Assassinated Iranian nuclear scientist shot with remote-controlled machine gun, news agency says By Sara Mazloumsaki and Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN Updated 1252 GMT (2052 HKT) November 30, 2020 Iran vows revenge after top nuclear scientist killed Iran holds funeral for assassinated nuclear scientist (CNN)The Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated east of Tehran was shot by a remote-controlled machine gun operating out of another car, the semi-official Fars News Agency said Sunday. With top Iranian officials blaming Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and others have promised revenge for the Friday killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was the country’s chief nuclear scientist. There were conflicting accounts from Iranian news agencies about how the attack unfolded. Continue reading on CVD >>

 FOREIGN POLICY, The White House

 Issued on: October 23, 2020

Oval Office

11:34 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  (In progress) …on the phone, we have some terrific people: Chairman Abdel al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok of Sudan — a beautiful part of the world; and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — I think you mostly know him.  You perhaps heard of him somewhere.  We have the very highly sophisticated press.  I think they may have heard of him, of Israel.  So I want to just congratulate all of you.

Continue reading on CVD >>

October 29, 2020 The White House

4 minute read

Council of Economic Advisers

After releasing his plan to reopen America safely in April, President Trump remarked that prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, the United States had “built the greatest economy anywhere in the world . . .  and we’re going to build it again.”

At that time, the consensus among economic forecasters was that pandemic-induced lockdowns would result in a sharp economic contraction in the second quarter, and that the economy would experience tepid growth in the third quarter as it slowly clawed back pandemic losses. But because of the President’s pro-growth policies that set a strong pre-pandemic foundation—and the extraordinary speed and scale of the Administration’s support for America’s families and businesses—our nation’s recovery continues to exceed expectations.

Continue reading on CVD >>

The Atlantic – While the U.S. is distracted, China is rewriting the rules of the global order.

Lan Truong

• Story by Anne Applebaum
• NOVEMBER 2020 ISSUE

Like ​The Atlantic? Subscribe to ​The Atlantic Daily​, our free weekday email newsletter.

Back in may, when President Donald Trump called for America to stop funding the World Health Organization, he presented a list of the WHO’s recent failures: the organization’s initial failure to flag the spread of the novel coronavirus; its initial failure to follow up when Taiwan—a country excluded from the WHO because of Chinese objections—inquired about evidence that seemed to indicate that the virus could be transmitted from one human to another; its initial failure to press China to accept an international investigation into the source of the virus. At the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO, which operates as a specialized agency of the United Nations, seemed to be one beat behind. It also seemed overly reliant upon biased information provided by the government of China.

Continue reading on CVD >>

• SÁNG ÁNH
• 23.09.2020, 15:22

TTCT – Iran vừa hành quyết lực sĩ bộ môn đô vật Navid Afkari về tội đâm chết từ sau lưng một bảo vệ công ty nước là Hassan Torkaman. Gia đình của Torkaman đã từ chối không tha thứ Afkari theo luật Hồi. Luật này cho phép gia đình nạn nhân tha chết cho thủ phạm sau khi nhận hay không nhận bồi thường (còn gọi là luật “tiền máu”). Hai anh em của Navid mang tội đồng phạm thì lãnh 54 và 27 năm tù.

Navid Afkari (Ảnh: Wiki)

Tuy hành nghề công nhân xây dựng ở Shiraz nhưng Navid là lực sĩ nổi tiếng tầm quốc gia vì đô vật là bộ môn được quần chúng Iran ưa chuộng, và về bộ môn này thì Iran ở đẳng cấp quốc tế.

Navid và các anh em ruột, cũng như cả ngàn người khác, đã tham dự các cuộc biểu tình chống chính quyền năm 2018, nên có dư luận nói vụ án này là đổ vấy cho họ để dằn mặt mọi người. Chính quyền, tòa án Iran không thông báo chi tiết cũng như nguyên nhân vụ án, chỉ xác định lơ mơ là Navid có mặt tại hiện trường vì điện thoại di động của anh được ghi nhận xuất hiện ở nơi xảy ra án mạng.

Truyền hình nhà nước dành 11 phút về việc này với lời thú tội của Navid và cáo buộc của gia đình nạn nhân, phát sóng sau khi Tổng thống Hoa Kỳ Donald Trump lên tiếng đòi tha cho Navid.

Đọc tiếp trên CVD >>

Walter Lohman / August 21, 2020 / Daily Signal

COMMENTARY BY Walter Lohman

Walter Lohman is director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

There is a long-held logic in Washington that puts so-called geostrategic interests ahead of values. The idea is that we cannot afford to stand for liberty because our global competitors do not.

If we alienate oppressive governments by criticizing them or pushing for political reform, the logic follows, they will side with our competitors and tilt the game board against us.

Continue reading on CVD >>

CVD Admin: Vietnam did not vote one way or another.

Continue reading on CVD >>

AsiaChannel 02 Jul 2020 01:19AM

MONTREAL: Canada must have an “urgent rethink” of its relationship with China, former prime minister Brian Mulroney said on Wednesday (Jul 1) as tensions build over the possible extradition to the United States of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Conservative Mulroney backed his Liberal successor Justin Trudeau’s rejection of any exchange of Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018, for two Canadians who were detained in China in apparent retaliation.

Mulroney said Canada’s hope that China would emerge as a constructive partner in international relations had been proven wrong, referring in particular to Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea.

Continue reading on CVD >>

AsiaChannel 02 Jul 2020 02:47AM

WASHINGTON, DC: US lawmakers on Wednesday (Jul 1) urged further action against China over its imposition of a security law in Hong Kong, where police broke up defiant protests.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged President Donald Trump to do more under a 2019 law that lays out sanctions against officials who infringe on the freedoms promised to Hong Kong.

Continue reading on CVD >>

Asiachannel

01 Jul 2020 03:44PM(Updated: 02 Jul 2020 06:21AM)

BEIJING: Hong Kong police fired water cannon and tear gas and arrested more than 300 people on Wednesday (Jul 1) as protesters took to the streets in defiance of a new security law.

Beijing on Tuesday unveiled the details of the much-anticipated law after weeks of uncertainty, pushing Hong Kong onto a more authoritarian path.

Continue reading on CVD >>

Al Jazeera, July 2, 2020

Several of Israel’s staunchest allies have criticised its annexation plans as jeopardising the status quo.

MORE ON ISRAELI–PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

• Canada does not deserve a seat at the UN Security Council2 weeks ago
• How the US and Israel exchange tactics in violence and control2 weeks ago
• PA proposes demilitarised state as counterproposal to Trump plan3 weeks ago
• Maximum sentence requested for Jewish settler in Duma arson case3 weeks ago

Israel’s annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank has been fiercely criticised by not only Palestinians but by the international community at large.

The plan, which aims to annex all illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank – including the strategic Jordan Valley – amounts to one-third of the territory and is in line with US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Middle East plan,” which envisages a demilitarised Palestinian state on a patchwork of disjointed parts of the Palestinian territories.

Continue reading on CVD >>

Palestinians in Ramallah demonstrate against Israel’s plan to annex a third of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley. by Arwa Ibrahim & Rima Mustafa,Al Jazeera July 2, 2020 Palestinians have decried Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley as the end to a future Palestinian state [Majdi Mohammed/AP]

MORE ON PALESTINE

• UN’s Michelle Bachelet says Israel’s annexation plans ‘illegal’2 days ago
• Israel’s Jordan Valley Annexation explained2 days ago
• Trump aide: concerns over occupied West Bank annexation overblownlast week
• Canada does not deserve a seat at the UN Security Council2 weeks ago

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Despite a delay in the long-anticipated declaration of an Israeli plan to annex one-third of the already illegally occupied West Bank, including parts of the strategic Jordan Valley, Palestinians decried the plan with some holding protests in Ramallah and Gaza City. Continue reading on CVD >>

By CNN 9:32pm Jun 30, 2020 China’s new national security legislation for Hong Kong was written and passed behind closed doors, without the consultation of the city’s local government or legislature. It reportedly came into force on June 30, potentially rewriting the city’s legal system – despite the fact the overwhelming majority of residents have no idea of what precisely it will entail. According to reports in Communist Party-controlled media, the law is expected to criminalise offenses such as secession, subversion against the central Chinese government, terrorism, and colluding with foreign forces.

Continue reading on CVD >>

The Trump administration’s new restrictions come in response to a new national security law that will extend China’s influence over Hong Kong.

The Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in Hong Kong.Credit…Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

By Ana Swanson June 29, 2020, 6:25 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration placed new restrictions on U.S. exports of defense equipment and certain high-technology products to Hong Kong on Monday, in response to a new Chinese law aimed at tightening Beijing’s control over the territory.

Continue reading on CVD >>

Beleaguered by regional tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic woes, Tehran could use anti-Israel sentiment to restore its reputation. BY ARIANE TABATABAI, HENRY ROME,FP | JUNE 26, 2020, 12:52 PM

Starting July 1, Israel may take the first step toward annexing territory in the West Bank, in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the region. Discussions about the potential annexation have mostly focused on its implications for the two-state solution and renewed violence. But it would also have significant effects on Israel’s rivalry with Iran and on U.S. efforts to isolate Tehran. Although many Israelis view annexation as a strategic gain, the move would be a strategic gift for Tehran. Continue reading on CVD >>