TEHRAN, 4 May 2020, TON: A Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, “Iran is still prepared for prisoner exchange with the United States and European countries”.  Seyed Abbas Mousavi Spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry said, "We had announced our readiness both officially and through messages and even proposed to exchange certain prisoners some of which took place."

Abbas Mousavi added that nearly 20 Iranians are in detention in the United States "on false charges of trying to circumvent sanctions" and said Iran is prepared to work for resolving the situation.

In October 2019 Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said Iran had made an offer of prisoner exchange with the United States through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran and submitted a list of Iranian prisoners in the United States for the exchange. However, there was no breakthrough in the talks.

In another development, confirming of some kind of deal with the US, Abbas Mousavi  said, “ Dr. Sirous Asgari, an Iranian scientist is in prison in the United States on the charges of stealing trade secrets,  has contracted the Coronavirus in prison.He will be tested again and  if his test is negative he will come back to Iran".

GENEVA, 2 May 2020, TON:   World Health Organization (WHO) top emergencies expert Dr. Mike Ryan  said,  countries must lift lockdowns gradually, while still being “on the look-out” for COVID-19 and ready to restore restrictions if the virus jumps back. He said, vulnerable people in institutions, including those in long-term care facilities, prisons and migrant dormitories, must be protected and even if the virus is coming under control, communities must know to still follow physical distancing and hygiene measures, and testing of suspect cases must continue.

The virus has spread in facilities for the elderly in Europe and North America, while in Singapore it has infected migrant workers in dormitories, he said, adding: “Because a spark in a situation like that turns into a fire very very quickly.”

Ryan acknowledged the difficulty for governments to maintain lockdowns during the pandemic, “for social, psychological and economic reasons” and apologized for severe measures, “So we are very anxious that we can move to a situation where the disease can kept under control with less severe measures.”

He claimed that there are worrying trends of spread in countries from Haiti to Somalia and Yemen, Ryan said. He also cited Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sierre Leone, Central African Republic, and a “serious cluster” in Kano, northern Nigeria. He clarified, regarding the new coronavirus that first emerged late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, he reiterated that scientists examining its genetic sequences have assured the WHO that “this virus is natural in origin”.

KABUL, 30 April 2020, TON: Fighters from across the borders assembled in Afghanistan to launch major operation. Many among them claims to be associated with Taliban but Taliban have totally denied any links with these people. The Afghan officials also confirmed on Wednesday that hundreds of foreign combatants are fighting alongside Taliban militants in a strategic northern province, a move that if proven true would violate the terms of the US-Taliban peace agreement.

Zakaria Sawda, the governor of the northeastern province of Badakhshan, said around 400 foreign militants, mostly from neighboring Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, had joined the Taliban and were fighting Afghan security forces in the province. However, Taliban have denied any links with these Hazara, Tajiks and Uzbeks in Badakhshan province.

BERLIN, 30 April 2020, TON: Germany has banned Hezbollah activity on its soil and designated it a terrorist organization, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Police also conducted early morning raids in four cities across Germany. Security officials believe up to 1,050 people in Germany are part of Hezbollah’s extremist wing.

Israel and the United States had been pushing Germany to ban the organization. Germany had previously distinguished between Hezbollah’s political arm and its military units, which have fought alongside President Bashar Assad’s army in Syria.

A spokesman said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer had banned the activities of Hezbollah. United States has already designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The European Union classifies Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist group, but not its political wing. American Jewish Committee head David Harris said in a statement, “We now hope other European nations will take a close look at Germany’s decision and reach the same conclusion about the true nature of Hezbollah,” said Harris.

Britain introduced legislation in February 2019 that classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization Last year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah.

MUZAFFARABAD, 30 April 2020, TON, Indian artillery guns continued firing of positions across the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Jammu and Kashmir State martyring a woman and a young girl while injuring two persons including a young boy.  Pakistani military and government sources on Thursday confirmed firing by both the India and Pakistani Armies on each other positions. In a statement, Sardar Masood Khan, President of disputed Azad Jammu and Kashmir said was the latest cease-fire violation by India is aimed to target civilians to demoralize the Kashmiris.

In a statement, the military blamed Indian troops for initiating an “unprovoked cease-fire violation” in the villages of Kailer and Rakhchikri along the LoC on Wednesday night.

Both the Armies blamed each other and claimed heavy losses to each others’ troops. The acts of both India and Pakistan are in violation of 2003 cease-fire accord between the two countries.

Indian military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said in a statement that Pakistani troops carried out unprovoked firing on Indian positions with small arms and mortar shells in at least four places on Wednesday evening.   He said, "Pakistan violated  cease fire in Shahpur and Kirni sectors of Poonch around 5.15 p.m on Wednesday and later they resorted to mortar shelling in Mankote and Mendhar sectors of Poonch. 

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned an Indian diplomat in Islamabad in protest and conveyed to New Delhi that such cease-fire violations were posing a threat to regional peace and security.

Meanwhile, Indian Army and security forces carried out search and elimination operations in mostly seven selected villages from which youth carried out protests post 5 August Indian occupation of Jammu and Kashmir State. Reportedly, since 15 February as many as 32 youth are missing who have been either killed or in Indian military detention centers.

WASHINGTON, 29 April 2020, TON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has granted further relief and extension on a waiver to let Iraq import electricity from Iran.  US has confirmed the deal but Iranian side showed disinterest in State Department waiver.

 The secretary Pompeo was quoted to have said that US granted waiver to Iran up to 26 May 2020, to allow time for the formation of a credible government in Iraq.  However, the conditions for wavier was not immediately known.
Washington has been prodding Iraq, which is OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, toward self-sufficiency in the energy sector as it has allowed the import of energy from longtime U.S. foe Iran.
 Iraqi President Barham Salih recently allowed Intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to lead a government amid anti-government protests last year. Once that government took the seat, Washington is likely to extend the wavier.

KABUL, 29 April 2020, As pressure is mounting on President Ashraf Ghani to include Abdullah Abdullah in his Government, suicide attacks have taken frequency to attract attention of international community.  On 29 April, a suicide bombing close to Afghan capital Kabul killed three people and wounded 14 others.

In a statement the Interior Ministry said, "A suicide bomber detonated his explosives among civilians in the Reshkhor area of Char Asiab district of Kabul on Wednesday morning."  

The attack was close to Afghan security forces’ special operations facility, 11 kilometers from Kabul.

It was not immediately known who was responsible for the blast, as reportedly Taliban neither target civilians nor carryout proactive attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Taliban spokesman has denied that its fighters were behind the bombing. It is in the interest of Taliban that cease-fire and reduction in violence should continue as agreed upon.

KABUL, 28 April 2020, TON: Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary General's special representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA said, Anti-government forces including the Taliban, Islamic State, and other unidentified groups were responsible for 55 per cent of all the casualties during timeframe; 1st January and 31st March 2020, but Afghan government forces and international troops caused more child casualties than anti-government armed groups.

More than 500 civilians, almost a third of them children, were killed and 760 were wounded due to the fighting in Afghanistan in the first three months of this year, the UN said in a report on April 27, stressing the need to better protect civilians amid the threat posed to all Afghans by the coronavirus outbreak.

Those figures included 152 dead children and 265 wounded, as well 60 women killed and 108 wounded from January 1 to March 31, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

WASHINGTON, 28 April 2020, TON: US military delegation as a part of the Pentagon’s military engagement strategy on Tuesday, met an Afghan faction known as Afghan Taliban leaders in Doha in an undisclosed location. The visit was aimed to “Reduce Violence”. Spokesman for the US military, Sonny Leggett could not be approached for comments. If we recall, NATO commander of US origin in Afghanistan, Austin Miller met with representatives of Afghan faction Taliban’s political office in Doha on 10 April, to discuss the reduction of violence. 

In the past Afghan Taliban published video footage claiming to show a house bombarded by US forces in Badakhshan Province on 10 April. Its authenticity could not be independently verified at that time but after the publication of report by UN Secretary General's special representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA the report supports Taliban claims. The UN Report says that during timeframe; 1^st January and 31^st March 2020, Afghan government forces and international troops caused more child casualties than anti-government armed groups.

 BRUSSELS, 28 April 2020, TON: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg clarification hardly impressed anyone regarding the organization’s response to elderly people about coronavirus pandemic as disinformation, “try to portray NATO allies as if we are unable to, for instance, protect our elderly people or that we are not able to work together. We are working together. That's exactly what we do.” Till to-date, the ground facts remains that NATO allies were absent in providing airlifts, medical support, and transportation to the patients.

It has been noted that NATO’s military alliance’s working together as member countries disappeared and more regional collaborations are emerging and that too in combat operations during the so called Coronavirus pandemic.

There is a perception that Coronavirus is a biological weapon created in the United States to bring down opponents and that China, Iran, and Russia “are doing much better than the West” in fighting the epidemic.