New Rocket Attack On US Embassy's Green Zone, School In Baghdad, Children Wounded
Good day from REEDNEWSARABWORLD for Friday, January 14, 2022! Three people were injured when rockets were fired into Baghdad's Green Zone, one missile hitting a school near the U.S. Embassy, two falling on embassy grounds. Two of the wounded were children. It was the latest attack presumably by pro-Iran militia forces in Iraq who want the U.S. out of Iraq altogether. The last strike against the embassy was in December.
Teachers in Iran are protesting their pay in cities across the country, and one slogan is "If embezzlement is reduced, our problems will be solved."
The Arab League is calling for the release of the UAE-flagged ship seized by Yemen rebels. The Houthi rebels fighting in Marib province are described as "exhausted" and the fresh Giants Brigades are on the march. U.S. sanctions are making it easier for Iran to shut down the Internet, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said Iran is "looking for chaos" in Yemen, and the head of Israel's Mossad met secretly with Libya's prime minister and urged normalization between the countries.
The United Nations is signing off on Iraq's reparation payments to Kuwait for the 1990 invasion. The money comes from Iraq's oil exports, which the UN tapped for 3% to pay Kuwait. And news from Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Turkiye, and More.
Three people including two children were wounded in rocket attacks that targeted the United States embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone. Three rockets were fired toward the Green Zone, and "two of those fell on the grounds of the American embassy," an Iraqi official said, "and the other on a school nearby, injuring a woman, a girl, and a young boy." No injuries or damages were reported inside the U.S. embassy compound. The embassy is located in the ultra-secure zone that houses Iraq's parliament and other government offices, but in recent months numerous attacks by rocket or drone have threatened the embassy.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but the attacks are usually traced to Iran-backed militias in Iraq who demand that all U.S. forces leave the country. The last attack on the Green Zone was in December when one rocket was shot down by defense batteries and another damaged two automobiles near the embassy.
AFP, Rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone wounds 3, including children.
ABC News, US 'assessing damage' after Iraq rocket attack
New York Times, Rockets possibly fired by pro-Iran assailants target U.S. embassy in Iraq.
More than 1,000 veterans and family members of U.S. troops killed or injured in Iraq are appealing to President Joe Biden not to release frozen funds to Iran, $60 billion or more. The veterans said any funds at stake in the nuclear negotiations should go first to American victims of Iranian terror attacks. "In our view," a letter to Biden said, "Iran's frozen funds should go first to the regime's American victims before a single dollar goes to the regime itself."
Their letter to the White House also asked that Biden meet with families whose loved ones were killed. The letter said an estimated $60 billion in unpaid terrorism lawsuit judgments is frozen, with billions more tied up in pending claims.
NBC News, U.S. veterans, families urge Biden administration not to release billions in frozen funds to Iran until terror cases settled.
Hundreds of teachers are rallying across Iran with demands for fair pay. Iran has proposed new payment and pension systems the teachers regard as unfair, and some chanted "if embezzlement is reduced, our problems will be solved." In Isfahan, Iran's third largest city, some 300 teachers demonstrated, and protests were held in Rasht, Lahijan, Neyshaburd, Kermanshah, Khorramshahr, and other cities across the country.
Meanwhile, civil servants in Iran's judiciary, one of the country's most powerful sectors, held rare demonstrations against the government's refusal to increase their pay. Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, had proposed a salary hike in his previous job as judicial chief, but the new government he leads changed its mind. Now the attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, is threatening to prosecute the protesters.
Al Arabiya, Hundreds of teachers in Iran protest against new pay scales as inflation bites.
Iran is finding it easier to shut down the Internet because US sanctions have forced the nation's tech community inside. Three-quarters of Iran's adult population of 84 million use social media and messaging apps, and sanctions mean limited access. While Washington exempts personal communications tools, the exemptions don't include tools for business communications, and the distinctions are murky.
"These sanctions have forced the Iranian tech community to move their communication platforms and cloud services inside Iran, thereby making it easier for authorities to conduct surveillance and shut down the internet in times of unrest," Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said.
Washington Post, Sanctions and censorship are making the Internet in Iran less accessible, analysts say.
The Arab League called for the "immediate release" of the UAE-flagged ship and its crew that were hijacked from the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi militia. Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul-Gheit condemned the seizure of the vessel and described it as an act of piracy. "It is a dangerous escalation by the Houthis against the safety of Red Sea maritime navigation," he said.
CanIndia, Arab League chief demands immediate release of Houthis-seized UAE vessel, crew.
Yemeni forces, with fresh troops from the UAE-backed Giants Brigades forces, are advancing to keep the city of Marib safe from Houthi forces, who are described as “exhausted.” “The Giants Brigades are better armed and trained and fresh to the fight," said Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, a fellow at the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies. "The Houthis will put up fierce resistance, but in general their ranks are exhausted."
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said that both sides are "doubling down on military options," and he warned of devastating implications for civilians and for any peace prospects.
Reuters, UAE-backed forces enter central Yemen fray as UN warns of military escalation.
United States senators sharply criticized Iran's backing of the Houthi militias in Yemen, noting the group's losses in Shabwa and Marib provinces. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said "As long as the Houthis remain a proxy force for the Iranians, we will face a problem." Senator Lindsey Graham (R-.S.C.) said Iran was the "root of evil" in the Middle East and "The world should alert Iran that its subversive behavior must stop." He added that Tehran was "looking for chaos."
Arab News, US Senators issue scathing remarks on Houthi militia.
The United Nations Compensation Commission's governing council will meet in February to put the finishing touches on a total payout of $52.4 billion from Iraq to Kuwait for Iraq's invasion in 1990. The commission on Thursday made available $629,324,488 to Kuwait toward remaining claims. "With this payment, all claimants awarded compensation by the Commission have now received the full amount of their respective awards," a statement said.
The UN's funds come from a percentage of Iraq's exports of petroleum and petroleum products, at the most recent rate of 3%. The commission has paid out the $52.4 billion in compensation to more than 1.5 million successful claimants.
Menafn/Iraqi Business News, UN confirms Iraq's final reparations payment to Kuwait.
Lebanon was paralyzed by a general strike of public transportation and labor unions, and universities and schools were closed all over the country. Many people couldn't get to work because of road closures, with protesters closing major highways and roads inside cities and towns. The nationwide protests were called "a day of rage" and started early Thursday.
Associated Press, Strike paralyzes Lebanon amid worsening economic conditions.
The head of Lebanon's land transport unions said protests in a "day of rage" will continue until worker demands are met. In downtown Beirut, bus driver Ali Al Jaroosh blocked an intersection and said "We are destroyed -- we get paid in liras but cover our costs in dollars." The unions' leader, Bassam Tleis, had been promised by Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the government would fulfill their demands and compensate them, but Mikati's government hasn't met since October and isn't able to implement reforms required for international assistance.
Al Jazeera, Cash-strapped Lebanese drivers block roads in 'Day of Rage.'
Lebanon's telecom duopoly was once cash cows for the state, but now revenues have nosedived and they're in crisis management mode. "We're living day by day," telecoms minister Johnny Corm said. The mobile firms, Alfa and Touch, can't plan because they're busy stopping regular theft of their network tower cables. "Every day there is a robbery," Corm said.
Asharq Al-Awsat, 'No money left,' Lebanese telecom sector close to meltdown.
Lebanon's central bank governor wants a judge removed from his case after she imposed a travel ban on him. The governor, Riad Salameh, is being investigated in Lebanon and abroad for his role in the country's economic collapse. Salameh said Judge Ghada Aoun is biased against him and should be removed from the case.
Reuters, Lebanese central bank chief wants judge removed from probe.
Lebanon's prime minister denies that he interfered in a judicial case investigating the governor of Lebanon's central bank. Prime Minister Najib Mikati had called on the bank governor, Riad Salameh, to stay in office while the case proceeded, and there were reports he had put pressure on the presiding judge about getting data from banks.
Reuters, Lebanon's PM denies meddling in judiciary over financial probe.
The chief of Israel's Mossad met secretly with Libya's prime minister in an effort to set the stage for Libya to normalize relations with Israel. The head of Mossad, David Barnea, met with Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Dabaiba in Jordan.
Jerusalem Post, Mossad chief, Libyan PM secretly meet to discuss normalization - report.
Al Monitor, Report says Mossad chief had met with Libyan PM.
The United Nations' top human rights official said a German court's conviction of a former Syrian intelligence officer for crimes against humanity is "historic."
"This trial cast a much-needed, renewed spotlight on the kinds of sickening torture, cruel and truly inhuman treatment...that countless Syrians were subjected to," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said. The court in Koblenz said Anwar Raslan supervised the "systematic and brutal torture" of more than 4,000 prisoners in Syria.
Associated Press, UN hails landmark conviction of senior Syrian official.
Morocco is supporting United Nations-led talks over the Western Sahara conflict. Staffan de Mistura, the new UN envoy for Western Sahara, met with Morocco's top diplomat Nasser Bourita. The meeting was de Mistura's first official trip since taking office, and he is expected to meet next with Morocco's arch-rival Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front's movement for independence in Western Sahara. Moroccan officials say they are committed to a political process conducted by the United Nations.
AFP, Morocco backs UN talks on W. Sahara as new envoy visits.
Sudan's security forces fired live ammunition and used tear gas to disperse protesters in Khartoum as thousands took to the streets against a military coup. A senior police officer and one protester were killed.
Associated Press, Sudan's anti-coup protests violently dispersed; 2 killed.
MORE: Egypt president urges Sudanese to talk, denies backing coup, Associated Press... UAE forces arrive in Saudi Arabia to take part in GCC security exercise, Arab News... Minister said to broker deal to halt coalition rattling Negev forestation work, Times of Israel... Abu Dhabi wealth fund bucks the trend to bet on Turkey, Financial Times... Jewish communities in the Gulf launch campaign to restore Bahrain's Jewish cemetery, Jewish Telegraph Agency... Oman and Britain sign investment partnership as trade deal with GCC approaches, The National... Egypt tests economic outreach to Syria through labor unions, Al Monitor.
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