Iran’s nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran. Iran blames Israel over scientist’s assassination, vows retaliation
(November 27, 2020 | Tehran Times)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s first priority after the assassination of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is the “definitive punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it”.
The assassination against Mohsen Fakhrizadeh took place in the Abe-Sard region of Damavand County, about 40 kilometers northeast of Tehran. The Fars new agency said the expert was assassinated by terrorists in his car.
The terrorists blasted a pickup – a Nissan sedan – laden with explosives on the way of the car carrying Fakhrizadeh and then started shooting at his car and security guards.
Zarif says “serious indications of Israeli role” seen in terror
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the international community, especially the European Union, to condemn this heinous crime and step exercising “shameful double standards”.
“Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardicewith serious indications of Israeli roleshows desperate warmongering of perpetrators,” Zarif tweeted.
“Iran calls on int’l communityand especially EUto end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror,” the foreign minister asserted.
Fakhrizadeh was the only scientist whose name had been mentioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli media had announced that the plan for the assassination had failed last year. They also claimed that the name of Fakhrizadeh had been released to Israeli spy agency Mossad by the United Nations.
Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri also issued a statement moments later offering condolences over the assassination of the scientist and vowing “severe revenge”.
Military chief says “severe revenge awaits” perpetrators of terrorist attack
“The terrorist groups and the perpetrators of this blind act should also know that severe revenge awaits them.”
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also demanded an immediate identification, arrest and punishment of the elements behind the terrorist attack.
Who’s Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, nuclear scientist assassinated in Iran?
Western officials and experts believe Fakhrizadeh played a pivotal role in suspected Iranian work in the past to develop the means to assemble a nuclear warhead behind the facade of a declared civilian uranium enrichment programme.
A landmark report by the UN nuclear watchdog in 2011 identified Fakhrizadeh as a central figure in suspected Iranian work to develop technology and skills needed for atomic bombs and suggested he may still have a role in such activity. Believed to be a senior officer in the elite Revolutionary Guards, Fakhrizadeh was the only Iranian the report identified.
“If Iran ever chose to weaponise (enrichment), Fakhrizadeh would be known as the father of the Iranian bomb,” a Western diplomat told Reuters news agency in 2014.
The UN report said he oversaw activities “in support of a possible military dimension to (Iran’s) nuclear programme” within the so-called AMAD Plan. A 2011 IAEA report described him as the AMAD Plan’s “Executive Officer”, a central figure in suspected Iranian work to develop technology and skills needed for atomic bombs, and suggested he may still have a role in such activity. (Source: PA/PA)
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‘Mossad at work’? Twitter explodes with speculation of US & Israeli involvement after killing of top Iranian scientist
REUTERS/ Amir Cohen | 27 Nov, 2020
While it remains unknown who is responsible for the killing of top Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahavadi, commenters on social media are already blaming Israel’s Mossad, with some even theorizing a Trump connection.
Fakhrizadeh-Mahavadi was fatally injured after a reported ambush on his car in Tehran that led to a shootout between unidentified assailants and the nuclear scientist’s bodyguards, local media has reported. Alleged to be the head of Iran’s nuclear
program, many have taken to theorizing the Israeli government could have been behind the attack, including Iran’s foreign minister.
Mossad began trending on Twitter not long after reports of the death emerged.
“So Trump works with Mossad to assassinate an Iranian scientist on his way out the door and there are still a small group of weirdos on here who insist he’s some kind of right wing anti-imperialist,” podcaster Rob Rousseau tweeted.
Others joined in on claiming the US had involvement.
Some critics claim the attack proves Israel is the “biggest threat” to peace in the Middle East – if they were involved.
More conservative users have alleged Mossad’s involvement and even celebrated such a scenario.
“Thank you Israel! Another terrorist removed. Obama sent terrorists cash, Mossad sends them lead,” right-wing journalist Mike Cernovich tweeted.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) meanwhile pushed back against Israel being “reflexively” blamed for the death, specifically targeting tweets from former CIA Director John Brennan where he said he does “not know” if a foreign government was involved, but he called the alleged assassination a “criminal act” and urged Iran to wait before responding until the US has “responsible” leadership again. Israel has not commented on the death of Fakhrizadeh-Mahavadi.
Iran: nuclear scientist killed by satellite-controlled AI machine gun
A satellite-controlled machine gun with “artificial intelligence” has been used in of a top nuclear scientist in Iran, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards tells local media.
The machine gun was mounted on a Nissan pickup and “focused only on martyr Fakhrizadeh’s face in a way that his wife, despite being only 25 centimetres (10 inches) away, was not shot,” Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.
“Controlled online”
It was being “controlled online” via a satellite and used an “advanced camera and artificial intelligence” to make the target, he added.
Fadavi said that Fakhrizadeh’s head of security took four bullets “as he threw himself” on the scientist and that there were “no terrorists at the scene”.
Iranian authorities have blamed arch foe Israel and the exiled opposition group the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) for the assassination.
State-run Press TV had previously said “made in Israel” weapons were found at the scene.
Various accounts of the scientist’s death have emerged since the attack, with the defence ministry initially saying he was caught in a firefight with his bodyguards, while Fars news agency claimed “a remote controlled automatic machine gun” killed him, without citing any sources.
According to Iran’s defence minister, Amir Hatami, Fakhrizadeh was one of his deputies and headed the ministry’s Defence and Research and Innovation Organization, focusing on the field of “nuclear defence”. (Source: AFP)
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IAEA: Iran enriched uranium 12 times over limit set in 2015 deal
(10-11-2020) Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is now more than 12 times the limit set down in a 2015 deal with world powers, the UN’s nuclear agency has reported. An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report said that as of November 2 “Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile… was 2442.9 kg.”
The nuclear deal signed in 2015 with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China, and Russia, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, allows Iran only to keep a stockpile of 202.8 kilogrammes (447 pounds). The IAEA reported that Iran has also been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of up to 4.5 percent, higher than the 3.67 percent allowed under the deal.
US withdrawal follows deal violations
Violations of the nuclear pact have followed the decision by the US to pull out unilaterally in 2018. The deal promises Iran economic incentives in exchange for the curbs on its nuclear programme. Since the US withdrawal and imposition of new sanctions, Tehran has been putting pressure on the remaining parties with the violations to come up with new ways to offset the economy-crippling actions by Washington. The Iranian government has continued, however, to allow IAEA inspectors full access to its nuclear facilities. The goal of the agreement is to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, something the country insists it does not intend to do.
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Nimitz carrier group returns to Persian Gulf after drills, in ‘pre-planned’ move not related to Iranian scientist murder report
(28 Nov, 2020) A US aircraft carrier and other warships are headed to the Persian Gulf to bolster troop withdrawals in the region, a defense source told CNN, insisting the deployment is unrelated to the recent murder of a top Iranian scientist. The Nimitz carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and backed by several guided-missile destroyers will soon resume operations in the Persian Gulf region, CNN’s Barbara Starr reported on Friday, citing an anonymous Pentagon official.
The ships will provide “combat support and air cover as US troops withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan” by mid-January under orders from President Donald Trump, moving a sizable arsenal into the region just months before he is set to leave office.
The official added, however, that the movement was decided before news emerged of the scientist’s assassination outside the Iranian capital early on Friday morning, suggesting the events are not connected.
Nonetheless, they said the deployment would send an “increased deterrence message” to the Islamic Republic, which has vowed a “severe” response to the murder.
The Nimitz strike group departed the Persian Gulf earlier this month to conduct training exercises in the Indian Ocean with Australia, India and Japan which make up an informal security coalition known as the “Quad.” With those drills wrapped up, the US warships will now return to Iran’s backyard, where Washington has maintained a significant presence throughout Trump’s term.
Despite the defense official’s assurances that the movements of the Nimitz group have no tie to the assassination, Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations warned his country would respond to any “adventuristic measures” by Washington or Tel Aviv, vowing to take “all necessary measures to defend its people and secure its interests.” (Source: RT Russian News)
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Saudi FM says final agreement in Qatar dispute ‘in reach’
“We’ve made significant progress in the last few days,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said, speaking to Italy’s annual Mediterranean Dialogues on Friday 4th Nov. 2020.
“We hope that this progress can lead to a final agreement which looks in reach, and I can say that I am somewhat optimistic that we are close to finalising an agreement between all the nations in the dispute to come to a resolution that we think will be satisfactory to all,” the prince said.
However, the other three nations boycotting Qatar Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates did not immediately acknowledge any progress. More than a year ago, a similar hope for an end to the dispute quickly faded. But Prince Faisal’s remarks did come just hours after the top diplomat from mediator nation Kuwait described the ongoing talks over the crisis as “constructive and fruitful”.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Sabah said on Friday Dec. 4 2020, there was progress in resolving the dispute but stopped short of announcing any breakthrough in the dispute. “Fruitful discussions have taken place recently in which all sides expressed their keenness … to reach a final agreement,” al-Sabah said in a statement read out on Kuwait TV, thanking White House senior adviser Jared Kushner for his “recent efforts”.
Following the statement, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani thanked Kuwait for its mediation. “The Kuwaiti statement is an imperative step towards resolving the GCC crisis. We express our gratitude to the State of Kuwait for their mediation & the United.‘ SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES’
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Afghan gov’t, Taliban announce breakthrough deal in peace talks
(2 Dec 2020) Afghan government and Taliban representatives said they have reached a preliminary deal to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war. The agreement on Wednesday 2nd Dec. 2020, lays out the way forward for further discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire. “The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalised and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda,” Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan government’s negotiating team, told Reuters.
The Taliban spokesman confirmed the same on Twitter.
“A joint working committee was tasked to prepare the draft topics for the agenda (of peace talks),” a joint statement from both sides said. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said on Twitter, quoting the Afghan leader: “(The agreement) is a step forward towards beginning the negotiations on the main issues, including a comprehensive ceasefire as the key demand of the Afghan people.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated the two sides on “perseverance and willingness to find common ground”, and added that the United States would “work hard with all sides in pursuit of a serious reduction of violence and ceasefire”.
US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said that the two sides had agreed on a “three-page agreement codifing rules and procedures for their negotiations on a political road map and a comprehensive ceasefire”.(SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES)
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Report finds Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghans
A shocking Australian military report into war crimes has found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians. Australian Defence Force Chief General Angus Campbell said the shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to achieve their first kill in a practice known as “blooding.” He said the soldiers would then plant weapons and radios to support false claims the prisoners were enemies killed in action. Campbell said the illegal killings began in 2009, with the majority occurring in 2012 and 2013.
He said some in the Special Air Service encouraged “a self-centered, warrior culture.”
He said the report recommended 19 soldiers be investigated by police for possible charges, including murder. The chief was announcing the findings of a four-year investigation by Paul Brereton, a judge who was asked to look into the allegations and interviewed more than 400 witnesses and reviewed thousands of pages of documents.
Campbell said. “It would have devastated the lives of Afghan families and communities, causing immeasurable pain and suffering. And it would have put in jeopardy our mission and the safety of our Afghan and coalition partners.” (Source: TRT WORLD NEWS)
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Several people killed as barrage of rockets hit Kabul
(21-11-2020) At least 23 rockets targeted different residential areas in Afghanistan’s capital, killing at least eight people and wounding 31 others, official says. The salvo slammed into various parts of central and north Kabul including near the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses embassies and international companies just before 0430 GMT (9:00 am local time on Saturday).
Taliban rejected the government accusation while Daesh said it was behind the attack.
Arian said “terrorists” mounted the rockets in a small truck and set them off, adding that the investigation is going on to find out how the vehicle came inside the city. Photos and videos circulating online showed several buildings with damage to walls and windows, including at a large medical complex. (SOURCE: TRT WORLD NEWS)
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Afghan officials say 34 killed in separate suicide bombings
By RAHMATULLAH NEKZAD and TAMEEM AKHGAR | Sunday 29 Nov. 2020
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AP) In eastern Ghazni province, 31 soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded when the attacker drove a military humvee full of explosives onto an army commando base before detonating the car bomb, according to an official in Afghanistan’s National Security Council, who spoke anonymously because he was not permitted to speak directly to the media.
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Israel moves ahead on housing plans in occupied east Jerusalem
(15-11-2020) Israel is moving forward on the construction of hundreds of new homes in a sensitive east Jerusalem settlement, in a step that defies international consensus against Tel Aviv’s building in areas that would cut Palestinians off from the city’s eastern sector. Israel’s Housing Ministry opened up tenders for more than 1,200 new homes in the Givat Hamatos area of Jerusalem.
The settlement watchdog group Peace Now and other critics say construction there would seal off the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. The Palestinians seek the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem areas Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war for their own state and view them as the main obstacle to peace. International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement-building activities on the land to be illegal.
The latest move also comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to travel to the region, where he is expected to visit an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, which previous US secretaries of state have avoided.
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Netanyahu holds secret talks with Crown Prince MBS, Pompeo in Saudi Arabia
Reports claim a secret meeting took place between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in spite of denials that it occurred. A covert meeting allegedly took place between the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday, November 22.
Although it was strongly denied by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, new sources have commented on the truth of the story, in addition to previous unsourced Israeli media reports which claimed the event took place. Flight tracking websites documented the flight taken by Netanyahu’s private jet from Tel Aviv to Saudi Arabia, while three officials close to Netanyahu emphasised the significance of the meeting, in a seeming confirmation that it actually took place. If the meeting really has occurred, it would mark a significant move by Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel.
Quid pro quo: In a report published by Business Insider, two officials, one European and one Israeli, claim that the US brokered a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Israel, after an Israeli hit squad assassinated a senior Al Qaeda figure residing in Iran. They also note that the meeting was intended to smooth the path for Saudi Arabia’s recognition of Israel – this all part of a last-ditch effort by the Trump administration to cement their Middle East policy initiatives before a new administration takes over.
The anonymous figures claimed to have been briefed on the event, one being an Israeli figure who allegedly advises Netanyahu’s political rival and coalition partner Bennie Gantz, while the other claims to have worked for a European nation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The operation to assassinate Abu Mohammed al Masri could have been years in the planning, and likely came at the request of US intelligence services. “It was a joint operation with the Americans providing technical details that identified Masri’s secret identity and location in Tehran, while the Israelis provided the actual assassins to do the attack in Tehran,” reported one European intelligence official. Abu Mohammed al Masr was one of Al Qaeda’s original founders and the organisation’s second-in-command. He was also the father in-law of the late Hamza bin Laden, who married his daughter Miriam. Both al Masri and Miriam were assassinated by two gunmen on motorcycles in Tehran on November 13.
As a reward for the assassination, the United States is said to have arranged a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which was supposed to be followed by the Kingdom’s announcement that it would move to formally recognise Israel. (Source: TRT World)
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Israel receives its most advanced warship as Iran tensions rise
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel received its most advanced warship, describing the German-made vessel dubbed “Shield” as a bulwark for vulnerable Mediterranean gas rigs as tensions with Tehran soar over the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist. The Saar-6 corvette that docked in Haifa port, and three of the same model to follow next year, will bring to 15 the number of missile boats deployed by an Israeli navy which, while small, carries out missions as far away as the Red Sea and the Gulf. Israel also wants to protect off-shore natural gas fields c[lose to Lebanon, an old foe with which it has held so far fruitless U.S.-mediated maritimeborder talks. (Source: Reuters)
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Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan enters Aghdam district handed over by Armenia
Azerbaijan’s president has declared that his forces have taken control of Aghdam region, a territory ceded by Armenia in a ceasefire agreement that ended the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. The truce, brokered by Russia, stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan.
“Today, with a feeling of endless pride, I am informing my people about the liberation of Aghdam,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an address to the nation. “Aghdam is ours!”
Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan is taking over the Aghdam region “without a single shot (fired) or losses (suffered),” and called it a “great political success” that wouldn’t have been possible without military gains. “Azerbaijan was able to achieve what it wanted on the political arena after having won a brilliant victory on the battlefield,” the president said.
Aghdam is one of three due to be handed back. Armenia will also hand over Kalbajar district wedged between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia on November 25 and the Lachin district by December 1.
Armenian forces occupied some 77 percent of Aghdam in 1993, forcibly displacing nearly 200,000 Azerbaijanis from their homeland.
Armenian Defence Minister Davit Tonoyan has tendered his resignation, the Aravot daily reported.
Tonoyan held the position since May 2018.
The government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has come under pressure to quit, with thousands of demonstrators demanding he go following the signing of a ceasefire that returned territories Azerbaijan retook during the six-week-long clashes.
A deadly conflict: Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The post-Soviet 1990s war left some 30,000 dead. The Armenians’ claim was never recognised internationally, not even by Armenia.
Russia strengthens border guards in Armenia after Karabakh ceasefire
(20-11-2020) Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh over the last two weeks after a peace deal ended the war between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces which erupted on September 27. The deployment was made at the request of Armenia to maintain peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin at a conference via video link. The mission involves 188 servicemen and military hardware.
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New Images Of Chinese Bomber Carrying Huge Mystery Missile Point To Hypersonic Capability
BYJOSEPH TREVITHICK | NOVEMBER 5, 2020
New images have emerged of what looks to be a Chinese H-6N missile carrier aircraft carrying an outsized missile underneath its fuselage. Though more detail is now visible, the general shape and size of the apparent missile are very similar, if not identical to the one seen in another video that appeared on social media last month. The features that we can now see further point to a hypersonic design, which could potentially be air-breathing and nuclear-capable.
Still captures from a video showing the heavily burdened H-6N first appeared on Twitter on Nov. 5, 2020. They came from a clip that had been posted on the Chinese social network Weibo, but which appears to have been subsequently taken down.
The payload under the aircraft is the same general length as the one seen in the video footage from October and reasonable estimates put it at around 40 feet in length, or about one third the length of the H-6N. The nose section, which strongly appears to be some kind of hypersonic vehicle, has visible fins and a nose with a flattened shape.
In the War Zone’s analysis of the first video from October, we noted that the shape was very broadly reminiscent of what we had seen of the unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle that sits on top of the DF-17 missile, referred to in the past as the DF-ZF, which China first showed off publicly at a major parade in Beijing last year. That same event was the public debut of the H-6N, which is designed to carry very large payloads, including missiles and drones, semi-recessed on the bottom of its fuselage. The H-6N is an evolution of the H-6K cruise missile carrier aircraft, which is a derivative of the Soviet-era Tu-16 Badger bomber. (Source: (Source: The War Zone Wire)
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China’s microwave pulse weapon defeats Indian troops at Himalayan border
By Didi Tang
China’s military used microwave weapons to force Indian troops to retreat during a border stand-off in the Himalayas, a Beijing professor has claimed. Its forces turned two strategic hilltops occupied by Indian soldiers “into a microwave oven”, Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, told students during a lecture. The Indian troops were forced back, allowing the positions to be retaken without an exchange of conventional fire, he said. The People’s Liberation Army “beautifully” seized the ground without violating a no-live-shot rule governing the orders of engagement in the mountain stand-off. Microwave weapons focus high frequency electromagnetic pulses at targets, causing irritation and pain by heating up any human tissue in its way.
“We didn’t publicise it because we solved the problem beautifully,” Mr. Jin said. “They [India] didn’t publicise it either because they lost so miserably.” The professor said that Chinese troops fired from the bottom of the hills and “turned the mountain tops into a microwave oven”. “In 15 minutes, those occupying the hilltops all began to vomit,” he said. “They couldn’t stand up, so they fled. This was how we retook the ground.” The two sides have been locked in a border dispute since April in the Ladakh region, which culminated in bloody hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan River valley in June. Twenty Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese were killed. The microwave attack was said to have taken place on August 29. The two countries
have a longstanding dispute over their border, each accusing the other of encroaching on territory.
Despite rounds of high-level talks, the two armies have shown no sign of disengagement but are seeking to strengthen their positions, while sticking to the no-live-shot rule to avoid escalation and a repeat of the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Microwave weapons attracted attention recently as America researched radio-frequency or electromagnetic pulse weapons that use high-energy radiation to attack targets. This may be the first use of such weapons against hostile troops. Mr. Jin said in his lecture that India had surprised China by sending in a team of Tibetan soldiers, known for their mountaineering skills, to seize two critical hilltops on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake, in eastern Ladakh on August 29.
It is suspected that microwave weapons were used in an attack against US diplomats and their families in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, northwest of Hong Kong, in 2018. They may also have been responsible for the symptoms described by American and Canadian diplomats posted to Cuba from 2016. Most people exposed to microwave radiation report significant discomfort but no permanent ill-effects. Some studies, however, suggest that long-term exposure might cause cancers.
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Xi calls construction of Sichuan-Tibet railway significant to unity and border stability
‘Infrastructure miracle’ significant to unity, stability and economy
(By Xu Keyue) Experts hailed the Sichuan-Tibet Railway as an “infrastructure miracle” in connecting people and safeguarding border stability, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks to advance the construction of the project with high quality. Xi called the project a major step in safeguarding national unity and a significant move in promoting economic and social development of western region.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world’s most geologically active areas. Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is a major strategic plan put forward by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council based on the overall situation and with a long-term perspective. According to information garnered about the bid, it will take 10 years to complete the project, which is expected to be completed in 2030. Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, called the project a new “infrastructure miracle” after the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
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China signs huge Asia Pacific trade deal with 14 countries
By Jill Disis and Laura He, CNN Business | November 16, 2020
Hong Kong (CNN Business)China has just joined forces with more than a dozen countries across the Asia Pacific region to sign a huge free trade deal nearly a decade in the making. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership spans 15 countries and 2.2 billion people, or nearly 30% of the world’s population, according to a joint statement released by the nations on Sunday, when the deal was signed. Their combined GDP totals roughly $26 trillion and they account for nearly 28% of global trade based on 2019 data.
The deal includes several of the region’s heaviest economic hitters aside from China, including Japan and South Korea. New Zealand and Australia are also partners, as are Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. The trade agreement was first proposed in 2012 as a way to create one of the world’s largest free-trade zones. It’s tough to gauge the immediate economic significance of the deal. The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations a group of 10 countries that signed the agreement said that it would eliminate tariffs and quotas on 65% of the goods that are traded in the region.
“Its symbolic value has always exceeded its actual value,” said William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who served for 15 years as president of the National Foreign Trade Council. He pointed out that India opted out of the deal late last year, lessening the importance of the agreement in terms of actual trade.
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Venezuela continues selling oil to China despite US sanctions report
(27 Nov, 2020) Undeterred by US sanctions, Venezuela has reportedly resumed direct oil shipments to China after a year of underground trading. Venezuelan oil exports had crashed to multi-decade lows under intense pressure from Washington. The first tanker to restart the shipping of crude from the shores of the Bolivarian Republic to China was the Kyoto, which loaded 1.8 million barrels of oil at Venezuela’s Jose port in late August, according to data from shipping monitoring service Tanker Trackers, as quoted by Reuters. The data cited by the agency shows that Chinese state-run companies China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and PetroChina put shipments of crude and fuel from Venezuelan ports on pause in August 2019. The move came shortly after the White House broadened its economic penalties against state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The Warrior King is another oil tanker unloading Venezuelan heavy crude at China’s Bayuquan port, while two PetroChina-owned vessels loaded oil in Venezuela this month, the agency reported, citing Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data plus PDVSA’s loading schedules and shipping documents. (Source: TRT NEWS)
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Confrontations on LAC could spiral into larger conflict: CDS General Bipin Rawat
By: Rajat Pandit | TNN | Nov 7, 2020
NEW DELHI: India will not allow China to shift the Line of Actual Control westwards in eastern Ladakh, and though the prospects of a full-scale war are low, border tensions and intrusions escalating into a larger conflict cannot be ruled out, said Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. “Our posturing is unambiguous status quo has to be restored,” said Gen Rawat, even as India and China held the eight-round of military talks to defuse the almost seven-month-long tense military confrontation in the high-altitude region.
“In the overall security calculus, a full-scale conflict with China is low on probability. However, border confrontations, transgressions and unprovoked tactical military actions spiralling into a larger conflict cannot be discounted,” said Gen Rawat, speaking at a webinar here.
The country’s top military officer also stressed India will not allow “any shifting” of the LAC by China, which he said is now facing “unanticipated consequences of its misadventure” due to the firm and strong response by the Indian forces in eastern Ladakh.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria also emphasized that India’s “proactive actions and strong posture” were instrumental in dissuading China from making “any further attempts to alter the status quo” in Ladakh. The swift deployment of IAF’s “offensive capabilities” reflected the nation’s resolve to use airpower if the need arises, he added.
There was no official word on the outcome of the corps commander-level talks, led by 14 Corps commander Lt-General P G K Menon and South Xinjiang Military District chief Major General Liu Lin, which lasted for almost 10 hours at the Chushul border meeting point in eastern Ladakh.
Sources, however, said India stuck to its stand of “complete de-escalation” at troop face-off sites as well as along the entire frontier in eastern Ladakh, rejecting the “piecemeal and one-sided disengagement steps” being proposed by China.
With no signs of de-escalation yet, over 50,000 soldiers each from the two armies, backed by howitzers, tanks and surface-to-air missile systems, have dug in for the long haul at heights over 15,000-feet. “With temperatures already dipping to minus 20 degree Celsius in some places, both sides have built shelters and other makeshift infrastructure. Both are also rotating troops,” said an officer.
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India plans dam on Brahmaputra river against Chinese projects
(Reuters) India is considering a plan to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) hydropower project in a remote eastern state, an Indian official said on Tuesday, following reports that China could construct dams on a section of the Brahmaputra river. The river, also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in China, flows from Tibet into India’s Arunachal Pradesh state and down through Assam to Bangladesh. Indian authorities are concerned Chinese projects could trigger flash floods or create water scarcity. “The need of the hour is to have a big dam in Arunachal Pradesh to mitigate the adverse impact of the Chinese dam projects,” TS Mehra, a senior official in India’s federal water ministry, told the Reuters news agency.
“Our proposal is under consideration at the highest level in the government,” Mehra said, adding the Indian plan would create a large water storage capacity to offset the effect of Chinese dams on water flows. Diplomatic relations between India and China are at a nadir, with troops locked in a border face-off in the western Himalayas for months. Some analysts warned that damming the Brahmaputra could potentially develop into another flashpoint, as Beijing’s dam-building activities moved closer to the Indian border. “India is facing China’s terrestrial aggression in the Himalayas, maritime encroachments on its back yard and, as the latest news is a reminder, even water wars,” Brahma Chellaney, a specialist on India-China ties, said in a tweet.
On Monday 30th Nov., Chinese state media reported the country could build up to 60 GW of hydropower capacity on a section of the Brahmaputra, citing a senior executive. (Source:Al Jazeera News Agency)
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Indian farmers vow to intensify protests after talks fail again
(5 Dec 2020) The Indian government and protesting farmers were unable to break their deadlock in talks, with the farmers saying on Saturday they will intensify their demonstrations against new agriculture laws and continue blocking key highways on the outskirts of the capital.
Protest leaders rejected the government’s offer to amend some contentious provisions of the new farm laws, which deregulate crop pricing, and stuck to the demand for total repeal. They also announced a nationwide strike. They said they would intensify their agitation and occupy toll plazas across the country on the strike day if the government didn’t abolish the laws.
Thousands of farmers are protesting against reforms that they say could devastate crop prices and reduce their earnings. They have blocked highways on the outskirts of Delhi for the last 10 days.
The farmers say the laws will lead the government to stop buying grain at minimum guaranteed prices and result in exploitation by corporations that will push down prices.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government insists the reforms will benefit farmers. It says they will allow farmers to market their produce and boost production through private investment. But farmers say they were never consulted.
Talks between Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and 35 farmer leaders were the fifth since the laws were passed in September.
The leader of a farmers’ union was quoted by the DPA news agency as saying that: “The government offered amendments to the law, but we want them repealed and, if new laws are made, they must be done with consultations with farmers’ associations.”
The farmers are camping along at least five main highways on the outskirts of the national capital territory and have said they will not leave until the government rolls back what they call the “black laws”.
Farmers in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against the laws for nearly two months. The situation escalated when tens of thousands marched to New Delhi and clashed with the police on the outskirts.
“Farmers maintain that because [they think] the laws are so fundamentally flawed, because they were created without consultation with farmers and pushed through parliament without a proper vote, that nothing short of repealing the laws will do,” she said.
“And they are only expecting the protests to get bigger.”
One of the farmers told NDTV news channel that they were prepared to carry on with the protest until January 26, India’s Republic Day, and, if needed, beyond that.
India summons Canadian envoy to complain about Trudeau’s remarks
Canada repeats support for Indian farmers as talks to end protests fail
New Delhi told the envoy that “comments by the Canadian Prime Minister, some Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament on issues relating to Indian farmers constitute an unacceptable interference in our internal affairs,” according to a statement issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“These comments have encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security. We expect the Canadian Government to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism.”
Speaking at an online event to mark the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, the Canadian leader said earlier this week that the news coming out of India was “concerning” and his country would “always be there to defend the rights of peaceful protest”.
New Delhi had denounced Trudeau’s comments, terming them as “unwarranted”.
Meanwhile, Canadia repeated its support for protesting farmers despite a warning by India that it could damage bilateral ties between them.
“Canada will always stand up for the right of peaceful protests and human rights anywhere around the world. And we are pleased to see moves towards de-escalation and dialogue,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told media.
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Global uncertainty could risk World War Three – UK military chief
(By Reuters Staff) LONDON (Reuters) – Current global uncertainty and anxiety amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic could risk another world war, the head of Britain’s armed forces has warned.
In an interview aired to coincide with Remembrance Sunday, the annual commemorations for those who have been killed and wounded in conflict, Nick Carter, Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, said an escalation in regional tensions and errors of judgement could ultimately lead to widespread conflict.
“I think we are living at a moment in time where the world is a very uncertain and anxious place and of course, the dynamic of global competition is a feature of our lives as well, and I think the real risk we have with quite a lot of the regional conflicts that are gong on at the moment, is you could see escalation lead to miscalculation,” Carter told Sky News.
Asked if that meant there was a genuine threat of another world war, Carter replied: “I’m saying it’s a risk and we need to be conscious of those risks.”
Carter, who became the British military chief in 2018, said it was important to remember those who had died in previous wars as a warning to those who might repeat past mistakes. “If you forget about the horror of war, then the great risk I think is that people might think that going to war is a reasonable thing to do,” he said.
“We have to remember that history might not repeat itself but it has a rhythm, and if you look back at the last century, before both world wars, I think it was unarguable that there was escalation which led to the miscalculation which ultimately led to war at a scale we would hopefully never see again.”
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Boris Johnson unveils the UK’s biggest military budget in 30 years
Prime Minister Johnson announced he will increase his country’s military budget by $22 billion to establish a new space command and an artificial intelligence agency. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his country’s biggest military increase in expenditure since the Cold War. Johnson pledged to end the “era of retreat” as he seeks a more influential role in the world in the post-Brexit period.
“The era of cutting our defence budget must end, and it ends now,” Johnson told Parliament via video conference from Downing Street, where he is self-isolating having recently come into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
“I have done this in the teeth of the pandemic, amid every other demand on our resources, because the defence of the realm and the safety of the British people must come first.”
The UK will spend extra money to upgrade military capabilities even as the novel coronavirus pandemic hits the economy and strains public finances. He also outlined plans for a new space command, an artificial intelligence agency and a re energised Navy despite his already being Europe’s most powerful. “We’re going to use our extra defence spending to restore Britain’s position as the foremost naval power in Europe,” Johnson told the Commons. The British warships and combat vehicles are planned to carry “directed energy weapons” to hit targets with “inexhaustible lasers”.
“This will spur a renaissance of British shipbuilding across the UK. In Glasgow and South Belfast, Appledore and Birkenhead,” the Prime Minister said.
Johnson announced an extra £16.5 billion ($22 billion) of budget designated to military spending over the next four years. The country’s annual defence budget is around £42 billion ($55 billion). The new space command and national cyberforce will be established by 2022 and will create 10,000 job opportunities, according to the British government. Taking a new global role.
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Over 50 Muslim candidates win US elections
November 7, 2020 | Muslim Mirror
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Jetpac and MPower Change said of the 110 Muslim-Americans who ran for a variety of posts, 57 emerged or are projected to emerge victorious following the Nov. 3 general election. The individuals ran in competitions that spanned 24 states and Washington, D.C., and the number of Muslim candidates in the election is the highest the groups have tracked since 2016.
Of the 57 victors, seven made history as the first Muslims elected to their respective state offices. It is noteworthy that the United States House of Representatives has 435 seats and the Senate has 100 seats.
Mohammed Missouri, executive director of Jetpac, said in a statement, “Increasing our political representation is a critical part of defeating the violent rise of Islamophobia here and around the world because it forces elected officials and the media to include our perspective in the narrative on healthcare, the economy, criminal legal system, and every other issue impacting American life.”
In all, the advocacy groups tracked roughly 170 candidates who ran for office, including those who were eliminated in primary contests, and therefore did not make it to the Nov. 3 election. That figure is roughly 30 more than the previous high of 134 Muslim-American candidates who ran in 2018.
Jetpac, CAIR, and MPower said they plan to distribute a full list of local, primary and general election candidates after general election results are certified.
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Covid-19 was present in America BEFORE being officially confirmed in China, study by US health protection agency says
Coronavirus had been infecting people in the US even before China reported its first cases on December 31, 2019, research by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Red Cross has revealed. American medics officially registered their first Covid-19 patient on January 19, 2020, but the findings in a paper published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest the virus may have been circulating in the US prior to that. The researchers studied almost 7,400 blood donations made in nine US states between December 13, 2019 and January 17, 2020.
Evidence of Covid-19 bodies antibodies, the presence of which suggest a person had contact with the virus, were present in 106 of those samples, according to the study.
This means coronavirus could have been in the US a month before it saw its first confirmed case, and weeks before the Chinese authorities announced the infection in the city of Wuhan. The analysis of hospital data from across the US in late 2019 also showed a spike in flu patients, many of whom had “heavy coughing” and other severe respiratory symptoms.(Source: RT NEWS)
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Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq
By Zhelwan Z Wali| 2 Dec 2020
Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq Fears are growing of a full-fledged war between Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and forces of the ruling Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in this autonomous region of northern Iraq. Tensions between the two sides are increasing amid a military standoff on the Iraq-Turkey border, with civilians on both sides strongly rejecting any possible intra-Kurdish confrontation.
The tensions initially began when the KRG-led Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) accused the PKK of assassinating Ghazi Salih, a security official working at the Sarzer border crossing in Duhok province on October 8.
The PKK, however, denied responsibility.
The situation intensified when the PKK on October 29 claimed responsibility for a “successful sabotage action” on a KRG pipeline to Turkey near Mardin province, suspending oil exports. The KRG said it “strongly condemns the terrorist attack targeting the pipeline” and warned it “will never allow threats against its interests and the livelihood of the peoples of the Kurdistan Region”.
The PKK has an estimated 5,000 fighters stationed largely in Iraqi Kurdistan’s rugged mountainous areas. The group is designated a “terrorist organisation” by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. Decades-long clashes between Ankara and the PKK have led to tens of thousands of deaths in both Turkey and northern Iraq. SOURCE : AL JAZEERA
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Ethiopia’s PM savours victory, Tigrayan leader says war not finished
Tigray leader warns war not over as Ethiopia PM hails victory
Though the highland city of 500,000 people fell to federal troops with little resistance last week, the TPLF later said it had shot down a plane and retaken one town.
PM Abiy hails soldiers for victory : “Our constitution was attacked but it didn’t take us three years, it took us three weeks,” Abiy told parliament, comparing his offensive with the American Civil War of the 1860s. “No other country can ensure such a performance. Our army is disciplined and victorious,” he added, saying federal troops had not killed any civilians nor damaged Mekelle after launching a November 4 offensive in response to a TPLF attack on an army base. “We are not the (TPLF) junta … We conduct ourselves responsibly.”
Ethiopia’s war is threatening domestic and regional stability
Debretsion Gebremichael, who leads the Tigray regional state and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), however, said in a phone interview with the Associated Press a day later that fighting still continues and his forces have made some gains. The Tigrayan leader said the fight is about “self-determination” of the Tigrayan community which constitutes 7.3 percent of the 108 million Ethiopian population and it “will continue until the invaders are out”.
Indeed, despite Abiy’s declaration of victory, the deadly conflict in northern Ethiopia which started on November 4 is far from over. Despite the communications blockade the federal state imposed on the region since the beginning of the conflict, there are credible reports of ongoing clashes between the Ethiopian army and Tigrayan forces across the region.
Moreover, some of Ethiopia’s neighbours got heavily involved in the conflict, adding weight to the fears that the civil war could soon devastate and destabilise not only the country itself, but the entire Horn of Africa region.
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Gunmen kill dozens in Ethiopia bus attack
(15-11-2020) Gunmen have killed at least 34 people in a “gruesome” attack on a passenger bus in western Ethiopia, a part of the country that has recently seen a spate of deadly assaults on civilians. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement on Sunday that “the estimated number of casualties, currently at 34, is likely to rise” from the attack which occurred Saturday night in the Benishangul-Gumuz region. The EHRC statement said the bus attack occurred in the Debate administrative area, and that “there are reports of similar attacks” in three other areas, as well as “of persons who have fled to seek shelter”.
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Nigeria farm massacre 110 Civilian killed: Many victims were beheaded
(28 Nov, 2020) The death toll in a suspected Boko Haram attack on farmers in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday 28 Nov. has reached at least 110, a UN humanitarian coordinator in the country said, urging the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“At least 110 civilians were ruthlessly killed and many others wounded in this attack,” Edward Kallon, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, said in a statement.
The incident was the “most violent direct attack against innocent civilians” in the country in 2020, Kallon pointed out. The perpetrators of this “heinous and senseless” act must be brought to justice, he added. A group of armed men on motorcycles ambushed the farmers as they went into the rice fields to gather the harvest on Saturday. The bodies of 43 farmers have been recovered after the massacre, with around 30 of them being beheaded. The security forces have been searching the area for those missing. “Several women” have also been kidnapped by the militants, with Kallon calling for their safe and swift release.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the tactics of the insurgents resembled those used by Islamic State-affiliate Boko Haram, which is responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in Nigeria over the past decade. (Soucre: RT News)
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Dozens of migrants dead in one day after second shipwreck off Libyan coast
(13-11-2020) A shipwreck off the Libyan coast has killed 20 people just hours after news of a separate incident in which at least 74 migrants died. Teams of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in northwestern coastal city of Sorman “assisted three women as the lone survivors of another shipwreck where 20 people drowned,” the group said on Twitter.
“Rescued by local fishermen, they were in shock and terrified; they saw loved ones disappear beneath the waves, dying in front of their eyes,” it added.
Earlier on Thursday 12 Nov., the UN’s International Organization for Migration reported “a devastating shipwreck which claimed the lives of at least 74 migrants today off the coast of Khoms,” a port city 120 kilometres east of the Libyan capital Tripoli.
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Several peacekeepers killed in Sinai helicopter crash
(11-11-2020) At least eight members of the international group Multinational Force and Observers, including six Americans, have died in the crash. A helicopter crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula involving a multi-national observer force has killed eight people six Americans, a French national and a Czech citizen. “During a routine mission in the vicinity of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, nine members of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) were involved in a helicopter crash,” it said in a statement. An Egyptian official said the UH-60 Black Hawk was on a reconnaissance mission and crashed near the island of Tiran. Thirteen countries contribute troops to the MFO, with the United States making up the largest contingent. Its responsibilities include monitoring troop levels along the border and ensuring the freedom of navigation through the Strait of Tiran.
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China’s Moon probe completes its first docking in lunar orbit
(5 Dec 2020) China’s Chang’e-5 lunar probe has successfully carried out a remote-controlled rendezvous and docking manoeuvre in lunar orbit, according to the China National Space Administration.
In the first such manoeuvre ever carried out by a Chinese spacecraft, Chang’e-5’s ascender on Sunday transferred samples collected on the moon to the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit.
Afterwards, the spacecraft separated from the ascender and is to continue orbiting the moon awaiting the right moment to return to Earth. It is expected to land mid-December somewhere in Inner Mongolia.
About 2kg (4.4 pounds) of lunar rock set to be returned to Earth were safely stowed in the return capsule.
This is the first time a docking manoeuvre in orbit has been successful without an astronaut present since the United States and the former Soviet Union’s moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s, when the two nations collected the last samples from the moon. “The Moon is a big place with differences in terrain. Returning samples from different areas helps us to understand the formation and structure of the Moon,” Australian space expert Morris Jones told DPA news agency.
“This mission also helps China in its long-term goal of landing astronauts on the Moon,” Jones added.
Chang’e 5, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, was launched in late November from the spaceport in Wenchang on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. The space module landed on the moon on Tuesday and started to collect rock samples on Wednesday, leaving the moon the following day. The moon mission is another important step in China’s ambitious space programme that also includes building its own space station by 2022 and sending an exploration mission to Jupiter by 2029.SOURCE : DPA
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Several killed in ‘Daesh ambush’ in Iraq’s Baghdad
(22-11-2020) At least six Iraqi security personnel and three civilians killed in an ambush north of the capital Baghdad, police and officials say, blaming Daesh terrorists for the attack. A police source said a roadside bomb hit a car and that militant opened fire on a rescue team of policemen and state-aligned paramilitary forces when they arrived at the scene, about 200 kilometres from the capital. Four members of the Hashd al Shaabi and two policemen died along with three civilians, Mohammed Zidane, the mayor of Zouiya, 50 kilometres from the city of Tikrit, told AFP news agency. He updated an earlier civilian death toll of two.
(SOURCE: TRT WORLD NEWS)
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Morocco must end ‘occupation’ of Western Sahara
(16-11-2020) Polisario Front rebel group that seeks independence for Western Sahara says ongoing fighting will end if Rabat ends its “occupation” of the disputed territory. The rebel group Polisario Front has said the conflict in Western Sahara would only end when Morocco ends its “occupation” of the disputed territory. “The end of the war is now linked to the end of the illegal occupation of parts of the territory of the Sahrawi Republic,” said senior Polisario official Mohamed Salem Ould Salek. “The war only started as a consequence of Morocco’s aggression and action in Guerguerat,” said Ould Salek, who is foreign minister of the Polisario-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Polisario Front said that intense fighting was continuing along the 2,700-kilometre Moroccan wall of defence that cuts through Western Sahara.
Morocco launched a military operation on Friday 13 Nov., to reopen a key highway at the Guerguerat border crossing between the territory and Mauritania that it said had been blocked by the Polisario rebels. The Algerian-backed Polisario, which does not recognise the existence of the road, responded by declaring the end of an almost three-decade UN-supervised ceasefire in Western Sahara.
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Football legend Diego Maradona dies at 60
One of the greatest footballers of all time, Maradona passed away aged 60 on 25 November 2020, after suffering a heart attack in Tigre, Argentina. Football legend Diego Maradona has died after suffering a heart attack, according to his spokesman. Local media reported that the 60-year-old passed away in the city of Tigre. Argentina President Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning after the news of Maradona’s death. Maradona, who in 1986 led Argentina to a World Cup triumph, had a history of health problems. Earlier this month, he underwent successful brain surgery for a blood clot in a specialist private clinic in Buenos Aires.
Retired Brazilian football star Pele mourned the Argentinean icon’s death.
“Sad news to lose a friend like that. May God give enough strength to his family. For sure, one day we will kick a ball together in heaven,” he said in a brief statement provided to Reuters News Agency by a representative.
In 2001, FIFA named Maradona one of the two greatest in the sport’s history, alongside Pele.
Italian football club Napoli said the death of its former player was a “devastating blow” for both the city and the club.
“We are in mourning,” said club spokesman Nicola Lombardo. “We feel like a boxer who has been knocked out. We are in shock.”
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