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.
Lebanon Confirms 1st Coronavirus Case Carried by Traveler from Iran
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2142966/lebanon-confirms-1st-coronavirus-case-carried-traveler-iran
“Lebanon confirmed its first coronavirus case on Friday and said it was monitoring two other potential cases after a 45-year-old woman arriving from Iran on Thursday tested positive, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said…”
Global Watchdog Places Iran on Terrorism Financing Blacklist
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2143096/global-watchdog-places-iran-terrorism-financing-blacklist
“The global dirty money watchdog placed Iran on its blacklist on Friday after it failed to comply with international anti-terrorism financing norms, a move that will deepen the country’s isolation from financial markets.
The decision came after more than three years of warnings from the Paris-based Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) urging Tehran to either enact terrorist financing conventions or see its reprieve from the blacklist lifted and some counter-measures imposed.
“Given Iran’s failure to enact the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF Standards, the FATF fully lifts the suspension of counter-measures and calls on its members and urges all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures,” the group’s 39 members said in a statement after a week-long plenary session.
These would entail more scrutiny of transactions with Iran, tougher external auditing of financing firms operating in the country and extra pressure on the few foreign banks and businesses still dealing with Iran.
“The consequence of (Iran’s) inaction is higher costs of borrowing and isolation from the financial system,” a Western diplomat told Reuters.
Iran’s central bank chief dismissed FATF’s decision. “(It) is politically motivated and not a technical decision,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Abdolnasser Hemmati as saying. “I can assure our nation that it will have no impact on Iran’s foreign trade and the stability of our exchange rate.”
The FATF appeared to leave the door open for some engagement with Iran saying in its statement: “Countries should also be able to apply countermeasures independently of any call by the FATF to do so.”
“It’s a middle solution. A sort of a fudge to leave the door open for the Iranians,” said one of the diplomats.
Foreign businesses say Iran’s compliance with FATF rules is essential if it wants to attract investors, especially since the United States reimposed sanctions on Tehran in 2018 after quitting a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and other big powers.
Iran’s leaders have been divided over approach to the FATF.
Supporters of cooperation say it could ease foreign trade with Europe and Asia, offsetting US sanctions. Hardliners argue that passing legislation to join the FATF could hamper Iran’s support for its allies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Maximum pressure
Washington has since pushed a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, saying a broader deal should be negotiated to encompass nuclear issues, Iran’s ballistic missile program and Iranian support for proxy forces around the Middle East.
France, Britain and Germany have tried to salvage the nuclear accord but have faced growing pressure from the United States to join its efforts to isolate Iran.
“The United States was pushing for the toughest position (by FATF), while other countries like China and Russia preferred something more flexible,” said a European official. “The Europeans were looking for something in between.”
US sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy, decimating its oil exports and largely sealing it off from the international financial system.
“Until Iran implements the measures required to address the deficiencies identified with respect to countering terrorism-financing…, the FATF will remain concerned with the terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat this poses to the international financial system,” the FATF said.
Iran’s action plan to meet with the FATF requirements, implemented in 2016, expired in January 2018.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this week appeared resigned to the FATF blacklisting, accusing Washington of using its maximum pressure campaign to exert influence at the FATF.”
A Look Inside A “Far Right Exposed” Facebook Group
Libyan Tribes Vow to Sue Turkey Before International Courts
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2142586/libyan-tribes-vow-sue-turkey-international-courts
“Libyan tribes’ sheikhs and notables have called for resisting all forms of foreign intervention in the country, namely the Turkish invasion and its supporters.
During their talks in Tarhuna, west Libya, they vowed to sue Turkey and Qatar before international courts.
Concluding the meeting, they called on the United Nations to withdraw its recognition of the Presidential Council and the High Council of State, and not acknowledge any entity that the House of Representatives doesn’t endorse.
Further, they urged the Security Council to lift the arms’ embargo and reiterated their rejection to any dialogue or truce before all mercenaries leave the county.
Libya is an independent sovereign state that respects cultural and ethical diversity as well as historic ties among Libyans, the meeting stressed.
The attendees affirmed that the political isolation law should be annulled. Lawsuits will be filed against all countries involved in aggravation of the Libyan crisis, namely Turkey and Qatar, they asserted.
As for oil ports, they stated that they will remain shut until Libyans manage to form a unified government. They urged quick relocation of state institutes outside the capital, especially the Central Bank of Libya and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company.
Moreover, they called for prompt procedures against representatives of the Presidential Council in Libyan embassies abroad. They also decided to form a council of Libyan sheikhs and notables to represent the Libyan society as a whole and maintain social peace in the county.”
Houthis are not serious about a solution in Yemen: Saudi FM
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/589462/SAUDI-ARABIA/Houthis-are-not-serious-about-a-solution-in-Yemen-Saudi-FM
“Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said on Friday that the ongoing Houthi attacks show that the militia is not serious about a solution to the Yemeni conflict.
In a press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas here, the prince added that the Iranian role in destabilizing the region’s security is “clear”.
Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defense Forces intercepted several ballistic missiles launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia from the Yemeni capital Sanaa targeting cities in the Kingdom, the Arab Coalition’s spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement said these missiles were launched “in a deliberate and systematic manner” in order to target cities and civilians in Saudi Arabia, describing the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
German foreign Minister Heiko Maas praised the progress that’s happening in the Kingdom in implementing the economic reforms along with “Vision 2030”.
The Saudi foreign minister also condemned the terrorist attack that killed nine people in the German town of Hanau in the press conference with his German counterpart Maas.
A suspected right-wing extremist shot nine people dead in two shisha bars in an overnight rampage through a German city before, police believe, returning home and killing himself.
Many of the victims of the shooting in the German town of Hanau had an immigrant background, German magazine Focus said based on a report from news agency DPA that cited security sources.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday that the police presence would be increased across the country to counter the “very high” security threat from the far-right.”
Kingdom ushers in gas era by developing Al-Jafoura Field, with trillions cubic feet reserves
http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/589484/SAUDI-ARABIA/Kingdom-ushers-in-gas-era-by-developing-Al-Jafoura-Field-with-trillions-cubic-feet-reserves
“Saudi Arabia ushered in a new era in their growth story by adding an another dimension in their energy mix by developing the giant Al-Jafoura Field in the Eastern Province, which holds trillions of gas resources in the vast reserves, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Friday.
The Higher Committee for Hydrocarbons, in a meeting presided over by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman — deputy premier and minister of defense on Feb. 20, 2020, dealt with the plans for developing the Al-Jafoura Field.
Al-Jafoura Field, which is 170 km long and 100 km wide, is deemed the biggest non-associated and non-conventional reserve to be discovered in the Kingdom. The volume of gas resources is estimated at approximately 200 trillion cubic feet of liquid gas, which is used in petrochemical industries and high value condensates.
The Crown Prince praised Saudi Aramco’s efforts in developing the field with investments reaching $110 billion (SR412 billion). The stages for developing the field will lead to gradually increasing gas production to 2.2 trillion cubic feet in 2036. This forms 25 percent of the current production.
The gas field, with its unique characteristics, will be able to produce about 130,000 bpd of ethane, forming approximately 40 percent of the current production and some 500,000 bpd of gas liquids and condensates that are necessary for petrochemical industries, forming 34 percent of the current production.
The Crown Prince has also issued directives that the priority of allocating the field’s production of gas and liquids should be to the local sectors in industry, electricity, water desalination, mining, and others in order to keep pace with the ambitious growth rates set out by Vision 2030.
He said that the development of the field would achieve a net income for the government of nearly $8.6 billion annually (SR32 billion) for the first 22 years, while in addition to adding nearly $20 billion (SR75 billion) annually to the Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and creating direct and indirect job opportunities for citizens.
“It will make the Kingdom one of the most important gas producers in the world complementing the Kingdom’s position as the most important oil producer,” he said.
“The development of the field along with the Kingdom’s programs in developing renewable energies will achieve the best mix of energy consumption locally and support its record in protecting and sustaining the environment,” the Crown Prince added.
Prince Muhammad affirmed the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to continue the efforts of developing the country and diversifying the economy.”
Rights groups decry Trump’s travel ban extension as new restrictions take effect
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/civil-rights-groups-decry-trumps-travel-ban-extension
“New visa restrictions issued by President Donald Trump’s administration last month officially went into effect on Friday.
The extension of his previous executive order additionally bans nationals from Sudan and Tanzania from participating in the diversity visa lottery scheme and suspends issuing visas for nationals from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan.
“On Friday, more than a quarter of Africans will be banned from immigrating to America, leaving millions of American families cut off from their loved ones living abroad,” Muslim Advocates, a Washington-based rights group, said in a statement. “This is in addition to the countless families that have already been separated by the Muslim Ban for the past three years.”
Since 2017, the so-called Muslim ban had gone through several revisions as it was challenged by state supreme courts, resulting in a ban blocking nationals of Iran, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela from entering the country.
While there have not yet been any legal challenges to the new visa restrictions, civil rights groups have criticised them as “xenophobic”.
Manar Waheed, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement to Middle East Eye that the ban was an example of “institutionalizing racism in official policy”.
“Today, Trump is expanding his indefinite ban on Muslims, targeting more Black and brown people as a part of his xenophobic agenda,” she said.
Both Muslim Advocates and the ACLU are supporting a recent piece of legislation in Congress that seeks to reverse the damage done by the administration’s immigration policy.
Democratic candidates aim to reverse Trump’s ban
The bill, titled the No Ban Act, was recently passed from a committee in the House of Representatives to the floor, where it is set for a vote.
While the bill may pass in the Democratic-led House, it faces a much higher hurdle in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Still, even if it passed both legislative chambers, it is likely that Trump would veto it.
Nonetheless, many civil rights groups are pushing Congress to pass the bill, and are also advocating that presidential candidates in the forthcoming election commit to abolishing the ban if elected.
“We must use every tool in our toolbox to fight these attacks on our country,” Waheed said.
“The American people want a country free from discrimination, and we won’t stop fighting until we have one.”
“Just over three years ago, as one of his first acts as president, Trump issued his original Muslim ban, and airports and streets were flooded with people from all walks of life who stood up against it,” Waheed said.
The new extension of Trump’s travel ban also targets ‘diversity visas’, known as the ‘visa lottery’ system.
Each year, the State Department randomly selects applicants from around the world for as many as 55,000 of these visas.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the process.
As the Democratic primary elections heat up, immigration remains a key issue among the presidential candidates.
Many of the Democratic candidates have vowed they would cancel Trump’s ban as soon as they were elected.
“My first executive orders will be to reverse every single thing President Trump has done to demonize and harm immigrants, including his racist and disgusting Muslim ban,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted last month.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg have have all pledged to end the travel ban if elected.”
Report: Saudi Arabia to fund US-backed militias in Syria to confront Iran
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200221-report-saudi-arabia-to-fund-us-backed-militias-in-syria-to-confront-iran/
“Saudi Arabia has agreed to finance Arab forces backed by the US in Syria to confront the Iranian expansion efforts in northeastern Syria, Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
The paper said Saudi and American officials held talks in the Syrian province of Al-Hasakah during which the Saudi delegation agreed to finance the training of the Sanadid forces, as well as the Syrian Elite Forces, the military wing of the Syrian Al-Ghad party headed by Ahmad Al-Jarba.
According to the paper, “an American security company would train the two forces, provided that Arab youth are encouraged to join them later.”
However, a source from Al-Sanadid Forces denied holding any meetings with the American or Saudi delegations, describing the report as “absolutely inaccurate”.
He told the paper that since their founding, the Al-Sanadid Forces have not received any support from Saudi Arabia or any other country, noting that the forces’ mission has been clear since its establishment, which is to protect the Syrian people from terrorism.
Meanwhile, local residents in the Deir Ez-Zor countryside confirmed that the Syrian Elite Forces no longer have any active presence on the ground, after most of their members left for Turkey, revealing that the forces’ leadership announced their disengagement from Al-Ghad movement and have informed the region’s residents.”
Boat carrying 91 refugees from Libya disappeared at sea
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200221-boat-carrying-91-refugees-from-libya-disappeared-at-sea/
Rubber boat carrying 91 migrants disappears in the Mediterranean
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/2/21/rubber-boat-carrying-91-migrants-disappears-in-the-mediterranean
“A rubber dinghy packed with 91 migrants that set out from Libyan shores in hopes of reaching Europe has apparently gone missing in the Mediterranean, the Associated Press reported.
The inflatable boat carrying mostly African migrants departed from al-Qarbouli, 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital Tripoli on February 8, Osman Haroun, whose cousin was on board, told the AP. He has not heard from the 27-year-old Mohamed Idris, or his 10 other friends also on the boat, since.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of this happening,” Haroun told The Associated Press by phone from the western coastal district of Zawiya, where he has lived with his family since fleeing the conflict-ridden Darfur region of Sudan in 2016.
“Those who set out you usually hear from within a few hours … no one has even seen the boat’s remains.”
News of the missing boat comes amid criticism of the European Union’s lack of rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea.
Member countries agreed earlier this week to end an anti-migrant smuggler operation involving only surveillance aircraft and instead deploy military ships to concentrate on upholding a widely flouted UN arms embargo that’s considered key to winding down Libya’s relentless war.
Alarm Phone, a crisis hotline for migrants in need of rescue at sea, drew attention on Thursday to what it called “an invisible shipwreck”, urging Libyan, Maltese and Italian authorities to share information about the day’s rescue missions.
It said a black rubber boat with 91 people on board, reportedly hailing from Sudan, Niger, Iran and Mali, called the hotline in distress at 03:30 February 9. The passengers managed to share their GPS coordinates minutes later, which put them in international waters north of Libya.
Alarm Phone passed the SOS to Italian and Maltese authorities and to the Libyan coast guard, an EU-trained force criticised by human rights groups, which patrols Mediterranean waters and intercepts migrants to keep them from reaching European shores.
The Libyan coast guard took five hours to respond to Alarm Phone’s urgent request, and said it dispatched two ships to search for the missing vessel, without providing evidence.
Alarm Phone lost contact with the boat over two hours later, when it heard people panicking, saying the engine had failed. Migrants were slipping into the sea, they told the hotline, as water flooded the shrinking dinghy.
“For sure something bad has happened,” said Haroun.
The Libyan coast guard took five hours to respond to Alarm Phone’s urgent request, and said it dispatched two ships to search for the missing vessel, without providing evidence.
Alarm Phone lost contact with the boat over two hours later, when it heard people panicking, saying the engine had failed. Migrants were slipping into the sea, they told the hotline, as water flooded the shrinking dinghy.
“For sure something bad has happened,” said Haroun.
The International Organisation for Migration cross-checked search and rescue records from Italy, Malta, Libya and the non-governmental Aita Mari rescue ship, but could not match the missing migrant boat with any recent interceptions or rescues.
Italian, Maltese and Libyan authorities did not respond to requests from The Associated Press for information about their rescues. Frontex, the EU border agency, said it deployed a plane to search for the missing boat.
Authorities have also yet to respond to requests put forward by Alarm Phone on Monday.
Both Alarm Phone and IOM say they fear the worst.
“Tragically, the last hypothesis is that this could be another invisible shipwreck,” said Marta Sanchez, a project officer with IOM’s Missing Migrants project who examined the records.
Sanchez said IOM would wait a few days before officially recording the 91 people as missing, to see if any remains turn up.
The IOM tally of “ghost boats” lost in the Mediterranean Sea has been rising. Last year, the agency documented seven disappeared vessels carrying 417 people, a four-fold increase from the year before.
The migration agency sources its data from non-government organisations and testimony from families, and cross-references the reports against records of attempted crossings, rescues and interceptions.
Haroun, 29, said he and his cousin had repeatedly tried and failed to cross the Mediterranean throughout their years in Libya.
As the North African country descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, it became a haven for smugglers ferrying African migrants to European shores.
The voyage is perilous, often harrowing. As of last October, roughly 19,000 migrants have drowned or disappeared on the sea route since 2014, according to IOM.
Each time Haroun and Idris set out, the coast guard forcibly returned them to war-ravaged Libya. In 2020 alone, 1,700 people have been brought back, according to IOM, often landing in squalid militia-run detention centers rife with torture and abuse.
Haroun paid 1,500 Libyan dinars (some $1,000) upfront to smugglers, and bid his cousin farewell, imagining he would join his four relatives who have crossed the sea and started new lives in England and France.”
Saudi claims it intercepted Yemen missiles ahead of G20 meeting
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200221-saudi-claims-it-intercepted-yemen-missiles-ahead-of-g20-meeting/
“Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several ballistic missiles fired by Yemeni Houthi forces towards Saudi cities on Friday ahead of a gathering of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies in Riyadh, reported Reuters.
The Iranian-aligned armed movement launched the missiles from the Yemeni capital Sanaa at 12:30am, Saudi news agency SPA quoted the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen as saying. It gave no further details.
A Houthi military statement said the group had successfully attacked Saudi Aramco and sensitive targets in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu using drones and ballistic missiles, without providing evidence.
Aramco, the kingdom’s state-owned oil company, declined to comment.
The G20 meeting, at which finance officials are due to discuss the global economy, continued as scheduled. It was unclear if any of the projectiles had been fired towards Riyadh, which has been targeted previously.
An escalation of violence in Yemen since the start of the year has shattered more than three months of calm in the five-year-old conflict, widely seen as proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its regional foe Iran.
Saudi Arabia has been holding informal talks with the Houthis since late September about de-escalation. Riyadh had significantly reduced its air strikes in Yemen and the Houthis had halted missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
But violence resumed on northern frontlines in January and led to renewed Houthi missile strikes, the first since attacks on Saudi oil facilities in September knocked out more than half its crude output. The Saudi-led coalition resumed retaliatory bombings.
The escalation endangers months of peace efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United Nations, and highlights the challenge Riyadh faces in trying to exit a costly and unpopular war.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to try to restore the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, ousted by the Houthis in Sanaa in 2014.
The war, a military stalemate, has killed tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, and left millions of Yemenis facing starvation.”
Lebanon reveals IS member’s plot to attack US embassy using drone
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/2/21/lebanon-details-is-drone-plot-on-us-embassy
“Lebanon’s security agency this week released a number of documents detailing a thwarted plot by a member of the Islamic State (IS) group to attack the US Embassy in Lebanon with a drone.
The Directorate of General Security published documents including handwritten notes and sketches of an improvised drone device as well as pictures of the ingredients used to build DIY bombs.
The release comes days after a Syrian national, identified as Ibrahim al-Salem, was referred to trial along with 20 other suspected collaborators after being held on suspicion of plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Lebanon.
A Lebanese military judge indicted the man on charges of belonging to the IS militant group and planning the operation on its behalf, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
NNA said the man was suspected of having prepared explosives and attempting to buy a drone for the attack.
However further details of the plot released on Monday reveal a string of blunders that eventually foiled the group’s attempt at an attack, including al-Salem’s attempt to receive money from a fellow IS member, known Abu Yusuf Al-Oropi (the European), but the plan fell through as he could not speak English.
During interrogation, al-Salem admitted to having pledged allegiance to IS and had been recruiting other members, establishing sleeper cells in Lebanon, and sourcing weapons and plotting attacks in Beirut under the orders of his senior, based in Tunisia.
Having moved with his family to Lebanon as a teenager in 2013, al-Salem was visiting his Syrian hometown of Irbid two years later, when the relatives he stayed with persuaded him to join the militant group’s Telegram channel, through which he was later recruited.
Via the same channel, he was given information on how to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from common household materials.
According to his Telegram conversations, which were published by General Security, his commander asked him “Can you target it?”, to which al-Salem replied: “The target is the US embassy and I’m ready.”
However al-Salem could not afford to buy a drone and resorted to trying to make one himself, making notes and drawing labelled sketches of the device on a lined exercise book.
Lebanon’s security agency said he planned to load the drone with IEDs. According to his confession, he planned to fly the drone over the embassy at a time it would be most busy.
The security force gave no further details on the 20 alleged collaborators or the charges against them.”
Police Arrest 2 Minors for Raping, Filming Underage Girl in Essaouira
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/02/294214/police-arrest-2-minors-for-raping-filming-underage-girl-in-essaouira/
“The judicial police in Essaouira arrested two minors for their involvement in the sexual assault and rape of an underage girl in Essaouira on Thursday.
The two suspects, aged 16 and 17 who both had criminal records, filmed the rape and posting the footage on social media, a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
A police investigation identified the suspects and arrested them at the entrance of the city in a public transport vehicle.
Police also arrested an adult for not reporting on the incident despite witnessing the crime.
All of the suspects are in custody for further investigation, the DGSN statement said.
The incident is not the first of its kind in Morocco.
Last month, Moroccan police in Casablanca opened an investigation into the kidnap and rape of a 17-year-old named Oumaima.
Another widely publicized case of kidnapping and gang rape in Morocco involved a woman in her 30s. The woman’s ex-boyfriend raped and tortured her with other men.
Hanane died in the hospital due to the serious injuries she sustained during the rape. A court sentenced the main perpetrator to the death penalty, while another defendant received a sentence of 20 years in prison.
In 2018, another rape case involving a 17-year-old named Khadija spread fear and uproar across Morocco. Police arrested 12 men and prosecutors charged them with rape.
Activists recently launched a movement called Masaktach, the Moroccan version of the #MeToo movement to denounce sexual assault and rape.
The initiative also encourages women to testify about their experiences to condemn such crimes and to allow security services to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Masaktach movement, which is active on social media, helped victims of sexual assault and rape to voice their experience on social media without mentioning their names. The initiative seeks to encourage women to open up about certain crimes.”
Moroccans Remain Top Foreign Community Claiming Social Security in Spain
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/02/294228/moroccans-remain-top-foreign-community-claiming-social-security-in-spain/
“The total number of Moroccans on the register for social security in Spain in January stood at 265,699.
The statistics show that Moroccans remain the largest foreign community in Spain covered by social security, according to the Spanish Ministry of Labor on Thursday.
The statistics, cited by Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), show that Moroccans are followed by Chinese citizens with 106,613 and Colombians with 74,061.
People from Ecuador are the fourth-largest community, with a total number of 71,281.
The total number of foreigners enrolled in the Spanish social security system reached 2,090,440 people at the end of last January. The number represents an increase of 6.29% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Out of the total number of all foreign workers contributing to Spanish social security, 1,252,283 people are from non-EU countries. About 838,156 of the number are from EU countries.
The number of foreign registrants fell by 1.63% in January (34,542 people less than a month earlier), the statistics show.
The total number of non-Spanish nationals enrolled in the social security system reached 1,741,155 at the end of January, while the number of those registered in the self-employed category stood at 345,535.
The Moroccan population in Spain continues to increase annually. Moroccans represent around 1.56% of the total population in Spain, according to a report from Spain’s National Institute for Statistics (INE).
INE estimated the number of Moroccans who currently live in Spain is 734,402. The statistics date back to July 1, 2019.
Between January and July 2019, 34,885 Moroccans emigrated to Spain, while about 9,396 Moroccans left.
The traffic of Moroccans leaving and entering the country led to an increase in the number of Moroccans living in Spain of 20,672 people, around 2.9%, in only six months.”
Predator Oil & Gas Prepares for Future Drilling Operations in Morocco
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/02/294247/predator-oil-gas-prepares-for-future-drilling-operations-in-morocco/
“The agreement between British company Predator Oil & Gas and Canada’s industrial firm Star Valley Drilling for oil exploration works onshore in Morocco’s Guercif, eastern Morocco has come into effect.
Predator Oil & Gas previously announced drilling plans in Morocco would begin in 2020, and issued a new statement on Wednesday to announce updates on its projects from the Guercif Permits I, II, II, and IVV.
The project covers an area of 7,269 square kilometers and lies approximately 250 kilometers “due east of and on trend with the Rharb Basin where shallow gas production has been established by SDX Energy Plc for several years,” according to Predator Oil & Gas.
The British company owns 75% of the projects and operates in a joint venture with Morocco’s National of Hydrocarbons and Mines Office (ONHYM). ONHYM owns a 25% share of the project…”
Turkish-US inmate on death row
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-us-inmate-on-death-row-152305
“A court in Florida has denied the second appeal of a Turkish-American inmate, Cengiz Koçaker, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of a taxi driver and sentenced to death penalty.
If the governor of the state approves the sentence, Koçaker will be executed by lethal injection.
In 2004, Koçaker had stabbed a taxi driver, cut his throat, then bound him with a seat belt, put him in the taxi’s trunk and set the car on fire. The victim died due to smoke inhalation, but the autopsy recordings showed the stab wounds contributed to his death.
Koçaker refused the homicide attributed to him during the court process and claimed that he was slandered, but his bloody undershirt in the back seat of the burning vehicle was the most substantial evidence.
23 years behind bars
Koçaker, who had been in prison six times for various crimes and spent 23 years of his life behind bars, made an appeal for the second time, claiming that he was raped in prison, got AIDS and had mental disabilities.
As a result of the investigation, Koçaker’s second appeal was rejected by the court.
In Florida, where 340 people are currently waiting in the death row, no executions have been carried out since last August due to debates over the death penalty.”
Libya: Council of Europe tells Italy to stop collaboration
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2020/02/21/libya-council-of-europe-tells-italy-to-stop-collaboration_1bfab7fd-797c-4efb-a797-78a3210a95e0.html
“Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, in a letter sent in recent days to Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and made public on Friday, called on Italy to “suspend cooperation activities with the Libyan Coast Guard”.
The government in Rome responded immediately through its permanent representative in Strasbourg, and said Italy is “fully conscious that the 2017 accord with Libya can be improved”.
But the decrease in deaths in the Mediterranean, which has gone from 2,853 in 2017 to 743 in 2019, “tells us that we must continue to work in this direction rather than disengage ourselves from this country”.
Pushing the commissioner to write to Di Maio was the announcement of a renegotiation of the 2017 accord between Italy and Libya.
In the letter, sent February 13, Mijatovic asked that Italy above all to “fully acknowledge the current realities on the ground in Libya and the time it will necessarily take for any changes that may be secured to have an impact”.
In the meantime, Mijatovic called for the suspension of all co-operation activities in place with the Libyan Coast Guard that impact on the return to Libya of persons intercepted at sea, also in light of the “great amount of evidence pointing to serious human rights violations faced by migrants and asylum seekers returned there”.
She also highlighted the need, as part of the procedure of renewing the accord, to “conduct thorough human rights risk assessments” of the impact cooperation activities may have on the right to life of migrants and asylum seekers.
In any case, the commissioner assured that she will “continue to call for more solidarity from Council of Europe member states with those countries which, like Italy, are on the frontline of migration movements to Europe”.
In its response through its permanent representative in Strasbourg, the Italian government said Italy “is confident that an amended accord with improved terms of cooperation can be reached in a timely matter” with the objective of “guaranteeing better protection of migrants and asylum seekers in Libya and gradually replacing the current system of detention centres with new models that adhere to the principles of the rule of law” in the framework of respect for human rights. “Today Italy is the only European country that carries out in Libya the humanitarian evacuation of hundreds of refugees to ensure them integration and well-being in Italian society,” the statement said.”
Migrants: conditions ‘shameful’ on Greek islands – Grandi
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/europe/2020/02/21/migrants-grandi-says-conditions-shameful-on-greek-islands_7ebef761-31f3-40e4-a491-a85881fa8efa.html
” Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on Friday launched an appeal for urgent action on the increasingly desperate situation of migrants and refugees on the Aegean Islands in Greece, UNHCR said.
“Conditions on the islands are shocking and shameful,” said Grandi. “Greece – with European support – has to act now to deal with an untenable situation, while the longer-term measures are put in place,” he said.
Among the requests presented to the Greek government, the EU, and European countries, UNHCR cited the need to urgently transfer at least 20,000 people to the mainland.
It is also calling for an improvement in living conditions for those who remain on the islands, prioritising water, sanitation and healthcare.
In addition, it is asking for the relocation of unaccompanied children to elsewhere in Europe and a focus on ensuring that asylum procedures are not just faster, but fair and proper too.
It said conditions in facilities on Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros are woefully inadequate, and have continued to deteriorate since Grandi last visited in November. Mediterranean arrivals into Europe have plummeted since the 2015 crisis, but arrivals to Greece have risen in the last year and made chronic overcrowding on the islands much worse.
Grandi welcomed recent efforts by the Greek government to address the situation, noting a series of priority measures announced this month. However, it will inevitably take some time for the planned measures to be fully enacted, UNHCR said.”
On Greek island, residents angry about new migrant camp
With the construction almost complete of a new migrant centre in the area of Zervos on the Greek island of Samos, residents of nearby Mytilini town are both fearful and angry.
Five years after the great migration crisis of 2015, Greece is again the first gateway for migrants to Europe and struggling to manage a huge load of asylum applications.
Syria: Erdogan says war underway in Idlib
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2020/02/21/syria-erdogan-says-war-underway-in-idlib_766b4355-6f1e-4b69-9dfa-a29d13238ce5.html
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that “at the moment in Idlib there is a war underway” of Syrian rebels and Turkish forces backing them, against the Damascus army backed by Russia.
“According to the most recent data, about 150 regime soldiers have been neutralised, and 12 tanks, 3 armoured vehicles, 14 howitzers, and two armed pick-ups have been destroyed,” Erdogan said.
“As long as the regime doesn’t stop its persecution against the people of Idlib, it will be impossible for us to withdraw.
But we can reach a ceasefire. We made a new step towards a security zone of 25 to 30 square kilometres. We will continue to work towards this,” he said.
New talks scheduled between Russia and Turkey as fighting continues
ISTANBUL – While fighting continues on the ground in Idlib between Syrian government forces supported by Russia and rebels backed by Turkey, a new round of talks has been scheduled between Turkish and Russian delegations next week in Ankara. It will be the third round of meetings after those held between Monday and Tuesday in Moscow and previously in Ankara. Previous negotiations have failed to reach an agreement.
According to diplomatic sources quoted by the Turkish edition of CNN, Russia allegedly asked Turkey to withdraw its military positions north of the strategic highways M4 and M5, whose control is a strategic objective of the offensive launched by Damascus, leaving in this way 60% of the province of Idlib in Bashar al Assad’s hands. Ankara is instead asking for the full respect of borders agreed in Sochi as part of a truce by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin in September 2018. The ongoing humanitarian crisis that has displaced one million people from Idlib, who are now pressing to enter the Turkish border, will also be on the agenda of the meeting.”
How the internet fosters far-right radicalization
https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-internet-fosters-far-right-radicalization/a-52471852
“Researchers still know relatively little about far-right lone wolf terrorists. But many, it seems, become radicalized online.
We now know that Tobias R., the man behind Wednesday’s bloody terror attack in Hanau, western Germany, disseminated racist, xenophobic online videos. These, and his so-called manifesto, echo some of the far-right conspiracy theories circulating on the web today. He is evidently one of the many individuals who was radicalized online.
A 2019 analysis by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency states that it struggles keeping track of extremist lone wolves. Many of them, it claims, are radicalized not by engaging with known far-right groups, but on their own. Last summer, the agency subsequently launched a task force to monitor extremist behavior on social media to counter the threat of online radicalization.
Far-right scene highly active online
The Berlin-based Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which works to counter far-right extremism, also believes that individuals can easily become radicalized via the internet. Miro Dittrich, who oversaw a two-year study of extremist social media content, says there is “a network of online content that appeals to different target groups that lures them into an alternative (extremist) world.”
Read more: Germany announces plans to combat far-right extremism and online hate speech
He says since the birth of the internet, far-right activists had learned, though “trial and error,” to frame and curate content to appeal to radicals. Dittrich says these activists have been quick to experiment with and adopt new online platforms, as well as to generate income, for instance though YouTube ads, donation drives and crowdfunding campaigns. He argues that increasingly, social media users are networking and communicating with each other on “dark social,” which is difficult to monitor.
Messenger apps and social media can aid radicalization
There are numerous factors, according to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation study, that increase the risk of online radicalization. One of them is YouTube’s autoplay algorithm, which, although it has been toned down somewhat, tends to promote divisive content.
Another is the ability to create a group chats with 200,000 individuals on the Telegram messenger service. WhatsApp, by contrast, limits such chats to 256 people at most. The Telegram app also allows user to find other, nearby users. Both features can provide a big platform to spread extremist content.
The study also reports that extremists on Instagram have begun spreading their ideology by linking them to popular hashtags. The Identitarian Movement in particular, it states, has started disseminating far-right extremist content though seemingly innocuous pictures of parties and sports events. Moreover, extremists have begun creating their very own online platforms which effectively shut out anyone who does not share their worldview. This echo chamber, the study finds, emboldens them in their thinking. Many of those who gather on these platforms, the study says, consider themselves modern-day crusaders, who must save the “Western world.”
Toxic narratives
The study reports that toxic narratives, such as the one claiming Germans are being displaced by foreigners, can and do spread with ease online. As users come across more dubious online content that confirms such narratives, they feel increasingly under threat and become open to radical solutions.
Read more: Protect our kids online, German parents demand
The study reports that far-right milieus in different countries are using the internet to connect with each other. On well-known extremist platforms, English is the lingua franca. And far-right terrorists, it states, learn and drawn inspiration from each other, thereby motivating others to commit similar crimes.
Ever since Anders Brevik’s 2011 terror attack, it has become common for right-wing extremist terrorists to leave behind a manifesto. And since the 2019 Christchurch attacks, many extremists have livestreamed their crimes. The study reports that by broadcasting their acts, such terrorists seek to attract media and online attention. And while they appeared “like lone wolves,” they are in reality connected to a broad network of like-minded radicals.”
Nunes drops a bombshell, reacts to reports of Russia trying to help Trump
Germany: Citizens outside Cologne mosque react to proposed security increases
Residents of Cologne shared their reactions to the German interior minister’s proposed increases in security for mosques in the country on Friday, in the wake of the far-right shooting in Hanau.
“Increase? There isn’t any, so what do they mean increase?” said one resident outside Cologne Central Mosque.
Another said he was sceptical of what a police presence would bring and suggested it would be “a bit of a waste of taxpayer’s money. One should invest more in going deeper in to the internal affairs, and these persons, really, not just monitor, but also disarm.”
A gunman opened fire outside a shisha bar in Hanau’s Heumarkt district and drove off to a second location in the Kesselstadt district where he opened fire again, killing nine people in total and injuring several others late on Wednesday evening.
The suspect was a 43-year-old German citizen from Hanau. Together with his 72-year-old mother, he was found dead at his home in the early hours of Thursday morning.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer described the Hanau shooting as a “racially motivated terror attack” during a press conference in Berlin on Friday.
Seehofer also stressed that in the face of right-wing extremism in Germany, police presence will be increased at busy railway stations, airports and cross border territories, alongside “sensible locations” such as mosques.
Mirror UK – Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says Muslim men should be profiled at airports
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said ‘males of a Muslim persuasion’ should be profiled at airports as ‘that is where the risk is coming from’, with the Muslim Council of Britain accusing him of Islamophobia
Ryanair’s boss said Muslim men should be profiled at airports because ‘that is where the risk is coming from’.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary argued it would generally be ‘males of a Muslim persuasion’ to be flagged under the terror prevention system.
The 58-year-old also called for checks on families to be relaxed as they are less likely to ‘blow them all up’.
In an interview with The Times, he said: “Who are the bombers? They are going to be single males travelling on their own.
“If you are travelling with a family of kids, on you go; the chances you are going to blow them all up is zero.
“You can’t say stuff, because it’s racism, but it will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion. Thirty years ago it was the Irish. If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat.”
MPs and charities have slammed the businessman, who has worked for Ryanair for more than 30 years, accusing him of Islamophobia and whipping up racial hatred.
A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said Mr O’Leary openly advocated for discrimination against males who presumably ‘look or act like a Muslim’.
They added: “This is the very definition of Islamophobia.”
Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, who is also a Muslim, pointed out that followers of the religion are not just from one race.
He said: “He’s effectively saying ‘everyone is game – if they look like a Muslim then they must be a terrorist’.
“It doesn’t improve community relations; it gives succour to people of a fascist mindset. In Germany this week a white person killed eight people.
“Should we profile white people to see if they’re fascists? He’s being very blinkered and is actually encouraging racism.
“If he can tell me what colour Muslims are then I’d be very happy to learn from him — you can’t judge a book by its cover.
“Security at airports is not an easy process but these comments do not contribute to the debate and are not the way to deal with it.”
A security source told The Times it would be unlawful to profile single Asian or Muslim males.
Mr O’Leary has previously made controversial remarks about environmentalists and obese and disabled people.
He once said: “The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them.”
Mr O’Leary also believes travel agents deserve the same treatment, saying once: “Screw the travel agents.
“Take the f***ers out and shoot them. What have they done for passengers over the years?”
He famously proposed coin-operated toilets on flights and dressed up as the pope to launch Ryanair’s new route from Dublin to Rome.
Mirror Online has approached Ryanair for comment.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ryanair-boss-michael-oleary-says-21551406
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DAILY MAIL – Ryanair boss calls for extra checks on Muslim men at airports in bid to prevent terror attacks as he claims ‘that is where the threat is coming from’
Michael O’Leary said terrorists ‘will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion’
The 58-year-old said families with young children should be let through security
Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said Mr O’Leary was ‘encouraging racism’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8030831/Terrorists-generally-Muslim-men-says-Ryanair-boss.html
Turkish Radio & Television – People across Germany call for change after terror attack
“… the core problem is the AfD”
“….As long as the AfD is legal racism is legal ”