Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Afghanistan

Taliban reduces poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by 14 times

2025-07-10

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin.
[ColonelCassad] The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that after the Taliban came to power, the area of poppy crops in Afghanistan decreased by 14 times.

Periodically they halt production to empty overflowing warehouses. Sometimes they stop to placate outside governments, others to punish locals by stopping their income…
This is essentially a repeat of the situation in the last year before the US aggression against Afghanistan. In 1999-2000, the Taliban negotiated international recognition and, against this background, sharply reduced the area under poppy crops. Heroin production in Afghanistan was then steadily falling.

But in 2001, aggression and occupation of Afghanistan followed. The area under poppy crops and heroin production began to grow rapidly, setting new records.

As soon as the Taliban returned to power, the situation of 2000-2001 began to repeat itself. On the question of who actually supported the growth of drug production in Afghanistan.

Russia, China and Iran had previously made it clear to the Taliban that the key to international recognition lay, among other things, in the issue of reducing drug production in Afghanistan. The Taliban are keeping their promises in this matter.

And this means that fewer drugs will flow to Central Asia, from Central Asia to Russia and from there to Europe.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Togo's president faces calls to resign after protests over new role allowing indefinite rule

2025-06-12

[AFRICANEWS] Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe is facing growing pressure following a government clampdown on protests calling for his resignation over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely.

Activists on Tuesday condemned the arrest and alleged maltreatment of dozens of people following staged protests late last week in Togo's capital, Lome, and on social media.

The Togolese leader, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father, was sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers in May. The powerful role has no official term limits, and he is eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely.

Opposition politicians have denounced the move as a ''constitutional coup.''

Around half of the 80 protesters who were arrested were released late Monday. However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
at least 25 remain in jug, a local rights group said, urging authorities to release the others.

''What we know is that several people were beaten during their arrest,'' Aim Adi, director of Amnesty International's office in Togo, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

In addition to the release of the remaining detainees, "what the Togolese now want is the end of this regime, which can no longer offer anything to the people after 20 years of absolute and repressive power of Faure Gnassingbe,'' said a coalition of political groups known as ''Hands Off My Constitution''.

Demonstrations are rare in Togo as they have been banned in the country since 2022, following a deadly attack at Lome's main market. But the latest change in government structure has been widely criticised in a region threatened by rampant coups and other threats to democracy.

Public prosecutor Talaka Mawama has defended the arrests and described the protests as ''part of a revolt against the institutions of the Republic.''

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Boko Haram Destroyed: Air Strikes Kill Terrorists

2025-06-08

[PUNCHNG] The Nigerian Air Force said it has carried out precision ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on key Boko Haram

... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
strongholds in Borno State, neutralising several terrorists.

The service also said the airstrikes crippled hard boyz logistics infrastructure ahead of the Eid celebrations.

According to a statement on Saturday, by the Director of Public Relations and Information at NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the airstrikes were conducted under Operation HADIN KAI on June 5 and 6, targeting terrorist enclaves in Tumbumma Baba and Chiralia, located in the Southern Tumbuns region of the state.

The strikes, which he said followed credible intelligence reports, were aimed at structures used by the bully boyz for storage and operational coordination.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Islamic Cleric Al-Qasim Calls For Resistance Against Amnesty International Amid Plot To Silence Human Rights Body

2025-06-03

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Islamic Cleric Al-Qasim Calls For Resistance Against Amnesty International Amid Plot To Silence Human Rights Body | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/LMUBarnCGs pic.twitter.com/4ETj0vfxed
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) June 2, 2025

A northern Islamic cleric, Sheik Bin Al-Qasim Asaduls, has called on Muslims across Nigeria to rise against what he described as the alleged "selective and biased" reporting of Amnesty International.

True, but not the way the honoured sheik meant.

In a video posted on his official Facebook page, the cleric accused the international human rights organisation of deliberately ignoring the killings of Muslims while amplifying incidents involving Christians.

Sheikh Al-Qasim alleged that Amnesty International has never shown genuine concern for the plight of Muslims in regions such as Maiduguri, Sokoto, or Zamfara, despite persistent insecurity and violence affecting those areas.

"Amnesty claims to defend human rights, but many of us believe it is driven by a Western agenda. They remain silent when Muslims are killed but rush to release statements whenever Muslims react to provocation or defend their Prophet," Al-Qasim said in the video.

The cleric’s remarks come in the wake of a recent Amnesty International report that highlighted human rights abuses under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Al-Qasim, however, suggested that the organisation is not interested in true justice but rather in stirring religious and political instability in Muslim communities.

“Amnesty International, under the guise of justice, is inciting conflict and trying to destabilise the North,” he said.

The North needs absolutely no help in that regard.

He further urged Nigerian Muslims to remain vigilant and resist what he termed foreign attempts to undermine their religion and their region.

However, Amnesty International’s report stated that within two years, 10,000 people had been killed due to terrorism.

According to their figures, 7000 of the victims were from Benue State, 2,600 from Plateau State, and 691 from Sokoto, Zamfara, and other Northern regions.

Al-Qasim said, "What does this imply? It appears they want to create a false narrative that only Christians are being killed, since Benue and Plateau are predominantly Christian states. They released this report to push their agenda.

He said, "Take for example a recent attack in a Christian community in Plateau State where over 100 people were gruesomely murdered.

Amnesty International publicised it widely. What are they trying to achieve? They want people to react emotionally and turn the issue into a religious crisis.

"We know that religious conflict is one of the fastest ways to destroy a nation’s stability and economy. So, think carefully: does this report by Amnesty International truly reflect the whole picture?

Not even close — it’s actually much worse than Amnesty International reports.

"I swear by God, out of the 10,000 people they claim were killed, I can tell you that 9,000 of them were Muslims. Every day, people are dying in Northern Nigeria—mostly Muslims. In Borno State alone, many of the victims are Muslims," Al-Qasim said.

According to him, "Amnesty International claims 7,000 were killed in Benue. But if I ask you which states in Nigeria are facing the worst insecurity, you will mention Zamfara, then Maiduguri, followed by Katsina and Sokoto. These are the states where people are being killed the most.

Moslems killed by Moslems, Christians killed by Moslems, both are true. Boko Haram ISWAP, Fulani herders, Moslem village lad on a tear, greedy neoghbours… so many different reasons for NigerianMoslems to pick up weapons to create corpses.

Previously, SaharaReporters reported that a coordinated propaganda campaign had been launched against Amnesty International (AI) following the release of its recent report detailing the killings in Nigeria’s Plateau and Benue states, SaharaReporters has learnt. Sources had told SaharaReporters that this is part of a broader propaganda campaign targeting the international human rights organisation.

Since the release of its report last week detailing unchecked killings in Plateau and Benue states, there has been a coordinated effort, said to be led by government officials, featuring influencers like Dan Bello, Arewa Mufarka, Sharfaddeen Bature and others who have launched an aggressive propaganda offensive against Amnesty International.

Nastura Ashir Sharif, a northern Nigerian man who once benefitted from Amnesty International’s support after his arrest and detention for speaking out, is now involved in a campaign against the organisation. Sharif had been detained for several days following a peaceful protest in Katsina State, where he voiced concerns about critical issues affecting citizens, including the wave of student kidnappings in the north-western states. After his arrest, he was transferred to Abuja and held in detention.

Once a beneficiary of Amnesty’s advocacy, Sharif has since become a vocal critic, leading what appears to be a wider effort to discredit the international human rights group.

Amnesty International’s recent report detailing rising violence and mass killings in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region has sparked backlash from various political and community leaders, especially in northern Nigeria.Nigerian cultural tours

Back in 2020, Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sharif, who had been detained for defending the right to life and demanding an end to worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria. At the time, Amnesty International stated that Sharif was simply urging the authorities to fulfill their responsibilities, and his arrest was viewed as an attempt to intimidate and silence peaceful advocates for freedom of assembly and expression.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Palestinian gunman opens fire at Hebron settlement neighborhood, is killed by troops

2024-03-17

[IsraelTimes] No injuries in shooting attack, which Paleostinian media reports say was carried out by a Hamas
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
-affiliated imam in the West Bank city

A Paleostinian gunman opened fire Saturday at an Israeli settlement neighborhood in the West Bank city of Hebron, according to the military, before being rubbed out by troops.

Video footage showed the gunman shooting from a cemetery before he was fatally struck.

Suspected infiltration alarms sounded in the area as the Israel Defense Forces said troops were scanning for additional suspects.

There were no injuries in the attack, several hours after which the Home Front Command gave residents an all-clear to leave their homes.

The gunman was named by Paleostinian media as Muhammad Nofal, the imam of Hebron’s al-Qassam mosque. He was also reportedly affiliated with Hamas.

The IDF later announced troops were operating around Nofal’s home and questioning suspects in the area, as Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox and other commanders held a security assessment at the scene of the shooting.

The shooting in Hebron came as security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been on high alert since Ramadan started earlier this week. Tensions were already high between Israelis and Paleostinians due to the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
following the October 7 massacre, which saw Hamas snuffies murder about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 253.

Paleostinians say over 400 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since hostilities broke out, most while carrying out attacks or during festivities with IDF troops during nightly raids that have largely concentrated on a handful of areas in the northern West Bank. However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
killings of innocent bystanders have also been alleged.

"لم يتمالك نفسه وهو يرى أطفال غزة يموتون جوعاً وقصفاً" .... منفذ إطلاق النار في الخليل هو الحافظ لكتاب الله "محمود نوفل" إمام مسجد القاسم .🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/p9MTZvm985
— غزة الآن - Gaza Now (@nowgnna) March 16, 2024

Translated from Arabic by Google
“He could not control himself as he saw the children of Gaza dying of hunger and bombing.” The perpetrator of the shooting in Hebron was the memorizer of the Book of God, “Mahmoud Nofal,” the imam of Al-Qasim Mosque. 🇵🇸

Link

Arabia

AQAP confirms two of their turbans airstruck

2022-02-20

Today, #AQAP's formal wire released a video & a eulogy statement for a slain militant: Muhannad Al-Qasimi. He entered #Yemen around 2013-2014. He conducted ops in Hadramawt, Shabwah, & Marib. He was killed by an airstrike in Marib around OCT-NOV 2020.@CarvajalF @Natsecjeff pic.twitter.com/4BkS9bKh2H
— Joshua Koontz (@JoshuaKoontz__) February 18, 2022

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has released the biography of Fahd al-Mutairi, a Saudi Al-Qaida operative and "missile expert" who fought in Afghanistan and later Yemen, and who was allegedly killed by a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in October 2021.
— Evan Kohlmann (@IntelTweet) February 18, 2022

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

PFLP-GC says Palestinian brigade in Syria 'dangerous'

2012-11-03

[Ma'an] A Paleostinian faction in Syria aligned with

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Trampler of Homs...
said Friday that reports of a rebel-formed Paleostinian brigade to challenge their authority was a "dangerous development."

Syrian rebels said on Wednesday they had begun arming Paleostinians to establish the Liwa al-Asifah (the Storm Brigade) to wrest control of Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...
' Yarmouk refugee camp.

The largest Paleostinian camp in Syria, Yarmouk is largely under the control of the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine - General Command. Rebels accuse the faction of attacking them and cracking down on dissent against Assad.

PFLP-GC politburo member Hussam Arafat said on Friday that arming anti-Assad Paleostinians would constitute a real danger to all Paleostinians living in Syria.

Paleostinian officials insist that refugees in Syria are not involved in the deadly war rocking the country, citing security concerns for the vulnerable refugee population if they are perceived to take sides.

But Syria's uprising has split Paleostinian loyalties, with many ordinary Paleostinians sympathetic to the uprising by their fellow Sunnis, and others recalling the Syrian government's long-support for Paleostinians.

Divisions over arming camps

Arafat said the PFLP-GC was protecting Paleostinian refugee camps with local brigades to fend off "terrorist attacks."

The faction's involvement in armed brigades has drawn the criticism of other Paleostinian politicians.

Senior Fatah official in Damascus Mohamed Abu al-Qasim said Thursday he continued to reject PFLP-GC's arming of local committees, "as they will do more harm than good." Al-Qasim also denied the rebels' touting of a Paleostinian brigade as a "media fantasy".

"We are still suffering from the militarization of the Paleostinian refugee camps in Leb, but we in Syria for 60 years have stayed away from political and armed disputes inside Paleostinian refugee camps," he told Ma'an.

In August, the director of the PLO's politburo in Damascus Anwar Abdul-Hadi blamed the PFLP-GC for drawing deadly attacks on Yarmouk camp by arming Paleostinians.

"We reject this completely because our protection is the responsibility of the state of Syria, and we are only guests there," he said.

Even within the group, bigwigs have protested Secretary-General Ahmad Jibreel's open support for President Assad. Six members of PFLP-GC's central committee were reported in August to have resigned in protest.

In his comments on Friday, the PFLP-GC official echoed rhetoric from the Assad regime, blaming rebel fighters for a foreign-controlled plot.

Their announcement of a Paleostinian brigade demonstrates a Zionist plot, which will involve Paleostinians in the conflict and result in their deportation from Syria, Arafat said.

Syria is home to nearly 500,000 UN-registered Paleostinian refugees. An additional 120,000 Paleostinians reside in Syrian cities.

In August, Paleostinian official Muhammad Shtayyeh said around 400 Paleostinians had been killed in the internal conflict, although that figure is estimated to have significantly increased in recent months.

The UN agency for Paleostinian refugees said shelling of the Husseiniyah neighborhood of Damascus killed eight Paleostinian refugees on Sunday, six of whom were reported to be children playing in a public playground.

On Monday, another refugee who had gone missing was found dead, and four Paleostinian relatives were among the casualties of a minibus kaboom near Damascus, UNRWA said.

Link

Iraq

Five Iraqis killed, 16 injured in a series of explosions

2006-10-12

(KUNA) - At least five Iraqis were reportedly killed and 16 others were injured in a series of explosions that rocked Baghdad Wednesday morning. An Interior Ministry source told KUNA that a bomb exploded in Muhammad Al-Qasim road in Kaab Sara district. Few minutes later and after the civilians gathered at the site of the explosion and after arrival of policemen, an explosives packed car blew up.

The explosion killed three Iraqis, injured eight others, including three policemen, and caused damages to civilian cars nearby, the source said. About 20 minutes later, another car loaded with explosives blew up close to the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry building, in Cairo district in Baghdad. Iraqi Police said the explosion killed two civilians and injured seven others seriously. In Al-Mansour district west of Baghdad, two bomb explosions critically injured a civilian.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syrian economy promising says Schroeder ~~with a straight face~~

2006-06-13

The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has described the Syrian economy as a promising one in his speech at the opening of the Second Syrian-Emirati Economic Forum in Damascus yesterday. He also said that the Syrian economy is taking continuous steps towards integration in the world economy.

Just as soon as they get past the sanctions, the mistrust and the worthless money problem.

Sheikh Tarek bin Faysal Al Qasimi, head of Economic development department in Sharjah, stressed in his remarks that oil has contributed in developing economies in the emirates as well as infrastructure development. Sheikh Al Qasimi stressed that economic growth rate ranges between 1 - 18 per cent especially in tourism, industry, education sectors.

Abdullah Dardari, Syrian deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said: " I cannot imagine investments in Syria without the presence of Emarati investors as well as the presence of Syria's traditional friends in Europe, especially Germany."
Another proud moment in German history
Dardari said that Syria's GDP growth rate had reached more than 4.5 per cent due to the stress on macro development in its economic policies. Dardari said the government's role should be always ~~omni~~present to create job opportunities or preparing an economic environment that would indirectly contribute to creating job opportunities, transparent working mechanisms and continuous legislative development that is compatible to modernisation and integration in world economy.
Yes, all those things that Syria has done so well in the past, in other words.

Link

Arabia

Yemeni Police Seize Explosives

2006-05-19

Yemeni police seized 1.5 tons of gunpowder and TNT explosives during a raid in a rural area in central Dhamar province yesterday, security officials said. They said police in the Wasab Al-Aali District, about 100 kilometers south of the capital Sanaa, were tipped off that explosives weighing some 1,560 kilograms were to be stashed in a building in the district. Police raided the building and seized the explosives, Brig. Abdu Darjan Al-Qasimi, the district's top police officer, told reporters. He said the building owner was arrested, but other suspects managed to escape.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Fears grow over new Dubai controversy

2006-03-22

Arab and US officials are growing nervous at the prospect of a second congressional uprising against the acquisition of American assets by a Middle Eastern-controlled company in the wake of the Dubai Ports World debacle.

A person familiar with the thinking of both the US and United Arab Emirates said officials were concerned that the pending investigation of Dubai International Capitals £700m ($1.2m) purchase of Doncasters, a privately-held British aerospace manufacturer that works on sensitive US weapons programmes, including the Joint Strike Fighter, could provoke a similar backlash and further damage the relationship between the two countries.

Although the proposed transaction has not yet drawn much attention in Congress, the first signs of unease emerged on Tuesday when John Barrow, a Democratic lawmaker, released a letter demanding a tour of Doncasters Georgia facility.

It is reported that your facility produces turbine engine parts critical to tanks and military aircraft...one must assume [it] plays a necessary and substantial role in the nations ongoing military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Barrow wrote.

The Treasury has said the deal will be subject to an extensive 45-day investigation, pushing back the completion to as late as May.

The review comes as officials from Dubai work to ease tensions in Washington after protests forced DP World, also a state-owned company, to agree to divest five US port terminals acquired from the UKs P&O.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAEs economy minister, who is visiting Washington, said in an interview that the overall relationship with the US, including security and intelligence, remained paramount. She did not want to prejudge the regulatory review of the Doncasters deal but conceded that the UAE needed to do more to educate the people in the US, including lawmakers.

President George W. Bush, who defended the DP World deal but was unable to quash the rebellion by members of his own party, has emphasised the UAEs role as an ally in the war on terror.

Even if the administration were to approve the Doncasters deal, the reaction to the DP World deal has signalled to foreign investors in the US particularly in Arab countries - that Congress has the capability to derail any deal.

Doncasters generated 35 per cent of its sales in the US in 2004 and would be likely to draw interest from private equity buyers if Arab ownership were to be blocked.

Link

Arabia

Soddies nab two hard boyz

2006-01-08

The Saudi security services arrested on Thursday two Saudis suspected of having connections with the armed terrorists inside the country during a security search campaign in Al-Naqa neighborhood, Unayzah Governorate, Al-Qasim, northeast of Riyadh. According to Interior Ministry Spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki's statement to "Asharq al-Awsat", the security authorities stopped the two suspects during a security campaign they carried out in Unayzah Governorate yesterday.

This operation came eight days after Abd-al-Rahman al-Mutib and Muhammad al-Suwaylimi, who were on the list of 36 wanted persons, were killed after they had opened fire at random at five security men in Al-Qasim, killing them all. No security sources revealed whether the operation in Al-Naqa neighborhood had any connection with the previous one in Al-Midhnib Governorate in the same area. Security observers refused to make a link between the two since the Saudi security services adopt the security campaigns system in the search for wanted persons while others lean toward the possibility that this recent arrest was the result of some information derived from the high capacity storage discs, "flash memory", that were seized in the vehicle of the two wanted persons, Al-Mutib and Al-Suwaylimi.

Link

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