According to reports #Iran's #IRGC have conducted an unannounced exercise including drones and ballistic missiles, surface to surface. The BM tests included Zolfaghar and Dezful, potentially more.

The "First Phase" of the 15th Prophet exercise was completed successfully.

I assume this means there is more to come...

New generations of missiles were used, a new Zolfaghar, Dezful, and Zelzal. They are reportedly now equipable with detachable warheads according to state media.

Initial footage of the 15th Great Prophet exercise, including missile launches from underground missile cities, mobile TEL's and RQ-170 drones.

Zolfaghar or Dezful missile?

Last October, Israelis were rightly horrified to hear that ~400 acres of forest burned down as a direct result of an IDF training exercise carried out in a nature reserve,despite warnings.
Now look at what happened when the IDF insisted on training in a Palestinian village today:

This is Jinba, a village in Firing Zone 918. Large-scale artillery forces arrived there this AM w/ armored vehicles. In response to @acri_online who reminded them of the damage caused last time, the IDF promised to avoid damaging residents' property. But somehow, this happened:

And this is what some of the agricultural lands looked like this morning, after the heavy armored vehicles flattened them. The residents depend on this land for their livelihood. Several months of hard work can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. (Video: Guy Botavia)

Destroying agricultural fields isn't new. Here's what a Nahal Brig soldier saw in 2004-05: "There was wheat that overflowed beyond the fields, so the instruction [...] that the platoon commander got, or at least what he said to us, [was] to trample."

Here's another picture from this morning, this time from fields belonging to residents of the neighboring Bir al-Eid:

I am glad that PM Muhyiddin Yassin explained himself promptly on the viral letter of a RM35 million allocation in his constituency yesterday. However, I would like to advise the PM to spend the amount, which is at his disposal, wisely to portray a better image of himself. 1/10

More importantly, the amount should be spent to create a larger impact on our economy or public health institution. 2/10

It was reported that China government finished building a 1,500-room hospital in 5 days for COVID-19 patients to fight a surge in of infections in that country. At the same time, we in M’sia were told that 3 community halls will be built in the PM’s constituency asap. 3/10

In Johor, the Hospital Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom (HEBHK) in Kluang has serve as a COVID-19 hospital since last year. The hospital is new compared to many other hospitals in the country. However, the 10th floor of the block is vacant and is not equipped with hospital beds. 4/10

I was informed by the hospital previously that it is possible to install 38 beds with full equipment at the cost of RM 38 million. 5/10

The Man-Made Famine In #Yemen
By @DanielLarison

The war on #Yemen has done nothing to hurt #Iran in the slightest (not that it would be justified if it had), but it has driven a country of almost thirty million people into the abyss.

For five and a half years, our government has supported the wrecking and starvation of another country, and we have failed to bring that horror to an end. That will have to change in the new year, or countless more #Yemenis will die preventable deaths.

1/3

The litmus test for U.S. policy on #Yemen is simple: does it help end the conflict, or keep alive the millions of suffering #Yemenis? A terrorist designation of the #Houthis fails on both counts. Sadly, the #Trump administration knows this. In 2018,
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it decided against designating the #Houthis because “it could complicate aid deliveries.” Yet despite worsening humanitarian indicators, President #Trump has now decided to push forward.

1/5

#Yemenis are being starved. That is the heart of it. And the statistics released last week are shocking. Amir [Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme] will speak to this.

It’s the war that’s pushing #Yemen towards famine. That’s how we got to this point.
1/5-2

@ChefGov_ma @morocco_usa Maati Monjib, is a human rights defender who was arrested December 29, 2020. Security agents in civilian clothes took him by force—and without prior notification— from a restaurant in the capital Rabat to the court of First Instance,

THREAD 1/

where he was brought before the prosecutor. The latter referred him to the investigating judge, who, after interrogating him without a lawyer, ordered his pretrial detention.

On October 7, 2020, the prosecutor’s office at the Rabat Court of First Instance, opened an investigation against Maati Monjib for alleged embezzlement & money laundering apparently stemming from the receipt of foreign funds to conduct training workshops for citizen journalists.

Maati Monjib told Amnesty International that this harassment and intimidation are due to a recent radio interview where he criticized the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance for their repression of political opponents as well as his open support of detained

journalists Omar Radi and Suleiman Raissouni. The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation has summoned Maati Monjib more than seven times for interrogation in Casablanca and in Rabat. Four members of his family, with no relation to political activism, were also summoned,

Bad things tourists have done in Bali that I witnessed because I lived in Bali for three years and will be back soon~ A Thread.

1. There’s this tourist couple. The guy kissed the girl’s ass at a sacred place then took a picture and basically say they think the idea of the place being ‘sacred’ is stupid. They apologized but I don’t think they meant it, I think they said sorry because they got caught

2. A ‘feminist’ tourist made a controversy by saying that it is very sexist because women who are having their period can’t go inside the sacred places. She said it was such a sexist and stupid thing to do when we have. We have our beliefs, some tourists don’t want to respect it.

3. My own group of friends who are foreigners are talking in the front of me with their own language and one of them who’s not asshole translated ‘they are saying that they have to say it in our language for you to not understand. But they are saying Indonesian people are slow’

4. Some tourists even told clubs that they feel unsecured if there are local people. WE ARE IN BALI, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

1] Hopefully, after this, I will be saying less and less stuff about @DMwonzora & the @MyMDC_T

In Africa, any serious politician has to be a charismatic orator.

Strategy & effective administration is actually anchored on that.

Sadly, Dougie ticks none of those boxes.

2] African politics is unique.

There are many brilliant politicians who failed to make a mark, simply because of their inability to command attention.

You need to be able to convince people to listen, if you have any chance at convincing them to believe in you & what you offer.

3] Of equal concern is the perceptions people have of a politician.

ZANUPF caused irreparable damage on Tsvangirai as a political brand, as State media "successfully" labelled him a stooge of Westen interests.

I've wondered if the MDC did enough, to shake this off early.

4] Another critical feature of African politics, is that parties are just as popular as their Leader(s), especially the inaugural one(s).

The party grows as the Leader becomes more popular.

Most times, the Leader fortunately or unfortunately becomes more popular than the party.

5] ZanuPF was just as popular as Mugabe

MDC-T was just as popular as Tsvangirai

MDC ALLIANCE is just as popular as Chamisa.

Whoever takes over usually struggles.

Funny enough, Dougie is attempting to bank on the popularity of man who actually politically died with his MDC-T.

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "I'm going to speak in a few moments about the announcements we made over the weekend, the announcements I set out here on Saturday evening..."

NS: "and I will also reflect on the decisions that have been made and intimated by some other countries, in respect of closing borders with the UK.

But first of all, let me begin with today’s statistics.

The total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 1,504."

NS: "That represents 6% of the total number of tests carried out, and the overall number of confirmed cases is now 113,050.

As you'll have noticed, today’s figure represents a significantly higher number of cases than we have seen in recent times."

NS: "We think that this may be, in part, down to a processing backlog last week within the UK Lighthouse system.

Please be aware that today’s figure may be affected by that backlog of cases now coming through the system and being reported on."

NS: "However we will be doing further analysis of these case numbers to confirm that."

THREAD
What is overlooked in analysis of #RussiaProtest after @navalny's arrest? It's sophistication that the Kremlin has developed in addressing such threats, and lack of realistic strategy by Putin's opponents. Let's put together some unpleasant facts 👇

2/ Of course, it's hard not to be impressed by @navalny's and his family's courage, as well as by energy and scale of protests on January 23. Good summary by @yaffaesque for @NewYorker here:

3/ @navalny's investigation about Putin's palace (>96 million views now!) and street protests are seen as a serious challenge by the Kremlin, which is visible in heavy-handed crackdown on Navalny's team&family, as @HenryJFoy & @maxseddon document here:

4/ Jan 23 protest had the widest geographic coverage (>120 cities all across Russia), and the crowd numbers were significant, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It's important to note that the price tag for unsanctioned rallies is now higher than before...

5/... and protesters risk much more than 100k people who came to Bolotnaya Square in Moscow back in 2011. Add COVID, and 40k crowd (@Reuters estimate) in the capital will look like a success. But here comes the tricky part.

Thread About my city
On this day last year, the Assad gangs and Russia took control of the city of Maarat al-Numan after it was destroyed with all kinds of internationally prohibited weapons, and unfortunately the world was watching this silently. 1\1

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon: "I want to update Parliament on Cabinet's review of the current lockdown restrictions, which took place earlier today."

NS: "I will report on some cautious grounds for optimism, I'm pleased to say, but also set out why it is vital, in order to protect the NHS and save lives, to stick with these restrictions for a further period."

NS: "I will set out what that means for the timing of getting children back to school, which, of course, remains a priority for all of us."

NS: "And finally, I'll touch on other aspects of our response to Covid, including control of borders, the further expansion of testing, and the progress of the vaccination programme."

NS: "Firstly, I'll give a brief summary of the latest statistics and then seek to put these in some context."

In celebration of the memory of those who laid their lives so that we may live, this special day is a tribute to the indomitable will,
stoic courage and an overwhelming love of the nation
#PakForcesExemplarySacrifices

that resonates in their heart which leads to a secure and peaceful Pakistan for us to dwell in. Deriving their military virtue from the true spirit of an Islamic ideology,
#PakForcesExemplarySacrifices

#PakForcesExemplarySacrifices
the Pakistan armed forces have always sacrificed their best of men in keeping intact the sovereignty of the Motherland as its soil contains as an unforgettable

#PakForcesExemplarySacrifices
and primary constituent the blood of its martyrs who have fearlessly confronted the enemy and crushed their nefarious designs while guarding their land with their most precious possessions, their lives.

#PakForcesExemplarySacrifices
History has seen how the soldiers of the Pakistan army have risen to their towering heights to defend their borders,