Iran’s supreme leader pardons large number of prisoners linked to protests
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2023
Iran’s supreme leader has pardoned “tens of thousands” of prisoners including some arrested in recent anti-government protests, state media reported on Sunday after a deadly state crackdown helped quell the nationwide unrest.
However, the pardon approved by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came with conditions, according to details announced in state media reports, which said the measure would not apply to any of the numerous dual nationals held in Iran.
State news agency IRNA said those accused of “corruption on earth” – a capital charge brought against some protesters, four of whom have been executed – would also not be pardoned.
Neither would it apply to those charged with “spying for foreign agencies” or those “affiliated with groups hostile to the Islamic Republic,” state media reported.
Iran was swept by protests following the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the country’s morality police last September. Iranians from all walks of life took part, marking one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
According to the HRANA activist news agency, about 20,000 people have been arrested in connection with the protests, which the authorities accused Iran’s foreign enemies of fomenting.
Rights groups say over 500 have been killed in the crackdown, including 70 minors. At least four people have been hanged, according to the Iranian judiciary.
In a letter to Khamenei requesting the pardon, judiciary head Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said: “During recent events, a number of people, especially young people, committed wrong actions and crimes as a result of the indoctrination and propaganda of the enemy.
Protests have slowed considerably since the hangings began.
Khamenei approved the pardons in honour of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Ukraine to replace defence minister in wartime reshuffle
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2023
Ukraine is set to replace Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov with the chief of its military spy agency, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, in a reshuffle at the forefront of Ukraine’s war campaign.
Reznikov would be transferred to another ministerial job and replaced by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR military intelligence agency, said David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker and chief of Servant of the People parliamentary bloc.
“War dictates changes in personnel policy,” Arakhamia said on the Telegram messaging app.
He said that Ukraine’s “force” agencies – like the defence ministry – should not be headed by politicians, but by career defence or security officials.
Arakhamia did not say when the move would be formalised. There was no immediate comment from Reznikov.
Asked earlier at a news conference about media reports of his possible exit from the ministry, the defence minister told reporters that any decision was up to Zelenskiy.
Reznikov, 56, became defence minister in Nov. 2021, just a few months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
During the war, he fostered relationships with Western defence officials and helped oversee the receipt of billions of dollars of military assistance – including rocket launchers and tanks – to help Kyiv fend off the Russian invasion.
As a wartime defence minister, Reznikov singled out Ukraine’s “de facto” integration into the NATO military alliance as a top priority, even if joining the bloc was not immediately possible de jure.
During his tenure as defence minister, he spoke out strongly about wartime corruption, which he said was akin to “marauding”.
But in recent weeks his own defence ministry became embroiled in a corruption scandal over an army food contract that envisaged paying vastly inflated prices.
One of his deputy ministers has been fired and named a suspect in the scandal, and another one has since resigned separately.
Bangkok Kiwis celebrate National Day with breath-taking Māori performance
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023
Farida Waller
New Zealand citizens in Bangkok, as well as visitors from the country, celebrated their National Day on Sunday with an event that began with a rare sight in Thailand – a startling Kapa Haka performance.
The performance began with an emotionally powerful rendition of the country’s national anthem, then continued with the unique singing, dancing and chanting that together create a style of performance that is unique to the country’s Māori people.
New Zealanders, known affectionately as “Kiwis“, celebrate their National Day on February 6.
This is the day, in 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by representatives of more than 500 Māori chiefs and the British Crown. National Day was officially commemorated in New Zealand in 1934 and became a public holiday in 1974.
The treaty of 1840 is considered the nation’s founding document.
Celebrations and appreciation of Māori culture are considered essential – and joyful – in New Zealand. This point was highlighted by Melissa Haydon-Clarke, deputy head of mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok.
After thanking those who attended the event, she said: “It is a significant day in New Zealand to reflect on our combined culture, to see the modern nation that we are today, and to have fun.”
New Zealand National Day is a time to celebrate with friends and family and reflect on what it means to be a Kiwi, participants said.
The celebration offered a wide range of food stalls, barbeques, free-flowing New Zealand wine, golf, and raffles.
But it was the Kapa Haka performance that set the tone. Literally, “Kapa” means “to form a line” and “Haka” means “breath on fire”.
After the anthem, the performance fused sound and movement to convey a powerful sense of identity.
It also included a ceremonial Māori war dance, or challenge, that historically is performed to demonstrate a tribe’s pride, strength, and unity. One of the typical moves is for the male performers to stick out their tongues and widen their eyes to intimidate the enemy.
In April, Kiwis celebrate ANZAC day in honour of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is a national day of remembrance in both countries, commemorating all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations”.
Pakistan Former President Pervez Musharraf Dies in Dubai
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023
Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf has died after a prolonged illness at a hospital in Dubai, Pakistani local media reported on Sunday.
Pervez Musharraf, the four-star general who ruled Pakistan for nearly a decade after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1999, oversaw rapid economic growth and attempted to usher in socially liberal values in the conservative Muslim country.
Musharraf, 79, died in hospital after a long illness after spending years in self-imposed exile, Pakistan media reported on Sunday. He enjoyed strong support for many years, and his greatest threat was al Qaeda and other militant Islamists who tried to kill him at least three times.
But his heavy-handed use of the military to quell dissent as well as his continued backing of the United States in its fight against al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban ultimately led to his downfall.
Born in New Delhi in 1943, Musharraf was four years old when his parents joined the mass exodus by Muslims to the newly created state of Pakistan. His father served in the foreign ministry, while his mother was a teacher and the family subscribed to a moderate, tolerant brand of Islam.
He joined the army at the age of 18 and went on to lead an elite commando unit before rising to become its chief. He took power by ousting the then-prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who had tried to sack him for greenlighting an operation to invade Indian-held areas of Kashmir, bringing Pakistan and India to the brink of war.
In his early years in government, Musharraf won plaudits internationally for his reformist efforts, pushing through legislation to protect the rights of women and allowing private news channels to operate for the first time.
His penchant for cigars and imported whisky and his calls for Muslims to adopt a lifestyle of “enlightened moderation” increased his appeal in the West in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
He became one of Washington’s most important allies after the attacks, allowing U.S. forces to operate armed drones from secret bases on Pakistani soil that killed thousands and ordering domestic troops into the country’s lawless tribal areas along the Afghanistan frontier for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
That helped legitimize his rule overseas but also helped plunge Pakistan into a bloody war against local extremist militant groups.
In a 2006 memoir, he took credit for saving Pakistan from American wrath saying the country had been warned it needed to be “prepared to be bombed back to the Stone Age” if it did not ally itself with Washington.
Musharraf also successfully lobbied then-President George W Bush to pour money into the Pakistani military. Still, the army’s allegiances were never unambiguous: its powerful intelligence services cut deals with the Taliban and al Qaeda, and bolstered an insurgency fighting US troops in Afghanistan.
In other areas of foreign policy, Musharraf attempted to normalize relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
At a regional summit in 2002, less than three years after launching the military operation against India, Musharraf shocked the world when, after finishing a speech, he suddenly moved towards Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to shake hands and offered to talk peace.
Analysts say the issue of Kashmir – which remains the most potent point of contention between India and Pakistan – was close to being solved during the Musharraf era. But the peace process was derailed soon after his rule.
Under Musharraf, foreign investment flourished and Pakistan saw annual economic growth of as much as 7.5% – which remains the highest level in nearly three decades, according to World Bank data.
The later years of his presidency were, however, overshadowed, by his increasingly authoritarian rule. In 2006, Musharraf ordered military action that killed a tribal head from the province Balochistan, laying the foundations of an armed insurgency that rages to this day.
The next year, more than a hundred students calling for the imposition of Sharia law were killed after Musharraf shunned negotiations and ordered troops to storm a mosque in Islamabad. That led to the birth of a new militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has since killed tens of thousands in suicide bombings and brazen assaults.
Later in 2007, a suicide attack that assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, triggered waves of violence. His efforts to strong-arm the judiciary also led to protests and a besieged Musharraf postponed elections and declared a state of emergency.
In 2008, the country’s first democratic elections in 11 years were held. Musharraf’s party lost and facing impeachment by parliament he resigned from the presidency and fled to London.
He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to run for a seat in parliament but was immediately disqualified. He was allowed to leave for Dubai in 2016.
In 2019, a court sentenced him to death in absentia for the 2007 imposition of emergency rule but the verdict was later overturned.
New System to Pay 20% More for Solar Power from Japan Businesses’ Rooftops
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023
The economy ministry plans to introduce a system in which electric power generated by solar panels on the roofs of company buildings, factories and warehouses will be purchased at 20% higher prices than power generated from panels on the ground.
There are a limited number of places where solar panels can be installed, so the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry is aiming to encourage the proliferation of renewable energy sources through the use of roof space.
Solar power facilities have rapidly increased due to the system of purchasing electric power from them at fixed prices, a practice that began in 2012. Japan now has the world’s highest capacity of installed facilities for its land area, but the remaining land plots suitable for newly installed solar panels are small.
The new pricing system will start in October. From that point, the panels of solar power generation businesses that are certified by March 2025 and have at least 10 kilowatts of output capacity will be eligible.
If solar panels are installed on roofs, electric power from them will be purchased at ¥12 per kilowatt-hour. This is 20% higher than the ¥10 for power from panels on flat ground that has an output capacity between 10 kilowatts and less than 50 kilowatts.
It is sometimes necessary to build work scaffolds to install rooftop panels, panel or parts when they are repaired. Installing panels on roofs is therefore more costly than doing it on the ground.
The costs of buying the power they produce will be passed on to electricity bills. However, “this will not put a heavy financial burden on the public,” a ministry official said, even if the new purchasing price is 20% higher.
In its energy basic plan compiled in 2021, the government stipulated that renewable energy will be made the main electric power source.
A powerful arctic blast swept into the US Northeast on Friday, pushing temperatures to perilously low levels across the region, including New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the wind chill dropped to 105 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-79 Celsius), forecasters said.
Wind-child warnings were posted for most of New York state and all six New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine – a region home to some 16 million people.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the deep freeze would be relatively short-lived, but the combination of numbing cold and biting winds gripping the Northeast would pose life-threatening conditions well into Saturday.
Schools in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, New England‘s two largest cities, were among those closed on Friday over concerns about the risk of hypothermia and frostbite for children walking to school or waiting for buses.
Boston was at 8 degrees F (-13 C) on Friday evening, while in Worcester, Massachusetts, 40 miles (64 km) to the west, the mercury hit 3 F (-16 C), with temperatures expected to fall even lower, according to the National Weather Service.
Record cold was expected in both cities on Saturday. Forecasts called for a low of -6 F in Boston, exceeding an 1886 record -2 for the date. Worcester was headed for a low of -11 on Saturday, which would break its previous 1934 record of -4 for the date.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a state of emergency through Sunday and opened warming centres to help the city’s 650,000-plus residents cope with what the NWS has warned was shaping up to be a “once-in-a-generation” cold front.
New York City mayor spends night in migrant shelter amid controversy over conditions
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2023
New York City Mayor Eric Adams spent Friday night at a new migrant shelter in Brooklyn amid controversy over the facility’s safety and humanitarian conditions.
He was accompanied by New York State Assembly member, Eddie Gibbs, and advocate for the homeless, Shams DaBaron.
Adams posted a video on his Twitter account, showing him playing video games with shelter residents and meeting with them.
In a statement issued after his night in the shelter, Adams said, “I’d like to be clear that the facilities at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal are providing the same services to asylum seekers as every other humanitarian relief centre in the city, and the team at the terminal is giving new meaning to the words ‘love thy neighbour.'”
Adams said that he, Gibbs and DaBaron slept at the terminal “alongside hundreds of migrants.”
The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was converted into a temporary shelter for male migrants at the end of January. It is expected to accommodate 1,000 single men, including several who were previously housed at the Watson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The men are being relocated to the Cruise Terminal shelter after the decision was made to use the hotel as a shelter for migrant families.
The move was met with some outcry, according to New York media reports. CBS New York reported some men complained of overly-cramped conditions, lack of privacy, and not enough bathrooms in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal shelter. However, CBS also reported that other migrants countered that criticism, praising the conditions and the food.
The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless, two New York-based non-profit organizations, have also expressed concern over conditions in the new shelter.
More than 44,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring, Adams said in his statement. He has previously said that the influx of migrants is leaving the city with “a humanitarian crisis.” The mayor has called on the federal government to develop a strategy that will spread the migrant population across several cities.
US military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, drawing to a close a dramatic saga that shone a spotlight on worsening Sino-US relations.
A video posted on social media shows a flying object believe to be the suspected Chinese spy balloon, falling from the sky after being hit.
Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday (February 1) to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water.
Multiple fighters and refuelling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one – an F-22 fighter jet – took the shot, using a single AIM-9X missile, a senior U.S. military official said. The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the US coast, the official said.
The shootdown came shortly after the US government ordered a halt to flights in and out of three South Carolina airports – Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston — due to what it said at the time was an undisclosed “national security effort.” The flights resumed Saturday afternoon.
The balloon first entered a US identification zone on Jan. 28, entered Canadian airspace three days later, and then re-entered US airspace on Jan. 31, a US defence official said.
US officials publicly disclosed the balloon’s presence over the United States on Thursday (February 2).
Images purported to show China spy balloon emerge on social media
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2023
Reuters
A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a couple of days, U.S. officials said on Thursday (February 2), in what would be a brazen act just days ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Fighter jets were mobilized but military leaders advised President Joe Biden against shooting the balloon out of the sky for fear debris could pose a safety threat, advice Biden accepted, U.S. officials said.
The United States took “custody” of the balloon when it entered U.S. airspace and had observed it with piloted U.S. military aircraft, one the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Video shot by an eyewitness showed what appeared to be the suspected spy balloon.
Reuters could not independently confirm the images were of the spy balloon, but they were filmed over Billings, Montana after authorities issued a ground stop as the military mobilized assets including F-22 fighter jets in case President Biden ordered the balloon be shot down.
The man who shot the video, Chase Doak, said that the object had remained stationary in the sky for over half an hour.
A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
The incident recalls the lengths to which Beijing and Washington have been willing to go to spy on each other amid rising tensions between the superpowers.
“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.
Blinken is expected to travel to China next week for a visit agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
China and the United States, the world’s two largest economies, have experienced tensions of late, clashing over Taiwan, China’s human rights record and its military activity in the South China Sea.
A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
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