Day: October 28, 2022

Iran’s foreign minister speaking to his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday expressed his country’s readiness to hold bilateral talks on claims that Tehran is supplying Russia with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.

Dismissing the claims as “baseless,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Dmytro Kuleba over phone that Iran is ready to hold “technical meetings” with the participation of military experts from the two sides without any intermediaries, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Tensions are running high between the two countries amid claims made by Ukrainian and American officials about Iran supplying drones to Russia.

Some Western media outlets have in recent weeks published photos of what they say are remains of Iranian-made drones, Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6, allegedly used in Ukraine by Russian forces.

Reports have also been doing the rounds that Iran plans to supply surface-to-surface missiles to Russia, in addition to drones.

Iranian officials have, however, strongly rejected the claims, stressing that they have defense cooperation with Russia but are opposed to the war in Ukraine, which is now in its ninth month.

Amir-Abdollahian affirmed Iran’s policy of “respect for territorial integrity” of the two countries and “not sending weapons to the warring parties,” the statement said.

“Ukraine should be careful not to be influenced” by some European politicians, the top Iranian diplomat asserted, to which Kuleba said Kyiv “does not act under the influence of others.”

Taking to Twitter after the call, Kuleba said he demanded Iran to “immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine.”

The claims of drone supplies to Russia have also fueled tensions between Iran and the US, who have already been at loggerheads over the ongoing nationwide protests since the death of Sept. 16 Mahsa Amini, and stalemate over the revival of 2015 nuclear deal.

Last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby alleged that Iran has deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch drone attacks on Ukraine.

He claimed that Iran was now “directly engaged on the ground,” and through the supply of drones to Russia, adding that the US will “pursue all means” to “expose, deter and confront Iran’s provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people.”

Last month, the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Iranian firm Safran Airport Services, accusing it of coordinating the transfer of drones to Russia, and three other companies for the production of drones.

The European Union also added three Iranian individuals and one entity to the list of sanctions for “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence” of Ukraine.

Even Britain announced sanctions against Iran, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calling Tehran’s alleged involvement in the Ukraine war “deplorable.”

Last week, Iran asked its citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country and advised Iranian nationals to refrain from traveling to the country “due to military escalation and increasing insecurity.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Twitter owner Elon Musk announced on Friday that the social media company will form a new body to police content on the platform, though he did not offer much in the way of details.

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” tweeted Musk. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.”

Musk’s comments come one day after he sought to ensure advertisers that he did not want his ownership of Twitter to result in the company becoming a “free-for-all hellscape.”

Musk has long taken a more hardline approach to free speech, but in a message geared toward advertisers, he vowed to continue Twitter’s policies of policing various content, including hate speech and threats of violence.

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk wrote in the hours leading up to his $44 billion deal’s closure.

“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,” he added.

Musk said that in addition to ensuring the company is run in compliance with US laws, “our platform must be warm and welcoming to all.” He had previously signaled that he would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account, though the former commander-in-chief has said he would not return to Twitter as he seeks to maintain his in-house Twitter competitor.

Concerns had mounted that should Musk purchase Twitter, he would cut back or throw out its efforts to moderate content, particularly hate speech, which would likely leave many advertisers scrambling for the exits along with everyday users.

Addressing advertisers directly, Musk said he believes “that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed, but is right for you.”

“For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs,” he wrote. “Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise. To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis died Thursday at the age of 87, according to his family representative.

“Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi,” said the singer’s family representative Zach Farnum in a statement. “He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.”

Lewis jumped into the rock music scene in December 1956 when he took part in a recording session with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. The four were nicknamed the “Million Dollar Quartet.”

In 1957, Lewis took the music world by storm with his now iconic songs “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire” which became a Top 5 US hit.

The singer-pianist became internationally famous with a combination of his firecracker showmanship on stage — he was known as “The Killer” — and suggestive lyrics which led some radio station to boycott his songs.

Lewis became one of the best-known rock musicians in the 1950s along with Presley and Chuck Berry.

“I was born to be on a stage. I couldn’t wait to be on it. I dreamed about it. And I’ve been on one all my life,” Lewis said in his 2014 biography “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story.”

“That’s where I’m the happiest,” he said.

However, offstage, Lewis had a turbulent life that was scrutinized by the public.

In 1958, near the peak of his popularity, news was released that Lewis, 22, had married his first cousin Myra Gale Brown, 13.

Lewis said that Myra was 15, but when the truth came out about her age, it caused a public outcry with newspapers printing headlines such as “Fans Aghast at Child Bride.”

After just three performances, which were filled with audiences heckling Lewis, the tour was canceled.

Lewis’ popularity waned over the next decade during the era of the Beatles, so he moved away from his rockabilly music and made a comeback as a successful country singer.

But his personal life remained a mess. Lewis battle alcoholism and drug addiction. He was married seven times and filed for bankruptcy in 1987 claiming he owed the government more than $2 million in taxes.

Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He was also the recipient of a 2005 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Earlier this month, at the age of 86, Lewis was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Saying “this must end in Putin’s failure,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday new sanctions against Russians and the issuance of bonds to raise money for the beleaguered country.

“Canadians will now be able to go to major banks to purchase their sovereignty bonds which will mature after five years with interest,” Trudeau said at a meeting of the XXVII Triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The government-backed five-year bonds will see money flow to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund to help Ukrainians maintain essential services such as pensions and fuel purchases.

“This builds on the Government of Canada’s CAN$2 billion (US$1.47 billion) in financial assistance to Ukraine this year,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“It’s one more way Canadians are able to stand with Ukraine,” Trudeau said of the bonds.

The new sanctions target 35 Russian senior officials, including leaders with energy company Gazprom and six energy sector entities.

Canada also intends to impose new sanctions on members of the Russian justice and security sectors, including police officers and investigators, prosecutors, judges, and prison officials “involved in gross and systematic human rights violations against Russian opposition leaders,” the PMO statement said. Canada has already imposed sanctions against over 1,400 individuals and entities.

Trudeau also announced the creation of the Canada-Ukraine Science Partnership, which will see up to 20 Ukraine-based scientists come to work and live in Canada to help the country rebuild its science and research capacity.

That Trudeau made the bond and sanctions announcement in Manitoba is significant, as the province has welcomed almost 12,000 Ukrainians since the Russia-Ukraine War began in February.

Canada has the second-largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world (after Russia) and Manitoba has more than 180,000 who identify as Ukrainian.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The number of people displaced by the wave of gang-related violence in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince reached 96,000, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a report published this week.

The number of people fleeing the capital has tripled in the past five months, according to the report, which identified over 113,000 internally displaced people in the country. Of those, 96,000 individuals fled insecurity in the capital and an additional 17,000 individuals remain displaced as a result of the 2021 earthquake that devastated the country’s southern region.

Between April and August, 2022, more than 47,000 people were displaced in the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince, according to the report, which indicates that the number of people displaced by gang-related violence in Haiti’s capital has tripled in the past five months.

Kidnappings, murders, sexual abuse, extortion and other criminal acts have become frequent in Port-au-Prince, which is in the midst of a serious economic crisis.

The United Nations released a report in October accusing the country’s gangs of using rape as a tool of intimidation.

The humanitarian situation in Haiti has worsened since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in in July 2021. Tensions are rising amid criminal gang violence, shortages of fuel, increases in food prices and a political vacuum that has plunged Haitians into deep uncertainty about the future.

The lack of fuel has unleashed protests, forced hospitals to cut back staff and prompted businesses to shut down, preventing the distribution of basic goods amid a new cholera outbreak.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry has asked the international community for military assistance to address the actions by criminal gangs.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday from Ottawa that the US and Canada will work together to “cut the insecurity knot” that has allowed gangs to create a humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The US and South Korea will resume their suspended combined air exercises after a four-year-long break, amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The two countries’ militaries will begin major combined air drills next week, involving 240 military aircraft, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a South Korean Air Force statement issued on Friday.

The five-day air drills will begin on Monday.

“During the exercise, the Air Forces of South Korea and the U.S. plan to hone wartime operational procedures and enhance sustained operational capabilities by conducting around-the-clock key air operations, such as a strike package flight, the provision of air defense and emergency air interdiction,” the statement said.

The US will send 100 F-35B jets to participate in the combined drills, while South Korea will send 140 aircraft, including F-35A stealth jets as well as F-15K and KF-16 fighters.

The combined air drills were first held in 2015 and were later suspended by the administration of then-President Moon Jae-in in 2018 as part of a drive for inter-Korean reconciliation, according to the agency.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen further following recent military drills by South Korea, as well as US and North Korean missile tests.

On Friday, Pyongyang launched another “unspecified” ballistic missile just as South Korea was about to wrap off its annual 12-day Hoguk field training exercise, the media outlet reported, citing a Joint Chiefs of Staff statement.

North Korea recently fired a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea, just two days after launching two long-range strategic cruise missiles involving units operating “tactical nukes.”

On Oct. 4, the US and South Korean forces held live-fire joint drills after North Korea fired a missile over Japan for the first time in five years.

Tensions in the region began in 2020 when North Korea attacked and blew up the inter-Korean liaison office along the border. Seoul has threatened a strong response if Pyongyang “further worsens the situation.”

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid

Source: Anadolu Agency