Latest News of the Day:
دبي / بيروت (رويترز) - قال ثلاثة من كبارمسؤولون إيرانيون: وقف إطلاق النار في غزة هو فقط ما قد يؤجل الرد على إسرائيل
Dubai / Beirut (Reuters) - Only a ceasefire in Gaza could delay a response to Israel three senior Iranian officials said.
Here a related article published the next day (August 14):
اعتبر الرئيس الأميركي جو بايدن الثلاثاء، أن التوصل إلى اتفاق لوقف إطلاق النار في غزة قد يدفع إيران الى الامتناع عن شن هجوم على إسرائيل، رداً على اغتيال رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة حماس إسماعيل هنية في طهران، الذي أجج التوترات الإقليمية.
رفض إيراني
جاءت تعليقات بايدن إثر رفض إيران الثلاثاء، دعوات غربية للتراجع عن تهديدها بالردّ على إسرائيل بعد اغتيال هنية، في وقت تسود المخاوف من توسّع الحرب في قطاع غزة إلى المنطقة. وتعهّدت الانتقام لاستشهاد هنية، الذي جاء بعد ساعات من ضربة إسرائيلية في الضاحية الجنوبية لبيروت قتلت القائد العسكري في حزب الله فؤاد شكر. وتوعّد حزب الله بالردّ.
ولدى سؤاله الثلاثاء عما إذا كانت هدنة بين إسرائيل وحماس قد تحول دون وقوع هجوم إيراني، قال بايدن للصحافيين "هذا ما أتوقعه"، وأضاف في نيو أورلينز إنه على الرغم من أن المفاوضات "أصبحت صعبة"، إلا أنه "لن يستسلم".
إلا أن وكالة "رويترز" نقلت عن ثلاثة مصادر إيرانية في وقت سابق، تأكيدهم أن اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار في غزة هو وحده الذي سيمنع رداً مباشراً إيرانياً على إسرائيل.
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza could prompt Iran to refrain from launching an attack on Israel, in response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has inflamed regional tensions.
Iranian refusal
Biden's comments came after Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to back down from its threat to retaliate against Israel after Haniyeh's assassination, at a time of fears that the war in the Gaza Strip could expand to the region. It vowed revenge for Haniyeh's death, which came hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs killed Hezbollah's military commander Fouad Shukr. Hezbollah vowed to respond.
Asked Tuesday whether a truce between Israel and Hamas might prevent an Iranian attack, Biden told reporters that "that's what I expect," adding in New Orleans that although negotiations were "becoming difficult," he "won't give up."
However, Reuters quoted three Iranian sources earlier as confirming that only the ceasefire agreement in Gaza would prevent a direct Iranian response to Israel.
[المدن, Lebanese online news on August 14]
.........................
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke on Monday with the Iranian president as part of international efforts to calm tensions in the Middle East.
The 30-minute phone conversation with Massoud Bizeshkian followed a joint statement issued Monday with France, the United States and Germany calling on Iran and its allies not to "jeopardize the chance of agreeing on a ceasefire and the release of hostages" in Gaza.
There are growing fears that Iran will retaliate against Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, prompting the United States to order the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
[إيلاف, independent Arabic news center, London, on August 12]
عاجل| أمريكا: إيران ستشن هجوما كبيرا على إسرائيل ومستعدون لها
تتصاعد التوترات بين إيران وإسرائيل بشكل ملحوظ، حيث تشير تقارير عديدة إلى احتمالية وقوع هجمات كبيرة من الجانب الإيراني ضد إسرائيل في الأيام المقبلة، يأتي هذا التصعيد في ظل تبادل التحذيرات بين الأطراف المعنية وتزايد المخاوف الدولية من اندلاع صراع واسع النطاق في الشرق الأوسط.
تحذيرات البيت الأبيض واستعدادات دولية
أعلن البيت الأبيض أن هناك ضرورة للاستعداد لما قد يكون "هجمات كبيرة" من إيران. هذا التحذير يأتي بعد تقارير استخباراتية مشتركة بين الولايات المتحدة وإسرائيل تشير إلى أن الهجوم الإيراني قد يكون وشيكًا، على الرغم من التقييم الحالي الذي يفيد بأن الهجوم لن يحدث الليلة. فيما أكد مصدر أميركي أن إيران عازمة على تنفيذ هجوم أكبر من الذي نفذته في أبريل الماضي.
Urgent | America: Iran will launch a major attack on Israel and we are ready for it.
Tensions between Iran and Israel are escalating significantly, with numerous reports indicating the possibility of major attacks by the Iranian side against Israel in the coming days, this escalation comes in light of the exchange of warnings between the parties concerned and growing international fears of a large-scale conflict in the Middle East.
White House warnings and international preparations
The White House has said it is necessary to prepare for what may be "major attacks" from Iran. The warning follows joint U.S.-Israeli intelligence reports suggesting an Iranian attack may be imminent, despite the current assessment that the attack will not happen tonight. A U.S. source confirmed that Iran was determined to carry out a larger attack than the one it carried out in April.
With ballistic missiles and swooping drones. Israel prepares for 'unprecedented' Iranian response
Amid a major state of alert in the Israel and assurances that a response is inevitable, Hebrew media reported that there are several scenarios about the nature of that response, the latest of which was reported by the newspaper "Israel Hayom", which said that estimates go to the likelihood of Tehran launching an "unprecedented" attack through "huge" missile barrages.
The Hebrew Broadcasting Corporation reported that the state of alert is at its highest, especially with expectations that the Iranian response will not exclude camps or strategic sites amid Israel.
[إرم on August 3, 04:49 AM]
Iranian official sends message to Israel residents
Iranian Foreign Ministry adviser Mohamed Marandi said in a tweet on the X website:
"They left for Israel, they (the missiles) are coming."
قال مستشار وزارة الخارجية الإيرانية محمد مرندي، في تغريدة عبر موقع إكس: غادروا إسرائيل إنها (الصواريخ) قادمة
The US Navy announced the arrival of the aircraft carrier "Roosevelt" to the Strait of Hormuz off Iran today.
Earlier, Israel's Channel 12 reported that the website of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was disrupted due to heavy pressure from travelers, in light of security tensions, airlines canceling flights to Israel and Israelis seeking to travel.
Israeli media reported that the official website of the Airports Authority was disrupted on Israel on Friday and a cyber attack was suspected.
This comes at a time of high alert in Israel in preparation for possible attacks by Iran and its proxies in the region.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed to inflict "the most severe punishment" on Israel in response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.
[خبرني on August 3, 06:14 AM]
Israel asks for "friends and allies" help to counter multi-front offensive
Along with the Iran's threat of a harsh response to any "disproportionate attack," political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that the Israeli government is in contact with friendly and allied countries to rally cooperation in the face of a multi-front offensive.
In this context, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the White House, where he held a call with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on ways to jointly respond to a ballistic missile and drone attack, and Biden told him that US forces in the region have made new equipment for their forces to abort any attack that threatens Israel, but asked him to cooperate with US efforts to reduce tension in the region and refrain from sliding into a regional war.
Netanyahu asked to increase the quantities of weapons and ammunition, and to release smart bombs, which Biden promised him without expressing reservations about the smart bombs that he [Biden] had decided to delay sending to Israel.
[المركزية,Lebanon, on August 3, 06:20 AM]
...........................
Rare visitors from
Iran and Lebanon
August 1-4, 2024
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ...
Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.
The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism.
Instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”
On Stability and Chaos ...
“The point is that both Hitler and Stalin held out promises of stability in order to hide their intention of creating a state of permanent instability.”
On the Quality of Followers ...
“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.”
Hannah Arendt, a Jewish activist
from Germany, in her famous book
'The Origins of Totalitarianism'
A rather reluctant position takes China's Global Times, not being acquainted to surprise actions of high-ranking political leaders. The photo shows an allegation to VOX News, the voice of Trump's Republican supporters, fitting with Trump's subliminal stance of 'bringing them behind bars'.
During the last days, Chinese social media have gone viral with remarks running down Kamala Harris while, at the same time, rather praising Donald Trump who, in reality, has never been China's friend.
While Chinese social media trended toward insulting personal attacks on Harris, state media remained focused on criticizing her professional qualifications.
One of the most-read articles from the nationalistic Global Times called her “mediocre” and said Harris — who previously served as San Francisco’s district attorney, California’s attorney general and a U.S. senator before being elected vice president — lacks the experience to serve as president. It asserted that she would continue to deepen alliances in Asia “in the face of China’s geopolitical ascendence.”
An article on Baidu’s news channel said former President Barack Obama’s lack of an immediate endorsement for Harris was “equivalent to expressing a lack of support.”
Another said, “Harris has not achieved any political achievements worth mentioning in the more than three years since she became vice president, her governing ability is limited, and she often laughs for no reason.”
Meanwhile, China’s lively social-media landscape was rife with sexist and disparaging posts.
[WSJ Market Watch on July 24]
Chinese netizen making fun of Harris' cheerful nature in his tweet posted on X on July 25, 2024.
Here an excerpt from the Global Times article presented above:
拜登宣布退选震惊各方！美媒：他成为56年来第一位放弃连任机会的现任美国总统
Biden's announcement of his withdrawal from the election shocked all sides! US media: He became the first current president of the United States in 56 years to give up the chance to be re-elected.
Under strong internal pressure, U.S. President Biden announced in a statement on July 21 afternoon local time that he withdrew from the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign,and expressed support for Vice President Harris received the Democratic Party nomination,candidate for president. U.S. media said this decision marked the rapid and shocking end of Biden’s 52 year election political life. Biden also became the first renounced re-election opportunity incumbent president in 56 years. The last relinquished re-election was that of President Lyndon Johnson, who announced in March 1968 that he did not seek another term. For Biden's resignation, former U.S. President Barack Obama praised his decision, and called "Biden is a top-ranking patriot." Democratic Senator Bennet specifically called Biden’s exit as giving Democrats a “defeating Trump opportunity”. However, Republican presidential candidate Trump criticized Biden as the worst president in U.S. history. He also described Harris as being more easily to defeat than Biden. The New York Times review said Biden mastered the U.S. outbreak of the epidemic and the resulting economic turmoil. However, the fractured hopes of U.S. expansion during the Trump administration have been dashed and America's society remains highly polarized. At the same time, Biden's decision subverted the campaign, laying the foundation for the noisy and unpredictable campaign activities unprecedented in modern history. Harris has only 107 days left to consolidate Democratic support, establishing herself as a credible national leader.
[Global Times on July 23, 2024. The article was published at a time when VP Kamala Harris already enjoyed broad support for her own nomination campaign within the Democratic Party.]
Israel has been attacked by a Yemeni Houthi drone. The attack seems to be partly successful. Here is how this became possible.
Let's begin with the US attacks on Houthi installations using America's MQ-9 'Reaper' drones.
Six of these drones were grounded by the Houthis, one of them probably belonging to an upgraded version able to intrude enemy territory without being observed.
So, US technology might have become available to their enemies, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
I would just like to mention recent unnoted intrusions of Hezbollah surveillance drones into Israeli territory, making photos of the Haifa region and the Golan Heights. Another intrusion of a Houthi drone could now be responsible for the attack on Tel Aviv.
.........................................
MQ-9 'Reaper' drone equipped with new EW pod that makes it a 'black hole' that can 'disappear off of enemy radar,' top Marine general says.
The US Marine Corps has equipped its MQ-9 'Reaper' drones with a new electronic warfare pod. The pod "can mimic things that are sent to it," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said.
The announcement follows the drone's struggles against the Houthi Rebels.
The US Marine Corps has equipped its MQ-9 'Reaper' drones with a new electronic warfare pod that can 'mimic' signals to help hide them from enemy sensors, a top US Marine Corps general has said, The War Zone reported.
According to Associated Press [AP], a video released by the Yemeni Houthi armed forces shows that a U. S. MQ-9 'Reaper' drone crashes after a surface-to-air missile attack on the desert area of Malib province in central Yemen. This is the third such incident this month.
Based on exposure image analysis, AP informs about the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle in the desert that its tail component is separated from other parts of the fuselage. After the drone was shot down, at least one hatch on the fuselage seems to have been opened, but the main part of the drone is basically intact, and there is no obvious damage from explosion. It is worth noting that the drone does not appear to have any markings.
A senior U. S. defense official told Associated Press, “The U. S. Air Force has not lost any aircraft within the jurisdiction of U. S. Central Command. "The official refused to disclose more details. Associated Press said it came to believe that the CIA once dispatched a 'Reaper' drone over Yemen. When AP contacted U. S. Central Intelligence Agency, the agency refused to comment.
According to a Turkish Anadolu News Agency report, the Yemeni Houthi organization announced on [May] 29 that it shot down a U. S. drone in Malib province. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarri said his militants shot down a U. S. MQ-9 'Reaper' drone in northern Yemen. Another statement said: "This drone was shot down by a surface-to-air missile while carrying out a hostile mission over Malib province. Others added: "This drone is the sixth drone to be shot down."
[SINA 新浪财经 on May 30, 2024]
..........................................
Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked near the US embassy in Tel Aviv. Here's how they managed to slip through the world's best-protected city.
For many years, Israel has been targeted by Hamas fighters from the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah from Lebanese territory. This has led to the creation of the world's most advanced anti-air and anti-missile defense system.
It's multi-layered and challenging to penetrate, but the Yemeni Houthi rebels demonstrated it is possible. They claimed responsibility for the attack on the night of July 18-19, 2024. The attack using the new Yafa drone was intended as a gesture of solidarity and support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Additionally, the Houthis have announced more attacks in their declaration.
It's also worth noting that the drone's target was most likely the nearby American embassy, but the drone missed its intended target due to the precision of commercial navigation modules.
[Essanews, Warsaw / Poland on July 19, 2024]
THE FULL YEMENI ARMED FORCES STATEMENT:
In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful:
In support of the oppressed Palestinian people and their mujahideen, and in retaliation to the Zionist enemy's massacres against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
The UAV force of the Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah Almighty, carried out a specific military operation, which consisted of targeting one of the important targets in the occupied Yafa region, what is now called Israeli Tel Aviv.
The operation was carried out with a new drone called "Yafa", which is capable of bypassing the enemy's interception systems and undetectable by radars. The operation has achieved its goals successfully.
The Yemeni Armed Forces declare the occupied Yafa region an unsafe area and will be a primary target within the range of our weapons. and will focus on targeting the Zionist enemy's internal front and reaching the depths.
In announcing this specific operation, the Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they have a bank of targets in occupied Palestine, including sensitive military and security targets, and will continue, with the help of Allah Almighty, to strike those targets in response to the enemy's massacres and daily crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip.
The operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces continue to support the heroic mujahideen in Gaza who are defending all our people and countries of our Arab and Islamic Ummah, and their operations will not stop unless the aggression and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.
Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs, the best protector, and the best helper.
Long live Yemen, free, beloved and independent.
Victory belongs to Yemen and to all the free people of the Ummah.
Sanaa,
Muharram 13, 1446 AH
July 19, 2024 AD
Issued by the Yemeni Armed Forces
Citizen Trump posing
for the perfect shot
before the cameras.
Editor's Comment:
When we experienced incompetent George Bush jun. and the useless wars he started, we thought it couldn't come worse. Then we learnt about Trump and his "ability" to invent reality and incite American hillbillies. What comes next ? Lincoln 2.0 and the American Civil War ?
كيف تخترق مسيّرات حزب الله الدفاعات الجوية الإسرائيلية؟
مما يستدلّ به على العجز الإسرائيلي إزاء الجبهة الشمالية، هو ما سُرّب عن مصدر في الجيش إلى الإعلام، وتحديدًا صحيفة "يديعوت أحرونوت"، تعقيبًا على الاختراق الذي حققته مسيّرة حزب الله "الهدهد" في حيفا، من أن عدم إسقاطها كان لـ"تفادي إحداث حالة من الهلع في المدينة، أو التسبب بأضرار من أثر الصاروخ الاعتراضي
لا تفضح هذا الادعاء حقيقة أن طائرات أف- 16 الإسرائيلية تدخّلت في عام 2013 لإسقاط طائرة وصلت إلى ميناء حيفا ذاته الذي شوهد في الصور، ولا أن مسيّرة قبلها، اسمها "أيوب"، وصلت حتى مفاعل ديمونا في أقصى الجنوب وأقرّ الاحتلال في حينها أنها ربّما تكون قد التقطت صورًا حساسة للمنشأة النووية، وحسب، بل أن جيش الاحتلال ما زال يتلقّى الضربة تلو الأخرى من مسيّرات حزب الله اللبناني، من قصف قاعدة المطلة بصاروخين موجّهين قبل انقضاض المسيّرة الناقلة على الهدف، إلى ضرب بالون "طال هشمايم" -وأحد مهامه رصد الطائرات بدون طيار- في مفترق غولاني، إلى الإجهاز على بطارية قبة حديدية في ثكنة "راموت نفتالي" في السابع من هذا الشهر
لكلّ ذلك، يمكن القول إن الحرب الحالية سجّلت إخفاقًا غير مسبوق لما ظلّت تفاخر به إسرائيل على أنه أحد أكثر أنظمة الدفاع في العالم تقدّما، وتشابكًا، وكلفة، من القبة الحديدية، إلى "مقلاع داود" التي دخلت الخدمة حديثًا خلال جولة التصعيد مع حركة الجهاد الإسلامي، ثم إلى سائر ما تملكه من طائرات متفوّقة. كيف إذًا يمكن لطائرات لا يتجاوز ثمن إحداها بضع مئات من الدولارات، وربما يشتريها أشخاص هواة للتسلية، على حد وصف مقال في مجلة Air and Space Power، أن تُعجز نظامًا دفاعيًّا بكل تلك التقانة؟
...............
How do Hezbollah rallies penetrate Israeli air defenses?
An indication of Israel's inability on the northern front is what was leaked by an army source to the media, specifically the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, commenting on the breakthrough achieved by the march of Hezbollah's "Hudhud" in Haifa, that not shooting it down was to "avoid causing panic in the city, or causing damage from the impact of the interceptor missile. "
This claim not only exposes the fact that Israeli F-16s intervened in 2013 to shoot down a plane that arrived at the same Haifa port seen in the photos, nor that a drone before it, called "Ayoub", reached the Dimona reactor in the far south and the occupation admitted at the time that it may have taken sensitive photos of the nuclear facility, but that the occupation army is still receiving one blow after another from Lebanese Hezbollah marches, from the bombing of the Metulla base with two guided missiles before. A drone pounced on the target hitting the [radar dome of] "Tal Hashimim" - one of [the dome's tasks] being to monitor drones - at the Golani junction, [another one] finished off an Iron Dome battery in the "Ramot Naftali" barracks on the seventh of this month.
For all this, it can be said that the current war has recorded an unprecedented failure of what Israel has been boasting of as one of the most advanced, intertwined, and expensive defense systems in the world, from the Iron Dome to the newly entered David's Sling during the round of escalation with Islamic Jihad, and then to all its superior aircraft. How, then, can planes that cost only a few hundred dollars and may be bought by amateurs for entertainment, as an article in Air and Space Power put it, fail to have a defense system with all that technology?
................
Beyond the defensive gap
With the threat of drones being a reality, their impact in any close battle may go beyond providing images and data to Hezbollah in real time, and enabling its forces to gather field information on the deployment and location of enemy units. In a scenario of "roof without roof and without controls," as the party's secretary-general Hassan Nasr Allah said in his recent speech, a scenario like the one warned of by the American think tank Alma two years before the current war became possible: The party's drone swarms attack the air defense systems in northern Israel, which could neutralize them or cause them severe damage, and then the entire north becomes exposed to the heavier warheads in the party's arsenal.
[العربي الجديد two weeks ago]
Editor's Note: Alma Research and Education Center is an
Israel based organization rather than a US think tank. As
Alma is known to maintain close contact with high-ranking
US officials, it cannot be excluded that they are being
supported by the US government as well.
..........................
Data passing through New York / Manhattan
probably via some Australian internet node.
The largest source of missile technology for Yemen's Houthi rebels is Iran, which has also successfully tested hypersonic missiles. So, where did Iran's advanced missile technology come from?
To develop hypersonic missiles, there are three main difficulties, the first is computer control capabilities. When a missile is flying at a high speed of more than 5 times the speed of sound, the radio signal can be severely affected. Therefore, in order to control the missile's flight trajectory at high speed without the slightest deviation, computer processing power is very important.
Secondly, hypersonic missiles can reach extremely high speeds, and it is necessary to conduct repeated wind tunnel tests of aerodynamic shapes. It is necessary to have a variety of wind tunnel systems to make the measurements. Finally, high-performance rocket engines can soar at high speeds.
There is information that the hypersonic missiles of the Houthis in Yemen are also solid rocket engines, and the maximum speed can be 8 times the speed of sound. It can be directly hit at Israeli dominion.
To this end, Yemen's Houthi leader Malik Houthi said that now our enemies should see all this, and Yemen's Houthi missile strike capabilities have become among the best in the world.
Where did the Yemeni Houthis come from with this alien technology? In addition to Iran's Persian Gulf anti-ship ballistic missiles and Fatah 110 tactical missiles, the other missiles of the Yemeni Houthis are Qahe ballistic missiles modified from SAM-2 anti-aircraft missiles, and Badr-1, Badr-P1 and Badr-F ballistic missiles modified from Scud missiles.
[腾讯网 on July 1st, 2024]
So Russia and China seem to be the most important 'suspects'.
As to me, it makes sense to compare the Yemenite Houthis with North Korea, known to have recently carried out hypersonic missile tests itself. The recently proclaimed 'deepening of bilateral friendship' between Russia and N-Korea is serving the extensive delivery of munitions and weapons from N-Korea to Russia needed to fuel Russia's war on Ukraine.
On the other hand, China has undergone a massive technological leap in the development of sophisticated weaponry, hypersonic missiles included, such that both, the Yemenite Houthis and N-Korea, could benefit from there. China's foreign policies could establish an ideal basis for some discrete 'help from their friends'.
Here are two additional articles related to the subject:
North Korean airborne "garbage balloon" and projectile picture protest Korea-Japan Joint Military Exercice
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korea launched a ballistic missile from around Pyongyang towards the eastern waters of the Korean Peninsula at 5. 30 a. m. on Wednesday (June 26), flying more than 250 kilometers. It is likely that North Korea conducted a forced test-launch in order to improve solid-fuel hypersonic missile performance, but ultimately failed.
South Korean military personnel pointed out,North Korea this year announced a successful test launch of a solid-fuel hypersonic missile,this time may be for further testing missile.
Analysis believes,North Korea this provocation may be against South Korea,U. S. and Japan held joint military exercises,Arrival of South Korea's USThe aircraft carrier is not only North Korea vigilant U. S. military strategic assets, but also will participate in military exercises, so North Korea is very sensitive
Picture: The South Korean military said North Korea failed to launch a ballistic missile from Pyongyang into the eastern waters of the Korean peninsula early on Wednesday, June 26. Near the North Korean border on the maritime border of Yontsun Island can be seen one article believed to be a North Korean ballistic missile-producing vapor trail.
Founded in 2019, Tianbing Science & Technology is a Chinese private commercial aerospace company. The company is mainly dedicated to the development of new generation liquid rocket engines and medium and large liquid carrier rockets. In April last year, Tianbing Science Tenlong No. 2 remote carrier rocket was successfully launched from China Sake Spring Satellite Launch Center. Many of its core teams come from China Aerospace Technology (.....) and China Aerospace Engineering.
Tianbing Scientific and Technological Founder and Chairman of the Board Kang YongLai, has been engaged in rocket launch technology research and development and project management for nearly 20 years, is a typical scientific entrepreneur.
Kang YongLai was Director of the Rocket Launch General Laboratory, Deputy Chief Model Officer, and Chief Engineer of the China Rocket Launch Technology Research Institute. As the youngest head of the research laboratory in the history of the institute, Kang YongLai presided over the overall demonstration design of the Tongfeng-17 hypersonic missile and the Long March 11 launch vehicle.
On 19 June, Hezbollah's leader warned Cyprus that it would become a target if it assisted Israel in attacking Lebanon. Causing Cyprus’ government spokesman to stress that ‘Cyprus has never, and will never, facilitate or support any aggressive actions against any country.’
So where have these accusations come from?
Cyprus was under British colonial rule until it won its independence in 1960 but the UK still has two military bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia which have seen a lot of activity over the past eight months.
It is not clear if the Cypriot government is told what the bases are used for or what they’re transporting and the UK is not required to give them that information.
[Middle East Eye on June 29. Middle East Eye is a UK-based news website that covers the Middle East and North Africa. It is reportedly funded by the government of Qatar.]
.................
Israeli PM Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (center)
عن قبرص الغارقة تحت الهيمنة الإسرائيلية
المصارف الإسرائيلية باتت تهيمن على القطاع المصرفي في قبرص، ناهيك بسيطرة شركات الأمن الإسرائيلية وشركات الذكاء الاصطناعي الإسرائيلية على كل مرافق الأمن السيبراني وكاميرات المراقبة
About Cyprus under Israeli domination
Israeli banks now dominate the banking sector in Cyprus, not to mention the control of all cybersecurity facilities and surveillance cameras by Israeli security companies and artificial intelligence companies.
In a speech during the memorial service for the martyr Taleb Sami Abdullah, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah issued a stern warning to Cyprus, warning it against opening its territory, airspace and airports to Israeli forces from where they launched hostilities against Lebanon in the event of an expansion of the confrontation between the Israeli occupation forces and the Lebanese resistance.
The extent of Israeli penetration
Sayyid Nasrallah revealed that the resistance has information that the Israeli enemy is conducting maneuvers in Cyprus in Cypriot areas and airports, and that it intends to use these airports in its aggression against Lebanon, in the event that its airports and facilities in occupied Palestine are targeted.
Accordingly, Nasrallah sent a strongly worded message to the Cypriot government, saying: "The Cypriot government must know that when Cypriot airports and bases are opened for the war on Lebanon, we will treat Cyprus as if it were a party to the war. Whoever should be afraid in light of the current situation is the enemy, but we will continue to support Gaza and at the same time we are ready for all possibilities. "
This prompted Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides to declar, stressing that "the Republic of Cyprus is in no way involved in war conflicts, it is not part of the problem, it is part of the solution. "
"This rhetoric is not pleasant, does not in any way correspond to reality, and presents Cyprus as involved in war activities. This is completely contrary to reality," stressing that "the Republic of Cyprus is not involved in any way in the war on Gaza," stressing that his country is "part of the solution and not the problem," and stressing that Cyprus has played a role "recognized by the Arab world and the entire international community" in opening a sea corridor that allows the delivery of humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza, from the port of Larnaca.
This presents the reality of the port of Larnaca and covers the fact that this port is under Israeli administration, knowing that there are complex relations between the Zionist entity and Cyprus, especially at the level of security, military and investment coordination.
Port of Larnaca. . . Cypriot or Israeli?
One of the most prominent examples of Israeli domination of the island is the domination of the port of Larnaca, from which aid will be transported by sea to the Gaza Strip, by an Israeli capital company.
Managed by Kition Ocean Holding, which was created by Prosperity Group Ltd. and Reem International, Mirfa has the exclusive long-term right to design, build and finance development, manage, operate and maintain the port and marina in Larnaca, and market real estate in the region. BCS revealed details of the ownership structure of the controlled entity and signed the concession agreement with Kition Holding, which operates a special purpose vehicle for the conclusion of the concession agreement with the Republic of Cyprus.
Prosperity Group is a company registered in Cyprus and belongs to Alexandru Kuroporit Services, a company licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, which was established for the purpose of performing "administrative services".
Reem International is a company duly registered in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Cyprus, and the purposes for which it is incorporated are to operate as a holding company. As such, it has 50 percent partial ownership of its parent company, Eldman.
Eldman was founded to manage, operate and promote businesses and companies, and to participate in investments, including land development, as well as investments and development of large-scale mixed-use properties.
The objective of this merger is to manage the port of Larnaca. The port is versatile and serves all types of cargo, with the provision of related port services including maintaining safe maritime access to the port, navigation, navigational aids, provision of cargo handling services and transit trade management, facilitation of the provision of essential port ship services by third parties, and other sea-related services.
The company owns Prospirite Group, a real estate investment and development company, with offices in the UK and Cyprus. The company was founded in 2006 by Panos Alexandru, who in 2006 began buying 3 and 4-bedroom townhouses in Guildford for rental to students studying at the University of Surrey. Since then, the group has become a mixed-use organisation, aiming to invest in real estate in the UK, Cyprus and Croatia, and then move to investing across Europe, with a focus on the UK, Cyprus, Croatia and the Netherlands.
Who is Yakir Gabbay?!
So far, things seem unsuspected, until the name of Israeli businessman Yakir Gabbay, a Cypriot citizen who invests billions of dollars on the island, appears as the founder, vice chairman and major shareholder of RoundTown, a global real estate giant with a $30 billion real estate portfolio.
Roundtown acquired a stake in Kition Ocean, giving it control of the management of the port of Larnaca. Yakir Gabbay's name also comes to light when talking about a huge investment of €856 million in the Aya Villa project, which includes the construction of a private school, a medical institution and a research and innovation center.
Yakir Gabbay is listed on Forbes magazine's list of real estate entrepreneurs, with an estimated net worth of $3. 4 billion, and he owns 40 percent of the shares of Grand City Properties, a subsidiary of Roundtown, which owns about 65,000 apartments in Germany and London.
Roundtown is a real estate company duly registered under the laws of Luxembourg and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and was founded by Yakir Gabbay in 2004 and currently serves as Vice Chairman. The company has investments in Central European cities, with most of them in Germany, the Netherlands and London.
In the summer of 2021, Yakir Gabbay began acquiring large areas of real estate land near Limassol in Cyprus, amounting to 949,916 square meters, for an estimated amount of 28 million euros. These lands are located in the Ayia Villa area, 250 meters east of the Limassol-Platrice road, specifically on the eastern side of the highway under construction, which will connect Limassol to Moniatis.
Yakir Gabbay plans to develop a residential complex on the plot, through Rufino Real Estate Ltd. The proposed project will include a private school, a rehabilitation centre for a European-branded medical institution, which will support subsidized living units, a research and innovation centre, a business park, a multi-activity sports centre, a green area for the business park, and an individual and structured residential project with a structure.
The proposed project is expected to be built gradually, with construction to be completed by 2030.
Born in 1966 in occupied Jerusalem, Yakir Gabbay is the son of Meir Gabbay, the former director general of the Israeli Ministry of Justice, who also served as Israel's civil service commissioner. His father was elected President of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal while his mother was a senior official in the Israeli Attorney General's Office and Director of the Amnesty Department at the Israeli Ministry of Justice.
Yakir Gabbay holds a degree in economics and accounting, as well as an MBA from the Hebrew University. He began his life in the Israeli public sector and later became involved in investment banking.
Among other things, he served as CEO of the investment banking division of Bank Leumi, one of Israel's largest banks, and as chairman of the Israeli company Gamol Investment, which manages a pension fund and real estate and securities investments, with a total value of $30 billion.
The aforementioned is only the tip of the iceberg of the extent to which the Israelis have penetrated the island of Cyprus in various fields. Information indicates that Israeli companies have made extensive purchases of real estate in southern and northern Cyprus.
At the same time, Israeli banks have come to dominate the island's banking sector, not to mention that Israeli security companies and artificial intelligence companies control all cybersecurity facilities and surveillance cameras on the island.
[Al-Mayadeen on June 23. Al Mayadeen is an Iran-aligned Lebanese pan-Arabist satellite TV channel based in Beirut.]
...............
Will Israel launch a full-scale attack on Lebanon’s Hezbollah? - Analysis
غالانت: إسرائيل قادرة على إعادة لبنان إلى العصر الحجري
وزير الدفاع الإسرائيلي يوآف غالانت حذر خلال زيارته لواشنطن من أن الجيش الإسرائيلي قادر على إعادة لبنان “إلى العصر الحجري” لكننا “لا نريد أن نفعل ذلك
Gallant: Israel is capable of returning Lebanon to the "Stone Age"
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned during a visit to Washington that the IDF [Israeli Defense Force] could return Lebanon "to the Stone Age" but "we don't want to do that."
The Turkish president had a telephone conversation with Lebanese Prime Minister to discuss the region
The Information Bureau of the Turkish Presidential Office issued a statement on June 26 local time, saying that Turkish President Erdogan had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Mikati of the Lebanese caretaker government on the same day. During the call, the two sides discussed Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as well as the resulting growing tensions in the region. In the call, Erdogan said that the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip must be stopped as soon as possible. Erdogan called on the international community to take measures as soon as possible to stop the threat posed by Israel to regional and global peace. (CCTV News)
[CCTV, China Central TV quoted by SINA on June 27]
Assange is set to be released to Australia, his country of citizenship, after a Tuesday court proceeding is over, according to federal records. Assange agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States, according to a letter accompanying charging documents filed in US District Court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific.
[USA Today on June 25, 2024]
Today, I would like to remember how the Wikileaks story began in 2010. Even though external media links and videos are no longer available, some basic information could still be saved !
For the leaked reports on alleged war crimes of US troops in the War on Iraq, take a look at => the published list of subjects <= covered by Assange's underground platform Wikileaks.
Al-Jazeera conspired with America's 'ABC-TV' together with 'The Times' and 'Guardian', daily newspapers in the Western Hemisphere, to publish the secret Wikileaks documents at the same time. The contents of the documents are including the killings of 681 civilians by US military, the torture of their captives by Iraqi public security officers, and the approved torture by US military personnel.
[Editor: Direct links from my Chinese site are no longer working because the connected external websites, dating back to 2010, were removed long ago.]
[Xichang Comprehensive News] The successful launch of a space science satellite jointly developed by China and France will detect gamma-ray bursts that take billions of light-years to reach Earth, helping people better understand the universe. This is also a landmark cooperation between the two countries.
Comprehensively China CCTV News, AFP and the South China Morning Post reported that the Long March II C carrier rocket of the China-French Astronomical Satellite (SVOM) was launched Saturday afternoon at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
The SVOM weighs 930 kg and is equipped with four advanced instruments, two made in France and two from China.
SVOM is the world’s most powerful satellite to date for multiband integrated observations of gamma-ray bursts. It will detect and quickly locate various types of gamma-ray bursts through advanced instrumentation, and comprehensively measure their electromagnetic radiation properties.
Gamma-ray bursts, produced during extremely energetic events in the distant Universe, provide unique information about major cosmic phenomena, but are difficult to capture and easily absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere.
According to Francois Gonzalez, project manager at the French National Centre for Space Research, the SVOM can make observations at different wavelengths and obtain “the most complete dataset” showing how explosions occur and evolve over time.
Ore Gottlieb, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics at the Iron Institute in New York, believes SVOM has the potential to unravel several mysteries in the field of gamma-ray bursts, including detecting the most distant gamma-ray bursts in the universe.
Frederic Daigne, an astrophysicist at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, pointed out that gamma-ray bursts could give people a better understanding of the death of certain stars. Analyzing this data could help us better understand the composition of space, gas clouds, or the dynamics of other galaxies.
This level of space cooperation between China and Western powers is rare, especially after the United States banned all cooperation between its space agency and China in 2011. However, space cooperation has been the focus of Sino-French scientific cooperation. In 2018, the two countries jointly launched a marine satellite primarily for marine weather. This year, Chang’e-6 also landed on the far side of the moon with a French radon detector.
[联合早报, Singapore on June 22]
Annoucement by CCTV 13 of the projected launch of a jointly developed Chinese-French satellite for the research of spontaneous gamma ray outbursts in the universe related to the death of stars. The launch has been successfully achieved today, 22 June 2024, as reported in the article above. [CCTV 13, Beijing on January 28]
The French-Chinese space mission SVOM is dedicated to locating and studying the most distant explosions of stars, gamma-ray bursts. These cataclysms, which are signalled by a brief flash of gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, accompany the disintegration of the largest stars. Visible to the far reaches of the Universe, these explosions offer the only way to observe the fate of the very first stars in the Universe and to probe the far reaches of the cosmos. Seeing a star explode is a rare event. And yet the first traces of observation are ancient and begin in China, more than a millennium ago. Discover the history of these first observations. An exciting dive into the beginnings of the Universe.
[CEA - The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA, is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies.]
في تصريح لافت، اعتبر المتحدث باسم الجيش الإسرائيلي دانيل هغاري أنه "سيكون من غير الممكن القضاء على حركة حماس"، وذلك بعد أكثر من 8 أشهر من الحرب على قطاع غزة
وفي مقابلة مع القناة 13 الإسرائيلية، الأربعاء، انتقد هغاري الساسة الإسرائيليين لأنهم "لم يطرحوا بديلاً للحركة" في غزة
وقال المتحدث إن "الحديث عن القضاء على حماس ذر للرماد في عيون الشارع الإسرائيلي"، مضيفًا: "ما دام المستوى السياسي لا يطرح بديلاً لحماس فإن حماس باقية"، موضحًا أن
حماس فكرة، ومن يظن أنه من الممكن أن تختفي فهو مخطئ
Video from Al-Jazeera on June 20 in Arabic and Hebrew
In a remarkable statement, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari considered that "it will not be possible to eliminate Hamas," after more than 8 months of war on the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Israel's Channel 13 on Wednesday, Hagari criticized Israeli politicians for "not offering an alternative to the movement" in Gaza.
The spokesman said that "talk about the elimination of Hamas is a smokescreen in the eyes of the Israeli street," adding: "As long as the political level does not offer an alternative to Hamas, Hamas remains," explaining that "Hamas is an idea, and whoever thinks it could disappear is wrong. "
[TV Channel 13, Israel on June 20, quoted by German national TV
Editor: Daniel Hagari is an Israeli Defense Forces Rear Admiral
who currently serves as the head of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.]
In the early morning of June 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and began his state visit to Vietnam. Vietnam Communist Party’s Foreign Minister [Le Huizhou] and Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister [Chen Hongkawa] arrived at the airport.
The Kremlin Palace Press Bureau has previously stated that Putin’s visit was due to the invitation of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen [Tujan]. During the visit, President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen [Tujan]. The two sides discussed and exchanged views on further development of the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, and humanities, the current status and prospects of the overall strategic partnership, and international and regional hot spots. After the meeting, a joint statement was issued and a series of bilateral cooperation documents were signed.
The day before, Putin had visited North-Korea. It is worth noting that since the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Putin rarely visited countries outside the CIS region. Analysts believe that Putin’s visit reflects the high importance Russia attaches to North Korea and Vietnam, and will promote the development of bilateral relations towards a higher level.
Russian international affairs expert Grigori Trofim Chukou believes,Putin's visit to Vietnam coincides with the signing of the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Friendship Relations between Vietnam and Russia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary,is symbolic,“Vietnam has never joined the anti-Russian forces and groups,nor does not support any aimed at isolatingFor Russia, this is a particularly valuable geopolitical capital. "
The Vietnamese media 《People》published on June 19 that Putin will receive special attention during this visit from Vietnamese leaders and diplomatic experts. Many sides believe that this visit will inject new impetus for the development of bilateral relations and further consolidate the friendship between the two peoples. Three highlights of the article explain the significance of Putin's visit to bilateral relations.
Reuters reported on the 20th that before Putin arrived in Vietnam, he wrote in the local media, praising Vietnam for taking a pragmatic solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Vietnam adopted “Bamboo diplomacy” policy, and did not condemn Russia sending troops to Ukraine, so Western countries considered [Vietnamese] relations to Russia being too close.
This is Putin’s fifth visit to Vietnam since 2017. Meetings with the Vietnamese leadership are expected to be held, as well as flowers to the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Hall.
[腾讯网, Shenzhen / Guangdong on June 20. Please note: The writing of Vietnamese names
has been adopted from the Chinese text without countercheck with their Vietnamese writing.]
............................
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a state visit to North Korea from June 18 to 19, and a state visit to Vietnam from June 19 to 20. This is the second visit to Korea since Putin was the Russian head of state, and the last visit was in 2000, and this is the first state visit by Putin to Vietnam since 2017. Prior to the event, Putin signed a treaty order on the conclusion of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea.
Putin’s visit to Asia attracted high international attention. The United States, NATO and Japan and South Korea closely monitor Putin's visit itinerary,concerned Russia-Korean military cooperationAnd for General Putin's visit to Vietnam, the U. S. Embassy in Vietnam accused unnamed, "No country should provide a platform for Putin to propagate its 'war of aggression'. "
Analysts believe that at the time of NATO strengthening sanctions against Russia and confrontation, Putin's next trip to Asia obviously continues to deepen Russia's "looking east" strategy. On the 18th, Putin published a signed article in Korea's Labor News, saying that the United States imposed on the world the so-called "rules-based order", essentially speaking of global neocolonialism based on "double standards". Those who disagree with U. S. practices while pursuing an independent policy face increasingly severe external pressure. Putin said that through joint efforts between Russia and Korea, “the bilateral cooperation will be raised to a higher level. ”
On the 18th, Putin published an article titled “Russia and Korea: A Tradition of Friendship and Cooperation Across Ages” in the newspaper Labor News in North-Korea. Russia and Korea have maintained the principles of equality, mutual respect and trust, friendship and good-neighbourly relations for more than 70 years. This article was published on the Kremlin Palace website on the day. Putin said, “Pyongyang was in the past, and now we are still firmly like-minded and supporters, ready to resolutely resist the West and prevent the establishment of a multi-polar world order." He said, “We will develop non-Western controlled alternative trade settlement mechanism, jointly boycott illegal unilateral restrictions.”
نشر حزب الله مشاهد استطلاع جوي لمناطق في شمال إسرائيل وميناء حيفا عادت بها طائراته دون أن يرصدها الاحتلال الإسرائيلي
Hezbollah published aerial reconnaissance footage of areas in northern Israel and the port of Haifa in which its planes returned without being detected by the Israeli occupation.
[Al-Jazeera Arabic on June 18]
The above video is generally interpreted as a statement by Hezbollah that they are ready for a full-fledged war against Israel.
The video's appearance coincides with the visit of US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut where he met with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally.
"Speaker Berri and I had a good discussion," Hochstein said, and: "The conflict ... between Israel and Hezbollah has gone on for long enough". Adding "It's in everyone's interest to resolve it quickly and diplomatically - that is both achievable, and it is urgent."
Above video: In a leaked audio recording obtained by Israeli news channel Kan 11, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is heard rejecting the idea of the establishment of a Palestinian state and urging people to "ignore" statements made by the US on the matter. Along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gallant is one of the two Israeli officials included in the ICC prosecutor’s arrest warrant applications over alleged war crimes committed in Palestine’s Gaza.
[TRT World, Turkey, and other sources on May 22]
Israeli paper HAARETZ on X (Twitter):
Comment on Netanyahu's war cabinet
by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak:
Israel must oust its failed government
before it sinks into the moral abyss.
This year, Eid al-Adha holiday goes
uncelebrated as hunger grips Gaza.
The United States, France and other mediators have sought for months to find a way to stop the tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful militia and political faction backed by Iran, which has been launching rockets and drones into northern Israel from southern Lebanon.
More than 150,000 people on both sides of the border have been displaced by the fighting. And Israel has warned that it is prepared to take stronger action to dislodge Hezbollah militants from southern Lebanon.
This week, both sides ramped up their attacks, raising fears of another front in the war as Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said France and the United States had agreed in principle to establish a trilateral group with Israel to “make progress” on a French proposal to end the violence.
But Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who has called for Israel to take a harsher tack against Hezbollah, rebuffed Mr. Macron’s overture on Friday. It was not clear if Mr. Gallant was speaking for the Israeli government.
“As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel,” Mr. Gallant wrote on social media. “Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France.”
