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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Saudi Arabia declares Canadian ambassador persona non grata, orders him to leave in 24 hours
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Iraqi immigrant accused of shooting Colorado Springs cop remained in U.S. despite series of crimes
It doesn’t sound like Mr. Al Khammasi adjusted well to living in this country. No doubt he would be happier in the more familiar environment of his home country.
[Gazette - ColoradoSprings] A man accused of shooting a Colorado Springs police officer in the head in a shootout early Thursday while free on bond was known to immigration enforcement officials, yet evaded deportation despite a string of crimes, court records show.

Why Karrar Al Khammasi
Update at 9:30 p.m. EDT: The Daily Mail names him as Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi, so now we know...
wasn’t deported was among the questions left unanswered Friday as his bond was revoked. Cem Duzel, the officer he is accused of shooting, remained hospitalized in critical condition.

The 31-year-old Iraqi immigrant appears to have lived in the Pikes Peak region for at least five years, and he had at least nine contacts with police in that time, according to court records.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Afghanistan
Amnesty under study for IS fighters in Afghanistan
[DAWN] MAZAR SHARIF: IS fighters who surrendered to Afghan forces this week in the northern province of Jawzjan may be granted amnesty despite accusations of atrocities including rape and murder, officials said.

Around 150 IS fighters, including two senior commanders, gave themselves up after being driven from their strongholds in Jawzjan by the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
after weeks of fighting.

Thousands of civilians fled the area in the districts of Darzab and Qush Tepa and many accused IS fighters of multiple atrocities, giving detailed accounts of women and maiden of tender yearss being taken from their families, raped and, in some cases, murdered.

However the front man for the Jawzjan provincial governor said the need to encourage Death Eater fighters to surrender was likely to mean that they would not face charges.

"There is an amnesty for the ISIS group that surrendered in Darzab district," Mohammad Reza Ghafouri, front man for the Jawzjan provincial governor, said, referring to IS.

"The group will not be presented to legal and judicial authorities because they are taking part in the grinding of the peace processor," he said, adding that people with complaints about individual IS members were free to take the matter up with the courts.

Government officials said it was the first time such large numbers of IS fighters had surrendered at once. Several women and kiddies, all related to the fighters, had also handed themselves to Afghan authorities.

"Any adversary of the government that joins the grinding of the peace processor has to be given amnesty because if they are taken before the judges, other adversaries who have reached an agreement with the government will go cold on it," Ghafouri said.

While pressure has been building for peace talks between the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban, the local affiliate of IS, which has gained an unmatched reputation for brutality, has shown no signs of joining.

The Taliban, seeking to reimpose strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, also took credit for the surrender, saying they had cleared Jawzjan.

Defence Ministry front man Mohammad Radmanish said the military had done its duty and it was now for the government to decide the next step.

"As defenders of our people and country, our job is to fight our enemy until the battle ground. Now they have surrendered ... our job is done," he said.

Another official, Jawzjan security commander General Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, said any IS fighter who had committed crimes against humanity would face justice and expressed scepticism about any reconciliation.

He said those fighters who surrendered to the government were Afghans, although imported muscle believed to be in the area may have been killed or captured by the Taliban.

"I am concerned and afraid that after surrendering, these people will commit more crimes because they are completely untrustworthy," he said.

Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa North
Mali: Candidate Soumaila Cisse goes to court alleging vote fraud
[Al Jazeera] In advance of runoff, opposition leader files complaints of ballot box stuffing and other violations, says spokesman
Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Migrant rescue ship Aquarius won't take people back to Libya
[AlAhram] Rescue ship Aquarius, which has picked up almost 3,000 migrants colonists from the Mediterranean this year, will carry out rescue missions without waiting for orders from coastguards and will not return people to Libya, its search and rescue head said.

"When we see there is a vessel in distress, with a high likelihood of people dying, we will go and rescue them immediately as per international maritime law," Nick Romaniuk told Rooters on board the Aquarius.

Over the last year coordination centres asking rescue vessels to go on standby or wait for clarification on certain things had added to the danger of people needing to be rescued, which is why they would no longer wait, he added.

The 77-metre vessel, operated by Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee, set sail from Marseille this week on its tenth mission of the year.

The ship will be patrolling between 25-30 miles from the Libyan coast, west of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, an area that is outside Libya's territorial waters but inside the Libyan search and rescue region.

International law states the country responsible for operations in an area has primary responsibility for disembarking rescue ships.

Romaniuk said that while Aquarius would continue to abide by international maritime law, it would not be taking people back to Libya because it was not a safe place, putting it at odds with the wishes of the new Italian government.

"Libya is still not recognized as a port of safety, so (we)will not be taking people back there, because... a rescue cannot terminate in a place which is not deemed a port of safety," he said.

"It has to continue for the time being to be European ports. But again, it's not our decision to make, maritime authorities, they make that decision, but our red line will be not taking people back to Libya," he said.

In the past the Aquarius has waited for orders from the responsible authorities before moving ahead to rescue migrants colonists aiming to reach Italia from Libya.

But Italia has toughened its stance since the new government, a coalition including the anti-immigrant League party, took office earlier this year.

Interior minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, has spearheaded a policy to shut ports to charity ships that pick up migrants colonists from overcrowded smugglers' boats. He now wants as many as possible to be picked up by Libyan coastguards and returned.

In June, the Aquarius picked up 629 migrants colonists off the coast of Libya, planning to take them to the nearest European port - the usual practice with such rescue missions.

But the Italian government asked the ship to go to Malta rather than Italia, triggering a standoff that drew in the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and La Belle France.

Salvini has accused SOS Mediterranee and other charities of acting like a Mediterranean "taxi service" for the migrants colonists.

The Aquarius is one of a number of NGO-supported ships that have carried out rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean, alongside the Italian navy and EU-led missions.

A rescue boat operated by the Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms this week rescued 87 migrants colonists in the southern Mediterranean in international waters.

More than 10,000 migrants colonists have drowned in the region since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Almost 400 migrants rescued off Spanish coast this weekend

[AlAhram] Almost 400 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean this weekend as they attempted to make the crossing from Morocco to Spain, Spanish rescue services said.

While the overall numbers of migrants reaching Europe by sea is down from the peak in 2015, Spain has witnessed a steady increase in sea arrivals that began more than a year ago and has surged in recent months (nL5N1UM7TL.)

Through Saturday, 395 people were rescued from nine boats in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea, the two principal sea crossings to Spain, the Spanish coastguard said on Twitter. Two more people were rescued from a small boat on Sunday, it said.

Spain, which for the first time in years has overtaken Italy as the preferred destination for refugees, has registered almost 21,000 migrants so far this year, almost more than in the whole of last year, according to figures compiled by the International Organisation for Migration.

The mortality rate for the crossing from Morocco is around one in 70, IOM said, lower than that between Libya and Italy, which is one in 19.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:49 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Arrest them for People trafficking.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/06/2018 12:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Do not let them dock anywhere. If they approach, fire shots. Ship of fools
Posted by: Frank G || 08/06/2018 19:35 Comments || Top||


European losers in new Iranian sanctions game
[Rudaw] US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and reimpose a raft of sanctions will hit European businesses working in Iran.

Here is an overview of how firms stand to be affected when the sanctions kick in Monday:
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  What's the Iranian Rial worth nowadays ? I haven't been keeping track. I remember when it was 37,500 to the dollar. Then that went to 50,000, I think , and I heard but don't really know if its about 90,000 Iranian Rials to the dollar. But that sounds so ridiculous its hard to credit. Sort of like taking the pig in a wheelbarrow to buy breakfast sort of economy.
But then I never did understand Moslem values. It all has something to do with praying with your butt in the air.

90,000 Iranian Rials will buy you a Coke, Abdrool.
Posted by: Spomomble Sproing4323 || 08/06/2018 4:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Europeans: "Kill six million Jews. Invite in sixty million Muslims. Ain't we clever?"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/06/2018 4:28 Comments || Top||

#3  They've fallen behind P.Trump's thick Green line.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/06/2018 17:03 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Saudi Arabia declares Canadian ambassador persona non grata, orders him to leave in 24 hours
It’s not easy working for a prime minister with more hair than brains...
[ARABNEWS] Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
has declared the ambassador of Canada persona non grata and ordered him to leave in 24 hours, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

The Kingdom is also recalling its ambassador to Ottawa and that it is freezing all new business and investment transactions with Canada "while retaining its right to take further action," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The ministry said it has told the Canadian foreign minister and embassy in Riyadh of its objection to their interference in the case of "civil society activists" who were placed in durance vile
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in the Kingdom. Canada has been pressing the Kingdom to release them immediately.

"This negative and surprising position from Canada is totally false" and that the arrests were done by the competent authority, the Public Prosecutor's Office, in accordance with the law, the statement said. "The legitimate rights (of those arrested) have not been denied and they were provided with all guarantees during the investigation and trial stages," the statement said.

The ministry also affirmed that the Canadian position "is an explicit and clear interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and contrary to the most basic international norms and all the charters that govern relations between countries."
Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


India-Pakistan
Pashtun leaders pay high price as voters demand change
[ARABNEWS] Pakistain’s election has stunned heavyweight Pashtun religious and nationalist leaders who were "wiped out" at the polls as voters rejected political dynasties in favor of change.

The poll results surprised many at home and abroad with the defeat of veteran Pashtun leaders such as Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraq Says Jihadists Repeatedly Hit Power Line
[AnNahar] Jihadists have attacked a high voltage power line serving several Iraqi provinces for the eighth time in two months, the government said on Sunday.

The electricity ministry said it had to once again repair the 400 kilovolt line between Kirkuk and Diyala after "terrorist attacks of sabotage... which caused the line to cut" on Thursday.

The damage was "the eighth attack on this line in two months", the ministry said in a statement, plunging Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
Salaheddin and Nineveh provinces into darkness.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared "victory" in the fight against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group in December, after the jihadists had seized nearly a third of the country's territory in 2014.

But IS pockets remain, including in the mountains around Kirkuk.

The damage to the line between Kirkuk and Diyala has now been repaired and power restored to residents, a source in the electricity ministry told AFP on Sunday.

Iraq is grappling with severe power cuts, due mainly to a dilapidated grid infrastructure that has suffered years of neglect.

The shortages have fed into protests over the last month, as residents contend with summer heat reaching 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit).

Abadi fired electricity minister Qasim al-Fahdawi on July 29 in a bid to quell the protests, which originated in Basra in the oil-rich south and spread to several other cities including Baghdad.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:49 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  I thought the blog!
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/06/2018 12:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Mo didn't need electricity!
Posted by: Frank G || 08/06/2018 19:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Since they are not mentioned in the Qurayon, electrons are considered un-Islamic, although some believe them to be manifestations of djinns.
(See Djinn of Electrostatic Discharge)
Posted by: SteveS || 08/06/2018 21:04 Comments || Top||


Official: Closure of Shingal-Duhok road by Iraq punishes Yezidis
[Rudaw] ERBIL, Kurdistan Region ‐ A Yezidi official is urging Erbil and Baghdad to reopen the main Shingal-Duhok road with an official accusing the latter of the continued closure and of "punishing" the Yezidis.

"The main problem is the Iraqi government. We have asked the Iraqi government to reopen it. The government is in shambles and it is as in disarray as the state," Khudaida Chuke, acting Snune mayor, told Rudaw.

Snune is a town that lies at the northern foot of Mount Shingal. Around 350,000 Yezidis who fled ISIS in 2014 are sheltered in the Kurdistan Region ‐ mostly in Duhok province, which borders the Yezidi homeland of Shingal.

"They just want to punish the Yezidis," he claimed.

Peshmerga officials from the Kurdistan Region said they have met with the relevant Iraqi parties more than twice but haven’t come to an agreement.

"Neither the Hashd al-Shaabi, nor the Iraqi government, nor the KRG alone has closed down the road but all three have done it," Chuke added.

He also accused the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
of being a complicit.

The road through Sihela, connecting Duhok to Zummar district and Shingal, was closed after Iraqi forces and Hashd al-Shaabi took control of Shingal and Snune in mid-October. Many Yezidis and organizations have called for the road to be reopened.

With the Sihela route closed, people resort to a longer and more dangerous route through djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
He added the opening of the road on August 3, the fourth anniversary of the massacre of the Yezidis by ISIS, would have "made the people happy" and helped to alleviate some of their suffering.

A Peshmerga official said they were fine with the re-opening of the road and that they were not the ones blocking it.

Chuke added, the three sides tell us "we have not blocked the road." They want the issue addressed at higher levels.

Shingal is only 207 kilometers west of Erbil, but currently the only relatively safe route takes seven hours to traverse with several checkpoints belonging to various factions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Behind the scenes of the Gaza ceasefire talks
[Ynet] The unpleasant reception by the Egyptians at the Rafah border crossing, the prominent Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, figures visiting Gazoo for the first time, the strict compartmentalization of discussions, and what did Abbas do when he found himself pushed aside? All of the details on the discussions in Hamas over the proposed ceasefire agreement with Israel.

The arrival of the Hamas delegation to the Gazoo Strip was accompanied by quite a few difficulties, as it includes quite a few individuals that Israel would completely veto their presence in the area on any other day.

In addition to Saleh al-Arouri, the founder of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank and a criminal mastermind of violent attacks against Israelis in the past, the delegation also included Mahed Obeid, who replaced al-Arouri as the head of Hamas in the West Bank and was put in charge of directing terror attacks against Israelis from the territories; Mousa Doudin, who handles the matter of Paleostinian prisoners incarcerated
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:30 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Israel releases first pictures of sea barrier to defend against Gaza attacks
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Liberman says swift progress being made on under- and above-water defense against terror from Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run Strip
Photos of the thing can be seen at the link.
The Defense Ministry on Sunday revealed images of a new sea barrier being constructed to protect the country from attacks from the Gazoo Strip, with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman saying work was progressing at an "impressively fast" pace.

"Israel’s counter-terrorism capabilities around Gazoo are increasing every day," Liberman said.

"The work to erect the land and sea barrier around the Gazoo Strip is progressing at a fast and impressive rate," Liberman said. "Our ability prevent attacks near the Strip gets better all the time."

When completed it will be 200 meters (650 feet) long, 50 meters (160 feet) wide and six meters (20 feet) above the water. There will also be defensive infrastructure along the top of the barrier.

The barrier described by the ministry as an "impregnable breakwater," constructed in the area of Zikim beach adjacent to the coastal enclave, is designed to withstand being battered by waves and to last for many years, the ministry said when it began construction at the end of May.

Brigadier General Eran Ofir, the head of the Borders Administration, which is constructing the barrier, said the wall would be completed by the end of the year, adding that it would be made of three levels ‐ "an underwater level, then a level of armor stone, and a third layer of barbed wire."

The entire barrier itself is protected with another wire security fence.

When construction began on the barrier, Liberman described it as "the only one of its kind in the world."

The decision to build the barrier was prompted by an attack carried out during the 2014 war in Gazoo. On July 8, 2014, four Hamas naval commandos swam ashore outside Kibbutz Zikim on Israel’s southern coast.

The frogmen brought with them automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and explosives, the latter of which they used against an Israeli tank, unsuccessfully. Some 40 minutes after they came in from the surf, the Hamas operatives were killed in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air.

Initially presented by the military as an unmitigated victory, a leaked IDF review of the incident later showed the army’s response to be slower than previously thought and the Hamas commandos’ attack to be more accomplished than it had seemed.

The defensive sea shield comes in addition to work that began last year on a massive barrier Israel is constructing along its land border with the Gazoo Strip.

The work on the 37-mile (60-kilometer) barrier began in 2016 and is expected to be finished around the end of next year. It will feature an advanced underground protection system that extends dozens of meters below the ground ‐ the army does not reveal the depth ‐ in order to detect and destroy tunnels that attempt to penetrate into Israeli territory, as well as an aboveground metal fence adorned with sensors.

The project is expected to cost approximately NIS 3 billion ($833 million), with each kilometer of the underground portion of the barrier costing approximately NIS 41.5 million ($11.5 million). The aboveground fence is significantly cheaper at just NIS 1.5 million ($416,000) per kilometer.

The military proposed building this barrier, too, following the 2014 Gazoo war.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  No offense but it looks a bit small.
Posted by: 3dc || 08/06/2018 9:11 Comments || Top||

#2  No sharks with frickin' laser beams?
Posted by: Frank G || 08/06/2018 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Seems like a lot of money for a glorified jetty.
Posted by: gorb || 08/06/2018 15:22 Comments || Top||

#4  I would guess this is infrastructure for the service of the Leviathan gas field.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/06/2018 17:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Note the fuel handling facility to the north.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/06/2018 17:09 Comments || Top||


Iraq, Jordan ink deal on mutual cooperation, anti-terrorism war
AMMAN (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Jordan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. General Mahmoud Abdul Halim Freihat on Sunday discussed with visiting Iraqi Defense Minister Irfan Mahmoud Al Hayali aspects of joint cooperation and coordination as well as means to enhance bilateral ties, Petra News Agency reported.

On the sidelines of the visit, the two sides signed a military and security cooperation agreement in the presence of Iraqi Ambassador to Amman Safia al-Suhail and a number of senior military officials.

The agreement aims to exchange expertise and information on border protection, as well as improving intelligence capabilities and combating terrorism in all its forms.

The two sides also agreed to increase joint military exercises, boosting research and technology development and holding joint courses in the security and military fields.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Netanyahu says ‘committee’ to ease Druze outrage over state-law
[ALMASDARNEWS] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Jerusalem on Sunday after a new state-law defining Israel as a Jewish state caused mass anti-government rallies and provoked the ire of the Druze community.

Netanyahu defended his new state-law, saying: "Without the nation-state law the future of Israel as the Jewish nation state cannot be ensured for generations to come."

"The deep bond between the Druze community and our commitment to it are also essential. Therefore, today we will establish a special ministerial committee that will advance this bond," he added, regarding the ire of the Israeli Druze community.

Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's all BS

The Druze are more Israeli than most and they are Blood Brothers.

Nothing changes with this Law. Every other state around Israel is an Islamic state... Well, I get a Jewish State.
Posted by: newc || 08/06/2018 4:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Amazing link, newc. “The people behind this ...are radical left-wing activists.” Now I feel clever having noticed that in another article on the subject.

The Druze, as minority populations in every nation they inhabit, are carefully good citizens of whatever government they find themselves under. It has been with this attitude that they and the Jews of Israel approach each other.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/06/2018 13:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Interesting, indeed. Gosh, it's like every time you read a mainstream news story, someone is trying to sell you something that maybe you shouldn't ought to buy.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/06/2018 14:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran holds ex-central bank deputy for alleged economic crimes
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran has placed in durance vile
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
seven people including a former deputy central bank governor and five foreign exchange dealers for alleged economic crimes, the judiciary said on Sunday as the country prepares to face a return of US sanctions.

"The foreign exchange deputy of the central bank ..., who recently I heard has been deposed, has been detained," judiciary front man Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Ejei did not name the official but he appeared to be referring to Ahmad Araghchi, who some media reports had said was dismissed as deputy central bank governor after a wide public outcry and street protests over a rapid fall of Iran’s currency.

The rial currency has lost about half of its value since April because of a weak economy and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians who fear the effects of crippling US sanctions.

The central bank last week blamed "enemies" for the fall of the currency and a rapid rise in the prices of gold coins and the judiciary said 29 people had been arrested on charges that carry the death penalty
.

Besides the currency fall, the expected return of sanctions has triggered street protests and a public outcry over alleged profiteering and corruption.

Ejei said a person working in a government department headed by an unnamed deputy of President Hassan Rowhani, four unauthorized foreign exchange dealers and an employee of an exchange shop were also arrested.
Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Iran eases currency rules, hoping to buoy rial ahead of sanctions
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran will ease foreign exchange rules, state TV reported on Sunday, in a bid to halt a collapse of the rial currency that has lost half its value since April due to fears about US sanctions likely to be imposed this week.

President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's decision to pull out of an agreement to lift sanctions in return for Iran limiting its nuclear program caused a run on the rial as companies and savers bought hard currency to protect themselves from the economic sanctions that could be imposed from Monday.

The plunge in the currency and soaring inflation have sparked sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting anti-government slogans.

The central bank has blamed "enemies" for the fall of the currency, and the judiciary said 29 people had been jugged
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
on charges that carry the death penalty
. On Sunday, the judiciary said it had arrested a further seven people, including a former deputy central bank governor and five foreign exchange dealers.

A state body led by President Hassan Rowhani and including the heads of the judiciary and parliament on Sunday partially lifted a ban on the sale of foreign currency at floating rates, allowing exchange bureaux to sell at unofficial market rates for purposes such as overseas travel.

That reverses the decision in April to ban trading currency outside the rate of about 42,000 rials to the dollar

Ahead of the announcement of the new measures, the rial gained slightly on the unofficial market, trading at 98,500 to the dollar, compared with 103,000 on Saturday, according to foreign exchange website Boncast.com.

Central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said the plan reflected Iran's self-confidence in the face of the looming US sanctions.

"This shows our power. The same day you (Americans) impose sanctions we open our economy. We have no problems, so why should our people worry?," Hemmati said in a live televised interview.

To encourage Iranians to return their hard cash to the economy, the plan allows the central bank to set up dollar savings accounts for ordinary people, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  They may open their currency to the world. But what happens when the world closes on them?
Posted by: Shake || 08/06/2018 5:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Tehran seeks to emulate Lenin's NEP, the phony Soviet move to introduce a mixed economy and force rubles and hard currency out of hiding. It is recalled that investors lost everything.
Posted by: Harcourt Bucket3271 || 08/06/2018 9:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said the plan reflected Iran's self-confidence in the face of the looming US sanctions.

Whistling past the graveyard
Posted by: Frank G || 08/06/2018 9:26 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2018-08-06
  Saudi Arabia declares Canadian ambassador persona non grata, orders him to leave in 24 hours
Sun 2018-08-05
  Iran protesters attack religious school in province near Tehran
Sat 2018-08-04
  Death Toll Rises To 30 In Bombings On Paktia Mosque
Fri 2018-08-03
  Jordan army clashes with Islamic State militants fleeing Syrian forces
Thu 2018-08-02
  Egypt police kill five members of terrorist group Hasm in Nile Delta shootout
Wed 2018-08-01
  Man arrested after suspected homemade explosive device found at Vereeniging, South Africa mosque
Tue 2018-07-31
  It was terrorism: Iran denies any role in deadly Tajikistan attack
Mon 2018-07-30
  2 killed in Gaza blast during attempted launch of projectile toward Israel
Sun 2018-07-29
  Duterte invites the Abu Sayyaf to peace talks
Sat 2018-07-28
  Police enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, clash with worshipers in Temple Mount riots
Fri 2018-07-27
  Imran to be next PM
Thu 2018-07-26
  Houthis send missiles at tankers transiting from the Red Sea
Wed 2018-07-25
  Russian Air Force launches more than 40 airstrikes over southwest Syria
Tue 2018-07-24
  2 Syrian missiles with half-ton warheads trigger Israel's anti-missile system
Mon 2018-07-23
  Several dead in Kabul suicide blast as exiled VP Dostum returns

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