A crack unit of special agents and IT technicians are heading up the team assigned to what’s been touted as by law enforcement officers as an “extremely serious” investigation into Hillary Clinton’s Internet server. According to Fox News Channel’s Chief Intelligence Correspondent Catherine Herridge on Friday, the focus of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe includes the application of federal law regarding the handling, transmission and safeguarding of classified intelligence and sensitive data.

The section of the Espionage Act applicable to the Clinton server episode is known as 18 US Code 793. According to Herridge, in addition to the already known aspects of the law enforcement investigation, FBI agents from the counterintelligence division will attempt to determine whether or not Mrs. Clinton should have known that emails passing through her server contained classified information regardless of the markings. Experts in the area of intelligence gather and analysis claim that Hillary Clinton was not some underling at the State Department but the top diplomat who is responsible for policy and procedures.

According to 18 US Code §793, the Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information: “Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it…” –

Clinton’s campaign minions, her former staff members, Democratic Party politicians and her supporters within the nation’s newsrooms are quick to spout the standard talking points in defense of Clinton. A number of them appear on television news programs and radio talk show claiming that Mrs. Clinton “never sent nor received any email that was marked classified” during the period in question. According to Herridge, “It is not clear how the FBI team’s findings will impact the probe itself. But the details offer a window into what investigators are looking for — as the Clinton campaign itself downplays the controversy.”

While several experts have discussed the seriousness of the allegations on Fox News and other media outlets, the Examiner spoke with a former New York Police Department Intelligence Division detective who said what has been reported appears not only to have been criminal activity, but that the violation of 18 US Code §793 as described in the federal penal code by those involved is a serious felony.

In addition, the Code of Federal Regulations reads: “Any person who has knowledge that classified information has been or may have been lost, possibly compromised or disclosed to an unauthorized person(s) shall immediately report the circumstances to an official designated for this purpose.”

According to Christopher Farrell, director of investigations for Judicial Watch and a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, besides Hillary Clinton, her two aides, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, disregarded a federal judge’s order this month requiring both to make sworn statements to the court that all government documents in their possession will be returned to federal officials, “What we have is a secretary of state, the only cabinet official in our history, who established her own private email server … in an effort to avoid the normal protocols for unclassified and classified communications. It’s an end run,” he told counterterrorism expert Bill Gertz.

Farrell, in a briefing on the Clinton email affair at the Judicial Watch offices, said supporters of Clinton have sought to portray the use of the private email system to send classified information as a minor administrative matter. To Catherine Herridge’s credit, Fox News was first to report, Aug. 19, that two emails — from aides Huma Abedin and Jake Sullivan — with classified information kick-started the FBI probe, a point not disputed by the Clinton campaign.

One former police investigator who trains cops in interview and interrogation techniques claims if he handled the case he would “target” Mrs. Clinton’s aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills. “Although Clinton and her crafty lawyer David Kendall can assert that she didn’t send or receive classified information — it’s believed they removed security classification from the material — her aides are stumped. They can’t make that claim,” said Philip Reardon. “That’s when you start waving a ‘plea deal’ under their noses and offer them a ‘break’ if they inform on Mrs. Clinton. Otherwise, Clinton will never talk,” said Reardon.

Following Monday’s historic stock market downturn, many politicians and so-called economic experts rushed to the microphones to explain why the market crashed and to propose “solutions” to our economic woes. Not surprisingly, most of those commenting not only failed to give the right answers, they failed to ask the right questions.

Many blamed the crash on China’s recent currency devaluation. It is true that the crash was caused by a flawed monetary policy. However, the fault lies not with China’s central bank but with the US Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies distort the economy, creating bubbles, which in turn create a booming stock market and the illusion of widespread prosperity. Inevitably, the bubble bursts, the market crashes, and the economy sinks into a recession.

An increasing number of politicians have acknowledged the flaws in our monetary system. Unfortunately, some members of Congress think the solution is to force the Fed to follow a “rules-based” monetary policy. Forcing the Fed to “follow a rule” does not change the fact that giving a secretive central bank the power to set interest rates is a recipe for economic chaos. Interest rates are the price of money, and, like all prices, they should be set by the market, not by a central bank and certainly not by Congress.

Instead of trying to “fix” the Federal Reserve, Congress should start restoring a free-market monetary system. The first step is to pass the Audit the Fed legislation so the people can finally learn the full truth about the Fed. Congress should also pass legislation ensuring individuals can use alternative currencies free of government harassment.

When bubbles burst and recessions hit, Congress and the Federal Reserve should refrain from trying to “stimulate” the economy via increased spending, corporate bailouts, and inflation. The only way the economy will ever fully recover is if Congress and the Fed allow the recession to run its course.

Of course, Congress and the Fed are unlikely to “just stand there” if the economy further deteriorates. There have already been reports that the Fed will use last week’s crash as an excuse to once again delay raising interest rates. Increased spending and money creation may temporally boost the economy, but eventually they will lead to a collapse in the dollar’s value and an economic crisis more severe than the Great Depression.

Ironically, considering how popular China-bashing has become, China’s large purchase of US Treasury notes has helped the US postpone the day of reckoning. The main reason countries like China are eager to help finance our debt is the dollar’s world reserve currency status. However, there are signs that concerns over the US government’s fiscal irresponsibility and resentment of our foreign policy will cause another currency (or currencies) to replace the dollar as the world reserve currency. If this occurs, the US will face a major dollar crisis.

Congress will not adopt sensible economic policies until the people demand it. Unfortunately, while an ever-increasing number of Americans are embracing Austrian economics, too many Americans still believe they must sacrifice their liberties in order to obtain economic and personal security. This is why many are embracing a charismatic crony capitalist who is peddling a snake oil composed of protectionism, nationalism, and authoritarianism.

Eventually the United States will have to abandon the warfare state, the welfare state, and the fiat money system that fuels leviathan’s growth. Hopefully the change will happen because the ideas of liberty have triumphed, not because a major economic crisis leaves the government with no other choice.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

August was a bad month for Muslims in the United Kingdom. Unprovoked and vicious attacks against practicing Muslims left one dead and others seriously injured. The victims were all British citizens and the local press was quick to report the incidents without linking them to the growing Islamophobia affecting segments of English society, particularly people belonging to the blue collar class.

In the first incident, an 81-year-old grandfather, a pensioner, who was on his way to the local mosque in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in the early hours of the morning to offer his prayers, was blindsided by some men and viciously kicked and beaten. According to the chief inspector overseeing the investigation, the victim, Mohsen Ahmad “was dressed in traditional clothing on his way to the mosque when he was attacked, which is one possible motive for the attack upon him”.

He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and died a few days later. Two men from the town have since been charged with assault with intent. An official of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said: “This is an absolutely disgusting and horrific crime against an elderly man. We hope the perpetrators are brought to justice and serve a time fitting that of taking the life of a ‘gentle’ grandfather. More recently, we have seen a worrying upsurge in attacks on Muslims. We urge our government and police to do more to tackle this menace head-on and have a strategy in place to counter the growth in hate crimes against Muslims.”

In another incident, a gang of youths set upon a male Muslim nurse and beat him up badly in broad daylight. The incident happened in the town of Stockport in Greater Manchester. Nine members of a white youth gang pounced on Qaiser Hamid, the 37-year-old nurse while he was shopping on the main street at the town center. It started with a teenage girl shouting about his beard and racially abusing him before her male friends began punching him in the face.

Qaiser, was later rushed to the hospital for treatment to cuts and bruises to his face, including a deep gash to his nose. The incident has scarred him mentally. “I got punched by one of them and I tried to defend myself … then they were all hitting me. I took lots of blows. The shop was covered in blood as I was bleeding all over the place. It was completely unprovoked. I don’t feel good and I don’t want to go back to Stockport. I have been really affected psychologically and struggle to get out of the house. It was definitely racially motivated. They kept mentioning my beard and my wife was wearing a headscarf.”

It took the Stockport police more than 15 minutes to respond to the attack, after being called in by the neighborhood shopkeepers, while the gang loitered nearby and continued to shout threats before dispersing. The excuse from the police was: “We’ve had quite a lot of youths congregating around Stockport center over the last week and it culminated into this incident. Officers got to it as quickly as they could, but had a lot of other incidents to deal with around the same time.”

In Nelson, Lancashire, two men on their way to the mosque on two separate occasions were shot at with air rifles. The first incident happened when a 58-year-old man was hit in the back of his head as he was getting into his car at the parking area near the mosque after offering evening prayers. Less than 24 hours later, a similar incident occurred at the same car park when a 56-year-old man was hit by a pellet in his neck as he was on his way to the mosque. Both men sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment at hospital. Somebody has been using Muslims on their way to offer prayers as target practice. A statement released by the police was not very reassuring.

An inspector from the police said: “At this stage, the motive behind these incidents is unclear and we are yet to establish whether the two are linked. We understand these incidents may cause concern in the area and I would like to reassure residents that there will be an increased police presence. An investigation to find out who is responsible is already under way and I would urge people to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.”

Hello officers! Open your eyes. Haven’t you heard of hate crimes? All three incidents involved victims who were going about their business and were intercepted by thugs. It does not need deep analysis to understand the motivation behind these incidents. Dismissing the racial and ethnic motives behind such violence is brushing it under the carpet. The consequences will be that both nonviolent and violent abuses will become more frequent.

While mainstream British media played down the Islamophobia angle, all these crimes were hate crimes and must be investigated thoroughly. The UK government has to recognize this growing disease and institute a national strategy to combat it.

This article appeared at Gulf News and is reprinted with permission.

South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister Ednah Molewa said 749 rhino were lost to poachers so far this year.

The Minister said this when briefing the media on interventions that the department, as well as the rest of the security cluster, have implemented to fight rhino poaching.

“… by Thursday August 27, 2015, the number of rhino we lost to poachers was 749 for the whole country.

“Of these, 544 were poached in the Kruger National Parks,” she said on Sunday.

The Minister said by this time last year, 716 rhino were poached across the country, with 459 of them falling prey to poachers in the Kruger National Park.

“This means that outside of the Kruger National Park, poaching has decreased across the rest of the country – evidence that our law enforcement authorities led by the South African Police Service are playing a key role in stabilising poaching in the rest of South Africa.

“I have constantly emphasized, were it not for the measures we have undertaken as part of the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros the situation would be worse, given the escalation of poacher activity,” she said.

The Minister released the statistics at the back of anti-poaching efforts – which includes pro-active anti-poaching and actionable intelligence strategies as well as implementing conservation measures to ensure that rhino species does not go extinct.

She said government’s anti-poaching efforts were being undertaken in the face of a 27% increase in poachers entering the Kruger National Park to attempt to kill rhino.

She said that during 2015, there have been 1 617 positively identified poacher activities in the Kruger National Park.

This represented three incursions per day anywhere along the thousand kilometre-long Kruger National Park boarder, the Minister said.

She said government’s anti-poaching agencies and rangers have made physical contact with heavily-armed poachers 95 times so far this year, which is closer to three times a week.

“In response to this escalated threat, we have stepped up our efforts, which includes traditional anti-poaching strategies.

“In this regard, the utilization of K-9 units, night capability as well as air and land capability, is now bearing fruit.

“The total number of arrests inside the Kruger National Park was 138 for this year compared to 81 arrests for the same period last year as at 27 August 2015.

“A good example of the outcome of our increased effort was during the month of July when 35 arrests were made in Kruger National alone,” she said.

The Minister also said that government was particularly proud of the work done by law enforcement agencies so far.

“For instance this cooperation led to the arrest of eight poachers in extended operation over 24 hours in the south of the Kruger National Park as part of operation Southern Comfort.

“Two heavy-caliber rifles, ammunition and poaching equipment were seized during this operation,” she said.

She said the Kruger National Park has also received donations of high-tech night vision equipment to the tune of R3.4 million that levels the playing field, and poachers can now also be spotted through thermal detectors.

Plan to step-up conservation

Minister Molewa said President Jacob Zuma would soon launch a long-term plan which aims to conserve the rhino species.

“We aim to strengthen community involvement and participation in conservation through the much-anticipated implementation of the Biodiversity Economy Strategy which will be launched by President Jacob Zuma at the upcoming Biodiversity Economy Indaba.

“At the core of this strategy is a wildlife sector transformation agenda to ensure provision of sustainable alternative livelihood strategies for our communities, which will assist in curbing poaching as well.

“This strategy seeks to promote inclusive economic opportunities, reflected by a sector which will be equitable and dictate fair processes and procedures in the distribution of natural resources and access to markets, and undertaking projects that will assist to uplift the financial and economic status of our people,” she said.

Although some people in the general public remain skeptical about the impacts of ocean acidification, a growing number of professionals who make their living off the ocean have become believers.

A newly published survey found that more than 80 percent of respondents from the United States shellfish industry on the West Coast are convinced that acidification is having consequences – a figure more than four times higher than that of public perception, researchers say. About half of the people in the industry report having already experienced some impact from acidification.

Results of the study, led by researchers at Oregon State University, are being published this week in the Journal of Shellfish Research. It was funded by Oregon Sea Grant.

“The shellfish industry recognizes the consequences of ocean acidification for people today, people in this lifetime, and for future generations – to a far greater extent than the U.S. public,” said Rebecca Mabardy, a former OSU graduate student and lead author on the study. “The good news is that more than half of the respondents expressed optimism – at least, guarded optimism – for the industry’s ability to adapt to acidification.”

The mechanisms causing ocean acidification are complex and few in the shellfish industry initially understood the science behind the issue, noted George Waldbusser, an OSU marine ecologist who has worked with Northwest oyster growers on mitigating the effects of ocean acidification. However, he added, many have developed a rather sophisticated understanding of the basic concepts of carbon dioxide impacts on the ocean and understand the risks to their enterprise.

“Many have seen the negative effects of acidified water on the survival of their juvenile oysters – and those who have experienced a direct impact obviously have a higher degree of concern about the issue,” Waldbusser pointed out. “Others are anticipating the effects of acidification and want to know just what will happen, and how long the impacts may last.”

“Because of some of the success we’ve had in helping some hatcheries adapt to changing conditions, there is a degree of optimism that the industry can adapt,” added Waldbusser, who was Mabardy’s mentor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at OSU.

Waldbusser’s colleague Burke Hales has worked with the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery and others to create a chemical monitoring and treatment regimen for seawater. Waldbusser’s research has shown there is a fine line in how quickly larval oysters must develop their shell at a stage when they are most vulnerable to the corrosiveness of acidified water.

Shellfish industry leaders were asked who should take the lead in responding to the challenges of acidification and their strong preference was the shellfish industry itself, followed by academic researchers. A majority said that any governmental regulations should be led by federal agencies, followed by the state and then local government.

“As a whole, the industry felt that they should be working closely with the academic community on acidification issues,” Waldbusser said. “In the spirit of full disclosure, there were some people who reported a distrust of academics – though without any specifics – so we clearly have some work to do to establish credibility with that subset of the industry.”

Among the other findings:

• Of those respondents who said they have been affected by ocean acidification, 97 percent reported financial damage, while 68 percent cited emotional stress.
• The level of concern reported by industry was: 36 percent, extremely concerned; 39 percent, very concerned; 20 percent, somewhat concerned; 4 percent, not too concerned; and 1 percent, not at all concerned.
• Most respondents felt that ocean acidification was happening globally (85 percent), along the U.S. West Coast (86 percent), and in their local estuary (84 percent).

“One thing that came out of this survey is that we learned that not only is the shellfish industry experiencing and acknowledging ocean acidification,” Mabardy said, “they are committed to learning about the issue and its implications for their business. They want to share their insights as they are forced into action.”

“The next step is to continue shifting conversations about ocean acidification from acknowledgement of the problem, toward solution-oriented strategies,” she added.

Since graduating from OSU, Mabardy has worked at Taylor Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Washington and is now beginning a position as the outreach and project coordinator for the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association.

It’s easy enough to mock the grandiosity of ISIS propaganda, but it should be just as easy to see how its slick video productions appeal to its targeted audience.

In its latest release, ISIS introduces its newly minted currency: the gold dinar (and explains why coins with a fixed value are useful because it’s impractical to pay for a house with dates). And, as though to signify its successful penetration across America’s borders, the message is delivered in an American accent.

At the same time as it appeals to dreams of a caliphate — dreams that increasingly take tangible forms — ISIS also taps into currents of dissent which resonate in many quarters across the globe, such as anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism, laced with anti-Semitism.

As much as ISIS is commonly condemned for its medieval barbarism, what receives less attention than it deserves is the degree to which the group in its propaganda is engaged in forms of populism that have social and political traction in the West far outside jihadist circles.

Within a few hours, the video had been removed from YouTube, but it can still be viewed here.

Bloomberg reports: Islamic State first announced its intention to issue its own money in November, five months after it seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced a caliphate. The move was seen by analysts as part of the group’s efforts to build the institutions of a functioning state.

The jihadists have amassed a war chest of millions of dollars, partly through collecting taxes, and by seizing oil refineries. Bank and jewelry store robberies, extortion, smuggling and kidnapping for ransom are other important sources of revenue for the group, which metes out brutal punishment to anyone who opposes its rule, including beheadings and crucifixions.

Baghdad-based economist Basim Jameel said the announcement is an attempt to boost the morale of Islamic State fighters, who have suffered battlefield setbacks in recent months, including the loss of Tikrit in March.
Minting the coins is relatively easy, Jameel said, as goldsmiths in Mosul imported machines from Italy in recent years, each one able to produce about 5,000 coins a day. The metals probably come from banks the group seized, ransoms, the homes of Christians and other minorities who fled, he said. [Continue reading…]

The country is expecting the long-awaited new constitution, and the Assembly is busily engaged in producing the final draft. Just as during the last Constituent Assembly, religion, ethnicity and the forms of federalism have emerged as major contentious issues and stumbling blocks. While the demand for the restoration of Nepal’s Hindu status is gaining ground, the idea of secularism remains a most contentious and sensitive issue that must not lightly be rejected. Experience and history demonstrate that the politics of caste and religion are not easy to handle. Is it not time for a proper discourse on secularism within the Assembly, within the political parties and across society as a whole?

Secularism implies a strict separation of state from religion. Under this philosophy, people of all religions and beliefs as well as those of none are treated equally. Secularism is not about marginalizing religious people: nor does it set an anti-religious agenda. In fact, it involves merely the removal of god from State activity, leaving individuals to decide their own relationship with their own god. Many questions must be asked today. Are people sufficiently aware of what is meant by “secular state” in our context? Have we taught the general public about it and its consequences? Are we being too emotional and sentimental in our constitution drafting? Are we mentally, physically and socially ready to accept drastic changes that could result overnight? I wish to add a few points about secularism for all of us to think about before we start to finalise the constitution.

Firstly, every society is guided by its social norms, values, traditions, customs and most importantly its religion. Ours is no different. These social values have become so important that they dictate our way of life. For us social rituals, ceremonies and festivals have traditionally been conducted according to the Hindu religion. Our laws have been guided by the Hindu philosophy, which has been rooted in our country for thousands of years. Surely the Hindu religion with its glorious past, its civilization and culture, is a rich inheritance for all of us?

Having said that, though, I strongly believe that secularism offers a fair democratic solution to the diverse social problems of the twenty first century. Declaring Nepal to be a secular state is the need of the day, but there are a few serious questions for all of us to think about. How are we going to formulate policies and laws in a changed scenario? Have we given sufficient thought to the role of beliefs, values and faith in our public life? Do we need to banish all Hindu symbolism, rooted as it is in our history, in order to become truly secular? Is it possible to banish religion entirely from our public sphere? Most importantly, according to the 2011 national census, 81.3 per cent of people are Hindu in Nepal. How shall we convince Hindu hardliners who are demanding a Hindu state that secularism seeks to ensure and protect the freedom of religious belief and practice among all citizens?

Secondly, around one hundred countries – developed and under-developed – in the world have incorporated secularism in their constitution. For instance, Article 4 of Fiji’s constitution explicitly guarantees religious liberty stating that religious belief is personal and that religion and the State are separate. The United States also has no official religion at federal or state level, but the Bible is used for oaths in court, or by the President for his oath of office. Have we given enough attention to international constitutional practice on secularism and its implications and consequences? Have we conducted sufficient research on the issue before we decide to insert the concept of secularism into our constitution?

Finally, has there been enough debate and have we created enough public awareness on this sensitive subject? Secularism means many things; it is about treating all people equally; it is about creating a common culture within diversity; it is about accepting diversity and toleration in society. It is about pluralism and certainly not about encouraging atheism in society. It is not about the rejection of the existence of any god. It is about state neutrality and protecting all gods and religious beliefs and faith groups. Religion is a most sensitive issue that emotionally affects people in all walks of life. Have our politicians taken the issue seriously enough?

Clear language

I strongly believe that, for Nepal, moderate inclusive secularism is capable of achieving a positive result. The constitution needs to state in clear and simple language that Nepal is a secular state. Ambiguous and controversial statements such as ‘all individuals will have their religious freedoms’ must be avoided, as should controversial provisions similar to those enshrined in the constitutions of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Religion and faith must be left to the individual as a matter of personal choice. Religion must become a private business truly between an individual and his god.

We must use rational reasoning when we deal with religious beliefs. We must conduct more homework before we insert anything of this nature into the final draft of our new constitution. We must consult, cooperate and convince all stakeholders and faith groups, including those who are demanding a Hindu state. Is it not the time to listen to the voiceless, the marginalized and the minorities? If we ignore and neglect their demands, the consequences could be awful. We may be digging our own grave by planting the seeds of permanent conflict among the different ethnicities, religions and beliefs. In that case, no god, no ideology, no leader and no law may be able to prevent future catastrophe.

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfils himself in many ways… “ — Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Morte D’Arthur

The old order, unsatisfactory though it was, had become commonplace through long usage, like a worn but comfortable garment. We had, in the words of the Lerner and Loewe song, grown accustomed to its face – namely Israel, a tiny island of Western values set in a hostile and often turbulent Islamic sea, marginally bolstered by lukewarm peace treaties with two of its neighbors, Jordan and Egypt. The consensus, accepted on all sides, was that the perennial Israel-Palestinian dispute was the major cause of instability in the Middle East. Solve that, ran the mantra, and the Middle East would morph into a haven of sweetness and light. Until that happy day, the face of Islam would be set implacably against Israel, the foe of foes.

But out of the innumerable peace negotiations over the years, one inescapable truth emerged. Short of committing hara-kari, Israel could never offer enough. No Palestinian leader, not Yasser Arafat nor Mahmoud Abbas nor anyone who might succeed Abbas, dare sign an agreement that recognizes Israel’s right to exist on what the Palestinian narrative defines as historic Palestine. It would probably be more than his life was worth. From the Palestinian perspective, the insurmountable obstacle lodged within the two-state solution is that one of the states must be Israel. As a result, a state of perpetual antagonism between the Arab world and Israel seemed frozen solid.

The thawing process began with the so-called Arab Spring, back in 2010. If that revolutionary fervor, spreading like wildfire from nation to nation, demonstrated anything, it was that instability had become endemic within the Arab body politic. The Israel-Palestinian conflict counted for very little when set against the burning discontent of the Arab masses with the repression, human rights abuses, state censorship, and other trammels of dictatorship or absolute monarchy under which most existed.

From the flames of the Arab Spring arose, phoenix-like, what is now known as Islamic State (IS). IS gave a quasi-religious vindication to the secular discontent. Its brutality, its utter disregard for accepted standards of humanity – justified in the name of its Islamist philosophy – seem to enhance its appeal in the eyes of Muslim youth the world over, and they flock to its banner.

The mushroom growth of IS, in terms both of territory and influence, is one of the two factors that have conspired to engender a new reality in Middle East politics. The second is the parallel burgeoning of political power and influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Just as IS’s self-appointed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declares his intention to impose his version of sharia law on the entire world, so too does Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei – the former proclaiming an extreme version of Sunni Islam, the latter an extreme version of Shia. And just as IS justifies any action, however bloodthirsty or brutal, in support of its aims, so too does Iran, which has developed into the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.

In pursuit of its dream of religious and regional dominance, Iran has indulged in constant attempts, both open and covert, to strike against Western interests and to undermine stable Sunni states across the Middle East. The extent of the concern of Sunni states about the threat posed by Iran was revealed as far back as 2010, in the first batch of some 250,000 confidential documents published by WikiLeaks.

The distinguished Israeli journalist, Ari Shavit, maintained that the WikiLeaks documents “proved that the settlements, the occupation and even the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were not the main problem in the Middle East (but) that the entire Arab world is currently busy with one problem only – Iran, Iran, Iran.”

The leaked cables disclosed that at the time Arab leaders were campaigning for a US attack on Iran’s growing nuclear programme. For example, Saudi Arabia’s then King Abdullah “frequently exhorted” the US to bomb Iran and “cut the head off the snake.” He warned Washington that if Iran acquired nuclear weapons, “everyone in the region would do the same, including Saudi Arabia.”

Abu Dhabi’s crown prince is reported to have urged Americans to “take out” Iran’s nuclear capacity, or even send ground troops. The king of Bahrain said the US “must terminate” Iran’s nuclear programme, “by whatever means necessary”. Zeid Rifai, then president of Jordan’s senate, said: “Bomb Iran, or live with an Iranian bomb.”

So whatever their public pronouncements, the true opinion of Arab leaders about the recently announced nuclear deal with Iran requires little imagination. It accords precisely with the rooted opposition expressed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Strengthening Iran’s political clout by endorsing it as a breakout nuclear power is a recipe for continued instability in the Middle East.

In short, both Iran and IS have become existential threats not only to Israel, but to a swathe of Sunni Arab states. Never have the interests of the Arab world and Israel been closer. Which explains why Israel, in its first arms deal with an Arab country, has just sold Jordan twelve advanced unmanned drones. They are urgently needed by the Jordanian Royal Air Force to strengthen the anti-IS campaign being waged across Jordan’s borders in Iraq and Syria. According to Debkafile, a usually trustworthy website concerned with Middle East security, secret operations against IS are being run by a joint US-Jordanian-Israeli war room sited north of Amman.

In recent years, media reports assert, Israeli officials have met counterparts from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf at nuclear non-proliferation talks in Switzerland. The recently appointed director-general of Israel’s foreign ministry, Dore Gold, and retired Saudi general Anwar Eshki actually appeared together at a Washington conference in June.

That there is unprecedentedly close Egypt-Israel military cooperation in Sinai, combatting IS terrorism, is no longer a secret, but recent reports have suggested covert security cooperation also between Israel and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders. Regular, secret flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv have recently been documented, despite the ostensible ban on Israeli citizens entering the UAE.

Even popular anti-Israeli sentiment within these countries may be shifting. A recent poll of Saudi public opinion found that an overwhelming majority regarded either Iran or Islamic State as the major threat. Only a small minority cited Israel as their primary concern, while an astonishing 24 percent of those polled believed that Saudi Arabia should fight Iran alongside Israel.

A change of atmosphere can certainly be detected, but despite covert cooperation, sober reality continues to rule. Mordechai Zaken, a Middle East expert, believes that between the Arab world and Israel, there is “no love, only interests… Most Arab countries would not be happy to declare and expose their relations or cooperation with Israel. In the Middle East, it is not something to brag about.”

An Arab-Israel axis may be in the making, but Utopia is not around the corner.

By Sofia Rada

Amid a growing political crisis in Guatemala, the country’s Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on August 25 to approve a motion by the attorney general to impeach the president.[1] The attorney general identified President Otto Pérez Molina as the head of a corruption scheme that led to the resignation of the country’s vice president and a number of other senior officials. The growing crisis has mired the president’s administration for much of this year, but until now the opposition has been unable to get enough votes in congress to lift the immunity granted to Pérez Molina by Guatemalan law.

As opposition to his continuance in office mounted, Guatemalan President Pérez Molina announced on August 23 through a televised address that he would not resign.[2] He categorically denied all claims that he has ties to the corruption scandal, which led to the May resignation of the country’s former vice president, Roxana Baldetti, who was arrested on August 21 and taken to court. The scandal concerns the funneling of taxes into private accounts and offering discounted custom rates for under-the-table payments.[3] Despite growing protests and increasing pressure from those who oppose his continued rule, however, the president continues to reject any responsibility and does not show signs of succumbing to demands for his resignation.[4]

In a statement sent via email to COHA, a U.S. Department of State Spokesperson said the department was closely monitoring the situation in Guatemala. The spokesperson reaffirmed the department’s support in “transparent, independent and impartial legal processes” and noted that the CICIG “has been a proven partner of both the government and people of Guatemala in their efforts to promote the rule of law.” The spokesperson did acknowledge the recent request by Guatemalan prosecutors for the right to impeach the president, but also urged all parties to respect the schedule of national elections and the Guatemalan constitutional process. Earlier in May, the State Department had issued a press release expressing its support of President Pérez Molina and his administration in efforts to address the issue of corruption in Guatemala. The State Department had also urged Guatemalans to support government institutions in investigations and prosecution of corruption and encouraged the president to work closely with the CICIG. However, the CICG has now identified Pérez Molina as complicit in the corruption scandal.

President Pérez Molina has long been a controversial figure. During the rule of former dictator Efrain Ríos Montt, who is currently facing trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the 1980s, Pérez Molina held the position of field commander.[5] Although Pérez Molina played a role in the slaughter of innocent Guatemalans during his time at this post, the Guatemalan president could potentially have to step down from office and be tried for a series of criminal acts committed under his own administration.[6]

Guatemala’s attorney general and the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a U.N.-backed anti-corruption body, were responsible for the motion to impeach the president that has been approved by Supreme Court.[7] After months of investigation, the CICIG identified Pérez Molina as being at the top of a mafia structure involved in the major swindling of state customs and other resources.[8] According to the findings of the investigation, the structure had control of over 50 percent of the state taxes through this body known as “La Línea,” or “The Line,” an allusion to the phone number used to establish the contacts that allowed the illicit evasion.

During his televised address, however, the Guatemalan president insisted: “”I reject any claims that I had any involvement in [the scandal] and that I have received any money from the customs fraud operation, my conscience is clear.”[9] He apologized for the scandal, but also criticized the international community who he said were “seeking to intervene” in Guatemalan democracy. [10] He did not specify to whom he was referring with this self-serving remark.

Despite these claims by the president, hundreds of Guatemalans returned to the Presidential Palace to protest against the country’s corruption and demand Pérez Molina’s resignation.[11] There have been weekly protests in Guatemala City demanding his immediate resignation since April, but protestors have announced that demonstrations will gain intensity.[12] The Catholic Church also issued a call for the president’s resignation.[13]

The Guatemalan diplomat to the United Nations resigned on August 25, adding to the list of public officials who have left office amid the scandal unraveling.[14] The diplomat, Fernando Carrera, also issued a statement calling for a resignation of the president due to his involvement in “La Línea.” While not officially linked to the scandal, five other government ministers have resigned over the past week.[15] Guatemalan Finance Minister Dorval Carias resigned on August 24 as the ministry was preoccupied with forming next year’s budget. Communications Minister Victor Corado resigned on the same day and three other ministers stepped down a number of days before. Back in May, the scandal had forced Pérez Molina to fire several senior cabinet ministers. Therefore, members of the Guatemalan government have left office in increasing numbers over the past four months.

It is in this atmosphere of tension and pressure that Guatemala gears toward its upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for September. Pérez Molina cannot run for reelection by law.[16] However, with mounting protests, pressure and the call for impeachment, President Pérez Molina might have to leave office before his term officially ends. Without a resignation or impeachment, though, he would remain in office until a newly elected president’s term is initiated at the start of next year.

*Sofia Rada, Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs

Notes:
[1] http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/americas/guatemala-president-scandal/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9nCkEofqoc

[3] “http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Guatemalas-Explosive-Corruption-Scandal-in-60-Seconds-20150825-0008.html”.

[4] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/25/us-guatemala-corruption-idUSKCN0QU09020150825

[5] http://www.democracynow.org/2015/8/24/in_guatemala_protests_threaten_to_unseat

[6] http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Guatemala-Court-Suspends-Dictator-Rios-Montts-Genocide-Trial–20150818-0041.html

[7] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/24/bribery-scandal-grips-guatemala-ex-vice-president-allegations

[8] http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2015/08/24/actualidad/1440387465_951157.html

[9] http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/24/pais/presidente-otto-perez-se-aferra-al-poder-y-arremete-contra-empresarios/

[10] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/24/bribery-scandal-grips-guatemala-ex-vice-president-allegations

[11] http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/24/pais/presidente-otto-perez-se-aferra-al-poder-y-arremete-contra-empresarios/

[12] http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/americas/guatemala-president-scandal/; http://elperiodico.com.gt/2015/08/24/pais/presidente-otto-perez-se-aferra-al-poder-y-arremete-contra-empresarios/

[13] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/world/americas/calls-grow-in-guatemala-for-president-to-resign.html?_r=0

[14] http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Renuncia-embajador-de-Guatemala-ante-la-ONU-20150826-0019.html

[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/25/us-guatemala-corruption-idUSKCN0QU09020150825

[16] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/25/us-guatemala-corruption-idUSKCN0QU09020150825

Eni has made a world class supergiant gas discovery at its Zohr Prospect, in the deep waters of Egypt. The discovery well Zohr 1X NFW is located in the economic waters of Egypt’s Offshore Mediterranean, in 4,757 feet of water depth (1,450 metres), in the Shorouk Block, signed in January 2014 with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) following a competitive international Bid Round.

According to the well and seismic information available, the discovery could hold a potential of 30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas in place (5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place) covering an area of about 100 square kilometres. Zohr is the largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea and could become one of the world’s largest natural-gas finds. This exploration success will give a major contribution in satisfying Egypt’s natural gas demand for decades.

Eni will immediately appraise the field with the aim of accelerating a fast track development of the discovery that will utilize at best the existing offshore and onshore infrastructures.

Zohr 1X NFW was drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,553 feet (4,131 metres) and hit 2,067 feet (630 metres) of hydrocarbon column in a carbonate sequence of Miocene age with excellent reservoir characteristics (400 metres plus of net pay). Zohr’s structure has also a deeper Cretaceous upside that will be targeted in the future with a dedicated well.

Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, has recently travelled to Cairo to update Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, on this important success, and discuss this discovery with the Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, and the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Sherif Ismail.

“It’s a very important day for Eni and its people. This outstanding result confirms our expertise and our technological innovation capacity with immediate operational application, and above all shows the strength of the cooperation spirit amongst all the company’s units which are at the foundation of our great successes. Our exploration strategy allows us to persist in the mature areas of countries which we have known for decades and has proved to be winning, reconfirming that Egypt has still great potential. This historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt in which we have been welcomed for over 60 years. The exploration activities are central to our growth strategy: in the last 7 years we have discovered 10 billion barrels of resources and 300 million in the first half of the year, confirming Eni’s leading position in the industry. This exploration success acquires an even greater value as it was made in Egypt which is strategic for Eni, and where important synergies with the existing infrastructures can be exploited allowing us a fast production startup‘, Claudio Descalzi commented.

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC Production B.V., holds a 100% of the Contractor’s working interest in the Shorouk Block and is the operator of the concession. Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 through its subsidiary IEOC, a company which has always been a frontrunner in exploring and exploiting gas resources in Egypt since the discovery of the Abu Maadi Field in 1967.

By Ajit Kumar Singh*

August 24, 2015, turned out to be the bloodiest day in Nepal since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of November 21, 2006, when the then Nepal Prime Minister (PM) Girija Prasad Koirala and Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist [CPN-M, now known as Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M)] Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, agreed on the terms to bring the Maoist insurgency to an end. On August 24, 2015, at least 20 people – 17 policemen, including the Superintendent of Police of the Seti Zone, Laxman Neupane, and three protesters – were killed and over 100 others were injured in clashes between Tharuhat activists and the Police at Shankarpur area of Tikapur Municipality in Kailali District. The protestors were demanding a Tharuhat Autonomous Province.

The worst insurgency related incident, after November 21, 2006, had taken place on May 29, 2007, when nine persons, including a child, were killed as three bombs exploded in a house at Bhutuke village in the Gothadi Village Development Committee (VDC) area of Palpa District. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Nepal recorded nine major insurgency-related incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) after the CPA, the last of these was on April 30, 2012, when at least five people died and two dozen were injured in a bomb explosion at Ramanand Chowk in Dhanusa District. Though Nepal has recorded 298 insurgency-related fatalities, including 178 civilians, five Security Force (SF) personnel and 115 insurgents, since the CPA, the last of such fatalities occurred on August 24, 2012, when unidentified assailants had killed the general secretary of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF)-affiliated Factory Workers Union (FWU), Rama Shankar Mandal, in the Birgunj area of Parsa District.

Though the insurgency has subsided, Nepal disturbingly continues to witness significant ‘political violence’. According to the Global Terrorism Database, the number of fatalities due to political violence, between November 22, 2006, and December 31, 2014, stood at 48. According to SATP data, Nepal has already recorded 25 fatalities, including 17 policemen and eight civilians, due to political violence in 2015 (data till August 27, 2015). Of these, 24 were recorded in August alone.

According to a Nepal Police data, Nepal recorded a total of 1,047 strikes between April 2010 and April 2015. The number of strikes stood at 221 between April 2010-March 2011; 257 between April 2011-March 2012; 183 between April 2012-March 2013; 201 between April 2013-March 2014; and 185 between April 2014-March 2015. Though no further data for the current year is available, reports quoting Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs indicated that, on August 17, 2015, alone, more than 51 Districts across the country witnessed strikes, including transport halts, school and college closures and business and industrial shutdowns.

The recent round of violent protests which had engulfed the Himalayan nation commenced on July 9, 2015, when the four major parties – Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), UCPN-M, and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (MJF-L) – decided to collect public opinion on the provisions of the draft Constitution. Groups in opposition to the decision had threatened severe protests if the major political parties did not pay heed to their principal demand, the inclusion of provisions in the Draft Constitution for Nepal to be federated into 11 provinces as recommended by the State Restructuring Commission formed in 2011, and not into eight as agreed in the 16-point Agreement between the four principal parties.

The Government, however, not only completed the process of collecting public opinion on the provisions of the draft Constitution on July 27, 2015, but on August 8, 2015, decided to divide the country into six provinces, even less than the eight province model which had become the bone of contention. Though the names of the Provinces were not declared the boundaries were demarcated: Province 1 [Taplejung, Panchthar, Ilam, Sankhusabha, Terhathum, Dhankuta, Bhojpur, Khotang, Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari], Province 2 [Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa], Province 3 [Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Makwanpur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu], Province 4 [Gorkha, Lamjung, Tanahun, Kaski, Manang, Mustang, Parbat, Syangja, Myagdi, Baglung (eastern part) and Nawalparasi (east of Daunne)], Province 5 [Nawalparasi (west of Daunne), Rupandehi, Kapilvastu. Palpa, Arghkhanchi, Gulmi, Baglung (western part), Rukum (east of Rukumkot), Rolpa, Pyuthan, Dang, Banke and Bardiya], and Province 6 [Dolpa, Jumla, Mugu, Humla, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Surkhet, Bajura, Bajhang, Doti, Achham, Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur,Salyan, Rukum (west of Rukumkot) and Kailali].

Unsurprisingly, violent protests intensified, and a day later, on August 10, 2015, two persons, identified as Tikaram Gautam and Yam Bahadur B.C., were killed and another 50 were injured as protests against the proposed provincial demarcations turned violent in Surkhet District. With pressure building, the Government revisited its decision on August 21, 2015, and decided to split the sixth province, which was the biggest in size in the earlier model, into two: Province 6 and Province 7. According to reports, Province 6 which earlier had 19 Districts, will now contain 10 Districts, while the remaining nine will go to Province 7. Province 6 will include Surkhet, Salyan, Dailekh, Jajarkot, Rukum (split), Kalikot, Jumla, Dolpa, Mugu and Humla; while Province 7 will include Kailali, Kanchanpur, Doti, Dadeldhura, Achham, Baitadi, Bajura, Bajhang and Darchula Districts. Reports also added that, though the boundary demarcation of the first five provinces that were agreed upon earlier more or less remained unchanged, the Thori VDC of Parsa District was brought under Province 3.

With this decision, the demand for a single province comprising of all mid-western Districts was addressed. However, the Tharu community, which was demanding a Tharuhat Autonomous Province, remained unsatisfied and consequently intensified their protest. Dhaniram Chaudhari, coordinator of the ongoing Tharuhat movement stated, “We are discussing new strategies to make our voice heard. Tharus are prepared to go to any extent to get their demands fulfilled.”

Violence then intensified further, culminating in the August 24 incident at Kailali. Since then, most of Nepal, though primarily the Terai region, has seen violent protests. At the time of writing, much of the Terai remains under curfew. The Nepal Army (NA) has been deployed to bring the volatile situation under control.

These violent political protests, which are the product of the prevailing environment of acute political confrontations, are obstructing the finalization of the draft of the new constitution. A time bound agreement has long been sought, but in the absence of a consensus, the principal political formations had sought to push through the formula arrived at in the 16-point Agreement, which has been rejected by some of the smaller parties, and particularly by all Madhesi groups. The primary reason for their opposition was the apparent attempt by the four major parties to further delay final decision on the most contentious issue of federalism. The major demand of these parties, mainly the Madhes groups, was to carve out provinces based on ethnic identity. However, the 16-point agreement sought to put off the issue of federalism for some time, as Point 3 of the agreement read, “The Nepal Government will form a federal commission to recommend on demarcation of federal provinces. The commission will have a tenure of six months. The Legislature-Parliament will take a final decision on the demarcation with a two-thirds majority after the recommendation of the commission.”

Nevertheless, on August 27, 2015, President Ram Baran Yadav told PM Sushil Koirala that a new Constitution should be framed without any further delay, but that the major parties should try to take all stakeholders on board in the process. According to President’s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal the President told the PM, “You have tried to win the confidence of all the stakeholders until now and you still need to try to do so till the final hours of the constitution making process.”

Evidently, a Constitution that is as inclusive as possible is the desirable objective. The present formulations have a measure of arbitrariness, and need to be smoothed out in consultation with the Madhesi groups. As commentator Prashant Jha noted, the political leaders in Nepal should be advised “to resolve core outstanding issues and promulgate a constitution that all Nepalis can own”. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was brought into the controversy, also advised Prime Minister Koirala to seek the fullest participation of all stakeholders, declaring, “Five to ten people cannot sit in a room and write the constitution. All parties and forces should sit together. There must be greater dialogue.” Earlier, while addressing Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (CA) on August 3, 2014, Modi had made a similar observation, reportedly advising CA members to write the Constitution based on consensus: “Let the Nepali Constitution be one in which all sections of Nepali society feel that it is a bouquet where one flower represents them and their aspirations.”

But murky political allegations have muddied the waters further. On August 24, 2015, Bamdev Gautam, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of Nepal, referring to the sequence of events leading to violence on that day, alleged in Parliament that “he had heard that a large number of intruders from the south” had entered Gaur in Rautahat District. He was obviously referring to India, as Nepal shares its Southern borders with the country.

While the imperatives of a consensual process cannot be overemphasised, no party or political cabal can secure a veto on the entire process by resorting to violence. While a show of strength and determination will be necessary on the part of the Government, the space for political accommodation will also have to be fully explored.

*Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

Chinese police have arrested hundreds of people including top securities officials and a financial journalist in a nationwide operation linked to the recent meltdown on the country’s stock market, official media reported.

Top financial journalist Wang Xiaolu appeared on state broadcaster CCTV on Monday, “confessing” to spreading false market information.

Wang, who writes for the widely respected financial magazine Caijing, has been placed under “coercive measures” on suspicion of “fabricating and spreading fake information on securities and futures market,” the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Wang, who was arrested at his Beijing home on Aug. 25, said he wrote an article “based on hearsay and my own subjective guesses without conducting due verifications.”

“This false information caused panic and disorder in the stock market, seriously undermined market confidence, and inflicted huge losses on the country and on investors,” he said.

Wang’s article, which appeared in Caijing on July 20, said that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was considering ending interventions aimed at stabilizing share prices.

The CSRC blamed the piece for a July 27 sell-off on the Shanghai stock market, which came before the market crash this month, press freedom group Reporters San Frontieres (RSF) said.

Police are also holding CSRC official Liu Shufan under “coercive measures” on suspicion of “insider dealing, taking bribes and forging official seals,” Xinhua said.

Liu “took advantage of his position to secure an approval from the securities authorities for a public company and help the growth of the company’s shares,” receiving bribes of several million yuan in return, and had made several million yuan from insider dealing, it said.

Citic Securities executives Xu Gang, Liu Wei, Fang Qingli and Chen Rongjie are also being held under “coercive measures” on suspicion of insider trading, Xinhua said, adding that they had also “confessed.”

“Coercive measures” can refer to arrest, detention, compulsory summons for questioning, police bail, or residential surveillance and house arrest.

Netizens targeted

Meanwhile, 197 people have been rounded up in a special campaign targeting online rumors, which included tweets and messages about China’s stock market, as well as recent fatal explosions in Tianjin, Beijing’s ministry of public security said in a statement on its website.

“Police across China have launched an operation targeting rumor-mongering on the Internet, on microblogs and on WeChat, and have netted 197 criminals suspected of illegal rumor-mongering,” the statement said.

“The criminal suspects who were discovered have expressed deep repentance over their online rumor-mongering activities, which created a mood of terror, misled society and the public, and caused serious disturbance to the orderly operation of financial markets and to public order,” the statement said.

“They have called on Internet users to heed this lesson, and to abide by the law.”

It said a total of 165 websites and online accounts had been closed down in the operation.

Call for release

Paris-based RSF called for Wang’s immediate release.

“Suggesting that a business journalist was responsible for the spectacular fall in share prices is a denial of reality,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement on the group’s website.

“Blaming the stock market crisis on a lone reporter is beyond absurd,” he said.

“We call for Wang Xiaolu’s immediate release without any charges being brought against this Caijing reporter,” Deloire said.

Xie Jiaye, head of the New York-based Chinese Association of Science and Technology U.S.A., said China’s tightly controlled state media had been unable to report accurate information on market movements, because it had been ordered to support the government’s attempts at market intervention.

“The Chinese media has been talking up the government’s market intervention measures, and so-called malicious short-selling,” Xie said.

“But that is ridiculous, because the government shouldn’t be intervening in the market,” he said. “Markets follow their own natural laws, and they won’t do what the Communist Party tells them to do.”

Censoring market coverage

According to RSF, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has “gone to great lengths” to censor media and online coverage of recent turmoil on the country’s stock markets.

Leading Communist Party-controlled media outlets like the People’s Daily, Xinhua and CCTV have given scant coverage to the story, while the propaganda ministry has issued directives forbidding articles or market analysis deemed to be negative, it said.

According to Xinhua, “investigations into the case are still ongoing.”

On Sept. 1, 2013, China’s highest judicial authorities issued a directive criminalizing online “rumor-mongering” in a move widely seen as targeting critical comments and negative news on the country’s hugely popular social media sites.

Reported by Gao Shan for RFA’s Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

By Manoj Joshi*

It is said that Indians pass off myth for history, while the Chinese mythologise their history.

It is not surprising that both subcontinental cousins share the trait when it comes to the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

Pakistan has long celebrated September 6 as Defence of Pakistan (Yaum-e-Difa) Day. This was the day when, it says, it defended itself against the Indian Army that had been launched on three axes towards Lahore.

For this myth to take life, they gloss over Operation Gibraltar, the attack on Kashmir by thousands of irregulars on August 5, and Operation Grand Slam of September 1 where Pakistan’s six armoured divisions came close to cutting the highway connecting Jammu to Poonch.

The Indian myths are only being unveiled now, when the government has decided on a large-scale celebration of the event.

A celebration implies an achievement, but truth be told, the Indian performance during the 1965 war was just a shade better than that of Pakistan. And in that was our victory.

This is what the commander of the main effort, Lt Gen Harbakhsh, had to say about the main thrust to Lahore that faltered on day one itself, largely due to incompetent leadership of the division and its brigades.

Surprise attack

On September 6, XI Corps launched a surprise attack at 4am, which led to the crossing of the Ichhogil canal and the capture of the Bata shoe factory on the outskirts of Lahore by 11am. But the senior commanders could not cope with the situation, and ordered a withdrawal to the east bank of the canal by that evening.

Despite XI Corps capturing some 140 sq miles of land, and crippling Pakistan’s 1st armoured division at Khem Karan, Singh says it was “a sickening repetition of command failures leading the sacrifice of a series of cheap victories.”

The performance of India’s premier I Corps, built around the 1st armoured division, was no less disappointing. I Corps captured 200 sq miles of territory and destroyed a great deal of Pakistani armour. But it did not deliver what it was meant to – a decisive battlefield victory.

“With the exception of a few minor successes… the operational performance was virtually a catalogue of lost victories.” Singh praised the performance of units like the Poona Horse, but was harsh in his judgment of the higher commanders.

Harbakhsh’s third corps – the XV Corps, which then, as now, looks after Kashmir – fared better. It gained an unambiguous victory in capturing the Haji Pir Pass and in defeating Operation Gibraltar. However, it was battered by the surprise attack launched by Pakistan in the Chamb sector on September 1.

India also launched an offensive in the Rajasthan sector with a view of tying down Pakistani forces in Sind. But the plan was poorly conceived and executed. There was no joint planning, leave alone coordination, between the air force and the army. This led to the Lahore fiasco when Pakistani air strikes disrupted the Indian offensive on September 6.

Despite seeing action on September 1 in Chamb, the IAF was unprepared for the strike on September 6 when the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) destroyed 13 aircraft in a raid on Pathankot, including two new MiG-21s.

Similar raids found the IAF station Kalaikunda in the east unawares, leading to the destruction of eight aircraft on the ground.

Shoddy intelligence

Intelligence was equally shoddy. India failed to pick up the fact that the Pakistanis had surreptitiously raised an additional armoured division, and the IAF could not locate PAF aircraft in East Pakistan.

There are, of course, bigger questions. Indian accounts claim that there was no plan to capture Lahore. If not, then why were three divisions thrown at it?

And if the plan was to just carry out shallow attrition attacks, it nearly came a cropper in Khem Karan when Pakistan launched its 1st armoured division in a bid to reach the Beas bridge that would have cut off Amritsar. Fortunately, they were trapped at Asal Uttar and defeated.

Biggest blunder

Perhaps the biggest blunder India made was to terminate the war when it did by accepting the UN mandated ceasefire on September 22nd, which also happened to be the date in which the Chinese ultimatum expired.

While these were important considerations, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri wanted to know from Army chief JN Chaudhuri whether India could gain any great victory if it continued to fight.

In his typically offhand style, the general declared that India had run out of ammunition and it would be okay to accept the ceasefire. But later it was found out that only 14 per cent of the front line ammunition had been used and the number of tanks India still had was double that of Pakistan.

We can still be proud of the bravery and grit of our fighting men in 1965, but we can only pray that the higher management of our armed forces has improved.

*The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation and a Contributing Editor, Mail Today

Courtesy: Mail Today

By Mrinal Kanta Das*

Three Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and a civilian were killed and six BSF personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, were seriously injured in a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) ambush at Palangarai ghat (ferry point) on Gurupriya River under the Chitrakonda Police Station limits in the Malkangiri District of Odisha early in the morning on August 26, 2015. According to reports, the BSF patrol party was returning to its base camp at Janbai, where a bridge is being built over Gurupriya River to provide connectivity to the cut-off area, when the Maoists first triggered a landmine blast and then opened indiscriminate fire.

Before this incident, the last major incident (involving three or more casualties) in Odisha in which Security Forces (SFs) were at the receiving end, took place on August 27, 2013, in Koraput District, where four BSF personnel were killed in a landmine blast on a busy National Highway. In the two years between these two major incidents, Odisha witnessed only four SF fatalities, including a village guard and a Special Police Officer (SPO, a member of an auxiliary force raised to aid the Police).

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, till August 30, 2015, 20 persons including 10 civilians, four SF personnel and six Maoists have been killed in Odisha in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-related incidents, in comparison to 33 persons, including 24 civilians, one SF trooper and eight Maoists, killed over the same period in 2014. Though four months remain in 2015, the decline in fatalities conforms to the broader declining trend in LWE-related violence in Odisha since 2010.

What is significant, however, is that more than half of the fatalities in 2015 have occurred in Malkangiri District while, so far, there is just one fatality in Koraput. This is crucial, since Malkangiri and Koraput were long in a vice-like Maoist grip.

The most significant factor in these trends was Sabyasachi Panda’s expulsion by the Maoists in August 2012 and his subsequent arrest on July 17, 2014. Panda had long dominated Maoist activities in Odisha, and his neutralization considerably weakened the rebel group’s activities in Kandhamal, Ganjam Gajapati and Rayagada Districts. The Maoists did retain their strength in Koraput and Malkangiri, and continued unsuccessfully to try to build up a new ‘corridor’ from Chhattisgarh to Jharkhand through Nuapada, Balangir, Sambalpur and Deogarh, but were left with a residual ‘core area’ that covered just Koraput and Malkangiri. Data on various parameters linked to Maoist activities now suggests that their operations have diminished drastically in Koraput, especially after large-scale desertion of cadres of the Narayanpatna-based Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS), a Maoist front organisation in Koraput, in 2013, capped by the surrender of CMAS ‘president’ Nachika Linga on October 28, 2014. This has left the Maoists clinging on in Malkangiri, while they direct some distracting efforts towards a few other locations in the State. Among the most significant incidents in the State in 2015 were:

August 17, 2015: Maoists killed a tribal, identified as Gurumurthy Madhi, suspecting him to be police informer, and left his body with some posters near Telarai under Motu Police Station limits in Malkangiri District.

June 3, 2015: Fearing the Maoists, around 60 tribal families of the cut off region of the Balimela Reservoir in Malkangiri District left their village and sought security from the District administration. The panic-stricken villagers said the Maoists had killed two villagers a few days previously, suspecting them to be Police informers, set several homes on fire, and threatened to kill them.

April 14, 2015: The Maoists abducted 11 persons, including a former ‘chairman’ of a panchayat samiti [elected village self-government committee] in Malkangiri District and released them on April 16 after holding a ‘people’s court’ where they thrashed three of the abductees, including the local sarpanch (elected village head) for ‘helping the Police’.

Malkangiri, located on the troubled tri-junction of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, has always been a tough challenge and recorded several major attacks on SFs in the past. Though the Maoists dominate virtually the entire District, the ‘cut off area’ – 150-odd villages of the Kudumulu Gumma Block separated from the rest of the Block by the Balimela Reservoir – have been particularly problematic. This area, sandwiched between the Reservoir on one side and a hill tract on the other, is highly inaccessible. An approach from the Reservoir is possible only by motorised boats, and is highly exposed (as evidenced by the June 29, 2008, attack that killed 38 SF personnel). The circuitous route from the other side is made even difficult by the absence of a bridge over the Gurupriya River at Janbai; and the Maoists have thwarted every attempt to construct a bridge at this location. In the latest round, construction work has finally started with high security cover, and the BSF has set up a base camp at Janbai. This has brought the SFs much too close for comfort for the Maoists, who fear that, if the bridge is completed, the cut-off area may no longer remain a safe haven.

It is useful to recall that on February 10, 2012, within 20 days of establishment of a base camp at Janbai, four BSF personnel, including commandant Jeevan Ram Khaswan, were killed in an ambush by the Maoists, when the BSF personnel were on their way to Chitrakonda from their camp at Balimela. BSF has, however, managed to avoid any such attack in Malkangiri since. In fact, BSF has suffered just three major attacks in Odisha since its deployment in anti-Maoist operations in April 2010: the February 10, 2012, incident; the August 27, 2013, attack in which four BSF personnel were killed and another three were injured in a landmine blast in the Sunki Ghat area under the Pottangi Police Station of Koraput District; and the latest ambush on August 26 at Janbai. Significantly, in all three incidents over three and a half years, the Maoists used landmines to throw the SF units off guard.

As the battlefront moves closer to the last remaining Maoist comfort zone in Odisha, SFs have slowly started denting the Maoist network in Malkangiri. Thus, on July 31, 2015, three Maoists, including two females, were killed in an encounter with the Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) of the Odisha Police in Burudi Forest near Tandki village in Malkangiri. Acting on intelligence inputs that around 20 Maoists were holding a meeting at the remote spot as part of their ‘Martyrs’ week’ commemoration SFs raided the area. As the SFs approached the spot the Maoists opened fire. The three Maoists were killed in retaliatory fire and the camp was dismantled. Three country-made guns, one INSAS rifle, a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), live ammunition, grenades, as well as materials including kitbags and Maoist literature, were seized from the spot. The slain Maoists are yet to be identified.

As the Maoists come under sustained pressure in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region, their leadership has reportedly formed a new committee, the ‘Malkangiri-Visakha-Koraput Divisional Committee’, with an experienced leader at the helm, in an attempt to strengthen the rank and file and restore organisational capacities. According to sources, the new committee was formed after the visit of Maoist central committee (CC) leaders to the Visakha Agency in Andhra Pradesh in May-June 2015. Around 14 leaders from the Dandakaranya Zonal Committee of Chhattisgarh, including the head of the Maoist Central Military Commission, Namballa Kesava Rao alias Ganganna, and Central Regional Bureau (CRB) chief Katakam Sudarsan alias Anand, are learned to have visited the District. A few days after their visit, another team of nine members interacted with squads and area committees in the AOB region.

As Maoists struggle to retain their traditional strongholds in Odisha, they appear to be adopting a range of diversionary tactics, with a civilian killing in Angul District, just the second incident in the District, where the first incident was recorded in 2008); and two civilians killed in Kalahandi District, where the last such killing was recorded in 2011. The Maoists have also been involved in 13 exchange of fire incidents in Odisha in 2015 (data till August 30) – one in Deogarh, two in Koraput, three each in Malkangiri and Kandhamal, and four in Kalahandi. The Maoists also engineered one explosion each in Rayagada, Balangir and Koraput Districts, and two explosions in Malkangiri District in 2015.

As the Odisha State Police and Government progressively come to accept ownership of the problem of the Maoist insurgency and actively cooperate and coordinate their operations with the available Central Forces deployed in the State, there has been a dramatic consolidation. Enormous and coordinated pressure is now being exerted against the residual Maoist strength, particularly in Malkangiri and the cut-off areas within the District, even as the Maoist networks unravel in other afflicted Districts of the State. If operations are sustained, and progressively backed by an outreach of civil governance in long-neglected regions, a Maoist comeback will become progressively more difficult. The Maoists have been beaten back virtually across their imagined ‘Red Corridor’. This, their leadership concedes, is a critical moment for their movement. Nevertheless, the Maoists have demonstrated enormous resilience in the past and there is, consequently, no space for complacence on the part of the state.

*Mrinal Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Mullah Omar’s death, who was the supreme commander and spiritual leader of the Taliban, is a major issue for both the Afghan government and Taliban militants. Omar was the 11th head of state from 1996 until his regime was toppled by the US-led military intervention in 2001. His death has added uncertainty to Kabul’s fledgling peace efforts and faced Taliban leaders with a legitimacy crisis as no one has the outright legendary unifying force among Taliban leaders to fill Omar’s vacuum.

The death of the elusive one-eyed leader has left the Taliban sealed in a leadership struggle and opened new ground for the Afghan government to rise amid further factionalism among the Taliban and the military campaign to push the Taliban into peace talks. The dispute between the Taliban is not only a tribal division, but it is also an ideological rift that weakens them additionally, while exposing new opportunities for the Afghan government to force the Taliban movement toward the edge of dissolution.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who named himself as the Afghan leader of the Taliban on July 30, 2015 faces disapproval from different groups of the Taliban. Omar’s younger brother and son, Mullah Abdul Manan and Mohammad Yaqoob have not endorse Mansour as the new emir of the movement and have instead appealed for the successor to be from Omar’s clan. Even, the Taliban political chief in Qatar, Tayyeb Agha resigned due to tensions over Omar’s successor. These internal disagreements have raised the increased possibility of the Taliban presence as a powerful insurgents group to be decreased.

The Afghan national unity government, before any possible reunification of the Taliban and their collective agreement on successor of Mullah Omar, should push forward peace talks with the opposition groups of Akhtar Mansour, who is a close ally and subservient of Pakistani intelligence. The tussle over the election of a new emir could not only halt the Afghan-led promising peace efforts, but it could also hone the process quickly and the break should be used intelligently.

Neglect over exploiting this opportunity could have two possible consequences. Either the reunion of the Taliban or the separated factions from Akhtar Mansour will pledge loyalty to Islamic State, which is a concern for Taliban as well. The reunification would help the Taliban to resurge and continue their existence with the support of their host-country, Pakistan. If they swear allegiance to IS, or there exists a rift between the various factions, this would be not only the end for the Taliban, but it would also decrease significantly the ISI’s (Inter-Services Intelligence) aggressive influence and their proxy war in Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters on the battlefield have blamed their senior leaders for duping them about the death of their leader. At the same time, Afghan intelligence has said that Mullah Omar was poisoned and killed in a hospital. On the other hand, former key members of the Taliban who are now led by Fidai Mahaz have claimed that Mullah Omar was murdered by his deputy – Akhtar Mansour over an election dispute of who would follow after Omar as the emir ul-Momineen (Commander of the Faithful). Deceiving junior Taliban and the mysterious demise of Omar in Pakistan could not only build further tension and division among the Taliban, but also lessen Pakistan’s sway over the Taliban’s leadership.

A this deep tribal division among the Taliban exists, the Afghan government should change their medieval gambit and begin seeking peace from Pakistan, since efforts so far have failed. As an alternative, they should focus on Afghan-led peace talks with the Afghan militants, who are not under the sway of Pakistan’s intelligence influence, and those who are in favor of resuming peace talks.

In addition, the Afghan government must put intense pressure on insurgents and Pakistan through regional and international stakeholders to end ISI’s undeclared prolonged proxy war and to change its approach toward Afghanistan. If Pakistan does not change its behavior, it will be an alarming situation for the entire region. Another alternative for Afghanistan could be the subscription to a tit-for-tat diplomacy to survive this war. In doing so, Afghanistan should be allying with larger powers such as India, just as Pakistan has chosen China(India’s rival) to strengthen its existence and survival in the region.

In any case, it’s a critical juncture for the Taliban to survive as a movement due to internal fragmentation, a leadership crisis and an ideological rift. Such challenges will either lead them to join the peace talks or separate into factions. If that split does occur, then that will encourage some militants to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State, and the emir of al-Qaeda, which while it would spell the end for the Taliban movement it would most likely start another nightmare under Islamic State and al-Qaeda leaderships.

*Waheed Rahimi writes on current political, security and social affairs of Afghanistan. He holds a master in International Relation and Diplomacy from ADA University, Azerbaijan. He is based in Kabul and tweets at @wrafg

The First Session of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka will begin Tuesday.

The First Session of the Parliament will be inaugurated under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The first activity in the Parliament tomorrow morning would be to appoint the Speaker of the House. After that the newly appointed Speaker will take his oaths.

Subsequent to that, the newly elected MPs will take their oaths before the Speaker of the House.

The Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Committees will be appointed respectively.

President Maithripala Sirisena is to make a special statement addressing the First Session of the 8th Parliament.

The first party leaders’ meeting will also be held Tuesday.

In the first seven months of the year, the Spanish State posted a deficit of 26.77 billion euros in public accounting terms, representing a reduction of 17% on the same period of 2014, the Spanish Ministry of the Treasury and Public Administration Services said Monday.

In GDP terms, the deficit stands at 2.44% compared with 3.05% in July 2014. This State deficit reduction stems from a 4% increase in non-financial resources and a 1.2% decrease in non-financial expenses.

The performance data for the month of July include the final settlement of the regional government and local authority financing system for 2013, affecting both State revenue (due to the amounts received from regional and local governments) and expenditure (due to the amounts that the State is required to transfer to them).

Settlement of the regional government financing system for 2013 amounted to 1.73 billion euros in favour of the regional governments, while settlement of the local authority system amounted to 524 million euros in favour of the State.

Non-financial State resources

In the period January to July, non-financial State resources amounted to 100.79 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 4%.

This result is due to positive tax revenue trends, which show a 5.9% rate of year-on-year growth to a total of 85.86 billion euros, reflecting the improvements in economic activity and employment. Taxes on production and imports are up 7.5%. This is mainly due to the highly significant results from VAT, which posted 8.1% growth on last year.

The increased revenue from environmental taxes should also be noted, having risen by more than 52% overall. This increase in environmental taxes is due to the amounts collected under the new tax headings that were created to finance the costs incurred by the electricity system. Current taxes on income and wealth, which include revenue from Personal Income Tax and Corporate Income Tax, rose by 3.4% to July, in spite of the tax reduction stemming from the fiscal reform.

Transfers between public administration services rose by 33.9%, mainly due to the effect caused by the final settlement of the autonomous region and local authority financing system for 2013.

The increase in tax revenue and inter-authority transfers offsets the falls in tax on property income, which fell 44.3%. As in previous months, this reduction is due to two factors: the fall in dividends caused by the decrease in those corresponding to the Bank of Spain; and the decrease in revenue from interest, down by 52.6%. The decrease in interest is due to the 0% interest rate set in 2015 for all loans received by the regional governments and local authorities from the extraordinary financing mechanisms, whereas accrued interest from the Regional Liquidity Fund and the Fund for Financing Payments to Suppliers in the first half of 2014 amounted to 1.42 billion euros.

Finally, revenue from the sale of goods and services fell by 12%. This was mainly due to the decrease in guarantee commissions granted to credit entities.

Non-financial State expenses

Non-financial State expenses amounted to 127.56 billion euros, down 1.2% on the period January-July 2014. For the purposes of providing a true comparison between the two periods, it should be noted that the expenses in 2015 include two operations with no corresponding expense in the same period last year: the extra cost for producing electricity on non-mainland territories; and the reimbursement of 25% of the extra bonus payment for 2012. Discounting these two operations, in adjusted terms, expenses fell by 1.8% to July.

A comprehensive two-year investigation into Europe’s used and waste electronics market has concluded that illicitly traded or unregulated e-waste within the region represents some 10 times the quantity of undocumented e-waste exported from Europe.

The European Union-funded project, Countering WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) Illegal Trade (CWIT), was coordinated by INTERPOL, in collaboration with the United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, the WEEE Forum, the Cross-Border Research Association, Zanasi & Partners and Compliance and Risks.

The research found that more than 10 times the 400,000 tonnes of e-waste exported ‒ some 4.7 million tonnes ‒ was wrongfully mismanaged or illegally traded within Europe itself.

In addition, the widespread theft of valuable components such as circuit boards and precious metals from waste electronics results in a serious loss of materials and resources for compliant waste processors in Europe. This annual estimated loss is valued at between EUR 800 million and €1.7 billion (USD 877 million to 1.86 billion).

“Electronic and electrical equipment represents the fastest-growing flow of the world’s waste streams. The weight of Europe’s mismanaged e-waste alone equals that of a 10 meter high brick wall stretching from Oslo to the toe of Italy. Valuable metals and components, including critical raw materials, need to be safely captured and recycled to the fullest possible extent,” said Pascal Leroy, Secretary-General of the WEEE Forum.

With national surveys by INTERPOL showing that on average each year only 2,000 tonnes (0.5%) of EU e-waste exports were reported as having been stopped in operations leading to some form of sentencing, administrative fines or civil penalties, the report notes that 30% of EU members have not implemented stringent regulations required by the latest version of the EU WEEE directive and that national penalties for infractions are insufficiently high enough to have deterrent value.

“The unique value of the project is the simultaneous provision of both facts and market analysis, as well as detailed scrutiny of the legal framework and the law enforcement chain. The dedicated roadmap developed for improving collection and treatment of e-waste in Europe will be a valuable result for all parties involved,” said Jaco Huisman of the United Nations University, and Scientific Coordinator of the CWIT project.

Highlighting cases of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, the CWIT project also suggests harmonizing penalties to simplify enforcement in trans-border cases, and to prevent criminals from shifting activities to lower-risk countries within the EU where legal and financial penalties for illicit e-waste trade vary greatly from country to country.

“The study shows that as a profitable activity, with low risk of detection, the illicit trade in e-waste is vulnerable to exploitation, which governments can prevent more by employing a balanced mix of administrative and criminal penalties reflecting the value of illicit profits, as well as the large environmental and social harm involved. The law enforcement community needs to be more pro-active with illicit e-waste investigations, complemented by strengthened prosecution and sentencing,” said David Higgins, Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s Environmental Security Sub-Directorate.

Markus Müller, Research Programme Officer with the Research Executive Agency (REA),European Commission, said: “Environmental crime is an increasingly serious threat for the world we live in as it adversely affects both our natural resources and societies. Based on a deep understanding of the legal and illegal streams of electronic waste, the CWIT project has succeeded in formulating concrete recommendations to improve the compliance with existing recycling policies and to prevent criminal activities based on non-compliant treatment or traffic of e-waste.”

In this respect the project recommends a multi-stakeholder approach and outlines a roadmap to reduce illegal e-waste trade, including the establishment of an Operational Intelligence Management System to promote and support intelligence-led enforcement, as well as of a National Environmental Security Task Force (NEST), formed by different authorities and partners, to enable a law enforcement response that is cooperative, collaborative and coordinated at national, regional and international levels, and led by a team of specialized experts.

European Union Interior and Justice Ministers are set to meet on September 14 in an effort to find concrete measures to cope with the escalating migration crisis, announced Luxemburg who holds the acting chair of the EU.

The call came after Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, Britain’s Home Affairs Minister Theresa May and France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve underlined the necessity “to take immediate action to deal with the challenge from the migrant influx”.

The decision also comes after the strong words pronounced by Pope Francis yesterday during the Angelus. The Pontiff decried the deaths of 71 migrants found in an abandoned truck along the road between Budapest and Vienna, calling it an offense against “the entire human family” and urging “to cooperate with effectiveness to prevent these crimes”.

While also a call for solidarity arrived from Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, reports emerged of another tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea, off the Libyan coast of Khoms: 37 confirmed dead so far, who add to the over 2,500 registered since the start of the year attempting to cross to Europe.