#1
That's fascinating. An article on migrants from the DRC that hints at the armed conflict ('political volatility') and utterly fails to mention the ongoing world-class Ebola epidemic.
[ToloNews] Insecurity and conflicts have increased in the western provinces of Afghanistan following different attacks by the Talibs, several officials confirmed, as the seventh round of the peace talks is ongoing between the US and the Taliban ...Arabic for students... in Doha.
Three districts in Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , two districts in Badghis, six districts in Ghor and the outskirts of the city of Farah have witnessed heavy festivities between security forces and the Taliban in recent weeks, officials said.
The power transmission lines to Qala-e-Naw, the center of Ghor, have been cut off by turbans for the past two weeks which officials say is a result of an increase in security.
Local officials said that the districts of Chesht, Pashtun Zarghoon, and Gulran in Herat were recently attacked by the Taliban and according to the provincial governor, imported muscle were also among them.
"The number of foreign snuffies has increased because the enemy has lost its morale and has no option but to seek the help of those countries which are supporting them," the Herat governor Abdul Qayum Rahimi said.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... Herat Police Chief, Gen. Aminullah Amarkhail, said that the security forces have been able to reduce the threats.
"We supported Parsi district and the security forces are there. We launched an operation in Pashtun Zarghoon district for one week and reduced the threats there," Amarkhail said.
In Ghor, as another main province in the west of Afghanistan, six districts have witnessed the Taliban’s presence and are under threat.
"The western and northwestern parts of Ghor province are under threat by the Taliban over the past ten days but we have not seen any step by the security forces to overcome the concerns," said Abdul Hamid Natiqi, member of Ghor Provincial Council.
"Security forces checkpoints have relocated in some areas and so far, we have not received any report about harm to the security forces," said Abdulhai Khatibi, a front man for Ghor governor.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... some members of Farah Provincial Council said that the Taliban has arrived on the outskirts of the city of Farah and are threatening the center of the province.
"The turbans have increased their pressure... Farah residents are very much concerned about this," said Shah Mahmood Naeemi, deputy head of Farah Provincial Council.
Critics said that there is a need for more attention to the security of the west zone by the relevant institutions.
Saudi Arabia, the EU, the UN, and the UAE have welcomed the landmark deal between protest leaders and Sudan’s ruling generals to bring months of unrest to a close.https://t.co/ZkCzsShjiipic.twitter.com/jURYwtN89h
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 5, 2019
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Algeria’s former police chief Abdelghani Hamel has been placed in provisional detention over alleged "diversion of funds and illicit enrichment," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said on Friday.
Hamel, who was fired in June last year, appeared before an investigating magistrate in central Algiers, it said.
Two of Hamel’s sons were also detained overnight, while his wife was provisionally released in the same case, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported.
In total, the examining magistrate will question 19 people in the case, including ex-civil servants and real estate agents, according to the official APS news agency.
Former 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.... ’s decision to fire Hamel last year came as a surprise, since he had been viewed at the time by analysts and the Algerian press as a potential successor.
Hamel was fired due to a cocaine trafficking scandal, which tarnished numerous officials including magistrates.
The ailing Bouteflika was himself forced to step down on April 2, after weeks of street protests against his two-decade rule.
But protests have continued, demanding the fall of other regime insiders and the establishment of independent institutions ahead of credible elections.
Algeria’s legal system has launched a series of probes into corruption and embezzlement, targeting state officials and powerful businessmen close to the ex-president.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[DW] Tunisia's prime minister has banned the full-face veil in all government buildings due to security concerns. It comes after a deadly double suicide kaboom in Tunis in late June.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] OPEC oil output sank to a new five-year low in June, as a rise in Saudi supply did not offset losses in Iran and Venezuela due to US sanctions and other outages elsewhere in the group.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[Irish Times] US state department advice that American citizens should stay away from the Longitude festival this weekend has been described as "beyond ridiculous" by the festival organiser.
MCD promoter Denis Desmond said he was shocked and completely in the dark as to why the state department and the US embassy in Ireland had advised its citizens not to go.
The festival continues until Sunday at Marlay Park in south Dublin and the rap-dominated line-up features acts including Ski Mask the Slump God, Cardi B and Stormzy.
The US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs tweeted in advance of the festival: "#Dublin #Ireland: Reports indicate a potential for violence at the Longitude Festival taking place from July 5-7 in Marlay Park. Police have increased event security and are monitoring the situation. Be aware of your surroundings and exercise caution if in the area."
The US embassy elaborated on the warning advising US citizens that "local police are aware of the threat and will conduct comprehensive bag and person searches. The police have increased event security and are monitoring the situation."
#2
Unless you really want the experience, that's another good one to stay away from, B.
The food and music is extremely excellent, but the crowds are not. Pickpockets, street thugs and panhandlers are out in force. It gets really weird after dark.
If you're from out of town, park at Ohare (my choice) or Midway and ride the EL train to downtown. Ohare-Loop is 'Blue Line', Midway-Loop is 'Orange Line'. Orange Line can get disturbing, though.
Leave the downtown before 10PM.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/06/2019 8:27 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Avoid crowds in his day and age.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/06/2019 10:04 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Rap music(?). Good enough reason for me to stay away.
[IsraelTimes] Two groups say labeling has become a political tool to pressure Israel and refuse to comply.
Christian Zionist importers of Israeli goods declined to comply with a government directive to apply special labeling for settlement products.
The exchange occurred last month between the van Oordt family, which runs the Israel Products Center and the Christians for Israel group in Nijkerk, near Amsterdam, and representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Roger van Oordt, director of the Christians for Israel group, wrote Wednesday in a statement.
The officials requested to visit the store and urge van Oordt to apply the labels, as per regulations adopted in 2015 by the Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an Commission, which described the regulations as designed to give shoppers accurate information about product provenance.
Israel and Jewish groups protested the regulations as an attempt to isolate and financially hurt the Israeli settlements. The regulations also applied to the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Paleostinian Authority said the labeling regulations were a welcome buffer against what it considers Israeli land theft.
"Labeling was created to ensure food safety but has become a political tool to pressure the Jewish state," said van Oordt, whose outfit helps bring in 120,000 bottles of Israeli wine each year, as well as many tons of Dead Sea cosmetics and other merchandise.
"These are anti-Jewish regulations to me. They mean separating products made by Jews and Arabs," he wrote.
The regulations are binding,
...given the rest of the sentence, I can only imagine the journalist meant non-binding here...
but the European Commission and Dutch government have limited recourse against countries and businesses that don’t implement them.
#1
Good for the Christians. It was looking as if the Dutch were the most likely, except for the Swedes, to roll over for their Islamic overlords. Good for them.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
07/06/2019 0:37 Comments ||
Top||
#2
My German importer of Golan Wines has received "advice" from BDS-supporters. They wanted him to relabel the wines as coming from "Israeli occupied Syrian territory".
He told them to pound sand. The wine is fantastic btw.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
07/06/2019 11:39 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Which wine, European Conservative? I could use another excellent added to my list.
[DW] An Afghan man is facing charges of war crimes at a Munich court. He isn't a German citizen, nor were his alleged crimes committed in Germany. So why is he being tried in the country?
It’s an acceptable excuse to get rid of at least some of the undesirables who’ve strolled into the country demanding to be accepted, I suspect.
A former Afghan military officer is on trial in Munich this week, accused of torturing captured fighters in late 2013 and early 2014. The 26-year-old allegedly mocked, defiled and desecrated the corpse of an enemy commander in front of civilians.
Since 2002, the International Criminal Code has been incorporated into the German legal system. It enables the German judiciary to lead prosecutions of certain crimes that violate international law, even if they were not committed on German soil. The most serious crimes that the law applies to are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
#2
accused of torturing captured fighters in late 2013 and early 2014.
So the enemy was taliban, ISIS or Pak proxies. So much circumlocution and lengthy history of precedent in the damn article. Boo hoo hoo about genocide or torture. Just so some closet-Hajis in the EU legislature can justify punishing him for killing their beloved bastards.
[Jpost] Intelligence agents for the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia issued disturbing findings on Thursday about the US designated Iranian terrorist entity Quds Force targeting Israelis and Israeli institutions.
According to the North Rhine-Westphalia intelligence report, which was reviewed by The Jerusalem Post, "A main focus [of Iran's regime] is spying on Israeli and pro-Israeli institutions, as well as citizens of the State of Israel living here and persons of the Jewish faith. According to the constitutional protection agency, there were findings that Quds Force research activities in North Rhine-Westphalia took place in the year under review."
The report covered the period of 2018. The Post reported on Thursday that the number of Hezbollah members increased in North Rhine-Westphalia from 105 in 2017 to 110 in 2018, according to the intelligence document. Hezbollah is the Iranian regime’s chief strategic partner.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee voted on Friday to list the sprawling Mesopotamian metropolis of Babylon as a World Heritage Site after three decades of lobbying efforts by Iraq.
Iraq had been trying since 1983 to have the site -- a massive 10-square-kilometre complex of which just 18 percent has been excavated thus far -- recognized by UNESCO.
Straddling Iraq’s Euphrates River about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, the city was the center of the ancient Babylonian empire more than 4,000 years ago.
"What is the world heritage list without Babylon? How to tell the history of humanity without the earliest of old chapters, Babylon?" said Iraq’s representative to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee ahead of the vote.
The committee met in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to consider Babylon and another 34 sites, including in Brazil and Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , for the World Heritage List.
It opted not to designate Babylon as the World Heritage in Danger after objections from Iraq.
"Babylon is the largest populated city in ancient history," said Qahtan al-Abeed, who heads the Basra Antiquities Department and led efforts to get the site listed.
"The Babylonians were the civilization of writing, administration and science," he told AFP.
Putting Babylon on the World Heritage List "will encourage research and development of the site," and would "be free publicity for tourists," he added excitedly.
Babylon occupies a special place in religion, appearing in the Bible, Hebrew scripture, and even mythical prophecies.
It developed as a walled city of temples and towers made of mudbrick and known internationally for its hanging gardens, the Tower of Babel, and the Ishtar Gate.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
#1
Not Bee
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/06/2019 5:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
civilization of writing,administration and science,
No wonder the UN wants it. It's the homeland for bureaucrats everywhere.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/06/2019 9:53 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Saddam had a plan to turn it into a theme park with monorails, etc. He passed away before he could see the task to completion. Impressive small museum and gift shop, it it's still open for business. Hat tip to UNESCO on this one.
[Rudaw] Five Yezidi women and a 13-year-old girl rescued from 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.... (ISIS) captivity have been handed over to the Shingal Council and the Yezidi Women League, the Yezidi House in Hasaka announced Thursday.
"Today, we will hand over five women and a 13-year-old child to the Shingal Council and Yezidi Women League," Mahmoud Rasho, administrator in the Yezidi House in Hasakah, told a presser Thursday, according to Hawar News, a media outlet close to the ruling Kurdish authority of northern Syria.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Senior Khamenei advisor Ali Akbar Velayati said that 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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... will increase the level of uranium enrichment starting July 7, Iranian Mehr News Agency ...And if you can't believe Mehr News Agency who can you believe?... (MNA) reported, citing the institute for preserving and publishing the books of Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Velyati said that Iran gave the Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... ans a lot of time after the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, but they did not abide by their obligations so far, despite their promises to do so, according to MNA.
The senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also said that from July 7, the rate of uranium enrichment will exceed the %3.67 permitted under the deal, adding that Tehran "could increase the uranium enrichment level to %5 to provide fuel to Bushehr nuclear reactor."
Iran has already implemented the first phase of breaking the nuclear deal by increasing the stockpile of enriched uranium above the 300kg outlined by the JCPOA, and has warned that the second phase of its actions will begin on July 7.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Israel’s energy minister voiced frustration on Friday with what he called Leb’s failure to agree to US-mediated talks on setting their maritime border, suggesting Iran-backed Hezbollah was applying pressure on Beirut.
Senior US official David Satterfield has been shuttling between Leb and Israel in an effort to launch the talks between the countries, which have remained formally in a state of war since Israel was founded in 1948.
Israel and Leb have long disagreed on border demarcations in the eastern Mediterranean, an issue that gained prominence in the past decade when large deposits of natural gas were found there.
Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on June 19 he expected US-mediated talks to start within a month.
On Wednesday, Leb insisted any demarcation of its sea boundary with Israel be implemented only as part of a wider package including the land border - something Israel has previously ruled out.
Steinitz sounded less upbeat on Friday.
"(The) Lebanese on the one hand really want to develop their natural resources, and the unresolved dispute with Israel is disruptive for them - for us too, but for them more," Steinitz told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM.
But Steinetz added Leb could also be facing "internal pressure, that they (are) under the sway of fear of Hezbollah," referring to Leb’s most powerful armed force. Hezbollah is also part of the Lebanese coalition government.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Friday it will hold an emergency meeting on Iran’s nuclear program next week, days after Tehran breached one of the limits set in a 2015 deal with world powers.
The meeting of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s board of governors, which follows a US request, would be held "on 10 July at 14:30," an IAEA front man said.
Earlier, the US mission in Vienna said in a statement that the American Ambassador to International Organizations Jackie Wolcott had requested the special meeting to discuss Iran’s breach of the amount of enriched uranium it could stockpile.
The IAEA confirmed earlier this week that 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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... had breached the limit of 300kg for stockpiles of enriched uranium as stipulated under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The US statement described the news of the breach as "concerning".
"The international community must hold Iran’s regime accountable," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[UPI] A top adviser to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday encouraged forces to seize a British oil tanker as a response to London's taking an Iranian supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar.
British Royal Marines detained the Iranian vessel Thursday because officials said it was transporting oil to Syria, a violation of Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an Union sanctions. The Grace 1 tanker was boarded and detained by Marines off the British territory on the southern tip of Spain, Gibraltar minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement.
Officials said the seizure resulted from information the Gibraltar government received that gave it "reasonable grounds" to suspect the vessel was violating EU sanctions.
Friday, 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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaee said a British tanker should be taken in retaliation. Rezaee demanded the Iranian ship's immediate release and called those who seized it "bullies and thugs."
"If Britannia doesn't return the Iranian tanker, the duty of responsible [Iranians] is to seize a British oil tanker in a retaliatory measure," he said.
Josep Borrell, Spain's acting foreign minister, said the United States had asked Britannia to detain the ship.
Iran Foreign Ministry front man Abbas Mousavi said via Twitter British Ambassador Robert Macaire was summoned to his office over the "illegal seizure." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it told Macaire the detainment was "tantamount to maritime banditry" and demanded its release.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Country famous for taking hostages complains about boat being taken hostage.
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 
Bouteflika
[Irish Times] US state department advice that American citizens should stay away from the Longitude festival this weekend has been described as "beyond ridiculous" by the festival organiser.
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
[Jpost] Intelligence agents for the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia issued disturbing findings on Thursday about the US designated Iranian terrorist entity Quds Force targeting Israelis and Israeli institutions.
[Rudaw] Five Yezidi women and a 13-year-old girl rescued from 
...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 
...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 
...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 
