Turkey summons US envoy over spying

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Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the US envoy to the country over a recent report of widespread spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on the Middle Eastern country.

The US charge d’affaires, who’s currently Washington’s top diplomat in Ankara, has been ordered to provide an explanation over the report.

“The US charge d’affaires has been summoned to the foreign ministry to demand an explanation,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters in Ankara in televised comments.

On Sunday, the German magazine Der Spiegel said the NSA and Britain’s spying agency known as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) have been snooping on Turkey.

The German media report noted that the NSA placed “Turkey at the level of Venezuela, and even ahead of Cuba, in terms of US interest in intelligence collection.”

The report is based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The news comes weeks after the magazine said Germany’s foreign intelligence agency has been spying on Turkey for years.

Disclosures by Snowden have exposed widespread domestic and international surveillance by the agency, triggering political condemnation in the US and around the world.

NSA spying revelations have hurt America’s global reputation. The impact has been particularly strong in Germany and Brazil, where Snowden’s revelations indicated that the NSA had spied on the leaders of those two countries.

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Rescue op. underway after Paris blast

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Rescue efforts are still underway at the site of an apartment building outside Paris which collapsed due to a blast.

The explosion happened at around 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Sunday, leaving seven people dead and 11 others injured.

Rescue workers are currently scrambling against time to find one last person still missing.

“Time is not on our side,” said Gabriel Plus, a spokesman for Paris firefighters, adding, “But as long as all the missing people have not been found, we’ll keep the operation going.”

However, local prefect Philippe Galli underlined that the chances of finding a survivor were “very, very small”, adding that all the potential air pockets have been explored and the rubble is “extremely compact.”

Galli said a woman in her 80s who lived on the first floor was buried under the debris after the four-storey residential block in the Paris suburb of Rosny-ous-Bois collapsed.

In addition to the octogenarian, the disaster has also killed a 40-year-old mother and her two children aged 14 and 18, together with a 10-year-old child, a 45-year-old woman and another adult who has not been identified formally yet.

Rescue workers had sifted through the rubble through the night with floodlights in the hope of finding anyone else alive.

Based on early indications, the disaster was an accidental gas explosion. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who visited the scene, and police also initially pointed to a gas leak as a likely cause of the explosion.

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‘Iran sanctions show US confusion’

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Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says the recent US move to impose new sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear energy program indicates Washington’s confusion.

“The imposition of new sanctions against Iran is an indication of the US confusion in [its] foreign policy and particularly in [its] view towards the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Rafsanjani said in a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja in Tehran on Monday.

Rafsanjani said certain countries involved in nuclear talks with Iran are looking for “political pretexts” against Iran, adding, the widespread US sanctions ahead of a new round of negotiations between Iran and six world powers will undermine the Iranians’ confidence in the talks.  

He called on the world’s intellectuals and “moderate” countries in the European Union to remind Washington of the adverse consequences of such policies.

On August 29, Washington imposed sanctions on over 25 individuals and companies, including shipping firms, oil companies, airlines and six banks over alleged links with Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The sanctions come as Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany are in talks to reach a final nuclear agreement.

The two sides signed a historic interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013. The agreement entered into force on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, Iran and the six countries agreed to extend their negotiations until November 24 in a bid to work out a final accord.

The next round of talks between Iran and the six countries will be held in New York in September.

The Finnish foreign minister, for his part, said the settlement of the West’s nuclear standoff with Iran would bring about major developments in Iran’s ties with European countries, particularly with Finland.

Tuomioja arrived in Tehran Saturday night to confer with senior Iranian officials on the nuclear issue and the latest regional developments.

He held talks with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on Sunday.

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UK raps Israel’s record land grab

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British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has denounced the Israeli regime’s plans to grab hundreds of hectares of the Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, calling upon Tel Aviv to change its decision.

The Tel Aviv regime announced on Sunday that it would seize some 400 hectares (988 acres) of the Palestinian territory for the expansion of the Gevaot settlement in the southern city of Bethlehem. The land appropriation has been described as the biggest by Israel since the 1980s.

On Monday, Hammond called on Israel to reverse its “ill-judged decision,” arguing that it comes at a time when the priority must be to build on a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“The UK deplores the Israeli government’s expropriation of 988 acres of land …,” he said, adding, “It will do serious damage to Israel’s standing in the international community.”

The top British diplomat further emphasized that the settler units are considered as illegal under the international law.

More than half a million Israelis live in illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1967.

The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by much of the international community. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the settlement construction is part of Tel Aviv’s policy and will not stop.

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NATO plans ‘more visible’ East presence

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NATO is set to upgrade its military readiness at a summit this week to increase its presence in eastern European member states, the alliance Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says.

The NATO’s head told a news conference in Brussels on Monday that the summit in Wales would specially boost NATO’s rapid response force, creating a spearhead of “several thousand troops” which could be sent within “very few days” to meet any new threat.

This will “ensure that we have the right forces and the right equipment in the right place, at the right time,” Rasmussen said, adding, “That also means a more visible NATO presence in the East for as long as required.”

“We will agree a readiness action plan to make NATO more agile than ever. The readiness action plan responds to Russia’s aggressive behavior, but it equips the alliance to respond to all security challenges wherever they may arise,” he also said.

The NATO summit which will be held on Thursday and Friday is expected to mainly focus on the crisis in Ukraine.

Since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russia protesters in mid-April, Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the country’s east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Luhansk held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of fueling the crisis in east Ukraine, but Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and criticized its Western neighbor for the heavy crackdown on the pro-Russia protesters in the region.

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Ukraine warns of ‘great war’ with Russia

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Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Geletey has warned of an impending “great war” with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

“A great war has arrived at our doorstep — the likes of which Europe has not seen since World War II. Unfortunately, the losses in such a war will be measured not in the hundreds but thousands and tens of thousands,” Geletey wrote in a message posted on his Facebook page on Monday.

He further claimed that “hundreds of Russian soldiers and officers have permanently entered Ukraine’s (eastern) ‘black earth’ region.”

Geletey made the comments a day after alleging that Russian troops were moving in the main cities of Lugansk and Donetsk.

President Petro Poroshenko, also, told military cadets in Kiev on Monday that “the situation has aggravated in recent days – there is direct, overt aggression against Ukraine from the neighboring state.”

Ukraine’s army forces retreated from the airport of the eastern city of Lugansk as well as a nearby village on Monday after an hours-long battle against a “reinforced tank battalion of the Russian armed forces,” according to security spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

Since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russia protesters in mid-April, Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the country’s east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Luhansk held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of fueling the crisis in east Ukraine, but Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and criticized its Western neighbor for the heavy crackdown on the pro-Russia protesters in the region.

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Ayatollah Zakyzaky Accuses Govt Of Campaign Of Calumny Against Islamic Group

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El-Zakzaky explained that what happened during the Quds Day procession in Zaria when many of his followers were killed was history repeating itself.

According to him, “the enemies had prepared the stage with sponsored campaigns of calumny against the Islamic Movement, which was not

yielding fruits”, adding that “when the campaign was not yielding fruits, they resolved to face the Movement with all their might, shooting to kill.”

El-Zakyzaky, who spoke yesterday during the 28th Islamic Vocation Course at the Jannatu Darul Rahma, Dambo Zaria, where the Quds Day

victims were buried, argued that “they have set up traps, planned ambush and staged bomb blasts uncountable times, but Allah thwarted their plans.

“They have done their worst without achieving their objective; they are now confused, disenchanted and full of shame. We are victorious,

because we are not fighting anyone; we are just talking. Their action has strengthened our resolve and determination on the course.”

El-Zakyzaky alleged that government had planned for what happened “so that there would be anarchy and a curfew would be imposed,” adding that “that would have given them the opportunity to go about detonating bombs and attributing it to Shi’a. Allah frustrated their effort.”

Besides, he also alleged that foreign powers were planning to impose the Afghanistan experience on Nigeria “by wiping out communities and people such as in Goza, Birnin Gwari, Katsian, Borno and Zamfara forests to establish military camps where they will siphon Nigeria’s resources that is more valuable and precious than that of Afghanistan, maximum casualties notwithstanding.”

Stressing that the uranium, gold and other mineral resources in Nigeria were more precious than that of Afganistan, he noted that “the only obstacle to their plan is the Islamic Movement, hence the constant plans and plots”.

“The world arrogance knew that the Islamic Movement is mass movement with conscience and true religion of the Ahlul Bayt that has link to Allah.”

“This is why they intensify effort to crush us with all their might. They will never relent, as did the Quraysh during the time of the Holy Prophet, but one day they will give up.”

El-Zakzaky further alleged that the campaigns of calumny against the Shi’a were deliberate.

He, however, said, “people were becoming more aware of Shi’a and what it stands for, even among the Christians”.

While condemning the action of the Nigerian military, Sheikh Zakzaky described it as a blessing in disguise, which benefit would be reaped by the victims, the Movement and the whole society.

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Hezbollah Urges to Exert Efforts to Reach Happy End on Imam Sadr Case

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In a statement issued Friday, Hezbollah highlighted that August 31 incident marks the most painful dates in the history of our country and our nation.

“Imam Musa al-Sadr is the imam of the resistance, the imam of dialogue, openness and moderation; and amid the circumstances prevailing in our nation, we remember his critical positions on the conflict with the continuing Zionist aggression on our nation,” the statement read.

“We also remember his talk with all social, religious and political parties in our region amid the takfiri and terrorist attack aimed at everyone,” it added.

Hezbollah stressed that the successive Libyan governments which have done nothing so far – since the revolution of 2011 – bear the responsibility for this crime.

“Arab and international communities are partners in crime to hide Imam Sadr for not bearing the responsibility for working to release the Imam and his companions,” it said.

“On this day, Hezbollah confirms keenness to keep this issue at the top of priorities, and stresses the need to exert all possible efforts in order to reach the happy conclusion,” the statement added.

Hezbollah also emphasized that “the path, approach and ideas of Imam Sadr will remain the lighthouse that lights our way to face threats that target our nation, especially the growing Zionist danger, the danger posed by the takfir trend and terrorism, as well as by the deprivation which Imam Sadr considered one of the greatest threats to our people and our nation.”

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Houthis hold fresh anti-government demo in Sana’a

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Tens of thousands of Houthis and their supporters defied an earlier warning by the government to disperse and took to the streets in Sana’a on Thursday, calling on the transitional administration to quit power.

The outraged participants accused the government of corruption and marginalizing the country’s Shia Muslim community.
The protesters also threatened that they would intensify their pressure should Sana’a refuses to meet their demands, chanting, “We will not back away. Our people will step up the pressure.”

The demonstrators also held a sit-in near the country’s main airport amid the latest wave of anti-government protests.

The large gathering was held a day after Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi warned Houthi anti-government protesters, saying that the United States and its allies oppose the group’s show of force.

In a similar event on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands flooded the streets, demanding the downfall of the government after Houthi leader Abd al-Malik al-Houthi for more anti-government protests.

Houthis have been holding demonstrations since August 20 when they strengthened their positions in the Yemeni capital in an effort to press the government to quit.

The Shia movement and its supporters are demanding the resignation of the government and the reversal of recent increases in fuel prices.

The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, resigned in early 2012 under a US-backed power transfer deal in return for immunity, after a year of mass street demonstrations demanding his ouster.

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Has Turkey helped ISIL?

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Visiting Washington, London and Brussels to protest that Turkey has never helped ISIL is a lie that even Turks are not buying. Beyond the evidence collected by foreign intelligence agencies, there is ample proof that has been published by international media outlets.

While the dirty relationship between Turkey and ISIL is clear, Turkish authorities think that Western observers might be stupid enough to believe their tall tales.

If there was no hard evidence concerning Turkey’s dark relations with ISIL-like terrorist organizations, the court testimony of the drivers who were carrying ammunition to Syria is convincing enough to make a case that Turkey is helping al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists in Syria.

For example, truck driver L.K., who was arrested carrying 9,000 mortar rounds, testified in Adana in 2013 saying, “I carried similar loads more than once, unloading them at a gendarmerie station on the border. The load did not belong to the Turkish Armed Forces.” The court in Adana determined that the direction which the truck drivers reported that their loads were being taken to was that of an al-Qaeda camp.

When the police and gendarmerie stopped the trucks full of ammunition at the Reyhanlı border, Turkish authorities claimed that the trucks were carrying aid to Turkmens in Syria. It is ridiculous for any reasonable person to believe that these trucks were carrying aid to Turkmens.

This was an obvious lie for two simple reasons: Turkmens in Syria live right across the border from the Turkish town of Yayladağı, which is located at the very southern corner of Hatay province. However, the trucks were stopped at the Cilvegozu Gate, which is at the top of Hatay province. The distance between Cilvegozu and Yayladağı is 100 miles.

More importantly, extremist al-Qaeda-affiliated groups were controlling the Syrian side of the Cilvegozu gate, Bab-Al-Hawa at that time. ISIL forces were controlling the highways on the Syrian side in 2013, when the trucks were stopped.

Pro-government academics and analysts who want us — and the world community — to believe that Turkey has not helped al-Qaeda affiliated groups want us to believe that those trucks full of ammunition were carrying aid — even military aid — to Turkmens, not through Turkish territory, but through Syrian territory controlled by al-Qaeda and ISIL forces

Dealing with terrorists and helping terrorism is like a boomerang; sooner or later it will come back on those who engage in it. This was Turkey’s argument back in 1990, telling the countries of Europe that helping the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) would hurt them in the long run, which was true.

Yet, the “new Turkey,” as pro-government analysts love to say, has forgotten its own argument in helping al-Qaeda-affiliated terror groups to topple the Assad regime. Not surprisingly, the boomerang has come back to strike Turkey quite severely. Now 49 Turkish diplomatic staff and dependents are being held captive by ISIL and Turkey has not even lifted a finger to rescue them thus far.

There is little doubt that government authorities violated international law pursuing aggressive policies to topple the Assad regime. If there is a price to be paid, it should not be Turkey; rather, it should be those who made such decisions and played such dangerous games.

Unfortunately, Turkey’s contribution is one of the reasons ISIL wields so much power today. This is not only limited to Turkey’s passive support by turning a blind eye to ISIL fighters using Turkish territory to cross into Syria, but it is also due to these shadowy arms transfers from Turkey to Syria. ISIL officials are not even shy about confessing that they carried their weapons through Turkey on their way to jihad.

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