jewworldorder--2020-12-08--Israeli company launches pilot program to help solve problem of textile waste

Re-Born Global , Israel ’ s first platform for a circular economy in textiles , has launched Re-Born Textiles , the first circular management system for textile waste .
Co-founders Revital Nadiv and Viktoria Kanar decided to combine innovation and sustainable thinking to create an urban solution for textile waste that mostly goes to landfills , incineration or is shipped to other continents .
With the overall fashion industry being responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions , the need for change and innovative solutions is imminent .
Israel is committed to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This includes the goals to promote and advance a circular economy , sustainable cities , responsible consumption and production , and climate action .
Re-Born Textiles , the flagship project of Re-Fresh Global , offers solutions based on a three-pillar system : discarded clothes in new/almost new condition are returned to retail ( Re-Use ) ; discarded clothes and textiles are upcycled into new textile products with the help of new technology ( Re-Make ) ; and clothes and textiles are recycled and used for other industries , such as construction and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pilot program will take place in Kfar Saba , which has its own sustainability centre , Kipod .
Nearly 100 women from throughout the country have participated in a course to learn about the challenges and solutions for the fashion and textile industry , as well as professional textile sorting and management , and secondhand marketing .
Kfar Saba Mayor Raffi Saar said at the launch of the project , “ in order to promote issues of this type and others , we work with research and academic bodies , and as part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implement innovative and diverse solutions for the separation and treatment of waste in all its shades .
At the same time , we are working to strengthen the information channels in front of the residents regarding changing consumption habits and separating waste.
” He added that “ the cooperation of all of us together can bring about total social change , for the future of our children , for the future of us all , for the future of the planet.
” Other key supporters include the German embassy in Israel .
Ambassador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a greener economy to mitigate climate change is one of the core priorities of Germany ’ s European Union council presidency .
We believe that the current health crisis holds an enormous opportunity to change things towards increased sustainability , including improving the waste management of the textile industry .
And we felt that the Re-Born project , also in regard to its social element , was more than needed , and it is our pleasure to join the initiative ’ s efforts to make the world a little greener .
”

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Re-Born Global, Israel’s first platform for a circular economy in textiles, has launched Re-Born Textiles, the first circular management system for textile waste.
Co-founders Revital Nadiv and Viktoria Kanar decided to combine innovation and sustainable thinking to create an urban solution for textile waste that mostly goes to landfills, incineration or is shipped to other continents.
With the overall fashion industry being responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions, the need for change and innovative solutions is imminent.
Israel is committed to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda put forth by the United Nations. This includes the goals to promote and advance a circular economy, sustainable cities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
Re-Born Textiles, the flagship project of Re-Fresh Global, offers solutions based on a three-pillar system: discarded clothes in new/almost new condition are returned to retail (Re-Use); discarded clothes and textiles are upcycled into new textile products with the help of new technology (Re-Make); and clothes and textiles are recycled and used for other industries, such as construction and the automobile industry (Re-Cycle).
The pilot program will take place in Kfar Saba, which has its own sustainability centre, Kipod. Nearly 100 women from throughout the country have participated in a course to learn about the challenges and solutions for the fashion and textile industry, as well as professional textile sorting and management, and secondhand marketing.
Kfar Saba Mayor Raffi Saar said at the launch of the project, “in order to promote issues of this type and others, we work with research and academic bodies, and as part of international collaborations, to examine and implement innovative and diverse solutions for the separation and treatment of waste in all its shades. At the same time, we are working to strengthen the information channels in front of the residents regarding changing consumption habits and separating waste.”
He added that “the cooperation of all of us together can bring about total social change, for the future of our children, for the future of us all, for the future of the planet.”
Other key supporters include the German embassy in Israel.
Ambassador Dr Susanne Wasum-Rainer said “promoting sustainability and a greener economy to mitigate climate change is one of the core priorities of Germany’s European Union council presidency. We believe that the current health crisis holds an enormous opportunity to change things towards increased sustainability, including improving the waste management of the textile industry. And we felt that the Re-Born project, also in regard to its social element, was more than needed, and it is our pleasure to join the initiative’s efforts to make the world a little greener.”
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jewworldorder--2020-12-08--Thousands again defy restrictions to attend Brooklyn ultra-Orthodox funeral

JTA — Large crowds gathered Monday afternoon for the funeral of a beloved Hasidic rabbi in Williamsburg , home to the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn .
Thousands gathered at the funeral , according to the New York Post , and most did not wear masks .
The funeral took place at the same synagogue where a massive wedding expected to draw thousands was planned and then stopped by state authorities in October .
Another massive Satmar wedding was held at a different location in Williamsburg the next month , though that event was kept secret until weeks afterwards when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that made it possible to pull off without detection .
Get The Times of Israel ’ s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up The man who died , Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Menashe Friedman , was a longtime judge of the Satmar rabbinic court and a respected authority on Jewish law .
He was considered one of the most important figures in the Satmar faction led by Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum in Williamsburg .
He was 94 .
On Sunday night , Teitelbaum spoke a different gathering , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the day that Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum , Zalman ’ s father , fled the Nazis on the Kasztner train in 1944 .
There , he told followers that they should not consider themselves Americans , according to the Jerusalem Post .
Funerals for community leaders of that stature in Orthodox communities often draw thousands of mourners .
Earlier in the pandemic , a large funeral for a Hasidic rabbi in Williamsburg drew thousands to the street , provoking a tweet from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio that called out “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widely criticized among New York Jews but not the Williamsburg community itself .
Leaders of the two main synagogues in the Satmar community in Williamsburg wrote letters at the time defending the mayor from charges of anti-Semitism .
One of those leaders , Mayer Rispler , himself died of the coronavirus in October .

JTA — Large crowds gathered Monday afternoon for the funeral of a beloved Hasidic rabbi in Williamsburg, home to the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn.
Thousands gathered at the funeral, according to the New York Post, and most did not wear masks.
The funeral took place at the same synagogue where a massive wedding expected to draw thousands was planned and then stopped by state authorities in October. Another massive Satmar wedding was held at a different location in Williamsburg the next month, though that event was kept secret until weeks afterwards when a Hasidic newspaper wrote about the planning that made it possible to pull off without detection.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
The man who died, Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Menashe Friedman, was a longtime judge of the Satmar rabbinic court and a respected authority on Jewish law. He was considered one of the most important figures in the Satmar faction led by Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum in Williamsburg. He was 94.
On Sunday night, Teitelbaum spoke a different gathering, a celebration of the 21st of Kislev, the day that Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, Zalman’s father, fled the Nazis on the Kasztner train in 1944. There, he told followers that they should not consider themselves Americans, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Funerals for community leaders of that stature in Orthodox communities often draw thousands of mourners. Earlier in the pandemic, a large funeral for a Hasidic rabbi in Williamsburg drew thousands to the street, provoking a tweet from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio that called out “the Jewish community.”
Residents of the Williamsburg neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York stand on fire escapes as hundreds of mourners gather Tuesday, April 28, 2020, to observe a funeral for Rabbi Chaim Mertz, a Hasidic Orthodox leader whose death was reportedly tied to the new coronavirus. (Todd Maisel via AP)
The tweet was widely criticized among New York Jews but not the Williamsburg community itself. Leaders of the two main synagogues in the Satmar community in Williamsburg wrote letters at the time defending the mayor from charges of anti-Semitism. One of those leaders, Mayer Rispler, himself died of the coronavirus in October.


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Halie Soifer promoted to CEO of Jewish Democratic Council of America

“ We ’ re proud to recognize the contributions Halie has made to our organization and the Jewish American Democratic community-at-large by appointing her JDCA ’ s first CEO , ” JDCA Board Vice-Chair Barbara Goldberg Goldman said .
“ This title is much deserved and a reflection of the fact that Halie was the very best person to lead this organization at the right time.
” Indeed , JDCA tripled the size of its staff ahead of the presidential election that took place on November 3 , established a Next Generation Leadership Council , and created 15 state chapters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the elections and ran digital ads for 73 candidates receiving more than 45 million views .
“ In the past three years , JDCA has demonstrated its vital role in organizing Jewish voters and giving voice to Jewish and American values , ” declared Soifer .
“ The growth of JDCA ’ s leadership structure is a testament to its success and the overwhelming support we ’ ve received from American Jews , who played a critical role ensuring Joe Biden ’ s historic win .
” “ In a Biden administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Jewish voters will continue to play a critical role advocating for policy aligned with our values , and I look forward to continuing to grow this movement as CEO.
” Goldman added , “ In the next four years , JDCA has a vital role to play supporting the Democratic policy agenda on key issues of importance to Jewish Americans .
These include , but extend well beyond , Israel , and JDCA has a particularly important role serving as a partner to a Biden White House .
”

Halie Soifer , Jewish Democratic Council of America’s (JDCA) first executive director, has been promoted to JDCA’s first Chief Executive Officer in recognition of her work over the past two years that helped tremendously the growth of the organization, including successfully mobilizing the Jewish vote in the 2020 US election, the organization announced on Wednesday.This promotion makes her one of a small number of women CEOs of Jewish organizations.
“We’re proud to recognize the contributions Halie has made to our organization and the Jewish American Democratic community-at-large by appointing her JDCA’s first CEO,” JDCA Board Vice-Chair Barbara Goldberg Goldman said. “This title is much deserved and a reflection of the fact that Halie was the very best person to lead this organization at the right time.”
Indeed, JDCA tripled the size of its staff ahead of the presidential election that took place on November 3, established a Next Generation Leadership Council, and created 15 state chapters.
Afterward, JDCA endorsed 121 candidates during the elections and ran digital ads for 73 candidates receiving more than 45 million views.
“In the past three years, JDCA has demonstrated its vital role in organizing Jewish voters and giving voice to Jewish and American values,” declared Soifer. “The growth of JDCA’s leadership structure is a testament to its success and the overwhelming support we’ve received from American Jews, who played a critical role ensuring Joe Biden’s historic win .”
“In a Biden administration and new Congress,” Soifer continued, “Jewish voters will continue to play a critical role advocating for policy aligned with our values, and I look forward to continuing to grow this movement as CEO.”
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Goldman added, “In the next four years, JDCA has a vital role to play supporting the Democratic policy agenda on key issues of importance to Jewish Americans. These include, but extend well beyond, Israel, and JDCA has a particularly important role serving as a partner to a Biden White House.”
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jewworldorder--2020-12-09--First Pfizer coronavirus vaccines expected to land on Wednesday

The public is likely to begin vaccinating in less than two weeks , as vaccines arrive in the country and the health funds and hospitals prepare to administer them .
Health Ministry director-general Chezy Levy informed the country ’ s health funds on Tuesday that they should prepare for the vaccinations to begin on December 20 , The Jerusalem Post confirmed .
A senior health fund official said that the hospitals and the funds will start vaccinating in small numbers at first , but are expected to begin larger-scale community vaccination right after Christmas , when a large shipment of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israel .
At least 110,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are expected to arrive today and medical staff at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center have signed up to be the first to be inoculated.On Tuesday , Sourasky director-general Prof. Ronni Gamzu confirmed to the Post that the hospital could begin inoculating even before the vaccine receives US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) approval .
He said he could administer the vaccine because he received permission from the director-general of MASHAV , Israel ’ s Agency for International Development Cooperation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the Post that beginning vaccination in any place ahead of FDA approval was forbidden and added that the country had still not finalized the list of who would be prioritized to get it first .
“ We hope that in the coming days , there will be FDA approval , ” Levy said .
The FDA advisory panel is set to review the Pfizer vaccine on December 10 .
“ The vaccine is safe for every person on an individual level and for us as a company at the national level , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I am proud to receive this treatment first as part of the global technological advancement .
I am convinced that leading by personal example will help gain public trust so all citizens take the vaccine for their health.
” Gamzu was the target of sharp criticism from the Israel Medical Association , whose head , Zion Hagay , said in a statement that the move was “ irresponsible ” and will have the opposite of its intended effect – that it will “ erode public trust.
” The vaccines are supposed to arrive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shipping company and will be transferred directly to the Teva SLE Logistic Center , where they will be stored ahead of countrywide distribution .
Pfizer vaccines are made of messenger RNA ( mRNA ) and must be kept at minus-70 degrees Celsius .
Israel has purchased eight million doses of the Pfizer vaccine – enough for four million people .
Last week , Levy said in a video meeting with the country ’ s hospital administrators that some four million doses could arrive before the end of the month .
But he added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are approved by the FDA , no one will be inoculated before approval .
Ahead of the FDA ’ s Thursday meeting on the Pfizer vaccine , the administration announced Tuesday that two trial participants had died after receiving it .
One of the deceased individuals was immunocompromised , meaning the person ’ s immune defenses were low .
The information was obtained from documents released by the FDA on Tuesday .
The documents were released ahead of a meeting on Thursday of external experts who will debate whether emergency authorization for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FDA also said on Tuesday that the data they receive are in line with emergency use authorization , raising hopes for authorization on Thursday .
At the same time , the FDA said that currently there is not enough research to guarantee the vaccine ’ s safety for immunocompromized groups , pregnant women and children .
Israel ’ s Midaat Association responded to the report on the deaths , explaining that when vaccines are administered to at-risk populations “ there may be unfortunate cases .
One should not infer from this about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the transparency required from the pharma companies in the drug approval process.
” The association noted that in large trials of tens of thousands of people , death can occur without any connection to the trial , but that companies such as Pfizer are required to report those deaths .
“ According to the published data , six of the participants in the experiment died , two of whom received the vaccine and four of the control group , ” said Dr. Uri Lerner , the scientific director for Midaat .
“ After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found between the experiment and the cause of death.
” Hospitals throughout the country are preparing to receive the Pfizer vaccine and inoculate their staff .
“ We very much hope that we have light at the end of the tunnel , ” said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein during a visit to Galilee Medical Center on Tuesday , “ The success of the vaccine also depends on the response of the medical staff .
I hope that thanks to your effort and the efforts we make , both in bringing the vaccines and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be able to get back to routine.
” Baruch Padeh , Barzilai , Wolfson and Soroka medical centers all announced that they were ready to receive the vaccine .
Baruch Padeh held a preparatory meeting Tuesday morning and sent it ’ s 1,500 staff members a message , “ We are all getting vaccinated.
” “ We who are at the forefront of the war against coronavirus should be the first to be vaccinated , ” said Erez Onn , director-general of Baruch Padeh , “ so that we can continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ones who should serve as an example to the entire public.
” Wolfson ’ s Dr. Anat Angel said the vaccination process for its staff of more than 3,000 would be documented and carried out “ immediately and without any delays.
” “ Having succeeded well above average in previous years with staff vaccinations against influenza … I am sure , beyond doubt , we will also lead in vaccinations against coronavirus , ” she said .
The hospitals said that they would receive the vaccinations and inoculate staff with their first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 21-day waiting period before administering the second dose .
Getting the vaccines to the hospitals will be handled by the Teva SLE Logistic Center , which the Knesset ’ s State Audit Committee visited on Tuesday .
“ The eyes of the entire State of Israel are here , ” said committee chairman MK Ofer Shelach during the visit .
“ This is the most important and extensive national project since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
” He said that the visit left him feeling that “ the company is unusually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it will continue like this.
” Yossi Ofek , CEO of Teva Israel-SLE , agreed and said , “ there is no room for error here .
We understand the magnitude of responsibility.
” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke about the vaccines again on Tuesday , stressing that although they are almost here and the country is starting to hopefully see the end of the pandemic , “ as in war , when we see the end of the war , we must not lose people .
People will die and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for no reason – it is possible to prevent this.
” He called for continued social distancing , wearing masks and following the Health Ministry rules even as the first vaccines arrive .

The public is likely to begin vaccinating in less than two weeks, as vaccines arrive in the country and the health funds and hospitals prepare to administer them.
Health Ministry director-general Chezy Levy informed the country’s health funds on Tuesday that they should prepare for the vaccinations to begin on December 20, The Jerusalem Post confirmed.
A senior health fund official said that the hospitals and the funds will start vaccinating in small numbers at first, but are expected to begin larger-scale community vaccination right after Christmas, when a large shipment of Pfizer vaccines is supposed to arrive in Israel.
At least 110,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are expected to arrive today and medical staff at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center have signed up to be the first to be inoculated.On Tuesday, Sourasky director-general Prof. Ronni Gamzu confirmed to the Post that the hospital could begin inoculating even before the vaccine receives US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. He said he could administer the vaccine because he received permission from the director-general of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.
However, Health Ministry director-general Chezy Levy told the Post that beginning vaccination in any place ahead of FDA approval was forbidden and added that the country had still not finalized the list of who would be prioritized to get it first.
“We hope that in the coming days, there will be FDA approval,” Levy said.
The FDA advisory panel is set to review the Pfizer vaccine on December 10.
“The vaccine is safe for every person on an individual level and for us as a company at the national level,” Gamzu wrote on Twitter. “I am proud to receive this treatment first as part of the global technological advancement. I am convinced that leading by personal example will help gain public trust so all citizens take the vaccine for their health.”
פרופ׳ רוני גמזו: ״החיסון בטוח לכל אדם ברמה האישית ולנו כחברה ברמה הלאומית. אני גאה לקבל ראשון את הטיפול הזה כחלק מהקדמה הטכנולוגית העולמית. אני משוכנע שדוגמא אישית זו תביא לאמון הציבור ואת כלל האזרחים לקבל את החיסון למען בריאותם״. pic.twitter.com/DS5gZOJgzr — בית חולים איכילוב (@tasmc1) December 8, 2020
Gamzu was the target of sharp criticism from the Israel Medical Association, whose head, Zion Hagay, said in a statement that the move was “irresponsible” and will have the opposite of its intended effect – that it will “erode public trust.”
The vaccines are supposed to arrive on a special flight via the DHL shipping company and will be transferred directly to the Teva SLE Logistic Center, where they will be stored ahead of countrywide distribution.
Pfizer vaccines are made of messenger RNA (mRNA) and must be kept at minus-70 degrees Celsius.
Israel has purchased eight million doses of the Pfizer vaccine – enough for four million people.
Last week, Levy said in a video meeting with the country’s hospital administrators that some four million doses could arrive before the end of the month. But he added that although they could come even before they are approved by the FDA, no one will be inoculated before approval.
Ahead of the FDA’s Thursday meeting on the Pfizer vaccine, the administration announced Tuesday that two trial participants had died after receiving it. One of the deceased individuals was immunocompromised, meaning the person’s immune defenses were low.
The information was obtained from documents released by the FDA on Tuesday.
The documents were released ahead of a meeting on Thursday of external experts who will debate whether emergency authorization for the vaccine should be granted.
The FDA also said on Tuesday that the data they receive are in line with emergency use authorization, raising hopes for authorization on Thursday.
At the same time, the FDA said that currently there is not enough research to guarantee the vaccine’s safety for immunocompromized groups, pregnant women and children.
Israel’s Midaat Association responded to the report on the deaths, explaining that when vaccines are administered to at-risk populations “there may be unfortunate cases. One should not infer from this about the safety of the vaccine, but welcome the transparency required from the pharma companies in the drug approval process.”
The association noted that in large trials of tens of thousands of people, death can occur without any connection to the trial, but that companies such as Pfizer are required to report those deaths.
“According to the published data, six of the participants in the experiment died, two of whom received the vaccine and four of the control group,” said Dr. Uri Lerner, the scientific director for Midaat. “After an in-depth examination, no connection was found between the experiment and the cause of death.”
Hospitals throughout the country are preparing to receive the Pfizer vaccine and inoculate their staff.
“We very much hope that we have light at the end of the tunnel,” said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein during a visit to Galilee Medical Center on Tuesday, “The success of the vaccine also depends on the response of the medical staff. I hope that thanks to your effort and the efforts we make, both in bringing the vaccines and in improving the rapid testing, we will be able to get back to routine.”
Baruch Padeh, Barzilai, Wolfson and Soroka medical centers all announced that they were ready to receive the vaccine.
Baruch Padeh held a preparatory meeting Tuesday morning and sent it’s 1,500 staff members a message, “We are all getting vaccinated.”
“We who are at the forefront of the war against coronavirus should be the first to be vaccinated,” said Erez Onn, director-general of Baruch Padeh, “so that we can continue to give professional and dedicated care… We are the ones who should serve as an example to the entire public.”
Wolfson’s Dr. Anat Angel said the vaccination process for its staff of more than 3,000 would be documented and carried out “immediately and without any delays.”
“Having succeeded well above average in previous years with staff vaccinations against influenza … I am sure, beyond doubt, we will also lead in vaccinations against coronavirus,” she said.
The hospitals said that they would receive the vaccinations and inoculate staff with their first doses right away. There would be a 21-day waiting period before administering the second dose.
Getting the vaccines to the hospitals will be handled by the Teva SLE Logistic Center, which the Knesset’s State Audit Committee visited on Tuesday.
“The eyes of the entire State of Israel are here,” said committee chairman MK Ofer Shelach during the visit. “This is the most important and extensive national project since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.”
He said that the visit left him feeling that “the company is unusually prepared and professional. I sincerely hope that it will continue like this.”
Yossi Ofek, CEO of Teva Israel-SLE, agreed and said, “there is no room for error here. We understand the magnitude of responsibility.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke about the vaccines again on Tuesday, stressing that although they are almost here and the country is starting to hopefully see the end of the pandemic, “as in war, when we see the end of the war, we must not lose people. People will die and will be stricken with a serious disease for no reason – it is possible to prevent this.”
He called for continued social distancing, wearing masks and following the Health Ministry rules even as the first vaccines arrive.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--North Korea says South will ‘pay dearly’ for questioning its Covid success story

North Korea lashed out at the “ reckless ” comments of a South Korean minister on Wednesday , after Seoul openly questioned Pyongyang ’ s claims to have not had a single Covid-19 case .
Kim Yo-jong , the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un , said South Korea ’ s Kang Kyung-wha risked further damaging the already strained relations between the neighbours for saying it is “ hard to believe ” the North Korean coronavirus success story .
“ It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by [ Kang ] without any consideration of the consequences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chill the frozen relations between North and South Korea , Ms Kim said in statement carried by the official KCNA news agency .
“ Her real intention is very clear .
We will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it , ” added Ms Kim .
As well as being the North Korean leader ’ s sister , Ms Kim has forged a strong position for herself in the ruling Workers ’ Party , holding the portfolio for inter-Korean relations , and is seen as the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a forum in Bahrain on Saturday , the South Korean foreign minister said the North had been unresponsive to the country ’ s offers to help in fighting against the disease .
“ They still say they do not have any cases , which is hard to believe .
So , all signs are the regime is very intensely focused on controlling the disease that they say they do not have.
” North Korea has insisted that it is Covid free since the start of the pandemic , in spite of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country where the virus originated .
At the same time , North Korea ’ s state media have repeatedly said there is a “ maximum emergency ” in its anti-epidemic campaign , for which the country has shut its international borders and flown out diplomats with suspected symptoms along with some residents .
Experts have countered North Korea ’ s claims , saying that regardless of the drastic measures it is highly unlikely that the country has not had a single case .
North Korea further tightened security at its borders and cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ main trading partner China and also Russia to prevent a coronavirus outbreak .
Movement of people in the capital city Pyongyang remains restricted , with operations suspended in hotels , restaurants and other public places .
The comments from Ms Kim also came as US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is visiting Seoul to discuss North Korea and other issues .
South Korea ’ s spy agencies report that Kim Jong-un has ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any actions that could strain relations with Washington with a new president , Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @

North Korea lashed out at the “reckless” comments of a South Korean minister on Wednesday, after Seoul openly questioned Pyongyang’s claims to have not had a single Covid-19 case.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said South Korea’s Kang Kyung-wha risked further damaging the already strained relations between the neighbours for saying it is “hard to believe” the North Korean coronavirus success story.
“It can be seen from the reckless remarks made by [Kang] without any consideration of the consequences that she is too eager to further chill the frozen relations between North and South Korea, Ms Kim said in statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
“Her real intention is very clear. We will never forget her words and she might have to pay dearly for it,” added Ms Kim.
As well as being the North Korean leader’s sister, Ms Kim has forged a strong position for herself in the ruling Workers’ Party, holding the portfolio for inter-Korean relations, and is seen as the country’s de facto second-in-command.
Read more
Speaking at a forum in Bahrain on Saturday, the South Korean foreign minister said the North had been unresponsive to the country’s offers to help in fighting against the disease.
“They still say they do not have any cases, which is hard to believe. So, all signs are the regime is very intensely focused on controlling the disease that they say they do not have.”
She added that the pandemic has made “North Korea more North Korea”, with a more closed decision-making structure.
North Korea has insisted that it is Covid free since the start of the pandemic, in spite of its long land border with China, the country where the virus originated.
At the same time, North Korea’s state media have repeatedly said there is a “maximum emergency” in its anti-epidemic campaign, for which the country has shut its international borders and flown out diplomats with suspected symptoms along with some residents.
Experts have countered North Korea’s claims, saying that regardless of the drastic measures it is highly unlikely that the country has not had a single case.
North Korea further tightened security at its borders and cut off nearly all trade with both its main trading partner China and also Russia to prevent a coronavirus outbreak. Movement of people in the capital city Pyongyang remains restricted, with operations suspended in hotels, restaurants and other public places.
The comments from Ms Kim also came as US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is visiting Seoul to discuss North Korea and other issues.
South Korea’s spy agencies report that Kim Jong-un has ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any actions that could strain relations with Washington with a new president, Joe Biden, about to take office.
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Israel wouldn’t have assassinated Iranian scientist without U.S. consent: expert

TEHRAN – Philip Giraldi , the executive director of the Council for the National Interest , has said in an analysis that the White House green-lighted Israel ’ s plan to assassinate prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh .
In an essay titled “ A Killing in Iran : Who Gains From Yet Another Assassination ?
” and published on the Information Clearing House , Giraldi closed examined the assassination of Fakhrizadeh and those behind it .
He started with the reactions in the U.S. to the assassination .
“ It is not often that one can agree with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( CIA ) Director John Brennan , but his tweeted comment on the killing of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh suggesting that the incident ‘ …was a criminal act & highly reckless .
It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict .
Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits ’ was both restrained and reasonable .
Or it was at least so until sentence two , which was clearly intended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incoming Joe Biden administration , which Brennan just might be seeking to join , ” wrote Giraldi .
Giraldi , a former CIA intelligence officer , added , “ Bearing in mind that John Brennan was the guiding hand behind President Barack Obama ’ s kill lists of Americans who were marked for death by drone it is difficult to understand what moral high ground he seeks to occupy in the slaying of Fakhrizadeh .
Brennan , who was a leading critic of Trump and who may have led the clandestine effort to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , subsequently found himself in an exchange of tweets with Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz which degenerated into a trading of insults .
Cruz responded ‘ It ’ s bizarre to see a former head of the CIA consistently side with Iranian zealots who chant ‘ Death to America.
’ And reflexively condemn Israel .
Does Joe Biden agree ?
’ This produced a riposte by Brennan that ‘ It is typical for you to mischaracterize my comment .
Your lawless attitude & simple-minded approach to serious national security matters demonstrate that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people of Texas.
’ ” On November 27 at 14:30 , nearly 10 people attacked the convoy of Fakhrizadeh on a highway in the small city of Absard in Damavand County , about 40 kilometers east of the capital Tehran .
The scientist lost his life during the attack while his bodyguards were severely injured .
Iranian officials were quick to point the finger at Israel , which has carried out many assassination operations against Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade .
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack was carried out with “ serious indications of Israeli role.
” Since then , several Iranian officials have vowed to take revenge against Israel .
Giraldi also pointed to the alleged killing of an al-Qaeda leader in Iran , saying this claim has been used to justify U.S. pressure on Iran .
“ The claim that Iran has been harboring al-Qaeda is already being used by the Trump White House to justify increased pressure on Iran and it might possibly even serve as part of a casus belli , ” the expert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just two weeks after the alleged killing of the al-Qaeda leader , which , according to Giraldi , was meant to send a message to Iran .
“ The claim that Fakhrizadeh was in charge of a secret Iranian weapons program , made regularly by Israel and the U.S. , is not generally believed by most authorities .
Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , which nuclear armed Israel is not , and its facilities are subject to regular unannounced inspections , ” Giraldi noted , adding that the January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soleimani was also meant to send a message to Iran .
Giraldi said , “ Whatever programs Fakhrizadeh and Soleimani were involved in will continue without them .
Nevertheless , assassination of Iranians linked to the country ’ s former and current nuclear program has been Israeli policy since 2010 .
As many as a dozen Iranian scientists and technicians reportedly have been killed .
So-called ‘ targeted killings ’ have been a regular feature of Israel ’ s ‘ national defense ’ strategy .
In addition to the Iranians , at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expert said , “ Though Israel has clearly ordered the assassinations , it is generally believed that the actual preparation for the attacks have been carried out by Mojahedin e Khalq or MEK , a Marxist cult that came into prominence at the time of the Iranian revolution against the Shah .
It is generally regarded as a terrorist group that once was virulently anti-American and killed a number of U.S. officials .
MEK is a curious hybrid creature in any event in that it pretends to be an alternative government option for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly all Iranians .
At the same time , it is greatly loved by the Washington Establishment , ” which would like to see the Iran government deposed and replaced by something more amenable to Western and Israeli worldviews .
He added , “ MEK is run like a cult by its leader Maryam Rajavi , with a number of rules that restrict and control the behavior of its members .
One commentary likens membership in MEK to a modern-day equivalent of slavery .
The group currently operates out of a secretive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is covertly supported by the United States , as well as through a ‘ political wing ’ front office in Paris , where it refers to itself as the National Council of Resistance of Iran .
MEK , which is financially supported by Saudi Arabia , stages events in the United States in Europe where it generously pays politicians like John Bolton , Rudy Giuliani and Elaine Chao to make fifteen-minute speeches praising the organization and everything it does .
It ’ s paying of inside the Beltway power brokers proved so successful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department terrorist list in 2012 by Hillary Clinton even though it had killed Americans in the 1970s .
MEK also finds favor in Washington because it is used by Israel as a resource for anti-Iranian terrorism acts currently , including assassinations carried out in Tehran .
Israel , in fact , directs most terrorist acts carried out by MEK inside Iran.
” The executive director of the Council for the National Interest also pointed to the possible cooperation among Israel , MEK , and the U.S. in assassinating the Iranian nuclear scientist .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at first glance , one might reasonably come to the Ockham ’ s razor conclusion , i.e .
that Israel ordered MEK to kill Fakhrizadeh , an order which was then executed .
But that would be to ignore some of the politics currently playing out in Washington .
First of all , Israel would not have carried out the high-level assassination without the consent of the White House .
Indeed , U.S. intelligence resources might well have played a key role in locating the Iranian scientist .
Second , the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ maximum pressure ” against Iran , which has included strangling the country ’ s economy through sanctions , condoning Israeli attacks in Syria and elsewhere , and destabilizing moves , to include assassinations , designed to make the nation ’ s leadership both vulnerable and nervous .
It is the application of an Israeli strategic doctrine referred to as “ Campaigns Between Wars , ” meaning constant aggression to erode an enemy ’ s ability to fight without actually crossing a line that would start a shooting war , ” Giraldi said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh should not be ruled out .
“ A direct role by the Trump administration in the assassination should not be ruled out as it is clearly seeking to harden Iranian antipathy towards any new comprehensive arms control or nuclear agreement with the incoming Biden team .
Trump himself reportedly raised the possibility of bombing Iran earlier this month , though he was talked out of it by his national security team , but the Israeli Army meanwhile is on alert in case of an American attack .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , capable of deploying the 30,000 pound penetrator bombs that can destroy targets deep underground , have been sent to the Middle East [ West Asia ] , presumably to Qatar where the U.S. has its principal airbase in the region .
They would presumably be used against Iran ’ s main nuclear development site at Natanz , ” Giraldi pointed out .

TEHRAN – Philip Giraldi, the executive director of the Council for the National Interest, has said in an analysis that the White House green-lighted Israel’s plan to assassinate prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
In an essay titled “A Killing in Iran: Who Gains From Yet Another Assassination?” and published on the Information Clearing House, Giraldi closed examined the assassination of Fakhrizadeh and those behind it. He started with the reactions in the U.S. to the assassination.
“It is not often that one can agree with the pronouncements made by former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan, but his tweeted comment on the killing of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh suggesting that the incident ‘…was a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict. Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits’ was both restrained and reasonable. Or it was at least so until sentence two, which was clearly intended to attack Donald Trump and praise the incoming Joe Biden administration, which Brennan just might be seeking to join,” wrote Giraldi.
Giraldi, a former CIA intelligence officer, added, “Bearing in mind that John Brennan was the guiding hand behind President Barack Obama’s kill lists of Americans who were marked for death by drone it is difficult to understand what moral high ground he seeks to occupy in the slaying of Fakhrizadeh. Brennan, who was a leading critic of Trump and who may have led the clandestine effort to undermine his election and term in office, subsequently found himself in an exchange of tweets with Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz which degenerated into a trading of insults. Cruz responded ‘It’s bizarre to see a former head of the CIA consistently side with Iranian zealots who chant ‘Death to America.’ And reflexively condemn Israel. Does Joe Biden agree?’ This produced a riposte by Brennan that ‘It is typical for you to mischaracterize my comment. Your lawless attitude & simple-minded approach to serious national security matters demonstrate that you are unworthy to represent the good people of Texas.’ ”
On November 27 at 14:30, nearly 10 people attacked the convoy of Fakhrizadeh on a highway in the small city of Absard in Damavand County, about 40 kilometers east of the capital Tehran. The scientist lost his life during the attack while his bodyguards were severely injured. Iranian officials were quick to point the finger at Israel, which has carried out many assassination operations against Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on the day of the assassination that the attack was carried out with “serious indications of Israeli role.” Since then, several Iranian officials have vowed to take revenge against Israel.
Giraldi also pointed to the alleged killing of an al-Qaeda leader in Iran, saying this claim has been used to justify U.S. pressure on Iran.
“The claim that Iran has been harboring al-Qaeda is already being used by the Trump White House to justify increased pressure on Iran and it might possibly even serve as part of a casus belli,” the expert wrote.
The assassination of Fakhrizadeh came just two weeks after the alleged killing of the al-Qaeda leader, which, according to Giraldi, was meant to send a message to Iran.
“The claim that Fakhrizadeh was in charge of a secret Iranian weapons program, made regularly by Israel and the U.S., is not generally believed by most authorities. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which nuclear armed Israel is not, and its facilities are subject to regular unannounced inspections,” Giraldi noted, adding that the January assassination of Qods Force commander General Qassem Soleimani was also meant to send a message to Iran.
Giraldi said, “Whatever programs Fakhrizadeh and Soleimani were involved in will continue without them. Nevertheless, assassination of Iranians linked to the country’s former and current nuclear program has been Israeli policy since 2010. As many as a dozen Iranian scientists and technicians reportedly have been killed. So-called ‘targeted killings’ have been a regular feature of Israel’s ‘national defense’ strategy. In addition to the Iranians, at least seventy Palestinians have been assassinated.”
The expert said, “Though Israel has clearly ordered the assassinations, it is generally believed that the actual preparation for the attacks have been carried out by Mojahedin e Khalq or MEK, a Marxist cult that came into prominence at the time of the Iranian revolution against the Shah. It is generally regarded as a terrorist group that once was virulently anti-American and killed a number of U.S. officials. MEK is a curious hybrid creature in any event in that it pretends to be an alternative government option for Iran even though it is despised by nearly all Iranians. At the same time, it is greatly loved by the Washington Establishment,” which would like to see the Iran government deposed and replaced by something more amenable to Western and Israeli worldviews.
He added, “MEK is run like a cult by its leader Maryam Rajavi, with a number of rules that restrict and control the behavior of its members. One commentary likens membership in MEK to a modern-day equivalent of slavery. The group currently operates out of a secretive, heavily guarded 84-acre compound in Albania that is covertly supported by the United States, as well as through a ‘political wing’ front office in Paris, where it refers to itself as the National Council of Resistance of Iran. MEK, which is financially supported by Saudi Arabia, stages events in the United States in Europe where it generously pays politicians like John Bolton, Rudy Giuliani and Elaine Chao to make fifteen-minute speeches praising the organization and everything it does. It’s paying of inside the Beltway power brokers proved so successful that it was removed from the State Department terrorist list in 2012 by Hillary Clinton even though it had killed Americans in the 1970s. MEK also finds favor in Washington because it is used by Israel as a resource for anti-Iranian terrorism acts currently, including assassinations carried out in Tehran. Israel, in fact, directs most terrorist acts carried out by MEK inside Iran.”
The executive director of the Council for the National Interest also pointed to the possible cooperation among Israel, MEK, and the U.S. in assassinating the Iranian nuclear scientist.
“So those are the players and, at first glance, one might reasonably come to the Ockham’s razor conclusion, i.e. that Israel ordered MEK to kill Fakhrizadeh, an order which was then executed. But that would be to ignore some of the politics currently playing out in Washington. First of all, Israel would not have carried out the high-level assassination without the consent of the White House. Indeed, U.S. intelligence resources might well have played a key role in locating the Iranian scientist. Second, the Trump administration has clearly adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, which has included strangling the country’s economy through sanctions, condoning Israeli attacks in Syria and elsewhere, and destabilizing moves, to include assassinations, designed to make the nation’s leadership both vulnerable and nervous. It is the application of an Israeli strategic doctrine referred to as “Campaigns Between Wars,” meaning constant aggression to erode an enemy’s ability to fight without actually crossing a line that would start a shooting war,” Giraldi said, noting that a direct role by U.S. in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh should not be ruled out.
“A direct role by the Trump administration in the assassination should not be ruled out as it is clearly seeking to harden Iranian antipathy towards any new comprehensive arms control or nuclear agreement with the incoming Biden team. Trump himself reportedly raised the possibility of bombing Iran earlier this month, though he was talked out of it by his national security team, but the Israeli Army meanwhile is on alert in case of an American attack. There are confirmed reports that B-52 bombers, capable of deploying the 30,000 pound penetrator bombs that can destroy targets deep underground, have been sent to the Middle East [West Asia], presumably to Qatar where the U.S. has its principal airbase in the region. They would presumably be used against Iran’s main nuclear development site at Natanz,” Giraldi pointed out.
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--United Arab Emirates says Chinese coronavirus vaccine has been 86% effective

DUBAI , United Arab Emirates ( AP ) — The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday a Chinese coronavirus vaccine tested in the federation of sheikhdoms is 86 % effective , in a statement that provided few details but marked the first public release of information on the efficacy of the shot .
The UAE , including sheikhdoms Dubai and Abu Dhabi , conducted a trial beginning in September of the vaccine by Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm involving 31,000 volunteers from 125 nations .
Volunteers between 18 and 60 years old received two doses of the vaccine over 28 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Prevention Ministry announced the results via a statement on the state-run WAM news agency , saying they “ have reviewed Sinopharm CNBG ’ s interim analysis of the Phase III trials.
” Get The Times of Israel ’ s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up “ The analysis shows no serious safety concerns , ” the statement said , without detailing whether any participant suffered side effects .
It wasn ’ t immediately clear if the announced results included only those taking part in the testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ include results from China and elsewhere .
The statement described the vaccine as receiving “ official registration ” without elaborating on what that meant .
Emirati officials and Sinopharm did not be immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press .
However , calls Wednesday to SEHA , the Abu Dhabi health authority , included an option for individuals to schedule an appointment to receive a “ COVID-19 vaccine.
” The center was swamped with calls following the announcement on the vaccine ’ s efficacy .
The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company is still conducting late-stage clinical trials in 10 countries .
Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program , aiming to vaccinate 80 % of its adults in an operation starting this month that ’ s relying initially on the Sinopharm vaccine .
Sinopharm ’ s shot relies on a tested technology , using a killed virus to deliver the vaccine , similar to how polio immunizations are made .
Leading Western competitors , like the shot made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech , use newer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spike protein using RNA .
Top officials in the UAE , including Dubai ’ s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , have publicly receive the shots as part of the vaccine testing .
Meanwhile Wednesday , Abu Dhabi announced it would resume “ all economic , tourism , cultural and entertainment activities in the emirate within two weeks.
” It attributed the decision to “ successes ” in halting the spread of the coronavirus .
Abu Dhabi has required those traveling into the emirate from the UAE ’ s other six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 48 hours prior to arrival .
Since the pandemic began , the UAE has detected over 178,000 cases of the virus , with 160,000 recoveries and nearly 600 deaths .
Its aggressive testing policy has seen over 17 million tests conducted in a country home to just over 9 million people .
And in Israel , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the first shipment of doses of the Pfizer vaccine , calling it a “ big day of celebration ” for the country .
“ I believe in this vaccine .
I expect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coming days , ” Netanyahu said , adding that he intended to be the first to receive it .
“ We see the end of the pandemic .
”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates said Wednesday a Chinese coronavirus vaccine tested in the federation of sheikhdoms is 86% effective, in a statement that provided few details but marked the first public release of information on the efficacy of the shot.
The UAE, including sheikhdoms Dubai and Abu Dhabi, conducted a trial beginning in September of the vaccine by Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm involving 31,000 volunteers from 125 nations. Volunteers between 18 and 60 years old received two doses of the vaccine over 28 days.
The UAE’s Health and Prevention Ministry announced the results via a statement on the state-run WAM news agency, saying they “have reviewed Sinopharm CNBG’s interim analysis of the Phase III trials.”
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” the statement said, without detailing whether any participant suffered side effects.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the announced results included only those taking part in the testing in the UAE or if they also include results from China and elsewhere. The statement described the vaccine as receiving “official registration” without elaborating on what that meant.
Emirati officials and Sinopharm did not be immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.
However, calls Wednesday to SEHA, the Abu Dhabi health authority, included an option for individuals to schedule an appointment to receive a “COVID-19 vaccine.” The center was swamped with calls following the announcement on the vaccine’s efficacy.
A technician takes a nasal swab for a coronavirus detection test at a drive-thru testing facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, April 2, 2020. (Jon Gambrell/AP)
The Sinopharm vaccine has been approved for emergency use in a few countries and the company is still conducting late-stage clinical trials in 10 countries. Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program, aiming to vaccinate 80% of its adults in an operation starting this month that’s relying initially on the Sinopharm vaccine.
Sinopharm’s shot relies on a tested technology, using a killed virus to deliver the vaccine, similar to how polio immunizations are made. Leading Western competitors, like the shot made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, use newer, less-proven technology to target the coronavirus’ spike protein using RNA.
Top officials in the UAE, including Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, have publicly receive the shots as part of the vaccine testing.
Meanwhile Wednesday, Abu Dhabi announced it would resume “all economic, tourism, cultural and entertainment activities in the emirate within two weeks.” It attributed the decision to “successes” in halting the spread of the coronavirus.
Abu Dhabi has required those traveling into the emirate from the UAE’s other six sheikhdoms to take a coronavirus test within 48 hours prior to arrival.
Since the pandemic began, the UAE has detected over 178,000 cases of the virus, with 160,000 recoveries and nearly 600 deaths. Its aggressive testing policy has seen over 17 million tests conducted in a country home to just over 9 million people.
And in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the first shipment of doses of the Pfizer vaccine, calling it a “big day of celebration” for the country.
“I believe in this vaccine. I expect it will receive the appropriate approval in the coming days,” Netanyahu said, adding that he intended to be the first to receive it. “We see the end of the pandemic.”


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Son of Guantanamo Bay detainee found about his father’s imprisonment on Google

“ I found out about my father ’ s case from Google when I was 12 or 13 years old .
I read about his story on Wikipedia .
My name is Jawad .
I am the son of Ahmed Rabbani who is in Guantanamo Bay .
I am 17 years old and I have never met my father , nor has he ever met me.
” These were the words of Jawad Rabbani , son of Ahmed Rabbani , who is imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay .
“ I was born five or six months after my father went to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When I was younger , I would never tell my friends who my father was or where he was .
I used to say he was dead .
When we first spoke to him , he said he was in prison .
I asked him , ‘ Why are you in prison ?
Only bad people go to prison ’ at which he laughed.
” According to official US Department of Defence documents published in the New York Times , Rabbani is a member of Al-Qaeda and a threat to US national security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ahmad Rabbani , a Pakistani citizen born in Saudi Arabia , has admitted to being an Al-Qaeda facilitator , and has admitted to working directly for Al-Qaeda ’ s senior strategist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed .
Clive Stafford , founder of the UK-based human rights organisation Reprieve , and who is fighting a legal case for Ahmed Rabbani , told Independent Urdu that Rabbani had no links to Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organisation , and that these confessions had been obtained from him through torture .
What is odd is that Hassan Gul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Rabbani in the same Bagram prison , and was released by the Americans after three years captivity .
According to Stafford , Hassan Gul resumed his terrorist activities and was killed in a drone strike in Waziristan in 2012 .
Mehwish Hayat Khan , a human rights lawyer from Reprieve and author of My Guantanamo Diary , told Independent Urdu , “ Ahmed Rabbani was arrested on the basis of a misidentification .
The United States has admitted that Rabbani is not on their wanted list but he is still being held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Geneva Convention , international law and the US Constitution .
He has seen 740 out of 780 prisoners being released in front of his eyes , which has left him very depressed.
” In his letter to Independent Urdu , Rabbani writes that he has no option but to go on a hunger strike until death .
“ They have held me captive for more than 18 years and there is no end to this torment in sight.
” Rabbani writes that on the 10th of September 2002 , he was sold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a notorious terrorist named Hassan Gul .
The Americans took him to Kabul , where , according to Rabbani , he was subjected to the worst forms of torture .
He added , “ My team of pro-bono American lawyers have documented 60 methods of torture ranging from beating to a fake hanging.
” Rabbani writes that the Americans are afraid that he might die of starvation , so “ they force-feed me daily by inserting a three and a half foot long tube in my nose .
They are trying to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about me , but because if I die , it will reflect badly upon them.
” Rabbani mentions an incident in the letter , “ One day I was wearing a long T-shirt that came down to my knees .
I called the supervisor and asked him to take a photograph of me so that he could use it in his medical class .
Students should learn what a person looks like shortly before his death.
” Describing his own condition , Rabbani writes , “ I am nothing but skin and bones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a cane .
I ’ m only 51 but I look like a 95 year-old .
I saw my shadow through the window and thought I might be in the movie “ Unbroken ” which showed American pilots who died of starvation as prisoners of war in World War II.
” Explaining the reason , Rabbani writes , “ My American kidnappers want me to sell my conscience and my caste for a little food , to betray my religion and morals .
It is not possible for me to do that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rabbani ’ s despair that he writes , “ Perhaps I will finally go to my family in a coffin and escape from Guantanamo completely .
I hope that doesn ’ t happen .
But they think that after all these years , they can weaken my peaceful protest with more violence .
It ’ s not going to happen , so I just have to follow the path that has been chosen until the government of Pakistan takes me to my family .
”

“I found out about my father’s case from Google when I was 12 or 13 years old. I read about his story on Wikipedia. My name is Jawad. I am the son of Ahmed Rabbani who is in Guantanamo Bay. I am 17 years old and I have never met my father, nor has he ever met me.” These were the words of Jawad Rabbani, son of Ahmed Rabbani, who is imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
“I was born five or six months after my father went to prison,” he said. “When I was younger, I would never tell my friends who my father was or where he was. I used to say he was dead. When we first spoke to him, he said he was in prison. I asked him, ‘Why are you in prison? Only bad people go to prison’ at which he laughed.”
“The Americans are afraid that I shall starve to death, so they force-feed me every day, and this is no less than torture,” he further wrote in the letter.
Five thousand dollar deal in the Musharraf era
According to official US Department of Defence documents published in the New York Times, Rabbani is a member of Al-Qaeda and a threat to US national security. According to these documents, Muhammad Ahmad Rabbani, a Pakistani citizen born in Saudi Arabia, has admitted to being an Al-Qaeda facilitator, and has admitted to working directly for Al-Qaeda’s senior strategist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Jawad was born 5 months after his father’s arrest (Independent Urdu)
According to the Department’s findings, Rabbani poses a “high risk” to US interests and should be kept in custody.
Clive Stafford, founder of the UK-based human rights organisation Reprieve, and who is fighting a legal case for Ahmed Rabbani, told Independent Urdu that Rabbani had no links to Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organisation, and that these confessions had been obtained from him through torture.
According to a report by the US Senate Intelligence Committee, Ahmed Rabbani was subjected to “Enhanced Interrogation”, which amounts to torture.
Stafford says Pakistani authorities extradited Rabbani having misidentified him as terrorist Hassan Gul, to the United States in exchange for USD 5,000. He was then taken to Kabul’s Bagram prison.
What is odd is that Hassan Gul himself was arrested in 2004 and held with Rabbani in the same Bagram prison, and was released by the Americans after three years captivity. According to Stafford, Hassan Gul resumed his terrorist activities and was killed in a drone strike in Waziristan in 2012.
Ahmad Rabbani (Independent Urdu)
Hunger strike until death
However, Ahmed Rabbani has remained in custody throughout this time, and is still being held at Guantanamo Bay where he has initiated a hunger strike in protest against his imprisonment.
“Due to the continuous hunger strike, Rabbani’s weight has come down to only 37 kg, and he is force fed liquid food daily through a tube,” said Stafford.
Mehwish Hayat Khan, a human rights lawyer from Reprieve and author of My Guantanamo Diary, told Independent Urdu, “Ahmed Rabbani was arrested on the basis of a misidentification. The United States has admitted that Rabbani is not on their wanted list but he is still being held captive. This is a violation of the Geneva Convention, international law and the US Constitution. He has seen 740 out of 780 prisoners being released in front of his eyes, which has left him very depressed.”
In his letter to Independent Urdu, Rabbani writes that he has no option but to go on a hunger strike until death. “They have held me captive for more than 18 years and there is no end to this torment in sight.”
Rabbani writes that on the 10th of September 2002, he was sold to the Americans having been confused with a notorious terrorist named Hassan Gul. The Americans took him to Kabul, where, according to Rabbani, he was subjected to the worst forms of torture. He added, “My team of pro-bono American lawyers have documented 60 methods of torture ranging from beating to a fake hanging.”
Dark Ages Morality
Rabbani writes that the Americans are afraid that he might die of starvation, so “they force-feed me daily by inserting a three and a half foot long tube in my nose. They are trying to keep me alive, not because they care about me, but because if I die, it will reflect badly upon them.”
“They have ruined my life, destroyed my family and subjected me to methods of torture used in the Dark Ages,” Rabbani wrote in the letter.
Rabbani mentions an incident in the letter, “One day I was wearing a long T-shirt that came down to my knees. I called the supervisor and asked him to take a photograph of me so that he could use it in his medical class. Students should learn what a person looks like shortly before his death.”
Describing his own condition, Rabbani writes, “I am nothing but skin and bones and I move around with the help of a cane. I’m only 51 but I look like a 95 year-old. I saw my shadow through the window and thought I might be in the movie “Unbroken” which showed American pilots who died of starvation as prisoners of war in World War II.”
Why is he tortured?
Explaining the reason, Rabbani writes, “My American kidnappers want me to sell my conscience and my caste for a little food, to betray my religion and morals. It is not possible for me to do that. “
It is a sign of Rabbani’s despair that he writes, “Perhaps I will finally go to my family in a coffin and escape from Guantanamo completely. I hope that doesn’t happen. But they think that after all these years, they can weaken my peaceful protest with more violence. It’s not going to happen, so I just have to follow the path that has been chosen until the government of Pakistan takes me to my family.”
Reprieve has created a website about Ahmed Rabbani’s hunger strike, which can be viewed here.
Ahmed Rabbani’s son Jawad Rabbani, who is studying in Karachi, says, “If someone commits a crime and is convicted of it, then it is a different matter, but we do not know why my father is in jail, and neither does he.”
Rabbani continues, “I also wrote a letter to President Trump but there was no response. I don’t know if he saw the letter or not. I think the US is a superpower, but if it can’t do justice, then why is it a superpower?”
Translated by Taimur Rehman, Edited and proofread by Tooba Ali & Celine Assaf
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Sa’ar steps out of Netanyahu’s shadow, and will likely cost him the premiership

The first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer landed in Israel on Wednesday morning , with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on hand at Ben Gurion Airport to welcome the flight and make sure he gets the full measure of credit for its arrival .
It ’ s a moment that could have signaled the beginning of a turnaround for Netanyahu ’ s political prospects , the start of the return of right-wing voters to his Likud party after they abandoned it in recent months in anger at the government ’ s handling of the pandemic .
But an hour after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gideon Sa ’ ar handed in his resignation to Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin , and set back Netanyahu ’ s hopes for victory by a long way .
Get The Times of Israel ’ s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up Netanyahu was already in trouble before Sa ’ ar ’ s Tuesday announcement that he was launching his own party .
Naftali Bennett ’ s right-wing Yamina party has been polling at between 19 and 24 seats for several months now , and Bennett is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Netanyahu from power .
If the polls are even close to right — if Bennett can draw even 15 seats on election day — Netanyahu will not have enough seats alone to ensure the current prime minister is also the next one .
Nor will Netanyahu have any willing partners across the aisle .
After his refusal to fulfill his rotation deal with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz , it will be hard to find a political leader in the current Knesset willing to sign a similar agreement with him in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the radio station 103 FM , managed to commission and publish a flash poll between Sa ’ ar ’ s announcement of his new party on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and the Wednesday morning news broadcasts .
Sa ’ ar would win a stunning 17 seats , it found .
The poll , produced by Panels Politics , showed Sa ’ ar ’ s broad appeal on the center-right .
He would draw three to four seats apiece from Likud , Blue and White , centrist Yesh Atid , and rightist Yamina .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , especially after Sa ’ ar openly declared on Tuesday his opposition to Netanyahu ’ s leadership and vowed not to serve in a government with him .
Likud had changed , said the former party no .
2 , becoming “ a tool for the personal interests of the person in charge ” and “ a cult of personality.
” “ I can no longer support the Netanyahu-led government or be a member of a Likud party led by him… Today Israel needs unity and stability — Netanyahu can offer neither.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Netanyahu , and a more explicit vow not to serve with him , than anything Yamina leader Bennett has said in public .
All of which turns Sa ’ ar ’ s initial polling numbers into an existential political threat to Netanyahu .
According to the poll , Sa ’ ar , among the most popular figures in the Likud rank and file until he challenged Netanyahu ’ s leadership last year , moves some four seats from pro-Netanyahu Likud to an anti-Netanyahu offshoot .
And while he also weakens Yamina and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not afford the drop .
The danger is now so acute for the prime minister that it became a matter of conventional wisdom among pundits Tuesday night that Netanyahu will look for ways to avert an election at the last minute , even if it means passing a state budget for 2020 and 2021 and being forced to hand the rotating premiership to Gantz , as promised in the agreement the two men signed back in May .
Netanyahu may decide that it ’ s better to have a weakened Gantz polling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than allowing Bennett , Sa ’ ar or Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid to take the post .
The tragedy for Netanyahu is that his current predicament — the dwindling ranks of those willing to join a future government under his stewardship — is entirely of his own making .
If one takes even a cursory look at the leaders of the centrist and right-leaning parties whose backing Netanyahu needs if he is to sidestep Sa ’ ar or Bennett and produce his future coalition , one finds a long list of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Netanyahu over the years , and are fervently committed to his ouster .
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman was once Netanyahu ’ s closest confidant and political organizer , rising to the post of director general of Netanyahu ’ s Prime Minister ’ s Office during his first term as premier in 1996 .
After they fell out in 1998 , Liberman spent years building his own Yisrael Beytenu party in the hopes of one day merging it into Likud and returning to his old home , a goal stymied repeatedly by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refusal to ever again serve with Netanyahu that denied the Likud leader his government after the April and September elections in the past year .
Bennett , together with fellow Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked , once ran Netanyahu ’ s office and served as his chief of staff from 2006 to 2008 , before experiencing a similar falling out .
Netanyahu has spent the years since working hard to undermine Bennett at every turn .
Everyone concerned , including close confidants of the prime minister , say the animus is mutual and deeply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bennett and Liberman hold a combined 12 seats between them .
In every poll for the past five months , they account for 25 or more .
In the past , Netanyahu wasn ’ t able to form a right-wing government without a seven-seat Yisrael Beytenu .
He will now have to contend with a 25-seat Liberman-Bennett alliance bent on seeing him out of office .
There ’ s Moshe Kahlon , too , a popular former Likud minister who left the party in 2013 in frustration at Netanyahu , founded the Kulanu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when his party merged back into Likud after diminishing in the polls .
That is , Sa ’ ar is only the latest Likudnik to abandon the party over his disgust with its leader .
Netanyahu is now surrounded by people with both personal and political grudges against him that they ’ re willing to take to the ballot box — and that have already cost Netanyahu any clear path to a stable government over the past two years .
Netanyahu managed to thread the needle for years , handing both Liberman and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including the Defense Ministry — after publicly declaring both unfit for the post — to keep them from abandoning him .
But he also never stopped trying to undermine and humiliate them .
If Bennett draws 19 seats in the next election ( or 24 , as some recent polls have given him ) , no defense minister post will suffice .
But it ’ s not clear Netanyahu has more to give .
Would Bennett agree to a rotating premiership , given Netanyahu ’ s very recently broken commitments to Gantz ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 17 seats ( or , to be safe , even just 12 ) ?
What will he demand of a Netanyahu he knows he can not trust ?
Likud has 36 seats in the current Knesset , and 16 more in the two Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism , which have stuck loyally by Netanyahu in recent years .
That ’ s 52 seats reliably in Netanyahu ’ s corner , nine short of the minimum 61-seat parliamentary majority he needs to rule .
But that ’ s the outgoing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Wednesday morning ’ s 103 FM poll , which is representative on this question of all polling in recent months , could see the Likud-Haredi bloc drop to just 41 .
That ’ s less than the whopping 43 seats that right-wing anti-Netanyahu parties ( Sa ’ ar , Yamina , Yisrael Beytenu ) may get .
With the center-left now led by the firmly anti-Netanyahu Lapid , Netanyahu appears to have run out of options .
Sa ’ ar made his move on Tuesday , announcing he will be running for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He probably doesn ’ t have the numbers to win the premiership , but he will almost certainly have enough to deny it to Netanyahu .

The first shipment of vaccines from Pfizer landed in Israel on Wednesday morning, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on hand at Ben Gurion Airport to welcome the flight and make sure he gets the full measure of credit for its arrival.
It’s a moment that could have signaled the beginning of a turnaround for Netanyahu’s political prospects, the start of the return of right-wing voters to his Likud party after they abandoned it in recent months in anger at the government’s handling of the pandemic.
But an hour after the plane’s arrival, Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar handed in his resignation to Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, and set back Netanyahu’s hopes for victory by a long way.
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Netanyahu was already in trouble before Sa’ar’s Tuesday announcement that he was launching his own party. Naftali Bennett’s right-wing Yamina party has been polling at between 19 and 24 seats for several months now, and Bennett is widely believed to be seeking to oust Netanyahu from power. If the polls are even close to right — if Bennett can draw even 15 seats on election day — Netanyahu will not have enough seats alone to ensure the current prime minister is also the next one.
Nor will Netanyahu have any willing partners across the aisle. After his refusal to fulfill his rotation deal with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, it will be hard to find a political leader in the current Knesset willing to sign a similar agreement with him in the next one.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands in front of the plane delivering the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine on December 9, 2020 (Government Press Office)
One media outlet, the radio station 103 FM, managed to commission and publish a flash poll between Sa’ar’s announcement of his new party on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and the Wednesday morning news broadcasts. Sa’ar would win a stunning 17 seats, it found.
The poll, produced by Panels Politics, showed Sa’ar’s broad appeal on the center-right. He would draw three to four seats apiece from Likud, Blue and White, centrist Yesh Atid, and rightist Yamina.
That’s bad news for Netanyahu, especially after Sa’ar openly declared on Tuesday his opposition to Netanyahu’s leadership and vowed not to serve in a government with him.
Likud had changed, said the former party no. 2, becoming “a tool for the personal interests of the person in charge” and “a cult of personality.”
“I can no longer support the Netanyahu-led government or be a member of a Likud party led by him… Today Israel needs unity and stability — Netanyahu can offer neither.”
Screen capture from video of Likud MK Gideon Sa’ar as he announced he was resigning from the party, December 8, 2020. (Channel 13 news)
That’s a more direct challenge to Netanyahu, and a more explicit vow not to serve with him, than anything Yamina leader Bennett has said in public.
All of which turns Sa’ar’s initial polling numbers into an existential political threat to Netanyahu.
According to the poll, Sa’ar, among the most popular figures in the Likud rank and file until he challenged Netanyahu’s leadership last year, moves some four seats from pro-Netanyahu Likud to an anti-Netanyahu offshoot. And while he also weakens Yamina and Yesh Atid, it is Netanyahu who cannot afford the drop.
The danger is now so acute for the prime minister that it became a matter of conventional wisdom among pundits Tuesday night that Netanyahu will look for ways to avert an election at the last minute, even if it means passing a state budget for 2020 and 2021 and being forced to hand the rotating premiership to Gantz, as promised in the agreement the two men signed back in May. Netanyahu may decide that it’s better to have a weakened Gantz polling at perhaps six seats as prime minister than allowing Bennett, Sa’ar or Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid to take the post.
Blue and White chief Benny Gantz announces he will vote to dissolve Knesset, on December 1, 2020. (Elad Malka/Blue and White)
Enemies
The tragedy for Netanyahu is that his current predicament — the dwindling ranks of those willing to join a future government under his stewardship — is entirely of his own making.
If one takes even a cursory look at the leaders of the centrist and right-leaning parties whose backing Netanyahu needs if he is to sidestep Sa’ar or Bennett and produce his future coalition, one finds a long list of people who believe they were abused and betrayed by Netanyahu over the years, and are fervently committed to his ouster.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman was once Netanyahu’s closest confidant and political organizer, rising to the post of director general of Netanyahu’s Prime Minister’s Office during his first term as premier in 1996. After they fell out in 1998, Liberman spent years building his own Yisrael Beytenu party in the hopes of one day merging it into Likud and returning to his old home, a goal stymied repeatedly by Netanyahu.
It was Liberman’s refusal to ever again serve with Netanyahu that denied the Likud leader his government after the April and September elections in the past year.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman tours Carmel Market in Tel Aviv on November 23, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Bennett, together with fellow Yamina MK Ayelet Shaked, once ran Netanyahu’s office and served as his chief of staff from 2006 to 2008, before experiencing a similar falling out. Netanyahu has spent the years since working hard to undermine Bennett at every turn. Everyone concerned, including close confidants of the prime minister, say the animus is mutual and deeply personal.
In the current Knesset, Bennett and Liberman hold a combined 12 seats between them. In every poll for the past five months, they account for 25 or more. In the past, Netanyahu wasn’t able to form a right-wing government without a seven-seat Yisrael Beytenu. He will now have to contend with a 25-seat Liberman-Bennett alliance bent on seeing him out of office.
There’s Moshe Kahlon, too, a popular former Likud minister who left the party in 2013 in frustration at Netanyahu, founded the Kulanu party, then quit politics last year when his party merged back into Likud after diminishing in the polls.
That is, Sa’ar is only the latest Likudnik to abandon the party over his disgust with its leader. Netanyahu is now surrounded by people with both personal and political grudges against him that they’re willing to take to the ballot box — and that have already cost Netanyahu any clear path to a stable government over the past two years.
Netanyahu managed to thread the needle for years, handing both Liberman and Bennett ever-increasing political prizes up to and including the Defense Ministry — after publicly declaring both unfit for the post — to keep them from abandoning him. But he also never stopped trying to undermine and humiliate them.
Then-defense minister Naftali Bennett, left, meets with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi, second from left, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Yaniv Alaluf, center, and other senior IDF officers in the West Bank on January 28, 2020. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
If Bennett draws 19 seats in the next election (or 24, as some recent polls have given him), no defense minister post will suffice. But it’s not clear Netanyahu has more to give. Would Bennett agree to a rotating premiership, given Netanyahu’s very recently broken commitments to Gantz? What of Sa’ar, flush with 17 seats (or, to be safe, even just 12)? What will he demand of a Netanyahu he knows he cannot trust?
Likud has 36 seats in the current Knesset, and 16 more in the two Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, which have stuck loyally by Netanyahu in recent years. That’s 52 seats reliably in Netanyahu’s corner, nine short of the minimum 61-seat parliamentary majority he needs to rule.
But that’s the outgoing Knesset. The next Knesset, according to Wednesday morning’s 103 FM poll, which is representative on this question of all polling in recent months, could see the Likud-Haredi bloc drop to just 41.
That’s less than the whopping 43 seats that right-wing anti-Netanyahu parties (Sa’ar, Yamina, Yisrael Beytenu) may get. With the center-left now led by the firmly anti-Netanyahu Lapid, Netanyahu appears to have run out of options.
Sa’ar made his move on Tuesday, announcing he will be running for prime minister in the coming race. He probably doesn’t have the numbers to win the premiership, but he will almost certainly have enough to deny it to Netanyahu.


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Iran says US sanctions hinder access to COVID-19 vaccines

Iran ’ s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that U.S. sanctions are making it difficult for Iran to purchase medicine and health supplies from abroad , including COVID-19 vaccines needed to contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East .
President Donald Trump ’ s administration has imposed crippling sanctions on Iran ’ s banking sector and its vital oil and gas industry since unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from Iran ’ s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 .
While the United States insists that medicines and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions , restrictions on trade have made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hesitant to do business with Iran , fearing punitive measures from Washington .
The country is also cut off from the international banking system , making it difficult to transfer payments .
“ Our people should know that for any action we plan to carry out for importing medicine , vaccines and equipment , we should curse Trump a hundred times , ” Rouhani was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency .
He said even simple transactions to purchase medicine from other countries had become extremely difficult and that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ funds .
Rouhani said authorities are nevertheless doing what they can to buy vaccines from abroad , hoping to deliver them to high-risk individuals as soon as possible .
Last week , Iran said it is working on its own vaccine , with testing on human patients expected to begin next month .
It plans to buy 20 million vaccine doses from abroad , for a population of more than 80 million people .
Iran has reported more than 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus out of more than a million confirmed cases — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Authorities have been reluctant to impose the kind of lockdown measures seen elsewhere in the region , partly because of concerns it would further exacerbate an already dire economic crisis .
The sanctions have contributed to a plunge in the country ’ s currency in recent years that has caused the price of basic goods to soar and wiped out many Iranians ’ life savings .

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that U.S. sanctions are making it difficult for Iran to purchase medicine and health supplies from abroad, including COVID-19 vaccines needed to contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed crippling sanctions on Iran’s banking sector and its vital oil and gas industry since unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
While the United States insists that medicines and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions, restrictions on trade have made many banks and companies across the world hesitant to do business with Iran, fearing punitive measures from Washington. The country is also cut off from the international banking system, making it difficult to transfer payments.
“Our people should know that for any action we plan to carry out for importing medicine, vaccines and equipment, we should curse Trump a hundred times,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
He said even simple transactions to purchase medicine from other countries had become extremely difficult and that it can take “weeks” to transfer funds.
Rouhani said authorities are nevertheless doing what they can to buy vaccines from abroad, hoping to deliver them to high-risk individuals as soon as possible.
Last week, Iran said it is working on its own vaccine, with testing on human patients expected to begin next month. It plans to buy 20 million vaccine doses from abroad, for a population of more than 80 million people.
Iran has reported more than 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus out of more than a million confirmed cases — the worst outbreak in the Middle East.
Authorities have been reluctant to impose the kind of lockdown measures seen elsewhere in the region, partly because of concerns it would further exacerbate an already dire economic crisis. The sanctions have contributed to a plunge in the country’s currency in recent years that has caused the price of basic goods to soar and wiped out many Iranians’ life savings.
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-09--Russia airline boss sacked after plane traces phallus in the sky

Russia ’ s biggest low-cost airline has sacked one of its deputy bosses after a passenger plane was caught taking a phallic-shaped detour during a commercial flight , reportedly in support for a footballer embroiled in a sex tape scandal .
On 11 November , one of budget airline Pobeda ’ s planes was seen diverting from its Moscow-Yekaterinburg flight path and making a series of irregular manoeuvres in the sky with 102 passengers onboard .
Russia ’ s Federal Air Transportation Agency ( Rosaviatsia ) said the flight could have posed a safety hazard .
The agency ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the incident , according to media outlet RBC .
Pobeda is a subsidiary of Russia ’ s airline giant , Aeroflot .
The airline said the route may have been taken by the pilots as a show of support for Russian football captain Artyom Dzyuba , who had been dropped by the national team a few days earlier after a private video showing a man similar to him was leaked online .
“ We do not know what exactly could have been imagined in the flight path of our aircraft , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pobeda expressed their support to the captain of the [ Russian football ] national team Artyom Dziuba and showed their attitude to his persecution , ” RBC reported a spokesperson for the airline as saying .
As well as sacking one of Pobeda ’ s deputies , the airline ’ s board reprimanded General Director Andrey Kalmykov at a meeting , Reuters and Russian media reported .
Rosaviatsia ’ s commission learned that Pobeda unsuccessfully attempted to have a similar flight path approved for a Moscow-St. Petersburg flight on 10 November , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aeroflot subsidiary allegedly went on to tell police that the plane , which reportedly has no fuel drainage system , had to take that path to drain fuel .
The national aviation agency last month had suggested Mr Kalmykov be sacked over the incident , according to a leaked document .
Both Pobeda and Rosaviatsia declined to comment .
Russia ’ s national football team said it would not be calling up its captain , Mr Dzyuba , for international matches in November to shield him from negative publicity after the video was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the video was leaked .

Russia’s biggest low-cost airline has sacked one of its deputy bosses after a passenger plane was caught taking a phallic-shaped detour during a commercial flight, reportedly in support for a footballer embroiled in a sex tape scandal.
On 11 November, one of budget airline Pobeda’s planes was seen diverting from its Moscow-Yekaterinburg flight path and making a series of irregular manoeuvres in the sky with 102 passengers onboard.
Russia’s Federal Air Transportation Agency (Rosaviatsia) said the flight could have posed a safety hazard. The agency’s commission blamed the company’s management for the incident, according to media outlet RBC. Pobeda is a subsidiary of Russia’s airline giant, Aeroflot.
The airline said the route may have been taken by the pilots as a show of support for Russian football captain Artyom Dzyuba, who had been dropped by the national team a few days earlier after a private video showing a man similar to him was leaked online.
“We do not know what exactly could have been imagined in the flight path of our aircraft, but it is possible that the captains of Pobeda expressed their support to the captain of the [Russian football] national team Artyom Dziuba and showed their attitude to his persecution,” RBC reported a spokesperson for the airline as saying.
As well as sacking one of Pobeda’s deputies, the airline’s board reprimanded General Director Andrey Kalmykov at a meeting, Reuters and Russian media reported.
Read more
Rosaviatsia’s commission learned that Pobeda unsuccessfully attempted to have a similar flight path approved for a Moscow-St. Petersburg flight on 10 November, the Moscow Times reported. Additionally, the Aeroflot subsidiary allegedly went on to tell police that the plane, which reportedly has no fuel drainage system, had to take that path to drain fuel.
The national aviation agency last month had suggested Mr Kalmykov be sacked over the incident, according to a leaked document. Both Pobeda and Rosaviatsia declined to comment.
Russia’s national football team said it would not be calling up its captain, Mr Dzyuba, for international matches in November to shield him from negative publicity after the video was leaked.
It is not clear how the video was leaked.
Source


jewworldorder--2020-12-10--John Lennon ”Show business is a extension of the Jewish Religion”

John Lennon ” Show business is a extension of the Jewish Religion ” You can leave a response , or @ @ @ @ @ .

John Lennon ”Show business is a extension of the Jewish Religion”
John Lennon ”Show business is a extension of the Jewish Religion”
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