NEW DELHI, 8 February 2020, TON: Voters in New Delhi began voting on Saturday in a state election, which many analysts believe is test of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity following extensive anti-government protests over a new Citizenship Amendment Act. There are many Indian, especially the Muslims and Scheduled Castes are suspicion that Prime Minister Modi wants to turn secular India into a Hindu nation.

The main contest in the election is between the BJP and incumbent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s regional Aam Aadmi party (AAP). A poor showing in the capital this weekend is a blow to Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi  appealed on Twitter to voters “to vote in record numbers.” Polling is underway for 70 seats and the results will be announced on 11 February 2020.

MALI, 8 February 2020, TON: On the information provided by the US intelligence operators regarding presence of Al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups, French Forces along with multinationals carried out three operations on Thursday and two on Saturday against the Malian Muslims, killing more than 32 persons, Armed forces said in a statement. 

The main operations were conducted in the Gourma and Liptako regions where aerial bombing through Fighter aircrafts, helicopters and drone took place while ground forces carried out search operations in additional areas.

France, which controlled the country for sometime as colonial power had about 4,500 soldiers in the region in its counter-terrorism taskforce Operation Barkhane. Recently, additional 600 soldiers have been authorized. The reinforcements would mostly be sent to the area between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. This is in addition to 13,000-strong-United Nations Peacekeeping force in Mali. 

JAMMU, 8 February 2020, TON: The J&K Police, on Friday, arrested five Kashmiris under Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act from Katha and Sambha districts on charges of drug peddling while seized over Rs 4.7 lakh cash from their possession. As per the details furnished by vehicle checking authorities at Londi Morh on the Jammu-Pathankot highway in Kathua district, Yuka Butt from Shopian and Mohammad Afzal of Anantnag were in possession of 11 kilograms of poppy straw which is used in herbal medicine and cash of Rs 4.75 lakh. However, they were booked for possessing narcotics. In another case to harass even Hindus who were protesting against the Indian occupation, Police claimed to have seized only 6 grams of heroin from Kuldeep Raj and Ranju Choudhary near Chak Jhanda in Ramgarh. Anil Kumar, a resident of Gowal was also arrested for possessing four grams of heroin.

NEW DELHI, 7 February 2020, TON: Indian Military Intelligence (MI) has compelled NIA to hand them over Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Davinder Singh and four accused for interrogation as why they took the name of India Army and Military Intelligence as party to their criminal activities. To justify the take over from Police to Indian intelligence agencies, DSP Davinder Singh submitted an application to shift him from Kotbalwal jail in Jammu to Heeranagar jail in Kathua due to threats from Kashmiri Mujahideen. Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP), Dilbag Singh confirmed shifting to Heeranagar jail in Kathua.

Meanwhile, DGP Dilbag Singh on Friday reviewed law and order situation after series of protests throughout Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir State. He directed the Police officers to take stringent action against security apparatus involved in corruption, blackmailing and kidnapping for ransoms.  He stressed on the point that those officials involved in unlawful activities during counter-insurgency operations, would not be spared.

He said, Jammu & Kashmir Police has a big challenge to fight militancy and maintaining of law and order in the Union Territory but stressed on the point due attention is not given to other crimes and prevention of criminal activities. The DG Police was especially concerned about law and order situation due to daily protests and targeting of security apparatus by abuses of unarmed Kashmiris. 

NEW DELHI, 7 February 2020, TON: India reacted strongly on Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that Hindu-majority India was invading and occupying the State of Jammu and Kashmir. He also spoke against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was resented by Indian leadership at New Delhi. Indian warned its importers to stop import of Malaysian oil. However, Indian blackmailing tactics to force Malaysia to change its Kashmir policy or face embargo on export of Malaysian oil to India did not work.

As per data of Malaysian Palm Oil Council statists, India bought 4.4 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia in 2019, accounting for 24% of all Malaysian palm oil exports. Pakistan is third largest buyer of Malaysian Palm oil with 1.08 million tonnes in same year. The Government of Pakistan has announced that if India continues with bar on import of palm oil from Malaysia, Pakistan will compensate by starting import of oil from Malaysia. In the same regard, groups of importers have started contacting Malaysian Palm oil exporters. 

NEW DELHI, 7 February 2020, TON: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived India on a five-day visit on Friday, 7 February and was received at New Delhi Airport by Union Minister Sanjay Dhotre.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister will hold talks with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also the Sri Lankan disporea in India.

The Sri Lankan leaders will  Sarnath Buddhist Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Sarnath Buddhist Temple at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and other temples in Bihar.  

The sources at Prime Minister House told TON that Sri Lankan leader will also raise the issue of Indian fishermen illegally trawling fish its side of the Palk Strait as well India’s tactics regarding Tamils separatists.

GUWAHATI, 6 February 2020, TON: PM Narendra Modi is expected to visit Assam on tomorrow on 7 February to address a public rally at Kokrajhar in the Bodo Territorial Area District (BTAD).

On January 27, an agreement signed between the Centre, the Assam government and Bodo stakeholders (NDFB and its factions)  saw the announcement of various measures to ensure the territorial and cultural integrity of the region. Several institutes will be set up to bring growth and development to the region. PM Modi will fly in Guwahati and then take a chopper to Kokrajhar. Later, he will fly to West Bengal and then to New Delhi.

Assam was the first state to protest against CAA. CAA aims to provide amnesty to religiously persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan by giving them Indian Citizenship. The cut-off date has been fixed at, on or before 31st December 2014.

People in Assam see this as a violation of the Assam Accord that had set 25 March 1971, as the cut-off date for the detection and deportation of illegal foreigners from the State.

People of Assam have expressed fear and anxiety that CAA would regularize citizenship of several outsiders in the state and thus it will impact its demography and ethno-cultural integrity.

SRINAGAR, 6 February 2020, TON:  A suspicious blast occurred due to explosion near a dustbin in near Lal Bazar police station area in Srinagar on Thursday morning. One Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel and two others were injured in the incident and has been shifted to Base Hospital Srinagar.

Meanwhile, a day earlier, a Kashmiri Mujahid and a CRPF jawan were killed in a shoot out at Shalteng on Wednesday.

COLOMBO, 6 February 2020, TON: On the occasion of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day on 4^th February, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced general amnesty to absconders and deserters from the tri-services.

Accordingly, Sri Lankan military command on Wednesday declared a week-long general amnesty for the Army, Air Force and Navy personnel who had deserted their official duties and allowed them to either rejoin the forces or apply for discharge.

The amnesty would come into effect from February 5 and extended up to 12 February 2020, and will allow absent without leave and other uniformed personnel rejoin their services. The amnesty has also been newly recruited personnel who were under training at various Regimental Centers or Recruit Training Centers.

UNDER 19 WORLD CUP, 5 February 2020, TON: India Under-19 opening pair of Yashasvi  Jaiswal and Davyaansh Sexena , who shared an unbeaten stand of 176 to lead the defending champions to a thumping ten-wicket win in the first semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup in Potchefstroom. India's victory took them to their third straight final and closer to a fifth Under-19 World Cup title; they will play the winner of New Zealand and Bangladesh in the final on 9 February.