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The National Peoples Congress Standing Committee,China's top legislative body,passed a highly controversial national security lawfor Hong Kong Tuesday, which will take effect just ahead of the 23rd anniversary of the end of British rule on July 1. The legislation outlawssecession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion with a maximum penalty of life in prison. It comes inresponse to pro-democracy protests; activists havewarned of the erosion of human rights and the risk of turning Hong Kong into apolice state.

The law gives Beijingsweeping powersto crack down on political opposition in the semi-autonomous territory, where many Hongkongers are protective of the broader rights and liberties afforded them under a separate legal system. The territoryhas enjoyed a semi-autonomous status under China's "one country, two systems" policy since revertingto Chinese sovereigntyin 1997. Semi-autonomyhas afforded the special administrative region certain freedoms, which could be compromisedunder the new law.

The national security legislation was fast-tracked, andonly a few Hong Kong delegates were able to read the drafted text before the law was passed. This lack of transparency raised alarm bells, but the legislation was nonetheless signed by President Xi Jinping and added to Hong Kong's Basic Law,the territory's mini-constitution. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive,urged the international community to accept the lawin a video to the UN Human Rights Council. Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province,condemned the law, and will dedicate an office to help Hongkongers looking to flee.Pro-democracyactivistJoshua Wong tweetedthe law "marks the end of Hong Kong that the world new before," but pledged to continue to fight for freedom: "When justice fails, our fight goes on."

Tune into The World today, when wewillspeak with Chinese artist and activist,Ai Weiwei:"I think the world will abandon Hong Kong. It's a very sad story."

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The New York Times reports thatPresident Donald Trump was briefed on a suspected Russian operation to incentivizekilling US soldiers in Afghanistan as early as February.This new reporting contradicts Trump's claim that he hadnot been informed and undermines his efforts to cast dispersions on the veracity of the intelligence. Concerns have been raised that the White House knew about Russian machinations but authorized no response.The World spoke with Gen. David Petraeus about Russian bounties:"We were looking for this kind of activity, frankly, from Russia."

Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist,has been sentenced to deathfor the charge of "corruption on Earth." Zam's workincluding running a channel on Telegram, a messaging app, that helpedinspire widespread economic protestsin 2017; authorities accused Zam ofinciting violence.Zam had been living in Parisbut was convinced to return to Iran, where he wasarrested in 2019. The decision may be appealed by the supreme court.

Koalas could become extinctby 2050 in New South Wales unless swift action is taken to prevent further habitat loss, an Australian parliamentary inquiry found. Koalas were dramatically impacted by bushfires earlier this year and climate change is heightening risk to the iconic species.

From The WorldA US report shows big strides on human trafficking. Advocates say the message is misleading.

Every year, the US issues an annual report that ranks countries by their progress fighting human trafficking. The 2020 report lists22 countriesreceiving improved rankings for their work on the issue over the past year. But advocates across the globewarn that with the pandemic and economic downturn, theres an urgent risk that more people will fall prey to human traffickers. They say the report is poorly timed, and counterproductive.

Fair & Lovely cream gets a makeover in India, but will it change prejudice?

Last week, consumer giant Unilever announced it will rebrand its bestselling skin-lightening cream,Fair & Lovely,and drop the word "fair" from its name in the latest makeover of the brandin response to global backlash against racial prejudice.The Fair & Lovelycream and colorism is something Mumbai-based documentarist Richa Sanwal has been familiar with since she was a child growing up in India. Sanwal welcomes the news from Unilever, but says more needs to be done to change the stigma associated with a darker skin tone that has been perpetuated by skin lightening products.

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In case you missed itListen:Russian bounties on US troops in Afghanistan

In the past few days, The New York Times published bombshell revelations that Russia reportedly offered cash bounties to Taliban-linked fighters for killing US soldiers in Afghanistan. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with David Petraeus, the retired former head of US forces in Afghanistan and an ex-CIA chief, about how the US should respond if the reports are verified. And, one of the most important North Koreans alive isKim Yo-jong, the half-sister of leader Kim Jong-un.Her influence in the regime has been hyped up by rumors some true, some not but its now becoming clear that Kim Yo Jong really does have a lot of power. According to The Worlds Patrick Winn, whether North Korea tilts towards peace or war could hinge on her decisions. Also, the coronavirus lockdownsaround the world haveled animals to explore some places previously filled with people. The World speaks toChristian Rutz, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, about wildlife movement while humans are in quarantine.

Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player:RadioPublic,Apple Podcasts,Stitcher,Soundcloud,RSS.

From The World 2019

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Hong Kong national security law to take effect; Iran sentences journalist to death; Koalas could be extinct by 2050 in New South Wales - WBFO

In Irans endless drive to prove that its military makes it a great world power, the Iranian media showed off three locally built Kowsar fighter jets this week. They were delivered to the armed forces by Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami. Iran claims it has been building domestically produced jets since 2018.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has sought to spotlight Irans air force in recent comments, claiming that if an arms embargo is ended, Irans expanded jet fighters could pose a threat. Pompeo wrote on Wednesday that if the UN arms embargo were to expire in October, Iran will be able to buy new fighter aircraft like Russias SU-30 and Chinas J-10.These lethal aircraft could threaten Europe and Asia, the US says. In theory, they could also threaten Israel.Pompeos map of Iranian aircraft threats shows that the J-10 could make a one-way 1,648-km. flight and reach Israel. But being unable to return to Iran, it would be the end of the Iranian air force if it embarked on this journey.The SU-30 could get to Italy on a one-way mission. That is enough gas for the Iranian pilot to defect. And that likely is the only reason an Iranian pilot would take a precious aircraft on a one-way mission: to flee Iran. An Iraqi pilot actually did that in 1966, flying his MiG-21 to Israel to flee Iraq.A more reasonable discussion about Irans air power reveals that its great achievements are in drone technology, not aircraft. HESA, the corporation that makes some of Irans aircraft, is built on an American Textron factory that once made Bell helicopters in Iran.It is basically good at making copies of 1970s American equipment. For instance, the Kowsar is a copy of an American Northrop F-5, first built in the 1950s. The engineering team at HESA has also managed to copy a Bell 206 helicopter and rename it a Shahed 274.What HESA has been more innovative at is making drones, such as the Ababil. Iranian drones have struck Saudi Arabia and have been given to Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah. They are a serious threat to the region; Irans air force is not.Tehran still has American F-14 Tomcats and some MiG-29s it acquired in 1990. Some of these are Iraqi aircraft acquired when Baghdad sent its air force to Iran in 1991. Iran also has American F-4s and F-5s and several Su-22s.Iran has used its air force sparingly. In contrast, the IRGC and its aerospace engineers led by Amir Hajizadeh have actually pioneered precision guidance for missiles and drones. This is a major threat, and it is where Iran has sought to do asymmetric warfare, building capabilities that can go around its enemies.For instance, Iran used ballistic missiles to attack US forces in Iraq in January. It has attacked ISIS and Kurdish dissidents. Tehran has transferred ballistic missiles to Iraq and precision-guided munitions to Hezbollah. It is in this IRGC-based technology that the Islamic Republic excels.The end of an arms embargo would give Iran access to more sophisticated weaponry. But the implication that it would funnel that to its aging air force in order to threaten others seems unlikely.On the other hand, the immediate neighbors of Iran are chaotic, and it can exploit the weaknesses of Iraq and Afghanistan to use its air force. Turkeys air force is already pounding Iraq, claiming to be fighting terrorists.But Irans adversaries in the Gulf have access to the latest US air-defense technology.In general, Iran is a substandard country when it comes to its regular air force. But when it comes to its drones and missiles, it may be one of the worlds major powers and certainly a major threat.

Continued here:
Could Irans air force ever be a threat to Israel or Europe? - The Jerusalem Post

Thank you very much, Mr President. And thank you to Rosemary DiCarlo for her briefing today. And, of course, welcome, Olof Skoog, Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Zarif to the Council today. Its also good to see the Secretary-General here.

Mr President, the United Kingdom welcomes the Secretary-Generals ninth report on the implementation of UNSCR 2231. We offer our thanks to the Secretariat for their continued professionalism and the support they provide the Secretary-General enabling the production of this report. The Secretary-General and his team are fully mandated to thoroughly investigate and report on activities which are contrary to or inconsistent with Resolution 2231. And we support the findings set out in this impartial and professional report.

Mr President, together with our French and German colleagues - and I take this opportunity to align myself with the statement of German representative and I am sure to align myself with the statement youll be making later, Mr President. The United Kingdom has frequently restated our full commitment to the JCPoA, in line with our collective security interests, which include upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

We have also frequently stated our unequivocal regret and concern at the United States decision to leave the JCPoA and to reimpose sanctions on Iran. We understand the continued impact this has had in Iran and on the Iranian people.

Since May 2018, we have worked tirelessly to preserve the JCPoA. We have fully upheld our commitments and we have gone beyond our obligations to develop INSTEX, which is operational and facilitating transactions.

Mr President, the United Kingdom deeply regrets that since 2019, Iran has taken nuclear measures contrary to its commitments under the JCPoA. These measures seriously undermine the non-proliferation benefits of the agreement. This is the reason that the E3 initiated the JCPoAs Dispute Resolution Mechanism on the 14th of January as one of the last tools under the agreement to find a diplomatic way forward and bring Iran back into compliance with the Deal.

Mr President, 2020 has seen a continuation of Irans destabilising activity around the Middle East, including activities which are inconsistent with UNSCR 2231 and other resolutions. As we have noted previously, Irans ballistic missile technologies pose a threat to regional security, both in their role as a potential delivery system for weapons of mass destruction, but more immediately, in their enabling role as the means of delivery for the increasingly lethal conventional payloads developed by Iran.

We are deeply concerned by Irans development of advanced technologies under the guise of Space Launch Vehicle research and the roles these technologies play in supporting Irans military ballistic missile program. We reject Irans claims that the Qased system used in their most recent launch is not a military launch system. In addition to the self-proclaimed role of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the launch, Irans official reports show a Transporter Erector Launcher, characteristic of military ballistic missiles and not a static launch done, or gantry, of the type normally associated with civilian Space Launch Vehicles. We recognise the high caliber of Irans scientific community and its desire to participate in the exploration of space and advancements of scientific knowledge, but we encourage Iran to join other multinational space exploration endeavours. Iran must not develop launch systems in contravention of UNSCR 2231.

Mr President, the Secretary-Generals report clearly details how Iran actively proliferates missile technology throughout the region, including to non-state actors. As well as violating several Council resolutions, these actions are destabilising for the region and escalate already high tensions. If Iran wants to be a responsible actor, it should stop.

We note the findings in the Secretary-Generals report that materials seized by the United States in December 2019 and February 2020 was consistent with weaponry either manufactured in Iran or found to have been transferred to Iran after 2016.

We further note the reports conclusion achieved through thorough analysis of the wreckage of the attacks that weaponry used in the Aramco attacks, as well as in the Afif and Abha attacks, were of Iranian origin and were identical in material, structure and assembly to that Iranian weaponry seized by the United States.

The Aramco attack was reckless, destabilising and completely unacceptable, affecting more than five percent of the worlds oil and gas production. As well as having implications for the worlds energy supply, the attack risked undermining efforts to stabilise the region. This attack followed the 2019 attacks on commercial shipping near Fujairah and in the Gulf of Oman on the Yanbu oil pipeline. The United Kingdom has performed thorough assessments and, as we previously noted, we believe that all these attacks were almost certainly carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

As I said at the outset, the United Kingdom remains committed to the full implementation of Resolution 2231. But in light of the aforementioned concerns and the detail contained in the Secretary-Generals report, we believe that the planned lifting of arms restrictions on Iran in October would have major implications for regional security and stability. We are committed to working with JCPoA partners and Security Council members to address these concerns. E3 Foreign Ministers have stated that unilateral attempts to trigger UN sanctions snapback would be incompatible with our current efforts to preserve the JCPoA.

Preservation of the JCPoA will continue to be the guiding principle for the E3 on this agenda. This is because we believe in the absence of a viable alternative, that the agreement provides the best means of achieving our shared objectives on regional security and stability, upholding the nuclear nonproliferation regime and ensuring the continued authority and integrity of the Security Council.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime - GOV.UK - GOV.UK

The first of five tankers loaded with gasoline sent from Iran has reached Venezuelan waters, expected to temporarily ease the South American nations fuel crunch while defying Trump administration sanctions targeting the two US foes.

The oil tanker Fortune encountered no signs of US interference as it eased through Caribbean waters toward the Venezuelan coast late on Saturday. Venezuelan officials celebrated the arrival.

Iran and Venezuela have always supported each other in times of difficulty, Venezuelan foreign minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted. Today, the first ship with gasoline arrives for our people.

The tanker and four behind it were finishing a high seas journey amid a burgeoning relationship between Iran and Venezuela, both of which Washington says are ruled by repressive regimes.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, had earlier warned of retaliatory measures against the US if Washington causes problems for tankers carrying Iranian fuel to Venezuela.

If our tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world face trouble caused by the Americans, they [the US] will also be in trouble, Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with the emir of Qatar, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.

A flotilla of five tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela is approaching the Caribbean.

Iran will never initiate a conflict, Rouhani said. We have always the legitimate right to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity and to serve our national interests, and we hope that the Americans will not commit an error.

Iran is supplying about 1.53m barrels of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations made by TankerTrackers.com based on the vessels draft levels.

Venezuela sits atop the worlds largest oil reserves, but it must import gasoline because production has crashed in the last two decades. Critics blame corruption and mismanagement by the socialist administration amid an economic crisis that has led to huge migration by Venezuelans seeking to escape poverty, shortages of basic goods and crime.

The Iranian tankers hold what analysts estimate to be enough gasoline to supply Venezuela for two to three weeks.

The shipments have caused a diplomatic standoff between Iran and Venezuela and the US, as both nations are under US sanctions. Washington is considering measures in response, according to a senior US official who did not elaborate on any options being weighed.

The US recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean for what it said was an expanded anti-drug operation. A Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Thursday he was not aware of any operations related to the Iranian cargoes.

Venezuelas defence minister has said its military will escort the Iranian tankers once they reach the nations exclusive economic zone.

Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf last year after British forces detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. Both vessels were released after a months-long standoff.

Venezuela recently arrested mercenaries, including US citizens, who botched an operation to kidnap the president, Nicols Maduro.

The failed raid provided a propaganda boon for Maduro, who has long claimed to be the subject of a US-sponsored assassination plot.

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First Iranian fuel tanker reaches Venezuelan waters without US interference - The Guardian

One night last December, the chief resident physician at a hospital in the Iranian city of Gorgan was asked to consult on a baffling case: a patient was racked with a mysterious virus, which was advancing rapidly through his body. The doctor, who asked to be identified only as Azad, for fear of retribution by authorities, performed a CT scan and a series of chest X-rays, but the virus overwhelmed the patient before he could decide on a treatment. After reading reports from China, Azad determined that the cause of death was the coronavirus. Id never seen anything like it before, he told me.

More patients started coming in, first a few at a time, then in droves, many of them dying. When Azad and his colleagues alerted hospital officials that they were treating cases of the coronavirus, they were told to keep quiet. We were given special instructions not to release any statistics on infection and death rates, a second doctor told me. The medical staff was ordered not to wear masks or protective clothing. The aim was to prevent fear in the society, even if it meant high casualties among the medical staff, Azad said.

As the weeks went on, and the epidemic exploded in China, the Iranian media remained nearly silent. Two reporters who work at a news outlet in Tehran told me that they could see accounts of the virus on social media, but their editors made it clear they should not pursue them; nationwide parliamentary elections were scheduled for February 21st, and news about the virus could discourage voters. Everyone knows what stories can get you in trouble, one reporter told me. It was understood that anything that helped to lower turnout would be helping the counter-revolutionaries, and no one wanted to be accused of supporting foreign-based opposition groups.

Officials were also worried about relations with Chinaone of the few countries that has continued to buy Iranian oil since the imposition of American-backed sanctions. For weeks after the outbreak was reported in Wuhan, Irans Mahan Air continued direct flights there. Mahan is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful security force that increasingly acts as a shadow government in Iran.

Two days before the election, on February 19th, the Iranian government finally announced that two citizens had died of the coronavirus. In the Tehran newsroom, bitter laughter broke out. We reported deaths before we even reported any infections, the reporter told me. But thats life in the Islamic Republic. By then, hundreds of sick patients were crowding the hospital in Gorgan. So many bodies piled up that a local cemetery hired a backhoe to dig graves. It was worse than treating soldiers on a battlefield, the second doctor said.

Soon, Iran became a global center of the coronavirus, with nearly seventy thousand reported cases and four thousand deaths. But the government maintained tight control over information; according to a leaked official document, the Revolutionary Guard ordered hospitals to hand over death tallies before releasing them to the public. We were burying three to four to five times as many people as the Ministry of Health was reporting, Azad said. We could have dealt with thiswe could have quarantined earlier, we could have taken precautions like the ones the Chinese did in Wuhanif we had not been kept in the dark. On February 24th, Iraj Harirchi, the deputy health minister, appeared at a press conference and denied covering up the scale of infections. He looked pale and flustered, and he repeatedly wiped sweat from his brow. The next day, he, too, tested positive.

In mid-March, the Washington Post published satellite photos of newly dug mass graves. A few weeks later, inmates rioted at prisons across the country, terrified that they were trapped with the virus, and guards opened fire, killing at least thirty-five. As the pandemic devastated an economy already weakened by sanctions, Iran asked the International Monetary Fund for an emergency loan of five billion dollars. It was the first time in nearly sixty years that the government had appealed to the I.M.F., which it has historically described as a tool of U.S. hegemony.

With the country spasming, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Irans theocratic system, suggested that the United States and its allies had deployed a biological weapon. Americans are being accused of creating this virus, he said, during a speech in March. There are enemies who are demons, and there are enemies who are humans, and they help one another. The intelligence services of many countries coperate with one another against us.

Even as Khamenei spoke, the virus was spreading to the highest levels of the regime, which is heavily populated by elderly men. At least fifty clerics and political figures were infected, and at least twenty died. The Supreme Leader was said to be closed off from most human contact, but his inner circle was still susceptible; two vice-presidents and three of his closest advisers fell ill. The virus, which seemed able to reach anyone, sharpened a sense of crisis among ordinary Iranians. Khamenei, who has led the country since 1989, is eighty years old and a prostate-cancer survivor, rumored to be in poor health. What will become of the country when he dies?

In February, I paid a clandestine visit to the home of a reformist leader in Tehran, who spent several years in prison but remains connected with like-minded officials in the regime. Concerned that he might be at risk by talking to me, I took a circuitous route to his apartment; midway through the trip, I got out of my taxi, walked to the next block, and hailed another.

My host told me that the country has reached a decisive phase. Public confidence in the theocratic systeminstalled after the Iranian Revolution, in 1979has collapsed. Soon after Khamenei took power, he promised Iranians that the revolution would lead the country on the path of material growth and progress. Instead, Irans ruling clerics have left the country economically hobbled and largely cut off from the rest of the world. The sanctions imposed by the United States in 2018, after President Trump abrogated the nuclear agreement between the two countries, have aggravated those failures and intensified the corruption of the governing lite. I would say eighty-five per cent of the population hates the current system, my host said. But the system is incapable of reforming itself.

Speculation about Khameneis longevity is rampant in the senior levels of government and the military. The struggle to succeed him has already begun, my host said. But Khamenei has spent decades placing loyalists throughout the countrys major institutions, building a system that serves and protects him. Khamenei is like the sun, and the solar system orbits around him, he told me. This is my worry: What happens when you take the sun out of the solar system? Chaos.

Before the revolution remade Iran, Khamenei was a young cleric in the city of Mashhad. He had grown up modestly, the son of a cleric; a slender man, he had a long, thin face adorned by large round glasses that gave him an owlish demeanor. He was a devotee of Persian poetry and literature, and also came to admire Tolstoy, Steinbeck, and especially Victor Hugo, whose Les Misrables he described as a miracle... a book of sociology, a book of history, a book of criticism, a divine book, a book of love and feeling. Khamenei was influenced by the radical Islamist thinkers of his time, particularly Sayyid Qutb, who extolled the use of violence against enemies of the religion. But, at family gatherings, he kept his harsher ideas to himself. He hugs people, he kisses the children, he talks very well with children, a relative who grew up with Khamenei told me. When he wears the political dress, thats when he becomes bad. Thats when he becomes aggressive.

As Khamenei was forming his views, the country was in tumult. In 1953, an American-backed coup had displaced Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected Prime Minister. He was replaced by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, who dominated the country, with help from the U.S. and from a ruthless force of secret police. In the years that followed, an exiled ayatollah named Ruhollah Khomeini raised an increasingly fervid opposition, built around the idea that a state led by clerics, answerable only to God and set against Western notions of modernity, could lift up the country after decades of humiliation.

Continue reading here:
The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution - The New Yorker