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Showing posts from January 5, 2020

ISIS at Davos

President Trump is attending the alpine gathering of the global elites in Davos this month but he wouldn’t have been so keen had he known that the World Economic Forum was trying to invite the leaders of ISIS to attend Davos 2015. That bit I got to know back in the summer of 2014 as a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and got it straight from the WEF Associate Director responsible for inviting Middle Eastern leaders. What exactly would be the intention of having ISIS at Davos? Would ISIS leaders have been rubbing shoulders and sharing drinks with the leaders of the free world away from public eye? Did ISIS leaders attend incognito in the end? These are the questions that popped into my mind, as I started thinking about President Trump’s visit to Davos. Let’s rewind back to the summer of 2014. As a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum between 2014 and 2017, I attended a cocktail party for Global Shapers from around the world in August 2014, whom the WEF had ga

Racist Headlines, Indifferent Royals: Blacks Britons Wonder What Took Harry and Meghan so Long

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they would be stepping back from their royal duties, many of Britain’s minority residents said that the couple might finally be able to escape the racial abuse that has been heaped upon them by the country’s raucous tabloids. London:  When Prince Harry and Meghan announced this week that they would be stepping back from their royal duties and spending extensive time in North America, many of Britain’s minority residents said they felt a burst of relief. At long last, many said in interviews, the couple might finally escape the abuse, much of it racially tinged, that has been heaped upon them by the British press, particularly the country’s raucous tabloids. “Thank God they are free,” said Sanaa Edness, lifting her arms to the sky as she walked through Fordham Park in southeast London. “Nobody should tolerate bullying and abusive behavior because of the color of their skin. All of this is about her race. I know it because as a Caribbean

Taliban Says US-Iran Dispute Will Not Harm Afghan Peace Process

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FILE - Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (3rd-L), who is leading a Taliban delegation, attends a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, Oct. 3, 2019. ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - The Taliban said Thursday it believes escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran are unlikely to hurt the insurgent group's negotiations with Washington aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan. The first official reaction from the Taliban comes a day after Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops, though they did not cause any casualties.The attack was a retaliation to Friday's American airstrike in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad that killed Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani. Suhail Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban's negotiating team, told VOA their meetings with U.S. interlocutors over the past year have brought the two adversaries in the 18-year-old Afghan on the verge of signing a peace de

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal Launched For Citizens to Report Cyber Crimes Online

The scheme to set up I4C was approved in October 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 415.86 crore to deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and also the dedicated National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the nation, a citizen-centric initiative that will enable citizens to report cybercrimes online. This state-of-the-art Centre is located in New Delhi. The scheme to set up I4C was approved in October 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs 415.86 crore to deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. It has seven components -- a national cybercrime threat analytics unit, a national cybercrime reporting portal, a national cybercrime training center, a cybercrime ecosystem management unit, a national cybercrime research and innovation center, a national cybercrime forensic laboratory ecosystem and platform for joint cyberc

Professor Fired After Posting Message Urging Iran’s Khamenei To List 52 American Sites He Would Bomb

An adjunct college professor at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts was fired after he posted a message on Facebook urging Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to list 52 American cultural sites he would bomb after President Trump had stated the Trump administration had targeted 52 Iranian sites if Iran targeted Americans. Trump had tweeted last Saturday, “Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian site (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago). Some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets. and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!” As The New York Post reported, on Tuesday, Asheen Phansey, the director of sustainability at Babson College, responded in the following way: “In retaliation, Ayatollah Khomenei [sic] should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural herita

One child is killed every day by violence in Idlib, where a humanitarian disaster could soon spiral out of control

An average of one child per day has been killed over the past year by violence in the northern  Syrian  province of  Idlib , according to Save the Children, as a humanitarian crisis in the last rebel-held region of the country threatens to spiral even further out of control.  Entire towns and cities have emptied in the last month as some 300,000 people have fled a new Syrian government offensive to recapture the province.  The grim toll on children has shown no signs of slowing down in the new year. Since the latest round of fighting began in December, 36 children have been killed and more than 150,000 have been displaced, the charity said.  Despite months of dire warnings from aid agencies and charities about a looming catastrophe in northern Syria, the worst-case scenarios for civilians appear to be coming true.  “The United Nations has repeatedly warned about the unfolding of the ‘worst humanitarian disaster’ in Idlib if the violence does not stop. The humanitarian disas

Child Fatally Shoots Teacher Before Killing Self In Mexico School: Police

Authorities are still investigating but believe the student was between eight and 10 years old, police said. Torren, Mexico:  A student at an elementary school in the northern Mexican city of Torreon shot and killed a teacher Friday and wounded five other pupils, and then apparently killed himself, authorities said. Police are still investigating but believe the boy was between eight and 10 years old, said Lieutenant Adelaido Flores, as panicked parents gathered outside the Cervantes elementary school and officials evacuated the building. The student was in his final year of elementary school, Torreon Mayor Jorge Zermeno told TV network Televisa. "The boy lived with his grandmother. He almost certainly had some kind of (psychological) problem, although he had very good grades," Zermeno said. The wounded were being treated at a local hospital, two of them in serious condition, he added. Mexico is more used to seeing school shootings from afar -- often in the nei

Blast Hits US Army Vehicle In Afghanistan

The incident took place in Dand district of southern Kandahar province, where a bomb hit a US armoured vehicle, provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barkzai told AFP. Kandahar, Afghanistan:  A Taliban roadside bomb ripped through a US army vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, with no immediate details of casualties. The incident took place in Dand district of southern Kandahar province, where a bomb hit a US armoured vehicle, provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barkzai told AFP. "Foreign forces were patrolling near the Kandahar airport when they were hit by a blast. We don't have the details of the casualties because they have cordoned off the area," he said. A NATO Resolute Support spokesman in southern Afghanistan confirmed the incident and said the situation was being assessed. Source:  https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/blast-hits-us-army-vehicle-in-afghanistans-kadahar-2162499

Taiwan's independence-leaning president leading vote count

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Han Kuo-yu, Taiwan's 2020 presidential election candidate of the KMT or Nationalist Party, prepares to cast his votes at a polling station in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung city on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The future of Taiwan's democracy is on the line as the self-ruled island's 19 million voters decide on whether to give independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen a second term. (Ritchie B. Tongo, Pool Photo via AP) TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen appeared headed for a landslide victory and a second term on Saturday with more than 70% of precincts reporting election tallies. Results from the Central Election Commission showed Tsai, with 58% of the vote, holding a healthy lead over her closest challenger, Han Kuo-yu of the Nationalist Party, who had 38%. A third candidate, James Soong, had 4%. The mood was jubilant at the headquarters of Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei, the capital, with supporte

Iran says its military shot down Ukrainian plane in 'disastrous mistake'

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane killing all 176 aboard, saying air defences were fired in error while on high alert in the tense aftermath of Iranian missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. Iran had denied for days after Wednesday's crash that it brought down the plane, although a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Saturday that he had informed the authorities about the unintentional missile strike the same day it happened. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who until Saturday had kept silent about the crash, said information should be made public, while top officials and the military issued apologies. But state television suggested revealing the truth about what happened might be used by "enemies of Iran," typically a term used to refer to the United States and Israel. The crash heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the United States and tit-for-tat attacks. A