The allowances for African troops fighting al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia have not been paid for at least six months, the BBC has learned.

On the whole it is a ‘win-win’ situation for both Turkey and Russia, if they reconcile. However, the overall advantage goes to Russia insofar as the reconciliation with Turkey comes in the wake of Brexit, which already heralds winds of change in Eurasian politics that are likely to strengthen Moscow’s negotiating hand vis-à-vis the European Union and the West. (See my article in Asia Times Brexit: Russia’s comfort level rises, US loses Eurasian plot.)

„A more credible European defence is essential also for the sake of a healthy transatlantic partnership with the United States.“

Former PricewaterhouseCoopers employees Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet received 12 and nine-month sentences respectively for leaking documents.
Prosecutors had sought 18-month jail terms for the two men.
Edouard Perrin, a journalist who reported on the leaks, was acquitted of all charges.
Deltour, 31, and Halet, 40, also received suspended fines of €1,500 (£1,250; $1,650) and €1,000 euros respectively.
They have 40 days to appeal the verdict. Deltour told Agence France-Presse that he intended to appeal.

„As soon as capturing and cleansing Manbij silos, the SDF fighter found the house of a senior Russian commander of the ISIL,“ the sources said, adding, „The SDF found further a series of secret documents, including bill of lading, proforma invoice and other financial documents, that show the ISIL had imported a large number of items from Turkey.“
„Based on these documents, the Turkish trading company of Anvar Kargo Firma in Gaziantep was involved in exports of various kinds of goods to the ISIL-held regions in Syria,“ the sources went on to say.

(28.Juni) Authorities in Florida have released hundreds of pages of documents related to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 49 victims dead.

(27.Juni) Palestinians in the Gaza Strip expressed anger and dismay on Monday about the deal normalizing relations between Israel and Turkey that leaves them under a suffocating siege.

„The ISIL strongholds in the villages of Kaljabrean and Kafr Kalbean were attacked by the militant rivals, the sources said, adding, „The ISIL suffered a heavy death toll in the attack and fled the battlefield, which ended in the removal of ISIL siege on Marea from two Eastern and Northern directions.“

By analyzing email conversations between employees, the AI system automatically detects words and phrases hinting that a person might quit, such as complaints about the company or signs of in-house harassment. When detected, the program reports risk to the personnel department.

“Everything went underground with the border closures,” said Jelena Hrnjak, director of Serbian anti-human trafficking organisation ATINA. “Refugees are now in the same position as they were in 2014 and early 2015. The old routes that existed before the so-called humanitarian corridor are operational again.”

„We, as Lebanese, refuse to be given lessons in hospitality. The Syrians are our guests,“ he said, assuring that terrorism has no religion or nationality.

As we‘ve discussed, some surveillance/law enforcement hawks have tried to rush through a law to expand the power of national security letters (NSLs) to paper over the long standing abuse of NSLs, by saying that they can use those documents (which have basically no oversight and don‘t require a warrant) to collect a ton of private info, including email info and web browsing histories. The rushed vote on this — stupidly citing the Orlando attacks, despite the fact it would have done nothing to stop that — failed but just barely. Basically, if Senator Dianne Feinstein were able to attend the vote, it likely would have passed. The support for it was one vote shy, and then Sen. Mitch McConnell changed his vote for procedural reasons to be able to bring it back for a quick follow up vote.

Now, as Congress rushes towards that vote, Senator Ron Wyden stepped up today to use his power as a Senator to put a hold on the entire Intelligence Authorization bill. He gave a short floor speech explaining his reasons.

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The more likely motive appeared to be business rivalry, or a targeted attack on someone in the bar, according to police. The owner of the Movida bar also used Facebook to air suspicions that there was some personal grudge against two of his customers.

Counter-terrorism officials, however, were trying to establish the credibility of the claim of responsibility posted on the Facebook page of a known Malaysian IS fighter.

(21.6.2016) Nightclub shooters, like Omar Mateen? Check. Bombers, as in Brussels last year? Check. Anthrax? Check. Nuclear, chemical or biological weapons? Check, check, check.

Unfortunately for Lanier, the recent attacks in Orlando, Brussels and Paris show that you can plan and train until your budget runs dry, and still you rarely stop a determined attacker. “Lone wolves” come out of nowhere. The urban guerrillas of the Islamic State group, or ISIS, use encrypted cellphones.

Veröffentlicht am 04.08.2015
„Gezielte Tötungen“ durch Kampfdrohnen – gesteuert von Soldaten, die zehntausende Kilometer entfernt sitzen. Auch die Bundesrepublik plant, bewaffnete Drohnen zu beschaffen.
Unter Präsident Obama bauten die USA ein Netz von Stützpunkten aus, von denen Drohnen in Krisengebiete starten und Terrorverdächtige angeblich gezielt töten. Eine Schlüsselfunktion soll dabei auch die US-Airbase im rheinland-pfälzischen Ramstein spielen.

(aktualisiert 01:30 29.06.2016) Das meldete die Agentur DHA am Dienstagabend unter Berufung auf türkische Polizeiquellen.

(aktualisiert 22:23 28.06.2016) Die Behörden sprechen von zwei Selbstmordattentätern.

Drone supporters often say that strikes are effective, their targets aren‘t random and are not a recruiting tool for various armed groups. A look at the evidence, though, demonstrates otherwise.

In this week‘s Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan explains why he believes that drone strikes are ineffective, inaccurate and unsuccessful.