Mediaboss Marketing

Iranian fans of the HBO show Game of Thrones are in a frenzy as the buildup to the July 16 premiere of the seventh and final season continues.

Persian-language social media pages adoring all of the wonders of Westeros have emerged in the Islamic Republic, some with more than 100,000 followers. Fans use the sites toshare images of the actors in the show as well as video clips of its music and trailers.

Websites such as winterfell.ir are dedicating their content to Game of Thrones for Iranian fans, where you can download Persian translations of the original Game of Thrones books. Meanwhile, the wider fantasy genre is represented by sites such as fantasy.ir and arda.ir, according to Middle Eastern news site Al-Monitor.

Daily Emails and Alerts - Get the best of Newsweek delivered to your inbox

The shows theme song has also become a popular ringtone in the Islamic Republic.

The theories behind the Iranian love for Games of Thrones vary: At the center of the George R. R. Martin universe is an ancient Persian God known as Azor Ahai, a warrior who overcame darkness in a battle in which he carried a weapon blessed by Rhllor, a demigod known as the Lord of Light.

"Game of Thrones" Season 7, Episode 1: "Dragonstone," airing Sunday 16 July on HBO. Helen Sloan/HBO

Fans see comparisons between such fantasy worlds and seminal Iranianworks of literature such as the Shahnameh poem by the Persian poet Ferdowsi, written between977 and 1010 CE, and pre-Islamic folklore.

But another reason for its popularity is Iranian-German dual national Ramin Djawadi, the composer behind the shows dramatic instrumentals. Last monthwhen weapons experts at an Iranian university unveiled a new assault rifle, it was presented to the theme music of Game of Thrones.

The instrumentals have proven so popular that Djawadi even took a live concert experience based on the shows music on a tour of the U.S. and Canada earlier this year.

The show has good music and is unpredictable, Iranian fan Mohammad Reza told Al-Monitor. The fact that some parts are inspired from real history makes it much more addictive.

The shows Iranian fans love it so much that they will go to greater lengths to watch the latest episodes than their American counterparts. Fans in Iran say they mostly watch the show through illegal downloading on torrent websites, or exchanging clips on USB sticks with friends.

https://twitter.com/hdagres/status/884856479504896000

American and Western television shows are viewed as un-Islamic in the country and Game of Thrones frequent sex scenes and violent battles fall foul of censors in the country.

Game of Thrones Season 7 will premiere on HBO on July 16.

See the original post:
Game of Thrones Season 7: Iran Goes Crazy For Show Ahead of Premiere - Newsweek

House Republican leaders want to attach a bill increasing sanctions on North Korea to legislation to restrain the president and stiffen punitive measures against Russia and Iran, a last-minute wrinkle that could further delay the bills progress through Congress.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on the House floor Friday that he believes the North Korea sanctions bill, which the House passed in May on a 419 to 1 vote, should be added to the legislation increasing sanctions against Russia and Iran.

It would be a very strong statement for all of America to get that sanction bill completed and done, and to the presidents desk, McCarthy said.

But Democrats are furious at the change, which they see as a last-minute effort by one of the presidents closest allies in Congress to derail the Russia-Iran sanctions bill just as congressional leaders had agreed on a way to resolve their differences.

Democrats are absolutely not in agreement with adding North Korea sanctions, said one House Democratic aide. This is another delay tactic. This is moving the goal posts again.

The Russia and Iran sanctions bill, which the Senate passed last month on a vote of 98 to 2, stalled as lawmakers argued over technical changes House Republicans leaders insisted were necessary to get the measure through their chamber. At issue was an alleged blue slip violation arising from the fact that bills affecting revenue must originate in the House and a disagreement over how lawmakers would be able to bring up measures to block the president should he ever try to scale back sanctions against Russia.

The bill codified existing sanctions against Russia, while stepping up punitive measures over its interference in Syria, Ukraine and the 2016 U.S. election; it also increases sanctions against Iran for recent ballistic missile tests. But critically, the bill would give Congress a 30-day window to check the president before he could make any changes to existing sanctions policy against Russia, including scaling back the punitive measure the United States has against Moscow.

The Trump administration has vocally objected to this provision, though they say they are otherwise comfortable with the increased sanctions under the bill. But lawmakers have been wary of the presidents warm approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Trumps reticence to endorse the intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia was behind a series of hacks and disinformation campaigns to swing the outcome of the 2016 election in Trumps favor. Many lawmakers are concerned that absent a congressional check on his authority, the president might try to scale back sanctions against Russia particularly by returningcontrol to Moscow of two compounds that the Obama administration wrested from Russia in late 2016 as punishment for alleged meddling in the 2016 campaign.

Earlier this week, Democrats objected that House Republicans were trying to prevent the minority from ever bringing up a resolution under the bill to block President Trump from making changes to sanctions policy, absent Republican approval. But as of Friday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats were ready to let their complaint go.

I dont like that, I want to protect the prerogatives of the minorities in the House, but weighing the equities, what was more important was passing the Russia-Iran sanctions bill, she said. So we are on board to just proceed.

House Democrats, who also voted overwhelmingly for the North Korea sanctions package this spring, could decide to attach the measure to the Russia-Iran bill. But doing so likely creates a serious hurdle for the bill in the Senate, where lawmakers have not examined the Houses North Korea sanctions bill and will probably want to consider a bipartisan sanctions measure of their own, unveiled by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) this week.

The senators measure would give Congress review power over any changes the president might try to make to North Korea sanctions policy that is almost identical to the review power over Russia sanctions written into the Russia-Iran bill. Congressional review is not a part of the Houses North Korea bill.

On Thursday, the chairs of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations committees said they were still reviewing the senators North Korea bill, but were generally supportive of including congressional review power in such measures.

Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) also said Thursday that as he understood it, it was a possibility that House leaders might try to attach North Korea sanctions to the Russia-Iran package, but that the chances were slim probably a four-percenter, as he put it.

On Friday, Corker said that he would be more than glad to take a close look at tying North Korea sanctions to the Russia-Iran bill if this is the path they choose in the House.

There is no question that we need to apply more pressure to North Korea, he said.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), reacting to McCarthys proposal Friday, said: We want to get this done as soon as possible, and Im urging the majority to move quickly. Id be pleased if we could move next week.

House leaders have been frustrated that the Senate has not taken steps in the past two months to take up the Houses North Korea sanctions package.

Senators are not likely, however, to agree to approve comprehensive North Korea sanctions legislation without conducting some vetting first. And that could leave Congress at least at an impasse that, if it extends to the August recess, would mean that it could be months before any sanctions measures against Russia or North Korea proceed.

Here is the original post:
House wants to link North Korea sanctions to measure on Russia and Iran sanctions - Washington Post

Following the release of videos on social media that appear to show Iraqi troops killing and beating detained ISIS militants in Mosul, the Iraqi government said they were investigating the footage. A spokesman for Iraqs defense ministry, Mohammed al-Khudhari, told the Associated Press on Thursday that troops were given very clear instructions and guidance to turn over suspected militants, who await interrogation, followed by a court hearing. Any soldiers who violate these instructions, he said, would be tried in military court. Saad Maan, a spokesman for Iraqs interior ministry, said a number of the soldiers who appear in the videos had been suspended. Maan also admitted to reporters that there might be some misbehavior or inappropriate conduct.

While the footage has yet to be authenticated, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch condemned the videos on Thursday for their demonstrations of torture and abuse. In the final weeks of the battle for west Mosul, the pervasive attitude that I have observed among armed forces has been of momentum, the desire to get the battle wrapped up as quickly as possible, and a collapse of adherences to the laws of war, Belkis Wille, the organizations senior Iraq researcher, told the BBC. On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Mosul recaptured from ISIS following an eight-and-a-half-month offensive in the region. In the wake of the announcement, locals reported seeing vengeance killings against suspected ISIS militants.

Last month, Human Rights Watch released a report citing four witnesses who saw Iraqi troops beat and unlawfully kill men and boys fleeing Mosul. I have heard of countless abuses and executions in this battle, one witness said. Whats changed is that in this final phase fighters are comfortable allowing us to witness the abuses first-hand. On Thursday, the organization released another report claiming that at least 170 families of suspected ISIS militants were forcibly taken to a rehabilitation camp outside Mosulan act that could constitute a war crime. At least ten women and children died at or while traveling to the camp, the report said, with the majority of them succumbing to dehydration.

If authentic, the latest footage points to even more severe crimes carried out by Iraqi troops. According to multiple sources, the most gruesome video released on social media shows uniformed men kicking and beating several suspected militants. One of the men is then dragged outside and thrown over the edge of a cliff, before soldiers fire bullets at his motionless body. The footage also shows the bodies of other men on the ground, with soldiers shooting at them in the background. A second video shows a uniformed man shooting an unarmed detainee, who is kneeling in front of a car. Two other videos reveal soldiers beating and kicking detained suspects.

According to Human Rights Watch, the footage was released Tuesday and Wednesday by an Iraqi man who frequently reports on military activities in the Mosul area. The organization said they had verified the location of the videos using satellite imagery. Around the same time that the videos were posted online, the human rights group Amnesty International released a report claiming that Iraqi and U.S.-backed coalition forces carried out unlawful attacks on civilians in Mosul. The report specifically alleged that government and coalition forces used unnecessarily powerful weapons to target ISIS militants and failed to take effective precautions to protect civilians when planning and executing attacks. While the organization recorded nearly 430 civilian deaths during 45 government-led attacks in Mosul, they speculated that thousands of civilians had been killed by Iraqi forces.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abadis response to the report incited concern among human rights advocates. Without directly calling out Amnesty International, Abadi urged humanitarian organizations to check and verify their sources, arguing that Iraqi soldiers are human rights defenders who sacrificed themselves for the liberation of humanity and the rescue of civilians. He added that no terrorist escapes punishment and we will not issue an amnesty for the murderous terrorists. A day later, Human Rights Watch argued that silence from the Iraqi government with regard to human rights abuses only further foster[s] the feeling of impunity among armed forces in Mosul.

Here is the original post:
Iraq Investigates Videos of Troops Killing Mosul Detainees - The Atlantic

Philippine National Police chief Ronald Bato Dela Rosa holds an M60 machine gun during a Gun and Ammunition show at a mall in Mandaluyong city, metro Manila, Philippines

Reuters

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker embrace before the EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev, Ukraine

Reuters

US President Donald Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump disembark form Air Force One upon arrival at Paris Orly airport on July 13, 2017, beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with France's national day and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Iraqis walk on a damaged street in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi boys wash a vehicle in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images

Afghan policeman pour fuel over jerry cans containing confiscated acetic acid before setting it alight on the outskirts of Herat. Some 15,000 liters of acetic acid, often mixed with heroin, were destroyed by counter narcotics police

Hoshang Hashimi/AFP

Residents stand amid the debris of their homes which were torn down in the evicted area of the Bukit Duri neighbourhood located on the Ciliwung river banks in Jakarta

Bay Ismoyo/AFP

Boys play cricket at a parking lot as it rains in Chandigarh, India

Reuters/Ajay Verma

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Istanbul

AFP

Police from the anti-terror squad participate in an anti-terror performance among Acehnese dancers during a ceremony to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Indonesian police corps in Banda Aceh

AFP/Getty Images

New Mongolia's president Khaltmaa Battulga takes an oath during his inauguration ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Reuters

US army 1st Division, US air force, US Navy and US Marines, march down the Champs Elysees, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, in Paris during a rehearsal of the annual Bastille Day military parade

AFP

Participants run ahead of Puerto de San Lorenzo's fighting bulls during the third bull run of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain. Each day at 8:00 am hundreds of people race with six bulls, charging along a winding, 848.6-metre (more than half a mile) course through narrow streets to the city's bull ring, where the animals are killed in a bullfight or corrida, during this festival, immortalised in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises" and dating back to medieval times and also featuring religious processions, folk dancing, concerts and round-the-clock drinking.

AFP/Getty Images

Iraqi women, who fled the fighting between government forces and Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the Old City of Mosul, cry as they stand in the city's western industrial district awaiting to be relocated

AFP

US President Donald Trump arrives for another working session during the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany

AFP/Getty Images

People climb up on a roof to get a view during riots in Hamburg, northern Germany, where leaders of the world's top economies gather for a G20 summit

AFP/Getty Images

A military helicopter rescues people trapped on the roof of the Ministry of Finance by an intense fire in San Salvador

AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump arrives to deliver a speech at Krasinski Square in Warsaw, Poland.

AP

A firefighter conducts rescue operations in an area damaged by heavy rain in Asakura, Japan.

Reuters

Anti-capitalism activists protest in Hamburg, where leaders of the worlds top economies will gather for a G20 summit.

AFP/Getty

Crowds gather for the start of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain.

AFP

A member of the Iraqi security forces runs with his weapon during a fight between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq.

A U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile is fired during the combined military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea against North Korea at an undisclosed location in South Korea

A.P

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un looks on during the test-fire of inter-continental ballistic missile Hwasong-14

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following the talks at the Kremlin

Reuters

Belarussian servicemen march during a military parade as part of celebrations marking the Independence Day in Minsk, Belarus

Reuters

Ambulance cars and fire engines are seen near the site where a coach burst into flames after colliding with a lorry on a motorway near Muenchberg, Germany

Reuters

Protesters demonstrating against the upcoming G20 economic summit ride boats on Inner Alster lake during a protest march in Hamburg, Germany. Hamburg will host the upcoming G20 summit and is expecting heavy protests throughout.

Getty Images

Protesters carry a large image of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as they march during the annual pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong. Thousands joined an annual protest march in Hong Kong, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his visit to the city by warning against challenges to Beijing's sovereignty.

AP

Jockey Andrea Coghe of "Selva" (Forest) parish rides his horse during the first practice for the Palio Horse Race in Siena, Italy June 30, 2017

Reuters

A man takes pictures with a phone with a Union Flag casing after Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) inspected troops at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison as part of events marking the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2017

Reuters

A protester against U.S. President Donald Trump's limited travel ban, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, holds a sign next to protesters supporting the ban, in New York City, U.S., June 29, 2017

Reuters

Israeli Air Force Efroni T-6 Texan II planes perform at an air show during the graduation of new cadet pilots at Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva

AFP/Getty Images

A woman gestures next to people spraying insecticide on a vehicle during a mosquito-control operation led by Ivory Coast's National Public and Health Institute in Bingerville, near Abidjan where several cases of dengue fever were reported

AFP/Getty Images

An aerial view shows women swimming in the Yenisei River on a hot summer day, with the air temperature at about 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit), outside Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, June 28, 2017

Reuters

A Libyan coast guardsman watches over as illegal immigrants arrive to land in a dinghy during the rescue of 147 people who attempted to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli, on June 27, 2017. More than 8,000 migrants have been rescued in waters off Libya during the past 48 hours in difficult weather conditions, Italy's coastguard said on June 27, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Investigators work at the scene of a car bomb explosion which killed Maxim Shapoval, a high-ranking official involved in military intelligence, in Kiev, Ukraine, June 27, 2017

Reuters

A man leaves after voting in the Mongolian presidential election at the Erdene Sum Ger (Yurt) polling station in Tuul Valley. Mongolians cast ballots on June 26 to choose between a horse breeder, a judoka and a feng shui master in a presidential election rife with corruption scandals and nationalist rhetoric

AFP/Getty Images

People attend Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a play ground in the suburb of Sale, Morocco

REUTERS

A plain-clothes police officer kicks a member of a group of LGBT rights activist as Turkish police prevent them from going ahead with a Gay Pride annual parade on 25 June 2017 in Istanbul, a day after it was banned by the city governor's office.

AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan army soldiers stands guard while rescue workers examine the site of an oil tanker explosion at a highway near Bahawalpur, Pakistan. An overturned oil tanker burst into flames in Pakistan on Sunday, killing more than one hundred people who had rushed to the scene of the highway accident to gather leaking fuel, an official said.

AP

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide that occurred in Xinmo Village, Mao County, Sichuan province, China

REUTERS

Student activists shout anti martial law slogans during a protest in Manila on June 23, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

A diver performs from the Pont Alexandre III bridge into the River Seine in Paris, France, June 23, 2017 as Paris transforms into a giant Olympic park to celebrate International Olympic Days with a variety of sporting events for the public across the city during two days as the city bids to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Reuters

Debris and smoke are seen after an OV-10 Bronco aircraft released a bomb, during an airstrike, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over parts of Marawi city, Philippines June 23, 2017

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) stands under pouring rain during a wreath-laying ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the Nazi German invasion, by the Kremlin walls in Moscow, on June 22, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Smoke rises following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, on June 22, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on June 22, 2017, during the ongoing offensive by Iraqi forces to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group

AFP/Getty Images

Girls stand in monsoon rains beside an open laundry in New Delhi, India

Reuters

People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, during classes in the middle of Times Square in New York. The event marked the international day of yoga.

Reuters

Faroe Islanders turn the sea red after slaughtering hundreds of whales as part of annual tradition

Originally posted here:
Don't underestimate Iraq's historic victory against Isis though the human cost was great - The Independent

Over the next seven years, Iraq will need Iranian natural gas supplies to feed its power-generation plants, because domestic gas output will not be enough, Iraqs Minister of Electricity, Qasim Al-Fahdawi, has said.

New stations are entering into service soon, hence the countrys need for gas imports, Iraqi News quoted Al-Fahdawi as saying.

Natural gas output from Iraqs southern fields in the Basra province will not be enough to meet the demand for powering electricity generation, according to the minister.

However, Iraqs need for gas imports could lessen in the future, after planned fields for producing non-associated gas come on stream, such as Siba, Mansouriya, and Western Anbar, the Iraqi minister said.

Last month, Iran finally started exporting natural gas to its neighbor Iraq, after a four-year delay due to the challenging security situation in war-torn Iraq. The exports have started at a daily rate of 7 million cu m, according to a deputy oil minister who spoke to IRNA, as quoted byReuters, but should reach 35 million cu m at an unspecified point in the future.

The gas will be supplied under two contractsone for exports to Baghdad power plants, and the other to Basra. Iran already supplies electricity to its energy-hungry neighbor.

Iran, for its part, signed earlier this month its first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) with a Western major since most sanctions on Iran were lifted. Frances energy major Total SA signed a contract to develop phase 11 of the South Pars gas field in Iranthe worlds biggest gas field. Phase 11 of the South Pars (SP11) project will have a production capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensate. The gas produced from the project will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021, Total said on July 3.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read the original here:
Iraq Will Need Iranian Gas For Power Generation - OilPrice.com