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Wednesday, 21 June

23:01

Is China reciprocating US aggression? "IndyWatch Feed War"

By Drago Bosnic | June 21, 2023

When the Soviet Union placed its nuclear weapons in Cuba in 1962, the United States threatened to attack if the R-12 Dvina and R-14 Chusovaya nuclear-tipped missiles deployed on the Caribbean island country werent removed. After most of October that year was spent in strenuous talks and strategic military maneuvers that nearly escalated into full-scale confrontation barely 17 years after WW2, Washington DC and Moscow finally negotiated a mutually beneficial (albeit last-minute) agreement that moved the world away from the thermonuclear abyss that threatened to destroy it.

For decades, much of the world was convinced that what today is (unjustly) called the Cuban Missile Crisis was initiated by Russia. And even nowadays, when we all know that it was started by the US and its 1961 deployment of the PGM-19 Jupiter nuclear-tipped missiles in Turkey and Italy, Washington DC still insists that Moscow was responsible for the crisis. Something eerily similar is unfolding as we speak. However, instead of Russia, the other party involved in this case is China. Namely, according to the Wall Street Journal, Beijing is currently in talks with Havana to establish new military facilities in Cuba.

The report, published on June 20, states that the two socialist allies are working out the final arrangements of the deal that would reportedly secure a military base for the PLA (People Liberation Army) in northern Cuba. The WSJ reports that this has sparked fears among US officials that [Cuba] could eventually host a permanent Chinese troop presence, prompting the troubled Biden administration to intervene with Cuban officials, seeking to block the establishment of permanent military installations. This will reportedly also include the expansion of ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) capabilities of the PLAs existing military facility.

The claims about Chinas supposed military bases in Cuba are based on anonymous sources from unnamed US intelligence services. However, the authors admit that the aforementioned services are not exactly certain about the possibility of a full-blown joint Chinese-Cuban military base, stating that the reference to the proposed new training facility in Cuba is contained in the highly classified new US intelligence, which State Department officials described as convincing but fragmentary. The report further adds that its being interpreted with different levels of alarm among policymakers and intelligence analysts.

Most worrying for the US: The planned facility is part of Chinas P...

23:00

Israeli cabinet takes major step toward annexation of the West Bank "IndyWatch Feed War"

This week the Israeli government made a dangerous move that makes annexation of the West Bank an even closer reality, analysts say.

19:59

Turkish Election: Horns of a Dilemma 4- Joe Biden and US-Western-EU Birds of Feather "IndyWatch Feed Asia"

As a reader wrote to me from Turkey, what is going on in the wake of the runoff election is very complicated, and I have little time for it, but it is newsworthy. I suggest you try to read up on what is happening, especially between the lines: Bianet in English, Duvar, Ahwaz, etc. You should be able you will find all the information you need for background on Turkey and the Elections.

I had asked him, or made a loaded statement in passing, I am sure you are surprised as me with the election outcome, but What Changes with Elections Results in Turkey, IF ANYTHING? We already knew who would win, and [if he had not], it would have been earth-shaking!

The response was also a bit tongue in cheek, The important thing is that you avoid the use of stereotypes such as the Sultan (Erdogan is not a Sultan in any way) or Turkish Gandhi (Kilicdaroglu is no Gandhi at all) .

Already, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who portrays himself as a defender of traditional Islamic values, has once again taken a stand in the post-election period against LGBT, and its supporters, and insists that liberal Western ideology will never infiltrate his ruling party or its nationalist allies, he says.

This is but only the starting, as he has a memory like an elephant, and so do the Turkish People. Now Germany and other alleged allies will go into damage control too over their petty statement and efforts to bring about rgime change in Turkey, a NATO ally and is the largest standing army of any European NATO member.

Of course, Biden and his peers only wanted rgime change by fair, free and open elections (like in the US), but it is obvious that when NED (is banned in Russia) goes about supporting democracy around the world, things go in another direction, NED (is banned in Russia) and Biden have many travelers in EU countries as my enemys enemy...

19:02

Palestinian girl dies after being shot by Israeli forces "IndyWatch Feed War"

Palestinian girl dies after being shot by Israeli forces

Sadeel Ghassan Naghniyeh Turkman, aged 15, became the seventh person to die following Israel's raid on Jenin in the West Bank

MEE staff Wed, 06/21/2023 - 10:02

Sadeel Ghassan Naghniyeh Turkman, 15, died after being shot in the head by Israeli forces (social media)

A 15-year-old Palestinian girl died from her wounds on Wednesday after being shot during an Israeli raid, bringing the death toll from the attack on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin at the start of the week to seven.

Sadeel Ghassan Naghniyeh Turkman was shot in the head by Israeli forces on Monday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In addition to Turkman, the ministry has confirmed the deaths of Ahmed Youssef Saqr, 15, Khaled Azzam Darwish, 21, Qassam Faisal Abu Sariya, 29, Qais Majdi Jabareen, 21, Ahmed Daraghmeh, 19 and Amjad al-Jas, 48.

An Israeli security source speaking anonymously to Army Radio said that the chances that Israeli forces hit the girl were low. The military is expected to investigate the death, though similar probes in the past have not led to any serious action being taken.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military concluded after an investigation that it had unintentionally killed two-year-old Muhammad Tamimi after mistaking him and his father, Haytham, for gunmen firing a weapon towards an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

01:06

Meet Turkey's first AI-powered columnist, Senai Bilir "IndyWatch Feed War"

Meet Turkey's first AI-powered columnist, Senai Bilir

A news website thinks artificial intelligence can help introduce readers to fresh ideas in a stifling media environment

Pauline Ertel Tue, 06/20/2023 - 16:06

A headshot of AI-powered columnist Senai Bilir, created using a deep learning model developed by OpenAI to generate digital images from natural language descriptions (Serbestiyet)

In Turkey, the journalist's nightmare has become a reality.

This week, the Serbestiyet news site introduced a columnist who appears to be a typical writer: he has a Twitter account, headshot and author page. The catch? He's AI.

"This is an opportunity for readers to come into contact with independent ideas, unrestained by self-censorship, or financial or government pressures," Ziyahan Albeniz, a cybersecurity researcher and columns editor at Serbestiyet, tells Middle East Eye.

Citing the existing use of artificial intelligence in news text, audio and image creation, as well as presenters, Albeniz and his team sought to apply generative AI in what he called the most challenging and static aspect of journalism: the opinion column.

The result was Senai Bilir. Senai is a male name meaning "lightning flash" and Bilir is a common surname meaning "knowledgable". Senai is also a portmanteau of "sen", Turkish for "you", and "AI".

00:23

Military Situation In Syria On June 20, 2023 (Map Update) "IndyWatch Feed War"

Click to see full-size image

On June 20, the Russian Ministry of Defense recorded no cases of hostilities and ceasefire violations in the Idlib region in the past 24 hours;
On June 20, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Abzimo;
On June 20, Turkish drone targeted a vehicle belonging to the SDF in the Tal Shair ara. Three SDF members were reportedly killed;
On June 20, Russian warplanes struck positions of Turkish-backed militants near Idlib;
On June 19, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled YPG positions near Tal Rafaat;
On June 19, clashes between the YPG and Turkish-backed forces were reported in the Kafr Khasher area.

23:52

Turkey hikes minimum wage in bid to fight cost of living crisis "IndyWatch Feed War"

Turkey hikes minimum wage in bid to fight cost of living crisis

Turkish government announces 34 percent increase in minimum wage

MEE staff Tue, 06/20/2023 - 14:52

Customers wait in front of a currency exchange agency near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul on 2 December 2021 (AFP)

The Turkish government announced on Tuesday an increase to the monthly minimum wage by another 34 percent starting on 1 July.

The minimum wage will increase to about $483 and is part of an effort to ease the impact of inflation, which until recently was one of the highest in the world.

In December, the government increased the minimum wage by 55 percent. At the time inflation stood at 85 percent.

In May, inflation dropped to just below 40 percent, its lowest level since 2021.

"The minimum wage assessment commission completed its work with an agreement between the workers and employers," Labour and Social Security Minister Vedat Isikhan said in a televised address from the capital Ankara.

The increase will help to alleviate the purchasing power among workers, over a third of whom earn the minimum wage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won re-election last month, promised to fight inflation and increase the minimum wage as part of his campaign.

Despite the big headline wage boost, the plunge in the lira's value means that actual wages have increased only fractionally in dollar terms over the past year.

In 2023, the Turkish lira lost around 20 percent of its valu...

14:05

Palestine Enters the Chat "IndyWatch Feed World"

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a three-day visit. Xi called Abbas a good friend and said that China fully supports Palestine. We have always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, Xi stated. China and Palestine have had good diplomatic relations for years, but this is the first time Xi fully committed to helping Palestine restore statehood.

Peace talks between Palestine and Israel ended in 2014. China may have mended tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but Israel-Palestine is another issue entirely. The land dispute in this region can be traced back to biblical days. Historians believe Palestine comes from the word Philistia or Philistines who are cited in the Torah and Old Testament as sworn enemies of the Jews. Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike know the story of King David battling the Philistines to become king of Israel, albeit they all interpret him a bit differently.

The region has been taken over by numerous empires over the ages. More recently, after the demise of the Ottoman Empire during the Great War in 1918, the British claimed Palestine. The British then established a Jewish nation in the region in 1923. Two decades later, in 1947, the United Nations decided to split Palestine into two states one Arab and one Jewish. Arab leaders disagreed with the ruling. Britain withdrew, Israel then became a state in May 1948, leading to the Arab-Israeli War. The war ended in 1949, with Israel claiming control of over two-thirds of the territory. The two have been at odds ever since.

hatred runs deep. The West has fully supported Israel in maintaining its territory, and Chinas intervention in Palestine will be seen as a threat. We especially appreciate the Chinese sides commitment to financing a number of development projects presented by Palestine. We wish the speedy dispatch of technical delegations to implement these projects, Abbas said. China is strategic. They want to assert dominance in the Middle East, where the West has lost its footing nearly...