‘Bahrain regime on brink of collapse’

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A political commentator has questioned the legitimacy of the Bahraini government, saying the Al Khalifa regime is teetering on the brink of collapse, Press TV reports.

“The regime makes up charges to arrest those who oppose the monarchical dictatorship; and with the oppressive life sentences. This is ridiculous,” Colin Cavell, an author and lecturer, told Press TV in a Wednesday interview, adding, “The regime indicates its instability. It indicates that it is on its last days.”

A court in Bahrain recently sentenced nine anti-regime activists to life in prison and revoked their citizenship. This is the latest in a series of convictions that the Al Khalifa regime has imposed against protesters, including prominent rights activists.

“The regime’s existence is threatened and so it takes citizenship away from anyone that opposes it and in that way they can tell the international community these people are illegally in Bahrain,” the analyst added.

Dozens of Bahrainis including politicians, academics and civilians both at home and abroad have been also deprived of their citizenship.

“They are only fooling themselves because the international community knows this is an illegal corrupt regime. It is a corrupt regime without legitimacy. The people want democracy. The people want power to rise up from the people,” Cavell further said.

The Manama regime has adopted oppressive measures to silence the people demanding an end to monarchy in the country.

The Saudi-backed Manama regime has detained hundreds of anti-government activists as part of its brutal crackdown on popular dissent.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the Manama regime’s crackdown on peaceful anti-regime rallies since 2011.

IA/KA/SS

‘Ebola orphans 3,700 West African kids’

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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says at least 3,700 children in West Africa have seen one or both parents die because of the Ebola epidemic.

“Thousands of children are living through the deaths of their mother, father or family members from Ebola,” Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West Central Africa, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“These children urgently need special attention and support; yet many of them feel unwanted and even abandoned,” he said, adding, “Orphans are usually taken in by a member of the extended family, but in some communities, the fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family ties.”

UNICEF says the number of children orphaned by Ebola has spiked in recent weeks and is projected to double by mid-October.

“Ebola is turning a basic human reaction like comforting a sick child into a potential death sentence,” Fontaine noted.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of patients with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has surpassed 6,500 with more than 3,000 deaths.

Ebola is a form of hemorrhagic fever whose symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding.

The virus spreads through direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat. It can be also contracted through sexual contact or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.

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UN: 160k Syrians displaced in 2 weeks

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The United Nations says the ongoing conflict in Syria has forced more than 160,000 people from their homes in only two weeks.

UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos briefed the UN Security Council on Tuesday that more refugees are expected to flee Syria from Aleppo Province, which borders Turkey.

“Their fear was so great that many people crossed heavily-mined fields to seek refuge,” Amos stated.

She went on to say that about 11 million people still need urgent humanitarian aid, urging more cooperation from the international community in addition to the USD 1 billion pledged last week during the UN General Assembly.

“Intense fighting and shifting conflict lines continue to make the delivery of aid difficult and dangerous,” the UN official said.

Foreign-backed militant groups have inflicted major humanitarian and material damage to Syria in over three years of turmoil in the country. More than 191,000 people have been killed.

Recently, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa, Nadim Houry, warned about the escalation of violence against Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The Human Rights Watch official also urged the Lebanese government to step up efforts for protecting the refugees. More than 1.1 million Syrian refugees are reportedly living in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, some 1.5 million Syrian refugees have taken refuge in Turkey since March 2011.

Turkish officials say militants are now only about eight kilometers away from the Turkish territory.

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Obama hails security deal with Kabul

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US President Barack Obama has hailed the signing of a controversial security pact with Afghanistan, which allows about 10,000 American troops to remain in the war-weary country beyond 2014.

“Today we mark an historic day in the US-Afghan partnership that will help advance our shared interests and the long-term security of Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement on Tuesday, shortly after the government of new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) in a televised ceremony at the presidential palace.

Ghani was sworn in on Monday after a long and controversial election process. Ghani’s predecessor, Hamid Karzai, who had developed differences with Washington in the last year of his nearly 13-year rule, refused to sign the deal with the US.

Obama said the BSA permits US military forces to target militants and train Afghan security forces. “This agreement represents an invitation from the Afghan government to strengthen the relationship we have built over the past 13 years and provides our military service members the necessary legal framework to carry out two critical missions after 2014: targeting the remnants of al-Qaeda and training, advising, and assisting Afghan National Security Forces.”

Under the agreement, soldiers from Germany, Italy, and other NATO member states will join the 9,800 remaining US soldiers, raising the total number to about 12,500.

The agreement grants immunity to US-led troops operating in the country. It also allows the US-led forces to carry out deadly night-time raids on Afghan homes, which has triggered widespread protests in Afghanistan.

The US president went on to say that “we look forward to working with this new government to cement an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity.”

The United States and its allies attacked Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains in the country, despite the presence of tens of thousands of foreign troops.

AN/GJH

‘Iran seeks broader ties with West’

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has stressed the importance of removing obstacles on the way of expanding the Islamic Republic’s relations with the West and Europe.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the removal of obstacles on the way of development of ties with European and Western countries and, of course, this issue depends on the opposite side’s will,” Zarif said in a meeting with Irish Parliament Speaker Sean D. Barrett in Tehran on Tuesday.

The Iranian minister added that Tehran and Dublin can strengthen cooperation in different sectors including parliamentary cooperation.

Zarif further criticized the West’s way of battling the Takfiri ISIL terrorists and said, “Unfortunately, instead of a fundamental fight against the ISIL, Syria’s infrastructure is being attacked and this issue will not be solved this way.”

For his part, Barrett said Iran is the focal point of peace and stability in the Middle East and called for broader ties between Iran and Ireland.

Since September 22, the US and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, have been conducting airstrikes against the ISIL inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The airstrikes are an extension of the US-led aerial campaign against ISIL positions in Iraq.

The Irish senator, for his part, said Iran plays a leading role in establishing peace and stability in the region.

He called for enhanced Tehran-Dublin relations in all fields.

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Consumer confidence falls in US

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Consumer confidence in America has sharply fallen in September following a four-month rise, a research organization reports.

The national Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell from 93.4 in August to 86 points in September, Mass Live reported on Tuesday.

Also, the Conference Board’s Present Situation Index fell to 89.4 points from 93.9. The Expectations Index dropped to 83.7 points from 93.1 in August. The national index is measured on a100-points scale.

The Conference Board has blamed the slide on the negative assessment of the job market.

“A less positive assessment of the current job market, most likely due to the recent softening in growth, was the sole reason for the decline in consumers’ assessment of present-day conditions,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Looking ahead, consumers were less confident about the short-term outlook for the economy and labor market, and somewhat mixed regarding their future earnings potential.”

The report shows nation’s view of job availability has declined sharply, making consumers less confident about the short-term outlook and the economy.

Less people expect business conditions to improve over the next six months and more people anticipate a fall in the number of jobs in the months ahead. 

The September drop is the biggest monthly drop since October 2013 when consumers lost confidence in the labor market over a partial government shutdown.

AN/GJH

‘Melbourne’ to go on Japanese screen

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Iranian director Nima Javidi’s debut feature-length film Melbourne has been selected to contend for awards at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).

The film, as Iran’s only representative at the festival, will be vying at the Competition section of the event.

Javidi’s creation is scheduled to have three screening programs at Japan’s movie theaters during the festival.

Melbourne chronicles the story of a young couple on their way to the eponymous Australian city to continue their education. But just a few hours before their departure, they become involved in a tragic event.

The film has recently received critical acclaim at the 71st Venice International Film Festival in Italy. The movie experienced its international premiere at the festival.

Javidi’s drama opened Critics’ Week section of this year’s Venice film festival and had several screening programs, out of competition.

“Some international critics participated in the festival believe that Melbourne conjures up the mood and tone of the British film director Alfred Hitchcock’s works,” said Javidi.

“The renowned film distribution company Microcinema purchased the film’s world distributing right,” he also noted.

Melbourne was also screened at the 10th edition of Zurich international Film festival few days ago.

The 27th Tokyo International Film Festival will take place from October 23 through 31, 2014.

Iranian filmmaker Behnam Behzadi’s Bending The Rule received  the Special Jury Award at the last year’s edition of Tokyo International Film Festival.

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Wild animals halved in number in 40 yrs

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The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years, as humans hunt for food in unsustainable numbers and destroy habitats, a new study has shown.

Human destruction of habitat including rampant pollution has significantly contributed to the decline in the number of animals, fish and birds since the 1970s, scientists at the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said in a new report.

“If half the animals died in London zoo next week it would be front page news…. But that is happening in the great outdoors. This damage is not inevitable but a consequence of the way we choose to live,” said the ZSL director of science, Professor Ken Norris.

The study showed that over the past four decades, the largest drop in animal numbers have been in low-income, developing nations, while conservation efforts in rich nations have shown little improvements as well.

Moreover, rich countries are “outsourcing” wildlife decline to developing nations, who produce goods through habitat destruction.

Today’s average global rate of consumption would need the energy of 1.5 planet Earths to sustain it, while levels of consumption in the United States require four planets, the report said.

“We have lost one half of the animal population and knowing this is driven by human consumption, this is clearly a call to arms and we must act now,” said the director of science and policy at WWF, Mike Barratt.

Scientists analyzed 10,000 different populations of creatures across land, rivers and the seas, covering 3,000 species in total, and created a representative “Living Planet Index” (LPI), reflecting the state of all 45,000 known vertebrates.

Experts recommend that the Earth must be protected from development and deforestation, while food and energy have to be produced sustainably.

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Obama reconsiders attacking Assad

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Sometimes bad ideas die slowly. It was only one year ago that Obama announced he would bomb the Syrian government, only to change his mind at the last minute. Now the same fetid war talk is sprouting fresh roots in the ever-fertile US military. Various media outlets reported that Obama might “enforce a no fly zone in Syria to protect civilians from the Syrian government.”

This just weeks after the US public was told that ISIS was the reason the US military was now in Syria. The 2014 media sound bites mimic the 2013 scare tactics, copying the “humanitarian motives” behind the push towards war with the Syrian government. For example, in 2013 The New York Times blandly discussed the “no fly zone” option:

“To establish buffer zones to protect parts of Turkey or Jordan to provide safe havens for Syrian rebels and a base for delivering humanitarian assistance would require imposing a limited no-fly zone and deploying thousands of American ground forces.”

Fast forward to September 27th 2014, where The New York Times published an article called, “US Considers No Fly Zone to Protect Civilians,” where we read:

“The Obama administration has not ruled out establishing a no-fly zone over northeastern Syria to protect civilians from airstrikes by the Syrian government…Creating a buffer, or no-fly zone, would require warplanes to disable the Syrian government’s air defense system through airstrikes.”

A no-fly zone would also require that the US prevent the Syrian air force from flying over Syrian airspace by destroying Syrian fighter jets, i.e., full scale war with the Syrian government and possibly its allies. This last part is always left out, so as to not anger the American public.

Under international law no country has any legal right to carve out a “buffer zone” within another country, even if the no-fly zone was actually well intended. For example, even Canada cannot legally create a buffer zone in Ferguson, Missouri to protect civilians from police violence.

The Syrian government is not bombing random civilians near the Turkish border; they are attacking ISIS and its ideological cousins. These are the same groups that Obama says that he’s waging a war on.

Do civilians die when Syria attacks with bombs? Yes, which is one reason that a lot of popular anger is channeled towards the government in these areas, the same way that anger is now mounting against the US bombings that kill civilians in Syria.

If Obama truly wanted to target ISIS he would have included Syria, Iran, and Russia in his anti-ISIS “coalition.” These nations were excluded because Obama’s coalition is the exact same one that only months before was a US-led coalition against the Syrian government. The grouping maintains its original purpose but puts on a new shirt to fool a media that’s content with surface explanations.

But as soon as the newly dressed US coalition started bombing ISIS, various “partners” announced, unsurprisingly, that Assad was “the real problem.” Obama’s Persian Gulf state monarchy partners never had the stomach to fight ISIS, because they and the US are primarily responsible for its growth, as countries like Qatar dumped money and extremist fighters into the arms of ISIS. Qatar recently reiterated that the Syrian government was the “main problem,” not ISIS.

When Obama announced his strategy to fight ISIS, he snuck in a plan to further invest in the Syrian rebels, whom politicians claimed would be used against ISIS. But these rebels are rebelling against the Syrian government, not ISIS.

Obama even discussed his intent at the UN to use the Syrian rebels against the government:

“…America is training and equipping the Syrian opposition to be a counterweight to the terrorists of ISIL and the brutality of the Assad regime.”

The public talk of a no-fly zone is accompanied by no explanation as to the possible repercussions, including the real danger of an even larger regional war that would likely kill an additional hundreds of thousands and create millions more refugees.

Any US attack on the Syrian government would likely happen sooner than later. The “coalition” of Arab monarchies has lost its patience. The members of this coalition blindly followed Obama into attacking Syria a year ago and were enraged that the president backed out. Saudi Arabia protested by refusing a seat at the UN Security Council.

Obama’s regional follower-allies have invested in an expensive war for three years and have taken on millions of Syrian refugees, creating a destabilizing effect across the region among nations already politically fragile. These shaky regimes cannot support — and would not survive — another three years of war as they wait for Obama to deliver the Syrian deathblow. They demand decisive action, and soon.

History is already condemning the US-led destruction of multiple civilizations in the Middle East, reducing the once-functioning and modern nations of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria to dysfunction and chaos, where millions of people flee violence and lose their dignity to the hopelessness of refugee camps. Funding rebels or imposing no fly zones in an already-demolished region will inevitably create more war and backlash.

Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action (www.workerscompass.org).

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Libya Dawn rejects UN call for truce

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A major militia group in Libya has rejected a UN call for a ceasefire, instead demanding the disarmament of other rival groups.

The only way to end the conflict in Libya is to disarm our rival groups and arrest their leaders, reads the statement by Libya Dawn or Fajr Libya, which was issued on the group’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

The hostile stance of Libya Dawn, which is in control of the capital city of Tripoli, comes a day after representatives from warring groups in Libya held ceasefire talks mediated by Bernardino Leon, the United Nations special representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya.

Though Leon described ceasefire negotiations as “positive” and “constructive,” the future of the talks remains unclear as the specter of a full-fledged civil war looms large over the violence-stricken country.

Libya has plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled the longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi. The ouster of Gaddafi gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.

The North African country has recently been witnessing numerous clashes between government forces and rival militia groups that refuse to lay down arms. The groups are now turning their guns on each other in an attempt to dominate politics and the country’s vast oil resources.

Earlier this month, Leon had warned that rapidly deteriorating security and deepening political divisions have brought Libya “closer to the brink of protracted conflict and civil strife.”

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