Only one day after US President Donald Trump has called Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince to congratulate him, American hamburger and fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s in Saudi Arabia tweets allegiance to the new Saudi crown prince.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has replaced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with his own son, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the deputy crown prince and defense minister.

According to a royal decree, Mohammed bin Salman, 31, was also named deputy prime minister, and shall maintain his post as defense minister, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.

نبايع صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير #محمد_بن_سلمان على كتاب الله وسنة رسوله وعلى السمع والطاعة، سائلين الله تعالى الأمن والأمان لمملكتنا الحبيبة pic.twitter.com/t4Os2S9ghp

— ماكدونالدز السعودية (@McDonaldsKSA) June 21, 2017

Saudi media say King Salman has called for a public pledge of allegiance to the new crown prince in the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday night.

According to a White House statement released Wednesday, the president and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman spoke on the phone “to advance our shared goals of security, stability, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond.”

The Israeli regime also signaled that it welcomes the move with Communications Minister Ayoub Kara, asserting that it “means more economic cooperation in the Middle East, and not just regarding oil.”

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As countries of the world including Iran’s neighboring states are condemning today’s terrorist attacks in Tehran, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs refused to condemn the event. Adel Al-Jubeir was speaking in a joint press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin when he skipped a question asked by a reporter on terrorist attacks carried out in Tehran and asked for the next question.

Saudi Minister also threatened Iran few hours before the attacks carried out by terrorists in Tehran. Adel Jubeir said Iran must be punished for its interference in the region and support for terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Al Arabiya News Channel reported him as saying early Wednesday.

Although ISIS has taken the responsibility of Tehran terror attack, security experts and analysts in Tehran believe that Saudi is behind the attacks. A security source told Iran’s View that evidences show Saudi Arabia’s intelligence entities directly working along with the MKO agents in carrying out the terror attacks. Jihadi militias controlled by Saudi Arabia have been making connections with the MKO for almost a year now.

Earlier in May Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, the kingdom’s defense minister talked of his country’s efforts to take the battle inside Iran.

“We know that the aim of the Iranian regime is to reach the focal point of Muslims [Mecca] and we will not wait until the fight is inside Saudi Arabia and we will work so that the battle is on their side, inside Iran, not in Saudi Arabia,”he said.

In meantime Qatar that is accused by Saudi Arabia of siding with Iran has condemned the attacks. The State of Qatar has condemned and denounced the two attacks which took place in Iranian capital Tehran and left many more than 50 killed and injured.

The country’s Foreign Ministry stated Qatar’s firm stance against violence and its rejection of criminal acts, expressing condolences to the government and people of Iran and to the families of the victims.

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Looking well beyond the accepted “Western” narrative Arabia’s Rising proposes a fresh optic on the war-torn region, lifting the lid on its complicated past and let’s admit redacted religious identity.

A political analyst and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on radical movements, Catherine Shakdam’s connection to the Middle East is one of profound love and respect: for its people, its history and the future its nations want to build for their sons and daughters.

Most importantly Arabia’s Rising offers context: religious context, historical context, political context …

An eye-opener and somewhat of a revelation, Arabia’s Rising opens a conversation on the future of the Middle East by looking back, linking history and old fractures to today’s hopes and aspirations.

Weaved around Islam’s history, Arabia’s Rising is one of those read which will echo long after all pages are read. And maybe, just maybe somewhere along the way, readers will learn that the Islam they were sold and the history they were do not exactly reflect reality.

Arabia’s Rising can be bought on Amazon – here (Kindle Edition) and here.

“A superb synthesis that distills the essence of Islam in theory and practice. Arabia’s Rising by Catherine Shakdam provides a concise yet comprehensive understanding of the Islamic worldview. Written in small segmented truth-bytes, which can be assimilated by lay and academic audiences, the author weaves past, present, and future seamlessly in a captivating narrative of cosmic consequence,” writes Dr. John Andrew Morrow, Senior scholar of Islam.

“Just as the world has learned to hate and fear Islam, blaming its people and its faith for the evil of radicalism, Arabia’s Rising came to shatter the web of lies, shining some truth on the people of Islam, on Islam’s history and a people’s aspirations. A brilliant analysis, Catherine Shakdam dares go where many analysts have not – exposing what real powers and real dynamics are at play in the Mid-East,” writes Marwa Osman a PhD candidate, lecturer and political analyst.

For all press inquiries contact Veritas Consulting
Email: catherine.shakdam@veritas-consulting.one
marwa.osman@veritas-consulting.one

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The Islamic Republic of Iran will have a presidential election on June 14, 2013. As an observer of elections in different countries I find that Iranian election procedures are very similar to those of the most democratic elections held in European nations, such as France. Iranians vote on paper ballots that are counted openly in each polling place in the presence of observers. The tally from each polling station is then verified openly and published by the government after the election. These are the most fundamental and essential elements of a transparent and democratic election, and these are exactly the elements that are sadly missing from elections in the United States.

It may come as a surprise but Iranian elections are much more transparent that elections in the United States. The voting process and the counting of the votes in Iran are transparent processes, while most votes in the United States are cast and counted on electronic voting systems run by private companies. The use of computer voting systems in the United States has actually allowed our elections to be stolen because the citizenry has lost its oversight of the crucial vote-counting process entirely. Today, there is virtually no open counting of the votes in polling stations in the United States because nearly all voting “data” is processed in computerized systems – not counted by citizens.

I recently read Going to Tehran (2013) by Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett. This is an excellent and timely book that calls for the United States to come to terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is highly recommended reading and should help Americans understand why it is in the best interest of our nation to change course and stop trying to overthrow the Islamic Republic with economic sanctions, covert actions, and threats of war.

The Leveretts have served as high-level policy advisors on Iran in various departments and agencies of the U.S. government. In Chapter 6, “A Controversial Election,” they discuss the 2009 election in Iran. On page 246 they describe how Iranians vote and how the votes are counted:

Every Iranian aged eighteen or over, including those living abroad, may vote; in 2009, the Iranian government operated polling stations for expatriates in almost a hundred countries, including the United States. To vote, an Iranian must show an official ID with the bearer’s photograph, thumbprint, and a unique number. At the polling station, the voter’s name and ID number are recorded three times: by hand in a register, on a computer, and again by hand on the voter’s ballot stub. Before casting the ballot, the voter must press a purple-ink thumbprint onto the stub, which is then separated from the ballot and dropped into a “stub box.” (Separation of the stub prior to the casting of the ballot ensures the secrecy of the vote.) The voter marks the ballot and drops it into the ballot box; the voter’s ID card is then stamped, to prevent him or her from voting again.

The votes are counted at the polling stations. Before the polls open, observers at each station watch as the ballot boxes are verified to be empty. No votes are counted until after polls close. At that point observers at each station watch as the stubs and ballots are counted and their numbers compared. They then watch as

each candidate’s count is recorded on government-issued Form 22; at every station, multiple copies of Form 22 are signed by both officials and observers. Signed forms are placed inside the ballot box, which is sealed and turned over to local officials to hold; signed forms are also sent to the Interior Ministry and copies are given to each observer. In addition, information on these Form 22s is electronically transmitted to district-level offices, where, as candidate observers watch, vote totals from polling stations are aggregated into district-level results and recorded on government-issued Form 28s; these are sent both electronically and physically to the Interior Ministry, which aggregates them into provincial- and national-level results. In 2009, for the first time, data from polling stations were also transmitted directly to the ministry.

Source: Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, Metropolitan Books, New York, 2013

A version of this article was first published on Bollyn.com.

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As Turkey and Syria trade blame for the twin bombings that killed 46 people in a Turkish border town, RT’s Maria Finoshina travels to the Turkey-Syria border to investigate how the former allies have become bitter enemies.

Turkey shares its longest border with its one-time ally Syria. The Turkey-Syria border is now closed, and both sides are trading blame for the bombing in Reyhanli, Turkey, on Saturday.

Turkey accused Damascus of perpetrating the attack, while the Syrian government has denied its involvement, and said the attack is being used to justify a foreign intervention.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed that those behind the attacks were from an “old Marxist terrorist organization” with ties to the Assad government. “It is time for the international community to act together against this regime,” he said in a news conference on Sunday.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi dismissed Turkey’s accusations: “No one has the right to make false accusations… Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that.”

Relations were not always so strained between the two countries, Finoshina reported from the Turkey-Syria border.

“It’s hard to imagine now but in 2009 the two countries even held joint military drills across that frontier, in what was a brief thaw in relations between the two,” Finoshina reported. Just several years ago the two nations inked a free trade agreement, visa-free movement and held several presidential visits.

Residents in the border regions of both countries grew close, with families on both sides feeling that they shared a common home. But now, with warlike rhetoric and accusations in the air, “relations between the two neighbors are strained like never before,” Finoshina said.

Watch full report from RT.

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IHS analyst Mike Howard said (viaComputerWorld) that in the unlikely case of a “major conflagration,” smartphone and tablet makers could face manufacturing issues, as they’ll have a hard time getting the much needed components from elsewhere, given that South Korean giants play a major role in the supply chain for said products.

Any type of manufacturing disruption of six months would prevent the shipment of hundreds of millions of mobile phones and tens of millions of PCs and media tablets.

South Korean companies are producing vast quantities of DRAM, NAND flash and tablet displays.

The components

Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is used in computers, smartphones and tablets, with Samsung and SK Hynix bringing in a combined 66% of industry revenue in 2012. “Half of all global production” for DRAM comes from South Korea.

NAND flash (storage) memory, also found in various electronic devices including smartphones and tablets is also produced in large quantities in South Korea. Again, Samsung and SK Hynix are mentioned, having accounted for 48% of the industry revenue last year. Two-thirds of the world’s NAND flash supply comes from the region.

Finally, Samsung and LG are major players in the LCD display business, having shipped 49.6% “large-sized LCD panels” in Q4 2012, according to IHS. South Korea is responsible for 70% of the tablet display global supply.

Howard said that DRAM and/or NAND production “couldn’t be easily or quickly replaced” by companies in other regions, and while any short-term disruption “wouldn’t affect the display market as badly” – with production of said LCDs currently at a “high level” – it would still cripple the industry in case of longer disruptions.

The Android products

In addition to producing parts required for smarpthones and tablets, Samsung and LG are also important players in the mobile business, with the former estimated to ship over 320 million smartphones this year, and the later expected to sell around 50 million smartphones in 2013. Most of these smart devices would be Android-based. Furthermore Samsung also produces a significant number of Android tablets, with its models being among the popular Android tablets out there,according to a recent study.

While IHS focuses on supply concerns, we’ll also notice that a longer conflict would likely have an impact on other departments for these companies (R&D, marketing amont others), considering the vicinity of their headquarters to the border with North Korea. In a worst-case scenario the mobile industry could be even more seriously affected, with component shortages being just one piece of said puzzle.

Seoul, South Korea’s capital where Samsung and LG are headquartered, with SK Hynix also located close by, is only 30 miles away from the border with North Korea.

That said, such a conflagration in the Korean peninsula would have far greater effects in the world even though we’re only looking at what such a war would mean for smart gadget production right now, so we can only hope that we’ll never have to move past these extreme “what-ifs” scenarios for the region.

Source: androidauthority.com

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By Shenali Waduge

Eurasiareview: The British medical journal Lancet reported that the US-led unprovoked 2003 bombing, invasion and military take-over of Iraq—which NATO officially joined in 2004 in a ‘training’ capacity—had resulted in over 665,000 civilian deaths by 2006, and 200,000 in the UN-authorized, 1991 Desert Storm massacre led primarily by the US with several NATO allies. No cries for accountability, no Resolutions, no fact-finding missions and no Pillai statements. That is to be expected. We would all honor fair play. That however is lacking in Sri Lanka’s case.

Libya was said to be a humanitarian operation to free the people of Libya from Gaddafi. In reality it turned out not so and Libya was said to have been bombed to the stone age. The quickly compiled 200page UNHRC report on US/NATO intervention lacked clarity and avoided NATO war crimes. On February 15, 2012, NATO’s Legal Adviser Peter Olson wrote a strong letter to the Chair of the Commission that NATO’s “violations” during the conflict was not to be mentioned ““We would be concerned, however, if ‘NATO incidents’ were included in the Commission’s report as on a par with those which the Commission may ultimately conclude did violate law or constitute crimes.” and Navi Pillay says naught.

Why has our Foreign Minister not brought these arguments at least to the forefront of discussions? Sri Lanka knows it is targeted but we must fall with dignity not through servility which the foreign minister always advocated. It is a humiliation to the entire nation and an insult to our armed forces. Every area that we have been unjustly targeted we should have shown by examples how the UN/UNHRC has done otherwise in relation to bigger and more powerful states.

Since the creation of the UNHRC in 2006, 32 Resolutions have been brought against Israel (comprising 48% of all Resolutions). By 2007, 9 Resolutions even condemned Israel but then US is there to veto Resolutions against Israel. While films get VIP status against Sri Lanka on the halls of the UN/UNHRC the decision to allow a Hamas politician to address a NGO event was responded to critically by Israel’s PM “”He represents an organization that indiscriminately targets children and grown-ups, and women and men. Innocents – is their special favorite target.” Israel has now severed ties with the UN and not a hum.

Headlines chronicle US/NATO’s crime spree – NO Resolutions have been brought against the US or NATO states and UNHRC report after Libya’s intervention will reveal the hypocrisy that prevails.

US/NATO crimes in Iraq

US used 120,000 sorties and 265,000 bombs dropped in Iraq in 1991. From 1991 to 200341,000 sorties and 27,000 bombs dropped. US bombing of Iraq has left a legacy of deformed Iraqis. In 1991 Radioactive residue from the 800 tons of bombs and 1 million rounds of ammunition used was soon showing up in babies born with huge heads, abnormally large eyes, stunted arms, bloated stomachs and defective hearts. In 2010, the University of Ulster reported that increases in congenital birth defects, leukemia and infant mortality in Falluja were higher than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. While insurgents are armed to ensure there will never be peace in Iraq whilst private paramilitaries guard all foreign investments as they plunder Iraq.

• “Cable Implicates Americans in Deaths of Iraqi Civilians.” New York Times, Sept. 2, 2011

• “Civilians Die in a Raid by Americans and Iraqis.” New York Times, Aug. 7, 2011

President Bush ordered the destruction of facilities essential to civilian life and economic productivity throughout Iraq (starting 16 January 1991 and continued for 42 days without any Iraqi defense resistance or fire). 110,000 air sorties against Iraq, dropping 88,000 tons of bombs, nearly seven times the equivalent of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. 93% of the bombs were free falling bombs, most dropped from higher than 30,000 feet. Of the remaining 7% of the bombs with electronically guided systems, more than 25% missed their targets, nearly all caused damage primarily beyond any identifiable target. Most of the targets were civilian facilities. The Pentagon later conceded that only seven percent of all bombs used against Iraq were the so-called “smart bombs.” These weapons hit their targets about 80 to 90 percent of the time, while their “dumb” counterparts missed their targets 75 percent of the time. In the end, 70 percent of the bombs dropped on Iraq missed their intended targets. Witnesses to the destruction said that the Coalition bombing leveled entire blocks of civilian homes….

Among the facilities targeted by US forces and destroyed were:

• electric power generation, relay and transmission;

• water treatment, pumping and distribution systems and reservoirs;

• telephone and radio exchanges, relay stations, towers and transmission facilities;

• food processing, storage and distribution facilities and markets, infant milk formula and beverage plants, animal vaccination facilities and irrigation sites;

• railroad transportation facilities, bus depots, bridges, highway overpasses, highways, highway repair stations, trains, buses and other public transportation vehicles, commercial and private vehicles;

• oil wells and pumps, pipelines, refineries, oil storage tanks, gasoline filling stations and fuel delivery tank cars and trucks, and kerosene storage tanks;

• sewage treatment and disposal systems;

•  factories engaged in civilian production, e.g., textile and automobile assembly; and historical markers and ancient sites.

Tens of thousands of people have died from dehydration, dysentery and diseases caused by impure water, inability to obtain effective medical assistance and debilitation from hunger, shock, cold and stress. The destruction of civilian facilities left the entire civilian population without heat, cooking fuel, refrigeration, potable water, telephones, power for radio or TV reception, public transportation and fuel for private automobiles. It also limited food supplies, closed schools, created massive unemployment, severely limited economic activity and caused hospitals and medical services to shut down. As a single illustration, Iraq consumed infant milk formula at a rate of 2,500 tons per month during the first seven months of 1990. From November 1, 1990, to February 7, 1991, Iraq was able to import only 17 tons. Its own productive capacity was destroyed. Many Iraqis believed that President Bush intended that their infants die because he targeted their food supply. The Red Crescent Society of Iraq estimated 3,000 infant deaths as of February 7, 1991, resulting from infant milk formula and infant medication shortages. The US has violated the UN Charter, Hague and Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg Charter and the laws of armed conflict – Navi Pillay, any comments? Sri Lanka took on the LTTE after it closed the sluice gates in Mavil Aru denying water and means of livelihood to thousands of civilians.

US/NATO crimes in Afghanistan

The 9/11 bombing of the US was used as an excuse to militarily intervene in Afghanistan though the hijackers were mostly Saudis and none was an Afghan.

• “U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers.” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2012

• “G.I. Kills 16 Afghans, Including 9 Children In Attacks on Homes.” New York Times, March 12, 2012

• “NATO Admits Airstrike Killed 8 Young Afghans, but Contends They Were Armed.” New York Times, Feb. 16, 2012

• “Informer Misled NATO in Airstrike That Killed 8 Civilians, Afghans Say.” (Seven shepherd boys under 14.) New York Times, Feb. 10, 2012

• “Video [of U.S. Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters] Inflames a Delicate Moment for U.S. in Afghanistan.” New York Times, Jan. 12, 2012

• “Commission alleges U.S. detainee abuse.” Minneapolis StarTribune, Jan. 8, 2012

• “Six Children Are Killed by NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan.” New York Times, Nov. 25, 2011

• “American Soldier Is Convicted of Killing Afghan Civilians for Sport.” New York Times, Nov. 11, 2011

• “Pakistan: U.S. Drone Strike Kills Brother of a Taliban Commander.” New York Times, Oct. 28, 2011

• “Afghanistan officials ‘systematically tortured’ detainees, UN report says.” Guardian, & BBC Oct. 10; Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2011

• ·G.I. Killed Afghan Journalist, NATO Says.” New York Times, Sept. 9, 2011

• “Raid on Wrong House Kills Afghan Girl, 12.” New York Times, May 12, 2011

• “Disposal of Bin Laden’s remains violated Islamic principles, clerics say.” Associated Press, May 2, 2011

•  “Photos of atrocities seen as threat to Afghan relations.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 22, 2011

• “Afghans Say Attack Killed 52 Civilians; NATO Differs.” New York Times, July 27, 2010

• “Afgans Say NATO Troops Killed 8 Civilians in Raid.” New York Times, Aug. 24, 2010

• “A dozen or more” Afghan civilians were killed during a nighttime raid August 5, 2010 in eastern Afghanistan, NATO’s officers said. Chicago Tribune, Aug. 6, 2010

• “Afghans Die in Bombing, As Toll Rises for Civilians.” New York Times, May 3, 2010

US/NATO crimes in Libya

• “NATO Strikes Libyan State TV Transmitters.” New York Times, July 31, 2011

•  “NATO admits raid probably killed nine in Tripoli.” St. Paul Pioneer Press, June 20, 2011

• “Libya Effort Is Called Violation of War Act.” New York Times, May 26, 2011

• “NATO Accused of Going Too Far With Libya Strikes.” New York Times, May 2, 2011

• Gerald A. Perreira, “British Intelligence Worked with Al Qaeda to Kill Qaddafi,” Global Research, March 25, 2011

In July 2011, NATO aircraft bombed Libya’s main water supply facility, which provided water to approximately 70 percent of the nation’s population.

British Special Forces played a key role in steering and supervising Libya’s “freedom fighters” to victory.

US/NATO crimes Somalia

• “U.S. Expands Its Drone War to Take On Somali Militants.” New York Times, July 2, 2011

US/NATO Crimes in Yemen

• “Yemen: 2 Killed in Missile Strike.” Associated Press, May 5, 2011

US/NATO crimes in Pakistan

• “Missiles Kill 26 in Pakistan” (“most of them civilians”) New York Times, March 18, 2011

• In June 2008, NATO bombers attacked a Pakistani paramilitary force called the Frontier Corps killing 11 of its soldiers. New York Times, Nov. 27, 2011

• Did the US troops not enter Pakistan without Pakistani Govt knowledge and kill an unarmed Osama bin Laden including his unarmed son watched by the US President, the US Secretary of State and numerous other US military personnel?

The US/NATO crimes is nothing even the common man is not aware about. When organizations tasked to keep peace hide their crimes whilst going after smaller nations it spells doom for a world supposedly working towards peace.

When nations of the West are experiencing economic downfall we know that it is looking once again to the East to continue the second phase of their plunder – Asia and Africa will always be the targets as they are rich in resources STILL.

It is a pity that neither Russia or China are interested to bring any Resolution against the US/NATO for their crimes. It is a pity that there are some Sri Lankans who also join the bandwagon of destabilizing Sri Lanka showing little love for their motherland or even appreciation for the armed forces that sacrificed their lives to save the nation. Material and monetary benefits often gets the better of people unfortunately.

If the world is truly concerned about justice then the one’s pointing fingers need to first be investigated.

The views expressed are the author’s own.

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