Reader’s Links, December 12, 2019

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Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

126 Replies to “Reader’s Links, December 12, 2019”

  1. Libya: Haftar commands LNA fighters to advance toward Tripoli

    Libyan National Army (LNA) chief General Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to advance towards the capital Tripoli promising an “inevitably victorious” campaign during a televised address on Thursday.

    “The time has come, the time of sweeping storm, the moment that every free honourable Libyan has been waiting for, the moment that our people in Tripoli has been impatiently waiting for since it was occupied by the terrorist, since it became a nest for criminals who threatened it’s residents with guns.” Haftar said.

    During the speech, Haftar called on his fighters to abide by international humanitarian law norms and to respect private and public properties.

    Haftar also addressed militia loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), saying, “We call on all our men, of the various segments of the society, those who were deceived by the traitors and took arms against the national army, we call on them to remain at home, to be on the right way, to protect their life and future, to have mercy on their families by ensuring safety and security.”

    The LNA, which controls much of Libya’s east and parts of the south, first launched an offensive to gain control of Tripoli from the UN-backed GNA in April, which eventually settled into a stalemate.

    The latest move followed Turkey’s recent backing of the GNA. Ankara has offered to send troops to Libya to shore up a regional ally and win support for its maritime borders in the Eastern Mediterranean.

  3. Former Stasi Spy To Run For Regional Leadership of German Left Party
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/12/former-stasi-spy-run-regional-leadership-german-left-party/

    “A former spy of the notorious East German Stasi has announced his bid for a leadership position of the far-left Die Linke (The Left) in the eastern region of Thuringia.

    Mathias Günther, who worked with the Stasi in the 1980s while an officer in the East German (DDR) border troops, announced his candidacy for the leadership position ahead of the party’s congress that is set to take place next weekend, Der Spiegel reports.

    The 57-year-old has reportedly been very open about his past involvement with the Stasi and has been the branch manager for the party in Thuringia since the start of 2019 and is now running for the post of managing director to replace Michaele Sojka.

    Günther was also a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the Communist ruling party of the DDR in the 80s, which would later transform into the Party of Democratic Socialism in 1989 and then merged with the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice to form Die Linke in 2007.

    Die Linke won the Thuringia regional election in October with 31 per cent of the vote, with the populist Alternative for Germany, led by firebrand Bjorn Hocke, coming second with 23.4 per cent…”

  4. Muslim Democrats Target Multiple Areas For Upcoming French Municipal Elections
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2019/12/12/muslim-democrats-target-multiple-areas-upcoming-french-municipal-elections/

    “The Union of French Muslim Democrats (UDFM), a pro-Islam party, has announced it will be fielding lists of candidates for the upcoming French municipal elections in 2020.

    The Muslim Democrats are set to contest local elections in parts of the department of Yvelines, located just outside of Paris, and claim to want to “give a voice to a part of the population that is not found in traditional parties,” Le Parisien reports.

    The group announced they would be fielding candidates in Mantes-la-Jolie, Les Mureaux, Guyancourt, and possibly in Mantes-la-Ville where the populist National Rally led by Marine Le Pen has led the local government since 2014.

    While the UDFM claims to be secular, it has, according to Le Parisien, been targetting areas with higher proportions of Muslims from North African backgrounds.

    Local resident Samir claimed that he has become disillusioned with the Socialist Party in recent years and said while he would not vote for the UFDM, he understood why others might, stating: “For me, this party is the yellow vests of the Arabs.”

    Council of Muslim Institutions of Yvelines Aziz El Jaouhari said that not too many in the community were overly impressed with the new party but noted that “discourse on discrimination or Islamophobia may resonate with some”.

    Earlier this year, the UDFM made waves in Yvelines during the European Parliament election, winning 16.74 per cent of the vote in the district of Val-Fourre in Mantes-la-Jolie and polling 6.77 per cent across the city as a whole, fueling speculation they could win local seats in 2020.

    In recent years, Muslim and migrant-centred parties have emerged across several European countries but few have seen successful election gains except in some cases such as the Denk party in the Netherlands which won seats in the national parliament in 2017.

    Muslim parties have also been linked to anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric such as the Dutch party Nida which equated Israel to the Islamic State.”

  5. Baghdad mob kills teen gunman and strings up his corpse
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-protesters-hang-gunman-baghdad-square-67683133

    “An angry mob killed a 16-year-old and strung up the corpse by its feet from a traffic pole after the teen shot and killed six people Thursday, including four anti-government protesters, Iraqi officials said.

    Dozens of people pointed their cellphones at the body dangling high above them in a central Baghdad square. Videos circulating on social media showed the young man being beaten and dragged across the street.

    The violence underscored the growing fears and suspicions swirling around the 8-week-old protest movement, which engulfed Iraq on Oct. 1 when thousands took to the streets to decry government corruption, poor services and scarcity of jobs.

    A string of mysterious acts of bloodshed by unknown groups has put anti-government protesters on edge and eroded their faith in the ability of state security forces to protect them…”

  6. EU leaders set to reject Turkey-Libya maritime border deal
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eu-leaders-set-reject-turkey-libya-maritime-border-67689296

    “European Union leaders are set to reject a maritime border agreement between Turkey and Libya as invalid and insist that the pact interferes with the rights of other Mediterranean Sea countries, according to a draft summit statement.

    The border deal, endorsed by the Turkish parliament last week, has fueled regional tensions with Greece, Cyprus and Egypt over oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

    The three countries, which lie between Turkey and Libya, have blasted the maritime border accord as being contrary to international law. Greece has expelled the Libyan ambassador over it.

    In the statement, the leaders say the Turkey-Libya agreement “infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third states.”

    The text, seen Thursday by The Associated Press and drawn up for a two-day EU summit underway in Brussels, was a draft so its exact wording could change.

    The draft document continues that the EU “unequivocally reaffirms its solidarity with Greece and Cyprus regarding these actions by Turkey.” Turkey has already angered the EU by drilling for gas in waters off the divided island nation of Cyprus.

    Ankara upped the ante in that dispute on Wednesday by confirming that it would use its military forces if necessary to halt any exploratory gas drilling in waters off Cyprus that it claims as its own.

    Neighbors Greece and Turkey are divided by a series of decades-old issues, including territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea. The NATO allies have come to the brink of war three times since the 1970s, including once over drilling rights in the Aegean.

    Greece insists the deal with Libya — which has no fully functioning government able to rule across all of its territory — is unenforceable and has stressed that it will protect its sovereign rights. Like its EU partners, Greece recognizes the United Nations-endorsed Libyan government based in Tripoli in the west of the country.

    Arriving for the summit in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would seek from his European counterparts, “and I am sure I will receive, their active support in the face of Turkish provocation.”

    Mitsotakis said the deal between Libya and Turkey “grossly violates the sovereign rights of (our) country and has no legal effect. Europe is raising diplomatic walls against Turkish provocations, and in all this process our country is not alone. It has very powerful allies.”

    Libyan parliament speaker Aguila Saleh visited Athens Thursday and met with the Greek parliament speaker and with the country’s foreign minister, Nikos Dendias. Libya’s parliament is affiliated with the government based in the country’s east and has already rejected the maritime deal as invalid.

    Speaking after the meeting, Dendias thanked Saleh and welcomed the Libyan parliament’s position “according to which the memoranda which have been signed … are void and without content, are unenforceable and create instability in the region.”

    “They threaten peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Dendias said, adding that Greece was prepared to help in efforts to restore peace in Libya.”

  7. (Richard: REmember the Internatonal Date Line)

    Tensions Escalate (Dec 13): All US Allies Ready to Fight in the South China Sea

  14. Houthi Leader Killed in Western Taiz
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2032731/houthi-leader-killed-western-taiz

    “A military source reported that Houthi leader Muhammad al-Aqqas was killed alongside six of his escorts in an artillery shelling launched by the National Army in the southwestern city of Taiz. The shelling had targeted militia posts west of Taiz.

    Aqqas’ death took place in parallel to battles raging in the Harz directorate of the rural Hifan district east of Taiz. Battles pit national army soldiers against Houthi gunmen and have so far registered casualties among Houthi ranks.

    Early this week, three Houthi leaders were also killed in the Kalaba front, nestled at Taiz’s northeastern gate, against a backdrop of national army advances.

    The three defeated field leaders are known by their aliases Abu Fahd, Abu Zaid, and Abu Tariq.

    This coincided with a new push by the Iran-backed Houthi coup militias near the Red Sea coastal governorate of Hodeidah.

    Field sources cited new Houthi military reinforcements being deployed to the outskirts of the Al-Duraimi Directorate, south of Hodeidah.

    On the other hand, the demining project in Yemen, MASAM, removed 4,536 Houthi-laid mines in the first week of December.

    The engineering teams managed to remove 24 anti-personnel mines, 372 anti-tanks, one explosive device, and 4,139 unexploded ammunitions, MASAM stated.

    These mines were planted by Iran-backed Houthi coup militia in residential areas and main roads.”

  15. Houthi Campaigns to Seize Local Lands in Ibb
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2032791/houthi-campaigns-seize-local-lands-ibb

    “Houthi militias in Yemen have expanded their extortion campaign to include local lands and assets in the Ibb governorate, located 193 km south of Sanaa.

    Militiamen are also spearheading war efforts to take over real estate belonging to the Islamic Awqaf authority.

    Local sources at the Ibb governorate revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi militias, since the start of December, have launched a far-reaching campaign of looting and acquisition of public and private lands in a number of districts.

    Privately-owned lands in the districts of Al-Dhahran and Al-Mukhaderar, according to local sources, were confiscated by the Houthi terrorist militia in an unprecedented sweep being conducted by the group.

    Local sources, speaking under the conditions of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that a Houthi leader called Hamoud Al Abyad alongside a group of fighters had acquired large swathes of land in the northern Ibb village of Hamami after putting original owners at gunpoint.

    Homes in Hamami were subject to Houthi fire for objecting to Houthi looting the kidnapping of some citizens.

    Local activists held the Iran-backed militia responsible for the organized crime ravaging the governorate.

    Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, activists pointed to the high rate of crime taking place in Ibb.

    “Not an hour goes by without crime being registered whether it is murder, kidnapping, looting or robbery,” they said.

    Activists called on all people in the governorate to monitor and document Houthi crimes against the community.”

  16. Iraq Protesters Form ‘Mini-State’ in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2033096/iraq-protesters-form-mini-state-baghdads-tahrir-square

    “With border guards, clean-up crews and hospitals, Iraqi protesters have created a mini-state in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, offering the kinds of services they say their government has failed to provide.

    “We’ve done more in two months than the state has done in 16 years,” said Haydar Chaker, a construction worker from Babylon province, south of the capital.

    Everyone has their role, from cooking bread to painting murals, with a division of labor and scheduled shifts.

    Chaker came to Baghdad with his friends after the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage to the Shiite holy city Karbala, his pilgrim’s tent and cooking equipment equally useful at a protest encampment.

    Installed in the iconic square whose name means “liberation”, he provides three meals a day to hundreds of protesters, cooking with donated foods.

    In the morning he coordinates with the surrounding tents, dividing sacks of rice, sugar, flour, and other ingredients then assigning meals, drinks, and sandwiches for volunteers to prepare.

    The self-reliant encampment is the heart of a protest movement that seeks the radical overhaul of Iraq’s political system, and despite frequent power cuts, it never stops beating.

    – War, a habit –

    At the entrances to the square, dozens of guards like Abou al-Hassan man makeshift barricades, where men and women search incoming visitors.

    “We Iraqis rub shoulders with the military from a young age, so we pick up a thing or two,” said Hassan, dressed in camouflage fatigues.

    “We don’t need special training to detect saboteurs and keep them out… or to be able to defend our state,” he added, alertly scanning the perimeter.

    But on Friday, their “state” came under attack, when gunmen Iraqi authorities have failed to identify stormed a parking building occupied by protesters.

    After the massacre that left 24 dead, protesters installed new checkpoints and closed an 18-story building overlooking the square.

    Infiltrated by intelligence agents and at the mercy of gunmen able to cross police and military roadblocks at will, protesters insist their mini-state remains committed to non-violence.

    But in a country where the influence and arsenals of pro-Iran armed groups continue to increase, the protest enclave has forged an alliance with another of Iraq’s states within a state.

    Unarmed “blue helmets” from Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) have intervened to protect protesters.

    – ‘My weapon? A brush’ –

    When protests started in October, Ahmed al-Harithi “abandoned his job” as an obstetrician-gynecologist to protest and later to care for the injured.

    He learned to coordinate with the paramedics and tuk-tuk drivers who ferried the wounded.

    Soon, the doctors’ and pharmacists’ syndicates were organizing a “mini-health ministry” in Tahrir, he said.

    They coordinated with logistics cells to stock medication that was donated or bought at a discount from sympathetic pharmacies.

    To light their clinics at night, protesters jerry-rigged connections to the municipal high-tension wires. During daily power cuts, they rely on purchased generators.

    In front of the field clinics, as tuk-tuks zoom between clusters of protesters, dozens of volunteers sweep the pavement. Tahrir has never been so clean, protesters say, in contrast to its previous neglect by municipal workers.

    Houda Amer has not been to class in weeks. Instead, the teacher spends her days painting the curbs and railings in the square.

    “My weapon is my paintbrush,” she said with a smile.

    “Our revolution doesn’t want to destroy everything,” she said. “We are all here to build our nation.””

  17. Turkey and Russia vie for influence in Libya with troop deployments
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkish-military-libya-russia-power-brokers

    “The Turkish government’s possible deployment of troops to Libya may tip the balance of power in the country and could put Turkey in Russia’s crosshairs, regional experts and sources told Middle East Eye.

    Yet, they say, it is more likely that Turkish and Russian troops in the war-torn country could see Ankara and Moscow become the brokers of a new settlement process.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this week that his country would consider sending troops to Libya if its UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) makes a request.

    “This isn’t covered by the UN arms embargo. They can invite us,” Erdogan said in televised remarks on Monday.

    Turkey and the GNA’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month that upgraded the existing military cooperation deals between the two allies.

    Two senior Turkish officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to government protocol, told Middle East Eye that the deals on military training and technical support legally allow the Turkish government to deploy troops to Libya.

    “Of course a decision by the parliament is needed. But that’s easy,” Murat Aslan, an academic at Hasan Kalyoncu University with a military background, told MEE.

    Even though Erdogan seems to be waiting for an invitation from Libya before taking such a step, he has already made up his mind on the issue, a well-placed Turkish source told MEE.

    “He is ready to send troops. He isn’t using this issue as leverage. He knows that a request would be forthcoming,” the source said.

    According to Ibrahim Kalin, one of Erodgan’s top aides, the GNA has yet to call on Ankara for troops. But requests have nonetheless been made through less official channels, such as Libyan Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani, who urged the GNA to ask for Turkish assistance.

    While Turkey is throwing its weight behind the GNA, regional powers such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been backing its rival, the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) – led by General Khalifa Haftar – in a bloody civil war.

    Meanwhile, Egypt and its allies consider Sarraj’s government as an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi…”

  18. Will Muslims be protected under YouTube’s new anti-harassment policy?
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/muslim-rights-group-calls-youtube-enforce-new-harassment-policy

    “Six months after YouTube was criticised for refusing to remove a homophobic video, the Google-owned platform said it will take a “stronger stance” against threats and personal attacks made on the video-sharing site.

    In an announcement on Wednesday, YouTube said it was tightening rules regarding what it considers to be offensive, and will ban videos that “maliciously insult” anyone based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

    The update came after Steven Crowder, a right-wing comedian, targeted a journalist at Vox Media with references to his sexual orientation.

    Muslim Advocates, a rights group based in Washington, said while it welcomed the announcement, YouTube’s anti-harassment policy should also include protections for Muslims.

    “They were saying that they were going to be committed to cracking down on content that promotes discriminatory theories against a protected class,” Madihha Ahussain, the special counsel for anti-Muslim bigotry at Muslim Advocates, told Middle East Eye. “So that would mean, for example, discriminatory or anti-Muslim theories against individuals that identify as Muslim.”

    For years, YouTube has faced criticism for allowing content that has targeted minorities and historically marginalised groups to be aired unchecked.

    It took the platform several months to remove videos by Soph, a 14-year-old YouTuber who produced anti-black content and also videos that espoused hatred against Muslims.

    Soph’s YouTube channel, which operated under a thin guise of edgy internet comedy, gained an audience of more than 800,000 subscribers before it was finally blocked in August.

    Ahussein said that while the updated approach may be a step in the right direction, “the key is how they enforce the policy”. YouTube needs to put “this policy into practice,” she added.

    In a blog post on Wednesday, YouTube said it was “tightening our policies for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to get even tougher on those who engage in harassing behaviour and to ensure we reward only trusted creators.”

    Still, according to videos seen by Middle East Eye, several that espoused both hate speech and discrimination against Muslims were readily available.

    MEE reached out to YouTube for comment, but had yet to receive a response at the time of publication.

    Anti-Muslim bigotry
    Ahussein said anti-Muslim bigotry was widespread on the platform, citing lewd videos – some numbering in the millions of views – that targeted Muslim congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

    “We have examples of videos that are still up on YouTube that we believe are promoting these theories about them being terrorists or Muslims being terrorists,” Ahussein told MEE.

    Both congresswomen have received multiple death threats in recent months because of their staunch opposition to US President Donald Trump.

    Another concern about the platform, Ahussein said, was not only the videos but the accomponying comments section as well.

    “The comments section is a tool that is misused consistently by individuals that are not just anti-Muslim, but are hateful and using negative rhetoric regularly,” said Ahussein.

    “In fact, the comments section often has worse content than what the video or the original content itself has.”

    YouTube maintains that it has taken firm action against comments that violate the harassment policy, removing 16 million of them in the third quarter of this year alone.

    While the new policy may be “a sign of progress”, it is too soon to tell whether it will lead to less hatred being expressed, Ahussein said.”

  19. Former Turkish PM Davutoglu forms new party in challenge to Erdogan
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191212-former-turkish-pm-davutoglu-forms-new-party-in-challenge-to-erdogan/

    “Former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, once a close ally to President Tayyip Erdogan, applied on Thursday to establish a breakaway political party which could erode support for Erdogan and his ruling AK Party, Reuters reports.

    Davutoglu, 60, served as prime minister from 2014 to 2016, before falling out with Erdogan. He has criticised the president and the AK Party’s (AKP) economic management and accused it of curbing basic liberties and free speech.

    A source close to Davutoglu said he applied to the Interior Ministry on Thursday to form his new party and that he will formally announce it at a news conference in Ankara on Friday. It will be called the Future Party, the source said.

    “The new party will breathe new life into politics,” the source said…”

  20. Bahrain sentences 34 to prison for membership in Shia opposition group
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191212-bahrain-sentences-34-to-prison-for-membership-in-shia-opposition-group/

    “A Bahraini criminal court has handed down prison sentences to 34 defendants over their alleged membership in the Shia opposition group Wefaq, the Bahrani newspaper Al-Ayam has reported.

    The Bahraini government considers Wefaq a terror group. It was the country’s largest opposition party before a court suspended its activities and froze its funds in 2016.

    The court sentenced eight of the defendants to life imprisonment and fined them 100,000 Bahraini dinars each ($265,231).

    Seven other defendants were sentenced to 10 years, eight were sentenced to five years, and nine to 15 years each. One defendant was sentenced to three years in prison.”

  21. UAE hires White House veterans to carry out spy missions
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191212-uae-hires-white-house-veterans-to-carry-out-spy-missions/

    “The United Arab Emirates has been hiring former White House executives and intelligence officials for spying missions, a detailed investigation published by Reuters revealed on Tuesday.

    Following the 11 September attacks, the former American counterterrorism czar, Richard Clarke, warned Congress, that the US needed more expansive spying powers to prevent another catastrophe.

    Reuters also revealed that in 2008, Clarke went to work as a consultant, guiding the UAE, as it created a cyber surveillance capability that would utilise top American intelligence contractors to help monitor threats against the small, but wealthy, nation.

    Clarke, who possessed good relations with the UAE, helped create the Development Research Exploitation and Analysis Department (DREAD).

    Over the following years, the UAE unit expanded its hunt far beyond suspected extremists, to include a Saudi women’s rights activist, diplomats at the United Nations and personnel at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

    Reuters revealed how a group of former American National Security Agency (NSA) operatives, and other elite US intelligence veterans, helped the UAE to spy on a wide range of targets.

    Clarke informed Reuters that he was to create a unit capable of tracking terrorists. He disclosed that the plan which followed US law, was approved by the US State Department, the NSA and Good Harbor Consulting, a cyber risk management company.

    “The incentive was to help in the fight against Al-Qaeda. The UAE is a very good counter-terrorism partner. You need to remember the timing back then, post 9-11,” Clarke stressed. “The NSA wanted it to happen.””

  22. Iraqi translators who worked with Australian troops beg for visas as danger looms
    https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/12/12/iraqi-translators-who-worked-with-australia-beg-for-visas

    “Australia should offer visas to Iraqi translators for their work with the defense force because it is the “right thing to do”, former prime minister Kevin Rudd has announced.

    “I was totally opposed to the war, launched under John Howard, and I did not want to see any retribution against these civilians after our forces withdrew,” he said.

    “We wanted to avoid a repeat of what happened in Vietnam after 1975. This was the right thing to do. It stands in stark contrast to the position of the [current] government.”

    His comments follow reports by the The Guardian that 60 interpretators who had worked with the Australian Defense Force alongside Australian diggers against the Islamic State group are being prevented from applying for visas to Australia.

    “Early in our government, we decided that any Iraqi civilian who worked directly for the ADF as a military aide or interpreter should be offered a visa to migrate to Australia,” Rudd said.

    Although there is legislation in place since 2008 for a special visa policy that would allow 600 “locally engaged employees” and their families who are at risk as a result of their work with the Australian government, Iraqis insist that they cannot apply.

    Australia’s embassy in Baghdad does not accept visa applications, and the interpreters have said they’ve been told to travel to Jordan or Lebanon to apply.

    Iraqi interpreters are not the only ones who are having trouble reaching Australia.

    An interpreter in Afghanistan called Raz Mohammed has started a petition on Change.org urging prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to grant him and people like him emergency humanitarian visas.

    Mohammed had been an interpreter and cultural adviser to the ADF for ten years.

    “Some of us were shot, murdered, tortured for helping Australian soldiers and it happened to our families [sic] members like siblings and parents as well,” he wrote in an impassioned letter.

    “I’m terrified for the former ADF interpreters and their families [sic] members still trapped in Afghanistan who could be killed because of our affiliation with ADF.”

    Christopher Costello, a former army veteran talked about the help he received from translators.

    “I am a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. In my role as an advisor to the ANA,” he said.

    “I relied very heavily on my Interpreter, his bravery, his ability to convey the message I needed to get across, his loyalty to the ADF Mission and for monitoring the mood in every situation to ensure if things were about to change for the worse he would let me know [sic].”
    This appears to be a systemic problem, as the United States continually falls short on its promise to provide visas for its interpreters in the region.

    As of August this year, the Trump administration has issued just two US visas to former interpreters last year, according to government statistics obtained by NBC News.

    Interpreters faced threats, abductions and attacks if their association with US troops is uncovered, and hundreds have been killed since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    The Defence and State Departments lacked an army proficient in Arabic to keep the insurgents down and engage in state-building in Iraq, and as a result it relied heavily on citizens who had studied English.

    Special Immigrant Visas, a State Department initiative to provide asylum to Afghan and Iraqi contractors, have allowed some former interpreters to emigrate to the US. Nonetheless, thousands remain stuck in Iraq.

    Last year The New Arab spoke to Laith al-Haydar, a former interpreter, to learn more about the difficulties faced in the aftermath of working for the US.

    “I started as an interpreter for the American military in July 2003,” he told The New Arab. “Back then, the work was so easy: there was no time-consuming security scanning or background check. You just met the officer and, as long as he liked your English, you were in. At first, the job went nicely and smoothly.”

    That soon changed.

    “I had lived in Baghdad for more than 23 years, but, suddenly, people in my neighbourhood were watching me and my other friends who worked as interpreters,” he recalled.

    “It was considered a betrayal to work with the invaders.”

    Anti-government rallies in Iraq have been raging for the past few months, and protesters are thought to have hung the body of an alleged sniper belonging to a pro-government militia from traffic lights.”

  23. U.S. Senate passes resolution recognizing Armenian genocide, angering Turkey
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-turkey-armenia/u-s-senate-passes-resolution-recognizing-armenian-genocide-angering-turkey-idUSKBN1YG2DZ

    “The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes as a genocide the mass killings of Armenians a century ago, a historic move that infuriated Turkey and dealt a blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington…”

  25. UK supports Egypt in developing 1st action plan on women, peace, security
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/357664/Egypt/Politics-/UK-supports-Egypt-in-developing-st-action-plan-on-.aspx

    “The United Kingdom backs Egypt to draft its first National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in support of Egypt’s national efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women.

    The UK embassy in Cairo detailed in a statement on Thursday that the project will lay the foundation for Egypt’s implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and its subsequent resolutions.

    The NAP will be developed under the umbrella of a tripartite partnership between the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, the National Council for Women, and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    UN Women will provide substantive technical support from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Egypt, with financial support from the UK.

    The UK’s own national action plan for Women, Peace and Security seeks to prevent conflict and all forms of violence against women and girls. It also aims to support women’s equal participation in peace and security decision-making processes and protect the rights of women and girls in conflict-affected situations.

    British Ambassador to Egypt, Sir Geoffrey Adams, said: “Women’s participation is key to the success and longevity of peace initiatives.

    In 2019, the UK provided targeted assistance to support the African Union efforts on WPS, and we know there is scope to do more together. I am delighted the UK is supporting Egypt develop a comprehensive action plan to promote gender equality and support women’s participation in peace and security processes,” Adams added.

    The UK’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, Julian Reilly, said: “Women’s participation in peace negotiations increases the durability and the quality of peace.

    In 2018, the UK launched its fourth National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. This year, we are supporting Egypt, a pivotal partner in Africa, do the same. This action plan will enable Egypt to provide strategic direction for women in the pursuit of a better and more peaceful future,” Reilly reiterated.

    “The evident strong political will to support the empowerment of women and decision of the Government of Egypt to develop a NAP on the implementation of UNSCR 1325, are not only important to advance the women’s empowerment national agenda but is also a critical milestone in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on Gender Equality, as well as SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions,” stated Gielan El Messiri; UN Women Head of Office ad interim.”

  26. France to take 400 asylum-seekers from Greece: Official
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/357643/World/International/France-to-take–asylumseekers-from-Greece-Official.aspx

    “France will help Greece tackle an ongoing migration challenge by accepting 400 asylum-seekers, the French ambassador to Athens said Thursday.

    “Over the coming months, France will accept 400 persons who have arrived on Greek soil,” ambassador Patrick Maisonnave told the state Athens News Agency.”

  27. 74% of Moroccans Think the Government is Not Tackling Corruption
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/12/288818/morocco-government-not-tackling-corruption/

    “Transparency International released yesterday, December 11, the results of the 2019 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – Middle East and North Africa. The survey examined citizens’ perceptions of electoral and government corruption in Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, and Tunisia.

    While the report found that 53% of Moroccans believe that institutional corruption is increasing, the kingdom did rank lower than Tunisia where 67% of citizens see corruption as a growing problem. Sudan topped the ranking at 82% with Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon all appearing above Morocco on the list.

    However, according to the survey, 74% of Moroccans believe that the government is not doing enough to tackle corruption and that politicians are actively involved in bribery and corrupt practice. Only Lebanon and Sudan ranked above Morocco, with 80% and 87% respectively.

    “The handling of corruption cases reveals a gap between leaders’ promises and real action. According to the GCB results, one in four Moroccans think most or all judges, magistrates and police are involved in corruption,” the Transparency International report outlines.

    The report went on to underline that: “With many court cases ignored by public authorities and some already drawn out judicial processes lengthened by unmotivated prosecutors, it is unsurprising to see why an overwhelming majority of citizens (74%) think that the government is not doing enough to tackle corruption and why 47% say they are not satisfied with the level of democracy in their country.”

    In the section of the report focussing on Morocco, Transparency International gives the case study of the Casino Es Saadi case. According to the report “a local government official was allegedly bribed to cheaply sell municipal land to a business.”

    “In 2015, after a trial in which Transparency Maroc, Transparency International’s chapter in Morocco, was a civil party, the official was sentenced to five years in prison.” An appeal is now in progress and the court has removed the original judges from the case.

    The focus on Morocco section concludes by emphasizing that: “By undermining the vital pillars of democracy, including the judicial system, corruption can produce a vicious cycle, where corruption weakens democratic institutions, and in turn, the institutions are less able to control corruption.”

    The report also examined bribery and found that 31% of Moroccan citizens have paid a bribe in the past 12 months. Compared to the rest of the MENA countries surveyed, Morocco fell in the middle. In Lebanon, 41% of citizens said they had paid a bribe, while in Jordan only 4% had paid bribes while using public services.

    The results showed that across all countries surveyed, the police force was the most likely to take bribes. “The results show that the police have the highest bribery rate (22%) and are the public service most likely to demand and receive bribes,” the report outlined.

    However, 49% of Moroccans believe that “ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.” In this section of the survey, Morocco fell behind Tunisia, Sudan, Palestine, and Jordan.

    Across all of the countries surveyed, 58% believe reporting corruption in government or public service will lead to retaliation.

    The report concludes by calling on MENA governments to “act and demonstrate serious political will against corruption.”

    The international anti-corruption agency argued that: “Countries should fulfill their commitments to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as a first step. In addition, strong and independent judicial systems, as well as the proper separation of powers, are needed to promote anti-corruption efforts.””

  28. Spain: Morocco is Leader in Fight Against Terrorism
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/12/288790/spain-morocco-leader-terrorism/

    “Morocco is a leading country in the fight against terrorism, the chief Prosecutor of Spain’s National Audience, Jesus Alonso, said on December 11 in Marrakech.

    Alonso commented on Morocco’s counterterrorism leadership during a plenary meeting of the members of the Quadripartite Group against Terrorism.

    “Like Spain, France and Belgium, Morocco is determined to eradicate this cross-border global phenomenon, which threatens the security and stability of the international community,” he said.

    The Spanish official also called for a shared responsibility to curb organized crime, emphasizing that terrorism is one of its forms.

    “The situation is different from one country to another. Each one has its specificities, its own culture and religion but the threat is always the same.”

    The prosecutor emphasized that Spain and its allies have been sharing information. The situation, however, requires more effort.

    “We should work more on the homogenization of legal and judicial systems,” he said.

    He added that even if each state has its priorities, countries share the same goal: bringing peace, security, and prosperity…”

  29. Moroccan NGO Organizes Conference on Islamophobia in Spain
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/12/288799/moroccan-ngo-organizes-conference-on-islamophobia-in-spain/

    “The Moroccan Association for the Integration of Immigrants has organized the first conference on Islamophobia in Spain. The conference started on Wednesday, December 11, at the University of Malaga, southern Spain, and will last over two days.

    More than 50 speakers are taking part in the event. They will discuss and analyze Islamophobic discourse in order to ensure better protection for Spain’s Muslim community, according to Spanish media.

    The Moroccan NGO organizing the event is based in Malaga and is fully funded by regional and central public organizations.

    The rise of the far-right Vox party in the latest elections is also a source of concern for the Muslim community in Spain. On Sunday, November 10, Vox won 52 seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies after gaining only 24 in the April parliamentary elections. The party’s newfound popularity gave them the third most parliamentary seats in Spain.

    In July 2019, the Moroccan association of Malaga launched a telephone application to combat Islamophobia and hate crimes against Muslims.

    The NGO considers the application as part of the National Program for the Prevention of Islamophobia.

    The program seeks to protect the Muslim community in Spain against the rising scourge of Islamophobia. It also aims to “give specialized attention to cases of discrimination based on Islamophobia, improving the victims’ knowledge of their rights and existing resources,” as well as to increase the level of awareness and ability “to detect discriminatory incidents caused by Islamophobia.”

    The application is available on Google Play for free.

    Anadolu Agency reported in March that religious discrimination and hate crimes in Spain have increased, quoting a report from the Spanish Ministry of Interior.

    Miguel Angel Aguilar, a coordinator for services dealing with hate and discrimination crimes in Barcelona, told the press that his country is observing an increase of hate crimes “even though not at an alarming level, in Islamophobia and attacks against Muslims, and in religious hate in conversations on social media.”

    The report stated that there was a 120 % increase in hate crimes in 2017.

    Aguilar, according to Anadolu Agency, said that 39 out of 41 cases “related to religious hate crimes in 2017 were about Islamophobia.”

    The most religious hate crimes occur in the autonomous region of Catalonia. The region is home to 2 million Muslims.”

  30. Manitoba likely to intervene in court fight over Quebec law on religious symbols

    WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says his government will likely intervene in a future court battle over Quebec’s secularism law.

    In his annual state of the province speech, Pallister says Quebec’s ban on religious symbols being worn by some civil servants is hurting Canada’s reputation on the international stage.

    He told some 1,300 people at a business luncheon that Canada must stand up for rights and freedoms, similar to the way Canadian soldiers fought in the world wars.

    Pallister has been a vocal critic of the Quebec law, and says Manitoba will likely seek intervener status if the legislation winds up in the Supreme Court of Canada.

    The Quebec Court of Appeal has rejected a request by some of the law’s opponents to suspend parts of it until a full court hearing can be held.

    Pallister also rejected speculation that he may leave office to either retire or run federally, saying he was recently re-elected and is committed to serving out his term.

    https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-likely-to-intervene-in-court-fight-over-quebec-law-on-religious-symbols-1.4727926
    =======================================================
    CBC – ‘Very likely’ Manitoba will seek intervener status in Quebec Bill 21: Pallister

    Premier addresses conservative leadership, upcoming lawsuit costs in speech Thursday

    Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says it is “very likely” the province will seek intervener status in Quebec’s controversial Bill 21 if the case heads to the Supreme Court of Canada.

    “It’s very likely but we’ll wait and see what our partners are doing as we’re trying to co-ordinate efforts in respect of gathering support to oppose this piece of misguided legislation,” Pallister said Thursday after giving his speech at the state of the province event put on by the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.

    Bill 21 bans public school teachers, government lawyers and police officers, among other civil servants, from wearing religious symbols at work.

    On Thursday, Quebec’s top court refused to suspend the controversial ban. Pallister expects the case to end up at the Supreme Court.

    He says it’s essential Canadians stand up for the rights of others when they are threatened. His government has already taken out ads in Quebec encouraging civil servants to apply for work in Manitoba.

    ‘He’s trying to put the cape on’
    NDP Opposition Leader Wab Kinew questioned Pallister’s motive saying the Progressive Conservatives voted down an amendment that would call on the province to intervene in court cases for human rights and go against Bill 21.

    “I don’t know why they voted that down, and then now he’s trying to put the cape on.”

    Pallister introduced his own religious freedoms resolution that opposed any law that would limit religious freedoms. The resolution didn’t specifically mention Quebec and was adopted unanimously by MLAs.

    Pallister also dispelled any theory he could take a shot at running for federal Conservative leader to replace Andrew Scheer, who resigned Thursday.

    “I actually just had the great pleasure of being re-elected to serve as the MLA for Fort Whyte, plan on completing my term and if the people will have me thereafter I’m excited to embrace the challenges,” he said.

    Pallister said Scheer faced an incredibly difficult decision in choose to step down as leader and congratulated him for his work.

    “I would say most of all thank you to him. Thank you to him for his service, thank you for making the sacrifices that public life entails, thank you for doing that with a young family, and a growing family, and thank you for serving as a fabulous speaker of the House of Commons.”

    Pallister, a former MP, wouldn’t say if he had a preference for Scheer’s replacement and said his choice not to run for the federal Tories was made when he chose to run as leader for the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives in 2012.

    During Pallister’s speech, which focused largely on what his government has done since taking office in 2016, he said it’s estimated that over a billion dollars is expected to be paid out in potential legal settlements for lawsuits against government departments, Crown corporations like Manitoba Hydro and regional health authorities, for example.

    “We have gone into the process of evaluating the degree to which our legal experts anticipate there will be settlements required for these lawsuits. None of this was prepared for and so it’s critical that we do that. That we have funds allocated to that purpose is really really important because otherwise then when they’re settled in court, that’s when the bill comes.”

    The premier said his government will still balance the books within two years and eliminate the province’s deficit, which Pallister has said costs Manitoba over a billion dollars a year in interest alone.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/quebec-bill-21-intervenor-status-pallister-1.5394514

  31. Counter Modi’s Hindu supremacist agenda before it’s too late: PM tells world
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2116404/3-india-modi-moving-systematically-hindu-supremacist-agenda-pm-imran/

    “Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned the international community that the Hindu supremacist agenda of Narendra Modi, along with threats to Pakistan under a nuclear overhang, will lead to “massive bloodshed and far-reaching consequences for the world”.

    The warning came a day after the Indian parliament gave the nod of approval to the anti-Muslim Citizens Amendment Bill 2019 – a highly controversial law which has whipped up massive protests across northeastern India…”

  32. Pakistan at bottom of the barrel in human development
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2116713/1-pakistan-bottom-barrel-human-development/

    “Pakistan has fallen to the bottom of the list of countries with medium human development and is ranked at 152 – only a notch away from slipping into the group of nations that have very low human development, says a new United Nations report released on Thursday.

    The United Nations Human Development Report (HDR) 2019 has ranked Pakistan at 152 among 189 nations as compared to 151 last year.

    The country also fared poor as compared to most other South Asian nations. India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives performed better than Pakistan. The results are based on the 2018 data…”

  34. The Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of 86 in the general election, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.

    The survey taken at UK polling stations suggests the Tories will get 368 MPs – 50 more than at the 2017 election – when all the results have been counted.

    Labour would get 191, the Lib Dems 13, the Brexit Party none and the SNP 55.

    In early results, the Tories have won three Leave-voting former Labour strongholds in the north of England.

    In one of the first seats to declare, the Conservatives took Blyth Valley, the first time the former mining area, which voted Leave in the EU referendum, will have a Conservative MP.

    The Tories also took Workington, in Cumbria, and Darlington from Labour.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50765773

  35. Muslim countries should overcome their disputes: Minister
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/muslim-countries-should-overcome-their-disputes-turkey-fm-149785

    “Turkey’s foreign minister on Dec. 12 called for Muslim countries to overcome disputes among themselves so the Islamic world can work better together.

    “We have to overcome bilateral disputes so that they don’t become an obstacle to achieve the goals of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,” Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu said at 50th-anniversary celebrations of the OIC in the Moroccan capital Rabat.

    Çavu?o?lu stressed that “reform of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is necessary and we must all work to achieve this.”

    Top officials and representatives of the Islamic troika of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Gambia and the ministerial troika of Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, and Niger are taking part in the anniversary celebration, along with representatives from various Islamic countries and organizations.

    The OIC was founded on Sept. 25, 1969 in Morocco in reaction to an arson attack on Jerusalem’s historic Al-Aqsa Mosque that August. It currently has 57 member countries and is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

  36. Ankara says US bill a ‘disrespect’ to Turkey’s sovereign decisions
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-says-us-bill-a-disrespect-to-turkeys-sovereign-decisions-149744

    “Turkey on Dec. 12 slammed the passing of a sanctions bill against Turkey by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Committee, calling it a “disrespect to our sovereign decisions about our national security.”

    “The recent attempts carried out with domestic political calculations in both wings of the Congress, which have also been supported by the circles against Turkey, is a new incident of disrespect to our sovereign decisions about our national security,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

    The ministry said these attempts “are beyond damaging U.S.-Turkey relations.”

    “We know on what bases the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations adopted a bill to impose sanctions on our country on the pretext of our Operation Peace Spring and [Russian] S-400 system,” according to the ministry.

    It said the reason was “the profound disappointment due to the heavy blow Turkey dealt to the project which has been carefully prepared for a long time.”

    “Turkey had responded to a similar bill with a similar content adopted by the House of Representatives on Oct. 29. This time, the bill that is being put on the agenda of the Senate shows that our explanations are not intended to be understood,” the ministry added.

    The ministry called on the U.S. Congress to adopt a constructive attitude towards the development of Turkish-U.S. relations, “which will not undermine our common goals”.

    Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu earlier on Dec. 11 said Turkey will retaliate if the United States takes negative steps against it, when asked about the prospect of Washington imposing sanctions over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s.

    “Members of the U.S. Congress need to understand that they cannot achieve anything by imposition. If the U.S. approaches positively, we will approach positively too,” he said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster A Haber.

    Asked if Turkey will consider closing the ?ncirlik Airbase in southern Turkey to U.S. aircraft in the event of any sanctions by the U.S. administration against Ankara, he said Ankara will decide upon its assessments in the worst-case scenario and ?ncirlik Airbase and Kürecik radar system of NATO could be among those retaliation plans.

    “?ncirlik may come up, and Kürecik may come up. Everything may come up. I don’t want to talk on assumptions. The decision of the administration is important, not the congress. We will evaluate and decide on the worst-case scenario.”

    Çavu?o?lu also said Turkey was open to alternatives to buying U.S. F-35 jets, including from Russia, after Ankara was suspended from the program over the S-400 purchase.”

  37. Turkey notifies UN for maritime jurisdiction areas with Libya
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-notifies-un-for-maritime-jurisdiction-areas-with-libya-149773

    “Turkey notified the United Nations of its delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas with Libya on Dec. 11, a Foreign Ministry official told Hürriyet Daily News.

    Turkey and Libya’s U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) struck a deal on Nov. 27 setting out their maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean region.

    Passed by Turkey’s parliament on Dec. 5 and took effect on Dec. 8 after being published in the Turkish Official Gazette, the memorandum determines both countries’ marine jurisdictions with Ankara warning Turkey will block it if any parties try to make seismic or drilling activities in this region without permission from Ankara as of Dec. 8.

    On Dec. 11, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu told A Haber news channel that Turkey “has the right to prevent’’ any unauthorized drilling in waters that it says fall within its own continental shelf. Asked specifically if Turkey could use military means to stop such drilling, Çavu?o?lu replied, “Of course.’’

    Greece, Egypt, and Greek Cyprus, which lie between the two geographically, have denounced the deal as being contrary to international law, and Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador last week over the issue.

    Greece has sent two letters to the United Nations explaining its objections to a maritime boundary deal between Turkey and Libya and asking for the matter to be taken up by the U.N. Security Council.

    The United Nations on Dec. 11 urged Greece and Turkey to maintain a dialogue after Athens called on the Security Council to condemn the agreement.

    Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, said the U.N. secretariat takes no position on matters concerning member states’ maritime space.

    “However, in certain areas, such as enclosed or semi-enclosed seas, particular attention needs to be paid to the interests of third parties,” he said.

    “We are confident that all parties concerned recognize the need for continued dialogue on these sensitive matters.”

    Haq added that “all differences should be resolved by peaceful means.””

  38. Facebook ordered to reactivate CasaPound’s profile
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2019/12/12/facebook-ordered-to-reactivate-casapounds-profile_b10a770d-d671-4996-9499-7ae47a2b7fca.html

    “A Roma civil court on Thursday upheld CasaPound’s appeal against Facebook’s decision to close the far-right party’s profile in September and ordered the social network to reopen it. The court also ordered Facebook to pay CasaPound 15,000 euros in damages, the party said. “A entity that is not on Facebook is effectively excluded from (or extremely limited) the Italian political debate,” the ruling said. A Facebook spokesman told ANSA in September that the profile was closed as part of its policy against persons or organizations that “spread hatred or attack others on the basis of who they are”.”

  39. Police break up Italy-Greece migrant-trafficking rings
    http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2019/12/12/police-break-up-italy-greece-migrant-trafficking-rings_b92bf445-23aa-4a31-9b09-41c728595ec9.html

    “A vast operation took place on Thursday in Salento, Italy and Greece against two criminal rings – one Italian, one Greek – specialised in migrant trafficking.

    In recent months, the groups facilitated the arrival of thousands of migrants on Italian shores, forcing the migrants to pay at least 6,000 euros each.

    A total of 13 people were arrested, seven in Italy and six in Greece, following warrants issued by the anti-mafia police in Lecce and the Athens prosecutors’ office.

    The operation, titled “Sestante”, was conducted with over 100 agents from the Lecce provincial command and the Rome central organised-crime investigative service (SCICO), together with the Greek police and Greek coast guard, as well as personnel from Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC) coordinated by Eurojust (Netherlands), the Italian National Anti-Mafia Directorate, and the Lecce District Anti-Mafia Directorate.

    A year-long investigation was conducted by the Italian Finance Police and revealed the existence of the two criminal groups specialised in facilitating illegal immigration.

    Agents managed to reconstruct the various steps and responsibilities of the traffickers and recruiters who organised so-called “phantom landings”.

    Details of the operation will be provided at a press conference on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. at the Lecce Finance Police Provincial Command.

    The meeting will take place simultaneously via video conference with Eurojust headquarters in the Netherlands, and Europol officials will take part.”

  40. Oxfam says 10 mn in Yemen at risk of most serious famine
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2019/12/12/oxfam-says-10-mn-in-yemen-at-risk-of-most-serious-famine_3e1cc3c2-20d4-4692-bdc5-085cbcb3fecf.html

    “Yemen has become a ghost country, with 10 million people literally left without food and on the brink of the most serious famine in recent history, while another seven million are already malnourished, according to Oxfam and other 14 associations which have launched an appeal to the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire in the country.

    Oxfam said that one year since the Stockholm Agreement, Hudaydah, the country’s main port, is still the most dangerous place despite a ceasefire established with the agreement on December 13, 2018.

    The most important port city of the country, in fact, had one-fourth of all civilian victims in 2019: 799 dead and injured and 40% of the more than 2,100 attacks against civilians.

    At the same time, throughout the country people continue to flee bombings and violence that in 2019 alone caused 390,000 people to be displaced.

    Half of the displaced came from three governorates: Hajjah, Hudaydah and Al Dhale’e.

    In Hudaydah alone, since the start of the conflict, more than 600,000 people have been forced to flee to find safety.

    The alarm comes on the anniversary of an agreement between the parties in conflict, which brought a glimmer of hope, and then came to nearly nothing, said Oxfam in a statement.

    Citing the UN, Oxfam said what Yemen is currently experiencing is the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world at this time.

    Across the country, where 90% of food has to be imported, fighting and blocks imposed by the authorities make it increasingly difficult for humanitarian organisations to reach communities that no longer have access to hospitals, markets, or drinking water.

    “The attacks on the port of Hudaydah, through which 70% of food, medicine, and fuel travels, and upon which more than 20 million Yemenis at the end of their rope depend, must stop immediately,” said Paolo Pezzati, Oxfam Italia policy advisor for humanitarian emergencies. “The humanitarian crisis has reached unimaginable levels in Yemen and helpless civilians are suffering the most disastrous consequences. Since the start of the conflict, four million people have been forced to abandon their homes to save their lives, and currently a half-million people who have fled from the fighting are exposed to the winter cold, without a safe shelter. Homes, schools, hospitals, and markets are destroyed or damaged,” he said. This year, he said, “327 attacks directly hit civilian dwellings (60% of the total number of attacks) causing 50% of the total victims among women and children. Together with the other humanitarian organisations working in the country, we therefore express all of our indignation at world leaders and the parties in conflict for not having found a political solution to the conflict and not having protected innocent people”.(ANSAmed).”

  41. Greece: Turkey-Libya maritime deal is “void” – Libyan parliament chief

    President of the Libyan Parliament Aguila Saleh Issa rejected the Turkey-Libya maritime deal saying it is “void” and “unlawful” during a meeting with his Greek counterpart Konstantinos Tasoulas and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens on Thursday.

    “[This agreement] is unacceptable as a whole, it is void and invalid because those who signed it do not have any legal authority to do so, his government itself was rejected, it failed a confidence vote twice and has not been legally sworn in at the house of representatives,” Saleh said.

    Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias supported those comments and said the deal threatened “peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

    Issa’s visit to Athens comes just under a week after the expulsion of Libyan Ambassador to Athens Mohamed Younis AB Menfi from the country as a result of an agreement signed between Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey on November 27, mapping out a maritime boundary between both countries in the Mediterranean, close to the Greek island of Crete.

    Athens views the accord as an “infringement on its sovereignty” that could complicate its decades-old disputes with Turkey over Cyprus and maritime rights in the Aegean Sea.

  42. Hand grenade found near school in Sweden
    https://www.thelocal.se/20191212/hand-grenade-found-at-school-in-sweden

    “A large area was cordoned off in the Sollentuna suburb north of Stockholm on Wednesday as police warned a suspicious object had been found.
    The national bomb squad was called out to investigate the object, which turned out to be a hand grenade.

    The first report of the object was made around 10.30am.

    “It was a teacher at the school who raised the alarm. The employee then showed [us] where the object was and we cordoned off a large area,” said police press spokesperson Per Fahlström.

    The police cordons were lifted again during the afternoon.”

  43. Germany’s backlog in its battle against organized crime
    https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-backlog-in-its-battle-against-organized-crime/a-51648419

    “Organized crime is global and knows no borders. Germany acknowledged this relatively slowly and as a result is quite unprepared to deal with it compared with other countries, Anabel Hernández writes.

    Like many other European countries, Germany has long been a focus of transnational organized crime gangs, most of which operate in the drug trade. They bring tons of illegal drugs across borders and large amounts of dirty money to be laundered in Germany.

    Organized crime in Europe is generally less violent than it is in countries such as Mexico and Brazil . Gangs do not massacre people on a weekly basis, they do not burn whole families in vehicles, and they do not regularly detonate incendiary bombs. Organized crime in Europe is often not visible. People, therefore, believe that it is not very dangerous. In Spain and the Netherlands, this misinterpretation has already had severe consequences — that could also happen in Germany.

    The presence of organized crime has increased alarmingly in North Rhine-Westphalia, one of Germany’s 16 federal states. Like Spain and the Netherlands, NRW offers a strategic geographical location and relative economic strength. The Netherlands, on the state’s western border, is one of the world’s leading producers of methamphetamine. Belgium has a direct link from Antwerp, the country’s largest commercial port, to the Rhine, the river that flows through Düsseldorf, Cologne and Bonn and onward south to Switzerland. NRW’s economy accounts for one-fifth of Germany’s total gross domestic product, and the state has almost 18 million inhabitants: a lucrative market for drug dealers. According to official figures, most drugs reach the rest of Germany via NRW.

    In 2013, the transnational police authority Europol identified 3,600 organized crime gangs in Europe. In 2018, there were at least 5,000. The UN’s 2019 World Drug Report quotes a wastewater study that found measurable traces of amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy in the sewers of 73 European cities. They got there via human urine. Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are among the top countries in terms of diagnosed quantities. The three German cities with the highest drug content in sewage water are Erfurt, Chemnitz and Dresden.

    It was only when the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta had six people murdered in Duisburg in 2007 that a warning light went on in Germany. Although two hostile clans were settling old scores at the time, German authorities found “no Mafia activities.” Now, NRW Justice Minister Peter Biesenbach has declared war on foreign criminal organizations: primarily those with their roots in Italy, Mexico and Turkey.

    In early November, Biesenbach and a team of staff participated in a workshop of anti-Mafia experts in Palermo led by Italian Attorney General Roberto Scarpinato, a member of the world’s first “anti-Mafia pool,” founded in Italy in the 1980s to combat crime networks that originated there.

    In my informal discussions with the members of the Biesenbach’s group, three deficits emerged that Germany has so far had in dealing with this type of crime. It was not until 2017 that the Criminal Code was expanded to define the term “criminal organization” more explicitly. However, there is still a lack of measures to facilitate procedures against and monitoring of such organizations — both with regard to their operations and their possessions. Another factor that complicates the fight is the focus of German law enforcement on crimes committed by individuals and not by organizations.

    Since the 1980s, Italian law has known the principle of “preventive confiscation,” which permits the seizure of goods suspected of being of illegal origin without the need to prove the provenance of the capital or a particular offense. Italian law even allows confiscation if there is only a mismatch between the property and the income declared to the tax authorities. According to the findings of the judicial authorities, the criminal organizations ‘Ndrangheta, Cosa Nostra and Camorra no longer “invest” their illegal possessions in Italy because the probability of confiscation is quite high. The dirty money is taken to other countries, such as Germany, where there is a lack of awareness of the problem, of appropriate penal legislation, of specific training and of trained personnel. Let me be clear: This is blood money that has cost the lives of thousands of people in Mexico, for example. It is perverse money that only knows the rules of self-interest — no ethics, no conscience or social responsibility.

    The “Italian way” is a model that has proved its effectiveness: Hundreds of members of the various Mafia groups were arrested and sentenced, including politicians, civil servants and entrepreneurs who cooperated with organized crime. But even a successful model such as Italy’s has its limits. They are the same as in Mexico, Spain or the Netherlands: Organized crime is global and has no fences.

    Networks share their assets, infrastructure and capital in order to grow together and circumvent borders. It is absurd that countries do not join together, at least at the continental level, to counter this threat with a common policy and coordinated legal means.

    The journalist and author Anabel Hernández has covered Mexican drug cartels and corruption for years. After receiving death threats, she was forced to leave Mexico and now lives in Europe.”

  44. French jihadist jailed for 30 years for knife attack on soldiers at Jewish centre
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20191212/french-jihadist-jailed-for-30-years-for-knife-attack-on-soldiers-at-jewish-centre

    “A Paris court on Thursday sentenced a jihadist to 30 years in prison over his February 2015 knife attack on three soldiers guarding a Jewish centre in the Mediterranean city of Nice.

    Moussa Coulibaly, now 35, staged his assault just weeks after the killing of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices in Paris, the beginning of a wave of assaults carried out in the name of the Islamic State (IS) and other jihadist groups.

    In issuing its ruling, the judges noted that Coulibaly had shown “little or no regret” for the attack, in which two soldiers were injured before a third wrestled Coulibaly to the ground.

    They found “an almost fanatical determination” to apply IS calls for French citizens to carry out terror attacks on home soil.

    The assault sparked criticism of the government’s security efforts after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, since Coulibaly was well known to police.

    A few weeks earlier, French intelligence services had been alerted to the fact that he was trying to enter Turkey – a key staging point for jihadists seeking to go fight in Syria – and asked the country to expel him.

    He was questioned upon his return but later released because of insufficient evidence to press charges.

    After the Nice attack Coulibaly told investigators he hated France as well as police, the military and Jews.

    But in court on Thursday, Coulibaly said: “I’m now against violence. I would not do again what I did.””