ML_34_GP_JHB

Not yet where I'm supposed to be...

Orlando Pirates and Manchester United supporter...

Casual commenter/Information seeker/Passive & Entertainment scroller...

[خبرگزاری فارس @FarsNews_Agency]

اقدام ۱۱ سناتور آمریکایی برای توقف جنگ علیه ایران

هیکنلوپر، سناتور آمریکایی: جان آمریکایی‌ها از دست رفته است. قیمت بنزین و کودهای شیمیایی به‌شدت افزایش یافته و ذخایر تسلیحاتی ارتش ما تحلیل رفته است. «به این جنگ پایان دهید. همین حالا».

[The Hormuz Report @HormuzReport]

BREAKING: Iran has rejected the Trump administration's claim that a temporary transit route with Oman means the Strait of Hormuz is reopening, saying full reopening depends on additional conditions, including $300 billion in U.S. compensation, according to Fars News.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran-Oman talks are nearing agreement on a "temporary route," but emphasized this is "not the reopening of the strait" and is being negotiated "only on condition that U.S. aggression ends." He called on Washington to compensate Iran for what he termed its "violations," including sanctions, the naval blockade, and strikes on Iranian territory.

[Clash Report @clashreport]

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Israel:

When it comes to Israel, all Muslim countries should come together. There is absolutely no ambiguity in my mind about that.

Given Israel’s current conduct, as well as the historical evidence of what it has been doing—at one stage, in 1948 or 1947, what I consider an illegitimate state came into being; it was, I believe, a product of the Balfour Declaration.

During that period as well, fighting continued and the Palestinians continued to resist. So, in my view, this is at the very least a situation that the entire Islamic world will have to come together and confront.

In my view, there is no room for disagreement on this. And until the issue of the Palestinian people is resolved according to their aspirations—until there is a permanent solution—the issue will remain.

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

A major lesson we should have learned from the GWOT, especially the Iraq war, is how dangerous it is to manipulate intelligence in order to justify a war.

In Iraq, we claimed that Saddam had WMD & that he was supporting Al-Qaeda. As we would later learn, neither was true & Saddam was not a threat to us. He was, ironically, a threat to Iran.

Once we invaded Iraq, we found no WMD— & our presence instead served as a lightning rod for Al-Qaeda fighters to flood Iraq and kill American soldiers.

This launched the U.S. into the escalation trap: believing we had to stay in Iraq to “fix it.” It cost us the lives of nearly 5,000 American troops, countless casualties that continue to devastate the veteran population to this day, & over $3 trillion.

Despite knowing all of this, today we’re seeing the same claims used to justify our war with Iran—threats of WMD & warnings of Iranian-backed terrorists poised to attack us—and once again we launched a war that will likely end up a self-fulfilling prophecy of the manipulated intelligence. Not only have our actions demonstrated to the Iranians that obtaining a nuclear weapon is a form of deterrence for them, this war will likely invite blowback terrorism here on American soil.

We have the opportunity to use the evidence from our recent history to inform our next move and walk away now, instead of doubling down to spiral ourselves into yet another aimless and bloody war under the guise of “fixing” our mistakes. We should take it.

[Clash Report @clashreport]

BIG: Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has privately made clear to senior Trump administration officials that the U.S. needs to "find an off-ramp" from the war with Iran, believing the military options available to escalate the conflict could backfire.

While Caine has assured Trump that the U.S. military "could absolutely wreck them" if ordered, he has also emphasized the limits of military force, concerns over dwindling U.S. munitions stockpiles, and the risks of a prolonged conflict.

As a result, officials have increasingly discussed finding an "off-ramp" that would allow the administration to de-escalate while still claiming progress.

Source: CNN

[The Hormuz Letter @HormuzLetter]

BREAKING: Iran has just struck another vessel in the US-backed southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz, with the vessel now on fire, likely an oil tanker attempting to cross under US escort given an ADNOC oil spill response vessel now operating in the area, per NASA FIRMS satellite imagery.

Around 25-40 US fighter jets and several E-3G and E-2D AWACS aircraft were actively escorting the vessel during transit, yet it was still not enough for successful passage.

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

BREAKING: A US official says progress has been made with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, with a deal expected soon. The US will lift its blockade of Iranian ports once an agreement restoring commercial shipping is announced.

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/c5XPJ5Ju8Y

[BRICS News @BRICSinfo]

JUST IN: 🇷🇺 Russia calls on all BRICS member states to begin joint development and manufacturing of drones.

[سلطان الفردان @SultanAlFardan]

🚨 الصين استبدلت السبورة التقليدية في 60 ألف مدرسة… والغرب ما انتبه!

شركة صينية اسمها iFlytek طورت سبورة ذكية تفهم ما يكتبه المعلم مباشرة.

يكتب المدرس معادلة مثل:

y = x² - 3

وقبل ما يخلص، تظهر للطلاب رسمة ثلاثية الأبعاد للمعادلة.

ولو رسم مثلثًا بشكل سريع، تحوله السبورة تلقائيًا إلى مجسم ثلاثي الأبعاد، يقدر الطلاب يكبرونه ويدورونه ويشوفونه من جميع الزوايا.

الأهم أن التقنية ما تحتاج:

• تطبيق
• جهاز لوحي
• لابتوب
• تدريب معقد للمعلمين

فقط قلم وسبورة تفهم الرياضيات والرسومات لحظة بلحظة.

والتقنية مو مجرد تجربة؛ بحسب المعلومات المنشورة، تم تركيبها في 60 ألف مدرسة داخل 33 مقاطعة صينية، ويستخدمها نحو 160 مليون طالب.

بمعنى أبسط: بينما شركات التعليم التقني تطور تطبيقات تحتاج أجهزة وخطوات كثيرة، الصين دمجت الذكاء الاصطناعي مباشرة داخل السبورة نفسها.

قدامنا جيل كامل يتعلم الرياضيات والعلوم بطريقة تفاعلية من أول يوم… وهذا ممكن يصنع فارقًا تعليميًا ضخمًا خلال السنوات القادمة. 👀

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Israeli raids and settler attacks are intensifying across the occupied West Bank, with Palestinians reporting demolitions, injuries and growing fears of further escalation.

[Clash Report @clashreport]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has banned exports of copper and cobalt concentrates to encourage domestic processing and keep more value from its mineral resources.

The government also introduced a new tax on valuable mining by-products as part of its effort to increase mining revenue.

Source: Reuters

[The Hormuz Letter @HormuzLetter]

BREAKING: Chinese intelligence believes Israel's Mossad may be behind the Ceuta migrant crisis in Spain, aiming to punish Spain over its opposition to the Iran war and refusal to allow the use of Spanish bases for US military aircraft, per El Mundo.

Chinese intelligence analysis centers concluded that the deterioration of Spain-Israel relations motivated Mossad to infiltrate agents into the migration crisis between Morocco and Spain to foment discontent and chaos, with Colombian President Petro also directly accusing Netanyahu of being ultimately responsible.

[MFA Russia 🇷🇺 @mfa_russia]

💬 #Fadeyev: The US stained its record with numerous crimes during the Vietnam War.

Among them was the use of the highly toxic chemical Agent Orange.

☣️ More than 3 million Vietnamese people were exposed to its toxins – the consequences of which are still felt today.

[BRICS News @BRICSinfo]

JUST IN: 🇨🇳 China now accounts for 28% of global manufacturing, surpassing the US, Japan, and Germany combined.

[Al Jazeera Breaking News @AJENews]

BREAKING: Ugandan authorities have gained parliamentary approval to deploy troops to Gaza as part of the international force proposed by US President Trump's Board of Peace to secure the enclave following Israel's genocidal war.

🔴 More on https://t.co/5H0QqpggO4

[Al Mayadeen English @MayadeenEnglish]

The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) said that it detected large-scale Saudi military mobilizations in their final stages, aimed at launching an aggression against the Yemeni people.

It announced that the forces carried out a large-scale and precision military operation targeting Saudi military concentrations in the areas of al-Ruwaik, al-Abr, and al-Thaniyah, adding that the operation involved a large number of ballistic missiles and drones.

The YAF said that the strikes resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Saudi-backed mercenaries, adding that numerous Saudi military camps, troop concentrations, weapons depots, and arsenals in the al-Wadiah area in eastern Yemen were destroyed and set ablaze.

According to the statement, a large number of military vehicles stationed at the targeted sites were also destroyed.

The YAF warned Saudi Arabia against committing "any reckless act" against Yemen and its people, affirming that it will "bear the consequences of any escalation."

It urged those "who have been deceived" and recruited from among the Yemeni people to "leave the enemy's camps and return to their homes before it is too late."

The YAF reassured the Yemeni people across all governorates that its forces remain fully prepared to confront any escalation.

#Yemen #SaudiArabia #WestAsia

[The Hormuz Report @HormuzReport]

BREAKING: Donald Trump directly confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Camp David, for misleading him about catastrophic U.S. missile shortages, according to The Washington Post.

The US Army fired more than 1300 tactical ballistic missiles at Iran during the war at Hegseth's order - US official to WaPo

Trump reportedly questioned Hegseth to know why he was led to believe the problem had been resolved as military commanders warned the Pentagon's munitions stockpile is dangerously low.

The numbers are devastating: 80% of THAAD interceptors gone, 65% of Patriots expended, and virtually all ATACMS and PrSM used. At current production rates, rebuilding will take years.

[The Hormuz Report @HormuzReport]

BREAKING: The United States has formally requested a return to the Islamabad MOU, sending messages to Iran indicating readiness to resume its commitments, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told IRNA.

[The Hormuz Report @HormuzReport]

BREAKING: Iran has issued a direct warning to Gulf states through its foreign minister: any new U.S. attack will be met with retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, five sources told Reuters.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Gulf leaders to pressure Trump against more strikes, making clear that any U.S. escalation would trigger Iranian attacks on American assets and the region's energy lifelines. "We're ready to retaliate, but diplomacy is the only way to prevent wider destruction," a diplomat quoted him as saying.

[Al Mayadeen English @MayadeenEnglish]

#Iran and Oman have reached preliminary understandings on almost all issues surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, under a new model for managing navigation through the strategic waterway.

#Gharibabadi stressed that the understanding "does not mean reopening the Strait of Hormuz," saying any reopening would depend on specific conditions.

Under the emerging arrangement, the temporary northern and southern routes would be closed and replaced by a new route in which a significant portion of inbound and outbound shipping would pass through Iranian territorial waters, with the remainder in #Omani waters.

Gharibabadi said the model could initially remain in place for two to four months or longer, while stressing that moving to the second phase would require a new decision.

As for talks with the United States, Gharibabadi denied holding them, despite "receiving messages from Washington indicating its willingness to return to uphold its commitments."

#StraitOfHormuz