weapons and explosives , “ in flagrant violation of [ GCC members’ ] sovereignty , security and stability . ” All Hezbollah leaders and the group ’s affiliated factions fall under the new terrorism designation , said the statement , which also charged that the militia is responsible for “ terror and incitement ” in Yemen and Iraq . There was no immediate response from Hezbollah .
Turkey has denied permitting oil smuggling by the Islamist militant group , which holds swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq . The United States last month rejected Russian allegations that the Turkish government and President Erdogan 's family were in league with Islamic State to smuggle oil . However , US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said last month that ISIS was selling oil to middlemen who in turn were involved in smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidethe oil across the frontier to Turkey . Relations between former allies Turkey and Israel broke down in 2010 after an Israeli naval raid on a Gaza - bound flotilla killed ten Turkish citizens . Turkey has become the strongest critic of Israeli actions in Gaza , and reconciliation efforts between the two have repeatedly failed .
Crude oil extracted at Syria ’s Deir ez - Zor and Iraq ’s Qayyara oil fields , which remain under under Islamic State control , is being sold for as little as $ 25 per barrel to smugglers , independent Syrian and Iraqi traders who transport oil using their own trucks . The crude oil could also be sold to nearby refineries that produce petrol and fuel oil , or directly to the local oil market . Yet the capacity of local buyers is limited , so smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hideoil to Turkey and other countries is more profitable . “ Turkey is playing not a very clean game , especially with smuggling the Iraqi oil and Syrian oil through the borders and selling it in the black market in Turkey , ” Iraqi MP Mowaffak Al - Rubaie , a former national security adviser , told RT , adding that a recent investigation by the Norwegian authorities exposed Turkey as having ties with Islamic State ’s illegal oil trade . Most smuggled ISIS oil goes to Turkey , sold at low prices – Norwegian report https://t.co/ZsxKy1QEmVpic.twitter.com/Jjrc2VnoPf — RT ( @RT_com ) December 20 , 2015
Saudi Arabia and Iran also are on opposing sides in the civil war in neighboring Syria , where fighting has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions . A blistering statement posted on the GCC website accused Hezbollah , a powerful Shiite Muslim movement , of “ hostile acts ” in the six states in the Sunni - led bloc : Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates , Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait and Oman . The statement , citing GCC Secretary General Rashid al - Zayani , accused Hezbollah of recruitment to carry out terrorist attacks , and of smugglingmovement.transportperson.hideweapons and explosives , “ in flagrant violation of [ GCC members ’ ] sovereignty , security and stability . ” All Hezbollah leaders and the group ’s affiliated factions fall under the new terrorism designation , said the statement , which also charged that the militia is responsible for “ terror and incitement ” in Yemen and Iraq . There was no immediate response from Hezbollah .
" Both the November Paris attacks and the October 2015 bombing of a Russian airliner suggest a shift in IS strategy towards going global . " The IS group has developed an " external action command " that was trained for " special forces - style attacks " internationally , the report said . But the report played down fears that jihadists were smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidethemselves into Europe as part of the huge wave of refugees and migrants that the continent is dealing with , many of whom are fleeing the war in Syria . " There is no concrete evidence that terrorist travellers systematically use the flow of refugees to enter Europe unnoticed , " it said . It warned however that many new arrivals were vulnerable to radicalisation or recruitment , with evidence that extremist recruiters were specifically targeting refugee centres .
IS , however , continued to gain strength as the U.S.-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al - Maliki led the country , favoring his fellow Shiites over Sunni Iraqis . The civil war in neighboring Syria was another destabilizing factor that also gave IS room to grow and take over large areas of both countries to set up a self - declared caliphate . The rise of the group also can be attributed to its savvy in using social media to recruit fighters and followers and its ability to reap millions , including through smugglingmovement.transportperson.hideoil . Since the U.S.-led coalition began its anti - Islamic State campaign in 2014 , the coalition has cut the numbers of IS core fighters by half , to about 15,000 , and cost the group 45 percent of its territory , which once comprised one - third of Iraq and Syria . The U.S. has 3,830 military service personnel in Iraq , advising and training Iraqi ground forces , and 50 or so special operations forces in Syria .
" It 's up to Turkey , the Turkish government , the Turkish leadership , to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism . This is not the case so far , " he said . Turkey has denied permitting oil smugglingmovement.transportartifact.naby the Islamist militant group , which holds swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq . The United States last month rejected Russian allegations that the Turkish government and President Erdogan 's family were in league with Islamic State to smuggle oil . However , US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said last month that ISIS was selling oil to middlemen who in turn were involved in smuggling the oil across the frontier to Turkey .
Turkey , Lebanon and Jordan have taken in most of those refugees , often in sprawling and struggling camps . The UN estimates that more than 300,000 people have tried to flee across the Mediterranean , and that thousands have died in the attempt . Last month , Nato joined regional patrols to combat human and weapons smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractacross the sea . West ’s approach to Syria has its dangers | Letters Read more Only 2,647 Syrian refugees have resettled in the United States since 2011 , after passing through an arduous vetting and resettlement program .
Splayed out on the ground , this gruesome picture shows half a tonne of severed bear paws seized from a Russian boat bound for China . The 525 bear paws were discovered in an anti - smugglingmovement.transportperson.naoperation by Russian customs and secret services . They are among the most expensive items in east Asian cuisine - where they are considered a delicacy - and are much sought after in Chinese restaurants . The value of the bear paws was estimated at £ 370,000 .
PARIS French investigators believe a Frenchman detained in Ukraine with a cache of weapons and explosives was more likely involved in arms smuggling than tied to a militant group , the prosecutor leading the case said on Tuesday . France has requested Kiev 's cooperation but is still awaiting a response more than 24 hours after Ukraine 's state security service ( SBU ) said the suspect had planned " terrorist attacks " during the Euro 2016 soccer tournament which kicks off on Friday in France . " This young man is unknown to French intelligence services , and the judicial authorities for now are leaning towards a possible arms smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidecase , " Thomas Pison , the state prosecutor for Nancy , said by telephone . SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak said on Monday the 25-year - old had made contact with armed groups in Ukraine . In a sting operation , the suspect was stopped at the Polish border with rocket launchers , Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives .
The crude oil could also be sold to nearby refineries that produce petrol and fuel oil , or directly to the local oil market . Yet the capacity of local buyers is limited , so smuggling oil to Turkey and other countries is more profitable . “ Turkey is playing not a very clean game , especially with smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidethe Iraqi oil and Syrian oil through the borders and selling it in the black market in Turkey , ” Iraqi MP Mowaffak Al - Rubaie , a former national security adviser , told RT , adding that a recent investigation by the Norwegian authorities exposed Turkey as having ties with Islamic State ’s illegal oil trade . Most smuggled ISIS oil goes to Turkey , sold at low prices – Norwegian report https://t.co/ZsxKy1QEmVpic.twitter.com/Jjrc2VnoPf — RT ( @RT_com ) December 20 , 2015 A political science assistant professor from the Northeastern University in Boston , Max Abrahms , told RT that it is exactly the illegal oil trade that has enabled Islamic State to become so strong after seizing vast territories in Iraq and Syria .
( CNN ) Afghanistan had a record number of civilian casualties last year due to Taliban suicide attacks and a fierce battle for the northern city of Kunduz . The country ’s deteriorating security situation has led hundreds of thousands of people to flee , seeking refuge in neighboring countries or Europe . ( Boston Globe ) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised new measures to counter gun smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractand stiffen Canada ’s already tough gun laws . The move comes in response to increasing numbers of handguns and assault weapons in Canadian cities . ( William Marsden ) Two blood - building drugs could boost brain development and IQ levels in premature babies , according to a first - of - its - kind study .
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn , director of the DIA between 2012 and 2014 , confirmed that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire consequences of toppling Assad . The jihadists , he said , were in control of the opposition . Turkey was n’t doing enough to stop the smugglingmovement.transportperson.hideof foreign fighters and weapons across the border . ‘ If the American public saw the intelligence we were producing daily , at the most sensitive level , they would go ballistic,’ Flynn told me . ‘ We understood Isis ’s long - term strategy and its campaign plans , and we also discussed the fact that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of the Islamic State inside Syria.’ The DIA ’s reporting , he said , ‘ got enormous pushback’ from the Obama administration .
“ Jesus also suffered on his own skin indifference , because no one wanted to take on the responsibility for his destiny . “ And I am thinking of so many people , so many on the margins , so many refugees ” for whom “ many do n't want to assume responsibility for their destiny , ” Francis said in a clear reference to Europe 's migration debate . In an effort to fight the smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextract, EU and Turkish officials just made a deal to send back to Turkey migrants now arriving on Greek islands . The action was to begin Sunday , but it was not clear if that would be the case . After the Mass , Francis joyfully greeted tens of thousands of people as he toured the square in his white popemobile , and let some children aboard for a while .
One of Trump ’s most troubling business entanglements is in Turkey , a critical U.S. ally in the fight against ISIL in the Middle East . After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided over a 2012 ribbon - cutting dedication of a Trump property in Istanbul , relations between him and the real estate mogul have frayed , with the president speaking out against Trump ’s derogatory remarks about Muslims . The politically influential Dogan family , whose Dogan Group was Trump ’s Turkish business partner on the project , is embroiled in criminal allegations , with its owner facing charges that he engaged in a fuel - smugglingmovement.transportperson.hidescheme . Eichewald writes : The Trump family rakes in untold millions of dollars from the Trump Organization every year .
In Greece , smugglers are peddling offers to take migrants clandestinely to Italy , either by boat from the Greek mainland or via a more precarious route walking through the mountainous terrain of Albania , where they can then cross the Adriatic Sea . Others are offering to take them on less guarded paths through Macedonian forests , or to Bulgaria to reach Serbia and beyond . In the camp at Idomeni , at the border with Macedonia , where more than 13,000 migrants have been stuck in muddy conditions after Macedonia sealed its border , talk of smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractis everywhere . Migrants point to the Hara Hotel and to gas stations along the highway to Idomeni as places where smugglers loiter and operate . Video
" It 's up to Turkey , the Turkish government , the Turkish leadership , to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism . This is not the case so far , " he said . Turkey has denied permitting oil smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractby the Islamist militant group , which holds swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq . The United States last month rejected Russian allegations that the Turkish government and President Erdogan 's family were in league with Islamic State to smuggle oil . However , US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said last month that ISIS was selling oil to middlemen who in turn were involved in smuggling the oil across the frontier to Turkey .
‘ He added that militants in Aleppo have carried out a mass evacuation of their families to the north of the province toward the Turkish border . ’ It is incredibly encouraging to hear week - on - week reports of jihadists fleeing the battlefield , and , as Aleppo is being liberated , the Syrian army is now beginning an advance on the ISIS HQ in Raqqa . Turkey is now working on re - establishing its arms smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractroute into Syria under the guise of a ‘ secure ’ area to try and save the terrorists , and Western media is hyping its anti - Russian propaganda to new levels . Konashenkov had a message for those working
“ Their previous documented attempts to gain access to a nuclear power station in Belgium are evidence of their intent , ” he stated at an international conference in Amsterdam . “ The terrorists do n’t necessarily have to use a ' dirty bomb ' . We are not just talking about stolen nuclear material , using conventional explosives in a nuclear plant , such as smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidein a bomb , would have catastrophic consequences . ” Moshe Kantor , president of the International Luxembourg Forum ( Reuters ) Former British defence secretary Des Browne , a member of the forum and vice - chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative ( NTI ) , said the threat of nuclear terrorism was a highly significant and complex issue which needed a unified international response .
It said one foundation has sent 7,500 vehicles with various supplies to IS - controlled territory since 2011 . The letter said that among the supplies delivered to IS were ammunition for TOW anti - tank missile systems , RPG-7 grenade launchers and small arms , M-60 recoilless rifles , 82 mm mortar shells , hand grenades , communication tools and equipment from the Turkish intelligence services . The letter also said " smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractexplosives and industrial chemicals to terrorist groups operating in Syria is also usually organized from Turkish territory " through the border crossings . " In order to pass through the border controls unimpeded , effectively with the complicity of the Turkish authorities , products are processed for companies that are purportedly registered in Jordan and Iraq , " it said . Churkin said large consignments of explosives are often transported by water , especially the Euphrates River .
Bear parts are in high demand at black markets throughout Asia and are used in Chinese soups It is not clear how the animals were killed but the goods were bound for Tongjiang city in the Heilongjiang province of China An unnamed man , part of an alleged gang of smugglers , was arrested and accused of two counts of smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hide. He also allegedly had a mammoth tusk weighing four kilograms . It is not clear how the animals were killed but the goods were bound for Tongjiang city in the Heilongjiang province of China , the Siberian Times reported .
According to the extremist group ’s apocalyptic creed , representations of deities and sites of pre - Islamic worship are worthy of destruction . As the group ’s fighters wreaked havoc on the civilian populations caught up in their onslaught , they also pulverized what they could of the region ’s supposedly apostate history . Moreover , as my colleague Loveday Morris detailed last year , the Islamic State — also known as ISIS and ISIL – developed a lucrative , illicit trade in smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractthe antiquities it chose not to smash . This also was the case in Tal Ajaja , where the militants dug tunnels in previously untouched areas of the site and unearthed hitherto unknown treasures — most of which have disappeared . “ They found items that were still buried , statues , columns .
The Ukraine president , Petro Poroshenko , called the journalist ’s death a “ terrible tragedy ” and ordered specialists from the US and the European Union be brought in to assist the investigation . Sheremet began his career as a television journalist in his native Minsk . He was arrested after filming himself crossing into Lithuania and back illegally for a Russian television story about smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractin 1997 , sparking a diplomatic spat between Russia and Belarus . Under pressure in his home country , he left to work in Russia before moving to Ukraine several years ago . He was a supporter of the pro - European movement that toppled president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 and was known for his criticism of the Belarusian and Russian governments .
Only Russia and Iran can be trusted to honestly and effectively assist Iraq in its targeting and destruction of the ISIS mercenaries , for they are the only countries who have a hatred for them and have n’t used them in previous military secret operations , as the U.S. had in the 1980 ’s against Russia in Afghanistan . How do you analyze the Turkish stance claiming the right to be involved in Mosul offensive ? The Turkish claim to have a right to be involved in the Mosul offensive is a dishonest claim , since Turkey has been financing the ISIS forces through oil smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hideand other human trafficking operations in Syria . Russia has exposed this , and President Vladimir Putin has clearly shown this in the Russian intelligence exposing the Turkish , Saudi , Israeli , Persian Gulf states , and U.S. funding through Swiss Banks such as Union Bank of Switzerland — which was also confirmed by WikiLeaks cables from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency and Central Intelligence Agency , and Britain ’s MI6 . Turkey ’s real agenda is to carve out an area of Iraq that it can use to target Kurds and confiscate land belonging to Iraq and Syria -- all in the name of " countering ISIS ” .
In 2008 , the Trump Organization inked a branding deal with one of the most politically connected developers in Turkey . When the Dogan Group opened Trump Towers Istanbul in 2012 , Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presided over their ribbon - cutting . But Aydin Doğan was indicted in a fuel - smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidescheme back in March . With the family falling out of political favor — and Trump rebranding himself as America ’s leading Islamophobe — Erdogan called for the mogul ’s name to be removed from the towers this past June . Turkey is a key ally in America ’s fight against ISIS .
“ The authorities need to redouble their vigilance on our territory . This contraband from the Middle East and Libya is not only expensive for our economy , but also directly threatens the life of French people , ” he added . " After all , in one region of Seine - Saint - Denis revenues from smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextract( particularly of cigarettes ) were 350 million euros . This is a great amount of lost profit for our companies . "
According to the extremist group ’s apocalyptic creed , representations of deities and sites of pre - Islamic worship are worthy of destruction . As the group ’s fighters wreaked havoc on the civilian populations caught up in their onslaught , they also pulverized what they could of the region ’s supposedly apostate history . Moreover , as my colleague Loveday Morris detailed last year , the Islamic State — also known as ISIS and ISIL – developed a lucrative , illicit trade in smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractthe antiquities it chose not to smash . This also was the case in Tal Ajaja , where the militants dug tunnels in previously untouched areas of the site and unearthed hitherto unknown treasures — most of which have disappeared . “ They found items that were still buried , statues , columns .
In Piraeus , migrants said some smugglers talked of stashing people in trucks destined for Italy or Northern Europe , raising the prospect of tragedies like an episode last year when 71 migrants suffocated in a truck found abandoned by smugglers in Austria near the border with Hungary . Human rights groups said migrants moving recently through Bulgaria reported violent beatings by police officers and local vigilante groups , and being set upon by dogs in Macedonia . In Serbia , which could remain part of the migrant path if flows pick up from Albania , Bulgaria or Romania , the border closings have already revived old smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractnetworks after years of police clampdowns . This week , smugglers brought 45 Kurds into Serbia using an old path from Bulgaria , said Jelena Hrnjak , the program manager at Atina , an aid group working with the International Rescue Committee . Migrants who have no money left , especially unaccompanied minors , are frequently put into a kind of “ debt bondage ” by the smugglers .
In Greece , smugglers are peddling offers to take migrants clandestinely to Italy , either by boat from the Greek mainland or via a more precarious route walking through the mountainous terrain of Albania , where they can then cross the Adriatic Sea . Others are offering to take them on less guarded paths through Macedonian forests , or to Bulgaria to reach Serbia and beyond . In the camp at Idomeni , at the border with Macedonia , where more than 13,000 migrants have been stuck in muddy conditions after Macedonia sealed its border , talk of smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractis everywhere . Migrants point to the Hara Hotel and to gas stations along the highway to Idomeni as places where smugglers loiter and operate . Video
“ Chain of custody is important , but it ’s not a deal breaker , ” Wiley said . “ It ’s not worth getting — Well , people have been killed and wounded moving this stuff . ” The first casualty was a courier , shot and wounded in 2012 as he ran toward a smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractroute out of Syria with a suitcase full of documents . Since then , two others have been injured during extractions , and one — the brother of the commission ’s deputy chief investigator — was killed in an ambush by Syrian troops . Also in 2012 , a courier and his wife came to an unexpected checkpoint outside Aleppo .
The director of one of Russia ’s largest plutonium and heu processing facilities and two of his deputies were arrested for corruption in a multimillion scheme , while a Russian general in command of a nuclear weapon storage site was fired due to massive corruption . A colonel in the Russian Interior Ministry in charge of nuclear security inspections was also arrested for soliciting bribes to overlook security violations . Most recently , an Associated Press investigation reported four separate incidents where Moldovan police broke up smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractattempts involving nuclear materials linked to Russian organized crime — one of which involved an attempt by a Russian gang to sell nuclear material to the Islamic State . Furthermore , forensic analysis revealed the materials seized were produced in the early 1990s in a Russian nuclear facility in the Ural Mountains . This raises a frightening question — what else has gone missing from Russian nuclear facilities since the breakup of the Soviet Union that we are unaware of ?
( Erdogan attended even though a newspaper the Dogan ’s own , called Hurriyet , is one of the few media outlets in the country that publishes articles criticizing a government that is renowned for clamping down on journalistic freedom . ) The influence that allowed for the Dogans to attract Erdogan to the ceremonies has collapsed , and once again , a Trump partner became caught up in allegations of criminal activities . In March of this year , an Istanbul court accepted an indictment of Aydin Dogan , chairman of the Dogan Group , on charges he engaged in a fuel smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextract. Aydin Dogan has proclaimed his innocence , and critics of the action have proclaimed that the indictment was a politically motivated attempt to crush the company that has served as a journalistic opponent of the government . Erdogan also struck at the family ’s business partner , Trump , for his anti - Muslim rhetoric .
Those other programs were effectively tracking the activities and individuals in terrorist groups , drug cartels , human trafficking rings , nuclear proliferation programs , cyber crime gangs and foreign espionage agencies like Russia ’s Federal Security Bureau ( FSB ) , the successor of the Cold War KGB . After Snowden 's revelations of how the U.S. tracked those activities , many of the targeted groups changed the way they communicated to evade NSA ’s collection . The U.S. suddenly had less ability to prevent terrorist attacks , cocaine smugglingmovement.transportartifact.na, and espionage . It is true that the U.S. may ultimately re - gain some of the access it lost because of Snowden -- some but not all . Gaining any new ability to track terrorists , criminals and spies will likely cost taxpayers billions of dollars .
That message was repeated by the sources in the article , with another saying , " the resistance wo n’t stay in Lebanon ; it will reach the Galilee . It will not look like the 2006 war at all . ” The claims by Hezbollah sources come even as the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC ) on Wednesday declared the group a terrorist organization , citing Hezbollah 's activity in the Gulf states recruiting terrorists and smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractweapons - a point that was not raised in the article . Iran and Hezbollah both responded to the declaration with fury , apparently upset at how the move may impact the group . GCC 's declaration came a week after Saudi Arabia halted a $ 3 billion program funding equipment for Lebanese security forces over the danger posed by Hezbollah .
Those other programs were effectively tracking the activities and individuals in terrorist groups , drug cartels , human trafficking rings , nuclear proliferation programs , cyber crime gangs and foreign espionage agencies like Russia ’s Federal Security Bureau ( FSB ) , the successor of the Cold War KGB . After Snowden 's revelations of how the U.S. tracked those activities , many of the targeted groups changed the way they communicated to evade NSA ’s collection . The U.S. suddenly had less ability to prevent terrorist attacks , cocaine smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hide, and espionage . It is true that the U.S. may ultimately re - gain some of the access it lost because of Snowden -- some but not all . Gaining any new ability to track terrorists , criminals and spies will likely cost taxpayers billions of dollars .
I dislike the symbolism of a wall , but the status quo , where we have large swaths of a wall , death - trap gaps in parts of the desert that are particularly dangerous to cross , and armed guards on patrol , many of them corrupt , is n't exactly a symbol of welcome ! It may have more costs than a barrier that decreased instances of agents and migrants meeting . Either way , so long as the War on Drugs continues , there will be drug - smuggling routes that double as human smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractroutes . I am not for totally open borders . While I ca n't tell you exactly how many immigrants I favor , I can say with confidence that America can easily accommodate the people already living here and the levels of both legal and illegal immigration we 're seeing now .
But the weaker regulations also make it potentially easier for arms smugglers and human rights abusers to get their hands on US arms . For example , 36 US allies — from Argentina and Bulgaria to Romania and Turkey — will no longer need licenses from the State Department to import weapons and weapons parts from the United States . This will make it far easier for smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractnetworks to set up front companies in such countries and get US arms and arms components that they can then pass on to third parties like Iran or China . Already a common practice , it will only increase under the new regulations . The degree to which the Obama administration has been willing to bend over backward to help weapons exporters was underscored at a 2013 hearing on those administration export “ reforms . ” Tom Kelly , then the deputy assistant secretary of the State Department ’s Bureau of Political - Military Affairs , caught the spirit of the era when asked whether the administration was doing enough to promote American arms exports .
But the weaker regulations also make it potentially easier for arms smugglers and human rights abusers to get their hands on US arms . For example , 36 US allies — from Argentina and Bulgaria to Romania and Turkey — will no longer need licenses from the State Department to import weapons and weapons parts from the United States . This will make it far easier for smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidenetworks to set up front companies in such countries and get US arms and arms components that they can then pass on to third parties like Iran or China . Already a common practice , it will only increase under the new regulations . The degree to which the Obama administration has been willing to bend over backward to help weapons exporters was underscored at a 2013 hearing on those administration export “ reforms . ” Tom Kelly , then the deputy assistant secretary of the State Department ’s Bureau of Political - Military Affairs , caught the spirit of the era when asked whether the administration was doing enough to promote American arms exports .
See the most - read stories this hour » Online exhortations and blueprints for attacks that are pushed to followers on Twitter and via encrypted apps can inspire individuals to “ embark on this path to destruction ” while evading a surveillance net that tracks communications and travel for potential signs of terrorist plots , Brennan said . Intelligence analysts are concerned that Islamic State may try send terrorists into Western countries by hiding them among refugees , by using smugglingmovement.transportperson.smuggleextractchannels or by finding weaknesses in the security screening of legitimate travelers , he said . Gunmen and suicide bombers , including some who had returned from the war in Syria , killed 130 people in restaurants , a concert hall and a sports arena in Paris last Nov. 15 . And on March 22 , another terrorist team directed by Islamic State bombed the airport and subway in Brussels , killing 32 people .
Police in Istanbul and elsewhere have in the past months conducted similar raids on workshops that produce defective lifejackets sold to migrants . Turkey is under intense pressure to stem the flow of migrants to Europe . In November , it agreed to fight the smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractnetworks and help curb irregular migration . In return , the European Union pledged 3 billion euros ( $ 3.25 billion ) to help improve the refugees ’ conditions . The International Organization for Migration says 284 migrants have died so far this year trying to make the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece .
And with the exception of Islamic State , it refers only to “ armed groups ” seeking to overthrow President Bashar al - Assad . But despite the neutral tone the findings are shocking . In an atmosphere of “ coercion , fear and fanaticism ” , blackmail , theft and smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextracthave supported the continuation of armed conflict so that the Syrian economy has become “ a black hole ” absorbing “ domestic and external resources” . Oil production continues to be an “ important financial resource ” for Isis and other armed groups , it says . Consumer prices rose 53 % last year . But suffering is unevenly spread .
They ’re importing not only oil , but wheat and historic artefacts as well . ” Bilal Erdogan denies Russian allegations Bilal Erdogan this week denied continuous Russian allegations that he and his family were profiting from the illegal smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hideof oil from ISIS - held territory in Syria and Iraq , after Russia ’s defence ministry said it had proof that the Erdogan family was benefiting directly from this trade . The Turkish government has already dismissed the accusations and on Tuesday the president ’s son added his voice to the many denials . “ We build offices in Istanbul ... We do not do business in the Mediterranean , in Syria or Iraq , ” he was quoted as saying in Corriere della Sera newspaper , talking about his own corporate concerns , which have been called into question by Russian media .
He now lives in Italy , allegedly to finish his dissertation . Along with his sister , he is suspected of corruption and bribery . Bild also took note of last year ’s discoveries published by the British news outlet , The Guardian , which uncovered information indicating that Turkish businessmen are actively involved in various deals with Islamic State ( IS , formerly ISIL / ISIS ) terrorists , such as illegal oil smugglingmovement.transportartifact.na. READ MORE : Turkey is key supplier of weapons , military hardware to ISIS - Russian envoy to UN “ One of them according to [ The Guardian ] data is Bilal Erdogan , ” Bild points out .
READ MORE : ‘ You can go your way ’ : Erdogan rejects demands to change anti - terror law for EU visa deal Erdogan has yet to appoint Davutoglu ’s successor , but as the President will no doubt want his replacement to be more malleable , it is speculated that Erdogan ’s son - in - law , Energy Minister Berat Albayrak , might have what it takes . Albayrak ’s appointment as the government ’s leader would benefit the whole Erdogan family , especially Bilal , who has been accused of involvement in illegal oil smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hidein Syria and Iraq . Bild states that Albayrak might be “ that firm part of the clan ” that the Turkish head of state wants to see by his side . READ MORE : ‘ Merkel threw me to a despot ’ : German comedian fights back against probe for insulting Erdogan
But the weaker regulations also make it potentially easier for arms smugglers and human rights abusers to get their hands on US arms . For example , 36 US allies — from Argentina and Bulgaria to Romania and Turkey — will no longer need licenses from the State Department to import weapons and weapons parts from the United States . This will make it far easier for smugglingmovement.transportartifact.smuggleextractnetworks to set up front companies in such countries and get US arms and arms components that they can then pass on to third parties like Iran or China . Already a common practice , it will only increase under the new regulations . The degree to which the Obama administration has been willing to bend over backward to help weapons exporters was underscored at a 2013 hearing on those administration export “ reforms . ” Tom Kelly , then the deputy assistant secretary of the State Department ’s Bureau of Political - Military Affairs , caught the spirit of the era when asked whether the administration was doing enough to promote American arms exports .
Police in Istanbul and elsewhere have in the past months conducted similar raids on workshops that produce defective lifejackets sold to migrants . Turkey is under intense pressure to stem the flow of migrants to Europe . In November , it agreed to fight the smugglingmovement.transportperson.hidenetworks and help curb irregular migration . In return , the European Union pledged 3 billion euros ( $ 3.25 billion ) to help improve the refugees ’ conditions . The International Organization for Migration says 284 migrants have died so far this year trying to make the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece .
MADRID Two Indian men arrested in Spain for smugglingmovement.transportartifact.hideRussian anti - aircraft missiles were extradited to the United States , Spanish military police said in a statement on Thursday . Spanish police detained the pair in Barcelona in 2014 along with two Pakistani men , who have already been extradited , as part of a joint operation - dubbed Operation Yoga - with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) to bust a smuggling ring based in the Catalonia region . The group had offered the Russian - built Igla missiles to foreign paramilitary groups .