Attack shuts major Libyan oil ports, slashing production

JUNE 14, 2018

BENGHAZI, Libya/LONDON (Reuters) - The major Libyan oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider were closed and evacuated on Thursday after armed brigades opposed to the powerful eastern commander Khalifa Haftar stormed them, causing a production loss of 240,000 barrels per day (bpd).

At least one storage tank at Ras Lanuf terminal was set alight following the early morning attack, an engineer told Reuters. Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared force majeure on loadings from both terminals.

The clashes between forces loyal to Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and rival armed groups continued throughout the day south of Ras Lanuf, where the LNA was targeting its opponents with air strikes, local sources said.

Military sources said the LNA had withdrawn from both ports.

The LNA took control of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf along with other oil ports in Libya’s oil crescent in 2016, allowing them to reopen after a long blockade and significantly lifting Libya’s oil production.

More than half the storage tanks at both terminals were badly damaged in previous fighting and have yet to be repaired, though there have been regular loadings from Es Sider.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it had evacuated all staff from the two terminals “as a precautionary measure.” The immediate production loss was around 240,000 bpd and the entry of a tanker due at Es Sider on Thursday was postponed, it said.

NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said the output loss was expected to rise to 400,000 bpd if the shutdown continued, calling it a “national disaster” for oil-dependent Libya.

A military source said the three-pronged attack was launched by the Benghazi Defense Brigades (BDB), a group that has previously tried to take the oil crescent and advance on Benghazi, which has been fully controlled by Haftar since late last year.

The NOC blamed Ibrahim Jathran, who headed an armed group that blockaded oil crescent terminals for three years before being forced out by the LNA, and who appeared in a video posted on social media on Thursday announcing the start of a campaign.

“We announce the preparation of our ground forces and supporting forces in the oil region, and our objective is to overturn the injustice for our people over the past two years,” he said, standing in a camouflage jacket in an unidentified desert area.

“The past two years have been catastrophic for people in the oil crescent because of the presence of the system of injustice which is the other face of terrorism and extremism.”

BILLIONS LOST

The NOC says Jathran’s previous blockades cost Libya tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue. He is sought by judicial authorities in Tripoli for the blockades and attempts to export oil independently.

Repeated previous attempts by the LNA’s opponents to retake the oil crescent have failed, and it is unclear how much military and local, tribal support Jathran or BDB forces currently have.

However, the LNA, which is the dominant force in eastern Libya and rejects an internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, stirred some resentment with arrests when it moved into the oil crescent in 2016, and has recently been stretched thin.

Since last month it has been waging a campaign to take control of Derna, the last city in the east to elude its control.

France, which hosted an international summit last month to set a roadmap for elections in Libya, said it “condemned with the utmost firmness the offensive conducted today by extremist elements in the oil crescent”.

Thursday’s clashes were not affecting any oilfields, the military source said. The LNA had at least five men killed and around six wounded, he said.

A local resident said he had heard the sound of heavy clashes and air strikes at dawn and had seen a large fire at the Ras Lanuf tank farm.

Crude exports from Ras Lanuf stood at 110,000 bpd in May, while exports from Es Sider were around 300,000 bpd, according to oil analytics company Vortexa.

The Minerva Lisa oil tanker, which was due to arrive at Es Sider to load a crude cargo on Thursday, was advised to stay outside the port, a source familiar with the matter said.

The tanker, chartered by trader Petraco, was seen turning away from the port on Thursday morning without loading, according to Reuters ship tracking.

A second tanker, the Seascout, is expected to arrive at the port on June 18.

Libya’s oil production recovered last year to just over 1 million bpd and has been mostly stable, though it remains vulnerable to shutdowns and blockades at oil facilities.

National output is still well under the more than 1.6 million bpd Libya was producing before a 2011 uprising led to political fragmentation and armed conflict.

Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli, Ahmad Ghaddar, Aidan Lewis and John Irish; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Mark Potter, David Evans and Diane Craft

Source: Reuters.
Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-oil/attack-shuts-major-libyan-oil-ports-slashing-production-idUSKBN1JA23I.

Official warns of frenzied campaign against Algeria economy

June 19, 2018

The President of Algeria’s Agricultural Chamber in the El Oued Province, Bakar Hamid, said his country is experiencing a frantic propaganda campaign aimed at damaging the national economy.

The official made his remarks during an interview with local eChorouk newspaper after some countries returned agricultural products imported from Algeria.

Hamid explained that it is necessary to counter such campaigns with all available means so that Algeria can impose its presence in the global market to improve its economy.

He explained that none of the products exported from El-Oued province had been returned, adding, however, that one exporter has exported dates to 12 countries and none of them were returned.

Hamid added that Algeria applies international health standards and any product destined for export should be granted a health certificate in accordance with the agreement signed between the two countries.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180619-official-warns-of-frenzied-campaign-against-algeria-economy/.

Uzbekistan: Heavy flooding kills five in southeast

17.05.2018

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan

Heavy flooding has killed five people in Uzbekistan's southeast, country's Emergency Situations Ministry announced Thursday.

The ministry said floods triggered by torrential rains hit Qashqadaryo Region's Chirakchi district.

Relief efforts were underway in the region, it said.

Earlier this week, roads and up to 200 houses were damaged due to flooding in Qashqadaryo's Kitob district.

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/uzbekistan-heavy-flooding-kills-five-in-southeast-/1148821.

Qatar, Iraq sign security cooperation agreement

March 15, 2018

Qatar signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iraq to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) has reported.

The agreement aims to enhance security cooperation and exchanging information and experiences between Qatar and Iraq.

“The MoU between the Qatar and Iraq aims at further joint security cooperation and regulates the coordination process between the two countries, as well as the exchange of information and experience, as Iraq accumulates experience in the security field,” QNA quoted the country’s head of public security, Major General Saad Bin Jassim Al Khulaifi, as saying.

He further explained that it will cover all security-related areas, including training and exchange of information in the field of combating terrorism, money laundry, combating counterfeiting, organised crime, drugs and human trafficking as well as all security of ports and airports.

Praising the “close cooperation between the two countries in all fields,” Al Khulaifi noted that the two parties intend to form a joint committee of specialists to follow up and monitor the implementation of the MoU’s provisions.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180315-qatar-iraq-sign-security-cooperation-agreement/.

Hundreds protest plan to further restrict abortion in Poland

July 02, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of abortion-rights activists in Poland held a protest Monday against a proposed law that would ban abortions in cases involving irreparably damaged fetuses. The activists who assembled outside Poland's parliament chanted "We want choice, not terror" as a special commission of legislators reviewed the proposal.

The commission decided that the draft — proposed by a civic group — needed more work before it goes to the lower house of parliament for debate. Iza Nowak, 38, attended the protest with her 4-year-old son to demand the "right to live the way I want to live." Nowak said she had terminated a pregnancy with a deformed fetus.

"We are not here to campaign for abortions, but to demand the right to choice," she said. A small group of anti-abortion campaigners and Catholic nuns prayed in support of the proposal nearby. As part of a hard-won compromise in a predominantly Catholic nation, Poland allows abortions when a woman's life or health is threatened, when a pregnancy results from a crime, and when tests indicate a high probability of incurable disease or irreparable disability in a fetus. The draft would eliminate the third condition.

Opposition lawmaker Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus alleged the bill was timed to divert attention from a new law that is forcing Supreme Court judges in Poland to retire. The law has put Warsaw at odds with the European Union, which has triggered sanctioning procedures.

European Union moves against Poland for its new court law

July 02, 2018

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union opened another rule-of-law procedure Monday against Poland over what it sees as flaws in the country's Supreme Court law, intensifying a standoff that could threaten Poland's EU voting rights and funding.

The move comes a day before legislation takes effect that will force the early retirement of 27 of 72 justices of the Supreme Court, or more than a third of them. The law is the culmination of the ruling populist Law and Justice party's efforts to put Poland's entire court system under its control, a plan it began nearly three years ago. Party leaders claim they are reforming an inefficient and corrupt court system in the grip of an unaccountable caste of judges and insist their changes are in line with European standards.

Critics see the law on Poland's Supreme Court as the most dramatic step in the party's takeover of the courts, giving the ruling party the power to stack them with loyalists. One of the court's jobs is to verify election results, and critics say the new law marks a serious reversal for democracy.

In announcing its procedure, the European Commission, which polices EU law, said the measures "undermine the principle of judiciary independence." Since "there was no step from the Polish side to reverse them, we made the decision to launch the infringement procedure as a matter of urgency to defend the independence of the Polish judiciary," EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas said. 

Poland now has a month to respond, but if it does not reverse course, a future step would involve the Commission suing Poland at the EU Court of Justice. If Poland were to lose, it could face heavy fines.

Poland has insisted that how it organizes its judiciary is an internal matter that the EU has no right to interfere in. But EU officials have sharply disagreed, saying Poland willingly signed on to EU rules when it joined the community, and that the courts must be counted on to also uphold EU contracts and law.

Mass protests erupted in Poland last summer over new judicial laws, with many of the same Poles who opposed communism three decades ago taking to the streets. The domestic upheaval as well as concerns by the European Commission prompted authorities to concede to some changes, though the main thrust of the legislation has remained the same.

Government spokeswoman Joanna Kopcinska said Monday that the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is fulfilling its promise to voters to clean up a broken justice system — changes she said previous governments should have made but didn't.

"Maybe we would not have had this discussion (with the EU) had they been done earlier," Kopcinska said. On the eve of the changes, Supreme Court spokesman, judge Michal Laskowski, said it was not yet clear if the president would use his power to immediately force the retirement of the judges, including the court president Malgorzata Gersdorf. They have vowed to show up to work as usual.

"We can expect all sorts of reactions, from nothing happening in the coming days, to a lot happening, including the use of force," Laskowski said. The European Commission has also launched a separate procedure against Poland known as Article 7, which opens the way for possible sanctions and a suspension of voting rights. Hungary, however, has vowed to use its veto to prevent that step against Poland.

With few effective tools left, the EU earlier this year vowed to tie future subsidies to the rule of law, something that could cause Poland to lose some of its future funding — money that has helped fuel 14 years of fast economic development.

Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed.

Raging wildfire threatens moorlands in northern England

July 01, 2018

LONDON (AP) — Some 120 firefighters are trying to contain a wildfire that has been declared a "major incident" as it spreads in the moorlands of northern England. British fire officials said two large fires had merged because of high winds and extremely dry conditions as much of England is gripped by a heat wave. The fire is in the Winter Hill area, 220 miles (355 kilometers) northwest of London.

Lancashire fire officials said late Saturday that "we are dealing with a rapidly developing aggressive fire across all vegetation types, including woodlands." About two dozen fire engines are on the scene and steps are being taken to protect nearby properties. Officials are asking residents not to come to try to help because of the threat to public safety.

Austria takes over EU presidency with pledge for security

June 30, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Austria has taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union with a pledge to better secure the 28-nation bloc's external borders. At a ceremony Saturday outside the Alpine town of Schladming, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the six-month presidency is "an honor for us, but also a great responsibility."

Kurz says "we know that the international environment is difficult right now." Kurz came to power last year as the head of a right-wing coalition government with a pledge to restrict migration to Austria.

He supports setting up landing points for migrants outside the EU and strengthening the bloc's Frontex border agency. EU Council President Donald Tusk praised the Austrian motto for its presidency, "a Europe that protects."

US ambassador to Estonia resigns over Trump comments

June 30, 2018

HELSINKI (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Estonia has resigned over frustrations with President Donald Trump's comments about the European Union and his treatment of Washington's European allies. In a private Facebook message posted Friday, James D. Melville wrote: "For the President to say EU was 'set up to take advantage of the United States, to attack our piggy bank,' or that 'NATO is as bad as NAFTA' is not only factually wrong, but proves to me that it's time to go."

Melville was referring to Trump's recent comments at news conferences and on social media. Melville stressed that a U.S. foreign service officer's "DNA is programmed to support policy and we're schooled right from the start, that if there ever comes a point where one can no longer do so, particularly if one is in a position of leadership, the honorable course is to resign."

Melville is a senior U.S. career diplomat who has served as the American ambassador in the Baltic nation and NATO member of Estonia since 2015. He has served at U.S. Embassies in Berlin, London and Moscow, among other postings.

"Having served under six presidents and 11 secretaries of state, I never really thought it would reach that point for me," he wrote, referring to a career with the State Department that started in the mid-1980s.

The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that Melville "announced his intent to retire from the Foreign Service effective July 29 after 33 years of public service." It did not elaborate.

Foreign Policy magazine said Melville is one of the many senior U.S. diplomats who have resigned because of Trump's policies.

UN chief visits Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps

July 02, 2018

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Monday that the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape violence have been victims of one of the "most tragic stories" of the violation of human rights.

Guterres was visiting the sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district to meet some of the Rohingya who have taken shelter there since last August. He said at a news conference that the refugees had to live under terrible conditions in the camps because of massive violations of their human rights in Myanmar. He praised Bangladesh's government for being generous toward the refugees.

"It is impossible to visit these camps without breaking our hearts with the suffering of the Rohingya people," Guterres said. "First of all, listening to the terrible stories of massive violence — of killings, of rape, of torture, of house or villages burnt — it is probably one of the most tragic stories in relation to the systematic violation of human rights."

He said the solidarity the international community was demonstrating toward the crisis was not necessarily being translated into reality when it comes to funding. Guterres said he was particularly worried about the potential threats of flooding and mudslides because of monsoon rains and urged the international community to step up with funding.

"When I see the young boys and girls, I remember my own granddaughters and I imagine what it would be see my granddaughters living in these conditions," he said. On Sunday, Guterres met Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and assured her of the U.N.'s continuing support for the Rohingya.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi also visited the camps. "I am extremely humbled and moved by the courage of the Rohingya," Kim said. "We cannot turn our heads away. We stand in solidarity. ... Today we are all Rohingya."

Kim promised to continue to work with Bangladesh's government to support the refugees. Prior to Kim's visit to Bangladesh, the World Bank announced a $480 million grant to Bangladesh to address the needs of Rohingya, including health care, education, water, sanitation and social protection.

Maulana Salamat Ullah, a refugee, told The Associated Press that he talked to Guterres and shared his thoughts of going back home. "I told him we don't have our country, please help us take back our country. I am requesting the entire world to help get us our country back," he said.

"What would be our children's future? How will they get educated? We don't know what will happen," he said. The recent spasm of violence in Myanmar began when Rohingya insurgents staged a series of attacks on Aug. 25 on about 30 security outposts and other targets. In a subsequent crackdown described by U.N. and U.S. officials as "ethnic cleansing," Myanmar security forces have been accused of rape, killing, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have been killed.

Rohingya are denied citizenship in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar, where they've faced persecution for decades. They're derided as "Bengalis," and many in Myanmar believe they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement in November to start repatriating the Rohingya in January, but the process has been delayed over safety concerns and a complicated verification process. Global human rights groups and the U.N. said the conditions in Myanmar were not safe for the refugees' return.

The U.N. refugee agency and Bangladesh finalized a memorandum of understanding this year that said the repatriation process must be "safe, voluntary and dignified in line with international standards."

Philippine city mayor gunned down during flag-raising event

July 02, 2018

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine provincial city mayor known for parading drug suspects in public but also alleged to have drug ties himself was shot and killed Monday during a flag-raising ceremony in front of horrified employees.

Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan city in Batangas province south of Manila was shot by a still-unidentified attacker and died while being brought to a hospital, Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde said. The gunman escaped.

"They did not see anybody approach him. They just heard a gunshot so the assumption or allegation was it could have been a sniper shot," Albayalde said in a news conference, adding that an investigation was underway.

Dozens of employees and officials scrambled to safety when the gunfire rang out as they were singing the national anthem outside city hall. The bullet hit a cellphone in Halili's coat pocket then pierced his chest, police said.

Police were scouring a nearby elevated grassy area, where the gunman may have fired the shot. Halili became controversial two years ago when he ordered drug suspects to be paraded in public in Tanauan, a small city about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Manila, in a campaign that was dubbed "walks of shame." The suspects were forced to wear cardboard signs that read "I'm a pusher, don't emulate me" in a campaign that alarmed human rights officials.

Police officials, however, also linked Halili to illegal drugs, an allegation he strongly denied. He said at the time that he would resign and would be willing to be publicly paraded as a drug suspect if police could come up with evidence to support the allegation.

Albayalde said investigators would try to determine if the killing was connected to Halili's anti-drug campaign. Halili's unusual campaign drew attention at a time of growing alarm over the rising number of killings of drug suspects under President Rodrigo Duterte. Since Duterte took office in 2016, more than 4,200 drug suspects had been killed in clashes with police, alarming human rights groups, Western governments and U.N. rights watchdogs.

Human rights groups have reported much higher death tolls, although Duterte and his officials have questioned the accuracy of those reports. They said the suspects died because they opened fire and sparked gunbattles with authorities although human rights groups have accused police of extrajudicial killings.

Halili's killing came a few weeks after a Catholic priest was shot and killed while preparing to celebrate Mass in a village chapel in northern Nueva Ecija province. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief, urged the police to impose stricter firearms control in light of the killings.

"The killing of priests, prosecutors, and former and incumbent local officials in broad daylight and in full view of the public may be suggestive of the impunity and brazenness of those responsible for such acts," Lacson said.

"The Philippine National Police should feel challenged, if not taunted," he said. "And they must immediately consider stricter firearms control strategies before similar killings could reach ubiquitous levels."

FIFA World Cup last 16 fever to start this weekend

29.06.2018

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Round 16 will kick-off on Saturday with two matches.

France will meet Argentina in Kazan, the showdown will start at 1400 GMT.

Known as "Les Bleus" (The Blues), France emerged as winners in Group C; they remained unbeaten in the group where they faced Denmark, Peru and Australia.

Their opponents in the last 16, Argentina, have advanced to Round 16 after beating Nigeria 2-1 in a thrilling match at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo emerged in the 86th minute as the unlikely hero for Argentina to strike a volley to the cross from the right.

Known as "La Albiceleste" (The White and Sky-Blues) Argentina finished Group D at second place.

In the other match of the day, Uruguay and Portugal will fight for quarter final ticket in Sochi.

Uruguay defeated Russia, 3-0, in the World Cup Monday to claim the to position in Group A with nine points.

The South American team paired with Group B runners-up Portugal in the last 16 phase.

Portugal barely advanced to Round 16. In the last Group B match, Portugal drew 1-1 against Iran at Mordovia Arena.

Led by world famous star Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese managed to come second in Group B as they struggled to have a 1-1 draw against Iran. The result gave the last 16 ticket to the Portuguese.

Portugal is right after leaders Spain in the group. After final matches both teams have five points. In the group standings Portugal were only one goal behind Spain. Iran, which ended Group B in third place, bagged four points, narrowly missing the last 16 spot.

In the last 16 phase, there are 10 European teams: Portugal, France, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and England.

Five teams are from Latin America such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Colombia, and there's only one team from Asia, Japan.

- Round 16 fixtures:

- June 30

France - Argentina at 1400GMT

Uruguay - Portugal at 1800GMT

- July 1

Spain - Russia at 1400GMT

Croatia - Denmark at 1800GMT

- July 2

Brazil - Mexico at 1400GMT

Belgium - Japan at 1800GMT

- July 3

Sweden - Switzerland at 1400GMT

Colombia - England at 1800GMT

*Last 16 winners will qualify for the quarter finals in World Cup

Source: Anadolu Agency.
Link: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/sports/fifa-world-cup-last-16-fever-to-start-this-weekend/1190855.

Russian talks with rebels over south Syria collapse

June 30, 2018

BEIRUT (AP) — Negotiations between the Russians and Syrian rebels to end days of violence in the country's south collapsed Saturday after opposition forces rejected surrender conditions proposed by Moscow, a rebel spokesman and a war monitor said.

Shortly after the collapse of negotiations over southern Syria, airstrikes intensified on rebel-held parts of Daraa province that borders Jordan. Saturday's talks came on the heels of similar negotiations which took place Friday, in which the Russians tabled their conditions to halt a Russian-backed government offensive to capture rebel-held areas along the borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"The talks collapsed because the Russians insisted on their conditions that want us to surrender," said rebel spokesman Ibrahim Jabawi. "The (rebels') negotiating team refused to surrender and refused to accept the Russian conditions."

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, also confirmed that the talks collapsed adding that shortly afterward Syrian and Russian warplanes intensified their airstrikes.

Syrian state media said earlier Saturday that more areas in Daraa province had been captured and in others rebels had agreed to hand over their weapons and reconcile with the government. The government offensive that began June 19 has killed scores of people, wounded hundreds of others and forced more than 50,000 to flee to areas close to the borders with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Jabawi, spokesman for the rebels' joint operations room, said the insurgents set up a delegation that met with Russian officials Friday and again Saturday. He added that there are currently more efforts to hold a new round of talks to avoid further violence.

Jabawi told The Associated Press that Russia, a strong ally of President Bashar Assad's government, wants the rebels to hand over their weapons followed by a return of government forces to rebel-held areas.

Speaking by telephone from Jordan Jabawi said that the meetings with the Russians took place in an area near where the provinces of Daraa and Sweida meet. "The Russian conditions are that rebels hand over everything and in return all areas will come under Bashar Assad's control," Jabawi said. "All people who carried arms will be put on trial."

Jabawi had said earlier Saturday that the Russian conditions "cannot be accepted" adding that to pressure the rebels, intense airstrikes have been targeting southern villages and towns that have until now largely evaded the violence of Syria's seven-year conflict.

The Observatory said the negotiations between rebels and the Russians were aimed to find "a full solution" for the future of Daraa. It said negotiations aimed to reach a cease-fire as well as have rebels hand over their heavy weapons then later their light weapons. It added that in return for Russian guarantees, the rebels would hand over the Naseeb border crossing with Jordan and return state institutions to rebel-held areas in the south.

The Russians would also compile lists of rebels' names to work on securing them amnesty with the Syrian government. The Observatory said that since the offensive began 11 days ago, 116 civilians have been killed including five on Saturday.

Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said Amman is communicating with most of the parties to the Syrian crisis, mainly Russia and the U.S., in an attempt to reach a cease-fire. "Jordan insists on its position that a political solution must end the Syrian crisis and it deals with relief organizations to help the displaced inside Syria," she said late Friday.

Associated Press writer Akram Fares in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.

Iran president arrives in Switzerland, nuclear deal in mind

July 02, 2018

ZURICH (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Switzerland for talks expected to focus on salvaging progress from the Iran nuclear deal after the Trump administration's walkout. Rouhani on Monday began a two-day visit to the neutral Alpine nation, starting in Zurich before heading to Bern, the capital, for deal-signings, talks and a news conference on Tuesday.

Since 1980, shortly after Iran's Islamic Revolution, Switzerland has held the "protecting power mandate" on behalf of the United States in Iran. It recently became an intermediary between Iran and regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Rouhani is leaving Iran just as protests have erupted in the country's south, and Trump said he got Saudi Arabia to agree to increasing oil production — which could lower the price of oil, possibly impacting Iran's economy.

Gunfire, clashes amid Iran protests over water scarcity

July 01, 2018

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Gunfire erupted as Iranian security forces confronted protesters early Sunday amid demonstrations over water scarcity in the country's south, violence that authorities said wounded at least 11 people, mostly police.

The protests around Khorramshahr, some 650 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Tehran, come as residents of the predominantly Arab city near the border with Iraq complain of salty, muddy water coming out of their taps amid a yearslong drought.

The unrest there only compounds the wider unease felt across Iran as it faces an economic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

Protests began in Khorramshahr, Abadan and other areas of Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan province on Friday. The demonstrations initially were peaceful, with protesters chanting in both Arabic and Farsi. But late Saturday and into early Sunday morning, protesters began throwing stones and confronting security forces in Khorramshahr, according to widely shared online videos. State television aired images of rocks and broken glass covering sidewalks, as well as smashed ATMs. Women and children fled as gunfire echoed.

Heavy machine gun fire could be heard in one video showing demonstrators dragging away a man who couldn't walk. Another video appeared to show a man carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle on the back of a motorcycle near protesters.

State TV reported Sunday afternoon that "peace had returned" to Khorramshahr and an unspecified number of protesters had been arrested. It said some demonstrators carried firearms during the unrest. It's unclear what sparked the violence. Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told journalists Sunday there had been no deaths. A deputy to Fazli later said the violence wounded one civilian and 10 police officers, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

"Such protests are directed by the propaganda of opportunists from places and people that are recognized by us as foes," Fazli said. "You observe how they are fueling such incidents in the foreign media and in the cyberspace these days."

Khorramshahr and the wider Khuzestan province have seen pipeline bombings by Arab separatists in the past. Tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed in the province during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

Exacerbating that unrest is the drought. The Iran Meteorological Organization estimates 97 percent of the country faced some form of drought. Analysts also blame government mismanagement for diverting water away from some farmers in favor of others.

"Although Iran has a history of drought, over the last decade, Iran has experienced its most prolonged, extensive and severe drought in over 30 years," said a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, a United Nations agency.

Some 230 people were poisoned in Khuzestan province after a 20-hour water outage in Ramhormoz county led to drinking water not being chlorinated, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday. The protests did not appear to be linked to the poisoning.

The protests overnight came after three days of demonstrations last week in Tehran, including protesters confronting police outside parliament and officers firing tear gas at the demonstrators. The rallies led to the temporary closure of the city's Grand Bazaar.

The anger is fueled by the Iranian rial plunging to 90,000 to the dollar — double the government rate of 42,000 — as people watch their savings dwindle and shopkeepers hold onto some goods, uncertain of their true value.

Similar economic protests roiled Iran and spread to some 75 cities and towns at the end of last year, becoming the largest demonstrations in the country since the months-long rallies following the 2009 disputed presidential election. At least 25 people were killed and nearly 5,000 arrested during the protests in late December and early January, which took place largely in Iran's provinces rather than the capital.

The economic crisis has been fueled by Trump's May 8 decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal and restore sanctions. International firms that made billion-dollar deals with Iran largely have pulled out of them, while the U.S. now is demanding its allies stop buying Iranian oil.

Iran's first Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Sunday mocked the U.S. for "begging the Saudis" to increase oil production to drive down rising global oil prices. Trump claimed Saturday that Saudi Arabia might increase its production by some 2 million barrels of oil a day after a call with King Salman. Saudi Arabia later acknowledged the call, but did not mention Trump's 2-million-barrel claim.

"If any country attempts to take Iran's place in the oil market in this battle, we will consider it a big treachery to the Iranian nation and the world community and they will surely pay for this betrayal someday," Jahangiri said, without elaborating.