サウジに寝返ったホーシの元閣僚にイエメンの記者が靴を投げる

中東では、はいている靴を人に投げつけることは強い侮辱に当たるとされます。イラクでブッシュが靴を投げられ、その後ネットで靴投げゲームが流行りました。
今回は元イエメンの閣僚にイエメンの記者が靴を投げました。イラクの記者も刑務所に入り拷問も受けたとされています。今回のイエメンの記者も覚悟の上なんでしょうね。





RT2018/11/12
Sole brothers? Ex-Houthi minister shoed like George W. Bush at Saudi defection presser
Echoing the infamous shoeing attempt of George W. Bush in 2008, an ex-Houthi minister was stuck by the footwear of an angry Yemeni journalist during his first media outing since his defection to Saudi Arabia.

The shoe went flying at Abdul-Salam Ali Gaber, who had served as the Houthi’s information minister since civil war broke out in Yemen in 2014, as he spoke to gathered media in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday.

In Arab culture, the throwing of a shoe at someone is seen as a mark of deep contempt – and an insult – for the intended target. The practice came to the attention of those outside the Arab world in 2008, after Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi hurled both of his shoes at former US President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad.

Luckily for Bush – not so much for Gaber – Zaidi’s aim wasn’t as good as his Yemeni counterpart’s.

Footage capturing the latest shoeing incident shows Gaber answering media questions while sitting behind a table of microphones. A commotion is heard off screen followed by Gaber moving his hands towards his face to deflect the incoming shoe.

Several men then grabbed the journalist who continued to shout and hurl insults at Gaber as he was ejected from the room.

Gaber’s defection comes as Saudi-backed forces continue its offensive to oust Houthi rebels from the port city of Hodeida, controlled by the Houthis since their uprising against the government started in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Arab states entered the conflict on the side of the government the following year, conducting an aerial bombing campaign which has devastated vast swathes of the country and its infrastructure.

Hodeida is one of the only sources of aid and supplies for much of Yemen’s civilian population, and since a Saudi blockade of the port has been in effect since 2017, concerns of people starving en masse have been repeatedly raised by the UN and humanitarian groups.

レイプ・少年兵・拷問・首切り・自爆テロのISISを傭兵として使うアメリカ！

※　mko @trappedsoldier氏の20:11 - 2018年11月10日のツイート
数か月間続く、サファ火山地帯でのISISとシリア軍との激戦。生きて捕えたテロリストが、タンフ基地の米軍からマシンガンや車などの補給を受けていたと認めた！　レイプ・少年兵・拷問・首切り・自爆テロのISISを傭兵として使うアメリカ！

SOUTHFRONT
Captured ISIS Member Reveals How ISIS In Al-Safa Received Support From US-led Coalition Base At Al-Tanaf (Photos)
An ISIS fighter, who was captured by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) during the special operation to free al-Suwayda hostages, revealed that the terrorist group’s cells in the area of al-Safa are receiving direct military support from the US-led coalition base in the border area of al-Tanaf.


“We received supplies from the U.S. base in al-Tanaf through Abu Audi, his brother Saeed and Abu Ali al-Buri (al-Badui), he is a member of ISIS, he provided us with vehicles and 23mm machineguns,” the captured ISIS member, Abu Abdullah Mayadin, told Syrian reporters on November 9.

Furthermore, Abu Abdullah revealed that many terrorists from Iraq, Turkey, Russia’s Ingushetia, India and Uzbekistan are fighting on the ISIS side in al-Safa. Previously it was thought that the terrorists there are only Syrians and Palestinians.



The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) released two photos, which had been extracted from Abu Abdullah smartphone. In the first photo, the terrorist is holding a US-made M16 assault rifle equipped with a US-made Trijicon scope. The second photo shows the terrorist carrying what was identified as a Chinese-made FN-6 Man-portable air-defense (MANPAD) system.



According to local observers, this type of the MANPADs was supplied to the Free Syrian Army in 2014 by Qatar, which had acquired them from Sudan. Later, these MANPADs were obtained by ISIS and al-Qaeda in Iraq and even Lebanon.

Abu Abdullah’s statement and the photos recovered from his smartphone confirm that the U.S. and its allies had supported the terrorist group in a direct and an indirect way from the al-Tanaf base. Moscow and Damascus pointed out this kind of U.S. activities in the al-Tanaf area multiple times during the last two years. However, Washington is not going to abandon its military base at the Syrian-Iraqi border because it plays an important role in the US strategy to oppose the growth of Iranian and Russian influence in Syria.

・・・引用終わり・・・

冒頭の画像でヤシの木が多くなっています。ヨルダンに近いところですから北部と様子が違います。背景にあるのはテロリストの遺体です。

中国は、Chinese-made FN-6 Man-portable air-defense (MANPAD) systemがテロリストの手に渡っていることを知っていながら輸出禁止の措置を講じていないようです。

2018年09月10日
1,000人以上のISISテロリストがシリア南部の火山頂付近に閉じ込められる

補給も難しい地域なので兵糧攻めですぐ陥落かとみていましたが、難航しています。米国が補給していますね。

新鋭機 Boeing 737 MAX 8 は大丈夫か

RT2018/11/10
MAXimized danger: Are 200+ new Boeing 737s plagued with glitch that led to crash in Indonesia?
A technical issue that Boeing flagged in a safety warning after the deadly 737 MAX 8 crash in Indonesia could happen to any other aircraft, and it’s "not unlikely" that the manufacturer knew about it, aviation experts told RT.

Earlier this week, Boeing issued a safety update to pilots flying its newest 737 MAX airliner, warning of a possible fault in a sensor that could send the aircraft into a violent nosedive. That sensor measures air flow over a plane’s wings, but its failure can lead to an aerodynamic stall.
International aviation experts told RT that a problem of this kind could doom aircraft of any type. The tragedy that happened to Lion Air’s Boeing 737 MAX is not the first of its kind to involve a faulty “Pitot tube” – a critical air-speed sensor that measures the flow velocity – explained Elmar Giemulla, a leading German expert in air and traffic law.

“This is not unusual in the way it happened before,” he noted, mentioning incidents similar to the Lion Air crash. Back in 1996, a Boeing 757 operated by Turkey’s Birgenair stalled and crashed in the Caribbean because of a blocked pitot tube. Likewise, erroneous air-speed indications, coupled with pilot errors, led to the crash of an Air France Airbus A330 over the Atlantic in 2009.

While the problem is not entirely new, it is unclear how Boeing had tackled it, according to Giemulla. “It is not very unlikely” that Boeing knew about the problem, he said, warning that “more than 200 planes are concerned and this could happen tomorrow again.”

There is so much experience with [using Pitot tubes] that it surprises me very much that this could happen to a newly developed plane.

However, the expert doubted that there has been any cover-up of the issue, instead suggesting that “obviously gross negligence” had been involved.

A 737 MAX 8 servicing Lion Air flight 610 last week ploughed into the waters of the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Investigators say there is a possibility that inaccurate readings fed into the MAX’s computer could have sent the plane into a sudden descent.
Meanwhile, David Learmont, an England-based aviation journalist and contributing editor of Flightglobal, suggested that the 737 MAX crash in Indonesia was more about poor maintenance or pilot error than the equipment itself.

He told RT that the ‘angle-of-attack’ sensor and the computerized system it feeds are “helpful but not essential to safe flight.”

Crews are usually trained to deal with this kind of failure and Boeing “has drawn the airlines’ attention to it,” he explained.

If the pilots had recognized what the problem was, it would have been possible for them to isolate the faulty system and fly the aircraft safely in the traditional way.

Lion Air had already known that a faulty sensor needed replacement “but believed they had fixed it.” Learmont argued that this is not a problem with the aircraft as such but a problem with a sensor system installed on other planes.

“Airbus uses angle-of-attack sensors also, as does Tupolev and other Russian manufacturers,” he said.

共同2018/10/30
【ジャカルタ共同】インドネシア首都ジャカルタの東方沖で格安航空会社（LCC）ライオンエアの旅客機が墜落した事故で、離陸2分後に旅客機から「飛行制御に問題が生じた」とジャカルタ空港の管制室に連絡があったことが30日、分かった。国家運輸安全委員会が明らかにした。
　運輸安全委によると、ジャカルタ空港出発から2分後の29日午前6時22分（日本時間同8時22分）ごろ、飛行制御に問題が生じたため、高度を1700フィート（約520メートル）から5千フィートに上げてよいかとの連絡が入り、管制側は了承したという。旅客機はその11分後に墜落した。

RT2018/10/29
Boeing 737 MAX 8 suffers its 1st deadly crash. What do we know about the jet?





・・・引用終わり・・・

離陸直後に飛行制御に問題が生じたとしています。機材の欠陥か整備不良はほぼ間違いない。

日本の航空会社ではまだ就航していないようです。

RT2018/11/7
Boeing’s new 737 MAX may ‘abruptly dive’ due to errors – media
Following the deadly 737 MAX 8 crash in Indonesia, Boeing is preparing to alert airlines that errors in its newest aircraft series can make the plane “abruptly dive,” Bloomberg revealed.

The bulletin from Boeing will say that erroneous readings from the jet's flight-monitoring system can cause the planes to “abruptly dive,” the newspapaer reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar fight the company’s plans.

According to the report, the warning is based on the investigation of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia. On October 29, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft crashed in the sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board.

Data extracted from the flight recorders revealed that the aircraft experienced problems with airspeed indicators during its last four flights.

The 737 MAX is Boeing’s newest and most advanced aircraft series, as well as the company’s bestseller. The jets were in high demand and enjoyed a good reputation as safe and reliable carriers.

However, last year Boeing had to briefly ground its 737 MAX fleet as discrepancies were found in its engines. Later, several jets were grounded by India’s Jet Airways, also due to engine problems.

How Khashoggi was killed: Erdogan says chilling audio sent to Saudi Arabia, US, UK, France & Germany

RT2018/11/10
How Khashoggi was killed: Erdogan says chilling audio sent to Saudi Arabia, US, UK, France & Germany
The recordings that could reveal the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Turkey in shocking detail have been shared with France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

“They all know since they all listened to the conversations and everything,” Erdogan said in a televised speech on Saturday.

Erdogan also accused Saudi Arabia of knowing that the killer of the former Washington Post columnist is among a group of 15 Saudis who touched down in Turkey the day prior to the killing, leaving again for Riyadh in the hours following Khashoggi’s death.

“Saudi Arabia could resolve this by making this 15 talk,” Erdogan said. “The murderers are surely among this 15 or 18, there's no need to look elsewhere.”

FARSNEWS2018/11/10
US, France Want More Details on Khashoggi Killing
TEHRAN (FNA)- US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Saturday that the Saudi authorities needed to shed full light on the murder in Turkey last month of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a French presidency source said.

The two leaders also agreed that the Khashoggi affair should not be allowed to cause further destabilisation in the Middle East and that it could create an opportunity to find a political resolution to the war in Yemen, according to the official, World News reported.

Saudi Arabia, which has faces global criticism and potential sanctions over the murder of Khashoggi in its consulate in Turkish city of Istanbul in early October, leads a coalition battling Ansarullah forces in Yemen.

FARSNEWS2018/11/10
Whistle-Blower: Saudi King Unable to Complete Provincial Trips for Health Conditions
TEHRAN (FNA)- Saudi whistle-blower Mujtahid, who is believed to be a member of or have a well-connected source in the royal family, revealed that Saudi King Salman has not been able to complete his recent visit to the country's provinces and returned to Riyadh for bad health conditions.

Mujtahid disclosed the news on his twitter page on Saturday.

"The Saudi king is now in a specialized hospital. His return to Riyadh was not planned because he was due to travel to al-Jawf from Ha'el region and then go to other areas but his son, Mohammed, decided to bring him back to Riyadh after his health conditions aggrevated," he wrote.

The news came as the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist, has triggered an escalation of criticism against Saudi authorities. The journalist went missing after visiting the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in early October, while Riyadh eventually acknowledged that he had been killed inside the building.

Saudi Arabia attempted to cover up the killing by initially insisting that Khashoggi had left the consulate. It then changed its narrative, saying the journalist died in fistfight. Later, Saudi Arabia admitted Khashoggi was killed in a premeditated murder, but that to killing was an unplanned "rogue operation".

Turkish and Saudi officials have carried out joint inspections of the consulate and the consul's residence, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said some Saudi officials were still trying to cover up the crime.

Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen Has Been a Political, Financial and Diplomatic Disaster

FARSNEWS2018/11/8
Saudi Arabia’s War on Yemen Has Been a Political, Financial and Diplomatic Disaster
TEHRAN (FNA)- Saudi Arabia and its allies are desperate to cease fire in Yemen, but they want a major victory to continue their interfering role in talks over the fate of the country before holding fire; otherwise, they will earn nothing, but utmost humiliation after years of bombing a poor, defenseless nation. It's now several months they have come to realize that they have lost the costly war and wish for a way out without being so much humiliated.

The bankrupt regime also needs to shrink its budget deficit with spending cuts and a drive to raise revenues from sources other than oil. To do so, a major requirement is ending the costly and failed war on Yemen.

After all, the Saudis need more American bombs and missiles, and it costs a silly mount of cash to get them. At the penniless department of the Pentagon there are no freebies for the regime changers in the Middle East. They have to pay upfront.

Just for the record, according to the US State Department, a single Tomahawk or Hellfire missile strike against the civilian targets in Yemen - involving F-15s, F-16s or F-22s and drones - costs up to $500,000. The Saudis have been “proudly” using the same type of missiles against the poorest country in the Middle East for over three years now, and the financial ramifications have been devastating for their accountants in Riyadh.

It’s all the reason why the Saudis, proxy forces, and regional vassals are so desperate to begin some so-called peace talks and end the costly war on the people of Yemen at the earliest. True, they have in the meantime been bombing the country. But that’s all really. The Saudis want to end the war before the war ends them! Their American allies also know that they can’t win it anyhow.

The Saudis and their allies know that they will be suffering if Riyadh makes the choice to continue the costly “proxy war”. Moreover, the political class in Riyadh is not willing to pay more for the war on Yemen - they have no money and they are beaten and bankrupt.

As it all stands, in their foolish agenda for regime change in Sana’a, the House of Saud got nothing. America was far bigger and far richer than Saudi Arabia, yet still got defeated and went bankrupt on the back of two illegal wars. The war on Yemen was not any different.

The “proxy war” of exorbitant air raids, precision-guided bombs, laser spotters, Tomahawk and Hellfire missiles - under the pretext of fighting alleged “Iranian-backed Houthis” – failed to succeed. It also ended with an insolvent Saudi Arabia. After all, Riyadh's very first and lethal mistake was calling a nation the agents of another country.

At the same time, the war in Yemen exposed the tenuous nature of Saudi Arabia’s relationships with its principal Muslim allies. The most important of them, Pakistan, surprisingly refused to send its army to assist the kingdom. The Sisi government in Egypt − in which Riyadh had invested many billions of dollars and which was considered the kingdom’s “strategic depth” − also reportedly refused to send large numbers of ground troops to participate in the fighting. Instead, Cairo sent a small contingent of several hundred soldiers and three to four ships to assist Riyadh. And in some instances, even those countries that agreed to participate in the Saudi-led campaign developed conflicts of interest with Riyadh over the course of the fighting; for example, the Saudis and the Emiratis are backing forces that are at odds over the future of Yemen and this created friction that has at times erupted into violence between local actors.

Any doubters should take a look at the Saudi budget plan for this year, which is also making a return back to global credit markets after a 25-year hiatus. The cash-strapped regime is about to secure a five-year $10-billion loan from international banks! Digits and numbers show that Saudi Arabia will definitely go completely bankrupt by 2020 if it doesn't stop its military adventurism in the region now. Riyadh is desparate to find a way out of Yemen, but the problem is that they don't have the tact and diplomacy, let alone strategic leadership.

サウジのイスタンブール総領事公邸の井戸からフッ化水素酸を検出 ボリスジョンソンが興味深い発言

FARSNEWS2018/11/8
Jamal Khashoggi Case: Traces of Acid, Chemicals Found at Saudi Consul’s Home
TEHRAN (FNA)- A source in the Turkish attorney general’s office revealed that the investigative team found traces of hydrofluoric（フッ化水素） acid and other chemicals inside a well at the Saudi consul general's home in Istanbul.
注：フッ化水素酸（Hydrofluoric acid）は、フッ化水素の水溶液である。俗にフッ酸と呼ばれ、工業的に重要であるが、触れると激しく体を腐食する危険な毒物としても知られる。Wikipediaから

The source told Al-Jazeera the killers dissolved Jamal Khashoggi's dismembered body in acid in one of the rooms at Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi’s residence.

RT2018/11/8
Former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson has put forth an intriguing argument for finding the killers of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi: not doing so will help Iran! Oh, and maybe the war on Yemen is bad, also.

Khashoggi, a self-exiled critic of the current Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2. Ankara immediately accused Riyadh of murdering the journalist, with anonymous government officials offering many graphic accounts of his death. After initially denying the accusations, the Saudis admitted Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. The investigation is ongoing.

Writing in the Post on Thursday, Johnson seemed confident he knew all the facts already.

“I don’t have any doubt about what happened: the plot to lure him to the Saudi consulate; the savage attack by heavies from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s own security team; the dismembering of the body,” he said. “Nor do I doubt for a second that this disgusting assassination was ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi regime.”

Interestingly, Johnson’s phrasing about the “highest levels” is identical to that of Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who wrote that the Turks “know that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government,” in an opinion piece the Post published last week.

Though Erdogan did not once mention Bin Salman’s name, it was abundantly clear from the piece that he was advocating a palace coup in Riyadh in which King Salman would pick another successor – someone less hostile to Turkey and Qatar, perhaps.

Boris appears to be of the same mind, but he took a different tack: if the Saudis don’t punish those who ordered Khashoggi’s killing – and end the war in Yemen while they’re at it – this would “boost Iran, and all regional critics of the Saudi regime.”

Iran as the root of all evil in the Middle East is a trope frequently invoked by the Trump administration, the Saudis and Israel, and Boris goes to great lengths to acknowledge that he agrees with it. However, he writes, “we will not put Iran back in its box unless we accept that the Iranians are also highly skillful at exploiting the consequences of the policies of the West and its allies.”

As examples, he lists the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the 2003 US invasion that “virtually handed [Iraq] them on a plate,” and the “West’s limp-wristed and ultimately abortive attempts” at regime change in Syria. In Yemen, Johnson argues, Tehran had “virtually no influence… and no real strategic interest” until the Saudi-led coalition began its “ill-fated campaign” in 2015.

While the Saudis and their allies may be legally right in Yemen, Johnson writes, “the plain fact is that the campaign has not been successful.”

Both the murder of Khashoggi and the war in Yemen are bad for Saudi Arabia and good for Iran, he concludes.

Johnson visited Saudi Arabia in September, for a three-day, all-expenses-paid trip he said was related to a “campaign of improving education for women and girls.” He resigned from Theresa May’s government in July, reportedly due to disagreements over Britain’s exit from the EU. Recent polls show him tied with May for the most popular politician in the UK.

Sanders Warns Trump: Interfering with Mueller Probe an 'Impeachable Offense'

FARSNEWS2018/11/8
Sanders Warns Trump: Interfering with Mueller Probe an 'Impeachable Offense'
TEHRAN (FNA)- Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday warned President Donald Trump against interfering with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's election meddling now that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has left the Justice Department.

"President Trump must allow Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation to continue unimpeded," Sanders tweeted Wednesday along with an article regarding Sessions's ouster, The Hill reported.

Sessions resigned Wednesday after months of criticism and insults from Trump.

“I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country,” Sessions wrote in his resignation letter, noting that “I have done so to the best of my ability, working to support the fundamental legal processes that are the foundation of justice”.

The Justice Department promptly released a statement saying that Matthew Whitaker would serve as acting attorney general, including taking oversight of Mueller's probe, control of which was given to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when Sessions recused himself because of his role in Trump's campaign.

During a press conference Wednesday before Sessions's resignation was announced, Trump said he has no intention to end Mueller's investigation into Russia's 2016 interference and any possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

"I could fire everybody right now, but I don't want to stop it because, politically, I don't like stopping it," Trump stated.

"I let it just go on. They're wasting a lot of money, but I let it go on because I don't want to do that," he added, stating that "it's a disgrace, frankly, and it's an embarrassment to our country".

Republicans have ripped the probe as being politically motivated, but have urged Trump not to put an end to it before Mueller makes his conclusions known.

Democrats have likewise encouraged Trump not to end the investigation and argued that doing so would qualify as obstruction of justice.

Mueller's team has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 32 people and companies so far.

Russia: Thousands of Corpses from US-Led Airstrikes Found Under Syria's Raqqa Rubble

FARSNEWS2018/11/8
Russia: Thousands of Corpses from US-Led Airstrikes Found Under Syria's Raqqa Rubble
TEHRAN (FNA)- The bodies of over 8,000 Syrians killed in the bombing raids carried out by the US and the coalition led by it have been found in mass graves in Syria’s Raqqa after the rubble was partially cleared away, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Last week, the Syrian government, in its letters addressed to the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council president, provided the tragic statistics on the victims of the coalition’s bombing raids in the city of Raqqa during its ‘liberation’ from ISIL (known as ISIS or Daesh)," she noted, TASS reported.

"The bodies of over 4,000 people were found while clearing away the rubble in two of the city’s residential neighborhoods left over from the airstrikes and also around the stadium and the zoo. Those were mainly women, the elderly and children. In addition, a mass grave where more than 2,500 people were buried was uncovered at a farm near a pediatric clinic and the National Hospital, while another burial site was opened near Al-Panorama where 1,500 bombing raids’ victims were buried," Zakharova added.

"The letters stressed that to date just two percent of the rubble had been cleared away in Raqqa, which had been literally razed to the ground," Zakharova emphasized.

According to the diplomat, the statistics turned out to be in stark contrast with "the hysterical reaction expressed by the US and other Western countries with respect to protecting Syrians’ rights", and "the information provided in recent reports by various Western NGOs on the situation in Raqqa".

The Raqqa Governorate and its capital of the same name served as the main outpost for the Daesh terror group in Syria. The city of Raqqa was recaptured from the terrorists last October by predominately-Kurdish units, which form part of the Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the US-led coalition.

Moscow and Damascus have drawn attention to the situation in Raqqa on numerous occasions. On November 29, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that the US and its allies were trying "to hide the dire consequences of their military operation" to liberate the Syrian city. For its part, Damascus sent a letter to the UN, which laid the blame for the bloody carnage on the US-led coalition, whose air raids claimed thousands of lives, while the city itself was razed to the ground.

2017年10月30日
米国主導同盟は彼らによる犠牲者の遺体を超えてラッカ解放を祝っている

2017年10月25日
ラッカの中心部はこんなに破壊されている

2017年10月21日
ラッカの街の8割が米軍とクルドの共同作戦で破壊された

イスラエルのソフトがサウジのジャーナリスト追跡に使われた

FARSNEWS2018/11/7
US Whistle-Blower: Israeli Software Was Used to Track Saudi Journalist
TEHRAN (FNA)- US whistle-blower Edward Snowden accused the Israel cyber intelligence firm NSO Group Technologies of "selling a digital burglary tool" which he claimed had been used to track Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in Turkey last month.

Technology made by an Israeli company was used to target groups of journalists in Mexico and other problematic areas, including Khashoggi, Snowden, who leaked classified NSA information, told a conference in Israel on Tuesday.

The whistle-blower spoke via video conference from an undisclosed location in Russia at an event organized by Israeli-based strategic, corporate, tech and financial communications firm OH! Orenstein Hoshen.

He accused NSO firm of “selling a digital burglary tool” and stressed that even if some good actors are using their software, “it is not just being used for catching criminals and stopping terrorist attacks…not just for saving lives, but for making money…such a level of recklessness…actually starts costing lives”.

It was NSO’s software, he stated, that was used to track Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkish city of Istanbul early October.

FARSNEWS2018/10/29
Arab Daily: Hi-Tech Israeli Spyware Transferred to S. Arabia
TEHRAN (FNA)- A leading Arab newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia has signed a secret contract with Israel, mediated by a western country, to buy advanced spying equipment.

The Arabic-language Khaleej Online news website reported on Monday that the talks between Riyadh and Tel Aviv on the purchase of the spyware were held in the Western states, including Britain and the US, adding that Washington is fully aware of the contents and results of the negotiations.

According to the report, the contract is worth $250mln and a number of spying devices have been transferred to Riyadh and a technical team has been sent to train the Saudis on how to operate the equipment.

Relevant reports said earlier this year that Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman had quietly fostered closer ties with Israel, taking a particular interest in Israeli cyber-surveillance technology and hi-tech weaponry as well as thawing relations between the two intelligence communities.

In September, Saudi Arabia was reported to have cut a deal though US mediation to buy Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system to deploy along its border with Yemen. Israel denied any such deal had been signed.

Israeli tech firms are also reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia that could see them set up operations in Neom, bin Salman's proposed $500bn "mega-city of the future," while Saudi Arabia's intelligence services are reported to be using Israeli spyware to spy on dissidents in other countries.

In November 2017, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Tel Aviv had had covert contacts with Saudi Arabia, a first disclosure by a senior Israeli official of such dialogue.

大晦日のビッグスポーツイベントのはずが流れて 日本はどうなっている？と世界が見ている

CNN2018/11/6
ボクシングのメイウェザー、大みそかに日本で那須川天心と対戦
（ＣＮＮ） プロボクシングで５階級を制覇したフロイド・メイウェザー（４１）が、１２月３１日に日本で開催される格闘技のイベント「ＲＩＺＩＮ（ライジン）」に参戦し、キックボクサーの那須川天心（なすかわてんしん）（２０）と対戦することがわかった。
メイウェザーはこれまで総合格闘技に参戦したことはない。ルールや体重などについてはこれから調整するという。（以下略）

RT2018/11/8
'I want to sincerely apologize to my fans': Mayweather annuls Japan MMA fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr has made a sensational u-turn on his fight with Japanese MMA kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, announced just a few days ago, claiming 'arrangements were made without his approval.'

Mayweather, 41, shocked the sports world when on Monday his return to the combat sports arena was announced in Japan by the Rizin Fighting Federation in a news conference at which the boxer was present.

But that was not the last surprise from the legendary former pound for pound king. On Wednesday the Michigan state native took to social media to shoot down the "misleading information" about the bout.

I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval.

Below you can read the full statement from Mayweather.

"Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced. First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan.

"Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the "Rizen (sic) Fighting Federation". What I was originally informed of by Brent Johnson of "One Entertainment" was that this was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee. This exhibition was previously arranged as a "Special Bout" purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide. Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately.

メイウェザーはエキシビションだと思っていたと。

Bank: Russia, China Can Ink Deal on National Currencies Payments by End of Year

RT2018/11/7
Bank: Russia, China Can Ink Deal on National Currencies Payments by End of Year
TEHRAN (FNA)- Russia and China can sign an agreement on settlements in national currencies by the end of the year, the head of the Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank, Igor Shuvalov, told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are interested [in this agreement], the Chinese side is no less interested, and perhaps it is even more interested, as yesterday Chinese chairman [President Xi Jinping] said that this agreement should be signed as soon as possible… It would be perfect to be able to sign it by the end of the year," Shuvalov said, Sputnik reported.

Delivering a speech at the opening of the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that he welcomed a further increase in the mutual lending in national currencies, including loans for the implementation of investment projects.

In May, Russia's largest bank, Sberbank announced plans to develop yuan-denominated loans for Russian companies and was considering issuing yuan-denominated obligations.

伊のサルヴィーニがガールフレンドに情事のセルフィを公開されて

はあー　イタリアのマッテオ・サルヴィーニ内相がガールフレンドに捨てられた。でも動じないでしょうね。
All by my-selfie: Salvini dumped by model girlfriend 'via Instagram' (PHOTOS)

日本でもそれに近いことがありましたね。

この記事には当初、あえて画像を載せませんでしたが、まあ、ご覧ください。このブログの品位を損なわないように、画像にモザイクをかけています。


ガールフレンドだった女性が司会役を務めるテレビ番組で

05 novembre 2018
Elisa Isoardi e Matteo Salvini, l’amore è finito: ecco com’era cominciato, in diretta tv… Guarda il video

サルヴィーニは、2001年、ジャーナリストと結婚して長男を儲けたが、9年後に離婚。2012年、ジュリア・マルティネリという女性との間に長女マリータが生まれているが、正式な結婚はしていない。エリザ・イゾアルディとは2015年以降事実婚の関係にあったとWikipediaにはあります。サルヴィーニは45歳。

単なる事実婚、情事の終わりということですね。画像もまあそれほど見苦しくもない。誰かに非難される謂れもない。非難されるとしたらこの画像を公開した女性です。

イタリアのタブロイドの情報は見ていませんが、当初のRTの報道では、元モデルに対して疑問を投げかける声が多かったようです。

日本だったら事実婚が始まった段階で週刊誌が追いかけるのでしょうか。内相兼副首相になるような人ですからね。

この記事を引っ張り出してきたのは、次の記事があったからです。サルヴィーニはEUの政策介入と移民受け入れに抵抗しています。

RT2018/11/7
Italian govt wins Senate confidence vote on security bill
Italy’s government won a confidence motion in the upper house Senate Wednesday over a contested security decree. The legislation tightens immigration regulations and bolsters anti-terrorism and anti-mafia rules. The bill was championed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, but was opposed by a handful of members of his coalition ally, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement. The government comfortably won the vote by 163 to 59, Reuters reports. Had it lost the motion, members would have been forced to resign. Italian media reported on Wednesday growing frustration within both coalition parties, but Salvini looked to calm the tensions ahead of the vote. “The government is absolutely not at risk. We will honor the commitments we made with the Italians one by one,” he said.

中国をけなす人に惑わされないように 力は日本を上回る

2018/11/5に届いた読者の便りから一部引用する。最初にツイートをお読みください。

「今日の放射能　健康被害が広がっている！」に引用転載したツイート

※　Tad @CybershotTad氏の2018/11/4のツイート
このデマツイ現時点で16000RTも行ってる。「驚いたから」とか「バズッてるから自分もリツイート」とかする前に一歩立ち止まって本当なのかな、と考えてみるといい。

※　スネゲマン将軍@腐敗列島 @sunegebohbohman氏の2018/11/3のツイート
スネゲマン将軍@腐敗列島さんがs子をリツイートしました
精神科の医者ですがそういう事実はございません。

※　s子 @YanoYsy氏の23:13 - 2018年10月30日 のツイート
精神科医の先生に聞きましたが、精神科に中国人が殺到しているそうです。中国人が鬱病の診断書で、生活保護を受給されているのです。「このままでは日本は終わる」と嘆いています。外国人が、私達国民の健康保険と生活保護をまんまと手に入れて、ほくそ笑んでいるのですね。日本の将来が恐ろしいです。

・・・・・

あーあ、日本の一般庶民は、リアルな中国をわかっていないなぁ、とつくづく思います。

なぜかと言いますと、今、中国はすごい勢いで発展していまして、すでに日本の社会を追い抜き始めているため、一般の中国人にとって、わざわざ日本に稼ぎに来る必要が消失したからです。

まあ、どこの国にも悪い奴はいますから、こういうセコイまねをする来日中国人が数人〜10数人はいると思いますが、これを普遍的な現象ととらえるのは無理ですよ。

現実主義な中国人、そんな暇人はほとんど居ない。と思います。 中国の大都会のインフラレベルが日本に追いついたのは10年前の話。

今ではド田舎の農村ですら、すでにあちこちで小型の電気自動車が見られるようになり、LEDライトの横に太陽光発電パネルを備えた街灯が、麦畑の中を通じる農道のわきにズラリと並んでいます。

農村の集落にも、ユニクロレベルの商品を並べた衣料販売店が出現し、農家のおばちゃんが買い物を楽しんでいます。また、村の通りに設置してある最新の有料浄水器を利用して飲料水を購入し、料理・飲用に使っています。

はっきり言って、中国内地の一般庶民の生活レベルだけをみれば、すでに中国のほうが日本より豊かになりつつあるのではないでしょうか。ここ２年ほど、中国の農村に行くたび、そのような思いが強くなりつつあります。

・・・引用終わり・・・

管理人は、25年ほど前と7年ほど前に中国に行きました。街の変貌ぶりにまさに浦島太郎でした。私の頭髪が抜け、ひげが白くなったのは、その時のショックによるものです。

上海でしたらまだ飛行機の旅にも耐えられます。上海の地下鉄の終点の郊外や満州にも行ってみたいと思います。人々の顔が明るくてとても良い。

最近感じるのは、特に情報機器での中国製品の市場席巻ぶり。スマホ、パソコン、関連機器、各種コードから放熱板まで。200円、300円のものが国際郵便で中国から直接送られてきます。

私の管理する情報機器で製造場所が中国でないものはないのではないか思います。ブランドも中国メーカーのものが多くなりました。

中国は、日本の市場を完全支配しようとしています。市場を押さえてしまえば、その後は値上げでしょう。

天安門事件の衝撃が今なお大きいですが、権力者が裁判手続きも経ずに自国民を殺すという面ではサウジが悪の権化になりました。日本も似たようなことをやっています。

私が中国の情報を扱うことが少ないのは、中国の生の情報が流れにくい面があるのはもちろんですが、他の国に比べて相対的にニュースのネタが少ないということではないかと考えています。

ツイッターの有名人の中にも中国に関して偏ったニュースを紹介している人もいましたが、上に引用したデマの類しか流れないのは、一応中国の社会・経済がうまく回転しているということではないでしょうか。

中国の第五世代ステルス戦闘機がデモ飛行をしたそうです。動画を見るとロシアの最新鋭戦闘機と変わらないパフォーマンスを示しています。ロシアの技術が入っているのでしょうが、編隊飛行ができるということは同等な品質の戦闘機を作れているということですよね。
RT2018/11/6
China’s newest 5th-generation stealth fighter jets perform stunts during airshow

2018/11/7に寄せられたコメントを掲載する。

中国は単純に日本の十倍からの人口があります。
当然何らかの今後特に必要とされる才能を持つ子供も、
購買力となる働き手も
全て十倍いるわけです。
そんな国が学問を奨励し、
有能なものは海外に積極的に留学させ
好待遇で働き手として迎えるわけです。

基礎研究費をケチり
ただただ旧態依然とした巨大企業を守り
革新的なサービスや商品を生み出す枷をそのままにする
偏狭な島国には勝ち目はないでしょう。

ただ、こうした事実認識は
いくら日本の地上波を見ても出てこないでしょう。
年齢層に関わらず日本はアジアをむやみに蔑視し
自国をただただ信仰に近い形で褒めちぎり
気が付けば後塵を拝し手も足も出ない状況になることでしょう。

Oxfam: US, UK, France Are Behind Millions of People Starving in Yemen

FARSNEWS2018/11/7
Oxfam: US, UK, France Are Behind Millions of People Starving in Yemen
TEHRAN (FNA)- The US, UK, and French governments are behind millions of people starving in Yemen because they are “supporting this war,” an Oxfam representative stated, urging London to stop beefing up Saudi Arabia’s military.

“We have 14 million people starving,” Richard Stanforth, Oxfam UK’s regional policy officer for the Middle East, told RT.

"British, French, American governments are all behind this, they are all supporting this war," he stated.

Stanforth blamed the British government in particular, saying that London should stop its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is accaused of targeting food supplies and even no-strike locations in Yemen.

“We’ve seen attacks on water infrastructure, on hospitals, warehouses of food. This pattern is continuing. Certainly, it’s the airstrikes that are killing most civilians,” he stressed.

Stanforth said Riyadh’s bombing is not sparing humanitarian sites either… including that of Oxfam. Saudi Arabia is “aware of many of these locations” and along with the UAE, it is still hitting them, he added.

Western states have been widely criticized by rights groups for their continued arms sales to Riyadh. However, turning the tide on multibillion-dollar deals may not be so easy.

Following the killing of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, US President Donald Trump issued strong words to Riyadh. He was not prepared, however, to cancel a $400 billion arms deal, saying there are other ways to “punish” America’s Middle East ally.

Trump’s position was echoed by the attitude of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who said it is “very difficult” (or… costly, to be precise) to get out of the arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

UN Agencies: Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals in 2018 Top 100,000, Deaths Exceed 2,000

2018/11/7
UN Agencies: Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals in 2018 Top 100,000, Deaths Exceed 2,000
TEHRAN (FNA)- UN agencies reported on Tuesday that the number of migrants and refugees who died while crossing the Mediterranean this year has exceeded 2,000 while the numbers crossing the sea reached 100,630.

UN refugee agency UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxely said at a UN briefing that "some 17 people have been found dead this week off the Spanish coast, meaning that the number of lives lost on the Mediterranean this year has now exceeded 2,000", Xinhua reported.

"The Mediterranean has for several years been the world's deadliest sea route for refugees and migrants. That it continues to be so, should be unacceptable to all," the spokesperson added.

He stated that around 105,000 asylum seekers and migrants have reached Europe so far this year, representing a return to pre-2014 levels.

"However, the 2,000 drownings mean that the rate of deaths, particularly in the Central Mediterranean, has escalated sharply," Yaxley said, adding that in September, one life was lost for every eight people who crossed.

"This was in large part due to substantially reduced search and rescue capacity," the UNHCR spokesperson noted.

At the same briefing, UN migration agency the International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Joel Millman said that the number of migrants and refugees entering Europe by sea in 2018 through November 4, marked the fifth straight year their arrivals have topped 100,000.

IOM announced that the 100,630 migrants and refugees who entered Europe by sea in 2018 through November 4, included 49,013 to Spain, the region's most active destination point this year, with just under 50 percent of all 2018 arrivals.

The region's total arrivals through the recent weekend compare with 154,825 arrivals across the region through the same period last year, and 337,773 at this point in 2016, according to the IOM.

"This marks the fifth straight year arrivals of irregular migrants and refugees have topped the 100,000 benchmark --- although in all previous years that arrival threshold was reached much earlier in the year," Millman stated.

Last year that quantity of arrivals was reached in July, just as was the case in 2014. In 2015 Mediterranean arrivals reached 100,000 in June. In 2016 the number was reached in February.

Kurdish militia made a swap with ISIS to get back 7 US troops – sources

RT2018/11/6
Kurdish militia made a swap with ISIS to get back 7 US troops – sources
Kurdish militia made a swap with Islamic state terrorists to get back seven US soldiers captured in September, Turkish media has said. The Kurds had to withdraw from some oil wells under the swap terms.

The American troops were detained during a confrontation between Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Kurdish YPG/ PKK militias in the embattled Syrian Deir ez-Zor province in September this year, sources told Anadolu agency on condition of anonymity. The talks to retrieve the soldiers started in late September.

In exchange for the troops, extremists pressed the Kurds to withdraw from several oil wells and allow food and medical supplies to some locations. After YPG/ PKK militias left the oil wells, they got the American soldiers.

Washington, however, has denied that it took part in the swap. “The coalition is not involved in any deal with ISIS,” said US Colonel Sean Ryan, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.

The reported deal would not be the first one made between Kurdish militia and IS. Back in 2017 they agreed to allow 250 IS fighters and 3,500 of their family members to escape the besieged Raqqa in Syria. The deal was defended by the US, with Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon saying that it was part of a “local solution to a local issue.” The US move was slammed by then Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as “shocking.”

Turkey has been frustrated with Washington’s support for the YPG militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) it considers terrorist. Earlier in September Ankara told the US that Kurdish militants must completely abandon Syria.

Yet the US easily abandoned their Kurdish allies in the past when it seemed convenient for the White House. During the Turkish military operation in Afrin that took place in January-March this year Kurds repeatedly accused Washington of double standards after it did nothing to protect Afrin from what they called “Turkish occupation.”

This summer Kurds were seen to be left out in the cold after Ankara and Washington agreed on details of a withdrawal of Kurdish militia from northern Syria.

The US military has been engaged in Syria since September 2014, working with some militias to fight terrorists. Deir ez-Zor province where those seven soldiers were allegedly captured is one of the zones of the US-led operation. IS is controlling large parts of Deir ez-Zor’s territory.

米国選挙 下院は民主党が過半を抑える

上院は共和党、下院は民主党だと報じられています。

Source: CIA Chief Seen All Evidence in Relation to Khashoggi Murder

FARSNEWS2018/11/6
Source: CIA Chief Seen All Evidence in Relation to Khashoggi Murder
TEHRAN (FNA)- A Turkish security source announced that CIA Director Gina Haspel has seen all the evidence related to Jamal Khashoggi's killing.

The evidence proves the operation was carried out on orders from the highest level of leadership in Saudi Arabia, the source told Al-Jazeera.

Haspel was in Turkey last week to review evidence, before briefing US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.

Turkish sources also stated that Saudi Arabia would pay "blood money" or compenstation to Khashoggi's family and his fiancee.

Saudi Arabia has admitted Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Khashoggi - a Saudi writer, US resident and Washington Post columnist - entered the building on October 2 to obtain documentation certifying he had divorced his ex-wife so he could remarry.

After weeks of repeated denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance, the kingdom eventually acknowledged that the murder was premeditated. The whereabouts of his body are still unknown.

FARSNEWS2018/11/6
TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkish media reported that staff at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul tried to dismantle security cameras to help cover up the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Saudis tried to rip out the camera inside the consulate on October 2, the day Khashoggi was murdered, Sabah newspaper reported on Tuesday.

They also tried to tamper with cameras at the police security booth outside the building, the daily added.

According to the report, on October 6, at 1 am local time, a consulate member staff went into the police security post outside the Saudi consulate to access the video system.

Sabah reported that the staff member put in a digital lock code into the system, which did not dismantle any cameras, rather the code was to prevent access to any videos showing movement at the entrance, including Khashoggi's arrival at the consulate.

Housing market reminiscent of 2006 bubble, ready to burst – Shiller

RT2018/11/5
Housing market reminiscent of 2006 bubble, ready to burst – Nobel Prize-winning economist Shiller
The weakening housing market is similar to the last market high, just before the subprime housing bubble burst a decade ago, says famed housing-watcher Robert Shiller.

The economist, who predicted the 2007-2008 crisis, told Yahoo Finance that current data shows “a sign of weakness.”

Housing pivots take more time than those in the stock market, Shiller said, adding that “the housing market does have a momentum component and we’re seeing a clipping of momentum at this time.”

The Nobel Laureate explained: “If the markets go down, it could bring on another recession. The housing market has been an important element of economic activity. If people start to get pessimistic about housing and pull back and don’t want to buy, there will be a drop in construction jobs and that could be a seed for another recession.” He added: “By the way, we’re overdue for another recession.”

When reminded that 2006 predated the greatest financial crisis in a lifetime, Shiller acknowledged that any correction would likely be far less severe.

“The drop in home prices in the financial crisis was the most severe drop in the US market since my data begin in 1890,” the Yale economist said.

“It could be that we’re primed to repeat it because it’s in our memory and we’re thinking about it but still I wouldn’t expect something as severe as the Great Financial Crisis coming on right now. There could be a significant correction or bear market, but I’m waiting and seeing now.”

The infamous US housing bubble in the mid-2000s and the subsequent subprime meltdown were key factors spurring the broader financial crisis of 2008. A speculative frenzy over house prices, mortgages beyond long-term capabilities to finance, and eventually a wave of defaults by borrowers, threatened the solvency of some key financial institutions which in turn led to a stock market crash, and the global financial crisis.

France: Arrest warrants for Syrian officials an important step towards justice

Amnesty International　5 November 2018, 13:31 UTC
France: Arrest warrants for Syrian officials an important step towards justice

Responding to the news that French prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for three senior Syrian government and intelligence officials on charges of torture, enforced disappearances, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research Anna Neistat said:

“These arrest warrants for three senior officials, including a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, are an important step towards delivering justice for the countless victims of gross human rights violations carried out by the Syrian government.

“With war crimes and crimes against humanity continuing to go unpunished in Syria, it is vital that all states cooperate to ensure justice for victims. This includes enforcing universal and other forms of jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute, in their own courts, suspected perpetrators of atrocities.

“The international community should follow France’s lead by taking steps, wherever possible, to end impunity in the Syria conflict and hold all parties to account.”

Background

The wanted Syrian officials have been named as director of the National Security Bureau Ali Mamlouk; head of Airforce Intelligence Jamil Hassan, who is already the subject of a German arrest warrant; and head of the Air Force Intelligence Investigative Branch at Mezzeh military airport, Abdel Salam Mahmoud.

The arrest warrants were issued following a case filed in France in 2016 by Obeida Dabbagh, whose brother and nephew, Mazen and Patrick Abdelkader Dabbagh, dual Syrian-French nationals, were arrested and forcibly disappeared by Syrian Airforce Intelligence in Damascus in November 2013.

In July 2018, the Dabbagh family obtained documents from the Syrian government indicating that Mazen and Patrick had died in November 2017 and January 2014 respectively.

More than 80,000 people have been subjected to enforced disappearance by the Syrian government since the start of the conflict.

Amnesty International is calling on international leaders to support a UN Security Council referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, and to cooperate fully with the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to assist in investigating and prosecuting crimes under international law in Syria.