Bits and Bites from Around the World > 1,400 tiny tarantulas found in smuggling bust in Germany

 

Over 1,400 tarantulas found hidden in cake boxes in German smuggling bust

Arachnophobes beware: Customs officials on Monday released photos from a seizure of roughly 1,500 young tarantulas found inside plastic containers that had been hidden in chocolate spongecake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany.

“My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the world, but the fact that they found around 1,500 small plastic containers containing young tarantulas in this package left even the most experienced among them speechless,” Ahland said in a statement.

Ahland hailed an “extraordinary seizure,” but one that “saddens us to see what some people do to animals purely for profit.”

Many of the eight-legged creatures didn’t survive the trip, in a suspected violation of German animal-welfare rules, while survivors were given to the care of an expert handler, the office said. Reached by phone, Ahland said that the estimated value of the shipment was being assessed.

And now, what does the expert handler do with 1,400 growing tarantulas? I know what I would do with them, but it wouldn't comply with German animal-welfare rules.

Criminal proceedings are underway against the intended recipient in the Sauerland region, east of the airport, in part for alleged violations of failure to pay the proper import duties and make the proper customs declarations, the office said.

The tarantulas were discovered about three weeks ago, but the customs office only made the images public on Monday.

Islam in Africa > Dozens killed, hundreds of Jihadists neutralized in Burkina Faso; Migrant Smuggling to EU to increase with Niger law

 

Dozens killed in attack by armed groups in Burkina Faso, UN says

At least 40 civilians were killed in an attack on Sunday in Djibo, in northern Burkina Faso, the UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday.

By:FRANCE 24

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FRANCE 24

"A large number of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters attacked a military base, homes and Internally Displaced People's camps in the city Djibo, in the Sahel region, killing at least 40 civilians and injuring more than 42," the UN agency said. 

An army detachment in Djibo in northern Burkina Faso was the target of the attack, according to security sources.  

"The attack began around 3pm (local time and GMT) on Sunday and was carried out by several hundred armed men who tried in vain to penetrate the (military base)," said the source. 

They added that the attackers were hit by army aircraft. 

The security source said that the attack was carried out by "several waves of armed groups" for more than three hours. 

A follow-up search for the assailant survivors of the attack on Monday "made it possible to neutralise several dozen other terrorists", the source said.  

The Burkina Faso Information Agency said "more than 400 terrorists (were) destroyed during the counter-offensive by the Burkinabe Armed Forces against nearly 3,000 criminals who tried to seize the town of Djibo". 

I wonder if you can believe that?

The country is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighbouring Mali in 2015 and has left more than 17,000 civilians and soldiers dead and displaced 2 million people. 

Burkina Faso is ruled by a transitional government put in place after a September 2022 coup.  

The junta-led government has been conscripting men over 18 for its anti-insurgent fight.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Niger junta revokes law curbing migrant smuggling from Africa to Europe

Niger’s junta has signed a decree revoking a 2015 law that was enacted to curb the smuggling of migrants traveling from African countries through a key migration route in Niger en route to Europe, according to a government circular issued on Monday.

By:NEWS WIRES

“The convictions pronounced pursuant to said law and their effects shall be cancelled,” Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, said in a Nov. 25 decree, a copy of which was seen Monday by The Associated Press.

All those convicted under the law would be considered for release by the Ministry of Justice, Ibrahim Jean Etienne, the secretary general of the justice ministry said in the circular.

The revocation of the law adds a new twist to growing political tensions between Niger and EU countries that sanctioned the West African nation in response to the July coup that deposed its democratically elected president and brought the junta into power.

Niger’s Agadez region is a gateway from West Africa to the Sahara and it has been a key route both for Africans trying to reach Libya to cross the Mediterranean to Europe and for those who are returning home with help from the United Nations.

But the route has also become a lucrative place for people smugglers, prompting Niger's government, working with the European Union, to sign the 2015 law to stop the movement of at least 4,000 migrants which the UN estimates travel through Agadez every week without travel documents.

The law empowered security forces and the courts to prosecute smugglers who faced up to five years in prison if convicted.

While the law transformed Niger into a migration hub housing thousands of migrants being returned to their countries, the UN human rights office has also noted that it “led migrants to seek increasingly dangerous migratory routes, leading to increased risks of human rights violations.”

Following the July 26 coup, which deposed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, Western and European countries suspended aid for health, security and infrastructure needs to the country, which relies heavily on foreign support as one of the least developed nations in the world.

Rather than deter the soldiers who deposed Bazoum, the sanctions have resulted in economic hardship for Nigeriens and emboldened the junta. It has set up a transitional government that could remain in power for up to three years.

(AP)

US Private Military Companies Plunder Syrian Oil Facilities — Russia’s General Staff

The US has been training up to 2,700 militants near al-Tanf base

in Syria, the Russian General Staff stated

Russian Ministry of Defence, Moscow

Does anyone have the nerve to ask the government,

or the US media, if this is factual?

MOSCOW  /TASS/. US private military companies numbering over 3,500 personnel are plundering Syrian oil facilities under the cover of the international anti-terror coalition’s aircraft, Head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Department Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi told a Defense Ministry press briefing on Monday.

"Aside from training militants, the US structures in Syria are involved in plundering oil facilities and deposits in the area across the Euphrates that belong to the legitimate Syrian government. Lately, US private military companies have been observed to actively beef up their personnel. Today, the mercenaries of the private military companies in Syria exceed 3,500 people," the Russian general stressed.

Specifically, the US military structures have organized the production and sale of Syrian oil from the Conaco, al-Omar and Tanak oilfields located east of the Euphrates River, the Russian general pointed out.

"A criminal scheme of Syrian crude cross-border deliveries is in effect. Actually, Syrian national wealth is being plundered," Rudskoi stated.

A considerable part of revenues from the hydrocarbon smuggling is spent on maintaining illegal armed formations, bribing sheikhs of tribal unions and instigating anti-government sentiments, according to the Russian general’s data.

"All this activity by US private military companies is conducted under the cover of the international anti-terror coalition’s aviation. In actual fact, this is smuggling business seized by the Americans from the IS [the former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization outlawed in Russia]," Rudskoi explained.

The US incessant deliveries of armament and military hardware to the area across the Euphrates also cause concern, the Russian general added.

"In exchange for assistance in oil smuggling, the United States is beefing up both Kurdish and Arab formations with arms and they subsequently use them against each other," Rudskoi said, adding that "all these factors are only exacerbating the situation in the war-torn region."

Training of militants

The US military are training up to 2,700 militants from different groups at the al-Tanf base in Syria, according to Rudskoi.

"Within the 55-km zone around al-Tanf, US instructors are training a large armed formation, Magavir al-Saura, and some small militant groups for the so-called Army of Arab Tribes. The militants’ total numerical strength is 2,700 men," the Russian general reported, providing footage obtained from drones.

A part of the militants trained at the al-Tanf base is being airlifted by US combat helicopters beyond the Euphrates, the Russian general added.

"The most trained saboteurs are being delivered to the territories controlled by the government troops to destabilize the situation and prevent the strengthening of the Syrian government’s positions there," Rudskoi commented.

The basic goals of the militants trained by the US military instructors are to carry out subversive operations, destroy Syrian oil and gas infrastructure facilities and conduct terrorist attacks against government troops, he pointed out.

"Such groups have been spotted in the areas of the communities of al-Suwayda, Palmyra and Abu Kamal," the Russian general specified.

The US military base near the settlement of al-Tanf is located at the junction of the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan. It also embraces the 55-km zone around the town.

Contract Security Firm Sallyport - No Scruples, No Oversight

US firm at Iraqi base hushed up probe into human trafficking & alcohol smuggling – report

Joint Base Balad, Iraq. © Sgt. Quentin Johnson / Wikipedia

A US firm, paid $686 million to secure an Iraqi base for F-16 fighter jets, ignored security violations, human trafficking allegations and alcohol smuggling by its staff, according to an AP investigation. Those who uncovered the wrongdoing were fired.

The investigation centers on Sallyport Global, which was contracted by the US government to help secure Iraq's Balad Airbase by keeping F-16s and their Iraqi pilots safe.

The $686 million contract also required investigations into potential crimes and contract violations, and for any breaches to be reported to the US government.

However, Robert Cole and Kristie King, the investigators tasked with that job, would soon realize their findings were extremely unwelcome by Sallyport.

The news agency interviewed two former internal investigators who were fired by Sallyport, as well as a half-dozen former or current staff members. It also obtained documents as part of the probe.

Alcohol smuggling

Although alcohol was restricted at the base, Cole and King discovered that staff frequently flew in smuggled alcohol in such large volumes that a plane once “see-sawed” on the tarmac due to the weight.

According to documents and witnesses, alcohol was everywhere on the base. Empty suitcases were reportedly loaded on to Baghdad-bound round-trip flights, returning with booze-filled plastic water bottles which evaded security – a serious risk in a war zone.

Steve Anderson, who worked on flight logistics for Sallyport, said he was told by managers to sign off on manifests he knew had been falsified to hide alcohol and guns.

When he raised concerns, it was suggested that he find a new job. His position was soon eliminated.

In one allegation, informants told the investigators that “flight line” staff responsible for directing airplanes on the runways and handling cargo, were showing up to work drunk. At one point, they reportedly passed around a bowl of gummy bears soaked in vodka.

Prostitution

When Cole and King were aiming to get to the bottom of the alcohol smuggling, they came across a prostitution ring in Baghdad, the customers of which included Sallyport employees, according to informants.

They also learned that four Ethiopians who had previously worked as prostitutes at a hotel had moved to Balad and were plying the same trade while also working as housekeepers for Sallyport.

That investigation, along with the alcohol smuggling probe, was shut down by a Sallyport executive in Virginia before it could continue.

However, Sallyport Chief Operating Officer Matt Stuckart said the prostitution allegations were not substantiated.

“It is absurd to suggest that the company would shut down an inquiry into a matter of such gravity,” he said.

There were also allegations that Sallyport staff members were involved in human trafficking for prostitution.

Theft & security breaches

The AP investigation details an incident which occurred on July 13, 2015, in which a truck driver lost control of his vehicle, taking it onto the tarmac and stopping about 45 yards from a jet in the “no-go area."

Three months later, Cole reported the theft of an armored Toyota SUV assigned to VIPs. His chief suspect was a Sallyport bodyguard. However, the Toyota was recovered within days and Cole was called off the case.

A former senior manager for Sallyport defended taking Cole off the case, telling AP that negotiations with militias were sensitive and needed Iraqi cooperation. Although he said the chief suspect – the bodyguard – was ‘banned’ from the base, Cole later saw him walking around freely.

On November 15, 2016, rogue militia stole three enormous generators using flatbed trucks and a 60-foot (18-meter) crane, driving directly past Sallyport security guards unchallenged.

Despite requirements to report major security breaches, none of the incidents were reported to the US government until earlier this year, after an auditor began asking questions.

‘We knew too much’ 

After uncovering the information, Cole and King reported it to the correct channels. However, those channels never reported it to the US government and the two investigators were abruptly fired on March 12 and immediately flown out of Iraq.

At the time of their sacking, King and Cole had been looking into allegations that Sallyport manager were falsifying timesheets and people were getting paid without working. They were set to interview those whom they considered to be suspects.

The investigators said company lawyers had ordered them to keep two sets of books at the time, which they believed to be an attempt to deceive auditors.

“One for the government to see and one for the government not to see,” King told AP.

“I feel like they got us out so quickly because they feel like we knew too much,” he said.

King said he and Cole eventually realized that Sallyport was hiding all of the information from the US government, calling the revelation “mind-blowing.”

Meanwhile, Sallyport's COO Stuckart says the company stands by its security procedures and received “high marks” from the US Air Force.

He said the company has a “strong record of providing security and life support services in challenging war zones like Iraq and plays a major but unheralded role in the war against ISIS [Islamic State/IS].”

“The company takes any suggestion of wrongdoing at Balad very seriously,” he added.

Balad Airbase is controlled by the Iraqi government, and has hosted US forces off and on since 2003. The base was evacuated in June 2014, when IS began overrunning Iraqi territory. Sallyport was tasked with keeping the base safe after the Americans returned.

Duterte-Style Anti-Drug Program Spreads to Chechyna

‘Shoot them dead!’ Chechen leader Kadyrov teaches security services how to deal with drug abusers

Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov at the Sochi International Investment Forum 2016. © Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik

The head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan (Rodrigo) Kadyrov, has likened the threat from drug addicts on the roads to that of terrorists, telling ministers that security forces must not hesitate to use lethal force to ensure public safety.

“To hell with those who violate order in the Chechen Republic, they should be shot dead. It doesn’t matter if it’s against the law… shoot them dead! Got it?.. that’s the law!” Kadyrov said at a meeting with ministers and religious leaders, according to a recording that quickly spread across the internet.

The Chechen leader apparently lost his temper after learning new information about the rate of traffic-related deaths caused by drug intoxication that has recently risen sharply. All efforts made by authorities to reduce the number of car accidents have been in vain so far.

Last year Chechnya introduced strict laws that enabled police to strip intoxicated drivers not only of their driving licenses, but of their cars as well. However, the measure failed to significantly change the situation.

Authorities in Chechnya also limited the sale of alcohol from 8:00am-10:00am. The initiative, however, turned out to have a downside as well. Following the restriction, the number of people using drugs in the form of pills instead of alcoholic beverages soared.

Recently, the Chechen leader said in a statement on Russian social network Vkontakte that terrorism would be fully eradicated in the republic – and that the next step of his policy would be a war on drugs.

“We have neutralized thousands of bandits [terrorists] that came here from dozens of countries. A set of measures helped us change the situation with drugs. According to various sources, Chechnya is one of the most successful regions in this regard,” Kadyrov wrote, however adding, that there's still no place for complacency.

Drug substances are not produced on the territory of the republic while pharmacies don’t sell mind-altering drugs, according to Kadyrov. However, the problem remains, as drugs are still smuggled into Chechnya from other Russian regions and from abroad.

    Chechnya, Russia

7000 Morality Police To Create Fear and Distrust in Iran

Iranians vent anger at new police morality unit

From BBC Middle East

Morality police, Critics say the extra officers are a waste of police resources. Getty Images


Outraged Iranians have taken to social media to condemn the decision to deploy 7,000 undercover police officers in Tehran to monitor the observance of the Islamic dress code.

Tehran's police chief announced on Monday that the role of the new unit is to:

Report women for the improper wearing of the hijab (and to ensure a woman's veil covers her in public as required)
Report anyone who harasses women
Report anyone who plays loud music in their cars and violates traffic rules

The morality police have been around for decades but the size of the new unit has taken many by surprise. The unit also includes female officers.

"Even KGB did not have 7,000 spies across the world" tweeted @big_loti (6,206 followers).

I would be surprised if there weren't that many KGB spies in Moscow alone.

The 7,000 officers will look out for violations of the above offences and text details of the incidents to the morality police to follow up. The subsequent warning could be verbal - or lead to arrests and fines.

'Waste of resources'

Social media users have scoffed at this "tragic waste of human resources" and what they consider to be ill-placed priorities.

Many posts mention that enforcement resources should be spent on more pressing issues like fighting persistent corruption and bribery.

Some undercover officers are women - Getty Images

Some women fear that it could even backfire and lead to further pestering from strangers. In the past, vigilantes linked to the paramilitary forces of Basij, have sometimes carried out street patrols to enforce hijab and prevent "un-Islamic" behaviour.

Twitter user @mahbu000be (7,268 followers) said: This "means that anyone will be able to claim to be member of the morality police from tomorrow to start disturbing women and children" on the streets.

It's "meant to frighten people" said Facebook user "Mitra Mirzaee". They want to create the feeling that people "are constantly being watched" and they also want to "increase distrust among people" and to occupy them with "some worthless things in order to prevent them from focusing on the major existing problems".

Why fear women so much I wonder, said Facebook user "Judith Sugden-Smith". The 7,000 "could be employed in constructive, productive jobs beneficial to society."

Let's see, 7000 people at about $20 per day - that's $140,000 per day. That's about $50 million dollars per year - to make sure women are as invisible as they can be. Islamism, like sin, is progressive!

Islamism, like sin, is progressive!

"We wish they hired 700 people (10% of the 7,000) to fight against the widespread problems of corruption, bribery and smuggling said a post on the popular Facebook page, "My Stealthy Freedom". The page advocates an end to compulsory hijab.

"Solve economic problems. People won't have time for wandering around when they have jobs. No-one will steal or will be selling themselves into prostitution when they are not starving," Facebook user "Navid Salimi" suggested.

Earlier in February, an anonymous team of Iranian app developers came up with a solution to help young fashion conscious Iranians avoid the morality police with a phone app called "Gershad".

The app allows users to "report" the location where morality police are patrolling and warn unwary passers-by.

The creators said they were fed up with being "humiliated" for what they wear. The latest announcement on the hijab has fuelled further irritation.

"I cannot believe how far they can go to make people miserable," tweeted user @SadafHafezy.

"According to the mind-set of the authorities...not wearing the hijab is a worse offence than embezzlement".

One message of support for the new unit came from user "Kiyan Aylia". The user called on the morality police to "arrest these ladies without hijab and also their husbands because they are supporting them". Then "clean my Iran of these [people] by sending them in exile to the West. Let them enjoy their life there," Kiyan Aylia said.

That Other War in the Middle East — the Russia-Turkey Standoff

C'mon Mr Putin, you're not playing the gammmmmma

ANALYSIS

Kremlin's constant accusations against Turkey driving a wedge into NATO's anti-ISIS alliance

By Brian Stewart, CBC News

Military attaches and journalists talk after a Russian Defence Ministry briefing in which Moscow said it had proof that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from ISIS-held territory. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Ever since Turkey shot down that Russian SU-24 bomber last month there has been an extraordinary, unrelenting counterblast from Moscow aimed at shattering the Turkish government's international reputation.

On the surface, Russia's response may look like classic Cold War style-Moscow propaganda, but Vladimir Putin's tell-all tactics are causing serious discomfort among Turkey's NATO allies.

Russia has also imposed economic sanctions on Turkey in retaliation for the downed plane and the death of its co-pilot, including shutting down a proposed gas pipeline that would obviously hurt both countries' economies.

But it is President Putin's media offensive that is receiving far more attention as the Kremlin comes out with one alleged exposé after another, to the point of accusing Turkey's Islamist-rooted leadership of being in collusion with ISIS.

Of course, anyone who has been paying the least bit of attention has known that for years. You're just not supposed to talk about it; it's inconvenient. It casts doubt on the legitimacy of the whole NATO strategy and goals.

Courtesy of Moscow, the international media are being fed stories and satellite photos to back up the claims that ISIS is profiting from running illegal oil shipments across the Syrian-Turkish border.

According to the Kremlin, the porous border is also allowing ISIS to receive backflows of munitions and new fighters.

Brian, you make it sound like there is some doubt. Where do you think they are getting their munitions from? We already know they get their fighters through Turkey; that's the country all the lunatics head straight to to join ISIS.

Western analysts have noted this loose border as well, but Putin goes further, claiming that this transaction is taking place with what Moscow calls the obviously corrupt connivance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his authoritarian inner circle.

Erdogan strongly denies the charges and has fired back with his own allegations of Russian misdeeds in Syria — he claims the Russians are engaged in "ethnic cleansing" along Syria's Turkish border by bombing villages that have risen up against Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

Ethnic cleansing? Those would be Syrian villages and Russia is trying to save Syria. The accusation makes no sense.

But as often happens with scandal stories, denials get buried under the sheer weight of new accusations, and the conspiracy narrative has become a nightly feature on Russian Television's international news channel.

Cross-border intrigue

As Moscow tells it, Erdogan has several reasons for going easy on ISIS.

One is simply to avoid incurring ISIS terror attacks inside Turkey itself.

Another is that the jihadists are useful to Turkey in taking on its prime enemy, Syria's President Assad — the enemy of my enemy is my friend equation.

Animosity on both sides. Pro-Islamist demonstrators, holding a Syrian opposition flag and a defaced poster of Putin, shout slogans during an anti-Russian protest in Istanbul last month. (Murad Sezer/Reuters)

Moscow has charged that the cross-border smuggling is hugely lucrative for intermediaries and that some of those payoffs flow into the pockets of Erdogan and members of his family.

The kicker allegation from the Kremlin was that the SU-24 was shot down as it very briefly entered Turkish air space as a warning to other Russian planes to stop snooping on and interfering with these contraband routes.

Obviously these allegations, if ever proven, would badly rattle NATO and the anti-ISIS alliance.

Turkey is supposedly a key block in the anti-ISIS coalition, so evidence of such dealings would be a serious blow to unity, to put it mildly.

But while the U.S. and European allies have denounced Russia's charges, the cries of "outrageous" are not as firm as Ankara may have expected.

That's because NATO leaders are in a hyper-awkward position at the moment, precisely because they have their own questions — bordering on doubts — about Erdogan's commitment to fight ISIS.

For years they've been frustrated by the ease with which thousands of ISIS recruits, including Canadians, passed through Turkey on their way to jihad in Syria or Iraq.

It was only late this past summer, after all, that Turkey formally joined the coalition, as it was facing Washington's complaints that it had to "do more" to combat the common enemy.

Since then Turkey has moved 20,000 troops to the border area and is building more security fencing.

Yet there remains a puzzling 98-kilometre gap in the security line that President Barack Obama was still complaining to Erdogan about as recently as this month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially dismissed the notion of economic retaliation over the downed plane as "emotional" and "unfitting of politicians." He later accused Russia of attempting "ethnic cleansing" with its Syrian bombing. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

One has to wonder why Turkey with a proficient land army of some 400,000 can spare only 20,000 soldiers to clamp down on the obviously critical supply lines for ISIS that have been in operation for years.

And it is not just Russia raising these questions. International media, including the Financial Times, have been running stories tracing just how ISIS refines oil then sells it to freelance traders, some of whom smuggle it into Turkey for resale on the black market.

Similar reports record how ISIS and other armed units smuggle in weapons and fighters across the same border areas.

Sowing suspicion

Military analysts concede Turkey has moved to block some illicit traffic this year, and that along with allied air strikes on refiners and tankers this has reduced ISIS oil sales by almost half.

Still, a substantial $30 million is raised by ISIS every month, according to U.S. estimates.

There are other dark edges to this story. Erdogan's increasingly iron-fisted government has raised the suspicion level by its suppression of Turkish media reporting on the smuggling.

Earlier this year, for example, two editors were jailed and charged with espionage after their expose apparently caught state security officials sending arms to jihadists, hidden within food lorries.

Certainly Putin is scarcely a natural source for lectures on government corruption and media transparency, but he gets international attention by cheekily daring Erdogan to let domestic and foreign media inspect Turkey's ports and border zones believed to be part of the contraband trail.

Turkey's allies, whatever their suspicions, really have little choice but to show Erdogan measured goodwill.

NATO needs Turkey's air bases to strike at ISIS, while the European Union has just set up a $3.5-billion fund to help Turkey's generally praised handling of Syrian refugees.

Wonder if any of that will end up in Erdogan's Swiss bank account?

Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation speech to warn Turkey the Kremlin planned to adopt further sanctions against it for shooting down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border. (Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik/Reuters)

What's more, it is widely assumed Russia's high dudgeon has less to do with the downed bomber than with Moscow's unease over Turkey's growing geo-political ambitions in the Middle East, which conflict with Putin's own high-stakes gamble in backing Syria's Assad.

Putin clearly feels his expose rhetoric works to undercut his foes and the baser the charges the better.

In this case, the timing is particularly awkward given the ongoing diplomatic efforts to get a Syrian ceasefire established.

There's no sign yet however that Putin is ready to let up on this slanging war that has infuriated Turkey and thrown another curve at its Western partners.

One of this country's most experienced journalists and foreign correspondents, Brian Stewart is currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Munk School for Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He also sits on the advisory board of Human Rights Watch Canada. In almost four decades of reporting, he has covered many of the world's conflicts and reported from 10 war zones, from El Salvador to Beirut and Afghanistan.