Violence and Security

Iran Backs Hezbollah Rocket Factories in Lebanon

March 15, 2017

Iranian military officials indicate the establishment of rocket factories in Southern Lebanon under the control of the Iran-backed Islamist party Hezbollah, potentially altering the threat matrix against Israel and signaling Iran's ongoing push to expand the arc of Shiite influence in the power struggle against Sunni-majority states in the Mideast.
Facebook Faces German Criticism on "Illegal" Content

March 15, 2017

In line with German proposals to force social media platforms to take more responsibility for removing "illegal" content, author Khuê Pham accuses Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of hypocrisy in fighting a German lawsuit that might have established liability for the site's failure to take action against "fake news, hate speech and cyberbullying" on its platform.
MEP Faces Sanctions for Remarks on Women

March 15, 2017

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani demonstrated the reach of powers to punish Members for "hate speech" by sanctioning a Polish MEP for "unacceptable remarks" in which he insulted women during a plenary debate, withdrawing his daily allowance and suspending his parliamentary activities, aside from voting, for a limited period.
EU Discusses Terror Strategy with Tech Companies

March 15, 2017

A visit by EU officials with representatives from technology companies in California's Silicon Valley as part of the EU Internet Forum highlights the bloc's strategy of removing terrorist content from social media networks and blunting the influence of extremist messaging by promoting "positive" counter-narratives through its Civil Society Empowerment Programme.
Global Monitors Outline Proper Response to "Fake News"

March 14, 2017

The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and officials from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and regional human rights agencies have released a Joint Declaration containing general principles on how governments across the globe should deal with "fake news" and propaganda.
Nigerian Women Remain Boko Haram Targets

March 14, 2017

Boko Haram, the jihadi group warring to impose sharia law throughout Nigeria, continues to make gains in targeting women and girls for forced labor, sexual enslavement, and conscription as suicide attackers, while Nigerian government efforts to alleviate radicalization drivers of poverty and gender inequality remain comparatively weak.
Al-Qaeda Hunkers Down in Syria

March 14, 2017

Al-Qaeda is shifting tactically to a preference for suicide warfare in Syria, relying on a new generation of youth jihadis radicalized and trained by local Islamist militants, to hunker down for a long terrorist insurgency against the Syrian regime and international forces aiming to rid the Levant of jihadism.
IS Dress as Medics for Afghanistan Hospital Attack

March 14, 2017

Islamic State (IS) militants disguised as doctors perpetrated an attack on a major military hospital in the Afghan capital city of Kabul, with dozens killed and wounded in an assault indicating the Islamist terror group's capacity for executing complex operations directed against the Afghan state.
Somalia Experts Warn of Al-Shabaab Resurgence

March 13, 2017

Experts warn that the famine-induced humanitarian emergency in Somalia is creating the conditions for a resurgence by the Islamist extremist group al-Shabaab, which will likely use terrorizing violence to expand its territorial footprint and to weaken the fragile Somali state's capacity to deliver food and health relief to vulnerable civilians.
Islamist Radicals Target Historic Babylon

March 13, 2017

As part of the general influence of the Islamic State's systematic ruination of valuable Mideast cultural and religious sites, Islamist radicals are threatening missile attacks to destroy the historic Mesopotamian city of Babylon if Iraqi officials refuse to suspend all cultural and artistic events deemed incompatible with a conservative Islamization agenda.