Swiss activists drop campaign against F-35 fighter deal

Activists have withdrawn their campaign to stop Switzerland from buying 36 Lockheed Martin LMT.N F-35A Lightning II fighter jets after the government signed a $5.5 billion procurement deal without waiting for a referendum.

By REUTERS - Yesterday 

Switzerland and fighter jets

Switzerland chose the F-35 last year as its next-generation fighter jet, angering opponents who said they would ensure a referendum to overturn what they called an unnecessary "Ferrari" option.

Related video: Big dogfight: Switzerland avoids F-35 referendum despite 1 lakh ( a hundred thousand:) signatures for public vote | Duration 3:18  View on Watch

Parliament approved the deal last week, and a contract was signed on Monday even as opponents were gathering signatures to force a referendum under the Swiss system of direct democracy.

"The Alliance against the F-35 will not lend a hand for a pseudo-referendum in which the electorate cannot decide on the actual purchase decision," the group said on Tuesday.


Two F35 fighter jets from the Vermont Air National Guard's 134th fighter squadron, which are for the first time part of NATO's security policy, stand parked at Skopje Airport, North Macedonia June 17, 2022.

 (credit: REUTERS/OGNEN TEOFILOVSKI)

"A vote after the contract has been signed is nothing but a democratic farce. For this reason, the Alliance against the F-35 will withdraw its popular initiative, but remains convinced that the F-35 is a bad purchase and a billion-dollar risk for Switzerland."

GOOD NEWS

Raisi meets with Macron on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in view of reactivating nuclear deal

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has held a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in a bid to unblock the Iranian nuclear deal.


Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on his arrival in New York. - -/

ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The meeting, of which for the moment only photographs have been released, marks the beginning of a round of contacts within the framework of the UN General Assembly, which brings together representatives of all the countries participating in the nuclear pact.

The diplomatic process, sponsored by the EU, seeks to restore an agreement that, although still in force, is badly damaged after the United States withdrew unilaterally during the Donald Trump era. Iran, for its part, breached the agreed limits on its nuclear activity.

Tehran called weeks ago for "stronger guarantees" from Washington for the reactivation of the 2015 nuclear deal, while stressing that one of the conditions for the return is for the International Atomic Energy Agency to focus "solely on its duties and responsibilities."

Meanwhile, the U.S. has rejected these requests, by labeling the response as "not constructive" and has assured that it will formulate its own response. For the EU, the proposal put on the table by Borrell on August 8 is a final document that the participants in the nuclear agreement must subscribe to or reject, after a 17-month process of talks, mainly in Vienna.

Upon his arrival in New York, Raisi explained that the meeting in the United States will serve the country to explain its points of view, while pointing out that it is a platform to discuss the problems of today's world and find collective solutions to solve them.

"Sanctions are harmful to nations and are in conflict with peace and security," he has stated, adding that such actions are "manifestations of unilateralism," a stance that "causes suffering to human societies."

Raisi has previously clarified that he does not intend to meet with US officials as part of his five-day visit, which is, according to the Iranian side, a "big stage" for expressing Tehran's stance.

"This trip is an opportunity to express actions that are sometimes not heard because the world's media space is dominated by the big powers," he stressed on Monday, adding that "there is no reason for negotiations or meetings with the Americans."

Show of support for Ukraine takes ugly turn outside Russian Consulate in Montreal

RUSSIAN CONSULATE SECURITY WAS RUDE

THIS IS CANADA AFTER ALL

CBC/Radio-Canada - Yesterday

Serge Sasseville lives across the street from the Russian Consulate in Montreal and has been wheeling a stroller covered in red paint out his door nearly every day at noon since mid-March.

He then stands in front of the consulate, usually with fellow demonstrators at his side, and blasts the Ukrainian anthem with a wireless speaker while yelling support for a country that was invaded by Russia in February.

The anthem is preceded by the sounds of sirens and gunshots so the people inside the consulate can hear what it's like in Ukraine, Sasseville said.

And even though he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, the anthem was still played Monday as his fellow demonstrators took over the daily ritual.

Everything was going as planned until Sasseville's phone rang.

It was Claude Fournier and Fournier's sister-in-law calling to say something had gone terribly wrong.
Altercation over speaker

Sasseville, a Montreal city councillor for the Peter-McGill district of the Ville-Marie borough, went to his doorstep.

Sasseville's friends told him that a man from the consulate was harassing them. The man was insisting they stop playing the anthem and threatening to throw their speaker to the ground.

"Which he did," Sasseville said.

But Fournier, who has been demonstrating in front of the consulate since the war's start, recovered the scuffed up speaker and continued playing the anthem.


Claude Fournier, renowned Canadian filmmaker, says a man tossed his Bose speaker to the ground in front of the Russian Consulate before physically assaulting his sister-in-law.© Sharon Yonan-Renold/CBC

"Mostly he was saying, 'get out of here or else I'll get you out of here!'" Fournier recounted. "At one point, I faced him, and he said, 'I am giving you five seconds to get out of here or else!'"

Fournier is 91 years old and has a pacemaker.

He decided it wasn't safe to stand up to the man. He stepped into the street. His sister-in-law took out her phone and tried to film the altercation, but the man went after her, Fournier said.

"He grabbed and held her. And tried to get her phone. So she started yelling," Fournier said.

Undeterred demonstrator plans return

They called the police. Officers came about five minutes later and took witness reports.

According to a spokesperson with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), officers did respond to a call at the consulate, but no complaint was filed. The spokesperson said there is no law prohibiting music from being played on a public sidewalk.

Fournier said the man who confronted them spoke French like a Quebecer, and he wonders if the man was hired to intimidate demonstrators. It wasn't his first altercation with consulate employees, he said, and he suspects it won't be the last.


Sasseville says he will continue to display Ukrainian flags on his house for as long as the war continues.© CBC

He plans to be better prepared when he goes back to play the anthem at noon on Tuesday, he said, this time with a camera ready and the speaker attached to him rather than on the ground so it can't be easily tossed.

"It was a bit scary, especially because I wasn't at all prepared for that," Fournier said. "[Tuesday] it will be OK because I am going to proceed differently."

He will continue to fight for Ukrainians because, he explained, no matter what happens here, "it's nothing compared to their suffering."
Continuing to fight for Ukraine

Sasseville said his friends, interrupted by the confrontation, never completed the ritual. So after they left, he went out to his car which was parked in the driveway.

"Even though it was raining, I rolled the windows down and played three times that recording of the Ukrainian anthem," said Sasseville.

"They have to understand, we will not stop doing what we are doing because they are threatening us."


Sasseville has been demonstrating almost daily in front of the Russian Consulate since March.

© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

Sasseville said a consulate employee attacked him in early June as well, and he filed a complaint with the Montreal police.

But he is undeterred. As long as the war continues, he said Ukrainian flags will be displayed on his house and the anthem will be played every day by him or his friends.

"No threat from the Russians will stop me," he said.

He said the intimidation has to stop, and that's why he is in contact with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, insisting the consulate and all its employees be expelled from the country.

"It's unacceptable. You have citizens who are committed to demonstrating their opposition to a genocidal war and you have employees from a consulate who are attacking them," he said.

"They are not only killing people in Ukraine. They are attacking Canadians."

In a written statement, the consulate said none of its staff was involved or even present during the demonstration.

"We feel we are not entitled to comment on what seems to be a dispute between Canadian residents," the statement said.

BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DOES

Bolsonaro uses his UN loudspeaker to attack Lula two weeks before Brazil’s elections

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, used his lectern on Tuesday at the start of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly to attack, without naming him, his rival in the elections in two weeks, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.


Archive - Jair Bolsonaro speaks at the UN General Assembly - UN PHOTO/CIA PAK© Provided by News 360

"During my administration we have put an end to the systemic corruption that existed in the country. Between 2003 and 2015, the period in which the left presided over Brazil, the level of indebtedness of Petrobas (...) reached 170 billion dollars. The person responsible has been convicted," he said in reference to Lula, exonerated of the charges due to the malpractice of the courts.

After the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, Bolsonaro was the next to take the floor, as is the tradition in the United Nations Assembly, and he took the opportunity to highlight the economic policies of his government, especially during the coronavirus health crisis.

Bolsonaro defended that they have sufficient "authority" to give their opinion on the world health agenda "since no effort was spared in saving lives and guaranteeing jobs", at the same time that "a broad vaccination program" against COVID-19 was implemented.

"With more than 210 million people, more than 80 percent are fully vaccinated. All of them voluntarily, respecting their individual freedom," said Bolsonaro, who blamed his government's economic measures for the fall in poverty generated by the pandemic in Brazil.

"The denounced have returned a billion dollars and we have paid to the US stock market another billion due to the losses of investors", all this, he said, while continuing to invest in public services and in science and technology.

DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT 

Bolsonaro highlighted Brazil's role as one of the world's leading food exporters. This, he has pointed out, is due to the "huge investments" that have been allocated to science and innovation. "If it were not for Brazilian agriculture, the planet would go hungry," he has said.

Regarding the environment, Bolsonaro has assured that "Brazil is part of the solution and an example for the world," thus responding to criticism of his policies in the Amazon. "More than 80 percent of the forests have not been touched, contrary to what the media mentions," he has protested.

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS

 The Brazilian president also pointed out that while the current United Nations has served to restore peace after World War II, the current conflict in Ukraine has served as a "warning" and advocated "a reform" to find world peace "After 25 years of debates in the Security Council, we have to look for innovative solutions. Brazil approaches the issue based on experience dating back to the beginnings of the United Nations. We have tried our best to offer negotiated solutions to pacify conflicts," he said.

Among those solutions, he has explained, is the opening of its borders for all those fleeing conflicts, mentioning the case of the 350,000 Venezuelan brothers and sisters who have found shelter in Brazilian territory since 2018. "We have also welcomed Haitians, Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians."

As far as Ukraine is concerned, Bolsonaro wanted to thank countries such as Poland, Hungary or Slovakia for their help in evacuating Brazilian citizens when Russia started the invasion seven months ago now.

In reference to the conflict itself, he has pointed out that Brazil is governed by the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter. "We advocate for an immediate ceasefire, for the protection of non-combatant civilians, the safeguarding of infrastructures to help the population and the maintenance of all channels of the parties to the conflict."

"These are the first steps towards finding a lasting and sustainable solution. We have worked in this sense in the United Nations and other places, we have tried to avoid hindering the channels of dialogue by the polarization of the conflict", said Bolsonaro "That is why we oppose diplomatic and economic isolation, as it is felt in the world prices of food, fuel and other raw materials (...) We do not think that the best way is to adopt unilateral and selective sanctions that are not in line with international law", he insisted.

Bolsonaro has said that these restrictions have damaged the economies of many countries and that the conflict in Ukraine will only be resolved through dialogue. "Let's not waste any opportunity to resolve the conflict," he demanded.

Bolsonaro fined almost 1,000 euros for early electioneering propaganda

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has fined the campaign of the president, Jair Bolsonaro, 5,000 reais (about 975 euros) for carrying out advance electoral propaganda last April during an event in the city of Cuiabá, in the west of the country, where he participated in a motorcycle caravan.


Jair Bolsonaro. - PAULO LOPES / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO

"Under the pretext of fulfilling his official agenda, he participated in a motorcycle caravan with a large number of people. It was an event of great electoral impact. Our jurisprudence is based on the electoral character of this type of events. The previous organization and the presence of the candidate prove it", explained the vice-president of the TSE, Ricardo Lewandowski, in the ruling.

During that multitudinous motorcycle ride, Bolsonaro and his team would have asked in advance the vote for his candidacy for reelection in the next elections on October 2, in which the president, in the best case scenario, would reach the second round far behind the favorite, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The ruling comes as a result of a petition by the Workers' Party (PT), against a previous decision by Judge Maria Claudia Bucchianeri, who first considered that Bolsonaro's campaign team did not explicitly ask for the vote for him, recalls the newspaper 'O Globo'.

The latest survey published by the IPEC and Datafolha institutes this Monday, Lula continues to lead the presidential race with 47 percent of Brazilians' voting intention, just three percentage points away from winning in the first round. Bolsonaro remains with 31 percent.

At the state level, Tuesday's polls show how Lula has managed to take the lead in voting intention in Rio de Janeiro, with 41 percent, which means four points more than Bolsonaro. In Sao Paulo the situation is also favorable to the PT leader, with a lead that reaches ten percentage points, a distance that reaches 15 points in Minas Gerais.

Lula acknowledges that Brazil’s image in the organization of the 2014 World Cup was that of a corrupt country

Brazil's former president and candidate for the October elections, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has regretted that the organization of the 2014 World Cup left the image that "everyone stole" from the construction of the stadiums and acknowledged that they almost "destroyed" themselves with the organization of the event.


The former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

- MATHEUS PE / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO

"We almost destroyed ourselves," he has acknowledged during a campaign event, in which he has also admitted that "the image of the country was that of a corrupt world championship organizer," local media reports.

"I confess my frustration with the World Cup, if I could do like an ostrich and put my head in the ground and not take it out, I would do it", confessed Lula, who during the soccer event was no longer president.

He pointed out that suspicions of corruption in the construction of the stadiums damaged the atmosphere of the tournament, despite the fact that the Court of Auditors of the Union only pointed out irregularities in the construction of the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Lula, who governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, aspires to return to the Planalto Palace on October 2, when Brazilians are called to the polls. Since he recovered his political rights after his convictions for corruption were annulled, the leader of the Workers' Party (PT) is comfortably leading the polls, so much so that it is not ruled out that he could win in the first round.

WAITING FOR U$A TO CATCH UP

UN applauds abolition of death penalty in Equatorial Guinea

The acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al Nashif, has applauded the abolition of the death penalty in Equatorial Guinea, a country that had not carried out such sentences since January 2014.


Parliament of Equatorial Guinea - PARLAMENTO DE GUINEA ECUATORIAL

"With the signing of the new Penal Code by the President, Equatorial Guinea becomes the 25th African State to abolish the death penalty, further reinforcing the global trend towards universal abolition and contributing to the improvement and development of Human Rights," she said in a statement.

Thus, 170 states have already abolished or introduced moratoriums against the death penalty, a practice "incompatible with the fundamental principles of human rights and dignity" that are disseminated by the United Nations.

The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, signed on Monday the repeal of the death penalty, a step that the vice president and son of the president, Teodorin, has described as "historic" for the country.

The new law 4/2022, within the Penal Code, which was announced two months before the local, legislative and presidential elections, will come into force 90 days after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

The measure had been in the drawer since 2014, when the country joined the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and pledged to abolish the death penalty, as well as to end torture and extrajudicial detentions by "the organs of the State."

Map Of Equatorial Guinea

As observed on the physical map above, Equatorial Guinea in west-central Africa has two distinct regions, a mainland region, and an insular region. The country has a total land area of 28,051 sq. km.

The mainland of Equatorial Guinea begins on a narrow coastal plain, edged by mangrove swamps. From there, the land rises into an elevated plateau of thickly forested hills to its border with Gabon, reaching (in a few places) upwards of 1,219 m above sea level.

The major river, the Uola, snakes its way across the center of the country.

The offshore island of Bioko, volcanic in origin and very fertile, is dominated by three extinct volcanoes. Its coastline is steep and rugged south, but there are scenic beaches and harbors along the northern coast.

The highest point of Equatorial Guinea is Pico Basile at 3,008 m; the lowest point of the country is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m).

Mark Zuckerberg Is in Big, Big Trouble

Victor Tangermann - Futurism  - Yesterday 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune has dropped by a whopping $71 billion so far this year, making him only the 20th richest person in the world.

Billionaire Wipeout

It's no secret that Meta-formerly-Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse pivot isn't exactly paying off yet.

The billionaire's fortune has dropped by a whopping $71 billion — leaving him with a piddling $55.9 billion left over — this year, Bloomberg reports, rendering him only the 20th richest person in the world.

Sure, that's still plenty of pocket money. But it's the lowest spot he's occupied in eight years, in a sign of how far he's fallen. Just two years ago, he was the third person in the world, with almost twice the net worth, according to the report.

It's worth noting that 2022 has proven disastrous for global markets and other tech titans as well, but even Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have lost far less than that. The takeaway? In the self-inflicted era of the metaverse, Zuckerberg is in big, big trouble.
Meta Pivot

Facebook's highest valuation in recent memory, September 2021, happens to coincide with the month before Zuckerberg announced the company's name change and pivot to the metaverse.

Ever since, Zuckerberg has doubled down on the concept, which has so far materialized only as a desolate and much-lampooned virtual playground that requires the company's own clunky virtual reality hardware to visit.

In other words, it's no wonder investors have responded negatively to Zuckerberg's zillion dollar bet. Some experts are even now saying that Zuckerberg is taking Meta down with him.

"I think Facebook is not going to do well as long as he's there," senior Harvard Business School fellow Bill George told CNBC last week. "He's likely one of the reasons so many people are turning away from the company. He's really lost his way."
Dismal Numbers

The result is that the company's finances are in tatters. Bloomberg called the company's recent earnings reports "dismal," with TikTok stealing users from Meta's Instagram left and right.

Zuckerberg has practically shackled himself to the fate of Meta. The vast majority of his net worth is tied up in the company's stock — and he infamously holds hundreds of millions of shares, giving him immense power over the company that he founded.

It remains to be seen whether Zuckerberg will be able to prove investors wrong and turn his vision for the metaverse into a meaningful new direction for Meta. His next shot? Next month's release of the company's new VR headset.

READ MORE:

Mark Zuckerberg’s $71 Billion Wealth Wipeout Puts Focus on Meta’s Woes [Bloomberg]

More on Zuckerberg: Harvard Expert Says Mark Zuckerberg Is Destroying Facebook

Why are so few Israeli children vaccinated? - study

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH - JNS- Yesterday 

According to the latest Health Ministry data, about one out of five Israeli children between the ages of five and 11 have received a COVID-19 vaccine, even though the health funds have been offering them to parents for nearly a year.

: Pfizer/BioNTech© (photo credit: PFIZER/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya identified some of the reasons for the low vaccination rate among this age group.

The new study of more than 1,800 Israeli parents was recently published in the journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics under the title “Reasons underlying the intention to vaccinate children aged 5-11 against COVID-19: A cross-sectional study of parents in Israel.” It was conducted last November – two weeks ahead of the vaccine rollout for children of that cohort.

To encourage participation from a wide range of individuals representing Israeli society, the researchers used advertisements in Arabic and Hebrew that were tailored to males and females and a social-media advertising algorithm to target parents of young children.

Among the key findings that emerged: Fewer than half (43%) of parents of children in this population said they were planning to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Another key finding was that parents’ top priority was not to protect their children against COVID-19 (56%) but to allow them to return to school and everyday life (89%) and to assure financial resilience (78%). Parents were more concerned about the safety of vaccines (53%) than the danger COVID-19 posed to children (38%).



Israel's President Isaac Herzog is seen receiving his fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem, on January 5, 2021. (credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)© Provided by The Jerusalem Post

Most high-income countries now offer teenage vaccination, but vaccination of younger children is less common despite evidence of its safety and effectiveness.

“The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and licensing of these vaccinations for use in children aged five to 11 is not a guarantee that parents will inoculate their children,” the researchers wrote.

The impact of misinformation online

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the digital spread of information, misinformation and disinformation on social-media platforms on an unprecedented scale, they wrote, adding: “Mistrust in government and international health organizations has been suggested as a potential contributor to hesitancy to follow government and international health guidelines, as fewer than 30% of individuals opted to search for their own government social media publications for vaccine information and guidance.”

“Many parents don’t want to vaccinate their children because they don’t believe COVID-19 causes severe illness,” said lead study author Dr. Amiel Dror of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine and Galilee Medical Center.

“This data can help health authorities in shaping educational and communication campaigns for vaccines to show parents, among other things, that COVID-19 can be dangerous to anyone,” he added.

Dror collaborated with his Azrieli colleague Prof. Michael Edelstein, and Tel Aviv University medical student Niko Morozov contributed to collecting and analyzing the data.

In the survey of parents, one section included information about sociodemographic characteristics, including age, gender, area of residence, household composition, number of children, parental education, parental COVID-19 vaccination status and self-reported side effects from the vaccine (major, mild or no symptoms). It also included a question about one’s intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. In the second section, responders indicated why they were or were not intending to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.

“Many parents don’t want to vaccinate their children because they don’t believe COVID-19 causes severe illness."study author Dr. Amiel Dror of BIU’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine and the Galilee Medical Center

The survey found that parents who had not been vaccinated themselves were less likely (13%) to vaccinate their children than those who were vaccinated three times (62%), twice (48%) or once (32%). Parents who had side effects after being vaccinated were less likely (58%) to vaccinate their children than those who were vaccinated and experienced major (19%) or minor (51%) side effects.

Mothers and parents above the age of 35 were more likely to vaccinate (47%) than fathers and parents aged 35 and younger (40%).

The availability of the vaccine for use in children ages five to 11 is not a guarantee that parents will inoculate them, the authors said.

“Our findings suggest that, for COVID-19, the traditional perception of vaccination benefits such as protection against severe illness has been superseded by indirect benefits such as returning to regular societal life and education institutions, as well as assuring financial resilience for the family,” they wrote. “While this finding is not surprising considering the severe disruption to normal life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not clear whether this perception of the societal utility of vaccines will continue to impact the perception of other vaccines beyond the pandemic.”

 Jordan's King Abdullah says Jerusalem's Christians are under fire in UNGA speech

The monarch also repeated his country's support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Nada AlTaher

Sep 20, 2022

For live updates from the UN General Assembly click here

Christianity in Jerusalem is under fire, Jordan's King Abdullah II told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, and he called for the status quo of the holy city to be protected.

“As custodians of Jerusalem's Muslim and Christian holy sites, we are committed to protecting the historical and legal status quo and to their safety and future,” the king said, at the 77th annual UN General Assembly in New York.

“And as a Muslim leader, let me say clearly, that we are committed to defending the rights, precious heritage and historic identity of the Christian people of our region.”

But he said the city's Christian community was “under fire”.

“The rights of churches in Jerusalem are threatened. This cannot continue. Christianity is vital to the past and present of our region and the Holy Land. It must remain an integral part of our future.”

Christian community leaders in the city have long condemned what they say are efforts by hardline Jewish settler groups to displace them.

Friar Koryoun Baghdasaryan, chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, told The National in April that physical attacks against members of the clergy had risen dramatically in recent years, and that they were regularly spat at in the street by some hardline Jewish residents.

Israeli police stand by as Jews visit the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, as Israel marks Tisha B'Av, in August. Reuters

“Today, the future of Jerusalem is an urgent concern. The city is holy to billions of Muslims, Christians and Jews around the world,” King Abdullah said.

“Undermining Jerusalem's legal and historical status quo triggers global tensions and deepens religious divides. The holy city must not be a place for hatred and division.”

King Abdullah also repeated his country's stance on a two-state solution for the Palestinian issue.

READ MORE

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed visits Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem

“A founding UN principle is the right to self-determination for all peoples. The Palestinian people with their resilient national identity cannot be denied this right,” he said.

“The road forward is a two-state solution in accordance with UN resolutions, a sovereign viable and independent Palestinian state on the fourth of June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security and prosperity.”

Jordan’s king also told the General Assembly that global partnerships are needed to combat climate change and protect vital water resources just weeks before world leaders meet again in Egypt for the first UN Conference of the Parties on climate change (Cop27) summit in the Middle East.

“No country can heal our injured earth alone,” King Abdullah said. “We have been building strong partnerships to manage and sustain vital water resources. And we see more opportunities to work with partners.”

He said the Covid-19 pandemic, exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine, had disrupted global supply chains and increased hunger.

Many well-off countries experiencing empty food shelves for the first time “are discovering a truth that people in developing countries have known for a long time ― for countries to thrive, affordable food must get to every family’s table,” he said.

“On a global level, this demands collective measures to ensure fair access to affordable food, and speed the movement of staples to countries in need.”

King Abdullah blasts Israel: Christianity in Jerusalem is under fire

"Undermining Jerusalem's legal and historical status quo triggers global tensions and deepens religious divides," said King Abdullah.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Published: SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)

Christianity is under attack in Jerusalem, Jordan’s King Abdullah said Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York prior to his meeting with Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

“The rights of churches in Jerusalem are threatened,” he said.

Abdullah, as the head of the Hashemite Kingdom, is also considered to be the custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city.

“Christianity in the holy city is under fire... this cannot continue,” Abdullah said. “As custodians of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites, we are committed to protecting the historical and legal status quo and to their safety and future. We are committed to defending the rights, the precious heritage and the historic identity of the Christian people of our region.”

“Nowhere is that more important than in Jerusalem,” said Abdullah, who spoke during the first morning of the high-level opening session of the 77th UNGA. The annual event draws many national leaders from around the globe.

Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2022. 

(credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)

Overall, “the future of Jerusalem is an urgent concern,” he said at the plenum. “The city is holy to billions of Muslims, Christians and Jews around the world. Undermining Jerusalem’s legal and historical status quo triggers global tensions and deepens religious divides. The holy city must not be a place for hatred and division.”

"The rights of Churches in Jerusalem are threatened."King Abdullah IIAbdullah calls for two-state solution

What did Jordan's King Abdullah say about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Abdullah called for a two-state resolution based on the pre-1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian people deserve a state, he said, adding that the Palestinian people with their “resilient national identity cannot be denied the right to self-determination.”

Concerns raised of Temple Mount violence in upcoming holidays

Abdullah spoke as tensions have risen between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and amid concerns of an outbreak of violence on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount during the upcoming High Holy Days.

The Temple Mount, also known to Muslims as al-Haram, al-Sharif, is the holiest religious site for Jews and the third holiest for Muslims.

The Palestinians have routinely accused Israel of violating the status quo put in place after the Six Day War, in which Jews and Christians may visit the site, but only Muslims may worship there.

Lapid and his predecessors Naftali Bennett and Benjamin Netanyahu have all insisted that Israel is committed to the status quo and that there is no change in policy.

The police, however, have not fully prevented Jewish worshipers from praying at the site, and the numbers of those who successfully do so have grown, with one NGO estimating that 50,000 Jews prayed there this year.

Lapid, again like his predecessors, believes that Jerusalem should remain Israel’s united capital and that it should not be divided along the pre-1967 lines.

Jordan has been an important partner for Israel in reducing tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Relations between Israel and Jordan frayed during Netanyahu’s 12 years as prime minister, but they regained momentum under Bennett and Lapid.

Within weeks of taking office in July, Lapid visited Abdullah in a meeting symbolized by the warm way the two men grasped each other’s shoulders. But Abdullah’s speech at the UNGA introduced an element of antagonism into the relationship and appeared to attack Israel on the issue of Jerusalem. Notably, the speech was delivered just hours before the two men were scheduled to meet.

The spotlight, however, had been on the scheduled meeting between Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which was set for late Tuesday afternoon in New York.

Their face-to-face conversation was to mark the first such meeting between an Israeli prime minister and Erdogan since 2008 – symbolic of the warming ties between the two countries after a long period in which diplomatic relations had declined.

Erdogan referenced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his speech, calling for a two-state solution and also speaking of the importance of “respecting al-Haram, al-Sharif.”

“We have to stop the illegal [West Bank] settlements in the occupied regions through establishing security for the lives and the commodities of the Palestinians,” he said.

“We have to establish a permanent and fair solution for the region, with eastern Jerusalem becoming a capital and establishing a free and sovereign Palestinian state,” he added. “There are no other solutions than this.”

Turkey plans to work for the establishment of a two-state resolution to the conflict, Erdogan said.

Lapid arrived in New York at sunrise on Tuesday for his first trip to the UNGA and his first address to it.

His speech is scheduled for Thursday and his most significant diplomatic address to date. It is set for a forum that Netanyahu dominated for years when he was prime minster.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to speak to the UNGA on Friday after Lapid returns to Jerusalem. There are no plans for the two to meet.

Lapid is not expected to meet with US President Joe Biden. He met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday and was scheduled to meet his British and Greek counterparts, Liz Truss and Kyriakos Mitsotakos, respectively, sometime during his visit.

Among the global topics likely to dominate the UNGA’s opening session are Russia’s war on Ukraine and Iran’s growing nuclear program.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to deliver a virtual address to the UNGA on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be at the assembly, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to speak there on Saturday.

Both Biden and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are scheduled to be at the UNGA and deliver addresses on the same morning.

Petro denounces to the UN the hypocrisy of those who profit from the fight against drugs


The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has harshly criticized consumer societies and the hypocrisy of the fight against drugs, which poison the jungles and kill millions of Latin Americans while others fill their pockets in the name of higher values.


Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia - CHEPA BELTRAN / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO© Provided by News 360

"I come from a country of bloody beauty", Petro began his intense and vehement speech, his first as president of Colombia before the United Nations General Assembly, where he criticized the "hypocritical" discourse of saving the jungle, since it is seen as "the enemy to be defeated".

"The jungle is burning, gentlemen, while you make war and play with it. The forest, the climatic pillar of the world, disappears with all its life. The great sponge that absorbs the planetary CO2 evaporates. The savior forest is seen in my country as the enemy to be defeated, as the weed to be extinguished", he denounced.

"The space of coca and of the peasants who grow it, because they have nothing else to grow, is demonized. For you, my country is of no interest to you except to throw poisons into your jungles, take your men to jail and throw your women into exclusion", he continued.

As he has been doing since he officially moved into Casa Nariño, Petro has again insisted that the fight against drugs has turned out to be a failure, as has the fight against the climate crisis.

"Decreasing drug consumption does not need wars, nor weapons, it needs all of us to build a better society: a more solidary society (...). Do you want less drugs? Think about less profits (...). Think about a rational exercise of power", he said.

WAR AS AN EXCUSE 

Petro has asked the international community for help, but stripped of hypocrisy, to save the Amazon rainforest. "The war served as an excuse for not taking the necessary measures (...) When it was necessary to move away as soon as possible from coal and oil, they invented one war and another".

"They invaded Ukraine, but also Iraq, Libya and Syria. They invaded in the name of oil and gas. They discovered in the 21st century the worst of their addictions, their addiction to money and oil. Wars have helped them not to act against the climate crisis. War has shown them how dependent they are on what will kill the human species", the Colombian president declared.

Petro again addressed those he considers responsible for the climate disaster that "fills the planet with viruses" to reproach them for at the same time doing business with medicines and turning vaccines into "merchandise".

"They propose that the market should not save us from what the market itself has created. The Frankenstein of humanity is in letting the market and greed act, surrendering the brain and reason, kneeling human rationality to greed," he lamented.

"The cause of the climate disaster is capital, the logic of relating to consume more and more, to produce more and more and for a few to earn more and more. This is what produces the climate disaster," stressed Petro, who, unlike other leaders at this type of event, did not read his speech.

Petro appealed to the rest of Latin American countries to unite in this attempt to put an end to this irrational power, to this passion for wars that are destroying the current civilization, and at the same time he proposed them to work together to save the Amazon rainforest.

"We can do it if you people from the north don't want to. Only exchange debt for life, only exchange debt for nature. I propose and I call on you in Latin America to put an end to it, do not pressure us to border ourselves in the fields of war, it is time for peace," he said.

"Let the Slavic peoples talk to each other, let the peoples of the world talk to each other (...) From Latin America I call on Russia and Ukraine to make peace (...). There is no total peace without economic, social and environmental justice", he concluded.

HOISTED ON HIS OWN PETARD

Manchin rails against 'revenge politics' on permit plan

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press - Yesterday 


WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday railed against what he called "revenge politics,'' as liberals in the House and Senate team up with Republicans to oppose his plan to speed permits for natural gas pipelines and other energy projects.


Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)© Provided by Associated Press

Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, secured a commitment from President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders to include the permitting package in a stopgap government-funding bill in return for his support of a landmark law to curb climate change.

But in the weeks since Biden signed so-called Inflation Reduction Act last month, Democrats and environmental groups have lined up to oppose the permitting plan, calling it bad for the country and the climate. Climate hawks such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, along with dozens of House members, say the permitting plan should be excluded from the must-pass spending bill.


Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)© Provided by Associated Press

Many Republicans agree. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate energy panel, called the permitting deal a “political payoff” to Manchin, whose vote on the climate bill was crucial to the law's passage.

Manchin's actions on the climate — including secret negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — "engendered a lot of bad blood” among Republicans, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters. “There’s not a lot of sympathy on our side to provide Sen. Manchin a reward.”

At a news conference Tuesday, Manchin expressed bewilderment at such sentiment, saying he's “never seen" such an example of “revenge politics,'' with Sanders and the "extreme liberal left siding up with Republican leadership'' to oppose his plan.

"It's revenge towards one person — me,'' Manchin said.

“I'm hearing that the Republican leadership is upset,'' he added. “They're not going to give a victory to Joe Manchin. Well, Joe Manchin is not looking for a victory.''

Replying Tuesday on Twitter, Sanders was defiant.

“Defeating the Big Oil side deal is not about revenge,″ he said. “It’s about whether we will stand with 650 environmental and civil rights organizations who understand that the future of the planet is with renewable energy and energy efficiency not approving the Mountain Valley Pipeline,″ a nearly-completed natural gas pipeline from northern West Virginia to southern Virginia. Manchin’s plan would expedite the pipeline and steer legal challenges to a different federal court.

While legislative text of his permitting plan has not been made public, Manchin called the bill “a good piece of legislation that is extremely balanced” and does not “bypass any environmental review.″ Instead it would accelerate a timeframe that can take up to 10 years for a major project to win approval.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has released a similar plan that would speed environmental permitting, but Manchin said his plan should have broader appeal, since it would streamline environmental reviews for renewable energy projects as well as fossil fuels. Manchin's plan has support from Biden and other Democratic leaders.

But a letter signed by more than 70 House Democrats slams the proposal as a “dirty side deal being negotiated behind closed doors, outside of proper government process and the view of our families and communities who it will deeply impact.''

If passed, "this deal will only make it easier for the fossil-fuel industry to site polluting projects in our communities and perpetuate the industry’s practice of concentrating destructive pollution projects in communities of color and poor communities,'' said the letter, led by House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

The fissure among Democrats could complicate the party’s efforts to keep the focus on this summer’s major legislative victories — including the climate bill and a separate law to boost the semiconductor industry and create more high-tech jobs in the United States — heading into the midterm elections to determine which party controls the House and Senate.

More immediately, the divide is testing the ability of Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to keep enough Democrats in line to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month.

Schumer has said he will attach Manchin’s proposal to the stopgap funding bill, a promise Manchin said Tuesday he expects Schumer to keep.

The permitting plan "is going to be in the" funding bill to avert a government shutdown Sept. 30, Manchin said. If opponents are willing to close down the government “because of a personal attack on me, this is what makes people sick about politics,'' he added. “It makes me sick about it.''

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., did not directly answer when asked whether Manchin's permitting proposal would make it harder to pass the government funding bill, known as a continuing resolution.

"We’re going to pass the CR, and we're going to be here as long as it takes,'' Hoyer said Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

A PETARD 
a small bomb made of a metal or wooden box filled with powder,
 used to blast down a door or to make a hole in a wall.