A spokesman for the German Defense Ministry reported Wednesday a "significant increase" in the number of suspected far-right cases in the military.

David Helmbold told reporters in Berlin the number of suspected right-wing extremism rose from 363 in 2019 to 477 cases last year, according to a report by the Military Counter-Intelligence Service (MAD).

The MAD Report 2020, presented to parliament on Tuesday, said the most common reason for triggering investigations are “statements that are hostile to foreigners or xenophobia” on social media.

It has been shown that the "threat to the fundamental values ​​of our open society from extremism has unfortunately perpetuated at a comparatively high level," MAD President Martina Rosenberg wrote in the report.

Although the Defense Ministry pledged to pursue a "no-tolerance" policy when it comes to fighting right-wing extremism in the military, there have been a series of far-right incidents in recent years.

Early this month, it launched an investigation into a series of suspected far-right incidents and sexual violence in a unit of the honor guard.

In January 2020, military intelligence reported there were almost 600 suspected right-wing extremists in the army. They said the elite anti-terror unit, KSK, was seen as a major problem, with 20 members suspected of being far-right supporters.

In 2017, inspections were conducted at all military bases after Nazi-era memorabilia was discovered at two. Many of those accused of far-right ties are believed to be sympathetic to the anti-migrant opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD)./DS

France announced on Tuesday its plans to close seven more mosques and associations across the country by the end of 2021 on the pretext of "radicalism" as part of its Islamophobic campaign against the country's Muslim population.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement on Tuesday that the mosque in the city of Allonnes in northwestern France has been shut down for six months on grounds of harboring "radical Islam" leanings. He said the bank accounts of the mosque's administrators were also seized.

"The sermons propagated in this mosque cultivating hatred toward France," Darmanin wrote on Twitter, defending the closure. He added that seven associations or religious buildings will be "disbanded by the end of the year." The minister also bragged about the fact that some 13 associations have been closed since President Emmanuel Macron took office in Elysee Palace.

Underlining that 92 of the 2,500 mosques in the country were closed as a result of the inspections, Darmanin also said that since September 2020, residence permits of 36,000 foreigners have been canceled due to the "threat to the public."

In the statement made by the Sarthe Governorate on Oct. 25, it was stated that the mosque with a congregation of 300 people in Allonnes was closed for six months on the grounds that it "defended radical Islam." The decision was part of the anti-Muslim campaign that has been criticized worldwide by international human rights organizations as well as global leaders, particularly in Muslim-majority countries.

In August, France's highest constitutional authority approved a controversial law that was introduced by Macron's La Republique en Marche (LREM) party in October. The bill was passed by the National Assembly despite opposition from French lawmakers and French Muslims.

Anti-Muslim hatred has significantly risen in Europe in recent years. Far-right extremism and xenophobia have fueled Islamaphobia in Western countries, where terrorist attacks by Daesh and al-Qaida as well as a migrant crisis are used as excuses to legitimize those views. France with the largest Muslim minority in Europe, estimated at 5 million or more out of a population of 67 million, took the helm of Islamophobic efforts to silence members of the minority, who denounced Macron for trying to galvanize far-right citizens to vote for him in 2022 April presidential elections.

Macron's anti-Muslim rhetoric sparked a wave of anti-Muslim feelings among far-right groups. The number of Islamophobic incidents in France rose sharply last year. According to the National Observatory of Islamophobia, there were 235 attacks on Muslims in France in 2020, up from 154 the previous year, a 53% jump. Most of the attacks took place in the Ile-de-France (greater Paris), Rhones-Alpes and Paca regions of the country. Attacks on mosques jumped 35% in the same year. A global coalition of 25 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) asked the European Commission to investigate France for its state-sponsored support of Islamophobia.

The French bill was criticized worldwide because it targets the Muslim community and imposes restrictions on almost every aspect of their lives. It allows intervening in mosques and the associations responsible for their administration as well as controlling the finances of associations and NGOs belonging to Muslims. It also restricts the education choices of the Muslim community by preventing families from giving children home education. The bill also prohibits patients from choosing doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and makes "secularism education" compulsory for all public officials./DS

The Kuwaiti Cabinet confirmed its support for the Green Middle East Initiative Summit in Riad, Saudi Arabia, and all efforts to ensure a sustainable environment. At a weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Saber on Monday, the Cabinet considered establishing a high-level delegation to his summit. .. Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Javert al-Saber.

The delegation said it included Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Minister of Oil, Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, and other Prime Ministers, Prime Minister Diwan and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Cabinet Dr. Sheikh Basel Alsaver.

The Cabinet said Kuwait attaches great importance to all aspects of cooperation and integration with its sister Saudi Arabia, especially in the areas of environmental protection, renewable energy and desertification. The Cabinet expressed hope that participants of the Green Middle East Initiative Summit will achieve the desired goals that can contribute to the realization of the sister Saudi Arabia’s vision for combating climate change in the region.

The Cabinet reviewed the latest developments in dialogue between legislative and administrative authorities devised by His Highness Amir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Javert al-Saber. The Cabinet thanked His Highness Amir for his kind initiative to reflect his enthusiasm for improving the living conditions of the citizens and the noble traditions of the Kuwaiti people. At a meeting on Sunday, the Prime Minister explained to the heads of three authorities and the Cabinet at the request of His Highness Amir to strengthen cooperation between all state agencies.

Dr. Basel Al-Saber, Minister of Health Sheikh, attended a conference on the development of national health in the light of steady improvement. He called on the public to continue their commitment to health precautions in order to maintain the current positive indicators of improvement.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet discussed the Legal Committee’s recommendations on the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority’s Second Semi-Annual Report from 1 July to 31 December 2019. The Cabinet depletes the causes of corruption, affecting one social and economic condition, and other relevant matters. It continues to support the efforts of authorities to implement strategies to achieve specific objectives in combating corruption to help raise Kuwait’s ranking in all relevant international indicators, including the Corruption Perceptions Index. Was emphasized.

In addition, the Cabinet, in cooperation with Nazaha, has appointed a Parliamentary Minister to facilitate the decision on the resolution referred to Parliament on this issue. The Cabinet was also informed of the Economic Committee’s recommendations regarding the reporting of the Comptroller’s Office for the 2020/2021 fiscal year. The Cabinet was then briefed on the Commission’s recommendations on projects by the Ministry of Electricity and Fisheries on renewable energy and projects implemented by September 2021.

In light of the political situation at the Arab and international levels, the Cabinet welcomed a statement by the UN Security Council condemning the Houthi militia attacks on Saudi Arabia’s territories and facilities. The move indicates that the UNSC is aware of the threat that the Houthis poses to the security and stability of the region. The threat also exacerbated the suffering of the Yemeni people, adding that the statement confirmed the council’s attention to the Yemeni crisis and the need to reach a political solution to the crisis.

According to the Cabinet, this will also help the Houthi actively interact with the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the efforts of the international community, including the initiative, to reach a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis. The Cabinet followed up with great concern about Sudan’s developments and called on all parties to adhere to self-restraint and avoid escalations in order to maintain Sudan’s best interests, its security and stability. – Kuna

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuwait organized a virtual field visit to the Malian refugee camp in (Mbera) in Mauritania to see the impact of the project funded by Zakat House, whose initiatives have contributed to supporting more than 63,000 Malian refugees during the past year. In a speech he delivered on this occasion about the charitable and humanitarian role of Zakat House with UNHCR, the Acting Director General of Zakat House Dr.. Majed Al-Azmi said that Malian refugees are almost completely dependent on international aid to survive, as many of them lack adequate food and shelter. Al-Azmi expressed the pride and pride of Zakat House in its contributions to support UNHCR’s efforts in Mauritania to protect Malian refugees, as Kuwaiti aid reached more than 63,000 Malian refugees in Mbera camp last year.

For her part, the representative of the High Commissioner to Kuwait, Nasreen Rabiean, praised, in a similar speech, the humanitarian partnership with Zakat House, indicating that this virtual field visit sheds light on the situation of financial refugees and the challenges they face in their daily lives.

She said that these Malian refugees were forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, indicating that UNHCR’s partnership with the Kuwaiti Zakat House would expand the scope of the humanitarian response to relief thousands of refugees and displaced persons and contribute to building a better future for them. KO

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A cyberattack crippled gas stations across Iran on Tuesday, leaving angry motorists stranded in long lines.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which rendered useless the government-issued electronic cards that many Iranians use to buy subsidized fuel at the pump.

It bore similarities to another attack months earlier that seemed to directly challenge Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country’s economy buckles under American sanctions. Those economic problems worsen as the U.S. and Iran have yet to jointly re-enter Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers.

State television quoted an unnamed official in the country’s National Security Council acknowledging the cyberattack, hours after it aired images of long lines of cars waiting to fill up in Tehran. Associated Press journalists also saw lines of cars at Tehran gas stations, with the pumps off and the station closed.

“I have been waiting a couple of hours for the gas stations to reopen so that I can fill up,” said a motorcyclist who gave his name only as Farzin. “There is no fuel wherever I go.”

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The semiofficial ISNA news agency, which first called the incident a cyberattack, said it saw those trying to buy fuel with a government-issued card through the machines instead receive a message reading “cyberattack 64411.” Most Iranians rely on those subsidies to fuel their vehicles, particularly amid the country’s economic problems.

While ISNA didn’t acknowledge the number’s significance, that number is associated with a hotline run through Khamenei’s office that handles questions about Islamic law. ISNA later removed its reports, claiming that it too had been hacked. Such claims of hacking can come quickly when Iranian outlets publish news that angers the theocracy.

Farsi-language satellite channels abroad published videos apparently shot by drivers in Isfahan, a major Iranian city, showing electronic billboards there reading: “Khamenei! Where is our gas?” Another said: “Free gas in Jamaran gas station,” a reference to the home of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

State TV said Oil Ministry officials were holding an “emergency meeting” to solve the problem. Some gas stations that accept only cash and are not in the subsidy card network continued pumping fuel.

The use of the number “64411” mirrored an attack in July targeting Iran’s railroad system that also saw the number displayed. Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point later attributed the train attack to a group of hackers that called themselves Indra, after the Hindu god of war.

Indra previously targeted firms in Syria, where President Bashar Assad has held onto power through Iran’s intervention in his country’s grinding war.

Cheap gasoline is practically considered a birthright in Iran, home to the world’s fourth-largest crude oil reserves despite decades of economic woes.

Subsidies allow Iranian motorists to buy regular gasoline at 15,000 rials per liter. That’s 5 cents a liter, or about 20 cents a gallon. After a monthly 60-liter quota, it costs 30,000 rials a liter. That’s 10 cents a liter or 41 cents a gallon. Regular gasoline costs 89 cents a liter or $3.38 a gallon on average in the U.S., according to AAA.

In 2019, Iran faced days of mass protests across some 100 cities and towns over gasoline prices rising. Security forces arrested thousands and Amnesty International said it believes 304 people were killed in a government crackdown. Tuesday’s cyberattack came in the same month in the Persian calendar as the gasoline protests in 2019.

The attack also came on the birthday of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who, stricken with cancer, fled the country in 1979 just before the Islamic Revolution.

Iran has faced a series of cyberattacks, including one that leaked video of abuses at its notorious Evin prison in August.

The country disconnected much of its government infrastructure from the internet after the Stuxnet computer virus — widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation — disrupted thousands of Iranian centrifuges in the country’s nuclear sites in the late 2000s.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s social media company will get tens of millions in special bonus shares in a new publicly traded entity if it performs well, handing the former president possibly billions of dollars in paper wealth based on current stock prices, according to a filing with security regulators Tuesday.

The document says Trump’s social media company that aims to challenge Twitter and Facebook will be able to exercise warrants convertible to as many as 40 million shares of the new publicly traded company over three years. The exact number will depend on how high the stock in the company trades during that time, with the maximum number granted only if it trades at least at $30 a share or higher for a sustained period.

The bonus shares for his company would come on top of nearly 90 million shares worth possibly billions more.

“Trump and his fellow shareholders could walk away with a really big payday,” said Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida who specializes in initial public offerings, though he cautioned the stock could plunge. “At some point the company needs to produce profits and given the competitive nature of the media industry, that could be a stretch.”