[LighthouseReports] The German government is rejecting its Afghan staff’s pleas for evacuation, despite its own development agency warning they face Taliban retaliation
See? Everybody’s doing it. Ugh.
The German government is rejecting its Afghan staff’s pleas for evacuation, despite its own development agency warning they face Taliban retaliation
Following the chaotic withdrawal of Western countries from Kabul in August 2021, Germany was quick to promise that it wouldn’t leave its local Afghan staff behind.
Germany supported a vast number of development projects in Afghanistan and employed thousands of Afghan men and women to implement them. A few months after Kabul fell, a new German government took office with a pledge to ensure that endangered Afghan local staff could be “brought to safety through unbureaucratic procedures… We will not abandon our allies.”
But two years later, in the latest instalment of our Left Behind series, an investigation by Lighthouse Reports, Süddeutsche Zeitung, WDR and NDR reveals that Germany is overlooking internal risk assessments carried out by its own development agency GIZ in order to turn away Afghan workers, some of whom have been beaten and tortured by the Taliban.
Around 6,600 Afghans have applied to Germany’s relocation program for government workers now at risk in Afghanistan, known as Ortskräfteverfahren (OKV). Some 2,500 have been rejected and 700 are still awaiting a decision. The vast majority worked for GIZ, which directly employed around 1,000 Afghan local staff in 2021 and is estimated to have employed thousands more on temporary contracts.
We verified the stories of 20 former GIZ contractors still in Afghanistan who have been threatened and in some cases physically harmed by the Taliban, who label them as “infidels” for having worked with Germany.
We also found two cases of GIZ workers who were murdered by the Taliban in the year prior to the fall of Kabul. GIZ says there is no evidence that they were killed due to their work for the organisation, but their relatives and colleagues say they’re certain that they were killed because of their jobs.
[ToloNews] The Economic Times reported that in the coming weeks the travel time between the East, including India, and the West will be significantly reduced, especially after key aviation regulators will allow commercial aircraft to resume flying over Afghanistan.
According to the Economic Times, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted permission to American airliners to fly over the Kabul Flight Information Region (FIR) at altitudes exceeding 32,000 feet.
"The first benefit for Afghanistan is that it once again connects with all Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and all other countries which in fact creates credibility. Second, it earns revenue," said Sayed Masoud, an economist.
This decision comes as the FAA has assessed reduced risks to US civil aviation operations at higher altitudes in the region, the report said, adding that the move aligns with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) directive to its member state airlines, urging them not to fly below 32,000 feet due to ongoing potential threats to civil aviation and high operational risks at lower altitudes.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... the Ministry of Transportation and Aviation Authority said that efforts are underway to attract more airlines to use Afghan air space.
Imamuddin Ahmadi, a front man for the ministry, said that it has earned more than $8.4 million in revenue from the use Afghan airspace within the past four months.
"Any flight which is crossing the Afghan airspace should pay $700. As the flights increase, it benefits Afghanistan," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... an official of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Khanjan Alokozai, called for an improvement of diplomatic efforts to pave the way for an increase in flights over Afghanistan.
"The Ministry of Transportation and Aviation Authority and the Islamic Emirate should try to convince the world countries to fly their airlines through our airspace," he said.
After the Islamic Emirate came to power, many airline companies stopped using Afghan airspace.
The Ministry of Transportation and Aviation Authority said that the Afghan airspace is safe and opened for the airlines.
[IEA press release] Welcoming the guests, FM Muttaqi held discussion on the overall situation of the country, highlighting the positive changes in terms of ensuring security and stability and economic developments in the country following IEA coming to power.
FM answered the questions raised by guests and urged them to convey the real image of Afghanistan both to the world and your people.
FM Muttaqi considered positive engagement with the international community as a paramount objective of the IEA’s foreign policy.
There is a group photo of the participants around a conference table, should anyone want to have a go at identifying the attendees.
[DW] A headscarf is not enough: The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... is punishing cab drivers for transporting women not covered up with burqas. As a result, fewer and fewer women are traveling in cities.
Fereydun, a motorized rickshaw driver from Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... in western Afghanistan, doesn't transport women anymore. If he were to carry women who weren't wearing a full-body covering, he would be beaten up by the Taliban and have his rickshaw confiscated, Fereydun told DW.
He has already had to witness women being humiliated. The Taliban have stopped him several times and pulled women not wearing burqas out of the vehicle to curse and scream at them. Fereydun said he has also been punished.
CRACKDOWN ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Almost two years since the bad boy Islamist Taliban seized power as NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... calamitously withdrew, women in Afghanistan are still resisting orders.
Many refuse to wear burqas and still walk the streets with their faces uncovered. Last year, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered women to hide their faces completely in public "as this is traditional and respectful," according to the decree issued in May 2022.
When the Taliban came to power in August 2021, they pledged to respect women's rights. Since then, women have been ousted from most professions and barred from attending universities or higher education institutions. Most recently, beauty salons were banned. For women who still dare to show their faces, the pressure is mounting.
Eyewitnesses in Afghanistan report that the Taliban Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice have stationed morality police all over big cities. Among other things, the ministry has decreed that drivers of taxis, rickshaws, and other passenger vehicles can no longer transport women not wearing a hijab inside cities.
"When women travel, they must be accompanied by a man," Akif Mohajer, a representative of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, told the media. "When they travel inside the city, no man is allowed to sit next to them and they must wear a full hijab. It doesn't matter if they wear a chador or not — their hijab must be fully Islamic."
What exactly a "full Islamic hijab" constitutes does not seem to be clearly defined. Dina, a woman from Herat, said that she had been removed from rickshaws several times and insulted for wearing a long coat and headscarf rather than a full body covering.
Mirza, a cab driver from Kabul, also confirmed this in an interview with DW. The Taliban had told him several times that women without veils or burqas were not allowed to ride in taxis, otherwise he would be punished and his cab confiscated.
SQUEEZING WOMEN FROM PUBLIC SPACE
The primary goal of these measures is to push women out of the public eye, according to Maryam Marof Arwin, founder of a welfare organization for women and kiddies in Afghanistan.
"With the recent restrictions, the Taliban have shown that they are sticking to the policies they implemented in their first period in power, except that now they are systematically and specifically eliminating women from society," she said.
During the Taliban's first stint in power between 1996 to 2001, they were known for their degrading treatment of women. Back then, women were forced to wear the burqa in public, were not allowed to leave the house without a male escort, and were barred from seeing male doctors, resulting in many diseases going untreated. Experts warn that the Taliban are now trying to turn back time without thinking about the consequences.
Back in February, the Taliban had announced that female medical students would not be allowed to sit their final exams. They had already banned women from attending universities in December 2022.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... has suspended its financial support and cooperation on security with Niger Republic with immediate effect following the military coup there, the EU's senior diplomat said on Saturday.
The coup leaders declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as head of state on Friday, ousting President Mohammed Bazoum.
The EU, the United States and other countries have called for the unconditional release of Bazoum from detention and the restoration of democratic order in the country.
According to Rooters, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, in a statement said; "In addition to the immediate cessation of budget support, all cooperation actions in the domain of security are suspended indefinitely with immediate effect."
Niger Republic is a major recipient of Western aid and a key partner of the European Union in helping contain irregular migration from sub-Saharan Africa. The EU also has a small number of troops in Niger Republic for a military training mission.
The EU allocated 503 million euros ($554 million) from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger Republic over 2021-2024, according to its website.
SaharaReporters had also reported that the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu would host a special meeting of the regional leaders on Sunday, July 30th in Abuja.
This follows the coup in Republic of Niger that has upended the constitutional politicianship in the West Africa country.
This was contained in a statement issued by Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications & Strategy.
Alake said President Tinubu, as Chairman of ECOWAS, in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday July 26, 2023, condemned the current political situation in the neighbouring country and promised that ECOWAS and the international community would do everything to defend democracy and ensure democratic governance continues to take firm root in the sub-region.
"US Vice President Kámala Harris Former Oakland mayor Willie Brown's former mistress, now a senatrix from California former 2020 Dem presidential hopeful, and Joe Biden's wing nut... and United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... in separate telephone calls Thursday evening with President Tinubu affirmed the support of the US and UN for the position taken by ECOWAS and the Nigerian leader to restore constitutional order in Niger," he added.
Soldiers in the West African country of Niger had announced a coup on national TV on Wednesday and had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the nation’s borders.
[ShafaqNews] The French Development Agency in 2021 committed 97 million euros to the country, one of the poorest in the world, according to figures on agency website.
French President Emmanuel Macron, while visiting Papua New Guinea on Friday, strongly condemned the coup, calling it "dangerous" for the region and demanding the release of Bazoum, who has been confined to his official residence since Wednesday.
Niger is one of the last allies La Belle France has in the Sahel, a region plagued by instability, insecurity and Death Eater attacks.
La Belle France ended its anti-extremist operations and withdrew its forces from Mali earlier this year in response to demands from the Bamako junta leader.
The former colonial power has 1,500 troops in Niger who operate jointly with the Nigerien army.
The coup in Niamey is the third such event in the region since 2020, following the ascension of military rulers in Mali and Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other...
[Breitbart] Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of giving out wrong information during her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
“We don’t have that information, I don’t know where she got it from, the lady from the DEA,” Lopez Obrador said on Friday during his morning news conference. “What proof does she have?”
Lopez Obrador addressed DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s statement that the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation have more than 44,800 members, associates, and facilitators in 100 countries. The DEA leader also claimed that drug cartels had a presence in more than 21 states in Mexico. On Thursday, Milgram went to a congressional hearing to provide updates on the current fentanyl crisis where she claimed that those two cartels were the main producers and distributors of the drug.
Milgram also claimed that cartels could produce each fentanyl pill for about 10 cents and sell them for between $10 and $30 — making the product highly profitable.
When asked about the comments by the DEA chief, a flustered Lopez Obrador asked for proof of her claims.
“If everyone acts on their own, they don’t move forward,” Lopez Obrador said, claiming that there is no coordination between U.S. agencies. The Mexican politician claimed that earlier this week that his government officials met with White House Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood Randall for a summit on fentanyl, and the information shared there was different from the DEA testimony.
As Breitbart Texas reported, Lopez Obrador has publicly claimed that Mexico does not produce fentanyl as U.S. law enforcement agencies have previously stated. The Mexican president minimized his country’s role in the ongoing cartel crisis by claiming it is caused by the U.S. demand for drugs and fueled by U.S. weapons.
#1
"Mexican President Says U.S. DEA Chief has mistaken information about Cartels"
I guess the U.S. DEA Chief would be better informed and understanding IF... The Cartels paid him or JB what the Mexican President and others are said to received via backdoor agreements now.
#2
The Mexican presidentCartels spokesman minimized his country’s role in the ongoing cartel crisis by claiming it is caused by the U.S. demand for drugs and fueled by U.S. weapons. FIFY
[News18] Pak police release Afghan allies at the border, forcing them to return to Afghanistan where they will be persecuted by the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... The Afghans whom the Americans promised resettlement in the US after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban say they have waited for too long and are now forcibly being sent back to the enemy they fled.
These Afghans worked with the US and were told they were eligible for resettlement for their services but they are now being deported back to Afghanistan from Pakistain, news outlet CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... reported.
Afghans speaking to the news outlets said that Pak police stopped short of handing them to the Taliban border forces but released them on the border and told them to go back to Afghanistan this summer. Afghans with their entire families were left on the border in such a manner. Some of those who were deported are now living in hiding in Kabul.
A former employee of a US contractor told CNN that he fears that he will be tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... and then tortured and killed. "We believe that the USA will help us. We believe we still haven’t lost our hope still," the man was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
"Going back to Afghanistan is a big risk and here we are dying, every moment. Staying in Pakistain is a gradual death," another Afghan was quoted as saying by the CNN.
They provided documentation which showed a US visa case number being processed and also that they were present in Pakistain. Thousands of Afghans fled Taliban after August 15, 2021, when the terrorist group took control of the nation.
A US-led operation airlifted more than 124,000 Afghans.
Despite this, several thousands fled to Pakistain following US guidance that they should wait in a third country for their visa applications to the US to be processed. Some of them came with incomplete paperwork.
The US has resettled nearly 90,000 Afghans, the US Department of State said. Many thousands have caught in the backlog of so-called Afghan Priority 2 (P-2) or Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) applications.
Following recent political instability, Pakistain has cracked down on hundreds of Afghan migrants colonists. Afghans speaking to the news outlet alleged Pak police persecution and harassment. Pak police are also charging them fines and bribes, threatening them with deportation.
Haseeb Aafaq, a front man for volunteer group the Afghanistan Immigrants colonists Refugees Council, told CNN that at least 530 Afghans have been deported from Pakistain so far this year.
"If you are Afghan, you must be deported if your visa is not valid, whether you are SIV or P-2 or sponsorship cases. The authorities here do not even think about where you are from," Aafaq was quoted as saying by the CNN.
He highlighted that the numbers could be higher as many Afghans have been deported without documentation.
Aafaq also revealed that two young Afghan men have taken their own lives in Islamabad since June. These two men were awaiting US P-2 visas. He also pointed to US’s failure to open a Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in Pakistain which led to stalling of processing of cases.
[Shafaq News] U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, declared that the U.S. Treasury will refrain from imposing sanctions on Iraqi banks due to concerns regarding money laundering.
"Yesterday I joined a call with Treasury and Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) regarding the recent U.S. action to restrict 14 Iraqi banks from USD services following concerns about money laundering," Ambassador Romanowski tweeted, "After the announcement, CBI took appropriate & swift action."
"No Iraqi banks were sanctioned," she said, "We will continue our work to improve compliance with AML/CFT regulations and digitize the Iraqi economy with our partners at CBI."
Fourteen Iraqi private banks sanctioned by the United States over allegedly helping siphon U.S. dollars to Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... said on Wednesday they were ready to challenge the measures and face audits and called on Iraqi authorities to provide assistance.
U.S. financial authorities last week barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of a wider crackdown on dollar smuggling to Iran via the Iraqi banking system, Iraqi central bank officials have said.
Iraqi central bank (CBI) Governor Ali al-Allaq said on Wednesday the institution was following up on the issue and he had no indication the U.S. would sanction more Iraqi banks.
He also noted that other banks were able to cover the market's needs for dollar transactions, with the 14 sanctioned banks representing just 8% of external transfers.
The 14 banks have been banned from undertaking dollar transactions but can continue to use Iraqi dinars and other foreign currencies.
Allaq said the transactions tied to the sanctions took place in 2022, before the CBI enforced tighter regulations on dollar transfers requiring applicants to go through an online platform and provide detailed information on end-recipients.
Those measures are in line with U.S. regulations aimed at curbing the illegal siphoning of dollars to Iran and applying pressure on Tehran along with U.S sanctions imposed over its nuclear program and other disputes.
[An Nahar] Higher Islamic Shiite Council deputy head Sheikh Ali al-Khatib on Friday said he rejects that the "Shiite vice governor" of the Central Bank assume Riad Salameh’s duties after the latter’s departure on July 31.
"They want to hold us responsible for the economic and financial collapse and they forget their responsibilities and role in the collapse," Khatib said.
"They want to blame the Shiite sect and the arms (of Hezbollah) for the collapse, that’s why I reject that the Shiite vice governor assume responsibility, because they would hold the Shiites responsible for the continuation of the collapse," Khatib added.
First Vice Governor Wassim Mansouri is one of four vice governors of the Central Bank. He is scheduled to hold a presser on Monday amid media reports that he intends to resign.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2023 03:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... , stressed on Saturday that "the resistance in Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... will not be complacent and will be ready to deter, confront, and liberate any Israeli foolishness."
This came during the commemoration of Ashura in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where Nasrallah affirmed that "Lebanon is the aggrieved, and Israel is still occupying part of our land, and it has re-occupied part of the Roma, and it is brazenly talking about provocations."
"The resistance will be ready for any option and will not remain silent about any foolishness," Nasrallah said, noting that Israel is the one that penetrates the skies and continues to occupy the land.
In internal affairs, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah stated that opening the door for serious and persistent bilateral dialogues may open a horizon in the wall of the existing impasse over the issue of the presidential elections in Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
