In this section, Crescent International will highlight news and events that do not attract much media Attention. We will provide our brief analysis. Hyperlinked references will be provided for confirmation, corroboration and crediting purposes.
Tehran’s ability to help Venezuela to modernize its oil sector points to the fact that Washington’s so-called “maximum pressure” policy against Iran has failed.
As reported by the Washington based al-monitor.com “the United States said Thursday [April 30] that cash-strapped Venezuela is paying Iran in gold to rebuild its troubled oil industry as it denounced what it saw as growing cooperation between its two adversaries… Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday also highlighted the two US nemeses’ cooperation, saying that ‘multiple’ aircraft had been spotted in Venezuela from Iran’s Mahan Air.”
Iran’s ability to expand it influence beyond the Middle East shows that NATO’s narrative of “about to collapse” Islamic governance in Iran is nothing but third-rate propaganda which has not materialized over the past 40 years.
Courtesy: www.al-monitor.com
On April 29 the Guardian reported “new court filings that an Israeli spyware company used US-based servers and was ‘deeply involved’ in carrying out mobile phone hacks of 1,400 WhatsApp users, including senior government officials, journalists, and human rights activists.”
The new claims about NSO Group allege that the Israeli company bears responsibility in serious human rights violations, including the hacking of more than a dozen Indian journalists and Rwandan dissidents.
“For years, NSO Group has said that its spyware is purchased by government clients for the purpose of tracking down terrorists and other criminals and that it had no independent knowledge of how those clients – which in the past have reportedly included Saudi Arabia and Mexico – use its hacking software.”
Israeli spyware companies are notorious for cooperating with autocratic regimes to crackdown on political activists, journalists and NGOs.
Even though Israel tries to camouflage its assistance to dictatorial regimes as “IT business,” the world is becoming more and more aware of Zionist Israel’s immoral activities.
In January 2020, Amnesty International called on Israel to cancel the export license of NSO for its cooperation with autocratic governments.
Courtesy: The Guardian, Amnesty International.
Even though pro-Zionist groups managed to undermine Jeremy Corbin in the British parliamentary elections leading to his resignation from the leadership of the Labour Party, they did not manage to suppress the pro-justice sentiment of many British MPs.
As reported on May 1 by the Guardian, “nearly 130 parliamentarians, including former Conservative cabinet ministers, have written to [British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson urging him to impose economic sanctions against Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition government goes ahead with its threat to annex parts of the West Bank. The letter, signed by the former Tory chairman Lord Patten and the former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, says annexation would be clearly illegal under international law.”
This recent blow comes right after Zionist Israel suffered a series of legal and political setbacks.
Couple of days earlier, Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, presented a 60-page legal opinion to investigate Israel for war crimes during its aggression on Gaza in 2014.
This came exactly a day after the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) won a landmark court victory against the British regime’s attempt to clamp down on boycott of Israel.
Courtesy: The Guardian, Scottish Worker and The Irish Times
A few months after Kazakhstan’s long-serving dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev handed power to his protégé Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Nazarbayev’s daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva was removed from her position as head of the Senate.
As reported by Eurasianet “Kazakhstan’s president has in a shock decision stripped the daughter of his predecessor of her position as chair of the Senate, a move bound to spark fresh speculation about succession… Tokayev has pursued a far more hands-on form of rule and toyed with populist measures, such as when he announced last year that he would clear the personal debts of millions of his fellow citizens. Nazarbayev, who owes his position to a vertiginous rise through the ranks in Soviet times, is generally perceived as the more hawkish and illiberal of the pair.”
Kazakhstan under Nazarbayev used to be one of the most prosperous and stable regimes among Central Asia’s brutal autocrats.
The latest move might further destabilize the country suffering due to the collapsing oil market and a string of anti-government protests and online activities.
The dismissal might also be a political maneuver by the wealthy Nazarbayev family to turn Dariga Nazarbayeva into an “independent” politician in order to get her elected as the next president.
Courtesy: Eurasianet.org
Known to some visitors as Las Vegas on steroids, Dubai might be facing an economic Armageddon due to the coronavirus crisis if the pandemic continues for extended period.
Due to its climate and the decades of drilled-in extreme consumerism infused in society, malls are a fundamental part of UAE’s culture and economy.
The tiny state only recently relaxed its strict lock-down rules.
Nevertheless, many people are afraid to venture out and mingle in the crowded malls which are the go-to places for entertainment and leisure.
As reported by the Washington based al-monitor.com “complying with the policy announced by the UAE government, Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls will maintain an occupancy ceiling of not more than 30% of the mall’s common and gross leasable areas.”
Given that the entire global economy is literally paralyzed, economic policies adopted by the UAE alone are unlikely to make a significant difference.
These regimes built their economies with minimal to no manufacturing sector and greatly depend on the economic well-being of their NATO patrons who are themselves suffering severe economic hardship.
Courtesy: www.al-monitor.com
