RIYADH, 29 January 2020: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met with America’s top military commander in the Middle East on Tuesday.

Prince Khalid and General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, discussed cooperation between the two countries “particularly in the defense field, and the importance of strengthening security and military cooperation,” Saudi Press Agency reported.

They also discussed the latest developments in the region and the “joint efforts made towards them to serves international peace and security.”

28 January 2020: By Shaban Abdur Rahman Alfa. This year is expected to be another busy election year for West Africa, much like in 2019 when three presidential polls were held across the region. Incumbents won re-election in Nigeria and Senegal whiles in Guinea-Bissau, the incumbent was kicked out.

The 2020 calendar sees three close neighbours holding elections i.e. Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Guinea is the other country even though there is a referendum specifically on whether or not outgoing Alpha Conde can run for another term after a decade in charge.

Togo’s Faure Gnassingbe will be contesting for the first of two constitutionally mandated five-year terms. Previously, the law allowed a candidate to run for as long as he wanted. That changed with the amendments that followed protests in 2017 and 2018.

But given that they did not have retrospective effect, Faure’s 15 years in office (2005 – 2020) did not count. It leaves him with a possible ten years to finally quit the presidency. If he wins the February 2020 polls, he is eligible to contest again in 2025 for a final term.

There are ten candidates cleared by the election body to contest. The president is the frontrunner but will be given his strongest opposition by Jean-Pierre Fabre, who was the leader of the protests that forced reforms especially on term limits for the presidency.

Alassane Ouattara after winning re-election in 2015 in what was expected to be his final term, said more than once that he was not interested in remaining in office beyond 2020. A lot has since changed and the president seems like he wants more of the presidency. Polls are slated for October.

Before disputed local polls of 2019, the coalition under whose aegis he rose to power parted ways. The ruling party managed to win the polls. Early this year, Ouattara dropped the strongest hint of staying on under certain conditions.

A key one being if his peers are going to contest, in this case former presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bedie (his former coalition partner). Meanwhile, another ally in ex Speaker of Parliament, Guillaume Soro, has been shut out of the country over his presidential ambitions.

Soro is the subject of a judicial probe but has been denied re-entry into the country after a trip to Europe. Ouattara has promised to oversee free and credible polls, what remains to be seen is if it will usher in a new leader or a new mandate for himself.

Guinea remains in a state of political heat as opposition vows to continually oppose plans by the president, Alpha Conde, to amend the constitution to allow him run for a third straight term in office.

Conde like Ouattara has yet to make a clear statement on whether or not he will contest only again like Ouattara disclosing that plans are afoot to amend the laws. Protests in the country since 2019 has claimed lives, people have been arrested and jailed for their roles in the clashes with security forces.

With Conde’s party having a majority in parliament, it is projected that lawmakers will pass the amendment following which a referendum is likely to be held on the issue. Guinea, thus, has a long electoral year ahead.

West Africa is looking at four votes same for the East, Horn Africa region where Ethiopia and Somalia as well as Tanzania and Burundi go to the polls. Except for Burundi where Pierre Nkurunziza is exiting, incumbents are busy with plans to seek re-election.

John Pombe Magufuli will be seeking a final five-year term in Tanzania, In Tanzania. Abiy Ahmed will be in the driving seat as the Prosperity Party seeks political prosperity and Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo will be hoping to secure a historic second term in Somalia.

Here at Africanews, our Africa elections page will be updated with major developments from the different electoral arenas with before, during and after coverage guaranteed.

Pakistan pledged its support to Sri Lanka yesterday to combat drug trafficking and human smuggling.

Visiting Pakistani Navy Commander Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi conveyed Pakistan’s willingness to assist the Government’s efforts to battle drug trafficking and human smuggling when he met Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Ministry yesterday.

While pledging Pakistan’s support for countering terrorism, Admiral Abbasi said that both countries should enhance existing cooperation to improve information sharing and defence ties.

“Pakistan will help to repair the Sri Lanka Navy’s hovercraft and also to develop a library at the proposed National Defence College,” Admiral Abbasi said. Expressing gratitude over Pakistan’s continuous assistance to Sri Lanka, Maj. Gen. Gunaratne said that he was looking forward to working closely with Pakistan in the future to strengthen military relations between the two nations.

Admiral Mahmood arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday (25), on an official visit made on the invitation of SLN Commander Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva.

Maj. Gen. Gunaratne and Admiral Abbasi exchanged mementos to mark the occasion.

SHILLONG, 28 January 2020, TON: The United Democratic Party (UDP) expressed its apprehension over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and dubbed it as a wake up call for all North Eastern states to act against illegal immigration from neighbouring countries and influx of non-indigenous people. UDP top leadership is convinced that New Delhi is bent upon bringing demographic changes in their states.

The UDP General Secretary, Jemino Mawthoh said his party opposed the CAA in principleand everyone should wait for the Supreme Court of India’s interpretation in this regard.
He said people of North East and Meghalaya as well as other states should work together to find a solution against illegal immigration from the neighbouring countries and influx of non-indigenous people. He cautioned leadership in New Delhi and said, ‘We have been fighting over the and influx and illegal immigration for the last four decades and now it is right time to come up with something which is concrete for the protection and safeguard of the indigenous people. 

ISLAMABAD, 28 January 2020, TON: Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province of Pakistan over detention of Pakistani human and civil rights activists, Manzoor Pashteen, Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir.

It is pertinent to mention here that cases against these activities were already filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) and were repeatedly summoned regarding response from Pashtun Tahafuz  Movemnet (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen, MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir in a case pertaining to maligning state institutions.

Manzoor Pashteen, a Pakistani youth leader who  remained vocal over foreign military operations especially drone attacks, killing hundreds and thousands of innocent, men, women and children as well as operations by Pakistani security forces and extrajudicial detentions in the northwestern tribal districts. He along with his activists were detained in the city of Peshawar, while court rejected their bail application on 28 January and sent them on 14-day judicial remand.
Manzoor Pashteenm leader of the PTM is accused of sedition, hate speech, incitement against the state, and criminal conspiracy.

Protesters took out rallies in Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Tribal districts as well as Islamabad and Karachi, demanding immediate release of Pashteen, d PTM members, were among those detained during the demonstration outside the National Press Club in the capital.
Afghan nationals in Kabul also protested in front of Pakistani Embassy in Kabul and demanded immediate release of PTM leaders.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani while criticizing detention said, “Pakistan must support and encourage peaceful civil movements for justice and must not use coercive force to supress these movements." Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned President Ashraf Ghani for his comments as a clear interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs.

CAIRO – 28 January 2020, TON: Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Egyptian top religious authority, on Monday while addressing “Al-Azhar International Conference on Renovation of Islamic Thought,” announced establishing a new religious center, as part of the national efforts to renovate religious discourse, in a way that suits developments.

The conference  was attended by representatives of religious institutions from dozens of Arab and Islamic countries, El-Tayyeb  urged the renewal of religious discourse, calling it a “pure Quranic law,” which prominent scholars saw as necessary to cope with political and social developments. The stance taken by Al Azher came after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s demanded renovation of Islamic thought.

Afghanistan, 28 January 2020, TON: Militants attacked a police base in Puli Khumri, northern Afghanistan, killing 11, Mabobullah Ghafari, resident of Baghlan province said Tuesday.
The insurgents first overran a checkpoint near the base late Monday, and easily entered the compound using main gate. An Afghan police official claimed that some police personnel inside the base were accomplices of the militant who allowed the militant to easily enter from the gate. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

       28 January 2020: Saudi Arabia confirmed on Monday that Israeli passport holders were not permitted to enter the Kingdom.

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the policy was unchanged despite Israel saying on Sunday that its citizens could now travel to Saudi Arabia.

“Our policy is fixed,” Prince Faisal told CNN. “We do not have relations with the state of Israel, and Israeli passport holders cannot visit the Kingdom at the current time.

“When a peace agreement is reached between the Palestinians and the Israelis, I believe the issue of Israel’s involvement in the region will be on the table.”

Analysts said the statements by both countries were significant as US President Donald Trump prepared to unveil his Middle East peace plan in Washington.

“Israel wanted to fool the Arabs, and to put Saudi Arabia in a difficult position, saying they had resolved the issue with the Kingdom and were ready for peace,” the Saudi political analyst Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri told Arab News.

“But the Kingdom is saying, ‘No, you cannot visit until there is a solution,’ and we will find out tomorrow if the Trump peace plan is that solution.”

The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, calling for normal Arab relations with Israel in return for its withdrawal from occupied land, was the benchmark, Al-Shehri said.

“If they are going to override the Arab Peace Initiative without a workable alternative, then of course the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations.” 

27 January 2020 (Courtesy of AFP): A United States military spokesman confirmed the loss of the E-11A communications plane in Ghazni province and said there was no indication the jet had been shot down.

Afghan officials had early reported the loss of a plane in the Taliban-held province, but had mistakenly reported the aircraft was a civilian passenger jet belonging to the national carrier, Ariana.

Pictures share by Taliban-linked social media accounts instead showed wreckage from a Bombardier E11 BACN emblazoned with US Air Force insignia. The aircraft is known to operate from nearby Kandahar air field in southern Afghanistan and helps boost communications among troops on the ground.

A statement from US forces in Afghanistan said: "A US Bombardier E-11A crashed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. While the cause of the crash is under investigation, there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire."

There was no official indication of casualties, but Taliban reports said two badly burned bodies had been found in the wreckage and had  been handed over to local villagers.

Afghan officials had at first reported the crashed plane belonged to the national carrier, Ariana.

"At around 1:10 pm (0840 GMT) a plane crashed in Deh Yak district of Ghazni province. The plane is on fire and the villagers are trying to put it out. We still don't know if it is a military or commercial plane," Aref Noori, Ghazni's governor's spokesman, told AFP.

 27 January 2020, TON. In a diplomatic row New Delhi has censured European Union for stepping on the internal affairs of India. Calling the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA),

an internal matter, India censured the European Union and asked to get engage with the government to have an accurate assessment of the “facts with respect to the legislation before proceeding voting the Resolution.

A powerful group of European Parliament lawmakers including the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) (PPE), Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance (Verts/ALE), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), Renew Europe Group (Renew) and European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group will hold a debate and vote on a resolution against the CAA.Six groups have moved resolutions on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the clampdown on Jammu and Kashmir.