The Finance Ministry’s budget for the next year, to be submitted for Cabinet approval this week, has revealed that Israel has created almost a dozen new missions around the world since 2010.The Financial Ministry’s website mentioned Embassies in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Wellington (New Zealand), Accra (Ghana), Tirana (Albania) and the Caribbean, as well as consulates in Guangzhou (China), Sao Paolo (Brazil), Munich (Germany) and St. Petersburg (Russia), and a “diplomatic delegate to the Pacific.”The ministry, however, refused to divulge information on a diplomatic mission reportedly set up in the Persian Gulf. “We cannot comment on this matter,” the Foreign Ministry said, as quoted by Haaretz.To date, Israel has no formal diplomatic relations with the Arab Gulf States, comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Mark A. Heller, a Principal Research Associate at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, explained there is nothing unprecedented about Israel reaching out to the Arab Gulf States: “Diplomacy outreach is something that existed in the past between Israel and some of the Arab countries,” Heller told RT.When asked the reason behind the renewal of diplomatic relations, Heller said the answer boiled down to one word: “Iran.” Better relations with the Arab Gulf States will facilitate “better coordination and analysis” when it comes to gauging the perceived Iranian threat, he said.News of Israel’s push for new diplomatic missions comes on the heels of an earlier report that suggested Israel is attempting to mend security fences with some of its neighbors. Earlier this month, it was reported that Israel is considering allying itself with several moderate Arab states in a US-brokered defense alliance that would be aimed at containing Iran, which is accused of developing nuclear weapons.Tehran rejects allegations that it is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons, maintaining that its nuclear research is for its civilian sector.The alleged alliance would see Israel partnering with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to forge a Middle East ‘moderate crescent’ to contain, rather than confront, Iran, the Sunday Times reported, citing an anonymous Israeli official.Such an alliance would give Israel access to radar stations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in exchange for its own early warning radar information and anti-ballistic missile defense systems, the source said.Turkey has dismissed reports of a security alliance with Israel. “These are manipulative reports which have nothing to do with the reality,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Hürriyet Daily News. … Read More
Dubai court incarcerates UK trio on drug charges amid torture claims
The three Londoners – Karl Williams, Grant Cameron and Suneet Jeer – will be jailed for four years and then deported from the United Arab Emirates. The men were taken into custody by the police last July while they were on holiday.Officers said the men were carrying ‘spice,’ a synthetic form of cannabis, in their rented car and accused them of possession with intent to distribute.The Britons have denied the charges, and claimed they were tortured by Emirate police who forced them to sign confessions written in Arabic, a language none of them understand.Grant Cameron was reportedly separated from the other two men after being apprehended in the desert, tasered, and told he was going to die, according to UK press reports. All three were then allegedly taken back to their hotel where they were tortured individually.”For 45 minutes they were tasered, beaten around the head and handcuffed before they were taken back to the hotel where Grant was staying. They were put in separate rooms and had guns held to their heads. They were told they would be killed and told they would never see their families again,” Cameron’s mother told the Press Association in a statement.A formal complaint was made to the UK Foreign Office last year appealing for an independent investigation into the allegations of torture. UAE authorities denied the men’s accusations after Officer Osman Ali Abdulla, who participated in the arrest, said in a court hearing in March that they had been treated well and were not abused.Prior to the UAE’s ruling, UK Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the case in a letter to Reprieve on Sunday, expressing concern over the authorities’ failure to organize an independent medical investigation.”We continue to press for evidence for a full, impartial and independent investigation into the allegations. The absence of an independent medical examination remains a concern,” Cameron wrote.Cameron said he would discuss the issue during his meeting with UAE leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a state visit on Wednesday.The British Foreign Office said it has provided consular assistance to the three men after they were taken into custody in the summer of last year, and raised the torture allegations at “the most senior levels.”The UK and the UAE enjoy a lucrative defense partnership. Last year, Prime Minister Cameron sealed a deal to sell around 60 Typhoon fighter jets to the Gulf nation in a multi-billion-pound agreement. … Read More
US sailor in UAE subdues knife-wielding attempted rapist
The victim, 28, was on a 24-hour leave in January when her ship was berthed in a port in Sharjah, a city that is part of the Dubai metropolitan area. She spent most of her free time shopping at the Mall of the Emirates, and was on her way back to the ship.“I was in a rush as my permit was about to finish so I took the defendant’s bus as it had a sign ‘for passenger transport,’” the woman told the court, according to the Gulf Times. “Ten minutes later he changed his route and stopped.”The driver, 21, parked the bus in a dark and quiet area, approached her as she was sitting in the back seat, and propositioned her for sex, prosecutors said. When she turned down his advances, he took out a knife and sexually assaulted the sailor, threatening to kill her and trying to rip her clothes off.A fight ensued in which the American woman wrestled the weapon from the attacker even as he was biting her hand, and broke the knife in two, the National reported. She got a stranglehold on the man’s neck with her legs, forcing him into submission, and fled shortly after.The sailor reported the incident to her superiors. Dubai police arrested the driver the next day as he was sleeping at his home. Prosecutors charged the man with attempted rape, assault, threatening to kill and consumption of alcohol.At the court hearing, the defendant confessed to being drunk on the day of the alleged attack, but denied remembering anything about the event. “It is true that I consumed liquor. I was very drunk so I couldn’t remember what I did on the bus,” he told the judge.It is unclear whether the man will face punishment for DUI.The court ordered that the defendant be examined to confirm his age after he failed to provide a birth certificate; the suspect is reportedly a Pakistani national. The trial will adjourn on May 1. … Read More
Hagel: Syria used chemical weapons
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the remark Thursday while speaking in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and said it would be a “game changer” in terms of America’s role in the war overseas. … Read More
Survey: US and UK citizens reject regime change or arms supply in Syria
Fifty-seven per cent of British people and 45 per cent of Americans are against supplying arms to the Syrian rebels, with just 16 per cent in favor in both countries, according to a YouGov poll conducted earlier this month. The apathy for military shipments is shared across the political spectrum in both countries, with 17 per cent of Republicans and 16 per cent of Democrats in favor in the US, and 14 per cent of Conservatives, 18 per cent of Labour voters and 25 per cent of Liberal Democrat supporters endorsing the UK government engaging in the same activity.Britain and France have pushed to ease an existing EU embargo on arming either side in the conflict, but were rebuffed by other member states during a foreign ministers’ meeting last week. The ban will now remain in power until summer, unless new negotiations take place.Meanwhile, US President Obama does not openly endorse arming the rebels, but the CIA has increasingly facilitated shipments through allied third countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, according to an investigation published in the New York Times on Sunday.More radical options are equally unpopular. Asked if they were in favor of sending in soldiers “to protect civilians from attack,” only 23 per cent in the UK and 27 per cent in the United States said yes.And only 9 percent in the UK and 16 in the US want their government to use armed force to actively depose President Bashar Assad.Analysts of the survey have tied the results with the continuing dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein was overthrown nearly ten years ago. While the open sectarian conflict in the country has subsided, suicide bombings and clashes remain a weekly occurrence, with over 50 people killed just last week in Baghdad explosions on the anniversary of the US invasion.In the same survey, only 27 per cent of Britons and 41 per cent of Americans said they believed George W. Bush and his allies did the right thing when they sent their troops into the country.Indeed, 71 per cent in the UK and 56 per cent in the US believe that Iraq is likely to remain a “permanently unstable country” in the foreseeable future. … Read More
Clashes and teargas in Bahrain as thousands remember Gulf forces intervention
The protests have brought traffic in the capital to astandstill. Thousands have taken to the streets in several villagessurrounding the city. Sounds of stun grenades can be heard acrossthe city, and most roads leading into Manama are closed, APsaid.Protesters have set up road barricades, burned tires and thrownMolotov cocktails and stones at the riot police. The police triedto disperse the rioters by firing tear gas and throwing percussiongrenades into the crowds.“No, no Saudi Occupier,” “Down with [King] Hamad,” theprotesters chanted according to Press TV.The slogans denounced the crackdown of the 2011 Bahrainiuprising, which was quelled two years ago after Saudi forces andother Gulf troops were deployed in the country.The ‘Arab Spring’-inspired uprising was led by the country’sShia majority, with protesters demanding reforms, political freedomand equality from the country’s Western-backed Sunnirulers.After a month of clashes that started with violent police raidson peaceful protesters, Bahrain’s Al-Khalifa royal family requestedhelp from neighboring countries. On March 14, 2011, some 1500troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployedin Bahrain to “secure” the situation.More than 80 people have been killed in Bahrain in connectionwith the uprising since February 14, 2011, according to humanrights groups. Thousands have been arrested with reports ofviolence and torture used by the Bahraini police.No progress has been made in talks between the Bahrainiopposition and the government, and protests are still frequent inthe country that is home to the US Fifth Fleet. … Read More
Obstacles remain for Iran-Pakistan pipeline
http://www.youtube.com/v/6uf8wma7kbo?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Originally from - Obstacles remain for Iran-Pakistan pipeline
