Sudan reaffirms readiness to reestablish ties with Iran

From Tehran Times

Dated Saturday, 20 January 2024 - 22:47 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan reaffirms readiness to re-establish ties with Iran

In a meeting with Iran's First-Vice President Mohammad Mokhber on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Uganda, Sadeq expressed Sudan's regret over the severance of ties with Iran in 2015 under foreign pressure, emphasizing the shared stances of the two nations in supporting the Palestinian people and seeking an end to Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

Mokhber, in turn, highlighted the Palestinian resistance movement's efforts to break the Zionist regime's hegemony in the region, calling for increased international pressure to lift the Gaza blockade and provide immediate relief to the besieged enclave.

The vice president expressed deep concern over the recent unrest and conflicts in Sudan, which he attributed to the conspiracy of foreign interventionists, including the Zionist usurping regime. 

Photo: TEHRAN- Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Ali Sadeq reiterated Khartoum's desire to revive diplomatic relations with Tehran.

He affirmed Iran's unwavering support for the Sudanese people and the legitimate government in their quest for peace and stability.

Sadeq elaborated on the recent events in Sudan, linking them to the interference and collusion of the Zionist regime and its regional allies, asserting that Sudan remains a victim of foreign machinations.

Sadeq attributed the Zionist regime's support for the unrest in Sudan to the country's refusal to normalize relations with Israel. 

He stressed that Sudan remains committed to its principles and will not compromise its independence.

The two officials agreed to further enhance cooperation between Sudan and Iran, particularly in the areas of trade, investment, and cultural exchange. They expressed their commitment to advancing the cause of Palestine and promoting regional peace and stability.

View original: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/493969/Sudan-reaffirms-readiness-to-re-establish-ties-with-Iran

ENDS 

Joe Biden's long history of pro-Israel statements

THIS video shows a history of surprising statements US President Joe Biden has made about Zionism and Israel.  

"Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel." -Joe Biden

Source: Middle East Eye 

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Further Reading

“Most Zionists don’t believe that God exists but they do believe that he promised them Palestine” -Ilan Pappe, Israeli Historian

Pappe, I. (2016). “The Bible in the service of Zionism: “we do not believe in God, but he nonetheless promised us Palestine” in I. Hjelm and T. L. Thompson, eds., History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years After “Historicity”, 1st ed. Oxon, Routledge, pp. 205-217. 

Palestine 1896

First film footage taken in Palestine (Lumier Bros.)

Extracted from "Palestine: Story of a Land", by Simone Bitton

http://www.pointdujour-international....

Link to video at YouTube: https://youtu.be/1vaIK8wlAl0

Source: https://vridar.org/2017/05/26/we-do-not-believe-in-god-but-he-nonetheless-promised-us-palestine/

ENDS

South Sudan named in most dangerous countries to visit - “security” highest warning level of “extreme”

Report from The Independent - independent.co.uk/news/world
By Helen Coffey
Dated Friday, 15 December 2023 - here is a copy in full:

World’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 revealed

Lebanon, Palestinian Territories and Russia have all seen notable risk rating increases

The world’s most dangerous countries to visit in 2024 have been revealed in a new study.

South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Somalia were named as the riskiest nations in the 2024 risk map compiled by medical and security consultancy International SOS.

The annual map assesses various factors to inform travellers and businesses about potential threats in countries across the globe.

It pulls together medical and security risk ratings, reflecting the impact of events such as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.

This year, for the first time, the map also includes ratings based on the dangers of climate change, after International SOS saw a rising trend in the number of climate-related alerts being issued to clients as rising global temperatures increased health risks around the world.

The data, compiled by Inform (a collaboration between the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and Joint Research Centre of European Commission), estimates the future risk of humanitarian crises and disasters caused by climate change.

“Just one example, the extreme heat events this year, with the first ever named heatwave Cerberus hitting Europe, may become commonplace,” said Dr Irene Lai, global medical director at International SOS.

“In addition to the physical impacts of extreme heat, there can be significant negative effects on mental health. It is essential businesses plan for this, adapting our way of living and working to protect health, while also taking steps to slow and eventually reverse the trend in rising temperatures.”

Countries were graded for each category of risk – medical, security and climate change – on a five-level scale ranging from “low” to “very high” for medical and climate change, and “insignificant” to “extreme” for security.

For “security”, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia were all given the highest warning level of “extreme”.

Parts of Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Russia and across the Sahel all saw increases in security risk, alongside Ecuador and parts of Colombia following a rise in criminality and unrest.

View original: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/most-dangerous-countries-world-2024-b2464568.html

END

President Putin visits UAE & Saudi Arabia Dec 6 before meeting next day in Russia with Iran president

Report from BBC News

By George Wright

Dated Wednesday, 06 December 2023 - excerpts:

Russian President Putin lands in UAE

Image Source, Reuters. Image caption, 

Vladimir Putin was welcomed by the UAE's foreign minister

Mr Putin told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that "our relations have reached unprecedented levels".

Trade and oil will be on the agenda in the UAE, which a Kremlin statement said is "Russia's main economic partner in the Arab world".

The Russian president is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia later on Wednesday to meet with the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The two leaders will "consider ways to promote de-escalation" in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Kremlin said.

Conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Sudan will also be discussed in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov stated.

Kremlin officials have also announced that Mr Putin will meet with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi on Thursday to discuss the war in Gaza.

Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67636648

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Related report 

From Oil Price dot com

By RFE/RL staff 
Dated Wed, 05 Dec 2023, 10:00 AM CST - here is a copy in full:

Putin Makes Rare Trip Abroad With Visit To Saudi Arabia, UAE

• In a rare trip abroad as an international arrest warrant hangs over him, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on December 6.

• The Kremlin said on December 5 that bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be discussed during the meetings.

• Following the one-day trip, Putin will return home and meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Kremlin said.

In a rare trip abroad as an international arrest warrant hangs over him, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on December 6 before heading home for a meeting with Iran's president the next day.

The Kremlin said on December 5 that bilateral relations and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be discussed during the meetings, while issues concerning the oil market, "are also always on the agenda."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issued arrest warrants for Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for being responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia -- a war crime under international legislation.

While Putin did not make many foreign trips before the warrant was issued, he has curtailed his travel even more since.

He did not attend the G20 summit in India in September, and has limited his recent trips to countries such as China and states of the former Soviet Union.

With the warrant, Putin became the third serving head of state to be targeted in an arrest warrant from the ICC, the world's permanent war crimes tribunal, along with Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Libya's Muammar Qaddafi.

The Kremlin did not give details of Putin's agenda, but the online news outlet Shot, which first reported the trip, quoted Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov as saying the Russian leader would travel first to the U.A.E. before heading on to Saudi Arabia, where talks would include a meeting with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

Putin and the prince have developed close ties over the years as they worked to form a group of leading oil producers, now known as OPEC+, in late 2016. The group has worked to support the price of oil, and last week announced voluntary supply cuts.

Following the one-day trip, Putin will return home and meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Kremlin said.

Putin visited Iran in July 2022, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Tehran in October.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Iran has widely been accused of delivering cheap but effective kamikaze drones to Moscow.

While Iran denies the allegations, saying it only sold drones to Moscow before the war started, U.S. officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of supplying Shahed-136 Iranian drones that Russia has used to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. There has been evidence of Iranian drones rebranded as Russian Geran-2s being used on the battlefield.

And as the two countries have increased military-technical cooperation, Iran's Defense Ministry has routinely showcased its ballistic, cruise, anti-tank, and air-defense missile systems to Russian officials.

This has raised fears Moscow and Tehran could try to expand their existing arms dealing to include more advanced weaponry, know-how, and technology that could boost both Russia's war effort in Ukraine and Iran's ballistic-missile and drone programs.

By RF/ERL

View original:

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Putin-Makes-Rare-Trip-Abroad-With-Visit-To-Saudi-Arabia-UAE.html

[End]

Turkey's Erdogan, Sudan's Burhan discuss Gaza

Report from AA - Alperen Aktas
Dated Saturday, 18 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Turkish President Erdogan, Sudan's leader Burhan discuss Gaza

Erdogan says there should be unity on all issues concerning the Islamic world

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) hold a joint press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on August 12, 2021. Photo : ( Emin Sansar - AA )

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday discussed with chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan the situation in Gaza, where Israeli attacks since Oct. 7 have killed at least 12,000 Palestinians, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

During the phone call, the latest situation in the besieged enclave, and efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians were discussed.

President Erdogan said there should be unity on all issues concerning the Islamic world, and it is important to implement the decisions taken at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's recent summit in Riyadh.

View original: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/turkish-president-erdogan-sudans-leader-burhan-discuss-gaza/3057949

[Ends]

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: ICC Prosecutor's statement after visiting Rafah Border between Egypt & Gaza

“International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC addresses journalists after visiting the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on 29 October 2023. From Cairo, the Prosecutor gives a statement on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine”. 

Video courtesy of Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net.  

Transcript

Follow along using the transcript facility at the video.

[Ends]

VIDEO: ICC Prosecutor speaks in Cairo on the situation in Israel and Palestine after his visit to Rafah

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC addresses journalists after visiting the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on 29 October 2023.

From Cairo, the Prosecutor gives a statement on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine👇https://t.co/666En6yBIT

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 29, 2023

[Ends]

ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza says he hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

Report at Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net

With AFP (Agence France-Presse)
Published Sunday, 29 October 2023: 08:57 PM GST
Updated Monday, 30 October 2023: 01:52 AM GST - here is a copy in full:

ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing says hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in The Hague, Netherlands October 12, 2023. (File photo: Reuters)

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said Sunday preventing access to humanitarian could be a crime, after visiting Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza, the main entry point for international aid.

“Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction,” Khan told reporters in Cairo.

He said he wanted “to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts without further delay to make sure civilians” in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory “receive basic food, medicines”.

“I saw trucks full of goods full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck at Rafah,” Khan said.

“These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay.”

On Sunday the United Nations warned it feared a breakdown of public order after looting at food aid centres in Gaza run by its agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualties in the war increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.

People in the Palestinian territory have lived under Israeli blockade for 16 years and under complete siege for the past three weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers launched deadly attacks into Israel that sparked a war.

Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on October 7 in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 239 others, according to Israeli officials.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people, mainly civilians and half of them children.

Khan said his office had an ongoing investigation into “any crimes committed on the territory of Palestine and any crimes committed, whether it’s by Israel and Palestine or whether it’s acts committed on the territory of Palestine or from Palestine into Israel.”

“This includes current events in Gaza and also current events in the West Bank,” Khan said, adding that he was “very concerned also by the spike of the number of reported incidents of attack by settlers against Palestinian civilians” in the territory Israel has occupied since 1967.

Khan also said hostage taking was a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

“I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families,” Khan said.

The British lawyer said “Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas, not just moral obligations but legal obligations” to comply with the laws of conflict.

“These principles equally apply to Hamas in relation to firing indiscriminate rockets into Israel,” he said.

View original: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/10/29/ICC-prosecutor-at-Rafah-border-crossing-says-hopes-to-visit-Gaza-Israel

[Ends]