Turkey vs Israel, France and Greece: forked tongue, conflicting messages? - JP columnist

Thread

Turkey’s diplomatic efforts to set aside its differences with Israel, France and Greece over various disputes should not be taken at face value nor trusted, Middle East analyst Neville Teller said in an opinion piece published on Saturday. 1/

In the wake of Joe Biden’s electoral victory to become the next U.S. president in November, Turkey has changed its tone with numerous countries it had fallen out with in recent years. 2/

This posturing “must be viewed as part of a broader strategy designed to strengthen Turkey’s standing with the upcoming U.S. President Joe Biden,” Teller wrote in the Jerusalem Post. 3/

Erdoğan’s “normalisation overtures may be part of his new strategy, but in the light of his past actions and present posturings on the world stage, he cannot be surprised if his motives are viewed by the world at large with suspicion, if not downright disbelief,” he said. 4/

[drabble]

Li Juyao is to be betrothed. To whoever the heck it is, he doesn't know. What he does know is that the caravan of the royal he's supposed to marry is nearly at Taiyuan's gate.

He must escape.

He puts on his bounty hunter clothes, and sneaks out.

But alas, Butler Shi seems to have predicted that this would happen, and has scouted outside of the prince's manor. With the help of a few giggling maids, he captures Ji Chong, ties him tightly with a strong rope, the prince's hands at his back, and throws him in an empty room.

"Behave! You will be let out when the king summons you!" Butler Shi hisses, and shuts the door.

Ji Chong can only grumble and accept his fate. He, too, has suspected that this will happen after all. He'll have to personally let down his to-be-betrothed, then.

Meanwhile, Anzhi is grateful that Zichen had agreed to represent him in his audience with the King of Jin. Maybe if it's viewed to be rude enough, whoever it is that he shall marry will be put off by this behavior. Maybe they'll withdraw. He hopes they'll withdraw.

So here Anzhi is, disguised as an attendant, even though everyone in the caravan knew of his identity. He doesn't tag along in the main hall however, lest Zichen fail and be forced to bring him out.

New — Trudeau announces Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transat are cancelling air service to all Caribbean destinations and Mexico starting this Sunday until April 30th.

"They will be making arrangements with their customers who are currently on a trip in these regions to organize their return flights," Trudeau says of the airlines.

"With the challenges we currently face with COVID-19, both here at home and abroad, we all agree that now is just not the time to be flying," Trudeau says.

In addition to the pre-boarding test that is already required, Trudeau says in the coming weeks the government will be introducing mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada.

Travellers will then have to wait for up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results, at their own expense which is expected to be more than $2000, Trudeau says.

There is no doubt that this is a REAL THREAT. I'm not going to sugar coat the severity of the situation, but I find myself thinking a lot about the far Larger Threat to Freedom and Capitalism than China and it is all around us ... Artificial Intelligence Systems.

A company

🧐Who is the MB whisperer spinning fairy tales about Egyptian military + USAID?

🤫Who is Sisi a super pain in the arse for right now?
✅🐷🇨🇳 sugar babies 🦃 + Qatar + 🇵🇰MB 🚗
✅UN selected EXPIRED GNA unable to take Sirte
@sherifa78060270 @BenKTallmadge @ScottC20012

[THREAD]

@azulfeehely describes Jules Koundé as one of Europe's most promising centre-backs. Let's take a look at why that might be.

#SquawkaScout x @LaLigaLowdown

@LaLigaLowdown "There’s few with as high a ceiling as the young Frenchman."

The full lowdown from @azulfeehely. 🔎

@LaLigaLowdown Koundé is an excellent defender, but when you consider the amount of space he has to cover due to the buccaneering Jesús Navas his work becomes even more impressive.

Just look at that coverage.

@LaLigaLowdown First and foremost, defenders should love defending. Koundé does.

Since the start of last season, he’s made more goal-line clearances (5) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues - a testament to his awareness, anticipation & concentration.

A busy boy inside the box.

@LaLigaLowdown At 5’11, Koundé is relatively small for a centre-back. But it doesn’t seem to have an impact on his aerial ability:

He contests 5.7 aerial duels per 90 with a win rate of 61%.

Pakistan on Wednesday emphasised peaceful co-existence in the region as it conducted another test of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-III,
#PakArmyVirtueOfExcellence

which is also the longest-range missile to have been developed in the country.
#PakArmyVirtueOfExcellence

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Nadeem Raza, who witnessed the test, said: “Pakistan desires peaceful co-existence in the region and its strategic capability is to deter any aggression against the sovereignty of Pakistan.”
#PakArmyVirtueOfExcellence

Shaheen-III is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 kilometres,
#PakArmyVirtueOfExcellence

which makes it capable of reaching the farthest point in India’s northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
#PakArmyVirtueOfExcellence

THREAD: @iampinkywebb speaks to Sinovac Biotech General Manager Helen Yang on #TheSource | LIVE https://t.co/9vB0Rjs8f8

• Senators question gov't deal with China's COVID-19 vaccine, Sinovac
• Palace: Sinovac price not far from ₱650
• Why should Filipinos consider getting it?

Sinovac Biotech on vaccine deal with PH gov't: We are finalizing the term sheet. It's a non-binding understanding between the buyers and sellers.

Sinovac Biotech adds the deal is not yet sealed.

Sinovac Biotech: FDA should approve the vaccine first

Sinovac Biotech says they have already started producing the vaccine in commercial size late last year

Sinovac Biotech on cost of vaccine: Buying the vaccine is only one factor. Logistics and other factors should also be considered.

#PMLnBehindQabzaMafia

""Mafia's In Pakistan"

It is the unfortunate of Pakistan that we have double of the mafia's than the laws to control them.
Start any business and you will have to to face different mafia's,

@aamn__r

#PMLnBehindQabzaMafia

Let's start with poultry business and take a quick look,
1.
First you have to purchase a land in a town and there would be a group of people in that town who used to sue new buyers to blackmail ,

@aamn__r

#PMLnBehindQabzaMafia

and earn easy money.
They will file a suit and gradually withdraw it when you pay them some money. Believe me they would've ties with the local political personality.

@aamn__r

#PMLnBehindQabzaMafia

2.
Now you want to transfer that land in your name. For this purpose you went to land revenue office and you will face a mafia of Government employees and their touts.

@aamn__r

#PMLnBehindQabzaMafia

3. Now you have to made a shed and you try to tender for the construction.
You will face the construction mafia which will force you to construct your shed with their rates.
It's a fact that every construction firm is backed by a political party.

@aamn__r

1/ We've discussed Persia-in-China, but what about China-in-Persia? Before the Mongols, known sources record few Chinese ppl in Iran. However, Chinese products left a distinct mark. The most famous (and imitated) was Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. #iranchina - @IranChinaGuy

2/ Chinese ceramics were an important part of a global trade network that linked China and the Middle East to the world economic system. Many of these objects were transported overland in a series of trade networks, today called the "Silk Road". In addition to land routes...

3/ ...maritime trade flourished. Middle Eastern, African, and Chinese merchants flowed back and forth between important ports along the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the coast of India, and the islands in the South China Sea. This has been called the "Maritime Silk Road".

3/ As early as the 9th and 10th centuries, ceramics were being exported in large quantities. Ibn Battuta comments that Chinese ceramics are “carried to India and to other climes so that it even reaches our country in the Maghreb. And it is the most marvelous of kinds of pottery.”

4/ The famous Muslim Chinese explorer Zheng He also documented the widespread appreciation of Chinese ceramics. Ma Huan, his traveling companion, mentions the extremely enthusiastic reception their ceramic goods received in Champa (modern Vietnam), India, Ceylon, and Mecca.

Since we have so many misguided and unsolicited Twitter threads “advising” the young people protesting on what to do, I think it’s only fair that we create thread advising the actual government of the country on steps to take to #EndSARS

Step 1: CALM DOWN. The reason for the protests is police brutality. There is no political anything going on, so calm down. You have work to do and the work is plenty. So, step 1 is to calm down and get ready to work #EndSARS

Step 2: STOP LYING. Whether at State or Federal level, you have completely lost trust and credibility with the people. You need to stop telling lies. If you cannot do something say so, and if something bad happens, don’t deny it. Take responsibility! #EndSARS

Step 3: SCOPE OUT THE WORK. Now that you are calm and have started taking responsibility openly and often, you need a scope of work to be done. It must cover everything from short, medium and long term reforms to the Police and Justice Administration system #EndSARS

Step 4: COMMUNICATE. You need to communicate the full reform plan in person and via social media. Clearly and often. Communication is a two way street. So, you MUST expect feedback. Take the feedback with your chest. Refine the plan. Communicate again. #EndSARS

King Shark, One Of The Greatest Afrikan Rulers Who Fought European Invasion In Afrika.

Thread!!!

The Dahomey Kingdom — present-day Benin — During the 18th and 19th centuries, it was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa. The nation had one of Africa’s biggest armies at the time, including the powerful Dahomey Amazons. It also had extensive foreign trade with different

European nations. A robust economy, as well as a highly functioning political structure. Although the kingdom was so strong, the French colonized it in 1894. But they did not go down without a fight led by Dahomey’s last king, known as King Shark.

Behanzin Hossu Bowelle was born in 1844, in the capital of Dahomey, Abomey. He was the son of King Glele, who at that time was king of Dahomey. Behanzin became the 11th king of Dahomey when his father died. He soon came to be known as the King Shark.

A king is given a name reflecting his personal symbols, as per Dahomey’s custom. The dolphin, the egg and the coconut palm trees are representations.

The Sunday Igboho I I know by Babafemi Ojudu.
By Babafemi Ojudu

1. It was in 2009. The Appeal Court sitting in Ilorin ordered a rerun in a number of polling units in the election between Segun Oni of PDP and Dr Kayode Fayemi of ACN.Oni had in the main election and the election

2.petition tribunal that followed been declared winner of the gubernatorial contest. Our party , ACN contested this , hence the declaration of a rerun. The election which came three months after the Appeal Court judgement was like war. The PDP ruling at the Federal level did not

3.want to loose Ekiti and the opposition ACN led and financed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to take Ekiti by all means. A few days to the election,we got an intelligence report that the PDP big wigs had perfected a plan to unleash thugs recruited from across Yoruba land on Ekiti.

4.The plan was to kill and maim as many as possible,snatch ballot boxes and win by any means possible.Tinubu summoned me to Lagos and said Femi,"I have conducted a scientific opinion poll. You people can win this election.The only snag however is they are deploying state security

5. as well as thugs against you. State security men we can handle ( and he did creatively handled them ) but how do you handle thugs?"
I then suggested we dissuade them by engagement and inducements. After all they are in the business only for the money and not for ideological

I am trying to revisit seerah half hour a day and I wanted to share something that makes me bawl like a baby. Here is the story of Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه | May Allah be pleased with him) and how he redefined what it means to be a true Friend 😇

I am going to present to you a scene after fath' Makkah [Conquest of Makkah]

During the conquest of Makkah at the entrance of the prophet ﷺ, thousands of people were coming to him to embrace Islam.

And amongst those thousands is Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه | May Allah be pleased with him). He comes with his father Abu Quhafa - an old man with a white beard and white hair, imagine the old man how he’s walking slowly with a limp and he’s walking to the prophet ﷺ.

Imagine the state of Abu Bakr's heart as he guides his father towards prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Why?
To take shahada and to give Bayah to the prophet.

So when the prophet sees Abu Quhafa he tells, why didn’t you leave the old man in his home I would have come to him.

This is the Nabi of Allah, he just conquered Makkah and yet his priority is to ease an old man's hardship, he is saying to a non-Muslim, I will come to you if you want to accept Islam.

Fuck it, thread on orientalism, emasculation, and Asian fetishism for trans women:

CW: Racism, sexuality, fetishisation, orientialism

(switching from my usual Eleanor gifs because, well, it would be ironic not to)

First things first, this thread is not here to bash on white people or a subtweet of anything in particular. I just want to point out that while being trans is something that does connect me to several trans people on here, there is a certain racial element that cannot be ignored

And once again, I can only speak to my experience as a trans woman transitioning for about a year and a half now, and an able bodied Chinese Australian 26 year old. Now on to the show.

Now I would be remiss to claim that Asian trans people have it worse than any other ethnic trans group. But we do have problems that are somewhat unique to us that yt trans twitter really needs to understand, and it's grounded heavily in that eternal Asian spectre: Orientalism

For those that don't know, orientalism is essentially an othering of Asia, its people, and its cultures. In Western canon, Asia has always been seen as this exotic land just because its different to Euro-centric culture and this leads to extremely patronising behaviour.

Thread: Brazil is ranked number two in the world lists of Covid fatalities, behind the USA. But that is almost certainly wrong. Mexico is almost surely number two. And in this story, we explain why. https://t.co/xeKgkMU1kJ via @WSJ

Mexico is failing to accurately record the majority of those who die from Covid. How do we know? Because the surge of excess deaths in 2020 in Mexico was roughly 2.4 times the official Covid toll. On Dec 12, excess deaths were 274,486 compared to Covid toll of 113,704.

Some of the additional deaths, of course, may not be Covid but from people who put off treatment for chronic disease, for instance. But health experts say the majority of those were likely killed by Covid. Other countries have a far smaller gap between excess deaths and Covid.

In Brazil, excess deaths for last year were 200,270 by Nov 21. The Covid toll by that date was 168,989, a far smaller gap than Mexico. That means Brazil is likely doing a far better job accurately counting its Covid dead.

A big difference is testing. Mexico carries out fewest tests in the Americas. It has only done 3.6 million tests during the entire pandemic. Brazil has done nearly 29 million. Mexico's coronavirus czar @HLGatell says widespread testing is a waste of time and resources.

#Thread! For peace in #Balochistan, Islamabad must review FC's role.

In 2021, the conflict in Balochistan entered its 17th year. Islamabad deployed FC in Balochistan in 2004 to counter insurgent activities. The force soon after its deployment became unpopular among the locals

for human rights violations and heavy-handed operations. The Balochistan provincial govt gave police powers to FC in 2013. Since then, FC's traditional role in maintaining border security expanded into controlling crimes and countering terror activities.

More than 550 #ShiaHazaras have been killed in FC's presence since 2012, and thousands of Hazaras have been targeted and wounded in apparent sectarian attacks. Thousands of Baloch activists have disappeared without a trace. More than 1,000 dead bodies of political activists

and suspected armed insurgents were found dumped between 2010 and 2016, according to a report by BBC in 2016. Officials from Ministry of Interior said: "from 2010 to 2015, organized political violence events linked to the insurgency gradually increased, peaking in 2015 with 96

events and 383 total reported fatalities for the year. In 49 suicide attacks in Balochistan between 2003-2018, at least 939 people died, and more than 1820 injured. As insurgents activities increase, FC has become more ruthless and lethal targeting civilians and unarmed activists