Month: September 2021

What’s Behind the Resurgence in Piracy Off Somalia’s Coast

After a steep reduction, piracy seems to be on the rise again off the coast of Somalia, with “five or six” incidents occurring in the past two months, according to U.S. military officials. These have included the hijacking of a Comoros-flagged tanker that was later released, as well as the seizing of a fishing trawler and the brief boarding of a cargo ship. In an email interview, John Steed, regional manager for the Horn of Africa at Oceans Beyond Piracy, explains the recent surge and the factors giving rise to it.

The Persistence of Borders in a Globalized World

Back in 1990, when the Soviet bloc was crumbling into new nations, Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese organizational theorist and management consultant, had the audacity to suggest that humankind was on the cusp of a new “borderless world,” in a book of the same name. Ohmae’s goal was mainly to sketch out new ways for businesses to adapt and take advantage of a world that he argued would be increasingly globalized, where nation-states and the borders that help define them would become less and less relevant.

For more than two decades, the world seemed to be moving in the direction of Ohmae’s vision. States and entire regions sought to ease restrictions on the free movement of people and, to a much greater degree, goods.

French Minister in Mali to Thwart Hiring of Russian Mercenaries

France’s Armed Forces minister arrived in Mali on Sunday to pressure the military junta to end talks to bring Russian mercenaries into the country and push it to keep a promise to return the country to constitutional order in February.

Diplomatic and security sources have told Reuters that Mali’s year-old military junta is close to recruiting the Russian Wagner Group, and France has launched a diplomatic drive to thwart it, saying such an arrangement is incompatible with a continued French presence.

International Union Of Muslim Scholars To Taliban Delegation: We Appreciate Your Jihad, Will Help You As Much As We Can In Establishing Islamic Rule

On September 18, 2021, the top leadership of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which is sponsored by the Qatari Regime,[1] hosted in the organization’s headquarters in Doha a delegation on behalf of the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad ‘Abbas Stanikzai, which also included Taliban political bureau member Al-Mawlawi Muti’ Al-Haqq, political bureau English-language spokesperson Suhail Shaheen and another bureau spokesperson, Muhammad Na’eem. In the course of the meeting, IUMS officials, including the organization’s head Ahmad Al-Raissouni and its secretary-general ‘Ali Al-Qaradaghi, praised the Taliban government for its jihad and offered to extend it any help it needed in the management of state affairs. Deputy Foreign Minister Stanikzai thanked the IUMS for its support and asked for the guidance of its members in establishing an Islamic regime.

Blocage de l’avion malien de transport des troupes par les américains : Les USA sont-ils devenus les nouveaux parrains des terroristes au Sahel ?

C’est au moment où le monde entier se mobilise pour être au chevet du Mali et des pays du sahel afin de lutter contre le terrorisme que les américains mettent du bâton dans la roue de l’armée malienne en l’empêchant d’avoir des équipements afin de renforcer sa capacité opérationnelle. Ils empêchent aujourd’hui l’Etat malien d’acquérir un avion militaire de transport de troupe sous le prétexte fallacieux que l’armée malienne et certains groupes armés proches de Bamako recrutent des enfants soldats. Est-ce parce que le Mali a décidé de diversifier ses partenaires que les américains bloquent-ils le CASA C-295 ? La France est-elle derrière cette manœuvre dilatoire des USA ? Les autorités maliennes n’ont-elles pas vu juste en se tournant vers la Russie ?

Guerre dans le monde : L’ONU, un machin génocidaire

L’organisation internationale l’ONU a été constituée, en 1945 pour succéder à la Société des Nations (SDN) par les États qui ont accepté de remplir les obligations prévues par la Charte des Nations unies signée, le 26 juin à Sanfrancisco, en 1945, en vue de sauvegarder la paix et la sécurité internationale et d’instituer entre les nations une coopération économique, sociale et culturelle. L’ONU dont le siège est à New York a officiellement commencé à exister, le 24 octobre 1945. La Chine, les États-Unis, la France, la Grande Bretagne et la Russie ont un siège permanent et un droit de véto au Conseil de Sécurité. L’Afrique est représentée par la France à cause du rang qu’elle occupe à l’ONU avec un cortège d’États clients qui votent à sa suite. Cinquante et un (51) États africains sont fondateurs des Nations unies.

Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan?

Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity.

Afghanistan: Islamic State appeals to “educated extremists”

The Biden administration has vowed retaliation against the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) for the Aug. 26 attack on the Kabul airport thath killed 13 US armed service members and over 90 Afghan civilians. More violence is likely. US Marine Corps Gen. and CENTCOM commander Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie said after the attack that “we expect those attacks to continue.”

Initial Taliban Moves Fail To Convince Afghanistan’s Neighbors – Analysis

The Taliban’s record in recent weeks on making good on promises to respect human and women’s rights as well as uphold freedom of the press is mixed at best. Afghanistan’s neighbours and near-neighbours are not holding their breath even if some are willing to give the Central Asian country’s new rulers the benefit of the doubt.

A litmus test of Taliban willingness to compromise may come sooner than later.