person:khalid al

« Actes de sabotage » contre deux pétroliers saoudiens
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2019/05/13/actes-de-sabotage-contre-deux-petroliers-saoudiens_5461284_3210.html

Quatre navires de commerce ont été visés par des « opérations de sabotage » à proximité des eaux territoriales des Emirats arabes unis, a annoncé dimanche 12 mai le ministère des affaires étrangères émirati, ajoutant qu’il n’y a pas eu de victimes.

L’incident s’est produit près de l’émirat du Foujeyrah, situé à la sortie du détroit d’Ormuz, voie maritime vitale pour le commerce du pétrole.

Le ministre de l’énergie saoudien a déploré lundi que deux navires pétroliers saoudiens aient été victimes de « sabotage » et menacé la sécurité des livraisons de pétrole mondiales.

Dans un communiqué transmis par l’agence de presse officielle saoudienne SPA, Khalid Al-Falih a expliqué que cette attaque n’avait fait aucune victime ni provoqué de déversement de pétrole. Des dommages importants ont été causés à la structure de l’un des deux navires, a-t-il précisé.

Les Emirats n’ont fourni aucun détail sur la nature de ces actes de sabotage ni sur le pavillon des bâtiments visés. On ne dispose à ce stade d’aucune information sur les auteurs des ces « sabotages ». Aucune précision n’a pu être obtenue auprès du commandement de la 5e flotte américaine, basée au Bahreïn. « Soumettre des navires de commerce à des opérations de sabotage et menacer les vies des équipages est un développement dangereux », déclarait le ministère émirati dans un communiqué repris dimanche par l’agence de presse officielle WAM.

‘Saudi, UAE assisted Assad in detecting, killing Syrian opposition leaders’
▻https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/saudi-uae-assisted-assad-in-detecting-killing-syrian-opposition-leaders-3

https://yenisafak.feo.doracdn.com/resize/47uQufiZbmsgHk3H/600/0/resim/imagecrop/2019/01/04/12/36/resized_a85b3-71d719cd455554.jpg

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has recently reopened its embassy in Damascus, cooperated with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, leading to the detection and killing of close to 80 leaders of the Syrian opposition.

The locations of Jaysh al-Islam’s leader Zahran Alloush, Ahrar al-Sham leaders Hassan Aboud and Khalid al-Suri, leader of Liwa al-Tawhid Abdulkadir Salih, who all fell martyrs to the bombings of the Syrian regime, were shared by Saudi Arabia and the UAE with Assad, according to a Syrian opposition commander.

In an exclusive interview with Yeni Şafak daily, Mahmoud Sulayman, a commander of the Mohammad Al-Fateh brigade, revealed that between the years 2012 and 2014, the Abu Dhabi and Riyadh brought hundreds of satellite phones to the front.

“The passwords of the UAE-made ‘Thuraya’ and the British-made ‘Inmarsat’ satellite phones, which were given to group commanders by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, were shared with Damascus, thus this information led to the killings of dozens of opposition commanders,” he said.

La source est... turque.

Toujours se méfier des cadeaux qu’on vous fait (message valable pour les Kurdes aussi !)

#syrie #grand_jeu #tic_arabes

Affaire Khashoggi : Riyad ne veut pas créer un nouveau choc pétrolier - L’Orient-Le Jour
▻https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1140048/affaire-khashoggi-

« Cet incident passera », a laconiquement répondu Khalid al-Falih à Tass. « Mais l’Arabie saoudite est un pays extrêmement responsable. Nous avons utilisé depuis des décennies notre politique pétrolière comme un outil économique responsable séparé de la politique. »

Le ministre saoudien a néanmoins ajouté qu’il ne pouvait pas exclure que le prix du baril de brut remonte au-dessus de 100 dollars après l’entrée en vigueur des sanctions américaines visant le secteur pétrolier iranien. « Je ne peux pas vous le garantir, car je ne sais pas ce que vont faire les autres producteurs », a-t-il dit. « Il y a des sanctions contre l’Iran et personne ne sait ce que deviendront les exportations iraniennes. Il y a aussi des baisses de production potentielles dans différents pays comme la Libye, le Nigeria, le Mexique et le Venezuela », a détaillé Khalid al Falih. « Si la production baisse de trois millions de barils par jour, nous ne pourrons pas couvrir ce volume. Nous devrons donc taper dans nos réserves », a-t-il poursuivi.

Carotte et bâton #khashoggi

CIA and Saudi Arabia Conspired To Keep 9/11 Details Secret, New Book Says
▻https://www.newsweek.com/cia-and-saudi-arabia-conspired-keep-911-details-secret-new-book-says-10919

https://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/styles/full/public/2018/08/27/gettyimages-1161355.jpg

But Duffy and Nowosielski come to the story with a noteworthy credential: In 2009 they scored an astounding video interview with Richard Clarke, a White House counterterrorism adviser during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. In it, Clarke raged that top CIA officials, including director George Tenet, had withheld crucial information from him about Al-Qaeda’s plotting and movements, including the arrival in the U.S. of future hijackers Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. In The Watchdogs Didn’t Bark: The CIA, NSA, and the Crimes of the War on Terror, the authors assemble a compelling case of a government-wide cover-up of Saudi complicity in the affair.

#9/11 #conspirationnisme

Saudi Arabia suspends oil exports through Red Sea lane after Houthi attack | Reuters
▻https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security/houthis-target-saudi-warship-off-yemen-coast-al-masirah-tv-idUKKBN1KF0WN

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was “temporarily halting” all oil shipments through the strategic Red Sea shipping lane of #Bab_al-Mandeb after an attack on two big oil tankers by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement sent by his ministry that the Houthis had attacked two Saudi Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) in the Red Sea on Wednesday morning, one of which sustained minimal damage.

“Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting all oil shipments through Bab al-Mandeb Strait immediately until the situation becomes clearer and the maritime transit through Bab al-Mandeb is safe,” the statement said.

#Bab_el_Mandeb

Saudi Arabia’s ‘normalisation’ baffles global business

▻https://www.ft.com/content/b1458710-0672-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

For many at Davos, Saudi Arabia was baffling rather than normalising. While they were fascinated by the boldness of the economic change and social transformation — the ban on women driving is being lifted and young people can now listen to music and go to the cinema — participants were also alarmed by a crackdown that is damaging the business environment and concentrating political and economic power in the hands of a 32-year-old.

As the WEF was wrapping up in the Swiss Alps, the crown prince was also winding down his anti-corruption operation, following the confiscation of prisoners’ cash, real estate and assets in return for their release. At the weekend, the highest profile detainee, Prince Alwaleed, walked out of the Ritz. To lessen his embarrassment, he gave an interview before he was freed, claiming his detention was a misunderstanding. “Everything’s fine. It’s like home,” he told Reuters, an attitude that did nothing to quell speculation that he parted with a chunk of his wealth to win his freedom.

*

The disconnect between Saudi Arabia’s perception of its actions and the global impact of the purge was evident when I spoke to Khalid al-Falih, the technocrat in charge of the oil ministry and a close aide to MbS. I asked him whether he appreciated the nervousness of global business. “People look at what happened in China, in the anti-corruption campaign of Xi Jinping, and it was unique to China,” he told me. “And they look at what was done in Saudi Arabia given Saudi Arabia’s unique status. I call it something of a hygiene issue. We cleaned it up our way.”

Joshua Landis on Twitter: “In some respects, Syria’s move to USSR was driven by the Arab/Israeli conflict.”
▻https://twitter.com/joshua_landis/status/884387103718735873

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/739156624942604288/-DACvjap_400x400.jpg

1. In some respects, Syria’s move to USSR was driven by the Arab/Israeli conflict.
2. US was planning to rebuild Syrian military in 1947, with training mission and arms sales.
3. The start of fighting in Palestine in 1947 caused Sec State Marshall to cancel the agreement & training mission.

He knew that congress could not support helping Syria military w war looming in Palestine. Also Tripartite Arms Embargo imposed by US/FR/GB
5. Once Syria’s Pres. Quwatli was told of US retraction, his men began counseling him to seek arms from USSR. Quwatli refused for fear of GB
6. But the refusal of all Western Powers 2 help Syrian military, caused it to turn 2 USSR w friendship agreement & follow Nasser’s arms deal
7. These BBC interviews w Syrian statesmen & PM, underline that they did not associate Friendship Agreement w becoming Communist, as US did
8. By organizing failed coups against Khalid al-Azm and Sabri al-Asali’s government, the US undermined the pro-Western politicians of Syria.

The Baath Party leaders and their military officer sympathizers used the West’s interventions and plotting to go to Nasser & form the UAR.
10. Politicians, such as Azm & Quwatli, who knew making Nasser was a bad idea & who had fought for Syrian independence, had to go along.
11. They feared being called Western stooges. They also were confused by the West’s stupidity and aggression against them.
12. This is the context of these BBC interviews, which were carried out during the lead up to the UAR and the time of the Suez Crisis.
13. Between 1955 and 1958, Syria received about $294 million from the Soviet Union for military and economic assistance.
14. In a meeting of Ambassadors at end of WWII, US decided best postwar strategy was to align w KSA & Syria. The KSA because of oil & Aramco
15. Syria, because pipelines would run from KSA thru Syr. Also Syria had no exclusive agreement with FR or GB. It was free & turned to US
16. Khalid al-Azm who was PM at end 1948, negotiated military agreement w US & base rights w GB, which wanted 2 est MEDO - Mid East Def Org
17. But the US broke off these agreements to support Jewish State in Palestine & then supported Chief of Staff Husni Zaim to overthrow Azm.
18. US supported Azm/Quwatli overthrow, even though they were democratically elected gov, because Zaim offered to sign armistice w Israel.
19. Zaim also offered to build Tapline, oil pipeline that Syr parliament put on hold, and to arrest communists, etc.

The US was not a driving force behind Zaim coup. Zaim was determined 2 take power, b/c Quwatli gov was going to accuse him of corruption.
21. Pres Quwatli was going to use Zaim as the scapegoat for loss of 1948 war. Major corruption trials were leading to top officers.

#Syrie

20 FEB 2017
Non-Muslim citizenship sought - PRISON ASSAULT ON MUSALLAM AL-BARRAK - ARAB TIMES
▻http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/non-muslim-citizenship-sought-prison-assault-musallam-al-barrak

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 20: MP Khalid Al-Shatti has presented a bill allowing non-Muslims to obtain Kuwaiti citizenship by repealing Clause Five under Article Four of Amiri Decree No. 15/1985 which stipulates granting citizenship only to Muslims.

He explained this condition contravenes the legal concept of citizenship as the relationship between man and God has nothing to do with nationality, citing the famous saying – “Religion belongs to God and the nation belongs to all.” He then stressed the need to remove suspicion of discrimination in the Kuwaiti nation due to the stipulation on granting citizenship only to Muslims.

Paris-Bagdad, le chant du bulbul

C’est l’histoire de mon ami Khalid Al-Salihi, arrivé en France en 1976, et de l’oiseau qu’il a adopté un jour, par le plus grand des hasards, sur un quai de la Seine à Paris.

►http://orientxxi.info/lu-vu-entendu/paris-bagdad-le-chant-du-bulbul,1433
#exil #migrations

L’étonnant plan com’ de l’Arabie saoudite en France
▻http://www.challenges.fr/monde/moyen-orient/20160523.CHA9542/l-etonnant-plan-com-de-l-arabie-saoudite-en-france.html

Lutte acharnée contre le terrorisme, succès de la politique de déradicalisation des djihadistes, féminisation de la société, accueil croissant du nombre de réfugiés... C’est une véritable opération séduction qu’ont mené plusieurs officiels saoudiens lundi 23 mai au Sénat à l’occasion d’un colloque positivement intitulé : « Nouveaux visages de l’Arabie saoudite ». Diplomates, politiques, économistes, généraux : les dignitaires wahhabites n’ont pas lésiné pour vanter les mérites d’un pays « en mutation » comme l’a souligné l’ambassadeur du royaume en France, Khalid al Ankary. « L’Arabie saoudite véhicule beaucoup d’idées reçues, il nous revient de les combattre », a-t-il également appuyé.

Si seulement l’Arabie séoudite ne combattait que les idées reçues…

Lire absolument: Saudi Arabia Gazes at Lebanon with Vengeance
►http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/24102/saudi-arabia-gazes-at-lebanon-with-vengeance

On 21 June 2015, angry families in Lebanon took to the streets protesting the brutal treatment of Islamist prisoners at Roumia prison. A leaked video showed one security officer flogging a naked, handcuffed, bearded man with a water hose while shouting profanities: “Do you want houriat? It’s your mother who will be the hourieh.” The featured torturers turned out to be members of the Information Security Branch, which is under the direct command of Minister of Interior and Future Party leader Nouhad al-Mashnuq. Protesters in Tripoli, Beirut, and Iqlim al-Kharrub (in Mount Lebanon) chanted slogans and insults against Hariri, al-Mashnuq, and Minister of Justice Ashraf Rifi, calling them “secular infidels that do not represent ahal al-Sunna.”

In the face of this public resentment, some Future Party MPs in the north (MPs Khalid al-Daher and Mouin Mer’abi) distanced themselves from their party for fear of losing their local constituency, while others blamed the whole thing on Hizballah. Rifi, with his trademark impulsive miscalculations, blamed Hizballah for leaking the video showing humiliation and torture of Lebanese Islamist prisoners (mostly from Tripoli and other parts of the north). But in his attempt to direct Sunni anger against the Shi‘a, Rifi’s sectarian politics backfired. Angry protesters turned apoplectic because of their perception that Rifi assumed that they were too stupid to discern his tactics, and instead some protesters went on television, shouting, “We want to thank Hizballah for exposing the truth about the torture our sons are subjected to in Roumia.” Hizballah denied leaking the video; moreover, the IP address of the original YouTube account where the video was first published turned out to be that of the media office of Ashraf Rifi. Hizballah’s advantage lies in the fact that Saudi Arabia’s proxies in Lebanon are currently caught up in a maelstrom of confusion and a lack of public credibility.

Internally, in light of an ongoing and self-inflicted trash crisis, both March 8 and March 14 politicians continue to de-escalate their political rhetoric. However, Saudi Arabia’s insistence on a confrontation with Hizballah means that it is only a matter of time until the Saudis withdraw their losing card, Sa‘ad Hariri, and deploy another Trojan horse to create the sort of chaos the kingdom seeks. This means other Sunni figures will be given a leading role and Hariri will be out of the Lebanese arena–again. Saudi Arabia’s possible nominees for unconventional roles could include Jabhat al-Nusra or/and IS, alongside thuggish Sunni figures who have splintered from Future and set up their own shop as warlords for hire. This includes those who perpetuated a six-year war between the poorest communities in Tripoli.

Qatar announces major government reshuffle | Middle East Eye
▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/qatar-announces-major-government-reshuffle-610406420

Seven ministerial changes were announced by the official Qatar News Agency.
 
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, a member of the royal family, replaced Khalid al-Attiyah as foreign minister, the QNA said.
 
The 35-year-old is a senior official who was previously in charge of international cooperation in the foreign ministry.
 
Attiyah, whose father was the founder of Qatar’s armed forces, was appointed minister of state for defence. The emir himself holds the post of defence minister. 
 
And Issa bin Saad al-Naimi Juffali was awarded the new position of minister for administrative development and labour and social affairs.
 
He replaces labour minister Abdullah bin Saleh al-Khulaifi at one of the country’s most high-profile cabinet posts because of international criticism of Doha’s record on migrant workers’ rights.
 
As notable as the announcement of new faces was the fact that several departments would be merged, which some see as a cost-cutting measure.
 
Among the newly combined ministries is not only administrative development and labour, but also the departments of culture and sports, transport and communications, and municipality and the environment.
 
Previously, these were separate departments.
 
“No doubt this has to do with reducing spending and preventing sagging,” Jamal Abdullah, Head of Gulf Studies at Al-Jazeera Centre, told AFP. 
 
“Especially as a number of ministries intersect tasks and responsibilities, such as communications and transportation, municipal and environment.”
 
Qatar has already forecast a budget deficit of more than $12 billion in 2016 — and that could increase as it was calculated at an oil price of $48 per barrel. The current price is around $32.
 
In addition, the emir warned last December of “wasteful spending, overstaffing and a lack of accountability” across Qatar.
 
Abdullah also noted that the changes would help “pump young blood into the Qatar decision-making machine”, especially the appointment of a new, relatively young foreign minister.
 
One post which remained the same was that of prime minister, which has been held by Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani since 2013.
 
Also, one woman was named in the reshuffle — Hanan al-Kuwari, who becomes the new minister of health.

Paris attacks: How the influence of Saudi Arabia sowed the seeds of radicalism in Belgium | Europe | News | The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attacks-how-the-influence-of-saudi-arabia-sowed-the-seeds-of-ra

But the mosque remains a concern for the Belgian government: in August, a WikiLeaks cable revealed that a staff member of the Saudi embassy in Belgium was expelled years ago over his active role in spreading the extreme so-called Takfiri dogma. The cable – between the Saudi King and his Home Minister – referred to Belgian demands that the ICC’s Saudi director, Khalid Alabri, should leave the country, saying that his messages were far too extreme, and that his status as director meant he should not be preaching anyway.

Via Angryarab #wahhabite_bashing

Saudi Arabia will not stop pumping to boost oil prices - Financial Times

▻http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b639a458-8600-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#ixzz3qzE9lYg9

Saudi Arabia is determined to stick to its policy of pumping enough oil to protect its global market share, despite the financial pain inflicted on the kingdom’s economy.
Officials have told the Financial Times that the world’s largest exporter will produce enough oil to meet customer demand, indicating that the kingdom is in no mood to change tack ahead of the December 4 meeting in Vienna of the producers’ cartel Opec.

“The only thing to do now is to let the market do its job,” said Khalid al-Falih, chairman of the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). “There have been no conversations here that say we should cut production now that we’ve seen the pain.”
Saudi Arabia rocked oil markets last November when Opec decided against production cuts, making clear that the kingdom was abandoning its policy of reducing supplies to stabilise the price.
Since then, the oil price has collapsed from a high of $115 a barrel last year to $50 a barrel.
Global oil companies, which have put hundreds of billions of dollars of investment on hold as a result of low prices, will be disappointed by the Kingdom’s stance.
The effect on business sentiment has sparked domestic criticism of the market share policy engineered by Ali al-Naimi, the oil minister, and agreed by both the late King Abdullah and the current King Salman, who was crown prince last year and ascended the throne in January.
Officials in Riyadh say their policy will be vindicated in one to two years when revived demand swallows the global oil glut and prices begin to recover.
They argue that in the past, Opec output cuts raised prices to levels where more expensive production, such as shale and deep-sea oil, could flourish. Moving ahead, Opec — led by Saudi Arabia — plans to pump as much as it can towards meeting global oil demand, leaving higher-cost producers to make up the remainder.
$100 oil was perceived as a guarantee of no risk for investment. Now, the insurance policy that’s been provided free of charge by Saudi Arabia does not exist any more
– Khalid al-Falih, chairman of Saudi Aramco
For higher-cost producers, “$100 oil was perceived as a guarantee of no risk for investment”, said Mr Falih. “Now, the insurance policy that’s been provided free of charge by Saudi Arabia does not exist any more.”
Mr Falih, who is also health minister, forecast the market would come into balance in the new year, and then demand would start to suck up inventories and storage on oil tankers. “Hopefully, however, there will be enough investment to meet the needs beyond 2017.”
Other officials also estimated that it would probably take one to two years for the market to clear up the oil market glut, allowing prices to recover towards $70-$80 a barrel.
The fall in government revenues has pushed Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy into a fiscal crunch. To fund this year’s budget deficit of 20 per cent of gross domestic product, the government is dipping into its massive financial reserves.
Officials are also working on a more sustainable strategy to curtail spending, which has ballooned in recent years.
Delaying infrastructure projects, such as the Riyadh underground, and enforcing a spending squeeze across government departments has brought a slowdown in the private sector.
Senior officials dismiss the domestic criticism of the oil policy, saying other producers would have quickly replaced any Saudi production cuts with new output.

Officials, however, acknowledge that the extent of the oil price slump has been deeper than initially envisaged.
“We knew that it was going to be painful but the extent of the pain went beyond our expectations,” said Mr Falih. “The market has overreacted as it typically does in such down-cycles.”
But oil producers are now cancelling projects outright, rather than just deferring them, raising concerns of a future jump in price if demand outpaces supply.
“Now everyone is running to the exit and projects are being cancelled,” said Mr Falih. “That’s necessary, but what will happen five to 10 years from now? Investment is needed.”

A Saudi Palace Coup | David Hearst
▻http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-hearst/a-saudi-palace-coup_b_6531246.html

The general secretaryship was the position held by the Cardinal Richelieu of Abdullah’s royal court, Khalid al-Tuwaijri. It was a lucrative business handed down from father to son and started by Abdul Aziz al Tuwaijri. The Tuwaijris became the king’s gatekeepers and no royal audience could be held without their permission, involvement, or knowledge. Tuwaijri was the key player in foreign intrigues — to subvert the Egyptian revolution, to send in the troops to crush the uprising in Bahrain, to finance ISIL in Syria in the early stages of the civil war along his previous ally Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

The link between Tuwaijri and the Gulf region’s fellow neo-con Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, was close. Tuwaijri is now out, and his long list of foreign clients, starting with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi may well feel a cooler wind blowing from Riyadh. Sisi failed to attend the funeral on Friday. Just a question of bad weather?

Dessinateurs et travailleurs de l’industrie de la bande dessinée exhortent : pas de “Business As Usual” avec Israël - AURDIP
▻http://www.aurdip.fr/dessinateurs-et-travailleurs-de-l.html

Déclaration de solidarité

Nous voulons exprimer notre chagrin et notre indignation face à l’assassinat de cinq caricaturistes, Wolinski, Cabu, Charb, Tignous, Honoré, parmi beaucoup d’autres, dans les bureaux de Charlie Hebdo. Ces horribles actes de violence nous incitent à agir encore plus urgemment pour un monde où la dignité, la liberté et l’égalité de toutes les personnes sont respectés et promus. Nous réaffirmons que le mouvement de boycott palestinien est une étape importante de cette vision, et nous espérons que vous continuerez à nos côtés dans ce mouvement.

Lettre ouverte à :

Monsieur Franck Bondoux

Direction du Festival international de la bande dessinée

71 rue Hergé, 16000 Angoulême

Nous, dessinateurs, illustrateurs, écrivains, éditeurs, distributeurs, traducteurs, critiques et travailleurs dans l’industrie de la bande dessinée, aux côtés de gens de conscience de tous les pays du monde, ré-affirmons notre appel de Février 2014 au Festival international de BD d’Angoulême d’abandonner tous liens avec la société israélienne Sodastream. En outre, nous demandons instamment au Festival d’Angoulême, ainsi qu’à tous les festivals, conventions, et célébrations de la bande dessinée et de l’art de la caricature auxquels nous participons, de rejeter tout partenariat, financement ou coopération avec une société israélienne ou une institution qui ne favorise pas explicitement la liberté et la justice pour les Palestiniens, ainsi que l’égalité des droits et l’égalité entre les israéliens Juifs et Palestiniens, en particulier le gouvernement israélien et ses consulats, tant qu’Israël continuera à dénier aux Palestiniens leurs droits.

Aujourd’hui, la société Sodastream se vante fièrement de l’emplacement de son usine dans la colonie illégale de Maale Adumim, ce qui la rend complice du crime d’occupation militaire. Cependant, même si, grâce entre autres à la campagne de pression lancée l’an dernier, Sodastream déplace sa fabrication dans le Néguev (territoire palestinien dont les Bédouins sont menacés d’expulsion de leurs terres ancestrales par le “Plan Prawer” du gouvernement israélien), elle, comme d’autres entreprises et institutions israéliennes complices, fait partie d’un système basé sur le nettoyage ethnique de masse des communautés palestiniennes, et maintenu en place par le racisme et la discrimination. Comme d’autres entreprises israéliennes, elle contribue à l’économie d’un Etat qui a procédé à une agression militaire brutale contre la population civile dans la bande de Gaza à l’été 2014, faisant plus de 2100 morts, dont plus de 500 enfants.

Nous ne pouvons pas accepter que notre art soit utilisé pour blanchir ces crimes, comme le ministère israélien des Affaires étrangères a explicitement déclaré qu’il tentera de le faire, à travers sa campagne « Brand Israël ». Angoulême, un centre d’appréciation de la bande dessinée à l’échelle internationale, ne devrait pas être utilisé de cette manière.

Nous vous demandons à nouveau de couper les liens entre le Festival et Sodastream, et nous étendons notre appel aux administrateurs et organisateurs, aux éditeurs et aux associations de bande dessinée et d’illustrateurs à travers le monde. Pas de “business as usual” avec Israël !

Cordialement,

Palestine Comics Festival

Leila Abdul Razaq (USA), Zainab Akhtar (UK), Khalid Albaih (Sudan/Qatar), Albertine (Switzerland), Hilary Allison (USA), Enzo Apicella (Italy), Serge Baeken (Belgium), Alex Baladi (Switzerland), Edd Baldry (UK/France), Edmond Baudoin (France, 3 Angoulême prizes), Kate Beaton (Canada), Alison Bechdel (USA), Sofiane Belaskri (Algeria), Faiza Benaouda (Algeria), Peter Blegvad (USA/UK, Angoulême prize in 2014), David Brothers (USA), Paul Buhle (USA), Nicole Burton (Canada), Jennifer Camper (USA), Gilles Ciment (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 2007 to 2014), Rob Clough (USA), Sean T. Collins (USA), Gianluca Costantini (Italy), Jean-Luc Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 1990), Philippe Coudray (France, Angoulême prize in 2011), Molly Crabapple (USA), Pino Creanza (Italy), Marguerite Dabaie (USA), Bira Dantas (Brazil), Eleanor Davis (USA), Marcel « Lidwine » De la Gare (France, Angoulême prize in 1999), Guy Deisle (Canada, Angoulême Prize for Best Album in 2012), Dror (France), Warren Ellis (UK), Magdy El Shafee (Egypt), elchicotriste (Spain), Brigitte Findakly (France), Ganzeer (Egypt/USA), Lucile Gomez (France), Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz (USA), Graphic History Collective : Sam Bradd, Sean Carleton, Robin Folvik, Mark Leier, Trevor McKilligan, Julia Smith (Canada), Dominique Grange (France), Thierry Groensteen (France, former director of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême from 1993 to 2001), Jeet Heer (Canada), Ethan Heitner (USA), Delphine Hermans (Belgium), Anaële Hermans (Belgium), Jaime Hernandez (USA), Dylan Horrocks (New Zealand, nominated for two Angoulême prizes in 2002), Igort (Italy, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Hatem Imam (Lebanon), Jiho (France), Monica Johnson (USA), Ben Katchor (USA), Mazen Kerbaj (Lebanon), Peter Kuper (USA), Carlos Latuff (Brazil), Wilfrid Lupano (France), Rodolphe « Ohazar » Lupano (France), Katie Miranda (USA), Anne Elizabeth Moore (USA), Mric (France), José Muñoz (Argentina, 3 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2007), Ernest Pignon-Ernest (France), Maël Rannou (France), Patricia Réaud (France), Barrack Rima (Lebanon/Belgium), Mohammad Sabaaneh (Palestine), Amitai Sandy (Israel), Gabby Schulz (USA), Siné (France), Jean Solé (France), Philippe Squarzoni (France, nominated in Angoulême in 2003), Sylvain-Moizie (France, Angoulême prize in 2000 and in residence at the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée in Angoulême in 2014-2015), Tardi (France, 5 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 1985), Seth Tobocman (USA), Lewis Trondheim (France, 2 Angoulême prizes and Grand Prix in 2006, creator of the Angoulême mascot), Guillaume Trouillard (France), Willis From Tunis (Tunisia), Jordan Worley (USA), Wozniak (France/Poland), yAce (France), Germano Zullo (Switzerland)

►http://handalahasaposse.tumblr.com

http://38.media.tumblr.com/e36183d1d592b60e39795c7e31fe2068/tumblr_n8rdddRrkn1tgdzrjo3_500.gif

23 Heartbreaking Cartoons From Artists Responding To The Charlie Hebdo Shooting

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Le Qatar s’invite médiateur médiateur dans le conflit israélo-palestinien.
▻http://www.argotheme.com/organecyberpresse/spip.php?article2252

La tribune, du Dr Khalid Al-Attiyah, le ministre d’État aux Affaires étrangères du Qatar, publiée le 18 août 2014 sur le quotidien français « Le Figaro », suggère que son pays joue les médiateurs, en coulisses, pour arriver à la fin du calvaire que vivent les habitants de Gaza. Elle met aussi en exergue que l’objectif de mettre Palestiniens et Israéliens autour du menu de deux Etats, pour gonfler le rôle diplomatique de la petite monarchie de moins d’un demi-million d’habitants, comme une appétence de (...)

Monde, informations, actualité, international, politique, relations, diplomatie, affaires étrangères,

/ #diplomatie,_sécurité,_commerce,_économie_mondiale, #Israël,_Proche-Orient,_EPU,_droits_de_l’homme,_ONU, Obama, USA, Israël, Proche-Orient, Palestine , Arabie Saoudite, Qatar, Moyen-Orient, (...)

#Monde,informations,_actualité,_international,_politique,_relations,_diplomatie,_affaires_étrangères, #Obama,_USA,_Israël,_Proche-Orient,_Palestine #Arabie_Saoudite,_Qatar,_Moyen-Orient,_monarchies,_arabes,_musulmans

37 killed in Israeli airstrikes and shelling on Gaza Sunday morning | Maan News Agency
Published today (updated) 03/08/2014 10:52
▻http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=717759

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed 37 people across the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, as the 27-day assault on Gaza showed no signs of ceasing despite Israeli moves to redeploy outside of urban areas the day before.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the 37 dead since midnight — which includes 10 members of a single family in Rafah — brought the total death toll to 1,739, with nearly 10,000 injured and a quarter of the total population of 1.8 million displaced.

The 10 family members were killed during an Israeli air strike on the al-Ghoul family home in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra identified nine of the victims as Muhammad Ismail al-Ghoul, Wael Ismail al-Ghoul, Ismail Muhammad al-Ghoul, Ismail Wael al-Ghoul, Khadra Khalid al-Ghoul, Asmaa Ismail al-Ghoul, Malak Wael al-Ghoul, Mustafa Wael al-Ghoul, Hanadi Ismail al-Ghoul .
(...)
Intense airstrikes overnight

The Ministry of Health said that airstrikes and shelling across the Gaza Strip had been intense overnight.

An Israeli raid on home of Abu Jazar family in Rafah killed 23-year-old Amani Abu Jazar and her toddlers Maria and Faris Abu Jazar. Issa al-Shaer and Saed Mahmoud al-Lahwani were killed in the same raid.

Muhammad al-Hour was killed and four others were injured shortly before dawn prayer in Rafah.

The body of Ibrahim Qishta was recovered from the rubble of a house which Israeli forces bombarded Saturday in eastern Rafah.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes struck the home of the Abu al-Qumsan family in Jabaliya Sunday morning, killing Hatim Abdul-Rahman Wahdan, 50, Sanyura Wahdan, 27 and Jamila Wahdan, 24 . Ten others were injured.

Four Palestinians were killed and 12 others were injured Sunday morning in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Witnesses said that an airstrike hit the home of the Khattab family, killing Atwah Suleiman Khattab, 64, Muhammad Atwah Khattab, Rimas Salim al-Attar, and another woman who hasn’t been identified yet.

Another airstrike on Deir al-Balah killed a man and injured several others.

In the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Israeli attacks killed two Palestinian men and injured three others when a missile hit home of Abu Shalouf family in the western quarter of the city.

At least fifteen people were injured by Israeli artillery shelling at Shuhada al-Zaytoun mosque in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.

Angouleme : Drop Sodastream !
►http://lettertoangouleme.tumblr.com

Siné, Joe Sacco (lauréat d’Angoulême), Edmond Baudoin (lauréat d’Angoulême), Carali, Chimulus, Ben Katchor, Sue Coe, Eric Drooker, Peter Kuper, Matt Madden, Seth Tobocman, le palestinien Mohammad Saba’aneh, le libanais Mazen Kerbaj, le soudanais Khalid Albaih, la tunisienne Willis From Tunis, l’israélien Amitai Sandy, le brésilien Carlos Latuff, l’espagnol Elchicotriste, l’italien Gianluca Costantini et plus de 40 artistes de plus de 10 pays, protestent contre le partenariat entre le festival et l’entreprise israélienne installée dans les territoires occupés.

Cette lettre arrive alors que SodaStream est la cible d’une campagne de boycott international qui a conduit l’actrice Scarlett Johansson à rompre son engagement de sept ans avec l’ONG Oxfam.

L’annonce que SodaStream serait un sponsor officiel du Festival d’Angoulême a entraîné une vague de protestation de la part de militants français, rejoint aujourd’hui par les premiers concernés, les dessinateurs de bande dessinée du monde entier.

▻https://www.bdsfrance.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2971%3Aplus-de-40-dessinateu

Gulf homosexual ban was ‘just a proposal’: Kuwait chief | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/gulf-homosexual-ban-was-just-a-proposal-kuwait-chief-1.1245007

A senior Kuwaiti official said that the decision to bar homosexual and transgender foreigners from working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has not yet been adopted.

“It is a mere proposal that Kuwait will present to fellow GCC members in order to look into the possibility of amending the medical checkup rules for foreigners wishing to work and live in the GCC,” Khalid Al Jarallah, the foreign ministry undersecretary, said.

Didier Reynders, Belgium’s foreign minister, on Friday told Al Rai that the European Union would take up the GCC decision to bar homosexual and transgender foreigners “because it is a matter that cannot be ignored since there is a form of discrimination.”

“The European Union will make the right decision on this issue in order to reinforce human rights,” he was quoted as saying.

Reynders told the daily that he would gather further details on the ban proposal from his country’s diplomatic missions in Kuwait and the Gulf.

“Belgium is a pioneer in protecting and reinforcing the fundamental rights of homosexuals, and therefore it cannot ignore any decision or law that fight this category or creates any form of discrimination against them on the basis of sexual orientations,” he said.

Praise and mockery for Saudi UN decision on Twitter | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/praise-and-mockery-for-saudi-un-decision-on-twitter-1.1245443

http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1245442!/image/1691068030.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/1691068030.jpg

One of the most prominent tweets in reaction to the decision came from Qatar’s new foreign minister, Khalid Al Attiyah, who addressed the Saudi foreign minister saying: “My brother, your highness Prince Saud Al Faisal, when you get angry you baffle the world, so thank you. This is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, in apparent praise of the rare diplomatic stance taken by the kingdom. The tweet, which was retweeted almost 3,000 times, led to an Arabic twitter hashtag that read ‘Saud Al Faisal baffles the world’, prompting thousands of responses.

Reportage de Patrick Cockburn dans the Independent à Tall Kalakh qui raconte la reprise sans combat de cette ville syrienne à quelques encablures du Liban et non loin de Homs, après la reprise violente de Qusayr, et l’ambiance qui règne désormais à Tall Kalakh :
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tal-kalakh-syrias-rebel-town-that-forged-its-own-peace-deal-8673695.h
L’ambiance dans la ville :

Everybody seemed to accept that the Syrian army is back for good. The soldiers in checkpoints were not wearing helmets and often not carrying their weapons, as if they did not expect anybody to attack them. Khalid al-Eid said there had been 300-400 FSA in Tal Kalakh before the army’s return but they must have melted back into the local population under an unofficial amnesty or have gone to Lebanon.

Par contraste, les habituels mensonges d’al-Jazeera qui nie l’évènement et évoque des combats inexistants :

The Syrian opposition denied that the town had fallen, saying that there was still fighting going on there. In a three-hour visit, I saw no sign of it. Soldiers and civilians looked relaxed and there were no indications of recent destruction, though there are plenty of buildings damaged by shellfire or pockmarked with bullet holes from fighting in 2011 or 2012. The pro-rebel Al-Jazeera Arabic satellite television channel claimed smoke was rising from the town. I did not see or smell any.

La reprise de la ville a été négociée par un prêtre catholique et des dignitaires de la ville entre les rebelles et l’armée afin d’éviter de nouvelles destructions. Ce que ce prêtre raconte sur ce type de négociations, auxquelles il a déjà participé, et de leur impossibilité quand les rebelles sont des jihadistes étrangers est instructif :

He says that ceasefires or agreements for rebels to put down their weapons in return for an amnesty are much easier to arrange when all the rebels are Syrians. “When there are foreign Salafi or Jihadi fighters present, as there are in the Old City, an agreement is almost impossible.”

Un des commandants de l’ASL qui a déposé les armes explique à Cockburn le type de relations nouées entre bataillons rebelles rebelles et leurs donateurs (étrangers ou syriens) : mercenariat contre nécessité de produire des documents vidéo

Soldiers or guerrillas who have switched sides are often an unreliable source of information about their former colleagues because they denigrate them in a bid to impress their new masters. But Khalid al-Eid did say that his men were “paid between $100 and 300 a month and we got an extra $1,000 if we carried out an operation”. He described how he would make Youtube films – “sometimes they show us firing when there was nothing to shoot at” – which would later be shown on al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera satellite television.

11 Septembre : la CIA savait, mais pourquoi n’a-t-elle rien fait ? | Rue89
►http://www.rue89.com/2011/08/28/11-septembre-la-cia-savait-mais-pourquoi-na-t-elle-rien-fait-219417

Que s’est-il passé ? Pourquoi la CIA a-t-elle tout fait pour empêcher le FBI de découvrir la présence aux États-Unis de Khalid Al-Mihdhar et Nawef Al-Hazmi ?

On ne sait pas
#11-septembre