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Al Qaeda is reemerging in a troublingly familiar place as the US focuses on other threats

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December 30, 2015

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More than a decade after the US invaded Afghanistan as part of its war on terror, the group that prompted that invasion is reemerging as a threat.

And it's far from alone.

Al Qaeda training camps are reportedly reappearing in Afghanistan, where the US has been focused on fighting ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh) and the Taliban, according to The New York Times.

And since ISIS and the Taliban have been making territorial gains across Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has reportedly fallen on the list of US anti-terror priorities.

If the training camps had popped up several years ago, "they would have rocketed to the top of potential threats presented to President Obama in his daily intelligence briefing," The Times reports. "Now, they are just one of many — and perhaps, American officials say, not even the most urgent on the Pentagon’s list in Afghanistan."

Lebanese cardinal calls for more help for refugees

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December 29, 2015

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Uncategorised

By: catholicherald.com

Tiny country has 1.5m Syrians on to of 500,000 Palestinians from previous conflicts

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai has urged Christians and Muslims to work to preserve peaceful coexistence, and for more help for refugees.

In his Christmas Eve address from Bkerke, north of Beirut, Cardinal Rai extended “our best wishes to those who suffer from conflicts in Syria, Iraq and the Holy Land”

Extending his best wishes to “Muslims and Christians, knowing that this year the celebrations of Christmas and the birth of the Prophet coincide,” – Muhammad’s birthday was celebrated on December 23 – he said: “We are determined to perform our duty to confront fanaticism, divisions … and we are keen to preserve coexistence.”

The partiarch reiterated his calls for Lebanon’s political blocs to elect a president “as soon as possible” to move the country “from despair and anxiety to hope and peace”.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of President Michel Sleiman ended in May 2014. Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the post is held by a Maronite Catholic.

Cyprus seeks Lebanese help on seized treasures

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December 29, 2015

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Uncategorised

A statue stored under the direction of the Museums and Antiquities Dpt. in Damascus

AFP

A Lebanese expert has been called to Cyprus to examine whether confiscated artefacts seized from a vessel were illegally taken from a shipwreck, officials said on Monday.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said it was not sure if the artefacts had been taken inside the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus or that of Lebanon, so an expert had been called in.

"It is not clear... but this does not stop the obligation of a state, for such a cargo, to explore everything before allowing (the ship's) departure," he said.

The fate of the ship and its cargo depended on the outcome of investigations, including those undertaken by experts, as well as the attorney general.

"The Lebanese expert will come and give his opinion," said Kasoulides.

Here’s the biggest sign ISIS will be weakened in 2016

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December 28, 2015

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Uncategorised

Armin Rosen

ISIS might have proven its ability to wage complex attacks around the world in 2015.

But in the heart of its "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, the group suffered at least one important setback: losing a substantial portion of its oil-exports income, according to the Iraq Oil Report.

Without the major source of revenue and foreign currency, the group might have a reduced ability to maintain the appearance of state-like services and functions inside the caliphate, potentially harming its ability to hold on to territory as global efforts against the group intensify.

The Iraq Oil Report's December 28 story is one of the most detailed accounts of the jihadist group's oil infrastructure that's publicly available. It's based on interviews with over a dozen people living in ISIS-controlled areas, including anonymous oil-sector workers. The story also includes descriptions of documents from the nearly 7 terabytes of data seized from the compound of Abu Sayyaf, the ISIS oil chief for Syria killed in a US Special Forces raid in May.