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Written by Neha Banka, Edited by Explained Desk | Kolkata | Updated: May 14, 2020 8:41:40 pm Islamist militant groups in the Sahel and West Africa are also known to target schools, forcing the institutions to close. (Source: Wikipedia)

Africas Sahel, a region running across the breadth of the continent, between the Sahara in the north and the Sudanian Savanna in the south, has become the latest battleground in the ongoing war between the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Just like the other conflicts that the two terrorist groups have been engaged in over the past few years, this latest battle is also for more influence, access to resources and potential recruits.

The tussle between IS and al-Qaeda is not just a battle for influence, resources and recruits in the context of the Jihadist movement in various parts of the world. The two terrorist groups are ideologically different and they also have differing perceptions of whom they see as their enemies and their operational tactics.

The ideology of al-Qaeda is to overthrow and replace what it considered corrupt regimes in the Middle East who have engaged in apostasy, straying away from al-Qaedas interpretation of Islam. The al-Qaeda wants to replace these existing governments with those who conform to the groups beliefs. The groups operations are founded in eradicating the presence and influence of the United States in the region, a country that it considers to be the cause of instability and continued conflict in the Middle East, because of the diplomatic, military and economic operations that the US has engaged in, in the Middle East.

In contrast, the IS focuses on domestic enemies, a long list that includes religious minorities as well as competing jihadi groups. This list includes the Iraqi Shias, Hezbollah, the Yazidis in Iraqi-Kurdistan, Kurds elsewhere in Iraq and Syria, and other jihadi groups it considers to be its rivals. The Islamic State hopes to build just what its name suggests a state with a government where Muslims can live under the ISs interpretation of the religion and law.

While the al-Qaedas operations and tactics have been more to shock the world with its terrorist activities, the IS which developed as a result of the civil wars in Syria and Iraq use terrorism to force civillians and territories into submission by using tactics such as rape, violence against women, public beheadings, kidnappings, torture, mass executions and destruction of private, public and heritage property. To achieve its goals, the IS uses tactics that it picked up through operations during the civil wars, and uses heavy artillery, large ground forces to invade and occupy new territory.

On May 7, in its weekly newspaper al-Naba, the IS accused al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in the Sahel of initiating conflict and mobilising large forces to attack IS positions in the West African countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, according to a BBC report.

Months earlier, reports began circulating claiming that IS and al-Qaeda had started cooperating with each other in the Sahel. The statement in al-Naba sought to dispel those rumours by criticising attacks on IS forces by al-Qaeda militants. IS claimed the JNIM had been increasing its forces on the ground to target the opposing terrorist group and was blocking fuel supplies from reaching IS in the region. Already facing an onslaught by the militaries of various African nations, along with French soldiers, the IS said the JNIM had been using the opportunity to target its opponents.

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However, regarding the statement published in al-Naba, Katherine Zimmerman, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think-tank, which focuses on global Salafi and Jihadi movements and counterterrorism, said: It does not necessarily contradict the previous assessments that the two groups had been coordinating in the Sahel and data still supports that assessment. Actions speak louder than words, so the absence of media discussing their operations is not proof it wasnt happening.

New territory for more recruits, influence and access to resources is not the only reason the African Sahel has become the latest battleground. Research on the operations of terrorist groups shows illegal armed groups intentionally seek out countries where there are high rates of poverty, corruption and religious and ethnic conflict. They also look for governments that are unable to curb the development and growth of illegal armed groups, such as these two terrorist organisations. Countries in the African Sahel have been battling their own challenges with high rates of poverty, corruption and ethnic conflict, making them vulnerable hunting grounds for groups like the IS and al-Qaeda.

This January, France president Emmanuel Macron met with leaders from the Sahel countries to discuss operations against the growing threat of Islamist miltants in West Africa. Despite the presence of troops from the Sahel nations as well as France, violence by Islamist militants against civilians and armies deployed in region have only increased. According to a BBC report, 2019 recorded the highest annual death toll due to armed conflict in the region in eight years. But the presence of Islamist militants have been recorded in the West African region for at least a decade. There are also concerns that the armed conflict and the influence of Islamist militant groups could spread to other parts of the continent if left uncontrolled.

The main armed groups in the Sahel are the Jamaa Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, the Islamic State Group in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), the Ansarul Islam, a militant Islamist group based in Burkina Faso and Mali, along with other armed groups with various political affiliations.

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The presence of these militant Islamist groups have exacerbated the situation for civillians in the Sahel who had already been dealing with growing ethnic conflict and the chain reaction of climate change that has been hitting the pastoral communities the hardest. The conflict has also caused mass displacement of people and observers believe that the situation may only deteriorate in the coming years. In 2019 alone, the United Nations said that 5,60,000 people had been displaced in Burkina Faso, followed by approximately 2,00,000 in Mali and 1,86,000 in Niger.

Islamist militant groups in the Sahel and West Africa are also known to target schools, forcing the institutions to close. Many affected children are then used by these militant groups who engage them in forced labour, sexual exploitation and force them into joining these armed militant groups as child soldiers.

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Explained: Why IS and al-Qaeda are battling for control in Africas Sahel - The Indian Express

Berkeley Lab staff (from left) David Richardson, Rosanne Boudreau, and James Singzon are making it possible for scientists to conduct research related to COVID-19. (Credit: Berkeley Lab)

David Richardsons job is literally to make sure the light stays on. But its not just any light its a very special X-ray light that could play a crucial role in an eventual treatment for COVID-19.

Richardson is an operator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys synchrotron light source facility, the Advanced Light Source (ALS), and is one of a handful of workers providing essential services to scientists working on COVID-19-related research. Scientists have always relied on these staff members the technicians, computing specialists, facilities managers, and others who make research possible but their work has taken on a new sense of urgency these days. And as the Bay Area continues to shelter in place, these workers are among the few who are even allowed onto the Berkeley Lab site.

With COVID-19, there is an awareness that work done at the ALS in the coming weeks may save thousands and thousands of lives in the immediate future, Richardson said.When treatments, a vaccine, or a cure for this disease are found, theres a very good chance that the light sources of the world will have contributed to that victory. This adds a new dimension of meaning to the work we do at ALS.

Berkeley Lab, a multidisciplinary national lab under the Department of Energy (DOE), has not only launched a number of its own research efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also set aside dedicated time at its science facilities for researchers from other institutions to use. Those facilities include the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), for testing manufacturing of bioproducts; the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a supercomputing center; the Molecular Foundry, for nanoscale science; and the ALS. (None of the facilities is working with live virus.)

David Richardson is an operator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys synchrotron light source facility, the Advanced Light Source (ALS). (Courtesy David Richardson)

The ALS is a synchrotron facility operated by Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. It normally gets about 2,000 scientific users a year from around the world, whose experiments are awarded beam time if they pass a peer-review proposal process. The ALS uses a particle accelerator to produce extremely bright beams of infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray light that allow researchers to examine matter such as proteins at the molecular and atomic level.

Normally, the ALS would be performing 40 simultaneous experiments spanning fields from physics and chemistry to materials science and biology. Now, only a handful of biology experiments are being performed on behalf of academic researchers as well as scientists from a number of pharmaceutical companies. (Read this article for more information.)

Richardsons job is to make sure those researchers have access to the beams of light they need. Theres a lot of work that goes into making sure the beam stays stable and reliable, he said. There are many control systems and feedback loops involved. One thing were doing in the control room is responding to any alarms that go off and adjusting to any irregularities that arise. In case the beam is lost, which happens about once every 40 hours, we have to find the fault, correct it, and return the beam to our experimenters.

The ALS typically operates 24/7 with two or three operators per shift, but to comply with shelter-in-place orders, the ALS is providing light only a few days a week with just one operator and one electronics technologist per shift. We have a lot of shared keyboards and mice, so after each shift we carefully disinfect those with alcohol, Richardson said, then added, Its an honor to be part of this global effort!

Rosanne Boudreau is the safety coordinator for Berkeley Labs Biosciences Area. (Courtesy Rosanne Boudreau)

Rosanne Boudreaus job, as the safety coordinator for Berkeley Labs Biosciences Area at its satellite site in Emeryville, California, is to make sure all experiments and research are conducted safely. Before any experiment starts, she will look at all the possible hazards and help implement any controls that should be put into place to mitigate those hazards.

Since the coronavirus pandemic started, as scientists undertake new projects related to COVID-19, she has also worried about how to make sure they can maintain six feet of distance apart from each other while doing their work. Some measures that she has implemented for keeping researchers and staff safe in light of social distancing guidelines involveadjusting work schedules, re-arranging work benches, and hanging knock before entering signs. She provides support and oversight for areas such as chemical management and the appropriate handling of biological samples at the facility, which is rated biosafety level 2.

Its my job to worry, she said. But if it keeps everyone safe and working productively then Im happy to be the office worry wart.

Boudreau and the site operations team continue to work to address safety in light of emerginginformation about virus transmission.

James Singzon is a site reliability engineer at NERSC, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. (Courtesy James Singzon)

For James Singzon, a site reliability engineer at NERSC, remote users and light staffing are old hat. Singzon works night and weekend shifts at Berkeley Labs renowned computing center, where he keeps the machines running smoothly so that scientists from across the globe can process their complex data. Before the shelter-in-place began, Singzon was either solo or one of two people on-site during his shifts, but he looked forward to the camaraderie of catching up with the group of morning shift workers when they arrived to take over.

I miss the cheery hellos and smiling faces as they checked in with me, he said, explaining that the staffing schedule was modified so that only one person comes on-site per shift, and the rest of the team work remotely. With minimal staffing on-site, I no longer have that opportunity to interact in person, however, my group has implemented what we call the otg-kitchen, [for operations technology group] where staff can talk on Zoom as I prepare to leave in the morning.

NERSC, which has remained fully operational from the early days of the shelter-in-place through the present thanks to its existing remote operating features, is now participating in the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium a public-private agreement among federal government, industry, and academic teams to volunteer free computing time and resources on their world-class machines. NERSC has initially set aside up to 1.25 million node hours on its Cori supercomputer capable of performing nearly 30 quadrillion calculations per second in support of COVID-19-related research.

According to Singzon, keeping advanced machinery like Cori operating at peak capacity for its 7,000-plus international users has always been a 24/7 job, and one he is proud to do. Yet the task has taken on even more meaning in the face of the current crisis.

I have a little sister who is a nurse in Pennsylvania, a half-sister who is a doctor administering COVID-19 tests in San Francisco, and my father is an ER doctor at Mercy Medical Center Merced, he said. I am beyond proud of people in the trenches helping those who are sick with this disease and the researchers who are searching to find a vaccine or a cure; to support them by ensuring NERSC computational resources are available is an honor and allows my work to be a small part of the solution.

NERSC and the ALS are DOE Office of Science user facilities.

# # #

Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Labs facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory,managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science.

DOEs Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

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Masks On, Ready to Work: Meet the People Supporting COVID-19 Science - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

PHOENIX - Gov. Doug Ducey is telling business owners that their ability to remain open and the future of the Arizona economy is going to depend on how well they follow the voluntary protocols designed to prevent another outbreak of COVID-19.

During more than a one-hour conference call Thursday, the governor told those on the line about their role in keeping people safe.

"We all know how important that is to rebuild consumer confidence,'' he said.

"I know what you're doing is what's going to bring our economy back,'' the governor said. "I think you have a patriotic duty to open up safely and successfully.''

But the governor said he needs more.

"I'm also asking for your help inside your industry to hold yourselves accountable and your customers accountable, as well as your peers in the industry, that positive peer pressure,'' Ducey told them.

He said it's natural to want to compete for business.

"But we need to be responsible on this,'' the governor said.

Ducey is allowing his stay-at-home order to self-destruct at midnight Friday night. He also has expanded the kinds of businesses that can open to include restaurants, bars, beauty salons, fitness centers and movies. (See related story)

The governor said making that work, though, is linked to maintaining "social distancing'' to prevent the virus from spreading any further. And that, he said, depends on businesses complying with what are protocols and recommendations to make that happen.

"You are going to determine the success of this economy,'' he said, and to rebuilding consumer confidence.

What that self-policing also means, the governor said, is avoiding bad publicity that can undermine the desire of Arizonans to go out.

"Our press is interested in zeroing in on outliers,'' he said. "And that seems all they are interested in, not the good work that everyone who's on this call is doing.''

That theme was repeated as the governor addressed allowing the pools at hotels and resorts to reopen.

"There's a lot of people in Arizona who need a 'staycation,' '' the governor said.

"Please make sure there is good behavior, that people are safe, and that there's good optics so we don't give the media the story they're looking for,'' Ducey said. "Let the story be Arizona's success and safety and good common sense, just like it's been for the last nine weeks.''

The plea was personal.

"I'm counting on the folks on the line here,'' the governor said.

"Help us with your peers in the industry,'' he said. "We don't need any outliers or bad actors.''

While Ducey used the call to promote the things he already has done, he also had to tell some that the relief they are looking for is not yet available.

Ronen Aviram, general manager of the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, said much of the tourism business relies on hosting conferences and meetings. But at the moment the guidance the state is providing prevents gatherings of more than 10.

Ducey told him there's nothing he can do right now because that guidance, which comes from the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on where Arizona is in controlling the virus.

"These phases can go as quickly as 14 days at a time,'' the governor said.

Only when there are more positive signs about the spread of the virus can the state ease the rules a bit more. And Ducey said he can't make any commitment right now when Arizona will get there.

"I really want to be in a position where I'm under-promising and over-delivering,'' the governor said, promising to send him a copy of the criteria.

"I think you'll see where we are right now and where we could be in two or four weeks,'' Ducey said.

"I know that might not be the answer that you're looking for,'' he continued. "We're not there today.''

In response to another question, the governor said any criticism aimed at him because churches and other houses of worship are closed is misdirected.

"The governor doesn't have the authority to shut down churches,'' Ducey said.

"The churches never closed by the hand of the state,'' he said, saying those decisions were made by `our pastors and our priests and our rabbis."

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Ducey: Businesses have a ' a patriotic duty to open safely and successfully' - Verde Independent

We are still in the early chapters of the Covid-19 story and its too soon to judge the full impact of the pandemic. But one can tentatively discern six negative trends for Europe. These had all emerged before the virus struck but are now accelerating. In various ways they are all likely to help the cause of anti-EU populists: greater economic autarky, stronger borders and more hostility to green policies.

Covid-19 has given extra ammunition to those arguing for greater national or European self-sufficiency. Long before it arrived, there was talk of deglobalisation and reshoring of supply chains. This stemmed in part from politics: Donald Trumps protectionist policies threatened international supply chains, as did the UKs pursuit of a hard Brexit.

Economics is also important: wage differentials between emerging economies such as China and rich countries are narrowing, reducing the advantages of off-shoring production.

Now concerns about the security of the supply of drugs, medical equipment and even key components for the car industry, alongside greater suspicion of Chinese companies, have boosted the case for more national or European autonomy of supply chains.

National capitals are gaining more clout vis-a-vis the EUs institutions. For decades these institutions have been losing ground to the member states, which resent the powers that Brussels has accumulated.

The key capitals assert their authority in hard times. They did it a decade ago during the financial and eurozone crises, when they had to provide the bailout money.

Now they have done so again. The European commission has struggled to keep the 27 together and to coordinate their responses to Covid-19 not only because most of the key powers on health, fiscal policy and frontiers reside at national level, but also because many people look to national leaders to navigate the difficulties.

The EU has been strengthening the Schengen zones external border since 2015, when numbers of people seeking refuge in Europe first surged in significant numbers. Some governments also introduced checks on borders within the Schengen area.

The health emergency has increased suspicion of foreigners and in March the EUs Schengen-area countries closed their external border to non-essential travellers. More obstacles to movement within the Schengen area have also sprouted. At some point governments will have got the virus largely under control, but they will then be very wary of softening the Schengen border. Visitors from parts of the world where the disease may still be rampant will not be welcome. Many politicians will want to make life as difficult as possible for irregular migrants.

The pandemic is likely to strengthen opposition to policies that are designed to moderate the climate crisis and make us live greener lives. Before the virus arrived, populists such as the Sweden Democrats, the AfD in Germany, Nigel Farage in the UK and the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) in France were using hostility to green policies as a means of drumming up support.

Many voters whose standards of living are dropping dramatically will not want to take a further hit to jobs and incomes from measures designed to tackle the climate emergency. Europes leaders insist that their plans for curbing carbon emissions are sacrosanct. But as the recession bites, the pressures on them to moderate their green agenda, including from industry, will strengthen.

For several years an east-west division has left Hungary, Poland and sometimes other central European states at odds with the rest of the EU. They have rowed over the distribution of irregular immigrants, with some eastern countries refusing to take any; targets for reducing carbon emissions, with the easterners tending to depend on coal; and the rule of law, with Poland and Hungary disregarding the independence of the judiciary and media pluralism.

Covid-19 has widened the rift. Central Europeans fear that they will lose money from the EU budget to the southern countries most afflicted by the virus. Meanwhile Hungarys Viktor Orbn has used the pandemic as a justification for introducing rule by decree, exacerbating fears that he is creating a de facto dictatorship.

The virus is widening the north-south fissure which emerged in the eurozone crisis 10 years ago. Germany, the Netherlands and their northern allies were reluctant to give substantial help to the southern countries in difficulty.

Now the coronavirus has struck the EU asymmetrically. The southern countries, particularly Italy and Spain, have suffered more coronavirus deaths than most others, started the crisis with higher levels of debt and depend on industries such as tourism that are badly affected. They want solidarity from the north, ideally in the form of some sort of eurobond: the EU as a whole would borrow money and then disburse grants to the worst-affected countries.

EU leaders have agreed to set up a recovery fund to support the worst-affected regions. But this seems likely to provide more in the way of loans than grants, because the northern governments remain opposed to large-scale transfers to the south although the southerners already have excessive levels of debt.

This stinginess is rooted in northern voters hostility to transfers. But it delights populists such as Matteo Salvini, in Italy, who is skilled at exploiting every perceived slight from the EU. One recent opinion poll found that 49% of Italians wanted to leave the EU.

None of these changes is to be welcomed. If Europe pushes self-sufficiency too far, it will impair the benefits that trade delivers to all continents. Closing frontiers within the Schengen zone or on its borders, once Covid-19 is under control, would achieve very little. And when the EU is faced with transnational challenges such as economic depression, a pandemic or climate change, it needs strong central institutions.

EU leaders should not slacken in their efforts to tackle climate change. The east-west rift is alarming and cannot be resolved by tolerating disrespect for the rule of law. As for the north-south divide, the ECB may be able to do enough to keep Italy and other southern member-states in the eurozone. But the politics of an unresolved rift may turn very nasty, increasing anti-EU sentiment across the bloc and could even trigger a country leaving the EU or the euro.

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How coronavirus is reshaping Europe in dangerous ways - The Guardian

NEW YORK, May 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verizon Communications Inc. (Verizon) (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) today announced that it will redeem the following notes onJune 15, 2020 (the Redemption Date):

The redemption price for the 2.375% Notes will be equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the 2.375% Notes being redeemed, or (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the 2.375% Notes (exclusive of interest accrued to the Redemption Date), as the case may be, discounted to the Redemption Date on an annual basis (ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA))at the Comparable Government Bond Rate (as defined in the 2.375% Notes) plus 20 basis points (the 2.375% Redemption Price), plus accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. The 2.375% Notes Redemption Price will be calculated in accordance with the terms of the 2.375% Notes on the third Business Day (as defined in the 2.375% Notes) preceding the Redemption Date.

The redemption price for the 0.500% Notes will be equal to the greater of (i) 100% of the principal amount of the 0.500% Notes being redeemed, or (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the 0.500% Notes (exclusive of interest accrued to the Redemption Date), as the case may be, discounted to the Redemption Date on an annual basis (ACTUAL/ACTUAL (ICMA))at the Comparable Government Bond Rate (as defined in the 0.500% Notes) plus 15 basis points (the 0.500% Redemption Price), plus accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. The 0.500% Notes Redemption Price will be calculated in accordance with the terms of the 0.500% Notes on the third Business Day (as defined in the 0.500% Notes) preceding the Redemption Date. Annual interest on the 0.500% Notes will be paid on June 2, 2020 to each holder of record on the close of business on May 19, 2020.

Questions relating to the notice of redemption and related materials should be directed to the paying agent: U.S. Bank National Association, c/o Elavon Financial Services DAC, UK Branch, 125 Old Broad Street, Fifth Floor, London, EC2N 1AR, United Kingdom, or via telephone at 1-800-934-6802.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the worlds leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world,Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019.The companyoffers voice, data and video services and solutions on its award winning networks and platforms,deliveringoncustomers demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In this communication we have made forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but only predictions and generally can be identified by use of statements that include phrases such as will, may, should, continue, anticipate, believe, expect, plan, appear, project, estimate, intend, or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals also are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Factors that could materially affect these forward-looking statements can be found in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Eligible holders are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events might or might not occur. We cannot assure you that projected results or events will be achieved.

VERIZONS ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at http://www.verizon.com/about/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit http://www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:Eric WilkensEric.wilkens@verizon.com201.572.9317@ericwilkens

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Verizon to redeem debt securities on June 15, 2020 - GlobeNewswire