The US accused the Iranian government of sheltering members of Al Qaeda.
In its annual terrorism report issued on Wednesday, the US State Department said Iran remained unwilling to convict Al Qaeda members living in the country and refused to publicly identify members in its custody.
Without revealing names of the members allegedly hosted by Iran, the report said the government in Tehran “has allowed [Al Qaeda] facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling [the group] to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria".
The report labelled Iran as the worst state sponsor of terrorism for its support of “Hezbollah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza and various terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and throughout the Middle East” and deploying the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force throughout the region.
Speaking from the State Department, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the Trump administration for taking steps in the past year that, he said, his predecessors avoided. He said this included designating the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organisation and the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
Moving on to another extremist group, the report said that despite the fall of the physical caliphate, ISIS had grown in Africa and Afghanistan. “ISIS formally recognised a number of new branches and networks in 2019 and ISIS-affiliated groups were active across the continent, including in the Sahel, the Lake Chad region and East Africa,” it said.
US counterterrorism co-ordinator Nathan Sales said the group was a global network. “It has evolved from an entity that purported to control territory to a global network that reaches almost every continent," he said.
In Afghanistan, the report pointed to continued attacks by ISIS against civilians and especially religious minorities.
The report mentioned challenges that Iraqi security forces faced in fighting ISIS and said terrorist fighters continued to come through from Turkey.
“Turkey is a source and transit country for FTFs [foreign terrorist fighters] seeking to join ISIS and other terrorist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq,” the report said. However, it said that since 2011, Turkey had repatriated more than 7,800 FTFs from more than 100 countries.
In Lebanon, the report references Israeli information on Hezbollah’s “efforts to produce precision-guided missiles [PGMs] within Lebanon". It said the group “continued its military role in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, in collaboration with the Iranian regime".
The State Department also noted an improved ability for Lebanese armed forces to control the land border. “The LAF improved its ability to control Lebanon’s land border with Syria through the Land Border Security Project funded by the United States, the UK and Canada.”
Some other strides have been made against global terrorism in the past year.
Despite continued attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mr Sales said he was hopeful about the US negotiations with its leaders.
He expected the group to make "a clean break" from terrorist groups, as required by the deal.
Similarly, Sudan came in for praise in the report. “Sudan has taken steps to work with the United States on counter-terrorism," it said.
"The Sudanese government continued to pursue counter-terrorism operations alongside regional partners, including operations to counter threats to US interests and personnel in Sudan."
Sudanese dictator Omar Al Bashir was removed from power in 2019 and the country is now taking steps to be removed from the US state sponsors of terrorism list. However, the report gave a warning that “despite the absence of high-profile terrorist attacks, ISIS facilitation networks appear to be active within Sudan".
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
Andor
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More coverage from the Future Forum
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Mobile phone packages comparison
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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