Biden move on Egypt aid slammed by human rights groups

The Biden administration is reportedly releasing some of the military aid that Congress had conditioned on Egypt making human rights improvements.

A picture taken on July 26, 2018, shows Egyptian policemen driving on a road leading to the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish. - 

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Elizabeth Hagedorn
September 14, 2021


The Biden administration is expected to send a portion of the military aid to Egypt that lawmakers had conditioned on Cairo taking steps to improve its human rights record, in a compromise that has failed to appease activists and some Democrats who wanted Washington to take a tougher approach.

Politico first reported the administration will release $170 million in foreign military financing to Egypt on the condition that the funds be used only for certain purposes such as counterterrorism, nonproliferation and border security. The rest of the conditioned military aid, $130 million, will remain frozen unless Cairo meets certain human rights requirements, the outlet reported.

According to The Washington Post, those conditions include Egypt ending a decade-old investigation of human rights defenders and civil society groups, as well as dropping charges against or releasing 16 people whose cases the Biden administration has previously raised with Cairo.

Egypt has received $1.3 billion in foreign military financing annually from the United States since 1987, making it the second-largest recipient of US military aid after Israel. Since 2014, Congress has conditioned a fraction of that annual assistance, roughly $300 million, on Cairo implementing human rights reforms.

Human rights in Egypt have sharply deteriorated under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former military general who seized power in 2013. The country has detained tens of thousands of journalists, activists and other perceived critics, including several US citizens and residents, on vague terrorism charges. Last week, a report from Human Rights Watch documented the extrajudicial executions of dozens of alleged “terrorists” at the hands of Egyptian security forces.

To bypass Congress’ conditions on human rights, previous administrations have routinely used a national security waiver that allowed them to release the withheld funds if the military assistance is determined to be in the US national interest.

After promising during the campaign “no more blank checks” for Sisi, Biden took office with a pledge to make human rights a focus of his foreign policy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also promised human rights would be “central” to the US-Egypt relationship.

The Biden administration did not end up using the waiver. But its reported decision to immediately release some of the conditioned aid undermines its stated commitments on human rights, a group of 19 NGOs said Tuesday.

“If the administration’s dedication to human rights were sincere, this decision would have been simple: withhold the $300 million in military aid as conditioned by Congress to incentivize al-Sisi to change course,” said the joint statement from groups including the Project on Middle East Democracy, Amnesty International and Freedom Initiative.

“By paving the way to provide the full $300 million, the administration gives license to the Egyptian government to continue perpetrating egregious human rights violations without fear of repercussions,” the statement said.

Biden officials say they’ve repeatedly raised human rights concerns with Egypt and point to the country’s role as an important strategic partner in the Middle East. In May, Cairo won praise from Washington for facilitating the truce that ended the 11-day conflict between Israel and Gaza-based militant group Hamas.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a vocal critic of the Sisi government, called the Biden administration’s decision “a big missed opportunity.”

“This was a chance to send a strong message about America’s commitment to human rights and democracy, with little cost to our security, and we fell short,” he said in a statement.

Australian fires boosted C02 – but also carbon-capturing algae: studies

The Australian wildfires were some of the worst on record 

SAEED KHAN AFP/File

Issued on: 15/09/2021 - 

Paris (AFP)

Devastating Australian wildfires released twice as much climate-warming C02 than previously thought -- but also triggered vast algae blooms thousands of miles away that may have soaked up significant extra carbon, according to studies published Wednesday.

Severe summer heat and drought helped spark the fires from late 2019 to early 2020 that killed 33 people and tens of millions of wild animals, while destroying vast swathes of eucalyptus forest.

These "Black Summer" fires, which enveloped Sydney and other cities in smoke and ash for months, were known to have released huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but the exact amount was difficult to quantify.

To find out, researchers in the Netherlands used new satellite technology that can monitor the gases released during a fire on a daily basis.

They produced estimates of overall emissions as well as carbon dioxide released, concluding that the amount was more than twice previously estimated from five different fire inventories.

"We found that the CO2 emissions from this single event were significantly higher than what all Australians normally emit with the combustion of fossil fuels in an entire year," said Ivar van der Velde of the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, lead author of the paper published in the journal Nature.

2019 - 2020 Australian fires AFP

While it was still uncertain, he said "given current trends in global warming, we believe it is quite possible that we will see more of these types of large wildfires in Australia, and possibly elsewhere.

"This will likely contribute to even more CO2 in the atmosphere than expected."

Wildfires are consistent with a warmer world, as climate change makes droughts and heatwaves more frequent and intense.

Depending on the amount of C02 that is drawn back into plants as they regrow, the emissions could help drive further warming.

- 'Fertilise the ocean' -

The fires also released aerosols transporting nitrogen and iron particles that can spur ocean "blooms" of microscopic algae, called phytoplankton.

In a separate study in Nature, researchers found that high levels of iron pumped into the air by the fires were blown huge distances, eventually causing a significant increase in phytoplankton in the Pacific Ocean thousands of kilometres from Australia.

Previous studies have suggested wildfires could seed algae blooms, said co-author Joan Llort, of the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.

But he said the "most surprising thing was the magnitude" revealed in the research, with blooms covering an area larger than Australia itself.

Phytoplankton perform a crucial role in the global climate, taking in C02 as they photosynthesise in a process similar to plants.

Part of that carbon eventually sinks into the deep ocean and is stored.

"Our results provide evidence that iron from wildfires can fertilise the ocean, potentially leading to a significant increase in carbon uptake by phytoplankton," said co-author Nicolas Cassar, of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.

But he said finding out whether the amount to which the fire emissions could be offset by C02 absorbed by micro algae blooms seeded by the fires is the "Holy Grail" of the research and still uncertain.

© 2021 AFP

Australia issued fresh emissions warning in new OECD report

The federal government has responded to the report by repeating its commitment to a technology-driven approach to reaching net zero as soon as possible, preferably by 2050.

Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann.

 Source: EPA POOL

Australia has been told its economic future will be more secure if it decarbonises the economy, and given a fresh warning emissions must be reduced at a "significantly faster pace" in order to reach net zero by 2050.

The notes came in a review of the Australian economy released on Wednesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is now overseen by former coalition minister Mathias Cormann.

The report - the first of its kind since December 2018 - considered Australia’s approach to reducing carbon emissions as part of a broader analysis of the nation's economic conditions.

It said the adoption of a stronger nationally integrated approach is required to secure Australia’s pathway to net zero, and mounts a case the country's biggest emitting sectors - energy, transport and agriculture - should be targeted with more ambitious emissions reduction policies.


Joe Biden to talk climate change with Scott Morrison at upcoming White House meeting

The report also identifies Australia as being “uniquely vulnerable” to climate change and “uniquely placed” to benefit economically from global decarbonisation.

World leaders are currently preparing to meet in Glasgow for a United Nations climate summit in November, where Australia's emissions targets are expected to come under renewed scrutiny.

The federal government has responded to the findings of the OECD report by repeating its commitment to a technology-driven approach to reaching net zero as soon as possible, preferably by 2050.

READ MORE

Backlash after Australia watered down climate change pledge in UK trade deal

“The survey acknowledges that 'strong institutions are already in place to support these aims',” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the report showed the government is not taking action on climate change seriously.

“There are real consequences of this. Australia needs to do more on climate change,” he told reporters.

Scott Morrison says Australia won't sign 'blank cheque' to reduce emissions after dire climate change warning

The OECD noted Australia continues to have a high reliance on fossil fuels, with oil, coal and natural gas accounting for about 93 per cent of primary energy supply. It added there is “significant scope” for further increases in renewable energy in Australia, given the share remains low compared with other OECD countries.

In other observations, the OECD said Australia had largely weathered the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic better than most developed countries, but recent outbreaks of the virus mean the country is not out of the woods yet.

It largely praised Australia’s fiscal response to the crisis, but flagged post-pandemic reforms are still needed to address long-standing challenges such as stagnating productivity growth and growth in living standards.

One reform put forward is further raising Australia's unemployment benefit rate - which is one of the lowest in the OECD and below estimates of the relative poverty line.

ICC backs crime against humanity probe into Philippines' 'war on drugs'

Seminarians and nuns carry slogans and a mock coffin during a rally in Manila, Philippines, against drug-related killings and martial law on August 29, 2018. © Aaron Favila, AP

Issued on: 15/09/2021 - 
Text by: NEWS WIRES

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday gave the green light for a full investigation into crimes against humanity during the Philippines' so-called "war on drugs".

The Hague-based court approved the probe despite the fact that Manila left the court in 2019 following a preliminary probe into President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

Former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had asked judges in June to authorise the full-blown probe into allegations that police unlawfully killed as many as tens of thousands of civilians.

The judges "found there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, noting the specific element of the crime against humanity of murder," the court said in a statement.

The court said it appeared that "the so-called 'war on drugs' campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation".


"The available material indicates, to the required standard, that a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population took place pursuant to or in furtherance of a state policy," it added

The probe will cover the period from 2011 to 2019.

Firebrand Duterte drew international censure when he pulled the Philippines from the court after it launched its preliminary investigation into his drugs crackdown.

'Court retains jurisdiction'

But the judges said that even though the Philippines had withdrawn as a state party to the court, the alleged crimes took place while Manila was still a signature to the court's Rome Statute, so it could still probe them.

"The court retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a state party," the judges said.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is a so-called court of last resort and only becomes involved in probing the world's worst crimes if its member states are unable or unwilling to do so.


The crackdown is Duterte's signature policy initiative and he defends it fiercely, especially from critics like Western leaders and institutions which he says do not care about his country.

He was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines' drug problem, openly ordering police to kill drug suspects if their lives are in danger.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in over 200,000 anti-drug operations conducted since July 2016, according to official data. Human rights groups estimate the number of dead could be several times higher.

The tough-talking Duterte has repeatedly claimed the ICC has no jurisdiction over him and that he will not cooperate with what he has called an "illegal" probe, even threatening to arrest Bensouda.

(AFP)

Explainer-How China Evergrande's debt troubles pose a systemic risk

China Evergrande Centre building sign is seen in Hong Kong

Clare Jim
Tue, September 14, 2021

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group has raised fresh warnings of default risks amid late payments to wealth management and trust products.

The real estate giant has been scrambling to raise funds it needs to pay lenders and suppliers, with regulators and financial markets worried that any crisis could ripple through China's banking system and potentially trigger wider social unrest.


WHO IS EVERGRANDE?

Founded in 1996 by Chairman Hui Ka Yan in the southern city of Guangzhou, Evergrande accelerated its growth in the past decade to become China's second-largest property developer with $110 billion in sales last year.

The company listed in Hong Kong in 2009, giving it more access to the capital and debt markets to grow its asset size to $355 billion today. It has more than 1,300 developments across the nation, many in lower-tier cities.

With national sales growth slowing in recent years, Evergrande has also been branching into businesses unrelated to real estate, such as electric cars, football, insurance and bottled water.

HOW DID CONCERNS ARISE OVER DEBT PILE?

Investors became worried after a leaked letter in September showed Evergrande had pleaded for government support to approve a now-dropped backdoor listing plan, warning it faced a cash crunch.

Concerns intensified after Evergrande admitted in June it did not pay some commercial paper on time, and news in July a Chinese court froze a $20 million bank deposit held by the firm on the request of Guangfa Bank.

Evergrande's fast expansion over the years has been fuelled by debt. It has been aggressively raising loans to support its land buying spree, and selling apartments quickly despite low margins so as to start the cycle again.

The firm's interim report said its interest-bearing debt totalled 571.8 billion yuan ($89 billion) at the end of June, compared with 716.5 billion at the end of 2020, as it stepped up deleveraging efforts.

Total liability, which include payables, however, increased slightly to 1.97 trillion yuan, accounting for around 2% of the country's GDP.

Other than the usual bank and bond channels, the developer has been criticised for tapping the less regulated shadow banking market, including trusts, wealth management products and commercial paper.

WHAT EVERGRANDE HAS DONE TO DELEVERAGE?

Evergrande accelerated its efforts to reduce its debts last year after regulators introduced caps on three debt ratios dubbed "the three red lines" policy. It has said it aims to meet all the requirements by the end of next year.

Evergrande has given buyers steep discounts for its residential developments and sold the bulk of its commercial properties to increase cashflow. Since the second half of 2020, it has had a $555 million secondary share sale, raising $1.8 billion by listing its property management unit in Hong Kong, while its EV unit sold a $3.4 billion stake to new investors.

It unveiled plans earlier this year to spin off three unlisted units -- online real estate and automobile marketplace Fangchebao, and theme parks and spring water businesses -- to further release capital. Fangchebao has already raised $2.1 billion in a pre-IPO in March.

On Tuesday, it said its asset and equity disposal plans to ease liquidity issues have failed to make material progress.

DOES EVERGRANDE POSE A RISK?

China's central bank highlighted in its financial stability report in 2018 that companies including Evergrande might pose systemic risks to the nation's financial system.

Evergrande's liabilities involve more than 128 banks and over 121 non-banking institutions, according to the letter Evergrande sent to the government late last year. JPMorgan estimated last week China Minsheng Bank has the highest exposure to Evergrande.

Late payments could trigger cross-defaults as many financial institutions have exposure to Evergrande via direct loans and indirect holdings through different financial instruments.

In the dollar bond market, Evergrande accounts for 4% of Chinese real estate high-yields, according to DBS. Any defaults will also trigger sell-offs in the high-yield credit market.

A collapse of Evergrande will have a large impact on the job market. It has 200,000 staff and hires 3.8 million people every year for project developments.

WHAT HAVE REGULATORS SAID?

The People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission summoned Evergrande's executives in August and warned that it needed to reduce its debt risks and prioritise stability.

Evergrande must "actively diffuse debt risk and maintain real estate and financial markets stability," they said in a joint statement, and "earnestly implement strategic arrangements made by the central government to ensure the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, and strive to keep operations stable".

Media reports said regulators have approved an Evergrande proposal to renegotiate payment deadlines with banks and other creditors. The Guangzhou government is also seeking opinions from Evergrande's major lenders about setting up a creditor committee.

($1 = 6.4427 Chinese yuan)

(Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jacqueline Wong)

Evergrande: Why the Chinese property giant is close to collapse

China Evergrande, once the country's second-largest real estate developer, is drowning in debt. Some 1.5 million people have put deposits on new homes that have yet to be built. A collapse could be catastrophic.


Shares of China Evergrande Group have slumped to their lowest in seven years

Property giant China Evergrande Group admitted Tuesday it is under "tremendous pressure" and may not be able to meet its crippling debt obligations.

Over the past two days, angry protesters have gathered outside the real estate firm's headquarters, demanding to know about its future.

Investors are growing increasingly nervous that if Evergrande were to collapse, this could could spread to other property developers and create systemic risks for the banking system of the world's second-largest economy.

What is China Evergrande?

Previously known as Hengda, China Evergrande was until recently the country's second-largest property group by sales.

Located in the southern city of Shenzhen close to Hong Kong, Evergrande sells apartments to upper- and middle-income property buyers. It has a presence in more than 280 cities.

The firm was started in 1997 by Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin in Mandarin), who has since become a billionaire through the opening up of China's economy.

Last year, Forbes listed Hui as the third-richest man in China — but his wealth has since plummeted.

Evergrande has vastly grown due to a spectacular real estate boom caused by China's unprecedented growth.

The firm has completed nearly 900 commercial, residential, and infrastructure projects, and says it employs 200,000 people.

Evergrande has expanded into other areas of the economy, including food and leisure. It also operates the Guangzhou FC football club, formerly Guangzhou Evergrande.

However, its electric car unit, founded in 2019, is not currently marketing any vehicles.

Why is Evergrande in trouble?

The Hong Kong-based developer is sinking under a mountain of liabilities totaling more than $300 billion (€254 billion) after years of borrowing to fund rapid growth.

Evergrande has stepped up acquisitions in recent years, taking advantage of a real estate frenzy.

But the property giant began to falter after Beijing introduced new measures in August 2020 to closely monitor and control the total debt level of major property developers.

Evergrande relied on presales to finance itself and keep its activities afloat, and the crackdown forced the group to offload properties at increasingly steep discounts.

Investors have made down payments on around 1.5 million properties, Bloomberg reported, citing data from December.

Many buyers have expressed concern on social media about whether they will get their money back after housing projects were suspended.

Evergrande was downgraded by two credit rating agencies last week and its Hong Kong-listed shares have collapsed by more than 80% this year.

On Monday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange paused trading in Evergrande's May 2023 bond after it fell more than 30%.

Dozens of anxious investors protested outside the headquarters of troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande on Tuesday

What is the company doing to save itself?

On Tuesday, Evergrande issued another statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, saying it had hired financial advisers to explore "all feasible solutions" to ease its cash crunch.

The statement warned that there was no guarantee the property firm would meet its financial obligations.

The firm blamed "ongoing negative media reports" for damaging sales in the pivotal September period, "resulting in the continuous deterioration of cash collection by the group which would in turn place tremendous pressure on [...] cashflow and liquidity."

Even property discounts of up to a quarter off and selling stakes in some of its wide-ranging assets hasn't stopped a 29% slide in profit for the first half of the year.

Hui Ka Yan (or Xu Jiayin in Mandarin), is chairman of China Evergrande Group

Why are Evergrande's woes so important?

Real estate is one of the major engines of China's growth, responsible for 29% of economic output, and any bankruptcy of such a major company would have huge repercussions.

"Evergrande's collapse would be the biggest test that China's financial system has faced in years," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics.

Yet "markets don't seem concerned about the potential for financial contagion at the moment," he said, adding "that would change in the event of large-scale default."

Some analysts believe there is a slim chance Beijing would allow such a behemoth to go under.

Beijing "will not let Evergrande go bankrupt" as it would undermine the regime's stability, analysts at US-based SinoInsider said.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that China's Guandong province had hired a team of accountants and legal experts to advise it on Evergrande's restructuring needs, although the regional government had turned down a request for a bailout.

GEN NIHILIST

Young German activists stage hunger strike for climate

'The climate crisis kills. We are on hunger strike for an unlimited period of time,' say protesters in Berlin

 Odd ANDERSEN AFP

Issued on: 15/09/2021 

Berlin (AFP)

In late August, six young climate activists set up tents on a stretch of grass between the Reichstag and the chancellery in central Berlin, refusing to eat.

More than two weeks later, some look pale and emaciated. One collapsed on Tuesday. Another broke down in tears as medics performed a daily check of their weight and blood pressure.

Neither have they achieved their chief objective -- a meeting with the three main candidates vying to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor when Germany goes to the polls on September 26.

"The climate crisis kills. We are on hunger strike for an unlimited period of time," a banner strewn across one of the tents proclaims in large red letters.

The activists want to meet conservative Armin Laschet, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz and the Greens' Annalena Baerbock.

All three parties have made climate policy a key issue in their campaigning, and the Greens have even pledged to make climate neutrality the top priority of the next government.

But the activists say it's not enough. For Jacob Heinze, none of the major parties is prepared "to take the necessary measures to protect us, the younger generation, from the catastrophe" that is unfolding.

- 'Time bomb' -

They also want the next German government to set up a committee of citizens representing the whole spectrum of society to develop measures to protect the environment.

The hunger strike is a "last resort... in the face of the extreme seriousness of our situation", the 27-year-old told AFP, long hair tied back from his gaunt face.

The climate activists want to meet chancellor candidates, conservative Armin Laschet, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz and the Greens' Annalena Baerbock 

Odd ANDERSEN AFP

Just hours later, he was taken to hospital after collapsing.

"We are sitting on a time bomb," said Hannah Luebbert, a 20-year-old activist who is part of the support team. "If we don't change things quickly, in a few years it will be too late."

For evidence of this, according to the activists, you only have to look at the deadly floods that swept through western Germany in July, which experts have directly linked to climate change.

Global warming will also bring famine, they say, hence the idea of voluntary starvation.

"Food security is not something we can take for granted. We are heading for wars over the distribution of food, water and land," said Heinze.

The school and university students aged between 18 and 27 from all over Germany believe they belong to "the last generation" that can still take action.

- 'Grim and hard' -

After that, they say, scientific research has shown that the dramatic consequences of global warming will become irreversible.

For them, civil disobedience movements like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future do not go far enough. Some have already carried out drastic stunts such as scaling political buildings or chaining themselves to the streets to block traffic.

For the activists, civil disobedience movements like Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future do not go far enough

 John MACDOUGALL AFP

"But we have seen that these different forms of action have not led to any change" at the political level, Luebbert said.

Gathered in a circle on the lawn, some of the activists chose to remain inside the tents that have become their makeshift homes. On the 15th day of their strike, they decided to up the ante by giving up the vitamin drinks they had been taking.

"I think we're noticing the aftermath and next week is going to be really grim and hard," says Henning Jeschke, an activist who has posted several videos of the action on Twitter.

The only response they have had so far is a phone call from Baerbock. "But even with the Greens we will not meet the climate targets we have to meet," said Luebbert.

© 2021 AFP

'Last resort': The young Germans on hunger strike for the climate
Issued on: 15/09/2021 - 

Climate activists staging a hunger strike outside the Reichstag in Berlin on September 13, 2021. © AFP / FRANCE 24

Video by :Sam BALL
Camped outside the Reichstag in Berlin, a group of young German climate activists have not eaten for more than two weeks. Although the lack of food is beginning to take a toll on their health, they say the hunger strike is the last resort in convincing governments to take necessary action on climate change.

APARTHEID COLONIALIST STATE #BDS
Israeli premier says no to independent Palestinian state

Naftali Bennett also says he will not meet with Palestinian president
Mustafa Deveci |15.09.2021



JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that he is against the creation of an independent Palestinian state and is not going to hold talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In an interview with state-owned KAN News, Bennett spoke about developments on Israel’s agenda, saying the establishment of an independent Palestinian state would be “a terrible mistake.”

He also said that he would not meet with Abbas, who he said is “suing IDF soldiers and commanders at the International Criminal Court in The Hague” as well as providing monthly stipends to “terrorists,” referring to Palestinian detainees and relatives of deceased Palestinians.

In an interview with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, he argued that the whole of Jerusalem was the "capital" of Israel.

Palestinians demand the foundation of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. However, the Israeli administration rejects this, saying the entire city is its capital.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas

Bennett, Lapid shift stance on Gaza

Despite his past support for attacking Hamas, the meeting between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's plan to rehabilitate Gaza signal a very different policy.

(L to R) Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett attend a Knesset session on Sept. 2, 2021. - AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

September 14, 2021

As the clock ticks down to the next clash between Israel and Hamas, Egypt has been tapped for what Israel describes as “a last-ditch mediation attempt” to reach a long-term cease-fire arrangement between Israel and Gaza for the umpteenth time since Israel’s 2005 disengagement from the enclave.

The mediation effort officially launched at a Sept. 13 summit in the Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At the same time, one or two rockets were being fired nightly at Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid weighed in with a plan for an arrangement with Gaza. In a Sept. 12 speech, Lapid sought to revive a vision that has been presented in the past for the rehabilitation of Gaza in return for demilitarization. The plan places the welfare of Gaza’s 2 million residents as a top Israeli priority with a non-military alternative. Lapid was immediately accused, perhaps rightly, of being naive. Hamas will never give up its weapons, the political right argued, and what about the promises made by Bennett, Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz to “bring order” to Gaza once and for all?

“Eventually, we will have to bring order,” a senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem conceded in a conversation with Al-Monitor last week, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The next clash, which is apparently inevitable, will be completely different from the ones we know. We are preparing a few surprises there and Hamas will emerge from this clash in a completely different state than it went in,” he promised.

What Bennett can least afford, an aggressive, high-casualty clash with Hamas and other Gaza factions that could bring down his government, which relies on the support of its Arab Islamist partner Ra’am, or some sort of cease-fire arrangement that would violate his campaign promises and entail continued rocket drizzle from Gaza? The Bennett-Sisi meeting was described by associates on both sides as excellent and even exceeding all expectations. The Egyptians are being given a credit and opportunity.

As a minister in the governments of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even more so as a member of the Knesset opposition, Bennett held a particularly militant posture on Gaza. He was the one who loudly and consistently pressed the government to undertake an operation against the Hamas tunnel network during the 2014 war, even as Netanyahu sought to pull back and end the fighting. Bennett came up with a plan to “crush” Gaza by deploying massive firepower at the enclave without sending ground forces into a death trap there.

All these plans are now being shelved, proving yet again that “what you see from here, you do not see from there.” In the hot seat, Bennett is learning firsthand the endless complexity of the standoff with Gaza. Lapid, who has not been considered a strong supporter of attacking Gaza, is currently offering him support.

The Bennett-Sisi meeting surprised the Israelis. Sisi’s meetings with Bennett’s predecessor Netanyahu were usually held out of the public eye. This time, the prime minister’s entourage was greeted with a large Israeli flag flying alongside the Egyptian one. Although they only reported it once the meeting got underway, the Egyptians did not conceal the visit and posed willingly for photos.

Israel is key to Egypt’s efforts to curry favor with the new administration in Washington despite its troubling human rights record. Sisi had a close strategic alliance with Netanyahu but clearly did not trust him, especially after Netanyahu’s stunning last-minute reversal on his proposal to Labor leader Isaac Herzog to promote a regional peace initiative with Egypt. After he backtracked, Netanyahu brought Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman into his government and dumped Herzog.

The Bennett-Sisi meeting lasted nearly four hours, most of it one-on-one. Israel is providing Egypt with vital help against the Islamic State faction operating in the Sinai Peninsula. Shortly following the meeting, Israeli Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli announced a lifting of limitations on Israeli tourism to Sinai, a popular destination for Israelis. Bennett is now expected to help Sisi in Washington by presenting him as a key peace negotiator between Israel and Gaza or at least a voice of calm.

At home, Bennett has faced criticism for his alleged restraint with Gaza. He refuses to allow Qatar’s aid to Gaza, some 6-10 million shekels ($1.87-$3.12 million) monthly, to be delivered in cash, as was the case in the past. The alternative payment mechanism through the United Nations promoted by Gantz has so far failed to resolve the issue of paying Hamas employees in Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who first reluctantly agreed to a mechanism for delivering the money directly to needy Gaza residents, has backtracked. Bennett is caught between his intense antipathy toward cash transfers that could be accessed by Hamas and his desire to ensure calm until after the Knesset approves the state budget in November.

Knowledgable observers foresee a next round between Israel and Hamas as waiting for after the budget vote. For Bennett, passage of the budget will be like a booster shot, making his government more resilient to opposition efforts to bring it down. Another consideration to keep in mind is that winter weather impairs the decisive advantage of the Israel air force over Gaza, though the previous significant offensive against Hamas (Operation Cast Lead) took place in December and January 2008-2009.

Nearly 1,500 Palestinian prisoners intend to go on hunger strike in Israel

The hunger strike is due to the terrible situation in prisons

Source : 112 Ukraine
15 September 2021

Open source

Palestinian Authorities have stated that nearly 1,400 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons will go on hunger strike to protest the conditions of their detention. This was reported by the Times of Israel.

“The situation is very bad in the prisons, that’s why they’re going on hunger strike,” said Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners.

He also said that talks between the Israeli prison administration and representatives of the prisoners had not yet progressed.

According to Qadri Abu Bakr, 1,380 prisoners - out of more than 4,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails - were due to go on strike on Friday and be joined by other prisoners next week.

Related: Israeli military planes bomb Hamas plants on missile, concrete production

The allegations are said to have been made after Palestinian prisoners staged riots in several Israeli prisons and set fire to nine cells in Ketziot and Ramon prisons in southern Israel.

As it was reported earlier, Israeli security forces caught four of the six Palestinian militants who escaped from a high-security prison. It is noted that through the hole in the floor of the prison cell escaped six people who were either convicted or suspected of planning or committing deadly attacks on Israelis.

Israeli officials have vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into security breaches that allowed the detainees to escape.

Two thirds of the Palestinian detainees at the Israeli Etzion facility are minors - commission

Israeli soldiers detaining a Palestinian minor.

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (WAFA) – Two thirds of the Palestinian detainees in an Israeli detention facility at the illegal Etzion settlement bloc, south of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, are minors, today said the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission.

It said in a press release that there were 24 Palestinian minors in the detention facility of Etzion, accounting for two thirds of the total number of detainees there, pointing that most of the minors recently imprisoned in the notorious facility were subjected to various forms of torture, physical and psychological, during their detention and interrogation.

It added that they were beaten in a brutal way, thrown to the ground and trampled on, as they were hit with the gun butts all over their body, sworn at and kept for long hours at an army facility with their hands cuffed and without any food before they are taken to prison.

There are currently 39 Palestinian detainees held at the Etzion facility, said the commission.

K.F./M.K.

Captured prison escapee Zubeidi was severely beaten after his arrest, suffers broken ribs, says commission

Zakaria Zubeidi after his capture with a swollen face from beating.

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (WAFA) - The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs said today that Zakaria Zubeidi, one of four Palestinians who were caught over the weekend after his escape from prison in Israel along with five others last week, was beaten and ill-treated during and after his capture resulting in him suffering from broken jaw and ribs.

It said that one of its lawyers was able to visit Zubeidi in his prison cell this morning after an Israeli court lifted the ban on their visits and was able to check on his situation four days after his capture.

Zubeidi, said the Commission in a statement, was transferred to an Israeli hospital after the arrest due to the beating and was given sedatives. He suffers from bruises and cuts all over his body as a result of beatings and torture.

Zubeidi told his lawyer that he did not take part in digging the escape tunnel in their cell and that he was moved to the cell of the other escapees one day before they broke out from the prison.

He said that during the four days he was out of prison, they did not ask for help from anyone out of concern for the Palestinian people who may suffer from the Israeli reprisal measures and that they did not drink water throughout their short freedom while they ate only fruits they found in the fields, such as cactus, figs, and others.

Two of the prison escapees remain at large.

M.K.

After visiting re-captured prisoner Mohammad Arda, lawyer says he was severely beaten, denied food and water

The re-captured prisoners Mahmoud and Mohammad Arda.

RAMALLAH, Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (WAFA) – Attorney Khaled Mahajna, a lawyer with the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, revealed after meeting with Mohammad Arda, one of four re-captured Palestinian prisoners, that since his re-arrest on Friday, Arda, has been subjected to physical abuse, deprivation of sleep, denial of food and water, and humiliation, that caused him injuries to his head and face.

Mahajna recounted the details of his visit to Arda at dawn today after an Israeli court lifted the ban imposed by the Israeli Security Services on visits by the lawyers to the four prisoners. The Security Services nevertheless allowed only one lawyer’s visit to a single prisoner at one time.

Mahajna said in an interview with Palestine TV after this visit with Mohammad Arda at his detention center that the Israeli occupation forces brutally assaulted him at the moment of his capture, noting that he was hit on the head and above the right eye, and he has not received treatment until now, and that he suffers from many wounds sustained during his pursuit and arrest.

Arda was also stripped of his clothes during interrogation at Nazareth prison after which he was transferred to another interrogation center.

He pointed out that since last Saturday, Arda has been undergoing interrogation around the clock and that he has not slept since his arrest five days ago except for about 10 hours.

He said the interrogators tried to bargain with him on false charges and that one of the interrogators threatened to shoot him.

Mahajna said that Arda is kept in a narrow two meters by one mete cell and monitored around the clock by cameras and guards. He did not eat food from the moment of his arrest until yesterday. He was also denied sleep and rest, and he was moved between the cell and the interrogation room and was never allowed out so he does not know what time it is and he prays without knowing the times for the prayers.

Arda is being interrogated every day while he is handcuffed and his feet shackled, said attorney Mahajna, explaining that he was handcuffed and surrounded by six guards during his visit to him.

“I walked around the streets of my occupied country for five days, and I was hoping to meet my mother,” Arda told his lawyer. “This was enough to make up for me for all the years of my imprisonment."

He pointed out that members of the Israeli military units that re-captured him and the other prisoner, Zakaria Zubeidi, assaulted Zubeidi before they were separated when they arrived at the interrogation center after which he did not know anything about Zubeidi.

Regarding the moment of Arda’s arrest, Mahajna said that the occupation forces arrested him when he was sleeping in the trunk of a truck. One of the soldiers searched inside the trunk and at the last moment was able to grab the prisoner, who tried to escape but he could not.

Another Commission attorney, Raslan Mahajna, met with a Mahmoud Arda, another recapture prisoner and said that Mahmoud told him they did not attempt to enter the Arab towns in Israel to spare their Palestinian residents retaliation by the Israeli authorities.

He said the six of them who broke out of Gilboa prison in northern Israel last week walked together after their escape until they reached al-Naoura village and then went in separate ways in groups of two.

He said they tried to reach the West Bank but could not because of the military checkpoints.

He said that their re-capture was by chance after a police patrol saw them and stopped them, explaining that they started to dig the tunnel in their prison cell in December of last year until their time of escape.

The attorneys are expected to also visit the remaining two captured prisoners, Zubeidi and Yacoub al-Qaderi.

M.K.

Capture of escaped Palestinian prisoners divides Arab-Israelis

Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev thanked Arab-Israelis for assisting in the capture of escaped Palestinian prisoners, but not all of them are comfortable with the situation.

A Palestinian child stands next to a poster expressing solidarity with the six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel's Gilboa prison hanging outside a shop at the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the north of the occupied West Bank on Sept. 12, 2021. - 

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Afif Abu Much
@AfifAbuMuch
September 15, 2021

Arab-Israeli society was split over the escape of six Palestinian inmates from prison, and the divide has only grown deeper with the capture of four of them.

The affair started on Sept. 6, when six Palestinian prisoners managed to escape from Gilboa Prison, apparently through a tunnel. Gilboa Prison's reputation as Israel’s most secure penitentiary heightened the drama, as did the identity of the prisoners: Zakaria Zubeidi, a former senior commander in Fatah’s armed wing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, along with five members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

On Sept. 11, after days of manhunt, four of the prisoners were captured in two separate incidents in different locations. The first two, Yaqoub Qadri and Mahmoud Ardah, were caught on Mount Precipice in Nazareth, after a local resident called the police to report suspicious individuals who he suspected of being in Israel illegally. The other two, Zakaria Zubeidi and Mohammed Ardah, were caught at a truck stop in the northern town of Umm al-Ghanam. Their arrest took place after a local tractor driver saw them and reported them to the police. The hunt for the remaining two fugitives continues.

The mixed reactions in Arab-Israeli society and the arrest of the four men with the help of Arab-Israeli citizens form another chapter of the complex story of Arab society in Israel in the twenty-first century. Once again, Israelis learned that Arab citizens are no longer a homogeneous bloc with the same views. Rather, they represent a rich variety of opinions and positions. Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev expressed gratitude for the role played by Arab citizens in capturing the escaped prisoners. However, there was also a demonstration in support of the prisoners by political activists from several Arab parties, during which a reporter for Channel 13 News covering the hearing and the demonstration was injured.

These contradicting reactions are an example of the multiplicity of opinions in contemporary Arab society on a number of topics. For instance, we witnessed contradicting reactions within Arab-Israeli society to the signing of the normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. We saw contradicting reactions to the Joint List’s split into two separate parties on the eve of last March's election, to the decision by Muslim Ra'am Party to join the coalition and various other issues. Clearly, Arab society is far more diverse than conventional wisdom once held.

One could argue that there is no comparison between the escaped prisoners and the other issues. Nevertheless, it showed how Arab society in Israel cannot be expected to speak in one voice. This misperception was clear a few months ago, when demonstrations erupted in the country’s mixed towns. It was also evident when the IDF refused to let Arab truck drivers to enter military bases as contractors during Operation “Guardian of the Walls” last May.

Samer Atamni, a political activist who founded the Rayetna Movement for coexistence, discussed the situation with Al-Monitor. “Arab society is a society in transition. Like any other society in the world, it has a diverse array of ideas, which are best expressed in attitudes about self-identification and citizenship. We are currently witnessing a clearly existential process, the proof being the rise and success of [Ra’am leader] Mansour Abbas with his moderate platform, focusing more on civil than on national rights. Arab society is split and conflicted over how it defines its future and its participation in Israeli society. It is concerned to some degree or other about the loss of identity, but this [topic] creates confusion among Jews and Arabs alike.’’

Atamni said that this confusion clouded the escape. “There were those who identified fully with their escape and all that this represents in terms of their struggle for freedom and an end to the occupation. But there were also those — and I think they are a minority — who opposed providing them with aid and reported them to the police. The debate between these two groups is blowing up on social media.”

It must be remembered that Arab society in Israel was originally part of a larger Palestinian people. They did not emerge out of nowhere in 1948 with the founding of the State of Israel. They were part of the country’s indigenous Arab population who happened to receive Israeli citizenship when the state was founded. The hunt after the escapees spotlit the paradox lived and experienced by a significant part of Israel’s Arab population and the complex circumstances that they deal with on a daily basis.

On one hand, Arab-Israelis want to be law-abiding citizens and an integral part of Israeli society. On the other hand, they struggle to come to terms with the long and ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands. This paradox evoked debate on social networks over the capture of four of the fugitives in Nazareth and Umm al-Ghanam and questions about the common destiny of Arabs on the Israeli side of the Green Line and the Palestinian people living in the West Bank and Gaza.

Sami Ali, a strategist and former spokesperson for the Joint List, told Al-Monitor that there is consensus among Arab-Israelis on the escape. "There was no debate and no opposition to their escape from any part of the Palestinian people: not in the West Bank, not in Gaza, and not among the Arab citizens of Israel. There is consensus that the prisoners have a right to freedom and liberty, but expressions of identification among Palestinian citizens of Israeli were limited to social networks. The reason for this is that when it comes to political-security issues, Israel treats its Arab citizens as potential suspects. Even the prisoners themselves showed personal responsibility by maintaining a distance and not coming into direct contact with Arab citizens of Israel, because they are aware of the dangerous implications this could have for them.”

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/09/capture-escaped-palestinian-prisoners-divides-arab-israelis#ixzz76YtBKAfu

WHILE ALL EYES LOOKED NORTH

S. Korea succeeds in testing ballistic missile launch from submarine: Cheong Wa Dae
Defense September 15, 2021

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- 

South Korea has become the world's seventh country with an indigenous submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), as it succeeded in an underwater test-launch from a submarine, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday.

President Moon Jae-in inspected the firing at a local test center of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), hours after North Korea lobbed two ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

The SLBM was fired from the 3,000-ton-class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine at the ADD Anheung Test Center in South Chungcheong Province.

It flew a planned distance and precisely hit a target, Moon's office said.

"Possessing SLBM is very meaningful in terms of securing deterrence against omnidirectional threats and it is expected to play a big role in self-reliant national defense and establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula, going forward," it said in a statement.


This file photo, provided by South Korea's Navy, shows the 3,000-ton-class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine to be equipped with ballistic missiles.

The ADD earlier carried out several ground- and water tank-based SLBM tests, including ejection ones.

Currently, only six countries have SLBMs with actual field operation capabilities that have high strategic values and are difficult to develop, according to Cheong Wa Dae. They are the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and India.

Meanwhile, the ADD also succeeded in a long-range air-to-ground missile separation test for use by the KF-21 next-generation fighter jet, which South Korea is developing with its own technology, Cheong Wa Dae said.

It means South Korea has secured an aerial missile launch technology, an essential element for fighter jet armament, the office added.

lcd@yna.co.kr

BETTER TALKS THAN SABRE RATTLING

Top nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan hold trilateral talks on N.K. diplomacy

All News 

September 14, 2021

By Song Sang-ho and Kim Seung-yeon

TOKYO/SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan held trilateral talks in Tokyo on Tuesday about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea amid renewed tensions over the recalcitrant regime's recent missile launches.

The talks between Seoul's nuclear negotiator, Noh Kyu-duk and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, came after the North test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend amid signs of its reactivation of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor.

Kim renewed his calls for the North to return to dialogue, while noting the recent developments in the North served as a reminder of the importance of close cooperation between the United States and its allies.

"As we have made it clear repeatedly, the United States has no hostile intent with the DPRK," Kim said in his opening remarks. The DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our multiple offers to meet without preconditions," he added, stressing Washington, in the meantime, will continue to fully implement all U.N. Security Council resolutions on the North.

Noh, Kim and Funakoshi were expected to discuss humanitarian support and other incentives to encourage the North's return to dialogue, as it struggles with a series of economic and other hardships exacerbated by pandemic-driven border closures.

South Korea and the U.S. have been discussing humanitarian aid for the North in certain areas, including public health, sanitation and clean drinking water. Before his departure for Tokyo, Noh took note of "considerable progress" in consultations between the allies over such humanitarian support.

In recent months, Seoul has been revving up diplomacy to reengage with Pyongyang, seeking to tamp down lingering skepticism over a peace drive overshadowed by the reclusive state's continued pursuit of nuclear and missile programs.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has recently reported indications of the North resuming the operation of a five-megawatt nuclear reactor at its main Yongbyon complex, including the discharge of cooling water from the reactor.

Following the trilateral session, Noh and Kim were set to meet bilaterally. Noh and Funakoshi had two-way talks on Monday.

Noh, Kim and Funakoshi last held their three-way talks in Seoul in June. Last month alone, Noh and Kim held face-to-face talks in Seoul and Washington -- a sign of beefed-up cooperation among the countries over the North Korean issue.

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have remained stalled since the Hanoi summit in 2019 between then-U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without a deal.


South Korea's chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk (R) poses with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim (L) and Takehiro Funakoshi, before their talks in Tokyo on Sept. 14, 2021. (Yonhap)

Boris Johnson boasts UK could be "Saudi Arabia of penal policy under Priti Patel"

KIERAN GALPIN

The whole room laughed at his comments

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under fire after 'joking' that the UK could become “the Saudi Arabia of penal policy” under Home Secretary Priti Patel.

During a speech at a Conservative Party fundraiser on September 10, the PM made flippant remarks in relation to Saudi Arabia, as seen in video footage obtained from Business Insider.

“In the immortal words of Priti Patel or Michael Howard or some other hardline home secretary, addressing the inmates of one of our larger prisons: it’s fantastic to see so many of you here,” he said at the InterContinental London Park Lane in Mayfair.

“I said last year we’re the Saudi Arabia of wind. Probably the Saudi Arabia of penal policy, under our wonderful Home Secretary,” Johnson said.

Patel has been criticised on nearly every policy she has discussed. From her armoured Jet skis to her treatment of Channel crossings, Patel is often at odds with a vast number of UK citizens.

Johnson has consequently been called out across the internet for his comments at the luncheon, which cost £500 per ticket.

"Saudi Arabia beheads its own citizens, tortures activists exercising their democratic rights and kills homosexuals. This is disgusting. As ever with Boris Johnson behind closed doors, the masks slips, and we see what he really thinks," Tweeted Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner.

"If Boris Johnson is joking about the UK becoming the new Saudi Arabia of "penal policy", it means that he must know exactly that these policies are in breach of international human rights law, yet he finds this funny. Is the death penalty funny too, Boris Johnson?" tweeted another.

 

JOE.co.uk

Afghanistan's anti-laundering unit goes off-grid, fraying ties to global finance

United Nations officials have said the Taliban made hundreds of millions of dollars from the drugs trade and other illicit sources.

PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON (REUTERS) - A unit in Afghanistan's central bank leading a 15-year effort to counter illicit funding flows has halted operations, four employees said, threatening to hasten the country's slide out of the global financial system.

Since 2006, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Afghanistan (FinTRACA) has gathered intelligence on thousands of suspicious transactions and helped convict smugglers and terrorist financiers, according to its website.

United Nations officials have said the Taliban, which seized Kabul on Aug 15, made hundreds of millions of dollars from the drugs trade and other illicit sources when it was fighting government troops.

The group has vowed that there would be no drug cultivation in Afghanistan from now.

Information on FinTRACA's website indicated that the Taliban was among those in its sights, while the staff Reuters spoke to said the group had been a target since its launch. They declined to be named because of fear of reprisals owing to the sensitive nature of their work.

Sections of FinTRACA's website, which had appeared largely untouched since the Taliban's takeover, were unavailable on Wednesday (Sept 15), with error messages appearing.

With the Islamist militant movement back in power, the absence of a functioning financial intelligence unit (FIU) could curtail Afghanistan's links to the international financial system and to lenders abroad, some experts warned.

Such units, which scrutinise money flows for potential suspicious activity, are critical for any nation that seeks to participate in the global financial community, said Stuart Jones, Jr, founder and chief executive of risk intelligence firm Sigma Ratings. He was also US Treasury attache to Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010.

Reconnecting with the financial system could be complicated by existing sanctions against the Taliban and the fact that a senior government minister heads a US-designated terrorist organisation.

"Afghanistan was considered high-risk by nearly all global financial institutions pre-Taliban takeover," said Jones. "Now, with untested leadership at the central bank, an inoperable financial intelligence unit and current asset freezes on the ruling government by the United Nations and terror designations of key figures by the United States, I would expect foreign financial institutions to tread extremely carefully."

The central bank did not respond to several attempts to reach it via e-mail and telephone.

The Taliban wants access to reserves being held abroad as well as aid and other financing, as the economy reels from decades of war, drought, food shortages and the exodus of thousands of professionals.
Staff fled

The Taliban have said it wants professionals to return to work to help revive the economy and vowed there would be no vendetta against old opponents.

But many members of the ousted administration have fled the country or remain in hiding.

Three staff said some of FinTRACA's 60-odd employees had left Afghanistan or gone underground in recent weeks.

One, who is still in Afghanistan, complained that international partners failed to get staff and their dependants out during the mass evacuation from Kabul that ended last month.

A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of FinTRACA staff or whether the unit would operate in future.

The US Treasury, which provided technical assistance to the unit with other national and international bodies, declined to comment on FinTRACA staff still in Afghanistan.

Some FinTRACA staff returned to the office last week after a request by acting central bank governor Haji Mohammad Idris - a Taliban loyalist - for all central bank staff to be present in the bank, said one of the employees.

The employee added that the unit's senior management were not present and it was still not operating.

Some parts of the central bank are operational.

Idris has been meeting with commercial banks and the central bank has supplied limited liquidity to banks while issuing directives to control scarce US dollar supplies, said bankers.
Unit disconnected

FinTRACA provided intelligence to the international community through agreements with similar units from countries including Britain and the United States.

It also did so via Egmont Group, which exchanges information on illicit flows between more than 160 intelligence units and partners different bodies in the fight against money laundering and terror financing.

FinTRACA was disconnected from Egmont Group's international secure server on Aug 15, the day the Taliban took Kabul, Egmont Group said on Sept 2.

The group said it stood "in solidarity with our colleagues at FinTRACA and hopes that they and their families are safe".

Egmont Group did not respond to requests for an update on FinTRACA's status.

One FinTRACA staff member said it was still disconnected on Tuesday.

"Disconnecting is a loss for the global FIU community as the aim is always to foster greater cooperation, but the underlying principle under which this cooperation takes place is trust and that is not in place at the moment in Afghanistan," said Mariano Federici, managing director of K2 Integrity and former chair of Egmont Group.

Before Wednesday, FinTRACA's website listed the Taliban as a terrorist group entity prohibited from depositing or withdrawing US dollar bank notes.

One of the unit's roles included creating a "Watch-List" of individuals deemed high-risk to the financial system.

As recently as August, the unit logged 25 suspicious transactions reports in its database, taking the total for the year to date to 645, data on its website show.

With FinTRACA mothballed, local banks expect Afghanistan's status to be lowered by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an illicit flows watchdog, in a move that could further diminish its connectivity to the global financial community.

"The FATF is closely monitoring the developing situation in Afghanistan," the group said in a statement.

The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, of which Afghanistan is a member, did not respond to a request for comment.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Taleban will not get access to Afghan financial reserves held in US: Official

Afghan central bank chief flees Kabul, blaming President Ghani for chaos

Taliban probing bank accounts linked to Afghan ex-officials

Afghanistan's banks brace for bedlam after Taleban takeover