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☆ Six Teens in Court in Connection With Beheading of French Teacher
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS (Reuters) -Six teenagers go on trial behind closed doors on Monday in connection with the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, a murder that shocked the country. The teacher had shown his pupils caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering some Muslim parents. A 13-year-old girl at the time allegedly told her parents that Paty had asked Muslim pupils to leave the room before showing the caricatures. They cannot be identified due to their age and entered court on Monday wearing hoodies to hide their faces. France has suffered a wave of attacks by Islamist militants in past years, including a gun rampage in 2015 in the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that had published caricatures Paty showed in his class.

Persons: Samuel Paty, Prophet Mohammad, Paty, Antoine Ory, Mickaelle, Louis Cailliez, Charlie Hebdo, Lucien Libert, Juliette Jabkhiro, Sybille de La, Giles Elgood, Alison Williams Organizations: PARIS Locations: Paris, France

More than 10 intelligence and police officials in five European countries including Britain, Germany and France told Reuters they are increasing surveillance of Islamist militants. A British security official said the war in Gaza was likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since the Iraq war in 2003, and that calls for attacks on Jewish and Western targets had risen in Europe. Two Islamist militant attacks in France and Belgium last month killed three people, and these two countries, Austria, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have raised their terrorism threat alert levels. LONE WOLVESSecurity officials say the main danger for Europe is probably from attacks by "lone wolves" — assailants who are radicalised, often online, but have no formal links to more established groups. Although a truce has come into effect in Gaza, both sides have said the war is far from over.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, radicalised, Mark Rowley, al, Jochen Kopelke, It's, Kopelke, Israel, Peter Knoope, Knoope, Iman Atta, Germany's Kopelke, influencers, Europol, Thomas Renard, Juliette Jabkhiro, Angelo Amante, Johan Ahlander, Phil Blenkinsop, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, London, British, Islamic State, Islamic, WOLVES Security, Hamas, Dutch National, International Centre for, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, BERLIN, Israel, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, Iran, Gaza, Iraq, Europe, Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Italy, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Qaeda, Afghanistan, Syria, United States, British, al, West

☆ Trump heads to US-Mexico border as he escalates anti-immigrant rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Kate Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to give a speech Sunday in Texas near the US-Mexico border as he escalates his anti-immigrant rhetoric and campaigns on hard-line immigration policy proposals. The trip is being dubbed as an official state visit, and both Trump and Abbott are expected to discuss plans for curbing illegal immigration. This is an invasion,” Trump, who has made curtailing illegal immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign, declared at a recent rally in Hialeah, Florida. Trump is planning a widespread expansion of his administration’s hard-line immigration policies that would restrict both legal and illegal immigration, should he be elected to a second term. The plans include rounding up undocumented immigrants already in the US and placing them in detention camps to await deportation.

Persons: Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, Trump, Abbott, Hannibal Lecter, “ There’s, ” Trump, Trump’s, –, ”, He’s Organizations: CNN, Texas Gov, Trump Locations: Texas, Mexico, Hialeah , Florida, Israel

I will stop the invasion on our southern border and begin largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” he said in Iowa Saturday. “If you empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you’re disqualified," Trump says. “Before we defend the borders of foreign countries we must secure the border of our country," he said said. The border has also become a centerpiece of Abbott's agenda and the subject of an escalating fight with the Biden administration over immigration. A Marquette Law School poll of registered voters conducted in late September gave Trump a 24-point advantage over Biden on handling immigration and border security issues — 52% to 28%.

Persons: — Donald Trump, Trump, Greg Abbott, “, Biden, ”, —, you’re, — you’re, Abbott, Ken Paxton, Trump's, “ Donald Trump, ” Biden, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, ___ Colvin, Will Weissert Organizations: National Guard, Republican Gov, Trump, U.S, Supreme, Social, FBI, Drug, Administration, GOP, Democrat, Texas, Biden, Marquette Law School, Associated Press Locations: EDINBURG , Texas, U.S, Mexico, Edinburg , Texas, Iowa, North Korea, United States, Israel, COVID, Laredo , Texas, Rio Grande, bused, Texas, New York, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ Opinion: Osama bin Laden was a mass murderer, not a TikTok influencer
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He is the author of “The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Bin Laden’s al Qaeda affiliate in Iraq helped to trigger the Iraqi civil war in 2006, during which tens of thousands of Iraqis died. And this is only a partial list of the mayhem carried out by bin Laden and his followers. The “Letter to America” also decries the United States’ role in global warming, American tolerance for homosexuality and the drug culture that exists in the United States. It might behoove those posting on TikTok to understand some of this history before praising bin Laden’s purported brilliance.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, CNN —, bin Laden, ”, bin, Bin Laden’s, I’ve, “, Nelly Lahoud, ” Lahoud, Facebook Lahoud, “ Bin Laden Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Guardian, Israel, Hamas, Saudi, Palestine, US Navy, Team, ISIS, US Army War College, Twitter, Facebook Locations: New America, America, al Qaeda, Africa, Qaeda, Iraq, Indonesia, Bali, London, United States, Palestine, Israel, Islam, Al Aqsa, Jerusalem, Al, Quds, Pakistan, Syria, Abbottabad, Vietnam

☆ Opinion | Checks and Balances Are for Losers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As several of my Times colleagues reported last week, he hopes to institute a program of mass detainment and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Trump also intends to circumvent the 14th Amendment so that he can end birthright citizenship for the children of unauthorized immigrants. They may fail — in fact, they often do — but presidents try to keep their campaign promises and act on their campaign plans. He said he would “build a wall,” and he tried to build a wall. He said he would try to keep Muslims out of the country, and he tried to keep Muslims out of the country.

Persons: Trump, — Trump, “, ” Trump, we’ll, — Locations: U.S, Mexico, United States

☆ Tunisia Says Escaped Islamist Convicts Believed to Be Behind Bank Robbery
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian National Guard said two of five Islamists who escaped from prison this week are believed to have carried out an armed robbery of a bank near the capital on Friday. Five Islamists convicted of killing two secular politicians and policemen escaped from jail on Tuesday in a rare security breach for the North African country, prompting the government to dismiss top intelligence officials. The robbery in the Boumhele near Tunis comes just as the tourism sector has begun to recover after years of stagnation due to jihadist attacks and the COVID pandemic. The five men included one who had been serving a 24-year sentence for the assassination of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in 2013. Another of the five had taken part in violent attacks that have shaken Tunisia in the past decade.

Persons: Kais Saied, Chokri Belaid, Mohamed, Tarek Amara, Nick Macfie Organizations: Tunisian National Guard, National Guard, Security Locations: TUNIS, Tunis, Tunisia, Chaambi, Algerian

☆ The War on College Campuses
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Lauren Camera | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +16 min

College campuses have always been bastions of protest, where young, energetic students push older generations in the direction of the next social or political reform. Notably, the prevailing notions of the liberal bent of college campuses are not incorrect. According to a 2023 survey by FIRE of roughly 1,500 four-year college professors, 50% identify as liberal, 17% as moderate, and 26% as conservative. Analysts say the recent inflammatory examples that have not only riven college campuses but altered the way many Americans view them also underscore the increasing difficulty observers in the U.S. have of sitting with complex developments. Many of the country’s most elite schools actually perform the worst, according to the 2024 College Free Speech Ranking by FIRE.

Persons: Ron DeSantis –, “, ”, –, Zach Greenberg, Nikki Haley, Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Pell Grant, Donald Trump, Strawn, Davis Polk, Sarah Lawrence, Samuel Abrams, ” Greenberg, Joe Biden, Peter Coleman, Morton, Coleman, “ We’re, Tony Banout, ” Banout, ” Coleman Organizations: Hamas, National Students for Justice, Florida Gov, College, Foundation, Rights, ”, U.S ., Harvard’s, for Palestine, Palestine Solidarity Committee, George Washington University, GOP, Former South Carolina Gov, Customs, Winston, Wardwell, Harvard University, Columbia University, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, FIRE, Sarah Lawrence College, New York Times, Columbia, America – Democrats, Republicans, Jewish, Tulane University, Cornell University, FBI, White, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Morton Deutsch International, for Cooperation, Israel, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Forum, Free Locations: Israel, Palestine, America, Florida, Gaza, U.S, Former, ., Carolina, Columbia, Costa Rica

☆ Woman Shouting 'You're All Going to Die' Shot by Police in Paris Metro
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS (Reuters) -Paris police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab who was behaving in a threatening manner and shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "You're all going to die" in a metro station on Tuesday morning, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said. The fully-veiled woman was shot at the Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand station. "This person refused to comply with summons and police fired their weapons," Nunez said, adding the situation had been "extremely threatening." The woman turned out not be in possession of explosives at the time she was shot, Nunez said. The metro station, on the RER C line, was evacuated after the incident, police said.

Persons: Allahu Akbar, Laurent Nunez, Olivier Veran, Nunez, Le Parisien, Tassilo Hummel, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, Sudip Kar, Ingrid Melander, John Stonestreet, Ed Osmond, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: PARIS, Paris police, Bibliotheque Locations: Paris, France, Israel, Gaza

☆ Woman shouting 'You're all going to die' shot by police in Paris metro
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Paris police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab who was behaving in a threatening manner and shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "You're all going to die" in a metro station on Tuesday morning, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said. [1/2]Police stand outside the Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand metro and regional train station, where officers shot and injured a woman wearing a hijab after she shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "You're all going to die", in Paris, France, October 31, 2023. "This person refused to comply with summons and police fired their weapons," Nunez said, adding the situation had been "extremely threatening." The woman turned out not be in possession of explosives at the time she was shot, Nunez said. The metro station, on the RER C line, was evacuated after the incident, police said.

Persons: Allahu Akbar, Laurent Nunez, Olivier Veran, Lucien Libert, Nunez, Le Parisien, Tassilo Hummel, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, Sudip Kar, Ingrid Melander, John Stonestreet, Ed Osmond, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Paris police, Bibliotheque, Police, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Israel, Gaza

☆ Woman wearing hijab shot by police in Paris metro, condition critical
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Paris police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab in a metro station on Tuesday morning, after commuters reported her shouting Jihadist slogans and behaving in a threatening manner, the government said. The fully-veiled woman was shot at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France station. The fire service, which provided emergency care for the woman, said she was shot in the abdomen. The metro station, on the RER C line, was evacuated after the incident, police said. Two investigations were opened, one against the woman and a second into the use of weapons by police, the government spokesman said.

Persons: Olivier Veran, Veran, Tassilo Hummel, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, John Stonestreet Organizations: Paris police, Bibliotheque Nationale de, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Israel, Gaza, Bibliotheque Nationale de France

☆ Israel, It’s Time to Consider a Cease-fire - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

I am watching the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza today and thinking about one of the world leaders I’ve most admired: Manmohan Singh. The cost of occupying Gaza could overstretch the Israeli military and economy for years to come. Israel should keep the door open for a humanitarian cease-fire and prisoner exchange that will also allow Israel to pause and reflect on exactly where it is going with its rushed Gaza military operation — and the price it could pay over the long haul. Israel built an impressive society and economy, even if flawed, and Hamas took nearly all of its resources and built attack tunnels. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Persons: I’ve, Manmohan Singh, Singh, Shivshankar Menon, “, ” Menon, ”, Menon, Israel’s, It’s, Israel —, —, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu, ’ ’, Gaza —, Shin Bet, excusing, don’t Organizations: Pakistan Army, Abraham Accords, Economist, Hamas, United, West Bank, Shin Bet, European Union, Democratic Party, U.S . House, Bank, Gaza, New York, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Israel, Gaza, Pakistani, India, Mumbai, Pakistan, Abraham, United States, Mexico, European, U.S, Washington

☆ Niger junta says it has blocked President Bazoum's escape bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Niger’s military government said Thursday it foiled a late-night escape attempt by deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to flee to neighboring Nigeria after being held in custody for nearly three months following his ouster in a coup. The deposed Nigerien leader – who has yet to resign as president– had been placed under house arrest since the military junta overthrew him on July 27. Later that month, the junta said it had “gathered the necessary evidence” to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason.”The junta has held on to power despite pressure from Niger’s Western and regional allies. Last week, the US said it was putting a hold on its assistance programs to Niger, including funding while formally declaring Bazoum’s ouster as a coup. The military rulers said they ovethrew Bazoum because of the country’s security problems and struggling economy.

Persons: CNN —, Mohamed Bazoum, Bazoum, they’ll, ”, –, Bazoum’s Organizations: CNN, Nigerien Locations: Nigeria, Niger’s, Niamey, ”, Niger

☆ The Gaza Hospital and the Missing Aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Image: Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated PressOn Tuesday a blast at a hospital in Gaza City reportedly killed hundreds of people. About a quarter of Hamas and PIJ rockets fired in previous wars have fallen short and landed in Gaza. More details will come, but blowing up a hospital isn’t in Israel’s interest. Hamas shows such little concern for Gazans that it has long stolen their humanitarian aid. It’s another way the terrorist group uses Palestinian civilians, playing on Western sympathy to advance its jihadist brutality.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza City, Jihad, Iran, Gaza

They spoke after paying tribute to the victims of Monday's attack in the Belgian capital, home to the EU institutions, and condemning what they branded a brutal terrorist attack. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Europe's open-border Schengen zone would not survive unless the EU's external frontiers were better protected from unwanted immigration. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said the EU also needed a more effective system of returning unauthorised immigrants. The 45-year-old gunman arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2011 and then lived in Sweden before claiming asylum in Belgium. EU migration ministers will discuss the plans in Brussels on Thursday, as will national leaders next week.

Persons: Ulf Kristersson, Alexander De Croo, Yves Herman Acquire, Margaritis Schinas, Abdesalem Al Guilani, RTBF, Abdesalem, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Johnny Cotton, Anna Ringstrom, Benoit van Overstraeten, Gabriela Baczynska, Gareth Jones, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Swedish, Belgian, REUTERS, Sweden's, EU, STV, European Commission, Islamic State, Thomson Locations: Sweden, Brussels, Belgium, BRUSSELS, Tunisia, Swedish, Belgian, Europe, Lampedusa, Israel

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves at the Club 47 USA event in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. October 11, 2023. He did not explain how he would enforce his demands, including the one requiring immigrants to support Israel's right to exist under what he called "strong ideological screening." A ban he imposed on immigrants from some Muslim-majority nations was struck down in lower courts but ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump said on Monday he would ban immigrants from Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen "or anywhere else that threatens our security". Promising to drastically tighten U.S. immigration laws, Trump said: "If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you're disqualified, if you support Hamas or the ideology behind Hamas, you're disqualified, and if you're a communist, Marxist, or fascist, you are disqualified."

Persons: Donald Trump, Shannon Stapleton, CLIVE, Trump, Israel, Biden, Jaime Harrison, Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis, Benjamin Netanyahu, Nathan Layne, Tim Reid, Howard Goller Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, Supreme, Democratic National Committee, Democratic, Marxist, Trump's Republican, The, Thomson Locations: West Palm Beach , Florida, U.S, CLIVE , Iowa, Palestinian, Iowa, Gaza, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Israel, The United States, Florida, Iran, Lebanese, Clive , Iowa, Los Angeles

☆ Trump, citing Hamas attacks, vows sweeping immigration crackdown if elected
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Kate Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

His proposals would amount to a sweeping overhaul of America’s immigration system and would almost certainly face legal challenges if implemented. During his presidency, Trump’s travel ban was a signature policy that limited travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The administration later extended the travel ban to include several African countries. President Joe Biden revoked the travel ban after he took office in 2021. Trump criticized pro-Palestinian protests and said he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to what he described as “pro-jihadist demonstrations.”“We have to protect our own country,” Trump said.

Persons: Donald Trump, resettlements, Trump, Joe Biden, United States ”, ”, ” Trump Organizations: CNN, White, Customs Locations: Clive , Iowa, Israel, Iran, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, United States, Gaza

☆ French school where teacher was stabbed evacuated over bomb alert
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Pascal Rossignol | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] French police and firefighters stand in front of the Gambetta-Carnot school, where French teacher Dominique Bernard was killed in a knife attack on Friday, after the school was evacuated following a bomb alert in Arras, northern France, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Acquire Licensing RightsARRAS, France, Oct 16 (Reuters) - A high school in Arras, northern France, where a French teacher was fatally stabbed on Friday, was evacuated on Monday morning following a bomb alert, according to a Reuters photographer who was at the location. After the bomb alert on Monday, teachers, some of them in tears and holding each other, left the building, as did pupils who had come to lay flowers in tribute to Bernard. As a police bomb squad arrived, teachers and students gathered in the courtyard of a building opposite their school as civil protection personnel comforted them. Reporting by Pascal Rossignol; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Toby Chopra, Sudip Kar-Gupta and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gambetta, Carnot, Dominique Bernard, Pascal Rossignol, Gerald Darmanin, Lycee Gambetta, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Bernard, Ingrid Melander, Toby Chopra, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Lycee, Thomson Locations: Arras, France, ARRAS, Israel

☆ Peace, Deterrence and Other Gods That Failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Elliot Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Review and Outlook: Hamas’s surprise attack, aided by Iran, is a reminder of Israel’s existential peril—and the growing risk to U.S. allies. Images: AFP/Getty Images/Zuma Press Composite: Mark Kelly“Too long have I lived among men who hate peace,” says Psalm 120, recited by Jews around the world for safety in Israel. “I am for peace; but whenever I speak of it, they are for war.” Israelis know the feeling. They awoke Saturday to a jihadist invasion that may shatter as many illusions as it has lives.

Persons: Mark Kelly “, ”, “ Organizations: Getty Locations: Iran, Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Tuesday formally declared the ousting of Niger's democratically-elected president a coup d'etat, more than two months after mutinous soldiers seized power. The coup designation comes with the suspension of counterterrorism assistance and military training as well as the pausing of certain foreign assistance programs worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Under U.S. law, a formal determination of a coup — the unconstitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government — typically results in a suspension of all non-humanitarian assistance, particularly military aid and cooperation, to the country concerned. The bases are a critical part of America’s overall efforts in West Africa and Niger, hosting more than 1,000 troops in the country. While a sizeable footprint remains in the country, those troops are not conducting either partnered training or counterterrorism missions, administration officials said, raising questions as to why they were staying.

Persons: Niger's, it’s, we’ve, they've, ”, Niger Kathleen FitzGibbon, Mohamed Bazoum who’s, Bazoum, —, Biden, Peter Pham, ___ Mednick Organizations: WASHINGTON, National Council for, U.S, Islamic, Atlantic Council Locations: United States, U.S, West African, Ambassador, Niger, Sahel, Burkina Faso, Mali, West Africa, Niamey, Agadez, West Africa’s, Cotonou, Benin

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is "surging" fresh supplies of air defenses, munitions and other security assistance to Israel to help it respond to an unprecedented weekend attack by Hamas, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday. "We are surging support to Israel... We remain in constant ongoing contact with our counterparts in Israel to determine and then support their most urgent requirements." The United States has not yet detailed the extent of Israel's requests for security assistance. But the U.S. defense official said Washington was contacting the defense industry to expedite pending Israeli orders, and looking at the U.S. military's own stockpiles to help fill Israeli gaps. The official also appeared to dismiss concerns that the United States might struggle to supply Israel at the same time that it funnels weaponry to Ukraine.

Persons: Washington, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Biden, Kanishka Singh, Phil Stewart, Leslie Adler, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Islamic, Islamic State . U.S, White, Wall Street, Wall Locations: Israel, U.S, United States, Ukraine, Palestinian, Islamic State ., Iran, Washington

☆ At least 100 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy, monitor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People stand and walk outside a building after drone attack on Syrian military academy in Homs, Syria October 5, 2023 is seen in this screen grab from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and an official said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones. Syria's defence and foreign ministries vowed to respond "with full force". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured.

Persons: Syria's, Hassan Al, Ghobash, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Health, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Rights BEIRUT, Idlib, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ At least 60 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and a security source said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said in a statement, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones to carry it out. The statement did not specify an organisation and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground," said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

Persons: Syria's, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Homs, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ Mali in meltdown as militants advance and U.N. withdraws
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Edward Mcallister | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] A man walks toward Sankore mosque, also known as the former University of Sankore, in Timbuktu, Mali September 25, 2023. "This conflict is escalating fast," said Ulf Laessing, the Bamako-based head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer foundation. Back in 2012, French forces and the U.N. intervened to halt the advance in Mali. In Mali, fighting began in August between the army and an ethnic Tuareg group called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) around a base vacated by the U.N. "The problem is Mali has too few troops and too little mobility," said Michael Shurkin, director of global programs at 14 North Strategies consultancy.

Persons: Stringer, Sory Touré, jihadists, Ulf Laessing, Konrad Adenauer, Russia's Wagner, Jama'at Nusrat al, Michael Shurkin, Iyad Ag, Shurkin, Mohamed Massaya, Salaha, Aicha Sababou, Edward McAllister, Alexandra Zavis, Edmund Blair Organizations: University of Sankore, REUTERS, U.N, United Nations, Islamic, Reuters Graphics, CMA, Ghali, Transitional Council, Reuters, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Sankore, Timbuktu, Mali, DAKAR, jihadists, al Qaeda, Islamic State, West, Burkina Faso, Niger, Bamako, France, U.S, Sahara, Benin, Togo, Ivory Coast, Al Qaeda, Gao, Dakar

☆ Burkina Faso junta suspends French magazine over ‘untruthful’ articles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Burkina Faso’s military junta on Monday suspended the French news magazine Jeune Afrique for publishing “untruthful” articles that reported tension and discontent within the country’s armed forces, it said in a statement. Jeune Afrique’s suspension marks the latest escalation in a crackdown on French media since the West African country fell under military rule last year. A soured relationshipRelations between Burkina Faso and its former colonizer France have soured since frustrations over worsening insecurity linked to a jihadist insurgency spurred two military takeovers last year. In April, two French journalists working for newspapers Le Monde and Liberation were expelled from the country. Liberation said the suspension was unjustified as the two journalists were of “perfect integrity” and had all their paperwork in order.

Persons: Jeune, Liberation Organizations: Reuters, Burkina, Jeune Afrique, Afrique, Radio France, TF1, Le Monde, Liberation Locations: Burkina Faso, France, French, Sahel

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