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Fingerprints of Paris attacks’ mastermind found in Brussels flat
The Belgian police found the fingerprints of Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris, in the Brussels apartment raided by the police on Tuesday. Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national who lived in Brussels, was driven from Paris to Belgium hours after the 13 November attacks, which killed 130 people. Ten Belgians who helped him escape Paris and hide in Brussels have been in custody since late November.
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California university campus attacker was inspired by ISIS: FBI
Faisal Mohammad, 18, a college student from Santa Clara who attacked four people at a University of California campus in 2015, had been self-radicalized by terrorist propaganda from ISIS, the FBI said yesterday (Thursday). On 4 November Mohammad stabbed a fellow student in a UC, Merced classroom, then attacked three others as he fled on campus. Police gave chase and shot and killed him.
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ISIS committed genocide, crimes against humanity: U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry said that ISIS has committed genocide against Christians and other ethnic minorities. This is the first time the United States has declared genocide since Darfur in 2004.
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Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams denied entry to White House
After being denied access to the White House for a St. Patrick’s Day reception, Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin leader, described the incident as an “unacceptable development.” Adams turned up on Tuesday evening for the annual Irish event hosted by the President, Barack Obama, but was denied access to the White House over a “security” issue. Sinn Féin “will not sit at the back of the bus for anyone,” Adams said in a statement.
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Belgian police arrest two suspects linked to November’s Paris terror attacks
Two suspects have been detained by Belgian police in connection with Tuesday’s shooting during a house raid in Brussels, in which another suspect was killed. The operation is linked to investigations into November’s Islamist attacks in Paris.
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Saudi Arabia leads effort to create a Muslim NATO-like alliance
Saudi Arabia has approached thirty-four Muslim-majority countries with a proposal to create a NATO-like military alliance of Islamic countries to combat terrorism. The proposed alliance would not be formed to confront any country in particular, but rather would be put together for the purpose of combatting terrorism. It is unclear whether Iran will be invited to join the new alliance.
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Remote detection of radioactive materials
National security experts believe terrorists continue to be interested in such devices for terror plots. Now researchers have proposed a new technique remotely to detect the radioactive materials in dirty bombs or other sources. It is the increased ion density that the researchers aim to detect with their new method. They calculate that a low-power laser aimed near the radioactive material could free electrons from the oxygen ions.
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Death of ISIS’s most senior military leader confirmed
A senior ISIS leaders, Omar the Chechen, has died after being seriously injured in a U.S.-led coalition strike in northeastern Syria, the Pentagon confirmed Monday. The Pentagon’s announcement clears up the fate of Omar al-Shishani a week after a U.S. official said the most-wanted militant had been targeted in a 4 March attack on the jihadist’s convoy. Shishani was one of the most-wanted ISIS leaders, and the United Stateshas put a $5 million reward on his head.
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American ISIS fighter captured in northern Iraq
Muhammad Jamal Amin, a 27-year old American from Virginia who joined ISIS and fought in its ranks, was taken into custody in northern Iraq. He was captured by Kurdish forces after trying to cross into Turkey. Amin is the first American fighting with ISIS to have surrendered in the field.
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Three gun-safety laws in effect in some states could significantly reduce gun deaths
A nationwide study which analyzes the impact of gun-control laws in the United States has found that just 9 of 25 state laws are effective in reducing firearm deaths. The research suggests that three laws implemented in some states could reduce gun deaths by more than 80 percent if they were implemented nationwide. Laws requiring firearm identification through ballistic imprinting or microstamping were found to reduce the projected mortality risk by 84 percent; ammunition background checks by 82 percent; and universal background checks for all gun purchases by 61 percent. Nineother states laws — such as the so-called “Stand your Ground” laws — were associated with increased mortality.
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1,500 people killed in 160 documented chemical attacks in Syria since 2011
The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) earlier today (Monday) released a report detailing 161 chemical attacks in Syria since the conflict emerged in 2011. These attacks have killed nearly 1,500 people in Syria, according to the report. A UN war crimes expert says the documentation of the attacks will allow for international prosecution in the future.
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ISIS attacks Iraqi town with chemical weapons
Iraqi officials has said that ISIS has launched two chemical attacks near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, killing a three-year-old girl and wounding up to 600 people. The chemical attacks took place early Saturday in the town of Taza, security and hospital officials said place early on Saturday in the small town of Taza. The town was struck by several rockets carrying the chemicals.
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600 ISIS fighters killed in past three weeks: Kerry
Secretary of State John Kerry, in Paris for talks on the future of Syria, said that ISIS has lost 600 fighters and thousands of square kilometers of territory over the past three weeks. “In Syria, over the last three weeks alone, Daesh [ISIS] has lost 3,000 sq km (1,160 sq miles) and 600 fighters,” Kerry said.
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Northcom’s first priority: “No-Fail” homeland defense
Homeland defense is the first priority of U.S. Northern Command, Navy Adm. William E. Gortney told members of the House Armed Services Committee last Thursday. Gortney named ISIS and whatever form it takes in the future, and transnational organized criminals who move drugs, people, weapons and anything else that will turn a profit as the most dangerous and likely threats to the nation.
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ISIS bolsters its position in Libya by claiming to defend it against “foreign invaders”: UN
ISIS has greatly expanded its control over territory in Libya, and the Islamist militants are now claiming to be the defenders of the North African state against foreign military intervention, according to UN sanctions monitors. The number of ISIS fighters in the country is now estimated to be around 6,000.
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More headlines
The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
No Nation Is an Island: The Dangers of Modern U.S. Isolationism
The resurgence of isolationist sentiment in American politics is understandable but misguided. While the desire to refocus on domestic renewal is justified, retreating from the world will not bring the security, prosperity, or sovereignty that its proponents promise. On the contrary, it invites instability, diminishes U.S. influence, and erodes the democratic order the U.S. helped forge.
Fragmented by Design: USAID’s Dismantling and the Future of American Foreign Aid
The Trump administration launched an aggressive restructuring of U.S. foreign aid, effectively dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The humanitarian and geopolitical fallout of the demise of USAID includes shuttered clinics, destroyed food aid, and China’s growing influence in the global south. This new era of American soft power will determine how, and whether, the U.S. continues to lead in global development.
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?
In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.