Gibraltar Supreme Court says Iranian tanker is free to sail - Aljazeera.com

Gibraltar's Supreme Court has ruled an Iranian oil tanker is free to sail, just hours after the United States had made a last minute application "to seize" the vessel, authorities said. 

Grace 1 had been commandeered by the British Royal Marines off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion it was carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Iran had denied the accusation and called the seizure "an act of piracy" committed at the behest of the US.

The tanker has since become a pawn in the escalating tensions between Iran and the US.  

Chief Justice Anthony Dudley said that since Iran had guaranteed in writing that the Grace 1 "was never destined to an EU sanctioned entity ... there are no longer reasonable grounds to suspect that the detention of the Vessel is required."

He added that the court had not received an official detention request from the US.

The Supreme Court of the British territory said it had received assurance that the ship would not discharge its cargo of $21m worth of light crude oil in Syria.

"As far as the judge here is concerned at the Supreme Court, the Grace 1 is free to leave right now," Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from Gibraltar, said. 

Possible swap

The decision came after a day of confusion surrounding the tanker, with the government in Gibraltar saying plans to release the vessel on Thursday had been delayed by the last-minute request from the US Department of Justice to seize it. 

But the US appeal was not considered official by the Supreme Court, Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said.

The US request could still be reviewed by the territory's Independent Mutual Legal Assistance authority, who can decide whether a separate court case can take place, Picardo told reporters.

However, as of Thursday afternoon, the tanker head been officially released. 

It remained unclear if the decision would prompt Iran to release the British-flagged Stena Impero, which the Islamic Republic had seized in the Strait of Hormuz in July, in apparent retaliation for the seizure of Grace 1.

A spokesman for the Steno Impero's owner said after the ruling that the situation remained unchanged and that the company awaited further developments from the UK and Iran.

"Now this is a way for both sides to defuse the situation and save face," Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from Tehran, said. 

Escalating Tensions

The US and Iran have traded barbs and accusations as tensions have risen over the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Oman and Iran through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

Since May, the US has repeatedly accused Iran of sabotaging tankers in the strait. An accusation Iran has denied. 

In June, Iran downed a US military surveillance drone in the Gulf with a surface-to-air missile. Iran claimed the drone was in its airspace, while Washington says it was in international skies.

The US military has since deployed additional forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East as tensions have mounted. It also began a joint naval mission in the region with the UK, who were prompted to join by the seizure of the Steno Impero.

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif derided Washington's last minute attempt to seize the tanker, accusing the US of trying  to "steal our property on the high seas".

"Having failed to accomplish its objectives through its #EconomicTerrorism —including depriving cancer patients of medicine — the US attempted to abuse the legal system to steal our property on the high seas," Zarif Tweeted on Thursday, referring to US sanctions that Iranian officials say have prevented cancer patients from receiving medicine. 

He added: "This piracy attempt is indicative of Trump (administration's) contempt for the law."

The vessel remained docked off the coast of the Gibraltar after the Supreme Court's ruling. It was not immediately clear if there was a crew willing and able to man the ship. In preparations for the tanker's release, the captain of Grace 1, an Indian national, and three officers had been released from detention on Thursday, the government said.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-08-15 15:58:00Z
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Israel Said to Deny Entry to Omar and Tlaib After Trump’s Call to Block Them - The New York Times

JERUSALEM — Israel on Thursday barred the entry of two American Democratic congresswomen who had planned to visit the West Bank, the deputy foreign minister on Israeli radio said, hours after President Trump had urged the country to bar them.

Mr. Trump’s intervention was an extraordinary step to influence an allied nation and punish his political opponents at home.

It was reported last week that Mr. Trump was pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to deny entrance to the two women, Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, and Thursday morning he left little doubt. He said in a Twitter post while Israeli officials were still deliberating the matter that “it would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit.”

It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 15, 2019

“The decision has been made, the decision is not to allow them to enter,” Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, told Israel’s Reshet Bet Radio.

There was no immediate confirmation from either the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the Interior Ministry. Both Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib have been vocal in their support of the Palestinians and the boycott-Israel movement.

Mr. Trump’s decision to recommend that another country block entry to two United States citizens, let alone members of Congress, was one of the most pronounced violations of democratic norms that he has engaged in since taking office in January 2017.

It also placed him at odds with the Republican leadership in Congress.

“I feel very secure in this, that anyone who comes with open ears, open eyes and an open mind will walk away with an understanding, just as all these members here do, that this bond is unbreakable,” the House minority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday, while leading a delegation of 31 Republican lawmakers. “I think all should come.”

Speaking at a joint news conference with Mr. McCarthy, Representative Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, who was heading a delegation to Israel of 41 Democratic representatives, agreed.

Many Israelis and Jewish leaders have also expressed discomfort with the idea that American officials could be denied entry because of their beliefs or criticism of Israel. Just last month, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, said that Israel would not deny entry to any United States representatives.

Ms. Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, and Ms. Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, were scheduled to arrive on Sunday for a tour of the West Bank, partly under the auspices of an organization headed by a longtime Palestinian lawmaker, Hanan Ashrawi, that was expected to highlight Palestinian grievances over the Israeli occupation.

The women were planning to visit the West Bank cities of Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem, as well as Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, including a visit to the Al Aqsa Mosque, a hotly contested and volatile holy site, according to Ms. Ashrawi. Most of the delegation was expected to depart on Aug. 22, but Ms. Tlaib had been planning to stay on to visit relatives in the West Bank.

No meetings had been planned with either Israeli or Palestinian officials, other than Ms. Ashrawi, who is also a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee. She said the organization she leads, Miftah, was co-sponsoring the visit.

The purpose of the visit, Ms. Ashrawi said, was to give the congresswomen a way “to engage with the Palestinian people directly and to see things on the ground.”

“What are they afraid of?” she said, referring to the Israeli government. “That they might find out things?”

Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar, both freshmen, are the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Ms. Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, has spoken often of her grandmother, who lives on the West Bank, while Ms. Omar, a Somali refugee, is the first woman to wear a hijab on the House floor.

But while they were hailed as symbols of diversity when they arrived in Washington, they quickly became embroiled in controversy over their statements on Israel and on supporters of the Jewish state. Ms. Omar apologized after she said support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins, baby” — a reference to $100 bills.

In early March, the House voted to condemn all forms of hatred after Ms. Omar said pro-Israel activists were “pushing for allegiance to a foreign country,” a remark that critics in both parties said invoked the longstanding anti-Semitic trope of “dual loyalty.”

Those remarks have been deeply problematic for Democratic leaders, who are trying to demonstrate solidarity with Israel. And they have given Mr. Trump and his fellow Republicans an opening to fan the flames of racial division, in an effort to break the longstanding alliance between American Jews and the Democratic Party.

Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib’s public support for the boycott movement had already drawn criticism from the White House. In remarks last month that were widely condemned as racist, Mr. Trump said that four congresswomen of color — Ms. Omar and Ms. Tlaib, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts — should “go back” to the countries they came from. Since then, the chant of “send her back” has become a fixture at President Trump’s political rallies.

Axios reported recently that President Trump had told advisers that he thought Mr. Netanyahu should bar Ms. Tlaib and Ms. Omar under a law that denies entry to foreign nationals who publicly show support for a boycott.

Under the law, passed in 2017, Israel can bar entry to people considered prominent advocates of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, a loose network that, among other goals, aims to pressure Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank. Pro-Israel advocates accuse the movement’s supporters of anti-Semitism.

Last month, the United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution condemning the boycott-Israel movement as one that “promotes principles of collective guilt, mass punishment and group isolation, which are destructive of prospects for progress towards peace.”

Mr. Netanyahu, for his part, is in the middle of a tight election campaign, and some analysts say he can ill afford to appear weak when dealing with high-profile critics of Israeli policies. At the same time, he is involved in a high-wire act of trying to balance Israel’s ties with the Democrats and his close embrace of, and support from, Mr. Trump.

“If they are prevented from entering, it will be the foolishness of the Netanyahu government,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York, told Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday. “These are congresswomen of the majority party, which most American Jews vote for.”

One of the main points of contention over the planned itinerary appears to be the visit to the Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. A sacred site revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as Temple Mount, the location of their ancient temples, it is a frequent flash point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and a former deputy foreign minister, told Israel’s Kan Radio on Thursday that the congresswomen should be allowed to enter Israel “but with restrictions.”

“If they want to stage a provocation by entering the Temple Mount with Palestinian hosts, then that can be prevented,” he said.

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2019-08-15 15:22:30Z
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Trump Says ‘Hong Kong Is Not Helping’ in Trade War With China - The New York Times

HONG KONG — In his most extensive comments on the months of unrest in Hong Kong, President Trump said on Wednesday that China should “humanely” settle the situation before a trade deal is reached.

His comments, delivered on Twitter, for the first time tied the fate of pro-democracy protesters to a trade deal with China, a top administration priority.

Mr. Trump praised President Xi Jinping of China as “a great leader” and suggested a “personal meeting” could help solve the crisis in Hong Kong. He also said “China is not our problem, though Hong Kong is not helping.”

“Of course China wants to make a deal,” he said. “Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!”

I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a “tough business.” I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2019

[Here’s a guide to why people are protesting in Hong Kong and how the movement has evolved.]

Though the protests have been going on for more than two months, as demonstrators have filled streets and jammed airport terminals in actions that have frequently ended with violent police crackdowns, Mr. Trump had all but ignored the situation, offering just tepid, short statements. His comments on Wednesday stopped short of praising or supporting the protesters, as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have done, and he did not explain what he meant by “humanely” working with Hong Kong.

One day earlier, Mr. Trump took no stance when asked by reporters.

“The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation,” he said on Tuesday. “Very tough. We’ll see what happens. But I’m sure it’ll work out.”

He added: “I hope it works out for everybody, including China. I hope it works out peacefully. I hope nobody gets hurt. I hope nobody gets killed.”

He had previously called the protests “riots,” repeating language used by the Chinese government that is strongly disputed by protesters, and said, “That’s between Hong Kong and that’s between China, because Hong Kong is a part of China.”

The White House’s restraint on the issue has stood out in Washington, where the protests have been the source of a rare sight: broad bipartisan agreement.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader; Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader; and Marco Rubio are among the Republicans who have put out full-throated statements in support of the protests. Across the aisle, Nancy Pelosi, the House majority leader; Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader; and most of the Democratic nominees for president have done the same.

The protesters, initially stirred in opposition to a proposed law that would allow extraditions to mainland China, have expanded their demands to include universal suffrage, an independent investigation of the police’s handling of the demonstrations, and amnesty for hundreds of arrested protesters. The protests have been mostly peaceful but have occasionally turned violent, including a chaotic scene at the airport Tuesday when demonstrators attacked two men from mainland China, including a journalist.

The police have routinely used tear gas, pepper spray and batons to disperse protesters. Hong Kong officials have resisted an independent commission of inquiry into police tactics, some of which have been condemned by international groups including the United Nations Human Rights office, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The government asserts that an investigation already underway by a police watchdog is adequate, but critics say the body is staffed with pro-government figures.

Nor have officials indicated any willingness to submit to the protesters’ demands, increasing fears that the impasse could lead to a bloody, Tiananmen-style crackdown by Beijing. Mr. Trump tweeted on Tuesday that the Chinese government had moved troops to the border with Hong Kong, and encouraged everyone to be “calm and safe.”

A garrison of soldiers with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is stationed in Hong Kong, but most observers consider it unlikely that Beijing would use it to squelch protests unless as a last resort, as it would all but destroy the territory’s autonomy and could have a devastating economic impact.

In online forums popular with protesters in Hong Kong, people largely welcomed Mr. Trump’s most recent comments on Wednesday but expressed concern that the United States would not take any more significant actions. China has accused foreign countries, primarily the United States, of secretly being behind the protest movement.

“Every time Hong Kong has large-scale protests, not only is Washington involved but there also many American organizations at the forefront actively supporting the protesters,” Zhao Kejin, an international studies expert at China’s Tsinghua University, said during a briefing on Thursday organized by the government in Beijing. “This is the root of why Hong Kong has become chaotic.”

It is an accusation that is strongly denied by American officials and laughed at by protesters, who say they can organize demonstrations without help.

Few protesters expect the United States to swoop in and solve the crisis. Instead, they have urged foreign governments to impose sanctions against China or halt the export of crowd control equipment to the Hong Kong police.

One of them, Fiona Tsui, 23, said she was happy to see Mr. Trump paying attention, but didn’t believe the White House would jeopardize a trade deal for the sake of the Hong Kong people.

“I hope they can put basic universal principles and moralities above their economic gains,” she said.

A handful of protesters have waved American flags at demonstrations, typically seen as signaling support for democracy more than an allegiance to the country.

“Like many protesters, we want Trump to liberate Hong Kong and to pass laws that will help the democratization of our city,” Brian Chan, who held a large American flag, said during a march on July 21. “We need international help, and America is the only country with the means and possibly the incentive to sanction China. They are already at trade war, and I believe that China is at the losing side.”

Katherine Li contributed reporting.

Soul Searching Among Hong Kong Protesters After Chaos at Airport

Aug 14, 2019

China Is Waging a Disinformation War Against Hong Kong Protesters

Aug 13, 2019

Hong Kong Airport, a City’s Symbol of Pride, Is Now Its Hub of Unrest

Aug 13, 2019

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2019-08-15 13:24:20Z
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US makes last-minute move to seize Iranian supertanker detained in Gibraltar - Fox News

The U.S. has a made a last-minute move to seize an Iranian supertanker that was captured in Gibraltar last month by authorities who suspect the vessel was trying to provide crude oil to Bashar Assad’s Syrian regime in violation of European Union sanctions.

Gibraltar’s government announced Thursday that its Supreme Court adjourned a scheduled decision on whether to release the Grace 1 ship until later in the day after it received notice that the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to extend its detention.

The Iranian vessel has been held in the British territory since July 4 and officials from the Islamic Republic have been demanding its release, signaling that if Gibraltar parts with the ship, they may free the U.K.-flagged Stena Impero – an oil tanker captured in the Strait of Hormuz two weeks later.

IRAN HINTS AT SWAP WITH UK IN BID TO REDUCE TENSIONS

"The U.S. Department of Justice has applied to seize the Grace 1 on a number of allegations which are now being considered," the Gibraltar government said in a statement, adding that the matter would be reviewed by the court at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).

In this file photo dated Thursday, July 4, 2019, Grace 1 super tanker is anchored near a Royal Marine patrol vessel off the coast of the British territory of Gibraltar.  (AP)

The Gibraltar government has said it was seeking to "de-escalate" the situation over the Grace 1, the Associated Press reports.

Signaling preparations for the expected release of the ship Thursday before the U.S. intervened, the captain, an Indian national, and three officers of the Grace 1 had been released from detention, a Gibraltar government spokesman said.

The whereabouts of the released crew, none of whom are Iranian, were not immediately known. The crew of the Grace 1 includes sailors from India, Pakistan and Ukraine, according to Iranian state television.

Iran has been vocal ever since the capture of the ship.  In mid-July, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Britain that it would face “repercussions” over the “mean and wrong” seizure of it.

Then on July 19, Iran captured the Stena Impero -- which has 23 crew members of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationalities aboard -- in an apparent act of retaliation. The ship “was approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters,” Stena Bulk, the shipping company that owns the vessel, said in a statement.

IRAN WARNS BRITAIN OF 'REPERCUSSIONS' FOLLOWING 'MEAN AND WRONG' SEIZURE OF SHIP

Five days after the seizure of the Stena Impero, Rouhani said his country might be willing to free the ship if Gibraltar releases the Grace 1.

"We do not seek the continuation of tension with some European countries," Rouhani said in comments carried on his website. "Should they be committed to international frameworks and give up their wrong actions, including what they did in Gibraltar, they will receive a proportional response from Iran."

As of today, the Stena Impero remains docked in the waters outside of the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas.

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Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement Thursday that the "investigations conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar" and that it could not comment further as the investigation was ongoing.

Fox News' Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-08-15 11:58:59Z
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US wants to seize Iranian tanker captured by UK - Al Jazeera English

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2019-08-15 09:54:43Z
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Russian jet crash-lands in field outside Moscow after striking flock of gulls - CNN

The Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven from Moscow's Zhukovsky airport to Simferopol -- a city on the Crimean Peninsula -- when it ran into trouble.

Shortly after takeoff, the plane "struck a flock of gulls," according to an official from the Federal Air Transport Agency, TASS reported.

"Some of the birds were sucked into its engines," he added.

The official told TASS that the emergency landing took place in a field less than a kilometer (0.62 miles) away from the airport's runway.

Twenty-three people, including five children, have been hospitalized, TASS reported.

In May, at least 41 people on board a Russian Aeroflot SU1492 jet were killed after the aircraft crash-landed at a Moscow airport on Sunday, bursting into flames on impact.

And in June, two passengers were killed on a Angara Airlines flight in Siberia after it overshot the runway and burst into flames.

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2019-08-15 08:59:00Z
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Russian jet crash-lands in field outside Moscow after striking flock of gulls - CNN

The Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven from Moscow's Zhukovsky airport to Simferopol -- a city on the Crimean Peninsula -- when it ran into trouble.

Shortly after takeoff, the plane "struck a flock of gulls," according to an official from the Federal Air Transport Agency, TASS reported.

"Some of the birds were sucked into its engines," he added.

The official told TASS that the emergency landing took place in a field less than a kilometer (0.62 miles) away from the airport's runway.

Twenty-three people, including five children, have been hospitalized, TASS reported.

In May, at least 41 people on board a Russian Aeroflot SU1492 jet were killed after the aircraft crash-landed at a Moscow airport on Sunday, bursting into flames on impact.

And in June, two passengers were killed on a Angara Airlines flight in Siberia after it overshot the runway and burst into flames.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/15/europe/russia-plane-crash-intl/index.html

2019-08-15 08:19:00Z
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