Eye on Extremism - May 24, 2016

Eye on Extremism May 24, 2016 Counter Extremism Project Jerusalem Post: A Decade of Hamas CEP Research Analyst Josh Lipowsky examines what has happened to the lives of Gazans vs what could have been, in the decade since Hamas swept into power via the ballot box, in this insightful and provocative opinion piece. The New York Times: U.S. Strike On Taliban Leader Is Seen As A Message To Pakistan “Early on Saturday, a middle-aged Pashtun man used forged documents to cross from Iran into Pakistan. A few hours later, on a lonely stretch of highway, he was incinerated by an American drone. It is not exactly clear how the Americans tracked Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, leader of the Afghan Taliban, to a white sedan rattling across the arid expanse of Baluchistan Province. The United States picked up a mix of phone intercepts and tips from sources, American and European officials said, and there were reports that Pakistan also provided intelligence. President Obama described Mullah Mansour’s death on Monday as an ‘important milestone’ — but the strike was also an illustration of the tangled relationship between Washington and Islamabad. Not since Mr. Obama ordered Navy SEALs to hunt down Osama bin Laden in May 2011 has he authorized a military incursion in Pakistan as audacious as this one.” Reuters: Egypt Prosecutor Seeks Data From France, Greece On Crashed Plane “Egypt's public prosecutor formally requested data on the crashed EgyptAir plane from France and Greece on Monday, as the victims' remains began arriving at a Cairo morgue ready for DNA testing. EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo vanished off radar screens early on Thursday as it entered Egyptian airspace over the Mediterranean. The 10 crew and 56 passengers included 30 Egyptian and 15 French nationals, all believed to be dead. Public Prosecutor Nabil Sadek asked his French counterpart to hand over documents, audio and visual records on the plane during its stay at Charles de Gaulle airport and until it left French airspace, his office said in a statement. He also asked Greek authorities to hand over transcripts of calls between the pilot and Greek air traffic control officials, and for the officials to be questioned over whether the pilot sent a distress signal.” BBC: Iraq Crisis: How Tough Will It Be To Take Falluja From IS? “The battle for Falluja, which has been looming for months, seems to be finally under way. The city has been attacked many times and bombed and shelled almost incessantly since it fell into the militants' hands in January 2014. It has withstood all that, despite huge destruction and many casualties. Now the government has committed itself to ‘liberating’ the city once and for all, in an operation codenamed ‘Break Terrorism’. Thousands of troops, special forces, Shia militias and Sunni tribal fighters have been marshalled for the offensive, and the Prime Minister has declared that ‘a moment of great victory’ is imminent. But there are conflicting assessments of how tough the battle will be. Some believe that IS has taken such a pounding in the town that its ability to resist has been sapped. Others, in touch with sources inside the beleaguered city, say the militants have long been preparing to face such an offensive and have deployed their full array of defences, including many roadside bombs and booby traps.” Yemen: UN-Mediated Peace Talks Continue Following Trilateral Meeting With Ban In Qatar “The delegation of the Government of Yemen returned to the negotiating table in Kuwait in the latest round of peace talks today, with the United Nations envoy for the conflict-torn country holding a plenary this morning with both delegations, a UN spokesperson said. In Qatar over the weekend, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon participated in a trilateral meeting with the Amir of Qatar and President Hadi of Yemen, which the Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, also attended, according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s office. To President Hadi, the Secretary-General underlined that peace negotiations are rarely smooth, but that there was a need for ‘commitment and perseverance’ by all sides.” Associated Press: EU Police: Religious Extremism Still Top Security Threat “A top European Union police official says that despite extensive government action, violent religious-driven extremism remains the ‘top threat to the security’ of the 28-nation bloc and its half billion citizens. Manuel Navarrete Paniagua, head of the Europol police's agency's Counter Terrorism Center, spoke Monday to the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament. He said EU member states classify ‘jihadi’ extremists inspired by a radical Muslim vision of holy war as their main security concern. Navarrette said those individuals include Europe's so-called foreign fighters recruited to join the ranks of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.” The Jerusalem Post: Palestinian Woman Attempts To Stab Israeli Officer At Jerusalem Checkpoint “A Palestinian woman was shot dead Monday afternoon after she attempted to stab security forces at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem, Border Police said. According to a Border Police statement, a Palestinian woman arrived at the Ras Bidu checkpoint near Givat Ze’ev around 2:30 p.m. and was approached by officers ‘who thought she appeared suspicious.’ The officers then asked her to stop and fired warning shots in the air, but she then ran toward them brandishing a knife and was shot by the officers, the statement read. The officer in charge of the team, named by the Border Police as ‘N,’ said in a statement: ‘I understood right away it was a terrorist attack,’ adding that the awareness of the police prevented any further casualties. Police later released a photo of a large black kitchen knife they said the woman was brandishing, but gave no details as to her identity, saying she was not carrying papers.” BBC: Nigeria Boko Haram: 'Drugged Woman Told To Bomb Market' “A Nigerian woman has described being kidnapped and drugged by suspected Boko Haram jihadists who planned to use her as a suicide bomber at a market. Khadija Ibrahim, 30, told reporters she had been waiting for a bus to hospital in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri when she was seized by two men in a car who had offered her a lift. While drugged, the mother of three was stripped and a suicide belt attached, she is quoted as saying. She managed to flee her abductors. Ms Ibrahim said after getting into the car, she fell unconscious when something was placed over her nose. But she woke up, apparently without her captors realising, to hear one of them whispering to her that she was ‘going to do God's work’. The kidnappers told her she was being taken to the city of Kano to attack the Kantin Kwari textile market.” The National: Muslim Writers In France Suffer Abuse For Challenging Extremism “Zineb El Rhazoui is known as the most protected woman in France, under constant police surveillance to keep her from harm. She is not a double agent, an underworld informer or a whistleblower whose information might bring down a rogue corporation. She is a writer, one of a small number in France of Muslim origin who have suffered abuse and even death threats because of the way they challenge extremism. El Rhazoui, a Moroccan-born author and columnist for the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, refuses to be silenced. She escaped the January 2015 murders at the magazine’s Paris offices because she was visiting her native Casablanca but is scornful of suggestions she should pipe down, change her identity and make a quiet life elsewhere.” CBS News: Kansas Man Pleads Guilty To Part In ISIS Plot Against Base “A man accused of aiding a foiled plot to bomb a Kansas military post on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday. Alexander E. Blair admitted in a Topeka federal court that he loaned $100 to a friend, John T. Booker, to pay for storage of a bomb that Booker planned to detonate last year outside of the Fort Riley military post, which is about 60 miles west of Topeka. Blair could get up to five years in prison when he's sentenced Aug. 22.” Daily Mail: 'Credible Threat' That ISIS Will Target The Rio Olympics “Brazil's anti-terror chief has admitted there is a 'credible threat' that ISIS will target the Rio Olympics and that numerous measures are being taken to prevent an attack. With just three months until Games begin, the Brazilian national intelligence agency said the country is preparing for all eventualities. Brazil has long regarded itself as an unlikely target of extremists thanks to its historical standing as a non-aligned, multicultural nation that is free from enemies. However, counter terrorism director Luiz Alberto Sallaberry said in a statement the threat had increased in recent months due to attacks in other countries, and a rise in what he described as the number of Brazilian nationals suspected of sympathising with Islamic State militants. Mr Sallaberry also confirmed that a credible threat to state security had been made last year.” United States Reuters: U.S., Allies Stage 17 Strikes In Iraq, Syria Against Islamic State: Statement “The United States and its allies conducted 17 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, the coalition leading the operations said. In a statement released on Monday, the Combined Joint Task Force said seven strikes near four cities in Syria hit two tactical units, a weapons storage facility and destroyed two vehicles, a rocket rail, an improvised explosives facility and an oil pump-jack. In Iraq, 10 strikes near five cities hit a communications control center, suppressed a heavy machine gun position and destroyed multiple fighting positions, among other targets, the statement said. Near Fallujah, three bunkers, two tunnel entrances were destroyed and two weapons sites were hit, the statement added.” Voice Of America: US General's Surprise Visit To Kurds Prompts Syrian Rebels' Fury “A visit by a top U.S. military commander to northeast Syria to confer with Kurdish commanders and plot the next stage in the battle against the Islamic State group has provoked the anger of Syrian rebel commanders, who accuse the Obama administration of giving up on the Syrian revolution. In interviews with VOA Monday, the Syrian rebels warned that the U.S.-led international coalition’s strategy is creating the circumstances for future sectarian violence between Arabs and Kurds by turning to the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF), dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, to liberate Arab majority towns from Islamic State.” ABC News: UN Seeks To Fund Education, Combat Extremism For Children In Crisis “Going to school can dramatically change the lives of children in conflict zones –- yet education is severely underfunded, children’s advocates from UNICEF and Save the Children say. Their comments follow the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul today, where United Nations Special Envoy Gordon Brown launched a new education fund for children affected by conflicts, natural disasters and other types of crisis. The U.N. goal is to recruit 100 major foundations, businesses, governments and international agencies as contributors to this new education fund. ‘Education is so important because it is the only foundation and stability in these children’s life, where they can recover from the conflict,’ UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth told ABC News. The new U.N. fund aims to improve access to education for 18 percent of children affected by crisis by 2020 and to all children affected by crisis by 2030.” Fox News: US Military Wants More Power To Strike Taliban In Afghanistan “The death of the Taliban’s leader in a U.S. drone strike has scrambled discussions between the U.S. military and the White House over whether to let U.S. forces once again conduct offensive operations against the insurgent group in Afghanistan. The American military wants presidential permission to use airpower to blunt the group’s threatened advances this summer, according to several U.S. officials. The White House first wants to see what effect the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Pakistan over the weekend will have on the Taliban, senior administration officials said. President Barack Obama confirmed Mansour’s death on Monday. The death came amid indications of an impending Taliban offensive. U.S. intelligence agencies have been warning the White House that the Taliban could seize more Afghan territory, including population centers, during this summer’s fighting season, in part because the Afghan government and its military forces are so weak.” Deutsche Welle: Russia And US Discuss Moscow Plan For Joint Attacks On IS In Syria “Washington is reportedly lukewarm about a Moscow proposal issued last week that Russia and US-led coalition stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front. The content of the talks, held by phone on Monday, were not disclosed. Bomb blasts on Monday morning killed 148 people and wounded at least 200 in Jableh and Tartous on Syria's Mediterranean coast, Assad's coastal heartland, and a government-controlled territory hosting Russian military bases. UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the attacks were undertaken by at least five suicide bombers and two devices planted in cars. The Kremlin said the bomb blasts added to the case to press ahead with Geneva peace talks after the collapse of a February 27 ceasefire in April.” Syria BBC: Syria Blames Turkey, Qatar And Saudi Arabia For Deadly Bombings “The Syrian government has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of being behind a wave of bombings in the coastal cities of Tartous and Jableh. The state-run news agency Sana said the attacks constituted a ‘serious escalation’, and were aimed at derailing peace efforts. State media said at least 78 people were killed, while a monitoring group put the death toll at more than 145. So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the attacks. The cities, on Syria's Mediterranean coast, are part of the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad and have, until now, escaped the worst of the civil war.” Reuters: Bombs Kill Nearly 150 In Syrian Government-Held Cities: Monitor “Bombs killed nearly 150 people and wounded at least 200 in Jableh and Tartous on Syria's Mediterranean coast on Monday in the government-controlled territory that hosts Russian military bases, monitors and state media said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in the cities that have up to now escaped the worst of the violence in the five-year-old conflict, saying it was targeting members of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 148 people were killed in attacks by at least five suicide bombers and two devices planted in cars. State media had said 78 people had been killed in what is Assad's coastal heartland. The attacks were the first of their kind in Tartous, capital of Tartous province and home to a Russian naval facility, and in Jableh in Latakia province, near a Russian-operated air base.” Iraq The New York Times: Iraqi Leader Announces Offensive To Retake Falluja From ISIS “Iraqi forces have begun an assault on Falluja, a city that has been held by the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a televised speech on Monday. ‘Today we will tear down the black flags of the strangers who have kidnapped this city,’ Mr. Abadi, referring to the flags of the Islamic State that have been flying in Falluja for more than two years, said in a speech alongside military commanders just after midnight. However, Iraqi forces did not begin entering the city on Monday, but continued to fire mortar and artillery rounds at it, as they have for months. Officials said pro-government forces had taken some small districts on the outskirts of Falluja, as well as a government building in Karma, a city to the northeast of Falluja that has long been contested by the government and the Islamic State.” Turkey Reuters: Turkish Airlines Plane In Istanbul Evacuated After Bomb Hoax – Spokesman “A Turkish Airlines aircraft at Istanbul's main airport was evacuated and searched after a note threatening a bomb attack was found on board on Monday, an airline spokesman said, although it later turned out to be a hoax. All 134 people, including the crew, who had been on board the flight from Ataturk Airport to the central Turkish city of Kayseri had been evacuated, the spokesman said. Another plane was later arranged for them, he said. Turkey has suffered a series of suicide bombings in its cities this year, including two attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group.” Voice Of America: Turkey Calls On World Leaders To Share Burden Of Migrant Crisis “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued a call for better international cooperation in sharing the burden of addressing the world's largest humanitarian crises. Erdogan spoke Monday in Istanbul at a two-day United Nations-backed summit that convened against the backdrop of a massive migration into Turkey of Syrian and Iraqi civilians fleeing years of war. Analysts say the presence of 3 million migrants on Turkish soil makes the country the world's largest host of displaced people — part of what the U.N. calls the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Despite skeptics who question whether the summit can produce results, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on delegates and heads of state from more than 60 nations to ‘resolve ourselves here and now not only to keep people alive, but to give people a chance at life in dignity.’” Voice Of America: World Humanitarians Gather In Turkey To Take On Crises “Leaders from around the world gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday for a long-awaited humanitarian summit with hopes of instituting concrete protocols for dealing with future refugee crises. The United Nations-backed summit, which began Monday and will run through Wednesday, is billed to serve as a wake-up call for action in dealing with recurrent disasters and reducing the vulnerability of developing nations. More than 125 heads of state and government came together with representatives of the U.N. in host-country Turkey, which has been particularly hard hit by the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. Turkey is currently providing refuge to around 2.7 million people fleeing the conflict in Syria, a point President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will likely emphasize as the event unfolds.” Afghanistan PBS News: With Killing Of Top Mullah, What’s Next For The Taliban In Afghanistan? “The man who led the Afghan Taliban for the past year was killed in a U.S. operation over the weekend. The group had been gaining ground and waging a bloody war against the Afghan government. So, what’s next for the Taliban, and the countries who fight it? Mullah Mansour took over the Afghan Taliban last summer, after the group finally announced that longtime leader Mullah Omar had died in 2013. The new leader faced down rivals, in part by rejecting Afghan- and U.S.-backed peace talks. Under his direction, Taliban forces briefly seized the Northern Afghan city of Kunduz last September, and carried out a bloody assault in Kabul itself in April, killing 64. Word of his death was welcomed by Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signaled that the Taliban leader’s death could also open the door to renewed peace talks.” Associated Press: Official: Roadside Bombing In Southern Afghanistan Kills 5 “An Afghan official says at least five civilians were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Kandahar province. Samim Khpolwak, the governor's spokesman, says the explosion, which took place in Shah Wali Kot district early on Tuesday, also wounded four people. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Kandahar is regarded by the Taliban as their heartland. It had been largely peaceful for some years until a recent resurgence in insurgent violence. In neighboring Helmand province, police chief Noor Agha Kemtoz says the Taliban shadow governor, Abdul Manan, was killed by Afghan security forces in Marjah district late on Monday.” Yemen The New York Times: Suicide Bomber Kills Dozens Of Yemeni Army Recruits “A suicide bomber attacked a gathering of army recruits in the southern Yemeni city of Aden early Monday, killing at least three dozen people in what witnesses and security officials described as one of the deadliest bombings in the city since Yemen’s civil war began 14 months ago. Pictures of the aftermath showed bodies slumped around concrete barricades outside a local commander’s home, where the recruits had lined up. A local branch of the Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement distributed on jihadist websites. The attack was part of a surge of violence by militant extremists in southern Yemen since last month, when a force led by the United Arab Emirates and backed by United States Special Operations forces began an offensive to drive Al Qaeda’s local affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, from territory its militants captured in the south during the conflict.” Egypt The Wall Street Journal: EgyptAir Crash: Safety Experts Voice Fears Over Flight 804 Evidence “Aviation-safety experts are voicing concerns that Egypt may be mishandling debris collected from the downed EgyptAir plane, potentially compromising evidence that could help determine why the Airbus Group SE A320 crashed. Forensic and chemical analysis of aircraft wreckage can yield vital information for investigators to glean how and why a plane went down. Such findings are particularly crucial when investigators lack access to a plane’s flight recorders, known as black boxes, which typically provide the most comprehensive information about what occurred on board on a flight. EgyptAir Flight 804 plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 during a flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board.” Libya Reuters: Libyan Coastguard Intercepts 850 Migrants At Sea “Libyan coastguards intercepted about 850 migrants on Sunday off the coast near the western city of Sabratha, a spokesman said. Ayoub Qassem said the migrants were from various African countries and among them were 69 women, including 11 who were pregnant, as well as 11 children. They were travelling in inflatable rubber boats, he said. Libya is a major departure point for mainly sub-Saharan African migrants trying to reach Europe through crossings arranged by people smugglers. Migrants are often given flimsy boats that are ill-equipped for travelling across the Mediterranean. The flow of migrants has increased amid the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising against long-time Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. More than 30,000 have already crossed on the central Mediterranean route to Italy this year, and more are expected to attempt the journey in calmer weather during the summer.” United Kingdom Daily Caller: UK Gov’t Buries Report On Islamic Extremism In Prison “The United Kingdom’s government buried a report showing the extent to which extremist Muslims have infiltrated and influenced the prison system, and just how afraid employees are to challenge them. The report, conducted by Ian Acheson, found there is a total of 120,000 Muslim prisoners in England and Wales, 130 of which are in prison over terrorism charges. Yet, these 130 are allowed to mingle with other Muslims, providing a perfect environment for radical Islam to flourish. Muslim inmates are well aware this is the case, The Sunday Times reports. Prison staff are fearful of challenging extremism in prisons because they think their managers will purge them for being racist. The report noted Muslims can sense staff fears and have frequently threatened to call employees racist and cause a ruckus when they attempt to enforce the rules of the prison.” BBC: Walsall Group Jailed For Terror Offences “A group of friends from Walsall who planned to bring up their children under so-called Islamic State in Syria have been jailed. Mother-of-three Lorna Moore was jailed for two and a half years after failing to tell the authorities her husband was about to join the militant group. Her husband Sajid Aslam, 34, was part of a large network that heeded the militants' call for volunteers in 2014. Police say 12 people from Walsall went to Syria or tried to do so that year. Two of the men who made it to Syria have since died, while the whereabouts of others is unclear. This has been one of the most complex and challenging investigations by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit since the Islamic State group called for volunteers to help populate its self-declared frontiers - and the investigating team were praised by Judge Charles Wide QC for how they had brought the case together.” Europe The Wall Street Journal: EU To Help Libya Fight Smugglers With Naval Mission “European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to extend by one year the bloc’s naval operation to combat people-smuggling gangs in the Mediterranean Sea, and to broaden the mission’s mandate. The move came after Libyan Prime Minister Faiez Serraj formally requested the bloc’s help in training the country’s security services, naval forces and coast guard. Foreign ministers have asked EU officials to agree details for two additional parts of the mission. First, ‘capacity building and training of, and information sharing’ with the Libyan coast guard and navy; and second, to enable information-sharing and help enforce the United Nations arms embargo aimed at preventing weapons reaching extremist group Islamic State.” Technology CNN: Microsoft Has A Plan For Tackling Terrorism Online. “Microsoft has a plan for tackling terrorism online. In an 1,100-plus word blog post, Microsoft outlined policies for removing ‘terrorist content’ online, which it's defining as anything that supports organizations on the U.N. Security Council Sanctions List. The company changed its terms of use ‘to specifically prohibit the posting of terrorist content on [their] hosted consumer services,’ such as OneNote, a cloud-based document program. ‘When terrorist content on our hosted consumer services is brought to our attention via our online reporting tool, we will remove it,’ Microsoft wrote in its post Friday. The company also said it will help fund technology to identify and curb the distribution of terrorist material, and work to educate young people about misinformation and hate speech.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Al-Ain: Emirati - Kuwaiti Cooperation To Counter Money Laundering And Terror Financing The Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit of the UAE Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Sunday with the Financial Investigation Unit of Kuwait. The MoU features cooperation in the exchange of financial information in relation to money laundering and terror financing. It is aimed at supporting and strengthening anti-money laundering policies and fighting against terror-associated financial crimes. The two sides also discussed several other issues of common concern. This latest collaboration brings the number of MoUs signed by the Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit to 52. These include 43 MoUs signed with international and regional strategic partners, and nine with local strategic partners. Addiyar: Governor Of The Central Bank Of Lebanon: Our Priority Is Application Of International Standards In The Fight Against Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing In Order To Protect Our Society Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh stressed that "the application of international standards in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism is a priority for us. This issue protects our society and economy from these crimes. It also enhances the safety of our financial and banking sector and protects us from risks, especially risks related to our reputation." Salameh noted that "the Banque du Liban and the Special Investigation Commission issued a circular and disseminated information about the immediate freeze (of all assets) related to (U.N) Security Council Resolution No. 1267 (concerning the fight against Jihadist terrorist groups)." The Governor spoke during a workshop hosted by the Bank of Lebanon yesterday, under the title "Lebanon-U.S. Terrorist Designations Exchange." It was attended by the Secretary General of the Central Bank’s Special Investigation Commission, Abdul Hafiz Mansour, and the Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Lebanon, Ambassador Richard Jones. Mansour said, "Terrorism-related risks are worsening and threatening the entire globe. It is the duty of our world today to block this evil phenomenon by strengthening efforts and tightening requirements and standards for combating terrorism and its financing. Muslim Brotherhood Almesryoon: Ban: Brotherhood Faces Communication Crisis With Branches Abroad An expert in Islamist Movement Affairs, Ahmed Ban, claimed that Rashid Ghanoushi, the leader of Al-Nahda Party in Tunisia, differs greatly in his ideas and intellectual roots from the leaders of the Brotherhood in Egypt, who are the disciples of prominent Brotherhood leader and ideologist Sayyid Qutob. He noted that the political Islam in the Maghreb (North Africa) region differs from that found in the Mashriq region (Arab countries to the east of Egypt). Because of this, the reality in Tunisia is different from Egypt. This is especially true after Al-Nahda announced the separation of religious and political agenda and the party's transformation accordingly. Meanwhile, Ban also said that at present the Brotherhood in Egypt is facing difficulties in contacting its branch offices abroad. Sada El-Balad: Boheira (Social) Solidarity (Ministry): Closure Of 86 Ngos And Kindergartens Owned By The Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed el-Dib, Undersecretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity, announced the closure of 75 Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated civil societies in Boheira Governorate on the grounds of violating the terms of their licenses. He added that new boards of directors were formed for seven of these associations. The new boards are tasked with running the daily affairs of the societies, including the services provided to citizens. He stressed that Boheira Governorate is free of foreign-funded associations. el-Dib noted that inspection committees belonging to the social departments at the councils of cities and villages uncovered 121 violations of "private" kindergartens operating without a license, including 11 Brotherhood-affiliated kindergartens. All of them were closed and their cases were forwarded to the Public Prosecution for further investigations. Akhbar Elyoum: Is Algeria Sponsoring The Rebirth Of The Brotherhood? Algeria intends to organize an international conference of Islamic parties, which may ultimately yield the rebirth of the global organization of the Muslim Brotherhood. This comes after the Algerian announcement several months ago regarding the country's refusal to add the group to the blacklist of terrorist organizations, following a request made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the Arab League. Algeria initiated its sponsorship of moderate Islamists in the Arab world last month during the Maghreb conference of moderate political parties. The conference was attended by Morocco's Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Al-Nahda Party of Tunisia, Justice and Development Party of Libya and the Mauritanian National Rally for Reform and Development (RNRD). It culminated in a call by the parties to play a greater role in fostering a rapprochement between the peoples in the region so as to achieve the "desired unity."