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A következő parlamenti választás megnyerésére és kormányzásra készül a Jobbik. Magyarország legnagyobb ellenzéki ereje addig is néppárttá alakulna, közben megszabadulna vadhajtásaitól. Vona Gábor elnök a hétvégi pártkongresszuson kijelentette: a náci romantikára vágyók, ne keressék a pártját. A választóknak azt üzente, hogy 2018-ban legyőzik a Fideszt, és újjáépítik az országot.

„Minden egyes reggel úgy kelünk, hogy kormányra készülünk” – mondta Vona Gábor, a Jobbik elnöke pártja 12. kongresszusán. A hét végén Budapesten tartott rendezvényen a politikus utalt arra, hogy már Orbán Viktor kormányfő is elismeri: jelenleg a Jobbik a Fidesz fő ellenfele. Hozzáfűzte: 2018-ban pártja nyeri az országgyűlési választást, utána vesznek egy nagy levegőt és újjáépítik a hazát.

A győzelem fontos elemének nevezte a határozott programot és a nyugodt erőt. Szerinte azért tart Magyarország ott, ahol, mert a korrupció és az arrogancia jellemzi. Hangsúlyozta: a Jobbik kormányra jutva elvégzi a valódi elszámoltatást. Olyan szigorú korrupcióellenes hivatalt ígért, amelytől még ő maga is fél. 

Vona célul tűzte ki, hogy a vizionált választási sikerig néppárti jelleget kell ölteni, amihez a Jobbikot a (jelenlegi) vadhajtásoktól is meg kell szabadítani. A választóknak pedig azt üzente: a náci romantikára vágyakozóknak, nincs helyük a pártjában.

A pártelnök kijelentette: miközben a Fidesz és az MSZP egymással viaskodik, az ország tönkremegy, az emberek külföldre költöznek, a családok pedig nyomorognak. A kormánypártot többször is ostorozta, és azzal vádolta, hogy hazudni, csúsztatni próbál a Jobbikkal kapcsolatban. Példaként említette Orbán pénteki beszédét, amelyben szerinte a kormányfő valótlanságot állított, amikor azt mondta, hogy a Jobbik ki akarja vezetni Magyarországot Európából. Vona megismételte: ők az EU-csatlakozási szerződés módosítását, jobb feltételek elérését szeretnék elérni. 

Hazudik a Jobbik?

„Simán hazudnak”. A sommás véleményt a Jobbikról és vezetőjéről Németh Szilárd fogalmazta meg. A Fidesz országgyűlési képviselője szombaton azzal vádolta Vona Gábort, hogy mindenkit félrevezet, ha a pártja érdekei úgy kívánják. A politikus idézetekkel igyekezett bizonyítani, hogy Vona és pártja korábban egész másként látta a világot. A Fidesz-képviselő közölte: amellett kardoskodtak, hogy Magyarországnak ki kell lépnie az EU-ból. Példaként hozta fel, hogy Vona 2013-ban júdáspénznek nevezte az uniós támogatást. Németh szerint Vona (a pártkongresszuson mondott beszédével) megerősítette: pártja és ő is egyre inkább hasonlít a kommunistákra.

Az MSZP alelnöke ugyanakkor szánalmasnak tartja, hogy „az illiberalizmust hirdető Fidesz és a radikális szélsőjobboldaliságot kínáló Jobbik” azon versenyez, melyik a kevésbé Európa-ellenes, miközben mindkettő az. Újhelyi István közleményben azt írta, hogy a két párt elnöke 24 óra alatt Európa-párti látszatfordulatot vett.

Pour la ministre de l’écologie, les discussions sur le climat qui débutent à Bonn lundi ne pourront progresser sans une réforme profonde de la mécanique multilatérale.

The NSA has lost its authority to collect data on U.S. citizens. For now.

Az Európai Bizottság kötelezettségszegési eljárást indít Németország ellen a külföldieket terhelő autópályadíj miatt – írta hétvégi számában a Die Welt című német lap.

A lap a brüsszeli bizottság egy magas beosztású képviselőjét idézve azt írta, hogy a testület meggyőződése szerint a 2016-ban bevezetni tervezett németországi szabályozás ellentétes az uniós joggal, mert hátrányosan megkülönbözteti a külföldi autósokat. A Die Welt szerint az Európai Bizottság még az augusztus elején kezdődő nyári szünet előtt megindítja a kötelezettségszegési eljárást Németország ellen.

A közlekedési minisztérium szóvivője a beszámolóra reagálva közölte, hogy a tárca nem kapott tájékoztatást a bizottságtól, a törvényhozás alsó- és felsőháza, a Bundestag és a Bundesrat pedig az uniós előírásoknak megfelelő törvényt fogadott el. A jogszabály szerint az autópályák használatáért minden autósnak fizetnie kell, de a Németországban üzemben tartott kocsik tulajdonosai a díjnak megfelelő összegű kedvezményt kapnak a gépjárműadóból.

Az éves díj a motor nagyságától és környezetvédelmi besorolásától függően átlagosan 74 euró. A külföldi autósok tíz napra vagy két hónapra is vásárolhatnak elektronikus matricát 5 és 30 euró közötti összegért. A közlekedési minisztérium szerint az államháztartásnak évente 500 millió euró körüli nagyságú bevétele lesz az úthasználati díjból.

A külföldi autósokat terhelő sztrádahasználati díj bevezetése az Angela Merkel vezette CDU testvérpártjának, a bajor CSU-nak a nyomására került a kormány programjába. A bajor konzervatívok arra hivatkoznak, hogy a német autósoknak Európában szinte mindenütt fizetniük kell az autópályák használatáért, a külföldiek viszont ingyen autózhatnak a német sztrádákon, ami szerintük elfogadhatatlan.

A CSU főtitkára, Andreas Scheuer szerint „alaptalan spekuláció” kötelezettségszegési eljárásról beszélni az úthasználati díjjal kapcsolatban, hiszen a törvény megfelel az uniós jognak. A főtitkár a párt Bayernkurier című lapjának hírportálján vasárnap közölt nyilatkozatában hozzátette, hogy „árt Európának az EU állandó beavatkozása a nemzeti jogalkotási kompetenciába”, és „a polgárokat bosszantja” az olyan EU, amely „mindenbe beleüti az orrát”. 

May 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government backtracked on its announcement this week that Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad will fly to Sudan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir raises his arm as his supporters cheer at his victory speech after he won the presidential election at the National Congress Party headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 27, 2015 (AP Photo/Jason Patinkin)

Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti said that Saudi Arabia will be represented by Prince Mansour bin Mutaib who is a state minister and an adviser to the king.

Sudan's state news agency (SUNA) said that Qatar's deputy Prime Minister Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud will arrive on Monday for the ceremony.

There was no word on the level of representation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sudan has recently managed to normalize its ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE and it was expected that the thaw in ties would be reflected in the delegations they send to this event.

One Gulf observer told Sudan Tribune that it is not customary for these nations to dispatch senior officials for these kind of ceremonies.

Karti said that leaders of Egypt, Kenya, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Chad and Ethiopia will be present.

His spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq earlier confirmed that South Sudan, Comoros Island and Uganda will be represented at the Vice President level.

Bahrain will send its deputy Prime Minister, al-Sadiq said while Turkey and Algeria will send their parliament speakers along with representatives from Russia, China, Morocco, Tunisia and Malaysia.

Late last month, Bashir won re-election with 94% of the vote, extending his nearly three-decade rule for another five years.

(ST)

Bírálták az ellenzéki pártok a hét végén Orbán Viktort és eddigi ténykedését. Haragjukat a miniszterelnök pénteki előadása, illetve kormánya munkájának értékelése váltotta ki.

Nem mindenki ostorozta azonban Orbánék eddigi tevékenységét. Sőt, a Nézőpont Intézet arra a következtetésre jutott, hogy a kormánynak a következő parlamenti választásig, vagyis az előtte álló három évben, lesz elég ideje a – miniszterelnök által – minap felvázolt célok eléréséhez.

A budapesti elemző- és kutatócég szerint a beszédben középpontba állított „polgári berendezkedés” gondolata a középosztályhoz tartozók számának növelésére és az életminőség javítására utal, melynek megvalósítása a rendszerváltozás óta most először került reális közelségbe.

A beszéd másik fontos pontjának a kutatóintézet azt tartja, hogy a stabil alapok megőrzéséhez elengedhetetlen erős kormányzás mellett a miniszterelnök kiemelte a megértő, „figyelmes” irányítás fontosságát, és fontos erénynek nevezte a cselekvésből adódó hibák felismerését, kijavítását.

A Nézőpont a beszéd lényeges elemének tartja, hogy a kormányfő egyértelműen kiállt hazája európai uniós és NATO-tagsága mellett. A kutatóintézet megjegyzi: Orbán megerősítette, hogy „a bátor kezdeményezésektől függetlenül politikája nyugati orientációjú”, és Magyarországra a nyugati szövetségesi rendszer egyenrangú tagjaként lehet tekinteni. 

Sokan elutasítják a Fideszt

A magyarországi pártok táborának stabilizálódását jelzi a Publicus Intézet és a Vasárnapi Hírek magazin közvélemény-kutatása, amelyből az is kiderül: a Fidesz a 2014 októberében mért csúcshoz képest alighanem elérte mélypontját, szimpatizánsainak lemorzsolódása megállt. Májusban a támogatottsága 23 százalék volt, vagyis 1,8 millió szavazója lehetett.
A Jobbik stabilizálta az utóbbi hónapokban folyamatosan gyarapodó hívei számát. A megkérdezettek 15 százaléka áll a legnagyobb ellenzéki párt mellett.
Az MSZP 11 százalékos támogatottsága az ősz óta változatlan; mintegy 900 ezer ember képezi a bázisát. A többi ellenzéki párt megítélése változatlan. Az LMP 3 százalék környékén horgonyozik, a DK-ra a megkérdezettek 2 százaléka szavazna. Az Együtt és a PM támogatottsága 1-1 százalék. A bizonytalanok aránya 43 százalék.

A pártok elutasítottságának listáján – népes ellentáboruk miatt – szintén a Fidesz az első, az MSZP a második, a Jobbik a harmadik.

Autópálya-matricát nem terveznek bevezetni Szerbiában, de a Belgrád–Szabadka szakaszon jövőre megváltoztatják az úthasználati díj megfizettetésének a rendszerét. A módosításokra azért van szükség, mert most például 20 kilométer megtételéért is ugyanannyit kell fizetni, mint 120 kilométer után. A főváros és Szabadka között néhány ponton kell fizetni az úthasználatért, és nem számít, hogy a sofőr mikor és hol csatlakozott rá az autópályára.

Ana Ivanović több mint kétórás esőszünettel tarkított meccsen, három játszmában legyőzte vasárnap az orosz Jekatyerina Makarovát a Párizsban zajló Roland Garroson, és bejutott a női egyéni versenyben a legjobb nyolc közé. A negyeddöntőben az egykori világelső, 7. kiemelt szerb teniszezőnő a 19. helyen rangsorolt ukrán Elina Szvitolinával mérkőzik majd meg, aki a francia Alize Cornet-t győzte le két szettben.

Ivanović fordulatos meccset játszott Makarova ellen, az első játszmában breakhátrányba került, de sikerült fordítania a kényszerű esőszünet után. A második szettben aztán Makarova akarata érvényesült, kétszer is elvette ellenfele adogatását, és egyenlített. A harmadik játszmában Ivanović a magabiztos énjét vette elő, ötből három breaklabdáját kihasználta, esélyt sem adva ellenfelének 6:1-gyel zárta le a mérkőzést. „Elégedett vagyok a győzelemmel, egyáltalán nem volt könnyű meccs, különösen mert rendkívül nehezek voltak a körülmények. Erős szél fújt, néha kellemetlen volt a labda kontrollálása, és örülök, hogy volt energiám, hogy a nehéz második játszma után újra erősen játsszam. Hiszem, hogy a következő fordulóban is van esélyem” – nyilatkozta Ivanović a találkozó után. A 7. kiemelt játékosnak ez lesz majd a hetedik meccse Szvitolina ellen, az eddigi hat mérkőzésük mindegyikét Ivanović nyerte, az ukrán teniszezőnő mindössze egyetlen játszmát tudott korábban elcsenni tőle.

A világelső Novak Đoković még szombaton játszotta a harmadik fordulós meccsét a férfi egyéniben, és különösebb nehézség nélkül, három 6:4-re megnyert játszmában diadalmaskodott az ausztrálok 19 éves tehetsége, Tanaszi Kokkinakisz ellen. A világranglista 84. helyezettje nem vallott szégyent a torna főesélyese ellen, habár megszorongatni nem tudta. Đoković mindhárom szettben kihasznált egy breaklabdát, ami elég is volt számára az újabb sikerhez. A következő fordulóban, a nyolcaddöntőben ma a szerb teniszező a hazaiak egyik kedvencével, a francia Richard Gasquet-val méri össze erejét. Đoković eddig 11-szer játszott francia riválisával az ATP égisze alatt, és 10 győzelem mellett egyszer szenvedett vereséget ellene, még pályafutása korai szakaszában, 2007-ben, a Kínában megrendezett Mesterek Tornája csoportkörében, amikor Gasquet még top 10-es játékos volt. Azóta Đoković mindössze egy szettet vesztett ellene, többek között már Párizsban, a 2011-es Roland Garroson is legyőzte. Ha továbbjut, Đokovićra a negyeddöntőben Párizs kilencszeres bajnoka, a spanyol Rafael Nadal várhat, aki az amerikai Jack Sockkal játszik a legjobb 16 között. Az eső ellenére vasárnap egy negyeddöntős párosítás már kialakult, hiszen a japán Nisikori Kej a grúz Tejmuraz Gabasvili, a francia Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pedig a cseh Tomáš Berdych elleni sikerrel túljutott a nyolcaddöntőn, így a torna 5. és 14. kiemeltje egymással mérkőzik majd meg.

Sikerrel vette a férfi párosok nyolcaddöntőjét a szerb Nenad Zimonjić és a lengyel Marcin Matkowski duója, miután két játszmában, 6:3, 7:5 arányban legyőzték a 11. kiemelt Jamie Murray/John Peers brit–ausztrál párost. A 7. helyen rangsorolt Zimonjićék a negyeddöntőben az 1. helyen kiemelt, világranglista-éllovas Bryan fivérekkel, Bobbal és Mike-kal mérkőznek meg.

ROLAND GARROS. – A férfitorna 3. fordulójában: Đoković–Kokkinakisz 6:4, 6:4, 6:4, Čilić–Mayer 6:3, 6:2, 6:4, Tsonga–Andujar 7:6, 6:4, 6:3, Gasquet–Anderson 4:6, 7:6, 7:5, 6:4, Simon–Mahut 6:2, 6:7, 6:7, 6:3, 6:1, Monfils–Cuevas 4:6, 7:6, 3:6, 6:4, 6:3, Berdych–Paire 6:1, 6:7, 6:3, 6:4, Murray–Kyrgios 6:4, 6:2, 6:3, Nadal–Kuznyecov 6:1, 6:3, 6:2, Chardy–Goffin 6:3, 6:4, 6:2, Ferrer–Bolelli 6:3, 1:6, 6:7, 6:0, 6:1, Sock–Čorić 6:2, 6:1, 6:4, nyolcaddöntő: Nisikori–Gabasvili 6:3, 6:4, 6:2, Tsonga–Berdych 6:3, 6:2, 6:7, 6:3.

Nők, 3. forduló: Sarapova–Stosur 6:3, 6:4, Pennetta–Suárez Navarro 6:3, 6:4, Errani–Petković 6:3, 6:3, Kvitová–Begu 6:3, 6:2, Mitu–Schiavone 7:5, 6:4, Bacsinszky–Keys 6:4, 6:2, Van Uytvanck–Mladenović 6:4, 6:1, Görges–Falconi 6:4, 6:1, Stephens–Pironkova 6:4, 6:1, S. Williams–Azarenka 3:6, 6:4, 6:2, nyolcaddöntő: Ivanović–Makarova 7:5, 3:6, 6:1, Szvitolina–Cornet 6:2, 7:6.

Lányok, 1. forduló: Gálfi–Zseng 6:0, 6:0.

GALAC. – A női ITF-torna döntőjében: Stollár–Craciun 2:6, 6:4, 7:5.

MARIBOR. – A női ITF-torna elődöntőjében: Szakkari–Erić 4:6, 6:2, 6:3.

Rolls-Royce has received an order from General Dynamics European Land Systems for the delivery of 589 MTU Series 199 diesel engines for use in the new SCOUT Spec

The latest issue of Defence IQ 's Global Armoured Vehicles Market Report covers the most significant procurement programmes and requirements worldwide. View this section on Africa by clicking on the image below. The report includes data on where executives in the defence in

The Czech ministry of defence is looking to acquire 3D mobile radar systems from Israel-based Elta Systems, according to Czech daily E15. The military had previously announced it would buy ten 3D mobile radar systems for 3.5 billion K? ($140 million) under an open g

Rolls-Royce has received an order from General Dynamics European Land Systems for the delivery of 589 MTU Series 199 diesel engines for use in the new SCOUT Spec

ThalesRaytheonSystems signed a €92.5 million ($101.5 million) contract with NATO for a significant upgrade to the Alliance’s current missile defence command and control capability. By bringing new capabilities to NATO’s Air Command and Control Syste

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This year’s Countering Violent Extremism summit in June will see senior members of government and military and intelligence professionals assemble in London. Specific topics under consideration will be the use of open source intelligence to pursue non-state actors and the subsequ

Americas

• The Pentagon will petition Congress to allow it to buy up to 450 F-35s in a three-year international block buy. The bulk purchase from 2018 would drive down the per-unit cost of each aircraft, as well as provide industry contractors with a greater customer commitment to the program.

• A set of serious technical flaws have been identified in the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, with this the latest technical problem in a program which has cost over $41 billion.

• Northrop Grumman has completed a Critical Design Review for new weapons management software for the B-2 Spirit bomber, as part of the Air Force’s Flexible Strike Phase I program.

• Radio manufacturer Harris Corp. completed its merger with Exelis Inc. on Friday, following a company statement in February that announced the deal worth $4.75 billion. The deal has resulted in Harris’ shareholders owning 85% of the new merged company, with Exelis shareholders the remaining 15%.

Europe

• Analysis of the blackbox of the Airbus A400M which crashed on 9th May has revealed that engine software is the likely cause of the accident. The announcement that the cause was down to incorrectly installed software, rather than structural problems with the aircraft, follows a call by Airbus for A400M customers to check engine software following the crash. The Spanish Air Force took over investigation of the incident from a Spanish civilian team, with many air forces grounding their fleets in the wake of the crash.

• The Russian Navy is planning to construct and field a new carrier by the late 2020’s, according to Russian media reports. The Russians currently operate one active carrier – the Admiral Kuznetsov.

Middle East

• The United Arab Emirates has requested a purchase of 1,600 guided bombs, in a potential deal worth approximately $130 million. 1,000 of these will be GBU-31 variants, with the remaining 600 GBU-12s. The UAE is conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, recently sending F-16s to Jordan to carry out operations.

• It has emerged that Iraq lost 2,300 Humvees when Mosul fell to the Islamic State last year, prompting the US government to send 1,000 of the vehicles to the beleaguered country, following a request in December.

Asia

• In an announcement that will shock few, the Indian defense minister announced over the weekend that the country will only purchase the 36 Rafales contracted for in a government to government deal in April, with no plans to purchase the 126 jets the Indian government has been in negotiations with manufacturer Dassault for over the last three years.

• Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force will likely have to wait a further five years before the Tejas MkII will be available for combat operations. The aircraft’s engine – the General Electric F414 – will provide the MkII with more thrust than the MkI’s F404 but will require significant alterations to the aircraft’s structure in order to accommodate its size. The much-delayed program is 32 years in development, with the MkII also set to be equipped with new radar and other components. Additionally, the MkI is also likely to fail to achieve its Final Operating Clearance scheduled for later this year, following a highly critical report released earlier this month which found the aircraft will not meet IAF standards.

• The Indian Navy is planning to test fire a Barak-8 SAM in coming weeks, according to Indian media. The jointly-developed Israeli/Indian missile was successfully tested last November, with this coming test scheduled to take place aboard the INS Kolkata, which will eventually be equipped with 32 of the missiles.

• German firm Atlas Elektronic is supplying the Indian Navy with ASW Active Towed Array Sonar systems, which will equip the Kamorta-class. The Indian Navy has stated that these will assist their vessels when operating in warm waters.

Today’s Video

• F-35Bs refuel from a KC-130…

May 31, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A court in Khartoum resumed its sessions in the trial of two pastors from South Sudan charged with espionage and trying to foment sedition and incite hatred among tribes and religious sects.

A Bishop stands in front of the altar during Easter Sunday service at Episcopal Church of the Sudan Diocese of Khartoum All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum April 24, 2011 (Reuters)

Reverend Yat Michael and Reverend Peter Yen – of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (PEC) – have been detained by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in Khartoum at two separate occasions.

Michael, a visiting pastor from South Sudan, was taken into custody in December after giving a service at the Khartoum North church of the PEC.

Reverend Peter Yen was also visiting Khartoum when he was arrested last January after responding to a summons to report to an office of the NISS.

The investigator in the case Mohamed Khair Ibrahim told the court on Sunday that the second defendant managed an organization working to distort the image of Sudan through reports sent to circles hostile to the country so that the information would be used in human rights reports.

He said that lectures and training packages belonging to the NISS were found in the personal computer of the first defendant.

"It is the same curriculum that is taught in all stages at the NISS, including a package on psychological aspects to deal with investigators which is one of the advanced courses in the bureau,” Ibrahim said.

He said the defendant was unable to provide any explanation for the possession of such data.

"But through investigation [we found] that there is an intelligence work [done] by the first defendant which prompted him to keep the curriculum despite its secrecy".

Ibrahim displayed a picture of President Omer Hassan al-Bashir with the word "WANTED" underneath and pointed out that it demonstrates that the first defendant tried to portray a bad image of the president.

He also presented a drawing found in the first defendant's PC showing a map of Sudan divided into five, ethnic states and said that the goal was to show South Kordofan and Darfur as part of South Sudan.

He added that the information seized reveal maps and statistics which have been compiled to tarnish the image of Sudan.

Among them was a report claiming that children in Darfur are not allowed to enter school until they have memorized the Koran which was cited as a reason for under-enrolment in schools and illiteracy in Darfur.

He stressed that such information is false and that memorizing Koran is not an enrolment perquisite to enter the schools.

(ST)

May 31, 2015 (WASHINGTON) – The rapid and surprising shift in Sudan's regional alliance from the Iranian axis to the Gulf one led by Saudi Arabia came at a surprise to observers, given Khartoum's insistence over the years that its relationship with Tehran is a normal one that is not directed against any country.

FILE - Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir shaking hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (Riyadh newspaper)

Sudan has been unable to persuade the Gulf states with this argument, particularly Saudi Arabia, which has seen its relations with Khartoum severely strained during the reign of late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz who avoided meeting president Omer Hassan al-Bashir since 2012 until his death earlier this year, despite Bashir's repeated visits to the Kingdom.

In August 2013, Saudi Arabia made the unprecedented move of closing its airspace to the plane carrying Bashir on his way to Iran where he was scheduled to attend the inauguration ceremony of then president-elect Hassan Rouhani thus forcing him and his delegation to return home.

Riyadh at the time blamed Khartoum for failing to obtain the necessary permits to pass through Saudi airspace, a claim which was refuted by Sudanese officials.

Sudan has been regularly allowing Iranian warships to dock in Port Sudan, adjacent to Saudi Arabia, sparking concern by the United States and its allies in the Gulf region.

The mostly Sunni Muslim Arab Gulf states are wary of Iranian influence in the Middle East, fearing the Shiite-led country is seeking regional dominance that will stir sectarian tensions in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Observers believe that economic pressures faced by Sudan caused by multiple military conflicts, US sanctions and most importantly the loss of oil due South Sudan's secession in 2011 prompted the government to reconsider its regional alliances.

Late last year, Sudanese authorities ordered the closure of the Iranian Cultural Centre in the capital Khartoum and other states and asked the Iranian cultural attaché to leave the country in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the Arab Gulf states.

This shift was culminated by Sudan's announcement following Bashir's visit to Riyadh in March that it has joined the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in the framework of a coalition comprised of ten Arab and Islamic states.

There have also been some unconfirmed reports recently that Sudan could provide troops for the next phase of the military operation in Yemen.

The Iranian government has formally opposed the military operation in Yemen, but did not comment on the Sudanese role or their strategic shift away from Tehran.

But the pro-hardliner Mashregh newspaper in Iran fiercely attacked Bashir and described him as an ingrate.

Bashir “found a better meal and traded Iran's generous help for a seat at Al Saud's table,” an article on the newspaper said according to Al-Monitor website.

The article stated that given Sudan's closing of Iran's offices, maybe Sudan's support for Saudi's bombing of Yemen was not unexpected, but “at the same time, everyone who is aware of our country's support and help of [Bashir] during the most difficult times of his rule, did not expect this level of political immorality and obscenity.”

Saudi Arabian journalist and researcher in Middle Eastern Affairs Abdul Aziz al-Khamis argued that Saudi diplomacy achieved a major diplomatic victory by succeeding in pulling Sudan out of "Iran's bosom".

In an telephone interview with Sudan Tribune from London, al-Khamis said that despite the strategic importance attached by Saudi Arabia to Sudan, relations between them have all but been severed over the years.

He blamed Islamic forces allied with Bashir for "dissociating Sudan from its Arab perimeter".

"Cooperation with Iran cost [Sudan] its Arab attachment and they are now trying to return back to it. There has recently been a breakthrough in easing relations [with Saudi Arabia] especially that Sudan is going through tough economic times because of the secession of the south and the serious ramifications of the Darfur conflict including the indictment of Bashir by the International Criminal Court" al-Khamis said.

Al-Khamis, who was until recently the editor in chief of the London-based al-Arab newspaper, disclosed that Sudanese businessmen dealing with Arab Gulf states pressured their government to mend relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia in particular in order to relieve Sudan's economic woes and restore the flow of investments.

"Sudanese businessmen [working] in the Gulf have a special characteristic which is the strong relationships they build in the surroundings in which they work in so they are keen that their ties with Bashir would not to be at the expense of their relationship with UAE or Saudi Arabia".

He said that Khartoum "tried the alliance with Qatar in the past period, which did not lead to an economic recovery and allowed more Iranian penetration in Sudan".

"The return of Sudan to its Arab surrounding is now occurring after they paid a hefty price from its territory and reputation and after the [Sudanese] government transformed Sudan from a country of tolerance and coexistence to a country notorious for its policies" al-Khamis added.

He assrted that the improvement in relations between the two countries will make Sudan a supporting force to Saudi Arabia and vice versa in the framework of mutual interests.

Asked about the possibility that Saudi Arabia could mediate between Sudan and the United States, al-Khamis said that this is possible and that Riyadh may stand with Khartoum in some issues "if it is convinced that Sudan is on the right side of these issues."

"But Saudi Arabia cannot stand with Sudan in the repression of its people in Darfur for example. Saudi Arabia in the past tried to help on Darfur but failed due to the intervention of several axis" in reference to Qatar which until recently had strained relations with Riyadh.

"From a strategic standpoint, Saudi Arabia can help Sudan especially in light of the harmony that exists now between Saudi Arabia and Qatar which goes in favor of Sudan".

Al-Khamis downplayed the divergence in views between Sudan and Saudi Arabia on Syria after Bashir's recent announcement that President Bashar al-Assad must be part of any political settlement.

"Bashir wants concessions from the West, which could prompt him to take positions different from that of Saudi Arabia .... but in reality he has no leverage with Syria."

Al-Khamis also expressed doubts on Sudan's announcement that King Salman would attend Bashir's swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday given the recent developments in Saudi Arabia "unless there is a very important reason for the King to visit".

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry declined on Saturday to confirm the presence of the Saudi monarch contrary to what the inauguration committee said on Thursday.

(ST)

L'avion propulsé à l'énergie solaire a dû interrompre sa progression en raison d'un front nuageux sur sa route. La traversée du Pacifique était l'étape la plus ambitieuse, avec 8 500 km à parcourir.

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Islamic Jizya: Fact and Fiction
by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPage Magazine
May 28, 2015http://www.meforum.org/5275/jizya-fact-fiction


The Islamic State demands that Christian "infidels" pay jizya, a per capita tax on non-Muslims sanctified by Islamic law, or forfeit their lives.Muslim demands for non-Muslim "infidels" to pay jizya on pain of death are growing, even as the West fluctuates between having no clue what jizya is and thinking that jizya is an example of "tolerance" in Islam.
In the video where the Islamic State slaughters some 30 Christian Ethiopians in Libya last April, the spokesman repeatedly pointed out that payment of jizya (which the impoverished Ethiopian migrant workers could not render, nor the 21 Copts before them) is the only way for Christians around the world to safeguard their lives:But whoever refuses [to pay jizya] will see nothing from us but the edge of a spear. The men will be killed and the children will be enslaved, and their wealth will be taken as booty. This is the judgment of Allah and His Messenger.When the Islamic State invaded ancient Christian regions around the Ninevah Plain last June, it againdeclared: "We offer them [Assyrian Christians] three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract—involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword."

Palestinian preacher 'Issam Amira recently urged his followers to wage jihad against non-Muslims "when they refuse to convert to Islam or refuse to pay jizya."The Islamic State—which most Western politicians ludicrously insist "has nothing to do with Islam"—is not alone in calling for jizya from Christian "infidels." In 2002, Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman, discussing the Muslim prophet's prediction that Islam will eventually conquer Rome, said, "We will control the land of the Vatican; we will control Rome and introduce Islam in it. Yes, the Christians . . . will yet pay us the jizya, in humiliation, or they will convert to Islam."
And in a video recently posted, Sheikh 'Issam Amira appears giving a sermon in Al Aqsa Mosque where he laments that too many Muslims think jihad is only for defense against aggressors, when in fact Muslims are also obligated to wage offensive jihad against non-Muslims:When you face your pagan enemy, call them—either to Islam, jizya, or seek Allah's help and fight them. Even if they do not fight [or initiate hostilities], fight them!... Fight them! When? When they fight you? No, when they refuse to convert to Islam or refuse to pay jizya.... Whether they like it or not, we will subjugate them to Allah's authority.In short, if the Islamic State is enforcing jizya on "infidels," demands for its return are on the increase all around the Muslim world. Put differently, if Abu Shadi, an Egyptian Salafi leader, once declared that Egypt's Christians "must either convert to Islam, pay jizya, or prepare for war," Dr. Amani Tawfiq, a female professor at Egypt's Mansoura University, once said that "If Egypt wants to slowly but surely get out of its economic situation and address poverty in the country, the jizya has to be imposed on the Copts."The Doctrine and History of JizyaSo what exactly is jizya? The word jizya appears in Koran 9:29, in an injunction that should be familiar by now:Fight those among the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth, until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued(emphasis added).In the hadith, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, regularly calls on Muslims to demand jizya of non-Muslims:If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay jizya, seek Allah's help and fight them.The second "righteous caliph," Omar al-Khattab, reportedly said that any conquered "infidel" who refuses to convert to Islam "must pay the jizya out of humiliation and lowliness. If they refuse this, it is the sword without leniency."
This theme of non-Muslim degradation appears regularly in the commentaries of Islam's authorities. According to the Medieval Islamic Civilization Encyclopedia,[Muslim] jurists came to view certain repressive and humiliating aspects of dhimma as de rigueur. Dhimmis [subjugated non-Muslim Christians and Jews] were required to pay the jizya publicly, in broad daylight, with hands turned palm upward, and to receive a smart smack on the forehead or the nape of the neck from the collection officer.Some of Islam's jurists mandated a number of other humiliating rituals at the time of jizya payment, including that the presiding Muslim official slap, choke, and in some cases pull the beard of the paying dhimmi, who might even be required to approach the official on all fours, in bestial fashion.
Conquered non-Muslims were required to purchase their lives, which were otherwise forfeit to their Muslim conquerors.The root meaning of the Arabic word "jizya" is simply to "repay" or "recompense," basically to "compensate" for something. According to the Hans Wehr Dictionary, the standard Arabic-English dictionary, jizya is something that "takes the place" of something else, or "serves instead."
Simply put, conquered non-Muslims were to purchase their lives, which were otherwise forfeit to their Muslim conquerors, with money. Instead of taking their lives, they took their money. As one medieval jurist succinctly put it, "their lives and their possessions are only protected by reason of payment of jizya."
Past and increasingly present, Muslims profited immensely by exacting jizya from conquered peoples.
For instance, Amr bin al-As, the companion of Muhammad who conquered Christian Egypt in the early 640s, tortured and killed any Christian Copt who tried to conceal his wealth. When a Copt inquired of him, "How much jizya are we to pay?" the Islamic hero replied,If you give me all that you own—from the ground to the ceiling—I will not tell you how much you owe. Instead, you [the Christian Copts] are our treasure chest, so that, if we are in need, you will be in need, and if things are easy for us, they will be easy for you.Yet even that was not enough. Caliph Uthman later chided Amr bin al-As because another governor of Egypt had managed to increase the caliphate's treasury double what Amr had. In the words of Uthman, the "milk camels [Egypt's Christians, that is] . . . yielded more milk." Years later, yet another caliph, Suleiman ibn Abdul Malik, wrote to the governor of Egypt advising him "to milk the camel until it gives no more milk, and until it milks blood."
Caliph Suleiman ibn Abdul Malik described his Christian subjects as a beast to be milked "until it gives no more milk."Little wonder Egypt went from being almost entirely Christian in the seventh century to today having a mere 10%—and steadily dwindling, thanks to ongoing persecution—Christian minority.
Related to the idea of institutionalized jizya is the notion that non-Muslims are fair game to plunder whenever possible. The jizya entry in theEncyclopaedia of Islam states that "with or without doctrinal justification, arbitrary demands [for money] appeared at times." Even that medieval traveler, Marco Polo, whose chronicles appear impartial, made aninteresting observation concerning the Muslims in Tauris (modern day Iraq) in the thirteenth century:According to their doctrine [Islam], whatever is stolen or plundered from others of a different faith, is properly taken, and the theft is no crime; whilst those who suffer death or injury by the hands of Christians [during the course of a plunder-driven raid], are considered as martyrs.... These principles are common to all Saracens [Muslims].All this is echoed in recent times by the words of Sheikh Abu Ishaq al-Huwaini, spoken a few years ago, concerning what the Muslim world should do to overcome its economic problems:If only we can conduct a jihadist invasion at least once a year or if possible twice or three times, then many people on earth would become Muslims. And if anyone prevents our dawa [invitation to conversion] or stands in our way, then we must kill or take them as hostage and confiscate their wealth, women and children. Such battles will fill the pockets of the Mujahid [holy warrior] who can return home with 3 or 4 slaves, 3 or 4 women and 3 or 4 children. This can be a profitable business if you multiply each head by 300 or 400 dirham. This can be like financial shelter whereby a jihadist, in time of financial need, can always sell one of these heads.So it was for well over a millennium: Muslim rulers and mobs extorted money from "infidels" under their sway as a legitimate way to profit.
Much of this financial fleecing came to an end thanks to direct European intervention. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, one Muslim region after another abolished the jizya and gave non-Muslims unprecedented rights—originally to appease Western powers, later in emulation of Western governance. The Ottoman Empire's Hatt-i Humayun decree of 1856 abolished the jizya in many Ottoman-ruled territories. Elsewhere in the Muslim world, the jizya was gradually abolished wherever Western powers were present.

British Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary describes his government welfare payments as jizya taken "from the kafir (infidel)."Today, however, as Muslims reclaim their Islamic heritage—often to the approval and encouragement of a West, now under the spell of "multiculturalism"—jizya, whether institutionalized as under the Islamic State, or as a rationale to plunder infidels, is back.
Even in the West, in 2013, a UK Muslim preacher who was receiving more than 25,000 pounds annually in welfare benefits referred to British taxpayers as "slaves," and explained: 
"We take the jizya, which is our haq [Arabic for "right"], anyway. The normal situation by the way is to take money from the kafir[infidel], isn't it? So this is the normal situation. They give us the money—you work, give us the money, Allahu Akhbar ["Allah is Great"]. We take the money."Academic Lies about JizyaYet if Muslims—from Islamic State jihadis to Egyptian university professors—know the truth about jizya, the West is today oblivious, thanks to its leading authorities on Islam: Western academics and other "experts" and talking heads.
Consider the following excerpt from John Esposito, director of the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University and a widely acknowledged go-to source for anything Islamic:In many ways, local populations [Christians, Jews, and others] found Muslim rule more flexible and tolerant than that of Byzantium and Persia. Religious communities were free to practice their faith to worship and be governed by their religious leaders and laws in such areas as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. In exchange, they were required to pay tribute, a poll tax (jizya) that entitled them to Muslim protection from outside aggression and exempted them from military service. Thus, they were called the "protected ones" (dhimmi). In effect, this often meant lower taxes, greater local autonomy ... (emphasis added)Despite the almost gushing tone related to Muslim rule, the idea that jizya was extracted in order to buy "Muslim protection from outside aggression" is an outright lie. Equally false is Esposito's assertion that jizya was paid to "exempt them [non-Muslims] from military service"—as if conquering Muslims would even want or allow their conquered "infidel" subjects to fight alongside them in the name of jihad (holy war against infidels) without first converting to Islam.

John Esposito argues that paying jizya was a blessing for non-Muslims that "entitled them to Muslim protection from outside aggression."Yet these two myths—that jizya was for "Muslim protection from outside aggression" and exemption from military service—are now widely accepted. In "Nothing 'Islamic' About ISIS, Part Two: What the 'Jizya' Really Means," one Hesham A. Hassaballa recycles these fabrications on BeliefNet by quotingSohaib Sultan, Princeton University's Muslim chaplain, who concludes: "Thus, jizyah is no more and no less than an exemption tax in lieu of military service and in compensation for the 'covenant of protection' (dhimmah) accorded to such citizens by the Islamic state."
In reality and as demonstrated above via the words of a variety of authoritative Muslims, past and present, jizya was, and is indeed, protection money—though protection, not from outsiders, as Esposito and others claim, but from surrounding Muslims themselves. Whether it is the first caliphate from over a millennium ago or whether it is the newest caliphate, the Islamic State, Muslim overlords continue to deem the lives of their "infidel" subjects forfeit unless they purchase it, ransom it with money. Put differently, the subjugated infidel is a beast to be milked "until it gives no more milk and until it milks blood," to quote the memorable words of an early caliph.
There is nothing humane, reasonable, or admirable about demands for jizya from conquered non-Muslim minorities, as the academics claim. Jizya is simply extortion money. Its purpose has always been to provide non-Muslims with protection from Muslims: pay up, or else convert to Islam, or else die.
And it is commanded in both the Koran and Hadith, the twin pillars of Islam. In short, jizya is yet another ugly fact of Islam—add to offensive jihad, imperialism, misogyny, slavery, etc.—one that, distort as they may, the academics cannot whitewash away, even as the world stands idly by watching its resumption in the twenty-first century.
Note: Most quotations not hyperlinked are sourced from Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians. Full references can be found there.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and a Judith Friedman Rosen Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum. He is the author of 
Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians (2013) and The Al Qaeda Reader (2007).

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