Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Torrential rain floods Lahore, kills five across Punjab

2025-07-11

[GEO.TV] Heavy rainfall that began at 5am on Thursday lashed Lahore for over six hours, submerging low-lying areas, paralysing traffic, and causing structural damage in several districts across Punjab
Punjab

...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
....
The rain stopped around 11:30am, but drainage work by WASA teams is still ongoing.

Nishtar Town received the heaviest downpour, recording 182mm, while rainwater entered homes in Dharampura, Shah Jamal, Choburji, and surrounding localities. Vehicles and cycle of violences were stranded in deep water, especially in underpasses and along major roads.

A house and mosque in Shah Jamal were also flooded. Wall and roof collapse incidents were reported in Lahore, Okara, Sheikhupura, and Pattoki, leaving five people dead, including a woman and two children, and injuring several others.

In Sheikhupura, two children — 5-year-old Fatima and 2-year-old Arham — were killed when their home's roof collapsed. In Pattoki, a 55-year-old woman named Salma Bibi and a 12-year-old boy named Sujawal bit the dust in separate incidents.

In Lahore, a boy was electrocuted while bathing in rainwater collected in a vacant plot near Lari Adda.

Lahore's Katchi Abadis and underpasses were heavily affected, including areas around Kalma Chowk, Ferozepur Road, Haji Camp, Canal Road, and Harbanspura. Despite ongoing drainage efforts, many neighbourhoods remained waterlogged.

The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) reported outages on 142 feeders, disrupting power supply in many areas. CEO LESCO urged citizens to avoid power poles and infrastructure during wet conditions and said restoration work would begin once rain stopped.

Link

Iraq

Top Shiite politicians consolidate grip on power in Iraq’s local elections

2023-12-24

[Rudaw] Iraq’s former prime minister and a pro-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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
politician emerged as the main winners of Monday’s provincial elections in Iraq, according to official preliminary results.

The State of Law Coalition, led by former premier Nouri al-Maliki, gained most of the votes in Muthana province. It emerged second in Wasit, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Karbala, Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces and third in the oil-rich Basra as well as in the capital city of Baghdad, announced the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in a presser on Tuesday.

The We Build Alliance, headed by Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the pro-Iran Badr Organization, performed extremely well in the polls. The alliance garnered most of the votes in Najaf, Diwaniyah, Babil, Maysan, and Dhi Qar province. It emerged as second in Basra and Baghdad provinces and third in Wasit, Karbala and Muthana provinces, according to the official preliminary results by the IHEC.

The IHEC announced that the results represented 94 percent of the counted votes.

Both Shiite alliances are among the main backers of Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s cabinet.

Maliki was the third winner of the 2021 parliamentary vote and Amiri was the fifth.

Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival al-Khoei assassinated shortly after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
, whose Sadrist Movement, gained most of the seats in the parliamentary poll but later withdrew from the political scene boycotted Monday’s polls after labeling them as "corrupt elections." However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
he called on his supporters not to attack the process.

The main Shiite winner in the elections is the National State Forces Alliance which includes Ammar al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement and former prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s Victory Party.

The overall voter turnout reached 41 percent, higher than the parliamentary elections in 2021 despite the boycott by influential holy man Sadr.

The councils were dissolved in 2019 in response to demands by Tishreen protesters who criticized the system for its failures and for enabling corruption. After several delays, the election date was set for December 18.

Iraq's long-anticipated provincial elections took place in 15 provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region. The last provincial council elections took place in 2013, without Kirkuk.

The provincial councils were created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. They hold significant power, including setting budgets for several key sectors such as education, health, and transport, but are accused of being rife with corruption.

Link

India-Pakistan

NIA attaches 3 properties in Srinagar belonging to 2 Hurriyat leaders in terror funding case

2023-06-14

NIA attaches property of incarcerated Hurriyat (G) leader Ayaz Akbar in Srinagar

[GreaterKashmir] National Investigation Agency (NIA) Tuesday attached the property of incarcerated Hurriyat (G) leader Ayaz Akbar in Shalteng area of Srinagar.

Quoting officials, news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) reported that NIA pasted the notice of attachment on the immovable property that read “this is to inform all members of the public that the immovable property ie. land measuring 1 Kanal and 10 Marias under Survey No, 31 at mauza Shalteng Tehsil Srinagar (J8K), in the name of Muhammad Akbar Khanday So Ab. Rehman Khanday, R/o Malora near Imam-ul-Bana Masjid, P.S Parimpora, Srinagar, J&K, as Abadi Deh, has been attached under the Court Orders dated May 31, 2023 in RC-101 20177 NIA/ DLI, by the Special NIA Court, Patiala House Courts, New Dehli.” Muhammad Akbar Khanday is the father of Ayaz Akbar, who is presently serving detention in New Delh’s Tihar Jail since past six years. Ayaz Akbar’s wife passed away in April this year after losing battle to cancer.

NIA attaches two more properties in terror funding case in Kashmir

[GreaterKashmir] A day after attaching 17 properties of Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday attached two more properties, belonging to another accused, in the Hurriyat terror funding case in Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
, the agency said in a statement.

The properties of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC)

...an alliance of 26 political, social and religious Moslem organizations formed in 1993 as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism. In other words, a willing tool of Pakistan...

separatist leader Mohammad Akbar Khanday include nine kanal land and a 2-storeyed house in Srinagar. These have been attached on the orders of Special NIA Court, New Delhi, under section 33(1) of UAPA.

"Khanday, currently in Tihar Jail facing trial in the terror funding case, was the Spokesperson/ Media advisor of Hurriyat Conference (G). He was raising and collecting funds from within India and abroad through various illegal channels and was using the same to sponsor and promote separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir," the NIA said.

The statement said that Khanday, who was closely connected with other separatist leaders of the APHC, was operating in close association with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and he used to collect funds for unlawful and ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful activities. He was also actively involved in activities aimed at secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India, NIA investigations have revealed, it said.

The case, filed suo moto by NIA in May 2017, relates to terrorist and secessionist activities being carried out by ISI-backed proscribed terrorist organizations in Jammu and Kashmir. These banned outfits, including Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
(JeM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) etc, were using the APHC as a front for their activities, NIA investigations stated. They were spreading terror and perpetrating violence in the Kashmir valley by promoting and conducting attacks on civilians and security forces, it said.

The agency has so far filed chargehsheets against 17 persons, including Hafeez Saeed, the Amir of Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
h and LeT and a UN listed terrorist, as well as Mohd. Yusuf Shah@ Syed Salahuddin

...the aging, morbidly obese chief of Hizbul Mujaheddin and the titular head of the United Jihad Council in idyllic Kashmire. Originally owned body and theoretical soul by Jamaat-e-Islami he and his organization are currently controlled by Pakistain's ISI. Salahuddin's hobbies include crocheting doilies shaped like the Taj Mahal, combing his enormous beard, and eating....
, the Chief of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM).

Link

Iraq

Amnesty calls on Iraq to reveal fate of hundreds allegedly abducted by PMF

2023-06-07

[Rudaw] ~~Amnesia~~ Amnesty International on Monday called on Iraqi authorities to reveal the fate of over 600 people "forcibly disappeared" by government-linked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Anbar province in 2016.

On June 3, 2016 thousands of men and boys in the city of Saqlawiyah in Anbar’s Fallujah district were put into buses and trucks by gunnies believed to be members of the PMF as part of military operations and under the pretext of suspected affiliation to the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS). The whereabouts of at least 643 of them are still unknown.

The human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
watchdog criticized the Iraqi governments’ failure to provide clarity on the whereabouts of these men and boys over seven years from their disappearance, saying that their families are entitled to redress and reparations.

"There is no bigger of a disaster than losing someone dear to you. We lost our loved ones, husbands, uncles, fathers. Everyone left. I don’t remember anything other than sadness," Amnesty cited a woman kidnapped by the PMF forces alongside six of her family members on June 3, 2016.

The rights monitor called on the authorities to reveal the findings of the committee formed by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi back in 2016 to investigate these disappearances, and ensure that the information is shared with judicial authorities so that the suspects can be subjected to fair trials "without recourse to the death penalty

."

It also urged Iraq to criminalize enforced disappearances, which is still not identified as a crime under Iraqi law.

ISIS seized control of vast areas of northern Iraq in 2014, killing civilians and enslaving others across Sunni-majority provinces. Fallujah was the first major urban center seized by the turban group. The Iraqi army and the PMF launched an offensive on May 22, 2016 to retake the city.

According to the International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC), Iraq has one of the highest numbers of missing people in the world, to a point that every Iraqi family has firsthand experience or knows someone who was forcibly disappeared.

The PMF was formed when a group of militias responded to a call-to-arms from revered Shiite holy man Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to stand against ISIS in 2014. While the force has been officially incorporated into the Iraqi security apparatus, militias within their ranks operate outside of Baghdad’s control and receive support from Iran.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Turkish attacks disrupt agriculture on Manbij frontlines

2023-05-08

As far as the Turks are concerned, the sooner the Kurds and their neighbours curl up and die, the sooner Turkey can plant submissive Arab refugees in their place. Yes, they won’t be nearly as effective, but they won’t be rebellious, which is all that matters.

[NPASyria] In a village located on contact lines between the Manbij Military Council (MMC), affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish forces, Faysal fears the prospect of ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish shells hitting his land and obliterating his wheat crops for this season after spending large sums of money planting it.

Faysal al-Issa, 42, from the village of al-Jat in northern Manbij in north Syria, told North Press that ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish forces and ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish-backed opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), deliberately target their villages every year when it is harvest time, causing them great losses.

Villages on contact lines are under constant shelling. Random shells that hit farmlands planted with wheat set fire to the crops and thus causing immense losses.

The farmer, who planted four hectares of land with wheat, is perturbed with fears over the possibility of losing the crops due to fires caused by shelling of ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish forces and their affiliated SNA, which target his land each season.

The border regions and villages on contact lines are subjected to such attacks which, sometimes, set fire to the crops. Fires cause catastrophic losses for the population, especially since the majority depend on agriculture as their main source of income and invest so much in it.

While farmers who own lands far from frontlines are mostly spared from the shelling, they are not spared from the high costs of planting wheat. The recent low prices of one kilogram of wheat has been their sole concern.

Few kilometers away on the contact line, Adham shares the same fear as his peers. It is his and his family’s main source of income on which he built many hopes and dreams.

Adham al-Abadi, 38, from the village of al-Awshariya in northern Manbij, said he fears the ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish shelling. Every year he feels reluctant to plant his land, "but the difficult economic conditions force me to take risks to provide for my five-member family."

"We have big hopes and ambitions this season. It was a good year with much rain that revived the crops. But we need someone to protect our lands and crops from shells and to stop ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish forces from committing violations against the people of the region," he added.

Ghanem, from the village of al-Kawikli in northwest Manbij, fears for his crops which he has no idea how to protect from the repeated shelling.

Ghanem al-Ali, 45, said that each season the people of the village "go through hard times from the beginning of planting till the harvest time. We fear for our livelihood due to being close to the contact lines that separate between the MMC forces on one hand and the ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish forces and ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish-backed SNA on the other."

He told North Press that they harvest their crops by hiring daily workers since owners of combine harvesters refuse to go to these dangerous villages for they might be targeted by ~~Ottoman~~ Turkish snipers.

This exacerbates the suffering of locals during the harvest and increases their expenses. Farmers are thinking about halting cultivation altogether. "We will just have to quit farming until things are better," Ghanem said.

Link

Iraq

ISIS continues to pose ideological threat: Abadi

2023-03-03

[Rudaw] Former Iraqi prime minister on Thursday warned that though defeated territorially, the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) continues to pose a threat as an ideology.

Speaking at the second annual Erbil Forum, Haider al-Abadi, stated that "ISIS as an ideology still exists. You cannot overcome an ideology with guns," referring to the fact that the jihadist group was declared militarily defeated in 2017.

"The population assumed that the threat of ISIS disappeared, but it didn't. ISIS remained dangerous until we smacked their heads in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
," Abadi stated.

ISIS seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014 and declared a so-called "caliphate." While the group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions across several provinces.

The terror group is particularly active in the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
Salahaddin, and Diyala.

Over 200 ISIS fighters were killed in Iraq in 2022, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command, told Rudaw late December.

POLITICS AND ECONOMICS IN IRAQ
"The country requires a unified vision and we need the best people to come enact upon that vision," Abadi said when touching upon the economic and political changes Iraq faces.

"If we as a collective do not change ourselves, nobody else from the outside world will come and change us," Abadi added. "The change has to come from the ballot boxes."

Snap parliamentary elections were held last October, resulting in a victory for prominent Shia holy man Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
Moqtada <q>Tater</q> al-Sadr

...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
. After failing to gather support to form a government, the Sadrist bloc consisting of 73 MPs resigned from parliament in June.

Months of political stalemate followed and the peak of tension between the rival Shiite factions manifested into deadly festivities in September which left at least 30 people dead, marking the worst violence the capital had witnessed in years.

"This was a political decision via a political movement, but the basic constraint was posed by the constitution," the former Iraqi premier said regarding the withdrawal of the Sadrist Movement from the Iraqi political process.

Abadi also touched upon the instability of the Iraqi dinar on the exchange market. Iraq earlier in February restored the exchange rate of the IQD-USD to 1,300 per dollar, the highest value of the dinar since 2020, amid a depreciation of the dinar leading to a surge in prices of basic goods and protests by Iraqi citizens.

"The issue of exchange rates is very dangerous. As a prime minister, I was supporting the stable exchange rate because if you decrease the exchange rate, people will benefit ... but this does not work alone," Abadi said as the Iraqi dinar oversees a devaluation.

The drop of the Iraqi dinar value was attributed to corruption, smuggling dollars out of Iraq, and pressure from the United States.

"My vision is that we should have an open market, of course this open market requires auditing and monitoring ... you need to have a monitoring system and follow up with the people who smuggle US dollars," he added.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

The militant organization of Batalkhadzhins is recognized as a terrorist organization

2023-02-28

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

It is worth noting that most of the atrocities attributed to the Russian Army have been committed by Kadyrov's Akhmat Brigade.
[KavkazUzel] The FSB included in the list of terrorist organizations the military wing of the Ingush group of Batalkhadzhins, whom Ramzan Kadyrov declared his brothers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 12, 2022, it became known that in exchange for support from Ramzan Kadyrov, the Batalkhadzhins formed detachments to participate in the military operation in Ukraine. The Batalkhadzhinsky Rapid Response Detachment (BOBR) became part of the Akhmat special forces and is already taking part in the military operation, the head of Chechnya confirmed the next day.

The formation of such detachments is beneficial to the Batalkhadzhins, who attracted the close attention of the security forces, said the head of the Association of Muslims of Ingushetia, Musa Abadiyev, and political scientist Ali Magamadov.

On November 1, 2022, security forces searched the house of Akhmed Belkhoroev, who is a relative of the arrested head of the Accounts Chamber, Mustafa Belkharoev. Mustafa Belkharoev's house had also been searched a few days earlier. Later, it became known about the arrest of a relative of the Belkharoevs, a former member of the parliament of Ingushetia, Mikail Aliyev. On November 3, 2022, the head of Chechnya stood up for the Belkharoev family . He stated that the term "batalkhadzhin terrorist society" is absurd, and the Belkharoevs will always be his close brothers.

Today's publication of the printed issue of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, which reports on changes in the federal list of terrorist organizations as of February 13, drew the attention of the Telegram channel "Search of Ingushetia" by publishing a photocopy of the publication.

"Officially, from December 16, 2022, the military wing of the Batal-Khadzhi vird is a terrorist community. Changes have also been made on the website of the FSB of Russia. From now on, persons providing financial, informational or other assistance to the organizers, leaders and members of this community are subject to criminal liability," - according to the publication of the telegram channel.

In the Unified Federal List of Terrorist Organizations, which is published on the FSB website, the Batalkhadzhi organization is listed at number 46.

The list includes "The fighting wing of the group (vird) of followers (muids, murds) of the religious movement of Batal-Khadzhi Belkhoroev (Batal-Khadzhi, Batalkhadzhins, Belkhoroys, the tariqat of sheikh ovliya (ustaz) Batal-Khadzhi Belkhoroev)". This was done by the decision of the Southern District Military Court dated November 28, 2022, which entered into force on December 16, 2022, the published list explains.

Recall that Batal-hadji Belkhoroev is an Ingush sheikh, the founder of one of the Kadiri branches (virds). The brotherhood of Batalkhadzhins, according to sources for 2019, numbered about 5,000 people. The core of the vird are the direct descendants of the sheikh, their cell is distinguished by great cohesion. The leaders of the Batalkhadzhins are friendly with the head of Chechnya, but this does not prevent them from taking their own position on issues important for Ingushetia, the "Caucasian Knot" report " Batal-khadzhi and his followers " says.

In 2021, the head of the Accounts Chamber of Ingushetia, Mustafa Belkharoev, complained that after the detention of his son Alikhan in the case of the murder of the head of the regional ETC, Ibragim Eldzharkiev, he was subjected to severe torture. Alikhan Belkharoev himself spoke about torture. After that, the security forces conducted two searches in the house of the head of the Accounts Chamber of Ingushetia, Mustafa Belkharoev, in two months. Lawyer Timur Idalov called these searches revenge on the father and son Belkharoev .

On December 12, 2022, the Investigative Committee announced that the investigation into the criminal case of Khasan Polonkoev and 10 others accused of the murder of Ibragim Eldzharkiev had been completed. Investigators consider Polonkoev the organizer and leader of the terrorist community operating in Ingushetia, and the rest of the accused are members of this community. The defendants pleaded not guilty in court .

Earlier, after the murder of Eldzharkiev, sources suggested that he was killed as a result of a blood feud against the backdrop of his conflict with the Batalkhadzhins, one of whose leaders, Ibragim Belkharoev, was killed in 2018. However, investigators stated in January 2020 that Ibragim Eldzharkiev's professional activities were the motive for the murder, and versions of religious motives and revenge were not confirmed .

The head of the Ingush CPE, Ibragim Eldzharkiev, was shot dead in Moscow on November 2, 2019, along with his brother Akhmed Eldzharkiev. The main facts about the murder of Ibragim Eldzharkiev and the conclusions of the investigation are collected in the brief information of the "Caucasian Knot" " The main thing about the murder of Ibragim Eldzharkiev."

Link

Iraq

Qa'ani in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to protect Iran’s sockpuppets

2022-11-16

[Shafaq News] The commander of Iran's Elite Quds Force, Esmail Qa'ani, has arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on an unannounced visit and held a series of meetings with senior officeholders and politicians, a source revealed on Tuesday.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that Qa'ani convened a meeting with Iraq's new President, Abdullatif Rashid, and Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia al-sudani, as soon as he arrived in Baghdad this morning.

The commander of Iran's expedition force said that his government will spare no effort to support al-Sudani's cabinet.

Qa'ani also held a series of meetings with leaders of the Shiite Coordination Framework and armed factions loyal to Iran. The meeting, according to the source, touched upon the latest updates on the political and security developments in the country.

Qa'ani recommends against dismissing Sadrist government officials.. al-Sudani assured: source

[Shafaq News] Iraq's new Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-sudani assured the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, Esmail Qa'ani, that the officeholders affiliated with the Sadrist movement will not be dismissed from their positions, a source revealed on Tuesday.

Qa'ani arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on an unannounced visit earlier today, Tuesday. The Iranian commander held a series of meetings with Iraq's new president, prime minister, and Shiite factions loyal to Tehran.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that Qa'ani asked Prime Minister al-Sudani and the leaders of the Coordination Framework to refrain from removing the Sadrist officials from their government positions to avoid provoking them.

"Al-Sudani assured him that neither he nor the political parties have such an intention," the source said.

"Qa'ani also recommended against dismissing government officials loyal to Ammar al-Hakim or former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi," the source added.

Link

Iraq

UNAMI, Coordination Framework leaders welcome al-Sadr's declaration

2022-08-31

[SHAFAQ] Iraqi and international figures and bodies commended the powerful Shiite holy man Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival al-Khoei assassinated shortly after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
's decision to ease the tension in Iraq after instructing his followers to withdraw from Baghdad's Green Zone.

"Thank you Moqtada al-Sadr," Iraq's parliament speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi tweeted, "your decision is in the size of Iraq. It deserves our appreciation."

A statement by media office of al-Siyada bloc said that the head of the Sunni alliance Khamis al-Khanjar held a phone call with al-Halboosi and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Masoud Barzani, to discuss the situation in Iraq.

The leaders called for preserving the security and stability in the country and pursuing dialogue to lead Iraq to safety.

The head of al-Nasr bloc, Haidar al-Abadi, said, "all the armed people shall withdraw immediately. There is no explanation for the state to stand idly and watch, especially after the speech of Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr."

"The wisemen of Iraq shall find solutions to prevent abysmal infight, jeopardizing the lives of the people, and undermining the state," he said.

"Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr proved he is a descendant of the Sadrist school that made sacrifices for its religion and people," the head of the Islamic Supreme Council, Homam al-Hammoudi, said in a statement.

Al-Hammoudi ascribed al-Sadr's position as "brave and responsible."

"There is no contrast between reform and state. They complete each others," he added, "hand by hand, the state is preserved and rectified by reform."

UNAMI in a tweet welcomed "the most recent moderate declaration by Sayed Moqtada al-Sadr."

"As stated yesterday: restraint and calm are necessary for reason to prevail," it said.

Link

-Great Cultural Revolution

Joe Biden Announces ‘unity Summit' After Fbi Raid On Donald Trump's Home

2022-08-19

[Breitbart] President Joe Biden is planning on hosting a “unity summit” to bring together Republicans and Democrats at the White House after the FBI raided former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Biden’s plan to host the summit in a statement on Friday, noting the president wanted to “counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety.”

“The United We Stand Summit will bring together heroes from across America who are leading historic work in their communities to build bridges and address hate and division, including survivors of hate-fueled violence,” she wrote.

The White House stressed they wanted both Democrat and Republican public officials to attend, as well as civil rights organizations, faith and community leaders, technology and business leaders, and law enforcement officials. It is unclear which Republicans will be invited to attend or speak.

Biden has a deep appreciation for summits, as he hosted a “virtual leaders summit” on climate change at the White House last April and a “Summit for Democracy” last December. The announcement of the “unity” summit comes as a growing number of Republicans are outraged over the FBI raid on Trump’s home Mar-a-Lago home.

The former president has expressed concern about the growing anger in the country since the raid, even offering to assist the nation in lowering the political temperature.

The White House cited the 2017 Charlottesville riots as a motivating factor for the summit, in addition to the multiple mass shootings that took place during Biden’s administration.

The priorities of the unity summit were outlined by Biden’s domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, in a blog post on the White House website.

WASHINGTON - APRIL 14: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) and National Security Advisor Susan Rice talk as U.S. President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi brief the press after a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House April 14, 2015 in Washington, DC. The two reportedly talked about supporting the fight against ISIS, a strategic partnership and relaltions in commercial and cultural interests. (Photo by Mike Theiler -Pool/Getty Images)
Joe Biden and Susan Rice (Mike Theiler -Pool/Getty Images)
“Hate must have no safe harbor in America,” she wrote, noting the summit would “counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety.”

Biden will deliver the keynote speech of the summit, according to Rice, and the summit will also include roundtable discussions and panels on preventing radicalization and violence.

“Even as our nation has endured a disturbing series of hate-fueled attacks, Americans of all beliefs and political affiliations remain overwhelmingly united in their opposition to such violence,” she wrote.

She urged Americans to email UnitedWeStand@who.eop.gov to nominate “an extraordinary Uniter” so that the White House could recognize him or her.

“As President Biden said in Buffalo after the horrific mass shooting earlier this year, in the battle for the soul of our nation ‘we must all enlist in this great cause of America,'” she stated, concluding, “The United We Stand Summit will present an important opportunity for Americans of all walks of life to take up that cause—together.”

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Gantz designates 4 alleged IS fighters as foreign terrorists, per US request

2022-05-03

I’m not sure what this accomplishes — it’s not like the Mossad is going to hunt them down in Africa like they did Eichmann and select other Real Nazis back in the day.

[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Benny Gantz has designated four alleged Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
senior members as foreign terrorist operatives, his office says.

This is the first time that the Defense Ministry has designated foreign terror operatives at the request of the United States, Gantz’s office says.

The four individuals — Farhad Hoomer, Siraaj Miller, Abdella Hussein Abadigga and Peter Charles Mbaga — are accused of setting up IS cells across the continent of Africa, raising funds and planning attacks.

The four were designated by the United States Treasury as murderous Moslems in March.

"Israel and the United States see the need to fight terrorist organizations, anywhere and anytime," Gantz says in a statement.

"We will continue to work to curb the capabilities of terrorist organizations and their operatives, and we will continue to strengthen our cooperation with partners around the world in the face of those who seek to undermine stability and harm [innocents]."

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Iraq

Islamic Dawa Party renews confidence in Al-Maliki

2022-01-16

[SHAFAQ] The Islamic Dawa Party renewed confidence in its current Secretary-General, Nuri al-Maliki.

A source told Shafaq News Agency; The Islamic Dawa Party held its 18th conference and re-elected al-Maliki unanimously as its Secretary-General for a second term.

Shia parties have become a prominent political actor in Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003. They have played vital roles in shaping constitutional and political processes.

Founded in 1957, Dawa is the oldest of these parties. Between 2005 and 2018, three of its leaders, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Nuri al-Maliki, and Haider al-Abadi, assumed the position of prime minister.

Al-Maliki, 71, is heading the Dawa bloc in the Iraqi parliament, with 33 seats.

Dawa is a leading party in the Shiite Coordination Framework.

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