Eye on Extremism
November 14, 2024
Reuters: US Concerned By Russia-North Korea Ties And Technology Exchanges
“The United States is concerned by Russia's growing relationship with North Korea and by what technology the two countries may be exchanging, the top U.S. arms control official said on Wednesday. Speaking to Reuters in Bucharest at a forum on preventing nuclear and radiological terrorism, Under Secretary of State Bonnie Jenkins said the U.S. was working with Japan and South Korea to address those countries' concerns about North Korea. She echoed remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who said in Brussels on Wednesday that Moscow's relationship with Pyongyang was a two-way street, and that there was deep concern about what Russia was or may be doing to strengthen "North Korea's capacity", including its nuclear capacity.”
Reuters: Israel Strikes Hezbollah Areas In Beirut, Southern Lebanon For Third Day
“Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Hezbollah-controlled areas in Beirut for a third consecutive day on Thursday, hitting locations in the capital's southern suburbs early in the morning after a night of heavy bombardments. Plumes of smoke rose over Beirut as the strikes continued, while raids also reached southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil, where overnight airstrikes and artillery shelling inflicted heavy damage on buildings and residential complexes, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). Five people were killed in airstrikes on the towns of Bazourieh and Jumayjimah, NNA reported. Israel launched a major air and ground offensive against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in late September after nearly a year of cross-border conflict in parallel with the Gaza war.”
United States
Associated Press: Guns Smuggled From The US Are Blamed For A Surge In Killings On More Caribbean Islands
“Dozens of soldiers and police fanned out across a neighborhood on a recent night in the Turks & Caicos Islands just days after the archipelago reported a record 40 killings this year. They were on the hunt for criminals and illegal weapons fueling a surge of violence across the Caribbean as authorities struggle to control a stream of firearms smuggled in from the U.S. Half an hour into the Oct. 30 operation, one driver tried to run authorities off the road as he tossed a handgun into the bushes. “Rest assured, we remain committed to disrupting the flow of illicit guns,” Police Superintendent Jason James said hours later. But the flow is too strong, with illegal firearms blamed for an increase or a record number of killings in a growing number of Caribbean islands this year, including Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.”
CBS News: Biden Meets With Families Of Hostages Held By Hamas As White House Says It'll Work With Trump Team On Their Return
“President Biden met Wednesday with the families of American hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, as the Biden administration says it stands ready to work with the incoming Trump administration toward the common goal of securing their release. The topic of the American hostages held in Gaza came up during Mr. Biden's nearly two-hour meeting with President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. Sullivan met with the families of the hostages on Tuesday. Speaking with reporters after meeting with the president, the families said they are urging the Trump administration to work with the Biden administration — now. The families have already met with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Trump's pick to be secretary of state.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: An Explosion In A House Kills 2 Children In A Former Stronghold Of The Pakistani Taliban
“A powerful explosion ripped through a house in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday, killing at least two children and wounding some others, police said. Police were still investigating what caused the blast including whether someone was handling explosives to make bomb, local police chief Irfan Khan said. The blast happened in Mir Ali, a city in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan and where Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents often target security forces with suicide bombings and other violence. Elsewhere in the province Thursday, a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off an explosive device prematurely on a deserted road in Charsadda district, killing himself but harming no one else, police said.”
Associated Press: Pakistani Security Forces Kill 12 Insurgents In 2 Raids Hours Apart
“Pakistani security forces faced off with insurgents in two separate raids hours apart on their hideouts in two troubled areas in the country killing 12 militants and wounding six others, the military said Wednesday. Four insurgents were killed in the first raid in Kech, a district in the restive southwestern Balochistan province, it said in a statement. The raid in Balochistan came days after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a train station in the capital, Quetta, killing at least 26 people, including soldiers and railway staff, and wounding about 62 others, some critically. A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, claimed Saturday’s attack, saying the bomber targeted troops present at the railway station. The outlawed BLA has long waged an insurgency seeking independence from Islamabad, and authorities had vowed to eliminate it.”
Lebanon
Voice Of America: Six Israeli Troops Killed In Nation’s Deadliest Day In Lebanon
“Israel suffered one of the deadliest days of its ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday when six of its soldiers were killed in combat near the border. The soldiers "fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement. Their deaths brought to 47 the number of Israeli troops who have been killed in combat with Hezbollah since September 30, when Israel sent ground forces into Lebanon. The army's announcement came after Israel Katz, Israel's new defense minister, said there would be no easing up in the war against Hezbollah.”
Reuters: Hezbollah Says It Launched Attack On Military Base In Tel Aviv, No Sirens Heard In City
“Lebanon's Iran-aligned Hezbollah said on Wednesday that it had launched an attack on Tel Aviv's Hakirya military base, for the first time with drones, however there were no warning sirens heard and no immediate reports of any impact in a busy area of the city. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on Hezbollah's statement and no warning sirens were heard by a Reuters reporter in the city or reported by the military in Tel Aviv. Hezbollah had made no further claims about any outcome around a hour after it first reported it had launched the attack. The base, which is the military and government's centre in Tel Aviv, hosts the headquarters of several military entities including the war cabinet. It is situated in a busy area in the city next to a large shopping mall and a train station.”
Qatar
The Jerusalem Post: Hamas Not Engaging In Hostage Deal, So Qatar Asked It Leave Doha, Blinken Says
“Hamas doesn’t want a hostage deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, explaining this is one of the reasons Doha asked that the group leave Qatar. “We’ve been working, as you know, on trying to get an agreement on a hostage and ceasefire deal,” Blinken said on the 404th day that the hostages have been in captivity. “Hamas, tragically, has demonstrated that it’s not going to engage on that despite the renewed efforts we’ve made in recent weeks,” Blinken stated. “It’s one of the reasons why Qatar has told them to leave Qatar,” he said, confirming that Doha did indeed tell Hamas to leave.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Middle East Latest: 3 Young Siblings Killed In Gaza As Israeli Strikes In Lebanon Kill 6
“An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said. In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building south of Beirut on Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 15, the Health Ministry said. Israeli forces have encircled and largely isolated the Gaza Strip’s northernmost areas for the past month, saying Hamas militants have regrouped. Experts on hunger say famine is imminent or may already be happening there. Israel has also been striking deeper inside Lebanon since September as it escalates the war against Hezbollah. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say.”
Reuters: Israel Says It Attacks Hezbollah Arms Smuggling Routes In Syria
“An Israeli attack targeted the area of Qusayr in the southern countryside of Homs province in central Syria, Syria's state media said on Wednesday. Later on Wednesday, the Israeli military said it attacked routes between Syria and Lebanon used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah from Syria. Israel said it has been carrying out such strikes to reduce the transfer of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah. Syrian media said that air defences intercepted "hostile" targets over the Homs countryside. The Israeli air attack targeted bridges on the Syrian-Lebanese border in the Qusayr area, causing significant damage and putting them out of service, Syrian state media said, citing a military source. Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by militant group Hamas on Israel.”
Mali
Associated Press: Mali Arrests Top Politician For Criticizing Burkina Faso’s Ruling Junta
“Mali’s ruling junta arrested one of the country’s top politicians Wednesday for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso, according to his son and a judiciary source. Issa Kaou N’Djim, who previously supported Mali’s current military leader Col. Assimi Goita before distancing himself, was arrested on charges of insulting a foreign head of state, which is a crime in Mali, an employee of the court system said. The court employee spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters. N’Djim had claimed on the Joliba TV News broadcaster on Sunday that the military rulers of Burkina Faso, a close ally of Mali, made up evidence of a foiled coup in September. The politician was placed in custody and taken to the main prison in Mali’s capital Bamako on Wednesday, his son, Ousmane N’djim, said.”
Technology
The Guardian: Ireland Orders X, TikTok And Instagram To Curb Terrorist Content
“Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Meta’s Instagram have been ordered by Irish media regulators to take “necessary measures” to prevent terrorist content being platformed in order to comply with sweeping new online safety legislation. The Irish media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, said it issued the ruling after its investigations determined that the social media networks were “exposed to terrorist content” due to weak processes. Such rulings come when a network is subjected to at least two removal orders from EU competent authorities, usually the police, but sometimes a regulator, in the preceding 12 months. Orders under the EU terrorist content online regulation usually require the removal of content within an hour of the order.”
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