https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/euro-falls-to-parity-with-the-dollar

Euro falls to parity with the dollar

Trading data reported on Tuesday morning that the euro fell to parity with the dollar, before settling at $1.0005, the lowest point ever recorded since December 2002.

Since the start of this year, the euro recorded a loss of 12% of its value against the dollar. Markets did not anticipate such a rapid fall in July, labeling the direction of EU/USD as bearish and predicting it could fall below the 1.0000 mark in the near term.

The ruble is inversely showing signs of bull flags as Russia’s foreign trade surplus is rising on a vast scale due to energy exports.

In June alone, Russia's balance of payments surpluses increased from $14 billion in May to $28 billion, which contributed to the ruble earning the title of best performer among emerging market currencies - all this despite heavy losses experienced in the import and export sectors.

As of 11:00 AM (GMT), the euro rate against the dollar is exactly 1 USD.

>> This is YUUUUGGGGGEEEE

There was a Qpost with a sequence of countries or places put in order. I don't remember it well, but seeing these, could that post be in reverse order and not the stated order?

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/politico:-bidens-visit-to-ksa-will-not-bring-gas-prices-down

Politico: Biden's visit to KSA will not bring gas prices down

Later this week, Biden will be visiting Saudi Arabia on a quest for more oil production and cementing a normalization agreement with "Israel". Many are asking what this could mean for gas prices, which have been on a hike in the US.

Saudi Arabia has the second-largest oil reserves in the world, and Biden has been demanding a boost in output - more output, cheaper gas, right? Not so much.

An article written in Politico argues that it's more complicated than it seems.

Saudi Arabia does not have much oil to give and is in fact struggling to meet its own production targets. If Riyadh were to release more oil, it would require them to forge a consensus among OPEC+.

“There's no way of visiting Saudi Arabia without it being in some sort of relationship to oil,” said Paul Sankey, lead analyst at Sankey Research, a research firm. “But in this instance, it's not obvious that there's anything that can be done.”

According to Ben Cahill from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, even if Saudi Arabia were to flood the market with more oil, there is no guarantee that gas prices will come down. The volatility in oil prices over the past few weeks, according to him, does not have much to do with supply disruptions, but rather the uncertainty of the war in Ukraine.

“A lot of the price run-up is due to geopolitics and financial speculation,” Cahill said. “If you look at the physical market, the actual demand and trading of the physical barrels of crude, there's really no disruption anywhere.”

In this case, why would Biden visit with these givens?

Last month, he told reporters that he won't be asking Saudi leaders directly to increase oil production, downplaying that his trip is meant to bring down fuel prices.

Cahill said the president has only a few available options, and asking OPEC for assistance is one of them. Although the visit won't have an impact, dialogue between the US and KSA is "constructive and it should be welcomed,” he said.

However, the visit is more involved in regional security than oil production.

>> If [they] are saying it, then…

>>16724089

>>16724093

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/uzbek-fm-says-iran-to-become-sco-member-soon

Uzbek FM says Iran to become SCO member soon

Iran will join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year, according to Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry.

"This year, within Uzbekistan's chairmanship, Iran will be admitted to the SCO as an observer state … A memorandum on Iran's obligations as an SCO member will also be signed in Samarkand," Uzbekistan's Acting Foreign Minister, Vladimir Norov, said at a panel meeting in Moscow, Sputnik reported.

Tehran's admission was accepted at the Dushanbe summit last year when Tajikistan was the rotating chair of the Shanghai Pact. However, the process could take two years to complete.

Last month, Mehdi Safari, Iran's Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, proposed that the bloc adopt a universal currency to facilitate economic integration.

Tehran has also applied to join the BRICS group, three of which are also members of the Shanghai Pact: India, Russia, and China.

Norov also stated that Belarus' application to join the Eurasian political and economic bloc had been received by the SCO and that Minsk's admission procedures could begin at the SCO's September summit in Samarkand.

"To date, the application has been sent to the member countries, and if a joint agreement is reached, I think, it may happen at a summit in Samarkand, which may start Belarus' accession procedure to the SCO," he said.

Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Russia's special presidential representative on SCO affairs, stated last month at an SCO meeting in Tashkent that Minsk had "made a request to be admitted promptly" to the group, and Norov stated that ten nations had applied to join the SCO, be observers or partners, according to Sputnik.

What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an economic, political, and security alliance founded in 2001 and currently has nine members: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan. They collectively account for 40% of the world's population and 28% of its GDP (GDP). Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia are among the observer countries.

The SCO summit in Dushanbe last September began the procedure of Iran's accession, as well as granting SCO partner status to Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

The SCO's geographical responsibility will expand with Iran's entry and will pave the way for new cross-regional initiatives.

>> Building the new economic grid.

>>16724150

I don't remember it well. It was something like USA, then Europe, then UK, then Asia etc. Sorry, bad memory tonight.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/british-commandos-committed-war-crimes-in-afghanistan:-bbc

British commandos committed war crimes in Afghanistan: BBC

A new Panorama documentary revealed disturbing evidence of SAS war crimes in Afghanistan, BBC reported.

A clear pattern of unlawful killings of Afghans by a squadron of SAS commandos during night raids appears to have emerged, with as many as 54 victims over a six-month period.

The revelations, which could lead to war crimes charges, were vehemently denied by the UK Ministry of Defense, which claimed that allegations of unlawful conduct by commandos had previously been thoroughly investigated.

In a statement, the ministry said: “Neither investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect, and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally.”

Conversely, the BBC argued that Royal Military Police (RMP) investigators had been obstructed by military leadership.

General Mark Carleton-Smith, then-head of the UK Special Forces, failed to share evidence of misconduct with the investigation, as per BBC.

"Executions were carried out at a close range"

The new documentary expands on an earlier BBC investigation into SAS night raids in Afghanistan.

An anonymous source provided the outlet with hundreds of contemporaneous military reports, not to mention operational accounts filed by the squadron after missions.

It is worth noting that the BBC was able to identify some of the raid locations and traveled to Afghanistan to speak with witnesses and collect forensic evidence, such as images of bullet holes in walls.

In many cases, what has been discovered during these trips contradicted what the SAS team had reported about killing enemy combatants in firefights or retaliating with lethal force when detainees pulled concealed weapons during a search.

According to experts, what the BBC discovered on the ground in three locations indicated that executions were carried out at the close range.

In November 2010, the squadron in question was deployed to Helmand province for a six-month tour.

A pattern of suspicious killings

The documents examined revealed a pattern of suspicious killings justified by the discovery of weapons on the scene, according to the BBC.

Those weapons, which included AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, may have been planted by British troops as justification for killing people who posed no threat in the first place as per reports, the broadcaster suggested.

The report added that the squadron "was attempting to outnumber the one it had replaced”, stressing that the total number of people killed during the tour was in the triple digits.

The team's post-raid reports piqued the officers' interest at the time, who described them as "quite incredible" and referred to the missions as the squadron's "latest massacre."

According to the BBC, a high-ranking Special Forces officer in Afghanistan warned in a secret memo that there could be a "deliberate policy" of extrajudicial killings of fighting-age males.

An infrequent internal investigation was ordered, but the investigating Special Forces officer "appeared to take the SAS version of events at face value," according to the documentary.

Efforts to disturb investigations

The evidence was classified and was not shared with military police, who conducted a separate murder investigation linked to one of the raids in 2013.

It is worth noting that the RMP launched Operation Northmoor in 2014 to investigate over 600 alleged offenses committed by British forces in Afghanistan.

Some of the SAS squadron's killings were on the list, BBC reported.

It went on to say that RMP investigators revealed to them that the British military had hampered their efforts to gather evidence.

During the 1839-1842 Anglo-Afghan war, the British empire was humiliated in Afghanistan, but following the Sept. 11 Al-Qaeda attacks, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair joined US President George W. Bush in invading Afghanistan under the guise of overthrowing the Taliban.

Part 1

>>16724198

The United States and its various western allies, including the United Kingdom, are behind many war crimes in Afghanistan, which they committed as part of their 20-year-long occupation of the country.

The United States even went out of its way to commit a war crime against Afghan civilians following its incredibly chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw hundreds upon hundreds flocking toward the airport, stampedes, and abandoned allies. There even was a scene that reminded the world of the American withdrawal from Vietnam's Saigon, during which they air-lifted their staff off of the embassy's roof.

Despite killing tens of thousands of civilians during their occupation, US soldiers opened fire on the crowd outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing several civilians, including women and children.

The United Kingdom helped Washington do its bidding in Afghanistan, and British troops are just as complicit in all the crimes and the chaotic withdrawal as their American counterparts.

>> Almost same situation with France did in Mali. Recently in the news too.

Part 2 - End

>>16724193

I never played chess. Do we have a chess player here? Is the last move being played?

>>16724210

Yes, thank you, it's this one.

>>16724241

Dunno if there is direct talk with Dopey. But Dopey used to own shares in twitter. He also used to own shares in many ME news outlets.

Dopey's back in the news recently, comments about twitter. So I don't know. But interesting timing with Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia.

>>16724219

Chaaaarrrrggggeeee.

>>16724264

Nasty. So nasty. Send in Justice Thomas to knock it down.

>>16724280

Thank you. About a week ago, it was checkmate in 3 moves. Whites win. I think you are right. So now it's 2 moves left

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hollande-denies-knowledge-of-dealings-between-uber-macron

Hollande denies knowledge of dealings between Uber & Macron

Former French president, Francois Hollande, denies that he and his Elysee office knew anything about the secret dealings between his then-Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and US-based transportation giant Uber.

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of internal Uber files were leaked by European lobbyist, Mark MacGann, who was also Uber's former head of policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The files revealed that last week, Macron had undisclosed meetings with Uber representatives as the company aggressively pushed into European markets between the years 2013 and 2017.

"At the level of the Elysee, there was never any knowledge about even a shadow of a deal. If it happened, the Elysee was not aware of it," said Hollande, who served as president of the republic from 2012 to 2017.

The files were obtained by The Guardian, and shared with 42 media outlets, including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

During Hollande's reign, French taxi drivers stormed the streets of Marseille to protest the illegal presence of Uber in France which was taking their jobs. MacGann at the time went to get help from Macron, who quickly revised the suspension order for Uber in Marseille.

Uber denied claims that Macron has done any favors for the company. In parallel, Macron's office contended that his job required that he remain in contact with such companies.

Lawmakers in the French opposition called for a parliamentary inquiry into Macron's involvement with Uber.

Macron caught up in Uber Files scandal, could face legal probe

Members of the opposition condemned Sunday rumors that French President Emmanuel Macron and online transportation giant Uber had a secret agreement while the former was a minister in François Hollande’s administration.

The allegations against Macron were made following the latest leaked data-based investigations, known on alternative media as the #UberFiles, conducted by leading international news outlets. France’s Le Monde daily report claimed, citing documents, text messages, and witnesses, that Uber came to a secret agreement with Macron between 2014 and 2016, at a time when he was the Minister of Economy, Industry, and Digital Affairs.

According to Le Monde's report, Macron's ministry planned to aid Uber to consolidate its place in France. The aid came in the form of Macron having suggested, allegedly, the company’s present "ready-made" amendments to deputies to help their case.

Deputies from the opposition have criticized what they claimed to be close coordination between Macron and Uber during a period when the latter was attempting to get past stringent government regulation of their industry.

>> Are two French presidents caught up in the same scandal?

>>16724343

Potus plays to win. He won't accept a draw.

>>16724205

>>16724198

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/the-netherlands-officially-apologizes-for-role-in-srebrenica

The Netherlands officially apologizes for role in Srebrenica genocide

This month, 27 years ago, 8,000 Bosniak Muslims were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces. After 27 years, the Netherlands, for the first time, offered its "deepest condolences" for its role in the Srebrenica genocide, apologizing to the victims.

In July 1995, Bosniak men and boys were singled out from the women in their families and were taken to execution sites where they were massacred, after which they were dumped in mass graves that mourners are still discovering and burying to this day.

Amsterdam claims that its forces in the country were outgunned and outnumbered, and were 'unable' to prevent Bosnian Serb forces from committing violence.

"The international community failed to offer adequate protection to the people of Srebrenica and as part of that community, the Dutch government shares responsibility for the situation in which that failure occurred. And for this we offer our deepest apologies,” said Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch foreign minister.

“The events of 1995 led to deep human suffering that is palpable here to this day. We cannot relieve you of this suffering. But what we can do is to look history straight in the eye,” she said.

Dutch courts concluded that Amsterdam is partially responsible for the fall of Srebrenica, and compensated survivors of the genocide.

In 2002, the Dutch Prime Minister at the time, Wim Kok, said that the Dutch government accepts responsibility but refuses to take the blame. For years, the relatives of the victims demanded an apology as Amsterdam's simple acceptance of its responsibility in the massacre was not enough.

What was more aggravating to the mourners was that last month, the Netherlands issued an apology to Dutch UN soldiers who were present during the time of the massacre, apologizing for the conditions under which they had to serve.

The Srebrenica genocide is the worst atrocity in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, according to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, which saw the killing of around 100,000 people.

>> Pattern found:

France/Mali

UK/Afghanistan

Netherlands/Bosnia

International court is going to be very busy with many cases of crimes against humanity.

>>16724400

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/putin-will-visit-iran-for-tripartite-russian-iranian-turkish

Putin will visit Iran for tripartite Russian-Iranian-Turkish talks

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Tuesday Putin's visit to Tehran on the 19th of July, 2022.

The Kremlin’s statement came after Chief of Economic Commission of Iran’s Parliament Mohammadreza Pour-Ebrahimi said, as quoted by Iran's state news agency IRNA, that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Tehran next week.

Pour-Ebrahimi added that a positive atmosphere has been formed for the mutual cooperation between the two countries, most notably following the recent trip by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to Russia.

"Very favorable agreements were signed during that trip, President Raisi marked a new chapter of economic relations between Iran and Russia and assured the Russians that the government of the Islamic Republic is serious about economic cooperation with Russia,” he said.

The top Iranian diplomat highlighted that the US and European embargo on Russia made Moscow increase economic cooperation with Tehran.

Al Mayadeen correspondent in Moscow reported that there will be a tripartite Russian-Iranian-Turkish summit in Tehran in the coming week.

Peskov confirmed that Putin, Raisi, and Erdogan will hold discussions in Tehran on July 19 within the framework of the Astana Peace Talks.

These statements come as the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said earlier today that information sourced from a US top official suggests that Iran is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of combat drones for use in the war with Ukraine.