Having lost her parents in violence in her country, the little girl made it to the Iranian border where commandos of the Iranian Army stationed at no man’s land at Dogharoon border crossing picked her up and took her to safety.
The violence in Afghanistan has taken a huge material as well as human toll, making many children orphaned.
Thousands of Afghans have flocked to Iran-Afghanistan borders following the chaotic withdrawal of the US forces and the Taliban’s take-over of the country.
Department Chief Tom Manger will provide a security briefing to top lawmakers on Monday about the rally, a source familiar with the meeting said.
The source added US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to the briefing.
“We have a robust security posture planned for September 18th,” the US Capitol Police statement said, adding, “All available staff will be working.”
The law enforcement officials are bracing for potential clashes and unrest during the rally after seeing a noticeable uptick in violent rhetoric around the event on social media and discussion boards, according to an internal Capitol Police memo.
The “Justice for J6” rally, planned for the area around the US Capitol, is intended to protest the treatment of the more than 600 people arrested for participating in the January 6 siege of the building. Mobs of supporters of Trump stormed the building while Congress was meeting to certify President Joe Biden’s November election win.
The demonstration is being organized by Look Ahead America, a nonprofit led by Matt Braynard, who worked on Trump’s presidential campaign.
The January 6 attack was the worst violence at the Capitol since the British invasion during the War of 1812.
Four people died on the day of the violence, one shot to death by police and the other three of natural causes. A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day. Four police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives.
Source: CNN and Reuters
In a lengthy statement issued from the ousted leader’s Twitter account on Wednesday, Ghani began by saying that he “owes the Afghan people an explanation for leaving Kabul abruptly on August 15” after the Taliban closed in on the capital.
The former president remarked that he left on the advice of palace security.
“Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life,” Ghani insisted, but insisted that the move had been the “only way to keep guns silent” and save the capital “and her six million citizens”.
Ghani then blasted “baseless allegations” that he had fled the country with “millions of dollars belonging to the Afghan people”, slamming them as “completely and categorically false”.
The ex-leader added that “corruption is a plague”, and that battling it was a focal element of his presidency as he had inherited “a monster that could not easily or quickly be defeated”.
Ghani stated he would also welcome an official investigation by the UN or other international body to prove his innocence.
The deposed leader finished by apologizing to his countrymen for how his time in power had ended, noting, “It is with deep and profound regret that my own chapter ended in similar tragedy to my predecessors – without ensuring stability and prosperity.”
Ghani’s comments come after the Taliban announced the formation of a new government on Tuesday, with several of its ministers featuring on the UN Security Council sanction list. Four former Guantanamo inmates have also been appointed as high-ranking acting ministers.
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry announced on August 18 that Ghani and his family had been granted entry into the country “on humanitarian grounds” after the leader retreated. Initial reports stated that he had gone to nearby Tajikistan, but was denied permission to land, prompting him to go to Oman, and then onto the UAE.
Ghani fled Afghanistan on August 15 after Taliban militants seized control of Kabul, and resigned from his post. The Russian Embassy in Kabul claimed that the ousted leader made a swift exit with so much cash that some of it had to be abandoned at the airport.
Source: RT
Kazem Gharibabadi attributed this decision to the failure of the other sides to the Iran nuclear deal to abide by their obligations under the 2015 agreement.
Gharibabadi told IRIB that Iran reduced its obligations under the nuclear deal in response to the US withdrawal and the European troika’s failure to stick by their part of the deal.
The Iranian representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, added that Iran’s nuclear activities including enrichment of uranium to 20 or 60 percent or the production of enriched uranium metal have nothing to do with Iran’s safeguard commitments.
Gharibabadi said Iran is the most transparent country in terms of its nuclear activities, adding that there are no ambiguities surrounding Iran’s nuclear commitments to the IAEA.
According to Gharibabadi, Iran has agreed to the highest number of inspections by the agency and all its nuclear activities are in keeping with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, NPT, and the Safeguards Agreement.
He maintained that no one has the right to demand Iran live up to obligations under a deal they themselves have violated in terms of their commitments to remove anti-Iran sanctions.
Early on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers with dogs scoured gaps in Israel’s separation wall near the Palestinian town of Yaabad near Jenin, while reconnaissance aircraft flew above.
Tensions were high in the Jenin area as gunfire reverberated throughout the camp on Tuesday night and Palestinian fighters promised to act if Israeli forces harmed the escapees or other Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
It is unclear where the six Palestinians are hiding. The men were believed to have been headed for Jenin, where their families are based, and where the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority wields little control.
Hundreds of Israeli security forces and intelligence agents on Wednesday continued the search for the six Palestinian prisoners who tunneled out of Gilboa jail on Monday.
Meanwhile, dozens of checkpoints were erected between the West Bank and Israel, as Israeli authorities feared armed Palestinians might attack Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank or within Israel.
Jamal Zubeidi, 65, the uncle of one of the prisoners, said the family expected Israeli soldiers to invade the camp at any time.
“We don’t know when they will come but we expect them any time and we are prepared,” Zubeidi told Al-Jazeera, adding, “Our family has suffered from the Israeli occupation for many years.”
The escapees included Zakariya Zubeidi, 46, a former Fatah party leader in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, as well as five Palestinian Islamic Jihad members.
Islamic Jihad also warned Israel against harming the six men.
Despite the tense atmosphere at the Jenin refugee camp, many young men cheered the escape of the six prisoners, as well as the possibility of standing up to Israeli forces if they enter the camp.
“The guys are not scared. They are fighting for their rights,” Noor Saadi, 27, who previously spent two years in an Israeli jail, told Al-Jazeera.
Since the stunning prisoner escape, the Israel Prison Service has broken up groups of Islamic Jihad members in various prisons.
It also evacuated 90 Palestinian prisoners out of a total of 360 held in Gilboa, as the facility undergoes an intensive inspection.
Israel announced apprehending the six men was a matter of urgency, not only to prevent potential attacks, but also because their escape emboldened gunmen from various factions to confront the Israeli militarily.
Since the escape, Israeli soldiers have raided several villages near Jenin, confiscating film from surveillance cameras and checking the identities of car occupants. Israeli soldiers have also increased their presence in public places in Israel.
Three Palestinians from the village of Noura in northern Israel were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of aiding the prisoners in their escape.
According to Israel, one of the escapees was captured by surveillance cameras in the town’s mosque.
Al-Jazeera witnessed Israeli troops invading the village of Arrabunah, southwest of Jenin, on Tuesday night where soldiers confiscated footage from surveillance cameras before groups of young Palestinians threw stones at them. Shortly afterwards, the soldiers withdrew.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers positioned themselves on the hills overlooking the village of Deir Ghazzalah, which lies near the Israeli separation wall between the northern West Bank and Israel. A surveillance drone hovered over the village at night.
In recent weeks, there have been numerous clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in Jenin and Beita.
Two weeks ago, at least four Palestinian men were shot dead during confrontations with the Israeli Army in the Jenin refugee camp during a raid by Israeli special forces to arrest a wanted Palestinian man.
Witnesses stated a group of Palestinians engaged in clashes with members from the Israeli police’s Musta’ribeen – an undercover unit made up of Israelis disguised as Palestinians.
“China expresses serious concern and resolutely opposes NATO’s constant hyping of the theory on Chinese nuclear threat. China has always adhered to the defensive nature of its nuclear strategy and maintained its nuclear potential at the lowest level in line with the needs of state security,” Wang told a briefing, adding that the alliance should abandon the policy of nuclear sharing for the sake of arms control.
NATO should withdraw a large number of nuclear weapons deployed across Europe and ensure that the United States assumes special responsibility for a significant reduction of its own arsenal so that nuclear disarmament is full and comprehensive, the spokesman maintained.
China poses no threat to any country unless it is targeted or threatened first, the diplomat stated.
“China strictly adheres to its policy of never being the first to use nuclear weapons under any circumstances, Beijing has made a clear unconditional commitment not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones,” Wang explained.
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the annual Weapons of Mass Destruction conference that while Russia refuses to comply with international arms control rules, China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, including through large-scale building of new nuclear missile silos.
Beijing has never participated in the nuclear arms race in any way and has not deployed nuclear weapons outside the country, he went on, stressing that the national forces would not target countries that have no intention of threatening or harming the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of China.
Source: Xinhua news agency
France’s top court on Tuesday announced cement giant Lafarge should face investigation on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity for financing the terrorist group Daesh in northern Syria.
The Court of Cassation also upheld charges that the cement giant financed terrorism.
Overturning an appeals court ruling dismissing charges that Lafarge was complicit in a crime against humanity, the top court asked the lower court to reconsider the case with different judges.
It stated that only the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights could be involved in the case as a civil party and that the anti-corruption group Sherpa would not be involved.
Documents obtained by Anadolu Agency showed that the cement giant told French intelligence agencies about its ties with the Daesh terror group.
The documents exposed how Lafarge, charged with complicity in crimes against humanity over funding Daesh operations in Syria, had a relationship with Daesh that French intelligence was fully aware of.
Documents showed that French intel agencies used Lafarge’s network of relations, its cooperation with terror groups in Syria, and meetings to get news from the region and maintain its operations there. They also revealed that French intelligence did not warn the company that they were committing a crime.
Raisi told President of the European Council Charles Michel in a phone call that any such move would be disruptive to negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.
“The Islamic Republic’s serious cooperation with the agency is a clear example of Iran’s determination to make its nuclear activities transparent. It is natural that in case of any unconstructive approach at the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is not logical to expect Iran to react constructively,” Raisi noted.
His comments come ahead of a meeting of the 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors next week.
The Iranian president stressed that it was America not Iran which withdrew from and violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Raisi said the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has failed to change America’s policies towards Iran, adding that the U.S. is maintaining its anti-Iran pressure and sanctions.
He also criticized Europeans for failing to live up to their obligations under the nuclear deal.
Raisi also touched on the situation in Afghanistan, stressing that the presence of foreign forces there resulted in “nothing but war, bloodshed and destruction”.
He called for international cooperation to help Afghanistan form a government that is trusted by the people and can restore peace and security.
The president of the European Council said for his part that sanctions have adversely impacted relations between Iran and the European Union and that is one of the reasons why the concept of strategic autonomy has become important for the European Union.
“The European Union is inclined to remain an honest partner for Iran so as to see more stability in the region,” Michel said.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid yesterday to continue conversations following Prime Minister [Naftali] Bennett’s recent visit and to exchange Rosh Hashanah greetings,” the State Department said in a release.
“The Secretary and the Minister discussed the importance of the US- Israel bilateral relationship, and Secretary Blinken invited Minister Lapid to visit Washington soon,” it added.
Both diplomats have underscored the importance of holding consultations on regional and security topics, including on Afghanistan, Iran and China, according to the release.
During a meeting with US President Joe Biden in August, the new Israeli PM Bennett stated Washington and Tel Aviv had developed a comprehensive strategy to halt Iran’s aggressive behavior in the middle East to permanently prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Source: RIA Novosti
In the Tuesday speech, Merkel warned Germans against voting for the center-left Social Democrats party (SPD), ahead of the upcoming general election, which will be held on September 26.
Merkel said the choice was one between a “moderate” government or one with the SPD and the Green Party, which she said would accept support from the Left Party.
The outcome will be “either a government consisting of the SPD and the Greens, who accept support through the Left or at least don’t rule it out … or a government led by CDU and CSU under a Chancellor Armin Laschet, a government that leads our country into the future with moderation”, she added.
When members of the German parliament began shouting at the chancellor, who were reportedly agitated by her uncommon criticism of the SPD – her coalition partners since 2013 – she stated, “I’m only telling the truth.”
Merkel and the CDU have governed Germany for 16 consecutive years. But her proposed replacement, Laschet, and the party, have fallen in the polls in past weeks.
The SPD has emerged as the strongest political force just one month out from the election. Current polls put the SPD as favorites at 25%, while the CDU/CSU sit at 20% and the Greens at 17%.
SPD’s chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz has not ruled out a coalition with the Left Party.
Source: POLITICO
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