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Jun162017

Press Releases: State Department Terrorist Designations of Mohammad Shafi Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar, and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali

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Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 15, 2017

The Department of State has designated Mohammad Shafi Armar, Oussama Ahmad Atar, and Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals, or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. As a consequence of these designations, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions or dealings with Armar, Atar, and Binali, and all of their property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction is blocked.

Mohammad Shafi Armar is a leader and head recruiter in India for the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, ISIS. He has cultivated a group of dozens of ISIS sympathizers who are involved in terrorist activities across India, such as plotting attacks, procuring weapons, and identifying locations for terrorist training camps.

Oussama Ahmad Atar is a senior leader of ISIS’s external operations efforts and has established a network to carry out attacks in Europe. He was a leading coordinator of the November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 attacks in Brussels. The Belgian-Moroccan national was responsible for recruiting, training, and sending at least some of the individuals to Paris to launch the November 2015 attacks, which killed and injured hundreds, including Americans. He also recruited and mentored two of the bombers involved in the March 2016 Brussels attacks that killed 32 and left many more wounded.

Mohammed Isa Yousif Saqar Al Binali is a senior member of ISIS. Binali departed Bahrain to join the terrorist group in 2014 and has since appeared in multiple ISIS propaganda videos calling on Bahrainis, specifically members of Bahrain’s security forces, to join ISIS.

Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Atar, Armar, and Binali have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. Designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and other governments.

A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.

Jun162017

Survey: Most Chinese want more education

GovWorldMagEast Asia

As many as 98 percent of Chinese workers said they aspire to take educational programs. [File Photo]

The ratio of Chinese workers with a plan for further education is double that of workers in the United States, a survey by U.S.-based networking website LinkedIn has found.

As many as 98 percent of Chinese workers said they aspire to take educational programs, either degree programs or skills courses, according to a report published on Thursday.

A 2015 LinkedIn survey of workers in the U.S. found only 49 percent wanted more education.

Among the workers who intend to pursue advanced studies, 65 percent of Chinese respondents said they will carry out the plan within one year, compared with 51 percent of the U.S. respondents who wanted more.

Nearly half of the Chinese workers who desire further education said they will spend more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,700) to follow through. It takes an average of 100 days from having such an idea to paying the tuition, according to the survey.

More than 500 people took the online survey, which was conducted by LinkedIn in January.

The top three reasons given by Chinese workers for adding to their education were to improve their professional skills, make themselves more competitive and enrich their life experience.

Only 21 percent of Chinese respondents said they wanted further education to get a higher salary, which was the top choice－ticked by 54 percent of the respondents globally, according to a LinkedIn survey two years ago.

“Chinese workers, especially the middle-aged ones who have reached a certain point in their career paths, show incredible passion for further education. They have a strong consciousness of crisis and want to have more control of their career development,” said Zhou Xiaodan, head of marketing solutions for LinkedIn China.

The survey also found that 4 in 10 Chinese workers preferred online education to a traditional classroom when considering programs for a career boost.

Among those who favored online education, 85 percent said it is more flexible and 64 percent said it doesn’t require them to stop working.

Nearly 70 percent of women wanted to take language courses online, and 60 percent of men aimed to pick up skill training, according to the survey.

Experts believe that as technology in big data and video transmission continues to advance, the online education market will continue to boom.

Twenty percent annual growth has been seen in the online education market on the Chinese mainland since 2013, when the market size was nearly 84 billion yuan, according to local consultancy iResearch. It is expected to break 200 billion yuan in 2018.

Jun162017

Blast at kindergarten gate wreaks havoc

GovWorldMagEast Asia

Medical workers transfer an injured man to hospital after an explosion at the gate of a kindergarten in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province on June 15, 2017. At least seven people were killed and 66 others injured. [Photo/Xinhua]

An explosion at the gate of a kindergarten in Fengxian county, Jiangsu province, at 4:50 pm on Thursday left at least seven people dead and 66 injured, nine of them seriously.

Two people were killed at the scene, and the five others died after being taken to a hospital, the Xuzhou city publicity office said in a statement. Xuzhou administers Fengxian county.

It was not yet known late Thursday what caused the blast and there was no clear information on the identities of the dead and injured, the statement said. Neither was there information on how many of the dead and injured were adults and how many were children.

Officials and police officers rushed to the scene and a preliminary investigation of the incident had been completed, the statement said.

The Fengxian county government posted online that no teachers or students were injured or killed during lessons inside the kindergarten. Photos and videos online showed many people lying outside the kindergarten gate after the blast, some of them covered in blood and burned.

A businessman near the kindergarten said he heard the explosion and that many parents were standing outside the gate waiting for their children when it occurred, Beijing Youth Daily reported online.

The newspaper also posted a video showing some injured parents holding their children and sitting on the ground after the blast.

The injured were sent to hospitals in Fengxian and Xuzhou, the Xuzhou publicity office said, adding that medical workers assisted in the rescue work.

Jun162017

Interview with Tom Elliott, 3AW

GovWorldMagAustralia

TOM ELLIOTT:

Joining us on the line is the Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Turnbull, good afternoon.

PRIME MINISTER:

Good afternoon Tom. Great to be with you.

TOM ELLIOTT:

Is this unusual for three of your ministers to be hauled into court to explain themselves?

PRIME MINISTER:

Well it certainly is unusual but it is not unusual for Victorians to express real concern about public safety in their state.

Those three ministers, yes they are ministers in my government, they are Members of Parliament but they are also citizens of Victoria and residents of Victoria and you know, as your listeners do, that there is real concern about law and order and the failure of the state government and the system in Victoria to protect people.

Look, I think it is a matter of the justice system, the legal system in Victoria, the criminal justice system is a matter of real public interest and my ministers are focused on public safety, they are working with me and the rest of our team and our agencies to do everything we can to keep Australians safe and defeat Islamist terrorism.

TOM ELLIOTT:

Will the three ministers appear in court on Friday?

PRIME MINISTER:

I can’t answer that. I am sure they would be represented but whether they appear in person, that is a matter for them. I am not sure what arrangements they’ve made.

TOM ELLIOTT:

It is a civil or a criminal matter that they are asked to confront?

PRIME MINISTER:

Look, it is very unusual but let me just make this point – the courts of justice are not immune from public criticism. The courts cannot be and are not immune from criticism which may extend to robust observations of a particular decision or penalty. Now that is not my words, they are the words of Justice Forrest of the Victorian Supreme Court in a case only last year.

And time and again, our courts, the High Court, every court has defended the rights of Australians to criticise trenchantly, strongly, vigorously the decisions of the courts.

And you know I have to say that I and every member of my government absolutely respects and defends the independence of the judiciary and I would never imagine that public comments or criticism, whether it is by a politician in Parliament or a newspaper columnist or a radio host like yourself would influence a judge in their deliberation.

The independence of our judiciary Tom is secured by the character of our judges – strong, independent, good character, strong character who focus solely on the matters that are relevantly and properly before them and make their decision in good faith and in good conscience based on those matters that are before them.

TOM ELLIOTT:

Yeah but if they can haul three senior ministers of your government, the federal government into the courts – I mean, does that mean if I criticise them which I have done many a time, does that mean I’ll be headed into court next?

PRIME MINISTER:

Well, Tom, who knows. Look, you know, the criticisms, the concerns that have been expressed about sentencing in Victoria are not new. And of course concerns are expressed about sentencing as you know in every jurisdiction at different times but this is a very unusual case for these ministers to be brought before the court. And I just want to emphasise that we absolutely stand for and respect the independence of the judiciary. But it is, you know the idea that you can protect the independence of the judiciary by prohibiting criticism of the judiciary is just wrong, and that is inconsistent with a long tradition of vigorous debate, robust debate. As Justice Forrest said only last year, robust observations can be made, criticisms can be made – they are made, but judges do their duty. You know let justice be done with the heavens falls they say.

TOM ELLIOT:

If these ministers, or indeed any other ministers, want to criticise the judiciary here in Victoria, or possibly in other states in the future, will you advise them to do so, to speak their mind?

PRIME MINISTER:

My position Tom is that I stand for an independent judiciary, the rule of law, democracy, freedom, freedom of speech, and in a free society a person is entitled to criticise the conduct of the courts or of a judge. And courts and judges are open to criticism, that’s not my words, they’re the words of Chief Justice Sir Antony Mason in a case in 1992 in the High Court.

So you know, it’s very clear that we are talking about the conduct of the judiciary and judicial decisions people are entitled to criticise them. Obviously, a different standard applies when you are talking about cases that are before a jury.

TOM ELLIOT:

No but this is a general issue –

PRIME MINISTER:

Yes that’s right

TOM ELLIOT:

Alright, well on the side in fact, I’ve already done an interview with Channel Seven News which will be playing tonight. So look, now another thing that’s come up – and I’m sure you’ve heard about this – so you gave, I guess an amusing speech at the Canberra Mid-Winter Ball last night. Somehow it’s been leaked, I’ve listened to a bit of it, you mock yourself and you mock Donald Trump. Are you disappointed that it’s been leaked to the media?

PRIME MINISTER:

Well it is a great tradition, you know it’s a big charity fundraiser, they raised nearly $400,000 and it is a good humoured sort of roast really. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition give a speech and poke fun at themselves and you know, often other politicians and so forth, but my speech was light-hearted, affectionately light-hearted and off the record.

TOM ELLIOT:

And is it meant to be off the record? It is meant to be off the record.

PRIME MINISTER:

Yes of course.

TOM ELLIOT:

Are you disappointed that it’s leaked?

PRIME MINISTER:

Yes I am, well I am disappointed and I think it’s, I guess what that means is that next year at the Mid-Winter Ball I will read selected passages from Budget Paper number 2.

TOM ELLIOT:

Well it will be good.

PRIME MINISTER:

That will pack them in (Laughter).

TOM ELLIOT:

I think it’s been leaked by Channel 9 correspondent Laurie Oakes. No? Well he’s spoken about it.

PRIME MINISTER:

Yeah, well I believe so – he’s apparently put it on.

TOM ELLIOT:

Will he be invited next year?

PRIME MINISTER:

Well I don’t think he was there this year, but he has taken it on himself to do that.

But look, listen it’s a breach of protocol, it’s a breach of faith and all those things, but you know it’s light hearted, it’s affectionate, good natured and the butt of my jokes was myself.

TOM ELLIOT:

And Donald Trump.

PRIME MINISTER:

Well I wouldn’t say that, I think it was more good-natured than that I think. But listen it’s fun, you’ve got to have a laugh, we’ve got to lighten up. It’s stressful business, politics Tom. You’ve got to be cheerful.

TOM ELLIOT:

Thank you Prime Minister we will let you get back to it. The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

[ENDS]

Jun152017

Speech: “The recent work by both the United Nations and the African Union marks a new period of this partnership.”

HM GovernmentHM Government

Thank you Mr. President.

And thank you Chef de Cabinet Viotti and Ambassador Chergui for your briefings.

The title of the document signed by the Secretary-General and the African Union Chairperson on the 19th of April is appropriately named a Framework for Enhanced Partnership. We welcome the strong signal of cooperation and coordination that this Framework brings and we support further efforts to strengthen the partnership on both sides.

Each challenge to peace and security that we face today has a unique combination of underlying factors. In Africa we have many good examples of international, regional and sub-regional organisations coming together in varied ways to tackle them.

In some instances, the United Nations is best placed to lead a response. For instance the Democratic Republic of Congo where MONUSCO has played a critical role in protecting civilians.

In others the African Union has taken the lead, critically in Somalia where for ten years AMISOM has played a vital role in degrading the threat from Al Shabaab. The bravery and sacrifice of AMISOM troops has created the security space for political progress to be made.

On other issues the sub-region has stepped up to find solutions as we saw with ECOWAS in Gambia, and as we look to IGAD to lead in South Sudan.

In some cases the solutions will evolve, as we saw in Mali and the Central African Republic where initial responses by regional and sub-regional organisations then transitioned into United Nations peacekeeping operations. In Somalia, the United Nations provides vital logistical support to an African Union operation. This flexibility in our partnership is essential to ensure the best response to crises.

In each case, and as the Council said in resolution 2320, we should consider the comparative advantage of each institution to ensure the most appropriate and effective response is deployed to resolve conflict and achieve stability.

In order to assess which solution is best for each situation, we must enhance our partnership.

This means more joint analysis, more joint planning, more joint assessments to form a common understanding of crisis and determine the optimal solution.

The recent work by both the United Nations and the African Union marks a new period of this partnership, and it’s imperative we find more and better ways of working together.

The African Union’s commitment to finance 25% of the African Union peace support operations budget is a welcome development and Dr. Kaberuka and his team have made significant strides in developing the roadmap to achieve this by 2020.

This work is a positive step towards greater African ownership of peace and security, and a deeper partnership with the United Nations.

We must continue to explore ways to make our joint efforts more systematic and we look forward to discussing this with the African Union Peace and Security Council during our visit to Addis Ababa in September.

We agree with the African Union report that in response to some of the most serious threats to peace and security, the deployment of African Union Peace Support Operations will be a key requirement and once again demonstrates the African Union’s comparative advantage to deploy where the United Nations cannot.

We should continue to look at how the United Nations can best support these missions to combine our strengths to bring about lasting solutions and peace on the African continent. This includes further consideration of options to provide reliable and sustainable funding for operations. But we must also focus on how we conduct those operations.

So in parallel we should examine joint standards for reporting, for accountability and for protection to ensure the highest standards and most robust oversight of missions to make them as effective as possible.

These issues will require further debate, and further joint work. We look forward to engaging with you all to strengthen and develop our partnership.

Thank you.