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Ex-US marine kills four, including infant in mother’s arms

By
IFP Media Wire
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The shooter, alleged by police to be Bryan Riley, 33, a former US marine, also allegedly wounded an 11-year-old girl in a shootout in Lakeland near Tampa in central Florida on Sunday. The girl underwent surgery for seven gunshot injuries.

Riley, who had no connection to the victims, allegedly exchanged fire with police before giving up. He later tried to grab an officer’s gun while being treated in the hospital for his own gunshot wound, before being subdued again, Polk county sheriff Grady Judd told a news conference.

A veteran of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Riley was working as a bodyguard and a security guard. His girlfriend of four years told investigators he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and occasional depression, Judd said.

About a week ago his mental health worsened and he told his girlfriend he had started speaking with God, Judd added.

“He said at one point to our detectives: ‘They begged for their lives and I killed them anyway’,” Judd stated at a second news conference.

Riley also told sheriff’s deputies he was allegedly high on methamphetamine, Judd continued.

Police allege the shooter first appeared randomly at the house where the shooting occurred on Saturday night, making nonsensical statements, but left by the time police responded.

He returned early on Sunday morning, killing a 40-year-old man, the 33-year-old mother and her baby boy, Judd said. In the home next door, he also killed the 62-year-old mother of the woman, the sheriff added.

“In addition to that, if he’s not evil enough, he shot and killed the family dog,” Judd said.

Deputies responding to reports of two volleys of automatic gunfire arrived to find the suspect unarmed outside, wearing camouflage and body armour. Riley then went back inside and “we heard another volley, and a woman scream and a baby whimper”, Judd added.

A gunfight ensued before he came out unarmed and was arrested.

“It would have been nice if he would have come out with a gun … We would have shot him up a lot. But he didn’t because he was a coward,” Judd continued, stating, “When someone chooses to give up, we take them into custody peacefully.”

Source: Reuters

NATO welcomes Russia, China cooperation in Afghan anti-terror drive

By
IFP Media Wire
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Russia and China should play a role in preventing terrorism from spreading in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of foreign troops, he told The Telegraph on Sunday.

“I strongly agree that the whole international community, including Russia and China, needs to work to prevent Afghanistan being a place where terrorist groups can operate freely and prepare, organize, plan, finance attacks against our own countries,” the chief said.

He acknowledged that the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15 was “of course… related to the fact that NATO allies decided to end this military mission in Afghanistan”.

Stoltenberg welcomed more European efforts on defense and stated that Europe and North America should maintain their bond, but stressed that calls for a new European military force following the withdrawal from Afghanistan must not undermine NATO’s command structures or divert resources from the alliance.

“Any attempt to establish parallel structures, duplicate the command structure, that will weaken our joint capability to work together because with scarce resources we need to prevent duplication and overlapping efforts. The specific proposals have not been discussed in NATO, we have not seen any details,” the NATO secretary general said.

The EU is set to propose a strategy document later this year that will address a proposal for a rapid entry force of several thousand troops. Calls for an autonomous European military capability have mounted in recent weeks after the US decision to pull out from Afghanistan led to the Taliban regaining control of the county.

He admitted that after over 20 years of foreign investment in Afghan security, it was reasonable to expect that they would have been able to withstand the Taliban for a longer time.

Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said on Tuesday that the chaos in Afghanistan is directly linked to the withdrawal of foreign troops and expressed hope that Western nations realize that pulling out forces is not the end of their responsibilities, and they should provide economic and humanitarian support to the Afghan people to help them enter the path to recovery.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for uniting international efforts on Afghanistan and making joint decisions on recognizing political forces. Putin emphasized that combined efforts were needed to effectively combat terrorism.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said on Friday that the European Union plans to coordinate contacts with the Taliban through a joint EU presence in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Palestine urges ICC to investigate Israel, settlers’ crimes

By
IFP Media Wire
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The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in a statement condemned the brutal repression of anti-settlement marches in various areas across the West Bank, particularly in the town of Beita, and sit-ins against the establishment of an illegal settlement outpost on the Palestinian lands in Jabal Sabih.

It also denounced the Israeli military’s attacks that targeted ambulances and Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank towns of Beita and Kafr Qaddoum, as well as in the Gaza Strip.

The foreign ministry stressed that the Israeli regime is pressing ahead with its aggression against the Palestinian nation, especially as it continues to raze buildings and aggressively distributes house demolition notices.

The statement also condemned the Israeli-run Al-Quds municipality’s forcing of Palestinian resident Ayman Abu Hadwan to self-demolish his home in the Wadi al-Rababa district of Silwan neighborhood.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it views with great seriousness the recent visit by Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Benny Gantz and his army staff to the Jabal Sabih area, and considers it a provocative move against Palestinian lands South of Nablus.

It called on the international community, the UN Security Council in particular, to exert maximum pressure on Israel to remove the illegal settlement outpost in Jabal Sabih, and to return the area that it has seized by force to its rightful owners.

The ministry added that sanctions on Israel will deter the occupying regime from further expropriation of Palestinian lands.

Back in March, former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced in a statement the launch of a war crimes investigation in the Palestinian territories, which have been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

She stated her probe would be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor”.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) welcomed the announcement.

It is “a long-awaited step that serves Palestine’s tireless pursuit of justice and accountability, which are indispensable pillars of the peace the Palestinian people seek and deserve”, the PA foreign ministry announced in a statement.

Hamas resistance movement also praised the ICC’s move at the time.

“We welcome the ICC decision to investigate Israeli occupation war crimes against our people. It is a step forward on the path of achieving justice for the victims of our people,” Hamas Spokesman Hazem Qassem stressed.

Meanwhile, more than a hundred international human rights organizations have called for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, warning against the consequences of any weapons trade with the occupying regime over its brutal aggression and atrocities in the Palestinian territories.

In an open letter to the member parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), 120 international organizations in the United States, Europe and Palestine stressed the need for the imposition of a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Tel Aviv, saying that any arms import from or arms export to the regime would make the ATT signatories complicit in its crimes against Palestinians.

“We, the undersigned global coalition of leaders – from civil society to academia, art, media, business, politics, indigenous and faith communities, and people of conscience around the world – call upon the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to act decisively to put an end to Israel’s notorious use of arms and military equipment for the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Palestinian civilians by immediately imposing a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Israel,” the letter added.

The groups pointed to the recent Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv’s attempts to forcefully evacuate Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Al-Quds, and the brutal repression of peaceful protesters in the occupied West Bank.

The rights organizations said the ATT countries have an obligation to end the Israeli regime’s use of arms for committing “serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Palestinian civilians”.

“This systematic brutality, perpetrated throughout the past seven decades of Israel’s colonialism, apartheid, pro-longed illegal belligerent occupation, persecution, and closure, is only possible because of the complicity of some governments and corporations around the world,” they added.

“Symbolic statements of condemnation alone will not put an end to this suffering. In accordance with the relevant rules of the ATT, States Parties have legal obligations to put an end to irresponsible and often complicit trade of conventional arms that undermines international peace and security, facilitates commission of egregious crimes, and threatens the international legal order,” they stated.

Underlining that Israel uses arms to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, the NGOs underscored imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel is both a legal and a moral obligation.

“ATT States Parties must immediately terminate any current, and prohibit any future transfers of conventional arms, munitions, parts and components … to Israel until it ends its illegal belligerent occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory and complies fully with its obligations under international law. Pending such an embargo, all States must immediately suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel,” the letter said.

The international organizations stressed that “a failure to take these actions entails a heavy responsibility for the grave suffering of civilians – more deaths, more suffering, as thousands of Palestinian men, women and children continue to bear the brutality of a colonial belligerent occupying force– which would result in discrediting the ATT itself”.

“It also renders States parties complicit in internationally wrongful acts through the aiding or abetting of international crimes,” they added.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Al-Quds. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

Moreover, the Israeli regime’s plans in April to force a number of Palestinian families out of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah coupled with violent raids on worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque prompted Palestinian retaliation from Gaza, which was followed by a brutal Israeli bombing campaign against the besieged strip on May 10. About 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed in the 11-day Israeli offensive.

Source: Press TV

Iran cabinet gives confidence vote to Khuzestan chief

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Iran’s cabinet chaired by President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi convened on Sunday and gave a vote of confidence to the proposed governor-general of Khuzestan.

Khalilian who is a former agriculture minister holds a PhD in natural resource economics. He replaces Qasem Soleimani Dashtaki.

Khuzestan was in recent months the scene of protests over severe water shortage, triggered by the worst drought in decades.

Taliban invites Iran, others to Afghan cabinet announcement ceremony

By
IFP Media Wire
-

The Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan have invited a number of countries to take part in an event dedicated to the announcement of the composition of the new Afghan government, the group’s representative whose name was not revealed told the Al-Jazeera TV channel on Monday.

“We have sent invitations to Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar to take part in the [ceremony] of announcing [the composition of the new Afghan] government,” he said.

The TV channel’s interlocutor also noted that the necessary procedures for the announcement of the composition of the new cabinet had been completed by now. He added that the Taliban would create “a regime that will be accepted by the global community and the Afghan people”.

After the US announced the end of its operation in Afghanistan and the beginning of its troop withdrawal, the Taliban launched an offensive against Afghan government forces. On August 15, Taliban militants swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, establishing full control over the country’s capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani claimed he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country.

Iran: JCPOA revival talks to resume

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh reiterated during his weekly briefing on Monday that there is a consensus in Iran’s establishment that talks aimed at ensuring the United States’ full compliance with the JCPOA and the UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the deal will resume.

“The United Sates must come to Vienna with a genuine agenda, and Iran will not wait forever as America uses its illegal sanctions as leverage to pressure the people,” The Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Khatibzadeh said the American side must know that a Trump era mentality will result in nothing but maximum failure, adding that future talks must guarantee Iran’s national interests.

“These negotiations must provide a guarantee that benefits of sanctions removal as stipulated in the JCPOA will be completely ensured,” He added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that the Vienna talks can quickly produce results if the United States refrains from demanding more or less than what the 2015 nuclear deal requires.

Khatibzadeh also sharply criticized Europe’s inaction in the face of repeated U.S. violations over the past years.

Former U.S President Donald Trump withdrew America from the deal in May 2018 and re-imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran in a bid to force Tehran to renegotiate the nuclear deal, but the Islamic Republic refused to do so and in response rolled back some of it commitments under the JCPOA

Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal namely Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany have held six rounds of talks in Vienna in recent months on a possible return of the United States to the agreement.

Also referring to the ongoing developments in Afghanistan, Khatibzadeh condemned “in the strongest terms” the Taliban attack on Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley in north of Kabul on Sunday night.

He stressed there is only a political solution to the issue of Panjshir Valley which is the last Afghan province holding out against Taliban control.

In response to a question about reports of Pakistani involvement in the Taliban operation against Panjshir, Khatibzadeh said the foreign ministry is looking into these reports and that any foreign intervention in Afghanistan is condemned.

 

The Silk House: One of Iran’s Magnificent Historical Monuments

By
IFP Editorial Staff
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Dating back to the Qajar era, the building has been registered on Iran’s List of National Heritage Sites.

The monument boasts a host of wall paintings, a variety of architectural patterns and Persian miniatures which dates back to the Qajar Dynasty, making the Silk House stand out among ancient structures both in Tabriz and even in the whole country.

Due to the exquisite paintings on the walls of its rooms, the Silk House is known as the most beautiful historical house in Tabriz.

The Silk House, in fact, contains three historical houses constructed on a site measuring more than 1,500 square metres with a superstructure measuring around 4,000 square meters in total.

The wall paintings are inspired by myths and Koranic stories such as the saga of Yousef and Zolaykha as well as other historical accounts.

The paintings on the roofs are a potent and wonderful representation of the Persian miniature.

Wall paintings and murals were among the most popular artworks during the Qajar era.

Palestinians escape high-security Israeli prison after digging tunnel

By
IFP Media Wire
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State broadcaster Kan quoted the Israeli Prisons Service as saying that the detainees tunneled out of the high-security prison.

It added five of the prisoners belonged to the Islamic Jihad Movement, and one was a former commander of the Fatah movement.

Israel’s daily Maariv reported that a police contingent had arrived at the prison, and a security operation was launched.

All the inmates were serving life sentences, according to the Israeli website Walla news.

Haaretz newspaper also reported  that the six were cellmates and the tunnel they dug reached dozens of meters in depth.

Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum noted that “this great victory proves again that the will and determination of our brave soldiers inside the prisons of the enemy cannot be defeated”, according to Reuters.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced he spoke with Israel’s internal security minister and “emphasized that this is a grave incident that requires an across-the-board effort by the security forces” to find the escapees.

Abdullah urges Iran to send humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Abdulalh Abdulalh made the remarks in a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

Referring to the dire situation in Afghanistan, Abdulalh urged Iran to dispatch its humanitarian assistance to the country.   

He also congratulated Iran’s Foreign Minister on his appointment as the Islamic Republic’s top diplomat. 

The two sides agreed on the need to fight the heinous phenomenon of terrorism. 

They also discussed the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of all Afghan ethnic groups and factions, reaffirming that only Afghan people should determine their fate.

Anti-Taliban resistance spokesman killed in Panjshir

By
IFP Media Wire
-

Reports about Dashti’s death appeared on a resistance Twitter account. 

“With the heavy heart we can report that Fahim Dushti, the spokesperson for the Resistance front has been killed by the terrorist Taliban,” the tweet reads.

No further details were given.

Earlier on Sunday, Dashti wrote on his Twitter account that Taliban fighters had been practically driven out of the region.

After the Joe Biden administration announced the end of its US military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces. 

On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani claimed he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Vice President Amrullah Saleh stated that under the constitution, he becomes “the caretaker president” in the absence of the president and called for armed resistance against the Taliban.

The northern province of Panjshir is the only pocket of resistance to the Taliban. It is led by Ahmad Massoud, a son of Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001), a once influential leader of Afghanistan’s Tajik community who fought against the Taliban back in the 1990s.

Source: Khaama Press

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