The United Nations is concerned by the presence of Islamic State in Afghanistan but says the militant group's power to unite insurgents is more significant than its capabilities in the war-torn country
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U.N. concerned by Islamic State's ability to unite Afghan insurgents - 0 views
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attempts are under way to broker an end to 13 years of conflict between the Taliban, who were ousted in a U.S.-led war in 2001, and Afghan and foreign
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growing numbers of disgruntled Taliban fighters have joined the militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq
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significance is not so much a function of its intrinsic capacities in the area but of its potential to offer an alternative flagpole to which otherwise isolated insurgent splinter groups can rall
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report to the Security Council on Afghanistan said a handful of Taliban commanders had declared allegiance to Islamic State and that an increasing number were seeking funding or cooperation with Islamic State.
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The radical Islamist group has declared a caliphate in the territory it controls in Syria and Iraq. A U.S.-led alliance has been targeting Islamic State with air strikes in Iraq and Syria for some six month
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Militants loyal to Islamic State have also been exploiting chaos in Libya, while Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve an Islamist emirate out of northeastern Nigeria, has pledged its allegiance to Islamic State
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"an alignment of circumstances that could be conducive to fostering peace talks" between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Officials said last month the Afghan Taliban has signaled it is willing to open peace talks.
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CNN exclusive: Video shows ISIS recruiting Afghans - CNN.com - 0 views
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Concerns are growing about how ISIS may expand into Afghanistan as CNN films a recruiter looking for fighters.
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Concerns are growing about how ISIS may expand into Afghanistan as CNN films a recruiter looking for fighters.
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Concerns are growing about how ISIS may expand into Afghanistan as CNN films a recruiter looking for fighters.
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Egypt, Japan collaborate together to improve gender inequality issues - Daily News Egypt - 0 views
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Islamic State executes three of its Chinese militants: China paper | Reuters - 0 views
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But Beijing has also shown no sign of wanting to take part in the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to use military force against the militant group
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Chinese man was "arrested, tried and shot dead" in Syria in late September by the Islamic State after he became disillusioned with jihad and attempted to return to Turkey to attend university
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"Another two Chinese militants were beheaded in late December in Iraq, along with 11 others from six countries. The Islamic State charged them with treason and accused them of trying to escape
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Chinese officials blame separatists from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) for carrying out attacks in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people. But they are vague about how many people from China are fighting in the Middle Eas
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"China is willing to work with the international community to combat terrorist forces, including ETIM, and safeguard global peace, security and stability," Hong said.
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Human rights advocates say economic marginalization of Uighurs and curbs on their culture and religion are the main causes of ethnic violence in Xinjiang and around China that has killed hundreds of people in recent years. China denies these assertions.
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hina has criticized the Turkish government for offering shelter to Uighur refugees who have fled through southeast Asia, saying it creates a global security risk.
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The Islamic State has killed three Chinese militants who joined its ranks in Syria and Iraq and later attempted to flee
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China has expressed concern about the rise of the Islamic State, nervous about the effect it could have on its Xinjiang region, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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2015 Education Year: Challenges ahead | Yemen Times - 1 views
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n Nov. 24, the prime minister declared 2015 “Education Year,” highlighting the need to improve the country’s educational system and its importance for Yemen’s future prosperity
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An ominous reminder came just 20 days after the prime minister’s announcement, when an explosive-laden car detonated at a checkpoint in Rada’a, killing 16 girls who were passing on their way home from school. The tragedy provides some indication of the immense challenges facing government and Yemeni society if 2015 is really to be a year for education.
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Speaking at a ceremony honoring the nation’s highest-achieving students for the 2013/14 school year,
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eeting these lofty goals will require a range of initiatives—repairing infrastructure and building new facilities, providing sufficient learning materials, narrowing teacher-student ratios, and addressing gender disparities—especially in rural areas, where underfunding and conflict have compounded the problems facing schools ther
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Mohammad bin Mohammad, a school teacher in Erman Primary School in the Ans area of Dhamar governorate, which accommodates 110 children from first to sixth grade, says many of his students are forced to take their lessons sitting on the ground. “Students don’t study in proper classrooms. Let alone having enough labs, chairs or tables,” he said.
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Addressing security concerns and providing necessary infrastructure are fundamental prerequisites, but staffing and improving access to education for girls remain high on the agenda.
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Government expenditure on bonuses amounts to YR60 million ($279,000) for the current fiscal year, and is expected to reach 271,696 employees nationwide working in the education sector, according to the Ministry of Education.
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In areas where female enrolment and retention in school is significantly lower than the national average, the government also offers conditional cash transfers to families to encourage them to allow their girls to attend school.
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This article highlights some of the challenges with improving girls education. Yemen has very little resources so taking resources from one place and giving to another-is basically like taking from students sitting on the dirt and giving to students sitting on rocks. There is also high security concerns. Many religious sects don't believe women should receive education. So girls and schools are being terrorized on the way to school. Some families don't believe the cash transfer is worth loosing children.
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L. TODD WOOD: Iran-supported Hezbollah threatens to attack American forces in Iraq - Wa... - 0 views
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Egypt | Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment | U.S. Agency for International D... - 1 views
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We address gender inequalities in education, support women’s and girls’ civic participation and political rights, reduce and respond to violence against women and children and support women’s economic empowerment by providing jobs, training, loans for small businesses and improved access to trade opportunities.
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The webpage lays out the larger plans and goals when providing aid to Egypt's women to promote equality. The goals range from various aspects including career development, civic participation, reducing poverty (including an increase in girl's enrollment in school), and an increase in healthy habits and standards. The concerns and goals listed also reflect the outline of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.
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The webpage lays out the larger plans and goals when providing aid to Egypt's women to promote equality. The goals range from various aspects including career development, civic participation, reducing poverty (including an increase in girl's enrollment in school), and an increase in healthy habits and standards. The concerns and goals listed also reflect the outline of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.
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USAID helps women gain equality and they promote women empowerment. It helps through various programs in agriculture, education, and health.
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Ancient Egyptian Woman With 70 Hair Extensions Discovered in Cemetery - The Root - 0 views
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Many of the other skulls Bos analyzed also had hair extensions. One skull had extensions made of gray and dark black hair suggesting multiple people donated their hair to create extensions,” the news site reports.
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Ancient Egyptian women were concerned with covering up their signs of aging, too. Gray hair was a no-no
Obama Raises Concerns On Growing Casualties In Call With Netanyahu - 0 views
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Islamic State fighters number far more than first thought, says CIA | Al Jazeera America - 1 views
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This article talks about how the number of IS fighters is actually more than what the CIA had anticipated. There are around 20,000 to 31,500, which is 10,000 less than what the CIA had stated. There are approximately 15,000 foreign fighters, so this is concerns to the Western countries in the fact that these foreign fighters can carry attacks in their home countries.
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Obama Meets New Saudi King, Balancing Human Rights, U.S. Interests - 0 views
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Pope Francis uses Easter message to focus on Kenya, Syria and Iraq | World news | The G... - 0 views
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Pope Francis used his Easter message on Sunday to pray for the nearly 150 victims of the Kenya university massacre, and highlight the suffering of people across the Middle East
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We ask for peace, above all, for Syria and Iraq, that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries
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The Argentinian pontiff called on the international community to “not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries”, drawing on the plight of refugees who have fled the violence.
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he prayed for refugees “suffering a brutal persecution” in Iraq and Syria, as Islamic State militants took over swaths of territory in the two countries
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On Sunday Francis went beyond Syria and Iraq, referring also to the worsening situation in Libya. As rival militias vie for power, the pope spoke of his hopes “that the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence may cease”.
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The pope’s speech was preceded by a multilingual mass, which included prayers in Arabic and Chinese, attended by thousands of followers.
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Putin brings China into Middle East strategy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views
www.al-monitor.com/...-consequences-middle-east.html
putin china middle east syria strategy politics
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one of China’s main strategic regional projects was the economic region (or belt) of the 21st century Great Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which intends to create a wide area of Chinese economic presence from China’s western borders to Europe
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Chinese leader opened the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum on June 5 in Beijing
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energy cooperation; infrastructure construction and creation of favorable conditions for trade and investment; and high-tech domains of nuclear energy, the space rocket sector and new energy sources
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suggested that the creation of a free trade zone between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) be accelerated
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China supports the peace process and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, "enjoying full sovereignty."
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, why shouldn’t Russia and China in the current situation — given the proximity of their interests and positions — undertake joint initiatives to unblock the peace process, while initiating steps to "introduce this activity within an institutional framework?
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, the unilateral efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry to promote the Israeli-Palestinian peace process are not bearing fruit
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Russia is interested in using this unprecedented convergence with China in its operations on the Middle East arena, where Moscow has in many ways already been acting in unison with Beijing
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, the Middle East Quartet is one of few international platforms where Russia can constructively engage with the United States and the EU
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China's growing economic cooperation with Arab countries not a cause for concern in Moscow, but it is also viewed in a very favorable light
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will not one day replace the United States as the security guarantor for the transportation routes of these resources
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Moscow’s and Beijing’s interests converge in the joint countering of terrorism, extremism and separatism
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. Among the militants from radical groups fighting against government troops in Syria, there are people hailing not only from Russia and Central Asia (fewer in numbers to those coming from Arab and Islamic as well as Western countries), but also from the Uighur minority in China.
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recently, Beijing came under harsh criticism from Ankara for its actions in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region against the Uighur population, which the Turks believe to be their next of kin
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. Disappointed by the failure of EU accession, the Turkish leadership has even started talking about the desire to join the SCO as an observer
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Ankara expresses its willingness to cooperate with China in the fight against terrorists and condemns the separatism coming from some groups in Xinjiang
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There is no doubt that a comprehensive strategic partnership, in which Russia and China would act in concert along the political consensus reached by their two leaders, would in the short term
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According to both, this convergence is neither a union nor a tournament of predators, but a very pragmatic integrationist instrument of protection and projection of interests by the two powers, including in the Middle East.
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roughly 50 agreements ushering in a period of unprecedented convergence between the two countries
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Such consensus includes Syria, despite Beijing’s lesser involvement on this issue, relative to Moscow; Iran, within the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program; the fight against terrorism and extremism; the creation of a weapons of mass destruction-free Middle East; the condemnation of external intervention and the strategy of "regime change" as well as the push for "color revolutions;" the policy to reach a settlement in the Middle East; and relations with the new Egyptian regime and with respect to the Sudanese issues.
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UN: Syria declares four more chemical weapons facilities - 0 views
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Syria has disclosed four chemical weapon facilities including, three for research and development and one for production. There are concerns that Syria continues to hide information regarding the existence of more chemical weaponry facilities. The UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have a joint mission to eliminate the chemical weaponry in Syria.
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Isis threatens future oil supplies, warns IEA - FT.com - 0 views
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Mr Birol said instability in the Middle East, and especially in Iraq, had “major implications” for oil markets.
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the government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil, which are usually at loggerheads, this month agreeing a temporary deal for crude exports and revenue sharing
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the rapid ascent of Isis has raised questions about the country’s security, adding to international companies’ concerns about regulatory, environmental and budget problems.
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Mr Birol said it was highly unlikely that US crude production could meet the expected increase in global demand, even if shale oil production continued to outpace forecasts as it has done in recent years.
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Officials: Assad May Have Secret Chemical Weapons Stockpiles - And Islamic State Wants ... - 0 views
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BBC News - Assad says Syria is informed on anti-IS air campaign - 0 views
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"There are no indiscriminate weapons. When you shoot you aim, and when you shoot, when you aim, you aim at terrorists in order to protect civilians... You cannot have war without casualties."