Month: August 2017

Turkey Hints at Military Operation Against Syrian Kurds

Posted on by SeeEU

Turkey is building up military forces on the Syrian border, while Turkish President Recep Erdogan steps up his rhetoric suggesting an imminent military operation into Syria. Ankara is reportedly courting Moscow for its support for a possible operation into Syria’s Afrin enclave, which is now under the control of the Kurdish YPG militia.

Ankara accuses the YPG, which controls large swathes of Syrian territory along its border, of being an offshoot of the PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state.

“We will take important steps to implement the new campaigns in the near future,” Erdogan declared Saturday to cheering supporters in the Turkish city of Malatya. “We would rather pay the price for foiling plans targeting our future and liberty in Syria and Iraq, than on our own soil.”

The prospect of a military operation has been praised across Turkey’s pro-government media. “Our greatest advantage is the leadership of a president who sees this threat exactly … and responds to it courageously, both by discourse and by action,” wrote Mehmet Acer in the staunchly pro-Erdogan Yeni Safak. He welcomed “this new attack-based security approach, which we define as the ‘Erdogan doctrine’.”

Erdogan is courting nationalist voters, with one eye on looming presidential and parliamentary elections which could be held as early as next year.

The rising political rhetoric has been matched by a reported surge in attacks against the YPG in Afrin by elements of the Turkish backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Turkish forces, as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, entered Syria backing elements of the FSA against both Islamic State and the YPG. The FSA is on the border with the Afrin enclave but so far further gains have been stalled.  

“Turkey’s Operation Euphrates shield was stopped by moves by both United States and Russia,” said retired senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who is now an regional analyst. Both Russia and the U.S. deployed military forces as a buffer against further gains by Turkish-backed forces in Syria.

 

“The problem facing Turkey is Russia and the U.S. are stopping Turkey from intervening,” said Semih Idiz,  political columnist for the Al Monitor website. “They are agreed on an overriding agenda [of] defeating ISIS (Islamic State). Now Turkey has this Kurdish agenda and it does not have support of either Russia or the Untied States … That is the dilemma facing Turkey.”

Moscow has deployed military forces in the YPG-controlled Afrin region, some of them reportedly close to the Turkish border. But, “Turkey sees a window of opportunity,” said analyst Selcen. “Now there is a change on ground between Russia and U.S.”

Selcen said Moscow is infuriated by the growing military cooperation between the YPG and the U.S. to drive the Islamic State from its self-declared capital of Raqqa. The YPG makes up a large proportion of the Syrian Democratic Forces seeking to capture Raqqa,  an operation that excludes the Syrian regime.

Russian frustrations were heightened in June when a U.S. jet shot down a Syrian government fighter-bomber reportedly targeting SDF forces.

Ankara has stepped up its diplomatic courting of Moscow, having announced plans last month to purchase an advanced Russia air defense system. The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusolgu, spoke on Sunday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Manila.

Turkish, Russian and Iranian officials are scheduled to hold a two day meeting on Syria beginning Tuesday in Tehran.
…

your ad here

Slovak Government in Crisis After Junior Party Quits Deal

Posted on by SeeEU

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called a meeting the three parties in his ruling coalition after a junior partner, the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, unexpectedly announced it is withdrawing from the pact that brought the parties together.

Fico, who called the move “absurd,” will meet leaders of the other two parties on Tuesday. He says he expects Slovak National Party chairman Andrej Danko to explain the reasons for the step.

It is not immediately clear whether the move threatens the government’s existence. The coalition is made up of Fico’s leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the Slovak National Party and a party of ethnic Hungarians. It was created after last year’s parliamentary elections.

The Slovak National Party said it wanted to negotiate new rules for the coalition, but didn’t give details.
…

your ad here

RIA: Moscow to Cut Dependence on US Payment Systems

Posted on by SeeEU

Russia will speed up work on reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday.

It is a response to the new sanctions against Russia reluctantly signed into law last week by U.S. President Donald Trump. The sanctions targeted Russia’s energy sector, with new limits on U.S. investment in Russian companies.

“We will of course intensify work related to import substitution, reduction of dependence on U.S. payment systems, on the dollar as a settling currency and so on. It is becoming a vital need,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

“[Otherwise] we will always sit on their hook, exactly what they need,” he said, referring to the United States.

Russia has already introduced a new national payment system to cut reliance on Western systems, such as Visa and MasterCard.

Those operators stopped providing services to clients of one Russian bank after Washington imposed sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis, including its annexation of Crimea from Kiev and support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian payment system is called Mir, which translates as “World” or “Peace”.

“Your card is free from external factors. Created in Russia,” runs an advertisement for Mir cards.

To date, more than 13.9 million Mir cards have been issued in Russia, according to the Russian National System of Payment Cards (NSPK), or about 10 percent of the country’s population. NSPK was established in 2014 and is 100 percent owned by the central bank.

More than 380 banks working in Russia accept these cards which are issued by 120 banks. Practically all trade and service points, including cafes, shops, restaurants and petrol stations accept payments with Mir cards.

Furthermore, Mir cards are welcome in sanctions-hit Crimea where Western banks are prohibited to operate.
…

your ad here

Cracks Appear in Italian Resolve Over Disputed Naval Mission Off Libya

Posted on by SeeEU

Italian government ministers are becoming increasingly divided over risky naval efforts to curb the numbers of migrants who have landed at the country’s ports.

At issue — what the mission should be for two Italian naval ships set to be deployed in Libyan waters. Several ministers object to the idea of Italian sailors turning back mainly sub-Saharan asylum-seekers — either directly or indirectly in coordination with Libyan Coast Guard ships, some of whom are suspected of being in league with people smugglers.

The emerging cracks in the Italian government policy come as a ship leased to a far right anti-migrant group started to shadow refugee-rescue vessels operated by humanitarian organizations, raising fears of a possible dangerous confrontation at sea with the far-right activists from Defend Europe.

The number of migrants who have arrived in Italy this year totals more than 95,000, although in the past two weeks the rate of arrivals has eased slightly. About 2,000 migrants attempting the sea crossing this year have drowned. In the past four years, about 600,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores — the majority of whom departed from Libya and made the hazardous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The mass influx has strained Italy’s emergency and humanitarian system almost to the breaking point and is a source of increasing political tension among Italy’s political parties. It is likely to dominate next year’s national elections and is worsening the electoral prospects of the center-left coalition government of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Last week, parliament approved the limited Italian naval mission to help Libya’s coast guard regulate the flow of migrants and prevent human trafficking. On Sunday, a leading opponent of the mission, Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro, said, “Turning migrants back to Libya at this moment means returning them to hell.”

His remarks were prompted by reports that on Saturday, Libya’s Coast Guard announced it had “recovered and saved” more than 800 migrants near its coast. Giro says that returned “migrants end up in detention centers in the hands of militias, who take advantage of them to do their business.” He says just returning migrants to Libya won’t alleviate a huge humanitarian crisis.”

Giro, a member of the Sant’Egidio Community, an influential Catholic volunteer association, also defended NGOs, which are being blamed by populist parties and some in the government for acting as a collective “pull factor” for migrants by mounting rescue missions.

The NGOs have been accused of coordinating pick-ups with people smugglers — something the humanitarian organizations vehemently deny. NGO heads say they are merely doing what European governments should be doing more of — rescuing migrants at risk of drowning. NGOs are now responsible for picking up more than 40 percent of those rescued at sea.

The head of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), Tommaso Fabbri, says, “The responsibility to organize and conduct search and rescue operations at sea lies — as it always has — with states. As such, our current rescue activities are simply filling the void left by Europe.”

Last month, the government of Italy introduced a code of conduct restricting what refugee-rescue charities are allowed to do, if they want to land migrants at Italian ports. Among other requirements, they are to refrain from patrolling within Libya’s territorial waters.

Only three out of eight NGOs operating in the southern Mediterranean have agreed to the Italian terms. A vessel operated by the German NGO Jugend Rettet was seized last week off the coast of the island of Lampedusa by Italian coast guard vessels for breaching the code and the ship has now been impounded while investigations continue.

Giro is seen by the Italian media as the spokesman for an influential group of parliamentarians featuring left-wingers and Catholics. He acknowledges some NGOs subscribe to “a no border ideology, a kind of humanitarian extremism,” but he argues, “In the face of the tragedy that’s happening, I prefer humanitarian extremism to other types of extremism.”

His views are in direct confrontation with former Communist and Interior Minister Marco Minniti, the exponent of a tough, security-focused line on migration.

The 61-year-old Minniti wants to close Italian ports to any NGOs failing to sign the code of conduct, a proposal frowned on by transport minister Graziano Delrio. And he was the main exponent for the Italian naval mission after persuading Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, the head of an internationally recognized government in Libya, to welcome the mission.

The Italian naval mission to Libya is not only under threat from opposition within the Italian government. Now a Libyan warlord has threatened to bomb the Italian ships.

Minniti has warned that the Democratic Party and its coalition partners face electoral disaster next year, if they fail to take mounting public anger seriously and come up with ways to curb the flow of asylum-seekers, most of whom are economic migrants fleeing poverty, rather than refugees fleeing war.

Anti-migrant rage is obvious in slogans daubed in cities and even in towns that have been allotted only a few thousand migrants. In San Benedetto del Tronto, a seaside resort on Italy’s Adriatic coast, high-school students shocked their teachers in July by daubing across a large mural the slogan “Stop The Immigration Business!” The mural adapted an Edward Hopper painting, replacing a yellow hay field with a dark and stormy sea and a boat loaded with migrants.

 
…

your ad here

Iran Ridicules US Push for Inspecting its Military Sites

Posted on by SeeEA

Iran has mocked the U.S. push for inspections of the country’s military sites, calling it a “ridiculous dream that will never come true.”

This comes after U.S. officials said last month that the Trump administration is pushing for inspections of suspicious Iranian military sites in a bid to test the strength of the nuclear deal that Tehran struck in 2015 with world powers.

 

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, told reporters on Monday in Tehran that this request is “possibly something that a satirist wrote up.”

 

The inspections are one element of what is designed to be a more aggressive approach by Washington to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly described the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers as “bad.”

 

 
…

your ad here

Trump Company Applies for Casino Trademark in Macau

Posted on by SeeUS

A Trump Organization company has applied for four new trademarks in the Asian gambling hub of Macau, including one for casinos, public records show. The new applications highlight the ethical complexity of maintaining the family branding empire while Donald Trump serves as president, and are likely to stoke speculation about the organization’s future business intentions in Macau, where casino licenses held by other companies come up for renewal beginning in 2020.

The applications for the Trump brand were made in June by a Delaware-registered company called DTTM Operations LLC. They cover gambling and casino services, as well as real estate, construction and restaurant and hotel services. The applications were first reported by the South China Morning Post.

 

The new applications are identical to four marks applied for in 2006, and granted, but lapsed earlier this year. It was not clear from public records why, though under Macau law trademarks can be forfeited for non-use. There are currently no Trump-branded businesses in Macau.

 

Trump’s trademarks have been a source of concern to ethics lawyers and Democratic officials, who fear they can give foreign governments the opportunity to try to influence the White House. China has approved dozens of Trump trademarks since the president took office. Three U.S. lawsuits against the president contend that the Chinese marks constitute gifts from a foreign state and stand in violation of the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution. Trump and his lawyers reject that argument and contend that trademarks are a crucial defense against squatters seeking to exploit his name.

 

Beijing says it has been fair and impartial in its handling of trademarks for the president and his daughter Ivanka Trump.

 

Macau’s six casino operators, including Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts, face renewals for their licenses starting in 2020. The government of the former Portuguese colony, now ruled by China, has released few details on the renewal process, which will be the first since it ended a decades-long casino monopoly and opened bidding to foreign companies in 2001.

 

Authorities are expected to grant renewals to all six operators, given the big investments they’ve poured into the city, but there has been speculation that they could issue one additional license to a new investor.

 

Macau is the world’s largest gambling market, raking in about five times more revenue last year than the Las Vegas Strip. It’s the only place in greater China where casinos are legal.

 

Donald Trump began applying for a sweep of trademarks in Macau in 2006. The government’s unwillingness to uphold all of them was a source of intense irritation to Trump, who became enmeshed in a lawsuit over rights to the use of his name. He wrote to then-U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in 2011 that the courts of China and Macau were “faithless, corrupt and tainted.”

 

“Who could expect anything different from a deceitful culture?” he added. “Their behavior should be a clear warning to the rest of the world to refrain from any trade practice or business relationship with them!”

 

Trump finally prevailed in that case last year after his opponent, a local company that had filed for a “Trump” mark for food and beverage services, let his trademark expire.

 

Trump has pledged to conduct no new foreign deals while in office and handed control of his business to his sons, though he retains ownership. He also has veered away from the casino business. Hard Rock International bought up the last vestiges of his failed Atlantic City gambling empire this year, paying just $50 million for the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino, which cost more than $1 billion to build.

 

Back in 2001, Donald Trump was part of a consortium of billionaire investors — including two men subsequently convicted of bribery and money laundering — that bid unsuccessfully for a casino license in Macau, the Wall Street Journal reported last year.
…

your ad here

Red Cross Says 186 Migrants Storm Spanish Border Post

Posted on by SeeEU

The Spanish Red Cross says it has tended to 186 migrants who stormed a pedestrian border post to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

 

Attempts to cross by force at pedestrian border posts are unusual as they are normally heavily policed. The thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco normally try to scale the border fences surrounding Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave, in their bid to enter Europe.

 

Ceuta’s Red Cross tweeted that four migrants were taken to a city hospital for injuries after the crossing early Monday.

 

Spain’s Europa Press news agency said one police officer was injured.

 

Comment from the Interior Ministry in Ceuta was not immediately available.

 

On entering, the migrants head for temporary migrant accommodation centers. They are eventually repatriated or let go.

 

 
…

your ad here

US, Japan, Australia Urge Binding Code for South China Sea

Posted on by SeeUS

The United States, Japan and Australia expressed “serious concerns” Monday over disputes concerning the South China Sea, while calling for a halt to land reclamation and military actions in the area that could increase tensions or cause permanent environmental damage.

The three countries issued a joint statement after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono met in the Philippines on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting.

They called on China and the Philippines to abide by an arbitration ruling last year that invalidated much of China’s territorial claim to the South China Sea, which is claimed in part by Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The statement also called on ASEAN members and China to ensure that a code of conduct they have pledged to develop regarding the South China Sea be “legally binding, meaningful, effective, and consistent with international law.”

The code of conduct would be aimed at avoiding accidents as the claimant countries fish, explore for oil and gas or develop some of the estimated 500 tiny islets. China has resisted having the agreement be binding, and has reinforced its claims to the sea with the construction of artificial islands that the United States and others have criticized.

ASEAN ministers said in a communique Sunday they “warmly welcome improving cooperation” with China and are ready to begin substantive negotiation on the code of conduct, but made no mention of making it binding.

They also noted concerns expressed by some members about land reclamations and emphasized “the importance of non-militarization.”
…

your ad here

Australia Finds Missing US Aircraft

Posted on by SeeUS

The Australian navy says it has found the missing U.S. aircraft that crashed into the sea Saturday off Australia’s east coast.

Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said in a statement the submerged aircraft was located “shortly after” Royal Australian Navy survey ship HMAS Melville arrived in Shoalwater Bay.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Navy divers are working with the crew of the Melville at the crash site and are using remotely operated underwater vehicles.

The aircraft had been launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard assault ship and was involved in routine operations when it crashed.  

Twenty-three people aboard the MV-22 Osprey were rescued, but three Marines remained missing.  

The U.S. military launched a search and rescue effort for the missing Marines, but eventually changed that operation to a recovery effort in coordination with Australian defense forces.  The families of the missing Marines were notified.

The aircraft was in Australia after completing a joint U.S.-Australian military training exercise at least two weeks ago in Shoalwater Bay. The biennial exercise involved some 30,000 troops and 200 aircraft. Australian troops are among U.S.-led coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Marine Corps did not say what caused the crash, but indicated it is under investigation.

The Osprey is designed to take off like a helicopter and rotate its propellers to fly like a plane. Its development was almost cancelled after 23 marines were killed during a flight test in 2000. The U.S. military grounded its Osprey fleet in Japan last December after one of them crash-landed into the sea, injuring all five crew members on board.

The Osprey is built by Boeing Company and Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter division.
…

your ad here

Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ North Korea Policy Gains Support in Seoul

Posted on by SeeUS

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is voicing strong support for the U.S. policy of maximum pressure against North Korea, after Pyongyang rejected his outreach efforts as “insincere.”

Moon returned from vacation Monday to speak by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time since North Korea conducted its second successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) over a week ago.

Both Washington and Seoul reiterated support for the new U.N. sanctions on North Korea that were passed unanimously Saturday by the 15 members of the Security Council that includes the U.S., China and Russia.

The new sanctions could deprive North Korea of $1 billion a year to fuel its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile program, by banning all exports of coal, iron, lead and seafood, and capping the number of North Korean laborers allowed to work outside the country.

A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday also welcomed the tougher U.N. sanctions on North Korea and said it was time to exert more “effective pressure” on Pyongyang rather than to pursue dialogue.

Closer cooperation

The White House released a statement Monday on the call between Trump and Moon that said, “The leaders committed to fully implement all relevant resolutions and to urge the international community to do so as well.”

The Blue House also emphasized support for continued joint military exercises with the U.S.

“The two presidents decided to continue cooperation to deter and respond to North Korea’s additional provocation based on a strong joint defense posture,” said South Korean Presidential Spokesman Park Soo-hyun at a briefing on Monday.

The two leaders also discussed Seoul’s request for U.S. approval to double the destructive power of its own ballistic missile payload from 500 kilograms to one ton of explosives, and to increase their maximum range to 800 kilometers (500 miles). Under a longstanding bilateral missile guidelines agreement, the U.S. had imposed limits on South Korea’s missile program to encourage the North to do the same. The two sides are expected to hold formal talks to amend the agreement that was last revised in 2002.

High-resolution radar a concern

Following North Korea’s second ICBM test, South Korea also agreed to accelerate the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, reversing a decision to first conduct an extended environmental study. Seoul’s earlier delay was seen as a move to mitigate economic retaliation from China that reportedly imposed limits on travel and South Korean imports over THAAD.

Beijing objects to the U.S. advanced anti-missile battery in the region that can potentially monitor China’s military activities using high-resolution radar. THAAD is designed to intercept medium range missiles at high altitudes, but not ICBMs.

On Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi questioned South Korea’s need for THAAD after meeting with Seoul’s foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha at a regional security summit in Manila organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Will THAAD be able to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles? I think it’s quite clear to everyone, this is impossible?” said Wang.

Failed outreach

Since taking office in May President Moon Jae-in has tried to balance pressure with engagement to defuse tensions with the nuclear North Korean state. However Pyongyang has so far rejected offers of dialogue, cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha that Seoul’s proposals to improve ties with the North “lacks sincerity,” according to the Yonhap News Agency.

During his conversation with President Trump, Moon also said there is a need to show North Korea the door to dialogue is still open, but only after Pyongyang agrees to give up its nuclear program.

China proposes ‘dual suspension’

At the ASEAN conference in Manila, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Monday encouraged the Moon administration to continue its efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and reduce the potential for conflict.

“My feeling is that the North did not entirely reject the positive proposals raised by the South,” he said.

The Chinese official also said he hoped the United States would seriously consider China’s proposed “dual suspension” of military drills in the South and missile tests in the North.

A strong message

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during the ASEAN forum that China and Russia’s support for the latest sanctions sent a strong message to North Korea, but also said, “when the conditions are right then we can sit and have a dialogue around the future of North Korea, so they feel secure and prosper economically.”

However many regional security analysts remain skeptical that the new sanctions will succeed in pressuring the Kim Jong Un government to agree to talks on Washington’s terms, and there are concerns that Beijing will selectively enforce the sanctions, as it had done in the past, for fear of destabilizing the region.

 Youmi Kim contributed to this report.

 
…

your ad here

Tunisian Fishermen Block ‘Racist’ Ship

Posted on by SeeEU

Anti-immigration activists in Europe are trying to disrupt the flow of migrant boats from north Africa to Europe.

A group of Tunisian fishermen do not like that idea and on Sunday prevented a ship carrying the far-right activists from docking at Zarzis, according to a French News Agency, or AFP, report.

“It’s the least we can do given what is happening out in the Mediterranean,” the head of the local fishermen’s organization told AFP.  “Muslims and Africans are dying.”

A port official said, “What? Us let in racists here?  Never.”

AFP said the C-Star, a boat chartered for the activists by the extremist group Generation Identity, is moving up the Tunisian coast and is expected to try to dock elsewhere to pick up supplies to continue its mission.  

The far-right activists say their goal is to expose collaboration between NGO rescue ships and traffickers who launch boats from Libya packed with migrants.

AFP reports the C-Star “briefly tailed” a vessel operated by a French NGO in an area of the Mediterranean where deadly immigrant boat accidents have occurred.

Humanitarian groups chalked up the C-Star’s activities to a publicity stunt and warn that any attempt to turn back migrant boats could be extremely dangerous and illegal under international law.

Judith Sunderland, the associate director of  the Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch, said in a report earlier this year that “the logic of those who criticize the rescue operations as a pull factor is that the groups should stop rescuing people and let them drown to discourage others from coming.” She said, “That is no more moral than planting landmines on a border to discourage people from crossing it.”

 
…

your ad here

Public Napping Space in Madrid Reinventing an Old Tradition

Posted on by SeeEU

A midday nap is very much part of the Spanish traditional life style. However, having a public place in which to do so is new. Siesta & Go is the first nap bar in Madrid according to reporter Faiza Elmasry. VOA’s Faith Lapidus narrates.
…

your ad here

Pence Denies Plotting His Own White House Bid in 2020

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is pushing back on suggestions that he is already plotting a run for the presidency in 2020 if President Donald Trump does not seek a second term in the White House.

Pence said he found “disgraceful and offensive” a report in The New York Times Sunday that he is forming a “shadow campaign,” and that aides have “intimated” to Republican donors that he would seek the presidency if Trump does not run for re-election.

Pence and Trump were inaugurated six and one-half months ago, but the early months of the president’s four-year term have proved chaotic. National opinion surveys show only about a third of American voters approve of Trump’s performance so far.

That has led some Republican operatives, according to The Times, to consider the possibility that Trump might not run again, even though he has already declared that he will.

Pence, a former Indiana governor before Trump tapped him as his vice-presidential running mate last year, declared the newspaper report was “categorically false,” and said it was “just the latest attempt by the media to divide this administration.”

The vice president said he plans to focus all his efforts on advancing Trump’s agenda, and on seeing him re-elected in 2020.

With Trump’s White House notable for political infighting among aides, his administration has been marked by the failure so far to win congressional passage of any major pieces of legislation. Notable among the unsuccessful efforts has been Trump’s vow to dismantle the country’s health care law championed by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.

Trump has ousted numerous key aides, including his first chief of staff and his initial pick as national security adviser. Numerous congressional investigations and a criminal probe are underway into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election aimed helping Trump win, but he has largely been dismissive, calling them a “witch hunt” and an effort by Democrats to explain his upset win.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has convened a grand jury in Washington to hear testimony whether Trump aides illegally colluded with Russian interests to help Trump claim the White House and whether he obstructed justice by firing Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, who headed the Russia investigation before Mueller was appointed.

 

 
…

your ad here

Malta Restores Forgotten War Rooms, Hewn into the Rocks in WWII

Posted on by SeeEU

In a vast network of tunnels carved into the rocks under the Maltese capital Valletta, faded maps of the Mediterranean hint at the place’s role in directing key battles in World War II.

Malta is now restoring the 28,000 square meters (300,000 square feet) of tunnels, planning to open a huge section to the public.

The compound, hidden under the picturesque port city perched on cliffs above the sea, was built by the British and served as the staging ground for major naval operations. The British military withdrew in 1979 and the compound was abandoned for almost 40 years.

German and Italian forces bombarded Malta intensively between 1940 and 1942 to try gain control of the Mediterranean, but did not manage to force the British out. During the Cold War, the tunnels were used to track Soviet submarines.

Over the years, water and humidity have let rust and mold spread. Some rooms have been vandalized, but traces of the military apparatus that once occupied the complex still remain.

Military cot beds, tangled cables and dust-covered rotary phones litter the rooms.

The Malta Heritage Trust, a non-governmental preservation group, began the multi-million-dollar restoration of the site in 2009.
…

your ad here

Ex-war Crimes Prosecutor Quits Panel Probing Syria Abuses

Posted on by SeeEA

Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte says she is resigning from the U.N.’s independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, decrying Security Council inaction to hold criminals accountable in the war-battered country where “everyone is bad.”

In comments published Sunday by the Swiss magazine Blick, Del Ponte expressed frustration about the commission and criticized President Bashar Assad’s government, the Syrian opposition and the international community overall.

“We have had absolutely no success,” she told Blick on the sidelines of the Locarno film festival Sunday. “For five years we’ve been running up against walls.”

Del Ponte, who gained fame as the prosecutor for the international war crimes tribunals that investigated atrocities in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, has repeatedly decried the Security Council’s refusal to appoint a similar court for Syria’s 6½-year-old civil war. Permanent member Russia, which can veto council actions, is a key backer of Assad’s government.

“I give up. The states in the Security Council don’t want justice,” Del Ponte said, adding that she planned to take part in the last meeting in September. “I can’t any longer be part of this commission which simply doesn’t do anything.”

Appointed in September 2012, Del Ponte was quoted by Blick as saying she now thinks she was put into the role “as an alibi.”

“I’ve written my letter of resignation already and will post it in the coming days,” she said.

She did not immediately respond to a text message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In her comments to Blick, Del Ponte described Syria as a land without a future.

“Believe me, the terrible crimes committed in Syria I neither saw in Rwanda nor ex-Yugoslavia,” she said. “We thought the international community had learned from Rwanda. But no, it learned nothing.”

At first in Syria, “the opposition (members) were the good ones; the government were the bad ones,” she was quoted as saying.

But after six years, Del Ponte concluded: “In Syria, everyone is bad. The Assad government is committing terrible crimes against humanity and using chemical weapons. And the opposition, that is made up only of extremists and terrorists anymore.”

The commission issued a statement saying it was aware since mid-June of Del Ponte’s plans to leave and insisted that its work “must continue” to help bring perpetrators in Syria to justice.

Del Ponte’s resignation shrinks the commission to two members after Thai professor and former human rights investigator Vitit Muntarbhorn left last year to become the first-ever U.N. independent expert investigating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The commission was set up in August 2011 by the Human Rights Council to investigate crimes in Syria, no matter who committed them. Since then, it has compiled thousands of interviews and keeps a list of suspected war criminals under lock and key at the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

But Del Ponte said that as long as the Security Council didn’t put in place a special tribunal for war crimes in Syria, all commission reports were pointless.

The issue of accountability for war crimes in Syria has largely taken a back seat to diplomatic efforts to end the war in recent months.

The commission’s relevance has also come into question after the U.N. General Assembly, acting in the face of the Security Council inaction, voted in December to set up an investigative body to help document and prepare legal cases to possibly prosecute the most serious violations in Syria’s war that is estimated to have left at least 400,000 dead.

 
…

your ad here

Despite Trump Claim, Hezbollah Operation Boosts Lebanon Role

Posted on by SeeEA

As President Donald Trump recently stood beside the Lebanese prime minister praising his government for standing up to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militants were busy demonstrating just how wrong he was. They were clearing the country’s eastern frontier from al-Qaida fighters in a sweeping offensive and negotiating a complex prisoner deal with the group.

Far from being an ally in the fight against Hezbollah, the Lebanese government headed by Saad Hariri is based on a partnership with the Shiite group, whose clout and dominance in the tiny country is on the rise.

“Lebanon is on the front lines in the fight against (the Islamic State group), al-Qaida and Hezbollah,” Trump said at the press conference in Washington, lighting up social media with comments from Lebanese who ridiculed his perceived ignorance of Lebanese politics.

The Lebanese government headed by Hariri was formed in December following an extended paralysis and a presidential vacuum that lasted nearly three years. Hariri, a Sunni politician squarely opposed to Hezbollah and Assad, was made prime minister only after an overall bargain was reached with Hezbollah that included the election of Michel Aoun, a Christian and Hezbollah ally, as president. Aoun has repeatedly said that Hezbollah’s arms complement those of the Lebanese military.

Trump aside, there is much about Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon that is sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand.

The Iranian proxy is the single most potent military and political force in Lebanon, with an arsenal surpassing that of the country’s army. By many accounts, Hezbollah has brought disaster to the country by engaging in destructive wars with Israel, and, as Trump himself noted, it has fueled the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria where it has sent thousands of its fighters to shore up President Bashar Assad’s forces.

But to its many supporters, the group is a stabilizing force in a fragile country with a historically weak central government that has been repeatedly battered by Israel and struggled against Sunni militancy, particularly since the eruption of the Syrian civil war.

The party, founded in the early 80s to fight Israeli occupation of parts of Lebanon, enjoys a support base that extends well beyond its Shiite constituency. It has been a mainstay of Lebanese politics for the past few decades, taking part in governments and offering state-within-a-state services to followers in its strongholds without trying to impose its religious views on the country’s pluralist society.

The group has its own secure telecommunications network and a reach that extends across vital Lebanese installations and infrastructure, as well as veto power in the Lebanese cabinet.

Its decision to send fighters to Syria in 2013 remains highly controversial in Lebanon, but the group has to a large extent successfully portrayed its presence as a necessity to protect Lebanon from militant groups including Islamic State and al-Qaida, which proliferated in Syria and overran the border with Lebanon in 2014.

This week, the group took credit for ending the presence of al-Qaida elements in the border area, following a week-long military offensive and then a negotiated settlement that saw hundreds of al-Qaida-linked militants, their families and thousands of civilians, return to Syria. The Lebanese military, which has received more than $1 billion in U.S. security assistance in the past decade, took a back seat in the operation.

Hariri recognized Hezbollah’s role – criticized by its opponents in Lebanon – saying that the end result was what mattered and calling it “a big achievement.”

“We have our opinion and Hezbollah has its opinion, but in the end, we met on a consensus that concerns the Lebanese people for the (good of) the Lebanese economy, security and stability,” he said.

In a clear distribution of roles, the army is now expected to spearhead an upcoming fight in another section of the border, this time against Islamic State group militants.

Declaring victory Friday night, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the army was perfectly capable of winning that fight but offered his support should it be needed.

“We are at the service of the Lebanese army and under its command … if they ask for any help we will help,” he said in a televised speech.

It is this complex relationship between Lebanese governments and Hezbollah that foreigners often find so baffling.

“Both Lebanon and Hezbollah occupy a grey area: Lebanon isn’t really a state, and Hezbollah isn’t a terrorist group – or isn’t only a terrorist group, depending on your view,” said Faysal Itani, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, explaining the misperceptions.

“So the American tendency is either to treat Hezbollah as controlling the state of Lebanon, or to see Lebanon as a sovereign entity fighting a terrorist group. Both are false.”

Hariri, whose father, former Premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated with a ton of explosives in 2005 in a bombing some blamed on Hezbollah, has a tough balancing act to maintain. Hezbollah and its allies brought down a previous government headed by Hariri in 2011 by resigning while he was in Washington meeting the U.S. president.

During his visit to Washington, Hariri responded to questions about his uneasy coalition with Hezbollah, describing it as necessity to shield Lebanon from slipping into renewed civil war.

Following Trump’s press conference, during which he described Hezbollah as a “menace to the Lebanese state” and the entire region, Nasrallah said he would not comment so as not to embarrass the Lebanese delegation headed by Hariri while it was still in Washington.

Hezbollah displayed its clout when it invited journalists on a border tour after ousting al-Qaida militants from the area, parading its fighters, armored personnel carriers and missiles on the barren mountains in surreal displays of confidence that stressed that Hezbollah, and not the U.S., was fighting terrorism.

During the offensive and on the tour, the group repeatedly stuck the yellow Hezbollah flag next to the Lebanese flag, suggesting the two cannot be separated.

Israeli officials have used such displays to emphasize that there’s no line between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah, particularly with Aoun’s election as president, suggesting the Lebanese state will pay heavily in any future war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Itani said Hezbollah has been infiltrating and co-opting parts of the Lebanese government for over 20 years.
…

your ad here

Joining Some Arab States, Israel Says it Plans to Ban Al-Jazeera TV

Posted on by SeeEA

Israel said Sunday it plans to ban Qatar’s flagship Al-Jazeera network from operating in the country over allegations it incites violence, joining Arab nations that have shut down the broadcaster amid a separate political dispute. The news organization, in turn, said it will take legal action.

Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said he plans to revoke the press credentials of Al-Jazeera journalists, effectively preventing them from working in Israel.

Kara said he has asked cable and satellite networks to block Al Jazeera transmissions and is seeking legislation to ban them altogether.

The minister, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, gave no timetable for such measures.

Doha-based Al-Jazeera on its English language website condemned the measures as “undemocratic” and said that it will take legal action. It said it will continue operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Walid al-Omari, the broadcaster’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, said on air that his office has not been informed by Israeli officials of any possible measures the government might take.

Al-Jazeera, a pan-Arab satellite network funded by the Qatari government, already has been targeted by Arab nations now isolating Qatar as part of a months-long political dispute over Doha’s politics and alleged support for extremists.

Jordan and Saudi Arabia have recently closed Al-Jazeera’s local offices, while the channel and its affiliate sites have been blocked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.

“Lately, almost all countries in our region determined that Al-Jazeera supports terrorism, supports religious radicalization,” Kara said. “And when we see that all these countries have determined as fact that Al-Jazeera is a tool of the Islamic State (group), Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and we are the only one who have not determined that then something delusional is happening here.”

Israeli officials have long accused Al-Jazeera of bias against the Jewish state. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has likened its coverage to “Nazi Germany-style” propaganda.

Nitzan Chen, director of the Government Press Office, said press credentials are not issued if security officials deem the cards would be “liable to endanger the security of the state.” He said “Therefore, I have contacted the security echelon and have requested a professional opinion regarding the Al-Jazeera network.”

A decision will be made after receiving that opinion, he said.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists covering Israel and the Palestinian territories for international news organizations, said the move “is certainly a cause for concern.” It said it will study the issue and decide how to proceed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based advocacy group, criticized the Israeli proposal.

“Censoring Al-Jazeera or closing its offices will not bring stability to the region, but it would put Israel firmly in the camp of some of the region’s worst enemies of press freedom,” said Sherif Mansour, the committee’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Israel should abandon these undemocratic plans and allow Al-Jazeera and all journalists to report freely from the country and areas it occupies.”

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, condemned the move. “Al-Jazeera had a big role conveying the Palestinian narrative with a high professionalism,” said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman.

American viewers became familiar with Al-Jazeera after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when its golden-hued Arabic logo became synonymous with video messages by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. That sparked frequent complaints by then-President George W. Bush’s administration. The station defended its policy, saying the messages were newsworthy.

Al-Jazeera was the first Arab satellite news channel to offer a range of views outside of heavily censored state media across the region and extensively covered the 2011 Arab Spring. It also was the first Arab-owned news outlet to host Israeli officials and commentators, which some analysts note coincided with Qatar’s ties with Israel at the time.
…

your ad here

Conway: Trump ‘not discussing firing Bob Mueller’

Posted on by SeeUS

Days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly impaneled a grand jury in the probe into Russian election interference , the White House on Sunday brushed off questions about whether President Donald Trump intends to fire Mueller.

“The president has not even discussed that. The president is not discussing firing Bob Mueller,” presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway said on ABC’s This Week program.

Before adjourning for a nearly one-month break, the Senate saw bipartisan legislation introduced that would make it harder to fire Mueller or any independent investigator in the future, by mandating a judge’s review of the dismissal.

“It [the bill] provides the president the opportunity to consult with attorney general and the Department of Justice, potentially have one [special counsel] removed, but have that subject to a judicial review so that we make sure it’s done for proper cause,” said North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis, also on This Week.

The president has repeatedly slammed the Russia investigation, which is looking into whether any Trump campaign aides illegally colluded with Russian interests and whether Trump obstructed justice when he fired former FBI chief James Comey, who was leading that agency’s Russia probe before Mueller was appointed. However, Mueller continues to enjoy a sterling reputation on Capitol Hill.

“Bob Mueller is one of the most respected senior federal law enforcement officials in modern American history. I’ll remind you, he’s a Republican who was appointed by a Republican,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, speaking on ABC. “It’s in President Trump’s interest, it’s in the interest of protecting rule of law, for Bob Mueller to be allowed to continue this investigation to its conclusion.”

The investigation of Russian meddling remains an unrelenting irritant to the Trump administration.

Conway argued that months of investigations have yielded next to nothing.

“We were promised direct evidence of interfering and changing the electoral results,” she said. “There’s none of that.”

The grand jury will examine evidence and testimony collected in the Justice Department probe, an endeavor that may or may not lead to charges being filed. 
…

your ad here

Trump, Lawmakers Vacate Washington but Russia Probe Continues

Posted on by SeeUS

U.S. lawmakers as well as President Donald Trump have left Washington for several weeks, but the probe into Russian interference in the U.S. election grinds on. Before the Senate adjourned last week, a bipartisan bill was introduced to protect the special counsel in the Russia probe, Robert Mueller, in the event the president moves to fire him.
…

your ad here

China Presses North Korea to Halt Missile and Nuclear Tests

Posted on by SeeUS

China pressed North Korea on Sunday to halt its missile and nuclear tests, saying Pyongyang should not “provoke international society’s goodwill.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a blunt show of support for new United Nations sanctions against North Korea, delivered Beijing’s warning to his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meetings in Manila.

The United States cautiously welcomed China’s newfound support of sanctions against North Korea, but said that it would closely monitor China’s compliance with the penalties intended to deprive North Korea of $1 billion a year to fuel its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile program.

Susan Thornton, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia, told reporters that in the past China, North Korea’s economic lifeline, has supported efforts to curb Pyongyang’s weapons development, but then slacked off.

“We want to make sure China is continuing to implement fully the sanctions regime” Thornton said,”not this kind of episodic back and forth that we’ve seen.”

In a Twitter comment, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed that China and Russia had joined the U.S. in the unanimous U.N. Security Council vote for the sanctions targeting North Korean sales of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, and seafood.

“Very big financial impact!” Trump said.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said of the U.N. vote, “It was a good outcome.”

Wang said he advised North Korea to take a “double suspension” approach to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, an approach calling for the suspension of North Korea’s nuclear tests and the suspension of joint military drills by the U.S. and South Korea.

But Thornton said the U.S. is not considering ending its periodic training exercises with Seoul. She said Washington rejects any “moral equivalency” implied in linking the drills with North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. Arms experts say that North Korea’s latest intercontinental missile test showed that Pyongyang might be able to strike much of the U.S. mainland.

North Korea’s Ri did make any public statements in Manila. However, the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary that the U.S. had ignored the warning the North sent with its missile tests and was pursuing “desperate efforts” with the latest United Nations sanctions.

“Now the U.S. mainland is on the crossroads of life and death,” the commentary warned.

The U.N. sanctions are in response to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launches July 3 and 28. The provisions effectively deny Pyongyang of one-third of its annual $3 billion in export revenue.

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said the U.S. is “taking and will continue to take prudent defensive measures to protect ourselves and our allies” from the threat posed by North Korea, which she said is “rapidly growing more dangerous.”

In two council resolutions adopted in March and November of last year, the council imposed export caps on coal, which is North Korea’s single largest export.

 

“In this resolution, there is no cap, there is no allowable coal, all coal exports will stop, will be banned from export from North Korea,” a U.N. Security Council council diplomat told VOA.

 

By removing that cap, the diplomat said North Korea would immediately lose $400 million a year in export revenue.

 

The resolution also prohibits countries from accepting additional guest workers from North Korea. Pyongyang is notorious for sending its citizens to other countries to work and then confiscating much or all of their salaries, effectively making them slave labor.

 

The resolution also tightens the enforcement of existing sanctions. The council has imposed several rounds of increasingly tougher targeted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 for its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

 

In addition to the sanctions, the resolution designates nine North Korean individuals and four entities for asset freezes and travel bans.

Ralph Jennings in Manila and Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

 

 

 

 
…

your ad here

Cameroon Arrests Those Wearing Military Uniforms Illegally

Posted on by SeeAF

Authorities in Cameroon are arresting people who they say illegally wear military uniforms in order to deceive the population and commit atrocities. There have been tensions between armed groups in neighboring Central African Republic, with a spill over into Cameroon, and Cameroon thinks rebel fighters are using the uniforms as a disguise.

A dozen military men forcefully open doors in Nyangaza, a popular neighborhood in Bertoua on Cameroon’s eastern border with the Central African Republic. Nyangaza is home to hundreds of Central Africans living with host Cameroonian communities. Among the military personnel arresting civilians with military uniforms is staff sergeant Isidore Mbah.

He says they have noticed that the neighborhood is a hideout for bandits, who wear uniforms to trick people into believing they are in the military. He says all those they arrest will answer charges in a military court.

Last Friday military officials arrested 13 people, aged 17 to 37. Among them is 30-year-old Emmanuel Manga from the Central African Republic who has been living in Cameroon for three years.

He says he had been wearing the uniform to keep warm in the early morning cold since his friend offered it to him as a gift. He says he never knew that it was forbidden to wear it and that some military men had been seeing him with the uniform but did no arrests until recently.

Armed groups from CAR have attacked Cameroon on several occasions since the crisis in CAR began in March 2013 when Muslim Seleka rebels overthrew President Francoise Bozize Abuses. That triggered the rise of the Anti Balaka Christian defense groups and a cycle of killings and violence has spilled over into Cameroon.

Cameroon-born general Housseini Djibo, a senior military official in eastern Cameroon says the arrests were ordered because it was discovered that some rebels were disguising themselves as military members and committing atrocities.

He says there is galloping insecurity on Cameroon’s eastern border because of its proximity with the troubled Central African Republic. He says they will do everything possible to stop armed rebel groups that regularly carry out incursions on Cameroon’s territory and hold especially cattle ranchers and business persons hostage.

About 100 people have been arrested within the past 30 days. A 1982 law forbids civilians from buying, selling and wearing military uniforms and states that anyone caught faces prison time of between 3 months to 2 years and, or fines ranging from $100 to $ 4,000.

Even as the military goes around arresting people and seizing the military uniforms, some shop owners still keep them in stock as Moussa Ahminou of the Bertoua traders trade union told VOA.

He says some of them are still stealthily selling the stocks they had before the government started educating them not to sell military outfit.

Cameroon shares a 900-kilometer long boundary with the landlocked CAR and presently hosts 300,000 refugees from the neighboring state.

 

 

 
…

your ad here

As They Prepare for Local Elections, Kenyans Remember 2007-2008 Violence

Posted on by SeeAF

Kenya’s Rift Valley was the epicenter of the 2007-2008 post-election violence. While there are few concerns of mounting tensions this year over the ongoing local races, residents have held youth marches and a special church service to remember the victims of 2008 Kiambaa church massacre.

Worshipers sang and prayed for peace in Kiambaa Church in Eldoret in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It was here Kikuyu men and women ran to after armed Kalenjin youth attacked their homes.

The violence followed them to the church. Children, women, and men were burnt. David Irungu, who was eight at the time, is one of the survivors.

“In the church, they ordered us to get out. I was with my mother and sister. When we got outside, we were scared because I thought it was death calling us. When we looked at them, they were really armed… I was very much happy because I came out alive. They only allowed mothers and children to get out. I came out with my mother but we left our father inside. I don’t know how he escaped in the church. He died outside,” he said.

Ten years later Irungu knows why his father and many of his neighbors died.

“In 2007 I was eight years old I didn’t know what war was like and what was going on but now I have come to understand how war is and the consequences of war. I understand those people targeted us because of our ethnicity,” said Irungu.

 

In 2007 a disputed presidential vote, communities turned against each other. More than 1,000 people died, and 600,000 people were displaced.

Since the post-election violence, many things have changed. The two warring communities have reconciled and now support one candidate for the presidency, the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

In this election that unity will be tested as local races and politics take center stage.

The International Crisis Group has warned of possible violence, saying the creation of new Counties ruled by powerful elected local officials has increased the stakes the political competition.

Twenty-eight-year-old Moses Ndicum a Kikuyu living in Eldoret understands this too well.

“We are together up at the top [presidency], but here in the County, we are not together because we have to follow the way they want. It seems we are going to have chaos in our County,” he said.

Ndicu was also a victim of 2007 election violence. He lived in an IDP camp for more than two months.

Fred Yego of Mercy Corps says Kenyan politics is about power and resources.

“Why the problems are of during election time is because most communities would want to push their people in leadership. The problem we have in Kenya the attitude of winner takes it all. So people believe that whenever somebody from their community is in power, then they are able to access resources and opportunities,” he said.

Jackson Mandago is Uasin Gishu County Governor. He says people like Irungu and Ndicu will be safe after Tuesday’s vote.

“The political temperatures can rise because the competition is stiff, but I want to assure the rest of the world and this country that as a county we are confident we are going to hold our election on Tuesday and the elections are going to be peaceful,” he said.

ICG notes the task of reconciling the two communities is not yet complete, and unresolved historical grievances explain the tension that comes with election violence in Rift Valley region.

The call for peace has been growing in this part of the country, and many hope after August 8th polls communities will live in peace.
…

your ad here

Israel Plans to Close Local Al Jazeera Offices

Posted on by SeeEA

Israel plans to ban the Al Jazeera news network from the Jewish state, the communications ministry said Sunday.

Communications minister Ayoub Kara said that he wants to revoke press credentials from Al Jazeera reporters, which would prevent them from working in the country.

Kara made the announcement at a news conference Sunday, which Al Jazeera reporters were barred from attending, the news network reported.

Al Jazeera also said that Kara had moved to shut down both English and Arabic operations in the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to shut Al Jazeera offices in Jerusalem last week, accusing the news network of inciting violence in the city, most notably protests of increased security at the al-Asqa Mosque compound which Al Jazeera covered.

Jordan and Saudi Arabia have recently closed local offices of the Qatar-based news network, while the channel and affiliate sites have been blocked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain.

The four countries broke off diplomatic ties with Qatar early last month, accusing Doha of funding terrorism in the region and being too close to rival Iran. The Saudi-led group made a list of 13 demands for Qatar to re-establish ties, one of which was shutting down Al Jazeera completely. Qatar has not complied and denies the accusations.
…

your ad here

Syrian Forces Make Gains in Energy-Rich Homs Province

Posted on by SeeEA

Pro-government forces captured the Islamic State group’s last stronghold in the energy-rich Homs province in central Syria on Sunday, paving the way to advance on the besieged eastern city of Deir el-Zour, state media and a war monitoring group reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said 30 IS militants were killed in the last 24 hours of battle for the town of al-Sukhna, in Homs, before it was captured Saturday by pro-government forces. It says the Russian air force provided air support and bombed the town.

Syrian military media reported the town’s capture on Sunday. The advance puts pro-government forces 68 miles (110 kilometers) from reaching companion forces trapped in Deir el-Zour in the Euphrates River valley, which have depended on risky supply flights and air drops for relief and weapons. IS militants have held the city under siege since 2015.

 

Also Sunday, Tourism Minister Beshr Yaziji said 530,000 people visited Syria during the first half of 2017, a 25 percent increase compared to the same period in 2016. His comments were reported on state media on Sunday.

 

Syria is home to a number of Muslim shrines and holy sites that draw religious pilgrims from across the Middle East. It is especially popular with Shiite worshippers visiting from Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and farther afield.

 

Pro-government forces, backed by Russian air power, were able to reclaim a number of contested sites from the Syrian opposition in 2016, bringing relative calm to the country’s two largest cities, Aleppo and Damascus, this year.
…

your ad here