Second hour International News Followed By Investigative reports:
Piracy! Iranian tankers travelling to Venezuela seized by US: U.S. Seizes Over One Million Barrels Of Iranian Petroleum From Four Tankers Bound For Venezuela â August 14, 2020 â The U.S. has seized Iranian petroleum bound for Venezuela aboard four tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, enforcing a forfeiture order aimed at both Iranâs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Caracas government, the Justice Department announced Friday. Roughly 1.116 million barrels of fuel was confiscated from the foreign-flagged vessels M/T Bella, M/T Bering, M/T Pandi and M/T Luna, a Justice Department statement said, adding that the seizure took place âwith the assistance of foreign partners.â The cargo was intercepted on Wednesday, under a warrant issued by a U.S. District Court over a July 2 complaint seeking the forfeiture of all petroleum products aboard the vessels. The property is now in U.S. custody, the Justice Department said. According to The Associated Press, quoting unnamed U.S. officials, no military force was used in the seizure of the cargo, and none of the ships was physically impounded. Instead, U.S. officials threatened ship owners, insurers and captains with sanctions to force them to hand over their cargo, the AP reported. In a statement Friday, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus described the cargo as gasoline and said if the forfeiture is successful in U.S. courts, the proceeds could âsupport the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund instead of those engaging in terrorism, like the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps].â It wasnât clear where the vessels, all four Liberian-flagged, are currently located, as none appears to have transmitted collision-avoidance beacons in several weeks, according to the site MarineTraffic.com. Last year, the Trump administration declared Iranâs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be a terrorist organization. It has also stepped up pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduroâ¦.
Coup in Mali â independence for African countries after WW2. Mali troops plan âtransitionalâ govât; Africa bloc to send envoys â Coup leaders say âtransitionalâ president from civilian or military ranks to be appointed as ECOWAS plans delegation. â France will pursue its military operations in Mali against Islamic fighters despite the ousting of the countryâs president two days ago by a coup, the French armed force minister said on Thursday. âThe Barkhane operation, asked for by the Mali population and authorised by the U.N. Security Council, continues,â Florence Parly said on Twitter.
Trump sanctions against Iran â Trump Attempt to Sanction Iran Sparks Outrage, Sets Up Collision With Allies â Several countries expressed outrage Thursday at President Donald Trumpâs demand that the U.N. Security Council reimpose devastating sanctions against Iran for violating a 2015 nuclear agreement, even though the Trump administration walked away from the deal two years ago. The United States is planning a new diplomatic line of attack on Iran after a resounding defeat in the U.N. Security Council. Having lost its long-shot bid to indefinitely extend an international arms embargo on Iran last week, the Trump administration is poised to call for the re-imposition of all U.N. sanctions that had been eased under the 2015 nuclear deal from which the U.S. withdrew two years ago. Known as âsnapback,â the provisions within the original agreement allow for signatories to put back in place international sanctions against Iran if it were to violate the deal, as Trump told reporters Wednesday that Iran had. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to New York on Thursday to begin informing Security Council members that they must now impose all of the sanctions that were lifted as a part of the deal brokered by the Obama administration. The move sets the U.S. up for a collision with the other permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Germany. Those countries have questioned the legality of the Trump administrationâs move as they to struggle to maintain the only international agreement governing Iranâs nuclear program. And it remains unclear how the U.S. could unilaterally impose the U.N. sanctions. âThe U.S. cannot trigger snapback mechanisms after its withdrawal from the JCPOA,â Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a tweet, using an abbreviation for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name for the accord. Zhao added that China opposes U.S. attempts to impose sanctions against Iran unilaterally and demanded the U.S. abide by the U.N. resolutions, âfulfill obligations and respect the rights and interests of others.â The new sanctions would also extend the arms embargo on Iran. The Trump administration has unsuccessfully lobbied the U.N. in recent weeks to extend the current embargo, set to expire in October. The American delegation failed on Friday to secure enough âyesâ votes within the Security Council to support the measure, with only one other country, the Dominican Republic, supporting the U.Sâ¦.
Deal between Israel and UAE. UAE recognition of Israel: Whither the Arab and the Muslim world? An agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel and a Saudi-Pakistani spat over Kashmir coupled with feuds among Gulf states and between Turkey, the kingdom, and the Emirates drive nails into the notion that the Arab and Islamic world by definition share common geopolitical interests on the basis of ethnicity or religion and embrace kinship solidarity. The UAE-Israel agreement weakens the Palestiniansâ efforts to create a state of their own but their criticism of the UAEâs move to become the third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan to officially recognise the Jewish state is based on a moral rather than a legal claim⦠The establishment of diplomatic relations strengthens the UAEâs position as one of the United Statesâ most important partners in the Middle East and allows Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to argue that his hardline policy towards the Palestinians does not impede a broader peace between the Jewish state and Arab nations⦠Netanyahu had pledged to annex parts of the West Bank on 1 July but has dragged his feet since then because the Trump administration, while endorsing the principle, opposed any tangible move on the ground. Trump feared that annexation would have pre-empted his ability to claim some success for his controversial Israel-Palestinian peace planâ¦
Protesters in Israel want Netanyahu to resign. Thousands return to streets in Israel urging Netanyahu to resign â Protesters clash with police outside the residence of embattled prime minister, who is facing corruption allegations. â Thousands of demonstrators have returned to the streets of Jerusalem calling for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over allegations of corruption and his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters were seen clashing with police late into the night on Saturday and early on Sunday outside the residence of the embattled prime minister, who had recently clinched a historic diplomatic deal with the United Arab Emirates. Images from news agencies and social media showed several demonstrators being dragged by police as anti-Netanyahu protests continued for the eighth week. According to reports, some of the protesters had also attempted to march toward the residence of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin but were prevented by police. Haaretz newspaper estimated that as many as 50,000 Israelis protested across the country on Saturdayâ¦
Managing CEO Editor and friend of mayor Marvin Rees Pat Hart has a new BCFM politics show â âThe Bristol Agendaâ â they discuss the Beirut explosion and Belarus elections, how well do they do?
EU rejected Belarus vote and may impose sanctions. EU rejects Belarus vote result, warns of imminent new sanctions The EU sanctions will hit âa substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and election fraudâ. The European Union has rejected the result of the disputed Belarus election, saying President Alexander Lukashenkoâs victory was neither free nor fair, and warned of imminent fresh sanctions against his government. After Wednesdayâs emergency video summit, EU Council President Charles Michel told the people of Belarus the bloc stood âby your sideâ as unprecedented protests against Lukashenko entered an 11th day. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for national dialogue in Belarus â including Lukashenko, who has ruled for 26 years â to find a peaceful way out of the crisis. The EU has been working on a new round of sanctions against Belarus, targeting those involved in allegedly fixing the August 9 vote and in the bloody repression of protests, which have shaken Lukashenkoâs grip on the ex-Soviet republic as never beforeâ¦.
Joe Biden acceptance speech. Tulsi Gabbard taking on Kamala Harris. â The Great Reset â Klaus Schwab from Davos. âKilling the Hostâ book by Dr. Michael Hudson â economic lessons for 2020. â Mario Savio on the operation of the machine and privatisation of education.
âCoup 53â new documentary about the CIA and MI6 led plot against Iranâs PM: Jon Snow interviews the director.
Multi-generational abuse in the UK. Shocking 1989 Australian documentary censored from YouTube â ABC â60 Minutesâ 1989 â Black masses, satanism, human sacrifice and child sacrifice in Britain.
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