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Showing posts from September 15, 2019

What We’re Watching: Xenophobia in South Africa, Peru's Border Politics, China at the WTO

Xenophobic riots in South Africa:  Police in South Africa have arrested more than a hundred people in riots that appeared to target foreign-owned businesses in and around Johannesburg, the country's largest city. In a nation where the official unemployment rate is nearly 30 percent, foreign business owners and refugees from other African countries often face violence by people who accuse them of stealing jobs from South Africans. Over the past ten years,  hundreds of anti-foreigner attacks  have been registered. The most recent episode has taken on an international dimension as well: Nigeria, which says a number of its citizens were targeted in the violence, has already recalled its ambassador. Peru beefs up the border:  Peru is beefing up border security after imposing stricter rules on Venezuelan migrants seeking to enter the country. Since requiring Venezuelans to have visas earlier this summer, the number of  legal arrivals has fallen by 90%. But now authorities are concern

Greek police arrest suspect in aircraft hijacking

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police have arrested a 65-year-old man suspected of an aircraft hijacking and kidnapping, crimes committed in 1985 and 1987, they said on Saturday. Greek media said the man was thought to be involved in the 1985 hijacking of a Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight in which an American passenger was killed. A Greek police official said the Lebanese suspect had disembarked from a cruise ship on the island of Mykonos on Sept. 19. The source said that his name came up as being wanted by German authorities. The 1987 crime was possibly related to his release in return for the freeing of two German citizens held hostage by his accomplices in Lebanon, the source said. The suspect was being held in a high-security prison until German authorities identify him as the person wanted, the source added. The TWA 847 flight from Cairo to San Diego with several en route stops was hijacked shortly after taking off from Athens in 1985. The hijackers demanded the release

Hong Kong police fire tear gas after protesters throw petrol bombs

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters on Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some of the "Lennon Walls" of anti-government messages posted in the Chinese-ruled city in more than three months of unrest. The first volley was fired when protesters hurled two petrol bombs towards an approaching police line. Marchers converged on the town of Tuen Mun, in the west of the New Territories, where some set fire to a Chinese flag as others tore down wooden and metal fences and traffic bollards to build road blocks, at least one of which was set alight. Some smashed fittings at the Light Rail Transit station, dug up bricks and picked up stones from the sides of the tracks. Others turned fire extinguishers on the police, who made several arrests. "Radical protesters damaged facilities in Light Rail Town Centre Station in Tuen Mun with metal rods, hurled objects into the Light Rail tracks and set barricades in the

Uyghur Brothers Perish While Detained in Xinjiang

A pair of Uyghur brothers who had both been held in the same internment camp in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), have died in detention, according to sources. Idris Qunduz, 53, and his younger brother, 45-year-old Hezim Qunduz, died in December 2018 and in June this year of unspecified causes, the head of their home village in Yengisheher (Shule) county’s Ermudun township recently told RFA’s Uyghur Service. “Idris Qunduz died last year in December,” the Communist Party secretary of Ermudun’s No. 1 village said, when asked who under his jurisdiction had perished in the XUAR’s vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held more than 1.5 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities accused of harboring “strong religious views” and “politically incorrect” since April 2017. “[He died] in a prison in Urumqi, but I don’t know which one,” the party secretary said, noting that he had first been

China Launches New Push Against Dalai Lama Photos in Ngaba

Police in western China’s Sichuan province have launched a new drive to find and destroy photos of the Dalai Lama, raiding Tibetan homes at random in a search for images of the exiled spiritual leader, who is widely reviled by Chinese authorities as a dangerous separatist. The raids, which were held to enforce restrictions already in place, were recently conducted in several areas of Dzamthang county in Sichuan’s Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, one local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service this week. “No photos were discovered during the raids, however, so no arrests were made at that time,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “China has warned that anyone not complying with government orders against possession of the photos will face severe consequences,” he added. Authorities in Sichuan’s Kardze (Ganzi) prefecture had earlier also launched a push against possession of photos of the Dalai Lama, traveling to remote areas that had previously esca

Rebel Alliance Unilaterally Extends Temporary Ceasefire in Myanmar

Three ethnic armed groups fighting with Myanmar’s military in northern Rakhine State and northern Shan State have unilaterally extended a ceasefire until end of this year, according to a statement released by the alliance on Friday. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA), originally declared the ceasefire September 9, and it was to end on October 8. In the announcement, the alliance said it was ready to strike a bilateral ceasefire agreement if the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar’s national army is called, was also willing. “On our sides, we will not launch any offensive against the Burmese military. We will cease all   offensives,” said Khine Thukha, spokesperson for the AA in an interview with RFA’s Myanmar Service. “Because this is the time we are holding peace talks, we think it's best to stop all the fighting. That’s why we are doing what we can. We expect it is helpful to build trust between th

ISIS weaponizes social media to 'glorify' suicide bombing in Philippines: analyst

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The Islamic State militant group is using social media to "glorify" suicide bombing, a tactic used last weekend in the southern province of Sulu, an analyst said Friday. A suspected suicide bomber was killed in the Sept. 8 attack near a military detachment in Sulu, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a band of militants that had pledged allegiance to ISIS. It was the fourth suicide bombing in Mindanao since 2017. Suicide terrorism in the Philippines traces its roots to the Tausug of Mindanao who used the attack to fend off Spanish and American colonizers, said Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Society for Intelligence and Security Studies. Extremists attempted to revive the tactic during a 2000s ferry bombing in Lamitan, Basilan, "but there was a conventional knowledge that Filipinos were not yet prepared to sacrifice their lives -- until ISIS emerged," said Banlaoi. "ISIS changed everything and made it (suicide attacks) like the most effec

Hearing on online extremism amid ‘gun-violence crisis’ shows Congress’s ‘absurdity,’ says Democratic senator

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Getty Images Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, is shown at a Capitol Hill hearing in 2017. ‘Nothing highlights the absurdity of Congress’s inability to solve the gun-violence crisis then seeing 318 mass shootings in 260 days, and then holding a hearing on extremism in social media.’ Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth That line came from Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth during a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee titled “Mass Violence, Extremism and Digital Responsibility.” The panel’s chairman, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, noted in his opening remarks that gunmen in some mass shootings have posted manifestos online before launching their attacks. Wicker also stressed that President Donald Trump has asked social media companies to develop tools that can detect would-be shooters before they strike. But Duckworth wasn’t having it. “Here we are not focused on ways to stop gun violence, but instead the scourge of social media,” the law

NZ PM welcomes Facebook's action against extremism

"These are the kinds of efforts the Christchurch Call to Action was designed for as we try to eliminate the spread of terrorist and violent extremist content online," Ardern said. Facebook announced on Wednesday that it was expanding a programme that redirects people to extremism intervention sites in Australia and Indonesia. "We plan to continue expanding this initiative and we're consulting partners to further build this programme in Australia and explore potential collaborations in New Zealand," Facebook said in a statement. According to Ardern, when people search for terms associated with hate and extremism, they will be directed to local organizations in Australia and Indonesia, like EXIT Australia and ruangngobrol.id, which helps individuals leave the direction of violent extremism and terrorism. The New Zealand Prime Minister announced in April that her country and France will bring together countries and tech companies in order to prevent soci

Turkish airstrikes neutralize 5 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq : Left wing Extremism

Turkish fighter jets struck terror targets in northern Iraq to neutralize five terrorists, the National Defense Ministry said on Friday. The airstrike was conducted in the Haftanin region as part of the ongoing Operation Claw-3, the ministry said on Twitter. Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. PKK terrorists often use northern Iraq to plan cross-border terrorist attacks in Turkey. On May 27, Turkey launched Operation Claw against the PKK in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq. In mid-July, Turkey also started Operation Claw-2, and stepped up its fight against the terrorist in northern Iraq with the Operation Claw-3 late August. Over 400 PKK terrorists have been "neutralized" in northern Iraq over the past four months, according to the ministry. In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., a

Yemenis countering world's strongest, wealthiest countries: Houthi

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People inspect the wreckage of a drone aircraft reportedly downed by Houthi Ansarullah forces near the northwestern city of Sa’ada, Yemen April 19, 2019. (Photo by Reuters) Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of Yemen, has said that the war-wracked country is countering the world's "strongest and wealthiest" countries in its fight against the Saudi war. Al-Houthi stressed that Yemen would strive to counter aggression on "all levels" and that it was time "to ward off the enemy," Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported. Al-Houthi also slammed countries participating in the war on Yemen, adding that if they "were seeking the freedom of the Yemeni nation, they wouldn't seek to partition [the country] and kill [the people]." Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating western-backed war on Yemen in March 2015 with the goal of bringing the governm

US gun violence costs $229 billion a year: Study

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Protesters take part in a rally against gun violence in New York City on August 18, 2019. (AFP photo) Gun violence in the United States has reached the highest levels in decades and is taking a growing toll the country’s economy, costing the US nearly $230 billion in 2017, according to a new study. Nearly 40,000 people were killed by firearms in 2017, which included around 2,500 school-aged children, according to the  study  released Wednesday by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee. The report found that US teens and young adults, ages 15-24, are 50 times more likely to die by gun violence than they are in other economically advanced countries. The report said that in 2017, six in 10 gun deaths in the US were suicides. “The human cost is beyond our ability to comprehend, it is tragic, it is sickening, and it is a crisis,” US Representative Carolyn Maloney, who is the vice-chair of the congressional committee, said in a news conference Wednesday. “The gun vi

UK’s Conservative Party faces backlash over Islamophobic posts

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Anti racism demonstration The UK’s Conservative Party faces a backlash after the recent suspension of some of its members over their Islamophobic posts. Government Minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, confirmed on Friday that action had been taken when those particular Conservative Party members were suspended, but the minister failed to elaborate on what specific actions they took. More than 20 new cases were recently linked to Islamophobia, ranging from individuals “liking” Islamophobic pictures or statements on one or two occasions, to people who said they were Tory members regularly posting anti-Muslim content. The news marks the latest to come from a surge in far-right, as well as mainstream, Islamophobic views in British politics. The Guardian last month unearthed a 2007 essay written by current PM Boris Johnson, which further incited Islamophobic attitudes. He said that Islam has caused the Muslim world to be “literally centuries behind” the West. Moreover last year, Mr. Johns

#GunViolence One killed, five injured in shooting in Northwest Washington: US police

WASHINGTON: At least one person was killed and five others were injured when two men armed with an "AK-style" rifle opened fire on a street not far from the White House, police said. The shooting took place at Columbia Heights, about three km from the White House, in Northwest Washington at around 10:06 pm on Thursday, police was quoted as saying by the NBC news. Six persons, including one woman, were found with gunshot wounds when police responded to a shooting call on the Columbia Road Northwest. One of them died, Stuart Emerman, commander of the police department's third district, was quoted as saying by the report. "We are looking for a light-coloured Nissan sedan with two males inside armed with an AK-style rifle, which was last seen where the shooting occurred," he said. "Our detectives are continuing to interview individuals up here on the scene, as well as review camera footage we can find from the neighbourhood," Emerman said. Re

273 militants active in Valley, local ones outnumber foreigners

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Out of the 273 active militants, 158 are based in South Kashmir, 96 in North Kashmir and 19 militants in central Kashmir. Out of the 273 active militants, 158 are based in South Kashmir, 96 in North Kashmir and 19 militants in central Kashmir. Image Source : PTI 273 militants active in Valley, local ones outnumber foreigners  There are a total of 273 militants operating in Kashmir, according to a list prepared by security agencies last week and accessed by the IANS. Out of the 273 active militants, 158 are based in South Kashmir, 96 in North Kashmir and 19 militants in central Kashmir. At 166, the local militants outnumber the 107 foreign militants operating in Kashmir. The militants belong to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and Al Badr outfits. LeT tops the list with 112 militants followed by Hizbul Mujahideen with 100 militants, Jaish-e-Muhammad with 58 militants and Al Badr with three militants. Sources indicate that the graph o