Moscow accuses Washington of deploying missiles in Syria

Agencies
June 16, 2017

Moscow, Jun 16: Russia on Thursday accused the US-led coalition of deploying missiles against Syrian troops at a garrison in the east of the country, where opposition fighters battling Daesh are being trained.

Moscow

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the “United States has moved two HIMARS multiple rocket launchers from Jordan to Al-Tanf US special forces base.” That suggested that the equipment would be used for strikes against Syrian regime forces, the statement added.

“Deploying any type of foreign weapons on Syrian territory... must be approved by the government of the sovereign country,” it said.

“Forces of the US-led anti-IS (Daesh) coalition have repeatedly issued strikes on Syrian government forces fighting IS near the Jordanian border.

“It’s not hard to guess that similar strikes will be continued against contingents of the Syrian Army in the future using HIMARS,” it said.

In Washington, a US Defense Department confirmed the deployment of the HIMARS system to the base, but did not say how many.

The HIMARS system, mounted on a lorry, fires GPS-guided rockets with a range of 70 km.

Meanwhile, as Daesh militants take a pounding in their eroding Iraqi and Syrian strongholds, its leaders have set up a new headquarters in Syria away from the front lines, where they are digging in and likely planning more attacks against the West. The militants’ relocation could extend Daesh’s ability to wreak havoc in the region and beyond for months to come.

US officials and Syrian activists say many commanders have fled the besieged cities of Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, in recent months for Mayadeen, a remote town in the heart of Syria’s Daesh-controlled, Euphrates River valley near the Iraqi border.

In another development, airstrikes hit opposition-held districts east of Damascus on Thursday for the first time in weeks after shells landed in parts of the capital controlled by the Syrian regime, a Reuters witness and a war monitor said.

Fighting and bombardment around Damascus have eased significantly since Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed a deal for “de-escalation zones” around Syria in an April meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Separately, thousands of refugees, carrying suitcases, shopping bags and toddlers, walked back home into Syria from Turkey on Thursday ahead of the Eid festival. Some said they wanted to start again in their homeland, and would return within the month if it did not work out, while others said they wanted to return to Syria for good, citing the difficulty of finding employment in Turkey.

“One day you can find a job, the other day you can’t,” said Sevsen Um Mustafa as she walked toward the border crossing with two daughters in tow. “Sometimes they make you work but they don’t pay. Even if they do, it’s not enough."

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Agencies
July 19,2020

Occupied Jerusalem, Jul 19: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Sunday.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals in which he is alleged to have received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and exchanged regulatory favors with media moguls for more agreeable coverage of himself and his family.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, painting the accusations as a media-orchestrated witchhunt pursued by a biased law enforcement system.

The trial opened in May. Just before appearing in front of the judges, Netanyahu took to a podium inside the courthouse and flanked by his party members bashed the country’s legal institutions in an angry tirade.

Netanyahu was not expected to appear at Sunday’s hearing, which is taking place at an occupied Jerusalem court and is mostly a procedural deliberation.

The trial resumes as Netanyahu faces widespread anger over his government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While the country appeared to have tamped down a first wave of infections, what’s emerged as a hasty and erratic reopening sent infections soaring. Yet even amid the rise in new cases Netanyahu and his emergency government — formed with the goal of dealing with the crisis — appeared to neglect the numbers and moved forward with other policy priorities and its reopening plans.

It has since paused them and even re-impose restrictions, including a weekend only lockdown set to begin later this week.

Netanyahu’s government has been criticized for a baffling, halting response to the new wave, which has seen daily cases rise to nearly 2,000. It has been slammed for its handling of the economic fallout of the crisis.

His trial thus comes at inopportune timing. Netanyahu had hoped to ride on the goodwill he gained from overcoming the first wave of infections going into his corruption trial, but the increasingly souring mood has affected his approval rating and may deny him the public backing he had hoped for. The anger has sparked protests over the past few weeks that have culminated in violent clashes with police.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Dubai, Apr 11: The UAE has conducted over 49,000 Covid-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents, it was revealed on Friday, using state-of-the-art technology in line with the 's plans to intensify virus screening in order to bring the disease under control.

The accelerated investigative measures helped detect 370 new coronavirus cases among various nationalities, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care.

This took the total number of infections in the country to 3,360, according to a MoHaP statement.

The Ministry also revealed the death of two patients suffering from Covid-19. Both of the deceased were Asian nationals and had pre-existing chronic illnesses. The total number of deaths has now reached 16.

The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

The Ministry also announced the full recovery of 150 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking to 418 the total of those now recovered from the virus in the UAE.

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Saudi Gazette
May 27,2020

Riyadh, May 27: Following the announcement of easing of lockdown measures, which includes reopening of all mosques for daily congressional as well as Friday prayers across the Kingdom except the holy city of Makkah, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance has set mandatory guidelines.

In a circular issued to mosque staff, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh has instructed that all mosques must comply with the following precautionary measures and instructions:

1. Open mosques 15 minutes before the Adhan and close them 10 minutes after prayer

2. Reduce the waiting period between the Adhan and Iqamah to 10 minutes

3. Open windows and doors from entering time to the end of the prayer

4. Remove copies of Holy Qur’an and other books temporarily from mosques

5. Ensure attendees keep a distance of two meters between each other

6. Ensure one space is left between each row

7. Close all water coolers and refrigerators

8. Do not allow distribution of water or food in mosques

9. Close toilets and places of ablution

Precautionary measures on Friday prayers are as follows:

1. Open mosques 20 minutes before Friday prayer and closing them 20 minutes after prayer.

2. Friday sermon with prayer should not exceed 15 minutes.

The circular also stipulates to keep the suspension of the religious courses, programs and lectures, as well as the memorizing Holy Qur'an sessions in the mosques and to continue education and lectures remotely until further notice.

The circular pointed out that the imams of mosques should urge the worshipers to take the following precautionary measures:

1. Wear a face mask

2. Bring their own prayer rugs and not leave them after the prayer

3. Prevent accompanying children under 15 years of age from entering mosques

4. Perform ablution at home

5. Avoid crowding when entering or exiting mosques

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior clarified later in the day that people are allowed to perform congressional prayers in their locality during the time of curfew.

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