[ArianaNews] Abdulsalam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, on Saturday, claimed that the IEA has more than 400,000 security force members between the ministries of defense and interior and the intelligence agency.
Golly.
Hanafi revealed this during a ceremony to celebrate the 104th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from Britannia.
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate wants healthy relations with all the countries of the region, but does not allow interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
"We do not want to interfere in the internal affairs of any country. Of course, respect and relationships come from both sides. If someone intervenes, then we consider it our right to reciprocate," Hanafi said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand...... the Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate will not allow Afghanistan to suffer war and insecurity again. He expressed hope that peace and stability and the ruling system in the country will last.
Deputy PM for Political Affairs Abdul Kabir reiterated that the world has no choice but to interact with the Islamic Emirate.
"The politics of the world is moving in a positive direction. The world is now trying to extend the hand of interaction towards the Islamic Emirate because the world understands that there is no other solution without interacting with the Islamic Emirate. The security of the world and the region depends on the security of Afghanistan. If the world wants Afghanistan to be safe and not get harmed by Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate has done it and can do it," Kabir said.
In the meantime, the Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani ...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network.... said that the Islamic Emirate has adhered to the commitments it made in Doha, but the world is creating problems for Afghans with various excuses.
"The world should no longer abuse and coerce the Afghans, but opt for healthy interaction," he said.
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs also criticized the British post-colonial government and said that the one who made sacrifices in order to gain freedom did not gain power. He said that Afghanistan was headed towards faithlessness, and although it was apparently free, it was still intellectually under the influence of outsiders.
It’s not clear to me whether this is properly categorized as War on Terror or just Page 2: WoT Background, because the miscreant is one of Somalia’s generals, so for now it’s on Page 2, awaiting further information or Reader advice.
[Garowe] A military renegade officer has been arrested by police in Somalia, police said on Saturday, following a night of chaos in the capital Mogadishu, which left at least three people dead and several injured, potentially compromising the fight against al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... bad boys.
General Sheegow Ahmed Ali and his team engaged coppers in a shootout from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon, police confirmed, noting that he has since been arrested ahead of trial, where he will be formally charged in the court of law for his actions.
Also arrested were 25 soldiers loyal to him, with the state now keen to charge him with displacement of people, who bravely ran away from their homes following the heavy shootout within the rather stable Mogadishu. The Somali capital has been enjoying relative peace lately, police said.
According to reports, fighting broke out on Friday at 9 pm local time as police arrived at Kaawo Godey within Mogadishu after residents tipped security officers over a breach of security within the area. Other sources said the fighting broke out after police arrested two soldiers allied with General Sheegow sparking the fighting.
Among those killed, police said, were a security personnel and two militias with nine others injured. Those injured have been rushed to various hospitals within Mogadishu for advanced treatment, police spokesperson Sadik Ali said in a statement.
Police accused Sheegow Ahmed Ali, of destabilising the security of the capital and fighting against the security forces. According to Police Spokesperson Sadik Ali, alleged stolen mobile phones and fake bank notes were found in his home during a coordinated raid.
Relative peace has been restored in Somalia's capital, with police also taking caution of possible attacks. The incident comes as the country prepares for the second and perhaps final assault against al-Shabaab bad boys, who usually take advantage of such security lapses to attack innocent civilians and security officers.
[Regnum] The United Nations mission met with the military that came to power in Niger, radio station RFI reported on August 19.
A delegation led by UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel Leonardo Santos Simao arrived in Niamey in the afternoon of 18 August.
“According to our information, the mission was received by the prime minister appointed by the rebels in his office, accompanied by the minister of defense and the minister of the interior,” the radio station said.
It is noted that among the members of the UN mission there are no representatives of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African Countries) or the African Union.
During a lengthy conversation, the rebels called the economic sanctions imposed on Niger inhumane and illegal. The military assured the members of the mission that everything was fine with the overthrown President Mohamed Bazum , he was receiving the necessary food. The rebels have issued accusations against international media that spread disinformation.
Negotiations between the diplomatic mission and the military of Niger will continue.
As reported by IA Regnum , combat aircraft of Burkina Faso and Mali appeared on the territory of Niger. This measure is designed to repulse any kind of aggression against the country. The exact location of the aircraft is unknown.
A military coup in Niger took place at the end of July. The presidential guard blocked the country's president Mohammed Bazum in the residence and announced his overthrow.
At an extraordinary summit in Abuja on August 10, the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) decided to prepare for the deployment of a reserve force of the organization that could carry out an armed invasion of Niger to free the ousted president. In turn, the Nigerian military expressed their readiness to rebuff any foreign interference.
On August 18, at a meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana, the ECOWAS Chiefs of Staff agreed to launch a military invasion of Niger, without naming a specific date. The organization's commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Abdel Fatau Musah, said that what is happening in Niger is part of a series of upheavals in the region and ECOWAS will try to put an end to this.
A delegation from the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) has arrived in Niger to try to act as mediators in resolving the situation in the country .
According to these data, the plane with members of the delegation landed at Niamey airport around 15:00 Moscow time.
The day before, on August 18, ECOWAS officials announced that they had already set a date for military intervention in Niger, which would take place if the issue was not resolved otherwise, but that date was not expected to be announced.
As IA Regnum reported earlier, Burkina Faso's Defense Minister Kassoum Koulibaly said on August 19 that an attempt by ECOWAS to intervene in Niger could begin "at any moment." Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, supports the actions of the rebels in Niger, earlier, in solidarity with them, they deployed military aircraft on the territory of Niger.
The head of the National Council for the Defense of the Fatherland, ruling in Niger after the coup d'état, General Abdurahman Tchiani , said earlier that he was ready to start negotiations with ECOWAS leaders to resolve the situation through diplomatic means. However, during the meeting with O. US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland , representatives of the rebels said that if neighboring states try to invade Niger, then the deposed President of the Republic, Mohamed Bazum, will be killed.
Alexei Zaitsev, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry , noted earlier that Moscow supports the settlement of the situation in Niger and opposes the forceful intervention of ECOWAS.
The authorities of Burkina Faso are preparing for the fact that the forces of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) may launch a military operation in Niger. This was stated by the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs of the African country Kassum Koulibaly.
“We are in anticipation of aggression. In any case, the head of our state said: we are ready for aggression, we support Niger, ” RIA Novosti quoted Koulibaly as saying.
He specified that Burkina Faso is ready to withdraw from ECOWAS because it considers the union's policy towards Niger to be illogical.
As IA Regnum reported, on August 8, ECOWAS Commissioner Abdel Fatau Musah announced an agreement reached by the chiefs of the organization's general staff on the date of the start of the military operation in Niger. The military is ready to execute the order at any moment, the measures necessary for the intervention have been agreed and finalized, he said. Musah added that what is happening in Niger is part of a series of upheavals in the region, ECOWAS will try to put an end to this.
Burkina Faso and Mali called on the United Nations Security Council to resolve the military coup in Niger. The joint letter also indicates that Mali and Burkina Faso are seeking to find solutions to the situation in Niger through diplomatic negotiations. Burkina Faso and Mali deployed combat aircraft in Niger. By deploying aircraft, Burkina Faso and Mali are honoring their commitments contained in their joint communiqué of solidarity with the Niger. This measure is designed to rebuff any kind of aggression against Niger, the journalists noted.
There is no talk of establishing a Russian military base in Burkina Faso. This was stated by the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs of the African country, Kassum Koulibaly, answering a relevant question from journalists.
“This is not about inviting foreign troops or creating bases,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.
I do not think that this can solve the problem of terrorism, he added, adding that the country's leadership knows what is really happening in the state.
“It's hard for us to let other soldiers die for us. We need to get the necessary funds so that we can conduct our own struggle,” the minister stressed.
Coulibaly added that a new concept is now being implemented in the country, which involves the formation of small groups from the population to fight terrorists, it was born by the will of the people.
According to him, the country's leadership is developing appropriate legal norms to be sure that these people can handle weapons, and most importantly, that they respect human rights.
As reported by IA Regnum , at least 20 people were killed in an attack, allegedly by jihadist militants in the East-Central region of Burkina Faso. It is specified that the militants attacked a convoy of merchants in the village of Noao, near the city of Bittu. The attackers killed, according to various reports received from survivors and witnesses, from 20 to 25 people. In addition, the militants looted and set fire to the vehicles of the victims. One of the merchants reported more than 15 trucks full of goods destroyed by the attackers.
Combat aircraft of Burkina Faso and Mali appeared on the territory of Niger, RTN reported on August 18.
By deploying aircraft, Burkina Faso and Mali are honoring their commitments contained in their joint communiqué of solidarity with the Niger. This measure is designed to rebuff any kind of aggression against Niger, the journalists said.
The channel does not cover the exact location of the aircraft.
As reported by IA Regnum , on August 18, Commissioner of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) Abdel Fatau Musah announced an agreement reached by the chiefs of the organization's general staff on the start date of the military operation in Niger. The military is ready to execute the order at any moment, the measures necessary for the intervention have been agreed and finalized, he said. Musah added that what is happening in Niger is part of a series of upheavals in the region, ECOWAS will try to put an end to this.
Burkina Faso and Mali called on the United Nations Security Council to resolve the military coup in Niger. The joint letter also indicates that Mali and Burkina Faso are seeking to find solutions to the situation in Niger through diplomatic negotiations.
The joint statement of the transitional governments of Burkina Faso and Mali states that any military intervention against Niger will be tantamount to a declaration of war against them. Burkina Faso and Mali are also ready to withdraw from ECOWAS in case of military intervention against Niger.
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has pardoned a number of prisoners, including Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma, the state TV said on Saturday.
Douma was sentenced in 2019 to 15 years in prison for rioting and attacking security forces.
In delivering his verdict at the time, the judge said Douma was part of a crowd that broke into parliament and damaged part of it.
Last month, authorities also freed Egyptian rights researcher Patrick Zaki and lawyer Mohammed el-Baqer after they were pardoned by al-Sisi.
Since late 2021 Egypt has taken a number of steps which it says are aimed at addressing human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... , including amnesties for some prominent prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2023 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] The Mexican government said Saturday it has set up a large tent shelter for about 600 migrants colonists in the border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas.
The large tents provide sun and rain shelter for dozens of smaller three- or four-person tents pitched inside.
Mexico’s National Immigration Service said that electrical outlets, portable bathrooms and cooking facilities would also be provided at the site, which is close to the Rio Grande, which marks the border.
Upon opening, the shelter had almost 600 occupants, many of whom were seeking appointments through a U.S. phone application to make their case for refuge or asylum.
There were about 120 Venezuela ...a country in Central America that sits on an enormous pool of oil. Formerly the most prospereous country in the region, it became infested with Commies sniffing almost unlimited wealth. It turned out the wealth wasn't unlimited, the economy collapsed under the clownish Hugo Chavez, the murder rate exceeded places like Honduras and El Salvador. A significant proportion of the populace refugeed to Colombia and points south... ns, 96 Mexicans, 88 Haitians, 66 Nicaraguans, 47 Ecuadorians and 35 Cubans at the camp, among other nationalities.
[Dawn] A US military judge ruled for the first time Friday that an al-Qaeda bombing suspect’s confession cannot be used as evidence because it was derived from torture, potentially setting a new hurdle for September 11 prosecutions.
The judge in the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba US military tribunals said that a confession by Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri,
...the quietly polite, little middle-aged man who two decades ago was an Al Qaeda bigshot and friend of formerly not-dead Osama bin Laden. He has been in American prisons and GITMO since 2002, far from the pleasures of jihad and female companionship, which is some compensation for the fact that he is still among the living...
the alleged criminal mastermind of the 2000 attack against the USS Cole in 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... that left 17 dead, was tainted by years of abuse at the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
"Exclusion of such evidence is not without societal costs," wrote the judge, Col. Lanny Acosta.
"However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... permitting the admission of evidence obtained by or derived from torture by the same government that seeks to prosecute and execute the accused may have even greater societal costs."
Still, he’s been imprisoned in GITMO for two decades, kept from practicing jihad and reduced to getting fat and flinging horded feces and urine at his jailers, which is some consolation.
Nashiri’s attorney Anthony Natale said the judge threw out the key evidence military prosecutors hoped to use to convict Nashiri.
The ruling left the long-running death penalty case mired in the pretrial phase, with no sign of when a full trial could begin.
Attorneys for both Nashiri and the five men accused of the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda attack on the United States have battled for more than a decade in the Guantanamo military court to exclude evidence against them derived from torture.
The six were captured separately after the 2001 attacks and shuttled through CIA-run "black sites" in countries such as Thailand and Poland where they were put through extreme interrogation techniques including waterboarding and physical beatings.
After they arrived at Guantanamo — an isolated US naval base — some like Nashiri were again mistreated, including in early 2007, when the FBI interrogated him.
While prosecutors had argued that Nashiri was no longer affected by the impact of earlier torture sessions, the judge ruled that continued rough treatment up to that interrogation simply extended "years of physical and psychological torment".
"The evidence supports a conclusion that the accused did what he was trained to do: comply," the ruling said.
Nashiri, 58, is charged with engineering the deadly attack on the USS Cole on October 12, 2000. He is also accused of the bombing of the crude carrier Limburg two years later in the same area, which left one person dead.
Natale stressed that the ruling only applies to Nashiri’s case, and is not binding on any of the other judges overseeing cases in the Guantanamo military court. But he said it creates "a template that others could try to replicate".
Alka Pradhan, an attorney for one of the five accused in the September 11 case, said it would impact the entire military court.
"The Nashiri ruling today is fundamentally destabilising to the whole military commission system," she said in a social media post.
In both the 9/11 and Nashiri cases, she said, the bulk of prosecutors’ evidence "was derived from torture at the CIA black sites whose effects were deliberately maintained through FBI interrogations at Guantanamo".
#1
Alka Pradham, Johns Hopkins, Columbia University, London School of Economics. Recent articles:
"Kafka's Court: Seeking Law and Justice at Guantanamo Bay", Northwestern University Law Review February 1, 2021
"It's Time to Hold Lawless Trump Officials Accountable, and Finally Right the Wrongs of the Bush-Era Torture Program",Business Insider December 16, 2020
"Head-On Into Peril: Connecting 9/11 and Law Enforcement Abuses in Portland", Just Security August 19, 2020
Get the picture on this Marxist?
[GEO.TV] The Foreign Office on Saturday strongly condemned another "provocative and deeply offensive act" of the desecration of the Holy Koran in The Hague — the site of the royal palace and the de facto capital of the Netherlands and also the seat of the International Court of Justice.
The condemnation comes a day after a Dutch far-right activist tore up a copy of the Koran at a demonstration outside the Ottoman Turkish embassy in The Hague on Friday.
In a statement issued today, the FO said that "this deliberate Islamophobic act deeply hurts the feelings of two billion Moslems around the world, and threatens peaceful coexistence and inter-religious harmony".
"Such offensive acts cannot be covered under legitimate freedom of expression, opinion and protest. International law obliges states to prevent and prohibit deliberate incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief," added the statement.
The FO also said that Pakistain believes that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities, adding that it is the responsibility of national governments and the international community on the lam to prevent racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic acts.
[GEO.TV] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi ...a Pak political shape-changer. He is undistinguished except for his habit of periodically needing to have his lips reattached... on Saturday was arrested from his residence in Islamabad in connection with an investigation into cipher which PTI alleges contained the threat from the United States to oust Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... from power.
Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistain, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti confirmed that Qureshi was taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The caretaker security czar said Qureshi was arrested as he was nominated in the cipher case.
The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and is being moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital.
The arrest came shortly after Qureshi addressed a presser wherein he dispelled the reports of infighting between party leaders to replace incarcerated party chief Imran Khan.
The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital.
The FIA sources said the PTI leader has been arrested in light of the statement of party chief Khan related to the cipher probe.
The development came only two days after PTI chief Khan, who has been imprisoned in Attock Jail, following conviction in Toshakhana case named in a first information report (FIR) registered by the FIA under Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 in the cipher case, The News reported quoting sources.
The counter-terrorism wing of the FIA had registered the case against the former prime minister — who was ousted from office after a no-confidence motion in April last year — after ascertaining his deliberate involvement in misusing the classified document following a probe.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2023 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] DC sit-down comes month after Jerusalem agreed to help PA deal with crises to mollify Washington, but never actually followed through; Smotrich blamed for delay
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, as the Biden administration looks for an update on Israeli pledges to boost the Paleostinian Authority that have yet to be actualized. On July 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet passed a decision to work to bolster the PA and keep Ramallah from the looming threat of both financial and political collapse. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the cabinet vote was largely symbolic and did not include any concrete steps. Even nominal steps Netanyahu’s office pledged in the spring have yet to be fully implemented, further sparking Washington’s ire.
Continued on Page 49
[IsraelTimes] Prisoner representatives have raged against transfers of inmates and other limitations; Minister Ben Gvir’s visit to Ofer Prison also seen as provocative
Some 1,000 Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, prisoners held in Israeli jails threatened Thursday to launch a mass hunger strike, amid rising tensions between prisoners and the Israel Prison Service.
Make sure you empty out all their secret food stashes before they start, guys — the thing loses effect if they are not visibly weakened by hunger.
Prisoner representatives have raged against the transfers of various prisoners and other limitations on their living conditions. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit Wednesday to Ofer Prison near Jerusalem was also seen as provocative in the eyes of the prisoners.
Since entering office, Ben Gvir has repeatedly pressured the IPS to clamp down on Paleostinian prisoners, limiting their freedoms and "stopping the summer camp," as he said Wednesday.
Paleostinian media said Thursday that Hamas had conducted several test launches of long-range rockets toward the sea in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, saying this was a message to Jerusalem over prisoners’ conditions. The terror group regularly conducts such tests.
Hamas front man Abdel-Latif al-Qanou said Thursday that the group was "carefully following the situation" while blaming the "extremist settler government for the consequences and results of the aggression against the prisoners."
He warned that "their battle will not take place [only] inside the prisons, as our people are with them and behind them."
Among his hardline political positions, Ben Gvir has often spoken out against providing Paleostinians convicted of terror-related offenses with comfortable conditions. He has also said he will propose legislation to allow for the death penalty for certain terror offenses.
Earlier this year he sought to crack down on shower times and instructed the removal of ovens used to bake pitas. The latter earned him the derisive nickname of "the pita minister" by members of the opposition, who contended he was focusing on public relations rather than substantive policies.
#5
Since shower time was reduced, and these folks are most likely pretty ripe already, how will Israel Prison Service know when it's time to bag up the remains?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/20/2023 13:09 Comments ||
Top||
#6
When they quit seething and whining
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2023 13:33 Comments ||
Top||
[ShafaqNews] American aircraft carriers pay heed to maritime regulations and the warnings given by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy when cruising in the Persian Gulf waters, IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said on Saturday.
In an address to a conference of IRGC commanders on Saturday, Rear Admiral Tangsiri said the IRGC Navy is projecting power in the Persian Gulf vigorously.
"Even American warships carrying airplanes and helicopters obey our rules when they cross the Persian Gulf," he said.
He noted that the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... forces pay heed to the IRGC Navy’s warnings in the region. "For instance, the IRGC vessels once approached a US aircraft carrier, and the warship escaped 180 miles away."
Highlighting the IRGC Navy’s progress in the development of various combat, reconnaissance, assault and hybrid drones, the commander said his forces have perfect coast-to-sea missiles.
He also stated that the IRGC Navy has manufactured military speed boats with a breakneck velocity of 110 knots (203 km/h). Hyper-velocity ski boats?
That would be fun until you hit the water.
"We have managed to mount rocket-launchers on 8-meter speedboats," Tangsiri noted, adding that 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... is the first country in West Asia that can fly drones from the deck of military vessels.
Earlier this month, the IRGC front man underlined that Iran is quite capable of responding in kind to any act of mischief in the region.
"Iran has reached such a high degree of power and capability that can respond in kind to any US action and mischief (in the region), including the seizure of ships," General Ramezan Sharif said.
His remarks came after the US Naval Forces Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the US Navy has deployed more than 3,000 sailors and Marine forces to West Asia under the pretext of protecting ships and vessels crossing the main waterways in the strategic region.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/20/2023 01:32 ||
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#1
And what are the rules of engagement? When challenged will our personnel have time to change their blouses, jettison the lipstick, and put on combat gear?
[IsraelTimes] Raisi says Western countries ’violated diplomatic immunity’ by imprisoning envoy convicted of planning to blow up Iranian opposition event in La Belle France
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has met with diplomat Assadollah Assadi, recently freed by Belgium in a high-profile prisoner swap case in May, the presidency’s site said Saturday.
"The claimants of human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. have shown once again that they do not adhere to any law," Raisi said in reference to Western countries during the meeting, which took place on Friday.
They "breached the international rules, regulations and principles by violating the diplomatic immunity of the Iranian diplomat in a clear and unprecedented manner," he added.
Assadi was sentenced in Belgium to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of playing a role in a plot to blow up an Iranian opposition event in 2018 outside Gay Paree.
He was liberated on May 26 in an Oman-mediated exchange that saw 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... releasing Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, incarcerated in Tehran for almost 15 months.
The exchange happened after months of heated debates in Belgium, especially in the country’s parliament.
The 42-year-old Belgian was sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes for "espionage," Tehran’s judiciary said at the time, after a trial his family and Belgian authorities dubbed "unfair." Iran often imprisons foreigners on spurious charges and uses them for diplomatic leverage.
Since May, Oman-mediated negotiations have facilitated the release of six European nationals from Iran while several others remain behind bars.
[IsraelTimes] Leaked documents obtained by Washington Post shed light on January incident at Shahed-136 UAV factory, reveal Iran helping Moscow make progress on advanced drone production.
Russian officials visiting Iran as part of cooperation on attack drone development earlier this year were forced to hunker down in their hotel after an alleged strike by Israel’s Mossad spy agency on a drone manufacturing facility in Tehran, according to a report Thursday. The Washington Post report, citing documents leaked to it from the program, said the group of visiting managers and engineers were forced to remain in their lodgings after a strike on a reported Shahed-136 production facility in Isfahan, widely attributed to Mossad. Iranian officials were concerned further strikes could next be launched on additional drone facilities in Tehran which the Russians were about to tour, it said.
In the January attack, an Iranian Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing "minor damage" to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said. London-based opposition Iranian news outlet Iran International cited eyewitnesses as saying that they saw three or four explosions.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/20/2023 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Iranian cinema directors have ridiculed a six-month suspended prison sentence handed down to Saeed Roustayi and his producer for showcasing their movie at last year's Cannes Film Festival without authorization, saying it was designed to divert attention from the upcoming anniversary of the eruption of nationwide protests.
They also said international reaction to the sentence earlier this week was laughable.
The Iranian Cinema Directors Association said in an Instagram post that it was "the strangest judiciary sentence in the history of Iranian cinema".
It said the movie, "Leila's Brothers", had been approved by the government and the Iranian government itself had participated at the Cannes festival for years. "Such a strange sentence is a futile attempt to humiliate this young and intelligent filmmaker of Iranian cinema," the association said, Rooters reported.
Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi have enjoyed heavy government funding throughout their careers.
Several independent filmmakers said they saw the sentence as a diversion from the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 16, 2022 death in jug of Mahsa Amini. She were tossed into the calaboose for allegedly flouting the dress code and her death sparked nationwide protests against Iran.
"The sentence is a joke. They (the authorities) want us to forget Mahsa’s anniversary," filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi told Rooters.
She also said international filmmakers' reaction was laughable as they had fallen into what she called the authorities' trap in giving the sentence too much importance.
Filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have shared a petition calling for "justice" for Roustayi and Noruzbegi.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have shared a petition calling for "justice" for Roustayi and Noruzbegi.
That's nice, but what about the real victim here, RomanPolanski?
Long. This one needs a comfy chair and cup of coffee, dear Reader. Or perhaps a fluid a bit less innocent — we don’t judge. ;-)
[AlAhram] For desperate Syrians, a WhatsApp message saying "I want to go to Europe" can be all they need to start a treacherous journey to Libya and then across the Mediterranean. Twelve years after conflict broke out in the country, Syrians are still trying to escape a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists. At least 141 Syrians were among up to 750 migrants colonists thought to have been on a trawler that set off from Libya and sank off Greece in June, relatives and activists told AFP. Most of the passengers are feared drowned.
AFP interviewed Syrian smugglers and migrants colonists about the journey to migrant hub Libya, and then across the central Mediterranean -- the world's deadliest migrant route.
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.
...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
number of prisoners, including Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma, the state TV said on Saturday.
...a country in Central America that sits on an enormous pool of oil. Formerly the most prospereous country in the region, it became infested with Commies sniffing almost unlimited wealth. It turned out the wealth wasn't unlimited, the economy collapsed under the clownish Hugo Chavez, the murder rate exceeded places like Honduras and El Salvador. A significant proportion of the populace refugeed to Colombia and points south...
[Dawn] A US military judge ruled for the first time Friday that an al-Qaeda bombing suspect’s confession cannot be used as evidence because it was derived from torture, potentially setting a new hurdle for September 11 prosecutions.
[GEO.TV] The Foreign Office on Saturday strongly condemned another "provocative and deeply offensive act" of the desecration of the Holy Koran in 
...a Pak political shape-changer. He is undistinguished except for his habit of periodically needing to have his lips reattached...
...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 
...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 
[IsraelTimes] Leaked documents obtained by Washington Post shed light on January incident at Shahed-136 UAV factory, reveal Iran helping Moscow make progress on advanced drone production.
