TON 31 December 2019: General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Tuesday took over as the 28th Chief of Army Staff, at a difficult time when India faces worse security challenges from Pakistan and Chinese military along the border.

Commissioned into the 7th battalion, the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980, General Naravane was serving as vice chief of the Army and succeeded General Bipin Rawat, who has been appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, a post created to bring in joint operational convergence among the three services.

In his 37 years of service General Naravane served in numerous command and staff appointments including Army's Eastern Command that takes guards India's approximately 4,000 kilometers border with China, as Inspector General Assam Rifles in Nagaland, Rashtriya Rifles battalion in occupied Jammu & Kashmir and an infantry brigade Northeast. He also served as served as India's Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years.

TON 31 December 2019: Indian occupying authorities, ruling from New Delhi, announced to ease restrictions in troubled Jammu & Kashmir from midnight 31 December 2019 and 1 January 2020. The announcement was made by principal secretary of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Rohit Kansal. However, the locals have denied that any restoration has taken place. It is pertinent to mention here that ill-fated Indian held Jammu and Kashmir State is without any mobile phone or internet service since 5th August 2019. In the past too such claims were made but on ground there was no service at all.

TON 31 December 2019: The Supreme Court of India set up a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice N V Ramana, comprising of justices S. Kishan Kaul, R. Subhash Reddy, Surya Kant and B. R. Gavai to hear legal challenges to the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The five-judge bench will examine the constitutional validity of the scrapping of the article’s provisions and the subsequent presidential orders on it.

Several petitions have been filed challenging the Centre’s decision abrogating Article 370 provisions and bifurcating the state into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, contesting presidential orders of 5^th August “unconstitutional, void and inoperative”. Interestingly, a separate petition has also been filed by Shah Faesal, former bureaucrat who adopted politics as profession and is underground agent of Indian intelligence agencies to suppress Kashmiris movement for independence of Indian held Jammu and Kashmir State.

The Supreme Court on 12 December, after hearing preliminary submission, highlighted that it may consider the question of referring the issue of challenge to the abrogation of provisions of Article 370, to a larger 7-judge bench. The next date of hearing has been fixed for 21 January 2020.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu has declared US Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Lewis Foote “persona non grata”, over forcing Zambian government to review its homosexuality laws. Ambassador Foote carried out criticism on judgment by a Zambian High Court at Lusaka, awarding 15 years imprisonment of two Zambian male Christians nationals, Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba who were caught red-handed committing sin of homosexuality. This led to sour diplomatic relations between Zambia and US. Ambassador Foote said in a statement that he was horrified that a judge had sentenced the men to 15 years imprisonment after they were caught having sex. Zambian Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji in a statement said, "US cannot pressurize a government to make a decision at gun point - because they are giving us aid.” 

President Lungu said "Even animals don't do it, so why should we be forced to do it?” On the other hand Ambassador Foote issued a statement, "I was shocked at the venom and hate directed at me and my country, largely in the name of 'Christian' values” and also e accused President Lungu of interfering in judicial affairs through statements rejecting homosexual rights. It is interesting to note that there are few countries left which still follow Christian values. Homosexual acts are illegal is all the divine religions including Davidians, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Even the bush people who profess no religion consider highly offensive. The Zambian constitution acknowledges the supremacy of God Almighty and follows the true teaching of Prophet, Jesus Christ (Hazrat Eassa Alhe Salam).

US has long history of interfering the internal affairs of sovereign nations despite clarity given in United Nations Charter; Article 2.7 of the Charter of the United Nations provides that Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter. Article 15 (8) of the Covenant of the League of Nations and the Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States of 1933, prohibits "interference with the freedom, the sovereignty or other internal affairs, or the processes of the Governments of other nations. Similarly, Article 2(4) reads that All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. It is time to make US follow International obligations. 

Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Planning and Systems) who also served as General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Srinagar, called on Governor N.N. Vohra in Jammu on 30 January 2017. He discussed with the governor about the strategy to shift freedom movement in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir from Islam to Azadi. If we recall,