7 January 2015 Last updated at 08:37
And newcomers to the smuggling trade are cashing in. Barely a year after starting business, Abu Hamada is the kingpin of the Syrian smuggling network in Egypt. The majority of Syrians attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Egypt to Italy are likely to sign up with one of his web of brokers. From May until October, the period when the weather allowed for smuggling missions, Abu Hamada’s men organised on average two trips a week, each earning him a profit of at least £30,000.
Where does Islamic State get its money? In an interview, terrorism expert Louise Shelley says it operates like a run-of-the-mill crime syndicate in which ideology takes a back seat to money making.
Shelley: At first glance, it is less than you think. To obtain weapons or to train a small group of terrorists is not excessively expensive. Take 9/11 as an example: The costs are estimated at only $500,000. But I think this is the wrong approach for a calculation. The essential question here is: What are the costs of maintaining a terrorist organization? You need tremendous logistics, you need to keep all the fighters motivated, you have to take care of the families of terrorists who are killed, and so on. You need many millions.
South Korean prosecutors charged the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air Lines on Wednesday for delaying a flight following an outburst over the way she was served nuts, in a case that stirred public outrage and ridicule.
Heather Cho, a former executive of the airline and head of in-flight service before she resigned, had demanded the chief steward be removed from the flight at John F. Kennedy airport in New York after another flight attendant in first class served her macadamia nuts in a bag, not on a dish.
The early December incident, which media has dubbed the "nut rage" case, has aggravated public resentment of South Korea's powerful family-run conglomerates, called chaebol, which are seen as dominating the economy and contributing to a widening wealth gap.
Brent crude oil price dips below $50 a barrel
The price of Brent Crude oil has fallen below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2009.
It fell more than a dollar to $49.92 a barrel in early trading on Wednesday before edging back above the $50 mark.
Slowing global growth and increased supply of oil and gas have pushed prices sharply lower in recent weeks.
The price of oil traded in the United States, known as West Texas Intermediate crude, has already breached the $50 threshold.
Many observers expect the price of oil to fall further as North American shale producers continue to supply increasing quantities of oil and gas and Opec resists calls for cuts in production to support prices.
Trading in souls: inside the world of the people smugglers
Abu Hamada, the kingpin of the Syrian smuggling network in Egypt, earns about £30,000 a week but sees nothing wrong in profiting from desperate migrants
Abu Hamada, a 62-year-old civil engineer from the outskirts of Damascus, has not built much for several years, and yet by his own calculations he has earned about £1,500,000 in the past six months. That is because since moving to Egypt after the Syrian civil war started, this Syrian-Palestinian refugee has found a far more lucrative line of work – smuggling.
As the recent discovery of two unmanned “ghost ships” carrying hundreds of migrants to Italy showed, refugees are looking to cross the Mediterranean in ever more desperate ways, amid what the International Organisation for Migration now believes is the world’s largest wave of mass migration [] since the end of the second world war.
And newcomers to the smuggling trade are cashing in. Barely a year after starting business, Abu Hamada is the kingpin of the Syrian smuggling network in Egypt. The majority of Syrians attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Egypt to Italy are likely to sign up with one of his web of brokers. From May until October, the period when the weather allowed for smuggling missions, Abu Hamada’s men organised on average two trips a week, each earning him a profit of at least £30,000.
Syria used chlorine gas on own people, report suggests
A group of investigators recording the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian war have evidence that civilians were targeted with toxic gas. The report was a point of contention between UN Security Council members.
A report made by chemical weapons watchdog the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) revealed Tuesday that the group had determined "with a high degree of confidence" that chlorine gas was used to attack three rebel-held Syrian villages last year.
The investigators relayed witness reports of falling barrel bombs which released the toxic chemicals, affecting between 350 and 500 people and killing 13. Chlorine gas is not listed as a chemical weapon, and is used for industrial purposes around the world. It can, however, be used as a weapon to induce respiratory irritation.
One village investigated for the OPCW report, Kafr Zita in the north of the country, was said to have been targeted by hundreds of attacks with conventional weapons and hit with toxic chemicals 17 times between April and August 2014.
Terror Expert Louise Shelley: 'Islamic State Is a Diversified Criminal Operation'
Interview Conducted by Markus Dettmer and Jörg SchindlerWhere does Islamic State get its money? In an interview, terrorism expert Louise Shelley says it operates like a run-of-the-mill crime syndicate in which ideology takes a back seat to money making.
SPIEGEL: Professor Shelley, leaving aside the victims for a moment, what does a terrorist attack actually cost the terrorists?
Korean Air chairman's daughter charged over nut case outburst
South Korean prosecutors charged the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air Lines on Wednesday for delaying a flight following an outburst over the way she was served nuts, in a case that stirred public outrage and ridicule.
Heather Cho, a former executive of the airline and head of in-flight service before she resigned, had demanded the chief steward be removed from the flight at John F. Kennedy airport in New York after another flight attendant in first class served her macadamia nuts in a bag, not on a dish.
The early December incident, which media has dubbed the "nut rage" case, has aggravated public resentment of South Korea's powerful family-run conglomerates, called chaebol, which are seen as dominating the economy and contributing to a widening wealth gap.
North Korean defector: 'Bureau 121' hackers operating in China
On the streets of the neon-lit Chinese city of Shenyang, you'll find a restaurant, hotel, and other businesses owned and operated by the North Korean government.
You'll also find a secret network of North Korean hackers, known as Bureau 121, according to defector Kim Heung-Kwang.
"It's easy for them to work secretly. It also has great Internet infrastructure," says Kim Heung-kwang, a former Pyongyang computer science professor who escaped North Korea in 2004.
No comments:
Post a Comment