Soleimani killing: what is Malaysia’s aim in call for Muslim unity?
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad swung behind Tehran following Trump’s assassination of the Iranian general
He has also risked the ire of Saudi Arabia by likening the event to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Tashny Sukumaran
Tashny Sukumaran
Published: 9:42pm, 7 Jan, 2020
Updated: 11:08pm, 7 Jan, 2020
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Iranian mourners carry a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granting the Order of Zolfaghar, the highest military honour of Iran, to General Qasem Soleimani, during the latter's funeral procession in Tehran. Photo: AFPIranian mourners carry a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granting the Order of Zolfaghar, the highest military honour of Iran, to General Qasem Soleimani, during the latter's funeral procession in Tehran. Photo: AFP
Iranian mourners carry a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granting the Order of Zolfaghar, the highest military honour of Iran, to General Qasem Soleimani, during the latter's funeral procession in Tehran. Photo: AFP
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
may have come out strongly in support of Iran
following Washington’s assassination of one of its top military commanders, but analysts believe he will still be keen to avoid incurring the wrath of Tehran’s arch rival Saudi Arabia
.
Mahathir on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration’s targeted killing of General Qassem Soleimani as “immoral” and warned it could lead to an escalation in “what is called terrorism”.
“We are no longer safe now. If anybody insults or says something that somebody doesn’t like, it is alright for that person from another country to send a drone and perhaps have a shot at me,” he said, comparing the incident to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
, a critic of Riyadh who Saudi Arabia is widely suspected to have assassinated.
Those remarks are unlikely to have gone down well in Riyadh, which is still smarting from Malaysia’s
decision to host a global Islam forum in December – an event it saw as stealing the thunder of the Saudi-backed Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Outspoken: Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters
Outspoken: Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: Reuters
But analysts said Mahathir’s remarks should be seen in the context of his administration’s long-held and sometimes controversial emphasis on ummah, or Muslim community, in foreign policy, rather than as a signal of shifting allegiances.
… post to long
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3045071/soleimani-killing-what-malaysias-aim-call-muslim-unity
Nine more people isolated over Wuhan virus
2020-01-07 HKT 18:00
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Mainland media have reported that checks have been tightened at the market in Wuhan which is linked to the outbreak.
Mainland media have reported that checks have been tightened at the market in Wuhan which is linked to the outbreak.
Nine more people in Hong Kong have been placed in isolation over fears they have caught an unidentified viral pneumonia that has broken out in Wuhan, but officials have rejected calls to implement compulsory fever checks on passengers arriving from the mainland city before the set foot in the SAR.
Briefing the media, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said there are measures to check for fever when passengers arrive by flight or rail in Hong Kong.
"The current measures provided by the port health office would serve the same purpose as checking the temperature. So there is no need to board the train to do it," she said.
"After the passengers come down from the flight, they have to go through these gateways. They have port health officers at these gates whereby every passenger would have to go through the walkway and the temperature would be checked," said Chan.
This came as five males and four females aged six to 49 were moved to isolation wards. All of them were said to be in a stable condition after being admitted with fever, respiratory infection or pneumonia symptoms.
The new suspected cases bring the total number of people put into isolation in Hong Kong after falling sick following trips to Wuhan to 30 since New Year's Eve.
Meanwhile the US authorities in Beijing have told Americans travelling in the country that they should avoid animals and contact with sick people.
"Be aware and practice usual precautions," said the health alert issued by the US embassy, which urged citizens to seek medical care "right away" if they felt sick after travelling to Wuhan.
The authorities in Wuhan have reported 59 patients infected with the pneumonia-like disease and seven of them were listed as serious cases.
Wuhan's health commission has ruled out that the virus is Sars, Mers or avian flu. But the pathogen has not been identified yet.
Along with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have also reported suspected cases. But no other province on the mainland has officially reported cases of this mystery disease.
______
Last updated: 2020-01-07 HKT 19:10
https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1501489-20200107.htm
U.S. stops Iran foreign minister from meeting UN Security Council
Voice of America
07 Jan 2020, 16:05 GMT+10
WASHINGTON, DC - The United States has denied a visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that would have allowed him to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York on Thursday, a U.S. official said.
Monday's comments by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came as tensions escalate between the two countries after the United States killed Iran's most prominent military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad on Friday.
Under the 1947 U.N. "headquarters agreement," the United States is generally required to allow access to the United Nations for foreign diplomats. But Washington says it can deny visas for "security, terrorism and foreign policy" reasons.
The U.S. State Department declined immediate comment. Iran's mission to the United Nations said: "We have seen the media reports, but we have not received any official communication from either the U.S. or the U.N. regarding Foreign Minister Zarif's visa."
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric declined to comment on the U.S. denial of a visa for Zarif.
Zarif wanted to attend a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday on the topic of upholding the U.N. Charter. The meeting and Zarif's travel had been planned before the latest flare-up in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Security Council meeting would have given Zarif a global spotlight to publicly criticize the United States for killing Soleimani.
Iran's U.N. envoy, Majid Takht Ravanchi, has described the killing of Soleimani as "an obvious example of State terrorism and, as a criminal act, constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, including, in particular … the Charter of the United Nations."
Zarif last traveled to New York in September for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations - after the United States sanctioned him for implementing "the reckless agenda of Iran's Supreme Leader."
The sanctions block any property or interests Zarif has in the United States, but he said he had none.
Zarif also attended U.N. meetings in April and July. During his July visit, Washington imposed tight travel restrictions on Zarif and diplomats at Iran's mission to the United Nations, confining them to a small section of New York City.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier on Monday. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement the pair discussed events in the Middle East and that Pompeo "expressed his appreciation" for Guterres' diplomatic efforts.
https://www.shanghainews.net/news/263636603/us-stops-iran-foreign-minister-from-meeting-un-security-council
Destabilization of Middle East continues, China slams U.S. actions
By Jay Jackson, Shanghai News.Net
07 Jan 2020, 06:57 GMT+10
WASHINGTO, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump has continued to ratchet up his attacks on Iran, after personally directing that country's most powerful military leader be assassinated on Friday.
On Sunday he insisted Iranian cultural sites are fair game for the U.S. military, in a way the Taliban targeted and destroyed historic sites in Afghanistan during their rule.
Mr Trump cast aside concerns from administration officials that to target cultural sites would constitute a war crime under international law. Section 5.16.2 of the U.S. Department of Defense Law of War Manual prohibits threats to destroy cultural objects for the express purpose of deterring enemy operations, so it is unlikely any U.S. military commander will carry out an order by the president, which would effectively require them to break the law.
"They're allowed to kill our people," the president said Sunday. "They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way."
The Iranian people, who own the cultural sites, have of course nothing to do with blowing up people. The president is ominous in his view in that on Friday he himself directed that 10 people be 'blown up.'
While the Trump administration is threatening to attack Iranian cultural sites, Iran and its proxies are saying any retaliation will not involve U.S. civilians. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who is close to the Iranian regime, made clear on Sunday that it would be the U.S. military that would be targeted by Iran. "In terms of response, we have to consider just punishment. In terms of this crime, the one who committed it is known, and must be punished," he told a memorial service for the late Qasam Soleimani in Beirut.
"The U.S. military is the one who killed Soleimani and Muhandis, and they will pay the price. This is the equation," he said. "I want to be very clear. We do not mean American citizens or nationals. There are many Americans in our region. We don't mean to attack them, and it is wrong to harm them."
China meantime has slammed the U.S. for aggravating tensions in the Middle East and called on all parties to exercise restraint.
"Power politics are neither popular nor sustainable," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday. "The U.S.'s risky military behaviour in recent days goes against the basic norms of international relations."
"We call on the U.S. not to abuse its force, and appeal to relevant parties to exercise restraint to avoid the situation worsening," he said.
South Africa's ruling African National Congress party condemned the U.S. airstrike that killed Iran's Soleimani as an "act of international terrorism," in a statement posted on Facebook by party secretary-general Ace Magashule.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the "killing of Soleimani is a serious risk for peace in the region."
"We will work with other countries to reduce tensions between the U.S and Iran," Cavusoglu told reporters at the Directorate for EU affairs in the capital Ankara on Monday.
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the new commander of the Quds Force, said he aimed to expel the U.S. from the region
"We promise to continue martyr Soleimani's path with the same force … and the only compensation for us would be to remove America from the region," Qaani told state radio.
NATO meantime has suspended its training program in Iraq which is assisting Iraqi forces in the fight against Islamic State, and late Monday the U.S.-led Coalition announced it was departing Iraq following a request by the Iraqi prime minister and parliament to do so.
https://www.shanghainews.net/news/263634078/destabilization-of-middle-east-continues-china-slams-us-actions
Russia’s Putin visits Syria to meet Assad, a key Iran ally
A handout picture released by the official Syrian presidency Telegram page on January 7, 2020 shows President Bashar al-Assad (C-R) shaking the hand of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (C-L) at the headquarters of the Russian forces in the Syrian capital Damascus.(AFP)
Short Url
https://arab.news/5375b
Updated 19 sec ago
AP
January 07, 2020 14:33
174
Putin’s visit is the second to the war-torn country
DAMASCUS: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Syria on Tuesday and met with officials including President Bashar Assad, Syrian state media and a Kremlin spokesman reported.
Putin’s visit is the second to the war-torn country, where his troops have been fighting alongside Syrian government forces since 2015.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions between Iran — a key Syrian ally — and the United States, following the killing of a top Iranian general in a US airstrike in neighboring Iraq.
Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s death has sparked calls across Iran for revenge against America.
US troops are based in eastern Syria, making the country a potential site of conflict with Iran.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin visited the Russian command post in Damascus and met President Bashar Assad there. The two leaders were presented with military reports on the situation in different regions of Syria.
In his conversation with Assad, Putin said that “a huge distance has been covered in terms of restoring Syria’s statehood and territorial integrity,” Peskov said.
State news agency SANA gave no further details about Putin’s visit only saying that he met with Assad in a Russian military base in the capital.
The last time Putin visited Syria was in 2017 when he declared that mission for Russian troops has been accomplished. Russia has been a main backer of Assad and has tipped the balance of power in his favor over the past four years with government forces now in control in most of the country.
Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011 has left more than 400,000 people dead.
Last week US warplanes attacked bases of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters in western Iraq and eastern Syria killing 25 and wounding dozens others.
The US government warned ships of an unspecified threat from Iran across all the Mideast’s waterways, crucial routes for global energy supplies.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force launched a drill with 52 fighter jets in Utah, just days after President Donald Trump threatened to hit 52 sites in Iran.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1609636/middle-east
Iran ‘ready to come back to full compliance’ in nuclear deal – senior official
DUBAI: Iran is “ready to come back to full compliance” with its nuclear deal with world powers, deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the Foreign Ministry, though the post did not provide any information on possible conditions.
DUBAI: Iran is “ready to come back to full compliance” with its nuclear deal with world powers, deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the Foreign Ministry, though the post did not provide any information on possible conditions.
Iran announced on Sunday it would abandon limitations on enriching uranium, taking a further step back from commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, but said it would continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1609516/middle-east
I post International news. I don't write the stories. I just bring them to your attention. Never do I beg to be made notable. That's up to the anons.
This is my job when I wake up. When that is done, we meme.
Have a great American day anon.
Russia and China block UNSC statement on US embassy bombing in Iraq - Russian envoy
Vasily Nebenzya said that the statement did not account for further developments
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya Alexander Scherbak/TASS
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya
© Alexander Scherbak/TASS
UN, January 6. /TASS/. Russia and China blocked the statement of the UN Security Council condemning the attack against the US Embassy in Iraq because it did not take into account the subsequent US air strike near the Bagdad airport, which resulted in killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said on Monday.
The US Permanent Mission to the UN said earlier that two permanent members of UNSC, Russia and China did not allow the statement to proceed.
"I would like to inform you, first of all, as a principle, we condemn strongly any attacks on any embassies, in any states, and we strongly condemn the attack on the American embassy in Baghdad," Nebenzya said. The statement of UNSC was practically ready when the US air strike on January 3 followed and it was impossible not to take it into account, the Russian diplomat said, explaining the reasons why the statement was not adopted.
The UN Security Council has not yet discussed escalation of the conflict between Iran and the US and will hardly be able to work out a common statement regarding the killing of Qasem Soleimani, Nebenzya noted.
"We were not discussing that yet, especially today, and you perfectly well understand that the prospects of such statement are zero," he added.
The situation in the Middle East aggravated dramatically after the US missile strike near the Baghdad airport, killing head of the Iran’s Quds Force Qasem Soleimani. Tehran promised a tough response to the US and started scaling down its obligations under the nuclear deal. The parliament of Iraq adopted the resolution calling for complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country on January 5. US President Donald Trump refused to do that and threatened Iraq with big sanctions.
https://tass.com/politics/1105959
US denies visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif for trip to UN Security Council meeting
Visa was necessary for trip to UN Security Council meeting on Thursday
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Vladimir Gerdo/TASS
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS
January 7. / TASS/. The United States refused to issue a visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was about to leave for Thursday's meeting of the UN Security Council, Reuters news agency reported on Monday.
According to him, this decision followed an increase in tension between the two countries after the commander of the Special Forces of Al-Quds of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Iranian elite units of the Armed Forces) Qasem Soleimani was killed as a result of a US air strike in the Baghdad airport area on January 3. The operation was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump, . According to the Pentagon, the strike was defensive, since it was aimed at protecting US troops in Iraq and other countries. Washington blamed Soleimani for allegedly approving a rally outside the US Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.
On January 3, the Pentagon confirmed that a missile strike near the Baghdad airport killed the head of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani. The operation was carried out at the direction of US President Donald Trump. According to the Pentagon, the strike was defensive, since it was aimed at protecting US troops in Iraq and other countries. Washington blamed Soleimani for allegedly approving a rally outside the US Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.
Following the attack, the Supreme National Security Council of Iran vowed to exact "severe revenge" on those involved in Soleimani’s killing, blaming the United States for the attack. In a phone call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the attack as an act of terrorism from the side of the US. He pointed out that Tehran would take international measures to hold Washington responsible for the general’s murder.
The situation in the Middle East sharply worsened after the death of Soleimani. Tehran promised the United States a tough response and began to reduce the implementation of its obligations under the nuclear deal.
The actions of the Americans, who have been attacking Shiite groups in Iraq since December 29, have been criticized the Iraqi authorities and raised the question of the legitimacy of the coalition's actions led by Washington. On January 5, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution demanding the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country. US President Donald Trump refused to do so, threatening Iraq with "unprecedented sanctions.".
https://tass.com/world/1105977
We have a winner!
Now the real important question.
White hats or black hats control the drones?
If white hats, media stories giving away their moves? Doubtful.
If black hats, white hats plant the media stories to quell the pop why they close in on black hats? Sounds like SOP.
>Of course the Clown shills would rather that you filter and stay as Dumb sheep
nice try
aint buying it
filtering is what makes this place different/better from, say, VOAT
that is why you post the reason you are filtering, so they have a clue
> FOGET
fighting derails moron, and now that is why you are being filtered
LEARN
no group is monolithic
>To generate emotional distress
>
>And shut down Anons' critical thinking skills.
not if you filter
I absolutely hate the fighting and the antisemitic hatred
all that shit, along with hand gore, watermarked memes, Freddie, ebot, those that shit the bread…
filtered
much more peaceful, leass distracting, and less evil is put before mine eye
Great article - dated, but informative.
The sparse expanses of Northeast Colorado have become ground zero for a bizarre mystery surrounding sightings of nighttime coordinated flights of groups of drones. From roughly 7 pm to 10 pm every night last week, an estimated 17 drones with six-foot spans have flown "grid patterns" over Phillips County and near its border with neighboring Yuma County, according to Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliott. The drones operate at a few hundred feet in the air and were brightly lit with strobing colored and white lights, leaving local residents and those driving through the area baffled.
….
much more
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/31631/there-is-a-big-and-bizarre-drone-mystery-unfolding-in-rural-colorado
I have thought about this. It's a tough question.
All I have come up with is some kind of press review board/court. If that body finds fake news, they pull the press card.
Of course this is outside of the constitution, but that is exactly what makes this a tough question.
Ya, I looked at the video last night. Don't think I'll be baking unless they add the audio to the video.
Look in the header.
muh half billion Australian animals
wtf is wrong with Rand Paul?
Trump ruined any chance for diplomacy with Iran according to Rand.
They will come to the table or cease being an economic power, IMHO.
Where/who is the controller?
If black hats have no birds in the sky, could be white-hat satellite control?