Eye on Extremism - June 3, 2016

Eye on Extremism June 3, 2016 CNN: State Department Report Finds Iran Is Top State Sponsor Of Terror “The State Department on Thursday released its annual report on global terrorist activity, listing Iran as the top state sponsor of terrorism and labeling ISIS ‘the greatest threat globally.’ The report also includes statistics on terrorist activity worldwide, and said 11,774 terrorist attacks in 92 countries occurred in 2015. The department's acting coordinator for counterterrorism, Justin Siberell, briefed reporters Thursday on the report's content, saying the document was used to assess the effectiveness of the effort to combat terrorism and to determine where to best place resources. On Iran, the report said that country ‘remained the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in 2015, providing a range of support, including financial, training, and equipment, to groups around the world.’ The report also said that Iran was continuing to provide arms and cash to terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Iraqi Shia terrorist groups, including Kata'ib Hizballah (KH).” The Wall Street Journal: The Militia Commander Beating Back ISIS In Iraq Makes The U.S. Nervous “Behind the rise of a paramilitary force in Iraq credited with saving the country from Islamic State is an Iran-trained jihadist the U.S. wants far from the battlefield. A decade ago, the Iraqi known to U.S. officials as Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi was in a cat-and-mouse game with U.S. forces and on the run from a Kuwaiti death sentence for allegedly orchestrating bombings at the American and French embassies there in the 1980s. The U.S. Treasury lists him as a terrorist. Today, the shadowy figure—known mostly by his nom de guerre, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes —is the most influential commander in the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. The force of mostly Shiite Muslim recruits is Iraq’s parallel army, crucial in successes against Islamic State in the past two years, filling the gap after the regular army crumbled and the U.S. moved to help rebuild it.” Reuters: U.S.-Led Coalition Airdrops Weapons To Syria Rebels In Aleppo Province “A U.S.-led coalition fighting against Islamic State in Syria air-dropped weapons to rebels in the town of Marea in northern province Aleppo on Thursday, a rebel commander and monitoring group said. The commander, requesting anonymity, said ammunition was dropped. ‘The alliance dropped them ammunition ... Their situation was difficult,’ he told Reuters, without elaborating. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said weapons and ammunition were dropped. It was the first time the coalition had dropped weapons to fighters other than the Syria Democratic Forces, an alliance fighting separately against IS that includes the Kurdish YPG militia. Islamic State last week drove rebels, including foreign-backed groups, out of areas near the Turkish border and cut off supply lines to rebel-held Marea, in a setback to groups that have been supported through Turkey.” Al-Arabiya: ISIS ‘Gradually Focusing More’ On Global Attacks “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is entering a new phase with an increased emphasis on attacking international civilian targets, according to a United Nations report circulated Thursday. The report by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the Security Council says the global threat from the group remains high and continues to diversify even though its territorial expansion has been halted or even reversed in Iraq and Syria. “Recent international attacks perpetrated by members of ISIS demonstrate that the terrorist group is now moving into a new phase, with the increased risk that well-prepared and centrally directed attacks on international civilian targets may become a more frequent occurrence,” the report states, using an acronym to refer to the group.” Daily Beast: Russia Pounds the Achilles’ Heel of America’s ISIS War “In the last week, Russia has stepped up its attacks in northern and western Syria, and the U.S. has cried foul, claiming Russia is only pretending to target terrorists. ‘Despite claims they are focusing on [al Qaeda in Syria] and [ISIS], Russia and [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad have primarily targeted the moderate opposition,” a U.S. intelligence official explained to The Daily Beast. “Moscow’s offer of joint operations with the United States [against ISIS] was a blatant attempt to deflect attention from his targeting of moderate opposition, and sadly, innocent Syrians trying to survive the disaster Assad has created. By continuing to back Assad, it appears Moscow has squandered the opportunity presented by the cessation of hostilities to stabilize the situation in Syria.’” Voice Of America: US Sees Islamic State Group Spreading Its Tentacles “The global terrorism threat is becoming increasingly decentralized with groups such as Islamic State spreading tentacles into regions including Southeast Asia, Russia's North Caucasus and Africa, the State Department said in its annual report on terrorism. While al-Qaida, Boko Haram and al-Shabab continue to launch destabilizing attacks, the State Department said IS remained the greatest threat globally last year, with a ‘formidable force’ in Syria and Iraq. It says while some of the Islamic State’s forces in these two countries eroded during the latter half of 2015, fighters with the militant group managed to wage a series of attacks elsewhere, in countries including France and Turkey.” The Times of Israel: In Gaza Meet, Hamas, IS In Sinai Said To Discuss Cooperation “Top Islamic State commander in Sinai Shadi Al-Menii met with Hamas officials in Gaza Thursday in order to discuss cooperation between the two terrorist groups, according to a Channel 2 report. According to Channel 2, Al-Menii’s branch of IS in Sinai were to help Hamas operatives smuggle arms into the strip via tunnels in return for sophisticated weapons. Israeli officials have often claimed that there is a quiet cooperation between Hamas and IS in Sinai. In July 2015 former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said Hamas had joined forces with IS terrorists fighting the Egyptian army in Sinai, Haaretz reported.” Reuters: Dangerous Migrant Smuggling Routes Flourish In Lawless Libya “After a flurry of boat departures that sent hundreds of migrants to their deaths in the Mediterranean, survivors told police they had been kept for weeks on one meal a day in holding houses near the Libyan shore. Then they boarded the rubber or wooden vessels, but only those co-opted to run or drive the boats were given life-jackets, according to accounts given to Italian police. As calmer summer weather begins, European officials who struck a deal with Turkey to block crossings to Greece have been scrambling for ways to shut down flows on the other major sea route into the EU from Libya. They hope a U.N.-sponsored government that arrived in Tripoli in March will bring stability, and the EU last week agreed to help to train Libya's coastguard.” BBC: The Niger Delta Avengers: Nigeria's Newest Militants “With a name that sounds like it has come from the pages of a superhero comic book, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is the latest militant group to emerge in Nigeria - attacking oil installations in a campaign which threatens the economy of Africa's most populous state. ‘We are a group of educated and well-travelled individuals that are poised to take the Niger Delta struggle to new heights that has never been seen in this nation before,’ the NDA proclaimed in one of their first statement's on their website in April. ‘We have well-equipped human resources to meet this goal.’ It was not an idle threat. The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, causing a huge decline in oil production, which is the mainstay of the West African state's economy.” The New York Times: A Top Aide to Assad Takes Syria’s Case to a U.S. Audience “When word circulated in Washington this week that Bouthaina Shaaban, who is a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and who has been under sanction by the United States government, would appear two blocks from the White House at an antiterrorism news conference, the Obama administration reacted with alarm. John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, called Dr. Shaaban a “propaganda mouthpiece” of the Assad government, which President Obama has said must go, and the Treasury noted that any transaction with a person designated on one of its blacklists was prohibited. Dr. Shaaban did not arrive in person on Thursday, but she did appear via Skype video at the National Press Club, where she delivered a 20-minute speech followed by an extraordinary and at times contentious one-hour question-and-answer session with journalists and others.” United States The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Using Syrian City To Plot Attacks Against West, U.S. Says “Islamic State is hatching plots against Europe, Turkey and the U.S. from the city of Manbij in Syria, according to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who cited the plots as one reason why a new offensive by U.S.-backed Arab and Kurdish fighters to take the city must succeed. The other reason, according to Mr. Carter, is that foreign fighters bolstering Islamic State’s ranks have been flowing through the area around the city, and that passage must be cut off to weaken the extremist group. Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has previously planned attacks beyond the boundaries of its self-declared caliphate from its home base in the Syrian city of Raqqa, but Mr. Carter said those plotting activities are also taking place in Manbij.” Reuters: Number Of Terrorist Attacks Fell In 2015 - U.S. Report “The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that the number of terrorist attacks around the world declined last year for the first time since 2012, and that such attacks were becoming more decentralized and diffuse. Terrorist attacks fell by 13 percent compared with 2014, while fatalities caused by terrorist activity declined by 14 percent, the agency said in its report on global terrorism, which tracks trends in political violence. The State Department's acting coordinator for counter terrorism, Justin Siberell, said the drop was due to fewer attacks in Iraq, Pakistan and Nigeria.” Syria Reuters: Suicide Bomber Kills Several In Syrian Coastal City Latakia: Monitor “A suicide bomber detonated explosives near a mosque in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia on Thursday, killing and wounding several people, a monitoring group and state media reported. The explosion took place near the city center as people were leaving prayers, state TV reported, describing it as a terrorist attack. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict using sources on the ground, confirmed the blast took place in a northern area of Latakia. The Observatory said the blast killed at least three people. State media reported at least one dead and several wounded. State-run Ikhbariya news channel showed patches of blood on the ground and rescue workers and security personnel carrying wounded people toward ambulances.” Associated Press: UN Says Syrian Government Must Approve Aid Deliveries “U.N. officials on Thursday all but rejected a call by a group of world powers for the United Nations to act unilaterally to air drop food to besieged Syrians, saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad has final say on any such deliveries. Assad's forces have surrounded most of the 19 U.N.-designated ‘besieged areas’ and there was no immediate sign that his government would authorize air deliveries of aid. The U.N. has dropped aid onto the city of Deir Ezzor, parts of which are loyal to Assad while other parts are controlled by Islamic State group fighters. The International Syria Support Group, a coalition of world powers, had called for the World Food Programme to unilaterally deliver food to besieged Syrians starting June 1 if access wasn't granted by the Syrian government. Thursday's comments from Jan Egeland, a top humanitarian aid coordinator for Syria, and Ramzy Ramzy, deputy to U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, suggested that the U.N. is unwilling to take that step.” Iraq U.S. News & World Report: The Iranian Fingerprints On Iraq’s Fallujah Plan “Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s decision to engage the Islamic State group in Fallujah is about more than defeating the terrorist network. It’s about more than establishing safety in Baghdad, and it’s even about more than securing his own political future. His abrupt departure from America’s script for the war against the Islamic State group, which prioritizes above all else the liberation of Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, shows the strength of the other major international influence in Iraq, and its sway on Baghdad. Iran has reportedly been pressuring Abadi for weeks, if not months, to prioritize Fallujah. But now domestic tensions in Baghdad and disunity among the world powers that have involved themselves in the conflict have cleared the way for the Islamic republic to have more potency than the U.S., Russia, Turkey or any other world power involved in the conflict.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey's Erdogan Says U.S.-Backed Syrian Force Largely Arab, In Tacit Approval “Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday a U.S.-backed offensive against Islamic State in northern Syria was largely being carried out by Arab rather than Kurdish fighters, in a sign of tacit approval for the operation near Turkey's borders. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, including the Kurdish YPG militia, thrust into Islamic State-held territory around the city of Manbij this week, backed by U.S.-led air strikes and U.S. special forces on the ground. Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist organization and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey's own southeast. It resents U.S. support for the YPG.” BBC: Armenia 'Genocide' Row: Turkey Recalls Envoy To Germany After Vote “Turkey has recalled its envoy to Germany in protest against German MPs declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians during WWI as ‘genocide’. Turkey called the vote ‘an example of ignorance and disrespect’. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people died in the atrocities of 1915. Turkey says the toll was much lower and rejects the term ‘genocide’. The vote heightens German-Turkish tensions at a time when Turkey's help is needed to control migrant arrivals. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the resolution would seriously affect relations with Germany, and that the government would consider further measures in response to the vote.” Afghanistan BBC: Torkham Border Crossing: Pakistan Curbs Afghan Entry “Hundreds of people remain stranded at a key border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan after Islamabad imposed stringent new border controls. Afghans now need valid passports and visas to enter Pakistan but many at the Torkham crossing were unaware of the changes that came into force on 1 June. Some 10,000-15,000 people use the crossing near the Khyber Pass each day. Pakistan says the new rules will soon apply at other crossing points too, and aim to limit the movement of militants. The restrictions are likely to affect an estimated one million Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The long and porous border is a notorious source of tension between the two countries.” Reuters: Militants Kidnap 17 Members Of Afghanistan's Hazara Community “Gunmen have kidnapped 17 members of Afghanistan's Hazara community, officials said on Thursday, the latest incident involving members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority highlighting the risk of sectarian violence. The men were abducted on Wednesday afternoon from a bus in the northern province of Sar-i-Pul, with officials blaming Taliban militants. ‘The passengers, all our Hazara brothers, were traveling towards the city center when their van was stopped by the Taliban and taken away,’ said Zabihullah Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor.” Yemen Voice Of America: Millions Of Civilians In War-Torn Yemen In Dire Straits “The United Nations is appealing to the international community to come to the aid of millions of civilians in war-torn Yemen, struggling to survive as humanitarian conditions in the country continue to deteriorate. U.N. Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick calls Yemen an invisible crisis, a war waged in the shadows of the war being fought in nearby Syria. While all eyes are on tragic events unfolding in Syria, he said the humanitarian situation for some 22 million Yemenis is becoming increasingly dire. The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels have been engaged in a sporadic civil war for many years; but, the depth of destruction and increased danger to the civilian population has seriously escalated since Saudi Arabia began its devastating aerial campaign in March 2015.” Associated Press: Yemen's Shiite Rebels Retake Ground From Government Forces “The country's Shiite rebels have retaken ground from forces loyal to the internationally recognized government in two central provinces, with at least 85 fighters killed on both sides over the past three days, Yemeni officials said Thursday. The fighting has been taking place in Marib and Shabwa provinces, the officials said, adding that in Shabwa's region of Bihan, along with the 85 killed, about 100 fighters have been wounded on both sides. Security officials loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said pro-government forces retreated due to lack of air support from the Saudi-led coalition. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.” Saudi Arabia International Business Times: Saudi Arabia Hands 14 Convicts Death Sentence As Total Executions Near 100 “Even as human rights activists and organisations have been criticising Saudi Arabia for handing capital punishment to criminals, in the first five months of 2016, around 95 people were executed in the conservative Arab kingdom. The number could soon cross 100 as, 14 others were sentenced to death on 1 June after being convicted of attacking police officers in the Shia Muslim minority area of Qatif located in the Eastern Province. According to reports, the number of executions will only increase in 2016 as compared to last year, which saw 158 people being executed. This figure was up from 2014, when as many as 90 people were executed.” Egypt The Wall Street Journal: Israel, Palestinians Court Egypt’s Sisi As Broker In Peace Talks “Israeli and Palestinian officials have been pushing Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to assume a lead mediating role in attempts to restart a fraught peace process ahead of a conference in Paris on Friday. Israeli officials have held discussions with Mr. Sisi about reviving an Arab states-led initiative to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people familiar with the matter said. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has attempted to persuade Mr. Sisi to play a key role in an initiative put forward by France, Palestinian officials said. Israeli and Palestinian officials said they believe Mr. Sisi can act as an honest broker between the two sides as security cooperation between Egypt and Israel is at unprecedented levels and the Egyptian leader has indicated he is committed to establishing a Palestinian state.” Reuters: Egyptair Black Box Search Zone Narrows After Signal Detected “Search teams zeroed in on the wreckage of EgyptAir flight MS804 on Thursday after a French vessel picked up a signal from one of the crashed jet's black boxes. An Egyptian source on the investigation committee told Reuters the search zone for the crashed Airbus A320 had been reduced to a 2 km (1.24 miles) radius from 5 km. France's transport minister said it would be about eight days before the flight recorder was recovered from the Mediterranean seabed. Locating the black boxes is crucial to understanding why the jet plummeted into the Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. EgyptAir's chairman, Safwat Musallam, denied French media reports the aircraft had sent a series of technical warnings during flights to Asmara in Eritrea and Tunis in the 24 hours before it disappeared off radar screens and crashed.” Middle East The Jerusalem Post: West Bank Stabbing Attempt: Female Palestinian Attacks IDF Soldiers, Is Shot Dead “A Palestinian woman was shot and killed on Thursday after she tried stabbing IDF soldiers in the northern West Bank. The IDF said that the knife-wielding Palestinian woman arrived at a military post near the Palestinian town of Anabta, where she tried attacking nearby troops. The soldiers reportedly left their guard post and initially tried apprehending the woman before firing shots at her. There were no injuries among the Israelis. While the frequency of lone-wolf violence that plagued Israel in recent months has simmered down, sporadic attacks continue to occur. Earlier in the week, a Palestinian teenager stabbed and lightly wounded a soldier in Tel Aviv in what police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) were investigating as a likely terrorist attack.” Libya Reuters: Number Of Migrant Bodies Recovered On West Libyan Coast Rises To 85: Red Crescent “The bodies of at least 85 migrants who drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean have been washed up near the western Libyan city of Zuwara, a Red Crescent official said on Thursday. Al-Khamis Al-Bosaifi said most of the migrants appeared to be from sub-Saharan Africa, though their bodies were decomposed and it was not clear when they had drowned. A surge in departures from the North African coast toward Italy left hundreds dead last week. Many of the boats are believed to have left from the shore around Zuwara and the nearby city of Sabratha.” Nigeria Reuters: Militants Launch Attacks In Niger Delta As Buhari Cancels Visit “Militants launched new attacks in the Niger Delta on Thursday, vowing to bring Nigeria's struggling oil industry to a halt, and the president canceled a long-awaited visit to the region. The army said militants killed six people on Wednesday when they ambushed a boat belonging to state oil firm NNPC in the Warri area. Separately, the Niger Delta Avengers group said it had attacked two crude pipelines operated by Italy's ENI. ‘At about 2:00 am today @NDAvengers blew up the Ogboinbiri to Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba Crude Oil pipelines in Bayelsa State,’ the group said on Twitter.” Newsweek: Nigeria: Minister Blames Boko Haram For Tomato Shortage “A Nigerian minister has blamed the West African country’s tomato shortage on the Boko Haram insurgency. Information Minister Lai Mohammed, speaking in an interview with Nigeria’s Channels TV on Wednesday, said that the militant group’s rampage through northeast Nigeria had displaced many farmers and destroyed arable land. Officials in the northern state of Kaduna declared a state of emergency in the tomato sector in May. According to Commissioner of Agriculture Daniel Manzo Maigar, a pest called the tomato leaf miner, or Tuta Absoluta , destroyed 80 percent of tomato farms in the state. A tomato processing facility in neighboring Kano state run by Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian business tycoon who is also Africa’s richest man, also suspended operations in May due to a lack of fresh tomatoes, Forbes reported. The crisis has caused the price of tomatoes to increase exponentially from $1.20 earlier in 2016 to more than $40 in May.” United Kingdom Telegragh: Britain In Talks To Send Up To 100 More Troops Back To Afghanistan “Britain is in talks with Nato allies to send up to 100 more soldiers back to Afghanistan amid concern that a resurgent Taliban are retaking large parts of the country. Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, on Thursday met Afghan leaders on a surprise visit to Kabul as heavy fighting has again swept areas of Helmand where British troops spent years building local security forces. Defence sources confirmed the Government is considering increasing its deployment to Afghanistan for the first time since 2010, after American calls for allies to shoulder more of the burden propping up Kabul’s forces.” BBC: Prison Islam Course 'Could Turn Prisoners To Violence' “A manual used by imams to teach prison inmates about Islam risks ‘turning people into jihadis’, a cleric says. Sheikh Musa Admani told the BBC the Tarbiyah programme, used in English and Welsh prisons since 2011, could turn people towards violence and should be withdrawn. A section of the programme is on jihad, and it says taking up arms to fight ‘evil’ is ‘one of the noblest acts’. The Ministry of Justice will investigate issues raised by the BBC. The BBC understands that the Tarbiyah programme was co-written by a number of imams and Ahtsham Ali, a prisons adviser to the Ministry of Justice. Mr Ali declined to comment. Another teaching course was withdrawn by the department last year because it was based on texts written by extremists.” Germany The Washington Post: Germany Arrests 3 Suspected Syrian Terrorists, Foils Possible Islamic State Plot “Three Syrian men who entered Germany with a wave of migrants were arrested Thursday on suspicion of planning an Islamic State attack on the city of Düsseldorf. The arrests potentially thwarted a deadly operation that appeared eerily reminiscent of recent assaults on Brussels and Paris. The suspected plot, German authorities said, involved suicide bombers, firearms and explosives — a lethal combination that has become the hallmark of a new spate of Islamist terrorism in Europe. A fourth Syrian, who prosecutors said had informed French officials about the alleged plot, was being held in France. The arrests highlighted the significant threat to Europe from Islamic State militants posing as migrants.” The New York Times: German Parliament Recognizes Armenian Genocide, Angering Turkey “The German Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a symbolic but fraught resolution on Thursday declaring the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a genocide, escalating tensions with Turkey at a diplomatically delicate juncture. The Turkish government angrily denounced the vote as ‘null and void,’ and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his ambassador in Germany back to Ankara for consultations. ‘The way to close the dark pages of your own history is not by defaming the histories of other countries with irresponsible and baseless decisions,’ Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, wrote on Twitter. In Ankara, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, ‘There is no shameful incident in our past that would make us bow our heads.’” France Forbes: Could France's Euro 2016 Woes Get Worse? Flight Cancellations, Terrorist Alert, Strikes And Floods “The list of cancelled flights to and from France due to a civil aviation workers’ walkout  on Thursday left thousands  of travelers stranded at airports on the eve of the massive influx of millions of soccer fans from around the world expected next week for the Euro 2016 championship. Ryanair, the budget airline, announced the cancellation of 75 flights. The strike which was called off at the end of the day caused widespread disruptions that affected travel and tourism in other countries and that observers qualified as chaotic.” BBC: Euro 2016: Paris Police 'Wants To Shut Fan Zone' “France's police chief is keen to close a zone for up to 90,000 fans for part of the Euro 2016 football tournament, Agence France-Presse reports. In a letter to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Michel Cadot cited the ‘exhaustion’ of overstretched police and the threat of terrorism, according to AFP. Paris is one of 10 host cities during the competition that starts next week. This week, the US warned the tournament could be targeted by militants. ‘The large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months will present greater targets for terrorists,’ the State Department said. Paris has been preparing the fan zone at the foot of the world-famous Eiffel Tower. Every match will be screened at the fan zone, but Mr Cadot is aiming for it to be shut during all 12 matches that take place in Paris' two stadiums.” Europe Deutsche Welle: EU, US Sign Data Deal To Fight Crime, Terrorism “The two sides described Thursday's signing as a ‘major step forward in EU-US relations,’ although the deal still needs to be approved by the European Parliament. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the plan would ‘improve cooperation...when combating serious crime and terrorism,’ adding that it would ‘advance the full respect for fundamental rights whenever personal data is being transferred between us.’ Van der Steur was joined by his US counterpart, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, for the signing ceremony in Amsterdam. The so-called ‘Umbrella Agreement,’ follows five years of negotiations and will govern the exchange of personal data - such as criminal records, names and addresses - between US and EU authorities.”