Tag: Region Middle East

Panel says the UN, the Syrian government and others are responsible for delays in getting emergency aid to Syrians.

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in cities across Israel for a 10th consecutive week, protesting against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to curb the Supreme Court’s powers.

Organisers said a record 500,000 people attended Saturday’s rallies, making them the “biggest in Israeli history”.

Media in Israel put the turnout at 250,000 to 300,000 people.

The demonstrations come as Netanyahu’s government prepares to press on with its legislative agenda next week, shunning calls for a pause to allow for negotiations on the divisive judicial reforms.

As they work to unleash greater violence on the Palestinians, its rulers are turning Israel into a fascist garrison. Israeli headlines read like guidelines for future autocracy, with the justice minister working to strip power away from the judiciary, the communications minister threatening to defund Israel’s public broadcaster to funnel money to a channel favourable to the government, and the minister of heritage accusing organisations representing Reform Jews of endangering Jewish identity.

Fearing a tailspin into turmoil, President Isaac Herzog stepped in, with tacit support from President Joe Biden, to facilitate a compromise between the government and the protesters. But what seems like a well-intentioned effort to build consensus, is, in fact, an ill-advised attempt at appeasing fascists and pandering to evil.

Any compromise offered by Herzog would be skewed towards the ruling majority, which holds the power to interpret its articles at will. A compromise will also whitewash and empower the ruling fascists, presenting them as responsible and pragmatic actors, as they pursue their extremist agenda, and as the street opposition loses momentum and disintegrates, slowly but surely.

The United States has imposed sanctions on 39 entities, including many based in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, that Washington said facilitate Iran’s access to the global financial system, describing them as a “shadow banking” network that moves billions of dollars.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Thursday that those included in the sanctions had granted companies previously slapped with Iran-related sanctions – such as Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co (PGPICC) and Triliance Petrochemical Co Ltd – access to the international financial system and helped them hide their trade with foreign customers.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly asking for US help to develop its civilian nuclear programme, raising fears that the kingdom may seek to develop a nuclear weapon and accelerate an arms race with Iran.

Saudi officials want US support to enrich uranium and develop their own fuel production system, while Washington is in return seeking a normalisation with another Middle East ally, Israel, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal.

The oil-dependent kingdom is looking to add nuclear power to its energy mix while, at the same time, being deeply wary of nuclear proliferation attempts by Tehran.

Matt Taibbi presented the US Congress with evidence of corporate, NGO and government collusion: Social media platforms colluded with non-governmental organizations and the US government to suppress information they did not like. During the hearing, multiple Democrats tried to pressure Taibbi into revealing his sources, insinuating Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, was behind the disclosures.

BERLIN (AP) — European countries said Thursday that they have decided to dissolve a system conceived in 2019 to enable trade with Iran and protect companies doing business with it from U.S. sanctions, but only ever processed one transaction.

The German and French foreign ministries said the 10 shareholders of INSTEX — Belgium, Germany, Finland, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. — concluded that there was no basis to keep it going after Iran persistently refused to work with the institution.

The decision comes at a time when tensions between the West and Iran have increased following Tehran’s crackdown on internal dissent, its supply of armed drones to Russia that have been used in the war in Ukraine, and the de facto breakdown of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers including Germany, France and the U.K.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday announced more sanctions against people and firms associated with Iran and with what it said was an illicit banking network used to conceal transactions.

The U.S. said it placed the penalties on 39 firms linked to a shadow banking system that helped to obfuscate financial activity between sanctioned Iranian firms and their foreign buyers, namely for petrochemicals produced in Iran.

The Treasury Department said the companies — from Hong Kong to the United Arab Emirates — made up a “significant ‘shadow banking’ network” that gave cover to sanctioned Iranian entities to disguise petrochemical sales with foreign customers.

Pentagon chiefs reportedly blocking Washington from sharing evidence of alleged war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. The US Department of Defense is reportedly at odds with the administration of President Joe Biden over helping the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Company 1, a multi-national corporation headquartered in Malta and with operations in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the United States was charged with bribery in an indictment returned on September 30, 2019.

The House rejected Matt Gaetz’s war powers resolutions to pull 900 U.S. troops from Syria days after a visit from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

House lawmakers reexamined shortfalls from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Thousands of demonstrators surrounded the legislature in Tbilisi in protest against the “foreign agents” law Read Full Article at RT.com

U.S. officials have unveiled the latest round of sanctions on Iran over its government’s violence toward women and girls amid the anti-regime protests happening around the country. In a news release, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Treasury Department has implemented sanctions on multiple Iranian officials, company presidents, security leaders and companies for their role in the crackdown on…

At wide-ranging press conference, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also describes Taiwan as a ‘red line’ in relations with US.

Tens of thousands rally for the ninth straight week against government plan to overhaul court system.