Islamic center head leaves Germany after deportation order

Islamic center head leaves Germany after deportation order
The former head of an Islamic centre in Germany banned for its alleged links to extremist groups has left the country after being served with a deportation order, local authorities said Wednesday. (AP/File)
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Updated 11 September 2024
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Islamic center head leaves Germany after deportation order

Islamic center head leaves Germany after deportation order
  • Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, who was the head of the Hamburg Islamic Center before it was banned in July, left Germany on Tuesday evening
  • Investigators swooped on the Hamburg Islamic Center in July after concluding it was an “Islamist extremist organization” with links to Iran and Hezbollah

HAMBURG: The former head of an Islamic center in Germany banned for its alleged links to extremist groups has left the country after being served with a deportation order, local authorities said Wednesday.
Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, who was the head of the Hamburg Islamic Center before it was banned in July, left Germany on Tuesday evening, the Hamburg interior ministry said in a statement.
Mofatteh, 57, had been ordered two weeks ago to leave Germany by Wednesday or face being deported at his own expense.
He will not be allowed to re-enter Germany for 20 years and could face up to three years in prison if he does, the ministry said.
Andy Grote, interior minister for the state of Hamburg, described Mofatteh as “one of Germany’s most prominent Islamists.”
“We will continue to take a tough line against Islamists with all legal means at our disposal,” he said in a statement.
Investigators swooped on the Hamburg Islamic Center in July after concluding it was an “Islamist extremist organization” with links to Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Iran reacted angrily to the accusations and shut down a German language institute in Tehran in what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move.
Mofatteh’s exit comes with the threat from Islamist extremists high on the political agenda in Germany after a deadly knife attack in the western city of Solingen in late August.
Three people were killed and eight injured in the rampage, allegedly carried out by a Syrian asylum seeker and claimed by the Daesh group.
The attack has reignited a bitter debate about immigration in Germany, with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser this week announcing new border controls to curb irregular migrant inflows.
The government has also promised to speed up deportations and a week after the Solingen attack deported Afghans convicted of crimes back to their home country for the first time since Taliban authorities took power in 2021.


Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus

Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus
Updated 17 sec ago
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Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus

Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026: Yunus
  • Interim leader says that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026.
“Election dates could be fixed by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026,” Yunus said in a broadcast on state television.

Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks

Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks
Updated 17 min 59 sec ago
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Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks

Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks
  • Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier, angering Beijing
  • The M1A2 tanks, the first batch of 108 ordered in 2019, arrived in Taiwan late Sunday

TAIPEI: Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defense ministry said Monday, as the island boosts its military capabilities against a potential Chinese attack.
Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.
The M1A2 tanks — the first batch of 108 ordered in 2019 — arrived in Taiwan late Sunday and were transferred to an army training base in Hsinchu, south of the capital Taipei, the defense ministry said.
Abrams tanks, which are among the heaviest in the world, are a mainstay of the US military.
The M1A2s are the first new tanks to be delivered to Taiwan in 30 years, the semi-official Central News Agency said.
Taiwan’s current tank force consists of around 1,000 Taiwan-made CM 11 Brave Tiger and US-made M60A3 tanks, technology that is increasingly obsolete.
The government previously allocated the equivalent of more than $1.2 billion for the 108 Abrams.
Taiwan faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which has refused to rule out using force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.
While it has a home-grown defense industry and has been upgrading its equipment, Taiwan relies heavily on US arms sales to bolster its security capabilities.
Taiwan requested the state-of-the-art M1A2 tanks in 2019. The rest of the order is expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026, an army official said.
While US arms supplies to Taiwan are enshrined into law, a massive backlog caused by Covid-19 supply chain disruptions and US weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel have slowed deliveries to Taiwan.
The backlog now exceeds $21 billion, according to Washington think tank Cato Institute.
Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China and in recent years has increased spending on its military.
Taipei allocated a record $19 billion for 2024 and next year’s budget is set to hit a new high, as it seeks to bolster a more agile defense approach.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, regularly deploying fighter jets and warships around the island.
Taiwanese authorities said last week that China had held its biggest maritime drills in years, with around 90 ships deployed from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.
The vessels simulated attacks on foreign ships and practiced blockading sea routes, a Taiwan security official said previously.


US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says

US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says
Updated 16 December 2024
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US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says

US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says
  • The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place

BOSTON: After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, elected officials are urging action to identify and stop the mysterious flights.
“There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“’We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer,” he said.
National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a public safety threat. But because they can’t say with certainty who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones over parts of New Jersey, New York and other eastern parts of the US — or how they can be stopped — has led leaders of both political parties to demand better technology and powers to deal with the drones.
Sen. Chuck Schumer called Sunday for the US Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify the drones and their operators.
“New Yorkers have tremendous questions about it,” Schumer, the Senate Majority leader, told reporters about the drone sightings. “We are going to get the answers for them.”
The federal government did little to answer those questions in its own media briefings Sunday morning. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities.”
Some of the drones reported above parts of New York and New Jersey have turned out to be “manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” Mayorkas said. “We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter.”
Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their remote identification, including the location of their operators. It’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is behind the drones plaguing locations over New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office didn’t respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability.
Schumer wants the federal government to use a recently declassified radio wave technology in New York and New Jersey. The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or airplane and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place. Schumer said state and local authorities do not have the authority to track drones.
On Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.
“This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over parts of New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research and manufacturing facility and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Drones are now being reported all along the northern East Coast, with suspicious sightings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to news reports.
Some US political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against these drones, including shooting them down.
Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones, Mayorkas said Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said.
A bill before the US Senate would enhance some federal agencies’ authority and give new abilities to local and state agencies to track drones. It would also start a pilot program allowing states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without prior consent of the operator.
“What the drone issue points out are gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement, the Defense Department.,” said Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick to be his national security adviser, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from.’’


German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections

German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections
Updated 16 December 2024
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German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections

German Chancellor Scholz to ask parliament to clear way for new elections
  • Lost confidence vote opens path to snap elections
  • Scholz hopes to be acting chancellor until new government formed

BERLIN: Chancellor Olaf Scholz will call on Germany’s parliament on Monday to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step toward securing early elections following his government’s collapse.
The departure last month of the neoliberal Free Democrats from the three-way coalition left Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens governing without a parliamentary majority just when Germany faces its deepest economic crisis in a generation.
Rules drawn up to prevent the series of short-lived and unstable governments that played an important role in helping the Nazis rise to power in the 1930s mean that the path to new elections is long and largely controlled by the chancellor.
“If legislators follow the path I am recommending, I will suggest to the President that he dissolve parliament,” Scholz told reporters on Wednesday after requesting the motion.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he will act accordingly after Monday’s vote and agreed with parliamentary parties on Feb. 23 as the date for early elections.
Assuming the no-confidence vote passes, Scholz and his ministers will remain in office in an acting capacity until a new government is formed, which could take months if coalition negotiations prove lengthy.
Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support during that period, including 11 billion euros ($11.55 billion) of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners.
Measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of a future populist or anti-democratic government, to cut energy prices and to extend a popular subsidised transport ticket are also under discussion.
The outcome of the vote is not certain, with Scholz’s SPD likely to vote that they have confidence in their Chancellor, while opposition conservatives, far ahead in the polls, and the Free Democrats expected not to.
The far-right Alternative for Germany, with whom all other parties refuse to work, could surprise legislators by voting that they do have confidence in Scholz.
If both the SPD and the Greens also back Scholz, that would leave him in the awkward position of remaining in office with the support of a party that he rejects as anti-democratic. In that case, most observers expect he would resign, which itself would trigger elections.
To avoid that scenario, many legislators expect the Greens to abstain from the vote.


UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse

UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse
Updated 16 December 2024
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UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse

UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse
  • The new committee of Libyan experts will look for ways to overcome outstanding issues in electoral laws, the UN mission’s (UNSMIL) acting head, Stephanie Koury says

The United Nations will convene a technical committee of Libyan experts in an attempt to resolve contentious issues and put the country on the path to long-awaited national elections, the acting head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Sunday.
A political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.
The new committee of Libyan experts will look for ways to overcome outstanding issues in electoral laws, the UN mission’s (UNSMIL) acting head, Stephanie Koury, said in a video statement.
They will also look for options to “reach elections in the shortest possible time including with proposed guarantees, assurances and a timeframe,” she added.
A Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.
Libya has had little peace since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, and it split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing in each area.
While all major political players in the country have repeatedly called for elections, many Libyans have voiced skepticism that they genuinely seek a vote that could push most of them from positions of authority.
“UNSMIL will also continue to work to help advance the unification of military and security institutions and, with partners, advancing national reconciliation,” Koury said.