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Rabbi urges Europe to arm Jewish communities

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the director of the European Jewish Association, the largest Jewish federation in Europe, has called on the European governments to allow synagogues, kosher shops and Jewish property to be authorised to carry guns in response to fears of rising anti-Semitism.

“The Paris attacks, as well as the many challenges and threats which have been presented to the European Jewish community in recent years, have revealed the urgent need to stop talking and start acting,” says a letter written this week by Rabbi Menachem Margolin

Newsweek magazine’s Catherine Phillips asked for clarification from Margolin. The Rabbi told her that as many people within the Jewish community as possible should carry weapons. He told her that a license to carry would provide people in the Jewish community with a sense of security that is sorely lacking in Europe, particularly in light of recent events.

One of those critical of Margolin’s proposal is Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who said that a handgun would have been of little value in the Paris shootings:

As to personally being armed, such a move could help when a Jewish person is threatened by thugs, but won’t help if — God forbid — Charlie-type terror attacks are launched.

A delegation from the European Jewish Congress spoke to EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday, calling on Brussels to create a pan-European body to combat anti-Semitism.

“Now more than ever, the European Union needs to create a position and organization specifically geared toward finding long-lasting solutions for anti-Semitism and other forms of racism,” EJC president Dr Moshe Kantor said.

Kantor added that it is “incumbent on the European Union to urgently place combating anti-Semitism as one of its highest priorities because this is a hatred that transcends borders and cannot be dealt with by any single nation on its own.”

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Iran’s “real Iron Dome” air defence system

Iran has deployed its new national missile defence system. Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabifard, Vice Speaker of Iran’s Parliament dubbed the system the “real Iron Dome,” in reference to the joint US-Israeli Iron Dome missile shield, which demonstrated its capabilities in the recent conflict between Hamas fighters and the Israeli Defence force. Aboutorabifard went on to say “Today Iran's Air Defence System has provided our country with an Iron Dome in its real sense and Iran's airspace is the safest in the region,"

Iran first announced plans to create a mid-range and long-range national missile defence system back in August. However, Tehran has so far provided no footage that would prove the effectiveness of the air defence system. Aboutorabifard insisted that Iran's air defence system has “the highest deterrence power in the region.”

Iran’s military personnel and its scientists have been busy developing technology to further advance their strategic capabilities. Fars news agency reported that a UAV with abilities to evade missiles is in development, as well as testing a number of suicide drones (a type of cruise missile). Iranian Air Force spokesman General Hossein Chitforoush announced that Iran has started mass production of

Saeqeh (Thunder) fighter jets

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The Niger Delta suffers another oil spill

The Niger delta has experienced another oil spill from one of Shells pipelines. Local environmental activists have said that it ranks as one of the worst in Nigeria for years.

The late November spill happened in Okolo Launch on Bonny Island. According to an investigation by shell and government officials 3,800 barrels have spilled recently, but 1,200 barrels had been recovered as of Tuesday.

In spite of efforts to manage the spill, vast quantities of oil have reached the shore and have started to have an adverse effect on the fragile ecosystem. "We saw dead fish, dead crabs ... This spill occurred 7-8 nautical miles from the shore ... so the volume runs into thousands of barrels," Alagoa Morris, head of the Niger Delta Resource Center for Environmental Rights Action

20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups inhabit areas of the delta, it is the largest wetland in Africa and contains one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. The unique ecosystem also has more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa.

Shell has placed the blame for the spill on failed crude theft, and claims that over the last five years 70 percent of all oil spills have been the result of sabotage.

However, Shell has recently been held accountable for the environmental damage caused by a 2011 oil leak in the offshore Bonga oil field, this incident saw nearly 40 thousand barrels of oil drained into the sea. The Nigerian parliament determined that Shell must pay nearly 4 billion dollars (3.2 billion euros).

In a recent investigation Amnesty International revealed that Shell has repeatedly made false claims about the size and impact of two major oil spills at Bodo in Nigeria that happened back in 2008. The aim of the company was to minimize its compensation payments for the damage caused to 15,000 people whose livelihoods were devastated by oil pollution. In a high-profile compensation case in England’s High Court, Shell did confirm that the two spills had been far greater than the previously believed. Yet Shell did not give a revised figure, which now stands at 4,144 barrels.

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China strengthens relationship with Pakistan  

The Chinese government has promised $45.6 billion (29.1 billion pounds) that will be used to finance energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

The China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) project will take place over the next six years. The project is likely to strengthen an already robust relationship between the two states, while also providing a much needed energy source for Pakistan as well as strategic and economic value for China.

“Pakistan and China, both nuclear-armed nations, consider each other close friends. Their ties are underpinned by common wariness of India and a desire to hedge against U.S. influence in South Asia.” - Reuters

Pakistan's minister for water and power Khawaja Asif said "Pakistan will not be taking on any more debt through these projects," China’s banks will be loaning money to Chinese companies to invest in the projects.

China will be developing Gwadar port which is in a strategically important location close to the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping lane that could secure the transportation of oil from the Gulf States, across Pakistan, and into western China. The route will bypass India. Although allies India and China are still economic competitors.

Khawaja Asif  went on to say "In total we will add 16,000 MW of electricity through coal, wind, solar and hydroelectric plants in the next seven years and reduce power shortage by 4,000 to 7,000 megawatts," 

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Mexican mayor and wife suspected involvement in disappearance of 43 students

Protesters stormed and set fire to the main government building in Iguala, Mexico on Wednesday as anger continues to mount over the failure of authorities to locate 43 students who have been missing since September 26.

As the attack on the town hall occurred, Mexican federal police forces, which have been in charge of public safety since the September attacks, were nowhere to be found.

Attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam said there was clear evidence that José Luis Abarca, the mayor of Iguala, ordered local police to target the students who are from a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa. The students had travelled to nearby Iguala to protest against what they said were discriminatory hiring practices, and to collect funds for their college.

However, the mayor knew of the student’s intentions and had local police intercept them because he feared they would disrupt a speech by his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda. Mr Murillo Karam said police officers testified that they had been told to intercept the students "on the mayor's orders". The local police have been accused of firing upon the three buses carrying the students, killing six. Eyewitnesses described seeing the remaining 43 students being bundled into police cars.

Mr Murillo Karam said the police then handed the students over to a local drug trafficking group, known as Guerreros Unidos, who took them to an area where mass graves have since been discovered. The leader of Guerreros Unidos, Sidronio Casarrubias, was arrested last week and told police that the mayor’s wife María de los Angeles Pineda was the group’s “main operator within city hall”.

Abarca requested leave from his post following the incident on 26 September and neither he nor his wife or the town's police chief, Felipe Flores have been seen since.

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China’s mission to the moon

Beijing has launched the third phase of its lunar exploration program. The spacecraft was launched from the LC2 launch complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province at 1800UTC. The mission, dubbed Chang’e-5-T1, is to head into Lunar Transfer Orbit (LTO), before performing a flyby around the Moon and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and landing after a 9 day flight, , the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) said in a statement.

The mission will be used to test technology that will be used in China’s unmanned 2017 mission to land on the moon to gather lunar samples. China currently has a rover, the Jade Rabbit, on the surface of the moon which was launched as part of the Chang'e-3 lunar mission late last year, and has been declared a success by Chinese authorities. The military-run project has plans for a permanent orbiting station by 2020 and eventually to send a human to the moon.

Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a marker of its rising global stature and mounting technical expertise, as well as evidence of the ruling Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

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Fall in crude prices may push Russia into a recession

Russia's ruble currency has hit yet another record low on the back of plummeting oil prices. The price of crude oil has fallen 15% in the past three months and is at its lowest in four years. Higher output coupled with weaker demand from China and Europe has driven the price of crude down to $85. The US also now produces 65% more oil than it did five years ago following the increase in shale production. Russia obtains more than half its budget revenue from oil and gas, making its economy vulnerable to oil price changes.

On Wednesday Russia's central bank announced that it would sell $50 billion in foreign currency auctions, this move would help the banking sector pay back its dollar and euro debts and try to ease the ruble's volatility. The central bank has already spent almost $7 billion this month propping up the ruble.

Timur Nigmatullin, a macroeconomic analyst at Investcafe, argued that relatively high oil prices in the first half of the year, when prices were above $100 a barrel, would compensate for the lower prices now. Nigmatullin believes that the government would seek to mitigate the country’s worsening economic situation by borrowing, reducing expenditures and spending money from the reserve fund built up when oil prices were higher. But all these have negative effects, notably rising debt servicing costs and reduced popularity for the government, he said.

Economists have warned that if the oil price does not improve, Russia could face a recession in 2016 or even earlier. Russian recession may impact Putin’s popularity with the country’s business elite. Konstantin Sonin, a professor at the Higher School of Economics, said the falling oil price would lead to spending cuts that could set off alarm bells among business leaders. "The elite is now realizing what these achievements cost," Sonin said, referring to Putin's annexation of Crimea and support for the separatist state in eastern Ukraine.

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Clashes erupt on Turkey’s streets, at least 31 people killed

At least 31 people have been killed and 360 others wounded in four days of violent protests in Turkey by Kurdish demonstrators. The demonstrators are frustrated by the government's lack of action to save the Syrian town of Kobane from a jihadist militant takeover.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against a students in Ankara, namely those protesting in support of Syrian Kurds in Kobani at the Middle Eastern Technical University (ODTÜ) campus and at Ankara University. At least 25 people have been detained. Turkish troops and tanks were deployed to restore order. Curfews were imposed in five provinces.

However, the curfew was broken in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Thursday night when clashes broke out between pro-Kurdish activists and their opponents. The rival groups attacked each other with pistols, rifles and axes, leaving at least 20 people injured.

Kurdish forces say they have stalled the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants in the town after more American airstrikes overnight.

Turkish forces are standing by near Kobane but the government in Ankara has refused to send them into action, or to establish a safe corridor to ferry fighters and supplies to the besieged Kurdish fighters. Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu commented on the situation "It is not realistic to expect Turkey to conduct a ground operation on its own,"

Washington has suggested that Ankara is not pulling it’s own weight, but the Turkish government resents this. Cavusoglu went on to say that "We are holding talks ... Once there is a common decision, Turkey will not hold back from playing its part."

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Creator of WWW calls for internet Magna Carter

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web has called for a revolutionary bill of rights to guaranty the web’s independence. Berners-Lee believes that an internet version of the Magna Carta is necessary to seize power back from governments and private corporations who seek to control the web for their own gain. The British computer scientist has always been a vocal critic of attempts to infringe on the impartiality and neutrality of the web and argues that it must retain its democratic nature.

"Suddenly the power to abuse the open internet has become so tempting both for government and big companies." He told the audience at the Web We Want festival in London.  "If a company can control your access to the internet, if they can control which websites they go to, then they have tremendous control over your life . . . If a government can block you going to, for example, the opposition's political pages, then they can give you a blinkered view of reality to keep themselves in power.”

When Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web, he dreamed of a neutral space where humanity, with all of its “ghastly stuff,” would be free to be itself. "Closed content silos are walling off information posted by their users from the rest of the web. High costs and lack of locally relevant content, especially in the developing world, still exclude the majority of the world's people from the web's global conversation." It is believed that the only information that should be kept off the web relates to things that were illegal before the web, and remain illegal now – such as “child pornography, fraud, telling someone how to rob a bank,” and the like.

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Drug Trafficking and Prostitution boost Spain’s GDP by €9 billion

Spain has decided to include illegal activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution into the country’s gross domestic product. On Thursday the country lifted its GDP figures for 2013 by €26.19 billion to €1.05 trillion thanks to the inclusion of such activities and also from contributions of research and development and military armament. 0.35% of Spain’s newly calculated GDP comes from prostitution and 0.50% of it from drug trafficking, amounting to €9 billion, and reducing

the country’s debt ratio of 98.9 percent to 96.4 percent.

The Spanish national statistics agency, the INE, calculated that in 2011 Spain was home to 300,000 prostitutes and used this number to calculate how much they made in consultation with sex clubs. The quantity of drugs seized in 2014 was estimated as a percentage of the whole illegal drugs industry and used to evaluate it. According to figures from the Government Delegation of National Plan on Drugs cannabis is the most popular substance used in Spain with figures reaching 27.4 percent, followed by powder cocaine at 8.8 percent.

The changes to Spain's GDP are a result of new EU reporting requirements, meaning countries now have to provide details on what proportion of gross domestic product is based on activities as diverse as people smuggling, contraband cigarettes and prostitution.

France refused to provide data on prostitution, arguing that it was not necessarily carried out willingly. Sweden, where paying for sex is a crime, also refused. Italy on Monday published its own revised GDP figure, which rose by 3.8 percent when the new norms were applied. Britain has estimated that counting illegal activities could add €12.3 billion to its production, just below one percent of its GDP for 2013.

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Peace agreement reached in conflict-stricken Yemen 

Yemeni government officials and Shia rebels signed a peace agreement on Sunday which included plans for an immediate ceasefire and the formation of a technocratic government within a month. Jamal Benomar, the UN's envoy to Yemen, said Saturday that the peace deal "will lay the foundations for national partnership and for security and stability in the country." Benomar struggled to broker a last-minute peace deal between Houthi rebels, a militant Shia movement, and the government.

Violence has raged for several days leaving more than 140 people dead and thousands displaced from their homes. The Houthi rebels seized numerous strategically important installations in Sana'a, including the defence ministry, the central bank, a key military base and Iman University. The Houthi leader, Abdelmalek al-Houthi, is calling for the transitional government in place since 2011 to be dissolved and replaced with a more effective and representative body;  for fuel subsidies cut in July to be reinstated; and for agreements made during peace talks that drew to a close in January to be implemented. The president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has largely agreed to his demands.

After the 2012 Arab Spring protests saw the removal of leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen has witnessed a very instable transition to democracy including Houthi rebel groups and the spread of al Qaeda. 

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Russia steps up military presence in the Arctic 

Six Navy ships, including the anti-submarine destroyer, two landing ships and support vessels, have set off for the New Siberian Islands, where an abandoned military base under reconstruction. The base was abandoned almost three decades ago and was reopened last year as part of Russia’s military build-up in the Arctic.

“The Arctic plays a very important role from the point of view of assuring security . . . because of that, first strike American nuclear submarines are concentrated there not far from the coast of Norway – the flight time of their missiles to Moscow is 15 to 15 minutes. But a significant portion of our naval submarine forces are there too.” President Vladimir Putin said in a speech to the Seliger patriotic summer camp.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has expressed his concerns about the growing military presence of Russia in the Arctic region. Though the Russia can be described as operating within international rules, Harper was clear that there can be no complacency about it. There have been reports of a fleet of nuclear-powered Russian submarines and icebreakers are patrolling the waters, and that Russian planes had transgressed the boundaries of Canadian airspace many times. Prime Minister Harper described Canada's position as being cautious. 

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed Canadian accusations as “nonsense”.“We have said many times that we will only act within the framework of international law [in the Arctic], as we have always done and are going to do in the future,” Putin said.

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Migrant death toll rises on route from Libya to Europe

Many migrants leaving Africa to escape instability have drowned near Tajoura, east of Tripoli. The migrants were attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach safety in Europe.

Navy spokesman Ayub Qassem said 26 people had been rescued after the vessel, carrying 250 went down. Qassem said most of the migrants were Africans and many were women. The use of poorly crafted wooden boats overloaded with desperate migrants have resulted in hundreds of deaths. This most recent tragedy comes just weeks after a vessel carrying migrants sank on the route from Libya to Italy, killing 100 people. Two more migrant vessels have been reported to have sunk in the past few weeks.

Human traffickers are using the unstable atmosphere in Africa to exploit those who seek asylum in Europe. The underequipped Libyan coastguard is struggling to deal with the problem and have few resources to search for survivors. They are currently using fishing boats and tugs borrowed from the oil ministry. 

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U.S. Air Marshal assaulted at Nigerian airport 

A U.S. air marshal was assaulted with a syringe containing an "unknown substance" at the Lagos airport in Nigeria on Sunday. There were fears that the syringe may have contained the Ebola virus that has claimed over 2,400 lives in western Africa. However officials have determined that the needle did not appear to contain Ebola or any other dangerous agent.

Officials from the Federal airports authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are in contact with U.S. diplomats to help with the investigation. Yakubu Dati, a spokesperson for FAAN said that a security team form the U.S. mission in Nigeria have reviewed CCTV footage and the Preliminary observation did not show evidence of the incident. The FBI continue to investigate the incident. 

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UK Military will now be relying on it's own media 

The British military devoting more of its resources to filming and photographing its own operations, leaving journalists who document the lives and actions of military personnel slightly out of the loop. It is argues that future conflict that will involve the British military will not likely be a boots on the ground situation like we witnessed in Afghanistan. Infrastructure will not be in place to support a mass of reporters, the documentation of these events will be in the hands of military journalists or “media operators” from the British Army’s Media Operations Group (MOG).

The MOG will be sharing its training facilities with 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group under the banner of the newly-formed Security Assistance Group - a support Group for the British Army specialising in psyops, content creation, and propaganda. Although NATO's public affairs policy states that the two functions should operate separately. The move signifies a merger of the two contrasting military divisions, the MOG known for documenting objective truths and 15 PsyOps known for conveying what is known as the "dark arts", usually directing its material at an enemy's audience.

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Monsoon floods hit India and Pakistan

A state of emergency has been declared in Pakistan as the annual monsoon season hits much harder than expected. The torrential monsoon rains have caused flash floods and landslides killing at least 120 people in India and 160 in Pakistan. The disaster has been reported as the worst weather crisis the region has witnessed in six decades.

In Pakistan at least 4,000 homes have been destroyed. Rescue workers and the army are using helicopters and boats to evacuate locals and have set up close to 50 camps to provide temporary shelter.

In India the heavy rains set off landslides, and Dozens of bridges have been damaged or washed away. At least 300 federal rescue workers have joined thousands of state police and soldiers to rescue tens of thousands of people stranded across the region. 

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Saboteur arrested at Iranian nuclear power plant 

Iranian authorities have arrested a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotage at the country's sole nuclear power plant. An Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri daily, said the "Ukrainian expert" was affiliated with a Russian contractor that works in the power plant. The report did not elaborate on the timing or nature of the alleged sabotage. Iran suspects Western countries of being involved in this plot. In 2010 Iran held Israel and the west responsible for cyber virus attacks which disrupted thousands of centrifuges, which are used in the production of fuel. The west and their allies suspect that Iran is using its power plant as a guise for a nuclear weapons programme.

UN inspectors have gained rare access to an Iranian nuclear facility, giving them a "better understanding" of Tehran's disputed programme. Despite the visit Iran continues to refuse an inspection headed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Inspectors visited a research and development centre for centrifuges on 30 August. Iran says it will use it’s refined uranium to fuel a proposed series of power plants. If enriched to a high concentration of the U-235 isotope of uranium can also be turned into the explosive core of an atomic bomb. There is no evidence that Iran is planning to weaponise the uranium, but western countries continue to impose sanctions on Iran. 

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Ukraine’s ceasefire is close to collapsing 

Shelling and gun fire has erupted in Mariupol and city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Sunday night. This comes after a Friday ceasefire agreement was reached in Minsk. More than 2,600 people have been killed since the conflict began in April. A battalion of Ukrainian fighters said that Grad rockets had been fired at its positions destroying at least one vehicle and setting a fuel station ablaze.

Separatist forces and Russian troops have been accused of targeting Ukrainian tanks just outside of the city. Both sides have blamed each other for violating the ceasefire. Tensions remain high in the region as Russian troops remain in the area, a claim supported by NATO. Military officials in Kiev speculate that the number of Russian troops still in Ukraine could be between 3,000 and 4,000.

On Saturday exercise Steadfast Javelin II was staged in Latvia. The exercise simulates a deployment of NATO forces and equipment in a crisis situation. NATO members and allied eastern European nations fear Russia could invade other Baltic countries and use the defence of Russian speakers a justification, like we saw in Crimea. In total, 2,000 soldiers from nine nations will be involved and further exercises will be carried out across five countries - Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Further exercises in Germany, Norway, Ukraine, and Poland are scheduled for autumn.

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ISIS chemical and biological weapon documents found

A laptop containing plans for the production and distribution of chemical and biological weapons has been linked to a member of ISIS. The laptop and its more than 35,000 files providing valuable insight into the Islamist State's inner workings. Within these files contained a 19-page document on how to develop biological weapons, including the bubonic plague. "Use small grenades with the virus, and throw them in closed areas like metros, soccer stadiums, or entertainment centers," the document says, reported Foreign Policy. "Best to do it next to the air-conditioning. It also can be used during suicide operations." US officials said the presence of documents on building biological weapons does not necessarily add up to an actual capability to use them.

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Western action against the Islamic State continues

Shia Turkomans living in the Iraqi city of Amirli have been cut off from food and water for nearly two months by Islamic State militants. The city has fortified its position and has been fighting off Islamic State forces since June. The US delivered aid to Amirli and conducted air strikes in the surrounding area hitting three Humvee patrol vehicles, a tank and an armed vehicle held by militants in addition to a checkpoint held by IS. The air strikes cleared a route in which Iraqi troops rescued 12,000 residents of the city.

Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, has agreed to assist the US in delivering weapons and humanitarian aid to Kurdish fighters in Iraq. Australia will join Canada, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom in a multinational effort to curb the advance of Islamic State fighters in the region. The Australian government is not providing weapons itself but will be delivering the equipment supplied by other nations.