Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.
This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.
So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.
This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.
Iraq army says 10 Katyusha rockets hit Taji air base near Baghdad
https://thedefensepost.com/2020/03/11/iraq-taji-air-base-katyusha-rockets/
“Ten Katyusha rockets hit the Taji air base north of Baghdad on Wednesday, March 11, Iraq’s army said, with U.S. and British soldiers reported killed in the attack.
The rockets hit the Iraqi base located 27 km (17 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, which also houses U.S. troops, the Iraqi Security Media Cell said.
A Kia Bongo flatbed truck with a missile platform was found in the nearby Al-Rashidiyya area with three rockets on board, the army said.
The Associated Press and Fox News reported that three people were killed, including two U.S. personnel. Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin said a British citizen was also killed.
The U.S.-led Coalition against Islamic State later confirmed that three personnel were killed and “approximately 12” others injured in the rocket attack on Camp Taji.
“The names of the personnel are withheld pending next of kin notification, in accordance with national policies,” the release said.
“Approximately 18 107mm Katyusha rockets struck the base,” the Coalition said, without elaborating on the extent of material damage to base structures and the airfield.
Coalition spokesperson Colonel Myles Caggins III had earlier tweeted: “The Coalition … confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq’s Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time). Assessment and investigation ongoing.”
The U.K. Ministry of Defence said: “We can confirm we are aware of an incident involving U.K. service personnel at Camp Taji, Iraq. An investigation is underway, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
“One Polish soldier was wounded as a result of rocket fire” in Iraq, Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command tweeted, adding that the soldier’s life was not in danger.
Apparent retaliatory airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah and Imam Ali militia sites along the Iraq-Syria border near Al Bukamal were reported but have not yet been confirmed…”
the gateway pundit – President Trump announced a 30 ban from flights from Europe!
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/breaking-president-trump-bans-all-flights-from-europe-to-us-for-next-30-days/
Islamic World Peace Forum Urges Int’l Circles to Counter US Sanctions
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/03/11/2221164/islamic-world-peace-forum-urges-int-l-circles-to-counter-us-sanctions
“The Islamic World Peace Forum, an Iranian non-governmental organization (NGO), highlighted the US government’s moves to hamper the Islamic Republic’s efforts to contain the new coronavirus and called on the international community to stand against Washington.
Incidents such as the outbreak of the new coronavirus, floods, earthquakes etc. are part of human life and not something new, but governments, peoples, and NGOs should take necessary measures and boost their collective cooperation to manage and deal with these events, the Islamic World Peace Forum said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“It is the duty of international elites and circles to stand against the actions of hegemonic countries and major powers that disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid,” it said.
They should counter and condemn actions like the imposition of sanctions by the US government against certain countries such as Russia and Iran, which threaten human rights and dignity, the NGO stated.
The remarks came as Iran’s administration on Thursday extended the closure of all schools and universities nationwide until the end of the current Iranian year (March 19) as the country is struggling with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the virus has spread to more than 100 countries.
The death toll from COVID-19 outbreak in Iran has risen to 291. Meanwhile, more than 2,700 coronavirus patients have recovered from the respiratory disease and discharged from hospitals so far.
Medical staffs in all 31 provinces of Iran have been working tirelessly over the past weeks to contain the novel coronavirus.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since May 2018 after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).”
Riyadh: Iran Supports Terrorism in Yemen, Lebanon
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2174296/riyadh-iran-supports-terrorism-yemen-lebanon
“Saudi Arabia said Iran’s preoccupation with supporting terrorist groups in Yemen and Lebanon has deprived its citizens of their right to development and the rights of citizens of those countries to enjoy security and stability.
During a meeting of the UN’s Human Rights Council on Tuesday in Geneva, third secretary of Saudi Arabia’s permanent delegation to the UN Mohammed bin Essam Khashan called on Tehran to comply with the international treaties and covenants to which it has signed up.
He also urged it to focus on the development of Iran and providing better lives to its citizens
Khashan said Iran needs to halt its interventions that are leading to human rights violations in neighboring countries.
The Kingdom is concerned about violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of minorities in Iran, and the treatment of Kurds, Al-Ahwazi Arabs and Azerbaijani Turks who are being subjected to discrimination in a number of ways that have “a great impact on their basic rights.
This includes the right to education, the equitable distribution of national wealth and environmental protection.”
MEMRI – Jordanian Islamic Scholar: The Jews Are More Dangerous Than Coronavirus, AIDS, and Cholera
Jordanian Islamic scholar Ahmad Al-Shahrouri said in a March 8 episode of his show on Yarmouk TV – a Jordanian TV channel affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood – that the Jews are more dangerous than coronavirus, AIDS, cholera, and every disease in the world.
He also said that to be saved from these illnesses, one should remember the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jihad, which he explained is a means of purification of one’s soul and body.
Sheikh Al-Shahrouri added that being saved from coronavirus serves to give one the honor of liberating the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Al-Shahrouri is a professor of shari’a at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan and serves as the imam of the university’s mosque.
Syrian Whistleblower Presses US Congress for Assad Accountability
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2175121/syrian-whistleblower-presses-us-congress-assad-accountability
“A Syrian defector whose thousands of gruesome photos documented abuse under regime leader Bashar Assad appealed Wednesday for action to ensure accountability as he appeared incognito before the US Congress.
The former Syrian military photographer, who goes by the pseudonym Caesar, fled in 2014 with 55,000 images of killings, torture and other crimes in Assad’s jails as the regime crushed an uprising.
In an unusual scene in the bustling US Congress, Caesar testified before the Senate Foreign Relations disguised under an oversized blue hoodie with the audience and media ordered to turn off all cameras and phones to ensure his safety.
Caesar said that, despite the personal risks he has taken, he had not achieved his goal of ending the abuse.
“Killing has increased in the same places and in the same ways and at the hands of the very same criminals,” he said.
“And the reason simply is that the Assad regime considered the inaction of the international community and the mere statements of condemnation as a green light for him to continue his crimes against the Syrian people.”
“We have worked and we continue to work in order to bring the pleas and the screams of tens of thousands of those that remain in detention.”
A previous appearance before the US Congress by Caesar in 2014 led lawmakers to draft a law named after him that would impose financial restrictions on Syria, including blocking reconstruction aid, until perpetrators of atrocities are brought to justice.
The act, which also penalizes Russian and other companies that work with Assad, was finally signed into law in December by President Donald Trump after years of fighting inside Congress.
Caesar hailed the act but called for lawmakers to ensure it was enforced.
“The Caesar Law has become the only ray of hope for the Syrian people in the absence of any military or political solution,” he said.
“This law is a powerful message to all who support the Assad regime that the time for accountability and justice is coming and that no matter how long oppression lasts.”
Senator Jim Risch, the committee’s Republican chairman, said he was working with the Trump administration to ensure sanctions were implemented. “The Syrian people deserve better,” he said.
The committee’s top Democrat, Senator Bob Menendez, said he hoped testimony about the war’s impact “pricks the conscience” of the United States.
“We have not seen assertive policies from either of the past two administrations,” he said, referring to the Republican Trump and his predecessor, Democratic former President Barack Obama.”
More than 500 Medical Sites Struck in Syria since 2016, Says WHO
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2175156/more-500-medical-sites-struck-syria-2016-says-who
“The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has documented more than 500 military attacks on medical facilities in Syria since it began counting them in 2016, with nearly as many deaths among staff and patients.
About two-thirds of those struck were in Syria’s northwest where fighting has intensified in recent months as Damascus, backed by Russia, has sought to capture the last slice of the country beyond its control.
A ceasefire between Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in the conflict, was agreed last week and only minor violations have occurred.
The data documented 494 attacks on health facilities between 2016-2019, the report showed in what the WHO says is the first comprehensive time it has released of data on medical strikes.
Since the start of this year, it has confirmed nine further attacks, all in northwest Syria, that resulted in 10 deaths, without saying who was responsible.
The total death toll of medical workers and patients was 480 from January 2016 to present, it said.
“What is troubling, is that we’ve come to a point where attacks on health – something the international community shouldn’t tolerate – are now taken for granted; something we have become accustomed to,” said Richard Brennan, WHO’s Regional Emergency Director in the Eastern Mediterranean.
He added that only half of facilities in northwest Syria, where about 1 million people displaced by recent violence are based, remain operational.
The WHO, a Geneva-based UN agency, is mandated to keep track of attacks on health facilities and began doing so in 2016. The system has since then been formalized under its Surveillance System for Attacks.
Such data could help the UN Board of Inquiry which last year began investigating a series of incidents in northwest Syria, including attacks on health facilities.
UN officials have previously denounced “deliberate” attacks by the Syrian regime and its allies on protected civilian sites, including hospitals and schools. If proven, these would amount to war crimes.”
Turkey: Greece’s treatment of migrants and refugees “fascist” – Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labelled Greece’s treatment of migrants and refugees as ‘fascist’, speaking in parliament in Ankara on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, no one makes a sound against Greece, which commits crimes against humanity by undressing migrants to their underwear, beating and sending them back after confiscating all their money and passports,” said Erdogan.
“Europe has not tolerated a few hundred thousand asylum seekers at a time when we are working to accommodate one and a half million migrants heading from Idlib to our country.
As for those who did not show their democracy and human rights to anyone, they showed the world that they were a sheer fascist”, he added.
High turnout was a silver lining for Bernie Sanders’ Arab supporters in Michigan
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/high-turnout-was-silver-lining-bernie-sanders-arab-supporters-michigan
Pierre Cassen : Le koranovirus ne passera pas par moi
He’s adorable!
EXCLUSIVE: Top Saudi intelligence official ‘chased’ to Canada by MBS
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-top-saudi-intelligence-official-fled-canada-crown-prince
“The Canadian government gave refuge to a powerful former Saudi intelligence official deemed a threat to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rule, three sources familiar with the matter have told Middle East Eye.
Saad al-Jabri, once a trusted top adviser to the crown prince’s rival Mohammed bin Nayef, the former interior minister with deep ties to western intelligence agencies, is described by some observers as the most wanted Saudi outside the kingdom.
Jabri fled the kingdom in 2017 just before bin Nayef was put under house arrest and replaced as crown prince by his 31-year-old cousin.
His refuge in Canada raises new questions about an unprecedented diplomatic row between Ottawa and Riyadh in the summer of 2018.
On Friday, bin Nayef was among several royal family members and officials arrested by the crown prince in what is believed to be his latest bid to consolidate power. The Saudi government has yet to make an official statement on the arrests.
Three years earlier, it was his loyalty to bin Nayef, his decades-spanning knowledge of the inner workings of the kingdom’s powerful interior ministry and his substantial personal wealth which made Jabri a target of the young crown prince and sent him running.
“Let’s assume that there might be a coup in Saudi,” said a source familiar with the situation who spoke, as did all those briefed on the events, on condition of anonymity. “He’s the biggest threat. He would have the money and power to do something.”
A second source says even in Canada, the former official continued to be pursued, receiving intimidating messages from Mohammed bin Salman. There was also concern that there was a rendition attempt on Canadian soil to bring Jabri back to the kingdom, the source said.
MEE has been unable to independently verify this source’s account. Canadian Security Intelligence Services declined to comment.
A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokesperson told MEE: “Generally, only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges would the RCMP confirm its investigation, the nature of any charges laid and the identity of the individual(s) involved.”
MEE sought comment from Jabri and his family through several channels, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
But sources briefed on what happened say they believe it is important that details of his ordeal come out because they further reveal the lengths to which the crown prince will go to pursue his perceived rivals.
Power struggle
During his time in the kingdom’s interior ministry, Jabri was closely involved in counterterrorism activity and served, in particular, as a conduit between bin Nayef and Saudi religious leaders.
With the beginning of Mohammed bin Salman’s rise to power in January 2015 following the death of King Abdullah and the accession of King Salman, a power struggle brewed inside the ministry between Jabri and another high-ranking ministry official, General Abdulaziz al-Huwairini, two sources told MEE.
Both Jabri and Huwairini are understood to have had close ties with US intelligence services under the leadership of Nayef who had established himself as a key interlocutor even before the 9/11 attacks for the Americans.
But the tensions came over their loyalties, said the sources. Jabri supported bin Nayef, who was then the crown prince, while Huwairini favoured Mohammed bin Salman, setting the stage, as the young prince grew increasingly powerful, for both Jabri and Nayef to eventually be pushed out.
In September 2015, Jabri reportedly met with then-CIA Director John Brennan during a trip to Washington that Mohammed bin Salman had not been made aware of. When Jabri returned home, he was fired by royal decree.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius would later write that Jabri’s dismissal should have been an early warning sign that Mohammed bin Salman could “jump-start the kingdom – or drive it off a cliff”.
By June 2017, it was Nayef’s turn. That month, he was deposed, ousted from his roles as both crown prince – and heir apparent – and interior minister, and placed under house arrest in a palace.
After Nayef’s ordeal, Huwairini, too, was reportedly removed from his position and confined to his home briefly. US officials told the New York Times at the time that the loss of both Nayef and Huwarini could impair intelligence sharing with the kingdom.
But within a month, Huwairini was promoted to lead the newly created State Security Directorate which is in charge of national security and reportedly took domestic intelligence, special operation forces and counter-terrorism activities off the interior ministry’s hands.
By then, Jabri was already weeks into his escape.
Chased to Canada
After initially fleeing through Germany in the summer of 2017, Jabri travelled on to the US and is believed to have stayed in the Boston area. During this time, he wrote a blog post for Harvard University’s Belfer Center.
However, despite extensive relationships with the US intelligence community as Nayef’s aide, two sources informed on the matter said he did not feel safe in the US with Donald Trump in power. Instead, he went to Canada where officials secured his refuge in November 2017 and, a month later, several members of his family.
A third source with knowledge of Jabri’s situation told MEE that when he arrived in Canada, he was being chased by the Saudis who were willing to do anything to get him back.
He suggested that Jabri preferred Canada over the US not necessarily because of any specific security concerns, but because it may have been easier to bring his family to join him.
MEE asked Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s foreign ministry, if the government had protected Jabri and his family and why, and whether the Saudi government had given the impression they wanted him back in any communications with Ottawa.
A spokesperson responded only: “Global Affairs Canada does not comment on bilateral communications between states.”
A spokesperson at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the ministry does not comment on individual cases.
MEE contacted Saudi embassies for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
‘MBS is the camel’
Revelations of the Canadian government’s assistance to Jabri and his family will raise questions about the diplomatic row that broke out between Ottawa and Riyadh in August 2018.
Until now, the spat appeared to the wider public to have started after Canada’s embassy in Riyadh tweeted in Arabic, calling for the release of rights activists, although experts say there were frustrations already brewing in Riyadh.
Within 48 hours of the tweets, Saudi Arabia withdrew its envoy, expelled the Canadian ambassador to the kingdom and froze all new business and investment transactions, leaving seasoned observers dumbfounded.
“Routine stuff,” wrote a leading columnist in the Globe and Mail of the tweet. “But the Saudis went inexplicably berserk.”
Sources informed about Jabri’s refuge in Canada say they believe the harbouring of the former official better explains why the row escalated so quickly.
“The tweet is just the straw that broke the camel’s back and MBS is the camel,” said one of the sources.
A Canadian diplomatic source, however, cautioned against connecting Jabri’s presence in the country to the dispute which he said he believed was not related.
Thomas Juneau, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, said he had interviewed many of the diplomats and others involved in the Saudi-Canada row and Jabri “never came up”. But he now has questions.
“I have no reason to believe that it shaped the dispute. I think the reasons that MBS did what he did [in August 2018] are clear. But was this a small irritant to that added to his frustration with Canada?” he said.
“There must have been some kind of interplay between the two story lines.”
Off the radar
Aside from his blog post, Jabri has been off the public radar since he left the kingdom although several Saudi and Gulf sources told MEE that they had heard that he was in Canada.
“He’s kept out of the public eye,” said a Saudi dissident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “A few people spotted him by chance, but not because he approached opposition people.”
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst and director of the Brookings Intelligence Project, said he was not surprised Jabri would have found Canada “more welcoming than the US”.
“Anyone who is a dissident is at some point at risk of being forced to come back or killed on the spot,” he said. “The Trump administration ignores the problem.”…”
Mohammed bin Nayef was MB Swamp.
Jabri was Brennan’s BFF..
Lebanon man pleads guilty of buying drone parts for Hezbollah in US
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200311-lebanon-man-pleads-guilty-of-buying-drone-parts-for-hezbollah-in-us/
“A Lebanese man charged with conspiracy to violate US export laws by sending drone equipment to Hezbollah, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Minnesota on Monday.
Issam Hamade is facing the charges alongside his brother, Usama Hamade. While a third defendant, Samir Ahmed Berro, remains at large.
Issam is set to be sentenced next month, with prosecutors planning to ask for a reduced sentence of 30 months, rather than five years, as part of a plea agreement.
Publicly filed yesterday, Issam’s plea agreement admitted to his brother arranging the purchase of goods and technology from various countries, including the US between 2009 and 2011.
Adding an admission that Issam transferred money from Lebanon to accounts in South Africa, at his brother’s request, knowing the money was being used to buy these parts…”
US to deploy air defence systems in Iraq over fears of more Iran attacks
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200311-us-to-deploy-air-defence-systems-in-iraq-over-fears-of-more-iran-attacks/
“The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced it will deploy missile defence systems in Iraq over fears of further Iranian retaliatory attacks following the assassination by America of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani earlier in the year.
CENTCOM head, US Marine General Kenneth McKenzie said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday: “We are also in the process of bringing air defence systems, ballistic missile defence systems, into Iraq in particular, to protect ourselves against another potential Iranian attack.”…”
Saudis claim last Ottoman governor planned to ‘steal Prophet Muhammad’s body’
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/11/saudis-claim-ottoman-governor-planned-to-steal-prophets-body
“New evidence that suggests the previous Ottoman governor of Medina aimed to desecrate the grave of Muslim Prophet Muhammad has provoked uproar among Saudi social media users, many of which believe it to be characteristic evidence of alleged Turkish animosity towards the kingdom’s holy cities.
Fakhri Pasha, who commanded the Ottoman Army from 1916 to 1919, held back multiple Arab attempts to wrest control of the city away from its caliphal grip.
During the siege of the city, Pasha sent religious artefacts and manuscripts to Istanbul. While most were later returned to Medina, some remain in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.
The new document, which comprises an early 20th century French diplomatic correspondence, allege that the governor planned to exhume Prophet Muhammad’s grave in order to assure himself that it did indeed house the prophet’s body.
Afonso de Albuquerque, the feared 16th century Portuguese Christian conqueror, is the only figure in history known to have tried to do the same. His attempt to tackle the holy site was an alleged bid to gain a potential bargaining chip that would be used to force the Mamluk empire out of the Holy Land.
The Arabic hashtag #desecration_of_the_prophets_grave has now appeared in over 7,500 posts across Twitter and Facebook, with enraged Saudi users decrying the historic act of ”Turkish” blasphemy. Some of the users claimed Pasha’s real intention was to transport the Prophet’s body from Medina to Constantinople.
Meanwhile, some users drew parallels between the Ottoman empire’s buttressing of the governor and Erdogan’s apparent contemporary support for ”insurgent activity against Arab states”.
Others regarded the revelation as forming an apparent time-honoured tradition of ”malignancy and criminal intent”, which today extends to stealing ”oil and territory”.
”Turks are a nation of thieves. They are bandits and criminals. They are a nation who feel that they are lacking. They have hearts which are neither European nor Arab,” one impassioned user wrote.
The Ottoman governor was most recently the centre of a flare up between Turkish and Arab rulers in 2017, when the UAE’s foreign minister accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ”ancestors” of theft as well as mistreating Arabs during Ottoman rule.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan retweeted a post which alleged that the Ottoman governor “committed a crime against the people of Medina by stealing their money, kidnapping them and putting them on trains that took them to Syria and Istanbul”.
In response, Turkey accused Nahyan of spreading a “propaganda lie that seeks to turn Turks [and] Arabs against one another,” according to Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah.
A street housing the UAE embassy in Ankara was renamed to Fahreddin Pasha Street in the aftermath of the spat.”
Real history or war time propaganda to build hatred for the Turks?
U.S. gives details on Iran sites under scrutiny of U.N. nuclear watchdog
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-iaea/u-s-gives-details-on-iran-sites-under-scrutiny-of-u-n-nuclear-watchdog-idUSKBN20Y362
“One of the three sites in Iran about which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has raised questions that Tehran has failed to answer may have hosted uranium metal, the United States said on Wednesday, providing new details on the locations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency policing Iran’s troubled nuclear deal with major powers rebuked Tehran last week for failing to reply to its questions about nuclear activities dating back to the early 2000s at three sites and for denying its inspectors access to two of them.
Uranium metal has long been an issue of interest to the IAEA in investigating Iran’s past work. In 2005 Iran handed the IAEA a 15-page document given to it by a nuclear black market network showing how to make two uranium metal half-spheres like those that often make up the core of an atomic bomb.
“Iran has refused to address the agency’s questions regarding possible undeclared natural uranium at a location that has been heavily sanitized,” the United States said in a statement to the IAEA’s quarterly 35-nation Board of Governors meeting, using a term that often refers to construction or demolition work aimed at removing traces of nuclear material.
“In the agency’s assessment, the nuclear material in question may potentially be uranium metal,” the U.S. statement said. The special IAEA report to the board made no mention of uranium metal, though the reference to natural uranium indicates that the uranium was not enriched for use as nuclear fuel.
Iran has long maintained that it did not ask for the uranium metal document given to it by the network that help it set up a secret uranium enrichment program exposed in the early 2000s. During its years-long investigation of Iran, the IAEA sought to find out to what extent Iran worked on uranium metal.
U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program that it halted in 2003. While Iran’s 2015 deal with major powers largely drew a line under its past nuclear activity, the IAEA must also account for all nuclear material in Iran regardless of when it was produced.
“Any refusal to cooperate with the IAEA on questions of possible undeclared nuclear material would be of serious proliferation concern,” said the statement by the United States, which exited the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
“But given the potential for use of uranium metal in nuclear weapons research and development activities, the presence of even small quantities of undeclared uranium metal in Iran today would raise even more worrying questions,” it added.
One of the two sites the IAEA sought to inspect and was denied access to could have hosted “activities potentially related to uranium conversion”, a process that precedes enrichment in the fuel cycle, the U.S. statement said.
When asked about the U.S. allegations, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, said that reports on such issues are confidential. “Iran … is not going into detail on the confidential issues,” he said.
The Islamic Republic denies ever seeking nuclear weapons.”
Coronavirus: Actor Tom Hanks announces positive test
https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/coronavirus-actor-tom-hanks-announces-positive-test-1.1583977213600
“Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have both tested positive for coronavirus, the US actor said Wednesday.
Hanks, 63, said he and Wilson came down with a fever while in Australia and will now be isolated and monitored.
“To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive,” he wrote in a statement posted to social media…”
Coronavirus precaution: All UAE schools, universities likely to implement e-learning until June 2020
https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/coronavirus-precaution-all-uae-schools-universities-likely-to-implement-e-learning-until-june-2020-1.70313927
“The Ministry of Education is expected to announce that the distance e-education system will be extended until the end of the current academic year ending June 2020. This will cover all students of schools and public and private universities. Only examinations will be held within these educational institutions. This is as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of coronavirus, Gulf News has learnt…”
Spain’s National Intelligence Center Recruits Darija, Tamazight Speakers
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/03/295808/spains-national-intelligence-center-recruits-darija-tamazight-speakers/
“The Spanish Ministry of Defense has put out a call for language experts to join its National Intelligence Center (CNI), El Confidencial reports.
Through the recruitment drive, the intelligence agency aims to target interpreters and translators who are proficient in “North African and Middle Eastern Dialects,” with the Spanish military personnel site Sampromil, citing Darija (Moroccan dialect) and Tamazight (Berber language).
Sampromil, Service for the Exploitation of Professional Capabilities of Military Personnel of the Armed Forces, is a website portal providing information and support to Spanish military personnel.
Information available on Sampromil shows applications are open until May 20. The notice has been active since February 26.
The job description available on the ministry’s website also mentions Hebrew, Russian, English, French, and standard Arabic.
CNI asks for candidates who are able to both speak and write the languages fluently. The job description notes that successful candidates will need to “analyze cultural aspects” of intelligence, assist in accessing information, and carry out simultaneous interpretation.
The job description does not ask for any military training or particular qualifications other than linguistic proficiency, but specifies candidates should be “discrete,” and show “adaptability and flexibility.”
CNI also asks that candidates be familiar with using database software using internet search engines.
“Depending on the job, one of the degrees will be required: Baccalaureate, Vocational Training Middle Grade or equivalent; Diploma or equivalent; Degree, Bachelor or equivalent,” the job description specifies.
Morocco and Spain collaborate regularly in the field of intelligence and counterterrorism, carrying out joint operations to clamp down on the global issue.
Spain’s CNI and Morocco’s Central Office of Judicial Research (BCIJ) carried out a joint operation in April 2019 to arrest a suspect ahead of a planned terror attack in Seville, southern Spain.
In December 2019, chief prosecutor of Spain’s National Audience Jesus Alonso said: “Like Spain, France and Belgium, Morocco is determined to eradicate this cross-border global phenomenon, which threatens the security and stability of the international community.””
Turkey deports two terrorists to Germany, North Macedonia
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-deports-two-terrorists-to-germany-north-macedonia-152877
“A German and North Macedonian terrorist were deported to their countries, the Turkish Interior Ministry said on March 10.
The ministry said, without naming a terrorist group, that Turkey would continue returning foreign terrorists to their home countries.
The issue of handling ISIL terror members and their families detained in Syria – including foreign members of the terror group – has been controversial, with Turkey arguing foreign-born terrorists should be returned to their countries of origin.
Ankara has said several European countries resisted its efforts to send ISIL members back to their countries, but it will nevertheless press forward.
Turkey deported almost 780 foreign terrorists to their countries of origin in 2019, according to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.”
Turkey ‘neutralizes’ 4 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-neutralizes-4-pkk-terrorists-in-northern-iraq/1761637
“Turkish security forces “neutralized” four PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The terrorists were neutralized in Hakurk region in an air-backed operation, the ministry said on Twitter.
The ministry also added that Turkey’s anti-terror operations will continue resolutely in the region.
Turkish authorities generally use the word “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
PKK terrorists often use northern Iraq to plan cross-border terrorist attacks in Turkey.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the European Union — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.”
Yemen: Oxfam warns of new cholera spike
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/yemen/2020/03/11/yemen-oxfam-warns-of-new-cholera-spike_82b2ddfe-4574-445b-b6e8-c98057d2528b.html
“Oxfam said the arrival of the rainy season in Yemen in the coming weeks threatens to provoke a new spike in cholera cases.
It said more than 56,000 people have been infected since the start of this year, and more than 2.2 million since 2017.
It is increasingly difficult to help the population due to a war that has been going on for five years and has already registered 12 million civilian victims and more than 100,000 victims overall.
Oxfam said at five years since the start of the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, as evidenced repeatedly by the United Nations, the international community seems to have forgotten about it.
In a statement, Oxfam said the total number of cases in 2019 was the second-highest increase in infections since the outbreak of the epidemic: more than 860,000 suspected cases with more than 1,000 victims, just under the one million registered in 2017. “While the health system is near collapse, with only half of the structures operating in the country due to bombings and other clashes in recent years, the number of infections could increase with the arrival of the rainy season in April,” said Paolo Pezzati, Oxfam Italia policy advisor for humanitarian emergencies.
“It would be the umpteenth hit for a population that has already suffered unspeakable horrors,” he said.
After having registered the highest number of cholera cases in 2017, northern Yemen remains the area at the highest risk due to the nearly complete lack of sources of clean water, above all in the five governorates of Sana’a, Hajjah, Hudaydah, Taiz and Dhamar.
“The people of Yemen once again must face a very difficult challenge, with the rest of the world nearly completely indifferent,” Pezzati said.
“The lack of water and food exposes the population, above all the poorest and most vulnerable communities, to epidemics such as this one. Ten million people are on the verge of famine, more than 17 million don’t have access to clean water and sanitation services,” he said.”
Germany: Xavier Naidoo under fire for controversial video
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-xavier-naidoo-under-fire-for-controversial-video/a-52727363
“A German broadcaster has demanded “clear answers” from the pop star after a video surfaced of him singing apparent anti-migrant lyrics. But Xavier Naidoo hit back, saying he is against “exclusion and racial hatred.”…”