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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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Iranian Tanker Piracy talks: Zarif insists on immediate release, Jeremy Hunt gives conditions

navyIranian oil supertanker Grace 1 - Royal
© REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo
A British Royal Navy patrol vessel guards the oil supertanker Grace 1
London vowed to "facilitate" the release of the Iranian oil tanker captured in Gibraltar if Tehran guarantees its destination is not Syria while Iran said it would continue to export oil "under any circumstances."

The UK would agree to set free the Iranian tanker the British marines seized in Gibraltar if Tehran reassures it that the vessel will not go to Syria, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone conversation.

Newspaper

Hezbollah says Trump administration aims to open communication channels with movement

Hassan Nasrallah
© AP Photo / Bilal Hussein
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of the Hezbollah movement, said that US President Donald Trump's administration sought to open channels of communication with the Shiite group.

"The Trump administration is seeking to open channels of communication with Hezbollah via intermediaries," Nasrallah said, as quoted by Al-Manar broadcaster.

Previously, Hezbollah's leader cautioned the US against striking Iran. He insisted that if Washington attacks the Islamic Republic, the whole region will rise against it and its interests in the Middle East.

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Brick Wall

Striking a blow to smuggler's business model: Trump may finalize deal with Guatemala to block migrants from applying for asylum in US

Central American migrant caravan
© Moises Castillo/AP Photo, File
President Donald Trump's deputies may soon finalize a "safe third country" deal with Guatemala that would allow U.S. border officials to legally block most migrants from even applying for asylum, according to the New Yorker magazine.

The Guatemala deal would create a legal wall on the U.S. border that would prevent migrants from asking for asylum or getting released into the United States, according to the outlet:
According to a draft of the agreement, which The New Yorker has obtained, asylum seekers from any country who either show up at U.S. ports of entry or are apprehended while crossing between ports of entry could be sent to seek asylum in Guatemala instead ... Under this new arrangement, most of these migrants will no longer have a chance to make an asylum claim in the U.S. at all. "We're talking about something much bigger than what the term 'safe third country' implies," someone with knowledge of the deal told me. "We're talking about a kind of transfer agreement where the U.S. can send any asylum seekers, not just Central Americans, to Guatemala."
Pro-migration advocates are appalled because they are concerned the agreement might effectively bar the catch and release of the many economic migrants who ask for asylum at the U.S. border.

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Bad Guys

Top Puerto Rico officials resign after exposure of controversial group chat; Governor Rossello resisting calls for his resignation

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello
Two of Puerto Rico's top government officials resigned on Saturday following the publication of a bombshell group chat in which Governor Ricardo Rossello and his closest allies exchanged controversial messages that have led to widespread calls for Rossello to also step down.

The political turmoil comes at a critical stage in the U.S. commonwealth's historic bankruptcy and as its officials seek billions of dollars in funding from the federal government for healthcare and for recovery efforts following devastating hurricanes in 2017.

It also follows a 32-count federal indictment and arrests on Wednesday of six people, including two former high-ranking Puerto Rico government officials, who were charged with conspiracy and other crimes in connection with millions of dollars in federal Medicaid and education funds.

Two of the 12-member group chat - Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marin and Christian Sobrino, the island's chief financial officer and Rossello's representative on Puerto Rico's federally created fiscal oversight board - left the government following Saturday's release by Puerto Rico journalist group Centro de Periodismo Investigativo of 889 pages of text messages.

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Snakes in Suits

"Disgrace": Senior French minister caught throwing lavish parties on taxpayer money

lobster champagne
© 1195798 / luow / Pixabay
FILE PHOTO
A senior official in France finds himself embroiled in controversy after claims he used public funds to throw lavish parties with vintage wine and exquisite meals. His attitude leaves a stain on French politics, analysts told RT.

Ecology Minister Francois de Rugy often campaigns for government transparency and has criticized other politicians involved in financial scandals. He got a taste of his own medicine earlier this week when investigative website Mediapart alleged that he hosted more than 10 luxurious dinner parties in which the guests enjoyed lobster, as well as fine wine and champagne - all paid for with taxpayer money. This reportedly took place when de Rugy was the head of the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly.

The scandal prompted calls for de Rugy to resign, which he refused to do. He dismissed the story as a "grotesque" smear, claiming he does not eat lobster due to a "shellfish allergy" and avoids champagne because it gives him "a headache."

Comment: If the minister did claim these items on his expenses then they'll appear in his accounts, and, if he is lying found to be lying, then he should be sacked immediately. This kind of outrageous, oblivious behaviour is commonplace in Western governments these days and it's no wonder populist and protest movements are erupting throughout Europe: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal #26: Globalization vs Nationalism - The Hidden Causes of The Yellow Vest Protests in France


Star of David

Did Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein Work For Mossad?

Epstein Mossad
The extent of Israeli spying directed against the United States is a huge story that is only rarely addressed in the mainstream media. The Jewish state regularly tops the list for ostensibly friendly countries that aggressively conduct espionage against the U.S. and Jewish American Jonathan Pollard, who was imprisoned in 1987 for spying for Israel, is now regarded as the most damaging spy in the history of the United States.

Hollywood Producer & Israeli Spy Arnon Milchan

Last week I wrote about how Israeli spies operating more-or-less freely in the U.S. are rarely interfered with, much less arrested and prosecuted, because there is an unwillingness on the part of upper echelons of government to do so.

I cited the case of Arnon Milchan, a billionaire Hollywood movie producer who had a secret life that included stealing restricted technology in the United States to enable development of Israel's nuclear weapons program, something that was very much against U.S. interests. Milchan was involved in a number of other thefts as well as arms sales on behalf of the Jewish state, so much so that his work as a movie producer was actually reported to be less lucrative than his work as a spy and black-market arms merchant, for which he operated on a commission basis.

Arnon Milchan flanked by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg at the 2016 Oscars

Arnon Milchan flanked by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg at the 2016 Oscars
That Milchan has never been arrested by the United States government or even questioned about his illegal activity, which was well known to the authorities, is just one more manifestation of the effectiveness of Jewish power in Washington.

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No Entry

Twitter deletes top Assange defense account @Unity4J

assnage twitter support account suspended
© Twitter
@Unity4J censored by Twitter
One of the biggest Twitter accounts dedicated to circulating information and advocacy for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, @Unity4J, has been completely removed from the site. The operators of the account report that they have been given no reason for its removal by Twitter staff, and have received no response to their appeals.

Any Assange supporter active on Twitter will be familiar with the Unity4J account, which originated to help boost the wildly successful Unity4J online vigils in which well-known Assange defenders would appear to speak out against his persecution. As of this writing, the account has been gone for a day and a half.

Bizarro Earth

Will Europe stand with US hooliganism, or stand by its treaty obligations to Iran?

iran
Since the Iranian revolution took power in 1979, the world stood against Iran because it is an "Islamic Republic", unwilling to acknowledge and bow to US dominance of the Middle East and the entire world. I say the world because the revolution was followed by the Russian Perestroika and the fall of the Soviet empire that had been a countervailing superpower to the US. Furthermore, Iran has been ruining US arms sales — notwithstanding the exuberant amount invested by Middle Eastern countries whose leaders consider a protection fee to the US rather than a necessity — to the Middle East, establishing unheard of rules of engagement and spoiling US plans for a "new Middle East". It is responsible for jeopardising the security and expansion plans of the chief US ally in the region, Israel. Although many experts (and dual national) officials and academics in the West have in-depth knowledge of Iran, decision-makers have been unable to find the right policy and words to bring Iran to a negotiation table.

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Newspaper

'Not urgent': US facing tough sell on anti-Iran Arab coalition

tanker
© AFP 2019 / HENGHAMEH FAHIMI
While Washington has grand designs for a multinational force to patrol strategic waters near Iran and Yemen, no country has yet agreed to take part, and promised US sanctions against Tehran are doomed to fail as well, Massoud Shadjareh, founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, told Sputnik Wednesday.

Under the US proposal, a coalition of nations would patrol the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran, as well as the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait that separates Yemen from Africa.

"We're engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab," Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday, Sputnik reported.

Comment: Sputnik also reports neighbouring, neutral Oman actually intends to boost trade:
Oman's Commerce and Industry Minister Masoud Sunaidi and his Iranian counterpart, Reza Rahmani, met for trade talks in Muscat on Wednesday, local media reported.

The Oman newspaper said the two ministers discussed ways of boosting trade and cooperating on the exploration of mineral resources.

Rahmani arrived in the Omani capital for a series of high-profile meetings. Iran's ISNA state news agency said the visit aimed to prepare for this October's joint economic commission.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that sanctions on Iran would be increased "substantially" soon. His administration has been building an alliance in the Persian Gulf with the stated goal of securing shipping lanes.

Oman has remained neutral as tensions between the two world powers escalated last year. It has stepped in to mediate between Iran and its Arab neighbours as well as the United States.



Bizarro Earth

'Round up' some Italians & jail them for life - Ukrainian MP says after sentencing of pro-Kiev fighter

Yarosh
© REUTERS / David Mdzinarishvili
FILE PHOTO. Dmytro Yarosh (L) addresses a rally in Kiev in 2014.
A harsher than expected sentencing by an Italian court of a Ukrainian-born trooper was met with outrage by Ukrainian nationalists. One MP even suggested taking a dozen Italian nationals hostage in response.

On Friday, an Italian court in Pavia passed its judgment in the high-profile case of Vitaly Markiv. He was found responsible for the May 2014 killings of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and Russian human rights activist Andrei Mironov, who served as an interpreter for a group of journalists covering the civil war in Eastern Ukraine.

Markiv, who has Italian citizenship, was a member of one of Ukraine's volunteer battalions that sided with Kiev in the conflict. A squad under his command marked the journalists' car as a target for fellow troops, who fired mortar shells at it, the prosecution said.

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