knesset a demand to allow the entrance of thousands of vaccines to Gaza and to provide vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank from the large inventory that Israel has (which is the responsibility of an occupying force). Did I need to wait for a Jewish wo/man to cross into Gaza so that [Palestinians] could get a vaccine?” Tibi wrote.
On Friday afternoon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the young woman’s mother, who thanked him for the efforts to free her from captivity, according to a statement from the premier’s office.
Netanyahu gave her his well-wishes and said Israel would always act to return captive citizens.
On February 2, the Israeli woman crossed the border into Syria in the foothills of Mount Hermon, an area where there is minimal fencing and spotty surveillance camera coverage. It was not immediately clear how the 25-year-old woman, who reportedly speaks fluent Arabic, knew that this location was a good spot to cross. The military said it was investigating the incident.
This was not the woman’s first time attempting to cross Israel’s borders. According to Israeli authorities, she had twice tried to enter the Gaza Strip — once by land and once on a makeshift raft — and once attempted to cross into Jordan. All three times she was captured by either the military or the police.
After successfully crossing into Syria this month, she entered the Druze village of Khader, where she was captured on suspicion of being a spy and handed over to Syrian intelligence. Damascus told Russia of the matter, and Moscow passed along the information to Israel, prompting negotiations to get her back.
“Roughly two weeks ago, we received information about an Israeli civilian woman being held by Syrian security forces. She crossed to the Syrian side of her own volition and by herself — an incident that we will be investigating,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a video statement on Friday, after her return.
“We immediately began working to bring her back. We clarified to the other side that she was a civilian and that this was a humanitarian issue and not a security one. We held conversations with the senior-most Russian officials, our counterparts. I spoke personally with the Russian defense minister, whom I’d like to thank for his involvement and for the assistance from the Russian government in the effort to return her home,” Gantz said.
In addition to the classified aspect of the agreement, Israel initially agreed to concessions regarding two prisoners — Nihal al-Maqt and Dhiyab Qahmuz — both from the Druze community of the Golan Heights, who largely remained loyal to Damascus after the area was captured by Israel in 1967 and effectively annexed in 1981.
As the incident unfolded, Russia had pushed for Israel to scale back its airstrikes on Iran-linked sites in Syria — ongoing attacks that both Damascus and Moscow oppose, the former because its air defenses are regularly targeted during these operations as they fire on Israeli jets and the latter because it interferes with Russian efforts to stabilize and rebuild the war-torn country. But this request appears to have been rejected, as evident by the Syrian reports of Israeli strikes in the country over the past two weeks.
Al-Maqt had been imprisoned for incitement since 2017, and Qahmuz was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2018 for plotting a terror bombing in coordination with the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group.
Thursday saw a Russian mediated prisoner swap with Muhammad Ahmad Hussein and Tariq Ghasab al-Obeidan, both natives of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights of Quneitra province, released.
The exchange operation that began yesterday led to the two Syrian captives freed and returned to their hometown in the Quneitra province.
Captive Nihal Al-Maqt, an Israeli girl from an ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement who had mistakenly entered the Syrian territories in the Quneitra region and subsequently arrested by the Syrian authorities also set free as part of the same operation.
More normalcy, no matter how much President Biden’s circle might wish otherwise. Thank you, President Trump.
[IsraelTimes] Equatorial Guinea will move its embassy to Jerusalem, its president announced Friday in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Teodoro Mbasogo spoke by phone with Netanyahu to inform him of the move.
Netanyahu stressed Israel’s deepening cooperation with African nations and said that "Israel is returning to Africa and Africa is returning to Israel in a big way," according to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Mbasogo said that all of Africa is welcoming Israel with open arms.
A former Spanish colony, Equatorial Guinea gained its independence in 1968. With significant oil reserves, the smallest OPEC member is the richest country in Africa per capita. But few of its 1.5 million citizens enjoy that wealth, and one in five children die before they reach five years old.
Mbasogo, the world’s longest-serving president, has been in office for more than 40 years, taking power in a 1979 coup. His human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... record has been assailed by international organizations, with Human Rights Watch decrying the "corruption, poverty, and repression of civil and political rights" in the country.
The US and Guatemala have opened embassies in Israel’s capital, and Kosovo is slated to become the third country to do so.
Other nations, like Honduras, have pledged to move their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as well.
The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moved the US embassy there in May 2018.
Earlier this month the US Senate voted overwhelmingly to keep the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, with only three senators voting against establishing funding to maintain the diplomatic mission.
Most European countries condemned Trump’s move as not in line with international consensus, preferring to wait on recognizing the city until the status of Jerusalem is finalized in talks with the Paleostinians.
[AlMasdar] Potential threat from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... spurs development of next-generation 'endo-exoatmospheric interceptors'.
The Washington Times reports that the U.S. and Israel are collaborating on a groundbreaking missile defense system that can target and eliminate threats in the atmosphere and in space, officials from the two nations said Thursday.
The Arrow 4 system represents the next generation of "endo-exoatmospheric interceptors and will be implemented gradually, officials said, ultimately replacing existing Arrow 2 and 3 systems within several decades.
The Arrow 4 project is a direct collaboration between the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
While officials did not name one specific threat as the motivation for the new system, it’s clear that Arrow 4 is being developed with an eye toward Iran, which has routinely threatened Israel’s existence and continues to work on its own advanced missile programs.
"Arrow 4 is a cooperative program between MDA and IMDO that illustrates U.S. commitment to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its national missile defense capability to defend the state of Israel from emerging threats," said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill.
Israeli military officials said the new program, the latest in a series of joint military efforts between the U.S. and Israel, will enhance national security.
"Over the last three decades, we have developed one of the most advanced missile defense arrays in the world, built of four combat-proven operational layers," said IMDO Director Moshe Patel. "These capabilities are being constantly improved against emerging threats, Arrow 4 will have outstanding flight and interception capabilities, and continue to ensure the security of the State of Israel."
[Dawn] Special representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi has said that there is no concept of forced marriage and forced conversion in Islam, and it is the responsibility of the state to protect the rights of religious minorities.
He was speaking at Inter-Faith Conference for Young Women organised by the Inter-Faith Harmony Council and Diocese of 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... , Church of Pakistain, here on Thursday.
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#1
Perhaps, but I assure you the alternative is quite bleak.
[BenarNews] Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir ... Leader of the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council and proprietor of the al-Mukmin madrassah in Ngruki. The spriritual head of Jemaah Islamiya, which he denies exists. Bashir was jugged and then released in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombings, which he blamed on a conspiracy among the U.S., Israel, and Australia. In 2014, as leader of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), he pledged allegiance to ISIS.... on Thursday denied that he knew about the 2002 Bali bombings ahead of time and said he opposed violence in Islam’s name, as counterterrorism officials visited him as part of their monitoring of former terrorist inmates.
The elderly Bashir spoke to officials from the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) as they dropped by at his home in Sukoharjo, Central Java, for the first time since his release last month after serving a decade in prison on terror-related charges. His lawyer, Achmad Michdan, said Bashir told the officials he had never supported acts of violence in the name of religion.
Continued on Page 49
[AlAhram] When sanctions are lifted, 'we will then immediately reverse all remedial measures. Simple,' Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values... tweeted.
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02/20/2021 00:00 ||
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[AlMasdar] The sides issued a joint statement after the 15th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format
Russia, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... , and Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... have agreed to continue cooperation aimed at eliminating murderous Moslems of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... and al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front groups (outlawed in Russia) in Syria.
In their joint statement after the 15th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format, the sides "reiterated their determination to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations and stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as threatening the national security of neighboring countries."
The sides also agreed to continue cooperation in order to ultimately eliminate DAESH/ISIS (formerly known as the Islamic State — TASS), al-Nusra Front, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with al-Qaeda (outlawed in Russia — TASS) or DAESH/ISIS, and other terrorist groups, as designated by the UN Security Council, while ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law."
Russia, Turkey, and Iran expressed concern with the increasing hostilities against civilians in various parts of Syria. The sides "reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlib de-escalation area and highlighted the necessity to maintain calm on the ground by fully implementing all agreements on Idlib."
The three countries expressed serious concern with the increased presence and terrorist activity of Hayat Tahrir al·Sham (outlawed in Russia) and other affiliated terrorist groups as "designated by the UN Security Council that pose threat to civilians inside and outside the Idlib de-escalation area."
Idlib is the only Syrian region, which is mainly under the control of gangs of Syria’s opposition and al-Nusra Front. A northern de-escalation zone was set up in Idlib in 2017 to give shelter to bandidosDeath Eaters from other Syrian regions who had refused to surrender arms.
The 15th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format (Russia, Turkey, and Iran) is held in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on February 16-17. The previous round of Astana talks took place in Nur-Sultan in December 2019.
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.
[ToloNews] Data collected by TOLOnews shows that 51 people were killed and 70 more were 
[LibyaReview] The Algerian government has authorised the opening of the Debdab border crossing with Libya. It gave permission to export goods and the adoption of the zero kilometer point as an exchange point for the goods.
...Candidate for president in 2020. 
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...Candidate for president in 2020. 
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
[Dawn] Special representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi has said that there is no concept of forced marriage and forced conversion in Islam, and it is the responsibility of the state to protect the rights of religious minorities.
Abu Bakar Bashir
...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
