southfront--2020-08-31--In Photos: New Unmanned Ground Vehicle For Chinese Forces

Chinese media published photos of a new unmanned ground vehicle ( UGV ) developed for the Chinese People ’ s @ @ @ @ @ .
The UGV has a speed of 120km/h , and can be armed with a @ @ @ @ @ machine guns and anti-tank missiles ) and special equipment .
Click to see the full-size @ @ @ @ @ full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click @ @ @ @ @ Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see @ @ @ @ @ see the full-size image MORE ON THE TOPIC :

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Chinese media published photos of a new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) developed for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The UGV has a speed of 120km/h, and can be armed with a variety of weapons (including machine guns and anti-tank missiles) and special equipment.
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southfront--2020-08-31--Military Situation In Iraq On August 31, 2020 (Map Update)

Click to see the full-size image A brief overview of the recent developments in Iraq : • 2 civilians were @ @ @ @ @ wounded in an ISIS attack in the Adhim area of Diyala province ; • 4 @ @ @ @ @ Baghdad in the last 24 hours .
4 rockets were launched at the Green Zone @ @ @ @ @ near Baghdad airport ; • Trump confirmed that the United States was planning to reduce @ @ @ @ @ Iraq from 5,200 to 3,500 .
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A brief overview of the recent developments in Iraq:
2 civilians were killed and 3 others were wounded in an ISIS attack in the Adhim area of Diyala province;
4 rocket attacks were reported in Baghdad in the last 24 hours. 4 rockets were launched at the Green Zone area and 2 rockets landed near Baghdad airport;
Trump confirmed that the United States was planning to reduce its troops’ number in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,500.
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southfront--2020-09-01--Fight Against Canonic Orthodox Church Buried Europe’s Last “Not-A-Dictator” In Montenegro

As the final results of the general election in Montenegro are in , it turns out that President Milo Djukanovic has all but squandered 30 years of leadership .
His pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists has shown one of the lowest results in its history and as a result risks being in the minority .
Having received 35 % , the ruling party is only a couple of percent ahead of the main opposition coalition For the Future of Montenegro , which took over 32 % .
The opposition in total accounts for more than 50 % of the vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that can put Djukanovic ’ s party in the minority .
As such , they are likely to form a majority , and a government , having 41 out of the country ’ s 81 parliament seats .
The opposition advocates closer ties with Russia and Serbia , from which Montenegro broke away 14 years ago .
This runs counter to the pro-Western policies of recent years .
Under Djukanovic , Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and became a candidate for EU membership .
It should be reminded that in 1999 Montenegro was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US .
Djukanovic enjoys the support of the West , where , despite accusations of corruption , links with organized crime and nepotism , no one called him “ the last dictator of Europe ” .
He has been in power for 30 years and he has never had any actual competition .
Until now , despite the extremely ambiguous attitude of ordinary Montenegrins towards him , he managed to maintain power , constantly stirring up controversy and discrediting his opponents .
Djukanovic , following the example of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Montenegrin church and began a struggle with the Serbian Orthodox Church , whose parishioners are the majority of the locals .
In late 2019 , Djukanovic pushed through parliament a law allowing the state to seize church property , prompting widespread protests .
As a result , the church called on believers to vote against the presidential party , which largely predetermined the president ’ s defeat .
Despite the claims of the Djukanovic government , the overhelming majority of Montenegrins turned out to be quite faithful and supported the Serbian Orthodox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , bishops , threats of confiscation of churches were the last straw .
The campaign against the canonic Orthodox Church backfired , both in Ukraine and in Montenegro – in Ukraine because Poroshenko was not re-elected , but the church is still struggling to “ consolidate power ” and in Montenegro because the pseudo-church structure created there couldn ’ t even start its struggle , citizens simply shut it down from the get-go .
Djukanovic decided to challenge the Serbian Orthodox Church by giving opponents the opportunity to claim that God is with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church ’ s involvement in the campaign that ensured an unusually high turnout – over 75 % .
And many voters voted as the bishops advised , there is a possibility that for the first time the power in Montenegro will be replaced at the polling stations .
In Ukraine , Djukanovich is already being compared to Poroshenko with his Tomos and the ‘ independent ’ Orthodox Church of Ukraine , which did not help him win .
Of course , Djukanovic ’ s party may still attempt to hold on to power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they manage to form some sort of government .
But the issues with the church , together with the loss of tourism due to the pandemic , and the economic downturn don ’ t spell anything promising ahead for the last “ not-a-dictator ” of Europe .
After all , no words of support have come for the citizens protesting against their government ’ s actions from the US , EU or others , mostly because the “ not-a-dictator ” Djukanovic plays to the West ’ s fiddle , and isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years of the neo-liberal and pro-Western propaganda and the seizure of power in many Eastern European countries by regimes dependent on the Euro-Atlantic elites , local conservative societies still resist to the forcefully-imposed neo-liberal agenda .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Europe ’ s True Last Dictator : Montenegro President Djukanovic ’ s Party May Fall After 30 Years Of Power

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As the final results of the general election in Montenegro are in, it turns out that President Milo Djukanovic has all but squandered 30 years of leadership.
His pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists has shown one of the lowest results in its history and as a result risks being in the minority.
Having received 35%, the ruling party is only a couple of percent ahead of the main opposition coalition For the Future of Montenegro, which took over 32%.
The opposition in total accounts for more than 50% of the vote, and they can form an alliance that can put Djukanovic’s party in the minority.
As such, they are likely to form a majority, and a government, having 41 out of the country’s 81 parliament seats.
“The 30-year-old regime has fallen! The time has come for freedom,” one of the opposition leaders, Zdravko Krivokapic, who heads the For the Future of Montenegro bloc, commented.
The opposition advocates closer ties with Russia and Serbia, from which Montenegro broke away 14 years ago. This runs counter to the pro-Western policies of recent years.
Under Djukanovic, Montenegro joined NATO in 2017 and became a candidate for EU membership. It should be reminded that in 1999 Montenegro was bombed generously by NATO and primarily the US.
Djukanovic enjoys the support of the West, where, despite accusations of corruption, links with organized crime and nepotism, no one called him “the last dictator of Europe”. He has been in power for 30 years and he has never had any actual competition.
Until now, despite the extremely ambiguous attitude of ordinary Montenegrins towards him, he managed to maintain power, constantly stirring up controversy and discrediting his opponents.
Djukanovic, following the example of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s created a local ‘independent’ Montenegrin church and began a struggle with the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose parishioners are the majority of the locals.
In late 2019, Djukanovic pushed through parliament a law allowing the state to seize church property, prompting widespread protests. As a result, the church called on believers to vote against the presidential party, which largely predetermined the president’s defeat.
Despite the claims of the Djukanovic government, the overhelming majority of Montenegrins turned out to be quite faithful and supported the Serbian Orthodox Church. And the arrests of priests, bishops, threats of confiscation of churches were the last straw.
The campaign against the canonic Orthodox Church backfired, both in Ukraine and in Montenegro – in Ukraine because Poroshenko was not re-elected, but the church is still struggling to “consolidate power” and in Montenegro because the pseudo-church structure created there couldn’t even start its struggle, citizens simply shut it down from the get-go.
Djukanovic decided to challenge the Serbian Orthodox Church by giving opponents the opportunity to claim that God is with them. Apparently, it was the church’s involvement in the campaign that ensured an unusually high turnout – over 75%. And many voters voted as the bishops advised, there is a possibility that for the first time the power in Montenegro will be replaced at the polling stations.
In Ukraine, Djukanovich is already being compared to Poroshenko with his Tomos and the ‘independent’ Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which did not help him win.
Of course, Djukanovic’s party may still attempt to hold on to power, with a slim majority, if they manage to form some sort of government.
But the issues with the church, together with the loss of tourism due to the pandemic, and the economic downturn don’t spell anything promising ahead for the last “not-a-dictator” of Europe.
After all, no words of support have come for the citizens protesting against their government’s actions from the US, EU or others, mostly because the “not-a-dictator” Djukanovic plays to the West’s fiddle, and isn’t looking into independent foreign policy.
Despite years of the neo-liberal and pro-Western propaganda and the seizure of power in many Eastern European countries by regimes dependent on the Euro-Atlantic elites, local conservative societies still resist to the forcefully-imposed neo-liberal agenda.
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southfront--2020-09-01--DPR Gives Ukraine Until September 3 To Remove All Ceasefire Violations Or It Will “Provide Assistanc

DPR Gives Ukraine Until September 3 To Remove All Ceasefire Violations Or It Will “Provide Assistance”

The Donetsk People ’ s Republic ( DPR ) will resort to extreme measures if Kiev does not stop any violations of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine before September 3rd .
Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin said that Kiev is obliged to stop any violations of the agreements , and withdraw from any positions in breach of the agreements .
Otherwise , the DPR militia would be ordered to destroy any Ukrainian Armed Forces fortifications that are in breach .
“ A month has passed since the introduction of additional measures signed by the parties to strengthen the unlimited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 2019 .
The most important achievement of this was the 30 most calm days in all six years of hostilities .
Not a single civilian , not a single residential building and not a single object of civilian infrastructure suffered from the shelling by the armed formations of Ukraine , ” Pushilin said .
He also called this a positive signal , but recalled that Ukraine pledged to completely cease fire at the level of an international agreement more than five years ago .
At the same time , the head of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the month , observers from the DPR in the JCCC ( Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination ) record the facts of violations by the armed formations of Ukraine of additional measures , namely , a ban on engineering equipment of positions , a ban on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles , as well as a ban on the deployment of heavy weapons .
in settlements and their surroundings .
“ Particular attention is drawn to the positional violations of the VFU in the area of the Shumy settlement , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trenches ) to the arch of the Seversky Donets-Donbass water conduit with the clear intention of strengthening under it , as well as at the pilot disengagement area in the Petrovsky area , where the OSCE SMM fixes a new shelter equipped after the entry into force of additional measures at the former position of the armed formations of Ukraine , ” Pushilin added .
He underlined that all attempts to achieve the suppression of these violations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the coordination mechanism with the assistance of the JCCC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of additional measures did not lead to the termination of violations .
It was also not possible to resolve this issue at the last meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group .
In this regard , the Head of the DPR warned that the Ukrainian side should take active steps in the coming days to eliminate the violations committed and , no later than September 3 , 2020 , to return the positional disposition of troops and fortifications to the state of July 22 , 2020 .
A corresponding act on this should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approval of the OSCE SMM .
“ If by 22:00 o ’ clock on September 3 , 2020 such an act is not presented to me , I will have to resort to at least and , guided by clause ‘ e ’ of the Additional Measures , in order to prevent further offensive actions of Ukraine in terms of advancing its positions in our direction and fortifications , issue a corresponding order for the People ’ s Militia units to destroy trenches and shelters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces , retrofitted or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire on July 22 , 2020 , ” Pushilin concluded .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • New Ukrainian Special Forces Commander Attempted To Defect To Donetsk ’ s Side • Ukraine Essentially Entirely Sells Out For EU Loan • Chronicles Of Ceasefire : Drugs At Frontline And Clouds Over Party Of War

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The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) will resort to extreme measures if Kiev does not stop any violations of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine before September 3rd.
Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin said that Kiev is obliged to stop any violations of the agreements, and withdraw from any positions in breach of the agreements.
Otherwise, the DPR militia would be ordered to destroy any Ukrainian Armed Forces fortifications that are in breach.
“A month has passed since the introduction of additional measures signed by the parties to strengthen the unlimited ceasefire regime in force since July 21, 2019. The most important achievement of this was the 30 most calm days in all six years of hostilities. Not a single civilian, not a single residential building and not a single object of civilian infrastructure suffered from the shelling by the armed formations of Ukraine,” Pushilin said.
He also called this a positive signal, but recalled that Ukraine pledged to completely cease fire at the level of an international agreement more than five years ago.
At the same time, the head of the country added that almost every day throughout the month, observers from the DPR in the JCCC (Joint Centre for Control and Co-ordination) record the facts of violations by the armed formations of Ukraine of additional measures, namely, a ban on engineering equipment of positions, a ban on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as a ban on the deployment of heavy weapons. in settlements and their surroundings.
“Particular attention is drawn to the positional violations of the VFU in the area of the Shumy settlement, where the enemy is advancing its fortifications (trenches) to the arch of the Seversky Donets-Donbass water conduit with the clear intention of strengthening under it, as well as at the pilot disengagement area in the Petrovsky area, where the OSCE SMM fixes a new shelter equipped after the entry into force of additional measures at the former position of the armed formations of Ukraine,” Pushilin added.
He underlined that all attempts to achieve the suppression of these violations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the coordination mechanism with the assistance of the JCCC in accordance with paragraph “e” of additional measures did not lead to the termination of violations.
It was also not possible to resolve this issue at the last meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group.
In this regard, the Head of the DPR warned that the Ukrainian side should take active steps in the coming days to eliminate the violations committed and, no later than September 3, 2020, to return the positional disposition of troops and fortifications to the state of July 22, 2020.
A corresponding act on this should be drawn up in the JCCC with the approval of the OSCE SMM.
“If by 22:00 o’clock on September 3, 2020 such an act is not presented to me, I will have to resort to at least and, guided by clause ‘e’ of the Additional Measures, in order to prevent further offensive actions of Ukraine in terms of advancing its positions in our direction and fortifications, issue a corresponding order for the People’s Militia units to destroy trenches and shelters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, retrofitted or newly created after the signing of Additional Measures to Strengthen the Ceasefire on July 22, 2020,” Pushilin concluded.
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southfront--2020-09-01--Wasting the Elderly: Coronavirus and the Calculus of Death

The director of the World Health Organization , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , has welled-up because of it .
In March , he feared that the world ’ s elderly citizens risked being marginalised in any pandemic policy .
“ If anything is going to hurt the world , it is moral decay .
And not taking the death of the elderly or the senior citizens as a serious issue is moral decay.
” The elderly have , along with other categories of doomed vulnerability , found themselves centre stage in this epidemiological play of death .
They feature in morbidity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designated objects of state charity to be protected in some cases , shunned in others .
Often , they are abandoned , left to perish alone , with only medical staff for company , if that .
In March , the theme of abandonment featured strongly in accounts from Spain , where choices on the elderly , cruel and desperate , were made .
Retirement homes had become bits of paradise for coronavirus transmission .
Staff , poorly equipped and terrified , neglected and ignored their obligations .
During the course of disinfecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s military made alarming discoveries .
Residents were abandoned ; others were found dead in bed .
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles promised that the government would be “ strict and inflexible when dealing with the way older people are treated ” .
In Australia , the picture was repeated .
In Victoria ’ s second coronavirus surge , dead aged care residents were left in their beds at various aged care facilities across Melbourne for hours on end .
An already rotten system was shown to be putrefying .
Professor John Moloney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up with the understatement of the moment .
“ What it shows is that there are significant pockets of society that are very vulnerable and it doesn ’ t take much to tip them over.
” It did not take long for squabbles to take place : the Victorian state government , already troubled by a failed quarantine system , sniping with the Commonwealth government , which wields general control over the aged care system .
The federal health minister , Senator Richard Colbeck , has come across as a ditherer of some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of interest in his portfolio , is commensurate with his lack of interest in seniors .
When asked the obvious question by a parliamentary inquiry as to how many elderly residents had died from coronavirus , he remained untroubled by knowledge .
It took 35 seconds of awkward silence as he rifled through his documents .
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher would not wait : 254 , as of the morning of Thursday , August 20 .
Her colleague , Penny Wong , had come to the conclusion that the minister was resolutely incompetent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explained on the ABC news channel on August 26 , “ I sit in the Senate every day with this bloke … I would not trust the care of my parents to him.
” Galloping diseases unveil accepted hypocrisies .
In reaching judgement on the impact of COVID-19 , some world leaders have suggested a calculus at play .
In a March 22 interview , Ukraine ’ s former health minister Illia Yemets obtusely advised the government to focus on those “ who are still alive ” – those above 65 were nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Jair Bolsonaro has also gone for the fatalist line .
He pleads the case for the hungry poor and unemployed – the economy first , in other words – even as he minimises the effect of a lethal virus that disproportionately harms them .
Towards the end of March , he laid bare his morgue-driven logic .
“ I ’ m sorry , some people will die , they will die , that ’ s life.
” The same went for his old mother , a lady aged in her nineties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he argued , “ because of traffic deaths.
” In the United States , the business interest remains in perennial battle against that of health .
The pro-economic faction in the Trump administration remains strong while such establishment voices as the argue “ that a trade-off will emerge – and become more urgent in the coming months , as the economy slides deeper into recession.
” Industries do not stop because morgues fill .
Impetuously , Beppe Sala , the mayor of Italy ’ s economic engine , Milan , shared a video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ferma ” ( Milano does not stop ) at the end of February .
The virus was not to be feared ; the engine had to keep purring .
“ We bring home important results every day because every day we are not afraid .
Milan doesn ’ t stop.
” The NSS Magazine was effusive in praise at such audacity and happy that the scaremongers had not won the day .
The “ mayor ’ s intervention demonstrated how the institutions must work in synergy with the private sector to avoid uncertainty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realities that have made Milan a European city.
” In a matter of weeks , Italy had become the next global epicentre of infection , passing China ’ s death toll from the virus .
Sala came to rue his enthusiasm .
“ It was a video that went viral on the internet .
Everyone was sharing it , I also shared it , rightly or wrongly , probably wrongly.
” The calculus of death is something embraced by those who claim to be far sighted realists , wedded to a form of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not infrequently reactionary columnist for Janet Albrechtsen makes the case .
And she prosecutes it with considered callousness .
Writing in May , Albrechtsen offers a view not atypical to the spread sheet specialists who allocate resources and prioritise life .
In that world , the elderly are doomed .
“ Government and policymakers are confronted by tough questions every day about where to spend money.
” She insists on speaking to doctors , though an unnamed “ senior anaesthetist ” is quoted as telling her that health decisions “ are often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have unlimited resources to treat everyone to the maximum.
” A patient ’ s age becomes relevant in deciding , for instance , “ who will get more years of life from a set of lungs or a new heart.
” Seeing humans as viable producers – and only that – leads to the endorsement of a particularly nasty streak of eugenics .
The Canadian , Oxford-based historian Margaret MacMillan , otherwise credited with being fairly liberal minded , makes the case that those over seventy “ were not productive members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need to get the economic engines going again , and we tend to be more vulnerable , so we should stay out of the way and let others get on with it ” .
The productive will out ; the elderly are merely needless intrusions .
Such needless intrusions can be disposed of .
Steel cold in reflection , a piece run in the British paper was not shy about suggesting as much , even as the death toll rose .
“ Not to put too fine a point on it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from an entirely disinterested economic perspective , the COVID-19 might prove mildly beneficial in the long term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.
” The virus could be congratulated .
Such mightily inhumane reasoning merely serves to ignore that old question of adequate resources and funding .
To that end , the global economy itself needs a grand post-pandemic refitting .
UN Secretary General António Guterres suggests “ designing fiscal and monetary policies able to support the direct provision of resources to support workers and households , the provision of health and unemployment insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support to businesses to prevent bankruptcies and massive job losses.
” When health becomes a matter of profit and Social Darwinian priorities ; when the granting of medical services becomes a crude exercise of penny pinching because the tax dollars are not there , choices on survival assume an almost criminal form .
Harm and the risk of making them can be minimised .
Sentimentality need not come into it .
But COVID-19 has shown that human rights , and notably those of the elderly , are brittle before the march of pandemics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy maker and politicians captivated by bottom lines and budgets .
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College , Cambridge .
He lectures at RMIT University , Melbourne .
Email : bkampmark @ gmail.com

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Submitted by Dr. Binoy Kampmark
The director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has welled-up because of it. In March, he feared that the world’s elderly citizens risked being marginalised in any pandemic policy. “If anything is going to hurt the world, it is moral decay. And not taking the death of the elderly or the senior citizens as a serious issue is moral decay.”
The elderly have, along with other categories of doomed vulnerability, found themselves centre stage in this epidemiological play of death. They feature in morbidity reports across the globe. They are designated objects of state charity to be protected in some cases, shunned in others. Often, they are abandoned, left to perish alone, with only medical staff for company, if that.
In March, the theme of abandonment featured strongly in accounts from Spain, where choices on the elderly, cruel and desperate, were made. Retirement homes had become bits of paradise for coronavirus transmission. Staff, poorly equipped and terrified, neglected and ignored their obligations. During the course of disinfecting various care homes, the country’s military made alarming discoveries. Residents were abandoned; others were found dead in bed. Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles promised that the government would be “strict and inflexible when dealing with the way older people are treated”.
In Australia, the picture was repeated. In Victoria’s second coronavirus surge, dead aged care residents were left in their beds at various aged care facilities across Melbourne for hours on end. An already rotten system was shown to be putrefying. Professor John Moloney, an emergency field doctor, came up with the understatement of the moment. “What it shows is that there are significant pockets of society that are very vulnerable and it doesn’t take much to tip them over.” It did not take long for squabbles to take place: the Victorian state government, already troubled by a failed quarantine system, sniping with the Commonwealth government, which wields general control over the aged care system.
The federal health minister, Senator Richard Colbeck, has come across as a ditherer of some note. His expertise, and lack of interest in his portfolio, is commensurate with his lack of interest in seniors. When asked the obvious question by a parliamentary inquiry as to how many elderly residents had died from coronavirus, he remained untroubled by knowledge. It took 35 seconds of awkward silence as he rifled through his documents.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher would not wait: 254, as of the morning of Thursday, August 20. Her colleague, Penny Wong, had come to the conclusion that the minister was resolutely incompetent. “You know,” she explained on the ABC news channel on August 26, “I sit in the Senate every day with this bloke … I would not trust the care of my parents to him.”
Galloping diseases unveil accepted hypocrisies. In reaching judgement on the impact of COVID-19, some world leaders have suggested a calculus at play. In a March 22 interview, Ukraine’s former health minister Illia Yemets obtusely advised the government to focus on those “who are still alive” – those above 65 were nothing better than “corpses”.
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro has also gone for the fatalist line. He pleads the case for the hungry poor and unemployed – the economy first, in other words – even as he minimises the effect of a lethal virus that disproportionately harms them. Towards the end of March, he laid bare his morgue-driven logic. “I’m sorry, some people will die, they will die, that’s life.” The same went for his old mother, a lady aged in her nineties. Car factories should not stop, he argued, “because of traffic deaths.”
In the United States, the business interest remains in perennial battle against that of health. The pro-economic faction in the Trump administration remains strong while such establishment voices as the New York Times argue “that a trade-off will emerge – and become more urgent in the coming months, as the economy slides deeper into recession.”
Industries do not stop because morgues fill. Impetuously, Beppe Sala, the mayor of Italy’s economic engine, Milan, shared a video with the slogan “Milano non si ferma” (Milano does not stop) at the end of February. The virus was not to be feared; the engine had to keep purring. “We bring home important results every day because every day we are not afraid. Milan doesn’t stop.” The NSS Magazine was effusive in praise at such audacity and happy that the scaremongers had not won the day. The “mayor’s intervention demonstrated how the institutions must work in synergy with the private sector to avoid uncertainty about the future and to support the realities that have made Milan a European city.”
In a matter of weeks, Italy had become the next global epicentre of infection, passing China’s death toll from the virus. Sala came to rue his enthusiasm. “It was a video that went viral on the internet. Everyone was sharing it, I also shared it, rightly or wrongly, probably wrongly.”
The calculus of death is something embraced by those who claim to be far sighted realists, wedded to a form of grim reaper choice theory. Conservative, and not infrequently reactionary columnist for The Australian Janet Albrechtsen makes the case. And she prosecutes it with considered callousness. Writing in May, Albrechtsen offers a view not atypical to the spread sheet specialists who allocate resources and prioritise life. In that world, the elderly are doomed. “Government and policymakers are confronted by tough questions every day about where to spend money.”
She insists on speaking to doctors, though an unnamed “senior anaesthetist” is quoted as telling her that health decisions “are often shrouded in secrecy, but we don’t have unlimited resources to treat everyone to the maximum.” A patient’s age becomes relevant in deciding, for instance, “who will get more years of life from a set of lungs or a new heart.”
Seeing humans as viable producers – and only that – leads to the endorsement of a particularly nasty streak of eugenics. The Canadian, Oxford-based historian Margaret MacMillan, otherwise credited with being fairly liberal minded, makes the case that those over seventy “were not productive members of society, were not the people we need to get the economic engines going again, and we tend to be more vulnerable, so we should stay out of the way and let others get on with it”. The productive will out; the elderly are merely needless intrusions.
Such needless intrusions can be disposed of. Steel cold in reflection, a piece run in the British paper The Telegraph was not shy about suggesting as much, even as the death toll rose. “Not to put too fine a point on it,” opined columnist Jeremy Warner, “from an entirely disinterested economic perspective, the COVID-19 might prove mildly beneficial in the long term by disproportionately culling elderly dependents.” The virus could be congratulated.
Such mightily inhumane reasoning merely serves to ignore that old question of adequate resources and funding. To that end, the global economy itself needs a grand post-pandemic refitting. UN Secretary General António Guterres suggests “designing fiscal and monetary policies able to support the direct provision of resources to support workers and households, the provision of health and unemployment insurance, scaled up social protection, and support to businesses to prevent bankruptcies and massive job losses.”
When health becomes a matter of profit and Social Darwinian priorities; when the granting of medical services becomes a crude exercise of penny pinching because the tax dollars are not there, choices on survival assume an almost criminal form. Harm and the risk of making them can be minimised. Sentimentality need not come into it. But COVID-19 has shown that human rights, and notably those of the elderly, are brittle before the march of pandemics, made worse by the desk bound policy maker and politicians captivated by bottom lines and budgets.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com
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southfront--2020-09-01--UK To Use Watchkeeper War-Zone Drones To Monitor English Channel Against Migrants

The United Kingdom plans to use a military-grade UAV ( unmanned aerial vehicle ) to monitor for illegal migrants crossing from France to Britain .
The Watchkeeper drone will be used to help the Border Force agency ’ s efforts to “ tackle ” boats making the dangerous crossings , the Ministry of Defense ( MoD ) has confirmed .
It is the first time the surveillance drone , which has been used by the Army in Afghanistan , will fly operationally in the UK .
“ The deployment of Watchkeeper provides further defence support to the Home Office in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crossing the English Channel .
“ It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability , feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action.
” More than 5,000 migrants have crossed to the UK in small boats so far in 2020 .
Boris Johnson ’ s government said it is working with France to make the sea route “ unviable ” , but campaigners have called for safer legal routes to claim asylum in the UK .
The drone will be launched from Lydd Airport in Kent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Regiment Royal Artillery will operate the aircraft and provide a live feed of the sea surface back to base for further analysis .
Other UK armed forces aircraft , including Atlas A-400M , Shadow R1 and P-8 Poseidon have also been authorized to help monitor Channel crossings .
The Ministry of Defense says the unmanned aircraft hosts a range of sensors including Electro-Optic and Infra-red full motion video day and night camera , Synthetic Aperture Radar and a Moving Target Indicator radar .
The Watchkeeper programme has cost the UK more than £1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Four Watchkeeper drones are known to have crashed , including two which took a permanent dip into the sea off the coast of Wales in early 2017 .
The other two crashes happened in 2014 and 2015 during landing at West Wales Airport and MoD Boscombe Down respectively .
Migrants appear to be a significant issue , since in between August 4th and 13th , at least 1,000 migrants crossed the English Channel .
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace initially authorized the use of the Atlas A-400M and since has approved flights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ P-8 Poseidon was also enlisted .
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in 2019 vowed that the migrant crossings would be an “ infrequent phenomenon ” by now and has since insisted she is working to make the route “ completely unviable ” .
It turns out he was wrong .
In August 2020 , she told Tory MPs that the asylum system was “ broken ” as she promised to bring forward legal reforms while she claimed laws were being exploited by “ leftie Labour-supporting lawyers ” who were trying to frustrate Government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ THE TOPIC : • Blight and Revelation : Coronavirus , Austerity and the UK

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The United Kingdom plans to use a military-grade UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to monitor for illegal migrants crossing from France to Britain.
The Watchkeeper drone will be used to help the Border Force agency’s efforts to “tackle” boats making the dangerous crossings, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed.
It is the first time the surveillance drone, which has been used by the Army in Afghanistan, will fly operationally in the UK.
A Ministry of Defense spokesperson said:
“The deployment of Watchkeeper provides further defence support to the Home Office in tackling the increasing number of small boats crossing the English Channel. “It will provide a leading surveillance and reconnaissance capability, feeding information back to the Border Force and allowing them to take appropriate action.”
More than 5,000 migrants have crossed to the UK in small boats so far in 2020.
Boris Johnson’s government said it is working with France to make the sea route “unviable”, but campaigners have called for safer legal routes to claim asylum in the UK.
The drone will be launched from Lydd Airport in Kent, England. Members of the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery will operate the aircraft and provide a live feed of the sea surface back to base for further analysis.
Other UK armed forces aircraft, including Atlas A-400M, Shadow R1 and P-8 Poseidon have also been authorized to help monitor Channel crossings.
The Ministry of Defense says the unmanned aircraft hosts a range of sensors including Electro-Optic and Infra-red full motion video day and night camera, Synthetic Aperture Radar and a Moving Target Indicator radar.
The Watchkeeper programme has cost the UK more than £1 billion, figures released in 2017 showed.
Four Watchkeeper drones are known to have crashed, including two which took a permanent dip into the sea off the coast of Wales in early 2017.
The other two crashes happened in 2014 and 2015 during landing at West Wales Airport and MoD Boscombe Down respectively.
Migrants appear to be a significant issue, since in between August 4th and 13th, at least 1,000 migrants crossed the English Channel.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace initially authorized the use of the Atlas A-400M and since has approved flights by a Shadow R1, while a P-8 Poseidon was also enlisted.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in 2019 vowed that the migrant crossings would be an “infrequent phenomenon” by now and has since insisted she is working to make the route “completely unviable”. It turns out he was wrong.
In August 2020, she told Tory MPs that the asylum system was “broken” as she promised to bring forward legal reforms while she claimed laws were being exploited by “leftie Labour-supporting lawyers” who were trying to frustrate Government efforts to deport people.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
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southfront--2020-09-01--“Neo-Nazis” Take Reichstag To Fight “Neo-Liberal Values”

At the weekend , mass protests were held in Berlin against the quarantine restrictions imposed by the German government related to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic .
On Saturday , August 29 , about 40 thousand people took to the streets .
The mass protests revealed an ideological and cultural split in German society .
Berlin faces the protests against quarantine measures not for the first time .
The previous demonstration against the excessive restrictive measures gathered about 20,000 people on August 1 .
The protest was interrupted by the police , because the demonstrators “ did not observe the conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , more people took part in the rallies , and the mask regime was canceled for one day .
The main demand of the protesters is the abolition of quarantine measures , which cause significant damage to the citizens ’ income .
The protest against the restrictive measures quickly took the form of political demands for the resignation of the Federal government .
Mass discontent is caused by the obvious dissonance between the declared threats and the observed reality .
A crowd of thousands of protesters gathered at the Brandenburg gate in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were also held in different parts of the city center .
The demonstrations culminated in a symbolic assault on the Bundestag .
The protest action was dubbed nothing other than “ taking the Reichstag ” .
Some of the radicals managed to break through the cordon in front of the building and climb up its stairs .
The demonstrators did not enter the building itself , and the police pushed them back , using the tear gas .
The Reichstag , where German deputies gather in plenary sessions , has a great symbolic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its famous dome were burned down by the Nazis in 1933 , in an act that is believed to have been intended to bring German democracy to its knees .
One of the organizers of the rallies was the organization Querdenken 711 ( “ Non-standard thinking ” ) .
The members of this movement are opposed to restrictive measures .
They call the quarantine a dictatorship and protest against the mandatory wearing of masks because this demand has no sense and even harms conscientious executors .
The rallies themselves are a motley procession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-state activists , conspirators or far-right supporters .
German authorities fear that protests against the quarantine may be used by neo-Nazis .
Demonstrations are an ideal environment for radical movements to win more and more supporters for a particular ideology .
According to various statements , the main mass of the demonstrations was made up of the members of the revanchist movement “ Reichsbürger ” ( “ Citizens of the Reich ” ) , which recognizes Germany within the borders of 1937 .
The reichsbürgers consider it necessary to sign a treaty with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany would gain full sovereignty .
At the same time , the demonstrators believe that Russia could facilitate the signing of such a treaty , and that the Russian President has the ability to influence Donald Trump .
Despite the fact that in addition to the participants of the Reichsbürger movement , representatives of various movements participated in the rallies , the demonstrations can be described as pro-Russian and pro-American at the same time .
Such a trend is a signal that German society is disillusioned with the current political course of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries with a more authoritarian system and with real influence on the international arena .
About 300 people were detained during the protests about 200 of them were detained near the Russian Embassy in Berlin , where an unauthorized rally was organized gathering right-wing radicals and supporters of Putin ’ s policies .
In the crowds of protesters among the flags of the German Empire , the Russian tricolor was also noticed .
Videos appear on the Internet showing protesters chanting ” Putin !
Putin !
” .
Demonstrators used placards that read @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us freedom !
” Many attribute the capture of the Reichstag to an allusion to the historic storming of the Reichstag by the Soviet Red Army in May 1945 .
These facts immediately led to the appearance of various gossips about Moscow ’ s involvement in the organization of provocations in Berlin .
So the journalist of the tabloid ‘ Bild ’ Julian Röpcke , wrote in Twitter : However , various statements regarding Russian intervention seem exaggerated , in contrast to the growing level of support for Putin ’ s policy by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rapprochement between the two States on the international stage .
Deputy of the city House of Representatives Gunnar Lindemann , explaining the shouts in support of the Russian President during the rallies , said that the Russian leader has a great authority among the Germans .
The demonstrators decided to come to the Russian Embassy to “ draw attention to the conditions in Germany ” in the hope that the Russian side will be able to influence Chancellor Angela Merkel .
Modern German society seems to have been overwhelmed by the Euro-Atlantic agenda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when in the context of an objective global crisis and a crisis of management decisions of an incombant bureaucracy , the population needs to have a strong leader , someone who can take full personal responsibility for the applied solutions .
An additional factor influencing the growth of such sentiments is the objective benefit for Germany from the process of economic cooperation with Russia , which is opposed by Euro-Atlanticists and Brussels bureaucrats .
According to the last statistics of the ZDF , only 10 % of Germans consider anti-Covid-19 restrictions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them adequate and 28 % as insufficient .
These figures confirm the fact that in many ways the protests have already a priority not to fight against excessive restrictive measures , but to change the political course of the country .
The rallies demonstrated a deep split in many respects of an ideological nature .
Far-right parties , which are gaining considerable popularity in Germany , sharply criticized attempts to ban rallies in Berlin , calling the decision “ dictatorial ” .
At this time , many German leaders denounced an “ attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ storm the National Parliament .
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke out against an “ unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy ” .
He denounced “ the outrages of the extreme right ” as well as the German “ flags of the Reich ” .
Over the past month , protests against quarantine measures have taken place in many European capitals , as well as in the UK .
They were much smaller in scale .
For example , in Paris on Saturday , up to 300 people gathered to express their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berlin , the rallies , which involve tens of thousands of people , have become one of the largest protests in more than 10 years .
One of the factors that contributed to this level of discontent is probably Germany ’ s success in preventing the spread of the pandemic .
Germany is one of the most effective European countries in detecting , containing and treating coronavirus .
The relatively low number of deaths has created a public perception that it is not dangerous , and that the authorities are introducing unfavorable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise of far-right sentiment in Europe , as well as support for Russia ’ s political course , seems to be an important indicator of the decline of neoliberal ideology .
This trend is accompanied by an increasing acceptance of the alternative ideology of the Russian kind , which is also manifested in the desire to get closer to Russia in the framework of international politics .
Such trends are clearly visible not only in the process of rallies in Germany , but also , for example , in the foreign policy of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the societies of Western countries are beginning to realize the inevitability of the decline of the neoliberal agenda and are looking for an alternative in more conservative concepts , the most appropriate and close of which seems to be the pro-Russian ideology .
In this case , protest movements in post-Soviet countries , such as Ukraine and Belarus , which continue to blindly follow the Euro-Atlantic agenda driven by local nationalists , raise confusion .
In practice , we observe the standard ideological waves .
When the population of the leading European @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of meaning and demands , developing countries under the influence of colonial style propaganda still continue to raise the slogans of liberal democratic dreams to the banners .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • None Iran And Russia On Their Way To New Level Of Partnership • None Europe ’ s True Last Dictator : Montenegro President Djukanovic ’ s Party May Fall After 30 Years Of Power • None The Stormtroops Of Regime Change And Counter-Revolution

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At the weekend, mass protests were held in Berlin against the quarantine restrictions imposed by the German government related to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, August 29, about 40 thousand people took to the streets. The mass protests revealed an ideological and cultural split in German society.
Berlin faces the protests against quarantine measures not for the first time. The previous demonstration against the excessive restrictive measures gathered about 20,000 people on August 1. The protest was interrupted by the police, because the demonstrators “did not observe the conditions of social distance”. This weekend, more people took part in the rallies, and the mask regime was canceled for one day. The main demand of the protesters is the abolition of quarantine measures, which cause significant damage to the citizens’ income. The protest against the restrictive measures quickly took the form of political demands for the resignation of the Federal government. Mass discontent is caused by the obvious dissonance between the declared threats and the observed reality.
A crowd of thousands of protesters gathered at the Brandenburg gate in the center of the German capital. Rallies were also held in different parts of the city center. The demonstrations culminated in a symbolic assault on the Bundestag. The protest action was dubbed nothing other than “taking the Reichstag”. Some of the radicals managed to break through the cordon in front of the building and climb up its stairs. The demonstrators did not enter the building itself, and the police pushed them back, using the tear gas. The Reichstag, where German deputies gather in plenary sessions, has a great symbolic significance in Germany. The building and its famous dome were burned down by the Nazis in 1933, in an act that is believed to have been intended to bring German democracy to its knees.
One of the organizers of the rallies was the organization Querdenken 711 (“Non-standard thinking”). The members of this movement are opposed to restrictive measures. They call the quarantine a dictatorship and protest against the mandatory wearing of masks because this demand has no sense and even harms conscientious executors.
The rallies themselves are a motley procession that unites members of LGBT community, anti-state activists, conspirators or far-right supporters. German authorities fear that protests against the quarantine may be used by neo-Nazis. Demonstrations are an ideal environment for radical movements to win more and more supporters for a particular ideology.
According to various statements, the main mass of the demonstrations was made up of the members of the revanchist movement “Reichsbürger” (“Citizens of the Reich”), which recognizes Germany within the borders of 1937. The reichsbürgers consider it necessary to sign a treaty with the United States, after which, Germany would gain full sovereignty. At the same time, the demonstrators believe that Russia could facilitate the signing of such a treaty, and that the Russian President has the ability to influence Donald Trump.
Despite the fact that in addition to the participants of the Reichsbürger movement, representatives of various movements participated in the rallies, the demonstrations can be described as pro-Russian and pro-American at the same time. Such a trend is a signal that German society is disillusioned with the current political course of the country and is looking for support in countries with a more authoritarian system and with real influence on the international arena.
About 300 people were detained during the protests about 200 of them were detained near the Russian Embassy in Berlin, where an unauthorized rally was organized gathering right-wing radicals and supporters of Putin’s policies. In the crowds of protesters among the flags of the German Empire, the Russian tricolor was also noticed. Videos appear on the Internet showing protesters chanting ” Putin! Putin!”. Demonstrators used placards that read: “Vladimir and Donald! Give us freedom!” Many attribute the capture of the Reichstag to an allusion to the historic storming of the Reichstag by the Soviet Red Army in May 1945.
These facts immediately led to the appearance of various gossips about Moscow’s involvement in the organization of provocations in Berlin. So the journalist of the tabloid ‘Bild’ Julian Röpcke, wrote in Twitter:
“Pro-Putin and Pro-Trump extremists tried to storm the Reichstag”.
However, various statements regarding Russian intervention seem exaggerated, in contrast to the growing level of support for Putin’s policy by the German population and hopes for a rapprochement between the two States on the international stage. Deputy of the city House of Representatives Gunnar Lindemann, explaining the shouts in support of the Russian President during the rallies, said that the Russian leader has a great authority among the Germans.
The demonstrators decided to come to the Russian Embassy to “draw attention to the conditions in Germany” in the hope that the Russian side will be able to influence Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Modern German society seems to have been overwhelmed by the Euro-Atlantic agenda. This is natural for the population, when in the context of an objective global crisis and a crisis of management decisions of an incombant bureaucracy, the population needs to have a strong leader, someone who can take full personal responsibility for the applied solutions. An additional factor influencing the growth of such sentiments is the objective benefit for Germany from the process of economic cooperation with Russia, which is opposed by Euro-Atlanticists and Brussels bureaucrats.
According to the last statistics of the ZDF, only 10% of Germans consider anti-Covid-19 restrictions to be excessive, while 60% consider them adequate and 28% as insufficient. These figures confirm the fact that in many ways the protests have already a priority not to fight against excessive restrictive measures, but to change the political course of the country.
The rallies demonstrated a deep split in many respects of an ideological nature. Far-right parties, which are gaining considerable popularity in Germany, sharply criticized attempts to ban rallies in Berlin, calling the decision “dictatorial”.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) MP Leif-Erik Holm spoke on Twitter about the “victory for freedom”. The rule of law has protected freedom of Assembly from the arbitrariness of the “left – wing Berlin municipality,” another leader of the party, Beatrix von Storch, said with satisfaction.
At this time, many German leaders denounced an “attack on democracy” after an attempt to storm the National Parliament. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke out against an “unbearable attack on the heart of our democracy” . He denounced “the outrages of the extreme right” as well as the German “flags of the Reich”.
“Diversity of opinion is the hallmark of a society that is doing well. But freedom of Assembly reaches its limits from the moment the state rules are trampled underfoot, ” said conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
Over the past month, protests against quarantine measures have taken place in many European capitals, as well as in the UK. They were much smaller in scale. For example, in Paris on Saturday, up to 300 people gathered to express their dissatisfaction on August, 29. In Berlin, the rallies, which involve tens of thousands of people, have become one of the largest protests in more than 10 years. One of the factors that contributed to this level of discontent is probably Germany’s success in preventing the spread of the pandemic. Germany is one of the most effective European countries in detecting, containing and treating coronavirus. The relatively low number of deaths has created a public perception that it is not dangerous, and that the authorities are introducing unfavorable, unnecessary measures to combat it.
The rise of far-right sentiment in Europe, as well as support for Russia’s political course, seems to be an important indicator of the decline of neoliberal ideology. This trend is accompanied by an increasing acceptance of the alternative ideology of the Russian kind, which is also manifested in the desire to get closer to Russia in the framework of international politics. Such trends are clearly visible not only in the process of rallies in Germany, but also, for example, in the foreign policy of France, conducted by Macron. Apparently, the societies of Western countries are beginning to realize the inevitability of the decline of the neoliberal agenda and are looking for an alternative in more conservative concepts, the most appropriate and close of which seems to be the pro-Russian ideology.
In this case, protest movements in post-Soviet countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus, which continue to blindly follow the Euro-Atlantic agenda driven by local nationalists, raise confusion. In practice, we observe the standard ideological waves. When the population of the leading European countries has already shifted to a different level of meaning and demands, developing countries under the influence of colonial style propaganda still continue to raise the slogans of liberal democratic dreams to the banners.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
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southfront--2020-09-01--‘Shoot On-Site’: Chicago Gangs Form Pact To Execute Cops Who Draw Weapons On Suspects, Says FBI

The FBI has warned Chicago-area law enforcement that nearly three-dozen street gangs “ have formed a pact to ‘ shoot on-site any cop that has a weapon drawn on any subject in public ’ , ” reports .
According to an August 26 ‘ situation information report ’ from Chicago-based FBI officials , “ members of these gang factions have been actively searching for , and filming , police officers in performance of their official duties .
The purpose of which is to catch on film an officer drawing his/her weapon on any subject and the subsequent ‘ shoot on-site @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to garner national media attention.
” Alerts based on police intelligence , no matter how unspecific , are frequently distributed to law enforcement agencies according to investigators , especially when they involve threats to officers .
The FBI ’ s “ Potential Activity Alert ” is from “ a contact whose reporting is limited and whose reliability can not be determined.
” That could mean the information came from a police street source , a cooperating witness in an ongoing case , or from discussions overheard on a wiretap or other surveillance recording @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown , there is an overall “ sense of lawlessness ” felt by local police , and the ‘ danger to police officers is real and increasing.
’ “ I think it ’ s bigger than a suggestion , ” said Brown .
“ I think 51 officers being shot at or shot in one year , I think that quadruples any previous year in Chicago ’ s history .
So I think it ’ s more than a suggestion that people are seeking to do harm to cops.
” The alleged pact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incidents between black suspects and police officers which has resulted in arson , looting , murder and other violent acts in cities across the country sparked by the death of George Floyd – a black suspect who died in police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes .
As notes , the warning comes after 54 people were shot in the windy city last weekend – including two Chicago PD officers who are expected to live , while 10 victims died according to the report .
That said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers were targeted as part of the alleged gang assassination pact described in the FBI alert .
The FBI alert , headlined “ Pact Made by People Nation Gang Factions to ‘ Shoot On-Site ’ Any Police Officer with a Weapon Drawn ” lists street gangs that have become well-known in Chicago the past five decades , from the Latin Kings and Vice Lords to the El Rukns and Black P Stones .
Supt .
Brown said on Monday the spike in attacks on police makes it clear to him that “ people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ We need police officers and as community members we need to push back fervently against lawlessness , ” Brown said .
– Chicago PD told the outlet that they are aware of the gang threat , and take all threats to officers ’ safety seriously .
Federal authorities have not provided additional information .

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Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
The FBI has warned Chicago-area law enforcement that nearly three-dozen street gangs “have formed a pact to ‘shoot on-site any cop that has a weapon drawn on any subject in public’,” reports ABC7.
According to an August 26 ‘situation information report’ from Chicago-based FBI officials, “members of these gang factions have been actively searching for, and filming, police officers in performance of their official duties. The purpose of which is to catch on film an officer drawing his/her weapon on any subject and the subsequent ‘shoot on-site’ of said officer, in order to garner national media attention.”
Alerts based on police intelligence, no matter how unspecific, are frequently distributed to law enforcement agencies according to investigators, especially when they involve threats to officers. The FBI’s “Potential Activity Alert” is from “a contact whose reporting is limited and whose reliability cannot be determined.” That could mean the information came from a police street source, a cooperating witness in an ongoing case, or from discussions overheard on a wiretap or other surveillance recording. –ABC7
According to CPD Superintendent David Brown, there is an overall “sense of lawlessness” felt by local police, and the ‘danger to police officers is real and increasing.’
“I think it’s bigger than a suggestion,” said Brown. “I think 51 officers being shot at or shot in one year, I think that quadruples any previous year in Chicago’s history. So I think it’s more than a suggestion that people are seeking to do harm to cops.”
The alleged pact comes amid national protests over several high-profile incidents between black suspects and police officers which has resulted in arson, looting, murder and other violent acts in cities across the country sparked by the death of George Floyd – a black suspect who died in police custody after an officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.
As ABC7 notes, the warning comes after 54 people were shot in the windy city last weekend – including two Chicago PD officers who are expected to live, while 10 victims died according to the report. That said, there is no indication that the officers were targeted as part of the alleged gang assassination pact described in the FBI alert.
The FBI alert, headlined “Pact Made by People Nation Gang Factions to ‘Shoot On-Site’ Any Police Officer with a Weapon Drawn” lists street gangs that have become well-known in Chicago the past five decades, from the Latin Kings and Vice Lords to the El Rukns and Black P Stones. Supt. Brown said on Monday the spike in attacks on police makes it clear to him that “people are seeking to do harm to cops.” “We need police officers and as community members we need to push back fervently against lawlessness,” Brown said. –ABC7
Chicago PD told the outlet that they are aware of the gang threat, and take all threats to officers’ safety seriously. Federal authorities have not provided additional information.
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southfront--2020-09-01--Turkey To Likely Purchase Russian Su-35 Fighter Jets To Counter Greece In Mediterranean

In recent weeks , Turkey appears to have been showing interest in the purchase of Russian Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets .
These were further reinforced at the Army-2020 forum in Moscow .
In 2019 , Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey may buy Russian-made Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets instead of US-made F-35 fighters .
The Turkish president at the time said that the decision was made after he learned the final US word on Turkey ’ s participation in the F-35 program during a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump .
Ankara was booted out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system .
Turkey has since signed a contract for the delivery of a second system .
The US said the “ F-35 can not coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities ” .
The US maintains that the S-400 is not compatible with NATO systems and threatens the stealth capabilities of the new fighter jets .
“ Turkey has hinted , on various occasions , that it would look to Russia , ” for new fighter jets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute ’ s Middle East Program .
“ The Russians have said that there have been preliminary talks for the Su-35 , but those talks do not appear to have ever been advanced , nor do they appear to be active at this moment.
” This is mostly needed since Turkey reportedly is concerned with the escalating situation in the East Mediterranean , with Greece , France , Cyprus and Egypt strongly opposing its drilling ambitions in the area .
Reportedly , After Athens began negotiations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fighters for the Greek Air Force , Ankara decided to urgently acquire Russian multipurpose Su-35 of the 4 ++ generation , writes the Greek edition of Pentapostagma .
According to the adviser to the Turkish Foreign Ministry , professor at Bahcesehir University , expert Abdullah Agar Turkey may simply move forward and purchase Russian fighter jets .
He believes that after the purchase of the S-400 by Turkey , there is a high probability that Ankara will take the next step and purchase from Moscow Su-35 , even from those available from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer interested in the fifth generation F-35 .
This is because Turkey simply will not be able to use them because of the US restrictions imposed on them .
Washington is unlikely to allow Ankara to use the F-35 against NATO allies .
Agar stressed that Turkish President Recep Erdogan had virtually no choice left .
But , despite the differences , Ankara is not going to leave NATO .
And if the Turks buy not only the Su-35 , but even the Su-57 , this will not have a dramatic effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And the Americans already know that the Turks are going to buy 40 Su-35s .
At the same time , Russian expert Alexander Sitnikov has no doubts that Ankara needs the Su-35 for a “ gas war ” with Greece and Egypt .
Additionally , presence of such a number of Su-35s will not make them dominant in the Turkish Air Force , which are armed with 240 F-16s .
He is confident that an economic catastrophe is impending in Turkey , so the authorities want to avoid this at the expense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raw materials .
In addition , Erdogan is being pushed by Turkish nationalists who dream of a “ great empire.
” As a result , Erdogan ’ s aggressive rhetoric is already causing outright irritation , and sometimes anger , in half of the planet .
MORE ON THE TOPIC :

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In recent weeks, Turkey appears to have been showing interest in the purchase of Russian Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets.
These were further reinforced at the Army-2020 forum in Moscow.
In 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey may buy Russian-made Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets instead of US-made F-35 fighters.
The Turkish president at the time said that the decision was made after he learned the final US word on Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program during a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump. Ankara was booted out of the F-35 program due to its purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system. Turkey has since signed a contract for the delivery of a second system.
The US said the “F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities”. The US maintains that the S-400 is not compatible with NATO systems and threatens the stealth capabilities of the new fighter jets.
“Turkey has hinted, on various occasions, that it would look to Russia,” for new fighter jets, said Aaron Stein, the Director of Research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Middle East Program. “The Russians have said that there have been preliminary talks for the Su-35, but those talks do not appear to have ever been advanced, nor do they appear to be active at this moment.”
This is mostly needed since Turkey reportedly is concerned with the escalating situation in the East Mediterranean, with Greece, France, Cyprus and Egypt strongly opposing its drilling ambitions in the area.
Reportedly, After Athens began negotiations with Paris on the acquisition of Rafale fighters for the Greek Air Force, Ankara decided to urgently acquire Russian multipurpose Su-35 of the 4 ++ generation, writes the Greek edition of Pentapostagma.
According to the adviser to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, professor at Bahcesehir University, expert Abdullah Agar Turkey may simply move forward and purchase Russian fighter jets.
He believes that after the purchase of the S-400 by Turkey, there is a high probability that Ankara will take the next step and purchase from Moscow Su-35, even from those available from the Russian Air Force. The Turks are no longer interested in the fifth generation F-35. This is because Turkey simply will not be able to use them because of the US restrictions imposed on them. Washington is unlikely to allow Ankara to use the F-35 against NATO allies.
Agar stressed that Turkish President Recep Erdogan had virtually no choice left. But, despite the differences, Ankara is not going to leave NATO. And if the Turks buy not only the Su-35, but even the Su-57, this will not have a dramatic effect on relations with the United States. And the Americans already know that the Turks are going to buy 40 Su-35s.
At the same time, Russian expert Alexander Sitnikov has no doubts that Ankara needs the Su-35 for a “gas war” with Greece and Egypt. Additionally, presence of such a number of Su-35s will not make them dominant in the Turkish Air Force, which are armed with 240 F-16s.
He is confident that an economic catastrophe is impending in Turkey, so the authorities want to avoid this at the expense of other countries, taking their deposits with raw materials. In addition, Erdogan is being pushed by Turkish nationalists who dream of a “great empire.” As a result, Erdogan’s aggressive rhetoric is already causing outright irritation, and sometimes anger, in half of the planet.
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southfront--2020-09-01--France Deploys Charles De Gaulle Aircraft Carrier To Eastern Mediterranean

On August 31st , France is deploying its “ battle-ready ” nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle to the Eastern Mediterranean .
Citing sources of the French General Staff , French media report that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is expected to arrive in the area soon .
The Charles de Gaulle will be accompanied by an unknown number of ships and submarines of the French Navy .
According to French media , the warship departed in full battle readiness , entirely loaded with ammunition and aircraft .
The aircraft carrier ’ s combat load reportedly includes a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missiles , anti-submarine arsenal , as well as advanced electronic tracking , targeting and electronic interception systems .
This is in line with a statement by French Defense Minister Florence which said that the aircraft carrier would be moving in early September .
The deployment of the French navy in the Eastern Mediterranean follows recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron that “ Turkey understands only actions.
” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan directly threatened Greece and France on Monday , saying that “ they will pay a heavy price ” if it attacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Mediterranean .
On August 28th , Macron said he had adopted a “ red-line policy ” in the region backing Greece against Turkey over the exploration of energy resources , wrote Turkish media .
France already has one warship in the area – it sent its Mistral-class amphibious landing helicopter dock FS Tonnerre to Lebanon in mid-August to assist with the aftermath of the explosion .
It was filled with humanitarian aid , however , it is unlikely that the ship was stripped of its weapons and all of its troops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : • France & Italy Join Greece In Major Naval War Games ‘ Show Of Force ’ Against Turkey

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On August 31st, France is deploying its “battle-ready” nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Citing sources of the French General Staff, French media report that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is expected to arrive in the area soon.
The Charles de Gaulle will be accompanied by an unknown number of ships and submarines of the French Navy.
According to French media, the warship departed in full battle readiness, entirely loaded with ammunition and aircraft.
The aircraft carrier’s combat load reportedly includes a number of Rafale fighter jets, maximum-range missiles, anti-submarine arsenal, as well as advanced electronic tracking, targeting and electronic interception systems.
This is in line with a statement by French Defense Minister Florence which said that the aircraft carrier would be moving in early September.
The deployment of the French navy in the Eastern Mediterranean follows recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron that “Turkey understands only actions.”
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan directly threatened Greece and France on Monday, saying that “they will pay a heavy price” if it attacks Turkish ships looking for oil and gas in the Mediterranean.
“Those who think they drew a red line in the Eastern Mediterranean are challenging our country’s resolute stance,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On August 28th, Macron said he had adopted a “red-line policy” in the region backing Greece against Turkey over the exploration of energy resources, wrote Turkish media.
France already has one warship in the area – it sent its Mistral-class amphibious landing helicopter dock FS Tonnerre to Lebanon in mid-August to assist with the aftermath of the explosion.
It was filled with humanitarian aid, however, it is unlikely that the ship was stripped of its weapons and all of its troops and hardware.
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southfront--2020-09-01--China Shifting Away From Saudi Oil

China Shifting Away From Saudi Oil

China has significantly reduced its imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in recent months , a recent report has revealed , which notes that the Saudis are no longer among the top suppliers of crude to China .
The analytic report published by Oilprice.com shows that Chinese oil purchasers , including state-owned oil companies and independent refiners , imported a total 1.26 million barrels per day ( bpd ) of oil from Saudi Arabia in July , a record low that is largely due to high benchmark prices set by Persian Gulf Arab producers for orders placed in April @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been either the number-one or number-two oil supplier to China , the world ’ s top oil importer .
However , a slump in global oil prices that began in March and continued into April , mainly a result of a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia as well as the massive decline in demand for oil because of the coronavirus pandemic , pushed many Chinese buyers to take advantage of the ultra-cheap oil and stock up their reserves .
That caused imports into China from the Americas to surge at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , imports from the United States and Brazil increased in July , showing that Chinese preferred supplies that took almost 45 days to reach the country from the Americas over the cargoes on the shorter route between the Middle East and China .
The report predicted that the Saudis will have to wait for months to be able to recapture their previous share of the Chinese market .
It cited economic data as showing that supplies of crude from the US and Brazil into China would continue to be strong in August @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buyers have already chartered tankers for the future deliveries .
LINK At the same time as it is reportedly reducing purchases from the Saudis , in terms of more long term trends China has been steadily increasing its purchases of oil and gas from Russia , Iran and Iraq to unprecedented levels .
Moreover , in each case the purchases have been locked into long term arrangements that signify that while the current shift away from Saudi oil may have been decided based on current conditions , it is also part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relations that involves replacing Saudi oil purchases with other suppliers , although as it traditionally does in its relations with other countries China will continue to maintain cordial relations with the Saudis unless there is a specific dispute that can not be resolved by quiet diplomacy .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • China Moving Towards Ending Phase One Trade Deal Is Trade War Back On The Menu • A closer look at oil production cuts under OPEC deal

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China has significantly reduced its imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in recent months, a recent report has revealed, which notes that the Saudis are no longer among the top suppliers of crude to China.
The analytic report published by Oilprice.com shows that Chinese oil purchasers, including state-owned oil companies and independent refiners, imported a total 1.26 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Saudi Arabia in July, a record low that is largely due to high benchmark prices set by Persian Gulf Arab producers for orders placed in April.
For two years, Saudi Arabia has been either the number-one or number-two oil supplier to China, the world’s top oil importer.
However, a slump in global oil prices that began in March and continued into April, mainly a result of a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia as well as the massive decline in demand for oil because of the coronavirus pandemic, pushed many Chinese buyers to take advantage of the ultra-cheap oil and stock up their reserves.
That caused imports into China from the Americas to surge at the expense of Saudi Arabia. In fact, imports from the United States and Brazil increased in July, showing that Chinese preferred supplies that took almost 45 days to reach the country from the Americas over the cargoes on the shorter route between the Middle East and China.
The report predicted that the Saudis will have to wait for months to be able to recapture their previous share of the Chinese market. It cited economic data as showing that supplies of crude from the US and Brazil into China would continue to be strong in August and even in September as the Chinese buyers have already chartered tankers for the future deliveries. LINK
At the same time as it is reportedly reducing purchases from the Saudis, in terms of more long term trends China has been steadily increasing its purchases of oil and gas from Russia, Iran and Iraq to unprecedented levels. Moreover, in each case the purchases have been locked into long term arrangements that signify that while the current shift away from Saudi oil may have been decided based on current conditions, it is also part of a long term shift in Chinese strategy and relations that involves replacing Saudi oil purchases with other suppliers, although as it traditionally does in its relations with other countries China will continue to maintain cordial relations with the Saudis unless there is a specific dispute that cannot be resolved by quiet diplomacy.
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southfront--2020-09-01--Israeli Prime Minister Claims ‘Many’ Arab Nations ‘Lining Up’ To Normalize Relations

Tel Aviv is in talks with ‘ many ’ Arab nations that are ‘ in line ’ to establish relations with Israel , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in the wake of the UAE ‘ normalizing ’ relations with the Jewish state .
The prime minister did not specify which Arab nations are involved , but he claimed that other Arab and Muslim leaders are lining up to normalize relations .
He further asserted that the UAE ’ s decision to normalize relations with Israel has deprived Palestine of its ‘ veto ’ on peace between the Jewish state and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president , Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan , has just signed a decree abolishing a 1972 law banning any deals between the Emirates and Israel .
The move is a part of the implementation process of the normalization agreement mediated by the US and signed earlier this month .
The deal was sharply criticized by Palestinian officials as well as by some other nations , such as Turkey , that accused Abu Dhabi of betraying the Palestinian cause in pursuit of its own interests .
On Monday of this week , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UAE will carry a joint US-Israeli delegation led by Kushner and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to the Arab state .
An Israeli Defense Ministry delegation is also expected to travel to Abu Dhabi soon .
While many Arab rulers have maintained secret relations and collaboration with Israel for many years in varying degrees of substance and significance , the official normalization of relations with Israel absent a conclusive and comprehensive peace agreement that is acceptable to the Palestinians remained a step too far for most Arab and Muslim countries .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , in the wake of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates , there have been rumours that several other states could be next to sign an agreement with Israel .
Noting that there are still considerable hurdles to normalizing relations with some states in the Middle East , the report argues that there are others who view the UAE decision as a trial balloon and will adjust their official postures based on how the next weeks and months play out between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it considers are most likely to normalize relations with Israel in the near future .
Bahrain was long thought to be the first country in the Gulf that might normalize relations with Israel .
The small kingdom has often made relatively positive comments about Israel over the years and appeared open to the Trump administration ’ s ‘ Deal of the Century ’ by hosting discussions about the economic aspects of it .
Bahrain has welcomed the UAE deal with Israel , and initial reports indicated it was working on normalizing relations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media reports in the Gulf noted that Bahrain was reaching out to Israel .
However , Bahrain faced strong protests in the 2011 Arab Spring and , as such , it appeared wiser for it to let the UAE be the first to move regarding relations with Israel .
Morocco is reported to be one of the states on the short list of opening relations with Israel in the near term .
Morocco has been supportive of the Trump administration ’ s efforts on peace issues .
In February , there were even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US recognizing Morocco ’ s sovereignty over the West Sahara ( presumably as a quid pro quo for supporting the ‘ Deal of the Century ’ ) .
Israel-Morocco ties go back to the 1960s .
King Hassan II played a key role in these warming relations , including working with Egypt ’ s Anwar Sadat before his historic 1977 visit .
Peres visited Morocco in 1986 , and prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and foreign minister Peres met Hassan II in 1993 .
In October 2018 , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Qaboos bin Said .
Oman ’ s minister responsible for foreign affairs , Yusuf bin Alawi , made positive comments about accepting Israel in the region during subsequent discussions in Manama .
In April , the Omanis made similar comments in Jordan at a conference , saying it was important to assure Israel that it was not being threatened .
While Jordan slammed the comments , Oman continued to push forward with relatively positive views on Israel .
Saudi Arabia has appeared to be more open to Israel in recent years .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several processes .
Saudi Arabia has tried to clamp down on the kind of extremism that roiled the kingdom in the 1990s and in the last decade has appeared to share more interests with Israel .
However , Saudi Arabia has preferred to let other Gulf states that it works closely with go first in discussions with Israel .
This includes Oman , the UAE and Bahrain .
Nevertheless , Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has sought close relations with the Trump administration and has also made relatively positive comments on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israel .
This is a shift from the old days , when the Palestinian issue was seen as front and centre of everything in the Middle East .
Riyadh was a leader of the Arab initiative to recognize Israel in the 2000s in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank .
This was proposed in 2002 , and Riyadh has thus shown support for opening relations with Israel in this context .
Saudi Arabia doesn ’ t want Turkey to take over the mantle of being the main supporter for the Palestinians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports have indicated that key members of the Trump administration , including Jared Kushner , think normalization is inevitable with the kingdom .
An Israeli blogger reportedly received a friendly reception in Saudi Arabia in February , and Israelis can ostensibly travel to Riyadh , according to Israeli media reports .
While the US and Israel are putting a lot of pressure on the Saudis to normalize relations they remain reluctant to take the final fateful step , presumably concerned about the likely backlash the Saudi monarchy would face from the people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that no diplomatic relations will be established until there is a broader peace agreement that includes the Palestinians .
LINK Qatar and Israel had historically warm relations in the 1990s , and it was thought years ago to be the first in line for normalization .
This happened after the Gulf War in 1991 .
There has been an Israeli trade office there since 1996 .
Qatar , Israel and the US formed a kind of tripartite relationship in light of this .
The young emir of Qatar , Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relationships across the region .
The 40-year-old leader came to power in 2013 .
Qatar had helped fuel the Arab Spring and used Al Jazeera to fan protests across the region to gain influence .
However , it saw many of these protests fail and regimes defeat Qatar-backed candidates .
More isolated now , Qatar has Turkish troops in Doha after the 2017 crisis with Riyadh .
That means it must rely on Turkey , which , except for Iran , is the most hostile regime in the region to Israel .
Qatar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means whatever feelers Qatar once had for peace , and even attempts to cultivate pro-Israel voices through junkets to Doha , are largely on ice .
Nevertheless , Qatar does have discussions with Israel about Gaza , where it plays a key role .
Some Israelis see Qatar as playing a potential positive influence .
Former defence minister Avigdor Liberman revealed a trip by the head of the Mossad to Qatar in February 2020 .
In 2018 , Liberman met the Qatari foreign minister .
For the moment , it appear thast Qatar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and intrigue rather than a peace partner .
Sudan has also been the subject of numerous reports suggesting that key figures of the new military leadership of the country have been meeting with senior Israeli officials at least since the beginning of the year , but up until now it is also resisting insistent US and Israeli pressure to normalize relations .
It appears that the US is using the additional leverage of offering to remove the sanctions it has long imposed against Sudan .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Dummy Soldiers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For War With Hezbollah

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Tel Aviv is in talks with ‘many’ Arab nations that are ‘in line’ to establish relations with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in the wake of the UAE ‘normalizing’ relations with the Jewish state.
“There are many more unpublicized meetings with Arab and Muslim leaders to normalize relations with the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Jared Kushner, the White House senior adviser
The prime minister did not specify which Arab nations are involved, but he claimed that other Arab and Muslim leaders are lining up to normalize relations. He further asserted that the UAE’s decision to normalize relations with Israel has deprived Palestine of its ‘veto’ on peace between the Jewish state and the Arab world.
UAE’s president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has just signed a decree abolishing a 1972 law banning any deals between the Emirates and Israel. The move is a part of the implementation process of the normalization agreement mediated by the US and signed earlier this month.
The deal was sharply criticized by Palestinian officials as well as by some other nations, such as Turkey, that accused Abu Dhabi of betraying the Palestinian cause in pursuit of its own interests.
On Monday of this week, the first direct flight between Israel and the UAE will carry a joint US-Israeli delegation led by Kushner and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat to the Arab state. An Israeli Defense Ministry delegation is also expected to travel to Abu Dhabi soon.
While many Arab rulers have maintained secret relations and collaboration with Israel for many years in varying degrees of substance and significance, the official normalization of relations with Israel absent a conclusive and comprehensive peace agreement that is acceptable to the Palestinians remained a step too far for most Arab and Muslim countries.
A recent report by the Jerusalem Post comments that, in the wake of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there have been rumours that several other states could be next to sign an agreement with Israel. Noting that there are still considerable hurdles to normalizing relations with some states in the Middle East, the report argues that there are others who view the UAE decision as a trial balloon and will adjust their official postures based on how the next weeks and months play out between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi.
The report compiles a list of five countries that it considers are most likely to normalize relations with Israel in the near future.
Bahrain
Bahrain was long thought to be the first country in the Gulf that might normalize relations with Israel. The small kingdom has often made relatively positive comments about Israel over the years and appeared open to the Trump administration’s ‘Deal of the Century’ by hosting discussions about the economic aspects of it. Bahrain has welcomed the UAE deal with Israel, and initial reports indicated it was working on normalizing relations after the UAE. Last December, media reports in the Gulf noted that Bahrain was reaching out to Israel.
However, Bahrain faced strong protests in the 2011 Arab Spring and, as such, it appeared wiser for it to let the UAE be the first to move regarding relations with Israel.
Morocco
Morocco is reported to be one of the states on the short list of opening relations with Israel in the near term. Morocco has been supportive of the Trump administration’s efforts on peace issues. In February, there were even rumours at Axios about Israel and the US recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the West Sahara (presumably as a quid pro quo for supporting the ‘Deal of the Century’).
Israel-Morocco ties go back to the 1960s. King Hassan II played a key role in these warming relations, including working with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat before his historic 1977 visit. Peres visited Morocco in 1986, and prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and foreign minister Peres met Hassan II in 1993.
Oman
In October 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a trip to Oman and met with Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Oman’s minister responsible for foreign affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi, made positive comments about accepting Israel in the region during subsequent discussions in Manama. In April, the Omanis made similar comments in Jordan at a conference, saying it was important to assure Israel that it was not being threatened. While Jordan slammed the comments, Oman continued to push forward with relatively positive views on Israel.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has appeared to be more open to Israel in recent years. That has come about as a result of several processes. Saudi Arabia has tried to clamp down on the kind of extremism that roiled the kingdom in the 1990s and in the last decade has appeared to share more interests with Israel.
However, Saudi Arabia has preferred to let other Gulf states that it works closely with go first in discussions with Israel. This includes Oman, the UAE and Bahrain. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has sought close relations with the Trump administration and has also made relatively positive comments on issues relating to the peace process in Israel. This is a shift from the old days, when the Palestinian issue was seen as front and centre of everything in the Middle East.
Riyadh was a leader of the Arab initiative to recognize Israel in the 2000s in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. This was proposed in 2002, and Riyadh has thus shown support for opening relations with Israel in this context. Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Turkey to take over the mantle of being the main supporter for the Palestinians and thus displace Saudi influence.
Recent reports have indicated that key members of the Trump administration, including Jared Kushner, think normalization is inevitable with the kingdom. An Israeli blogger reportedly received a friendly reception in Saudi Arabia in February, and Israelis can ostensibly travel to Riyadh, according to Israeli media reports.
While the US and Israel are putting a lot of pressure on the Saudis to normalize relations they remain reluctant to take the final fateful step, presumably concerned about the likely backlash the Saudi monarchy would face from the people, and the Saudi foreign minister has stated that no diplomatic relations will be established until there is a broader peace agreement that includes the Palestinians. LINK
Qatar
Qatar and Israel had historically warm relations in the 1990s, and it was thought years ago to be the first in line for normalization. This happened after the Gulf War in 1991. There has been an Israeli trade office there since 1996. Qatar, Israel and the US formed a kind of tripartite relationship in light of this.
The young emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is key to Qatar’s relationships across the region. The 40-year-old leader came to power in 2013. Qatar had helped fuel the Arab Spring and used Al Jazeera to fan protests across the region to gain influence. However, it saw many of these protests fail and regimes defeat Qatar-backed candidates.
More isolated now, Qatar has Turkish troops in Doha after the 2017 crisis with Riyadh. That means it must rely on Turkey, which, except for Iran, is the most hostile regime in the region to Israel. Qatar is also close to Tehran. This means whatever feelers Qatar once had for peace, and even attempts to cultivate pro-Israel voices through junkets to Doha, are largely on ice.
Nevertheless, Qatar does have discussions with Israel about Gaza, where it plays a key role. Some Israelis see Qatar as playing a potential positive influence. Former defence minister Avigdor Liberman revealed a trip by the head of the Mossad to Qatar in February 2020. In 2018, Liberman met the Qatari foreign minister.
For the moment, it appear thast Qatar prefers to be a centre of meetings and intrigue rather than a peace partner.
Conclusion
Sudan has also been the subject of numerous reports suggesting that key figures of the new military leadership of the country have been meeting with senior Israeli officials at least since the beginning of the year, but up until now it is also resisting insistent US and Israeli pressure to normalize relations. It appears that the US is using the additional leverage of offering to remove the sanctions it has long imposed against Sudan.
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southfront--2020-09-01--In Videos: Syrian Air Defense Activated To Repel Isaeli Strikes On Damascus, Daraa

Late on August 31 , air defense forces of Syria were activated to repel an Israeli missile strikes on the @ @ @ @ @ of Damascus and the southern part of the country .
According to reports , Israeli @ @ @ @ @ forces in the area of Mahajah and Hezbollah positions in the area of Izraa in @ @ @ @ @ Another group of missiles reportedly hit alleged positions of Iranian-backed forces in the area of @ @ @ @ @ .
The missiles were allegedly launched from the area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights .
@ @ @ @ @ at least 2 people were killed and 7 others were injured in the attack .
@ @ @ @ @ reported .
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Late on August 31, air defense forces of Syria were activated to repel an Israeli missile strike on the countryside of the Syrian capital of Damascus and the southern part of the country.
According to reports, Israeli missiles targeted positions of Iranian-backed forces in the area of Mahajah and Hezbollah positions in the area of Izraa in the province of Daraa. Another group of missiles reportedly hit alleged positions of Iranian-backed forces in the area of Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside.
The missiles were allegedly launched from the area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. According to Syrian media, at least 2 people were killed and 7 others were injured in the attack. The material damage was also reported.
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