RESETTLEMENT OF REFUGEES ALONG DURAND LINE RUNNING INTO TROUBLE – As previously reported, the Taliban’s decision to resettle the mainly Pashtun ethnic groups from Pakistan in Khost Province to other parts of the country is not being received well by the refugees. The refugees claim they spent significant time and resources to build the homes they currently occupy in the Gurbaz District and that moving would unsettle their families and cause extreme economic hardships. Many have told local Afghan journalists that they are ‘never leaving’. Officials in Khost say the plan was formulated to appease Pakistan’s fears over the terror threat from Afghanistan. The locals in the Province see the move as a sign of weakness on the part of Kabul. While no official date for the start of relocating families has been announced, it seems the refugee groups are already organizing and planning to protest the forced displacement.
US SECRETARY OF STATE RECOGNIZES TALIBAN’S EFFORTS FIGHTING ISIS – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, gave a nod to the Taliban for taking the fight against ISIS-K seriously. His comments fell short of praising the Taliban but did recognize the success they have had in 2022-23. Several international news outlets have continued to speculate that the US is somehow providing intelligence to the Taliban in order to reduce the threat of ISIS-K. However, no proof has been provided of such cooperation to date. The US Secretary of State reiterated the US stance of undertaking unilateral action should a valid threat to the US or its interests be identified in Afghanistan.
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR SHIFTS MESSAGING SLIGHTLY – During a visit to Jawzjan Province, Sirajuddin Haqqani seemed to avoid any hint of criticism of the cabal in Kandahar and focused on a message of unity. In his remarks, the Minister stressed that the Taliban regime needed to build trust with the population before inclusivity could be realized. The remarks differ from some earlier statements which were perceived to be critical of the ‘old guard’ fundamentalists. After the speech, the Minister visited the site where Taliban prisoners had been rounded up in 2001 and were said to have been killed by gunfire and/or suffocation by forces said to be loyal to General Rashid Dostum.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTANI ARMY SHOULD BE HEADING BACK TO THE BARRACKS TODAY – After requests by Provincial leaders to recall the Army units after the 9 May riots broke out. Most areas report that calm has returned to the streets and the soldiers are no longer necessary. The most immediate effect will probably be a reduction in the number of search and detention operations in Islamabad. As the police units are forced to resume their pre-riot duties, manpower limitations should reduce the number of those available to focus on the Afghan refugee population.
TROPICAL CYCLONE BIJARPOY CONTINUES TREK NORTHWARDS – Bijarpoy continues to move through the Arabian Sea along a Northeast track. While some models show it could shift to a Northwestern heading and could make landfall in Sindh Province, the majority expect it to lose intensity before reaching Pakistan’s coastline. Regardless, heavy rains and strong winds in Sindh (along the coast) on the evening of 13 June.
Not even a hudna — just a planned breather before picking up another armful of rocks to throw at each other.
[AlAhram] Residents reported a welcome lull in fighting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Saturday after a 24-hour ceasefire between two warring generals took effect, but few believed it would hold.
Fighting has raged in the north African country since mid-April, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), turned on each other.
Multiple truces have been agreed and broken since the conflict flared, and Washington slapped sanctions on both rival generals after the last attempt collapsed at the end of May.
Continued on Page 49
[SUDANTRIBUNE] Lt Gen Shams al-Din Kabbashi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, reaffirmed the unwavering support of Sudan’s military leadership for Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, amidst ongoing challenges in the country.
During his visit to army sites in Khartoum on Friday, Kabbashi highlighted the presence of foreign mercenaries, saying, "We do not fight the RSF elements".
He referred to Chadian fighters from Arab tribes who recently joined the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
He emphasized the commitment of the armed forces to remain unified under the leadership of al-Burhan, who effectively manages the battles alongside the military leadership, as he said.
Kabbashi also called for "disregarding false news and rumours propagated by rebels through the media", adding that there are false reports in the social media that the army leadership decided to dismiss al-Burhan..
He expressed concerns regarding the human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... violations and war crimes committed by paramilitary forces, citing theft, looting, and sabotage of vital facilities and the occupation of civilian homes and hospitals.
Recently, infantry forces from the White Nile and Blue Nile regions have arrived in Khartoum to participate in the ongoing battles. These forces have successfully gained control over several neighbourhoods.
However, women are made to be loved, not understood... the recent fire outbreak in the gas depots in southern Khartoum and the subsequent attack on the munitions factory by the RSF fighters have raised questions among retired officers regarding the strategy employed by al-Burhan to fight the RSF, which heavily relies on the use of the air force and artillery.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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[SUDANTRIBUNE] The Sudanese government formally declared that the UNITAMS Head, Volker Perthes, is no longer welcome in the war-torn country.
"The Republic of Sudan’s government notified the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Secretary-General on Thursday, June 8, 2023, that Mr Volker Perthes, the head of UNITAMS, is considered persona non grata and is no longer welcome from today onward," announced the foreign ministry in Khartoum.
On May 26, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the military-led Sovereign Council, requested to replace Perthes, expressing dissatisfaction with the UNITAMS’s performance. He further attributed this to the style and behaviour of the mission’s chief.
However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... the UN Security Council, on June 2, extended the UNITAMS mandate for six months after a strong pleading by UN chief António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... in favour of his special representative in Sudan.
In response, the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations contested the continuation of Perthes in his position, saying that such a decision violates the UNITAMS agreement between his government and the UN.
UN Perthes cannot be designated persona non grata
[SUDANTRIBUNE] UN personnel cannot be designated as persona non grata, said the international body in response to a decision by the Sudanese government providing that Volker Perthes UNITAMS is unwelcome in the country.
Sudan’s foreign ministry, on June 8, declared Perthes persona non grata after a UN Security Council resolution to renew the UNITMAS for six months, ignoring a previous demand to replace its chief.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the decision against Perthes, Stéphane Dujarric, UN Spokesman, said that the doctrine of the persona non-grate against foreign diplomats does not apply to UN personnel.
"The doctrine of persona non grata is not applicable to or in respect of United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... personnel, and its invocation is contrary to the obligations of States under the Charter of the United Nations, including those concerning the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its personnel".
However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... Dujarric could not confirm if the UNITAMS head would return to Sudan soon.
He added that Perthes is currently in Addis Ababa. There were unconfirmed reports that Perthes would be based in Nairobi to manage the activities of the UN mission in Sudan.
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06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[LIBYAREVIEW] The Media Office of the Lebanese Prime Minister denied any contact between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Libyan counterpart Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba regarding the case of Hannibal Qadaffy.
Hannibal Qadaffy, a son for the Libyan late leader Muammar Qadaffy ...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... , has been imprisoned in Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... since 2015. He has recently announced a hunger strike, a protest against his continued arbitrary detention, since his abduction from Syria in 2015.
"News is being circulated through social media claiming that Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) has contacted PM Mikati regarding the case of Hannibal Qadaffy" Mikati’s Media Office stated.
"Mikati did not receive any contact from any Libyan party, and case of Hannibal Qadaffy is in the hands of the competent judiciary, and any follow-up to this file takes place through the competent judicial ways," the statement added.
"Mikati expresses Lebanon’s keenness on the best relations with the Libyan people," the statement noted.
On Thursday, Libya’s Presidential Council has recently established a committee, headed by Halima Abdel-Rahman, the Minister of Justice, to oversee the case of Hannibal Qadaffy’s imprisonment.
This decision places an emphasis on liaising with Lebanese authorities, to ensure the provision of humane conditions for Qadaffy.
A week ago, Hannibal, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy, declared an open-ended hunger strike, protesting his ongoing imprisonment in Lebanon for the past eight years without trial.
In a statement released by his lawyer, Paul Romanos, Hannibal stated, "in the face of persistent injustice and abuse against me, it is time for me to be released after more than a decade in prison for an arrest and allegations of a crime I did not commit."
He questioned "how, in a country of law and freedoms, such blatant violations of human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... could be ignored. How is it conceivable that a political prisoner is left without a fair trial for all these years? After persistent oppression against me, with no accountability, and deafening silence from those trusted to safeguard human rights, discarding its charter to the wind, I announce my hunger strike and hold all those who perpetuate injustice against me responsible for the consequences."
Hannibal was arrested in Lebanon in 2015. After his father’s death, he reportedly sought refuge in Syria, but was kidnapped there by members of the Lebanese Yacoub family.
The Lebanese judiciary has accused him of "concealing information related to the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his lover companions, Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub, and journalist Abbas Badreddin, who disappeared in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... in 1978, upon their arrival at the invitation of Muammar Qadaffy."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Proof that Muammar appreciated the A Team.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2023 8:26 Comments ||
Top||
[AFRICANEWS] Mali's passenger train service, linking the capital Bamako with the west of the country, resumed commercial operations on Friday (June 9) after a five-year break.
The Governor of Kayes, Colonel Moussa Soumare, overjoyed residents and numerous passengers witnessed the inaugural trip of locomotive CC2207 for SOPAFER-Mali.
Kayes, which is not fromthe border with Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , is a key trading hub.
After a 400-kilometre trip, the train was expected to arrive in Bamako early on Saturday.
The rehbilitation of the line has suffered delays for more than 15 years.
Service on the line was eventually halted in May 2018 due to poor maintenance, adding to transport problems in the country.
The economy and finance ministry said that rehabilitation had cost some $10 million, which would be recouped over the first two years of operation.
The service resumption comes after several test trips on the Malian section of the Dakar-Bamako line. The Bamako-Kayes line is part of a track completed in 1924 under French colonial rule linking Bamako with the Senegalese capital, 1,286 kilometres away.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
I would ride a flea infested donkey before I stepped about a train pulled by Mali’s single locator I’ve that has not driven in five years.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2023 8:24 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I'd expect a Buttigeig event from a train that had no maintenance for 5 years.
[AFRICANEWS] One week after the end of a deadly unrest that shook Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , the country still counts its losses.
Volunteers and staff from Dakar's Cheikh Anta Diop University are trying to salvage what can still be out of some 200,000 university archives.
Youths armed with Molotov cocktail allegedly set ablaze the building.
".... until proven otherwise, [I believe] students came and deemed it necessary to burn down the archives of the Faculty of Letters and Humanities, a despicable result, I'm short of words," emotional Abdourakhmane Kounta, an archivist and documentarist at the Faculty of Arts said.
Cities across Senegal were plunged into chaos after a jail term was handed to opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. His supporters claim he was framed.
The Cheikh Anta Diop University archives included documents spanning from 1957 to 2010. The destroyed files are mainly student registration forms, photos, birth certificates, report cards and theses.
Staff documents among which those belonging to professors and researchers' were also burned.
Student archivists such as Souleymane Diallo are helping sort through burnt archives.
"We are both saddened and devastated. Seeing archives like this burned down means that a part of the history of the university, and in particular the Faculty of Arts, will be missing," he laments.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A senior commander in the so-called "Al-Amaliqa Brigades" loyal to the Saudi-led coalition said on Friday that the security situation has tanked significantly in restive Lahj ... a Yemeni governate located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the stomping grounds on the southern secessionist al-Harak movement province, large parts of which overlook Bab al-Mandab area.
Hamdi Shukri, commander of the First al-Amaliqa Brigades, said in statements reported by local media about the security situation in the Tur al-Baha district that the kaboom that had targeted the headquarters of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the district and the kidnapping of one of the leaders of the security campaign in Lahj represent a serious breach of security in Lahj.
Activists from Lahj revealed that the province is witnessing a fierce race between Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and the UAE to win the loyalty of the tribes. They noted Riyadh’s desire to remove any pro-UAE presence in the coastal areas of Lahj, which borders the Bab al-Mandab Strait
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Political and military leaders loyal to the Saudi-led coalition have smuggled large sums of hard currency out of Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , informed sources reported on Saturday.
The sources stated that the money smuggling operations come against the backdrop of escalating indications of the possibility of an economic collapse that may push the pro-coalition government to declare bankruptcy during the coming period.
Aden recently witnessed a large wave of hard currency smuggling, which was not limited to political and military leaders, but also included the leadership of the Central Bank, which opened accounts in the name of the bank in Emirati banks and transferred huge amounts of money, causing the local currency to deteriorate further, according to the sources.
According to analysts, these developments are a result of the pro-coalition government’s failure to handle the economic file, which has resulted in the deterioration of the economic situation in Aden and the rest of the Yemeni territories under its authority.
Observers expected the official bankruptcy of the pro-coalition government, especially with the decline in foreign exchange reserves at the central bank in Aden.
According to the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, officials in the coalition government revealed that their government has an 80% budget deficit and a severe shortage of foreign cash in the central bank in Aden and would be unable to pay employee salaries.
It is worth noting that the Yemeni riyal reached today, Saturday, the highest rate of collapse in foreign exchange trading, as the price of one dollar reached 1,357 riyals, amid expectations that the local currency in Aden will continue to deteriorate in the coming days.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
[Axios] U.S. and Iranian officials held indirect talks in Oman last month with Omani officials shuttling between their separate rooms to deliver messages, three sources briefed on the issue told Axios.
Why it matters: The “proximity talks,” which haven't been previously reported, represent the first known indirect engagement between the U.S. and Iran in this way in several months. They took place amid growing concerns in the White House about Iran’s nuclear advances.
Behind the scenes: White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk traveled to Oman secretly on May 8 for talks with Omani officials on possible diplomatic outreach to Iran regarding its nuclear program, as Axios reported last week.
According to the three sources briefed on the issue, an Iranian delegation also arrived in Oman at the same time. Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kan was part of the delegation, one of the sources said.
McGurk and the Iranian officials didn't meet, according to the sources. The two sides were in separate locations with Omani officials going between them and passing messages.
According to the sources, one of the main messages from the U.S. focused on deterrence.
The sources said the U.S. made it clear that Iran will pay a heavy price if it moves forward with 90% uranium enrichment — the level needed to produce a nuclear weapon.
What’s to watch: The aim of the indirect exchange of messages between the Biden administration and Iran was to reach an "understanding" about ways to de-escalate the Iranian nuclear program, Iran’s behavior in the region and its involvement in the war in Ukraine, the sources said.
Such an understanding and de-escalation in the region could be used later as a basis for future talks on a new nuclear agreement between the parties.
It is still unclear whether the parties are close to reaching such an understanding.
Flashback: The Biden administration in April discussed with its European and Israeli partners a possible proposal for an interim agreement with Iran that would include some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran freezing parts of its nuclear program, as Axios previously reported.
What they're saying: A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the Biden administration’s policy on Iran has not changed.
“We remain focused on constraining Iran’s destabilizing behavior through pressure, close coordination with our allies, and de-escalation in the region. That includes ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon so of course, we are watching closely Iran’s enrichment activities," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the U.S. prefers diplomacy, but is prepared “to take action in full coordination with our partners and allies to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon."
The Omani and Iranian foreign ministries didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Posted by: NoMoreBS ||
06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
If I were the Iranians, I might ask the US to 'freeze' some of their idiocy.
If the BRICS, et al., and OPEC+ get stronger (and the US commits suicide), the Iranians might just tell the US to piss off.
#2
The Obama Clinton team has a serious love affair with Iran. The Ayatollahs need to seek a restraining order or they will end up duct taped to chairs in Joe’s Wilmington campaign basement bunker.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2023 8:30 Comments ||
Top||
#3
/\ Along with Valjar, foot soldiers for Ayatollah Brennan.
#4
I firmly believe they will have the Puppet act in some way to release the frozen assets. It will undoubtedly be illegal/improper to do so, and they don't care. The Masters ValJar serves know this is their moment on this.
Biden is a husk, spent and dwindling as even a Cardboard cutout and they need to get whatever they can before he sundowns completely. When the SHTF, its all on his shoulders and they claim plausible deniability.
[TOLONEWS] Pakistain's ousted former prime minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders... secured bail on Thursday from the Islamabad High Court over new murder charges, meaning he cannot be rearrested in connection with those charges for the next 14 days, his lawyer said.
Khan was arrested on May 9 and held for three days, triggering violent mostly peaceful protests by his followers. He is now free on bail in a range of criminal cases.
He had travelled to the capital from his Lahore home to seek bail in the murder case and extend his bail in over a dozen other cases to avoid a fresh arrest, said his lawyer Gohar Khan.
Another of his lawyers, Naeem Haider, said he also received bail in all the other cases in which he had applied for it.
The 70-year-old former cricket hero who become prime minister in 2018 has been embroiled in a confrontation with Pakistain's powerful military since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year.
The military has ruled directly or overseen civilian governments since the creation of Pakistain, where political confrontations are often fought out in court.
Khan's May 9 arrest on corruption charges, which he denies, sparked protests by his supporters who ransacked military facilities, raising new worries about the stability of the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades.
Since Khan was freed, new charges against him have been piling up. On Wednesday, police named him in connection with the murder of a lawyer seeking sedition proceedings against him.
Khan says he is facing nearly 150 cases and denies guilt in all of them.
His lawyer Gohar Khan had said the former prime minister would on Thursday approach the anti-terrorism courts, anti-graft courts and the High Court in Islamabad to appeal for bail in connection with more than a dozen cases.
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06/11/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Shafaq News] Iranian authorities announced today, Saturday, the unfreezing of nearly three billion dollars
... about 1.5 2.79 billion euros... (my apologies for the error. I copied the number without checking — tw at 10:50 a.m. ET)
of their financial assets domiciled in Iraq; a move that is deemed a substantial financial windfall for the Iranian economy, which has long been contending with the burden of international sanctions.
This development was made public by several Iranian media outlets, who quoted Yahya al-Eshaq, the head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce.
Al-Eshaq noted that "a portion of our outstanding debts owed by Iraq has been liquidated. Some of it is allocated to address the needs of Iranian pilgrims, while another part has been diverted towards the procurement of essential commodities." and boodle for the ayatollahs
"According to incoming reports, the amount paid stands close to three billion dollars."
"These funds, hitherto frozen in Iraq due to US sanctions, will be released through Iraqi banks," as per al-Jazeera's breaking news Twitter account.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... maintains extensive trade and economic relations with Iraq, with Baghdad being Tehran's largest trading partner. Nevertheless, Iran's assets remained frozen in Iraqi banks due to the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran. Despite proposals from Iraq to barter these funds with other products, Iranian officials have consistently rejected such suggestions, preferring instead to pursue the release of their frozen assets.
Iraq has released $2.7 billion of frozen Iranian assets, the chairman of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said on Saturday, two days after Iraq’s foreign minister discussed the issue with his American counterpart.
According to chairman Yahya al-e Es’hagh, part of the funds released will be used to cover expenses for Iranian Hajj pilgrims and part will be used to buy basic staples, Tasnim news reported.
Al-e Es’hagh said the release of the funds will have a positive impact on Iran’s economy, helping to stabilize the currency and provide basic goods.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Riyadh on Thursday, raised the matter of difficulties paying funds owed to Iran for purchases of gas and electricity given strict US sanctions on financial transactions with Iran.
Hussein "stressed the need to find a solution to this problem, as it directly affects the electrical sector of Iraq. From this standpoint, he thanked the American side for allowing the issue of financial payments to Iranian pilgrims and for Iranian money in Iraqi banks to be resolved," read a statement from the foreign ministry.
An American readout of their meeting does not mention releasing Iranian funds, but said, "The Secretary encouraged the Government of Iraq on its efforts to become energy independent and to increase innovation in its energy sector."
Iraq’s electrical grid is dependent on gas imports from Iran to run its power generation plants.
Last week, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported that $24 billion of frozen Iranian assets would be released from Iraq and South Korea in the near future after the sultan of Oman visited Tehran. Oman is a frequent mediator between Iran and Western nations, including brokering a recent prisoner swap.
Oman’s foreign minister was involved in discussions about the release of funds, Iraq’s foreign ministry tweeted on Saturday.
[Shafaq News] Mo'een al-Kadhimi, the head of the Speicher Massacre Memorial Committee, on Saturday said that more than 400 arrest warrants have been issued for suspects involved in the execution of the massacre, who are currently evading justice.
In a speech he delivered at a memorial event on the ninth anniversary of the Speicher Massacre, al-Kadhimi said, "We are working diligently to search for the 500 missing persons through the Martyrs' Foundation/Mass Graves Department."
He added, "We are working to expedite DNA testing for 140 remains currently at the forensic department. The Ministry of Health must hasten this process and end the suffering of the deaders' families."
The committee chair recommended that local governments support the families of the deaders and offer then compensations, whether in land allotments or other means. He called for establishing a museum at the crime's site in collaboration with the local government in Saladin.
Al-Kadhimi added that there are 20 mass graves scattered across the area, which must be preserved and visited by people from inside and outside Iraq. These graves still hold the remains of the massacre victims.
The committee chair also called on the tribes of Salah ad Din to publicly denounce this crime. He insisted on the need for regular public reaffirmation of their stance.
Al-Kadhimi noted that more than 400 arrest warrants have been issued, with 140 of the individuals already apprehended. Retributive justice has been carried out in three batches, and they are awaiting the execution of fair judgments on the remaining criminals. He stressed the need to avoid delaying the matter.
In June 2014, ISIS executed approximately 2,000 people, primarily students at the College of Aviation and security personnel within the well-known military base, "Speicher," in Salah ad Din Governorate when they took control of the area. ISIS grabbed credit for the incident, releasing images and videos of the besieged soldiers at the military base before shooting them at close range.
Furious that after two generations of stalling they will be done by as they did to others.
[AlAhram] In the walled Old City of Israeli occupied east Jerusalem, Nora and Mustafa Sub Laban are counting down the last days before a court decision that has hovered over them since 1978 is carried out.
After decades of legal wrangling, they are set to be evicted from their home in the Moslem Quarter to make way for Jewish settlers.
"These days, I'm like a prisoner waiting to be put to death. I don't sleep like other people," Nora Sub Laban told AFP. "I hang from the ceiling, like a bat, ya know?"
The east Jerusalem residents have been embroiled in a 45-year legal battle with authorities and Israeli settlers.
The settlers are part of an organization called Atara Leyoshna and are represented by Eli Attal, according to both the Sub Laban family and Ir Amim, an anti-settlement watchdog.
Attal declined to comment about the case when approached by AFP.
The Israeli plaintiffs claim that Jews lived in the building before the occupation of the holy city into Israeli and Jordanian sectors following the proclamation of Israel in 1948.
They invoke an Israeli law from the 1970s that allows Jews to reclaim any property owned by Jews before 1948, even if they are not related.
The Sub Labans say they were designated "protected tenants" by Jordan in the 1950s, before Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967 and proceeded to annex it in a move regarded as illegal by the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... The family showed AFP a Jordanian rental contract dating back to 1953, as well as Israeli court rulings recognising their status as "protected tenants".
Yet the courts said that the couple do not currently live permanently in the building, so their "protected tenants" status no longer applies and the eviction can go ahead.
The judgment refers to a period when Nora was not living in the apartment daily because of a hospitalisation.
"Legally speaking, within the Israeli system, nothing more can be done," said Rafat Sub Laban, the couple's son and an employee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
ISRAELI 'HEGEMONY'
According to Ir Amim, some 150 Paleostinian families in Jerusalem's Old City and nearby neighbourhoods are currently threatened with eviction because of "discriminatory laws and state collusion with settler organizations".
The group says such evictions are part of "a strategy to cement Israeli hegemony of the Old City basin, the most religiously and politically sensitive part of Jerusalem and a core issue of the conflict".
Over the years, Israeli settlers have opened several yeshivas, Jewish seminaries, on the street where the Sub Laban family lives.
Their nearest Israeli neighbour lives just a few steps from their home, they share a landing.
But it is not a peaceful cohabitation.
"We do not live in freedom and security," said Nora.
Inside the apartment, photos have been taken down and objects of sentimental value removed. The Sub Labans know that when the police come, they will have only a few moments to clear out their things.
"When unfortunately that happens, we will bring our parents to my sister and me" in another neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, their son Rafat said.
"It's the only option."
"I lived my childhood in this house, I grew up here, I lost my father and my mother here", said Nora Sub Laban.
"People think that a house is just walls, but it's also memories, it's my whole life," the 68-year-old added.
"But (the settlers) don't care about that."
Messages scribbled on the wall in black marker by their grandchildren are one of the few things left in the almost empty apartment.
"Paleostine will be free", "We will return" and "This is our home," they read.
Responding to this story from yesterday. After everything is over, UNIFIL flaps its hands in the general direction of the dispute over the Shebaa Farms area — from a safe distance, of course.
[AlAhram] UN peacekeepers in southern Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... called for calm on Friday after Lebanese and Israeli troops came close to direct confrontation in the flashpoint "Blue Line" border area.
The tension on the edge of the Lebanese border village of Kfar Chouba began earlier this week over the Israeli military digging in Lebanese area.
Continued on Page 49
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...aka 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
