Archaeologists unearth the largest cemetery ever discovered in Gaza and find rare lead sarcophogi

Archaeologists unearth the largest cemetery ever discovered in Gaza and find rare lead sarcophogi

    Saturday, September 30, 2023   No comments

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip have found dozens of ancient graves, including two sarcophagi made of lead, in a Roman-era cemetery — a site dating back some 2,000 years that archaeologists describe as the largest cemetery discovered in Gaza.

Workers came upon the site last year during the construction of an Egyptian-funded housing project near Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Since then, crews have worked to excavate the 2,700-square-meter (2/3 acre) site with the support of French experts.

Now, what was once an inconspicuous construction lot — surrounded by a grove of nondescript apartment buildings — has become a gold mine for archaeologists looking to understand more about the Gaza Strip.

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Islamic Societies Review MONTHLY--September 2023

Islamic Societies Review MONTHLY--September 2023

    Saturday, September 30, 2023   No comments

ISR MONTHLY is a bulletin updating our readers about news stories and analyses of the month. For weekly updates, please visit ISR Weekly.

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Archaeologists Unearth The Largest Cemetery Ever Discovered In Gaza And Find Rare Lead Sarcophogi

     Saturday, September 30, 2023   No comments

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian workers in the Gaza Strip have found dozens of ancient graves, including two sarcophagi made of lead, in...

Iran And Saudi Arabia Are Discussing Canceling The Visa And Developing Tourism Relations

     Saturday, September 30, 2023   No comments

The Iranian government announced today, Saturday, the continuation of Iranian and Saudi efforts to develop tourism relations.Iranian Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Maryam...

A Dead Russian General Walking: A Ukrainian Government Run By Amateurs And Through PR

     Wednesday, September 27, 2023   No comments

For a country at war with a superpower, its leaders should be realistic and steady. So far, the leaders of Ukraine, both political leaders and...

With Cold Season Around The Corner, Assessing Ukrainian Counteroffensive Should Be A Sobering Exercise

     Monday, September 25, 2023   No comments

On July 23 of this year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine has "already taken back about 50% of what was initially...

News Media Review: Zelensky Visited Poland During His Return From Washington, But No Official In The Country Received Him

     Sunday, September 24, 2023   No comments

A report in the Singaporean newspaper “The Straits Times” said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, returning from the United States, stopped in Poland,...

Media Review: Is India Being Pressured By The West Using The Human Rights Claims?

     Sunday, September 24, 2023   No comments

India and Canada are in a diplomatic crisis at this point, and now made more intense with the US government declaring its support for Canada...

The Syrian And Chinese Presidents Sign A Strategic Cooperation Agreement

     Friday, September 22, 2023   No comments

On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed the Syrian-Chinese strategic cooperation agreement.Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that Beijing is ready...

Seymour Hersh: Ukrainian Armed Forces Have Already Called Off The Attack After Weeks Of Heavy Losses And Zelensky And Biden Are Not Interested In Putting An End To The “Massacre”

     Friday, September 22, 2023   No comments

Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh stated that the Ukrainian army effectively stopped the attack after weeks of heavy losses.“After several weeks of heavy losses...

General Assembly Of The United Nations; 19-23 + 26 September 2023

     Wednesday, September 20, 2023   No comments

General Assembly of the United Nations; 19-23 + 26 September 2023: World Leaders Urge Transformative Solutions to Myriad Threats as Ukraine Conflict, COVID-19 Pandemic Compound...

The Neocolonial Food Economy: How Bill Gates And Others Threaten Africa's Agricultural Future?

     Monday, September 18, 2023   No comments

A report on the American “The Nation” website, under the title “The New Colonial Food Economy,” by Alexander Zaitchik, author of the book “Owning the...

After Waiting Longer Than Any Applicant, Erdogan Now Says Turkiye Could 'Part Ways' With EU

     Saturday, September 16, 2023   No comments

After waiting far longer than any other country that applied and joined the Bloc, Turkiye is not frustrated with the process, but not giving up...

While Western Governments Are Crying Foul Over Russia’s Termination Of The “Gain Deal”, European Governments Are Banning The Import Of Grain From Ukraine

     Wednesday, September 13, 2023   No comments

Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria will introduce restrictions on the import of grain from Ukraine. This was stated by Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy after negotiations with...

Inflation Contributes To Declining Income And Increasing Poverty In The United States

     Tuesday, September 12, 2023   No comments

The US Census Bureau announced that inflation caused a decline in real income by 2.3% in the United States in 2022 despite raising wages, while...

The Summit Of The “77 + China” Group In Havana... Increasing Roles For The Groups That Reject Hegemony

     Monday, September 11, 2023   No comments

The Havana Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 + China, which will be held in the Cuban capital,...

Healthcare Inequity: How Big Pharma And Western Governments Betrayed Countries Of The Global South

     Thursday, September 07, 2023   No comments

First, it was Western governments that prioritized the vaccination of people in Europe over the need to protect the most vulnerable. For two years, EU...

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Iran and Saudi Arabia are discussing canceling the visa and developing tourism relations

Iran and Saudi Arabia are discussing canceling the visa and developing tourism relations

    Saturday, September 30, 2023   No comments

The Iranian government announced today, Saturday, the continuation of Iranian and Saudi efforts to develop tourism relations.

Iranian Deputy Minister

of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Maryam Jalali Dehkerdi, who is currently in Riyadh to participate in World Tourism Day activities, said, “Ideas were exchanged with the Saudi Deputy Minister of Tourism for International Relations and Foreign Tourism, Sultan Al-Musallam, about ways to remove obstacles to the development of... Tourism relations between the two countries, and the cancellation of the visa between the two countries,” according to what the Iranian “ISNA” agency reported.

Jalali invited the Saudi Minister of Tourism to visit Iran.

On September 23, the Iranian President congratulated Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince on the occasion of the Kingdom’s Saudi National Day, in two separate telegrams.

Raisi expressed his hope that “relations will witness further expansion in all fields, in light of the efforts between the two countries.”

It is noteworthy that the Iranian President had confirmed during his meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, on June 17 that there is no reason to prevent the development of relations with Islamic countries, pointing out the importance of developing relations with Riyadh and that the interest of the two peoples requires dealing between the two countries.

On June 6, Tehran officially opened the Iranian Embassy in Riyadh, the Iranian Consulate General in Jeddah, and the Permanent Representation of Iran to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Last March, Riyadh and Tehran announced their agreement to resume diplomatic relations, after years of estrangement.

A Dead Russian General Walking: A Ukrainian government run by amateurs and through PR

A Dead Russian General Walking: A Ukrainian government run by amateurs and through PR

    Wednesday, September 27, 2023   No comments

For a country at war with a superpower, its leaders should be realistic and steady. So far, the leaders of Ukraine, both political leaders and military officers show no sign that they are up to the challenges they are facing. In the span of one week, the Ukrainian leadership committed two serious unforced errors that must be deeply embarrassing and, importantly, costly.

First, Ukrainian president visited Canada after his trip to the UN. In Canada, he ended up standing to honor a Nazi who fought Russia (these words should have made a middle school child realize that there is a problem in this narrative--since Russia was on the side of the allies against Germany then). 

Given that Russia’s main justification of its military operation in Ukraine was to stop Nazis from killing ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, the optics of honoring a Nazis who “fought the Russians” should be the last thing you want to do.

Second, after launching their first missile attack on a military installation in Crimea, Ukrainian leaders released the results of the strike: destruction of the building and the killing of 33 Russian officers, including the commanding general.

“After the hit of the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers were killed, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Viktor Sokolov.” the Ukrainians said Monday, adding that more than 100 other Russian servicemen were wounded.

You don’t have to be an experienced leader to know that you must be certain that the person you are naming is actually dead. Because if the person is not dead, the entire narrative collapses and so goes the credibility of the entire government.

Sure enough, Russia treated that mistake as a gift, and casually released footage of the General alive, without even commenting on Ukrainian claim, as if to say: Russia gives no attention to Ukrainian leaders.

The real problem for the world now is this: If Ukrainian leaders make such untrue claims about things that are easily proven wrong, how serious should the world take their claim of taking back all of the territory they lost, including Crimea?

The answer to this question could help put that crisis on the right path to a resolution and stop the killing.

 

With cold season around the corner, assessing Ukrainian counteroffensive should be a sobering exercise

With cold season around the corner, assessing Ukrainian counteroffensive should be a sobering exercise

    Monday, September 25, 2023   No comments

On July 23 of this year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine has "already taken back about 50% of what was initially seized." That was two months ago. Now, with cold months around the corner, things are likely to slow down. To assess the cost and benefit of this counteroffensive at this point will be a reasonable thing to do to be able to understand how this war will go for the next months and years, unless a non-military solutions is reached of course.

Here is a look at the gains on the ground, as reported by pro-Ukrainian sources. Looking at Russia recent gains and comparing them to Ukrainian gains, it looks like Russia has gained more ground compared to Ukrainian gains.

This is bad news for those who think a military solution to this conflict is possible.

News media review: Zelensky visited Poland during his return from Washington, but no official in the country received him

News media review: Zelensky visited Poland during his return from Washington, but no official in the country received him

    Sunday, September 24, 2023   No comments

A report in the Singaporean newspaper “The Straits Times” said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, returning from the United States, stopped in Poland, but no officials met with him.

The report added: “Zelensky gave Polish volunteers government awards during his stop in Poland yesterday, Saturday, but he did not meet any official, as relations between the two countries became tense due to grain supplies.”

Marcin Brzydak, head of the Polish Presidency's International Policy Office, said in an article in the Singaporean newspaper, The Straits Times, that "his office did not receive any official request to hold a meeting during Zelensky's stay in Poland."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously warned President Zelenskiy of “new insults to Warsaw.”

media review: Is India being pressured by the West using the human rights claims?

media review: Is India being pressured by the West using the human rights claims?

    Sunday, September 24, 2023   No comments

India and Canada are in a diplomatic crisis at this point, and now made more intense with the US government declaring its support for Canada and reportedly providing the Canadian government with intelligence about the assassination case. Indian media reacted to the US involvement. Like the Guadian newspaper three years ago, Indian media started to produce the list of assassinations undertaken by the US government in other sovereign nations and on official of sovereign nation states.  

The Tribune asked: Look who’s talking, US reveals its bias, double standards:

BACKING Canada’s efforts to vilify India over allegations of its involvement in the killing of pro-Khalistan terror accused Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the US — that inveterate global policeman — has stated that no country can get any ‘special exemption’ for such actions. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said: ‘We will defend our basic principles and consult closely with allies like Canada as they pursue their law enforcement and diplomatic process.’ But has India sought any exemption, special or otherwise? Obviously not. New Delhi has not only rejected Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s claims as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’ but also asked Ottawa to share relevant evidence, if any. There’s a bigger question: Does the US have the moral authority to grant such an exemption, even if unsolicited, considering its own unenviable history of adventurism in foreign lands? The answer is again an emphatic no.

 

The Syrian and Chinese presidents sign a strategic cooperation agreement

The Syrian and Chinese presidents sign a strategic cooperation agreement

    Friday, September 22, 2023   No comments

On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed the Syrian-Chinese strategic cooperation agreement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that Beijing is ready to develop cooperation with Syria and jointly defend international justice under conditions of instability.

During his meeting with his Syrian counterpart, in the Chinese city of Khanzhou, Xi said that China and Syria are moving towards announcing the establishment of strategic partnership relations, adding that this will be an important turning point in the history of bilateral relations in the face of unstable international situations.

Xi confirmed that Syria is one of the first countries to establish relations with the new China, adding that it was one of the countries that proposed a draft resolution to restore China's seat in the United Nations.

The Chinese President stressed that Syrian-Chinese relations have withstood changes in international situations for 67 years, and the friendship between the two countries remains solid over time.

The Chinese President also announced his country's keenness to continuously make joint efforts to exchange firm support between the two countries and enhance cooperation between them to defend international justice and peace.

In turn, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated that his country looks forward to China's constructive role in the international arena and rejects all attempts to weaken this role.

Al-Assad expressed his happiness at visiting China, which stands with the just causes of peoples, based on the legal, humanitarian and moral principles that form the basis of Chinese policy in international forums and which are based on the independence of countries and respect for the will of the people.

Al-Assad pointed out that this visit is important in its timing and circumstances, as a multipolar world is forming today that will restore balance and stability to the world, and it is the duty of all of us to seize this moment for the sake of a bright and promising future.

The Syrian President thanked President Xi and the Chinese government for what it did to stand by the Syrian people in their cause and suffering, wishing the Chinese people more scientific, civilizational and humanitarian victories.

Yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a press conference: “We believe that President Bashar al-Assad’s visit will lead to a deepening of mutual political trust and cooperation in various fields between the two countries, and the advancement of bilateral relations to new heights.”

The Syrian President arrived at Khanzhou Airport in China yesterday, Thursday, in his first official visit to the country in nearly two decades, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

In 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Damascus on an official visit to enhance cooperation between China and Syria. This was the first visit by a high-ranking Chinese official since the start of the war on Syria.

Chinese media. often reflecting the thinking of Chinese leaders, suggest that China's investment in Syria is likely to be in transportation and other infrastructure projects and that such investments will be protected from Western sanctions by using yuan for related transaction.

Seymour Hersh: Ukrainian armed forces have already called off the attack after weeks of heavy losses and Zelensky and Biden are not interested in putting an end to the “massacre”

Seymour Hersh: Ukrainian armed forces have already called off the attack after weeks of heavy losses and Zelensky and Biden are not interested in putting an end to the “massacre”

    Friday, September 22, 2023   No comments

Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh stated that the Ukrainian army effectively stopped the attack after weeks of heavy losses.

“After several weeks of heavy losses and minimal progress, as well as horrific losses in tanks and armored vehicles, the main units of the Ukrainian army, without announcing it, effectively called off the attack,” Hersh quoted an official with access to the intelligence as saying.

Hersh quotes an unnamed American intelligence officer: “The truth is that if the Ukrainian army is ordered to continue the offensive, the army will rebel. “The soldiers don’t want to die anymore, but this doesn’t fit with the nonsense written by the White House under US President Joe Biden.”

Hersh also reported that Vladimir Zelensky insists on continuing the conflict with Russia, and there is no talk in Kiev or Washington of negotiations and a ceasefire.

“The war continues because Zelensky insists on it,” Hersh said, citing sources. There is no discussion of a truce at his headquarters or in the White House under President Joe Biden, and they are not interested in negotiations that put an end to the massacre.”

Hersh added, quoting an intelligence source, and as the source points out, all of Kiev’s statements about the successful counterattack are lies, as the Ukrainian forces have only gained scattered pieces of land, and the pace of their advance is measured in meters per week.

An unnamed American intelligence official was quoted as saying: “The war is over. Russia has won. “There is no longer a Ukrainian attack, but the White House and the American media must support the lie.”

The Russian Armed Forces continue to implement their special military operation, with the aim of disarming Ukraine, to ward off threats emanating from Ukrainian territory to Russia's security.

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia does not plan to occupy Ukrainian lands, explaining that Russia's goal is to protect the population, which has been subjected, for 8 years, to persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime.

Ukrainian forces have been launching a counterattack in the directions of southern Donetsk, Artyomovsk and Zaporozhye for the fourth month now, sending brigades trained by NATO and armed with foreign equipment into the battle.

According to President Vladimir Putin, during this time they could not achieve any results. In turn, Western military experts point to the effectiveness of Russian fortifications and minefields, due to which the Ukrainian armed forces suffered heavy losses.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that “Ukrainian forces have lost more than 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 weapons since the start of the so-called “counterattack.”

Shoigu also stressed that “the Ukrainian army did not achieve its goals during the three months of the counterattack.”

Comparing controll maps from the start of the counteroffesive to recent maps make Hersh's claim about the stopped or stalled offensive evident:

Control map in September 2023:

Control map in June 2023: