CEP Mentions
The Spectator: Of Course Whole-Life Prisoners Should Be Banned From Marrying
“Is there any point in rehabilitating prisoners sentenced to ‘whole life’ tariffs, who will die in custody? Today’s announcement banning such prisoners from a fundamental human right – to get married – would suggest the state thinks there isn’t. This act, contained in an innocuous statutory instrument is a rare example of retribution in action. We don’t hear much about revenge in our criminal justice discourse these days – that, after all, is the less pretty descriptor for one of the three main aims of imprisonment. Society takes revenge for harm done on the part of the individual because crime is a societal hurt. This is the reason why such trials are styled as Rex or Regina vs the alleged perpetrator. By convention, these are crimes against the King. There are estimated to be around 70 prisoners serving a ‘whole life’ tariff in England and Wales.”
Berliner Morgenpost: Tehran Threatens Retaliation: Can Iran Destroy Israel?
“After the targeted killing of a Hezbollah commander in Beirut and the Hamas foreign chief in Tehran, the world is holding its breath. Many are asking: How will Iran retaliate ? And: Can Israel be defeated? […] Would Israel's missile defense system "Iron Dome" withstand an attack from different fronts? "The 'Iron Dome' offers sufficient protection in the current situation, but in the event of a broad confrontation with Hezbollah, the system would very likely be overloaded," Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Berlin think tank Counter Extremism Project, told our editorial team. "Hezbollah now has a special type of drone that flies very fast and very low and cannot be intercepted by Israeli air defenses." Hezbollah would be able to attack not only the north of Israel, but also targets far to the south - possibly as far as Tel Aviv, said Schindler.”
United States
The Washington Post: Deal With Accused 9/11 Plotters Offers Victims’ Families Little Relief
“Jim Smith wasn’t sure if he’d heard correctly when he got the call this week from the Justice Department. A plea deal? The men charged with killing his wife and nearly 3,000 others on Sept. 11, 2001 — how could they be afforded the luxury, he thought, of any say in their fate? “We’ve been fighting for justice for 23 years,” Smith said Thursday. “Only to have it end with a whimper.” The case has dragged on for so long that the federal victim liaison he knew best had retired. She’d called him anyway, wanting to tell him personally: Three suspects at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp had agreed to plead guilty for their roles in the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil. Doing so rules out the death penalty.”
Reuters: Biden Says Killing Of Hamas Leader Haniyeh Not Helpful For Ceasefire Talks
“U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the killing of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh was not helpful for reaching a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza. There has been an increased risk of an escalation into a broader Middle East war after the assassination of Haniyeh in Iran drew threats of retaliation against Israel. Hamas and Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, who had participated in internationally-brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. Anxious residents in Israeli-besieged Gaza feared that Haniyeh's killing on Wednesday would prolong the war. Iran said the killing took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for its new president. "It doesn't help," Biden told reporters late on Thursday, when asked if Haniyeh's assassination ruined the chances for a ceasefire agreement.”
Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: A Cease-Fire Is Key To Ending The Region’s Cycle Of Violence, Blinken Says
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed for “all parties” in the Middle East to avoid escalatory actions that could plunge the region into further conflict, and said Thursday that a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was the only way to begin to break the cycle of violence and suffering. The remarks came as prayers were held by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and representatives of Palestinian militia groups for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard. Worry has spread that Wednesday’s shock assassination risks escalating the fighting into an all-out regional war. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion quickly fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.”
Turkey
The Times Of Israel: Outcry As Turkish Embassy In Israel Lowers Flag In Honor Of Haniyeh; Envoy Summoned
The Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv lowered its flag to half mast on Friday in honor of slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, drawing swift backlash from outraged Israeli officials. “Israel will not accept expressions of participation in mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who summoned the Turkish deputy ambassador for a reprimand, in a statement published by his office. “If embassy representatives want to mourn, let them go to Turkey and mourn together with their master Erdogan, who embraces the terrorist organization Hamas and supports its murderous acts,” Katz said. Turkey declared Friday as a day of mourning for Haniyeh, who was killed on Wednesday in a blast for which Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility."
Lebanon
Reuters: Hezbollah Vows 'Definite' Response To Israeli Killing Of Top Commander
“Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah vowed on Thursday a "definite" response to Israel's killing of its top military commander, saying the strike had crossed red lines and the decades-old rivalry between foes had entered a new phase. "The resistance cannot but respond. This is definite," said Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in a televised address to mark the funeral of the slain commander, attended by mourners clad in black waving the group's yellow-and-green flag. "We are looking for a real response, not a performative response, and for real opportunities. A studied response," Nasrallah said. An Israeli strike on Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday killed Fuad Shukr, head of the group's military operations, along with an Iranian military adviser and five civilians.”
Qatar
Reuters: Slain Hamas Leader Haniyeh's Funeral Held In Qatar, Israel Is Warned Of Revenge
“The funeral of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh took place in Qatar on Friday following his assassination two days ago in Iran's capital Tehran - one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian militant group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages. Mourners at the ceremony in a large mosque just north of the capital Doha included Khaled Meshaal, who is tipped to be the new Hamas leader. Other senior Hamas officials and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani also attended. He will be buried in a cemetery in the city of Lusail, north of Doha. Haniyeh's coffin, draped in the Palestinian flag, was carried across the mosque past hundreds of people along with the coffin of his bodyguard, who was killed in the same attack in Tehran on Wednesday.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Bombing Kills At Least 19 In Nigeria’s Borno State
“Officials in Nigeria’s Borno state say 19 people were killed and at least 20 injured when a bomb exploded in a popular tea house late Wednesday, the second major attack in recent weeks. Security and government officials say the bombing occurred at about 8pm local time in Kawuri village, about 50 kilometers from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, where the officials say the wounded were taken for treatment. Officials said the bomb was planted and it was not a suicide attack. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Boko Haram jihadist group and their rivals, Islamic State West Africa Province, are both active in Borno. According to local media reports, Nigerian authorities could implement movement restrictions, vehicle checks, or curfew measures on short notice in response to the assault.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: ISIS Branch In Somalia Still A Major Threat, Analysts Say
“The ISIS militants in Somalia are still in a position to cause upset and probably ruin gains made in the fight against violent extremism, security analysts contend, in the wake of sporadic attacks targeting innocent civilians across the country. Two months ago, the US Africa Command triggered an airstrike in Dhaadaar, Puntland, targeting Abdul Qadir Mumin, the leader of ISIS. While Mumin is believed to have survived, the strike resulted in the deaths of three other militants, illustrating the heightened concern among U.S. officials about the group's rising role within the global Islamic State network. According to security analysts, the militants are potentially well equipped with the financial resources said to be 'stable'. The group has been recruiting foreign fighters mostly from Ethiopia, a strategy used to expand its territory beyond the borders.”
Mali
Bloomberg: Mali Rebels Say They Killed 131 Wagner, Army Soldiers In Clashes
“A Malian rebel group said it killed scores of soldiers and foreign fighters during battles with the West African nation’s Russian mercenary-backed army last month. The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad, a coalition of anti-government groups in northern Mali, said it killed 84 mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group and 47 Malian troops over three days of fighting. The pro-Kremlin Africa Initiative said on Monday that more than two dozen Wagner fighters and Malian soldiers were killed during the fight, which would have been the heaviest loss for the group since it deployed to Mali in 2021.”
Africa
Bloomberg: Islamic State In Mozambique More Active, Sophisticated, UN Warns
“Islamic State-backed insurgents in Mozambique who’ve been operating near a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project that TotalEnergies SE aims to resume this year are becoming increasingly active and are employing more sophisticated tactics, a United Nations report warned this week. Mozambique had pushed the rebels back with the help of troops from a southern African bloc and Rwanda, but there has been a resurgence in violence this year in the northeastern Cabo Delgado province. The regional military mission completed a withdrawal last month, raising the risk of even more conflict. “The situation in Cabo Delgado Province is more fluid following a change in the security landscape,” the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said in a report to the UN Security Council. “There has been a spike in carefully orchestrated attacks.””
Technology
The Guardian: How TikTok Bots And AI Have Powered A Resurgence In UK Far-Right Violence
“Less than three hours after the stabbing attack on Monday that led to the death of three children, an AI-generated image was shared on X by an account called Europe Invasion. It depicted bearded men in traditional Muslim dress outside the Houses of Parliament, one waving a knife, behind a crying child in a union jack T-shirt. The tweet, which has since been viewed 900,000 times, was captioned: “We must protect our children!” and shared by one of the most potent accounts for misinformation about the Southport stabbings. AI technology has been used in other ways, including an anti-immigration Facebook group that illustrated a call to attend a rally in Middlesbrough by generating an image of a large crowd at the town’s cenotaph.”
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