Mediaboss Marketing

Charlize Theron, standing next to Shirley MacLaine, whose outfit was not digitally manipulated, moves away from the photoshopped sleeves and neckline on her dress at the Oscars.

The victory for Asghar Farhadis film The Salesman at the Oscars on 26 February sent a strong message from Hollywood to US president Donald Trump, whose attempted travel ban caused the director to boycott the ceremony. Trumps policy was felt by many to have triggered a rash of protest votes for the film and it is the second time Iran, and Farhadi, have taken the prize this decade.

Such a triumph was proudly reported on back in Iran but with a few changes. The Iranian Labor News Agencys coverage of the win included censorship of the outfits worn by presenter Charlize Theron, and by Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian in space, who accepted the award in lieu of Farhadi.

Therons gold lam gown by Christian Dior initially has blurry black sleeves and a collar added to it to preserve her modesty but such additions do not consistently move with the actor. Then the effect is swapped for a more general torso blur, which then transfers to Ansaris upper body.

In 2006, Ansari, an engineer and businesswoman, became the first female tourist to visit the international space station.

The news clip was shared by My Stealthy Freedom, a lobbying organisation aiming to raise awareness of state rules in Iran which dictate that women should be flogged or imprisoned for failure to wear the hijab.

The founder of the group, Masih Alinejad, condemned the censorship on the organisations Facebook page. Another typical example of the Islamic Republics fear of naked arms of Iranian women, she wrote. It is shameful indeed, but that is how the Iranian media outlets based within the country have been covering such events for years.

At a time when Farhadi chooses an astronaut and Nasa scientist to prove a point about human rights not having borders, the Islamic Republic of Iran does the complete opposite by using Farhadis wonderful Oscars statement for their own propaganda while blind to the meaning of his point.

See more here:
Iran news agency gives Charlize Theron a polo neck in altered Oscars footage - The Guardian

EU Mulls Options to Appease Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal Wall Street Journal (subscription) BRUSSELSEuropean officials are compiling options for tightening implementation of the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, hoping to bolster their case that U.S. President Donald Trump should stick to the accord he has repeatedly criticized. Officials ...

Follow this link:
EU Mulls Options to Appease Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

VIENNA The chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog will hold talks on Iran's nuclear deal on Thursday for the first time with senior officials from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has branded it "the worst deal ever negotiated".

The 2015 deal between Tehran and major powers places restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The accord will be the main topic of Yukiya Amano's talks in Washington, officials involved in the dealings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday.

Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has called for a "full review" of the accord, is among the senior U.S. officials Amano will meet, they said.

Amano, whose agency is in charge of policing those nuclear restrictions under the deal, has publicly argued in favor of the agreement, describing it as a "net gain".

But Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, has said he wants to "police that contract so tough they (the Iranians) don't have a chance".

"IAEA Director General Amano will meet with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other senior U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday, March 2," an IAEA spokesman said on Wednesday, declining to elaborate.

Amano has previously said he hopes to hold an initial discussion with Trump administration officials "as soon as possible".

The IAEA produced a quarterly report on Iran last week that said Iran's stock of enriched uranium had roughly halved after coming close to the limit of what it is allowed under the deal with major powers.

The IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors is expected to discuss Amano's bid for re-election as director general at its quarterly meeting next week.

Amano, who is Japanese, is the only candidate and diplomats say he is all but certain of winning, though the United States is one of few countries that have yet to back him.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Gareth Jones)

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese, with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader in a bizarre airport assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes.

MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi army units on Wednesday took control of the last major road out of western Mosul that had been in Islamic State's hands, trapping the militants in a shrinking area within the city, a general and residents said.

GENEVASyrian government aircraft deliberately bombed and strafed a humanitarian convoy, killing 14 aid workers and halting relief operations, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday in a report identifying war crimes committed by both sides in Syria's war.

Read the original post:
UN nuclear watchdog chief to discuss Iran deal with Trump officials - Reuters

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Dr. Michael Knights, a Boston-based fellow atThe Washington Institute for Near East Policythat champions conservative perspectives, and Hardin Lang, a fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress (CAP), testified before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

They suggested that the United States should leave behind a military force of between 3,000 to 5,000 troops to continue working with their Iraqi counterparts for at least three years.

Dr. Knights specifically warned against withdrawing American troops from the country prematurely, adding, Just two and a half years after the U.S. military left the country, ISIL took over Mosul and a third of Iraq. ISILs success and the complete and hasty withdrawal of U.S. military support to Iraq was no coincidence.

Meanwhile, Lang reminded lawmakers that Shiite, or Shia, militiamen backed by Iran killed about 500 American troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

We need to make smart choices now while we are still keenly focused on the threats to U.S. interests that are present in Iraq, testified Dr. Knights, according to his prepared remarks. These threats include not only ISIL but also Shia militias groups that parasitically exploit ISILs presence and which make up part of the Iranian threat network discussed in this committee earlier this month.

The regime in the Tehran, the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism, has an ambitious agenda inside Iraq, he added. Tehran seeks to exploit the justifiable fear of ISIL that is felt by Iraqi Shia majority in Iraq.

When alluding to the Shiite fighters, Lang singled out the Iraqi government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iran-affiliated umbrella network of mainly Shiite fighters currently fighting ISIS in Iraq.

Th PMF represents the largest alliance of all Shiite militias in Iraq and is also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMF) and al-Hashd al-Shabi.

Lang estimates the size of the Shiite militia force in Iraq to be between 100,000 and 120,000.

In his written testimony, the CAP expert acknowledged that one of the biggest threats to reconciliation [primarily between Sunnis and Shias] remains sectarian Shia militias, adding:

There is a very real risk that the PMF could take root as a Hezbollah-style Iranian [terrorist] proxy. Such a development would threaten Iraqi sovereignty and undercut attempts at national reconciliation. There are no easy solutions to managing the threat posed by Iranian- backed PMF units, but the U.S. could play a constructive role in facilitating the demobilization or integration of the remaining PMF units into the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces].

While participating in the ongoing Mosul offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is providing assistance to the PMF.

The Pentagon says it is only providing support to Shiite militiamen vetted for links to Iran and terrorist groups, as mandated by law.

A large proportion [of the PMF] receives direct Iranian backing, testified Lang. The CAP expert acknowledged that U.S. policy towards the PMF changed under former President Barack Obama.

In 2014, U.S. refused to provide them military support, but since mid-2015, American policy has evolved to include air and other support for those PMF units not beholden to Iran, he explained, noting that the Iraqi parliament legalized the PMF in November 2016.

Some news reports have accused the U.S. military of providing support to all Shiite militiamen, including those linked to Iran who may have American blood on their hands. The Pentagon has denied the allegations.

Originally posted here:
Experts Warn: Iran-Allied Shiite Militias in Iraq to Threaten US After Mosul Falls - Breitbart News

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster made the request, the sources said. One of the main reasons is Iraq's role in fighting ISIS.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly also supported the move, but it remains unclear whether the White House has made a final decision.

Trump's original executive order, signed a week after he entered the White House, banned citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries -- Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- from entering the US for 90 days, and temporarily suspended the entry of all refugees.

A federal court issued a temporary injunction last month that halted implementation of the travel ban nationwide, and an appeals court declined to reinstate the ban.

The new executive order will make clear that legal permanent residents (otherwise known as green card holders) are excluded from any travel ban, and those with validly issued visas will also be exempt from the ban.

The new order also is expected to revise or exclude language prioritizing the refugee claims of certain religious minorities.

Two sources told CNN they expect Trump will formally revoke the earlier executive order.

CNN's Laura Jarrett, Ariane de Vogue and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.

More:
Top Trump advisers urged Iraq to be removed from new travel ban - CNN