North Koreans in Breadbasket Province Malnourished

If the situation is prolonged for another 1-2 years,

people tell each other that they'll "all be dead."

By Elizabeth Shim


North Koreans work in the fields near the North Korean city Sinuiju, across the Yalu River from Dandong, China's largest border city with North Korea. Rural residents of Hwanghae Province are suffering from malnutrition because of Kim Jong Un’s agricultural policy, a source said. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- North Koreans living in a province that is the center of the country's agriculture are malnourished, sources say.

The residents of Hwanghae, the breadbasket province of North Korea, are relinquishing their rice supply to the army and the residents of Pyongyang, Daily NK reported Monday.

A North Korean residing in North Hwanghae said there is barely enough to eat and "just enough to carry on the lifeline."

The dire situation is compelling some North Koreans to consider making an appeal to the government, the source said.

The report challenges claims the supply of rice in North Korea for the population increased after the creation of a new "incentive system" on June 28, under Kim Jong Un's orders.

"There is nothing left in Hwanghae after harvested rice all goes to the military," the source said. "The people who harvest the rice cannot taste their own product and must go all the way to Yanggang province to buy rice."

The source also said standards of living have declined in the past 10 years. Vagrants have increased in number, and if the situation is prolonged for another 1-2 years, people tell each other that they'll "all be dead."

The unofficial marketization in North Korea has not reaped benefits for the country's farmers because they produce rice for the military and the residents of Pyongyang, the source said.

Farmers have also been unable to take advantage of grey markets because they lack sufficient capital, the source added.

Inequality of wealth between the urban and rural areas is increasing, according to the source.

This is communism! Stalin used to take all the potatoes grown in the Ukraine from the farmers and sell them abroad for the money. Of course the farmers either starved to death of left for Canada or elsewhere.

The absurdity of life in Pyongyang and the insanity of the North Korean military cannot be reconciled with a healthy lifestyle for rural people. Kim Jong Un has to realize that soon or his country is going to self-destruct.

Philippine President Names Judges, Politicians in Illegal Drug Trade

By Yvette C. Hammett

MANILA, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte named a string of judges and former politicians as being involved with illegal drugs and demanding they surrender or face the consequences.

Several of those on his list, however, are no longer in power, local media reported. One judge on the list, according to The Inquirer newspaper, has been dead for eight years.

Duterte said he would take responsibility for any innocents on the list, BBC reported.

Duterte said the move is prompted by a huge number of citizens who are addicted to illegal drugs.

"If you show the slightest violence in the resistance, I will tell the police, 'Shoot them'," he said.

Duterte said those listed were "destroying the country." He read the list aloud on national television while he was attending a wake for a fallen soldier, the Wall Street Journal reported. He said their involvement in the drug trade was akin to treason.

The Inquirer published the complete list of those on Duterte's list, some whom he threatened to "whack" if they didn't cooperate.

Duterte gave those on his list 24 hours to come forward to their supervising agencies or he would have police and the military hunt them down.

He also said he is removing any official authority those on the list had. "I am removing their operational authority over them. Twenty-four hours, everybody, military police, attached to them, report to your mother unit. I give you 24 hours or I will whack you and dismiss you from the service," he said.

The president called this a matter personal to him. "I'll wait for you, regardless of where. Even if I'm no longer in the presidency for so long as I have gun. If you want, wake me up," Dutete said.

Bible-Bombing: Swedish Church to Barrage ISIS Areas with Word of God

Livets Ord in Uppsala © Wikipedia

A Swedish church wants to bomb areas controlled by Islamic State in Iraq with mini-Bibles in Arabic. The church argues that people need a reminder that Christian love can reach them, even in places where they are being denied their freedom.

The Livets Ord (Word of Life) church in Uppsala proposes using drones, flying at high altitude, to drop the Bibles, according to the Varlden Idag publication.

“The Bibles are the size of pill boxes and have a display. They require no electricity, but work on their own,” Christian Akerhielmm, the mission’s director, told SVT.

“Our ambition is to pass on the hope and love of the Christian gospel to a population living in closed areas where they are being denied human rights,” he also wrote on the church’s website.

“The Bible has been found in all its forms through time, and we want to spread the message to those who need hope, for the Bible’s message gives hope.”

He told the Varlden Idag that the project will get underway “in a few weeks, and [we] hope to drop thousands of Bibles.”

Akerhielmm does not see the idea as breaking any new ground, remembering that Bibles were snuck into the Soviet Union. He also pointed out that the Word of Life does plenty of humanitarian work on the ground, which includes “education, [delivering] food and many other projects across the Middle East,” he told SVT.

He also said another group would join the distribution of the Bibles, but stayed silent on the name.

Each Bible will cost around 150 kronor ($17.50), the church says. It has been collecting donations for the cause.

The Word of Life, founded sometime in the 1980s, is considered quite controversial in Sweden, due to critics believing it is a type of sect. It is also the Sweden’s largest free church and runs a series of evangelical schools.

Their web-site says they were founded in 1983 with 20 people. They now have over 3000 members.

According to the Local, the church’s founders Ulf and Birgitta Ekman abandoned their faith in 2014 and became Catholics.

According to a European Commission report cited by the Local, only 23 percent of Swedes believe God exists.

Funny, Swedes appear to see nothing wrong with migrants believing in Allah, ie Satan, but the real God, well there must be something wrong there.

Indonesia Police Foil ‘ISIS-Linked Rocket Attack’ on Singapore

Indonesian anti-terror police and an identification team are seen outside a building during a raid in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, August 5, 2016. © Antara Foto / M N Kanwa / Reuters

Counter-terrorism police in Indonesia have arrested six men suspected of having links to Islamic State for allegedly plotting a rocket attack on Singapore's “vital objects and busy areas.”

The men were captured on Batam island, just 15 miles (24km) southeast of Singapore. The Batam Pos daily quoted police as saying the suspects, all Indonesian, were mostly factory workers, aged between 19 and 46, Reuters reported.

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement it was aware of the attack plot: "Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved."

Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the suspects had teamed up with a member of Islamic State in Syria.

“We have strong indications that the six men were planning to launch a rocket at Singapore’s Marina Bay from Batam,” the spokesman said, according to AP, referring to a busy area packed with waterside restaurants and tourist attractions.

"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto told Reuters.

Asked whether police had recovered any physical evidence of a rocket attack, Rianto replied "not yet." 

Police said the six men are suspected of having links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian believed to be a high-ranking member of IS.

According to Indonesian investigators, Naim was one of the masterminds behind the mid-January terrorist attack in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in which eight people were killed - four of them attackers.

Naim was also linked to a suicide bombing outside a local police station in the city of Solo in early July. The bomber, who was killed during the attack, had been taught to build explosive devices by Naim, the Straits Times reported. 

Security experts in Indonesia fear that Naim, along with other Islamic State leaders, has recently switched focus from the fight in the Middle East to attacks at home, Reuters reported.

Islamic State’s intelligence service, called Emni in Arabic, has already sent fighters to Austria, Germany, Spain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia, the New York Times reported, citing the accounts of operatives who have been arrested.

"One thing I think is clear is Bahrun Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a lot of people through his social media network," Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones told Reuters.

Boko Haram Leader Shekau Says He's Still in Charge Despite IS Claim Otherwise

An audiotape by Abubakar Shekau said Abu Musab al-Barnawi attempted an overthrow of Boko Haram's leadership.

By Ed Adamczyk, UPI 

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The leader of Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram insists he is still in charge, accusing an alleged successor of staging a coup against him.

A magazine published earlier this week by the Islamic State, which regards the Nigerian organization as its West African affiliate, referred to Abu Musab al-Barnawi as Boko Haram's purported new leader. But a 10-minute audio message released Wednesday by Abubakar Shekau said he was still in charge.

Shekau accused Barnawi, who was previously Boko Haram's spokesman, of attempting a coup against his leadership.

The message was Shekau's first public pronouncement in a year, and suggests ideological differences within the Boko Haram hierarchy. Sources confirmed Shekau opposes Islamic State involvement in his militant group; in the message he denied hoarding food and ammunition, and engaging in reckless killing.

So it appears there is infighting within Boko Haram. That's a good thing, the more fighting they do among themselves, the less they can victimize innocent villagers.

His authoritarian reputation includes bragging about his power and the killing of his own troops at the slightest evidence of misdeeds, the New York-based news website Sahara Reporters noted.

Boko Haram is responsible for thousands of deaths in its seven-year attempt to overthrow the Nigerian government and establish an Islamic caliphate. In 2015, the Institute for Economics and Peace ranked Boko Haram as the deadliest terror organization in the world.

In the past 18 months, Nigeria's military, with the help of coalition troops from neighboring countries, have reclaimed much of the territory taken by the insurgent group.

World Vision Office in Gaza has Diverted Tens of Millions of Dollars to Hamas

Leader of Christian charity funneled millions to militant group

Hamas, Israeli investigators say

Israeli officials say the charity official was actually first

recruited by Hamas more than a decade ago.

By Doug G. Ware


A member of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian groupt Hamas, stands beside a weapons cache at a Hamas-run youth summer camp in Gaza City on July 23. Thursday, Israeli authorities said they had indicted Mohammed Halabi, the director of the Gaza office of the World Vision aid group, for diverting tens of millions of humanitarian-earmarked dollars to Hamas over a period of years. Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo

GAZA, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- An executive in a global Christian charity group has been secretly sending tens of millions of dollars -- money intended to aid poverty-stricken families in chaotic Gaza -- to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israeli investigators say.

The news came Thursday as Mohammed Halabi was indicted on numerous criminal charges for misappropriating the funds. He is director of the Gaza office of the World Vision International relief group, and was arrested June 15 as he attempted to re-enter Gaza from Israel.

Halabi's arrest followed a lengthy investigation by Israel's Shin Bet security service, which concluded that roughly 60 percent of all the money received by the charity's Gaza office ended up in the hands of Hamas operators.

Shin Bet said Halabi, in fact, was recruited as a Hamas agent in 2004 -- indicating that tens of millions of aid dollars may have been going to the Palestinian group for more than a decade.

Thursday's indictment claims Halabi was asked by Hamas in 2005 to infiltrate a humanitarian organization to "operate secretly to advance" the interests of Hamas' armed wing, Izzedin al-Qassam.

World Vision International is an Evangelical humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization founded in 1950 to offer emergency aid to Christian missionaries. The London-based group expanded its scope to include social and industrial development in 1975 -- and says it is "dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice."

The organization said in a statement Thursday that it has no reason to believe the Hamas connection is true.

"We are shocked to learn that Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of operations for World Vision in Gaza has been charged with providing support to Hamas.," the non-profit organization said in a post to Facebook Thursday.

"We continue to call for a fair, legal process."

The group asserted Thursday that it will let the legal process play out before making any judgments on Halabi, and added that its Gaza branch is regularly subjected to various oversight intended to ensure the money is going where it's supposed to go.

"World Vision programs in Gaza have been subject to regular internal and independent audits, independent evaluations, and a broad range of internal controls aimed at ensuring that assets reach their intended beneficiaries," the group said. "We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence. We continue to call for a fair, legal process for Mohammad."

World Vision International is active in more than 90 countries, and in 2011 reported total revenues of nearly $3 billion.

Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization, is considered a terror group by many Western nations -- including the United States, Britain and nations of the European Union.

Boko Haram Leader Shekau Replaced, Whereabouts Unknown

Only time will tell what this means for the poor people of northeast Nigeria

Islamic State announces new Boko Haram leader

Abu Musab al-Barnawi was described as the

Islamic State's new 'governor' in West Africa.

By Ed Adamczyk 

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, pictured, was replaced by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the Islamic State announced with no mention of Shekau's whereabouts. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group in Nigeria affiliated with the Islamic State, has a new leader, IS announced.

Abu Musab al-Barwani, formerly Boko Haram's spokesman, was identified in the weekly IS magazine Naba as its West African "governor." The magazine did not mention the whereabouts of the previous Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

In a seven-year campaign to install a Muslim caliphate in Nigeria, over 20,000 people have been killed and millions have fled the country. The continued fighting provoked a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations and other agencies delivering food and medicine and warning of calamity if more aid is not delivered. A concerted campaign in the past 18 months, by Nigerian forces and coalition troops from neighboring countries, has severely weakened Boko Haram and taken back much of the territory it previously conquered; the insurgent group's response has been to take its fight to neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Little is known about Barnawi, who appeared in a 2015 Boko Haram video with a soft-spoken demeanor and his face blurred. The fate of his predecessor, Shekau, is equally mysterious. Known for his blustery, braggart manner, he has been declared killed by Nigerian forces several times, only to reappear in Boko Haram propaganda videos. He was most recently heard in an August 2015 announcement, saying that he remains alive. But he has not been seen since Boko Haram announced its alignment with IS in 2015.