Deal with Sweden, Finland over NATO membership sees Turkey's Erdogan hailed at home

June 29, 2022

Andrew Wilks

ISTANBUL — The deal allowing Sweden and Finland to progress with their NATO bids was portrayed as an overwhelming victory for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, with the Nordic states reported to have agreed to Ankara's demands. 

“Turkey got what it wanted,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement following an agreement at the NATO summit in Madrid.

The sentiment within Turkey’s pro-government media was summed up by a photograph carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency. A grinning Erdogan was shown standing at the NATO podium, flanked by the leaders of Sweden and Finland and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who seemed to be gazing in gratitude at the president.

Tuesday’s breakthrough came after weeks when Ankara appeared ready to scupper the alliance’s northern expansion over calls for Stockholm and Helsinki to tighten their approach to terrorism and drop restrictions on arms sales to Turkey.

Turkey said that Sweden in particular had been harboring militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been waging war against Turkey since 1984, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.

It also claims members of what it considers terrorist groups, such as those said to be behind a 2016 coup attempt and the PKK’s Syrian branch, are sheltering in Sweden.

The statement from the Turkish presidency said the agreement would entail “full cooperation with Turkey in the fight against the PKK and its affiliates.”

Elsewhere in the Turkish media, which is largely controlled by Erdogan’s supporters in the business world, the daily Yeni Akit heralded the deal. “Two strongholds of terrorism fall in Europe,” it said.

The Sabah newspaper reported on Erdogan’s “Madrid victory” and praised his “decisiveness and leadership vision” to successfully have Ankara’s demands accepted. Another government-friendly newspaper, Aksam, said the deal incorporated guarantees for Turkey in monitoring the activities of PKK supporters in Sweden and Finland.

The agreement — signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey, Sweden and Finland — also said the Nordic states would “expeditiously and thoroughly” address Turkish extradition requests in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition.

Turkey’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Wednesday that Turkey would renew requests to Sweden and Finland for the extradition of 33 individuals it considers terrorists.

“The dossiers of six PKK members, six FETO members await in Finland, while those of 10 FETO members and 11 PKK members await in Sweden. We will write about their extradition again after the agreement and remind them,” Bozdag said.

FETO, or the Fethullah Terrorist Organization, is the label Ankara applies to the religious sect it holds responsible for the 2016 failed coup. The movement’s leader, US-based Fethullah Gulen, has denied involvement in the bid to overthrow Erdogan.

In parliament, Erdogan’s ultranationalist partner Devlet Bahceli, who last month said NATO expansion would “drag the world into a new fire,” welcomed the Madrid deal as a “national achievement.”

Addressing his Nationalist Action Party (MHP) lawmakers, Bahceli added, “On this occasion, I wholeheartedly congratulate Mr. President, our minister of foreign affairs and all our diplomats, and thank each of them individually.”

Opposition politicians were more critical of the deal, questioning whether promises made by the Nordic countries could be enforced after they enter NATO and Turkey no longer has any leverage.

“This signature that the government gave without any concrete developments from Sweden and Finland is, unfortunately, a compromise that is not in line with the interests of our country,” said Meral Aksener, head of the nationalist Iyi Party.

Addressing his words to Erdogan, Iyi Party lawmaker Muhammet Naci Cinisli added, “Please do not demean the value of Turkey’s word every time. It’s a disgrace, it’s a sin, it’s a pity.”

Engin Altay, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of the Republican People’s Party, questioned whether any further agreement was made behind the scenes. “What promises were made? What commitments were made? We do not know,” he said.

Many commentators viewed the meeting between Erdogan and US President Joe Biden in Madrid on Wednesday as part of the deal to approve Sweden and Finland’s NATO application, although the White House denied any link.

Erdogan is expected to press Biden to sell Turkey 40 new F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing F-16 fleet, a request Ankara initially made in October.

“Erdogan, by this decision, again showed his pragmatism and ability always to do 180s when required,” said Timothy Ash, an economist at BlueBay Asset Management who focuses on Turkey.

“He negotiated hard, right up to the last minute, and got real wins with assurances from the [Swedes and Finns] on the Kurdish issue and from the US on F16s. … He comes back in from the cold with the West.”

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/06/deal-sweden-finland-over-nato-membership-sees-turkeys-erdogan-hailed-home.

Sweden, Finland on Course to Join NATO as Russia, China Focus Allies

Wednesday, 29 June, 2022

Sweden and Finland on Wednesday looked set for fast-track membership of NATO after Turkey lifted a veto on them joining, while concerns about Russia and China are pushing the US-led alliance to approve a broader strategy for the next decade.

After talks in Madrid, Turkish President Tayyip Edrogan on Tuesday agreed with his Finnish and Swedish counterparts a series of security measures to allow the two Nordic countries to progress in their bid to join the US-led alliance.

"We will make a decision at the summit to invite Sweden and Finland to become members," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said of the two countries, who overturned decades of neutrality to apply to join the alliance in mid-May.

While the agreement removed a major hurdle to the Nordic nations joining, their bid must now be approved by the member states' parliaments, a process that could take some time.

Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has given a new impetus to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after failures in Afghanistan and internal discord during the era of former US President Donald Trump.

"We are very happy that they are to join NATO and we hope that the final decision will be today," Polish President Andrzej Duda said as he arrived at the first formal day of the summit, which began on Tuesday evening with a dinner at Spain's royal palace and is set to agree on NATO's first new strategic concept - its master planning document - in a decade.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the host of the summit, told Cadena Ser radio on Wednesday that Russia will be identified as NATO's "main threat" in the strategic concept. Russia was previously classed as a strategic partner of NATO.

The planning document will also cite China as a challenge for the first time, setting the stage for the 30 allies to plan to handle Beijing's transformation from a benign trading partner to a fast-growing competitor from the Arctic to cyberspace.

'More NATO'

Unlike Russia, whose war in Ukraine has raised serious concerns in the Baltics of an attack on NATO territory, China is not an adversary, NATO leaders said. But Stoltenberg has repeatedly called on Beijing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow says is a "special operation".

The Western alliance is also set to agree that big allies such as the United States, Germany, Britain and Canada will pre-assign troops, weapons and equipment to the Baltics and intensify training exercises. NATO is also aiming to have as many as 300,000 troops ready for deployment in case of conflict, part of an enlarged NATO response force.

For NATO, Russia is achieving the opposite of what its President Vladimir Putin sought when he launched his war in Ukraine in part to counter the expansion of the NATO alliance, Western leaders say.

Both Finland, which has a 1,300 km (810 mile) border with Russia, and Sweden, home of the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize, are now set to bring well-trained militaries into the alliance, aimed at giving NATO superiority in the Baltic Sea.

"One of the most important messages from President Putin ... was that he was against any further NATO enlargement," Stoltenberg said on Tuesday evening. "He wanted less NATO. Now President Putin is getting more NATO on his borders."

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3730526/sweden-finland-course-join-nato-russia-china-focus-allies.

Turkey lifts objection to Sweden, Finland joining NATO at last minute

June 28, 2022

Nazlan Ertan

After a day of phone diplomacy, conflicting statements, and last-minute political posturing, Turkey has given the nod to NATO hopefuls Sweden and Finland after signing a trilateral memorandum that addressed Ankara’s security concerns.

The memorandum, signed by the three countries' foreign ministers,  comes after an eleventh-hour meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Swedish Premier Magdalena Andersson, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before the official dinner marking the beginning of Madrid Summit of June 28-30.  

“I am pleased to announce that we have an agreement that paves the way for the accession of Sweden and Finland,” Stoltenberg told a press conference, explaining that Finland and Sweden have agreed to Turkey’s demands for amending their laws further to crack down on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), work with Turkey on extraditions of people on Turkey’s wanted list and lift military embargoes on Ankara.

The Turkish reversal came after a phone conversation between Erdogan and US President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning. A US administration official told journalists in Madrid that the phone call came after Helsinki and Stockholm asked Biden to reach out to Erdogan.

The trilateral memorandum, a three-page, ten-point document, said that the two Nordic countries would extend their full support to Turkey on threats against national security. It explicitly stated that the two countries would not support YPG/PYD (Syrian Kurdish groups which Turkey considers offshoots of the PKK in Syria) or FETO, the organization headed by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen which Ankara says directed the unsuccessful putsch in 2016.

Turkey’s green light to Finland and Sweden, two countries that have shed their long-standing neutrality, clears the way for NATO’s 30 members from Europe and North America to sign the accession protocol. Stoltenberg said that the accession protocol still needed to be ratified by members’ parliaments, but he was confident this would not be a problem.

Shortly before the signing of the memorandum, Turkey announced that bilateral talks between Turkey and Sweden would take place in Ankara tomorrow at the deputy foreign minister level. “During the consultations, bilateral relations will be discussed extensively along with Turkey-EU relations, and current regional and international issues,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said. 

There had been conflicting messages before the mini-summit. Both Finland and Sweden expressed optimism following their top bureaucrats' talks in Brussels a day ago. "The general view is that the discussions went somewhat better, which should mean that understanding has somewhat increased on both sides," Niinisto told reporters in Helsinki before heading to Madrid. 

Niinisto’s optimism marked a sharp contrast from Erdogan, who remained inflexible as he boarded his plane Tuesday morning. “We emphasize our expectation since the beginning that the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK], which threaten Turkey’s national interests, and all offshoots in Syria, especially the PYD and YPG, should be prevented from acting freely in these countries,” he told journalists. “We do not want empty words, we want results. We are sick of passing the ball around in mid-field.”

But, as of Tuesday morning, the main prize for Erdogan was the phone conversation — and the promise of a meeting in Madrid — with US President Joe Biden, who had pointedly kept a chilly relationship with his Turkish counterpart. Both diplomats and journalists felt that the intervention from the United States, whom Erdogan called the “Number One country of NATO” could help break the impasse. 

“President Biden noted he looks forward to seeing President Erdogan at the NATO Summit in Madrid where leaders will discuss the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for Transatlantic security and other threats to the Alliance such as terrorism, as well as take historic decisions to strengthen the Alliance’s collective defense and security,” a statement from the White House said.

"We spoke with Mr.Biden this morning, and he expressed his desire to get together tonight or tomorrow,” Erdogan told journalists as he left Turkey for the NATO summit Tuesday morning. “We said it is possible.” Erdogan is expected to meet Biden tomorrow morning, according to Turkish officials.

Turkey’s looming veto to Nordic enlargement came as the military alliance is set to adopt its 2022 Strategic Concept, which will guide it through the 2030s. The concept will set out NATO's joint positions, including on Russia and emerging challenges, and for the first time, it will also address China. 

But for Erdogan, the Madrid Summit and the Nordic enlargement were also the moment to air his country’s grievances on the PKK and the US-backed armed Kurdish groups in Syria. Despite early claims that he would be persuaded well ahead of the summit, the Turkish president has been intransigent until the last. 

“Erdogan’s intransigence is widely attributed to domestic political considerations, including a desperate need to divert attention from the dire state of Turkey’s economy as well as boosting his sagging poll ratings by playing to rampant nationalist and anti-Western feelings," Kemal Kirisci, a non-resident senior fellow of Brookings Institute, wrote a day before the summit. Another factor, he said, is Erdoğan’s own discomfort with Turkey’s Western orientation, symbolized by its membership in NATO as well as in the Council of Europe. 

Erdogan — and his foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu — mostly targeted Sweden, which has a sizable Kurdish community, few but vocal PKK members and sympathizers, and liberal laws on freedom of association and fund-raising. But Erdogan repeated Tuesday that Germany, the Netherlands and Greece had also been harboring terrorist groups against Turkey. He also criticized the United States for sending arms to Syrian groups and for opening nine military bases in Greece.

“The United States is the number one country of NATO. Truckloads of weapons came from the US. This morning, we had a talk with [Biden] but I will reiterate these to him during our meeting this evening or tomorrow. How come all these weapons are dispatched to the PKK/YPG while we are two partner countries within NATO that stand shoulder to shoulder,” he said. “Against whom are these weapons used? They are used against Turkey.”

Given Erdogan’s stance, the diplomatic efforts of Stoltenberg and other NATO allies such as the United Kingdom have been two-pronged. One pillar was trying to assure Turkey that Finland and Sweden have “sufficiently” met Turkey’s long list of demands.

The other, which is more complex, was to persuade Turkey that not just Finland and Sweden, but all NATO allies recognize the legitimacy of Turkey’s security concerns. As a concession, a special session on the security of the southern flank was added to the program of the Madrid Summit. The Turkish side is expected to bring documents, information, and images to this session. Erdogan said that he would express Turkey’s concerns and individual acts by allies, including by France and the United States, “one by one.” 

On Monday, Stoltenberg and Andersson spoke at NATO headquarters to laud what Stoltenberg called a “paradigm shift” in Sweden’s attitude toward terrorism.

“You have already amended Swedish law. You have launched new police investigations against the PKK, and you are currently looking at Turkish extradition requests. These concrete steps represent a paradigm shift in Sweden’s approach to terrorism in a more dangerous and unpredictable world,” Stoltenberg told journalists with Andersson on his side.

Andersson maintained that Sweden has strengthened the laws against funding terrorism in the last few years. “Sweden’s terrorist legislation is undergoing its biggest overhaul in 30 years. A new and tougher Terrorist Offences Act enters into force on 1 July, with a broadened scope and higher scales of penalties. Constitutional amendments are being prepared which would pave the way for criminalization of participation in terrorist organizations,” she said.

Andersson also stated that her country’s stance regarding the PKK is crystal clear. “It is listed as a terror organization in the EU and is regarded as one by Sweden,” she said.

The Swedish prime minister sought to alleviate Turkey’s concerns about defense embargos and extraditions. “Our NATO membership will have implications with respect to export control of defense material to all NATO Allies. Alliance solidarity will be reflected within our national regulatory framework,” she said. 

Extraditions, she said, “are handled swiftly and carefully by our legal system in accordance with European Convention on Extradition. … The relevant authorities work intensively in order to expel persons who could be a security threat.”

The local media reported a day ago that Turkey has asked for the extradition of 45 people from Sweden and Finland. These are not only members of the PKK but also members of FETO, and from two left-wing groups, TIKKO and DHKP-C.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/06/turkey-lifts-objection-sweden-finland-joining-nato-last-minute.

NATO to Massively Increase High-readiness Forces to 300,000

Monday, 27 June, 2022

NATO will increase the number of its forces at high readiness massively to over 300,000, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

"We will transform the NATO response force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000," he told reporters ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid later this week in Madrid.

NATO's quick reaction force, the NATO response force, so far has some 40,000 troops.

At the Madrid summit, NATO will also change its language on Russia that in the alliance's last strategy from 2010 was still described as a strategic partner.

"That will not be the case in the strategic concept that we will agree in Madrid," Reuters quoted Stoltenberg as saying.

"I expect that allies will state clearly that Russia poses a direct threat to our security, to our values, to the rules-based international order."

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3726906/nato-massively-increase-high-readiness-forces-300000.

Finland, Sweden to Send Teams to Turkey to Discuss NATO Bids, Haavisto Says

Tuesday, 24 May, 2022

Finland and Sweden will send delegations to Ankara on Wednesday to try to resolve Turkish opposition to their applications for membership of the NATO military alliance, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday.

"We are sending our delegations to visit Ankara, actually both Sweden and Finland. This will happen tomorrow, so the dialogue is continuing," Haavisto said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, held phone calls with the leaders of the two Nordic countries on Saturday and discussed his concerns.

Turkey says Sweden and Finland harbor people linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.

"We understand that Turkey has some of their own security concerns vis a vis terrorism ... We think that these issues can be settled. There might be also some issues that are not linked directly to Finland and Sweden but more to other NATO members," Haavisto said.

Erdogan told Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Saturday that Ankara expected concrete steps to address its concerns, according to the Turkish presidency. He also said an arms exports embargo imposed on Turkey after its Syria incursion in 2019 should be lifted, it added.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Saturday he had held "open and direct" talks on the phone with Erdogan.

"I stated that as NATO allies Finland and Turkey will commit to each other's security and our relationship will thus grow stronger," Niinisto tweeted after the call.

Erdogan spoke also with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday, telling him that Ankara would not look positively on Sweden and Finland's NATO bids unless they clearly show cooperation in the fight against terrorism and other issues.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3663201/finland-sweden-send-teams-turkey-discuss-nato-bids-haavisto-says.

Activists: Iranian Forces Unleash Heavy Fire on Protesters

Monday, 21 November, 2022

Iranian security forces used heavy gunfire against protesters in a Kurdish town in the country's west on Monday, killing at least five during an anti-government protest that erupted at the funeral of two people killed the day before, activists said.

Videos circulating online show dozens of protesters taking shelter in alleyways as heavy gunfire echoes through the streets. Some show individuals lying motionless and bloodied in the streets, while others show residents gathering at a local hospital to donate blood.

Iran has been convulsed by anti-government protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in the custody of the country's morality police in the capital, Tehran. The protests, which were initially concentrated in the western, Kurdish region of Iran where Amini was from, have spread across the country and escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran's ruling clerics.

Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights group, said Iranian security forces unleashed heavy gunfire on protesters in the town of Javanrud, where a funeral was held for two protesters killed the day before. It cited witnesses as saying that Iranian forces used heavy machine guns.

Hengaw said seven people were killed on Monday, while another group, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, put the toll at five. The latter group said many of the wounded were being treated in homes because of fears they could be arrested from hospitals, making it difficult to confirm the toll. It said several were shot in the head or chest.

Iranian authorities heavily restrict media coverage of the protests and have periodically shut off internet access, making it difficult to confirm details of the unrest.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported protests in Javanrud on Sunday night, saying security forces were fired upon with live ammunition. It said two people were killed and four wounded. There were no immediate reports in state-linked media about the violence on Monday.

Funerals have often been the scene of renewed protests in recent weeks, as they were during the 1979 revolution that brought the clerics to power. The latest demonstrations mark the biggest challenge to the theocracy in over a decade.

At least 426 people have been killed and more than 17,400 arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest. It says at least 55 members of the security forces have been killed.

Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a lawmaker representing the Kurdish city of Mahabad, told the Etemad daily that 11 people have been killed during protests in the city since late October, many of them in recent days. He said some members of the security forces fired upon homes and businesses on Saturday, and he called on authorities to adopt a softer touch.

The unrest cast a shadow over the World Cup on Monday, where the Iranian national team faced off against England. Iran's players did not sing along to their national anthem, and some fans chanted Amini's name at the 22nd minute of the match.

The violence has also spilled across the border into neighboring Iraq's northern Kurdish region. Iran has blamed the unrest at home in part on Kurdish groups based in Iraq, and has targeted them with missile and drone attacks.

Iran said Monday that its latest strikes were necessary to protect the country's borders, while Kurdish officials condemned the attacks as unprovoked aggression. Iraq's central government, which is dominated by parties close to Iran, also condemned the strikes.

A strike late Sunday killed a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official in the Kurdish Iranian group living in exile in Iraq.

The group said Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and drones hit its bases and adjacent refugee camps in Koya and Jejnikan. The group also asserted that the strikes had hit a hospital in Koya.

The Iranian strikes come in the wake of a visit to Baghdad last week by Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force.

Some Kurdish groups have been engaged in a low-intensity conflict with Tehran since the 1979 revolution. Iran accuses them of inciting protests in Iran and smuggling weapons into the country, allegations the Kurdish groups have denied. Iran has not provided evidence to back up the claims.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters that Iran had acted to “protect its borders and security of its citizens based on its legal rights.” He alleged that the government in Baghdad and the Erbil-based administration of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region had failed to implement purported commitments to prevent threats against Iran from Iraqi areas.

The government of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq condemned the strikes as a “gross infringement of international law and neighborly relations.”

Qaderi told The Associated Press the Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq support the protests in Iran, which he described as a reaction to “the policies of this regime” he said oppresses its people. He denied that his group has sent fighters or weapons to Iran.

He said that his group had moved fighters away from the border to avoid giving Iran an “excuse” for further attacks. He called on the international community to prevent further aggression by Iran.

The United States condemned the latest Iranian strikes. “Such indiscriminate and illegal attacks place civilians at risk, violate Iraqi sovereignty, and jeopardize the hard-fought security and stability of Iraq and the Middle East," Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, who heads US Central Command, said in a statement.

Sunday's Iranian strikes in northern Iraq come a day after Türkiye launched deadly airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for last week’s bomb attack in Istanbul.

On Monday, Turkish officials said suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired rockets into the border town of Karkamis in Türkiye, killing two people, including a teacher and a 5-year-old boy.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4000011/activists-iranian-forces-unleash-heavy-fire-protesters%C2%A0.

Iran says average age of arrested protesters is 15

October 5, 2022

According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the latest protests in Iran are being attended by some of the youngest age groups ever to attend protests in the country.

Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the IRGC, said today that the average age of the arrests from the protests is 15. He claimed these youths are being encouraged by social media and foreign media to “sacrifice themselves” in the protests. Fadavi did not go into details, but the number is not necessarily shocking. Looking at images of protests in Iran, especially at schools, one can see a predominance of young girls — many not even college-age. 

Among the young women to take part in the protests was 17-year-old Nika Shakarami. She protested against the mandatory hijab and went missing on Sept. 20. According to various opposition sources, she was later buried in a city outside of her hometown. According to social media users, Shakarami was being chased by the police before her death.

According to Iranian media, Shakarami was found lifeless in someone’s front yard. The cause of death was falling from a rooftop, according to official reports. Iranian media said that eight men have been detained for questioning over her death, but there are no further details at this time. 

Iran's leadership continues to paint these protests as a foreign plot. President Ebrahim Raisi expressed support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s first comments on the protests, placing the blame on the United States and Israel. Raisi said, “During his speech, the leader presented a complete analysis of the latest events and seditions against the country and the revolution, which were understandable for everyone.” Khamenei said that the United States and Israel are provoking and instigating the protests due to Iran’s progress, and they are unrelated to the mandatory hijab issue.

The protests started over two weeks ago when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained by the country’s morality police for violating hijab laws. Amini later fell into a coma at the detention center and died shortly thereafter. Her death caused outrage not only because of the loss of a young life, but because it was during the enforcement of a very unpopular law at the hands of a notorious police unit that is equally unpopular in Iran. 

Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei spoke today about Amini’s death. He said that all the events that took place occurred within one hour. After Amini was transferred to the detention center, the video shows her walking back and forth and talking to other individuals. Then she suddenly collapsed and was transferred to a hospital. Iranian authorities have released video, but regardless of the details, the anger stems from the fact that she was detained to begin with.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/10/iran-says-average-age-arrested-protesters-15.

Iran's Militias Transport Deir Ezzor Wheat to Iraq for Higher Profit

Monday, 1 August, 2022

The security branches of the Syrian regime have seized large quantities of wheat stored by farmers, and others working in the grain trade, in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, while sources confirmed that large parts of the crops would be transported to Iraq, where Iranian militias sell them at higher prices.

Sources quoted by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the security officers confiscated more than 80 tons of wheat owned by more than 10 farmers in the area, because of their refusal to hand over the crop to the Euphrates Center.

The security branches and consumer protection committees also imposed fines on violators amounting to about 500 million Syrian pounds.

The Iranian militias, with the facilitation of the security branches, harvested agricultural crops from the lands they seized, in preparation for transferring them to Iraq to sell them at a higher price. Those lands are usually owned by families, who fled the area during the control of militias in 2017.

In order to tighten control over sales operations, close all outlets to farmers and prevent the exit of crops to other Syrian governorates, the militias prevent farmers from selling their produce in the free market.

SOHR reported that farmers who objected these measures were subjected to arrest and threats.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3791896/iran%E2%80%99s-militias-transport-deir-ezzor-wheat-iraq-higher-profit.

IHR: Iran Executes Three Women In Single Day

Saturday, 30 July, 2022

Iran this week executed three women in the space of a single day, all on charges of murdering their husbands, an NGO said on Friday.

There has been growing concern over the increasing number of women being hanged in Iran as the country sees a surge in executions.

Many killed husbands who were abusive or they married as child brides or even relatives, AFP reported activists as saying,

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said that on July 27 three women were executed in different prisons for murdering their husbands in separate cases, meaning at least 10 women have now been executed by Iran in 2022.

Senobar Jalali, an Afghan national, was executed in a prison outside Tehran, it said.

Meanwhile Soheila Abedi, who had married her husband when aged just 15, was hanged in a prison in the city of Sanandaj in western Iran.

She had committed the murder 10 years after their marriage and was convicted in 2015, IHR said.

Faranak Beheshti, who had been convicted around five years ago for the murder of her husband, was executed in the prison in the northwestern city of Urmia, it said.

Activists argue that Iran's laws are stacked against women, who do not have the right to unilaterally demand a divorce, even in cases of domestic violence and abuse.

A report by IHR published in October last year said that at least 164 women were executed between 2010 and October 2021.

But activists are alarmed by a surge in executions in Iran this year, coinciding with the rise of former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi to the presidency in 2021 and protests over an economic crisis.

At least 306 people have been executed so far in Iran in 2022, according to a count by IHR.

Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and London-based Amnesty International said Wednesday that Iran is carrying out executions at a "horrifying pace" in an "abhorrent assault" on the right to life.

Those arrested in recent weeks in a crackdown against critical voices include the director Mohammad Rasoulof, whose lacerating film "There is No Evil" about the effects of the use of the death penalty in Iran won the Golden Bear at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3788051/ihr-iran-executes-three-women-single-day.

Floods Kill at Least 53 in Iran

Friday, 29 July, 2022

Rescuers searched for the missing in Iran on Friday after landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 53 people, officials said.

Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at the Red Crescent Society, told state TV that 16 people were still missing after two days of floods that have affected 400 towns and villages in 18 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Many highways were closed.

Friday’s worst hit area was Firouz Kooh, in the foothills of Alborz Mountains northeast of the capital Tehran, where at least 10 people died, Tehran governor Mohsen Mansouri told state TV.

He was later quoted by local news agencies as saying around six people were also missing.

Floods were still ravaging northern areas of Tehran province on Friday, he said, adding that despite repeated warnings, trekkers were still heading toward Firouz Kooh.

The town of Firouz Kooh, about 140 km (90 miles) from Tehran, is a favorite retreat for vacationers because of its cool summer temperatures. The area's lush trails are also popular with trekkers, Reuters reported.

State media said at least eight people died on Thursday in a landslide caused by floods in the village of Imamzadeh Davood northwest of Tehran, that also damaged a religious shrine there.

As many as 14 people were reported missing.

Last Saturday, flash floods in the southern Fars province killed 22 people.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3787416/floods-kill-least-53-iran.

Iran Applies to Join China and Russia in BRICS Club

Tuesday, 28 June, 2022

Iran, which holds the world's second largest gas reserves, has applied to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that Beijing and Moscow cast as a powerful emerging market alternative to the West.

The term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to describe the startling rise of Brazil, Russia, India, China. The BRIC powers had their first summit in 2009 in Russia. South Africa joined in 2010.

Iran's membership in the BRICS group "would result in added values for both sides", Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Russia said Argentina had also applied to join.

Russia cast the applications as evidence that the West, led by the United States, was failing to isolate Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

"While the White House was thinking about what else to turn off in the world, ban or spoil, Argentina and Iran applied to join the BRICS," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Argentine officials could not be reached for immediate comment but President Alberto Fernandez, currently in Europe, has in recent days reiterated his desire for Argentina to join BRICS.

China has by far the largest economy in the BRICS grouping, accounting for more than 70% of the group's collective $27.5 trillion economic might. India accounts for about 13%, with Russia and Brazil each accounting for about 7%, according to IMF data.

BRICS account for more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy.

Chinese power

Chinese President Xi Jinping joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other BRICS leaders for a virtual summit last week.

Xi criticized "the abuse" of international sanctions, while Putin scolded the West for fomenting global crisis, with both leaders calling for greater BRICS cooperation.

Putin has said relations with China are the best they have ever been and touts a strategic partnership with China aimed at countering US influence.

US President Joe Biden has said the West is locked in a battle with autocratic governments such as China and Russia.

The United States and European powers blame Putin's decision to invade Ukraine as the reason relations with the West have sunk to the lowest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis -- including the severest sanctions in modern history.

But Putin says the West wants to destroy Russia, that the economic sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war and that Russia will build ties with other powers such as China and India.

Putin, who casts the Ukraine war as a "special military operation", blames the United States for humiliating Russia in the aftermath of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and threatening Moscow by enlarging the NATO military alliance.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 to degrade its southern neighbor's military capabilities, root out people it called dangerous nationalists and defend the Russian-speakers of two eastern Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine says Russia has launched an imperial-style land grab and will never surrender its territory to Russia.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3728786/iran-applies-join-china-and-russia-brics-club.

Trump Twitter Account Reappears after Musk Poll

Sunday, 20 November, 2022

Donald Trump's Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after the platform's new owner Elon Musk ran a poll in which a narrow majority of voters supported the move, days after the former US president announced another White House bid.

Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, AFP said.

"The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated," Musk tweeted, shortly after the 24-hour poll ended.

"Vox Populi, Vox Dei," he added, repeating a Latin adage he posted Friday meaning "the voice of the people is the voice of God."

More than 15 million people -- out of 237 million daily Twitter users -- voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against.

Trump, who had more than 88 million users when his account was suspended, reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece during his presidency, posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters.

Musk's poll asked for a simple "yes" or "no" response to the statement "Reinstate former President Trump," which the billionaire Twitter boss posted Friday.

"Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!" Musk mused Saturday morning in a blast of tweets from the controversial and hard-charging new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.

He has posed similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla. Following that poll, he sold more than $1 billion in shares.

- 'I have Truth Social'

Trump said Saturday he would not return to the popular platform but instead remain on his own network, Truth Social, launched after he was banned from Twitter.

Appearing via video at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Trump said he welcomed the poll and was a fan of Musk, but appeared to reject any return.

"He did put up a poll and it was very overwhelming... but I have something called... Truth Social."

As to whether he would return to the platform, he said: "I don't see it because I don't see any reason for it."

Trump had not posted to Twitter by late Saturday, though he did share a series of unrelated messages on his Truth Social account, including opinion articles criticizing the US Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel this week to investigate his role in the Capitol attack.

But several of his political allies were highlighting his return.

"Welcome back, @realdonaldtrump!" tweeted House Republican Paul Gosar.

Prominent Trump-backer Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal account is also suspended, re-tweeted several of his previous posts from her official government account, including some tweets that were still marked with fact-checking badges refuting his claims about 2020 election fraud.

"Anyone who thinks President Trump isn't going to win the 2024 primary is fooling themselves," she tweeted.

Anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney, co-chair of the congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack who lost her re-election bid, responded to the news by directing Twitter users to a link with a video of one of the committee's hearings.

"With Trump back on Twitter, it's a good time to watch this Jan 6 hearing," she tweeted.

"It covers each of Trump's tweets that day, including those that have been deleted, and features multiple Trump WH staff describing his inexcusable conduct during the violence."

Musk has reinstated other banned accounts, including that of comedian Kathy Griffin, which had been taken down after she impersonated him on the site.

- Twitter chaos -

Musk, also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has come under fire for radical changes at California-based Twitter, which he bought less than a month ago for $44 billion.

Since then, he has fired half of Twitter's 7,500 staff and scrapped a work-from-home policy, all while his attempts to overhaul the company faced backlash and delays.

Hundreds of employees quit rather than yield to Musk's demands that they resign themselves to working long, grueling days at the new Twitter.

His stumbling attempts to revamp user verification with a controversial subscription service led to a slew of fake accounts and pranks, and prompted major advertisers to step away from the platform.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3997276/trump-twitter-account-reappears-after-musk-poll.

Albania Cuts Iran Ties, Orders Diplomats to Go after Cyberattack

Wednesday, 7 September, 2022

Albania is ending diplomatic relations with Iran and has ordered Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours, after an investigation into a cyberattack in July, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday.

"The government has decided with immediate effect to end diplomatic relations with Iran," Rama said in a video statement sent to the media.

"This extreme response ... is fully proportionate to the gravity and risk of the cyberattack that threatened to paralyze public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication and stir chaos and insecurity in the country," Rama said.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3860276/albania-cuts-iran-ties-orders-diplomats-go-after-cyberattack.

Indonesia Blocks Yahoo, Paypal, Gaming Websites Over License Breaches

Saturday, 30 July, 2022

Indonesia has blocked search engine website Yahoo, payments firm Paypal and several gaming websites due to failure to comply with licensing rules, an official said on Saturday, sparking a backlash in social media, Reuters reported.

Registration is required under rules released in late November 2020 and will give authorities broad powers to compel platforms to disclose data of certain users, and take down content deemed unlawful or that "disturbs public order" within four hours if urgent and 24 hours if not.

Several tech companies had rushed to register in days leading to the deadline, which had been extended until Friday, including Alphabet Inc's, Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and Amazon.com Inc.

Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, a senior official at Indonesia's Communications Ministry, said in a text message websites that have been blocked include Yahoo, Paypal and gaming sites like Steam, Dota2, Counter-Strike and EpicGames, among others.

Paypal, Yahoo's parent private equity firm Apollo Global Management and U.S. game developer Valve Corporation, which runs Steam, Dota and Counter-Strike, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EpicGames could not be reached for comment.

Hashtags like "BlokirKominfo" (block Communication Ministry), Epic Games and Paypal trended on Indonesian Twitter, with many writing messages criticizing the government's move as hurting Indonesia's online gaming industry and freelance workers who use Paypal.

Pangerapan did not respond to a request for comment.

With an estimated 191 million internet users and a young, social-media savvy population, the Southeast Asian nation is a significant market for a host of tech platforms.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3788331/indonesia-blocks-yahoo-paypal-gaming-websites-over-license-breaches.

First privately built Indian space rocket launches

Chennai, India (AFP)

Nov 18, 2022

The first privately developed Indian rocket lifted off into the upper reaches of the atmosphere on Friday, in another milestone in the country's push to become a major space power.

The half-ton Vikram-S rocket launched before midday local time and travelled in an arc, live footage from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) showed.

It safely splashed down into the sea six minutes later, according to the agency.

The rocket, developed by local startup Skyroot Aerospace, reached a peak altitude of 90 kilometers (55 miles), below the internationally recognized 100-km Karman line that separates Earth from outer space.

"It is indeed a new beginning, a new dawn... in the journey of India's space program," science minister Jitendra Singh said after the launch to a crowd of cheering technicians at the ISRO's launch facility on the southern island of Sriharikota.

The single-stage, solid-fuel rocket was built with "carbon composite structures and 3D-printed components", the government said Thursday ahead of the first Vikram-S mission, named "Prarambh" ("Start").

India has been bolstering its space program in recent years, including a crewed mission with Russian backing slated for 2023 or 2024.

Its capabilities and ambitions have grown, highlighted by the success of its rockets and missions beyond Earth.

In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars with its Mangalyaan orbiter. Hailed for its low cost, that mission put India in a small club including the United States, Russia and the European Union.

And in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India as a "space superpower" after it shot down a low-orbiting satellite, a move prompting criticism for the amount of "space junk" it created.

India is also working to boost its two percent share of the global commercial space market.

In October, ISRO's heaviest rocket yet successfully put 36 broadband satellites in low earth orbit.

Experts say India can keep costs low by copying and adapting existing space technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of their foreign counterparts' wages.

Source: Space Daily.

Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/First_privately_built_Indian_space_rocket_launches_999.html.

Eyeing China, India unveils high-altitude helicopters

Jodhpur, India (AFP)

Oct 3, 2022

India unveiled on Monday its first batch of locally-made attack helicopters, designed primarily for use in high-altitude areas like the Himalayas where its troops clashed with China in 2020.

The Light Combat Helicopters are seen as another milestone in Indian efforts to reduce dependence on Russia, its main source of arms, and other suppliers.

The choppers made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) "will be a big boost to the Indian Air Force's combat prowess", Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said at Jodhpur air base in western India.

"It is a momentous occasion, a matter of great pride, and a result of two decades of diligent research and development," Singh said.

Officials said that the aircraft had been tested at altitudes up to 16,000 feet (4,875 meters) above sea level.

India has been seeking to build up its domestic defense industry, unveiling its first locally-made aircraft carrier last month.

This drive has been given added impetus by worries about future supplies of Russian spare parts following the invasion of Ukraine in February.

While remaining a close ally of Russia -- it has refused to condemn the invasion -- India also shares Western concerns about growing Chinese assertiveness.

Relations between the world's two most-populous nations plunged after a hand-to-hand battle on their disputed Himalayan border left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020.

The two Asian giants, who fought a full-scale war in 1962, mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers in the region, although they announced a partial withdrawal on September 8.

Source: Space Daily.

Link: https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Eyeing_China_India_unveils_high-altitude_helicopters_999.html.

Floods Swamp More of Bangladesh and India, Millions Marooned

Tuesday, 21 June, 2022

Floodwaters inundated more of Bangladesh and northeast India on Tuesday, officials said, as authorities struggled to reach more than 9.5 million people stranded with little food and drinking water after days of intense rain.

Particularly heavy monsoon rain has brought the worst floods in more than a century in some parts of low-lying Bangladesh and have killed at least 69 people over the past two weeks there and in northeast India's Assam state.

"People are without food. They are not even getting drinking water since floodwater submerged all tube-wells," Abu Bakar, 26, a resident of hard-hit Sunamganj district in northeastern Bangladesh, told Reuters by telephone.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina flew over some of the flood-hit areas on Tuesday, looking down on huge tracts covered by brown water, broken up by occasional outcrop of land, television footage showed.

The monsoon brings heavy rains to South Asia between June and October, often triggering floods, especially in low-lying areas like Bangladesh, where rivers swollen with waters pouring out of the Himalayas often burst their banks.

Extreme weather in South Asia has become more frequent in and environmentalists warn that climate change could lead to ever more serious disasters.

Atiqul Haque, director general of Bangladesh's Department of Disaster Management, said three more districts in northern and central parts of the country had been flooded.

"The local administration along with army, navy, police, fire and emergency services personnel and volunteers have been engaged in rescue and relief operations," Haque said.

The floods in the Sylhet region, which includes Sunamganj, are the most severe in more than a century and the UN children's fund said 90% of its health facilities have been inundated, and cases of waterborne diseases are increasing.

UNICEF said it was urgently seeking $2.5 million to respond to the emergency in Bangladesh and it was working with the government to supply water purification tablets, emergency medical supplies and water containers.

"Four million people, including 1.6 million children, stranded by flash floods in northeastern Bangladesh are in urgent need of help," UNICEF said in a statement.

In some areas, the Bangladesh military dropped sacks of relief supplies from helicopters to people waiting on rooftops, television footage showed.

Syed Rafiqul Haque, a former lawmaker and ruling party politician in Sunamganj district, said flood shelters were crammed with people.

"Many people are still without food and water," he said.

"Cries for help are getting louder."

'Such devastation'

In Assam state in neighboring India, flooding has cut off three districts in the Barak valley and the water in parts of the region's main city of Silchar is waist-deep, authorities and residents said.

"The situation is extremely serious," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Reuters.

"We will try to airlift fuel to Silchar and the other two districts immediately."

Indian army and paramilitary troops have been called in to help with rescue operations and had evacuated about 1,000 people in the past 72 hours, an official said.

Assam and neighboring Meghalaya state have received 134% more rainfall than the average at this time of the year, according to data from the state-run India Meteorological Department.

About 4.7 million people have been forced from their homes in Assam, with some 330,000 staying in shelters, the government said.

"I am 80 years old and have never witnessed such devastation in my life," said Majaharul Laskar, a retired government official in Silchar.

Source: al-Monitor.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3716061/floods-swamp-more-bangladesh-and-india-millions-marooned.

Taiwan's Chien Hsiang loitering drone was designed to destroy enemy radar and UAVs

by Scott N. Romaniuk and Tobias Burgers

Sydney, Australia (SPX)

Nov 22, 2022

Taiwan's domestically produced drone technology, developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), which develops military technology, was displayed to the public shortly after the conclusion of China's annual air show at Zhuhai, as debates intensify over the likelihood of a Chinese invasion of its tiny island nation sibling, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.

The Taiwanese-made anti-radiation UAV has a maximum flight time of five hours and can strike targets up to 621 miles (1,000 km) distant, according to Taiwan's Aeronautical Systems Research Division. It can monitor and attack foreign enemy units emitting radar signals, whether in flight or not, as well as electromagnetic waves if they are part of their internal mechanisms or offensive systems. Though they cannot fly as far as their American counterparts, they were developed with a specific purpose in mind: destroy Chinese radar and UAVs. Their range allows them to support strikes along China's southeastern coast, where megacities are located.

A single mobile delivery vehicle can launch up to 12 Chien Hsiangs at the same time. Taiwan, as its technological ambitions suggest, is likely to try to deploy as many of these UAVs as possible. Further R&D is projected to result in the construction of an offensive-purpose drone, as well as a decoy system to safeguard crucial defense systems.

Taiwan's 'suicide drone' made its debut at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in 2017. It can be used in combination with other drones acting as decoys or loitering to successively target enemy units. The Chien Hsiang is comparable to Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket or the Me-163 rocket-propelled bomber- interceptor known as the 'Komet.'

Although its functions appear to be specialized, the unit is essentially a multi-system and multi-purpose machine. If Taiwan and China were at war (presumably because China invades or prompts preemptive action, such as a missile strike), Taiwan's focus would be on defensive measures, and its defensive instruments would reflect a cognitive relationship with the island's geopolitical profile.

Loitering

The drone's innovation lies in its ability to continue functioning while hanging in the air without a connection. When operational again, the unit can resume attacking its prey. The missile zeroes in on its target and then heads straight for it at a rate of 600 kilometers per hour (372 miles per hour).

Theoretically, the drones may create a barrier if hundreds or thousands of individuals congregate in preparation of an invasion or invasion support force. Its limited range and purpose complement the Taiwan Strait's tiny scale surroundings. These loitering weapons function as both an attacking and defensive deterrent. Hundreds of imagined drones crashing onto China's coastal megacities will undoubtedly result in catastrophic casualties and could therefore serve as a significant deterrence.

More drones?

States' defense strategies and doctrines will be increasingly influenced by unmanned combat systems. The majority of nations will also eventually seek to acquire drones, including armed drones, for a variety of reasons. Enhanced digital weapons systems and capabilities may help to preserve a balance of force and power between states and within regions such as the Middle East and, similarly, the Indo-Pacific, where discrepancies in nuclear weapons complicate the security environment and interstate relations.

Considering the putative promise that the future of human warfare will involve a growing number of unmanned conflicts and battles, the ongoing transitions in the strength of digital weapons could contribute to the maintenance of a stable peace. On the other side, Taiwan's continued development and manufacture of unmanned systems has the potential to create a security conundrum, ultimately bringing both China and Taiwan and presumably other countries, including the United States, closer to war.

Therefore, Taiwan's acquisition of more loitering munitions could be a double-edged sword that contributes to Taiwan's unease if China perceives a slight shift in the power distribution or balance of power between the two countries. This begs the question of whether Taiwan should risk aggravating existing security issues by placing additional orders. Taiwan will likely continue to increase its manufacturing of units as the need to prepare for a hypothetical invasion by China grows.

US technological ambitions and achievements in military weapons development in particular fuel the techno race and efforts to establish techno dominance in the military domain. Taiwan also benefits from the art of reengineering foreign military technology with aid, in the same way that China replicates American drone technology. The parallels between the Chinese MD-22, Teng Yun, and the American MQ-9 Reaper are readily apparent. It also draws inspiration from the futuristic designs of World War II Japanese and Nazi wonder weapons.

The Russian war in Ukraine has produced a testing ground for new drones in new environments. There are indications that the lessons learned in Ukraine have already influenced new drone orders, research and development, and trade agreements. Iran has supplied Russia with weaponry and UAVs, which Russia has utilized with catastrophic and terrifying results on the battlefield.

Ukraine has deployed similarly lethal armed drones against both soldiers and civilians. The Bayraktar TB2 is affordable, simple to make and acquire, and straightforward to run. Its laser-guided bombs would be destructive in the context of near urban combat operations and civilian environments where modern life and conflict are attempting to cohabit.

Small and lightweight laser-guided bombs and missiles impacting in downtown Taipei would yield serious military, economic, and political repercussions. Hundreds or thousands of such 'kamikaze drones,' similar to Imperial Japan's Yokosuka MXY- 7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom or 'Baka Bomb') or a more advanced version of Hitler's V1 rocket with room for a pilot, might successfully interdict or decimate an invading Chinese force.

Taiwan's loitering UAVs can be used for tactical and strategic preemptive strikes against China's crucial ground-based early warning radar and air-defense systems. While it is designed with the defensive imperative in mind, its applications expand beyond defensive purposes and demands.

This might be concerning to China if Taiwan adopts a defense strategy that incorporates the assemblage of hundreds of loitering weapons in the skies that can be deployed as attack aircraft suspended in flight. The notion is consistent with that of an aircraft carrier, where aircraft wait on the flight deck or in bays below. A considerable number of loitering munitions would function as a continuous, dense, and quick-response defense screen.

Through this description, the conceptual applications of the 'Rising Sword' become an airborne, suspended, and 'unsinkable' aircraft carrier in the skies. Taiwan can take advantage of their tiny and easily deployable size by moving them across the strategic waterway and stationing them on assets such as the Kinmen and Matsu islands, Kinmen County, and Lienchiang County.

The location of these islands directly opposite China's massive cities, Xiamen and Fuzhou, from the perspective of China's national security, endangers its entire southeastern as well as eastern flank, threatening unrestricted movement from the East China Sea to either the South China Sea or the Philippine Sea and wider Pacific Ocean, or even restricting the movement of Chinese maritime assets between the Yellow and East China seas.

China is unlikely to recognize Taiwan's capability to militarily invade mainland China, it will need to adapt and integrate this threat to its ground-based early warning radar units, air-defense systems, and densely populated coastal areas.

Dr. Scott N. Romaniuk is a visiting fellow at the International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales, U.K., and a non-resident expert at the Taiwan Center for Security Studies...

Source: Space War.

Link: https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Taiwans_Chien_Hsiang_loitering_drone_was_designed_to_destroy_enemy_radar_and_UAVs_999.html.

China's MD-22 hypersonic UAV could be strategic asset in near- or outer-space

by Scott N. Romaniuk, Tobias Burgers, and Shih-yueh Yang for SpaceWar.com

Sydney, Australia (SPX)

Nov 16, 2022

China has made significant advancements in the security and defense industries, and the Zhuhai airshow showcases its cutting-edge military weaponry technology. This includes concept fighter aircraft like the J-20 and J-16 as well as state-of-the-art unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including stealth and hypersonic models like the MD-22. The MD-22 hypersonic UAV is said to be a unique idea that could help China compete with other countries in the hypersonic field.

The alleged hypersonic potential of China's MD-22 UAV has piqued the interest of many. There is hope that the MD-22, created by China's Guangdong Aerodynamic Research Academy (GARA) and the CAS Institute of Mechanics, will one day take people to the very edge of space. Rather than viewing the MD-22 as a singular drone-style weapon, it should be seen as a testing ground for the rapidly developing field of hypersonic weapons.

If the MD-22's specifications were true, it would be an incredible UAV, capable of travelling 8,000 kilometers at an average speed of 8,645 kilometers per hour while carrying more than 1,800 kilograms (4,000 pounds). It measures 10.8 meters long, or the length of a school bus; 4.5 meters wide, or the width of a Mini Cooper; and 1.6 meters high. It has a weight of one ton. The US MQ-9 Reaper weighs more than 2 tons.

The turboram accelerates the MD-22 to its maximum speed during takeoff, after which it switches to the scramjet for hypersonic flight. Potentially matching the MD-22's physical attributes are its theoretical capabilities. However, the claimed range of the aircraft is disputable unless carried by other large aircraft or rocket boosters. The similarities between the MD-22 and the Hongdu GJ-11 Sharp Sword stealth UAVs also highlight the aircraft's status as a showpiece. The practicality of its ostensibly high-altitude potential is also unclear.

The MD-22 is said to be capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 7 and utilizing a wide range of thrusts thanks to its uniquely streamlined exterior and internal architecture. Supersonic speeds are those between Mach 1 and Mach 5, whereas hypersonic speeds are those above Mach 5. Sound has a speed of 1,225 kilometers per hour (699 miles per hour), meaning that hypersonic missiles can reach speeds of at least 6,000 kilometers per hour (3,748 miles per hour).

However, the MD-22 is rumored to have 24 internal and storage pylons that can take up to 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds) each, while the MQ-9 Reaper only has four hard points for weaponry. This means that the standard range of the vehicle can be expanded by installing additional fuel tanks. With a heavy payload, the Chinese-made MD-22 could theoretically travel faster than hypersonic missiles.

The MD-22, on the other hand, is purely theoretical outside of the AVIC Group's "Nantianmen Project," which is functionally equivalent to discussions of the Star Wars universe. Still, there are aspects of such a discussion that would be relevant even now.

Space Race 2.0

As major nations work to improve their hypersonic weapons capabilities, academics, professionals, and policymakers debate whether the floodgates are opening, resulting in a new arms race in the local domain, near- or outer-space, or both. The "space race" is back, with big countries once again showing a lot of interest in space and low-orbit military systems and striving for rapid breakthroughs.

Because of competing interests and rising competitiveness among governments in near- or outer-space, the likelihood of an incident leading to armed conflict has increased significantly. A war between nations could have devastating effects on international stability if it is sparked by events in space. There is a significant danger that this may spark a security dilemma, increasing the likelihood that many states will be dragged into a war that uses elements of both conventional and nuclear warfare.

Like any other country, China is conducting extensive research in electronics, thermal management, and command and control as part of a technology race to develop hypersonic weapons. China's drones are built with upgrades and new uses in mind, suggesting that the country's leaders are already planning for or even testing a variety of applications and follow-up models.

It is expected that China will showcase a broad variety of UAVs at upcoming shows, either to boast about its achievements or to plant the idea that massive advances are being made in the field of hypersonic weaponry.

Other Chinese propeller-driven or subsonic UAVs are comparable to their American counterparts. Such as the Chengdu GJ-1 (-1) / Wing Loong 1 armed drones, which are essentially equal to the MQ-1/MQ-9; the Rainbow CH-7 stealth high-altitude drone, which resembles the X-47B; and the WZ-8 / BZK-008 CH-91 surveillance drone, which is roughly equivalent to the RQ-5.

The MD-22, on the other hand, could, in theory, be a great leap forward and be used to make sixth-generation or even more advanced seventh-generation planes.

Source: Space War.

Link: https://www.spacewar.com/reports/Chinas_MD_22_hypersonic_UAV_could_be_strategic_asset_in_near__or_outer_space_999.html.

Turtles and see-through frogs on agenda at wildlife summit

By Francisco Jara

Panama City (AFP)

Nov 22, 2022

A global wildlife summit in Panama will decide whether to take measures to protect the translucent glass frog and 12 types of freshwater turtles in its final week, which kicked off Monday.

Conservation experts and delegates from more than 180 nations began the week with a decision to maintain a ban on the trade of white rhinoceros horn, despite a request from Eswatini that was backed by Japan and several other African countries.

The tiny nation, formerly known as Swaziland, had argued the money from the sale of rhino horn would aid in conserving the threatened species.

Delegates also authorized the export of Brazil's broad-snouted caiman and the saltwater crocodile from the Philippines for animals raised in captivity, but a ban on cross-border trade in Siamese crocodiles raised by Thai farmers was left intact.

The meeting in Panama City began on November 14 to discuss 52 proposals to modify protection levels set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The fate of several unique amphibians will be up for debate before the meeting wraps up on Friday.

"Freshwater turtles are among the main groups that are trafficked in the countries, and there is high pressure for international trade," said Yovana Murillo, who heads a program against wildlife trafficking in the Andes, Amazon and Orinoco region for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru want to list two species of matamata turtles, which live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, on CITES Appendix II, which requires the tracking and regulation of trade.

Doris Rodriguez of Peru's forestry service told AFP that the striking matamata turtles, with their beetle-like appearance, have become sought-after pets and "face many threats."

These include habitat destruction, pollution, illegal trade, and being hunted for their meat and eggs.

- Glass frog -

Delegates will also debate regulating the trade of the nocturnal glass frog, found in several rainforests in Central and South America.

The amphibian is an increasingly popular pet. Some are a lime green color, while others have translucent bellies and chests.

"They are being collected for their beauty. They are being trafficked and some are in critical danger," said Rodriguez.

CITES, in force since 1975, regulates trade in some 36,000 species of plants and animals and provides mechanisms to help crack down on illegal trade. It sanctions countries that break the rules.

The meeting of the parties to the convention takes place every two or three years.

On Friday, delegates rejected a request by Zimbabwe to allow the ivory trade to resume in some southern African countries, a decision lauded by conservation NGOs.

Another hot issue up for debate is the possible addition of protections for two major shark families, which could upend Hong Kong's controversial shark fin trade.

- Beleaguered porpoise -

The conference has seen fierce debate over the vaquita, a species of porpoise that lives in Mexico's Gulf of California and is at risk of extinction.

On the eve of the summit, CITES issued an ultimatum to Mexico, to show progress in protecting the world's most endangered marine animal by February 2023, or face sanctions against its fish exports.

Washington has argued that its neighbor is not doing enough to protect the vaquita, while Mexico countered it had boosted naval surveillance in the Gulf.

Good news also emerged from the summit: the Aleutian cackling goose was moved from the list of most threatened species to those no longer threatened with extinction, after its numbers increased.

"This is a positive story about the recovery of a species," highlighted the president of the committee which approved the move, Britain's Vincent Fleming.

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Turtles_and_see-through_frogs_on_agenda_at_wildlife_summit_999.html.

No way to run a COP: climate summit host Egypt gets bad marks

By Marlowe Hood

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (AFP)

Nov 20, 2022

Almost from the start, Egypt came under fire over its handling of the UN COP27 climate talks tasked with responding to the growing threat of global warming.

As the negotiations drew to a close nearly two days late with a historic win for vulnerable countries on funding for climate "loss and damage", exhausted delegates lined up to voice hope -- and frustration at the lack of progress on tackling emissions.

Historically, nations hosting the annual gathering of up to 35,000 leaders, diplomats, observers, campaigners and journalists are expected to rise above national interests enough to work hand-in-glove with the UN's climate bureaucracy to shepherd the consensus-based process to a more or less happy ending.

The two-week marathon in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, however, kicked off with dueling press conferences, suggesting diverging agendas and posing something of a quandary for journalists.

In his final address to the plenary, the COP27 president and Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry began his address on the back foot.

"We are fair, balanced and transparent in our approach," he told delegates, many of whom had complained of a lack of clarity in the difficult negotiating process.

"Any missteps that might have occurred were certainly not intentional, and were done with the best interests of the process in mind."

- Fossil fuel lobbyists -

Far more serious, some observers alleged that Egypt failed to act as a neutral broker in the complicated, multi-tiered talks.

"The influence of the fossil fuel industry was found across the board," said Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and -- as France's top negotiator -- a main architect of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

"The Egyptian presidency has produced a text that clearly protects oil and gas petro-states and the fossil fuel industry," with no mention of phasing out fossil fuels so that the issue might be more widely debated.

Concerns over the role of oil and gas interests have long dogged the talks.

But this year more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists attended COP27 as "observers", up 25 percent from last year's climate summit and more than the number of delegates from all Pacific island nations combined, according to one research NGO.

Alden Meyer, a policy expert at think tank E3G who has been to all but one COP over the last 27 years, said there were concerns that the presidency had been reluctant to include ambitious language on emissions and fossil fuels.

"Clearly, they're acting in their own national interests, rather than serving as an honest broker in the presidency," he told AFP, adding that they had been hosting a "gas industry trade fair" in Sharm el-Sheikh.

In a scathing speech as the talks wrapped up Sunday, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU was disappointed that the meeting had not pushed for stronger commitments to achieve the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

He also expressed frustration that despites the support of "more than 80 countries" calling for emissions to peak by 2025, "we don't see this reflected here".

Meanwhile, Alok Sharma, who held the presidency at COP26 in Glasgow last year, listed an array of ambitious proposals on phasing out fossil fuels and slashing emissions that never even got an airing in draft texts, much less the final version.

- Transparency -

During Week One, Egypt came in for a drubbing in the international media for an array of logistical snafus ranging from scarce drinking water and price gouging to poor access for the disabled and overbearing security surveillance.

Organizers quickly rectified all but the last of these issues, not uncommon among the 27 climate conferences convened since 1995.

More troubling, however, was the way in which the Egyptian presidency guided the high-stakes talks at times, taking them to the wire, delegates said.

"I've never experienced anything like this -- untransparent, unpredictable, and chaotic," said one delegate with deep COP experience.

When Egypt finally pieced together the first draft text on the lynchpin issue of how to compensate developing nations already devastated by climate impacts -- "loss and damage" in UN speak -- they didn't distribute it for all to see, which is the usual practice.

For the European Union, they called Timmermans alone in the middle of the night, showing but not giving him the text so that he could convey report back to the bloc's 27 nations, EU sources said.

At least one voice at the conference, however, praised Egypt's stewardship of COP27.

"(Shoukry) is working under the principles of transparent, open and party-driven consensus," China's veteran climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said.

Source: Terra Daily.

Link: https://www.terradaily.com/reports/No_way_to_run_a_COP_climate_summit_host_Egypt_gets_bad_marks_999.html.