All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

How Did Rifles With an American Stamp End Up in the Hands of African Poachers? – The New York Times

The question is at the heart of investigations by Congress and federal agencies into whether an American gun manufacturer is entangled in the shadowy world of arms smuggling and wildlife poaching.

The volunteers welcoming refugees on Canada’s ‘new underground railroad’

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Fearing Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, thousands have entered Canada at unmarked locations along the border

It was once a vital corridor for Americans seeking to escape slavery. Now a stretch of land in the north-eastern US is in the spotlight again, as thousands traipse across the world’s longest undefended border in search of asylum in Canada.

“You can call it the new underground railroad, I think,” said Martha Swan of John Brown Lives, a humanitarian group named after the 19th-century abolitionist based in Westport, New York. “An informal network of people trying to help people who are under siege and who are trying to get to safety.”

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Turkish forces will cross into Kurdish-held Syria – foreign minister

Turks eager to begin genocide 2.0…

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Despite suggestions of a delay in military campaign, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu insists soldiers will enter

Turkey’s foreign minister has reiterated that Turkish forces are determined to cross the Euphrates river into Kurdish-held territory in Syria as soon as possible, despite previous suggestions from both Washington and Ankara that Turkey would delay the proposed military campaign.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that “if Turkey says it will enter, it will”. While the foreign minister did not give a time frame, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said last week that Turkey would stall its offensive as part of coordination with the US over the planned withdrawal of US forces from the area.

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Trump attacks Mattis and complains others ‘take total advantage’ of US | US news | The Guardian

Trump regularly repeats inaccurate claims about payments to Iran. According to the website Politifact, the $1.8bn figure is a slight exaggeration of a transfer that covered an order for military equipment made before the 1979 revolution and thus never fulfilled. The attack on McGurk echoed remarks by Mulvaney and other aides. He was appointed as Isis envoy by Barack Obama in 2015 but his first senior jobs as a diplomat, on Iran and Iraq, were under George W Bush. Senators asked Trump to withhold a final decision on Syria for 90 days. But on Monday the Pentagon confirmed that Mattis had signed the withdrawal order. No operational details were provided. On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “President Erdoğan of Turkey has very strongly informed me that he will eradicate whatever is left of Isis in Syria … and he is a man who can do it plus, Turkey is right ‘next door’. Our troops are coming home!” In Syria, Turkish troops were reported to be concentrating near Manbij, a town held by Kurdish fighters.

Source: Trump attacks Mattis and complains others ‘take total advantage’ of US | US news | The Guardian