BERLIN: German police Tuesday arrested three men with forged Syrian passports accused of being Daesh militants and labeled a possible “sleeper cell” with links to the Paris attackers.
More than 200 police commandos took part in the pre-dawn raids in northern Germany to detain the men, who were suspected of either plotting an attack or awaiting orders to commit one.
The men were identified only as Mahir Al-H., 17, Ibrahim M., 18, and Mohamed A., 26, in a statement issued by federal prosecutors.
They left Syria last October and traveled via Turkey and Greece — a route used by tens of thousands of refugees and migrants — and arrived in Germany in mid-November.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the three apparently used the same migrant trafficking network as several of the Daesh gunmen who killed 130 people in Paris in November last year.
“According to what we know so far, the investigation of the (federal criminal office) BKA points to links to the attackers of Paris from November 2015,” de Maiziere told a press conference.
“There is every reason to believe that the same trafficking group used by the Paris attackers also brought the three men who were arrested to Germany,” he said, adding that their forged travel documents came from “the same workshop.”
He said German police had monitored the men for months and tapped their phones, meaning that at no stage was there a risk of an attack.
Prosecutors said in their statement that Mahir Al-H. had joined Daesh in its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria by September 2015 and received some weapons and explosives training.
The following month, all three men had pledged to travel to Europe in talks with an Daesh fighter who was “in charge of missions and attacks” outside of the Syria-Iraq region where the group has its self-proclaimed caliphate.
In Europe, “the three accused were meant to either execute a mission or await further instructions,” the prosecution service said in the statement, adding that no evidence of “concrete orders or instructions” had been found.
The men had received mobile phones and four-figure cash sums in US dollars, as well as the fake passports, from Daesh, the statement said.
They were detained at three refugee shelters in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein by more than 200 commandos of the federal police, BKA and police forces of several states.
Police also raided several other asylum seeker shelters, Die Welt daily said.
Warrants for their arrest had been issued by a federal judge on September 7, based in part on intelligence provided by Germany’s domestic security agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
In July, Germany suffered two bloody attacks claimed by Daesh, which were carried out by migrants.
Germany arrests 3 Daesh suspects with ‘links’ to Paris attackers
Germany arrests 3 Daesh suspects with ‘links’ to Paris attackers
UN envoy to Myanmar warns that violence puts country on ‘path to self-destruction’
- The military takeover triggered intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organized by Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups in its border regions, which have struggled for decades for more autonomy
UNITED NATIONS: Myanmar is on “a path to self-destruction” if violence in the conflict-wracked Southeast Asian nation doesn’t end, the UN envoy warned on Tuesday.
Julie Bishop told the UN General Assembly that “alarmingly” the violence didn’t end after a powerful earthquake in late March devastated parts of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay, killing more than 3,000 people and injuring thousands more.
Ceasefires announced by some parties have largely not been observed, “embedding a crisis within a crisis,” and people in Myanmar must now deal with the raging conflict and the earthquake’s devastation, said Bishop, a former foreign minister of Australia.
“A zero-sum approach persists on all sides,” she said. “Armed clashes remain a barrier to meeting humanitarian needs. The flow of weapons into the country is fueling the expectations that a military solution is possible.”
A widespread armed struggle against military rule in Myanmar began in February 2021 after generals seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 6,600 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces, according to figures compiled by nongovernmental organizations.
The military takeover triggered intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organized by Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups in its border regions, which have struggled for decades for more autonomy. It also led to the formation of pro-democracy militias that support a national unity government established by elected lawmakers barred from taking their seats after the army takeover.
More than 22,000 political prisoners are still in detention, Bishop said, including Suu Kyi, who turns 80 on June 19, and the ousted president, Win Myint.
The UN envoy said she detected “some openness to political dialogue with some regional support, but there is not yet broader agreement on how to move forward.”
In meetings with the country’s leaders, Bishop said she encouraged them to reconsider their strategy, which has left the country more divided. She also warned against elections, planned for December or January, saying they risk fueling greater resistance and instability unless there is an end to the violence and they can be held in an inclusive and transparent way.
Bishop said she has been coordinating further action with Othman Hashim, the special envoy for Myanmar from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, and they agreed to visit Myanmar together.
The UN envoy said she had a meeting online on Monday with representatives of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
She said the situation for the Rohingya in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state remains dire, with up to 80 percent of civilians living in poverty and caught in crossfire between the government’s military forces and the Arakan Army, the well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority, and “subject to forced recruitment and other abuses.”
More than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar starting in late August 2017 when Myanmar’s military launched a “clearance operation.” Members of the ethnic group face discrimination and are denied citizenship and other rights in the Buddhist-majority nation.
Bishop said there’s hope that a high-level conference on the Rohingya and other minorities called for by the UN General Assembly on Sept. 30 will put a spotlight on the urgency of finding “durable solutions” to their plight.
US denounces UK, allies’ sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers
- Five Western countries imposed sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for 'repeated incitements of violence' against Palestinians
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday denounced sanctions by Britain and four mutual allies against Israeli far-right ministers, saying they should focus instead on the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
“We find that extremely unhelpful. It will do nothing to get us closer to a ceasefire in Gaza,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Britain, Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Australia “should focus on the real culprit, which is Hamas,” she said of the sanctions.
“We remain concerned about any step that would further isolate Israel from the international community,” she said.
The five Western countries imposed sanctions on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for “repeated incitements of violence” against Palestinians.
The two ministers faced repeated criticism but no formal sanctions under former US president Joe Biden. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has vowed unstinting support for Israel.
“If our allies want to help, they should focus on supporting Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff’s negotiations and backing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation when it comes to food and aid,” she said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed aid in coordination with the Israeli military, an effort criticized by the United Nations and longstanding aid groups, which say it violates humanitarian principles.
Philippines Senate returns Sara Duterte impeachment case to lower house
- After a series of debates among members, the senators voted in favor of returning it to the lower house to certify that the complaint was constitutional
MANILA: Philippine senators on Tuesday voted to send an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the lower house for clarification, just hours after convening a trial that could see her banned from politics for life.
After a series of debates among members that included a motion presented by a Duterte ally to dismiss the case, the senators voted in favor of returning it to the lower house to certify that the complaint was constitutional.
The lower house in February voted to impeach the vice president for alleged high crimes and betrayal of the public trust, allegations she has vehemently denied. A majority of the senators on Tuesday approved a motion to return the case to confirm the complaint did not violate the constitution and the next session of Congress was “willing and ready” to pursue the impeachment complaint following midterm elections in May.
The decision could be a stay of execution for Duterte, a likely contender to be the next president, in a trial that could be a pivotal moment in Philippine politics.
The outcome of the trial could not only make or break Duterte, but also carries big implications for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his agenda for the remaining three years of his presidency and beyond. The impeachment accusations against Duterte range from budget anomalies to amassing unusual wealth and threatening the lives of Marcos, his wife, and the house speaker. She rejects the allegations and on Tuesday, her office said the impeachment process had been weaponized.
The trial of the popular daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte follows an acrimonious falling-out with former ally Marcos, who ran on a joint ticket that won the 2022 election in a landslide.
Marcos is limited to a single term in office and is expected to try to retain future influence by grooming a successor capable of fending off Duterte in the next election if she is acquitted. The president has distanced himself from the impeachment process, even though it was launched by his legislative allies.
Sara Duterte is the fifth top official in the Philippines to be impeached, only one of whom, Renato Corona, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, was convicted.
US imposes sanctions on a Palestinian NGO and other charities, accusing them of ties to militant groups
- Those sanctioned include Addameer, a nongovernmental organization that was founded in 1991 and is based in the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a major Palestinian legal group for prisoners and detainees along with five other charitable entities across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, accusing them of supporting Palestinian armed factions and militant groups, including Hamas’ military wing, under the pretense of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Those sanctioned include Addameer, a nongovernmental organization that was founded in 1991 and is based in the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian group provides free legal services to Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in Israeli custody and monitors the conditions of their confinement.
The federal government claims that Addameer “has long supported and is affiliated” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular, left-wing movement with a political party and an armed wing that has carried out deadly attacks against Israelis. Israel and the United States have labeled the PFLP a terrorist organization.
Addameer did not immediately have a comment on the sanctions.
Israel has alleged that Addameer funds terrorism, a claim that the United Nations previously said it could not support with compelling evidence. In a 2022 report on human rights practices, the US State Department noted Israel’s arrest of Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian human rights lawyer and an Addameer employee, in a section on “retribution against human rights defenders.”
The organization also works with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and is a member of the World Organization Against Torture.
Israel’s 2022 storming of Addameer’s offices, prompted a rebuke from the UN, who said in a statement that Israel had not provided convincing evidence to support the claim. The UN said Addameer was conducting “critical human rights, humanitarian and development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
In February, Zachor Legal Institute, an Israeli-American advocacy group that says it focuses on combatting antisemitism and terrorism, requested Addameer be added to Treasury’s sanctions list. The letter, which was written by Zachor, signed by 44 other groups and is addressed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, relies in part on undisclosed evidence from the Israeli Security Agency in its call for sanctions on Addameer.
Marc Greendorfer, president of Zachor Legal Institute said in an email to the Associated Press that his group is “very pleased to see Treasury following up on our request.” He said the federal government should act “to prevent hostile foreign actors from spreading hate and violence in the United States. We applaud Treasury’s action and encourage Treasury to expand its focus to the other groups that we identified.”
Goodbye Lenin? Russians flock to see Bolshevik leader’s tomb before it closes for repairs
- Famous mausoleum set to close for two years
- Large lines of Russians form to see Lenin’s body
MOSCOW: Russians are flocking to catch what some fear could be a final glimpse of the embalmed body of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin before his tomb on Moscow’s Red Square, long a place of pilgrimage for communists, closes for repairs until 2027.
The mausoleum, which houses a waxy-looking Lenin replete in a three-piece suit inside what is purportedly a bullet-proof, blast-proof glass case, is due to be structurally overhauled after an inspection uncovered problems.
Once a popular attraction for Western tourists and still a favorite for Russians visiting the capital from the regions, the red and black granite structure is expected to close in the coming weeks, with repair work set to last until June 2027.
Officials say that the body of Lenin, who died in 1924 after helping to establish the world’s first socialist state, is not going anywhere and that the central hall where he lies in state will not be touched.
But news of the temporary closure has seen long lines form to get into the mausoleum, with some visitors fearing it could be their last chance to see Lenin.
“From a historical point of view, I want to witness his being in a mausoleum because I think Lenin will be buried at some point, maybe in the future or near future,” said Tatyana Tolstik, a historian from Ulyanovsk, the city on the Volga where Lenin was born.
A young woman called Snezhana, who did not give her surname, said she wanted to “dive into the past” because she was also unsure how long it would be possible to visit the mausoleum.
The Communist Party, which ruled the country from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, is fiercely opposed to the removal of Lenin’s body, and Gennady Zyuganov, the party’s veteran leader, has said President Vladimir Putin has assured him it will not happen on his watch.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied plans to permanently close the mausoleum.
