Abyzemen

Prior to the Islamic Revolution that swept Iran in 1979, the status of Shiite Muslims in the Arab world (about 20 percent of all Muslims) was that of inferiors. In many countries like Libya, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, they would be executed without trial. In other countries, Shiites were forbidden to build mosques because, in the eyes of Sunni Muslim majority, they were heretics. The rise of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini was a watershed. He promised that the Shiites in the Arab world would no longer be oppressed. Indeed, since the revolution in Iran, the status of the Shiites in the Arab world has not only strengthened, in some places they have become the oppressors. Today, the Iranians and their proxies have full control over four Arab states: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. And they threaten to seize even more countries. In fact, Iranian efforts and attempts to undermine the stability of the Arab states have not ceased in recent years. Iran sees itself as a regional po...

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israeli forces have no plans to target Russian-made S-300 air defense systems in Syria if the Syrian army uses them in a way that poses no threat to Israel, former Israeli deputy chief of staff and ex-head of the National Security Council Gen. Uzi Dayan told Sputnik in an interview. "I hope very much that Syria will not misuse these missiles [S-300], because if Syria tries to intercept Israeli aircraft or fighter [jets], we will have to respond. It has already happened and it is not going to be different even if S-300 are involved. We are not going to initiate any attacks on these weapons but at the same time, these weapons do not have any immunity. We hope very much that the coordination between Israel and Russia will continue… We hope that Syrians will not make silly mistakes like it was done with the Ilyushin affair," Dayan said. He considers Russia's decision to deliver S-300 systems to Syria ...

Among all the goods imported in 2017, machinery and transport equipment made up 734.9 billion US dollars, accounting for 40 percent, followed by crude materials (inedible, except fuels) worth 260.2 billion US dollars, and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials worth 247.8 billion US dollars. Over the past decade, imports of primary products like food and live animals, beverages and tobacco have maintained steep increases, while most of the other categories experienced declines in 2015 and 2016, before recovering from 2017. Concerning China's service imports last year, tourism was the largest sector with a value of 254.8 billion US dollars, accounting for more than half of all the services imported and far exceeding other areas. According to the China Tourism Academy, 130.5 million overseas visits were made by Chinese in 2017, a jump of 7 percent from the previous year. China remains the world's largest source of outbound tourism. Following tourism, transport...

Under the guidance of "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," women's federations at all levels have lifted the spirit of the Chinese women and highlighted their self-improvement, perseverance, and wisdom, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhao Leji said on Tuesday. Zhao, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during his speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee at the opening ceremony of the 12th National Women's Congress in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The meeting was also attended by other leaders of the CPC and the state including Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, all of whom are members of the Standing Committee of the ...

At least 21 people were killed on Tuesday when inmates attempted to escape from a prison in the northern Brazilian city of Belem, officials said. The breakout took place at 1 p.m. local time in the Santa Izabel Prison Complex in Belem, capital of the state of Para, when a group of armed men attacked the facility and sought to help some prisoners escape, according to public security officials. Twenty of the dead have been identified as prisoners and their supporters trying to rescue them from outside.  One prison guard also died. Five other guards were injured, one severely.

Seven inmates were killed and 17 injured in clashes between rival gangs over "contraband and territory" at a maximum security prison in South Carolina, in the deadliest outbreak of prison violence in the United States in a quarter century. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster described the overnight bloodshed at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina, as "unfortunate" but said "these are dangerous people." "We cannot expect them to give up their violent ways just because they're in prison," McMaster told a press conference on Monday. Bryan Stirling, head of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), said fighting broke out shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday in a prison dormitory and spread to two others before it was put down nearly eight hours later. Stirling said a preliminary investigation had found that it was "gangs fighting over territory." "This was all about territory," ...

James "Whitey" Bulger, who lived a double life as one of Boston’s most notorious mobsters and as a secret FBI informant before going on the run for 16 years, was killed at a federal prison in West Virginia, sources said on Tuesday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into Bulger's death and a prison employee briefed on the matter said it was being investigated as a homicide. A US Bureau of Prisons statement had earlier confirmed Bulger had died and said the FBI was investigating. Bulger, who was 89, had been transferred a day earlier to the high-security prison in a wheelchair, the prison employee said. Two men were seen on surveillance footage entering his cell, said the prison employee. Bulger's body was discovered wrapped in a sheet, the employee said, and the notorious gangster had been beaten so badly that blood had come out of his ears. Federal officials did not give a cause of death, but the Bureau of Prisons said no other inmates or st...

Twenty three lions have died in the last 19 days at a national park in India. Two lions succumbed during treatment on Tuesday.  Last fortnight, carcasses of over a dozen Asiatic lions were found in Gir National Park, forcing wildlife authorities to order a probe. Infighting and spread of infections in their liver and kidney are believed to have led to the death of such a large number of Asiatic lions.   Eleven lions died due to territorial fighting and infections between September 12 and 19, a senior forest official said. He added, 10 more died between September 20 and 30 while they were under the process of shifting to an animal medical center. To control the death, Gujarat Forest Department had constituted 64 rescue teams to comb the vast Gir forests and capture sick and weak lions for intensive medical treatment. The park authorities had moved 31 lions for immediate treatment. All of them were kept in isolation. “Two lions, rescued earlier, died...

Indonesia's military chief believes a search and rescue team has found part of the body of a Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea with 189 people on board, he told a television channel on Wednesday. A 22-meter long object has been found in waters about 32 meters deep, and a sonar was being used to identify it, according to officials. The ill-fated JT610 crashed on Monday morning shortly after taking off on a flight from the capital Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang.

Almost 2 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by freshwater. Much of that is contained in lakes with legendary monsters that are low-rent rip-offs of the Loch Ness monster. But the best of the local lake monsters terrorize their communities in unique ways and spark their own local legends. 10Ahuitzotl5-Ahuitzotl In the Aztec Nahuatl language, ahuitzotl means “spiny aquatic thing” or “thorny thing of the water.” It was described as a five-handed amphibious hyena that inhabited bodies of water around Tenochtitlan, now the Mexico City area.The ahuitzotl could mimic the cries of a child or distraught woman to lure people into danger. These creatures drag their prey underwater using the hands on their legs or the hand at the end of their terrifying tail.However, this may just be undertow branded as monsters that look like Mesoamerican native dogs. These dogs were culturally associated with lightning, sunsets, and death by the Aztec people. If ahuitzotls are somehow an aspect of th...

Just what do those stickers with a red L, N or R on them mean when the show up on Irish cars? When you spot the letter signs it means that you have come across a L-driver, a N-driver, or a R-driver. When  driving through Ireland , you will see cars marked with special "plates" (which are really large stickers or printed signs) - called L-plates, N-plates, or R-plates. These are a warning to you that the drivers with these plates should not quite be trusted to adhere to the usual best practices on the road. These colored letters mean that there is a new driver behind the steering wheel. Take them as a sign that the car in questions is handled by someone who may not yet be entirely competent yet, and you can expect the occasional erratic driving or even excruciating slow driving. But what is the real, legal purpose of these plates? In a nutshell, they identify new drivers to the world, while at the same time reminding the people manning those cars that their new ...

After NBC  NBC News chief said to ‘condemn’ comment by $69 million star talk show host Megyn Kelly questioned why using ‘blackface’ for a Halloween costume was racist, the network is expected to pull the plug on her morning show. WSJ's Joe Flint explains.  NBC News is expected to pull the plug on Megyn Kelly’s morning show, and the TV anchor’s future with the network is in doubt, people familiar with the matter said. Ms. Kelly has been under fire for remarks she made on the Tuesday edition of “Megyn Kelly Today” in which she questioned why using “blackface” for a Halloween costume was necessarily racist or insensitive.