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Showing posts from October 27, 2019

France Strips 7 Police Officers of Guns After Paris Attack

A fatal attack by an employee at headquarters in Paris has prompted increased internal vigilance, but experts warned about religious stereotyping. LONDON — Seven French police officers have been ordered to hand over their weapons and at least one employee has been suspended after security forces were encouraged to report signs of radicalization in their ranks following the fatal knife attack this month at Paris Police Headquarters, the police chief told lawmakers this week. In the attack on Oct. 3, a veteran police employee killed four colleagues before he was fatally shot in the fortresslike building’s courtyard. The killings abruptly reawakened France to the threat of terrorism, and led President Emmanuel Macron to urge a return to a “society of vigilance.” One of the most striking signs of that has been the focus on radicalization within the security forces. Agents have raised more concerns about colleagues’ behavior in the past three weeks than in the previous seven years co

India Eliminated Big Reason Behind Terrorism & Separatism: PM Modi in Thailand in Reference to Article 370

Addressing the Indian diaspora at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi' event in the Thai capital of Bangkok, Modi said his government was working to fulfil those aims that seemed impossible. New Delhi: India has eliminated a big reason behind sowing of seeds of terrorism and separatism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bangkok on Saturday, in a clear reference to the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and reorganising of the state. Addressing the Indian diaspora at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi' event in the Thai capital of Bangkok, Modi said his government was working to fulfil those aims that seemed impossible. "You are aware that India has decided to eliminate a big reason behind sowing of seeds of terrorism and separatism," Modi said. "When the decision is right, its echo is heard across the globe. And I can hear it in Thailand as well," Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was scrapped on August 5. It had "temporary provisions with r

Hezbollah resistance fighters seeking to clear Lebanon skies of Israeli aircraft: Nasrallah

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The secretary general of the Lebanese resistance movement says fighters from his groups are determined to clear Lebanon’s airspace of the presence of any Israeli military aircraft, emphasizing that they will not hesitate to target any intruding machine capable of flying. Addressing his supporters in a televised speech broadcast live from the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on Friday evening, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said fighters of the Islamic resistance confronted a hostile Israeli drone in southern Lebanon’s skies with appropriate weapons the previous day, and forced it to leave the area. “This proves that the resistance has a military leadership, which works independently and stays clear of domestic developments,” Nasarallah noted. PressTV-Lebanon’s Hezbollah drives away intruding Israeli drone Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah has repelled an intruding Israeli drone near the country’s southern town of Nabatiyeh, Lebanese media report. Back on August 2

US: Pak failed to stop LeT, JeM funds, recruiting

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S state department said on Friday Pakistan has “failed to significantly limit” Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad’s ability to raise money and recruit followers, and allowed candidates connected to their front organisations to contest elections. © Provided by HT Digital Streams Limited Hafiz Saeed had managed to keep his job as a professor in Lahore's engineering university for more than a decade after founding the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. (HT File) In its annual country report on terrorism for 2018, the department noted Pakistan’s efforts in relations to the implementation of conditions laid down by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and said it failed to uniformly implement UN sanctions against groups like the LeT, which continued to raise funds. Globally, the report said, Iran remained the “world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism”, adding that al Qaeda remained resilient and aimed to “re-establish itself as the vanguard of the global jihadist movem

China Defends ‘Counter-Terrorism’ Measures In Xinjiang, Calls American Accusations Gross Interference In Internal Matters

China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun has refuted as "baseless" the comments on Xinjiang made by the US and other countries during a meeting attended by Pakistan and Russia. "The US and a few other countries made groundless accusations against China, which is gross interference in China's internal affairs and deliberate provocation of confrontation," Zhang told a meeting of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, also known as the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee. "China firmly opposes and rejects it," Xinhua quoted Zhang as saying at the meeting, where more than 30 countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cuba and Nicaragua were present and hailed China. "Xinjiang's preventive measures of counter-terrorism and de-radicalization are based on law and consistent with the will of the people. This is not about human rights and has nothing to do with racial discrimination," he said. Sou

China opposes blacklisting Pakistan, says FATF aim shouldn’t be to punish any country

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Beijing said "some countries" wanted to include Pakistan in the blacklist for their "political designs", but it would stand for justice. A FATF meeting in session (representational imge) | @FATFNews/Twitter Text Size: Beijing:  Coming out in support of Pakistan, China on Thursday said the aim of the FATF is not to sanction or punish any country and Beijing will work with all parties of the global anti-money laundering watchdog to assist Islamabad in improving its domestic anti-terrorist financing system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang’s remarks came after a senior Chinese official said Beijing is opposed to the blacklisting of Pakistan by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). China also sought to play down remarks by Deputy Director General for Policy Planning of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affair, Yao Wen to the Pakistani media that China has a trust deficit with

Where Does the Afghan Peace Process Stand After Talks Collapsed?

Trump’s cancellation of peace talks with the Taliban makes his top envoy’s job more difficult. Three days ago,  Zalmay Khalilzad , the U.S. envoy for Afghan peace talks, visited Kabul for the first time since the U.S. president ended talks with the Taliban. The visit comes in the wake of Khalilzad’s meeting with Russian, Chinese, and Pakistani representatives in Moscow, where all parties called for the resumption of talks between the United States and the Taliban. While the growing enthusiasm for the resumption of peace talks is laudable, what remains unanswered is this: has the collapse of the peace talks complicated the negotiations further? Will it change the bargaining position of the parties directly or indirectly involved? Seemingly, the Taliban have further enhanced their leverage since the cancellation of the talks. They are not the ones traveling to regional capitals to ask for the resumption of talks. Rather, they are responding to requests from Washington and other f

Assam, Manipur, Arunachal to be consulted before final Naga talks

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Centre’s interlocutor and Nagaland governor R.N Ravi held talks with NSCN(I-M). NEW DELHI  : The troubled border state of Nagaland remained tense before Friday’s planned signing of the  Naga Peace  Accord, over concerns that the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) may try to derail the peace process if its wishes were not accommodated. However, on Thursday, the Union home ministry said that the  Centre  will consult all stakeholders, including the states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, before arriving at an agreement. “It is clarified that before any settlement is arrived at with Naga groups, all stakeholders, including states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, will be duly consulted and their concerns will be taken into consideration," the home ministry said. The NSCN (I-M), a key player in the peace accord, was the primary signatory when it was announced in 2015 under then Union home minister Rajnath Singh. However, it has since played har

Yemeni forces shoot down US-made ScanEagle spy drone

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The undated photo shows a ScanEagle drone operated by US Marine forces in western Iraq. (Via USMC) Yemeni armed forces have shot down a US-made spy drone while on a mission over the battle front near the southwestern Saudi province of Asir. The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said on Friday that the aircraft was a ScanEagle type. Yemeni forces have managed to down numerous US-made drones in recent years, notably destroying a US-operated advanced MQ-9 Reaper attack drone most recently in August. PressTV-US military confirms lost drone to Houthi fire over Yemen American military officials say the Houthi Ansarullah movement has downed an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen. The US has been a major backer of Saudi Arabia ever since it formed a so-called military coalition campaign against Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to bring the government of former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power. Resistance by Yemeni forces, led by the Houthi 

Kurds call on US to block Turkish military drones from Syrian air space

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A member of the Kurdish internal security services known as Asayish stands guard during a demonstration by Syrian Kurds against the Turkish assault on north-eastern Syria in Qamishli on 28 October. Photograph: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images Syrian Kurds are asking the Pentagon to block US-controlled air space over north-eastern  Syria  to Turkish armed drones which they claim are causing significant civilian casualties. Ilham Ahmed, the head of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), said the Kurds would hold the Pentagon responsible for  Turkish war crimes  if they did nothing to guarantee protection from the air. She told reporters during a visit to Washington that armed Turkish drones were a constant presence in the air above north-eastern Syria, striking at will against both military and civilian targets. “We have been promised by the United States on a couple of occasions that areas that have US forces will never be attacked by  Turkey ,” Ahmed said through a translat

Pakistan Moves to Gag TV News Anchors From Commentary

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - A journalism watchdog has condemned a "draconian" decision by Pakistani authorities ordering news anchors not to express their opinions on air, the latest in a series of assaults on press freedom in the South Asian country. The statement by Reporters Without Borders, released late Tuesday, came after Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) sent the directive to TV channels Sunday, sparking an outcry from some of the country's most prominent news anchors. The statement asks anchors to refrain from commenting on matters that are "under trial" in the courts. But later it adds that only "unbiased" analysts with "requisite" knowledge should be invited to speak on any subject, and warns that anchors must stick to moderating only, excluding their "personal opinions, biases and judgments on any issue." Pakistan's many television channels host multiple current affairs and politics prog

Supporters Begin to Flock to New Islamic State Leader

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WASHINGTON - Some Islamic State supporters are starting to rally around the terror group’s new leader, using social media to pledge their allegiance to a man whose true identity may not be known for some time. IS announced the selection of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as its new leader Thursday in an audio message issued by its Amaq news agency and read by the group’s new spokesman. “He is a flag of the flags of jihad, and a scholar of its scholars, and an emir of the emirs of war,” the voice said, according to a translation by SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadist communications. Qurashi “has attacked the protector of the Cross America, and made it taste bad,” the voice added. The announcement, which also confirmed the deaths of IS’s self-declared caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and his spokesman, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, caused what some analysts described as a ripple of excitement on social media and online messaging boards frequented by IS supporters. Tore