ISCHIA, Italy: The threat of fresh attacks on the West by foreign fighters fleeing the fallen Daesh stronghold of Raqqa is set to dominate a G7 meeting of interior ministers in Italy.
The two-day gathering, which kicks off Thursday on the Italian island of Ischia, comes just days after US-backed forces took full control of the terrorists’ de facto Syrian capital.
Most foreign fighters are believed to have fled over the past few months. Experts say those who stayed are now likely to head for Turkey in the hope of traveling on to Europe to seek revenge for the destruction of the “caliphate.”
Tens of thousands of citizens from Western countries traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for the group between 2014 and 2016, including extremists who then returned home and staged attacks that claimed dozens of lives.
France, whose some 1,000 nationals were among the biggest contingent of overseas recruits to join Daesh, stated frankly this weekend that it would be “for the best” if terrorists die fighting.
While border crossings have since tightened making it more difficult for fighters to return, security experts have warned of renewed possibilities of strikes as the pressure on Daesh intensifies.
“With an Islamic military defeat in Iraq and Syria we could find ourselves facing a return diaspora of foreign fighters,” Italy’s Interior Minister Marco Minniti told a parliamentary committee last week.
“There are an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 foreign fighters from 100 countries. Some of them have been killed of course, but... it’s possible some of the others will try to return home, to northern Africa and Europe,” he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said a group of 130-150 foreign fighters, including Europeans, had turned themselves in before the end of the battle in Raqqa.
Other reports suggested a convoy of foreign fighters had been able to escape the city toward Daesh-held territory, a claim denied categorically by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officials.
The SDF is expected to contact the home countries of any foreign fighters it holds, to discuss the possibility of turning them over to face prosecution.
But captured fighters could prove a legal headache, with questions raised over what evidence, collected by whom, would be used in a domestic court. Terrorists also become security risks in jails for their potential to radicalize.
French European lawmaker Arnaud Danjean said Wednesday there would be “negotiations with the countries concerned” over what to do with returners.
Minniti warned fighters could take advantage of the confusion and “use the human trafficking routes” to return home — raising the specter of extremists embarking on the migrant boats which regularly head to Italy.
It meant controversial efforts currently spearheaded by Italy to close the land and sea trafficking routes which cross Africa into Libya and on across the central Mediterranean sea to Europe were “essential,” he added.
The Seven, from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, will also tackle the hot issue of terrorism online, with analysts warning Daesh’s loss of territory will turn street-to-street fighting into an intelligence war.
The ministers are due to arrive Thursday afternoon at a medieval castle on the volcanic island off Naples, before retiring for an informal dinner and knuckling down to working sessions on Friday.
They are set to be joined by the EU commissioner for migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, European safety commissioner Julian King, and Juergen Stock, secretary general of the international police body Interpol.
In a G7 first, representatives from Internet giants Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter will also be taking part.
G7 to focus on foreign fighter fallout from rout of Daesh
G7 to focus on foreign fighter fallout from rout of Daesh
Tajikistan bets on giant dam to solve electricity crisis
- Tajikistan is reviving the colossal project, first planned by Soviet authorities in 1976, before being abandoned due to the end of communist rule
- The plant will not only generate enough power to use domestically, but could supply other Central Asian countries and even Afghanistan, Pakistan
ROGUN: In a remote village in Tajikistan’s soaring mountains, Muslikhiddin Makhmudzoda relies on a mobile phone to light his modest home as his family spends another winter without electricity.
Makhmudzoda’s three children and wife were sitting huddled together to share the phone’s flashlight in their modest brick home.
A shortage of water needed to fuel hydroelectric plants has led to serious power outages in Tajikistan, a poor former Soviet republic nestled in the Central Asian mountains and surrounded by Afghanistan, China, and fellow ex-Soviet states Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The power crisis is only set to worsen, as Central Asia is hard-hit by climate change.
Amid chronic shortages, Tajikistan has promised it will end the power outages and has revived a Soviet-era mega-project to build the world’s highest dam.
Makhmudzoda’s family spend much of their day without power.
“We have electricity from 5:00 am to 8:00 am and then from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 pm,” the 28-year-old said.
To cope with intermittent power supplies, the family resorts to using a charcoal stove for heating — a risky choice, since many Tajiks die from carbon monoxide poisoning each year caused by such appliances.
Every year, the impoverished country’s state electricity company Barqi Tojik restricts power supplies starting in September to prevent the system’s collapse during the coldest months.
It says this is an “inevitable measure” as demand has skyrocketed.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the small country’s population has doubled to 10 million, with economic growth steady at around eight percent after decades of stagnation.
The rationing is also due to falling water levels in reservoirs used to drive turbines in hydroelectric power plants, which provide 95 percent of Tajikistan’s electricity.
Authorities say “feeble rainfall” means that water levels in the country’s biggest river — the Vakhsh — are low.
“Every centimeter of water counts,” Barqi Tojik has warned, urging Tajiks to pay their bills to renovate aging infrastructure.
The average salary in Tajikistan hovers around $190 (180 euros) a month.
But the government is now promising that all these inconveniences will soon be a thing of the past thanks to the construction of a massive dam and plant.
Tajikistan has placed its bets on Rogun, planned to become the most powerful hydropower plant in Central Asia. It is set to have the highest dam in the world at 335 meters (1,100 feet).
When completed, the plant is intended to produce some 3,600 megawatts — the equivalent of three nuclear power stations.
Tajikistan is reviving the colossal project, first planned by the Soviet authorities in 1976, before being abandoned due to the end of communist rule and then the Tajik civil war.
At the site, dozens of bulldozers go up and down the mountains and dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels are equipped with giant turbines.
Some 17,000 people are working on the site which lies west of the capital Dushanbe, in the foothills of the Pamir Mountains.
The site is already partially functioning but it is not known when construction will be finished.
Giant banners showing President Emomali Rahmon — in power for 32 years — hang over the construction site.
Rahmon has stressed the importance of the dam, calling it a “palace of light,” the “pride of the Tajik nation” and the “construction project of the century.”
Surrounded by giant machinery, engineer Zafar Buriyev said he was certain the dam would end power cuts.
“Once the construction at Rogun is finished, Tajikistan will completely come out of its electricity crisis,” he told AFP.
He stood in what he called “the heart of the dam” in between giant peaks.
“By next summer, this area will be submerged and the water will reach an altitude of 1,100 meters and then eventually 1,300.”
Authorities have said the plant will not only generate enough electricity to use domestically, but could supply other Central Asian countries — and even nearby Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Water resources have long been a source of tension between Central Asian countries as they suffer shortages.
The plant’s technical director Murod Sadulloyev told AFP it will help “reinforce the unified energy system” in Central Asia — a concept dating back to the USSR that enables the former Soviet republics to exchange water and electricity.
Tajikistan’s neighbors are also working to revive Soviet-era energy projects.
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have pledged to build the Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power plant jointly in a mountainous area of Kyrgyzstan.
Tajikistan’s Rogun project has been criticized for its constantly rising cost — currently more than $6 billion — and its environmental impact, while information on Kambar-Ata has been classified as secret.
The Central Asian power plants are being built in the context of dire climatic realities.
According to the UN, Central Asia is “warming more rapidly than the global average.”
Kyiv begins mass operation to seal borders for draft evaders
- Kyiv has been driving a large-scale mobilization campaign for months to boost its military
- Mobilization has spurred panic among Ukrainian fighting-aged men and has seen thousands flee
Kyiv has been driving a large-scale mobilization campaign for months to boost its military, which is struggling to hold back Russia’s significantly larger army that is advancing in the east of the country, nearly three years after Moscow invaded.
The divisive campaign has spurred panic among Ukrainian fighting-aged men and has seen thousands flee the country illegally toward Europe, sometimes utilising dangerous smuggling routes over mountains or rivers.
“More than 600 simultaneous searches are being conducted by the SBU (Security Services of Ukraine) operatives and National Police investigators,” police said in a statement.
“This is only the first stage of a special operation to block the channels of trafficking of men of military age abroad,” it added.
It said that the operation was primarily targeting the organizers of schemes that aid draft evaders to illegally cross the Ukrainian border. It said it would provide more information on the operation soon.
Police said “criminals” had helped hundreds of people cross the border via illegal routes and that the operation was being conducted across the country.
“Details of the operation will be made public after all investigative actions are completed,” the statement added.
Kyiv has been battling problems with systemic corruption within its military mobilization infrastructure since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Late last year, Ukrainian former prosecutor general Andriy Kostin resigned after a probe uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme that apparently provided military draft exemptions for government officials.
That followed a decision by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to fire the heads of regional draft offices.
Los Angeles wildfires devour thousands of homes, death toll rises to 10
- Firefighting crews have managed to fully control the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills
- In Pacific Palisades, once-palatial homes stood in ruins as abandoned cars littered roads
LOS ANGELES: Wildfires menacing Los Angeles have killed at least 10 people and devoured nearly 10,000 structures, with five fires burning into a third night on Thursday as dry desert winds fanning the flames again gathered strength.
The Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the Eaton Fire in the east near Pasadena already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, consuming more than 34,000 acres (13,750 hectares) — or some 53 square miles — turning entire neighborhoods to ash.
The death toll from the blazes rose to 10, Los Angeles County’s Medical Examiner said in an update late on Thursday, without providing identities or other details.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told an earlier press conference he expected the number to grow.
“It looks like an atomic bomb dropped in these areas. I don’t expect good news, and we’re not looking forward to those numbers,” Luna said.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners’ insurance costs.
“We’re already looking ahead to aggressively rebuild the city of Los Angeles,” said Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, who faced criticism from President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans over her handling of the disaster.
President Joe Biden, who declared a major disaster on Tuesday, promised on Thursday that the federal government would reimburse 100 percent of the recovery for the next 180 days to pay for debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters and first responder salaries.
“I told the governor, local officials, spare no expense to do what they need to do and contain these fires,” Biden said after meeting with senior advisers at the White House.
In all, five wildfires burned in Los Angeles County, with the largest Palisades fire just 6 percent contained and the Eaton fire 0 percent contained. Skies buzzed with aircraft dropping retardant and water on the flaming hills.
A large Super Scooper aircraft on loan from Canada was damaged and grounded after hitting an unauthorized civilian drone near the Palisades fire, the L.A. County Fire Department said. There were no injuries.
One rapidly growing blaze broke out on Thursday near Calabasas, one of the wealthiest cities in the US and home to numerous celebrities and gated communities. The so-called Kenneth Fire expanded to 960 acres (388 hectares) in a matter of hours.
With nerves on edge, Los Angeles County mistakenly sent an evacuation notice countywide to a population of 9.6 million, even though it had been meant only for the area of the Kenneth Fire, officials said. A correction was quickly sent.
‘WE ARE ALIVE’
Officials said the Eaton Fire had damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures while the Palisades Fire destroyed or damaged another 5,300 structures.
Some Pacific Palisades residents ventured back to areas the fire had already swept through, where brick chimneys were left looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles.
“We are alive. That’s all that matters,” private security guard Bilal Tukhi said while standing watch outside his employer’s damaged home, saying the scene reminded him of his native, war-torn Afghanistan.
School was canceled for a second day on Friday due to the contaminated air, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
Winds dropped on Thursday from the 100-mile-per-hour (160-kph) gusts seen earlier in the week, permitting crucial aerial support for crews on the ground.
But officials said winds intensified again overnight, and red flag conditions were expected until Friday afternoon.
The Eaton Fire reached the grounds of the Mount Wilson Observatory, the place where a century ago Edwin Hubble discovered the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way and that the universe is expanding. The Observatory later said the flare-up appeared under control.
In Altadena, a racially and economically diverse community nearby, many residents told Reuters they were concerned government resources would be channeled toward high-profile areas popular with A-Listers, while insurance companies might shortchange less affluent households that don’t have the financial means to contest fire claims.
“They’re not going to give you the value of your house ... if they do you really have to fight for it,” said Kay Young, 63, her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at a sprawl of smoking rubble, the remnants of a home that had been in her family for generations.
HOLLYWOOD FIRE CONTAINED
Firefighting crews managed to fully control the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills, after flames had raged atop the ridge overlooking Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame on Wednesday night.
In Pacific Palisades, once-palatial homes stood in ruins, while downed power lines and abandoned cars littered the roadways.
One resident, John Carr, 65, said he defied evacuation orders and stayed to successfully protect his home.
“The house was built by my mother and father in 1960 and I lived here my whole life so there’s a lot of memories here. And I think I owed it to them as well to try my best to save it.”
Carr said there were no fire crews to help him try to save his neighbors’ homes.
“If they had had some fire trucks and just put a squirt here, a squirt there and kept an eye on things, all these houses would be here now.”
Officials said they were working to establish curfews for areas affected by mandatory evacuation orders.
Aerial video showed block after block of leveled homes, while satellite images showed the two largest fires forming a pincer around the city and thick plumes of smoke from the fires being blown out over the Pacific Ocean.
The homes of movie stars and celebrities were among those consumed by flames.
Chef Jose Andres, the Spaniard known for providing free food to disaster victims around the world, set up a food truck near the Palisades Fire on Pacific Coast Highway.
“Everybody needs support and love in these moments, wealthy or not, poor or not,” he said.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis said on Thursday her family would donate $1 million to relief efforts.
Firefighters from half a dozen other US states and Canada were being rushed to California, in addition to US federal personnel and materiel.
“To our American neighbors: Canada’s here to help,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country has experienced its own severe wildfires.
South Korea’s presidential security chief resigns
- Park Chong-jun submitted his resignation on Friday morning ‘as he attended a police questioning’
- Park earlier there must be no bloodshed if investigators attempt another arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
SEOUL: South Korea’s presidential security chief resigned Friday as he faced questioning over why his guards prevented the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and investigators prepared to make a fresh arrest attempt.
Yoon has refused questioning and last week resisted arrest in a stand-off between his guards and investigators after his short-lived power grab on December 3 plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.
Yoon’s Presidential Security Service (PSS) chief Park Chong-jun submitted his resignation on Friday morning “as he attended a police questioning,” a PSS official said.
It was later accepted by acting president Choi Sang-mok, an official from the interim leader’s office told reporters.
It came as investigators and police prepare to mount a new bid to arrest Yoon over his martial law declaration after securing a new warrant this week.
Earlier on Friday, Park told reporters there must be no bloodshed if investigators attempt another arrest of Yoon.
“I understand many citizens are concerned about the current situation where government agencies are in conflict and confrontation,” he said.
“I believe that under no circumstances should there be physical clashes or bloodshed,” he added, before being questioned at the Korean National Police Agency.
Rival protest camps in sub-zero temperatures are calling for Yoon’s impeachment to be declared invalid on one side, and for him to be immediately detained on the other.
Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.
His legal team have said they will not comply with the current warrant.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) said it will “prepare thoroughly” for the second arrest attempt.
Police on Friday held a meeting of its commanders to plan for the renewed effort, Yonhap news agency reported.
Park twice ignored police requests to appear for questioning over allegations of obstruction of public duty since his team blocked investigators from arresting Yoon on January 3.
The PSS said Park could not leave his post due to “the serious nature” of protecting Yoon, but police warned they would consider an arrest warrant for Park if he did not submit to questioning.
On Friday, prosecutors indicted a former defense intelligence commander over his involvement in the martial law decree, charging him with insurrection and abuse of authority.
Meanwhile, Yoon’s guards have been increasing security at his Seoul residential compound with barbed wire installations and bus barricades.
Yoon’s legal team said Friday the guards “remain on high alert 24/7” for another arrest attempt “despite immense pressure and stress.”
Separate from the insurrection probe, Yoon also faces ongoing impeachment proceedings — lawmakers have already suspended him, but the Constitutional Court will decide whether to uphold this or restore him to office.
The court has slated January 14 for the start of Yoon’s impeachment trial, which would proceed in his absence if he does not attend.
Yoon’s legal team says he remains inside his residence and may appear at the trial.
The court has up to 180 days from December 14, when it received the case, to make its ruling.
Analysts have warned any potentially violent clashes during an arrest attempt could hurt Yoon’s hopes of survival.
“Physical confrontations would... likely weaken his position in the upcoming impeachment trial,” political commentator Park Sang-byung said.
But polls show approval ratings for Yoon’s ruling party have been rising as the crisis drags on.
A new Gallup survey published Friday showed the People Power Party’s approval rating had risen to 34 percent from 24 percent three weeks ago.
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to visit native Pakistan for girls’ summit
- Nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai will attend a summit on girls’ education hosted by her native Pakistan, where she was nearly killed by militants as a schoolgirl
ISLAMABAD: Nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai will attend a summit on girls’ education hosted by her native Pakistan, where she was nearly killed by militants as a schoolgirl.
Yousafzai was evacuated from the country in 2012 after being shot by the Pakistan Taliban, who were enraged by her activism, and she has returned to the country only a handful of times since.
“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” she said Friday in a post on X.
“On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”
A spokesperson for her Malala Fund charity confirmed she will attend the summit in person.
The two-day summit will be held in the capital Islamabad on Saturday and Sunday, focusing on girls’ education in Muslim communities.
