Trump takes steps to designate Muslim Brotherhood affiliates as terrorist groups

President Trump on Monday called for the U.S. to weigh labeling some Middle Eastern affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist groups, taking aim at the controversial Islamist movement. In an executive order, the president directed his administration to consider whether to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan or elsewhere as foreign terrorist…

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US designates four European anti-fascist groups as terrorist threats

The US state department has announced that it will designate four European self-described anti-fascist groups as Foreign Terrorist Organisations, as the Trump administration broadens its campaign against what it portrays as an international wave of leftist violence. In a public statement on Thursday, the state department said it would designate Antifa Ost in Germany, the…

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UK removes terrorism designation for Syria’s HTS

The British government on Tuesday removed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group which spearheaded the Syrian rebel alliance that helped oust President Bashar al-Assad, from its list of banned terrorist organisations. HTS, a former al Qaeda affiliate, was proscribed in 2017, meaning that Britain designated it as a terrorist group, making it illegal to support…

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The U.S. is designating Ecuador’s largest gangs as terrorists

The United States will designate two of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs — Los Lobos and Los Choneros — as foreign terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced during a one day visit to the South American country on Thursday. The move allows Washington to freeze assets, target associates and share intelligence with Ecuador for…

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US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria’s HTS

President Donald Trump’s administration has revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, according to a State Department memo filed on Monday, a major step as Washington moves to ease sanctions on Syria. The June 23 dated memo was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and…

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UK to ban campaign group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws

Britain said on Monday it would use anti-terrorism laws to ban the campaign organisation Palestine Action, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group after its activists damaged two UK military planes in protest at London’s support for Israel. The proscription would put the pro-Palestinian group on a par with Hamas, al-Qaeda or…

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Australia fast-tracks machete ban after shopping centre attack

A fight involving machetes at a Melbourne shopping centre has prompted an Australian state to fast-track the country’s first-ever ban on the weapon’s sale. The ban – to start in Victoria this Wednesday, instead of September – comes after two gangs attacked each other at Northland shopping centre in Preston on Sunday afternoon. A man,…

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