The return of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bloodily shaping the country's history has not come overnight, on the eve of the house arrest imposed by the Houthis on current President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi before they allowed him to flee to Aden -- the capital of South Yemen before reunification. Ali Abdullah Saleh, since he agreed to step down three years ago, has been planning to return to power either on the Houthi bandwagon or through elements in the military establishment, not to mention deploying his huge influence and financial assets to buy loyalty and empower his party, family, and son to retake power at any cost. Another man in the Arab region preparing behind the scenes and plotting in secret to return to his devastating role in Iraq's history is former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The common denominator between Yemen's strongman and Iraq's strongman is that they both left power as a result of regional and international pressures and bargains in which the United States and the GCC countries, as well as Iran, played important roles. The difference is that the Iraqi event attested that Tehran had to sacrifice Nouri al-Maliki in what appeared as signs of strategic accords between Iran and key Gulf powers, especially Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States. By contrast, the event in Yemen is a clear indication of the absence of accords and reconciliatory strategies. The Iranian role backing the Houthis in Yemen emerged in parallel with the Iraqi event, in tandem with the determination of Ali Abdullah Saleh to enter into an alliance with the Houthis and Iran to settle scores with Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, which had helped remove him from power. The two men have an ugly agenda for Iraq and Yemen. If the Gulf leaders are serious and vigilant, they must develop a comprehensive strategy for both Iraq and Yemen, two majorly important countries for the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf. Otherwise, the GCC countries will pay a heavy price, and not just Iraq and Yemen.

This week, a UN Security council expert team said in a report that Ali Abdullah Saleh had amassed close to $60 billion in 30 years as Yemen's president, through corruption, embezzlement, and commissions imposed on oil companies. According to the experts, he has stashed away these funds across 20 countries using other figures and companies as fronts.

The experts who report to the UN Yemen sanctions panel told the Security Council that Saleh facilitated it for the Houthis and Al-Qaeda to expand their control in northern and southern Yemen, and that he continues to run a broad network of financial, security, military, and political interests in Yemen that allowed him effectively to avoid the effects of the sanctions imposed on him under UN Security Council resolution 2140. The panel's report said, "It is also alleged that Ali Abdullah Saleh, his friends, his family and his associates stole money from the fuel subsidy program, which uses up to 10 per cent of Yemen's gross domestic product, as well as other ventures involving abuse of power, extortion and embezzlement." "The result of these illegal activities for private gain is estimated to have amounted to nearly $2 billion a year over the last three decades," it adds.

These funds were instrumental in changing the partisan loyalties to the extent of forming "unexpected alliances between former enemies, such as the Houthis and former President Saleh; the weakening of dominant political parties like the Islah party; the departure of leading political and influential figures like Hamid al-Ahmar and Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar from Yemen; an increase in Al-Qaeda activities in the south and Hadramaut; and an increased call for separation by the south," the report argues.

So how did a panel of experts with a specific mission manage to understand the equations and developments in Yemen, while Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia were not able to ascertain and prepare for what was obvious in Yemen?

The question is important to identify whether the flaw is fundamental, or whether it was an exception, and as it is being said related to the health of the late King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and the transition in the kingdom.

Either way, what happened is extremely dangerous, not only for Yemen, but also for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. However, if the events in Yemen are the result of a deliberate policy based on mutual attrition, then this is an unwise policy similar to the unwise policy on Syria. Its risks would be twofold for Yemen and the Gulf region, led by Saudi Arabia.

Indeed, mutual attrition or destruction has failed in Syria, and has helped destroy the present, future, and even past of Syria -- if we consider the archaeological and cultural heritage of the country now in ruins -- at the hands of the regime and the terrorists like ISIS and al-Nusra, with local, regional, and international enablement that no one is innocent of. Attrition is a foolish policy because it helped terrorism grow, and created an opportunity for ISIS to proliferate until it drew attention away from what is happening in Syria.

If an international team was able to obtain detailed information and produce a logical and realistic analysis of the Yemeni situation, while the Gulf countries -- as it is claimed -- were taken by surprise by the events in Yemen and are still unable to develop a strategy to deal with them, then this is a frightening testimony of the utter lack of intelligence and analysis capabilities in the Gulf region.

The international report to the UN Security Council stated that according to a confidential source, Al-Qaeda is taking advantage of such sensitivities and is recruiting Sunni tribesmen to fight on its side against the Houthis. The report also states, "The geographical proximity of Eritrea to Yemen lends itself to licit and illicit activities, and several trusted interlocutors mentioned confidentially the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) training of Houthi forces on a small island off the Eritrean coast."

According to the same report as well, there is a close relationship between Ali Abdullah Saleh, his family and Al-Qaeda. The report quotes sources as saying that Mohammad Nasser Ahmed, the former Minister of Defence, saw Al-Qaeda leader Sami Dayan in then President Saleh's office with the President, in 2012. This is in addition to the quasi-alliance between Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis.

That's right. The paragraph may need to be read two or three times to comprehend the strange alliances in Yemen today, with a central role played by a former president who wants to return to power. He is completely disregarding the sanctions imposed on him under a UN Security Council resolution, moving ahead with a clear strategy and goals, with a calculated cost.

If the Gulf countries have a deliberate strategy to address the agendas of Saleh, the Houthis, and Al-Qaeda -- the three are enemies and not allies -- then this strategy requires elucidation. The GCC countries appear today in a state of loss, denial, and dithering. This carries a bad message on multiple levels.

Today, Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, and tomorrow Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq: They both intend to return to power. Both have partners or allies in Iran. In Yemen, there is a transitional alliance between the Revolutionary Guard in Iran, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Al-Qaeda for transient mutual interests, and a structural alliance between Tehran and the Houthis. The Houthis can claim to be the party that defeated a major regional power like Saudi Arabia, and that it can threaten it at its border. The Houthis are the group that toppled a legitimate government and put Yemen on the road to secession and fragmentation. Yet this is not the sin of the Houthis alone, because the Gulf and US absence and failure in Yemen contributed greatly in stoking its internal tragedies and exacerbating geopolitical risks beyond its borders.

US and Gulf policies are faltering in both Yemen and Iraq. Iranian policies in Iraq and Yemen will either produce strategic advantages with huge benefits for the regime in Tehran, or could implicate Iran in one quagmire after the other, from Yemen to Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

The pace of the coming shifts in the balance of achievements vs. implication will be dictated to some degree by the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China).

No one knows accurately if these negotiations are on the brink of collapse or are on the eve of making history. If they produce an agreement, this would be the first time both the West and the East agree to give a non-nuclear state the right to possess military nuclear capabilities in return for postponing the manufacturing date of said capabilities. In turn, this will give Iran the euphoria of belonging to the nuclear club, which will increase its confidence in fulfilling its regional ambitions most likely, However, there is a small possibility that reining in the regional ambitions would be part of the nuclear accords.

However, if the nuclear deal fails, the United States will lay a trap after trap to implicate Iran in regional quagmires, to create Iran's own version of Vietnam in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

The region is entering a critical phase soon, during which men addicted to power are aligning with tribes taking advantage of alliance in the absence of strategies.

Translated from Arabic by Karim Traboulsi
RaghidaDergham.Com

Pope Francis' finance czar is coming under intense scrutiny after ruffling feathers at the Vatican as he seeks to impose order on its unruly finances.

Italian weekly L'Espresso reported in its Friday editions that Cardinal George Pell's economy secretariat had run up a half-million euros (dollars) in expenses in the first six months of its existence. The total includes seemingly legitimate expenses, including computers and printers, but also a 2,508 euro bill from the famed Gamarelli clergy tailor.

The expenditures are notable given that Pell has instituted a spending review across the Vatican to ensure any excess money is spent on the poor, L'Espresso noted.

Resistance to the Australian Pell from the largely Italian Vatican bureaucracy has been growing steadily but spiked in December after he boasted that he had "discovered" hundreds of millions of euros that had been "tucked away" in sectional accounts off the Vatican balance sheet.

In fact, the money was well-known and was purposefully kept off the books, much of it set aside for use as reserves for funding shortfalls.

The leak of Pell's receipts to L'Espresso — as well as other documents detailing cardinals' complaints about his efforts — was clearly aimed at discrediting him and harked back to the Vatileaks affair that badly tarnished the final year of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's papacy.

In that scandal, which some say prompted Benedict's resignation, the pope's butler leaked reams of papal documents to an Italian journalist that were aimed at discrediting Benedict's No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The documents also laid bare the dysfunctions and political intrigue that afflict the Vatican bureaucracy — problems that were central to Francis' election as pope with a mandate for reform.

The Vatican spokesman declined to comment late Thursday.

Feb 27th 2015, 04:40, by James Dorsey

By James M. Dorsey

An Egyptian Cabinet decision to end the suspension of professional soccer in late March but reinstitute the ban on spectators attending matches could spark renewed clashes between militant fans and security forces. The decision against the backdrop of mounting evidence that Egyptian general-turned-President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has no apparent intention of easing repression implicitly acknowledges the role of fans in continued widespread opposition to his rule.

Professional soccer was suspended in early February after some 20 members of Ultras White Knights (UWK), the militant support group of Al Zamalek SC, were killed in a stampede at a Cairo stadium. The incident was likely the result of supporters seeking to gain access to a match in the absence of available tickets rather than a deliberate and planned assault by security forces. UWK is nevertheless convinced that it was targeted by security forces much like militant supports of Zamalek arch rival Al Ahli were three years ago.

Soccer has been suspended for much of the last four years since mass anti-government protests erupted in 2011 that forced President Hosni Mubarak from office. Spectators have been banned from matches that were played since 74 supporters of Al Ahli were killed in 2012 in a politically loaded brawl in Port Said. The stampede in Cairo was after Port Said, the worst sporting incident in recent Egyptian sporting history.

Militant, highly politicized, street battle-hardened supporters of both clubs played a key role in the demonstrations that removed Mr. Mubarak from power and in protests against all subsequent governments, including that of Mr. Al Sisi. The fans have long called for an end to bans on spectators and have repeatedly clashed with security forces in protest against it.

The renewed ban is as a matter of principle unlikely to go down well with the fans. UWK said earlier that it has no faith in a government investigation of the Cairo stampede or the Egyptian justice system and would prevent matches from being played until justice had been served for its martyrs.

The fans' no-confidence vote came in response to a pledge by Mr. Al Sisi in a televised speech that those responsible for the UWK deaths would be held accountable. Overall, the president appeared to suggest in his address that there would be some easing of brutal repression that has cost the lives of at least 1,400 protesters in the last 20 months and put thousands more behind bars. Speaking a day before the verdict in a trial against prominent bloggers and activists, Mr. Al Sisi said that "I am sure there are many innocent people inside prisons. Soon many of them will be released according to the available permissions."

Mr. Al Sisi's remarks regarding the stampede came in the wake of reports in state-run media that unlike Zamalek, with its confrontational approach to its militant fan base, Al Ahli has succeeded in reducing tensions by engaging with Ultras Ahlawy, the club's hard line support group. The reports appeared to suggest that Mr. Al Sisi might be backing away from earlier tacit support for a war against UWK by Zamalek president Mortada Mansour, a larger than life character and long-standing ally of Messrs. Mubarak and Al Sisi.

Mr. Mortada has prided himself on asking the security forces to intervene to prevent fans from entering the Cairo stadium without tickets, charging that UWK had been paid to confront the security forces. In response to a journalist's question about how fans of his club had died, Mr. Mortada, who asserts that UWK tried to assassinate him, said, "ask the Muslim Brotherhood," the group of Mohammed Morsi, the president toppled by Mr. Al Sisi in a military coup in June 2013 that has since been outlawed as a terrorist organization and that has suffered the brunt of security force brutality in the last 20 months.

Mr. Mansour has charged that UWK tried to assassinate him. His petition that the group be banned as a terrorist organizations has however been rejected by two Egyptian courts who argued that they were not the competent authority.

"There is a major difference between the approach of Ahli and Zamalek. Taher was smart; he knew that it's unnecessary to create any rifts with that section of the supporters as long as the channel of communication operates perfectly," Ahram Online quoted sports journalist Sherif Hassan as saying. Mr. Hassan was referring to Al Ahli president Mahmoud Taher, who in December persuaded Ahlawy ultras to voluntarily leave an empty stadium they had stormed hours before an African Confederation Cup final.

Any hope the fans and other Egyptians may have had that change was at hand was dashed a day later when a court sentenced prominent activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah to five years in prison and 24 others to three years for violating Egypt's draconic anti-protests law. At about the same time, UWK's convictions that it was targeted were reinforced by an audio recording obtained by Al Jazeera that appeared to reveal Egyptian interior minister Mohamed Ismail discussing how the government can crack down on protesters.

In a meeting with senior officers of Egypt's notorious Central Security Force (CSF), Mr. Ibrahim is heard discussing a strategy for dealing with demonstrations, including ways to shoot protesters without turning them into martyrs. He suggested that the CSF using anything ""permitted by law without hesitation from water to machine guns." The meeting was held in advance of a major anti-government protest on November 28 in which at least four protesters were killed.

Potentially deepening animosity between the security forces and fans, Mr. Ibrahim went on to say that no attempt at political change in Egypt would succeed without the support of the military and the police, in his words, "the strongest institutions in the state."

Mr. Ibrahim, who served in the Morsi government, played an important behind-the-scenes role in exploiting widespread criticism of Mr. Morsi and instigating mass protests against his government in late June 2013 that persuaded the military to remove Egypt's first and only democratically elected president from office.

Militant fans were divided in their evaluation of the Morsi government but united in their frustration that the hopes for greater freedoms and social and economic justice after the overthrow of Mr. Mubarak had not been achieved. In the absence of security sector reform, Mr. Ibrahim's remarks are likely to reinforce hostility between his ministry and fans who have proven to be a constant thorn in the government's side.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Wurzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer and a forthcoming book with the same title.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent U.S. blogger, known for his writing against religious fundamentalism, has been hacked to death by unidentified attackers in Bangladesh's capital, police said Friday.

The attack on Avijit Roy, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen, took place late Thursday when he and his wife Rafida Ahmed, who was seriously injured in the attack, were returning from a book fair at Dhaka University. It was not known who was behind the attack, but Roy's family and friends say he was a prominent voice against religious fanatics and received threats in the past. No groups have claimed the responsibility.

The local police chief, Sirajul Islam, told The Associated Press that the assailants used cleavers to attack Roy and his wife, who is also a blogger.

"Several attackers took part in the attack and at least two assailants hit them directly," Islam said, adding that two blood-stained cleavers were found after the attack.

Roy had founded a popular Bengali-language blog — Mukto-mona, or Free Mind — in which articles on scientific reasoning and religious extremism featured prominently.

Anujit Roy, his younger brother, said Roy had returned to the country earlier this month from the U.S. and was planning to return there next month.

Similar attacks have taken place in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 160 million people but ruled by secular laws, in the past. Investigators have said religious fanatics were behind those attacks.

In 2013, another blogger, Ahmed Rajib Haider, who also spoke out against religious fanatics, was killed by unidentified assailants near his home in Dhaka.

And in 2004, Humayun Azad, a prominent writer and a teacher of Dhaka University, was seriously injured in an attack when he was returning from the same book fair, which is an annual event.

Baki Billah, a friend of Roy and a blogger, told Independent TV station that Roy had been threatened earlier by people upset at his writing.

"He was a free thinker. He was a Hindu but he was not only a strong voice against Islamic fanatics but also equally against other religious fanatics," Billah said.

"We are saddened. We don't know what the government will do to find the killers. We want justice," he said.

Your eyes are telling the truth.

Huacachina is no mirage -- it's a tiny town of less than 100 people, located in the middle of the Peruvian desert.

The tourist hotspot is back in the news this week, but people looking to visit the "oasis of America" should be aware, it's running out of water.

As The Huffington Post warned last year:

The tiny town (population: about 100) of Huacachina is centered around a charming oasis, but it's drying up. What's more, local authorities are having a hard time refilling it with water from a nearby spring.

So please, take a look at Huacachina in all its glory, and, if we were you, we'd plan our trip sooner than later.

First, who is an entrepreneur?


Is it someone who runs a business or company? The leader or founder of an organization or start-up?


Yes and no. An entrepreneur is someone who views himself as a variable instead of a constant, someone who is self-motivated and strong-minded instead of indifferent and impressionable, and someone who embraces change instead of closing the door.


It is not the position that counts, it is your mind and action that matter.


But what makes a social entrepreneur more than that is its wide influence. The difference lies in subjects of impact. While entrepreneurs can generally raise the welfare of citizens and benefit stakeholders, social entrepreneurs focus more on a vulnerable and isolated group to help them keep pace with, and even reduce the gap with the civilian society, both on living standards and modern education.


Therefore, it demands a lot -- bravery, creativity, management, money and the most important component: commitment. And that's the most exciting part of the Hult Prize challenge. It is the largest student competition and start-up platform to address the most pressing issues in the world. In partnership with President Bill Clinton and TIME Magazine, the winning team is funded with USD 1 Million to make real changes in the world! It is more than a case competition, in that teams are asked to build an enterprise and implement your solutions. That's the most difficult part, but also the most meaningful.


In September, I applied to be a campus director of "Hult Prize@," the program that gives students the tools to run a Hult Prize competition on their campus. And I swore that my time as the campus director of my school, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, would be one of the most impressive experiences of my life. We managed to get the event organized and promoted, thanks to a community coming together, and all the support from the business school and the societies, professors and friends, without which we would have failed halfway. And thanks to the winning team, to Jonah Oswald, Abdullah Almiqasbi, Jon Pascal Wiemert, Kolja Oswald, Rytis Kumpa, EduCare is one of the most innovative idea I have ever seen, I believe you are the best and capable to make a difference!


But can we call it a success yet? Negative.


It is not enough. Undergraduates here still have vague ideas about social entrepreneurship, and the post-grads refuse to spare so much time. What they prefer is a pleasant experience serving as a supported teacher in a remote village during the winter vacation. They, as well as the rest of us, still lack a clear and profound understanding of entrepreneurship.


In 2015, the 38th year since the policy Open and Reform, more private companies are springing out and modern entrepreneurs are emerging. Not only in terms of their wealth, but also their management and philosophy. Entrepreneurs like Jack Ma, Wang Shi (Chairman of Vanke) and Lei Jun (CEO of Xiaomi), are conducting and concluding their own philosophy towards customers, staff, products and the sophisticated relationship with the government. This philosophy, slowly in a subtle way, is transforming the concept of boss to entrepreneur, and transforming the concept of business to enterprise. In the gradual shift from the traditional image of a cunning businessman in blind pursuit of profit, to an entrepreneur shouldering social responsibility, there is still a long way to go.


Without a clear understanding of entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship would lose its ground. People fear the risk of business and disrespect businessman for traditional concept. Nowadays, China has more and more start-ups created by children of the nineties, whose vision is not restricted by money. They have the passion to purse their dreams, and meaning for existence. EduCare is a case in point. Upon the release of this year's Hult Prize challenge "early childhood education in urban slums," EduCare discussed and revised again and again, and even visited similar local neighborhoods to get data. They developed the philosophy that value should be subtracted from things that are commonly considered worthless and decided to provide early childhood education in exchange for recyclable waste instead of money.


"Social enterprise is something new for China, but we are seeing more young people show enthusiasm to give it a try and become social entrepreneurs," said Xu Yongguang, vice-president of Narada Foundation. Although China's new social enterprises still lack investment, and have the problem of small scale and low efficiency, with the help of social media, internet and the party's new policy, it is expected that China's social enterprise will take off in 2015.


This is your time! You can be China's next generation of social entrepreneurs!


This post was produced by The Huffington Post and the Hult Prize Foundation Hult Prize@ program, in which teams of college and university entrepreneurs compete for funding for compelling social business ideas, including a grand prize of US$1,000,000. The posts are written by student campus directors of "Hult Prize@," the program bringing the competition directly to campuses around the world. To learn more about the Hult Prize Foundation and how you can become a campus director, please visit hultprize.org. Read all the posts in the series here.

U.S. officials said on Wednesday they have thwarted the plans of three New Yorkers to join the Islamic State militant group in Syria, once again highlighting the risks posed by the flood of foreign fighters traveling to the Middle East.

The U.S. Justice Department said Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, and Abror Habibov, 30, all residents of Brooklyn, plotted to carry out terror attacks in the U.S. if they weren't able to join the Islamic State group in the Middle East. They join the ranks of some 20 people charged in the U.S. for allegedly planning to fight with militant groups in Syria and Iraq, according to the Associated Press.

Here's what we know about American foreign fighters:

How many Americans have traveled to Syria to fight?

U.S. intelligence officials believe that over 150 American citizens and residents have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria as foreign fighters, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Nick Rasmussen, told a congressional hearing on Feb. 12.

The U.S. government does not disclose how many Americans it believes are currently fighting in Syria, but the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR), a British research group, estimated last month that around 100 Americans have reached the battle zone in Syria and Iraq.

How many Americans are fighting with the Islamic State group?

The U.S. has limited intelligence inside Syria and officials acknowledge that it's hard to keep track of where foreign fighters end up.

According to ICSR director Peter Neumann, about 80 percent of foreign fighters from Western nations join the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Some Americans have also joined al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra, and others have fought with the moderate Free Syrian Army, CBS News reported last year.

Why are they going?

Neumann says that foreign fighters are flocking to Syria for a variety of reasons. He told The WorldPost last year:

Foreign fighters are not a monolithic entity, and not every one of them is like the guys you see in recruitment videos. Young people are going, quite old people are going, even women are going. Their motivations vary as well. At first, a lot of people joined because they were motivated by the plight of the Syrians. They were certainly Islamists, but they were not necessarily full-blown jihadists. Of those who traveled to Iraq and Syria more recently, many are very ideologically motivated. For some, there's also an element of adventure. The idea of fighting and using guns is clearly exciting a lot of people.

Neumann notes that the Islamic State group has a particular draw for foreign fighters because of its ideological appeal and savvy outreach in foreign languages. It is also much less discriminating about who it recruits, he said:

If you come from the West, don't speak Arabic, you're not a particularly good fighter and don't have a particular skill, IS will probably still accept you. Jabhat al-Nusra is a lot more selective, for example. You have to bring references and have to show that you're quite religious and can be useful to the group.

How does the number of American foreign fighters compare to countries around the world?

There are around 20,000 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq from dozens of nations around the world, according to recent assessments by U.S. intelligence officials and the ICSR. "This makes the conflict in Syria and Iraq the largest mobilization of foreigner fighters in Muslim majority countries since 1945," the British research group noted in its Jan. 2015 report.

Most of these foreign fighters come from countries in the Middle East. The ICSR estimates up to 11,000 fighters are from the region, while around 4,000 came from Western Europe. Another 3,000 came from former Soviet Union nations, the group says, including 250 from Kazakhstan and 500 from Uzbekistan -- the countries to which the three American jihadi hopefuls arrested Wednesday also had citizenship.

From the attacks in Australia, France, Denmark and Belgium to the brutal killings by militants of the Islamic State and the racist remarks and hateful demands by far-right groups across the Western world, communities across the globe have seen calls for discord and strife in recent months.

But people around the world have answered those calls for division with remarkable expressions of harmony and solidarity. Protesters and activists from Europe to the Middle East stood up defiantly and launched powerful campaigns urging respect and understanding of one another.

Take a look at six campaigns that moved us.

'HUMANITY IS ONE'

Days after a gunman opened fire near a synagogue in Denmark, more than a thousand Muslims in neighboring Norway formed a human shield around a synagogue in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in a cry of support for the country's Jewish community. "Humanity is one and we are here to demonstrate that," Zeeshan Abdullah, one of the organizers, told the crowd Saturday, according to Reuters.

Responding to the powerful stance by the Muslim community, a different group of Norwegians announced it will undertake a similar protest, this time linking hands to protect a Norwegian mosque. "We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim fellow citizens to show disgust towards increasing Muslim hate and xenophobia in society," the organizers explained, according to a translation of the event's Facebook page.

Tonight Norwegian muslims formed a human shield in front of the Oslo synagogue. Historic. #ringOfPeaceOslo #Norway pic.twitter.com/iCQxJrQSrt
— Oda Leraan Skjetne (@oSkjetne) February 21, 2015

1300 Muslims link hands in a Ring of Peace around Jewish synagogue in Oslo. Best news from Europe all year. pic.twitter.com/CnsrbC3o1c
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) February 21, 2015

BITING SATIRE

As the Islamic State group sought to inspire terror with horrific killings and propaganda videos, satirists and cartoonists across the Arab world have shared their own powerful message. Skewering the extremists with "Daily Show"-style news programs and slapstick cartoons, these comedians are taking a stand by changing the narrative around the group.

"This is one way to reject extremism and make it so the people are not afraid," Nabil Assaf, producer of Lebanon's satirical "Ktir Salbe Show," told the Associated Press.

The Iraqi government is also taking part in the mockery of Islamic State extremists, reports NPR, producing a musical comedy show whose title translates into "State of Myths." The show seeks to highlight the hypocrisy at the heart of the group, and features bizarre gags including the leader of the militant group hatching from a tiny egg.


In this image made from an undated cartoon broadcast on state-run al-Iraqiya TV in Iraq, a cartoon character portrayed as a member or a supporter of the Islamic State group sings a song. (AP Photo/al-Iraqiya)

#NOTINMYNAME

British Muslims launched the #NotInMyName campaign in September 2014 to hit back at the Islamic State group's claim to represent Muslims around the world. The campaign, started by London-based group Active Change Foundation, was praised by U.S. President Barack Obama at his speech at the United Nations General Assembly later that month.

The campaign had its critics, many who argued that it implies Muslims must dissociate themselves from the terror group and took offense at that suggestion. But it took social media by storm, and sparked similar campaigns in France.

Another disgusting threat from the un-Islamic State #NotInMyName. We all call for Alan Henning's prompt release. pic.twitter.com/3H2Rq1ntwE
— Sayed Umaar (@UmaarKazmi) September 18, 2014

British Muslims send a clear message to #IS #ISIS sectarian murderers -- #notinmyname pic.twitter.com/i84K9jDQ1h
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaGeoNews) September 17, 2014

JE SUIS CHARLIE… AHMED... AND MUATH

After two gunmen killed 12 people at the Paris office of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7, 2015, millions of people around the world expressed their support for the victims on social media with the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie (I Am Charlie). When the newspaper's website came back online later that day, it displayed only a black banner emblazoned with the Je Suis Charlie logo, and linked to translations of the message in languages including Arabic and German. The hashtag became one of the most popular in Twitter's history.

As information emerged about victims of the attack, another hashtag was born. #JeSuisAhmed honored Ahmed Merabet, a 42-year-old Muslim police officer shot dead by the gunmen outside Charlie Hebdo's office. "Ahmed Merabet knew better than anyone that radical Islam has nothing to do with Islam and that fanaticism kills Muslims," French President Francois Hollande remarked at Merabet's funeral.

The messages echo the Arabic hashtag كلنا_معاذ# (We Are All Muath) that emerged in solidarity with Muath al-Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian pilot who was held and killed by Islamic State militants. The hashtag started circulating after the pilot was captured in Syria in December 2014. When the group released a video on Feb. 4 that appeared to show al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive, Twitter users around the world expressed outrage with hashtags in Arabic and English, including #IamMuath and #ISIS_are_NOT_Muslims.

HISTORIC MARCH

In the wake of the killings in Paris, a nation reeling from the attacks came together in an enormous display of solidarity. An estimated 1.5 million people marched through the French capital on Jan. 11, holding signs and singing songs in support of freedom of expression and unity.

World leaders also joined in the demonstrations, linking arms and expressing their condolences for those killed. Millions more joined those in Paris in cities across the country, in what was to be France's largest demonstrations in recent history. At the day's end, a staggering total of 3.7 million people were estimated to have taken part in the marches.


Demonstrators wave flags on the monument at the center of Republique Square before the demonstration in Paris, France, on Jan. 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD

People of all walks of life have participated in other protests across the globe to denounce the brutality of Islamic State extremists. The size of the marches has varied from just a few hundred demonstrators to a sea of thousands, but always carried a message of defiance and denunciation.

In Jordan, a crowd of thousands was joined by Queen Rania in a march in early January after the murder of Muath al-Kaseasbeh. More than 20,000 Kurds in Germany demonstrated against the Islamic State group in October of last year, waving flags in a peaceful protest against the extremists. Hundreds

Jordan's Queen Rania holds a picture of slain Jordanian pilot Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh during a march after Friday prayers in Amman, Jordan, on Feb. 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

The United States has a long history with malaria -- a completely preventable and treatable disease carried by the bite of an infected mosquito. A quick history lesson reminds us that this disease -- which disproportionately affects developing communities in Africa and Asia -- was only eliminated from its shores in 1949, thanks to the vigilant work of what would go on to become the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

That's just less than 70 years ago.

Luckily, U.S. commitment to a world free of malaria didn't stop at its borders. The U.S. has been a loyal and effective partner to malaria endemic countries around the world for over a decade, and a principal player in the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership -- the global coordinating mechanism for the response to malaria -- since 1998.

In 2005, when momentum was building around the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to rid the world of disease and poverty, the U.S. took stock of the impact malaria was having on already struggling communities -- particularly in Africa. Under the leadership of then president George W. Bush, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) was created to curb the tide on the nearly 200 million cases of malaria then estimated to affect the African continent each year. Ten years later, I'm proud to say it's done just that.

The U.S. government's devotion to PMI has remained steadfast, and the program has been expanded under President Obama. Today, it serves as one of the best examples of truly bi-partisan commitment to global health and foreign aid.

As budgets have increased and new tools have flooded the market, PMI -- in concert with national governments and local partners -- has scaled-up life-saving interventions in communities across some of the world's highest burden countries. It has also expanded its work from 15 to 19 African countries and added a regional program in Southeast Asia. In total, PMI has helped distribute more than 80 million insecticide-treated nets, more than 65 million rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and more than 185 million antimalarial treatments to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria, respectively.

As a trained medical doctor from Mali, in West Africa, who has worked in a variety of settings across the continent, I have witnessed first-hand the lasting impact these programs have had.

Since 2000, malaria mortality rates have decreased globally by 47 percent and by 54 percent in Africa alone. And since 2001, more than four million malaria-related deaths have been averted globally -- roughly 95 percent of which are children under five in Africa. The large majority of this progress has been made in the past decade.

For the first time, some African nations are on the way to eliminating malaria, and fewer people on the continent are being infected than ever before. This means healthier children, more vibrant economies and stronger, less burdened health systems.

But our success hangs in the balance.

Despite best efforts, malaria continues to cause 198 million cases and 584,000 related deaths around the world each year. The large majority of this burden is felt in sub-Saharan Africa, costing the continent an estimated minimum of U.S. $12 billion in lost productivity each year.

With just months until the MDGs expire and we transition to an increasingly ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one thing is certain: We must protect the fragile gains we've made against malaria so we can continue advancing progress across the broader development agenda and unlocking potential in communities around the world.

This will require continued political and financial commitment to ensure we are harnessing innovations and developing new tools to stay ahead of an evolving parasite that is already showing signs of resistance to top-line antimalarials and insecticides in certain parts of the world.

Malaria has consistently proven to be a highly cost-effective public health intervention, with small investments yielding high returns across the board. PMI's work -- under the leadership of Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer -- is evidence of that.

This week, PMI's new 2015-2020 will be launched at the White House in Washington, D.C. In the face of an evolving parasite and a shifting development landscape, I am confident that this sort of refined focus and re-commitment of resources will help us achieve our next set of goals and carry even more countries along the pathway toward elimination.

The road ahead will not be easy, but with continued leadership and wise global health investments, we can increase our chances of delivering on the ambitious promises we've made to the people of the world. And hopefully we can look back in another 70 years and proudly list off the many African countries that have also made malaria a thing of the past.