The proposal for a more structured cooperation on defence and security issues across the European Union has been in development for a number of years. The current European Defence Initiative, comes from a proposal for an enhanced European Union defence, presented by France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in Brussels in 2003. The European Defence Agency…
The Nasra Front arrested leaders and “jihadists” accused of supporting al-Qaeda in Syria. Their names: Jordanian Sami al-Aridi, a former leader in the Nasra Front, Khalid Aarouri “Abu al-Qassam”, former deputy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iyad al-Tubasi “Abu Jleibib”, former military commander, another military leader, Abu Hammam, and about 50 fighters, mostly Jordanian. The Nasra…
The UK daily papers are full of outrage that Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocked proposals yesterday that would have moved Northern Ireland’s customs border to the Irish Sea. The 10 DUP MPs are currently propping up Theresa May’s minority Conservative government on a confidence and supply basis. Theresa May’s premiership could not continue…
Who knows what will be on the menu when Theresa May dines with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today? Until after they meet, there can be no certainty about the terms that have been placed on the table. Ireland have already said that they doubt enough progress has been made over the weekend to avoid…
In Hamlet, Marcellus, an officer of the palace guard, seeing the ghost of the dead king, walking over the palace walls, observes, ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’. Shakespeare would be spoiled for choice for a location for those words today – whether in Brussels, Washington, Westminster. Or indeed, at Stormont,…
A new jihadist group is expected to be active in Syria. The news from the jihadist center about this is almost certain. The question of declaration is a matter of time if there is no new urgency. The leaders of this group are former ones of the Nasra Front, who came out after the final declaration…
Two years ago, the Nepalese earthquake struck the international community. With its the large amount of damage and displacement, first aid responses were quick and efficient. As the emergency situation has now left the limelight, underground illegal activities are proliferating, and the most vulnerable parts of society are suffering. Indeed, very little effort has been…
Afghanistan has seen one of its worse bloody days in the previous week where more than 220 personnel of security forces and civilians killed and many others sustained injuries in spate of lethal bomb and suicide attacks. These attacks were carried out separately by Islamic States and Taliban in different parts of the country including…
In the Philippines, the first Islamist groups were born in the late 1990s. The name of the biggest of these groups was Abu Sayyaf. In the past it was a main partner of the Al Qaeda network in Southeast Asia. Several of its members were alongside Bin Laden in Afghanistan. In the last 3 years…
In the past few years, the Islamic State has constantly urged to commit attacks in west countries, by any means, also explicitly mentioning the use of cars or trucks into the crowd. Sayfullo Saipov, resident of Florida, a green-card holder responded to the call on Tuesday. The man, 29-year-old, have worked as a driver. Saipov lived…
