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On August 27, fierce battles erupted in Tripoli's districts after the Seventh Brigade, an armed group based in Tarhouna, 65km southeast of the capital, launched a surprise offensive against rival militias. A truce was reached the next day but clashes resumed shortly after, forcing authorities to close Tripoli's only functioning airport. … On Monday, the social media website Facebook was blocked in Tripoli and the surrounding cities. Libyan utility LPTIC, which owns the two state-run telecoms firms, said in a statement that a lack of security had led to outages. Maintenance engineers were unable to reach some stations which had...

The Pentagon is considering withdrawing nearly all American commandos from Niger in the wake of a deadly October ambush that killed four United States soldiers. Three Defense Department officials said the plans, if approved by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, would also close military outposts in Tunisia, Cameroon, Libya and Kenya, as well as seven of the eight American elite counterterrorism units operating in Africa. The shift in forces is part of the Pentagon’s defense strategy to focus on threats from China and Russia. But they represent a more severe cut of Special Operations forces in Africa than initially expected, leaving...

...."in his memoir "The Restless Wave". published last May, he called for a return to old-fashioned Republican values, pointed to the danger of the information onslaught being waged by Russia, and described how in December 2016 he passed on the dossier compiled by Christopher Steele alleging that Moscow held compromising material on Trump to the FBI...." "The Guardian"August 25, 2018 "Yemen Conflict: Saudi-led coalition admits mistakes in deadly bus strike" "Amsterdam stabbing: Afghan suspect 'had terrorist motive'" "Western countries urge calm after deadly Tripoli clashes" BBC News Headlines of September 1, 2018-The Day of John McCain's Funeral "You Social Democrats,...

There were many glowing tributes to the late Senator John McCain at his memorial service in Washington Saturday. But jabs were also noted in media reports aimed at President Trump. McCain's daughter, Meghan, said in her eulogy that "America was always great" appearing to be a dissing of President Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. The President posted "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" in bold letters on Twitter today.... The United States has decided to end 300 million dollars in military aid to Pakistan.... Police in the Netherlands say there was a "terrorist motive" in the stabbing attack at an Amsterdam...

At least four people have been killed and seven others wounded in clashes that broke out between rival armed groups in Libya's capital, Tripoli, as they attempt to take control of the city. The health ministry declared a state of emergency on Monday, according to local media, after the Sunday evening clashes continued to escalate. The fighting erupted between local militias and al-Kani tribal fighters from Tarhouna, southeast of Tripoli, who are sending reinforcements to the country's north. Both sides technically operate under Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

**SNIP** Paronto said he never shared intel but his security clearance was removed by Brennan. Brennan never told him why. He blasted Brennan for the way the heroes of Benghazi were treated upon return. “We come back from being on the ground to be treated as a second-class citizen. You come back and you’re called a liar,” Paronto told Fox News. “Brennan came in and there was no talk of ‘hey, good job guys,’ not that you look for it, but instead, it was ‘don’t say anything guys, we don’t want the truth to get out.’” He didn’t let up...

Italy on Monday denied safe harbor to 141 people rescued by the humanitarian ship M/V Aquarius off the coast of Libya last week, setting up another standoff with European Union allies over taking in migrants who try to cross the Mediterranean.

(Via CNN) No person accepted to the United States as a refugee, Syrian or otherwise, has been implicated in a major fatal terrorist attack since the Refugee Act of 1980 set up systematic procedures for accepting refugees into the United States, according to an analysis of terrorism immigration risks by the Cato Institute. Oh Really? No Refugees implicated in terrorism? Read on…

North Korea has resorted to a "massive increase" of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products at sea to evade UN sanctions and enlisted a Syrian arms broker to sell weapons to Yemen and Libya, a UN report said Friday. In a 62-page report sent to the Security Council, the UN panel of experts also listed violations of a ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron, seafood and other products that generate millions of dollars in revenue to Kim Jong Un's regime. North Korea also "attempted to supply small arms and light weapons (SALW) and other military equipment via foreign...

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich stopped by ‘Hannity’ Thursday night to weigh-in on Robert Mueller’s never-ending Russia investigation; saying the Attorney General needs to intervene immediately. “98 or 99 percent of what Mueller’s doing is not covered by Sessions’ recusal over the Russian campaign investigation. Sessions -if he did his job- could intervene tonight or tomorrow, it would be totally within his authority and he should,” said Newt. “The President should take every example of what we’re talking about and simply declassify it. I want to see every decision memo about Benghazi where the Obama team consciously decided...

US President Barack Obama has said failing to prepare for the aftermath of the ousting of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi was the worst mistake of his presidency. Mr Obama was answering a series of questions on the highs and lows of his time in office on Fox News. He said, however, that intervening in Libya had been "the right thing to do". The US and other countries carried out strikes designed to protect civilians during the 2011 uprising. But after the former Libyan leader was killed, Libya plunged into chaos with militias taking over and two rival parliaments and...

Russia cannot compel Iranian forces to quit Syria, Moscow's ambassador to Tel Aviv said on Monday, rebuffing Israel's long-standing demand that it should work to ensure their total withdrawal from the country. "They are playing a very, very important role in our common and joint effort to eliminate terrorists in Syria," Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov told Israel's Channel 10 television in an interview. "That is why, for this period of time, we see as non-realistic any demands to expel any foreign troops from the entirety of the Syrian Arab Republic," he said. "We can talk with our Iranian partners very frankly...

The suicide bomber who killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester last year had been rescued from the Libyan civil war by the Royal Navy. [snip] It has now emerged that in 2014 Abedi, his brother Hashem and around 100 other British citizens were evacuated from Tripoli by HMS Enterprise as the security situation in Libya deteriorated. They were taken to Malta before returning to the UK. A government spokesman said: "During the deteriorating security situation in Libya in 2014, Border Force officials were deployed to assist with the evacuation of British nationals and their dependants." It...

Iran By Alan Peters, Contributing Editor TheClerics Lash Back as Iranians Question Their Legitimacy VIGOROUS ATTACKS ON THE CREDIBILITY and legitimacy of the clerical leadership in Iran have continued to mount since the February 20, 2004, Majlis (Parliament) elections which, despite the removal of so-called “reformists” from the ballot, still failed to attract a meaningful voter turn-out. The elections showed the extent of electoral fraud to which the clerics were forced to turn, highlighting their tenuous hold on power. There are now signs that the underpinnings of the clerics will be attacked still further, especially as evidence is now available...

Hiding the 1992 Lockerbie File? “[Operation El Dorado Canyon] turned out to be a more decisive blow against Libyan-sponsored terrorism than I could ever have imagined. … There were revenge killings of British hostages organized by Libya, which I bitterly regretted. But the much-vaunted Libyan counter attack did not and could not take place … There was a marked decline in Libyan-sponsored terrorism in succeeding years.”—British prime minister Margaret Thatcher—The Downing Street Years (Memoirs 1993, pp448-9) On July 24 2018, the National Archives released files from the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office predominantly covering the year of 1993. A...

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini has rejected an EU offer to pay out €6,000 for every new migrant they take. Salvini has seen his popularity surge with the adoption of tough new policies to protect the Mediterranean country’s maritime borders and block the NGOs which have been ferrying thousands of illegal migrants to Europe from smuggler boats off the coast of Libya. the EU has so far attempted to use the carrot rather than the stick against the Italians, attempting to induce them to accept more migrants through financial incentives rather than financial penalties...

Former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, an Obama appointee whose name popped up on the target list of Vladimir Putin in response to the meaningless Mueller indictment of 12 Russian spies, has tweeted out a "thank you" to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for her "defense" of him.  He is luckier than Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who was unavailable for comment, since Hillary Clinton abandoned him in Benghazi along with Ty Woods, Sean Smith, and Glen Dougherty, and who was murdered in a terrorist attack Hillary and the entire Obama administration blamed on a video. Putin had suggested that President Trump make McFaul available...

Hillary Clinton has damaged our country in more ways than can be counted. Not only did she weaken our country along with former President Barack Obama, but she is also linked to numerous suspicious deaths of people who were either close to her or were close to sensitive information that would see Hillary imprisoned for treason. The “Butcher of Benghazi” proved that she has never cared for the people she was sworn to protect but was more interested in climbing the political ranks. Fortunately, Hillary was unsuccessful in her Presidential campaign or else we would be facing a real crisis.

… “The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail,” Khamenei said in a meeting with Foreign Ministry officials, adding that negotiations with Washington would be an “obvious mistake”, according to his official website. …

Rejects 'migrants-for-money' deal in interview with Bild(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, JULY 20 - Libya is staunchly against the idea of the EU building facilities in the country to house migrants that the EU does not want, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj told the German daily Bild in an interview. He added that the country would not sign agreements with the EU to take in migrants in exchange for money, either. Al-Serraj said in the interview that he was surprised that Europe did not want to receive migrants but was at the same time asking Libya to take in hundreds of thousands....