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16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12772 Saturday FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017 Bahman 30, 1395 Jumada Al Awwal 20, 1438 Iran calls nuclear remarks Iran, Cuba fortify ties Iran clinch Persian Fajr Intl. Film Festival by Trump, Netanyahu with 12 cooperation Beach Soccer to honor ‘worthless’ 2 agreements 4 Cup title 15 Abbas Kiarostami 16 Astana talks Russian deputy create joint Iran beats U.S. in PM due in trilateral Tehran to ceasefire group Freestyle World Cup final negotiate Iran- POLITICS TEHRAN — The EAEU FTZ deskSyria peace talks in Kazakhstan’s Astana were concluded ECONOMY TEHRAN — Russian without a final statement, although Rus- deskFirst Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will be in Tehran on sia declared the creation of a joint trilat- See page 15 eral group to monitor the ceasefire. February 21 to negotiate the creation of a Russia, Iran and Turkey have decid- free trade zone (FTZ) between Iran and ed to create a joint group as part of the the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Syria ceasefire monitoring mechanism Shuvalov will hold meetings with and tasked themselves with separating Iran’s industry minister Moham- terrorist groups from the armed oppo- madreza Nematzadeh and commu- sition. nications minister Mahmoud Vaezi to According to Alexander Lavrentyev, explore opportunities for expanding head of the Russian delegation and economic ties between Iran and Russia presidential special envoy for Syria, all as well, IRNA reported. the participants in Astana have taken On February 13, the Iranian ambas- a “constructive approach”. A document sador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei said Iran was adopted at the talks on a joint tri- and Russia expect five economic events lateral group to monitor the ceasefire to take place in Tehran by March 20 (end in Syria. of the current Iranian calendar year), to Lavrentiev called his assessment of improve their bilateral ties. the talks positive, saying, “I cannot say Russian Energy Minister Alexander that it is a breakthrough, but it is a step Novak will pay a visit to Tehran to discuss forward”. some issues with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Sergei Vershinin, a Russian diplo- Namdar Zanganeh, he said at the time. mat familiar with the issue, said that As he added, Russian Deputy the joint trilateral group “will work on a Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin will regular basis to maintain and consoli- also visit Tehran, leading a delega- date the ceasefire”. tion, to meet the Iranian vice pres- The diplomat added that another ident for science and technology important step had been made. “It has Sorena Sattari and the defense min- become possible to bring together ister Hossein Dehqan. in one hall the representatives of the Meqdad Madadi The Eurasian Economic Union’s Syrian government and the armed op- Minister of Trade Veronika Nikishina position that has accepted the terms is also scheduled to travel to Tehran of the ceasefire from December 30 last Tasnim/ by March 20, according to the Iranian year in Syria.” 2 ambassador. 13

ARTICLE EU may become more determined to increase ties with Iran ARTICLE By Seyyed Mohammad Eslami By Seyed Hossein Mousavian Political expert if U.S.-EU tensions rise: Shireen Hunter Princeton University EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Following is the text of Hunter’s interview and encouraging investments in Britain will Researcher By Javad Heirannia with the Tehran Times: be major objectives of British foreign poli- What will be the impact of Brexit on cy. It will also try, as Prime Minister Teresa TEHRAN — The election of Donald Trump London’s foreign policy in general and to- May has said, to make Britain a global play- Iran and the changing as U.S. president “should not have a nega- ward Iran in particular? er. The question is are these goals easily Designating Iran’s world order tive impact on EU-Iran relations,” says Shireen A: After Brexit, Britain will try to pursue achievable or not. Revolutionary Tahmaasb Hunter, a professor of political sci- a more independent foreign policy large- Depending on the circumstances, Britain’s “Painful to be an American right ence at Georgetown University. ly based on gaining economic advantage, policy towards Iran after Brexit might harden. Guards as terrorists now.” “On the contrary,” Hunter says, “should U.S.- partly in order to compensate for any po- For instance, Britain might join America in a This is a sentence by Francis Fukuy- EU tensions increase, the EU might become tential financial losses because of its exit harsher policy towards Iran that the EU mem- will have dire ama, author of the famous book “The more determined to expand relations with Iran.” from the EU. Making favorable trade deals bers might not follow. 13 End of History and the Last Man”. consequences He tweeted this sentence after a war Zarif attends Munich Security Conference of words between President Donald ccording to reports, the Trump POLITICS TEHRAN — Iranian For- Zarif is accompanied by Deputy Foreign Min- Since its foundation in 1963 as “Interna- Trump and the Australian prime min- administration is considering des- deskeign Minister Mohammad ister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Ara- tionale Wehrkunde-Begegnung,” the MSC A ister. ignating Iran’s Islamic Revolution- Javad Zarif arrived at Germany on Wednes- qchi and Deputy Foreign Minister for American has been an independent forum dedicated World order nightmare ary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organ- day for the Munich Security Conference. and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi. to promoting peaceful conflict resolution International order is under the ization, even as senior U.S. defense and According to the official website of the More than 500 participants are planned to and international cooperation and dialogue shadow of Trump’s American nation- intelligence officials have warned against MSC, the top Iranian diplomat is slated to de- take part in the event, including 50 foreign in dealing with today’s and future security alism. He does not follow a particu- such a move. Of course, the IRGC and liver a speech at the international event on ministers, 30 defense ministers, and 90 par- challenges. It has especially focused on the the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) lar foreign policy doctrine; he even Sunday morning. liamentarians. transatlantic partnership. doesn’t care about the international have been bitterly at odds for over three responsibility of the United States. But decades. In the early 1980s, after Saddam the concern is not just about Trump Hussein’s invasion of Iran, both forces were France directly liable for killings in Syria: Assad established and assumed responsibility and his slogan of “Make America Great Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says France’s tively a French channel and a French radio net- that they send armaments to whom they call for their country’s extra-territorial actions. Again”. support for terrorist groups operating against work. moderate groups, which are terrorists. They CENTCOM’s area of responsibility ? the Questions raised in Munich the Syrian government and people is a direct Assad further said his remarks were not a said that; I didn’t say it. The Americans said Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia Some famous political dignitaries cause of bloodshed in the country. mere accusation as French officials have on the same, the French said the same.” ? is in Iran’s neighborhood and overlaps have gathered in Munich to discuss numerous occasions admitted that they are The Syrian head of state further cast doubt “The policy of France, that started from day with the area of responsibility of the Qods the main future challenges in the supporting militants in Syria. on the sincerity of Western states in their ap- one, has been to support terrorists in Syria, Force, the IRGC’s foreign operations wing. world. Post-Order is one of their key “They said many times they supported proach towards the crisis in Syria. and is responsible directly for the killings in our America and Iran both frame the ac- questions. “Post-Truth, Post-West, the war,” said the Syrian leader. “They said (Source: Press TV) country,” Assad told TF1 and Europe 1, respec- tions of their respective militaries in the Post-Order?” is title of the Munich region as reflective of aims for regional he- Security Report 2017. Everyone gemony. However, the reality is that many knows that international order is on Clergymen regional states intervene militarily outside the edge of change. What is the re- their borders; whether it be Saudi Arabia alistic answer to the current chaotic in Bahrain and Yemen, Turkey in Syria and world? participate Iraq, or Russia in Syria. America is a leading A chaotic world beyond Trump historic example, and currently has a mas- Trump promised his supporters in military sive military presence in the Persian Gulf to stop serving others in the cost of and throughout the region. American citizens. He is trying to ful- drill near There are four leading reasons for fill his promises. Members of EU and why the U.S. designating the IRGC as NATO are really worried about him. a terrorist organization will be danger- But uncertainties in world politics Qom ous and harmful for both U.S. national security interests and regional stability. goes beyond the Trump presiden- TEHRAN — A cleric fires a war- First and foremost is the fact that cy. Most of international institutions head by a rocket-propelled gre- CENTCOM and the Qods Force are the were inefficient even prior to the nade at a three-day local drill near most powerful and influential outside emergence of Trump. There were Qom, 139 kilometers southwest of actors in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Leba- and there are big question marks Tehran. non, and the Persian Gulf. Even in Yem- about the competence of the UN, Attended exclusively by cler- en, American and Saudi officials contend UN Security Council, EU, NATO, etc. gymen, the drill got underway on the Qods Force is a primary opponent. A number of global crises remain un- Friday, aiming to increase combat As such, if there is to be a peaceful solu- resolved before Trump took the helm Ahmad Zohrabi preparation of the religious preach- tion to any regional crises, cooperation at the White House. He’s a disaster. ers. with the IRGC is a must. To label it terror- There is no doubt. But he is not to Hundreds of junior and senior ISNA/ ist will shut the door on opportunities for blame for these disasters. 13 clerics are participating in the drill. successful diplomacy. 2 I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y POLITICS FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS Official calls nuclear remarks by Expediency Council chief will be named after new Trump, Netanyahu ‘worthless’ members in POLITICAL TEHRAN — Tehran on administration’s hardline stance on Iran, POLITICS TEHRAN — A member of the deskWednesday called the hailed Arab countries for increasingly seeing deskExpediency Council has said the recent remarks by Israel and U.S. rulers on Israel as an “ally” rather than an “enemy.” council’s chairman will be selected after new members the 2015 international nuclear deal “empty Tehran lashed out at Netanyahu over the are appointed in the body. and worthless”, citing numerous verification tirade. “It is a bitter reality that such remarks Speaking to Tasnim on Thursday, Ayatollah reports by the International Atomic Energy and claims are reiterated by a regime that Ebrahim Amini said after the new appointments, Agency on the accord. shows commitment to no international law, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will name “The remarks contained nothing new and has hundreds of warheads in its nuclear the chairman. but a rehash of void, null claims about arsenal,” the spokesman further noted. He further stressed that the council’s members Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Bahram The Washington trip came after Netanyahu’s thoroughly follow the Leader’s guidelines. Qassemi, Foreign Ministry spokesman, said get-together with British Prime Minister Theresa Whoever the Supreme Leader chooses, he will in a Telegram message on Thursday. May in mid-February as he sought to put be respected and followed by the members of the During a joint press conference in pressure on London to re-negotiate the deal or council, Amini stressed. Washington on February 15, U.S. President impose new sanctions on Iran. Donald Trump cited what he called “the Prior to his London visit, Netanyahu threat of Iran’s nuclear ambitions” among had spoken of a coalition with England and Bahrain following security challenges faced by Israel. six world powers, including the U.S., Tehran The head of the UN atomic energy the U.S. to combat what he called Iran’s Iranian Shah: “One of the worst deals I’ve ever seen is was granted relief from economic sanctions watchdog said on Tuesday that Iran is “extraordinary aggression.” the Iran deal,” he said of the nuclear accord. while it committed to roll back its nuclear implementing the deal with world powers. Iran described the efforts by Netanyahu cleric Under the nuclear deal between Iran and program for a 15-year time span. Netanyahu, while highlighting the Trump as “flogging a dead horse.”

POLITICS TEHRAN — Tehran’s interim Friday deskprayer leader has said the Bahraini Astana talks create joint trilateral ceasefire group government is following the path of the former Iranian 1 One of the issues that will be discussed I am very pessimistic and do not expect there to be start fires and then act like a firefighter. Turkey should king Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, asking the Arab during the joint trilateral group’s regular meetings is another round of talks in Astana.” withdraw its troops from the territory of our country sheikdom to “respect its people”. “efforts to organize the release of detainees/abductees Strong statements issued by the head of the Syria’s and abide by the first Astana communiqué that confirms “The people of Bahrain are out stronger and more as well as exchange of prisoners and bodies on a government delegation, Bashar Jaafari, accused the integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.” fervid than previous years,” said Kazzem Seddiqi, mutually accepted basis, to identify missing persons rebels and their Turkish backers of demonstrating a Damascus is committed to the ceasefire, but will respond ISNA news agency reported. of the parties of the arrangement on the ceasefire and “clear will to disrupt the Astana meetings”. to the terrorists’ provocations, Jaafari added. “Syria will be The people of Bahrain want suffrage and to facilitate the unhindered and sustainable humanitarian “The failure to adopt the final communiqué of taking efforts to liberate every patch of our land from the independence, they would not tolerate despotism, access and free movement of civilians,” the Concept today’s meeting results primarily from the late arrival dominance of terrorist groupings – we mean the Islamic the cleric said, adding, “You (Bahraini rulers) are Paper on the Joint Group read. of the Turkish delegation and the delegation of the State, Jabhat al-Nusra and others, and also those, which loathed by God and the people.” Head of the opposition’s delegation, Muhammad armed opposition,” he said. He pointed out that both are not observing the ceasefire,” he said. Alloush, confirmed that the opposition did not enter the delegations arrived in Astana only on Thursday, the The Syrian opposition delegation led by Mohammed meeting room before obtaining guarantees that Russia last day of the talks, and proceeded to call this a clear Alloush, has agreed with the creation of a group that will Forty-day mourning will halt bombardment on the rebel-held areas in Syria. demonstration of their “irresponsible attitude” towards monitor the ceasefire in the country with the participation period after Lavrentyev believes that there’s “a strong base that de- the summit, RIA news agency reported. of Russia, Turkey and an “Arab group”. Russia and the escalation will continue” and that the two parties in the Not only their late arrival drew Jaafari’s attention, he armed opposition discussed these control mechanisms Rafsanjani’s death conflict will have “fewer differences with every meeting”. also pointed to the fact that Turkey was represented at during the Astana talks, Alloush confirmed. marked The meeting, however, ended without a final the Astana talks by a low-level delegation, emphasizing Russia also has confirmed the intention to send the statement because the opposition refused to sign it. The that such an approach contradicts its status as a Syrian armed opposition a schedule of lifting the siege TEHRAN POLITICS — Thousands of Iranians consultant of the Free Syrian Army, Osama Abu Zeid, guarantor of the ceasefire in Syria. of Syria’s town of East Ghouta, he added. Additionally, desk marked on Thursday the forty- assessed the results of the Astana talks pessimistically. According to RIA, he criticized Turkey’s involvement in the armed opposition will consider the Russian offer to day mourning period after the passing of Ayatollah He said, “This is a waste of Syrians’ time… so I am saying the Syrian conflict, saying, “Turkey cannot simultaneously release 100 prisoners held by the Syrian government. Hashemi Rafsanjani on Jan. 8. Official dignitaries attended the event. Rafsanjani was 82 at the time of his death and Iran strongly condemns suicide Moscow-Tehran ties not dependent chairman of the Expediency Council. His death came as a surprise to all Iranians. Over attack in Pakistan on external circumstances: Ryabkov nearly six decades, he was the source of inspiration TEHRAN — Iranian “Today is the time for the world Russian Deputy platforms, including conducting for generations of Iranian politicians particularly in his POLITICS POLITICS deskForeign Ministry to take practical actions and avoid deskForeign Minister a productive dialogue on the capacity as a unity broker. spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned applying double standards in order to Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday subject of counter-terrorism, on Friday a deadly suicide blast in Pakistan counter terrorism,” he noted. that relations between Iran which we will continue,” Ryabkov claimed by the terrorist Daesh group. Qassemi said that “international and Russia do not depend on told Sputnik. Iran, Azerbaijan seek The blast occurred on Thursday in consensus” is essential to fight terrorism external circumstances, as the He added that both Russia and the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz and eradicate its cultural roots. two countries cooperate on many Iran would continue working on to broaden judicial Qalandar in the town of Sehwan in Following the suicide attack issues, including counter-terrorism the implementation of the Joint cooperation Sindh province. At least 72 people were Pakistani security forces launched and the Iranian nuclear deal, and Comprehensive Action Plan on killed in the attack. nationwide security raids and killed will continue to do so. the settlement of Iran’s nuclear “A comprehensive international at least 39 suspected terrorists during “Our position is that Iran is a issue. POLITICS TEHRAN — Iran’s justice minister move against terrorism, extremism and overnight operations across the reliable, stable partner, a near Iran and the 5+1 group - the deskmet with Azeri President Ilham violence is required,” Qassemi said. country, according to Press TV. neighbor. Friendly relations U.S., Britain, France, China and Aliyev in Baku on Friday, where they underlined the He described instrumental use of At least 18 of the suspects were between Russia and Iran do not Russia plus Germany - finalized need for the expansion of mutual cooperation. terrorism to achieve political objectives killed in Sindh, while 11 others were depend on external circumstances. the text of the JCPOA in Vienna in During the meeting, Mostafa Pourmohammadi and as the most “evil” strategy in the world of gunned down in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, We cooperate with Iran on many July 2015. The nuclear agreement Aliyev explored ways for bolstering and reinvigorating politics which has destabilized the region. police officials said. issues on various international went into effect in January 2016. bilateral ties in the judicial field, Fars reported. During the meeting, President Aliyev pointed to successful development of relations between Baku ‘Iran, Oman, Kuwait determined to expand strategic ties’ and Tehran in all areas and said there are good POLITICS TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Ministry Kuwait and the warm welcomes that he received by the January 2016 following attack on Saudi Arabia’s embassy grounds for cooperation between the two countries deskspokesman Bahram Qassemi has said two countries’ rulers indicate that “provocative policies” by dozens of protestors who had been enraged by the in legal and judicial fields as well. that Iran, Oman and Kuwait are determined to expand of the extra-regional powers are fruitless. execution of pro-democracy Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr “strategic” ties. Rouhani took a one-day trip to Oman and Kuwait on Baqr al-Nimr. “Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said and Kuwait’s Emir Wednesday. Following Saudi Arabia’s severance of relations with Arabs should follow Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah have always sought The trips came weeks after Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Iran, certain Persian Gulf Arab countries cut off or Iran: Palestinian to expand relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad Al Sabah traveled to downgraded ties with Iran. and also form a collective mechanism with participation Tehran on January 25, bearing a letter from the country’s Riyadh and some other Arab countries claim that Iran Jihad official of Iran and (other) regional countries for security and emir on behalf of six Persian Gulf littoral states seeking to interferes in their countries by fueling sectarianism to stability of the region,” he told IRNA on Thursday. fix ties with Tehran. expand its sphere of influence. However, Tehran denies He said President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Oman and Iran and Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties in any interference in the regional countries’ affairs. POLITICS TEHRAN — A leader of the deskPalestinian Islamic Jihad Movement has called on Arab states to take Iran as an example Designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorists will have dire consequences and “not have hopes in Trump or Netanyahu.” “How close we are to any country is directly related 1 Secondly, the IRGC is a government are united in support of their armed forces. killed tens of thousands of Iranian and Kurdish After 9/11, the Bush Administration also to how close they are to Palestine,” Khalid al-Batash institution, a conscript force and an integral Trump already started his presidency by soldiers and civilians. Towards the end of the received Iranian help at the beginning of told Al-Mayadeen on Friday. part of the Iranian Armed Forces. Declaring issuing a blanket ban on Iranians and six war, the U.S. military even attacked Iranian its “War on Terror.” I was head of the foreign “The proposal of creating two countries is over it a terrorist organization is the equivalent of other predominately Muslim nations, which navy positions in the Persian Gulf and shot relations committee of Iran’s National Security and what American President Donald Trump and the designating the military of another nation has served to foster resentment against down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing all 291 Council when Iran responded positively to Zionist regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a terrorist organization. Consequently, such the U.S. government amongst even more men, women, and children onboard. Bush’s request for help in overthrowing the said means the death of the idea,” al-Batash said. a designation would be tantamount to an cosmopolitan Iranians. For him to now convey The fact is that the list of mutual grievances Taliban. Soon after, the Taliban were ousted unofficial declaration of war and at the bare such overt hostility towards Iran’s Armed is long, but is precisely the reason why from Kabul with Qods Force assistance, which minimum, immensely inflame regional tensions Forces would solidify his enmity for Iranians in dialogue is necessary and cooperation was a short while after followed by Bush Rouhani Arab tour Third, President Donald Trump has eyes of the vast majority of Iranians and be the between the two countries’ armed forces vital. declaring Iran a part of an “Axis of Evil.” The same proclaimed that destroying the self- nail in the coffin of any hopes to improve ties Unfortunately, while there is a track record for story repeated itself in Iraq, where opponents vital for region: proclaimed Islamic State will be his top between the two states. cooperation, it has been too one-sided. of Saddam who had been given shelter and envoy foreign policy priority. Iranian Armed Forces Designating the IRGC as a terrorist In the late 1980s, the H.W. Bush support in Iran for years cooperated with the are currently at the forefront of the ground organization will deliver the biggest imaginable administration appealed to Iran ? then under U.S. to overthrow Saddam. Iran’s integral role war against the group in Syria, Iraq, and setback to the fight against ISIS. the presidency of centrist Hashemi Rafsanjani ? in this endeavor was rewarded by the Bush POLITICS TEHRAN — The Iranian elsewhere in the region. Even Iraqi Kurdish With the appointment of James Mattis to help release American hostages trapped in White House pursuing every measure to deskambassador to Kuwait has said the leaders have stated that were it not for and John Kelly to senior positions, the Trump Lebanon and promised to reciprocate Iranian eliminate Iran from Iraq. recent trip to two Arab countries of Kuwait and Oman Iranian assistance, Erbil would have fallen to administration has allotted significant power goodwill. At the time, I worked in the Iranian America’s misfortunes in Iraq and by President Hassan Rouhani helps shore up regional the group in 2014. Furthermore, the Russia- to military generals. Anyone who speaks to foreign ministry and was dispatched along Afghanistan increased after it stopped security and stability. Iran military alliance resulted in a major them knows they have a grudge against Iran with one colleague to facilitate the freedom of cooperating with Iran. Trump has regularly “Security of the region is important for us and our victory in Aleppo. Designating the IRGC as a for incidents they hold it responsible for, such the prisoners. After several months of grueling lambasted the Bush administration for these final goal is to boost the security and stability of the terrorist organization will deliver the biggest as the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and a efforts, their release was secured, due largely wars and highlighted the trillions of dollars region,” Alireza Enayati told the Kuwaiti Al-Qabas daily imaginable setback to the fight against ISIS number of U.S. casualties in Iraq. to cooperation from the Qods Force and “wasted” on Middle Eastern wars. However, on Wednesday. and ensure any gains against it will come at On the other hand, anyone who speaks to intelligence ministry. Unfortunately, after the his actions as president so far indicate he does The comments come after Rouhani took a one- the maximum expense of the United States. Iranian officials will hear of America’s support American and Western hostages were freed, not yet have a grasp on the reasons and root day trip to Oman and Kuwait on Wednesday in a bid Last but not least, despite at-times for Saddam Hussein during his eight-year the H.W. Bush White House did not reciprocate causes of these failures. If they are to never to strengthen ties with the two Arab countries. rancorous political differences inside Iran, all war against Iran, in which the CIA logistically the goodwill gesture and the U.S. government happen again, the door must be kept open Iranians from across the political spectrum supported his use of chemical weapons, which later moved to increase pressure on Iran. for cooperation with Iran. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017 INTERNATIONAL U.S.-led coalition airstrikes kill 11 Pakistan mourns civilians near Syria’s Raqqah: SOHR attack victims as security stepped up A monitoring group says nearly a dozen civilians have lost their lives when the Pakistan has closed two of its border crossings with Afghanistan United States-led coalition purportedly and demanded that Kabul takes action against 76 “terrorists” it fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the says are hiding in Afghan territory in response to the worst attack Levant (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist group cells on Pakistani soil since 2014. in Syria carried out airstrikes near the At least 88 people were killed and hundreds more wounded country’s ISIL-held northern city of al- when a suicide attacker targeted a gathering of worshippers at Lal Raqqah. Shahbaz Qalandar shrine for a special Sufi ritual in the southern The strike targeted Tishrin farmland, town of Sehwan on Thursday. which lies approximately 20 kilometers The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist west of the provincial capital city of al- group claimed responsibility for the blast. Raqqah, on Friday, the Britain-based On Friday, Pakistan’s military said Afghanistan must take “im- so-called Syrian Observatory for Hu- mediate action” against the 76 people identified to them. man Rights (SOHR) reported. Security officials told Al Jazeera that at least 39 suspected The observatory said nine people fighters had been killed in security raids carried out overnight in were killed and several others injured in response to the attack. the aerial attack, noting that the death Thursday’s attack came after one of the bloodiest weeks in re- toll could rise as some of those injured cent memory in Pakistan, with at least 99 people killed in a series in the airstrike are in critical condition. of attacks since Monday, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban or There is a child among the deceased. one of its factions. Additionally, a woman and her child On Monday, 13 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a were killed as U.S.-led military aircraft rally in the eastern city of Lahore. struck an area in the city of al-Thawrah, That attack was followed on Wednesday by a suicide bombing also known as al-Tabqah and situated at a government office in the Mohmand tribal area and a suicide approximately 55 kilometers west of attack on government employees in Peshawar, killing six people. Raqqah. Two police officers were killed on Tuesday while trying to de- Raqqah, on the northern bank of fuse a bomb in the Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta. the Euphrates River, was overrun by the In Sehwan, meanwhile, police cordoned off the shrine early on Takfiri terrorists in March 2013, and was Friday as forensic investigators arrived. proclaimed the center for most of the eign Affairs and Expatriates has strong- The incursion was the first major Syria since 2011. The floor of the shrine was still stained with blood on Friday terrorists’ administrative and control ly condemned Turkey’s repeated vio- Turkish military intervention in Syria, SITE was citing Abdul Hakim al-Rah- morning as dozens of protesters pushed past police pickets de- tasks the next year. lations of the Damascus government’s which drew strong condemnation from mon, the head of the political arm of manding to be allowed to continue to worship there. The attack is not the first U.S.-led air- sovereignty and its deadly aerial attacks the Syrian government for violating the Jaish al-Nasr (Army of Victory), a FSA Reports suggest that at least 20 children are believed to be strikes to result in civilian casualties. against Syrian people. country’s sovereignty. faction. He confirmed that 70 militants among the dead, the head of Sehwan’s medical facility. At least eight civilians lost their lives The ministry, in two identical letters Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo- from the group were executed eight The Sindh provincial government announced three days of on January 6, when coalition fighter to the UN Secretary-General António gan said on November 29, 2016 that the days ago, vowing to attack in response. mourning as Pakistanis vented their grief and fury on social me- jets pounded the village of Suwaydiyah Guterres and President of the UN Se- Turkish army had marched into Syria to More than 160 FSA militants were dia, bemoaning the lack of medical facilities to help the wounded, al-Kabirah, which is situated approx- curity Council Volodymyr Yelchenko, end the rule of President Bashar al-As- killed in total, plus another 43 from with the nearest hospital around 70km from the shrine. imately 55 kilometers west of Raqqah. asked the council to shoulder its re- sad, whom he accused of terrorism and Tahrir al-Sham (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sh- All shrines in the province have been closed, a decision that Nearly 20 civilians were killed in a sponsibilities concerning international causing the deaths of thousands. am/Organization for the Liberation prompted furious reaction from protesters in Sehwan. U.S.-led strike targeting al-Msheirfeh peace and security, and put an end to The Turkish leader however back- of the Levant) which includes the for- Pakistan’s military has long blamed the Afghan government region north of Raqqah on December 8 the violations. tracked on the comments two days mer al-Qaeda branch in Syria, Jabhat for allowing sanctuary on its soil to fighters targeting Pakistan last year. Several people also sustained These attacks are part of the Turkish later, asserting that the offensives there Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest since a 2014 Pakistani military operation to drive out armed injuries in the blitz. government’s aggression against Syr- were aimed only at terrorists. of the Levant), formerly known as the groups from the country’s restive tribal areas. Moreover, the so-called anti-ISIL ia over the past nearly six years, which Takfiris kill 160-plus FSA al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra). “They Afghanistan denies the charge, accusing Pakistan in turn of U.S.-led coalition carried out an airstrike include providing various forms of mil- militants in Syria: were all liquidated at the same time,” allowing leaders of the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network against a purported militant position itary and logistic support to terrorist Elsewhere, a Takfiri terrorist outfit he said. armed groups to roam freely on Pakistani soil. near Raqqah on December 7, claiming organizations and facilitating entry of has killed hundreds of militants with the Fighting between Jund al-Aqsa and Pakistan denies this, but several high-profile Afghan Taliban the lives of seven civilians. foreign militants into Syria, the letters foreign-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) Tahrir al-Sham has flared in the past leaders have been killed or captured on its soil, including former The U.S.-led coalition has been con- read. group in Syria, a U.S.-based intelligence week, in clashes that war monitors say chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a United States drone strike last ducting airstrikes against what are said On August 24, 2016, the Turkish Air group says. have killed dozens. Those clashes have year. to be the ISIL terrorists inside Syria since Force and special ground forces kicked The SITE Intelligence Group reported added to the complexity of Takfiri in- Pakistan Taliban leaders have similarly been captured or killed September 2014 without any authoriza- off Operation Euphrates Shield inside the Jund al-Aqsa (Soldiers of al-Aqsa) fighting in the west of the country. on Afghan soil. tion from the Damascus government or Syria in a declared bid to support the terrorists had taken the FSA militants Both Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aq- Following the attack in Lahore, the Pakistani Foreign Office a United Nations mandate. Free Syrian Army (FSA) militants and prisoner during attacks against their sa are also fighting against FSA militant summoned senior Afghan embassy official Syed Abdul Nasir The coalition has repeatedly been rid the border area of ISIL terrorists and gatherings in the northwestern Syria factions which are supported by for- Yousafi. accused of targeting and killing civil- fighters from the Kurdish People’s Pro- Idlib Province. eign countries. Takfiri groups attacked Pakistan arrests, kills dozens of suspects after ians. It has also been largely incapable tection Units (YPG/Yekîneyên Parastina The attacks, it said, had come in the FSA for sending delegates to peace deadly blast of fulfilling its declared aim of destroy- Gel) and Democratic Union Party (PYD/ response to the FSA’s dispatch of rep- talks in Kazakhstan last month. Meantime, Pakistan has launched nationwide security raids ing ISIL. Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat?). resentatives to talks with the Syrian Many of those FSA groups are now following a deadly bomb attack on a Sufi shrine in the southeast Syria writes to UN, Security The offensive was launched in coor- government in the Kazakh capital of fighting under the banner of the Ahrar of country, arresting and killing dozens of suspects. Council against Turkish strikes dination with the U.S.-led military co- Astana. The talks strive towards a politi- al-Sham militant outfit. Security forces killed at least 39 suspected terrorists during Meanwhile, Syrian Ministry of For- alition. cal solution to the deadly crisis gripping (Source: agencies) overnight operations across the country, hours after the terrorist bombing. At least 18 of the suspects were killed in Sindh, while 11 others 17 Afghan soldiers killed in ISIL Anti-Muslim groups ‘tripled in U.S. were gunned down in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police officials said. Weapons and hand-grenades were recovered in the Reggi attack in Nangarhar since Trump campaign’ area of the city of Peshawar, where other terrorist suspects were Seventeen Afghan soldiers have been ban militants assaulted several govern- The number of anti-Muslim hate showed that the rate of hate crimes killed. At least 47 suspects were also arrested during the overnight killed in an attack by the Islamic State in ment security posts in the eastern prov- groups in the United States has nearly against Muslims rose by 67 percent in raids. Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) Takfiri ince of Kunar, killing five police officers. tripled since Donald Trump launched 2015, when Trump, who used his elec- Pakistan has been witnessing violent terrorist attacks over the terrorists on army security posts in east- Police forces, aided by other security his presidential election campaign in tion campaign to call for a travel ban past decade. Militants with the Pakistani Taliban have largely been ern Afghanistan. personnel, managed to repel the at- 2015, according to a non-profit organ- against Muslims among other policies blamed for the violence. (Source: agencies) Ahmad Ali Hazrat, the chief of the tackers, forcing them to flee. Provincial ization that “combats hate, intolerance targeting ethnic and religious minori- provincial council, said on Friday that Governor Waheedullah Kalimzai said a and discrimination through education ty groups, became a popular political Saudi Arabia claims four the attack was carried out in Dih Bala sixth police officer was missing after the and litigation”. figure. district of Nangarhar province the pre- attack. The Montgomery, Alabama, based In November last year, the SPLC re- ISIL-linked cells broken up vious night. Kunar borders Pakistan and Taliban Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) leased a report saying that the U.S. saw BY: staff & agencies Hazrat said the ISIL terrorists at- militants are active in the province. said in a report on Wednesday that a “national outbreak” of hate incidents tacked the posts from three directions The latest attacks in Afghanistan the number of organizations oppos- following Trump’s presidential election. and after several hours of fierce battles, came as Pakistani security forces shelled ing Muslims “leaped” from 34 in 2015 It said that it documented nearly 900 The House of Saud regime claims that it has broken up four 17 soldiers were killed. ISIL positions in Nangarhar following a to 101 last year, as the total number hate incidents within the 10 days after ISIL-linked cells suspected of providing shelter and funds to General Doulat Waziri, the spokes- terrorist bombing claimed by the Takfi- of various hate groups remained at Trump’s election on November 8, but wanted fighters, and recruiting fighters, according to local man for the Afghan Defense Ministry, ri group that killed at least 80 people, “near-historic highs, rising from 892 in noted it was “almost certainly a small news media reports citing the interior ministry. said army troops killed 21 militants in including 20 children, in the city of Se- 2015 to 917 last year”. fraction of the actual number” because Automatic weapons were seized from the four cells, which the battle. hwan in Sindh province. The SPLC also noted that FBI (Fed- of under-reporting. comprised 15 Saudis, two Yemenis and a Sudanese man, the In a separate attack on Friday, Tali- (Source: Press TV) eral Bureau of Investigation) statistics (Source: Al Jazeera) Saudi Press Agency quoted the ministry as saying on Thurs- day. German defense minister opens Munich Security Conference with call for responsible U.S. involvement Security forces also seized more than $500,000 in cash, the reports said. Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von olence and terror are growing. Rather, it The crackdown, which began on Saturday, targeted the der Leyen, opened the 53rd Munich Se- remains proper to seek partnerships with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist curity Conference (MSC) on Friday, saying like-minded Muslim and Arab states.” group cells that had been operating in the regions of Mecca, the world needs a globally committed and More than 500 participants were ex- Medina, Qassim and the capital Riyadh, according to Man- responsible United States. pected to attend the MSC, including the sour al-Turki, the Saudi regime interior ministry spokesman. Von der Leyen told the assembled in- United States Vice President Mike Pence, Among those helped to hide by the cells was Taye al- ternational government representatives Defense Secretary James Mattis and Sec- Say’ari, one of two suspected fighters killed in a security op- and security experts that Germany real- retary for Homeland Security John Kelly. eration in Riyadh last month. ized it had to shoulder a greater burden White House advisors said Pence’s trip Local Saudi affiliates of ISIL have carried out several dead- of the cost of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty to Germany and Belgium was aimed at ly shootings and bombings in the kingdom. Organization). reassuring European and Middle Eastern Many have targeted security personnel and Shia mosques. “The crises and conflicts have opened partners about the U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabia says it has arrested hundreds of ISIL mem- our eyes: whoever wants security needs NATO and the European Union. bers. their own powers and capabilities. Whoev- The guest list includes 16 heads of The House of Saud regime is the cradle of Wahhabi er wants security needs reliable alliances,” state, 15 government leaders, 47 foreign school of thought, where the extreme and radical interpreta- Von der Leyen said. ministers, 30 defense ministers, 59 repre- tion of Islam is widely preached. Wahhabism is practiced and “NATO is not self-evident, not for Amer- sentatives from international organizations preached by many Takfiri terrorist groups such as the ISIL. ica and not for us Europeans. We must all and 65 business leaders. In Takfiri ideology a Muslim accuses another Muslim or an be confident that our common interests The issues discussed at this year’s con- adherent of other divine faiths of apostasy. and our principles and values are held up.” ference will be informed by The Munich The House of Saud regime is also blamed by many states, “And this also means that we are wag- Ursula von der Leyen: ‘Fight that, “We should be wary of shifting this Security Conference annual report pub- politicians and think tanks of nurturing and supporting Takfiri ing the fight against transnational terror against terrorism, not against Mus- struggle into a front against Islam and lished this month, which warns against the terrorism in the Middle East region and the globe by grant- together, especially Islamic State (Islamic lims’ Muslims. Otherwise, we are in danger of rise of populism threatening the interna- ing them financial aid and of course equipping the Takfiri State in Iraq and the Levant/ISIL/Daesh).” The German Minster went on to say deepening the trenches from which vi- tional order. (Source: Deutsche Welle) terrorist, like the ISIL with sophisticated arms. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 4 ECONOMY FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 22017017 SNIPPETS Iran’s steel exports to Europe Indonesian ministers in Tehran by Feb.-end to hash out economic noticeably rise during 2013-16 bonds ECONOMIC TEHRAN — Europe’s steel imports ECONOMY TEHRAN — Indonesian Coor- desk desk from Iran rose by nearly eight times be- dinating Minister for Economic tween 2013 and 2016, Reuters reported. Affairs Darmin Nasution and Minister of Energy and It has made Iranian steel imports the latest threat to Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan will pay a visit to European steelmakers, Steel lobby group Eurofer said on the Iranian capital by the end of the current month to Thursday. discuss development of economic ties with Iran, IRNA “The threat from Iran is new and it’s going to be one of reported. the top three issues: China, India, Iran,” Karl Tachelet, ex- As Nasution was quoted, the two Indonesian min- ternal relations and trade director at Eurofer, told Reuters. isters plan to confer on expansion of energy ties, in Iran aims to export between 20 and 25 million tons of particular, those in gas and oil sector, with the Iranian steel annually by 2025 and to increase total output to 55 high-ranking officials. million tons from an estimated 16 million tons now. Intl. jewelry According to the Head of Iranian Mines and Mining In- dustries Development and Renovation Organization (IMID- exhibition running RO) Mehdi Karbasian, domestic steel industry has reached in Tehran 50 percent of the planned goals that it has been expected to reach based on Iran’s 1404 (March 2025-March 2026) Outlook Plan, IRNA reported. ECONOMY TEHRAN — Iran’s 9th internation- The country’s major steel producers exported 4.4 mil- deskal exhibition of gold, silver, jewelry, lion tons of crude steel during the first ten months of the watch and related industries kicked off Thursday at current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016-January 19, Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds. 2017), registering a 45 percent rise compared to the same According to IRNA, the exhibition is hosting over period in the previous year. 140 Iranian companies as well as 10 foreign exhibitors The main producers’ output also witnessed a 2.42 per- from Turkey, Italy, Germany, Armenia, Thailand, Britain cent rise year on year. and Belgium. Iran’s annual crude steel production and exports are As a major steel producer in the region, Iran boosted According to the latest report published by the World During the four day event the latest products and planned to hit 15 million tons and 6 million tons, respec- its steel mills across the country in recent years, as central Steel Association, Iran produced 17.89 million tons of crude services in the jewelry industry are presented. tively, by the end of the current Iranian calendar year Isfahan and southwestern Khuzestan provinces remain the steel in 2016, registering an 11-percent growth compared (March 20, 2017). major steel producers. to the figure in 2015. Iranian airliner to buy Fokker engines from A look at the economy Trump inherited, which he calls a ‘mess’ Rolls Royce Obama took office, in January 2009, was eral Reserve to keep interest rates so low. the economy is on a “little stronger” path By Greg Robb 7.8%. In January 2016, the unemployment Just Thursday, the Philadelphia Fed fac- than he expected. President Donald Trump on Thursday con- rate was 4.8%. tory index hit its highest level since 1984 And Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said ECONOMY TEHRAN — Iranian airliner Ase- The U.S. lost 793,000 jobs during the in February. And the 4-week average of the economy was warming up. He noted desk tinued to disparage the U.S. economy, man has reached an agreement painting a dystopian picture of massive month Obama was sworn into office; it jobless claims fell to the lowest level since the unemployment rate has been falling with British Rolls Royce for buying Fokker aircraft en- job loss, violent inner cities and rising drug gained 227,000 positions in January. 1973. steadily and inflation is perking up, putting gines, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday. abuse. Even if some of the recent uptick in ac- In addition, retail sales sizzled in Jan- the Fed close to its twin goals. According to the agreement Aseman will buy 100 “I inherited a mess at home,” he said. tivity is attributed to confidence rising since uary and the economy may escape the That said, Republicans like to point out Tay-650 engines and Rolls Royce will also provide the “Democrats screwed things up royally.” the election of Trump — and surveys shows first-quarter doldrums that have plagued it that the economy’s annual growth rate has Iranian airliner with spare parts and maintenance. Trump’s nightmare visions contrasts with both business and consumer confidence in recent years. not topped 3% since 2005, and it grew Aseman is also in talks with a German company for outside experts who actually are growing has climbed since November — the econ- Fed officials are expressing some satis- an unimpressive 1.6% last year. And they a three-year lease of three Boeing 738 aircrafts. more confident about the U.S. economic omy was on far stronger footing than the faction with the economy’s recent perfor- think a lower level of labor-force partici- outlook, and importantly, they were before one Obama inherited. mance. pation is obscuring weakness in the jobs the president took office. Indeed, analysts are beginning to think Dennis Lockhart, the outgoing president market. Iran, Cuba fortify ties with 12 The unemployment rate when President the economy likely does not need the Fed- of the Atlanta Fed, said recent data suggest (Source: The Market Watch) cooperation agreements UK chancellor is an ‘economic illiterate’, claims pro-Brexit economist Iran and Cuba signed 12 new cooperation agreements Thurs- The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has would be at rights, is preposterous. Mr ed Theresa May’s recent assertion that day fortifying ties at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump’s been described as “economically illiter- Minford does not appear to understand the UK would leave the Europe’s single comments on Tehran and Havana have upset the two countries. ate” by the head of a group of econo- the challenges that the UK economy will market when it left the union. The agreements signed in Cuba have been made in areas mists lobbying for the UK to ditch tariffs have to navigate as it exits the EU, nor “Think of where we have come from such as agriculture, health, biotechnology and higher education. and embrace free trade after Brexit. the full potential of the opportunities that already. I don’t know how long in the run- Cuban Institute of Radio and Television and Iranian network Patrick Minford, an economics profes- await.” up to the Brexit referendum I would keep HispanTV are also reported to have entered a memorandum of sor at Cardiff University, said Hammond Minford’s panel comprises 15 econ- hearing how vital it was to stay in the understanding under the agreement. and other politicians risked setting the UK omists and has an advisory group that single market ... we have come an awful “In the political arena, we are two countries which have com- on a course of serious self-harm if they includes the MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, as long way from there ... So I wouldn’t give mon positions on international issues. As non-aligned countries, pushed for a trade deal with the EU that this is just economic illiteracy. I don’t well as John Longworth, co-chair of up on Philip Hammond, I think we can we support each other mutually,” Iranian Health Minister Seyyed put customs charges on goods and ser- know how one deals with an economic Leave Means Leave and former head of convince him,” said Bootle. Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi said, according to TeleSur. vices imported to the country. illiterate other than say ‘come to my lec- the British Chambers of Commerce who In her speech on Brexit, in January, the Trump has threatened to make changes to the nuclear deal Minford was speaking as his previous tures’ or something.” resigned from that post over his support prime minister said that instead of mem- with Iran and has also put Iran on the immigration ban list, which group, Economists for Brexit, launched It is not the first time Minford has tak- for Brexit. bership of the single market Britain would includes six other Muslim-majority countries. on Thursday itself as Economists for Free en aim at a UK chancellor. Campaigning One of the panel’s reasons for wanting seek “the greatest possible access to it The U.S. president is also reviewing Washington’s policy to- Trade. He argued that if the UK removed for Brexit ahead of last year’s referendum, to drop tariffs on imports to the UK is the through a new, comprehensive, bold and ward Cuba, a White House spokesman said on Feb. 3. all import tariffs, even if the EU did not the economist turned on George Os- potential benefit to consumers from low- ambitious free trade agreement”. (Source: ibtimes.com) reciprocate, GDP would rise, government borne, who had insisted that those cam- er prices. They say that currently the EU Setting out free-trade supporters’ receipts would be boosted and retail pric- paigning to leave the EU were economi- customs union raises prices through pro- views ahead of those negotiations, Min- Merkel ally: If Trump es paid by British consumers would fall. cally illiterate. “Osborne is the one who is tection and business regulation, to the ford said there was a risk the UK would Hammond and others have warned economically illiterate here,” Minford said benefit of producers and at the expense end up in a “tit-for-tat” battle with an imposes punitive tariffs, that such unilateral free trade models at the time. of consumers. un-cooperative EU if it maintained tariffs. could harm some exporting industries A source close to Hammond said: “To Roger Bootle, another member of “Any strategy that involves the UK putting we’ll likely do the same and cost jobs. suggest that two successive chancellors Economists for Free Trade, said it was a up tariffs against the EU will cause signif- Asked how he would shift the present don’t know what they are doing but if “battle” to get the idea of zero import icant self harm, which is entirely avoida- If U.S. President Donald Trump imposes punitive tariffs on goods from chancellor’s view, Minford replied: “Well they had listened to Minford the world tariffs across to people. But he highlight- ble.” (Source: The Guardian) other countries, Europe will probably do the same, a senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a magazine interview. Trump has pulled out of a multilateral trade agreement with Struggling European banks see light at end of low-rates tunnel Asia-Pacific nations, vowed to renegotiate the U.S. free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico and wants to protect U.S. industries from Rock-bottom interest rates hurt more big investors, and its decline bodes ill for the euros of extra income. of cheap money. foreign competition by levying new tariffs on goods. European banks in 2016 than in the pre- sector. “The lowering of interest rates has had “How much longer can we continue In January, he warned the United States would impose a border vious year, but the worst could soon be Trump’s promised stimulus a negative effect on the top line. If that to talk about ‘even lower rates’ as being tax of 35 percent on imported cars. over with the prospect of rising borrow- buoys hopes would be reversed, we would see some- a monetary policy option?” Mersch said. Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel’s conservatives in parliament, ing costs rippling from the United States Many executives are now pinning their thing similar back ... but it will take time,” Penalty deposits told Focus magazine in an interview due to be published on Saturday to Europe. hopes on a change in direction for cen- he said. Low rates cost BNP 1 billion euros Penalizing banks for storing money that he did not want an upward race in terms of tariffs. Low rates, money printing and a pen- tral banks given that rate hikes appear of lost revenue between 2013 and 2016. makes holding deposits, traditionally the But he added: “If Trump makes the first move, we’ll probably have alty charge for hoarding cash have been to be on the cards in the United States In 2016, Switzerland’s Credit Suisse bedrock of any lender, more expensive, to make the next one. Europe must reserve the right to respond with at the heart of attempts to reinvigorate this year - and ultimately a paring back of (CSGN.S) saw interest income dip by and this prompts some to steer savers the same methods.” the 19-country euro zone economy in easy-money policies in Europe. about 19 percent, while at Germany’s toward fund products for which a fee can Kauder said he was very concerned about Trump’s global eco- the wake of the 2008-09 debt crisis. “It’s usually the U.S. that leads the Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) and Deutsche be charged. nomic policy: “We need to talk to Trump and his people about how But the policy has been politically di- pack,” said Charles Goodhart of the Bank (DBKGn.DE), it fell by about 13 and UBS (UBSG.S) CEO Sergio Ermotti has isolationist policies neither help America nor us.” (Source: Reuters) visive, prompting fierce criticism from London School of Economics, a former 8 percent respectively, the Reuters survey warned that the world’s biggest wealth famously thrifty Germans as the returns member of the Bank of England’s Mone- found. manager could pass on the cost to de- on savings in Europe’s biggest economy tary Policy Committee. UniCredit’s (CRDI.MI) interest income positors if sub-zero rates persist. So far, Russian Ruble to dwindled to nothing. “If (U.S. President Donald) Trump does dipped by about 6 percent. Spain’s Bankia only one Swiss bank, Alternative Bank It also imposed a heavy cost on still manage to get an expansionary fiscal (BKIA.MC) saw a drop of about one fifth. Switzerland, has imposed such charges. weaken, then stabilize in fragile banks, turning deposits into a hot policy, there will be increases in interest While successful in helping a brittle Another way around the problem foreseeable future potato that many would rather avoid so rates,” he said, adding that the effect euro zone economy gradually revive is keeping deposits low and bolstering as not to pay charges to their central would also be felt in Europe. from the debt crunch in the short term, lending. The Russian ruble is expected to weaken then stabilize in the fore- bank for storing them. Trump has pledged to stimulate zero or negative rates have, in the eyes of Sweden has generally done better in seeable future, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin Last year marked a low ebb, according growth in the world’s largest and most in- critics, struck at a central tenet of banking this respect than most. That is something said after meeting President Vladimir Putin on Friday. to a survey by Reuters of 20 large Euro- fluential economy through a combination - lending on the back of deposits - and that Barclays analyst Mike Harrison attrib- Commenting on the ruble’s latest upward surge, trading as low pean banks conducted in mid-February. of heavy infrastructure investment and turned the principle of saving for retire- utes to a lower average level of deposits, as 58 rubles against the US dollar this week for the first time since While seven in that group saw net in- deep corporate tax cuts. ment on its head. which cost a bank money if it cannot lend mid-2015, Oreshkin said the government saw the trend as short- terest income fall during 2015, that num- In December, the U.S. Federal Reserve There are signs that the struggle of and must pay a penalty for storing them term and therefore did not plan drastic policy changes. ber increased to 12 in 2016, with the av- raised interest rates and signaled a faster frustrated lenders is being noticed in at the country’s central bank. “In general, we expect that in the near future there will be a cer- erage dip more than 7 percent. That was pace of increases in 2017. Frankfurt, seat of the European Central The ECB imposes a so-called nega- tain weakening of the ruble, and then its stabilization,” Oreshkin told steeper than the roughly 5 percent slip For European banks, the shift in rates Bank. tive rate equivalent to 4 euros annually reporters. on average in 2015. cannot happen soon enough. Yves Mersch, a member of the ECB’s on each 1,000 euros that lenders deposit The government would react promptly in the event of the Rus- Such income is the difference between Lars Machenil, chief financial officer executive board, the nucleus of euro with the central bank. Banks in Sweden sian currency’s further upward movement, the minister said. He interest charged on, say, a loan, and the of France’s BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), one zone policy-setting, recently said it need- and Switzerland, outside the neighboring added that Russia’s economic trends discussed with Putin, based on cost of holding a deposit. It is a bellweth- of Europe’s biggest lenders, said the dif- ed to take interest rate cuts off the table, euro zone, pay a similar charge. January indicators, were showing positive signs. (Source: Sputnik) er of earning power, closely watched by ference could be hundreds of millions of which would mark a retreat from its policy (Source: Reuters) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 22017017 ENERGY 5 Belarus joins Iraq plans to acquire “large Iranian oil fleet” of oil tankers Iraq plans to acquire a “large fleet” of oil tankers to transport the OPEC nation’s crude to global markets, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in a statement on Friday. buyers’ club The nation’s tanker fleet was largely destroyed during the U.S.-led offensive to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait in 1991, according to the state-run Iraqi Oil Tankers Company’s ECONOMY TEHRAN — Three Iran. website. The company owned as many as 24 tankers in deskmonths after Belaru- In October 2016 Belarusian Pres- the 1980s. sian president’s announcement of oil ident Alexander Lukashenko an- “The ministry is keen to restructure the company and talks with Iran in October 2016, the nounced that Belarus is in talks with develop its operations by building and buying a large fleet country has bought its first oil cargo Iran on supplies of oil. of tankers,” Luaibi told the company’s management, ac- from Iran. “We have been in talks with Iran cording to the statement. According to sources close to Reu- which is trying to expand its oil market Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest producer, after Saudi Ara- ters, Belarusian oil company Bel Oil and offers lower prices,” Lukashenko bia. has bought this 80,000-ton (600,000 told Belarusian lawmakers. (Source: Reuters) barrels) light and heavy crude oil car- Following Lukashenko, Iranian Oil go from National Iranian Oil Compa- Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said ny (NIOC) to be loaded in February. in December 2016 that Iran is con- After Moscow and Minsk’s discord sidering cooperation with Belarus in OPEC’s oil curbs grant regarding gas prices in 2016 Russia oil industry equipment manufacturing Russia’s Urals a rare ticket reduced its gas exports to Belarus and also oil trade. pany Bel Oil, has taken the first step of Odessa or the Baltic port of Vent- and this made the Eastern European This is the first time that Belarus in this regard. spils for rail transportation to Belarus, for S. Korea country to start thinking of a new en- purchases Iranian crude and Belarus’s Bel Oil is going to ship the Iranian with the logistics yet to be agreed, ergy market and thus leaning toward Bel Oil, a subsidiary of Polish oil com- crude oil to either the Black Sea port two trading sources told Reuters. The biggest oil producers in the Middle East are help- ing crude from Western Siberia boldly go where it’s rarely gone before. OPEC could extend or deepen supply cut if oil glut persists: sources Top South Korean refiner SK Innovation Co. is set to receive about 1 million barrels of Urals crude in its first OPEC could extend its oil supply-reduction pact with attend. age, the International Energy Agency said last week. purchase of the Russian blend oil in a decade. The ship- non-members or even apply deeper cuts from July OPEC producers in January achieved 93 percent Of those 286 million barrels, stocks were split ment was made viable because of rising costs for rival if global crude inventories fail to drop to a targeted compliance with the pledged reductions, of which the about evenly between crude and natural gas liquids supply from the Middle East, as nations such as Saudi level, OPEC sources said. group’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, contributed the on one side, and products on the other. The biggest Arabia curb output to comply with a deal between global The group, together with Russia and other non- biggest chunk. build-up occurred in the United States. producers. OPEC oil producers, agreed late last year to cut out- Officials in the 13-member OPEC, including Saudi “As an oil producer you need to moderate the The cargo is also another example that helps illustrate put by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to reduce a Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, have said oil stocks crude first. The products will go down later,” a third how the reductions by top OPEC members are rerout- price-sapping glut. The deal took effect on Jan. 1 and need to fall near to their five-year average for the OPEC source said. ing the flow of oil across the globe. In recent weeks, Asia lasts six months. group to say markets are becoming balanced. OPEC’s cuts so far have mostly focused on medi- has become a destination for grades that typically don’t For global petroleum inventories to fall by some Simple arithmetic shows that a cut of 1.8 million um and heavy crudes, while U.S. crude production is show up in the region -- from U.S. Mars Blend and South- 300 million barrels to the five-year average, produc- bpd for six months would reduce crude supply by mainly light and sweet. ern Green Canyon to West Canadian Select, Hibernia and ing countries must comply 100 percent with the sup- around 300 million barrels over the period of the As a result of growing abundance, the United White Rose. The premium of Oman crude, often pitted ply accord and growth in demand for crude will have agreement, industry and OPEC sources say. States could ramp up exports of light crude, leading against Urals because they are of similar quality, jumped to stay healthy, the sources said. But because of the time needed to obtain accurate to a drop in domestic stocks of both crude and re- to its highest level this month against Middle East bench- “If we have full commitment by everybody, inven- inventory data, the extent of the drawdown will not fined products. mark Dubai oil. tories will go down. By sometime in the middle of this yet be clear when OPEC meets in May. But that should take longer than six months, es- “The flow of Urals into Asia is rare as it’s usually not eco- year, maybe they will go near the five-year average. “If countries adhere then that would certainly be pecially as the U.S. refinery maintenance season in nomically viable versus other supplies such as Oman or But that’s if you have 100 percent compliance,” one encouraging,” another OPEC source said, adding that the first quarter of this year is likely to result in higher Upper Zakum crude,” said Nevyn Nah, a Singapore-based OPEC source said. the supply pact could be extended by May if all major crude inventories. analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. “The grade is typically “The question is, by how much will they fall? For producers showed “effective cooperation”. “Even if things are heading in the right direction, transported on Suezmax or smaller vessels due to draft that, you have to wait and see.” Crude or products? compliance has been good, there’s a good chance restrictions at the port and Suez Canal, and that makes it The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Global petroleum inventories at the end of De- and high odds that the group (OPEC) decides that tough to compete with Mideast grades that are typically Countries meets next on May 25 to decide on sup- cember had edged down to below 3 billion barrels, they want to continue this process,” Energy Aspects (Source: Reuters) transported on Very Large Crude Carriers.” ply policy, with non-members possibly also invited to but were 286 million barrels above the five-year aver- analyst Richard Mallinson said. (Source: Bloomberg) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 6 INTERNATIONAL FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 118,8, 22017017 France’s bumbling search for Trump fears terrorists, but more Americans are shot dead by toddlers a candidate to stop Le Pen By Gary Younge By Ullrich Fichtner in 23 percent of the vote. Leftist Jean-Luc hortly before leaving America for Britain, after 12 Mélenchon, a man who thinks quite highly Syears as a correspondent, the relative of one of my uropeans are keeping close tabs on of himself and his ideas, stands at around son’s friends politely declined my invitation to visit EFrance in this decisive election year, 10 percent. Mélenchon is promising to us in London. and the French are giving them allow people to retire at the age of 60 and “I don’t think I could go to Europe,” she said. “It doesn’t plenty to watch. Three months before the draw full pension benefits and is calling for seem safe.” final round of voting in the presidential a monthly minimum wage of 1,300 euros. Try as I might I could not suppress a laugh. My wife and election on May 7, a good portion of the He wants France and the European Union children are African American. I am British. We were living political establishment has already been to recognize Palestine as a state, he is in Chicago. weeded out of the race. And it currently calling for France to withdraw from NATO The “odds of you being shot dead here are far greater looks as though the purge won’t be slow- and is demanding the renegotiation of the than of you being killed in a terrorist attack over there.” ing down any time soon. EU treaties. Next. When the president uses his executive powers to ban Currently, a big question mark is Indeed, a look at the line-up of more than 200 million people from entering America, hovering over the future career of François candidates with three months to go ostensibly in the interests of security, and then, in the same Fillon, who had looked until last week like before the final round of the election leads week, the House of Representatives relaxes background one of the most promising contenders. one unavoidably to the conclusion that checks for gun ownership, one is compelled to question But then, as the newspaper Le Canard the greatest threat facing Front National the sense of proportionality when it comes to security. enchaîné put it, a “gigantic stain appeared and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen Whom do they intend to keep safe? By what means? And on his white vest.” But Fillon’s travails is the party itself. The good news, though, at what price to liberty? are only the most recent in a string of is that the party has always proven adept Let us leave aside for the moment the fact that since 9/11 absurdities that have dogged the French at defeating itself in the past. not a single American has been killed in a terrorist attack campaign. Unrealistic proposals by a citizen from the countries on this list. The reality is that Right from the get go, President When the business daily Les Echos, an American is at least twice as likely to be shot dead by a François Hollande’s disastrous showing in for example, takes a closer look at the toddler than killed by a terrorist. In 2014 88 Americans were the polls prevented him, the incumbent, particularly unrealistic proposals made shot dead, on average, every day: 58 killed themselves while from running for re-election. His prime on the campaign trail, Le Pen is high on 30 were murdered. In that same year 18 Americans were minister Manuel Valls, once one of the the list. Her plans to withdraw from the killed by terrorist attacks in the U.S. Put more starkly: more country’s most popular politicians, also EU and the common currency would lead Americans were killed by firearms roughly every five hours got derailed as the Socialist Party’s to a national disaster, including a currency than were killed by terrorists in an entire year. It is unlikely replacement candidate in the primary. collapse and an explosion of new debt. that scrapping a rule requiring extended background checks And “omnipresident” Nicolas Sarkozy And beyond the economy, Le Pen is still for gun purchases by some social security recipients suffering fared equally poorly in the conservative broadly considered to be unelectable from mental illness will improve the situation. party’s primary. The early vote also wiped Now the slate of contenders, with or without Fillon, because she has yet to completely Behind the mantra out the prospects of the man who had led has completely changed and is considerably more disassociate herself from her radical right- To (hide behind the mantra “guns don’t kill people, people all the polls: Alain Juppé, the aging mayor wing father Jean-Marie, who founded the kill people” is an act of fallacious sophistry. Toasters don’t of Bordeaux, who at times looked almost exciting than what had been anticipated only a few Front National party. make toast, people make toast. True. But toasters exist to like he already had one foot in the door short weeks ago. France’s third most popular sport And beyond being realistic about the make toast: guns exist to kill people.) at Élysée Palace, the French White House. behind football and rugby -- that of calculating the economic aspects, French voters are also One need not downplay the importance of terrorism here. Now the slate of contenders, with or unlikely to vote for Le Pen in the end Terrorism is not only murderous. In its ability to spread anxiety without Fillon, has completely changed probability of every possible (and impossible) post- because she ultimately hasn’t done much and undermine democratic engagement with violence it is also and is considerably more exciting than election coalition -- has begun filling myriad columns to distance herself from the stench left deeply reactionary. Rather than galvanizing people around a what had been anticipated only a few and television programs. behind by her father and party founder cause it divides them in the crudest manner possible – on short weeks ago. France’s third most Jean-Marie Le Pen, a Holocaust denier the basis of fear. That’s as true when America kills innocent popular sport behind football and rugby then revised the figures upwards. The hide the fact that she is sparring over with neo-Nazi ties. civilians. But the fear most Americans experience daily isn’t -- that of calculating the probability of paper now claims that Penelope Fillon the direction of the party with her own A speech she gave in September in imported – it’s home grown. That’s true across the board, but every possible (and impossible) post- earned 831,440 euros from her husband niece, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. But it the town of Fréjus is still presented on particularly true for some minorities. election coalition -- has begun filling over the course of several years -- a doesn’t matter: Her polling numbers her website as a policy cornerstone of Every day seven children and teens are shot dead in the myriad columns and television programs. shockingly large sum that doesn’t befit a have remained constant at 25 percent, her movement. The dystopian sermon U.S. Firearms are the biggest killer of young black people and What would happen if the entire left, man who is proposing drastic austerity for indicating that it is very likely she will portrays France as a country under seige the second biggest killer of all children, after traffic accidents. including the Communists, the Greens his country. attract enough voters to make it into the by alien powers of all kinds. When the new U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos, and the rest were to finally join forces and Smearing campaign second round of voting in the presidential It invokes a reclamation of Gallic suggests schools might need guns to protect themselves field a joint candidate? Can the highly Despite the scandal, Fillon has said he election. France facing a noble battle of life and from grizzly bears, she’s clearly not capable of guaging the gifted Emmanuel Macron, a man in his won’t drop out of the race and spent last The only question is who will be her death. It opposes the false liberal doctrine real threat to American children. late thirties, really launch a movement out week angrily and vehemently denying challenger? Who will become the “lesser of our time, multiculturalism and, of While researching my book about all the young people of nowhere and catapult himself to the the allegations. He described himself as of two evils” of this campaign? course, Europe. Throughout the speech -- who were killed on one random day – 23 November 2013 – helm of the French state within just a few being the victim of a “professional smear Foolhardy plan sometimes between the lines, sometimes every single parent of a black teenager who lost a child that months with his breezy “neither left nor campaign” against him conducted by Will it be Socialist candidate Hamon, overt -- there is a whiff of a xenophobic, day that I interviewed said they assumed this might happen right” course? Does left-wing radical Jean- “those in power, on the left.” The aim, he with his foolhardy plan of introducing an ethnic-nationalist and exclusionist and to their kid. “I didn’t think it would be him,” said one mother. “I Luc Mélanchon, mocked as a “YouTube claimed, was to shoot down the “exalted unconditional basic income for all French, backward ideology. thought it would be his brother.” “You wouldn’t be doing your Che Guevara” by his opponents, stand idea of France” he promoted. Only hours starting at 600 euros and later rising to Le Pen, together with her recently job as a father if you didn’t,” said another. a chance of gaining more than the 10 after those statements, however, breaking 750 euros? The plan would likely lead assembled team of smart young men, Psychosomatic symptoms percent support he has now? And what news emerged of further incriminating to 380 billion euros in additional annual attempts to disguise this message for the Doriane Miller is a primary-care physician who practices was the name of the guy running for the information, including the broadcasts spending for the French government. broader public, but it remains a constant on Chicago’s South Side, where one teen was killed that Greens again? Jabot? Jadot? of parts of a television interview with Or will it be Emmanuel Macron? There strategic tight-rope walk. She must serve day. Dr. Miller noticed a significant number of young black Presidential primaries Penelope recorded years ago in which she is no doubt that he has the charisma of a up hard-core slogans to her hard core patients arriving with psychosomatic symptoms – many also This much is certain: It’s going to be an says she had never worked at any time as leader, but he also has some weaknesses of voters, but must avoid scaring off had tattoos bearing the names and dates of loved ones who exciting election, in no small part thanks an assistant to her husband, belying the that make him prone to attack, including the rest of the electorate. To do so, as had been lost to gun violence. When she tried to talk to them to France’s grassroots-promoting practice couple’s efforts last week to prove that two that could become particularly her Fréjus speech makes clear, she has about it they shut down. of holding open presidential primaries. the payments to Penelope had been dangerous. The first is a resume that is developed a kind of secret language that “There was that sense that this is the way it is in my life and The Socialists were the first to test it years legitimate. hardly consistent with the image of a one could describe as right-wing radical in my community,” she said. “There is a learned hopelessness ago, and the conservatives are following Now, even if Fillon survives as a young hero shaking up an ossified political doublespeak. Cognizant supporters hear around this. And so you suck it up, you man up, and you suit this time around. Both were also candidate, he will be so damaged that system. Macron studied at France’s elite a different message in her speeches than move on.” forced to realize that primary voters pay he has virtually no chance of winning. École nationale d’administration (ENA), he’s does the public at large -- and that is the Many of the areas where these young people live, and die, little heed to polls or probability theories, Last week, in fact, his own party began a wealthy former banker who worked at strategy the Le Pen is following in her look like war zones – empty lots, half-demolished houses, but are instead more likely to inject deep discussing a “Plan B” so openly that it Rothschild before becoming an adviser to attempt to find her way into the Élysée. depleted infrastructure, militarized policing, potholed polarization into the political system. was almost disrespectful. Juppé is one François Hollande. He has long been part She has also been seeking to enter roads, boarded-up houses, abandoned churches. But more In the left-wing camp, Benoît Hamon, possible replacement candidate being of the elite on which he has declared war. the orbit of others with pertinent importantly, they are experienced as such. a man largely unknown abroad, won the discussed, but the names of some young Then there’s Macron’s second experience. Le Pen was recently spotted People (mostly young men) disappear – either to prison candidacy. In France though, Hamon is conservatives have also been circulating. problem: With the exception of a relatively drinking coffee at an ice cream parlor or to the grave – leaving a huge gender imbalance. Times well-known as the leader of the revolt Regardless, none of these alternatives refreshing and clear commitment to the in Trump Tower in New York. There are are hard, and the informal economy is rife, meaning there within the Socialist party against the would be as capable of taking voters European Union, at least for a Frenchman, also rumors that the notorious U.S. web are spivs everywhere making an ostentatious display of their French president’s “social democratic” away from Marine Le Pen and her project he doesn’t have much of a platform. He portal Breitbart News, which paved the wealth. The one major difference is that whereas wars often course, a moniker which, in the French “Marine 2017” as the pre-scandal Fillon has said he will announce his plans in late ideological path for Donald Trump, plans cement communities as people band together against a interpretation, means the overly centrist would have been. February, once his movement’s hundreds to expand into the French market. “common enemy,” in these areas the enemy is everywhere and wishy-washy path pursued by This, of course, is welcome news for of thousands of volunteers, organized Still, it remains unlikely that Marine Le and, potentially, anyone. Hollande. Marine Le Pen, who transformed the in working groups across the country, Pen will become France’s president. The These, too, are Americans. They too deserve security. Prior to Hamon’s crowning, primary fascist clique surrounding her father into assemble policy proposals on diverse polls may show her making it into the Indeed it is a nonsense to talk about securing the borders voters had picked Fillon to be the a modern party, the right-wing populist issues. If this operation is successful and second round of voting, but once there, from the outside world if many of those who live within candidate for the conservative party Front National, with her at the center. Macron does indeed produce a coherent the current data also shows that she those selfsame borders continue to live in a state of which was recently rechristened as the Over the weekend, she introduced “140 political platform, it will represent yet would likely be defeated by an opposing constant fear. Republicans. Though Fillon, an avowed proposals for France” as she launched the another grassroots miracle for France. candidate, no matter who it is. At the Many of those who insist that, when it comes to terror, Catholic, has served as a minister in several main segment of her campaign. Yet even But is such a thing even possible? Can moment, for example, polls show Macron one must balance individual rights against collective governments and also spent a number of as she hits the stump, she is comfortably a new political course -- neither left nor getting 65 percent of votes in a run-off security, become curiously silent when it comes to adapting years as prime minister, he hadn’t been secure in the knowledge that she has right, but simply correct and good -- against Le Pen. One of the certainties their interpretation of the right to bear arms to the issue seen as a likely candidate and his triumph the support of at least one-quarter of really be formulated by the masses? There you can rely on in France is that Le Pen is of public safety. essentially came out of nowhere. the country’s voters no matter what she is plenty of hope surrounding Macron, constantly seen as the greater of two evils. In 2002 I interviewed the late Maya Angelou about her For some time after that, many con- says and no matter what others might say but mockery is never far away. A French Still, the rest of Europe is gripped by a views on the 9/11 terror attacks. “Living in a state of terror sidered Fillon -- a staunchly conservative, about her. comedian could be heard last week on the feeling of uneasiness as it looks to France in was new to many white people in America,” she told me. serious candidate -- to be the front run- She has been accused of having radio, still an important opinion-shaping this decisive election year. People haven’t “But black people have been living in a state of terror in this ner in the march to Élysée Palace. Now, systematically misappropriated EU funds media in France, saying that washing forgotten that it looked as though Brexit country for more than 400 years.” though, it looks like his run has come to a for party purposes in the European machines have more programs than wasn’t going to happen until the British If the current administration applied just half the zeal to sudden end. For as much a Fillon is fond Parliament. She is no longer able to Macron. Recent polls showed him pulling actually did vote to leave. And in the U.S., making sure all people in the country feel included and safe of preaching about morals and decency, there was widespread confidence, even as they do to making sure some outside of it feel excluded he himself doesn’t seem to possess much Indeed, a look at the line-up of candidates with three a week before the election that Donald and anxious, the impact on Americans’ sense of security of either. months to go before the final round of the election Trump wouldn’t win. would be repaid exponentially. Le Canard enchaîné, an odd newspaper In France, the party primaries followed After a judge blocked the Muslim ban over the weekend with its mix of gossip and satire, published leads one unavoidably to the conclusion that the the exact same pattern: the favorites, Trump said that if there was another terrorist attack America a report last week providing proof that greatest threat facing Front National and presidential praised by those in the Paris bubble and should blame him. Between me writing this article and you Fillon had hired his own wife Penelope as candidate Marine Le Pen is the party itself. The good in the media, all lost. And outsiders won. reading it the chances are another child will be shot dead. a fake, but very well paid, parliamentary Will that trend continue? We won’t know Whom, I wonder, should we blame for that? assistant. Last Wednesday, Canard then news, though, is that the party has always proven until May. (Source: The Guardian) admitted it had made a mistake -- and adept at defeating itself in the past. (Source: Spiegel) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 22017017 ANALYSIS 7

ByLuciana Bohne Welcome to Trumpland: Obama’s legacy. new gang is in power in Wash- Aington. No one quite knows how or why, but the old gang is fighting back with all of its might. A A new gang is in power in Washington charlatan heads the new gang; he says he opposes everything the old boss did. He says he will set it all right at These “fixers” reversed cause and home and in the global neighborhood, effect. They obscured the fact that yet his cabinet of consiglieri is stacked Crimea’s separation from Ukraine was with muscular Pentagon Telamon Ajax- the effect of the US-coup in Kiev. They es, avaricious bankers and Wall Street used it as the cause for tightening NA- vultures, and the mother of all archaic TO’s military noose around Russia, in- fossil-fuel planetary polluters—Exxon cluding with offensive missiles, called Mobil. “defensive.” Thus the effect of Ameri- A clutch of customary villains, no can regime-change in Ukraine became less villainous than the ones before. the cause of American militarization of His boss of Labor opposes raising the Central and Eastern Europe. With ob- minimum wage. His boss of Treasury jective Russia. This militarization against is a former partner of Goldman Sachs, the constructed phantom of Russian international economic polluters, big aggression goes by the grand name time. of Atlantic Resolve 2017, which the US In January 2017, the Bulletin Department of Defense justifies on its of Atomic Scientists moved up its website in these terms: “Doomsday Clock” by thirty seconds The United States is demonstrating to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight, its continued commitment to collec- the closest to Armageddon since 1953. tive security through a series of actions The causes, they wrote, were “nuclear Before Trump emerged from the electoral designed to reassure NATO allies and The manipulation of news and the volatility” and climate change. The signs partners of America’s dedication to en- that Trump might reverse the course of swamp the winner, everything already during peace and stability in the region distortion of reality are the most powerful doom are unpromising. Rex Tillerson’s had been the contrary of everything. And in light of the Russian intervention in weapons in the hands of power. appointment means that Exxon-Mobil became more so. Ukraine (emphasis mine). will function as the virtual Secretary of That bullhorn of the military-indus- a cudgel to beat Iran with. On Yemen, ia. In the wake of Iran’s test of a me- State. The war state rules: “Let it be an It’s the geopolitics, stupid. ofarians. The minstrels spread urban trial complex, John McCain, turned re- they are reported as setting to step up dium-range ballistic missile on January arms race. We will outmatch them at Popular pandemonium exploded panic. The crowds roared: bugger the ality upside down in an instruction to Obama’s infamous drone “kill list,” ramp- 30, National Security Advisor, Michael every pass and outlast them all,” Trump over the merits and demerits of two elections; have a vote recount; abol- the new gang for continuing the sanc- ing up the US role in the civil war, and Flynn, has begun a campaign of verbal said to Mika Brzesinki in a phone call in evils. How can a polity be brought ish the Electoral College; declare the tion regime against Russia: looking to engage more directly. Taking belligerence, disinformation, and out- December, if we can trust the report by so low? The two evils are one. In the Trump unfit. This monster, about to In just the last three years under Yemen as an example, it becomes clear right lies against Iran. In a statement the co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” poisonous air, I hear the echo of Mark squat in an oval-shaped room, like so Vladimir Putin, Russia has invaded that both the liberal and the illiberal Flynn said that: Meanwhile, during and after the Twain’s sardonic rewrite of the “Battle many elect before him, was supposed Ukraine, annexed Crimea, threatened president regard the business of war a The recent ballistic missile launch electoral process, the circulatory ap- Hymn of the Republic,” to denounce to have been Hillary Clinton. NATO allies, and intervened militarily in national industry. Obama’s last words in is... in defiance of UN Security Council paratus of two-gang democracy has his own time’s descent into the moral But she morphed into him. Syria, leaving a trail of death, destruc- office exalted the assumed invincibility Resolution 2231, which calls upon Iran shown terminal symptoms of arterio- quagmire of imperialism in the Span- Her gang pointed the finger at Rus- tion, and broken promises in his wake. of America’s military prowess. On Dec not to undertake any activity related to sclerosis. As latent system-dementia ish-American War of 1898: sia. It was Russia brought this ill wind, In a rational world, the bulk of this 22, Trump posted on Twitter, “The Unit- ballistic missiles designed to be capable becomes overt, the polity has been los- Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the not the foulness of the Clinton clan, not accusation would be lobbed at the ed States must greatly strengthen and of delivering nuclear weapons, includ- ing its marbles, too. Two and a half mil- launching of the sword the bloodlust of the Obama years, not planners in Obama’s neo-liberal-neo- expand its nuclear capability until such ing launches using such ballistic missile lion participated in the Women’s March He is searching out the hoardings the political slaughter of the lymphatic con gang, but no imperial ego can time as the world comes to its senses technology. the day after the inauguration, protest- where the strangers’ wealth is stored social democrat, Bernie Sanders, who admit being morally in the wrong. It regarding nukes.” This is a gross distortion of the truth. ing Trump’s threat to women’s rights—a He has loosed his fateful lightning, could have saved the gang’s ass. Given dresses its violence in cloth of gold, There will be no retrenchment of US UN Security Council Resolution 2231 mass never seen in the streets before to and with woe and death has scored it four more years of failing but respect- spun obligingly by the official media. belligerence under Trump. In the first bans Iran from developing missiles ca- oppose Obama’s killings, which includ- His lust is marching on. able life. It was Russia that wove the The bloody rags of responsibility are aftermath of his inauguration, Presi- pable of carrying a nuclear warhead, ed a disproportionate amount of civil- It would be a relief to hear a coun- web of fate—Russia “not born of wom- tossed onto someone else, who must dent Trump directed Defense Secretary but the resolution states no provision ians, many of them women. You know try united in such a challenging chorus an,” unnatural, evil, stained with the be demonized, preferably by a media James Mattis to preventing Iran from developing de- the numbers: 50,000 in Libya; 10,000 accusing officials’ and backers’ domes- original sin of communism, the mark of liberal. Rachel Maddow, for example, Initiate a new Nuclear Posture Re- fensive capability. The missile tested on in Yemen and Ukraine each; 400,000 tic and foreign violence. But the night Cain. Russia that brought “great Birnam graduated as an instant Sovietologist in view to ensure that the United States’ January 30 had no capacity for carrying in Syria; 2,500 in Gaza, to select the is not yet dark enough for the owl of wood to high Dunsinane hill” and cut her incendiary rant linking Putin’s capi- nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, a nuclear warhead; Iran has not violat- most widely known figures. Add to Minerva to begin her flight and reveal down the Lady Queen of Chaos in the talist Russia to Stalin’s socialist USSR. Tell flexible, resilient, ready, and appro- ed Resolution 2231. these casualties the millions of internal- the gangs’ collective abuses of our trust prime of her ascendancy to Empress of me what rallies the American public— priately tailored to deter 21st-century Flynn’s misrepresentation of Iran’s ly displaced and refugees (65 million in in their vainglorious myths. We are a world, large swathes of which she had including and especially the liberals–to threats and reassure our allies. missile test hums the tune of the fake 2017, up from 59 million in 2016), flee- stranded on the “darkling plane,” in a drained of blood and was herself “in the side of the Star and Stripes more On his first visit to the Pentagon, threat concocted by the Bush neo- ing wars and economic depredation by greyness which the powers that deny blood stepped so far, that should [she] precipitously than raising the commu- the president signed an executive ac- cons on the run-up to the fatal inva- the knights of Obama’s neo-liberal and us understanding are painting with still wade no more, returning were as tedi- nist ghost? tion calling for expansion of the US sion of Iraq in 2003 that Saddam Hus- neo-colonial ministration. more grey. We cannot read the past, ous as go over” The manipulation of news and the military, including its nuclear arsenal to sein had weapons of mass destruction. But we mustn’t begrudge late risers. so we cannot move into the future. We But she was left there, in blood’s distortion of reality are the most pow- be ready for war with its “near compet- That lie cost Iraq one million dead, the Behind the old gang lies a regime sense what we think we know is not midstream, and they rued. erful weapons in the hands of power. itors,” understood as Russia and China. drawing and quartering of Iraq’s politi- of mendacity, a tide of greed, a blight what is. We are not even sure we are The entire gang world—the Heimat They can make a whole reality disap- “I am signing an executive action to cal integrity, internal and external refu- of inequality, a plague of wars, a reign living in the present. of the globalist “international commu- pear. Yemen’s, for example. The Sau- begin a great rebuilding of the armed gees by the millions. Ominously, Flynn of hypocrisy. Before the new gang, a How can such a suspension of time nity”—went into a chorus of shrieking di “coalition,” backed by the US and services of the United States,” he told ends his statement with a threat, “As vision of Pandora, opening wider her not make one nauseous? laments. The political eunuchs in Europe Britain, began bombing Yemen on 23 the Pentagon during the signing. of today, we are officially putting Iran nasty box of troubles. More evils re- “The Nausea is not within me . . . I cried along with their American mas- March 2015. Since then, 3.2 million Thus was the military-industrial on notice.” On cue, came the sanctions leased to join the ones already loosed. feel it out there . . . I am within it.” Just ters. Here was the upstart presidential Yemenis have been displaced, half complex pacified for losing their fa- targeting 25 individuals and business- The streets are turned into a bedlam of so Racontin, the protagonist of Jean mirror in which the Heimat of the good the people suffer from malnutrition, vorite candidate, Hillary Clinton. Re- es connected to Iran’s missile program, discord, bathos, alarm, and confusion Paul Sartre’s novel, Nausea, explains the and the great could no longer admire 10,000 civilians have been killed (that’s ported by the New York Times, including Chinese persons and com- because the forgetful harpy and serial physical revulsion he felt on touching itself enlarged, greater, finer, more 13 civilians per day), 2 million young- the Pentagon itself, anticipating panies. killer Hillary Clinton lost and the crazed reality around him—a chair, a person, a humanitarian than his crude illiberal sters cannot attend school, nearly 15 Trump’s directive to Mattis and his ex- In conclusion, I fail to see the rea- buffoon and gaseous “orange” zeppe- work of art. But where is the rot? “I feel it vulgarity would now reflect back. The million people (55 percent children) ecutive action, had been preparing sons for the gang warfare in DC. lin won—billionaire Trump, head of an out there in the wall, in the suspenders, old gang’s bad-faith had become un- have no access to basic medical care. “classified options” to expand the use Long-standing objectives appear to empire of 111 industrial, commercial, everywhere around me.” What does sustainable. Their self-image, propped Yet, we heard nothing of this im- of Special Operations forces, raising be shared: the global dominance of and financial corporations. “Friend of it look like? “A monster? A giant cara- up by deceptive ideological clap- mense suffering. The US and Britain, in the troop level in Iraq and Syria, and the United States by economic and the people.” pace? Sunk in the mud? A dozen pairs trap—“liberal values”—was shattered. fact, profited from the war in Yemen. expecting the White House to dele- military means. What seems to be the I’m not making this up. of claws or fins laboring slowly in the What of the solemnity of slogans—“civil The Obama administration sold on the gate more authority to the Pentagon bone of contention is the method of The result of the election has been slime? The monster rises. At the bottom society,” rule of law, dedication to uni- world’s weapon market $200 billion and field commanders. The “classified dominating American public opinion. a political cluster bomb. Bomblets con- of the water.” versal principles, respect for identities, worth of arms, the largest US weap- options” included arming the Syr- The war is over rhetoric: liberal versus tinue to explode in the form of protests Is “Trump” Grendl’s new name? In protection of ethnic minorities, zeal for ons’ sale since WW II–over $100 billion ian Kurds for the expected battle for populist “values.” Thus they are fight- and marches and media hysteria. None the shock of the weeks before the in- religious freedoms? What of the pomp- to Saudi Arabia alone. Britain’s contri- Raqqa, in an obvious scheme to drive ing over control of the public’s mind. of these focus on what really matters: auguration, the old gang’s media min- ous phrases, the lubrications of exalted bution to Saudi Arabia’s arsenal was a wedge between Turkey and Russia in It should not be surrendered to either the future of humanity on an overheat- strels indeed decried that a monster promises? All gone into the vortex of $3.2 billion in the last year alone. The their belated rapprochement over “re- persuasion. Perhaps the only silver lin- ed planet, menaced by America’s sys- had been loosed from the slime of the the philistine stupidity of the deplorable United States and Britain continue to gime change” in Syria. ing in the Trump ascension is the po- tematic drive for space and power over White Lagoon peopled by racists vot- masses and their despotic ballot box. provide intelligence and logistical sup- There are indications that, contrary tential empowerment and resurgence the Earth. ing in the rustic hinterlands—the Rust- Nothing to hear but the howling of an port to the Saudi-led coalition, which to Trump’s stated aversion to “regime of popular resistance. evil new wind. intervened on the side of Yemeni Pres- change,” Iran will become the new Syr- (Source: Global Research) The hearing of which was new to ident Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who them. fled to Saudi Arabia in the midst of his Before Trump emerged from people’s civil war. the electoral swamp the winner, But, throughout the Obama years, everything already had been the all was quiet on the Yemeni front in offi- contrary of everything. And became cialdom and its media mouthpiece over more so. The liberation of 100,000 the deliberate targeting of vital civilian civilians in Aleppo in December 2016 infrastructure, schools and hospitals, by the Syrian Arab Army and the Rus- weddings and funerals. At a funeral sian allies from four years of West- in Sana, last October, a Saudi airstrike ern-backed terror, they called “a war killed 114 civilians. Before the bomb- crime.” The separation of Crimeans ing of Yemen began, the Obama gang from Ukraine by popular referendum imposed sanctions and blockaded (over 90% in favor) joining Russia, they Yemen—all without a Security Council called “Russian aggression.” The US/EU resolution or any pretense of adher- coup in Ukraine (2013-14), planned ing to international law. The director and executed by the Obama Neo- of Yemen’s Save the Children recently con State Department and costing $5 remarked: billion dollars, substituting an elected Even before the war tens of thou- government by a junta of Neo-Nazi sands of Yemeni children were dying of ministers and officials, they called the preventable causes. But now, the situ- return of “democracy to Ukraine.” The ation is much worse and an estimated Two and a half million participated in Flynn’s misrepresentation of Iran’s missile fascism, now attributed to Trump as 1,000 children are dying every week the Women’s March the day after the test hums the tune of the fake threat a novelty, was hiding in plain sight in from preventable killers like diarrhea, inauguration, protesting Trump’s threat to concocted by the Bush neo-cons on the Obama’s reign of illegal wars, regime malnutrition and respiratory tract infec- women’s rights—a mass never seen in the changes, ubiquitous sanctions, and tions. run-up to the fatal invasion of Iraq in 2003 terror proxy armies, studiously ignored In foreign policy, this “racist” is no streets before to oppose Obama’s killings, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass or fictionalized by the scribbler-cour- different from the “post-racist.” Trump’s which included a disproportionate amount destruction. tiers in the media, the punditry, think- “defense” planners are putting Yemen of civilians, many of them women. tanks, foundations, and officialdom. on the media map but only to use it as I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 8 ADVERTISEMENTS FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017

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Coffee and heart disease How thinking about death can make your life better By Richard N. Fogoros Coffee brewed with paper filters does not increase blood cholesterol By Susie Moore n the past, coffee was generally levels. On the other hand, the chronic ingestion of unfiltered coffee t I regarded as being detrimental can increase LDL cholesterol levels by as much as 15 mg/dl. ’s so important to live your life fully, in the now, aware to heart health. Coffee was said I of everything you have. Author Wayne Dyer said that to increase blood pressure, increase in order to appreciate the beauty of your time here cholesterol levels, and increase the on earth you have to “die while you are still alive.” risk of heart attack and cardiac ar- rhythmias. However, more recent and more careful studies have sug- gested that coffee probably does not increase the risk of heart dis- ease; and in some cases may even be beneficial. Why the discrepancy? Some earlier studies did not take other heart disease risk factors into sufficient account, such as lack of exercise and smoking. More recent studies have taken care to control for these confounding risk factors. What does that mean, exactly? It means letting the These more recent studies have knowledge of your imminent death empower you in the suggested that, when consumed present. It means reminding yourself of the fleeting and in moderation, coffee does not in- fragile nature of life, letting that motivate you to suspend crease cardiac risk. your fear and kick some ass. Here are some ways to do Coffee and blood pressure just that. The effect of coffee on blood 1. Consider what a successful life means to pressure appears to be mixed. In you non-coffee drinkers, acute exposure And only to you. Not to your mom, your boss, or your to caffeine can increase the blood best friend. Pause and take some time to understand pressure by up to 10 mm Hg. (Read what a life well-lived really looks like for you. What do about measuring blood pressure.) you want to be, do, and have? See all seven continents? However, in chronic coffee drinkers, Create a family? Author a book? Invent something that the acute ingestion of caffeine does leaves a lasting legacy? Give back in a big way? Gretchen not appear to raise the blood pres- Rubin says, “The days are long, but the years are short.” sure. Several large studies have now This resonates for me… I can’t believe it’s already Febru- failed to show a correlation between ary. In 2017. chronic coffee drinking and hyper- 2. Change your mindset to achieve what’s im- tension. portant to you While these large population Think: What do I need to change? studies are reassuring, it appears The old saying “energy flows where attention goes” likely that some individuals probably is accurate. What needs your attention in order for you do have an increase in blood pres- In non-coffee drinkers, acute exposure to caffeine can increase to achieve your goals? What do you need to do or think sure when they drink a lot of coffee. the blood pressure by up to 10 mm Hg. However, in chronic coffee about differently? Most change begins with an open So if you are diagnosed with hy- drinkers, the acute ingestion of caffeine does not appear to raise the mind. If you don’t think you can travel for an extended pertension, it still makes sense to try period, write 50,000 words, or be an activist, then you abstaining from coffee for a month blood pressure. can’t, and you won’t. What mindset shift do you most or so, to see whether eliminating Several studies have now shown play “average” behavior. It turns out Almost all of these studies looked need to make? coffee benefits your blood pressure. a correlation between coffee con- that there is a fairly common genetic at coffee drinking without regard to Meet and research people who have achieved what Coffee and arrhythmias sumption and a reduced risk of mutation that causes some people whether the coffee was consumed you hope to. If it’s possible for others, it’s possible for The belief that coffee causes car- type 2 diabetes. At least one study to metabolize caffeine slowly. It ap- with cream, sugar, other ingredients you. Get around winners. That simple change can have diac arrhythmias is quite widespread, showed that the same reduction in pears that in these people the risk — or just black. This makes sense, a massive impact. even among medical professionals. risk is seen with decaffeinated cof- of coronary artery disease may be because whether you drink your cof- 3. Contemplate how embarrassment weakens And indeed, it seems undeniable fee, suggesting that the protective increased with coffee consumption. fee black or not, odds are that you you that some individuals will experience effect of coffee, with regard to dia- When genetic testing becomes more often consume it with other foods. Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert series, says the an increase in palpitations when betes, may not be due to its caffeine routine, it will be easy to identify And it really doesn’t make any dif- most important quality successful people possess is “lack they drink coffee. content. these slow caffeine metabolizers. ference to your digestive system of fear of embarrassment.” Is this stopping you from go- However, neither large population Coffee and stroke Coffee and cholesterol whether the “other foods” are mixed ing for it? The fear of what people might think, say, or studies nor studies in the laboratory A large meta-analysis involving Coffee contains compounds into the coffee itself, or consumed do? You can minimize this fear when you get real about have demonstrated that moderate almost 500,000 participants failed — particularly a substance called separately with a fork or spoon. Just it. To combat it… amounts of coffee increase the risk to show any increase in the risk of cafestol — that can increase LDL keep in mind that loading up your 4. Write a letter to yourself from your 90-year of cardiac arrhythmias. Indeed, a re- stroke among coffee drinkers. In cholesterolblood levels. However, cup of coffee with cream, sugar, old self’s point of view cent study from Kaiser Permanente fact, in individuals who drank 1 to paper filters reliably remove these syrup or whipped cream may more Thank yourself for what you had the courage and suggested that people who drank 3 cups of coffee per day, the risk of lipid-active substances. So coffee than cancel out any benefit you bravery to achieve. Start each sentence with, “I am so four cups of coffee per day had sig- stroke was significantly reduced. brewed with paper filters does not might otherwise gain from it, just as thankful that…” What are you most thankful for? I bet it nificantly fewer cardiac arrhythmias, And in a more recent study from increase blood cholesterol levels. eating other unhealthy foods would won’t be, “I’m so happy that I played it safe and didn’t including less atrial fibrillation and Japan, people who drank at least 1 On the other hand, the chronic in- do. ruffle any feathers,” or “I’m so happy that I just went with fewer PVCs. cup of coffee per day (or 4 cups of gestion of unfiltered coffee can in- Summary the crowd and bothered as few people as possible.” At the very least, unless you are green tea, which is a more common crease LDL cholesterol levels by as In general, the widespread con- I bet you’ll be thanking yourself for the things that you one of those individuals who no- practice in Japan) had a 20% reduc- much as 15 mg/dl. So, while drinking cerns many people have about the know today matter to you. tices a clear increase in palpitations tion in their risk of stroke over a 13- filter-brewed coffee seems prudent, potentially deleterious effects of cof- 5. Lose your excuses after drinking coffee, there appears year period. frequently drinking unfiltered coffee fee on the heart have not been sup- There is nothing like the power of perspective to make to be no reason to avoid moderate Coffee and coronary artery may not be. ported by recent scientific studies. It your excuses look like a joke. Too busy, tired, or scared to amounts of coffee because of a con- disease Coffee and heart failure appears that, in the large majority fulfill your ambitions? Come on! Excuses are more dan- cern about cardiac arrhythmias. Several large population studies A recent meta-analysis suggests of people, moderate coffee drinking gerous and frightening than almost anything else that Coffee and diabetes have failed to show any increase in that people who drink 1 to 4 cups of is not detrimental to cardiac health, can scare you—including death itself. the risk of coronary artery disease coffee per day have a reduced risk of and in some cases may even be ben- Living life with death in mind allows us to not sweat Studies show among coffee drinkers. And in wom- developing heart failure. This appar- eficial. the small stuff. It spurs us to remember what matters and when consumed in en, coffee drinking may even have a ent benefit of drinking coffee is lost As with everything else, modera- to get out of bed in the morning with more purpose moderation, coffee protective effect. when five or more cups of coffee are tion is the key. In most people how- and less anxiety. If you choose this perspective, a more does not increase However, as is nearly always the consumed per day. ever, one to four cups of coffee per meaningful, intentional life will be your reward. And what case, in any large population there Black coffee, or cream and day appears safe for cardiac health. could be more valuable than that? cardiac risk. are many individuals who do not dis- sugar? (Source: verywell.com) (Source: greatist.com)

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The next Apple TV will support 4K video and 4 possibly HDR, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Amazon patents plans to parachute packages from drones Gurman. Other than that, though, it won’t be massively The bizarre patents of Amazon’s drone program keep a package from a UAV, while the UAV is in motion,” different from the current product, and the company’s on coming. Hot on the heels of the company’s proposal the patent explains. “The package delivery system engineers aren’t necessarily thrilled about it. for a floating airship warehouse, it has now filed a can apply the force on to the package in a number patent for parachute-aided delivery of packages. of different ways. For example, pneumatic actuators, Twitter kills notifications from threads of people In the future, if the patent is implemented, Amazon’s electromagnets, spring coils and parachutes can 5 you blocked. delivery drones may not even need to land on your generate the force that establishes the vertical descent The microblogging platform has launched another anti- enormous lawn to deliver your parcels. Instead, path of the package.” abuse measure. the drone will simply release parcels from on high, The patent shows Amazon is continuing to refine deploying parachutes to slow their descent and ensure its drone delivery system, marketed as Prime Air, Owners of the Macbook Pro with Touch Bar will be the valuables inside remain intact. even as it claims to be conducting real-world trials in 6 pleased to hear that Microsoft Office now works Of course, normal parachutes would bring their own Cambridgeshire, England. When Amazon last spoke with the LCD strip Apple introduced with its latest laptop. problems – a strong gust of wind, and your Blu-Ray box publicly about the trials, they were only open to Support for Touch Bar was announced alongside the new set ends up on the roof – so a second aspect of the customers with huge gardens, who live close to the MacBook Pro at an Apple event last October, but Office patent contains the real innovation. The drone will carry Similarly, the patent focuses a lot of attention on delivery depot, and want items weighing less than support is now available to all users. on hovering nearby, monitoring the package as it falls: how to ensure that the package can be dropped in 2.6kg, and only two customers were actually members if it moves off course, the drone can instruct it to deploy motion without continuing the same trajectory as the of the trial. The company said it hoped to expand that CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote an extensive letter to one of a number of methods to correct its descent, from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). “A package delivery to “dozens” in the following months. 7 the public outlining his company’s next direction bursts of compressed air to sticking out flaps. system can be implemented to forcefully propel (Source: seattlepi) -- which isn’t to say it’s a new direction. In a sprawling 5,700- word essay, he rallies for globalization and using Facebook India smartphone 10% of installed apps Samsung leader Lee to build a massive, integrated community beyond the US. In other words: To keep growing the network and making it market remains at are ignored after Jae-yong arrested on more essential for users. 25.8 million one week multiple convictions Google needs your help building better video 8 analysis algorithms. Google says it’ll announce the winning teams at the YouTube- 8M Workshop held during the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition in July. With up to $30,000 awarded per team, there’s a good chance Google will end up attracting some eager developers.

Skype is testing in-stream reactions that work 9 similar to livestreaming services, allowing users to add emoji, text and photos in the middle of video call.

Microsoft confirms Xbox’s E3 2017 briefing date at 10 2 PM PDT on June 11. Scorpio (code-name) is a new Xbox gaming console that will Smartphone shipment in the country remained almost According to the latest study from Apps Flyer, only 4% The Seoul Central District Court has approved a offer many new features, including native 4K gaming support flat at 25.8 million units in the October-December to 5% of smartphone users continue to actively use an warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s vice 2016 quarter compared to the year-ago period, app thirty days after it was installed. Even worse, just chairman and effective leader. He is being detained as well as support for VR. impacted by demonetisation and seasonal slowdown 10% are still actively using an app that was installed over claims of bribing South Korean government after festive sales, research firm IDC said. just one week ago. As bad as this information sounds, officials. Lee allegedly paid $36 million to two Compared to the July-September 2016 period, it actually is an improvement over last year’s data for foundations belonging to an aide of (now impeached) shipment in the said quarter declined sharply by 20.3 non-organically discovered apps. Those are the apps president Park Geun-hye, in order to guarantee Breaking IT news per cent. “In CY Q42016, smartphone shipments clocked that you have an incentive to open. presidential support for a merger of two Samsung 25.8 million units, registering similar volumes as that of CY And for those of you who like to consider iOS v. holding companies. headlines in Iran Q42015… This is mainly due to a seasonal decline after Android, you probably will be interested in hearing The first warrant for Lee’s arrest was issued back an all-time high festival quarter and demonetization in that the year-over-year increase in app retention for in January, but ended up rejected. But the case con- By Shataw Naseri the month of November, which led to relatively lower non-organic apps is 25% for iOS users and just 4% tinued and new evidence incriminating the Samsung consumer sales in November and December,” IDC said. for Android users. Remember, these are the apps that head was collected, leading to a second warrant and Currently, 4,700 Telegram channels and groups Samsung led the tally in the said quarter with 25.1 developers are trying to get you to install. an arrest. 1 have been formally registered. Also, there are per cent share, followed by Xiaomi (10.7 per cent), As it turns out, Android users are more apt to retain The list of charges against Lee includes embezzle- more than 11,000 Telegram channels and social networks Lenovo (9.9 per cent), Oppo (8.6 per cent) and Vivo apps that they discover themselves while iOS users ment, bribery, perjury, concealment of criminal pro- featuring 5,000 members across the nation. (7.6 per cent), respectively. favor keeping non-organically discovered apps. In ceeds, and illicit transfer of assets abroad. He is cur- Hamrahe Aval Company (MCI) boasts of more Online sales of smartphones were at 31.2 per cent in addition, while only 2% of app installations result in a rently held behind bars, and it could be as many as 2 than 12 million and 814,000 3G subscribers and the fourth quarter with Xiaomi and Lenovo accounting monetary transaction, the odds of this taking place are 18 months before his trial commences. Interim, the for more than half the channel’s volume. For the full year 80% higher on iOS over Android. And that could be special prosecutor’s office has set their sights on Sam- 297,000 4G subscribers, as well. Number of the company’s of 2016, smartphone shipment stood at 109.1 million one of the reasons why app developers favor writing sung Electronics president Park Sang-jin, whose arrest subscribers exceeds 13 million and 11,000 subscribers. units, up by 5.2 per cent over the previous year. for iOS over Google’s open source mobile OS. warrant has been rejected today. MTN Irancell features 10 million and 468,500 3G (Source: indianexpress) (Source: AppsFlyer) (Source: KoreaHerald) 3 subscribers as well as 1 million and 612,000 4G subscribers. The number of Irancell’s Internet subscribers exceeds 12 million and 80,000. Hamrahe Aval has more mobile Internet subscribers, iPhone 8 will ditch Touch ID, 3D laser scanner instead 4 yet, Irancell features more 4G subscribers. Also, 2017 is a busy and important year for Apple, as the will be more secure than Touch ID, while also eliminating RighTel Company has nearly 1 million and 979,000 company is celebrating the iPhone’s 10th anniversary. the frustration that iPhone users sometimes feel when Internet subscribers; however, on the number of RighTel’s Come September, we may see no less than 3 new fingerprint scanners don’t work (for example, under wet 4G subscribers, the published statistics are silent. iPhone models, possibly named iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, circumstances). The laser scanner could also pave the Currently, Iranians have more than 140 million and iPhone 7s Plus. way for future augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality 5 landline and mobile phones. In the past, more than While the 7s and 7s Plus are direct successors to (VR) endeavors that Apple may be pursuing, though 20 million numbers were not authenticated in Iran; after a last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone 8 these aren’t likely to be revealed before 2018. while this figure reached 10 million and afterwards, it reached is expected to be the star of the bunch. We already As reported earlier today, the iPhone 8 might cost at heard a lot of interesting things about the iPhone 8, least $1,000. The handset could have the same overall 6 million. Currently, nearly 3.2 million of the subscribers have including the fact that it should feature a curved 5.8- size as the regular 4.7-inch iPhone 7s, since it’s basically demanded authentication, yet, 2.3 million SIM cards are still inch OLED display and an “all glass” design. According all-screen on the front, while the iPhone 7s probably suffering identity-document defect. to JPMorgan analyst Rod Hall, another notable feature has thick bezels around its screen (similar to the iPhone ICT Minister Mahmoud Vaezi said that the number of the iPhone 8 will be a 3D laser scanner for facial 7 - pictured above). 6 of Internet users has reached 37 million. “In the recognition. button. However, last month, we heard that the new All in all, pretty much all rumors and educated past, the ratio of content access and Iran -to-abroad Reportedly, the presence of a facial recognition iPhone would feature both face recognition, and a guesses are suggesting that the iPhone 8 should be the content traffic was 10 to 90. Nevertheless, the figure has scanner means that Apple will do away with Touch fingerprint scanner embedded into its screen, though most interesting iPhone model to date. Are you excited currently changed as the ratio of content traffic is now 40 ID on the iPhone 8. This kind of makes sense, as the JPMorgan’s analyst doesn’t seem to agree. about its launch? to 60,” he claimed. iPhone 8 allegedly doesn’t have a physical Home JPMorgan’s Rod Hall believes that the 3D laser scanner (Source: appleinsider) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017 SCIENCE 11 Dawn discovers evidence for Endangered antelopes face organic material on Ceres ‘catastrophic’ die-off A critically endangered species of antelope is dying by the NASA’s Dawn mission has found evidence southwest. thousands from a deadly infectious disease outbreak in Mon- for organic material on Ceres, a dwarf Another large area with well-defined golia, and scientists fear there could be “catastrophic con- planet and the largest body in the main signatures is found across the northwest sequences” for the threatened animals and their ecosystem. asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. part of the crater rim and ejecta. There Since December 2016, about 2,500 Mongolian saiga (Sai- Scientists using the spacecraft’s visible are other smaller organic-rich areas sever- ga tatarica mongolica) — a unique subspecies of saiga ante- and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) al miles (kilometers) west and east of the lope — have died from a livestock virus. Scientists estimate detected the material in and around a crater. Organics also were found in a very the Mongolian saiga population to be about 10,000, meaning northern-hemisphere crater called Ernutet. small area in Inamahari Crater, about 250 the deadly outbreak has killed about 25 percent of the en- Organic molecules are interesting to scien- miles (400 kilometers) away from Ernutet. dangered steppe-dwelling antelope. The virus, known as PPR tists because they are necessary, though Enhanced visible color images or peste des petits ruminants, was introduced to the Mongo- not sufficient, components of life on Earth. In enhanced visible color images from lian saiga population in September, from infected goats and The discovery adds to the growing list Dawn’s framing camera, the organic ma- sheep, scientists said. of bodies in the Solar System where or- terial is associated with areas that appear Though the die-off rate has slowed, it could have reper- ganics have been found. redder with respect to the rest of Ceres. cussions throughout the local environment, said Amanda Organic compounds have been found The distinct nature of these regions Fine, a veterinarian and associate director of the Wildlife Con- in certain meteorites as well as inferred stands out even in low-resolution image servation Society’s (WCS) Wildlife Health Program in Asia. from telescopic observations of several data from the visible and infrared map- The “situation is tragic and widespread,” Fine said in a asteroids. ping spectrometer. statement. “Along with the impact to the saiga population, Ceres shares many commonalities “We’re still working on understanding this event has the potential to produce cascading catastroph- with meteorites rich in water and organics the geological context for these materi- ic consequences on the ecosystem. For example, ibex and — in particular, a meteorite group called als,” said study co-author Carle Pieters, argali may be affected, and rare snow leopards may suffer the carbonaceous chondrites. This discovery professor of geological sciences at Brown effects of a diminished prey base.” further strengthens the connection be- The organic materials on Ceres are mainly University, Providence, Rhode Island. PPR, which is also known as sheep and goat plague, is tween Ceres, these meteorites and their located in an area covering approximately 400 Having completed nearly two years highly contagious and can infect up to 90 percent of an parent bodies. of observations in orbit at Ceres, Dawn animal herd once introduced, according to the Food and Organic molecules square miles (about 1,000 square kilometers). is now in a highly elliptical orbit at Ceres, Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The “This is the first clear detection of or- going from an altitude of 4,670 miles rials are native to Ceres. The carbonates The organic materials on Ceres are disease is spread via body fluids, feces and close proximi- ganic molecules from orbit on a main belt (7,520 kilometers) up to almost 5,810 and clays previously identified on Ceres mainly located in an area covering ap- ty, and symptoms include fever, anorexia, diffuclty breathing body,” said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, lead miles (9,350 kilometers). On Feb. 23, provide evidence for chemical activity in proximately 400 square miles (about and more. After just a few days affected animals become de- author of the study, based at the National it will make its way to a new altitude of the presence of water and heat. This rais- 1,000 square kilometers). The signature pressed, very weak, and severely dehydrated, according to Institute of Astrophysics, Rome. The dis- around 12,400 miles (20,000 kilometers), es the possibility that the organics were of organics is very clear on the floor of the FAO. covery is reported in the journal Science. about the height of GPS satellites above (Source: Live Science) similarly processed in a warm water-rich Ernutet Crater, on its southern rim and Data presented in the Science paper Earth, and to a different orbital plane. environment. in an area just outside the crater to the support the idea that the organic mate- (Source: phys.org) Ocean oxygen levels drop 2% in 50 years, study finds Facial recognition software A new study published in the science journal Nature to a complete change in ecosystems -- a small decrease for lemurs could help save Wednesday found that the ocean’s worldwide oxygen in oxygen like this can transform from something de- content declined by more than 2% between 1960 and sirable to very undesirable,” said David Baker, Assistant endangered species 2010. Professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Swire Institute Scientists have long warned about the potentially of Marine Sciences. A team biologists and computer scientists have created the deadly consequences of the ocean’s declining oxygen World’s oceans first ever facial recognition system for lemurs, able to identify levels on marine life, and its resulting impact on humans. Oxygen in the world’s oceans is not evenly distribut- more than 100 different individuals with 98.7 percent accu- The study came from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre ed, and the 2% drop represents just an average of all the racy. It’s hoped that the software, dubbed LemurFaceID, will for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, where the three globe’s oceans together. help with conversation efforts for the primate; giving re- co-authors -- Sunke Schmidtko, Lothar Stramma and In some parts of the world, there has been a much searchers an easier and less invasive way to track individuals Martin Visbeck -- pulled data dating back to 1960. steeper decline of oxygen levels over the past five dec- and whole families across generations. Overall oxygen loss ades -- for example, in the North Pacific, where the larg- “Like humans, lemurs have unique facial characteristics Using information on oxygen, temperature and other est volume of oxygen was lost. The largest percentage that can be recognized by this system,” biometrics expert Anil factors relating to the world’s oceans, they mapped it was lost in the Arctic Ocean. Jain, who worked on the software, told Phys.org. “Once op- around the globe and estimated the overall oxygen loss. The “oxygen losses in the ocean can have far-reach- timized, LemurFaceID can assist with long-term research of “We were able to document the oxygen distribution and ing consequences because of the uneven distribution. One driving factor, the authors found, is as simple as endangered species by providing a rapid, cost-effective and its changes for the entire ocean for the first time. These For fisheries and coastal economies this process may warming temperatures -- like a warm can of Coke that accurate method for identification.” numbers are an essential prerequisite for improving fore- have detrimental consequences,” wrote Stramma. can’t hold fizz, warm ocean water has difficulty holding The system is adapted from facial recognition software for casts for the ocean of the future,” wrote Schmidtko. Chinese residents collect seaweed by the coastline in oxygen. humans. It was fed images of some 462 different lemurs cov- While 2% may sound like only a small change, it Qingdao after a break-out of algae bloom, May 27, 2012. What also causes oxygen depletion, again driven ering a variety of different species, with the main focus being doesn’t take much of a drop to threaten the state of Chinese residents collect seaweed by the coastline in by climate change, is that the ocean is becoming more the red-bellied lemur — a species found in the rainforests of oceans. The only organism in the ocean that thrives with Qingdao after a break-out of algae bloom, May 27, 2012. stratified. This is a result of changing temperature gradi- eastern Madagascar that’s vulnerable, but not endangered. little-to-no oxygen is bacteria. The ocean’s oxygen depletion, the study shows, is ents in the Arctic, and the reduction of sea ice. A full description of the software is published in a report this “Just a little loss of oxygen in coastal waters can lead mostly a result of climate change. (Source: CNN) week in the open access journal BMC Zoology. Usually researchers rely on characteristics like injuries, scars, body size and shape to identify individual lemurs. Researchers discover 60 new planets However, these markers can be difficult to track over time as lemurs mature and grow. By comparison, using more stable How many planets are there? New re- This is something astronomers were not “super-Earth,” though Dr. Tuomi told Fox facial markers for identification should make it easier to track search is changing the answer – and you convinced about, even as little as five News that Gliese 411b is actually too hot lemurs over time. could be part of it. years ago,” Mikko Tuomi of the University to sustain life. (Source: The Verge) From their Hawaii-based observatory, of Hertfordshire’s Centre for Astrophysics To Tuomi, identifying the locations of an international team of astronomers ob- Research in Hatfield, England, said in a these planets provides an “observational served 1,600 stars for two decades. In the university press release. “These new plan- roadmap” for future study. process, they discovered 60 new planets ets also help us better understand the “This is like mapping an archipelago Scientists uncover a way outside our Solar System, as well as ev- formation processes of planetary systems so that we are familiar with it in the future to predict autism in idence of 54 more. Chief among them and provide interesting targets for future when taking a closer look at what its is- is Gliese 411b, a hot “super-Earth” 8 light efforts to image the planets directly.” lands actually look like,” he told Fox News. high-risk babies years away. Study of star movements For now, Gliese 411b is one of the few These discoveries turn conventional The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey, planets that scientists have been able A team of researchers has shown that measuring the growth of wisdom about planets on its head. Histor- which is responsible for the research, was to confirm. But could soon change. On brains in babies can predict the onset of autism later in childhood. ically, it was assumed that few stars had started in 1996. In the decades since, it tronomers were able to surmise the pres- Monday, a team led by the Carnegie Insti- Predicting the disorder early could allow doctors to be- planets, but it now looks like there could has used powerful telescopes like Keck- ence of planets. tutes of Science that includes researchers gin treating the condition be an almost infinite number of planets 1, and associated tools, to help scientists That’s how they found Gliese 411b, from the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- earlier. beyond our solar system. That, in turn, study the movement of stars. The recent which orbits the star Gliese 411. Located nology in Cambridge, Mass., released the About 1 out of every may affect astronomers’ understanding research is based on almost 61,000 ob- in the fourth-nearest star system to the dataset. To make it user-friendly, the data 68 children in the Unit- of how these systems are created. servations of 1,600 stars. sun, it is the third-nearest planetary sys- comes along with an open-source soft- ed States has some form “It is fascinating to think that when Using a technique known as radial tem to the sun, and has a rocky surface ware package and an online tutorial on autism, according to the we look at the nearest stars, all of them velocity to measure tiny changes in the and a mass that is about 40 percent that how to process it. Centers for Disease Con- appear to have planets orbiting them. color and location of target stars, the as- of the sun. Researchers have dubbed it (Source: csmonitor.com) trol and Prevention. It is a developmental disorder that varies in severity from Disappearing seagrass protects against pathogens, climate change, scientists find person to person. Every continent save Antarctica is ringed by vast stretch- of up to 190 feet. As the name autism es of seagrass, underwater prairies that together cover Deadly hydrogen sulfide spectrum disorder sug- an area roughly equal to California. The sediment in which they grow is loaded with gests, autism can manifest Seagrass meadows, among the most endangered deadly hydrogen sulfide. They detoxify by pumping in many different ways ecosystems on Earth, play an outsize role in the health some of the oxygen they release during photosynthesis among patients, but in general it can be characterized by of the oceans. They shelter important fish species, filter into their roots. certain social difficulties and a tendency toward highly repet- pollutants from seawater, and lock up huge amounts of With these adaptations, seagrass meadows became itive and ritualistic behaviors. atmosphere-warming carbon. more productive than today’s fertilized cornfields. As A team from several leading institutions in the U.S. and Canada The plants also fight disease, it turns out. A team they spread across the planet, the meadows altered the published a paper Wednesday in the journal Nature, demonstrat- of scientists reported on Thursday that seagrasses can sea floor, building soil and supporting entirely new eco- ing an algorithm they created that improved early diagnosis of the purge pathogens from the ocean that threaten humans systems. Animals like manatees and juvenile fish took up condition among several children known to be at high risk. and coral reefs alike. (The first hint came when the scien- residence. “In the field we are always trying to detect autism at tists were struck with dysentery after diving to coral reefs “Killer whales are a big tourist attraction, but people younger ages, so we can start treatment earlier, but we hit without neighboring seagrass.) probably don’t realize that seagrass beds are really im- a wall around 2 to 3 years of age, because the symptoms don’t start showing up until around then,” said the study’s But the meadows are vanishing at a rate of a football portant as nurseries for the fish that the salmon require, ied seagrass meadows in southern Australia to esti- field every 30 minutes. Joleah B. Lamb, a postdoctoral which the killer whales require,” said C. Drew Harvell, a senior author, Joseph Piven, a professor of psychiatry, psy- mate the value they bring to the fisheries industry. chology and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina, researcher at Cornell University and the lead author of marine biologist at Cornell University and senior author They estimate that each acre of seagrass adds about the new study, said she hoped it would help draw atten- of the new study. Chapel Hill, in an interview with CNBC. $87,000 per year. In the study, the researchers scanned the brains of three tion to their plight. Humans depend on these nurseries, too. Many The plants also draw fertilizer runoff and other pol- Seagrass first evolved tens of millions years ago, of the species harvested in commercial fisheries different groups of subjects with magnetic resonance imag- lutants out of the water, locking them safely away in ing machines. They looked at infants with a high family risk of when some flowering plants moved from land into the begin life in seagrass meadows. Without them, meadow soil. Scientists have estimated that an acre of ocean. They still grow flowers, pollen and seeds, but they fishermen would catch far less, and make less autism who were later diagnosed with the disorder, high-risk seagrass provides more than $11,000 worth of filtering infants who did not develop autism and low-risk infants who now do so underwater, with a powerful form of photo- money. every year. synthesis that allows them to thrive in dim light at depths In 2014, University of Cambridge researchers stud- (Source: The NYT) did not develop the condition. (Source: CNBC) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 12 IN FOCUS FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 118,8, 22017017

Young volunteer vets

A group of young Iranian doctors voluntarily provide livestock with free of charge veterinary care in underprivileged districts of the country. Nowadays practicing scientific methods for livestock breeding and protecting the animals against diseases would play an important part in enhancing efficient productivity of the livestock sector for the benefit of the producer, higher income, and subsequently better quality of life for villagers. But unfortunately owing to high costs the majority of the farmers could not afford the prices for essential veterinary drugs and accordingly high drug prices reduce livestock enterprise profitability and survival. Therefore, these young vets would voluntarily attend underprivileged areas of the country all year round and give free of charge veterinary services to the livestock. They also conduct surgeries on livestock and visit them house by house and prescribe drugs at no cost at all for the animals. The young volunteer vets travelled to Hezar Kanian village in Divandarreh, western province of Kordestan, this summer for 10 days to give free of charge veterinary care.

PHOTO Mojtaba Heidari Tehran Times and Mehr news agency photographer One of the vets is examining a sheep’s teeth for dental care.

The vets are walking through the sheep herd looking for those animals which need special care. A woman is standing outside her house waiting for the vets to come and examine her sheep.

The villagers are lining up outside the clinic trying to get an appointment or fill Unfortunately minefields which have not been cleared since the Iran-Iraq war In addition to examinations, the vets also conducted 10 successful surgeries prescriptions for their livestock. (1980-1988) still cause damages to both villagers and livestock. Mines laid since on the animals during their 10-day stay. the war go off from time to time and hurt or even kill people and animals.

The young doctors pay visits to and examine some 4,000 animals house by The vets are moving across the village from morning to night and examine The vets are taking a selfie with a woman and her sheep. The sheep is house and block by block. the animals. recovering a surgery and is on the mend. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 18,18, 20172017 WORLD IN FOCUS 13 U.S. Democrats raise questions Putin: NATO keeps trying about Trump’s mental health to draw Russia into A growing number of Democrats are Lieu argued it’s justifiable to scrutinize confrontation openly questioning the United States the mental health of anyone in control of President Donald Trump’s mental health. the nation’s nuclear codes. Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed the United Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) in a “I think it is a legitimate issue to States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over floor speech this week called for a re- raise. I am not a mental health profes- what he termed as the military alliance’s constant attempts to view of the Constitution’s procedures for sional, so I don’t know in terms of any drag Moscow into a military confrontation. removing a president. He warned the sort of medical expertise on this. But I Addressing senior members of the Russian intelligence 25th Amendment of the Constitution falls do see and hear the same things that agency FSB in Moscow on Thursday, Putin stated that the global short when it comes to mental or emo- other people see and hear, and a lot security situation “has not improved” over the past years “but on tional fitness for office. of people have concluded that what’s the contrary, many existing threats have only become more se- Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) during a going on is not normal. So what do I do rious.” The Russian leader added that NATO with its “newly-de- weekend interview with CNN’s “State of with that as a member of Congress?” he clared official mission to deter Russia” is one such threat. the Union” said that “a few” Republican told The Hill. Putin was making reference to a NATO summit last July colleagues have expressed concern to “Anyone who can launch 4,000 nucle- in the Polish capital city of Warsaw, where members of the him about Trump’s mental health. ar weapons in minutes absolutely should alliance described Russia as their key security threat. And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) plans to be questioned on any matter related to “This is the goal behind the expansion of this military bloc. introduce legislation that would require their physical and mental health.” It happened before, but now they have found a new justifica- the presence of a psychiatrist or psy- Blumenauer is starting a working tion which they believe to be serious,” he said. chologist in the White House. group, which he says at least a half-doz- “In fact, they are constantly provoking us, trying to drag The Democrats justify their questions en colleagues have expressed interest in us into a confrontation,” the Russian president said, adding by pointing to Trump’s habit of making joining, to review the presidential remov- that NATO members “are continuing their efforts to interfere demonstrably false claims. At a press al procedures. in our domestic affairs with the goal of destabilizing social conference on Thursday, he said he’d had mental health problem invites criticism people with actual mental illnesses, they He also plans to introduce legislation and political order in Russia proper.” (Source: Press TV) the biggest Electoral College win since that Democrats are going too far. say. that would empower former presidents President Ronald Reagan, for example, Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and The American Psychiatric Association and vice presidents to determine, in co- when his margin was lower than either of Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) both burst out has long held it’s unethical for psychia- ordination with the sitting vice president, Russian deputy PM due in President Obama’s wins. laughing when told some Democrat- trists to give professional opinions about if the president is unfit for office. Blumenauer told The Hill he started ic colleagues were questioning Trump’s public figures they haven’t personally ex- The 25th Amendment currently says a Tehran to negotiate Iran- taking another look at the 25th Amend- mental health. amined. majority of Cabinet members must make EAEU FTZ ment because Trump had casually re- The White House didn’t return a re- Yet in a sign of the polarized times, that decision with the vice president, peated easily disproven claims, such as quest for comment. thousands of mental health professionals which Blumenauer says isn’t enough if a 1 EAEU is an economic union of states located pri- stating that it wasn’t raining during his Trump and his supporters promoted have signed a Change.org petition de- mentally unsound president simply fires marily in northern Eurasia. A treaty aiming for the establish- speech on Inauguration Day when it was. conspiracy theories during the presi- claring Trump “is mentally ill and must be them all. ment of the EAEU was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders “It’s not normal behavior. I don’t know dential campaign about Hillary Clinton’s removed.” Asked if it’s appropriate for members of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on 1 anybody in a position of responsibility health, proving that both parties will take Thirty-five psychiatrists, psychologists of Congress to question the president’s January 2015. Treaties aiming for Armenia’s and Kyrgyzstan’s that doesn’t know if they’re being rained shots when it comes to an opponent’s and social workers also signed a letter mental health, Blumenauer replied: “All accession to the union were signed on 9 October and 23 De- on. And nobody I work with serially offers physical and mental health. to The New York Times saying that “the I’ve said is that this is strange behavior. cember 2014, respectively. Armenia’s accession treaty came up verifiably false statements on an on- But mental health professionals say grave emotional instability indicated by It’s not normal in the circles I run in. And into force on 2 January 2015. Kyrgyzstan’s accession treaty going basis,” he said in an interview steps the politicization comes at a cost. Polit- Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes it raises questions. People can make their came into effect on 6 August 2015. from the House chamber. ical actors suggesting an opponent has him incapable of serving safely as pres- own diagnosis. I’m not.” But suggesting the president has a psychological problems risks stigmatizing ident.” (Source: The Hill) Iran and the changing Trump vows to introduce overhauled travel ban world order The United States President Donald Trump said he will immigrants living in the U.S. legally. Businesses close across U.S. to show support 1 Iran and the upcoming order issue a new executive order to replace his controversial The original order, issued on January 27, triggered for immigrants Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has attended the Munich se- directive suspending travel to the United States by citi- chaos at some U.S. and overseas airports, led to inter- The development followed as, many U.S. businesses have curity conference. He is accompanied by his deputy Abbas zens of seven mainly-Muslim countries. national protests, complaints from U.S. businesses and closed across the country as thousands of protestors took to Araghchi who is the head of the committee to monitor the At an extraordinary White House news conference drew more than a dozen legal challenges. the streets to rally against Trump’s immigration policies. implementation of the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint on Thursday, Trump said the new order would seek to At his first solo press conference, Trump insisted there Protest organizers urged immigrants to skip work Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). address concerns raised by federal appeals court judg- was “zero chaos” in his crisis-buffeted White House and and class and asked businesses to close on Thursday as Challenges to the implementation of the JCPOA will be an es, who temporarily blocked his original travel ban. railed against enemies in the media, politics and the courts. a way to show the country how important they are to issue in the conference. “The new order is going to be very much tailored to The 70-year-old US president vented frustrations, in- America’s economy and way of life. As an international deal, the JCPOA proved that the idea what I consider to be a very bad decision,” Trump said. sisted he is “not a bad person” and wondered out loud Activists called “A Day Without Immigrants” to high- of isolating Iran does not work and that it does not serve the “We had a bad court. I will not back down from de- about a “nuclear holocaust”, in a remarkable one hour light the importance of foreign-born naturalized U.S. interest of other countries in the global village. fending our country. I got elected on defense of our 16 minute ask-me-anything appearance. citizens, who account for 13 percent of the U.S. popula- The decade ahead country. I keep my campaign promises, and our citizens “I inherited a mess. It’s a mess. At home and abroad, a mess,” Trump tion, or more than 40 million people. While the JCPOA is an issue for current world politics, it is will be very happy when they see the result.” said in a 23-minute opening monologue that bore little resemblance Businesses and institutions in some cities closed out of sol- also a matter of future world order. The commitments under “We’re issuing a new executive action next week that to presidential press conferences of the past. Claiming his adminis- idarity with immigrant workers. In Washington, more than 50 the deal must be fulfilled for more than a decade. will comprehensively protect our country.” tration “is running like a fine-tuned machine”, the Republican restaurants were closed, including high-end eateries. In the decade ahead, the strategic alliance of China and Trump gave no details about the replacement order. accused the “dishonest” media of stirring-up crises that have At the U.S. Defense Department, about half a dozen Europe in terms of energy consumption will replace the Eu- Legal experts said a new directive would have a better sent his approval rating plummeting. food outlets were forced to close after staff members ropean-American polarity as the United States is lessening its chance of withstanding courtroom scrutiny if it covered “The tone is such hatred. I’m really not a bad person, by the joined the protest, a Pentagon spokesman said. dependence on crude oil by tapping large reserves of tight some non-Muslim countries and exempted non-citizen way,” he said. “I do get good ratings, you have to admit that.” (Source: agencies) oil and shale gas. Middle East will also change dramatically. Arab monar- chies most likely face a public request for democracy. At that moment, it is not clear that if there is a reliable United States Several Boko Haram bombers killed in Maiduguri to rely on it. It seems there is an urgent need for frank and At least seven suspected Boko Haram ing to return to their home villages, ac- The attack also targeted a military In December, President Muhammadu pragmatic dialogue. Iran is ready, what about others? fighters were killed on the outskirts of the cording to witnesses that spoke to Reu- checkpoint, according to Ahmed Satomi, Buhari said the capture of a key camp northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, offi- ters news agency. of the Borno State Emergency Manage- marked the “final crushing” of Boko Har- cials and witnesses said. Muna Garage has been attacked ment Agency. am in its last enclave in Sambisa forest, Three female suicide bombers blew many times in recent months. Soldiers shot at gunmen on motor- once the group’s stronghold. EU may become more themselves up at a truck station on Two civilians were killed in the blasts cycles who were escorting other suicide But since then, the group, which split Friday, detonating vehicles at Muna and seven militia - known as self-defense bombers, killing at least four of them. into two factions last year, has stepped determined to increase Garage on the city’s eastern outskirts, fighters - were wounded, Ayub Ibrahim, a A multinational force of troops from up its attacks. the Associated Press reported quoting witness told the AP. Nigeria and its neighbors last year drove The armed group’s seven-year insur- ties with Iran Deputy Police Superintendent Victor Another blast took place as people Boko Haram out of towns and villages in gency has killed 15,000 people and forced Iskukwu. were trying to board the trucks, said res- northeast Nigeria, but isolated attacks some two million from their homes. if U.S.-EU tensions rise: The attack targeted refugees prepar- ident Isa Mamman. and suicide bombings continue. (Source: agencies) Shireen Hunter

1 On the other hand, Britain’s desire for economic Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong arrested in bribery probe gain might persuade it to expand relations especially eco- The heir of South Korean company Samsung has been Lee had been interrogated several times over his al- dations. It is also accused of separately giving millions nomic with Iran. arrested as part of an investigation into corruption and leged role in the scandal that has rocked South Korea in of euros to Choi to bankroll her daughter’s equestrian What is the impact of Trump’s election on Iran-Eng- influence-peddling that caused President Park Geun-hye recent months. training in Germany. land relations? to be impeached. He had narrowly avoided being formally arrested last The court is also deliberating on an arrest warrant for A: The election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency The Seoul Central District Court’s decision on Friday month, after the court ruled that there was insufficient another Samsung executive, who is the head of Korea could potentially have a negative impact on Iran-UK rela- to issue a warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, 48, makes him evidence. Equestrian Federation, over bribery charges. tions. However, this would depend on what kind of policy the first leader in Samsung’s history to be arrested on But prosecutors on Tuesday made a second bid for Samsung said in a statement on Wednesday it had Trump adopts towards Iran. The UK wants to have special criminal charges. his arrest, saying they had collected more evidence in “not paid bribes nor made improper requests to the relations with the U.S. on trade and other issues. Therefore, Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and son recent weeks. president seeking favors”. it might follow America’s hardline policy towards Iran. But, if of the Samsung group head Lee Kun-hee, is accused of His arrest is likely to send shock waves through the Lee has effectively taken the helm of Samsung since U.S.-Iran relations do not deteriorate beyond a certain point, paying nearly $40m in bribes to Park’s secret confidante group, which is a major part of the South Korean economy. his father suffered a heart attack in 2014. Trump’s presidency will not impact Iran-UK ties to any signifi- to secure policy favors. Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone Prosecutors are investigating whether Samsung had cant degree. More important for the future of these relations “It is acknowledged that it is necessary to arrest [Lee] maker, is already reeling from the debacle over the recall paid Choi to secure state approval for the controversial will be the dynamics of UK’s relations with Saudi Arabia and in light of a newly added criminal charge and new evi- of its Galaxy Note 7 device and reports have suggested merger of two Samsung units seen as a key step towards other (Persian) Gulf Arab states. dence,” a court spokesman said in a statement on Friday. that it could face sanctions from overseas authorities if ensuring a smooth power transfer to Lee. Will Brexit affect British arms sales to Persian Gulf He was already being held at a detention center after Lee is punished. The merger in 2015 of Samsung C&T and Cheil In- Arab countries? appearing in court on Thursday as judges deliberated The scandal centers on Choi Soon-sil, who is accused dustries was opposed by many investors who said it wil- A: In post-Brexit period, Britain will privilege economic and whether to issue an arrest warrant. of using her close ties with Park to force local firms to fully undervalued the former unit’s shares. trade interests. Thus sale of arms to the Persian Gulf Arab Samsung is South Korea’s largest business group and “donate” nearly $70m to non-profit foundations which But the deal went through after Seoul’s state pension states will continue. The UK will also try to portray itself as its revenue is equivalent to about a fifth of the country’s Choi allegedly used for personal gain. fund - a major Samsung shareholder - approved it. a protector of the Gulf States. Teresa May wants Gulf Arab Gross domestic product (GDP). Samsung was the single biggest donor to the foun- (Source: agency) investment in the UK. Also defense and other relations with the Gulf States could potentially enhance Britain’s image as a global player. What is the effect of Trump’s election on Iran-EU Harward says no to national security adviser role relations? Ret. Vice Adm. Bob Harward turned Trump has since named Ret. Lt. Gen. House official told CNN, “Not that I’m A Republican official told CNN that A: Trump’s election should not have a negative impact on down President Donald Trump’s offer to Joseph Keith Kellogg, who worked under aware of.” Harward made it a condition of taking EU-Iran relations. On the contrary, should U.S.-EU tensions be national security adviser on Thursday, Flynn until the latter was asked to resign, A friend of Harward’s said he was re- the job that he could form his own team. increase, the EU might become more determined to expand depriving the administration of a top as the acting national security adviser. luctant to take the job because the White In the end, he didn’t feel that was the relations with Iran. However, new U.S. sanctions on Iran does candidate for a critical foreign policy post Asked if there was a candidate for na- House seems so chaotic. Harward called case. create some difficulties for European firms operating in Iran or days after Trump fired Michael Flynn. tional security adviser in sight, a White the offer a “s*** sandwich,” the friend said. (Source: CNN) wanting to become involved in the country. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 14 WORLD SPORT FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 118,8, 22017017 GGriezmann:riezmann: I wantwant toto playplay anotheranother finalfinal CONCACAF to mull joint World Cup bid; Trump wall no concern

CONCACAF will discuss a possible joint bid for the 2026 World Cup and the governing body’s president said on Thursday a planned wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would not present an obstacle to co-hosting the event. Victor Montagliani, speaking to Reuters by telephone hours after FIFA said it would encourage co-hosting for the 2026 World Cup, said a three-way bid with the United States, Mexico and Canada was one option but did not rule out games in Central America or the Caribbean. For Montagliani, head of the governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, FIFA’s welcoming of joint bids and the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams from 32 in 2026 meant a multinational bid made sense. “Especially with 48 teams and the increased infrastruc- ture that requires, not so much from a stadium standpoint but training facilities, hotels and all the other things, having the opportunity with three or more countries that are geographically close, it would be reasonable,” said Montagliani. “Probably in short order, here in CONCACAF, we will sit at a table and see how we are going to move forward.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said earlier on Thursday the or- ganization would encourage applications to co-host the 2026 World While 2016 was undoubtedly the best year one of my main short-term objectives is to season and I hope I can continue on the a personal level I’m very happy, and in foot- Cup and that the event could be split between up to four countries. of Antoine Griezmann’s career to date, it get back into a final. And I’m convinced that same path. That said, it goes without say- ball terms we’re about to move to a new Montagliani, when asked if an expanded tournament was also one in which he was on the losing when it happens, I’ll be on the winning side. ing that I couldn’t have done it without my stadium, which is very important. We’ll just featuring 80 games meant there was also a possibility for side in not one but two major finals. As Do you have positive or negative team-mates at my club and in the national have to see what the future brings, but for some group stage games to be held in Central America or the well as breaking into the global elite and thoughts when you reflect on those two team. They deserve just as much credit. now I’m very happy here and I hope to win Caribbean, said anything is possible. earning a place alongside Lionel Messi defeats? I guess your coach Diego Simeone trophies with this club. “You have to look at the economics as well, weigh in the and Cristiano Ronaldo on the three-man It’s a bit of both. The days of the matches has had a lot to do with it too. Listening to you talk, you sound cost-benefit, but I think the possibilities are endless, to be honest shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of – both before and during the games – were Of course! He’s changed me. He’s completely Spanish. Do you feel that with you, when you have that many games,” Montagliani said. 2016 award, the front man helped Atletico just amazing. They were the first finals I’ve brought so many things to my game that it’s way at all? “You can’t close the door on any opportunities.” Madrid and France advance to the finals played in and losing them was not easy. I’ve hard to even begin to say what they are. Let’s Yes, the fact is I do feel very Spanish: The 2018 World Cup will be in Russia while Qatar hosts the of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA never liked losing, ever since I was a boy just say that I wouldn’t have been regarded I eat at two in the afternoon; I talk to my tournament in 2022. EURO 2016, only to collect loser’s medals in Macon, my hometown. I couldn’t watch as one of the best players in the world if it wife and daughter in Spanish; I even think The CONCACAF region is widely viewed as favorite to host on both occasions. other teams lifting trophies. And the same weren’t for him. More than anything he’s in Spanish when I get angry! So, yes, it’s the 2026 tournament given FIFA rules that restrict Europe and Despite those two setbacks, Griezmann thing happened with Real Madrid in the helped me to be more effective in front of true. Things change completely when I pull Asia from hosting again so quickly. prefers to look back on the year in a positive Champions League. EURO 2016 was differ- goal, to take every chance that comes my on the national team jersey, though. All my The United States hosted the 1994 World Cup while Mexico light. Fully focused on the challenges that ent. I watched the Portuguese celebrating way, and, of course, to run and run and love is for France when that happens, no hosted in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted the tourna- lie ahead this season, he spoke exclusively because I told myself that it would be my work hard for the team. You can’t make it at doubt about it. ment but successfully hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2015. to FIFA.com about his contentment in turn the next time and that I couldn’t have Atletico if you don’t do that. Talking of the France team, do you U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati has said his Spain, the role played by Diego Simeone in any better motivation than that. What did he say to you on the day feel that they’re ready to take that fi- federation has yet to decide whether to bid alone for 2026 or his development as a player and the high Have you watched the two games of the final against Real Madrid? nal step after falling just short at Brazil jointly with Canada and/or Mexico. hopes Les Bleus are harbouring en route to again? He said some things that were very 2014 and EURO 2016? Montagliani said he did not believe that a controversial the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. No, no. There’s something I have to important to me, because I felt it was my We were a bit unlucky. We had a very border wall to stem illegal immigration, which was one of U.S. FIFA.com: The UEFA Champions confess here: I’ve watched all the Champions fault we lost because I missed a penalty. He good World Cup and we were near perfect President Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises, would League resumes, with Atletico in the League and EURO 2016 matches again, but came up to me and told me the opposite at the EUROs, but Portugal defended really have any negative impact on a bid from the region. mix once again. After losing in the final I stopped at the semi-finals (laughs). was true, that I’d been vital to the team, that well in the final and made the most of the “Not withstanding some of the politics that is occurring in last year, do you have your sights set on Despite losing those games, you I shouldn’t worry about it and that it was chance they had. I’m an optimist, though, this part of the world, Trump has been pretty consistent in his revenge? had a spectacular 2016, so much so that time for us to start working hard again to and I think we have a very talented team, a support of global events and sport throughout his career as a Antoine Griezmann: Of course. I’ve you made the final three-man shortlist get back into the final. good coach and a great atmosphere in the businessman. I am not sure I would see that necessarily changing got some great memories of last season, for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award. There’s been some speculation dressing room. We’ve made a good start now that he is a president,” said Montagliani. but losing that final and the EURO final How did you feel at the gala in Zurich? about your future lately. How do you on the road to Russia 2018 and I think we “It is important, if we are going to do something like this, that with France were two of the biggest Very happy, very proud. It was a dream feel at Atletico? can look forward to the future. we get it right from a football and administration end before we disappointments of my career. That’s why for me to be among the best players of last I feel great at the club and in Madrid. On (Source: FIFA) start worrying about anything above that. But I am also confi- dent that a World Cup, the only thing of its kind would, no pun intended, trump politics.” (Source: Reuters) Petition challenge leaves Budapest 2024 bid in balance Budapest edged closer on Friday to a possible withdrawal news website Index.hu showed 51.95 percent of Budapest of its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, dealing a citizens would vote against the Olympics, up from 31.7 Wenger to decide on potential further blow to global organizers’ attempts to percent in September. find a city to host the event following a number of pullouts. In a separate survey commissioned by the bid Arsenal future within Hungarian political movement Momentum has organizers in early December, 55 percent of Budapest two months collected more than 200,000 signatures on a petition residents backed the hosting of the Games. against the bid, raising the prospect of a referendum, daily Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said Arsene Wenger said on Friday he would make a decision in March newspaper Magyar Nemzet reported on Friday. on Thursday that the government was waiting on the outcome or April on whether to extend his 20-year spell at Arsenal, but that Budapest’s Mayor Istvan Tarlos told a news conference of the referendum initiative and would act accordingly. whatever he decided he would be managing a team next season. that, if a referendum against the bid was triggered, he “The wishes of the people will be respected,” he told a The second longest-serving manager in the history of the Pre- would “seriously consider” a proposal to withdraw it. news conference. mier League, Wenger is out of contract at the end of the season. Budapest is competing against Paris and Los Angeles Momentum, assisted in the campaign by leftist and He has not won the league title since 2004, and calls for him to host the Games, and an event whose costs have risen opposition parties, advocates spending the huge budget for to end his association with Arsenal have grown louder since the sharply over the past 20 years. the Games on sectors including healthcare and education, and team’s 5-1 Champions League thrashing at Bayern Munich on If it did pull out, it would join Hamburg, Rome and Boston postponing any further bids until Hungary is more prosperous. Wednesday. among candidate cities that later abandoned bids. the 2024 host city in September. “If a referendum is called, then we will boost our campaign That first-leg defeat is almost Momentum, launched by a group of students born If Budapest won, Hungary would become the first Eastern hard,” Janos Mecs, 25, a leading member of the movement said certain to condemn Arsenal to around 1989 when the country’s Communist regime European country to welcome the Summer Games in the at a campaign stand in a Budapest square earlier this week. their seventh successive Cham- collapsed, will finish collecting signatures at the conclusion post-Communist era.. The stand was erected against the backdrop of a huge pions League exit at the com- of a month-long campaign later on Friday and submit them The government and the city’s authorities have both pro-Olympics billboard hanging from one of the buildings, petition’s first knockout stage. to the Budapest election office. The authority will then rule supported the bid vocally but plebiscites are usually risky for where 57-year-old entrepreneur Janos Pasztor braved the “I will decide (my) future in whether a sufficient number of valid signatures - in broad Olympic hopefuls. chilly weather to add his signature to the campaign. March or April, but I don’t (ex- terms amounting to 10 percent of Budapest’s around 1.4 Hamburg pulled out after a negative referendum result in “First this money should be spent on healthcare so that million voters - has been collected to call a referendum. 2015, while Rome mayor Virginia Raggi ended her city’s bid if I break my leg, I could get to a hospital instead of being actly) know when,” Wenger told ‘THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE’ a news conference on Friday, last year to honor an election promise. taken care of on the street,” he said. ahead of his team’s fifth-round The International Olympic Committee is due to announce A Zavecz Research institute poll published last week on (Source: Reuters) FA Cup clash away to non-league Sutton United on Monday. “I speak to the board but I don’t want to speak about how they view my future. What’s important is the club, not my future. No matter what happens, I will manage next season whether it is here or not. That is for sure.” With Arsenal fourth in the Premier League table and trailing leaders Chelsea by 10 points with 13 games to play, the FA Cup appears once again to be the North London club’s last hope of silverware this season. It was the subject of Wenger’s future, however, that dominat- ed the manager’s new conference. “We have to focus on the real problems and they are the way we play football, not my future... Even if I go, Arsenal will not win every single game in the future,” the Frenchman said. “I think what is important is that the club makes the right decision for the future..” Wenger, who may be without injured defender Laurent Koscielny for the cup tie, denied reports of a dressing room bust- up after the defeat at Bayern’s Allianz Arena. @iamzlatanibrahimovic First one but not @southamptonfc Welcome to @thiago6When you enjoy it... (Source: Reuters) the last one @manchesterunited #SaintsFC, @martincaceres_7! #miasanmia I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y FFEBRUARYEBRUARY 118,8, 22017017 SPORT 15

Iran beats U.S. to capture sixth AFC Champions League meet the team: Persepolis straight Freestyle World Cup title Persepolis (Islamic Republic of Iran) How They Qualified: Iran Pro League Runners-up Founded: 1963 Winning the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup title for Stadium: Azadi Stadium, Tehran (capacity 100,000) the sixth time in a row, Iran defeated USA in the 2017 Iran Pro League (9): 2008, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, final match, while Azerbaijan placed third with a victory 1976, 1974, 1972 over Turkey. Hazfi Cup (5): 2011, 2010, 1999, 1991, 1988 Four-time world medalist and Olympic bronze AFC Champions League: Round of 16 2015, 2012, 2009; medal winner Hassan RAHIMI opened the dual meet Group Stage 2011, 2003 against USA with a 6-0 victory over Anthony RAMOS. Asian Cup Winners’ Cup (1): Winner 1991; Runners-up Masoud ESMAEILPOUR had great performance after 1993 some absence in world level competitions as he downed Overview 2016 world champion Logan STIEBER (USA) 6-2. At 65kg, Olympic team member Meisam NASIRI (IRI) was in trouble in the match against Frank MOLINARO (USA) and came from behind to change a 4-0 loss to a 5-4 victory. 2012 Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) broke the consecutive wins streak of Iran, defeating Peyman YARAHMADI, 3-2, to earn the first victory for USA. But the most surprising result came at 86kg, where David TAYLOR won the match against 2016 Olympic champion Hassan YAZDANI by fall. YAZDANI had a good start and collected 4 points, but had a physical problem in the second round and was pinned by TAYLOR, which shocked the Iranian fans. Olympic champion Kyle Kyle SNYDER (USA) kept the USA hopes alive as beat Amir MOHAMMADI (IRI), 6-0. 10-2, to earn the first and only win for Turkey. Aniello MOLINARO (USA), 5-4 The team result was 4-3 and the 125kg match was Murad SULEYMANOV, 2012 Olympic champion 70 kg - Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI) Islamic Republic of Iran giants Persepolis narrowly decisive to determine the World Cup champion. Sharif SHARIFOV, Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE) and df. James Malcolm GREEN (USA), 2-0 missed winning the 2015-16 Iran Pro League title when At 125kg, Komeil GHASEMI (IRI), a 2016 Olympic Jamaladdin MAGOMEDOV won their bouts to secure 74 kg - Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA) df. they were pipped to the post on goal difference by silver medalist, used his experience to defeat Nicholas Azerbaijan victory over Turkey. Peyman Morteza YARAHMADI (IRI), 3-2 Esteghlal Khouzestan. However, their second-place finish GWIAZDOWSKI (USA, 5-0, to let the Iranian side to Final - IRAN (IRI) df. UNITED STATES (USA), 5-3 86 kg - David Morris TAYLOR III (USA) df. Hassan ensured a return to the continental stage after missing out capture the World Cup title for the sixth time in a row. 57 kg - Hassan Sabzali RAHIMI (IRI) df. Anthony Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI) by FALL, 10-4 last year. Two years ago the Tehran-based club equaled In the third-place match, Azerbaijan came out Joseph RAMOS (USA), 6-0 97 kg - Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Amir MOHAMMADI their best ever performance at the AFC Champions strong, defeating Turkey 7-1. 61 kg - Masoud Mahmoud (IRI), 6-0 League when they advanced to the Round of 16 before Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI, Ali RAHIMZADE and Haji ESMAEILPOORJOUYBARI (IRI) df. Logan Jeffery 125 kg - Komeil GHASEMI (IRI) df. Nicholas being eliminated by two-time Asian champions Al Hilal. ALIYEV gave three consecutive wins to Azerbaijan, STIEBER (USA), 6-2 Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA), 5-0 The nine-time Iranian champions also reached the last while Yakup GOR defeated David SUYNYUCHKHANOV, 65 kg - Meisam Abolfazl NASIRI (IRI) df. Frank (Source: UnitedWorldWrestling) 16 in 2012 and 2009, while their three other appearances have resulted in Group Stage exits. Key Players Iranian President Hassan Rouhani beloved Iranian athletes’ aptitude coaches, organizers and the country’s Iran international striker Mehdi Taremi finished as the Iran Rouhani extended his felicitations to Iran men’s and competence to bring honor in sports officials, hospitable people of Pro League’s top scorer in the 2015-16 season and he is national freestyle wrestling team over all sports. I personally congratulate Kermanshah, and offer my prayers again amongst the goals this season as Persepolis chase their its outstanding performance at the my dearly loved compatriots and for the pride of our dear youths in all congrats Iran first league championship since 2008. Experienced captain 2017 Freestyle World Cup and finishing participating sportsmen on this spheres of efforts and competition,” Jalal Hosseini boasts more than 100 caps for Iran and after first in the high-status event. triumph, and extend my gratitude Rouhani wrote in his congratulatory signing from city rivals Naft Tehran has provided solidity at wrestlers “This victory is another sign of the over the successful efforts of all message. the back. Vahid Amiri was another international who moved from Naft, and the goalscoring midfielder twice found the back of the net on his previous AFC Champions League appearance in 2015. Siahjamegan, Tractor Sazi match canceled Coach: Branko Ivankovic Much-travelled Croatian Branko Ivankovic took over the Persepolis reins in 2015 having previously managed in due to weather his homeland, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. SPORTS Siahjamegan and Tractor Sazi match the match will be held on Saturday at the Samen Stadi- In 2001 he assumed the Iran assistant coach position and a deskat 22nd round of Iran Professional um in Mashhad. year later led the country’s U23 team to glory at the Asian League (IPL) was canceled due to severe snow in city of Tractor Sazi remain second in IPL table, nine points Games. That success earned Ivankovic a shot as national Mashhad in eastern Iran. clear of Persepolis in title race. team coach and the Croat led the Iranians to third place The match was originally scheduled for Friday but Persepolis defeated Sepahan 2-1 on Thursday in at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup as well as guiding them to the was postponed because of heavy snow. Tehran’s Azadi Stadium while third-place team Esteghlal 2006 FIFA World Cup. According to the Iran Football League Organization, beat Zob Ahan 2-0 in Isfahan. Iran clinch Persian Beach Soccer Cup title We are heroes in Iran: U.S. SPORTS Iran lifted the Persian Beach Soccer target for Team Melli while Francesco Corosiniti, Paolo the final few minutes. wrestler Burroughs deskCup trophy with three wins over Palmacci and Emanuele Zurlo scored for Italian team. But Viktor Panteleichuk stemmed the Polish tide and Poland, Ukraine and Italy. Earlier in the day, Poland and Ukraine - European cham- sealed the win with the fourth and final goal, ultimately SPORTS U.S. Olympic gold medalist Jordan Iran, who had already defeated Poland 3-1 and pions and Euro Beach Soccer League winners respectively ensuring Ukraine second place ahead of Italy and Poland. deskBurroughs revealed that unlike in America, Ukraine 8-7 in penalty shootout, gave their home - went head to head in another close-fought contest. Amirhossein Akbari from Iran was named as the he is treated like celebrities in Iran as the Iranians are in love fans plenty to cheer in Bushehr on Thursday as they Ivan Glutskyi, Oleksii Illichov and Oleg Zborovskyi Most Valuable Player of the three-day tournament. with wrestling. defeated Italy 4-3. were on target as Ukraine dominated the first period Italy’s Gabriele Gori became the top goalscorer of the “It was difficult. There was a period of time where we were Mohammad Ahmadzadeh scored twice and and much of the second, only for Piotr Klepczarek and competition and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Hladchenko won like, are we going, are we not going?” Burroughs told CNN. Mohammadali Mokhtari and Mostafa Kiani was on an Illichov own-goal to reduce the arrears going into the Best Goalkeeper Award. “It was difficult being pawns in the game of political powers that were essentially deciding our fate.” Iran initially denied visas Beitashour rues attempted Iranian cueists collect two medals for the American wrestlers travel ban at West Asian Championship in retaliation for the Trump administration’s travel ban Steven Beitashour is quick to tell you he Iranian billiard players have exhibited against people from seven is a soccer player, not a politician. commendable skills at the West Asian Muslim-majority countries, But as a California-born Iran Championship for Billiard Sports in including Iran. international, the Toronto FC fullback Jordan, and claimed two medals at the It wasn’t until the U.S. has a unique perspective on President regional tournament. courts shot the ban down, Donald Trump’s controversial attempt On Tuesday evening, Iran’s Armin and with some lobbying to restrict who can enter the U.S. Mahmoudi suffered a close 8-9 defeat by both the American Trump’s executive order suspended in his individual 9-ball contest against and Iranian Wrestling refugee admissions for 120 days and Waleed Majid of Qatar at the semi- Federations, that the visas indefinitely barred the processing of final round of the competitions in the were finally granted. refugees from Syria. It also temporarily Jordanian capital city of Amman, and Wrestling one of Iran’s barred the citizens of seven majority landed in the third place to receive a favorite sports and many of team USA’s Wrestlers are Muslim nations — Iran, Syria, Sudan, bronze medal. celebrities here. Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq — from Mahmoudi had earlier in the “In America we are misfits. In Iran we are heroes, so it is entering the U.S. day overcome Mazen Berjawi — a really cool to see,” Burroughs said. Beitashour pointed to Toronto representative from Lebanon — 9-7 The U.S. Olympic gold Medalist Kyle Snyder also praised captain Michael Bradley’s eloquent they were able to before.” to secure a place among the top four on February 16, 2017. the Iranian fans. opposition to the ban, which has been The order was subsequently billiard players. The tournament has attracted “I have been wrestling overseas for three years now and successfully challenged in court. challenged in court with a U.S. Court of Another Iranian sportsman, Saeed dozens of cueists from Bahrain, Iraq, every Iranian I have ever come in contact with has been “We were a country known for Appeal blocking key parts. The Trump Aboulesani, fell to Mohammed Shehab the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, extremely respectful, extremely polite,” Snyder said. having open arms and welcoming administration says it will rewrite the of the United Arab Emirates 2-3 in the Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi “[The Iranian] Wrestling Federation lobbied on our people,” said Beitashour, a San Jose order to address the court’s ruling. final 15-ball pool game on Monday, Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates behalf and I think their government as well looked at it as native. “So to kind of go against what Beitashour’s parents are from Iran. and finished as the runner-up to receive and Yemen. an opportunity to show their graciousness and their respect we’re known for, I feel like a lot of His father, a retired electrical engineer the silver medal. Billiard players Saeed Aboulesani, for the sport of wrestling,” Bill Zadick, head coach of the US’s people disagree with it. with Apple, originally came to the U.S. The West Asian Championship Ali Roshanikia and Armin Mahmoudi Freestyle Wrestling team told CNN. “I would love to see my cousins, my to study at San Francisco State. for Billiard Sports started in Amman, represent Iran in the championship. Team USA missing the World Cup would likely have been a aunts come over here with no bans like (Source: Canadian Press) Jordan, on February 11, and will finish (Source: PressTV) disaster for the sport. The U.S., Iran and Russia are Wrestling’s international powerhouses. “A World Cup without the Americans would not have Reza Shekari reaches an agreement with Rostov been a real world cup,” Rasoul Khadem, the head of Iran’s Iranian rising star Reza Shekari is on the verge of joining league side Leicester City and Swiss club FC Basel. Professional League against Sepahan. Wrestling Federation CNN at the sidelines of the World Cup Russian club Rostov. In 2015, Shakeri was named by The Guardian as one Shekari scored his first professional goal on in Kermanshah, about 400 kilometers west of Tehran. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder will join the top- of the best 50 young talents in world football. November 4, 2015 in a 2–0 Hazfi Cup victory against Team USA received a warm welcome when they arrived flight team after undergoing medical exam. He joined Zob Ahan on a three-year contract in 2015 Persepolis. Wednesday in Kermanshah’s Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani Airport Shekari has already caught the eye of English premier and made his debut for the Isfahan-based team in Iran (Source: Tasnim) where dozens of fans and reporters greeted the wrestlers. Prayer Times Noon:12:18 Evening: 18:07 Dawn: 5:23 tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:47 (tomorrow) FEBRUARY 18, 2017 ART&CULTURE I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y www.tehrantimes.com Managing Director: Ali Asgari Fajr Intl. Film Festival to Editor-in-Chief: Hassan Lasjerdi Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98(21) 88808214 [email protected] Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051450 Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 honor Abbas Kiarostami Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 www.eshterak.ir Distributor: Padideh Novin Co. Tel: 88911433 Webmaster: [email protected] ARTTEHRAN — The 35th Fajr Printed at: Kayhan - ISSN: 1017-94 deskInternational Film Festival will pay No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, Iran tribute to the legendary Iranian artist Abbas Kiarostami P.o. Box: 14155-4843 during the festival, which is scheduled to be held in Zip Code: 1599814713 Tehran from April 21 to 28, Kiarostami’s close friend Seifollah Samadian says. Samadian made the remarks at a press conference held at the Iranian Artists Forum on Wednesday to elaborate on the programs of the Image of the Year Celebration set to open tomorrow. “Secretary of the festival Reza Mirkarimi has asked me to hold a ceremony in honor of Kiarostami,” said Samadian, who is the secretary of the celebration. “Several meetings have been arranged during the NEWS IN BRIEF three-day program with those who have collaborated with Kiarostami in different projects to talk about the master,” he stated. Tehran to host intl. The poster of the festival has also been embellished seminar on theater with a selection from Kiarostami’s photo series “Snow White”, which focuses on winter. A winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for his “Taste of Cherry”, Kiarostami died last July at the age of 76. ARTTEHRAN — Tehran’s City Samadian also added that the major exhibition of the deskTheater Complex will host the 14th edition of the Image of the Year Celebration will Seminar of Theater and the Capacity of Non- also open in honor of Kiarostami, featuring a selection Governmental Sectors from March 5 to 7. of his works during the festival in April. The secretary of the Image of the Year Celebration, Seifollah Samadian, attends a news conference at the Iranian Artists Forum Sixteen papers from Iran and fourteen “We will also hear brief speeches from Kiarostami’s in Tehran on February 15, 2017 to brief the media about the festival. (Mehr/Majid Haqdust) papers from different countries including Russia, friends during the opening ceremony of the celebration film refers to the duration of Kiarostami’s life, 76 years Film Festival, a new section of the celebration, and said Mexico, Azerbaijan, Italy, Germany, Spain, on Sunday, while ‘76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Abbas and 15 days, and shows a picture of Kiarostami as a that all the films that have received awards in different Georgia, India, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria Kiarostami’ is scheduled to be screened,” Samadian said. filmmaker, photographer, poet, graphic designer, video Iranian festivals will go on screen in this section. and Hungary will be presented at the seminar. “76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Kiarostami” is a artist and even a carpenter. The celebration will be running until March 10 at the Among the scholars who will attend the montage film made by Samadian himself. The title of the The secretary gave further details about the Tassvir forum located on Musavi St., Taleqani Ave. colloquium are prominent Italian theater critic Andrea Porcheddu, Georgian theater scholar Levan Khetaguri, German director and Photographer casts doubts on authenticity Plasco tragedy photographers playwright Friederike Felbeck, Spanish stage director and playwright Pilar Gonzalez-Almansa of winning collection at World Press Photo honored and Azerbaijani stage director and scholar ARTTEHRAN — Iranian ARTTEHRAN — The risk to record the events alongside the Tarlan Rasulov. deskphotojournalist deskIranian Society of firefighters, despite the great danger. Morteza Nikoubazl who has previously Film Photographers honored a number They stood beside the firemen and Art Bureau to host worked for Reuters, Sipa Press and of photojournalists who had made the rescuers within the fire and smoke Palestine poetry National Geographic has cast doubt extraordinary efforts to fully cover the to record the images as historical on the genuineness of a collection, collapse of Plasco and events in the documents,” Adel said. night which won a prize at the World Photo aftermath of the tragedy on Thursday, He also mentioned that there were Press 2017 last week. January 19. great number of photos and that they In a letter sent to World Press Photo An exhibition of works by the could only choose one from each CULTURETEHRAN — Tehran’s Art Bureau Managing Director Lars Boering, selected photographers was set up participating photographer due to the deskwill be playing host to a group of Nikoubazl called the collection fake. authenticity of a picture showing a at the House of Cinema and the lack of space. Iranian and foreign literati to organize a session The series entitled “An Iranian naked prostitute with a tattoo at the ceremony was attended by a great The photos were later signed of poetry on Palestine on Sunday night. Journey” won Hossein Fatemi who is base of her spine laying face down on number of artists and photographers, by the participating artists and the Cultural figures from Palestine, Pakistan, working for Panos Pictures, a London- a bed. the house announced on Friday. photographers themselves, and were Afghanistan and several other countries will based photo agency, second prize in In his story for the photo, Fatemi Plasco, a 17-storey mega mall in donated to a number of fire stations attend the ceremony. the Long-Term Projects category. said that the woman has to resort to downtown Tehran, collapsed to the across the capital Tehran. The collection is composed of 30 prostitution to afford the fees for her ground three and a half hour after it Babak Borzuyeh, Satyar Emami, photos featuring Iranian people in two children. caught fire on January 19, and sixteen Ali Alizadeh, Javad Golzar, Hossein Pink Floyd’s Waters, Mason scenes of their public and private lives. Nikoubazl said that sporting a firefighters and a number of citizens Tehrani, Adel Azizi, Mehdi Nasiri, Foad Nikoubazl said that Fatemi was very tattoo is very expensive in Iran and lost their lives in the tragic incident. Ashtari and Meqdad Madadi were hope to delight fans, honor clever in depicting a paradox between added, “How can a poor woman who Speaking at the ceremony, among the honorees. two situations in some of his photos. cannot pay for the cost of her children the representative of the society Film producer Fereshteh Taerpur, crews in new exhibit However, he added, “Unfortunately, afford to have a tattoo like this on her Shahabeddin Adel said, “The Plasco also made a brief speech in honor those are staged and fake.” body.” building collapse was a great disaster of the victims and their families and NEW YORK (Reuters) — Pink Floyd co-founders Roger He pointed to a photo from the Winners of the World Press Photo and this ceremony is held to honor the announced that she plans to make use Waters and Nick Mason hope an exhibition in May collection depicting a number of 2017 were announced on February name of the victims and to remember of a puppet of a firefighter in her new documenting the rock band’s 50 years in music will give Iranian women in a beauty salon and 12 as an image by Associated Press their sacrifice.” project, which is a film with puppet fans a sense of their live work as well as honor those who said that men are not legally allowed photographer Burhan Ozbilici was “I must emphasize that characters. helped fulfill their artistic vision. to enter such a place, let alone to take selected as Photo of the Year. It photographers are always known as “We can teach our children and a photograph. shows a gun-wielding off-duty Turkish the first individuals who appear at the young adults how sensitive and how He accused Fatemi of setting the policeman standing over the body of scenes of incidents at the very first significant the job of the firemen scene for his photo by using some Russia’s ambassador, whom he had just moment,” he added. is and those who have chosen this people who are seen in the picture. fatally shot, at a photo exhibition last “And at the Plasco building collapse, occupation have remarkable spirits,” Nikoubazl also challenged the December. all the photographers willingly took a she concluded. Iranian poet Shahriar commemorated in Turkey CULTURETEHRAN — Mohammad-Hossein Kaseinov called Shahriar a master of Persian poetry deskShahriar (1906-1988), the Iranian and said that he was the greatest representative of poet who also composed works in Azerbaijani, was contemporary Persian classical literature, who often commemorated during the Second Conference expressed his feelings in the Azerbaijani language. Band members Nick Mason (L) and Roger Waters pose for photographers of Pioneers of the Turkic World, which was held in Mohammad-Hossein Behjat Tabrizi, known at a media event to promote “The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Ankara, Turkey on Thursday. as Shahriar, published his first book of poems in Remains”, which will open in May 2017, in London, Britain, February Turksoy, the International Organization of 1929, with prefaces by Persian literature scholars 16, 2017. (Reuters/Neil Hall) Turkic Culture, dedicated the second edition of Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, Saeid Nafisi and Pejman “The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains” opens the conference to Shahriar to celebrate his 110th Bakhtiari. at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in May, the same birthday. Shahriar’s most famous Azari language poetry venue which previously hosted a David Bowie retrospective. Turksoy Secretary General Dusen Kaseinov and collection, “Heidar Babaya Salam” is dedicated to his On display will be more than 350 artifacts, including Azerbaijani scholar Elman Guliyev delivered speeches birthplace, the village of Heidar Baba. letters, sketches, handwritten lyrics as well as footage of the during the conference, which was attended by literati Literati attend the Second Conference of Pioneers of the Turkic His poems are mainly influenced by Hafez. “The band’s live performances. and students from Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan World at the International Organization of Turkic Culture in Blessed Bird of Good Omen”, which is about Imam Ali “I think what (fans) will get...is a real sense of the scale of and Kyrgyzstan. Ankara on February 16, 2017. (AS), is his other noteworthy credit. some of the live work that we did, some of theatrics that we developed over the years,” Waters told Reuters on Thursday. Michigan art dealer gets 3-plus years in prison for forgeries “Hopefully there’s personal memorabilia that people are interested in because they’re interested in the history of it.” NEW YORK (Reuters) — A engaging in similar conduct. sometime before 2005, when a them with “no assurance of The exhibition comes 50 years since the release of Pink Michigan art dealer was sentenced “I think you’ve been leading website accused him of offering authenticity.” Floyd’s first single “Arnold Layne”. Known for its experimental on Thursday to more than three a fraudulent life for a very long forged artwork on eBay, forcing That claim was contained in an music, the band went on enjoy worldwide acclaim, namely years in prison for engaging in what time,” Kaplan told Spoutz. him to adopt a series of aliases, article calling Spoutz an “Art-World with “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall”. prosecutors said was an extensive The Mount Clemens, Michigan, including “Robert Chad Smith” and Powerbroker” that he himself “What you realize is that it’s literally hundreds and scheme to sell fake works by man apologized in court for his “John Goodman” to continue the submitted to a press release hundreds of people who’ve worked with us as sound renowned artists, including Pablo crimes, saying he had “betrayed fraud, prosecutors said. service after the 2005 forgery engineers or road crew, technicians, inventors or graphics Picasso and Willem de Kooning. the trust of my chosen field, my Prosecutors said Spoutz at that accusations. or whatever,” Mason said. “And to go ‘we got through a lot Eric Spoutz, who must also clients and my colleagues.” point began to focus on works To a Connecticut auction house of work by getting help from these people’ - that’s a really forfeit the $1.45 million he earned Prosecutors said that for over a by Mitchell and de Kooning. They in 2010 to which he provided nice aspect of it.” from the scheme and pay $154,100 decade, Spoutz, 33, fooled victims said he labeled his forgeries as two Mitchell pastel works on Released in 1979, “The Wall” is one of the most in restitution, was sentenced by into purchasing forgeries of works “attributed to” those artists, and consignment, Spoutz, calling successful albums of all time. Asked about U.S. President U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in by famed 20th-century artists, falsified documentation to convince himself “Robert Smith,” claimed Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall on the border with Manhattan after pleading guilty in including Picasso, de Kooning, his victims of the paintings’ origins. he inherited them from someone Mexico, Waters said: “The building of walls between nations June to one count of wire fraud. Marc Chagall and Joan Mitchell. His explanations of where who died in 1976, according to and between religions and between races and between The judge said a 41-month “This was a career that was the artwork came from varied, charging documents. different groups of people with different beliefs is invariably prison term was necessary given founded on fraud,” Assistant U.S. according to court papers. But that individual actually counterproductive.” the serious and long-running Attorney Andrew Adams said in In 2006, Spoutz said he bought bequeathed his entire art “We should be past a time when we’re wanting to make nature of Spoutz’s fraud and to court. the works from “a couple different collection to Dartmouth College, enemies of the other. Unfortunately we’re not.” ensure that he was prevented from Spoutz began selling forgeries private collections” and marketed the court papers said.