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Iran’s Hamedan designated as Asian Capital of Tourism in 2024

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Hamedan

The decision was announced on Wednesday by the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF), which seeks to boost cooperation between mayors of Asian cities.

The city’s mayor, Massoud Hosseini, expressed gratitude to the Hamedan City Council and the Municipal Tourism Headquarters to introduce the city’s tourism potential to the world.

Hamedan, home to the Ali Sadr Cave, Abu Ali Sina Mausoleum, Ganjnameh Ancient Inscriptions, and Alaviyan Dome, is known as a treasure trove of tourism in Iran.

Mohammad Javad Zarei, the Director of Communications and International Affairs of Hamadan Municipality, said the AMF also picked the city of Shiraz in southern Iran as the Environmental Capital and the city of Ghobeiry in Lebanon as the Cultural Capital of Asia for the year 2024.

Iranian city of Sarakhs hit by dust storm, schools shuttered

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran Dust

The Crisis Management Headquarters of the city, bordering Turkmenistan, decided to close all schools in the city due to the air pollution caused by dust particles.

The Sarakhs Railway Terminal also announced that the sandstorm on the railway track has canceled all cargo and passenger travels.

Further disruptions are likely over the coming days amid predictions of severe dust storms.

Sand and dust storms have intensified in almost all parts of Iran during the past years.

Decline in rainfall, droughts, dried-up rivers, drop in dam water supplies, the overgrazing of livestock in pastures, and construction of dams are cited as some of the reasons for the phenomenon.

Official: Iran caught in ‘critical’ population trap, has only 5 years to extricate itself

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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The Iranian president’s Special Inspector, Hassan Darvishian, said on a provincial tour on Wednesday that population growth is the ‘gravest’ concern currently plaguing the country.

He said, “We are caught in a very critical population trap and if we cannot overcome this trap in the next five years, we will have a very deplorable situation in the future.”

Darvishian admitted that Iran has an imbalance of gas and water consumption, but argued that the crisis of population ageing dwarfs all other crises.

Experts have issued stark warnings that over 30% of the population in Iran, or 35 million, will be categorized as elderly by 2050.

They attribute the critically low fertility rates to social and economic reasons.

UN Security Council adopts resolution calling for halt to Houthi attacks in Red Sea

By
IFP Media Wire
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Yemen Houthis

Eleven members of the council voted on Wednesday for the measure calling on the Yemeni Houthis to “immediately cease all attacks, which impede global commerce and navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace”.

Four members – Algeria, China, Mozambique and Russia – abstained. None voted against. As permanent members of the council, China and Russia have vetoes but chose not to use them.

“The world’s message to the Houthis today was clear: Cease these attacks immediately,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement after the vote.

“With this resolution, the Council has lived up to its responsibility to help ensure the free flow of lawful transit through the Red Sea continues unimpeded,” Thomas-Greenfield added.

The US sponsored the resolution alongside Japan.

The US says the Iran-backed Houthis have carried out 26 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea since commandeering the Galaxy Leader and its 25-strong multinational crew on November 19.

The Houthis claim they are targeting Israeli-linked or Israel-bound vessels in protest against the ongoing war on Gaza.

The key provision of the resolution noted the right of United Nations member states, in accordance with international law, “to defend their vessels from attack, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms”.

The provision amounts to an implicit endorsement of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a US-led multinational naval task force, including the United Kingdom and Norway, that was established in December to defend commercial shipping from Houthi attacks.

Norway has one of the world’s largest merchant shipping fleets, and its vessels have been targeted by the Houthis.

The US accuses Iran of providing critical support for the Houthi attacks, including advanced missiles and drones, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Tehran denies the allegations.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee in Yemen, dismissed the UN resolution as a “political game” and claimed Washington was the one violating international law.

He called on the UN Security Council to release the people in Gaza from what he called “the largest prison in which collective criminal punishment is practiced”.

He argued that what “the Yemeni armed forces are doing comes within the framework of legitimate defense” and that the United States, Britain, and Israel are the ones violating international law in their response to Gaza.

“The decision that was adopted regarding the security of navigation in the Red Sea is a political game, and the United States is the one violating international law,” he said of the UNSC vote.

EU needs Moscow more than we need them:  Russia’s Putin

By
IFP Media Wire
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Vldimir Putin

The president made his remarks during a meeting with residents of Russia’s far eastern region of Chukotka on Wednesday. Among other things, Putin was asked about threats received by a local volunteer group that supports the country’s military amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The president noted that Russians regularly receive threats from abroad, but “this doesn’t scare us.” He advised the EU to instead focus on their domestic issues.

“They should think about themselves, what they will eat tomorrow, what they will wear,” Putin continued, adding, “They all have a ton of problems that are incompatible with our problems.”

“Even the leading economies of Europe are going through difficult times. We are growing and they are in decline… As it turns out, they are more dependent on us than we are dependent on them.”

Russia became the world’s most-sanctioned country after launching its military operation in the neighboring state in February 2022. Many Western states have imposed several rounds of sweeping penalties on Moscow, with the latest restrictions targeting the country’s diamond trade.

While Putin did not single out any particular state, his statement apparently referred to the situation in the EU’s long-time powerhouse, Germany. According to a fresh report by Bloomberg, which cited the data from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, the country has likely entered a recession, with industrial production dropping for the sixth straight month in November.

“Disappointing November production data and the recent business expectations deterioration point to a bumpy start to the year for industry,” Bloomberg wrote.

While the country’s economy is expected to show slightly better results in the first quarter of the year, it might dip even further later into 2024, Bloomberg’s economists warned.

Netanyahu claims Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
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Benjamin Netanyahu

In a video posted on X on Wednesday, he says: “I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.”

He adds: “Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.”

“Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages. Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarised and deradicalised, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike.”

On Thursday, the ICJ will hear South Africa’s petition seeking to investigate Israel for war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Israel first called for residents in the northern Gaza Strip to move to the south soon after the assault began on Oct. 7, despite warnings that such a mass migration would lead to a humanitarian disaster. Many did, hoping the south would be safer, but there have been many attacks in the southern Gaza Strip too.

Israeli bombardment has killed thousands of civilians in the areas of the Gaza Strip that Israel has ordered them to move to.

The Palestinian Hamas movement has denounced as “a war crime accompanied by criminal aggression” the latest call by Israeli officials for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged region in order for extremist settlers to return to the area after the war.

The group said that the international community and the United Nations must take decisive actions to stop the Israeli regime’s crimes and hold its leaders accountable for what they have done to the Palestinian people.

“Our people have declared their position. They will stand firmly and steadfastly in the face of all attempts to displace them from their land and homes, until full liberation of the occupied territories and return of all refugees,” it added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also emphasized that Palestinians will remain steadfast in defense of their legitimate rights, and will not accept displacement from their land at all.

Arab countries have previously warned that an influx of Palestinian refugees fleeing the war would be unacceptable because it would amount to the expulsion of Palestinians from their land.

Nearly 23,500 people have been killed in over three months of Israeli onslaught on the blockaded enclave.

Hamas deplores Blinken remarks ‘justifying genocide’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Blinken

Hamas made the remarks in a statement on Wednesday, a day after Blinken, during his Middle East tour, reiterated Washington’s unwavering support for the Israeli aggression against Gazans.

Hamas said the Blinken’s remarks are “miserable attempts” to wash the hands of the occupying regime of the blood of the people in Gaza, adding that they reflect the extent of US involvement in these crimes and the widespread violations of all international laws committed by the Israeli military in the blockaded territory.

The group asserted, “We reject the fallacies and misleading narrative that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken still insists on repeating, 96 days after the barbaric Zionist aggression against Palestinian civilians, which continues with the full support of President Biden’s administration.”

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Blinken said the US continued to stand with Israel in its mission to “ensure that October 7 never happens again”.

He went on to say that “facing an enemy that embeds itself among civilians – who hides in and fires from schools, from hospitals – makes this incredibly challenging.”

Blinken further noted that the war could “have ended on October 8” if Hamas had given up its weapons and released Israeli captives.

The US diplomat also stated that South Africa’s recent genocide charge against Israel is “meritless.” However, he said, the daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly on children, is far too high.

Blinken also added the US is focused on bringing the remaining Israeli captives home, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, avoiding further civilian losses, and preventing the conflict from spreading in the region.

The Israeli regime waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Palestinians.

Since the start of the aggression, Israel has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Over 59,000 Palestinians have also been wounded.

The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Lebanon lodges new UN complaint against Israel amid border tension

By
IFP Media Wire
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Lebanon Israel

A foreign ministry statement said the complaint “includes documented evidence of Israel’s violation of Resolution 1701″.

The statement accused Israel “of distorting facts by holding Lebanon responsible for its blatant transgressions on its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Adopted on Aug. 11, 2006, Resolution 1701 calls for a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.

It calls for Israel to withdraw behind the Blue Line and disarmament of the region between this line and the Litani River in Lebanon, allowing only the Lebanese army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to possess weapons and military equipment in the area.

Last week, Lebanon filed a UN complaint against Israel over an airstrike that killed Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in the capital Beirut.

Tensions have escalated along Lebanon’s border with Israel since the Israeli army launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, amid an exchange of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.

PA chief Abbas ejects proposals to relocate Gazans in meeting with Blinken

By
IFP Media Wire
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Blinken and Abbas

Abbas discussed the importance of efforts to “stop the Israeli aggression” against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the importance of “accelerating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip”, according to the report.

He also highlighted statements made by Israeli ministers and officials that “call for the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their land”, and stressed his government’s “complete rejection of the displacement of any Palestinian citizen” in Gaza or the West Bank.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday told NBC that the resettlement of Palestinians out of Gaza is “outright, officially and unequivocally” not Israel’s position.

Abbas told Blinken that any plans by the Israeli government to separate or divide the Gaza Strip would be unacceptable.

He added that the conflict needs to end in order for an internationally legitimate political solution, including the creation of a Palestinian state, to be implemented, according to the statement.

Blinken, in meetings with Israeli government leaders Tuesday, had said the Israeli government must move toward a two-state solution if it wants the help of Arab partners in the region with lasting security.

He also stressed that Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes in Gaza “as soon as conditions allow” and must not be displaced from the enclave,

Sky News Arabia has also reported that the meeting between Abbas and Blinken was described as “tense” and involving “quarrels and arguments”.

Israel first called for residents in the northern Gaza Strip to move to the south soon after the assault began on Oct. 7, despite warnings that such a mass migration would lead to a humanitarian disaster. Many did, hoping the south would be safer, but there have been many attacks in the southern Gaza Strip too.

Israeli bombardment has killed thousands of civilians in the areas of the Gaza Strip that Israel has ordered them to move to.

The Palestinian Hamas movement has denounced as “a war crime accompanied by criminal aggression” the latest call by Israeli officials for Palestinian residents of Gaza to leave the besieged region in order for extremist settlers to return to the area after the war.

Poll: Arabs view Hamas October attack on Israel as ‘legitimate resistance operation’

By
IFP Media Wire
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Israel Hostages

The survey, which also showed a majority support for Hamas, was based on a sample of 8,000 respondents, men and women, from 16 Arab countries.

Of the 90 percent who viewed the assault as legitimate, 19 percent of respondents said it was somewhat flawed but legitimate, while three percent said it was legitimate but involved heinous or criminal acts. Only five percent viewed it as an illegitimate operation.

According to the study, Arabic public opinion did not believe the attack was launched to pursue a foreign agenda.

Nearly 35 percent of respondents said the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories was the most important reason behind the attack. Around 24 percent attributed it to defending Al-Aqsa Mosque against Israeli violations and eight percent attributed it to the ongoing blockade of Gaza.

There was also an “Arab consensus” of 92 percent of respondents expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, the poll showed.

A total of 69 percent expressed solidarity with Palestinians and support for Hamas, while 23 percent expressed solidarity with Palestinians but opposed Hamas.

Other findings showed that the majority of respondents expressed psychological stress due to the war, rejected comparisons between Hamas and Islamic State, and viewed the US position negatively.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,500 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

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