Russian Military Base Constructed Near Ukraine Indicates Preparation for Long-Term Conflict
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Russia is building a large, heavily equipped military base near the Ukrainian border, which indicates Moscow is preparing for a long-term conflict with Kiev.
The Defense Ministry will install nine barracks that hold 3,500 soldiers and ammunition depots for rockets and artillery weapons that span 6,000 square meters, according to Reuters. The site will be used to train Russian soldiers on air and land defense, including the operation of tanks and armored personnel carriers.
The base will also include a site for the study of U.S. Army tactics. Russian government documents call the U.S. a “likely enemy” and write that the base will be equipped to simulate U.S. Army standards, “with models of personnel and military equipment.”
The 740-acre site will feature a residential complex with more than 1,000 apartments, a dining room for 2,000 soldiers, a swimming pool, tennis courts, a skating rink, and a barbershop. It will also include a training complex and an expandable infirmary in case of a “massive influx of [the] wounded.”
Residents of Soloti, a village in western Russia, told Reuters that the base is located near their town. The site is close to a railway that connects Moscow to cities in eastern Ukraine, including Luhansk, which has faced hundreds of casualties due to the crisis.
A man who claimed he was a representative of the Federal Agency for Special Construction would not discuss the details of the base with Reuters, stating that it was “a secret facility.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, despite reports of Russian soldiers and weapons in the region.
The first phase of construction is to be complete by April 29, 2016.
The post Russian Military Base Constructed Near Ukraine Indicates Preparation for Long-Term Conflict appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
At least 10 people in western Illinois have now died from Legionnaires' disease, after a state veterans home reported two new fatalities among its residents.
An outbreak first identified in late August after an initial case was detected several weeks earlier has sickened 53 residents at the Quincy home, nine ...
New Israeli Embassy Opens in Cairo by Abraham Rabinovich
JERUSALEM—Exactly four years after the Israeli embassy in Cairo was ransacked by a mob and vacated, a new embassy was opened Wednesday in a low-profile ceremony in the Egyptian capital.
The residence of the Israeli ambassador to Egypt was officially declared to be the new embassy, a status attested to by a small plaque reading “Embassy of Israel” unveiled outside the entrance to the walled compound and an Israeli flag raised on a pole in an inner courtyard.
Given the violence of the 2011 incident and the anti-Israel sentiment prevailing among much of Egypt’s population, the reopening of an embassy was an act of courage both on the part of Israeli diplomats and President Abed Fattah al-Sisi. While officially recognizing the new embassy, the Egyptian government sent only one low-ranking official to the ceremony, the deputy chief of protocol of the foreign ministry. Also attending was the American ambassador to Egypt, Stephen Beecroft, whose presence was a significant gesture of support for Israel meant to be seen by Egyptians.
The sacking of the embassy followed an attack by Jihadi militants in Sinai who crossed into Israel and killed eight Israelis in a road ambush close to the border fence. Some of the militants were reportedly wearing Egyptian uniforms. Israeli troops engaged them in a fire fight during which three Egyptian border guards were also killed. The Egyptian army declared a state of alert and demanded an apology from Israel. Egypt’s president at the time was Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Three weeks later, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the high-rise building in which the embassy occupied two upper floors. Most of the staff was able to get away safely but six Israeli security security men remained behind, locking themselves in a “safe room” with a steel door. Egyptian security forces were unable to control the mob which broke through a concrete wall and began battering at the steel door. Fearing a lynch, Israeli officials contacted senior American officials in Washington, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who persuaded Egyptian military leaders to take immediate action. A commando unit forced its way through the mob and rescued the Israeli security men at the last moment.
All Israeli diplomats and their families were flown back to Tel Aviv that night except for the deputy ambassador who worked for some time out of the American embassy. In time, a small diplomatic team returned to Cairo and began to operate out of the ambassador’s residence, which today became the new embassy. Israel says it wishes to build a new embassy but thus far no suitable site has yet been found by the Egyptian authorities.
At today’s ceremony, Dr. Dore Gold, director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, said that Egypt was the “largest and most important” country in the Middle East. Noting the arrival of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashana, next week, he said “this event in Cairo is also a new beginning.”
Relations between the al-Sisi administration and Israel have involved close cooperation between the Egyptian army, which al-Sisi headed before becoming president, and Israeli intelligence regarding the Islamic militants in Sinai. Israel has permitted Egypt to deploy attack helicopters and other armaments to eastern Sinai even though that is banned under the peace agreement. In an interview with the Washington Post earlier this year, al-Sisi said that he talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone “a lot.” In bidding for American support despite questions in Washington over his legitimacy as president, he noted that Egypt has consistently honored the peace treaty signed with Israel in 1979 and that he continues to do so.
The post New Israeli Embassy Opens in Cairo appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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Adm. Mike Rogers, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, is warning the dangers of cyberattacks and cyberwarfare are increasing.
"Our nation is being challenged as never before to defend its interests and values in cyberspace," Adm. Rogers said in a report made public this week. "Adversaries increasingly seek to magnify ...
Many of Dagestan’s ethnic groups have repeatedly voiced concerns over living together in a republic in which each group feels “cheated” by the others. Few regions of the republic however, have as much of a chance to successfully secede as southern Dagestan, popularly known by its Russian acronym Yuzhdag (Yuzhny Dagestan—Southern Dagestan). The radical sounding views expressed by a local blogger are increasingly common: “Yuzhdag has long been turned into the backyard of Dagestan,” wrote Ramon Daliev. “It is last to receive government funding and is deprived of sensible management. The more numerous and better organized northerners, with their strong, ambitious and ruthless clans, have seized the government in Makhachkala; and the southern Dagestanis, with their gentleness, are pushed aside. We are different from each other even in our mentality. Therefore, we should be good neighbors, rather than remain poor countrymen” (Kavkazskaya Politika, September 3).
Yuzhdag is located on Dagestan’s border with Azerbaijan, and Derbent is its main city. It does not possess an official administrative designation, but rather is an amalgamation of a dozen districts and cities in southern Dagestan. Residents of Yuzhdag think of themselves as somewhat softer and less conflict-prone individuals than the “northerners”—Avars, Dargins, Kumyks and others. Yuzhdag is dominated by ethnic Lezgins, but it also has a large population of ethnic Azerbaijanis, Tabasarans and smaller ethnic groups. Dagestan’s 400,000 Lezgins comprise about 13 percent of the total population of the republic and its fourth-largest ethnic group.
They have not, however, held top-level political positions in Dagestan. The positions of the republic’s governor, prime minister and head of parliament are normally reserved for the three largest ethnic groups of the republic—the Avars, the Dargins and the Kumyks. All three groups are “northerners” from the point of view of the “southerners,” who are concentrated around Derbent.
Ramon Daliev, himself a southerner, wrote that the contrast in the levels of development between southern and northern Dagestan has become especially acute since Ramazan Abdulatipov, an ethnic Avar, was made governor. “While prior to Abdulatipov the region somehow was developing, along with other parts of Dagestan, it has clearly stagnated during his governorship,” he wrote. “The backwardness of the southern Dagestan is especially glaring, when […] compared to the sudden speedy development of the northern regions.” Southern Dagestanis complain that the north redirects the funds Dagestan receives from Moscow to benefit the northern areas, at the expense of the southern areas. According to the proponents of Yuzhdag’s separation, the northern areas have better infrastructure, receive more government grants and are less scrutinized by government inspectors. In particular, Daliev wrote that the “notorious mayor” of the northern Dagestani city of Khasavyurt, Saigidpasha Umakhanov (an ethnic Avar), has survived without difficulties for years, while the “intelligent, honest, decent, gentle, well-balanced” mayor of Derbent, Imam Yaraliev was replaced. Ramazan Abdulatipov, indeed, managed to force Yaraliev to resign last August after a lengthy battle. The analyst warned that if the situation does not change, southerners could rise up in mass protests (Kavkazskaya Politika, September 3).
Ironically, the residents of Yuzhdag may have a point. Moscow has long funded the republics of the North Caucasus according to their level of political volatility. The more volatile the republic, the more funds it has received from Moscow. This principle of financing of the republics of the North Caucasus is likely to apply at the sub-regional level as well. Yuzhdag is relatively quiet compared to the northern areas of the republic. Abdulatipov may have advocated greater government spending in the areas that are more volatile, while neglecting areas like Yuzhdag that do not cause much trouble for the government. Abdulatipov, however, seems to have antagonized the Lezgins and other ethnic groups in the south.
Still, the Lezgins are not an entirely helpless ethnic group. One of the richest ethnic Dagestanis in Russia, billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, is an ethnic Lezgin (Forbes, accessed September 9). Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Sergei Melikov, who has shown a keen interest in Yuzhdag, is also an ethnic Lezgin (Kavkazskaya Politika, March 31). Lezgins are concentrated in southern Dagestan, unlike the other large ethnic groups, which often are scattered all over the republic. If Makhachkala does not find a solution to the growing discontent among southern Dagestanis, the political demand of separation from the rest of the republic may mobilize the locals. The situation is further aggravated by the projected decrease in government expenditures, as Russia experiences a period of economic turmoil (see EDM, June 22). Abdulatipov is unlikely to find sufficient funds to satisfy the needs of all regions of Dagestan. At the same time, the governor of Dagestan appears intent on ruling the republic with an iron fist. The absence of leniency on the part of the government side and its inability to increase funding for Yuzhdag are likely to fuel separatist sentiment in the largest and the most ethnically diverse republic of the North Caucasus.
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Kurdish militants and nationalist mobs in Turkey have traded increasingly violent attacks in recent days, threatening the stability of a country that the United States hopes to partner with against the Islamic State terrorist group.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, a Kurdish militant group that has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States, reportedly killed at least 29 members of Turkish security forces in attacks on Sunday and Tuesday. Nationalist supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, responded by setting fire to several offices of the HDP, the main Kurdish political party, and storming the building of the Hurriyet newspaper for allegedly misquoting Erdogan.
The spate of violence raised fears of a civil war in one of the most influential countries in the Middle East as the region grapples with the expansion of the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) and an increasingly aggressive regime in Iran.
A 2013 ceasefire between the PKK and Turkish forces lapsed in July after an alleged IS suicide bomber killed 33 people, mostly Kurdish activists. The Kurds have accused Erdogan of targeting the minority ethnic group rather than helping to combat IS across Turkey’s southern border in Syria, where Syrian Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, pushed the terrorist group out of the city of Kobani in January.
Analysts say the surge in violence can partly be attributed to electoral dynamics in Turkey. Erdogan’s party, AKP, lost its outright majority in June’s parliamentary elections as the pro-Kurdish party consolidated support in the primarily Kurdish areas of southeast Turkey.
After calling snap elections in November, analysts say Erdogan has attempted to stir up nationalist sentiments among his supporters and other conservative Turks, an effort that has now spilled into violence. His strategy appears to be working—Erdogan’s AKP is now the slight favorite to win back a parliamentary majority, according to initial election projections.
Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) who researches the Kurds and Turkish politics, said Erdogan’s actions have driven more and more Kurds into the hands of the militant PKK. The end result could be a partition of Turkey in the coming years with a separate Kurdish state.
“The PKK made far greater concessions than did the Turks during the ceasefire,” he said. “Rightly or wrongly, they have concluded that they cannot trust the Turkish government and that Ankara is insincere in reform and in changing its attitudes toward the Kurds.”
“Erdogan has convinced a new generation of Kurds that they cannot trust Turkey,” he said. “And, while the Turks may dismiss the PKK as an autocratic personality cult (it may be), the Kurds would be right to suggest that the AKP isn’t much different, so they might as well work with the PKK.”
Blaise Misztal, director of national security for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said in a statement that Erdogan is ultimately pursuing a “divide and conquer policy” to regain full control of parliament.
“In a drastic attempt to regain its majority in the upcoming snap election, President Erdogan’s party appears to have adopted a divide and conquer policy: ending a two-year ceasefire with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and even calling them a greater threat than ISIS, in order to court nationalist voters,” Misztal said.
“This strategy threatens to both destabilize Turkey and undermine U.S.-led efforts to defeat ISIS, but it could very well prove successful.”
U.S. forces have partnered with Kurds in both Syria and Iraq to combat IS, but officials have also attempted to integrate Turkey, a NATO ally, into the anti-IS coalition. Turkish forces launched theirfirst air strikes against IS in Syria last month as part of the U.S.-led coalition.
Critics have accused Erdogan of attempting to expand his powers by proposing constitutional amendments that would shift the Turkish government into more of a presidential system, rather than a parliamentary one. Turkey is also one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, rights groups say.
Frederike Geerdink, a Dutch journalist based in Turkey who has covered the PKK, was reportedlyasked to leave the country on Wednesday after she was accused of “aiding a terrorist organization.” There were also reports that the Turkish government had blocked access to Twitter after users began posting pictures of nationalist mobs attacking Kurds.
The U.S. embassy in Ankara expressed concerns on Wednesday about the rise in violent attacks.
“We urge Turkish citizens to adhere to democratic ideals by supporting free speech and engaging only in peaceful protests,” the embassy tweeted.
The post Violence Escalates Between Kurds, Turkish Nationalists appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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Russian parliamentarians have requested that the government increase its control over Central Asian migrants, due to a supposed infiltration of these communities by Islamic State fighters. Militants disguised as labor migrants had allegedly snuck into Russia in order to destabilize the country (Izvestia, July 6, 2015). Meanwhile, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel N. Rosenblum, from the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, claimed that there is evidence that 4,000 Central Asians are in Syria fighting on the side of Islamic State, and that apparently they were recruited mainly in Russia (Csce.gov, June 11, 2015). However, together, all of the Central Asian governments’ official numbers of recruits from among their citizens do not nearly add up to 4,000; and there is no clear evidence that most recruitments took place outside their respective countries. While it is indisputable that there are former Central Asian migrants to Russia among those who have joined the radical militant group, this phenomenon should not be viewed in isolation from previous radicalization trends that have taken place in the region since the Central Asian republics’ independence. The relative levels of radicalization within these societies had never been significantly high, and there is little evidence that the recent trend regarding Islamic State is much different.
Numerous studies of labor migration have consistently shown that Central Asian migrants go to Russia mainly to work and earn money to support their dependents. Guest workers understand that joining extremist groups means a radical change to their life style and even death and harassment of their family members; therefore, it generally holds little appeal. In this author’s own conversations with various migration experts in Russia during April 2015, the phenomenon of radicalization was broadly described as occurring on a purely individual basis and without widespread appeal in the migrant communities.
Central Asian governments list official numbers of Islamic State recruits from their countries as no more than 300 from each country (Asia Plus, June 26; Deutsche Welle–Russian service, April 5). These statistics—if accurate—indicate that the chances of migrants being recruited by the Islamic State are, on average, about the same as in any other part of the world. Thus, given that there are around five million labor migrants residing in Russia, it is inevitable that there may be radicalized recruits among them.
Humiliation, discrimination and poor working conditions are most often cited as the main reasons for migrants joining radical groups like the Islamic State. These, however are not the only reasons. For one thing, Russia, afraid of anything non-Slavic, makes it exceedingly difficult to build any new mosques in the country, despite the increased number of migrants from Muslim-majority countries. Moscow, a mega-city with around 800,000 registered migrants and two million Muslims, has only four mosques (Echo Moskvi, August 6, 2014). This, inevitably, drives migrants to congregate privately, away from public eyes with sometimes uneducated, self-proclaimed imams—a situation ripe for radical recruiters. Another reason may relate to the failure of state-sanctioned mosques to take a sufficiently strong stand against groups like the Islamic State. According to this author’s conversations, in April 2015, with representatives of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, a non-governmental organization, mosque leaders in Moscow have not condemned the Islamic State’s actions, confusing migrants further.
The humiliating conditions in which migrants work and live, as well as their decreasing incomes in Russia due to the country’s economic crisis (see EDM, January 5; February 23; July 6), might be increasing the Islamic State’s appeal for guest workers. Indeed, this has been the argument made by US Deputy Assistant Secretary Rosenblum and several recent Western publications. But one has to remember that the Russian government’s treatment of its own citizens regarding job security, fair pay, the equal treatment of minorities, health care, care for the elderly and so on has also been far from exemplary (Author’s expert interviews in Russia, April 2015). That is why, in fact, migrants do not demand better conditions for themselves. The supposed ghettoization of migrants is also not Russian government policy. Migrants might live compactly at construction and agriculture sites or near food processing facilities and markets for the duration of their work; but there is no active government policy to place migrants in separate or designated locations. Migrants simply live where they find affordable rental properties among the local population.
Thus, focusing excessively on the threats supposedly emanating from Central Asian migrants to Russia is misleading. Central Asian migrants are just one group of potential recruits for extremist organizations. But overemphasizing migrant participation is likely to lead to undesirable consequences in which law enforcement bodies in Russia and the migrants’ countries of origin will see in all guest workers as potential terrorists and target them for harassment. A similar outcome took place when the United States government started overemphasizing the issue of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Central Asia and overfunding the response to it. However, sex trafficking was never, in fact, a major issue in the region compared to labor trafficking. And the US government’s campaign resulted in increased harassment by domestic law enforcement of females travelling internationally. Moreover, it increased bureaucratic obstacles to travel and resulted in a related rise in corruption (Migration 21st Century, Issues 26–27, November–December 2014).
The radicalization of migrants in Russia is, therefore, best seen within a larger picture. In fact, Central Asian migrants compose only one of the groups of potential recruits in Russia. Furthermore, Central Asian governments would also likely prefer a more holistic response to this problem rather than a series of short-sighted reactive approaches to a recent phenomenon. The constant threat of radicalization among Central Asian populations has existed before, and has grown somewhat after these countries became independent. But these societies’ vulnerabilities have never reached the dramatic scale so often predicted by Western analysts. Regional governments, while confirming the existence of a threat—in particular in the immediate border areas with Afghanistan—have never attributed the main source of such dangers of radicalization to labor migrants returning from abroad.
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Islamic State suicide bombings and clashes between the militant group and Iraqi troops killed 13 soldiers in Iraq's western Anbar province on Wednesday, while in Syria, government forces retook an oil field recently captured by the militant group.
The U.N. Security Council's approval in establishing a new international body to assign blame for chemical attacks in Syria for the first time will be finalized and sent to Ban Ki-moon Thursday, Russia said Wednesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - A Texas man who prosecutors say was a secret agent who stole technology for the Russian military has pleaded guilty to federal charges in New York.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Alexander Fishenko pleaded guilty Wednesday to a slew of charges, including acting as an agent ...
ANALYSIS/OPINION
So in Tuesday's column, I wrote on my anger about aspects of the Iranian nuclear deal, but I promised to get over it and move on to a stage I called recognition.
I will — soon — but first it turns out I wasn't alone in my anger. New ...
A top Republican lawmaker warned Wednesday President Obama may be preparing to open "the floodgates" for Syrian war refugees to enter the U.S., even as the administration's top spy said intelligence officials have a "huge concern" the Islamic State aims to hide terrorists among the waves of people fleeing the ...
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 Deadline |
New Records Show CIA's Involvement in 'Zero Dark Thirty'
Deadline The CIA and the Pentagon regularly assist filmmakers whose scripts portray them in a positive light, while denying that same assistance to filmmakers whose scripts are critical of their operations. This happens even though the Supreme Court has ruled ... Zero Dark Thirty Producers Accused of Using Luxury Goods to Woo C.I.A.Vanity Fair The CIA and the Zero Dark Thirty Filmmakers: Who Used Who?The Atlantic The 'Zero Dark Thirty' filmmakers got pretty cozy with the CIAWashington Post (blog) New York Daily News -Daily Beast -Telegraph.co.uk all 11 news articles » |
Obama kept key Iran nuclear deal details from Congress, House Republicans allegeby Stephen Dinan, Anjali Shastry and Stephen Dinan, Anjali Shastry
House Republicans will attempt a last-ditch effort to derail the Iran nuclear agreement by asserting President Obama has withheld key details of the deal from Congress, meaning the 60-day period for Capitol Hill's review hasn't even begun, GOP lawmakers said Wednesday.
The move could create a legal hurdle for President ...
"We've never seen a malicious operation that hijacked satellite" connections to obtain data and to cover its tracks, a senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab said.
Alexander Fishenko was arrested in October 2012 amid a modernization campaign by Russian military officials hungry for restricted American-made components, investigators say.
Norway’s prime minister says it has received demand for a “significant ransom” for a Norwegian national kidnapped in Syria and detained by Islamic State.
Reports say Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet with the French and German leaders in Paris in early October to discuss efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
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British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says the conflict in Syria will continue unless Russia and Iran use their influence on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to reach a political solution.
Russian-American Pleads Guilty To Microelectronics Smuggling Charges by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
A Russian-American businessman has pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling sophisticated microelectronics from the United States to Moscow for use by Russian military and intelligence agencies.
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France discussed the contentious issue of holding local elections in separatist eastern Ukraine in a 90-minute telephone conversation September 9, the Kremlin said.
The terrorism-focused magazine renewed calls for assassinations and lone wolf attacks
The 28-year-old is hit with a charge which has rarely been used since World War Two after leaving his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
Moscow sends ships, aircraft and troops to support the Damascus regime following a series of battlefield setbacks, says the US.
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Former US vice-president Dick Cheney rails against the proposed Iran nuclear deal, saying it will have ‘profound’ and lasting consequences for the United States and the Middle East. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Cheney says the deal not only arms and funds a country that supports terrorism, but it also provides Iran with a clear pathway towards a nuclear arsenal
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Reports of growing Russian military activity in Syria are a cause for concern, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says on Wednesday. Lebanese sources said on Wednesday Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops. Stoltenberg joined other western leaders in calling for a political rather than military solution to the four-year-old multi-sided civil war, which has killed 250,000 people
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Texas senator has bucked the trend in supporting his Republican presidential rival
Kentucky clerk jailed for defying court order on gay marriage hailed as a martyr for religious liberty by some in Republican party
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Federal Aviation Administration issued directives to operators of aircraft using the GE90-85 engine for emergency remedial work
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 TIME |
Russia Has Officially Confirmed That It Has Military Experts in Syria
TIME Russian experts are in Syria to oversee arms deliveries from Moscow, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The remarks are the the first official confirmation of the Russian presence, Reuters reports. The revelation came a day after the ... and more » |
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 Telegraph.co.uk |
Why Russia is suddenly interested in Syria's civil war
The Globe and Mail For days now, reports have been circulating on increased Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war, including attacks against Islamic State with Russian aircraft and the appearance of more advanced Russian weaponry than heretofore seen. This prompted ... RAAF ready to target Islamic State headquartersThe Australian U.K. Would Accept Transition Regime in Syria, Hammond SaysBloomberg ISIS must be destroyed in the interests of civilisation, says Cameron as he ...Daily Mail Brisbane Times -Times of Oman -Sky News all 174 news articles » |
 BBC News |
Kayla Mueller murdered by IS, says Yazidi former sex slave
BBC News US hostage Kayla Mueller was murdered by Islamic State militants, and not killed in a coalition airstrike as IS claims, a former captive has said. According to a Yazidi woman who escaped after being held as a sex slave - one of thousands of women and ... American Kayla Mueller was forced to marry ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...New York Daily News American Kayla Mueller was tortured and raped as she was forced to marry ISIS ...Mirror.co.uk US aid worker had finger nails pulled out, was raped and then forced to marry ...Express.co.uk The Inquisitr -Daily Star -Breitbart News all 16 news articles » |
 TIME |
More Cuban Migrants Crossing to US by Sea
TIME More than 4,000 Cuban migrants have tried to enter the U.S. by sea since last October, even as tensions eased between the two countries. The figure, announced by the U.S. Coast Guard this week, marks nearly a 300-person increase over the same period ... Coast Guard: More Cuban Migrants Risking Sea CrossingsABC News USCGS: Cuban Migrants Spotted Off Key BiscayneCBS Local all 58 news articles » |
 The Nation |
Russia Said to Get Iran's Clearance for Syria-Bound Flights
New York Times MOSCOW — Iran has granted permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory en route to Syria, Russian news agencies said Wednesday, a bypass needed after Bulgaria refused overflights amid signs of a Russian military buildup in Syria that has ... Kremlin: It's no secret that Russia sends arms and advisors to SyriaLos Angeles Times Russian Build-Up Continues at Base in Syria, Causing Concern Among US OfficialsABC News Leonid Bershidsky: Vladimir Putin's gamble in SyriaNational Post Fox News all 779 news articles » |
 Los Angeles Times |
US warns Russia on military buildup in Syria
CNN Washington (CNN) America's top diplomat called his Russian counterpart Wednesday to warn that Moscow's military buildup of troops in Syria could escalate the bloody conflict there that has engulfed the region for more than four years. The U.S. has been ... US faces pressure to change its strategy in SyriaLos Angeles Times Russia Said to Get Iran's Clearance for Syria-Bound FlightsNew York Times Russia notes military advisers in Syria amid widening friction with WestWashington Post Reuters -ABC News -Fox News all 875 news articles » |
 ABC News |
British Airways Jet Bursts Into Flames at Las Vegas Airport
ABC News Exclusive new video from inside the plane just before takeoff when the plane went ablaze from the engine to the fuselage. 2:44 | 09/09/15. Share. Title. Description. Share From. Share With. Facebook. Tweet. </> Embed. Email. <br/><a ... British Airways fire: Other planes with same engine type are safe, General ...ABC Online The fury over 'hand luggage' plane evacueesBBC News Las Vegas Jet Fire Engine is Safe, Maker SaysNDTV Irish Independent -Irish Times -New Zealand Herald all 145 news articles » |
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Top US General: Islamic State Fight 'Stalemated'by webdesk@voanews.com (Carla Babb)
The fight against the Islamic State terror group has become "tactically stalemated," according to the United States' top general. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey told a small group of reporters, including VOA, Wednesday in Berlin that challenges on both sides recently have prevented the Islamic militants and the coalition members fighting against them from making any dramatic gains. The coalition has intercepted Islamic State supply chains, struck...
Iran Nuclear Deal Consumes Washingtonby webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman)
Debate over the international nuclear accord with Iran grew louder Wednesday in Washington. While the fate of the pact is no longer in doubt, presidential contenders and lawmakers of both parties made their voices heard across the city. VOA's Michael Bowman reports.
Debate over the international nuclear accord with Iran grew louder in Washington Wednesday. While the fate of the pact is no longer in doubt, presidential contenders and lawmakers of both parties made their voices heard across the city. VOA's Michael Bowman reports.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/iran-nuclear-deal-consumes-washington/2954940.html
CNN |
Syrian refugees: Which countries welcome them, which don't
CNN (CNN) The expanding Syrian refugee crisis highlights the differences among countries that welcome desperate migrants and those that don't. Some 4.1 million Syrians are fleeing a homeland riven by more than four years of civil war. Some countries have ... Syrian refugees could help America. We should welcome them.Washington Post Where the 2016 candidates stand on the Syrian refugee crisisCBS News Syrians seek a legal route to Europe without perilous boatsTODAYonline Herald Sun -The Australian -The Guardian all 377 news articles » |
USA TODAY |
Obama faces no easy answers to Syrian crisis
USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The images are heartbreaking, the crisis is escalating and the calls for action are getting louder. But for President Obama, there are no easy solutions to a Syrian refugee crisis — just as there were no easy answers to the four-year-old ... US plans to increase refugee intake next year: officialsReuters US to Accept More Refugees Next Year, Kerry SaysWall Street Journal Refugee Crisis: US Proposes Taking in 5000 More Refugees Next YearABC News The Guardian -Fox News -The Globe and Mail all 1,116 news articles » |
 New York Times |
Justice Department Sets Sights on Wall Street Criminals
New York Times WASHINGTON — Stung by years of criticism that it has coddled Wall Street criminals, the Justice Department issued new policies on Wednesday that prioritize the prosecution of individual employees — not just their companies — and put pressure on ... and more » |
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A German official said Tuesday the country can sustain up to 500,000 or more new asylum-seekers or more every year, a comment that comes as hundreds of thousands of people from war-torn countries across the Middle East and Africa are making their way to Europe to chase the promise of a better life.
But what’s the economic effect of so many migrants streaming into Germany? The country expects to receive 800,000 refugees and migrants by the end of 2015. That could cost as much as 10 billion euros, according to local government estimates. Next year, German officials estimate that as many as 460,000 more people could be entitled to social benefits.
Some anti-immigration groups argue foreigners are a drain on a country’s economy, as they seek to avail themselves of government services before contributing to the state themselves. But Germany has a long history of outsiders representing a net positive for the country’s economy. The 6.6 million people living in Germany with foreign passports paid $4,127 more in taxes and social security on average than they took in social benefits in 2012–generating a surplus of 22 billion euros that year, according to one report. German officials are hopeful that, in the long run, this summer’s new flood of refugees could result in a similar economic gain.
“We will profit from this, too, because we need immigration,” German Labor Minister Andrea Nahles said. “The people who come to us as refugees should be welcomed as neighbors and colleagues.”
Part of Germany’s rationale for allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants through the doors lies in demographics. Germany has one of the world’s most rapidly aging and shrinking populations. With one of the world’s lowest birthrates, the country relies on immigration to plug a growing workforce hole. According to one expert quoted in Deutsche Welle last year, the German economy needs to attract 1.5 million skilled migrants to stabilize the state pension system as more Germans retire. An influx of young migrants could improve the country’s dependency ratio, a measure of those over 65 compared to those of general working age between 15 and 64. According to current official estimates, every third German could be over 65 by 2060, leaving two workers to support each retiree.
Still, the jury is still hung on whether immigrants overall serve as drains or boosts to economies. According to one 2011 working paper from Harvard Business School, immigrants in Northern Europe have traditionally started off as a drain on state resources, though some of their wages tend to increase over time, allowing them to contribute back to the state.
Ultimately, whether or not this new wave of migrants helps or hinders Germany’s economy depends heavily on the skillsets they bring. Many of Germany’s current working foreigners — the ones that created the surplus mentioned above — are high-skilled workers from other European countries like Greece. In contrast, the migrants flooding into Germany right now may not be as well-trained. Though the research on the subject is thin, one estimate pegs more than half of refugees lack professional training. That means German policymakers will have to do a very good job of taking unskilled workers and incorporating them into the German labor force in a way that makes sense for long-term growth, whether that’s by incentivizing them to take low-skilled jobs or training them to do higher-level work.
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Russian experts are in Syria to oversee arms deliveries from Moscow, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The remarks are the the first official confirmation of the Russian presence, Reuters reports.
The revelation came a day after the United States asked Bulgaria and Greece to close their airspaces to two Russian transport planes that were bound for Syria, according to the New York Times.
Bulgaria agreed with Washington and denied air-access to the planes, citing fears that Russia was not transporting humanitarian aid as Moscow has claimed. Greece has not yet responded publicly.
Russia and the United States have not been able to agree on a solution to the conflict in Syria. Both see ISIS as a threat. But the two nations disagree on how to confront the terrorist group and the future of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
More than 4,000 Cuban migrants have tried to enter the U.S. by sea since last October, even as tensions eased between the two countries. The figure, announced by the U.S. Coast Guard this week, marks nearly a 300-person increase over the same period the previous year.
The release of figures followed an announcement that Coast Guard officials had returned 52 migrants to Cuba after intercepting vessels in the south Florida Straits. Cubans considering the tripreportedly fear that the U.S. may become more hostile to allowing Cuban migrants who reach land to stay in the country as a result of last year’s landmark deal improving relations between the U.S. and Cuba, according to the Associated Press.
“Coast Guard missions and operations in the Southeast remain unchanged. The Coast Guard strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea,” said Capt. Mark Gordon, Coast Guard 7th District chief of response enforcement, in a press release. “These trips are incredibly dangerous.”
French great stirs row from beyond the tomb
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz joined protesters at a rally against the Iran nuclear deal, calling the accord "catastrophic."
Some fifty refugees from Iraq and Syria -- including nine children -- arrive in Cergy-Pontoise, north-west of the French capital.
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New York prosecutors: Texas man pleads guilty to sending military technology to Russia
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Rising violence in southeast Turkey following the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and Kurdish insurgents will make it difficult to hold an election due on Nov. 1, the head of the pro-Kurdish parliamentary opposition said on Wednesday.
By Gabriela Baczynska, Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Phil Stewart
A top Russian law enforcement official has accused Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of fighting alongside Chechen rebels and torturing and killing Russian soldiers during Moscow's bloody war with separatists in the 1990s.
The United States is warning that a Russian military buildup in Syria could lead to a "confrontation" with the U.S.-led coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group.
Turkey Deploys Ground Forces In Iraq To Pursue Kurdsby support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
Turkey deployed ground forces across the border into northern Iraq September 8 for the first time since 2011 to pursue Kurdish militants involved in attacks that killed 31 Turkish police in recent days.
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The U.S. military says it will investigate an air strike carried out in southern Afghanistan after local officials said 11 counternarcotics agents were killed.
Gunmen in Baghdad kidnapped an acting deputy justice minister of Iraq September 8 and wounded his driver, officials said.
Why Belarus Is About To Get Interestingby support@pangea-cms.com (Brian Whitmore)
Since the Ukraine crisis, Belarus has carved out an independent stance and has distanced itself from Russia. That may be about to change.
The Investigative Committee of Russia says two masked men shot dead Magomed Khidirov early in the morning of September 9 while he was on his way to a mosque in Novy Kurush.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has acknowledged that Russian military experts were present in Syria.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's supporters in Ukraine have collected more than 26,000 signatures on a petition recommending him to become Ukraine's prime minister.
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Journalist Waylays Azerbaijan's First Lady In Parisby support@pangea-cms.com (Claire Bigg)
Azerbaijan's first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, enjoyed a warm welcome from French officials during her high-profile visit to Paris last week, including a tete-a-tete with President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace.
A new investigative report, however, reveals that a team of French journalists gave a significantly frostier reception to Aliyeva, whose husband has ruled the oil-rich Caucasus nation with an iron fist since succeeding his dying father in the job a decade ago.
A new investigative report, however, reveals that a team of French journalists gave a significantly frostier reception to Aliyeva, whose husband has ruled the oil-rich Caucasus nation with an iron fist since succeeding his dying father in the job a decade ago.
The program, Cash Investigation, broadcast on French national television on September 7, shows its reporter, Elise Lucet, approaching the first lady as she opens a photo exhibition held at a city hall in the heart of Paris and titled Azerbaijan, Land Of Tolerance.
"Is your country really a land of tolerance for you?" the reporter asks.
"Yes, of course," answers Aliyeva, looking slightly alarmed.
The journalist then points out that Azerbaijan, a country with one of the world's worst human rights records, has "many political prisoners in jail."
"How can you say that? It's not true," Aliyeva responds as she tries to inch away, advising the journalist to go and "get correct information."
"Yes, of course," answers Aliyeva, looking slightly alarmed.
The journalist then points out that Azerbaijan, a country with one of the world's worst human rights records, has "many political prisoners in jail."
"How can you say that? It's not true," Aliyeva responds as she tries to inch away, advising the journalist to go and "get correct information."
Unfazed, the reporter asks the first lady to comment on the cases of rights advocate Leyla Yunus and journalist Khadija Ismayilova, two leading critics of Aliyev's regime recently jailed amid an international outcry.
Aliyeva is seen turning her back without answering, while her security guards push the journalist away and order her to "be silent."
"We are in France," the reporter responds, adding that "journalists can ask questions in France."
As the inauguration festivities continue, Aliyeva eventually retreats into an office.
Aliyeva is seen turning her back without answering, while her security guards push the journalist away and order her to "be silent."
"We are in France," the reporter responds, adding that "journalists can ask questions in France."
As the inauguration festivities continue, Aliyeva eventually retreats into an office.
WATCH: Elise Lucet Challenges Mehriban Aliyeva
The exhibition was organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, run by Aliyeva and named after Ilham Aliyev's late father, who ruled Azerbaijan for a decade before his death in 2003.
In August, a court in Baku sentenced Leyla Yunus to 8 1/2 years in jail on charges of fraud, tax evasion, and illegal business activities in a trial widely regarded as retaliation for her human rights work.
Her ailing husband Arif, 60, was sentenced to seven years on charges of fraud.
Her ailing husband Arif, 60, was sentenced to seven years on charges of fraud.
Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RL, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison on strikingly similar charges.
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Clinton Calls For Tougher Response To Russia On Ukraine, Syria by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state who is now a leading contender to be the next president, has called for a stronger response to Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria, saying Moscow's objectives were "to stymie, to confront, and to undermine American power whenever and wherever."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has discussed the Syrian conflict with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry amid concerns in Washington about a Russian military buildup in the war-torn country.
Poisoned Chalice: Russian Loan Looms As Threat To Ukraine Bailout by support@pangea-cms.com (Charles Recknagel)
Two years ago, the Kremlin gave Kyiv a bailout loan to try to keep it loyal to Russia. Now Moscow is threatening to use the loan to trigger a cutoff of IMF funds to Ukraine if it defaults on repayment.
An independent inquiry contradicting the official account has renewed parents’ hopes and has brought new cynicism into the public’s perceptions of its leaders.
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