CEP Mentions
Merkur: Torture Prisons, Ransoms And Putin Aid: Libya's Militias Earn Riches From Refugees
"... Terror expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) says: As long as there is no political stability in Libya, this will never stop. “Paradise for human traffickers”: Libya is a deeply divided country. Schindler previously advised the UN Security Council in New York and knows the situation in the Middle East and North Africa well. “The chaotic conditions make Libya a paradise for human traffickers. Criminal structures can establish themselves more easily due to internal instability,” he says in an interview with IPPEN.MEDIA."
United States
Reuters: US Rejects "Absurd" Claims It Is Plotting Violence Against Cuba
“The U.S. State Department denied on Tuesday it was plotting violent attacks against Cuba, a day after the Communist-run island claimed Washington was seeking to foment unrest before the New Year. Cuba's Interior Ministry on Monday warned on social media of "plans by the State Department and intelligence community to increase subversive and violent attacks against Cuba in order to generate a social outbreak before the end of 2023." A State Department official rejected the idea. "Allegations that the United States is encouraging violent actions against the Cuban government are absurd," the official responded in an email to Reuters. The Cuban government did not provide any concrete evidence of its claims of a U.S. plot. Cuba last week published a list of more than 80 foreign nationals and entities it accuses of terrorism, including influencers, dissidents who reside in the United States, and a candidate for mayor of Florida's Miami-Dade County. On Saturday, Cuba said it had thwarted a terrorist plot hatched in neighboring south Florida that involved an armed man arriving on Cuban soil from the United States via jetski. The State Department official called the list and allegations by Cuba an effort to belittle its own citizens abroad.”
Associated Press: Biden To Meet In Person Wednesday With Families Of Americans Taken Hostage By Hamas
“President Joe Biden on Wednesday will hold his first in-person meeting with the families of eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed to be taken captive by Hamas during its brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the White House said. A senior administration official said family members of all eight would participate in the Biden meeting either in person or virtually. The president has previously met with some family members virtually and spoken to others on the phone. Biden was set to provide an update on American efforts to secure the release of those held by Hamas. “We’re not going to stop until every hostage is returned home,” Biden told donors in Washington on Tuesday, saying the U.S. commitment to Israel is “unshakable.” Eight Americans remain unaccounted for after Hamas’ surprise air, sea and land incursion into Israeli towns, where the group killed about 1,200 Israelis — mostly civilians — and took more than 240 people hostage. Four Americans were released as part of a U.S.-negotiated cease-fire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza that was brokered with the assistance of Qatar and Egypt. One American woman was supposed to be released by Hamas under the terms of last month’s ceasefire but she remains unaccounted for — a development that contributed to the end of the temporary pause in the fighting.”
Pakistan
Reuters: Pakistan Asks Kabul To Probe Links To Attack That Killed 23 Soldiers
“Pakistan has protested to Afghanistan's Taliban government over the killing of 23 soldiers in an attack on a military base, demanding action against the perpetrators, Islamabad said as it grapples with security challenges ahead of elections next year. Tuesday's gun and bomb attack claimed by an Islamist militant group comes amid concerns voiced by political analysts about general elections set for Feb. 8, amid a surge in such attacks in the mainly Muslim nation of 241 million. Pakistan's foreign office summoned Kabul's envoy over the attack, it said in a statement on Tuesday, asking for the Taliban administration to "fully investigate and take stern action against the perpetrators of the recent attack". It also sought a public condemnation of the incident, which led to the heaviest death toll in a single attack in years. The ministry did not say whether an Afghan national was involved in the base camp attack, nor provide details of why Islamabad wants Kabul to investigate the links to it. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top intelligence official in Islamabad told Reuters that Pakistan was investigating evidence that suggested an Afghan national had led the six-man suicide squad responsible for the attack. The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment. The Taliban diplomat in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, has conveyed Pakistan's concerns to Kabul, he told Reuters in a WhatsApp message.”
Middle East
NPR: As Fighting Grinds On In Gaza, Some Israelis In The North Want A War With Hezbollah
“t's a spring-like day in the Upper Galilee region, a strip of northern Israeli territory between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Raanan Momika is working in his mountain bike shop in a kibbutz called Lehavot Habashan. This afternoon — and for weeks since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel — there are no customers, no tourists interested in guided trips through the rolling hills. The kibbutz itself appears almost empty. "Because of the war now it's a bad situation, we don't have customers, nobody wants to come," he says. This region is viewed by many Israelis as a Vermont-like escape from the bustle and churn of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There are beautiful farms and kibbutzim, lush scenery and a slower pace of life. But now Israel's government has evacuated more than 40 communities in this area, because of the threat of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that operates nearby across the Lebanon border. More than 60,000 people were required to leave their homes. Many other families, including Momika's neighbors, left voluntarily. Those who've been ordered to go are receiving government subsidies; many others say they're receiving no aid. "Now we are just half people here in the kibbutz," he says. "We're just living day-to-day. I'm not afraid if you ask me."”
United Kingdom
Reuters: UK Defence Ministry Fined For Afghan Data Breach During Taliban Takeover
“The British data regulator said on Wednesday it had fined the defence ministry for a series of email data breaches that revealed details of over 265 Afghans who were seeking relocation to Britain after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had fined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) 350,000 pounds, saying the department did not have operating procedures in place to ensure group emails had been sent securely to the Afghan nationals who had worked for or with the British government. "This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our country owes so much," Information Commissioner John Edwards said in the statement. "While the situation on the ground in the summer of 2021 was very challenging and decisions were being made at pace, that is no excuse for not protecting people's information who were vulnerable to reprisal and at risk of serious harm. Ben Wallace, who was defence minister at the time, had already issued an apology in front of the British parliament and launched an investigation into the breach.”
Germany
The Guardian: German Prosecutors Charge 27 Over Alleged Far-Right Plot To Topple Government
“German prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against 27 people, including a self-styled prince and a former far-right lawmaker, in connection with an alleged plot to topple the government that came to light with a slew of arrests a year ago. An indictment against 10 suspects, including the most prominent figures, was filed on Monday at the state court in Frankfurt. Under the German legal system, the court must decide whether and when the case will go to trial. Nine of the suspects, all German nationals, are accused of belonging to a terrorist organisation that was founded in July 2021 with the aim of “doing away by force with the existing state order in Germany”, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Prosecutors said the accused believed in a “conglomerate of conspiracy myths”, including Reich Citizens and QAnon ideology, and were convinced Germany was ruled by a so-called “deep state”. Adherents of the Reichsbürger, or Reich Citizens movement, reject Germany’s postwar constitution and have called for bringing down the government, while QAnon is a global conspiracy theory with roots in the US.”
Europe
Reuters: Netherlands Raises Terrorism Threat Level To 'Substantial'
“The likelihood of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands has increased in recent months, its anti-terrorism agency said on Tuesday as it raised its threat level for the first time since 2019. The National Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and Security (NCTV), said in a statement it has raised the country's threat level to 4, or "substantial" on its 5-step scale, citing the conflict between Israel and Hamas. "Organisations like ISIS and Al Qaeda are using the war in Gaza to urge sympathisers to carry out attacks in the West," the agency said. "Attacks and arrests in France, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom since early October illustrate the risks posed by radicalised individuals who are inspired by current events and terrorist organisations." If the agency had information about a specific attack being planned in the Netherlands it would raise the threat level to five, or "critical"”
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