Iran is not ruling out negotiations with the United States even after an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, the country’s foreign minister said in an interview released Saturday.

Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine that he would “never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach and recognize the realities,” in an interview conducted Friday in Tehran.

There has been growing tension between Washington and Tehran since in 2018, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal with Iran. The U.S. has since reimposed tough sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.

But Zarif suggested Iran was still willing to talk, though reiterated his country’s previous demand that first the U.S. would have to lift sanctions.

“For us, it doesn’t matter who is sitting in the White House, what matters is how they behave,” he said, according to Der Spiegel. “The Trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and come back to the negotiating table. We’re still at the negotiating table. They’re the ones who left.”

Trump has maintained that the 2015 nuclear deal needs to be renegotiated because it didn’t address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its involvement in regional conflicts. The other signatories to the nuclear deal — Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia — have been struggling to keep it alive.

Following the U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran announced it would no longer abide by any of the deal’s limitations to its enrichment activities. It then retaliated Jan. 8, launching ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American troops, causing injuries but no fatalities among soldiers there.

Zarif did suggest Iran was also still prepared for conflict with the U.S., though was not specific.

“The U.S. has inflicted great harm on the Iranian people,” he said. “The day will come when they will have to compensate for that. We have a lot of patience.”

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From: MeNeedIt

Indonesia’s top security official said Friday that detained U.S. journalist Philip Jacobson should be deported immediately. 

Jacobson, 30, a reporter for the California-headquartered environmental news outlet Mongabay, was detained December 17 in Borneo for an alleged visa violation. 

The reporter was held without formal due process after attending a regional parliamentary hearing involving the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, Indonesia’s largest indigenous rights advocacy group. 

This week, Jacobson was formally arrested and told he faced up to five years in prison for visiting Indonesia with the wrong visa, a claim his employer and U.S. officials have disputed. 

Official: Reporter’s work, arrest not linked

Speaking with VOA on Friday, Indonesia’s Chief Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud MD reiterated claims made by Borneo officials that Jacobson’s arrest was not linked to his reporting on sensitive stories about Indonesia’s myriad environmental and corruption woes. 

But then he said Jacobson should be released. 

“He came to Indonesia on a visit visa and then turned out he did journalism activities to write the news,” said Mahfud. “There was already evidence and then he was detained. Yes, that’s the fact, Indonesian law is like that, but he should just be deported immediately.” 

Mahfud’s comments preceded by hours a report published by Mangobay that said Jacobson had been “moved from prison to ‘city detention’ in Palangkaraya.” 

“We are grateful that authorities have made this accommodation and remain hopeful that Phil’s case can be treated as an administrative matter rather than a criminal one,” said Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler. “We thank everyone for their continued support.” 

Employer surprised by response

According to Mongabay, Jacobson traveled to the country on a multiple-entry business visa. The news outlet expressed surprise that Indonesian immigration officials took such stringent actions against its reporter for the perceived administrative violation. 

According to various news reports, Jacobson repeatedly had entered and left Indonesia on a non-journalist visa. The Jakarta-based Legal Aid Center for the Press told VOA the hearings Jacobson attended and his activities were “in accordance with applicable legal norms.” 

Summoned Friday by the Indonesia Security Ministry, U.S. Ambassador Joseph R. Donovan said: “It is important for us to deal with issues like this through the proper channels.” 

This story originated in VOA’s Indonesian service. Some information is from AFP. 

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From: MeNeedIt

Southeast Asia has been a major winner in the U.S.-China trade war. The region has seen a wave of new factories, as manufacturers move out of China to avoid U.S. tariffs. But Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia, has struggled to attract new investment. That’s in part because of the country’s sprawling bureaucracy, as VOA’s Bill Gallo explains.

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From: MeNeedIt

At one point there were dozens of people running to be the Democratic party’s next presidential candidate. Now there are only about a dozen, and only one of them isn’t a politician: Andrew Yang. The entrepreneur isn’t polling well but he’s still in the race thanks to a unique style and really devoted followers. VOA’s Suli Yi caught up with two former Trump voters who are now part of the Yang Gang. VOA’s Peggy Chang narrates her report.

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From: MeNeedIt

For the past 20 years, young people in Venezuela have been on the front lines of protests to demand change in the socialist-run country.  But many university students interviewed by VOA in Caracas say they are disillusioned by the lack of change and have stopped taking part in protests because of government repression and fears for their safety.  From Caracas, reporter Adriana Nunez Rabascall has the story, narrated by Cristina Caicedo Smit. 

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From: MeNeedIt

The European Union on Thursday condemned renewed fighting around a rebel stronghold in northwest Syria, demanding an end to “unacceptable” air strikes that have killed civilians.

The regime of President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, is tightening the noose around Idlib, the last major rebel-held bastion in Syria’s civil war, with air strikes killing at least 23 civilians on Tuesday.

“The renewal of the offensive in Idlib, including repeated air strikes and shelling targeting civilians are unacceptable and must cease,” an EU spokesman said in a statement.

“The EU will keep the sanctions against the Assad regime under review as long as these brutal attacks continue.”

Most of Idlib and parts of Aleppo province are still controlled by factions opposed to Assad.

The Damascus regime, which controls around 70 percent of the country after nearly nine years of war, has repeatedly vowed to recapture the region.

Idlib hosts at least three million people, many of whom have fled other parts of the country and are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

The EU demanded “rapid, safe and unhindered access” for humanitarian organisations and stressed the need for a political solution to the conflict.

The surge in violence comes despite a ceasefire announced by Moscow earlier this month that never really took hold, and there are warnings that a ground offensive could be imminent.

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From: MeNeedIt

Russian lawmakers have unanimously approved in its first reading a sweeping constitutional reform bill put forward by President Vladimir Putin.

All 432 lawmakers present in the State Duma voted in favor of the bill on Thursday, just three days after the amendments were presented to parliament.

“This was a powerful show of unity,” Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said after the vote. Volodin said the second reading was expected on February 11.

The bill will then face a third reading, but with parliament dominated by Kremlin-loyal lawmakers it is unlikely to face much pushback.

Once approved in three readings in the Duma, the bill will go to the Federation Council – the upper house of parliament – before being signed into law by Putin.

Putin’s announcement of the reforms during his state-of-the-nation address on January 15 was quickly followed by the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s government and the appointment of a new premier and cabinet.

Russia’s Political Shakeup Means Putin Here to Stay

Russian leader eyes an influential role beyond his presidency

The rapid sequence of changes has prompted observers to say that Putin may be laying the groundwork to hold on to power after his current term expires in 2024.

The Russian leader says that under the plan, more responsibilities will be given to parliament and other state bodies, while also maintaining a strong presidency.

The president has promised a referendum on the reforms, with some officials suggesting it could take place within weeks.

Putin suggested altering the constitution because “things have changed dramatically” since it was adopted in 1993.

He outlined some proposals, including strengthening the State Council, currently an advisory body and giving more authority to parliament.

Some analysts have suggested Putin could head the Council after 2024 to maintain his grip on power.

The text of the bill on the parliament’s website provides for lawmakers confirming the prime minister rather than the president, although the president can still reject any candidate.

Putin formed a “working group” of 75 people that includes athletes and celebrities to work on the amendments.

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From: MeNeedIt

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence joins nearly 50 world leaders attending the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allies’ liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp at the end of the Second World War.  The gathering at  Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial comes amid a rise in tensions with Iran and an increase in anti-Semitism in both Europe and the United States.  Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. 

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From: MeNeedIt

After the Afghan Taliban announced a seven to 10-day cease-fire with US troops and a reduction in violence against Afghan forces, the Afghan government called the Taliban offer ‘ambiguous,’ and asked for a complete cease-fire as a way forward for peace talks.

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From: MeNeedIt

Security forces in Beirut’s capital fired water cannon and tear gas at angry protesters outside parliament Wednesday, where a new government was being formed.

The demonstrators rallied near the parliament building in the early hours to protest the new government.  They hurled stones, firecrackers and sticks at police and tried to remove the newly erected barricades placed outside parliament, where Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government had been installed just hours earlier.

Diab’s new government, which is scheduled to meet for the first time on Wednesday, ended an impasse triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri last October.

Protesters have been calling for sweeping reforms and a government made up of independent technocrats that could deal with Lebanon’s crippling economic and financial crisis, the worst the country has faced in decades.

A liquidity crunch has led banks to restrict access to cash and the Lebanese pound to slump. Jobs have been lost and inflation has soared.

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From: MeNeedIt

The United States urged China on Tuesday to join trilateral nuclear arms talks with Moscow, calling Beijing’s secrecy around growing stockpiles a “serious threat to strategic stability.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said last year he had discussed a new accord on limiting nuclear arms with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hoped to extend that to China in what would be a major deal between the globe’s top three atomic powers. But China has so far refused to take part.

“We think, given the fact that China’s nuclear stockpile is estimated to double over the next ten years, now is the time to have that trilateral discussion,” Robert Wood, U.S. disarmament ambassador, told reporters on the opening day of the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

He said that Washington had discussed the potential trilateral talks in a security meeting with Russia last week and had reached an “understanding” about pursuing them. “We cannot afford to wait,” he added.

Asked how to go about pressuring Beijing to join, Wood said that he hoped Russia, and others, would help. “Hopefully over time and through the influence of others besides the United States, they (China) will come to the table. We think it’s imperative for global security that the Chinese do that.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Russia would take part in potential trilateral talks but that he “won’t force China to change” its current position.

China has previously said its weapons were the “lowest level” of its national security needs and not comparable to those of Russia and the United States.

The United Nations is seeking the total elimination of nuclear arms but talks have been deadlocked for more than 20 years.

Other talks between the five declared nuclear powers that have ratified the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – China, United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom – are ongoing and a meeting is planned in London next month.

However, Wood said this was not the right framework for nuclear arms talks with Beijing.

In his speech, China’s disarmament Ambassador Li Song did not refer to its own nuclear stockpiles but called for cooperation among nuclear powers and made a thinly-veiled swipe at the Trump administration.

Li called for a commitment to multilateralism, “with no exceptions, least of all the big power which shoulders a special responsibility for international peace and security and who is not expected to play the role of a ‘spoiler’ to our collective efforts and to withdraw from treaties.”
 

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From: MeNeedIt

On this edition of Healthy Living, we discuss alternative therapy – a set of products, practices, and theories not part of standard medical care but believed to have healing effects of medicine. First, to Zimbabwe for a look at how horses provide healing to children with disabilities and then to Nigeria where people are using creative arts to help with chronic illness. And, teenagers need more exercise according to the World Health Organization. Lastly, genetically sterilized mosquitoes could help fight Malaria. These topics and more on Healthy Living this week. S1, E24

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From: MeNeedIt