Egypt - Blow Against ISIL

Last Update included below !



Brigadier Mahmud Samir, spokesman of the Egyptian forces (above),
also named Ahmed Samir by other media.


الجيش المصري يعلن قتل "الأنصاري" زعيم داعش في سيناء

Egyptian forces announce they killed "Al-Ansari", leader of ISIL in Sinai.

This is referring to Abu [Dae] Al-Ansari (أبو دعاء الأنصاري), "nom de
guerre" for a prominent ISIL leader and therefore put into brackets.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on August 4, 2016]


أول صور لعملية مقتل أبو دعاء الأنصاري زعيم بيت المقدس في سيناء

1st picture of the operation that killed Abu [Dae] Al-Ansari, leader
of the [Ansar al-Sunna group of the] "Sacred House" in Sinai.



left picture: direct blow on terrorist target
right picture: location of blow (above) and arms depot (below)

[Source: Al-Balad البلد, Egyptian online news on August 4, 2016]


On the same day, the Arabic news service Al-Hurra الحرة and which is connected with Asharq-Al-Awsad TV (شبكة تلفزيون الشرق الأوسط) confirmed that the Egyptian operation killed Al-Ansari and more than 45 of his fighters south of the Sinai town of Al-Arish.



Egyptian army unit in Sinai.



Al-Arish, the administrative center of Egypt's Sinai province.

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Daily visitor statistics of "blueprint news" for August 5-6, 2016.

Syria - Chemical Warfare Again

قلق أممي من استخدام أسلحة كيمياوية بمعارك إدلب السورية

UN worried about use of chemical weapons in battles in Syria's Idlib [governorate]

المرصد السوري: أكثر من 30 حالة اختناق جراء استخدام الغازات السامة في سراقب

Syrian Observatory [for Human Rights]: More than 30 cases of suffocation
due to the use of poisonous gases in Sarakeb (سراقب)

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on August 4, 2016]



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France - Terrorist Attack on Church

Important Updates added on July 26 / 28
on the identification of both perpetrators.



فرنسا.. ذبح كاهن بعد احتجاز رهائن بكنيسة

France - Priest slaughtered after hostages were held in a church.

شخصان يحملان السلاح الأبيض احتجزا رهائن في كنيسة قرب روان في النورماندي

Two persons carrying blades took hostages in a church near Rouen, Normandy.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية this morning, July 26, 2016]


According to the latest report from Reuters, French police "neutralized" two men armed with blades who had taken several people hostage in a church in northern France this morning.

One of the hostages had been killed with a blade in the attack which took place in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen. French media reported the attackers cut the throat of the 86 years old priest who was a clergyman since 1958.

Another report from the French paper Le Figaro, published only some minutes ago, says that both terrorists died during the intervention of French police.

Later that morning, French president Hollande made his appearance on the site of crime while the Islamic State IS confirmed that both perpetrators could be regarded as their soldiers.





Evening Update for July 26:

TV5 Monde - France:

L'un des deux assaillants a été formellement identifié comme étant Adel K., selon une source proche de l'enquête. Connu des services antiterroristes, ce Français, jeune majeur, avait tenté de rallier la Syrie par deux fois en 2015. Une première via l'Allemagne, alors qu'il était mineur, mais il avait été interpellé. Une seconde alors qu'il était majeur via la Suisse, puis la Turquie où il avait été arrêté.

Remis à la France, il avait été mis en examen pour association de malfaiteurs en lien avec une entreprise terroriste et placé en détention provisoire, puis libéré sous bracelet électronique.

According to a source near to the investigation, one of two attackers was formally identified as Adel K., a young adult of French nationality and who is already known to anti-terrorist services as he had tried to get into Syria twice in 2015. On his first trip taken as a minor via Germany he had been interrogated. On his second trip taken as an adult via Switzerland he had been arrested in Turkey.

Sent back to France, he had been accused of joining a criminal organisation related to terrorism and had become subject of provisional detention. Later, he was liberated, however, put under electronic surveillance by means of an electronic bracelet.

The attack has triggered off a parliamentary discussion between government and opposition, namely the Republican Party of former president Sarkozy, regarding the surveillance of potential terrorists. It was mentioned by TV5 Monde that up to now only 13 persons are under electronic surveillance for suspicion of terrorism, while that means is usually applied as an alternative for those serving a sentence of less than two years or persons waiting for their sentences.


Update for July 28, 2016:



فرنسا تعلن اسم المنفذ الثاني لذبح الكاهن في "روان"ـ

France announced the name of the 2nd perpetrator in the priest slaughtering of Rouen.

علنت فرنسا التعرف رسميا إلى المنفذ الثاني للاعتداء في الكنيسة بفرنسا، وقالت النيابة العامة إن اسمه عبدالمالك نبيل بوتيجان (19 عاما).ـ

France announced essential knowledge about the second perpetrator in the attack on a church in France. The public prosecutor's office told his name as being Abdulmalik Nabil Butijaan, a 19 years old [youth].

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on July 28, 2016]



Document used by Abdulmalik Nabil Butijaan under his assumed name of Maur Petitjean
as a driving license for light motor-cycles that can be operated by 14 years old minors.

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Visitor from some remote area in Argentine and
who is interested in the "abyss of the soul":
Neurology Meets Religion - The Devil Within

Nice Massacre - Latest News

Update for July 22 added below !



منفذ هجوم نيس في فرنسا "حظي بدعم وتواطؤ"ـ

The person responsible for the attack of Nice
in France " enjoyed support and complicity "

[Source: Elaph إيلاف, an independent and liberal Arab news service
in London, quoting French AFP agency late news on July 21, 2016]


During the last hours, different European sources reported that the Nice massacre of July 14 should have been planned for several months in advance. Four suspects are reportedly under arrest.

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[U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission is the supervisor of U.S. Stock Exchange]






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Related Update for July 22:



دول التحالف: أحرزنا تقدماً كبيراً في الحرب على داعش

Nations of the Alliance: We made significant progress in the war against ISIL (Daesh).

المجتمعون: على ميليشيات الحشد الشعبي أن تكون تحت السيطرة الحازمة للحكومة العراقية

Those united: By concentration of people's militias under the firm control of Iraq's government.

A meeting of defence and foreign affairs ministers of the Alliance against ISIL reported progress of Iraqi troops and Syrian opposition groups in the prevention of terrorist access to resources, supplies and sites in the region.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on July 22, 2016]

Nice - Bloody Terrorist Attack

فرنسا.. 80 قتيلاً و100 مصاب بعملية دهس في نيس

France ..... 80 died and 100 were wounded in an operation of squashing up in Nice.
[ Al-Arabiya]

A bloody terrorist attack happened in Nice, seaport on the Mediterranean, on the evening of French National Day. At 22:30 local time, a truck loaded with explosives and arms began chasing and squashing pedestrians who had gathered for watching the traditional fireworks of July 14. During the incident about 80 persons were killed and 100 wounded. After midnight, French President Hollande arrived at the place and told the media he would conduct a security conference at 09:00 in the morning. [Different French Sources]

Such kind of attack had already been proposed by Syrian terrorist Abou Mohammed Al-Adnani, nicknamed "the minister of terrorist attacks for the Islamic State IS" by Western intelligence services and who is acting as a spokesman for IS. French authorities already opened an inquiry at 1:30 in the morning, even though there is no confirmation yet from IS having actually staged the Nice incident. [Source: Le Parisien on July 15, about four hours after the incident.]

L'attaque perpétrée à Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) ce jeudi soir semble correspondre, même si elle n'a pas été revendiquée par l'organisation Etat islamique, à l'application d'une stratégie prônée par celui qui est surnommé par les services de renseignements occidentaux, le «ministre des attentats» : le syrien Abou Mohammed Al-Adnani, porte-parole officiel de l'organisation djihadiste. Vers 1h30 du matin, la section terroriste de Paris avait été saisie de l'enquête.



Abou Mohammed Al-Adnani




من منفذ هجوم نيس الفرنسية؟

Who carried out the attack in Nice / France ?

محمد سلمان لحويّج بوهلال فرنسي من أصل تونسي، يعمل سائقا في نيس الفرنسيةغرد النص عبر تويتر، ولديه سجل جنائي في قضايا عنف، نفذ هجوما بشاحنة بمدينة نيس في 14 يوليو/تموز 2016 وقتل 84 شخصا وجرح العشرات.ـ

Mohamed Salmaan Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a French of Tunisian origin working as a driver in Nice / France, had a criminal record in cases of violence as was tweeted by Twitter. He realised the attack with a truck in the town of Nice on July 14, 2016, and killed 84 people while wounding several dozens.

[Source: Al-Jazeera late news on July 15, 2016]

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US Presidential Election 2016

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Today's visitor from Jeddah, Saudi-Arabia, seems to be interested in the death of Usama Bin Laden relatives who perished in an odd aircraft accident. That visitor comes only one day after my latest Twitter Tweet reporting that Bin Laden's son Hamza is threatening to take revenge on the U.S. for killing his father. Such information is based on a voice recording related to Hamza Bin Laden and which should have appeared on the internet according to an earlier news report from Al-Arabiya.

Turkey Lifting Siege on Ghaza Strip

قال وزير الخارجية التركي مولود جاويش أوغلو، إنّ حكومته بحثت مسألة رفع الحصار عن قطاع غزة، مع قادة حركتي حماس وفتح، والرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس، قبل تطبيع العلاقات مع إسرائيل، ولقيت دعماً قوياً منهما في هذا الشأن.ـ

The Turkish minister of foreign affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said that his government considered the issue of lifting the siege imposed on the Ghaza Strip with the leaders of Hamas and Fatah movements and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before any normalization of relations with Israel, and he received strong support in this regard.

That came in an interview with Turkish television on Sunday, referring to Turkey sending a ship with humanitarian aid from Mersin seaport to the Ghaza Strip as an initial step in the frame of lifting the siege of the private sector.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that "Palestine and Ghaza need support in various areas", indicating "infrastructure collapses, damaged hospitals and schools, and the crisis of electricity and water as a result of the Israeli attacks", confirming that Turkey will provide support to the Palestinians in these areas.

The minister added that the value of recent aid "reached 500 million dollars, and that Turkey is currently working on the establishment of an industrial zone in Jenin governorate which should provide work opportunities for about 6 thousand people, as well on the removal of many barriers, particularly with regard to the direct transfer of funds".

[Source: Al-Jazeera TV الجزيرة and alkhaleejonline.net (Gulf Online) الخليج أونلاين on July 3, 2016]


Diplomatic ties between Israel and Turkey were suspended after Israeli troops stormed the Ghaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship in international waters in 2010, killing 10 Turkish activists.

In the aftermath of the attack, Turkey demanded a formal apology from Israel, compensation for the families of those killed, and the lifting of Israel’s Ghaza blockade.

In 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his regret over the attack.

On June 27, months of talks between the two countries finally bore fruit, with Turkey announcing that a deal would be signed, normalizing relations with Israel.

Under the deal, in addition to agreeing to Turkish aid’s access to Ghaza, Israel will pay $20 million in compensation to the families of the Mavi Marmara victims.

Today on 3rd July 2016, the mentioned agreement showed effect with the arrival of a Turkish aid ship, the Panama-flagged Lady Leyla, which arrived at the Israeli seaport of Ashdod, carrying 11,000 tons of supplies for the Ghaza Strip. The ship was received by representatives from Turkey and Israel.

[Source: Turkish daily Hürriyet on July 3, 2016]

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Visitor referring to yesterday's blogspot on Israeli air raids still targeting Ghaza.

Israeli Air Raids Targeting Ghaza

Five hours ago, Al-Jazeera TV reported on their Arabic website about Israeli air raids targeting opposition strongholds in the Ghaza strip. The following snapshot is showing an Israeli warplane shortly missed by an air defence grenade.




غارات إسرائيلية على مواقع للمقاومة بغزة

Israeli (Air) Raids Targeting Opposition Sites in Ghaza.

شنت مقاتلات إسرائيلية عدة غارات جوية استهدفت مواقع للمقاومة الفلسطينية وورشة صناعية في مناطق مختلفة من قطاع غزة، مما ألحق أضرارا مادية بالأماكن المستهدفة دون أن يبلغ عن وقوع إصابات.ـ

Israeli fighters carried out several air raids that targeted Palestinian resistance sites and industrial workshops in different areas of the Gaza Strip, causing material damages to the targeted places while no injuries were reported.

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Visitor from Istanbul, Turkey, and who is probably interested in Iranian weaponry.




In case they might meet in some neighbouring country .....

China - Putin Meets Xi JinPing

On June 25, Russia's president Putin meets with China's leader Xi Jinping for talks in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
[People's Network / People's Daily]




Using the traditional stances of "eternal friendship and mutual cooperation", the semi-official Chinese source praises Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing in its daily news for June 26, 2016.

两国元首一致同意，坚持战略协作精神和世代友好理念，加大相互支持，增进政治和战略互信，坚定不移致力于深化中俄全面战略协作伙伴关系。

The heads of state of both countries unanimously agree to uphold the spirit of (their) strategic cooperation and acknowledge the idea of (everlasting) friendship, to increase mutual support, and enhance mutual trust in politics and strategy. .....

经贸、外交、基础设施、技术创新、农业、金融、能源、媒体、网络、体育等领域30多项合作文件

The talks should comprise more than 30 subjects of cooperation, ranging from economy and trade to diplomacy, basic installations, technological progress, agriculture, finance and banking, energy resources, media and internet as well as sports.
According to the wide range of items to be discussed this is as well a meeting of high-ranking members of both administrations, including both ministers of foreign affairs and Russia's first deputy prime-minister.

China - Launch of Long March 7

People's Network just reported the succesful maiden flight of carrier rocket "Long March No.7" after its launch from Wenchang space center in Hainan province.




6月25日20时00分，我国新一代运载火箭长征七号在海南文昌航天发射场点火升空，约603秒后，载荷组合体与火箭成功分离，进入近地点200千米、远地点394千米的椭圆轨道，长征七号运载火箭首次发射圆满成功。

On June 25, at 20:00 local time, China's new carrier rocket "Long March No.7" had a flaming lift-off from Wenchang space launching site in Hainan [province]. After 603 seconds, the payload assembly successfully separated and entered an elliptic orbit with a minimum distance from Earth of 200 km [perigee] and a maximum distance of 394 km [apogee], such making the maiden launch of carrier rocket "Long March No.7" a complete success.

Technical information from other sources:

The Long March 7 is the medium-lift variant of a new generation rocket family that includes the heavier-lift Long March 5 and the small-mid cargo Long March 6. The structure is based on the reliable, man-rated Long March 2F rocket. It inherited the 3.35m-diameter core stage and 2.25m-diameter liquid rocket boosters. Where the earlier Long March 2 rocket family used expensive and dangerous N2O4/UDMH propellants, the Long March 7 uses LOX/kerosene. The engines are shared with the Long March 5 and 6. The goal was to build a more cost-effective and less hazardous rocket family to replace today's Long March 2 and eventually the Long March 3. It will be capable of placing a 5,500 kilograms (12,100 lb) payload into a sun-synchronous orbit.




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Iran - Khomeini's Secret Deal with the US

وثائق أميركية مسربة: الخميني استرضى كيندي وكارتر

[Released] U.S. documents: Khomeini appeased Kennedy and Carter.

The Arabic article from Al-Arabiya TV العربية was published on their website, today, June 3, 2016.

It is referring to recently declassified U.S. documents that suggest an unusual background story behind the grasp of power in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini and his seemingly unchallenged introduction of an Islamic revolution.

Detailed information is available, as well, from BBC London on one of today's news websites under the headline:

Two Weeks in January: America's secret engagement with Khomeini



Here some quotations from that article published only some hours ago:

On 27 January, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini - founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, the man who called the United States "the Great Satan" - sent a secret message to Washington.

..........

In a first-person message, Khomeini told the White House not to panic at the prospect of losing a strategic ally of 37 years and assured them that he, too, would be a friend.

"You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans," said Khomeini, pledging his Islamic Republic will be "a humanitarian one, which will benefit the cause of peace and tranquillity for all mankind".

Khomeini's message is part of a trove of newly declassified US government documents - diplomatic cables, policy memos, meeting records - that tell the largely unknown story of America's secret engagement with Khomeini, an enigmatic cleric who would soon inspire Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism worldwide.

This story is a detailed account of how Khomeini brokered his return to Iran using a tone of deference and amenability towards the US that has never before been revealed.

The ayatollah's message was, in fact, the culmination of two weeks of direct talks between his de facto chief of staff and a representative of the US government in France - a quiet process that helped pave the way for Khomeini's safe return to Iran and rapid rise to power - and decades of high-stakes tension between Iran and America.

In the official Iranian narrative of the revolution, Khomeini bravely defied the United States and defeated "the Great Satan" in its desperate efforts to keep the Shah in power.

But the documents reveal that Khomeini was far more engaged with the US than either government has ever admitted. Far from defying America, the ayatollah courted the Carter administration, sending quiet signals that he wanted a dialogue and then portraying a potential Islamic Republic as amenable to US interests.

Khomeini had even earlier reached out to the U.S. for support when he had sent a private message to President Kennedy while being held under house arrest in Tehran in 1963.

For more information, you should read the whole story from BBC, London.

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Some most recent visitors to "blueprint news".

CERN - Sounds of the Universe

Latest news from the particle accelerator facility of CERN, Geneva.

From techno beats to classical melodies, from jazz swinging to pop and rock riffs – the ATLAS experiment can play them all thanks to Quantizer.



This new platform translates ATLAS events into notes and rhythms, meaning one of the most complex scientific instruments in the world will not only search for new physics, but also generate music.

The Quantizer device was conceived by Juliana Cherston, a Master’s student in the Responsive Environments Group at the MIT Media Lab, and designed in partnership with ATLAS Doctoral student Ewan Hill from the University of Victoria. They have just released Quantizer on the web, providing real-time audio samples produced with the latest data.

Being convinced that any continuous data stream, received from constant measurement of time-dependent physical processes, could be transformed into some kind of music, I tried to combine the cosmic version of the ATLAS tunes with cosmic video visualisations produced by BBC. The original video is being accompanied by human composed relaxation music.

If you switch off the video sound manually and, instead, activate the below ATLAS tunes you will find a nice combination of galactic views and live music of natural origin. You might even like YouTube to find for you further visualisations of space and watch them in fullscreen mode while listening to the sounds from sub-atomic proceedings.






Activate cosmic ATLAS tunes from CERN

Hezbollah - Proceedings in Syria

Tonight, news is spreading about a prominent military commander for Hezbollah, Mustafa Badr Addin, and who had lost his life in Syria while fighting in an alliance with Iranian revolutionary guards and regular troops of the Assad regime. His funeral in Lebanon now made thousands of supporters take to the streets.




الآلاف يشاركون في تشييع جنازة مصطفى بدر الدين القائد العسكري البارز لحزب الله

Thousands participate in the public funeral of Mustafa Badr
Addin, the military leader starring in combat for Hezbollah.

[Source: BBC Arabic evening news on May 13, 2016]


Tonight, as well, the Arabic channel of Al-Jazeera covered the subject in their regular special "Behind the News ما وراء الخبر". Here some quotations from that program:




حزب الله تكبد خسائر كبيرة من مقاتليه و نخبة قادته العسكريين في سوريا

Hezbollah is suffering from big losses of its warriors and [from] the choice of its military leaders in Syria.

بدر الدين قتل في منطقة يحميها كل من النظام السوري و روسيا و إيران

The killing of Badr Addin happened in a region protected by the Syrian regime, by Russia and Iran.

بدر الدين كان مسؤول الوحدات المقاتلة لحزب الله في سوريا و شقيق زوجة عماد مغنية

Badr Addin was responsible for the fighting units of Hezbollah in Syria and brother of Imad Mughniyya's wife.

[Editor's Note: Imad Mughniyya had been an important member of the Hezbollah secret service. Mughniyya was held responsible for several terrorist attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets. He died in a car bombing in Damascus in 2008.]

بدر الدين هو المتهم الأول في اغتيال رئيس الوزراء اللبناني الأسبق رفيق الحريري

Badr Addin is the first suspect in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

الصحافة الإسرائيلية ترحب بمقتل بدر الدين و تقول إنه ضربة قاصمة لحزب الله

Israeli media are celebrating the death of Badr Addin and say that [his death] is a disastrous blow against Hezbollah.

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Update for May 14, 2016:

Reminding Unfinished Business .....

UN envoy warns that Hezbollah expansion can threaten Lebanon.

[Headline of Washington Post on May 13, 2016]

Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq risks to spill over sectarian tensions into Lebanon where the Islamic State and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front are steadily expanding.

UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen expressed his serious concern at Hezbollah and other militias having not only continued but even increased their military activities since the Security Council ordered them to disband in 2004. He also expressed concern at the reported expansion of extremist groups within Lebanon, mostly in Palestinian refugee camps. All activities to be abandoned are seen as a general threat to the internal stability and sovereignty of Lebanon where the political wing of Hezbollah already holds two seats in the country's government.

So far the raw information from United Nations Security Council and which has been deployed, as well, by Al-Arabiya العربية the following day on May 14:



Above photo: Terje Roed-Larsen deals with implementation of
the 2004 Security Council resolution No. 1559 that is, among
other items, calling for disarmament and demobilization of all
militias operating in Lebanon.

Syria - Saudi Opinion

السعودية: "الأسد وإيران" و"الإرهاب" وجهان لعملة واحدة

Saudi-Arabia: "Assad and Iran" as well as "Terrorism"
are but two sides of the same coin.

حمّلت السعودية النظام السوري وإيران مسؤولية انتشار التطرف والنزعات الطائفية في المنطقة.ـ

Saudi Arabia blamed the Syrian regime and Iran responsible for the spreading of extremism and sectarian tendencies in the region.

وقال عبد الله المعلمي مندوب السعودية في مجلس الأمن إن استنجاد الأسد بمجموعات ترفع شعارات طائفية أوجد بيئة لتقوية التطرف في سوريا .ـ

Abdullah Al Mouallimi, Saudi representative in the Security Council, said that Assad is helping groups to raise sectarian slogans, thus creating an environment to strengthen extremism in Syria.

[Source: Al-Arabiya العربية on May 12, 2016]


Editor's Note:

Ambassador Abdullah Al-Mouallimi is Saudi-Arabia's representative to the United Nations.

On January 4, 2016, the members of the UN Security Council had condemned in the strongest terms reported attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran, and its Consulate General in Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in intrusions into the diplomatic and consular premises, causing serious damage. [saudimission.org].

Despite Security Council support in the above mentioned attack on Saudi diplomats and diplomatic premises, it should be noted that Saudi-Arabia's relations with the UN Security Council are rather tense, even though the country was elected as its temporary member in 2013.

On October 18, 2013, Saudi Arabia declined its election to the Security Council for the 2014-2015 period. In its statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the failure of the Council to act in regard to the crisis in Syria, the continuing lack of a "just and lasting solution" to the situation in Palestine, and that the Council had failed to make the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone. Instead, Saudi-Arabia pleaded for a reformation of the Council that would enable the organization to carry out its duties and responsibilities. This was the first time in the Council's history that an already elected member would reject its membership. [unelections.org]

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Syria after Short Armistice

The Syrian conflict regains impetus after a 24-hours armistice negociated between U.S. secretary-of-state John Kerry and Russian minister Sergej Lavrov.




غارات روسية عنيفة على ريف إدلب وحلب

Fierce Russian incursions into Idlib and Aleppo district.

أغارت طائرات روسية وسورية على أحياء في حلب شمالي سوريا بعيد غارات مكثفة على الريفين الجنوبي والغربي للمدينة بمشاركة الطائرات الروسية التي قتلت 14 شخصا في بلدة بنّش بريف إدلب.ـ

Russian and Syrian planes launched an attack against Achiya in Aleppo [district], northern Syria, shortly after concentrated incursions into districts south and west of the town with the assistance of Russian planes that killed 14 people in the community of Bannesh in Idlib district.

[Source: Al-Jazeera الجزيبة on May 11, 2016]




Achiya / Aleppo - Results of an earlier bombing
reported by Al-Bawaba البوابة on May 8, 2016.
Three citizens should have died in that assault.




Earlier report from the shelling of Bannesh in Idlib district
and which came from El-Wehda الوحدة the day before on
May 10, 2016. The death toll reported at this time was 10
compared with 14 only some hours later.

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Pyongyang - Workers Party Congress

Celebrations for North Korea's 7th Workers Party Congress.
[XinHua news agency on May 11, 2016]




Pyongyang, May 7 (KCNA) -- The second-day sitting of the Seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) took place on Saturday, May 7. This is the first fully translated video about congress proceedings provided by "Voice of Korea".

However, there is not much new in Kim Jong-Un's speech which is celebrating progress achieved by the Workers Party, as well as North Korea's peculiar and isolated way of getting along with all current economic and geopolitical challenges. Even though international media already stressed a remark made by North Korea's leader the day before and saying the country would only apply nuclear weapons when being attacked, no reliable facts about future plannings are available. Only one thing seems to be clear: There will be a 5-Years-Plan starting in 2016 and lasting until 2020.




For more substantial information on the Workers Party Congress and N Korea's current situation, here an Al-Jazeera special which could not be accused of taking sides in a subject that relates North and South Korea, China, Japan and the U.S.

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