A German court sentenced a neo-Nazi woman to six years in prison on Friday for planning terror attacks against politicians, mosques, and pro-refugee NGOs in the country.

The Higher Regional Court in Munich found Susanne G. guilty of attempting to disturb public peace and making preparations for serious acts of violence in the country by acquiring material to build bombs.

The 55-year-old far-right extremist had sent anonymous threatening letters in recent years to local politicians, Turkish-Muslim organizations, and pro-refugee NGOs in the southern city of Nuremberg, according to the court documents.

At least five of the letters contained bullets and threatened the recipients with death.

The neo-Nazi woman was known to police as a right-wing extremist before her arrest in September 2020, and she has been a follower of The Third Path movement, local media reported./aa

Efforts in Turkey continue to contain 14 forest fires that have broken out since Wednesday, while 57 have been brought under control, the country's president said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a total of 45 helicopters were being used in the effort against the remaining forest fires.

"As of today, the number of planes has increased to five-six with the planes from Russia and Ukraine," he said, adding that Azerbaijan was also sending an amphibious plane.

"The battle against forest fires is still ongoing at 1,140 points," he said, adding that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were monitoring the situation in the region around the clock.

Officials have deployed 1,080 water trucks, 280 water tankers, 2,270 first-responder vehicles actively working to control the flames, he said along with 10,550 firefighter staff, 4,110 technical personnel, and 6,440 forest officers.

President Erdogan also noted that Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum were currently in the region and closely following the situation.

He pledged support to the victims of the forest fires, including those whose houses were burned down and whose livestock were killed.

Erdogan also said that an investigation into the cause of the blazes in different parts of the country "continues intensively."

The flames erupted over the last few days in Turkey's southern provinces of Antalya, Mersin, Osmaniye, Adana, and Kahramanmaras.

They also broke out in the southwestern province of Mugla and central provinces of Kirikkale and Kayseri./aa

The Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread across Africa, as vaccination coverage on the continent remains low, said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Nkengasong said 21 of Africa’s 54 countries have now reported the highly infectious COVID-19 variant, making the continent of 1.3 billion people even more vulnerable to the spread of the virus.

Africa is currently experiencing a third wave of the virus, said Nkengasong.

An update by the Africa CDC said 89.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have so far been supplied to Africa, and 65 million (72.75%) have been administered.

The continent has an estimated population of 1.34 billion, according to the Statistics Times website.

Matshisido Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa, said 60 million doses of vaccines will be delivered to Africa “between now and September.”

The African continent has so far done some 58.9 million COVID-19 tests.

The number of cases recorded across the continent stands at 6.63 million and counting, while 168,478 people have succumbed to the virus.

The number of recoveries now stands at over 5.8 million./aa

 Pakistan on Friday slammed what it called India’s “sham protest” regarding local legislative assembly elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir that concluded last Sunday with victory of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

“The Indian Charge d’Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey Pakistan’s complete rejection of India’s sham protest and to reiterate Pakistan’s clear and consistent position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” a statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

A day earlier, India had said: “The so-called elections in Indian territory, under illegal occupation of Pakistan, are nothing but an attempt to camouflage its illegal occupation and the material changes undertaken by it in these territories.”

“Pakistan categorically rejects the false, untenable and self-serving comments,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Last Sunday, over half of the total 3.2 million voters cast their ballots to elect the 53-member legislative assembly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, for a five-year term.

The vote was held for 45 general seats, while the remaining eight will be divided among the political parties on the basis of their victory ratio on general seats.

A party requires 27 seats to form the government with a simple majority. The PTI bagged 26 seats which allows it to form the government on its own.

However, India claimed: “Pakistan has no locus standi on these Indian territories.”

“India cannot hide the fact that it is in illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir. To perpetuate its occupation of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), India has committed horrendous human rights violations against innocent Kashmiris over the past seven decades, and particularly since Aug. 5, 2019,” said Islamabad.

The ministry said the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir “enjoy the fruits of free and participatory electoral process, while the IIOJK bleeds under India’s illegal occupation.”

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India has been on the agenda of the UN Security Council since 1948.

“It remains an internationally recognized dispute, as affirmed by the relevant Security Council resolutions,” the ministry added.

“India has reneged on commitments made over the years in numerous official communications to the Security Council, to Pakistan, to other states, and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to abide by and implement the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement said.

The Security Council, said Pakistan, has clearly delineated the principle that the “final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.”

“India must immediately end its illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir, stop its egregious violations of the human rights in IIOJK, and take steps for immediate and full implementation of the UNSC resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” it added.

Parliamentary system of governance

Following the division of Jammu and Kashmir into Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Indian-administered Kashmir in 1947, the AJK was governed under the presidential form of government.

In 1975, then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced the parliamentary system for the region.

This first government headed by Bhutto's Pakistan People’s Party was dismissed in 1977 due to the imposition of martial law in Pakistan by then-Army Chief Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. There were no elections until 1985.

The Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir is held by Pakistan and India in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of land is also held by China.

India revoked autonomy and divided the part under its control into two centrally-administered territories on Aug. 5, 2019 after putting nearly eight million people under curfew and cutting down their communication with the world./aa

Iran has taken another step toward restricting internet access after the country’s parliament approved a bill that calls for banning popular social media messengers and replacing them with local versions.

The controversial bill termed ‘protecting the rights of users in cyberspace and organizing social media messengers,” also seeks to criminalize the production and distribution of virtual private networks (VPNs), which are used to bypass internet filters in Iran.

The bill is currently being reviewed by the parliament’s cultural commission, which will then send it to the Guardian Council, a top body empowered to vet legislation.

If the Guardian Council gives its nod to the bill, it will be implemented on an “experimental basis” for a stipulated period of time, according to the law.

The bill was approved by the conservative-controlled parliament on Wednesday 121-74, with lawmakers invoking Article 85 of the Iranian Constitution, which calls for establishing a specialized committee to review a bill, instead of putting it to vote, and then experimentally implementing it for 3-5 years.

In the last few days, as the parliamentary commission evaluates the bill, the issue has caught the imagination of people, with many journalists, activists, politicians, and entrepreneurs decrying it.

Those batting for the bill have sought to promote locally-made social media platforms in place of popular networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which they say block “resistance content."

Reza Taghipour, a lawmaker from Tehran, in defense of the bill said local social media applications have shown “it is possible to rely on internal capacities,” as foreign messengers “earn money from the country but do not pay taxes here."

However, those opposing the measure, such as lawmakers Jalal Mahmoudzadeh and Ruhollah Hazratpour, believe it will cause “irreparable damage to the country’s economy and public relations."

Hazratpour, in his opposition to the bill, said it will “put millions of internet businesses in crisis,” adding that such “blind decisions” are “against the will of the people.”

Iran’s parliament head Baqar Qalibaf in a statement on Thursday, while lending support for the measure, said the review process will be “transparent and public."

His assurances, however, are not sufficient enough to pacify those who are opposed to the move.

Top reformist figure and grandson of the country’s founder, Hassan Khomeini, has criticized the plan, saying the main condition for the success of any law is “public consent.”

Mojtaba Tavangar, a lawmaker from northern Tabriz province, in a statement said the Guardian Council is “likely to oppose it,” while seeing the measure as a challenge for the new president, Ebrahim Raeisi.

The loudest resistance to the plan has, however, come from internet businesses whose work is directly tied to the internet and major social media networks.

Tehran’s e-commerce association, which consists of top local e-firms like Alibaba, Digi Kala, Bazaar Cafe, Divar, Aparat, Filimo, in a letter to the parliament head, expressed concern over the measure, which they said is “opposed to strategic policies of boosting production, facilitating business operations."

The head of Tehran’s e-tourism association, Hassan Taghizadeh, in a statement said more than 90% of tourism happens through cyberspace, fearing that the sector will be hit hard by the measure.

The outgoing minister of communications, Azari Jahromi, also shot a letter to the parliament head, saying the plan will “create a financial burden for the new government” and “put the government against people and businesses."

Popular social media applications like Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram are blocked in Iran, and accessible only through VPNs./aa

Killings of people with albinism have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as many people plunged into poverty and turned to witchcraft hoping to gain quick wealth, the outgoing UN independent expert on the rights of people with albinism said on Thursday.

“Despite progress on many fronts, I was deeply saddened at the notable increase in reported cases of people with albinism being killed or attacked because of the mistaken belief that using their body parts in potions can bring good luck and wealth,” said Ikponwosa Ero.

“Even more tragically, the majority of victims have been children.”

Albinism is a rare, non-contagious pigmentation deficiency and UN information on the discrimination is mainly from Africa, but it occurs in different parts of the world.

Ero, a Nigerian, was named to the post by the Human Rights Council in 2015, and Muluka Anne Miti-Drummond of Zambia will succeed her on Aug.1.

“As I leave office, I am gratified that the Human Rights Council has, in a historic resolution, condemned harmful practices related to witchcraft and ritual attacks, but there is still much to be done,” said Ero.

Human Rights Council

Earlier this month, a UN Human Rights Council resolution condemned rights violations committed through witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks and called for international consultation and recommendations on the matter.

“I have spent the last six years battling witchcraft-related attacks against people with albinism and am gratified that there has been much progress on several continents, despite some setbacks during the pandemic,” said Ero.

She cited a regional action plan on albinism in Africa in collaboration with the African Union as progress.

In addition, awareness-raising campaigns have increased public understanding of the challenges for persons with albinism in Africa and globally, including in countries like Brazil, Japan, and Fiji.

Research on albinism has increased more than tenfold, Ero said.

She said an explosion in data and reliable information has increased understanding of how the right to health, education, disability rights, and racial discrimination pertains to people with albinism.

There is also an increased understanding of the rights of women and children impacted by albinism and the need to protect against harmful practices.

“While we have come very far in the fight against these heinous acts, the road ahead remains long and arduous,” said Ero.

“For this reason, this mandate remains crucial, and I call on states to provide all possible support to my successor,” she added.​​​​​​​/aa

The terrorist PKK/YPG, in violation of US sanctions, is supplying oil and gas to the Assad regime, in defiance of international sanctions, said an independent Syrian human rights group on Thursday.

The YPG/PKK continues to provide oil to the Assad regime even after the adoption and enforcement of new US sanctions in the Caesar Act in June 2020, said a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR).

Detailing the magnitude of the oil trade, the report claimed the terror group annually makes $120 million in profits by selling around 6 million barrels of oil to the Assad regime.

The Assad regime uses the oil provided by the terror group to carry out its war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report stressed.

“US-led Coalition forces’ operations to stop oil-smuggling remain limited and incomplete in nature, with their impact usually lasting no longer than a few days,” the report said.

Oil profits funding terrorism

Arguing that the Syrian YPG might have transferred some funds earned by oil sales to the Assad regime to its leaders in the PKK – its parent group, which is based in northern Iraq – the report stressed that doing so would fall into the category of providing financing and support for global terrorism as the PKK is recognized by the US as a terrorist group.

The report adds that large amounts of oil being sold from eastern Syria, under terrorist YPG occupation since 2017, leaves the region in permanent need, with the remainder often insufficient to meet the needs of the regional population, especially since northeastern Syria is an agriculture-centric region needing fuel for operating agricultural machinery and irrigation.

The report also called on the US government and governments of countries participating in supporting the US-led coalition against Daesh/ISIS to open an immediate investigation into the terrorist YPG/PKK’s oil trade with the Assad regime, which is on US sanctions lists.

Against this background, the group should be held accountable under the Caesar Act, and all available penalties should be imposed to deter them from continuing to supply the Assad regime with oil and gas, the report said.

Parts of Deir ez-Zor, Syria – east of the Euphrates River – are under the occupation of the US-backed terrorist group YPG/PKK, while the city center and east and west of Deir-ez-Zor are under the control of the Assad regime and Iran-backed groups.

The US recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group but works together with the YPG/PKK, ostensibly to fight Daesh/ISIS. Turkey says using one terror group to fight another makes no sense.

The YPG/PKK terror group occupied Syria's largest oil field, Al-Omar, in October 2017.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot./aa