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Arab World Shocked by Israel-Morocco Defense Pact - EDY Cohen Dr. Edy Cohen 02:00 8 hours ago “This is beyond normalization! Even Egypt didn’t go this far at Camp David!!” Defense Minister Benny Gantz recently returned from Morocco where he met with his counterparts and signed an agreement for strengthening security ties between Israel and the North African country. The agreement allows Morocco to purchase Israeli air defense systems, military drones and other hi-tech equipment. Morocco also purchased machine guns, reconnaissance vehicles and observation systems from Israel. The backdrop to these purchases is the increasing tension between Algeria and Morocco...

Sergei Lavrov backs out of meeting with Bennett and Lapid amid Ukraine tensions and delicate Iran talks; Israeli sources say visit officially postponed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov canceled on Friday a planned trip to Israel and the region, during which he had been slated to meet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog. Lavrov had been scheduled to meet with the Israeli officials on Sunday and Monday, before meetings with Palestinian, Algerian, and Moroccan leaders, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. He had been expected to attend the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum...

A policeman survived a knife attack in the French Riviera city of Cannes on Monday, according to the country's interior minister. The incident took place early Monday morning as four police officers outside Cannes police station were preparing to go on patrol, Gerald Darmanin told reporters. The assailant approached the officers asking for information before opening the door of the vehicle they were in and stabbing one of the officers in the chest with a knife, the minister said. The attacker then attempted to stab a second officer before he was neutralized. Darmanin said the officer emerged from the incident...

A delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou was ambushed on Tuesday about 50 km (30 miles) from the town, near the border with Mali. The area is overrun by militants associated with a local affiliate of Islamic State that has killed hundreds of civilians in rural communities this year. A poverty-stricken, arid zone of west Africa encompassing the borderlands of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has been racked by violence in recent years as armed groups, some linked with al-Qaeda, have sought to establish control over communities and rid the region of local and international military forces. Thousands of...

Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco on Tuesday, citing what it called hostile actions by its most populous neighbour with which it has had strained relations for decades. Speaking at a news conference in Algiers, Foreign Minister Ramdane Lamamra accused Morocco of using Pegasus spyware against its officials, supporting a separatist group and failing in bilateral commitments, including on the Western Sahara issue. Morocco’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on social media that it regretted what it called an unjustified decision and said it would remain a “credible and loyal partner” to the Algerian people. While the border...

TOKYO -- An Algerian judo athlete will be sent home from the Olympics after he withdrew from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli opponent. Fethi Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, told Algerian media they were withdrawing to avoid a possible second-round matchup with Israel's Tohar Butbul in the men's 73 kg division on Monday. Nourine was drawn to face Sudan's Mohamed Abdalrasool in the opening round, with the winner facing Butbul, the fifth seed. The International Judo Federation's executive committee has temporarily suspended Nourine and Benikhlef, who are likely to face sanctions beyond the Olympics, which began...

Libya's weak new government needs to strike a deal with strongman Haftar to stay afloat.A businessman with Gaddafi regime ties, Abdelhamid Debaiba defied the odds when a UN-led dialogue chose him as prime minister earlier this month, despite French and Egyptian backing for a rival list led by the east Libyan parliament speaker Aguileh Saleh and west Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha. One powerbroker, however, breathed a sigh of relief. Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who launched a devastating war on Tripoli in 2019 only to be defeated and increasingly marginalised, was back in the saddle.

Thanks to Thomas Kanyak of @ModernConflict for the guest post. -ed. On this date in 1962, Organisation Armee Secrete (OAS) Delta commando leader Roger Degueldre was executed by firing squad at Fort d’Ivry, near Paris, France. Degueldre, 37 years old at his death, was one of only three OAS men executed by France for the terrorist excesses in the end game of the Algerian War in 1961 and 1962. Fittingly, that conflict wrenched to a conclusion five days before Degueldre’s death by musketry, with a referendum confirming Algeria’s independence from France. After the January 1960 “Barricades Week” revolt failed, Degueldre...

Nearly 1,000 Apple employees have signed an internal letter to CEO Tim Cook urging the company to issue a public statement in support of the Palestinian people, The Verge reported Thursday. "We are frustrated and disappointed because once more, many of those in positions of power and influence - who boldly stand for human rights in so many other just causes - either choose to remain silent or release ineffectually neutral 'both sides' statements with regards to the Palestinian situation," wrote the letter's authors, who are members of the Apple Muslim Association, according to The Verge. Apple taking a "both...

A touristic visit to the beautiful ancient Roman ruins of Djémila in Algeria. Founded in AD 96 as a Roman military garrison, the ancient town of Cuicul is set on a hillside with grand vistas. It is a UNESCO world heritage site - as "an interesting example of Roman town planning adapted to a mountain location".This video features views of the ruins including overall views, the Cardo Maximums (main street), the forum, arches, basilica, curia, temples, Christian Quarter, fountains, markets, theater, baths and latrine. The site has is in a remarkable state of preservation and it shows how the...

Mar 02, 2010 14:30:03 A black woman who lived in Britannia in Roman times "a lady of ivory bracelet" (This article was originally posted in Japanese on 14:30 Mar 02, 2010) Roman EmpireSpeaking of ancient Roman civilizationLatinAnd CaesarGaara's war historyRecord remains inGaulians·GermanicAlthough it tends to embrace the image of a society centered on white people, such as white, the vast empire with the whole region of the Mediterranean coast as a version,Aeeguptus(Now Egypt) toMauretania(Now Morocco) to include the northern African region, there are also many African populations, and it seems that there were many people who moved out of Africa...

Like many of Egypt’s towns and cities, Port Said is bustling. Donkey-carts weave through traffic on roads, while westerners – once the focus of local hostility – move about undisturbed. Sitting at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal, many call Port Said Egypt’s most beautiful city. It is also a popular tourist destination for cruise ships, which roll in and out, unloading their passengers at Egypt’s second largest port. Here, the visitors watch as cargo vessels line up to enter the canal – a 150km stretch of water that links the Red and Mediterranean seas, cutting out the long...

French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out issuing an official apology for abuses in Algeria, his office said Wednesday, ahead of a major report on how France is facing up to its colonial past in the country.

12/13/2020 Algeria (International Christian Concern) – Algeria’s Court of Amizour has tried two Christians for “insulting the prophet and denigrating the precepts of the Muslim religion.” In the first case, the prosecutor has requested two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 dinars ($1519 USD). The verdict is expected on December 15th. A verdict in the second case is expected on December 17th. The defendant in this case is threatened with the same charge and fine, but only six months in prison. Algeria has undergone a recent political transition and constitutional reform which held the opportunity for the country...

A full weekend of protest in Bainbridge Island, Washington. A round the clock demonstration at the home of Democrat Governor Jay Inslee who's imposed coronavirus restrictions and controls... Four people stabbed two police officers hurt following ANITFA attacks on supporters of President Trump Saturday evening in Washington... One person shot and four police officers hurt as ANTIFA attacked pro-Trump demonstrators in Olympia, Washington yesterday... The Proud Boys supporter of President Trump arrested and accused of shooting an ANTIFA member yesterday in Olympia, Washington identified as Forest Machala, a federal government employee... "Achtung" Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel pushing for a new...

Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune today in the first visit of a Pentagon chief to the North African country since 2006. It was also the highest-level US diplomatic meeting with the new Algerian president since longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted amid popular protests last year. The meeting came a day after Esper signed a 10-year road map for defense cooperation agreement with Tunisia's defense minister and one day before an expected stop in Morocco. The trip is the latest sign that the United States sees strategic opportunity in bolstering its partnerships in North Africa...

In the wake of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there are rumors that several other states could be next to sign an agreement with Israel. While there are hurdles to normalizing relations with some states in the Middle East, there are others who view the UAE decision as a trial balloon and will react positively based on how the next weeks and months play out between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi. What follows is a list of some countries that reports suggest may be in line to normalize relations. Bahrain Bahrain was long thought to...

Alexis de Tocqueville was born JULY 29, 1805. A French social scientist, he traveled the United States in 1831, and wrote a two-part work, Democracy in America (1835; 1840), which has been described as: "the most comprehensive and penetrating analysis of the relationship between character and society in America that has ever been written." In it, Tocqueville wrote: "Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things,...

(Washington, D.C.) — The extremist and often violent global movement known as the Muslim Brotherhood has been dealt a severe blow as five judges in a top court in the Kingdom of Jordan decreed the organization illegal. The Brotherhood is now being dissolved and will not be permitted to compete in Jordan’s upcoming November 10th parliamentary elections that were just announced. A growing number of Arab countries Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have banned the radical organization and branded them as terrorists......Turkey and Qatar, by contrast, actively support the Brotherhood, both financially and politically. Senior Jordanian...

BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:30 A.M.) – China has started exporting the third generation of their Red Arrow-12 anti-tank systems, also known as the HJ-12. According to the China Defense website, Algeria has become the first Arab country to obtain the upgraded Chinese anti-tank system. Not surprisingly, the Algerian military has long-standing relationships with the Chinese military-industrial complex. It has bought from China self-propelled howitzers, mortars, and multiple missile launch systems, as well as reconnaissance and attack drones and marine equipment. According to military experts, HJ-12 will replace the old Soviet complexes that were developed in the first half of the 1970s....